Thoughts on College Football's Week 6 and NFL Week 5

 

Thoughts on College Football's Week 6 and NFL Week 5

1. Best of the Week

Best Game: Texas vs Oklahoma

Another great Red River Rivalry that lived up to the former shootout name. Dillon Gabriel was the entire Oklahoma offense and he carried the load well. Quinn Ewers had three costly turnovers and the Sooners were able to march down the field and win it at the end. This matchup will likely get run back in Dallas for the Big 12 Championship, so that is something to look forward to. Texas has looked so buttoned up this year and the magic ran out on Saturday with mistakes everywhere, well done Oklahoma taking advantage of them.

Best Player: JaMarr Chase (WR) - Bengals

You have to love it when a player talks the talk and then walks the walk that next weekend. Chase told everyone he's always open and he ran wild through the Cardinals' secondary. 15 catches, 192 yards, and 3 touchdowns. What a stud.

Best Uniform: Arizona Cardinals


I know, I have slandered blackout uni's in the past. But the Cardinals have black in their color scheme and their normal uniforms are so bad that seeing something different was great. I enjoyed the glossy helmet, it kind of worked in the domed lighting for some reason. A meh week in uni's, we will see what pops next week. 

2. CJ Stroud Appreciation

Kudos to DeMeco Ryans and the Houston Texans. They went out and got their quarterback, got a stud pass rusher, and have made themselves a competitive team after being among the worst franchises for the past few years. CJ Stroud has answered the call and is making big time plays. I had him as my top QB last spring (and I think Bryce Young will be great still) and he has shown that ability to layer in balls and work through progressions. It was easy with Ohio State's insane talent but now is incredible at the next level when he doesn't have the talent gap working in his favor.

3. Pivoting from "Everybody Sucks" to "We Need a 16-Team Playoff"

In the first three weeks, there was a ton of noise around how Georgia looked mortal, Michigan couldn't run the ball, Ohio State was pedestrian, and Clemson lost to Duke. Now look at us! We have only two ranked teams with two losses (Notre Dame and LSU) and people are projecting out to the big games later this month as if none of the teams will lose before they play later in the season. Get ready for some wild upsets and games ahead, it usually ends up taking care of itself and we have the four contenders. Buckle in.

4. The Super Conference Schedules

The matchups for the 2024-2028 Big Ten teams came out this weekend. I am glad the teams will play more often than the current format (the divisions really tanked some rivalries) but I can't help but feel sad about some of the rivals that will be left behind in the era of the super conferences. The football of college football is not the same caliber of the NFL, but the traditions and rivalries give it life. It'll be awesome to go to Autzen Stadium and see Purdue play Oregon, but I won't feel the same joy if the Boilermakers beat the Ducks as I would if they beat Ohio State.

I try to keep the blog on the on-field product but seeing how awesome Texas Oklahoma was (and I know that rivalry will continue in the SEC), I couldn't help but feel sad that there will be less Apple Cups and Civil Wars and also less times in the rotation of the schedule for Brown Jugs and Tennessee-Alabama's. Old man yells at cloud rant over.

5. Play of the Week

Michigan has been firing on all cylinders the past two weeks and look great with Jim Harbaugh back on the sidelines so the play callers can worry about... calling plays. Blake Corum was in Heisman contention last year before a season-ending knee injury and Donovan Edwards stepped in quite well for the Wolverines down the stretch. How are they going to use their two best offensive weapons when they play the same position? Let's look.


  • Edwards, the better receiver, has been lining up wide a lot this season. Here he comes in orbit / rocket motion behind J.J. McCarthy and Corum in the backfield (dot 1).
  • The corner tightens down to the line of scrimmage (dot 2) instead of following Edwards across the field. That job is now the safety who was on the same side (dot 3), which opens up a lot of running room if the play is not made near the line of scrimmage.
  • Edwards continues in motion after the snap in a swing route while Corum takes the handoff (dot 1) as McCarthy is reading the end man on the line of scrimmage (dot 5). Michigan doesn't run a ton of RPO's but by having all of this action they are able to leave him unlocked (unsure if a true read) and that allows them to have equal footing in run blocking.
  • The two guards pull (dot 2) as lead blockers for Corum. Michigan loves to gap block and has the line to do it.
  • The corner (dot 3) comes on a run blitz and tries to use his athleticism to beat the lineman to the spot and stop the play because the safety (dot 4) is on the other side of the field trying to make sure they won't get beat by Edwards.
  • The first guard kicks out the corner just enough (dot 1) to create a running lane as the second guard (dot 2) turns up field to take on the playside linebacker. This is setting up quite nicely because, again, the safety (dot 4) is on the other side of the field.
  • Because the backside tackle didn't have to block the edge player (dot 5) he can get a hand on the backside linebacker and will also help out later down the field.
  • The backside tackle hustles down the field to get another block 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage on the opposite sideline. This is impressive effort, the type of things that wins championships, and is a reason Michigan is near the top of the rankings.
  • Corum steps out of bounds after a run that is over 40 yards. This is another great thing about this play. Your star running back, who is less than a year removed from a knee injury, can get over 40 yards and not get taken to the ground. Teams try to scheme up plays that get their playmakers in space and away from all the heavy hitters inside and this is a great example of that outcome working to perfection.


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