Week 7 was certainly an exciting one, with many games going right down to the wire. Here are a three random takeaways from this weekend’s action on the gridiron.
1. There is no quarterback controversy at Notre Dame.
As soon as Brian Kelly pulled DeShone Kizer from the lineup in the third quarter, everyone on social media wrote that the Fighting Irish had a quarterback controversy. This chattered continued after the game even though Kelly said that Kizer is the guy going forward.
With all due respect, there’s no controversy. While Kelly brought in Malik Zaire to try to spark the struggling Irish offense, the fact remains that Kizer is Notre Dame’s best option at quarterback. After all, the offense struggled mightily with Zaire under center, netting -9 yards in his three series. That’s a sharp contrast from Kizer, who came into the contest averaging 303.8 yards per game and 7.47 yards per play. He’s also averaging over 9 yards per pass attempt, which opens things up for the Irish running game.
In other words: if Notre Dame is going to qualify for a bowl game, it needs to stick with Kizer at quarterback. At 2-5, the Irish simply don’t have time to try something new every week. They need wins and they need them now.
2. Houston is going to find a way to win.
While we can continue to debate whether the Cougars are still in the College Football Playoff race (and I say they are), their victory over Tulsa shows that Houston will find a way to win.
That certainly was the case on Saturday night. Sure, the Cougars racked up 522 yards of total offense, but Dane Evans and Tulsa were matching them score for score. When the Golden Hurricane got the ball back with just 1:30 to play, it looked like Houston might lose for the second week in a row.
The defense simply wouldn’t allow that to happen. On the second play of the series, the Cougar D forced a fumble, which it returned for a touchdown. After Tulsa marched to a first and goal at the Houston 1 with just seven seconds to play, the Houston defense came up with the biggest stop of the year (to date), tackling Jesse Brubaker just inches from the goal line.
Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Cougar D come up with a big play to decide the final outcome. Houston’s defense broke the game wide open against Cincinnati, recording three straight interceptions and two pick sixes, which ended any hope of a Bearcat comeback.
That, my friends, is what makes Tom Herman’s squad such a dangerous team. The Cougars are capable of taking one to the house on every play, regardless of whether they’re on offense, defense, or special teams. Whatever the situation is, they’ll find a way to win.
3. Relax, Clemson’s offense is just fine
Look, I’m not saying that the Tiger offense was perfect. It wasn’t. Clemson turned the ball over four times, and was stopped on downs on fourth-and-goal from the Wolfpack one in the second quarter. In addition, the ground game looked lost without Wayne Gallman in the lineup, rushing for a season-low 3.0 yards per carry. With numbers like that, it’s only natural to assume that Clemson’s offense didn’t play well.
However, the point that many people in the media are missing is that NC State’s defense is one of the best in the country. With very little fanfare, the Wolfpack D ranks 16th nationally in total defense, 16th in red zone touchdown percentage, 17th in yards per play, and 5th in rushing defense.
When viewed in that context, it paints a completely different picture of how the Tiger offense performed on Saturday. Despite playing without its top tailback for the second half, Clemson managed to rack up 495 yards of total offense against a top 20 defense.
It’s tough to argue with those results. Expect the Tiger offense to do a better job of protecting the football in the coming weeks, and for the unit to play like one of the best in the country down the stretch.
