Top Ten Most Important College Football Thoughts Ever … For This Week
10. Northwestern 21, Nebraska 13
Everyone, be prepared that Northwestern is going to be your 2020 Big Ten West champ. Is it better than Wisconsin? No. Will Wisconsin get through the rest of the season without having to skip one more game – which would take it out of the Big Ten title game? Probably not. This Wildcat defense has been unbelievable in the second halves of games – it stuffed Nebraska time and again in key spots – Peyton Ramsey has been good enough at quarterback to come through when needed, and after this Saturday, the program is now the one to chase in the division.
9. Texas 17, West Virginia 13
So this is just going to be Texas football this year. No matter what the team, it’s going to play up or down to the competition and every game is going to be thrilling. That’s a good West Virginia defense the Longhorns dealt with, but as mediocre as the O was, 1) there’s Bijan Robinson – the superstar recruit who ran for 113 yards on 12 carries – and 2) the Longhorn run D showed up big.
8. BYU 51, Boise State 17
BYU still doesn’t have a great win. That’s not the school’s fault – it performed miracles to get the slate it did – and it’s bad luck that Boise State was down to its third-string quarterback a few minutes into the game and missed starting RB George Holani, but the team did exactly what it was supposed to do. Zach Wilson – 21-of-27 for 359 yards and two touchdowns with a running score – played like a first rounder, the defense stuffed the punchless Broncos until it was too late, and for a statement game moment, a 34-point win is just fine.
7. Ohio State 49, Rutgers 27
Of course Ohio State is amazing and of course it’s one of the top three teams in college football, if not No. 1. It also hasn’t – technically – played anyone with a pulse. Penn State? 0-3. Nebraska? -2. Rutgers? Yeah, it got by Michigan State with 193 takeaways, but come on. However, the Buckeyes are doing exactly what they’re supposed to – they’re DOMINATING.
Don’t get into a twist over the 49-27 final score – Rutgers scored everything late. Meanwhile, Justin Fields has been special, coming off a 24-of-28, 314-yard, five-touchdown day with a rushing scores.
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6. Liberty 38, Virginia Tech 35
Everyone can’t give more love and smooches to BYU and Cincinnati, but does either one have a win over a Power Five team? Nope. Liberty not only has two – at Syracuse was the first one – but beating Virginia Tech in Blacksburg is by far the best win by any Group of Five-level program this year outside of Louisiana’s dominant victory over Iowa State.
It was helped by a timeout call by the Hokies that cost them a blocked field goal for a walk-off touchdown, but that was no fluke – the Flame running game cranked out 249 yards and two scores and held the devastating, but Khalil Herbert-less, ground game to 201 yards. There’s one more shot here with a trip to NC State and a date at Coastal Carolina. If the Flames beat the Wolfpack, and Coastal Carolina is unbeaten on December 5th, that’s going to be a thing.
5. USC 28, Arizona State 27
The Pac-12 can never catch a break. It gets ripped on for putting USC vs. Arizona State at 9 am local time which was great for the national attention, the two teams put on a brilliant show with an epic finish for the Trojans – with miraculous late scores helped by a recovered onside kick – and most of the world was focused on some presidential race thing being decided.
Don’t get off the Trojan train yet. As we’ve seen with team after team after team, this year, it takes a game or two to get rolling. All things considered, Kedon Slovis – 40-of-55 for 381 yards and two scores with a pick – was just fine, helped by the clutch late performance.