Elms' Essentials: Week 10

Well, quite a week that was, right?

The 10th week of college football’s regular season brought barnburners, blowouts and even a couple of unexpected upsets! This week had everything a college football fan could realistically ask for, and my opinion has changed on some teams in regards to their hopes for postseason success.

And speaking of that, let’s get into those opinions, yeah?

Oklahoma’s CFP hopes are officially dashed

After the result this weekend, is this really that much of a surprise to hear?If you’re a passionate college football fan, then the answer to that is most likely no, as Oklahoma went down to bitter rival Oklahoma State 27-24 in Stillwater in what will be the last Bedlam game for a long time.

It’s pretty easy to see the primary reason Oklahoma lost, as its defense was absolutely gashed on the ground. Cowboys running back Ollie Gordon II ran all over them a whopping 33 times for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel was merely OK, throwing for 344 passing yards but no touchdowns or interceptions. 

Gavin Sawchuk was great running the ball for the Sooners, as he racked up 111 yards on 13 carries with a score. And wide receiver Drake Stoops largely had his way with the Cowboys’ secondary, hauling in an impressive 12 receptions for 134 yards and a touchdown.

All that being said, Oklahoma’s defense didn’t do enough when it mattered most, and regardless of what Sooner fans might say about the refs and how they thought they were on Oklahoma State’s side throughout the game, especially at the end, the fact of the matter is that the defense was not good enough to win the game. And on a day where the offense wasn’t clicking quite like it usually does, it was vitally important for the defense to come up with some stops.

But they were unable to, and with its second loss of the season, Oklahoma’s once-strong College Football Playoff hopes have faded away into nothing.

Michigan should be fearing its matchup with Penn State

The Maryland Terrapins were unfortunately the recipient of pissed off Penn State this weekend. After barely scraping by Indiana, the Nittany Lions wanted to prove a point. And on this Saturday, pissed off Penn State was on full display during this 51-15 obliteration of Maryland in College Park.

The Penn State offense was firing on all cylinders for the entire game, and quarterback Drew Allar was pretty close to perfect, going 25-for-34 with 240 passing yards and four touchdowns. Running back Kaytron Allen racked up 95 yards and a score on the ground, while KeAndre Lambert-Smith added 95 receiving yards and Dante Cephas was on the receiving end of two of Allar’s four touchdowns throws.

While the offense was fantastic, the defense was just as good, as while Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 286 yards and two scores, the defense picked him off once (and they also picked off backup Billy Edwards Jr.). They also throttled the Terrapins’ attempts to get their running game going, as the Nittany Lions’ defense held Maryland to -49 rushing yards. No, I swear I am not making that number up. It was an absolutely dominant performance from the Nittany Lions in basically every way.

Penn State now gets ready for a marquee showdown with No. 3 Michigan next weekend at noon on FOX (thanks, Big Noon Kickoff), in what will easily be one of the biggest games of the year. And Michigan should now be afraid, because if this team plays anything close to the way it played against Maryland, the Wolverines will have a tough task ahead of them.

Florida State just keeps chugging along

It feels like we are almost at a point where this Florida State team is becoming underrated. Is that the world we’re living in?

While the other contenders are having their own issues that register pretty high on the drama scale, the Florida State Seminoles seem to just be minding their own business and playing winning football. And as a result, the ‘Noles now find themselves at 9-0 and in prime position to assert themselves as a lock for the College Football Playoff.

What? Too soon to say something like that? With each passing week, and with each passing win, it’s starting to look more and more like Florida State is going to lock itself into a spot in the big dance. In this latest win over Pitt, the ‘Noles didn’t exactly rack up the points, but won rather comfortably and looked in control the entire time.

Jordan Travis went 22-for-36 for 360 yards and a touchdown, while running back Trey Benson ran for 97 yards and a score. Wide receiver Ja’Khi Douglas racked up 115 yards, and Markeston Douglas was on the other end of Travis’ lone touchdown pass. 

Like I mentioned, the Seminoles aren’t scoring in bunches or making their wins look particularly flashy, but what I like the most about this team is that it continues to get the job done and continues to find ways to win, even when faced with adversity. They just keep chugging right along and picking up wins. That’s what the elite teams do.

And this Florida State team is definitely elite.

Texas is walking on eggshells

That was a close call.

The Longhorns managed to get the win, but with the way they were playing up until halftime, there is no way that game should have been as close as it was.

But I have to give a tremendous amount of props to Kansas State: it is one of the scrappiest teams in the country, and fired a ton of punches at Texas in that second half. The result was a ferocious comeback that eventually took the game into overtime, but they ended up coming up just short in the end.

Texas clearly missed Quinn Ewers badly, as backup quarterback Maalik Murphy did not play particularly well, throwing two interceptions including one that kick-started the Wildcats’ comeback.

All this being said, Texas played well in overtime, driving down the field and kicking a field goal to take the lead, and then stuffing Kansas State on fourth down to win the game. The Wildcats were four yards away from a road win, but the defense stood tall when it mattered the most.

However, the Longhorns cannot allow a game like this to happen again if they want to seriously be considered for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Their remaining schedule isn’t the most daunting, but two straight road games against TCU and Iowa State are nothing to overlook. In order to have the best chance to make the CFP, they need to be careful and take care of business over the next few weeks.

Ohio State’s defense might just be the best in the country

Maybe the committee was on to something when they ranked the Buckeyes No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff rankings over Georgia and Michigan. Maybe…?I will admit, I was rather skeptical of this team throughout the season, and I was quite confused as to why they were awarded the top spot in the first CFP rankings.Now, I think I might be seeing just why they got that spot in the first place.

In the past, Ohio State was defined by great quarterback play and the games they played were, for the most part, offensive shootouts. A great example of that is last year’s CFP Semifinal against Georgia: that game’s final score was 42-41. Then-quarterback C.J. Stroud was exceptional, and great play from both offenses was the story of the game throughout the night.

However, at least this year, the case is vastly different.

The offense did its part in this weekend’s road showdown with Rutgers, yes. Kyle McCord had an excellent second half and threw for three touchdown passes. Marvin Harrison Jr. got going again in the second half as well, catching two of McCord’s three touchdowns.

However, the defense was exceptional again. They held the Scarlet Knights to a mere 16 points, and they harassed quarterback Gavin Wimsatt all game, holding him to a 10-for-25 mark passing and just 129 yards. Rutgers’ best receiver in this game only had 69 yards.

At this point in the season, the Buckeyes’ defense is largely going to lead them to wins. I give props to McCord for bouncing back from a bad first half in a big way with his three scores, but it is now clear that the defense is Ohio State’s calling card this year, and it will continue to stay that way through the rest of the season.

And last but not least…

This year’s Washington-USC game will be known as the Dillon Johnson game

I think he’s pretty deserving of this one, don’t you?

Johnson could, quite literally, not be stopped throughout the game, as he ran 26 times for an absolutely ridiculous 256 yards and a mind-boggling four touchdowns. And as we’ve come to expect, when Washington wins, the play of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and his supporting cast on the outside usually leads them to wins.

But on this night, the script was completely flipped.

Johnson had his way with USC’s defense, and he literally did whatever he wanted. Penix Jr. and the rest of the offense played well overall, but more times than we’ve ever seen this year, Penix Jr. just handed the ball to Johnson, sat back and watched him do the rest, eating up the Trojans’ defense.

Johnson’s historically great game resulted in the Huskies’ offense racking up a whopping 52 points against the porous USC defense, and it also resulted in Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley firing defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. I don’t really think that will automatically fix all that ails USC’s defense, but it’s a start.

Washington is firmly in the mix for a spot in the College Football Playoff. And as long as the Huskies continue to win, whether it’s due to the efforts of Michael Penix Jr. or one of the other playmakers on that offense, they will continue to be in that mix.

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