College Football Week 12 Awards November 17, 2013

(Note:  All rankings are current AP [week 12] unless otherwise noted.)

COACHES
Wish I were him: Ed Orgeron, USC

Glad I’m not him: Mack Brown, Texas

Lucky guy: Gus Malzahn, Auburn

Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia

Desperately seeking a clue: Frank Solich, Ohio U
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Bailiff, Rice

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Al Golden, Miami (Fla.)

Desperately seeking … anything:  Sonny Dykes, Cal

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oklahoma (defeated Iowa State 48-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Central Florida (defeated Temple 39-36)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Syracuse (lost to Florida State 59-3)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Temple (lost to UCF 39-36)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Bowling Green (defeated Ohio U 49-0)

Dang, they’re good: Baylor

Dang, they’re bad:  Ohio U

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Stanford

Did the season start?  Rutgers
Can the season end?  Cal

Can the season never end?  USC

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 7 Auburn 43, No. 25 Georgia 38

Play this again, too:  Kansas State 33, TCU 31

Never play this again: No. 2 Florida State 59, Syracuse 3

What? Maryland 27, Virginia Tech 24, OT

Huh?  Kansas 31, West Virginia 19

Are you kidding me?  Duke 48, No. 23 Miami 30
Oh – my – God:  USC 20, No. 4 Stanford 17

Told you so:  No. 4 Baylor 63, Texas Tech 34

NEXT WEEK

(rankings are current AP (post-week 12, pre-week 13)
Ticket to die for:  No. 4 Baylor @ No. 14 Oklahoma State

Ticket to die for, SEC edition:  No. 15 Texas A&M @ No. 12 LSU

Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: BYU @ Notre Dame

Best non-Big Six matchup: Texas State @ Western Kentucky

Upset alert: No. 18 Oklahoma @ Kansas State

Must win: No. 8 Missouri @ Ole Miss

Offensive explosion: Baylor @ Oklahoma State

Defensive struggle: Michigan @ Iowa

Great game no one is talking about: Cincinnati @ Houston

Intriguing coaching matchup: Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M vs. Les Miles of LSU

Who’s bringing the body bags? Idaho @ No. 2 Florida State

Why are they playing? Chattanooga @ No. 1 Alabama

Plenty of good seats remaining: UConn @ Temple

Plenty of good seats remaining, Big Ten edition:  Illinois @ Purdue

They shoot horses, don’t they?  Coastal Carolina @ No. 11 South Carolina

Week 12 Random Thoughts

Okay, so this week was not big on upsets; some of the lower-tiered ones listed here were borderline reaches.  But there were some eye-popping, jaw-to-the-floor-dropping catches.  For instance, there was one flying, one-handed touchdown catch by a UCF receiver that put the Golden Knights even with Temple, and thus put them on the path to preserve their undefeated season.

A different sort of catch, but one that solidified victory was a tipped pass on 4-and-forever that just so happened to fall within reach of an Auburn receiver going deep.  Ricardo Louis managed to reach for the ball in stride and cruise to the end zone for a touchdown that caused Jordan-Hare Stadium to erupt in ecstasy.

USC, meanwhile, seems to have been rejuvenated under the leadership of Ed Orgeron.  Few experts were predicting a win over No. 4-ranked Stanford, what with the Cardinal’s hard-charging power running game.  But the Trojans’ defense help firm enough to nullify the Cardinal’s advantage, and in the end, helped produce the biggest win for USC yet this season.  In case someone might think that last statement is an exaggeration, when, might I ask in return, was the last time you saw the students rush the field at LA Coliseum this year?

Meanwhile, we all knew this week would come.  This time around, it just so happens to be Week 13 where most SEC teams have the unenviable task of being pitiless executioner to FCS fare, glorified or otherwise.   The irony is that this time around, these teams are not chump D-1AA teams.  Alabama is playing Chattanooga, who is currently 8-3.  South Carolina is to play Coastal Carolina, who is currently 10-1 (at least they’re not playing Wofford this time!).  Florida will play Georgia Southern, who might only be 6-4 in FCS play, but they’re still a traditional power at that level.  But that aside, why schedule these glorified body bag games so late in year?  Did we not get enough of these sub-par matchups in September?

Speaking of Georgia Southern, though, maybe Florida will finally be able to win a game again.  No, that is not a type-o.  The Florida Gators (yes, THE Florida Gators) are on a five-game losing streak.  Why, you might ask?  Perhaps these stats might explain a few things:  they rank 101st in the FBS in passing yardage, 82nd in rushing yards, and 112th in “points for,” meaning the total number of points their offense has scored.  Yet they rank 14th in points against.  The latter is a more-than-respectable stat; the rest of positively abysmal, especially by Florida standards.  Clearly, they have a good defense; they are just atrocious on offense.  Who is to blame?  One possibility is Will Muschamp, who is a defensive coordinator by trade before becoming the head coach in Gainesville.  Could he invest some capital in a better offensive coordinator?  That might help.  But at this point, it leaves fans and observers alike to wonder if he is the man for this sort of job.

At this point, it’s a fairly safe bet that that Florida could snap their five-game losing streak on Nov. 23; but the following week they face No. 2 Florida State.  What is the “over-under” for the Gators going 5-7 this year, Vegas?