Also Considered: Nevada, Liberty, Army, Memphis, UCF

Week 13 Recap

After most of the featured games I had in last week’s ranking ended up being postponed or outright canceled, I was concerned I was going to have much of a hook for this week. Turns out Jaret Patterson had other ideas. In a battle for the top spot in the MAC East, the Buffalo RB turned out a career performance, rushing for yards on 36 carries, and tied an NCAA record 8 TDs. He could have had more, and potentially an NCAA record for yards in a game if Bulls’ head coach Lance Leipold (who I am manifesting to take the Vanderbilt job to keep Clark Lea in South Bend) had kept his bell cow in the game. Instead, the backup Kevin Marks Jr finished off Kent State and kept the Bulls atop the MAC. I posted this on my personal Twitter but I think Patterson, between this week and his past performance against Bowling Green, deserves to be on some Heisman ballots as he is truly giving Buffalo the spark to dominate their opponents, despite his 5’ 9’’ frame. The prospective opponents for Buffalo in Detroit, Western Michigan, needed a little help to get by Northern Illinois on Saturday. A do-it-all performance from senior WR D’Wayne Eskridge helped pushed the Broncos over the top. Eskridge finished with 7 catches for 135 yards, a carry for 27 yards, which put WMU firmly in FG range to take the lead. He also returned a kickoff for a TD after NIU took the lead late in the second quarter. Both of these teams still have to technically clinch their divisions, but they are still in the driver’s seat to meet in Detroit.

Our finish of the weekend wasn’t as dramatic as we have seen in weeks past but it was still a feat to behold. Central Michigan entered the 4^th quarter down to instate rival Eastern Michigan 20-6 and down 23-14 with 4 minutes left, before a TD cut the lead to 2. The Chippewas then took advantage of a dropped option pitch to take the lead on a FG. Finally, CMU was the recipient of what will probably be the weirdest INT of the season, with the ball bouncing off one Chippewa defender to the hands of another. The offense turned that into a TD and the game was finally sealed for Central Michigan on the sixth Eagle turnover to win 31-23 in The Factory.

In other notable results of the weekend, SMU spotted East Carolina 45 first-half points as the Pirates scored TDs in all of the first half drives except the final one, which was an FG to end the first half. The Mustangs could not overcome the deficit and the chances for Sonny Dykes (another candidate I want to manifest ahead of Clark Lea for the Vanderbilt job) to make his way to the AAC Championship are dashed for another season. Memphis played an unusually slow game against Navy, winning 10-7. Usually, as ND fans are well aware, when Navy games are low scoring, it’s usually because Navy has the balls and bleeds clock with their triple-option offense. However, the two longest Navy drives ended in a Missed FG and INT, which proved to be the difference for the Tigers. On the island, Nevada struggled to build off their SDSU win in Reno as Hawaii QB Chevan Cordiero lit up the Wolfpack offense that led most of the way late Saturday night. Finally, in what can be only described as peak 2020, San Diego State had its game with Fresno State canceled, only to be given a game in Boulder against Colorado after its game with USC was canceled. The Aztecs would fall to the Buffaloes 20-10.

The Sun Belt is a pretty straight forward round-up as Coastal Carolina (who officially clinched the Sun Belt East), Louisiana, and Appalachian State also trounced their opponents (Texas St, Louisiana-Monroe, and Troy respectively). Rounding the rest of the games that actually happened this weekend, Liberty ran away from UMass 45-0, UCF kept their I-4 brethren at bay, beating USF 58-46, Ball State kept it’s MAC title hopes alive knocking off Toledo 24-21, and Georgia State proved to be the true GSU for a year after beating Georgia Southern.

Week 14 Games to Watch

(Opening Lines Used Below)

Louisiana at Appalachian State (-4)

This game may not have true stakes behind it for the Sun Belt conference, I am personally curious to use this a jumping-off point for how good Louisiana is in a rematch with Coastal Carolina. We saw that App State essentially hung with Coastal for 3.5 quarters so if Louisiana can get a decisive victory heading into the conference championship, it should bode well for the Ragin Cajuns.

Liberty at Coastal Carolina (-7)

This game is one of the weirdest on the schedule not only for the week but possibly for the season. This now has a chance to boost Coastal Carolina into a longshot NY6 bid, and the fans of the Chanticleers, as far back as the App State game, want Gameday to come to Conway, SC for this game. While that would require ESPN to have a Hugh Freeze segment (which is just gross), Coastal on their own has earned the opportunity, especially since I don’t think this game will be particularly close.

Buffalo (-7) at Ohio

Buffalo can clinch its spot into the MAC Championship with a win (and potentially get some CFP Top 25 respect and enter the NY6 conversation). Ohio hasn’t had many opportunities to separate themselves from the rest of the MAC pack, but can try and knock off the goliath this season.

Fresno State at Nevada (-8)/Hawaii at San Jose State (-7)

I mentioned two weeks ago that two Mountain West games could bring some clarity. However, COVID-19 had other plans and we stand here two weeks later, still trying to figure out who will be the team meeting Boise State. Granted the Spartans thought they were getting a chance at the Broncos, they will have to win out to try and get another crack at them. Nevada and Fresno State (if this game obviously plays since Fresno is having an outbreak) both can make their cases as second best MWC team and make a late push for the title game.

Florida Atlantic at Georgia Southern (-1)

There hasn’t been much talk about C-USA other than the occasional mention that Marshall is really good this year. The second-best team is probably in their own division in Florida Atlantic. They have won every non-Marshall game they have played so far and have a chance to put a non-conference win under their belt to try and assert their place among the rest of the G5 upper echelon. Georgia Southern has been competitive (Saturday’s rivalry loss notwithstanding) among the top tier Sun Belt programs this year so this will be an interesting clash of styles.