This "Morning After" is in remembrance of the four lives lost and the countless lives affected at the horrible Homecoming tragedy in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Today might seem like just another day to you, but it is so important to live each day like it's your last. Peace and comfort to the Oklahoma State community and to all dealing with this in their own personal way.
1) What a complete, dominant performance by the Clemson Tigers. From start to finish, they left no doubt who was the better team in Sun Life Stadium. When you hand a storied program like Miami its worst loss in school history, that's an accomplishment you hang your hat on. Those wins don't come around often.
2) This game was determined on the first two drives. Clemson went eight plays and 82 yards, punctuated by a perfect play call on a tight end screen for the opening touchdown. Miami, looking to answer, drove deep into Tiger territory before Jadar Johnson picked off Brad Kaaya near the goal line. Clemson promptly scored on its next three drives and knocked Kaaya out of the game with a concussion. But those two initial drives set the tone for the day.
3) Clemson earned its first defensive shutout of the season and its third in its last 16 games. Miami was averaging nearly 34 points per game and 444 yards of offense. The Tigers held the Hurricanes to 146 total yards. The Tigers have now won 10 games in a row dating to last season. The last time Clemson had 10 wins in a row was the 1983-84 seasons. Clemson has won 35 straight games against unranked opponents in the AP poll, second only to Alabama which has a streak of 58 straight such wins. Lastly, a week after throwing for over 400 yards, Clemson's offense gained over 400 rushing. It's the first time in school history the Tigers have a game of both yardage gains in the same season.
4) Air raid? What air raid? Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon sliced and diced Texas Tech's defense to the tune of 355 yards and six touchdowns between the two of them. Oklahoma ran past the Red Raiders, 63-27, in a game many expected to be decided through the air. The only air needed was in the oxygen tanks on the sidelines for Perine, Mixon, and the Texas Tech defense still chasing them from behind. Next week is a visit to winless Kansas. Last season, Perine set the single-game rushing record with 427 yards on the ground against the Jayhawks. Could he or Mixon do it again?
5) What a day in college football. The match-ups weren't overly inviting, but the drama was full overload. No. 3 Utah was spanked by USC to fall from the ranks of the unbeatens. The Pac-12 is now without an undefeated team and rests its hopes in Stanford to run the table to make the Playoff. Arkansas-Auburn and Duke-Virginia Tech each provided us four-overtime games, which Arkansas and Duke won, respectively. Aforementioned Miami produced its ugliest loss and the "Fire Al Golden" crowd has turned from angry mob to mutiny, although by the third quarter you could hardly tell with all the empty seats. That in and of itself is message enough to the Hurricanes higher-ups that they've seen enough of the Golden - not-so-Golden? - years. HA! ...
Announced attendance: 45,211. Nope.— Aaron Brenner (@Aaron_Brenner) October 24, 2015
5B) Then, there was the second consecutive week of a wild special teams play resulting in bedlam. After Michigan botched its punt and Michigan State pulled off the unthinkable ending in the Big House, which drew comparisons to the infamous "Kick 6" play between Auburn and Alabama in 2013, Georgia Tech decided to one-up Sparty and produce "Kick 6 - The Sequel." The events that had to unfold for the play to happen, though, are what make it unique - and even crazier.
Florida State, driving with a 16-13 lead, had third and goal from the 10 yard line. Everett Golson unfurled a pretty much perfect pass into the end zone, but the ball was tipped and intercepted. It was Golson's first interception of the season and the Noles' first offensive turnover of the season. Had it been caught by an FSU player, the game would have been virtually over with just over eight minutes to go. Had it been an incomplete pass, FSU likely would have lined up for a field goal with the nation's most reliable kicker and made it a six-point game - not out of reach, but not leading to the most unlikely of endings.
Instead, the interception led to both teams trading punts before Georgia Tech kicked the game-tying field goal with 54 seconds to go. FSU had plenty of time to set up Roberto Aguayo for a 56-yard attempt, well within his range. Aguayo's kick was blocked and presumably the game was headed to overtime. Lance Austin picked up the ball against the will of his head coach, raced across the field to find nothing but blockers, green grass, and a swarm of white-clad students ahead of him. An improbable walk-off ending on the heels of the previous week's same result. Gotta love college football.
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| Georgia Tech swarmed the field after knocking off Florida State. (Photo courtesy USA Today Sports) |
*Turns phone off.*
— FSU Football (@FSU_Football) October 25, 2015
6) There's the Ohio State team that was unanimously picked No. 1 this preseason. After a slow start, JT Barrett led the Buckeye offense and accounted for five touchdowns in routing Rutgers, 49-7. This is the team that can run the table, at least in the Big Ten to reach the College Football Playoff.
7) Why, hello there, Washington State. After a season-opening loss to FCS Portland State, which many pegged as the beginning of the end of the Mike Leach era in Pullman, Wash., the Cougars are in control of their destiny in the Pac-12 North. That may be short-lived, though, as the Cougs' next opponent is Top-10 Stanford. If Washington State can find a way to pull off the shocker at home, they could be the Cinderella story of the season.
8) ESPN Stats & Info tweeted out last night that only one conference will have five teams with one or fewer losses. Care to take a guess? Nope, not the SEC. Nor the Big Ten. Still can't get it? It's the ACC. While Clemson remains as the only unbeaten in the conference, there are four schools with one loss: Florida State, Duke, North Carolina and Pitt - the latter three all residing in the Coastal Division, all still yet to play each other, and all with their loss coming outside the conference. This bodes well for the Tigers, who are likely the conference's last chance at the Playoff. Clemson needs to win out, most certainly, but beating ranked Florida State and a ranked Coastal opponent in the ACC title game would look more impressive in the eyes of the Playoff Committee than say beating a three-loss Coastal winner.
9) Quick hitters: Baylor might be without star quarterback Seth Russell for a while. Russell has a broken bone in his neck and will visit a specialist this week to determine the severity. In steps freshman QB Jarrett Stidham, who in backup duty has a better completion percentage and passer rating than Russell. ... Alabama escaped with a 19-14 win over rival Tennessee. As predicted, this would be Bama's "off" week. The Tide actually take the next week off with a bye before hosting LSU Nov. 7. ... Ole Miss bounced back from its loss to Memphis to shut down Texas A&M. The Aggies couldn't do much offensively, as the Rebels remain in control of their destiny in the SEC West. ... Stanford continued to roll with a 31-14 win over Washington. The Cardinal have a primetime date with Washington State, which amazingly could determine who wins the Pac-12 North.
10) "Clemsoning" became a thing following the Tigers' loss to NC State in 2011. That was also the last time Clemson lost to an unranked opponent. Halloween in Raleigh will have Carter-Finley Stadium rocking. They've called for a "Black Out." One of the nation's best is coming. ... Drown out the noise. Focus on Clemson. Beat NC State.
-BtW
10) "Clemsoning" became a thing following the Tigers' loss to NC State in 2011. That was also the last time Clemson lost to an unranked opponent. Halloween in Raleigh will have Carter-Finley Stadium rocking. They've called for a "Black Out." One of the nation's best is coming. ... Drown out the noise. Focus on Clemson. Beat NC State.
-BtW
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