How 5 top-15 teams had weaknesses exposed in upset losses

No team is perfect — not even Alabama. And for much of the top-15, those issues were too much to overcome in Week 7, our first [insert adjective that starts with an S and is synonymous with chaos] Saturday of 2018.

So what did each team show in their losses? The answer is things that have been there all along this season, and in some cases even longer than that.

Georgia came within a whisker of the national title in 2017 with freshman Fromm at the helm. But in 2018, they aren’t as dominant. Fromm had a 72 percent completion percentage coming into the game, though it was built on high percentage throws. The Tigers took those away, per Kirby Smart.

“There were some times where he was looking for the check-down and it wasn’t there, [and] two times we had a miscommunication on a route, where’s he looking for a certain route and it breaks down. He’s either got to get rid of it, or he’s got to run it and take off,” Smart said.

Fromm made some high difficulty throws in this game, but he started 11 of 27 with 123 yards, three sacks, and a pick. Here’s a little bit of what Smart’s talking about on the checkdowns:

With six LSU players in the box on third and short, this play screams run. But UGA has a pretty nice play design with a running back and an H-back leaking out of the backfield. But the Tigers — somewhat shockingly — drop eight defenders. Both of Fromm’s underneath passes are taken away. Maybe he could have taken off running and gotten this.

Now Georgia has quite suddenly played its way into an awkward quarterback situation.

The Mountaineers came into Iowa State ranking 98th in the country in average third down distance (8), but they had been exceptional at converting them. Against the Cyclones, they weren’t.

The Mountaineers have a high-octane offense, but it’s not high-octane enough to overcome awful third down stats. WVU went 1 of 10 on third down against Iowa State, with an average distance of 9.2 yards. They didn’t have a third and short (less than 4 yards to gain) all game, and their third down distance chart reads like a crime scene and ends with a safety.

Remember how Washington’s loss to Auburn was marked by constant red zone struggles? The Huskies entered the day against Oregon ranked No. 33 in offensive success rate, a reasonably efficient attack, but No. 71 in points per scoring opportunity, or trips inside the opponent’s 40-yard line.

Against Oregon, the Huskies twice fumbled right outside the red zone, missed a field goal at the end of regulation, and only mustered a field goal in OT, despite a first-and-goal from the 6.

They now rank No. 107 in red zone touchdown percentage.

The Nittany Lions were nearly a two-touchdown favorite at home against a Michigan State team that just plain isn’t good. Naturally, Penn State lost. James Franklin is now 1-3 against the Spartans, and the last two losses have come when Franklin has had the better team on paper.

Penn State’s defense played pretty well against Ohio State, forcing Dwayne Haskins into uncomfortable situations, and holding Ohio State to seven first half points (only given up thanks to a short field after n offensive turnover). But late in the game, when they had to have a stop, they couldn’t come up with one. Ohio State scored on two drives, including a 96-yard lightning strike with in 2:32 to take the lead.

The story was the same against Michigan State. Before the Spartans’ eight-play, 76-yard, game-winning drive late, Penn State’s defense was holding up. The second half drive chart preceding it:

Franklin knows this is an issue, but defended his team:

“We have won a bunch of games all the way back to year one in fourth quarters with situational football,” he said. “We’ve lost some, obviously here, late in the last two, there’s no doubt about it.

”But, for everyone that you’ve shown me that we’ve lost, I can show you example after example of ones that we’ve won like that.”

The problem is his team isn’t defending opponents when things come right up to the finish line.

If Wisconsin can do one thing, it’s block for runners. This veteran group does fine plowing the road in the rushing attack, but for the Badgers to take the step they wish to — from being Rose Bowl good to being Playoff good — they have to hold up at the point of attack against the best of the best and let the passing game work.

Let’s take two poor passing plays on two straight drives. Wisconsin has a third and short here. Michigan rushers push themselves into Alex Hornibrook’s lap, and he’s not able to make a truly complete motion. The throw misses.

They give the ball back to Michigan, who scores on a field goal to make it 24-3. Then, the backbreaker to effectively put the game out of reach on the very next drive:

But is it truly on Hornibrook?

This isn’t necessarily the players’ fault, but Wisconsin’s offensive linemen simply aren’t good enough pass blockers to be asked to hold up against future NFL talent consistently when they’re pinning their ears back and attacking. We saw it against Ohio State last year, and you saw it last night.

Is it more fun for fans to make fun of Hornibrook and his struggles throwing the ball? Sure. But it all starts up front. Hornibrook’s pick-six? Max protection that sprung loose a defensive tackle running in the face of Hornibrook, and hit him as he threw.

Wisconsin’s offensive line is fine protecting a lead, and even getting the job done in close games — they had a game-tying field goal attempt late in the loss to BYU.

But against Michigan, they just got boat raced. The Wolverines just kept on pulling away, until you look up and Michigan’s won by 25. Wisconsin was unable to dig out of the hole.

There are five undefeateds left, and each have identity questions that could bite them at some point.

Sometimes you can win in spite of your issues. Plenty of teams have, but Week 7 showed that sometimes you don’t.