all right. The first full Saturday of the 2022 college football season is scheduled. So what have we learned? Much of what we learned dealt with quarterbacks, as expected.
1—Discussions on Stetson Bennett IV are officially over. In fact, he should be on your Heisman his trophy list.
Last season, sixth grader Bennett won MVP in both the CFP semifinals against Michigan and the National Championship game against Alabama. Still, I’m skeptical that Bennett has a four-star recruit named Harrison Beck and two five-stars, Gunner Stockton and Brock Vandagriff, chilling their heels in the Bulldog quarterback room. .
Bennett had a career-high 368 passing yards and two touchdowns on Saturday against No. 11 Oregon, completing 25 of 31 passes (and throwing at least two of the incomplete passes). He ran for another score. Bennett was in the game on Saturday when he had six possessions. The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on all six.
It was, by objective measures, the best game of his career.
who said
Stetson Bennett IV says.
“Yeah, probably the best game I’ve played,” said Bennett.
With 15 players lost in the NFL Draft (including five defensive players in the first round), it is understood that Bennett will have a lot more to do if Georgia competes for another national championship. He’s off to a pretty good start.
I admit he wasn’t on the Heisman Trophy list when the season started.
2—Anthony Richardson playing like this every week makes the Gators unwieldy.
In just one game, Florida’s 29-26 win over No. 7 Utah may mean it’s time to reassess the Gators. A three-point underdog to Ute, the Gators took a three-point lead after Anthony Richardson scored on a two-yard run with 1:24 remaining. Utah, the defending Pac-12 champion, swooped down the field and looked like he was about to steal the game when he dropped two yards to his line with seconds left. But Florida linebacker Amari his Bernie intercepted a pass from Utah’s Kam his rising in the end his zone and Billy gave the Gators the win in his Napier’s new coaching debut. rice field.
An inconsistent and talented player throughout his career, Richardson was the best player on the field. He threw for his 168 yards and ran for 104 yards. If he keeps playing like that, the Gators will be second to none but Georgia.
“He’s going to have an NFL payday,” said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. “He’s 6-4, 230, runs like a 43. (on a 40-yard dash). He’s a great player.”
Many people, including this author, rank Florida fourth in the SEC East, behind Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. Kentucky goes to Florida on Saturday.
3 – Arkansas can win 9 again. There are probably more.
Quarterback KJ Jefferson threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns, plus another 67 yards and another score in a 31-24 victory over No. 23 Cincinnati in Fayetteville.
But it was here that the victory was most impressive for Arkansas. The Bearcats scored with 5:49 left to go in for a touchdown.
The pressure on Arkansas simply lined up to run out the rest of the clock, ending the game.
Head coach Sam Pittman, a former offensive lineman, couldn’t contain his glee at how the Hoggs controlled the line of scrimmage to close out the game.
“Unbelievable,” said Pitman. “It’s hard no matter who you’re playing with.”
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Jefferson came up with some big third-down conversions on the final drive, including a 15-yard run on the third and nine.
“Every time there’s a play that needs to be made, he seems to make it,” Pittman said of Jefferson.
Arkansas will host South Carolina on Saturday.
4—The “Beamer Ball” is alive and well in South Carolina: Former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer became a legend for his ability to make special teams a vital part of the game. His son Shane, South Carolina’s head coach, picked up the baton and ran with it. Turned it into a touchdown and pulled away to beat the Panthers 35-14 at Williams-Bryce Stadium.
In addition to turning blocked punts into touchdowns, South Carolina scored two 50-yard field goals. The Gamecocks also kept the drive on a false field goal. The drive eventually led to a touchdown.
Lost in the excitement of special teams play was the debut of transfer quarterback Spencer Rattler. He completed 23 of his 37 passes for a 226-yard touchdown. He also threw two interceptions. His first SEC load in Arkansas It will be interesting to see how he plays in his game.
5 — LSU has a lot to do.
The good news is that LSU didn’t finish in the fourth quarter, beating Florida State 24-10. In fact, the Tigers finally found their rhythm on offense and were able to win overtime with a 99-yard touchdown drive in the final seconds, with zero time remaining and he went 24-23, Florida. However, LSU’s extra points were blocked and he was just one of many special teams gaffes that night, losing the game in New Orleans.
The bad news was everything else that happened in the game: LSU blocked two kicks. The center that couldn’t snap well. They muffed two punts and looked uninspired for the most part.
LSU will get better, but the Tigers didn’t look like a well-coached team Monday night.
bonus note
Kentucky MARK STOOPS Milestones: This is his 10th season with the Stoops in Kentucky. Not even Paul “Bear” Bryant has stayed in Kentucky that long. Stoops reached another milestone on Sunday as Kentucky scored his 60th win as a Wildcats head coach with his 37-13 victory over Miami, Ohio. It tied him with Bryant for the school’s all-time win count,
“You can’t say my name in the same sentence as Bear Bryant,” Stoops said.
Slouch could overtake Bryant on Saturday (7 p.m. ESPN) when the Wildcats go to Florida.
Kentucky Coaches (Winning Order)
Name……………….…Season…………Victory
Bear Bryant…………8………………..60
Mark Stoop……….10………….………60
Fran Curch………….9……………………46
Blanton Collier……..8……………….41
Jerry Claiborne…….8………………..41
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