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Weekend Review

Oct 7 - Oct 10

College Football

• Recap: No matter what the college football predictions say about which team is expected to win, victory is never a given when you're lining up against other teams full of talented and determined athletes week in and week out. We cherish every single W! This one feels especially great after coming off of a two game losing streak. We fully intend to keep that momentum alive when we travel up to Cincinnati this weekend.
  • Defense stepped up:
    • Game plan: ECU came into this game with a high-powered offense led by QB Holton Ahlers that was averaging 442 total yards and scoring over 30 points per game. We knew that the secret would be pressuring their QB and containing their key players.
      • One specific player we knew we had to contain was their running back Keaton Mitchell who had put up 222 yards against Tulane. Our run defense was on fire and held Mitchell to 65 yards on 17 carries.
      • By the end of the game, four of us had recorded sacks, 3 turnovers were recovered, and the Pirates were held to 16 points.
    • Stand out: Tatum Bethune came back from an injury and had the best game of his college career. He recorded a monster 17 tackles and played a huge role in how effective our run defense was this week. 

• Around CFB this weekend: 
  • Overall: WOW!
  • Oklahoma 55 - Texas 48: Red River Showdown
    • Oklahoma: In all my years of watching this rivalry, I don't think I've ever seen a more chaotic game. I can easily see a documentary being made about this game - it was that good! 
      • When Spencer Rattler, the starting QB, was 8/15 and 2 INT, Coach Riley made the decision to let true freshman Caleb Williams take over. Williams led a massive comeback complete with a mind-blowing catch by Marvin Mims to put Oklahoma within 2. However, on the two-point conversion attempt, Coach Riley pulled Williams and put Rattler back in (and the crowd boo'ed). Rattler pulled off the conversion and the game was tied... for a few moments.
      • On the very next kickoff, Caleb Kelly snatched the ball away from the Longhorns on a fumble recovery that quickly put OU up 48-41 midway through the 4th quarter. It would take another score to eventually win but Williams ended the day completing 16/25 passes for 212 yards and 0 interceptions.
    • Texas: It only took 2 minutes for the Longhorns to score 14 points and a single quarter to put up 28. I thought Texas was about to run away with this game. In fact, Texas had led the entire game until OU tied it up with that two-point conversion half-way through the 4th. 
      • In total, Texas put up 516 total yards of offense and scored 48 points. This is actually the first time they have lost after scoring 48. However, they gave up 662 total yards to OU which ultimately cost them the game. In our locker room, we always talk about how football is a 60 minute game. You can't win a football game if you can't finish all 4 quarters.
  • Texas A&M 41 - Alabama 38: 
    • Texas A&M: The Aggies pulled off something that hasn't happened since 2007 (101 games!): an unranked team beating Alabama. Like the OU game (and to make this week even crazier), this win was also led by a backup QB.
      • Zach Calzada seems to have finally found his rhythm after stepping up to the starting QB role. He ended the game 21/31 on pass attempts, 285 yards, and 3TD/1INT. 
      • In this hard-fought game, the Aggies found a way to go up 31-17 against a strong Crimson Tide defense. However, this lead wouldn't hold and Calzada and Texas A&M found themselves down by 7 late in the 4th. With just 3 minutes to go, Calzada led his team to 10 points including a buzzer-beater field goal to win the game.
    • Alabama: Not only is this the first loss to an unranked team in 101 games, this is the first time in Saban's coaching career that he lost to one of his former assistants (Jimbo Fisher coached with Saban at LSU in the early 2000's).
      • The Crimson Tide didn't go down without a fight. QB Bryce Young threw for 369 yards, 3TD/1INT. However, at 58.3%, his pass completion was lower than the over 70% (and over 90% in one game!) he had been averaging before this game.
      • We saw in their game against Florida that Alabama has some vulnerabilities. Now that they fell to the Aggies, we know that they are not only vulnerable, they're beatable. If they want to return to the playoff picture, they will likely have to win out including the SEC championship. This upset has opened so many doors for what may be the most unusual final four since the playoffs began.

NFL Football

• Tampa Bay 45 - Miami 17:
  • Buccaneers: Tampa Bay made easy work of Miami yesterday. After a few off weeks, the Bucs proved that they still have numerous threats on offense. For the first time in Tom Brady's career, he threw for 411 yards, 5 TD, and 0 INT. He also hit 9 different receivers and secured a 45-17 lead by the 4th quarter. 
    • After being placed on the COVID-19 list and struggling to score against New England, Antonio Brown had a huge game. With 2 TDs and 124 yards, AB looked like the league-leading WR that made a name for himself up in Pittsburgh.
    • Mike Evans also had a huge game Sunday night putting up 113-yards and 2 TDs.
  • Dolphins: The Dolphins didn't go down immediately and actually held a lead in the first quarter.
    • With Tua injured, Jacoby Brissett is the current starting QB for the Dolphins. Brissett was successfully moving the ball against the Bucs defense and finished the game with 275 yards, 2TD/1INT. 
    • Early in the game, Brissett was able to avoid pressure from the intimidating defensive front. However, as the game went on, he ended up getting sacked 3 times and taking 7 QB hits. Even though Miami has been struggling, I think there was a lot to like about Brissett's performance on Sunday.
• Buffalo 38 - Kansas City 20 :
  • Bills: After watching last night's game, I'm convinced that the Bills are serious contenders for the next Super Bowl.
    • Josh Allen not only solidified his name, he took over the MVP conversation. He threw for 315 yards and 3TDs. If that wasn't impressive enough, he also ran for 59 yards, hurdled a defenseman, and scored an additional TD. It seems like he just gets better and better every year he is in the league. 
  • Chiefs: Kansas City is solidly in last place in the AFC West after back to back Super Bowl appearances and returning most of their key players.
    • Patrick Mahomes II managed to throw for 272 yards and 2TDs, however, he also threw 2 interceptions that allowed the game to get out of hand.
    • The Chiefs were hit with some concerning injuries to WR Tyreek Hill and RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire. While it looks like Hill's injury was minor, Kansas City might be without their top RB for a few weeks. That is a major blow to their already struggling run game.

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