Freshman 15 College Football: PSU Fires Franklin, Hoosiers Stun Oregon

College Football Week 7 Recap

Saturday Spotlight: Indiana at Oregon

For a game where the two quarterbacks figured to be central to the success of both teams, it turned out that the defenses were what made the difference. Oregon’s pass rush sped up Fernando Mendoza’s timing, and because of it, they were able to score on a pick-six by Brandon Finney. However, the supporting cast on both sides of the ball was able to elevate Indiana.

First, Elijah Sarratt was excellent. He led Indiana with eight catches for 121 yards, including a well-timed back-shoulder touchdown catch in the end zone. Running back Roman Hemby also added 70 tough yards on the ground to go along with two scores. He ran angrily and stood up well to Oregon’s stout defensive front.

Finally, Indiana’s defense rattled Dante Moore. He was sacked six times and never allowed to be comfortable in the pocket. Indiana minimized Oregon’s prime receiving threats, Dakorien Moore and Kenyon Sadiq, as they combined for six catches for 70 yards. Indiana’s tipped pass of Moore resulted in an interception that effectively ended the game and gave the Hoosiers a two-score lead late in the fourth quarter.

Indiana had several standout players on defense, but Isaiah Jones really shined, recording a sack and an interception. Over the past two seasons, Indiana has been looming in the background as a team that could shake things up in the Big Ten. Against Oregon, the Hoosiers proved that they belong and are a team to reckon with.

Traveling on the road to a tough environment and winning at Oregon says a lot about the character of Curt Cignetti and his team. With that win, Indiana has set themselves up on a collision course with Ohio State in the Big Ten championship. If they can carry this confidence for the remainder of the regular season, there’s a chance for Indiana to win their first college football conference championship in almost 60 years.

Upset Special: Arizona Over BYU

Arizona versus BYU was a back-and-forth game that saw one team get ahead to a lead before the other team came back in the game to regain the momentum. A normally stingy Arizona pass defense got behind by allowing a big 75-yard touchdown catch to Parker Kingston and had BYU up 14-0 early in the game. BYU running back LJ Martin had well over 100 yards rushing in the first half, and that was a prelude to BYU’s success on the ground.

BYU ran for 258 yards against the Wildcats. Yet, Arizona’s pass defense held true to form for most of the game. They were able to hold on key drives at the end of the second quarter and keep BYU off the board until the fourth quarter. Following two Bear Bachmeier interceptions, Arizona had control over the game and was in the driver’s seat after Kedrick Reescano scored from 36 yards out on 4th-and-1 to give Arizona a 10-point lead.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they couldn’t put BYU away late in the fourth quarter. Noah Fifita, who also struggled throwing the football, couldn’t execute the four-minute offense to keep Bachmeier from getting the game-tying drive to go into overtime. Even worse, the defense allowed a Bachmeir fumble in the red zone to slip through their hands for what would’ve sealed the game.

In overtime, Bachmeier was unstoppable on the ground; and on their last gasp, Arizona had a perfect pass from Fifita dropped in the end zone to ensure the Cougars remain undefeated. Whatever it took, Bachmeier stood up to the challenge. Despite struggling to get much done through the air against a tough defense, their freshman quarterback  brought BYU back to get the win.

Who Hurt Themselves the Most in Week 7?

It undeniably has to be James Franklin for who hurt themselves the most. While it does seem like a reactionary decision to fire Franklin less than a year after taking his team to the Semifinals of the College Football Playoff, the signs of trouble in Happy Valley had been simmering for some time.

Although Franklin had a record of 104-45 at Penn State, the problem was that he failed to deliver in big games. Against top-10 teams, Franklin was 4-21 while with the Nittany Lions. When playing against conference rivals Michigan and Ohio State, he was 4-16. Despite sitting at No. 2 in the AP poll to start the season, the Nittany Lions were more like paper lions with Franklin’s history of folding against elite competition.

A close loss at home versus Oregon was disappointing. A road loss to a UCLA team that recently fired its coach was alarming and poetically foreshadowing. However, the home loss to Northwestern proved to be the final nail in the coffin of a man and program that had been dead for weeks. Penn State’s defense, a staple of its identity, had been a shell of its former self and had generously allowed defenses to run all over them this season.

On the offensive side, quarterback Drew Allar was lost for the season following the loss to Northwestern. However, the team had struggled offensively far beyond that, and the Penn State rushing attack had lost its way. Simply put, Franklin had far too much talent to work with to produce such mediocre results, and Penn State was given no other choice but to part ways with the head coach.

The removal of Franklin costs the program 49 million if he does not latch on with another program. As to who will replace Franklin, the names that have been rumored are Curt Cignetti, USF’s Alex Golesh, Georgia Tech’s Brent Key, Duke’s Manny Diaz, and Iowa State’s Matt Campbell.

College Football: Week 8 Spotlight and Upset Special

Saturday Spotlight: Georgia Tech at Duke

This may be one of the least talked about games this week, but it bears a lot of intrigue. We previously mentioned Manny Diaz and Brent Pry as possible successors to James Franklin; and as fate would have it, we have a game that features both coaches. Despite being ranked No. 12, Georgia Tech comes in against Duke as the underdog, amidst their undefeated season. That speaks volumes of the great job Manny Diaz has done in making the program respectable again with a 13-4 record during his tenure, but what do the analysts and odds makers know that we don’t?

Here’s what I know: Haynes King is going to use Georgia Tech’s exotic rushing offense to find creative ways to run the ball at Duke’s defense. Duke runs a multiple front defense, aiming to play their best 11 guys. Even though they are small in their front seven, particularly at linebacker, they are allowing only 3.44 yards per rushing attempt.

Duke’s best chance will be to win the early downs to force Haynes King to throw the football. Duke’s Vincent Anthony Jr. is a very productive edge rusher with great size and length, who can bend around the edge and create chaos. He leads the Blue Devils with 6.5 sacks and can wreck the game if Georgia Tech isn’t careful. Under the radar to some, but worthy of being this week’s Saturday Spotlight.

Upset Special: USC Over Notre Dame

Slowly but surely, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have regrouped and worked their way back into the top 15 rankings. After losing to two quality opponents to open the year, the Notre Dame offense has taken off, and CJ Carr has found a lot of success over the last four games. Defensively, Notre Dame has buckled down and is giving up just nine points per game over their last three contests. Yet, all that glitters isn’t gold, even in South Bend.

In fact, this week I suspect their recent run of success is fool’s gold as they welcome USC into South Bend for a classic rivalry game. USC is led by Jayden Maiava, who is third in the nation in passing yards. He has combined with Makai Lemon to forge a dangerous duo. To no one’s surprise, Lemon is second in the country in receiving yards.

Lemon is an excellent route runner who easily gets separation from defensive backs and can make highlight catches look routine. As for USC’s defense, keep an eye out for Eric Gentry at linebacker and Bishop Fitzgerald, who is a ballhawk from the safety position. Expect USC to pull Notre Dame into a high-scoring slugfest, with the Trojans being the last team standing. USC wins on the road 38-35.

LP Cruz