Not too much shook up the top of college football, but a few potential College Football Playoff contenders made their splash in Week 6. Here’s the best of Saturday’s slate.
UCLA is back, baby
I had no faith the Bruins would beat then-No. 15 Washington. I was wrong.
I had my doubts about UCLA taking down then-No. 11 Utah. I was wrong.
The Bruins are 6-0 and looking good. UCLA took down the Utes 42-32. Senior running back Zach Charbonnet bulldozed Utah on the ground with 198 rushing yards and a touchdown. Redshirt senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for four touchdowns, passing Bruin legend Brett Hundley for the most touchdowns in UCLA history.
Against Washington September 30, Thompson-Robinson was equally as impressive. Thompson-Robinson obliterated the Husky defense with 315 passing yards, three total touchdowns and 53 rushing yards.
He even made two Husky defenders ram into each other and hurdled another.
Phenomenal stuff.
UCLA’s offense is scary good. Thompson-Robinson should be square at the top of the Heisman race for how he’s playing this season. If he isn’t in the mix, I have my doubts about whether the voters are actually watching the games.
And if UCLA wins its next game against No. 12 Oregon, the Bruins have a clear path to the Pac-12 title game regardless of whether they beat USC. Things are really looking up in Westwood.
There’s something brewing in Champaign, Ill.
The Fighting Illini are unranked no longer.
For the first time since 2011, Illinois checked into the AP poll. After the Illini’s 9-6 victory over Iowa, 5-1 Illinois is now the No. 24 team in the country.
You heard that right. Illinois won 9-6. You might be wondering how an offense-less game like that would result in either team entering the rankings. Well, the win was more impressive than you’d think.
Senior quarterback Tommy DeVito went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter of the game. DeVito had been torching up defenses this season, but his replacement, junior quarterback Artur Sitkowski, threw a red-zone interception and, save for one 34-yard completion, averaged just over three yards per completion.
Somehow Illinois won with that performance, and the reason was one man.
Chase Brown.
The junior running back rushed for 146 yards, and the team posted 200 rushing yards in total. Iowa had allowed an average of 82.8 rushing yards per game through the Hawkeyes’ first five games.
Brown has crossed the 100-yard mark in each of the team’s first six games.
The win was impressive. The team was impressive. And, hey, let the Illini faithful celebrate after their first win over Iowa since 2008. They deserve it.
With only one ranked team left on its schedule and DeVito’s injury being described by head coach Bret Bielema as not season-ending, Illinois and its fans might have a whole lot more to celebrate this season.
Oklahoma is, in fact, not better off without Lincoln Riley
The Sooner fans wanted everyone to know it. And it’s just blatantly not true.
Oklahoma is not better off without Lincoln Riley. Full stop.
Texas blew the brakes off the Sooners in a 49-0 beatdown Saturday. The Longhorns produced 585 yards of offense.
And the Sooners? They managed just 195 total yards, including only 39 passing yards.
Oklahoma is now 3-3 and the man who left Norman for the sunny beaches of Southern California is 6-0 at USC. The Trojans won 30-14 against Washington State Saturday.
There should be no debate for who got the better end of Riley’s move, and it might be time for the Sooner fans to admit that he really is as good as advertised.
Rocky Top is back on top … at least for now
Tennessee hasn’t had a 10-win season since 2007.
That streak of mediocrity and despair could come to a close this season.
The Vols have already beat Florida — only the second time in the last 18 meetings — and took down LSU and Pitt. Redshirt senior quarterback Hendon Hooker has been the catalyst for the team’s ferocious start, averaging 286.4 passing yards and nearly three total touchdowns per game.
Against then-No. 25 LSU Saturday, Tennessee put up 263 yards on the ground and 502 total yards of offense. And that’s against a defense that was only allowing 293.4 yards per game heading into the matchup. The Vols have no issue moving the football. None.
The issues for Tennessee are its defense and its upcoming opponents. The Vols face No. 3 Alabama this weekend and travel to Athens to take on No. 1 Georgia at the start of November. Tennessee’s pass defense has allowed an average of 307.4 yards per game and gave up 269 passing yards to Ball State. That’s not going to bode well come Saturday when the Vols take on Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, if he’s healthy.
Tennessee has a clear weakness, but for now, the Vols are up there with the best of college football.
“College Football Roundup” runs every Monday.