In College Football It Only Takes One

College football is often a game of ones.  One loss.  One win.  One Point.  One injury.  Just one of these can impact a team or player in very dramatic ways, both for the better and the worse.

One Loss

For Ohio State it was the one loss against Perdue and things began to tumble.  Undefeated, Oho State was ranked Number 2 after week seven.  Then they went to Perdue.   The mighty Ohio State Buckeyes were facing the Boilermakers of Perdue who had begun their season with four consecutive losses.  Everyone had the Buckeyes  favored to win; everyone, except for Perdue and their faithful.  When Ohio State fell to Perdue, they fell in the rankings.  From number 2 and considered a playoff shoe-in to number 10 and hoping to prove themselves to the committee.  Urban Meyer who survived pre-season controversary is now wondering if his job is safe.  All of this from just one loss.

One Win

For Louisiana State and Coach Orgeron their win against Georgia proved to any doubters that they were real competitors.  Joe Burrow demonstrated his skill and leadership ability. Burrow completed 15 of 30 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns.  The win over Georgia was largely responsible for the Tigers moving from number 13 after their loss to Florida into third place and a legitimate playoff contender heading into their game against Alabama.  It was that one win that made the Tigers a contender.

One Point

The University of Central Florida maintained their undefeated record with just one point to defeat Memphis 31-30.   With nineteen consecutive wins behind them, the Knights went into the game hoping to extend their streak to twenty.  At the end of the first half it didn’t look good.  They were down 30 – 17.  In the second half theings began to change.  A touchdown in the third quarter brought them within six points. McKenzie Milton led the offense.  With twelve tackles Richie Grant led the defense to keep the Tigers out of the endzone in the second half.  Milton ran the ball in for a touchdown that tied the game  UCF needed one point, the extra point, to remain undefeated.  Matthew Wright‘s kick was true and UCF went ahead by just one point.  By just one point and UCF had 20 wins and no losses.

One Injury

For Jalin Moore of Appalachian State  just one tackle, on a touchdown run, that ended his career.  With over 3500 rushing yards Moore had a promising career ahead of him.  Running in for a touchdown Moore  was tackled and suffered a gruesome ankle injury.  His life changed, his college football career was over, and his team was left without one of their leading running backs in just seconds.  Jalin Moore’s life changed forever because of just one tackle.

Just one can change everything in college football.  It can be season boosting, season crushing or life changing.  In the struggle to be number one, just one can change everything.