CFB Blitz: Texas Tech's new offense headlines early Week 9 takeaways

The weekly CFB Blitz is the spot to catch up on the most important developments from the day's action and examine their significance moving forward.

Castellanos raises Texas Tech's ceiling

Texas Tech made a decisive move after losing its first game of the season last week at Cincinnati, sending Tommy Castellanos out as starting quarterback versus Arizona instead of Will Hammond. After 34 points, 472 total yards of offense, and Castellenos' three touchdowns, the change was clearly the jolt the Red Raiders needed.

Castellanos' eligibility was in question multiple times this season. However, he was granted a temporary injunction to make him eligible Oct. 16. Head coach Joey McGuire said he erred last week in not using Castellanos at all, and Saturday showed why.

The dual-threat quarterback threw for 144 yards and two scores and added 117 and a touchdown on the ground. J'Koby Williams racked up 175 yards rushing, and the duo became the first quarterback-running back tandem in Texas Tech history to each have 100 yards on the ground in a single game.

College football fans are familiar with Castellanos after the fifth-year senior previously starred at Boston College and Florida State. He can turn in electric performances like the one we saw against the Wildcats, but he's just as likely to be sunk by inaccurate passing and poor decision-making. However, there's no question he gives the Red Raiders a much higher ceiling than Hammond, and he can make them a CFP threat.

Wisconsin's Iowa nightmare continues

If you live in Wisconsin and you really want to scare the kids in your neighborhood, just dress up as an Iowa football player. The Badgers' long-running Hawkeyes nightmare continued Saturday in another blowout loss to Kirk Ferentz. The 30-0 scoreline means Iowa has gone 4-0 against Luke Fickell by a combined score of 124-16 since he took the job ahead of the 2023 season. Iowa has now scored 81 straight points against Wisconsin dating back to the fourth quarter of the 2024 contest.

The Badgers' defense became the first to hold a Lincoln Riley-coached team to seven or fewer points last week versus USC. Seven days later, Wisconsin made Hank Brown - the 93rd-ranked passer in the nation - look like a Heisman winner. Brown threw just four incompletions on the day, completing 20 of his 24 attempts for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Wisconsin's passing attack can't buy that kind of production - the Badgers have now gone three full games without a 100-yard passer after Colton Joseph was pulled in the second half.

The 30-point outburst was the latest example that this version of Iowa is more explosive than we've become accustomed to under Ferentz. The Hawkeyes' 98-yard touchdown drive following a goal-line stand in the second half was another voyage into previously uncharted waters for the offense.

The Hawkeyes' schedule finishes with Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, and Nebraska. They've got a very real shot at going 10-2 and a solid shot at a playoff berth.

Michigan's closed air space

Michigan's defense will actually be disappointed with its performance in a 28-21 win over Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights' point total is the biggest one the Wolverines have allowed this year, ending their seven-game streak of 20 or fewer.

While that stings, the defense did accomplish something unbelievable: The Wolverines held Rutgers without a completed pass in the second half Saturday. That's astonishing enough on its own, but it's actually the second straight game in which Michigan managed the feat after doing the same thing to Indiana last week.

Another strong defensive showing - and Tommy Carr putting up over 300 yards of total offense and contributing three touchdowns - should cool down Kyle Whittingham's seat in Ann Arbor, at least for the next week.

Syracuse's dome is where ranked teams die

We don't like to offer gambling advice, but if you ever see Syracuse as a 9.5-point underdog again, place a max bet and enjoy the show. After shocking North Carolina in overtime as an underdog of that number last week, the Orange were once again getting 9.5 points Saturday against No. 19 SMU. And once again, a dramatic finish secured a Syracuse victory.

SMU became the latest victim in the ranked-team graveyard that is Syracuse's JMA Wireless Dome. Although the Orange have lost 29 total games over the past five seasons, they're 4-1 in their last five home games against ranked opponents.

SMU's second conference loss further complicates the race for second in the ACC, as the Mustangs now fall out of a tie with Wake Forest for the spot below unbeaten Miami. The Mustangs face the Demon Deacons in two weeks - a game that's now a must-win for Rhett Lashlee's bunch.