College Football: Week 3 Review

 Five Headlines of Week 3

  1. Tide Survive "The Swamp"- #1 Alabama escapes Gainesville, #11 Florida with a 31-29 win behind 3 TD from Bryce Young
  2. Sparty Silences the Canes- Michigan State upsets #24 Miami on the road in dominant fashion, 38-17, forcing four turnovers to move to 3-0
  3. Penn State Wins White Out Game- #10 Penn State holds off #22 Auburn's last-second drive to earn a signature win over the SEC
  4. Cougars Make School History in Win- For the first time in school history, #23 BYU earns wins over ranked teams in consecutive weeks, beat #17 Arizona State at home
  5. Fresno State upsets UCLA- The Bulldogs storm into Los Angeles and wins in the last minute to earn the upset victory over #13 UCLA, 40-37
College Gameday's Game of the Week- #10 Penn State 28, #22 Auburn 20 (White Out Game, State College, PA)
After their big win in Week 1, Penn State needed a strong non-conference win against a ranked SEC opponent to prove they were for real. I think they did that by winning this game. Penn State's defense did a good job at limiting Bo Nix and not allowing too many big plays. Auburn's offense had looked really good against far inferior opponents, averaging 61 points in wins over Akron and Alabama State. Tank Bigsby did a majority of Auburn's work, running for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Sean Clifford looked really good, passing for 280 yards, two touchdowns, and just the one interception. It came down to a drive at the very end of the game. Auburn made it down to the Penn State 26 with eight seconds remaining and had two shots at the endzone but was unable to get it done as Penn State's defense knocked the ball down and secured its second win over a ranked opponent this season. I think this puts Penn State in a great position to make a run in the Big Ten, especially with Ohio State already losing a game this season. Auburn will likely drop from the Top 25, but I think they're a legit team too. They're going to make waves in the SEC.

My Game of the Week- #21 North Carolina 59, Virginia 39 (Chapel Hill, NC)
I highlight this game more for the quarterback duel we got than the game itself. I think the Alabama-Florida game was probably a better game overall, but this one was just fun. North Carolina's loss to Virginia Tech to open the season soured some that had been high on Sam Howell in the Heisman conversation, but they followed it up with a convincing win last week and came into this game against the hottest QB no one is talking about. Brennan Armstrong Put up some big numbers in their first two wins against William & Mary and Illinois. Many within the ACC know who he is, but he deserves some respect. While UNC won this game by 20, Virginia was actually in the lead at halftime and Armstrong had over 350 yards passing in the first half and dropped an absolute dime to Billy Kemp IV before halftime. Armstrong finished with 554 yards passing, four touchdowns, and one interception, giving him over 1,200 yards through three games. The difference was Virginia's inability to stop Howell and the Tar Heels offense. Howell had 307 yards passing, 203 of which were to Josh Downs, 112 yards rushing, five touchdowns, and an interception, while Ty Chandler ran for 198 and two touchdowns. It was an all-out aerial assault from both teams and it was fun to see after so many close games.

Teams of the Week
  1. #10 Penn State- When you have a themed game like this on national television, you better perform big, and that's exactly what the Penn State defense did in their win over #22 Auburn.
  2. Michigan State- The Spartans marched in Miami and beat them like they stole something. We'll probably be welcoming Michigan State into the Top 25 when the AP poll rolls out.
  3. #25 Michigan- They scored nine touchdowns on their first nine drives. It may have been against Northern Illinois, but Michigan's offense looks for real.
  4. #23 BYU- Making school history isn't anything to scoff at and this was a major win for BYU over a ranked, Power Five team.
  5. Fresno State- The Bulldogs are giving the PAC-12 fits after almost beating Oregon two weeks ago and then pulling off the upset over #13 UCLA on the road. 
Most Disappointing Teams of the Week
  1. #24 Miami- It made sense Week 1 against #1 Alabama, but this week there are no excuses for how badly they looked. Turning the ball over four times isn't going to win you many games.
  2. #15 Virginia Tech- They were riding high after beating UNC to open the season and almost came back to win this one, but it doesn't avoid the fact that they have UNC back on their heels.
  3. #17 Arizona State- This was the chance for Arizona State to show they could compete with Oregon and the rest of the PAC-12. Provo isn't easy to play in, but this was a letdown for them.
  4. #6 Clemson- 14-8 isn't exactly how you want to win, especially against a far inferior team at home. I'm still waiting for the Clemson offense to show me something and they haven't yet.
  5. #3 Oklahoma- Another team that won, but just barely. Outside of a win over Western Carolina, this is their second way-too-close win over a non-conference team. 
My Top 25 Going into Week 4 (Not the Official AP Top 25)
  1. Alabama (3-0, W 31-29 #11 Florida)
  2. Georgia (3-0, W 40-13 South Carolina)
  3. Oregon (3-0, W 48-7 Stony Brook)
  4. Oklahoma (3-0, W 23-16 Nebraska)
  5. Texas A&M (3-0, 34-0 New Mexico)
  6. Iowa (3-0, 30-7 Kent State)
  7. Penn State (3-0, W 28-20 #22 Auburn)
  8. Clemson (2-1, W 14-8 Georgia Tech)
  9. Cincinnati (3-0, W 38-24 Indiana)
  10. Notre Dame (3-0, W 27-13 Purdue)
  11. Ohio State (2-1, W 41-20 Tulsa)
  12. Coastal Carolina (3-0, W 28-25 Buffalo)
  13. Iowa State (2-1, W 48-3 UNLV)
  14. Ole Miss (3-0, W 61-21 Tulane)
  15. BYU (3-0, W 27-17 #17 Arizona State)
  16. North Carolina (2-1, W 59-39 Virginia)
  17. Michigan (3-0, W 63-10 Northern Illinois)
  18. Wisconsin (1-1, BYE)
  19. Michigan State (3-0, W 38-17 #24 Miami)
  20. Florida (2-1, L 31-29 #1 Alabama)
  21. Arkansas (3-0, W 45-10 Georgia Southern)
  22. Fresno State (3-1, W 40-37 #13 UCLA)
  23. USC (2-1, W 45-14 Washington State)
  24. Virginia Tech (2-1, L 27-21 West Virginia)
  25. UCLA (2-1, L 40-37 Fresno State)
Week 4 Games to Watch
  1. #12 Notre Dame at # 18 Wisconsin
  2. #9 Clemson at NC State
  3. #7 Texas A&M at #16 Arkansas
  4. Texas Tech at Texas
  5. SMU at TCU

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2023-24 Regular Season, Game 29: Hurricanes at Detroit Red Wings (Postgame)

After picking up their first win on the road trip on Tuesday night in Ottawa, the Hurricanes looked to finish the road journey with a win in Detroit to build some momentum before heading home. With the Red Wings dealing with injuries and suspensions, the Canes tried to build on their excellent game against the Senators. Meanwhile, Detroit hoped to stay afloat with key contributors out of the lineup.  Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (4:48)- Jack Drury (4) (assisted by Stefan Noesen (9) & Martin Necas (14)) 2nd Period DET (5:20)- Michael Rasmussen (7) (assisted by Andrew Copp (9) & Jonathan Berggren (2)) CAR (11:49)- Jordan Staal (4) (assisted by Jesper Fast (5) & Brett Pesce (3)) 3rd Period None My Thoughts It's almost unfathomable to look at the Canes' 2-4-0 record on this trip and acknowledge that it's the same mark they had on their first long trip of the season after Opening Night. If you'd told me the Canes had identical records on those two trips without...
Read more

"Old Habits Die Hard:" 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 37: Hurricanes at Columbus Blue Jackets

For the final time in 2024, the Hurricanes hit the ice. For their New Year's Eve battle, they traveled to Columbus for their third meeting of the campaign against the Blue Jackets. With a split through two meetings, the goal was to keep Kirill Marchenko and Zach Werenski in check to earn two big points before the end of the year. Using Saturday's win over the Devils as a launching point, Sebastian Aho and the top line might have something special in store to ring in the New Year. Scoring Summary 1st Period CBJ (4:48)- Kirill Marchenko (15) (Sean Monahan (21) & Denton Mateychuk (1)) CAR (9:59)- Ty Smith (1) PP (Sebastian Aho (27) & Martin Necas (31)) CBJ (15:43)- Kirill Marchenko (16) (Dmitri Voronkov (11) & Sean Monahan (22)) 2nd Period CAR (5:47)- Jack Roslovic (17) (Seth Jarvis (16) & Sebastian Aho (28)) CAR (8:18)- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (6) (Eric Robinson (11)) 3rd Period CBJ (4:58)- Dmitri Voronkov (13) PP (Sean Monahan (23) & Zach Werenski (29)) Overtime N...
Read more

2024-25 Regular Season, Game 3 Preview: Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Penguins

The Hurricanes found their way into the win column on Tuesday night, beating the Devils 4-2 for their first victory of the season. After allowing a goal to Jack Hughes early in the second period, the Hurricanes scored three unanswered. Seth Jarvis and Shayne Gostisbehere put the Canes ahead through 40 minutes before Jackson Blake redirected a shot midway through the third period for his first NHL goal. Nico Hischier scored during a 5-on-3, but Sebastian Aho iced the game late into the empty net to secure the victory. Pyotr Kochetkov earned the win, outdueling Jacob Markstrom by making 24 stops. The Hurricanes now embark on a six-game journey as the State Fair rolls into town. The first stop on the trip will be their lone meeting with a conference opponent. The Opponent: Pittsburgh Penguins (3-2-0, 6 Points This Season) Not much about the Pittsburgh Penguins changed during the offseason. Reilly Smith is the most notable addition to the team, but they are largely the same team they have ...
Read more