Week 8 Reflections
Upsets And Near Upsets Dominate The Day
Week 8 was full of strange results.
Two of the ugliest games of the season took place when previously winless Nevada defeated San Diego State 6 to 0 and Mississippi State beat Arkansas 7 to 3. North Carolina, which just joined the top 10 this week, suffered one of the worst losses of the season against previously hapless Virginia. PJ Fleck and Minnesota finally took down Iowa after a Cooper DeJean punt return was called back after instant replay showed a half-hearted fair catch was kind of signaled. UCF, winless in Big 12 play, took Oklahoma down to the wire. USC’s season has spiraled off the tracks after Utah beat Caleb Williams for the third time in the past 12 months. Texas raced out to a 21-0 lead against Houston and then held on for dear life in a 31-24 victory. Miami finally nabbed a home ACC win under Mario Cristobal in double overtime as Clemson and Miami took turns trying not to win late in the game. To wrap up the evening, Washington survived an ugly performance against Arizona State 15-7, a game in which the Huskies did not score an offensive touchdown.
In spite of all the zaniness in the day, the marquee game of the day, Penn State at Ohio State, played out almost as expected. Two dominant defenses overpowering struggling offenses.
#3 Ohio State Suffocates #7 Penn State
From the start of the season, the Big Ten was predicted to be a three team league, Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State. Nothing that has played out so far this season in the conference has changed that perception. For these three teams, the two games against the other are effectively season. On Saturday we got to watch the first of the round robin between them when Penn State traveled to Columbus.
The game was a throwback to old school football. Dominant defenses carried the day and largely suffocated the opposing offenses. The primary difference between Ohio State and Penn State in the Buckeyes 20-12 victory? The Buckeyes have Marvin Harrison Jr., and Penn State doesn’t. “Maserati Marv” as Gus Johnson (obnoxiously) referred to him approximately 100 times during the game, had 162 yards and the game sealing touchdown in the 4th quarter. He was targeted early and often throughout the game. Too bad for Maserati Marv, he had Kyle “Honda” McCord throwing to him, or he may have gone for 200+ yards. While both offenses struggled, it was apparent that Ohio State left several plays on the field, many of them due to errant throws from McCord.
For Penn State’s offense, they looked totally hopeless on Saturday. The Buckeyes relentlessly pressured Drew Allar and blanketed Penn State’s receivers. Penn State also seemed to have no consistent plan or identity on offense. For example, on their third possession, Penn State seemed to have found a hole in Ohio State’s defense when they covered 44 yards on two straight explosive runs. Instead of hitting that concept a third time, they dropped back to pass and lost three yards on a sack. The drive stalled out and Penn State settled for a field goal. Penn State did not often find success on Saturday, but when they hit on a play or two, instead of leaning into it, they would run something completely different. In my mind, Penn State’s refusal to keep hitting a play that had some success was the primary difference between the two teams on Saturday. Ohio State spammed the Marvin Harrison button and Penn State seemingly tried to outsmart the Buckeyes’ defense by avoiding the “run it ‘til they stop it” strategy.
Are either of these teams good enough to beat Michigan? It did not look like it on Saturday. The defenses are there, but both offenses are going to need to find a higher level of consistency. Ohio State stands a better chance as they will hopefully get Emeka Egbuka and Trey Henderson back prior to their annual showdown at the end of the year.
The ACC Had Itself A Weird Day
Virginia 31 - #10 North Carolina 27. A terrible loss for North Carolina. I suppose we could have seen it coming as the #10 team in the country has now lost four weeks in a row. Coming into this contest, Virginia was 0-29 in program history against AP top-ten teams. Make that 1-29. Virginia’s only other victory this year was against FCS William & Mary. The Cavaliers limited Drake Maye to completing only 50% of his passes for the game. North Carolina seemed like the prime challenger to Florida State’s bid to reclaim the ACC. This was just another example of Mack Brown’s teams no-showing against lesser competition. We did get an excellent ref cam shot of the game sealing interception.
Miami 28 - Clemson 20. Dabo went off on “spoiled fans” this week and suggested Clemson should lose a few more games to lighten the bandwagon. Mission accomplished. Clemson has lost three ACC games for the first time since 2010. They have virtually no shot of reaching the ACC championship game anymore. Clemson held a 17-7 lead entering the 4th quarter and blew it against Miami’s backup quarterback. Miami could have won this game in regulation. With just under 50 seconds left, Miami had the ball at their own 38. Instead of trying to get in position to kick a game winning field goal, Miami opted for overtime. More head scratching game management from Cristobal. Miami opened the second overtime by scoring a touchdown and converting the two-point conversion. Clemson immediately moved the ball inside of the five. However, Clemson’s redzone woes reared their ugly head again. This was Clemson’s final play of the game:
#4 Florida State 38 - #20 Duke 20. This game was in doubt into the 4th quarter with the Seminoles trailed 20 to 17. A 21-0 outburst prevented the ACC’s playoff hopes from going on life support. Another good win for Florida State, which probably has the best collection of wins so far this year, even if the results are not as dominant as some of the other playoff contenders. Duke is legit good and if Riley Leonard had been able to play the whole game, this one may have come down to the final minutes.
Quick Hitters
#2 Michigan 49 - Michigan State 0. A dreadful showing from Michigan State, which had to issue an apology in the third quarter for displaying Hitler as part of the pregame promotion/entertainment. If you work in public relations, Michigan State is probably seeking assistance.
#5 Washington 15 - Arizona State 7. I am growing suspicious that Washington is joining the Big Ten just to avoid having to play the Arizona schools again. Washington, which has looked like the best offense in the country so far this year, did not score a single touchdown against the Sun Devils. The Huskies’ only touchdown came on an 89 yard pick-six in the fourth quarter. Penix, the Heisman darling after last week’s performance against Oregon committed three turnovers in the first half. Washington survives a clunker.
#6 Oklahoma 31 - UCF 29. UCF was -43 in point differential in three Big 12 games. There was no reason to suspect they would give Oklahoma all that it could handle. And yet, UCF led most of the game and was a failed two-point conversion away from tying the game up late. UCF does win the award for the weekend’s most loving taunt.
#8 Texas 31 - Houston 24. Texas led 21-0 by the early second quarter and this one seemed over. Texas pulled off the gas a little too early as Houston would score three straight touchdowns to tie the game. The real problem for Texas is Quinn Ewars left the game with what could potentially be a serious should injury. It may be Maalik Murphy time in Texas. Also, Houston was absolutely robbed late in the game trying to convert a short-yardage situation.
I think they marked him a full yard short. Ridiculous. Houston would fail on 4th and 1.
#14 Utah 34 - #18 USC 32. The game of the day. USC, at least as constructed with Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams, cannot beat Utah. USC actually needed to rely on their defense a couple of times in the 4th quarter as they attempted to come back from the 28-14 deficit. It mostly worked, but when it came down to the last possession, the Trojans were grashed by a Bryson Barnes scramble (USC did get hit with a really week roughing the passer/targeting penalty that I saw described as a “power smooch”).
#11 Alabama 34 - #17 Tennessee 20. This was a tale of two halves. The first half was all Tennessee as they quickly built up a 13-0 lead and held a 20-7 lead at the half. The second half was all Alabama as they shut down Tennessee’s offense and repeatedly ran through the Vols’ defense in a vintage Nick Saban/Alabama performance. A late Joe Milton fumble led to an Alabama defensive touchdown that sealed the game. The play of the game was easily this Tennesse touchdown.
Minnesota 12 - #24 Iowa 10. The total for this game was a record low 30.5. These teams didn’t even threaten it. Two teams with solid (Minnesota) to great (Iowa) defenses going up against totally inept offenses. Still, Iowa nearly pulled it off again despite gaining only two yards in the entire second half.
No way Iowa can keep getting away with this. It turns out, the refs intervened to make sure they couldn’t do it again.
The replay showed that Cooper DeJean made an invalid fair catch signal in the process of fielding the punt. I did not know this was reviewable and it seems like a bad result given the Gophers coverage unit stayed engaged in the play the entire time. Still, with 10 points, Iowa falls further behind in their drive for 325. They need to average 33.8 points per game in their final five games. They’ve only hit 30 once this season. Good luck, Iowa fans.
Mississippi State 7 - Arkansas 3. I am only mentioning this game so everyone realizes the SEC is also capable of playing these ugly games. It is not the exclusive domain of the Big Ten West. The teams combined for 405 yards of offense. Both teams were held under 100 yards passing on the day. Just awful football, including one of the worst snaps you’ll ever see.
Also this next play does not count, but if it had, it would have been the best play of the day by either team.
Plays Of The Week
Its interesting how types of plays seem to come in pairs.
We had two wild turnovers where the defender just grabs the ball from the other player.
We also had a couple of epic fails trying to field a punt.
I’m pretty sure this next play is exactly how I would look if I was sent out to field a punt.
Fielding a kick poorly is not exclusive to punts though.
Its rare getting to watch a player fumble the ball twice on a play, but Cincinnati managed it.
If you ever wondered if football players would be good at hot potato, check out this next clip.
In the Oregon game we had a Washington State player seemingly give up on a play that went right by him. He paid the price.
Wisconsin got creative in drawing up the game-winning touchdown against Illinois. #PiesmanTrophyCandidate
And finally, the best play of the day comes from the FCS ranks.
College Football Moment Of The Week
Plenty of good moments this week, but my favorite is the discovery of Montana State’s kicker. He is 6’9”.
This guy is playing the wrong sport. He looks hilariously tall and gangly on the field. He is 6-10 on field goals for the year and 35-38 on extra points.