Felipe Londoño fills in for TOT editor Sullivan Maley this week, who is in Tallahassee covering No. 5 Florida State vs. Virginia Tech for RedCupNews.
It may be Week 6 already, but the feeling does not get old. It’s finally that time again, folks. Turn away from your midterm studying, work responsibilities, or whatever is occupying your mind, and let the fact that college football is back tomorrow wash over you. That’s right – for the sixth time this season, it’s Saturday eve.
This week’s slate is a juicy one with multiple ranked matchups and the first major blue-blood rivalry game of the season but first, let’s recap last week’s games.
If there was ever a game where you should have not taken a bathroom break, No. 23 LSU at No. 16 Ole Miss last week was most certainly it, with the Rebels outlasting the Tigers 55-49 in a legendary shootout. My word, what an offensive showing. Both teams combined for 1,343 yards of offense (yes, you read that number right), with quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Jayden Daniels putting on a clinic of how to play the position. Ole Miss rallied back from being two scores down in the fourth quarter, with Dart leading an 88-yard drive capped off by a pass from the former Trojan to wide receiver Tre Harris with 39 seconds left in regulation. What a game, and what a time for Lane Kiffin’s signature win as Ole Miss head coach after the previous week’s defeat in Tuscaloosa. For LSU, they are now definitely one of the biggest disappointments of the season, dropping to 3-2.
The duel between No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 19 Duke in Durham was certainly another game-of-the-week contender, ending with a memorable Fighting Irish game-winning drive which saw running back Audric Estime wiggle around the Blue Devils defensive line to find the winning score in a 21-14 affair, a fitting way to end a high-rushing attempt contest which saw both teams combine for 348 yards on the ground. Through seven weeks of play (the Irish played Week 0) Notre Dame has cemented itself as one of the toughest football teams in the nation, now 5-1 and a 4th & 1 stop versus Ohio State away from being a top-five team. The game doesn’t change much for Duke — if anything, it just instills more confidence in what head coach Mike Elko is building. Duke isn’t only a basketball school anymore!
There was more notable action around the country – our Trojans partook in another shootout versus Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffaloes which saw Caleb Williams reassert himself as the Heisman front-runner. No. 1 Georgia showed why the program is on its way to Alabama-like status after stealing yet another win at Auburn. No. 24 Fresno State continued their reign as the Group of 5 team to beat with a comfortable win over Nevada. Oh, and if you haven’t seen that 4th & 20 conversion in the Baylor - UCF game, you’re missing out.
Enough about last week, though, let’s get into this week’s slate of games. Happy Saturday eve.
GAME OF THE WEEK — No. 3 Texas (5-0) vs. No. 12 Oklahoma (5-0)
Dallas, Texas 9:00 a.m. PDT on ABC
Few games are more iconic in college football than the Red River Showdown, and the final Big 12 iteration looks to bring another special chapter to the rivalry’s storied history. With previous OU dominance under former head coach Lincoln Riley – for the Trojans reading, our now-head coach won five out of six Red River matchups during his tenure – and Texas’ absolute domination last October to hand Oklahoma its worst shutout loss ever, the upcoming matchup now finds both teams at a crossroads. Will Texas cement itself as the bonafide best team in the nation with a victory, or will Oklahoma finally reintroduce itself as a college football power? Let’s dive into this exciting matchup and dissect a potential game-of-the-year contender.
Improving from 5-7 to 8-5 last season, and now ranked No. 3 in the AP poll after a 5-0 start, 2023 looks to be the culmination of Texas’ ascent back to the peak of college football under head coach Steve Sarkisian. Texas started the season with a comfortable 37-10 victory over Rice, and followed it with the signature win of Sarkisian’s tenure, defeating Nick Saban’s Alabama 34-24 on the back of a strong performance by quarterback Quinn Ewers – the junior passer threw for 349 yards and 3 TDs, finishing what he started against the Crimson Tide after impressing in but exiting last year’s game early with a shoulder injury. Since then, the Longhorns have continued their dominant march, dispatching Wyoming, Baylor and Kansas with wins of three scores or greater.
Texas’ success has truly been a team effort. Through five weeks, the team ranks 17th among FBS schools in yards per game on offense and yards allowed per game on defense, yet the team has relied strongly on sophomore running back Jonathon Brooks and fifth-year defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat. Brooks is spearheading a mighty rushing attack in Austin, now ranking third among all FBS players in rushing yards (597) after a dominant 218-yard game against Kansas which earned him Big 12 Player of the Week honors. He serves as the workhorse back in the Longhorn offense, ranking 17th in rush attempts in the nation, and helps the team obtain success through the ground while setting up the play-action game. On the defensive side of the ball, T’Vondre Sweat has emerged as one of the best defensive tackles in college football, racking up 15 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, one sack and three quarterback hurries. But his impact goes way beyond the stat sheet. Sweat is a lynchpin of Texas’ defense, as he excels at clogging up rush lanes and collapsing the pocket in pass rush, helping Longhorn linebackers play free and fast.
On the opposing sideline is an Oklahoma team that is on the rise after going 6-7 in Brent Venables’ first year last season. The Sooners are now 5-0 and playing some of the most impressive complementary football in the country. Oklahoma began its season with three multiple-score wins against Arkansas State, Southern Methodist and Tulsa before grinding out a 20-6 win against Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati and handling Iowa State 50-20 in Week 5. The Sooners have been a well-rounded football team, ranking top-five in points scored and points allowed (47.4 and 10.8 respectively), largely thanks to steady quarterback play from redshirt senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel and a solid defensive anchor in junior linebacker Danny Stutsman. Gabriel, a transfer from Central Florida, is in his second year with the Sooners and playing some of the best ball of his career, amassing 1,593 yards and 15 TDs on 75 percent completion through Week 5. Stutsman, a Windermere, Fla. native, is playing at an all-conference level, tallying 49 total tackles so far this season (12th in FBS) while also recording a sack and an interception. Together, Gabriel and Stutsman have led strong units that have helped the Sooners win games with complete performances on both sides of the ball.
Now, despite the Sooners’ impressive start to the season, it’s important to note OU has yet to play a ranked opponent or suffer through any significant test. On the other hand, this is a battle-tested Texas team that already has a ranked win over Alabama under their belt. The game will be tight with both defenses playing at an elite level, but I expect UT’s slightly more explosive offense made up of Ewers, Brooks and star wide receiver Xavier Worthy to give the Longhorns the edge. Texas is a year ahead of their archrivals in the rebuilding process. Look for them to take down the Sooners in the final chapter of the Big 12 Red River Showdown story.
UPSET ALERT — No. 13 Washington State (4-0) vs. UCLA (3-1)
Los Angeles, Calif. 12:00 p.m PDT on PAC-12 Network
Now 4-0 and ranked the highest they’ve ever been, the Washington State Cougars are impressively swimming against the tide of the current college football whirlpool. In an age where “market size” and media rights deals reign supreme, leading them to effectively be left conference-less and out of the Power 5 landscape, Washington State football is thriving, earning two ranked wins against No.19 Washington and No. 14 Oregon State on the back of its box-office offense. Led by redshirt junior quarterback Cam Ward, the Cougars have set the standard for quality college football offense. Through Week 5, the unit ranks second in FBS in pass yards per game with 406, and sixth in total yards per game with 533.8.
Everybody is talking about the Cougars offense. OK, maybe not everyone *cough* Pat McAfee *cough*. But discourse surrounding Cam Ward and the great job that head coach Jake Dickert has done has clouded the fact that the Cougars are average or worse in everything except passing the football. Through Week 5, the Cougars rank 98th in rushing yards per game (127.8), 100th in pass yards allowed per game (250.8), and 62nd in rush yards allowed per game (132). Now, it is true that a high-flying, dominant pass offense is the prime indicator of success in a college football team. But Washington State’s deficiencies certainly open the door for a loss this coming weekend.
This is where our underdog comes in, a UCLA football team that is coming off its bye, matches up well against the Cougars and is eager to bounce back after a close loss to reigning PAC-12 champions No. 18 Utah.
On the offensive side of the ball, UCLA ranks 54th in pass yards per game, largely skewed by the unit’s outing in Salt Lake City where the Bruins only put seven points on the scoreboard. That number may be tempting you to stop reading, but worry not. The game was true freshman quarterback Dante Moore’s first conference game, and he looked excellent in the team’s previous three outings. Washington State isn’t Coastal Carolina or San Diego State, of course, but a home game in a more passive atmosphere in Pasadena could yield a middle ground between the high-flying explosive passing offense we saw from Weeks 1-3 and Week 4′s struggles: a decent passing performance that could trump the Cougars’ below-average pass defense. Add this to the fact that the Bruins boast the 19th-best rushing offense in FBS by yards per game and are facing a Cougars defense that ranks middle-of-the-pack in defending the run, and you get a recipe for UCLA success on the offensive side of the ball.
The big question mark is whether the Bruin defense can hold Wazzu’s explosive offense at bay, and while it certainly looks like an uphill climb, there is definitely an angle for UCLA to slow down Cam Ward & co. enough to obtain the victory. The Bruin defense has been stout against the run, ranking tenth nationally in rushing yards allowed per game. They face a Washington State offense that, as mentioned, ranks 98th in rush yards gained per game. If the UCLA defense can stuff the run repeatedly and force the Cougars into obvious pass situations, a strong front seven led by NFL defensive end prospect Laiatu Latu and a secondary that ranks top 30 in pass yards allowed per game can go to work.
Ultimately, Washington State’s deficiencies outside of throwing the football, UCLA’s favorable offensive matchup and the Bruins’ ascending defense open the door to UCLA’s first major win of the 2023 season. I hate to spoil the raging Washington State party, but there are simply too many signs of a possible UCLA upset this Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
ON THE RISE — No. 14 UNC (4-0)
vs. Syracuse, 12:00 p.m. PDT on ESPN
Despite being overshadowed in the ACC media cycle by No. 5 Florida State’s national championship hopes, Clemson’s disaster start and No. 19 Duke’s unlikely ascent, North Carolina is slowly entering itself as a frontrunner to compete with the Seminoles for the ACC title. Now ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll (second-highest in school history since 2000) the Tar Heels are in prime position to continue their ascent with a game against a feisty Syracuse team in Chapel Hill. It won’t come easy, though. The productive Tar Heel offense, led by early first-round quarterback prospect Drake Maye, is facing a top 20 defense in yards allowed per game, and the defense, largely average by most metrics up to this point, encounters a good offense that ranks top 50 in both rush and passing success rate. Add that to the fact that the Orange are coming off a loss against Clemson, and this has all the makings of a tough game for North Carolina. On the flip side, it’s also an opportunity for the team to inch closer to a top 10 ranking in the AP Poll with a dominant win.
SOMETHING TO PROVE — No. 4 Ohio State (4-0)
vs. Maryland, 9:00 a.m. PDT on FOX
There’s been a lot of talk about the type of football team Ohio State is, with coaches (both retired and current) and the media repeatedly questioning the team’s toughness or legitimacy as a top-five team. That’s all talk. The bottom line is that the Buckeyes are 4-0 with a close, but marquee win over Notre Dame in South Bend two weeks ago. Coming off the bye, this is a perfect opportunity for the Buckeyes to shut the haters up and cement themselves as a legit top-three team with the 5-0 Maryland Terrapins coming to town.
Maryland is off to a dream start, boasting the 19th-ranked pass offense in the country with redshirt senior Taulia Tagovailoa at the helm (brother of Tua, the Miami Dolphins signal caller). Moreover, the team has also easily disposed of Michigan State and Indiana with wins of 31-9 and 44-17 respectively, showing they can play complementary football. Those are nice wins, but the competition is not even in the same stratosphere as the Buckeyes, which boast a bonafide top-10 defense and, contrary to a plethora of false accusations, are actually jogging out a solid offense that ranks 33rd in yards per game. In the national spotlight with a Big Noon spot, this is a tremendous opportunity for a statement win from Ohio State.