Looking Ahead: Irish Opponents in Week 6

Irish Opponent Week 6 Record: 5-6  Irish Opponent Season Record: 37-27

Texas finally came out of their nosedive, and did so in a big way winning the Red River Shootout Rivalry 24-17 over Oklahoma. The Sooners came into the game undefeated and ranked in the top-10 in most polls, but the OU defense could not stop the Texas rushing attack. D'Onta Foreman and Jerrod Heard both reached the century mark on the ground, and Jonathon Grey added another 76 yards rushing. As a team, the Longhorns racked up 313 rushing yards to go with just 55 through the air. OU RB Samaje Perine couldn't get anything going for the Sooners, and was limited to just 36 yards and one TD. While the win won't vault Texas back into the Big XII race, it goes a long way toward silencing some of Charlie Strong's doubters regarding his rebuilding job in Austin. Past ND opponent Virginia fell to future Irish opponent Pittsburgh in a one score game. Pitt jumped out to an early lead, and held of a late comeback attempt engineered by Virginia QB Matt Johns. Nathan Peterman had an efficient day for the Panthers throwing for 200+ and two TDs on 17/24 passing. RB Chris James also played well for Pitt rushing for just under 100 yards on only 11 carries. Georgia Tech was blown out by Clemson in another ACC matchup between Irish opponents. Shaq Lawson and the Clemson defense suffocated Georgia Tech's triple option attack holding them under 100 rushing. Wayne Gallman outrushed the entire GT team going for 115 yards and two TDs. Georgia Tech QB Justin Thomas found limited success in the air, but did throw for two TDs. With the win, Clemson keeps pace with Florida State in the ACC Atlantic. The two schools face off on November 7th with Clemson hosting the Noles.

UMass picked up another loss as they fell 62-38 to Bowling Green. Both secondaries struggled as the two starting QBs threw for over 400 yards. BGSU racked up over 500 yards passing and two hundred rushing, and while the Minutemen kept pace in the air, they could only manage 30 rushing yards as a team. The loss drops UMass to 1-4 and to 0-1 in the MAC. Southern Cal managed to ruin a potential top-15 matchup next week by losing as a 17 point favorite to Washington. Cody Kessler looked nothing like a Heisman contender throwing for just 156 yards without a TD and two picks. Tre Madden had a good day running the ball for the Trojans, but his 120 yards wasn't enough. The SC defense struggled to slow down Washington RB Myles Gaskin who ran for 134 and a TD. To make matters worse for the Trojans, center Max Tuerk picked up a knee injury and is questionable for the game against the Irish next weekend.

Temple blew out Tulane at home to stay undefeated. The Temple offense didn't put up huge numbers, but used fantastic field position to rack up 42 points. The Temple defense forced two turnovers including a pick-six, and limited Tulane to just 110 total yards in the big win. The Owls will face UCF and ECU before they host the Irish on Halloween. Last and definitely least, BC fell to Wake Forest 3-0 in a game that was as boring as it sounded. Despite having just 142 total yards, the Deacons won the game after a BC turnover set up a chip shot FG in the third quarter. This game featured a combined 183 yards passing and six turnovers, and anyone in attendance probably deserves a refund. The win moves Wake Forest out of the ACC Atlantic cellar. BC is set to stay at the bottom of the conference for the time being as they travel to undefeated Clemson next week.