College Football Weekend Recap: Sep 26, 2020

Photo Credit: University of Miami Athletic Department.

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 SEC conference began their season this week adding some wind to the sails of this college football season. Here is our recap of the weekend that was in college football. We did a Roadmap To An Upset Post on the Kansas State win over Oklahoma, which you can read here.

Teams That Impressed

Miami

Is The U back? The question will be asked more and more if Miami keeps running off impressive wins like Saturday night. The Hurricanes were expected to win, but Florida State is their rival and was expected to put up a fight. Miami was favored by about 11 points most of the week, but they beat the fight out of Florida State early and embarrassed them 52 – 10 under the lights.

Miami opened the game on fire, with D’Eriq King and the offense scoring on every possession in the first half, except the one when Miami fumbled the punt return and Florida State recovered (does that count as a possession?). King led the offense on touchdown drives of 75, 79, 57, 52 and 70 yards the first five times he actually got the ball. On their last drive of the half, Miami settled for a field goal as the half ended after gaining 38 yards in 44 seconds. Miami had 371 yards of offense at halftime and was well on it’s way to victory. The offensive line took a lot of heat last year, but Saturday they protected King well and did not allow a sack in the game. The Hurricanes took their foot off the gas in the second half, choosing to get younger players and backups playing time, but still finished the game with 52 points, 33 first downs and over 500 yards of offense.

Miami’s defense was almost as dominant as the offense. They held the Seminoles to just 10 points in the game and were disruptive throughout the night. Florida State managed a field goal on their first drive of the game, then did not score again until the opening drive of the second half when they scored a touchdown. The Hurricanes made 13 tackles for loss in the game, with eleven different players getting credited with at least half a tackle for loss. The negative plays served to knock Florida State’s offense off schedule, creating difficult situations for a struggling offense. In addition to the tackles for loss, Miami intercepted three passes in the game and forced two turnovers on downs. Miami safety, Bubba Bolden, is becoming a star before our eyes after another strong performance with 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 fumble forced and 1 pass breakup. Having a star emerge in the secondary is a major development for the Hurricanes defense going forward.

Saturday night’s game was never in doubt as Miami dominated from kickoff to the final whistle. The Hurricanes will have a bye this weekend to get ready for a major showdown at Clemson on October 10th. Miami has gotten better each week so far this season, now it’s time for a major test to see just how good the 2020 team can be.

BYU

BYU returned to action this weekend after a two week hiatus. The Cougars again won big and were picked as a team that impressed for the second time this season. The game was the lone late game on Saturday night, and offered an opportunity to see BYU take on a good Troy team. The Cougars were outstanding for the second time in two tries this season blowing out the Trojans 48 – 7.

In their season opener BYU ran the ball at will, dominating at the line of scrimmage on the way to over 300 rushing yards. On Saturday night, it was the passing game that took center stage. The Cougars passed for 472 yards in the game led by star quarterback Zach Wilson. Wilson was efficient and explosive, making good reads and hitting the big plays when they were available. Wilson averaged 14 yards per attempt for the game, he only threw five incomplete passes for the game and was nearly flawless all night. The running game may not have been the headliner like it was in the opener but was still very effective, rushing for 192 yards for the game. BYU finished the game with 664 yards of offense and 48 points on the scoreboard for their second straight offensive explosion.

The defense was extremely successful against the triple option in their opener but was facing a spread offense Saturday night. BYU made the adjustment seamlessly, holding Troy to just seven points and 181 yards for the game. The defense was suffocating Saturday night, allowing just eight first downs and just one drive over 20 yards in the game. Troy had 12 drives in the game, going three and out on six of them and turning it over on downs in another one. More than half of their possessions ended without even picking up a first down. BYU didn’t force any turnovers in the game, or get an inordinate number of tackles for loss or sacks, but instead they just didn’t let Troy go anywhere. The Cougars were fast to the football and did a good job of tackling the ball carrier and never allowing Troy to get in rhythm. The defense has shutdown two different types of offenses in two games so far, this unit returned a lot of talent from a year ago and the experience and talent is showing.

BYU has an odd schedule this year as an independent with only six more games on the current schedule. The way they are playing right now BYU should be a big favorite in all off those games, making an undefeated season attainable. The Cougars have been dominant through their first two games and we are interested to see if they can continue to play this well.

Stars From The Weekend

TE – Kyle Pitts, Florida

Kyle Pitts is the number one tight end in our rankings, Saturday’s game was a perfect example of why. He was outstanding, catching eight passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns. Pitts showed off his incredible skill set, beating the Mississippi defense in every possible way. He made catches underneath and picked up yards after the catch, he beat one on one coverage in the middle of the field and made contested catches, he got deep with his excellent speed for a long score, and he made difficult catches look easy. Our favorite play by Pitts came near the end of the first half, with time running out Mississippi double teamed Pitts with a safety over the top, QB Kyle Trask threw the ball away from the coverage, low and to the outside. Pitts adjusted his body and dove to make a 16 yard touchdown catch. Mississippi got the first look this year at Kyle Pitts, but the entire SEC better prepare or they will be the next victim of a big day by Pitts.

QB – KJ Costello, Mississippi State

When Mike Leach took the head coaching job at Mississippi State, we knew the offense was going to be exciting. KJ Costello transferred in from Stanford, and he was expected to thrive in Leach’s offense and put up big numbers. Mississippi State was facing defending champion LSU, but the Tigers are not the same team they were a year ago and were without star cornerback Derek Stingley, but Costello’s performance was still incredible. He passed for 623 yards and five touchdowns for the game completing 60 percent of his passes and averaging over 10 yards per attempt. He did have two interceptions in the game, but when you throw the ball sixty times in a game mistakes are more likely to happen. Costello is the first SEC quarterback to pass for over 600 yards in a game and he did so in a win over the reigning champs, that’s a great way to make your debut with your new team.

RB, Breece Hall, Iowa State

Iowa State had a tough season opener and needed to bounce back against TCU and get their season on track. Hall came up big when his team needed him to, running for 154 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Hall opened the scoring with a 75 yard touchdown in the second quarter, he ran through a hole in the middle of the line, then cut to the outside and outran the defense to the endzone. Fittingly, with Iowa State up two facing third and three, again it was Hall who exploded through a hole up the middle to put the Cyclones up two scores. That run would prove to be the game winner as Iowa State held on for a 37 – 34 win. Hall played well at times a year ago showing glimpses of his potential and is set to have a big year in 2020.

DE – JaQuan Bailey, Iowa State

Hall wasn’t the only star against TCU for Iowa State, JaQuan Bailey had a big day from his defensive end position totaling seven tackles, four tackles for loss, three and a half sacks, forcing a fumble and recovering it. Not only did Bailey have a big game, he set the Iowa State career record for sacks in this game as well. The biggest play of the game for him came late in the second quarter on a three man rush; Bailey was able to beat the left tackle around the edge and get a strip sack on the TCU quarterback, as if that wasn’t enough, Bailey made sure to recover the fumble as well. The play would set up Iowa State for a touchdown on the next play and a 16 – 7 lead going into the half. Bailey had a memorable day, setting the career sack record, picking up four tackles for loss in the game, and making a big play that helped the team pull out a much needed win.

DE – Patrick Jones II, Pittsburgh

The Panthers gave up more points this week (20) than they did in their first two games combined (10), but considering they were playing Louisville’s high powered offense this was probably their most impressive defensive performance of the year. Patrick Jones was the leader of the defensive effort up front, wreaking havoc from his defensive end position. Jones was a nightmare off the edge for the Louisville offensive line to block, recording six tackles, three sacks and another hurry in the game. The stats do not tell the complete story, though he was a focal point coming into the game, after his third sack you began to notice double and even triple teams aimed Jones’ way resulting in excellent opportunities for his teammates to make plays (like the one we show below). Jones’ performance upfront, as well as the plays he created by drawing the opponents attention, played a major role in Pitt’s defensive success Saturday.

S – Leon O’Neal Jr, Texas A&M

The Aggie faithful could not have been happy with what they saw from their offense against Vanderbilt in the season opener, but the defense had a strong effort. Leon O’Neal Jr made his impact on the game, accounting for seven tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception in the game. The interception came with 6 minutes and change to play in the game and Vanderbilt at the A&M 30 down by five. The Ken Seals pass was tipped into the air and O’Neal came over to make the interception and return it out to the 40 yard line. The Commodores did get another possession but did not threaten again. The junior had an excellent start to his season as he looks to have a breakout season in College Station.

Other Takeaways From The Weekend

Georgia‘s offense took a while to get going against Arkansas on Saturday, but the defense was on it’s game. The Bulldogs came up with three interceptions in the game, including two from the best safety in college football, Richard LeCounte. The Bulldogs shutdown the Arkansas run game limiting the Razorbacks to just 2. 8 yards per carry, forcing them to throw the football with Felipe Franks. The results were as you would expect, Franks got some yardage, but was inconsistent and threw the three interceptions. The defense only gave up ten points and scored a touchdown of their own on an Eric Stokes interception return. We are not sure if the offense is in top form yet, but the defense is ready for another big season and will allow their counterpart time to find their way.

TCU finally opened their season this weekend taking on Iowa State and lost a close game 37 – 34. The result itself is not what bothered us about this game, it was the decision to not start Max Duggan, but then to play Max Duggan the entire second half. In the first half, TCU scored just seven points but with Duggan at quarterback in the second half they scored 27 points (though seven of those came on a defensive touchdown). There was a huge difference in the play of the two quarterbacks, Duggan was 16 / 20 for 241 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception while Downing was 11 / 21 for 159 yards and one touchdown. That is a difference of over four yards per pass attempt, it was plain to anyone watching the TCU offense was better with Duggan on the field. So the question remains, if he could play, why didn’t he start? He was dressed for the game and medically cleared, why not start with him and find out, if he plays well TCU could have built a lead and made Iowa State more one dimensional on offense. If he cannot play, it doesn’t matter if you find out in the first quarter or the third quarter. Sometimes coaches outsmart themselves, Gary Patterson appears to have done that on Saturday and it probably cost his team the game.

After weeks of waiting, Virginia was finally able to get their season underway on Saturday, taking on 0 – 2 Duke. Beating Duke is not a landmark feat and it wasn’t always pretty but the Cavaliers defense had quite a day on Saturday. The Cavaliers intercepted FIVE passes in the game on just 40 Duke pass attempts. That’s one interception for every eight passes the Blue Devils attempted. In addition to the interceptions the Cavaliers also recovered two Duke fumbles and forced two turnovers on downs, giving them NINE turnovers forced for the game. The Blue Devils had 17 possessions in the game and more than half of them ended in a turnover. The Cavaliers defense added 11 tackles for loss to the incredible turnover totals in an impressive showing by their defense this weekend. Virginia waited a few weeks to start the season, but the defense took out some of that frustration on the Duke offense, Saturday.

Baylor finally kicked off the Dave Aranda era with a Big 12 matchup against Kansas. Kansas scored first but then Baylor’s Tristan Ebner went to work. He ran in a one yard touchdown to tie the game, then caught an 18 yard touchdown for Baylor’s second touchdown to give the Bears a 17 – 7 lead. He then returned the opening kickoff of the second half 100 yards for his third touchdown to open up a 24 – 7 lead. After a safety in the fourth quarter, Ebner struck again returning the kickoff 83 yards for his fourth touchdown of the game and putting Baylor ahead 40 – 7. The Bears won the game 47 – 14 and were impressive in all three facets of the game. The special teams were obviously special, scoring the two touchdowns. The offense did not need to do much with all of the special teams scores but only had two three and outs for the game and averaged a solid 5.3 yards per play. The defense played well especially against the pass, picking up11 tackles for loss and 4 sacks and scoring on the safety. This was against Big 12 cellar dweller Kansas but it was a sound performance by Aranda’s team in his first game.

Closing Stats

• Kansas State scored 38 points against Oklahoma despite only picking up 10 first downs.

• Florida averaged 8.7 yards per play against Mississippi.

• Mississippi State recorded 7 sacks against LSU.

• Mississippi State averaged 8.3 yards per play against LSU.

• Texas Tech did not allow a sack on 52 pass attempts against Texas.

• Miami had 14 tackles for loss against Florida State.

• Miami totaled 33 first downs against Florida State.

• Oklahoma State made 13 tackles for loss against West Virginia.

• Tennessee was 1 / 12 on third down conversions, but still scored 31 points against South Carolina.

• BYU only allowed 19 rushing yards on 18 carries against Troy.

• Iowa State averaged 8.3 yards per play against TCU.

• Tulane ran for 430 rushing yards while averaging 8.0 yards per carry against Southern Miss.

• Virginia intercepted 5 passes against Duke.

For the videos you don’t want to miss from the past weekend click here.

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