Week Six Florida’s Defense Makes A Statement
Week Six saw the top two teams in the AP and coaches’ polls on bye weeks, which allowed the other contenders the chance to make up ground and none of them was ever in trouble with LSU, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Wisconsin all winning comfortably.
The big game of the night ended with “advantage Florida” as their defense took control with a 24-13 victory over Auburn. The Tigers played their part on that side of the ball too, however, QB Bo Nix had a night to forget, throwing three interceptions, and at times looking completely out of his depth. His worst moment was when taking a 22-yard sack to move them out of field goal range with the score still at 13-17. They still have to face LSU, Georgia & Alabama, so they still have their destiny in their own hands, but it could also end up being a disappointing season if they play like this against them. Florida travels to LSU next week in what will be a crunch week, with Oklahoma also playing Texas so two teams will probably find their playoff hopes dashed.
Overall three top 25 ranked teams had to lose in week six given the matchups, however, six ended up losing, and in doing so one effectively ended the PAC 12’s playoff hopes.
So 16 teams still remain unbeaten and the top 25 should see a few of these enter it this week.
How did our predictions go?
Well, sort of ok, 12-4 straight up and 10-6 against the spread.
AP Top 25 Results
No 18 UCF 24 Cincinnati 27
The UCF story had to come to an end sometime and now at 4-2 on the season the probability of both a third consecutive AAC Championship and third consecutive New Year Bowl looks remote. Cincinnati’s wen also snapped the Black Knights record of scoring at least 30 points in 31 consecutive games, the longest FBS streak since 1936. Giving away four turnovers on the road will soon see you in a hole and it was a late TD & 2pt conversion that make the game look so close. The Bearcats only loss so far has been to OSU and a win at Houston next time up could se them knocking on the door of the AP top 25.
Kent St. 0 @ No 8 Wisconsin 48
A routine win for the Badgers who cruised to 5-0 and in doing so shut their opponents out for the third time this season. Jonathan Taylor had a career night rushing for 4 TDs and catching one to for good measure. Everything is setting up nicely for what could end up a winner takes all clast with Ohio State on October 26th – one for the diary.
No 14 Iowa 3 @ No 19 Michigan 10
As the score suggests this was a defensive slugfest with neither team able to move the ball with any consistency. Iowa’s running game was a complete non-event mustering one yard total, and although QB Nate Stanley gained some yards his three interceptions pretty much summed up a night when offense seemed optional. Michigan won by running the ball when they had it and not turning it over. Both are 4-1 but neither looks anywhere near good enough to challenge the contenders this year.
No 6 Oklahoma 45 @ Kansas 20
For a few minutes in the first quarter it looked like Oklahoma might have a game on their hands with Kansas taking a 7-0 lead. However, that was short-lived, and the Sooners responded by putting up 42 unanswered points. They took their foot off the gas in the Fourth Quarter which allowed the Jayhawks to make the score seem more respectable than it was. Jalen Hurts threw another 4 TDs which will do his Heisman chances no harm.
Purdue 7 @ No 12 Penn St. 35
Penn State looked impressive both sides of the ball in this one with their defense registering 10 sacks, while holding Purdue to 104 net yards of offense; including -19 rushing! QB Sean Clifford had another 3 TD night but did throw an interception for the second game running. Still, the O-Line seems to be coming together and he has only taken one sack now in the last two games, after taking six in the earlier games. Purdue will probably struggle to reach bowl eligibility now. The crowd turned out for this one with the official attendance given as 106,536 – just 36 short of full capacity!
No 21 Oklahoma St. 35 @ Texas Tech 45
OSU’s stay in the top 25 will be brief following this surprise loss. A great game for the neutral with nearly 1100 yards of offense and 10 TDs, however, the result was never really in doubt after TTU ran up a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter. This result sort of takes the gloss off of what looked like a big win for Texas recently which makes their match up with Oklahoma an elimination game now. Both of these teams should make bowl eligibility now.
Utah State 6 @ No 5 LSU 42
This was a pretty impressive performance by LSU, who won without really breaking a sweat against one of the best sides in the Mountain West. QB Joe Burrows looks like setting a number of records this year, having already become the first Tigers QB to pass for 300 yards in four consecutive games. His next targets before he heads off to the NFL are most TD passes (he needs 7 more) and passing yards, for which he will need to average 212 a game. This looks well within reach despite having all-conference games left to play. Utah State played well enough in flashes, and they won’t face a team of this calibre again this year.
No 11 Texas 42 @ West Virginia 31
This was a contest right up until the fourth quarter when the Longhorns took advantage of two consecutive interceptions which resulted inn 14 points. WVU QB Austin Kendall had an up and down night throwing for 367 yards and 3 TDs, but also throwing 4 interceptions, thee of which ended up as 7 points for Texas.
Bowling Green 0 @ No 9 Notre Dame 52
Notre Dame QB Ian Book threw more TDs than incomplete passes (5-4) as the Irish coasted past Bowling Green. Not much more to say really.
No 7 Auburn 13 @ No 10 Florida 24
As mentioned above this was a meeting of two really good defences who cause eight turnovers between them (a nice even 4-4). The game was won in the end by Florida because their QB handled the pressure better. Still, Bo Nix is a Freshman so he can be forgiven.
No 3 Georgia 43 @ Tennessee 14
Georgia made light work of their SEC rivals despite briefly falling behind at the start of the second quarter. They went on to rack up 30 unanswered points. Given their win over Notre Dame, you could make a case for the Bulldogs being ranked No 2 or even No1. November’s game against Florida should pretty much decide the SEC East
No 25 Michigan St. 10 @ No 4 Ohio St. 34
Another commanding performance by the Buckeyes who never looked troubles at any stage in this one. This is their best win which is why they will probably remain No 4 in the rankings.
Tulsa 37 @ No 24 SMU 43 (3 OT)
What a great game for the neutral with SMU coming back from 21 points down to clinch it in triple OT. Having watched the game I am confident that any of the playoff contenders would shred the SMU secondary, so we can forget any thoughts of them getting into the playoff conversation, however, they are 6-0 for the first time since 1982 and the fairy-tale continues for another week. Plus, they are bowl eligible now whatever happens.
California 7 @ No 13 Oregon 17
Oregon was anything but impressive against the Bears trailing at the interval and only making the game safe in the fourth quarter. Justin Herbert looked anything but a Heisman candidate in this one and with Washington and Auburn both losing, even winning out won’t be enough (barring a miracle) for the Ducks to get a look in on the playoff conversation.
No 15 Washington 13 @ Stanford 23
Washington’s minuscule chance of figuring in the playoff conversation ended with a disappointing performance at Stanford, who ran the ball at will against the Huskies front four. RB Cameron Scarlett had a career night with 151 yards and a TD from 33 carries, and this allowed the Cardinal’s to control the clock.
No 16 Boise St 38 @ UNLV 13
Boise cruised to 5-0 against their admittedly inferior conference rivals, and the contest was pretty much over by half time. The Boise defense was flawless in the first half forcing six punts and a turnover on downs. Offensively they looked efficient if not spectacular, and QB Hank Bachmeier had no interceptions for the second game running. They remain in pole position for the Group of Five place in the Cotton Bowl.
Racking them up
Again not that many high scoring teams this week (outside of the top 25) but a couple of note were:
Georgia State Panthers 52 Arkansas State Redwolves 38
The Panthers racked up 722 yards of offense (including 340 yards rushing) against what was pre-season anyway expected by many to be one of the strongest programmes in the Sun Belt. It was still a 3 point game going into the fourth quarter before two late Destin Coates TD runs iced the game.
Memphis Tigers 52 – UL Monroe Warhawks 33
This one was a bit more balance yardage wise with ULM actually outgaining Memphis 575 yards to 535 offensively. Although the Tigers were never behind this was a one-score game going into the fourth quarter, before a pick-six pretty much ended the contest. ULM further shot themselves in the foot by giving away 114 yards in penalties. Memphis are 5-0 and are still alive in the race for the Cotton Bowl place – however, they will need to sort out that defense if they are to have a chance.
Entertaining Game of the Week
Well that SMU game had to come into consideration and for nail-biting suspense, Ohio’s 21-20 OT win over Buffalo would take some beating, but the game we could watch again armed with Beer & Pizza, of course, would be…
Virginia Tech 42 @ Miami 35
What a game with VT racing into a 28-0 lead only to see Miami come charging back to tie the game at 35-35, this despite turning the ball over five times with starting QB Jarren Williams throwing three picks in seven attempts! You have to feel for his replacement N’Kosi Perry who came in and threw for 422 yards and four TD’s, however, the damage had already been done. If you looked at the stats before the score you would never guess the result as Miami had 563 yards of offense to VT’s 337 and 27 first downs to the Hokies 17. If you can find the game on catch up give it a watch.
Performance of the Week
Last week we gave the award to Duke – for ironically giving Virginia Tech their worst home loss since 1974, so for double irony, we are going with Pittsburgh this week who you guessed it won a crazy one at Duke.
Pittsburgh 33 @ Duke 30
The Panthers needed to win this one to keep their hopes of defending their ACC Coastal title and when they raced into a 26-3 lead early in the third quarter they looked home and hosed. However, a subsequent comedy of errors saw that lead evaporate and they went into the final minute trailing by 4 points. Then Kenny Pickett made up for his errors orchestrating an 82-yard drive to seal the win with a 26 yard TD pass. The Panthers are now 4-2 but trail Virginia in the division on the head to head.
One you might have missed
Minnesota 40 Illinois 17
With the minimum of fanfare Minnesota find themselves 5-0 and put in a solid performance against an admittedly fairly average Illinois side. Still racking up 322 yards rushing is no mean feat, and even better their defense held them to 248 total yards. They have some tough games later in the season, but we wouldn’t be too surprised to see them at 8-0 and ranked top 20 by the time they face Penn State in November.
Looking Good
Baylor. Another team who has quietly racked up a 5-0 record, and they have a couple of nice Big 12 wins too. They have four winnable games coming up and could go into the decisive home clashes with Oklahoma & Texas top of the Big 12. As strange as it sounds saying this Baylor has a potential path to the playoffs in front to them.
Honourable mention has to go to Tulane who snapped Army’s Fifteen game home winning streak with their 42-33 win. They are 4-1 and their only loss has been to Auburn.
Still Unbeaten
Not many now and the odd surprise among them.
In The AAC – Memphis & SMU
In The ACC – Clemson & Wake Forest
In The Big 12 – Baylor & Oklahoma
In The Big 10 – Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin & Minnesota
In The Mountain West – Boise State
In The SEC – Florida, Georgia, Alabama & LSU
In The Sun Belt – Appalachian State
Now 16 left and this will shrink further next week with Florida taking on LSU.
Looking for a win
Well, the Minutemen got off of this list with their win in the battle of the 0-4s last week so only three teams still have that dreaded zero in the win column.
In C-USA – Rice moved to 0-6 with a 35-20 loss at UAB
FBS Independent – New Mexico State also slid to 0-6 win a narrow 20-13 loss. They were tied at 13-13 deep into the fourth quarter and could have forced OT but fumbled on the 8-yard line when trying to tie things up late.
