Winners and Losers from Week 10 of the 2015 College Football Season
Being undefeated and in the playoff hunt is a precious position to hold, if for no other reason than you find out how quickly it can change. Just ask TCU. And Memphis. And Michigan State. And LSU.
The Frogs were the first major undefeated team to lose in Week 10, falling by double digits to Oklahoma State on the road. The Big 12 November slate was always going to be tough, but the conference wasted no time showing as much. Similarly, Memphis didn't get through one week in November before dropping a game.
But perhaps none fell to such a cruel fate as Michigan State. The Spartans were robbed on a bad non-call for illegal touching against Nebraska on a deciding touchdown. College football is a cruel sport. No one knows that better than the Huskers.
With so much going on, it's time to wrap up all that happened in an exciting weekend. Who were the winners and losers from Week 9? We break down all that was good, bad, ugly, gorgeous and more in the following slides.
Loser: College Football's Broken Officiating and Replay System
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Before we dive into this, is there any team more euphoric than Nebraska?
The Cornhuskers have been brutally tortured by being on the wrong end of heartbreaking loss after heartbreaking loss. Finally, something went their way, even if it had no business doing so.
On that note, it's safe to say college football's officiating and replay crews have failed this sport miserably in 2015. They aren't the only reason a team wins or loses, but they're impossible to ignore.
Nebraska's go-ahead touchdown with 17 seconds left against Michigan State, a 30-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Armstrong Jr. to Brandon Reilly, should never have counted. The official on the near sideline determined Reilly went out of bounds and was the first player to touch the football upon re-entry to the playing field.
That should be illegal touching, but the officials ruled Reilly was forced out of bounds. That's on the referee and the referee alone.
The play went to video review, but the call was upheld and Nebraska went ahead 39-38. The problem? It was the wrong call and universally agreed upon as such, even by Fox officiating guru Mike Pereira. Additionally, the officials missed what could have been offensive pass interference on Reilly.
However, it hasn't been well-communicated if replay was reviewing whether Reilly was pushed out of bounds or whether he was just out of bounds, period (which he clearly was).
To say officiating and instant replay have been suspect at best this year would be an understatement. Just last week, referees and replay in the Miami-Duke game completely botched the Hurricanes' game-winning kickoff return for a touchdown. The ACC had to later issue a statement recognizing its mistake and reprimanded the crew.
That's just one example of several. There have been too many to count.
The purpose of instant replay is to do everything possible to get the call on the field right. That hasn't happened in 2015. Heading into the offseason, college football's officiating minds must rectify this.
Winner: Clemson
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There's little else to say about Clemson other than the Tigers are the most impressive team in college football. There's a legitimate reason why the College Football Playoff selection committee ranked Clemson No. 1 in last week's poll.
Clemson has taken care of business throughout much of the season, but it's been challenged in each of the last two games against North Carolina State and Florida State. The Tigers ultimately had to find two different ways to win. Against the Wolfpack, Clemson needed a shootout and won 56-41. Against the Seminoles, Dabo Swinney's team had to grind out a lower-scoring, fourth-quarter win.
"This is what championship football is all about. You have to win in the fourth quarter," Swinney said after the 23-13 victory, via Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com.
Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson is a true difference-maker, and not just because he can beat defenses with his arm and legs. His decision-making and ability to adjust runs and throws mid-play are uncanny. It's almost like the game is being played at half speed for him.
Clemson has a straight shot to the ACC title now that it's wrapped up the Atlantic Division. Can anyone stop what looks to be college football's most complete team?
Loser: Baylor's Defense
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He's only started one game, a 31-24 win over Kansas State on Thursday, and he wasn't asked to do a lot outside of a couple of clutch throws, but quarterback Jarrett Stidham should be just fine for Baylor.
The Bears defense, though?
It's a major liability. If anything prevents Baylor from going undefeated and making the College Football Playoff, it's that unit.
Kansas State had all kinds of success running the ball with 5.4 yards per rush. The Wildcats also had a 17-play touchdown drive on their first possession of the game that spanned more than nine minutes. In the fourth quarter, K-State came up with two quick touchdowns to make the game interesting.
Defensive tackle Andrew Billings, arguably the best player on the roster, has been banged up. Still, this was a bad showing by the Bears.
Style points against K-State are almost always nonexistent, but this wasn't even Baylor's hardest game. The Bears get Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU in a 13-day span. All three offenses are far superior to Kansas State's.
Baylor, and Stidham, better be ready to win some shootouts.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Winner: USC Wide Receiver Juju Smith-Schuster
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Somehow, some way, USC wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster was able to play through a hand injury against Arizona. Not only that, Smith-Schuster found a way to be an impact player.
Against the Wildcats, Smith-Schuster had eight catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. It was the sixth time this year Smith-Schuster has gone over the century mark. Not bad for a guy who had surgery to repair his hand fracture this week. Realistically, he didn't have to play at all.
"I think it's a miracle I played. I was in a lot of pain," Smith-Schuster per Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News.
With Smith-Schuster at least healthy enough to play, USC has won its past three games and has found a rhythm with the offense.
Winner: #MACtion
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Toledo's undefeated season went down the drain with a 32-27 loss to Northern Illinois. But if the Rockets taught us anything, it's that if you're going to go out, go out guns blazing.
In #MACtion terms, that means faking a punt out of your own end zone and watching with awe as said punter gets de-cleated on the sidelines.
Oh yeah. That's the stuff.
But Toledo wasn't the only team making huge plays. Huskies wideout Kenny Golladay made a terrific one-handed catch for a seven-yard touchdown.
And, wait, we haven't even mentioned the 3rd-and-39 conversion by NIU. Third-and-39.
#MACtion has been hard to come by at times, but it was on full display early in the week. There's no way we'd forget that.
Loser: South Carolina
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There are tough losses, and then there's what happened to South Carolina.
Down 27-24 to Tennessee with just over a minute remaining in the game, Gamecocks quarterback Perry Orth completed a 30-yard pass to Jerell Adams that would have put South Carolina in the red zone. However, Adams fumbled the ball, and Tennessee's Jalen Reeves-Maybin recovered it.
Tennessee was then able to kneel on the ball. Game over.
It's been a rough ride for the Gamecocks, who are now 3-6 and have to beat Florida, the Citadel and Clemson to even be 6-6. The Citadel contest aside, it's tough imagine South Carolina winning another game.
Winner: North Carolina Defensive Coordinator Gene Chizik
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North Carolina's offense will get the credit for the Tar Heels' 66-31 win over Duke. And the offense does deserve recognition. Quarterback Marquise Williams had 404 yards passing...in the first half half. He finished with 494 yards and four touchdowns on the day.
But what's made the Tar Heels a more complete team this year as opposed to previous seasons under head coach Larry Fedora is the addition of defensive coordinator Gene Chizik. Two-thirds of Duke's points Saturday were second-half, garbage-time scores. Otherwise, North Carolina had Duke's offense limited and forced three turnovers.
In fact, heading into Saturday, North Carolina was giving up just 16.9 points per game. Compare that to 2014 when the Tar Heels were last in the ACC in points per game allowed (39).
Since losing in Week 1 to South Carolina, North Carolina has been on a tear with eight straight wins. Quietly, there aren't many teams playing better than the Tar Heels.
Loser: LSU's Offensive Line
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LSU running back Leonard Fournette was the Heisman favorite heading into Week 10, according to OddsShark.com. Whether that remains the same following LSU's 30-16 loss to Alabama is unknown, but for the first time this year, Fournette was held in check with 31 yards on 19 carries. Take away a long run of 18 yards, and Fournette averaged 0.72 yards per carry for most of the night.
Yep, Alabama's run defense is as-advertised and more.
But rather than simply blame Fournette, you have to look at what happened up front. LSU simply didn't pave lanes for its star back to run, as noted by Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports. It doesn't matter if you're the best running back in college football. There's only so much a player can do when he can't even find a hole through which to run.
The lack of a running game put more pressure on LSU quarterback Brandon Harris. While the sophomore had some nice throws and moments, he's not the type of player who's going to put an offense on his shoulders and win the game.
LSU's offense has always been one-dimensional. Now we know what happens when it finds a matchup that knows how to stop that one dimension.
Winner: Alabama
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Leonard Fournette could have been the star of LSU-Alabama, but Tide running back Derrick Henry took that title instead. Henry—with the benefit of his offensive line, mind you—rushed for 210 yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries. Between Henry and Kenyan Drake, Alabama averaged 5.8 yards per rush.
The 30-16 win over the Tigers, coupled with Ole Miss' loss to Arkansas, means Alabama now controls its SEC West destiny. The whole conversation about Alabama's dynasty, and whether or not it still exists, seems like a moot point now. The Tide played poorly against Ole Miss earlier this season and lost. Since then, however, they've been outstanding and unstoppable at times.
One loss doesn't define a season and, generally, the best teams rise to the top over the course of the year. Road games at Mississippi State and Auburn mean Alabama is not on Easy Street yet, but this team did show it's worthy of playoff inclusion.
Winner: Notre Dame Wide Receiver Will Fuller
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Baylor's Corey Coleman and TCU's Josh Doctson are usually interchangeably 1A and 1B on the short list of the best wide receivers in college football. But don't forget about Notre Dame's William Fuller. There isn't a better straight-line runner at the position than him.
In a 42-30 win over Pitt, Fuller hauled in seven catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns, the first two of which were 47 and 46 yards, respectively. When you can get deep like that on a routine basis, a lot of quarterbacks are going to look good.
On that subject, Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer has at least earned consideration to start in 2016. He's gradually improved over the course of the season while filling in for the injured Malik Zaire. Kizer's strong arm has been the perfect tool to properly facilitate Fuller's ability to stretch the field vertically. They've become one of the more entertaining quarterback-receiver duos in the country.
Loser: Vanderbilt
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With a 9-7 victory over Vanderbilt, Florida locked up the SEC East. But poor, poor Vandy. As usual, the Commodores defense did everything imaginable, and then some, to win. Vanderbilt limited the Gators to 258 yards and had four takeaways.
What else can you possibly ask a defense to do? When you have a 175 yards of offense, 74 of which coming on one play, there's almost no way a team can win.
You have to feel for head coach Derek Mason. He's fielded a team that's an absolute nightmare to play. Even though the 'Dores have only three wins, just one game was ever truly out of hand from the start. And that was against Houston.
But Vanderbilt keeps coming up short and technically could have navigated a path to the SEC Championship Game with a win over the Gators.
Winner: Penn State Defensive End Carl Nassib
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Penn State came up short in a 23-21 loss to Northwestern, but defensive end Carl Nassib has nothing to be ashamed of. With a fourth-quarter sack against the Wildcats, Nassib now has 15.5 on the season. That sets a new school single-season record.
Nassib also led the nation with 18.5 tackles for loss coming into Saturday. Not bad for a guy who never started a game in high school and was a walk-on at Penn State.
The Nittany Lions defense as a whole has been more than good enough to win games this year. Nassib is in line to win a lot of postseason hardware. It's been the offense, once again, proving to be the shortcoming.
Loser: TCU's Playoff Hopes
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Forget the Heisman campaign for TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin. The Frogs' playoff hopes might have officially been put to rest thanks to a 49-29 loss to Oklahoma State.
As freelance journalist David Ubben tweeted, this game resembled Baylor's 2013 trip to Stillwater when the Bears were in the hunt for the national championship. They left with a 49-17 loss. Boone Pickens Stadium is weird like that.
The Horned Frogs have been a far worse team on the road this year, so perhaps it was only a matter of time before defensive depth issues came back to haunt them. But TCU picked the wrong day to have an awful game.
Boykin threw four interceptions, the last of which was taken back for a touchdown. For reference, Travis Haney of ESPN.com noted Boykin had just five interceptions in his last 297 attempts. Leading receiver Josh Doctson left the game with an apparent wrist injury. His status going forward remains unknown.
It was a nightmare for TCU from start to finish. One loss does not make a season, but it's hard to see the Frogs getting back into the playoff conversation after this.
Winner: Oklahoma State Wide Receiver James Washington
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Really, everyone for Oklahoma State was brilliant in the Cowboys' win over TCU. The defense picked off Trevone Boykin four times and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah continues to show why leaving him off the Lombardi Award semifinalist list was so absurd. The goal-line stand to essentially ice the game was as physical as the defense has played all year.
But how about Cowboys wide receiver James Washington?
Oklahoma State established early that it wasn't that "other" team in the Big 12 behind TCU and Baylor. In the first quarter alone, Washington had touchdown grabs of 48 and 50 yards. He added a 74-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. On the day, he caught five passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns.
Oklahoma entered Week 10 as a dark-horse Big 12 title contender. After knocking off the Frogs in convincing style, however, it's time to take Mike Gundy's team more seriously. Remember: The Cowboys get Baylor and Oklahoma at home, as well.
Loser: Ole Miss
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Like that, the SEC West is wide-open again.
Arkansas' 53-52 overtime win over Ole Miss was all sorts of fun, especially since the Hogs converted a 4th-and-25 play on a lateral. It was the craziest thing college football has seen has since, well, last week when Miami beat Duke on eight laterals during a kick return (which, as we're reminded to tell you, technically shouldn't have counted).
Arkansas then converted a two-point conversion following a touchdown to seal the victory. Someone had to lose, but it now means Ole Miss has some work to do if it wants to get to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. The Nov. 21 tilt vs. LSU carries a "must-win" factor for the Rebels.
It's a shame for Ole Miss if it can't win the West division. This is an insanely talented team, and 2015 had a "if not this year, when?" type of feel to it.
Winner: Louisiana Tech Running Back Kenneth Dixon
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Look, it's well-understood at this point in the season that North Texas isn't any good at all. Teams not named UT-San Antonio have been handling the Mean Green easily for the past couple of months.
Still, when you score six touchdowns in a game, it'll get you noticed. So congratulations, Louisiana Tech running back Kenneth Dixon. Your ridiculous box score, in which you rushed 22 times for 195 yards to go along with the aforementioned six touchdowns in a 56-13 win over North Texas, stood out as one of the highlights of Week 10.
Assuming Louisiana Tech can get past UT-El Paso in two weeks, the season-ending game against Southern Miss should be for the Conference USA West division title.
Loser: Group of 5's Playoff Odds
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Memphis was clearly the best candidate for a Group of Five team to crash the playoff because of its signature nonconference win over Ole Miss and tough November schedule.
As it turns out, though, the Tigers didn't even get through the first week in November unscathed. Memphis' playoff hopes ended with a 45-20 loss to Navy in which the Midshipmen rushed for 374 yards. Quarterback Keenan Reynolds didn't get the Football Bowl Subdivision rushing touchdown record against the Tigers, but here's betting he'll take the win.
Navy's option attack can be tough to contain, and Memphis' defense hasn't exactly been stingy. But for Navy to blow out Memphis? This is a surprise.
The American Athletic Conference still appears in good shape to represent the Group of Five in a New Year's Six bowl game. If, somehow, Navy wins the AAC and is in consideration for a playoff spot, the selection committee does have the option to delay the final rankings until after the Army-Navy game in December, as noted by ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
