Results of Last Week's Games to Watch
1. #18 Auburn Tigers @ #13 LSU Tigers
LSU fans were treated to a track meet for their team's running backs. LSU is a team that relies heavily on their running game and they needed little more against the porous Auburn defense. This game should be the first major step in a Heisman campaign for LSU sophomore Leonard Fournette (pictured below). His mix of agility, speed, and ability to knock a defender backwards, makes him the best running back I have seen in my 4 years of closely following college football. Watching the highlights on this page will help you understand: Leonard Fournette Highlights (ignore the 1st video and scroll down). The Auburn offense continued to sputter, just like they did against Jacksonville State, due mainly to the fact that highly touted Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson has largely turned out to be a dud. By halftime, the game was basically over.
With the manner of this loss, Auburn is out of the playoff picture and will be lucky to piece together 6 wins this year. My pick of Auburn as one of the teams to make it into the playoffs now seems like a horrible mistake. Of course, everyone believed Jeremy Johnson was going to be far better.
I should have picked this as a "Game to Watch." College Gameday, the nation premier pregame show, chose this game as the location of last week's show. All I can say is: they picked a great one.
The Rebels upset the Crimson Tide last year in Mississippi and the Tide were looking for revenge. But would they find it in front of their home crowd?
Jake Coker was Alabama's starting quarterback for the first two games, but the coaches thought he could have played better. So before the game, the coaches gave the start to sophomore Cooper Bateman. However, this decision soon proved to be a terrible choice as the Alabama offense only managed a grand total of 3 points with Bateman as quarterback. Meanwhile, Ole Miss scored 10 points due largely to their running game. On the ensuing kickoff, Alabama returner Kenyan Drake promptly fumbled the ball and Ole Miss jumped on it. 4 plays later, the Rebels took a 17-3 lead on a hard-nosed TD run by quarterback Chad Kelly.
Having had enough of Bateman's ineffectiveness, Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban put Jake Coker back in as quarterback, a decision that made Tide fans happy. Making up for lost time, Coker led his team down the field on a long 16 play drive that cut the deficit to 17-10 going into halftime. Nevertheless, Ole Miss was proud of their 1st half performance and was getting ready to light up the scoreboard.
The Rebels got the ball to start the 2nd half and on the 5th play of the drive something incredible happened. The shotgun snap deflected off Kelly's fingertips and flew 3 feet directly upward. Kelly caught the ball, but by then two Alabama defensive lineman were directly in front of them. He heaved the ball towards his best wide receiver, Laquon Treadwell, who was locked in double coverage. At that moment, it looked like a bad idea, however it turned out to be everything but. The ball hit Treadwell's fingertips, bounced off of the helmet of an Alabama defender, and seemed to hang in the air. Ole Miss receiver Quincy Adeboyejo had been running alongside Treadwell and simply swooped in, caught the ball, and sprinted 50 yards into the endzone. Ole Miss players celebrated while the Alabama players and fans tried to make sense of the crazy play.
Final Score: LSU 45 Auburn 21
2. #14 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ #8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
This game was the first start of Notre Dame's new quarterback Deshone Kizer, in for injured team captain Malik Zaire. Not only did Kizer handle his first start well, the Irish defense played excellently. Georgia Tech's playbook is loaded with a variety of run plays designed around the triple option, a play that gives the quarterback the option to give the ball to the fullback, run it himself, or pitch it to the running back. Defensive coordinators across the country will tell you this is the most difficult offense to prepare for because of how confusing it can be for the defense. However, if the defenders cover every option no matter where the ball goes, the triple-option attack can be rendered mostly ineffective, which is just what Notre Dame did. That gave their offense plenty of opportunities to score points, most notably a long passing TD from Kizer to lightning-fast receiver Will Fuller (reminiscent of last week's miracle pass). The other exciting TD came when running back C.J Prosise broke a tackle and weaved past two defenders for a 91 yard score. Georgia Tech made it close with two touchdowns in the final minute, but their 2nd onside kick was recovered by Notre Dame.
If Notre Dame keeps winning, they will be strong contenders to make it into the College Football Playoffs.
Final Score: Notre Dame 30 Georgia Tech 22
Most Exciting Game of the Week
#15 Ole Miss (Mississippi) Rebels @ #2 Alabama Crimson Tide
The Rebels upset the Crimson Tide last year in Mississippi and the Tide were looking for revenge. But would they find it in front of their home crowd?
Jake Coker was Alabama's starting quarterback for the first two games, but the coaches thought he could have played better. So before the game, the coaches gave the start to sophomore Cooper Bateman. However, this decision soon proved to be a terrible choice as the Alabama offense only managed a grand total of 3 points with Bateman as quarterback. Meanwhile, Ole Miss scored 10 points due largely to their running game. On the ensuing kickoff, Alabama returner Kenyan Drake promptly fumbled the ball and Ole Miss jumped on it. 4 plays later, the Rebels took a 17-3 lead on a hard-nosed TD run by quarterback Chad Kelly.
Having had enough of Bateman's ineffectiveness, Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban put Jake Coker back in as quarterback, a decision that made Tide fans happy. Making up for lost time, Coker led his team down the field on a long 16 play drive that cut the deficit to 17-10 going into halftime. Nevertheless, Ole Miss was proud of their 1st half performance and was getting ready to light up the scoreboard.
The Rebels got the ball to start the 2nd half and on the 5th play of the drive something incredible happened. The shotgun snap deflected off Kelly's fingertips and flew 3 feet directly upward. Kelly caught the ball, but by then two Alabama defensive lineman were directly in front of them. He heaved the ball towards his best wide receiver, Laquon Treadwell, who was locked in double coverage. At that moment, it looked like a bad idea, however it turned out to be everything but. The ball hit Treadwell's fingertips, bounced off of the helmet of an Alabama defender, and seemed to hang in the air. Ole Miss receiver Quincy Adeboyejo had been running alongside Treadwell and simply swooped in, caught the ball, and sprinted 50 yards into the endzone. Ole Miss players celebrated while the Alabama players and fans tried to make sense of the crazy play.
The rest of the game went like this: the Rebels offense continued to produce electrifying TD plays while the Crimson Tide kept the game close with touchdowns of their own. Chad Kelly was a part of all of the Ole Miss touchdowns. Let's see: there was the play where Kelly fakes like he's going to run, but then, just before he crosses the line of scrimmage, he throws to wide open receiver Cody Core, who runs untouched into the endzone for a 73 yard TD. And, of course, the play when Kelly throws a perfect TD pass to Treadwell just above the helmet of an Alabama cornerback. Adding this onto the fact that Alabama committed 5 turnovers while Ole Miss had none, it came as no surprise as the Crimson Tide's furious rally came up short.
With this win, Ole Miss skyrocketed to #3 in the rankings and are hard not to consider as a serious contender for one of the 4 playoff spots.
With this win, Ole Miss skyrocketed to #3 in the rankings and are hard not to consider as a serious contender for one of the 4 playoff spots.
I'm starting to really like Ole Miss. It's hard not to when they beat Alabama 2 years in a row.
Final Score: Ole Miss 43 Alabama 37
Top 2 Games to Watch: Week 4
1. #18 Utah Utes @ #13 Oregon Ducks: 9/26 at 8 p.m. on Fox
Starting quarterback for the Ducks, Vernon Adams, is recovering from a broken finger, but should be ready at the start of this game. Oregon will need him against a stout Utah defense. Utah's starting quarterback Travis Wilson is also battling injury and is doubtful for the game. Because of that, I think the Ducks will win with or without Adams.
My pick: Oregon
2. #9 UCLA Bruins @ #16 Arizona Wildcats: 9/26 at 8 p.m. on ABC
College Gameday will be on hand in Tucson prior to the game. UCLA looks like a playoff caliber team with talented quarterback Josh Rosen and a tough defense. But Arizona has a great quarterback of their own in sophomore Anu Solomon. I think the hype before the game combined with the home field advantage will help the Wildcats to make this a very close game. The deciding factor for who I will pick is the fact that my Uncle Chris Maloney is a professor at the University of Arizona. So, GO WILDCATS!!!! Arizona pulls off the upset at home.
My pick: Arizona
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