CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position

Even before I started working at Rivals.com, I would spend my Saturdays watching as many college football games as possible. Now that I have interacted with most current college football players, it gives Saturdays a different perspective. Each week, I will watch as many games as possible and share my thoughts in this space, examining weird moments and sharing some throwback recruiting stories as well.

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It would have been hard to imagine Purdue being the team to knock Ohio State from the unbeaten ranks when they were losing to Eastern Michigan in Week 2, but by the time things ended on Saturday night in West Lafayette, the Boilermakers outclassed the Buckeyes in every facet of the game. It shows the progress the team has made this year and has continued to make since Jeff Brohm took over the Purdue program prior to last season. Super freshman Rondale Moore was incredible in the game and highlights the offensive creativity Brohm and his staff have shown. Brohm is obviously going to be a hot candidate on the coaching market, but he’s already excelling on the recruiting trail – the Boilermakers class is No. 22 in the nation – and the future appears to be very bright if he stays at the school long term. As far as Ohio State, losing to Purdue by 29 points is about as weird as it gets.

Washington State is known for having prolific offenses under coach Mike Leach, but it was the Cougars defense that made headlines in Saturday’s dominating victory over Oregon. For most of the first half the Ducks mustered just one first down and one yard of total offense and went into the locker room with zero points. Washington State’s offense was still potent, but with a legit defense as well and Oregon, Stanford and Washington all looking beatable, this could be the year the Cougars finally break through and play in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Ducks' offense made some noise in the second half and finished with 20 points, but it was much too little, too late. The win over Oregon made for quite the scene in Pullman, starting with "College Gameday" at 6 a.m. local time and lasting well into the night after the victory.

It’s not often that a Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback on a Top 10 team doesn’t start due to a “coach’s game-time decision,” but that’s exactly what the crew working the broadcast of the UCF/ECU game would have had the audience believe last night. McKenzie Milton was shown in pads and even with his helmet on but never entered the game in the Knights' 37-10 victory over East Carolina. As it turned out, UCF didn’t need him to win its 20th game in a row, but it was still odd not to see it investigated further on the air. The assumption is that Milton was injured and UCF didn’t want to risk it getting worse during the game, but the lack of an explanation all night was as weird as it gets.

For some reason, I was up late watching the end of the Boise State-Colorado State game on Friday night and I couldn’t help but notice as the conversation veered way off topic. It started with a feature on Boise State’s kicking-tee retrieving dog and devolved from there when color analyst Kelly Stouffer started floating the idea of breeding his pet dog with Boise’s dog. It was a topic he didn’t give up on, continually floating the idea, much the dismay of his fellow broadcasters. Things can get weird after midnight in blowout games, but I think this one takes the cake.

The action in the Michigan-Michigan State game got heated well before kickoff on Saturday, when video of Michigan linebacker Devin Bush using his cleats to deface the Spartans logo at midfield lit up social media. But as it turns out, Bush's outburst came after a brief altercation with the Michigan State team and right in front of Spartans coach Mark Dantonio. When Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was asked about it after the game, he said Dantonio's presence at the scene and lack of action was "bush league," leading to a retort from Dantonio, who called Harbaugh's comments "B.S." This isn't the first feud between the two coaches, with Harbaugh not shying away from tweeting comments directed at the Spartans. The whole pregame incident only ratcheted up the intensity in the game, and the aftermath adds more spice to an already intense rivalry, both on the field and on the recruiting trail.

Alabama’s domination tour continued on Saturday, rolling into Knoxville for a 58-21 beatdown of Tennessee. The loss didn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone in college football, but Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt wasn’t thrilled with his team’s effort, especially in the first half. According to sideline reporter Jamie Erdahl, Pruitt lamented the team’s struggle and promised he would go recruit the type of players that would be ready to perform against teams like Alabama in the future. The message to his current team is clear: They need to get better or get replaced. My question is, will the holdover Vols from the Butch Jones era take that message the right way, or be turned off by Pruitt’s approach? With a bowl game still very much in play, it’s worth watching to see which way the Vols go.

It wasn’t a great overall performance for Tennessee in its loss to Alabama, but it’s hard not to be impressed with the effort defensive end Kyle Phillips put in on this pick-six as he battled his way into the end zone.

The Trevor Lawrence era at Clemson got off to a rough start last month when he was knocked out of his first career start. Flash forward a few weeks later and it’s becoming more evident why Dabo Swinney felt comfortable going with Lawrence as the starter. Over the last two games with Lawrence at the helm, the Tigers have outscored ACC opponents 104-10. Lawrence has looked cool and calm and seems to be more confident each week. It’s very rare for players to go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 overall player, and Lawrence is showing that he is more than just recruiting hype, he’s a truly special talent.

By most accounts, Larry Fedora isn’t in danger of losing his job, but North Carolina dropped to 1-5 on the season after losing a double-overtime thriller to Syracuse on Saturday. The loss continues a disturbing trend for the Tar Heels, who are now 4-17 in their last 21 games. The school is just three years removed from playing for the ACC Championship, but it looks a long way from returning to those heights anytime soon.

Kentucky continues to win big games and it’s mainly because of the strong play of the Wildcats defense. In Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt, the Commodores were held to just seven points and less than 300 yards of total offense. Leading the charge for the Wildcats defense was Kash Daniel, a player who came into the 2015 Rivals Camp Series event in Charlotte with no Power Five offers. After a strong showing at that event he saw his recruitment take off and eventually landed at Kentucky. Daniel took some time to emerge with the ‘Cats but he had 10 tackles on Saturday, continuing his strong season. Daniel’s hard work is the reason he’s a star, but putting him on the map and seeing him succeed always feels good.

D.J. Knox was so far under the radar that he finished his senior season without a major offer and looked to be headed to the FCS ranks, with Alabama State and Gardner-Webb among his leaders. But a late evaluation by the Purdue staff led to an offer, and he jumped on the chance to commit. Knox isn’t the tallest back, but he’s strong and a powerful runner and he gashed Ohio State for 128 yards rushing and three touchdowns on Saturday night. The previous Boilermakers staff gets credit for finding Knox, but the current staff gets the credit for turning him into a star.

This game featured one of the most bizarre finishes you will ever see and the only way to explain it is to watch the video. Long story short, there were three plays run after the clock went to 0:00.