Clemson in the crosshairs

The slate was fairly barren last week, which naturally meant there were a couple of big upsets. Florida State’s crazy loss to Georgia Tech certainly came out of nowhere, but it was indicative of how the Seminoles had played this season. FSU was primed for defeat; it was simply a matter of when. Elsewhere, Utah and Cal both got clobbered by Pac-12 opponents with inferior records but superior pedigrees, demonstrating why people thought the L.A. schools could be special this year.

The logjam atop the Big 12 continues, though Baylor may be doomed with the loss of quarterback Seth Russell to season-ending neck surgery. It’s a shame to see the Bears robbed of their point man, without whom it’s hard to see them making a legitimate run. I still have my eye on Oklahoma, who blew that Texas game but should be undefeated.

There was a pair of wild four-overtime games, as Duke topped Virginia Tech and Arkansas outlasted Auburn. Texas A&M was fully exposed versus Ole Miss after experiencing a taste last week against Alabama, while Washington State moved to a surprising 5-2 overall (and 3-1 in conference play) with a win at Arizona.

This week the midseason doldrums continue, starting with a glut of so-so games Thursday night. USC is at Cal in a semi-meaningful meeting between mid-tier Pac-12 squads, Georgia and Florida meet with the SEC East on the line and, in a sentence I can’t believe I’m writing, Notre Dame meets Temple with both teams ranked. The nightcap should be a good one, with Stanford and WSU squaring off for first place in the North.

Playoff Poll

Utah’s reign atop my poll lasted but one sweet week, though I don’t regret putting the Utes there. They were the most deserving team until last Saturday and could still challenge for the Playoff with one loss (not that I foresee that happening).

First Tier

Ohio State/Michigan State

Clemson

LSU

TCU

We’re back here again, with the Big Ten favorites still frustratingly looking like the best teams despite not playing much like it. Baylor, minus its QB, now occupies a different position than TCU.

Second Tier

Alabama

Stanford

Baylor

I’ll pay the Bears some respect here, but I just don’t see them winning out with a freshman backup QB. Alabama and Stanford are scary.

Third Tier

Notre Dame

Utah

Florida State

Oklahoma State

Memphis/Houston/Temple

One of the Notre Dame – Temple duo will be eliminated this week, while Utah and FSU barely hang on after embarrassing defeats – Utah due to blowout, FSU due to opponent – and Oklahoma State lurks.

Pac-12 Thoughts

I wrote that I wouldn’t be surprised if UCLA beat Cal given the amount of talent on the Bruins’ roster and look what happened. For the first time since trouncing a couple of bad non-conference foes, UCLA looked like a quality team. USC did the exact same, thrashing Utah to prove that perhaps all that preseason hype was warranted.

We shouldn’t be shocked. This is what the L.A. schools do, time and time again. It’s why analysts fall in love with them and predict conference titles and national championships. Both games were at home, at night, and against teams with a decided talent gap (yes, even Utah at USC). We’ll see if they can maintain that level of play the rest of the year; history has shown they won’t.

Stanford handled Washington with relative ease, putting to bed the “Husky problem” the Cardinal seemed to have. It took until the final minute, but Colorado got that Pac-12 win, firmly securing Oregon State’s place in the league’s gutter. However, the biggest game of the week in my mind was WSU’s victory at Arizona.

The Cougars dominated the first half and should have led by a lot more, then had to hang on as the Wildcats switched QB’s and nearly made a comeback. But hang on they did, and now WSU sits at 5-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Were it not for a silly collapse against Portland State in the opener and a near-miss against Cal to open conference play, the Cougs could be in the top five. They really should be undefeated right now. I don’t know if this is a sign for the future, because the team will probably lose to Stanford this week. But it’s definitely exciting for a program that has seen precious little success in the past decade.

This week we get started on Thursday with Oregon at Arizona State. These team have had some fun games in the last several meetings, though the Sun Devils haven’t won since 2004 and the teams haven’t played the past two seasons. This will be a very interesting game, as neither side can afford another loss and both teams can give each other problems. ASU should be able to pick apart the Ducks’ poor pass defense, but UO is traditionally pretty good at stopping the kind of run-pass faux-spread stuff the Sun Devils like to run. It’s hard to imagine the Duck’s ground game getting slowed too much, so this might be a shootout.

I fear the writing is on the wall for Cal. Though the Bears are back at home, the back-to-back battles with their southern California rivals might prove too difficult a challenge to overcome. USC looked great last week and might finally be on track after a tumultuous first half of the season; Cal might have gotten exposed against UCLA. I think the Trojans will score a lot on this defense and it’ll be up to the Bears’ attack to try and keep up.

Congratulations to Colorado, but don’t expect a repeat at UCLA this week. The Buffaloes actually didn’t play all that well against the Beavers, and while the Bruins aren’t the elite unit some believed at the beginning of the year, they’re hardly Oregon State. As for the Beavs, you couldn’t have picked a worse candidate for them to play their next game against: a Utah squad angry at losing a shot at an undefeated season.

Arizona is at Washington for a battle of a couple of pretty evenly matched teams. I’m interested to see how the Wildcats respond to losing at home to Wazzu. The Huskies aren’t bad, despite their record, and are in an important show-me game after two losses following the USC upset. However, the other nightcap is the really intriguing one.

Topping Stanford would be monumental for the WSU program. It’s probably asking too much; the Cardinal have looked outstanding for a month and have a definite talent edge. There’s a reason they’re favored by two touchdowns on the road. But this Cougs team seems different, with a grittier edge than past versions that have wilted under pressure. Strange things happen on the Palouse at night. Wazzu has a shot.

Heisman Watch

At this point it seems pointless to list several candidates. The award is Leonard Fournette’s to lose, and unless the LSU running back starts to really fall off in the second half of the year, the national perception of his ability will carry him to a runaway victory. No, a receiver from Baylor is not going to win the Heisman. Stop.

Random Thoughts and Observations

It appears Iowa is going to cruise through the Big Ten West, which sounds ridiculous, but look at the standings. The Hawkeyes are 7-0, 3-0 in league play, with all three wins coming against the next three teams below them in the standings. Their remaining schedule (and overall schedule) is a joke: the bottom three teams in their own division and the bottom two in the East, which have a combined conference record of 2-15. Iowa could go 12-0 and not play a team in the top 25.

With FSU’s loss to Georgia Tech, the ACC’s playoff hopes are down to just Clemson. I doubt the committee thinks highly enough of the league to admit an ACC champion with a loss, so all eyes will be on the Tigers-Seminoles next weekend – which makes Clemson’s trip to North Carolina State this week even more of a trap game. Clemson has been known in the past for slipups like this, and Raleigh has hosted its share of upsets over the years.

2015 Stanzi Awards

It was another disappointingly slow week for the Stanzis. The saving grace was Toledo’s Philip Ely and Idaho’s Matt Linehan, who both added a second weekly award to their respective resumes as they attempt to catch up to leader Mason Rudolph of Okie State.

Week Eight Awards

Justin Thomas, Georgia Tech

Opponent: Florida State

Performance: Two INT, won by six

Philip Ely, Toledo

Opponent: Massachusetts

Performance: Three INT, won by 16

Lamar Jackson, Louisville

Opponent: Boston College

Performance: Two INT, won by three

Bart Houston, Wisconsin

Opponent: Illinois

Performance: Two INT, won by 11

Matt Linehan, Idaho

Opponent: Louisiana-Monroe

Performance: One INT, Two FUM, won by 14

2015 Standings

Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State: 3

Jeremy Johnson, Auburn: 2

Matt Linehan, Idaho: 2

Mitch Leidner, Minnesota: 2

P.J. Walker, Temple: 2

Clayton Thorson, Northwestern: 2

Philip Ely, Toledo: 2

A.J. Schurr, Army: 1

Travis Wilson, Utah: 1

Hayden Moore, Cincinnati: 1

Justin Thomas, Georgia Tech: 1

Trevone Boykin, TCU: 1

Johnny McCrary, Vanderbilt: 1

Lamar Jackson, Louisville: 1

Josh Rosen, UCLA: 1

Patrick Towles, Kentucky: 1

Dane Evans, Tulsa: 1

Chad Kelly, Ole Miss: 1

Jeff Driskel, Louisiana Tech: 1

Matt Johns, Virginia: 1

Chris Laviano, Rutgers: 1

Jaquez Johnson, Florida Atlantic: 1

Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma: 1

Chase Litton, Marshall: 1

Deshaun Watson, Clemson: 1

Quinton Flowers, USF: 1

Cody Clements, South Alabama: 1

Kendall Hinton, Wake Forest: 1

Jake Coker, Alabama: 1

Patrick Mahomes, Texas Tech: 1

Max Wittek: Hawai’i: 1

Maty Mauk: Missouri: 1

Michael Birdsong, Marshall: 1

Bart Houston, Wisconsin: 1

Tanner Mangum, BYU: 1

Thomas Sirk, Duke: 1