It’s time for another edition of “Spencer’s Sunday Thoughts” – a weekly column focused on college football headlines in Iowa, the Big Ten, Big 12 and beyond. Here’s what’s on my mind this week:
Author’s note: Apologies for the lack of a column last week. I was finishing up moving to our new house, and along with the busyness of packing and unpacking I did not have reliable internet. We’re back up and running this week – so here we go!
Arizona State 24, Iowa State 19
Considering the Sun Devils came into this game without their starting quarterback and best receiver, this was a golden opportunity for Iowa State to get out of their tailspin and start November on a positive note. Unfortunately, much like the weather in Ames yesterday, when it rains it pours and the Cyclones’ losing streak is now at four games.
Iowa State had its chances in this game – ASU backup quarterback Jeff Sims coughed the ball up three times, with two fumbles and an interception in the game, but the Cyclones managed just six points off of those turnovers. Sims, in turn, turned in one of the best performances of his career – rushing for 288 yards and two touchdowns, including an 88-yard score in the 3rd quarter.
Sims’ counterpart Rocco Becht completed 18 of 36 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for a score – but the offense as a whole felt disjointed, going 2-14 on third downs, and only getting one touchdown out of four trips to the red zone.
Special teams was an issue in Saturday’s loss, too, as Kyle Konrardy missed two field goals and an extra point. That’s seven points off the board in a game that ended in a five-point margin – and is the difference between a win and a loss.
It’s certainly encouraging to see the update that Iowa State tight end Ben Brahmer was released from the hospital after a scary moment in the 2nd half where he took a hard hit to his head & neck area. Brahmer was carted off the field after being down for several minutes. His status for next week’s game at TCU is unclear at this point.
As for the rest of the season, I don’t know where Iowa State goes from here. Losing to a top-15 team in BYU at home two weeks ago is understandable – losing to a banged up Arizona State team is bad, and there’s a real possibility that the Cyclones barely get to six wins this season (assuming they beat a bad Oklahoma State team on the road in the final game of the year).
Big Ten notes:
Penn State battled early, but top-ranked Ohio State won going away over the Nittany Lions in the end. Julian Sayin threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns in the win, two going to Jeremiah Smith.
Indiana continues to prove that this isn’t the same Hoosiers team you’re used to – as they went on the road and blew out Maryland by 45 points. Indiana/Ohio State will be a very interesting Big Ten Championship Game, should we get that pairing in Indianapolis in December.
Luke Altmyer turned in a four-TD performance as the Illini dispatched Rutgers 35-13. The Illini are bowl eligible at 6-3 and have Maryland, Wisconsin and Northwestern left – so a nine-win regular season is definitely in play.
USC spoiled Nebraska’s blackout in Lincoln, and got Lincoln Riley a rare road win in the Central or Eastern time zone. Both running backs – King Miller for USC and Emmett Johnson for Nebraska – had big days, while the quarterbacks struggled. Dylan Raiola got hurt and didn’t finish the game for the Huskers – we’ll see what that means going forward.
Also – the Huskers coming out of the tunnel to “Back in Black” was certainly a choice.
Minnesota escaped against Michigan State in overtime on a Drake Lindsey touchdown run. The Gophers didn’t score in the second half until the final 30 seconds when Lindsey capped off a 9-play, 65 yard drive with a score to tie the game. The Spartans certainly got a spark on offense by switching to redshirt freshman Alessio Millivojevic at quarterback, but the defense couldn’t stop the Gophers when it mattered most.
Michigan beat Purdue 21-16 on the back of three touchdown runs by Jordan Marshall. Credit to Barry Odom’s Boilermakers for competing all season long – they won’t go to a bowl game at 2-7, but they are a much better team than a year ago, that’s for sure.
National Notes:
Three top-10 teams lost this weekend, with two of them in the ACC. #8 Georgia Tech lost at NC State (the Wolfpack also handed Virginia their only loss of the season earlier), #9 Vanderbilt fell behind big to Texas and couldn’t complete the comeback, and #10 Miami went on the road to SMU and lost in overtime.
Another Sunday, another coach gets fired. Auburn reportedly let go of Hugh Freeze today after less than three seasons and a 6-16 mark in the SEC. The Tigers cut ties with Freeze after they lost to Kentucky at home on Saturday night. Auburn is the fourth SEC team to make a change – joining LSU, Arkansas and Florida.
What stood out to you this week? Send me an email – spencer@kgymradio.com or find me on social media to continue the conversation.
Spencer Wagen is the host of “Spencer on Sports”, weekdays from 4-6 PM on 1600 ESPN. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @SWOnTheRadio
