I am scrapping the "fake" Heisman watch method of reporting about last week's college football season, as even I tired of me making fun of how tiring it is listening to talking heads talk about the Heisman. I am going to try out my pro-football recap format with some more college related topics as well.
Game of the Week
UCLA 67 - Washington State 63. This game was not just the game of the week because of the high score and the fact that it was close, but it was how the game progressed. Washington State raced to a 35-17 halftime lead, and UCLA came storming back by scoring 50 points - IN THE SECOND HALF. Anthony Gordon threw for 570 yards and 9 TDs, including 4 to receiver Easop Winston, Jr. - AND LOST! Bruin receiver Chase Cota gained 147 yards receiving, AND DIDN'T EVEN LEAD HIS OWN TEAM! Thirteen different players entered the endzone, including a kick return and punt return for UCLA.
Best Team Performance
Wisconsin Badgers. They thoroughly dominated the Michigan Wolverines at home, as they raced to a 35-0 lead against the higher ranked Wolverines. Jonathan Taylor rushed for 203 yards on 23 carries, pacing a 399 team rushing performance that reminded Michigan's defense of, well, Army. Wisconsin cemented itself as the toughest competition for Ohio State in the Big 10, not Michigan.
Least Impressive Team Performance
Arkansas. The easy answer would have been Tennessee, and I saw their decrepit performance live at Florida field as they laid a 34-3 egg against the Gators. It was so bad that walking down the street after the stadium, a group of Tennessee fans that were waiting until the last possible minute to leave a tailgate parking facility (presumably to let traffic calm down and not to keep drinking), were cheering and taunting Florida fans that the Gators actually gave up a field goal, including a pantomine of the kick. Brilliant self-trolling. But alas, along came fellow SEC member Arkansas, who then lost, at home mind you, 31-24 to San Jose State, and this was even though Arkansas scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to cut into the Spartans lead. Arkansas gave up 402 passing yards to Josh Love. What do you think Tua, Joe Burrow and Kelly Bryant are thinking? Forget thinking I am sure they are salivating! To make matters worse, the Razorbacks paid San Jose State $1.5 million to play this game.
Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)
Jonathan Taylor, RB - Wisconsin Badgers. The aforementioned Taylor rushed for 203 yards on only 23 carries, and scored 2 TDs early against the Wolverines, to basically take their soul as Wisconsin rushed, literally, to a 35-0 lead. Because the award is QB-centric and because of the likes of Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagavailoa and Trevor Lawrence, Taylor may not win the Heisman, but he is better than all of them.
Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Evan Weaver, ILB - California Bears. This one wasn't even close. Weaver made 22 tackes, including 11 solo (out of a total of 79!). In that total was 1/2 sack, 2 QB hurries, and, oh yeah - a goal line stop as time expired to preserve the 28-20 victory at Mississippi! This is the single most impressive defensive performance since Buffalo's Khalil Mack in a losing effort at Ohio State in 2013.
Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)
James Stefanou, K - Colorado Buffaloes. Stefanou's field goal with 2:02 left gave Colorado a 34-31 lead they would not relinquish, to help lead the Buffaloes to their first win over a ranked opponent in 17 years. Stefanou's kick was necessary, as Colorado was being depleted by injury, after losing their best two players in the first quarter, and various other players as the game progressed. I am not sure they would have lasted through overtime.
Goat of the Week
Aaron Mathews, WR and Kenny Pickett, QB - Pittsburgh Panthers. Mathews threw a touchdown pass to quarterback Pickett on a "Pitt Special" version of the "Philly Special" to defeat the two-time defending national champions and undefeated UCF Knights (Please note sarcasm.) How are they goats? Well, as much as I hate that uppity Knight fans legitimately think their team is a top-notch level championship contender, this Pitt Special took away the argument that they are not. And, although I love being proved right, part of sports is that we get to argue, and that argument is no over. On the other hand, UCF fans did learn what it is like to play in a good conference, where even the average teams prove tough, especially at home, when you have to play them week-in-and-week-out. Coming off an impressive performance at home over Stanford, UCF traveled to Pittsburgh only to get beat. This is what it is like in a real conference, even though Stanford is way down by its standards and Pittsburgh is just a good team (almost beat Penn State). Imagine say, being in the SEC West where Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State call home. Even Mississippi gave undefeated Cal a run. This is what you should aspire to UCF, but you are not there yet. Your skill position players can play with anyone; you do not have the strength in the trenches or the depth - yet. You are on your way, though.
Breakthrough Performance
Michael Pittman, Jr., WR - USC Trojans. We have seen flashes from Pittman, but nothing like this against a quality opponent. Ten catches, for 232 yards and 1 TD in the Trojans 30-23 defeat of #10 Utah. Pittman's yards were much needed as USC's team rushing total for the entire game was 13 yards.
Finally
A.J. Dillon, RB - Boston College Eagles, We have seen this before from potential All-American Dillon, but I have been waiting for him to just take control of a game. He did that in BC's 30-16 victory over Rutgers by carrying the ball 32 times for 150 yards and 2 TDs. Dillon's toughness are going to determine which bowl game BC attends, and which ACC teams they Eagles can upset.
Impact Injury
Zack Moss, RB - Utah Utes. Moss, a potential All-American, injured his shoulder and the effects of this injury were shown immediately, as Utah missed his presence in a 30-23 loss to USC. Moss, usually the feature back in Utah's offense, left after only 6 carries. If he misses significant time, this could effect the entirety of the Pac-12, as Utah, then ranked 10th in the country, was one of the few teams that could challenge the other Big Five teams for a college football playoff spot.
Team Rising
Team Falling
Goat of the Week (Player Edition)
Being at the Florida-Tennessee game honestly meant that I could not see much of a lot of other games, so no goat of the week for the players this year as I cannot adequately assess this category.
Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)
Jim Harbaugh - Michigan. It is possible that Michigan just doesn't have the talent to run with Wisconsin. But, from the standpoint of watching the game and its outcome, Michigan just wasn't ready, and a lot of that blame has to rest with the coach.
Player(s) to Watch
Being at the Florida-Tennessee game honestly meant that I could not see much of a lot of other games, so no goat of the week for the players this year as I cannot adequately assess this category.
Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)
Jim Harbaugh - Michigan. It is possible that Michigan just doesn't have the talent to run with Wisconsin. But, from the standpoint of watching the game and its outcome, Michigan just wasn't ready, and a lot of that blame has to rest with the coach.
Anthony Gordon - QB - Washington State Cougars. Yes they lost 67-63, but Gordon threw for 570 yards and 9 TDs! For the season, Gordon has passed for 1,894 yards and 21 TDs in ONLY 4 GAMES. As a senior, it is interesting to see how the quarterback he replaced, Gardner Minshew, II, is performing as the starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars, which is pretty well. Could the NFL be in Gordon's future?
My New Favorite Player
D'Eriq King, QB - Houston Cougars. Partly because of the trivia question, this week, and partly because this multi-talented dual-threat quarterback is hard to contain, even though the Houston offense is lacking in playmakers besides King. But, mostly because King, a senior, is taking the rest of the season off after a 1-3 start in order to redshirt and come back with a hopefully more productive roster next year after he has graduated. The you can play 4 games and redshirt rule is so that young players don't waste a season of eligibility just because of a 1 game injury to an upperclassman and so coaches can play some freshman sparingly just to give them some action without losing a year of eligibility. But, King is taking full advantage of this rule on the back-end of his college career when his senior year is not going as planned, and I commend him for it.
Players of the Week (Just Week 2)
5. Kellen Mond, QB - Texas A&M Aggies - A more than commendable 31-49 for 335 ad 2 TDs in the Aggies loss to Auburn.
4. Michael Pittman, Jr., WR - USC Trojans. See above.
3. Evan Weaver, ILB - California Bears. See above.Dillon Gabriel - QB - UCF - Gabriel had a phenomenal game as UCF soundly defeated Stanford. Gabriel was 22-30 for 347 yards and 4 TDs.
2. Anthony Gordon , QB - Washington State Cougars. See above.
1. Jonathan Taylor, RB - Wisconsin Badgers. See above.
Predicted Playoffs/Championship Match Ups
Alabama (1) v. Clemson (4)/ (2) Ohio State v. (3) Oklahoma
I have shuffled the rankings, but still have the same four teams. This is how I feel things are now, not a prediction on the future, especially since the SEC West is a loaded gauntlet for anyone, even Alabama. Georgia is also lurking in the east. Wisconsin is looking strong, also.
Remaining Unbeatens
Alabama, Appalachian State, Auburn, Baylor, Boise State, California, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas State, LSU, Memphis, Minnesota, Navy, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, SMU, UAB, Virginia, Wake Forest, Wisconsin
Remaining Winless Teams
Akron, New Mexico State, UMass, Rice, Vanderbilt
Rant(s) of the Week
Targeting. Still targeting. Listen, I am not opposed to this penalty in general. I am not a "this is not real football" person. But, we have to somehow better define this rule.
Last Week's Trivia Answer
The question was: With Tagovailoa returning to college after finishing second in the Heisman Trophy race in 2018, how many players have finished second for the Heisman Trophy returned to win the Heisman the following year? Name them.
The answer is 4: Tom Harmon (Michigan - 1939); Glenn Davis (Army - 1945); O.J. Simpson (USC 1967): and Herschel Walker (Georgia 1981). Interestingly, Glenn Davis finished second in 1943 AND 1944.
6. Brown v. Harvard - Harvard starts its campaign toward the Ivy League crown after a tough cross-country defeat at San Diego. Brown comes off a narrow 35-30 victory over Bryant.
5. Navy v. Memphis - The winner remains undefeated and takes control of the American Conference (not UCF - for now).
4. Arizona State v. California - Only a last minute field goal by Colorado has kept this from becoming a battle of undefeateds as Herman Edwards brings his team to Berkeley to take on a tough Bears football team hot off their win at Mississippi.
3. Mississippi State v. Auburn - Mississippi State is coming off its win against Kentucky, which looked tough the week before against Florida. Auburn is undefeated after beating a tough Texas A & M squad.
2. USC v. Washington - Another big Pac-12 matchup as the #21 ranked Trojans travel to UW to take on the #17 ranked Huskies.
1. Virginia v. Notre Dame - The 18th ranked Cavaliers travel to South Bend to face off against the Fighting Irish, still ranked #10 after their close defeat at Georgia last week. Virginia is certainly for real if they pull this game off (the are a very good team regardless).
Trivia Question of the Week
On Saturday during Houston's 38-31 loss to Tulane, Cougars' quarterback D'Eriq King set an NCAA record with 15 straight games with both a passing and a rushing touchdown, breaking whose record?
On Saturday during Houston's 38-31 loss to Tulane, Cougars' quarterback D'Eriq King set an NCAA record with 15 straight games with both a passing and a rushing touchdown, breaking whose record?
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