Bruins Bounced: Memphis Tigers Stun UCLA in thriller
Last week provided us with some exciting games, including some overtime contests and upsets. While the season is plenty new, we are learning a lot about some teams (or at least we think we are).
RELATED ARTICLES: G5 TOP 4, CFP TEAMS, GOPHER UPDATE, W4 PREVIEW
FINAL THOUGHTS FROM WEEK 3
San Diego State is a team you want to avoid. The Aztecs are now 2-0 on the season against the Pac 12 after beating #19 Stanford this weekend. Head coach Rocky Long has his team playing at a high level right out of the gates, and their star running back is the reason. No, it's not Donnel Pumphrey, it's Rashaad Penny. Penny has been a workhorse for the offense, and leads the nation in rushing. Pile that on top of another stout defense, and Long's team is proving why they're the best Group of 5 team in the nation. If only the rankings reflected that.
Rankings are flawed. It's amazing what hype does to the AP Poll. USF was "supposed" to be the best Group of 5 team in the nation thanks to the hype surrounding quarterback Quinton Flowers' return. The Bulls have started slow in every game this season, but have still managed to stay undefeated. That doesn't mean they still belong in the Top 25, and certainly not higher than San Diego State. In the end, it probably won't matter because the Group of 5 just gets overlooked anyways (which is wrong, by the way). You can also argue that the Aztecs resume is better than multiple Top 25 teams, but that won't matter to purists. Heaven forbid we let the underdog get some glory for once.
Gameday's announcement to New York City is great, but they also need to acknowledge more of the Group of 5 schools too. Many fans were upset that ESPN's College Gameday decided to host its show in New York City this coming weekend, but that shouldn't be an issue. College football fans are everywhere and, while the atmosphere might be different, its still New York! That being said, changing up the locations more would be an idea to consider. Let's be honest, are less people going to watch the show because they chose to go to, for, example, Houston this week for the Cougars game against Texas Tech? No! People will watch the show regardless of where it is. Gameday makes a good point to keep the content of the show focused on college football as a whole while also featuring stories relevant to the site. I understand the appeal of going to a campus like Clemson, Ohio State, and Alabama, but there's plenty of tradition elsewhere too. Going to Western Michigan was great, as was featuring a few FCS schools in the past. Making that more consistent would be better.
Coaches are feeling the heat already, and it's the usual suspects. Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin, Tennessee's Butch Jones, and UCLA's Jim Mora all are feeling the heat after their starts to the season. Sumlin lost to Mora in Week 1, and Jones and Mora lost this past week to Florida (on a Hail Mary) and Memphis, respectively.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Nic Shimonek, QB, Texas Tech- Patrick who? Shimonek is helping Red Raider fans forget about Patrick Mahomes so far. But, like the defense that supported (if you want to call it that) Mahomes, Simonek is experiencing that same support. If he can throw for 543 yards and six touchdowns every week, his team has a chance. Sound familiar?
Dante Pettis, WR, Washington- Pettis tied the all-time record for punt return touchdowns in a career with eight after returning a punt this weekend against Fresno State. His latest touchdown tied him with Wes Welker and Antonio Perkins, and gave the senior a touchdown in three straight games to start the season.
Tyler Hopkins, K, Texas Lutheran- Wait a kicker? Yes, a kicker is player of the week. You'll see why below.
GAMES OF THE WEEK
Boom. Called it. I've been preaching about this game for so long, and the Tigers made me look good. Defense was non-existent for the first three quarters, but Memphis stood strong when it mattered most. UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen threw a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, but the Bruins didn't score again as Memphis held on for the upset.
Rosen went back-and-forth all day with Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson, who combing with Anthony Miller to give the nation quite a show. UCLA had shown signs of weakness before this week, but it was more in their ability to stop the run. Memphis did take advantage of that, but they exposed the secondary even more. Ferguson found Miller numerous times in the game, and the Bruins couldn't find an answer defensively. The Tigers add yet another Power 5 win to the AAC's resume, and should be considered the front-runner for now.
Tulsa's defense was going to be the cause for concern, but I didn't think it would be this alarming. With a 28-7 lead, it appeared that the Golden Hurricane was well in control, but the defense faltered once again. Toledo could not be stopped and, while their defense wasn't much better, they found a way to win the game.
Rockets quarterback Logan Woodside shook off an early interception, and his first of many outstanding passing games. Finishing with 458 yards and six touchdown passes, Woodside dismantled Tulsa's defense with ease. His favorite target, Cody Thompson finished with nine catches for 178 yards and three scores. Toledo moved to 3-0 on the season, and their offense should garner more attention after this week.
For Tulsa, it's back to the drawing board. Their defense actually increased their average for total yards per game, and that has become an alarming stat for head coach Philip Montgomery. His squad needs to turn things around quickly, especially in a conference that has multiple high-powered offenses. His offense also has become fairly one dimensional, but at least the run game hasn't slowed down because of that.
Louisville's quarterback Lamar Jackson is going through a similar experience as Johnny Manziel did the year after winning the Heisman. He's finding that teams are trying to force anyone else to beat them. They know that they can't let Jackson get any momentum, and swarm him whenever he has the ball. Clemson found a way to do that, and did enough to win.
Jackson still produced 381 yards and three touchdowns, but never seemed to be a threat until the game was out of reach. It remains to be seen if the Cardinals can help him out and win these big games, and Jackson can't keep doing everything himself. If this continues, he might sit out like Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette did last year.
Meanwhile, Clemson dominated this game. Kelly Bryant is already on his way to helping Clemson fans forget about Deshaun Watson. The defense also put on another show, and vaulted the Tigers back up to the #2 spot. Dabo Swinney might just have his team "reloaded" like Alabama does every year, and that's a scary thought.
Everything is bigger in Texas, including their letdowns. The Longhorns had the game in their favor, but small lapses in their focus eventually lost them the game. With the game in double overtime, Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger was trying to score on a designer quarterback run, but the ball would eventually be ripped from his hands and the Trojans would recover. USC then kicked a field goal on the next possession to win the game.
Texas is trying so hard to be "back" but it seems that their mental mistakes cost them those opportunities. Head coach Tom Herman's seat isn't hot, so I won't suggest that, but I guarantee boosters don't like a 1-2 start either. Especially after Herman demanded more support for the program in the offseason. All of this drama will be water under the bridge if Texas can win, but for now it remains drama.
USC is building up an already impressive resume. This was another close win, but the Trojans had to play a motivated Texas team. There hasn't been a ton of cause for concern after the Western Michigan game, but little things will still need to be cleaned up. Longhorns receiver Collin Johnson had a field day against the Trojans defensive backs, and the only incompletions his way were due to Ehlinger under or overthrowing him.
