Week 3 CFB Review
Week 3 in college football; a low key week, but certainly a lot of fun.
There were not really any enormous matches this past weekend in college football, although it was really some of the smaller matchups that mixed and messed with all of us.
On the hot seat: FBS and specifically, the Power 5. Honestly, one of the biggest battle-trends we saw this weekend was the FBS vs. FCS, and Power 5 vs. Group of 5. But for real, what on earth is going on?! Probably the most surprising result in this subject category is Maryland’s stunning loss at Temple. After slaughtering a ranked Syracuse team last week, we thought this would be a game that the Terps would just cruise through. That was certainly not the case. The Maryland offense did not show up whatsoever, and Temple capitalized on that, pulling off the upset victory 20–17. Another stunner came down in the ACC, where Georgia Tech was stunned by The Citadel, 27–24 in OT. To be fair, Georgia Tech is in what we may call a rebuilding year after having a brand new head coach and new offensive system. As well, The Citadel, who I like to call “the community college version of Army”, runs the unique triple option, which for a young inexperienced Georgia Tech team, is very frustrating to handle. Some other lopsided surprises from the weekend include Liberty making easy work of the MAC’s very own Buffalo, Ole Miss struggling to defeat FCS’ Southeastern Louisiana, Minnesota barely putting away Georgia Southern, and Air Force defeating in-state foe Colorado on the road.
To be brutally honest, I think the inconsistency and mediocrity from the “middle-class” of the Power 5 makes for great upset-watches, and just makes each week of college football that much more exciting to take in.
Kansas won a game against a legitimate opponent! While I was watching this game on Friday evening, I almost could not believe my own eyes. Kansas was blowing out a fellow Power 5 opponent in Boston College…ON THE ROAD. Les Miles brought his inexperienced Jayhawks squad into Boston and absolutely took care of the Eagles of BC, and won a game against a Power 5 opponent on the road for the first time since, wait for it, 2008. Yes, it has been a long long time since Kansas has had any relevant wins, but this may be the start of something special.
Clemson makes easy work in the dome. In one of the their most “hyped up” road games, the Clemson Tigers defeated Syracuse on the road with ease, 41–6. Clemson had the lead for pretty much the entire game and pulled away in the second half. They were able to maintain a comfortable lead as the smothering defense was able to capitalize on the Orange’s offensive miscues. After 2 straight years of close games against Syracuse, Clemson finally put them back in their place. Just another week and another big win for the Tigers, and them showing that they will compete for yet another national championship without a doubt.
The Pac-12 is still bad. This was covered mainly in last week’s recap, but 3 weeks into the season, and the so-called “conference of champions” has still not shown too many signs of life. A ranked Washington State team narrowly slipped by Houston on the road on Friday night, as many expected a much bigger performance from them. Colorado lost to Air Force at home, as mentioned above. A previously ranked earlier this season squad, Stanford, was blasted by an offensive juggernaut UCF. The Knights were more than likely the better team in this matchup, but Stanford really did not make it a game whatsoever, falling 45–27. The Cougars of BYU knocked off ranked USC in overtime, as another potentially promising Pac 12 team takes a tumble against a “team they should have beaten”. UCLA would have been better off just not showing up to the game against Oklahoma, falling 48–14. The only true bright spot was Arizona State, who defeated 18 Michigan State by a score of 10–7 on the road after a missed re-kicked field goal. What a barnburner!
Florida will not stop winning ugly games. Somehow, someway, the Florida Gators managed to win another game, and will more than likely retain their position in the nation’s top 10. They did mount quite the incredible comeback on the road at Kentucky after starting QB Feleipe Franks went down with a brutal ankle injury. Backup QB Kyle Trask led the Gators to 3 separate 4th quarter touchdown drives as they were able to seal the deal, 29–21 against their SEC East rivals. I hate to say it, but maybe with Franks out for the season, Trask may show his abilities and improve that ever-so-average Florida offense.
-Brandon Zapotoski
Sports Throne Founder
