Notes from a wacky week in college football … For those that don’t follow college football as religiously as the pros, or simply went to bed early last evening, the big story line from the third week of the college football season was the fact that Mississippi upset #2 ranked Alabama 43-37 right in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide actually out first-downed the Rebels 29-16 and had over 500 yards of total offense in a wild game that saw Ole Miss score one of the wackiest TDs ever, but in the end, Alabama could not overcome a -5 turnover differential that included two fumbles on KO returns. The sub-plot to the game was that Alabama replaced QB Jake Coker to start the game in favor of sophomore Cooper Bateman. Coker, of course, was supposed to be the next great Alabama QB when he transferred from Florida State two years, but couldn’t beat out journeyman Blake Sims for the job last fall and clearly has struggled so far this fall. Coker did come off the bench to lead Alabama on a furious, albeit futile late rally, but ultimately completed only 21 of 45 passes with a couple of picks thrown in. The other sub-plot of note in the Ole Miss-Alabama game was the possible emergence of Rebels junior DT Robert Nkemdiche as a legitimate candidate to be the among the first 2-3 players off the boar this coming April. Nkemdiche bulked up to almost 300 pounds this season and there were scouts that were concerned that the extra weight could impact his quickness, but he continues to move with the agility of a 230-pound LB or RB and was just unblockable at times for the Alabama front. Indeed, given his size-speed combination it would not be a shock if Nkemdiche starts to be mentioned in the same breath as Ohio State junior DE Joey Bosa, who is considered to be the consensus top prospect overall for the upcoming draft … Speaking of #1 ranked Ohio State, the Buckeyes had a scare of their own yesterday and the defending national champions barely held off Northern Illinois 20-13. And like Alabama, the Buckeyes have their own issues at QB after junior starter Cardale Jones was benched after he threw a pair of ill-advised picks against the Huskies. In fact, Jones has played like anything but a potential first-round pick so far this fall as he has completed just 57% of his pass attempts through three games with just a couple of TD throws against three picks. Stay tuned … While Jones and Coker really struggled yesterday, California junior QB Jared Goff had yet another very efficient day against Texas as he completed 27 of 37 passes for 268 yards and three scores in leading the Bears to a dramatic 45-44 win over the Longhorns. For the year, Goff, who is challenging for the #1 grade among QBs for the upcoming draft, has completed 73% of his throws for just under 300 yards per game and 9 TDs against two picks. Veteran QBs Kevin Hogan (18/23; 2TDs, 0 INTs) and Cody Kessler (25/32; 3 TDs, 0 INTs) were also both extremely efficient in the Cardinal’s 45-31 win over the Trojans in Los Angeles. The difference in that game was that the often very inconsistent Hogan was able to make a few more plays downfield. And for those wondering this morning who the heck Greyson Lambert is after the Georgia junior set an all-time NCAA single-game completion mark as he hit on 24 of 25 pass attempts in the Bulldogs 52-20 dismantling of South Carolina, he’s the 6-6 former starter at Virginia who took advantage of the NCAA’s grad transfer rules to finish out his final two years at UGA … And speaking of Georgia, interesting that if the Heisman Trophy was awarded this week, it would probably be a two-man race between junior RBs Nick Chubb of the Bulldogs’ and LSU’s Leonard Fournette who ripped off 228 yards and three scores in the Tigers’ win over Auburn. However, both are true sophs and won’t be draft-eligible until 2017 … Elsewhere around the country, Oregon QB Vernon Adams did not play in the Ducks’ easy 61-28 win over Georgia State as he rested that broken finger … Auburn junior DE Carl Lawson did not play in the team’s 45-21 loss to the LSU in the ‘Tiger bowl’; one of the best young edge rushers in the country, Lawson has been nursing a hip injury since the first half of Auburn’s season opener versus Louisville; unfortunately, that was after Lawson missed all the 2014 campaign with a torn ACL … Wisconsin junior RB Corey Clement did not play in the Badgers’ win over Troy because of a lingering groin injury … Amid all the other turmoil at Rutgers, star DT Darius Hamilton has yet to play this fall for the Knights because of an undisclosed leg/knee injury.
