Daily briefing: On CJ Stroud, unbeaten (and ranked!) James Madison and gut-wrenching losses

Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:

CJ Stroud keeps rolling along

Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud interrupted his Heisman Trophy campaign to throw a pick-six on his seventh passing attempt of the game Saturday afternoon. Michigan State corner Charles Brantley took the pass 32 yards for a touchdown. But here’s the cool part: Stroud completed 15 of his next 17 throws for 317 yards and four touchdowns. They say cornerbacks must have short memories to be effective. They work well for quarterbacks, too. The bad news is that Stroud has thrown an interception in three consecutive games. The good news is that he has built comfortable leads in the FBS in both passing efficiency (207.6) and QBR (94.8).

FBS newcomer James Madison already making its mark

It is three first downs beyond remarkable that James Madison made its AP poll debut Sunday. Forget the AP poll – the No. 25 Dukes made their FBS debut last month. James Madison (5-0 overall, 3-0 in the Sun Belt) is tied with Coastal Carolina for the Sun Belt East lead. The awkward part of the Sun Belt standings is that the Dukes, as FBS rookies, are ineligible for both the Sun Belt title and a postseason bowl. This is a program used to the postseason: James Madison reached the FCS semifinals in five of the last six seasons. The Dukes are one of the last 15 undefeated FBS teams, and in case you’re wondering, they don’t play the Chanticleers until Thanksgiving Saturday – in Harrisonburg.

Memphis, Stanford turned sure wins into horrible losses

If BYU and Coastal Carolina could create a game a few days before kickoff, as they did in the COVID season of 2020, then Memphis and Stanford need to/have to/got to play next Saturday. One of these teams should be guaranteed the opportunity to wash the taste of a pickpocket loss out of its mouth. Let their scheduled opponents, East Carolina and Notre Dame, respectively, play one another. Memphis (4-2) gave up two touchdowns to Houston in the last 1:17 – all credit to the Cougars’ onside kick team – and lost 33-32 on Friday night. Stanford didn’t trail Oregon State until Beavers quarterback Ben Gulbranson hit Tre’Shaun Harrison for a 56-yard catch-and-sprint touchdown with 13 seconds to play. The Cardinal appeared to be climbing out of the pit it has dug for itself; instead, Oregon State won 28-27, and Stanford (1-4) fell deeper. I don’t know how either bounces back.