David Hale, ESPN Workforce Editor
Michigan received in a rout Saturday.
Lets’ve typed that sentence in any of the age seven weeks, and we almost certainly will scribble it once more in every of the then few. Heck, shall we’ve scribbled it onto a word card again in July, sealed it in an envelope and locked it inside of an uncrackable barricade, later opened it once more Saturday afternoon to precisely 0 fanfare at our prophetic brilliance. The Wolverines’ dominance is the least unexpected construction of the season.
There’s a just right case to be made that Michigan is the rustic’s very best crew. The weakness with that argument is the deficit of the rest coming near definitive proof, due to a agenda that has necessarily forged the Wolverines as Andy Reid in a Nineteen Seventies punt, move and kick pageant.
50 years in the past these days, Andy Reid used to be a head and shoulders above the residue of his punt, move, and kick pageant 😂@Chiefs pic.twitter.com/Yi992ibZ4O
— NFL Motion pictures (@NFLFilms) December 13, 2021
Saturday’s blowout got here towards Indiana, however that doesn’t topic. It regarded the similar towards ECU and UNLV, Nebraska and Minnesota. The most efficient crew Michigan has performed up to now could be Rutgers. The largest problem the Wolverines have confronted to this point may’ve been tying their sneakers.
It’s no longer Michigan’s fault, in fact, that two-thirds of the Large Ten is made up of groups that are meant to be dressed in purple Starfleet uniforms — simply cannon fodder for the large stars.
And it’s handiest in part Michigan’s fault the nonconference slate is so sinister. Who may just’ve foreseen Bowling Inexperienced failing to serve a real check? (Don’t resolution that.)
It’s no longer even in point of fact Michigan’s fault that its wins vs. such overmatched pageant had been so dim. It’s in part gradual begins, in part boredom, and for the primary 3 Saturdays of the season, in part as a result of their head educator used to be suspended and impaired that pace to place the completing touches on his YA brochure a few magical pair of time-traveling khakis sewn with enchanted tales via L.L. Bean himself.
The true tale of Michigan’s season calls for a deeper dive into the textual content. J.J. McCarthy has in fact blossomed into an all-around superstar at quarterback. He entered Saturday well-known the crowd in General QBR, and added to his tally towards Indiana, throwing for 3 touchdowns and averaging 13 yards consistent with move. The garden recreation remainder sturdy with Blake Corum treating finish zones like Kevin Hart treats motion pictures — he’s in they all. The protection hasn’t allowed a couple of touchdowns in a recreation but. The analytics all recommend Michigan’s dominance is distinguished, with maximum metrics suggesting the Wolverines had been the future’s maximum notable crew — this is, if observing LeBron dunk on a crew stuffed with second-graders is notable.
The narrative isn’t markedly other for Michigan’s archrival Ohio State both. Ohio Circumstance thumped Purdue on Saturday 41-7. Sure, the Buckeyes have a win over Notre Dame — at the street, in unsightly, low-scoring model — however the record of groups who’ve performed that over the age two years contains alternative luminaries like … Marshall and Stanford. The Buckeyes have a stud in receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., however the residue of the offense has been just like the last seasons of “The Walking Dead” — sometimes amusing, however most commonly we’re simply observing out of legal responsibility.
And in truth, that every one sounds a batch like Penn State, which hosted UMass for homecoming on Saturday, in a recreation by which the Minutemen have been forged within the roll of unsuspecting insect flight measured around the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Certain, the Nittany Lions held Iowa with no landing previous this season, nevertheless it’s additionally virtue recalling that Iowa had given up offense in September as a part of an intermittent fasting regimen. In the meantime, Penn Circumstance’s vaunted tailbacks had been a long way from electrical to this point this future, and newshounds are brazenly questioning why James Franklin doesn’t let his QB simply chuck it deep on every play like a inebriated man taking part in Madden.
The Ohio Circumstance-Penn Circumstance quandary a minimum of will probably be settled then time when the 2 face off in Columbus. Upcoming that, we’ll know for sure who Michigan’s true pageant for a Large Ten identify and a playoff berth could be.
However it’ll nonetheless be every other day sooner than we see Michigan play games any individual more likely to serve a lot of a check.
So, until you’ve were given your self a paranormal pair of time-traveling khakis, the true solutions on Michigan’s ceiling should wait a past longer.
Jordan Travis esteem category
Florida State demolished Syracuse on Saturday, 41-3, to stay undefeated. There’s no longer a lot to unpack right here — FSU is just right, Syracuse no longer such a lot — so let’s in lieu produce this a Jordan Travis esteem future.
Travis arrived at Florida State in 2019 and used to be successfully informed via the training workforce that he wasn’t a QB. When Mike Norvell took over as head educator, Travis introduced to modify positions. Whilst he led FSU to inside of a couple of issues of bowl eligibility on the finish of 2021, the overall consensus used to be Travis used to be a heck of a runner, however no longer a lot of a passer.
How foolish that every one sounds now.
Towards Syracuse, Travis threw for 284 yards and a landing (he additionally ran for 2 decrease rankings), in spite of taking part in with out certainly one of his govern receivers, Johnny Wilson. However over the age calendar future, the numbers are downright eye-popping: 65% completions, 3,035 yards, 26 landing passes and 3 alternatives and a 12-0 report.
The lesson right here: Willie Taggart’s concept for giveover backpacks wasn’t the worst determination he made at Florida Circumstance.
The alternative, extra impressive lesson: By no means dubiousness Jordan Travis.
JMU nonetheless unbeaten
Jordan McCloud threw for 259 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 41-13 win over Georgia Southern, giving James Madison its maximum emphatic victory since settingup the precedent of judicial evaluate — or a minimum of thumping Bucknell in Presen 1.
JMU is now 6-0 at the season and 14-3 since transferring up from FCS in 2022.
The Dukes’ protection has been great, and McCloud has emerged as one of the vital top transfer QBs of 2023 nearest spending the primary 5 years of his occupation at Arizona and USF.
JMU’s praise for all of this luck? It received’t be a Solar Belt identify recreation look or a bowl recreation — either one of which might be off limits for the reason that Dukes are nonetheless in Pace 2 in their transition to FBS.
It’s a silly rule, in fact, however the NCAA has at all times been a host of Federalists.
Colorado collapses in non-High pace
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Deion Sanders questions his crew’s love for soccer
Deion Sanders reacts to Colorado’s abundance blown top in its loss to Stanford and questions whether or not his crew can fit his hobby.
Credit score the place it’s due: Deion Sanders saw it all coming.
“Who makes these 8 o’clock games?” Sanders requested closing time. “Dumbest thing ever. Stupidest thing ever invented in life. Who wants to stay up until 8 o’clock for a darn game?”
First, we will have to argue with High’s speed that it’s the “stupidest thing ever invented” after we’ve were given emotional help goldfish in Tallahassee.
— deny context faculty soccer (@nocontextcfb) October 14, 2023
2d, boy, used to be High proper about the whole thing else. Through halftime Friday evening, the Buffaloes had all popped a melatonin gummy, was their professional Teacher High pajamas (whole with cowboy hat and sunglasses-shaped perceptible masks) and concerned with getting a just right evening’s residue.
Sadly for Colorado, Stanford‘s crew is impaired to pulling all-nighters for his or her complicated theoretical physics assessments, so the Cardinal stored on taking part in in the second one part, erasing a 29-0 Buffs top and winning 46-43 in double additional time.
Shedeur Sanders threw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns, together with two to a reemergent Travis Hunter, however his INT in the second one OT body proved to be the overall dagger in Colorado’s hopes.
Was once it embarrassing for High? Certain. Was once it a sign that, in all probability, Colorado is a amusing — however no longer precisely just right — soccer crew? You betcha.
