Tag: NCAAF

College GameDay: See Lee Corso’s headgear pick for Ohio State vs. Penn State

The Nittany Lions are trying to upset Ohio State at home in the Big Ten’s second week.

College GameDay spent Saturday in Happy Valley to preview No. 3 Ohio State’s road trip against No. 18 Penn State at Beaver Stadium.

While the Buckeyes are looking to extend their early record to 2-0 after beating Nebraska last weekend, the Nittany Lions will try to bounce back after a heartbreaking overtime loss to Indiana to start the Big Ten season. Ohio State and Penn State kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Continuing to broadcast from his home studio in Orlando, Lee Corso made his GameDay pick, and he’s going with Ohio State, putting his headgear on in the middle of an extravagant Halloween scene, presumably in his yard. The Buckeyes are 11.5-point favorites.

As ESPN noted, Corso has started the season with seven straight correct headgear picks.

Former Penn State QB Trace McSorley was the show’s guest picker, and he, obviously, went with the Nittany Lions.

Corso’s other picks for Week 9 included: No. 1 Clemson over Boston College, No. 10 Florida over Missouri, No. 8 Texas A&M over Arkansas, Syracuse over Wake Forest, Georgia State over Coastal Carolina, No. 7 Cincinnati over Memphis, LSU over Auburn, No. 13 Michigan over Michigan State, No. 17 Indiana over Rutgers, No. 16 Kansas State over West Virginia and Texas over No. 6 Oklahoma State.

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3 stats about Rutgers’ shocking Big Ten win over Michigan State

Kind of sad but also very exciting for Rutgers football.

Rutgers opened its 2020 season with a 38-27 win on the road against Michigan State in a game it entered as a 10.5-point underdog.

Now, this was not exactly a pretty game for either team. They combined for 16 penalties and 10 turnovers, but the Spartans gave up seven of those turnovers. Rutgers forced four turnovers in the first half — including on Michigan State’s first two drives — and that’s excluding the Spartans turning the ball over on downs on their third drive of the game.

Rutgers had an 18-point lead at two different points in the game, and, fittingly, the Scarlet Knights secured their victory by picking off Michigan State junior quarterback Rocky Lombardi with 1:20 left in the fourth quarter.

Although the Spartans, clearly, aren’t even looking mediocre after the first game of the season, the win is a big deal for Rutgers, especially in the Big Ten. So here are three stats illustrating just how big this W is.

1. Rutgers is 1-0 for the first time in Big Ten play.

Yes, the last time the Scarlet Knights won a conference game was in 2017 against Maryland — a 31-24 victory — and they finished 3-6 in Big Ten play that year after losing their last three conference matchups. But then they went 0-9 in 2018 and in 2019 and extended that very sad losing streak to an incredible 21 games.

Well, by taking out Michigan State on Saturday, Rutgers is 1-0 in conference play for the first time since joining the Big Ten in 2014.

2. Rutgers needed 9 Big Ten quarters to score a TD in 2019. It scored on the opening drive vs. Michigan State.

Last season, Rutgers didn’t score a Big Ten touchdown until its third conference game of the season, which was against Maryland in a 48-7 loss. Not the case this year with only Big Ten opponents on the regular-season schedule.

But against Michigan State on Saturday, they scored on their opening drive for a lead they never relinquished. On 1st-and-10 early in the first quarter, junior running back Isaih Pacheco ran the ball into the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown run to get the Scarlet Knights on the board first.

And they put up four of their five total touchdowns in the first half.

3. It’s the second time Rutgers had a 2-TD lead at halftime, and the first time they ultimately won.

At halftime, Rutgers had a 28-13 lead over the Spartans, and, as ESPN Stats & Info noted, it was only the second time since the Scarlet Knights joined the conference that they had a two-touchdown lead in a Big Ten game at the break.

Except this time, Rutgers won the game.

Does all this mean Rutgers is quietly a Big Ten East contender? No, almost certainly not. But Saturday’s victory was a surely a big deal for a fan base that’s used to disappointment, particularly in conference games.

Rutgers’ next game is its home-opener against Indiana next Saturday.

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Trevor Lawrence threw his first career pick-six against Syracuse

Trevor Lawrence went two-and-a-half seasons at Clemson without throwing a pick-six.

Trevor Lawrence threw eight interceptions during Clemson’s 2019-20 season and four interceptions in the Tigers’ 2018-19 national championship season.

And going into the Week 8 matchup against Syracuse, the junior quarterback had only thrown one pick on the season, which was in last week’s 73-7 demolition of Georgia Tech.

But Lawrence had not yet thrown a pick-six in his college career — until Saturday.

No. 1 Clemson was a whopping 46.5-point favorite against the Orange. But it was struggling to run away with the game — as it does sometimes against Syracuse — and Lawrence’s first career pick-six at the end of the second quarter certainly didn’t help.

On 1st-and-10 with barely a minute left in the half, the Tigers had the ball on their own 12-yard line. Lawrence was aiming for senior wide receiver Amari Rodgers when he was picked off by Syracuse freshman defensive back Garrett Williams, who returned it for a 39-yard touchdown.

And instead of having at least a 24-7 lead at halftime, the Tigers were only up 27-14.

To be fair, this interception was not entirely Lawrence’s fault because the ball was first tipped by Rodgers, but it still wasn’t great. However, the projected No. 1 2021 NFL Draft pick should probably get some credit for not giving up a pick-six until his third season with the Tigers.

At the time of this post, Clemson was leading Syracuse, 40-21, in the fourth quarter.

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College GameDay: See Lee Corso’s headgear pick for Michigan vs. Minnesota

GameDay was at the Michigan-Minnesota game for the Big Ten’s opening weekend.

ESPN’s College GameDay spent a brisk — like, temperatures in the mid-20s kind of brisk — Saturday morning in Minneapolis ahead of No. 21 Minnesota’s home game against No. 18 Michigan.

Although it’s technically Week 8 of the college football season, it’s the Big Ten’s season-opening weekend, and, with only eight regular-season games in eight weeks, this matchup is a big one.

During the Golden Gophers’ impressive 11-2 2019 season, GameDay visited Minnesota for the first time, and now it’s back for a second appearance in 13 shows.

But while the GameDay crew was dealing with some chilly weather, Lee Corso continued broadcasting from his “home” studio in Orlando. And he has faith in Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines, who are slight 3-point favorites over Minnesota, and put on a giant Michigan helmet.

And perhaps that’s fair because Corso said Minnesota hasn’t beaten Michigan at home in 43 years, and Michigan as won 20 of the last 21 played in Minnesota. However, as ESPN noted, Harbaugh’s team has been on the road for its last seven GameDay features, and the Wolverines have lost every time.

Vince Vaughn was the guest picker, and he went with the Golden Gophers.

Corso also picked No. 25 Coastal Carolina over Georgia Southern, No. 14 North Carolina over No. 23 NC State, Auburn over Ole Miss, LSU over South Carolina, No. 2 Alabama over Tennessee, No. 3 Notre Dame over Pitt, Texas over Baylor, Oklahoma over TCU, No. 17 Iowa State over No. 6 Oklahoma State and No. 16 SMU over No. 9 Cincinnati — and the Mustangs’ mascot jumped in Corso’s pool after that pick.

And for the rest of the Big Ten’s opening weekend, he went with Indiana over No. 8 Penn State and No. 5 Ohio State over Nebraska. Led by redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz and No. 14 Wisconsin beat Illinois on Friday night.

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Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz sets team record with near-perfect game against Illinois

Wisconsin’s got a passing game!

Against Illinois on Friday night, Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz was almost perfect. And that’s not in an exaggerated way for effect. He actually nearly had a perfect completion percentage in the Badgers’ 45-7 blowout victory in the Big Ten season opener.

As a redshirt freshman, Mertz made his first career start and is replacing starter Jack Coan, who is injured and out indefinitely after needing surgery on his right foot.

But Mertz stepped up in a big way and for a team whose run game is often the star of the show as it tries to replace superstar Jonathan Taylor, who’s now with the Indianapolis Colts.

On the night, Mertz completed 20-of-21 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns. And, as ESPN Stats & Info noted, his near-perfect 95.2 completion percentage is a Wisconsin program record.

Mertz threw a perfect first half for four touchdowns, and he started off by completing his first 17 passes. And his lone incompletion against Illinois was in the their quarter to senior running back Garrett Groshek on 3rd-and-19.

Late in the fourth quarter, he threw his fifth touchdown of the game, connecting with junior tight end Jake Ferguson, who caught three touchdowns Friday night.

Wisconsin entered its season-opening weekend as one of the top-4 teams with the best chances to make the College Football Playoff, according to ESPN’s Playoff Predictor. As of Saturday morning, the Badgers have a 50.6 percent chance to make the playoff. They face Nebraska next week.

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Big Ten football: 3 things to keep in mind at the start of the season

Can anyone beat Ohio State? Before The Snap previews the Big Ten’s football season, which begins Friday.

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.

It feels a little weird to have this conversation in the middle of October, but the Big Ten’s 2020 football season is officially here. The conference opens its eight-game schedule with No. 14 Wisconsin hosting Illinois on Friday at 8 p.m. ET (BTN).

But the conference’s biggest matchup of the week is No. 18 Michigan at No. 21 Minnesota with the Wolverines being a slight 3-point favorite as of Thursday, per BetMGM.

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Going into the first Big Ten weekend, Ohio State and Wisconsin are among the top-4 teams with the best chances to make the College Football Playoff, according to ESPN’s Playoff Predictor. As of Thursday, the Buckeyes have a 57.2 percent chance to win the conference and a 69.6 percent chance to make the playoff, while the Badgers are at 31.7 percent and 40.0 percent, respectively.

Still, these teams have yet to play a game this season, so these numbers could easily change next week.

Here’s a look at the Big Ten teams’ chances of winning the conference, determined by ESPN’s Football Power Index:

Ohio State: 55.1 percent

Wisconsin: 31.7 percent

Penn State: 8.6 percent

Minnesota: 0.7 percent

Iowa: 0.6 percent

Northwestern: 0.5 percent

Indiana: 0.4 percent

Michigan: 0.2 percent

Nebraska: 0.1 percent

Purdue: 0.1 percent

Maryland: 0.0 percent

Michigan State: 0.0 percent

Rutgers: 0.0 percent

Illinois: 0.0 percent

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Lee Corso told the story of how he started wearing mascot headgear on College Gameday

Who knew?

College Gameday has become a household staple on Saturdays and part of that is because of Lee Corso.

Corso has been a fan favorite analyst for over two decades now and part of the reason for that is because he’s so fun on set. No one else is putting on college mascot headgear to make their picks.

He’s been doing that for 24 years now and fans have absolutely loved it through the years. It’s become a tradition, of sorts, on Saturdays for college football fans.

But, for newer fans, it’s never really been clear how this all started. It’s just always been a thing. On Saturday, though, Corso explained how his headgear schtick came to be.

24 years ago, Corso says was picking Ohio State in a game and came up with the idea when he saw the team’s mascot, Brutus. He explains the rest here.

“One Friday, I was on the set with Kirk. And Brutus walked by. I said to Kirk ‘You know what? If I put that head on, everybody will know I picked Ohio State. I won’t have to say a word.’ I asked Kirk ‘Do you think you could get me that Brutus head?’ He said ‘I think Alison, my fiancé, could get it for us,’.” 

There you have it, folks.

College Football Playoff: Diving into the way-too-early playoff picture

Which conference has the best chance to get two teams in the College Football Playoff?

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.

Headed into Week 6 of the college football season, things are getting exciting in the SEC, the Big 12 is struggling and Clemson looks like it’s going to dominate the ACC again. And the Big Ten and Pac-12 still haven’t played.

But that’s not stopping anyone from looking ahead to the College Football Playoff picture.

The four teams with the best chances to make the playoff this year are Ohio State (69.3 percent), Alabama (68.9 percent), Clemson (62.4 percent) and Georgia (47.0 percent), as of Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Playoff Predictor. The next four teams with the best playoff chances are Wisconsin (37.9 percent), Penn State (20.7 percent), Oregon (19.0 percent) and Notre Dame (16.4 percent).

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As ESPN has previously noted, its Playoff Predictor is based on factors such as strength of record, number of losses, conference championships, the Football Power Index and the selection committee’s past behavior.

So what does all this mean? Are some teams overlooked or overrated? We break it down on the latest episode of Before The Snap.

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Kentucky running back’s too-early TD celebration vs. Ole Miss ends in disaster

Never celebrate early. Ever.

Kentucky was so close to immediately responding to Ole Miss’ opening-drive touchdown Saturday with an incredible touchdown play of its own. But that play, and the rest of the Wildcats’ first possession, instead ended in total disaster.

On 1st-and-10 from Kentucky’s 25-yard line, Wildcats senior running back Asim Rose was handed the ball and had room to work with on his left. He capitalized on his space and speed, and he blew by Ole Miss’ defense down the field.

But Rose seemingly thought he had the all defenders completely beat, and he started to celebrate what could have been his first touchdown of the season a little too early. He flashed a peace sign and even glanced behind him for a split second — a view which should have made him realize he was in danger of being caught.

And when he was less than 10 yards from the goal line and pointing at the end zone, he went down. It was a 72-yard gain instead of a 75-yard touchdown.

Somehow, the situation actually got worse.

On 1st-and-goal on Ole Miss’ 3-yard line, Rose picked up two. And on second down, he fumbled the ball on the goal line, and defensive end Ryder Anderson recovered it. Luckily for Rose and Kentucky, Ole Miss didn’t score on the subsequent possession, but the Wildcats surely envisioned their opening drive ending differently.

The moral of the story here is never celebrate scoring before you’ve actually scored.

ESPN has the full video of Rose’s huge run and subsequent gaffe.

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College football Twitter wants Florida TE Kyle Pitts in the early Heisman debate

Florida’s Kyle Trask-to-Kyle Pitts connection is going strong.

Last week when we broke down the top 2020 Heisman Trophy favorites, Florida quarterback Kyle Trask was among the top-10 candidates. But that was prior to the Gators’ season-opener.

Now that Florida is 2-0 with wins over Ole Miss and then South Carolina, 38-24, on Saturday, college football fans are pushing for a another Gator to be in the Heisman conversation: tight end Kyle Pitts.

Only two tight ends have ever won the Heisman: Larry Kelley for Yale in 1936 and Leon Hart for Notre Dame in 1949. So it’s been a while, but the Kyle-to-Kyle connection has been practically unstoppable so far this season, and if it continues, perhaps both players will be serious Heisman contenders by the end of the season.

Against the Gamecocks, Pitts, a junior, had a particularly strong first half and finished with four catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns. In Florida’s 51-35 win over Ole Miss last week, he had eight catches for 170 yards and four touchdowns.

So to recap, Pitts had six touchdowns through the first eight quarters of 2020, which is the same number South Carolina as a whole has this season. That ties him for second-most among SEC players in two-game period in the last 25 seasons, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Though it’s difficult to argue when some conferences haven’t played their first games yet, but Pitts might be the best tight end in the country. He’s stunningly faster than you might expect for a 6-foot-6, 240-pound player, he can make some incredibly unlikely catches and, so far, defenders are struggling to stop him.

It’s obviously still very early in this nontraditional college football season, so it’s possible Pitts could drop out of the Heisman conversation as quickly as he entered it, especially once the Big Ten and Pac-12 start playing. But if he continues at this pace — which is 30 touchdowns for the regular season after Saturday’s game — he would almost certainly deserve to be a contender.

And after two games, Florida fans and college football Twitter love that idea.

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