It’s time for the Week 6 version of Head of the Class … has anybody seen the Vanderbilt goalposts?
First up this week – the Miami Hurricanes. They were down at Cal 38-18 with 11 minutes left in the game. Enter Cam Ward, who proceeded to take over the game and lead Miami to three touchdowns, including a 92-yard drive in the final two minutes of the game. Miami somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, beating the Bears 39-38 in Berkeley. Cal was jacked for this game; the first-ever visit from College Gameday (which included a student winning $100,000 for making a field goal), a packed and raucous Memorial Stadium crowd, and a formidable Bears opponent (we’ll leave for another day the fact that them playing in the ACC is DUMB). However, the Heisman candidate (and maybe frontrunner? …. Tune in later this week to find out) threw for 437 yards and two touchdowns. Ward also ran for another score. It was an incredible comeback.
I feel for the Bears fans. This loss could be backbreaking. I hope for their sake that they can bounce back at Pitt this weekend. Meanwhile, Miami has a bye week before heading to Louisville.
Next up, the Arkansas Razorbacks. A stout defense that sacked Nico Iamaleava four times and held Tennessee to 40 points BELOW their season average on offense, and a great offensive gameplan that won the time of possession battle by nearly 11 minutes – put this all together and you have a 19-14 upset of the Volunteers. The Razorbacks played a perfect game against a mighty opponent. They forced Tennessee into seven punts, held Iamaleava to just over 5.5 yards per attempt passing, and played a very efficient contest. It was pandemonium in Fayetteville, and a great win for an Arkansas team that is on the rise.
Arkansas gets a bye week before hosting LSU on the 19th; Tennessee hosts Florida on Saturday.
And to think that Arkansas’ had the SECOND biggest win in the SEC this past weekend …
That’s right, the top performance of the weekend goes to the Vanderbilt Commodores!
The Commodores beat top-ranked Alabama 40-35 in Nashville. It almost looked like a home game for Alabama, with all the red at First Bank Stadium. Vandy never trailed in this game, and kept punching Alabama in the mouth. They withstood every Crimson Tide rush. The defense forced Jalen Milroe into two turnovers – an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and a fumble that led to a Commodore touchdown. Diego Pavia, the New Mexico State transfer quarterback, led the way for Vandy with 252 yards passing and two touchdowns, and another 57 yards rushing, including the game-clinching first down carry. The touchdown pass to Junior Sherrill was an amazing throw and catch.
Commodores coach Clark Lea has promised that this win is just the beginning – this was the program’s first ever win against a top-ranked opponent. We’ve seen this before from Vanderbilt, but the success has never been sustainable. I’m hoping for the West End football fans that this time, Vanderbilt can establish themselves as something more than the SEC doormat.
Meanwhile, Alabama’s hold on the number one spot was short, as they dropped to seven in the latest poll. Alabama goes back to Tuscaloosa to host South Carolina this weekend, while Vanderbilt goes to Kentucky to take on the Wildcats on Saturday night.
One more thing – have you seen the video from the goalpost parade through downtown Nashville? It was quite amazing that a team not known for football celebrations was actually able to tear the goalposts down and then (allegedly) deposit them in the Cumberland River.
Honorable mentions this week:
Ashton Jeanty of Boise State was at it again. He rushed for 186 yards on 13 carries (that’s a 14.3 yard average per carry) and three touchdowns in the rout of Utah State. However, the Aggies can take pride in the fact that they “held” Jeanty to 30 yards below his average rushing yards per game. If you’re scoring along at home, he’s now over 1,000 yards on the season, and has 16 touchdowns.
Texas A&M absolutely pummeled #9 Missouri 41-10 at Kyle Field. The Aggies punched the Tigers in the face continuously over 60 minutes. Conner Weigman had 276 yards passing for the Aggies, Le’Veon Moss had 138 yards rushing and three touchdowns, and the defense put on absolute clinic, holding Missouri to only 68 rushing yards and 254 total yards of offense. They sacked Brady Cook six times in the win. It was pure domination by Texas A&M.
