Last week’s football action didn’t disappoint hardcore fans.
This week was equally exciting.
Here’s a look at some of the notable games from the week of college and pro football.
COLLEGE
Clemson 27 Syracuse 23
The #3 Clemson Tigers got the scare of their lives.
The Orangemen pulled off a mammoth upset last year by defeating defending national champion Clemson in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
But this time the Orangemen were on the road in Death Valley.
Clemson came in with drama at the quarterback.
They benched last year’s starter Kelly Bryant in favor of five-star true freshman Trevor Lawrence.
The switch to Lawrence caused Bryant to transfer, leaving Clemson with little depth.
Lo and behold Lawrence got concussed just before the half.
Third-string quarterback Chase Brice was forced to finish the game but led a thrilling comeback on the strength of an explosive running game.
Florida State 28 Louisville 24
Both the Seminoles and Cardinals have struggled mightily this year.
Neither team has been able to muster a consistent passing game, which made the end of this game so baffling.
The Cardinals were nursing a 24-21 lead late in the game.
They had the ball on Florida State’s 10-yard line with two minutes left, and the Seminoles only had two timeouts.
Instead of running out the clock, Louisville inexplicably passed the ball, which was intercepted.
Due to the epic coaching error, Florida pulled off the low-probability comeback.
Ohio State 27 Penn State 26
Speaking of coaching errors, the primetime showdown between the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions featured a terrible coaching decision.
Penn State held a 26-14 lead at home with only eight minutes left.
But the Buckeyes took the lead late due to terrible tackling.
The Nittany Lions were driving to get into field goal range, then called a horrific series of plays.
On first and 10 at midfield, Penn State called four run plays right up the middle.
Before 4th down, the Nittany Lions burned TWO timeouts, then ran the following play with the game on the line:
What a horrendous play call by James Franklin and Penn State with the game on the line. pic.twitter.com/fSLFuZqJev
— James O’Saile (@PhilzLike1998) September 30, 2018
NFL
L.A. Rams 38 Minnesota 31
In a potential NFC championship game showdown, the Rams and Vikings squared off in a primetime Thursday night game.
Despite both teams’ elite defenses, the game quickly devolved into a shootout.
Rams quarterback Jared Goff stole the show by throwing for 465 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Chicago 48 Tampa Bay 10
Not to be outdone, second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky tossed 6 touchdown passes for the Bears.
As Trubisky appears to be trending up, Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is trending down.
The architect of “Fitzmagic” led Tampa Bay to two impressive wins over the New Orleans Saints, and defending Super Bowl champions Philadelphia.
In his first three games, Fitzpatrick set an NFL record by throwing for over 400 yards in three straight games.
That streak ended in brutal fashion.
Seattle 20 Arizona 17
Neither the Seahawks nor the Cardinals are practically noteworthy this year.
In fact, Arizona began the season 0-4 for the first time in decades.
However, the key story of the game was the injury to all-pro Free Safety Earl Thomas.
Thomas has been openly frustrated about his contract situation.
He wanted a new deal or wanted to be traded.
The Seahawks played hardball.
Thomas has allegedly been nonchalant in practice as a form of protest.
But the escalation rapidly escalated when Thomas fractured his leg during the game.
As he was being carted off, Thomas flipped off his own team’s sideline.
Many speculate it was targeted at Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
Earl Thomas flipping off his own team is the best thing you will see all day pic.twitter.com/QGKxVM378w
— WTP Sports (@WTPsports) October 1, 2018