I hope everyone was able to enjoy Halloween safely, 2020-style! Here are the Post-Halloween Midweek Musings.
Post-Halloween Midweek Musings
Michigan-Michigan State
Did you know that the team with more rushing yards had won 45 of the last 50 meetings between these two? Make that 45 of the last 51, as Michigan out-gained Sparty on the ground and lost the game. Michigan also broke its streak of 293 straight home games with at least 100,000 in attendance.
Michigan State managed to avoid turnovers completely, a week after committing seven at Rutgers. (Maybe they wanted to get a season’s worth out of the way early?) Rocky Lombardi completed 17 of 32 pass attempts for 323 yards and three touchdowns.
The Wolverines continue to give up big plays through the air. They have several new starters in the defensive backfield this year, so that’s not a huge surprise. They fare much better against the run, having held both Minnesota and Michigan State under 130 yards on the ground. How will they fare this weekend against a resurgent Indiana team? Further, will the Spartans hold off Iowa, or revert to the turnover machine they were two weeks ago? Both should be interesting games to watch.
Ole Miss
Quarterback Matt Corral had himself a day against Vanderbilt. He beat Eli Manning‘s school record with 19 straight completions and tied another of Manning’s records with six touchdown passes. Ole Miss beat the Commodores, 54-21.
Florida-Missouri
Florida won 41-17, and you can read our coverage of the game here. The real story was the on- and off-field idiocy engaged in by the supposed adults in the room. Among the Post-Halloween Midweek Musings: grow up, Dan Mullen.
Clemson
No Trevor Lawrence, no problem… eventually. Boston College threw all they had at the Tigers, who didn’t have a lead until the fourth quarter. Backup quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei (30/41, 342 yards, two touchdowns) wasn’t the problem. The BC defense was. Not many teams can hold running back Travis Etienne to 84 yards on 20 carries, although he did find the end zone once.
However, Clemson showed a level of flexibility in their play-calling I’d like to see more from teams. Running back being slowed down? Okay, let’s throw it to him. Etienne also caught 7 passes for 140 yards and another touchdown in the 34-28 win.
Next up for the defending ACC champs is Notre Dame, against whom Uiaganlelei will make his second career start. Did they learn anything from the BC blueprint?
Wisconsin-Purdue
We have our second, and hopefully last, COVID cancellation of the week. The Badgers are reportedly up to 27 cases among players and staff, including head coach Paul Chryst. Athletic Director Barry Alvarez told ESPN that he’s not sure how the outbreak got started.
The Big Ten has stated that teams must play at least six games to be eligible to play in the Big Ten Championship this season. Any further cancellations would eliminate Wisconsin, currently ranked #10.
College Football Playoff
Oklahoma State loses to Texas, and just like that, the Big XII is almost certainly eliminated from CFP contention. The team to keep an eye on now is Cincinnati, currently at #6. Could this be the year the American Conference gets a team into the top four?
Schedule Updates
Florida Int’l-UTEP: Cancelled
Those are my Post-Halloween Midweek Musings. Stay safe and enjoy the rest of your week!
