We’ve all had a couple of days to let the college football weekend marinate, so now it’s time to look at the fallout. Here are some of the stories you need to know about since the games wrapped up Saturday night with an eye toward next week’s action.
Leapfrog
One close call was all it took for Clemson to slip from the No. 1 ranking in the polls. The Tigers stopped a two-point conversion try from North Carolina to secure a 21-20 win over the weekend but found themselves dropped to No. 2 when the polls came out.
Naturally, Alabama ascended to the top spot after its 59-31 win over Ole Miss. The Tide has cruised to a 5-0 record and will get to spend their off week as the No. 1 team in the country.
Get Out!
A 52-0 loss to Michigan was apparently the last straw for Rutgers, which fired head coach Chris Ash on Sunday. In a little over three seasons, Ash was 8-32 with a 3-26 conference record. Offensive coordinator John McNulty was also let go.
Tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile will be the interim coach for the rest of the season while the Scarlet Knights search for a new permanent coach who can take the program from the depths of the Big Ten and make them a competitive team in arguably the most challenging division in college football.
Out For A While
In addition to losing to Arizona State on Friday, Cal appears to have lost quarterback Chase Garbers to a shoulder injury for the foreseeable future. Garbers was 9 for 12 passing the ball before leaving due to the injury, and the Cal offense struggled after he left the game, as the Bears ultimately lost 24-17.
The loss knocked them out of the Top 25, and the injury to Garbers threatens to derail the rest of their season. UCLA transfer Devon Modster will assume the quarterback duties with Garbers out. Modster completed just five of his 14 passes for 23 yards in relief against Arizona State.
He’ll need to be much better when the Golden Bears visit Oregon this weekend. Cal coach Justin Wilcox hasn’t given any indication as to the severity of the injury or how much time Garbers will miss.
Something’s Broken
Purdue is also dealing with a quarterback injury, as Elijah Sindelar has been sidelined indefinitely after breaking his clavicle during last week’s loss to Minnesota. Head coach Jeff Brohm says Sindelar will miss “an extended period of time” and didn’t rule out the possibility that Sindelar is done in 2019.
To make matters worse, All-American wide receiver Rondale Moore was hurt on the same play that Sindelar was lost. With their two best players going down, the Boilermakers fell short against Minnesota 38-31 and now have to make a trip to Penn State this weekend.
Redshirt freshman Jack Plummer takes over as the starting quarterback. He threw two interceptions against Minnesota after replacing Sindelar and also struggled in a start against TCU when Sindelar sat out because of a concussion.
