Power 5 week 6 recap: Defense is back like it’s the 1990s
Defenses across the country heard B&S call to arms last week, we make our case for B&S 2020, the ACC saw a big upset, and Clemson has the new four horseman of the Apocalypse.
By: The Waco Kid
Photo: Don Juan Moore/Character Lines via the ACC
Another exhilarating week of college football has passed and weekend warrior Justin Fields has been able to keep Ohio State in the top 5 rankings despite their lack of offense, defense, and presence. While the rest of the college football world is competing week in and week out, making cases to the fans on why they deserve a shot, the Big 10 and Pac 12 are slap dickin’ around and still have teams in the top 25. Don’t get me wrong I am all for the safety of players, coaches, and fans but let me break this down for you; Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and USC are all ranked in the top 25 without playing a snap while other teams are a month into the season. That's almost 30% of the top teams in the nation being ranked before touching a football field. It gets worse, because of their stellar performances, 6 of these teams climbed in the rankings this past weekend. That is the exact reason why you never sleep where you eat, you end up owing a debt to the Michigan’s and Oregon’s of the world that come to collect year after year. (For more information please see The Longhorn Network, if that doesn’t work you can also find validity in previous records for Michigan and Oregon).
I will say it again, I am all for safety - but how can you reward a team for not doing anything? Rank the teams that have been playing for four weeks or more and allow those that have not played to earn their rankings and move up the board. Participation trophies are for kids in youth soccer who don’t understand or hate the game and end up standing in the middle of the field playing with the drawstring on their pants (me), not the NCAA. Even as a kid I never received a participation trophy like the ones college football rankings are handing out today. One or two loss ACC, Big 12, and SEC teams definitely deserve to be higher in the rankings than unproven teams. I would put money on a two loss team from any one of these conferences over a Jim Harbaugh coached team.
Oregon and Michigan show that sharing is caring with their preseason participation national championship.
Last week we reported there were 21 defenses that gave up 30 points or more in Power 5 conferences. Good news America, these conferences received our memos and cut that number almost in half with only 12 teams giving up 30 points or more. Imagine what else B&S could do for this nation if we were able to increase defensive productivity by almost 50% in just one week. #IVoted, #B&Sfortheundecided. That’s right, Biscuits & SEC as YOUR write in candidate because we increase efficiency, productivity and all around get s*^% done.
Biscuits & SEC’s official platform is to fight for your right to party like it’s 1776. Our national defense policy is allowing Hudson Clark to patrol the skies.
One of those teams that gave up at least 30 points was Kansas, we should not have to add them into the statistics but we will for accuracy sake. Big 12 fans eagerly awaited the lone conference game of the week: would West Virginia prevail at home or would Kansas exit Morgantown with their first win of the season? We all knew the answer, Kansas never wins. Les Miles was a great publicity stunt but he’s a coach that wants to play defense and pound the ball, something the Big 12 is not known for. I mean, you wouldn’t hire Lane Kiffin or Mike Leach as a head coach in the SEC…wait. Kansas showed some life in the first quarter scoring 10 points to start the game, and yes that is a sign of life for the worst Power 5 team in the nation. After the first quarter, the Mountaineers ended up being too good on offense for Rock Chalk Jayhawk, winning the game 38-17. WVU running back Leddie Brown rushed for 195 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Jarret Doege threw for 318 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. Doege has had issues passing in previous games but when you have a back like LB you have the luxury of making mistakes and growing. I have nothing to say about Kansas’s performance because momma always said “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” The Jayhawks, in a very hypothetical world, could have brought in Nick Saban or Dabo Swinney and still had losing seasons because at the end of the day, unless you play basketball, no college recruit wants to live in Lawrence, Kansas.
Outside of the game mentioned above and the SEC games, the only other Power 5 conference playing this past week was the ACC. On Saturday, the ACC brought us five games that featured top 25 teams. Losing teams across the ACC scored 28 points or less, lowering the average from last week. This is further proof that defensive coordinators heard our call to arms and responded in the best way possible with only a week’s notice. Top contenders Clemson, Notre Dame, Miami, and Virginia Tech did not even allow opponents to score above 20 points. One top team in the ACC did give up over 30 points and the outcome of the game was unfavorable.
#5 North Carolina traveled to Tallahassee to play FSU in hopes of adding an easy W to their resume. The Florida State Seminoles are a Tuesday morning trash team. They really start to make the conference reek of death, but you forgot to take out the trash on Monday and now have to deal with the lingering smell for another week until the waste man comes along to collect it. However, sometimes not taking out the garbage can be beneficial? Maybe you threw something out (FSU) that had one more week of life before its expiration date. This was the case Saturday evening. It is worth noting that Mack Brown has never beaten his alma mater, Florida State, as a head coach.
That would be an important statistic in this game. Macky Mack and the Funky bunch entered Doak Cambell with Good Vibrations but were soon left cowering under the covers like true thunder buddies. Florida State scored 31 points in the first half and limited a dynamic tar heel offense to only 7 points. The Seminoles defense then gave up 21 unanswered points in the second half to the Tar Heels, barely securing their first ACC win of the season. For those of you that find math hard, it means FSU won 31-28. Sam Howell and the running backs for UNC continue to be a staple in a high powered offense. Howell passed for 374 yards, 3 TDs, and one interception while Javonte Williams and Michael Carter ran for a combined 184 yards and a score. The difference maker was FSU Quarterback Jordan Travis who passed for mediocre yardage and a touchdown but ran for 107 yards and 2 scores putting the ‘Noles in a position to win. Florida State will likely be thrown out with next week’s trash but Mack Brown will continue to keep his team relevant in the ACC.
Virginia Tech and Miami both made their top 25 presence known by defeating conference rivals.
Photo: Matt Gentry, Roanoke Times/AP
The #23 Virginia Tech Hokies hosted the Boston College Eagles in Blacksburg, VA for an ACC matchup and let me say, it seems as if the Hokies have found a game plan. Quarterback Hendon Hooker and running back Khalil Herbert rushed for a combined 307 yards and 3 touchdowns. Are we looking at the next Lawrence, Etienne combination? Probably not, but those numbers deserve to draw national attention. On top of that, the Hokies defense looked like a Bud Foster coached unit, causing five turnovers. The Eagles did not stand a chance in this cock fight and departed Blacksburg with a second loss in the books, 40-14. #13 Miami played Pittsburgh after coming off of a tough defeat at the hands of the #1 Clemson Tigers. I still believe D’Eriq King and Miami have what it takes to at least compete with the Tigers in the ACC championship. King came out of that Clemson loss, fired up and threw 222 yards for 4 touchdowns against a pretty stout Panther defense. Pittsburgh was never going to topple the ‘Canes but King made sure the game wouldn’t be close, winning 31-19.
I do not think Notre Dame has had to play an away game yet but they played horribly against a 1-3 Louisville team. This was a game that Lou Holtz would shy away from commenting on. Notre Dame ended up winning the game 12-7. The win, defense, and Kyren Williams are the highlights of this game, nothing else. Williams rushed for 127 yards in what seemed to be an offensive strategy aimed at ending the game as quickly as possible. Pat on the back for Ian Book for diving into the end zone for the only Irish touchdown of the game. What a waste of time.
Photo: Quinn Harris, Getty Images
“Ian, can we hurry this up? I have an Autumn potluck to attend and Janice is bringing pumpkin pie.”
Finally, there was the Clemson game. There are so many things to say but not enough space to write about it. If you show me a defense that can slow down Trevor Lawrence, I will show you a unicorn. Lawrence threw for 404 yards, 5 touchdowns and an interception in pretty much just the first half of their showdown against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. GT is a two win ACC team that Sunshine easily put away early in the game. The Clemson defense also forced an interception and held Tech to 7 points. The Tigers swatted the Jackets in a 73-7 romping. If you had any hope, abandon it, there seems to be an Apocalyptic type conquest led by the four horsemen, Lawrence, Etienne, Rodgers, and Swinney. A revelation has begun and the weak will be left behind. You’re next, Syracuse.
The Big 10 and Pac 12 may compete this weekend but that is still up for debate. For now, the ACC, Big 12, and SEC should own the rankings.
See you on the couch next week.