College Football Week 13 Awards November 30, 2015

The Bedlam Series between OU and OKST was supposed to be one of the best games of the week but it turned out to be a rout instead.  Photo by Mark J. Rebilas, USA Today Sports

(Note:  All rankings are current CFP [week 13] unless otherwise noted.)

COACHES

Wish I were him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State

Glad I’m not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

Lucky guy: Gary Patterson, TCU

Poor guy:  Art Briles, Baylor

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mike Riley, Nebraska

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Brohm, Western Kentucky

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

Desperately seeking … anything:  Chad Morris, SMU

TEAMS

Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Memphis (see below)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oregon (defeated Oregon State 52-42)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Central Florida (lost to South Florida 44-3)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  South Carolina (lost to No. 1 Clemson 37-32)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Western Kentucky (defeated Marshall 49-28)

Dang, they’re good: Ohio State

Dang, they’re bad:  Purdue

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  Oklahoma State

Did the season start? Baylor

Can the season end?  SMU

Can the season never end?  Oklahoma

GAMES

Play this again:  No. 17 TCU 28, No. 7 Baylor 21

Play this again, too:  No. 9 Stanford 38, No. 6 Notre Dame 36

Never play this again: Memphis 63, SMU 0

What? Washington 45 No. 20 Washington State 10

Huh?  USC 40, No. 22 UCLA 21

Double-huh?  Houston 52, No. 15 Navy 31

Are you kidding me?  No. 9 Stanford 38, No. 6 Notre Dame 36

Oh – my – God:  No. 17 TCU 28, No. 7 Baylor 21

NEXT WEEK

Ticket to die for: Michigan State vs. Iowa for the B1G Championship

Also: North Carolina vs. Clemson for the ACC Championship

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: none

Best non-Power Five matchup: Temple @ Houston in the AAC Championship

Upset alert: USC vs. Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship

Must win: Baylor @ TCU (Friday, Nov. 27)

Offensive explosion: Washington State @ Washington (Friday, Nov. 27)

Defensive struggle: Alabama vs. Florida in the SEC Championship

Great game no one is talking about: Air Force @ San Diego State

Intriguing coaching matchup: Larry Fedora of UNC vs. Dabo Swinney of Clemson

Who’s bringing the body bags? Texas @ Baylor

Why are they playing? Texas State @ Arkansas State

Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ Louisiana-Monroe

They shoot horses, don’t they?  Troy @ Louisiana-Lafayette

Week 13 Random Thoughts:

Order seems to have been restored in the Big XII Conference, with Oklahoma having emerge from the recent carnage intact and the clear conference front-runner. Going into the Bedlam Series game against rival Oklahoma State, they were already ranked highly enough to clinch a playoff berth. After defeating the Cowboys on the road in a very convincing fashion, they ought to remain in that coveted spot.

Poor Art Briles. First Oklahoma derailed their championship aspirations, then they lost in the near-freezing rain to TCU. One cannot help but feel for him and his team’s inability to catch a break this year. Better luck next season.

Still, in Briles’ defense, when facing a foe in a constant monsoon of a rain (one where the ambient temperate is roughly 38 degrees), such adverse weather conditions tend to skew teams’ performances unpredictably.  Witness unranked Louisville’s upset over then-No. 5 Florida State back in 2002.

Is it too early to point out that we do not know what sort of team we are getting from Texas week-to-week? This same team got off to an horrendous start, albeit to some tough teams, then when everyone left the Longhorns for dead, they upset heavily-favored Oklahoma – the same Oklahoma team that is now surely headed to the playoffs. Then the team turns around and lays a massive egg against lowly Iowa State, embarrasses themselves against West Virginia, and then makes just enough mistakes to lose at home to Texas Tech. This inconsistency is a matter of coaching, as sad as I am to say.

Even though Alabama was supposed to kick butt against Auburn, the Tigers nevertheless made it an engaging, entertaining game, because it was the Iron Bowl.

All that said, this was an excellent weekend for the sport, and the champion games next week are all poised to be entertaining and engaging.

Hello Nebraska. Remember how you fired Bo Pelini because he only went 9-3? How is his replacement, Mike Riley and his 5-7 record work out for you?