TOP 25 TAKEAWAYS
QB CHANGES
Making a quarterback switch with a good team can be a tricky maneuver. But sometimes good isn’t good enough. No. 8 Notre Dame made the move Saturday at Wake Forest. No. 21 Miami did the same, with the relative ease you might expect against Florida International. Meanwhile, the QB rotation continued at No. 3 Clemson — though it’s becoming more obvious the Tigers’ best quarterback isn’t the starter. Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly insisted all week both Brandon Wimbush, who started the first three victories for the Notre Dame, and backup Ian Book would play against Wake Forest, one of the worst pass defense teams in the country. Well, he lied — which is pretty typical when it comes to quarterback controversies. Book started and had a career game with 325yards passing, two touchdowns and no interceptions and Notre Dame’s offense had its best game of the season. Credit Kelly for making the move — or maybe ask what took so long? But It was only four weeks ago that Wimbush got a game ball from Kelly after playing solidly in the opener against Michigan. Miami coach Mark Richt started Malik Rosier, who was coming off a big game against Toledo, but went to redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry early against FIU. Perry tossed three touchdowns. It was a little surprising Rosier held on to the job in the offseason after he slumped so badly at the end of last season. Perry has more upside, but wasn’t ready. Maybe he is now, just as the Hurricanes enter ACC play. BOTTOMING OUT
Scott Frost’s buyout was not making the rounds on Twitter the way Florida State coach Willie Taggart’s was last week, but Nebraska’s new coach had the worst day of his short head coaching career. You could say Nebraska did not even look like a Big Ten team against No. 19 Michigan — but Rutgers is in the Big Ten. The numbers were ridiculously onesided: The Cornhuskers were outgained 491-132 and were down 39-0at half. Reality is very much set in. Nebraska was 4-8 last season. This is a massive rebuild for the hometown boy Frost. Nebraska is 0-3 for the first time since 1945, but Frost will be afforded far more patience from Huskers fans than Florida State’s will have for Taggart, who took over a team that was 7-6in 2017, but a program that has been among the best in the country. Taggart and the Seminoles got a tidy victory against Northern Illinois at home so for at least a week the anxiety level in Tallahassee can be lowered from tense to antsy.
TEXAS IS ... GOOD?
The Longhorns finally are showing signs of turning a corner under coach Tom Herman. The Longhorns snapped a four-game losing streak against TCU. It wasn’t just a losing streak. It was an annual humiliation. The Horned Frogs had won those four games by an average of 30 points. In Austin on Saturday, Texas was the better team and now the Horns have a threegame winning streak for the first time since 2014. AROUND THE COUNTRY
It was the ACC’s week to feel some pain. No. 13 Virginia Tech was upset at Old Dominion in what was supposed to be an easy trip across the state to help recruiting. Instead, the Hokies lost the game and QB Josh Jackson with a leg injury. No. 23Boston College, ranked for the first time in 10 years, flopped at Purdue. ... The first huge game in the Big Ten is set for next week: No. 4 Ohio State goes to No. 10 Penn State. Both are unbeaten. It’s a night game white out in Happy Valley. Figure ESPN’s “GameDay” will be there, too . ... Heisman watch: Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa now has 12 TD passes in 80 attempts. Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins has 16 TD passes in 115 attempts.
— Ralph D. Russo, Associated Press