Cnotes college football top 25 matchups for the week 11-19 / 11/23

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No. 14 Baylor looks to rebound against enigmatic Texas
November 20, 2019
By STATS LLC Editorial

There were plenty of broken hearts around Waco last week when Baylor's quest for an undefeated season died in a record-breaking 25-point comeback win by Oklahoma.

But the 14th-ranked Bears will still have loads to play for when they host puzzling but surely dangerous Texas on Saturday afternoon in a key Big 12 battle.

Baylor built a 28-3 first-quarter lead against the Sooners but were shut out in the second half and lost 34-31 on a last-minute field goal.

The Bears (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) have been licking their collective wounds in the aftermath of the up-so-high-then-down-so-low loss, but coach Matt Rhule said Monday there were plenty of positives for his team, even in defeat.

"Our team learned a lot from that game," Rhule said. "They learned, No. 1, what we can be -- for the first half we looked like not just a top-10, but a top-five team in the country. Then, secondly, the second half showed us what we still have to do."

The Bears are tied for first place in the Big 12 with two games remaining. They can clinch a spot -- and a rematch against the Sooners -- in the Big 12 title game on Dec. 7 by beating Texas or Kansas in their season finale.

"My attention and our guys' attention when we got here yesterday is completely on Texas," Rhule said. "It's Senior Day for a very special group of young men that have really, really acted and led their lives on blind faith, believing in what we could be. I know they're excited."

Texas heads up Interstate 35 after a 23-21 loss at Iowa State, with the Cyclones kicking a field goal on the game's final snap.

The Longhorns have won twice this year on field goals on the final play, but coach Tom Herman was not buying into the thought of Texas' account coming due with the law of averages.

"It was pretty somber around the facility yesterday, as it should be after you lose," Herman said Monday.

"We've still got a bunch of seniors in that locker room that have bled, sweat and cried for this program. We owe it to be determined to correct the mistakes that were made and do our best to go 1-0 against Baylor this week."

The loss to Iowa State assured the Longhorns their 10th straight season with at least four defeats. They have alternated wins and losses in the past six games.

The Longhorns can still earn a trip to the Big 12 title game through the back door and with a lot of hand-wringing.

First, Texas would have to beat Baylor on Saturday; they'd also have to beat Texas Tech at home on Nov. 29. Baylor, meanwhile, would also need to lose at Kansas. And Iowa State would have to lose one of its final two -- this week at home against Kansas or in its regular-season finale at Kansas State.

Texas is 78-26-4 all-time against Baylor. The Longhorns won in Waco, 38-7, in 2017, marking UT's largest margin of victory (31 points) against a conference opponent during Herman's tenure.

--Field Level Media

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No. 12 Wisconsin all business for Purdue
November 20, 2019
By STATS LLC Editorial

No. 12 Wisconsin plays host to Purdue in its regular-season home finale on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis. A victory puts the Badgers on a collision course with Minnesota a week later.

Head coach Paul Chryst won't allow Wisconsin (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) to look beyond Purdue. But if the Badgers beat the Boilermakers (4-6, 3-4) and No. 10 Minnesota (9-1, 6-1) defeats Northwestern on the road, the Badgers and Gophers will square off for the Big Ten West Division title on Nov. 30 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The division winner will play in the Dec. 7 Big Ten championship game.

"I understand and our players understand the talk and the chatter, and the noise, but all that matters is this game," Chryst said. "All that matters is that we have a good Monday and put a good Tuesday behind that. It's a pretty simple world we live in. I think that's the only way to approach it."

Junior running back Jonathan Taylor was a major contributor in Wisconsin's win over Nebraska last weekend with 25 carries, 204 yards and two touchdowns.

In two games against Purdue, Taylor has combined for 63 carries for 540 yards and four touchdowns. In 2018's 47-44 triple overtime win against the Boilermakers, he ran 33 times for 321 yards and three scores.

Junior quarterback Jack Coan continues to be a steady presence for Wisconsin. Coan ranks fifth in the country with a completion percentage of 72.2 and has completed 166 of 230 for 1,826 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said that Wisconsin has added a "misdirection element to their offense," which has thrown off opponents' secondary. Taylor has also been strong.

The Boilermakers defense has allowed an average of 172.2 yards per game, which ranks 10th in the Big Ten in rushing defense.

"(We've) got to be able to hit him early, tackle him and get him to the ground," Brohm said of Taylor, who leads the nation with 21 touchdowns. "Whether that's tackle him low and wrap your arms around him (with) with one or two people tackling. He's a great talent."

Wisconsin's defense will need to keep an eye on Purdue senior tight end Brycen Hopkins, who is one of eight semifinalists for the Mackey Award. The honor is given to the nation's top tight end.

Hopkins is tied for third in the country among tight ends with 45 receptions and is ranked fourth with 561 receiving yards. He has three touchdowns this season.

Brohm has swapped out quarterbacks this season. Sophomore quarterback Aidan O'Connell orchestrated rallies in wins over Nebraska and Northwestern. In three-plus games, O'Connell has completed 49 of 72 passes for 404 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Boilermakers are fresh off a bye week, and won two straight games heading into the break. They've lost 12 consecutive games to Wisconsin, including six straight in Madison.

--Field Level Media

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No. 9 Oklahoma eyes playoff berth with TCU next
November 20, 2019
By STATS LLC Editorial

No. 9 Oklahoma and TCU both have struggled to find consistency this season.

For the Sooners, the problem has resulted in some really high moments, such as what they experienced in the second half of last week's 34-31 come-from-behind win over previously unbeaten Baylor.

Lack of consistency also has led to blowing big leads against Kansas State and Iowa State, though they held on to beat the latter.

For the Horned Frogs, the consequences of inconsistency have been much more severe. Four of TCU's five losses have been by seven or fewer points.

Saturday, Oklahoma hosts TCU with plenty on the line, though the stakes are wildly different.

The Sooners' win at Baylor put Oklahoma back in first place in the Big 12 and kept OU alive for a chance at a third consecutive College Football Playoff berth.

"The momentum of winning a game like that is great, but it's not going to be enough to beat TCU. You have to go put it into action," Sooners coach Lincoln Riley said. "The things we did well as a team, the mentality of the team, you want that to continue and grow. And then some of the things that we didn't do well and caused us to be in a hole in the first place, we're certainly going to have to do better. It's exciting, but we have to go do something with it."

The Horned Frogs need to win one of their final two games to become bowl eligible for the sixth consecutive season.

A big part of TCU's issues has come on offense, where they've struggled to finish drives.

Last week in a 33-31 win over Texas Tech, the Horned Frogs scored all six times they reached the red zone but only two of those were touchdowns.

"Cross it," TCU coach Gary Patterson said of what his team needs to do better in those situations. "You've got to make plays when you're down there; it's simple. There's no secret about it, most of the time down there you have to be able to run the football. That's the way most people do it."

The Sooners were without star receiver CeeDee Lamb against Baylor due to a "medical issue." On Monday, Riley said it wasn't clear whether Lamb would play against the Horned Frogs.

"It's not a definite 'no' but certainly not a definite 'yes' right now," Riley said.

After the win at Baylor, though, receiver Charleston Rambo said Lamb would play this week.

The Horned Frogs have been through some injuries themselves, especially on the offensive line.

Patterson said he expected Austin Myers, who has started two games at right guard before missing last week's win over Texas Tech, to return Saturday. Myers was forced into the starting lineup when Lucas Niang suffered a season-ending injury in October.

"It's all about finding guys that can play for 60 minutes," Patterson said. "With Lucas (Niang) being done for the season, it's just kind of been by committee."

--Field Level Media

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No. 19 Cincinnati focused on Temple -- for now
November 20, 2019
By STATS LLC Editorial

After surviving two American Athletic Conference scares this month, No. 19 Cincinnati likely will not take anything for granted these last two weeks.

The Bearcats (9-1, 6-0 AAC East) return home to host the Temple Owls on Saturday night at Nippert Stadium.

With a win over the Owls, Cincinnati will earn the East Division crown for the first time and with just one game remaining -- at No. 18 Memphis on Nov. 29 -- which could be the first of two meetings between the schools in just more than a week.

That's because the AAC Championship Game will be played on Dec. 7 at the stadium of the team with the best conference record.

The Bearcats are the top-ranked Group of Five school in the nation, but keeping that lofty status hasn't been so easy against some of the conference's weaker competition.

UC has relied on the accurate right foot of Sam Crosa in two of its last three contests -- both on the road -- to remain unblemished in AAC play.

Crosa, a senior, beat East Carolina, winless in the conference, with a 32-yard field as time expired in a wild 46-43 game on Nov. 2, and his 37-yarder put away South Florida 20-17 last Saturday night.

The latter kick lifted UC to a share of the divisional title, and the Columbus, Ohio, native has connected on 9 of 13 field goals this season, with a long of 44 yards. He is also 39 of 39 on extra points.

Crosa was named the AAC's Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday for his eight-point output in Tampa.

Winners of eight straight games since losing 42-0 to then-No. 5 Ohio State on Sept. 7, the Bearcats have shown a tendency to play up against the better competition in the league (UCF) but down to some residing deeper in the standings (ECU, USF).

Quarterback Desmond Ridder struggled with just 78 yards passing, and the Bulls outgained the visitors 438-278 in total yards - leaving UC to rely on Crosa's kicking.

"This team in here has a unique ability to find a way ... (with) the resiliency they have," coach Luke Fickell said of the Bearcats.

Temple (7-3, 4-2) needs a win in Cincinnati, another in its final game at home against UConn (2-8) and a Bearcats loss in west Tennessee to Memphis to make the East Division resort to a tiebreaker to determine its winner.

The Owls should like their chances if defensive end Quincy Roche continues his dominant play out on the edge.

Roche, a junior, took control of the game in Saturday's 29-21 win over Tulane at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field. He contributed 12 tackles, three sacks, an AAC-record six tackles for loss and forced and recovered a fumble.

The performance earned him AAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Monday.

"He's back healthy," Owls coach Rod Carey said of his defensive force. "You can tell, can't you? He's playing at a high level right now."

Roche's 9.5 total sacks this season tie him for the AAC league lead with SMU's Patrick Nelson and rank seventh nationally.

--Field Level Media

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No. 6 Oregon looks to take another step toward CFP
November 20, 2019
By STATS LLC Editorial

Oregon secured the Pac-12 North title last week. Now the real work begins.

The No. 6 Ducks' mission over the final three weeks of the regular season: to play well enough to convince the 13-member College Football Playoff selection committee that a last-second loss to the fifth-best team in the Southeastern Conference on opening day is not a deal-breaker.

Oregon (9-1, 7-0 Pac-12) is nine seconds away from an unbeaten season to this point. The Ducks' next challenge comes as a two-touchdown favorite against Arizona State at Tempe, Ariz., on Saturday. The Sun Devils (5-5, 2-5) have lost their past four and are hoping to become bowl-eligible.

"The best part about it is our guys feel like we still haven't played our best football," Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said after the Ducks held Arizona without a touchdown in a 34-6 victory last week.

"Looking forward to getting better."

The Ducks have managed well so far. They have won nine straight since a 27-21 loss to Auburn in a neutral site game in Arlington, Texas, and they are one of five teams ranked in the top 14 in the FBS in both scoring offense and scoring defense. No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Clemson and No. 5 Alabama -- also top contenders for a berth in the four-team playoff -- along with Louisiana are the others.

Oregon has done it with strong quarterback play from accurate senior Justin Herbert, a veteran offensive line led by left tackle Penei Sewell that has made an FBS-high 203 combined starts, and a defense that has held five opponents without a touchdown and six under 10 points, also tops in the FBS.

Oregon leads the nation with 17 interceptions and is tied for second with a plus-13 turnover margin.

Herbert has passed for 2,662 yards with 28 touchdowns and three interceptions, one of three FBS quarterbacks with at least 25 scores and three or fewer picks, joining Ohio State's Justin Fields and Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa.

"He has a tremendous amount of pride in his craft and how he approaches it," Cristobal said of Herbert. "Student of the game, another year in the system. I think Coach (Marcus) Arroyo, (the offensive coordinator), has done a great job of finding answers, particularly to some of the different challenges that we face coverage-wise in conference."

Halfback CJ Verdell leads the Ducks with 814 yards rushing, and wide receivers Johnny Johnson III and Jaylen Redd have combined for 77 catches and 10 touchdowns for a spread-the-wealth offense on a team in which 19 players have a touchdown.

Arizona State freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels has thrown for 2,236 yards and 14 touchdowns against only two interceptions. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has become a principal weapon with 53 receptions for 964 yards and seven touchdowns.

Daniels threw for 334 yards an Aiyuk had 173 yards receiving with a score while also returning a punt for a touchdown in a 35-34 loss at Oregon State last week. The Sun Devils moved within a point of the Beavers with 1:40 remaining but failed on a two-point conversion run.

"I'm not playing to tie," Arizona State coach Herm Edwards said afterward. "We're trying to develop a program where we win games. We can't make 2 yards? I would do it again."

Arizona State has given up 108 points in its last three games, including 28 apiece in the first half of losses to UCLA, Southern California and the Beavers.

"We have to stop playing from deficits," Edwards said. "You don't want to get in deficits against (the Ducks) because they are very good on defense."

--Field Level Media