Can the absurdity of 2014 just continue week in and week out? Is Florida State really that good or just more resilient than most teams based on their experiences from last year? Will Utah have a statement game to up their profile? Also, can we continue to believe that 3 SEC teams could actually make the College Football Playoff? As we enter week ten it has become pretty obvious that this is going to be a season unlike anything we have ever experienced before.
The Polls have reflected the vulnerabilities of so many teams that it is virtually impossible to speculate on the final outcome. LSU is actually the highest ranked two loss team with games at Alabama, Arkansas and Texas A&M still to come. What we can do with all certainty is eliminate several teams from New Year’s bowl game consideration. Teams continue to claw and scratch out wins in hopes of chasing that pot of gold, but several have flamed out and in some cases are in danger of not even becoming bowl eligible. Let’s look at week 10 and have a little fun speculating.
What you can speculate right off the bat was that Alabama, LSU, Michigan State and Clemson had a bye week so should not be affected too deeply by wins or losses surrounding them. There were four games involving head-to-head match ups of Top 25 teams. Maryland may become a banner waver for the Big Ten as they move to 6-3 and should represent the conference in a decent bowl game. Duke was expected to take a step back, but instead leads the Coastal Division at 7-1. Wisconsin is in a four-way tie for the Big Ten West and a big game in two weeks against Nebraska will define both programs’ success for the season. East Carolina has left the party.
On Thursday night, I was on the edge of my seat as it looked like Louisville had it in them to go toe to toe with Florida State and finally make them pay for their poor first-half letdown. This was the fourth time this year that the Seminoles were vulnerable in the first half, and each time they found a way to get the other team unglued. Coach Bobby Petrino seemed to panic a bit early and clearly gave FSU some momentum it didn’t deserve. Quarterback Will Gardner made some ill-advised incompletions to give the Seminoles hope, and they took it from there, scoring 34 points in the second half to seal this game in Louisville. Jameis Winston was certainly not Heisman worthy, throwing 3 terrible interceptions to give the Cardinals the early edge.
Saturday was a completely different animal. Sometimes we get lucky and football games have an ebb and flow to them that takes on a life of its own and we watch in awe as the winner scratches the smallest of wins.
Such was the case in Morgantown on Saturday when the favored Horned Frogs found themselves in a battle royale with the suddenly resuscitated West Virginia Mountaineers. This was essentially a game where the team that made the least mental lapses was going to win. TCU was horrible in the first quarter, but managed to stem the tide and only trail by six points. Clint Trickett was a paltry 15/26 passing and threw two interceptions to go along with the other three turnovers to ruin West Virginia’s four-game winning streak. Trevone Boykin was just as bad at 12/30, but lugged the pigskin nine times in crucial situations to give a slight edge to the Frogs. This was not textbook Gary Patterson football, but in the end Jaden Oberkrom split the uprights and TCU walked out of Milan Puskar Stadium with a hard-earned win.
Down in Jacksonville, they always have this party featuring the Gators and Bulldogs. It is really hard to consider this a neutral site affair, but it is a party. Florida had its way during the Tebow reign and Georgia has picked on the Gators during the post-Urban Meyer era. The game on Saturday defied all odds. Georgia, with or without Todd Gurley, was heavily favored and seemed a lock. Florida head coach Will Muschamp had other ideas. The Gators ran an astounding 418 yards on the ground with two backs each eclipsing 190 yards apiece. Florida attempted just 6 passes all day and led Georgia 31-7 entering the fourth quarter. Hutson Mason was okay for the Bulldogs, but his numbers were inflated by some gaudy fourth quarter stats when the game was out of reach. With the Missouri win over Kentucky, Georgia has now lost the advantage in the SEC East. The Gators meanwhile can continue their run for a bowl spot, and may have found some light at the end of this miserable tunnel.
Moving over two states into Mississippi, we had the elimination SEC West game. Ole Miss was hosting Auburn in a type of winner take all affair. Both squads had one loss at the time and a dropping a second game on the season would end any chance of an invite to the Playoff. This speculation is based on the fact that Ole Miss still has a date with Mississippi State, and of course Auburn ends their season at Alabama. Ironically the game came down to one defining play in the fourth quarter. Lequon Treadwell took a screen pass into the end zone, but hold your horses there Ole Miss Rebels, was that really a fumble and touchback? Further review gave the ball to Auburn and the paupers that became kings were SEC paupers once again. It also seems that Treadwell is lost for the season after suffering a gruesome leg injury. By the way, this is not to downgrade the Auburn victory, it just continues the amazing pain that Ole Miss fans have endured and will continue to endure into next season.
Talking about elimination games also means looking out west in Eugene, Oregon. The annual Stanford stomping of the Ducks and eliminating the Oregon faithful took a decided turn on the weekend as Oregon squashed Stanford to erase two years of utter frustration. Marcus Mariota outdueled Kevin Hogan all day and masterminded a 45-16 beatdown that should quell the tree huggers in Palo Alto. What Marcus Mariota did to Stanford, he could accomplish against anyone, and the fact that Oregon has proven so resilient means that they will continue to be on the cusp of the Playoff selection conversation. Stanford, like East Carolina, will have to regroup and seek a suitable non-New Year’s location during the bowl season.
Staying out west in the Pac-12 was easy, as we wanted to see if anyone was going to throttle the Pac-12 South and take control. USC took care of Washington State and at least stayed close to the group. Meanwhile, over in Pasadena, Brett Hundley needed to find a way to get past the Wildcats of Arizona. Coach Rich Rodriguez has kept the Wildcats relevant and Jim Mora has watched everyone take bites out of the Bruins. UCLA did win this one, but not on the back of Mr. Hundley. This game belonged to the Bruins defense. UCLA limited Arizona to an opening touchdown and literally slammed the door shut the rest of the way. Quarterback Anu Solomon was under constant pressure all night and it showed on the scoresheet. Two quick touchdowns, 50 seconds apart, were all it took to send the Wildcats to 3-2 in the Conference and set up the ultimate Bruins game at the end of the season with USC. Arizona has three home games sandwiched in with a trip to Utah to test their fortunes in the Pac-12.
Utah has proven that no one is exempt from disappointment in 2014 as they ventured into Tempe and saw the upset special go up in flames on the end of their kicker’s foot. The fact that Andy Phillips missed twice on the same attempt just made the pain more pronounced. Arizona State then marched out the kicking team and won in overtime on a 35-yard attempt to take over first place in the Pac-12 South. Devantae Booker continued to amaze people with another 147 yards rushing, and keep the Utes ship on the right course headed into bowl season. The problem is where do the Utes fit in at this point? Arizona State is now the envy of the Pac-12, but must take care of Notre Dame next weekend, and tackle their in-state rival Arizona to finish the season off. If the Sun Devils can stay clean the last four weeks, then they have to be considered for the Playoff, and not just as an afterthought. Oh, and did we mention Oregon could get in the way of any plans the Sun Devils may have if they meet in the Pac-12 Championship?
If you want overwhelming powerful football, you had better keep an eye on Kansas State. Coach Bill Snyder has another special well-drilled team that totally dominated Oklahoma State on Saturday. As a matter of fact, K-State scored 45 unanswered points after Oklahoma State scored the first touchdown. This was not a dress rehearsal, as these Wildcats will beat you in so many different ways. Coach Snyder believes in disciplined fundamental football and it was on display in spades in Manhattan. Curry Sexton continues to be a favorite target with another 157 receiving yards, and this brings us to another team that garners consideration for the Playoff after Week 10. Their only stumbling block could be that loss to Auburn if the Tigers end up tied with Kansas State in the loss column. The Wildcats still have TCU on the slate for next Saturday, so don’t presume anything just yet.
The happiest teams have to be Colorado State and Marshall. Now don’t go get all out of whack and begin to have Playoff expectations for these two teams, because that’s not going to happen this year for sure. However, there are some high profile New Year’s Day bowl games that would be an achievable goal for both of these programs to aim for. Marshall is still undefeated and has a pretty clear path due to a weaker conference. Colorado State just has Hawaii, New Mexico and an improved Air Force team to finish off their campaign. Expectations are high on both campuses and the next four weeks will be crucial.
Heading into Week 11, it is refreshing to see probably ten teams still with a legitimate chance of representing their conferences in the inaugural College Football Playoff. I am not an SEC basher as most people know, but it would be very hard to discount Oregon/Arizona State or the Big 12’s Kansas State/TCU winner next week if they run the table. One other point to ponder is if the Big 12 representative goes undefeated the rest of the year, the Big 12 has no Conference Championship and as such cannot eliminate themselves from the Playoff past their regular season schedule.
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