College football winners and losers: Michigan welcomes USC to the Big Ten
Another Saturday of college football. Here are some of the weekend’s most notable winners and losers:
Michigan (winner)
Michigan welcomed Southern California to the Big Ten … in about as Big Ten of a fashion as anyone could have dreamed.
The Wolverines rolled up 290 rushing yards – 159 of them by Kalel Mullings – and dispensed with even the slightest interest in offensive balance by powering past the Trojans, 27-24, in Ann Arbor on Saturday in the conference opener for both teams.
Michigan Coach Sherrone Moore announced a quarterback switch last week, moving from former walk-on Davis Warren to junior Alex Orji. Then Orji attempted just 12 passes, completing seven for 32 yards.
It didn’t matter much.
The Wolverines leaned into their strengths – running the ball and defense – and delivered from the outset. Mullings had a 53-yard scoring play in the first quarter. Donovan Edwards rushed 41 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0. And Will Johnson brought a Miller Moss interception back for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Nonetheless, this was a Southern Cal team with a bit more gumption than its immediate predecessor. The Wolverines (3-1, 1-0) mustered just nine yards on 13 plays in their first five possessions of the second half. Four of those resulted in punts. A fifth produced a fumble that set up the Trojans (2-1, 0-1) for a go-ahead touchdown. There’s little chance that would have happened last year.
But Michigan still had Mullings, who broke multiple tackles to rush for a 63-yard gain just before the two-minute stoppage to reach the red zone, and later followed his fullback’s block for a one-yard touchdown run with 37 seconds left.
The Trojans managed a first down but nothing more on the ensuing possession as Michigan locked up a victory – and a change of approach – that could galvanize its season after getting clubbed at home by Texas two weeks ago.
Perhaps this won’t work so well in every outing. Maybe Orji will need to do more with his arm. But the Wolverines clearly decided that if they were going down, it would be with what they do best. They did it just well enough Saturday in the Big House, an old-school, grind-it-out effort that would fit in nearly any era of the Big Ten.
#Pac12AfterDark (winner)
With only two schools technically occupying membership in the Pac-12, it figured to be difficult to generate too many delightfully delirious moments from league members this season.
Yet Washington State obliged well after Friday night turned into Saturday morning on the East Coast, outlasting San José State, 54-52, in double overtime in a game that perfectly fits into the bonkers ethos college football fans long came to expect from the Left Coast league.
(It also almost single-handedly demonstrated the CW Network made a wise choice to acquire a package of Oregon State and Washington State games this season).
The Cougars (4-0) led 24-17 at the half, then allowed all 21 points scored in the third quarter. They responded with 19 points in a row, only for San José State (3-1) to go ahead 46-43 with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 26 seconds remaining. But Washington State needed just three plays to set up Dean Janikowski’s 52-yard field goal as regulation ended.
Overtime was its own adventure, with both teams throwing interceptions on their second play before scoring in the second extra period. Washington State converted its two-point conversion, and the Spartans didn’t.
A 54-52 game that unfolds in that fashion is always going to be a bit wacky. But spiritually, it’s only all-too-perfect to wear the mantle of the Pac-12’s particular brand of zaniness.
Missouri (winner, barely)
The Tigers (4-0, 1-0 SEC) closed out its opening homestand with a 30-27 double-overtime defeat of Vanderbilt, sealing it only when Commodores kicker Brock Taylor’s 31-yard attempt to push the game into a two-point conversion contest hooked to the left.
So what is there to make a third of the way into the season of Mizzou, which had actual high-end expectations after going 11-2 last season and brought much of its offense (including star wideout Luther Burden III) back?
Well, to state the obvious, they’re a lot better when Burden is involved. He caught six passes on 10 targets; the first reception capped a long touchdown drive in the first quarter, and the last was a first-play strike in the first overtime period.
But even going back to last week’s slow start against Boston College, the Tigers are vulnerable. Vanderbilt stitched together a pair of five-minute scoring drives. Missouri’s offense couldn’t string first downs together in the final 20 minutes of regulation. It made just three of six field goals (but got the one that counted to open the second overtime).
Mizzou hasn’t lost, and that counts for something. But it hasn’t played in such overwhelming fashion that it’s proved much. That will come soon enough; the Tigers play four of their next six on the road.
Utah (winner)
Cam Rising was supposed to start at quarterback for the Utes at Oklahoma State, at least until he went through warmups wearing a protective glove and ultimately didn’t play. Freshman Isaac Wilson stepped in to toss for 207 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
But here’s the thing: The Utes are going to do what they do – and be plenty effective – for reasons that go far beyond a quarterback.
A strong offensive line opened enough holes for Micah Bernard to rush for 182 yards. The Utah defense thoroughly controlled the line of scrimmage, ceding 48 yards on 15 carries.
It was the foundation of a 22-19 victory as the Utes won their first Big 12 league game and improved to 4-0 overall.
There is something reassuring about Utah’s steadiness and its time-tested principles – establish the run, stop the run, collect a bunch more victories than losses – even as opponents and leagues and even the general framework of college sports change.
It might not be enough to win a national title, but it certainly can keep the Utes in playoff contention, especially now that they’ve knocked off one of the best programs in their new league after migrating from the Pac-12 since last season.
Northern Illinois (loser)
Two weeks after winning at Notre Dame, the Huskies lost, 23-20, at home to Buffalo.
Well, that was fun while it lasted for Northern Illinois (2-1, 0-1 Mid-American Conference), which won’t remain in the national rankings next week but remains a viable contender in its league even with Saturday’s misstep.
James Madison (winner)
Two weeks ago, the Dukes were booed at halftime of their 13-6 victory over visiting Gardner-Webb.
Saturday, James Madison dropped a school-record 53 points in the first half at North Carolina in what eventually became a 70-50 victory.
To reiterate: James Madison hung half-a-hundred (plus three!) and 418 total yards in the first half on an ACC team – on the road.
(Put another way: North Carolina gave up 10.45 yards per play in the first half at home. That’s not a flattering stat for first-year defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, who was last seen presiding over largely overmatched Georgia Tech teams as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach from 2019 to the first month of the 2022 season).
That the Dukes (3-0) have settled in nicely at the Football Bowl Subdivision level is well established. They went 8-3 in 2022, then uncorked an 11-2 season in 2023 that included a defeat of Virginia. Then came the surest sign of a quality program: A power conference school came calling for their coach. (In this case, Curt Cignetti left for Indiana.)
But things are going just fine under Bob Chesney, and quarterback Alonza Barnett III is a big part of it. He threw for 388 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 99 yards and two scores against the Tar Heels (3-1).
He was hardly the only thing to go well for James Madison. It returned a blocked punt for a touchdown. It had a pick-six just before halftime. It forced five turnovers and maintained a double-digit margin for the last 40 minutes of the game.
Beating up on North Carolina doesn’t guarantee another 10-win season. Yet it does demonstrate considerable game-over-game progress for the Dukes, who did hear boos for the second consecutive outing – only this time they were directed at an opponent.
North Carolina State (loser)
The returns from the Wolfpack in the first month of the season are not flattering. It eventually shook off Western Carolina and Louisiana Tech in its two home games. It was blown out in Charlotte by Tennessee. And now it has a 59-35 loss to Clemson to its credit – a game it trailed 52-7 by the time the Tigers’ offensive starters ended their day.
Coaches like to talk about complementary football, and N.C. State (2-2, 0-1 ACC) produced the exact opposite of that in the first quarter. Clemson’s offense encountered little resistance, and it also got to start two possessions in Wolfpack territory thanks to turnovers. Less than 13 minutes in, it was 28-0.
Some of this is probably indicative that Clemson (2-1, 1-0) has a bit more to it than it showed in its opening loss to Georgia. But that’s two lopsided defeats for the Wolfpack, which is probably fortunate its ACC schedule includes neither Miami nor Louisville – arguably the two teams most likely to contend with Clemson for a conference title.
Army (winner)
Life in the American Athletic Conference is suiting the Black Knights just fine. Army (3-0, 2-0) followed up a victory over Florida Atlantic two weeks ago as Bryson Daily rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns and tacked on two more scores through the air in a 37-14 defeat of Rice (1-3, 0-1).
The Black Knights have allowed only 28 points in their first three games, and their next two league opponents – Temple and Tulsa – entered the weekend with a combined 1-5 record. It’s a good situation for Army to find itself in after back-to-back 6-6 seasons.
Mississippi State (loser)
One of the most pressing questions from Saturday’s early afternoon window is basic: How bad are the Bulldogs?
The matter-of-fact answer is they’re 1-3 with trips to Texas and Georgia coming up next, so at minimum they’re not particularly good with a bleak short-term forecast.
But here’s the thing: They received a visit Saturday from Florida, which itself got humiliated at home by Miami and Texas A&M in the first three weeks. The Gators are the epicenter of coaching carousel discussions amid their struggles under third-year coach Billy Napier.
And what happened? Florida never trailed in a 45-28 victory as quarterback Graham Mertz completed 19 of 21 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns.
It was definitely not the follow-up Mississippi State wanted after an even less competitive 41-17 loss to Toledo a week ago. And with six currently ranked opponents still to come, the Bulldogs could end up a serious contender for the worst power conference team at season’s end.
Illinois (winner)
The Fighting Illini emerged from Friday’s showdown of Big Ten unbeatens, surviving, 31-24, in overtime at Nebraska to improve to 4-0.
Luke Altmyer threw for four touchdowns – two of them to Pat Bryant, including the winner in extra time – as the Illini extended their best start since 2011.
The victory required a little good fortune – the Cornhuskers’ John Hohl missed a 39-yard field goal with 2:59 left in regulation – but none of it was needed in overtime. Illinois took just two plays to score, then forced Nebraska into a borderline incomprehensible third and 42 thanks to a false start and two sacks before ending the game two snaps later with yet another sack.