Moving the Chains: Takeaways from college football – Weeks eight and nine

Week eight:

Hello, Texas. I’d like to officially welcome you to the Southeastern Conference in your first real test in your home game against Georgia. Pretty rough first half for your offense, no? 38 yards, five punts, and a big fat zero on the scoreboard. Then there’s that ugly final tally: #5 Georgia – 30, (former) #1 Texas – 15. It doesn’t get any easier next week when you take on #25 Vanderbilt in Nashville. I can almost read coach Sarkisian’s thought balloon: ‘this never happened in the Big-12, where the main purpose of defense is giving the offense time to catch their breath.’ Like I said, welcome to the SEC – nothing whatsoever like the Big-12.

Florida finally showed some real life under the Billy Napier regime, beating a stout Kentucky team – remember, the Wildcats only allowed Georgia 13 points in their narrow one-point loss – 48 to 20. The Gators were led by two freshmen: one a second-string quarterback (DJ Lagway) and the other a third-string running back (Jadan Baugh, who rushed for 106 yards on 22 carries and tied a team record by scoring five touchdowns). The largest outdoor cocktail party in the world – that would be the Florida/Georgia game in Jacksonville in week ten – could be the most fun it’s been in years. Well, at least for one of the teams.

Coaches who may need to reconsider their latest career choices:

• Matt ‘why oh why did I ever leave Baylor’ Rhule of Nebraska, now 5 – 2 after a 56 – 7 loss to #16 Illinois.
• Brent ‘I wonder if Dabo would take me back’ Venables of Oklahoma, now 4 – 3 after a 35 – 9 loss to South Carolina. In Norman, no less.
• Sherrone ‘Harbaugh left me in a world of hurt’ Moore of Michigan, now 4 – 3 after a 21 – 7 loss to #22 Illinois.
• Kalen ‘I probably should double-check my buyout’ DeBoer of #7 Alabama, now 5 – 2 after a 24 – 17 loss to #11 Tennessee.

Heisman update: IN – Cam Ward, quarterback for #6 Miami, who was 21 of 32 for 319 yards and four touchdowns in a 52 – 45 win over Louisville. With Ward taking the snaps, it’s no coincidence that the Hurricanes’ last three games have been three of the most exciting games of the season.

Another Heisman update: OUT – Jalen Milroe, quarterback for #7 (and dropping fast) Alabama.

Week nine:

Sticking with the subject of ‘welcome to the SEC,’ say hi to Oklahoma, now 4 – 4 (and 1 – 4 in conference play) after a 26 – 14 loss to #18 Ole Miss. Hey, Sooners, tell the truth: doesn’t this sort of make you miss playing teams like Texas Tech and Baylor every week?

#21 Missouri, without injured quarterback Brady Cook in the lineup, is the same mediocre team that comes to mind when someone mentions the word Missouri. #15 Alabama 34, Mizzou – 0. If this had been a boxing match, the Tiger trainer would have thrown in the towel at halftime.

Scratch Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty from the Heisman race. In a narrow 29 – 24 win over UNLV, Jeanty rushed 33 times for just 128 yards (and one TD). Prior to kickoff, he was averaging almost 10 yards a carry; against UNLV, he averaged less than four. Adding insult to injury, this is the same UNLV team that lost to Syracuse earlier in the season: Syracuse, who gave up three pick-sixes against Pittsburgh Thursday night … before halftime.

#25 Vanderbilt gave #5 Texas all it could handle. The Commodores jumped to an early 7 – 0 lead, fell behind after three consecutive Longhorn touchdowns, fought back to pull within a field goal, then lost their last shot at a miracle after an unsuccessful onsides kick with less than a minute left in the game. The Longhorns, knowing darn well it took everything they had to do so, escaped Nashville with a narrow 27 – 24 win.

Who would have ever thought that Florida State would go from first to worst in just one season? Just take a look at the ACC standings and you’ll see what I mean. This week didn’t do them any favors, either. #6 Miami – 36, FSU -14. As for Miami QB Cam Ward, my Heisman frontrunner, he did what he’s been doing all season long: making FSU regret they didn’t pluck him from the transfer portal when they had the chance.

Now for the important stuff: games determining conference frontrunners in the only two conferences of any real significance.

First, the Big Ten. Top-ranked Oregon easily handled #20 Illinois, 38 – 9. #3 Penn State woke up from an early-in-the-game stupor to take care of Wisconsin, 28 – 13. #4 Ohio State escaped Nebraska with a slim 21 – 17 victory, a game in which there probably won’t be a lot of gold stars awarded for the backs of the Buckeye helmets during the week. (Oh, those aren’t actually gold stars? They’re buckeyes!?! My apologies.) And #13 Indiana matched its best-ever start in a season by moving to 8 – 0 after a 31 – 17 win over Washington.

Now the SEC. In a game to determine who sits atop the conference, #8 LSU failed to take advantage of several opportunities to put away #14 Texas A&M in the first half. That allowed Aggie coach Mike Elko to make a substitution at quarterback – Marcel Reed for Conner Weigman – that may prove to be the latter’s Wally Pipp moment. Reed completed both of his pass attempts for 70 yards and ran for three touchdowns in leading a furious second half that led to a dominant 38 – 23 victory for the team from College Station.

So, with one month left in the regular season, here’s how the two dominant conferences stack up. Indiana, Oregon, and Penn State are all undefeated and sit atop of the Big Ten, while Ohio State is right behind with a sole conference loss. Meanwhile, Texas A&M stands alone in the SEC without any conference losses, while Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas are right behind with one conference loss apiece.

With 12 spots available in the playoffs this year, don’t be surprised if most – if not all of them – make it.

Scott Ludwig lives, runs, and walks in Senoia.  His latest compilation of 101 columns, ‘Southern Accent’, complements ‘Southern Charm,’ ‘Southern Comfort,’ and ‘Southern Hospitality,’ his first three compilations.  Other books in his Southern Exposure series include ‘Finding the Words,’ ‘Portraits of the South,’ and ‘let me tell you a funny story.’  All of his books can be found on his author page on Amazon.