Week Ten featured a little bit of everything, with some intriguing match-ups, a couple of upsets, and a very close call.
Things We Learned In College Week Ten
– It started on Thursday, when Louisville gave Florida State a pre-Halloween scare. The ‘Noles prevailed, but didn’t look like themselves, and they continued to not look like the ‘Noles of 2013. Jameis Winston threw back-to-back interceptions in the first quarter and three overall, giving Cardinal Gerod Holliman an NCAA-best 10 picks on the season.
– Two major SEC games went down to the wire. A late interception by Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen assured #1 Mississippi State of their eighth win, and an unfortunate fumble just shy of the end zone (by a badly injured player nonetheless) essentially handed Auburn a victory over Ole Miss. Receiver Laquon Treadwell was caught from behind and went down awkwardly, his ankle and lower leg bending in a way they’re not designed to. Understandably, he fumbled the ball and Auburn recovered. Initially, the play was ruled a touchdown, but on replay the officials determined that Treadwell had fumbled before breaking the plane. Coach Hugh Freeze told ESPN that Treadwell broke his leg on the play- not a surprise, if you saw it live. Initially, the commentators had said after a replay or two that they wouldn’t show it again, but because of the uncertainty surrounding the possible touchdown, they ended up showing it several times. We at LWOS certainly wish Treadwell- and Washington State QB Connor Halliday, who reportedly broke his leg yesterday also- the best.
– A major issue for Auburn in this game was that they took a lot of penalties- 13 for 145 yards. Coach Gus Malzahn has acknowledged publicly that penalties are something the Tigers need to do a better job of avoiding, but you wouldn’t have guessed it from last night.
– Penn State and Maryland played a close one ultimately won by the Terps. Penn State has had major issues on offense all season, and yesterday was no exception. Through seven games and one half, quarterback Christian Hackenberg had been sacked 28 times. At one point yesterday, Hackenberg completed one of eleven passes, and just as the announcer finished that statement, he fumbled. With their scholarships restored by the NCAA, Penn State has got to bring in some offensive linemen who can contribute early.
– Penn State now has their first four-game losing streak in ten years.
– Maryland kicker Brad Craddock is 21/21 on the season, with a long of 57 yards. For a college kicker, especially one who plays in a conference where the weather can be volatile, those are excellent numbers.
– The big game of the day, of course, was TCU at West Virginia. TCU trailed by as many as 13 points, and this one went down to the wire. (Interestingly, both previous games between these two went to overtime). Jaden Oberkrom kicked a 37-yard field goal to give the Horned Frogs the win and keep their playoff hopes alive.
– My favorite sign of the week on ESPN’s College GameDay: “Gary Patterson Gives Out Apples For Halloween”. “Save The Couches, Burn the Frogs” was good too.
– Pitt lost to Duke in double overtime, but remember the name James Conner. The sophomore running back rushed for 263 yards and three scores on 38 carries. This kid runs angry. At 6’2″ and 250 pounds, he reminds me of a slightly smaller Brandon Jacobs.
– With Wisconsin next on the slate (November 15), Nebraska needs to hope that they’re correct in saying Ameer Abdullah’s knee injury is fairly minor and that he should play. Their bye week next week could not have come at a better time.
– Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson gave running back Tevin Coleman a seat on the bench after fumbling early against Michigan. I can understand benching a player for a fumble, especially if sloppiness contributed to it, but when said player is pretty much your only chance to possibly win the game, isn’t a series or two enough? Coleman was out for long enough that the commentators were thinking he had to be injured, but he did return midway through the second quarter- by which point Michigan was up 17-0.
– Peyton Manning had “can’t beat Florida”. Marcus Mariota had “can’t beat Stanford”- until last night.
– Early in the week, Texas A&M announced that Kyle Allen would start at quarterback, and it was assumed that Kenny Hill was being benched for what was definitely sub-par play the last few weeks (although no one came out and gave a reason, as far as I know). Then yesterday morning, it was announced that Hill has been suspended two games for the always-popular “unspecified violation of team rules”. Some clarification about the benching would be nice.
– What in the name of Vince Dooley happened in Jacksonville yesterday? Florida obliterating Georgia is the most unexpected result I’ve seen since… well, since the Gators lost to Georgia Southern last year, I guess.
Don’t forget to check back later for the LWOS rankings! Until next week.
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