#4 Ohio State @ #3 Penn State: 20-13, OSU
An old-school Big 10 game broke out Saturday in University Park, PA, and the Ohio State Buckeyes came ready to play.
Penn State looked great early. Starting QB Drew Allar was playing through an injury and led a 14-play opening drive that resulted in a field goal. Then, the Nittany Lions went up 10-0 late in the first quarter after a pick six. However, things quickly turned the other way. Ohio State scored on back-to-back drives to take a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back.
This game was very sloppy in the final 35 minutes. There were three combined turnovers, five drives that resulted in a punt or turnover on downs, and only six combined points. This was an old school Big 10 game in every facet. Both defenses gave up early points, but then stepped up to the challenge. Neither team threw nor rushed for more than 180 yards. Ohio State controlled the time of possession battle by a slim three-minute margin, and they were able to win the game.
Ohio State will have a bye this week, as Penn State will host Washington.
#10 Texas A&M @ South Carolina: 44-20, South Carolina
How about those Gamecocks? This was one of the more impressive performances I have watched in quite some time.
It wasn’t that I was shocked that South Carolina played so well. If you have watched the Gamecocks this season, then you would have seen this coming at some point. The impressive part about this game was that it came against a top 10 team in the country.
This was the best game the South Carolina Offense has played all year, highlighted by LaNorris Sellers. He threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns, while also running for 106 yards and a score. He was as good as any quarterback in the country this week. Rocket Sanders had an elite performance as well, running for 144 yards and two scores, and he caught five passes for 92 yards. Joshua Simon caught four passes for 132 yards and two scores. Every playmaker stepped up, and this was an A+++ performance all-around from an offense that had been building towards a game like this for a while.
The Gamecocks Defense forced two turnovers and did not allow a single point in the second half. They also racked up three sacks and six tackles for a loss. We have talked about how good this unit has been all year, but they stepped up in a really big way against a really good offense. This South Carolina team was remarkable on Saturday night in Columbia.
The Aggies will have a bye this week, as the Gamecocks will travel to Vanderbilt.
Louisville @ #11 Clemson: 33-21, Louisville
Well, the Clemson Offense finally had an off week. It could not have come at a worse time in ACC play.
The Tigers could not sustain offensive drives in this one. The individual numbers look good for the Tigers. Mafah ran for 171 yards and two scores. Klubnik threw for 228 yards and a score. However, after having two field goals blocked, multiple drive-killing sacks, and multiple failed third down conversions, the Tigers left a lot more than 12 points on the field. Cade was running for his life all night. He was only sacked twice, but under pressure a lot more than that. This Louisville defense played their best game of the year and kept Clemson from getting points when they really needed them.
The biggest story is how bad the Clemson Defense was. Yes, Louisville has a really good offense. However, QB Tyler Shough was able to go his first read almost the entire game. The Cardinals ran for over 200 yards, as Isaac Brown led the team with 20 carriers for 151 yards and a touchdown. The Tigers could not cover the Cardinals’ pass catchers on big downs, could not stop the run, and could not tackle. This was a very poor performance on a day where the Tigers Defense needed to be good. Hopefully for Clemson’s sake this can be a wakeup call, but I am not so sure if this isn’t a sign of things to come.
Louisvile will have a bye this week, as Clemson will travel to Virginia Tech.
