Was there a better Saturday to park your posterior on the couch and mindlessly watch football from sun up to sun down? You’re all well aware of Oregon’s huge victory over the No. 17 Utes this weekend, but we also had six games that featured top 25 teams, and some major upsets that reshaped the landscape in college football. Let’s take a look at the major happenings in each of the major conferences.
SEC:
Wasn’t the SEC was supposed to be the “hands down” best conference in the country? Whenever they lost to each other it was always, “Well, you can’t really knock em’, they were playing against one of the best teams in the country.” What’re they going to say now?
No. 3 Auburn lost at home against Texas A&M 41-38. This is the same A&M team that had lost their last three SEC games by a combined score of 142-51, and barely held a off lowly Louisiana-Monroe (3-6 in the Sun Belt Conference) 21-16 the week prior. Did I mention that A&M rolled out a freshman quarterback in Kyle Allen, and that this was his second career start? Allen was fantastic, throwing for 277 yards four touchdowns. Even if Auburn had pulled out a win (Two fumbles in the last three minutes of the 4th quarter killed two potential shots at winning the game.), you’d still have to call into question what type of program they really have.
Gif courtesy of Yahoo Sports
The fact of the matter is that Auburn really wasn’t that good, and there’s a very good chance the SEC isn’t as dominant as it has been perceived.
No. 5 Alabama needed a field goal on the final drive of the regulation against No. 16 LSU to force overtime. Nick Saban and the Tide came out of Death Valley away with the 20-13 victory.
Do you remember when everyone was freaking out about the SEC potentially getting three teams in the College Football Playoff? That’s not happening now. Next week No. 1 Mississippi State travels to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. If Mississippi State can go into Tuscaloosa and beat mighty ‘Bama, then the Crimson Tide will be out of the playoff picture. If Alabama beats Miss State in convincing fashion then the Bulldogs could very well drop out of the top 4. The truth is that the SEC will probably only get one team in the College Football Playoff… Sometimes life is fair.
Big 12:
No.6 TCU is generally the team that gets all the pub regarding to the Big 12’s shot at getting a team in the playoff, and deservedly so. The Horned Frogs continued to impress in a 41-20 rout of No. 7 Kansas State. Quarterback Trevone Boykin is one of the most deadly dual threat quarterbacks in the country, and he does things like this:
Gif courtesy of SB Nation and Fox Sports
I’ll be the first to say that TCU has been one the most impressive teams in the country, and that they could make some noise if they got into the playoff, but are they the most deserving team in their own conference? What about the Baylor Bears? No. 12 Baylor just whopped No. 15 Oklahoma 41-14. The Bears are also 8-1, and they beat the Horned Frogs in a thrilling 61-58 game in which they overcame a 21-point deficit in the final eleven minutes of the game. Baylor’s only loss came on the road against a very tough West Virginia team (though WV just laid a stinker in a stinker in a 33-16 loss against lowly Texas). The same West Virginia squad gave everything TCU could handle two weeks ago, and the Horned Frogs needed a 37-yard field goal as time expired to win 31-30.
With that being said, how can TCU really be ranked ahead of Baylor? It’ll be very interesting to see where these two land in the rankings come Tuesday.
Big 10:
The Big 10 successfully drove the final nail in its own “College Football Playoff” coffin. With No. 14 Ohio State’s 49-37 shellacking of No. 8 Michigan State, the B1G ended any hopes they had for dancing in the playoffs. While the Buckeyes are 8-1, their one loss came early in the season against a Virgina Tech team that’s currently 4-5. That’s just not going to cut it come selection time. Better luck next year B1G.
ACC:
Let’s be honest, there’s only one team that matters in the ACC. No. 2 Florida State. Jameis Winston and the Seminoles might be 9-0, but they’re hardly the juggernaut that they were last season. In all reality Florida State has really yet to have a “wow” performance all season. Many of the pundits have mentioned the Seminoles’ “resiliency” as the team’s strong point. Really? Maybe it’s just me, but I haven’t been the least bit impressed with Florida State. The Seminoles had to rally back from 21 points down to beat Louisville a couple of weeks ago, and they’ve trailed by at least 17 points heading into the fourth quarter in three different games this season.
It’s not like Winston and Co. have been playing against top tier competition. Their only victory against a team currently in the top 25 came against Notre Dame in a 31-27 thriller that was ultimately decided on a controversial call; it was really the only victory that Florida State could really hang its hat on… Notre Dame just got blown out 55-31 against Arizona State.
Final Thoughts:
Four teams in the top 10 went down; nobody is safe. We saw a mediocre Texas A&M team take down a No. 3 Auburn team that was thought to be a perennial power. In addition to that, No. 7 Kansas State, No. 8 Michigan State, and No. 10 Notre Dame also went down Saturday.
The Associated Press just released its poll (seen here: AP Poll) and the teams in the 3-8 slots each have one loss. Both of the undefeated teams No. 1 Mississippi and No.2 Florida State face major challenges next weekend as Miss State travels to Tuscaloosa to take on No.4 Alabama, and the Seminoles travel to Miami to take on a hot Hurricanes team. So this next week could have another shakeup in the top 10.
As the season unwinds there are sure to be a couple more major upsets that nobody saw coming and the playoff picture will slowly come into focus. With Oregon on a bye next week, be sure to find a comfy couch and some good friends (maybe some adult beverages) to watch all the other action that takes place throughout the country.
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Tyler graduated from the University of Oregon’s journalism program back in the spring of 2010. Tyler has loved the Ducks since the days of his youth, and that love has only grown as he’s gotten older. Outside of Oregon football Tyler dives deep into Major League Baseball every year, and considers himself to be a baseball historian of sorts. He also has a Black Labrador named “Page” after Jimmy Page of the mighty Led Zeppelin. In his spare time he enjoys fishing, golfing, and snowboarding even if his skills are questionable at best in those areas.