Takeaways from College Football Week 10: Notre Dame makes a statement, Utah is locked in
· Yahoo Sports
College football is unpredictable and delightful, which is why we live for what happens on Saturdays. And Week 10 absolutely delivered, from a historic Holy War to the showdown in South Bend and everything in between.
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Each Sunday, I’ll publish my biggest takeaways from the college football weekend. I’ll highlight the most interesting storylines, track College Football Playoff contenders and specifically shout out individual and team performances that deserve the spotlight.
1. Notre Dame left no doubt. That’s a College Football Playoff team.
I’ll give the CFP selection committee this: At least it was honest with Notre Dame this time. The committee didn’t pull the rug out from under the Irish in the 11th hour like it did last year. It said, quite clearly, that Notre Dame had to beat Miami if it wanted a shot at the Playoff. The Irish didn’t have any top-25 wins, and that needed to change if they wanted to merit consideration.
Notre Dame played like a team with its back against the wall. The Irish were motivated and focused, prepared to take it to the Hurricanes right from the jump. The Notre Dame defense was disruptive and made life difficult for quarterback Darian Mensah (for the first half, at least). This was a performance from a team that believed it was one of the nation’s best — and wanted the chance to prove that on the field come December. The Irish didn’t want to leave it in the hands of a selection committee. They didn’t want to leave anything in doubt. So, they took care of business in a game they had to win.
Oh, and by the way: CJ Carr is the Heisman favorite now.
2. Miami seems … fine?
I expected the Hurricanes’ offense to look far more one-dimensional without star receiver Malachi Toney. I know Darian Mensah’s completion percentage was way down from where it’s been, but we all saw the throws (and scrambles) he made in the second half. We saw the connections he built with Cooper Barkate and Elija Lofton. Obviously, I hope we see Toney back soon. But in the meantime, I feel like Miami’s offense might not look too different? I’m definitely concerned about the secondary, but I don’t think the weaknesses we saw against Notre Dame will be a problem for the ‘Canes until they, too, get to the CFP.
3. Utah has all but locked up a spot in the Big 12 title game. The College Football Playoff, too.
The Utes are 9-0 after beating BYU in the first top-10 matchup in Holy War history. Devon Dampier was electric. It was a huge moment and a big win for a Utah team that is now one of college football’s last two unbeatens. Morgan Scalley deserves a ton of credit for pushing all the right buttons in Year 1 — and for keeping Dampier after Kyle Whittingham and Jason Beck left for Ann Arbor. These Utes run a fun, creative offense while still maintaining that tough, physical defensive identity. They are one of the few teams I trust in a season filled with upsets.
4. Has Texas turned a corner?
Possibly! That’s now three straight SEC wins for the Longhorns, who have figured out ways to win despite being undermanned due to injuries and gotten much more consistency out of quarterback Arch Manning. The Texas defense has been the team’s calling card all season, and it’s getting enough offensively to be in position to win these games and stay alive in the Playoff conversation. You could see how happy Steve Sarkisian looked on the sidelines in the final minutes of Saturday’s game. The vibes are good right now.
5. Nate Sheppard deserves more love.
I don’t know if Duke’s star running back is going to get enough attention to get to New York City as a Heisman finalist. But we’ve got to give him his flowers — especially after he singlehandedly gained more yardage in Saturday’s game than the entire NC State offense. Sheppard is now over 1,000 rushing yards on the season and 21 total touchdowns.
6. Ohio State’s sudden freefall is going to cost Jeremiah Smith the Heisman Trophy.
And it sucks for the best player in the sport that he won’t be recognized as such.