Another week of college football is in the books, so it’s time to shine a light on those teams and individuals who distinguished themselves on the gridiron:
Michigan State: in their first big playoff credential test, the Spartans came through with a critical win against a good Oregon squad. It wasn’t always pretty, and there were a few nervous moments late for the crowd in East Lansing, but Mark Dantonio’s men prevailed by three points, 31-28.
Will Fuller: the Notre Dame receiver enjoyed his second straight game with one hundred yards receiving and two touchdowns as the Irish – somehow, someway – survived what would have been an embarrassing loss to Virginia, scoring a game-winning touchdown with less than a minute remaining left to triumph 34-27. Fuller’s 124 yards and two scores came on just five receptions, which is nearly 25 yards per catch on average. His touchdown catches were for 59 and 39 yards respectively.
Oklahoma: the Sooners were down and out by half time, and looked about as close to a victory as I am to a PhD in rocket science. Enter Baker Mayfield, the plucky quarterback who brought his team back from a 17-3 deficit to beat Tennessee inside a raucous Neyland Stadium 31-24 in double overtime, in arguably the best game of the weekend. Mayfield made a slew of clutch plays late in regulation and into overtime, and the Sooner defense sealed the memorable win with an interception of Tennessee QB Josh Dobbs. Big Game Bob Stoops does it again!
Cody Kessler: the USC quarterback passed for a career high 410 yards as the Trojans rolled through Idaho in Los Angeles, 59-9. Things get more serious for Southern Cal next week against Stanford.
Dalvin Cook: the Florida State running back ran for a whopping 266 yards – a career high, in case you were wondering – as the Seminoles beat South Florida 31-14.
Brigham Young: No Taysom Hill, no worries for the Cougars, who beat a ranked Boise State team 35-24 at home on Saturday night to open the season 2-0. There are few things harder than trying to replace a guy as prolific all over the field as Hill, but Tanner Mangum, the Hail Mary hero from last week at Nebraska, took over and delivered a win I, for one, didn’t see coming.
Luke Falk: no stranger to putting up big numbers and throwing the football thirty or more times a game, the Washington State quarterback completed 47 of 66 passes for 478 yards and four touchdowns as the Cougars from the Pac-12 beat the scandal-ridden Rutgers Scarlet Knights 37-34. The Mike Leach system continues to throw up eye-opening numbers, with WSU notching 559 total yards of offense.
Michigan: the Jim Harbaugh era in Ann Arbor has it’s first win, with the Wolverines taking care of a disappointing Oregon State squad at Michigan Stadium, 35-7. The first win of Harbaugh’s career came in large part thanks to RB De’Veon Smith who amassed 126 yards and scored three touchdowns. The Wolverine defense deserves credit, too. They held Oregon State to a paltry 145 total yards.
Houston: the Cougars outlasted Louisville 34-31 after a see-sawing fourth quarter where both teams had the lead and momentum. It was Tom Herman’s first win as a big-time head coach, the former Ohio State offensive coordinator engineering a win away from home, thanks largely to QB Greg Ward Jr., who was effective with both his legs and arm. Two of his three touchdown passes came late. Herman is one of football’s good guys, and a lot of people around the college football world will be very happy for him.
C.J. Prosise: Apparently it’s a case of no Tarean Folston in Notre Dame, no worries. Prosise, the next man in, ripped off 155 yards on just seventeen carries, going at nearly ten yards a touch, and scored a touchdown. Encouraging result for an Irish running game that won’t have Folston all season.
Eastern Michigan: the Eagles broke a twenty-seven year non-conference road game losing streak with a 48-29 victory over a disappointing Wyoming in Laramie. They jumped out to a 38-7 lead in the first half and continued the rout.
North Dakota State: the Bison beat Weber State 41-14 in the Fargodome on Saturday, extending it’s streak of consecutive home wins out to twenty-four. This program knows no bounds.
Ole Miss: the Rebels are into the history books, becoming the first team in SEC history to score 73 points in back-to-back games. It’s also the first time that’s happened in any conference since Houston did it, way back in 1968.
Toledo: the Rockets beat No. 18 Arkansas 16-12. The Razorbacks are the second-highest ranked opponent Toledo has beaten in school history after a victory over No. 9 Pitt in 2003.
Delaware State: managed to score thirteen points today against Kent State. Why is that worthy of a slot on the Heroes list? Because they did it whilst amassing -33 yards of total offense.
JuJu Smith-Schuster: the insanely talented USC receiver had a career night in the Trojans rout of Idaho at the Coliseum, making ten catches for 192 yards and two scores. He’s dynamite every time he touches the ball, and I love watching him.
No comments:
Post a Comment