Top 5 Teams Pass Test To Stay Undefeated
What a Saturday of college football we had on Saturday. Two top 5 teams in the Clemson Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes faced stiff test in their quest for a invitation to the college football playoff.
We had a Heisman trophy candidate have his strongest performance to date while a rising backup turned starter continued his strong showing in a big game.
Here’s my recap of the Saturday that was in college football!
#3 Clemson Lose Lawrence; Rally Late vs Syracuse
Just as was the case last season, the Syracuse Orange had the Clemson Tigers in the ropes.
Dino Babers team, much like they did in their 27-24 upset win last season, stifled Dabo Sweeney’s Tigers with suffocating defense.
The Orange owned a 16-7 halftime lead at Memorial Stadium begins a strong first half by senior quarterback Eric Dungy.
True freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence — making his first career start — left the game in the second quarter with a possible concussion after taking a big hit along the left sidelines on a scramble. Freshman quarterback Chase Brice replaced him in the quarter.
Brice would struggle early, throwing an interception in the third quarter, but it’s what he did late that’ll be remembered.
Trailing 23-20 late and facing a 4th and 6 from their own 48, Brice would find wide receiver Tee Higgins on a 20-yard completion.
The play helped keep the drive alive, allowing star running back Travis Etienne to score the game-winning touchdown with 41 seconds left to play as Clemson rallied from 10 points down in the fourth to win 27-23.
Etienne finished the game with a career-high 207 rushing yards on 27 carries with 3 TDs, also a career-high.
The concern now shifts to true freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was diagnosed with a concussion. Losing Lawrence — who replaced Kelly Bryant as starting quarterback — could be a huge blow for a Clemson team that has difficult competition awaiting them.
Ohio State Buckeyes’ sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins answered any questions about his ability to play in a hostile environment on the road vs a conference rival.
Haskins led the Buckeyes to a triumphant 27-26 come-from-behind win at State College vs the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday.
One of college football’s highest scoring teams would face resistance throughout vs James Franklin’s ball club.
Penn State’s defense limited Haskins and the Buckeyes to seven first half points as they led 13-7 at the half.
Behind senior quarterback Trace McSorley (286 passing yards, 2 TDs and 175 rushing yards), Penn State would respond to Ohio State’s second half surge by taking a 26-14 lead with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
That is when Dwayne Haskins turned it on for Ohio State. On the ensuing possession he would find wide receiver Binjimen Victor down the field for a 47-yard touchdown to make it a 26-21 game.
Getting the ball back with 4:34 left to play, Haskins would lead a huge 8 play/96 yard drive that ended in a 24-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver K.J. Hill with 2:03 left to play where they would hold onto to win 27-26.
In a incredible show of resilience from the offense, Urban Meyer’s team passed one of the biggest challenges they’ll face this season.
It’s a win that does a lot for the psych of the entire team moving forward.
Kyler Murray Puts Up Video Game Numbers In Still Water vs Baylor
Kyler Murray didn’t set his alarm clock and didn’t start on Saturday, but that didn’t stop the freshman phenom from putting on a clinic.
The Oklahoma Sooners quarterback put together his most impressive performance to date. Murray went 17-for-21 for 432 passing yards and 7 TDs (1 rushing) in the Sooners’ 66-33 victory on Saturday.
Murray averaged 20.6 yards per completion on a day in which he didn’t play on the Sooners first offensive possession of the game. Oklahoma punted only twice with Murray at quarterback in their offensive explosion.
Up next, a date with their bitter rivals across the pond in the Texas Longhorns, who have won four straight games after dropping their first game of the season.
Ian Book Shows He’s Forreal In Demolition vs Stanford
If last week still had people skeptical about junior quarterback Ian Book, this week put all of those skeptics to bed.
Behind Ian Book’s 278 passing yards and 4 TDs, Notre Dame defeated the Stanford Cardinal 38-17 on Saturday in a impressive performance at Notre Dame Stadium.
A week after accounting for five touchdowns in a 56-27 win at Wake Forest, Book continued to impress by picking apart one of the country’s top defensive teams.
Book and the Fighting Irish found themselves in a dog fight in the first three quarters as K.J. Costello and the Cardinal trailed 24-17 after three. It would be in the fourth however, where Ian Book and the Fighting Irish would pull away.
Book would throw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with his last being a 35-yard touchdown to tight-end Alize Mack to put the game on ice with eight minutes left to play.
Notre Dame — who broke a three game losing streak to Stanford — now hold strong victories over Michigan and Stanford which will boost their place for a chance in the CFP.
They will visit Virginia Tech next week, who just last week were upset by Old Dominion in a shocking 49-35 loss.
What are your thoughts on Saturday’s action? Leave your comments below!
Comments