Power 5 week 8 recap: The Big 12 finds consistency in being inconsistent
Clemson survives a scare, the Big 12 gets back to their inconsistent ways, Michigan crashes and burns, and Maryland sinks the Row Boats.
By: The Waco Kid
Obviously, the headline of the weekend was the absence of Trevor Lawrence in Clemson’s narrow escape of conference opponent Boston College. As significant as the loss of the top collegiate player in the nation may be, it was still a Dabo Swinney coached team, was there really any concern that at the end of the day Clemson would remain undefeated? The Tigers still featured Travis Etienne, who broke the ACC rushing record Saturday night, and a 6‘4, 250 lbs highly recruited freshman quarterback in DJ Uiagalelei who ended the day with 342 yards passing, two touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown as well. That being said, it was evident that Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High makes a noticeable difference for Swinney’s offense. Clemson fell behind 28-13 at halftime, something that college football fans have not seen in the previous 3 years. This was in part due to a botched handoff by Uiagalelei that was recovered for a touchdown by the Golden Eagles. The Tigers were able to claw their way back into the game, winning 34-28, but one has to think that a dangerous Lawrence led offense does not allow Boston College to even begin to contemplate a win.
“Like I told the guy on ABC, danger is my business”
The ACC featured two other top 25 teams facing off with conference foes. #4 Notre Dame traveled south for a matchup with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. Ian Book and Kyren Williams put this game away in the third quarter. Williams rushed for 76 yards and two touchdowns, while Book accumulated 199 yards and a score, leaving very little chance of a Yellow Jacket comeback. Going into halftime Notre Dame held a 17-7 lead and only extended it from there. When the weather had passed and the rainbow arrived leading to the pot of gold, it was the Irish that left Atlanta one win richer, prevailing over GT 31-13. Notre Dame faces Clemson next week in a top 5 showdown. The Irish have lucked out once again as Trevor Lawrence has already been deemed ineligible for the game by Dabo Swinney. This could shift the balance in ND’s favor and fans cannot contain their excitement.
The Irish gettin’ lucky in 2020.
And then there were the North Carolina Tar Heels. Everything in me wants to root for Mack Brown and his reinvigorated football career, but he is really making it hard for viewers and especially gamblers. I keep getting a real “will they or won’t they” vibe from UNC. They beat one top 25 team, then lose to an unranked team, then gather another win from the top 25, then lose to Virginia 44-41. There is nothing more maddening than a team that cannot find its own identity. The offensive production from the Tar Heels is unreal for a team that has two losses. Quarterback Sam Howell threw for 443 yards and 4 touchdowns, granted they lost two fumbles but how do you have a guy put up those types of numbers and still lose the game? If your offense can score 41 points you should be able to win. Mack will have to figure out a way for the defense to actually make it to the game and not get left in Chapel Hill for Carolina to have a shot at piling on wins.
Ohio State has been one of the only highlights for the Big 10, so far. Justin Fields has the Buckeyes ranked as the #3 team in the nation after only two wins on the season. And his numbers show that if you are a talented breathing quarterback in a weak conference, you too can throw for almost 600 yards and 6 touchdowns in your first two games. Saturday OSU traveled to University Park, PA to face the Nittany Lions. We learned last week that Penn State may have been a tad bit overrated after a tough loss to the Indiana Hoosiers. This was confirmed by the beat down they received from Ohio State. Don’t get me wrong, the final score of 38-25, did not look that bad but keep in mind at the end of the third quarter it was 31-13. The balance between Fields’ aerial attack and Master Teague’s masterful performance on the ground overwhelmed the Penn State defense, combining for over 420 total yards and 5 touchdowns. The Buckeyes will remain in the top 5 until they lose at least one game, which is highly unlikely because the hardest game left on their schedule is a November 21st match-up with Indiana. What is this the Big 12? I guess nowadays beating the Iowa States and Indiana’s of the world somehow earns you a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
Speaking of Indiana, they were able to put on another notable performance against Rutgers this past weekend. IU quarterback Michael Penix Jr continued his imposing dominance against a weaker Rutgers defense, throwing for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns. After the first quarter it was all downhill for the Hester Prynne Red Rs. The Hoosiers verified that they may be the real deal, conquering the Scarlet Knights 37-21. Interestingly enough, going into this bout, both teams were coming off of euphoric wins, Indiana beating Penn State and Rutgers upsetting Michigan State.
After the past two weeks, we now have a case for the fact that State schools, outside of Ohio, appear to be choking in games that they should clearly win (see also Iowa State, Kansas State, Louisiana State, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State). What is going on at these State schools that is preventing them from winning games? Is it the partying reputation, the location of these schools, or are players that attend state schools just too invested in education to care at all about football? This may call for another B&S Special Investigation.
I hope Michigan did not think they were going to get away without paying the price for an unacceptable loss; always save the best for last. Jim Harbaugh is the Mark Richt of the Big 10, year after year he can produce 9-11 wins during a regular season but can never win rivalry games or get over that conference championship hump. We all saw where that ultimately got the former Georgia head coach, the only difference between the two is that people actually liked Richt and were hoping for him to make that final leap. The fans do not necessarily want to see Harbaugh succeed, they just want to see him leave. Which is understandable due to his atrocious combined 3 win record over Michigan State and Ohio State during the five years he has been the head coach. The beginning of the Harbaugh era was also the beginning of the end for Michigan football rivalries.
Jimmy H’s contributions to the inevitable extinction of Wolverine football relevance poured in on Saturday morning. The Spartans entered the Big House looking for redemption after a week 1 loss to Rutgers (not sure if there is any redemption for that). The Wolverine defense could not slow the passing game of Rocky Lombardi, as he tore the secondary up with 323 yards passing and three touchdowns. Michigan quarterback Joe Milton did put up 300 passing yards but was unable to find the end zone. The game ultimately came down to a fourth down which was converted by Michigan State to end the contest. Michigan kept it close but eventually were overthrown by Sparty, 27-24.
Starring Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Lombardi
Also a real quick shoutout to Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, brother of former Tide quarterback Tua. Taulia scorched the Minnesota Gophers with 394 yards passing and three touchdowns, along with 59 yards rushing and two more scores. We may be looking at another Tank for Tagovailoa situation in the NFL in a few years if he sustains that kind of production.
This year hope for the Big 12 has revealed itself in the unlikeliest of places, it came from two teams shoved in a corner year after year, finally standing up to those tenth grade sized bullies from Oklahoma and Texas. That’s right #6 Oklahoma State and #16 Kansas State have been the conference saviors up until this point in the regular season. Both teams had an undefeated conference record going into the week and were paired with favorable opponents, Texas and West Virginia respectively. Everyone assumed what the outcomes may be, but fans of the conference can be sure of two things; every team can lose on any given day and no program has the potential to win out in the Big 12. Maybe it is because of the vast talent on every single team or maybe the lack thereof, but who am I to say which is correct. Whisper, “it's the latter.”
#6 Oklahoma State ended up losing to Texas in OT, 41-34. The game MVP was split between Linebacker Joseph Ossai and the referees. If we have to talk about the refs in Texas games, week after week, do you really think there is nothing wrong. I mean Ossai got away with hitting Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders well out of bounds in the third quarter. And after slipping the refs a hundo under the table, he then got away with an obvious targeting foul on the Cowboys quarterback once again. This missed call was more costly due to the fact that it occurred in overtime and would have extended the possession for OK State. To no surprise I was unable to find a video of the hit on Sanders because the University of Texas is the love child of the NCAA. Sam Ehlinger put up Ehlinger numbers scoring 3 touchdowns while counterpart Spencer Sanders threw for 400 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception. The game remained close throughout the afternoon, but Texas came away with the win 41-34. With this victory, Tom Herman has managed to delay his inevitable firing for at least one more week. The next time the Longhorns lose, might be the last time Austin strip clubs make extra tips on a Saturday night.
#16 Kansas State lost to West Virginia in a not so surprising upset. The Big 12 has become good at one thing, and that thing is keeping fans on the edge of their seats. No one knows which team will be the conference leader week after week and that adds an exciting aspect to the conference. Unfortunately, it also adds to the inconsistency that is provided by the Big 12. There is no game that I have sat down and watched that I could definitively predict a winner, and Kansas is being left out of the discussion. I mean, West Virginia winning was an upset ranking wise but wasn’t necessarily unexpected.
Photo: Ben Queen, USA TODAY Sports
We are talking about a Kansas State team that lost to Arkansas State in their season opener, and a Mountaineer team that has proven they can put up numbers offensively. This weekend we saw Jarret Doege slash the Wildcat defense. Leddie Brown ended the day with 102 yards rushing and one touchdown. Kansas State turned the ball over 3 times and WVU took advantage. I said it at the beginning of the season, this West Virginia team is one that could surprise a lot of viewers.
#17 Iowa State and #24 Oklahoma both came away with wins against bottom of the barrel teams this week. The Big 12 teams continue to be relevant because no one can understand the conference at this point, are they all good or are they all bad? I do not think we will know until near the end of the season. It is then we can reflect on the regrets or triumphs of calling out these teams. I believe the conference is best summarized by this tweet from the weekend.
The ACC will look to take advantage of Trevor Lawrence’s absence. The Big 10’s premiere programs consist of Indiana and Ohio State. The Big 12 cannot find a champion. And the Pac 12 FINALLY starts play this weekend. Your vote counts today, go out and vote Biscuits & SEC and you will not be disappointed.
See you on the couch next week.