It’s hard to believe the season is more than half over already. Tuesday night we’ll have the first set of rankings from the Playoff Committee. What things will they have to take into consideration from this weekend? Let’s look at some of them.
Things We Learned In College Week Nine
-#3 Ole Miss will have to drop at least a few spots after being upset by #24 LSU. I’m not sure where these Tigers have been all season, but last night was the kind of game we’re used to seeing from LSU, particularly on defense. Ole Miss couldn’t get anything going on the ground, and Bo Wallace was just 14 of 33 passing. LSU only attempted 16 passes, but the Rebels had no answer for the run game- except, curiously, in the red zone.
-I thought the Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit made a good point last night about Bo Wallace needing to do a better job of ignoring the LSU fans taunting him from the stands. If you can’t ignore the fans at LSU, why should any NFL scout think you’d be able to ignore the fans at the Black Hole in Oakland, or the Linc in Philadelphia?
-LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings still has room for improvement, but he’s growing up before our eyes this season.
-Kentucky did a much better job hanging with Mississippi State than I had expected. It wasn’t enough, but the Wildcats are headed in the right direction. Vanderbilt could find themselves the sole bottom-feeders in the SEC a year or two from now.
-Dak Prescott was wearing a walking boot leaving the stadium, but ESPN reports that it was just a “precautionary measure”. Could be nothing, could be something. Definitely a situation to keep an eye on in the next week.
-Auburn and South Carolina combined for 1,086 yards of total offense in the Tigers’ 42-35 win. Where was that Gamecocks’ team earlier in the season, and could they maybe help find the defense?
-Amari Cooper’s had 224 receiving yards. Impressive stat, right? He did it on NINE CATCHES. That’s an average of just under 25 yards per catch. (He also had two touchdowns). Tennessee stayed with Alabama for awhile, but you knew the Tide was eventually going to pull away.
-From the Absolutely Ridiculous department: TCU beat Texas Tech 82-27. I’ve seen FBS-FCS games that weren’t that lopsided. What’s more, TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin was 22 of 39 for 433 yards and seven touchdowns.
-Also ridiculous: Pitt lost five fumbles in the first quarter against Georgia Tech. What’s more, four of them were returned for touchdowns. That tied an NCAA record.
-Michigan State receiver Tony Lippett is fairly tall (6’3″) and really good at going up to get the ball. He reminds me of another, albeit taller, Spartan receiver- Plaxico Burress.
-I don’t even know what to think about Michigan anymore, except that the defense is actually reasonably good. There are good pieces on offense- TE/WR Devin Funchess, TE Jake Butt- but there just aren’t nearly enough of them.
-How far will #20 USC fall after losing to #19 Utah?
-Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah had another huge day, with 225 yards and three scores. I’m not sure why this kid isn’t at least in the discussion for the Heisman.
-Will a three-point win over 2-6 Colorado be enough to keep #25 UCLA in the top 25?
-Ohio State needed double overtime to beat Penn State. Did not see that coming.
-I’ve been hearing a lot lately about Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato, so I was excited to catch part of a Marshall game on TV yesterday. Cato did not disappoint; he’s very poised and has nice touch on the ball. I think I mentioned this a week or two ago, but Sports Illustrated did a nice profile of Cato about a month ago; I’d highly suggest checking it out if you haven’t already. Tough not to pull for this young man when you know his story.
That’s it for this week, but don’t forget to check back later today for the LWOS Top 25!
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