Week 7- Winners, Losers

 

 

Through seven weeks and after another big day in the SEC, especially for Ole Miss and Mississippi State, the SEC West and the College Football Playoff goes through the state of Mississippi, not Alabama.  The Bulldogs take over the top spot in the polls with another strong showing against another team ranked in the top 10 at game time (LSU #8, A&M #6 & Auburn #2).  Their in-state counterpart, Ole Miss has a similar resume, defeating Alabama and A&M in back-to-back weeks. 

The rest of the top 10 went mostly according to plan in the win column, but scores were narrow across the board except for FSU.  Baylor narrowly defeated TCU.  Bama needed help from a missed PAT to beat Arkansas.  Michigan State and Notre Dame won close against Purdue and North Carolina, respectively.

One thing that has become very obvious to this point in the season is that there is no telling what will happen next.  For all the playoff prognostication, we’re a long way from determining the final four.

 

 

Winners

 

Baylor
The Bears got a big, big win on Saturday over a TCU team that beat OU the weekend before.  The win puts Baylor in the driver’s seat in the Big 12.  Art Briles has a lot of conference football left to play but this team has shown dynamic playmaking ability and resilience against, perhaps the best defense they’ll play this season.

 

Texas
I realize the Longhorns lost but they really showed some signs of life.  This team could easily have rolled over after going down 31-13 but they fought the whole game.  The defense played extremely well and quarterback Tyrone Swoopes started to make some plays down the stretch.  UT might not go bowling this year but the foundation is being laid for them to return to the top of college football sooner than later.

 

Oregon
The sky was falling on the Ducks heading into Saturday.  They were coming off a bad loss to Arizona and had turned in back-to-back duds.  Against UCLA on Saturday things started to look more Oregon-esk again.  Marcus Mariota got rolling and finished with 285 total yards and four touchdowns and the Ducks finished with 258 on the gournd.  Oregon is back on top of the North, for now, and has reminded us that Oregon is still Oregon.

 

Mississippi- The State
If anyone thought last week’s historic wins were just a flash-in-the-pan, the Bulldogs and Rebels followed up those performances with two more marquee wins over top SEC West opponents.  The wins put the Mississippi’s on top of the West and you can make a case for them being on top of all of college football.

 

 

Losers

 

UCLA
I think this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for with UCLA.  They’ve shown signs of major issues all season and it finally came tumbling down against Oregon.  Brett Hundley, despite a big day statistically, had key turnovers and the Bruins showed a lack of fight that a Pac-12 contender must have.  I wouldn’t make too much of the coach-on-coach blow-up on the sideline, that stuff happens.  The real problem for UCLA is on the field.  The offensive line stinks.  Brett Hundley turns the ball over at critical times and they lack consistent playmakers. 

 

Alabama
The Tide got the win on Saturday but for the second week in a row looked sluggish and unfocused.  The offense has been extremely bland since their 42-point outing against Florida and only managed 10 first downs and 227 yards of offense.  Blake Sims has looked very up and down for the second week in a row and the ground game was completely nonexistent with only 66 yards on 32 attempts.  Bama has some tricky games ahead and need to get this offense figured out in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.

 

Texas A&M
It’s pretty clear now that we completely overreacted to their opening day win over South Carolina.  In back-to-back weeks A&M has been exposed against top level competition.  This team is probably a top 25 squad but never really had any business in the top 10.

 

Cal
The bubble might have burst for the Bears.  After an impressive 4-1 start the Bears were drilled by a very good Washington defense and the real issue for Cal was exposed with their defense giving up 24 against a really iffy UW offense.  The remaining schedule is a who’s who of the Pac-12 with UCLA, Oregon, @ Oregon State and USC, Stanford and they finish the season at home against BYU. 

 

 

 

Players of the Week

 

Buck Allen, RB, USC

Allan carried the Trojans, running for 205 yards on 26 carries and had three touchdowns in SC’s win over Arizona on Saturday.  Allan has run for over 100 yards in five of USC’s six games this season and has totaled 781 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.  With the win, SC moves to 3-1 in conference play and they have the tie-breaker over Arizona in the South.

 

Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor
Petty delivered what looked like the backbreaker for Baylor when he threw a pick-six to Marcus Mallet that put TCU up 58-37 with just over 11 minutes.  Despite the three touchdown deficit, Petty and the Bears came roaring back, scoring 24-straight points to pull out a huge win over the Horned Frogs.  For the game, Petty thew for 510 yards and six touchdowns. 

 

Shaq Thompson, LB/RB, Washington
All Thompson does is score touchdowns.  The linebacker/running back had a 100 fumble return for a touchdown, giving him four defensive touchdowns on the season (three fumbles and an INT) and set the tone for Washington.

 

Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State
Prescott put together another solid effort against another second ranked team and firmly inserted himself at the top of the Heisman conversation.  Prescott threw for 246 and touchdown and ran for another 121 and two scores. 

 

 

Top 25 Picks Review

 

No. 1 Florida State 38, Syracuse 20
Line: FSU -23.5, O/U: 53.5
The Seminoles were efficient taking apart Syracuse on Saturday.  Jameis Winston led the offense in, perhaps their best game so far but the defense continues to… eh…

Jeremy- Florida State 41, Syracuse 13

Nick- FSU 48, Syracuse 17

 

No. 2 Auburn 23, No. 3 Mississippi State 38
Line: Aub -2.5, O/U: 64
This game came down to Mississippi State’s ability to capitalize on Auburns mistakes, and Auburns inability to do the same to Mississippi State.  Statistically, the game was almost even and each team turned the ball over four times.  The difference was the Tigers turned the ball over deep in their own territory on their first two possessions, spotting the Bulldogs 21-0.

Nick-Mississippi State 41, Auburn 38

Jeremy- Mississippi State 31, Auburn 27

 

No. 3 Ole Miss 35, No. 14 Texas A&M 20

Line: TAMU -2, O/U: 64.5
Ole Miss was all over A&M on Saturday and the game wasn’t nearly as close as the final score would indicate.  Another good win for the Rebels, but I think this also exposes a very overmatched Aggie squad.

Jeremy- Texas A&M 37, Ole Miss 34

Nick- Texas A&M 24, Ole Miss 20

 

No. 5 Baylor 61, No. 9 TCU 58

Line: BAY -7.5, O/U: 67
This was by far the most exciting game of the day.  TCU was able to keep the edge on Baylor and looked like they’d finally put the away with just over 11’ to play in the fourth, going up 58-37.  Bryce Petty and the Bears stormed back scoring 24 unanswered points to edge TCU and take control of the Big12. 

Jeremy- Baylor 31, TCU 27

Nick- TCU 31, Baylor 30

 

No. 6 Notre Dame 50, North Carolina 43

Line: ND -16, O/U: 64.5
This was a tough spot for the Notre Dame fresh off a win over Stanford and with FSU looming and the Irish showed it.  UNC matched Notre Dame nearly score for score and actually led going into the fourth quarter.  Quarterback Everett Golson was able to lead the offense on two scoring drives in the final period, going up 14 with 2:19 to play.  UNC scored again late but ran out of the time and the Irish head to Tallahassee next week at 6-0.

Jeremy- Notre Dame 37, UNC 20

Nick- Notre Dame 48, UNC 38

 

No. 7 Alabama 14, Arkansas 13

Line: BAMA -9, O/U: 56
Alabama did just about everything they could do to give this game to the Razorbacks.  The Tide had two turnovers, penalties and just generally poor play all day but were able to squeak out a win.  Alabama was only able to muster 10 first downs and 66 rushing yards in a very uninspired effort on Saturday.  That’s back-to-back lack-luster performances by Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide and could be a sign of things to come.
 
Jeremy- Alabama 37, Arkansas 17 
Nick- Alabama 38, Arkansas 27

 

 

No. 8 Michigan State 45, Purdue 31
Line: MSU -21, O/U: 51
This wasn’t Michigan State’s best effort but they kept a pesky Purdue team in check, holding off a late rally (they were within a score with under 2 minutes) to win their fifth game of the year and improve to 2-0 in the B1G.

Jeremy- Michigan State 44, Purdue 13

Nick- Michigan State 56, Purdue 17

 

 

USC 28, No. 10 Arizona 26
Line: USC -2.5, O/U: 68.5
SC blew the game open in the third, going up 28-13 and were able to hold off a 13-0 Arizona run in the fourth to come away with a close win after a missed chip-shot field goal.  Running back Buck Allen ran for 205 yards on 26 carries and had three of the Trojans four touchdowns.    

Jeremy- USC 37, Arizona 27

Nick- USC 45, Arizona 42

 

No. 11 Oklahoma 31, Texas 26

Line: OU -14.5, O/U: 47
Sometimes when things aren’t going your way it’s because you are your own worst enemy and that was the case for Texas on Saturday.  The Longhorns held OU to 29 total yards of offense at halftime yet trailed 17-13 thanks to a pick-six by OU corner Zack Sanchez and 91-yard kickoff return for touchdown by Alex Ross.  Despite the miscues, UT wouldn’t go away and battled back from a 31-13 deficit, with quarterback Tyrone Swoopes leading the ‘horns to two late scoring drives. 

Jeremy- Oklahoma 23, UT 20

Nick- Oklahoma 38, Texas 34

 

No. 12 Oregon 42, No. 18 UCLA 30

Line: ORE -2, O/U: 70.5
It was all Ducks all day in Pasadena.  The final score looks much closer than the game actually was (42-10 early in the fourth).  Marcus Mariota and the Oregon offense looked more like themselves against the Bruins, with 468 yards and 258 rushing. 

Jeremy- Oregon 24, UCLA 23 
Nick- UCLA 45, Oregon 42

 

No. 13 Georgia 34, No. 23 Missouri 0

Line: UGA -3, O/U: 60
SPLAT!!!  That’s Missouri falling flat on their face against a Georgia team that just lost its best player and a chance to make a big statement in the SEC East.  The hapless Tigers were held scoreless for the first time since 2002 and quarterback Maty Mauk finished 9/21 for 97 yards and four INT’s. 

Nick-Georgia 37, Missouri 34

Jeremy- Georgia 31, Missouri 23

 

No. 15 Ohio State (4-1), IDLE

Next game- Oct. 18 vs. Rutgers

 

No. 16 Oklahoma State 27, Kansas 20
Line: OKST -20.5, O/U: 50.5
To Oklahoma State’s defense, Lawrence is a tough place to play and the Jayhawks did just fire their head coach…  The Jayhawks made a late run after going down 20-7 at half and outscored the Cowboys 13-7 in the second half. 

Jeremy- Oklahoma State 40, Kansas 13

Nick- Oklahoma State 42, Kansas 10

 

                            

No. 17 Kansas State (4-1), IDLE
Next game- Oct. 18 @ Oklahoma

 

 

No. 19 East Carolina 28, South Florida 17
Line: ECU -16, O/U: 58
Things got pretty dicey for ECU in Tampa on Saturday and needed a late rally to beat the Bulls.  In the Pirates defense, the American is a grind from week to week…

Jeremy- ECU 43, USF 21
Nick- ECU 45, USF 24

 

 

No. 20 Arizona State (4-1), IDLE
Next game- Oct. 18 vs. Stanford

 

 

No. 21 Nebraska (5-1), IDLE
Next game- Oct. 18 @ Northwestern

 

Duke 31, No. 22 Georgia Tech 25
Line: GT -3.5, O/U: 58
Duke wins for the first time in 10 years against Georgia Tech and along the way collect their first ACC win.  Duke forced three turnovers and nearly equaled the Yellow Jackets in rushing yards going for 242 against 282.  Every win will count in the Coastal and this one could have a major impact come late November.

Jeremy- Georgia Tech 24, Duke 23

Nick- Georgia Tech 38, Duke 30

 

 

No. 24 Utah (4-1), IDLE
Next game- Thursday, Oct. 16 @ Oregon State

 

No. 25 Stanford 34, Washington State 17
Line: Stan -17, O/U: 52.5
This game played out pretty much like we thought, with the Stanford defense being the difference in the game.  The Cardinal were all over WSU quarterback Connor Halliday from start to finish, giving him no time to find receivers down field and Halliday was on his back most of the game.  The Stanford offense also played well (as does everyone against Wazzou) and Kevin Hogan has his best game of the season going for 284 yards and three touchdowns. 

Jeremy- Stanford 30, Washington State 17

Nick- Stanford 24, Washington State 20

               

 

 

Best of the Rest

 

LSU 30, Florida 27
Line: LSU -1, O/U: 47
“I think it’s the Les Miles thing to do here and get a win and a Will Muschamp thing to do to lose.”  Quote of the week.  Driskel had two bad picks and a fumble and LSU ran the football well against the Florida defense.  Freshman running back Leonard Fournette had 140 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries.

Jeremy- LSU 24, Florida 16
Nick- Florida 9, LSU 7

 

UMass 40, Kent State 17

Line: UMass -1.5
UMass was all over Kent State and the Minutemen get their first MAC win.

Jeremy- UMass 31, Kent State 17

Nick- Umass 34, Kent State 14

 

 

Boston College 30, NC State 14
Line: NCST -3.5, O/U: 56
“’The Former Florida Quarterbacks Who Transferred but Florida Would like Back Because They’re Both Better Than Jeff Driskel” Game.”  Tyler Murphy bested fellow former UF quarterback Jacoby Brissett on Saturday and the Eagles got a big road ACC Atlantic win.  Murphy threw for 101 but ran for 132 and two touchdowns with BC going for 310 total on the ground. 

Jeremy- NC State 27, BC 24

Nick- Boston College 17, NC State 14

 

Clemson 23, Louisville 17

Line: Clemson -9.5, O/U: 47.5
This was a hard fought ACC Atlantic game and the first ever meeting between Clemson and Louisville.  The question going into the season in this division was who would finish second to FSU.  Clemson took a big step with the win.  The loss of quarterback Deshaun Watson in the second quarter hurt the Tigers on Saturday and could spell trouble going forward. 

Jeremy- Clemson 38, L’ville 20

Nick- Clemson 41, L’ville 24

 

 

Washington 31, Cal 7
Line: Cal -3.5, O/U: 69.5
This is the game we’ve been waiting for all season from the Huskies.  Washington played well on both sides of the ball Saturday.  Quarterback, Cyler Miles had his best day as a Husky going 22/29 for 273 and three scores and LB/RB Shaq Thomspon had a 100-yard fumble return for a touchdown (his fourth defensive touchdown). 

Jeremy- Washington 34, Cal 30

Nick- Washington 48, Cal 41

 

Michigan 18, Penn State 13
Line: MICH -1, O/U: 40.5
It wasn’t pretty but the Wolverines got a big win over Penn State on Saturday and win they had to have to keep their bowl hopes alive and keep their coach on life-support.   
 
Jeremy- Michigan 27, Penn State 23
Nick- Penn State 27, Michigan 20

 

Hawaii 38, Wyoming 28
Line: Hawaii -5, O/U: 45.5
The surf and the sand was too much for the Pokes despite a 21-10 halftime lead.  Led by Ikaika Woolsey, who went 8/9 for 173 and two touchdowns, Hawaii outscored the Pokes 28-7 in the second half.

Jeremy- Wyoming 20, Hawaii 19

Nick- Wyoming 24, Hawaii 10

 

Against the spread:
Nick- 10/22
Jeremy- 11/22

 

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