<grammarly-btn>Most of the Top Ten games were underwhelming this weekend. There were a couple of exceptions but for the most part, everyone won as they were expected.
1. Clemson 41 – Syracuse 6. The 27.5 point spread was covered.
Domination, that’s all you can say about Clemson’s performance against Syracuse. In every aspect, the Orange was dominated. Offense, defense, and special teams were so far superior on the Tigers side of the ball, it really wasn’t much of a game. Syracuse didn’t even get a first down in the first quarter of play.
Clemson scored on their second possession of the game after a 79-yard drive in 7 plays. Clemson QB, Trevor Lawrence finished the game with a career his 395 passing yards with 3 TD’s through the air. He also added another touchdown running the ball for one yard in the second quarter.
The Tigers defense smothered the Orange running game. Syracuse was allowed only 15 yards rushing for the game. Quarterback Tommy DeVito was sacked 8 times in this game. Syracuse was able to score two field goals in the 2nd quarter. That was as close as they got to the end-zone the entire game.
Clemson will not be challenged this Season in their quest for back to back National Championships. When the playoffs begin will be Clemson's only test.
Clemson hosts Charlotte Sept. 21st. Clemson opens as a 41.5 point favorite.
2. Alabama 47 – South Carolina 23. The 25 point spread was not covered.
Alabama’s passing game was explosive, the run game not so much. The defense struggled to tackle and allowed the Gamecocks to pass the ball pretty much at will. Coach Will Muschamp had his S. Carolina team ready for this game. True freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski played a phenomenal game and was able to pass for 324 yards and 2 touchdowns in his second career start.
Let me be honest here and tell you what I saw that the Tide needs to work on. On offense, the rushing game has got to be established. As much as Bama’s running backs are rightfully lauded as some of the best they can not run to the line, dance and look for the hole. They must hit that hole, even if it is closing, full strength, and full force. If the dancing didn’t work against a team like S. Carolina it surely won’t work against SEC West powerhouses. The Tide defense has got to tighten up and do better on the basics like tackling. The defense seemed to believe they could bring down the Gamecock offense by bumping or running into them and not by wrapping up the ball carrier. Very disappointed and yes, I am a spoiled fan.
The greatness that shined in this game was Tua Tagovailoa and the receiving corp! Tua had a career-high 444 yards passing and 5 touchdown passes. This was poetry in motion. Najee Harris breaking tackles and hurdling defensive players was beautiful.
Alabama hosts Southern Miss on Sept. 21st. The Tide opens as 39.0 point favorite.
3. Georgia 55 – Arkansas State 0. The 33.5 point spread was covered.
Huge shout-out and props to the Georgia fan-base for the pink out!! For those of you that haven’t heard, Arkansas head coach Blake Anderson lost his wife, Wendy, to breast cancer on August 19th. Usually, Bulldogs fans are in Georgia red, but many, I dare say, most, came to this game in bright pink for breast cancer awareness and in honor of Wendy. It was a beautiful tribute and touched Coach Anderson deeply.
This was basically a practice game for the Dawgs. Quarterback Jake Fromm was able to throw for 3 touchdowns and 279 yards early before sitting out the remainder of the game and staying healthy for next weeks battle against the Irish. The Bulldogs scored on 6 of their 7 possessions in the first half, going into half time 34-0.
The Georgia defense was just as impressive, totally commanding the much weaker Red Wolves offense. Arkansas State was able to cross midfield and into Bulldog territory only time in the first half.
Those of you who don’t know NCAA football and are probably wondering why would these lesser teams play these huge powerhouse teams, the answer is… money. Arkansas State can take this 55 point beating in stride with the 1.8 million dollar check they got for traveling to Georgia.
Georgia has their first test of the season this next week against Notre Dame. This will be the first time the Irish have played on Georgia’s home field. Two years ago, the Bulldogs went to South Bend and barely escaped the Irish by a score of 20-19.
Georgia hosts Notre Dame on Sept. 21st. The Bulldogs are a 14.0 point favorite.
4. LSU 65 – North Western State 14. The point spread was Off for this game.
The Tigers heard a few boo’s as they went in the locker room at halftime only leading a much less talented Demon team 24-14.
LSU had a “slow” start in this game. But, they came out in the second half and took over the game on both sides of the ball.
N’western St. was able to score touchdowns in the first and second quarters.
When the teams came back from halftime the Demons were totally shut down. I have no idea what Coach Orgeron said to perk up his team during the half, but whatever it was, it worked. The Tigers came out in the third quarter looking like a different team. The LSU defense kept the Demons from getting a first down in their first three series of the third quarter.
Quarterback and Tiger shining star Joe Borrow played like a Hall-of-Famer! Burrow was able to turn over the offense to the second team in the third quarter. He left the game with 373 passing yards and one rushing touchdown.
LSU travels to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt on Sept. 21st.
The Tigers open as a 23.5 point favorite.
5. Oklahoma 48 – UCLA 14. The 23 point spread was covered.
The Oklahoma Sooners traveled to Los Angeles and enjoyed an overwhelming victory over the UCLA Bruins.
Amazingly out of the over 52,000 in attendance at the Rose Bowl, most were yelling for Oklahoma. Obviously, Sooners fans travel well to support their team.
Oklahoma put together a very balanced offense with 302 yards passing and 309 yards rushing. Out of that number was Jalen Hurts amazing stats of 289 passing yards with three touchdowns and 150 yards and one touchdown rushing.
The Sooners defense was able to pressure the UCLA quarterback into throwing two interceptions.
Oklahoma will enjoy a Bye week this coming week. The Sooners will play Texas Tech on Sept. 28th.
6. Ohio State 51 – Indiana 10. The 16 point spread was covered.
Let’s begin this with talking about Quarterback Justin Fields. Justin is a transfer from U. of Georgia where in 2018 season he played in 12/14 games as a true freshman behind Jake Fromm. Justin is from Georgia but he saw that he needed to go to a college that could see his potential. Ohio State is the right was fit. Justin was the #2 Dual Threat quarterback in the 2018 recruiting cycle. This young man is quite an athlete.
J.K. Dobbins is also very elusive from the backfield. At his running back position, this 5’10”, 217 lb young man is a wrecking ball going through defensive lines and breaking tackles. He is a lot of fun to watch. One of the things he says to fire-up his lineman is, “I’ll meet you in the end-zone” and so he does.
The Buckeye’s defense shut down the Hoosier’s run game allowing only 42 yards on the ground. Indiana was able to pass enough for a field-goal in the first quarter and a touchdown in the second. The last half the Hoosiers were kept out of the end-zone.
Ohio State hosts Miami of Ohio on Sept. 21st. The Buckeyes go into this game as a 39.0 point favorite.
7. Notre Dame 66 – New Mexico 14. The 35 point spread was covered.
New Mexico traveled to South Bend, Indiana and got beat down by both Notre Dames offense and defense. New Mexico was severely out-manned at every position. N.D. quarterback Ian Book and company were able to put up gaudy numbers and then, for the most part, sat out the second half.
The Irish defense was able to force three fumbles and one inception stopping Lobos drives. The Lobos were able to move the ball and held the ball for over 35 minutes of the game, but they were stopped short of scoring all but two times.
It appeared as though the Irish offense could score at will. Coach Brian Kelley stated that he was looking for explosive plays that you can not beat Georgia with 3 yards here and 4 yards there, he was looking for explosive plays. (paraphrased)
Notre Dame travels to Georgia on Sept. 21st. They are a 14.0 point underdog.
8. Auburn 55 – Kent State 16. The 35.5 point spread was covered.
The Auburn Tigers last tune-up game before they open SEC play against the Texas A&M Aggies. Kent State was outmatched but they showed fight at the beginning of the game pulling to 14-10 during the second quarter. Then Auburn turned their running backs open and never looked back. The Tigers had three players with over 100 yards rushing. Auburn amassed an amazing 467 yards rushing.
The Tigers were able to hold the Golden Flashes to 92 yards rushing, but they were able to pass for 229 yards. At times Kent State looked like they could hang with AU. The Flashes received the ball to open the game and marched it down the field and was able to kick a field goal.
Kent State quarterback Dustin Crum was able to pass for 198 yards and one touchdown. He sat a career-high of 229 yards, however, he was sacked 5 times.
Auburn travels to Texas A&M on Sept. 21st. Surprisingly Auburn goes into College Station as a 4.0 underdog.
9. Florida 29 – Kentucky 21. The 7.5 point spread was covered.
This was by far the most enjoyable game to watch as the Wildcats of Kentucky fought the Gators tooth and nail at home. If not for 4 Kentucky turnovers this game would have ended with the Wildcats on top. These two teams were very evenly matched.
Gators quarterback Felipe Franks left the game with a probable season-ending ankle injury late in the game and trailing the Wildcats 21-10. The Gators played with a lot of emotion after the injury and overwhelmed Kentucky in the fourth quarter, scoring three touchdowns.
Kentucky had a chance with 54 seconds left in the game to come from behind with a 35-yard field goal that went wide right. A very excited Florida team was able to take it to the locker room with overjoyed Gator fans following them.
Florida coach Dan Mullen said, "Came on the road and in a very tough environment and got a big win. We found ways to win."
Florida hosts Tennessee on Sept. 21st. The spread is “off” for this game.
10. Michigan enjoyed a Bye week.
Michigan travels to Wisconsin on Sept. 21st. Michigan is a 3.5 point underdog.
There are three very interesting games coming up this weekend.
Auburn at TAMU
Michigan at Wisconsin
Notre Dame at Georgia
These games will have possibly playoff implications.
Until next week,
Mama
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