Looking Ahead: Irish Opponents in Week 11

Irish Opponent Week 11 Record: 5-6 Irish Opponent Season Record: 66-53

Week eleven wasn't great for the Irish strength of schedule, and it all started with Texas getting blown out in Morgantown. The Horns had five turnovers, and struggled to stop 'Eer RB Wendel Smallwood who had 164 yards in the game. Texas RB D'Onta Foreman had a nice day on the ground going for 147 yards and one TD on 18 carries, but it wasn't enough. The loss means Texas will have to win their next two games to reach a bowl game, one of which is at Baylor. Despite a four TD day by Hoos QB Matt Johns, Virginia lost a shootout to Louisville 38-31. The Cavaliers struggled to do much on the ground, but Johns threw for 260 yards without an INT. Unfortunately, UVA did little to slow down Cardinals RB Brandon Radcliff who had 146 yards and two TDs in the game. The Hoos fell to 3-7 with the loss, and face Duke next weekend. Georgia Tech continued their disappointing season with a Thursday night loss to Virginia Tech. Both teams struggled to move the ball on offense, but RB Travon McMillan had a game for VT with 135 yards and two TDs. His four yard fourth quarter TD run with ultimately the difference in the game. The Jackets will be kicking themselves, as the score was set up by a fumble deep in their own territory. The loss eliminates GT from bowl contention, but they salvage something from the season with a win over Miami next week or Georgia to end the season.

UMass picked up their first MAC win of the season yesterday. QB Blake Frohnapfel threw for just 109 yards with one TD and one INT in the victory, but the Minutemen rushed for over 300 yards as a team. RBs Marquis Young and Jamal Wilson both passed the century mark on the ground, and accounted for three TDs. The Minutemen face old friend Chuck Martin's Miami (OH) squad next week. Clemson stayed undefeated with a tougher than expected win against Syracuse. QB Deshaun Watson had a huge game for the Orange accounting for 465 total yards and three TDs. The Tigers defense held the Orange to just 80 passing yards on the afternoon, but three Tiger turnovers kept the game closer than the box score would indicate.Clemson faces Wake Forest next weekend before a regular season ending matchup against South Carolina. Navy kept its lead in the AAC intact with a win over SMU. QB Keenan Reynolds set the NCAA Rushing TD record with his first of four scores. Reynolds also cracked the century mark with 137 yards on the ground. The Middies travel to Tulsa before a huge game against Houston the following week that should have New Years Six implications. Southern Cal's win over Colorado coupled with Utah loss to Arizona means the Trojans control their own destiny in the PAC-12 South. The Buffs defense limited the Trojans to just 3.5 yards per carry and just over 200 yards passing, but they couldn't keep the Trojans out of the endzone. Cody Kessler threw three TD passes, one of which went to his favorite target, Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster. SC faces a tough Oregon squad next week before taking on UCLA in their regular season finale.

Temple gave up some huge plays in their blowout loss to South Florida. The Owls defense allowed scores of 68, 57, and 48 yards, and allowed the Bulls to gain over 550 yards of offense. USF RB Marlon Mack ran for 230 yards and two TDs while wideout Rodney Adams had 147 yards and a score. Temple faces another tough test next week against Memphis. Pittsburgh bounced back from their loss to the Irish by knocking off Duke in a blowout victory. Nathan Peterman threw three TD passes for the Panthers, and RB Qadree Ollison ran for 111 yards and a TD. The Panthers controlled the clock racking up a nearly 2:1 advantage in time off possession. Pitt faces Miami and Louisville to finish the season. Rounding out the weekend, Stanford might have done the most harm to the Irish playoff hopes by losing to Oregon 38-36. The Cardinal were a two point conversion away from tying the game at the end of regulation, but Kevin Hogan's pass fell incomplete on the conversion. Ultimately, the Cardinal defense didn't do enough to stop Oregon's big plays. They allowed three TDs of over 40 yards. The Stanford loss probably eliminates the PAC 12 from Playoff consideration, but the Cardinal still controls their destiny in the PAC 12 North race.