There are only two weeks left in the regular season and there are only eight true contenders. None the less there are still great and noteworthy performances every week from teams all over the country that deserve recognition.
Even the less successful teams are still competing for better bowl games so even down of every game remains critical regardless.
Here are the top five studs and duds from week 11 of the 2018 college football season.
Stud: Clemson’s Defense
We all know how deadly Trevor Lawrence and the Clemson offense can be—they did just drop 77 points last week after all—but it’s time to start giving some credit to their defensive squad. Defensive Tackles Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins will both be first-round NFL draft picks, but the entire unit has shined throughout 2018.
Boston College may have been dealing with a number of injuries, including starting quarterback Anthony Brown, but they still have a large number of playmakers that were kept in check on Saturday Night. The Eagles were held to 113 total yards and never looked like they had any chance on offense. The four sacks by the Tigers also helped reduce that total yardage.
Clemson closes the season against South Carolina and Duke before meeting the ACC Coastal champion in the ACC championship game.
Dud: TCU
The Horned Frogs have highlighted the list of disappointing teams in 2018 and they laid yet another egg against the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday. They were routed 47-10 by their rivals and never looked like they had a pulse or any resemblance of fight in them.
The team actually managed to accumulate -7 total rushing yards and only found the end zone once after being forced to pass on virtually every play. Head Coach Gary Patterson has quite the rebuild ahead of him for the 2019 offseason.
Stud: Dexter Williams
Notre Dame has been fighting quite a bit of injuries at the quarterback position, but it hasn’t mattered much due to the stellar play of their starting running back. Even with their starting quarterback sidelined, the Fighting Irish ran all over the Florida State Seminoles due to a powerful rushing attack.
Dexter Williams ran for 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Fighting Irish ran wild. The team as a whole totaled 365 rushing yards on the afternoon and the offensive line completely dominated Florida State up front.
Lack of quality quarterback play won’t fly against a playoff team like Alabama or Michigan, but Notre Dame has been able to weather the storm throughout the regular season.
Dud: Oklahoma State Going For Two
The Cowboys and Sooners were locked into yet another thrilling showdown for the battle of Oklahoma, but it had a rather strange ending. Oklahoma held a 48-41 late, but Oklahoma State scored a late touchdown to potentially send the game to overtime. Rather than kicking the PAT, however, Mike Gundy opted to go for two and the win. They failed the two-point try and the Sooners won the football game.
Cowboys’ quarterback Taylor Cornelius threw for over 500 passing yards and the team totaled over 100 yards on the ground, but that performance was all for nothing as the team couldn’t convert the two-point try late.
I understand having confidence in your team’s offense, but going for two rather than taking your chances in overtime didn’t pay off and one has to wonder what could have been if they hadn’t played it so aggressively.
Stud: Qadree Ollison
Pitt has seen its fair share of struggles at the quarterback position all year long, but it hasn’t mattered because of their dominant rushing attack. They have three running backs that have the capability of easily being 1,000-yard rushers, but none of been better than Qadree Ollison.
The Panthers dropped 52 points on Virginia Tech while Ollison ran wild for 235 yards and a trio of touchdowns. His performance was so strong that quarterback Kenny Pickett only had to throw 11 passes.
Dud: Brian Lewerke
Brian Lewerke has been one of the weirder quarterbacks all season. Many have discussed him as a potential pro prospect, but he hasn’t played up to the hype this season. The Spartans were dominated by the Ohio State Buckeyes despite some great plays by the Spartans defense. Lewerke completed less than half of his passes, threw an ugly interception, and held a poor QBR of 8.9
Stud: Penn State’s Defense
The Nittany Lions were hurting after a blowout loss against the Michigan Wolverines, but their defense bounced back in a big way after allowing 35 points. Penn State held the Wisconsin Badgers to under 300 yards of total offense and only ten points. Nick Scott and Amani Oruwariye each recorded an interception and the team as a whole sacked Jack Coan five times. PSU had to weather the loss of Trace McSorley after a scary injury early on, but the defense rose to the occasion.
Dud: Iowa’s Ranked Status
It seemed as though Iowa was going to take over the Big Ten west with Wisconsin having a down season, but that has not been the case. The committee gave the Hawkeyes a flashy ranked status and they held a commanding 12-0 against Penn State last week, but it has been all downhill since.
Penn State took over that week 9 matchup and Iowa’s offense looked completely inept. The Hawkeyes followed that loss with a stunning upset by the hands of Purdue. This week it was Northwestern’s turn to knock off the Hawkeyes and officially kill their ranked status.
Stud: Alabama’s Defense … But You Already Knew That
I don’t need to say very much here. Alabama has the best defense in the country and it isn’t close. Last week they shutout out No. 3 LSU and this week they shut out the high octane Mississippi State offense. Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Clemson, or any of the other contenders will need a perfect game to beat this Alabama team.
Dud: JT Daniels
It has been a brutal season for the USC Trojans. They came into the season as a ranked powerhouse with playoff aspirations, but are now simply fighting for a winning record. True freshman quarterback JT Daniels was hyped to be one of the best in the nation … but he hasn’t looked right.
Not all of USC’s issues have been his fault but he has made a number of head-scratching decisions throughout the year. The Trojan’s offense devolved into Daniels simply chucking the ball up and hoping someone makes a play. He threw for 180 yards and two touchdowns against Cal on Saturday, but he didn’t look as good as his stat line.
