It was another week full of upsets and interesting finishes across college football. Yet two more FCS opponents felled FBS opponents, and it was a magical week for G5 teams over P5 teams. Here are my final gradses for week three of the 2017 college football season:
AAC
PASS:USF, Memphis, Houston
USF: Finally played the complete game we were waiting for, especially from Quentin Flowers.
Memphis: Riley Ferguson regains the national trust, tosses 6 TD passes in win over UCLA.
Houston: Controlled tempo from start to finish against Rice, now sets sights on Texas Tech.
INCOMPLETE: Temple, Cincinnati
Temple: The Owls scraped by against U Mass, but are still far from a complete project in rebuild.
Cincinnati: Win over rival Miami (OH) was huge, and a must get, but it was far from pretty.
FAIL: Tulane, East Carolina, SMU, U Conn, Tulsa
Tulane: Green Wave boxed with Oklahoma early, but then the wheels completely fell off.
East Carolina: There are far fewer programs in worse shape than the Pirates these days.
SMU: Mustangs had a sizable lead early, but imploded in 20 point loss to TCU.
U Conn: Edsell has not been able to recreate magic from first term with Huskies.
Tulsa: Any defense at all would have been helpful against Toledo, as Tulsa blows lead in loss.
ACC
PASS: Clemson, Virginia Tech, Virginia, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse, North Carolina
Clemson: The Tigers are once again in control of their own destiny after huge win over Louisville.
Virginia Tech: Hokies were asleep at the wheel with ECU for a half before a 34 point 3rd quarter.
Virginia: Mendenhall's efforts are paying off, especially if they can steal Boise State win this week.
NC State: Pack had little to do vs. FCS Furman but control the game, and walk away with win.
Duke: Devils force Baylor to play their game, and look like a dark horse in ACC race.
Wake Forest: Dave Clawson is gunning for early coach of the year honors after big early start.
Syracuse: Orange needed big bounce back win after rough week last week.
North Carolina: If Heels had dropped to 0-3 this week, they'd officially be done. They didn't.
INCOMPLETE: None
FAIL: Louisville, Pittsburgh, Boston College
Louisville: Clemson gets into Jackson's head early as he starts 6/18 in huge loss to Tigers.
Pitt: Panthers were done by the half in loss to Oklahoma State, as pass defense was shredded.
Boston College: BC run defense was a mess, offense still on a milk carton in loss to Notre Dame.
Big 12
PASS: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Iowa State, Texas Tech
Oklahoma: Sooners like to toy with over matched opponents early, and then crush dreams.
Oklahoma State: Cowboys are a true contender, and Rudolph is a Heisman hunter right now.
TCU: Leave it to Gary Patterson to have Frogs back in contention, but defense is leaky.
Iowa State: Cyclones look dominant in strong effort vs. Akron, still a team that can do damage.
Texas Tech: A major test was passed in win vs. Arizona State, even if the defense was a mess.
INCOMPLETE: Texas, West Virginia,
Texas: Longhorns showed major heart in OT loss to USC, and earned some respect.
West Virginia: Won in blowout over FCS Delaware State, but there were some warts in the win.
FAIL: Kansas State, Kansas, Baylor
Kansas State: No longer a contender in Big 12 for me after loss to Vanderbilt.
Kansas: Maybe the Jayhawks should just drop football after second loss to MAC team this season.
Baylor: The mess keeps getting messier in 14 point loss to Duke.
Big 10
PASS: Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Minnesota, Purdue, Northwestern
Penn State: Nittany Lions cruised in meaningless game with Georgia State.
Ohio State: Buckeyes got bounce back win against Army, should cruise vs. UNLV.
Wisconsin: Badgers may be a national contender, as defense and offense meet in middle finally.
Rutgers: Had to beat Morgan State, and did it by a lot in 65-0 win.
Minnesota: Fleck football was on full display in blowout of Middle Tennessee.
Purdue: You have to like what you are seeing in West Lafayette these days, as Boilers are solid.
Northwestern: Wildcats get a huge pick me up win after rough game with Duke last week.
INCOMPLETE: Michigan, Iowa
Michigan: Despite win over Air Force, it's time to acknowledge Michigan's QB problem.
Iowa: Hawkeyes trailed North Texas at halftime, at home, and that is a sign of bad things coming.
FAIL: Illinois, Nebraska
Illinois: The collapse is beginning, and I see no real way that Lovie Smith is here much longer.
Nebraska: The disaster that I predicted is now happening, and it's very real, as Huskers are a mess.
Conference USA
PASS: UAB, FAU, Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss
UAB: You have to love what Bill Clark is doing in bringing back this program, Blazers are 2-1.
FAU: Owls do what an FBS team should do to an FCS team in 45-0 win over Bethune-Cookman.
Louisiana Tech: Bulldogs get a huge boost in CUSA title chase with win over Western Kentucky.
Southern Miss: Eagles get much needed road win over ULM, may be close to turning corner.
INCOMPLETE: North Texas, MarshallNorth Texas: You have to like what UNT did at Iowa, but they need to finish these games.
Marshall: Defensive effort was the best in a long time, but the offense was seriously flat.
FAIL: UTEP, Old Dominion, Middle Tennessee, Charlotte, Western Kentucky
UTEP: I see no way that Sean Kugler survives at UTEP in what has become an abysmal season.
Old Dominion: Offense continues to struggle, and defense caves in during loss to North Carolina
Charlotte: 49ers get beat by a MEAC team, which is just awful, even if I picked them to lose.
Western Kentucky: Mike Sanford comes in and suddenly the offense dries up at WKU.
MAC
PASS: Ohio, Northern Illinois, Buffalo
Ohio: Bobcats get a win over Kansas, but is that even a big deal these days?
Northern Illinois: NIU going in and slapping down the Huskers was pure joy to watch.
Buffalo: Bulls defense was solid in win over Colgate, but they need more moving forward.
INCOMPLETE: Ball State, Western Michigan, Toledo,
Ball State: Pardon me if I am not all warm and fuzzy over a sloppy 15 point win over FCS team.
Western Michigan: Broncos needed big rally to come back to win 1st game of the season.
Toledo: The defense had another bad day, and can be streaky. Streaky defenses kill good teams.
FAIL: Akron, Central Michigan, Kent State, Bowling Green, Miami (Ohio)
Akron: I am starting to think that Terry Bowden may no longer care.
Central Michigan: The Chippewas are up and down every week, and this week was a bottom out.
Kent State: A new head coach will be in place next fall. Lock it in.
Bowling Green: Who is with me on Mike Jinks being a mistake hire?
Miami (Ohio): Miami needed that win over Cincy this week, and should have had it.
Mountain West
PASS: San Diego State
San Diego State: The Aztecs are now 2-0 in PAC-12 play, have the nation's leading rusher in Penny.
INCOMPLETE: Boise State
Boise State: Broncos struggle to out away Lobos and their 3rd string QB, and the crowd size sucked.
FAIL: New Mexico, Colorado State, Fresno State, Air Force, Utah State, Nevada, Wyoming, San Jose State
New Mexico: Lobos are now down to a 3rd string QB after loss to Boise State.
Colorado State: If Rams want to be a P5 program some day, they have to compete better.
Fresno State: Worst two week stint in program history ends with blowout loss to Washington.
Air Force: Falcons cannot find a spark in loss to Michigan that could have been winnable.
Utah State: Matt Wells looks done to me after another horrible road loss.
Nevada: Can I fail the Pack 5 times for losing to Idaho State this week?
Wyoming: Woes continue in games with P5 programs in blowout loss to Oregon at home.
San Jose State: The wagon wheels are falling off in chunks now after massive loss to Utah.
PAC-12
PASS: Arizona, Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Utah, California
Arizona: Wildcats do what everyone does to UTEP...buries them.
Washington: Huskies roll in last cupcake game of 3 scheduled this non con season.
Washington State: Cougars get a big win early in conference play over Oregon State.
Oregon: Ducks are starting to look scary after huge road win over Wyoming.
Utah: Utes are impressive in non con tuneup rout of San Jose State.
California: Bears are most surprising 3-0 team this side of Vanderbilt.
INCOMPLETE: USC, Colorado
USC: Trojans are now 0-2 as a double digit favorite in 2017, which is a disturbing trend.
Colorado: Maybe Buffs were looking ahead, as win over Northern Colorado was not perfect.
FAIL: Stanford, Oregon State, UCLA, Arizona State
Stanford: Cardinal offensive woes that we were waiting for are finally here in loss to SDSU.
Oregon State: The Beavers are a mess, and Gary Anderson may not be able to fix it.
UCLA: Does Mora have a pulse anymore? Rosen mistakes, horrid defense does this team in.
Arizona State: Todd Graham is done. Book it.
SEC
PASS: Mississippi State, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Kentucky
Mississippi State: Nick Fitzgerald tosses his hat into the Heisman ring, and the defense dominates.
Georgia: Bulldogs get a fairly easy win over Samford, and now must prep for SEC play.
Vanderbilt: It wasn't pretty against Kansas State, but Commodores are a shocking 3-0.
Kentucky: Wildcats get an early jump on SEC East title chase in win over SC.
INCOMPLETE: Alabama, Florida, Texas A&M
Alabama: The Tide were in cruise mode with Colorado State, but the pedal needs to see some metal.
Florida: Gators were lucky to win against Tennessee in final play, as offense was mostly missing.
Texas A&M: Got a big win finally, but allowed ULL to hang around way too long.
FAIL: LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Missouri, South Carolina, Ole Miss
LSU: Orgeron gets exposed in serious loss to Mississippi State, and could already be in trouble.
Auburn: The offense is a train wreck, and Sean White gets kicked out of school. Tigers are sinking.
Tennessee: Butch Jones is probably gone as head coach of the Vols after losing to Gators...again.
Missouri: Tigers offense, which was supposed to be a strength, has gone AWOL.
South Carolina: Gamecocks offense stalls and fails in loss to Kentucky, East status now in doubt.
Ole Miss: Rebels are about to come off the rails, as lack of defense, run game, continue to worsen.
Sun Belt
PASS: South Alabama, Arkansas State
South Alabama: Joey Jones will take any win he can get these days, even against Alabama A&M
Arkansas State: Wolves jump all over FCS Arkansas-Pine Bluff, get big one with SMU this week.
INCOMPLETE: Troy
Troy: The Trojans have not flipped the switch yet in 2017, barely escape with NMSU win.
FAIL: Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Appalachian State, Texas State, Idaho, ULM, New Mexico State, Coastal Carolina
Georgia State: The Panthers are a mess in a shiny "new" stadium.
ULL: Cajuns had Texas A&M where they wanted them, and could not finish the game.
Appalachian State: Something is missing with this football team, as they barely beat Texas State.
Texas State: If the Bobcats had any offense at all, they upset App State. They don't.
Idaho: Vandals had WMU down, and let them back up, and are starting to spiral.
ULM: Warhawks are better than last season, but now need wins to show for it.
New Mexico State: Aggies are just 9 points from being 3-0, but need to win some close ones.
Coastal Carolina: Chants come up short against an inspiring UAB football team. Growing pains.
Independents
PASS: Notre Dame
Notre Dame: Brandon Wimbush is a one man wrecking crew in rout over BC on the road.
INCOMPLETE: None
FAIL: U Mass, Army, BYU
U Mass: Minutemen now 0-4 after another close loss to Temple.
Army: Nothing good comes out of a 31 point loss, even to Ohio State.
BYU: Cougars are a disaster, and this week, the defense caved in as well as the offense.
NATIONAL CONTENDERS
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Penn State
Wisconsin
Clemson
Alabama
USC
Mississippi State
Oregon
TCU
Washington
National Pretenders
Minnesota
Michigan
Iowa
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
USF
Utah
Kentucky
Colorado
Duke
Vanderbilt
Washington State
Georgia
No comments:
Post a Comment