Good morning college football fans everywhere, hope you’re ready for another exciting and stressful weekend of this beloved sport. If you aren’t familiar with this series, here’s a quick breakdown: 

Saturday Spotlight highlights three aspects of the weekend that are worth keeping an eye on, whether it be sleeper games, matchups with upset potential, underrated players, etc. While the theme has switched up through the week, this episode is different for multiple reasons.

For one, this is the first week that will retain its theme from the previous one. I really enjoyed last week’s episode, where I proposed three hot takes with varying levels of heat. Not only that, this is also the first episode to feature a collaborator, as fellow Reveille sports reporter Adam Burruss joins me to express some of his takes. 

Now, let’s get started. 

Michigan covers the spread (Henry)

This is a fun one. Normally, the upset pick is the hot take but this case is different. It seems everyone has jumped on the Iowa hype train, just a few weeks removed from roasting them for poor play. A part of me understands that, and I even supported that idea earlier in the week.

Iowa’s proficiency against top teams under head coach Kirk Ferentz has been evident over his twenty-plus years with the program. The first hint of that came in his first season in 2001, where the Hawkeyes held their own against No. 8 Michigan after posting a 3-9 record the prior year.

But I will say the last five years have featured a decline, albeit in more of a roller coaster form than a steady downward one. For one, the most recent game featured in that article against Penn State in 2021 wasn’t one they should’ve won. If any Hawkeye fans are reading this I apologize, but you know I’m right. 

After going up 17-3, Sean Clifford went down with an injury and the PSU backup quarterback was not up for the task of competing with Iowa’s monstrous defense. After Clifford left, the Hawkeyes outscored the Nittany Lions 20-3 before losing the next two games by a combined 37 points. Penn State also fell off, discounting the win further. 

Prior to that, their last ranked win at home was in 2019 (besides Indiana in 2021, who went 3-9 that season). 

The Iowa defense is legitimate but its offense displayed cracks last season, which ruptured completely to begin 2022. Not many have mentioned a more considerable fact either that Michigan proved it was on a different level than Iowa in their last matchup. 

In the Big Ten title game, the Wolverines put up 42 points and 461 offensive yards. I understand the atmosphere is different at Kinnick, but the Iowa teams that have beaten top teams at least had some semblance of offense. 

While I do see Michigan falling some time this season, I don’t expect it to be against Iowa. 

Why is Clemson-NC State a top-10 matchup? (Adam)

Okay, this may not be a scorching hot take that few dare to attempt, but it is my take; why are these teams so highly regarded by the AP Poll?

Now, I am not a complete hater. I get it – Clemson still has a relatively good roster and North Carolina State has a bunch of experienced talent. Both are top ACC teams and this matchup should be fun to watch.

With that being said, NC State’s offense looks pretty inconsistent right now and they barely had to escape East Carolina to begin the season. Even versus Texas Tech, senior quarterback Devin Leary looked rather pedestrian. 

Clemson is typical Clemson. They still have some studs like defensive linemen Bryan Bresee and Xavier Thomas, and even running back Will Shipley looks pretty good. However, quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei seems rather inconsistent and that vaunted Clemson decent just let up 45 points to a solid Wake Forest offense.

These two teams are pretty good and I wouldn’t be surprised to see either go to the playoff, but the ACC is notoriously weak and both teams are riding off of past pedigree more than their actual play on the field right now. Even if one of these teams make the playoffs, they don’t look nearly as competent as their adversaries in the SEC and Big 10.

As for the actual game, this figures to be an easy Clemson win. Clemson has the offensive talent to score on NC State’s defense, and NC State struggles to throw downfield, which happens to be Clemson’s biggest weakness. Logically, Clemson wins.

I am picking NC State to win this game.

I know I just laid out a pretty good, logical argument on Clemson’s superiority, but games are unpredictable. NC State has a fantastic secondary that could give them an advantage should DJ Uiagalelei continue his struggles. Their offense, while desperately needing someone to break out at receiver, still has a talented, experienced quarterback at the wheel. 

I could be proven wrong with my pick and my belief that these two teams are masquerading as top teams, but I would honestly love for NC State to finally carve out a true offensive identity in this game, ride that momentum in the playoffs and take advantage of their talent. This is their chance to finally establish themselves beyond their role as second fiddle to the other Carolina teams and become a legitimately fearsome team.

Maybe I’m too much of an idealist, but I don’t care – NC State secures the upset. If I’m wrong, it just means more of the same for college football. 

The bests of the Big 12 lie in Kansas (Henry)

While the hype surrounding Kansas is contagious, as everyone loves when it’s good, Baylor and Oklahoma State are considered the top dogs of the conference (now that Oklahoma took a step back). And with how last season went, that makes a lot of sense.

Baylor and Oklahoma State competed in the Big 12 Championship last season and it was arguably one of the more exciting games of the entire season, coming down the last yard-to-gain and concluding on an incredible stop at the goal line by Baylor’s considerable defense.

But, they’ve come out sloppy to start the season. The Bears lost to BYU on the road to start the season (a team that hasn’t impressed since that win) and the Cowboy defense that was so effective last season has been exploited by teams they should have stuffed. While I don’t doubt each team still fits in the top-25, they’re beatable in my opinion. 

Although I expect Kansas’s improbable run to come to an end soon, they’ve already proved the doubters wrong on multiple occasions this season. If they gain enough momentum and Jalon Daniels continues to ball out, who knows what they can accomplish?

This hot take is more in regard to Kansas State. 

In my Weekly Pick ‘Em article from Week 3, I called the Wildcats a dark horse candidate for taking the Big 12. They just needed to get things going in the passing game, and after last weekend’s 41-point onslaught against Oklahoma, it appears Adrian Martinez has finally done just that. 

Against an Oklahoma defense that had given up ten points per game prior to its matchup with Kansas State, Martinez passed for 234 yards and a touchdown, and added an absurd 148 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The Wildcat defense struggled a bit but they successfully controlled the game from the start overall, never trailing.

They went into that game with a proven defense and one of the best running backs in the country in Deuce Vaughn, and left with those things, a quarterback with re-established confidence and tons of momentum. They face another test this weekend in Texas Tech, with their Kansas counterpart having a similar challenge to overcome in Iowa State. 

If both teams pull off wins this weekend, the doubters’ decibels will drop a little bit more.