Week 5 Takes on College Football

What a strange week 5 we had in college football this weekend, ladies and gentlemen.  Without further ado, I'll get to the five games that I had selected as my "picks" for this week.

5) Syracuse (+25 1/2) at Clemson - Final Score: Clemson 27, Syracuse 23.  Clemson didn't need another distraction this week, but I think they got one in the form of Syracuse.  With the transfer of Kelly Bryant to another school, possibly in the SEC (Arkansas, perhaps?), Clemson had all it could do to hold off a plucky Syracuse team that has given the Tigers fits in the past two years.  From the improbable win in Syracuse last year to this year's near upset, the Orange have played pretty good football, led by their quarterback, Eric Dungey.  Would you like a dark horse Heisman candidate?  Look no further than Dungey. 

Dungey's 2018 Stats: 84/132, 1,013 yds., 9TD's, 2 int's, 64 carries for 365 yards (5.7 ypc) and 6 more touchdowns.

So, that's 15 total touchdowns in 5 games (without playing an entire game against Florida State...although I think I could've quarterbacked Syracuse to a win in that game). 

I do feel bad for Trevor Lawrence, but I think he needs to learn how to get down and stop fighting for extra yards.  I understand that every yard matters, but get out of bounds and live to fight another day.  Dabo Swinney (and Tiger Nation) was holding their collective breath when Lawrence went down on Saturday.

Luckily(for their fans), Clemson escaped with a victory at home in Death Valley.  I don't think any team can take Syracuse lightly anymore, because I think they have enough will and enough offensive resources to contend in the ACC Atlantic division.  I think the Syracuse-NC State game is one to circle, as those two teams will battle it out for the ACC Atlantic division title.  As for Clemson, they have really no competition for the ACC Coastal title, unless Miami experiences a resurgence (they do play Florida State this week, a cure for the blues...).  Virginia Tech had their shot and blew it after that game at Old Dominion.  Kudos to Justin Fuentes, though, for having lots of integrity and dismissing three defensive stalwarts on the year for "violation of team rules".  I think Bud Foster can dial up the pressure and Virginia Tech can play better, but I don't see too many teams contending with Clemson's talent pipeline that they have.  Aaron Etienne, Trevor Lawrence, the ageless Hunter Renfrow (not the Padres OF), and that defensive line led by Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins.

4) Florida (+8) at Mississippi St. - Final Score: Florida 13, Mississippi State 6.  I have to say, I'm becoming a strong believer in the Florida defense.  They've played much better in the past few weeks, and holding Mississippi St. to 6 points at home is a very strong statement.  Nick Fitzgerald is a very good dual threat quarterback, and the fact that Florida held him to 98 yards passing and 72 yards on the ground (for 170 combined yards for those of you adding at home) is a good statement by their defense.  The fact that they sacked Fitzgerald 6 times and had 3 pass breakups is a good sign for their defense.  Their offense is a different story.  Outside of Lamichal Perine having 55 yards on the ground and Moral Stephens catching a 20 yard touchdown pass from (wait for it...not Felipe Franks, but Kadarius Toney, a running back), there was really not much to write home about for the Gator offense. 

I know Dan Mullen is a defensive coach, but to contend in the SEC east with Georgia, Mizzou, Kentucky and South Carolina, you need to have some offense.  Florida has a very tough game this week, as they go visit an LSU team in Baton Rouge.  That'll be a tough test for the Gators. Mississippi State needs to rebound after a bad loss to Kentucky (more on Kentucky in a minute, folks) and the loss to Florida, or the cowbells in Starkville will be raining on the field rather than ringing.

3) Kentucky (see, I told you...more Kentucky) (+2.5) at South Carolina.  Final Score: Kentucky 24, South Carolina 10.  When I was in high school here in New York, we had a band director (yes, I played the trombone...insert bad pun here) and he was from the University of Kentucky, so we had to play the fight song from the University of Kentucky at a few events.  I begun to actually like "On, On U of K", but that quickly wore off when I became a Georgia Bulldog fan.  The point of the story is, we would always talk college football, and he would always say to me that Tim Couch was the best player he ever saw, and that Tim Couch would take the Browns to the promised land.  Well, that never happened, so strike one. I hope he's still in Lexington to watch Benny Snell, Jr. run the ball for the Wildcats, because I truly believe he may be the best player at Kentucky in a long, long time.  He shredded the Mississippi St. defense to the tune of 25 carries for 165 yards and 4 (yes, 4) touchdowns. 

He was a dark horse candidate for the Heisman trophy, but I think he kicked the stall door down with that performance.  It's not as if this was a fluke performance, either.  Against Florida, he only ran for 175 yards, but Florida did do something Mississippi St. could not: kept him out of the end zone.  He has 639 yards on the season and 8 touchdowns, and if he continues this campaign, he could be sitting next to such luminaries as Will Grier and Justin Herbert at the Heisman ceremony.  Kentucky played a very sound game against South Carolina, especially since they were ranked as high as they have been in recent memory, and many pundits thought that would hurt the Wildcats (as we all know, some people can't take the big stage - see Sonny Grey in a Yankee uniform if you need an example).  Josh Allen (not the Buffalo QB, although after his performance in Green Bay today might long to be back in the NCAA) and the rest of the Kentucky defense harassed Jake Bentley most of the game.  Josh Allen is a difference maker on that defense, and he may be the best player no one out of the SEC has really heard of.  Clemson's defensive line gets all the credit, but Josh Allen and company are becoming a very formidable defense to contend with in the SEC East.  For South Carolina, it seems like the same old story every year.  They're ranked in the top 25 to start, then they struggle, lose a few games (to Georgia and Kentucky, which are NOT bad losses at all), and go 6-6 and are happy to go to the Music City bowl or the Belk Bowl.  I know the fans in Columbia and all over the states (My dad is one of them) want South Carolina to succeed and make it to a better bowl, to not just settle for mediocrity.  The SEC East is competitive, and I think Will Muschamp can succeed in Columbia with the talent that he has nearby. 

2) Stanford (+5.5) at Notre Dame - Final Score: Notre Dame 38, Stanford 17.  The one and only game I lost this week (Mark this day on your calendar....it'll probably be the only day this season that it happens), but I had a good week.  I thought the fighting Shaws would come to play on saturday, and when I watched the early drive where Bryce Love scored on a long touchdown run, I thought it was a good omen.  Stanford just didn't have it in them to contend with Notre Dame.  To me, Notre Dame is like a bad prom date who invites one person only to dance and hang out with another one all night.  If I were Brandon Wimbush, I'd be a little perturbed.  I know that he has to say and do the right thing (team comes first), but Notre Dame basically built off of last season and this season with his running and throwing ability, and then this season starts, he has a decent game against Michigan to open it up, and what is his reward?  He gets benched against Wake Forest for Ian Book.  No knock on either quarterback, but Brandon Wimbush basically got you to the dance.  Why not dance with who got you there? 

Brandon Wimbush and Notre Dame (Ian Book in foreground)



He's a good enough athlete to get you through games against Wake Forest, Navy, etc....and then, if you need to, you use Ian Book against teams that have a decent rush defense, like Stanford, USC, etc.  I know, I know.  All the Irish fans are going to be saying "whatever gets the job done", and I understand that.  Give Brandon Wimbush a break.  He's a good athlete.

1) Penn State (+3.5) vs. Ohio State - Final Score : Ohio State 27, Penn State 26.  Phew!  The heartbreaker (and heart-racer) of the weekend was Penn State blowing a 14 point lead in the final quarter to lose to Ohio State.  I do not, nor have I ever, liked Ohio State.  I do not like Urban Meyer.  To me, Urban Meyer is like a more evil version of Severus Snape from Harry Potter.  He's an offensive wizard who hates most people that aren't on his team, and his team can do no wrong, even when they're being suspended for conduct violations or team rules violations.

Now, onto my biggest qualm with the game.  What was James Franklin and the Penn State offense thinking during that whole fourth down sequence to end the game.  I imagine it went something like this:

Franklin: Okay, we're calling timeout here.  C'mon guys...let's go.  Here's what we're going to do.  We're going to try and draw them offsides.  Okay, lets go do it.

(Trace McSorley goes out and tries to draw the Ohio State defense offsides.  It doesn't work.  He comes back to the sidelines shaking his head). 

Franklin: Trace, good job.  Now, go out there and do the exact same thing.
McSorley: What?
Franklin: You heard me.  They'll never expect this.

McSorley goes out and tries to draw the Ohio State defense offsides a second time. It still doesn't work. 

Franklin then calls his second and final timeout, and the brain trust gets together and comes up with.....wait for it....the play to end all plays......a zone read to Miles Sanders!  Miles Sanders!   Miles Sanders!  Why not run McSorley, or use his legs to get out of the pocket and try to create something.  I did not understand the playcalling of Penn State on that particular sequence, and I do like James Franklin as a head coach.  I think he has done a fantastic job bringing Penn State back from the brink of non-existence after the whole Sandusky fiasco, and he has the Nittany Lions relevant once again.  Now, if they could beat Ohio State consistently, I'd be happy.  Well, all said, I'm up 200 units for the week and I'm looking for more....So check back with me on Wednesday or Thursday for my picks for this week coming up (Week 6...........i know, it goes by too fast).