D4 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23 , 2021
EARLY SHIFT
Noon Northwestern at No. 6 Michigan » Fox
Noon Illinois at No. 7 Penn State » ABC
Noon No. 3 Oklahoma at Kansas » ESPN
Noon No. 2 Cincinnati at Navy » ESPN2
Noon Northern Illinois at Central Michigan » ESPNU
Noon Arkansas Pine Bluff at Arkansas » SEC Network
Noon Massachusetts at Florida State » ACC Network
Noon Kansas State at Texas Tech » Fox Sports 1
Noon No. 16 Wake Forest at Army » CBS Sports Network
12:30 Syracuse at Virginia Tech » MASN
There are only two games in the early television window that feature two
teams with winning records: Northern Illinois-Central Michigan in a
battle for directional-school supremacy in the Mid-American Conference
West and Wake Forest-Army. Coach Dave Clawson has turned the
Demon Deacons into an unexpected paragon of steadiness, with a
program-record five straight bowl bids and another one coming this year
even though Wake F orest was picked to finish fifth in the ACC Atlantic in
the conference’s preseason poll. The Demon Deacons instead are the
ACC’s only remaining undefeated team at 6-0, reaching that mark for the
first time since 1944. Meanwhile, Army opened with four straight wins —
against teams that are a combined 8-19 — but has since dropped two
straight. Last week, Wisconsin held the run-first, run-always Black Knights
to 179 rushing yards, but opponents are averaging 4.4 yards per carry
against the Demon Deacons, the third-worst mark in the ACC (Wake Forest
has allowed 562 rushing yards total in its past two games).
SWING SHIFT
3 Wisconsin at No. 25 Purdue » Big Ten Network
3:30 Richmond at Stony Brook » NBC Sports Washington Plus
3:30 No. 8 Oklahoma State at Iowa State » Fox
3:30 No. 10 Oregon at UCLA » ABC
3:30 LSU at No. 12 Mississippi » CBS
3:30 Clemson at No. 23 Pittsburgh » ESPN
3:30 Maryland at Minnesota » ESPN2
3:30 Western Michigan at Toledo » CBS Sports Network
3:30 Colorado at California » Pac-12 Network
3:30 BYU at Washington State » Fox Sports 1
4 Mississippi State at Vanderbilt » SEC Network
4 Boston College at Louisville » ACC Network
4 East Carolina at Houston » ESPNU
Oklahoma State’s recipe for success this season has been pretty simple:
stifle the run on defense (the Cowboys have allowed only 14 rushes of at
least 10 yards, which trails only Wisconsin) and let running back Jaylen
Warren wear down the opposition (he had 33 carries for 193 yards in last
weekend’s win over Texas, with 154 of them in the second half). Warren
only had 20 combined carries in Oklahoma State’s first two games, but
now only five running backs in the nation have more attempts this season.
Iowa State, which hosts the Cowboys on Saturday, has been a little
snakebit this season: It nearly doubled Iowa’s yardage but committed four
turnovers in a 27-17 loss Sept. 11 and outgained Baylor by nearly 1.2 yards
per play (a fairly sizable number) in a 31-29 loss Sept. 25, when the
Cyclones were doomed by a f ailed two-point conversion attempt late in the
game.... LSU travels to Mississippi in its first game since the Tigers
and Coach Ed Org eron agreed to part ways at the end of the season, less
than two years removed from a national title. LSU went 5-5 in pandemic-
stricken 2020 and is 4-3 this season after getting decimated by injuries,
but last weekend’s upset of Florida showed that the Tigers’ overwhelming
talent still can carry the day when needed. Rebels quarterback Matt
Corral, a Heisman contender, took a beating in last weekend’s win over
Tennessee, when he ran the ball 30 times for 195 yards. Coach Lane Kiffin
said this week that Corral is “not in very good shape” and that he’s “not
feeling really good” about Corral’s chances of playing.
NIGHT SHIFT
7 Tennessee at No. 4 Alabama » ESPN
7 No. 22 San Diego State at Air Force » CBS Sports Network
7 Nevada at Fresno State » Fox Sports 2
7:30 No. 5 Ohio State at Indiana » ABC
7:30 USC at No. 13 Notre Dame » NBC
7:30 South Carolina at No. 17 T exas A&M » SEC Network
7:30 No. 18 North Carolina State at Miami » ESPN2
7:30 Georgia Tech at Virginia » ACC Network
7:30 West Virginia at TCU » ESPNU
7:30 Utah at Oregon State » Pac-12 Network
Alabama took out its frustrations on Mississippi State last weekend,
holding the Bulldogs to minus-one yard rushing in a 49-9 cakewalk to
rebound from its loss at Texas A&M. Now the Crimson Tide hosts
Tennessee , a team it has defeated 14 straight times, with the last five
wins coming by a c ombined score of 235-68. The Vols most recently were
seen giving up 510 yards to Mississippi in a loss that had their fans
throwing mustard and golf balls toward the Rebels’ sideline. Tennessee’s
offense might be able to move the ball against the Crimson Tide but only if
quarterback Hendon Hooker is healthy enough to play. Hooker left last
weekend’s game in the fourth quarter with what looked to be a pretty bad
leg injury, and Coach Josh Heupel said Wednesday that his starting
quarterback is “day-to-day,” though he has been able to practice a bit this
week.
— Matt BonesteelTODAY’S TV GAMEScollege football
To the question of how, wow,
that offense did seem to move
more: “You know, I think, for us, I
think the big part of it is just the
running game just continuing to
improve.”
That was very adept.
And then: “We’re starting to
play more 11-man football on
offense. Not all the time — listen,
we’re a long ways from perfect,
trust me, but we’re starting to do
that. And when you do that, the
big [plays] come.”
Remember, it takes 11.
And as for Williams’s 10-for-10
decisiveness, well: “I thought he
had a clear mind and saw it well.
And, you know, the line being
where it needed to be.. .”
The line! Don’t forget the line!
(And if you remember the line,
maybe you will forget the situa-
tion.. .)
He did say of Williams: “That’s
always one of the big things for
us. [For] quarterbacks, one of the
number-one things we hang our
hat on is being decisive. We
always tell our guys that, you
know, if you’re decisive, even
sometimes if you’re wrong, as
long as you’re decisive it can still
work. You can make the right
decision a lot of times, but if
you’re indecisive it can still not
work with the speed of this game.
So that’s something we’ve tried to
hang our hat on, and I think
overall Caleb did a good job of
that.”
He’s something to see, and at
this moment in this season, that’s
something to navigate.
[email protected]ety: the privilege of having a
craf ty student newspaper secret-
ly observe practice from a public
building to report who got more
snaps (Williams).
He has walked his coveted
tightrope with some aplomb, as
on Monday when he fielded a
question about how he decides
during a game when the backup
(last week, Rattler) will spell the
starter (last week, Williams).
“It’s a good question,” he be-
gan, always a clever way to begin.
“I think there’s a l ot of — got
different variables there. Obvi-
ously the game being in control is
the first thing, and then after
that, who’s the starter? What does
he need? Who’s the backup? What
does he need? So, yeah, there’s
probably a lot that goes into it.
Would it be different, potentially,
now? Possibly, depending on the
situation, with the guy that’s the
starter right now that’s a little
more inexperienced and a guy
that currently is our number two
that is very experienced. So could
be different, but, yeah, I think
through the years, you’ve just got
to look at the whole picture.
There’s only so much to it, but
obviously you love to get multiple
guys a chance to play at any
point.”
Last Saturday after the 52-31
win over TCU in which Williams
completed 18 of 23 passes and
looked so rattled by his first start
that he began 10 for 10, Riley
started the hard work of diploma-
cy — and not just in effusing
about how they get along and
help the team.Oklahoma on June 27, 2017, as he
ascended to No. 1 on the Rivals
Class of 2019 dual-threat chart.
Then Riley had Williams, the
dual-threat quarterback from
20 0-year-old Gonzaga College
High in Washington who com-
mitted to Oklahoma on July 4,
2020, as he ascended to No. 1 on
the Rivals Class of 2021 dual-
threat chart.
Then Riley had Rattler playing
three games in 2019, behind cur-
rent Philadelphia Eagles quarter-
back Jalen Hurts, and then all
11 games in 2020, when Rattler
had a passer rating of 172.6,
which is good (11th nationally)
even if no one knows how it’s
deduced. Then he had Rattler
running onto some rocks in 2021
and some Oklahoma fans breach-
ing politeness by chanting for
Williams and Williams replacing
Rattler on Oct. 9 in Dallas as a
28-7 Oklahoma deficit against
Texas became a 55-48 Oklahoma
win over Texas.
It wasn’t just that but that
Oklahomans like their yards per
play in big gulps. In Riley’s first
three seasons, Oklahoma gobbled
8.3, 8.7 and 8.0 yards per play,
finishing nationally at No. 1, No. 1
and No. 1. This season, the Soon-
ers mysteriously crept to 5. 7
against Tulane, 5.9 against Ne-
braska, an unthinkable 4. 9
against West Virginia and a pret-
ty-good 6.5 against Kansas State
before Williams stepped in and
they went to 8.2 against Texas
and 9.1 against TCU.
Along the way, Riley catapult-
ed to the apex of American soci-At one point Haselwood said,
“I mean, nobody can tackle him”
— and then started a burst of
laughter.
It’s all compelling even if may-
be not so much for Kansas, the
next team watching film of Wil-
liams, and maybe if not quite as
compelling to people as the situa-
tion preceding it. How in the
world does one team have a
quarterback billed as a preseason
Heisman Trophy favorite, then
another quarterback who spells
that first one in the year’s sixth
game and becomes a midseason
Heisman Trophy candidate? “It’s
crazy, right?” ESPN analyst Trev-
or Matich said on the air Wednes-
day night. “Except it’s not.”
It all means even further that
Lincoln Riley — a 38-year-old
with a photographic memory, a
former sophomore defensive end
and then junior and senior quar-
terback at Muleshoe High in Tex-
as, home of the Mules — rules our
land.
Not only has this still-young
man served only four-plus sea-
sons as Oklahoma coach yet
somehow tutored three of the
32 starting quarterbacks in the
NFL, but also, as a byproduct,
Riley has come to oversee the
latest in a long national tradition:
a “quarterback controversy,”
which seldom is really a contro-
versy but often a puzzle requiring
high-level diplomacy.
First, Riley had Spencer Rat-
tler, the dual-threat quarterback
from Phoenix who committed toWILLIAMS FROM D1Williams looks like next star Sooners QB
BRIAN BAHR/GETTY IMAGES
In his first start, Caleb Williams’s dual-threat skills as a p asser and runner restored Oklahoma’s high-octane efficiency last week vs. TCU.I think he’s the best quarterback
in the ACC,” Mendenhall said.
“And I wouldn’t trade him for
anyone, and I don’t know what
else he has to do for there, like, to
be a campaign or something, and
he wouldn’t want that, nor do I,
but he’s really good.”
National acclaim has not nec-
essarily followed Armstrong,
with the ACC less stout among
the Power Five this season.
The Cavaliers only recently
have been on an upswing, and
two of their past three wins have
come by a combined three points
despite strong performances
from Armstrong. Virginia lost its
first two ACC games to North
Carolina and Wake Forest by
scores of 59-39 and 37-17, respec-
tively.
Winning out to remain in con-
tention for the ACC champion-
ship game could alter that narra-
tive dramatically and perhaps
vault Armstrong into the discus-
sion as a Heisman Trophy con-
tender next season.
“I think the reason why he
doesn’t get the hype is because it’s
a ‘down’ year for the ACC because
Clemson is not good, which is
kind of annoying,” said EJ Manu-
el, an analyst for the ACC Net-
work and a former quarterback at
Florida State as well as in the
NFL. “Just because Clemson isn’t
the best doesn’t mean there aren’t
other good teams, right, so I feel
like Brennan really should be
talked about on a national level
and not just within our confer-
ence.”
[email protected]Still, Virginia’s offensive staff
had limited designed running
plays for Armstrong with his knee
not fully healed. Last weekend in
a 48 -0 win against Duke, howev-
er, Armstrong carried eight times,
including on designed runs, for
34 yards and one touchdown, an
indication he is mending just
fine.
“Early on, and I don’t want to
come off as I told you so, right, butrecord.
This year Armstrong has been
nursing a knee injury he suffered
Sept. 11 during the second half
against Illinois. The Cavaliers
won, 42-14, but Armstrong has
been playing with a brace on his
right leg ever since, although that
encumbrance did not inhibit him
from amassing a school-record
554 passing yards the next week-
end against North Carolina.either completing passes into
ti ght windows or scrambling out
of trouble when defenders have
their backs turned.
Last season Armstrong rushed
for 552 yards and five touch-
downs in nine games. His rushing
total led the Cavaliers, who grew
so weary of pandemic-related
ca ncellations, delays and proto-
cols that they withdrew from
bowl consideration with a 5-5players such as wide receiver Billy
Kemp IV, a senior this season,
through calls and text messages.
There was an adjustment peri-
od on the field given Armstrong’s
admittedly imperfect throwing
motion from his days playing
baseball. He holds the football
lower in his dropback, for in-
stance, to allow for a longer wind-
up before his release, reminiscent
of when he pitched in high
school.
Armstrong’s passes also spin in
the opposite direction of a right-
hander’s, but that quirk has not
been an issue. The Ca valiers have
five players with at least 300 re-
ceiving yards. No other Football
Bowl Subdivision program has
more than four.
Pro Football Focus rated Arm-
strong (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) as
the No. 8 quarterback in the
country with an elite passing
grade above 80.0 in five of eight
starts dating from last season.
“I love to see it, and I love to be
a part of it,” Kemp (474 yards,
team-high 48 receptions) said of
Armstrong’s splashy statistics. “I
love that our group, the receiver
group, is a part of that, and
hopefully we just come out every
day and continue what we’re do-
ing, continue to add to his suc-
cess. That’s what we look forward
to doing.”
Armstrong also has embraced
his skills as a dual threat, often
confounding defensive coordina-
tors attempting to counter his
accuracy and elusiveness. The
fourth-year junior excels at ex-
tending plays with his legs andCoach Bronco Mendenhall.
“Timeline-wise as a quarter-
back matched up perfectly,” Arm-
strong said of the two seasons he
spent behind Perkins. “For the
records, you just keep playing.
They just kind of come about. It’s
always a cool thing to smash
some records and get your name
in the books, but overall we’re just
looking to continue our win
streak and keep climbing the
Coastal.”
That Armstrong has ascended
to the sport’s highest levels after
attempting just 25 passes over his
first two seasons underscores the
countless hours he dedicated to
film study and refining his deliv-
ery.
Armstrong had an inordinate
amount of time to focus on all
facets of the position when the
coronavirus pandemic shut down
sports throughout the country
last year. Unable to practice dur-
ing the spring, he used a neigh-
bor’s garage as a makeshift gym
and threw to ex-high school
teammates while at home in Shel-
by, Ohio.
Much of his instruction from
quarterbacks coach Jason Beck
came via regular conversations
on Zoom. They would watch
game film together and discuss
throwing motion, timing on vari-
ous patterns and other details to
prepare Armstrong to become the
full-time starter.
Armstrong also communicated
extensively with Virginia team-
mates, keeping in touch with
CAVALIERS FROM D1
Virginia’s prolific quarterback is on the fast track to stardom in Charlottesville
MIKE CAUDILL/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brennan Armstrong leads the nation in passing yards (2,824) and is second in yards per game (403.4).