From the Couch Sports

Weekday MACtion is Back!

Ohio Wins the “Battle for the Bricks”

Ohio 24 Miami (Oh) 20

A classic MAC slugfest went the Bobcats way as Ohio takes control of the MAC with a 4-1 conference record. Ohio QB Parker Navarro threw for 201 yards and RB Sieh Bangura ran for 102. Navarro’s 49-yard TD pass to Rodney Harris II gave the Bobcats a sim 24-20 lead with 2:15 to go. It was the Ohio defense that forced an interception on the next possession which secured the rivalry win.

Toledo 42 Northern Illinois 3

It’s been a tough season for Northern Illinois, they’ve dropped to 2-7 (1-4) in the MAC. This NIU team, which beat ND last year, will not go bowling after this loss. Toledo QB Tucker Gleason threw for 309 yards in the win. Toledo is 5-4 (3-2) in the MAC.

Thursday Night Fun

An Upset in Boone, NC

Georgia Southern 25 App State 23

You never know what’s going to happen in college football rivalry games. This game was a prime example. Georgia Southern was helped by a great performance from JC French IV, he threw for 352 yards and a score. Both the Eagles and the Mountaineers are 4-5 on the season, both teams are striving to play for a bowl game but Georgia Southern has now won two in a row in the rivalry that is “Deeper than Hate.”

Friday Night

USF Dominates

USF 55 UTSA 23

USF scored 14 points before they even possessed the ball. The Bulls took a 14-0 lead after an opening play pick-six and an 85-yard scoop and score. The Roadrunners pulled off a crazy upset over Tulane last week, but stood no chance in Tampa. The Bulls had a 45-10 lead at halftime and cruised to an easy conference win. They seem like the best Group of 5 team this year.

Friday Night American Conference Clash

Tulane 38 Memphis 32

This game had serious American Conference and playoff implications. The loser is essentially eliminated from playoff contention and will most likely be out of the American Conference title race. It was all Tulane early, QB Jake Retzlaff was nearly perfect in the first half and finished the night with 332 yards passing, 43 yards rushing and four total scores. Retzlaff needed that performance after a disappointing game last week at UTSA where he completed just 50% of his passes and threw two interceptions in the loss. Memphis surged late, scoring 15 unanswered in the 4th. A gritty effort from their QB Brendon Lewis wasn’t enough to complete the comeback. Tulane was helped in large part to their defense, they sacked Lewis 6 times. The Green Wave has some work to do but they still have a razor slim chance at making the CFP.

The Saturday Slate

A clutch drive ends with a miraculous catch

#2 Indiana 27 Penn State 24

At the beginning of the season, this game had the makings of being one of the games of the year in the Big 10. Indiana has dominated and Penn State started the year 3-0. Then the wheels fell off for the Nittany Lions. Penn St. lost to Oregon, which was fine, but then lost to UCLA, Northwestern, Iowa, and #1 Ohio St. James Franklin is gone and their star QB Dew Allar is out with a season-ending injury. BUT somehow, this game still lived up to the hype. Indiana has beaten most conference opponents by a wide margin and with a 17-7 halftime lead, it sure looked like they would start to pull away in the 2nd half. Indiana forced a turnover on the first drive of the second half and added a field goal to put the score at 20-7. Then things got dicey for the Hoosiers. Penn St. scored 14 unanswered points and had a late 24-20 lead. The game would come down to an Indiana two-minute drive. Fernando Mendoza had been ok all game, but his play was no where near the level of what it had been all season. On the final drive, it came together. Mendoza showed poise after taking a sack on the first play of the drive. He delivered two perfect passes right down the seam, big chunk plays to put the ball deep in Penn St. territory. Then another perfect pass to the sideline put the ball at the 7-yard line. Two incompletions in a row set up a 3rd & goal. Then it happened, the catch that took the breath away from FOX’s Gus Johnson. Mendoza dropped back from the shotgun, threw one off his back foot towards the back of the end-zone to Omar Cooper Jr.who leaped up, snagged the ball out of the air, and not only withstood the contact, but managed the tap his toe in bounds with inches to spare. The Hoosiers went wild, their undefeated season saved. This game turned out to have one of the best finishes of the year.

Texas Tech Spoils BYU’s Undefeated Run

#8 Texas Tech 29 #7 BYU 7

The fans in Lubbock were ready for this one. Thy camped out for days outside the stadium waiting for this Top-10 Big 12 matchup. College GameDay added another layer of enthusiasm for this one. On the field, it was all Red Raiders. Tech’s defense forced three turnovers, held the strong BYU offense to just 255 yards, and BYU QB Bear Bachmeier looked uncomfortable for the first time this season. Tech just dominated all game. Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez lead the Red Raiders with 14 tackles and he used this opportunity to show the nation he deserves to be in the Heisman conversation. This was BYU’s first loss of the season, but there is a chance these two teams will meet again in Arlington for the Big 12 title.

The Dukes are Rolling!

James Madison 35 Marshall 23

James Madison continued their winning ways back knocking off the defending Sun Belt Champions in West Virginia. Marshall played well, keeping up with the Dukes by running the football for 248 yards, this game was 28-23 late in the 4th. JMU QB Alonza Barnett III did what he’s been doing all season: throw touchdowns. His third touchdown, a 49-yard screen, proved to be the game clincher. JMU improves to 8-1 (6-0) in the Sun Belt, their only loss was early in the season at Louisville.

Ohio State & Georgia Win Conference Games on the Road

#1 Ohio State 34 Purdue 10

The trip to West Lafayette can be tricky for the Buckeyes, they had lost three of their last four games at Ross-Ade Stadium. They started slow Saturday afternoon, Purdue was up 3-0 going into the 2nd quarter. Then the Buckeyes scored 34 unanswered and the writing was on the wall. Ohio St. QB Julian Sayin threw for 303, 137 of them to WR Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes flexed their muscle as the game progressed, Purdue had essentially no offense until a late garbage time TD. Ohio State’s winning streak is now 13 games, the longest in the nation.

#5 Georgia 41 Mississippi State 21

After the thrilling win against Florida last week, many people expected this trip to Starkville to be a trap game for the Dawgs before they host Texas in Week 12. Miss. St. has played everyone tough at home, beating #12 Arizona St earlier in the year and nearly defeating #15 Tennessee and #22 Texas so the concern was warranted for UGA. After MSU took a 7-0 lead, it was all Dawgs. RB Nate Frazier ran for 181 yards, averaging 15 yards per carry, the whole team ran for 303 and Gunner Stockton threw for 264. The Dawgs survived the test and are set up for a primetime matchup in Week 12 against Texas.

A Sloppy Thriller in Iowa City

#9 Oregon 18 #20 Iowa 16

Cold weather, rain, and a raucous crowd created the perfect smash-mouth game. The game’s first score was a safety, then Oregon took a 9-0 lead after a TD run but Iowa has been sneaky good this year and they played their style of game. The Hwakeyes ran clock, scored a 2nd quarter TD and played stout defense, playing into the crowd and the weather. It was a field goal fest in the 3rd and early 4th quarter, Iowa kicker connected on a 58-yard bomb to make 15-10 Oregon. An impressive boot through the wind and cold rain. Mid-way in the 4th, Iowa would get the ball at their own seven yard line down five points. Iowa QB Mark Gronowski, the NDSU transfer and the all-time winningest QB in college football history, orchestrated a thrilling 12-play 93 yard drive. On that drive, Iowa converted a 40-yard 3rd down pass, a 15-yard pass on 4th down, and a 3-yard TD run on 4th & goal that put the Hawkeyes ahead. Only thing is, they failed to convert the two-point conversion that would’ve made it a three-point lead. Instead, Iowa lead by just 1 point with almost two minutes to go. Dante Moore’s turn. Oregon drove the length on the field with quick plays until Dante Moore’s perfect 24-yard pass put the Ducks in field goal range. With almost no time left Ducks kicker Atticus Sappington (all-name team member) nailed the game winning 39-yarder. Iowa went down in heartbreaking fashion and Oregon escaped back to Eugene with a clear path to play for their second Big Ten title.

Vanderbilt comes from Behind, Wins in OT

#16 Vanderbilt 45 Auburn 38

I hate to be a bandwagon guy, but I love this Vandy team. I’ve watched SEC football for nearly 30 years (I watched as a toddler) the Commodores deserve to be in the national spotlight. They’ve been the doormat of the conference they’re putting together one of their best season’s in school history. They just find ways to win. Saturday was no different. They were down by 14 in the 2nd quarter and down by 10 at halftime. Diego Pavia and the boys never quit. The second half was back and forth and Auburn rallied late and tied the game at 38. Vandy had an opportunity to take the lead but failed to convert a 4th down in field goal range. With the game in overtime, Pavia threw a 21-yard pass then a 4-yard TD pass. Their defense stood firm and forced the turnover on downs to clinch the win. Vandy is still undefeated at home and with two games remaining home vs. Kentucky and at Tennessee, the Commodores can not only accomplish a rare 10-win season, but a trip to the College Football Playoff.

UConn and Duke on the Gridiron?

UConn 37 Duke 34

When you think of these schools, you no doubt think of basketball. These teams have combined for 11 men’s basketball national championships and UConn has won 12 national titles on the women’s side. With that being said, there has been a bit of an annual matchup between these two programs on the football field, this was their third meeting in the last three years. This one might have been the most underrated game of the week. Both teams boast high powered offenses with Duke QB Darian Mensah and UConn QB Joe Fagnano among the nation’s leading passers. The game had fireworks from the start. Both teams traded scores all night with neither team leading the game by no more than a touchdown. Duke lead 34-29 with five minutes to go. Joe Fagnano hasn’t thrown an interception all year and he wasn’t gonna start now, he completed 6 of 7 passes on the Huskies final drive that was capped off by his TD pass to Skyler Bell. Duke had an opportunity down by 3 to tie the game or take the lead, but Mensah was sacked by Bryun Parham and fumbled at mid-field with seconds to go. This game was the highest attended game at Pratt & Whitney Stadium aka “The Rent” since 2013. Another note from this game: Joe Fagnano has 25 TD and 0 INT this season, he leads the nation with the most passes attempted without an INT at 381, which dates back to last year.

UPSET CITY

Wisconsin 13 #25 Washington 10

Wisconsin won a Big 10 game! This is not a drill! They won the game with 48 total passing yards and their leading passer was their punter, you read that right. The punter. Their three quarterbacks were a combined 5/17 with 24 yards. Sean West, the punter had a 24-yard pass on a fake punt, it lead to better field position. The story of the game was less about Wisconsin’s terrible offense, which has been bad all year, but Washington’s lack thereof, which hasn’t been bad . Except in their losses. The trend continued, the Huskies managed just 251 yards, in all three of their losses they have failed to gain 300 offensive yards.

Wake Forest 16 #14 Virginia 9

Virginia has avoided defeat a few times this season with close wins against FSU, Louisville, Washington St., UNC, and Cal. They couldn’t escape the (5-3) Demon Deacons. At home no less. Virginia was in the driver’s seat in the ACC, (5-0) in the conference, a #11 ranking in the first CFP rankings, and an 8-1 overall record. Are they fraudulent? Wake Forest sure didn’t set the world on fire, they just played good defense and forced turnovers. Virginia still has an opportunity to make the CFP but if they play like they did against Wake Forest, they’ll be lucky to win another game.

Cal 29 #15 Louisville 26

Another team with a playoff appearance within reach was Louisville. They’ve been a surprise team in the ACC with conference title hopes. Those all but dwindled when they lost at home to the Cal Bears. Cal has been a wild team this season. They started 3-0, were blanked by San Diego State, and had won just 1 of their last 4 ACC games, one of which was a heartbreaking overtime loss at Virginia Tech. On Saturday, they put it together and won an overtime game. Freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele stayed turnover free and threw for 323 yards with 2 TDs. 16 of his passes were caught by Jacob De Jesus, tying the Cal single-game receptions record. De Jesus added 158 yards receiving as well. The game was deadlocked at 23 for the entire 4th quarter, neither team was able to end the game in regulation despite multiple possessions from both teams. In OT, Louisville settled for a 49-yard field goal after losing 15 yards from a penalty on 2nd down. Cal knew what they needed and JKS found De Jesus on a 4th & goal whip rout to walk it off.

RIVALRY SPOTLIGHT

There were 5 rivalry games played in the FBS in Week 11. Here’s how the games went:

• “BATTLE OF THE BRICKS”: Ohio 24 Miami (Oh) 20. Ohio is 4-2 since 2021.
• “DEEPER THAN HATE”: Ga Southern 25 App State 23. The Ga Southern upset gives back-to-back wins in the series.
• CLEMSON-FSU: Clemson 24 Florida State 10. Clemson wins their first home ACC game this year and have won back-to-back games against FSU.
• “FIRST SATURDAY IN NOVEMBER” (SABAN BOWL): #4 Alabama 20 LSU 9. First game post-Brian Kelly for the Tigers, it went horribly. LSU benched senior QB Garrett Nussmeier in the process. Bama has won 5 of 6 in the series.
• NAVY-NOTRE DAME (RIP MILLER TROPHY): #10 ND 49 Navy 10. On a beautiful, snowy night in South Bend ND dominated Navy. Navy senior QB Blake Horvath missed the game due to a concussion. ND has won 8 in a row in the series.

WEEKLY LEADERS

PASSING

Diego Pavia, QB Vanderbilt—- 377 passing yards vs. Auburn

RUSHING

Antwan Raymond, RB Rutgers—- 240 rushing yards vs. Maryland

RECEIVING

Beau Sparks, WR Texas State—- 186 receiving yards at Louisiana

UNBELIEVABLE STAT OF THE WEEK

I’ve seen gadget plays before and non-QBs rack up pass yards but I’ve never seen this. I talked about it before but Wisconsin punter Sean West threw for as many passing yards (24) as the other three Wisconsin QB’s combined in Saturdays win over Washington. For the Brand. Shout out to Pat McAfee, punters are athletes too.