College football thoughts and musings from afternoon games October 11

Did you miss anything from the Saturday afternoon games? I’ve got you covered!

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If you missed anything from the noon games, I’ve got you covered there too!

How in the world did Purdue put up 31 points on that Michigan State defense? I know the Boilermakers have been much better this year, but they still lost to a MAC team. A team that loses to a MAC team should NOT be able to score almost at will against what is perceived to be the best defense in the Big 10(14).

Notre Dame gave up a shocking 43 points to North Carolina on Saturday. I know that UNC has a good offense, but this is a bit ridiculous. This is the most points ever given up by Notre Dame in a win. They have been playing football since the late ’80’s. 1880’s!

Speaking of no defense, TCU and Baylor combined for 118 points. That is the most in college football history in a meeting between top ten teams. How bad was TCU’s defense? Bryce Petty had a career high 510 yards passing, and every one of his six touchdowns covered at least 25 yards. Surprisingly enough, this was the first meeting between these teams where both have been ranked. Each team scored double digit points in every quarter! TCU looked to have the game in hand. They had Baylor down 21 with 11 and a half minutes left. The Bears scored 24 unanswered, including the game winning field goal with four seconds left. The Bears certainly look like the class of the Big 12(10) now, but their defense is still has all the reliability of a Powerball ticket. The comeback tied the largest in Baylor history. And the 61 points given up by the Horned Frogs were the most given up by TCU since September of 2004 when Texas Tech lit them up for 70.

Clemson survived an injury to DeShaun Watson in the first quarter, and still won the game against a stout Louisville defense. The Cardinals had Will Gardner back, but he was still held in check by a Clemson defense that seems to be getting better as the year goes on. Cole Stoudt is not the playmaker that Watson is, but he is a capable QB if Watson misses time.

Mississippi State put the first 21 points on the board, and Auburn never recovered. Turnovers were the story of the game for Auburn. Two in the first quarter led to touchdown drives for the Bulldogs. The Bulldog D forced four turnovers in all. You simply can’t win on the road when you do that. Dak Prescott had an okay day (18-34, 246 yards, TD, 2 INT) through the air, but he really made a difference on the ground where he ran for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

That was a statement game for Oregon. With all of the chaos of last weekend, the Ducks are still not out of this. Beating the tar out of UCLA will go a long way toward putting them in the playoff. Don’t be fooled by the scoreboard. The Bruins scored 20 garbage points in the fourth quarter to make the score somewhat respectable, but they were never in the game. This was three quarters of total domination by the Ducks.

For as big of a mess as Kansas has been on offense, their defense has been pretty solid. They have just been put in some bad situations by the offense.

Well, Cal. It was fun while it lasted. On the bright side, Washington quarterback Cyler Miles only threw for 273 yards. That’s a big improvement for the Cal pass defense…..

Arkansas impressed the hell out of me against Alabama, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Hogs defense allowed just 66 yards rushing, most of those in the fourth quarter. The Tide’s normally solid rush game was held to just 2.6 yards per carry. Arkansas made the Tide go three and out seven times in the game, which is the most they have done so in the Nick Saban regime. A blocked extra point in the second quarter ended up being the difference in this game. On the Alabama side, I was impressed with Blake Sims. We all know he is talented, but in this game, he became the leader. You could see it on the field and on the sidelines. That is not a good sign for upcoming foes of the Tide.

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