Woody's Weekly Things: Fists flyin', Scott Frost, poor QB play

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

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position

AP TOP 25: Breaking down the top remaining targets for top-10 teams

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 Saturday’s 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.

Fists a flyin'

With higher stakes on a weekly basis, tempers are also flaring across the country. Alabama’s Raekwon Davis had to issue an apology Sunday after getting caught on camera throwing several punches at a Missouri offensive linemen, while Georgia Tech and Duke also let fists fly after post play scuffle. But the day’s craziest moment came during the first half the Florida-Vanderbilt game, when coaches Dan Mullen and Derek Mason nearly came to blows. The two, along with Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, had to be separated after Mason came close to the Florida sideline to check on an injured player. The two seemed to reconcile after the game, but it shows just how heated things can get in the middle of a battle. For the record, if the two did enter the Octagon for a match, I’m putting my money on Mason. Sorry, Dan.

Fight fallout

That brings us to weird item No. 2, a continuation of the near-fight fallout in Nashville. After the Commodores bench started to come on the field following the Mullen-Mason argument, both teams were assessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. That meant every player on both teams were tacked with a penalty, and since Gators starting linebacker Vosean Joseph had received one earlier in the game, he was then ejected from the contest. This bizarre ruling had people scrambling for details, even in the press box at the game. The situation was never clearly explained on the broadcast and Joseph was so confused he was visibly upset on the sidelines. The decision didn’t end up effecting the outcome of the game and I guess the lesson is, don’t get an unsportsmanlike conduct because you never know when it’s going to come back to haunt you. The real question is, had the teams got in another scrap would every player on both teams been ejected? It seems like a weird rule that needs a little clarification.

Fire Frost?

Nebraska lost a heart-breaker in overtime to Northwestern yesterday, another in a series of close losses for the school in Scott Frost’s first year. Nobody expected the Huskers to be 0-6, but at the same time we all knew it would be a long-term rebuilding effort. So it came as a surprise when my Twitter feed lit up with people sharing a USA Today story from Steve Berkowitz, breaking down what it would cost for Nebraska to buyout Frost and his staff. The mere suggestion that the school would fire Frost after one year is laughable, but it’s even worse that it’s been suggested halfway through his first season. Coaches on the hot seat is part of modern college football coverage, but the rush to fire coaches continues to speed up every year. I still see Frost as the right man for the job in Lincoln and so do most of the Husker faithful and more importantly, the Nebraska administration.

SEC QB Regression

It’s been quite the disappointing seasons for Auburn, South Carolina and Missouri, three teams that had experienced NFL caliber quarterbacks and high expectations. The trio of programs are now a combined 10-9, including 2-9 in SEC play. A big reason is the regression of the veteran quarterbacks. Auburn’s Jarett Stidham’s completion percentage is down six percent and he’s on pace to throw fewer touchdowns and more interceptions than last season. The same goes for South Carolina’s Jake Bentley, who is having a worse season than his true freshman year in 2017. The most puzzling of all could be Drew Lock, who came into the season as the potential No. 1 overall pick. After throwing 44 touchdowns last season, he has just 12 through six games, including just one over the past three weeks. All three will still likely have respectable seasons, but their lackluster first half of the year surely contributed to their teams struggles.

Rutgers' quarterback play

We all know Rutgers is bad, but the Scarlet Knights quarterbacks managed to complete just two of 17 passes yesterday, while throwing five interceptions. That’s twice as many completions to the other team. It’s hard to pinpoint where it all went wrong, but the fact that the quarterbacks the Scarlet Knights signed in 2016 (Tylin Oden, transfer) and 2017 (Johnathan Lewis, third-string/position change) have been non-factors can’t be ignored. It’s hard to stat over ever year at the quarterback position but that’s exactly what the school has done each of the last three seasons.

It looked like Pitt was poised to pull the upset until the fourth quarter when it all fell apart, and was finished off by this botched fake punt attempt, featuring third string quarterback Jeff George, Jr. wearing a No. 96 jersey with no name on the back. The best part of this sequence for me was during the broadcast when NBC’s Mike Tirico was clearly irritated that there was no No. 96 on the roster. He quickly found out it was George, but not before mentioning several times that he wasn’t sure who the No. 96 that attempted the throw wasn’t listed.

Above, I chided media members for suggesting that Scott Frost could be fired after his slow start at Nebraska, so I probably shouldn’t suggest the same thing after Gus Malzahn just signed an extension last year at Auburn. However, I have some rationalization here. Auburn fans were ready to move on from Malzahn before last year’s wins over Georgia and Alabama and considering the Tigers are just 4-5 in the nine games since, this seems like a real possibility. Saturday’s loss to Tennessee was bad, with the team looking disjointed offensively, Malzahn’s main focus. The point of this section isn’t to actually predict firings, but with games Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama still on this schedule, every scenario is in play.

As the No. 1 player in the class of 2015, Byron Cowart was viewed as a can’t-miss by not only the analysts at Rivals.com, but pretty much everyone that follows and covers recruiting. That’s why his struggles and eventual departure at Auburn were so confusing, and why it was nice at the beginning of the year to just to see him contributing at Maryland. But on Saturday he looked like the dominant player we all loved as a prospect, even if it was against Rutgers. He was virtually unblockable, recording two sacks (one was negated by a penalty) as well as two tackles for loss and one interception on a tipped pass. Confidence can mean everything to a player and it finally looks like Cowart has re-discovered his love of the game and the Terps are reaping the benefits.

Just when it looked like Kansas State’s season was headed down the tubes, the Wildcats came back in a big way with a blowout victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday. Shelley, a stalwart at the cornerback position, played a big part in the victory. He recorded two interceptions, including an incredible no-look pick in the end zone to save a touchdown. As a recruit, Shelley was a very impressive, yet undersized prospect, who was passed over by teams in the Southeast. He landed at K-State and he’s lived up to his four-star ranking, starting 37 career games after yesterday. Rivals.com was the only recruiting network to rank Shelley as a four-star and he’s certainly lived up to that billing.

Make no mistake about it, I knew Rahming was good in high school and so did everyone who watched him play. But much like Shelley, he was undersized and skinny and many wondered how he would hold up at the next level, including several programs that passed on taking his commitment. But Duke took a chance on Rahming and on Saturday he had another big game in what has been an incredible career with the Blue Devils. He hauled in four catches for 91 yards and a touchdown in front of friends and family in his hometown of Atlanta and is now fourth all-time in school history in receptions. Rahming was a three-star across the board but continues to prove his doubters wrong.

You had few reasons to pay attention to this game among Mountain West also-rans but it turned out to be quite the battle, ending in a 20-18 victory for the Rams. The game came down to the final possession and ended when Colorado State hit a 26-yard field goal as time expired. So why should recruiting fans care? The game featured a pair of former four-star quarterbacks as one-time Florida commit and eventual Tennessee Vols backup Sherrion Jones led the Lobos with 165 yards and two touchdowns passing, while former Washington quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels had 311 yards and one touchdown passing for the Rams. Former Rivals250 wide receiver and another ex-Vol Preston Williams continues to be Carta-Samuels favorite target, as he had nine catches for 93 yards and a score.