With each passing week, we inch closer and closer to the end. The end of it all.
What? Too dark? Well, on that note, week 10 has come and gone in college football, and it is once again a reminder as to why college football is the greatest sport in the world. I mean, seriously, what can even come close to its insanity and unpredictability? That’s the greatest thing about college football: anything, anything at all, can happen. And there was no shortage of entertainment in week 10.
Let’s cover it, how’s that sound?
Ohio State’s national championship contention is back on
Whether or not that contention was ever turned off is a legitimate question, but there is no doubt that this team is capable of winning it all after this performance.
Teams that are in national championship contention find a way to come into an environment like the one that the Buckeyes faced in Happy Valley and win the game. Championship teams perform the way Ohio State did against Penn State on the road. And that final drive? Championship teams engineer drives like that to put the game away.
The Buckeyes’ offense looked a lot better and less sloppy than they did the previous week against Nebraska. Will Howard shook off a rocky start and ended up finishing 16-for-24 for 182 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also added 24 crucial yards on the ground. But the best player for Ohio State’s offense in this game might have been Quinshon Judkins, who ran for 95 yards on 14 carries and was an instrumental part in salting the game away on the final drive.
On the flip side, this may very well have been the most frustrating loss Penn State has had in a very, very long time. James Franklin once again did nothing but reinforce the narratives that he cannot get it done in the biggest games against the best teams. Drew Allar was choppy and inconsistent throwing the ball despite a promising start, as he went 12-for-20 with 146 yards and an interception. But where the Nittany Lions really lost this game was when they were at the one-yard-line down by a touchdown.
They then proceeded to run the exact same run play from the pistol three consecutive times. When those plays continued to not work and they continued to not break the plane, they finally were forced to throw the ball on fourth and goal. And to the surprise of very few, they did not convert.
Ohio State got the ball back and proceeded to run the ball down Penn State’s throats and ice the game away. But why in the world are you running the exact same play three times in a row when it did not work the first time? Or even the first two times?
This was a heck of a win for the Ohio State Buckeyes, while James Franklin and Penn State are scratching their heads and wondering what could have been.
Cam Ward is firmly in a two-player battle for the Heisman Trophy
Yes, I understand what Colorado’s Travis Hunter has been doing, and he is an absolutely phenomenal talent on both sides of the ball. But along with Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, Cam Ward is the most serious contender for college football’s most prestigious award.
Ward was completely and utterly unreal in Miami’s 53-31 win over Duke. He ended up going 25-for-41 with a ridiculous 400 passing yards and five touchdown passes. Yep. Five. And the craziest part about this is that it’s become seemingly routine for Ward at this point. He didn’t do a whole lot on the ground, but he was simply special through the air in this one.
There were points during this game where things seemed extremely perilous for the Hurricanes, as after Miami took a 14-0 lead, they only scored three points for the rest of the half as Duke took a 21-17 lead at the break. And the Blue Devils came out at the beginning of the second half and scored another touchdown to increase their lead to 11.
However, it was at that point where Ward and the Miami offense absolutely took over the game. Duke only scored three more points the entire game. Of the next seven drives for Miami up until the game was over, five of those drives were touchdowns. For those counting at home, that’s a ridiculous 71.4% rate of, well, scoring touchdowns. Bet you didn’t see math and Elms’ Essentials coming together, did you? I like to keep you guys on your toes.
But there is no denying that this was a monster performance from Ward and it only strengthens his Heisman case. He is neck-and-neck with Jeanty for the award, and it will be wildly interesting to see how the race ends up shaking out.
Carson Beck will be Georgia’s downfall in the national title race
Yeah. I said it. Maybe that’s too spicy but I don’t care.
To even consider that the Carson Beck from the end of last season and the Carson Beck we find ourselves watching are the same player is really just mind-boggling. Yes, I am aware that Georgia won the game comfortably (for the most part) by a score of 34-20. But there are some issues with this Georgia team and with this offense.
Last season, Beck threw for 24 touchdowns with just six interceptions, some really, really good numbers. This season, he’s thrown 17 touchdowns but he’s also thrown an alarming 11 interceptions. And on Saturday against a middle-of-the-pack Florida team, Beck was wildly inconsistent. He went 25-for-40 with 309 passing yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw another three interceptions.
Oh, and keep in mind, this game was in Athens. If Beck manages to throw three interceptions in front of his home crowd, how is he going to do in a hostile environment when all those fans are screaming against him instead of for him?
I was extremely encouraged by Georgia’s performance against Texas a couple of weeks back. That defense was exceptional and made Quinn Ewers and a previously white-hot Texas offense look anemic and completely out of sync. I was of the belief that Georgia could very well get back to their national championship heights after disappointment struck last year.
Now, it’s much less certain, especially if Beck keeps being as reckless and careless with the ball as he has been over the past few games. Against teams that are much better than Florida, Beck simply cannot get away with throwing three interceptions like he did in this game.
We need to take a timeout on the Clemson hype
Maybe I went a teeny bit overboard on Clemson last week. Just a tad bit.
This game was…not good in virtually any aspect for the Tigers. Cade Klubnik was just OK, as he did throw 228 passing yards and a touchdown but only ended up completing approximately 58 percent of his throws. That’s a decent mark but nothing particularly spectacular. Phil Mafah was awesome, as he ran for 171 yards and two scores on 30 carries, but the story for why Clemson lost was found somewhere else.
That’s right, that story was found in the performance of the defense. The Clemson defense did not have a particularly good game, as they gave up 33 points in the losing effort to Louisville. Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough didn’t even play that well, as he only threw for 156 passing yards without a touchdown or interception. But running back Isaac Brown tore Clemson up to the tune of 151 rushing yards and a score on 20 carries.
And in addition, perhaps the biggest moment of this game that ended up deciding the winner was a blocked field goal by Louisville, that the Cardinals scooped up and ran all the way back for a wild and critical touchdown. That got Louisville’s lead up to 17-7, and they never looked back from there.
And for Clemson, a team with College Football Playoff aspirations, this was a wildly disappointing result.
Ditto for the Texas A&M hype
Is that a good segue? Maybe? Let’s just roll with it.
Now, I am aware that this comes with the potential disclaimer that star running back Le’Veon Moss, who had been playing out of his mind over the past few weeks, suffered a nasty-looking injury and did not return to the game. Head coach Mike Elko didn’t exactly provide a clear timeline for a potential return.
But that factor aside, Texas A&M found themselves down in a 14-0 hole early. And while they were able to eventually knot the game at 20 heading into the halftime break, they literally did not score another point in the entire second half. No, I am not making that up.
The Aggies didn’t score again through the entire rest of the game. South Carolina’s offense simply went to another level and put up 24 unanswered points following the halftime tie. South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers only completed half his passes, but threw for 244 yards and two touchdown passes. He also added a whopping 106 yards on the ground and a touchdown on 15 carries.
As for the Aggies’ offense, quarterback Marcel Reed, who was making his first start in place of Connor Weigman, was good-not-great, as he went 18-for-28 for 206 passing yards and a touchdown and added 46 rushing yards, but also threw an interception and posted a 59.2 QBR.
Texas A&M looked to be one of the most underrated teams in the nation and a possible contender for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Now, with this disappointing loss compounded with Moss’ injury, their margin for error has become razor-thin. Speaking of margins of error becoming thin…
Iowa State now has virtually no margin for error if they want a CFP spot
Going into this showdown with Texas Tech in Ames, the Iowa State Cyclones were undefeated at 7-0 and looking 1) for their best start in program history, and 2) to make their way into the College Football Playoff conversation.
Well, that road to the big dance just became a whole lot more difficult. Guess why? The Cyclones are undefeated no more, as they lost to the Red Raiders by a mere point at home.
The offense actually played reasonably well throughout this game. Quarterback Rocco Becht, who continues to stake his claim as one of the most underrated signal-callers in the game, went 23-for-39 for 299 passing yards and two touchdowns. However, he also threw an interception that would eventually prove costly, and he posted a QBR of just 40.4. To be fair, Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton didn’t fare a whole lot better, as he threw two touchdowns but also two interceptions and posted a 43.4 rating.
However, this game was won (or, in Iowa State’s case, lost) on the final drive of the game. Texas Tech got the ball back with just over two minutes to go, and ended up starting at their own 24-yard-line after a false start penalty on the first play of the drive.
But from there, the Red Raiders executed the two-minute drive to absolute perfection. Star running back Tahj Brooks kicked off the drive for good with a 16-yard run on first down, and Morton found Josh Kelly on a critical fourth-and-seven to get into Iowa State territory. Later in the drive, Morton completed three straight passes to get the Red Raiders’ offense to the Iowa State one-yard-line. Another false start backed them up a bit, but Brooks then punched it in from eight yards out to give Texas Tech a lead they would never relinquish.
This was a great win for Texas Tech, and there’s no doubt that this was a rather demoralizing loss for Iowa State. If they want to seriously contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff, they cannot afford any more losses like this one.
And last but not least…
SMU has the potential to play spoiler in the postseason
Guess what? We’ve got some SMU love!
SMU hails from my hometown of Dallas, Texas, which definitely doesn’t have anything to do with why I’m writing this section here! And the 2024 SMU Mustangs have the feeling of a team of destiny, as they are currently 8-1 overall and undefeated in conference play in their first season in the ACC.
And on Saturday, the Mustangs thrashed the Pittsburgh Panthers by a score of 48-25, and they proved why they should be getting more national attention. Quarterback Kevin Jennings continues to stake his claim as one of the most underrated players in the entire country, as he went 17-for-25 with 306 passing yards and two touchdown passes.
However, for as good as Jennings played through the air, the Mustangs’ rushing attack just might be the best and most lethal part of their game. Running back Brashard Smith tore the Pittsburgh defense to shreds, as he ran for 161 yards and two scores on 23 carries. And Kevin Jennings and tight end Matthew Hibner certainly had their chemistry on point, as Hibner racked up an efficient 108 receiving yards and a touchdown on just three catches, including an impressive 80-yard pitch and catch.
But the offensive fireworks aside, this team should easily be getting more attention in the national conversation, especially with the way the expanded College Football Playoff bracket now works. Their margin for error is extremely small, yes, but there is more than enough potential for SMU to play spoiler in the national postseason conversation.
Is it ridiculous to say that there is a chance that the Mustangs could qualify for the College Football Playoff? Not nearly as wild as it used to sound. This SMU team is for real, and now that they’re a Power 4 team, they need to be treated as such.
Elms' Essentials: Week 12
