The Dawgs Suffocate the Gator Offense, Indiana Escapes Again, USC Stuns the Buckeyes

Dawgbone Jr's Weekend Observations: Born barkin', raised on Kirby's domination of rivals, and fueled by SEC and National championships - Dawgbone Jr recaps the weekend's biggest games all season long.

The Dawgs Suffocate the Gator Offense, Indiana Escapes Again, USC Stuns the Buckeyes

#22 Arizona 26, #13 Texas Tech 34

With both teams in the Big 12 and each already carrying a loss, this felt like an elimination game, and the Red Raiders earned a huge bounce-back win. New Texas Tech starting QB Thomas Castellanos didn’t do much through the air, but he gave Arizona problems on the ground with 117 rushing yards and a touchdown. RB J’Koby Williams added 175 yards and a touchdown as Texas Tech ran all over the Wildcats. The other side of the ball was the opposite story, as Arizona managed just 12 rushing yards. Arizona QB Noah Fifita had another great game in what has been a great season, but he got zero help from his running backs and offensive line. Texas Tech is not the same team as last year, but the QB change could help them reach the playoff for the second year in a row. Their schedule down the stretch isn’t very difficult, so they have a great chance to be one of the 12 teams.

#17 Florida 8, #3 Dawgs 27

It feels great to beat the Gators for the sixth straight time. To the fans complaining about the offense, just be happy that the Dawgs currently own Florida. It was a tough day for the Georgia offense, but my gosh, did the defense suffocate the Gators. There has been so much talk about RB Jadan Baugh being one of the best running backs in college football, and he finished with just 38 yards. The Dawgs defensive line struggled against Auburn but bounced back with its best game of the season, including four sacks. Last year the sacks were lacking, but this year the defensive line and linebackers have gotten to the QB plenty of times. The best thing the defense did was create turnovers. Georgia won the turnover battle easily, forcing four Gator turnovers, including another scoop-and-score touchdown from Chris Cole. Gunner did not have his best game, but he didn’t turn the ball over, and even while struggling through the air he ran the ball well. As a team, Georgia ran the ball pretty well, finishing with 217 yards and two touchdowns. The Dawgs have a very tough one next week and will need to be well prepared heading into Oxford, but man, it feels good to whoop the Gators again.

Minnesota 16, #4 Indiana 23

Even though Minnesota lost in overtime, they played terribly, because Indiana gave them so many opportunities that the Gophers just couldn’t capitalize on. First of all, this was about the worst special teams performance I’ve ever seen, at least until Indiana’s 60-yard field goal. The Hoosiers missed two bad field goals and had a couple of shanked punts. They also lost the turnover battle and played most of the game with a backup QB. With all that being said, Minnesota still couldn’t get the job done. The Golden Gophers’ offense was a joke, and Indiana had about double their yardage. QB Drake Lindsey did not look like the veteran he is, and the offensive line did little to help him. Minnesota also completely choked the game away. When they made a long field goal to make it 16-13, I thought there was no way Indiana could tie it up. But on the very next play, WR Charlie Becker made a 25-yard catch that set up the game-tying field goal. Becker had an incredible game and keeps showing he is a top-five WR in college football. Anyway, Indiana escapes again, primarily because of a choke job from Minnesota.

#1 Miami 38, North Carolina 35

Once again Miami struggled with a mediocre ACC team, but unlike in past seasons, they are winning these games. The Hurricanes didn’t have as good a night on the ground as they should have, but QB Darian Mensah continues to play like the best QB in the country. He went 22/29 for 274 yards and three touchdowns. WR Malachi Toney had seven catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns while being double-teamed all night. The offense was fantastic, but the defense was awful. UNC QB Billy Edwards Jr. threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns, and the Tar Heels averaged 10 yards per pass attempt. This is not the first time this year the Miami defense has been gashed by an ACC opponent. That could be a problem against Notre Dame next week, because the Irish offense is much better than North Carolina’s.

#2 Ohio State 18, USC 30

Playing without starting QB Julian Sayin was a major concern for Ohio State heading into this game, but backup Luke Fahey was not the problem. The Buckeyes defense was terrible on Saturday. They gave up way too many explosive plays and could not tackle. The Trojans had little trouble throwing or running the ball, which is uncharacteristic against Ohio State’s defense. The Buckeyes offense had some success but was horrible in the red zone, scoring just one touchdown on four trips. Some bad penalties also cost them points. USC was terrible on offense against Wisconsin, but they were firing on all cylinders on Saturday. QB Jayden Maiava took care of the football, and his receivers made some incredible plays. USC keeps its playoff hopes alive, but with Indiana and UCLA still on the schedule, I doubt they’ll make it. The Buckeyes looked bad, but I still believe they’ll make the playoff because the rest of their schedule isn’t too bad.

Other Thoughts

Trinidad Chambliss had a great bounce-back game against Auburn.
Wisconsin had the worst performance of the year from any team in college football.
Indiana should roll with backup QB Grant Wilson.
BYU has struggled badly since beating Notre Dame.
Will Muschamp is the best defensive coordinator.
Utah is a wagon.
Wake Forest can definitely beat Miami and win the ACC.

Week 10 Game Predictions (10-3 last week)

Nebraska 20, Illinois 21
BYU 21, Utah 31
UCLA 17, Minnesota 16
Texas 24, Missouri 23
Clemson 28, Syracuse 21
Texas A&M 17, South Carolina 31
Oregon 17, Ohio State 30
Alabama 24, LSU 31
Penn State 13, Washington 20
Kentucky 20, Tennessee 23
Miami 31, Notre Dame 34
Georgia 31, Ole Miss 27
Iowa 17, Northwestern 20
Oklahoma 13, Florida 24

Dawgbone Jr (aka Bennett Wiggins)