Bowl season came early for college football fans this past Saturday. Not 1, not 2, not 3, but four big match ups were on display Saturday: Auburn vs. Clemson, Standford vs. USC, Oklahoma vs. Ohio St, and UGA vs. Notre Dame were the big games and they did not disappoint. More importantly, some teams put themselves in great position to make a case for the college football playoff. Yes, it’s only two games in the season, however, what I saw Saturday gave me confidence that certain teams will be tough to beat and should make the four team playoff at the end of the regular season.
First up is UGA vs. Notre Dame. You have to applaud uga fans. This was 35 years in the making. This was Notre Dame. This was touchdown Jesus. Who knows when the dogs would make this trip again. A lot of dog fans had been waiting on this game ever since it was announced and the dog faithful took advantage of the opportunity as they covered South Bend in red on Saturday night. Know what else was covered in red? The receivers for Notre Dame. Not one wide out for the Irish had a touchdown on Saturday. The only touchdown the Irish got was from Quarterback Brandon Wimbush, and that was a rushing touchdown. As for rushing, the Irish were contained to only 55 yards on the ground. Coach Smart has to be happy how well his defense is playing, especially on the road in South Bend. Great win for the Bulldogs.
On to the Coliseum, where the USC Trojans hosted the Stanford Cardinal for an early Pac-12 matchup. Since 2007, the Cardinal have dominated this rivalry with an 8-3 record. Well that didn’t mean much Saturday in LA. The Sam Darnold show got off to a great start as the sophmore connected three times in the air and lead the Cardinal 28-17 at half time. Ronald Jones II and Stephen Carr got the ground game going as the both combined for 235 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. The Cardinal could not get much penetration on the line of scrimmage and when you give a QB like Darnold time to throw, that usually doesn’t go well for the opposition. USC is now 2-0 and will host Texas this Saturday.
Two traditional powers met at the horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio- Oklahoma and Ohio St. A rematch from last season, the Sooners were out for revenge after being embarrassed in Norman last year. If this was a statement game for Oklahoma, then they did just that as the defeated the Buckeyes 31-16. Senior Quarterback, Baker Mayfield put on a performance worthy of legends as he passed for 386 yards and threw three touchdowns. The Buckeyes could not get anything going on offense. J.T. Barrett had no touchdowns and one interception as the buckeye offense acted like they were still playing Indiana. Sorry guys, the Sooners are not Indiana. Look for the Sooners to contend for the Big XII title and the four team playoff.
Last but not least, the Auburn Tigers made the trip on 85 north to Death Valley, home of the Clemson Tigers. This was the game of the evening. If Clemson fans were worried that their defense was going to take a step back, I think their fears vanished after Saturday night. Auburn had a total of 117 yards. 79 of those were passing, 38 were rushing. That’s not taking a step back, that’s taking a giant leap forward. Clemson’s defense made Jarrett Stidham uncomfortable all night. Stidham could not get in any kind of groove, and if he did, it was short lived. The Auburn Tigers held their own on defense as well. They only allowed 96 yards rushing and 185 yards passing, but could not stop Junior signal caller, Kelly Bryant, even after coming back from getting hurt earlier in the game. Clemson won 14-6. Clemson has now defeated Auburn the past four times they have played.
JDubb's Sideline Report 