| Dear Readers, The Coach Prime hype-FOR NOW-is over. This past SAT, Colorado, who HAD a 3-0 start before their 42-6 road loss against Oregon, was riding a fairy tale, which some people were creating that had to come to an end soon. Time for the Buffaloes to wake up and look at reality. Colorado Head Coach Deon Sanders will bring his players back to the drawing board for chalk talk to look at what happened and get ready for the undefeated Trojans. If Deion’s players, who followed him from Jackson State and transfer to Colorado, haven’t noticed the difference of playing NCAA Division I football on the FCS level as opposed to the FBS level, they did this past SAT. The Ducks gave those Buffs a baptismal. I can’t wait for this SAT. FOX Big Noon Kickoff will emanate from Boulder, CO for the USC at Colorado game this SAT while ESPN College Gameday will emanate from Durham, N.C for the Notre Dame at Duke game. Gameday has been there for basketball games for the Blue Devils but this SAT will come to the Research Triangle for a football game.I have said this before and I will say it again. I hate the illogical scheduling of conferences in college sports. This past weekend is no exception. I like it when great teams who are their equal play (i.e: Florida State over Clemson), teams who play another team from a similar state (i.e: Texas over Baylor) or a nearby state (i.e: Alabama over Mississippi) play later on past this month of September. Next SAT, Auburn has a road game against Georgia, which is bud-ride distance between those two teams. I love it when those teams play each in November such as two weeks before the annual Iron Bowl (Auburn vs. Alabama). I hate it when people don’t think logically.Last SAT, we had a game that came down to the wire, which is a legit candidate for Game of the Year honors, which was Ohio State having a 17-14 comeback road win over Notre Dame with 0:01 remaining. This game was a defensive game in which the offenses had to come up with something to get those chains moving and a score on the board. Sadly, not one playerI knew who I wanted to select on my Weekly Heisman Trophy Ballot but the hard part is determining where to place them. I used how much national exposure these players got this past SAT. Washington State QB Cameron Ward was the right choice as my first place selection based on total offensive performance, including a great passing performance without having an INT. Determining 2nd and 3rd place was the hardest part I did for these weekly ballots. Nix had a defense and other players made life easy for him but Daniels had a better performance in a tough as expected game and had two WRs each have 100 receiving yards. North Carolina QB Drake Maye (Passed 22-30, 296 yards, and 1 TD and scored 2 rushing TDs), USC QB Caleb Williams (Passed 20-31, 322 yards, and 3 TDs and scored 2 rushing TDs), and Washington WR Rome Odunze (208 all-purpose running yards and scored 3 TDs; scored 2 receiving TDs and returned 1 punt for an 83-yard TD) were also deserving candidates for this weekly ballot. Take care! sincerely, RICH RICH’S WEEKLY HEISMAN TROPHY BALLOT 1. Cameron Ward, QB, Washington State(Passed 28-34, 404 yards, and 4 TDs in the WSU Cougars’ 38-35 home win over Oregon State. His 82.3 pass completion percentage is seventh-best for a single-game in school history.) 2. Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU(356 total offensive yards in the Tigers’ 34-31 home win over Arkansas. Passed 20-29, 320 yards, 4 TDs, and 1 INT. Rushed 10 carries for 36 yards, including a 12-yard carry. His 5,287 career total offensive yards are ninth-most in school history.) 3. Bo Nix, QB, Oregon(Passed 28-33, 276 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT in the Ducks’ 42-6 home win over Colorado. Also scored an 11-yard rushing TD. His 40 career passing TDs are tenth-most in school history.) RICH’S TOP TEN 1. Michigan 2. Georgia 3. Ohio State (4) 4. Florida State (6) 5. Penn State6. USC (3) 7. Washington 8. Texas 9. Oregon 10.North Carolina OTHER TEAMS TO MENTION (OTM):Utah, Washington State, Duke, Miami, and Oklahoma RANKINGS ANALYSIS:A shake-up in my rankings took place this week. All top ten teams remain undefeated but I had to move teams around because of their performances from this past SAT. Some teams performed good as expected, better than expected, and some teams underperformed….Michigan remains #1 after a 31-7 homecoming win over Rutgers. The UM Wolverines responded by scoring 31 unanswered points after the Scarlet Knights drew first blood and had a 7-0 lead. This football team will have their first road game of this season, which will be against Nebraska this SAT (3:30 PM, FOX)…Defending National Champions Georgia remains #2 after a 49-21 home win over UAB to remain on a current 20-game winning streak, which is a school record, and on track to three-peat as National Champions. Now, the UGA Bulldogs will finally have a road game for the first time this season. This football team has a road game against rival Auburn, who have upset on their mind, this SAT (3:30 PM, CBS). The Dawgs are on a current six-game winning streak over the Tigers, who were on a 3-0 start before a 27-10 road loss against Texas A&M last SAT…I had to move Ohio State up from #4 to #3 because the Buckeyes had a quality win this past SAT. This football team showed what they are made of when down during a 17-14 road win over Notre Dame, who were undefeated and among my OTMs and ranked #9 in the major polls last week. As I say a lot, when you go through any kind of degree of difficulty and succeed past it, you deserve to be rewarded and should have an argument to plead you case. Ohio State will use this bye-week to recover from this win and get ready for an Oct. 7 home game against Maryland…In case the EICH wants to know where Notre Dame goes from here, the Fighting Irish will have to go back to the drawing board and get ready for a road game against undefeated Duke, who were added among my OTMs and ranked #16 in the Coaches’ Poll, this SAT (7:30 PM, ABC). If the Blue Devils beat the Fighting Irish, consider DUKE FOR REAL and will need a lot of teams ranked ahead of them to lose. If Notre Dame beats Duke, I should allow the Irish to be among my OTMs once again…I had to move Florida State up from #6 to #4 in my rankings after a 31-24 road win (1 OT) over defending ACC Champions Clemson. The Seminoles ended a seven-game losing streak against the Tigers, which should be a changing of the guard in the ACC. I can’t see this football team losing another game anytime soon. A rematch between these big-time ACC schools could take place nine weeks from this SAT. The “Noles will have a bye-week before an Oct.7 home game against Virginia Tech….Penn State remains ranked #5 after a 31-0 home win over Iowa during the “white-out” night. The PSU Nittany Lions looked impressive and not allowed much from the Hawkeyes, who have a history of playing them tough a lot of times. This football team, who is on a current streak of 11 straight games with scoring 30 points (including a 4-0 start this season), will have a road game against Northwestern this SAT (Noon, BTN). Everybody who makes the dress list will get playing time against the Wildcats…I had to move USC down from #3 to #6 because of their performance against Arizona State. The Trojans were favored to win by more than 25 points but won by 14 points over the ASU Sun Devils. This football team will have a road game against Colorado this SAT (Noon, FOX)…Washington remains ranked #7 after a 59-32 home win over California, including a 52-19 lead prior to the 4th quarter. We saw a lot of big plays by WR/RS Rome Odunze, including returning that punt for an 83-yard punt return. The UW Huskies have a home game against upset-minded Arizona this SAT (10 PM, PAC-12) before their bye-week. Remember last season, Washington QB Michael Penix had over 500 passing yards in that home win over the Wildcats….Texas remains ranked #8 after a dominating 38-6 road win over Baylor. The UT Longhorns are doing a great job of keep riding that momentum they have from their 30-20 road win over Alabama from two weeks ago. This football team has a home game against Kansas this SAT (3:30 PM, ABC). Texas better not look past Kansas for their annual neutral-site showdown (at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX) against rival Oklahoma….Speaking of the Sooners, Oklahoma has been added among my OTMs after a 20-6 road win over Cincinnati to remain undefeated. This Sooners defense keeps improving from last season by producing 3 turnovers (including 2 INTs) and forced 3 turnovers on downs (stopping this Bearcats offense short of a 1st down on a 4th down). This football team has a home game against Iowa State this SAT (7 PM, FS1)…Oregon remains ranked #9 after a 42-6 home win over Colorado. I really felt stupid for thinking that we make get an offensive matchup but these Buffaloes were no different than they were from the last four meetings they had against the Ducks, whose defense produced 7 sacks on Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders, who had 159 passing yards. The Ducks have a road game against Stanford this SAT (6:30 PM, PAC-12)…North Carolina remained ranked #10 after a 41-24 road win over Pittsburgh. The UNC Tar Heels took advantage of almost every break they got against the Pitt Panthers and more so, such as penalties and field position. This football team will have a bye-week before an Oct. 7 home game against Syracuse… Utah remains among my OTMs for a fourth straight week after I released my preseason rankings. The Utes haven’t missed a beat after star QB Cam Rising has to sit out because of knee surgery while QB Nate Johnson is picking up where Rising has left off as the starting QB for this Utes offense. This football team is coming off a hard-fought 14-7 homecoming win over UCLA, who was a fellow undefeated Pac-12 team. Utah has a road game against Oregon State this FRI (9 PM, FS1). The OSU Beavers are coming off a tough road loss against Washington State-in a battle of undefeated Pac-12 teams from the northwest region- and will use this game to be rebuilt in order to remain a contender in the Pac-12…Speaking of the WSU Cougars, Washington State was added among my OTMs after that tough as expected 38-35 home win over Oregon State. There is no doubt that the WSU Cougars will be better than a 7-6 mark from last season with star QB Cameron Ward having his way against opposing defenses. This football team will have a bye-week before an Oct.7 road game against UCLA…Miami has been added among my OTMs after a 4-0 start and a lot of undefeated teams were losing. There is no doubt that the Hurricanes will be better than a 5-7 mark from last season. I am predicting that this football teams will have 8 wins before we go into the postseason. The only teams that are capable of beating Miami this season are North Carolina (Oct.14) and Florida State (Nov. 11), who will have a home game against the ‘Canes…I can’t wait for the games this weekend. GAMEBALLS and HELMET STICKERS Florida State WR Keon Coleman- Received 5 catches, 86 yards, and 2 TDs (7 and 24) in the FSU Seminoles’ 31-24 road win (1 OT) over Clemson. Scored that 24-yard receiving TD (on 2nd and 9 in 1st OT period) to eventually win this game. Also had a 38-yard catch. Florida State LB Kalen DeLoach- Produced 7 tackles (5 solo), 1 TFL/sack, 1 forced fumble,1 fumble recovery (56-yard TD), and 1 PBU. Florida WR Rickey Pearsall- Received 6 catches for 104 yards, including a 27-yard catch, in the UF Gators’ 22-7 home win over Charlotte. Florida LB Scooby Williams- Produced 7 tackles (led team; 4 solo), 1 TFL, and 1 forced fumble in the Gators’ home win over Charlotte. Florida DE Princely Umanmielelen- Produced 2 tackles (all solo), 1 TFL/sack, and 4 QB hurries in the Gators’ home win over Charlotte. Florida PK Trey Smack- Scored 16 points in the Gators’ home win over Charlotte. Scored on all 5 FG attempts (including a 54-yard FG) and 1 XPK in the Gators’ home win over Charlotte. Miami RB Henry Parrish Jr- Rushed 16 carries, 139 yards, and 2 TDs (13 and 3) in the Hurricanes’ 41-7 road win over Temple. Also had a 17-yard carry. Miami CB Daryl Porter Jr- Prodcued 3 tackles (2 solo) and 2 PBUs in the Hurricanes’ road win over Temple. Miami DL Thomas Gore- Prodcued 2 tackles (all solo), 2 TFLs/sacks, and 1 forced fumble in the Hurricanes’ road win over Temple. Florida Atlantic WR/RS LaJohntay Wester- 169 all-purpose running yards in the FAU Owls’ 23-17 road loss against Illinois. Received 13 catches, 137 yards, and 1 TD (19 yards). Also had a 25-yard catch. Returned 2 punts for 32 yards, including a 20-yard punt return. Florida Atlantic S Jarron Morris- Produced 11 tackles (led team; 6 solo), 2 TFLs, and 1 forced fumble in the Owls’ road loss against Illinois. Florida Atlantic CB Jayden Williams- Produced 7 tackles (4 solo), 2 fumble recoveries (3 yards), and 1 PBU in the Owls’ road loss against Illinois. Florida Atlantic CB Romain Mungin- Produced 6 tackles (4 solo), 1 TFL, and 2 PBUs in the Owls’ road loss against Illinois. South Florida QB Byrum Brown- 517 total offensive yards and 3 TDs responsible for in the USF Bulls’ 42-29 home win over Rice. Passed 22-29, 435 yards, and 2 TDs. Rushed 14 carries, 82 yards, and 1 TD (from 1 yard out). Also had a 29-yard carry. South Florida WR Naiem Simmons- Received 8 catches, 272 yards, and 1 TD (49 yards) in the Bulls’ home win over Rice. Also had a 53-yard catch. South Florida LB D.J Gordon IV- Produced 6 tackles (led team; 2 solo), 2 TFLs, and 1.5 sacks in the Bulls’ home win over RIce. |
