Anderson's Takeaways from Week 9 of College Football

For the second week in a row and throughout this season so far, the SEC has reminded spectators and experts that it is college football's best conference once again. It is easy to say, through a crystal ball, that besides the conference champion. There will be four other SEC teams in the playoffs next year, maybe five. The SEC has become so competitive that whoever wins the SEC title could be someone with two or three losses. The Big Ten's best team — and perhaps the best in college football — is revealed not to be Ohio State or Oregon. This past football Saturday, it wiped my windshields a bit more, so I could see things more clearly.

Vanderbilt & Missouri Became a Future Playoff Game

The game between the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Missouri Tigers became a game between two relentless SEC powers that were willing to bleed for another win. When watching these two battle it out, down by down, it became apparent that they knew what the stakes were. The loser of this game cannot lose again if they want to make it to the playoffs. There wasn't a touchdown scored until the third quarter at around the four-minute mark. A true defensive struggle from Missouri and Vanderbilt that resembled what Southeastern Conference football is all about.

Even when Missouri lost its quarterback, Beau Pribula, freshman backup Matt Zollers came in to tie up the score with a touchdown pass that concluded a 12-play, 75-yard drive in the fourth quarter. It turned out to be a solid effort from Zollers, as he passed for 138 yards and only missed nine passes coming off the bench. Almost won the game for the Tigers at the end with a Hail Mary completion stamped at the 1-yard line at the very last second of the game. The defense performed valiantly, holding Vandy's offense to under 300 total yards and no more than 10 points through almost a full four quarters. They even cuffed the marvelous talents of Diego Pavia by constraining him to 129 passing yards and picking a pass off of him. Vandy's defense did just as good a job in keeping the game tight.

They prevented Ahmad Hardy, one of the best running backs in college football, from reaching the endzone and 100 rushing yards. Their only forced turnover became the turning point of the game. A forced fumble they recovered in the fourth quarter at the 7:02 mark, setting up the game-winning drive for the Commodores. Vandy's offense constructed a drive that lasted for five minutes and 10 seconds. A go-ahead 1-yard touchdown by Diego Pavia would conclude the drive of the game. The game would end on a last-second stand by Vanderbilt at the goal line with the Hail Mary pass caught by Missouri wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. at the goal line with two Vanderbilt defenders elevated over him trying to impede the spiraling ball. Just inches away from a touchdown, inches away from overtime. Missouri will look back on this and will continue to realize that they are a team that belongs in the postseason. As for the Commodores, their postseason stock continues to rise and can rise again if they capture another win this Saturday against another ranked conference opponent, the Texas Longhorns.

The Longhorns are Resilient

There is no shame in losing or almost losing to the Mississippi State Bulldogs this season. They have been putting opposing teams on the ropes all season long. They upset a 12th-ranked Arizona State team coming off a playoff season in week two and almost defeated the highly ranked Tennessee Volunteers in overtime. Through eight games, they were beaten by more than 10 points just once, by Texas A&M, 31-9. It wouldn't be surprising for the Texas Longhorns to lose to them. Also, considering that they had to go to an extra quarter to beat Kentucky last week, the worst team in the SEC.

Being down to Mississippi State 31-14 heading into the fourth quarter. Texas would outscore them 24-7 in the fourth quarter, forcing the game into overtime. They would go on to win the game, 45-38 in overtime, even after Arch Manning left the game with an injury in overtime. Backup Matthew Caldwell came to throw the go-ahead touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley V to take the lead for the first time in the game since the second quarter. Texas would end things here with an Ethan Burks sack and forced fumble on fourth down, the seventh sack of the game for the Longhorns' defense.

Arch Manning had his best game of the season, throwing three touchdowns and passing for 346 yards while averaging 7.5 yards per pass. He also scored a touchdown himself during the match. This is the time of year when the wins become harder and harder to get, regardless of who the opponent is. Memphis lost to UAB and just defeated South Florida; now they're ahead of all Group Five schools for a playoff spot. Texas is showing resilience to stay in the championship chase by finding new ways to win. Whether it's a scoring punt return by Ryan Niblett, a crucial stop by the defense, or conducting a steady pass game. Steve Sarkisian has the Longhorns making all the right moves.

Marcel Reed: Remember the Name

The Aggies of Texas A&M have been showing the nation all year that they are one of the SEC's most complete teams. They definitely showed that last Saturday in their 49-25 bashing of the LSU Tigers. Their offense is definitely one of the nation's most explosive, thanks to having the best dual-threat quarterback in the nation, Marcel Reed. Honestly, that title is shared between him and Georgia Tech's Haynes King. But let's stick with talking about Reed, as people tend to forget his name after each week, he scores a touchdown or two through the air and on the ground. The sophomore dynamic is on a four-game streak in which he has thrown and rushed for a touchdown in the same game. His 23 total touchdowns for the year are the most in the SEC. With his latest performance against LSU in the primetime spotlight, college football fans everywhere should definitely remember the name, Marcel Reed.

Ignoring the two interceptions, his two touchdown passes, and two rushing touchdowns against a highly rated defense signified his Heisman worthiness. Passing for 202 yards on a 9.6 yards per pass average while rushing for 108 yards on an 8.3 yards per rush average. He put the Aggies on the board with his 41-yard dash out of the pocket into the endzone in zig-zagging style. Then, came back right before the end of the first quarter, scrambling in the pocket and slung a shot pass to K.C. Concepcion in the endzone between two LSU defenders. He threw the pass while scrambling to the right, across his body to Concepion. Those two plays alone showed how confidence Reed has gained as a field general and how dangerous a playmaker he has become. Aggieland hasn't had a quarterback this exciting to watch since Johnny Manziel.

John Mateer Needs to Play Smarter

If the Oklahoma Sooners want to be called a playoff team this season, then their quarterback needs to improve his decision-making in the pocket. John Mateer, despite his capability to make Aaron Rodgers-like plays, where he extends plays with his legs and somehow completes a pass into tight coverage while on the move. Mateer still needs to know when to kill the play to live for another down or settle for short gains. He clearly has tremendous arm talent with outstanding throwing power, but he doesn't show it off when he doesn't need to. He also likes to move around a lot in the pocket instead of just standing there and releasing the ball. All of those issues became much clearer against Ole Miss last Saturday.

One fourth down and five plays to recall from the fourth when Mateer went for the deep ball to JaVonnie Gibson into cover two coverage when he could have thrown it to an open Isaiah Sategna III below for an easy first down completion. That pass was incomplete, but the Sooners would get the ball back with just seconds left. Once on third and two, Mateer moved up in the pocket with clear space of grass in front of him to run to for an easy first down scramble to the right, but instead scrambled to the left to be chased down by three Ole Miss rushers. This decision led to him being struck from the side by Suntarine Perkins. It's little things like this that give the realization that John Mateer can become a much better quarterback with these minor issues being fixed. This is also a great time for the Sooners to run the ball more for some support. Especially after a career day from Xavier Robinson, 109 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, averaging 12.1 yards per rush against one of the top rushing defenses in the country.

The Hoosiers are a Powerhouse

Finally, someone put the retooled UCLA Bruins back in their place. A team that ripped off three straight wins after a 0-4 start, and after a lot of changes with the coaching staff were made. Wins that included upsets over a ranked Penn State team with championship promise and an upstart Maryland team led by a red-hot true freshman quarterback. There was a little bit of a feeling that the Indiana Hoosiers could be the next victims of this Bruins streak. But this was Curt Cignetti's Indiana Hoosiers, and they have become one of the new titans of college football. A traditional basketball school has been officially transformed into a football bully by a Nick Saban disciple. A football program with the most losses of all-time in the FBS is now a formidable force.

It's shameful that Indiana didn't pitch a shutout but permitted no touchdowns to UCLA last Saturday. Two field goals were all the Bruins could put on the scoreboard while the Hoosiers dropped 50-plus points for the fourth time this season. This was the second time they did that against a Power Four team. They scored 35 points before halftime and 49 points before the fourth quarter. They made the final score 56-6, Hoosiers. The team that was a pretender after embarrassing losses to Ohio State and Notre Dame last season is now the number two team in the country. They deserve that spot as well, winning games by large margins in a humiliating, strategic fashion.

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