Texas A&M…What are you doing?! You had #1 Alabama dead to rights, and you called an atrocious goal-line play to end the game and let them walk away with the win. Georgia and OSU took care of business with blowout wins and jumped the Tide in the rankings this week. Two huge games headline this weekend, with #10 Penn State taking on #5 Michigan and #6 Tennessee taking on #3 Alabama.  As always, CJ Lang will guide you through all the storylines, player profiles, and game previews you need this college football season. Enjoy!

Favorite Storylines

Flirtin’ With Disaster

We are so used to Alabama just running away on their schedule. Blowout after blowout after blowout wins are what we are accustomed to. Most years, it’s just a foregone conclusion that Alabama will be one of the four teams in the CFP, but this year feels like Alabama is more vulnerable than they’ve been in previous years. They have arguably one of the best defensive players in the nation in Will Anderson, who will be an absolute monster in the NFL. And they have the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Bryce Young, as their quarterback. Not to mention that most five-star recruits pick Alabama, and Bama has five-star recruits who entered the transfer portal because they don’t get enough playing time.

And even though Alabama is ranked third in the nation and is 6-0, it feels like the wheels are about to come off. They struggled in a neutral site game against Texas, winning by one point. And even though Texas is much improved now, in week two, when they played Alabama, they were not the same team they are today. Two weeks ago, Arkansas dominated Alabama for three quarters until they stopped playing and allowed Bama to outscore them 21-3 in the fourth quarter. And then last week at home against Texas A&M, Bama tried to give the game away with no time left on the clock after a penalty in the end zone gave Texas A&M an untimed down to win the game. Luckily for them, A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher called a horrible play where the receiver ran two yards short of the end zone, and the quarterback threw it out of bounds, leaving Alabama with a four-point victory.

This week, the Tide travel to Knoxville to take on the 6th-ranked undefeated Tennessee Volunteers. And if the Vols don’t get them, then Mississippi State or Ole Miss could quickly jump up and bite them over the next month of play. At this point, I don’t even think it’s a guarantee that they will win the SEC West, let alone be guaranteed a spot in the CFP. But there’s one thing a college football fan should not do: count out a Nick Saban-coached team too early.

Notre Dame: An Average Football Team

Notre Dame is currently ranked 30th in the AP poll. Now I know traditionally, everybody goes by the top 25, but they always have additional votes for the next 10 teams, and Notre Dame received 58 votes this past week. But why??? They lost on the road to #2 Ohio State on opening weekend. That’s fine; everybody else would have as well. But then they lose to the Marshall Thundering Herd at home. Not on the road, but in South Bend. Marshall is currently 3-3, and if you look at their remaining six games, they’re likely going 2-4 in those games.

Notre Dame still has #18 Syracuse, #4 Clemson, and #7 USC on their schedule. Not to mention teams like Stanford, Navy, and Boston College always play them tough. What is the voter’s fascination with Notre Dame? Is it because they recruit well, or are they voting on them for their historical reference? They are not attached to a conference; they scheduled a weak opponent in Marshall and lost to them at home, and now they’re on the brink of cracking the top 25. I do not get it. They get an overrated preseason rank every year and never live up to the hype. I think it’s time that we start calling a spade a spade. Notre Dame is lucky they have the NBC TV deal.

Player Spotlights

Quarterbacks

Max Duggan (SR – TCU) 6’2″, 210lbs

Max Duggan was the Gatorade Iowa Football Player of the Year in 2019 and, as a 4-star recruit, was the 4^th ranked dual-threat QB in the nation in the 2019 class behind Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels, and Sam Howell. As a 4-year starter at TCU, he has thrown for over 7,000 yards and has a 55:21 TD-to-INT ratio. He has also rushed for over 500 yards in two of the last three seasons, adding 22 rushing TDs. He has performed very well in big games in the previous two weeks. The first against #18 Oklahoma, where he threw for 302 yards, 3 TDs, and 0 INTs, adding 116 rushing yards and two rushing TDs. Then last week against #19 Kansas, he threw for 308 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT, and had 55 rushing yards and a rushing TD. He currently ranks 2nd in FBS in passing efficiency, adjusted passing yards per attempt, passing yards per attempt, and 5^th in completion percentage.  He has been outstanding this season, leading the Horned Frogs towards a Big 12 title, and is peaking at the right time for the NFL draft. This week, TCU continues its tough stretch of schedule when they host undefeated #8 Oklahoma State.

Running Backs

Israel Abanikanda (JR – Pittsburgh) 5’11”, 213lbs

Israel Abanikanda is also a Gatorade Player of the Year from New York. A 3-star prospect in the 2020 class, he was not as heavily recruited out of high school and landed at Pitt. He played his first year sparingly and finally got the chance to start his sophomore year and gained 651 rushing yards, 197 receiving yards, and eight total TDs. But when Kenny Pickett is the team’s QB, and he is throwing to WR Jordan Addison, they didn’t need to do a lot of running. Pitt relies more on the run game this season, and Abanikanda is producing. Over six games this season, he already has 830 rushing yards and 12 TDs. He is coming off an absolute monster game against VA Tech, where he had 320 rushing yards and 6 TDs. Pitt is on their bye week, but with only one more ranked opponent on their schedule, they could make a run at the ACC title game, and Abanikanda will be at the forefront of that push.

Wide Receivers

Jonathan Mingo (SR – Ole Miss) 6’2″, 225lbs

Mingo was a 4-star prospect in the 2019 class and started his first year opposite WR Elijah Moore. Through his first three years at Ole Miss, he was consistent with at least 22 catches, 346 receiving yards, and 3 TDs. I think the lack of his usage had to do with how effective Matt Corral was running out of the backfield, and if you combine Corral, RB Jerrion Ealy, and Snoop Conner, Ole Miss ran the ball a combined 415 times. USC transfer QB Jaxson Dart has been relying on Mingo more than his own feet this season, and it has paid off dividends. Mingo already has 22 catches and a career-best of 507 receiving yards through 6 games. In a lopsided victory against Vandy last week, Mingo had nine catches for 247 yards and 2 TDs. Ole Miss is currently 6-0 and is looking good. Head coach Lane Kiffin has always had a high-powered offense, and it seems like Jaxson Dart and Mingo can be his canvas this season. This week Ole Miss plays Auburn, who currently gives up over 5 yards per play and over 359 yards per game. I expect Mingo to have another big one in a Runnin’ Rebel victory.

Tight Ends

Corey Dyches (SO – Maryland) 6’2″, 220lbs

Corey Dyches is a former two-sport star who had to choose between football and basketball when deciding what to play in college. After a redshirt season in 2020, the 3-star WR converted to TE and had 19 catches for 208 yards his sophomore season. This season through 6 games, he already has those totals beat. QB Taulia Tagovailoa has found him for 22 catches, 322 yards, and 3 TDs, including an outstanding performance in the loss last week against Purdue, where he had four catches for 106 yards and 2 TDs. Dyches currently is 10^th in the Big Ten in receiving yards and 7^th in receiving TDs. He also has the 6^th most receiving yards of any TE in the nation. We will see how much Dyches is targeted this week as the Terps travel to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers.

Games Of The Week

#10 Penn State vs. #5 Michigan (-7)

The Big House will be rocking this weekend as the Nittany Lions and Wolverines battle in a decisive Big Ten game where each team’s season could be significantly affected. Michigan started the season flip-flopping back and forth between starting QBs but has recently settled on J.J. McCarthy as their starter. Yet, he has not had to throw much because RB Blake Corum is having a great season with 735 rushing yards and 11 TDs. Michigan has the 7th-ranked offense in the nation, averaging 43 points per game, and their defense has been even better as the 4th-ranked total defense in the FBS, which allows opponents a meager 247 yards of offense per game. On the flip side, Penn State ranks 37^th in total offense and defense.

A legit opponent has tested neither of these teams, yet they have both played close games. Two weeks ago, Penn State struggled to beat Northwestern at home, and last week Indiana gave Michigan a pretty good fight before Michigan scored 14 unanswered points in the 4^th quarter to secure the victory. This is also the first time since 1997 that both teams are ranked in the top 10 during this game, so this will be a great one. Penn State is fresh and rested after coming off their bye week. Michigan is currently a 7-point favorite, but do not be surprised if this game is decided in the 4^th quarter.

#3 Alabama (-7) vs. #6 Tennessee

As I previewed at the beginning, Alabama is fighting a razor’s edge of winning and losing this season. Their most challenging test of the year will be this weekend when they travel to a packed house in Knoxville to take on the 6th-ranked Volunteers. Both of these teams are in the top 5 in FBS in scoring offense (Tenn #2, Bama #5), but Bama has the edge in defense as they rank 6th nationally in total defense, whereas the Vols rank 87th. The Tide will have reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young at the helm, while Tennessee has Heisman hopeful QB Hendon Hooker calling the shots. Hooker averages 286.4 passing yards per game and has a TD-to-INT ratio of 10:0 this season. Bryce Young has been nicked up this year, but he still has thrown 14 TDs with only 3 INTs. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury at the end of the Arkansas game and missed the Texas A&M game last week. His status for this game is unknown, but if he doesn’t suit up, that may be the nail in the coffin for the Tide this week. Vols head coach Josh Heupel has brought the “Top” back to Rocky Top as he has the Vols playing their best football in decades. If Tennessee can stop Bama RB Jahmyr Gibbs and they don’t have to deal with Bryce Young, this game may not even be close. Knoxville will be louder than ever before, and it will not be a suitable environment for Bama freshman QB Jalen Milroe to make his first road start. As I said, it’s not wise to bet against Nick Saban, but Roll Vols Roll in this one.

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