Author: Andy Moore - @ajmoore21

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2022 CFB: Week 8 – Winners & Losers

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WINNERS

Ohio State

Amidst all the close matchups and upset wins over the last few weeks, one thing has remained consistent. Ohio State’s offense is bullying teams.

The Buckeyes have an unbelievable conveyor belt of elite wide receivers, which is full credit to the recruiting staff and those that develop the players once they’re on campus. But those receivers would be nowhere near as productive without the dominant play of CJ Stroud.

On Saturday Stroud pushed Ohio State past Iowa in a scrappy game which saw turnovers galore. The Hawkeyes defense is strong, and that showed as they managed to shut down the Buckeyes running game. However, if teams commit to stopping TreVeyon Henderson and co then there’s a strong chance that Stroud will have plenty of favourable matchups through the air. With touchdown grabs for Julia Fleming, Marvin Harrison Jr & Emeka Egbuka, that was very much the case – and the Buckeyes were able to limit Jaxson Smith-Njigba thanks to their dominance.

Still, this wasn’t a vintage display by any means. Stroud threw an interception and fumbled, Henderson managed just 38 yards and there wasn’t quite the tempo that the Buckeyes’ fans are used to seeing. But this is exactly why they’re a winner. When you’re not playing at 100% but still beating a 3-3 team by 44 points, you’ve got an excellent shot at a National Championship.

Will Shipley

In a crucial game for Clemson, Dabo Swinney needed his highly touted QB to step up to the plate and dominate Syracuse’s defense. Sadly, as we’ve come to expect from DJ Uiagalelei, that didn’t happen.

If Uiagalelei isn’t playing well, the Tigers can often rely on their elite defense to carry them through a game. But for long periods at the start of Saturday’s game Garret Schrader was able to move the ball as he needed to. That certainly changed after half-time, with the Orange held scoreless, but there was only one reason that Clemson were still in the game at that point. That was sophomore running back, Will Shipley.

Time and again this season, Shipley has lifted Clemson’s offense with his hard running style and key third down conversions. Through five games in 2022, Shipley has carried the ball 123 times for 739 yards and ten touchdowns. Saturday’s performance was his best of the year, as his 172 yards and two scores proved vital in a 27-21 win. 

The mark of a good team is having someone step up when others aren’t at their best. With Shipley supporting an average QB, he’ll be needed more often than not this year. 

South Carolina

Texas A&M taking a beating seems to be a pretty regular thing this season. With Saturday’s loss, the Aggies have now dropped four games in 2022, a remarkable thing for a team that was boasting of a historic recruiting class during the Summer.

But the Aggies’ loss wasn’t all about them this weekend. South Carolina look like a dangerous team at present. With Spencer Rattler and the helm and Marshawn Lloyd tearing things up in the backfield, they’ve got a chance to make a splash in every game.

The standout player on Saturday however, was on defense for the Gamecocks. Darius Rush had a humongous game, with a 59 yard interception, a pass defensed and six solo tackles. The senior defensive back is having a strong year as he looks to be drafted in 2023.

With a win against the Aggies, South Carolina moved to 5-2 on the season. A remarkable feat considering the state the programme was in when Shane Beamer took over a year and a half ago.

LOSERS

Zach Gibson

With Jeff Sims knocked out of the game for Georgia Tech on Friday night, it was Zach Gibson’s time to shine as the Yellow Jackets looked to come from behind against the Virginia Cavaliers.

Gibson had a significant amount of experience as the starter for Tech in 2021, so he was no deer in the headlines when he ran out onto the field. Sure, he may not have been fully prepared to play, especially given the way Sims has played at times this season.

However, with the final play of the game, Gibson had the chance to make a play. Stepping out of the pocket to buy time, with the Yellow Jackets down seven points, everyone expected him to haul the ball down field. Instead, the Alpharetta native jogged out of play to end the game.

Miami

Miami have been a regular in this slot over the course of the season. What promised to be a bright season has fallen away into a poor first year for Head Coach, Mario Cristobal.

On Saturday, the Hurricanes were on the end of a drubbing from Duke. Before the season that would have been unthinkable, with Tyler Van Dyke and others drawing rave reviews from not only the CFB community, but everyone associated with the NFL draft.

With Duke QB, Riley Leonard, rushing for three touchdowns and the wider offense putting up 200 yards on the ground, there wasn’t much that Miami could do to slow them down. But it was the offensive line that struggled the most, as Duke tallied six sacks and seven tackles for a loss.

It’s blindingly obvious that there are holes all over the Hurricanes’ roster, but the one silver lining for Miami’s fans is that Cristobal is an expert at attracting talent. They’ll need to recruit some record breaking classes to turn things around in South Florida, could it all be a bit too much for the former Oregon Head Coach?

Grant Sands

If you’ve not seen the viral tweets about Weber State’s record breaking four safeties in their loss to Montana State, then do watch the below clip. Grant Sands is probably having a rough weekend after achieving viral fame, so the video can speak for itself.

By Andy Moore – @ajmoore21

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2022 CFB: Week 7 – Winners & Losers

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A pretty seismic day of College Football saw the scales of power tip a fair bit, with Alabama, USC and Penn State all losing out to rivals in the playoff race.

As always, there’s plenty that could have been included but here are your winners and losers from week seven.

Winners

Tennessee

It’d be hard to start anywhere else but in Knoxville, where the Vols pulled off a historic win over Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. From the get go, Tennessee made things difficult for Bryce Young and yet the future NFL QB managed to keep the game in the balance until the last kick off the game.

At this point it also looks like Hendon Hooker will be playing meaningful snaps on Sunday afternoons as well. This win will be the proof that scouts use to answer the question ‘how does he play in big games?’. With 385 yards and five passing touchdowns the Virginia Tech transfer was very much the focal point for the Vols. It’s also quite incredible that Jalin Hyatt reeled in all five of those TD passes.

But the real winner from this game were the fans, more than 100,000 watched the Vols win. Some of those then stormed the field, and the sea of orange flowed from and around the stadium for hours after the win. Great scenes that encapsulate football at its best.

Michigan

Hands up who thought Penn State at Michigan would be a close game? Nearly everyone did in their previews. Instead, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards decided that Saturday would be the day that they reinvented the phrase, ‘thunder and lightning’.

In an excellent article, Lee has already covered off the strengths of Corum, and he looks more than ready to be drafted as one of the top running backs in next year’s draft. But Edwards is still emerging as a force to be reckoned with for the Wolverines. As a four star recruit, Edwards was ranked the fourth best running back prospect in the 2021 class. He also had the benefit of staying close to home after attending West Bloomfield High School. Now, in his second year on campus he’s showing why he came so highly rated.

The win moves Michigan to 7-0 and pushes them past one of the more difficult opponents left on their schedule. With Alabama’s defeat, it looks very likely that an undefeated season would see Michigan return to the playoff. Ohio State look like the most dangerous team that the Wolverines still have to face, and that promises to be a barnstormer on the final day of the season.

Utah

Continuing the theme of top 25 ‘winners’ this week are the Utah Utes. After a much hyped preseason the Utes stumbled to start the season, but they appear to be well and truly back on track with a one point victory over USC.

For large swathes of this game it looked like the Trojans might pull ahead and put this one out of reach, but credit to both sides of the ball for Utah – as they kept the game close enough for Cam Rising to run the ball into the end zone with 43 seconds left. The accompanying two point conversion provided all the necessary drama that was fitting for a go ahead score in a 43-43 game and Utah left with the W.

Special mention should go to Dalton Kincaid, who really should be getting more draft buzz than he is. With Brant Kuithe out for the season Kincaid has been the number one option on offense, and he’s already put up 558 yards and six TDs this season. With a PAC-12 only schedule to see out the season, Kincaid and Utah have got a lot of time left to push for a championship in 2022.

Losers

Florida

Two fourth quarter scores make Florida’s defeat to LSU seem closer than it really was. The Gators struggled to get the ball moving through Anthony Richardson and, despite a highlight reel run, it was clear that the highly rated QB needs some help if Billy Napier’s team is going to start winning consistently.

Facing a versatile signal caller in Jaylen Daniels, the Gators should have looked to pile on the pressure early and often. Yet the home side only managed one sack and three tackles for a loss all game. After a difficult start to the season, Daniels has grown in stature for the Tigers, and Florida were powerless to stop him at times. 

With Georgia, Texas A&M and South Carolina coming up, it’s going to be a real struggle for the Gators to get past the seven win total this season. Something which may hurt them on the recruitment trail more than anywhere else.

NC State

This one is through no fault of NC State’s making, but after a promising start to the season the loss of Devin Leary for the season is devastating for the Wolfpack. With a difficult matchup against Syracuse, the announcement that their star QB was done for the year was only made public shortly before kick off.

Charleston Southern transfer, Jack Chambers, will deputise for Leary for the remainder of the season, but the difference in quality was evident against the Orange. Syracuse have been very good all year, as their 6-0 record now attests to, and 160 yards through the air was never going to be enough to beat them. There were flashes of talent from Chambers in the running game, but the Wolfpack’s coaching staff are going to have to make some adjustments during the week to make their offense far more effective.

Notre Dame

It seems like a lot of Notre Dame’s mediocrity is going under the radar this season. As with any sport, the main talking points tend to be excellence or incompetence, and Notre Dame don’t really look like they’re encapsulating either of those extremities. 

However, this weekend they were handed a loss by a Stanford team that hadn’t registered a win of note prior to Saturday. It’s clear that things have been a struggle since Drew Pyne took over the starting role, despite the recent run of wins. And, with a resolute Stanford defense managing to make plays in the backfield, things just didn’t look fluid for the Fighting Irish.

Marcus Freeman has been dealt a difficult hand to get his head coaching career underway and in many ways he’s doing an impressive job. But the takeaway from this defeat will be Notre Dame’s failure to execute in key situations, which is something which Freeman must tackle with his players.

By Andy Moore – @ajmoore21

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2022 CFB: Week 5 – Winners and Losers

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Who made this week’s Winner & Losers column (aka. The ‘Kansas & Losers’ column)… find out below.

Winners

UCLA

Let’s put some respect on UCLA’s name. At 5-0 with a couple of very eligible wins under their belt, the Bruins are looking good. The college football world had been aflame with praise for Washington in recent weeks, but the 40-32 scoreline makes this game seem closer than it was.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson is one of the great mysteries of the CFB world, he profiles as a very good QB but over the last few seasons he has been largely inconsistent. Now, midway through his fifth year with UCLA, are we seeing a player that could be jumping NFL draft boards? Through five games DTR has completed 74.3% of his passes for 11 touchdowns, with just one interception blotting the copy book.

The addition of Jake Bobo from Duke in the offseason appears to be paying dividends, with the 6’5” outside receiver putting up a huge six catch, 142 yards and two touchdown day on Friday evening. Combined with the ever-dangerous Zach Charbonnet, the Bruins have a nice one-two punch at receiver and running back.

Back to back games against Utah and Oregon might bring Chip Kelly’s men back to earth with a bang, but for now the programme has a feel good factor on the field.

Ole Miss

Ole Miss are another team who moved to 5-0 with a win on Saturday, taking down Kentucky in order to do so. Despite all the offensive talent scattered across both rosters, the Rebels defense were largely to thank for the win.

Maurice Crum and D.J Durkin act as co-defensive coordinators in Oxford, and their approach proved effective, with Ole Miss putting up nine tackles for a loss, three sacks and multiple fumble recoveries. AJ Finley (S) and Austin Keys (LB) were at the heart of everything, as Will Levis came under scrutiny at QB for Kentucky.

Offensively, Jaxson Dart’s stat line won’t be setting off too much excitement amongst the Rebels’ fan base, but he’s slowly adjusting to life under Lane Kiffin. Games against Vanderbilt and Auburn should allow Kiffin and his team to extend their winning streak, before a more difficult section of the schedule hits.

TCU & Max Duggan

It’s been a tough ride for Max Duggan as TCU’s starting quarterback. Along with the inconsistent performances has come a lot of scrutiny, and even a trip to the bench to start the 2022 season.

However, the fourth year signal caller is now stamping his authority on the starting job and an offense which has been purring away nicely to start the season. Against a solid Oklahoma side, Duggan put up video game numbers – 302 yards passing, three passing scores and 116 yards rushing plus a further two touchdowns on the ground. Impressive.

It’s clear that Duggan is thriving in his role as the offensive leader for the Horned Frogs, he looks calm in the pocket and is more than willing to share the ball around to any target that can get half a step on the defender covering him. Draft scouts would probably like to see Quentin Johnson padding the stat sheet in wins like this, but the future Sunday player did draw multiple pass interference calls in the first half.

An exciting matchup against 5-0 Kansas awaits TCU next week.

Losers

Virginia

After so much preseason hype around the weapons at their disposal, Virginia are really failing to live up to expectations so far in 2022. On Saturday they dropped to 2-3 with a defeat to a resurgent Duke who completely bullied the Cavaliers on the ground.

Brennan Armstrong had got the ‘dark horse’ label from some analysts ahead of the 2023 draft, but at present he’s struggling to stay upright behind an offensive line that is porous, to put it politely. The pressure Armstrong is facing is impacting his ability to find standout targets, Dontayvion Wicks and Keytaon Thompson – the latter being the only real bright spot for the Cavaliers so far this season.

As the rest of the ACC, including Duke, look to progress, Virginia seem to be going backwards. Tony Elliot was appointed as the new Head Coach this offseason, and he absolutely deserves some time to turn things around, but this season is already looking like a right off for the Cavaliers.

Wisconsin

24 carries of the football for the Badgers, two yards rushing in total. That stat says it all about Wisconsin’s performance against Illinois on Saturday as Bret Bielema enjoyed every minute of his team’s win against his former team.

Graham Mertz was sacked five times and threw two interceptions, as Wisconsin struggled to get anything going offensively. Braelon Allen has been incredibly efficient against stacked boxes all season long, but even he couldn’t get the ball moving against a resolute Fighting Illini defense.

On the flip side, the Badgers defense looked slow and struggled against the dynamic running style of Chase Brown. They also struggled to stop QB, Tommy Devito, punching the ball into the end zone three times in what was one of the most humbling defeats Wisconsin have suffered at home in recent years. 

Ohio State’s Punter

This might be a British thing, although judging by Twitter’s reaction it probably isn’t. You’re up by 30 points against a clearly inferior team, it’s fourth down in your own half – just punt the ball away. It’s a nice respectful thing to do. 

Instead, Jesse Mirco decided his time had come and he broke away for a 22 yard run. Only to be slammed to the floor as he ran out of bounds, cue some excellent handbags from the Buckeyes bench. We’re not condoning late hits at the Full10Yards, but…

By Andy Moore @ajmoore21

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2022 CFB: Week 4 – Winners & Losers

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Kansas made their first appearance in our ‘winners’ column several weeks ago, but we may soon have to insert a standalone section just for the Jayhawks after they moved to 4-0 at the weekend.

As it is we’ve gone for three new winners, with a familiar team appearing in the ‘losers’ this week.

Winners – @Ajmoore21

Tennessee

When the news of Cedric Tillman’s absence was announced prior to kick off, there’s no doubt some Tennessee fans gulped and hoped for the best. The veteran receiver is key to the Vols offense and so to have him unavailable was a big blow.

Those fans needn’t have worried. Hendon Hooker showed why he’s beginning to garner some real draft buzz with a dominant performance in the 38-33 rivalry win against Florida. Not only did he look after the ball, Hooker also steamrolled the Gators on the ground.

Alongside their QB, Bru McCoy and Jabari Small both stepped up and delivered key plays when the moment needed it. The offense consistently got into Gator territory but a mixture of fumbles, failures to convert on fourth down and missed field goals made the game look much closer than it really was by the close of play. 

The win moved the Vols to 4-0 on the season, and they’re looking right in the mix in the SEC East.

Jaydn Ott

The Cal Bears have got off to a pretty decent start to the season by their recent standards. Through the first four weeks of the year they stand at 3-1, and they enjoyed a strong win against Arizona on Saturday.

At the heart of that victory was freshman running back, Jaydn Ott. It takes a special calibre of player to put up 274 yards rushing and three TDs in just your fourth collegiate game. But the most impressive thing is that Ott has been the starter since week one, and the coaching staff had no qualms about making that decision.

The Chino native is a brute with the ball in his hands, lowering the shoulder and welcoming contact. He’s also got an impressive turn of speed and takes good downfield angles to avoid onrushing defensive backs.

With 463 yards and four scores so far this year, it’s looking like Ott will be a 1000 yard rusher in his first year of collegiate ball. If that is the case, expect the draft buzz to begin and the scrutiny that comes with that to intensify.

Ohio State

It’s easy to include the Buckeyes in here whenever they put up a big score, but they’re such an impressive offensive team that they do regularly warrant inclusion. This week the potency of CJ Stroud and team took down a Wisconsin defense that is known to be difficult to breakdown, and they did it pretty easily.

Stroud only completed 17 passes on the day, but five of those went for touchdowns as Emeka Egbuka, Julian Fleming and Cade Stover all got on the box score. Instead it was the ground game that really paved the way for victory in this one, with both TreyVeon Henderson and Miyan Williams surpassing 100 yards rushing. 

The defense only forced one turnover in the game, a 30 yard interception by Tanner McCalister, but with an offense that is as dominant as Ohio State’s does the other side of the ball need to do anything other than play hard and limit the opposition?

Losers – @Wakefield90 

Miami

Is there any other place to start?

Mario Cristobal and his ranked Miami Hurricanes side, welcoming a Middle Tennessee side to Hard Rock Stadium off the back of a tough loss in a close one with Texas A&M last week, what a great bounceback opportunity. Right..? This one is absolutely ripe for the popular Anakin and Padme meme…

Miami wouldn’t be atop of our losers’ column had the *checks notes* Blue Raiders not run out winners, and by two scores too!

Middle Tennessee racked up 507 total yards on their way to 45 points, they won the turnover battle and even won in despite being even worse than Miami on 3rd down, and the Hurricanes converted on 35% of their third down attempts.

It started off poorly for Miami as Tyler Van Dyke, last week’s Player to Watch, threw an interception on a play from his own 10 yard line. Miami were let off, only giving up a field goal on the following MTU possession.

However, later on in the first quarter a rather more unlucky interception was thrown, again deep in Miami’s own territory, but this time, Sophomore defensive lineman, Zaylin Wood returned it to the house for a big man touchdown. This gave MTU a 10-0 lead with 5 minutes played in the contest.

Despite this, I would have imagined that fans would have reasonably expected Miami to overcome the deficit against a far inferior opponent, but Middle Tennessee kept the Hurricanes at arm’s length throughout the rest of the contest to claim a famous victory.

Chance Nolan

I am usually not a big fan of putting individuals in the losers’ section but given the Oregon State quarterback threw four interceptions in a 14-17 loss to everyone’s least favourite Pac-12 team, I sort of have no choice.

Let me start by saying this; the Beavs are good, no longer the bottom dwellers of the conference, Jonathan Smith has Oregon State playing tough, hard-nosed football sans any real star power on either side of the ball.

They reduced USC’s galaxy of stars offense to something very ordinary, beatable and pedestrian looking. Travis Dye, former Oregon Duck, was the star man – not Caleb Williams or any of the billion incredibly talented wide receivers, although the winning TD throw to Jordan Addison was an absolute Dime. The Trojans were limited to 50% on third down, and Oregon State shackled them to less than 5 yard per play. They just couldn’t take advantage of the situation being so close because they kept throwing the ball to white jerseys, instead of orange ones.

It was all there for Oregon State to claim another victory over USC, in what will likely be the final visit to Corvallis for a long time, but it wasn’t to be.

Nolan was bad. This bad…

USC didn’t actually score any points off the turnovers, but had Oregon State just kept the scoreboard ticking over, there wouldn’t have been time and/or opportunities for USC to come back into the game and win it.

Oregon State were leading late in the fourth but with the door ajar, Williams and Addison linked up for the aforementioned winner. Even so, Nolan threw his fourth and final pick in the final drive with around 40 seconds remaining. The sort of situation –  two timeouts and 55 yards to the opposing end zone, or 30 something for a comfy(ish) field goal – That if you pull it off you make it to the other half of this article. But no, USC marches on.

Cayden Bridges

I am usually not a big fan of putting individuals in the losers’ section but given the Missouri running back fumbled a potentially game-winning touchdown, into the end zone, in a 14-17 loss, I sort of have no choice.

This one was not a good game, so I guess the losers could be anyone who watched this one too. 

The teams exchanged a combined 12 straight punts in the second half. A second half that remained completely scoreless.

The score was 14-14 with each team scoring two unanswered touchdowns in a quarter; Auburn in the first quarter before Mizzou had a couple in the second, before the disasterclass began in the second half. Missouri missed a 26-yard kick that would have won them the game and saved Bridges from this column.

There’s not a tonne to say about this game, because it was so bad, so I will just leave you with the clip for those who haven’t already seen it… because if a picture says 1,000 words, how many does a short video say?

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2022 CFB: Week 4 Game Previews

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The most comprehensive weekly preview outside of the US!

West Virginia @ Virginia Tech

Friday 23rd September – 12.30am (UK) – Blacksburg, Virginia

Preview: This weekend’s action gets underway on Thursday night with an in-state rivalry game between West Virginia and Virginia Tech. The two teams met in 2021, with the Mountaineers running out 27-21 victors.

It’s been a fairly disappointing season for both teams so far. Virginia Tech dropped their week one game to Old Dominion, but they have bounced back with wins over Boston College and Wolford. On the flip side, WVU lost their opening two games to Kansas and Pitt, but in week three the offense blew Towson out of the water.

Dante Stills has been excellent at the heart of the West Virginia defensive line despite their early struggles. However, he needs some help if the Mountaineers are to win on Saturday. Although they’re ranked as the 41st defense so far in 2022, WVU have already shipped 14 touchdowns to opposition offenses – and Neal Brown has been clear that needs to improve. The offense has largely started to click under the guidance of JT Daniels, mainly thanks to the outstanding play of wide receiver, Bryce Ford-Wheaton.

Ford-Wheaton won’t be the only standout receiver on the field in this matchup. Temple transfer Jaden Blue has jumped up the depth chart after a strong performance at the weekend – he possesses great short yardage burst and a strong pair of hands, and will likely be drafted at the end of the season. Alongside him, Nick Gallo is one of the highest rated tight ends in the ACC, both in the run game and as a passing threat – he’ll be a handful for Jasir Cox, the transfer corner that has so far lined up in the slot for the Mountaineers. 

Key Matchup: Dante Stills (DL, WVU) vs VT Interior Defensive Line – Stills is a wrecking ball, disruptive in both the run and passing games and is versatile to boot. Grant Wells has looked a bit shaky as the Hokies starting QB through three games, and it’ll be up to Kaden Moore, Johnny Jordan and Jesse Hansen to keep him on his feet come Thursday. Look for Stills to identify the best matchup for his skills and exploit it all game long.

Game Line: West Virginia 2 point favourites at the time of writing.

Virginia @ Syracuse

Saturday 24th September – 12am (UK) – Syracuse, New York

Preview: Did anyone have Syracuse as the surprise package coming out of the ACC this year? Through three games they’ve played some exciting football on offense and been very solid on defense – especially in week one against Louisville.

Garrett Shrader was always going to be a playmaker for the Orange, but opposition coordinators probably didn’t anticipate how difficult he could be to shut down. Against Purdue, Shrader threw for three touchdowns but completed less than half of his passes – with the pass game stunted he took over on the ground instead, putting up a team leading 83 yards on 17 carries. He’ll be a nightmare to handle for a Virginia defense that has looked pretty static through the first three weeks of the season.

If Virginia are to make this one interesting, they’ll be relying on their talented receivers and Brennan Armstrong cranking into life. Armstrong has struggled to get standout receiver Dontayvion Wicks involved so far this year, but last weekend saw Keytaon Thompson get up and running with more than 100 yards receiving. The first three weeks have been disappointing in general for the Cavaliers, despite two wins they’ve been unconvincing and they certainly haven’t lived up to the potential they teased in 2021.

Key Matchup: Keytaon Thompson (WR, VIR) vs Garrett Williams (CB, SYR) – Williams is one of the highest rated defensive backs in the country, his silky smooth play has seen him mock drafted everywhere from the third round all the way to the top ten overall picks ahead of the 2023 draft. In Keytaon Thompson he’ll come up against a wrecking ball of a wide receiver who loves to create yardage with the ball in his hands. This one will be fascinating to watch from the first snap.

Game Line: Syracuse 9 point favourite at the time of writing.

Baylor @ Iowa State

Saturday 24th September – 5pm (UK) – Ames, Iowa

Preview: Onto Saturday’s action and there’s a lot to like about the 5pm games. Baylor’s trip to Ames should provide a good test for two quarterbacks that are enjoying their first full year as the main man on campus. Hunter Dekkers has hit the ground running for Iowa State after two years as Brock Purdy’s backup. The lefty has formed quite the relationship with standout receiver, Xavier Hutchinson, who will have his eyes set on the NFL at the end of the season. Interestingly, there’s been a committee approach at running back for the Hawkeyes, following the departure of Breece Hall.

Baylor’s defense has been their strong point so far in 2022, and given Dave Aranda’s past that is probably no surprise. The Bears rank 26th in total defense, with towering lineman Siaki Ika at the heart of everything. Ika is a natural leader who personifies the grit that Aranda’s defense plays with, along with TJ Franklin. They’re clearly rubbing off on Brooks Miller, who looked incredibly effective at linebacker in the blowout of Texas State last week. 

Blake Shapen has had an up and down start to life as the Bears’ starting QB. The main blip came down the stretch against BYU in the overtime defeat. Shapen got a bit loose with his mechanics and sailed a number of passes. This game is the chance for him to redeem himself against a strong opponent.

Key Matchup: Xavier Hutchinson (WR, ISU) vs Mark Milton (CB, BAY) – This is a simple case of WR1 vs CB1 – both are very good players and the winner of this matchup will likely tip the scales in the favour of his team.

Game Line: Iowa State 2.5 point favourite at the time of writing.

Clemson @ Wake Forest

Saturday 24th September – 5pm (UK) – Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Preview: Clemson have so far avoided significant scrutiny in 2022. Their no nonsense defense and above average offense are just too much for the majority of teams in college football. DJ Uiagalelei has clearly taken a step at QB for the Tigers, whether that is a significant step still remains very much in question. However, with the talent the Tigers have on defense, the offense very rarely needs to take over a game. Any of Bryan Bresee, Tyler Davis, Myles Murphy and Trenton Simpson could be high draft picks in 2023 and they stand out on tape every week.

With Sam Hartman back in action, Wake Forest are always a threat. However, they’ve not looked at their dominant best over the past fortnight. Against Liberty, the defense struggled to stop an offense that is going through a transitional phase, and the run game was literally non-existent – leaving them 97th in the nation through three weeks. When the Demon Deacons are playing lesser opponents, Hartman alone can drag them through – but against a powerhouse like Clemson it’s going to be a huge struggle.

Key Matchup: Clemson Defensive Line vs Wake Forest Offensive Line – Hartman is Wake’s only chance of getting something from this game, but he’ll be useless if he spends the game running for his life. The Wake offensive line therefore needs to dig in and do what it can in the face of Bresee and co.

Game Line: Clemson 7 point favourite at the time of writing.

Oregon @ Washington State

Saturday 24th September – 9pm (UK) – Pullman, Washington

Preview: There was a hell of a lot of hype around Cameron Ward during the summer, and last week against Colorado State the world saw exactly why. But, there had been some very good moments throughout the first two weeks as well – he threw the game winning score to beat Wisconsin to name one. Ward is clearly the star of the Cougars’ programme already and Jake Dikert should be praised for convincing him to join them.

Outside of Ward, Ron Stone Jr is the player to watch for Washington State as he comes off the edge to put consistent pressure on opposition gun slingers. Last season’s 11.5 sacks put him on the map, and he’ll relish the opportunity of going up against Oregon’s solid offensive line.

The Ducks proved that the week one loss to Georgia was well removed from their collective memory last week, as they cruised past BYU. Bo Nix was efficient, including a very nice touchdown throw to Terrance Ferguson. However, he was aided by the running back tandem of Mar’Keise Irving and Naoh Whittington whose productivity allowed the play action game to materialise.

Key Matchup: Oregon Defensive Line vs Cameron Ward (QB, WSU) – The Ducks did well to contain Jaren Hall last week, forcing him to throw a lot more than he wanted to. However, Ward is happy to sit back and pick apart a defense from the pocket. Oregon’s defense will therefore need to get to him for more than the solitary sack they picked up last week.

Game Line: Oregon 6.5 point favourite at the time of writing.

Stanford @ Washington

Sunday 25th September – 3.30am (UK) – Seattle, Washington

Preview: Washington has been great so far in 2022. The Huskies announced themselves to the nation with a statement win over Michigan State in week three, ahead of the first PAC-12 matchup of the year. The biggest surprise has been Michael Penix at QB, but the all round play of Kalen DeBoer’s team has been excellent. Ja’Lynn Polk had 114 yards receiving in three games last season, this year he’s more than doubled that and caught four touchdowns. It’s the same across the board for the Hokies, with raised performances and maturation showing across the roster.

Stanford are a difficult beast to fathom. There’s no doubt that there is a lot of talent on the Cardinal roster, but their fanbase must wish that they put it all together a bit more consistently. With Tanner McKee receiving a lot of preseason draft hype, attention slightly shifted away from elite corner, Kyu Blu Kelly. USC largely stayed away from Kelly in the Cardinal’s loss to the Trojans, but with Penix feeling confident he may be tempted to throw at the future Sunday player.

It’s highly likely that this one will still be ticking over when some in the UK are waking up, but it’ll be well worth hitting rewind and watching it on the start as the hype around Washington is beginning to pick up a lot of steam. 

Key Matchup: Stanford pass rush vs Washington Offensive Line – Washington have only given up two sacks so far this season, that is presumably why Penix looks so confident when compared to his pre-transfer tape. There’s no reason why that can’t continue this week, the Huskies have a strong offensive line and they should be a bit too much for Stanford’s pass rush.

Game Line: Washington 13.5 point favourite at the time of writing.

By Andy Moore – @ajmoore21

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2022 CFB: Week 3 – Winners & Losers

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There weren’t quite as many upsets through Saturday’s games in week three, yet it was still a slate packed full of action. 

For a long time on Saturday evening Notre Dame were written into the losers column, as were UCLA and a number of other teams who just managed to turn close games into wins against inferior opponents.

The best thing about watching college football in the UK is that the action is still ongoing when you wake up at 6.30 on a Sunday morning. This week that was just in time to watch the end of the Arizona State game…

Winners

Maryland

The Terrapins have started the season quietly and effectively, picking up three wins against three teams that could easily have prevented a real challenge for some of their lesser conference rivals. 

SMU were in the US capital to provide Saturday’s opposition, bringing with them the talented Tanner Mordecai and an offense that is incredibly fun to watch. The Mustangs went back and forth with the home team, but Mordecai was nowhere near as careful with the football as his opposite number Taulia Tagovailoa. Dante Trader and Beau Brader picked off the SMU QB, and Ahmad McCullough recovered two fumbles to help Maryland on their way to a 34-27 win.

That’s not to say that the Terrapins don’t have issues of their own to overcome. A stop-start game saw them commit 15 penalties, much to Mike Locksley’s annoyance. However, Tagovailoa and his talented supporting cast got on with the job regardless, putting up 439 yards of offense and winning the turnover battle to pick up their third win of the season.

A very difficult trip to Ann Arbor is up next weekend, but so far so good for the Terps.

Oregon

When the world saw the Georgia Bulldogs bulldoze through Oregon in week one, there were questions about the Ducks and how successful they’d be under a new coaching staff in 2022.

Well, in the two games since their opening day defeat, Dan Lanning’s men have flipped the narrative. Playing a ranked team in BYU on Saturday, Oregon looked dominant as they piled on the points through the first three quarters in a 41-20 win that was never in question.

Veterans of the Box Nix experience are well aware of the peaks and troughs that are associated with his game. Against the Cougars, he looked every bit the leader of a well polished offense as he put the ball in tight windows and hit his targets consistently all game long. With the score at 17-7, he hit Terrance Ferguson where only he could grab it over the middle of the field, and from that point onwards it was easy sailing for the Ducks.

The Oregon defense also deserves a shoutout, they managed to limit Jaren Hall to just 19 yards on the ground and the entire BYU offense only managed 61 total yards of rushing. An impressive feat which will no doubt see the Ducks bounce up the rankings this week. 

Hunter Dekkers

Long term Iowa State QB, Brock Purdy, was entrenched as the starter in Ames for four years. The man that followed him was always going to have a tough task given Purdy’s consistency and the number of games he helped the Cyclones to.

Step forward Hunter Dekkers, Purdy’s backup for the last two years. Through the first three games of the season the former four-star recruit has been impressive. Against Southeast Missouri and on Saturday against Ohio, Dekkers has completed more than 77% of his passes for seven scores and only one interception. He did throw two picks against Iowa, but he still led his team for the winning touchdown in a real battle of attrition.

A 3-0 start and an impressive connection with star receiver, Xavier Hutchinson, is certainly not a bad way to endear yourself to the Cyclones’ faithful.

Losers

Arizona State

The comments underneath the final score graphic on Arizona State’s Twitter page were strangely positive following their defeat to Eastern Michigan on Saturday. A lot of the comments simply praised the way that Eagles played, but some were delighted that the 30-21 defeat may spell the end of Herm Edwards’ time as Head Coach of the Sun Devils.

Eastern Michigan scored on four of their five opening drives and never trailed against their PAC-12 opponents. It’s a damning indictment of Arizona State that, even with talented transfers such as Emory Jones, they couldn’t keep up with the Eagles.

Edwards now holds a 26-20 win-loss record with the Sun Devils, but with one anonymous coach calling ASU the ‘biggest dumpster fire’ in college football during the offseason, the writing might now be on the wall.

Miami 

With all the optimism around the Miami Hurricanes this offseason, a matchup with a Texas A&M team that had just dropped a game to App State felt like a huge opportunity to make a statement.

Unfortunately, the Hurricanes couldn’t get the job done in College State. A series of drops and 50/50 passes by Tyler Van Dyke didn’t help Mario Cristobal’s team as they struggled to cope with a strong A&M defense. Nothing could have summed that up more than the final play for the Hurricanes on offense where Van Dyke threw a nice ball right into the outstretched hands of his receiver, only for the ball to hit the floor.

For what it’s worth, the Miami defense did well to limit Texas A&M and Max Johnson in his first start for the Aggies. Three sacks, six tackles for a loss and another three QB hurries show that the ‘Canes defense got to Johnson early and often, but it wasn’t enough to come away with the win.

With Clemson looking dominant early in the season, a loss like this will hit Miami hard.

Northwestern

It seems like yesterday that Northwestern were picking up the plaudits for a good opening day victory against Nebraska in Dublin. Since then they’ve dropped two games, first to Duke and on Saturday to Southern Illinois.

The Wildcats turned the ball over a lot in the defeat, with Ryan Hillinksi throwing two interceptions and fumbling to sum up his difficult day against the Salukis. By contrast, Southern Illinois looked assured, only turning the ball over once in a good performance after they dropped their first two games against Incarnate Word and Southeastern Missouri.

With Big Ten action about to get underway, this has been a very disappointing start for Northwestern as all the positivity from Dublin has ebbed away. They have one more opportunity to kick start their season against Miami (Ohio) next week, before games against Penn State and Wisconsin.

By Andy Moore (@ajmoore21)

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2022 CFB: Week Three Game Previews

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You won’t find a more comprehensive set of game previews anywhere this side of the Atlantic!

FSU @ Louisville

Saturday – 12.30am (UK) – Louisville, Kentucky

Preview: Since Adam Fuller joined Florida State as their Defensive Coordinator, one particular quarterback has given him nightmares. Malik Cunningham and Scott Satterfield’s offense have dominated the ‘Noles in the two most recent meetings of the ACC rivals – with Louisville scoring a combined 79 points in those games.

However, this is seemingly a new FSU. After scraping past LSU in week one, Jordan Travis and co had their first bye week to prepare for Cunningham and the fast paced offense that the Cardinals run. Jared Verse, Fabien Lovett and Robert Cooper have started the season in strong fashion, combining with a secondary led by Jammie Robinson to produce the 19th ranked defense in the nation going into week three.

Louisville got off to a sluggish start against Syracuse before flipping the switch against UCF on Friday night. In that game they forced John Rhys Plumlee to stand in the pocket and try to beat them through the air. A year ago it may have been possible for the Cardinals to pursue a similar strategy against Travis, but the dual threat is much improved in the passing game since the sides last met. 

This one will be a battle of two very impressive QBs who can really take over a game on their day, the winner will likely be the team that can dominate in the trenches.

Key Matchup: Jared Verse (DE, FSU) vs Trevor Reid (LT, LOU) – Verse has exploded onto the scene for FSU. Against LSU he had two sacks, two and a half tackles for a loss and a blocked field goal. Reid can lack upper body strength, but his quick feet and athleticism mean he’s no slouch – if he can keep Cunningham upright then the Cardinals will do damage on offense.

Game Line: Florida State 2.5 point favourites at the time of writing.

Georgia @ South Carolina

Saturday – 5pm (UK) – Columbia, South Carolina

Preview: The Bulldogs haven’t allowed an opposition touchdown through two games in 2022, quieting any doubts that their defense would suffer from the large exodus of 2021 talent. Last weekend’s blowout of Samford was certainly expected, but many thought that Oregon would at least stay close in week one. 

At the heart of the early season success is Stetson Bennett, last year’s National Championship winning quarterback. Through two games Bennett has looked composed and the Bulldogs have been comfortable taking the aerial approach as their first option, a marked change to recent years. South Carolina have only allowed 136.5 yards a game through the air so far this season, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Bulldogs revert to their usual ground and pound style on Saturday.

The Gamecocks stuttered past Georgia State in week one, before being outclassed against a strong Arkansas team last week. Everything points towards them falling to 1-2 this weekend, but if anyone can produce some magic to keep the game interesting it is Spencer Rattler. The Oklahoma transfer has made some impressive plays through the first two game, but he desperately needs the support of a productive running game to help set up play action opportunities.

Key Matchup: Kendall Milton (RB, GEO) vs Gamecocks’ Linebackers – South Carolina lost both Jordan Strachan and Mo Kaba for the season in the loss to Arkansas, making their woeful run defense even worse. Sherrod Greene and Terrell Dawkins could be the next men up, and they’ll face the unenviable task of limiting the talented Milton in this one.

Game Line: Georgia 24 point favourites at the time of writing.

BYU @ Oregon

Saturday – 8.30pm (UK) – Eugene, Oregon

Preview: Early risers in the UK could have enjoyed the end of BYU’s dramatic double overtime win over Baylor at the weekend. Thankfully any British fans of the Cougars or the Oregon Ducks can enjoy this one at the very friendly time of 8.30pm. What they’ll see is a battle between two teams that play differing styles of football. 

Oregon got completely shut down by the aforementioned Georgia Bulldogs in week one, yet they rebounded in emphatic fashion on Saturday against Eastern Washington. Bo Nix was able to settle into his new offense, and he stood tall in the pocket to spread the ball around wherever possible. The Ducks’ coaching staff are excited by the young receivers they have coming through, none more so than Troy Franklin who caught ten passes from Nix at the weekend. The BYU secondary will no doubt provide a tougher opponent this week, but it’ll be a good test of where the new look offense is.

On the flip side, BYU’s offense could be characterised as chaotic by the layman, but that would be doing a huge disservice to Jaren Hall and his dual threat ability. The second year starter has speed to burn, and his ability in the pocket is seemingly on the up as well. Chase Roberts has seemingly appeared out of nowhere as the successor to Dax Milne for the Cougars, but Kalani Sitake will want to see more from the run game in this one. 

Key Matchup: Noah Sewell & Justin Flowe (LBs, ORE) vs Jaren Hall (QB, BYU) – Hall likes to get out of the pocket a lot, if he’s allowed to run free then the result could be devastating for the Oregon defense. Luckily they have two highly rated linebackers in position to stop that, they should force Hall to throw a lot more – it remains to be seen what the outcome of that will be.

Game Line: Oregon 3.5 point favourites at the time of writing.

Penn State @ Auburn

Saturday – 8.30pm (UK) – Auburn, Alabama

Preview: One of the most intriguing matchups of week three involves two ‘nearly’ teams of recent years. Both Penn State and Auburn manage to assemble good teams every year, but it’s been a while since they’ve been serious contenders at the top of their respective conferences.

It’s highly unlikely that the status quo changes in 2022, but both teams come into this one at 2-0 and both teams have got reason to be optimistic. For Penn State, that optimism is centred around Nick Singleton. After several years of running back by committee, Singleton emerged as a dominant force against Ohio in week two. Time will tell if he’s got what it takes to be the week in, week out bell cow – but the coaching staff have been full of praise for the freshman and it seems he’ll get every chance to be that guy.

Auburn had a tough end to the 2021 season, but the resilience shown by Bryan Harsin’s men in their victory over San Jose State indicates they’ve turned a corner and are ready to win. That victory did however highlight the question marks around the Tigers’ QB situation, with both TJ Finley and Robby Ashford seeing the field. Finley continues to be listed as the starter this week, and he’ll be excited to see starting receiver, Malcolm Johnson Jr, back on the field.

Last season’s reverse fixture saw a 28-20 Penn State victory, something that is clearly motivating the Auburn playing staff. If the home side can get some pressure on Sean Clifford then they’ve got every chance of moving to 3-0.

Key Matchup: Eke Leota (DE, AUB) vs Olu Fashanu (LT, PEN) – with the home-field noise at their back the Tigers’ defensive line should be driven on towards Clifford. Eke Leota is a man mountain coming off the edge and he made several game changing plays against San Jose State. Standing in his way this week is Olu Fashanu, a player that James Franklin has been full of praise for since the preseason. May the best man win.

Game Line: Penn State 3 point favourites at the time of writing.

Mississippi State @ LSU

Saturday – 11pm (UK) – Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Preview: An early-season SEC West matchup should give fans a little insight into how things will shake out between the mid-tier teams in the conference. Mississippi State have clearly had the more impressive start to the season, with wins against Memphis and Arizona under their belt. Much of that is down to the solid play of QB Will Rogers, whose big arm and solid pocket presence just brings an air of calm to the Bulldogs’ offense.

LSU were unlucky against Florida State, it’s not every week you lose a game on a blocked PAT with time expired, but they bounced back with a trouncing of Southern last weekend. Garrett Nussmeier still managed to turn in a nightmare performance despite the 65-17 scoreline, and it would appear that Jayden Daniels will be the starting signal caller going forward. 

The tight game line demonstrates how close this one feels on paper, but the LSU defense feels like it may just hold the upper hand over the Mississippi offensive line at this point. The Tigers boast a formidable front that is likely to trouble a conventional pocket passer, and Brian Kelly will be chomping at the bit to showcase he can out-coach his SEC peers. 

Key Matchup: Mehki Garner (CB, LSU) vs Caleb Ducking (WR, MSU) – Ducking has had a huge start to the year, catching three touchdowns through the first two weeks of the season. His 6’5” frame makes him an imposing matchup for any opposition CB and he’s been targeted a lot in the red zone. Garner has won the starting corner job for the Tigers over the last two weeks and he’ll have his mind set on following the long list of LSU defensive backs who have made the jump to the NFL.

Game Line: Mississippi State 2.5 point favourites at the time of writing.

Miami @ Texas A&M

Sunday – 2am (UK) – College Station, Texas

Preview: Texas A&M spared a lot of team’s blushes last weekend. On a day which saw a number of big name programmes fall to upsets, the Aggies’ defeat to App State felt like the worst of the bunch. It wasn’t the case that they got blown away, but Jimbo Fisher’s team just couldn’t get the ball moving at all – with Haynes King throwing for less than 100 yards. That performance has led to reports that Max Johnson will take the first snap under center at the weekend, he’ll bring a big play threat but LSU fans will remember that he could go down injured at any moment.

Their opponents come into the game with a lot of hype but also some striking deficiencies. Miami’s offensive line was poor last weekend against Southern Miss, with Tyler Van Dyke coming under pressure throughout the game. Thankfully for Mario Cristobal, Ole Miss transfer, Henry Parrish took over in the run game, allowing Van Dyke to lean on some play action calls and a fleaflicker to put the game to bed.

Defensively, A&M struggled against Camrun Peoples and App State’s run game. There’s every chance that the Hurricanes come out the blocks and try to stuff Parrish and co down the Aggies’ throats early, before reverting to Van Dyke’s monster arm once the game progresses. Whether A&M can soak that up and finally kick their offense into life is the key question. 

Key Matchup: Miami offensive line vs A&M defensive line – this feels very obvious, but whoever wins the battle in the trenches will win this game. Miami has every chance of going into College Station and leaving with a win, but if they fail to pass block then they’ll leave with a dinged up TVD and not a lot of points on the board. It’ll be fascinating to see which unit emerges on top.

Game Line: Texas A&M 5.5 favourites at the time of writing.

By Andy Moore – @ajmoore21

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2022 CFB: Malik Cunningham, the Next Louisville Star? – Jake Tweedie

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The 2022 College Football is just two weeks in; however, we have records being broken already. 

Louisville starting quarterback, Malik Cunningham, broke the mark for the most consecutive starts by a Cardinals signal caller with the first snap of the game. This took him to 37 games started, and there is very little chance of him slowing down.

The Louisville senior had an impressive year in 2021, finishing fifth in the ACC for rushing yards, whilst becoming the second quarterback to rush for over 1000 yards in school history. This coincided with a career-best 2841 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns to make for a hugely productive year. However, there were plenty of pundits queuing up to say that Cunningham needed to focus more on his passing game in 2022 to further improve his game.

Difficult start

The 2022 season didn’t get off to the best of starts for Cunningham. Going up against a tough Syracuse team was always going to be a hard way to start the season. This was evident as he struggled to put up decent numbers and was intercepted twice, whilst also being constrained on the ground. So, what went wrong for a player that had such a productive 2021 season?

First and foremost, the Cardinals came up against a resolute Syracuse defence. After Braden Smith’s big 45-yard throw to Tyler Hudson to the five-yard line, Cunningham was given the task of converting for the touchdown and bringing the game much closer. However, he was met by at least four defenders at the two-yard line on third and goal, before falling to the same result on fourth down.

Although this is just an isolated example, the Syracuse defence remained the same all game. They were quick to the snap and hunted him down in numbers to stop the space being there for him to run into. This set the scene, and ultimately Cunningham had just 34 yards from 13 attempts, an average of just 2.6 yards a carry. When you compare that to his average of 6.0 yards a carry in 2021, and average of 79.3 yards a game, this was significantly worse, and pinpointed to an important game-plan by Syracuse to limit his running attempts.

This also was the factor in the passing game as well. Cunningham faced the blitz a lot, and his offensive line struggled to deal with the force of the Syracuse defence. Although he was only sacked three times, he was heavily under pressure to make something happen with the ball. He threw two interceptions but was consistent with his throwing. The only problem was he was restricted to 9.5 yards a completion, which is significantly lower than his 2021 total (14.1). Without the freedom of making things happen down the field regularly, Louisville kept the ball less than normal and couldn’t pick up more points.

The Bounce-Back

Fast-forward a week and Cunningham came up against a UCF side who had an impressive 56-10 Week 1 victory over SC State. 

The first real difference between the two games was the veteran QB’s reaction to the defenders charging at him. There were some quick releases to make plays, but this was helped more by receivers being in open areas to receive the passes. On the ground, he was gifted more space by blockers creating a clear path. This allowed him to use his legs a bit more and make big plays down the field.

Cunningham’s passing seemed more direct, and he was targeting both sides of the field. This helped him pick up 8–10 yard gains in order to work first downs, but also allowed him to use the space freed up by receivers in order to pick up yards on the ground. His longest pass was less than the week before, but he was hitting the key passes more regularly and was significantly better rushing.

The game saw him surpass 100 yards for the first time this season, with a big 43-yard touchdown as his longest attempt. Cardinals fans will be delighted but this glazes over the fact his passing wasn’t anywhere near as good as it has been.

A pass completion rate of 48.3% was lightyears away from his career average of 62%, despite picking up 201 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown or an interception, but this alludes to the earlier point of improving his passing game.

Moving forward

Cunningham is a class athlete. He is quick, agile and can make plays happen, but the downside seems to be the inconsistency with his passing game. We all know that he can pick up yards on the ground and churn out first downs with his quick feet and ability to pick out spaces, but how will he improve as a quarterback and be drafted in the higher rounds if he can’t be consistent through the air?

The UCF game was one where he could have made headways in both parts of his game. But we are going back to the same problem of whether he is a better quarterback or a better rusher. The Syracuse game showcased him as a consistent passer, but he didn’t seem the usual Cunningham because of his lack of yardage on the ground. The UCF game was the complete opposite. Although he made headway in terms of picking up more yards per completion, his accuracy was far less, and there seemed more emphasis on improving his running game.

Final Thoughts

Malik Cunningham is a wonderful player to watch. A solid quarterback with the ability to make a real difference on the ground, but it comes back to the same thing: Can he do both?

From watching his games, I think he could be a very good quarterback, with the potential of getting himself out of trouble and churning out yards and first downs when required, but it will need him to sacrifice part of his running game for him to do so.

There’s a long way to go in 2022, but if the Louisville star continues the way he started this year there could be high levels of inconsistency due to that balance not always being there. However, he will always have the capability of picking up 100 yards a game on the ground, whether his passing game can be that consistent as well remains to be seen.

By Jake Tweedie – @ACCUKAnalysis1

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2022 CFB – Week Two Winners & Losers

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How many upsets can you fit into one weekend?! 

With no domestic ‘soccer’, the UK college football community went all in on encouraging people to watch week two’s slate of games on Saturday. And, judging by Twitter, there were a fair few newcomers who got involved in the action.

If Texas – Alabama was your first ever taste of Saturday action then consider yourself lucky, and welcome aboard the rollercoaster that is NCAA football.

With so many upsets, there could have been any number of ways to pick this week’s winners and losers… so who made the cut?

Winners 

Lincoln Riley

So far, so good for the new man at USC. Sure, the Trojans blow out of Rice in week one was probably to be expected, but the way they dominated a decent Stanford side on Saturday should be enough to make the college football world stand up and pay attention.

Realistically, this game was over at half time with Riley’s men up by a score of 35-14. They slowed down in the second half, allowing the Cardinal offense to add 14 points in garbage time to make the score a more respectable 41-28. 

From the outside, it can’t be denied that it is the transfers that are the players making all the difference for the Trojans so far. On offense, Caleb Williams looks just as good as he did last year, except now he has Jordan Addison AND Mario Williams to throw the ball to. Both transfer receivers picked up touchdowns on Saturday, with Addison going for 172 yards in total. Impressive.

Not to be outdone, the defensive transfers are also providing a welcome boost. Solomon Byrd added two sacks and two tackles for a loss in his second game after transferring from Wyoming. Shane Lee also added a sack and Mekhi Blackmon picked off Tanner Mckee, both were new additions in the offseason. 

With Fresno State, Oregon State and Arizona State the next three for the Trojans, this run could continue for some time.

Sam Hartman

Sam Hartman is a real favourite at the Full10Yards, he plays the game the right way, he is an excellent leader and he’s turned Wake Forest into a team to take note of every week. So we were concerned when an undisclosed medical condition kept him out of the end of training camp and week one.

Thankfully, Hartman was cleared to return to the programme this week and he went straight back into the starting lineup as the Demon Deacons took on SEC opposition in Vanderbilt. Once the game got underway, it looked like the dominant North Carolina native hadn’t missed a beat.

On the afternoon, Hartman put up 300 yards on 18 completions, four of which went for touchdowns – as Wake used their trademark mesh concept to cause the Commodores all sorts of issues. A.T Perry must be the man most thankful for the return of his veteran QB, he hauled in five passes for 142 yards and a score as he seeks to make his case to NFL scouts around the country.

It’s good to have you back Sam.

Kansas Jayhawks

Having looked back through some old columns, the Kansas Jayhawks have never featured as a winner before. Well, they thoroughly deserve it this week.

With West Virginia looking to bounce back from their Backyard Brawl defeat, Jalon Daniels and the Jayhawks went to Morgantown to spoil the party. In a dramatic overtime victory, Kansas put up 55 points to upset the odds, including an 86 yard pick six for Cobee Bryant to seal the game.

Daniels isn’t one of the more known signal callers in college football, but he looked every bit the composed starter in this one. The junior threw three touchdowns, without turning the ball over, and added 85 yards on the ground as well. 

The win moves the Jayhawks to 2-0, the first time they’ve had that record since 2011. What a time to be alive.

Losers

Texas A&M 

This was a fairly easy place to start the losers section of the column. The Aggies have got so much resource, so much talent and some of the best coaches in CFB, but they’re also THE programme that always flatters to deceive.

With Arkansas and Alabama to come over the next three weeks, the visit of App State was most likely considered a chance to try some new things and play at 75% for Jimbo Fisher and co. Instead it turned into an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Camrun Peoples and the Mountaineer rushing attack.

Haynes King hasn’t done much wrong in the games we’ve seen across the last season and a bit, but the problem is, he hasn’t done anything to make the rest of the CFB world sit up and take notice. On Saturday he passed for a measly 97 yards and fumbled the ball twice, as the entire A&M offense stuttered and balked against a Mountaineer defense that gave up more than 60 points to UNC last weekend.

Things weren’t much better on defense either, a solitary sack and a grand total of zero tackles for a loss probably sums up the performance well. Arkansas will be rubbing their hands together at the thought of KJ Jefferson and Raheim Sanders running downhill at this defense front next weekend.

Anthony Richardson

Cam Newton, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott – all names that Anthony Richardson has been compared to since the Florida Gators beat Utah in week one.

Well, predictably the hype was a tad too soon. In week two Richardson struggled against Kentucky, throwing a couple of interceptions, completing less than half of his passes and rushing for a lowly four yards. Obviously football is a team game, and the Gators did very little to support their quarterback, but the highly touted sophomore made some pretty poor mistakes.

With the scores tied at 16 apiece, Richardson stared down his receiver who appeared to be running a comeback route at the first down marker, however the throw was nowhere near and Keidron Smith jumped onto it perfectly for a decisive pick six. 

There’s no-one denying that Richardson is talented, but let’s cool on the ridiculous comparisons shall we, Billy Napier?

Notre Dame

Another top ten ranked team that ended up being embarrassed by an opponent who many wouldn’t have even backed to cover the spread.

After a week one defeat to Ohio State, there were still a lot of plaudits for the Fighting Irish, they’d limited a particularly potent Buckeyes offense and were in the game for long periods. So, a return to home soil against a Marshall side that had lost their starting quarterback in the off season presumably felt like the time to really kick off the season.

Instead, the Thundering Herd came to play in style. Up 9-7 at the break, Henry Colombi and co never took their foot off the accelerator as they forced the Irish defense to adjust throughout the second half. But, it was the Notre Dame offense that literally ended up throwing the game away with three fourth quarter interceptions. Tyler Buchner forced the first of the three into tight coverage, only to see Steven Gilmore make an excellent play on the ball and carry it back into the end zone. Buchner then threw another ugly pick, before being replaced by Drew Pyne who did exactly the same thing.

Back to the drawing board for Marcus Freeman ahead of a week three clash with the Cal Bears.

By Andy Moore – @ajmoore21

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2022 CFB: Have Wake Forest Found Their Future?

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Wake Forest opened their 2022 campaign with a convincing victory over VMI in Winston-Salem. With the talismanic Sam Hartman unavailable, all eyes were on the quarterback position.

Hartman was touted as having a shot at the Heisman Trophy this year after impressing in 2021, when leading Wake Forest to their second 11-win season in program history. 

The Demon Deacons were impressive offensively last year, averaging 41 points a game, so there was a fair bit of pressure on Hartman’s replacement, Mitch Griffis, to produce a solid performance to kick off the 2022 season.

So who is Mitch Griffis?

Griffis probably doubted he would get much game time, especially so early in the season, but the Redshirt Freshmen gave a performance that has drawn plenty of attention.

The three-star prospect from Broad Run High School, Ashburn, VA has seen limited action in his two seasons with Wake Forest. He has had just 15 pass attempts in eight appearances, culminating in 56 yards and a touchdown, all coming in 2020.

With Hartman being sidelined with an undisclosed medical condition for the last month, there is little known publicly in terms of timetable for his absence, but he is expected to play some role in the Deacons’ season this year. However, in the meantime there is a big opportunity for Griffis to make his mark on the Wake Forest offense.

Impressive First Start

Griffis gave an assured performance in his first collegiate start for Wake Forest. It didn’t take him long to get up and running, throwing his first touchdown pass to Taylor Morin in the first quarter. He then picked out Blake Whiteheart and Jahmel Banks in the second half to complete a three-touchdown performance. The redshirt freshman was accurate with his passing, completing 21 of 29 attempts, culminating in 288 yards in total.

Griffis utilized all his pass catchers, he hit 10 different receivers in total, with only two getting over 50 yards. Like Drake Maye of last week, his longest completion was only 33 yards, but it’s how he kept the ball moving that was impressive.

However, the one downside of Griffis’ performance was a lack of rushing yardage. He had -9 yards from 5 carries, including a 4-yard gain – clearly the college game takes sacks into account, but it would be good to see more in that department. 

Performance Report

There’s very little negative that can be said about the Virginia native’s performance. He was assured from the pocket, but also showed grit and determination after being sacked in the red zone early in the first quarter.

On the first touchdown pass of the day, Griffis showed his ability to move out of the pocket under pressure but still pick out a good pass. He shifted right and timed his pass perfectly to Morin in the end zone. This seemed to bring an air of confidence to his game, and he started to make passes whilst under pressure in the pocket, without heavily relying on his feet to get out of danger.

His second touchdown pass was another beautiful pass down the middle to Whiteheart. It was a typical TE touchdown, played over the top, just in front of him to run onto for the score. When Griffis was given time and space, he was hugely effective in his play-calling and picking out the open receiver.

The final passing touchdown was another example of his ability to make plays within the pocket. He waited for the timing of the run and picked out Banks expertly for the score. 

Overall Perception

Griffis provided the exact performance needed for Wake Forest after the loss of Hartman. He was calm in the pocket, but also could find his way out of trouble to make a key pass.

Having just under 300 yards, Griffis was highly productive in a comfortable victory for Wake Forest. With a few tough games coming up, in the shape of Clemson and Florida State, it will be intriguing to see the status of Hartman and whether Griffis keeps his place as the starting quarterback. 

As of now, Griffis deserves to at least get the Vanderbilt and Liberty games to show whether he can be consistent. After these three games the coaching staff will have a better understanding on the type of player the young QB is, and whether he has the ability to lead Wake Forest in the future as well as the present.