The first week after the release of the initial playoff
rankings has started to thin the field of contenders as we look towards the
last month of the season. There were plenty of villains on the gridiron (and
off it, too) this weekend:
College Football
Playoff Committee: as if they wanted to actually prove the conspiracy
theories that do the rounds every season – you know, that the committee favours
traditional powerhouse programs over new arrivals on the scene, regardless of
either team’s season record – the committee went and slotted Alabama into the fourth
slot, putting a one-loss team ahead of no less than five unbeaten squads.
Remember that Alabama’s loss came at home against an Ole
Miss squad who aren’t as good as we thought they were at the time. In fact, a
few weeks later, that same Rebels squad lost to still-undefeated Memphis, one
of the teams who languish beneath Alabama. It’s a confounding decision in many
ways, and a serious misstep by the committee who mostly got it right last year.
The Alabama fan who
wrote the Hurricane Katrina sign: I love a good sign as much as the next
person, but this hasn’t been a good year for people creating them. After an
early-season sign comparing – and not in a positive way – Ole Miss’s female
students and the team’s non-conference schedule, we get a sign from a misguided
and moronic Alabama fan whose sign suggested that the Tide would finish the job
Hurricane Katrina started. Dumb, insensitive, and not exactly a glowing example
of Alabama fans.
Leonard Fournette: so,
the big Louisiana State running back is realising now that it’s one thing to
run rings around 99% of the SEC and another thing entirely to do it against a
Nick Saban defense. The Tide were ready for Fournette – you might say they
rolled – and restricted the big man, who has run for at least 150 yards every
game this year, to a measly 31 rushing yards on 19 carries. Yep, you read that
correctly. Fournette was boxed in from start to finish, and his performance,
which might drop him from Heisman favouritism with McCaffrey and others
circling, was emblematic of LSU’s overall game. It didn’t go well.
Louisiana State’s
offensive line: yeah, the big eaters up front for the Tigers definitely
deserve their place here. They were woeful in moving aside Tide defenders to
create lanes for Fournette. We knew the Tide run defense was good, but the LSU
o-line made them look like the greatest run defense in known history. Not a
good night for pretty much anyone not wearing Alabama colours in Tuscaloosa on
Saturday night.
Texas Christian:
the previously-undefeated Horned Frogs fell at their first real Big XII hurdle,
beaten 49-29 by an Oklahoma State squad who capitalised on huge passing plays that
exploited the TCU secondary. The TCU offense committed four turnovers,
including a game-icing 42-yard interception return touchdown that was TCU
quarterback Trevone Boykin’s fourth of the game. And, to make matters worse,
they lost receiver Josh Doctson to a wrist injury. Down goes TCU, and down goes
Boykin’s Heisman hopes. Hard to tell who was worse today, Boykin or the Horned
Frogs secondary? It was a close run thing.
Memphis: another
undefeated team falls. The Tigers of the American Athletic Conference, very
much the feel-good story of the year from the feel-good conference of the year,
lost 45-20 to Navy, who ran for 374 yards, pounding the rock with surprising
ease against a Memphis defense that had, to this point, been pretty stout. Goodbye,
major bowl bid for the Tigers. Talk about shake-up Saturday.
Ole Miss: after
losing to Arkansas in overtime – after letting the Razorbacks lateral and run
to convert a wild 4th and 25 play – the Rebels were doubtless hoping LSU would
beat Alabama to ensure that the Tide also had two losses in conference play, but
that hope went up in smoke on an all-around bad day for Hugh Freeze’s team. They
may still win the SEC West, but it’s looking rather unlikely at this point.
Rutgers defense:
the Scarlet Knights had no answer for the Michigan passing game, allowing oft-maligned
QB Jake Rudock to pass for a career-high 337 yards during a 49-16 rout in the
Big House. It’s a score line that, quite frankly, flatters Rutgers. They were
battered from pillar to post, their yardage total almost doubled by the
Wolverines.
Purdue: a week
after a 55-45 victory over Nebraska, the Boilermakers were routed by Illinois,
losing 48-14, and giving up 595 yards in the process. They let an Illini run
game that came in averaging 67.2 yards a game (good for a fairly distant last
in the Big Ten) roll up a whopping 382 and three touchdowns. Unforgiveable.
Oregon State: the
Beavers gave up four turnovers and were doubled up in terms of total yardage
(245-675) in a 41-0 loss to UCLA in Corvallis. Bruins QB Josh Rosen was the
chief destroyer, shredding the OSU secondary for 333 yards and two touchdowns.
It hasn’t been a good start for Gary Andersen, over from Wisconsin.
Officials:
another week, another contentious call that should never have stood. The
Nebraska game-winner was far more straightforward than the Miami-Duke debacle
seven days ago, and the on-field referees should have ruled immediately that Nebraska
receiver Brandon Reilly went out of bounds of his own accord. He wasn't forced
out, as the referees claimed. And, anyway, how did that call hold up on review?
The only people happy about this latest mess is the ACC crew from last week.
But seriously, this is big-time collegiate athletics, and the officials, both
on the field and in the review booth, have to be better than this.
Jerell Adams: the South Carolina wide receiver fumbled a 30-yard reception that would have had the Gamecocks in business inside the red zone, down three to Tennessee with less than a minute remaining on the clock. The football was recovered by a Vols defender and the game was over. Ouch.
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