Week 9 of college football saw several close calls in the top-25, and some one-sided blowouts. Outside of the Power 4, we had a stunning upset to a team fighting for relevancy as Kennesaw State took down Liberty. Plus, some teams all but solidified their case for CFP. Meanwhile, the Indiana Hoosiers rolled along without their quarterback. Here’s what happened last week, plus this week’s Saturday Spotlight and upset pick.
Recap of Week 9’s Saturday Spotlight: Notre Dame at Navy
This game got off to a terrible start for Navy. Although they’re one of the most exciting teams in college football, they couldn’t afford to make mistakes against Notre Dame. Unfortunately, they made several of them.
Navy fumbled on back-to-back possessions to give Notre Dame an early 14-0 lead. From then, the Fighting Irish never looked back. In all, Navy fumbled seven times, losing five of them. Having a heavy advantage with their talent, Notre Dame dominated Navy in the trenches, running for 265 yards.
For quarterback Riley Leonard, he continued his steady play of late, completing 13-of-21 attempts for 178 and 83 yards rushing. If Navy made fewer mistakes, they might have been able to make this game interesting. Instead, their hopes of a possible CFP bid likely were fumbled away with their turnover-ridden performance.
For Notre Dame, the win puts them in the driver’s seat for a top seed in the playoff with four winnable games against Florida State, Virginia, Army, and USC to end their season.
Recap of Week 9’s Upset Special: Syracuse at Pitt
Syracuse’s head coach has done a great job instilling confidence in Ohio State transfer quarterback Kyle McCord. However, Brown might want another talk with McCord after his five-interception game against Pitt, which included three pick-sixes.
The Panthers’ defense believes in getting home with their front four while dropping seven defenders in coverage. With Pitt’s pass rush, it must have felt like 12 men sitting in zone with their length and size at linebacker. Four out of his five interceptions were thrown to a Panthers linebacker.
There was little that the Pitt offense needed to do once McCord handed them such a significant lead entering the half. What is interesting, however, is that Brown didn’t bench McCord and allowed him to finish the game. That led to McCord attempting 64 passes. To some, it may seem like overkill for a quarterback who was having problems seeing the field and amid so many mistakes. However, it’s more indicative of Brown trying to give McCord something positive to extract from an otherwise miserable outing.
Why Texas A&M helped themselves the most last week.
It would be easy to bash Liberty for losing to Kennesaw St. despite being 25.5-point favorites. Yet, to take things positively, Texas A&M deserves a lot of credit for last week and not in the conventional sense.
Mike Elko made the PERFECT coordinator hire and Texas A&M is ahead of schedule because of it
Breaking down Collin Klein’s run scheme and usage of Marcel Reed vs LSU ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/zIDcqSvW5S
— Cole Topham (@crtopham_) October 30, 2024
Conner Weigman could have been better against LSU; there’s no way to defend his performance. He threw for 33 percent with under 100 yards on 18 attempts, but his defense was the stars of the day.
They made timely plays and endured 100-yard games from Aaron Anderson and Kyren Lacy, yet still managed to win by 15 points. Texas A&M eliminated LSU’s rushing game entirely, holding them to 24 yards on 23 attempts.
Garrett Nussmeier had a difficult time with the A&M coverage, throwing three interceptions.
Le’Veon Moss and Amari Daniels combined for 174 yards rushing to give the Aggies just enough on offense to win. Interestingly, A&M may still have a quarterback issue to address between Marcel Reed and Weigman. However, finding ways to beat a quality opponent in your conference when your quarterback is inefficient deserves respect.
College Football Week 10 Saturday Spotlight: Penn State vs. Ohio State
First and foremost, the health of Drew Allar will be a big storyline entering the week. As of now, he’ll be a game-time call to play Saturday. If not, Beau Pribula will take his spot. Regardless of who starts, Ohio State can condense the field better against Penn State versus how they struggled with Oregon’s vertical passing attack led by Dillon Gabriel.
Stopping the Penn State rushing attack is the key for Ohio State, even if Allar does play. Ohio State’s main priority on defense should be slowing down Tyler Warren, who exploded against USC and is their leading receiver.
Penn State’s running backs are a problem for most teams, but Ohio State has the personnel to handle the Nittany Lions’ run game.
As for Penn State’s defense, they also have enough to slow down the Ohio State rushing attack in the trenches. Tony Rojas and Kobe King are good at the second level of defense.
This game is decided by how Penn State handles Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka; and if Penn State, namely Abdul Carter, can get Will Howard off his spot and force him into mistakes. These teams may see each other again in the Big Ten championship. That’s why this game is in the Saturday Spotlight.
College Football Week 10 Upset Special: Ole Miss vs. Arkansas
The Arkansas Razorbacks host Ole Miss at Fayetteville this weekend, and with Ole Miss as a six-point favorite, the oddsmakers are trying to tell us something.
Arkansas’ offense is a well-balanced unit led by Taylen Green at quarterback. The offensive skill players at Arkansas are big and imposing. Running back Ja’Quinden Jackson, who leads the team in rushing with 592 yards, is 6 feet 2 inches and 233 pounds. Having to tackle Jackson and Green for four quarters can tire on a defense.
In the passing game, Andrew Armstrong is a huge target that Green can utilize vertically or downfield outside the numbers. If he can make plays early in the game, it should give Jackson and Green lighter boxes to operate from and consistency running the football. The Razorbacks also have a good pass rush anchored by their edger rusher Landon Jackson. Could Ole Miss look past Arkansas? Maybe.
Ole Miss has a big college football game against No. 2 Georgia next week. You’d hate to think you can underestimate an opponent in the SEC and give some belief in Lane Kiffin. However, it’s hard not to look ahead to a big-time matchup against Georgia, whom they have only beaten once since 1997.
Arkansas can pull this off if they follow a simple plan. First, they must disrupt quarterback Jaxson Dart, who has been good these last few games. Arkansas must also control the clock with their running game and commit bad turnovers. Finally, Ole Miss is a top-10 defense on third down. Arkansas must stay ahead of the chains and get out with a close win.
