Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (C) leads the team onto the field to play the Pittsburgh Panthers at Heinz Field. Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Talking Point: It’s time for some Big Ten coaches to start worrying.
When Penn State plucked head coach James Franklin from Vanderbilt to replace outgoing miracle worker Bill O’Brien, the conventional wisdom was that the Nittany Lions had effectively set themselves for the future. Franklin was young and exciting, the type of coach to whom recruits flock, and he’d be there to guide Penn State’s ascent back to glory along with full scholarship numbers.
That has not exactly happened.
Franklin’s first two teams went 7-6 with some curious losses, and with Saturday’s 42-39 setback to Pittsburgh and the Big Ten East schedule waiting, another dance with .500 looks like it’s coming. Pittsburgh rolled up 432 yards of offense, including 341 on the ground. Every bit as disconcerting, Pitt converted all six of its trips to the red zone into touchdowns, including a third down, 12-yard shovel pass to Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor James Conner to put the Panthers up by 11 with 10:24 left in the game.
What Franklin really needs to contend with, though, is that the signs of improvement – that this is going to be on the level of past great Penn State teams – simply aren’t there. Running back Saquon Barkley might be the best in the nation, but he’s in for a long season of work as the Penn State offensive line continues the struggles that had short-circuited the team’s offense when quarterback Christian Hackenberg was under center. Pitt’s strong up front, but not markedly stronger than last year when it boasted the 44th-best rushing game in the nation.
The good news for Franklin is that Penn State gets Ohio State, Michigan and Iowa at Beaver Stadium this year. The bad news is that unless the lines get markedly better, those games might be very uncomfortable Saturdays for approximately 100,000 Nittany Lions partisans in attendance.
Franklin’s not alone in needing to worry about his future. Darrell Hazell hasn’t improved Purdue at all in his three-plus seasons at the helm, and the Boilermakers just got throttled by Cincinnati, 38-20, in a game that wasn’t really that close. Quarterback David Blough threw five picks in the loss, so his quest to become Hazell’s winningest quarterback with his third victory – not a typo – must wait another week. Hazell probably won’t be back next season, and it’ll probably take some charity from Purdue’s administration to keep him around through November.
Also, keep an eye – just an eye, not a lot – on Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern, who just dropped to 0-2 after losing 9-7 to FCS Illinois State, who had been 0-9 against the Big Ten coming into the weekend. The Northwestern offense was downright anemic, which was troubling to see after the 22-21 loss to Western Michigan to open the year. Fitzgerald’s probably safe for now, but expectations were finally high for Northwestern, who came into the season ranked after a 10-3 campaign in 2015. Now that all that shine has quickly worn off, Fitzgerald’s back to being the guy who is 36-44 in Big Ten play and has one bowl win in 10-plus seasons. What happens when the Northwestern faithful think they can do better than this?
— Talking Point: It shouldn’t have happened, but the Central Michigan Hail Mary was the play of the year.
In one of the wildest finishes and biggest upsets in recent history, Central Michigan knocked off No. 22 Oklahoma State, 30-27, on a Hail Mary and lateral on the last play of the game. That there even was a “last play” of consequence for the Chippewas is the stuff of controversy; Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph threw the ball away to nobody on fourth down as time expired, and referees erroneously awarded Central Michigan an untimed down as a result. By rule, penalties with a loss of down aren’t supposed to result in an extra snap; the referees messed up.
What ensued was the stuff of legend; from the CMU 49, Chippewas quarterback Cooper Rush heaved a pass about 10 yards shy of the goal line to wide receiver Jesse Kroll; Kroll caught the pass, and lateraled back to WR Corey Willis in the midst of falling and being swarmed by defenders. Willis beat a Cowboys defender to the goal line, leaning the ball across for the winning score and stunning the crowd at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Strictly strategically, the play’s a thing of beauty; the initial Hail Mary pass goes short enough that the receiver has a chance to make the catch before the secondary can converge, and nobody would (or should) be covering the trailing player who receives the lateral, and he can sprint against the flow of the defense to open space. It takes flawless execution on several levels and a whole lot of luck, of course, but when everything clicks like it did for the Chippewas, well, it’s a thing of beauty – and the early frontrunner for the best college football play you’ll see this season.
— Talking Point: Once again, nobody’s on Alabama’s level.
No. 1 Alabama didn’t break much of a sweat dispatching Western Kentucky in the Crimson Tide’s home opener, 38-10. Western Kentucky isn’t terrible; the Hilltoppers snuck into the Top 25 last season and if they roll through the Sun Belt again, they might make a return trip to the rankings. Certainly they deserve some credit for keeping it closer against Alabama than Southern California did in the season opener.
Notably, though, No. 2 Clemson struggled hard against Troy (Troy!), winning only 30-24 and taking advantage of a controversial non-fumble in a late goal-line situation. No. 3 Florida State routed Charleston Southern, who was missing over a dozen players to suspension; it’s safe to say the 52-8 victory was, through no fault of FSU, not a proper opportunity to evaluate the Seminoles. No. 4 Ohio State took a while to get warmed up at home against Tulsa, and its only first-half touchdowns came on bad, bad pick-sixes. J.T. Barrett and the Buckeye offense eventually warmed up after the weather delay and coasted to a 48-3 victory, but it wasn’t a championship-level performance. No. 5 Michigan throttled visiting UCF, 51-14. Maybe that was good enough to hang with Bama. Maybe.
— Talking Point: Lamar Jackson just might be the Heisman frontrunner.
We’re still waiting for the nation’s preseason hype magnets to run up big numbers, and with LSU RB Leonard Fournette out against Louisiana-Monroe in Week 2, that wait’s going to continue even further.
Enter Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, who absolutely incinerated Syracuse on Friday night, leading the 13th-ranked Cardinals to a 62-28 victory. Jackson’s numbers are the stuff of video games: 20-for-39 passing for 411 yards and one touchdown, plus 199 yards and four more scores on the ground. He would have become the first player with 400 or more passing yards and 200 or more rushing yards in FBS history, but he took a loss on his last rush of the game before exiting in the name of mercy.
Jackson is a freak athlete and a talented passer, and while Syracuse’s defense is not-so-great … what’s everyone else’s excuse for not rolling up enormous stats against similarly weak competition? Jackson’s the real deal, and he’s staking an early claim for a trip to New York in December. If nothing else, he’s setting the bar high for the preseason favorites to match. Who’s next to step up?
