CFB Week 9: Just a little more
FINAL FOUR
- Alabama
- Michigan
- Clemson
- Washington
WHO'S HOT
- Lamar Jackson--The Louisville QB had several Heisman moments in leading the Cardinals to a 32-25 come-from-behind win over Virginia, including throwing a 29-yard TD pass to Jaylen Smith with 13 seconds left for the game winner.
- Clemson--The Tigers came from behind with a 37-34 win over Florida State on Saturday night which upped their record to 8-0 and kept them in the hunt to make the College Football Playoffs for the second consecutive season. Leading the way was QB DeShaun Watson who had 430 yards of offense and pushed himself back into Heisman consideration. When was the last time two QBs from the same division finished 1-2 in the Heisman race? The answer: Never.
- Kentucky--No it's not basketball season yet, but the football Wildcats are on a roll They are 5-2 overall, 4-2 in the SEC East and coming off a 35-21 win at Missouri, which was their third straight win. They still have challenges ahead--Georgia, Tennessee and Louisville. But becoming bowl eligible (they have a game against FCS Austin Peay) is defiinitely a possibility.
- (tie for third really--Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers was again a force on defense and offense in the Wolverines win over 32-23 Michigan State. If Michigan wins the Big Ten title, expect Peppers to be on a lot of Heisman ballots[membership level="0"] The rest of this article is available to subscribers only - to become a subscriber click here.[/membership] [membership]
.WHO'S NOT
- Big 12--West Virginia lost, Baylor lost, Oklahoma already has two losses. Can you say College Football Final Four without the Big 12? Yes, you can.
- Michigan State--The Spartans were at least respectable on Saturday in dropping a 32-23 loss to Michigan. But they entered the game 20 point underdogs--which is amazing considering they are the defending Big Ten champion. And the loss on Saturday was the MSU's 6th straight. Thankfully for Sparty fans, the next two games are against Illinois and Rutgers, which should at least temporarily stop the downward trend.
3. Tennessee--Remember when the Volunteers were making headlines by snatching victory from sure defeat, when they were a Top Ten team who everyone said was luckier than it was good? Not any more. Coach Butch Jones injury and suspension ridden team lost again on Saturday, dropping a 24-21 decision to South Carolina, which marked the Vols third consecutive SEC loss.
DID YOU KNOW
That...In its 32-23 win over Michigan State, Michigan did not have to punt until midway through the fourth quarter...in South Florida's wild 52-45 win over Navy on Friday night the Bulls scored on their first six possessions and had three players rush for more than 100 yards....Wyoming's 30-28 upset of Boise State on Saturday night was the first win by the Cowboys over the Broncos in 11 games...Wisconsin's 23-17 overtime win over No. 7 Nebraska was the Badgers third win this season against a Top 10 program...Texas A&M's Christian Kirk returned two punts for TDs in the Aggies 52-10 win over New Mexico State, making Kirk the first A&M player in school history to accomplish that remarkable feat...Florida's 24-10 win over Georgia marked the 21st time in the last 27 years the Gators have won this rivalry game played each year in Jacksonville, Fla. which has been dubbed the "world's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party''...In Missouri's 35-21 loss to Kentucky, the Tigers' defense allowed more than 500 total yards for the fourth consecutive game...Army's 21-14 win at Wake Forest puts the Cadets (5-3) one win away from being bowl eligible. They were 2-10 a year ago.
EXTRA POINTS
Quote of the Week: Navy coach Ken Niamatalolo after the loss to South Florida in which his team fell behind by a 42-10 score before closing the gap at the end: "We just had a problem stopping them.''....Oregon freshman QB Justin Herbert made the third start of his career on Saturday in a wild 54-35 win over Arizona State. Herbert threw for 489 yards and 4 TDs and has scored 12 TDs in his three game career with the Ducks...ND ended a 3-game home losing streak with a 30-27 win over Miami. The Irish are still 3-5, with all five of their losses by single digits
PLAY IT FORWARD
- Nebraska at Ohio State--Week 2 of the challenge for Huskers to get respectability, if not move up in the rankings
- Washington at California--Let- own game for Huskies, but not sure if Cal has enough to pull off upset
- Alabama at LSU--First of two remaining speed bumps for the Tide. Auburn on Nov. 26th is the other.
IN OUR OPINION
The Big 12 got it wrong again. Last week, conference announced that it would not break into two divisions (of five schools each) with the winners meeting in a conference championship game.
Instead it will take the two top teams and preserve the round robin schedule of each team facing each other in a 9-game conference schedule.
This is a mistake and leaves the conference open to various nightmare scenarios, such as having to decide the No.1 or No. 2 team via a complicated system of tie breakers. It could also sets up a situation which could have occurred this season if the system had been in place of having two teams face each other (Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State) in back to back games.
The reason the Big 12 voted in the championship game format was because it had projected an expansion to 12 teams, with two six team divisions. Ostensibly, the reason for that move was to give the Big 12 a better chance at qualifying one of its teams for the Final Four College Football Playoffs.
Earlier this month, the conference voted not to expand. And now it doesn't want to play in divisions. Bad move.
The best compromise would have been to break the conference down in two 5 team divisions. It could have put Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, and West Virginia in one group and put Iowa State, Texas, Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech in the other.
It should have passed a rule that says that each school would be required to play at least TWO school from a Power 5 conference in its 3 non conference schedules.
This season only Baylor and Kansas failed to even schedule one non-conference game against a Power 5 conference opponent. The conference needs some credibility.
Now, it has very little respect and, barring a total collapse among the other Power 5 contenders, it will be out of the Final Four playoff mix once again.[/membership]