Winners:

Arkansas again:

Sam Pittman deserves coach of the year honors so far. He’s led the greatest turnaround I’ve ever seen. Chad Morris should be sent to prison for what he did to this respectable Arkansas football program. The players have bought into Pittman, and the results are paying off. KJ Jefferson, when he wasn’t injured, threw for two touchdowns, including a perfect pass to Treylon Burks for a touchdown. The Razorbacks have a tough test next week vs. Georgia, but after what we’ve seen from them so far, they’re up for the test. Also, a special shoutout to Barry Odom. He’s been spectacular as the defensive coordinator for Arkansas. 

NC State: 

Where the hell was this team a few weeks ago when it struggled vs. Mississippi State? NC State has played the best game against the Clemson defense all season. Devin Leary threw for four touchdowns with no interceptions. These throws weren’t gimme throws either. Look at the touchdown to Devin Carter below. The pinpoint accuracy and the ability for Carter to get his feet inbounds for the score is incredible. 

SMU:

It feels nice that The Battle For The Iron Skillet is competitive again. SMU won back-to-back meetings for the first time since the early 90s. Both teams showed a blended attack through the air and the ground. Tre Siggers and Ulysses Bentley IV both rushed for over 100 yards, Tanner Mordecai threw for over 200 yards and chipped in four touchdowns through the air. Overall a great showing for the program that will continue the march for the G5 spot in the NY6.

UConn:

For the first time in a few years, UConn looked excellent. The Huskies had a 13-point lead at one point before Wyoming stormed back and took the lead in the fourth quarter. UConn did score a touchdown with four seconds left but couldn’t convert a two-point conversion to tie the game. For UConn to have a double-digit lead against an FBS opponent shows that all is not lost for the program. Well, it is, but I’m being nice here. 

Boston College:

The Eagles have done a great job adjusting to the loss of Phil Jurkovec. They shifted from a pass heavy team to a team that started to lean into the run game more heavily. Pat Garwo III ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns. This took the load off replacement QB Dennis Grosel, who was able to throw for two touchdowns as well, including the game winner to Zay Flowers in overtime. Boston College was my NY6 pick this year, and it can still happen. Nobody in the ACC is teflon now. 

Georgia’s Starters:

Getting some rest after going up 35-0 in the first is good news. To do it against a conference opponent is great news. To do it when you have a top 10 opponent next week is excellent news. All around solid performance. 

Alamo Bowl:

Congrats, Iowa State will most likely be a participant this year. Breece Hall and Brock Purdy should be electric in the Alamodome.

Losers:

Clemson Again: 

This offense is just horrendous to watch. The recurring theme is the lack of creativity and separation out wide. Justyn Ross had his best showing since the injury, but other than that, this is probably the weakest skill position group that Clemson has had in years. That said, the struggles of DJ Uiagalelei aren’t all on the weak skill position players, or even the insipid scheme ran by Dabo Swinney and Tony Elliott. DJ has been less than advertised after the great showing last year. I do think he will find his groove, but it won’t be this year. In any event, changes are needed at Clemson this offseason.

Texas A&M:

Please get healthy, Haynes King. Please. I refuse to watch a Zach Calzada-led offense again. Texas A&M’s insipid offense continued to show this past Saturday. The only offensive touchdown was on a 67-yard run by Heisman dark horse Isaiah Spiller (great article Andrew). Other than that, the explosive plays were few and far between. 

North Carolina:

Please get an offensive line. The current offensive line is arguably the worst in the nation. Running lanes are not opening up, and Sam Howell does not have time to throw. I’m not absolving Howell as well. He holds onto the ball too long as well and makes horrendous decisions. As for the defensive side of the ball, how do you give up 45 points to Georgia Tech? Allowing 261 rushing yards will do that.

Graham Mertz:

Three straight interceptions to close the game is not ideal. Two of those three being returned for touchdowns is really not ideal. Adding an interception that was thrown earlier, it was a rough day from Graham Mertz. He was just throwing a lot of junk out there. The run game was not optimized either. It was 13-10 Wisconsin early in the fourth quarter and then all hell broke loose. A kickoff return to the house immediately after the field goal put Notre Dame up for good. A lot of questions should be asked after that shambolic display at Soldier Field. 

Oklahoma’s Offense:

This isn’t the high-scoring fun offense that everyone has become accustomed to watching. This offense is just dry. Explosive plays are few and far between. Points are not coming as easily as they used to. This past weekend, Oklahoma only scored 16 points. That is unheard of from this program. Spencer Rattler looked shaky until the final drive, and the run game didn’t get going at all. A game of field goals and punts isn’t gonna do it at the next level. This team needs to shape up or else a NY6 bowl will get ugly.

Florida State:

It really isn’t fun to joke about them anymore. Only prayer can save that program.

PJ Fleck:

Losing to Bowling Green? Really? After shutting out Colorado a week prior?