NCAAF

• Michigan 41 Penn State 17
  • Michigan had flailed around a bit the past few weeks, struggling with Maryland, Iowa, and Indiana at times, but I was impressed with the Wolverines yesterday. Both of Michigan’s lines are excellent, and the offensive line in particular has made Blake Corum’s job easy all year. The jump Mike Morris has made from 2021 to 2022 has been nothing short of jaw-dropping.
  • In hindsight, Penn State’s resume entering this contest, particularly its victory over Auburn, looks pedestrian. The Nittany Lions simply aren’t efficient on offense. Big plays have been a huge part of Penn State’s attack, but the team’s scoring unit is borderline helpless without them. James Franklin needs to defeat Minnesota next week.
• Ole Miss 48 Auburn 34
  • I’m still struggling to get a solid read on Ole Miss. That’ll change, though, as the Rebels get LSU, Texas A&M, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi State for their final five games. Jaxson Dart isn’t asked to do a ton by Lane Kiffin, and the rushing attack, which was leaned on heavily in this game, is the offense’s driving force.
  • Bryan Harsin wasn’t dealt the greatest set of cards when taking the Auburn job, but his time might be coming to a close. The Tigers have had the worst quarterback play in the SEC this season, and it hasn’t exactly been close. At least the defense has Owen Pappoe and Derick Hall, but they’ll both be playing on Sundays next year.
• Oklahoma 52 Kansas 42
  • I wasn’t sure how this game was going to go, and I certainly didn’t expect the Sooners to compile 52 points and over 700 yards after being blanked last week. Apparently, Dillon Gabriel is quite an upgrade over Davis Beville. Oklahoma is dead in the Big 12 race, but a strong second half of the season would give Brent Venables’ program some nice momentum, and make it easier for him to keep the nation’s No. 4 ranked recruiting class.
  • Kansas was a cute story, but they had no business being ranked this week. Jalon Daniels is injured, which didn’t help, but Jason Bean was fine in this game. The problem for the Jayhawks is overall roster talent — something that Lance Leipold will need to build.
• Texas 24 Iowa State 21
  • Texas is a talented team, but I’m beginning to believe the Longhorns play to their competition. Things will get interesting for Texas coming up, as its next three games are against Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and TCU. With Quinn Ewers back and healthy, Texas should be solidly favored in each of those games. Yes, even versus unbeaten TCU.
• Illinois 26 Minnesota 14
  • Illinois isn’t a legitimate contender for anything beyond the Big Ten West, but it can’t be denied that the team has an identity and plays to it. 41 carries for Chase Brown yesterday. The stout Fighting Illini should prevail in their next game against an erratic Nebraska team.
  • Tanner Morgan is so confusing. He has some nice games, but also produces quite a few stinkers.
• Bowling Green 17 Miami (OH) 13
  • Bowling Green rightfully doesn’t get much love from the advanced metrics (or the media), but the program has fared nicely in 2022 with three victories so far.
  • Miami (OH) needs Brett Gabbert back. The offense shouldn’t be this poor.
• Old Dominion 49 Coastal Carolina 21
  • I kind of alluded to Kansas being a fraud, but that word should be reserved for Coastal Carolina, which had no business being 6-0 entering this contest. Grayson McCall is really good — this isn’t against him, but Coastal Carolina had been super lucky this year, stringing together many close victories. The Chanticleers will probably lose their next two games — at Marshall and versus Appalachian State.
• Miami 20 Virginia Tech 14
  • Perhaps no program needed a victory yesterday more than Miami. Losers of three consecutive, the Hurricanes were okay in this game, which is good enough to beat this version of Virginia Tech. Tyler Van Dyke hasn’t lived up to expectations in 2022, so maybe this performance will get him going.
• Colorado 20 California 13
  • Whoa. It seems like interim coaches win their debut at a much higher rate than they should, and that’s exactly what happened in this contest.
• Georgia 55 Vanderbilt 0
  • Georgia is a force on the defensive side of the ball — that’s a given, so it was nice to see the offense perform well yesterday, even if it was against a lowly Vanderbilt team. For Georgia, there’s not much to say about this game, but one thing of note was Carson Beck tossing two touchdown passes in relief. Beck is probably the leading candidate to start at quarterback next season for the Bulldogs.
• Tennessee 52 Alabama 49
  • The line for this game felt too high, creeping up to Alabama -9. Even with that feeling, I didn’t foresee the Volunteers dropping 52 points. The Crimson Tide’s depth chart is full of highly-touted defensive backs, including Kool-Aid McKinstry, Jordan Battle, and Brian Branch, but Nick Saban’s unit had no answer for Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt. Tennessee, amazingly, will probably rise into at least the top four of the AP poll today. I have November 5th circled on my calendar; Tennessee at Georgia.
  • Alabama, obviously, is by no means dead, but it’ll probably have to win out to make the College Football Playoff. Bryce Young was awesome yesterday — he’s not to blame, but maybe guys like Will Anderson and Dallas Turner are, as Alabama recorded just one sack in this game. The Crimson Tide’s pass defense will be tested yet again next week when taking on Mississippi State.
• TCU 43 Oklahoma State 40
  • This TCU team isn’t as good as the 2014 iteration, a squad that was probably one of America’s three best, but 6-0 is 6-0. Boasting an explosive offense, the Horned Frogs have a real shot at the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, if they got there, they’d likely get blasted by a team like Ohio State or Georgia. Still, the connection between Max Duggan and Quentin Johnson is nothing to take lightly.
  • The metrics weren’t as fond of the Cowboys as the pollsters were, so this result wasn’t too shocking. The struggles of Spencer Sanders continued yesterday, which will need fixed if Oklahoma State wants any chance to win the Big 12.
• Syracuse 24 NC State 9
  • Syracuse is about as bad as you can get for a 6-0 Power Five team, but at least the Orange can be happy, for now. Five consecutive games of at least moderate difficult stand ahead: at Clemson, versus Notre Dame, at Pittsburgh, versus Florida State, and at Wake Forest. I’d be surprised if the Orange went 3-2 or better over that stretch.
  • NC State is dead. With Devin Leary gone for the season, there’s not much hope for NC State, despite the former contender having a pretty good defense.
• Arkansas 52 BYU 35
  • Arkansas has played in some weird games this year, so believe it or not, this was there largest margin of victory on the year. The Razorbacks can at least compete with anybody in the SEC if KJ Jefferson performs like he did in this contest every week.
• Liberty 21 Gardner-Webb 20
  • Liberty actually had a case for being an average FBS team heading into this game, but that’ll change. The Flames were 24.5 point favorites in this contest.
• Maryland 38 Indiana 33
  • I’m sure Maryland was pleased to win this road game, but an injury to Taulia Tagovailoa surely put a damper on things. The Terrapins are actually a top 25 team according to SP+, but they’ll get smashed by Ohio State and Penn State if the team’s signal-caller can’t return this season.
  • Indiana isn’t in a great place as a program, but Tom Allen should be proud of how his team competed these past two weeks. A win over Rutgers next week is a necessity.
• Toledo 52 Kent State 31
  • The Rockets are a problem in the MAC West. No team in the league can match Toledo’s offense, especially when Dequan Finn accounts for seven touchdowns.
• Ohio 33 Western Michigan 14
  • It’s felt like the Bobcats have been having a bit of a down year, so credit to the program for getting to 4-3. Jack Salopek is a bad quarterback, but recording five interceptions off him is nonetheless impressive.
• Western Kentucky 35 Middle Tennessee 17
  • Three games for Middle Tennessee since defeating Miami: a 15-point loss to UTSA, a 27-point loss to UAB, and an 18-point loss to Western Kentucky. That’s a horrible look for the Hurricanes.
• Georgia Southern 45 James Madison 38
  • I know James Madison coming from the FCS and starting 5-0 was a fun story, but the Dukes never should’ve been ranked. The team was 37th in SP+ entering this contest — that’ll surely drop.
• Michigan State 34 Wisconsin 28
  • Mel Tucker really needed this victory. Having a defender like Jacoby Windmon helps matters. The senior linebacker was awesome in this contest.
  • Graham Mertz is good enough to start for the Badgers, and he’s gotten better over the years, but Wisconsin’s Mertz-led offense has been really pedestrian. Purdue has a pretty high-octane offense, so I’ll be curious to see if Wisconsin can keep up next week.
• Washington 49 Arizona 39
  • Michael Penix has come out of nowhere to have not just a competent season, but an electric one for the Huskies. I never thought I’d see a box score showing him passing for 516 yards during his time at Indiana.
  • It was a surprise when Tetairoa McMillan committed to Arizona, but perhaps it was the right call. The freshman has received tons of snaps so far, and is already a preferred option for Jayden de Laura.
• College Football Playoff Rankings
  • 1. Ohio State (6-0)
  • 2. Georgia (7-0)
  • 3. Michigan (7-0)
  • 4. Tennessee (6-0)
  • 5. Clemson (7-0)
  • 6. Ole Miss (7-0)