3 things we learned from Saturday
The deeper we get into the college football season, the more the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together. Every Sunday, we'll pick out the three biggest takeaways from the previous day's action and look at how they could impact the rest of the year.
Here are three things we learned from Saturday:
Florida State is in trouble
The Seminoles are still undefeated and remain No. 1 in the AP poll, but make no mistake about it, they haven't looked like the best team in the nation. Riding a 20-game winning streak and holding the status as the defending national champion, Florida State has lived off reputation more than performance so far this season.
In Saturday's win over NC State, the Seminoles fell behind 24-7 in the first quarter. While they were able to rally for the victory, getting into that deep of a hole against stiffer competition would be a surefire recipe for disaster.
With so many tight games, Florida State is playing with fire. Only once during the 2013 regular season did the Seminoles win by less than 20 and that's already happened three times this year. If that trend continues, the Seminoles will get burned.
Ameer Abdullah is an absolute beast
Georgia's Todd Gurley continues to be on the receiving end of the majority of the Heisman hype when it comes to running backs, but Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah is definitely in the conversation. The Cornhuskers senior rushed for 208 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's win over Illinois, giving him back-to-back 200-yard games for the first time in his career. He's had at least 200 yards three times this season.
Through just five games, Abdullah has already racked up 833 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, averaging an explosive 7.3 yards per carry. He leads the nation in rushing and is on pace to shatter his career-high, the 1,690 yards he rushed for last season.
Abdullah will have a chance this week to stake his claim as the best running back in college football as Nebraska will play host to Michigan State. The Spartans defense is allowing a paltry 78.3 rushing yards a game on just 2.8 yards per carry and a big outing from Abdullah against such an imposing defense would do wonders for his public profile.
Deshaun Watson is here to stay
Clemson began the season with senior Cole Stoudt as their starting quarterback, but with the emergence of Deshaun Watson, many wondered how long Stoudt would remain in that position. After seeing limited action in the season opener against Georgia, Watson got a longer look against South Carolina State.
It wasn't until the Tigers meeting with No. 1 Florida State that the true freshman was really able to shine, as Watson came in to replace a struggling Stoudt and nearly led Clemson to the upset victory. That was enough for head coach Dabo Swinney to name Watson the starter against North Carolina and at this point it's safe to say that, barring injury, Stoudt won't be getting the job back.
Watson passed for 435 yards and six touchdowns in the victory over the Tar Heels. The touchdown passes set a new school record for a single game, while his yardage total has only been surpassed by Tajh Boyd in team history. That's about as good as a first start can get, and Watson is only going to get better.