College football 2020: Thoughts around the nation from Week 9

A great college football season is about to get even better with the return of the final two conferences. Here are some thoughts from Week 9.

First and foremost, get well soon, Trevor Lawrence. Football is well past secondary in this situation.

• That does lead into Clemson and their incredible struggles, particularly in the first half, against a motivated Boston College team. It’s clear to see  that Lawrence has that much of an impact on their team.

Now yes, I know he doesn’t play defense and yes, I know that was the main problem. But how many times have we seen a team leader go out and the entire complexion of the team changes? That’s exactly what happened in one of the flattest halves of football we’ve seen from Clemson in years.

They really pulled it together in the second half and pulled out a six point win. DJ Uiagalelei player a spectacular game with 342 yards and two touchdowns.

I said a few weeks ago that Clemson isn’t losing this season, and I stick by it. With or without Lawrence, it’s hard to see them losing at all. And yes, that includes Notre Dame.

• The other side to that Clemson game is Boston College. It certainly looks like they made a perfect hire in Jeff Hafley.

This has been the best Boston College has looked since probably 2009. Outside of that horrific loss to Virginia Tech, the Eagles have been in every single game they’ve played. At 4-3, their remaining schedule includes Syracuse, Notre Dame, Louisville and Virginia. Three of those are very winnable, and don’t rule out an upset over Notre Dame.

• Goodbye to the Big 12’s College Football Playoff hopes. We already knew they were over in Week 5, but with Oklahoma State’s loss to Texas, it’s all but official.

Everybody in the conference with the exception of Oklahoma State has two losses now, meaning even if the Cowboys can win out, their best wins will be over three loss teams. It doesn’t look like we’ll have to worry about that, as the Cowboys’ remaining schedule includes Kansas State and Oklahoma, two very difficult games.

• What is up with Minnesota? After trailing 21-7 to Maryland in the first quarter, the Gophers stormed back to 38-21 lead — only to blow it in the forth quarter and lose in overtime.

A team that had undefeated potential is now 0-2.

The fourth quarter play calling was not great. On offense, the Gophers insisted on running up the middle even though running outside was what got them back in the game. On defense, they went way too conservative and it came back to bite them.

Minnesota now can’t take anything for granted. Their Big Ten title hopes are pretty much done, so at this point they’re playing for each other.

How will PJ Fleck and his Gophers respond now? Do they fold and continue to disappoint or do they band together as an angry team and dominate the rest of the season?

• Week 2 (in Big Ten time) is an awful early time for Michigan to show it’s once again overrated. The Wolverines went out and lost to a Michigan State team that lost to Rutgers the week before.

Yes it’s a rivalry game where things get crazy. But this was a bad loss in a situation all too familiar to Michigan fans.

Let’s be honest, Jim Harbaugh can’t win the big game at Michigan. How much more proof do we need? Harbaugh is now 1-6 against Michigan State and Ohio State at home. They haven’t even been competitive with Ohio State over the last few seasons.

Michigan fans won’t like this, but if they really want a championship, Harbaugh has to go. He’s in his sixth season, and he has a great record. But 10-3 isn’t going to win a title. Ohio State has pulled away from Michigan in terms of talent, and Ohio State is the team Michigan wants to be.

If Michigan can’t beat Ohio State, which it won’t, it’s time for the Harbaugh era to end. Harbaugh, Brady Hoke, Rich Rodriguez — maybe instead of a “Michigan Man”, they should find a winning man. Otherwise, enjoy your 10 wins, big-game failures and routine whippings from the Buckeyes.

• I’m really excited to see how far Indiana can go. They’re a good team, not elite or anything, but they’re fun to watch. If they beat the Michigan schools over the next two weeks, we’re likely looking at a top-10 showdown with the Hoosiers and Buckeyes. Who would have thought that a month ago?
• Looking ahead, how fun is BYU/Boise State going to be on Friday night? There have been bigger name opponents, but this is probably the biggest game on the blue since the 2011 game against TCU.

Given the landscape of college football this season, this game could have playoff implications for both teams.

Boise State is used to major games, but BYU hasn’t been ranked in the top 10 since reaching No. 7 early on 2009. The last time BYU played a ranked opponent as a top-10 team was in 1997 when they defeated Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. It’s been a while for the Cougars.

• Also looking ahead, welcome back to MACtion and Pac-12 After Dark. It’ll be nice to have the whole gang back together.

Buffalo is the team to beat in the MAC this year, led by an elite rushing attack and solid offensive line. If you don’t know who Jaret Patterson is, you soon will.

Patterson ran for 1,799 yards and 19 touchdowns. Through no fault of his own, it’ll be next to impossible to reach that mark this season (he’d need to average 300 yards rushing per game) because of such a shortened season. But don’t count out 1,000-yard season. That would be just as impressive.

In the Pac-12, everyone is taking about USC and Oregon again, and for good reason. But watch out for California.

Cal could be an extremely dangerous team this season. Chase Garbers is an excellent quarterback cal was 7-2 in games started by Garbers and both of those losses came in games he exited with injury. Garbers has nine starters around him back on offense and 8 on a defense that ranked 33rd in the country in points per game allowed.

I’ll go as far as to pick Cal to win the Pac-12, defeating USC in the championship game. In the MAC, give me Buffalo over Toledo.