Nine things we learned in college football week 11
- The Playoff Selection Committee just burst into flames
Michigan, Clemson, Washington, Texas A&M, and Auburn all lost this past week, meaning 50 percent of the Committee’s top 10 teams lost. In short, that opens a lot of doors for a lot of teams. With the plethora of teams now with glimmers of hope to make the four-team Playoff, it’s almost assured that not everyone will be happy with the four teams the Committee chooses. In a season where there isn’t a clear top-four, there really isn’t a right or wrong top-four, and that’s exactly what the Committee didn’t want after this week.
2. Penn State has a better shot at the Big Ten Championship game than Ohio State
Several weeks ago, I noted the Nittany Lions improbable shot at winning the Big Ten East division after their upset win over Ohio State. Michigan’s loss to Iowa makes that improbability much more likely. If the Buckeyes are able to beat Michigan, and Penn State wins their final two games over Rutgers and Michigan State, then the Nittany Lions would be the East champs. If that is to happen, then the Selection Committee will really be tested to see how much weight they place on conference championships.
3. Boise State is still somehow going to walk away with the Mountain West title
After the Broncos lost to Wyoming, it seemed that Boise’s hopes of a New Year’s Six bowl went with it. But with the Cowboys losing in three overtimes to UNLV, and with San Diego State still on the schedule for Wyoming, it seems increasingly more likely that the Broncos will still be in the Mountain West Championship game on December 3.
4. I will never not root for James Conner
Conner already inspired us by simply returning to the field this year after both tearing his ACL last season and being diagnosed with cancer during rehab. But on a middling Pittsburgh team, Conner was rarely in the national spotlight. That is, until Saturday, when the Panthers upset then-undefeated Clemson 43-42. Conner relished his chance, accounting for 189 yards rushing and receiving while finding the end zone twice. Conner had the attention of NFL scouts before his adversities, and is said to still have them if he can remain healthy. It remains to be seen if he’ll enter the NFL draft this year or next, but regardless, I’ll be rooting for him to make it wherever he goes.
5. Donnel Pumphrey will end his career as the all-time rushing leader in NCAA history
This is slightly premature, yes, but as long as he stays healthy, it’s almost a lock. The San Diego State legend has 6,051 yards in his career so far. With two regular season games left, the MW Championship game and a bowl game also on the schedule, Pumphrey only needs 347 yards to eclipse the record of 6,397 yards set by Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne. Pumphrey has not been held below 100 yards rushing against an FBS team since last season’s bowl win over Cincinnati. I like his chances.
6. Don’t believe the box score
Louisville beat Wake Forest 44-12 on Saturday. Nothing to see here, right? Except for the fact that Louisville trailed 12-10 entering the fourth quarter and looked nothing like the Cardinals team we’ve grown accustomed to this year. A 34-point flood of a fourth quarter, with several garbage-time touchdowns, ballooned the score into the respectable win for Louisville. Or at least that’s what the box score would like you to believe.
7. Don’t be surprised if Oklahoma somehow sneaks their way into the Playoff
The Sooners may be the ones who benefit most from the upheaval in the top 10 this past week. Oklahoma’s only losses of the season were to a Houston team back when they had their act together and an Ohio State. Neither is a terrible loss. Since, though, the Sooners have absolutely ravaged their way through the Big 12. With two games left against two ranked teams in West Virginia and Oklahoma State, the Sooners may be able to place a nice resume in front of the Selection Committee. If a two-loss team gets in, Oklahoma will be high on the list.
8. The NCAA is still struggling to fill its bowl games
No one really wants to see a 5-7 team in a bowl game. But with the NCAA continually expanding the number of bowl games, it’s almost an inevitability. Your current total of teams vying for a bowl game: 98 teams sit at four wins or more, 19 of which are only four-win teams. Indubitably, not every one of those teams will make it to six wins, nor will the group of five-win teams. The NCAA is hoping for eighty six-win teams to fill its bowl schedule. It’ll come down to the final weeks to see if they reach that number.
9. Shoutout to John Hartwell’s Troy program
For the people that may have forgotten, we stole our new athletic director from Troy University in Alabama. If you want any evidence that Hartwell can help build a successful program at a school, look no further than the Trojans. Standing at 8-1, and with their sole loss coming in the final minutes at Clemson, the Troy Trojans received their first ranking in the Associated Press poll, currently sitting at #25. The significance? They’re the first Sun Belt team EVER to be ranked in the AP poll. Props be to the Trojans and to Hartwell.