College football open thread & notes (week 4)

September 24th, 2022 | Written by Rob Staton

I’ve returned from Italy, having watched England deliver a ‘hold my beer’ performance in response to Seattle’s loss in Santa Clara. Ah, the joys of fandom.

Here’s what I’m watching this weekend in college football:

Florida vs Tennessee
Wisconsin vs Ohio State
Wyoming vs BYU
Northern Illinois vs Kentucky

Sadly the footballing gods have conspired that none of these are early kick-off’s so aside from the Florida/Tennessee game, I’ll likely watch the other three on Sunday (a 5am night of CFB probably not the best idea given it’s my son’s birthday party tomorrow).

Quarterback watch

Although I’m watching Florida vs Tennessee, I’ll be doing so with low expectations. Anthony Richardson has played so poorly in the last two games he’s more likely to be benched than drafted in the early rounds. He needs time and development, not the pressure of his personal stock weighing on his shoulders. I don’t really see Hendon Hooker as a high draft pick either. I’ll watch both and reserve judgement — but this game is less intriguing in ‘quarterback watch’ than the other three I’ll be viewing this weekend.

C.J. Stroud has had a couple of cupcake games and today faces a trickier opponent in Wisconsin. Ohio State should still win comfortably and that’s what I want to see. I want Stroud to dominate this game, make those outstanding ‘wow’ throws but also show he can deliver with accuracy on the intermediate level, progress through reads and prove the basics can match the physical talent.

BYU’s Jaren Hall has really impressed me this year, even in a heavy loss to Oregon last week. I’m eager to see if he can continue to build momentum against a Wyoming team who were blown out by Illinois and needed three overtime periods to beat Tulsa.

Can Will Levis deliver a ‘complete’ game? Can he show off the good aspects of his game and avoid turnovers against Northern Illinois? His next four games after this are Ole Miss (A), South Carolina (H), Mississippi State (H) and Tennessee (A). He’s getting to the crucial point of Kentucky’s schedule and needs to hit a peak soon.

Miami’s offense will probably continue to bore the living daylights out of everyone against Mid Tennessee State. Poor Tyler Van Dyke. Alabama and Bryce Young take on Vanderbilt this week.

UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson faces struggling Colorado. Stetson Bennett will get another stat-padding day when Georgia take on Kent State. It’s a big game for K.J. Jefferson and Arkansas against Texas A&M.

I don’t have access to Washington vs Stanford but it will be fun and intriguing to see Michael Penix Jr square off against Tanner McKee. I will try and find footage of that game in the coming days.

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92 Responses to “College football open thread & notes (week 4)”

  1. Sean-O says:

    Thanks for all the college QB breakdown information. I’m not a big college football guy so it’s nice to have an idea of which QBs to pay attention to as a Seahawks fan.

    With that said, I’d love to know if the consensus thinks there are any college QBs with potential that could be available in the 3rd+ rounds. I think most agree that the Seahawks need their QB of the future but I love the idea of the Seahawks using their (2) 1’s & (2) 2’s on difference makers on both sides of the ball. Increase their depth with young, inexpensive talent. Then address QB starting in at least the 3rd round.

    With the success rate on QBs being “hit or miss”, my fear is Seattle will use their first #1 (and maybe more draft capital to move up on the guy they want) & it doesn’t pan out.

    Pairing a rookie QB that has some upside in the 3rd or later along with a FA QB like Minshew, Tyler Huntley, etc. feels like a solid plan.

    • Rob Staton says:

      Trying to find a QB from round three onwards Sean is incredibly hard. The Seahawks need a QBOTF. They need talent at that position.

    • God of Thunder says:

      Sean, if you look at the last, say, 20 years of QB drafting, it is practically a crapshoot picking a decent QB in round ONE, let alone rounds 2-3 etc.

      Even highly touted QBs taken early within recent memory are at best a mixed bag! Mariota, Winston, Goff, Wentz, Burrow, Lawrence, Murray, Trubisky, Mayfield…

      And there’s 10 of them for every Prescott or RW. We are better off picking in the top 10, and trading into the top three. (Or — maybe? — we are better off drafting in the top three, by virtue of sucking all season.)

      • Sean-O says:

        I agree. It is a crapshoot. That’s why I wonder if, in ’23, the Hawks might be better served on four non-QB, position players with their first four picks.

        SEA needs to address QB clearly & add talent to the position but with so many holes in other places, I hope they don’t force a QB pick.

  2. Eduardo says:

    Hey Rob!

    Look into broadcasting hut app. Good portable option to watch some of the non-primetime games. I have no choice since many packages aren’t available in Puerto Rico.

    Looking forward to seeing Hall and Penix.

    On a side note, I think this game with the Falcons could be interesting come the April draft. If we want to draft high, Falcons are gonna be rightthere in terms of record. I can’t fight my urge to wanna beat the Falcons, but I know that it could mean the difference between drafting a Will Levis or option B.

    Enjoy the games big guy!

    👊🏻🇵🇷,

    EB

  3. Blitzy the Clown says:

    Anyone else really annoyed by the echo effect on ESPN’s GameDay? It’s almost unwatchable for me.

    • AlaskaHawk says:

      I’m only getting fox and ABC in Alaska. The Stanford game won’t be on – but they are showing Oregon vs Wash State.

  4. Tyler Jorgensen says:

    I was just thinking.. If Tyler Van Dyke becomes even an average pro QB, with what Herbert has done, what an absolute indictment on Cristobal’s offense.

  5. Mark says:

    If at the end of October we are sitting at let’s say 2-6. The trade deadline is 11/1/22, would anyone consider parting with veterans for additional draft capitol? Just thinking since Mycah Hyde was lost for the season, would we consider trading Diggs? Or maybe Lockett?

    • cha says:

      They’d have to eat $28m in dead cap to trade Lockett and $12m for Diggs so unless someone offers them an absolute fortune I’d say they’re staying in Seattle.

      If they were going that route it’d be a much lower-level trade like Sidney Jones or maybe Noah Fant.

  6. DriveByPoster says:

    You have my sympathies Rob. The Nations League doesn’t move the needle much for me, tbh, but if you had to travel to watch such a totally meh performance then that’s harsh!

    At the mpoment I am sitting here smugly watching Wake Forest overturn a 14 point, first quarter deficit to a 14 point lead halfway through the third. I didn’t really commit to it earlier in the week when I predicted a troublesome game for Clemson but I am definitely in I-told-you-so mode. The Clemson pass rush is getting sucked in & bombed to bits by Sam Hartmann at the moment.

  7. Ashish says:

    Hi Rob,

    Did you get chance to see Clemson QB – DJ Uiagalelei ? He looked good with deep throw, mobility and going through his read.

  8. DriveByPoster says:

    Cool. Good attitude. Tourism with a bit of footie tacked on at the end.

    This Clemson game is quite entertaining. 35 each halfway through the fourth. It’s a game of contrasting styles. Clemson totally committed to a pounding running game & Wake Forest with the deep passing game. Wake are doing it quite cleverly though. They’ve not got much of a run game but they have just enough to keep Clemson honest.

    Wake have some pretty nifty receivers. Might be worth casting your eye over them before the end of the season.

  9. Blitzy the Clown says:

    Blake Corum 👀👀

    Some very interesting RBs in the Big10 this year

  10. Rob Staton says:

    Miami’s offense is so crap, even Mid Tennessee State are reading the endless passes into the flat

    Big DT fills the passing lane, tips it, picks it off, runs it in

    TVD needs to get out of there one way or another

  11. Niles says:

    Can someone explain to me why Hendon Hooker isn’t being taken seriously as a prospect? I understand he’s a year older, but he hardly ever makes mistakes and pushes the ball down the field.

    2021:
    31 TD
    3 INT
    2945 yards
    #3 in pass efficiency
    #4 in Y/A
    #3 in AY/A

  12. Hawks4life says:

    Richardson can’t throw a football accurately to save his life

    • Seattle Person says:

      He has a long way to go but he’s looked a little better the last couple of series throwing.

  13. Future Jr. says:

    Rob, why don’t you see Hendon Hooker as a legitimate draft prospect?

    • Rob Staton says:

      Doesn’t have to run through progressions, not consistently accurate enough, scheme does well to create open runners (as we saw vs Florida), good athlete but not so good that he’ll be a difference maker.

      I think he’ll be drafted but don’t think he’ll start

  14. Glor says:

    having watched England deliver a ‘hold my beer’ performance

    😂

  15. Glor says:

    Just watched WSU deliver a dominate defensive goal line stand. Anyone to keep an eye on in this game?

  16. KD says:

    Congratulations to Anthony Richardson for throwing his fist TD pass of the year….after 3.5 games

  17. Blitzy the Clown says:

    Hix in stix luv pik six of Nix!

  18. Rob Staton says:

    Tennessee are coached by adult Bobby Hill

  19. KD says:

    Oregon has no business whatsoever being ranked #15

    • GoMariners says:

      I disagree. None of the teams below them are definitively better. They still put up 600 yards and we’re moving with ease against a good WSU team who should’ve been ranked. Yea the cougars blew it but Oregon dominated that entire game. Terrible red zone execution and pac 12 refs kept it close.

    • Jed Simon says:

      Early-season rankings are irrelevant, but let’s go with KD’s and Rob’s assertion that Oregon is overrated. Fine, so maybe they are, but surely not by much.

      This win over a likely underrated Wazzu squad was impressive in its own way, given the factors of adversity at play throughout the contest. The Palouse is no joke when the Cougs come out absolutely lit like that. I get the sense that Oregon was one of maybe a dozen teams in the country who could have survived Pullman today. Bo Nix’s clutch fourth quarter could well prove to have been a watershed experience for himself and (thus) for the team—we shall see.

      Oregon’s late-game salvage-job was just the kind of gritty, team-unifying experience Rob normally appreciates (but evidently does not appreciate in this case). Should Oregon go on to find themselves well-ranked at the end of the season—the only time rankings mean anything—many will point straight back to this game as the turning point; if they don’t end out well-ranked, few will be troubling over how Oregon was #15 in September when they should have been #20.

      • Rob Staton says:

        You sound like a jilted lover 😂

        I don’t think Oregon are a top-15 team

        I don’t think that’s a controversial take

        • Jed Simon says:

          Ha, well, claiming that Oregon’s overratedness at #15 is slight at most isn’t so controversial, either, especially considering that teams #4–23 appear pretty much interchangeable. Is Michigan that much better than Minnesota? Is Clemson a legit top 5 team?

          All of the better Wac-12 teams are probably overrated at least a little, but just look at the present landscape of college football: There are three at the top, and then there’s everybody else, and that latter category could just about be randomly shuffled without making too profound of a difference.

          . . .As for any jilting going on, I do despise Oregon, but that was a hot game—and the kind of (Wac-12-adjusted) quality win that helps decent teams become good teams. I can say the same for the perennially overrated USC Trojans (whom I also dislike), with their scrappy, clutch win over a hard-hitting, hair-on-fire Beavers team. The Ducks and Trojans might not be that good now, but if they build off these tough wins, they can become good.

  20. Palatypus says:

    I own that jacket.

  21. Blitzy the Clown says:

    Helluva play by Mauingoa whose having a helluva game.

  22. God of Thunder says:

    Speaking of Italian football and the San Siro and Milan, etc. Tobias Jones’s book Ultra: the underworld of Italian football, was a really interesting read.

  23. Blitzy the Clown says:

    These 2022 Cougs are fun to watch. And I’m a lifelong Husky

  24. Palatypus says:

    That my friends is what they call “couging it.”

  25. Jordan says:

    Man, Hendon Hooker, go chase that Heisman.

  26. Jordan says:

    Levis. Sloppy. In the league you’re not getting that mulligan.

  27. Blitzy the Clown says:

    UK DE Deone Walker 👀👀

    He’s a freshman too!

  28. BoiseSeahawk says:

    Stroud looks just as sloppy, throwing picks

  29. Palatypus says:

    Kansas State @ #6 Oklahoma.

    K-State is a 13.5-point road dog leading 24-17 at the half.

    Quarterback Adrian Martinez has 204 total yards and 3 TD.

  30. KD says:

    Jesus, Cristobal is basically sabotaging TVD.

  31. Romeo A57 says:

    I know that lot of people are looking at Caleb Williams as a future high draft pick but he was really awful against the Beavers in the first half 6 of 18 and only 3 Points on offense.If Seattle is looking for a replacement for Charlie Whitehurst, he might be the guy.

    I am trying to follow Rob’s advice and be more patient on these young QBs but Seattle needs a Franchise QB soon…

    • Jordan says:

      College QBs aren’t have perfect careers. Plenty of great NFL QBs had bad moments in college. Williams is a vastly superior prospect to Whitehurst. I don’t see that comp at all.

      • Peter says:

        He’s not Whitehurst and I think that was sarcastic. But this is a bad showing. I know he’s looked good this season but USC plays one ranked team and as I type this is struggling against the beavers.

        I’d like to see him against a serious team before getting on the hype train just yet.

        • Romeo A57 says:

          I was joking about Caleb’s inaccurate throws and also he doesn’t seem very athletic. He is very young though.

  32. Denver Hawker says:

    Tanner McKee has a nice release and zips the ball. Little happy feet under pressure, but works through progressions well when he has time. Definitely some nice traits there that an NFL can work with.

  33. Palatypus says:

    Does anyone know the Husky record for sacks in a single game? I’m thinking in 1991 they had about 13 once.

  34. samprassultanofswat says:

    Brock Huard likes what he sees so far from Jaren Hall.

  35. GoHawks5151 says:

    Kitan Oladapo from Oregon St needs to be on Seattle’s radar. Perfect safety enforcer for this 34 defense

  36. KD says:

    Penix is going to get the attention of NFL scouts. Not saying he’s a 1st rounder or anything, but he’s definitely going to get some NFL attention.

    • As a die hard LSU fan that hasn’t missed a game since ’05, Michael Penix Jr. looks like the real deal. Needs to be garnering more attention, which I believe will happen as the season goes along. Just like Burrow. He’s not as good as Joe was, but he isn’t highly regarded just as Joe wasn’t, to begin the season, even on this board. At the very end, everyone was made a true believer. Will that happen with Penix? Too early to tell.

  37. KD says:

    I was a bit skeptical at first, but Kalen DeBoer was 100% the right coach for the job. Amazing job so far.

  38. Palatypus says:

    I think what we are seeing tonight is the “normal” Michael Pennix Jr. at quarterback. Last week we saw “En Fuego” Michael Pennix Jr.

    His line tonight so far is 18/32 211 yards 1 TD 0 IINT.

    It would probably be better if his receivers dropped fewer balls, but he is squeezing them into some tight windows for over-the-shoulder catches against tight coverage.

    • KD says:

      Yep. Good QB who makes good decisions in that system, but is not controlling the game. A day 2 kind of QB, but not a 1st rounder by any means.

      • Palatypus says:

        Injury history pushes him to day three and some teams will have him off the board.

        Rob will have his name listed on his horizontal board in red. It will probably be in the lower corner, I think.

        • KD says:

          Doesn’t matter how anyone builds their boards. Some team will take a chance on Penix on day 2. Day 3 certainly, but I can easily se Penix as a day 2 pick for someone.

  39. Palatypus says:

    Tanner McKee has made some big time throws tonight. He exactly the kind of player I would like to see at the Senior Bowl.

    • CaptainJack says:

      Congrats to McKee on making some good throws in garbage time against Washington’s third string freshman cornerbacks.

      That dude is so overrated. KJ Costello was much better. McKee is nowhere close to sniffing the nfl

      • Rob Staton says:

        Costello was not better

        You are going over the top with your views and it’s a bit tiring. I’ve removed some because they’re just bringing the tone of the board down

  40. KD says:

    I just noticed that Levis was sacked 5 times tonight. He is forcing that team to victory.

  41. How happy would Georgia be if Oregon wins the PAC -12 . Georgia beat Oregon 49 to 3

    • Palatypus says:

      Kent State scored two less points against Washington than Georgia. It doesn’t mean much. The transitive properties of logic don’t apply to sports. Modus ponens? Modus tollens? Modus Analicidae? Modos Bogus, party on dude! All we are is dust in the wind So-crates!

  42. swedenhawk says:

    Didn’t have a chance to watch the game, but Jaren Hall’s line vs. Wyoming is very impressive:
    26 of 32 for 337 yds 4 TDs 0 picks.