College Football Weekend Recap: Oct 03, 2020

Each week we will have our recap of the weekend that was in college football. A quick look at the teams who impressed, the players who starred, some takeaway and final thoughts. Another weekend with some big upsets and surprises, but Alabama and Clemson won again. Here is our recap of the weekend that was in college football. We did a Roadmap To An Upset Post on the TCU win over Texas, which you can read here.

Teams That Impressed

Georgia

The Bulldogs appeared to be in trouble in their opener, but Stetson Bennett took over the quarterback position and reminded the team just how good they are. It was hard to be sure if Georgia had hit the switch, or if Arkansas was just that bad. Saturday night the Bulldogs lets us know they are the top dogs in the SEC East and one of the best teams in the country.

Georgia’s defense dominated Auburn all night. The Bulldogs forced punts on the first four Tiger’s possessions with three and outs on three of them. They set the tone early and dominated throughout the game, Auburn did not set foot in the Bulldog’s end-zone all game. Georgia held Auburn to 3.5 yards per play and never allowed the Tigers to establish any sort of identity on offense. Georgia suffocated the Auburn running game (39 yards on 22 carries) and frustrated Bo Nix and the passing game (177 yards on 40 attempts and an interception). Auburn never had a chance on offense, the Bulldogs got penetration in the backfield and had tight coverage on the receivers. In fact, Auburn’s leading receiver was running back Tank Bigsby with 7 catches for 68 yards. Georgia came out in prime-time and showed the country they field one of the best defenses again in 2020.

The offense was not as impressive as the defense but did start to form an identity which will pay off as the season goes forward. The Bulldogs running game found it’s rhythm and began to chew up yardage in chunks. Four Bulldogs running backs average over four yards per carry, on a night where the rushing offense gained 202 yards on 45 carries (Auburn had 216 yards) and scored two touchdowns. The steady running attack made life a little easier for Stetson Bennett who was efficient in the passing game, averaging 8.6 yards per attempt and not throwing an interception. With a lot of turnover on the offensive line and in the backfield we expected it to take a little time for Georgia to find their way on offense, but the Bulldogs are establishing their identity and becoming a better offensive team every week.

Saturday night’s game was supposed to be a tough contest between two SEC contenders. Georgia dominated the game from kickoff to the final whistle and cemented their place among the conference’s contenders while Auburn was left with many questions and few answers. The schedule does not let up for Georgia with Tennessee coming up next week and Alabama on deck after that, but Georgia is a good team who appears to be getting better as the season progresses.

Alabama

Alabama had won their opener comfortably over Missouri but let the Tigers score late to make the game look closer than it actually was. On Saturday afternoon, they showed the road to the SEC championship still goes through Tuscaloosa. The Tide made big plays at will and toyed with the Aggies en route to a 52 – 24 win.

Alabama did what the great teams do in the second quarter against A&M. With the game tied at 14, the Tide took over at their own 34 yard line following an Aggies’ punt. In just over two minutes, Alabama went 66 yards down the field and scored a touchdown. On the next Texas A&M possession defensive back Daniel Wright intercepted a Kellen Mond pass and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. The Aggies drove the ball into Alabama territory but failed to convert on fourth down and gave Alabama the ball back with 1:21 left in the quarter. Quarterback Mac Jones completed six of eight passes and drove his team down the field for another touchdown. In a span of just 12 minutes, Alabama turned a tie game into a 21 point lead. Alabama capitalized on the Aggies mistakes and turned a close game into a blowout in the blink of an eye.

Alabama has had some elite receivers and has been making big plays in the passing game at an incredible clip. This game was no different, the receivers were getting behind the Aggies secondary and Mac Jones was finding them for long scores. John Metchie got deep twice for scores of 78 and 63 yards, while Jaylen Waddle also got loose for an 87 yard touchdown pass. This is becoming par for the course for Alabama, who has too many talented receivers for most secondaries to account for. Alabama’s offensive line deserves recognition as well, they provide Jones with good protection so the receivers can run double moves and Jones still has room to step into the pocket and make the throw. A few years ago, Alabama was a methodical offense that beat up the defense over the course of the game, while they still have that capability you are seeing the big play potential of this offense on a weekly basis.

Alabama dominated Texas A&M this weekend and should have no problem with Mississippi and Lane Kiffen in Oxford, next weekend. The next big test will come on October 17th against a Georgia team who also impressed this weekend. Alabama is playing excellent football and looks the part of a playoff contender early in the season.

Stars From The Weekend

QB – Zach Wilson, BYU

Zach Wilson showed a lot of ability last season but lacked consistency. He has made significant progress from last year to this year and is playing incredible football in 2020. Friday night against Louisiana Tech was another tremendous performance from the BYU signal caller. Wilson completed 24 of 26 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He was in complete control of the offense, finding open receivers or favorable match-ups and showing excellent ball placement on his throws. He was shredding the Louisiana Tech defense in the passing game, but did damage as a runner as well, carrying the ball 8 times for 43 yards and three more touchdowns. Wilson was quick and elusive as a runner making defenders miss and picking up good yardage whenever he wanted to. We love how Wilson has progressed this year, look for him as a riser when we update our quarterback rankings.

RB – Khalil Herbert, Virginia Tech

Khalil Herbert transferred from Kansas to Virginia Tech and appears to have solidified the Hokies’ running back situation. Herbert broke 100 yards rushing on just 6 carries in Virginia Tech’s opener, he got more carries on Saturday and did not disappoint. Herbert ran the ball 20 times for 208 yards and two touchdowns, the second of which came on a 60 yard run that turned out to be the deciding score in the game. In addition to his excellent work as a runner, Herbert also returned three kickoffs for 150 yards, including an 83 yard return to set the Hokies up at the Duke 16 after the Blue Devils had taken a 14 – 10 lead. Herbert ran with good power and burst and gained 10.9 yards per carry, or a little more than a first down each carry. Herbert has settled in well with Virginia Tech and put on a show against Duke.

WR, Reggie Roberson Jr, SMU

Roberson Jr was phenomenal Saturday night and earned his spot on this list even though he left the game with an injury. Before he left the game, Roberson made 5 catches for 243 yards and scored twice, once from 70 yards out and once from 85 yards away. Roberson made big plays a habit on Saturday, catching passes for 18 yards (he did fumble on this one), 27 yards, 43 yards and the two long scores. He has excellent speed and hands and has been a star for the Mustangs this season. Unfortunately, Roberson suffered a non-contact knee injury in the third quarter and did not return to the game. It was a somber end to what had been an incredible night for the star receiver.

DT – Darius Stills, West Virginia

West Virginia battled for an overtime victory against Baylor and Darius Stills was a nightmare for the Baylor offensive line. Stills was in on 4 tackles for the game and was credited with 3.5 tackles for loss including 2.5 sacks. He is one of the best defensive tackles in the country and it showed on Saturday. Stills was too quick off the ball and too good with his hands for the Baylor offensive linemen. Stills was able to beat the interior blockers for Baylor and get in the backfield to disrupt the Baylor offense. Stills is a star on the Mountaineers defensive front, we have come to expect greatness from him, he was certainly great on Saturday.

LB – Zaven Collins, Tulsa

Collins was a one man wrecking crew against UCF this weekend. He filled up the stat sheet with 10 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 2 pass break-ups and a safety. The stats just confirmed what our eyes were seeing, Collins was all over the field and involved in almost every big play the Tulsa defense had. He is a big, athletic linebacker who can play the pass and run well. He picked up his interception early in the game on a deflected pass after dropping in coverage downfield. Later in the first quarter he shot through a gap on a UCF run play to make the tackle for loss and score a safety to get his team on the board. Collins was making plays downfield and in the backfield all night, UCF could not avoid the star linebacker. Tulsa’s defense overcame several turnovers by their offense to keep their team in the game, and Collins was a big reason for that success.

DB – Coby Bryant, Cincinnati

The senior defensive back was a a thorn in South Florida’s side all game long. Bryant made an interception on the game’s opening possession and then picked off another pass to set up a score in the second quarter. Bryant came up with a big pass deflection in the end-zone in the third quarter as well. Bryant finished the game with four tackles, a tackle for loss, two interceptions and one pass deflection. Bryant and the entire Cincinnati defense were able to frustrate the South Florida offense to secure a 28 – 7 win despite the struggles of the Bearcats’ offense.

Other Takeaways From The Weekend

Iowa State was on the wrong side of the return game magic in the season opener, but it was a big kickoff return by the Cyclones that helped pull out a big win Saturday night. Both teams battled in a back and forth game on Saturday night with neither team being able to pull away. Oklahoma had just scored with a little over eight minutes to play and held a touchdown lead, but Iowa State’s Kene Nwangwu got loose on the ensuing kickoff for an 85 yard return to set his team up at the Oklahoma 13. Brock Purdy would punch in a touchdown three plays later to tie the game. A Breece Hall touchdown and Isheem Young interception secured the win for the Cyclones, who now hold what amounts to a three game lead over the Sooners in the conference standings. Iowa State came into the season with high expectations but suffered an upset loss to Louisiana to start the year. Since then, they have bounced back and pulled off two big conference wins to right the ship.

Oklahoma State did not have a tough game on Saturday, the Cowboys took care of Kansas easily. True freshman quarterback Shane Illingworth had another strong performance in relief of Spencer Sanders with 265 passing yards and three touchdowns, and the usual suspects filled up the stat sheet. Star receiver, Tylan Wallace, made 9 catches for 148 yards and two of those touchdowns, while all-everything running back, Chuba Hubbard ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. While the Big 12 favorites have been struggling, the Cowboys are 3 – 0 and positioning themselves as a top team in the conference. Even the close win over Tulsa in the season opener looks a lot better after Tulsa beat UCF this weekend. Oklahoma State has an experienced team with plenty of fire power and they have positioned themselves well for a big season.

Fans in Knoxville have been waiting a long time for the Volunteers to be a factor in the SEC again. After the first two weeks of the season, Tennessee is giving their fans a reason to believe. The Volunteers held off a scrappy South Carolina team in the season opener, but handled Missouri easily this weekend. The running game was able to chew up chunks of yardage and gained 232 yards, while quarterback Jarrett Guarantano managed the game well and avoided the mistakes that have plagued him in the past. We won’t know if Tennessee is back near the top of the SEC until after the Georgia game next week, but the team has avoided the poor early season performances that marred the past couple seasons. Things are trending up in Knoxville, but there is still work to be done.

When Kansas State lost to Arkansas State to start the season the outlook was bleak. The team had to travel to Oklahoma to start the Conference schedule and was licking it’s wounds after a tough loss. The Wildcats pulled of an incredible come from behind win in Norman and revitalized their season. One win does not a season make, it’s easy to have a letdown after a big win, but the WIldcats pulled out a ten point win this weekend against Texas Tech. True Freshmen running back, Deuce Vaughn had another excellent game running for 113 yards and a touchdown and catching three passes for 81 yards and a touchdown catch as well. Vaughn will need to continue to step up with quarterback Skylar Thompson going down with a shoulder injury Saturday, and his status for next week being uncertain. With a tough game coming up against TCU this will be another challenge for the Wildcats to overcome in a season where they have proven to be quite resilient.

Closing Stats

• Virginia Tech recorded 12 tackles for loss and 7 sacks against Duke.

• North Carolina held Boston College to 40 rushing yards on 19 carries.

• Virginia Tech ran for 324 yards rushing against Duke.

• Georgia held Auburn to 39 rushing yards on 22 carries.

• Georgia allowed just 3.5 yards per play against Auburn.

• LSU allowed only 113 passing yards against Vanderbilt.

• Kentucky had 408 rushing yards against Mississippi.

• Kentucky had 3 different players go over 100 yards rushing against Mississippi.

• Oklahoma State picked up 31 first downs against Kansas.

• Oklahoma State allowed only 92 passing yards against Kansas.

• Oklahoma State limited Kansas to just 3 yards per play.

• West Virginia held Baylor to 27 rushing yards on 33 carries.

• West Virginia recorded 11 tackles for loss and 6 Sacks against Baylor.

• Baylor forced 4 fumbles against West Virginia.

• Cincinnati intercepted 5 passes against USF.

• There were 26 accepted penalties in the TCU/Texas game.

For the plays you don’t want to miss from this weekend, click here.

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Coach Nick Saban Statue — University of Alabama Football Stadium (Gate 1) Tuscaloosa (AL) February 2019 image taken by Ron Cogswell is licensed under CC BY 2.0.