US LBM Coaches Poll, Week 8
Paul Myerberg breaks down this week’s USA LBM Coaches Poll and talks about Ohio State’s great win and the impact on Penn State.
Sports pulse
Ohio State’s defense defeated Penn State, securing a 20-12 victory in one of the most important games of the regular season.
Five years after James Franklin promised that the Nittany Lions would eventually become one of the Bowl Subdivision’s top teams, the loss strengthens the program’s standing: Penn State is very good, but not elite. The Nittany Lions are treading water.
And Ohio State is finding new ways to win games in the Big Ten. Clearly impacted by back-to-back losses to Michigan, the Buckeyes are a physical team defined more by defensive excellence than an offense that has top-notch skills but has taken significant steps backwards compared to the last two seasons.
Penn State failed to convert a single third-down attempt until there was less than a minute remaining. The Nittany Lions averaged just 2.6 yards per attempt on 25 carries. Drew Allar completed just 18 of 43 throws for 191 yards, an average of 4.3 yards per pass. A significant portion of his yardage and only touchdown came on his team’s final drive after Ohio State had a 14-point lead.
The Buckeyes’ failed fourth-down attempt at the goal line and a turnover on special teams gave Penn State chances to tie even in the second half. In similar situations in the recent past, Ohio State has been able to pull away from the Nittany Lions using pure offensive firepower. But the seventh straight win in this series was sparked by a defense that may be one of the most improved units in the FBS. After Saturday, the Buckeyes are only giving up 3.9 yards per game.
That level of stinginess was enough to offset a hit-or-miss offense that thrives on handing the ball off to All-America wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who had 11 receptions for 162 yards and a touchdown. Against the strong Nittany Lions defense, the Buckeyes managed to rush for 79 yards, while Kyle McCord completed 23 of 35 yards for 286 yards.
The win sets up an easy four-game series before facing the Wolverines in late November. Next, Ohio State heads to Wisconsin and Rutgers before returning to Michigan State and Minnesota. This month-long stretch will give Ryan Day and the Buckeyes’ offense more time to develop before the winner-take-all rivalry game in Ann Arbor.
The immediate future for Penn State is more unclear. This was an incredible opportunity to end a long losing streak against an Ohio State that has clear deficiencies compared to the program’s recent standard. With the loss, the Nittany Lions are once again no better than a New Year’s Six participant, Michigan doesn’t come until November. The disappointment is palpable.
The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions are Saturday’s biggest winners and losers:
winner
Alabama
Virtually buried after losing to Texas and battling South Florida in September, Alabama has rattled off a string of narrow victories, culminating in a 34-20 win over Tennessee to catapult itself right back into the College Football Playoff. Like previous wins against Mississippi, Arkansas and others, the win against Tennessee required a toned-down offense around quarterback Jalen Milroe, who completed 14 of 21 attempts for 220 yards and two scores with one interception. Trailing 20-7 at halftime, the Crimson Tide outscored the Volunteers 27-0 in the second half, avenging last year’s shootout loss. There are fewer style points than in the past, but the results in league play are known: Alabama burdens teams with strong defense, does a better job protecting the football while finding explosive plays in the backfield. And despite missing the Lightning, the Crimson Tide have shown extreme mental toughness by overcoming the early season swoon and standing as Georgia’s top threat in the SEC.
State of Florida
Florida State managed a total of 330 yards of offense through quarterback Jordan Travis and remained undefeated with a narrower 38:20 win against Duke. Riley Leonard was back in the starting lineup for the Blue Devils, but was struggling to get things going through the air before exiting the game in the third quarter after apparently re-injuring the ankle he suffered in the narrow loss against Notre Dame last month. But the game turned the moment Leonard went: FSU trailed 21-17 when Leonard went down, but was in total control from that point on. While Duke continues to impress even in defeat, the Seminoles managed to pull off another inventive win against one of the ACC’s top teams and stay on their way to a conference championship game appearance and a possible playoff berth.
Missouri
Missouri is good. Of course, winning the SEC isn’t good, but this is a much-improved team that’s playing its best football yet under coach Eli Drinkwitz. The Tigers are now 7-1 after beating South Carolina, taking a 24-3 halftime lead and then sleepwalking to a 34-12 second half. Missouri’s defense did a good job with Spencer Rattler, limiting him to just 5.4 yards per attempt, while the offense got 159 yards and two touchdowns from running back Cody Schrader and 90 receiving yards from potential All-America pick Luther Burden. Georgia, Tennessee and Florida are next as Missouri prepares for meaningful November football for the first time in several years.
Nebraska
Matt Rhule points Nebraska toward the bowl game after another strong performance from a rejuvenated defense sparked a 17-9 win over Northwestern. At 4-3, the Cornhuskers have a chance at six wins against a very friendly home series – Purdue, Michigan State, Maryland, Wisconsin and Iowa – and could potentially reach the Big Ten title game. Although the team is deeply flawed from an offensive standpoint – the entire offense is glued together with sticks and branches, making any positive gain an absolute adventure – for Nebraska to snap the longest bowl drought in the Power Five would be an achievement that breathes Rhule’s first season could end up injecting a tremendous amount of life into the program through 2024.
Kansas State
Kansas State overwhelmed TCU from the opening whistle in a 41-3 victory that may be the Wildcats’ best performance of the season. While two tough setbacks to Missouri and Oklahoma State have pushed them out of the Top 25, there are moments when the Wildcats look like one of two or three best teams in the Big 12 – Saturday is one of them. Kansas State continues to utilize a very interesting two-quarterback rotation of senior Will Howard and true freshman Avery Johnson, with the pair combining for 244 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, with another 135 yards on the ground. Coach Chris Kleiman may have led his team through a rough patch and put the Wildcats back on track for the conference championship game.
loser
James Franklin
Saturday’s loss drops Franklin to 1-9 against Ohio State and 4-15 combined against the Buckeyes and Michigan, the Nittany Lions’ Nov. 11 opponent. For all the program’s wins, major bowl appearances and overall successes, there is a sense of missed opportunities and unfulfilled expectations that only grows stronger with each successive failure against the Big Ten’s best of the best. The Nittany Lions could end up with double-digit wins, but a loss to the Buckeyes and Wolverines would just be a reminder of how far the program still has to go before it can truly compete for national championships.
Southern California
Another week, another terrible loss. And unlike last week’s stunning loss at Notre Dame, this one came at home and was marked by more traditional heartbreak: Utah ran 54 yards in the final 1:46 and scored a 38-yard field goal as time expired, to beat Southern California 34-32. Quarterback Bryson Barnes had 235 passing yards, four total touchdowns and a crucial scramble on the final drive to offset Caleb Williams’ 256 passing yards and a rushing score. While this was a better performance overall than against the Fighting Irish and one in which USC’s defense showed more moments of effectiveness, these two straight losses have left the Trojans out of business, and this year it could Worse will be games ahead against Oregon, Washington and UCLA.
North Carolina
It always felt like undefeated North Carolina was living on borrowed time. And then Drake Maye threw for 350 yards and three scores to give the Tar Heels another high-scoring win. The luck finally ran out against an unlikely opponent, Virginia, which earned its biggest win of coach Tony Elliott’s tenure by controlling the ball and keeping Maye on the sideline in a 31-27 upset. The Cavaliers owned the ball for more than 37 minutes and ran the ball 54 times for 228 yards, offsetting the production of a UNC offense that, despite limited touches, still had 26 first downs and nearly 500 yards.
Clemson
Clemson remains headed for its worst season since 2010 after a 28-20 overtime loss to Miami. The Tigers turned the ball over three times, had no running game and were still in position to win this game by the end of the fourth quarter, only to allow the game-winning field goal with less than two minutes left and fail to make it inches from away from the end zone. The win essentially saves Miami’s season from a potential turning point after losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina and should temporarily calm the increased scrutiny surrounding coach Mario Cristobal. The loss is devastating for Clemson, as it virtually ends any hope of regaining the ACC crown and officially spells elimination from the playoffs for the second straight year.
Arkansas
This is the worst team in the SEC West and the worst offense in the SEC, and that leaves Sam Pittman on shaky ground heading into the final four games of the regular season. After the 7-3 loss to Mississippi State, the Razorbacks’ sixth straight loss and their worst ever, it’s easy to write off any legitimate chance in the postseason. A stadium that is far too empty reflects the current state of things: Arkansas has gone from trendy to a total bore under Pittman.
Iowa
There was fun and games when Iowa won. But the jokes and eye-rolling about Iowa State’s offense will become more serious concerns after a 12-10 loss to Minnesota in which the Hawkeyes ran for just 127 yards and didn’t win despite keeping the Golden Gophers out of the end zone. Worse, the potential game-winning touchdown on a punt return by Cooper DeJean with less than two minutes left was taken off the board after officials ruled that DeJean had signaled a fair catch. A week after the Hawkeyes seemingly put the Big Ten West in a headlock with a win against Wisconsin, the division is up for grabs again.
Pittsburgh
Wake Forest faced Pittsburgh without its starting quarterback and backup, Dave Clawson, leaving the offense to redshirt sophomore Santino Marucci, whose career experience before Saturday included six pointless snaps against Norfolk State two years ago, all on special teams. You know exactly where this is going. The Panthers took a 17-14 lead after a 75-yard touchdown drive with 1:30 left and then intercepted Marucci with just over a minute left. Even after Pittsburgh returned to Wake Forest just 23 seconds later, it only needed one final defensive stop to secure its second straight victory. But Marucci marched the Demon Deacons 48 yards in 33 seconds and connected with Cameron Hite 15 yards with seven seconds left, handing the Panthers their worst loss of a brutal season.