Week seven of the college football season is now in the rearview mirror, and while it wasn’t quite as ridiculously insane as the previous week, there were still some shenanigans in the Top 25. There were a ton of marquee matchups that us fans had to look forward to this past weekend, and for the most part, those games didn’t disappoint. Well, there was one exception, but that deserves its own category for analysis.
Alright, that’s enough from me on the intro. Let’s cover some of these games!
(Also, shenanigans? Can I, like, use that? Is that gonna look good? Let’s roll with it.)
Alabama still seems to be on that emotional hangover after the Georgia win
Seriously, what is going on with this Alabama team at the moment?
Narrowly escaping a fellow SEC foe at home in a hard-fought conference game is one thing. Doing it against a middling South Carolina team who you should typically have little trouble defeating? That is another thing entirely.
The Tide looked startlingly sluggish at various moments throughout the game, and it seemed that at times they didn’t really even want to be there. They didn’t even really want to win the game. Jalen Milroe was once again underwhelming through the air, as he only threw for 209 yards and a touchdown while also throwing two really bad interceptions. He did have a nice game on the ground, as he ran for two scores, but it seemed that whenever Alabama threw a punch, the Gamecocks had one ready to fire right back.
There need to be some serious props given out: South Carolina played a heck of a game. They hung tough with the Crimson Tide all game long, and even had a chance to win it on the final drive before quarterback LaNorris Sellers threw a game-losing interception that, in essence, gifted Alabama the win. But to go blow-for-blow with Alabama in Tuscaloosa, in front of a hostile crowd, deserves some serious recognition.
But that also begs the question: how good is this Alabama team, really? Are they really capable of making yet another run to a national championship in the first year of the Kalen DeBoer era? Because if what we’ve seen over the past two weeks is any indication, they aren’t at that level. They just aren’t.
Cade Klubnik deserves at least some consideration for the Heisman Trophy
Yes. I said it.
Because it feels like the national media hasn’t been paying enough attention, ever since the loss to Georgia in the season opener, Cade Klubnik and Clemson have looked absolutely stellar. And this 49-14 demolition of Wake Forest on the road is just another example of that.
Klubnik was once again awesome, as he went 31-for-41 for 309 passing yards and three touchdowns. He compiled an 88.2 QBR and averaged 7.5 yards per pass. So there wasn’t much that went wrong for the Clemson quarterback in this one if you ask me. Star running back Phil Mafah wasn’t too bad either, as he ran for 108 yards and found paydirt twice. On the receiving end, several wideouts played well throughout the game. Jake Briningstool racked up seven catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. Troy Stellato had six catches for 72 yards and a score, and superstar sophomore Antonio Williams also had six catches for 69 yards and a trip to the end zone.
Klubnik did a great job of spreading the ball around to his targets, and that is what this Clemson offense looks like at their best. When Klubnik is able to feed everyone, then that’s when this Tigers team can truly be dangerous. Klubnik currently has 1,528 yards on the season with a 17-to-2 TD-INT ratio. That’s pretty darn good.
And if this Clemson team can continue to play the way they have been throughout the rest of the season, then the sky really is the limit for this group.
Texas’ team depth is simply unbelievable
Against Oklahoma, it was on full display.
In this year’s iteration of the Red River Rivalry, star quarterback Quinn Ewers was set to make his return from injury, and he took back the reins from highly-publicized freshman quarterback Arch Manning.
But the issue was that Ewers simply did not look comfortable out there to begin the game. He threw an interception on his very first pass attempt. He missed several throws that he normally makes in his sleep. There was some nervousness for Longhorn fans as they saw their star field general struggling a bit.
It turns out that didn’t even really matter.
That was an issue for all of about one quarter, as after the first quarter came to a close, that’s when Texas’ offense really started to kick things into gear. Ewers broke out of his slump with a connection to Gunnar Helm to put Texas up 7-3. Then the Longhorns increased their lead after Quintrevion Wisner ran all the way to the end zone but fumbled, but it was subsequently recovered by Silas Bolden in the end zone, so it was a touchdown anyway.
No harm, no foul, right? But then the Texas offense was largely on autopilot for the rest of the game, as the defense constantly stuffed the Oklahoma offense right in its tracks. I understand that the Sooners were starting true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., but there was virtually nothing that Oklahoma could do against that stout Longhorn defense.
The game ended up being a 34-3 whipping in favor of Texas, and those fans who made their way out to the Cotton Bowl in my hometown of Dallas didn’t exactly get their money’s worth. Well, maybe they did if they were expecting a blowout win from the Longhorns. But the fact of the matter is that the depth of Texas showed up in a big way today. The offense still managed to get humming even through Ewers’ early struggles. The defense was dominant and shut down the Sooners’ offense.
This is still the best team in the country until proven otherwise.
Penn State continues to find ways to win games
There is a question of how good this Penn State team really is, and I’m not saying those queries have no legs to them. They definitely do. The argument can be made that this game should not have even remotely been this close.
However, it was, and the Nittany Lions found themselves in a shootout with the USC Trojans, and once again, Penn State found a way to come out with a win and keep their undefeated record intact.
It was a strange game statistically, particularly for quarterback Drew Allar. He threw for 391 yards and two touchdowns while also completing just under 70% of his passes, but he also threw three interceptions, each of which kept USC in the game. However, it is absolutely worth noting that tight end Tyler Warren was absolutely unreal in this game. He caught 17 of Allar’s 30 completed passes to the tune of a ridiculous 224 yards and three touchdowns, including an absurd catch on a wild trick play for the Nittany Lions.
On the other side, USC generally played well in this one. Miller Moss bounced back from a bad game last week and threw for 220 yards with two scores. He did throw an interception in the fourth quarter but was bailed out after Allar threw an interception of his own on the very next drive.
It may not look pretty, it may not look nice, but Penn State is finding ways to win football games. And this road contest against a USC team that is better than their record, in front of a raucous crowd in Southern California, is a clear indication of that. Is this team capable of making a national title run? Not exactly sure yet. But if you ask me, this was a pretty darn good win.
LSU should be taken more seriously as a contender in the SEC
Now, let’s get one thing out of the way here: the SEC is the best conference in football (the Big Ten is right behind, but I’m going to give the SEC the benefit of the doubt here). And if LSU wants to seriously make a name for themselves in the conference in 2024, they’ll have a difficult hill to climb.
But games like these are how a team makes a statement in the best conference in football.
For context, the Tigers stunned the Ole Miss Rebels in a thrilling overtime affair in Death Valley that saw LSU ultimately take a 29-26 win. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was a bit up-and-down, as he threw 337 yards and three touchdowns but also completed less than 50% of his passes and threw two picks. However, he was clutch when it mattered most, and he led the game-winning touchdown drive and found Kyren Lacy in the end zone for six points and the win.
As things stand currently, the Tigers are 5-1 and are 2-0 in SEC play thus far. Am I saying that it’s going to be smooth sailing from here on out? Of course not. As I said, the SEC is the best conference in football, and for LSU, there really aren’t going to be any games that are just a walk in the park. Next weekend, they have to get set for a road duel with Arkansas, and that’s never easy. They also have No. 14 Texas A&M and No. 7 Alabama in back-to-back weeks after the Arkansas game.
However, LSU should now garner some more national attention as one of the premier teams in the country, because that’s how they’ve been playing over the past few weeks. I feel that they’re in a similar boat as Clemson: not enough people are talking about them.
And last but not least…
Ohio State-Oregon was easily a contender for game of the year
Okay, I feel that I’m starting to say that a lot in this series this year. But in the case of this game, it has to be true.
This game between two of the best teams in the nation was hyped up to infinity and beyond (shoutout Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story), and oh boy, did it live up to that billing and then some. There was a lot of offensive fireworks in this one, that’s for sure, but both defenses also stepped up and made plays when it mattered.
The quarterbacks for both teams played well throughout the night (save for, well, one massive thing, but we’ll get to that in a minute). Will Howard threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns for Ohio State. Dillon Gabriel threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns for Oregon. Both quarterbacks completed over 65% of their passes.
Elsewhere offensively, there were stars on both sides. TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins once again performed well as they both found the end zone twice. Judkins didn’t have a whole lot of yards, but Henderson picked up for him in that department, racking up 87 yards on his ten carries. The legend of Jeremiah Smith continued to grow, as he had nine catches for 100 yards and a score. Emeka Egbuka caught ten passes for 93 yards and a score. For the Ducks, Evan Stewart went off, catching seven passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. Jordan James ran for 115 yards and a score. Tez Johnson caught seven balls for 75 yards and found the end zone.
See what I mean about offensive fireworks?
However, the game came down to its final play, as most instant classic games do. Ohio State had the ball, down a point, and they were driving down the field, trying to get into field goal range to get their kicker a chance to win the game for them.
But now I’m going to bring up what I said in the very first paragraph of this segment. Do you remember when I said the quarterbacks both played well aside from one massive thing?
Well, on the final play of regulation, Will Howard did this.
Will. Dude. Come on, man. It’s giving flashbacks of the 49ers-Cowboys Wild Card matchup from the 2021 NFL season. You know, the one where Dak Prescott ran up the middle and the Cowboys didn’t get lined up in time and the clock ran out, giving San Francisco the win?
That’s some uncharacteristically poor awareness from the veteran quarterback. And Oregon takes a win in one of the best games of the year because of it.
