Anderson's Takeaways from Week 7 of College Football

A lot of things have happened in college football this past weekend that may cause some overreactions. Things like the Indiana Hoosiers beating the Oregon Ducks in Oregon or the Texas Longhorns beating down on the Oklahoma Sooners. Some other things occurred that can be certified, like Alabama having the best quarterback in the country right now or South Florida being the best Group of Five team in college football right now. Then, there's Penn State's season officially going nowhere after a third straight loss, a season-ending injury to their quarterback, and the firing of their head coach, James Franklin. The rankings aren't done being shifted around, as college football tends to get stranger by the week. Old playoff contenders are re-emerging while new ones are appearing out of sight.

South Florida is the G5 Team to watch

This is the third straight game that the South Florida Bulls have scored 50 points or more. Last Friday night, they scored 63 points against an upstart North Texas squad that was 5-0 coming into the game. They could've scored more points if it wasn't for two fumbles they lost early in the game. They got caught up in a shootout for the first two quarters. The first half ended with the score tied at 21 after being down by seven twice. Once the second half came around, the Bulls would outscore the Mean Green the rest of the way, 42-15.

They totaled 582 yards of offense against the Mean Green on their home turf. Byrum Brown's three touchdown passes and 245 passing yards against North Texas made it the third straight game in which he threw for at least 200 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns against North Texas. The defense caused five turnovers. That includes three interceptions off of North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who hadn't thrown one for the season before last Friday. Ever since their humiliating defeat against Miami in week three, South Florida has been playing like the most dangerous G5 team out there.

Ty Simpson: Hand him the Heisman

No other quarterback in college football has better statistics than Alabama's Ty Simpson. Simpson, after his 3-TD performance against Missouri, has now thrown 16 touchdown passes to one interception this season. It was also the second straight game in which he completed at least 70 percent of his passes. He completed 23 of 31 passes while averaging 6.5 yards per pass. A 160.3 passer rating against the Tigers made it six games in a row in which he has posted a passer rating over 110. Once again, Simpson has led the Crimson Tide to another victory over a ranked SEC opponent that was also unbeaten.

What was so heroic about his performance was his sealing the win for the Crimson Tide on just two throws in the fourth quarter. It was at the point of a slight lead, 20-17, with just five minutes left on fourth down and eight yards to convert. Simpson arches a pass so beautifully 29 yards close to the left sidelines, over tight coverage by Missouri cornerback Toriano Pride Jr., to wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks for the first down at the 11-yard line. He would eventually throw a 1-yard touchdown pass to conclude that drive, lobbing it over two Missouri rushers to Daniel Hill to put the game out of reach for the Tigers. Simpson and the Tide are continuing to slay dragons and could eventually win the SEC title this year.

Cignetti's Hoosiers are for Real

The narrative of the Indiana Hoosiers being posers and not ready to share the same field with genuine contenders in college football, like the Oregon Ducks, was erased after last Saturday. They traveled to Oregon, visiting the Ducks at their home, Autzen Stadium. The doubters already ruled them losers before the game started. They did beat down Illinois on a primetime stage, 63-10, but it turned out that Illinois isn't that much of a formidable opponent to test yourself against. Here, they were facing a true test in the Oregon Ducks away from home. The number three-ranked team in the country, led by a Heisman frontrunner at quarterback, Dante Moore. It seemed like they were bound to be humiliated in front of a nationally televised audience. They would instead defeat the Oregon Ducks by a convincing 30-20.

The defense did an excellent job of containing Dante Moore. The front line really made Dante Moore feel so unsettled in the pocket, pressuring him nearly every down and even sending linebackers after him as often as they could. They sacked him six times and picked off two of his passes. They allowed him to pass for just 186 yards and average just 5.5 yards per pass. Indiana's offense generated a lot of positive yards behind the hard running of Roman Hemby and the efficient passing of Fernando Mendoza. The 12-play, 75-yard drive they generated that would result in a touchdown after Mendoza threw a pick-six on the previous drive, which lost the lead for the Hoosiers in the fourth quarter. Mendoza went 6-for-8 for 62 yards passing on that drive, capping it off with an 8-yard back shoulder throw to Elijah Sarratt for a touchdown to break the 20-20 tie. The two interceptions they had off Dante Moore occurred during the next two Oregon drives, which lasted no more than one play. Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers have put the rest of college football on notice that they are indeed serious contenders.

A Texas Size Turnaround

There now stand just two unbeaten teams in the Southeastern Conference. Ole Miss nearly fell off that cliff, pushed to the edge by a sneaky Washington State team. Ole Miss managed to win the game, 24-21. The Aggies of Texas A&M also had to earn their win the hard way over the Florida Gators. Saving themselves from dramatic upsets. Unfortunately for the Oklahoma Sooners, they couldn't stand a chance of staying unbeaten when they ran into the ticked-off Texas Longhorns. They were manhandled, outwitted, and outwilled by the Longhorns in a 23-6 defeat. Either Steve Sarkisian is conducting the Lazarus Effect with the Longhorns, or he and the team are just highly motivated to turn the season around at the moment.

This was the best game that they had had this season so far. Shutting down Oklahoma's Heisman hopeful QB John Mateer to season-lows in passing yards (202), completion percentage (52.6), and passer rating (81.5). This was the first time he didn't throw a touchdown or rush for a touchdown this season. He instead threw three interceptions. The Longhorns had the perfect game plan to stop the Sooners' passing attack by taking away deep-ball opportunities with heavy deep-zone coverage, forcing them to settle for short-yardage gains. That would become the key reason for the Longhorn pass rush sacking Mateer five times. Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons showed against the Sooners that he is the SEC's best defensive player, recording two sacks and two tackles for loss with his unmatched versatility.

The offense ran the football much more often than it did during the first five games. Running back Quintrevion Wisner carried the ball 22 times and rushed for 94 yards. At the same time, Arch Manning added 34 yards of his own on four rushing attempts. It was a well-balanced game plan that enabled Arch Manning to orchestrate the offense at a solid tempo. He only missed six of his 27 passes and threw a touchdown in the process. It was like Sarkisian kept the playbook simple for Manning so he could go back to doing what he used to do. It was just short to medium throws, along with designed QB runs that helped him and the rest of the offense move the ball downfield more effectively. If the Longhorns keep this same game plan for both the offense and defense, there is likely a playoff spot waiting for them at the end of the regular season.

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