It was a glorious weekend for Ohio State fans, and the Buckeyes’ performance over Northwestern was hardly the biggest part of it.
Aside from Saturday’s slog in Evanston, several heavy hitters suffered setback defeats as Tennessee, Alabama and Clemson all went down in flames in Week 10. In the latest edition of Eleven Warriors’ stock report, we’re looking at all the biggest happenings across the world of college football as the College Football Playoff race is in full swing entering the middle of November.
Stock Up
C.J. Stroud’s mobility
Call it a silver lining? C.J. Stroud had his worst career game as a passer on Saturday, but his 79 yards on the ground will go a long way in silencing critics that have long said the redshirt sophomore refuses to run the ball. Stroud chewed up his most yards ever in the run game with just six rush attempts, and some of them were desperately needed in a game that was closer than it had any business to be.
Stroud’s 44-yard scramble was particularly important in the fourth quarter, as it set up a Miyan Williams touchdown that sealed the win for Ohio State late. It also doubled as the longest play of the day for the Buckeye offense, which could hardly complete a pass in the elements.
C.J. Stroud had a career-high 79 rushing yards in the win over Northwestern, including a number of different designed QB runs, something that fans have been hoping for all season.
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) November 5, 2022
Strouds running ability could be a game changer for Ohio States offense. pic.twitter.com/9hd4ZpgzTU
Georgia
So much for a storybook run through the SEC for Tennessee. Georgia brought Josh Heupel and company crashing down to earth with a 14-point win that saw the nation’s top offense limited to 289 yards of total offense and one touchdown on the day. The Bulldogs sacked Hendon Hooker six times as the Heisman favorite couldn’t even crack 200 yards through the air and threw a rare interception. Stetson Bennett had an efficient game with upwards of 250 yards and a pair of scores to help lead Georgia to a win over the hottest team in the sport.
Marcus Freeman
What an arc for the Irish. Notre Dame drops to Ohio State and Marshall to start the first full year under Marcus Freeman, but suddenly it’s knocked off top-flight teams in back-to-back weeks in the regular season's final month. The Irish claimed their best win of the season in Week 9, topping one-loss Syracuse with authority, and they one-upped themselves against Dabo Swinney and company on Saturday. Notre Dame blew Clemson out 35-14 to vault itself back into the AP poll and ousted the Tigers from the CFP conversation, at least for now, with their first loss of the season.
LSU
From unranked to No. 7 in the AP poll in a span of three weeks, Brian Kelly has LSU surging late in the season after a 32-31 win over Alabama. Arizona State transfer quarterback Jayden Daniels continues to be lethal as a dual-threat under center, finishing with three total touchdowns as the Tigers took the Crimson Tide to overtime and finished the job with a two-point conversion after their first touchdown of the extra period.
LSU didn’t appear primed to make much noise in Kelly’s first season after a season-opening loss to Florida State and a blowout defeat to Tennessee in mid-October. Still, all of a sudden, the Tigers have pulled off consecutive wins over Florida, Ole Miss and Bama to cement themselves as the third-highest-ranked team in the SEC.
TCU
Sonny Dykes’ first season in Forth Worth, Texas, is already TCU’s most successful since 2017. Holding a 9-0 record on the heels of a 34-24 win over Texas Tech, the Horned Frogs are now well-positioned for their first CFP berth following losses to several perennial title contenders. TCU’s primetime matchup with No. 18 Texas next weekend is the stiffest test remaining on its regular-season schedule, but if the Horned Frogs rack up a 10th win, they could be well on their way to a top-four spot when the final playoff rankings are determined next month.
Stock Down
Bad weather Buckeyes
When Michigan bullied the Buckeyes in the freezing cold and snow-covered conditions at the Big House last season, some wondered aloud how The Game might have been different if the weather wasn’t a factor. Unfortunately for Ohio State, there’s no way to hide from the elements in Big Ten country come November. The Buckeyes struggled with bad weather once again on Saturday, finishing with their fewest yards of total offense all season (283) as rain and wind made it nearly “impossible” to throw the ball, according to Ryan Day.
Ohio State still won, but questions about the Buckeyes’ ability to beat a higher-caliber opponent – Michigan, for example – in an inclement outdoor environment will only persist moving forward.
Run game
While the passing attack was far less spectacular, there was a good reason for that. Winds of 30-plus miles per hour and sideways rain cleared impacted C.J. Stroud’s ability to throw the ball and the Buckeye receivers’ capacity to catch it. Although the stats in the run game aren’t nearly as bad – Ohio State topped 200 yards for the first time since Week 6 and finished with three rushing scores – the questions about it are far more pervasive moving forward.
TreVeyon Henderson’s injury absence leaves uncertainty about the depth at the position, the interior line play continues to be shaky and Stroud’s 79-yard effort skewed the Buckeyes’ team rushing numbers. Take out Miyan Williams’ 27-yard touchdown run, and he would’ve averaged just 3.4 yards per carry against Northwestern, which had the 109th-ranked run defense in the country entering the weekend.
Tennessee
Four days after earning the No. 1 spot in the initial CFP rankings, the Volunteers fell victim to the reigning CFP champions to take their first loss of the season. In a matchup between perhaps the top offense and top defense in the nation, the latter reigned supreme as the Bulldogs essentially shut down Hendon Hooker and company to earn a two-touchdown win at home. The Vols won’t fall far after losing to the defending national champs, but their path to the CFP is certainly murkier now than it was before.
Heisman contenders
Regarding his Heisman Trophy candidacy, C.J. Stroud picked a good weekend to have an off day. Passing-wise, the Ohio State quarterback had the worst game of his college tenure on Saturday, completing just 10 of his 26 attempts and finishing with all of 76 yards. But things didn’t go well for several other top contenders for college football’s most prestigious individual honor either.
Both Hendon Hooker and Bryce Young suffered team losses, and although Young still put up big numbers, it was the second defeat of the year for Alabama. Tennessee’s loss was only its first, but Hooker played his worst game of the year as he failed to crack 200 passing yards or throw a touchdown pass, committed a rare turnover and finished with just 17 rushing yards on 18 attempts. That means even after a poor showing against Northwestern, Stroud still possesses the best odds to take home the Heisman entering Week 11.
The Georgia defense is having a DAY. pic.twitter.com/3fJIGfncry
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 5, 2022
Alabama
Entering the weekend, Alabama still seemed capable of running the table through the rest of the regular season, potentially avenging its lone loss in the SEC Championship Game and earning a spot in the CFP. After suffering a second regular-season defeat at the hands of LSU, though, the Crimson Tide will be on the outside looking in. Nick Saban and company dropped to No. 10 in the AP Top 25, and Saint Nick has now lost four games in his last 19.
Nick Saban is saying a LOT in this answer following #Alabamas 2nd loss of the season, effectively eliminating the Tide from the College Football Playoffs:
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) November 6, 2022
Look, I cant blame the players. Im responsible for all this stuff. So if we didnt do it right, thats on me. pic.twitter.com/5w96x78W1S
Clemson
The Tigers took a significant step back in their quest for a resurgent 2022 season on Saturday. Clemson was the lone unbeaten team in the ACC as it went on the road to South Bend over the weekend, but its 35-14 loss tanked the Tigers’ ranking a whopping seven spots in the AP poll to put them at No. 12 in the nation. Clemson can still make up ground in the CFP race, but it doesn’t exactly have the type of opponents on tap to make a big statement through the rest of the regular season.
Illinois
The Fighting Illini’s hot streak was officially snuffed out over the weekend as Bret Bielema and company took an eight-point loss to a Michigan State program that had previously dropped five of its past six games. Illinois debuted at No. 16 in the CFP rankings and climbed as high as No. 14 in the AP poll before the loss to Sparty, which will ensure the Illini are trending in the opposite direction.
