College Football: 50 Things We Learned in Week 10

College football is great because we learn things every week and information is gleaned over time to create an overall assessment of a team.

We start the season with no information other that what's "on paper."

Early upsets and struggles immediately negate what's on paper. Contenders rise, pretenders plummet, and by early November, we have developed a plethora of interesting storylines to follow.

Despite preceding this past weekend with nine weeks of college football, the past week was able to tell us a whole lot we didn't know.

Here are 50 things we learned from this past weekend

Les Miles Outcoached Nick Saban

Les Miles is a good coach. Period. Anyone who thinks he’s aloof or moronic because he wears a hat or chews on grass or claps ferociously needs to stop his or her line of thinking immediately.

One of the many storylines coming into the game was that Alabama would win because Saban was calm, cool and collected. Conversely, LSU would implode because Miles was a loose cannon and calls idiotic plays at the wrong time.

This immediately struck me as odd since LSU has won big games under Miles before, and some of those games have included trick plays. In fact, LSU beat Alabama last year on the strength of a reverse on 4^th-and-1. So clearly, anyone who subscribed to the above belief did not watch last year’s Alabama game.

Watch this year’s edition of the game, and you’ll see that not only was Miles under control and called a good game, but it was Saban who dialed up some questionable calls.

When moving the ball in the fourth quarter, Saban decided to run a reverse which promptly lost five yards.

Later, Alabama went to the Wildcat for one play.  The ball was slightly underthrown, and intercepted.

On the other hand, Miles handled the dual-QB attack perfectly. LSU was able to run option on Alabama, and very effectively. Lee was ineffective throwing the ball, so Miles seamlessly inserted Jefferson and ran the football.

Running two QBs is something that we see a lot of teams attempt to do, and see so few actually do well. Last night, Miles was able to have two QBs on the field that offered a contrasting attack to Alabama that was effective (not to mention that LSU is only in this predicament because of an off-the-field incident that Miles did an outstanding job of quashing in the first place).

Is it Saban’s fault that Maze underthrew the ball, or that the kickers were a combined two-for-six.  Yes and no.  While it isn’t Saban’s fault that the kicker missed a field goal, it is his fault for continuously trotting him out there in situation he should know are impossible. While it isn’t Saban’s fault that Maze under-threw the ball, the need to go to wildcat wasn’t entirely necessary at that point.

I don’t want to be the person that kicks Saban when he is down. He remains one of the best coaches in the nation. But last night, LSU were the ones who didn’t panic, the ones who stuck to a gameplan, and the ones who were victorious. Give credit to Miles.

Alabama Has Kicking Issues

This should be pretty apparent to anyone watching the game.  A few weeks ago, I reluctantly labeled Shelley and Foster as players who drive the Alabama fanbase furious.  Unfortunately, after Saturday’s game, furious might be a nice way of putting how Alabama fans feel.

The fact of the matter is that Alabama doesn’t have a kicker. This is by far their weakness.  They hadn’t had to call on Shelley or Foster for a meaningful kick until this past weekend. Going forward, they may have to call on them again, so we will see what happens.

And don’t pollute the commentary boards with hate for the kicker either. He missed some kicks, but that’s it. That isn’t the only reason why Alabama lost, and some of those kicks he shouldn’t have even attempted.

LSU Won Because They Have Leaders on Both Sides of the Ball

Sometimes, players exist who refuse to let their team lose. Period. It isn’t an option. LSU has those guys on both sides of the ball.

Defensively, Morris Claiborne and Greg Reid played their best games. When the team struggled, they made a play. Claiborne traveled across the field to intercept a McCarron pass, while Reid ripped a ball away on the goal line which surely saved the game for LSU.

The Tigers struggled offensively with interceptions and a QB rotation. But again, when the situation was dire, there were players like Reuben Randle and Michael Ford to pick up the slack.

Leaders have an indefinable quality. That means, among other things, that we certainly cannot measure what they do with statistics. So throw out Randle’s two-reception performance, and watch him play when the game is inevitably replayed all week on the CBS College Network. You’ll see that there were players on the Tigers that refused to let them lose.

The Best Quarterback on the Field Last Night Was Jordan Jefferson

Jarrett Lee struggled, going 3-for-7 with two interceptions. A.J. McCarron turned the ball over.

It was Jefferson who came in and was able to move the ball down the field.

Jefferson effectively ran the option and completed passes when asked. Without him, LSU would not have won the game.

Give credit to Jefferson and Miles for being able to effectively rotate the quarterbacks.

We Don't Need a Rematch for the National Title

We could have argued this point prior to the week, but since the margin of victory was so small, let’s examine further. I hate to play the hypothetical game, but given the prevalence of this discussion, we can address it here.

I don’t feel that Alabama should jump over an undefeated Stanford, Oklahoma State OR Boise State.  Given the AP rankings (all that was out at the time of this publishing), Alabama will be behind Oklahoma State and Stanford and probably won’t jump over them. 

Alabama deserves to be ahead of the other one-loss teams, and that’s it.

Why?  Because they had their shot at LSU.  They played at home as 4.5-point favorites. If LSU wins out, then Alabama won’t have even won their division. It’s their own fault. They realize this is the nature of the beast in the SEC. As Hyman Roth says in Godfather II: “This is the business we’ve chosen.”

If this were a national semifinal game or a final, and they had played on a neutral field, then Alabama would have presumably lost, and they would have been in the same position as before (I say presumably under the assumption that if they didn’t win at home they wouldn’t have on a neutral).

You can’t punish undefeated teams just because of their schedule or because of Alabama’s schedule. That includes Boise State. Alabama had their shot at it, and they came up short. They don’t deserve to be champions this year.

JoePa Should Be on His Way out

If you haven’t heard the scandal out of PSU yet, I implore you to go read it elsewhere.  I do warn you, it is graphic and sickening beyond belief.

I am not going to recite what happened, because to me, the culprit and perpetrators who covered it up don’t deserve the energy it takes for me to type on my keyboard.

But what of Hall-of-Fame coach Joe Paterno? The face of the program and the University? What is his role in all this and what does his future hold?

He may not be legally guilty of anything (though given the charges, he might be), but he has a moral and ethical duty to come forward and speak the truth in matters such as these.  This isn’t tattling on someone for smoking under the bleachers or for stealing a milk from the lunchroom, it’s pedophilia.

JoePa is equally guilty as those who perjured themselves. When he did not come forward and tell the authorities that he knew the A.D. and others were lying, he let a pedophile remain free on the streets.

Repeat. He, and others, allowed a multiple offender pedophile to remain free because they simply went “up the chain of command” and nothing more. 

In my opinion, everyone at the program that was aware of the incident and aware of the perjury, needs to go.

The Media Wants an Alabama vs. Oklahoma National Title Game Very Badly

We knew this at the beginning of the year, as the two were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, and nearly everyone and their brother picked the two to square off in New Orleans.

First, Oklahoma went down to a mediocre-at-best Texas Tech team.  Tech is clearly, without a doubt, the second-worst team in the Big 12, yet, Oklahoma did not drop that far. Now, people are asking if they can get back in to the national title, and if they will jump Boise, etc.

Then Alabama went down last night to LSU at home. The first words out of everyone’s mouth was: “what if Arkansas beats LSU, then we’ll have a three-way tie.”  The indication here is that they either want a) controversy, b) Alabama to win the SEC West (which I would imagine they somehow would), c) both.

This is ludicrous.  First, everyone ignored that LSU beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa and took away from that win. Then, they assume that Arkansas will win out, LSU will lose only to Arkansas and Alabama will win out. Could you have more wishful thinking?

This isn’t to say it won’t happen, as Arkansas is a good team and capable of beating the Tigers. But it illustrates that when teams like Alabama and Oklahoma lose, the media doesn’t first give credit to the winning team, they don’t blame the losing team, but rather they immediately try to find ways that the losing teams can get back into the national title picture.

No, Seriously, Texas Tech Isn't Very Good

Since beating the Sooners, Tech has fallen to Iowa State and Texas by a combined 66 points.  That isn’t very good.

This places them in second-to-last in the conference, ahead of only Kansas, who they did beat 45-34 in comeback fashion. 

The MAC Can Provide Week-Long Entertainment

We had a pseudo-final four in the MAC this week. 

The top two teams in the East met on Tuesday with Northern Illinois taking down Toledo 63-60!  Then on Wednesday, Ohio beat Temple 35-31 on a last-minute touchdown.

Now, NIU and Ohio have the inside tracks to square off in the MAC championship game...but anything can happen in the MAC.

This week, NIU hosts Ball State (who had a last second field goal win on Saturday) on Tuesday, while Bowling Green hosts Ohio, and Miami-Ohio hosts Western Michigan on Wednesday. 

Folks…there’s no NBA.  College basketball hasn’t started yet. The NFL is just starting to do that thing where they put games on Thursday nights on a channel that only a small percent of Americans get.  Do yourself a favor and check out some of these MAC games.

Next Week's WVU Cincinnati Game Lost a Little Bit of Luster

WVU is in a tailspin right now. This past week, they fell at home to Louisville 38-35. Yes, the same Louisville that averages 19.9 points per game.

Now, WVU has two losses in the Big East and is looking for a berth in a mediocre bowl.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati avoided a slip-up on the road against Pittsburgh.

Cincinnati now effectively has a two-game lead in the Big East. They have beaten Louisville already and finish with four Big East games.

With a win, WVU can delay Cincinnati’s Big East title, but they would still need some help to get back to the top themselves. Meanwhile, with a win, Cinci would remain undefeated.

Terrible Injuries Can Happen to Anyone

Broyles is clearly one of the best receivers in the nation but was also a leader of the Oklahoma team. It isn’t a matter of how much the team will miss him; it speaks volumes enough that they will. 

For it to happen in Broyles’ senior season is all the more devastating. He worked day-in-day-out for a chance to win a national championship and will not be able to achieve his goal as a result of the injury.

He needs to take solace in the fact that if it weren’t for him, OU would not be anywhere near the position they are today. It's a shame that we will be without the talents of Ryan Broyles for the rest of the season.

Stanford Doesn’t Care If You Don’t Think They’re Pretty

Andrew Luck is going to the be the No. 1 selection in the NFL draft. He is widely considered to be the best pro prospect since Peyton Manning, if not further back.

It would stand to reason then, why Stanford wouldn’t use him until his arm fell off…throwing the ball in the area of 40 times a game the way other teams do.

It’s because they don’t care about style points.

Their style is winning football games. On the ground, through the air, defensively, however they want it. They’ll line up in three-tight-end-I-formation backfields and run the ball 40 times a game. If this means they only put up 30-something points a game, they’re fine with it, as long as they have more points than the other team.

The ideology that you play to win the game is somehow becoming fleeting in our culture, but it remains no mystery to Stanford. They’ve now won 23 of their last 24 games. Blowouts, ugly wins, games where they threw the ball, games where they ran it, games in the teens and games in the 40s, they’ve done it all.

They don’t care if you like how they do it…as long as you acknowledge it at the end of the season. The latter will remain to be seen.

You Can't Hit Anyone Anymore

A scary, yet legal play occurred Saturday in the Stanford game.

Owusu caught the ball on a five-yard-out and was hit immediately, shoulder-to-shoulder, by a Beaver defender. The ball was fumbled, scooped up and returned for a touchdown to tie the score at 14.

Only an illegal hit was called. The Beaver defender was called for a helmet-to-helmet hit that wasn’t there. As a result Stanford caught a big break.

This has become a recurring problem with football. The telecast then ran highlights of former hits on Owusu to show that the referees were keeping an eye on such plays.

There are two problems with this. One, the announcers had a bit of revisionist history and called last week's hit from USC safety T.J. McDonald on Owusu a “no-brainer.” It wasn’t a no-brainer. It was controversial then, and it was even more controversial to suspend McDonald for the hit (which further emphasizes my point that the league officials are becoming too reactionary to these hits).  

The second problem was that this means referees are no longer reacting to the play and calling penalties but are rather seeking out penalties and calling them where they aren’t.  If they were alerted to hits or “targets” on Owusu from the past week, then of course they are going to watch out for him and perhaps call something which shouldn’t have been called. Referees should be trusted enough to make calls at their own discretion as they happen.

This isn’t to diminish the injury that Owusu suffered. He seemed numb for a while and was loaded into an ambulance. Reports are that he returned to the stadium, but his status is unknown for next week.

Clemson and Wake Forest Square off Next Week for the Division

We knew this last week as Clemson had the past week off and Wake Forest faced a non-conference opponent—Notre Dame.

With another game under our belt, however, we realize that Wake is a serious threat to Clemson. 

While the Demon Deacons lost to Notre Dame, they effectively held the Irish in check. Notre Dame tallied only 341 yards and 24 points.

They’ll need that effort to hold Clemson down. The Tigers have a strong offense but showed they were fallible with a bad loss against Georgia Tech.

Now, if Clemson were to win, they would be the ACC Atlantic division champs. Lose and Wake only needs to defeat Maryland to take home the division title.

Brady Hoke Can't Coach at a Program Like Michigan Yet

Michigan is 7-2 and enjoying a successful season. That said, I noticed something with Hoke this past weekend.

On a somewhat significant, disputable play, the referees conferred to discuss the outcome (I can’t remember the particulars).  During the conference, Hoke was on the field, yelling. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was standing idlely, arms crossed, chewing whatever he chews.

The referees returned and ruled in favor of Michigan. Hoke was exuberant beyond what the situation called for. Ferentz remained unfazed.

This was just one instance. Throughout the game, Hoke was acting as if his life were on the line. A lot of times, this can be good. A fiery personality such as Jim Harbaugh’s will rub off on his players and inspire them. With Hoke, it seems to take away from the players’ performance. His energy seems to be more of a distraction and negative factor than it is a positive influence.

USC Is a Top 10 Team Next Year...if Everyone Returns

The Trojans are loaded with talent this year and are surprising many. They are currently a top-20 team (if their ranking mattered), so it isn’t a stretch to say that they could be top 10 if they return a majority of their starters. 

As of now, here’s who we know is back:

Robert Woods, Marquise Lee, Xavier Grimble, Randall Telfer, Nickell Robey and Amir Carlisle

Here’s who definitely isn’t: Rhett Ellison, Marc Tyler, Chris Galippo

And here are the questionables: Matt Kalil, Nick Perry, Wes Horton, T.J. McDonald, Matt Barkley.

Obviously, the $64,000 question is whether or not Barkley returns.  Kalil is considered a top-five pick (and many consider him No. 2 behind Andrew Luck) and is good as gone.

Even without Kalil, a return of four starters on the line, Barkley, all the contributing offensive weapons from this year and a majority of the defense would mean that USC would easily be a top-10 team next year. 

The Big Ten Will Get Only One BCS Bowl Berth

The Big Ten has been fortuitous in past years with BCS bowl berths. Ohio State representing the conference in the national championship in consecutive years allowed Illinois and Michigan to slip into the Rose Bowl.  Other years, oddities in schedules would afford the league two berths regardless of whether one was the national title.

Prior to this week, there was a chance, albeit a slim one, that the trend would continue. Michigan was holding out at one win and could have gone 11-1, not made the Big Ten title game, and then been a shoo-in for a BCS bowl.

But, the Wolverines went down for the second time. Combine that with the Huskers falling at home to Northwestern, and we have one one-loss teams left—Penn State.

If Penn State falls in the Big Ten title game, they will not get a BCS berth. No team outside of the Big Ten title game will get a BCS berth. No team will make the national title game.

Simply put, the winner of the inaugural Big Ten title game will make the Rose Bowl. That’s it for the Big Ten this season.

Houston Nutt Could Be on His Way out

NOTE: The following was written before Ole Miss announced that Nutt would finish coaching the season, and then resign.

Ole Miss is now 0-6 in the SEC. Their most recent loss came to then-0-4 Kentucky—a team that hadn’t won an SEC game in nearly a calendar year. Kentucky did it with a backup Freshman quarterback too.

The Rebels are now 2-7 on the season with games against Louisiana Tech, LSU and Mississippi State remaining—3-9 seems most likely, but 2-10 isn’t impossible. 

This is a team that was in back-to-back Cotton Bowls just two seasons ago.

There's Plenty of Room on the Virginia Bandwagon Still

Virginia improved to 6-3 this season with a win at Maryland. The Cavs become bowl eligible for the first time since 2007, and they still control their own destiny in the ACC Coastal division. 

QB Michael Rocco has improved, and Perry Jones is becoming a force on the ground. Last week, he rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns.

Oh, and don’t throw to Rodney McLeod either. The senior intercepted three passes against Maryland.

But There's Probably Less Room on the Louisville Bandwagon

I love what Louisville has done this season. Forget on-the-field for right now, let’s talk about off the field.

After starting 2-4 with a quality defensive unit and a mediocre, at best, offense, Louisville decided to give second-year coach Charlie Strong an extension. It's only his second year coaching altogether, as Louisville is Strong’s first gig.

So far, the move has worked out. Louisville is 3-0 since the extension with wins over Syracuse, Rutgers and West Virginia. As a result, the Cardinals are alone in second place in the Big East.

I know that three games is too small of a sample size to prove any theory, but this is how you build and maintain football programs. You bring in a talented coach that you want, you give him the keys to the castle and you give him time.

You don’t breathe down his neck, you don’t criticize him, and most importantly, you don’t fire him after two to three years. Notre Dame hasn’t recovered since Holtz left because there hasn’t been a coach there for more than five years.

Re-signing Strong was a vote of confidence for him and the team. So far, it has worked, and I expect it to continue to work in the years to come.

Vanderbilt Will Continue To Compete

This past week's game against Florida was a microcosm of Vanderbilt's season.

Compete with better teams, fall just short at the end, fight through the finish.

The final part is the key...this team will fight through the rest of the year.

The announcer speculated if Vanderbilt would bounce back again next week.  He pondered how many times a team could come so close and come away with nothing.

With a coach like Franklin, Vandy fans won't have to worry about their team coming to play.

The Circle of Life Continues in the ACC

Teams continue to pull upsets and beat other teams. So far in the ACC, every team has beaten one another (if that didn't make sense, see the attached photo...no, I didn't name it).

The WAC Is More Competitive with Boise Gone

This may be pretty obvious, but it's true. As a result, games such as Hawaii vs. Utah State and Fresno State vs. Louisiana Tech are a littler more interesting. 

It remains that the overall caliber of play in the WAC has dropped as a result of Boise’s departure. True, no team in the WAC is bowl eligible as of yet, but Hawaii and Louisiana Tech are within one game of leader Nevada.

Things Are Going To Get Very Interesting in C-USA Very Soon

Right now, C-USA has two ranked teams in Houston and Southern Mississippi. Very quietly, Tulsa is 6-3 with losses to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Boise State. If not for that murderous schedule, they could be ranked. If they had a schedule as easy as someone like say…Houston’s, they could be undefeated as well.

Tulsa isn’t undefeated, however, and that most likely wasn’t their goal coming out of camp. Their goal was most likely to win the conference, and they are still on track to do that.

Tulsa is 5-0. Houston is 5-0. The two square off the day after Thanksgiving. Yes, Houston can go from top 10, BCS-dreams, to second place in their division.

The winner of the West Division figures to meet Southern Miss in the C-USA title game.  The Eagles got a big win at ECU this past week to improve to 4-1 in the conference and give themselves a virtual two-game lead over the Pirates. 

The only team that can catch Southern Mississippi now is Marshall.  The Herd are one game back but beat the Eagles back in September (the only team to do so).  Marshall will need some help, and they need to travel to Tulsa and Memphis, before closing out at home to ECU.

Even if the East race is anti-climactic, we figure to have a great finish in the West with Houston and Tulsa. Following that, we should have a great game with the winner squaring off against Southern Miss.  Throw in possible BCS Bowl berth implications with Houston and C-USA is a conference to watch in the upcoming weeks.

All-Time Quarterback

A week after setting the all-time touchdowns mark, Keenum set the all-time passing mark.  He now has 17,212 yards, passing Hawaii QB Timmy Chang’s mark of 17,072.

Keenum will play five more games if the Cougars make the C-USA title game, so 18,500 isn’t out of the realm of possibility.  That would shatter the previous record and make the new mark that more difficult to match.

The Rose Bowl Still Has Some Magic for UCLA

Last week, I stated that UCLA controlled its own destiny in the Pac-12 South, and no one seemed to care either way.  After beating ASU this past weekend, people should start to care…maybe.

UCLA is now 5-4 and has games with Colorado, Utah and USC remaining.  A record of 3-0 is going to be tough but not impossible.

UCLA scored with less than a minute left to take a one-point lead. Their work wasn’t done quite yet. ASU drove the field and set up a 46-yard field goal. The kick was long enough but sailed wide right to give the Bruins the win and control of the division. 

What a story it would be. Just a few short weeks after being embarrassed on national television by Arizona (the particulars of the game leading many to joke that Neuheisel should be fired at the half), UCLA can play for the inaugural Pac-12 title.

Then they’ll just have to beat Stanford or Oregon to really mess things up.

For now, however, UCLA needs to focus on Utah.  One more win and the Bruins are bowl eligible for just the second time in the Neuheisel era. That should get him off the hot seat.

The Legends Division Is a Mess

They say in Chicago that if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.  If you don’t like the standings in the Legends Division, just wait one week.

A week after falling to Minnesota, Iowa found themselves in fourth place looking up at “powers” such as Michigan, Nebraska and Michigan State.  After one weekend, they are in second place, one game behind the Spartans, with a game against MSU coming up.

Nebraska fell and were unable to capitalize on the momentum they created with a win over MSU last week.

Nebraska Learned They Play Defense in the Big Ten

In the Big 12 allowing 28 points may be good enough to win. 

Not in the Big Ten.

The Huskers were bottled up for a majority of the game. They added 15 points in the fourth but fell just short.

On the day, they turned it over twice and were only able to manage 25 points.

Lafayette Is the Second-Best Team in Louisiana

La-Lafayette stayed on pace to compete for a Sun Belt title. It came in dramatic fashion as well, as the Cajuns rallied for 12 points in the final two minutes to stun La-Monroe.

La-Lafayette is now 6-1 in the Sun Belt, with a game next week against Arkansas State for all the marbles.

Bowl Eligibles

The following teams won their sixth game and are bowl eligible.

Virginia, FSU, Texas, Iowa, Ohio State, Tulsa, SMU, Notre Dame, Ohio and No. Illinois.  Wow!

Bowl Ineligibles

Unfortunately, the following teams lost their seventh game and will therefore not be attending a bowl:

La-Monroe, Arizona, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Minnesota, Kansas, Maryland and Boston College

Texas Has a Real Nice Backfield

First off, Fozzie Whittaker doesn’t get enough credit. On the season, he’s rushed for 371 yards and six touchdowns. If Texas were as good as they have been in the past, he would be getting a lot more publicity.

Then, there is the emergence of freshman Joe Bergeron. This past week, Bergeron rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns. The week before, he rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

This isn’t even mentioning freshman Malcolm Brown, who has been limited this season with a toe injury. The last two games in which Brown did play, he went for over 100 yards and recorded a touchdown.

Wisconsin Needs To Remain To Be a Run-First Team

Wisconsin skyrocketed up the polls early in the season, thanks in large part to the play of QB Russell Wilson. Fans were excited to see Wilson transfer in, and he was immediately part of speculation of being the best Wisconsin QB ever. As a result, Wisconsin became a national title contender and Wilson a Heisman favorite.

Then they lost two games.

The national landscape changed for Wisconsin. In order to become successful again, they need to re-discover what made them so good to begin with—tough, physical football.

They started to re-discover that this past weekend. They rushed for 364 yards against Purdue and held the Boilers to just 17 points. The Badgers held the ball for over 36 minutes.

Wisconsin needs a little bit of help going forward (beating Penn State is imperative), but they are still the best team in the Big Ten. That is if they run the ball, and do the things that make Wisconsin, Wisconsin.

Utah Is Continuing To Turn It Around

Utah came to the Pac-12 and found themselves on hard times immediately. Injuries combined with a difficult schedule had the Utes at 3-4 overall with an 0-4 record in the Pac-12.

Now, they’re 5-4 after back-to-back wins over Oregon State and Arizona. Powerhouses? Not by any stretch of the imagination. That said, Utah has adapted to change and made improvements on the field.

QB Jon Hays, filling in for an injured Jordan Wynn, threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns. John White IV continues to run hard, totaling over 100 yards against the Cats, and the defense pressured Foles early and often.

Now, Utah needs to win one game from their last three to become bowl eligible. They face UCLA, Colorado and travel to Washington State. Seven or eight wins isn’t out of the realm of possibility for this team that was struggling mightily so recently. That would be an extremely successful season for the Utes.

UGA Controls Its Own Destiny

UGA got the help they needed on Saturday with the Gamecocks falling to Arkansas. UGA didn’t even need to beat powerhouse New Mexico State, but they did anyway, 63-16.

Now, UGA needs to beat Auburn and Kentucky at home (or have USC slip up against Florida), and they will be SEC East Champs. We may finally get the UGA vs. LSU game we didn’t see in the regular season…or UGA vs. Alabama, which we didn’t see…or UGA vs Arkansas, which we didn’t see.

Favorable schedule or not, UGA has won seven in a row and critics are now off of Mark Richt. If they slip up and blow this opportunity, the critics may return. Until then, however, UGA has two winnable games between the hedges to get back to Atlanta and the SEC title.

Thus Began the Week Of...

This week in the SEC we saw the latest “Game of the Century.”  We also saw a matchup between two top-ten teams with Arkansas and South Carolina. Additionally, we saw Vanderbilt continue to compete at a high level in their visit to the swamp.  What a week!

We also saw Mississippi State host Tennessee-Martin, UGA host New Mexico State and Tennessee host Middle Tennessee State (to declare the ultimate champion of Tennessee, apparently, since Tennessee does not play Tenn-Martin).

Next week, LSU hosts Western Kentucky. Ole Miss hosts Louisiana Tech (which will most likely be a close game).

In two weeks, Auburn will host Samford, South Carolina will host the Citadel, Florida will host Furman and Alabama will host Georgia Southern.

Yuck. People will be quick to point out that LSU still needs to host Arkansas, and Alabama needs to travel to Auburn. They don’t mention these games.

Colorado Just Doesn't Have the Talent This Season

Colorado came into this season with a fresh slate. New conference. New coach. New rivalries to form.

Unfortunately, they’ve been ravaged with injuries. Combine this with the fact they weren’t overly talented or deep to begin with, and you have a big problem.

The list is too plentiful to go over but consider that half of their defensive backfield on Friday night weren’t defensive backs a month ago. As a result, Robert Woods and Marquise Lee made them look like boys amongst men.

I love the effort that Colorado displayed. Their crowd was out in full force, the team came to play and they sustained their effort for a full 60 minutes. Eventually, that will pay dividends. This season, however, they are just too depleted. They couldn’t beat USC this year once out of 100 times.

Minnesota Hasn't Rolled over

Minnesota started the season 1-7. With injuries and underperformance all around, along with an ill coach, the Gophers were looking for anything to hang their hat on.

They got it two weeks ago with an upset win against rival Iowa.

Instead of resting on their laurels and becoming complacent, however, they went out and competed once again.  This past week, they pushed Michigan State to the limit, leading the No. 17 Spartans heading into the fourth quarter. 

Playing well against likely division leaders in Iowa and Michigan State? What a far cry from the Gophers 58-0 drubbing at the hands of Michigan.

The Gophers aren’t going to a bowl game. That much was clear weeks ago. We have to applaud their effort and competitiveness down the stretch, however, (they are another example of the “Louisville effect” howeverhaving played extremely well since coach Jerry Kill was rewarded with a contract extension).

South Florida Is in Danger of Missing a Bowl Game

It seemed unfathomable just two months ago. USF was the preseason favorite in the Big East and opened up their season with a win in South Bend. It would seem even more unlikely after they won their next three games, improving to 4-0.

But the Bulls have lost four straight since then. First, they got blown out at Pitt. Then, they lost to Connecticut, Cincinnati and Rutgers by a combined 12 points.

Close losses? Yes. Losses nonetheless?  Yes.

Now, South Florida is the only winless team in the Big East. They need to go 2-2 with a remaining schedule of Syracuse, Miami, Louisville and West Virginia to become bowl eligible. Not an easy task. This would be a tremendously disappointing season in Tampa if they were to fail to make a bowl (one could argue that it already is a disappointing one).

Pitt Is in Even More Danger of Missing a Bowl

Pitt was considered one of the co-favorites to take down the Big East this season. They’re sitting at a disappointing 4-5 with games against Louisville, WVU and Syracuse (the first of those two on the road). They need to win two of three to become bowl eligible.

The task will be even more arduous without the help of Ray Graham. Graham was the leading rusher in the nation when he was lost for the season a few weeks ago. Since then, the Panthers have only beaten Connecticut.

The program showed some early promise under first-year coach Todd Graham. Since then, injuries and offensive line issues have quashed any good feelings in the Steel City.

Corvalis Remains a Difficult Place To Play

For approximately two to 2.5 quarters, Oregon State had Stanford on the ropes. They were playing energized, physical football, and if not for a bad penalty call, they could have been in the game longer.

Eventually, Stanford’s talent won out. As the Cardinal had done nearly every previous week this season, the team toughened in the second half and beat their opponent down the stretch.

Still, it was a lot closer than many expected and a lot closer than the final score would indicate. Despite being eliminated from bowl contention, Oregon State continues to play tough football. 

The Beavers have only one more game at home this season—November 19th against Washington. The Huskies should be aware.

There's a Little Life Left in the Owls

FAU remains the only winless team in the nation, 0-8. This is soon-to-be Hall-of-Fame coach Howard Schnellenberger’s swan song as he will leave the program he built at the end of the season.

The team this season…not so great.  Blowout losses to Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State emphasize the divide between FAU and other bad teams.

But this past week, they put a big threat into conference-leading Arkansas State. The Owls took a lead in the third quarter before allowing 21 straight points. 

Arkansas State is in a great position to win the conference, and FAU hung with them for a majority of the game. They should be proud.

Don’t be surprised if FAU is able to get one more win for Schnellenberger before it is all said and done.

Air Force Retains the Commander-in-Chief Trophy

It wasn’t as easy as many anticipated, but Air Force took home the Commander-in-Chief trophy for the second straight season.

As a result of beating Navy early in the season, all Air Force had to do was beat rival Army in Colorado Springs. Air Force came in as 16.5 point favorites but trailed 14-0 at the half.

Senior Tim Jefferson wouldn’t let the opportunity slip away. Jefferson rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns while adding 122 yards through the air.

An old-fashioned, grind-it-out, option attack vs option attack win? Air Force will take it.

Some could argue that Air Force is a bit of a disappointment this season. Many had the Falcons projected as high as third in the Mountain West Conference. Those lofty expectations won’t come to fruition, unfortunately. 

That said, the Falcons are one win away from bowl eligibility for the fifth straight year. With upcoming games against Wyoming, Colorado State and UNLV, they should be able to scrape together one more win.

More importantly, they beat Navy and Army in the same year. That is worth saluting.  Well done.

TCU Should Be Taken Seriously Next Week

Conventional wisdom says that Boise is playing its best football ever, while TCU is slightly regressing this season. Additionally, Boise hosts TCU in Boise, a place where the Broncos haven’t lost since 2005. 

Therefore, the Horned Frogs don’t stand a chance, right?

I won’t go as far to say that the Frogs will win, but I expect them to keep it close this week.  They have started to play better defense and rediscovered the running game. Both components are integral to pulling upsets on the road.

This is for the Mountain West championship, something TCU would desperately love to win again this season. The Frogs have adjusted their priorites since their opening week loss to Baylor. No more Rose Bowls and national title considerations. Instead, they just want to win the conference one last time.

Win on Saturday and they will. 

Stanford Will Get Oregon's Best Shot

Oregon looked full strength last week against Washington. Thomas and James played the whole game, and the Ducks rushed for 212 yards.

They may not be 100 percent, but they should be healthy enough to give Stanford a game. No matter which team you're rooting for, you have to be excited that the teams will be close to healthy.

The Late Owl Gets the Worm

For those who stayed up and wanted to follow the Hawaii-Utah State game was rewarded. Fans got to follow a good one.

Utah State put up an improbable 14 points in the fourth and scored with 14 seconds left to defeat Hawaii 35-31.

It prevented Hawaii from becoming bowl eligible. Utah State finally got a close win in the final seconds, something that has eluded them this season.

No, I don't know why the game wasn't offered on TV.

South Carolina IS Going To Struggle without Lattimore and Garcia

We saw this this past week against Arkansas.

The Gamecocks were held to just 79 yards rushing on 33 carries. Despite putting up 28 points, they only tallied 207 yards.The four turnovers didn't help.

Arkansas had a few missed opportunities of their own. Otherwise, the score could have been a lot uglier.

Now, South Carolina needs some help to get back to the top of the East.

Maybe Oklahoma State's Defense Needs Work After All

I still think the OSU's defense is decent. Decent enough to compete with anyone.

But it clearly can stand to improve as well. This past week, they gave up over 500 yards to Kansas State. KSU, a perennially rushing team, was able to throw for 231 yards.

The yards didn't come in garbage time either. OSU needed all the points they could muster as the Cowboys trailed with five minutes left in the game.

Remember how I said LSU had guys on the team that refused to lose? 

You can put Justin Blackmon on that list too.

UNLV Didn't Have a...

For a humorous anecdote regarding UNLV and their home-field advantage, read this. 

UNLV didn't need the lights to get turned out this time. The Rebels covered easily as 42-point underdogs.

Kellen Moore put up five touchdowns, but the Broncos only outgained UNLV 416-319.

No, Seriously, If the Allegations Are True, PSU's Program Should Be Shut Down

As I’ve had more time to digest the information coming out of Happy Valley, I’ve realized that nothing short of a complete shutdown of the program would be sufficient enough punishment.

Because we are dealing with college athletics here, and a football team, many might try to relate these allegations to other past incidents at major programs.

Stop.

This isn’t getting a car, this isn’t getting $50,000 in a shoebox, this isn’t cheating on a final exam, this isn’t getting a rent-free apartment for your family, this isn’t prematurely signing with an agent. This is criminal pedophilia.

Again, if the allegations are true, that means that a staff member of the football team engaged in sexual acts with young boys while school administrators, coaches and others covered it up.

What is more sickening, depraved and deplorable than that?  Not in college athletics, but in the world?