Notre Dame responded to last week’s loss to Northern Illinois with a 66-7 route of rival Purdue in West Lafayette. Florida State lost again…and it cost the Seminoles $1.3 million. Texas lost Heisman frontrunner quarterback Quinn Ewers early in Saturday’s contest against UTSA and replaced him with one of the highest ranked recruits in history. Two weeks after upsetting ACC-favorite Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt was shipwrecked by Georgia State. In what was a gloomy day for the Sunshine State, Power-Four teams in the state of Texas finished a collective 5-1 with a point differential of +160. That’s part of the beauty of college football—nothing is predictable. Who would’ve possibly predicted that not even a year after Florida State became the sports community’s object of sympathy after going 13-0 just to be left out of the College Football Playoff that it’d become the laughingstock of the same sport? Art, I tell you, art.
The matchup to watch in each of Saturday’s windows:
12:00 p.m. – NC State (2-1) at No. 22 Clemson (1-1)
Clemson is fresh off a by following its 66-point performance against Appalachian State. NC State was down 17-6 to Louisiana Tech in the second quarter before the Wolfpack rallied off 24-points to defeat the Bulldogs. Clemson is narrowly holding onto its rank in the AP Poll while NC State was dropped from the rankings following its 41-point loss to Tennessee last weekend. The Wolfpack haven’t won at Clemson in 22 years, but have won two of the last three series meetings. Both teams will be hellbent on upending the other as a now wide-open ACC rears its ugly head on Clemson, South Carolina for Saturday’s showdown.
4:00 p.m. – No. 12 Utah (3-0) at No. 13 Oklahoma State (3-0)
For only the second time in history, these two programs will meet – this time as conference opponents. The Utes make their debut in Big-XII conference play as the betting favorite to win the conference championship. Oklahoma State has appeared in two of the last three conference championship games but has yet to win one. Utah quarterback Cameron Rising will return after suffering a hand injury against Baylor two weeks ago to face a Cowboy defense spearheaded by a bevy of pass rushers including draft prospect Collin Oliver. In a showdown of conference elites, don’t be surprised if the winner of this game finds themselves playing in Jerry World this December.
7:30 p.m. – No. 7 Tennessee (3-0) at No. 15 Oklahoma (3-0)
Volunteer quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s first true road test will be a trip to Memorial Stadium to face off with the newly SEC-branded Sooners. The Volunteer offense has averaged nine touchdowns a game through three outings, with a season low of 51-points against then-ranked NC State. Oklahoma narrowly escaped Houston two weekends ago before pulling away late from Tulane this past Saturday. The winner of this game will not only start SEC play 1-0, but also slash the other team’s proverbial tires of momentum.
Teams whose perceptions have changed the most since last week:
Wisconsin – The Badgers established themselves as a tough-nosed defensive team following two gritty wins against FCS opponents, allowing no more than two touchdowns in either game. Alabama then waltzed into Camp Randall and scored six touchdowns on the Badgers in a ransack of Madison. Jalen Milroe accounted for five scores and the Badger secondary went up in flames as Alabama racked up 407 yards of offense. Whatever cautious optimism had spread around the Badger program is now gone, as Wisconsin re-affirmed off season critics’ worries of a sustainable offense.
South Carolina – In a different light, the Gamecocks established themselves as a pesky SEC threat following their 36-33 loss to No. 16 LSU. Even without quarterback LaNorris Sellers for the entire second half, the Gamecocks still managed nine go-ahead points late in the fourth quarter before the Tiger offense shored up and went 55 yards in eight plays to ice the game. With a healthy – and functional offense – the Gamecocks may very well pick off an upper tier SEC team before season’s end.
Boston College – Despite its 24th rank in the AP Poll, the Eagles were not expected to rival No. 6 Missouri in Columbia. After the Eagles took an early 14-3 lead, heads started to turn and look at the Eagles as a genuine threat in the ACC. BC eventually lost the game 27-21, but with a relatively easy conference slate remaining, the Eagles could very well sneak their way into a top five placement in its conference standings.
Positional units with the most to prove this Saturday:
The Florida quarterback room – Graham Mertz has struggled tremendously in his two starts this season, throwing for just 286 yards, one score and two interceptions on 35 attempts. True freshman and five-star DJ Lagway threw for an astounding 456 yards and three touchdowns against FCS Samford before being thrown to the wolves in the second half against Texas A&M, throwing two interceptions on 13 attempts. Does Billy Napier ride out his Gator-tenure with Mertz or give the program’s next head coach a season of DJ Lagway film to work off of? Some may say Napier finds himself “between a rock and a hard place.”
The Washington defense – The Husky defense returned just two starters from last year’s National Championship game unit which ranked 56th in the country. The 2024 unit, which currently ranks 34th in the country and has allowed just 279.3 yards-per-game, allowed Washington State to collect 381 yards and 25 first downs as the Husky defense struggled to stop the intermediate passing game continuously. How will this Husky defense hold up against the likes of USC, Penn State and Oregon later this season?
Banger
Banger
Intrinsic