There was no shortage of candidates for the Week 6 Flop 10 as two preseason Playoff teams went down, and folks are learning Super Bowl rings don’t mean squat on campus.
Here’s some of the lowlights from Week 6 of college football:
Bill Belichick
It opened with a trick play for a Clemson TD and the laughs just kept coming Saturday. Things aren’t going well for Chapel Bill. The Tar Heels trailed Clemson 28-3 at the end of the first quarter, and UNC students had seen enough, heading for the exits — probably to He’s Not Here (I’m wondering how many Heels fans wished that about Sir Hoodie). Clemson scored four touchdowns on its first 16 plays. Maybe hiring your son to run your defense wasn’t the best move… North Carolina lost 38-10 (it wasn’t that close) and is 0-3 vs. Power Four opponents, having been outscored 120-33. On to Cal? More like on to basketball season.
Boston College
If you thought UNC’s first half was bad, Boston College said, ‘Hold my beer.’ Maybe Bill O’Brien was trying to take some of the stink off his old Patriots boss. The Golden Eagles trailed 31-0 at the break to Pitt, who handed a true freshman QB his first career start. And just look at some of these first half stats:
Yards: Pitt, 331; BC: 69
First downs: Pitt, 20; BC: 2
Time of possession: Pitt, 21:12; BC: 8:48
Rushing yards: BC had negative-9 yards on eight carries.
It finished 48-7. ‘We did a terrible job,’ O’Brien said postgame. ‘… I did a bad job. Did not have the team ready to play. I take full responsibility for what happened on that field.’
The Eagles are 1-4 and are propping up the ACC standings at 0-3 in league play.
Penn State
Maybe James Franklin thought because the game was in the Rose Bowl it was a big game. Or maybe the Nittany Lions were still reeling from last week’s loss to Oregon. Or maybe they saw 0-4 UCLA on the schedule, and figured the trip to L.A. would be like a stroll on the Santa Monica Pier. Whatever the reason (and I guess you can give credit to the Bruins and Nico Iamaleava if you must), Penn State completely fell on its face in a 42-37 loss Saturday. For the second week in a row, ‘Fire James Franklin’ chants were audible — even on the road. From College Football Playoff favorite to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Not really the White Out Nittany Lions fans were expecting.
Texas
Hey, how about another CFP favorite biting the dust? We thought Florida’s defense would give the Longhorns some trouble, and it’s not like a Manning hasn’t struggled in The Swamp before. This was a chance for Arch to quiet the haters. And he didn’t. Now, this loss isn’t all on Manning. He got very little help. He accounted for 37 of Texas’ 52 rushing yards. It really came down to the under-fire Billy Napier out-coaching Steve Sarkisian, which is perhaps even more concerning.
Tennessee fans
The Vols didn’t play, but that doesn’t mean Tennessee fans took the day off. Undoubtedly they settled in for that nationally televised Penn State-UCLA game looking to sharpen their knives and fire off plenty of tweets during a nice hate-watch. But Nico Iamaleava, who left Knoxville for L.A. in a high-profile transfer, and the Bruins sprung the surprise of the season in a 42-37 win. And Nico balled. He completed 17-of-24 passes for 166 yards and two TDs and rushed for 128 yards and three more scores. At least Vanderbilt lost.
Diego Pavia’s Heisman candidacy
About those Commodores… Pavia ran his mouth quite a bit in the build-up to Saturday’s game vs. Alabama. After beating the Crimson Tide last year, why not feel a little confident? But Pavia had two red zone turnovers and Ty Simpson (340 passing yards) was clearly the best quarterback in Alabama’s 30-14 win. And Tide players and fans let Pavia hear about it on his way off the field.
Maryland
The undefeated Terrapins led Washington 20-0 with four minutes left in the third quarter, in front of rare sold-out crowd, and on their way to a potential Top 25 ranking. That’s quite the turnaround for a team with a freshman QB and a coach who admitted to losing his locker room last season. But despite a 97.2% win probability, the wheels fell off as the Huskies ran off 24 straight points, which included fourth-quarter touchdown drives of 74, 75 and 80 yards. ‘I think what I have to do is focus on evaluating what happened, why it happened and how I can get it fixed,’ Terps coach Mike Locksley said postgame. ‘… I’m going to be defined by how we move forward, not by the history of what we’ve done.’
Purdue WR Michael Jackson II
The Boilermakers receiver may have trouble looking at the man in the mirror. Purdue hadn’t fumbled in its first four games this season. Jackson fumbled twice Saturday. And they were back-breakers. On the first play after Jackson’s first fumble, Illinois QB Luke Altmyer hit Hank Beatty for a 62-yard touchdown. Then with Purdue trailing 30-21 midway through the third quarter, the Boilermakers forced a key stop, only to have Jackson fumble a punt at his own 8-yard line. The Boilermakers’ defense held Illinois to a field goal, but it was a key play in the Illini’s 43-27 win. Now, to Jackson’s credit, he did have a team-high 14 catches for 94 yards, but those fumbles were game-changers.
Kent State
The Golden Flashes finished the guarantee-game potion of its schedule with a 44-0 loss at Oklahoma. Kent State received a combined $4.2 million from OU, Florida State and Texas Tech; They lost those three games by a combined 172-24 score. Hey, as long as the checks clear.
Wofford’s pass defense
Western Carolina’s Taron Dickens set an NCAA record completing his first 46 passes Saturday. Yup, FORTY-SIX straight completions. He finished 53-of-56 for 378 yards and three touchdowns in the Catamounts’ 23-21 win. I don’t care if every pass is a screen or dump off, have some pride Terriers!
This story was updated to change a video.