Results of Last Week's Top Games to Watch
1. Florida State Seminoles vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
As is the case in many highly-anticipated matchups, the game doesn't live up to the hype. In the first half at least, that was not the case. Alabama missed a field goal on their first possession, but scored 3 points on a made field goal on their second drive. The Seminoles came up empty the first time they had the ball, but not the second time. Quarterback Deondre François completed all 7 of his passes on the drive, including a short TD pass to wide receiver Auden Tate.
The Tide fired back with a 5 play drive in which Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts rushed for 23 yards and passed for 59 yards and a touchdown. No points were scored in the first half even though the Florida State offense got into the redzone towards the end of the half. Their drive stalled at the 20 yard line and the resulting field goal was blocked thanks to poor blocking by the kicking team.
The second half started off slowly but quickly took a turn for the worst. Florida State had to punt on their first drive of the 3rd quarter and so did Alabama. After the Seminoles' second drive stalled, they once again lined up to punt. But this time the punt was blocked and recovered by the Tide at their opponents 6 yard line. Surprisingly, the Florida State defense denied Alabama entrance into the endzone and the Crimson Tide could only score a field goal.
Then things went from bad to worse on the Florida State special teams unit. Kick returner Keith Gavin was tackled and fumbled the ball towards the beginning of his attempted return. Alabama recovered at the 11 yard line and one play later scored on an 11 yard touchdown dash by running back Damien Harris. The Tide held a 21-7 lead after a successful two point conversion and their defense smothered any hope of a comeback. François through two interceptions on the next two Seminole possessions, but something way more unfortunate was coming his way. Late in the game, François was rolling out to his right when he was sacked from behind by diving defensive back Ronnie Harrison. Harrison went for a tackle at the legs and François's legs got caught underneath Harrison's arms. François fell forward awkwardly and the damage was done. François suffered a injury to his patellar tendon and is out for the season. A sad ending to a game that should have been so much better.
Final Score: Alabama 24, Florida State 7
2. Michigan Wolverines vs. Florida Gators
This game actually started off well enough for the Gators offense, but quickly turned ugly. On the second play of the opening drive, new starting quarterback Feleipe Franks fired a beautiful 34 yard pass to receiver Josh Hammond who caught over his shoulder before being pushed out of bounds. Unfortunately, that was the last productive play of the drive and Florida was forced to kick a 46 yard field goal, which was converted by kicker Eddy Pineiro.
Michigan responded by scoring 10 points on their next two drives, 7 of them on a long 46 yard touchdown pass thrown by senior quarterback Wilton Speight to receiver Talik Black. Florida's offense continued to sputter, but their defense was anxious to help. On Michigan's next drive, Florida safety Duke Dawson intercepted a pass thrown deep over the middle by Speight. Dawson dodged and weaved around the Wolverines now trying to tackle him and made it all the way to the endzone for the touchdown. Then, three plays into Michigan's next drive, cornerback CJ Henderson intercepted an underthrown pass by Speight and took it down the right sideline for another interception return touchdown.
But as is typical of recent years, the Gators offense remained stuck in first gear and the Wolverines managed to score 3 points on an exceptional 55 yard field goal by Quinn Nordin. The half soon ended with Florida holding a 17-13 lead, but the break did not help the Gators at all. Michigan got the ball first in the 3rd quarter and got to work. Speight began making better decisions and completed 5 out of 7 passes on the drive. Running back Ty Isaac added a key 18 yard run on 4th down which set up an eventual 3 yard TD run by third string running back Karan Higdon.
The Wolverines scored only 6 more points on offense the rest of the game, but that was more than enough. The Gators offense made fans wish Tim Tebow could play college football again. Adding insult to injury was a play that occured when the Gators were backed up against their own endzone. Feleipe Franks held onto the ball for far too long and was tackled in the endzone. Franks lost his grip on the ball before he hit the ground and Michigan recovered it for a touchdown. All I can say is: I hope things improve on offense or the Gators are going to have a really long year.
Final Score: Michigan 33, Florida 17
Most Exciting Game of the Week
Texas A&M Aggies @ UCLA Bruins
To say that there were swings in momentum in this game would be gargantuan understatement. Texas A&M built a staggering 38-10 lead by the end of the first half, thanks to the strength of their running game. Running backs Keith Ford and Traveon Williams each rushed for over one hundred yards in the first two quarters alone. Ford ran for 3 touchdowns and Williams complemented him with two more. Unproductive drives and a couple turnovers plagued UCLA for almost 3 quarters until they were trailing by 34 points. Then, almost as if they had flipped a switch, quarterback Josh Rosen and the UCLA offense finally came alive.
The Bruins started their comeback attempt with an 8 play drive in which Rosen completed 4 of 6 passes for 66 yards. Running back Soso Jamabo ran for a 2 yard touchdown around the right side of the offensive line and the scored looked a little better for UCLA. After Texas A&M's ensuing possession ended in a punt, UCLA went on another 8 play touchdown drive fueled by Rosen who completed 6 of 7 passes, the last of which was for 9 yards and a score. Now within 20 points, a comeback actually began to look like a distinct possibility for the Bruins.
After another Aggies punt, the Bruins entered their opponents' territory after 4 plays. On the 5th play of the drive, Rosen lofted a deep pass to receiver Darren Andrews. However, defensive back DeShawn Capers-Smith had it read all the way and leaped up to intercept the pass. But he underestimated the speed of the pass, the ball sailed just between his hands and was caught by Andrews for a touchdown.
The Bruins could feel that tonight was their night and the rest of the game proved it. Defensively, UCLA kept battling and forced A&M to kick a field goal on the subsequent drive, which kicker Braden Mann missed. Rosen willed his team onward through the next drive, capped off with another wild play. Rosen rolled out to the left and fired a pass back across his body, most of the time a cardinal sin for quarterbacks. Fortunately, wide receiver Theo Howard anticipated the trajectory of the pass perfectly, stepping in front of two defenders to snag the ball in the endzone.
It was not long before the Bruins were in the redzone again with the clock ticking down. With no timeouts remaining for UCLA, Rosen pretended to spike the ball to stop the clock, but instead threw a 10 yard touchdown pass to receiver Jordan Lasley to tie the game. After a tie-breaking extra point and four meaningless plays by the Aggies, the Bruins celebrated the second largest comeback in college football history.
Final Score: UCLA 45, Texas A&M 44
Top 2 Games to Watch: Week 2
1. #6 Oklahoma Sooners @ #2 Ohio State Buckeyes: 9/9 at 7:30 p.m on ABC
Quarterback J.T. Barrett and the Buckeyes offense eviscerated the Oklahoma defense in a 44-24 rout last year in Oklahoma. Will the Sooners avenge their home loss by defeating the Buckeyes in Columbus or will Ohio State prove they can handle Oklahoma no matter where they play.
My pick: Ohio State
2. #12 Auburn Tigers @ #4 Clemson Tigers: 9/9 at 7 p.m. on ESPN
The storyline of this game is much the same as the first. Clemson went on the road and best Auburn last year by single digits. Will the fact that exceptional quarterback Deshaun Watson has gone to the NFL open the door for Auburn to win or will new quarterback Kelly Bryant and the ferocious Clemson defense prove they are the toughest Tigers in the south.
My pick: Clemson
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