CFB Headlines and Highlights of Week 9.
This past weekend should end up being one of the wildest and most entertaining of the 2017 season. The biggest games were played at the 3:30 slot, but the unexpected stretched from Thursday night to Saturday night. Here are the headlines from this past weekend.
Ohio State takes back control of the Big Ten East.
Ohio State gained control of its playoff destiny by a come from behind victory over Penn State; 39-38. But the Buckeyes did everything it could to prevent that from happening. The Buckeyes were hampered most of the night by mistakes and penalties.
Saquon Barkley started the game off with a 97 yard kickoff return. A fumble lost on the Buckeye ensuing possession left the Lions with a short field. Quarterback, Trace McSorley's 13 yard touchdown pass to DaeSean Hamilton gave the Lions a 14-0 lead before everyone had taken their seats. The Lions would stretch the lead out to 21-3 and 28-10, by the half.
Ohio State cut it to 28-20 midway through the third quarter when one of two called Buckeye interceptions was overturned as Penn State receiver, DeAndre Thompkins wrestled the ball away from Buckeye defender, Denzel Ward for a touchdown. Ward would make up for that later with 11:39 remaining, blocking a punt. That kicked off a 19-3 Buckeye run in the fourth quarter. Ohio State quarterback; J.T. Barrett had a Heisman moment, leading the Ohio State comeback with a 41 yard touchdown pass to Johnnie Dixon and later another touchdown pass to a wide open Dixon with 4:20 remaining. The Ohio State defensive line asserted its dominance with a Penn State offense that was trying to hang on. The go ahead score came with 1:48 left; a 16 yard touchdown pass to Marcus Baugh.
In essence, Ohio State did the exact same thing Penn State did to them a year ago. Penn State needs the Buckeyes to lose twice in their remaining four games for a chance for another trip to the conference championship.
J.T. Barrett arrives on the Heisman list again.
He has to be after that performance. Other than going 33-39 and rushing for 95 yards; Barrett completed 16 consecutive passes at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth. His fourth quarter stats read, 13-13 for 170 yards.
Saquon Barkley, not so much. Rushing for only 44 yards and virtually disappearing in the fourth quarter are not hallmarks for Heisman contending.
Georgia gets Florida drunk at Cocktail Party.
The Cocktail Party turned out to be a back alley, bar room beatdown. The dogs emphatically ended a Florida three game winning streak in this series with a 42-7 mauling, that wasn't as close as the score indicated. Georgia scored three touchdowns on their first eight plays from scrimmage, while the Gators amassed a whole two yards in their initial three possessions.
Forensic scientists are casing the Gator Bowl property to find pieces of Florida quarterback, Feleipe Franks. The Georgia defense totally shut down the Florida passing game and it seemed like they had many more sacks than five. Backup quarterback, Malik Zaire relieved Franks, but couldn't get the passing game going. At least Zaire could get out of the way. Franks and Zaire combined for 66 yards passing.
In all likelihood, this was coach Jim McElwain's last appearance on the Florida sidelines.
Kevin Sumlin is back on the boil again.
The Sterno cans are all lit under Kevin Sumlin's seat once again; following a 35-14 thumping by Mississippi State in front of empty seats in Aggieland. Texas A&M came off of a bye to fall flat on their faces. This could be the second of potentially four coaching vacancies in the SEC. Tennessee's Butch Jones seems to be dead man walking, following their loss to Kentucky.
ACC Roundup: The Seminoles are bound up.
Losing 35-3 to Boston College; wow! Florida State falls to 2-5 and in real danger of missing out on a bowl game for the first time in 41 years. A look at this Florida State possession chart doesn't give anyone any hope that the Seminoles will turn this around this year.
The Seminoles have to win their remaining four games which includes upstart Syracuse, a trip to Clemson and a visit to Gainesville that could be a 6-3 game either way.
If you are thinking about a possible Jimbo Fisher firing, keep in mind his buyout is in the $40 million neighborhood.
Houdini Miami escapes again.
The Hurricanes remain undefeated, pulling another game out of the fire over North Carolina, 24-19 in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels held a 6-0 lead until Miami answered with a Christopher Herndon 51 yard touchdown catch with less than two minutes remaining of the half. Miami struck again to begin the second half with a Malik Rosier 78 yard touchdown pass to Jeff Thomas.
The thunder is being shaken.
The Irish are the real deal and legitimate threat for a playoff spot with their stingy defense, massive offensive line and punishing running attack. They easily dispatched an upstart NC State, 35-14 at Notre Dame Stadium. Irish running back, Josh Adams posted his second career 200+ yard game, adding to the 318 yard rushing attack.
NC State was thrown back by an ankle injury to their main offensive weapon, Nyheim Hines. He came into this game with three consecutive 100+ yard rushing performances.
All is not lost for the Wolfpack. They host Clemson, Saturday that should determine the winner of the ACC Atlantic.
Iowa State upsets TCU; 14-7.
Now there are zero undefeateds in the Big 12, as the fans filled the field of Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones got all of the points it needed in the first half as they baffled TCU quarterback, Kenny Hill all afternoon.
The Big 12 will be very interesting with Iowa State throwing its hat in with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU for the Big 12 title.
PAC 12 Bits.
As it looks increasingly obvious that the PAC 12 will be shut out from any playoff consideration, that doesn't mean strange and shocking things aren't happening out west.
* A Bryce Love less Stanford was fortunate that Oregon State is a generous lot in pulling out a 15-14 win, Thursday night. The Cardinal recovered a fumble with 2:30 remaining to give them a chance for the win. A penalty filled Stanford possession ensued but ended on a Keller Chryst fade to J.J. Artega Whiteside for the winning touchdown with 20 ticks left.
* The Arizona Wildcats keep rolling to 6-2 and ranked 23rd, blasting Washington State, 58-37. Wildcat quarterback, Khalil Tate put up his fourth straight 100+ yard rushing game and Arizona exceeded 45 points for the fourth straight game.
Washington State coach, Mike Leach pulled Luke Falk from the game for the second time this year.
The stats for this game was as imbalanced as it gets. Arizona led in rushing yardage, 310-45. Washington State led the passing yardage, 602-275.
* USC went into Sun Devil Stadium and torched the Arizona State defense, but that wasn't the story other than the Trojans only having one turnover. With the first half winding down, Sun Devil quarterback, Manny Wilkens threw a hail mary to Kyle Williams that was ruled caught at the one yard line, ending the half. The play was reviewed and reversed to a touchdown, but both teams already were deep into the locker rooms and the band was on the field. About 15 or 20 minutes later, the extra point was finally kicked in what would be the longest extra point try anyone has ever seen.
