UNC's goal: Stop Pitt's Israel Abanikanda, 'the best RB in the country'
Posted October 27, 2022 5:00 a.m. EDT
Updated October 27, 2022 1:18 p.m. EDT
Week 9 of the 2022 college football season has many questions.
WRAL senior multiplatform producer Mark Bergin tries to answer some of them.
What’s your tweet-length take ahead of Week 9 of the college football season?
I’m stating this ahead of the first College Football Playoff rankings release on Nov. 1: There’s a reason why the CFP is nicknamed by Crimson Tide fans as “the Alabama invitational.” Alabama will find its way back into the CFP.
What’s the best college football game of the weekend?
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 13 Penn State (Noon ET Saturday, FOX)
Saturday marks the first true test for Ohio State this season. The only ranked team the Buckeyes have beaten was Notre Dame in the first week of the season. The Irish now have a 4-3 record.
Penn State has sixth-year quarterback Sean Clifford and a terrific home-field advantage at Beaver Stadium, but it still might not be enough against an Ohio State team that’s rolling right now.
The Buckeyes rank second nationally in scoring at 49.6 points per game. They also rank second defensively in allowing a mere 239.9 yards per game.
Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is on track to play, but he may be limited with a left hamstring injury.
Although Smith-Njigba has played limited snaps, the Buckeyes haven’t missed him too much. Buckeyes receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka have a combined total of 79 catches for 1,333 yards and 17 touchdowns.
There’s a reason Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud is among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.
Plus, Oct. 22, 2016, marked the last time the Nittany Lions beat the Buckeyes.
What’s the best ACC game of the weekend?
Pittsburgh at No. 21 North Carolina (8 p.m. ET Saturday, ACC Network)
North Carolina is coming off a bye week.
If you ask head coach Mack Brown, the Tar Heels are playing the best running back in the country in Pitt’s Israel Abanikanda.
Abanikanda has 157 carries for 959 rushing yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 14 total touchdowns. The junior has eclipsed 100 yards in five of seven games this season.
Abanikanda ranks fourth in the country in rushing.
On Oct. 8, Abanikanda broke Tony Dorsett's single-game school rushing record when he ran for 320 yards and six touchdowns in a 45-29 victory over Virginia Tech. In 1975, Dorsett set the previous record of 303 yards rushing against Notre Dame.
The Tar Heels are allowing an average of 32.43 points per game.
"They're ninth nationally and first in the ACC in time of possession, and that's how Notre Dame beat us is they just kept the ball," Brown said on Monday. "And, I'm sure that will be the Pitt plan."
Pitt's average time of possession is more than 33 mintues per game through its first seven games this season.
However, North Carolina is tied for eighth in the country in scoring at 41.7 points per game.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye has impressed this season, completing 70.1% of his passes, and throwing for 2,283 yards, 24 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Predict the biggest upset this weekend in college football
I’m tempted to take Penn State as a 15.5-point home underdog against Ohio State. The last six games between the two teams have been decided by 13 points or less.
However, I’m going to pick No. 19 Kentucky over No. 3 Tennessee (7 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN). Perhaps Tennessee is looking ahead to the following week’s road matchup against Georgia.
The Wildcats enter as a 12.5-point underdog against a Vols team that has scored 34 or more points in seven consecutive games.
This month’s quarterback matchup between Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker and Alabama’s Bryce Young lived up to the hype. Let’s hope this weekend’s clash between Hooker and Kentucky’s Will Levis – a top quarterback prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft – is similar.
The Wildcats will need to rely on senior running back Chris Rodriguez Jr., who has 72 carries for 395 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and three touchdowns in three games this season. Rodriguez’s ability to move the chains will be key for the Wildcats to keep the Vols’ high-powered offense off the field.
Kentucky linebacker Jacquez Jones injured his foot during the game on Oct. 1 against Ole Miss and has been out since. Jones was not on this week’s depth chart.
As for the other injuries, offensive lineman Jeremy Flax and wide receiver Tayvion Robinson were both listed as starters on this week’s depth chart. Other than Jones, the Wildcats are as healthy as they have been in weeks.
The Vols are wearing their black jerseys for Saturday’s game, which is two days before Halloween. During the Josh Heupel era, Tennessee is 1-1 when donning the black jerseys.
Also, the Wildcats have played the Vols tough in the last three seasons:
- Nov. 6, 2021: Tennessee 45, Kentucky 42
- Oct. 17, 2020: Kentucky 34, Tennessee 7
- Nov. 9, 2019: Tennessee 17, Kentucky 13
Which team will Lee Corso pick during ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcast? Jackson State or Southern?
Instead of visiting a Power 5 school, “College GameDay” is planning to attend the HBCU rivalry game between Jackson State and Southern.
Jackson State enters Saturday’s game with a 7-0 record and Southern is 5-2.
Considering the star power of Jackson State coach Deion Sanders, I don’t think Corso picks against “Prime Time” in primetime.
