Winners and Losers: College Football Week 3
(AP Photo/Michael Reaves via mlive.com)
Winner: The Wolverine (and Spartan) State
In words I can’t believe I’m typing... the state of Michigan *may* finally be back.
Hear me out.
Michigan climbed a whopping six spots in the AP Poll this week with a beatdown over a poor Northern Illinois team, which may seem odd. But for the Wolverines, we’re still looking for a real slip-up.
Elsewhere in Michigan, the Spartans of Michigan State have had their best start in half a decade with a 3-0 record and a dominant performance against a free-falling Miami team. Even better for Sparty: their next three games are Nebraska, Western Kentucky, and at Rutgers. The Week 9 Halloweekend matchup with UM could be a barnburner.
Even Western Michigan joined in on the fun, taking down Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. Quarterback Kaleb Eleby finished with 337 yards and 3 scores. Row the Boat baby!
https://www.houseofsparky.com/2021/9/19/22682413/asu-football-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-vs-byu
Loser: The Copper State
The state of Arizona had an odd winner this week, and they weren’t the typical Sun Devils or Wildcats, but the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona.
The small FCS program was blown out in weeks one and two by Sam Houston State and South Dakota. You may think, “well that’s bad, but it could be worse”.
South Dakota lost to Kansas. Northern Arizona lost to South Dakota. Arizona lost to Northern Arizona.
No, it could not be worse.
The Wildcats refuse to stop sinking, blowing a 13-0 lead to fall 21-19 to the ‘Jacks. The worst part, Arizona scored a touchdown with 2:16 to go and missed the 2-pt conversion for the tie.
Formerly-No. 19 Arizona State’s great start to the season was cut short by now-No. 15 BYU. The Sun Devils scored 10-straight in the third to bring it back to a four-point contest, but a 7-0 4th quarter by the Cougars earned the win.
The Pac-12 South’s consistency to be inconsistent continues to boggle minds.
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-draft-2022-sam-howell-matt-corral-ohio-state/pkbi307t86zo12ac63j2cgylw
Winner: Matt Corral’s Heisman Hopes
Hotty Toddy! Ole Miss is rolling with Matt Corral under center, scoring a whopping 61 (!!) points on poor, poor Tulane.
Now, Tulane is a team that is 1-2 but looks far, far better with the eye on the ball versus that stat sheet. They barely lost to Oklahoma in week one despite a great performance and laid a hammer on FCS Morgan State.
Ole Miss is now the arguably third-best team in the SEC, behind Alabama and Georgia, yet Florida still tops them in the AP Poll. We’ll see if the Rebels can put up the same fight against the Tide that Florida did.
But Corral made sure the Green Wave had stopped in its tracks.
Corral is currently sitting at 997 yards, 9 touchdowns, 0 picks, and 89.3 QBR (!!!),
Hotty Toddy, indeed.
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/clemson-dabo-swinney-ohio-state-coaches-poll/1jipn0dod0hdo1sgyaprottmm0
Loser: Ranked ACC Teams
The ACC is a conference of Clemson and then everyone else, and the “everyone else” part of this proved yet again why they don’t need to be named.
We’ve looked at Michigan State - Miami, but formerly-No. 15 Virginia Tech was even more disappointing, falling 27-21 at West Virginia.
Don’t let the scoreline fool you - a 27-7 start by the Mountaineers was only broken up very late in the third quarter - a touchdown by VT with one second to go brought it back.
Yet the finale of the game was the biggest highlight of the day, as after Virginia Tech’s third score, West Virginia threw a pick inside their own redzone.
The Hokies had two strong runs down to the WVU three-yard line, yet were stuffed four times in a row to take the Mountaineers home.
North Carolina did earn a win against unranked Virginia, but it took a strong second half after a terrible second quarter for the Heels to pull a win out.
And oh no, I won’t let Clemson off the hook either.
The Tigers hosted Georgia Tech in what looked to be a very easy win, but pulled it off just by six in a 14-8 bizarre win.
A three-yard Will Shipley touchdown run had the Tigers up 14-3 and the game looked over, but Tech elected to take a field goal with 1:19 left to take it to one score, and a recovered onside kick gave big hope to the Yellow Jackets. Tech was stuffed at the line, but Clemson immediately gave up a safety and GT had yet another chance, but a deep Hail Mary attempt fell short.
Should surprise no one to see Clemson tumble to the end of the top 10 this week.
https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/college/mountain-west/fresno-state/bulldogs-football/
Winner: Fresno State’s NY6 Odds
It’s been a pretty good start to the 2021 season for any team nicknamed the Bulldogs, and Fresno State may be the most surprising on that list.
The most exciting team in the Mountain West, Fresno State is 3-1 after a beatdown of UConn, a very close loss at No. 4 Oregon, another beatdown of Cal Poly, and a close win at UCLA.
Quarterback Jake Heaner played through injury and still put up 455 passing yards and 2 scores in the win, and running back Ronnie Rivers posted 136 yards and 2 scores himself.
The Bulldogs’ remaining schedule is all-Mountain West, and shouldn’t have much trouble, gifted by both Nevada and Boise State traveling to California.
https://www.si.com/college/2020/11/30/michael-penix-jr-leg-injury-expected-miss-rest-of-season-indiana
Loser: Michael Penix Jr.
Oh, Indiana.
We all had such high hopes for them after such a great 2020 season, and even with quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s injury rehab, there were good odds this team could impress.
Now I’ll be fair, playing at Iowa and then Cincinnati in a team’s first three games is a daunting task, and losing both is nothing to be (deeply) ashamed of.
Regardless, Penix Jr. has been not good.
He’s thrown for 448 yards, four touchdowns, six interceptions, and a QBR of 31.8.
I know he isn’t 100%, but ouch.
Against Iowa and Cincy alone, that accounts for all six picks and just two touchdowns. 17-40 passing against the Bearcats was concerning.
Perhaps Penix Jr. will turn it around, and a contest with Western Kentucky this weekend may eb that perfect opportunity.