Another weekend of college football is in the books, so let’s go through who let themselves down on the gridiron with my Week Three Villains.
ESPN Australia/New Zealand
Originally advertised the USC versus Boston College game on ESPN2 and later switched it for a far less appealing Notre Dame versus Purdue contest. For a USC fan, that’s about as sacrilegious as it gets, and I didn’t even have the pleasure of watching the Irish lose!
Virginia Tech
The Hokies had us thinking that maybe they were going to be contenders in the ACC after a big win on the road against Ohio State last week, and seven days later they give up three touchdowns in the first quarter to East Carolina and never recover, losing 28-21 to a Pirates offense that rolled up 502 total yards. Quarterback Michael Brewer, the Hokies’ hero last week, threw the ball 56 times for 298 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
USC
After a huge win on the road last week against Stanford, the Trojans flew across the country to play Boston College, a team who had been bludgeoned in the ground game the last two weeks.
Yet, the Trojans could only manage a paltry 20 rushing yards against a front that had been murdered two weeks straight. In comparison, Boston College totalled 451 on the ground against what we all thought was a stout Trojan front.
It was as if these two teams had swapped jerseys pre-game – and USC were out-gained in total yardage 508-335 against a middling ACC squad.
Offense wasn’t good, the defence was horrendous one week after being so spectacularly good against Stanford, and the Trojans were simply outplayed by a far better team. Some people had labelled this a potential trap game for USC – I wasn’t one of them, but I should’ve known better.
From the penthouse to the outhouse for Steve Sarkisian’s squad and a very disappointing loss for those of us who bleed cardinal and gold. I’ll be feeling this one for a while.
Vanderbilt
Don’t let the fact that the Commodores won today take away from the train wreck season that’s developing – and spiralling out of control – in Nashville. Departed coach James Franklin has apparently taken the soul of the Vandy program with him, because they’ve been horrible to this point.
Under new head coach Derek Mason, the Commodores have used four quarterbacks in three games, and burned the redshirt of Wade Greebeck, only to then pull him midway through the Commodores’ tilt with UMass.
The same UMass whom Vandy just beat today, 34-31. There was little to write home about, considering the Commodores barely snuck home against a MAC team who’s won just two games in three seasons.
SEC teams shouldn’t be squeaking past teams like that. They should be pounding them!
Still, I suppose you’ve gotta take wins where you can get them if you’re a Vandy fan, student or alumnus, because it figures to be a long season once the Commodores, who had been elevated from regular SEC punching bag to something more respectable under Franklin’s watch, face some of their conference mates. It’s been a rough start already, losing their opening two games of the Mason era, embarrassed 37-7 by Temple and well-beaten by Ole Miss last week.
The Big Ten
Another bad week for the Big Ten, when it could really ill-afford one of those. Yes, Ohio State won (66-0 over Kent State) and Michigan pulled away to a 31-10 victory over Miami of Ohio, but there was little else to love: Minnesota were pounded 30-7 by Texas Christian, Purdue lost 30-14 over Notre Dame, Iowa lost 20-17 to Iowa State, Maryland were pipped by West Virginia 40-37, Illinois were beaten 44-19 by Washington and Indiana lost 42-35 to Bowling Green.
Thankfully, Nebraska also managed a win over Fresno State, and Penn State narrowly defeated Rutgers in New Jersey in the Scarlet Knights’ first Big Ten conference game. Still, a mostly-dismal weekend conference-wide, which will likely result in another week’s worth of pointed – and probably correct – commentary on the national competitiveness of the Big Ten.
Gary Nova
The Rutgers quarterback had a chance to impress in his school’s first Big Ten start, but the senior signal-caller was nothing short of horrendous, throwing five interceptions in the Scarlet Knights’ 13-10 loss to Penn State in Piscataway. The last one came on what was looking like a game-tying – if not game-winning – drive with just twenty-six seconds left on the clock. Just brutal!
Hey, supercoach? Choose your own ultimate NFL team and compete with other players for cash prizes in daily competitions on any match. If you’re after the best odds on the NFL, PlayUp is your best bet. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
The extraordinary episodes after his life as an American Football hero quite overshadowed the career of O.J. Simpson, who has died at the age…
The Kansas City Chiefs, steered brilliamtly at the end by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, downed the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime to secure…
San Francisco 49ers will make their eighth appearance in the Super Bowl after a stellar season from a team stacked with real talent across the whole line-up.
The Chiefs are no longer strangers to playing matches in February. What was once a multi-generational 50-year drought has become an almost yearly tradition.
Daniel Faalele and Mitch Wishnowsky have kept their Super Bowl dreams alive, with Baltimore and San Francisco winning the divisional round playoff.
Six-time NFL champion Bill Belichick has agreed to part ways as the coach of the New England Patriots, bringing an end to his 24-year…
