Six weeks are in the books and the list of title contenders continues to shrink. Alabama and Clemson were both on bye but the college football world had a thrilling week regardless. Here are the top five studs and duds from Week 6.
Stud: Penn State’s Pass Rush
Penn State is off to a 5-0 start thanks to an unrelenting defense led by their dominant front four. Penn State’s offense might have hit a wall in the third quarter on Saturday, but Brent Pry’s defense was an unstoppable force for the full 60 minutes. The Nittany Lions sacked Purdue quarterback Jack Plummer ten times and forced two fumbles. They also held the Boilermakers to -19 rushing yards.
Dud: Iowa’s Offense
Iowa had a chance for a huge road win against a reeling Michigan team, but Nate Stanley and the offense weren’t able to deliver. I have to give credit where credit is due, the Michigan Wolverine’s defense was fantastic on Saturday, but inept play calling and poor decisions didn’t help Iowa’s cause. Iowa turned the ball over four times (including three ugly Nate Stanley interceptions) and never found the end zone.
Stud: Jonathon Taylor
If a non-quarterback is going to win the Heisman Trophy this year, it is going to be Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor. Kent State might not be a very formidable opponent, but Taylor nonetheless racked up 215 total yards and five touchdowns. He’s the real deal.
Dud: The Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State made a big name for themselves last week with an upset win over a ranked Kansas State team, but they followed that by immediately getting upset by the hands of a suspect Texas Tech team. Quarterback Spencer Sanders turned the ball over five times and spoiled what was otherwise a fantastic game for running back Chuba Hubbard.
Stud: J.K. Dobbins
Ohio State is 6-0 and finally got their first signature win of the season with a dominant performance over No. 25 Michigan State. The Spartans dominate defense held the Buckeyes in check for a majority of the game, but running back J.K. Dobbins put the team on his back with 172 yards on the ground.
Dud: Boe Nix
Auburn and Florida gave us the first top ten matchup of the 2019 season, but Tigers quarterback Boe Nix wasn’t ready for the moment. It certainly wasn’t a pretty game for either quarterback, but Nix tossed three ugly interceptions while only completing 11 of his 27 passes. He finished the day with a QBR of 6.6 and Auburn’s SEC Championship hopes are suddenly on life support.
Stud: Oklahoma’s Running Game
Oklahoma was in a shockingly difficult spot on the road against Kansas, but they managed to survive thanks to an effective run game. Jalen Hurts had a solid performance passing the football, but his stats against Kansas were a far cry from what he’d done in the first five weeks. Luckily the team piled up 268 yards on the ground and effectively pulled away in the second half.
Dud: Cal’s Offense
I don’t need to go into the details about how bad Cal’s offense is. It’s bad, we knew it was going to be bad, and it is going to be bad for the foreseeable future. Losing your starting quarterback certainly doesn’t help things either, but the Golden Bears defense played out of their minds against Oregon and had nothing to show for it. Cal held Oregon off the scoreboard until the third quarter, but the Bears were never able to muster up a decently effective drive in the second half.
Stud: Sam Ehlinger
Oklahoma might’ve suffered a brief scare against Kansas, but Texas was in a dog fight with West Virginia for all four quarters. The Longhorns looked like they were in for a crushing road upset against West Virginia, but quarterback Sam Ehlinger pulled it together in the second half to give his team the win. His numbers weren’t very pretty, but he was still responsible for four touchdowns.
Dud: The Washington Huskies
As it was, the Pac 12 was going to need a miracle to put a team in the playoff, but Washington’s shocking loss to Stanford Saturday night effectively killed the conference’s national championship hopes. Quarterback Jacob Eason has not performed like the Huskies hoped he would and the defense hasn’t been dominant enough to carry the load. Pac 12 teams are now playing for a spot in the Rose Bowl.
Bonus Dud: The UCF Knights
The debates surrounding whether or not UCF should be in the playoff conversation can now be put to rest. The UCF Knights are not a top ten team and their schedule does not warrant berth in the College Football playoff. What fans should be debating is whether or not UCF should be ranked? They’ve now suffered losses to AAC rival Cincinnati as well as the Pittsburgh Panthers (a bottom tier ACC team).
