NCAA Week 3 in review

Still three cancelled or rescheduled games due to the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, but things began to look more normal this week.

Top 25 [Last week's position]
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0) [1]
2. Oklahoma Sooners (3-0) [2]
3. Clemson Tigers (3-0) [3]
4. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0) [4]
5. Wisconsin Badgers (3-0) [5]
6. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0) [6]
7. Michigan Wolverines (3-0) [7]
8. Washington Huskies (3-0) [12]
9. Michigan State Spartans (2-0) [8]
10. Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-0) [20]
11. USC Trojans (3-0) [11]
12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-1) [15]
13. Virginia Tech Hokies (3-0) [NR]
14. Georgia Bulldogs (3-0) [14]
15. UCF Golden Knights (1-0) [16]
16. Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1) [18]
17. TCU Horned Frogs (3-0) [22]
18. Auburn Tigers (2-1) [13]
19. Texas Longhorns (1-2) [19]
20. South Florida Bulls (3-0) [23]
21. Washington State Cougars (3-0) [NR]
22. Navy Midshipmen (2-0) [21]
23. Utah Utes (3-0) [NR]
24. UCLA Bruins (2-1) [9]
25. Maryland Terrapins (2-0) [24]

On the Edge: Colorado Buffaloes (3-0), Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0), Oregon Ducks (3-0), Iowa Hawkeyes (3-0), West Virginia Mountaineers (2-1), Texas A&M Aggies (2-1), Memphis Tigers (2-0), Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-0)

Dropped off: LSU Tigers [#10], Stanford Cardinal [#17], Louisville Cardinals [#25]

Big Ten Report
A great week for the conference.  Illinois' defense crumbled against South Florida, and Nebraska lost their second game, but everyone else won.  Nebraska and Rutgers are the only teams with two losses (although Indiana has played one less game and possess a 1-1 record), and Nebraska seems confused.  Rutgers seems to be slowly improving, so Nebraska is the team with the greatest concern.  Given the strength of the conference this year, the Cornhuskers may not win more than one conference game.

We move to official conference play next week (even though Ohio State and Indiana already started) and some of the traditional powers might need to watch out.  Normally mediocre (or worse) teams look strong this season, and it could be a shock for teams like Michigan (who have a strong defense but the offense looks confused) and Ohio State (whose tackling seems off).  With the exception of Rutgers and Nebraska, division titles are wide open right now.

Upset Alert
MEMPHIS opened things up on Saturday by up-ending the heavily-favored Bruins. For a while it seemed like that might be the only upset, but then MISSISSIPPI STATE started the second half of their game against LSU.  They totally dominated, and a new power in the SEC West emerged.  The night ended by SAN DIEGO STATE handing Stanford their second consecutive loss, essentially evaporating any national championship playoff hopes for the Cardinal.

Poor Performers
As previously stated, the ILLINOIS DEFENSE and MICHIGAN OFFENSE fall into this category.  Actually, the Wolverines move the ball well until the red zone, where they collapse.  They kicked five field goals this week in a win, but they need to turn some of those field goals into touchdowns.

LSU suffers from too many penalties, and their offense isn't good enough to recover from that.  They need to get disciplined, and do so fast, or they'll be shredded by better and more disciplined SEC teams.  KANSAS STATE's offense was exposed by Vanderbilt, and many national analysts were not surprised.  This is the result of playing nothing but patsies until your conference play.

For overall poor showing, no team surpasses MISSOURI.  Nothing is working for the Tigers, which means a long tough season for the players, coaches, and fans.

Great Performers
For great quarterback play, I don't think you can get better than OKLAHOMA STATE's Mason Rudolph.  In three weeks he has put up better numbers than any other quarterback in FBS, including pre-season darlings Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, and Lamar Jackson.

For great running, how about WISCONSIN?  They accumulated more than 230 yards on the ground, and ran more than they passed.  They averaged nearly six yards per carry, which kept BYU focussed on the ground game.  That allowed Alex Hornibrook time, and he had a near perfect performance.  This team truly demonstrates how a strong running game opens up the passing game.

Fellow Big Ten team IOWA HAWKEYES demonstrated a great second half correction.  In the first half of their game against North Texas, they were careless and had trouble stopping the Mean Green.  In the second half, they completely dominated.  That's was excellent use of halftime.

Two minutes drill can be important, and no team demonstrated that better than FLORIDA.  In a battle against Tennessee, they get a final possession tied 20-20.  With a perfect series of passes and misdirection, the Gators score the winning touchdown as time expires.

Everyone is touting the Clemson defense, but they weren't the only example of strong defenses.  OHIO STATE tormented Army all day, shutting down their strong running game and rushing their quarterback to throw off passes.  And let's not forget the excellent job of TEXAS.  Playing against the high-powered USC offense, they held them to 17 points and forced overtime.  While the Longhorns lost in the second overtime, it was a masterful performance.