WHAT A LETDOWN
Hyped Heisman favorite, Harbaugh have each disappointed in spotlight
SC was supposed to be back, led by a Heisman Trophy favorite at quarterback, and a roster deep with playmakers on both sides of the ball. Jim Harbaugh was going to return Michigan to the top of the Big Ten.
More than halfway through the regular season, the two programs have one thing in common: They’ve been colossal disappointments, all but out of the College Football Playoff running, the sport’s two biggest underachievers.
Saturday night was supposed to be a memorable evening, as USC visited Notre Dame and Michigan was at Penn State, two marquee games with playoff implications. Instead, it was easily forgettable, both contests over shortly after they started. USC and Michigan each were exposed as pretenders, losing by a combined 91-27.
USC has been the more glaring let down, because unlike the Wolverines, the Trojans haven’t lost their quarterback. Sam Darnold, however, has been just as disappointing as his teammates, throwing 10 interceptions, one more than he did all of last year, so frequently starting slow. Suck for Sam — the mantra for NFL franchises tanking to land Darnold — seems like a lifetime ago
SC, ranked fourth entering the season, already has two losses after it was embarrassed in a 49-14 rout at Notre Dame, the Pac-12 power’s worst loss to the Irish since 1966. It nearly fell at home to Utah and Texas, rallying late for dramatic victories, the only reason coach Clay Helton has yet to hear calls for his job. Each week has been an adventure.
At Michigan, doubt is beginning to seep in about Harbaugh. The Wolverines have lost two of their last three games after they were overwhelmed at Penn State, 42-13, the highly rated defense bludgeoned for 506 total yards. The offense, which has been without starting quarterback Wilton Speight (broken vertebrae) since Week 4, has yet to be developed into a high-caliber unit in Ha r - baugh’ st hi rd season, and he has a 1-4 record against bitter rivals Mi chigan State and Ohio State. His record over his last 11 games is 6-5, and his overall mark is 25-8, the same record accumulated by Brady Hoke — a two-word curse in Ann Arbor — through his first 33 games. The back-to-back topfive recruiting classes have yet to translate into playoff appearances.
Michigan, now in fourth place in the Big Ten East, isn’t even ranked in the latest Associated Press poll. USC has tumbled down to No. 21. Considered playoff contenders in August, the programs’ only impact on the postseason tournament will be to ruin their rivals’ chances.
Crossing State lines
Saturday afternoon in Columbus is fascinating for so many reasons, most notably because two of the premier teams in the country will face each other with everything on the line.
There will be a revenge factor at play — for each team. Ohio State wants payback for its loss at Penn State last season, and Penn State also wants revenge, because it believes Ohio State shouldn’t have been selected for the playoff ahead of it since the Ni ttanyL ions won the Big Ten and the head-to-head matchup.
The winner sets itself up to win the Big Ten East, and reach the playoff. The loser needs an extraordinary amount of help. Both sides are riding plenty of momentum. Penn State is coming off a thrashing of Michigan, while Ohio State has won f ive straight games after its Week 2 loss to Oklahoma, out sc orin gt hose five underwhelming opponents ,266-56. Then there is running back Saquon Barkley, looking for another huge performance against a top defense in his pursuit to be the first Nittany Lion to win the Heisman Trophy since running back John Cappelletti way back in 1973.
It’s not just the game of the week — it may be the game of the year up to this point in the season.
The Knight is darkest ...
It may not sound like much, like a baby crawling before taking its first step, but give credit to Rutgers and Chris Ash for winning back-to-back Big Ten games for the first time in program history in its fourth season in the powerhouse conference. The Scarlet Knights backed up last weekend’s road win at Illinois with a 14-12 victory over Purdue in Piscataway. A 3-4 record, 2-2 in the Big Ten, may not sound like much, but it’ s progress, which the coaching staff can sell to recruits.
It sets up an interesting challenge for Ash’s team, a visit to The Big House next weekend against struggling Michigan. Remember, the Wolverines emasculated Rut. gers last year,U78-0. But this looks like a different Rut-u tg er steam at the moment, one that no doubt remembers that beating.