Welcome to Week 10 Midweek Musings! Here are some of my thoughts as we head down the stretch of the season:
Purdue
The poor Boilermakers have lost yet another quarterback. Jack Plummer took over after Elijah Sindelar’s injury in late September. But after an ankle injury on Saturday, Plummer required surgery and is also on the sideline. Coach Jeff Brohm told ESPN that he’s not ruling either player out for the year, but isn’t optimistic about either one returning.
Florida State
After just 21 games, the Noles have fired coach Willie Taggart. FSU will be paying Taggart roughly $17 million not to coach their football team. Rivals.com evaluates what doomed Taggart here.
There have been interesting debates this week about how desirable the Florida State job is. It can’t be denied that the team is currently a bit of a mess. It’s hard to blame it all on Taggart, but the fact is that the team was 9-3 in Jimbo Fisher’s last season. In the two years under Taggart, they finished 6-6 and 5-7. My guess is that coaches will think this ship can be righted fairly quickly.
More importantly, it’s a historically prominent program located in incredibly fertile recruiting ground. Clearly, they’ll pay the coaching staff well. FSU may not get their first choice (the name Bob Stoops has been mentioned) but somebody well-regarded will take the job.
Miami
Staying in the Sunshine State, we have a candidate for this season’s Freak Injury Award. Bubba Bolden picked off an Alex Hornibrook pass, jumped up to chest-bump a teammate, and did something pretty gross to his ankle. His season is over. (Warning: if you’re squeamish, maybe don’t watch the video). Get well soon, Bubba.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MTUAgclYN8
Also, check out Hebreu Maxis’ article about Miami’s Greg Rousseau here.
Georgia-Florida
When 13 of your last 14 meetings (now 14 of the last 15) have gone to the team that outrushes the other, you don’t want to have zero yards on the ground after the first quarter. But that’s exactly what the Gators did on Saturday.
It didn’t look great for the Bulldogs, either. They finished the first quarter with seven rushing yards, and had just 119 in the whole game. However, Florida only managed 21(!).
South Carolina
This wasn’t a noteworthy game, except that Gamecocks’ receiver Bryan Edwards set a school single-game record with 14 catches. South Carolina beat Vanderbilt 24-7.
Baylor
The Bears have pulled off one of the fastest turnarounds in history. In 2017, they won one game. Currently, they’re 8-0, atop the Big 12, and ranked No. 12.
Their eighth win came in a gutsy effort against West Virginia on Saturday. Quarterback Charlie Brewer was sacked eight times and still finished 20/26 with 277 yards and two touchdowns. But it was the defense that came up big in the end, blocking a West Virginia field goal attempt with 3:30 remaining.
Put this game on your calendar now: Oklahoma at Baylor, November 16th.
Highlight of the Week
That’s North Texas QB Mason Fine in the T-Rex costume. When it’s the week of Halloween and you throw for seven touchdowns, you can wear whatever you want to the presser.
Those are my Week 10 Midweek Musings. Enjoy what should be a phenomenal weekend of college football!
