Last week still seemed like a bit of a letdown after the craziness that was Week Six, but there was one big upset yesterday, as well as a couple of close calls and several very entertaining games. Let’s examine them.
Things We Learned In College Week Eight
– Notre Dame and Florida State was the big game of the Day. Mark Rogers takes an indepth look at the game here and there isn’t much more I can say about what was a classic in Tallahassee.
-The upset: 4-2 West Virginia over #4 Baylor. I don’t know if Baylor was experiencing a bit of a letdown after their thrilling, come-from-behind-late win last week, but this result was a big surprise to me. The Bears’ run defense certainly wasn’t the problem, holding the Mountaineers’ to 134 yards, but their own run game may have been. Baylor gained just 95 yards on the ground. West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett wasn’t a factor on the ground either, rushing three times for -25 yards. Trickett passed, however, for 322 yards and three scores, with just one pick. Looking at the numbers, I’m surprised this game wasn’t at least a bit closer than 41-27.
-A smaller upset: Kansas State over Oklahoma, 31-30. A big problem for Oklahoma? Michael Hunnicut going 1/3 on field goals and 3/4 on extra points. Obviously you can’t pin an entire game on a kicker; if the offense had really been clicking along, the field goal tries wouldn’t have been necessary. But it’s something to keep an eye on for the Sooners going forward- does think rattle Hunnicut to the point that he continues to miss, and does the coaching staff lose confidence in him and start going for it (or punting) on fourth-and-short more often?
-TCU had a fantastic day against Oklahoma State. They led in first downs (26 to 12), third-down conversions (7-of-15 to 3-of-15), rushing yards (261 to 126), and, most impressively, passing yards (415 to 132). Given that the times of possession were similar, and that TCU actually had almost double the penalty yardage, this was an equally impressive game from both the offense and the defense of the Horned Frogs.
-An interesting stat from Georgia-Arkansas: Bulldogs quarterback Hutson Mason rushed four times for -3 yards and a touchdown. How often do you see someone finish a game with negative yards AND a rushing TD?
-Someone who didn’t finish that game with negative yardage was Nick Chubb. If you didn’t know the name before, learn it, because he’s going to be the bell cow while Todd Gurley is out and probably after Gurley leaves for the NFL as well. The 5’10”, 228-pound freshman rushed for 202 yards and two touchdowns yesterday.
-This was a first for me: Minnesota and Purdue combined for three pre-snap penalties on extra-point attempts yesterday. That’s something you hardly ever see ONCE in a game, let alone three times (Purdue committed two, and I’m pretty sure they were on back-to-back attempts). Minnesota kicker Ryan Santoso missed the PAT after being backed up five yards, but hit a 52-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter that turned out to be a game winner. This is Minnesota’s first 3-0 start in Big Ten play since 1990.
-A name I seem to hear every week is that of Maryland’s sophomore cornerback Will Likely. Yesterday he had a pick-six against Iowa, and it seems like he does something to make the highlight reel more weeks than not.
-I don’t even know what to say about Oregon, other than that they certainly bounced back nicely from the Arizona loss. They need to cut down on the penalties, though- seven for 90 yards last night.
-The state of Arizona is having almost as good a year as the state of Mississippi. First Arizona beats Oregon, now Arizona State upsets Stanford.
-Looking at the offensive and defensive stat lines, you’d think the Florida-Missouri game was another butt-kicking for Mizzou. Quarterback Maty Mauk was just 6-of-18 passing, for all of 20 yards. The Tigers gained just 99 yards on the ground, compared to Florida’s 138 passing yards and 135 rushing. BUT, you’d be wrong. Special teams were the story of this game, as Missouri scored on a kick return (the opening kickoff, no less), a punt return, a fumble return, and an interception return, and added one plain old rushing touchdown (and two field goals) for good measure. Florida committed a total of six turnovers as Will Muschamp rotated quarterbacks. The Gators did manage two touchdowns, including one late; to add insult to injury, the extra point was blocked. Oh, and this was homecoming weekend in Gainesville. OUCH.
-Are LSU’s struggles on offense (and defense) over? Seven different rushers had at least one carry for the Tigers last night, as they rang up 303 yards and three scores on the ground in a 41-3 stomping of Kentucky. Geaux Tigers, indeed. Enjoy it, Louisianans- Ole Miss is up next.
-It would be nice if Texas A&M’s coaching staff let the defense know what time next week’s game is. 59-0 is how Alabama was expected to win games in 2011, not 2014.
-On a more serious note, there were several scary minutes late in the UCLA-Cal game after Bears’ junior wideout Trevor Davis took a knee directly to the forehead area on a kick return. He was attended to by a large group of trainers and doctors before being put on a backboard and carted off. He did appear to have movement in his extremities, and gave a vigorous thumbs up as the cart drove off, which was good to see. I haven’t seen anything yet about the extent of the injury; I didn’t really expect to, given that it’s still only about 5 A.M. in California. UCLA won what was a much closer game than I would have predicted, 36-34.
Don’t forget to check out our College Football Top 25 later today!
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