Take a look at some of the top NCAA Football News following action in Week 6.
Top Three Teams Continue To Dominate
Number 1 Alabama, no. 2 Georgia and no. 3 Ohio State all dominated again on Saturday of week 6. For Alabama, they beat Arkansas 65-31 behind another strong game from Tua Tagovailoa. The leading Heisman Award candidate threw for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns.
The crazy thing is he did that only 10 completions. Jerry Jeudy and Irv Smith Jr. both had big days receiving. Jeudy had 4 receptions for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns while Smith Jr. had 2 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Damien Harris led the way with 111 yards on 15 carries and 2 touchdowns.
For number 2 Georgia, they beat Vanderbilt, 41-13, to move to 6-0 and stay in 1st in the SEC East Division. Jake Fromm led the way at quarterback with 276 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. Terry Godwin, Riley Ridley and D’Andre Swift were all on the receiving end of those touchdown passes. On the ground, Elijah Holyfield led the way with 6 rushes for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Lastly, number 3 Ohio State beat Indiana 49-26. Dwayne Haskins had an unbelievable 455 yards passing and 6 touchdowns, although he also had 2 interceptions. Parris Campbell was the leading receiver with 9 receptions for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns. JK Dobbins led the attack on the ground with 82 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown.
Absence of Trevon Diggs Will Hurt Alabama
Alabama is far and away the best team in the country, but even they are starting to feel the impact of injuries. The most recent injury is to starting cornerback Trevon Diggs. Against Arkansas on Saturday, Diggs broke his foot and is out for the foreseeable future. With 20 tackles and an interception, Diggs has had a nice start to his junior year, his first as a starter.
With multiple injuries to some of the starting defensive players, particularly in the secondary, Nick Saban will have to hope his depth can keep up with Alabama’s schedule. He was already upset that they gave up 31 points to Arkansas, and they will likely see a much better offense when Missouri (ranked 9th nationally in offense) comes to town. Still, Alabama is so deep and so talented that there is nothing to really worry about if you are a Crimson Tide fan, but it is worth keeping your eye on.
Texas Upsets Oklahoma 48-45
Number 19 Texas held a comfortable 21-point lead in the fourth quarter, but quickly saw that lead evaporate. Still, they were able to hold off the number 7 Oklahoma Sooners 48-45 thanks to a late field goal. Coming back from a 45-24 deficit after three quarters, Oklahoma tied it up at 45 apiece after aTrey Sermon touchdown from 7 yards out. Texas was able to move the ball, though, and ultimately won on a 40-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker. For Texas, Sam Ehlinger led the passing game with 314 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ehlinger also had 19 rushing attempts for 72 yards and 3 touchdowns.
For Oklahoma, Kyler Murray had 19 completions for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns. He did throw one interception in the game. Murray also led all rushers with 92 yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts. Texas has since moved up to number 9 in the rankings while Oklahoma has slipped to number 11.
Oklahoma Fires Defensive Coordinator
It is getting to that point of the season where programs are either not playing as well as they anticipated or certain parts of programs are not playing well. The result? Coaches are starting to lose their jobs. The most recent casualty is Mike Stoops at Oklahoma.
The defensive coordinator was fired after the number 11 Sooners (5-1) lost 48-45 against Texas. After allowing 501 yards to the Longhorns, coach Lincoln Riley decided it was time to move on. It is a pretty tough outcome for Stoops. Even though his defense has played inconsistently, this was still the first loss the program has taken. Still, Oklahoma will now turn to Ruffin McNeill, who had been the assistant head coach and defensive tackles coach, to take over the defensive unit.
If it was going to be done, this was probably the right week to do it, though. Oklahoma goes into an off week before they travel to TCU. That will give the program a little extra time to adjust to the coaching switches.
Michigan State Loses Again
The Spartans of Michigan State find themselves in unfamiliar territory….unranked. After losing to Northwester, 29-19, Michigan State has fallen to 3-2 and 3rd in the Big Ten East Division. In the loss to Northwestern, which is now 2-3, the offense struggled to get anything going. Brian Lewerke threw for 329 yards, but only had one touchdown and also threw an interception.
On the ground, their leading rusher was Felton Davis III, but he only managed 50 yards rushing and a touchdown. On the other side, Northwestern’s quarterback, Clayton Thorson, threw for 373 yards, 3 touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Michigan State will now travel to number 8 Penn State (4-1) on Saturday. Penn State is coming off of an off week.
