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College football heroes, zeroes for Week 8: Clemson trending up, Miami going down
Many of school soccer’s high groups took this Saturday off, however there have been nonetheless loads of elite groups and impactful video games on the docket for the Week 8 schedule. Here is your take a look at this weekend’s winners and losers.
LSU: It has been robust to get a line on what this staff is. As anticipated in Brian Kelly’s debut season, it has been an up and down affair. However now the Tigers are sitting at 6-2 after dropping the hammer on No. 7 Ole Miss behind one other stellar effort from Jayden Daniels, who hit on 21 of 28 passes for two TDs and three extra scores on the bottom for 121 yards operating. When he has house, this offense can transfer on anybody.
Clemson: It wasn’t fairly, however the ACC favorites gained their third recreation towards a ranked convention opponent whereas shifting to 8-0 on the season and taking sole possession of first place within the Atlantic Division. However not with out a battle: Syracuse’s high 10 protection seemed the half, forcing 4 turnovers, and scoring a 90-yard TD off a DJU fumble earlier than Clemson mounted a critical second half comeback. That marks the second straight week this staff performed it shut towards an ACC staff and now comes a visit to Notre Dame after the bye week, however to date Clemson is doing nearly all the pieces proper because it fights for School Soccer Playoff consideration.
Marvin Harrison, Jr.: Again within the preseason, Harrison was statistically the No. 5 huge receiver on Ohio State’s roster by way of catches and manufacturing. However with Jaxon Smith-Njigba sitting out a lot of this season with an damage, Harrison has had the possibility to point out off. And he actually has, main OSU’s crazy-elite receiver room with 9 landing catches this season, and weekly bringing down catches that appear like they belong within the NFL, not the Huge Ten.
Iowa’s protection: Coming in, the Hawkeyes boasted elite defensive numbers, rankings seventh in complete manufacturing, third nationally permitting 9.8 factors per recreation, and third surrendering 154 passing yards per recreation. And for the primary half towards Ohio State, the unit carried out effectively towards the Buckeyes’ ferocious ability items, holding OSU to at least one landing within the first half and scoring its personal TD on a compelled fumble. However as tends to occur this season, Iowa’s full incapacity to maneuver the ball lastly wore its protection down and it ran out of gasoline after halftime because the Buckeyes outscored Iowa 28-0 after the break.
Tennessee’s offense: Anybody predicting the Vols would slip into autopilot after beating Alabama with UT Martin on deck was proved very mistaken on Saturday. Tennessee scored a program document 52 first-half factors, breaking the varsity’s earlier document of 49 again in 2000. It was Princeton Fant who broke the mark with an ideal TD move for Jalin Hyatt. School soccer’s No. 1 complete offense did not miss a beat this week with Kentucky up subsequent Saturday and Georgia after that.
Texas: The Longhorns simply maintain discovering methods to lose, together with immediately in a 41-34 recreation at Oklahoma State, the sixth loss for UT within the final eight of this collection, and the fifth lack of the Steve Sarkisian period during which the staff blew a double-digit second half lead. Texas was penalized 14 instances, OSU none, and Quinn Ewers grew to become the third quarterback since 2000 to throw the ball 49 instances in a recreation and full lower than 20 of these makes an attempt. Each time it appears Texas is about to take one other essential step ahead, it will get knocked two steps again.
DJ Uiagalelei: The Clemson quarterback had made such essential strides since final season’s 9 TD, 10 INT debacle, and his environment friendly, regular play helped propel the Tigers to an undefeated document and two assertion wins within the ACC. However towards Syracuse in a battle for first place within the division, the quarterback regressed, throwing two interceptions and dropping a fumble that went the opposite method for a 90-yard TD. All of which resulted in Uiagalelei getting benched in favor of Cade Klubnik. But it surely’s price noting that DJU, regardless of not fully residing as much as his potential, has nonetheless put up a fairly good battle.
Iowa’s offense: At this level, and at a number of factors prior to now, you need to simply marvel how Brian Ferentz nonetheless has a job. Your father being your boss helps, however the complete offensive unit that got here into Saturday rating dead-last in school soccer in complete manufacturing seemed each bit that unhealthy. Lack of coordination, no urgency, poor choices, and a gaggle of turnovers all doomed this offense once more, and there is not any actual progress in sight to construct on.
Syracuse: This was the second the Orange needed to make an announcement to the school soccer world that it belonged within the nationwide dialog. And for the primary half towards Clemson, it did, taking a lead due to that good defensive scoring play. However after the half, this staff turned off. Sean Tucker, one of many ACC’s most gifted operating backs, was hardly used, and Syracuse’s entrance safety was step by step worn down by Clemson’s ferocious entrance seven.
Miami: Mario Cristobal’s honeymoon interval at Miami ended a while in the past, however this week discovered the Hurricanes dropping a recreation in one other humiliating method, dropping a 45-21 choice to Duke due to eight turnovers on Miami’s half. Three of these had been interceptions and 5 had been misplaced fumbles, and Duke took benefit of all of them.
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Penn State transfer portal target, Pa. native commits to Miami
Penn State had a successful Saturday, beating SMU in the College Football Playoff first round in convincing fashion. But not everything went the Nittany Lions’ way.
David Blay, one of Penn State’s top targets in the transfer portal, committed to Miami. The news was reported by on3 on Saturday afternoon.
In addition to Penn State and Miami, Blay was also being pursued by Florida State, Illinois, Oklahoma, USC, Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Arkansas.
Blay, a standout at Louisiana Tech who visited last weekend, was a top target for the Nittany Lions as they look to add depth and talent to their defensive line for the 2025 season.
Blay is a Levittown native who played at Harry S. Truman High School outside Philadelphia before going to West Chester to play at the Division II level in 2021 and 2022. Blay transferred to Louisiana Tech, where he was a first-team All-Conference USA selection this year.
Blay finished the 2024 season with 46 tackles, 10 1/2 tackles for loss and 6 1/2 sacks.
Penn State has addressed a couple needs in the portal so far in the winter window, earning commitments from USC wide receiver Kyron Hudson and Texas A&M defensive end Enai White. But the Nittany Lions would love to add a defensive tackle or two.
Miami, FL
Miami Heat Sharpshooter Could be Perfect Fit for OKC Thunder
Throughout the season, Oklahoma City has had struggles shooting from outside, and a fix could come through the trade route.
On Friday, the Thunder won their seventh straight regular season game with a 104-97 victory in Miami. The Thunder improved to 22-5 and had one of their best 3-point shooting nights of the season, shooting 14-of-34 from outside.
On the other side, the Thunder might have played against someone who could be a seamless fit. Heat forward Duncan Robinson had a rough shooting night against the Thunder, as most players in the league do, but kept firing for a 3-of-11 night from beyond the arc.
A career 39.7% 3-point shooter, Robinson has hit near that mark again this season while taking well over six attempts per game. Although his defense has been criticized throughout his career, he has shown he can play well enough to stay on the floor and contribute, as seen by his roles in Miami’s 2020 and 2023 Finals runs.
As far as the trade block, the Thunder have already been linked to Brooklyn’s Cam Johnson. While he and Robinson have a similar contract, Johnson has one more year on his deal and makes a bit more money.
While Johnson’s added production makes him clearly the better player and potential target, the Thunder might be able to get Robinson for a much lower price, especially if the Heat begin to shift gears and go through with a Jimmy Butler trade.
In any case, the Thunder would have to send out someone in the rotation. Given what Robinson could bring to the Thunder, players on newly signed extensions, such as Isaiah Joe or Aaron Wiggins, could be the perfect centerpiece of a deal alongside another small contract.
Given their youth, skillsets, and long-term security, either could be a solid piece for the Heat. Meanwhile, this would be a win-now move for the Thunder, losing one of the young wings they’ve developed for a proven playoff performer.
Perhaps the Thunder would be hesitant to make such a deal after the Gordon Hayward trade went south last season. However, Robinson has been in and out of the Heat’s rotation throughout his time with Erik Spoelstra and could adapt to any role the Thunder throw at him.
There might not be a perfect trade for the Thunder, but Robinson could solve some problems and push the Thunder’s shooting into a championship tier.
Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
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