Top 25 Scores: Mississippi State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, and East Carolina Win in Afternoon Games
Saturday Blitz Afternoon Top 25 Scores and Recap
No. 12 Mississippi State Beats No. 6 Texas A&M 48-31
Player of the Game: Dak Prescott- 19/25 for 259 Yards and 2 Touchdowns, 23 Carries for 77 Yards and 3 Touchdowns
Dak Prescott added fuel to the argument that he should be the Heisman winner, and Mississippi State added fuel to the argument that it is a legitimate college football powerhouse.
The Bulldogs shocked the Aggies in a blowout win that should have been even more than it was. Similar to the Bulldogs’ win against LSU, Dak Prescott and Mississippi State absolutely dominated the Aggies on both sides of the ball. Kenny Hill’s 365 yards passing and 4 touchdowns were plastic stats, as it was desperation football with the Aggies down 35-10 and the offense desperate to score. All the credit in the world goes to the Mississippi State defense for giving Texas A&M fits.
The Aggies have a loaded offense but couldn’t move the ball at all until the Bulldogs called off the dogs, no pun intended. It raises questions about how good this team is since it was yet to play a dominant defense until Saturday. Texas A&M is still a very good football team, but they got rocked Saturday.
As for Mississippi State, they have a strong case to be the No. 1 team in the country right now. This team is playing incredible football and has dominated now two of the best teams in the SEC West, the best division in football. It’s time to take them seriously.
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No. 20 Ohio State Beats Maryland 52-24
Player of the Game: J.T. Barrett-18/23 for 267 Yards and 4 Touchdowns, 16 Carries for 71 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Welcome to the Big Ten Maryland. Scratch that. Welcome to playing Ohio State, a team that plays a way better form of the spread offense than you do.
Maryland fans have nothing to worry about in the grand scheme of things because this was a bad match-up. Most of the Big Ten plays slow, three yards and a cloud of dust football that a speed and skill-oriented Maryland team should be able to have fun with. But Ohio State with Urban Meyer focuses on skill players the same way Maryland does.
The Buckeyes are finding their rhythm after a tough loss to Virginia Tech earlier in the season. Barrett looks like an incredible quarterback right now, and the defense stepped up today. Even when Maryland switched to a more accurate, pocket passing quarterback, the secondary decided to show up and make quite a few plays against those incredible Terps skill players. Ohio State might be back in the mix for a national title.
After this blowout win, the Buckeyes are definitely in great shape and should feel good about where they stand.
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No. 21 Oklahoma State Beats Iowa State 37-20
Player of the Game: The Entire Team
The Oklahoma State Cowboys made sure in the second half of this game that there would be no upset here. Daxx Garman played great football after committing turnovers early to make sure Mike Gundy’s squad would have a comfortable win against the Iowa State Cyclones.
This win goes to the entire team because everybody stepped up. The defense stepped up in holding the Cyclones to 20 points. That was the entire unit. Tyreek Hill stepped up for special teams with a kick return for a touchdown. Sticking with special teams, Ben Grogan was 3 for 3 on field goals. And the offense was fine after Garman struggled early. Garman ended up throwing for 271 yards and a touchdown, and Desmond Roland had 95 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns.
Again, everybody stepped up. Oklahoma State continues to show every week that they are worthy of being among the Big 12 elite, and they only took another step in solidifying that this week. The Cowboys are playing great football right now, and it proves how good Mike Gundy’s system is.
At No. 21 in the country right now, the Cowboys will likely move up this week, and it will be well-deserved.
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No. 22 East Carolina Defeats SMU 45-24
Player of the Game: Shane Carden- 31.41 for 410 Yards, 4 Touchdowns and 0 Interceptions
The East Carolina Pirates made their American Athletic Conference debut Saturday, and the newest AAC team looks like the best AAC team.
After struggling early, the Pirates realized who they were and managed to put away the SMU Mustangs pretty easily. They were never really threatened, but when SMU made it 35-24, the defense at least needed a good wake-up call. The offense, on the other hand, was fine for most of the game.
As we talk about all of these great players in college football, it might be time to mention Shane Carden as a potential Heisman candidate as well. After 410 yards and 4 touchdowns Saturday, Carden has 1,879 passing yards and 15 touchdowns through five games, which makes for nearly 400 yards and right at 3 touchdowns a game. He also only has 7 interceptions.
Carden’s play makes the Pirates a favorite to win the AAC right now, and this team may only get better. With South Florida, Connecticut, and Temple up next, this team should be 7-1 heading into a showdown with Cincinnati.