Power 5 Week 13 Recap: Are we done talking about BYU?
Coastal Carolina pops the Stormin’ Mormons, the ACC contenders and Ohio State take care of business and more.
By: The Waco Kid
After all the whining and complaining about BYU not being in the top ten, look what they came out and did. Their game against Washington was canceled and then subsequently replaced with a last-second showdown with the #18 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. This was supposed to be BYU’s shining moment to prove to the Playoff Committee and the nation that they could beat even the most unlikely of teams in the top 25. The only thing they proved is that the Committee was right to not reward their cupcake schedule. The Cougars could not seem to be able to contain Chanticleer running back CJ Marable who exploded onto the scene with 132 yards and 2 touchdowns. It wasn’t all bad for BYU, quarterback Zach Wilson threw for 240 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He had them in scoring position, but a last chance effort was thwarted by the Coastal defense when Cougar wide receiver Dax Milne caught the ball over the middle and reached out towards the goal line but fell short by about a yard or two. It was very reminiscent of the Titans vs Rams Super Bowl 34 when the game ended with Titan Kevin Dyson reaching for the end zone but falling one yard short to lose the game. The Cougars did not hold up their end of the bargain and can no longer be argued as a top ten team.
Photo: Richard Shiro, Associated Press
The ACC pretty much came out and did everything that was expected. The top tier teams had runaway victories while the bottom of the barrel was blown out by these top teams. Notre Dame came out and stomped Syracuse into the ground. Usual suspects Ian Book and Kyren Williams were the main event in this one. Book padded the stat sheets throwing for 285 yards, 3 touchdowns, and only 1 interception, while Williams added another 110 yards on the ground. What is surprising is that the Irish defense gave up 21 points to a 1 win Syracuse team. Keep an eye on that because if the Orange can put up 3 scores, imagine what a Trevor Lawrence led offense may be able to do. Speaking of, Lawrence and the Tigers traveled to Blacksburg this past weekend to play the Virginia Tech Hokies. Again, there was no surprise in this one. T. Law had a decent day passing but scored twice on the ground add in a defensive score and a couple of different running back scores and the Tigers found themselves with another easy victory, 45-10.
Photo: Robert Franklin, SBT Photo
Giving up 3 scores to the bad orange guys ain’t gonna cut it against the really good orange guys.
However, the worst of the weekend was what Miami did to Duke in their matchup. D’Eriq King came out on fire, throwing for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns, and running back Camron Harris added 96 yards and 2 touchdowns of his own. The defense definitely looked like a top ten defense as they shut out Duke’s offense holding them to only 177 total yards. The four forced fumbles and one interception had the defense with the turnover chain out for the majority of the game. Miami headed back to Coral Gables after winning 48-0.
The B1G continues their trek towards a playoff berth but it gets a little more difficult if Ohio State cannot get six games under their belt. Right now the Buckeyes are the best chance for the conference but if their game against Michigan gets cancelled the B1G will either have to adapt their rules to allow OSU a chance in the conference title game or accept that they will not be represented in the playoffs this year. The Buckeyes took care of business once again though. They are definitely a team that could contend as long as they can play in the conference title game. This week Justin Fields put on a spectacular performance against the Michigan State Spartans. Not only did he throw for 2 touchdowns, he added another two on the ground. Right now he is red hot and playing his best football which allowed for an absolutely embarrassing loss for Sparty, as they fell 52-12.
We saw probably the best in conference matchup of the week when #16 Wisconsin hosted #12 Indiana Saturday afternoon. The Hoosiers were without starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr due to a season-ending ACL tear in their last game. This should have been beneficial for the Badgers but back up Jack Tuttle stepped right in throwing for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns. These two scores were all that was needed due to the Indiana defense only surrendering 6 points to Wisconsin. May have been a bit of a snooze fest due to both defensive efforts but was still a good game with big implications. With that 14-6 win, the Hoosiers could find themselves locked into a New Years’ Six Bowl game.
Photo: IU Athletics
Indiana remains one of the feel good stories of the 2020 season.
Well, the Big 12 once again proved how consistently inconsistent they really are. There were three teams ranked in the top 15 and only one team that put on a good performance. This was the #9 ranked Iowa State Cyclones who faced West Virginia to secure a spot in the conference title game. This was never even close. Brock Purdy put the Mountaineer defense on blast with 247 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air. The only points WVU scored all night were in the fourth quarter and one has to believe those were gimme points. ISU proved their #9 ranking and solidified a spot in the Big 12 Title game with a convincing 42-6 victory.
Oklahoma also snagged a spot in the title game due to a less impressive victory over a 2-win Baylor team. The Sooners looked sloppy on offense and did not strike anyone as a team that should be playing for a conference title. Spencer Rattler threw for 193 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception and the offense did not seem to be one the nation is used to watching from Lincoln Riley. Still, OU held on defense and was able to escape with a 27-14 win over the Bears.
Screencap: via 247Sports
Chad Kelly should feel disrespected.
The #15 Oklahoma State Cowboys were the defining moment for the conference this weekend. They traveled to Ft. Worth to take on the TCU Horned Frogs. In what should have been a quick and easy trip for the Cowboys, but it soon turned out to be a difficult matchup. Horny Toad quarterback Max Duggan was too much for the OSU defense to stop. He accounted for 3 total touchdowns and 369 total yards. TCU put this one away in the third but the last quarter surge put the Cowboys in a position to take the lead but it ended up being a little too much to overcome. The upset finished with a 28-22 score and pushed another top Big 12 team further from national relevance.
This weekend we also saw a revelation from the PAC-12. After talks of Oregon making it into the playoffs, they have fallen two straight to unranked Oregon State and Cal. Any chance of them playing in a decent bowl game can no longer be pushed by outside forces. They are BAD. Washington finally jumped into the rankings after their no go with BYU and what did they do? They lost to Stanford. The conference keeps getting chance after chance and leaves with nothing to show. USC was the only silver lining on an otherwise poor weekend. Oddly enough they played Sunday night rather than Saturday. Quarterback Kedon Slovis had himself a special kind of night, slinging it for 287 yards and 5 touchdowns. It was definitely a coming-out party for a Trojan team that has underwhelmed in every other contest. SC left Washington State without a chance, finishing the game 38-13.
The USC mascot was super pumped about the win and wanted to remind everyone to celebrate the win responsibly.
What have we learned today? Don’t over rank Big 12 and PAC-12 teams because they will disappoint. Also if a team’s best opponent is North Alabama, they probably don’t deserve to be a top-ranked team. This year the Natty seems to be going home to the ACC or the SEC, no doubt.
See you on the couch next week.