Week six didn’t have the greatest slate of games, but that allowed for some crazy upsets that will shake things up. There are a lot of things that we learned, but here are five of the most relevant:
1. Iowa State is Baker Mayfield’s “Daddy”
Iowa State got a big upset win in Norman over the number three rated Sooners. The Cyclones didn’t have their starting quarterback Jacob Park, who was on medical leave, but were still able to come away with the victory. This marks the biggest upset of the season and has made a lot of people rethink their CFP picks.
The real star of the game was Joel Lanning. He was a quarterback his first two years at Iowa State, but moved to linebacker, so that the Cyclones could start Jacob Park. With Park out, Lanning played his usual linebacker position, but also split time at quarterback. Lanning finished with eight tackles, a sack and a recovered fumble on defense and came in to help move the ball on offense.
After the big upset, the Cyclones decided to troll Baker Mayfield, much like Mayfield had done to previous opponents. They planted the state flage of Iowa at midfield and several players were caught on the microphones saying, “Who’s your daddy?”. After a home loss to Iowa State, Oklahoma doesn’t have much room for error the rest of the way.
2. Miami can beat Florida State
The Seminoles had won seven straight against Miami and had never lost the rivalry game with Jimbo Fisher as head coach. That all changed Saturday. Florida State has struggled without starting quarterback Deondre Francois, but Miami fans still had little hope that this would be the year they broke the streak.
Florida State scored a touchdown with just over a minute left and it looked dire for Miami. Malik Rosier, however, led the Hurricanes on a game winning touchdown drive that concluded with a 23 yard pass to Darrell Langham with six seconds left. In a series that commonly comes down to the final plays to decide the winner, Miami was able to score very late to stay unbeaten.
Miami now looks to be one of the biggest threats to Clemson in the ACC. If they can keep winning, they may face the Tigers in the ACC Championship Game.
3. Overreactions on Orgeron?
Last week LSU lost to Troy at home. Troy is a good football team, but LSU should’ve been able to defend their home turf a lot better, as they were physically dominated at the line of scrimmage. A lot of fans and media members were clamoring for LSU to fire head coach Ed Orgeron, but this week he came up with a big win over Florida.
The Tigers still didn’t look great in this game, but came away with the win in The Swamp. They were able to win the game because Florida missed an extra point, but in games like this it doesn’t matter how much you win by, just that you win. This isn’t the greatest win of all time, but it was a tough win on the road.
While Orgeron didn’t deserve a $12 million buyout in his contract and may have not even deserved the job in the first place, firing a coach so early in his tenure is a bit unfair. Orgeron isn’t out of the hot seat yet, but took a good step this weekend.
4. Michigan isn’t elite
In a rainy game in Ann Arbor, Michigan lost a close game to their in-state rival, Michigan State, 14-10. The Wolverines turned the ball over five times, which allowed Michigan State to grind out the win. It is still unknown how good both these teams truly are, but Michigan isn’t an elite team.
The Wolverines were without starting quarterback Wilton Speight, but he wasn’t playing particularly well anyways this season. It is evident that Michigan just has had too replace too much talent from last year’s roster and needs some time to develop their young players. While Michigan may end up being a very good football team, it is not likely they will be able to compete with Ohio State or Penn State for the Big Ten East.
5. TCU is for real
With Oklahoma losing to Iowa State, TCU is currently the best team in the Big 12. This week the Horned Frogs were able to hold off West Virginia to win 31-24.
TCU now has wins over the Mountaineers and Oklahoma State, two of the biggest contenders in the Big 12. With the revamped Big 12 Championship Game this season, the Horned Frogs are in a great position to make it. The Horned Frogs could even be fortunate enough to afford a loss to Oklahoma later in the season and still make the Big 12 Championship Game. If they make it that far, there is a good possibility they can win and make the CFP.
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