Daily briefing: On Texas A&M, the other McCaffrey and bad offenses (plural) in Iowa

Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:

Texas A&M in disarray?

It’s tempting to say that the suspensions at Texas A&M illustrate a program in disarray, but no one outside the walls of the football building can know that. What we know: A.) A team picked to be a CFP contender is mediocre (3-4 overall, 1-3 in the SEC) and in danger of missing a bowl. B.) Three freshmen have been suspended indefinitely. C.) Two of them were among four freshmen that Jimbo Fisher suspended for one game earlier in the season. D.) The Aggies broke open the NIL bank to sign this class, the No. 1 recruiting haul of 2022. If this is a case of freshmen with money unwilling to live by program rules, then college football is getting what it deserved for having NIL Without Rules. Not to mention that A&M’s sputtering offense has become the least of Fisher’s issues.

Luke McCaffrey is productive – but as a WR, not a QB

All this time, Luke McCaffrey wore the tag of being Christian’s younger brother. Turns out the more important bloodline is being Ed’s son, as in Ed McCaffrey, the former Stanford All-American wide receiver. Luke started two games at quarterback for Scott Frost at Nebraska in 2020, transferred to Louisville for four months, then moved to Rice last year, where he started three games. This season, he has broken out for the Owls as a star – at wide receiver. Luke made the switch to receiver during the spring, and has 43 catches for 555 yards and five touchdowns. His stat line in the 42-41 victory Saturday over Louisiana Tech indicates he’s feeling comfortable and that quarterback TJ McMahon is comfortable with him. McMahon completed 10 passes to McCaffrey (for 171 yards and two touchdowns) and six passes to the rest of the Owls, who head into the homestretch as surprise contenders (4-3, 2-1) in Conference USA.

Iowa State struggling on offense, too

Iowa State is coming off a bye week to play a home game against Oklahoma, a welcome respite after losing four games in which the Cyclones gave up a total of 79 points. It turns out that Iowa’s historically bad offense is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only did Iowa State win the Cy-Hawk Trophy 10-7 in Week Two, but all the attention that has zeroed in on the Hawkeyes’ historically bad offense (bottom 10 of nine FBS statistical categories) has camouflaged Iowa State’s woes. The Cyclones’ defense is allowing only 105.3 rushing yards per game, good enough for 15th in the nation. But the Cyclones’ offense can’t even manage that much (101.7 ypg, 118th).