I was going to post a "G5 Games to Watch" thread yesterday and ran out of time before games started. But it turned into a heck of a day. These are stream of consciousness thoughts that were not necessarily in game order or fully watched games.
Extra notes:
- UNLV did what was expected. Potential loss of Marsel McDuffie is a problem. (Knee?)
- Boise State was back and forth with Oregon all game, losing on a walk off field goal. Two special teams TD for Oregon were the clear difference here. BSU lane discipline, angles, tackling on SPTMS were... not good. Also, they have a top 3 RB in the nation and Koetter went in the air with 2 timeouts and 3.5+ minutes to play. 3 n out and Oregon never gave them the ball back. BSU had every opportunity to win this game.
- Liberty absolutely stole one from Sanchez and NMSU. NMSU lead wire to wire except the last 65 seconds, the most important 65 seconds. NMSU lead 17-9 in the 4th quarter. A QB hit with no ball protection lead to a defensive TD for Liberty (17-15 NMSU). NMSU TD to put the lead to 9. Liberty rattles off 2 TD in the final 5:12. In their last two drives, NMSU had 9 plays for 14 yards in under 3 minutes. A complete implosion at the end.
- We all saw Northern Illinois's game-winning FG at Notre Dame. Of course, nationally this will probably get viewed as ND playing an awful game and NIU getting lucky. Notre Dame is a chosen few, they can't actually be overrated. I didn't watch any of that game except the field goal heard 'round the Bend. NIU outgained ND by over 100 and had a better 3rd down conversion rate. ND 2 interceptions thrown was the difference here.
- Early 4th quarter, South Florida trailed at Alabama by 21-16. Bama finished with 3 straight TDs to win 42-16.
- Tulane lead K-State most of the game. K-State offensive TD early 4th quarter to tie it up at 27, then a defensive TD to go up 34-27. Tulane had a TD taken off for OPI, and finished the game throwing a pick in the end zone; they got as far as the 2 yard line going in.
- I-35 Rivalry - Texas State steamrolled UTSA in San Marcos(?). Texas State had some G5 hype this season. They play ASU next week. I know it's just ASU, but that very well could be the only L on their schedule. Pay attention to Texas State as a possible "if they don't stumble, they get the spot" team.
- There are a few remaining undefeateds not named in the American. I don't expect 'em to remain undefeated long.
- Other than NMSU frustrations, C-USA went as expected. Except UTEP losing to Southern Utah. SUU earned the United Athletic Conference (UAC; it's the conference resulting the merged football programs from the WAC and ASUN, since neither had enough remaining teams to be eligible for a playoff spot without merging) it's first ever FBS win. Obviously not the first for SUU, we know about 12-13 years ago they beat UNLV.
- Bowling Green made a game of it with Penn State. BGSU lead 24-20 at half, but was outscored 14-3 in the second half.
- FCS St. Francis beat Kent State in the MAC.
- USU looks bad. Sure, they played USC. But they look bad. Also, Maiava played in the end of 3rd quarter and into 4th quarter for USC. Had a couple nice throws, good numbers for limited action. His TD run was pretty solid. Escaped some pressure, evaded a tackle or two, visible intentional ball protection, and found a huge mid-field lane.
- Idaho put Wyoming. The difference between Big Sky Idaho, MWC Wyoming, MWC BSU, and Big 10 Oregon is weird, and small. Jason Eck is a heckuva coach for Idaho. He's a Wisconsin alum, so getting to his alma mater might be a while. Idaho has made the FCS playoffs in both of his seasons as Vandals head man. Expect him to be a G5 head coach in the next couple seasons. Basically whenever he wants to.
- SJSU wins at Air Force 17-7. The first 21 points of this game scored in the first quarter. 17 punts, 3 TOD, 3 INT, and a partridge in a pear tree.
- Reno defense looked much better vs GASO than did Boise State's. But Reno has no Jeanty and lost 20-17. Lewis looks like a functional quarterback. Which is more than I could say of late.
- SDSU still sucks. 21-0 home loss to Oregon State
- Washington State convincing win over Texas Tech
Extra notes:
- Houston looked much better against Oklahoma than it did against UNLV, losing 16-12 in Norman. Houston QB was 24-28 for 280 and 1TD/1INT
- Kansas L on the road to Illinois. IMO a bummer. They won't be ranked, and they will have a bitter taste. Friday night can't come soon enough.
- Kyle McCord and Syracuse are much better than I thought they'd be. I have concerns about McCord picking apart our defense in a few weeks, especially with possibility that McDuffie is out.
