This might be a little shorter than usual, as I was driving from Connecticut to Rochester and missed most of the noon games.
-Texas A&M is better than I expected. Yes, they lost to Florida, but they hung in there and redshirt freshman Johnny Manziel looked very much at home playing QB in the SEC. The run game was solid as well.
-Florida may have won the game, but they need to be more disciplined. They followed up their 14 penalties last week against Bowling Green with two personal fouls in the first half against A&M. That will come back to bite them eventually if they keep it up.
-Of the Penn State players who transferred, I think K Anthony Fera was the biggest loss for the Nittany Lions. His replacement missed four field goals (one of which would have won the game) and a PAT in a 17-16 loss to Virginia.
-Michigan struggled on defense again, but Big Ten teams don’t see the triple option every day. I’m not writing them off yet.
-What a red-zone threat J.C. Copeland is for LSU. He’s a 272-pound former defensive lineman converted to fullback, and when he doesn’t get the ball he’s a hell of a blocker.
-It was a weird day in the SEC. Auburn loses to Mississippi State? #8 Arkansas goes down to Louisiana-Monroe? Georgia struggles with Missouri before eventually winning big?
-In other news, it’s probably safe to count out Arkansas and Auburn in the SEC West race.
-Mississippi State may not be a contender in the SEC West just yet, but in a year or two they could be. They looked good yesterday.
-Oregon State’s upset of Wisconsin may affect the Badgers’ national championship hopes, but they should still get to the Big Ten Championship. The Leaders division is weaker than the Legends’, and Ohio State is ineligible.
