This week in college football: Florida schools scramble, others look to bounce back

Staff Writer

Sept. 10, 2017 7:05 PM PT

As Hurricane Irma continues its destructive trek northward, the week ahead remains uncertain for college football.

Following a spate of canceled games last weekend, athletic directors throughout the state of Florida were left wondering when they might play next.

No. 11 Florida State already has postponed next Saturday’s showdown against No. 17 Miami until next month. The status of No. 23 Tennessee at No. 24 Florida had yet to be decided as of Sunday evening.

“Focus is ensuring the safety of our athletes, staff & families,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin tweeted. “Will assess situation after the storm.”

No. 22 South Florida is taking a similar approach to its scheduled home game against Illinois. The Illini reportedly offered to host the game in their stadium.

“When appropriate, we will address this and be thoughtful,” South Florida athletic director Mark Harlan tweeted.

Meanwhile, the rest of college football forges ahead with different questions to answer.

Bounce back

Several premier teams are facing damage control that has nothing to do with high winds or storm surge.

Ohio State — which dropped six spots to No. 8 after a 31-16 loss to Oklahoma, which vaulted three spots to No. 2 — can’t find a consistent passing game despite coach Urban Meyer’s vow to fix things after last season’s shut-out loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff.

For now, Meyer is standing behind quarterback J.T. Barrett as the Buckeyes prepare for a heavy underdog.

“We’ve got to go beat Army … and get on a roll,” the coach said. “You’ve seen a roll around here a few times, so that’s what has to happen.”

Things look a little brighter for Notre Dame after the defense played well in a 20-19 loss to Georgia. Still, there is pressure on the Irish and coach Brian Kelly to rebound against Boston College. No. 19 Stanford moves on from its USC loss with a similar challenge against San Diego State.

Air it out

It’s probably too early to talk about Heisman Trophy favorites, but a handful of quarterbacks around the nation have staked their claim with a chance to make more noise on Saturday.

The reigning winner, Lamar Jackson, continues to amass video game-like numbers at No. 14 Louisville, passing for three touchdowns and running for three more against North Carolina last week. Now he has a chance to show his stuff on a big stage against No. 3 Clemson.

“That guy, he’s special now, he really is,” North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said. “He sat back there and threw like he was in the NFL.”

USC’s Sam Darnold also gets a big-name game against Texas. As for the other hot hands, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield will face Tulane, Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph travels to Pittsburgh and Josh Rosen leads No. 25 UCLA against Memphis.