Welcome back to College Football Rewind. This is your first look back at what happened each week and what it means moving forward. Every Saturday night, I will analyze the week’s games and the always colorful world of college football.
When Katy Perry makes better picks than talking heads and dives off bars in Oxford, it’s your cue to simply enjoy college football, not try to understand it. College football got drunk Saturday and then went into serious binge drinking into the night with craziness.
Before the inevitable screaming starts over who’s in the playoff and who’s not -- good luck with that, College Football Playoff selection committee -- embrace Saturday for what it was, not what it might mean. If college football hasn’t taught us this by now, it’s that results are unpredictable. It's a game played by 18- to 22-year-olds under the glare of intense public scrutiny as their multi-million-dollar coaches sweat out each week.
No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 8 UCLA all lost this week. The only other time four of the Associated Press poll’s top six teams lost in the same week was Nov. 3, 1990, when No. 1 Virginia, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Illinois all lost. It's the first time five of the AP poll's top eight teams lost in the same week.
In the past, fans and media would be writing obits now about teams who lost this week. Don’t fall into that trap. The playoff-era is a new world with more inclusion, more uncertainty on how teams will be picked and, given that it’s early October, many more games left to be played.
At this rate, the selection committee will be debating whether two-loss teams should make the playoff. Get ready for that conversation. But if this entire year is a who's-your-four playoff debate all year, you’re going to regret missing the fun.
(Sidenote: This week is an example of why the selection committee may regret releasing its rankings every week starting in late October. There's a very real danger that the committee will box itself into a corner with public selections and comments before the entire body of work is available. As polls have shown us, the only committee votes that matter are the ones after all of the games are done.)
For now, lay down the pitch forks and just enjoy the games.
Enjoy the greatest football Saturday ever experienced in Mississippi, giving new meaning to the insult, “Thank God for Mississippi.” For the first time, Ole Miss and Mississippi State beat top-10 teams on the same day.
Enjoy TCU’s first statement victory in its third year as a Big 12 member. There were the Horned Frogs making a fourth-and-1 stop with just over three minutes left to remain undefeated by knocking off Oklahoma.
Enjoy 24-point underdog Arizona going to Eugene and knocking off Oregon for the second straight season. (That Thursday game feels so long ago now, doesn’t it?) Stanford has two losses and Arizona is undefeated. Just as it was predicted.
Enjoy Arizona State's stunning Hail Mary touchdown pass to beat USC one week after the Sun Devils got destroyed by UCLA. Everyone in the Pac-12 is getting its hail mary answered.
Enjoy Nebraska nearly rallying from a 27-3 fourth-quarter deficit on the road at Michigan State . The Spartans held on for the 27-22 victory to stay in the top 10 -- no small feat on Saturday.
Enjoy Utah knocking off UCLA and sacking Brett Hundley 10 times, leaving the Pac-12 as the ultimate conference of parity.
Enjoy Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday setting an NCAA single-game record with 734 passing yards and losing when the Cougars' kicker missed a 19-yard field goal.
Talking pundits will try to come up with a catchy name for Week 6 like Shakeup Saturday. Don’t overanalyze this yet. The screaming is coming, don't worry. Just enjoy the games for now.
What We Learned in Week 6
1. Mississippi State is for real. You can’t watch a quarterback for Dan Mullen with dual-threat ability and the “it” factor intangibles and not think Tim Tebow. Dak Prescott is turning into the SEC’s next special player. He can pass, he can throw, he even caught a pass, and he seemingly always delivers a clutch play when needed to move the chains. But this is not a one-man team. The Bulldogs are a veteran group with a ferocious defense that held Texas A&M’s offense to 10 points in the first half. (It’s worth reassessing just exactly how good Texas A&M is after a tight win over Arkansas and with no quality wins out of conference.) Challenges in the SEC West never end. Next up for Mississippi State: Auburn. But the Bulldogs have made a statement that they’re a legit SEC West contender.
2. Ole Miss might have SEC’s best defense. Bo Wallace (251 passing yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions) will deservedly be the public face of Ole Miss’ 23-17 win over Alabama. It’s the Rebels’ defense, though, that should really worry the rest of the SEC. That defense is big and fast and aggressive. This is arguably Nick Saban’s most talented offense since he came to Tuscaloosa and the Rebels held Alabama to 17 points and 5.2 yards per play. Alabama was averaging 7.6 yards per play entering the day. Most importantly, Ole Miss held Alabama to 3.8 yards per carry even with T.J. Yeldon running for 123 yards. The loss isn’t a death notice for Alabama in 2014. But it’s the latest wake-up call that the Saban dynasty is over. Alabama has lost three straight against ranked teams -- the first time that’s happened to Saban since he was at Michigan State in 1997. Already, the Alabama-LSU game on Nov. 8 is assured of having the most combined losses since 2007. The new order of the SEC West continues to evolve.
3. Notre Dame stays in playoff mix. In some ways, Notre Dame-Stanford felt like a playoff elimination game. Both teams were ranked relatively high, Stanford already had a loss to USC, Notre Dame had no quality wins yet, and you just know the committee will come back to this game as a data point. In a sloppy game in the rain, Notre Dame edged Stanford 17-14 on a gift, 23-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-11 with one minute left. How wide open was Ben Koyack in the back of the end zone? “There was no coverage on Notre Dame’s touchdown pass,” Stanford coach David Shaw told reporters. “That sounds sarcastic but he was wide-open. There was nobody on him.” Because Notre Dame may end up having very few ranked teams on its schedule, the Irish’s chance for a playoff could hinge on being undefeated. The Irish took care of Stanford. Looming is an Oct. 18 game at Florida State.
4. Pac-12's elite teams keep losing. The Pac-12 may have a problem. Oregon isn’t the Oregon you remember. The Ducks aren’t eliminated from the playoff race just because they lost to Arizona. Their win over Michigan State may continue to look really good as the season progresses. But the what's happening on the field is the real issue for Oregon. Because at this rate, the Ducks are going to lose more games. Oregon’s makeshift offensive line due to injuries is putting too much pressure on Marcus Mariota, who is having to take far too many sacks. Oregon also had a couple questionable third-down running calls in key situations against Arizona. The ball needs to be in Mariota’s hands on critical plays, but the line can’t protect him. Meanwhile, Stanford and USC each have two losses, and UCLA (after struggling most of the season) lost to Utah. There's parity all across college football, but none more so than in the Pac-12.
5. Someone teach the Pac-12 Hail Mary defense. I'm headed to Stanford-Washington State and UCLA-Oregon games next week. At this rate, I will be thorougly surprised and disappointed if I don't see at least one Pac-12 Hail Mary. Arizona State was the lastest Pac-12 school to convert a last-second Hail Mary, beating USC on the final play with a 50-plus-yard prayer that got answered. Arizona beat Cal that way. USC did it at the end of the first half against Oregon State. Note to Pac-12 teams: Start working on Hail Mary defense. Oh, and one more thing: Make a play on the ball. If the receiver jumps and the defensive backs stay on their feet, as USC's defense did against Arizona State, you're going to lose again on a Hail Mary.
What Was He Thinking?
It’s incredibly rare to witness what Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard did Saturday. After the Cyclones’ 37-20 loss to Oklahoma State, Pollard went off to the media in a three-minute takedown of Big 12 officiating. Pollard said he is frustrated that his team has been on the “short end of the stick” on controversial calls in recent years, including some in which Iowa State received apologies for later internally by the Big 12. “We can’t get that back," Pollard said. "That ends careers for football coaches, AD’s and presidents. And so something's got to be done. I don't know what it is, but there needs to be more accountability on what happens in certain situations.” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said he had no comment at this time. Pollard will undoubtedly be fined, but if speaking out gets in official's heads for the next time there's a controversy, it will be worth it to Iowa State. Saturday’s rant came from an AD whose team is 1-4. Imagine the backlash when an officiating controversy keeps a team out of the College Football Playoff. We’ve already seen athletic directors complaint to officials on the sideline this season. Officials are human and make mistakes, just like players, coaches and, yes, even ADs. Many officials have no problem with public accountability. It eats them up when they make a mistake. It’s the conference offices that shy away from public accountability, in part for safety concerns for the officials given that there are crazy fans out there. A couple options: Have a pool reporter interview the referee after the game if there’s a play in question, or let the conference officiating coordinator come out and admit/explain mistakes or controversies. That won’t change the result. But it will make schools and fans feel a little better that there’s accountability as the pressure only increases in the playoff era.
Score of the Week
Miami (Ohio) 42, UMass 41. In a fascinating matchup of winless teams (fascinating in the train-wreck sense), UMass led 41-14 with two minutes left before halftime. Miami scored 28 unanswered points to snap its 21-game losing streak, the longest in the nation. UMass completed a pass to the Miami 6-yard line but opted against spiking the ball and going for the winning field goal. Instead, Shadrach Abrokwah caught a pass and was tackled at the 2-yard line as the clock expired. Somehow, that seemed appropriate when you blow a 27-point lead to the team with the nation’s longest losing streak.
Stat of the Week I
What's a wild Saturday without a new single-game passing record? Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday set the Division I record with 734 passing yards, breaking the mark of 730 set by Old Dominion's Taylor Heinicke in 2012. Houston's David Klingler had held the FBS record of 716 set in 1990. California defeated Washington State 60-59 in a game with a combined 1,261 passing yards. The teams combined for 12 touchdowns in the second half. Halliday and Cal quarterback Jared Goff combined for 123 pass attempts without an interception. Cal has allowed 57.5 points per game in its past two games -- and won them both.
Stat of the Week II
Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon ran for 259 yards and averaged 9.6 yards a carry while his quarterbacks completed 41 percent of their throws and tossed four interceptions. Gordon should remain a Heisman Trophy contender simply for continuing to put up incredible numbers despite a non-existent Wisconsin passing game. Joel Stave and Tanner McEvoy were 12 of 29 for 138 yards in a loss to Northwestern. Gordon is averaging 8.3 yards per carry on the season. That's a staggering clip that probably can’t last given his quarterbacks, but it should be appreciated until Gordon's run ends.
This Week in Tempo
My weekly look at the evolving trends, successes, failures and all-around moaning about up-tempo offenses.
Western Kentucky entered the week leading FBS with 91 plays per game. In a 42-39 loss Saturday to UAB, Western Kentucky only ran 65 plays, although still gained 503 yards. UAB had nearly a 13-minute advantage in time of possession and ran 89 plays. Western Kentucky dropped to 85.8 plays per game and loses its top spot nationally. Top five plays per game leaders: Colorado 86.8, West Virginia 86.6, Baylor 86.4, Western Kentucky 85.8, Tulsa 85.6.
The SEC is the only conference without one team averaging at least 80 plays per game. Nick Saban once questioned the safety of players with a faster pace and said of tempo, "Is this what we want college football to be?" Alabama is currently third in the SEC in plays per game at 77.4. SEC teams' plays per game: Texas A&M 77.5, Florida 77.5, Alabama 77.4, Mississippi State 77, Tennessee 77, Ole Miss 74.2, South Carolina 73.7, Kentucky 73.6, Auburn 72.6, Missouri 70.4, LSU 70.3, Arkansas 67.2, Georgia 64.6, Vanderbilt 57.5.
Week 7 Questions
1. Can Mississippi State do it again? The good news for Mississippi State is its schedule is spaced out. Very few of its toughest opponents come in consecutive weeks. Next week is an exception when Auburn visits Starkville. If the Bulldogs beat Auburn next Saturday, pencil in Mississippi State as the SEC West frontrunner. (But make sure you keep your eraser given how often SEC West teams may knock each other off.)
2. Who gets a leg up in SEC East? Georgia travels to Missouri for a key game in the wild SEC East race. Missouri’s win in Athens last year jumpstarted the Tigers’ run to the East title. Can Missouri do the same this time at home but while facing a healthy Todd Gurley, who had 163 yards Saturday against Vanderbilt? Your guess is as good as mine on who wins the East. Missouri, which lost at home to Indiana, is the only undefeated team in SEC play in the East. Remember when the SEC media in July picked South Carolina to win the East? It’s Oct. 4 and the Gamecocks already have three losses, their most in an entire season since 2010.
3. Will the Pac-12 become clearer? Oregon-UCLA and USC-Arizona highlight the Pac-12 schedule next Saturday. The Oregon-UCLA game lost some luster with the Ducks losing, but it’s still possible this is a preview of the Pac-12 Championship Game. Arizona needs to be taken seriously in the national conversation if it follows a win over Oregon by beating USC.
4. What does TCU do for an encore? Congrats on the upset, TCU. Now all you have to do is travel to Baylor next week. It’s asking a lot for the Horned Frogs to pull off two upsets in a row. Baylor looks like the class of the Big 12 — for now. Baylor still has road trips to West Virginia and Oklahoma, plus home games against TCU, Oklahoma State and Kansas State.
Quote of the Week
“I'm the luckiest guy alive. I see ISIS is out there cutting people's heads off. The real world has got some major problems, some major problems, and we're just so doggone lucky to be coaching and playing a sport, and being criticized for not getting a call made with a couple seconds left in the game or being criticized for not catching a dead pig with air in it. So to me, life's pretty damn good and I'm so lucky to be having to field these types of questions.”
— Syracuse coach Scott Shafer while handling critical questions after the Orange’s 28-6 loss to Louisville. Shafer is the second coach to mention ISIS in recent weeks. Note to Shafer: The last one, Kansas' Charlie Weis, is out of a job. Weis said he barely knew what was going on with ISIS. So while this won't appease Syracuse fans, at least Shafer is paying attention to the real world.
