Last week, college football took a surprising turn, especially at the end of the Ohio State and Oregon game. Colorado did what Colorado does, blowing late leads and causing defensive breakdowns. Not far behind them was USC, following suit and losing in disappointing fashion at home. Here’s how it went down, plus a look ahead to this week’s games.
College Football Saturday Spotlight Recap: Ohio State at Oregon
It was a sloppy game to start for both programs. Oregon was struggling early with their special teams; a botched snap on an extra point that was nearly returned for a score and then a shanked field goal.
For Ohio State, it was turning the ball over on their side of the field after a great play by Derrick Harmon to take it away from Quinshon Judkins. However, we were treated to a great matchup once both teams settled.
Oregon kept their foot on the gas, as Dan Lanning was pulling out all the stops in the first half. An aggressive call for an onside kick in the second quarter stole possession to take an early 15-14 lead.
It was a rough night for Denzel Burke. He was on the receiving end of many big plays for Dillon Gabriel and the Oregon offense; and speaking of Gabriel, he had a great game. He threw the ball deep well and made good choices on when to pull the ball on zone reads, as we saw on his 27-yard touchdown run on third down to start the fourth quarter.
Oregon then mismanaged the clock, on what could have been a game-winning drive for Ohio State. Yet they were bailed out by some questionable circumstances.
Quarterback Will Howard taking a sack on 1st and 10 was puzzling. It’s unclear if he slipped, but it cost Ohio State precious time, which was a prelude to what happened later. A freshman mistake by Jeremiah Smith to draw the pass interference put Ohio State behind the sticks, but Will Howard running the clock out and holding the timeout in their pocket is mismanagement by Howard, and head coach Ryan Day. It was a good win for the Ducks, and luckily for Ohio State, with new rules, they may see Oregon again.
Recap of the Upset: Pick Kansas State at Colorado
In the lead-up to the game, Colorado needed to find a way to minimize Brendan Mott’s impact on the game. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to do so.
Mott got to Shedeur Sanders for two sacks and stopped a promising drive to tie the game late in the first half. Kansas State’s offense was balanced, thanks to DJ Giddens, who complemented the passing game with 25 carries for 182 yards rushing. When the Wildcats needed a key first down picked up, Giddens delivered.
For Sanders, he had one of the performances we are accustomed to seeing; he had flashes of brilliance with head-scratching mistakes. The Colorado offensive line could be better, but they’re made to be worse. Sanders must navigate the pocket better to avoid the critical sacks and intentional grounding penalties.
To be honest, Colorado should have won this college football game. Colton Hood’s interception set up the late go-ahead touchdown for Colorado. Still, the Buffaloes defense yielded a long touchdown drive, kickstarted by a busted coverage that turned Giddens loose for a 34-yard gain before Jayce Brown takes the lead back with a long touchdown catch.
Although there should have been a pass interference on that last throw by Sanders to Shepherd, Colorado’s signature pitfalls doomed them in the end.
Why did USC hurt themselves the most?
A likely candidate here would have been Ohio State. You get the growing sense that patience is wearing thin with the Buckeyes head coach. Unlike his rival Michigan, Ohio State retooled and added three new pivotal starters to their offense in Howard, Judkins, and the impressive freshman Smith.
Day’s loss against Oregon is seen as a direct result of his mismanagement of the clock, and ultimately, the loss falls back on him. As they say, to whom much is given is expected. Day is in an uncomfortable spot because this is the year he is expected to break through and deliver a championship. Not beating rival head coach Jim Harbaugh during his Michigan tenure also triggers some of the program’s supporters.
Yet, Ohio State didn’t hurt themselves the most because they’ll live to fight (on) for another day. It was the USC Trojans who hurt themselves the most this past week in college football.
USC had Penn State right where they wanted them. They seized the momentum against the Nittany Lions at home, and Drew Allar looked confused. Also, the Trojans did what many would not have expected them to do: stopping the Penn State rushing attack.
USC forced Allar into multiple interceptions and held Kaytron Allen and Nicolas Singleton to a combined 26 carries for 82 yards (3.1 yards per attempt). Still, with all that they had done well, USC couldn’t finish off Penn State.
Thanks to tight end Tyler Warren, Penn State erased a 14-point deficit coming out of the half, and Warren torched USC for 224 yards. The Trojans held the lead with under four minutes left in regulation, and allowed the game-tying score before throwing an interception on their last drive before the end of regulation. It got worse for them, too; before ultimately gaining negative yards in overtime, missing a field goal, and seeing Penn State win with a walk-off field goal in overtime.
USC’s pattern of letting games slip away late has haunted them for the past few seasons. Yet this time, it was a hole too deep to tunnel themselves out of. With three one-score losses in the Big 10, whatever hopes USC had competing for a college football national title sailed through uprights at the finale of last Saturday’s loss.
This week’s College Football Saturday Spotlight: Indiana vs. Nebraska
Many people will zero in on Texas versus Georgia, and that’s reasonable. Texas has mostly coasted through their schedule, and Georgia has only one blemish on the record, which was a loss in the most exhilarating game of the season.
However, to take a step back and look at the entire college football landscape, we should appreciate where things are outside of the perennial contenders for national championships. Moreover, because of the expanded playoff of 12 teams, aside from the usual Big 10 and SEC schools, other teams are working into the mix. And, there are some enigmas that we have to know more about.
Case in point, in the top 25, we have 10 unbeaten teams. We need to know more about these teams as we get closer to conference championships. That said, this week’s Saturday Spotlight should be on Bloomington and the Hoosiers against Nebraska.
Coach Cignetti has ignited a fire under that program and brought over his winning ways from James Madison, and he’s getting with offensive explosions and convincing wins. Kurtis Rourke is taking what defenses are giving him, and Indiana is one of the best teams at scoring once they get into the red area. Their defense, led by Aiden Fisher and Mikhail Kamara, is solid, forcing quarterbacks to throw the ball early, and they have compiled 19 sacks.
Dylan Raiola is easily the best quarterback they’ve seen all season. How they keep him in the pocket and prevent him from making the backbreaking throws off of improvisation is where most of the curiosity is around Indiana in preparation for games against more talent-latent schools like Washington and Ohio State. This week’s Saturday Spotlight is for research purposes and piqued interest around coach Cingetti and the Hoosiers.
This week’s upset pick: Louisville over Miami
This one hurts because although I’ve picked Miami to win the ACC and a possible choice to win the national title, I don’t expect them to be undefeated in the conference. Louisville is their last big test in the ACC as they’ll finish their conference schedule against Florida State, Duke, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Syracuse. The Cardinals, who were runners-up for the ACC crown last season, won’t be a pushover.
Damien Martinez was supposed to take over this backfield after transferring from Oregon State, and in terms of sheer volume, he has yet to be anywhere near as efficient as his backups. I expect that to continue. Cam Ward will have to play the hero once again to keep Miami’s dreams of an unbeaten season alive. However, after two close calls against California and Virginia Tech, this is the week Miami’s luck runs out.
Look for freshman Isaac Brown to control the tempo of the game running the football. He leads all freshman running backs with 508 yards for 7.3 yards per carry. He’s got breakaway speed and change the game in a flash.
Louisville has only created six takeaways this season, but that trend will change this week. Ward has thrown five interceptions over his last three games, and with him shouldering so much of the offense, expect there to be a couple of mistakes. The Cardinals win at home in an upset.
