Not bad for the freshman’s first start for Nebraska.
Nebraska freshman quarterback Luke McCaffrey made his first career start for the Cornhuskers in Saturday’s matchup versus Penn State, and he had a solid first half against the Nittany Lions’ defense.
With both teams looking for their first wins of the season, McCaffrey — the younger brother of Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey — threw for one touchdown and ran for another to help Nebraska to a lopsided 27-6 halftime lead. On his opening drive of the game, he led the Cornhuskers to a scoring drive and ran it in for a one-yard touchdown.
But perhaps his most striking play of the first half was a short, left-handed toss to freshman running back Marvin Scott III on 3rd-and-9 at the end of the second quarter.
Sure, Nebraska got a first down and McCaffrey extended his team’s drive, which ultimately ended with a field goal. But it’s so impressive because the freshman passer normally throws with his right hand and still managed to get a catchable pass off with his left.
College GameDay set up camp at Augusta National for the Masters for this week’s show.
ESPN’s College GameDay set up camp in an unusually serene spot Saturday, broadcasting from the Masters Tournament, which is finally being played after originally being postponed from April because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And the GameDay crew was pretty pumped about doing the show at the iconic Georgia course.
Lee Corso, however, was broadcasting from his home studio in Orlando, like he has been all season. But his backdrop was still fabulously decorated as if he was sitting on the course at Augusta National, complete with a scoreboard, flag and giant, legendary photos of Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus in the background. Corso was even wearing a Masters tie.
And, perfect for the occasion, Nicklaus was also the guest picker of the week.
Because GameDay wasn’t on location highlighting a marquee matchup this week, Corso didn’t do a traditional headgear pick. He, and the rest of the show’s squad, still made plenty of picks for Saturday’s games, but when it came time for their final round of picks, they shared who they think will win the Masters.
Desmond Howard and Nicklaus picked Justin Thomas, Kirk Herbstreit went with Jon Rahm and, because he’s from Florida State, Corso went with Brooks Koepka, putting on an FSU helmet.
Jack Nicklaus apologized to Desmond for picking Wisconsin over Michigan.
Des followed up and stunned the crew, picking the Badgers over his Wolverines!
Corso also picked Nebraska over Penn State, Purdue over No. 23 Northwestern, No. 13 Wisconsin over Michigan, West Virginia over TCU, No. 20 USC over Arizona, No. 6 Florida over Arkansas, No. 2 Notre Dame over Boston College.
GameDay also obviously had multiple tributes and segments about the Masters and Augusta National.
After Coach went to The Masters 12 years ago, he loved Magnolia Lane so much he decided to plant two magnolia trees in his front yard 😂 pic.twitter.com/jv3RfJPAXl
College football — for as much as people love it and live for it — just isn’t worth the risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Welcome to Before The Snap, For The Win’s college football show where we’ll break down the sport’s trending storylines, examine each week’s biggest matchups and track the College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy races.
When For The Win began shooting its college football series, Before The Snap, on Wednesday, three SEC games this week had been postponed. When we finished shooting, the conference was up to four postponed games.
As of now, there are eight FBS games originally schedule for this weekend that are either postponed or canceled because of COVID-19.
From positive tests and subsequent contact tracing to full-on outbreaks, the coronavirus has the 2020 college football season in shambles, and that’s mostly because the powers that be decided to have a season at all in the middle of a global pandemic.
As The Wall Street Journal‘s Jason Gay put it: “This year’s college football schedule looks like a restaurant menu that keeps 86’ing appetizers.”
Here’s a look at the canceled or postponed Week 11 games and why:
It’s no secret college athletics departments prioritize money over anything else, including their so-called “student-athletes,” who already take the biggest risks on the field while everyone except them earns a paycheck from it. So it’s not particularly surprising that COVID-19 didn’t stop schools and conferences from trying to make their millions off the backs of unpaid players. But it’s dangerous and irresponsible.
As coronavirus cases in the U.S. continue to break records and COVID-related hospitalizations hit an all-time high this week, college football games are being canceled and postponed left and right. So before more teams, and the people may come into contact with, suffer outbreaks, perhaps it’s time to shut down the mess that is 2020 college football.
“I have to acknowledge (we’re) troubled by what’s happened this week,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Wednesday, while pointing out the conference is still looking ahead to its championship game December 19. Sankey and everyone else should be troubled, not only by how COVID-19 is hitting and impacting programs, but also by the current national spikes.
College football — for as much as people love it and live for it — just isn’t worth the risk.
Technically, it’s Week 11 of the season. Wisconsin has played just one game since the Big Ten’s delayed start, the Pac-12 is only in its second week, LSU just had its second game of the season postponed and the projected No. 1 NFL Draft pick, Trevor Lawrence, tested positive for COVID-19 in October. The list of COVID-related issues in college football this season seems endless.
And with players not burning a year of eligibility whether they play this season or opt out, why not just label this a failed (and reckless) experiment and call the season before more people — particularly vulnerable or not — become ill?
Everyone wants college football: Players, coaches, parents, fans, everyone. But there are countless things we want right now but can’t have because COVID-19 is ravaging the country after the federal government’s failed, year-long response.
It’s devastating, particularly for the players, who understandably want to take the field. There are a lot of things people everywhere want to do but can’t, and the consequences of the deadly virus are fair to no one. But this is the reality of it all.
So as we continue to postpone and cancel games and pretend like that’s a normal occurrence each season, again, what are we doing here?
No. 1 Clemson takes on No. 4 Notre Dame in Week 10.
ESPN’s College GameDay was in South Bend, Indiana on Saturday ahead of No. 4 Notre Dame’s primetime home matchup against No. 1 Clemson (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC). Both teams enter the game undefeated and at the top of the ACC standings in the Fighting Irish’s first year in the conference.
And, like every week of the 2020 college football season, Lee Corso wasn’t with the GameDay crew. He joined the broadcast from his “home” studio in Orlando — compete with signs and mascots from around the country. But his headgear pick for the marquee matchup was hardly a surprise.
“It’s no secret I’m picking the Irish,” said Corso. “But it’s been 43 years since Notre Dame beat Clemson. 43 years! But it’s worth the wait. The Irish upset No. 1 Clemson and get their 23rd straight win at home.”
A reminder that Corso's been perfect with his picks this season …
Former Notre Dame wire receiver, Chase Claypool, who’s now playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, obviously picked his Fighting Irish to win too.
Corso also picked Virginia Tech over No. 25 Liberty, No. 6 Cincinnati over Houston, No. 23 Michigan over No. 13 Indiana, Northwestern over Nebraska, Oklahoma State over Kansas State, West Virginia over No. 22 Texas, Oregon over Stanford, No. 20 USC over Arizona State and No. 8 Florida over No. 5 Georgia.
In case it wasn’t obvious before this weekend’s matchups, 2020 LSU is a very different team from 2019 LSU. The Tigers are missing a lot of people from last year’s team for a variety of reasons, but perhaps no one is missed more than former defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, who’s now the head coach of Baylor.
And that continued to be clear Saturday against Auburn, which absolutely destroyed the defending national champs, 48-11.
After a scoreless first quarter, things got ugly for LSU in the second quarter with Auburn having a 21-3 lead at the half, and then the wheels completely fell off in the second half. By the end of the third quarter, Auburn had a 42-3 lead and extended it with a ridiculous one-play, 91-yard touchdown drive.
Auburn opened the fourth quarter with the ball on LSU’s 9-yard line, and sophomore quarterback Bo Nix took a huge shot downfield.
With his back foot inches away from his own goal line, Nix launched the ball deep to junior wide receiver Anthony Schwartz, and the ball landed perfectly in Schwartz’s hands at LSU’s 46-yard line. Then he took off and ran it in for a 91-yard score, putting Auburn up 48-3.
While LSU struggled, Nix completed 18-of-24 passes for 300 yards and three passing touchdowns and added 81 rushing yards, plus a rushing touchdown. As CBS pointed out, he’s the first Auburn quarterback to finish with 300 passing yards, at least three passing touchdowns and at least one rushing touchdown since Cam Newton in 2010.
Schwartz was Nix’s primary target Saturday, finishing with four catches for 123 yards and that one spectacular touchdown.
Auburn moved to 4-2 on the season, while LSU fell to 2-3.
This has to be one of the worst punts of the college football season so far.
It was a quick three-and-out drive for Vanderbilt late in the first quarter against Ole Miss on Saturday, but it ended an awfully memorable way.
As a 17-point favorite going into this game, Ole Miss was up, 14-0, when quarterback Matt Corral connected with tight end Kenny Yeboah for a 9-yard touchdown. On Vanderbilt’s next drive, after a short pass and two even shorter runs, the Commodores were at 4th-and-3 from their own 32-yard line.
So sophomore punter Jared Wheatley was up. And unfortunately for him, this is likely a play he’ll want to forget. Wheatley’s punt appeared to have a trajectory resembling a triangle, and it went for all of four yards — though the camera’s angle makes it look a bit farther.
That has to be one of the worst punts of the season so far, and it was certainly less than ideal for the Commodores, who are trying to win their first game of the season. And Ole Miss made them pay for that one.
Starting on Vanderbilt’s 36-yard line, Corral found wide receiver Elijah Moore, who scored a 36-yard touchdown off the first play of the next drive, giving Ole Miss a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Unranked Michigan State upset No. 13 Michigan in the Big Ten’s second week of games.
No. 13 Michigan opened its season with a dominant win over Minnesota, while Michigan State got rocked by Rutgers, a team that had not won a Big Ten game since 2017. So naturally, the Wolverines entered their rivalry matchup against the Spartans on Saturday as 23.5-point favorites. This game seemed like a blowout waiting to happen.
But when the two teams took the field at Michigan Stadium, almost nothing went as expected, and Michigan State upset Michigan with a 27-24 nail-biting victory.
The Spartans’ surprising passing game poked holes all over Michigan’s secondary, and, although quarterback Joe Milton threw for 300 yards, the Wolverines’ offense struggled to find a spark and consistency. Michigan State had a slight 14-10 lead at halftime and was up, 27-17, late in the fourth quarter after quarterback Rocky Lombardi connected with Connor Heyward for a 13-yard touchdown.
Michigan got the ball with about five minutes left in the game, but it ate up too much of the clock before finding the end zone, allowing the Spartans to hold on for the win. And, with new coach Mel Tucker leading the way, it was the first win for a Michigan State head coach in his debut against the Wolverines since Nick Saban did it in 1995, FOX Sports’ broadcast noted.
Understandably — especially after such high expectations were established for this Michigan team after the Minnesota win — Wolverines fans were not happy.
And college football Twitter took plenty of shots at the program, particularly coach Jim Harbaugh, who’s now 1-6 at home against Michigan State and Ohio State. Some called for Harbaugh’s job, some called it his worst loss at Michigan and some just had jokes.
Jim Harbaugh is 3-3 against Michigan State and just lost to a first-year coach who got beat by Rutgers last week. You don't do that if you're a special coach.
If Michigan loses this game Don Brown and Josh Gattis should get pink slips. Enough is enough with this shit. And Jim Harbaugh’s contract should not be extended unless he wins B10.
Early in the second quarter Saturday, No. 1 Clemson was one yard away from tying up the game against Boston College — until a poor handoff from backup quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei to running back Travis Etienne ultimately led to a touchdown at the other end of the field.
With the Tigers’ starting quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, out this week after testing positive for COVID-19, Uiagalelei took over, and he was having a solid start to the game.
And on 3rd-and-goal on Boston College’s 1-yard line with the Tigers down, 14-7, Uiagalelei handed the ball off to Etienne to make a run at the end zone. But the handoff didn’t look seamless, and the ball quickly shot out of Etienne’s grasp.
It practically fell into the hands of Eagles defensive back Brandon Sebastian, who scooped the fumble up and returned it for a stunning 97-yard touchdown.
And just like that, instead of Clemson tying the game at 14-all — what seemed like the most likely scenario with the nation’s top team on the 1-yard line — it fell deeper into an early 21-7 deficit.
At the time of this post, Boston College had a 21-10 lead over the Tigers.
