ICYMI: NINE overtimes and a wild 4th down conversion

From Coach Orgeron falling from greatness to Lane Kiffin nearly being bonked on the head by a golf ball, college football has been a wild ride recently.

Whether or not you still have hope for this TCU football team, sometimes it’s nice to “take a step back” and look at the big picture. Instead of droning on and on about the what-ifs and what could have beens for the Frogs this season, let’s look at some of the biggest plays, upsets, and even memes from this past weekend of college football.

Kansas holds Oklahoma scoreless at halftime

So close, yet so far. The Jayhawks nearly pulled off a miracle in Lawrence over the weekend giving the No. 3 ranked Sooners a run for their money.

This was the first time since 2015 the Sooners had a scoreless half, and to make things even better the Jayhawks first punt of the game didn’t come until the 4th quarter. How did all this happen? No idea, but I love it.

A better question would be where the hell was this slow start for Oklahoma a week ago? Not trying to make excuses for the Frogs, but a scoreless first half from OU would have gone a loooong way.

Kansas was in this game until the very end, but after giving up multiple fourth down conversions in crunch time the Sooners would roll to a 35-23 win.

Caleb Williams did a thing

Sticking with the same game, this was without a doubt the play of the weekend. On a 4th and 1 play to potentially seal the game for Oklahoma, Kennedy Brooks appeared to be tackled for a loss but somehow, someway, Caleb WIlliams ripped the ball out of his own teammate’s hands to run for the first down.

I can’t put into words how frustrating it was to watch this play transpire live. Other than the state of Oklahoma, I’d like to think everyone was rooting for Kansas to pull off the upset and this play sealed the deal.

Caleb Williams is annoyingly good.

Penn St. and Illinois play to NINE overtimes

This was somehow the best and worst game of the weekend. Never in my time as a football fan have I seen a game reach nine overtimes. Seven? Sure. Never nine though.

This is partially thanks to the NCAA’s new overtime rules which I kind of love. In the past, teams would be forced to try for 2-pt conversions after every touchdown in the third overtime and beyond. Now, if the teams are still tied after two overtimes, each overtime period beyond that will consist of 2-pt conversions and 2-pt conversions only. No plays, no first downs, just a three-yard 2-pt conversion.

The overtime is best described as a flaming garbage can. Penn State and Illinois went on to miss TEN consecutive 2-pt conversions until FINALLY, Illinois pulled off the win after going down to their 3rd string quarterback.

I can’t tell what’s more unbelievable, that a game actually went nine overtimes or the fact that No. 7 Penn State lost at home to a 2-5 Bret Bielema led Illinois team.

Wake Forest and Army combine for 126 points

In 2020, Army football averaged a combined score of 41.5 per game. The Knights are infamous for a slow-paced, run-first brand of football and have always been a part of some of the lowest scoring games of the year, especially when they play Navy.

Wake Forest on the other hand has been one of the most explosive offenses in the country this year and completely controlled the pace of this game. Giving up 56 points to Army’s offense isn’t much to be proud of, but it doesn’t matter when you’re scoring 70+.

The Army defense isn’t much to be proud of either, but Sam Hartman ripped them apart like he was a create-a-player on Madden. 458 passing yards, 6 total TDs, 0 turnovers while completing 23 of 29 passes. Those are Heisman numbers right there, I don’t care who’s lining up on the other side of the ball.

What a year this would be if we ended up seeing Wake Forest in the ACC championship game.

Clemson is bad at football

Never thought I would say this, but not only have the Tigers dropped off from their consistent greatness, but they are just straight up not good at football this season.

Hindsight is 20/20, but the fact that DJ Uiagalelei was one of the preseason Heisman favorites is baffling. The sophomore QB threw for just 128 yards, 0 TDs and 2 interceptions on just 48% passing completion in a loss against Pittsburgh this past weekend.

To their credit, this is the best Pittsburgh team we’ve seen in a while, but normally this is a game Clemson should win by 20+.

Clemson raised some concerns with a 3-point performance against Georgia in their season opener, but that was brushed off considering the Bulldogs have one of the best defenses in the last decade. No one in their right mind would have predicted a downfall of this magnitude.

The Tigers rank 117th out of 130 in total offense, 124th in passing efficiency, and have just the 85th ranked rushing offense. In other words, not good.