CFB Sunday Summary Answers the Questions

Our college football Sunday Summary settles issues. Questions were answered on Saturday, and we deliver the conclusions on Sunday. We had questions through the first several weeks of the season. But Saturday satisfied many of the queries.

Time for Self-Reflection

Congratulations to the UCLA Bruins. They delivered the upset of the season to this point, with a 42-37 win over Penn State at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. And not to take the bloom of their rose, but we resolve that it is time for James Franklin to ask himself what he is doing and why.

It’s one thing to lose every year to Ohio State, Michigan, or now Oregon. But Franklin’s Nittany Lions just lost to a previously winless UCLA team that was a 25.5 underdog. Franklin lost to a team that has a temporary play caller instead of a full-time offensive coordinator. Jerry Neuheisel got that gig on Tuesday of last week. And they brought Noel Mazzone off the sidelines as an analyst to help him, while interim head coach Tim Skipper runs the defense.

The result? UCLA had 435 yards of offense to 357 for Penn State. Bruins transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava only had 166 passing yards. But he had two touchdown throws to go with 128 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Meanwhile, Penn State’s alleged vaunted offense? Former Heisman candidate, quarterback Drew Allar was the team’s leading rusher with 78 yards. Last year’s thousand-yard rushers Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, had 50 and 39 rushing yards, respectively.

We have settled the issue. Franklin is not a big-time coach when it matters most, as Penn State has now lost back-to-back conference games with Ohio State and Indiana still ahead. Heck, Penn State fans need to worry that they have Michigan State and Rutgers still ahead.

Need More Ice for the Arm

After the loss to Wake Forest in mid-September, Western Carolina made a change at quarterback. They settled on Taron Dickens. It turns out he should have been the answer all along. In the three games as the starter, Dickens has thrown for 1,387 yards. Saturday, against Wofford, Dickens’ stat line was 53 of 56 passing for 378 yards. Those are not typos. Yes, he threw 56 passes and had only three incompletions. At one point, he had 46 consecutive completions.

The Best

With Clemson dropping off so much, there were questions as to the ACC and who the best team was. Question answered and issue settled. It is Miami…by a lot. The Canes took down Florida State in Tallahassee on Saturday, 28-22. The game was not that close. Carson Beck answered our weekly questions about his quality of play. He was not great. He was good enough. Beck went 20 of 27 for 241 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

Miami has yet to have its annual Cristobal game, where they lose a game they should not to an opponent they should not. So, we continue to wait for that. But in the meantime, they are the answer to the ACC’s woes.

Hype Doesn’t Win Games

While we are on the subject of the ACC, we have two words. Bill Belichick. We didn’t say they were good words. The North Carolina Tar Heels took a beatdown in Chapel Hill to the struggling Clemson Tigers 38-10. Press conferences with cutoff suit jacket sleeves, balloons, and big names don’t win games. UNC invested a lot of time and effort into the splash that comes with hiring someone like Belichick, who had never been a college head coach. The only wins for the Tar Heels (2-3) this season are against Richmond and Charlotte. We can answer that the experiment is not working.

After the game, Chapel Bill said, “We have to do a better job of coaching.” Uh, thanks. You don’t say? There is zero chance they will fire him after the circus they created. But maybe Franklin can spare some of that mirror time for Belichick to reflect on what he is actually doing.

Mouths Also Don’t Win Games

Diego Pavia has gained a lot of fans because of his brash talk as the quarterback in his 12^th year of college football has brought Vanderbilt up from the ash heap. That and he has an attorney who spends most of his time on Twitter verbally fighting for absolute player freedom.

But backing up the brash talk is not a once-in-a-while thing. It is a weekly battle. Last week, Pavia said of the upcoming game against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, “If we play our game, it won’t be close.” He was right about the last part. It wasn’t close. Bama beat Vandy 30-14. And Pavia’s contribution to the loss was clear: two turnovers inside the Bama 20-yard line.

If you are going to talk the talk…well…you know the rest of that answer.

The Answers Seem Complete

The jury has settled the issue on Arch Manning. He is not the premier quarterback Texas hoped he was. The Longhorns had a week off to smooth out the rough edges on the legacy starter before the game in Gainesville against Florida. The conclusion?  Nope. Didn’t work. He was 16 of 29 throwing (55%) for 263 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in the loss to the Gators. He still is not ready.

One More Answer

This one is for the ACC, and it works for whatever the question is. Virginia. The Cavaliers had a much-needed feel-good win at home last week over then-highly-ranked Florida State. The school has stuck with head coach Tony Elliott through some very trying times on and off the field over the last couple of years. So last week felt like a reward for both coach and program. Now it turns out, the Cavaliers might be a pretty good football team. Virginia went on the road on Saturday and beat a good Louisville team 30-27 in overtime. The feel-good stories are nice. Winning is nicer. So the answer for both is Virginia at 5-1.