Tennessee moves up to No. 3 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll
USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg breaks down the latest college football coaches poll.
USA TODAY
After a well-deserved week off, the College Football Report Card is back to point out the week’s best plays and the questionable decisions that get the most hardened fan bases up in arms.
This week, we have a team that is a repeat offender in this space along with the usual absurdity that comes with every college football Saturday.
Remember, the same thing goes for grading as last season. High marks will be only for the spectacular, and failing grades have no chance of being reversed.
Without further ado, here is the Week 8 analysis of how fans, teams, players, and coaches fared:
Week 8 winners and losers: Oregon thrives in defeat of UCLA, Miami flops again
Saturday recap: What you need to know about college football’s Top 25 games for Week 8
Cold freeze in Iowa City
So, let the Report Card hopefully be the final word on this subject once and for all. When I was assessing the most overpaid coaches, there was a glaring omission, because choosing only five coaches was the mandate. But there is no doubt Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz would have been on an extended list for the nepotism that’s going on in Iowa City.
There are many people to blame here, including athletic director Gary Barta and anyone else, fans included, who supports what’s going on.
It came full circle on Saturday. The Hawkeyes once again wasted a defense that played its tail off for the most part against Ohio State, getting no help from the offensive coordinator (that would be Ferentz’s son, Brian), who is robbing Iowa with his $900,000 a year salary. Iowa had six turnovers, gained a grand total of 158 yards and went 1-for-13 on third down in a 54-10 blowout. The Buckeyes only had 360 yards themselves, nearly 200 yards below their season average.
Offensive, indeed.
The fact is, Iowa should be peppered with questions every week and shamed into changing not only the offense, but the entire culture there. If this was anywhere else in America, this performance alone would be a fireable offense. Again, if the fans are content with mediocrity, just admit it; The rest of the country will gladly say good riddance. Have fun until 2029, when Kirk Ferentz’s contract runs out.
Barta system: F, should be relegated to lower division
Candy crush
Wake Forest is again having an outstanding season and is a serious contender in the ACC, thanks in part to the talents of quarterback Sam Hartman.
In Saturday’s game against Boston College, Hartman went 25-for-40 for 313 yards and five touchdowns, leading the Demon Deacons to an impressive 43-15 win. With the game well in hand in the fourth quarter, Hartman was seen on camera deciding to give his teammates some snacks for a job well done.
The Report Card automatically gives passing grades for giving away sugary treats on the sidelines, especially if it is of the gummy persuasion. Points were taken off because the candies were not Haribo gummy bears, but it’s still a good job because the treat in question was Sour Patch Kids.
Sugar rush: A-
Stats for you:
0 – Penalties that were called against Oklahoma State in its 41-34 win against Texas. The Longhorns were flagged 14 times for 119 yards. (Turning the ball over three times and going 3-for-17 on third down didn’t help Texas, either)
4 – Safeties recorded by Montana State against Weber State. Each of the two points came when the ball went through the back of the end zone when the Wildcats went back to punt. Weber State ended up losing 43-38.
8 – Turnovers (five fumbles, three interceptions) by Miami in an embarrassing 45-21 home loss to Duke.
21 – Rutgers snapped a 21-game home losing streak in conference play with a 24-17 victory over Indiana.
38 – Clemson extended its home winning streak to 38 games, the longest current streak in the nation and an ACC record.
52 – Points scored by Tennessee in the first half against UT-Martin, a school-record. (More on this game below.)
701 – Losses all-time by Indiana after the aforementioned game against Rutgers.
Best and worst of the week:
Nice vertical by Ohio State tight end Cade Stover
High jumpin’ hijinks: A
Plenty of good seats were available in Palo Alto.
Stay home, young ones: D-
UCLA running back Keegan Jones turning on the jets.
He gone: A+
West Virginia kicker Casey Legg (nice name) with no shame in his game.
This week’s candidate for acting school: F
They said it: “I’m sure when all of our 35-year-old, 15th-year players graduate next year we’ll come crashing back to earth like everyone says we will.” – Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson
AARP athletes taking over college football: Ph.D
The Dog of the Week: UT-Martin at Tennessee
While the rest of the nation is in the thick of their conference slates, the Volunteers of Tennessee have no such desire to adhere to the status quo. It was homecoming in Knoxville, so at least they had the good sense to schedule an opponent they could beat.
After a thrilling victory last week over Alabama that has the Rocky Top faithful feeling themselves and having championship dreams, UT-Martin came to town for a somewhat light payday of $550,000 to take the five-hour trip across the state for a nice 65-24 beatdown.
Smokey, the Vols’ lovely bluetick coonhound mascot and the rest of the pups, had to be covering their eyes at this one, only made worse as this was the only FBS-FCS matchup of the entire weekend.
A final note
RIP Sam Westmoreland and Camdan McWright.
Follow Scooby Axson on Twitter @scoobaxson.
