It was an up-and-down weekend for Notre Dame opponents. A few big wins. A few shocking losses. And a few close shaves. Overall, the Irish schedule went 7-5 (including the Miami loss), with Michigan laying it on Purdue and Boston College loses in shocking fashion to Army.
Let’s take a spin across the Notre Dame slate.
NAVY -- Navy slid by Air Force in overtime on Saturday, winning on a fumble recovery in the end zone after backup quarterback Keenan Reynolds fumbled the snap into the end zone. The Midshipmen clinched the win when the defense knocked down an Air Force pass, giving them the inside track to win the Commander-in-Chief Trophy.
Trending: The Midshipmen are still just 2-3, but hope to build some momentum into a string of winnable games for Navy. Next up a Friday night test against Central Michigan.
PURDUE -- The Boilermakers once again no-showed for a marquee game, getting drubbed by Michigan 44-13 at home. It was a hugely disappointing effort for Danny Hope’s squad, who let Denard Robinson run wild for 235 yards as the Wolverines did most of their damage on the ground. Purdue was held to just 15 first downs and 213 total yards and turned the ball over four times.
Trending: Epic fail for a Purdue team that thought itself a Big Ten darkhorse. They’ll have a shot at redemption against a Wisconsin team that looks like a shadow of its former self.
MICHIGAN STATE -- Sparty erased a 17-point lead and roared back to beat Indiana 31-27, averting a potential crisis of faith for a team that still considers itself in the race for the Big Ten title. Andrew Maxwell threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns and Le’Veon Bell trudged his way to 121 yards on 37 carries and scored two touchdowns as the Spartans withstood eight penalties for 115 yards and scored 17 second half points to escape Bloomington.
Trending: Color me unimpressed by the win, especially when the Spartans offensive line is struggling to open holes for Bell, who ran for a pedistrian 3.3 yards per carry. A win is a win, but right now there isn’t a Big Ten team ranked in the Coaches Poll. That’s telling.
MICHIGAN -- The Wolverines got back to winning on Saturday, with Denard Robinson putting his cape back on and gashing another Big Ten opponent. Michigan only threw for 105 yards, but played stingy defense and took care of business, reminding the college football world that not all two-loss teams are created equal.
Trending: Upwards. The Wolverines play Illinois before battling Michigan State. We’ll see if they can solve the Spartans before we decide if they are ready to make a run at the Big Ten title.
No. 17 STANFORD -- It took all Stanford had to outlast Arizona last weekend, winning a shootout in overtime against Rich Rodriguez’s upstart offense. The good news for the Irish? Stanford’s defense finally looked to have some weaknesses. The bad news? Quarterback Josh Nunes got on track, and the Cardinal offense exploded for a season-best performance.
Trending: Holding steady. Two straight tight games for the Cardinal. Pulling out a victory after being down 48-34 in the fourth quarter is clutch.
BYU -- It certainly wouldn’t have won a beauty pageant, but the Cougars beat Utah State 6-3 on Friday night, out-gutting the Aggies in a defensive battle. With Riley Nelson still sitting out with a back injury, freshman quarterback Taysom Hill threw for 235 yards and one touchdown. BYU’s defense has now held opponents out of the endzone for 13 straight quarters, one-upping Notre Dame’s performance. Something to watch: The Cougars’ kicking problems. They have been brutal this year.
Trending: With a young, mobile quarterback and a stout defense, BYU looks flawed, but tough.
No. 13 OKLAHOMA -- The Sooners bounced back after their loss to Kansas State and vanquished some Texas Tech demons along the way beating the Red Raiders 41-20 in Lubbock. Landry Jones completed 25 of 40 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns, and the Sooners had three interceptions as they ran away from Texas Tech in the second half.
Trending: We’ll find out after the Red River Shootout, a game that’ll like define either Texas or Oklahoma’s seasons this weekend. There wasn’t much explosiveness in Oklahoma’s offense this weekend.
PITTSBURGH -- The Panthers lost a tight game to Syracuse on Friday night, falling 14-13 in the Carrier Dome. Pitt fought back from a 14-0 hole and pulled to within one point in the third quarter, but was unable to score in the fourth quarter. The Pitt offensive line struggled with protection all evening and Ray Graham was held to just 57 yards on 24 carries. (Meanwhile, freshman stud Rushel Shell only got one carry.)
Trending: It’s going to be a long season in Pittsburgh this year, with the offensive line a mess and the team in transition after some serious instability at head coach. Pitt now has to face the class of the Big East in No. 18 Louisville on Saturday.
BOSTON COLLEGE -- There’s chaos in Chestnut Hill, as the end of the Frank Spaziani era looks near as the Eagles dropped to 1-4 after losing to Army 34-31 on Saturday. Army ran for a staggering 516 yards as they controlled the playclock and pulled off the huge upset when Trent Steelman ran for a 29-yard touchdown with 45 seconds left.
Trending: There isn’t a hotter seat in college football than Frank Spaziani. With AD Gene DeFilippo retired, it’ll be interesting to see when a change comes at head coach.
WAKE FOREST -- The Demon Deacons fell to 3-3 on the season when Maryland edged past them on Saturday afternoon, courtesy of freshman Stefon Diggs’ 63-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter. Tanner Price completed just 13 of 38 throws for 170 yards, but two of them were touchdowns. Without top receiver Michael Campanaro, the Deacs offense was stuck in neutral.
Trending: Not much to worry about here, though you know Jim Grobe’s team will continue to improve.
No. 11 USC -- The Trojans spotted Utah 14 points before erupting offensively, scoring 38 points with a downfield passing attack that has the Trojans looking like the team many thought they were. There are still issues -- namely on the offensive line -- but USC is back to No. 11 after a loss to Stanford.
Trending: This team could go either way. They’ve got no injury leeway, but if they stay healthy they’ll be Notre Dame’s toughest opponent on the schedule.