Four of the Power Five conferences are now back in regular competition, giving college football more great games to watch, new draft prospects to track and more great games to watch. Could Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State crash the contenders for the College Football Playoff? Here are my highlights of the week…
The Big 10 is back
No.18 Michigan 49-24 No.21 Minnesota
Appropriately, in Black History Month, this game saw the first all-black officiating team in any Power Five game in history. I had previewed this game on Ninety-Nine Yards and thought Minnesota might record a famous win. I was wrong. Michigan’s offensive line dominated as the Wolverines ran for five touchdowns and 253 yards. Zach Charbonnet set the tone with an early 30-yard score. Their defense stifled Minnesota, sacking QB Tanner Morgan five times. Jim Harbaugh unveiled Joe Milton, the first quarterback he has recruited in his tenure at Ann Arbor. Milton, a big dual threat gunslinger has been compared to Cam Newton and his management of the game in his first start was impressive. Harbaugh commented: “He was as cool as a cucumber, he handled it with aplomb.”
No.8 Penn State 35-36 Indiana (2OT)
The Hoosiers didn’t read the script as they beat Penn State after in the upset of the day. Indiana QB Michael Penix Jr. dived for the corner on a two-point conversion that proved to be the winning play in the second period of overtime. Penn State, previously tipped as a real contender for the Big 10 title, missed two field goals and have a mountain to climb to return to contention in a shortened eight-game season. Nittany Lions QB Sean Clifford threw for three touchdowns and ran for 119 yards. Penn State have a huge game against Ohio State next season to rescue their season. Indiana snapped a 41-game losing streak against AP top 10 ranked teams and face Rutgers next.
Nebraska 17-52 No.5 Ohio State
Buckeyes QB Justin Fields outlined his credentials for the Heisman Trophy with an impressive showing against the Cornhuskers. Fields threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 20 of 21 passes – a 95% completion rate which was the best in a single game in history by an Ohio State quarterback. The Buckeyes looked a little rusty but look the most likely to challenge Clemson and Alabama this year. Their thrashing of Nebraska was their thirteenth double digit win over Big 10 opposition.
Rutgers 38-27 Michigan State
The Scarlet Knights opened the season with two interceptions in an upset win, their first in the Big 10 since November 2017.
In the SEC…
No.2 Alabama 48-17 Tennessee
The Crimson Tide moved to 5-0 with a ruthless display against the Volunteers. Alabama lost Jaylen Waddle early on to an ACL injury which puts him out for the season. John Metchie filled in seamlessly, catching 7 passes for 151 yards. Mac Jones continues his run for the Heisman, passing for 387 yards and Najee Harris rushed for three touchdowns. He now has 14 rushing touchdowns for the season, leading the nation.
South Carolina 24-52 LSU
After a stuttering star, the national champions are finally finding some form. Having lost Myles Brennan to injury, freshman TJ Finley made an impact. The 6’6” quarterback completed 17 of 21 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns.
Auburn 35-28 Ole Miss
Three defeats in a row now for Mississippi as Auburn hit their stride following a disappointing loss to South Carolina. QB Bo Nix and WR Seth Williams found their rhythm after a fractious outing last week as Auburn got back on track.
The Big 12 – preseason favourites back on track
No.17 Iowa State 21-24 No.6 Oklahoma State
In the battle between the two top ranked teams in the Big 12, Oklahoma State edged out a battling Iowa State team to go 4-0. Spencer Sanders returned at quarterback for the Cowboys and was supported by Chuba Hubbard who rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown. Breece Hall had a big game for the Cyclones, rushing for 185 yards.
Oklahoma 33-14 TCU
The Sooners moved to 3-2 with a good win over TCU. Spencer Rattler threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns. He is forming a strong understanding with freshman receiver Marvin Mims which could form the cornerstone of the Oklahoma offense for the next two or three years.
Baylor 16-27 Texas
The Longhorns snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over state rivals Baylor. Texas QB Sam Ehlinger could be the most influential on-field leader in college football. He has quite literally dragged Texas through games this season. He rushed for two touchdowns, passed for another and 270 yards.
Across to the ACC…
Syracuse 21-47 No.1 Clemson
The Orange looked they might make an early fight of this against the top-ranked Tigers. Syracuse picked off Trevor Lawrence for the first pick-six of his career. Normal service resumed as Travis Etienne rushed for 3 touchdowns and Clemson won their 38th straight regular season game.
No.3 Notre Dame 45-3 Pittsburgh
The Fighting Irish face Clemson next weekend where the loser likely could drop out of contention for the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame were ruthless against Pittsburgh. Having held Louisville to single digits last week, the Panthers managed just a field goal. QB Ian Book had more rushing touchdowns prior to this game but threw for three scores and 312 yards. He remains one of the most underrated quarterbacks in college football.
No.23 North Carolina State 21-48 No.14 North Carolina
The Tar Heels hunted down the Wolfpack in Chapel Hill after a disappointing loss to Florida State last weekend. North Carolina ran for 326 yards with RB Javonte Williams being the standout, 160 yards and 3 touchdowns from him.
No. 19 Virginia Tech 16-23 Wake Forest
Hokies QB Hendon Hooker threw three interceptions, all to Wake Forest DB Nick Andersen who had a career performance, more incredible as he was a walk-on at the Demon Deacons.
Elsewhere…
No.9 Cincinnati look better each week. Their defense throttled Shane Buechele and No.16 SMU 42-13 as Bearcats QB Desmond Ridder ran for 179 yards. The Mountain West also returned to college football, Boise State beat Utah State 42-13 on their famous blue turf. No.21 Marshall moved to 5-0 with a 20-9 win over Florida Atlantic, freshman QB threw for 251 yards and 2 touchdowns. No.12 BYU moved to 6-0 with a 52-14 rout of Texas State. QB Zach Wilson is a dark horse for the Heisman and continued to impress with four touchdown passes. Northwestern opened their Big Ten account with a 43-3 thrashing of conference rivals Maryland and Iowa lost their opener in a 24-20 upset loss to Purdue.
Look out for:
BT Sport ESPN are showing Memphis @ No.7 Cincinnati and LSU at Auburn in the SEC followed by the Big 10 showdowns between No.3 Ohio State and No.18 Penn State and Minnesota @ Maryland rolling into the early hours of Sunday. Also, in the Big 10, No.13 Michigan and Michigan State contest the Paul Bunyan Trophy and No.6 Oklahoma State travel to Austin to face Texas in what is likely to be a shootout.
Here’s this week’s AP Top 25 with some big changes after the arrival of the Big 10 (previous week in brackets):
Rank Team
1 (1) Clemson
2 (2) Alabama
3 (5) Ohio State
4 (3) Notre Dame
5 (4) Georgia
6 (6) Oklahoma State
7 (9) Cincinnati
8 (7) Texas A&M
9 (14) Wisconsin
10 (10) Florida
11 (12) BYU
12 (11) Miami
13 (18) Michigan
14 (13) Oregon
15 (14) North Carolina
16 (20) Kansas State
17 (-) Indiana
18 (8) Penn State
19 (22) Marshall
20 (25) Coastal Carolina
21 (24) USC
22 (16) SMU
23 (17) Iowa State
24 (-) Oklahoma
25 (-) Boise State
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