The college football season is already halfway over! These six weeks have flown by, but much remains to be established this year. I will break down how Week 6 significantly influenced where we find ourselves today as we prepare to enter Week 7!
The PSU (P)review
Image Source: https://twitter.com/PennStateFball/status/1579490387508756480/photo/1
Yes, you that P in parenthesis up in the heading of this section. No Nittany Lion football in Week 6, but a much needed break for what has been an optimal start to the season for Penn State. The bye week could not come in a better spot, as the Nittany Lions will travel to Ann Arbor, MI for a top-10 matchup in the Big House. Players should be rested, healed, and raring to get to Michigan.
The #4 Wolverines took on Indiana this past weekend in Bloomington. Michigan had a bit of a hiccup on the road, as they entered the half tied 10-10 against the 3-2 Hoosiers and only held a 17-10 lead until they began to blow it open with 9:43 left in the 4th quarter. Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy played yet another stellar game, but did throw his first interception of the season (his play has been that good that I am commenting on a single interception). His backfield buddy, RB Blake Corum, had his 3rd consecutive 100+ rushing yard performance. He currently resides as 3rd in the country in rushing yards (735) and 2nd in rushing TD’s (11).
For Penn State to be successful against the Wolverines this weekend, it starts up front on both sides of the ball. The defensive line must apply pressure to McCarthy and Corum, one of the elite QB-RB duos in the country. Neither have faced that type of defensive line pressure all season, thus being able to continuously amount ridiculous statistics. If Penn State’s defensive line, led by senior P.J. Mustipher, can wreak havoc on the very talented Michigan offensive line — the Nittany Lions will be in for a good day on the defensive side of the ball.
On the other front, the offensive line must have a stellar performance this weekend. Michigan always seems to bring a relentless pass rush, whether it was Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo last year or Mike Morris and Eyabi Okie this year. From my vantage point, Penn State’s offensive line did not have great performances in their last two games versus Central Michigan and Northwestern. The pass blocking has been fine (although not much passing against Northwestern), but the run blocking has seemed a little subpar to me lately. Kaytron Allen had a huge game versus Central Michigan, but our offensive line really struggled to create holes for Nick Singleton in the back field. I saw this issue much more prevalent against Northwestern two weeks ago for all three of our RB’s. Considering the elements of the Northwestern game, that team prepared for the run almost every snap as we ran 58 times. So, there might be more to the Wildcats’s ability to hold the team to 3.8 yards per carry. Against such a tough defensive line on the other side of the ball, the offensive line must perform in a big way for Penn State to be successful offensively this weekend. For the Nittany Lions this weekend: it’s less of how many mistakes you can minimize, but more how you can minimize specific, recurring mistakes.
Running the football efficiently is a necessity this weekend and complementing a strong game through the air against the Michigan secondary with that is obviously also paramount. This will have to be a gritty win, but the team has shown strengths across the board this year to prove they can get it done in a hostile road environment. Penn State enters as a 7.0-point underdog against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Saturday. Kickoff is at Noon on FOX as a part of the network’s marquee game: Big Noon Kickoff.
Around CFB
Image Source: Just because the Nittany Lions were off did not mean the rest of college football was! Here are my highlights from a jam-packed Week 6:
First, shoutout to Pitt RB Israel Abanikanda. Israel totaled 320 yards on the ground and 6 TD’s on Saturday in a 45-29 win over Virginia Tech. Video game numbers!
The highlight of what I watched Saturday was a dog fight between #1 Alabama and Texas A&M in Tuscaloosa. With defending Heisman winning QB Bryce Young out prior to the game with a shoulder injury suffered the week before, RS Freshman Jalen Milroe stepped into size infinity shoes this weekend. Texas A&M is not a team to be taken lightly. Obviously after falling out of the rankings following a preseason ranking of #6 the season has not been ideal, but this team gave Alabama their sole loss in the regular season last year (with Young playing). Milroe ran all over A&M, but really struggled passing the ball. Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs followed up his incredible performance at Arkansas with a 154-yard performance on the ground. With the nation’s #1 recruiting class, A&M’s young stars shone in the spotlight. #1 national recruit Walter Nolen III posted a sack against Milroe and 5-star WR Evan Stewart accumulated 108 yards on 8 receptions against a talented Alabama secondary. A&M held the ball on the 1-yard line with :03 left, but QB Haynes King rocketed the bay ll over Stewart’s head and out of bounds. Alabama dodged a bullet in what would have been only the 3rd time Nick Saban were to have lost to the same team in consecutive season in Young’s absence.
#3 Ohio State rolled Michigan State in East Lansing. CJ Stroud continued to bolster his Heisman front-running resume with 361 yards and 6 TD’s in 3 quarters of action. This Ohio State offense is without a doubt the best right now in the country even without their #1 WR in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Sophomore WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (son of Colts Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison) has emerged as a top-5 receiver in the country. He leads the country in receiving TD’s with 9.
#18 UCLA, led by 5th-year QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, rolled over #11 Utah in Rose Bowl Stadium. A monumental win for Chip Kelly and the Bruins, UCLA moves to 6-0 on the year and a potential challenger to USC for the PAC-12 Championship this year.
Notre Dame toppled #18 BYU in Las Vegas to continue the recovery since their 0-2 start under new head coach Marcus Freeman.
My game of the week last week, the Big 12 matchup of two unlikely ranked teams in #17 TCU visiting #19 in Lawrence proved to be exactly the blockbuster I thought it had the chance of being. Both teams scored 21 points in the 3rd quarter, and a late TD drive by TCU led them to take down the Jayhawks who lost their star QB Jayden Daniels early in the game with a shoulder injury.
Texas and Oklahoma played in the Red River Showdown last weekend, in what was probably one of the least hyped editions of this matchup due to each team faltering multiple times already to start the season. With Oklahoma’s non-existent momentum the past several weeks after a string of terrible losses, they could not muster anything against the Longhorns. Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel did not start for the Sooners, but in his replacement the offense scored a whopping 0 points. The Longhorns overwhelmingly blanked the Sooners, leaving Cotton Bowl Stadium with a resounding 49-0 victory led by RS Freshman QB Quinn Ewers’s stellar performance in his return from injury.
Week 7 AP Top 25 Poll
*Shoutout to James Madison for being ranked after only their first 5 games in the FBS!
What’s Next in Week 7?
Hunter’s Game of the Week: #10 Penn State vs. #5 Michigan (-7.0) – We talked about it enough. A top-10 Big Ten East matchup between rivals is always something you need your popcorn for. Expect a physical and gritty game in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
#3 Alabama (-7.0) vs. #6 Tennessee – This is a very close contender for my game of the week, but I’m just a little biased. Alabama is coming off of an upset scare versus Texas A&M last week while Tennessee has looked like a CFP contender led by Heisman-contending QB Hendon Hooker. Does Bryce Young play and if so, will he be limited by the shoulder injury? Expect another dogfight in Knoxville in a pivotal matchup to determine the makeup of the SEC the rest of the season.
#8 OK State vs. #13 TCU (-4.0) – TCU looks great after starting 5-0 and taking down Kansas on the road last week. Oklahoma State hasn’t blinked much at all this year, playing stellar all-around ball. TCU is the favorite at home, and I think I’ll like what the Horned Frogs can do in a massively significant Big 12 matchup versus a familiar foe.
#7 USC vs. #20 Utah (-3.5) – Despite a pretty flawless start to the season under new head coach Lincoln Riley, USC enters this weekend as a 3.5-point underdog on the road. This talented Utah team is coming off of a tough loss to UCLA on the road, but this matchup will carry dividends for later in the year when the PAC-12 championship is ultimately decided.
#15 NC State vs. #18 Syracuse (-3.5) – Look at Syracuse go! Led by sophomore RB Sean Tucker, the Orange have a great opportunity in the JMA Wireless Dome to take down a strong ACC-opponent in the NC State Wolfpack who took down Florida State in a highly contested 19-17 win a week ago.
Hey Hunter! Great work on your passion blog and incorporating elements of Flair (Chiasmus and Parentheses). Your take on this week in College Football was a really interesting read and I don’t doubt that as the weeks progress, the Nittany Lions will continue to prevail.
Hunter, I can’t say enough how much I enjoy reading your blogs. You have a great analysis of college football, and I am not kidding when I say you could pursue this as a future endeavor. I’m feeling optimistic about our chances on Saturday. Overall great job!!
Great job Hunter! I love reading your blogs, especially how expansive they feel. Even though PSU had a “bye week”, your blog still had a rich well of content spanning across all of college football. I also loved your usage of chiasmus and parentheses and the phrase “Video game numbers!”. I thought that was really funny.