Baylor quarterback Seth Russell injuring his collarbone leaving the offense in the hands of a true freshman; 3. This week it was Georgia Tech upsetting No. 9 Florida State on a 78-yard return of a blocked field goal. However, the Golden Flashes came into the game as the conference’s top defensive team and thought it would hold its own. That’s assuming, of course, it can get past…
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Biggest hurdle: Notre Dame. Although one loss doesn’t end any team’s playoff chances, the margin for error is gone.
Hot on the trail: Utah. Even worse, USC putting themselves back in the picture of winning the Pac-12 South might lead to the Pac-12 not having a team in the College Football Playoff, although one loss (Stanford also have one loss and are in the top 10) doesn’t rule out anyone. At the very least, the 38-0 win over Northwestern is looking more and more impressive. LSU’s biggest problem is the road ahead, which is one of the most hard in the country. With two weeks off to prepare for LSU, now we’ll get to see the Crimson Tide fresh again. They’re not going to play in the championship game (probably), but they might have ruined it for Florida State after a long run of dominance in the conference.
Hot on the trail: Florida. Two conferences have seen their number of unbeaten teams dwindle to one with solid chances at winding up aggrieved. It would be tough to leave out a one-loss SEC champ that would have wins over Ole Miss and LSU or Alabama on its résumé. We’re running out of names for the wonderful endings college football is producing. An undefeated ACC champ should be in, especially considering there are no more undefeated teams remaining in the Pac-12. Arkansas is 7-1 in games with two or more overtimes. When Florida State visits Clemson on that blazing November 7, it will have at least one loss because, like Michigan the bizarro week before, it lost on a Dali-esque sequence that ended at 0:00.
Louisville: The Cardinals have been a disappointment in 2015, but three of their four losses have come against teams that are now ranked: No. 6 Clemson, No. 9 Florida State and No. 22 Houston. The Panthers’ only loss is to undefeated Iowa, and they’ve been one of the most consistent teams in the Coastal Division. It’s because of who they lost to that gives them the edge over Duke (which lost to Northwestern) and North Carolina (lost to South Carolina) right now. With its lone loss to the Big Ten West champs?
League leader: Ohio State. Clemson was ranked No. 3, FSU No. 17. Ohio State has only played three opponents with records above.
Kent State allowed 602 totals yards and 31 first downs in a 48-0 Bowling Green win.
Biggest hurdle: Michigan State. The Utah Utes began the weekend undefeated and the 3rd ranked team in the country but that all changed when they traveled to L.A.to play USC. The Spartans’ bye week comes at a good time because it needs to heal before heading to Nebraska on November. 7. The Wildcats first two loses in that streak were close against Oklahoma State and TCU, but were dominated by Oklahoma last week Oklahoma and against Texas, the Wildcats never really got their offense going. It’s not unthinkable, considering Michigan gets the Buckeyes at home to end the regular season. Bret Bielema-coached teams are 16-0 when scoring 50 or more points and 35-0 when scoring 40 or more.
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While TCU didn’t play, Baylor and Oklahoma State abused two of the worst teams in their conference, Iowa State and Kansas. With a 17-14 win vs. Boston College on Saturday, Louisville has won three of its past four games. They just beat us soundly in every facet of the game, period. Probably not after a season-opening loss to FCS Portland State, but the Cougars are now one win away from bowl eligibility. Notre Dame also has an unlikely key game in Philadelphia against the high-flying and unbeaten Temple Owls.
