Week 12 - Sunday Storylines
BYU bows out, Big Duck Energy, and the Dawgs bite back.
Instant Replay
What did we just watch?
BYU bows out - What if I told you that an undefeated and sixth-ranked BYU team lost a 17-13 game at 12:32 AM on Sunday to Kansas because KU pooch punted a ball off a BYU player’s helmet, recovered the fumble and one play later scored what would be the game-winning touchdown?
Never change, college football.
BYU goes down. The Big 12 is in disarray. What a fun day of ball!
Big Duck Energy - I’m just gonna say it: Oregon is giving me major Team of Destiny vibes.
Tonight, the top-ranked Ducks played perhaps their worst game of the season. The offense was clunky. The defense got stops but gave up some costly points. And the playcalling did not hit with the same ferocity. And yet the Ducks found a way to win against a ravenous Wisconsin team, outlasting the Badgers 16-13 to remain undefeated.
In the words of The Solid Verbal crew…Win. Your. Clunkers.
Oregon played a clunker of a game and still came out on top and that’s really all that matters. The Ducks were reliant on their defense tonight, and the defense came up huge. Oregon allowed just 226 total yards and limited the Badgers’ offense to 1-12 on third down. That’s some elite-level defensive play.
Survive and advance.
Dawgs bite back - Much-maligned Georgia quarterback Carson Beck answered the bell tonight in a must-win spot for the Bulldogs.
With its proverbial back against the College Football Playoff wall, No. 12 Georgia took it to former SEC East foe, seventh-ranked Tennessee 31-17 in what I believe was potentially a CFP eliminator game. Beck was really good and when he plays like that, this Georgia team can beat any team in the country.
After about a month of subpar play, Beck finally started to resemble the top-pick publicity he received in the preseason. Beck had zero turnovers and chipped in with 346 yards and two touchdowns–a far cry from how he’s performed in recent weeks.
The UGA defense was no slouch either. Against a good Tennessee run game, the Dawgs held up, allowing just 152 yards on almost 40 carries. More importantly, that unit held Tennesse quarterback Nico Iamaleava in check and made things labored, especially in the second half.
I’m weirdly still in on this Georgia team. I think this group will be a very, very tough out.
Colorado comes good - Travis Hunter’s Heisman hopes took a tremendous jump Saturday after the 17th-ranked Buffaloes trounced Utah 49-24. Hunter played good defense (despite getting burnt once for a touchdown) and was a menace on offense, showcasing his true dual-threat capabilities.
Hunter finished the day with one rushing touchdown, 55 receiving yards and an INT on defense.
Colorado played with its food a bit at times but did a good job of getting stops and scoring points when needed. Utah is just not a good team with Isaac Wilson at quarterback.
With the win, CU moves to 8-2 and remains in the hunt for the Big 12 title game and a potential College Football Playoff berth. What a season for the boys from Boulder.
Saturdays in The Swamp - Let’s check the chart, shall we?
How mad do we think LSU head coach Brian Kelly is about his 22nd-ranked Tigers losing 27-16 to a four-win Florida team and his team only mustering 16 points despite a TOP of 41:43?
I’m going to go with WHOLE LOT OF ANGER.
Scapegoat Florida head coach Billy Napier notches a big win in Gainesville, which feels huge considering two weeks ago his boss gave him the dreaded vote of confidence.
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway was good, but the run game and defense carried the Gators for most of the afternoon. The Gator defense, in particular, deserves a ton of credit after a stellar 7-sack and 11-TFL performance. That’s the good stuff.
This is an ultra-demoralizing loss for LSU. Couldn’t happen to a better coach than Brian Kelly.
Holgorsen’s Huskers - It was very appropriate that early in the Nebraska-USC broadcast, FOX displayed a Spider-Man meme graphic, showcasing the eerie similarities between the two football programs.
For about three and a half quarters, the meme held up.
A little over midway in the fourth quarter, USC led 21-20 facing a crucial drive. Earlier in the game (on multiple occasions), the Huskers opted not to go on fourth down, instead punting the ball back to USC and putting the onus on the Blackshirt defense.
With the weight of The Coliseum on his shoulders, new starting quarterback Jayden Maiava led the Trojans on a remarkable 13-play, 84-yard touchdown drive that ate up a staggering 7:39 of game time. In stark contrast to Rhule’s conservative decision-making, USC head coach Lincoln Riley opted to extend the drive on a critical fourth down speed option call. The drive ended with a short yardage scamper for Maiava that put the Trojans up eight with 2:50 left.
During last week’s bye week, Rhule opted to demote offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield in favor of outsider Dan Holgorsen, in hopes of jolting a spark into a lifeless offense.
In a one-score game, the new Husker play-caller had the chance to make his mark by engineering a drive to tie the game and force overtime. It was to no avail.
Husker quarterback Dylan Railoa led the Huskers into a manageable position, only to be picked off in the endzone on the final play of the game in the 28-20 loss. There was a clear missed pass interference call on the final play, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
Matt Rhule should catch major heat after this game. He coached not to lose instead of coaching to win. His questionable clock management and willingness to go for it on fourth down hindered this offense and team. It was a bad Rhule game.
For all the hoop-la around Holgorsen’s appointment, the Huskers managed just 13 offensive points. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Miracles don’t happen overnight. But despite some small improvements with quicker pass plays and a more rhythmic tempo, this was a decaf debut from the Red Bull man. It was simply not good enough.
Today’s loss makes four in a row for a Nebraska team still hoping to reach a bowl game for the first time since 2016. The Huskers will have two more bites at the apple against Wisconsin and Iowa. Rhule desperately needs a win to preach progress through two difficult years in Lincoln.
Boise State blowout - After falling behind by 14 early points, the college football world was put on notice by San Jose State. The Spartans came out like a bat out of hell and totally unsettled No. 12 Boise State through a quarter and a half of play.
Then Heisman-hopeful Ashton Jeanty put his stamp on the game.
The All-World running back made his presence felt and provided enough juice to power the Broncos past SJSU 42-21 to remain the G5 favorite in the College Football Playoff picture.
Jeanty was immense, finishing the game with a staggering stat line of 32 carries for 159 yards and three touchdowns. After he scored his 25th (25th!) touchdown of the season tonight, he rightfully struck the Heisman pose. Get that man to New York, damn it.
Shoutout to Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen, as well. Madsen has struggled at times this year, but was great tonight, finishing with 286 yards and one touchdown.
SJSU is a solid team. Good win for Boise.
SMU survives a scare - 14th-ranked SMU staved off a Boston College upset bid, pulling away late to secure a 38-28 victory to move to 9-1 overall and remain atop the ACC standings.
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings was good, but new BC starter Grayson James held his own. This was a pretty fun back-and-forth affair. SMU slammed the door shut with back-to-back sacks on the final drive of the game.
With the win, the Ponies keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. Meanwhile, BC and first-year head coach Bill O’Brien are still searching for that sixth win and bowl eligibility.
OK Cool, Hook 'Em - In a nostalgic battle of old Southwest Conference rivals, No. 3 Texas used a combination of stiff defense and timely playmaking down the stretch to outlast Arkansas 20-10.
Arkansas did a great job of limiting a ton of big plays from the Longhorns’ offense, and for quite a while, had a legitimate shot at pulling the upset. The Longhorns’ defense stole the show, however, as it finished with six sacks, nine TFL and forced a pair of costly turnovers.
This is a good win for Texas. Arkansas has a legitimate defense and has done a great job against some tough offenses this season.
Cardiac Cardinal - No. 19 Lousiville took a long road trip west to Stanford and went home with a bizarre, walk-off 38-35 loss.
Lousiville losing is weird enough. The circumstances surrounding the loss make it so much stranger. Let me explain.
Stanford scored 17 fourth-quarter points in the upset victory.
Louisville mustered just 14 second-half points, a pretty paltry number for a Jeff Brohm offense.
Louisville committed a pair of penalties with one-second remaining (a 15-yard personal foul and later an offside penalty) resulting in 20 straight penalty yards. Stanford used those penalty yards to its advantage and knocked down a jaw-dropping 52-yard walk-off field goal to secure the win.
College football is the best!
Clemson keeps pace in ACC title race - Let me set the record straight. For much of the second half, Clemson and Pitt had themselves a Stupid Off. Both teams did an admirable job of showcasing that they were, in fact, more stupid than their opponent.
Amidst a backdrop of strange missed calls by ACC refs and questionable execution on the field by both teams, Clemson used a 50-yard scamper from quarterback Cade Klubnik to outlast Pitt 24-20.
With the win, Clemson moves to 8-2 overall and 7-1 in the ACC. The Tigers still sit behind both Miami and SMU in the ACC standings, but have given themselves a fighting chance as we hit the final few weeks of the regular season.
For Pitt, man…the wheels have really fallen off, huh? All I could think about during the second half of this game is that watching Pitt football feels like eating gas station sushi. It’s rarely a good idea, and yet, we do it anyway. Alas.
Bronco’s Big Bad Boys - At roughly 12:04 AM Central time, Bronco Mendenhall’s New Mexico team knocked off No. 18 Washington State 38-35.
Despite a dazzling display from our rowdy cousin quarterback John Mateer, the Lobos picked up an improbably fun win. New Mexico just bludgeoned the Cougars on the ground, finishing with 360 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
What a damn showing from Bronco’s BIG BAD BOYS.
Sun Devil Smackdown - No need to mince words, Arizona State took an absolute meat cleaver to Kansas State, finishing off the Wildcats 24-14 to move to 8-2 and keep itself in the Big 12 title hunt.
ASU’s defense made life very hard for Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson. Johnson struggled and just couldn’t make enough plays to keep K-State in the ball game.
What a remarkable run this is by Arizona State. Give Kenny Dillingham his flowers and consider that man for Coach of the Year honors.
ROOSTER NOISES - South Carolina is good and those boys are fun as hell, man.
In what was essentially a College Football Playoff eliminator game, No. 21 South Carolina relied on a superstar effort from quarterback LaNorris Sellers to outlast No 23 Missouri 34-30.
This game was a banger! Sellers was incredible, finishing with a jaw-dropping 353 passing yards and five touchdowns. He and the Gamecocks did just enough to outduel a banged-up Brady Cook.
In all likelihood, South Carolina will not make the College Football Playoff. This team, will, however, rank very high on the Fun As Hell scale. They might even rank at the very top. What a fantastic season for Shane Beamer!
Green Wave find a groove - No. 25 Tulane made light work of Navy, dismantling the Midshipmen 35-0 to keep themselves on the periphery of the College Football Playoff.
Dual-threat quarterback Darian Mensah was efficient and accurate, chipping in two crucial passing touchdowns en route to the victory.
Jon Sumrall is just a legit coach. No doubt about it.
Herman’s headache - Tom Herman and Florida Atlantic lost to Temple today. I’m gonna go so far as to say that doing that might be a fireable offense. Do with that information what you will.
A Sun Belt shocker - A week after I was singing the praises of Sun Belt leaders Louisiana, the Ragin Cajuns had a letdown and lost to South Alabama 24-22.
South Alabama scored all of its points in the first half and did juuuuuust enough to hang on in the victory.
Despite the loss, the Ragin Cajuns still sit atop its side of the conference and should play in the Sun Belt title game.
Baylor balls out - Hey, would you look at that…Baylor is bowl-eligible with its 49-35 win over West Virginia. What a tremendous turnaround for head coach Dave Aranda.
Quarterback Sawyer Robertson suddenly looks like one of the best gunslingers in the league and the Bears are no longer a laughing stock.
Hopefully, Baylor pays up some serious NIL money to keep their guys this summer. If so, Baylor could be a Big 12 title-competing team next season.
America’s Team - Texas State trounced a really bad Southern Miss team to hit the six-win mark and reach bowl eligibility. I love it for GJ Kinne!
Bobcat Beatdown - In some midweek MACtion, Ohio knocked off Eastern Michigan 35-10 to move to 7-3 overall and 5-1 in the MAC. Tim Albin has done a fantastic job this season and should be in the running for some Coach of the Year honors.
FCS fun - FCS heavyweight Montana State held on to beat upstart UC Davis 30-28, despite 20 fourth-quarter points from the Aggies. This is a monster win for Montana State and allows them to stay in the top four of the FCS rankings.
The Brent Musburger Gambling Guide
Let’s review my locks of the week.
-14 Liberty vs. UMASS - No further questions at this time. -1 unit
-3.5 JMU vs. ODU - (I lost this by half of a point…brutal!) -1 unit
-6.5 Tulane vs. Navy - +1 unit
+1 unit on the season
What I’m Reading This Season
SID Sports - Don’t forget to subscribe to Griffin Olah’s SID Sports newsletter. As a former Divison I sports information director, Olah has a great grasp of the sport and I really enjoy his work.
2201 Kimball Ave | Cameron Morgan - 2201 Kimball Ave is essential reading for all followers of Kansas State football. As a lifelong K-State fan and former player, Cameron brings a unique and thoughtful approach to the analysis of the Wildcats' football team. His newsletters are rational and insightful and I genuinely learn something new with every newsletter.
Split Zone Duo | Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson and Steven Godfrey - SZD is essential reading and following for CFB ball knowers. Godfrey, Richard and Alex are the Holy Trinity for college football analysis and insight. Each member brings a unique flavor to the conversation, which makes for insightful and downright hilarious banter about the sport we all love. If I had someone ask me where to start for smarter college football coverage, this SZD is where I'd send them.