This week was filled with games that decided where teams stood in the echelon of college football. Many teams helped their case, while others hurt it. What can be certain is that many of these games will be looked upon in at the end of the regular season when determining playoff rankings, bowl games, and the future of coaches and players.

Pittsburgh 23 Virginia 13

The Game

This Friday night showdown saw Pittsburgh break down Virginia’s defense with a strong running game led by 229 rushing yards from Darrin Hall. Pittsburgh was able to run through a defense that many believed to be good. Hall also had his 229 yards on just 19 carries so it was not as if Pittsburgh ground out all the yards slowly either. Virginia struggled to get much out of their own run game as Bryce Perkins did much of the work on offense with his arm. Pittsburgh was led defensively by 2.5 sacks from Dewayne Hendrix.

What Does This Mean?

After winning this game, a 5-4 Pittsburgh is sitting atop the ACC Coastal division. While their record may not be impressive, this team is capable of pulling off upsets. Pittsburgh finishes the season off with three games that are not easy outs, but all winnable. For Virginia, this game means that there is still much work to be done. They need to find some more weapons on offense, and step it up with their run defense. This season is definitely still a success so far for Virginia.

Clemson 77 Louisville 16

The Game

This game was a complete curb stomping if I have ever seen one. Clemson also scored 77 points with their starting quarterback only throwing 12 passes. Clemson had 492 total rushing yards and had three players crack 100 rushing yards, and those three players had no more than eight carries each. Clemson also had 10 different players score touchdowns. Clemson’s defense put in work too, as they had six sacks, and two interceptions (these are some pretty fun facts, unless you are a Louisville fan then I am sorry). Louisville scored their lone offensive touchdown in the fourth quarter with the game already decided.

What Does This Mean?

This win showed that while Alabama is the talk of the town right now, (and rightfully so) Clemson is extremely good in their own right. It would be very surprising if Clemson did not head into the postseason undefeated. For Louisville, this is just cementing the assumption that they will likely be looking for a new head coach this offseason. Bobby Petrino seems to have just ridden on Lamar Jackson’s coattails to success the last couple seasons, and was hiding the fact that he just is not a very good coach.

Ohio State 36 Nebraska 31

The Game

Ohio State got off to a slow start in this game as they were behind 21-16 at the half. Eventually, their talent prevailed as they won in a close game 36-31. Ohio State’s offense was led by 163 rushing yards and three touchdowns from JK Dobbins. Nebraska stayed in this game for so long because of a great performance from freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez (who was confused with former Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez multiple times by the announcers). Martinez had 338 yards of offense and three total touchdowns. Martinez is going to be a very good player for the Huskers in the future.

What Doe This Mean?

While Nebraska is better than their 2-7 record right now, it should be a cause for concern that Ohio State barely scraped out this win. Ohio State seems to be on the verge of collapse right now, and their recent struggles need to be noted by the playoff committee. While they had a very rough start, things do seem to be looking up for Nebraska, it just seems as though this will be a tougher rebuild for head coach Scott Frost than it was at his last job at UCF.

Georgia 34 Kentucky 17

The Game

Georgia took down Kentucky 34-17 due to a great day from their running backs. D’Andre Swift has 156 rushing yards and Elijah Holyfield had 115. Georgia got up early and was able to grind out the win by running on Kentucky’s defense. Georgia’s offensive line put in a solid performance as they held Kentucky’s star defensive end Josh Allen to just three tackles. Georgia’s defense had four sacks and held Kentucky running back Benny Snell to just 73 yards on the ground. Georgia has made it clear that they are the class of the SEC East and should be regarded as one of the top teams in the country. One good sign for Kentucky has been the steady improvement of Terry Wilson at quarterback. Wilson completed 23 out of 29 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown. Kentucky should feel a bit more comfortable throwing the ball with Wilson’s improvement and the recent play of receiver Lynn Bowden.

What Does This Mean?

This win likely secured Georgia at least a spot in a NY6 Bowl. This game showed that Georgia is capable of beating down on good teams. Georgia may not be the best team in the country like I thought before the season, but they are in elite company. Kentucky’s loss here will sadly have more people look at their season as a fluke, but let the record show that Kentucky is a very good team and Mark Stoops has done a great job coaching them.

West Virginia 42 Texas 41

The Game

This game was a shootout in the truest sense of the word (except for the third quarter). Neither defense was fully capable of stopping the opposing offense. Texas was a great day from Sam Ehlinger as he had 354 passing yards and three touchdowns to go with a rushing touchdown on the day as well. Texas’s receivers had a good day as well with Lil’Jordan Humphrey racking up 143 receiving yards and Devin Duvernay getting 100. Texas unfortunately was not able to stop a parked car on defense, much less West Virginia’s offense. Will Grier threw for 346 yards, and Martell Pettaway ran for 121 yards. Grier feasting on a young Texas secondary was not surprising, but West Virginia putting up 232 rushing yards with seven yards per attempt was. It is not good that the second West Virginia lined up to go for two after their last touchdown, I had absolutely zero doubt in my mind that they were going to make it. I also just want to say that with the poor play of Texas’s defense on that last drive, it was not that gutsy of a call to go for two either.

What Does This Mean?

Texas is a very good team, but they are not quite yet at elite status. It is likely that they will be in the near future (I say this less as a statement of fact and more as a plea). Tom Herman has done fine at Texas so far, but there is definitely work to be done still. Texas needs to find a way to improve their run defense, and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando needs to take some heat for these last two losses (it is pretty weird that Texas lost and Tim Beck is not the immediate person to blame). Good news for Texas is that this game showed that Sam Ehlinger is definitely an elite quarterback as he constantly made plays on offense. Texas has talent, they just still need to play to their talent level. West Virginia proved yet again that their offensive prowess in unquestionable. West Virginia is n all set up for a game with Oklahoma in Morgantown that will decide the Big 12’s first place finisher in the regular season.

Michigan 42 Penny State 7

The Game

Michigan ran through Penn State on Saturday with a 42-7 win. This game was kept relatively close until Michigan ran away with it in the second half. While he threw for just 144 yards, Shea Patterson threw for two touchdowns and ran in another. Karan Higdon had 132 yards on the ground with 6.6 yards per carry. On defense, Michigan held Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley to just five completions on 13 attempts, and led to him eventually being briefly benched later on in the game. Penn State’s one touchdown was scored by backup quarterback Tommy Stevens when the game was already decided. Penn State was held to just 68 rushing yards and just 2.3 yards per carry. Michigan also had five sacks on defense, with two of them coming from Josh Uche.

What Does This Mean?

Michigan definitely should be taken seriously as a national title contender. Michigan’s defense might be one of the best in the country. Jim Harbaugh is starting to quiet his doubters this season, and it is nice to see as I have always believed him to be one of the best coaches in football, college or NFL. Michigan’s chances of winning out this regular season have increased, as they obviously won this game, but have also flexed their muscles on both sides of the ball. For Penn State, it might be time to start questioning James Franklin’s credentials as a head coach. Penn State saw success in 2016 and 2017, but I wonder how much of that was due to having an excellent offensive coordinator in Joe Moorhead and a generational talent at running back in Saquon Barkley. Franklin is clearly a great recruiter, but his in game coaching ability must be questioned. I do not think he should be fired after this season, barring a total collapse. But his seat should start to warm up.

Arizona State 38 Utah 20

The Game

Utah’s tradition of collapsing once the month of November hits seems like it might be continuing as Arizona State’s offense was firing on all cylinders against them. Manny Wilkins threw for 11.9 yards per attempt and three touchdowns, all of which to N’Keal Harry who had 161 receiving yards. Harry completely dominated Utah’s cornerbacks and proved himself as one of, if not the best receiver in the country. Eno Benjamin had had 175 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Utah’s quarterback Tyler Huntley suffered an unfortunate season ending injury in this game, and backup Jason Shelley struggled. Utah’s quarterbacks combined completed just 11/26 passes and threw three interceptions. Their one source of offense, running back Zack Moss, had a hard time making an impact as Utah fell behind early, and had to play catch up for much of the game.

What Does This Mean?

With Utah losing, The Pac 12 South is officially wide open. This division does not have any teams that too great, but they have quite a few decent teams. There is a possibility for literally any of the six teams in the division team to still win it. Utah needs to find a way to keep their offense afloat with Tyler Huntley out for the season, and make sure their defense keeps solid form. Arizona State’s hiring of Herm Edwards that was left with a lot of skepticism (and rightfully so) does not seem to be as ridiculous at the moment as they sit at 5-4 with three winnable games left. It is likely that the season finale between Arizona State and Arizona will decide the Pac 12 South.

North Carolina State 47 Florida State 28

The Game

North Carolina State’s offense was too much for Florida State, as the Wolfpack secured a 47-28 win the snap their two game losing streak. Ryan Finley completed 78% of his passes on the way to three touchdowns. Finley connected quite a bit with receiver Jakobi Meyers, who had nine catches for 125 yards. Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois was injured, and James Blackman got the start. Blackman was the only source of offense for the Seminoles with 421 passing yards. Unfortunately, Florida State could only muster up 24 rushing yards on 20 attempts.

What Does This Mean?

North Carolina State is still a pretty good team despite their previous two losses. What this this game definitely says more about is the state of affairs with Florida State. The Seminoles need to win two of their next three games against Notre Dame, Boston College, and Florida in order to make a bowl game. This season has been largely a disaster. They have a gaping hole at the offensive line, and it is massively hindering the progress of running back Cam Akers. Their team has talent, but they continue to drop games to less talented teams. Head coach Willie Taggart said he believed players quit in the last game, and I believe that to likely be true. The hiring of Taggart this year also does not at all seem like it was the right call, and I wonder if most fans who called for Jimbo Fisher’s head are having regrets. Florida State seems to need a change in culture, and sooner rather than later.

Oklahoma 51 Texas Tech 46

The Game

Oklahoma won a full blown shootout against Texas Tech after trailing 31-28 at halftime. Kyler Murray threw two early interceptions, but rebounded to have 460 total yards and four touchdowns. Trey Sermon had a great performance of his own with 206 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Linebacker Kenneth Murray was the one solid source of defense for Oklahoma, putting in 11 total tackles. Texas Tech’s offense completely fired on all cylinders in the first half, but was clearly slowed down when quarterback Alan Bowman went out with a partially collapsed lung, an injury he already had this season. Bowman completed 81% of his passes and had two touchdowns. Bowman’s backup, Jett Duffey, still did well, but was a clear drop off. Receiver Antoine Wesley put in a herculean effort of his own with 199 receiving yards. Defensive back Vaughnte Dorsey’s eleven tackles and two interceptions also deserve a mention.

What Does This Mean?

While Oklahoma’s defense has improved since firing Mike Stoops, there is still work to be done. On the other hand, Oklahoma’s offense can be deadly. Oklahoma still has a good chance at the playoff, but they basically have no room for error. Texas Tech’s defense has also improved this season, but there is plenty of room to grow. Texas Tech needs to find a way to adjust their offense with Alan Bowman likely out for a significant amount of time.

Alabama 29 LSU 0

The Game

Alabama imposed their will on LSU in this game where the score honestly made it look closer. Tua Tagovailoa was dominant as usual, with 295 passing yards and two touchdowns. Tua even showed off his speed with a 44 yard touchdown run. Damien Harris ran for 107 yards, and Jerry Jeudy had 103 receiving yards. Alabama’s offense put up their lowest point total of the season, but they still mostly did what they wanted to LSU. Defensive lineman Quinnen Williams had an outstanding game with 10 total tackles and 2.5 sacks. Alabama had five sacks in total on the day. A big reason LSU was shut out was due to the fact that they had just 12 rushing yards, putting up less than 0.5 yards per carry. The lone bright spot for LSU is that they did force Tina’s first interception of the season.

What Does This Mean?

If you did not already know, Alabama is unbelievably good. They ran through a team that was ranked third in the country (although I did not think LSU was the third best team in the country, this is still impressive) on the road. This offense is going to be nearly impossible to stop, and Alabama should cruise to an undefeated regular season. I think this game showed that it takes a very good offense as well as a very good defense to challenge Alabama, and a quarterback that is not afraid of throwing it downfield. For LSU, this game is disappointing, but should not come as much of a surprise. This game showed LSU that there is still a long road ahead if they want to be close to dethroning Alabama.

Washington State 19 California 13

The Game

Washington State played the ugliest game imaginable and still was able to win in the end. That is the glass half full way of looking at the game. Washington State got little going on offense, as California’s defense bent but did not break until the end. Gardner Minshew did not see his best day throwing the ball until the end of the game and the Cougars could not get much going on the ground. They were bailed out by their defense playing well in the end, and California making some critical mistakes on offense. While the ball was spread around by Gardner Minshew with 11 players getting at least one catch, the hero for Washington State this week was Easop Winston who made the game wining touchdown grab with less than a minute to go.

What Does This Mean?

Washington State played terrible and beat a solid team, which I will take as a good sign. The Cougars now inch one step closer to a Pac 12 North title and a slim shot at the playoff. Mike Leach is also proving his worth as a coach by doing so much with this team that was expected to have a down year. For California, this game should serve as the sign that they need to go with Chase Garbers at quarterback. California has platooned between Garbers and Brandon McIlwain all season, and McIlwain threw a costly interception in this game, and was just outplayed by Garbers. Continuing to platoon quarterbacks will only hurt this team even more in the long run.

So on Saturday, I attended a game at Autzen Stadium for the first time, seeing Oregon take on UCLA. I figured this would be a good place to share some about it (if you disagree, well I do not know exactly what to say except you are in this too deep to stop reading).

1. The stadium atmosphere was crazy, and still a fairly new experience to me as this is only the second time I have seen a power conference team play in person.

2. I sat next to where UCLA’s linemen were warming up, and I have to say that you can never truly tell how big some of the players are until you see them up close, and let me say that those are some big dudes.

3. I have to say that Oregon’s warm welcome of Chip Kelly did come off as a bit of a surprise to me.

4. I think watching the home crowd at a football game reacting to bad call being made against their team is the closest you can feel in modern times to watching two Roman gladiators duel at the Coliseum. I am also talking about when Oregon offensive lineman Jake Hanson was ejected for targeting on a peel back block that was seriously a terrible call.

5. UCLA freshman quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson will be very good in the near future.

6. I really do not see what NFL scouts see in Justin Herbert that leads them to think he should go in the top 10 of the upcoming draft, but I clearly am no expert.

7. Oregon’s other athletic facilities that are next to Autzen are unbelievably nice. Anybody who works for Oregon’s athletic program needs to hand write a thank you letter to Phil Knight on a regular basis for his donations to the school.

8. All in all, it was a super fun experience and I would highly recommend seeing a game at Autzen Stadium.

Some Random Thoughts

1. Buffalo quarterback Tyree Jackson is very good, as he put up six total touchdowns in their victory over Miami Ohio in Tuesday night MACtion (I think the MAC quit using that nickname but that does not mean I will). Buffalo is 8-1 and looks like a very solid team.

2. UCF beat Temple in a shootout 52-40 to remain undefeated. While I think they are a very good team, they would get stomped by about ten different P5 teams, and I hate that their fans screaming about how they should be considered in the playoff discussion are starting to make me cheer against an otherwise likable team.

3. With their win over Virginia, Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi just had his first win over a ranked team that was not ranked second in the country. Narduzzi has a 2-0 record against teams ranked second in the country, and a 1-9 record against ranked teams not ranked second. In other words, Clemson must hope they are not ranked second if they meet Pittsburgh in the ACC Championship.

4. Khalil Tate seems to have finally found his form as he threw for 350 yards and five touchdowns in Arizona’s win over Colorado Friday night.

5. Despite a 5-0 start, Colorado has lost four straight games, and with their remaining schedule it is likely that they end up missing a bowl game. Since the injury of Laviska Shenault, their offense has clearly lost a step. Head coach Mike MacIntyre is likely coaching for his job in these remaining games.

6. Auburn receiver Ryan Davis had a clutch performance late in the game against Texas A&M with a punt return that set up their offense with great field position and a big catch on their last drive.

7. It is crazy that after his hot start to the season, there are people now calling for Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond to be benched. The Aggies also need to cut back on penalties as they had multiple penalties on their last drive that made it much harder to score, and can be attributed to why they could not score late in the game.

8. South Carolina took down Ole Miss 48-44 in a rare SEC shootout. It was a good week for shootouts in general.

9. Eric Dungey put up 100 yards through the air and on the ground as Syracuse beat Wake Forest 41-24. Syracuse is now ranked 13th in the AP Poll and I honestly think it is an accurate ranking for them. Their matchup with Notre Dame in two weeks will be interesting.

10. Purdue recaptured some of their magic as they beat Iowa 38-36. With the way the rest of their schedule pans out, an 8-4 season is not off the table for them.

11. The craziest shootout of all shootouts this week was Massachusetts winning 62-59 over Liberty in a game that featured three overtimes. Massachusetts quarterback Ross Comis threw for 540 yards, and receiver Andy Isabella had 303 receiving yards on nine catches. Liberty receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden has 205 receiving yards. This game was filled to the brim with eye popping statistics.

12. Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor rebounded from a rough performance last week with 208 rushing yards and three touchdowns in Wisconsin’s victory over Rutgers. This has been a down year for the Badgers, but when Taylor and their offensive line get rolling, they can beat almost anyone.

13. Illinois put in 430 rushing yards in their 55-31 victory over Minnesota. Reggie Corbin had 213 rushing yards, and quarterback AJ Bush has 127 to go with 216 yards through the air. It is unlikely, but Illinois has an off chance of being bowl eligible for the first time since 2014, which would be big for the program.

14. Notre Dame stays undefeated after beating Northwestern 31-21. Ian Book had 343 passing yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Te’Von Coney has 10 tackles and two sacks. Notre Dame, along with Alabama and Clemson, is a near lock to make the playoff at this point.

15. Washington State fumbling what would have been a pick six out the back of their end zone, giving California the ball back was both hilarious and sad.

16. Oregon State surprisingly played it pretty close with USC. I am pleasantly surprised with the fight this team has shown, and I think good days lie ahead for the program under first year head coach Jonathan Smith.

17. Florida suffered a pretty embarrassing loss at the hand of Missouri 38-17. Quarterback Feleipe Franks was benched for the second consecutive game, and I feel like it is clear that Dan Mullen is just waiting to start true freshman Emory Jones next season and letting him take a redshirt year this year.

18. Miami needs to commit to a quarterback. This constant benching and replacing of quarterbacks will just create more problems. The wheels are really falling off for this team, and I worry if they will be able to rebound.

19. My big question for NFL scouts this week is how on earth is Duke’s Daniel Jones considered by some to be a first round quarterback. Jones is a competent player for Duke, but I do not know how he has a future in the NFL.

20. Allowing time to run off the clock for a defensive substitution is ridiculous even if the offense made a prior substitution. If the defense is not ready when the offense is, the offense should have every right to just snap the ball. This rule absolutely killed Stanford on their final drive, and in my opinion cost them their game against Washington.

21. The return of Myles Gaskin helped Washington significantly, as Gaskin put up 148 yards on the ground, and is by far the most reliable form of offense for the Huskies.

22. Oregon State desperately needs to improve their run defense, as USC, who has had quite a poor rushing offense this season, put up 355 total rushing yards against the Beavers.

23. The Mountain West has some pretty good teams. Fresno State is currently ranked in the top 25, and Utah State should be. Boise State and San Diego State are good like always, and Hawaii is a fun team.

24. UTEP snapped a 20 game losing streak this week by beating Rice 34-26.

25. Kansas fired their head coach David Beatty this week after a loss to Iowa State. I think it was likely the right call, as he was 6-39 as the head coach at Kansas.

26. Clemson’s tradition of rushing the field after every game is cool and should go away.

27. After being down 10 with nine minutes left in the game, Baylor’s win over Oklahoma State was impressive, and Denzel Mims’s catch for the winning touchdown was very clutch.

28. This week’s cool uniform award goes to Oregon, Ole Miss, Kansas, and Baylor.

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