1) Michigan-Iowa was atrocious
Iowa ran the ball 30 times and gained a yard, and if that’s not impressive to you, check this out, quarterback Nate Stanley was credited with -65 rushing yards. (Allowing eight sacks will hurt the per-carry average.) The Hawkeyes turned it over four times, three via interceptions. The offensive line was sickeningly bad.
Michigan only gained 267 yards of offense, not exactly a big-time effort for the Wolverines offense. About a fifth of that total came on a single play in the first quarter, in quarterback Shea Patterson’s 51-yard completion to wide receiver Nico Collins that preceded the game’s only touchdown. Patterson ended with 14 completions in 26 attempts for 147 yards and an interception, marking his third Big Ten game in as many tries with a turnover and the second time in three weeks the Michigan passing game has looked merely average. The way this Michigan team is looking, another ass-kicking is coming at the end of the season to the Ohio State Buckeyes.
2) Penn State has to be taken seriously
The Nittany Lions are seemingly improving weekly and they will not be ignored after the next three weeks against Michigan, Iowa and Michigan State. Penn State has a balanced offense and a terrorizing defense and they are about to burst on the scene with three-straight wins against top-25 teams.
3) The Gators are a contender? Or are they?
Florida got a huge win over Auburn but questions are still out there after what was an uneven performance. Is the offensive line good enough to deal with the big boys in the SEC? I don’t think they are but they are headed in the right direction under Head Coach Dan Mullen.
4) Luke Fickell is doing a great job in Cincinnati
The AAC has turned into the best power conference in the country and the Cincinnati Bearcats may just be the best team in that conference after they broke UCF’s consecutive conference game win streak. The Bearcats got manhandled by the Ohio State Buckeyes, but who hasn’t? If the Bearcats can keep Luke Fickell from jumping elsewhere look for the Cats to be a top-25 fixture for years to come.
5) The Pony Express is back
Well maybe not the Pony Express of the early ’80s but SMU football is in the middle of what looks to be a special season. Down 30-9 to Tulsa, the Mustangs stormed back to win in double-overtime. The Mustangs are coming out of nowhere and stories like this team are what makes college sports special!
6) Khalil Tate for the Heisman?
The Arizona Wildcats surprisingly are sitting atop the Pac 12 and Tate is the biggest reason why. You hear about Tua and Hurts all the time and I think maybe it’s time to put Tate in that conversation. Tate threw for 404 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday after missing last week’s win against UCLA.
