Winners and Losers from Week 11 of the 2015 College Football Season
For a moment, Week 11 of the college football season was shaping up to be one of those Saturdays.
No. 1 Clemson was embroiled in a hard-fought battle with Syracuse on the road while Oklahoma State was simultaneously reliving its 2011 nightmare at Iowa State. Michigan, meanwhile, was trailing on the road at Indiana. A short-handed TCU was tied at halftime with Kansas. The established order in college football was in the balance.
Ultimately, all four teams pulled out dramatic wins. LSU, Stanford and Utah, however, were less fortunate. Such is the case with college football, where chaos, no matter how the big the dose, prevails.
With all that happened Saturday, it's time to take a closer look at the standout performances, both good and bad. From Keenan Reynolds' record-setting day for Navy to Alabama's dominating defensive performance against Mississippi State and Houston's dramatic comeback over Memphis, we break everything down with Week 11's winners and losers.
Winner: Oklahoma Quarterback Baker Mayfield
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Oklahoma made several changes, both in on-field personnel and at the assistant coach level, this past offseason. But it's hard to ignore the impact transfer quarterback Baker Mayfield has had on this offense and team.
Mayfield has that "missing piece" quality to him. "There’s something special about him. He just has that tenacity, toughness, competitiveness and talent," head coach Bob Stoops said, per freelance journalist David Ubben.
The Sooners' 44-34 win over Baylor showed one critical thing: If the offense could keep pace with the Bears, they had a shot to win. The last two meetings against Baylor went horribly for Oklahoma. Not only could OU not stop Baylor, but it didn't have an offensive identity, either. The results were back-to-back blowout losses.
But with a quarterback in Mayfield who could extend plays and make things happen, Oklahoma had a chance to pull the upset. The first-year starter for the Sooners threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns, and made highlight reel plays all night.
With Baylor and TCU each having a loss. the Big 12's biggest game might be the Bedlam rivalry between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State on Nov. 28—that is, if Oklahoma State can beat Baylor in Week 12.
Winner: Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer
2 of 21College football will always be special, but it will be slightly less so without Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer. The longtime Hokies coach announced earlier this month he was retiring at the end of the 2015 season.
Beamer's career could be discussed and dissected for hours on end, but some of the more memorable times have come during Thursday night games, especially when they were at Lane Stadium. On Thursday, the Hokies beat Georgia Tech on the road, 23-21, to move to 5-5 and one step closer to bowl eligibility.
It was the last Thursday night game of Beamer's career. Afterward, quarterback Michael Brewer gave Beamer the game ball, which you can watch in the video above.
College football will miss Frank Beamer.
Loser: Michigan State
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Yes, Michigan State handled Maryland 24-7, but the win came at a potentially huge cost.
Quarterback Connor Cook left the game with an a right shoulder injury. Though he came back briefly, he was ineffective and there wasn't much zip on his passes. MSU eventually shut him down for good in favor of Tyler O'Connor.
The specifics of Cook's injury haven't been released, but it could put a damper on the Nov. 21 game against Ohio State.
Cook wasn't having a great day before leaving for good, going 6-of-20 with an interception. O'Connor finished 6-of-11 for 44 yards, a touchdown and a pick. Head coach Mark Dantonio gives his backup quarterbacks some in-game, non-garbage time reps on occasion for preparation purposes. That's the best anyone can do, but not even in-game reps can fully prepare a quarterback for facing one of the top teams in the country.
Michigan State is hoping Cook's injury isn't serious. The Spartans might not be so lucky, however.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Winner: Oregon
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Oregon's early-season struggles resulted in the Ducks dropping out of the polls and, subsequently, falling out of any relevant conversations.
However, steadily and quietly, Oregon has healed up from numerous injuries—the biggest of which was to quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.—and have now won four in a row thanks to a 38-36 victory over Stanford. Against the Cardinal defense, the Ducks averaged just over nine yards per play, which beats their season average by a little more than two yards per play.
Oregon is now in a position to win the North division. The Ducks would need Stanford and Washington State to lose one more conference game each. Still, Oregon is at least in position to make another conference championship run. You couldn't even mention that two months ago. What a difference having a few key players back makes.
Loser: Pac-12's Playoff Hopes
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To be clear: The Pac-12's playoff hopes are only mostly dead, not all dead. College football has been too chaotic this year for a two-loss team to be eliminated from the final four with three weeks left to play.
Because, remember: Nobody is good, nor have they played anybody.
But in real terms, four CFP Top 10 teams lost on Saturday, meaning there's plenty of time for things to get reshuffled. All the same, it was a bad night for the Pac-12 with losses by Stanford (to Oregon, 38-36) and Utah (to Arizona, 37-30). This means the Pac-12 champion is guaranteed to at least be a two-loss team.
As the first Power 5 conference to guarantee that fact, the Pac-12 is definitely behind. Now, it must hope for all hell to break loose elsewhere.
Winner: Florida State Running Back Dalvin Cook
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LSU running back Leonard Fournette has garnered most of the Heisman attention this year, both among running backs and nationally. But Florida State's Dalvin Cook is, as Thom Yorke would sing in a radio-edited version of "Creep," so very special.
In a 34-17 win over North Carolina State, Cook rushed for 138 yards, putting him at 1,369 yards on the season. That's No. 1 all time in the Florida State record books for single-season rushing yards. Heading into Saturday, Cook needed just 12 yards to eclipse the previous record of 1,242 set by Warrick Dunn in 1995.
And that's with Cook missing a game.
Speaking of which, Cook has battled hamstring and ankle injuries all season, yet he remains the most consistent part of Florida State's offense. He's also maintained his explosiveness and toughness, which can be hard to do when you're banged up.
"He's past tough. There's got to be another word for that guy," head coach Jimbo Fisher said, via Corey Clark of the Tallahassee Democrat.
Loser: TCU
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TCU has been decimated by injuries, but this one is undoubtedly the worst.
Horned Frogs quarterback Trevone Boykin left early in Saturday's 23-17 win over Kansas with an injury and did not return. Though head coach Gary Patterson declined to comment on the specific nature of the injury during the game, Kris Budden of Fox Sports reported it was an ankle injury. TCU Radio (via Travis Browne of the Star-Telegram) corroborated that report by saying it was a high ankle sprain.
If true, that would be TCU's most devastating injury yet. The general timetable for return from a high ankle sprain is four to six weeks, which would effectively mean Boykin is done for the rest of the regular season.
The Frogs were already behind in the playoff standings because of a loss to Oklahoma State, but the remaining schedule is every bit as tough with games against Oklahoma and Baylor upcoming. And, as a tough win over Kansas showed, Boykin is as valuable as any player in college football.
Because of the number of injuries, it's felt for a long time like this wasn't going to be TCU's year. If Boykin is out for an extended period of time, the season could take a turn for the worse in a hurry.
Winner: Washington State Quarterback Luke Falk
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Washington State quarterback Luke Falk threw a go-ahead touchdown pass against UCLA with three seconds left in regulation. The thing is, he probably shouldn't have been in the game at all.
Falk was punished, brutally so, with hit after hit, in a 31-27 win over the Bruins. He shouldn't have gotten up after this hit. He narrowly evaded decapitation by airborne defender. There were plenty of other instances throughout the night just like those.
Yet, Falk stayed on the field and had a typical Washington State quarterback night with 331 yards and two touchdowns. He probably shouldn't have put up those stats because he shouldn't have been playing. But he did. And he'll feel like sun-dried hell on Sunday and Monday because of it. And probably Tuesday, too. Maybe Wednesday.
But because of Falk's heroics, Washington State is 7-3 with the chance to win its final two games (vs. Colorado and Washington). Washington State is the best team no one's talking about, and Falk is the best quarterback no one's heard of. Together, they've made some special #Pac12AfterDark moments.
Winner: Ohio State Defensive End Joey Bosa
9 of 21Ohio State's 28-3 win over Illinois gave the Buckeyes their 30th consecutive regular-season Big Ten conference win. As B/R colleague Bryan Fischer notes, that's a new NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision record.
Defensive end Joey Bosa, who finished with seven tackles, three of which went for a loss, was huge in getting that win. Those three TFLs tie a single-game career high. One of those tackles came in the video above.
Penn State's Carl Nassib is statistically on pace to be the Big Ten's best edge-rusher, but Bosa still shows signs of dominance despite often being double-teamed by opposing offensive lines.
Loser: Texas
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It is officially "uh-oh" time for Texas.
OK, maybe it should have been "uh-oh" time when Iowa State shut out the Longhorns on Halloween, but now the idea of this team not making a bowl is a good possibility.
Despite outgaining West Virginia 439-379, Texas lost 38-20 on Saturday. The loss puts Charlie Strong's team at 4-6 on the season. To become bowl eligible, Texas must win its remaining two games, which are against Texas Tech and Baylor. Those are two teams more than capable of outscoring the Horns, poor defenses or not.
Ultimately, turnovers were the deciding factor against the Mountaineers, and the Horns lost that battle 5-1. Texas has now lost all four of its road games this season, and all by double digits.
Strong's rebuilding project is a total demolition, which includes a culture change. That takes time. But there are long-term decisions to be made, and quickly. The offense must have a new identity in 2016.
Strong likely won't be fired even if the Longhorns finish 4-8, but his future in Austin rides entirely on next year.
Winner: Navy Quarterback Keenan Reynolds
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Move aside, Montee Ball. There's a new record holder for most career FBS rushing touchdowns, and his name is Keenan Reynolds.
Navy's triple-option quarterback rushed for four scores in a 55-14 win over SMU, giving him 81 rushing touchdowns in his career. That surpasses Ball's previous record of 77 touchdowns. Ball, in fact, gave Reynolds a nice shoutout on Twitter. Reynolds also passed for a score.
With the win, Navy moves to 8-1 and keeps pace with Houston in the American Athletic Conference West division. The Midshipmen play at Houston on Nov. 27.
Loser: Maryland's Passing 'Attack'
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Maryland's passing game, or lack thereof, is admittedly an odd thing on which to focus. However, allow us to point out a staggering statistic.
Through 10 games, and after a 24-7 loss to Michigan State, Maryland quarterbacks have thrown a whopping 28 interceptions.
Twenty. Eight. That's as many as 12 teams have thrown combined heading into Week 11.
The next-closest team in interceptions thrown is Central Florida with 20.
The Terps have been awful, but still, that is a jarring number.
Winner: Alabama's Pass Rush
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If Mississippi State was going to beat Alabama, it had to do it through the air. The Tide have the best defensive front seven in college football and have stopped ground-heavy attacks like Wisconsin and LSU.
But a 31-6 win over the Bulldogs was all about Alabama's pass rush. The Tide sacked Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott nine times, six times in the first half alone.
To put that into context, that's more sacks than Arkansas had recorded all season leading into Week 11. Per Aaron Suttles of TideSports.com, defensive end Jonathan Allen is the first Alabama player to have three sacks in a game since Courtney Upshaw against Auburn in 2010.
Granted, Prescott caused some of the sacks by holding on to the ball too long, but that's an impressive performance no matter how it came about.
Alabama's defense is terrifyingly good up front. Without getting hyperbolic, this is one of the best defensive fronts in college football in memory. Against Mississippi State and the best quarterback in the SEC, the Tide's defensive front came up huge again.
Loser: LSU
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Give credit where it's due. B/R's Barrett Sallee called this one when no one else dared take Arkansas over LSU.
He also thought LSU was a team benefiting from the right circumstances coming together at the right times. After a 31-14 Tigers loss...at home...at night...to the Hogs, it's hard to say he's wrong.
The Razorbacks were able to run all over LSU for 299 yards at 7.5 yards per carry and three touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns came on long runs of at least 69 yards. The Tigers defense was, for the second week in a row, pushed around up front while the secondary took bad angles and missed tackles.
Additionally, LSU's star running back, Leonard Fournette, was held in check with 91 yards—far from what we'd expect from the sophomore.
Alabama exposed a ton of problems for LSU, and Arkansas picked right up where the Tide left off. Les Miles' team no longer looks anything like the playoff contender it did a few weeks ago.
Winner: Houston Quarterback Kyle Postma
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How about that comeback? And with a backup quarterback, no less.
That backup quarterback's name is Kyle Postma, and he had himself a great night after leading the Cougars to a thrilling 35-34 win over Memphis to move to 10-0. Down 20-7 in the first half and without star quarterback Greg Ward (ankle injury suffered in the second quarter), Postma helped rally Houston in the second half.
For the game, Postma finished 21-of-33 for 236 yards and a touchdown. He added 49 yards on the ground and a game-tying score with 1:33 left. A missed field goal from the Tigers sealed the win for Houston.
Props, too, to Cougars head coach Tom Herman, who knows a thing or two about preparing and playing backup quarterbacks from his time as Ohio State's offensive coordinator. It turns out, Herman might be good at this quarterback development thing.
Houston is still a long shot for a playoff spot, but it will have three more weeks to see where things lead if it keeps winning.
Loser: Notre Dame's Quality Wins
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Notre Dame beat Wake Forest 28-7, and it wasn't much of a contest. The win moves the Irish to 9-1. Yet, Notre Dame didn't have the best day on Saturday even though it took care of business. As Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports tweeted, it was a bad day for Notre Dame's resume.
The Irish's best win of the season, Temple, lost to South Florida 44-23. Meanwhile, Notre Dame's best remaining opponent, Stanford, lost to Oregon 38-36. That means Navy is this team's best win. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
What does this mean for the Irish?
It could mean little to nothing. Or, it could make the playoff race far more interesting. At best, Notre Dame will finish the regular season 11-1 without an additional conference championship game. It's believed, in such a situation, Notre Dame could be jockeying for that final playoff spot with the Big 12 champion if said champ has a loss. Who would get that spot depends on the Big 12 representative.
There are still many possibilities, so trying to dissect every situation will cause more headaches than anything. However, it's safe to say Notre Dame would have been happier if Stanford and Temple had won.
Winner: North Carolina Wide Receiver Ryan Switzer
17 of 21North Carolina's 59-21 win over Miami was too easy. Less easy, and thus more impressive, was Tar Heels receiver Ryan Switzer's 78-yard punt return.
The score is Switzer's seventh punt return for a touchdown in his career. One more will put him at the NCAA record shared by Oklahoma's Antonio Perkins and Texas Tech's Wes Welker. As of now, however, Switzer is in sole possession of the ACC's career record for punt return touchdowns.
With a win over Virginia Tech in Week 12, the Tar Heels will have the Coastal division wrapped up. A possible Clemson-North Carolina ACC title game could be all kinds of fun.
Winner: Southern Miss
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Without getting much attention, Southern Miss coach Todd Monken has orchestrated one of the better turnarounds in college football.
When Monken took over the Golden Eagles in 2013, the program was coming off a winless season. This was a team in as bad a shape as you could find anywhere.
In Monken's first year, USM went 1-11. But things have improved dramatically since then. Following another rebuilding year in 2014, Southern Miss is now 7-3 after a dominating 65-10 win over Rice. Thirty-five of those points came in the second quarter alone. Quarterback Nick Mullens threw for 386 yards and five touchdowns.
If the Golden Eagles can get past Old Dominion, a showdown at Louisiana Tech on Nov. 28 will decide the Conference USA West division.
Loser: Kentucky
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Oh, Kentucky. The Mark Stoops era may have hit a new low.
The Wildcats' 21-17 loss to Vanderbilt—which could have been worse, mind you; the Commodores had a 21-10 halftime lead—is the fifth in a row for Stoops' team. In order to be eligible for a bowl game, 4-6 Kentucky must win its final two contests, which come against against Charlotte and Louisville.
Handling the 49ers, theoretically, shouldn't be a problem. However, as Zach Barnett of FootballScoop.com notes, Stoops is 1-18 in October and November against SEC teams and the Cardinals.
This looks a lot like more of the same for the Wildcats. Last year, Kentucky began the season 5-1 before losing the final six games to finish 5-7. Barring a rivalry win, it would appear Stoops' team is headed for a similar outcome.
The ceiling for Kentucky is only so high, but Stoops is close to finishing his third season in Lexington. This was supposed to be a year in which the program turned a corner. But, for the second season in a row, it's turned the wrong way.
Winner: Indiana Running Back Jordan Howard
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Yeah, Indiana fell to Michigan 48-41 in double overtime. The Hoosiers, by the way, are terribly unlucky. Four of this team's six straight losses have come by eight points or fewer. On multiple occasions, Indiana has been in a position late in the game to win.
What do you say to that? Finish better? Sometimes, football is cruel like this.
But the loss shouldn't take away from running back Jordan Howard's performance, as he rushed for 238 yards and two touchdowns. For reference, Michigan had allowed only five rushing touchdowns and 2.6 yards per carry coming into the game. Howard more than doubled that with 6.8 yards per attempt. The former UAB player has quietly been one of the biggest impact transfers of the '15 season.
So it's more than a little curious that Howard didn't touch the ball on the final two plays of the contest on third-and-goal and fourth-and-goal from inside the 5-yard line.
Still, Indiana is in position to make a bowl with road tilts at Maryland and Purdue. As strange as it sounds, the Hoosiers might be one of the best 4-6 teams in college football.
If that counts for anything.
(It doesn't.)
Winner: Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel
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It's been a week unlike any other in recent memory at Missouri. This past week, university president Tim Wolfe and chancellor R. Bowen Loftin resigned in the wake of long-standing, on-campus racial tensions. Then, on Friday, it was announced football coach Gary Pinkel had been diagnosed with lymphoma in May and would be retiring at the end of the year.
It's an awful situation for Pinkel and his family, but Missouri is doing what it can to send him out the right way. On Saturday, the Tigers got a much-needed 20-16 win over BYU—a game the football team was originally boycotting due to the university's inaction on racial issues—to move them to 5-5.
Afterward, the team celebrated with its head coach, who will lead the Tigers for just two more regular-season games. It was an emotional scene. It was nice to see Pinkel get a win during what is an understandably tough time.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
