College Football Week 10 – Colorado, Deion Sanders stuck in the mud

Things took a turn for the worse in Colorado after the team went to an unexpected 3-0 start. And after Deion Sanders made a player change ahead of another loss Saturday to Oregon State, more questions arise about the program.

Week 10 also highlighted an unexpected Heisman Trophy contender and two teams in the midst of surprising turnarounds.

Our college football reporters examine these stories and more with this week’s Monday takeaways.

Colorado and Deion have growing pains

Sanders received plenty of justified praise during Colorado’s 4-1 start, not only for how he flipped the roster over the course of an offseason, but also for how his players performed on game days. Colorado wasn’t a perfect team, but it improved considerably, thanks in part to the coaching staff.

Now, after Colorado has lost three straight games, coaching decisions are being debated, without much clarity from Sanders. The topic after Saturday night’s loss to Oregon State was why Sanders changed offensive players, putting analyst and former NFL coach Pat Shurmur in the role Sean Lewis had held for eight games. Lewis, who left his head coaching job at Kent State for Colorado, had overseen an offense that began with a record passing performance at TCU and averaged more than 500 yards and 41.3 points in four of the first five games. Colorado averaged 13.2 points per game in 2022.

When I first heard about the potential player change Thursday night, I couldn’t believe it. Coaches who reached out Friday after the news was confirmed were also unable to do so. “What the hell is going on in Colorado??” ” texted the SEC offensive coordinator. Sanders did not provide many details to explain this decision, only that he did it in the best interests of Colorado and did not doubt himself. Colorado had 78 total yards through three quarters Saturday night before a nice flurry in the fourth.

“You don’t know all the intangibles yet,” Sanders said after the game. “You just look from outside the crib, you look in. I have tinted windows and you can’t even see into the house, but you draw conclusions about what I should and shouldn’t do .”

The Colorado house isn’t falling apart, but it’s starting to crack. Sanders did not disparage Lewis and took responsibility for the team’s play. But the move is bizarre, to put it mildly, and some wonder if Lewis is the scapegoat for things beyond his control, like an offensive line group that wasn’t built for success.

There were also some questionable decisions in the game, especially at the end of both halves. Leading 7-3, Colorado forced a punt and took over at its own 4-yard line with 49 seconds left in the first half. The offense had generated 2 net yards of offense in the quarter–2! Yet the Buffaloes came out of their own end zone twice before a scoreless drive. Two plays later, Oregon State scored to go up 14-3. Sanders said Colorado’s plan was to try to move the ball on first down and, if that failed, to “hit the clock,” but the second incomplete pass allowed Oregon State to preserve your downtime.

After a spirited fourth-quarter rally that cut Colorado’s deficit to 7 with 1:42 left, Sanders avoided an onside kick. The Buffs had all three timeouts, but would need an immediate stop , which they did not get. Colorado did not use its second timeout after a Damien Martinez run for a first down. By the time the Buffaloes used their final timeout, there were only two seconds remaining.

“It’s tough,” Sanders said. “The reason it’s so difficult is because you know you are capable of doing better, playing better, performing better, putting on better games, coaching better on my behalf.”

The last part rings true after a turbulent week in Boulder, which revealed growing pains for Sanders. — Adam Rittenberg

Ollie Gordon II for the Heisman? Why not?

Yes, the Heisman Trophy has become just a quarterback award. And yes, it seems like running backs, for whatever reason, are seriously disrespected at every level of football these days. But look Ollie Gordon II running — the passion he runs with and the staggering numbers he posts — and it’s pretty hard to make the argument that the Oklahoma State guard shouldn’t be in the middle of the Heisman conversation.

Gordon is the hottest player in college football and he plays on one of the hottest teams. Oklahoma State has won five straight since a dismal start to the season, and Gordon has been the driving force in the Cowboys’ rise to the top of the Big 12 standings. They are tied with Texas each with one league loss, after beating Oklahoma 27-24 at home Saturday, the final scheduled game of the Bedlam rivalry.

Talk about lasting impressions. Gordon rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns, the most rushing yards against OU’s defense by any player this season, and rushed for more than 100 yards in six straight games.

The Heisman has become synonymous with players who stand out on the biggest stages and guide their teams to championship contention and/or national relevance – usually a quarterback. Going back to the 2000 season, only two running backs (Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram) have won the Heisman. But it’s hard to imagine where Oklahoma State would be right now without Gordon’s emergence.

He carried the ball just 19 times in his first three games, but rushed for 995 yards and scored 11 touchdowns during the Pokes’ five-game winning streak, and three of five opponents were in the top 25 in the first College Football Playoff rankings. . A fourth opponent, West Virginia, is 6-3. So it’s not like Gordon is putting up Barry Sanders-style numbers against bottom-feeders.

The 6-foot-1, 211-pound sophomore leads the nation in rushing yards (1,225), as well as rushes of 20-plus yards (17), runs of 30-plus yards (13 ) and runs of more than 40 yards (6). ). Gordon has been as valuable to his team as any player in the country and at the very least deserves a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist. — Chris Low

Jedd Fisch gains momentum in Arizona

Arizona did something only one other team (Georgia in 2006) has done, according to ESPN Stats & Information: win three straight games against AP-ranked opponents while not being ranked before each game.

The Wildcats’ latest triumph, a 27-10 victory over UCLA on Saturday night in Tucson, was a triumph of precision as a redshirt freshman quarterback. Noah Fifita took apart the Bruins defense by completing 25 of 32 passes for 300 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. By replacing for Jayden de LauraSidelined since injuring his ankle against Stanford on September 23, Fifita has surpassed the 300 passing yard mark three times and helped stabilize the fifth-best offense (439.8 yards per game) of the loaded Pac-12.

The win over the Bruins ended a streak of five straight ranked opponents for the Wildcats (6-3) and they proved to be battle-proof by becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2017. As a result , Jedd Fisch has made progress. on the recruiting trail, even with in-state defensive end Elijah Rushing (No. 20 overall) decommitting on Oct. 8. The Wildcats’ class, led by in-state quarterback Demond Williams Jr. (No. 219 overall), is fourth in the Pac-12. — Blake Baumgartner

From 1-3 in bowl eligibility, Boston College is flying high

After Boston College started the season 1-3, many critics questioned the direction of the program under fourth-year coach Jeff Hafley. But Hafley was adamant that the Eagles would improve their season.

Five straight wins later, the Eagles are bowl eligible and on their longest winning streak since the 2010 season. They have doubled their win total from last season with three games remaining. So how exactly did Boston College do it?

For starters, the Eagles have an offensive identity behind the dual-threat quarterback Thomas Castellanos. Emmet Morehead was the starting quarterback in the opener against Northern Illinois, but BC also planned to face Castellanos. The offense was never in sync and a series of mistakes cost the Eagles a stunning loss. But it became clear in a 2-point loss to Florida State that Castellanos was the player to build around — after 400 total yards and two touchdowns.

BC is now one of the best rushing teams in the country, ranking 9th with 211.2 rushing yards per game. Compare that to BC’s situation last season, when injuries decimated its offensive line and quarterback position: the Eagles ranked last in the country in rushing yards per game (62.8) .

The team also plays with confidence. Hafley considers the second half against Virginia a turning point. Down 14 points at halftime, BC held Virginia to 39 total yards in the second half and cruised to a 27-24 victory. The following week, the Eagles needed another late comeback, beating Army with 25 seconds remaining. The same thing happened last week against Syracuse: BC took the lead with 2:23 left, and the Eagles did it without the best running back. Pat Garwo IIIupper receiver Ryan O’Keefe and a host of other injured.

“They could have gone into the tank, at 1-3 after getting beat by Louisville, we were down 14 points at halftime against Virginia and we said, ‘Enough is enough,’” Hafley said on ESPN on Sunday. “Since that second half, we’ve been a totally different team. We have an identity and we’ve just continued to improve to find out who we are.”

However, no one at Boston College is happy. With games against Virginia Tech, Pitt and Miami remaining, Hafley said the goal is to improve, not sit back and settle for six wins, especially with a young team that is expected to return the vast majority of its players next season.

“We still have a lot to do, we have to improve,” Hafley said. “We’re winning games in the fourth quarter, we’re finding a way to be brave. They’re a tough team, but we’ve got to get better. That’s the cool thing is now they’re winning , you can coach It’s hard and the responsibility is at an all-time high. It’s just fun to be there.” — Andrea Adelson