Well, Utah had a good week against rival BYU. I said the game would be decided by the rushing game and turnovers. In fact, if you read the last paragraph of the preview, it's exactly what happened (except for Utah not scoring many points). Utah held BYU to 11 rushing yards on 22 carries, got a lot of pressure on Heaps, and forced SEVEN turnovers. And you could really see in the second half that BYU's defense was worn out and they gave up early. Utah rushed for 242 yards, lead by John White who had 22 carries for 174 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wynn continues to improve, but it's obvious that his shoulder isn't what it was before. His release point is lower and he doesn't have the same zip on the ball. He did have his first turnover of the season, but it was a nearly flawless game for Utah. Now, Utah's 2-1 and has no major injuries going into a bye week before two big home conference games against Washington and Arizona State. Those games will tell a lot about this season, as the BYU win means nothing if Utah starts 0-3 in conference.
I was extremely impressed with #3 LSU's defense against #25 Mississippi State in the 19-6 win. I thought their defense would shut down the MSU running game, and they did just that. They held them to just 52 yards rushing on 34 carries. MSU had rushed for over 300 yards in each of the previous two games. LSU looks like a real contender for Alabama in the SEC West. That game on November 5 will be huge, and it is in Tuscaloosa. Both teams have a bye the previous week. Meanwhile, Mississippi State has started 0-2 in the SEC and their next two conference games are against Georgia and South Carolina.
I'm starting to be a believer in #4 Boise State. I thought Toledo was a good team and they flat out stomped them on the road. The score was 40-15 and they outgained them 610-349. Okay, maybe BSU is for real this year. Their biggest remaining test is when they play vs TCU and at San Diego State back-to-back in November.
One of these days, Auburn might start playing defense. They've allowed 38, 34, and 38 points and been outgained by at least 80 yards in every game, yet they're 2-1. The defensive numbers are just atrocious. They're 116th in rush defense (266 YPG), 100th in pass defense (268.3 YPG), 100th in pass efficiency defense (144.9), 117th in total defense (534.3 YPG), and 107th in scoring defense (36.7 PPG). I knew their defense would struggle, but this is just pathetic. They're next game is Florida Atlantic, and then they play at South Carolina, at Arkansas, vs Florida, and at LSU in consecutive weeks without a bye. Hoping for 4-4 is pretty optimistic. They could very well be 3-5 with Georgia and Alabama left on the schedule. I think they'll be able to upset one of those 6 SEC opponents and with FAU, Samford, and Ole Miss (all home games) on the schedule, they'll be 6-6 and go to a bowl game. But even that might not happen.
#23 TCU is struggling to handle the spread offense. Baylor ripped apart their defense and Lousiana-Monroe scored 17 first quarter points, leading 17-14 at the end of the first. TCU settled down and cruised to a 38-17 victory, but it was a shaky start for the defense.
Either #23 Texas is back on track, or UCLA is even worse than I thought. UCLA QB Kevin Prince completed 3 passes to the offense, and 3 passes to the defense. Then they switched to Richard Brehaut, but the score was already 21-0. UCLA will probably help Colorado avoid the Pac-12 South basement in their first year in the conference.
The biggest game of the week was #1 Oklahoma at #5 Florida State. FSU QB EJ Manuel threw 2 interceptions before leaving the game with an injury. Clint Trickett did a decent job taking over, throwing for 134 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. The Oklahoma defense controlled the game, holding Florida State to just 27 yards rushing on 26 carries and also forced 3 turnovers and 6 sacks. The OU offense wasn't spectacular, but they were good enough to put some points on the board and the defense took care of the rest. Oklahoma will be challenged late in the season, as 3 of their last 4 games are against Texas A&M, Baylor, and Oklahoma State. Those will be fun games to watch as the OU defense tries to shut down those offenses. The Big 12 is looking better than I thought they would, and Oklahoma may not be undefeated at the end of the season. But if they can get through that late gauntlet, they'll be playing in the national championship against the winner of the Alabama/LSU game on November 5 (which is also the day Oklahoma plays Texas A&M).
It's hard to say who the favorite is right now, but there seems to be a group of three teams who are above everyone else. They are also ranked #1 through #3 and play extremely good defense. They are Oklahoma, LSU, and Alabama. I could see any of those teams winning the championship this year. And unless there are some upsets, it will probably look that way until November. If Wisconsin beats Nebraska on October 1, they'll probably join that group, but the rest of their schedule is somewhat soft with the Big Ten fading. The other team that could join the top group is Stanford, and we'll know a lot more about then on November 12 when they play vs Oregon, assuming they win at USC on October 29.
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