2024 College Football Season – Page 3

UCLA football loses to Penn State in embarassing fashion

UCLA dropped another Big Ten game after another dismal offensive performance.

The UCLA Bruins dropped their third straight game of the 2024 college football season to No. 7 Penn State 27-11. Their second-straight loss to a Big Ten opponent, after losing to Oregon last week, not even a quarterback change could bolster the Bruins offense.

Head coach DeShaun Foster made the change from the struggling Ethan Garbers to sophomore Justyn Martin, who finished with 167 yards on 22-30 passing with a touchdown. Though Martin showed some surprising success in a hostile environment, the change was not enough to be a deciding factor.

The Bruins offense mustered only 11 points, with eight of them scored within the final thirty seconds. Unable to run the ball once again, with the team accumulating a meager 93 yards on 29 carries, UCLA’s offense was as ugly as it was inefficient.

Where the Bruins go from here, however, will be interesting to watch unfold.

The quarterback change will likely stick, as the younger, more dynamic Martin offers the Bruins a higher upside with the potential to grow. But if UCLA’s offense continues to underwhelm, Bruins fans could be in for a long season as they take on a frisky Minnesota team at home in only one week.

Oct 5, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster claps his hands from the sideline during the second quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images

Auburn has 8.8% chance to beat Georgia on Saturday

Auburn’s first road game of the season will provide them with a challenge according to ESPN analytics.

Auburn football’s five-game home stretch is officially complete, and the Tigers leave Jordan-Hare Stadium for the next month with a 2-3 record following a heartbreaking 27-21 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Heading into a giant road trip, ESPN does not have a good feeling that Auburn will succeed in the month of October, starting with Saturday’s matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs.

The ESPN Football Power Index and matchup predictor shows the Tigers to only have an 8.8% chance to take down Kirby Smart’s squad in Athens. Auburn has not had luck in Sanford Stadium as of late, having not won there since 2005.

According to ESPNBet, the current spread shows a -24-point favorite towards the Bulldogs, with an over/under set at 52.5. Those numbers indicate a dominating performance from Georgia’s offense, trying to once again dominate the Tigers for another year.

The Bulldogs are coming off of a devastating loss after their comeback efforts fell short against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, but shockingly, they rank just below Auburn in both total offense and points per game.

Georgia has some struggles on defense as well, ranking No. 14 in the SEC in rush defense, giving up 126.3 yards per game in that category. On the flip side, its pass defense is superb, just giving up 162 yards on average (No. 5).

The newest edition of “The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry” will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CST at Sanford Stadium, and will be broadcast on ABC.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on Twitter @traley34

What did we learn from Auburn’s loss to Oklahoma?

Auburn made very few, but costly mistakes in its recent loss to Oklahoma.

Auburn football finished its five-game home stand in less than desirable fashion, which seemed to be the name of the game throughout the entire start to the 2024 season.

The Tigers saw a late pick six become the difference in Saturday’s 27-21 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, dropping them to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the SEC heading into the month of October.

Unlike the team’s other two defeats, this one felt like things were going right for Auburn. While it only scored 21 points, plays were being made and the team was moving the ball. Despite that, it gave up the lead late and horror struck once again for a team with high hopes.

Here is what we learned about the Tigers after the loss.

Quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] was benched a short couple of weeks ago and thrown back into action last week against Arkansas after struggles shown by [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag]. He responded this week in one of the biggest games of Auburn’s season by playing well, which is what fans desperately needed to see.

There were many good deep throws made with smart decisions, but what fans will remember were the other decisions made, the ones that had them holding their breath and just hoping the ball would not be interceptions.

For the most part, they were relieved of that, that was until the Sooners’ Kip Lewis intercepted a ball on a slant route and ran it back to give his squad a late lead. It answered the question of if Thorne had improved in crunch time, which was no.

On the receiving end, [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Malcolm Simmons[/autotag] have become two of the team’s most reliable targets in the early going, and when they get the ball, it always feel like a big play is in motion.

Running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] is also still who every Tigers fan knows him as, a powerful weapon. Despite not breaking 100 yards, Hunter continues to make explosive plays that provide a spark to the offense.

The defense still has many kinks to work out. Containing the quarterback has consistently been a problem all year, and while things improved on Saturday, it gave up two of the more crucial plays of the game in the opening drive touchdown by Michael Hawkins Jr. and his two-point conversion that gave Oklahoma a 24-21 lead.

[autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag] had an explosive game and proved what he can do with six tackles, including a tackle-for-loss and sack. Look for him to continue growing down the stretch.

For the first time this season, Auburn saw its special teams struggle, as [autotag]Towns McGough[/autotag] missed both of his field goal attempts on the day, including one right before the half that would have given his team a 17-7 lead and raised the momentum heading into the break. For a young kicker, he still has a lot to grow on, but those two turned out to be a major miss for the Tigers.

Auburn takes the road for the entire month of October, beginning with a trip to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. That game is set for 2:30 p.m. CST and will be broadcast live on ABC from Sanford Stadium.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on X @traley34

Auburn has 43.2% chance to beat Oklahoma on Saturday

Auburn is not favored to beat the SEC’s newest face on Saturday.

Following a brutal 24-14 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks to open up SEC play, the Auburn Tigers are not sitting in a very good position heading into the rest of this season.

The metrics agree, and ESPN is showing that as the Tigers are not favored to win on Saturday against one of the newest faces in the conference, the Oklahoma Sooners.

According to the ESPN Football Power Index and matchup predictor, Auburn only has a 43.2% chance to defeat the Sooners this weekend, marking the first game this year that it is not projected to win.

The percentages, however, do not match the betting lines of this one whatsoever. ESPNBet opened the spread at -3 in favor of Oklahoma. Since the injury reports have come out and betting has continued, the line now favors the Tigers at -1. The over/under was originally set at 47.5 points as well, but has since dropped to 45.5.

The Sooners currently rank dead last in the SEC in total offense at 299.5 yards per game, and second to last in points, scoring an average of just 29, only ahead of Kentucky.

With five receivers listed as being out of Saturday’s contest, Auburn needs to handle business on the defensive side of the ball in order to come out on top in what would be a huge bounce back win.

The Tigers take on Oklahoma in the final game of a five-week home stretch at 2:30 p.m. CST in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on Twitter @traley34

Can the UCLA Bruins upset the Oregon Ducks?

It is a longshot, but one statistic could give UCLA a chance to upset the Oregon Ducks.

The UCLA Bruins take on the #9 Oregon Ducks on Saturday, in a game that many believe will be a blowout. But one key stat could keep the Bruins in the game long enough to potentially make a big upset in the Big Ten.

Oregon, through three games, is undefeated, but their season has not been perfect. Outlasting both Idaho and Boise State in the first two weeks of the college football season, one statistic kept the two unranked teams in the game: third-down efficiency.

In Oregon’s game against Idaho, the Vandals defense held the Ducks to only 7-16 on third down, while the Boise State’s defense held Oregon to only 4-12. If the Bruins can give the Ducks similar problems on third down, they have a chance to keep the game close in the fourth quarter.

This season, UCLA’s defense has held opposing offenses to 23-41 on third down. If head coach DeShaun Foster and defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe can scheme up their defense to force stops on third down, the Bruins could be in a tight game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday and give UCLA fans something to cheer for late in the second half.

Sonny Dykes among the ‘Good, Bad, & Ugly’ in the Big 12 for Week 4

Looking back at the week that was in the Big 12 with our “Good, Bad, and Ugly.” Did your team make the cut?

There is a good variety of good, bad, and ugly football being played in the Big 12. More good than the rest but there is still a lot to clean up before we get into the meat of the 2024 college football season.

We expected the Utah Utes, Kansas State Wildcats, Oklahoma State Cowboys, and Arizona Wildcats to be among the best. However, they have all had their issues except for Utah for the most part. The Kansas Jayhawks have been a massive disappointment after all the hype surrounding their offseason with the return of quarterback Jalon Daniels and running back Devin Neal.

When it comes to TCU, it has been downright ugly over the last two weeks. We take a look at the good, bad, and ugly in the Big 12 for Week 4.

The Good: Utah Utes as a top contender

Whether it has been Cam Rising under center or freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson, it has gone the way of the Utes. Utah came into the season as one of the contenders for the conference title and the guaranteed CFP slot. Through four weeks nothing we have seen on tape should give you cause for concern. Against Oklahoma State, the Utes built a massive lead against the conference’s worst rush defense. It doesn’t help when Utah has one of the top rushing offenses in the conference. Against the Pokes, the game was a story of the unstoppable force against a moveable object.

The Bad: Kansas Jayhawks’ fourth quarter defense

The Jayhawks came into the season riding high after knocking off UNLV in their bowl game. Fast forward to Week 4 and KU is coming off a third straight loss in the same manner, blowing a fourth-quarter lead. Part of the problem has been Jalon Daniels’ costly interceptions but also a defense that can’t stop a nosebleed at the worst time. Kansas has been outscored in the fourth quarter 35-17 this season.

The season is quickly unraveling for Leipold and company, they need to get it fixed ASAP. That starts on Saturday against another reeling team, the TCU Horned Frogs.

The Ugly: TCU head coach Sonny Dykes

It couldn’t get worse than getting run out of the stadium 65-7 in the national championship game right? Well, guess again. On Saturday when facing SMU in the annual Battle for the Iron Skillet, TCU head coach Sonny Dykes watched the second half from the locker room.

https://twitter.com/JeffKolbFOX4/status/1837665886234091826

Outside of that title run in his first season with the Frogs, it has been a lot of disappointing football. Following the victory over the Michigan Wolverines in the CFP Semifinal, TCU is just 7-10 in the 17 games since including that 65-7 thrashing by the Georgia Bulldogs. Perhaps that 2022 season was the byproduct of a renewed faith in TCU football and a team comprised of mostly Gary Patterson’s players. Either way, Dykes has a lot of work to do and it should start with a long look in the mirror.

What did we learn from Auburn’s loss to Arkansas?

Auburn Wire’s Tyler Raley breaks down Auburn’s loss to Arkansas from his point of view.

The Auburn Tigers have put themselves in a very tough position heading into the rest of the season with a lot of concern being voiced by their fanbase.

The Tigers saw the turnover bug become a huge problem in their 24-14 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, making them 0-1 in conference action.

Much like the loss to California, the shining moments that Auburn had in this contest were few and far between. Now, both the offense and defense have major questions to answer if better performance is going to come.

Here is what we learned about the Tigers after the loss.

The most obvious component of this game was the large amount of turnovers from around the offense, but especially the quarterback play. [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] made his second start of the season after a brilliant outing against New Mexico and threw three interceptions in the midst of the team’s five turnovers, with the other two coming from a [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] interception and a [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag] fumble that cost the team a touchdown.

Head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] expressed his frustrations in the loss, discussing how they need to give themselves more of a chance with wide open receivers running all over the field instead of turning it over.

The rushing attack gave itself a chance and seems to be getting more comfortable as the season progresses. However, the receiving corps seems to be on the opposite end, dropping many passes that need to be caught in order for Auburn to have success.

[autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] is turning out to be an amazing pickup in the portal, tallying five catches for 156 yards and both touchdowns in the game.

The defense is about as confusing as anyone could make it out to be. It has four interceptions over the last few games, meaning the aggressiveness is increasing.

The other side to this is that the Tigers are giving up way too many third down conversions to opponents. While they have only allowed 37.3% (25 of 67) of third downs this season, they gave up nine on Saturday, including a 58-yard heave in the third quarter to give Arkansas the lead.

With that in mind, the defense must get off the field on third down in order to possibly give the offense some momentum and string together quality plays.

Auburn looks to bounce back next week as it finishes off a five-game home stand with a matchup against the Oklahoma Sooners.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on X @traley34

Auburn has 58.6% chance to beat Arkansas on Saturday

ESPN is giving Auburn the edge in its season opener vs. Arkansas.

Auburn football bounced back in a big way in its week three 45-19 victory over the New Mexico Lobos, now hoping to use that momentum and carry it into its SEC slate.

Luckily for the Tigers, ESPN is optimistic that they will do just that as they take the field on Saturday to face the Arkansas Razorbacks.

According to the ESPN Football Power Index and matchup predictor, Auburn has a 58.6% chance to take down the Razorbacks in Jordan-Hare Stadium, its lowest favorability so far in 2024.

Following a performance that saw the Tigers light up the scoreboard again, the ESPNBet analytics have them as a 2.5-point favorite and an over/under total set for 56.5 points, forecasting a possible offensive showdown on Saturday. With as talented of a defensive front as Arkansas has, there is a potential for this game to hit the under, but Auburn’s offense never stays silent.

The Razorbacks sit at No. 3 in the conference in total offense, racking up 587.3 yards per game thus far. They rank the same in both passing and rushing offense as well, throwing for 328.3 yards and rushing for 259 yards on average, leading them to score 46 points per game.

Arkansas is in the middle of the pack on the other side of the ball, however, giving 289.7 yards on average, ranking it No. 9 in the SEC. Its strength lies with the run defense, though, only giving up 61.7 of those yards (No. 3) on the ground.

The Tigers take on the Razorbacks at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on Twitter @traley34

What did we from Auburn’s win over New Mexico?

Following Auburn’s week three win over the New Mexico Lobos, here is what we learned about the team in Hank Brown’s debut at quarterback

The Auburn Tigers are back in the win column and is making changes to try and keep things on the right track as they prepare for SEC play next week.

On a rainy night inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Tigers took down the New Mexico Lobos on Homecoming 45-19 with a new starting quarterback in freshman [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag].

Brown replaced Payton Thorne after a rough start to the season, making his second game appearance after playing in last year’s Music City Bowl.

With all the buzz of his performance out of the way, here is what we learned from Saturday’s game about this Auburn squad.

The obvious thing to say is that there is easily a lot of potential that Brown has with his play. He went 17 for 25 with 235 yards and four touchdowns, showing flashes of what he can do in his young career.

Brown’s throws were proven to be sharp, even when partially inaccurate. His velocity gets the ball out quick and away from any danger where it may lie.

The downside at moments was the ability to get plays off in an efficient manner. While he was thrown into action on a week’s notice, the Tigers run the offense at an efficient pace and need him to move quicker on a consistent basis.

The running game proved itself again as [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] racked up 20 carries for 152 yards and a touchdown, staying elusive and using his strength to his advantage. While Auburn can not be one dimensional, it needs to be able to run as it has in the past.

The defensive play is still highly questionable for this team, which is a problem heading into a tough conference slate.

Most notably, one-on-one coverage in the secondary has not been great and was especially evident last night. The Tigers found themselves on the wrong end of too many passes that could have gone either way and must improve on turning that around.

On the positive side of it, interceptions by [autotag]Jerrin Thompson[/autotag] and [autotag]Antonio Kite[/autotag] recorded the team’s first two forced turnovers of the season, finally getting on the board after two weeks of no chaos. They look to continue that next week.

Auburn takes the field for its fourth home game in a row against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 2:30. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on X @traley34

Expert score prediction: Nebraska v. Northern Iowa

Who will win on Saturday evening?!

The No. 24 Huskers conclude their non-conference portion of their season Saturday night against FCS foe Northern Iowa.

From a glance, this should be a similar outcome to UTEP. However, numerous non-Power 4 teams showed last week that anything is possible.

The Panthers come into Lincoln with a heavy-running offense, eclipsing its passing game almost three times over with 614 yards on the ground. Quarterback Aidan Dunne, meanwhile, stands with 23 completions off 42 throws for 215 yards and three touchdowns for Northern Iowa.

The Panthers’ heavy run game faces the toughest challenge this week: Nebraska’s defense. This challenge comes after escaping St. Thomas 17-10. Northern Iowa won off a rushing touchdown from a recovery by their running back, who lost the football but still managed to score. The Panthers got in position after a fourth-down stop on Thomas’ 25-yard line.

Northern Iowa held the Tommies to 168 passing yards and 129 rushing yards. In its win over Valparaiso, the Panthers kept the Beacons to just 108 passing yards and 16 rushing yards.

This is similar to Nebraska’s defense, which also allowed just 17 points while surrendering 72 total rushing yards and 393 passing yards through the first two games. But Colorado scored all 10 points late in the second half when Nebraska started easing its foot off the gas. Even the touchdown allowed against UTEP was due to a slip-up on one drive.

Nebraska’s offense is well-balanced, with quarterback Dylan Raiola throwing 423 yards and three touchdowns, while the run game has 372 yards and five touchdowns.

However, while Northern Iowa has faced two FCS schools, Nebraska is a different animal for the Panthers. With it being another Saturday night under the lights for the Huskers, this should be another big outing.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 45, Northern Iowa 6