God bless the hero who created that fan cutout.
This weekend's lineup wasn't all that impressive, and that was before COVID-19 forced 15 games to be either canceled or postponed. Several of the national powers were nowhere to be found. Ohio State versus Maryland had the potential to be an offensive explosion, Alabama was scheduled to face LSU in Baton Rouge, and Clemson got to enjoy an off week.
The biggest stories of the week were several quarterback changes in the Big Ten, Luke Fickell's continued success, and Penn State failing to get its first win. How are things for our friends up north? Jim Harbaugh remains under fire as Michigan's season really couldn't be going much worse.
No. 13 Wisconsin 49, Michigan 11
After the first quarter, Wisconsin had 129 yards of offense and had scored two touchdowns. Michigan had one yard (1) and had already tossed two interceptions on its three first quarter possessions. The Wolverine program is an absolute disaster right now, and last night's bludgeoning took place with several of its top recruits in town.
Wisconsin's ground attack did whatever it wanted against Michigan's defense. End arounds, fullback dives, and just about anything else you can think of were included in the mauling. Paul Chryst's crew ran for 341 yards and five touchdowns while averaging nearly seven yards per attempt. True freshman Jalen Berger made his debut and rushed for 87 yards and a score. Nakia Watson added 65 yards and two touchdowns while wide receiver Danny Davis outrushed the entire Wolverine team all by his lonesome. The Ohioan ran for 65 yards and a score on seven carries. Graham Mertz didn't need to do a whole lot as he threw for 127 yards with two touchdowns in his return.
Among the Wisconsin players with more rushing yards than Michigan's team (47 yards):
— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) November 15, 2020
-No. 2 RB
-No. 4 RB making collegiate debut
-A WR
-A FB
Joe Milton completed just nine of his 19 attempts for 98 yards and two interceptions. His second pick was legitimately one of the worst passes I've ever seen a college quarterback throw. It brought with it the above camera shot of the surrender cobra Michigan fan cutout in the stands. I give major props to the genius who got that thing into the Big House.
Milton was benched in the third quarter and Cade McNamara provided a small spark on his first drive. The redshirt freshman completed all three attempts including a 23-yard scoring strike to Mike Sainristil. But that was just about it for the Michigan offense. The ground game totaled just 47 yards on 19 carries in the embarrassing loss.
The 28-0 halftime deficit was the worst in Michigan Stadium history and the 38-point defeat was the largest home loss since 1935. Jim Harbaugh is now 1-3 which is the program's worst four-game start to a season since 1967.
No. 10 Indiana 24, Michigan State 0
Remember when Michigan State's passing attack completely obliterated the Wolverines? That one's still gotta sting the folks in Ann Arbor. Rocky Lombardi threw two interceptions on just seven attempts before being replaced by redshirt freshman Payton Thorne. Thorne was also picked off as a part of a four-turnover performance in East Lansing. The Spartan offense managed just 191 yards on the day.
Michael Penix Jr. actually made some mistakes yesterday, but it really doesn't matter when the opposing offense can't capitalize. Penix completed 25 of 38 pass attempts for 320 yards with two touchdowns. He was also picked off twice or else the final score likely would have been worse. Ty Fryfogle had himself a day with 11 receptions for 200 yards and two scores. Stevie Scott III led the way on the ground with 84 and a touchdown.
No. 23 Northwestern 27, Purdue 20
Last week we had Purdue at No. 4 and Northwestern at No. 5 in our power rankings. These are the two teams who may be able to challenge Wisconsin in the West, and I've had some difficulty getting a real feel for them. But the Wildcats taking down the Boilermakers in West Lafayette helps to clear things up a bit.
This was a bit of a weird one as neither team managed to put up 300 yards of total offense and both ground games were held in check. Wildcat quarterback Peyton Ramsey threw for 212 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman had 112 yards and no touchdowns through the first three games. He caught eight passes for 86 yards and three touchdowns against Purdue.
There were some rumblings that Rondale Moore could see the field this weekend, but those rumors turned out to be false as he's yet to make his debut. Aidan O'Connell completed 28 of 51 passes for 263 yards and two scores. Zander Horvath was the game's leading receiver with nine catches for 100 yards. David Bell caught nine for 78 yards while Milton Wright and Garrett Miller also added touchdown grabs.
Iowa 35, Minnesota 7
P.J. Fleck and the Gophers got embarrassed on their home field Friday evening. The Hawkeyes were pitching a shutout all the way up until late in the fourth quarter when Minnesota got on the board with 14 seconds left to play. Fleck used a late timeout to avoid putting up a goose egg. Ferentz then responded by using all of his own timeouts in a blowout win that was taking place in 15-degree weather. #gamesmanship
It was the Hawkeyes sixth-straight win in the rivalry as the Floyd of Rosedale trophy remains with Ferentz and Co. Iowa has now won two in a row after falling to Purdue and Northwestern to open the season.
"We figured we'd take Floyd with us and leave the timeouts here.," -- Kirk Ferentz
— Mike Hlas (@Hlas) November 14, 2020
The ground game led the way for Iowa's offense as Hawkeye rushers tallied 235 yards, four touchdowns, and averaged just about seven per carry. Tyler Goodson was the star of the show with 142 yards and two scores on 20 carries. Spencer Petras didn't need to do a whole lot through the air. The redshirt sophomore completed nine of his 18 attempts for 111 yards with a touchdown and a pick.
Over the summer, I wrote about how the Buckeyes could finally face more of an aerial attack in Indianapolis. I thought it was a fair take to think Tanner Morgan, Rashod Bateman, and the Gophers could capture the West Division. Whoops. Minnesota is now 1-3 and it's looking like the 2019 surge was anything but a sign of what's to come. Morgan was picked off twice in this one, but Bateman had a solid showing with eight catches for 111 yards and a score. Mohamed Ibrahim added 144 yards on 33 carries.
| TEAM | W-L | RANK | PREV. |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 3-0 | 1 | 1 |
| INDIANA | 4-0 | 2 | 2 |
| WISCONSIN | 2-0 | 3 | 3 |
| NORTHWESTERN | 4-0 | 4 | 5 |
| PURDUE | 2-1 | 5 | 4 |
| MARYLAND | 2-1 | 6 | 6 |
| IOWA | 2-2 | 7 | 7 |
| MICHIGAN STATE | 1-3 | 8 | 8 |
| MICHIGAN | 1-3 | 9 | 9 |
| NEBRASKA | 1-2 | 10 | 12 |
| MINNESOTA | 1-3 | 11 | 10 |
| PENN STATE | 0-4 | 12 | 11 |
| ILLINOIS | 1-3 | 13 | 14 |
| RUTGERS | 1-3 | 14 | 13 |
Nebraska 30, Penn State 23
I think this game brought two very big developments for the Huskers and Nittany Lions: the start of the Luke McCaffrey Era and the end of Sean Clifford's. McCaffrey made his first start for Nebraska after Adrian Martinez failed to get much going in the first two games. The redshirt freshman did enough to get the win even though he was far from spectacular. Clifford, on the other hand, was benched after a pair of early turnovers.
McCaffrey connected on 13 of 21 attempts for 152 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He added another 67 and a score with his legs. Wan'Dale Robinson pitched in with 60 yards on the ground, but it was big plays from the Husker defense that really made the difference. Cam Taylor-Britt intercepted a pass and returned it 55 yards to set up a field goal. The biggest moment came when safety Deontai Williams sacked Sean Clifford, scooped it up, and dashed 26 yards for a score to give Nebraska an early 24-3 lead.
Clifford turned the ball over eight times in 12 games a season ago. Yesterday's pair of miscues brought his 2020 total up to eight already through four games. Will Levis took over in the second quarter and nearly managed to tie things up late in the fourth. He threw for 219 yards and added another 61 on the ground. Devyn Ford and true freshman Keyvone Lee both scored rushing touchdowns as the PSU ground game finally put up some numbers with 245 yards and the two scores.
No. 7 Cincinnati 55, East Carolina 17
I spent a lot of time listening to college football radio this week, and there was plenty of discussion as to whether or not the Bearcats are a legitimate playoff contender. I'm not sure what the answer to that is (though I'm leaning toward no), but Friday night's win brought Luke Fickell to 7-0 on the season.
Desmond Ridder is still playing great even though most of the country hasn't taken notice. He hit on 24 of 31 attempts for 327 yards with three scores and no interceptions. He added another 75 and a touchdown with his legs. Marcus Freeman's defense is ranked No. 10 in the country and had another fine showing against the Pirates. The Bearcats held ECU under 300 yards and forced four turnovers.
Remember when Ryan Day apologized for not taking a knee against Nebraska? Fickell found himself in a similar situation after he ran a fake punt while up 42-10 in the fourth quarter. My opinion? I don't think the apology was necessary at all. If I'm the Bearcats, I'm doing everything in my power to put up as many style points as possible.
Luke Fickell: Quick apology to coach Houston. 42-10 and we had a fake punt. It wasnt exactly something we planned or called. But would not want to do it in that situation. It is what it is, but you cant take it back."
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) November 14, 2020
No. 2 Notre Dame 45, Boston College 31
Things were looking alright early on for Jeff Hafley. The Eagles were up 13-10 early in the second quarter when they appeared to recover an onside kick. Isaiah Pryor touched the ball before it went 10 yards, but an illegal block against Boston College ultimately took the recovery off the board and forced a re-kick. That's when the Irish started to pull away en route to a 45-31 win in Chestnut Hill.
I've oftentimes been critical of Ian Book, but he's been pretty dang good over his last two games. Book completed 20 of 27 pass attempts for 283 yards and three touchdowns while adding another 85 and a score on the ground. Ben Skowronek was his top target with five receptions for 63 yards and three scores. Tailback C'Bo Flemister added 53 yards and a pair of rushing scores.
Eagles' quarterback Phil Jurkovec had the chance to get some revenge against his former team. The Irish transfer struggled as he completed just 18 of 40 attempts for 272 yards with two scores and an interception. Jaelen Gill was the game's leading receiver with 105 yards on five receptions. Zay Flowers hauled in his seventh touchdown catch of the season.
We've got a few other quick notes from around the country. North Carolina scored 28 fourth-quarter points to beat Wake Forest 59-53. The ACC foes combined for 1,348 yards of total offense in the shootout. Sam Howell threw for 550 yards and scored seven touchdowns in what was probably Saturday's top performance. Mack Brown is now 6-2 on the season. The Deamon Deacons are sitting at 4-3.
Kyle Trask and the Gators didn't have too much of a problem with Arkansas. Florida topped the Razorbacks by a score of 63-35. Trask was pretty much perfect completing 23 of 29 passes for 356 yards and six touchdowns. Trevon Grimes was the leading pass-catcher with six receptions for 109 yards and two scores. Tight end Kyle Pitts was unavailable due to the concussion he suffered against Georgia.
No. 11 Oregon moved to 2-0 with a 43-29 road win over Washington State. Tyler Shough tossed four touchdown passes and C.J. Verdell ran for 118 yards and a touchdown. USC had to come from behind yet again this week. The Trojans found themselves down 30-27 with just over a minute left to play against Arizona. Kedon Slovis led them down the field before Vavae Malepeai scored the game-winner from eight yards out. The 34-30 road win brought the Trojans to 2-0 on the season.
- Week's Best: Ty Fryfogle, Ian Book, Sam Howell, Paul Chryst, Lane Kiffin calling his shot once again
- Week's Worst: Sean Clifford, P.J. Fleck, Sparty's offense, Joe Milton, Everyone on Michigan's coaching staff
- Week's Warmest: The SEC Network did a fine job telling the story of what Chris Oats has been going through and what his team has done to honor him. The Cincinnati (Winton Woods) linebacker spent two seasons playing for Kentucky before suffering an undisclosed medical emergency this past spring. Best wishes go out to him as he continues on the road to recovery.
A number represents so much more than just the player wearing it.
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 14, 2020
For @UKFootball, No. 22 represents brotherhood. #SECNation pic.twitter.com/gPlA0ySgbc
As for the conference power rankings, there weren't any real drastic changes this week. You won't get much of an argument from me if you've got Wisconsin ahead of Indiana in your personal rankings, but I've still got the Hoosiers at No. 2. I was tempted to slot the Huskers ahead of both the Wolverines and Spartans, but I'm not quite ready to take the plunge. Rutgers is back on the bottom after losing to Illinois.
Next week's schedule is looking pretty solid with the top-10 matchup set to go down in Columbus. Northwestern will host Wisconsin in a clash for West Division supremacy. Cincinnati heads to Orlando to take on UCF, and the Sooners and Cowboys will battle it out in the Bedlam rivalry.
