Photo credit: http://gatorsports.com/
As we turn the calendar to October, the college football season is beginning to heat up. This weekend featured a Top 10 SEC battle, a coach looking to stay off the hot seat and plenty more. As usual, I’ll break it all down, highlighting the best games and the players of the week.
Games of the week
(10)Florida 24, (7)Auburn 13
In the swamp, only Gators get out alive. Florida’s home turf was the site of a turnover-laden game in which each team coughed it up four times. Auburn’s Bo Nix had the worst performance of his young career, throwing three picks and finishing with a completion percentage of 40.7. It was a one score game until the fourth quarter when Lamical Perine took it 88 yards to the house to put the game away for the Gators.
(19)Michigan 10, (14)Iowa 3
If you’re a fan of actual football, this was not the game for you. Michigan’s defense held the Hawkeyes to exactly one rushing yard, and its offense did just enough to preserve a win. Jim Harbaugh has his Wolverines somewhat back on track as they head to Penn State in a couple of weeks.
Best of the rest
No. 18 UCF suffered its second loss of the season at Cincinnati.
No. 15 Washington fell to Stanford, and now Oregon seems to be the PAC-12’s last shot at the playoff. However, don’t sleep on Arizona State, Utah, or Arizona.
Alabama and Clemson both had the week off.
Baylor and Minnesota continued their surprising starts and are both 5-0.
Storyline of the week
Why Notre Dame needs to join a conference
Notre Dame sits at 4-1 and has a favorable schedule the rest of the way, so it’s reasonable to think that they could be 11-1 at the end of the season. They would without a doubt be among the teams in contention for a playoff spot, but that shouldn’t be the case.
I find it hard to believe that a team can lose its only game against a Top 10 team all season(Georgia) and still make an argument to be a part of the Top 4. Unfortunately, due to Notre Dame’s weak schedule, this is the reality. It’s time for the Fighting Irish to stop running away from the competition and join a power five conference, so we can see how they fare against better opponents.
My Top 10 teams after Week 6
1. Alabama(5-0)
Week 6 result: Bye week
2. Clemson(5-0)
Week 6 result: Bye week
3. Georgia(5-0)
Week 6 result: 43-14 win at Tennessee
4. LSU(5-0)
Week 6 result: 42-6 win vs Utah State
5. Ohio State(6-0)
Week 6 result: 34-10 win vs Michigan State
6. Oklahoma(5-0)
Week 6 result: 45-20 win at Kansas
7. Wisconsin(5-0)
Week 6 result: 48-0 win vs Kent State
8. Florida(6-0)
Week 6 result: 24-13 win vs Auburn
9. Penn State(5-0)
Week 6 result: 35-7 win vs Purdue
10. Texas(4-1)
Week 6 result: 42-31 win at West Virginia
Players of the week
Joe Burrow- LSU quarterback
It was a slow start for Burrow and the Tigers, but once he got in a groove, there was no looking back. He completed 27 out of his 38 passes for 344 yards and five touchdowns and ran for one touchdown as well. Burrow will have his hands full next week as LSU takes on Florida.
Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin running back
Taylor only carried the ball 19 times, but that was more than enough to make his mark. Averaging nearly 10 yards per carry, he made Kent State his latest victim with four first half touchdowns before adding another in the third quarter.
Brock Purdy, Iowa State quarterback
Purdy showed his versatility in a 49-24 win over TCU, powering the Cyclones with a pair of passing and rushing touchdowns. After a disappointing game against Baylor, he rebounded in a big way.