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Quarterback Chaos: DJ Lagway, Cade Klubnik, and the Fall of ‘Sure Things’
Quarterbacks we once thought were a sure thing are leading their teams down the college football drain, and it is difficult to determine why. Florida Gator fans are despondent after DJ Lagway through 5 (!!!) interceptions in a loss at LSU Saturday night. Outside of those picks, the Gators actually played well enough to win, and maybe even save the job of embattled Head Coach Billy Napier. Instead, the Grim Reaper stands by with his scythe as Florida heads to Miami to face the Hurricanes, a team that whipped them in the season opener last year.
In Clemson fans are shaking their head about the play of Senior quarterback Cade Klubnik. The stats look pretty good, the results do not. Klubnik threw an interception and fumbled the ball away in a 3 point heartbreaking loss to Georgia Tech that drops the Tigers to 1-2. He was expected to be a Heisman candidate, instead he may be a candidate for the MVP at the Pop Tarts Bowl. After throwing for 36 touchdowns with 6 interceptions in 2024, Cade now has 3 TD passes to go along with 3 interceptions.
It’s not a phenomenon other football fans in Florida don’t know about. Remember how KJ Jefferson was supposed to lead UCF to the promised land after transferring in from Arkansas? He was summarily benched just 3 games later. Florida State depended on DJ Uiagalelei to keep the train rolling after a 12-0 regular season the previous year. The Clemson transfer was terrible before suffering a season ending injury. Is there a pattern here? The only one I see is blocking. If Florida and Clemson want to save their seasons, they need to try blocking someone. Run the football, take the pressure off your struggling quarterback, and possibly saving your season can still happen.
Remember, these rankings are not in any way based on an eye test or which team I think is better and would win on a neutral field. They are solely based on who a team has beaten and who a team lost to. With that said, love hearing from you in the comments.
SYNAN SAYS TOP 25 FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 15th
- MIAMI (3-0) Punished South Florida, also beat Notre Dame and Carson Beck looks just fine
- FLORIDA STATE (2-0) They get another patsy this week, but Bama win looks even better
- OHIO STATE (3-0) On the strength of beating Texas
- GEORGIA (3-0) Showed great toughness winning at Tennessee
- OKLAHOMA (3-0) Their Michigan win remains strong
- LSU (3-0) Haven’t looked great, but the wins at Clemson and over Florida are strong
- AUBURN (3-0) Opening win at Baylor looks better every week
- TEXAS A&M (3-0) Maybe only won at Notre Dame because of a botched snap, but still impressive
- OREGON (3-0) Thumping everyone badly, even though no great wins
- GEORGIA TECH (3-0) Have now won at Colorado and over Clemson
- OLE MISS (3-0) 2-0 in the SEC, but wins are vs Kentucky and Arkansas
- VANDERBILT (3-0) Knocked out South Carolina QB, then dominated them in Columbia
- MISSOURI (3-0) Get South Carolina next
- IOWA STATE (4-0) Really struggled at Arkansas State, but Iowa win keeps them here
- TCU (2-0) Get SMU next and should be a doozy
- MISSISSIPPI STATE (3-0) Real schedule starts now, and I don’t have a lot of confidence
- PENN STATE (3-0) Another week, another patsy. They should not be rewarded for this
- ILLINOIS (3-0) Duke win diluted when Blue Devils lost to Tulane, but Illini get Indiana this week
- SOUTHERN CAL (3-0) Defense looks vastly improved
- NEBRASKA (3-0) On the strength of win at Cincinnati
- UTAH (3-0) Waxed all 3 teams, but win at UCLA is no longer good
- CALIFORNIA (3-0) Went down against Minnesota and still found a way to win
- TEXAS (2-1) Still haven’t found their groove yet
- TENNESSEE (2-1) Hard to punish them for a missed FG that would have them in the top 5
- NC STATE (3-0) Count on Coach Dave Doreen to blow it
Mike Synan
News | Sports | Politics
- After two decades in news and politics, Mike Synan is returning to his roots to write Sports as “The Sportsaholic”. Mike hosted a talk show for 6 years on WDBO after Magic home games called “Magic Til Midnight”, and spent years working as an in-game correspondent for both ESPN and Fox Sports Radio. His column “Synan Says” has appeared on both www.wdbo.com and www.floridadaily.com. He has a BS in Political Science from Clemson University. You can reach him at msynan@sportsmail.com
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