t was quite a week for the four teams from the West in the Pac-12 and ACC.
Things finally came to a head in Corvallis with Oregon State’s seventh-straight loss, resulting in Trent Bray being fired as head coach of the Beavers.
By contrast, Jimmy Rogers and his Cougars seemed to turn a corner, nearly upsetting No. 5 Ole Miss on the road.
Meanwhile, Stanford fell behind SMU early and didn’t put up much of a fight the rest of the way.
Struggling Cal welcomed a bye, hoping to use the time to turn around their disappointing season.
Here’s my take on all four teams heading into Week Eight.
Bears looking to exploit North Carolina’s porous offense
The Golden Bears are not who we thought they were. After a hot start to the season, they’ve looked more like their preseason expectation in the last three outings.
If California wants to make a run in the ACC this year, they must beat North Carolina. The Tar Heels are 2-3, but they haven’t been competitive against Power Four teams.
Cal should be able to exploit North Carolina’s porous offense. UNC ranks 119th in points scored per game.
This is important because the Bears’ defense has struggled recently. Over the last three games, they’ve allowed 103 points; in the three games prior, they allowed 32.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele will also need to improve his form a bit. He should be able to do so against a Tar Heels defense that ranks 106th in pass yards allowed per game.
It feels like Cal is starting to slip into their Justin Wilcox ways, and that can prove dangerous. At the beginning of the year, the Golden Bears schedule looked easy down the stretch, but with the improvement of Virginia that’s not the case.
Wilcox has gotta beat Bill Belichick, and he should do so.
Notes
- Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has thrown for 1,487 yards, nine touchdowns, and seven interceptions
- Kendrick Raphael leads the team with 414 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns
- Trond Grizzell leads the team with 400 receiving yards; he’s also added a touchdown reception
- Cade Uluave leads the team with 52 tackles and 6.5 TFLs
The Cardinal rebuild gets another big test this week against Florida State
The Cardinal never threatened SMU in Dallas, which is a reminder that Stanford’s still in a rebuilding mode.
And things are gonna get tougher this week, as they host Florida State, which is coming off a hard loss against Pittsburgh. If Stanford’s going to compete against the Seminoles, they gotta score early.
The Tree fell behind the Mustangs 17-0, and could never get themselves back in the contest. FSU has the fifth-ranked scoring offense in the country, so they’re gonna need to score points on offense.
On defense, Ben Gulbranson may be able to find success against the Noles 63rd-ranked pass defense; they’re 38th in rushing yards allowed per game.
Micah Ford will also need to be more effective in this contest. He only averaged 3.3 yards per carry against SMU. If the Cardinal could get Bryce Farrell, CJ Williams, and a third receiver going at the same time, they’d prove a difficult guard.
Stanford’s schedule is nasty going forward, but a competitive showing against Florida State would build confidence within the program.
Notes
- Ben Gulbranson has thrown for 1,445 yards, six touchdowns, and four interceptions
- Cole Tabb has rushed for 194 yards and one touchdown
- CJ Williams leads the team with 404 yards receiving and also has a touchdown reception
- Collin Wright has Stanford’s only interception on the season, which was a pick-six. He also has two pass deflections
Robb Akey takes over as interim coach heading into the Idaho contest
There are no words to describe the beginning of Oregon State’s season, but the Beavers finally made the move. OSU fired Trent Bray, and Robb Akey will be taking over as the Interim Head Coach.
Even during the 0-6 start, the Beavs had proven competitive, but that changed against Wake Forest. The time had come.
Akey’s only head coaching experience was at the University of Idaho from 2007-12, during which time he compiled a 20-50 record, with one winning season in 2009.
He probably won’t be the long-term guy, so all thoughts are on who will be the selection leading OSU into the new Pac-12. Things look bleak now, but Indiana finished 3-9 before hiring Curt Cignetti.
The right hire could move the haystack. A few names to consider are Jason Eck, Bronco Mendenhall, and maybe a return to Corvallis for Jonathan Smith?
With a bowl game out of the question, the Beavs should focus on preparing for the future. They have an easy schedule for the remainder of the year.
They should get their first win this week against FCS Lafayette.
Notes
- Maalik Murphy has thrown for 1,653 yards, nine touchdowns, and eight interceptions
- Cornell Hatcher Jr. is second on the team in rushing yards with 177 and two rushing touchdowns
- Taz Reddicks is second on the team with 324 receiving yards
- Trent Bray went 5-14 as the Head Coach at Oregon State
The Cougars can confirm their improvement with a win at Virginia
The Cougars had their most impressive result of the Jimmy Rogers era on Saturday, nearly beating Ole Miss in Oxford.
While the game gave hope to Washington State’s fanbase, they’ll have another opportunity this week against Virginia. If the Cougs can get a win in Charlottesville, it would put a little juice back into WSU’s brand.
The key to stopping Virginia is making them one-dimensional. UV features a balanced attack averaging the 30th-most passing yards per game, and 18th rushing. They’re eighth in the nation in points scored per game.
Wazzu might get handled on the ground, but should be able to limit the Cavaliers passing attack. Washington State ranks 40th in passing yards allowed per game, having limited the Rebels to 253 yards last week.
On offense, the Cougars are starting to find their rushing attack. WSU ran for 285 yards in their last two contests, including 127 against Ole Miss. And Zevi Eckhaus is continuing to prove a reliable quarterback for Washington State.
The Cougs are still a bit of a mystery, but mystery draws intrigue.
Notes
- Zevi Eckhaus has thrown for 758 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions
- Kirby Vorhees leads the team with 244 yards rushing, he’s also added a rushing touchdown
- Tony Freeman leads the team in catches and receiving yards with, 30 and 302
- Parker McKenna leads the team with 45 tackles, also has 2.5 TFL’s