It was an uneventful Saturday until some late-night shenanigans.
The Ohio State vs. Michigan game was canceled and the rest of the college football lineup was mediocre at best. Missing out on The Game is quite possibly one of the worst feelings in the world, but at least the Buckeyes are set to meet Northwestern next weekend in Indy for Big Ten supremacy.
There weren't too many good ones this weekend. Fortunately, we got some excitement last night when the No. 6 Gators hosted a 3-5 LSU team that had no business even being in the game. Florida was a 23-point home favorite against the Bayou Bengals. Things got a little weird thanks to an ill-timed throwing of a shoe that ultimately led to a major SEC upset.
No. 14 Northwestern 28, Illinois 10
Thank you to Pat Fitzgerald for not damaging Ohio State's playoff resume. The Wildcats are not good on offense, but its defense continues to play at a high level. The Illini put up just 262 yards against the nation's 14th-best unit. Northwestern's ground game pounded Lovie Smith's squad for an easy home win.
The weather conditions were not good, and that led to 58 rushing attempts to just 12 passes for the Wildcats. Evan Hull and Cam Porter both had huge days on the ground. Hull ran for 149 yards and a score on just 13 carries. Porter added another 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Peyton Ramsey's limited action included a touchdown pass to go along with his 82 yards through the air.
Penn State 39, Michigan State 24
Penn State was down 21-10 at the half. The Nittany Lion wideouts then gashed the Spartans in Happy Valley. Jahan Dotson has put together a fine season as he hauled in eight passes for 108 yards. He also provided the game's biggest play on an electric 81-yard punt return touchdown. True freshman Parker Washington continued his fine play with four catches for 95 yards and two scores. Sean Clifford threw for 232 yards with the two scores. Both Clifford and Will Levis found the end zone with their legs as well.
JAHAN DOTSON 81-YARD PUNT RETURN @H55ZY#WeAre pic.twitter.com/npMlFMdpNg
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 12, 2020
Payton Thorne flashed at times in the second half against Ohio State, and he got the nod yesterday with Rocky Lombardi sidelined by an injury. Thorne connected on 22 of 39 attempts for 325 yards with three scores and a pick. Jalen Nailor led the way with six catches for 100 yards and two scores. Jayden Reed added another six for 76.
After an 0-5 start, Penn State has rallied to win three straight over Michigan, Rutgers, and Michigan State. We had the Nittany Lions at the bottom of our power rankings for a few weeks, but James Franklin has gotten things turned around in this COVID-shortened season.
No. 16 Iowa 28, Wisconsin 7
The first half consisted of six points and 13 punts. It looked like what one would expect from a December Big Ten game between the Hawkeyes and Badgers. Remember when Graham Mertz looked like the next big thing at quarterback? It's been downhill since the strong opener against Illinois, and one has to think that Paul Chryst at least considered benching the redshirt freshman on Saturday.
Spencer Petras threw for 211 yards and a pair of scores in the snowy conditions. Tyler Goodson was the game's leading rusher with 106 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Ihmir Smith-Marsette had a stellar performance with seven catches for 140 yards and two scores. He did make one poor decision when he flipped into the end zone on a 53-yard third-quarter touchdown reception. The celebration led to an injury that would cause him to miss the rest of the game.
PETRAS TO IHMIR SMITH-MARSETTE 6 FOR 6 AGAIN pic.twitter.com/maA2Z1ikHp
— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) December 12, 2020
For the Badgers, Mertz completed 20 of 38 passes for just 169 yards and an interception. He appears to have very little control of the offense and is having problems reading defenses. Nakia Watson rushed for 29 yards and scored Wisconsin's only touchdown, but the ground game also had some problems against the Hawkeyes. The Badgers ran for just 56 yards and averaged less than two per carry. Paul Chryst's crew amassed just 225 yards of total offense with a pair of turnovers.
| TEAM | W-L | RANK | PREV. |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 5-0 | 1 | 1 |
| INDIANA | 6-1 | 2 | 2 |
| NORTHWESTERN | 6-1 | 3 | 3 |
| IOWA | 6-2 | 4 | 4 |
| Minnesota | 3-3 | 5 | 9 |
| PENN STATE | 3-5 | 6 | 12 |
| WISCONSIN | 2-3 | 7 | 5 |
| MICHIGAN STATE | 2-5 | 8 | 7 |
| MICHIGAN | 2-4 | 9 | 8 |
| RUTGERS | 3-5 | 10 | 14 |
| MARYLAND | 2-3 | 11 | 6 |
| NEBRASKA | 2-5 | 12 | 10 |
| PURDUE | 2-4 | 13 | 11 |
| ILLINOIS | 2-5 | 14 | 13 |
No. 1 Alabama 52, Arkansas 3
This was an unsurprising blowout, but we'll touch on it since Alabama is a potential playoff foe. The recent storylines have been the Tide's defensive turnaround and the spectacular passing game, but Mac Jones actually didn't toss a single touchdown pass in this one. Bama's ground game rushed for 216 yards and six touchdowns. Najee Harris accounted for two of the scores while Brian Robinson Jr. added three of his own. DeVonta Smith caught just three passes for 22 yards but added an 84-yard punt return touchdown.
Arkansas has a middle-of-the-road offense that ranks No. 51 nationally, and it was held to a measly 188 yards against the Tide. Nick Saban is getting things into gear after the defense was gashed a bit early on. That's certainly a good sign for Tide fans heading into a matchup with Florida and a likely playoff berth.
No. 9 Georgia 49, No. 25 Missouri 14
Georgia continues to look like a different team under JT Daniels. The USC transfer completed 16 of 27 passes for 299 yards and three scores in Columbia. George Pickens caught five passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Zamir White had a fine showing with 126 yards and a score on just 12 carries. This one was tied at 14 in the second quarter before Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs pulled away.
The Tigers used an early punt block to keep things close in the first half, but the offense struggled mightily with just 200 yards on the day. Three different quarterbacks combined to go just 20 of 32 for just 178 yards and an interception. Despite a pair of scores, the ground game was completely shut down with just 22 yards on 22 carries.
No. 17 North Carolina 62, No. 10 Miami 26
This was an absolute massacre in Miami. I don't think I've ever seen an offensive line open up running lanes like UNC's was doing against the Canes. Tarheel tailbacks Michael Carter and Javonte Williams completely obliterated the Miami defense. Carter ended the evening with 24 carries for 308 yards and two scores. Williams went for 236 and three scores on 23 attempts. All in all, UNC ran for 554 yards and six touchdowns while averaging over 10 yards per carry. Oh, and Sam Howell also threw for another 223 yards with a score.
At least Brevin Jordan is still good for Miami even though quarterback D'Eriq King wasn't at his best. Jordan hauled in six for 140 yards and a touchdown. King completed 18 of 30 attempts for 239 yards with two scores and an interception. UNC's 778 yards of offense is the most the program has ever given up to an opponent. Miami's hopes for a New Year's Six Bowl Game are now gone.
LSU 37, No. 6 Florida 34
I thank the heavens for this fog-ridden fiasco of a game. After a fairly boring day of college football, Ed Orgeron and the Tigers gave us something to be excited about. LSU was without All-American cornerback Derrick Stingley and actually had to play two true freshmen due to injuries and a targeting ejection. A young and inexperienced secondary was going up against Kyle Trask and the country's top-ranked passing offense, and yet everything somehow turned out okay.
I can't say I've ever seen a defensive player throw someone's shoe, and I certainly haven't seen a game decided by such action. With less than two minutes left and the score tied at 34, LSU failed to convert a third-down attempt and was going to be punting the ball away. However, Florida cornerback Marco Wilson inexplicably tossed a Tiger player’s shoe which resulted in a penalty that kept the ball with LSU. Cade York then went on to nail what would prove to be the game-winning 57-yard field goal. Wild.
Turns out you can't throw an opponents shoe 40 yardspic.twitter.com/ROM9VvtQD6
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) December 13, 2020
True freshman Max Johnson made his first career start for LSU on Saturday. Johnson was superb in his debut completing 21 of 36 passes for 239 yards and three scores. He added another 52 yards rushing on 18 attempts. Kayshon Boutte was the Tigers' leading receiver with six catches for 108 yards and a score. This past week, there had been some rumblings of five-star freshman corner Elias Ricks potentially entering the portal. The former Buckeye target returned a Kyle Trask pass 68 yards for a score in the second quarter. York nailed all three of his attempts, including the record-setting game-winner.
He put up some big numbers, but this game may have killed Kyle Trask's Heisman hopes. Trask turned the ball over three times while throwing for 474 yards and two scores. He added another pair of rushing touchdowns. Kadarius Toney caught nine passes for 182 yards and a score. Jacob Copeland added five for 123 and a score of his own. The Gators rushed for 135 and the two Trask scores, but it still feels like Dan Mullen is hesitant to run the ball at times when he really should be. Kicker Evan McPherson had a chance to tie things up as time expired, but his 51-yard attempt sailed wide left.
There had been all kinds of talk about Florida potentially beating Alabama and the SEC getting two teams into the playoffs. That's obviously not going to happen thanks to last night's wacky events. And to no one's surprise, Mullen is already crying about Ohio State playing fewer games than the other contenders. Wahhhhhh.
Minnesota went to Lincoln and came away with a 24-17 win over Nebraska. Mohamed Ibrahim rushed for 108 yards and two scores for the Gophs. Greg Schiano and the Knights kicked a field goal in overtime to beat Maryland in College Park. Terrapin quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was out with an illness while Rutgers lost Noah Vedral to a concussion. Bo Melton scored two touchdowns to help lead the Scarlet Knight offense.
The annual Army-Navy Game also went down this weekend. I love the pageantry and tradition, but the schematics aren't exactly my cup of tea. There were eight pass attempts which are honestly more than I would have predicted. Army was victorious by a score of 15-0. The Knights have won four of the last five matchups.
Things didn't go so well for Arizona on Friday night, and we're mostly bringing this one up because it led to Kevin Sumlin getting fired. Arizona State scored on the opening kick return and had a 14-0 lead less than a minute into the game. Herm Edwards and the Sun Devils went to Tucson and annihilated the Wildcats by a score of 70-7. Less than 24 hours later, it was announced that Sumlin's time was up.
USC and UCLA engaged in a good one last night. You gotta love the home vs. home uniforms on display, and the No. 15 Trojans came away with a 43-38 win over the Bruins. UCLA took the lead with less than a minute to play before letting its rival drive down the field for the win. A 56-yard Gary Bryant Jr. kick return helped to set the Trojans up. Kedon Slovis threw for 344 yards with five scores to lead USC to the win.
- Week's Best: UNC/Bama/Northwestern ground games, Iowa's defense, Mack Brown, Herm Edwards, Ed Orgeron
- Week's Worst: Kevin Sumlin, Graham Mertz, Manny Diaz, Marco Wilson, untimely celebrations
- Week's Wildest: #MACTION
CHAOS
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 12, 2020
Both teams ran onto the field before the play was ruled dead as Western Michigan attempted a last second TD.
Ball State went on to win the game and division title after the Broncos were penalized for an illegal forward pass. pic.twitter.com/yzjVTBgJ5b
Championship week is upon us, folks, and it should be fun and good. Ohio State and Northwestern will square off in Indy next Saturday at noon. Iowa State will look to take down Oklahoma once again for the Big 12 crown. The Notre Dame/Clemson rematch is set for 4 p.m. And though it's lost some of its luster, Alabama and Florida will do battle in Atlanta on Saturday night.
Unlike in a typical year, there will be plenty more games going down due to COVID-19 postponements and that sort of thing, so it's set to be a busy weekend with the final playoff rankings being unveiled on Sunday at noon.
