Midseason takeaways: Taking stock of Colorado, Penn State, USC, Notre
With the college football season at its midpoint, it’s a great time to assess what we’ve seen so far and what it might imply the remainder of the way.Is the bubble breaking for Deion Sanders and Colorado after a scintillating start to the season? Can USC repair its offensive line and secure Caleb Williams in his mission for another Heisman Prize? And will we be fortunate sufficient to see a rematch of Week 7’s Washington-Oregon thriller?Can Penn State
take the next step and make it to the College Football Playoff? Will Notre Dame continue to progress after its big win over USC? And could the ACC get 2 teams in the CFP?ESPN’s college football press reporters examine these questions in the consequences of Week 7.
Colorado’s bad surface could be a bad prophecy
From the minute Colorado rallied previous Arizona State on Oct. 7, Deion Sanders focused on the group’s habit for sluggish starts, saying he was “tired of it,” even after the Buffaloes rallied for their 4th win. Colorado addressed its coach Friday night, storming out to a 29-0 halftime lead versus one-win Stanford, scoring touchdowns on its very first four possessions and outgaining the Cardinal 324-114. “Lastly put it together … like I wanted,” Sanders said. The Buffs were 30 minutes far from a 5-2 start– well ahead of every external prediction for the season– and a well-timed open week. For a group that had actually outscored its first 6 opponents 126-84 in the second half, and 89-42 from the third quarter on, success appeared protected.
Coming off a frustrating loss to Stanford, Deion Sanders would rather get his Buffaloes back on
the field than have a bye week. AP Photo/David Zalubowski But the Buffs unraveled in the second half and overtime, enabling Stanford to score on its final six belongings, consisting of a 97-yard drive. There were substitution mistakes, charges and other errors. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who had revealed his standard brilliance with five goal passes, made an uncommon bad decision in overtime, flinging the ball toward the end zone, where it was easily obstructed. Colorado’s flaws have actually been there all season, even in the very first half Friday, as Stanford receivers slipped behind Travis Hunter and others. However the Buffs had masked them fairly well, primarily since of Shedeur Sanders.
“When you’re playing like you’re playing, you do not want a bye week, you want to work it out, you wish to make it happen,” a noticeably disappointed Deion Sanders said. “I want we could play next week, I truly do.”
Instead, they have 2 weeks to stew as bowl eligibility is unexpectedly in doubt. For all the hype about the September schedule, Colorado’s slate is genuinely backloaded. Four of the Buffs’ staying challengers– UCLA, Oregon State, Washington State and Utah– got in Saturday ranked in the leading 20, and the fifth, Arizona, is clearly enhanced. Although the excitement and attention around Deion Sanders and his team likely will remain, the tone of the season appeared to move early Saturday morning at Folsom Field.– Adam Rittenberg
Waterfall Clash redux in the desert?That purple-clad field storm late Saturday afternoon in Seattle at Husky Arena was a sight to see after Washington beat Oregon in a 36-33 instant classic. The Oregon fans who made the trek from Eugene needed to be dissatisfied, with the Ducks having come agonizingly close to forcing overtime.Editor’s Picks 2 Related The Pac-12’s goodbye tour has actually been a joy to see and the beauty of what awaits during the home stretch is that Dan Lanning’s group might get another crack at Kalen DeBoer’s team in 48 days when the conference crowns its final champ Dec. 1 in Las Vegas. The conference going without departments for its last season might give college football fans a tremendous parting gift.There’s a great deal of work to be done between now and the very first Friday in December, and the focus will be on each group’s defense to continue to complement two of the country’s top 3 offenses. The Ducks, who have actually permitted their very first 6 challengers to typical 15.8 points (11th in FBS ), sit 13th in overall defense( 282.2 backyards per game), and the Huskies are 87th in the country at 394.3 YPG, allowing just 20.8 points a game.Washington still has journeys to USC and Oregon State and an Apple Cup match with Washington State to deal with, while
Oregon visits two-time protecting conference champ Utah to liquidate October and has USC and Oregon State on the docket in 2 of the last three weeks of the season. However if Washington and Oregon are the 2 groups left standing from a grueling routine season, get your popcorn prepared.– Blake Baumgartner Moment of truth looming for Penn State James Franklin has been in Happy Valley for ten years now and has won 70%of his games while at the helm(84-36 ). Four times he has led the Nittany Lions to 11-win seasons, including in 2022, and he has a trio of New Year’s 6 triumphes to his credit. While he has actually accomplished a lot, his revitalization of the program has actually consisted of just one Huge 10 title(2016 ). This year, nevertheless, provides an unique chance as Penn State seeks to take that next step toward gaining entry into the College Football Playoff for the first time, starting with Saturday’s game versus Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. Through seven weeks, the Nittany Lions own the nation’s top units in both in total defense (193.7 YPG)and passing defense (121.2 YPG)and are 2nd just to Michigan in scoring defense(8.0 PPG ). Planner Manny Diaz’s effect can’t be understated as the previous Miami head coach has breathed brand-new life on that side of the ball over the last two years. What transpires in the Horseshoe in 5 days and after that 3 weeks later on when Michigan comes calling Nov. 11 may go a long method in defining Franklin’s tenure, specifically with realignment considerably changing the look of the Big 10 in 2024 and beyond.– Blake Baumgartner USC’s offensive line is a problem it needs to resolve As we saw all of last season, USC’s success relies mainly on Caleb Williams being Caleb Williams. What that implies, nevertheless, isn’t just Williams playing up to his Heisman level, however also being permitted to work his magic thanks to an offending line that protects him well.
In 2022, Williams had lots of time to dissect defenses in and out of the pocket behind a skilled line. This year, after essential departures in center Brett Neilon and guard Andrew Vorhees, the Trojans ‘offending line has degenerated from a relative strength to a question mark, at best. play 1:31 Caleb Williams tosses 3 INTs for first time in USC’s loss to Notre Dame Caleb Williams throws a trio of interceptions in the very first half as USC falls to Notre Dame 48-20. With Justin Dedich relocating to center and other reshuffling of the line with players such as Florida transfer Michael Tarquin and Mason Murphy, the line has allowed 2.43 sacks per game this season for an overall loss of 124 yards– the latter is 105th in the nation. On Saturday night versus a feisty
Notre Dame defense identified to get to Williams, the unit surrendered 6 sacks while representing a handful of penalties also. Dedich, in particular, has had a number of penalties called on him in recent weeks.”I believe the most significant thing that we did was we put ourselves in so many circumstances where we were backed up in long-yardage situations,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said postgame. “It ends up being practically like third-and-long ball and they’re pinning their ears back. Do we require to secure better? Yes. But there’s a great deal of things that enter into that. The big thing is you can’t constantly put yourself in just bad situations versus a great defense.
“Williams was far from good Saturday, and he took lots of the blame for some of his tosses, including three interceptions. But with USC playing from behind from the very first quarter on, the running game was never established( 103 overall backyards)while Williams was put in a position where he needed to push. Without much time to toss, any chance at a comeback was sapped.Now USC’s offending line will need to handle defenses simply as hard, if not tougher, in Utah, UCLA, Cal, Oregon and Washington. As Riley said Saturday night, there’s no”magic pill” that will enable them to enhance, simply work. For the offending line, however, that work needs to occur quickly.– Paolo Uggetti Marcus Freeman’s signature wins assist the knowing curve After listening to Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman and several players explain a historic win over USC, athletic director Jack Swarbrick left the
group’s media room and strolled into the vigorous night, still buzzing in event. Swarbrick, a 1976 Notre Dame graduate who will step down as advertisement in 2024, informed me that wins over USC are specifically sweet for alums. This one was likewise validating.Allstate Playoff Predictor
How will Saturday’s top games impact the College Football Playoff chase after? What are the existing odds for the top four? The Allstate Playoff Predictor has the responses. Check back every week as the chances are upgraded following that week’s games. In December 2021, Swarbrick provided Freeman a chance to lead the Notre Dame program, comprehending that there would be a learning curve. Just 35, Freeman had actually been a Group
of 5 protective
coordinator less than a year earlier.”I have no factor to believe it’s a larger knowing curve or a smaller one in Marcus’case, but there has to be one,”Swarbrick told me then.Freeman has had some tough minutes in his first year-plus on the task
: losing to Marshall in your home to drop to 0-2; losing to a bad Stanford team, also in the house, midway through last season; the 10 protectors on the field fiasco against Ohio State on Sept. 23; getting drubbed by Louisville 2 weeks later. However his teams have actually reacted admirably and taped 2 dominant signature wins– 35-14 over Clemson last November and 48-20 against USC– that show the
capacity of Freeman’s program. Notre Dame fans wish to embrace Freeman, perhaps more than his unquestionably effective predecessor, Brian Kelly. That much became clear Saturday night with the chants and high-fives he received after he came up the famous stadium tunnel.Like all coaches at programs like Notre Dame, Freeman will be evaluated on CFP appearances. Kelly had two in his final four seasons. Freeman told me before the season that he’s less concentrated on concrete goals and more on getting his team to its complete potential. He echoed that feeling Saturday.”There is a procedure to ensure you have a chance to have success, “he stated. “That’s what we couldn’t cheat. I’m proud of the method the coaches and the players actually attacked it.” Freeman’s procedure to become a high-level coach might not be linear, however development spurts like the USC and Clemson wins program he’s on his way.– Adam Rittenberg Two ACC playoff contenders?One of the greatest knocks against the ACC in the College Football Playoff period– or truly in any age– is that the conference never had multiple teams in the hunt for a championship game in the exact same season. This might be that season.Both Florida State and North Carolina struck the midway point undefeated and have each scored more than 30 points in all their games thus
far. They have some remaining tests along the way: Both groups play Duke, Florida State still has Miami and Florida and North Carolina still has Clemson.But they do not play each other in