1) We'll get to the specific games in a minute, but I want to start simply by saying yesterday is the reason we are fans. It's the reason we all love this insane sport. From 11 am to about 11 pm there were incredible games on that were hard to turn off. Insane finishes, crazy crowds, wild shootouts. Just an incredible day of college football. We all get wrapped up in our team and tend to associate the entire day with whether they win or lose and the entire season with whether they're good or bad. But yesterday was an incredible day to be a college football fan.
2) The player of the week is Texas A&M quarterback Zach Calzada. He was getting CRUSHED by Texas A&M people. Not good enough. Wasted season. Just crushed. And all he did was come out and throw for 285 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Aggies to a 41-38 upset of top-ranked Alabama. It was the Tide's first loss as a double-digit favorite in 80 games. The longest streak in the country in such games now belongs to Kentucky, which has won 38 consecutive games when favored by ten or more.
3) Speaking of the Wildcats, they're 6-0 for the first time in 71 years. That team finished 11-1 and won the Sugar Bowl under a head coach you may have heard of named Bear Bryant. These Cats have a pretty good shot of finishing 11-1 themselves and maybe going back to the Sugar Bowl. In the process, they almost certainly put the final nail in the coffin of Ed Orgeron in Baton Rouge. Two years ago he won the national title and had what some believe is the best team in college football history. The seat on the throne is fragile and fleeting in college football.
4) While the Aggies were doing what they were doing, Texas was blowing what appeared to be an insurmountable lead to Oklahoma. The Horns were up 28-7 after a quarter and 41-23 with 2:45 left in the third. They lost 55-48 on a touchdown run with two seconds left when Oklahoma would have been perfectly happy to settle for the winning field goal. Preseason Heisman contender Spencer Rattler probably lost his job and you can't sum it up more perfectly than this.
5) We're halfway through and are just getting to the best game of the day. Ole Miss beat Arkansas 52-51 in a wild game in Oxford that had you white-knuckling it all the way through. Neither defense did anything all day, but man it was fun to watch. Matt Corral threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns, but he also ran for 94 and two scores. He leads the SEC with eight rushing touchdowns this season. He'll almost certainly go pro and I think he'll be the first quarterback taken in April. The question is if Lane Kiffin will follow him out of Oxford. Got to imagine a call will come from Baton Rouge and maybe some other places.
6) Iowa's just gonna keep creeping along under the radar to an undefeated season. The Hawkeyes fell behind Penn State 17-3 then brutalized a backup quarterback to win 23-20 in front of a fantastic crowd at Kinnick Stadium, which is one of the country's most underrated home field advantages. Iowa now has 20 takeaways in six games including a ridiculous 16 interceptions and leads the country in turnover margin at plus-15. Iowa doesn't play another ranked team in the regular season. The toughest game is probably at Nebraska the day after Thanksgiving. They've got the inside track at 12-0 and a date with whoever survives the Ohio State/Penn State/Michigan/Michigan State gauntlet in the Big Ten East.
7) Since we mentioned the Huskers, the most googled phrase in the state of Nebraska last night was probably "forward progress."
Nebraska is unquestionably getting better. After we all buried Scott Frost, the Huskers have lost by seven to Oklahoma, three to Michigan State in overtime, embarrassed Northwestern and then lost to Michigan by a field goal on that play. But close has never really counted for much in Lincoln. If I'm making the decision, Frost stays because he's got things headed in a positive direction. But rational hasn't exactly been the Nebraska M.O. in the last 20 years so we'll see.
8) The best stat line of the day? Michigan State wide receiver Jalen Nailor had five catches for 221 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-13 win over Rutgers. Nailor had two 63-yard TD catches and a 65-yard TD catch...with six minutes left in the second quarter. After that, he mostly turned it over to Kenneth Walker III, who had 232 rushing yards and a 94-yard touchdown. The two teammates hooked up on the best connection of the day:
9) My Heisman ballot if I had to vote today:
1) Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State
2) Bijon Robinson, Texas
3) Jordan Davis, Georgia
*The playoff if it started today:
1) Georgia vs 4) Oklahoma (don't deserve it, but bet they'll be 4)
2) Iowa vs 3) Cincinnati
Ohio State has a chance. So do Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State out of the Big Ten. Oregon isn't dead. Alabama isn't dead. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have a chance in the Big 12. I'd be willing to bet your four teams come out of that group of 12. But we've finally got some intrigue. There might finally be some new entries. This is a good thing. If Cincinnati wins out and doesn't get in, throw away the whole system that day.
10) Five games I'll watch next week besides Mizzou vs Texas A&M
Appalachian State at Louisiana, 6:30 pm, Tuesday, ESPN2--It's Tuesday night. Why not?
UCF at Cincinnati, 11 am, ABC--Bearcats can't afford to stumble even once
Oklahoma State at Texas, 11 am, FOX--Longhorns gonna start playing spoiler?
Kentucky at Georgia, 2:30, CBS--This game might end 5-4
Ole Miss at Tennessee, 6:30, SECN--It's not a big game, but there might be 120 points. If the Vols win this one, we'll have to take them a bit more seriously
2) The player of the week is Texas A&M quarterback Zach Calzada. He was getting CRUSHED by Texas A&M people. Not good enough. Wasted season. Just crushed. And all he did was come out and throw for 285 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Aggies to a 41-38 upset of top-ranked Alabama. It was the Tide's first loss as a double-digit favorite in 80 games. The longest streak in the country in such games now belongs to Kentucky, which has won 38 consecutive games when favored by ten or more.
3) Speaking of the Wildcats, they're 6-0 for the first time in 71 years. That team finished 11-1 and won the Sugar Bowl under a head coach you may have heard of named Bear Bryant. These Cats have a pretty good shot of finishing 11-1 themselves and maybe going back to the Sugar Bowl. In the process, they almost certainly put the final nail in the coffin of Ed Orgeron in Baton Rouge. Two years ago he won the national title and had what some believe is the best team in college football history. The seat on the throne is fragile and fleeting in college football.
4) While the Aggies were doing what they were doing, Texas was blowing what appeared to be an insurmountable lead to Oklahoma. The Horns were up 28-7 after a quarter and 41-23 with 2:45 left in the third. They lost 55-48 on a touchdown run with two seconds left when Oklahoma would have been perfectly happy to settle for the winning field goal. Preseason Heisman contender Spencer Rattler probably lost his job and you can't sum it up more perfectly than this.
5) We're halfway through and are just getting to the best game of the day. Ole Miss beat Arkansas 52-51 in a wild game in Oxford that had you white-knuckling it all the way through. Neither defense did anything all day, but man it was fun to watch. Matt Corral threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns, but he also ran for 94 and two scores. He leads the SEC with eight rushing touchdowns this season. He'll almost certainly go pro and I think he'll be the first quarterback taken in April. The question is if Lane Kiffin will follow him out of Oxford. Got to imagine a call will come from Baton Rouge and maybe some other places.
6) Iowa's just gonna keep creeping along under the radar to an undefeated season. The Hawkeyes fell behind Penn State 17-3 then brutalized a backup quarterback to win 23-20 in front of a fantastic crowd at Kinnick Stadium, which is one of the country's most underrated home field advantages. Iowa now has 20 takeaways in six games including a ridiculous 16 interceptions and leads the country in turnover margin at plus-15. Iowa doesn't play another ranked team in the regular season. The toughest game is probably at Nebraska the day after Thanksgiving. They've got the inside track at 12-0 and a date with whoever survives the Ohio State/Penn State/Michigan/Michigan State gauntlet in the Big Ten East.
7) Since we mentioned the Huskers, the most googled phrase in the state of Nebraska last night was probably "forward progress."
Nebraska is unquestionably getting better. After we all buried Scott Frost, the Huskers have lost by seven to Oklahoma, three to Michigan State in overtime, embarrassed Northwestern and then lost to Michigan by a field goal on that play. But close has never really counted for much in Lincoln. If I'm making the decision, Frost stays because he's got things headed in a positive direction. But rational hasn't exactly been the Nebraska M.O. in the last 20 years so we'll see.
8) The best stat line of the day? Michigan State wide receiver Jalen Nailor had five catches for 221 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-13 win over Rutgers. Nailor had two 63-yard TD catches and a 65-yard TD catch...with six minutes left in the second quarter. After that, he mostly turned it over to Kenneth Walker III, who had 232 rushing yards and a 94-yard touchdown. The two teammates hooked up on the best connection of the day:
9) My Heisman ballot if I had to vote today:
1) Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State
2) Bijon Robinson, Texas
3) Jordan Davis, Georgia
*The playoff if it started today:
1) Georgia vs 4) Oklahoma (don't deserve it, but bet they'll be 4)
2) Iowa vs 3) Cincinnati
Ohio State has a chance. So do Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State out of the Big Ten. Oregon isn't dead. Alabama isn't dead. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have a chance in the Big 12. I'd be willing to bet your four teams come out of that group of 12. But we've finally got some intrigue. There might finally be some new entries. This is a good thing. If Cincinnati wins out and doesn't get in, throw away the whole system that day.
10) Five games I'll watch next week besides Mizzou vs Texas A&M
Appalachian State at Louisiana, 6:30 pm, Tuesday, ESPN2--It's Tuesday night. Why not?
UCF at Cincinnati, 11 am, ABC--Bearcats can't afford to stumble even once
Oklahoma State at Texas, 11 am, FOX--Longhorns gonna start playing spoiler?
Kentucky at Georgia, 2:30, CBS--This game might end 5-4
Ole Miss at Tennessee, 6:30, SECN--It's not a big game, but there might be 120 points. If the Vols win this one, we'll have to take them a bit more seriously
