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Knudsen’s Knotes
Gators run game cooking; Pac-12 race in flux

Nick Knudsen

GATORS RUN ALL OVER CAROLINA

Over the last couple of weeks, Billy Napier has identified this offense’s key to success: a healthy dose of Johnson, Etienne, and Richardson.

Johnson has become the clear leader in the backfield, Etienne brings an explosive element to the table – as seen in his 85-yard touchdown run, but designing runs for Richardson has helped this offense take off in the last couple of weeks.

Early in the season, there was a clear reluctance to become over-reliant on the legs of Richardson, but the Gators more aggressive approach with 15 over the past couple of games has helped create big plays in the running game. Here is the carry-by-carry breakdown of last weekend’s dominant 374-rushing effort against South Carolina.

SWAMP MOMENTS

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HEADLINERS

TCU 17, Texas 10
The Frogs won a hard fought defensive battle after building a 10-0 lead in the 3rd quarter. TCU shut down Heisman contender RB Bijan Robinson and the Texas running game, allowing only 28 yards on the night. No team had held TCU to under 34 points in a game this season. The Horned Frogs proved the can win a low-scoring, defense-first game to improve to 10-0 for the first time since 2010 and as a member of the Big XII Conference. A road trip to Baylor and home date with Iowa State stand between TCU and an unbeaten regular season.

Alabama 30, Ole Miss 24
A key fumble by Rebels RB Zach Evans deep in Ole Miss territory led to an Alabama touchdown to cut the Rebs lead to 17-14 just before halftime. The Tide held Ole Miss to only 7 points in the second half to grind out a workmanlike victory. Can’t help but wonder if Kiffin blew his best shot at beating Saban while at Ole Miss? The Rebels had home field advantage against a Tide team that has been vulnerable at times this season. Will this loss push Kiffin to seriously consider the opportunity at Auburn?

Washington 37, Oregon 34
Heisman contender Michael Penix Jr. led the way for the Huskies with 408 yards passing and two touchdowns in an upset road win over Oregon. Both teams combined for over 1,100 yards of offense and single punt in a wild game that has thrown the race for the second spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game into flux. The Ducks will have a chance to redeem themselves this weekend at home against defending league champ, Utah.

AROUND THE COUNTRY

Ohio State 56, Indiana 14
The Buckeyes swarmed the Hoosiers with a balanced effort (322 yards passing and 340 yards rushing) to take one step closer to an undefeated showdown with Michigan. OSU QB CJ Stroud added 5 TDs to his Heisman resume.

Penn State 30, Maryland 0

USC 55, Colorado 17
Despite not finding the end zone until the second quarter, USC scored on 7 of 8 of their final drives to cruise past the overmatched Buffaloes. Lincoln Riley has the Trojans just a win away from a Pac-12 Championship Game berth.

Arizona 34, UCLA 28
The Bruins erased a 14-0 deficit by the middle of the second quarter and traded punches with the Wildcats for the rest of the night. Arizona rode the arm of sophomore QB Jayden de Laura, who completed 78.6% of his passes for 315 yards and 2 TD, to a major upset which may cost UCLA a shot at Pac-12 title. Despite the loss, UCLA nearly pulled off a last second miracle – see below.

Utah 42, Stanford 7
The Utes poured on 35 points in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to sprint past the Cardinal. Next up: a trip to Eugene for a de facto semifinal game against Oregon for the right to go to the Pac-12 Championship Game.

Kansas State 31, Baylor 3
Backup QB Will Howard threw for 3 TDs to help lead the Wildcats past the Bears. Baylor barely mustered 300 yards of offense. The win pushes K-State into sole possession of second place in the Big XII with games at West Virginia and vs Kansas remaining.

Iowa 24, Wisconsin 10
How good is Iowa’s defense? The Hawkeyes won by two scores while gaining under 150 yards of total offense (94 passing/52 rushing). The much maligned Hawkeyes can find themselves in the Big Ten West driver’s seat should they win out and Illinois fall at Michigan this weekend.

Purdue 31, Illinois 24
This game was a back and forth affair into the fourth quarter, but Illinois QB Tommy DeVito faltered, throwing a key interception which led to a Purdue field goal to put the Boilermakers up by 10 late. Purdue has made a mess of the Big Ten West as four teams are tied for first heading into the final two weeks of the season.

Michigan 34, Nebraska 3
Michigan clamped down on the Huskers forcing 7 punts in 8 possessions (not counting the two brief Nebraska possessions at the end of each half). Nebraska threw for 71 yards and rushed for 75 on a day which should have clarified that the Huskers would be wise to hire from outside of the program instead of retaining interim head coach Mickey Joseph.

North Carolina 36, Wake Forest 34
QB Drake Maye went off for 448 yards and 3 TD through the air while simultaneously leading the Heels with 71 yards rushing and 1 TD on the ground to help UNC sneak by Wake. The Deacs have struggled with turnovers in recent weeks and, though they played a clean game for the most part, QB Sam Hartman threw a key pick with under five minutes remaining to set up the go-ahead Tar Heels field goal. North Carolina (9-1, 6-0 ACC) clinched the ACC Coastal and will meet Clemson in the ACC Championship Game on December 3 in Charlotte.

Clemson 31, Louisville 16
Clemson bounced back from an out of conference loss to Notre Dame to clinch the ACC Atlantic division after a one-year absence from the league title game. The Tigers relied on a steady running game and stout defense to overcome three turnovers. Next up for Clemson: a visit from Miami and a road trip to South Carolina.

Florida State 38, Syracuse 3
A couple of weeks ago, this looked like it’d be a challenge for FSU. Instead, the Noles suffocated Cuse, allowing only 160 total yards while riding another tremendous effort from RB Trey Benson. The Mario Cristobal protégé rushed for 163 yards on 18 attempts and, suddenly, Florida-Florida State is looking like a mighty interesting game in a couple of weeks. Mark Richt had some words about the Gators in the ACC Network postgame interview with Mike Norvell:

Miami 35, Georgia Tech 14
Four Georgia Tech turnovers and a surprisingly competent offense led Miami to a big win in Atlanta. Miami QB Jacurri Brown, a freshman from Valdosta, threw for three touchdowns and safety Kamren Kinchens picked off three passes. Miami (5-5) needs a win at Clemson or vs Pitt to become bowl eligible.

UCF 38, Tulane 31
The Fightin’ Malzahns took down the AAC leading Green Wave to put themselves in prime position to clinch a spot in the AAC title game. UCF QB John Rhys-Plumlee ran for 176 yards, threw for 132 yards and combined for three touchdowns to set the pace for the Knights.

Cincinnati 27, East Carolina 25
The Bearcats only managed a field goal in the second half but it was enough to hold for a pivotal AAC win. Cincinnati needs to get by Temple to set up a home showdown with Tulane on Black Friday for the right to go the conference championship game.

UConn 36, Liberty 33
The #HuskyRevolution continues. UConn takes down the one-loss Flames fresh off of wins over BYU and Arkansas to become bowl eligible in year one of the Jim Mora Jr. era. Mora deserves to be named the national Coach of the Year. Meanwhile, what’s more Auburn than ripping off a major road upset only to blow a surefire win the following week? Stop wasting time, Auburn, and hire Hugh Freeze already.

AROUND THE SEC

Vanderbilt 24, Kentucky 21
Vandy finally broke through and won a SEC game in the Clark Lea era. The SEC win was the first for the Dores since beating Missouri 21-14 on October 19, 2019, in Nashville. It was the first SEC road win for Vanderbilt since October 27, 2018, 45-31 at Arkansas. Mock draft darling, Will Levis, managed all of 109 yards passing and one interception on the day. Vanderbilt was competitive from start to finish in this one. A 72-yard run by Kentucky RB Chris Rodriguez put the Cats up 21-17 with 5:03 to go, but Vandy with a 12 play, 80-yard drive to score the go-ahead touchdown with 32 seconds left. Big win for Vanderbilt and anyone who’s sick of Kentucky.

Georgia 45, Mississippi State 19
Dog on dog crime as UGA rolls MSU 28-7 in the second half for a run away victory. Mississippi State didn’t bother to run the football with 47 yards on 15 attempts. Georgia clinched the SEC East and will play for the league title for the fifth time in six seasons.

LSU 13, Arkansas 10
Brian Kelly’s Tigers buckled down to eek out a win after a three game offensive explosion salvaged the 2022 season. QB Jayden Daniels only threw for 86 yards, but the defense did enough to stifle Arkansas to lead the Tigers to a three-point win and their first trip to the SEC Championship Game since their magical 2019 title run. LSU wraps up with UAB and a road trip to Texas A&M before the title game game showdown against Georgia.

Tennessee 66, Missouri 24
The Vols torched Lil Eli’s Tigers for 724 total yards to get back on track after a tough road trip to Athens. QB Hendon Hooker threw for 355 yards and 3 TD to get his Heisman campaign up and running again. Tennessee travels to South Carolina and Vandy to finish the season. It’s easy to imagine the Volunteers earning a playoff nod should they take care of business in the next two weeks.

Auburn 13, Texas A&M 10
Interim Auburn head coach Cadillac Williams stuck to the basics and ran the ball 55 times for 270 yards while only passing for 60 yards on 13 attempts. Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies will seek to end their miserable six-game skid against UMass next weekend.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

The third College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night:

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. TCU
5. Tennessee
6. LSU
7. Southern Cal
8. Alabama
9. Clemson
10. Utah
11. Penn State
12. Oregon

Here is the playoff field as I see it:
1. Georgia – Dawgs’ steadiness makes them the clear playoff favorite.
2. Ohio State – One game away from an unbeaten showdown with Michigan for the first time since 2006.
3. Michigan – See above.
4. TCU – Survivor mode in Austin showed a new side to the Frogs.

Since we’re headed toward a 12-team playoff in a few years and some folks are not thrilled about it, I wanted to put together a hypothetical 12-team playoff field with the first round playing out in mid-December at the homefield of the higher ranked team. For folks against playoff expansion, these are the games that you’re saying you don’t want to see:

(12) Oregon @ (5) Tennessee
(11) Utah @ (6) LSU
(10) North Carolina @ (7) Southern Cal
(9) Clemson @ (8) Alabama

KEY MATCHUPS

11:00 AM ET ESPN2 Navy @ Central Florida
12:00 PM ET SECN Florida @ Vanderbilt
12:00 PM ET FOX TCU @ Baylor
12:30 PM ET CBSSN UConn @ Army
12:00 PM ET ABC Illinois @ Michigan
12:00 PM ET ESPN+ Louisiana @ Florida State
3:30 PM ET CBS Georgia @ Kentucky
3:30 PM ET ABC Ohio State @ Maryland
3:30 PM ET ESPN Miami @ Clemson
4:00 PM ET FOX Iowa @ Minnesota
5:30 PM ET ESPN2 Georgia Tech @ North Carolina
7:00 PM ET ESPN Tennessee @ South Carolina
7:30 PM ET SECN Ole Miss @ Arkansas
8:00 PM ET FOX Southern Cal @ UCLA
9:00 PM ET PAC12 Colorado @ Washington
10:00 PM ET ESPN Utah @ Oregon

FLORIDA BOWL PROJECTIONS

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HEISMAN BALLOT

  1. QB Caleb Williams, USC
    3,010 yards passing, 31 TD, 2 INT
  2. QB Drake Maye, North Carolina
    3,412 yards passing, 34 TD, 3 INT
  3. QB Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
    2,888 yards passing, 24 TD, 2 INT
  4. QB CJ Stroud, Ohio State
    2,750 yards passing, 34 TD, 4 INT QB
  5. QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
    3,640 yards passing, 25 TD, 6 INT
  6. RB Blake Corum, Michigan
    1,349 yards rushing, 17 TD
  7. RB Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota
    1,261 yards rushing, 18 TD
  8. RB Chase Brown, Illinois
    1,442 yards rushing, 7 TD
  9. WR Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee
    1,116 receiving yards, 15 TD
  10. WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
    969 receiving yards, 11 TD
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