This week featured quite a few big time matchups with teams looking to secure a big win. Games like these are when teams really show their stripes and fans can get a true estimate of how good they really are. While some teams came up big, other flopped. In this article, I will talk about who stepped up and who failed to.

Who Stepped Up

Wisconsin

One of this week’s marquee games was Michigan making the trip to Madison to take on Wisconsin. This game ended with a 35-14 Wisconsin victory, but believe me it was nowhere near as close as the score would make it seem. Wisconsin bullied Michigan’s defense early as they went on a 12 play and six and a half minute long drive that featured 11 running plays that ended with a touchdown. When Michigan fumbled on their ensuing drive, Wisconsin again showed Michigan who ran things as they went on another scoring drive. From there, the Badgers never looked back as they led 28-0 at halftime and ballooned the lead up to 35-0 before allowing a couple Michigan scores in the second half.

Offensively, Wisconsin tore through a very talented Michigan defense. Jonathan Taylor ran absolutely wild (I thought about making this entire article a Jonathan Taylor appreciation piece but ultimately decided against it). Taylor ran for 203 yards on the day on 8.8 yards per carry. Taylor has incredible vision and is an absolute force with his lower body strength. Questions about his quickness and burst I think at being quieted and he has absolutely established himself as not only the best running back in the country but in my opinion the current Heisman favorite. Taylor’s success should also be partially owed to excellent offensive line play. Against a talented defensive front from Michigan, the Badgers allowed just one sack and two tackles for loss. They paved the way for Taylor and others as Wisconsin had 359 yards on 6.3 yards per carry. The Badgers decided to sit on the ball and slowly beat down Michigan with their run game and it worked. Jack Coan also had a good day at quarterback, completing 13/16 passes for 128 yards.

Wisconsin’s streak of never giving up a point this season was snapped, but it was still a very good defensive performance. The Badgers held Michigan to just 40 rushing yards and forced four turnovers. Wisconsin had a very dominant win this week and really established themselves as a top 10 team and a threat for the Big 10 Championship. Whether or not they can contend for the playoff is up in the air but I think it is possible.

Georgia & Notre Dame

The biggest game of this weekend was definitely the matchup between Georgia and Notre Dame in Athens. This game was a clash between two elite programs and it definitely lived up to the billing as Georgia came out on top 23-17. Although Georgia did win, I think Notre Dame has a great game and should be happy with their performance.

For Georgia, they had a good combinations running the ball well and stopping the run, the two big keys in a physical game like the game on Saturday night . D’Andre Swift had a strong game with 98 rushing yards. Swift was used to grind out yards and did just that as he averaged 5.4 yards per carry and allowed Georgia to gash Notre Dame. Swift was able to stay on his feet through first contact and hit the holes fast to create open running lanes. The offensive line deserves credit as well for making things a bit easier for Swift and the run game. Jake Fromm was very efficient through the air, completing 20/26 passes for 187 yards. Graduate transfer Lawrence Cager had a breakout performance with a team leading 82 receiving yards. Defensively, the Bulldogs had a good day as well with two interceptions. They also held Notre Dame to 4/13 on third down conversions. The most impressive stat to me was that they allowed just 46 rushing yards all game. This was a great all-around game for Georgia and the team really showed the country what they are made of.

Notre Dame might have lost, but there was a lot about their performance that I liked. The Fighting Irish look to have found their new go to tight end. Notre Dame actually has a solid history at the position but have not had a great player at the spot for the last few years. Troy Nicklas was the last very good one with Tyler Eifert, Kyle Rudolph, and John Carlson before him. Cole Kmet had a great performance against Georgia on Saturday. Kmet hauled in nine catches for 109 yards and was a great possession receiver. With a quarterback in Ian Book who can put passes right on the money, Kmet should be able to use his size and strength to make catches in tight windows. Another big pass catcher that stepped up was Chase Claypool. Claypool had 66 receiving yards on the day, and I feel like Notre Dame should have used him more. Claypool had a matchup advantage over Georgia’s cornerbacks and I wish it was exploited more. Book threw two interceptions, but I think he will clean it up as he has done well in big games before. I do worry about Notre Dame’s fun game as they were bottled up by Georgia. If they want to contend for a NY6 Bowl, they will need to find success in the run game with Jafar Armstrong injures.

On defense, Notre Dame did not get shredded against the run like many expected. The Fighting Irish did bend against the run, but they never really broke as they did not give up a run over 16 yards. I think their performance against the run was encouraging for the future. I think Notre Dame showed they were a legitimate top 10 team on Saturday and could possibly end the regular season 11-1.

Auburn

After an uninspiring 8-5 season in 2018, Auburn was looked to likely have a similar performance this season and that it was a strong possibility head coach Gus Malzahn would be fired. With Auburn currently sitting at 4-0 and ranked in the top 10, none of that looks to be the case. The Tigers upped their record to 4-0 last Saturday after a 28-20 win at Texas A&M. Bo Nix was not a major game changer, but he did well for a true freshman playing his first true road game in a tough environment. On defense, the Tigers did very well against the run, allowing just 56 rushing yards on 2.7 yards per carry. Auburn also added seven tackles for loss and seven quarterback hurries. Auburn is looking like a legitimate threat in the SEC this season.

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh lost at UCF 51-6 last season. This season, their fortunes looked to be fully reversed as they led 21-0 in the second quarter and had their win probability up to 90%. The Knights narrowed the gap and trailed just 21-10 at halftime and carried momentum. UCF fully took momentum when they scored on their first drive in the second half. In Pittsburgh’s ensuing possession, they were forced to punt and UCF’s Otis Anderson ran it back for a touchdown to give them the 24-21 lead. The Knights even built upon that as they went ahead 31-21 and had their win probability up to 90%. Pittsburgh scored to cut it to 31-28 but both offenses stagnated for a bit after that. UCF kicked a field goal with four minutes to go. On their next drive, Pittsburgh ended up scoring while running the Philly Special (or the Pitt Special as they called it) where receiver Aaron Matthews threw a pass to quarterback Kenny Pickett. This call was also on a fourth down, the second fourth down the Panthers converted.

Pittsburgh weathered the storm of UCF’s comeback and had a magnificent final drive. The Panthers has a very well executed defensive game plan, swarming UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel with six sacks, seven quarterback hurries, and 12 tackles for loss. The Panthers did very well against the run and tried to make a true freshman quarterback beat them. That is always a tough ask for a true freshman. Kenny Pickett was solid at quarterback and played a gutsy game. The Panthers also ran the ball well.

USC

USC looked like they were on a downward slope as Utah came to town Friday night. The Trojans lost quarterback Kedon Slovis early, and turned to third string quarterback Matt Fink. What was not expected was that Fink had an amazing performance, completing 21/30 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Michael Pittman Jr. had a monster game at receiver with 10 catches for 232 yards. The Trojans held off a great Utah defensive line and gave Fink time to throw. On defense, safety Talanoa Hufanga came up big with 14 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. I have no idea what to expect the rest of the way for USC, but it is clear that they are a force when they play up to their talent level.

Who Failed to Show Up

Michigan

Ever since Jim Harbaugh was hired at Michigan, his main weakness has been his performance in big games and his inability to have an effective offense. Both of those criticisms were proven correct in Michigan’s 35-14 loss to Wisconsin.

The Wolverines struggled heavily on offense. Through the air, Michigan completed just 17/42 passes for just a 40% completion percentage. Shea Patterson struggled heavily at quarterback and was benched in favor of Dylan McCaffrey. McCaffrey did not look much better and left the game with a concussion after being the victim of a targeting penalty. Joe Milton threw two passes and both were incomplete. Patterson looks to stay the starter, but Milton has taken some first team reps this week. McCaffrey could take the job once he gets healthy. The Wolverines also struggled greatly when it came to running the ball. They also were plagued by turnovers as they threw two interceptions and had two fumbles.

Michigan’s offense was said to be more modernized this season with the addition of Josh Gattis at offensive coordinator. Gattis was said to install the spread offense and commonly referred to the changes as speed in space. Michigan still trotted our multiple sets with a fullback or with two tight ends, or both. Those concepts are about the farthest thing from the spread you can have. I think that Harbaugh has not given Gattis full control of the offense like he stated before. The offense Michigan has typically run under Harbaugh just does not have a very high ceiling to me as it relies heavily on the run and does not create too many big plays. They need to modernize the offense, and be willing to risk it not working out immediately. With job security a question, it might be hard to give time though.

On defense, the Wolverines got torched by Wisconsin in just about every facet of the game. They had no answer for Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor who went for over 200 yards. The Wolverines also could not get much done against Wisconsin’s offensive line. Michigan’s defense has been their calling card in recent years so they can not get punked like this and expect to do well.

Throughout his tenure at Michigan, I have always been a supporter of Jim Harbaugh I thought it was ridiculous that he was fired from his head coaching job with the San Francisco 49ers and the job he did at Stanford was one of the most impressive ones I have seen in recent memory. I thought his hiring at Michigan was going to be an absolute slam dunk. During their losses to Ohio State and struggles in big games, I still supported Harbaugh. This loss here is the first time I have truly felt doubt creep in about if he can avoid having Michigan plateau at 10 wins. Harbaugh was hired to bring Michigan back to championship status and he just can not get over the hump. Despite that, I still think he should be kept around barring disasters. With this being his fifth season, I think many fans have forgotten how rough things were in Ann Arbor when Harbaugh got there. He inherited a program that made two very poor hires in Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, and had suffered for seven season because of it. Lloyd Carr was a legendary coach for Michigan but I do not know if they can realistically be expected to win the Big 10 on a consistent basis. Ohio State is one of the few championship caliber programs and is their main rival. While I am not saying Harbaugh should not have his job questioned, I think expectations might need to be lowered a bit. I also would ask who Michigan could conceivably hire that is better than him because I can not think of anybody.

Utah

Utah fell short at USC on Friday night for their first loss of the season. To start, the Utes gave up 351 passing yards to a third string quarterback. Their strong run defense was just not enough since they continually got burned, especially by USC receiver Michael Pittman Jr. who had 232 receiving yards. On offense, the Utes put up solid yardage numbers but struggled to finish or extend drives as they were 5/14 on third down. They also shot themselves in the foot as they committed 16 penalties and had 120 penalty yards. Utah was looking like a darkhorse playoff contender but now those hopes look to be all but gone, especially with an injury to running back Zack Moss. Utah can still win the Pac 12 South, but progress needs to be made.

TCU

TCU joined the top 25, but had a brief stay as they lost to SMU in the Battle for the Iron Skillet (awesome rivalry name) on Saturday. SMU jumped ahead early 18-7, taking advantage of a very bad start for TCU’s offense. The Horned Frogs pulled it together but still never held a lead or cut it closer than seven points until they scored their last touchdown with three minutes left and SMU held on to win 41-38. True freshman Max Duggan was struggling massively to start, completing just one of his first 11 passes. Duggan calmed down and did decently the rest of the way but dug himself a bit too big of a hole to get out of. Darius Anderson had a herculean effort at running back as he ran for 161 yards. What did not help the Horned Frogs is that they lost three fumbles, all of which were when they were backed up in SMU territory. SMU made the most of TCU’s mistakes all game. Texas graduate transfer Shane Buechele it is awesome to see him do well as a Longhorns fan) had a good game, completing 23/34 passes for 288 yards. Reggie Roberson Jr. led the way with 122 receiving yards for the Mustangs. SMU will be an interesting team to watch as they now sit at 4-0.

Some Random Thoughts:

Tulane’s win over Houston was quite impressive and I loved the call to go with a fake kneel down at the end of regulation to set up a Hail Mary. Fake kneel downs are awesome when they work and Tulane’s definitely did. The Green Wave brought home the win on a 47 yard pass from Justin McMillan to Jalen McCleskey. Tulane looks quite good and will be interesting to watch in the AAC.

This entire situation with D’Eriq King is just weird to me. King has decided to redshirt the rest of the 2019 season and play at Houston in 2020. First off, it seems like it is likely he will just transfer (with Oklahoma being a commonly talked about destination) despite King’s denial of that. I also believe he is being a poor teammate with this decision. It seems like he has already given up in the season since Houston is 1-3. I feel that I would consider him a quitter if I was his teammate, especially a fellow senior on the team. I also do not see how staying at Houston will help King’s draft stock. He is a fringe NFL prospect, but I feel like he is a big risk for injury and I do not see what proves that the team will be better. It is just a puzzling all around decision.

FIU defensive lineman David Reynolds came up with possibly the most improbable interception I have seen as the ball bounced off of a fellow defensive lineman’s foot and Reynolds made a diving catch.

Tua Tagovailoa had a big day for Alabama as he threw for 293 yards on 21 attempts in a 49-7 win over Southern Miss

The Saturday afternoon matchup between Cal and Ole Miss had a crazy ending. On third and goal with time running out, it looked like Elijah Moore caught a pass in the end zone, but he was ruled down at the one. Ole Miss failed to convert on fourth and goal leading to a 28-20 Cal win. True freshman quarterback John Rhys Plumlee stepped up big for Ole Miss when starter Matt Corral went down. Plumlee completed 7/7 passes for 82 yards and ran for another 53. For Cal, Evan Weaver had an outstanding game at linebacker with 21 total tackles and made the stop on fourth and goal to secure the win for the Golden Bears.

LSU is 4-0 after their 66-38 win over Vanderbilt, LSU is winning because of their passing game and in spite of their defense. Imagine saying that five years ago.

Appalachian State finally got another upset over a Power Five team with a 34-31 win over North Carolina. The Mountaineers led the whole game and outplayed North Carolina in all facets.

Ohio State took down Miami Ohio 76-5 which not only is a weird score line, but also was a dominant win. The Buckeyes look to be a top tier team is far this season, but have not played anyone of note yet.

Alex Hornibrook saw time for Florida State after an injury to James Blackman and actually looked good. I wonder if Florida State reconsiders their quarterback situation.

Jacob Eason had a big day in Washington’s 45-19 win over BYU, throwing for 290 yards and over 10 yards per passing attempt.

Mississippi State took down Kentucky 28-13. Mississippi State quarterback Garrett Shrader had a big day, going for 180 yards through the air and 125 yards on the ground. Shrader looks like he could take control of the starting spot, and I think he will by the end of the season.

Tennessee quarterback JT Shrout not knowing how to use the sideline phone was a tad bit hilarious.

Oregon played well on defense in their win over Stanford, but they lack skill position talent and will be counting down the days until their receiver room is moderately healthy.

Texas was pretty sloppy in their win over Oklahoma State as they had two muffed punts, but still won 36-30. The Longhorns did very well against a high powered offense and prevented Oklahoma State from pushing them around. Chuba Hubbard ran for 121 yards, but it took him 37 carries to do so. Tylan Wallace had a fairly pedestrian 88 receiving yards which was ablut 200 less than I thought he would have. Sam Ehlinger had a big game as per usual, and Keaontay Ingram did well at running back. The injury to Caden Sterns is a bit concerning though.

San Jose State, who won one game in the Mountain West in 2018, beat Arkansas 31-24. Arkansas does not look to be in a good spot currently.

Nebraska had to come back to beat Illinois 42-38. The Cornhuskers have some deficiencies but they do have Adrian Martinez at quarterback, who is really good which helps.

Georgia’s light show at their stadium before the Notre Dame game was awesome.

Colorado is 3-1 after their win over then undefeated Arizona State. The Pac 12 South will be a bit more interesting than I had previously thought.

Michigan State linebacker Joe Bachie stiffed the stat sheet in their 31-10 win over Northwestern. On the day, Bachie had 14 total tackles, 13 of which were solo. He also added a sacks, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry, and two pass deflections.

Washington State and UCLA played a peak Pac 12 After Dark game Saturday night. Washington State was up 49-17 in the third quarter before UCLA scored 50 points in 18 minutes of game time to pull off the improbable comeback and tsk Rhône their first win of the season by a score of 67-63. UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson looked like he transformed into Kyler Murray briefly as he threw for 507 yards and had seven total touchdowns. Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon threw for 570 yards and a whopping nine touchdowns. Washington State had seven players with at least 60 receiving yards.

This week’s cool uniform award goes to Tulane, Boise State, (this jersey is so far the best I have seen this season) Vanderbilt, and Ole Miss.

To be notified when I post, follow my Instagram @ impassionedsportsnerd.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

Like this: Like Loading...