NCAA Football Report (Week 6)
It happens every year in College Football that one week of games turns the entire league on its head. Nobody knows when it is going to come but everyone knows that it is going to come at some point in time. That is what makes the NCAA so exciting when it comes down to it as every week people are watching to see what can happen. That has only become truer in this new era of College Football where every team seems to be getting closer and closer. It is becoming increasingly tougher for teams to remain undefeated in the season and a 1-loss champion is no longer unheard of. Still every team that wants to make the ne playoff has to look for that undefeated season to become one of the top four in the league. Heading into Week 6 in the season four teams remained undefeated and had all sat in the top four of the rankings for the entire first part of the season. There had rarely been any changes in the top four of the rankings with Florida State, Oregon, Alabama, and Oklahoma filling the top roles. The only difference from the preseason polls to the polls heading into Week 6 had been that Oregon and Alabama had flipped spots to put the Ducks at #2 and the Tide at #3. All of that would come to a crashing halt in Week 6 when the top four of the NCAA saw a massive shift. First it was the #2 team, the Oregon Ducks, who started the week out against the unranked Arizona Wildcats. It was supposed to be an easy game for the Ducks who were expected to walk through the Wildcats with their superior offence. It was much tougher for the Ducks though as they came out slow and let the Wildcats hang around. Then the Duck defence was exposed allowing the Wildcats to get the lead before Marcus Mariota was stripped in the fourth quarter to prevent a comeback. The Wildcats took the 31-24 win over the Ducks and became the thorn in the side of the Ducks as they beat them for the second time in two years. The Ducks dropped out of the #2 ranking and now sit #12 as they have some work to do to get back into the top four. They were not the only top four teams to fall in Week 6 though has the #3 Alabama Crimson tide and #4 Oklahoma Sooners also saw their first losses. The Tide took their first loss to the rising Ole Miss Rebels who are making plenty of noise in the SEC this year. Rebels’ quarterback Bo Wallace led a late fourth quarter drive for a touchdown and an interception to end a ‘Bama drive sealed the win for the Rebels and dropped the Tide to #7 in the nation. The Sooners saw their perfect record fall to the TCU Horned Frogs who fought the Sooners more than any other team had. It was a back and forth battle and the Frogs stayed in the fight for the entire game and took the lead late while the Sooners could not match and get the fourth quarter comeback. Three of the top four teams in the nation fell in Week 6 and yet the most unstable of them all survived everything. The Florida State Seminoles have looked far from strong in the past two weeks and seemed ripe for an upset. Yet they were the only team to stay undefeated in the top four and won big against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The win kept the Seminoles on top of the NCAA football world and they remain in good standing to enter the playoffs. There are plenty of weeks left though and the Seminoles have tougher teams to face that they will need to get by to stay #1. Everyone will be watching to see if there is a week where the top team falls and after this week the rest of the playoff seems wide open. Week 6 has become the biggest week in the season so far but nobody knows what is to come as the season carries on with the usual unknown highlighting college football.
Heisman Watch
1. Todd Gurley, RB (Georgia)
It was not an overly outstanding performance for the Bulldogs’ leading rusher against Vanderbilt but this week it didn’t need to be. With some of the top teams and the top players falling the best running back in the NCAA took back the top spot. He continues to put up great numbers each week and is widely considered the best running back in college football while also being the guy that Georgia can look to every week to lead them. Next week he takes on Missouri in an SEC matchup as he hopes to avoid the potential trap game by leading the charge on the ground once again.
Stats (5 Games):
94 att
773 yds
8.2 avg
8 TD
2. Marcus Mariota, QB (Oregon)
Mariota had a good lead in the Heisman Race but he could not keep it after a Week 6 loss to the Arizona Wildcats. The usually shifty quarterback with a massive arm could not get going and did not put up the numbers everyone expected from him. Instead he only threw two interceptions and under 300 yards, not a bad day for most but not good for Mariota, while his rushing game was almost non-existent. He has not fallen far from the lead but if he cannot get back to his usual self against UCLA he could fall out of the picture completely.
Stats (4 Games):
71.1% cmp (42 att)
1,411 yds (215 rsh yds)
15 TD (3 rsh TD)
0 INT
202.4 rtg
3. Everett Golson, QB (Notre Dame)
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have slowly climbed their way into the top 6 in the nation and the main reason has been their young quarterback. Golson has been the difference this year for the Irish and by leading the Irish over the Stanford Cardinal in their biggest win of the year so far. It was not the best performance but throwing the last-minute touchdown puts him into the top three of the Heisman race. No he moves on to North Carolina where bigger numbers are expected if he is to stay in the top three of the Heisman race.
Stats (4 Games):
69.6% cmp (39 att)
1,142 yds (104 rsh yds)
11 TD (4 rsh TD)
2 INT
164.6 rtg
4. Melvin Gordon, RB (Wisconsin)
Stats (4 Games):
105 att
871 yds
8.3 avg
9 TD
5. Kenny Hill, QB (Texas A&M)
Stats (4 Games):
69.6% cmp (39 att)
1,142 yds (104 rsh yds)
11 TD (4 rsh TD)
2 INT
164.6 rtg
AP Top 25:
1. Florida State Seminoles (1)
2. Auburn Tigers (5)
3. Mississippi State Bulldogs (12)
3. Ole Miss Rebels (11)
5. Baylor Bears (7)
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9)
7. Alabama Crimson Tide (3)
8. Michigan State Spartans (10)
9. TCU Horned Frogs (25)
10. Arizona Wildcats (–)
11. Oklahoma Sooners (4)
12. Oregon Ducks (2)
13. Georgia Bulldogs (13)
14. Texas A&M Aggies (6)
15. Ohio State Buckeyes (20)
16. Oklahoma State Cowboys (21)
17. Kansas State Wildcats (23)
18. UCLA Bruins (8)
19. East Carolina Pirates (22)
20. Arizona State Sun Devils (–)
21. Nebraska Cornhuskers (24)
22. Georgia Yellow Jackets (–)
23. Missouri Tigers (24)
24. Utah Utes (–)
25. Stanford Cardinal (14)
Key Scores:
Arizona Wildcats 31 – 24 Oregon Ducks #2
– The Oregon Ducks began the upset week on Thursday after Marcus Mariota could not get his usual offence into the gear that they are used to while under constant pressure and the defence could not stop the Wildcats taking them out of the playoff picture for now
#25 TCU Horned Frogs 37 – 34 Oklahoma Sooners #4
– The Sooners were just another team to be taken out of the top four of the nation when they lost to the Horned Frogs after a fourth quarter interception retun for a touchdown and a late stop put them over the #4 team in the nation
#11 Ole Miss Rebels 23 – 17 Alabama Crimson Tide #3
– The Tide have always been one of the strongest teams in the nation but they seemed like they were close to being upset and the Rebels made that happen as the Tide fell to an SEC opponent that continues to rise through the standings
#12 Mississippi State Bulldogs 48 – 31 Texas A&M Aggies #6
– The Aggies were ready to make a move this week but they fell to a team that has been one of the most surprising teams this year as they continue to rise up the rankings after taking out the Aggies in yet another upset in the week
Next Week:
Texas Longhorns vs. #11 Oklahoma Sooners (Saturday October 11th; 12:00 pm ET)
– the Oklahoma Sooners will need to play angry after their first loss of the season but that shouldn’t be a problem as they take on their longtime rivals in the Red River Rivalry as they look to make their way back up the rankings
#2 Auburn Tigers vs. #3 Mississippi State Bulldogs (Saturday October 11th; 3:30 pm ET)
– The Tigers were the beneficiaries of a big Week 6 as they ended up in second place while the Bulldogs took their win against the Texas A&M Aggies to third place in the rankings but only one will stay in the top four after this game
#9 TCU Horned Frogs vs. #5 Baylor Bears (Saturday October 11th; 3:30 pm ET)
– The Horned Frogs are coming off of a big win against the #4 Oklahoma Sooners and now they are looking to continue their climb up the rankings as they take on the Baylor Bears who are sitting just outside of the top four and looking to get in
#12 Oregon Ducks vs. #18 UCLA Bruins (Saturday October 11th; 3:30 pm ET)
– The Ducks started last week with a big loss and now they are trying to recover in another big Pac-12 game that the Ducks need to win if they are hoping to win the conference and make it back to the top four
The Sport Addiction 