1) Pretty big elimination weekend in college football. The contenders fell hard and fast. Wake Forest: Done. Baylor: Done. Auburn: Done. Michigan State: Maybe not done, but definitely severely wounded. We freak out about these weekly rankings, but in the end, it almost always sorts itself out. There’s never more than five or six teams in serious contention. There won’t be this year either.
2) So who’s still alive? Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Ohio State are in as long as they keep winning. Cincinnati or Oklahoma can get in if they keep winning and one of the last three loses a game or Georgia loses two. Michigan, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M have a shot. That’s really about it, although with chaos, Notre Dame may not be completely dead. Ten teams for four spots. And I’m not sure A&M and Notre Dame are really part of that conversation.
3) I know you guys are going to hate me complimenting Arkansas, but they’ve earned it. Are they great? No. But after a 31-28 win over Mississippi State they’re bowl eligible for the first time in five years and they’ve done it against an absolutely murderous schedule. I think there’s a legitimate discussion that they (and every other team in the West) would be the second best team in the SEC East this season. On a related note, Mike Leach might go back to searching for kickers in the student body after he had two kickers combine to miss three field goals including a 40-yarder on the last play that would have forced overtime.
4) Speaking of teams you don’t want me to compliment, I didn’t hate the Bret Bielema hire as much as most of you did. I think he’s going to make Illinois respectable. I don’t think he’s going to win Big Ten titles or anything, but Illinois fans aren’t asking for that. The Illini beat Minnesota 14-6 on Saturday to win their fourth game of the year, including a 3-4 record in the Big Ten. They’re probably not going bowling with Iowa and Northwestern left on the schedule, but we’re talking about a program that has won more than four games once since 2015, three times since 2011, five times since 2007 and six times since 2002. It’s the first time in 11 tries Illinois has beaten a team that is in the top 25 of the College Football Playoff rankings. If Bielema can build on this and win six or seven next season, he’s done a pretty good job pretty quickly. He’s not a great coach, but he’s a lot better than the last couple of years at Arkansas indicated.
While I’m pissing everybody off, might as well shout out Tennessee which won 45-42 in Lexington despite Kentucky running a school record 99 offensive plays and winning the time of possession 46:08 to 13:52. Josh Heupel spits in the general direction of time of possession.
5) I’m curious if Scott Frost gets fired. Nebraska is 3-7. It’s not going to a bowl game. It’s the fifth consecutive losing season for the Huskers, four of them under Frost. The last Nebraska coach to have four losing seasons for his career? William Jennings went 15-34-1 from 1957-61 and was replaced by Bob Devaney. Nebraska’s next losing season came in 2004. They’ve had eight since then, including the last five. Frost is 15-27 in Lincoln and has never won more than two games in a row. At the same time, the total margin in their seven losses is 42 points. They haven’t lost a single game by more than nine points and that includes four losses to top ten teams. Is close good enough at Nebraska now? I truly don’t know.
6) I still don’t think Dan Mullen gets fired. But, woo boy, is the heat picking up and I now it's a much stronger possibility than I thought it was yesterday morning. The Gators trailed South Carolina 40-10 after three quarters and lost 40-17. South Carolina is not particularly good. Then again, neither is Florida. If Missouri were to beat the Gators in two weeks, they would finish 2-6 in the SEC. The last time Florida lost six conference games in a season was 1979 when Charley Pell’s first team in Gainesville finished 0-10-1. Mullen didn’t allow a single player to speak to the media all week. If he saves his job, it most certainly will not be due to his infectious personality.
7) Shoutout to Arizona and UNLV. The Wildcats beat Cal 10-3 to get their first win of the season. The Rebels beat New Mexico 31-17 for win number one. I know nothing about either game and don’t want to, but winning for the first time in November deserves to be recognized. These two teams had the two longest losing streaks in the country before last night.
8) Nobody can fall apart like Maryland. I mean absolutely nobody. Since the end of 2014, Maryland has started seasons a collective 23-8. They have ended those seasons a collective 5-38. I think it should be a bylaw that you are not allowed to vote for Maryland in a top 25 poll until it has played six games. If it has won all six, it might actually finish with a winning record. Otherwise, it will almost assuredly not. The Terms lost to Penn State 31-14 on Saturday. They are 5-4…after starting 4-0. They will lose to Michigan State and Michigan and will need to beat Rutgers for a bid to the Pinstripe Bowl (or something like it).
9) My Heisman ballot as of this morning:
Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State—The Spartans lost to Purdue, but it wasn’t his fault. Walker ran for 146 yards and has 1,340 and 15 touchdowns through nine games.
Jordan Davis, Georgia—The dude absolutely dominates games. And he can block a little bit too, as Isaiah McGuire found out today.
Kenny Pickett, Pitt—There’s nobody I feel strongly about here and Pickett has had a hell of a year with 26 touchdowns and just three picks.
10) Five games I’ll watch besides Mizzou/South Carolina next week:
Georgia at Tennessee—This is the Bulldogs’ last potential stumbling block unless you count Georgia Tech
Michigan at Penn State—Nittany Lions are good enough to continue the Big Ten’s cannibalization
Oklahoma at Baylor—Somebody beat the Sooners. Please
Texas A&M at Ole Miss—Winner could be in a New Year’s Six bowl
Miami at Florida State—Just to be sad and remember when this was the game you simply couldn’t miss
2) So who’s still alive? Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Ohio State are in as long as they keep winning. Cincinnati or Oklahoma can get in if they keep winning and one of the last three loses a game or Georgia loses two. Michigan, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M have a shot. That’s really about it, although with chaos, Notre Dame may not be completely dead. Ten teams for four spots. And I’m not sure A&M and Notre Dame are really part of that conversation.
3) I know you guys are going to hate me complimenting Arkansas, but they’ve earned it. Are they great? No. But after a 31-28 win over Mississippi State they’re bowl eligible for the first time in five years and they’ve done it against an absolutely murderous schedule. I think there’s a legitimate discussion that they (and every other team in the West) would be the second best team in the SEC East this season. On a related note, Mike Leach might go back to searching for kickers in the student body after he had two kickers combine to miss three field goals including a 40-yarder on the last play that would have forced overtime.
4) Speaking of teams you don’t want me to compliment, I didn’t hate the Bret Bielema hire as much as most of you did. I think he’s going to make Illinois respectable. I don’t think he’s going to win Big Ten titles or anything, but Illinois fans aren’t asking for that. The Illini beat Minnesota 14-6 on Saturday to win their fourth game of the year, including a 3-4 record in the Big Ten. They’re probably not going bowling with Iowa and Northwestern left on the schedule, but we’re talking about a program that has won more than four games once since 2015, three times since 2011, five times since 2007 and six times since 2002. It’s the first time in 11 tries Illinois has beaten a team that is in the top 25 of the College Football Playoff rankings. If Bielema can build on this and win six or seven next season, he’s done a pretty good job pretty quickly. He’s not a great coach, but he’s a lot better than the last couple of years at Arkansas indicated.
While I’m pissing everybody off, might as well shout out Tennessee which won 45-42 in Lexington despite Kentucky running a school record 99 offensive plays and winning the time of possession 46:08 to 13:52. Josh Heupel spits in the general direction of time of possession.
5) I’m curious if Scott Frost gets fired. Nebraska is 3-7. It’s not going to a bowl game. It’s the fifth consecutive losing season for the Huskers, four of them under Frost. The last Nebraska coach to have four losing seasons for his career? William Jennings went 15-34-1 from 1957-61 and was replaced by Bob Devaney. Nebraska’s next losing season came in 2004. They’ve had eight since then, including the last five. Frost is 15-27 in Lincoln and has never won more than two games in a row. At the same time, the total margin in their seven losses is 42 points. They haven’t lost a single game by more than nine points and that includes four losses to top ten teams. Is close good enough at Nebraska now? I truly don’t know.
6) I still don’t think Dan Mullen gets fired. But, woo boy, is the heat picking up and I now it's a much stronger possibility than I thought it was yesterday morning. The Gators trailed South Carolina 40-10 after three quarters and lost 40-17. South Carolina is not particularly good. Then again, neither is Florida. If Missouri were to beat the Gators in two weeks, they would finish 2-6 in the SEC. The last time Florida lost six conference games in a season was 1979 when Charley Pell’s first team in Gainesville finished 0-10-1. Mullen didn’t allow a single player to speak to the media all week. If he saves his job, it most certainly will not be due to his infectious personality.
7) Shoutout to Arizona and UNLV. The Wildcats beat Cal 10-3 to get their first win of the season. The Rebels beat New Mexico 31-17 for win number one. I know nothing about either game and don’t want to, but winning for the first time in November deserves to be recognized. These two teams had the two longest losing streaks in the country before last night.
8) Nobody can fall apart like Maryland. I mean absolutely nobody. Since the end of 2014, Maryland has started seasons a collective 23-8. They have ended those seasons a collective 5-38. I think it should be a bylaw that you are not allowed to vote for Maryland in a top 25 poll until it has played six games. If it has won all six, it might actually finish with a winning record. Otherwise, it will almost assuredly not. The Terms lost to Penn State 31-14 on Saturday. They are 5-4…after starting 4-0. They will lose to Michigan State and Michigan and will need to beat Rutgers for a bid to the Pinstripe Bowl (or something like it).
9) My Heisman ballot as of this morning:
Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State—The Spartans lost to Purdue, but it wasn’t his fault. Walker ran for 146 yards and has 1,340 and 15 touchdowns through nine games.
Jordan Davis, Georgia—The dude absolutely dominates games. And he can block a little bit too, as Isaiah McGuire found out today.
Kenny Pickett, Pitt—There’s nobody I feel strongly about here and Pickett has had a hell of a year with 26 touchdowns and just three picks.
10) Five games I’ll watch besides Mizzou/South Carolina next week:
Georgia at Tennessee—This is the Bulldogs’ last potential stumbling block unless you count Georgia Tech
Michigan at Penn State—Nittany Lions are good enough to continue the Big Ten’s cannibalization
Oklahoma at Baylor—Somebody beat the Sooners. Please
Texas A&M at Ole Miss—Winner could be in a New Year’s Six bowl
Miami at Florida State—Just to be sad and remember when this was the game you simply couldn’t miss
