By JC Nevils
There were a lot of exciting matchups this weekend, with teams
solidifying their status while others are dropping off quickly. There
were also some firings going on, with one being the biggest of them
all. Let’s dive in.
Winners
1. Texas A&M
You may be wondering why I have the Aggies as winners
here after all of the hoopla. Well, not only did they impressively beat Mississippi State, but also fired head coach Jimbo Fisher the following day. Many have been calling for his job down
in Aggie Land, but the administration finally pulled the trigger.
It shouldn’t have taken so long with all of the disappointment and
false hype he has brought, but then again I can understand because of
the enormous $75 million buyout. Even that couldn’t stop the administration
from calling it quits before the season ended.
The Aggies won both on the
field while also having plenty of time to get their next guy. Texas A&M has all of the resources along with blue chip players, so it shouldn’t
be too long before we see a new guy in charge.
2. Georgia
The Bulldogs had a tough test on their hands with an 8-1 top-ten Ole Miss squad coming into town. It
was probably the second most hyped game, only behind Michigan vs. Penn State. Despite that, Georgia once again
handled business.
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People along with pundits have talked about their schedule by calling it “soft”, but whomever they seem to face
they stand on business and perform. Some games may not look how
they want, but they always end up with the win. Lane Kiffin had
probably the best team he will ever have at Ole Miss and he was
completely defeated after the 52-17 blowout loss. Great teams always find a way to
win and the Bulldogs are well on their way to a third straight
national title.
3. QB Jayden Daniels, LSU
The star signal caller in the bayou had himself a night for the ages against the Florida Gators this past weekend. All he did was throw for 373 yards through the air, run for 234 yards on the ground, and score five touchdowns. In the process, he became the first player ever in college football history to pass for 350 and run for 200 yards in a game.
The Tigers only have a record of 7-3 which hurts most Heisman candidates, but Daniels may just be one of the few outliers. He leads the nation in total offense per game at 408.2 yards, passing touchdowns (30), and quarterback rating (94.2).
During postgame, Daniels was asked a question: Was tonight your Heisman moment? He responded with “I would say so, as humbly as possible.” I would certainly agree. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he ended up on the podium as the Heisman winner.
Losers
1. Tennessee
The Volunteers came into this week with a chance to
compete for the SEC East title, but that went away very quickly. From the very first play, you
could tell how the game was going to go. Former D-II running back and SEC-leading rusher Cody Schrader came out of the backfield for
a long reception that started an onslaught.
He beat the Volunteers single-handedly as he became the
first player in the SEC to rush for over 200 and 100 receiving yards. Tennessee simply had no answers.
Their offense was also disappointing, which had been sort of a trend on the
road.
Now, Missouri sits second in the East with only two losses
as they likely will get an impressive 10 wins. Tennessee on the other
hand has Georgia coming to town with a season that could end with four regular-season losses.
2. Colorado
They say when it rains it pours right? Well, it has been
pouring the last month or so in Boulder. After the Buffaloes got off
to a hot 3-0 start, the train seemed to have derailed. Colorado now has lost four
straight and five out of their last six games after a heartbreaker against
Arizona. Coach Prime can’t be happy about that at all.
Two weekends ago, Sanders made a change on offense as he demoted OC Sean Lewis. While he
may have been looking for a spark, I don’t quite think that was the
move. I believe the defense is his biggest problem all around, other
than the historically bad offensive line play.
With all of that being
said, the Buffaloes have still somehow overachieved as they only won one
single game a year ago while winning four so far this season. They
can also still get to a bowl if they win out, but that is a big if with
the way they have performed recently.
3. Penn State
Coming into the weekend, the Nittany Lions had a chance
at the Big Ten East title and a trip to the conference championship
despite their loss to Ohio State. That all went away after an abysmal
showing on offense, and with their defense folding up like a wallet
against the run. With all of that put together, they ended the game
with a heartbreaking 24-15 loss.
What makes the loss even worse is that Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy ended the
game with only eight attempts, completing seven for 60 yards. There were no passes thrown in the second half. On
the other side, Drew Allar only went 10-22 for 70 yards and one
garbage time touchdown. That certainly won’t win you the big
games, or hardly any games. This now also puts James Franklin‘s record against Michigan and Ohio State at 4-16. With those
results, I don’t think Penn State will ever get over the hump. Others agree.
