Good Saturday of football for the most part. Our featured games were both instant classics, so that’s where we’ll start with the immediate impacts.
Minnesota 39 – Purdue 38
See that? That’s the Gophers leaping into the Top 25.
The mark of a great team is coming from behind and winning the trap games. This one was a wake-up call. Purdue is a team on the rise, but still it probably should not have been that close. Way too many big plays up the middle allowed by the defense, but the offense looked great. Mitch “Bazooka Arm” Leidner hit some pivotal passes deep, and David Cobb with the help of a great day from the O-Line showed why he’s one of the best backs in the country.
Biggest Takeaways: This is a different Gophers team from what we’re used to. That comeback was something I haven’t seen in a long time. This was Coach Kill’s first win when trailing at half since he joined the Gophers going 0-22 before yesterday. 3-0 in the Big Ten for the first time in forever, sitting alone at the top of the Big Ten West and Illinois next week. Brick by brick baby.
Key Stat of the Game: 10 touchdowns were scored in this game by 10 different players. Teamwork!
MVP: Ryan Santoso. Brought the boom on the game-winning 52 yarder. Zero to hero in less than 2 quarters; those are the guys you cheer for.
Oh hey Purdue you think you’re ready to take the next step?
No no no.
Florida St. 31 – Notre Dame 27
RubGate! It sucks that this game had to end with a game-deciding call like that one. I know that its technically pass interference, so I won’t dwell on it too much, but if anyone picked Notre Dame to win by 3, you’re still a genius in my mind. Taking out the last play and final score, I really think Notre Dame was the better team tonight on the road in Tallahassee. Golson put on a Heisman performance, and Tarean Folston, Corey Robinson, and William Fuller all helped show why this is one of the most potent offenses in the country. For Florida St., Jameis got upstaged by Golson and made some bad decisions, but he got the job done, and he remains undefeated in his career. Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith was the best player defensively for either team. Guy is a monster, and I can’t wait to see what this Notre Dame defense looks like with him in command the next couple years.
Other takeaways from Week 9:
#7 Alabama, #8 Michigan St., #9 Oregon, #10 Georgia, #14 Kansas St., #13 Ohio St., and #12 TCU all won and will continue to hang around the playoff bubble for at least another week.
Oklahoma, who looked like the best team in the country less than two weeks ago, and Oklahoma St. both lost and can probably be removed from any playoff talk for the rest of the year.
#4 Baylor suffered their first loss at the hands of Clint Trickett and his West Virginia Mountaineers, and I feel like that puts them behind TCU for the most likely team to represent the Big 12 in the playoffs.
#3 Ole Miss, who I believe is the best team in the country right now, won easily over Tennessee while allowing only 3 points.
Week 8 MVP: Lane Kiffin! 59-0! Someone get this guy a head coaching job!
Heisman Watch: Dak Attack had a bye this week so Marcus Mariota (24/33, 336 yds & 2 TD) stays at the front of the pack with a little help from those uniforms.
Skyline Sports 