CI Week 10 Football Highlights
11/9/2020
The final two FBS conferences started their seasons in Week 10 as the MAC kicked off on Wednesday night and the PAC-12 got underway on Saturday. As CI coaches have done all fall, the latest group got off to a strong start. Four MAC coaches picked up wins in their openers and another two followed suit on Saturday in the PAC-12. Keep reading for more highlights from Week 10.
No. 8 Gators blast No. 5 Dawgs as QB Kyle Trask sets records
The first quarters of “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” have not been kind to Florida in recent years. Entering Saturday, Georgia had jumped out to double-digit leads and rolled to victories in each of the last three matchups. Once again, the Bulldogs struck quickly – scoring on the first play from scrimmage to go up seven and extending the lead to 14 just three minutes later. But unlike past years, the Gators were able to flip the script this time. QB Kyle Trask passed for a career-high 474 yards and the Florida defense only allowed one score over the final 56 minutes as the Gators rolled to a 44-28 victory. Georgia made a change at quarterback in the third quarter in an attempt to jumpstart its offense, but it made no difference. Bulldog passers combined to complete a paltry 9-of-29 passes for just 112 yards and threw three interceptions. One of those interceptions went to Florida CB Kaiir Elam, a standout sophomore who at one point during his recruitment was widely expected to sign with Georgia. But Florida CB Coach Torrian Gray (@togray14) was able to attract Elam to Gainesville and follow a long line of stud defensive backs mentored by Gray. In over a decade at Virginia Tech and Florida, Gray mentored six All-Americans and 14 NFL draft selections, including C.J. Henderson who was selected with the 9th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. Congrats on Saturday’s win to Gray, who is in the second year of his second stint at Florida. He spent the 2017-18 seasons in the NFL as the defensive backs coach for Washington and also spent two years with the Chicago Bears.
Oregon opener was a survive-and-advance victory over Stanford
After a couple down seasons in the mid-2010’s, the current Oregon staff has rebuilt the program into a perennial juggernaut with Rose Bowl victories in each of the last two seasons. The Ducks have recruited with the best in the country, making them legitimate title contenders despite several key losses from last year’s team, including top draft pick Justin Herbert. Even with their potential, it was hard to know for sure how Saturday’s opener would go with a new quarterback and five new starters on the offensive line. With no margin for error due to the shortened schedule, Oregon started off on the right foot with a convincing 35-14 win over Stanford. Making his first career start, QB Tyler Shough completed 17-of-26 passes for 227 yards and one touchdown and RB C.J. Verdell rushed 20 times for 105 yards and one score. CB Mykael Wright led the Duck defense with five tackles and also contributed on special teams, returning two kickoffs. Congratulations to Oregon Special Teams Analyst Chris Norris (@coachnorris38) and Defensive Analyst Kwame Agyeman (@CoachKwameUO) on the win! Norris is in his fourth season in Eugene and last season helped the Ducks finish in the top 10 nationally in both Punt Return and Kickoff Return. He previously spent one season at South Florida and has also coached at Southeast Missouri, Jacksonville, Tennessee State and Webber International. In addition to working with special teams, Norris has also coached running backs and tight ends. Agyeman is in his fifth season with the Ducks after a stint at Northwestern as a special teams quality control assistant. He was a four-year letterman for Oregon from 2004-07.
Miami beats Ball State for 300th MAC win
While every college program has had to deal with adversity this year, the obstacles for Miami have been especially challenging. Between team-wide quarantines and not having players on campus for large stretches of the summer and fall, the RedHawks had their work cut out for them to get ready for Wednesday’s season opener. The task grew even tougher when starting QB Brett Gabbert went down with an injury in the second quarter. Fortunately, backup QB A.J. Mayer was up for the challenge. Despite never having attempted a pass in college, Mayer rallied Miami from a 21-10 deficit as the RedHawks scored 21 unanswered points and went on to a 38-31 victory. Mayer completed 16-of-24 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns, including two to TE Jack Coldiron and one to WR Jalen Walker. Miami WR Jack Sorenson led all receivers with seven catches for 139 yards. On the ground, RedHawk RB Zach Kahn scored two rushing touchdowns and RB Davion Johnson rushed for 58 yards. Congratulations to Miami WR Coach Israel Woolfork (@IWMiamiFootball) and RB Coach Lamar Conard (@CoachConard) on the win! Conard is in his third season at Miami after nine seasons at Illinois State. With the Redbirds, he coached three 1,000-yard rushers, including the FCS leader in rushing yards and touchdowns in 2014. Conard began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Purdue. Woolfork is in his eighth season with the RedHawks and third coaching receivers after serving as the team’s running backs coach from 2015-17. Two of his running backs would finish their careers in the top 15 for rushing yards in program history.
Opportunistic Bulls open season with 49-30 win at Northern Illinois
After 13 years helping build Old Dominion into one of the most successful startup programs in Division I history, Ron Whitcomb (@ronwhitcomb) returned to his hometown of Buffalo this offseason to accept an Offensive Analyst position with the Bulls. His debut could not have gone any better as Buffalo began its season with a win at NIU, snapping an 11-game losing streak against the Huskies. The Bulls defense helped set the stage with five turnovers and three touchdowns which proved to be more than enough for an offense quick to capitalize. Buffalo RB Jare Patterson led the way for the offense with 137 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Through the air, QB Kyle Vantrease completed 12-of-18 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown. Vantrease also added a rushing touchdown as the Bulls outgained the Huskies on the ground by a margin of 179-156. Next up for Whitcomb and the Bulls, they will play host to Miami (OH) in a matchup with large implications in the MAC East race. Congratulations to Whitcomb on the strong start to the season! During his tenure at Old Dominion, he wore multiple hats including assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He helped the Monarchs go from a start-up program to one that won 77 games, a CAA championship, made two FCS playoff appearances and won the 2016 Bahamas Bowl. Before starting his coaching career, Whitcomb was a four-year starter at quarterback for Maine and finished his career as the program’s all-time leader in passing yards, completions and touchdowns.
Quick Hits
No. 8 Gators blast No. 5 Dawgs as QB Kyle Trask sets records
The first quarters of “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” have not been kind to Florida in recent years. Entering Saturday, Georgia had jumped out to double-digit leads and rolled to victories in each of the last three matchups. Once again, the Bulldogs struck quickly – scoring on the first play from scrimmage to go up seven and extending the lead to 14 just three minutes later. But unlike past years, the Gators were able to flip the script this time. QB Kyle Trask passed for a career-high 474 yards and the Florida defense only allowed one score over the final 56 minutes as the Gators rolled to a 44-28 victory. Georgia made a change at quarterback in the third quarter in an attempt to jumpstart its offense, but it made no difference. Bulldog passers combined to complete a paltry 9-of-29 passes for just 112 yards and threw three interceptions. One of those interceptions went to Florida CB Kaiir Elam, a standout sophomore who at one point during his recruitment was widely expected to sign with Georgia. But Florida CB Coach Torrian Gray (@togray14) was able to attract Elam to Gainesville and follow a long line of stud defensive backs mentored by Gray. In over a decade at Virginia Tech and Florida, Gray mentored six All-Americans and 14 NFL draft selections, including C.J. Henderson who was selected with the 9th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. Congrats on Saturday’s win to Gray, who is in the second year of his second stint at Florida. He spent the 2017-18 seasons in the NFL as the defensive backs coach for Washington and also spent two years with the Chicago Bears.
Oregon opener was a survive-and-advance victory over Stanford
After a couple down seasons in the mid-2010’s, the current Oregon staff has rebuilt the program into a perennial juggernaut with Rose Bowl victories in each of the last two seasons. The Ducks have recruited with the best in the country, making them legitimate title contenders despite several key losses from last year’s team, including top draft pick Justin Herbert. Even with their potential, it was hard to know for sure how Saturday’s opener would go with a new quarterback and five new starters on the offensive line. With no margin for error due to the shortened schedule, Oregon started off on the right foot with a convincing 35-14 win over Stanford. Making his first career start, QB Tyler Shough completed 17-of-26 passes for 227 yards and one touchdown and RB C.J. Verdell rushed 20 times for 105 yards and one score. CB Mykael Wright led the Duck defense with five tackles and also contributed on special teams, returning two kickoffs. Congratulations to Oregon Special Teams Analyst Chris Norris (@coachnorris38) and Defensive Analyst Kwame Agyeman (@CoachKwameUO) on the win! Norris is in his fourth season in Eugene and last season helped the Ducks finish in the top 10 nationally in both Punt Return and Kickoff Return. He previously spent one season at South Florida and has also coached at Southeast Missouri, Jacksonville, Tennessee State and Webber International. In addition to working with special teams, Norris has also coached running backs and tight ends. Agyeman is in his fifth season with the Ducks after a stint at Northwestern as a special teams quality control assistant. He was a four-year letterman for Oregon from 2004-07.
Miami beats Ball State for 300th MAC win
While every college program has had to deal with adversity this year, the obstacles for Miami have been especially challenging. Between team-wide quarantines and not having players on campus for large stretches of the summer and fall, the RedHawks had their work cut out for them to get ready for Wednesday’s season opener. The task grew even tougher when starting QB Brett Gabbert went down with an injury in the second quarter. Fortunately, backup QB A.J. Mayer was up for the challenge. Despite never having attempted a pass in college, Mayer rallied Miami from a 21-10 deficit as the RedHawks scored 21 unanswered points and went on to a 38-31 victory. Mayer completed 16-of-24 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns, including two to TE Jack Coldiron and one to WR Jalen Walker. Miami WR Jack Sorenson led all receivers with seven catches for 139 yards. On the ground, RedHawk RB Zach Kahn scored two rushing touchdowns and RB Davion Johnson rushed for 58 yards. Congratulations to Miami WR Coach Israel Woolfork (@IWMiamiFootball) and RB Coach Lamar Conard (@CoachConard) on the win! Conard is in his third season at Miami after nine seasons at Illinois State. With the Redbirds, he coached three 1,000-yard rushers, including the FCS leader in rushing yards and touchdowns in 2014. Conard began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Purdue. Woolfork is in his eighth season with the RedHawks and third coaching receivers after serving as the team’s running backs coach from 2015-17. Two of his running backs would finish their careers in the top 15 for rushing yards in program history.
Opportunistic Bulls open season with 49-30 win at Northern Illinois
After 13 years helping build Old Dominion into one of the most successful startup programs in Division I history, Ron Whitcomb (@ronwhitcomb) returned to his hometown of Buffalo this offseason to accept an Offensive Analyst position with the Bulls. His debut could not have gone any better as Buffalo began its season with a win at NIU, snapping an 11-game losing streak against the Huskies. The Bulls defense helped set the stage with five turnovers and three touchdowns which proved to be more than enough for an offense quick to capitalize. Buffalo RB Jare Patterson led the way for the offense with 137 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Through the air, QB Kyle Vantrease completed 12-of-18 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown. Vantrease also added a rushing touchdown as the Bulls outgained the Huskies on the ground by a margin of 179-156. Next up for Whitcomb and the Bulls, they will play host to Miami (OH) in a matchup with large implications in the MAC East race. Congratulations to Whitcomb on the strong start to the season! During his tenure at Old Dominion, he wore multiple hats including assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He helped the Monarchs go from a start-up program to one that won 77 games, a CAA championship, made two FCS playoff appearances and won the 2016 Bahamas Bowl. Before starting his coaching career, Whitcomb was a four-year starter at quarterback for Maine and finished his career as the program’s all-time leader in passing yards, completions and touchdowns.
Quick Hits
- New Orleans racked up 27 first downs and 420 total yards in cruising to a 38-3 win over Tampa Bay that marked one of the most dominant performances of the NFL season thus far. Congratulations to Saints Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael!
- #9 Miami rushed for 189 yards and rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to stun NC State, 44-41. Congratulations to Hurricanes RB Coach Eric Hickson (@CoachEHickson2)!
- Pitt freshman WR Jordan Addison caught 11 passes for 127 yards as the Panthers rolled to a 41-17 win at Florida State. Congratulations to Pitt WR Coach Chris Beatty (@BeattyCoach)!
