After starting with a bang and running unopposed to the NFL in last week, college football appeared to be kind of low-key this week on paper. Against the odds, many of the games delivered and we are starting to get a sense of how things are going to go this season for many teams.
Winners
The Battle at Bristol. A record 156,000 people showed up to a speedway to watch a college football game. I have to admit, I was sucked in to this event and thought it was a huge hit from the pre-game pageantry to the unbelievable crowd shots during the game. This was a huge victory for college football and could open the door for similar events in the future.
Louisville Quarterback Lamar Jackson. All Jackson did in the Cardinals win over Syracuse was rack up 610 total yards and 5 touchdowns. If this guy isn’t on your Heisman short list, you better add him this week and Louisville looks like they could be a formidable team in the ACC this year.
LSU’s Quarterback Change. Tiger quarterback Brandon Harris has struggled for most of his career in Baton Rouge and coach Les Miles had finally seen enough as the team struggled to move the ball on Jacksonville State early in the game. Enter Danny Etling who immediately threw for a long touchdown and led LSU to an easy win, which could give them a whole new lease on the season.
Florida’s Streak Continues. The Gators won their 30th straight game over Kentucky Saturday, manhandling the hapless Wildcats 45-7. Mark Stoops’ hot seat is getting warmer by the minute, meanwhile, Florida look like they are ready to contend for another SEC East title.
Arkansas. Has there ever been anything like the Arkansas Razorbacks under coach Bret Bielema? Every game they play is down to the wire regardless of opponent and they would find another overtime victory on Saturday night against 15th-ranked TCU on the road.
Losers
The Officials Who Allowed Oklahoma State’s Upset. The MAC and Big 12 officials responsible for misinterpreting a rule that allowed Central Michigan to beat Oklahoma State on a hail mary/hook and ladder have been suspended for two games and with good reason. If the conferences are admitting it was a mistake why can we not go back and retroactively change who won the game? The same should have been done back in 1990 during Colorado’s 5th down win over Missouri.
The Texas Tech Defense. It allowed an unbelievable 68 points to Arizona State in a loss that could vault head coach Kliff Kingsbury squarely to the hot seat as his teams continue to struggle defensively, just as they did when he played at Tech in the early 2000’s.
Clemson’s Ray Ray McCloud. He had a walk-in touchdown after a 75 yard punt return but pulled a Desean Jackson and dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. How does this keep happening? It has to be one of the dumbest things you can do in all of sports and yet it continues to occur!
Ejections Abound. USC left tackle Chuma Edoga was ejected from the Trojans game Saturday night after pushing an official. BYU suffered back-to-back ejections as two defensive players were disqualified following consecutive targeting penalties as the Cougars fell again to Utah.
Northwestern. How many times will the Wildcats make this list in 2016? Following an unforgivable loss to Western Michigan a week ago, they followed it up by losing to Illinois State at home on a field goal as time expired. It’s going to be a long year in Evanston, but Northwestern’s peril may keep us in business throughout the season.
