Conference play in college football rolled along last week, and fans saw surprising outcomes in the SEC. Alabama lost to Tennessee, while Georgia took the bull by the horns to take down No. 1 ranked Texas. Also, several teams with perfect records narrowly escaped with wins, such as Iowa State and BYU in the Big 12.
Looking ahead at this week, even more unbeaten teams find themselves in difficult matchups that could seriously affect conference title games. However, before we examine this week’s Saturday Spotlight and upset pick, let’s take one last look at last week’s games.
Recap of last week’s college football Saturday Spotlight: Indiana vs. Nebraska
Last Saturday’s game against Nebraska was a litmus test for the Indiana Hoosiers. As one of the several unbeaten teams in the top-25 rankings, we needed to know more, and see them against a better conference opponent. So far, so good.
Indiana dominated Nebraska, and their defense engulfed Dylan Raiola, who was sacked twice and threw three interceptions. Indiana held a big lead into the half and never looked back. The Hoosiers’ defense swarmed to the ball, fighting off blocks and snuffing out misdirection plays. Indiana running back Justice Ellison had a huge day with over 100 yards rushing on only nine carries.
Hoosiers’ quarterback Kurtis Rourke’s injury is the biggest storyline following the game. He left the game Saturday and has since undergone thumb surgery. There’s optimism he could return as soon as November 2, when Indiana plays against Michigan State.
In the meantime, Tayven Jackson will take over, who looked good in place of Rourke. What happens next all falls on head coach Curt Cignetti, who has shown to be a great motivator so far. A lot of pressure will be on Ellison and Indiana receiver Elijah Sarratt until Rourke returns. To a degree, Indiana will have to reinvent itself in Rourke’s absence, but it was a terrific statement win by the Hoosiers.
Recap of last week’s upset pick: Miami at Louisville
As many had expected, this game came down to the wire, where Miami won another close matchup. By beating Louisville, Miami remains undefeated, winning their third straight one-score game and by an average margin of victory of four points in their last three games.
Once again, quarterback Cam Ward had to play hero ball to save his team and avoid the loss; He did it with his arm and his legs to escape some collapsing pockets. All afternoon, Ward made fantastic throws, like his 27-yard touchdown to Jacolby George in the back of the end zone.
Play of the Game for the offense was tough… I loved this throw from Cam Ward to Jacolby George. The arm strength and ball placement were next-next level. pic.twitter.com/QS2HIDxNpi
— imfb_blog (@IMFB_Blog) October 20, 2024
For Miami, at times, it looked like their defense and special teams were stuck in quicksand, with Louisville receivers getting loose in their secondary.
Miami held the advantage for much of the contest until a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown from Louisville’s Caullin Lacy brought Louisville to just a seven-point deficit. On the ensuing drive, Mark Fletcher‘s fumble would give Louisville a short field, and they capitalized to tie the game at 31 apiece. Fortunately for Miami, their receivers Xavier Restrepo and Sam Brown made big plays after the catch to take some of the burden off Ward.
We also saw a better performance from Damien Martinez, who was overdue for a player of his caliber. He ran with power and attitude, looking like the player Hurricanes fans hoped to see after he transferred from Oregon State. Miami can take a sigh of relief before a clash with in-state rival Florida State this week.
Why did Georgia help themselves the most?
For Georgia, that was a statement game against Texas. Since their close loss to Alabama a couple of weeks prior, they’ve been under the radar in the SEC; especially with teams like Tennessee and Texas A&M, which is first in the conference, occupying the spotlight.
Georgia had a close call against Mississippi State, which added to Georgia’s being a little overlooked these past few weeks. However, beating Texas as decisively as they did was a great reminder for the conference that they’re not going away.
Holding Quinn Ewers to only 4.9 yards per attempt is big-time football, plus halting the rushing attack to a miserable 1.1 yards per carry is driving the point home that the Bulldogs are here to stay in the college football spotlight.
Their defense needed a reprieve and, after last week’s game, could be tuning up for the stretch run in November. Georgia helped themselves out tremendously with their performance last week.
College Football Saturday Spotlight: Notre Dame at Navy
So far, we’ve been treated to one of the most unpredictable college football seasons in a long time. The top-25 is littered with unbeaten teams, and many are relative unknowns in contrast to some of the more notable blueblood programs in college football. There’s so much intrigue about these unbeaten teams that you can’t help but be genuinely curious about how it will play out. The best example of a blueblood program meeting an unknown is Notre Dame at Navy in this week’s Saturday Spotlight.
For the Navy, it’s their first meeting against a ranked opponent; and they likely won’t see another until their season finale against the Army, who is also undefeated. Navy quarterback Blake Horvath leads the Midshipmen in rushing and passing.
From a schematic standpoint, Navy tries to use their Wing-T offense to shorten the game with exotic run packages to confuse Notre Dame and be very selective with their seldom shots down the field. Think back to Notre Dame’s loss against Northern Illinois when they ran the ball 45 times; that’s a similar formula that Navy will try to enact.
For Riley Leonard, he needs to take care of the football, extend drives with his legs and make sure to get seven points down in the red zone. Notre Dame is favored on the road by 13.5, but expect it to be much closer.
College Football Upset Pick: Syracuse over Pitt
This week’s upset pick is Thursday night’s game of Syracuse at Pittsburgh. For years, these midweek ACC conference matchups have been tightly contested.
Under Fran Brown, Syracuse is a very good football team that plays loose and free under their new head coach. They’re one gut-wrenching drive away from being unbeaten on the season like Pittsburgh. Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord looks like a new man for the Orange. He’s confident and aggressive, and his receivers, Trebor Pena and Jackson Meeks, are playmakers. The key for Syracuse will be solving the Pittsburgh defense.
Pittsburgh runs 4-3 but primarily plays that out of a Cover-4. It gives Pittsburgh the size to play the run in their base defense and asks a lot of their linebackers in coverage. They’ve got the size to clog passing lanes, but expect Syracuse to get LeQuint Allen going just enough to give McCord space to attack the Pittsburgh defense downfield with his receivers. Take the Orange to take down Pittsburgh in an upset.
