After a weekend filled with upsets, good wins, bad losses, bad wins and good losses, many fan bases are wondering – should I be worried about my team? Mr College Sports is here to answer the question.
Auburn – Tigers scored a TD with 40 seconds remaining to tie 1-AA (FCS) Jacksonville State in Jordan-Hare then went on to win in OT 27-20. A shanked punt by Jax State set up AU in great field position to get the tying TD in regulation.
Should I be worried? Yes, yes you should. Jeremey Johnson threw 2 INTs, making 5 on the season, and the Auburn defense had trouble stopping the Gamecock offense (not those Gamecocks, these from the FCS). Meanwhile, the season opening “quality win” over Louisville, was going down the drain as the Cards lost at home to Houston. HC Gus Malzahn expresses his confidence in Johnson, but there isn’t much time for improvement with LSU up next.
Oregon – lost at Michigan State 31-28. Ducks had the ball in Michigan State territory in the last minute of the game but were stopped on 4th down.
Should I be worried? No. QB Vernon Adams was playing in his first game as a Duck against an FBS team and it’s the #6 ranked Spartans on the road. Adams was just a couple plays short of pulling of the huge road win. With Stanford laying an egg in their first game, Ducks are still the big favorite to win the North Division and can win the conference and a spot in the title game with 1 loss.
Tennessee – took a 17 point lead over Oklahoma but lost in double OT on an INT by QB Joshua Dobbs.
Should I be worried? a little; while it’s frustrating to blow the big lead, the Vols did a lot of things right on Saturday night. The defense improved dramatically after allowing 500 yards to Bowling Green the previous week; meanwhile as the Vols were shutting down OU for 3 quarters, Bowling Green destroyed Maryland in College Park. A little concerned that Joshua Dobbs only completed 13 of 31 passes for 125 yards – Vols will need better production than that. But look at the rest of the SEC East – UK had more trouble at home with Louisiana- Lafayette than at South Carolina; UGA has QB issues of their own (see below) and UF and Mizzou struggled with non-power teams at home – the Vols are very much in the race to win the division and make the conference championship game.
Arkansas – two days after HC Bret Bielema criticized Ohio State for playing a weak schedule, including MAC teams, Hogs lose 16-12 to Toledo from the MAC.
Should I be worried? Not as much as you think. The Hogs had over 500 yards total offense but somehow managed to turn that into only 12 points – almost unheard of with only 1 turnover. While the loss will hurt the overall record, the goal of a winning record in the SEC West is still well within reach. The biggest takeaway from this game is sage advice from Motivational Speaker Matt Foley to Bret Bielema “Just shut your BIG YAPPER!”
Notre Dame – Back-up QB DeShone Kizer threw a 40 yard TD pass with 12 seconds left for the Irish to pull-out the 34-27 win over Virginia. Cavs were 5-7 last season and have lost 6 or their last 7 games. Should I be worried? Probably, but it could have been worse. Notre Dame starting QB Malik Zaire is out for the season so Kizer is the starter going forward. Kizer looked good in the short time he played, but the critical fact is that the Irish did not lose to a team likely to finish below .500. If Golden Domers can get the play of Kizer as Ohio State did out of their back-up QBs last year, the playoffs are still a possibility.
Georgia and Florida State – FSU beat South Florida 34-14 after a 7-7 first half; UGA defeated Vandy 31-14 after leading 14-6 at halftime. Each QB struggled early but both 20+ point favorites pulled away in the second half.
Should I be worried? Yes. Both teams feature a graduate transfer QB that won the starting job even after only arriving on campus in mid-summer, suggesting dissatisfaction with QBs already in-house. The two combined for 1 pass completion in the first half of their respective games. Greyson Lambert of Georgia finished 11 of 21 for 116 yards and was briefly replaced by Brice Ramsey. FSU’s Everett Golson ended with 163 yards with a long of only 23. Both teams are still very much in contention in their respective conference divisions, but need a significant improvement in QB/o-line play to beat the better opponents in the future.