Looking Ahead: Irish Opponents in Week Nine

Irish Opponent Week 9 Record: 5-7 Irish Opponent Season Record: 56-43

Irish opponents generally struggled this week, but none had a worse Saturday than Texas. The Longhorns were shutout by Iowa State in Ames. The Texas offense barely cracked 200 yards, and the defense gave up over 400. The Texas QBs threw for just 85 yards on 12/22 passing. Tyrone Swoopes had a decent game on the ground picking up 58 yards on ten carries, but it was nowhere near enough to turn the tide for Texas who faces Kansas next week. Early season Irish opponents faced off in Charlottesville where the Hoos picked up their third win of the season. The Georgia Tech offense had an uncharacteristic 251 passing yards on just 13 completions, two of which were for TDs. Virginia did more damage on the ground going for 233 yards on 42 attempts. Taquan Mizzell was the leading rusher for UVA picking up 78 yards on 14 rushes. Both teams still have a shot at bowl eligibility, but face an uphill climb to reach six wins. UMass lost a close game at Ball State despite outgaining the Cardinals. The Minutemen moved the ball well, but couldn't find the endzone throughout the game. Blake Frohnapfel the UMass QB threw for 259 yards on 32/44 passing with one TD and interception. UMass RBs Jamal Wilson and Marquis Young combined to gain 131 yards on 27 carries. The Minutemen will hope to get their first MAC win next week against Akron.

Clemson won a shootout against NC State on the road. Deshaun Watson had a fantastic game throwing five TDs and 383 yards on 23/30 passing. He also picked up another 54 yards and a TD on the ground. Running back Wayne Gallman went for 172 yards and 1 TD while eight different players caught at last one pass for the Tigers. Clemson faces their most difficult remaining opponent next week when they host Florida State. Navy picked up another win against USF to remain undefeated in AAC play. QB Keenan Reynolds tied the all time rushing TD record with two fourth quarter scores. Reynolds, Chris Swain, and Dishan Romie all passed the century mark on the ground, and the Midshipmen had over 400 rushing yards as a team. Navy faces a tough test when they travel to undefeated #15 Memphis next week. Southern Cal won a tight road game over Cal to stay in the PAC-12 race. The Trojans forced three turnovers, one of which was a pick six by Adoree' Jackson. Ronald Jones carried the load for the Trojan offense going for 80 yards and a TD. SC will host a struggling Arizona squad next week. Pitt dropped their Thursday night matchup to UNC at Heinz Field. The Panthers fell behind 20-3 at halftime, but battled back to make UNC a bit nervous. Limited to just 10 carries due to Pitt trailing for most of the game, RB Qadree Ollison picked up 54 yards and a TD. Panther QB Nathan Peterman completed 27 of his 42 passing attempts, and had touchdown and had over 250 yards. His favorite target, Tyler Boyd, had 10 catches for 89 yards, but was kept out of the endzone.

Wake Forest came from ahead to lose to Louisville 20-19 on Friday night. The Deacons turned the ball over five times, four of which were interceptions by Wake QBs Kendall Hinton and John Wolford. Both QBs struggled throughout the game as the two combined for just nine completions on 30 attempts. The Deacons were EXPLOSIVA, however, as they averaged over 25 yards per completion. The Wake defense was stout against the Louisville running game holding them to just 68 yards on 42 attempts. The Deacons are off next week before they travel to South Bend on the 14th. BC's offensive woes continued in their 26-10 loss to Virginia Tech. The Eagles gained just 218 total yard and had four turnovers, one of which was a fumble returned for a TD. The Eagles defense was as impressive in holding VT under 300 total yards, but they continue to get almost no help from the offense. BC remains winless in the ACC, and they host NC State next Saturday. Stanford was given a serious scare by Washington State late Saturday night. Kevin Hogan threw for just 86 yards, but he ran for over 100 most of which came on a 59 yard TD run. Christian McCaffery also had a 100 yard game on the ground for the Cardinal. The Cougars missed numerous chances in the red zone in the first half when they settled for short FGs three separate times on trips inside the ten yard line. Wazzu Kicker Erik Powell also missed a 43 yard FG as time expired that would have won the game. The win kept Stanford undefeated in the PAC-12, and in control of the North division. The Cardinal will travel to Boulder to face an improved Colorado team next week.