The theme of my Week Six Midweek Musings is OFFENSE.
Week Six Midweek Musings
Red River Rivalry
This was the first overtime game in the series since 1996, and it was worth the wait. Oklahoma outlasted the Longhorns 53-45 in a four-overtime thriller. In the overtime periods alone, the teams combined for 36 points.
Oddly, each team also failed a field goal attempt. I’m guessing that was a first in this series.
LSU-Mizzou
I didn’t think there would be much to say about the defending champs this week. Unfortunately for them, I was wrong. The Tigers seemed to want to prove everything I wrote about them last week wrong, and they did a pretty good job. While quarterback Myles Brennan continues to improve (29 of 48, 430 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions) the run game is emphatically NOT back on track. In the first half, the Tigers rushed for exactly one yard. ONE. In total, they managed 39. If it weren’t for Brennan and receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., this game could have been exceedingly ugly. As it is, the game was ugly enough that LSU has fallen out of the Top 25 for the first time since 2017, the year of the infamous loss to Troy.
Marshall, however, has been a bright spot for a team that lost a lot of pass-catching talent to the draft. The opt-out of JaMarr Chase raised further questions. Marshall has answered them. Against Missouri, he caught 11 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns- his fifth, sixth, and seventh of the young season.
Missouri deserves credit, too. Eli Drinkwitz is off to a really good start turning around what has been a moribund program. He’s also living up to his reputation as a creative play-caller. LSU was fooled repeatedly by their reverses and a couple of trick plays. Connor Bazelak did not look like a freshman quarterback, and they’ve got some really good players on defense. Their goal-line stand at the end of the game was one for the ages.
Both Missouri’s game with Vanderbilt and LSU’s game with Florida has been postponed.
Virginia Tech-UNC
For a team missing fifteen players, the Hokies put up a solid effort against North Carolina. The Tar Heels have jumped three spots to #5 after the 56-45 win, giving the ACC three of the top five teams.
Virginia Tech will face BC this weekend, hopefully with a fuller roster. UNC travels to Florida State.
Ole Miss-Alabama
If you like offense, I hope you stayed up for this game. The combined 111 points were the most scored in regulation in SEC history. Alabama’s Najee Harris ran for 206 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback Mac Jones completed 28 of 32 pass attempts for 417 yards and two more touchdowns.
I have to say, in some ways I was more impressed by Ole Miss in this game. I’m sure a large part of that was having had much lower expectations for the Rebels than the Tide, but quarterback Matt Corral and running back Jerrion Ealy really stood out on offense. (Ealy is also a pro baseball prospect and was mentioned in the most recent issue of Baseball America. He was drafted in 2019 by the Arizona Diamondbacks).
Kansas State
Quarterback Skylar Thompson missed this week’s game, and it was announced he’ll miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery for an upper-body injury. Freshman Will Howard was pedestrian in the passing game (8 of 19 for 117 yards, no TDs, one interception), but he did carry the ball 13 times for 86 yards and a touchdown.
Fortunately for K-State, they have a bye week this week, followed by a game against Kansas. That’s about as good as it gets for a freshman quarterback taking over mid-season.
The Highlight of the Week
We have a Big Man Touchdown!
Week Seven Schedule Changes
Vanderbilt @ Missouri: Postponed, most likely to Dec. 12. Due to quarantine, Vanderbilt is below the SEC requirement of 53 scholarship players available.
Oklahoma State vs. Baylor: Postponed due to contact tracing at Baylor, where multiple players and staff have COVID.
Florida vs. LSU: Four days after stating publicly that he wants a full stadium this weekend, Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators are dealing with positive tests. They were scheduled to face LSU on Saturday. Among my Week Six Midweek Musings: a full stadium, at any school, is a terrible idea.
UPDATE: Florida-LSU has been postponed to Dec. 12
UPDATE: Cincinnati @ Tulsa has been postponed to Dec. 5 due to positive tests among Cincy players. Tulsa has only played two games this season, neither of them at home.
Those are my Week Six Midweek Musings. Enjoy Week Seven, and for those of you who like defensive football, good luck!
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