Nobody Knows Anything: Florida State doesn't look that scary
This week's games that made no sense to anyone.
Indiana 31, Missouri 27
It was bounce-back week for the Big Ten, and this may have been the most surprising result of the weekend. Indiana’s loss to Bowling Green in week two led me to assume that Kevin Wilson’s Hoosiers would again struggle just to reach the six-win mark. Winning in Columbia against the defending SEC East Champs? Wasn’t happening.
But it did, and it wasn’t a fluke. The Hoosiers displayed almost perfect offensive balance, gaining more than 200 yards apiece through the air and on the ground. They also harassed Maty Mauk just enough to slow down the Tigers' offense.
Missouri now joins the pile of confusing teams in the SEC East. Every team has issues, and I’m not sure any of them can be solved in a season.
Mississippi State 34, LSU 29
For three-and-a-half quarters, Mississippi State whipped the Bayou Bengals. The furious rally at the end was to be expected, but in the end, the Bulldogs picked up their first win in Baton Rouge since 1991.
Dak Prescott flashed his potential, Mississippi State’s offensive line played as well as it has in years and suddenly thoughts of a 10-win season in Starkville are not terribly far-fetched.
This game could be a harbinger of a down season for LSU, or the Tigers could win the rest of their games. Les Miles has won with a less-than-explosive offense before. But, looking at the offensive potential of teams like Alabama and Texas A&M, the Tigers would be well-served to figure something out quickly.
Florida State 23, Clemson 17
The run-up to this game featured a lot of discussion about whether or not a loss would count against Florida State in the eyes of the selection committee, given Jameis Winston’s absence. But what most people seemed to forget was that a loss for the Seminoles would mean a win for Clemson, which would have put the Tigers in total control of the ACC. The Tigers would have had to lose two games in conference play for FSU to have any chance to overtake them.
But Clemson couldn’t close the deal in a game where the Seminoles looked more vulnerable than they have since that night at North Carolina State in 2012.
Florida St. has some serious holes, Winston or not. The 0.5 yards per rush attempt is heavily skewed by the sacks that backup quarterback Sean Maguire took, but it shows that the Seminole offensive line is not playing close to an elite level now. The Clemson quarterbacks also averaged 9.3 yards per pass attempt.
There may not be a team left on its schedule that can beat Florida St. But the Seminoles need to take a few steps forward before the playoff rolls around if they want to defend their title.