It was a fun weekend with four Overtime games amongst the Top 25 teams, and we gained further clarity on the race to be part of the first expanded College Football Playoff field.
Week 7 Quick Hits
James Madison 39 Coastal Carolina 7 – The Dukes controlled the match-up of 4-1 Sun Belt teams. 222 rushing yards for JMU on 42 attempts.
Arizona State 27 Utah 19 – Disappointing result for the Utes, who fell to 1-2 in Big 12 play. Cam Rising had 3 picks. On the other hand, the Sun Devils are now 5-1 overall, and 2-1 in the Conference. Cam Skattebo ran for 158 yards on 22 carries, and scored twice.
Texas 34 Oklahoma 3 – The Longhorns dominated the Red River Rivalry. Quinn Ewers was back for his first game since September 14th. Texas held OU to 237 yards of offense, and they had 5 sacks. TE Gunnar Helm led Texas with 91 receiving yards.
Oregon 32 Ohio State 31 – The first match-up of these teams as conference foes. Oregon outscoring the Buckeyes 10-3 in the 4th for the win. Feels like these teams could see each other again, and maybe even twice more. The team stats were nearly equal, though Ohio State had 8 penalties to Oregon’s 3. Also Oregon averaged 5.0 yards per carry to OSU’s 4.3, and 14.8 yards per reception to OSU’s 11.6.
Penn State 33 USC 30 OT – This was a fun game, with USC unable to hold their 20-6 halftime lead. USC’s Miller Moss was limited to 220 yards, while Penn State’s Drew Allar had 391 (though he was picked 3 times). Nittany Lions TE Tyler Warren had 17 catches for 224 yards and a score! Penn State is now 6-0 overall, and 3-0 in league play. Their home game vs. Ohio State on Nov. 2nd, will be the lone game on their schedule where they’re not favored.
Georgia 41 Mississippi State 31 – The good Bulldogs led the bad Bulldogs 34-10 before the final margin got a bit closer. Carson Beck threw for 459 yards. Four Georgia players had at-least 5 receptions. Zero sacks for Georgia? Trevor Etienne, and Nate Frazier combined for a pretty pedestrian 21 carries for 78 yards.
Alabama 27 South Carolina 25 – The Tide are very talented. Kalen DeBoer is a quality coach. This isn’t a vintage Nick Saban Alabama team. South Carolina was 7 of 15 on 3rd down. They outgained Alabama 374-313. South Carolina was in near position to win this game, and they had 4 turnovers.
Tennessee 23 Florida 17 OT – Florida dominated time of possession, and outgained the Volunteers. Billy Napier deserves some credit for having Florida even being competitive here, given what the Gators looked liked at the start of the year. Dylan Sampson had 3 TD and 112 yards on 27 carries for Tennessee.
LSU 29 Ole Miss 26 OT – The Tigers improved to 5-1 overall, and 2-0 in the SEC with their OT win over the Rebels. Ole Miss was 11 of 22 on 3rd down, and lost. One reason they lost is that LSU had 6 sacks. Garrett Nussmeier had 51 attempts, and 337 yards (3 TD’s, 2 picks). Ole Miss is now 1-2 in SEC play.
Clemson 49 Wake Forest 14 – Clemson continues to roll, and are now 5-1 overall, and 4-0 on ACC play. Cade Klubnik has 17 TD’s, against 2 picks on the year.
Notre Dame 47 Stanford 7 – The Irish had 477 yards of total offense, and are now 5-1 overall. Navy and Army are both ranked and on ND’s remaining schedule. That could end up being a good thing for ND.
Iowa State 28 West Virginia 16 – The Cyclones are 6-0, 3-0 in the Big 12. The only ranked team on their remaining schedule is Kansas State in the season final. They held the ball for 33 minutes vs. the Mountaineers. Iowa State was 9 of 14 on 3rd down (WVU was 9 of 13).
BYU 41 Arizona 19 – The Cougars are also 6-0, and 3-0 in the Big 12. BYU scored 24 points on 4 takeaways.
Boise State 28 Hawaii 7 – Ashton Jeanty had 217 yards on 31 carries. For the year, he now has 1,248 yards, 17 TD’s, and is averaging 9.9 yards per carry. The Broncos are 5-1 overall, 2-0 in the Mountain West.
Kansas State 31 Colorado 28 – The Buffaloes had negative 29 yards rushing on 19 attempts. K-State finished with 6 sacks.
Illinois 50 Purdue 49 OT – I guess Illinois gets credit for winning; but they allowed 46 points in the 2nd half and OT. This is a Purdue team which lost 66-7 to Notre Dame, and 52-6 to Wisconsin. Illinois has to be disappointed with their defensive effort.
Week 8 Games Of Note
Miami at Louisville – The Cardinals are given a 44.7% chance of winning according to ESPN’s Match-up Predictor. The 6-0 Hurricanes are coming off a bye. There are no ranked teams on Miami’s remaining schedule. This is maybe the most difficult game left on the Hurricane’s slate.
Alabama at Tennessee – Bama is a 2.5 point favorite to get the road win. Both teams are 5-1 overall, 2-1 in SEC play. Suffering a 2nd loss won’t eliminate the chances of either team, but the margin of error will get very thin. Alabama still has LSU on their schedule. Tennessee still Georgia on their schedule.
Notre Dame at Georgia Tech – The Irish are 11 point favorites here. The Yellow Jackets are 5-2, and have won their last two.
LSU at Arkansas – Arkansas is 4-2, coming off a bye. Before the bye, they had the big win vs. Tennessee. ESPN’s Match-up Predictor gives LSU a 54.2% chance of winning.
Georgia at Texas – #1 Texas, is 6-0 overall, 2-0 in the SEC. #5 Georgia is 5-1, 3-1 in league play. The Bulldogs are 3.5 point dogs. ESPN’s Match-up Predictor is giving Texas a 76.2% chance of winning. After this game, Georgia still has rivalry games vs. Florida and Georgia Tech, along with games at Ole Miss, and vs. Tennessee. How many games has Georgia played the last 5 years where they entered as the underdog?
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.