Why shouldn't people panic about ND's season so far? (YouTube)
Andrew Hussey; @thehussnetwork
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Andrew's weekly take on all things college football
10/6/15 |
NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND: COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 5
Week in Review
What do we know about college football so far this season, five weeks in? Well, not much, but while many things are in flux (looking at you Pac-12, Big Ten West, and SEC East), there’s two big ideas that remain true from last season:
Who’s Hot!
Clemson’s Front Seven: Coming into the year, Clemson was predicted to be noticeably worse on defense after losing Vic Beasley, Grady Jarrett, and Stephone Anthony to the NFL. On Saturday night, they held the vaunted Notre Dame running game in check. Coming into the game, ND running back C.J. Prosise was averaging 150 yards. Clemson held him to 50 yards, and hit him at or behind the line of scrimmage on 44% of his rushes (per ESPN). Lead by lineman Shaq Lawson and linebacker Ben Boulware, Clemson established themselves as a physical defense and forced Notre Dame to pass a ton on a soggy night.
Ezekiel Elliot: Ohio State struggled on the road to beat Indiana, but Elliot was the Buckeye’s saving grace, helping them win 34-27. He had three long touchdown runs in the second half of 55, 65, and 75 yards, carving his way through IU’s defense. Once he was in the open field, he was gone. Elliot is the only player in the last 10 seasons with three rushing touchdowns of 50 yards or more in one half (Per ESPN).
Who’s Not!
Cardale Jones The big-armed quarterback who led Ohio State to a national championship last season is just not getting it done. Saturday against a porous Indiana secondary, he was unable to get many big plays and struggled in the red zone. Inaccurate, Jones finished with a 11.2 QBR and didn’t look like the sure-fire NFL quarterback everyone had hyped him to be.
Nebraska: After firing Bo Pelini for winning nine games every year, Nebraska hired former Oregon State coach Mike Riley. Under Riley this season, the Cornhuskers are 2-3, with three last-second losses. The most recent was at Illinois where they lost 14-13 after leading 13-0 after three quarters.
Game of the Week: No. 23 Cal at No. 5 Utah
How many people had this pegged going into the year as the best game of Week Six? This game has many long-term ramifications on the Pac-12 and playoff races. Both teams come in undefeated (Utah at 4-0 and Cal at 5-0), but Utah looks to be the most surprising team so far in the nation.
This game is Utah’s first coming off a "bye" since they throttled the corpse of Oregon 62-20. They have a steady presence at quarterback in Travis Wilson who is completing 68% of his passes. What really makes their offense go is running back Devontae Booker, who has 442 yards this season.
Cal’s Jared Goff, who is the talk of NFL draft analysts everywhere, will test Utah’s defense. Goff has already passed for 1,630 yards and 15 touchdowns this season and Cal’s high-powered offense is one of the best in the nation, as they are scoring 43 points per game.
What do we know about college football so far this season, five weeks in? Well, not much, but while many things are in flux (looking at you Pac-12, Big Ten West, and SEC East), there’s two big ideas that remain true from last season:
- Don’t ever write off Alabama. Don’t make them an underdog at Georgia because if you do, they will destroy anything in their path. They beat Georgia 38-10, not because their quarterback Jake Coker was substantially better than he was against Ole Miss, but because their defense played like a typical Alabama defense. The only way to beat Alabama is to have a quarterback that is a dual threat who makes plays downfield. Greyson Lambert is not that and he finished with a 2.0 QBR. Alabama contained Nick Chubb for the most part other than a 83 yard run and Derrick Henry ran wild for the Tide’s offense. The Alabama dynasty isn’t dead, not even close.
- Baylor and TCU are good at offense. They combined for 113 points against Texas Tech and Texas respectively, two not-very-good defenses. They combined for 58 points in the first quarter, boat-racing their opponents. When everyone was starting to forget about these two Big 12 teams, they decide to wake us all up with a blowtorch of offense.
Who’s Hot!
Clemson’s Front Seven: Coming into the year, Clemson was predicted to be noticeably worse on defense after losing Vic Beasley, Grady Jarrett, and Stephone Anthony to the NFL. On Saturday night, they held the vaunted Notre Dame running game in check. Coming into the game, ND running back C.J. Prosise was averaging 150 yards. Clemson held him to 50 yards, and hit him at or behind the line of scrimmage on 44% of his rushes (per ESPN). Lead by lineman Shaq Lawson and linebacker Ben Boulware, Clemson established themselves as a physical defense and forced Notre Dame to pass a ton on a soggy night.
Ezekiel Elliot: Ohio State struggled on the road to beat Indiana, but Elliot was the Buckeye’s saving grace, helping them win 34-27. He had three long touchdown runs in the second half of 55, 65, and 75 yards, carving his way through IU’s defense. Once he was in the open field, he was gone. Elliot is the only player in the last 10 seasons with three rushing touchdowns of 50 yards or more in one half (Per ESPN).
Who’s Not!
Cardale Jones The big-armed quarterback who led Ohio State to a national championship last season is just not getting it done. Saturday against a porous Indiana secondary, he was unable to get many big plays and struggled in the red zone. Inaccurate, Jones finished with a 11.2 QBR and didn’t look like the sure-fire NFL quarterback everyone had hyped him to be.
Nebraska: After firing Bo Pelini for winning nine games every year, Nebraska hired former Oregon State coach Mike Riley. Under Riley this season, the Cornhuskers are 2-3, with three last-second losses. The most recent was at Illinois where they lost 14-13 after leading 13-0 after three quarters.
Game of the Week: No. 23 Cal at No. 5 Utah
How many people had this pegged going into the year as the best game of Week Six? This game has many long-term ramifications on the Pac-12 and playoff races. Both teams come in undefeated (Utah at 4-0 and Cal at 5-0), but Utah looks to be the most surprising team so far in the nation.
This game is Utah’s first coming off a "bye" since they throttled the corpse of Oregon 62-20. They have a steady presence at quarterback in Travis Wilson who is completing 68% of his passes. What really makes their offense go is running back Devontae Booker, who has 442 yards this season.
Cal’s Jared Goff, who is the talk of NFL draft analysts everywhere, will test Utah’s defense. Goff has already passed for 1,630 yards and 15 touchdowns this season and Cal’s high-powered offense is one of the best in the nation, as they are scoring 43 points per game.
Per @PFF, Jared Goff is:
#1 QB Rating
#2 Accuracy %
#1 Deep Passing
#5 Under Pressure
#1 Play Action
#119/130 on time given in the pocket
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) September 25, 2015Cal struggled to beat Texas on the road, but Goff could prove too much to handle for Utah.
Tune at 10:00 PM for the first real edition of #Pac12AfterDark this season, and this one should be fun.
Statline of the Week: Will Grier, Florida QB: 24-29, 271 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions
After Florida struggled through the likes of John Brantley, Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel, Tyler Murphy, and Treon Harris at quarterback since the departure of Tim Tebow, the Gators look to have found their guy.
Tune at 10:00 PM for the first real edition of #Pac12AfterDark this season, and this one should be fun.
Statline of the Week: Will Grier, Florida QB: 24-29, 271 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions
After Florida struggled through the likes of John Brantley, Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel, Tyler Murphy, and Treon Harris at quarterback since the departure of Tim Tebow, the Gators look to have found their guy.
Will Grier is the 1st Florida QB to throw for 4 touchdowns in a half since Chris Leak in 2005
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 4, 2015Even with the flu, Grier eviscerated Ole Miss’s talented defense. If this is how Grier can play, Florida could make a run at the playoff under first year coach Jim McElwain. Will Muschamp may have struggled on offense and coaching in general, but he left Florida’s talent pretty well stocked.
One Thing I Think
Notre Dame’s playoff chances are not dead. The Irish lost on a two-point conversion attempt on the road in the pouring rain against a playoff contender. Even with all the injuries they have racked up, what we saw from quarterback DeShone Kizer in the fourth quarter was special. Instead of being a liability, Kizer was able to mount an epic comeback.
After the rough first quarter from Notre Dame’s defense, they shut down Clemson (albeit Clemson shut themselves down by going ultra conservative) for the most part, especially when it counted. Without their defense stepping up, ND’s offense would have never been able to climb back in the game.
Brian Kelly might have screwed up his math on the two-point conversions, but if Corey Robinson catches that two-point conversion early on in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame would have been going for the game winning extra point in the closing seconds, not getting stuffed on the one-yard line. Don’t blame Kelly for the four turnovers, which could have doomed the Irish.
They are going to need this resiliency to run the table and to get back in the playoff discussion. Games against USC and Stanford are their big remain tests and both look passable after ND nearly pulled off a huge comeback on the road. They have playoff level talent on both sides of the ball, now they just have to focus on winning every game left on their schedule.
One Thing I Think
Notre Dame’s playoff chances are not dead. The Irish lost on a two-point conversion attempt on the road in the pouring rain against a playoff contender. Even with all the injuries they have racked up, what we saw from quarterback DeShone Kizer in the fourth quarter was special. Instead of being a liability, Kizer was able to mount an epic comeback.
After the rough first quarter from Notre Dame’s defense, they shut down Clemson (albeit Clemson shut themselves down by going ultra conservative) for the most part, especially when it counted. Without their defense stepping up, ND’s offense would have never been able to climb back in the game.
Brian Kelly might have screwed up his math on the two-point conversions, but if Corey Robinson catches that two-point conversion early on in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame would have been going for the game winning extra point in the closing seconds, not getting stuffed on the one-yard line. Don’t blame Kelly for the four turnovers, which could have doomed the Irish.
They are going to need this resiliency to run the table and to get back in the playoff discussion. Games against USC and Stanford are their big remain tests and both look passable after ND nearly pulled off a huge comeback on the road. They have playoff level talent on both sides of the ball, now they just have to focus on winning every game left on their schedule.