Winners and Losers from Week 7 of College Football
Week 7 of the 2016 college football season shaped up as a fascinating one on paper. With a pair of Top 10 matchups, it had the potential to shake up the College Football Playoff picture as well as the Top 25 polls. And while those games took the spotlight, as always, other matchups came seemingly out of nowhere to capture our attention.
A pair of ACC powers were pushed hard by lesser foes, and an SEC East coach under fire got a huge victory. Meanwhile, Georgia learned that changing cultures isn’t always a smooth process, an under-the-radar tailback continued to impress and a preseason favorite fell further into a skid.
Who were the biggest winners and losers this week? Read on.
Winner: Clemson's College Football Playoff Hopes
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After N.C. State kicker Kyle Bambard’s potential game-winning field goal slipped wide right, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney looked at the Memorial Stadium turf, hung his head and banged his hands against the grass, twice.
Swinney’s reaction personified what all Clemson fans felt: Whew.
The No. 3 Tigers were one kick away from their first loss to an unranked opponent since 2011 (which was also to N.C. State), but now, they had new life. They took advantage of it and pulled out a 24-17 overtime win to keep their unbeaten season alive and keep themselves in the College Football Playoff conversation.
Just another day at the office,” Swinney told Scott Keepfer of the Greenville News.“We wanted to be sure ABC’s coast-to-coast ratings went up.”
Saturday exposed some issues for the Tigers, most notably in the running game. Clemson managed just 117 yards on 39 rush attempts, averaging 3.0 yards per carry. It missed tailback Wayne Gallman, who was knocked from the game with an apparent head injury in the first half.
Deshaun Watson threw for 378 yards and two touchdowns, but he wasn’t sharp at times, throwing an interception the Wolfpack returned for a score. And four turnovers (two in the red zone) would have been deadly against a more talented foe.
But Clemson survived and now has an open week to fix its problems before a crucial Oct. 29 trip to Florida State, where the Tigers haven’t won since 2006.
Loser: N.C. State's Kicking Game
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N.C. State was oh-so close to the defining win of the Dave Doeren era. So close the Wolfpack could taste it.
With the score tied at 17, the 'Pack bled out the final six minutes and 39 seconds of regulation, setting up a final field-goal attempt that could give State its first win over a Top Three team on the road since 1967.
All Kyle Bambard had to do was make a 33-yard field goal on the game’s final play. He missed wide right. At that point, the ballgame was essentially over.
Oh, sure, the teams played overtime, with Marcus Edmond sealing the win by picking off Ryan Finley in the end zone on the first play of N.C. State’s OT possession, but all momentum left the Wolfpack’s side following the miss.
Doeren doesn’t need a detailed analysis to figure out why the ‘Pack let this one slip. It’s the kicking game. Bambard made only one of four field-goal tries, missing two and having another blocked by Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Make one more (and not even the last one) and State has a program-changing upset.
Instead, it's left to lament what might have been.
Winner: Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett
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Saturday was the kind of night that tests young teams like Ohio State. For 30 minutes, very little went right for the No. 2 Buckeyes in Madison. OSU trailed No. 8 Wisconsin 16-6, and head coach Urban Meyer had to be wondering how his team would respond.
The Buckeyes did so emphatically, rallying for a 30-23 overtime win that enhanced their status as one of the nation’s best teams. In a hostile environment, Ohio State took everything a good Badger squad had to offer and got great leadership from junior quarterback J.T. Barrett.
Ohio State outscored Wisconsin 17-7 in the second half to force overtime, and it ended both touchdown drives with Barrett scoring runs. He gave the Buckeyes the lead for good in overtime with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Noah Brown. Barrett finished with 226 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception and added 92 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground.
This is a young team, but with Barrett running the offense, it can cover up a lot of mistakes and remain a College Football Playoff contender.
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Loser: Notre Dame's Postseason Hopes
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Notre Dame began 2016 with hopes of building on a 10-3 campaign and making the College Football Playoff. Now, just making a bowl looks like it’d be a miracle for the Fighting Irish. A 17-10 loss to Stanford dropped Notre Dame to 2-5, and Miami, Navy, Army, Virginia Tech and Southern California remain on the schedule. Yikes.
Quarterback DeShone Kizer struggled to move the ball against Stanford’s defense, completing 14 of 26 passes for 154 yards with two interceptions. And Malik Zaire briefly replaced him. Notre Dame drove inside the Stanford 10 with 40 seconds left, but Kizer was sacked and then tackled inbounds on the game’s final play as time expired.
Expectations are always high in South Bend, and this won’t be received well. This has become a year to forget for the Irish.
Winner: West Virginia's Defense
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Head coach Dana Holgorsen began the season on the hot seat at West Virginia. He's not there anymore.
The No. 20 Mountaineers have been a pleasant surprise, improving to 5-0 following Saturday’s 48-17 trouncing of Texas Tech. That’s an impressive road win, given Tech entered the game as the nation’s top passing offense with quarterback Patrick Mahomes leading the nation in passing yardage.
Mahomes threw for 305 yards with a touchdown and an interception on 44 attempts, but he was largely a non-factor. It helped that the Mountaineer D was so impressive against the rush. It held Tech to 34 yards on 27 rushing attempts and made Tech's attack one-dimensional.
West Virginia and Baylor look like the two best teams in the Big 12. WVU senior quarterback Skyler Howard has also been excellent; he accounted for 407 yards of total offense and had a hand in three total touchdowns.
The Mountaineers' schedule gets tougher from here, with TCU, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Baylor still left. But with a defense like this, they can compete for a Big 12 title.
Loser: Louisville's College Football Playoff Hopes
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Following a narrow 42-36 loss to Clemson, No. 7 Louisville needs everything to go right to have any chance at making the College Football Playoff. The Cardinals must run the table—including beating Houston next month—and look good doing so.
So while Friday’s 24-14 win over Duke was a victory on the field, it was anything but pretty.
Louisville led an average Blue Devils team only 17-14 with 1:59 left and appeared ready to hand Duke the ball back after Evan O’Hara missed a 46-yard field goal. But Duke’s Breon Borders was called for roughing O’Hara, extending Louisville’s drive. Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson sealed the win with a two-yard touchdown run with 1:32 left.
However, many expected the Cardinals to whip the Devils far more handily in the national-TV spotlight. Jackson rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown and added 181 yards and a score through the air, keeping his Heisman Trophy hopes alive, but Louisville needed style points Friday and didn’t get them.
Winner: Vanderbilt Coach Derek Mason
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Head coach Derek Mason took over a rare winning situation at Vanderbilt after James Franklin led the Commodores to consecutive nine-win seasons capped by bowl victories. But that goodwill evaporated immediately after a 3-9 debut season that saw him fire both coordinators. Vandy was more competitive last fall with a 4-8 record, but more progress was needed.
Consider Saturday progress.
Despite being outgained 421-171, the Commodores stunned Georgia 17-16 in Athens, giving Mason his first SEC road win. It was Vanderbilt’s first victory in Athens since 2006. Vandy scored its first touchdown following a 95-yard kickoff return to open the game. The Commodores sealed it with an eight-play, 75-yard drive capped by Khari Blasingame’s two-yard touchdown run with 9:43 to play.
Zach Cunningham had 19 tackles on the day, the last on 4th-and-1, snuffing out Georgia’s final drive.
With Tennessee and Ole Miss and road games at Auburn and Missouri still ahead, a bowl game will still be a tough ask, but the Commodores are headed in the right direction.
Loser: Georgia Coach Kirby Smart's Honeymoon Period
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Despite 145 wins, two SEC championships and 15 bowl trips in 15 seasons, Mark Richt wasn’t good enough for Georgia after three years without a trip to the SEC title game. The Bulldogs hoped Kirby Smart could build on that success in a winnable SEC East.
Seven games into his debut season, Smart’s honeymoon is over. That’s clear following a stunning 17-16 home loss to SEC dreg Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs outgained Vandy 421-171 but couldn’t finish drives, settling for a pair of red-zone field goals.
A record of 4-3 certainly wasn’t what Georgia fans had in mind when the Bulldogs hired Smart away from Alabama. He’s going to hear about it now.
Winner: Iowa RB Akrum Wadley and the Iowa Running Game
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After an ugly 38-31 home loss to Northwestern dropped Iowa to 3-2, the Hawkeyes fell off the Big Ten and national radar. They had apparently taken a step back from 2015’s 12-0 regular season and Big Ten West title team. But over the last two weeks, Iowa has found its mojo. Last week saw a gutty 14-7 win at Minnesota.
Saturday, the Hawks followed it up with a 49-35 win over Purdue. Iowa ground the Boilermakers into submission with the rushing game. The Hawks outrushed Purdue 365-46, with Akrum Wadley leading the way with 170 yards on 14 carries, including a 75-yard touchdown run.
Backfield mate LeShun Daniels contributed 156 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Iowa’s receiver corps is thin following Matt VandeBerg’s foot injury, but a physical defense and strong running game can keep Kirk Ferentz’s crew in contention for another division title.
Loser: Mississippi State's Bowl Hopes
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While Sports Illustrated cover boy Dak Prescott is showing the Dallas Cowboys he has what it takes to succeed in the NFL, Mississippi State and head coach Dan Mullen are finding life after Dak is very, very difficult. The Bulldogs have struggled to get consistent offensive play, and Friday night’s 28-21 double-overtime loss at BYU was further proof.
MSU managed only 14 points in regulation, and quarterback Nick Fitzgerald completed just 17 of 36 passes for 214 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. It’s becoming increasingly clear the Bulldogs will be home for the holidays after dropping to 2-4. Kentucky and Samford are next, but State ends the season against No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 1 Alabama, No. 22 Arkansas and No. 12 Ole Miss. Ouch.
After six consecutive winning seasons and 19 wins over the past two campaigns, Mullen has earned some slack in Starkville—a tough place to win. But his seat will unquestionably get hotter entering 2017.
Winner: San Diego State RB Donnel Pumphrey
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Archie Griffin. LaDainian Tomlinson. Herschel Walker. What do these three tailbacks have in common? They’re now all behind Donnel Pumphrey on the NCAA’s career rushing list. You might not know who Pumphrey is, but you should. San Diego State’s diminutive tailback is one of the best college football players.
Friday night, he moved into eighth place on the NCAA’s all-time rushing list, putting up 220 yards and two touchdowns in the Aztecs’ 17-3 win over Fresno State. The 5'9", 180-pound Pumphrey now has 5,383 rushing yards for his career and five career 200-yard rushing games (three this season).
He is the FBS' leading rusher with 1,111 yards and 11 touchdowns. Pumphrey is on pace for 2,222 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns for the season. It’d be fitting if the 5-1 Aztecs, whose only loss came at South Alabama, could find a way to grab the Group of Five’s New Year’s Six bowl bid and give him a huge spotlight to end his college career.
Winner: Oklahoma WR Dede Westbrook
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When this season began, one of the biggest questions surrounding Oklahoma was who would emerge as the Sooners’ top receiver with Sterling Shepard off to the NFL. Halfway through the campaign, it’s clear the answer is Dede Westbrook.
Over the last three weeks, Westbrook has broken out as Baker Mayfield’s favorite target. Saturday’s nine-catch, 184-yard, three-touchdown effort in a 38-17 win over Kansas State marked his third consecutive week with multiple receiving touchdowns and at least 158 receiving yards. He had seven catches, 158 yards and two scores against TCU and 10 catches for 232 yards and three touchdowns against Texas.
At 4-2, Oklahoma is likely out of the College Football Playoff hunt, but the No. 19 Sooners are still firmly in the chase for the Big 12 title. And the Mayfield-Westbrook tandem can carry them to a conference championship.
Winner: Alabama's Supremacy on Rocky Top
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Alabama-Tennessee was once one of the most heated rivalries in college football. Nick Saban’s arrival in Tuscaloosa, coupled with the Volunteers' struggles under Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley, changed that. However, Butch Jones has Tennessee on the right track, headed for its third consecutive winning season and a No. 9 national ranking as the Vols prepared to host the No. 1 Crimson Tide on Saturday.
Would it be enough to get a win in this one-sided rivalry? Not yet. Alabama showed Tennessee it remains a long way from equal footing in the SEC, blowing out the Vols in a 49-10 victory that marked its 10th consecutive win in the series.
Alabama jumped on Tennessee early and never let up, outgaining the Vols 438-32 on the ground and sending Neyland Stadium denizens to the exits far earlier than expected. Alabama made big plays all over the field, with Ronnie Harrison’s 58-yard interception return, Eddie Jackson’s 79-yard punt return, Jalen Hurts’ 45-yard run and Bo Scarbrough’s 85-yard run all going for touchdowns.
Hurts carried 12 times for 132 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, leading all rushers. The scariest part for Tennessee and the rest of the SEC? The talented dual-threat quarterback is only a freshman.
Loser: Tennessee's Comeback Ability
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Over the first half of 2016, Tennessee and Butch Jones firmly established their comeback credentials. The Volunteers amassed and then erased double-digit deficits in victories over Appalachian State, Virginia Tech, Florida and Georgia. Then they nearly did so against Texas A&M, rallying from a 14-point deficit with 3:22 left and forcing overtime before losing 45-38 in two extra periods.
So when they fell behind 14-0 early against No. 1 Alabama, there was likely no panic on the Vols' sideline. Maybe there should have been. The Crimson Tide is a different animal. The Tide broke off huge play after huge play against UT’s defense, which was playing without stars Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Cameron Sutton. Alabama also held a potent offensive attack in check in a 49-10 rout.
Nick Saban's crew outgained Tennessee 594-163 and held Tennessee to 32 rushing yards on 32 attempts. Volunteer tailback Jalen Hurd was ineffective with 28 yards on 13 carries. So was quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who completed 16 of 27 passes for 92 yards with no touchdowns and an interception returned for a touchdown.
Making matters worse, Florida pounded Missouri 40-14, meaning the Vols no longer control their own destiny in the SEC East. The Volunteers are on their way, but Saturday showed they have a long climb left to the top of the league mountain.
Winner: ACC Coastal Division Chaos
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The ACC Coastal Division is known as one of college football’s most wide-open divisions. The only thing we know is that we don’t know, in essence. Saturday was an excellent case study in why the Coastal earned its reputation.
Virginia Tech entered Saturday atop the division with a 2-0 record and an opportunity to go 3-0 while visiting rebuilding Syracuse. Easy mark, right? Wrong. The Hokies couldn’t contain Dino Babers’ offense in a 31-17 defeat.
Meanwhile, North Carolina rebounded from the 34-3 whipping Virginia Tech put on it last week, hanging on for a 20-13 win at Miami (Florida). That created a two-way tie at 2-1 for second place in the Coastal with the Hokies and Pitt. The Tar Heels are in first at 3-1. We’re nearing the midway point of the league slate, and it remains anyone’s to grab. Coastal chaos will once again be a storyline well into November.
Loser: Miami's ACC Coastal Momentum
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After a 4-0 start, Miami rose as high as No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25. And while a blocked late extra point cost the Hurricanes in a 20-19 loss to Florida State, it wasn’t a season-ender, as long as Mark Richt’s group didn’t let the loss get in its head.
Saturday’s lifeless 20-13 loss against North Carolina shows that’s exactly what happened.
While the Tar Heels are the defending ACC Coastal champions, they looked plenty vulnerable in a 34-3 home loss to Virginia Tech played in the throes of Hurricane Matthew. The Heels shut down quarterback Brad Kaaya, while Miami’s defense couldn’t stop UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
A strong start raised expectations, but it might take Richt more than two months to turn around Miami’s program after all.
Winner: Southern California
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Clay Helton’s tenure as Southern California’s full-time head coach could hardly have gotten off to a worse start. Helton won the job after steadying the Trojans’ listing ship and leading USC to a Pac-12 South title last fall. But the Trojans lost the Pac-12 title game and Holiday Bowl after Helton had his interim title removed.
A 1-3 start (albeit against Top 25 foes Alabama, Stanford and Utah) only fanned the flames under his seat.
But it appears Helton and the Trojans are finding their mojo. It’s no coincidence that the turnaround has happened after he installed redshirt freshman Sam Darnold as the starting quarterback. Saturday’s rout of struggling Arizona marked USC’s third consecutive win, all with Darnold under center. The young quarterback has created an excellent connection with star receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Saturday, Smith-Schuster made nine catches for 132 yards and three touchdowns, while Darnold threw five scores in a 48-14 win. The 4-3 Trojans appear to have a pulse, and another Pac-12 South title isn’t out of the question.
Loser: Michigan State's Big Ten Aura
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Last season was a breakthrough year for head coach Mark Dantonio and Michigan State. The Spartans won the Big Ten and made the College Football Playoff for the first time. Given a raft of departures, including quarterback Connor Cook and defensive end Shilique Calhoun, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see a little slippage this fall.
But this much is stunning. Northwestern’s 54-40 win over the Spartans in East Lansing marked Michigan State’s fourth consecutive loss and the most points MSU has allowed in Dantonio’s 10-year tenure.
That’s ugly. And this isn’t even the toughest part of the schedule; the losses have come to Wisconsin, Indiana, BYU and the Wildcats. Michigan State still must face Michigan and Ohio State and travel to Penn State to close the season.
At this point, just making a bowl looks dicey, which is a stunning development.
Winner: Houston's Clutch Defense
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Houston’s push for the American Athletic Conference title and the Group of Five’s New Year’s Six berth are still alive, though it was anything but easy for the No. 13 Cougars on Saturday. A defense that yielded 46 points to Navy was pushed around at times by Tulsa, but it came up with two huge plays for a stirring 38-31 win.
The Golden Hurricane rallied for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to tie the game at 31-31. But with 1:21 left, Houston’s Garrett Davis strip-sacked Tulsa QB Dane Evans, with Emeke Egbule recovering and rumbling 24 yards for the go-ahead score.
Undaunted, Evans marched Tulsa’s offense 74 yards in eight plays, all the way to the Houston 2-yard line with seven seconds left. He completed a pass to Jesse Brubaker, but a pair of Cougar defenders kept him from breaking the plane of the end zone.
If Houston makes a major bowl, Tom Herman and Co. will look back on this moment as a turning point.
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