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The SEC is not the best conference in college football — this year, at least.
The reason? The East division is the worst among the Power Five conferences. And it’s not all that close.
No. 11 Florida, the East’s first-place team, put forth an absolutely dreadful performance Saturday, getting pummeled 31-10 by unranked Arkansas. That’s the same Arkansas team that lost 56-3 to Auburn last week. The Gators had just 12 yards rushing in the loss, and quarterback Luke Del Rio was nearly benched.
Florida’s loss to Arkansas was another example of the SEC West’s dominance over the East. Despite that loss, Florida still holds the top spot in the division because Kentucky lost on a last-second field goal to Georgia. Yes, the East is so bad that Kentucky, the team that lost to Southern Miss and struggled with New Mexico State earlier this year, was in position to seize sole possession of first place in the division. Kentucky even had the lead for most of the game, but allowed Georgia to score 14 of the game’s last 17 points in a 27-24 loss in Lexington.
Perceived favorite Tennessee has totally underwhelmed after a hot start, and the rest of the division — South Carolina (5-4), Vanderbilt (4-5) and Missouri (2-7) — ranges from almost average to flat out terrible.
When compared to the West, with teams like Alabama (9-0), Auburn (7-2) and Texas A&M (7-2), it’s not even close. So far this year, the East is 1-9 in games against the West. Kentucky’s 40-38 win over Mississippi State is the only victory the East has under its belt.
The team that emerges from this putrid division is certainly in store for a blowout next month in Atlanta.
WINNERS
Navy: Quarterback Will Worth ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns and the Midshipmen improved to 6-2 with a 28-27 win over the Fighting Irish. Worth threw the ball only eight times while the Mids limited the Irish to just six offensive possessions. Yes, six.
As you can imagine, Navy’s ground game ran wild amassing 323 rushing yards and eating up huge chunks of the clock. With the win, which was only Navy’s fourth vs. Notre Dame since 1963 and first since 2010, the Midshipmen are bowl eligible.
Marshawn Lynch’s return to Cal: It’s been 10 years since the former Seattle Seahawks RB famously drove a cart in celebration at Cal. He did it again before Saturday night’s game vs. Washington.
That may be the best Vine you’ll see all year. It’s a shame Vine is getting shut down.
Kamryn Pettway and Josh Holsey, Auburn: Pettway became the first Auburn running back to top 150 yards in four straight games since Bo Jackson did it in 1985. Pettway’s late run clinched the win over Vanderbilt, though he was injured on the play. After having 236 yards last week, Pettway had 173 in Saturday’s 23-16 win.
After Vanderbilt blocked a short field goal (we’ll get to that in a bit) that would have given Auburn a 10-point lead late, Tigers defensive back Josh Holsey registered a game-winning interception deep in Auburn territory when the Commodores had a chance to tie. Holsey also had the game-sealing pick in the Tigers’ win over Ole Miss last weekend.
D’Onta Foreman, Texas: Junior running back D’Onta Foreman had quite the day in a 45-37 road win over Texas Tech. Foreman notched career highs with three touchdowns and 341 yards on 33 carries. The 341 yards is the third-most in Texas history. Ricky Williams’ 350 yards against Iowa State in 1998 is UT’s top rushing performance. Additionally, Roosevelt Leaks had 342 yards against SMU in 1973. Foreman nearly had a fourth rushing touchdown, but had the ball stripped away just before the end zone on a wild play. Texas finished with 658 total yards.
Wake Forest: For the first time under coach Dave Clawson, Wake Forest has clinched bowl eligibility with a 27-20 win over Virginia. The Demon Deacons jumped out to a 17-6 halftime lead, but allowed Virginia to creep back into the game and eventually take the lead late in the third. After Wake tied things at 20-20, Jessie Bates intercepted an ill-advised Kurt Benkert pass and returned it for what proved to be a game-winning touchdown. Wake combined for six wins in its first two seasons under Clawson, but now is 6-3 on the year and 3-2 in ACC play.
Zay Jones, East Carolina: Jones set the ECU single season record for receptions during Saturday’s 45-24 loss to Tulsa with 13 catches for 206 yards and a touchdown. He came into the game with 114 catches.
Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt: Look at this play to give Vanderbilt a shot against Auburn.
The Commodores lost after a last-possession interception, but this was yet another play to go on Cunningham’s 2016 highlight reel. He’s an All-SEC player.
LOSERS
Arizona: The Wildcats aren’t going to a bowl game. After being shellacked 69-7 by Washington State on Saturday, Arizona fell to 0-6 in the Pac-12 and 2-7 overall.
Things were so bad on Saturday that Washington State quarterbacks Luke Falk and Tyler Hilinski had more touchdowns (six) than incompletions (five). Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez isn’t on the hot seat just yet. It’s easy to view this season as an aberration. But don’t be surprised if there’s some unrest in 2017 if Arizona has another rough year.
QB health: Saturday was not a good day to be a good Power Five quarterback. Texas A&M’s Trevor Knight, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly, Syracuse’s Eric Dungey and Nebraska’s Tommy Armstrong Jr. all left their respective games with injuries.
Armstrong’s was the scariest as he was carted off the field after hitting his head on the Ohio Stadium turf. Knight and Watson both suffered shoulder injuries, though Watson’s absence in the second half of his team’s blowout win over Syracuse was likely precautionary. Clemson was up 30-0 when he left the game.
Dungey left the Clemson game in the first quarter after he was hit in the head. He didn’t return and coach Dino Babers didn’t provide much detail on his status after the game. Kelly suffered a knee injury and is set to undergo an MRI.
UConn: Someone get the Huskies an offense. UConn was shut out by Temple on Friday night to drop to 3-7 and guarantee no bowl berth in 2016.
It was the fourth-straight loss for the Huskies after starting the season 3-3 and its offensive statistics were putrid. UConn had just 160 total yards in the 21-0 loss and somehow didn’t compete despite forcing three Temple turnovers. That’s what happens when your quarterback is 12-21 passing for 69 yards. Not nice.
Leonard Fournette, LSU: Welp, Leonard Fournette’s potential Heisman campaign was short-lived. The junior needed a strong game against Alabama to get into the race despite missing four games this season, but struggled mightily against the nation’s top rushing defense. Fournette had 17 carries for 35 yards, which translated into 2.1 yards per carry. That was only slightly better than the 1.6 yards per carry Fournette had last year against the Tide. To be fair, the struggles weren’t all Fournette’s fault. LSU quarterback Danny Etling provided very little passing threat, which made it easier for the Alabama defense to focus on stopping Fournette.
UCF Power Six helmet sticker: The American Athletic Conference wants to be recognized with the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC as a power conference. So the conference used helmet stickers on the back of some schools’ helmets to try to get the message across.
Nebraska: Saturday was Nebraska’s chance to reinforce that its top-10 ranking was deserved. The game was a flop.
The Cornhuskers were blown out 62-3 and nothing went right — though Tommy Armstrong Jr. is OK. Armstrong was picked off on Nebraska’s first possession of the night and it was returned for a touchdown. Things got worse from there as a stingy Nebraska defense gave up 590 yards of offense.
And Nebraska no longer controls its own destiny in the Big Ten West either. The Huskers are in a three-way tie with Minnesota and Wisconsin. Since Wisconsin beat Nebraska last week, it wins any head-to-head tiebreaker.
Shawn Boone, N.C. State: The Wolfpack’s poor safety had a tough late fourth quarter, which contributed to N.C. State’s 24-20 loss to Florida State. Boone dropped a sure interception in the end zone and then was beat by receiver Travis Rudolph on the next play for a 19-yard touchdown, which ended up being the decisive score of the game.
The reason? The East division is the worst among the Power Five conferences. And it’s not all that close.
No. 11 Florida, the East’s first-place team, put forth an absolutely dreadful performance Saturday, getting pummeled 31-10 by unranked Arkansas. That’s the same Arkansas team that lost 56-3 to Auburn last week. The Gators had just 12 yards rushing in the loss, and quarterback Luke Del Rio was nearly benched.
Perceived favorite Tennessee has totally underwhelmed after a hot start, and the rest of the division — South Carolina (5-4), Vanderbilt (4-5) and Missouri (2-7) — ranges from almost average to flat out terrible.
When compared to the West, with teams like Alabama (9-0), Auburn (7-2) and Texas A&M (7-2), it’s not even close. So far this year, the East is 1-9 in games against the West. Kentucky’s 40-38 win over Mississippi State is the only victory the East has under its belt.
The team that emerges from this putrid division is certainly in store for a blowout next month in Atlanta.
WINNERS
Navy: Quarterback Will Worth ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns and the Midshipmen improved to 6-2 with a 28-27 win over the Fighting Irish. Worth threw the ball only eight times while the Mids limited the Irish to just six offensive possessions. Yes, six.
As you can imagine, Navy’s ground game ran wild amassing 323 rushing yards and eating up huge chunks of the clock. With the win, which was only Navy’s fourth vs. Notre Dame since 1963 and first since 2010, the Midshipmen are bowl eligible.
With today’s win, Ken Niumatolo becomes the 2nd head coach in Navy history to beat #NotreDame 3 times, joining Wayne Hardin @ESPNStatsInfo.
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) November 5, 2016
Air Force: In his first career start, sophomore quarterback Arion Worthman led Air Force to a 31-12 victory over Army to win the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for the Falcons. Worthman impressed throughout the contest and finished with 258 total yards and two touchdowns. Overall, the Falcons (6-3) rushed for 249 yards and clinched bowl eligibility in the win.— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) November 5, 2016
Marshawn Lynch’s return to Cal: It’s been 10 years since the former Seattle Seahawks RB famously drove a cart in celebration at Cal. He did it again before Saturday night’s game vs. Washington.
That may be the best Vine you’ll see all year. It’s a shame Vine is getting shut down.
Kamryn Pettway and Josh Holsey, Auburn: Pettway became the first Auburn running back to top 150 yards in four straight games since Bo Jackson did it in 1985. Pettway’s late run clinched the win over Vanderbilt, though he was injured on the play. After having 236 yards last week, Pettway had 173 in Saturday’s 23-16 win.
After Vanderbilt blocked a short field goal (we’ll get to that in a bit) that would have given Auburn a 10-point lead late, Tigers defensive back Josh Holsey registered a game-winning interception deep in Auburn territory when the Commodores had a chance to tie. Holsey also had the game-sealing pick in the Tigers’ win over Ole Miss last weekend.
D’Onta Foreman, Texas: Junior running back D’Onta Foreman had quite the day in a 45-37 road win over Texas Tech. Foreman notched career highs with three touchdowns and 341 yards on 33 carries. The 341 yards is the third-most in Texas history. Ricky Williams’ 350 yards against Iowa State in 1998 is UT’s top rushing performance. Additionally, Roosevelt Leaks had 342 yards against SMU in 1973. Foreman nearly had a fourth rushing touchdown, but had the ball stripped away just before the end zone on a wild play. Texas finished with 658 total yards.
Wake Forest: For the first time under coach Dave Clawson, Wake Forest has clinched bowl eligibility with a 27-20 win over Virginia. The Demon Deacons jumped out to a 17-6 halftime lead, but allowed Virginia to creep back into the game and eventually take the lead late in the third. After Wake tied things at 20-20, Jessie Bates intercepted an ill-advised Kurt Benkert pass and returned it for what proved to be a game-winning touchdown. Wake combined for six wins in its first two seasons under Clawson, but now is 6-3 on the year and 3-2 in ACC play.
Pick-six puts @WakeFB back in front in a BIG WAY.
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— FOX Sports South (@FOXSportsSouth) November 5, 2016
Corey Davis, Western Michigan: Davis had a career day in a 52-20 win against Ball State on Tuesday. He set the single-game Mid-American Conference receiving record with 272 yards and had touchdown receptions of 57, 35 and 62 yards.???????? pic.twitter.com/tzl8EeiST0
— FOX Sports South (@FOXSportsSouth) November 5, 2016
Western Michigan's Corey Davis with the catch of the night. Row the Undefeated Boat. pic.twitter.com/IzStK0gZo8
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) November 2, 2016
More importantly, Davis helped the Broncos to a 9-0 record, which is the best start in school history. Davis now has 49 catches for 739 yards and came into Saturday tied for the national lead in touchdowns with 11.— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) November 2, 2016
Zay Jones, East Carolina: Jones set the ECU single season record for receptions during Saturday’s 45-24 loss to Tulsa with 13 catches for 206 yards and a touchdown. He came into the game with 114 catches.
Congrats Zay Jones! Most receptions in a season for an #ECU receiver. #WideReceiverU
— ECU Football (@ECUPiratesFB) November 6, 2016
Jones is now creeping up on former teammate Justin Hardy as the Football Bowl Subdivision career receptions leader. Overall, Jones has 368 catches, which is 19 catches short of tying Hardy’s record. East Carolina is 3-6 this season and would need to win its remaining games against SMU, Navy and Temple to earn bowl eligibility. But considering he is averaging 14 catches per game, breaking that record before the end of the regular season shouldn’t be a problem.— ECU Football (@ECUPiratesFB) November 6, 2016
Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt: Look at this play to give Vanderbilt a shot against Auburn.
The Commodores lost after a last-possession interception, but this was yet another play to go on Cunningham’s 2016 highlight reel. He’s an All-SEC player.
LOSERS
Arizona: The Wildcats aren’t going to a bowl game. After being shellacked 69-7 by Washington State on Saturday, Arizona fell to 0-6 in the Pac-12 and 2-7 overall.
Things were so bad on Saturday that Washington State quarterbacks Luke Falk and Tyler Hilinski had more touchdowns (six) than incompletions (five). Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez isn’t on the hot seat just yet. It’s easy to view this season as an aberration. But don’t be surprised if there’s some unrest in 2017 if Arizona has another rough year.
QB health: Saturday was not a good day to be a good Power Five quarterback. Texas A&M’s Trevor Knight, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly, Syracuse’s Eric Dungey and Nebraska’s Tommy Armstrong Jr. all left their respective games with injuries.
Armstrong’s was the scariest as he was carted off the field after hitting his head on the Ohio Stadium turf. Knight and Watson both suffered shoulder injuries, though Watson’s absence in the second half of his team’s blowout win over Syracuse was likely precautionary. Clemson was up 30-0 when he left the game.
Dungey left the Clemson game in the first quarter after he was hit in the head. He didn’t return and coach Dino Babers didn’t provide much detail on his status after the game. Kelly suffered a knee injury and is set to undergo an MRI.
UConn: Someone get the Huskies an offense. UConn was shut out by Temple on Friday night to drop to 3-7 and guarantee no bowl berth in 2016.
It was the fourth-straight loss for the Huskies after starting the season 3-3 and its offensive statistics were putrid. UConn had just 160 total yards in the 21-0 loss and somehow didn’t compete despite forcing three Temple turnovers. That’s what happens when your quarterback is 12-21 passing for 69 yards. Not nice.
Leonard Fournette, LSU: Welp, Leonard Fournette’s potential Heisman campaign was short-lived. The junior needed a strong game against Alabama to get into the race despite missing four games this season, but struggled mightily against the nation’s top rushing defense. Fournette had 17 carries for 35 yards, which translated into 2.1 yards per carry. That was only slightly better than the 1.6 yards per carry Fournette had last year against the Tide. To be fair, the struggles weren’t all Fournette’s fault. LSU quarterback Danny Etling provided very little passing threat, which made it easier for the Alabama defense to focus on stopping Fournette.
UCF Power Six helmet sticker: The American Athletic Conference wants to be recognized with the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC as a power conference. So the conference used helmet stickers on the back of some schools’ helmets to try to get the message across.
UCF has P6 stickers affixed to their helmets tonight. Part of Mike Aresco and @American_FB's "Power Six" initiative. pic.twitter.com/C5NNmjA7pw
— Brandon Helwig (@UCFSports) November 5, 2016
We’re thinking it’ll take more than a decal to get the AAC into the Power Five conversation. Namely more revenue and a marketable team or two outside of Houston. And while it sounds callous, if there were big-name teams in the conference, the Big 12 would have likely taken them in expansion. But the conference chose not to expand.— Brandon Helwig (@UCFSports) November 5, 2016
Nebraska: Saturday was Nebraska’s chance to reinforce that its top-10 ranking was deserved. The game was a flop.
The Cornhuskers were blown out 62-3 and nothing went right — though Tommy Armstrong Jr. is OK. Armstrong was picked off on Nebraska’s first possession of the night and it was returned for a touchdown. Things got worse from there as a stingy Nebraska defense gave up 590 yards of offense.
And Nebraska no longer controls its own destiny in the Big Ten West either. The Huskers are in a three-way tie with Minnesota and Wisconsin. Since Wisconsin beat Nebraska last week, it wins any head-to-head tiebreaker.
Shawn Boone, N.C. State: The Wolfpack’s poor safety had a tough late fourth quarter, which contributed to N.C. State’s 24-20 loss to Florida State. Boone dropped a sure interception in the end zone and then was beat by receiver Travis Rudolph on the next play for a 19-yard touchdown, which ended up being the decisive score of the game.
Dave Doeren to Shawn Boone after the game: "I told him I love him."
— The Wolfpacker (@TheWolfpacker) November 6, 2016
— The Wolfpacker (@TheWolfpacker) November 6, 2016