Luicci's College Football Plus: Week 9 Recap
Five questions
Q. Is it time for Top 25 poll voters to consider replacing Clemson at No. 1, even if it’s temporary?
As a former long-time AP poll voter, I never understood the philosophy that the No. 1 team retains its ranking as long as it wins. Adjustments need to be made as the season unfolds, and after the past two weeks there’s a case to made for Alabama being No. 1 – and a slightly weaker one for Ohio State – over the Tigers based on what we are seeing. Clemson struggled with downtrodden Syracuse then had to rally at home to beat Boston College on Saturday – yes, we know, without Trevor Lawrence – and really owns just one quality win so far (Miami, and at home).
There’s an opportunity to enhance those credentials on Saturday with a visit to Notre Dame, even if it means again being without Lawrence, who is shut down due to COVID-19 protocols.
A win against the unbeaten Irish on the road without Lawrence would be a strong statement.
Of course, none of it really matters since the polls have no impact on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, but it would be refreshing to see voters start to adjust to the season as it develops instead of taking the easy way out every week with the top 5 spots. They do that with almost every spot from 10 to 25 on a weekly basis. Just rarely the No. 1 spot.
Q. How will Trevor Lawrence’s two-game absence affect his Heisman Trophy chances?
Clemson’s star quarterback will wind up playing in nine regular-season games after missing last week against Boston College and Saturday’s showdown at Notre Dame, and in a normal season that might put a serious crimp in his Heisman prospects. But, as we are well aware, this is not a normal season. So is nine games enough to win the Heisman when one-third of them have been against dreadful teams – The Citadel, Syracuse and Georgia Tech – while missing the biggest game of the year?
Name recognition matters, and Lawrence has plenty of that. So does the competition for the award. Scan the landscape and what you will see is that there are not many serious candidates to challenge Lawrence. Ohio State QB Justin Fields can, if he continues his stellar play. So can Alabama QB Mac Jones, and possibly WR teammate DaVonta Smith (sorry Travis Etienne, this is not a career award). After that? Not enough voters have seen the breakout season that BYU’s Zach Wilson is having. There’s no one from the Big 12 that can be considered a serious candidate. At the very least it will be interesting to see how voters view Lawrence in the Heisman balloting.
Q. How will the Playoff Selection Committee deal with BYU, Cincinnati and even Texas A&M if all three run the table from here on out?
With the Big 12 out of the playoff mix now and the Pac-12 being too late to the party, it’s looking like three-quarters of the playoff field will be comprised of the Big Ten champion, the ACC champion and the SEC champion. But what about that fourth spot?
BYU faces its last major test on Friday night at nationally-ranked Boise State, the final obstacle to a possible 10-0 regular season. Cincinnati, 5-0 and already ranked in the Top 10, has a Nov. 21 showdown at UCF as its last regular-season test. The Bearcats have dominated the AAC and will be heavy favorites to win the league championship game. That could mean an 11-0 season.
Let’s not forget A&M, either. The Aggies are 4-1 with their only loss to Alabama and own a victory over Florida. Saturday’s Georgia-Florida winner will have a second loss and the winner could be tagged with its second loss in the SEC title game if Alabama is waiting on the other side. That could leave Texas A&M as the only remaining one-loss team in the SEC at a possible 9-1. How would that compare to an unbeaten Cincinnati or BYU or a one-loss ACC and/or Big Ten team?
Q. What’s the general reaction to the Pac-12 finally starting up this weekend?
Yawn. No, literally. Yawn. The league that seems to relish shooting itself in the foot has scheduled Saturday’s USC-Arizona State game for 9 a.m. Pacific Coast time (so Fox can air the game at noon Eastern time). 9 a.m. For a regular season game. Done voluntarily. Contrast that with two Pac-12 games later Saturday that will start at 7:30 p.m. Pacific (10:30 p.m. Eastern). From start to finish, that’s about 14 hours of Pac-12 football on Saturday.
Q. Bigger surprise in the Big 10: that Indiana, Purdue and Northwestern are all 2-0 – playing only conference games this year or that Penn State, Iowa and Minnesota are 0-2 and that Michigan lost as a three-touchdown favorite to Michigan State?
The only normalcy the league has this year is Ohio State being dominant and Wisconsin – if it ever plays again – looking as if it has Top 10 potential. Northwestern seems to deal in extreme seasons now (winning the West Division in 2018, finishing last in 2019) and the victory at Iowa on Saturday was solid. Penn State has at least looked respectable in losses to Indiana and Ohio State. Minnesota has some serious issues and Michigan is counting down the days until the contract runs out after the 2021 season on $8 million (a year) man Jim Harbaugh. It’s mind-boggling how average the Wolverines are again in Year 6 under Harbaugh.
Not sure how long Indiana, Purdue and Northwestern can sustain this success but 2020 is reminding us once again that things are different this year.
On the Rise
San Jose State (2-0)
Spartans are 2-0 for the first time since 1987 following Saturday’s 38-21 victory over New Mexico and have opened conference play with two wins for the first time since 2011. QB Nick Starkel threw for 467 yards and five TDs in Saturday’s win.
Coastal Carolina (6-0)
Chanticleers already have their highest victory total for a season since joining the FBS ranks in 2017 following Saturday’s 51-0 rout over a Georgia State team that came into the game leading the Sun Belt Conference in scoring at 42 ppg.
Cincinnati (5-0)
Total domination Saturday over a Memphis team that appeared to be a respectable one. Bearcats held the Tigers to five rushing yards and their fewest points since 2015. Luke Fickell’s team looks to be the real deal.
On the decline
Michigan (1-1)
When Rocky Lombardi lights up your defense you know you have issues. Saturday’s home loss to Michigan State as a three-TD favorite looks to be the beginning of the end for Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor, where they may start burning khaki pants in effigy.
Syracuse (1-6)
The way things look right now for Dino Babers’ squad is that the Orange may not win another game this season. Since this is Babers’ fifth year at Syracuse it’s all on him. All of it. The poor defense, the ragged offensive play, the penalties, the tiresome same mistakes game after game. In five seasons at Syracuse Babers will have four losing seasons.
Minnesota (0-2)
Row the boat? How about plugging all of those leaking the holes in it? Gophers are a mess on defense as the bills come due for last year’s breakout 11-win season. Fortunately for P.J. Fleck & Co. there’s COVID-19 ravaged Illinois next.
Who’s hot
DaVonta Smith, WR, Alabama
No Jaylen Waddle? No problem. Smith had 11 catches for 203 yards and four TDs in the 41-0 rout of Mississippi State.
Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Maryland
A game after his nightmarish debut the sophomore transfer from Alabama lived up to the family surname by throwing for 394 yards and three tiouchdowns while rushing for 59 yards and two scores in the Terps’ OT upset of Minnesota.
Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
All the concerns about QB play for the Bearcats have been allayed. After rushing for a school-record (for a QB) 179 yards against SMU, the junior was 21-of-26 for 271 yards and three TDs in the impressive win over Memphis. He also ran for two scores.
Who’s not
Spencer Petras, QB, Iowa
The Hawkeyes’ latest clunky quarterback was guilty of three interceptions, all in the second half, as Northwestern rallied from a 17-0 deficit for a 21-20 victory. The 6-5, 231-pounder averaged just 4.3 yards per completion on 50 pass attempts.
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Oklahoma State
After rushing for 2,094 yards in 2019 he will manage a little more than half that this year, despite three 100-yard rushing games. In Saturday’s loss to Texas he had 72 yards on 25 carries, an average of 2.9 ypc, with a long run of nine yards. And that was against Texas’ always-accommodating defense.
Trajan Jeffcoat, DE, Missouri
His cheap shot on Florida QB Kyle Trask on the final play of the first half ignited an on-field scuffle between the teams that resulted in three players ejected, everyone else getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and allowed Gators coach Dan Mullen an opening to continue with his doltish behavior.
Playing it forward
Previewing the top games coming up this weekend (All times Eastern)
BYU at Boise State, 9:45 p.m., FS1 (Friday)
A couple of unbeatens angling for a New Year’s Day Six bowl clash on the blue turf. Boise won without starting QB Hank Bachmeier last week. Cougars’ QB Zac Wilson is having a breakout season.
Arizona State at USC, Noon, FOX
The Pac-12 joins the fray and does so with a game that starts at 9 a.m. Pacific time. USC starts out as a ranked team, but how good are the Trojans?
Florida vs. Georgia (at Jacksonville, Fla.), 3:30 p.m., CBS
The winner takes control of the SEC East and moves a giant step closer to facing Alabama in the SEC title game.
Oklahoma State at Kansas State, 4 p.m., FOX
The game lost most of its luster with both teams losing last week, but these are two of the three Big 12 teams (Iowa State is the other) with just one conference loss in a wide-open league race.
Clemson at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m., NBC
The ACC’s two best teams finally go at it in a much anticipated matchup. No. 1-ranked Tigers but will be without QB Trevor Lawrence for this but frosh fill-in DJ Uiagalelei was impressive in his first career start last week against BC.
Tom Luicci was the national college football and basketball writer for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. from 1979-2014.