College Football Roundup: Tennessee, Week 7 Action Shakes Up The Playoff Race

The College Football Playoff race was shaken up by a wild weekend of action, including Tennessee beating Alabama and Utah beating USC

Andrew McDonough | Oct 17, 2022

Yes, the sun did rise today, providing some warmth and solace to fans in South Bend, Tuscaloosa, and Stillwater. With this weekend marking the halfway point of the 2022 season already, the time for hiding, sugar-coating, and excuses is over – as Bill Parcells once said, teams are what their record says they are.

On paper, Week 7 was loaded with a number of scintillating matchups, and this week lived up to the hype. College football fans were treated to plenty of fireworks on the field and dramatic endings, highlighted by a tunnel fight in Ann Arbor, a field storming in Knoxville, track meets in Fort Worth, Norman, and Salt Lake City, and a rock fight in South Bend.

Now, let’s get to the action.

TENNESSEE 52, ALABAMA 49

Wow. In what will likely go down as the game of the year, Tennessee defeated Alabama for the first time in 15 years and staked its claim as a true national title contender. During Tennessee’s losing streak to the Tide, it had always been the Volunteers self-destructing in a series of penalties, turnovers, and special teams miscues. On Saturday though, the Crimson Tide took that role, much to Nick Saban’s chagrin.

Alabama gained 569 yards of total offense (Bryce Young alone threw for 455 yards), racked up 32 first downs, and won the time of possession and turnover battle, yet self-destructed with 17 penalties for 130 yards and the most noteworthy missed field goal since the “Kick Six”. The Tide also managed to make history – coming into this game, Nick Saban was 52-0 at Alabama when his teams scored 49 or more points. Make that 52-1.

Credit needs to be given to Tennessee though – the Volunteers went out and took this game. Tennessee started fast, racing out to a 28-10 lead, and overcame a devastating fumble return for a TD with 7:49 remaining that gave Alabama a 49-42 lead. Hendon Hooker threw for 385 yards and 5 TDs, and Jalin Hyatt had 6 catches for 207 yards and 5 (!) touchdowns. And after Will Reichard missed the game-winning 50-yarder, the Vols drove 45 yards in 15 seconds to set up the Chase McGrath winner and kick off the party in Knoxville.

UTAH 43, USC 42

Were it not for the wild ending in the Tennessee game, this would have been the game everyone was talking about on Sunday. Utah didn’t take the lead until a Cameron Rising two-point conversion with 48 seconds left, ending the Trojan hopes of an undefeated season. USC rolled up 556 yards of offense and Caleb Williams was exceptional, with 381 yards passing and 5 touchdowns, but Utah’s Rising was even better. Rising threw for 415 yards and 2 TDs and also added another 60 yards and 3 scores on the ground, along with the aforementioned game-winning two-point conversion.

This result throws adds some chaos to the PAC-12 race, as now UCLA stands as the only undefeated team in the conference. With the win, Utah remains alive for the conference title, and the schedule softens for the Utes until their November 19th matchup at Oregon. For USC, though the result stings, the Trojans are still very much alive for not just the PAC-12 title but also the CFP, and their season will come down to the crosstown rivalry game with UCLA on November 19th.

TCU 43, OKLAHOMA STATE 40

Trailing 30-23 with 5 minutes remaining and the ball on their own 6-yard line, Max Duggan led TCU 94 yards in just over 3 minutes to tie the score with a 10-yard strike to Jared Wiley with 1:57 remaining. After trading touchdowns in the first overtime, the TCU defense held Oklahoma State to a field goal in the second, and then the Horned Frogs won the game with a 2-yard plunge from Kendre Miller.

Duggan continued to add to his dream season with another strong performance, throwing for 286 yards and 2 TDs while adding another 57 yards rushing with a score. He was helped by WR Quentin Johnson, who continued his trend of showing up in the biggest games, with 8 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown.

As of right now, TCU is the only remaining undefeated team in a deep Big 12. That will be put to the test next weekend against Kansas State. Get past the Wildcats and TCU has a great shot to head into their November 12th showdown in Austin undefeated.

MICHIGAN 41, PENN STATE 17

The Wolverines dominated Penn State in Ann Arbor on Saturday for the entire game – it just took a bit for that fact to actually show up on the scoreboard, due in large part to three Michigan red zone drives stalling inside the 10-yard line and Penn State taking back a 47-yard pick-six in the second quarter. Michigan outgained Penn State 563-268 and had 41:56 time of possession yet led just 16-14 at halftime and actually trailed 17-16 after the opening drive of the second half.

From that point, the Michigan offensive line and rushing attack took over. Donovan Edwards had the best game of his young career with 173 yards rushing and 2 TDs, and Blake Corum made another statement in his Heisman campaign with 166 yards on the ground to go along with 2 scores of his own. In total, Michigan rolled up 418 yards on the ground against what had been a stout Nittany Lion rush defense.

Michigan will face rival Michigan State next weekend and with the way their schedule sets up, will be heavily favored to head to Columbus undefeated on November 26th.

McDONOUGH’S MUSINGS

~ Michigan is what Notre Dame should be. Boy, that sentence hurts to write – but it doesn’t make it not true. Marcus Freeman says that he wants the identity of his Irish team to be to run the ball and stop the run. That’s the identity that Michigan has – the Wolverines rank 9th in the nation in rushing offense (241.7 YPG) and 6th in the nation in rushing defense (85.9 YPG). Sure, the Wolverine schedule has been weak, but against Penn State this weekend, Michigan absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage. The Wolverines ran for 418 yards against a Penn State team that entered the matchup surrendering just 79.8 YPG on the ground. When the going gets tough, having an identity to lean on is crucial – it aligns everyone to the same mission. Unfortunately for Notre Dame, the Irish have zero identify on offense, one of the major problems facing Notre Dame at the midseason mark.

~ Halfway through the season, let’s check in on the Power Five conferences and see how things stack up. Teams’ conference records are listed in parentheses.

~ SEC

SEC East Leaders: Georgia (4-0), Tennessee (3-0)
SEC West Leader: Ole Miss (3-0)
Ranked Teams: #1 Georgia, #3 Tennessee, #6 Alabama, #7 Ole Miss, #19 Kentucky, #24 Mississippi State
Top Storyline: Can anyone dethrone Alabama? The Tide may have lost to Tennessee, but still control their own destiny for the SEC Championship and CFP, and Alabama has won 6 of the last 8 SEC titles.

~ BIG TEN

Big Ten East Leaders: Michigan (4-0), Ohio State (3-0)
Big Ten West Leaders: Illinois (3-1), Purdue (3-1)
Ranked Teams: #2 Ohio State, #4 Michigan, #16 Penn State, #18 Illinois
Top Storyline: The Game. For the second straight year, the Thanksgiving weekend Ohio State/Michigan matchup should determine the Big Ten title and serve as a de facto CFP quarterfinal.

~ PAC-12

Pac-12 South Leader: UCLA (3-0)
Pac-12 North Leader: Oregon (3-0)
Ranked Teams: #9 UCLA, #10 Oregon, #12 USC, #15 Utah
Top Storyline: Will the PAC-12 title drought end? The league has missed out on the last five playoffs, with Washington capturing the most recent berth in 2016.

~ ACC

ACC Atlantic Leaders: Clemson (5-0), Syracuse (3-0)
ACC Coastal Leader: North Carolina (3-0)
Ranked Teams: #5 Clemson, #13 Wake Forest, #14 Syracuse, #22 North Carolina, #23 NC State
Top Storyline: Can anyone challenge Clemson? The Tigers haven’t been flashy but have already taken down Wake Forest, NC State, and Florida State. They are the overwhelming favorite to win the conference for the seventh time in the last eight years.

~ BIG 12

Leaders: TCU (3-0), Kansas State (3-0)
Ranked Teams: #8 TCU, #11 Oklahoma State, #17 Kansas State, #20 Texas
Top Storyline: Can TCU make it through the Big 12 undefeated and crash the CFP? The Horned Frogs are the conference’s only undefeated team but have a number of tests left. The Big 12 could end up with a two-loss conference champion when all is said and done.

~ At the halfway mark, here is how I would rank the Heisman Trophy hopefuls:

Hendon Hooker (Tennessee) – 1817 passing yards; 15 TDs; 187.72 rating; 287 rushing yards; 3 TDs
CJ Stroud (Ohio State) – 1737 passing yards; 24 TDs; 207.57 rating
Blake Corum (Michigan) – 901 rushing yards; 13 TDs; 35 receiving yards
Caleb Williams (USC) – 1971 passing yards; 19 TDs; 162.29 rating; 235 rushing yards; 3 TDs
Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA) – 1510 passing yards; 15 TDs; 180.59 rating; 231 rushing yards; 4 TDs
Drake Maye (North Carolina) – 2283 passing yards; 24 TDs; 184.84 rating; 378 rushing yards; 3 TDs

STOCK UP FROM THE WEEKEND

~ TEAMS THAT WEAR ORANGE – The great Frank Sinatra once said, “Orange is the happiest color”. He must have been talking about this weekend. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that teams wearing the color of a pumpkin play great as Halloween approaches (Stillwater, Oklahoma and the flaming dumpster located behind the Chick-Fil-A in Auburn, Alabama excluded).

TENNESSEE – Exorcised a decade and a half’s worth of demons by outlasting Alabama 52-49 in arguably the game of the year. Hendon Hooker for Heisman anyone?

TEXAS – Quin Ewers’ injury in the first half against Alabama may be this season’s biggest what-if. The Longhorns showed last week against Oklahoma they have offensive firepower. This week’s 24-21 win against Iowa State showed they can win ugly. Texas would have lost this game under Tom Herman.

SYRACUSE – Dino Babers entered the season on the hottest of seats, but with a 24-9 win on Saturday over NC State, Syracuse moved to 6-0 for just the third time since 1935. Next up is a trip to fellow orange-clad Clemson.

ILLINOIS – The Fighting Illini’s stifling defense was on full display, as Illinois held Minnesota to 180 yards – including a pitiful 38 yards passing with a 33% completion rate, a performance that only the Ferentz family would appreciate. Illinois has a very real chance to be 9-1 heading into a November 19th date with Michigan.

CLEMSON – Florida State ended up outgaining the Tigers by 90 yards and converting 10 more first downs, but Clemson used a strong start to seize a 34-14 lead and put the game out of reach. DJ Uiagalelei threw for 3 TDs and added another on the ground, and Will Shipley ran for 121 yards.

OTHER ORANGE BRETHREN –Miami, Oregon State, and Bowling Green all scored victories too!

~ TCU – The Horned Frogs overcame a 30-16 deficit heading into the fourth quarter and now stand as the only undefeated team in the Big 12 with a 43-40 victory over Oklahoma State. There is no rest for the Frogs though, as co-leader Kansas State comes to town next weekend.

~ North Carolina – Someone has to win the ACC Coastal – why not the Tar Heels? North Carolina may have given up 542 yards of offense to Duke but found a way to move to 6-1 (and 3-0 in conference play) behind 450 total yards and 3 TDs from Drake Maye. The Heels are out to prove that defense really doesn’t matter if your offense can outscore everyone. After a bye week and games against Pitt and Virginia, an intriguing matchup at Wake Forest looms as the largest test left on the ACC slate.

STOCK DOWN FROM THE WEEKEND

~ NOTRE DAME – Coming into the season, the Fighting Irish had won 42 straight games against unranked opponents. When that streak ended against Marshall in Week 2, it seemed like rock bottom for Irish fans. Oh, how we were wrong. A listless, mistake-filled, unexplainable loss to a Stanford team that had lost 11 straight games against FBS opponents marks in my mind the lowest point in Notre Dame on-field history since the 2010 loss to Tulsa, but even then, the 2010 season hadn’t started with national championship aspirations. Irish Breakdown will have the full analysis on what went wrong this weekend, but most disturbing for me as a fan and alumnus is that this team appears to have a serious culture problem. I expected some game management-related growing pains for Marcus Freeman and a young staff, but with Freeman’s popularity in the locker room and all the goodwill that surrounded his hire, I am shocked to see such a lack of leadership, accountability, and dare I say, heart, in the program.

~ KANSAS – The clock seems to have struck midnight on this Cinderella story actually challenging for the Big 12 title. The Jayhawks showed up in Norman ready for a game of flag football and appeared surprised they were playing in pads, surrendering 701 yards of offense and so many points that even Oklahoma’s “defense” couldn’t give the game away. There’s still plenty to play for in Lawrence, as a bowl bid and win over rival Kansas State would be strong achievements in Lance Leipold’s second season.

~ COASTAL CAROLINA – The Chanticleers lost their chance to be the Group of Five representative in the New Years’ Six bowls with a surprising 49-21 blowout loss to Old Dominion at home. Coastal Carolina allowed the Monarchs to rack up 324 yards rushing on an absurd 10.5 YPC, and even Grayson McCall’s 358 passing yards and 3 TDs could not save them.

~ USC – Lincoln Riley’s defense-optional philosophy met its match Saturday night in Salt Lake City. USC lost a game that it scored 42 points, did not trail in until there were 48 seconds remaining, and were outgained on a night that its offense put up 556 yards. The Trojans are talented enough to win out (especially with the season finale against Notre Dame no longer looking like the test it should be), but Riley needs to fix the defensive problems for this team to reach its ceiling.

BIGGEST GAMES OF WEEK 8

Iowa at #2 Ohio State, 12 PM, FOX
#14 Syracuse at #5 Clemson, 12 PM, ABC
UNLV at Notre Dame, 2:30 PM, Peacock
#7 Ole Miss at LSU, 3:30 PM, CBS
#9 UCLA at #10 Oregon, 3:30 PM, FOX or FS1
#20 Texas at #11 Oklahoma State, 3:30 PM, ABC
#24 Mississippi State at #6 Alabama, 7 PM, ESPN
Minnesota at #16 Penn State, 7:30 PM, ABC
#17 Kansas State at #8 TCU, 8 PM, FOX or FS1

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Published Oct 17, 2022

ANDREW MCDONOUGH