The 2020 college football season is one where the unprecedented has become the precedent, chaos has become an expectation and the surreal a weekly reality.
So it should be no surprise that upsets, bizarre results and stupefying finishes have become part of the 2020 backdrop, much like empty stadiums and coaches wearing masks.
But even in a season where nuttiness has arrived on demand, Kansas State’s upset win stood out. The Wildcats bused five hours from Manhattan, Kansas, to Norman, Oklahoma, on Sunday to try and better handle contract tracing restriction. They were without four key players on defense and eight players overall on their two-deep depth chart.
So basically, Kansas State went against the most consistent offensive force in recent college football history with a makeshift secondary and somehow managed to win, 38-35, on the road.
And they did it behind a superhuman effort from a precocious 5-foot-5 tailback, Deuce Vaughn, who accounted for 174 yards and myriad game-shifting plays. That included a 77-yard catch early in the third quarter to provide hope when Kansas State trailed 21-7. He later ran for a 38-yard touchdown that tied the game at 35.
That set up the day’s final points, a 50-yard field goal by cannon-legged Blake Lynch with 4:32 remaining. The final hero was Kansas State senior defensive back Jahron McPherson, who clinched the game in the final minute with an interception of Spencer Rattler. It was the fourth Oklahoma turnover of the day.
The sound you may have heard from Big 12 headquarters was commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who is normally defiantly monotone, cursing. The league’s playoff chances have revolved around Oklahoma in the CFP era, as the Sooners have been the league’s only entrant. OU has reached the playoff three consecutive years and four of the past five. OU’s shocking home loss to a watered-down Kansas State team combined with Texas’ shaky overtime win this week and Oklahoma State sputtering last week against Tulsa leaves the Big 12 lacking high-end candidates. (We’ll see how Baylor looks next week at West Virginia before we start judging the Bears.)
Declaring the Sooners out of the playoff – as Urban Meyer did on FOX – seems premature. There are too many COVID-related issues. But the Big 12’s out-of-conference samples are putrid, including Kansas State losing to Arkansas State. It’s hard to value a league that’s been chum for the Sun Belt. (Texas Tech outlasting Houston Baptist didn’t help matters, either.)
While it’s too early to read OU’s last rites, it’s fair to say that the entire Big 12 should be in the fetal position. What we’ve learned so far about the Big 12 is that conference play doesn’t mean much, as the out-of-conference samples could end up being used for fertilizer. The league’s standard bearer has been sub-standard. And that’s a perception the Big 12 is going to have difficulty overcoming.
First to 3-0
If you had to pick an unlikely candidate to become the first college football team to start the 2020 season 3-0, it would have been UTSA. The Roadrunners went 4-8 last season, fired coach Frank Wilson and hired a first-time college head coach, Jeff Traylor, who was a high school coach in Texas until 2014.
After outlasting Middle Tennessee on Friday night, UTSA improved to 3-0. “We could be 0-3 just as easily as 3-0,” Traylor said on Saturday.
And that’s a compliment to his team finding creative ways to win.
UTSA has won thanks to a pair of quarterbacks (Frank Harris and Josh Adkins), a freshman star on defense (Jamal Ligon) and a kicker (Hunter Duplessis) who has the longest streak of made field goals in FBS football (16).
“I’m just really happy for all of them,” Traylor said. “They’ve sacrificed so much. It’s not easy taking those tests three times a week. They are staying socially distant and wearing masks. They’ve stayed in their own bubble. For them to be 3-0 in a tremendous achievement.”
UTSA has shined in front of big audiences, as its wins over Texas State (2 OT), Stephen F. Austin and Middle Tennessee have all been nationally televised. UTSA’s flirtation with perfection has some stiff obstacles. They travel to UAB and then BYU before hosting Army.
But it’s been impressive how quickly the Roadrunners have taken off in Traylor’s first season. It’s a foundation that can be built upon.
“I would say just an unselfish love for each other and kids who play with perfect effort,” Traylor said when asked what makes his team special.
Work from home
Mike Norvell endured an excruciating Saturday at home in the Tallahassee area while his team played Miami on Saturday night. Norvell couldn’t travel with the team after testing positive for COVID-19.
He did stay connected, even if he wasn’t there in person. Norvell walked through his day with Yahoo Sports on Saturday afternoon, after the team buses had left the hotel for Hard Rock Stadium.
Norvell said he met with his staff on Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. as he normally would on Saturday morning. “I was up on a projector,” Norvell said. “Just like I’d have been at the head of the table.”
After team breakfast, Norvell said he took part in special teams, defensive and offensive meetings. He Zoomed into the offensive walkthrough for 45 minutes so he could take part. He then spoke with the offensive coordinator and play-caller for the game, Kenny Dillingham, and interim coach Chris Thomsen. He basically was as engaged as he would be on a normal gameday. “Other than the pre-game meal,” he said.
Norvell was planning to watch the game from his house. He said he couldn’t watch with his family, as he’s had to stay socially distant from his wife, Maria, and daughter, Mila. “That’s one of the hardest things about this whole deal. Mila is 6, and her understanding of everything [is limited]. There’s air hugs, but that’s probably the thing that’s most difficult. I feel fine, I’ve had very mild symptoms. It’s just one of those things.”
Norvell was able to stay in close touch virtually for the entire week of practice. He said he felt like he maximized what he could do without being there. “I got to a point throughout this week that helped me with my overall peace and sanity,” Norvell said. “There’s nothing we can do to control the situation, so we have to make it the best situation it can possibly be.”
Norvell said if everything goes well and he's cleared medically he can be back to work in person on Tuesday. The challenge for Norvell will be the actual game, as he’s not allowed to communicate with anyone from the staff while at home.
All NFL eyes on Trey Lance
The center of the NFL scouting universe next Saturday will be Fargo, North Dakota. North Dakota State has won eight of the past nine FCS national titles, an amazing run that includes 11 players on opening day NFL rosters in 2020.
There are already 23 NFL scouts credentialed to be on hand in Fargo for North Dakota State’s game with Central Arkansas. It’s the only game that NDSU will be playing this fall, and the NFL is presuming the only chance to see redshirt sophomore quarterback Trey Lance.
While Lance bristles at the notion of it being a showcase game for him, he’s certainly responsible for much of the NFL attention. Lance led NDSU to a 16-0 record last season and threw 28 touchdowns and no interceptions while leading NDSU to the national title.
It’s the most scouts ever for an NDSU home game, and the only comparable game was a Week 0 game at Montana during Carson Wentz’s senior year. The NFL personnel will have plenty of other players to scout, as both Central Arkansas DB Robert Rochell and NDSU OT Dillon Radunz also project as potential picks in the first three rounds.
NDSU wisely scheduled the game this fall as a way to have spring practice. They tried to schedule numerous FBS schools to replace a scheduled game at Oregon this September, but couldn’t find any takers. So they will play a lone game against Central Arkansas, which Entz points out will showcase more than Lance.
“If we’re going to have spring ball in the fall, let’s have something at the end of it,” Entz told Yahoo Sports on Saturday. “Let’s put the carrot out there. Let’s have a reason to practice. Let’s try and hype it up a little bit. It never had anything to do with one individual, there’s multiple players on the NFL radar.”
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