Can Jalen Hurd (1) and his Tennessee teammates end the losing streak to Florida? Photo Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome to Week Four of The Lowe Down.
I just wanted to make a quick point about coaching before we dab into this week’s games.
Two weeks ago, a big deal was made about Alabama head coach Nick Saban chewing out offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin on the sideline following a fumble that led to a Western Kentucky score as time wound down in the Crimson Tide’s 38-10 win over the Hilltoppers. Saban later called it an “ass chewing” in the postgame press conference, but I think the reason he did it was simple: to make his team — and coaches — better and to avoid complacency, which will get a team beat.
Look, Alabama’s success hasn’t just happened by waving a magic wand. It’s been achieved by acquiring talented players and pushing them to do all they can to become successful, not only on the football field, but in life. Sure, not every guy that enters into the Crimson Tide program will fit in, or for that matter, succeed, which is the case at every program. But a lot of them do succeed, and they leave the program as a better person and player, which brings me back to my point about the Saban-Kiffin over-hyped blowup.
Saban knew what was on the line the following week when Bama traveled to Ole Miss. He knew the importance of that game. And he knew that his team had to be sharp before it played a team that’s had its number. And he also knows that in today’s college football, and playing in the rugged SEC West, the margin for error is slim. That the difference from being a national champion and a Sugar Bowl champion (no offense) can be the difference between a fumble on a key possession or a touchdown on a key possession. And that’s why he’s close to tying Bear Bryant for the most national titles in Alabama history.
Complacency gets a team beat, and resiliency shows a team’s character. And last week, the Crimson Tide showed tremendous character by rallying from a 21-point deficit, on the road, with a freshman quarterback, to win.
Last week’s record was 13-7, bringing the yearly record to 44-17. To the games we go…
@MattLowe777
Friday, September 23
USC (1-2) at Utah (3-0) 8:00 p.m. CT
USC made a change at quarterback this week as head coach Clay Helton decided to roll with redshirt freshman Sam Darnold over junior Max Browne. Regardless of who the Trojans start behind center Friday night, they have a tall task ahead of them. Utah’s defense, which is always stingy, has been playing at a high level (15 sacks through three games) and the offense, despite the up and down play of quarterback Troy Williams, should be able to run the ball well enough to hammer out another win.
The Lowe Down: USC 17, Utah 24
Saturday, September 24
No. 12 Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC) at No. 23 Ole Miss (1-2, 0-1 SEC) 11:00 a.m. CT
The Bulldogs head back out on the road for a second consecutive week after a thrilling comeback win over Missouri last week, which was sparked by three touchdown passes by Jacob Eason. Eason’s played well (643 yards passing; five TDs with two interceptions) as the team’s primary quarterback, and he’ll need to be spot on facing an athletic Ole Miss defensive unit, but Georgia’s ability to move the ball on the ground — while keeping the Rebels’ high-powered offense off the field — with Nick Chubb will be huge in determining the outcome of this game. The Bulldogs don’t want to get into a shootout with Hugh Freeze’s team. But this game will more than likely turn into that.
The Lowe Down: Georgia 36, Ole Miss 38
No. 13 Florida State (2-1) at South Florida (3-0) 11:00 a.m. CT
Coming off one of the most embarrassing losses in FSU history, the ‘Noles better be ready to play when they visit Tampa to take on the Bulls in front of what should be a rowdy crowd at Raymond James Stadium. USF quarterback Quinton Flowers is no Lamar Jackson, but he’s a capable runner who seems to have really improved his game as a passer (716 yards and one INT). South Florida also features a quality tailback in Marlon Mack and an opportunistic defense, two components that could make this a really challenging game for FSU.
The Lowe Down: Florida State 30, South Florida 33
No. 11 Wisconsin (3-0) at No. 8 Michigan State (3-0) 11:00 a.m CT
Wisconsin will roll with new starting QB Alex Hornibrook, a lefty, after Bart Houston struggled to move the team in last week’s surprisingly tight win over Georgia State. Hornibrook, a redshirt freshman, has good size (6-4, 215) and a strong arm, but he has a tall task ahead of him making his first career start on the road in Spartan Stadium. Michigan State looks like a team that’s hitting on all cylinders at the moment and I expect another good showing from Mark Dantonio’s team here.
The Lowe Down: Wisconsin 13, Michigan State 24
No. 19 Florida (3-0, 1-0 SEC) at No. 14 Tennessee (3-0) 2:30 p.m. CT
Twelve years! Twelve cotton pickin’ years! That’s how long it’s been since the Vols have beaten the Gators. But sooner or later the law of averages has to come into play right? Florida was hit with a crushing blow last week when it lost starting QB Luke Del Rio to a knee injury, which means Austin Appleby, a former Purdue signal-caller, is the next man up. Appleby has never started against an SEC opponent, but he did start four games last year for the Boilermakers and passed for 1,260 yards and eight touchdowns, so he’s capable. And look, Florida is playing lights out defensively. I understand that. But this is Tennessee’s time to shine and I think they finally find a way to break this ridiculously long losing streak behind the play of quarterback Josh Dobbs, tailback Jalen Hurd and a veteran offense.
The Lowe Down: Florida 16, Tennessee 24
No. 18 LSU (2-1, 1-0 SEC) at Auburn (1-2, 0-1 SEC) 5:00 p.m. CT
Last year, Auburn was on the receiving end of a scattered, smothered and covered butt whippin’ at the hands of LSU in Baton Rouge. And although that might not happen this time around, there are too many question marks on offense, particularly at quarterback, to think the Tigers — from Lee County — will have enough scoring oomph to knock off Les Miles’ bunch. Auburn’s defense has played great all season long, and it will likely be looking to redeem itself for its embarrassing tackling performance against LSU tailback Leonard Fournette a year ago. But no defense — I don’t care who it is — can stay on the field the whole game and remain effective. If Auburn wants to turn its season around, it has to start scoring, and it needs to settle on a quarterback. But that seems more like a pipe dream rather than reality.
The Lowe Down: LSU 19, Auburn 13
Oklahoma State (2-1) at No. 16 Baylor (3-0) 6:30 p.m. CT
It’s tough to get a read on Baylor at the moment. One minute the Bears offense looks discombobulated, the next it looks unstoppable, especially on the ground. Now a lot of the inconsistency can be attributed to four new starting offensive linemen and a new cast of wideouts, who quarterback Seth Russell is still building a rapport with, but a lot of what’s holding the Bears back is quite simple: mistakes (penalties, turnovers, dropped passes etc.) Oklahoma State brings its high-powered offense into Waco after a character-building win over Pitt a weekend ago. The Cowboys, behind quarterback Mason Rudolph, who is coming off a school-record 540 yards passing, will be a stern test for a Baylor defense that’s been surprisingly stingy to open the year. But in the end, Baylor gets it done in front of the home crowd.
The Lowe Down: Baylor 48, Oklahoma State 39
No. 7 Stanford (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) at UCLA (2-1) 7:00 p.m. CT
Limiting Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey will be crucial if UCLA wants to knock off Stanford and get a leg up on the competition in the Pac-12 South. If that’s going to happen, the Bruins will need another strong performance from their defense, which they received in last week’s hard-fought 17-14 win at BYU. UCLA’s D limited the Cougars to only 23 yards on the ground. It also sacked Taysom Hill four times and picked him off once. If the Bruins can slow McCaffrey on defense, the offense, led by gunslinger Josh Rosen, should put up enough points to get Jim Mora’s team a huge home win.
The Lowe Down: Stanford 23, UCLA 28
No. 17 Arkansas (3-0) vs. No. 10 Texas A&M (3-0, 1-0 SEC) (Cowboys Stadium) 8:00 p.m. CT
The Aggies are coming off an impressive road win at Auburn and look to take charge of the SEC West division with a victory. Former Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight has fit right into new coordinator Noel Mazzone’s offense and is playing well, as is rookie tailback Trayveon Williams. Combine that with the improved play of Texas A&M’s defense, which is led by a terrific pair of ends in Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall, and the Aggies look like they have what it takes to potentially challenge Alabama as the best team in the division. But Arkansas won’t be a pushover. Quarterback Austin Allen has stepped in for his brother and is playing lights out, and the Razorback receiving corps, led by Drew Morgan, is one of the more underrated casts in the SEC. But a matchup to watch will be Arkansas’ smaller DBs against Texas A&M’s talented receiving corps, which has size. If the Aggies can win the one-on-one matchups, then Arkansas’ D may have its hands full.
The Lowe Down: Arkansas 23, Texas A&M 32
In other Saturday games:
Iowa 30 at Rutgers 20
Ken State 7 at No. 1 Alabama 45
Boise State 30 at Oregon State 22
Pittsburgh 33 at North Carolina 30
Penn State 10 at No. 4 Michigan 33
BYU 24 at West Virginia 34
Colorado 37 at Oregon 45
No. 20 Nebraska 26 at Northwestern 23
California 55 at Arizona State 62
No. 9 Washington 45 at Arizona 23
