College Football Week 6 recap

This was the funnest weekend college football has seen in my memory. With five teams in the top 8 dropping games, it was also the most upset filled week in the history of the AP poll. Now that the dust has settled, we are left with a slim group of unbeatens left standing, and plenty of amazing games and moments to charge into the next half of the season. I've provided my personal three takeaways from this weekend, in vaguely ranked importance.

Dak Prescott had a day for himself, with 5 TD's in a
rout of the Aggies. 

Most importantly, this will not be a season where being undefeated is a necessary qualification for playoff football. Thank God in his heaven. Perhaps one of the happier states outside of Mississippi on Saturday night was actually Oregon. After a disappointing egg laying by the Ducks (sorry) against an unranked Arizona team (again?!) Mariota and co. must have counted themselves out for yet another season. Another season where they don't run the table, another season where they don't contend for a national championship, another season… oh wait. With Oregon, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M all in the playoff conversation before this weekend, can we really cross them all off the list after losses? We can't, is the answer. Thankfully then, this year we'll have some outstanding one loss teams. I truly believe that those four top 6 teams that lost this weekend should remain in the playoff conversation as the season progresses, which is good for college football. So many strong teams dropped good games that we can eliminate exactly no one from the conversation, especially by the end of the season.

We're still talking about the Ducks, who enjoyed watching
Saturday: The Pac 12's last hope. 

Which brings me to my next important point; This weekend, while providing some fun highlight reel moments, (and some ridiculous stats, including a D1 game passing record from Washington St's Connor Halliday with 734 yards through the air… in a loss) also set up some humongous games in the upcoming weeks. Of particular note are Auburn at Miss St. (next weekend), then Auburn at Ole Miss, Notre Dame at Florida St, another matchup which will cull the ranks of the unvanquished. At this point, there won't be all too many. Baylor at Oklahoma on November 8th will decide the Big 12, and as of yesterday Baylor is in the fourth playoff spot. But again, what's so great about this weekend is that so many good teams lost that none of them are out of the conversation. These are some great match ups.

How many Division one records are set in a loss? 

and Auburn vs Texas A&M. A season ending Auburn at Alabama Iron Bowl could well be for all the marbles, depending on how this season unfolds. Here's hoping... After those first two games for Auburn, there will by necessity only be one undefeated team left of those three SEC teams, unless Auburn loses both games, in which case we have an amazing rivalry game on our hands. The perennial Miss St. Ole Miss at the end of the season would then become without a doubt the most important game in the history of the rivalry. The two teams from Mississippi have never been ranked in the top ten simultaneously, which is going to change in this week's AP poll. A non SEC game to keep on the radar will be

None of which are in the Pac 12. Oh, Pac 12. My once and future king, my favorite conference, my personal preseason pick, how you have let me down. You string me along, telling me this will be the season, a strong conference full of players who can read! I should have known then as I know now, it's simply too good to be true. I did in fact rank the Pac 12 as the strongest conference in college football before this season began, and boy do I look stupid now. In my defense, the computers agreed with me, and the SEC had lost just about every good quarterback it had (Prescott, you've taught me better by now, not to mention a little Nick Marshall laying a whupping on LSU). But the Pac 12 just isn't the conference it wants to be. Oregon can score and always has been able to, but they seem to be more effective at dropping 70 on FCS teams than winning important conference games. They talk a lot about making the next step, about contending for a national title, but they have to deal with upstart Wildcats run amok in their own conference first. Stanford is always a fundamentally coached football team with a top 5 defense, but quarterback play holds the Cardinal back, until Kevin Hogan learns to move his eyes a little for the love of God. (see below, they dropped a great game in Southbend, again.) 8th ranked UCLA lost an ugly game to the Utah Utes, and there's yet another Pac 12 team that talks a big national scene game but loses bad match ups. All these up and coming teams made me pick the Pac 12. I drank the koolaid. I figured this would be the year at least one of those three elite teams delivered on their promises. I can still remember UCLA coach Jim Mora, after good losses against great teams last year, angry as anything and going on about "there has to be a point where we start winning these big games, I don't care about looking good in a loss." Well, the Bruins haven't reached that point. Oh, and not to forget the fourth Pac 12 team we care about, the 16th Trojans coming in hot with a loss to Arizona State on a legendary Hail Mary. So not this year, for the conference. I was rooting for the West, I really, really was, but again they have disappointed their fans, which includes me. All told, top 25 Pac 12 teams went 0-4 this weekend, and that includes two top ten teams losing to unranked opponents. Not a good weekend, and because of it the conference probably won't send a team to the playoff.  

Destined to be a physical football game

(That was a great game against the Irish, by the way. In 35 degrees and pouring rain, it felt a lot like the battle of Helm's Deep, and Golson won it on 4th and 11 with under a minute remaining with a perfect touchdown pass to a wide open Ben Koyack, 17-14. Wet conditions (neither team ever really passed effectively) and great defense were the story in a physical and important football game, that has now gone a little overlooked in such a tumultuous weekend.)

So Mississippi can celebrate for a week, and ditto for Auburn fans, all of whom are sitting pretty at the top of the Sec West. But that conference will look a whole lot different in three weeks, with only one unbeaten remaining in all likelihood. The losers this week shouldn't be too bummed either. In short, the only fans who should bail on this season are fans of Brady Hoke, who's so gone it's not even funny. Michigan dropped to 2-4 with a truly atrocious showing against Rutgers, 24-26. Michigan sucks. But beyond that, there's a lot of great things happening in this sport. Here's to an awesome weekend in college football, and many more to come. Cheers.

College Football Storylines: Pac 12

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be going conference by conference to give you, dear reader, some collegiate material to chew on before this upcoming season. These are a few things in the Pac 12 that I think are important to note and watch for, in no particular order.

Oregon's offense: Marcus Mariota's Heisman campaign is officially underway, and with nine returning starters on offense we can again count on an absolutely prolific offensive showing from Oregon this year. Out of the backfield, it seems like we are constantly talking about Oregon running backs and their astonishing penchant for 200 yd games. This year, they are without Kenjon Barner from a couple of years ago and De'Anthony Thomas now a Kansas City Chief, but make no mistake. There are several men on this football team who are capable of making exactly the same impact as those two. The most obvious candidate to fill those ridiculously fast and agile shoes would be Byron Marshall. In his third season, he will be vying for the starting spot for the first time as a Duck, but last year proved himself more than capable, with over 1,000 yds rushed and 5 consecutive 100 yd games. That in particular suggests that he can play every Saturday. Another player to watch in Eugene this year is Thomas Tyner, the sophomore who in his debut season last year seemed to get better game by game. He averaged 6.2 yds per carry, scored nine touchdowns, and had a highlight reel 66 run against Washington St. to make a statement. Of course, the last two running backs for the Ducks were the rare sort of players that make an impact regardless of the opponent, but defensive coordinators of the Pac 12 might be forced to admit grudgingly that that sort of one-two combo might be the case again for Oregon. If it is, count on their averaging well north of 40 points per game, as last year's 45.5 would suggest. This should be as fun as it has always been.

Marcus Mariota will lead the Ducks to a probable playoff spot.

UCLA? The Pac 12 championship game is a relatively recent development, and so it's not outrageous that no team but Stanford and Oregon has ever won it. Still, because both of the best Pac 12 teams play in the North division, they cannot meet in the final, and so the rest of the conference is ensured a spot in the game. Coming out of the Pac 12 South, the obvious frontrunner to beat either one in the championship game would be UCLA, led by Brett Hundley. This team has top 10 potential this year according to many. I myself cannot bring myself to agree with that, simply because they have yet to prove themselves against a quality opponent. Last season, UCLA was the flavor of the week... for about a month. By week 8, they had climbed all the way to ninth in the AP top 25, an impressive feat of course for a team not traditionally up there. Everyone was talking about them as a national contender, but after two prompt losses to Stanford and Oregon, 24-10 and 42-14, respectively, they fell out of the spotlight. Until they start winning those sorts of games against top 10 opponents, they are not a true top 10 team. Still, watch for them to build on an overall strong season last year, a 9-3 bid that ended with a good bowl win over Virginia Tech. This team is trending the right way. Also remember the name Miles Jack, a sophomore linebacker and at times running back who will undoubtedly be on sportscenter at one point this season.

Brett Hundley can make a good run at the Heisman this year.

Some random notes, and teams to watch for:
Arizona St. lost 27 seniors last season, by far the most in the conference, so expect them to have an off year to rebuild. They are coming off a great season where it was in fact they who represented the south in the conference championship game, but won't be able to repeat that feat... Cal's defense can't get any worse...can it? Last season they allowed 529.6 yards per game and almost 46 points. That is of course the type of season that loses defensive coordinators their job, and the new Art Kauffman looks to turn things around on that side of the ball for the Golden Bears, who will also appreciate the return of a couple key players. These include defensive end Brennan Scarlett who has missed 17 months and tackle Mustafa Jalil. Those two, plus several junior college prospects, should mean a much improved defensive showing this season. Speaking of which, Oregon's defense will take a step back this year. Last year they were in fact extremely underrated, but with only five returning starters they will not be the same solid front they were last year. There are a couple of question marks here, but mainly up front as they wave goodbye to Wade Keliikipi, Taylor Hart and Ricky Heimuli, all of whom were important parts of a strong defensive unit... Washington is another team on the rise, coming off a respectable 9-4 season. The Huskies, seemingly out of nowhere, gave Stanford a hard time with a 31-28 loss, Oregon a decent 45-24 showing, and UCLA a great game at 41-31. Of course they aren't a great team until we start talking about great wins, but still these testify to the strength of an up and coming team. Watch the Huskies this year. There is something of a question mark at quarterback, and they have a new head coach, but with a solid core of 14 returning starters they can do as well as they did last season or better.

And some predictions:
Heisman watch list: Oregon's Marcus Mariota, UCLA's Brett Hundley, Washington's Cyler Miles, Stanford's Kevin Hogan, UCLA's LB/RB Miles Jack, Arizona State's Taylor Kelly
Sleeper pick: Washington
Conference champion: Oregon

College Football Conference Power Rankings

It may seem out of place to start talking about college football in early July, I'll grant. But with the NBA and NHL playoffs in the books and what looks to be a profoundly depressing second half for the Red Sox, I find myself inexplicably drawn to that tab at the top of the ESPN home page. Yes, NCAAF is less than two months away! I'll be posting with more regularity as thing heat up, about specific teams and specific story lines, but for starters it seems fitting to give an overview of the conferences this year. I've ranked them below.

The PAC 12: Call me a homer, but I have gone and unseated the SEC as my top conference. This is probably because defense is harder to measure, and the SEC is a defensive conference, so at a cursory glance (mine) the PAC 12 just looks way sexier. Seriously though, the offensive hijinks coming to us from the west coast this year should be nothing short of spectacular, as we have come to expect. Marcus Mariota (I know!) is coming off a remarkable run at a Heisman for a freshman, and the Ducks offense looks to dazzle. They are also looking to unseat a Stanford team that has now repeated as PAC 12 champs. Oregon playing Stanford at home on November 1 is already a game to keep in mind. Other fascinating material from this conference to keep an eye on is a finally legit Oregon State team, a Lane Kiffin-less USC, and Washington and UCLA (with Brett Hundley returning), both teams that are finally coming into their own. Don't forget about Arizona State either. There's simply a lot of great football to be played here, after a conference record 9 teams qualified for bowls. That's a great conference, from top to bottom.

Marcus Mariota didn't go anywhere

The SEC: I'm a little turned off on the SEC this year. I can name five great quarterbacks who graduated last year. AJ McCarron from Alabama, Aaron Murray from Georgia, Zach Mettenberger from LSU, Conner Shaw from South Carolina, and of course Johnny Manziel from Texas A&M. An SEC without quarterbacks (Nick Marshall will probably be the best quarterback in the conference next year, which is frankly kinda lame) is like ordering Moose Tracks ice cream and finding out there's no reese's cups in there. (This actually happened to me once- no further comment) It can still be enjoyable of course, but there's something missing, and that something proves to be an essential element. A great athletic quarterback provides the sole source of unpredictability, and frankly makes a game fun to watch. Defense has always ruled in the SEC, but now that will be exaggerated to such an extent that I can already predict a solid 12-3 win for the Crimson Tide over LSU this year. (Just for the record, definitely not a prediction. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.) So honestly I can't think of a single game that I am already looking forward to. Of course the Iron Bowl will be timeless, Alabama-LSU, but in all honestly none of those excite me like several teams and games in the PAC 12 do. There you have it. A strong conference but not a fun one. Now I know you'll say I'm not ranking "fun to watch," I'm ranking strength of the teams, but I see the PAC 12 as simply better this year. I'm not saying there won't be the usual contingent of scary top ten SEC teams, but I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if we had a national champion from outside the SEC this year. In fact the opposite is true, (I would be surprised, for those of you following at home) so I do predict now that the coaches' trophy will remain out of the conference.

Nick Marshall may be good, but he shouldn't be the best in your conference. 

The Big 12: Now besides a beautiful victory by the Sooners over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl that rang resoundingly with a certain poetic justice, the Big 12 didn't fare all that well in bowls last season. An ugly loss by what was previously a very exciting Baylor team was disappointing to everyone but Blake Bortles and his girlfriend, as well as losses from Texas and Oklahoma State. But all those teams, as well as a Texas Tech team that was lots of fun last year, are teams to watch this season. This conference might be my favorite in terms of rivalries, (Red River, for starters) but it does lack that elite level team, the Oregon or Alabama, and that is a knock against it for sure. Keep an eye out for Bryce Petty as well, on sports center top 10s and Heisman watch lists. You heard it here first. Ok definitely not first, but he'll flirt with video game numbers this year, like that entire Bear offense always does.

The ACC: First, let me pause. Thank you, Jameis. You might behave questionably off the field. Then again, you might not, which I guess is sort of the point. But you gave us one of the most poignantly simultaneously quotable and not quotable moments in the history of sports. I myself have brought this up on many an occasion, from a pick up soccer game to an argument about the academic standards for collegiate athletes. "And I said, we strong? And he said, we strong if you strong. *pause* We strong."  Even that's iffy, but I am fairly sure we got the point. (The pause there is my favorite part.) Anyways of course the important point is that this conference took the coaches' trophy out of the SEC for the first time in seven years. I don't say this because I hate the SEC, but simply because it is worth noting and testifies to the strength of the conference. Depth is what's missing here, but Duke looked strong (sorry, I had to) out of nowhere, BC gave some teams some good tough games, and of course the perennially relevant Clemson Tigers and Miami are a big plus. Louisville sans Teddy Bridgewater will take a step back, but they are headed in the right direction, as is this entire conference. Also keep in mind that Notre Dame's non football teams have moved into the ACC officially now, and for many (not all) intents and purposes their football team has as well, so that'll be fun.

The Big 10: Here, I am a homer. A huge Notre Dame fan, I relish on some level dumping Michigan last on a list, even though I know it's not just Michigan and I know they're fifth on the list, and many other conferences would be happy to be here. Still. That was fun. I do have some legitimacy here though. The Big 10 had a losing bowl record for the fourth straight season, at 2-5, which is the worst for any automatic BCS qualifying conference by a good margin. This is a conference that is not doing well, and besides a Michigan State upset over Stanford in the Rose bowl, a good ground out 24-20 win what was fun to watch, there weren't many highlights for these guys last year. Ohio State will be a good team of course with Braxton Miller, and I'm not burying the conference as whole, (Michigan Ohio State will always be great, though they won't top last year's obscenities) but the level of play and the caliber of team has declined considerably. Here's hoping they ramp it back up, so that they can be mentioned in the same breath as the PAC 12 and the SEC, just like the good old days.