The Sooner defense appeared to be adequately prepared for the unsafe running ability of Greg Ward Jr., but the Houston quarterback adjusted by continually torching the OU secondary with his arm making backbreaking completions on critical third downs to keep drives alive and advance the chains. The CFP selection committee likely won’t forget the performance of this team in all three phases of the game.
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(14) WASHINGTON 48, RUTGERS 13: Jake Browning threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, John Ross caught two scoring passes and returned a kickoff for another touchdown in his first game since the end of the 2014 season to help Washington win in Seattle. OU’s national championship hopes took a serious hit, especially since it faces Ohio State in two weeks and then hits the Big 12 gauntlet.
Whenever a “kick six” is involved, you can’t really give a good grade. The Sooner offense got away from that in the second half, becoming more one dimensional.
“You know you have to cover it, but the personnel on the field isn’t the best cover guys because the best cover guys wouldn’t be able to protect the field goal”, OU coach Bob Stoops said. Simply put, a field goal team is not created to cover a kick return. If only one or two of these 50/50 plays went Oklahoma’s way, the outcome probably wouldn’t have changed.
Houston: The last time the Cougars were ranked in the top five was 1990, when they reached No. 3. Offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley defended the offensive line.
But Saturday belonged to the Cougars. The Group of 5 can claim Houston, but can they keep them?
There is still a lot of football to be played, and it will be hard for a non-Power Five team to be invited to the CFP.
“They made every play that they were supposed to”, Sooners cornerback Jordan Thomas said. Fifth-ranked LSU swaggered into the Green Bay Packers’ home stadium with one of the best running backs in the country in Leonard Fournette.
Right now, Houston isn’t anxious about getting into the Big XII. In his first season following a 38-24 New year’s Day bowl win over Florida State, the Cougars under Herman were ranked number eight in both the AP and the Coaches Poll, their highest finish since 1979.
Madre Harper recovered a muffed punt in the end zone for Oklahoma State’s first points of the season.
He looked like he might throw the ball out of bounds but instead stepped up and found Lunnell Bonner for a 16-yard gain that not only gave Houston the first down but put the Cougars in field-goal range.
So it sounded less realistic – in playoff terms – when USC Coach Clay Helton insisted “one game does not make a season”.
UCLA overcame a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter, tying the game on a 62-yard pass by Rosen and a 2-point conversion with 2:39 left.
Ward was excellent, throwing for 323 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. I’ll pin this one on the play calling. Their combined 12 rushes are the lowest by the duo since totalling 16 in the loss to Texas last season. He pieced together drive after drive and seemed to always come up with points. The Sooners threw a lateral to wide receiver Dede Westbrook with the intention of him hitting fullback Dimitri Flowers on a deep pass.
Houston made the most of those well-deserved taglines. The Jaguars had been 0-4. Ohio State hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent since it was beaten by Oberlin in 1921.
Houston alum and broadcaster extraordinaire Jim Nantz was decked out in his Cougar red and gushed afterward, “Can’t we bolster the Big 12?”
Broncos quarterback Zach Terrell passed for 218 yards and a touchdown on 26-of-36 passing. Now 14-1 under Herman, the second-year head coach’s culture is fully instilled.
The Broncos are a favorite to win the MAC, and Terrell is a big reason for the team’s success.
Can the Broncos add another Big Ten foe to their victim list in two weeks when they travel to Champaign for a tilt against IL?
The run was huge for Boston College, which isn’t known for it’s offense.
Henderson scored Southeastern Louisiana’s only touchdown on a 26-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. It was a nice ending for Mills, who fumbled earlier in the game.
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Its front seven stocked with a rotation of athletes, Houston didn’t allow Oklahoma a yard of space around the trenches. It was the program’s first game outside of the U.S.in its 124-year history. OU has won nine straight September games and 19 of its last 20 dating back to 2009.
