To eat and to watch football

The carousel of madness spins on! Ejected for not maintaining a tight enough grip were Oregon, Baylor and Texas A&M. The beneficiaries? Ohio State, maybe? The Buckeyes were already third in the BCS, but had to breathe a sigh of relief from the result in Stillwater (and honestly, the one in Tucson as well). Aside from that, no one at the top of polls really came out as a winner Saturday. Auburn and Missouri will both get their chance on the field so the rankings are irrelevant, while Oklahoma State is likely too far out to make a legitimate late move. However, the status quo holding steady does not diminish the excitement from the weekend’s action.

There was some mildly entertaining midweek MACtion before UCF all but sewed up the AAC’s BCS berth with a blowout of Rutgers on Thursday. Then Navy emerged victorious from a triple-overtime war with San Jose State and we were off and running. Michigan State clinched the Legends Division with a stomping of Northwestern while Duke moved within one win of doing the same in the ACC Coastal. There was also the hilarious Hawai’i – Wyoming shootout, which featured 13 touchdown passes but ended on an OT field goal. Arizona State clinched the Pac-12 South win a solid win over UCLA, while the Mountain West race became very interesting with Boise State’s loss to San Diego State.

Then there were the ugly ones. Oregon should feel grateful to Texas A&M and Baylor, as the Ducks’ meltdown in Tucson was overshadowed by more high-profile flameouts from their Texas counterparts. A&M was embarrassed by LSU for the second straight season and Baylor finally saw a Big 12 team capable of playing defense. All three offense-focused teams saw their attacks stall out in one form or another and went down to ignominious defeat. Yet despite the frustrating nature of those losses, all three teams could also take solace in the fact that at least they weren’t Florida.

The Gators lost to FCS foe Georgia Southern in what could go down as the worst defeat to a lower-division opponent in history. People point to the Appalachian State – Michigan upset, but what’s forgotten about that game is that App State was a brilliant lower-level team (with future NFL players) in the middle of an FCS National Championship threepeat. Georgia Southern is a middling squad in its own conference (4-4 in the Southern). But the dagger is in the box score: 429 rushing yards, zero passing yards. The Eagles went a mere 0-3 passing and were content to pound the Gators on the ground for more than 400 yards and four TD’s. That’s what makes this the most shocking – and worst – FCS loss. It could cost Will Muschamp his job and it probably should.

We’re now down to the meat of the rivalry games and the end of the conference races. Several championship games have already been set, but a fair amount are still up for grabs. Duke, Miami (FL), Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are all mathematically alive for the ACC Coastal. Both SEC divisions will be decided this week, as will both divisions of Conference USA, the MAC East and the Mountain West’s Mountain division. Several of these games will be played the day after Thanksgiving, and that’s before we even get to the symbolic significance of all the rivalry games being played this week.

There’s Texas Tech – Texas (sadly replacing the traditional Thanksgiving Lone Star Showdown), the Egg Bowl, SMU – Houston, The Battle for the Golden Boot, the Apple Cup, the Civil War, Florida – Florida State, South Florida – Central Florida, Ohio State – Michigan, the Iron Bowl, Georgia – Georgia Tech (AKA Clean, Old Fashioned Hate), the Commonwealth Cup, the Battle for L.A., the Territorial Cup, the Battle for the Palmetto State and the Rumble in the Rockies. That’s a whole lot of must-see football.

Top 25

1) Florida State

Despite committing the karmic sin of dropping 80 on an overmatched opponent like Idaho, FSU retains my top spot. The Seminoles are the most dominant team in college football. I think it’ll be a push when they face Alabama, but for all this team has accomplished and how they've looked doing it I’d have to be crazy to not make them number one. That would change if ‘Bama convincingly beats Auburn, but until that happens FSU cannot be touched. About the off-field incident… see below.

2) Alabama

Overall Alabama’s body of work is stronger than FSU’s, but the big wins aren’t nearly as sexy as the ‘Noles’. Virginia Tech and Texas A&M have been disappointments and LSU isn’t exactly what it was the past couple of years. As I said, the scale would finally tip toward ‘Bama with an impressive win in the Iron Bowl, so let’s hold judgment until we see what happens. I do expect the Crimson Tide to win. Good though Auburn has been, the Tigers have gotten a little lucky this year.

3) Ohio State

The train of terror continues to rumble through the Big Ten, plowing aside all challengers. OSU hasn’t faced a legitimate opponent in two months, so the undefeated record is hardly surprising. Michigan likely won’t provide much more than a speed bump either. It’s fair to look ahead to the championship game now that Michigan State has clinched. It’s going to be a great matchup: all of the Buckeyes’ weapons against the unyielding force that is the Spartans’ defense. OSU should win, but you can never count out a team that plays D on the level of MSU.

4) Missouri

To be honest, there’s not a true marquee win here. Georgia was already pretty banged-up when the Tigers went to Athens and Ole Miss has proved to be up-and-down. However, Mizzou gets points for quality of defeat (three, in OT, to South Carolina) and the SEC’s overall strength. That ranking will obviously be tested against Texas A&M in the finale. The Aggies will be rather angry after the pounding they took from LSU and the Tigers’ QB situation is… confusing. Maty Mauk and James Franklin has both been great, who do you choose?

5) Oklahoma State

The Cowboys were the biggest winner this week based on their own performance (unlike Ohio State). As I’d alluded to the past month, I was in the camp that suspected Okie State might still be the best team in the Big 12, even with the hiccup at West Virginia. Wonder no more, OSU is for real. A date with Oklahoma stands in the way of another conference title, but with how inconsistent the Sooners have been this year I expect the Cowboys to win Bedlam and reclaim that trophy.

6) Clemson

You don’t get much credit for beating Citadel. How about South Carolina? The Tigers haven’t bested their in-state rivals since 2009. The ACC could really use this shot in the arm and Clemson is still nearly guaranteed of a BCS appearance with a win. Another loss to the Gamecocks and you can bet voters would think hard about rewarding a team that hasn’t really beaten anyone since the opener with Georgia. Pride AND a reward ought to be enough, but this team has struggled with Carolina in the past.

7) Auburn

Auburn is a good team and clearly much improved from the start of the season. But it’s weeks like this that make me overjoyed for the end of the BCS. Computers can’t take into account the luck Auburn got against Georgia. Humans should know better. As good as the Tigers have been their reputation is based solely on a single win – Texas A&M – that has now been revealed as less than impressive. All of the hypotheticals about the Iron Bowl need to stop. Alabama is going to win.

8) Stanford

The Cardinal expected to go out Saturday and win an easy game with Cal and ended up getting a lot more. Thanks to Oregon returning the favor of an upset, Stanford is back in the Pac-12 title game and will get Arizona State, a team it hammered earlier in the year. Things will be different regardless of where the rematch is played, but the Cardinal have to like this opponent. Notre Dame is the final regular-season foe, though that has no impact on the conference race. I’d expect Stanford to want payback after last season, anyway.

9) South Carolina

Both Clemson and Carolina took the week off against FCS teams before their rivalry game, so the sides should be rested and ready for war Saturday evening. I’ve said all season I think SC has the Tigers’ number and I won’t back down from that position now. Clemson has looked better overall, but that was true in the past and I’m done getting burned in this game. The Gamecocks are at home and should have all the confidence in the world that they can get yet another one on their rivals.

10) Michigan State

It’s fun to watch an angry MSU defense. The Spartans, stung by allowing four TD’s the previous week to Nebraska, made it their business to extend Northwestern’s misery another week, stuffing the Wildcats at every turn en route to a 30-6 win. The division has been clinched, but don’t think this squad will relax against Minnesota this week. I believe MSU not only wants to knock out Ohio State, they want to be on a roll when they do it. A close loss to Notre Dame is the only blemish on what has otherwise been a fantastic year.

11) Baylor

The Bears finally had “that game” everyone was expecting. The offense was shut down, the defense looked poor and the wheels came off the whole operation. It’s not a shocking loss; at some point, the offense was going to have a bad day, and the defense was never elite to begin with. Baylor is still a quality team – they should beat Texas – and can make a BCS game, although I doubt a second Big 12 team really deserves one. TCU is sort of a given, although the Horned Frogs’ defense is formidable.

12) Oregon

It’s been five years since an Oregon team was blown out and the shocked looks on the players’ faces told the story. The Ducks actually outgained the Wildcats, which is incredible given the margin of victory, but this was a textbook example of how to lose a game. Turnovers, an inability to score in the red zone and penalties all factored into the loss. With Oregon State on deck, UO has to win to avoid falling even further in the bowl pecking order. The Alamo and Holiday are usually fine prizes, but for this team they feel like complete failure.

13) UCF

The Knights did what Louisville could not, putting away Rutgers convincingly to move to 6-0 in league play. Winning either of the final two games should clinch the American’s BCS bid, though there’s still danger from the Cincinnati team UCF missed this season. Considering this week’s matchup is South Florida, it’s probably safe to say the Knights are in. The AAC may only have an automatic berth for one season, but this team has clearly made the most of the opportunity.

14) Arizona State

I’d like to reward the Sun Devils even more for clinching the South, but I’ve seen Bad ASU along with Good ASU. As such, I remain hesitant to fully commit to this squad. A win over Arizona would move ASU to 10-2, which is pretty impressive considering the difficulty of the schedule. If the Sun Devils do in fact get Stanford at home for the Pac-12 title the result could be very different from the first meeting. It’s not as if the Cardinal have been particularly consistent this season, either.

15) Wisconsin

Just below ASU is the team they “beat,” in September, and unfortunately that game is now proving to be a bit of a problem. Wisconsin would be a virtual shoo-in for a BCS game at 11-1, but with two losses and the weakness of the Big Ten undermining them the Badgers are in a tough position. Michigan State’s rise has also thrown a wrench into Wisconsin’s plans: even with a loss to Ohio State, MSU would be more deserving of a BCS bid. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

16) LSU

Although the Tigers have been all over the place the past month I wasn’t particularly shocked by Saturday’s result. LSU played A&M better than anyone but Florida last season and continued that trend with aplomb. The defense allowed Johnny Manziel to beat himself by turning his aggressiveness into a fatal flaw and the offense capitalized on the Aggies’ atrocious efforts to power to an easy win. A three-loss campaign sounds bad for LSU, but considering two of them were by three points I think the year has actually been fairly successful.

17) USC

No surprise. The Trojans won their fifth straight and moved in position to backdoor their way into the Pac-12 Championship… only to see UCLA fall to ASU, assuring the Sun Devils the division title. USC can still finish second in the South with a win over UCLA this week and will certainly want to avenge last season’s loss to the Bruins that sent their rivals to the title game. SC’s turnaround has become one of the best stories of the year and I think the team will cap it off with a win this week.

18) Fresno State

Fresno has clinched the West, but the Bulldogs are obviously looking for more. San Jose State shouldn’t be too much trouble, so now the focus shifts to the Mountain West title game. Boise State surprisingly lost to San Diego State, which could pit Fresno against Chuckie Keeton-less Utah State in a potentially walkover. I believe Fresno is the more deserving of the two mid-majors vying for a BCS berth, though NIU is currently ahead in the computer standings. It would be a shame if this team got left out.

19) Louisville

Gulp. Another tight win against a bad opponent. Louisville has done itself no favors by continuing to scrape by against the likes of Memphis. This is a good team and it’s surprising to see the Cardinals struggle so much to pull away from opponents they should be dominating. Perhaps that explains why UCF, not Louisville, is leading the American right now. Based on 2013’s results, this program might experience buyer’s remorse in a few years over the move to the ACC. It hasn’t looked pretty for Pitt and Syracuse.

20) Oklahoma

It wasn’t easy against K-State, but the win was on the road and it was by double digits so I suppose that’ll have to do. The Sooners can still ruin Oklahoma State’s dreams and force a tie for the conference title in the Bedlam Game, though with their losses to Texas and Baylor there’s no chance for a BCS bid. Given that the Cowboys host the rivalry game anyway, I doubt there’s much of a chance, but stranger things have happened in the Big 12. I rag on Bob Stoops sometimes, but passing Barry Switzer on the OU all-time wins list is a big deal.

21) Northern Illinois

Toledo is pretty good, so a comfortable road win is a feather in NIU’s cap. Let’s be honest: most of the regular-season schedule posed little threat to this team. It’s the MAC Championship we’re interested in, against the winner of the Bowling Green – Buffalo contest. The Huskies are quite good, but wild things tend to happen in the MAC title game, something NIU is rather familiar with. I predicted as much in the summer when I said BGSU would upset this team in Detroit. That scenario is still in play.

22) Texas A&M

Woof. I thought LSU could beat the Aggies, but I wasn’t expecting anything like that. All of A&M’s flaws were on full display in Baton Rouge: the lack of a running game, the ineffective downfield passing, the sieve-like D. This team is always a threat to explode offensively, but the strangely underreported truth is that outside of a turnover-aided flurry against Alabama in Week Two aTm hasn’t had any success against quality defenses. Mizzou qualifies. We’ll see what the Aggies can do this week.

23) UCLA

The blowout UCLA had to come back from was deceptive because of the turnovers the Bruins gave ASU, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Sun Devils largely looked in control. Many of the things I worried about earlier in the season were quite evident as UCLA struggled to keep the offense two-dimensional and allowed ASU to complete far too many passes with ease. This is still a good team, but it’s a flawed one, as results from conference play have shown. The showdown with USC ought to be very interesting.

24) Duke

Moment of truth: if the Blue Devils can beat North Carolina in Chapel Hill, they’ll do the unthinkable and win the ACC Coastal. That would set up a game with sure-to-be heavily-favored Florida State. For anyone that’s followed college football, the idea of Duke winning the ACC in football is downright laughable. Nine wins already make this season a smashing success for the Dukies; a division title (or… a conference title) would make it extraordinary. This team doesn’t do anything great but does a lot of things well.

25) Notre Dame

It was tough to find a worthy team for the last spot, but with a gritty win over BYU the Fighting Irish deserve a look. The losses don’t seem great any longer, but wins over Michigan State, ASU and USC (wow, really?) make Notre Dame a respectable squad. In that regard it’s been very strange season to watch for the Irish. High-quality efforts like the ones against the Pac-12 schools make the games against Pitt and Michigan all the more confusing. The team gets another chance to prove itself this week versus Stanford.

Pac-12 Report

As I said before, Oregon actually outgained Arizona but still managed to lose by 26 points. It never really felt as if the Ducks were in the game, even when they were moving the ball effectively. 9-2 is far from a lost season, but if that’s the way this team is going to show up (or fail to) even Oregon State could be a threat. It’s true that Marcus Mariota’s injury has somewhat hampered the offense, but Oregon is simply better than the way it’s been playing over the past month. On the other sideline, it’s hard to say ‘Zona “saved” its season given that the Wildcats lost to WSU just a week prior, but this was no doubt an important building block for the future of Rich Rodriguez’s program. With another year or two it’s not hard to see UA competing for the South title.

The most exciting news of the day (unless you’re a Stanford fan) was WSU backing up that upset of Arizona with a win over Utah to reach bowl eligibility for the first time since 2003. The long-suffering Cougars were up and down this season but managed to pull it off in Mike Leach’s second season. This is good for the Pac-12. As for Utah, well, the QB issues continue. The Utes haven’t finished a season with the same QB who started it since 2008. Not coincidentally, Utah went 13-0 that year. However, the problems are wider-ranging than simply QB health; Utah has had a difficult time adjusting to the increased competitiveness of a major conference and needs a couple more seasons to truly become an AQ-level school. It’s unfortunate, but it’s the truth.

Stanford took care of business against Cal fairly quickly, mercifully ending the Golden Bears’ season of torment and reclaiming the division title. There’s not much to say about Cal – the program has talent deficiencies across the board AND was hit by a wave of injuries – so let’s just assume things can only get better in Berkeley. Stanford’s exhibition with Notre Dame this week is now pretty meaningless, but the Cardinal would do well to remember the Pac-12 teams the Irish have already defeated this year. Stanford is certainly the better team and should win, especially if the Cardinal have revenge on their minds.

The game of the week was the South showdown between Arizona State and UCLA, which saw ASU capitalize on a slew of early miscues to take a big lead only to hold their breath as the Bruins came storming back. In the end the Sun Devils prevailed and claimed the division title, another impressive step for the program in Todd Graham’s second season. The rematch with Stanford will really be something to see. UCLA players can’t afford to hang their heads with USC up next. Bowl pecking order in still important and the Trojans are hot right now.

It was only Colorado, but give credit to USC for coming out swinging and putting the Buffaloes away fast. The South title was a little bit of a pipe dream anyway, but the Trojans should still be motivated to take out their rivals this week and extend the winning streak to six games. Getting to ten wins after everything that’s happened this year in L.A. would be an amazing accomplishment. CU had its slight bowl dreams dashed but can still reach 5-7 with a win over Utah this week. Yes, two of the wins would be over FCS schools and yes, the Buffs wouldn’t have actually beaten anyone of note. Considering where the program has been, though, five wins would be like a Rose Bowl. The first step for this team was to become competitive again and it has done that this season.

Washington at Oregon State was the nightcap and the Beavers continued their free-fall by getting smoked in their home finale. UW was the better team and was probably playing for the pride of not having another seven-win season, but what happened at Reser was just embarrassing. OSU’s early win streak has been revealed for what it really was and the truth behind the curtain isn’t pretty. The Beavs can take solace in the fact that Oregon is also playing bad football right now, but let’s be honest: a .500 finish is overwhelmingly likely. The Huskies, on the other hand, may have rejuvenated their season with the blowout and taken some of the heat off Steve Sarkisian. Just like in 2012, the team is 7-4 going into the Apple Cup and could reach nine wins with a couple more performances like the one Saturday night.

Next week features all the major rivalry games (except Stanford, though Notre Dame is kind of a rivalry). Friday features the Apple Cup and the Civil War, while Saturday has the Rumble in the Rockies, the Battle for L.A., the Territorial Cup and the aforementioned Stanford – Notre Dame tilt. (Side note: although UCLA – USC has traditionally been called the “Battle for the Victory Bell”, I much prefer the more contemporary “Battle for L.A.”) As far as winners go, rivalry games can be tricky – see last year’s Apple Cup – and it’s not easy to predict how much emotion will carry the day.

Washington should win the Apple Cup because the Huskies have more to play for. While the winner will get the better bowl regardless, Wazzu is (likely) thrilled to just reach bowl eligibility again. UW needs to rise above the seven-win ceiling and should be angry about last year’s loss, when the Huskies led by 18 at the start of the fourth quarter and melted down in spectacular fashion. Washington is also simply the better team, as WSU has only recently pulled itself out of the Pac-12 cellar.

Without question Oregon should win the Civil War. For all the frustration the Ducks have dealt with the past month, there’s no denying OSU has been much worse. The Beavers are on a four-game losing streak and haven’t been competitive in their last three games. UO has the weapons and scheme to break down OSU defensively, as they’ve shown in the past, as well as the secondary to match up with the Beavs’ air attack. The pass rush has been a concern of late, but make no mistake – this is still a stronger D than the ones OSU beat up on during that hot streak. Barring another awful performance, Oregon should win

I think Utah is a more talented team top-to-bottom than Colorado, but the Utes’ injury issues and recent struggles make me very tentative to pick them in this rekindled rivalry. CU has improved a great deal this season and played several teams more competitively than was expected. At first glance, I did want to take the Buffaloes in this game. However, after more consideration I’ll go with Utah. The Utes still have a lot of talent on the lines I don’t think CU can match and get the Buffs at home in a fierce environment for their new starting QB Sefo Liufau.

I’ve already said Stanford should be able to take care of Notre Dame, so on to UCLA and USC. This rivalry, easily the most overrated on the West Coast, can nevertheless make a return to prominence if the Bruins do their part by continuing to stay relevant at the same time as the Trojans. Early in the season it appeared UCLA would win this game by a big margin but things have changed quite dramatically since that time. Now it’s the Trojans who are the talk of the town and rolling to impressive wins. I’ve had a pretty good sense of where the Bruins are all season, picking their losses successfully, so I think I can do it again. USC completes the turnaround and wins.

And finally… the Territorial Cup, which has supplanted Oregon – Washington as the nastiest rivalry on the West Coast. The Wildcats aren’t in any position to ruin ASU’s season with a win, but they could make the Pac-12 Championship much more difficult for their rivals by denying them home-field advantage against Stanford. ASU has rebounded from a couple of uninspiring wins to rise all the way to the conference title game and would surely like to rub it in UA’s face while doing so. ‘Zona will be brimming with confidence after the Oregon game, but the Sun Devils have been really good this season and I don’t think they’ll let the chance for home-field slip away. ASU wins.

Heisman Watch

The Heisman race got absolutely bizarre last week. Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel effectively played themselves out of the award with poor performances, which should have meant FSU’s Jameis Winston would be the runaway winner of college football’s most prestigious honor. However, the black cloud hanging over Winston’s sexual assault allegations makes this a very difficult situation. It seems increasingly likely that Winston will be charged, which certainly doesn’t prove his guilt but would make him almost untouchable for most voters. From a purely football standpoint, it’s sad that this has ruined what should have been the feel-good story of the year. For those reasons, I think it’s now quite possible that that award will go to Alabama’s A.J. McCarron, who has quietly put up excellent numbers for the nation’s top team and doesn’t have any of the on- or off-field black marks the other players have.

Random Thoughts and Observations

Before I get to the Stanzi’s, I just have to ask: has any player ever had more rotten luck than Georgia QB Aaron Murray? Not in recent memory. The poor guy will go down as one of the best QB’s in the history of the SEC but dealt with critics who contended he couldn’t win the big game. In his senior season, he finally broke though on that front only to see his offense shattered by catastrophic injury after catastrophic injury. Two weeks ago he led his team back from a massive deficit against rival Auburn only to lose on one of this generation’s defining impossible plays. Finally, he succumbed to the injury curse himself, tearing knee ligaments in a blowout win over Kentucky on Saturday. Murray might still go on to a nice pro career, but his time as a Bulldog was improbably, comically snake-bitten.

The final week of the regular season is here, which means it’s time to put up for all those Stanzi hopefuls out there. There’s still the possibility of a late surge from a QB playing next week, but with most of the biggest rivalry games happening over the Thanksgiving weekend the award will likely be decided sooner. With that in mind, here are this week’s winners and the (short) list of multi-week finalists:

Jake Rudock, Iowa

Opponent: Michigan

Performance: Three INT (one for TD), led team back from 14-point halftime deficit

Nathan Scheelhaase, Illinois

Opponent: Purdue

Permformance: Two INT (both in red zone), led two late drives for winning FG’s

2013 Stanzi Awards Finalists

Devin Gardner, Michigan: 2

Keith Wenning, Ball State: 2

Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M: 2

Does Gardner have one more big turnover-fest in him? Can Manziel play his team both in and out of another game? Or will Wenning, the mid-major underdog, have something to say? All three will be in action this week.

With all the negativity coming out of Tallahassee, it’s great to see something lighthearted from the state of Florida. Gators fans have been understandably upset at the disastrous way Florida’s season has unfolded, but even they couldn’t resist laughing (if only in agony) at this hilarious moment that encapsulates everything that’s gone wrong for their team in 2013: teammates Quinton Dunbar and Jonotthan Harrison blocking each other during an otherwise successful play for the Gators. This video has exploded on the internet for good reason, though I’m partial to SBNation’s write-up, which also makes note of the poor Georgia Southern defender who tripped over himself at the goal line. Sometimes it’s good to remember how entertaining this game can be in more unconventional ways.