College Football Weekend Recap: Sep 10 to Sep 12, 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. The ACC and Big 12 kicked off and the season is starting to take flight. Here is our recap of the weekend that was in college football.

Teams That Impressed

Army

The Black Knights were favored by anywhere from 22 to 24 points Saturday, and impressed again this week. The game was close with Army holding a 14 – 7 lead late in the second quarter, but the Black Knights made a few big plays to get momentum including a key fake punt conversion in the third quarter and then pulled away for a 37 to 7 win.

The defense didn’t pitch a shutout this week but performed exceptionally again. The Black Knights were swarming to the football and for the second week in a row dominated the game from start to finish. They held Louisiana Monroe to just 200 total yards of offense and only 9 first downs for the game. The defense forced two turnovers in this game, giving them six takeaways in two games for the season. Through two games in 2020 the Army defense has been lights out, allowing only 3.5 points per game and 4.2 yards per play.

Army hit a rough patch in this game but the team stayed disciplined and focused. Jeff Monken and his staff were able to snap the team out of it with the fake punt, and the team took control from there. No team can be on top of their game all the time, but the mark of a good team is the ability to limit the slumps and get back on track quickly. Army showed the character and makeup of a good football team on Saturday. For the game they ran for 436 yards and picked up 24 first downs in the game. Army controlled the game from start to finish, dominating the time of possession and dictating the way the game was played for four quarters.

After a big win in their season opener the Black Knights continued the positive momentum in game number two. They were supposed to have a big matchup with BYU, who beat Navy by 52 in it’s opener, coming up next weekend, but that game has been postponed. The team will have an off week before a tough matchup against Cincinnati the week after that. Army has gotten off to an excellent start in 2020 but in two weeks we will find out how good Army can be this season.

Louisiana

Louisiana at Iowa State was our game to focus on at noon in our preview for the weekend. We knew Louisiana was a good team and they would provide an early season test for Iowa State. The Ragin Cajuns took it one step further and went on the road against a power five team and got the victory. The program had 11 wins in 2019 and appears to be on its way to another good season in 2020.

Louisiana trailed 14 – 10 at halftime and needed a kickoff return for touchdown to stay in the game early. The second half was another story, Louisiana shut out the Cyclones in the second half and scored three touchdowns of their own to pull away for the win. The first came on a 78 yard bomb from star quarterback Levi Lewis to Peter LeBlanc to give Louisiana the lead late in the third quarter. Then early in the fourth, Eric Garror provided an 83 yard punt return for touchdown giving Louisiana two special teams touchdowns on the game. The third score was a rushing touchdown punched in with under a minute left in the game to seal the win.

The offense was expected to be the calling card for Louisiana, but it was the defense that frustrated Iowa State. Quarterback Brock Purdy was held to a measly 4.1 yards per attempt and without a touchdown. The Ragin Cajuns came out with a heavy dose of man coverage and challenged Purdy and his receivers to beat them. Iowa State dropped back to pass 35 times and never completed a pass for more than 20 yards in the game. The run defense did allow 4.4 yards per carry and two rushing touchdowns, but like the pass defense did not allow a play over 20 yards on the ground. Louisiana limited big plays and shut down the Iowa State passing attack to secure the victory.

Louisiana outplayed Iowa State in all three phases of the game. They didn’t stay in the game and steal an upset late, they won the game soundly and showed the country how good they can be. In fact, we expect the offense to play better going forward, but it was good to see the defense and special teams perform at a high level. Expect this team to continue to play well and challenge for the Sun Belt Conference title in 2020

Stars From The Weekend

RB – Kyren Williams, Notre Dame

Williams was effective in the running game and as a receiver in his first start for Notre Dame. This was not a pretty game for the offense, but Williams was able to make big runs, including two touchdowns; one from 26 yards out and the other from the one yard line. For the game he ran for 112 yards on 19 carries and also picked up another 93 receiving yards on two catches, including a long catch and run for 75 yards on a screen. Williams ran with patience and vision, waiting for the hole to develop. He showed good burst to get into the second level and the toughness to pick up tough yardage when needed. On his first touchdown, he was hit in the backfield, maintained his balance, kept his feet and powered through the second defender to score. Williams’ versatility and talent were a big positive on a day when the Notre Dame offense was not in rhythm.

LB – Chaz Surratt, North Carolina

Surratt is the leader of the North Carolina defense and was solid throughout the game. He really turned it on as the game went on and was a big part of the Tar Heels shutting down the Syracuse offense. For the game Surratt led the team with 9 tackles 2.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. Surratt has bulked up some from last year but has not lost any of his quickness and athleticism. He has excellent read and react ability and gets to the football quickly. He made several tackles at or near the line of scrimmage and was instrumental in leading the North Carolina defense. Surratt was the #3 LB in our rankings and it was easy to see why on Saturday.

CB – Asante Samuel Jr, Florida State

Florida State had a tough opener against Georgia Tech, but Samuel was a bright spot for the defense Saturday afternoon. Samuel made five tackles and had two key interceptions while Georgia Tech was on the move and in Florida State territory (the first of the two is embedded below). The interceptions both helped keep points off the board for Georgia Tech. On both plays Samuel read the play well and jumped in front of the Jeff Sims pass for the interception. He was credited with two pass break ups as well, including a play in the third quarter, where he again anticipated the route and jumped the passing lane. Samuel and the Florida State defense were a positive for the Seminoles in what was an otherwise disappointing opener on Saturday.

QB – Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

It’s no surprise to see Lawrence on this list, but he was on his game Saturday night. Lawrence completed 22 of 28 passes for 351 yards and a touchdown, while also running for two touchdowns. He was more impressive than the statistics themselves would indicate, as he had a touchdown dropped in the endzone by an open receiver and at least one other drop on an out route in the third quarter. Lawrence shows some of his incredible skill set every time he takes the field, our favorite throw from Saturday night was a play where Lawrence rolled out to his left, flipped his hips and made a strong, accurate throw downfield to Amari Rodgers for a 20 yard gain. We expect Lawrence to play well, but he was excellent against a conference opponent Saturday night and deserves his due.

Other Takeaways From The Weekend

North Carolina was expected to beat Syracuse comfortably on Saturday and they did just that. Star Quarterback Sam Howell did not have his best game, but the Tar Heels defense was phenomenal in this game. They held Syracuse to 202 yards on offense at an abysmal 2.8 yards per play. The defense was equally successful against the run and pass, shutting down the Orange offense on the ground and through the air. We were expecting North Carolina to be good on offense this season, it was the defense we weren’t sure about. Syracuse has not been a good offensive team recently, so it remains to be seen if this was just a case of Syracuse’s offense being bad or North Carolina’s defense being good, but the Tar Heels defense had an impressive performance in the opener.

Georgia Tech had too many miscues to be a team that impressed this week, but they did do a lot of good things against Florida State. For starters, they pulled out a 16 – 13 win on the road with a true freshmen quarterback. They out-gained Florida State 438 yards to 307 yards for the game. The Seminoles scored on their first two drives of the game gaining 113 yards, but did not have a drive over 48 yards after that. Despite trailing 10 – 0 at the half, Georgia Tech outscored Florida State 16 – 3 in the second half and controlled the game most of the half. All of the positives aside, there were a lot of miscues for the Yellow Jackets; Sims threw two interception while the team was driving, they had two field goal attempts blocked and one extra point attempt blocked. There is a lot to get fixed, but if the Jeff Sims can develop and they can clean up some of the mistakes the Yellow Jackets could prove they are moving up in the ACC.

Miami quarterback D’Eriq King made his debut Thursday night and had some ups and downs. There were times he and his new receivers were out of sync and other times when King just missed his target (one of them when Jeremiah Payton was all alone in the endzone). But he also had times where he showed good accuracy and was able to make plays in the passing game. King is strong in the passing game but can be inconsistent, like he was Thursday night, but the most important thing he brings is the ability to make plays where there is no play. King showed his instincts, escapability and explosive running skills on numerous plays. He is difficult to sack, and then makes a negative play into a big play several times a game. This keeps drives alive that should end, and results in points that should not have been scored. King is special, he is not a traditional quarterback, but he is special and Miami will continue to benefit from it.

Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler made his much anticipated first start for the Sooners. Obviously the opponent was not much of a challenge but Rattler was sharp in his first career start. He completed 14 of 17 passes for 290 yards (17.1 yards per attempt!) and four touchdowns against zero interceptions. Rattler was well protected and found receivers downfield for big plays in the passing game. He was able to spread the ball around and completed two touchdowns on deep posts down the middle, one on a screen and one on a crossing route over the middle. As the competition gets tougher and there is more pressure on Rattler we will get a better feel for how good he can actually be, but he looked how a good quarterback should against an over-matched opponent Saturday night.

Closing Stats

• North Carolina recorded 11 tackles for loss and 7 sacks against Syracuse.

• Miami ran for 337 yards and 6.5 yards per carry against UAB.

• Clemson had 27 first downs against Wake Forest.

• Georgia Tech forced three fumbles against Florida State.

• Clemson allowed only 37 rushing yards against Wake Forest.

• Georgia Tech allowed on 3.8 yards per play against Florida State.

• Coastal Carolina did not allow a sack against Kansas.

• Appalachian State had 9 passed defended against Charlotte.

• Miami only allowed 3 third down conversations in 15 attempts against UAB.

For our “Videos You Don’t Want To Miss” post click here.

For more content like this don’t forget to subscribe to our website.

For the latest content follow us on twitter @saturdayscfb & @cfbsaturdaysC or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CFBSaturday