College Football Week Three Recap: Winners and Losers - jmik58's Blog

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College Football Week Three Recap: Winners and Losers Stuck

Posted on September 17, 2012 at 10:22 AM.

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Whoever decided that gambling on college football was a bad idea might be onto something.

Just when you think you've figured out a team they go and change on you. Teams that looked to have turned a corner fell flat on their face and others who looked dead in the water suddenly were resurrected. To make matters worse, a few games had a combination of both.

Maybe it's due to a lack of team chemistry or depth. In other cases we have teams with plenty of talent but are still in the process of learning a new scheme on offense or defense. And then there is the youth factor. We're talking about unpredictable 18 to 22 year old young men. Sometimes they overreact and other times they seem indifferent -- if only we could figure out when and where.

Here are five winners and losers from week three of the college football season.

FIVE TEAMS ON THE RISE

#21 Stanford (3-0)
Week 3: #2 USC, won 21-14.
Week 4: Washington (2-1)

Is this the same Cardinal team that beat San Jose State by just three points in week one? Regardless of what happened in previous weeks, Stanford knocked USC down to size and ended their national championship hopes. Many will point to the 202 rushing yards by the Cardinal on the day, but it was the performance of the defense that stood out the most. Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley couldn't keep his jersey clean in the second half as the men from Troy were shutout after taking a 14-7 halftime lead. Stanford held USC to 26 rushing yards, 280 total yards, and only 1-13 on 3rd down conversions.

#20 Notre Dame (3-0)
Week 3: #10 Michigan State, won 20-3.
Week 4: #18 Michigan (2-1)

In my week one recap I chose the Spartans as one of my teams on the decline after their victory over Boise State. Notre Dame exposed the one-dimensional offense of Michigan State by shutting down their running game while Sparty had no answer through the air. MSU still has one of the toughest defenses in the country and the Irish performed well enough on offense to earn major respect points. Notre Dame was only 1-14 on 3rd down during the game but smart decisions on offense helped with zero turnovers put the pressure on the Spartans offense who couldn't deliver.

Pittsburgh (1-2)
Week 3: #13 Virginia Tech, won 35-17.
Week 4: Gardner-Webb

If you read my Big East preview it may not come as a surprise that I expected a performance like this out of Pittsburgh -- but who could have predicted it would be so dominant? After an 0-2 start it was clear that the constant coaching carousel was doing a serious number on the cohesiveness of the Panthers squad. Pitt has enough talent and experience to take the less-than-impressive Big East and obviously enough to trip up the Hokies at home. As much as I expect this to vault the Panthers through the rest of the year we all know how fast things can fall apart in college football.

#5 Florida State (3-0)
Week 3: Wake Forest, won 52-0.
Week 4: #10 Clemson (3-0)

I've been taking a wait-and-see approach to the Seminoles this year. For a few years we've heard the hype only to see FSU disappear. This year the excitement has mounted but the 'Noles have yet to play any serious competition. There was a real chance Florida State could have been caught looking ahead to a matchup with Clemson as Wake Forest was fresh off a strong win over North Carolina. But the Demon Deacons looked like a bad group of hungover coeds trying to figure out the right way to buckle up their chin straps. FSU held Wake Forest to 126 total yards while stacking up 612 of their own -- highlighted by a 27 to 7 margin in the first-down column. Next week's contest against Clemson will be a must-see matchup to set up the rest of the season for the ACC's best.

#18 Florida (3-0)
Week 3: #23 Tennessee, won 37-20.
Week 4: Kentucky (1-2)

It really appeared as if the Volunteers had what it took to hang with and beat the Gators. But a 14-10 lead disappeared quickly as the Gators came out strong to put away Tennessee. The game really felt as if the Vols were satisfied with how things had gone in the first half and they subsequently thought that Florida would just roll over in the second half. Will Muschamp's squad has proven to be a strong second-half team and this game was no different. The Gators racked up 336 yards on the ground while never turning the ball over in addition to a respectful 219 yards on the ground. Two seemingly similar squads coming into the game, Florida looks like the more serious contender as they showed a balanced attack on offense with the growing aerial aspect on the arm of Jeff Driskel.

FIVE TEAMS ON THE DECLINE

Arkansas (1-2)
Week 3: #1 Alabama, lost 0-52.
Week 4: Rutgers (3-0)

The Razorbacks just hope they can catch a branch or two as they free-fall from the top-ten to rock bottom. At some point they've got to land but by then they may be numb to the situation. A season that started with national championship and SEC title hopes has been tainted by a coaching scandal, injuries, and an upset at the hands of Louisiana-Monroe. No one expected the Razorbacks to beat the Crimson Tide this week, but the manner in which they fell truly shows they wanted no part of the same football field that Alabama graced on Saturday -- Alabama averaged more yards per rush (5.0) than Arkansas averaged per pass (3.2). It looked as if Arkansas couldn't get the game over fast enough so they could move on. Unfortunately for the Hogs they draw a rising Rutgers squad next week that could easily steal another one from the Razorbacks.

#2 USC (2-1)
Week 3: #21 Stanford, lost 14-21.
Week 4: California (1-2)

It's not impossible to come back from an early-season loss to play for the national championship but that's exactly the thing the Trojans didn't expect to have to do this year. With Andrew Luck gone from Stanford there seemed to be no chance that the Cardinal could keep up with the high-powered scoring attack of USC. The defense of Stanford, however, stole the show and made quarterback play irrelevant. With matchups versus ranked opponents Arizona, UCLA, Oregon, and Notre Dame still on the slate, 2012 has as much nightmare potential as it once was viewed as the dream season for Matt Barkley and Co.

#13 Virginia Tech (2-1)
Week 3: Pittsburgh, lost 17-35.
Week 4: Bowling Green (1-2)

The shock wasn't in the loss itself to Pitt but more heavily in the complete domination at the hands of the Panthers. In years past the Hokies have struggled to bounce back after big-game upsets (see: James Madison). Virginia Tech is still a solid squad without a conference loss and must keep their heads up. If morale takes a hit then expect another letdown before contests with Clemson and Florida State.

#21 BYU (2-1)
Week 3: Utah, lost 21-24.
Week 4: #24 Boise State (1-1)

After seeing the Utes lose to their in-state rival Utah State, the Cougars should have known what may come next. If emotions, rivalries, and home-field advantage weren't such strong factors then college football would be pretty boring -- it also would have made week three easier for teams like USC and BYU. The Utes didn't necessarily outplay the Cougars as BYU won the yards battle on offense, but two costly turnovers and situational execution stood in the way of a must-win game for BYU. Take away the huge fumble return for a touchdown in the third quarter for Utah and we're talking about a completely different outcome. All excuses aside, however, BYU must rebound and earn the respect of the country by performing strongly next week on the Smurf Turf at Boise.

#14 Texas (3-0)
Week 3: Ole Miss, won 66-31.
Week 4: No Game

The Longhorns have a lot of cleaning up to do before they run into the Big-12 schedule in two weeks. Sure they're undefeated and are putting up offensive numbers like the program hasn't seen in years. But their claim to fame this year -- defense -- looks to be suspect to the big play, something they can't afford to continue in an offense-happy conference. Take away the Rebels' 100-yard kick return for a touchdown and Texas still surrendered scoring plays of 39, 48, and 74 yards. If the Longhorns want to live up to their preseason hype and current top-15 ranking they must force teams to grind out long drives or they could find themselves on the outside looking in.

Sound Off: Who are your winners and losers from week three of the college football season?

Justin Mikels is a staff writer for Operation Sports. Follow him on Twitter: @long_snapper

Comments

# 1 thescoop @ Sep 17

I think you're take on Texas is a bit harsh considering they won 66-31. A few of those big plays happened after Texas had a big lead and had let it guard down a bit. I'm not a Texas fan nor do I think they'll play for a national title or a Big 12 Title this year, but to include them on a "teams on the decline" list is a joke.

I'll say the same with including Pitt on the teams on the rise. One game after an 0-2 start doesn't mean they've turned the corner. It mostly means that Virgina Tech is over-rated.

# 2 msuhockeycj @ Sep 17

As I criticized you week one for putting MSU in the teams declining I'm back again to wonder why they are not there this week. As a top ten team playing at home and scoring 3 points looking pitiful on offense for four quarters they are certainly deserving. But as you saw them on the decline in the first week perhaps you expected a let down. Teams on the rise were solid, not sure I would put Texas on the decline though after putting up 66. Anyway good column, thanks for writing.

# 3 jmik58 @ Sep 17

@msuhockeycj MSU's performance affirmed my reason for putting them on the decline after week one. I didn't view them as a top-10 team so you're right in saying they played basically to expectations (although I did think they would win at home). I was more surprised at how well Notre Dame played against MSU's defense. I wasn't surprised to see the Spartans struggle on offense.

@thescoop The tricky thing with this weekly column is that I'm creating the 5 teams based on my own expectations. I expect huge things out of Texas and think their defense is top-5 in the nation. A top-5 defense doesn't give up big plays like that and it gives pause. I put Pitt on the rise because I expected great things from them and in the preseason thought they would beat Virginia Tech, therefore it's not a surprise to see Tech lose this game. However, considering Pitt's poor start I see them now back on-par with the high expectations. They started off underperforming and look like they finally are playing at their potential, at least for this week. They're leap from the previous two weeks to this game was huge -- worthy of a top-5 on the rise.

Thanks to you both for reading/commenting. Very good questions. Also, I would love to hear your Top 5 on the rise/decline as well. Maybe we can get some good debate going with the OS community.

# 4 BaylorBearBryant @ Sep 18

I'm not sure how you could have Texas on the decline. They look better than they have in two years and they just scored 66 points against one of those vaunted SEC defenses.