Clemson has not lost its edge in 2017
Trojans, Texas put on a show; Rosen can’t carry UCLA alone
Check out the top 10 things we learned during the college football weekend.
1. Clemson’s better now than it was at this time last year. The defending national champs were great last season, but despite an exodus of talent, this year’s Tigers haven’t lost their edge as demonstrated during their impressive dismantling of Louisville on Saturday.
2. Does Clemson have the most dominant defensive front? For the second consecutive week, the Tigers overwhelmed an opposing quarterback, sacking Louisville’s Lamar Jackson four times. That’s 15 sacks, second-best in the nation, and 26 tackles for a loss so far this season for one of the most disruptive defenses in college football.
3. Another rough performance for Jackson. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner may put up video game-like numbers most of the time, but the loss to Clemson on Saturday dropped the Louisville quarterback to 1-4 against ranked opponents, including three consecutive losses.
4. There may not have been a lot of blockbuster matchups but there were sure plenty of surprises Saturday. The third week of the season may have lacked buzz, but a handful of ranked teams, including LSU, Kansas State, Stanford and UCLA, suffered losses.
5. Florida’s thrilling Hail Mary win over Tennessee is just what the state needed. For a few moments Saturday, some residents in the state of Florida got a respite from dealing with the devastating effects of Hurricane Irma and enjoyed one of the best finishes so far during the 2017 season.
6. Big Ten teams should avoid scheduling Northern Illinois. Count Nebraska as the latest to learn this painful lesson as Northern Illinois pulled off a 21-17 upset of the Huskers. It’s nothing new for the Huskies, who are 4-1 during their past five games against Big Ten teams.
7. Let’s hear it for the underdogs. Northern Illinois wasn’t the only program from the Group of 5 — or even the Mid-American Conference — to surprise a team from a Power 5 conference. Ohio (MAC) beat Kansas, Memphis (American) beat UCLA and San Diego State (Mountain West) upset Stanford.
8. It may not have lived up to the original, but USCTexas was still pretty good. USC survived a furious late charge by Texas and freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger, hanging on to beat the Longhorns 27-24 in double-overtime during the best game Saturday night.
9. Forget Josh Rosen, UCLA only goes as far as its defense. Rosen has been forced to carry the Bruins because the team ranks last in the Pac-12 in total defense, allowing more than 500 yards per game. Rosen’s heroics helped erase a big deficit against Texas A&M, but he couldn’t do the same against Memphis.
10. Stopping kicking to Dante Pettis. You would think teams would start steering away from Pettis, especially after the Washington receiver tied several NCAA records Saturday. He posted his third consecutive game with a punt returned for a touchdown, tying the NCAA single-season record. Pettis also tied the NCAA mark for career punt-return touchdowns (8).