Mike Farrell Sports

College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

Week 11 National Blitz: We Are Second Rate! Kiff Whiffs, Drink it Up, Prime Decline, and Much More

Week 11 saw Penn State and Ole Miss in Tolp-10 failures, Mizzou thrash Tennessee, Colorado lose in heartbreak, and more.

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Sep 30
Sep 30

By Rock Westfall

No Benjamins for Franklin: Another Top-10 Flop

Penn State’s 24-15 home loss to Michigan was more of the same in coach James Franklin’s program. Penn State was pounded for 227 yards rushing by the Maize and Blue, who played without suspended head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Michigan’s court request for a temporary restraining order was delayed until later this week.  Michigan stands a good shot at springing Harbaugh and having him on the sideline as soon as next week at Maryland.  

Blake Corum led with 145-yard rushing and two TDs for Michigan. JJ McCarthy was only 7/8 for 60 yards passing. Harbaugh directed temporary head coach Sherrone Moore to ground and pound. It was a ruthless imposition of total manhood.

Under Franklin, Penn State (8-2, 5-2) is now 3-17 against Top-10 opponents. Additionally, PSU is 4-16 against Ohio State and Michigan (10-0, 7-0).

Penn State fans must accept this is who they are—a good but not great football program. The Nits are nowhere near where they must be if they want to contend for a national championship. The program has a gravity that Franklin is unable to bust through.

What should scare Penn State fans is that the issue may be more institutional than Franklin himself. Since finishing number two in the final 1994 polls, Penn State has only one other top-five finish (3rd in 2005).

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A Kiff Whiff of Franklin-esque Proportions

In like manner to Franklin, Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin suffered a 52-17 loss at Georgia. The Rebs allowed 611 total yards and committed nine penalties for 68 yards.

Georgia’s All-World tight end Brock Bowers returned to the lineup from injury to catch three passes for 34 yards and a TD. Carson Beck threw for 306 yards and two TDs. In November, games are remembered, and the two-time defending national champion Bulldogs (10-0, 7-0) are playing their best football of the season.

Kiffin is now 1-11 against Top-Five opponents as a head coach. He admitted after the game that the Rebels are nowhere near playoff caliber and that they must improve recruiting. Previously, Kiffin has also whined that Ole Miss (8-2, 5-2) needs more NIL money to compete.

In the SEC, winning championships with a defense ranked 84th is impossible. Kiffin and quality defense is a tandem we are yet to see. No evidence inspires faith for improvement in the Grove.

Drink it Up – Mizzou Football is Back With a Vengeance 

The wrong team was favored at Faurot Field, where the Missouri Tigers ran roughshod over the Tennessee Volunteers 36-7 as 2.5-point home dogs. The result was no accident, with Mizzou outgaining Tennessee 530-350. Tennessee was rendered helpless, allowing 255 yards rushing, including 205 yards by Cody Schrader. Tennessee committed nine penalties for 95 yards and three turnovers in a putrid performance.

SEC goobers have long derided Mizzou since it arrived in 2012. But the Tigers (8-2, 4-2) made the SEC Championship Game in 2013 and 2014. Only the self-inflicted wound of caving to the mob in a 2015 campus strike derailed the program. When Missouri is right, they have proven they can compete in the SEC.

Head coach Eli Drinkwitz repaired bad relations in the all-important St. Louis recruiting area. The fans are back and packing The Zou. Drink has a program on the rise.

Meanwhile, Tennessee (7-3, 3-3) head coach Josh Heupel is in for a rough week. Big Orange fans believe the Vols should never lose, let alone be dominated, by the likes of Mizzou.

Kentucky Stoops to its Level as Tide Keeps Rolling 

Like James Franklin and Lane Kiffin, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops has struggled against Top-10 teams with a record of 1-18. The Wildcats were run off their home field in a 49-21 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

After a 51-13 loss at Georgia on October 7, Kentucky fans went after Stoops for his poor record against the SEC elite. Stoops agreed and told fans to donate if they want that record to improve.

Stoops was right in his comments but was not artful in how he said it. But Kentucky (6-4, 3-4) fans need to get over themselves. Stoops has led this once pathetic program to its maximum gravity level. Kentucky now goes to bowls regularly, an achievement once considered impossible. While there is always room for improvement, embracing reality is also necessary.

Meanwhile, Alabama (9-1, 7-0) has overcome a shaky September to emerge as a serious SEC and national championship contender. QB Jalen Milroe is coming into his own. Milroe threw for 234 yards and three TDs at Kentucky. His season QBR improved to 171.1 with a 13/5 TD/INT ratio and 10.4 yards per attempt.

The 2023 season is remedial training for those who wrote off Nick Saban. It’s a mistake not to be made ever again.

A Prime Heartbreak – Colorado Almost Certain to Miss a Bowl Game 

The Colorado Buffaloes took a 31-24 lead over the Arizona Wildcats into the fourth quarter but failed to finish. Tyler Loop kicked a 24-yard field goal at the gun to lift Arizona (7-3, 5-2) to a 34-31 victory in the 2023 Folsom Field finale for the Buffs.

As a result of the loss, Colorado (4-6, 1-6) must win its final two games to become bowl-eligible. Certainly, the Buffs have a shot to win at free-falling Washington State this week. But the season finale at Utah is an almost certain deal-breaker. Following a 4-2 start, it’s a bitter pill for coach Deion Sanders, the celebrity set, and the rest of the bandwagon riders.

Colorado is recruiting at a decent but nowhere dominant level. Sanders is likely to hit the transfer portal hard. He desperately needs quality linemen and can’t afford to wait a couple of years to develop his own.  But good linemen are hard to find in college football’s used car lot.  

The sustainability of the Colorado program and coach Prime remains in doubt. Sanders’ coaching career has been about following his son Shedeur, now a junior, wherever he goes. The probability of Sanders staying in Boulder without his son is laughable and unrealistic. The thought of Deion Sanders staying for several years at Colorado to build a real program like Mark Stoops did at Kentucky is a pipe dream.

Deion Sanders is all about now and the family business. He demonstrates little care for most of his players. Prime needlessly humiliated offensive coordinator Sean Lewis with a demotion in favor of NFL has-been Pat Shurmur. He belittles and insults his current players in press conferences after losses.

Don’t be surprised if a mass exodus of players occurs in December. And potential recruits have to be turned off by what they see. Success at CU is nowhere near certain now or in the years to come.

In the National Interest

Florida State (10-0, 8-0) escaped a tough game against visiting Miami (6-4, 2-4) in a 27-20 win. It was a gutty character test for coach Mike Norvell’s Seminoles that could bode well for their championship aspirations. At the same time, Mario Cristobal’s team continues to struggle in ACC play.

Washington (10-0, 7-0) was too much for visiting Utah (7-3, 4-3) in a 35-28 win. Michael Penix Jr continued his Heisman quest with 332 yards passing and two TD throws. Injury-battered Utah will not get a Pac-12 three-peat championship.

Oklahoma (8-2, 5-2) stopped the bleeding in a 59-20 blowout of visiting West Virginia (6-4, 4-3). OU halted a two-game losing streak with its best performance in a month. Dillon Gabriel threw five TD passes with 423 yards.

Texas A&M (6-4, 4-3) routed visiting Mississippi State 51-10 (4-6, 1-6) and may have found a new starting QB. Sophomore Jaylen Henderson threw for 150 yards and two TDs while rushing for 60 yards and two more TDs. Comparisons to Lamar Jackson, who Texas A&M offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino coached to a Heisman Trophy at Louisville in 2016, were being uttered. Henderson filled in for the injured Max Johnson (rib). Texas A&M hasn’t flashed that much speed in years.  It was an eye-popper, for sure.  

LSU (7-3, 5-2) ran visiting Florida (5-5, 3-4) off the field in a 52-35 win. Speaking of the Heisman, QB Jayden Daniels delivered 373 yards passing with three TDs while adding 234 yards rushing with two more TDs. It was a humiliating night for the Florida defense. The Gators must win at Mizzou or home against Florida State to gain a much-needed bowl game for coach Billy Napier.  One wonders if the Florida program would be better now if they had stuck with Dan Mullen.

Finally, Oregon (9-1, 6-1) got past USC (7-4, 5-3) 36-27 in the Trojans first game since firing defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. The somewhat better USC defense was aided by 13 Oregon penalties for 120 yards. USC was outgained 552-379. Oregon QB Bo Nix threw for 412 yards and four TDs. USC’s problems will take a couple of recruiting classes to fix. Oregon remains in the hunt for everything.

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