bold 3 Winners
italic 1. Missouri
Austin Simmons and the Missouri Tigers absolutely demolished Florida this last Saturday. The Tigers had suffered a close, disappointing loss on the road the week before at Mississippi State after blowing a late lead. However, this weekend, they bounced back and helped secure a big, ranked win for Eli Drinkwitz. It was domination from start to finish. It begins to make you wonder...how much damage can Mizzou do? Was it a one-week type performance? I guess we'll find out. Either way, a huge win for the Tigers this weekend.
italic 2. Alabama
The Tide keep on rolling. Keelon Russell outdueled Kamario Taylor in Starkville this weekend as Bama continued their hot start to the season of 45+ points in every game so far. The closest game they've had this far was at home against a questionable Florida State team, and that game was still a 14-point win. Bama seems to gain more and more confidence each week. Their reward for this hot start? The Georgia Bulldogs coming to town in Week 6. Safe to say, I'll be tuned into that one.
italic 3. Ohio State
The Buckeyes went into Iowa City this weekend and handled business. Jeremiah Smith continues to show the world why he's the best player in the country. 11 catches, 206 yards and 2 touchdowns in another spectacular performance. Beating the Hawkeyes by 17 in Kinnick is no small feat. Iowa came into this game on a high after beating Michigan at the last second the previous weekend in Ann Arbor. That didn't have much effect on the Buckeyes though as they took care of business and continue to rebound from that early loss at Texas.
bold 3 Losers
italic 1. Penn State
Matt Campbell and his team got run out the door this past Friday at Northwestern. Dominated from start to finish, Northwestern welcomed them to their new stadium with haymaker after haymaker leaving the Nittany Lions with a second consecutive loss on their resume. A lot of people, including myself, looked at their schedule in the preseason and thought they may be able to sneak into the playoffs solely because of that. Those same people (myself) forget that their roster is primarily comprised of former Iowa State players who finished 8-4 last year. Very curious to see if Penn State can get back on the right track but nothing was going right for them on Friday.
italic 2. Florida
Florida dominated Ole Miss last weekend and then proceeded to have the exact same thing done to them by Missouri this weekend. Jadan Baugh was held to 13 yards on 12 carries in what really is a shocking stat line. Most wondered if Florida could handle the newfound hype after destroying Ole Miss and the answer was emphatically, no. That doesn't mean they aren't a good team or aren't necessarily ready for the moment, but this past weekend, they weren't. Curious to see how they bounce back against a desperate South Carolina team who is begging for a win.
italic 3. Virginia Tech
While maybe not a huge loss, it's an unfortunate one as they had a big opportunity on Friday night in primetime to earn an impressive win over a competitive Pitt team. They got out to a hot start in front of a raucous crowd but ultimately blew it and lost the game on a missed field goal. The entrance to the game was electric as always but the ending...not so much. James Franklin was looking to earn his first victory at Va Tech against a formidable opponent but fell short this go-around. Curious to see how the Hokies bounce back in what seems to be a wide-open ACC (behind Miami of course).