Sunday, October 8, 2017

The Morning After - Sluggish Saturday

A few ranked teams fell while others didn't look their sharpest. Yes, the calendar flipped to October and the race to the CFB Playoff is finally heating up. Conference matchups give us a much better indicator of who the real contenders and pretenders are. Let's take a deep dive into this weekend's action!

1st Quarter
Deon Cain torched WF early for a 28-yard score.
(Photo courtesy Clemson Athletics)
After getting off to a very impressive start with two touchdowns in the first nine minutes of the game, Clemson's offense sputtered to the finish line. It's happened in the past where it seems the first series or two of "scripted plays," as they say, work to perfection. Then, it's as if offensive play-caller Tony Elliott scrambles to find plays that work. Usually, things begin to click and everything works out, as was the case Saturday against Wake Forest. It's still bothersome and something I hope doesn't come back to bite us later.

As for the rest of the game, the best defense in the nation did its thing again, shutting out Wake through three quarters before giving way to the backups who allowed the Demon Deacons to score. Kelly Bryant getting hurt didn't help matters offensively. Backup Zerrick Cooper looked slightly lost and ill-prepared to enter the game. Hunter Johnson showed he was ready on his first drive, going 4-for-4 with a couple passes to fellow freshman Tee Higgins and a TD toss to tight end Cannon Smith.

The win gives Clemson a 6-0 record for the third straight season. It was the 20th straight over an ACC Atlantic division foe. It was the 11th straight overall, now the nation's longest active winning streak. And it assures the Tigers a spot in the AP Top 5 for a school-record 31st consecutive poll.

Tiger fans, these are the glory days. Enjoy them while they last. And beat Syracuse.

2nd Quarter
Speaking of not being able to finish, for the second straight game, the Oklahoma Sooners raced out to a double-digit lead only to see it slip away. Against Baylor, OU saw the Bears score 24 straight to take a 34-31 lead before rallying and pulling out a 49-41 win. It was a different story at home against the Iowa State Cyclones. OU's 24-10 lead turned into a 31-24 ISU lead. OU managed to tie it, but the Cyclones scored the game-winner and prevented the Sooners from rallying again.

It was a shocking upset of the No. 3 team in the land, but The Athletic's Matt Fortuna revealed this was the seventh straight season Oklahoma has lost as a game as a double-digit favorite. In most years, the Sooners have recovered and gone on to play in New Year's Six Bowls, or at least prevent the season from flopping completely. This, however, is a new squad with a new coach.

I told several folks prior to the season that I'd be interested to see how OU responds to adversity under new leadership. Can Lincoln Riley right the ship quickly, as Bob Stoops did so many times? Sooner Nation better hope he does because it is officially Texas Week.

On a grander scale, the Big 12's Playoff hopes now fall to TCU, the remaining unbeaten in the conference. The Horned Frogs have already knocked off Oklahoma State and West Virginia, meaning OU is their last major hurdle. As proven Saturday, though, no one in the Big 12 can be overlooked.

3rd Quarter
Of course Miami-Florida State came down to the wire. This time it wasn't decided by the kicking units. Florida State drove the field and scored with 1:24 to go to take a 20-17 lead. It was the first time James Blackman has looked like a capable quarterback. The Noles apparently left too much time, as Miami went 75 yards in 1:18 and scored on a wild pitch and catch to the front corner of the end zone.

With :11 to go and the ball inside the 20, the Canes decided they had time for one shot at a touchdown. Malik Rosier placed a perfect ball over the shoulder of Darrell Langham, who barely got across the goalline before his knee touched. The play was reviewed for quite some time. Several angles showed maybe it was a TD and maybe not. In the end, the play stood as called and the Canes ended a seven-game losing streak to FSU.

The win further pushes Miami into discussion of being a team to beat in the ACC Coastal Division. Florida State, on the other hand, is now 1-3 with games against Louisville, Clemson and Florida still remaining. Because of their cancelled game due to Hurricane Irma, three more losses would put FSU's final record at 5-6. Unless the NCAA grants some kind of waiver - or they benefit from not having enough teams bowl eligible and their APR scores are high enough - the Noles would be ineligible for a bowl. Quite the fall for a team that began the season No. 3 in the AP Poll.

4th Quarter
Luke Falk is the best player only about a third of the country knows. The Washington State quarterback is lighting up the Pac-12 and running Mike Leach's offense to perfection. Falk had another impressive night in Autzen Stadium against Oregon. He threw of 282 yards and three scores to lead Wazzu to a 6-0 record for the first time since 2001.

But the big story might be the Cougs' defense. WSU has looked impressive on that side of the ball. Last week, it was USC and Heisman hopeful Sam Darnold who were shut down (327 total yards, 164 pass yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT). This week, the Ducks were held to 278 total yards and 10 points at home. Oregon was averaging over 49 points per game and nearly 540 yards per game going in.

The opponents keep lining up, the analysts keep doubting, and Wazzu keeps knocking 'em off. Slowly but surely we're finding out that we need to take Washington State seriously. With a couple Top 10 losses this week, the Cougs will move into the Top 10, giving the Pac-12 - and the state of Washington - two highly-ranked teams.

It's also conceivable that Wazzu will be 9-0 (upcoming games against Cal, Arizona, and Colorado, each hovering .500) when the Cougs host Stanford on Nov. 4. If they get past the Cardinal, two road games at Utah and the Apple Cup at Washington loom large. That Apple Cup is going to be juicy.

Overtime
As for Washington, the Huskies quite simply are the class of the Pac-12. Washington has yet to be really tested and may not be for several more weeks. Up next is a road game at Arizona State, then home dates with UCLA and Oregon before a Friday night trip to Stanford. ... The Big Ten took a couple blows this weekend. First was the OU loss to Iowa State. Wait, OU is in the Big 12. Yes, but remember the Sooner team you saw that couldn't handle Iowa State is the same one that manhandled Ohio State at the Horseshoe. Later in the night, Michigan fell victim to "little brother" Michigan State at home. The Wolverines were at least expected to compete in the East Division, but games at Penn State and at home against Ohio State are still to come. The offensive struggles finally caught up to UM and are glaring going forward. ... NC State picked up a huge win Thursday night against Louisville, essentially knocking Lamar Jackson out of the Heisman race before it ever heated up. The win also asserted the Wolfpack as the hands-down contender to knock off Clemson in the Atlantic Division. NCSU hosts the Tigers on Nov. 4 in what could turn into the de facto division title game. ... As aforementioned, TCU is now the only undefeated team remaining in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs have a slightly easy road to travel until Nov. 11 when they visit Norman. TCU will likely be the favorite in all except the OU game, and even then they might be the favorite in that one.

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-BtW
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