Welcome to the quick recap of big things from Week 11 in the 20 Most Important College Football Thoughts Ever … at least for this week.
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20. Liberty 58, Western Carolina 14
Okay, so Malik Willis threw for 306 yards and three scores to go along with a team-high 97 rushing yards and two touchdowns, but the real thing that mattered was Virginia Tech’s performance against Miami. The Hokies lost by one, and NC State – next week’s opponent for the Flames – rocked Florida State. There’s a chance Liberty can be 3-0 against ACC teams and have a far, far, far better top-line win resumé than Cincinnati and BYU.
19. NC State 38, Florida State 22
There’s a shot NC State can close out a very quiet, very strong season with a great record if it can be the team that – with Syracuse and Georgia Tech to close – finally trips up Liberty next week. Florida State is just a shell of itself at this point – this game was over before the fourth quarter and a few late points – with QB Chubba Purdy stepping in and doing what he could. NC State wasn’t great, but it didn’t have to be.
18. Marshall 42, Middle Tennessee 14
If it’s possible to have a business-like 28-point blowout win on a day loaded with emotion – this marked the 50th year since the school’s devastating plane crash that killed most of the football team – this was it. Grant Wells threw five touchdown passes and didn’t make any big mistakes, the running game was fine, and the dominant Herd defense made it seven games without allowing more than 17 points.
17. Cincinnati 55, East Carolina 17
Yes, yes, very good Cincinnati. You’ve done the blow up the mediocre American Athletic Conference thing, but the world – particularly the College Football Playoff committee – is going to need more. It’s not the Bearcats’ fault, but there’s just nothing there – and don’t say SMU, Houston or Memphis, it demeans us both.
Yes, UCF lost to Memphis, but rocking the Knights in the Bounce House next week and taking care of Tulsa on the road – the last three games are on the road, including Temple – might just do it. The team has been a dominant machine with QB Desmond Ridder working his way into the honor of being the nation’s best unknown player.
16. Louisiana 38, South Alabama 10
Louisiana might be a top 25 team, but it’s still not getting any respect considering it holds the honor of handing Iowa State its worst loss of the season. South Alabama isn’t Alabama, but this was still a strong win against a decent defensive team that gave Tulane and Coastal Carolina a slew of problems. The Ragin’ Cajuns busted out an almost perfectly balanced day – 252 yards passing and 254 on the ground, but there were too many penalties and just enough mistakes to get yelled at this week.
NEXT: Top 15 Most Important College Football Thoughts Ever … For This Week
15. West Virginia 24, TCU 6
West Virginia is a different team at home. It’s 0-3 on the road – to be fair, playing Texas and Oklahoma State had something to do with that – and is now 5-0 at home with the Big 12’s best defense – it held TCU to 295 yards – and a decent enough offense this week to score in each quarter while the Horned Frogs only came up with two field goals. Next up? In two weeks it’s Oklahoma, and WVU has a chance to screw up the Big 12 race and be a friend to Texas, Oklahoma State and Iowa State.
14. Washington 27, Oregon State 21
Washington overcame a miserable punting debacle that ended up with an Oregon State touchdown, caught a few gigantic breaks on bad spots by the officials that hosed the Beavers. – watch it – and it was a fight, but Jimmy Lake got the win in his debut. The pass defense was great, the running game pounded away, and QB Dylan Morris was good enough. It looked like an opener for a team that needs a bit more tuning – just like everyone else in the Pac-12.
13. Iowa 35, Minnesota 7
Minnesota owes Penn State and Michigan for their respective flops, otherwise the biggest Big Ten story would be the disastrous start for the Gophers. Remember, last year they had a ridiculously easy start to the season to tune up for Penn State, but this year they’re not getting nearly enough from the run defense, the passing game isn’t clicking like it should, and with Purdue, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Nebraska to close, a 1-7 season is possible.
On the other side, Iowa has been great over the last two games thanks to the ground game – Tyler Goodson ran for 142 yards and two scores. However, the passing game isn’t working – Spencer Petras only hit 9-of-18 throws.
12. Miami 25, Virginia Tech 24
So, technically, Miami is the third-best team in the ACC, right? It’s a soft No. 3 team, but the Canes are still in the hunt for the ACC title and CFP if it wins out and Clemson has a hiccup in the final few games. The running game didn’t show up against the Hokies, and D’Eriq King was fine, but the team pulled out the road win. Neither team could block – both defenses came up with six sacks.
11. Oregon 43, Washington State 23
Everyone in the Pac-12 gets a bit of a free pass for a little bit. A whole slew of Oregon players opted out, there were going to be changes anyway in personnel, and the team is still playing like the most talented in the league. Tyler Shough was great – 312 yards and four scoring passes with 81 yards on the ground – and the O was outstanding on third downs, but the three turnovers made things more difficult than they needed to be. Take the 2-0 and keep moving on. As soon as the Ducks tighten up, watch out.
NEXT: Top 10 Most Important College Football Thoughts Ever … For This Week
10. North Carolina 59, Wake Forest 53
It feels like I spent all of last week telling Notre Dame fans that Boston College wasn’t the game to worry about. At North Carolina is up next, and at Wake Forest closes out the regular season – the Irish could lose either one, or both. Sam Hartman threw for 429 yards and four scores, but that gets lost because of the Demon Deacon collapse thanks to 550 yards and six scoring throws from Sam Howell.
9. Tulsa 28, SMU 24
Tulsa rallied back with 14 fourth quarter points to stun SMU, closing out with a Zaven Collins interception to all but seal the victory. The biggest winner? Cincinnati. Now Tulsa looks good enough make the regular season finale a massive deal with the Bearcats roll into town. First, the Golden Hurricane have to face Tulane and Houston, but with a win over UCF earlier, they’re in the American Athletic Conference’s No. 2 best-team spot at the moment.
8. USC 34, Arizona 30
USC games certainly aren’t boring, needing a last minute score to get by Arizona after needing a miracle to get past Arizona State last week. The offense doesn’t seem to have any tempo or energy, the 11 penalties were a problem, and the defense was hit way too hard, but once again, when the offense had to come through, Kedon Slovis was able to make the throws. No matter how you get to 2-0 in this weird year, take it. However, USC can’t play like this at Utah next week and win.
7. Northwestern 27, Purdue 20
Northwestern gave up a point in the second half – ten of them – for the first time all season, and it lived to tell about it. And how? The defense held Purdue to two net rushing yards, while the offense got 212 passing yards and three scores from Peyton Ramsey. Here’s the problem – 80 yards rushing on 40 carries. Purdue lived in the Wildcat backfield with 11 tackles for loss, and up next is Wisconsin and its killer run D. The Badgers have held the ball for over 40 minutes in their first two games, but Northwestern had it for over 35 against the Boilermakers.
6. Nebraska 30, Penn State 23
Everyone wants James Franklin fired, or moved on, or something after an 0-4 start, but it’s really not playing all that poorly – it can’t see to make its own breaks. Just like the Indiana when the Nittany Lions dominated statistically, they ran for 245 yards, threw for 256, outplayed the Huskers in so many ways, and yet needed to play catch-up because they were so bad in the first half. For the Huskers, it looks like Luke McCaffrey or bust going forward. He wasn’t amazing, but he threw for 152 yards and a score, ran for a team-high 67 yards, and he got the win.
NEXT: Top 5 Most Important College Football Thoughts Ever … For This Week
5. Ole Miss 59, South Carolina 42
South Carolina gave up 52 points to LSU, followed that up by allowing 48 points to Texas A&M, and then Ole Miss came along and showed what a real offensive performance is with 708 yards, 59 points, and a 513-yard, four-touchdown passing day from Matt Corral. South Carolina RB Kevin Harris ran for 243 yards and five scores, and it wasn’t nearly enough because the Gamecock defense was so porous.
4. Indiana 24, Michigan State 0
There’s no dogging this, and there are no excuses. Indiana has beaten Penn State, Michigan, and now Michigan State in the first four games of the season, and it’s getting better and better just as it’s time to go deal with Ohio State. The running game isn’t strong enough – it was stuffed by the Spartans for fewer than three yards per carry – but the defense was a rock and QB Michael Penix threw for 320 yards and two scores.
3. Notre Dame 45, Boston College 31
What more do you want after an emotional win over Clemson? Ian Book needs to start being appreciated for just how good he is – hitting 20-of-27 passes for 283 yards and three scores with no picks, and leading the team with 85 yards and a TD – as he and the Irish all but put this away in the second quarter. Don’t get caught up in the three turnovers, the lack of pass rush of the final score, this was another dominant effort by the Notre Dame lines in a good win on the road.
2. Wisconsin 49, Michigan 11
Michigan stunk. There was no energy, the gameplan was a disaster, and QB Joe Milton was awful, but this needs to be as much about how good Wisconsin is as it is about whether or not Jim Harbaugh should be the next head coach of the New York Jets. This was a Badger team hammered by injuries, lack of practice, and virus issues, and it held the ball for over 40 minutes, ran for 341 yards by running a jet sweep over and over and over again, didn’t turn the ball over, and committed one penalty for five yards.
1. Florida 63, Arkansas 35
Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, and Mac Jones are wonderful players having wonderful seasons, but we need to get used to calling the Florida quarterback Heisman-elect Kyle Trask.
The 23-of-29 day for 356 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions in the win over the Hogs was fantastic, the running game was okay, and this all worked with Mackey-elect tight end Kyle Pitts out with a concussion. And Feleipe Franks and his return to Gainesville? The Hog QB hit 15-of-19 passes for 250 yards and two scores, the running game was explosive, and it all wasn’t nearly enough because of Trask and the Florida O.
How incredible is this? Last year after six games, Burrow had thrown for 1,864 yards and 23 touchdowns with three interceptions. He lit up Texas, but he also had games against Northwestern State, Utah State and Georgia Southern in there. After six games – all against SEC teams – Trask is hitting 70% of his passes for 2,171 yards and 28 touchdowns with three picks.
