Did the season start? LSU Can the season end? Sam Houston
Can the season never end? Vanderbilt
GAMES Play this again: No. 9 Georgia 43, No. 5 Ole Miss 35
Play this again, too: Arizona State 26, No. 7 Texas Tech 22
Never play this again: James Madison 63, Old Dominion 27
What? UAB 31, No. 22 Memphis 24
Huh? Minnesota 24, No. 25 Nebraska 6
Double-huh? No. 17 Vanderbilt 31, No. 10 LSU 24
Are you kidding me?? Arizona State 26, No. 7 Texas Tech 22
Oh – my – God: Louisville 24, No. 2 Miami, FL 21
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 9) Ticket to die for: No. 3 Texas A&M @ No. 20 LSU
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: none
Best non-Power Four matchup: No. 18 South Florida @ Memphis
Upset alert: No. 11 BYU @ Iowa State
Must win: No. 8 Ole Miss @ No. 13 Oklahoma
Offensive explosion: Baylor @ No. 24 Cincinnati
Defensive struggle: Rutgers @ Purdue
Great game no one is talking about: No. 23 Illinois @ Washington
Also: Northwestern @ Nebraska
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jedd Fisch of Washington vs Bret Bielema of Illinois
Who’s bringing the body bags? Oklahoma State @ No. 14 Texas Tech
Why are they playing? N/A
Plenty of good seats remaining: South Alabama @ Georgia State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? North Texas @ Charlotte
Week 8 Thoughts:
Another week has passed where upsets abounded. The weekend launched with a bang in the form of unranked Louisville delivering a massive upset in Miami, thus exposing the Hurricanes for perhaps not being the juggernaut team some thought they were. Jeff Brohm has been known to gear his team up for huge games, and golly, did he deliver this time. On the other side of the ball, the Hurricanes can still regroup, finish the season strongly, and a playoff berth would surely be in the cards – an ironic expression, given the team to which they just lost – nonetheless.
Also on Friday evening, Minnesota delivered a blow to Nebraska’s brief ranking.
The next day at noon Eastern Time, the upset trend picked up where it left off with Vanderbilt exposing LSU for having an inconsistent office. Here it is, mid-season, and Brian Kelly, a supposedly offensive coach, has yet to craft an offense to take advantage of Garrett Nussmeier’s strengths.
Then Memphis inexplicably laid an egg against UAB in Birmingham, Ala., thus jeopardizing its ranking. At that same time, Arizona State came out of hiding and delivered the first loss of the season to then-No. 7 Texas Tech.
One would think that then-No. 9 Georgia defeating then-No. 5 Ole Miss would also qualify as a massive upset, but deep down, we all knew that the Bulldogs were the stronger team in any case, regardless of preliminary ranking.
Some near-upsets likewise occurred, such as Texas, who barely escaped Lexington with their skin on, while Washington State actually led Virginia, in Charlottesville, for a good chunk of the game before eventually losing by only two points.
Do not be fooled by the result of the Arkansas-Texas A&M game. The Razorbacks’ loss by only three points was due to a last-minute touchdown. That said, Bobby Petrino’s signature upset shall surely come in due time.
Another near-upset took place in Columbia, Mo., with unranked Auburn taking Missouri into OT, only to lose by a touchdown in the second overtime. Over in Utah, while the Utes gave BYU a tough game in Provo, it was not meant to be, as the Cougars triumphed 24-21.
Random Thoughts:
The Miami Hurricanes’ quest for the playoffs is by no means dead, but look out for Georgia Tech, who remains undefeated and has now quietly risen to the No. 7 ranking, ahead of the ‘Canes sent down to that of No. 9 (a fall that could have been worse).
The Longhorns were lucky to escape Lexington with their skin on. Now they venture to Starkville, Miss., to take on a scrappy Mississippi State squad. High-profile QB Arch Manning was outclassed by Kentucky’s Cutter Boley last night. Can he get it together in time to redeem himself on the road this week?
Also this week, Minnesota plays Iowa for one of the most unique trophies in all of college football, the Floyd of Rosedale, considered by many to be the top rivalry trophy in all of college football. Be ready for what should be a hard-fought matchup, as both teams are now 5-2 and are fairly evenly matched.
Look for another possibly even matchup with No. 15 Mizzou taking on No. 10 Vandy in Nashville (both teams are 6-1). Elsewhere, 5-2 Northwestern ventures over to Lincoln to face 5-2 Nebraska, while 5-2 Illinois goes all the way out to Seattle to take on 5-2 Washington. Perhaps the best battle of teams with matching records shall be 6-1 [No. 8] Ole Miss playing 6-1 [No. 13] Oklahoma in Norman.
It might not be the monster week we all enjoyed in week 7, but plenty of hidden gems await us all the same.
(rankings are current AP (post-week 12, pre-week 13) Ticket to die for: USC @ No. 11 UCLA
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: South Alabama @ South Carolina
Best non-Power Five matchup: Western Michigan @ Central Michigan
Upset alert: Louisville @ No. 18 Notre Dame
Must win: South Carolina @ Florida
Offensive explosion: North Carolina @ No. 21 Duke
Defensive struggle: No. 10 Ole Miss @ Arkansas
Great game no one is talking about: Northwestern @ Purdue
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jerry Kill of Minnesota vs. Bo Pelini of Nebraska (also: Bobby Petrino of Louisville vs Brian Kelly of Notre Dame)
Who’s bringing the body bags? Charleston Southern @ No. 15 Georgia
Why are they playing? Western Carolina @ Alabama
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida International @ North Texas
They shoot horses, don’t they? Savanna State @ BYU
Week 12 Random Thoughts:
Forget Notre Dame being overrated. They are frauds. Allowing Purdue to be competitive against them early in the season was one thing. Struggling against mediocre North Carolina and Navy teams raised an eyebrow or two. Getting embarrassed in the desert completely exposed the flaws in the façade. But losing at home to one of the worst Northwestern teams in Pat Fitzgerald’s tenure? Inexcusable, whether you are an Irish fan or foe. Look for Bobby Petrino and his Louisville Cardinals to come into South Bend and make like hard for ND.
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 12] unless otherwise noted.)
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