College Football Awards, Week 10 (2024) November 4, 2024

Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Aggies, Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Army, Cardinals, Chris Creighton, Clemson, college football, Colorado, Cyclones, Dabo Swinney, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Gamecocks, Georgia, Georgia State, Houston, Indiana, Iowa State, James Franklin, James Madison, Jason Candle, Jedd Fisch, Kansas State, Kennesaw State, Kirby Smart, Louisville, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, NC State, NCAA football, New Mexico, New Mexico State, North Texas, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Purdue, Red Raiders, Ryan Day, Ryan Walters, San Diego State, Shane Beamer, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tigers, Toledo, UCF, UCLA, UMass, Utah State, UTEP, Washington, Washington State
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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Ryan Day, Ohio State

Glad I’m not him: James Franklin, Penn State

Lucky guy: Jason Candle, Toledo

Poor guy: Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Kirby Smart, Georgia

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Shane Beamer, South Carolina

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Dabo Swinney, Clemson

Desperately seeking … anything:  Ryan Walters, Purdue

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oklahoma (defeated Maine 59-14)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Army (defeated Air Force 20-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: UMass (lost to Mississippi State 45-20)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Louisville (defeated No. 11 Clemson 33-21)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  NC State (defeated Stanford 59-28)

Most improved from previous week:  UCLA

Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad:  New Mexico State

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  Texas A&M

Did the season start?  Iowa State
Can the season end?  Arizona

Can the season never end? Indiana

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 4 Ohio State 20, No. 3 Penn State 13

Never play this again: UCF 56, Arizona 12

What?  Minnesota 25, No. 24 Illinois 17

Huh?  Houston 24, No. 19 Kansas State 19

Double-Huh?  Texas Tech 23, No. 11 Iowa State 22

Are you kidding me??  UCLA 27, Nebraska 20

Oh – my – God:  Louisville 33, No. 11 Clemson 21

OMG/Told you so:  South Carolina 44, No. 10 Texas A&M 20

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 11)
Ticket to die for:  No. 2 Georgia @ No. 16 Ole Miss

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: (N/A)

Best non-Power Four matchup: No. 18 Army @ North Texas

Upset alert: Florida @ No. 5 Texas

Must win: No. 11 Alabama @ No. 14 LSU

Offensive explosion: New Mexico @ San Diego State

Defensive struggle: Oklahoma @ Missouri

Great game no one is talking about: No. 21 Colorado @ Texas Tech

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Jedd Fisch of Washington vs James Franklin of Penn State

Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 3 Ohio State @ Purdue

Why are they playing?  Utah State @ Washington State

Plenty of good seats remaining: Kennesaw State @ UTEP

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Georgia State @ James Madison

Week 10 Thoughts:

Another great day for college football is in the books.  The Ohio State – Penn State game lived up to the hype, and told us what we need to know about the respective strengths  and weaknesses of the two teams.  Then, as the rest of the day unfolded, some very intriguing upsets occurred, especially in the evening, making things most entertaining, which is the point, in case we forgot.

Ohio State @ Penn State

Last week, Ohio State was trying to fix its running game problem on the fly against Nebraska, hence the puzzlingly low score against the Cornhuskers in that game.  Suffice it to say, the Buckeyes solved that problem, having rushed for 179 yards against the vaunted defense of Penn State.  That was perhaps the biggest deciding factor in what amounted to be something of a defensive struggle throughout the contest.  Media talking heads speculated that the bulk of the must-win pressure was on Ryan Day.  If so, he and his team rose to the occasion.  Conversely, James Franklin’s Ohio State problem persists, as his record is now 1-10 against the Bucks.  Nevertheless, the Nittany Lions gave a valiant effort, which was rewarded in that they went down only few spots in the rankings from No. 3 to No. 6.

Georgia vs Florida

On paper, this game should have been a blowout.  Florida had other plans.  The Gators took the early lead, and kept it through halftime, 13-6.  In the second half, the Bulldogs chipped away early on, then built the lead to ultimately triumph, 34-20.  The Bulldog’s biggest weakness is their QB play.  Even though Carson Beck threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns, he also threw three interceptions.  One cannot make those sorts of mistakes against a Texas, an Oregon, or an Ohio State and expect to win.

On the other side of the ball, Florida is not quite the basketcase they were at the beginning of the year.  By now, they can hang with the best in the conference, even if they cannot triumph over them.  One hallmark of a well-coached team is whether or not your team is showing improvement as the season progresses.  The Gators have showed that in spades.  Texas best be on the lookout next week.

Upsets abound:

Texas Tech @ Iowa State

The Cyclone’s road to the playoffs just hit a major pothole when the unranked Red Raiders upset them at home.

Minnesota @ Illinois

Even though the Illini were ranked and the Golden Gophers were not, P.J. Fleck’s squad was still favored by the wiseguys in Vegas.  Hard to see why in hindsight.

UCLA @ Nebraska

Let’s be honest, we all gave up the Bruins for dead earlier this year.  Then, they venture to Lincoln, Neb., and upset the Huskers on their home turf.  Matt Rhule should likewise be desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard along with Dabo Swinney.  Speaking of…

Louisville @ Clemson

The Cardinals have been a team with much potential but not quite there, as they have been inconsistent on both sides of the ball, though especially on defense.  That all changed with defensive coordinator Ron English (one of the better ones in the business IMO) simplified his defensive assignments, and his players responded most positively.

So much so, that they shut down an explosively resurgent Tigers, on their home turf of all places.  Offensively, things came together for Louisville as well:  they amassed 210 yards on the ground, as well as all three of their touchdowns.  When other drives stalled, the Cards still managed to put additional points on the board thanks to the sure and accurate foot of kicker Brock Travelstead, who went 4 for 5.

This marks the first time Louisville has beaten Clemson, and it came when was least suspected, given the former’s previously inconsistent performances compared to the latter’s surge, which the Cardinals suddenly stalled.

Going forward, it will be interesting to see if the Cardinals can sustain this newfound defensive cohesiveness and improved offense.  Likewise, it will still intrigue the fans of the college football as to whether or not the Tigers can still make a run for the playoffs and which other contenders they can wreck along the way.

Texas A&M @ South Carolina.

The Aggies were the new darling of the SEC after knocking off LSU.  But in the words of the late LSU head coach Charley McClendon, “In football, and in life, you’ve got to keep proving yourself.”  That opportunity to keep proving themselves came for No. 10 Texas A&M when they ventured into Columbia to take on giant-menacing South Carolina.

To set the stage, the Gamecocks only narrowly lost to LSU and Alabama by three points each, and they demolished Oklahoma, 35-9.  One could discern a potential upset a mile away.  Such discerners were proven correct.  Not only did the Gamecocks upset the Aggies, they did so in grandiose fashion, 44-20, a more-than 2-1 margin.  Shane Beamer has proven that his team is one to be reckoned with, and the remainder of their schedule is a winnable one, with regular season finale with Clemson shaping up to be a possible monster of a game.

As Bill Connelly reminded us, November is for everything.  These games, and others yesterday, have gotten this month off to a red-hot start, and we have an awesome remainder yet to enjoy.  Buckle up.