College Football Weekend Recap: Sep 3 to Sep 7, 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. This was a light weekend but college football kicked off and that was a win in itself. Here is our recap of the weekend that was in college football.

Teams That Impressed

Army

The Black Knights were favored against Middle Tennessee State but the way they won was the story. On offense we expect the offense to run the ball well and test the discipline of the opponents defense. Army ran the ball and controlled the clock as expected, but it was on the other side of the ball where they put on a show.

The defense shutout an opponent for the first time since November 4, 2017 against Air Force. They were tasked with containing QB Asher O’Hara who had an excellent year in 2019 passing for over 2,000 yards and rushing for over 1,000 yards. The Black Knights did an excellent job of limiting O’Hara’s effectiveness, holding him to just 46 passing yards and 18 rushing yards. For the game, Army allowed only 184 yards and 3.8 yards per play which is more than 150 yards less than they allowed per game last season and more than two yards per play less.

More than just the numbers, watching the game it was evident how well the Black Knight’s defense was playing, they were swarming to the football, tackling well and sound in coverage. They forced turnovers and limited their own mistakes, forcing Middle Tennessee State to work their way down the field methodically. Army was able to disrupt the Middle Tennessee State offense by getting in the backfield and recording six tackles for loss in the game. The triple option offense is what you think of when you think Army, but it was the defense that shined brightest on Saturday.

Army had a bit of a down year last season but if the opening game was any indicator, they will be much better in 2020. The schedule will get tougher with BYU (who had an impressive win this weekend as well) and Cincinnati coming up in a couple of weeks, but Army has gotten off on the right foot this season and should carry that momentum forward.

BYU

We expected the BYU at Navy game to be one of the more competitive games of the weekend. Both teams return a lot of talent from last year and we figured they would be ready to go in 2020. We were right about BYU but Navy did not have much of a chance on Monday night.

The Cougars ran the ball with attitude from the get go. The offensive line was overpowering and Navy could not slow down the run game. BYU was returning their top three rushers from last year and four of five offensive starters. That experience showed as there were lanes to run through and the backs were running with power and conviction. Tyler Allgeier led the way with 132 yards and 2 touchdowns, Lopini Katoa added 80 yards and 2 touchdowns of his own, and Jackson McChesney also added 56 yards and another touchdown. BYU ran for 301 yards on the game averaging 6.1 yards per carry. When you run the football that effectively it’s hard not to dominate the game.

Quarterback Zach Wilson showed promise as a freshman in 2019 but had too many interceptions. If the first game is any indication, 2020 will be a good season for Wilson. He showed maturity and poise this game only throwing one interception (on a play where his receiver lost his balance and the safety capitalized) and limiting the mistakes that cost him a year ago. He was efficient and hit the big plays when they were available but went through his progressions and took what the defense was giving him. For the game, Wilson averaged 12.9 yards per attempt while throwing for 232 yards, two touchdowns and just the one interception. Wilson wasn’t asked to do much this game, but he appeared to be making the next step in his progression.

The Cougars were returning 14 of their 16 leading tacklers from last years team and the experience on defense showed. They held the Navy rushing attack to 119 yards for the game, to put that in context Navy led the country in rushing, averaging 360 rushing yards per game, in 2019. The triple option offense is designed to test the defense’s discipline and tackling and BYU passed the test with flying colors. They will have another test defending the triple option against Army in their next game on September 19th.

BYU pummeled Navy and put on a show with the college football stage all to themselves Monday night. It will be important for them to be consistent week in and week out moving forward but the schedule does set up well for them going forward. After the game at Army in two weeks, BYU will be at home for the rest of the season with only one of those games against an FBS team with a winning record in 2019. The Cougars need to get past Army, but have a good chance to run the table and go 8 – 0.

Stars From The Weekend

LB – Xavier Cullens, Memphis

Cullens was all over the field making plays for Memphis in their season opening win against Arkansas State. He made seven tackles from his linebacker position and also added a sack and an interception. On his interception, he showed good instincts and feel for the route behind him, dropped back into the passing lane and intercepted the pass with the game tied at 14 in the second quarter. Early in the third quarter he blitzed up the middle and powered through the running back to get to the quarterback for a big sack. The junior has good size and athleticism as a linebacker, showing good speed and mobility in space while playing with the power needed to make plays in traffic. Cullens got his season off to a good start making several plays in Memphis’ season opening win.

WR – Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama

Junior receiver Jalen Tolbert had an excellent game in the Jaguars 32 – 21 win over Southern Miss, Thursday night. He caught 6 passes for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns in the game. He showed a good blend of size and speed with the ability to get open in the passing game. Tolbert was able to make tough catches downfield and was able to make defenders miss and pick up yards after the catch. Early in the game he caught a pass on the sideline, and weaved through the defense to score a long touchdown. Tolbert made an excellent adjustment to the ball on his second touchdown of the game, and later made a difficult contested catch on a jump ball to convert a fourth down. Tolbert was excellent in the season opener and will be a player to watch going forward for the Jaguars.

QB – Grant Wells, Marshall

Eastern Kentucky may not have offered much resistance, but Wells was phenomenal throughout the game. He threw the football accurately with good spin. He was able to push the ball down the field and complete shorter passes underneath. He averaged over 13 yards per attempt, passing for 307 yards and four touchdowns against zero interceptions. While the competition was not very tough, watching the game it was obvious how good Wells was playing. He was in control of the offense and made some beautiful throws over the course of the game. As if his passing numbers were not impressive enough, Wells showed good mobility and tacked on 30 rushing yards as well. The redshirt freshman could provide a major boost to the Marshall offense if he is able to continue his strong play against tougher competition.

Other Takeaways From The Weekend

SMU got the win against Texas State but this was not a strong performance by the Mustangs. Obviously this off-season has been anything but ideal and the loss of offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee did not help matters, but this was a game they should have won easily. Texas State’s quarterback averaged less than six yards per attempt for the game but somehow the game was still tied in the third quarter and SMU only won by a touchdown. The Mustangs looked out of sync at times on offense and lost three turnovers on Saturday. Defensively they only gave up 24 points but missed tackles and got out of position too often, allowing Texas State to convert some unlikely first downs. The Mustangs got the win but they will have to play better to compete for the AAC championship.

New Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield got a win to start his tenure with the program. Quarterback Brady White was able to spread the ball around to his weapons and the running game performed well even without star running back Kenneth Gainwell. We expected Arkansas State to provide some resistance, and they did for about two and a half quarters before White and the Tigers pulled away. Their performance in the second half was much better than the first half, especially on defense, which is encouraging. Memphis had a solid first game and won comfortably in the end, but they will need to continue to get better over the course of the season to repeat as AAC champions.

Closing Stats

• South Alabama averaged an impressive 7.74 yards per play against Southern Miss.

• Army had a +4 turnover margin against Middle Tennessee State.

• Army converted 13 of 15 3rd downs against Middle Tennessee State.

• BYU averaged an amazing 8.2 yards per play against Navy.

• BYU allowed on 3.2 yards per play against the Navy offense.

• BYU led the country with 8 tackles for loss in their win against Navy.

For our What We Are Watching Post for next weekend, click here.

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