College Football Week 9 Recap: No. 2 Is Cursed

Plenty of madness ensued throughout week nine of college football, with seven top 25 schools taking losses in a loaded week of games. It wasn’t a great week for No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions and No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs, both of whom were downed on the eve of the first rankings released by the college football playoff committee.

After the Clemson loss, followed by the downing of Penn State, the No. 2 slot is looking like the place to avoid for playoff hopefuls. Not all top-level teams fared poorly, however, with the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs continuing their dominance to the extent that they helped get Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain fired.

All this and much more in your recap:

Gophers Quick Hits

Despite the defense of the Minnesota Golden Gophers producing two turnovers, they still lost on the road 17-10 to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa signal-caller Nathan Stanley highlighted their offense with 190 yards passing with a touchdown in the slug fest, which stayed tight the entire way. The Gophers made four red zone trips but could only score on two of them, struggling again on offense. For the full recap, go here.

Storyline Quick Hits – Plenty Of Turnover

The day matched its upsets with plenty of statement wins, leaving us hotly anticipating what the playoff committee will make of the upheaval. Here are the top storylines:

Georgia Ruining Teams Like Bama. Is this how you know you have made it as a team? When you beat them in such a way that they instantly begin rebuilding? After the 42-7 beat down of the Gators, that is just what they had to do, firing head coach McElwain after a disappointing 3-4 start to the season.

Bulldogs running back Sony Michel racked up 137 yards and two scores on just six carries, while the defense racked up five sacks and held the Gators to 66 passing yards. The Bulldogs sit at No. 3 but with Penn State losing they will probably be headed up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbV9vVyiF8w

Iowa State Upsets Again. Maybe we should have seen this coming. Not only did they beat Oklahoma on the road, but trusting quarterback Kenny Hill, aka Kenny Trill, for this many consecutive weeks was bound to put egg on your face. Either way, the Big 12 has yet again killed its own chances for a playoff team, with not team from the conference able to avoid upset on the treacherous road to the postseason.

While the No. 25 Iowa State Cyclones knocking off the No. 4 Horned Frogs 14-7, picking Hill off twice and not allowing an offensive touchdown. KaVontae Turpin scored the only TCU points on a 94-yard kickoff return, while Cyclones quarterback Kyle Kempt continued to roll, throwing for 202 yards and two scores. Lookout for the Cyclones.

The Irish Keep Fighting. Not only is their only loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, which looks pretty good right now, but the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have dominated NC State and USC in the last two game, both ranked teams. Running back Josh Adams went for 202 and a score in the 35-14 victory, while the defense held the opposition to 50 rushing yards. The defense continues to churn out stops, while the offense grinds out wins with their running game. The highlight was a 69-yard pick six from Irish corner Julian Love in the second half.

Chain Gang 

The Miami Hurricanes have one of the coolest college football “traditions” they started this year called the turnover chain. It is a massive piece of bling that the defensive players get to wear on the sideline when they force a turnover.

I am awarding this week’s turnover chain to Colorado’s corner Nick Fisher, who takes a pick 100 yards for the score.

Heisman Highlight 

It is that time of year when the Heisman race narrows significantly and the true candidates put distance between themselves and the competition. This weekend’s highlight goes to Penn State’s running back Saquon Barkley, for his 97-yard kick return to start the game against Ohio State.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-N71EksnMY

Game Of The Week

Of course it had to be the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes victory over Penn State. After two first quarter touchdowns from Barkley, the Buckeyes looked to be putting up as much fight as Michigan. However, the Buckeyes came back with a 19 point fourth quarter lead by quarterback J.T. Barrett, who had 328 passing yards and four scores. Barrett looked fantastic, especially down the stretch, guiding his squad past the daunting Penn State defense.

The Buckeyes front showed up in a big way late as well, racking up 13 tackles for loss with two second half sacks. After another big stop from the defense, Barrett drove the offense 58 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The Buckeyes’ 39-38 statement win puts them back at the top of the Big Ten.

Play Of The Weekend

Not only because of the balance and recovery, but also because this is a 22-yard scoring pass from a receiver, explains why this is the play of the week. In an impressive showing from the Oregon Ducks, receiver Charles Nelson keeps his feet to add put the Ducks up 21 points on the first passing attempt of his collegiate career.


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