Notre Dame will be without its leading tackler Joe Schmidt for the rest of the season after he dislocated his ankle in a 49-39 win over Navy. Schmidt finished 2013 with 65 tackles (42 solo), two interceptions, two forced fumbles, three passes defensed, three QB hits and one pass breakup.
The Irish will put their remaining college football playoff hopes on the line this Saturday against Arizona St., a team that still has playoff aspirations as well.
Quick Hitters
-- In a split second, Ole Miss went from one of the country's top national title contenders to the middle of the pack in the SEC West. Most disappointing, the Rebels simultaneously lost one of their best players for the season. On a crucial third-down situation at crunch time Saturday vs. Auburn, Hugh Freeze dialed up a perfect play for the all-out blitz the Tigers had called by defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson. Bo Wallace quickly hit Laquon Treadwell on a wide-receiver screen and he gained first-down yardage and appeared to be on his way into the end zone. However, just inches shy of crossing the plane of the goal line, he was hit by an Auburn defender and had his leg and ankle twisted back in a gruesome way. When the pain hit Treadwell, he lost the ball and it was recovered by Auburn in the end zone for a potential touchback. But the ruling on the field was a touchdown. Obviously, that wasn't of much concern as trainers surrounded Treadwell. After he was carted off the field, though, the TD call was reversed and changed to a fumble. To be clear, Auburn would've still had 90 seconds to rally from a 3-point deficit if the TD call had stood. But it didn't and Treadwell is out for the year, and the Rebels' SEC title hopes have been greatly diminished.
-- Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah suffered a mild MCL sprain in the first quarter of a 35-14 home win over Purdue. The injury limited him to one rushing yard on six carries against the Boilermakers, and it almost certainly dashed any remaining Heisman Trophy hopes. Nevertheless, with an open date looming before a crucial Nov. 15 showdown at Wisconsin, Bo Pelini told the Lincoln Journal Star, "I would anticipate he'll be back 100 percent. That is my anticipation right now. That could always change."
-- Washington St. senior QB Connor Halliday saw his collegiate career end this past Saturday in a home loss to Southern Cal. Halliday had to be carted off the field after suffering a broken leg that required immediate surgery. Halliday was leading the nation in passing yards (3,873) and TD passes with 32. In relief of Halliday, Mike Leach turned to redshirt freshman Luke Falk, who completed 38-of-57 throws for 346 yards. Falk had a pair of TD passes compared to one interception against the Trojans, who cruised to a 44-17 win. Falk will get his first career start Saturday at Oregon St.
-- Colorado St. sophomore WR Rashard Higgins is 'doubtful' for Saturday's home game vs. Hawaii due to a shoulder injury sustained in a 38-31 win at San Jose St. Higgins has 67 receptions and leads the nation in receiving yards with 1,280. He's also tops in the country in TD catches with 13.
-- Purdue WR Danny Anthrop will miss the remainder of the season due to a knee injury. Anthrop was leading the Boilermakers with 38 receptions for 616 yards and four TDs.
-- Clemson QB Deshaun Watson has resumed throwing and will be available to play Thursday night at Wake Forest. However, Cole Stoudt will make his third straight start as Dabo Swinney hopes to have Watson's finger injury back to 100 percent for a Nov. 15 game at Ga. Tech. Watson has a 12/2 TD-INT ratio and three rushing scores. Without his dynamic playmaking skills, the Tigers have scored only 23, 17 and 16 points. They have failed to cover the number in all three of those outings (Watson was injured in the first quarter of a 23-17 win over Louisville on Oct. 11). Stoudt has just two TD passes and has been intercepted four times.
-- Southern Miss is hoping to get starting QB Nick Mullens back for Saturday's home game vs. Marshall. Mullens injured his foot in the first quarter of a 31-20 home loss to La. Tech on Oct. 25. In his last six games, he had a 10/6 TD-INT ratio. Without Mullens, back-up Cole Weeks has been intercepted four times compared to just two TD passes in losses to La. Tech and UTEP (35-14). Mullens remains a question mark vs. the Thundering Herd.
-- South Alabama QB Brandon Bridge left a 19-9 loss at UL-Lafayette with an ankle injury and is considered day-to-day at this point. The Jaguars play Saturday at Arkansas St. Bridge has a 10/4 TD-INT ratio for the season and has seven TD passes without an interception in the last four outings.
-- In this space last week, we noted how Utah St. was down to its fourth-string QB in true freshman Kent Myers, who had previously been planning on redshirting until a rash of injuries hit the Aggies. Well, in his first career start at Hawaii, Myers connected on 14-of-15 throws for 186 yards and three TDs without an interception, as Utah St. beat the Warriors 35-14 as a three-point road favorite. The Aggies play this Friday at Wyoming.
-- Ga. Tech owns a 9-4-2 spread record in 15 games as a road favorite during Paul Johnson's seven-year tenure. The Yellow Jackets are favored by 3.5 for Saturday's game at North Carolina St.
Picks
Michigan St. -3.5 vs. Ohio St. – The Spartans are 4-1 against the spread as home favorites this year and should be 5-0, but they allowed Nebraska to score 19 unanswered points to post a backdoor cover in a 27-22 victory. Mark Dantonio's team has won 12 in a row straight up at Spartan Stadium. I expect Connor Cook to lead the Spartans to the win and cover this short number at home.
Brian Edwards is a college football handicapper who contributes weekly columns to The Linemakers on Sporting News. For more valuable information and insight, follow him on Twitter @vegasbedwards and visit his website, BrianEdwardsSports.com .
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