College Football Weekend Recap: Oct 24, 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. With two conferences joining the season there was plenty of action to watch. Here is our recap of the weekend that was in college football.

Teams That Impressed

Wisconsin

The Badgers opened the season without veteran quarterback Jack Coan and a rematch with an Illinois team that beat them last season. Their new quarterback was outstanding and the Badgers made quick work of the Illini to open their season.

Wisconsin has a reputation of having a strong running game with game managers at the quarterback position. Friday night was a very different story in Madison and the results were impressive. Redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz was making the much anticipated first start of his career and did not disappoint. The Badgers coaching staff kept it simple early, giving Mertz simple plays and short easy throws to ease him into the game. Once he got his feet wet, the staff opened up the playbook and took shots downfield. The talented quarterback was up to the task, throwing with accuracy and touch all game. He completed 20 of 21 passes for 248 yards with 5 touchdowns and no interceptions in a nearly flawless performance. The Badgers ran the ball effectively by committee, but the team had a different feel on offense than past Wisconsin teams. The times are changing in Madison, with an explosive passing game to compliment their traditionally strong running game the Badgers will be dangerous in 2020.

Wisconsin was stout defensively, Illinois’ only points came on a fumble return for touchdown. The Badgers were suffocating all game, limiting Illinois to 8 first downs and 218 yards of offense. The Badgers were effective against the run and the pass, but the pass defense was particularly strong, allowing just 87 yards on 22 pass attempts, just under four yards per attempt. Wisconsin returned most of their defensive personnel from the 2019 team and the continuity and experience paid off against Illinois. The Badgers worked well as a unit, playing within the scheme and tackling well. Illinois had twelve possessions in the game, with only three of them lasting more than five plays and only three of them gaining more than 30 yards. Illinois had almost no chance to score against the Badgers defense on Friday night and they won’t be the only ones with that problem in 2020.

Wisconsin was out for revenge and they took the fight out of Illinois methodically. The Badgers were like a python, squeezing the Illini and increasing the pressure as the game wore on. After four quarters of domination, the Badgers were done with their first victim and ready for next week’s matchup with Nebraska.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame is undefeated but the season has been challenging so far. The team had a long break in the season due to a Covid outbreak and has not been particularly sharp since returning to play. That changed Saturday when the Irish had their most impressive win of the season 45 -3 against Pittsburgh.

Notre Dame has relied on their running game as the foundation of their offense in 2020. We expected that to be a challenge against Pittsburgh’s run defense and that expectation became a reality. The Irish were able to overcome their struggles on the ground by riding their passing attack to a victory for the first time in 2020. Pittsburgh was able to hold the Irish to 2.3 yards per carry on the ground and forced them to throw the ball. Notre Dame’s passing game was up to the challenge setting season highs with 319 passing yards, 9.7 yards per pass attempt and three passing touchdowns. The success of the passing game was the path to victory against Pittsburgh and could be the key to Notre Dame’s overall success this season. Notre Dame had been one dimensional on offense coming into this game, Saturday they proved they can win with their passing game when needed.

Notre Dame’s defense has been a strength this season and Saturday was no exception. Notre Dame shutdown the Pittsburgh offense in every way, limiting the Panthers to 44 yards rushing and 118 yards passing on the day. Pittsburgh had one drive that gained more than 40 yards and never had a drive last three minutes or more. After a field goal on their opening possession Pittsburgh only crossed midfield three more times all afternoon. The defense has length and athleticism at each level, allowing them to matchup easily and cover a lot of area with each player. The formula has been working, this is the third time this year Notre Dame has allowed less than 10 points in a game. The strong defensive play was not a surprise, but it’s a trend Notre Dame is happy to see continue this season.

Notre Dame’s first season in the ACC has been successful so far with a big date with Clemson just two weeks ago. It’s important for the Irish to continue to improve every facet of their team and be clicking on all cylinders going into that game. This is the type of performance that creates positive momentum the Irish can build on going into that showdown.

Stars From The Weekend

QB – Justin Fields, Ohio State

Justin Fields put on a show in his first game of the season. The Buckeyes offense was nearly unstoppable and Fields was the main reason why. He completed 20 of 21 pass attempts for 276 yard and 2 touchdowns through the air. He has made progress over the off-season, improving his release mechanics and footwork. Fields had a quicker, more efficient throwing motion than we saw a year ago and he did a good job of staying on balance, in the pocket or when on the run. The results were outstanding, he was accurate and on time with his throws, the ball had good zip and spin on it. Even the one incomplete pass was in his receivers hand but the ball came out as the receiver hit the ground hard. The performance throwing the ball was excellent but Fields did show his dual threat ability running for 54 yards and another touchdown. Justin Fields was already a Heisman Trophy contender coming into the season, his first performance showed an improved quarterback that will be better than he was a year ago.

RB – Breece Hall – Iowa State

Iowa State did not get the win Saturday, though Breece Hall did all he could to help the cause. He ran with the good vision and power that fans have come to expect from him, while also showing good burst and speed on a few longer runs including a 66 yard touchdown. Hall ran for 185 yards on 20 carries with the one touchdown, the threat of Hall running the ball created running lanes for quarterback Brock Purdy on zone read plays as well. Iowa State had 389 yards of total offense in the game with Hall accounting for almost half of that with 193 yards from scrimmage. This is just another strong performance for the sophomore running back who has gone over 100 yards in every game this season. Hall is becoming a star for the Cyclones and has shown no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

WR – David Bell, Purdue

Purdue was without Head Coach Jeff Brohm and top receiver Rondale Moore for the Iowa game. It was obvious going into the game that David Bell would be targeted often during Saturday’s game. Bell got plenty of attention from the Iowa defense but still got plenty of targets and finished the game with 13 catches for 121 yards and 3 touchdowns. He scored all of Purdue’s touchdowns en route to a slightly surprising 24 – 20 victory for the Boilermakers. Bell was able to create space against the Iowa secondary and caught just about everything he could get his hands on. Purdue hopes to have Moore back soon, which should open up more space on the field for both players to make big plays. On Saturday, Bell stepped up when he was needed and led his team to a season opening victory.

DE BJ Ojulari, LSU

Ojulari has started to come on early in his freshman season for the Tigers. Saturday he had his best performance of his young career on a day his team needed a spark. LSU was coming off a tough loss against Missouri last week and had lost their starting quarterback to injury. LSU played a good game all around and BJ Ojulari made his impact as a pass rusher off the edge. The true freshman may not be the biggest player up front but he has a quick first step and a knack for rushing the passer. He uses his length well to disengage blockers and came up with a 3 sack performance on Saturday night. Ojulari also had another quarterback hurry in the game as he made himself a regular in the South Carolina backfield. This makes it three straight games with at least a tackle for loss and two straight games with at least one sack for Ojulari. The true freshman is making a larger impact with each passing week and should have a very bright future in Baton Rouge.

LB – Charles Snowden, Virginia

Snowden played a great game defensively for Virginia, unfortunately the Cavaliers came up just short in their 19 – 14 loss against Miami. Snowden has the height, length and athleticism teams look for at the linebacker position. All three were on display Saturday night as was Snowden’s functional strength, he powered through blockers and chased down Miami ball carriers from sideline to sideline. He was able to get to the quarterback applying pressure consistently and forced Miami to account for him on every possession. Snowden finished with 8 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack and 1 pass break up. The complete performance is what we have come to expect from the talented linebacker and should be one of many excellent performances this season.

Indiana Wins With A Finish To Remember

In our weekend preview we warned that Penn State would have a tough game against the Hoosiers. The Nittany Lions had a slew of miscues but appeared to have overcome them, holding a one point lead with 1:47 to play in the game. Penn State was taking over possession after a turnover on downs and Indiana only had one timeout remaining. All Penn State needed to do was have the quarterback jog to one side and take a knee three times, Indiana would have burned their timeout and gotten the ball back with less than 15 seconds on the clock at best, instead Penn State ran a play and Indiana let them score. James Franklin mentioned in his post game press conference that they did not want the running back to score, the easy way to do that is take a knee or make sure you tell the ball carrier on the sideline before the play. That play gave Indiana an opportunity to tie the game but the outlook was still bleak for the Hoosiers.

Indiana only had 126 yards of offense up to this point in the game, there was little reason to believe they could march down the field in 1:42 and score a touchdown. That’s exactly what Indiana did, with a seven play, seventy five yard touchdown drive in 1:20 which was helped along by a personal foul against Penn State that negated a sack on the second play of the drive. Even with the touchdown, Indiana needed a two point conversion, Tom Allen put his trust in Michael Penix on a quarterback draw, the talented quarterback appeared to have no where to go but made a defender miss, changed directions, found an opening and squirted into the endzone to tie the game. Penn State would miss a 57 yard field goal on the ensuing possession and the game went to overtime.

Penn State scored on their first possession of overtime and kicked the extra point to take a seven point lead. Indiana responded with a Penix to Philyor touchdown pass of their own. Indiana chose to attempt a two point conversion and decide the game on one play rather than play for a second overtime. Again they put the ball in Penix’ hands and as he rolled to his left he could not find an open receiver, Penix tucked the ball away and sprinted for the pylon, but his path was impeded by a Penn State defender closing in on Penix and forcing him to the sideline, Penix dove for the pylon and extended the ball towards the goalline as he landed out of bounds. It was ruled a successful conversion on the field and reviewed immediately, it was hard to tell if the ball touched the pylon or if the nose of the ball broke the plane of the endzone before Penix’ knee hit the ground and the call stood, sending Indiana to a monumental come from behind win in their season opener. A lot had to happen in the last 20 or so plays of the game for Indiana to pull out this win, but the Hoosiers made the plays they needed to and finished with a big victory.

Cincinnati Takes Control In The AAC

Going into this weekend there were two undefeated teams in the AAC and they were set to play one another. Cincinnati’s excellent defense would take on SMU’s high powered offense with the winner gaining a key win to propel their season forward. The Bearcats dominated the game and announced themselves as the favorite in the conference. Cincinnati led wire to wire and pulled away in the second half for what was a convincing 42 – 13 win. The defense did not disappoint, limiting SMU to just 290 total yards of offense and 3.4 yards per play for the day. This was not a game where SMU moved the ball but made critical mistakes that cost them points, they were unable to get into any kind of rhythm against Cincinnati. SMU only had three drives that covered more than 50 yards by contrast they had four drives gain less that 10 yards each. Linebacker Jarell White led the way for the defense with 13 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. The Bearcats defense dominated against one of the best offenses in the country and proved they are for real.

Offensively Cincinnati relied on their running game which racked up 313 yards on 35 carries, a whopping 8.9 yards per carry. Quarterback Desmond Ridder broke off several big runs and finished the game with 8 carries for 179 yards and three touchdowns. SMU was unable to account for Ridder as a running threat and the Bearcats made them pay. The Bearcats passing game still has work to do, but on Saturday night the running game and defense were so good it didn’t matter. The win sets Cincinnati up with the inside track to the AAC title game, a game the Bearcats should be the favorite to win.

Oklahoma State Wins The Big 12 Game Of The Week

Oklahoma State and Iowa State were two of three remaining undefeated teams in Big 12 play. Kansas State was playing Kansas which meant they would certainly remain undefeated and one of Oklahoma State and Iowa State would join them. The Cowboys won a close game by playing good defense and getting timely big plays from their playmakers on offense. Chuba Hubbard had strong game with 25 carries for 139 yards and one touchdown that was too good to describe in words (video below). Tylan Wallace made a big catch that set up an Oklahoma State touchdown that would put the Cowboys ahead for good. Spencer Sanders had a couple interceptions but made big plays with his arm and his legs, including the go ahead touchdown in the third quarter. The three headed monster for Oklahoma State played a full game together for the first time this year and led the team to a key conference win.

The defense has been the strength of the team the first half of the season. They did struggle to stop the aforementioned Breece Hall on Saturday, but made Brock Purdy’s life miserable in the passing game and pulled out the win. They held Purdy to 162 passing yards on 34 pass attempts, a meager 4.6 yards per attempt and sacked the Cyclone’s quarterback three times. They schemed to take star tight end Charlie Kolar out of the game, holding him to 5 catches for 54 yards and made the Iowa State offense one dimensional. The defense was led by safeties Tre Sterling and Kolby Harvell-Peel who combined for 14 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, an interception and a pass break up. One of the two seemed to be involved in every play for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys pulled out a big win and hold the head to head tie breaker against the Cyclones, there are still tough games on the schedule, but Oklahoma State is set up well to make the Big 12 championship game.

Greg Schiano’s Team Begins Chopping

When Greg Schiano returned to Rutgers late in 2019, he brought with him a familiar message. “Chop” a mantra that was so simple yet so effective in Schiano’s first stint at Rutgers it has returned with the coach for his second stint with the team. The idea is simple, if a person is alone in the woods with just an axe, they can lie down and die or pick a tree and start chopping. One tree at a time, until they fight their way out of the woods. On Saturday, the Rutgers football team showed their coaches message was not falling on deaf ears. The team began fighting and played with energy and urgency, the result was the first conference win since November 4, 2017.

It wasn’t always pretty, but the head coach didn’t ask for pretty. He asked his team to chop, one tree at a time, and keep chopping the entire game. That’s exactly what Rutgers did, particularly on defense. The defense won at the line of scrimmage, holding Michigan State to 50 rushing yards while recording 12 tackles for loss in the game. The Scarlet Knights forced five fumbles and recovered all five of them, they intercepted two passes and twice turned away the Spartans on fourth down. The first step to a successful rebuild is establishing a culture the players and recruits will buy into, if the season opener is any indicator, Greg Schiano’s players are buying in to what their coach is selling.

Closing Stats

• Wisconsin held Illinois to 8 first downs.

• Wisconsin only allowed 87 passing yards against Illinois.

• Rutgers held Michigan State to 50 rushing yards on 39 carries (1.3 yards per carry).

• Rutgers recovered 5 fumbles, intercepted 2 passes and forced 2 turnovers on downs for a total of 9 turnovers forced against Michigan State.

• North Carolina converted 34 first downs against NC State.

• Louisville had 12 pass breakups and an interception giving them 13 passed defended against Florida State.

• Penn State held Indiana to 41 rushing yards on 26 carries (1.6 yards per carry).

• Notre Dame allowed just 162 yards of total offense against Pittsburgh.

• Missouri held Kentucky to 50 passing yards on 14 attempts.

• Missouri held Kentuck to 8 first downs.

• Missouri only allowed 145 yards of offense against Kentucky.

• Cincinnati ran for 313 yards and 8.8 yards per carry against SMU.

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20191228-ND56768-TC image taken by TigerNet.com is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.