College Football

Knudsen’s Knotes
Brenton Cox dismissed; Tennessee new #1 in CFP Rankings

Posted by Nick Knudsen on November 2, 2022

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COX DISMISSED

Without saying much to the media, Billy Napier made a major statement by dismissing EDGE Brenton Cox, Jr. Napier refused to specify on the matter other than to say that the decision was not a result of a singular incident.

“It’s a cumulative effect,” Napier told the media this week. “We want to help Brenton going forward. But it’s healthy for our team.”

Removing one of the most talented players off of a roster is typically not a move that would be considered healthy for any football team, but clearly some sort of standard was not being met from Napier’s perspective.

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If Cox and Napier were on the same page, it would be difficult to imagine a scenario in which the first year head coach with a struggling defense would want to kick Cox off of the team.

Napier may have to do his best with what was inherited in terms of the on-field results this season, but he can set the tone of what is expected off-of-the-field going forward. In booting Cox from the roster, Napier sent a clear message that no player is greater than the team and, though, that action may hurt in the short term, it will lend credibility to his message as he works to reset the culture within the Gators’ locker room.

BENNETT LEAVES ROOM FOR DOUBT

“Stetson Bennett will cost Georgia in a big spot.” 

It was a common take around this time last year and it was a take that ended up being proven wrong.

People love a good underdog story and tall-tales surrounding the legend of Stetson Bennett will be spun between now and eternity in the Peach State.

Plenty of underwhelming quarterbacks had led their teams to titles at all levels of football: Craig Krenzel was a key piece of the 2002 Buckeyes national championship squad which broke through to win the school’s first natty since 1968; Trent Dilfer is often the gold standard for underwhelming quarterbacks leading a defensive-centric team with the 2000 Baltimore Ravens; and Bennett showed up in big in enough moments last season to couple with a historically good Dawgs defense.

Bennett’s performance did not impress on Saturday. Just like his 2021 and 2020 games against what has been an atrocious stretch of Florida defenses. If Florida was a better football team, Stetson Bennett could have cost the Dawgs on Saturday.

His fantastic performance in the CFP semis against Michigan (20-30/313 yards passing/3 TD/0 INT) covered up the warts of two underwhelming performances against Alabama. Bennett held up for the first half of  the SEC Championship Game, but the dam broke in the third quarter.

After Bama opened with a touchdown drive to take a 31-17 lead, Bennett led the Dawgs down into the red zone before throwing a critical interception. Luckily, the UGA defense – suffering through its worst performance of the season – managed a stop to give Bennett another shot. Once again, Bennett drove the offense into the red zone, but once again, Bama rose up and stopped Georgia on downs. The Bulldogs defense forced another punt to keep UGA in the game. This time, Bennett threw a backbreaking interception, a pick-six to Alabama safety Jordan Battle.

In the national title game against the Tide, after managing only two field goals in the first half, Bennett fumbled deep in UGA territory with the Dawgs holding onto a 13-12 advantage. Bama punched it in for an easy 16-yard touchdown drive and it looked like the Dawgs would have to hear about, “1980,” for another year.

Trailing 18-13 with just over 10 minutes left in the game, Bennett came through in the clutch leading Georgia to two monster drives highlighted by a 40-yard TD pass to Adonai Mitchell and 15-yard TD pass to TE Brock Bowers. The world-class Georgia defense iced the game with a pick-six to lock in the school’s first national title in 41 years.

Bennett has cemented his legend status, but it’s still fair to point out that he will be the point of vulnerability for Georgia going forward.

Georgia’s defense is among the best in college football, but they will not be able to cover for Bennett as well as the 2021 unit did when the Dawgs are finally tested.

The Bulldogs deserve the #1 ranking heading into November and very well may win the SEC, but I would be stunned to see them repeat as national champs this season.

The only repeat that may come through is last year’s take on #13: “Stetson Bennett will cost Georgia in a big spot.” 

REMEMBERING VINCE DOOLEY

Vince Dooley took over at Georgia in 1964 and held onto the head coaching job until 1988.

During his 25-year Hall of Fame career, Dooley posted a 201-77-10 record including 17-7-1 against the Gators, captured six SEC titles, and led the Dawgs to the 1980 National Championship. Georgia only suffered through one losing season (5-6 in 1977) with Dooley running the show and finished ranked in the Top-10 of the AP Poll on eight different occasions.

From Al Blanton’s piece Life is a masterpiece: The Vince Dooley story on Saturday Down South:

In 1980, Vince Dooley received a phone call from a group of Mobile nuns. The call came on the eve of the national championship game pitting Dooley’s Georgia Bulldogs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The nuns, whom Dooley had known since childhood, were effusive in their praise for the Mobile, Ala., boy who had grown up and was now standing on the precipice of glory.

“Oh we’re so proud of you, Vincent!” the nuns gushed.

Then the nuns wondered if Dooley might score them tickets to the game.

“So I said, ‘Of course!’” Dooley recalls. “I wasn’t going to turn the nuns down.”

Arriving the morning of the game, the Sisters ran in the room and threw their arms around Dooley in adulation. He gladly handed over the tickets as the nuns said their goodbyes and began for the door.

‘Now Sisters, don’t forget,” Dooley said, stopping them for one small request. “Say a little prayer for the Bulldogs!”

“Oh no,” the nuns replied, clasping their tickets. “We’re praying for Notre Dame!’”

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HEADLINERS

Ohio State 44, Penn State 31
OSU DE J.T. Tuimoloau picked off two passes and was responsible for a strip sack allowing the Buckeyes to use the five-star sophomore’s career best performance to overcome Penn State. The Lions hung around well into the fourth quarter when Tuimoloau took secured an interception close to the line of scrimmage and walked in for the final nail in the coffin. Ohio State faces Northwestern, Indiana, Maryland before closing with Michigan in Columbus.

Tennessee 44, Kentucky 6
Hooker and the offense may be the main attraction but the defense made waves this week. Tennessee held the Wildcats to a little over 200 total yards on offense. Cats QB Will Levis, the darling of NFL scouts everywhere, put up a whopping 98 yards and 3 interceptions on the night as the Vols exposed Kentucky. Tennessee will challenge Georgia for the East on Saturday.

Kansas State 48, Oklahoma State 0
And then there was one. Kansas State smoked Oklahoma State, outshining the Pokes by nearly 300 total yards. The Big XII’s lone playoff contender is TCU. The two-loss Wildcats control the second spot in the conference championship game with Texas coming to town this week.

AROIND THE COUNTRY

Michigan 29, Michigan State 7

Heisman candidate RB Blake Corum led the way with 177 yards and 2 TD on the ground. The Spartans saw their two-game winning streak snapped against the Wolverines. The final score could have been worse if Michigan had not settled for five field goals on the night. Emotions carried into the tunnel after the game.

TCU 41, West Virginia 31
Horned Frogs QB Max Duggan passed another road test throwing for 341 yards and 3 TD to help TCU keep enough distance in the second half to close out a frisky West Virginia team. TCU plays Texas Tech at home, travels to Texas then Baylor before closing out against Iowa State at home.

USC 45, Arizona 37
Trojans QB Caleb Williams (411 yards passing/5 TD) outdueled Arizona QB Jayden de Laura (380 yards passing/3 TD) despite missing both of his favorite wide receiver targets, Jordan Addison and Mario Williams. USC keeps its playoff hopes alive after fending off a solid effort from the Wildcats. After a completion to the Arizona 10 just before halftime, USC felt the clock was started too soon and it cost the Trojans a chance to score. Riley let the refs have on the way into the locker room.

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North Carolina 42, Pitt 24
Tar Heels QB Drake Maye continues to be a revelation throwing for 388 yards and 5 TD. Pitt scored a touchdown in the third quarter to take 24-14 lead when UNC rallied to score four touchdowns in four drives to run away with an easy 18-point victory. The win gives North Carolina a firm two-game lead in the ACC Coastal division. The 7-1 Heels wrap up with contests at Virginia, at Wake, vs Georgia Tech, and vs NC State. The playoff hopes are slim at this point, running the table and beating an undefeated Clemson in the ACC title game would give UNC a real case for a playoff spot.

Oregon 42, Cal 24
QB Bo Nix threw two picks to remind us he’s still Bo Nix, but the rest of the Auburn transfer’s performances lined up well with his year of redemption. Nix threw for 412 yards and 3 TD to keep the 7-1 Ducks rolling toward a Pac-12 title.

Miami 14, Virginia 12 (4 OT)
A four-overtime offensively inept touchdown-less mid-tier ACC affair which was banished to the broadcasting bowels of the World Wide Web featured the Miami Hurricanes scrapping and clawing their way back to the .500 mark on the season. This type of box score – much like consistently winning Canes football – has rarely been seen since the 1980s as Miami’s passing game accounted for a pathetic 3.9 yards per attempt through the air.

Illinois 26, Nebraska 9
Bret Bielema and the Illini took another step toward winning the Big Ten West behind a strong running game and vicious defense. The only 7-1 Power Five team in America which has been taken less seriously than Oregon would be undefeated if not for the call below. Thanks to two potential high profile late season matchups with Michigan and -likely – Ohio State, the world is only five Illinois victories away from the Fighting Illini in the College Football Playoff.

Louisville 48, Wake Forest 21
Wake led this game 14-13 at halftime. After the half…8 of the next 9 Wake Forest series ended in turnovers.

1. Interception (returned for TD)
2. Fumble (strip sack)
3. Fumble (strip sack)
4. Interception (returned to Wake 9)
5. Fumble (strip sack)
6. Interception (returned for TD)
7. Fumble (strip sack)
8. Interception (stripped/recovered by Wake)

Central Florida 25, Cincinnati 21
Central Florida used the last minute drive to end a fantastic stretch for the Bearcats. Cincinnati had not lost to another AAC opponent since the 2019 AAC title game to Memphis. This was also Cincy’s first loss to a non-Memphis AAC opponent since the 2018 Cincinnati-UCF game in Orlando. The Knights improve to 3-1 in conference and now hold the edge for for the second spot in the ACC Championship Game.

UConn 13, Boston College 3
This may be an under-the-radar result for fans in the southeast, however, it’s worth noting that Jim Mora Jr. and his #HuskyRevolution scored a major victory with the school’s first win over Boston College.

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While he spends his days bringing the UConn football program back to life, Mora returns home to a haunted house at night.

Coastal Carolina 24, Marshall 13
The Thundering Herd pulled an upset at Notre Dame in Week 2, but have since slipped to 4-4 on the season. The game itself wasn’t close, but Marshall did manage to produce the most exciting play from last Saturday thanks to a lucky bounce.

AROUND THE SEC

Ole Miss 31, Texas A&M 28
I know Georgia and Tennessee is going to get a lot of love this week, but the game of the year in the SEC might be next weekend in Oxford. Lane Kiffin has the Rebels at 8-1 and in position to not only topple Saban and the Tide for superiority in the West, but to potentially meet Tennessee in Atlanta for the SEC title. For a universe that is completely Alabama-and-Georgia’d out, let’s hope the Vols and Rebs can make some noise these next two weekends because we would be treated to weeks of Lane gloating about beating Saban, Tennessee potentially having a dream season ruined by the coach who spurned them, two great offenses in a wildly entertaining matchup, and French’s Mustard bottle projectiles. Per Bruce Feldman, Texas A&M is 1-6 in their last seven SEC games, their worst stretch in conference play dating back to their days in the old Southwest Conference (1970 Aggies).

Missouri 23, South Carolina 10
Inconsistency, South Carolina is thy name. The Gamecocks were looking to lock in their fifth straight win against Lil Eli and his band of struggling Tigers. Missouri had been 0-4 against Power Five opponents not named Vanderbilt, but life has a way of never letting the fighting chickens fly too high. Mizzou used a combined 35-plays in three first half scoring drives to put up 17 points and tacked on two second half field goals to improve to 4-4 on the season. Carolina should reach bowl eligibility this weekend with a win over Vanderbilt before heading to The Swamp for a 4:00 PM ET kickoff on November 12 against Florida.

Arkansas 41, Auburn 27
Arkansas used a beautifully balanced offensive attack to outpace Auburn with four consecutive scoring drives in the second half. The loss was the final appearance for Bryan Harsin on The Plains as the former Boise State coach’s turbulent tenure came to a merciful end now that former Mississippi State AD John Cohen has taken over the same post for the War Eagle Tigers. I’m convinced that Auburn exists to make the rest of the SEC boosters and fans feel semi-normal. “We might be crazy, but we’re not Auburn crazy.”

KEY GAMES THIS WEEKEND

12:00 PM ET ABC (2) Ohio State at Northwestern
12:00 PM ET FOX Texas Tech at (7) TCU
12:00 PM ET ESPN Florida at Texas A&M
3:30 PM ET CBS (1) Tennessee at (3) Georgia
3:30 PM ET ESPN (8) Oregon at Colorado
3:30 PM ET BTN Michigan State at (10) Illinois
7:00 PM ET ESPN (6) Alabama at LSU
7:00 PM ET FS1 (24) Texas at (13) Kansas State
7:30 PM ET BTN (5) Michigan at Rutgers
7:30 PM ET NBC (4) Clemson at Notre Dame
7:30 PM ET ESPN Florida State at Miami
10:30 PM ET ESPN Cal at (9) Southern Cal

PLAYOFF PICTURE

The first official College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night and the CFP committee rewarded Tennessee for a great start to the season.

  1. Tennessee
  2. Ohio State
  3. Georgia
  4. Clemson
  5. Michigan
  6. Alabama
  7. TCU
  8. Oregon
  9. USC
  10. LSU
  11. Ole Miss
  12. UCLA

Here is the playoff field as I see it:

1. Georgia – Can Dawgs defense slow the Vols?
2. Ohio State – Bucks don’t always put together four quarters of great football but still find ways to win by double digits.
3. Tennessee – The dream season continues. Would it be beneficial to Vols’ playoff hopes to lose at Georgia?
4. Michigan – Stays ahead of Bama til they lose.

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) Illinois @ (5) Alabama
(11) UCLA @ (6) TCU
(10) USC @ (7) Clemson
(9) Ole Miss @ (8) Oregon

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FLORIDA BOWL PROJECTIONS

Florida (4-4) needs to win two of its final four games to qualify for a bowl.

HEISMAN BALLOT

A strong performance this weekend at Georgia could lock up the Heisman for Hendon Hooker.

  1. QB Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
    2,338 yards passing, 21TD, 1 INT
  2. QB CJ Stroud, Ohio State
    2,377 yards passing, 29 TD, 4 INT
  3. QB Caleb Williams, USC
    2,382 yards passing, 24 TD, 1 INT
  4. QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
    2,934 yards passing, 22 TD, 4 INT
  5. RB Blake Corum, Michigan
    1,078 yards rushing, 14 TD
  6. QB Bryce Young, Alabama
    1,906 yards passing, 18 TD, 3 INT
  7. QB Drake Maye, North Carolina
    2,671 yards passing, 29 TD, 3 INT
  8. QB Max Duggan, TCU
    2,212 yards passing, 22 TD, 2 INT
  9. RB Chase Brown, Illinois
    1,208 yards rushing, 5 TD
  10. RB Bijan Robinson, Texas
    920 yards rushing, 11 TD

STAND UP  & HOLLER

Will & I review the Florida-Georgia game, discuss Napier’s decision to kick Brenton Cox off the roster, Cormani McClain spurns the Gators, and we wrap up with a lookahead to the Texas A&M game on the latest weekly episode of Stand Up & Holler on the Read & Reaction YouTube Channel.

On this week’s episode (filmed November 1, 2022):

2 BITS: DAWG DAY AFTERNOON
4 BITS: BRENTON COX DISMISSED FROM TEAM
6 BITS: CORMANI MCCLAIN COMMITS TO MIAMI
$: FLORIDA-TEXAS A&M PREVIEW

Nick Knudsen

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