College Football Weekend Recap: Oct 10, 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. We had some upsets again this week but the top two teams in the country remained unbeaten. Here is our recap of the weekend that was in college football.

Teams That Impressed

Kansas State

With starting quarterback, Skyler Thompson, sidelined with an injury, Kansas State turned to true freshman Will Howard. On the road and facing a TCU team coming off a big win over Texas, the Wildcats were up against it. But as we have often seen with this team, they turned in the ultimate team effort and left Fort Worth with a 3 – 0 record in conference.

The defense would have to play well with the offense starting a true freshman making his first career start. The Wildcats defense delivered in a big way, holding the Horned Frogs to 4.6 yards per play by pressuring TCU Quarterback, Max Duggan, throughout the game. Duggan took several big hits and appeared to be in pain several times, though to his credit he only missed a couple plays and kept coming back. The pass defense was especially dominant, limiting TCU to just 153 passing yards and four yards per attempt. Wildcats cornerback, AJ Parker (#24 CB in our rankings), intercepted a third quarter pass and returned it for a touchdown giving the pass defense more touchdowns scored than passing touchdowns allowed in the game. TCU had 13 possessions in the game, with the Wildcats defense forcing a three and out on six of them, only two of the Horned Frogs possessions resulted in a drive of over 50 yards. Kansas State was suffocating defensively, allowing their offense to find their way without their quarterback.

The offense struggled as you would expect from a team without their starting quarterback and starting a true freshman at the position. The unit did find some success in the first half, including two 91 yard drives that netted the team 11 points (field goal, touchdown and 2pt conversion). In fact the team only punted once in the first half and did not turn the ball over. The second half was not as successful as the offense punted on every possession but one, which was an interception. Even still, the offense held onto the ball (only two three and outs in the game) allowing the defense to rest and forcing TCU to start drives deep in their own end and earn points against the Kansas State defense. The results were not always pretty but effective on the scoreboard as the Wildcats scored enough to win, while limiting TCU’s opportunities.

While we did not expect Kansas State to win at TCU without Thompson, we also did not expect them to make things easy for TCU. The Wildcats showed their toughness and perseverance on Saturday and found a way to win a tough game when they were not at full strength. Kansas State has shown this year they are a tough football team who has embraced their identity and will not be an easy out for anyone regardless of the circumstances.

Texas A&M

Texas A&M appeared to a be team heading the wrong direction before Saturday. The Aggies had played poorly in a sloppy win against Vanderbilt in their opener, and then were beaten badly by Alabama the next week. They went home for a game with fourth ranked Florida and were on the verge of watching their season spiral downward, but Kellen Mond and company had different plans and came away with an impressive victory against the Gators.

The Aggies’ quarterback played his best game of the season and as a result the offense had it’s best performance as well. The offensive line kept Mond clean and he responded by making good decisions and accurate throws for four quarters. He finished with 25 completions on 35 attempts for 338 yards and 3 touchdowns without an interception. The strong quarterback play kept the offense on the field and moving up and down the field and led to a banner day for the unit. The team finished with 543 yards of offense and averaged a strong 7.3 yards per play for the game. The team did turn the ball over once but did not have a three and out in the game. Florida was unable to slow down the Aggies and the result was 41 points and a big win for Texas A&M.

Last week against Alabama, the Aggies had played well early but the game unraveled for them in the second quarter and they were not able to right the ship. This weekend, both teams traded touchdowns on their first five possessions before A&M settled for a field goal at the end of the half. The Aggies opened the second half with a punt and Florida marched down the field and promptly scored their fourth touchdown in four possessions, taking a 28 – 17 lead in the third quarter. Texas A&M had blinked first and without a good answer the game could have unraveled again, but this time the Aggies were up to the challenge and responded with a 75 yard touchdown drive, then the defense finally made a stop and the Aggies again marched down the field for another touchdown and their first lead of the game. Florida tied the game with a field goal and took the lead after an A&M fumble in the fourth quarter but again the Aggies bounced back and tied the game then won it on a last second field goal. Twice in the second half things could have gone sideways for Texas A&M, but the team showed the composure and toughness to steady the ship and fought back to earn a huge win. More than any statistical achievements in the game, that ability to calm the storm will be the biggest takeaway for the Aggies from this game.

Texas A&M needed a big win Saturday against tough odds, but the team was able to find their offensive rhythm and outscored the Gators. Kellen Mond played his best game in a long time and there is renewed hope in College Station this football season.

Stars From The Weekend

RB – Najee Harris, Alabama

Harris was unstoppable Saturday night, running for 206 yards on 23 carries and scoring five touchdowns, on a night when his team needed all five of them. Just for good measure, Harris added in 3 catches for 42 yards as well and showed why he is one of the best running backs in America. He ran with a good blend of power and quickness, quickly bursting through holes and punishing defenders when finishing runs. Harris has improved his vision and patience in the backfield and allows the play to develop before turning on the speed. His power was clearly evident at the goal line, where he powered through defenders to score on a couple of occasions. Mississippi’s defense had no answer for the Alabama offense and Harris was outstanding scoring more than half of the teams nine touchdowns.

WR – Terrace Marshall, LSU

The Tigers suffered their second disappointing loss of the season and obviously misses the plethora of talent they sent to the NFL and the several who opted out this year. Marshall was one of the few bright spots on a tough day for LSU, doing everything in his power to help his team. Marshall made 11 catches for 235 yards, catching three touchdowns along the way. He scored twice in the first quarter on short touchdown passes, tying the game and then putting LSU in front. In the third quarter with the game tied at 31, Marshall struck again, speeding past the defense for a 75 yard touchdown catch to again put the Tigers in front. Then with the Tigers trailing by four, Marshall made several catches on LSU’s final possession including his last catch of the game a 13 yard catch that set the Tiger’s up with first and goal at the one yard line with 44 seconds to play. Unfortunately LSU was unable to punch in the touchdown (that’s a play-calling debacle that could warrant it’s own article) and lost the game, but Marshall was still fantastic for the Tigers.

TE – Kenny Yeboah, Mississippi

Kyle Pitts is the tight end everyone has been talking about in college football, but this weekend it was Kenny Yeboah who put on a show. The former Temple star transferred to Mississippi this off-season and had been playing well through the first two games. Yeboah took it to another level against Alabama, catching 7 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns against one of the best teams in the country. He was able to create separation from the Tide defenders and showed excellent athleticism making long plays downfield, including a 68 yard catch and run for a score in the third quarter. Mississippi has been dynamic offensively this year but we expected them to have a tougher time against Alabama, but Yeboah and company kept making big plays but unfortunately the defense was not able to slow down Alabama.

LB – Monty Rice, Georgia

The Bulldogs were locked in a battle against Tennessee but the Bulldogs defense clamped down as they tend to do and Georgia pulled away for a big win. Monty Rice was excellent at linebacker, recording 8 tackles with two tackles for loss, a sack, a fumble forced and fumble recovery which he returned for a touchdown and a quarterback hurry. Rice’s highlight play of the game came in the fourth quarter with the Bulldogs up 16 he blitzed off the edge and strip sacked the quarterback, then recovered the fumble and ran it in for a touchdown, ending any chance Tennessee had of closing the gap. Rice and the Bulldogs defense did not allow Tennessee to score in the second half, securing a big win for the team.

LB – SirVocea Dennis, Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh defense has a lot of talented players but the results Saturday were not up to the team’s standards. Despite the loss, SirVocea Dennis announced himself as another impact player on the Panthers’ defense. Dennis was all over the field Saturday, tallying 11 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a quarterback hurry in the game. The sophomore linebacker was able to make several plays in the backfield and just edged out his teammate Patrick Jones II who recorded three sacks in this game and has become a menace for any offensive line at defensive end. Pittsburgh’s defense was a bit of a conundrum Saturday, they made 13 tackles for loss with 6 sacks but still allowed 31 points to Boston College in an overtime loss (just one overtime).

Other Takeaways From The Weekend

Clemson and Miami played in a much anticipated game Saturday night but the Tigers showed they are still very good and Miami still has a lot of building to do. The Tigers have done what big time programs do and reloaded around their returning stars. The young defensive line was active and gave Miami’s offensive line headaches and the young defensive backs out played the Hurricanes receivers by a wide margin. Brett Venables had a perfect game plan to expose Miami’s talent limitations, and the team executed it well. On offense, Lawrence and Etienne were their usual selves, moving the ball up and down the field, especially as they wore down the defense over the course of the game. The Tigers need to find more receivers who can be a consistent threat and their offensive line still has some work to do, but their stars and the offensive game plan were able to accentuate the strengths and cover up the short comings.

As for Miami, the game showed the Hurricanes are better but still have a long way to go. Over the first three games of the season, D’Eriq King, the Miami running backs and the tight ends were able to mask the team’s deficiencies on the offensive line and at receiver, but Clemson blitzed King and made sure to account for the tight ends and forced the receivers to beat them. The offensive line failed to provide King with time and the receivers were unable to win one on one match ups on the perimeter, leading to a terrible day for King and the offense. On defense, Miami made some plays but had too many self inflicted wounds that extended Clemson drives and led to the defense wearing down. An offside penalty early negated a fourth down stop and led to a Clemson touchdown instead, a late hit with targeting on Lawrence gave Clemson a first down instead of putting the Tigers in third and long. Miami’s defense continued to compete but wore down as the game went on. The Hurricanes will need to clean up these mistakes that kill their momentum to compete in games like this in the future.

Notre Dame got an extended absence from football with their bye week and Covid related postponements. The team returned to action but appeared rusty early after the time off, allowing 17 points in the first quarter and trailing by three. They would outscore Florida State 28 – 9 on their way to a sloppy but comfortable victory. Notre Dame was again dominant running the football with both Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree surpassing the 100 yard mark. The offensive line was dominant opening up holes in the running game and not allowing a sack for the game. The defense settled in after the early scoring for the Seminoles but needs to play better as Florida State is not a tough opponent. Overall, it was good to see the Fighting Irish back on the football field but the team had some understandable rust this weekend, we expect a better performance from them next week against Louisville as things get closer to “normal”.

Oklahoma emerged victorious from a wild Red River Shootout. Both teams rode waves of momentum and moments of ineptitude over the course of the game. Oklahoma built a 10 – 0 lead only to hand Texas 10 points and let them right back in the game. The teams went back and forth for a quarter then Oklahoma built a 31 – 17 lead only to watch the Longhorns roar back and tie the game and send it to overtime. After both teams scored in the first two overtimes, then failed to score in the third, Oklahoma scored and stopped Texas in the fourth and final overtime to get the win. Both teams turned the ball over three times in a game marred by mistakes and miscues, but the most important takeaway from the game could be the impact it has on Spencer Rattler’s development. Rattler was benched in the second quarter and responded by playing better in the second half, then he did something he has been unable to do the last two weeks, he led his team to victory in a close game down the stretch. That experience could lead to a new found confidence down the stretch that will help the Sooners to close out games going forward.

Georgia Tech had been sliding after a big opening win against Florida State. The team had lost back to back games and quarterback, Jeff Sims had been turning the ball over at an alarming rate. On Friday night the Yellow Jackets and Sims showed major progress and beat Louisville 46 – 27. For his part, Sims did not commit a single turnover and looked much more comfortable running the offense after the bye week. The Yellow Jackets found their rhythm in the second half, scoring touchdowns on five of their six second half possessions. With Sims and star freshman running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who had 61 rushing yards, 60 receiving yards and a touchdown rushing and receiving in the game, Georgia Tech has a one-two punch in the backfield the rest of the ACC will have to account for the next few seasons. Geoff Collins has been rebuilding the roster since arriving in Atlanta and it appears he has some foundation pieces in place now.

Closing Stats

• Georgia held Tennessee to (-1) rushing yard on 27 carries.

• North Carolina ran for 399 yards on 43 carries against Virginia Tech, that’s 9.3 yards per carry.

• Kentucky intercepted 6 passes against Mississippi State, they also forced two turnovers on downs giving them 8 turnovers forced for the game.

• North Carolina had 656 yards of offense against Virginia Tech.

• North Carolina averaged 9.9 yards per play against Virginia Tech.

• Alabama (37) and Mississippi (31) combined for 68 first downs in their game.

• Pittsburgh held Boston College to 30 rushing yards on 41 carries.

• Alabama had 723 yards of offense against Mississippi.

• Pittsburgh made 13 tackles for loss against Boston College.

• Duke converted 36 first downs against Syracuse.

• Alabama averaged 10.2 yards per play against Mississippi.

• Duke ran 102 plays against Syracuse.

• Clemson converted 34 first downs against Miami.

• Mississippi had 647 yards of offense against Alabama.

• Notre Dame ran for 353 yards on 42 carries against Florida State, that’s 8.4 yards per carry.

• Missouri held LSU to 49 rushing yards on 20 carries.

• LSU was 0 for 10 on 3^rd down conversions against Missouri.

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

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Kellen Mond image taken by Gamecock Central is licensed under CC BY 2.0.