Rivalry Week Rewind

Week 14 - Rivalry Week

 

Headlines

 

Alabama asserts itself- The Tide earned a decisive win on Saturday, avenging the “Kick-Six” and moving one step closer to a berth in the inaugural college football playoff.  The win for Alabama pretty much sums up the 2014 college football season as a whole.  In the win, Alabama looked out of sync and made mistakes and other times looked as dominant as anyone.  

 

Ohio State suffers their biggest loss of the year- The Buckeyes beat Michigan on Saturday and will advance to the Big Ten championship game but in the process lost their second starting quarterback of the year.  JT Barrett, who was probably going to earn a trip to New York City as a Heisman finalist, suffered a broken ankle at the beginning of the fourth quarter.  Losing Barrett makes defeating a dangerous Wisconsin team that much more difficult, but also will be taken into consideration when the playoff committee makes its final selections.  The Buckeyes have moved into an advantageous spot in the rankings but without their best player, the committee could decide to leave them out.

 

Missouri makes a statement- Perhaps the only loss by a Power-5 contender worse than Ohio State’s loss to Virginia Tech was Missouri’s loss to Indiana.  Despite the struggles, Missouri has continued to answer the bell and quietly stayed in the SEC East race and are now one win away from an SEC Title.  In the three years the Tigers have been a part of the SEC, they’ve captured back-to-back East Titles.  Not bad for a school that just got back in the rankings three weeks ago. 

 

Nebraska hits its head- The longtime maligned Husker fans got their wish after years of languishing in the shadow of nine and 10 win seasons.  Bo Pelini is out after compiling a record of 66-27 and winning at least nine games in each of his seven seasons in Lincoln.  Husker Nation will point to a poor record in big games and against ranked opponents but trading nine-plus wins a season and opportunities to play in big games seems like a big gamble for a program clinging to its glory days in a distant era.

 

RichRod has the last laugh- In his third season at Arizona Rodriguez and the Wildcats have taken a huge leap and shocked the Pac-12 South.  By beating rival Arizona State on Friday, Arizona earns a rematch against Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship.  The Wildcats have beaten Oregon in their last two meetings and although they currently sit at 13.5-point underdogs, they’re the only team that seems to have the recipe to stop Mariota and the Ducks offense.  On a side note, Michigan will finish the season at 5-7, miss a bowl game and will soon start another coaching search. 

 

Mississippi State loses more than just the Egg Bowl- There’s no doubt that losing to your arch rival hurts in any season.  This season it knocked Mississippi State out of playoff contention and ruined any shot it might have had to sneak into the SEC Championship had Alabama lost.  Dan Mullen seemed to take the loss especiallyhard and it will surely be taken out on his defensive coaching staff.   

 

Race for the Heisman- I think it’s fair to say that the Heisman race has been wide open for most of the season.  A few different players have taken a lead at various times throughout the year but two players have emerged from the pack and the winner will likely be the player who has the biggest game on Championship Weekend.  The two frontrunners? 

Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon- 3470 passing yards, 36 TD’s 2 INT’s, 636 rushing yards and 11 TD’s.
Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin- 2260 rushing yards and 26 TD’s.

 

Duck!  The Heads Start Rolling- ‘Tis the season for coaches getting the axe.  Bo Pelini and Will Muschamp are the two biggest names at the two biggest programs to lose their jobs so far.  Michigan is sure to open up at any moment as Brady Hoke has certainly coached his last game for the Wolverines.  Coordinators aren’t safe either with Auburn, Texas A&M DC positions both opening up.  Keep an eye on the ticker, the coaching carousel is about to get fired up.  

 

The SEC’s fall back to earth- The SEC is still the best conference in college football and the SEC West is the best division, period.  That said, in the wake of rivalry weekend the thought that the SEC is immune to criticism and weakness is flawed narrative.  You can’t overlook the 0-4 mark against ACC opponents and trying to explain it away with the ‘it was the East and the East is down this year’ is nonsense.  You’re still 0-4 to little brother and that matters whether you like it or not.  Further, the top teams in the West have shown vulnerability at times this season.  As good as Alabama has been at times this season, they’ve had their share of issues- Blake Sims has been prone to questionable decision making (3 INT’s in the first half against Auburn) throughout the season and the secondary can be exposed.  Auburn’s defense tanked toward the end of the season, as did A&M’s.  Mississippi State, despite one of their best seasons in history was exposed down the stretch and Ole Miss, although devastated by injury’s had a non-existent ground game all season and was inconsistent at quarterback.  All that to say, the presumed gap between the SEC and every other conference is real, just not as wide as SEC fans would like to believe. 

 

Andrew Luck makes his Stanford return- Seriously, look at the numbers.  There’s no way Kevin Hogan turned in a performance like that against the Pac-12 South favorite. 

 

 

Players of the Week

 

Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
When Alabama needed a play on Saturday night, they looked to on player.  Cooper brought in a career high 13 catches for 224 yards and three touchdowns.  His 13 catches were six more than the rest of the Tide receivers combined.  The performance helps lift Alabama to an SEC Title berth and likely punches Coopers ticket to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation. 

 

Scooby Wright, LB, Arizona

Wright was a big key to the Wildcats win over Arizona State in the “Territorial Cup.”  He forced a fumble to open the game that was returned for Arizona’s first score and finished the game with 2 sacks, 13 total tackles and five tackles for loss.  Wright’s performance on Friday, combined with what he’s done in total this season could be enough to punch a ticket to New York as a Heisman finalist. 

 

 

Kevin Hogan, QB, Stanford
The Cardinal have struggled all season on offense and Hogan has been one of the main issues.  On Friday afternoon, Hogan was on point, leading Stanford in an impressive win over South favorite, UCLA.  For the game, Hogan was 16 of 19 for 234 yards and two touchdowns.  The win gives Stanford a respectable seven win season while knocking UCLA out of the hunt for both the playoff and the South.

 

Jaylen Walton, RB, Ole Miss
The Ole Miss running game has been pretty much non-existent most of the season but Walton came through with his best performance of the year, and a 91-yard run that helped break the back of the 4^th ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs.  Walton finished the game with a season high 148 yards.

 

Gerod Holliman, S, Louisville

Holliman’s NCAA record-tying 14^th INT sealed the game for the Cardinals as he picked off Kentucky’s Brandon Radcliff with 35 seconds in the game.  For good measure, Holliman added five tackles and a sack.

 

Jay Ajayi, RB, Boise State
Ajayi couldn’t have picked a better time to have his best game of the season.  The junior running back ripped the conference’s best defense apart with 229 yards on 27 carries (8.5 ypc) and five touchdowns.  For the season, Ajayi has 1619 rushing yards and a Mountain West leading 24 rushing touchdowns (tied for second in the nation). 

 

 

 

Top 25 Review

 

No. 1 Alabama 55, No. 15 Auburn 44

The Iron Bowl joined the 21^st century with a game for the ages.  Quarterback Blake Sims’ second half revival helps the Tide pull away late, outscoring Auburn 34-18 in the second half.  Sims finished the game with 312 yards and four touchdowns passes.  He was helped by TJ Yeldon (19 carries, 127 yards and 2 TD’s) and an unstoppable Amari Cooper (13 catches 224 yards and 3 TD’s).  Cooper’s performance should ensure at least a ticket to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation.

 

No. 2 Oregon 47, Oregon State 19

Oregon State’s been feisty against the Ducks over the years.  This version of the Civil War wasn’t the Beavers best effort.  Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota continues his Heisman run in fashion leading the Ducks to victory with six total touchdowns and 367 yards.

 

No. 3 Florida State 24, Florida 19

Cut and paste FSU recaps from Week 1 through Week 13.  This week the FSU defense comes up big, shutting the Florida offense down and adding a pick-six to lift the ‘Noles to their second straight undefeated regular season.

 

No. 19 Ole Miss, No. 4 Mississippi State 17

Hugh Freeze and the Ole Miss Rebels dug deep into their bag of tricks to upset Mississippi State, knocking the Bulldogs out of the SEC race and ending their playoff run. 

 

No. 5 TCU 48, Texas 10, Thursday

A slow start ended in a flurry and 28-points in the fourth quarter for TCU on Thanksgiving.  Texas turned the ball over six times and the win could help give the Horned Frogs the edge over Baylor and spot in the playoff.

No. 6 Ohio State 42, Michigan 28

The Buckeyes get their third straight win over their arch rival but might have suffered their biggest loss of the season in the process.  Heisman candidate JT Barrett suffered a broken ankle on the first play of the fourth quarter and Ohio State’s playoff hopes might have gone down with him.  The win gives Urban Meyer 35 wins in his first three season at Ohio State.

 

No. 7 Baylor 48, Texas Tech 46
Despite the loss of Bryce Petty, Baylor was able to hold off a big Texas Tech rally.  The Red Raiders, led by freshman Patrick Mahomes, put up 712 yards but were undone by four turnovers. 

 

Stanford 31, No. 8 UCLA 10, Friday

UCLA had everything in front of it headed into Friday’s game against Stanford- Pac-12 South title, playoff hopes…  And then Kevin Hogan happened.  Hogan, who has been below average all season, had his best game of the year leading the Cardinal with 234 yards on 16 of 19 passing and two touchdowns.  The Stanford defense did their part as well, limiting Brett Hundley to 146 passing yards and held the Bruins to 5-14 on third downs and only 262 yards. 

 

No. 16 Georgia Tech 30, No. 9 Georgia 24

This might have been one of the most entertaining games of the week with three fumbles at the 1-yard line and three blocked kicks.  Georgia seemed to have the game in hand with 18 seconds left when Hutson Mason hit Malcolm Mitchell for a 3-yard touchdown pass, giving UGA a 24-21 lead.  A botched squib kick and a 21 yard scramble later, GT hit a 53-yard field goal to send the game into overtime when they would pick off Mason and secure the win.

 

 

No. 10 Michigan State 34, Penn State 10
The Spartans dominate throughout, limiting Penn State to 233 total yards and forcing two turnovers.  Penn State had previously secure a bowl berth but the Nittany Lions sputtered down the stretch losing six of their last eight games. 

 

No. 11 Arizona 42, No. 13 Arizona State 35, Friday

The Wildcats get one of the biggest wins of the week.  With UCLA’s loss earlier in the day, the winner of the “Territorial Cup” would go on to win the Pac-12 South.  Arizona gets the win and secures a rematch with Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship.

 

No. 12 Kansas State 51, Kansas 13

Nothing to see here.  K-State has a huge matchup with Baylor next week.

 

No. 14 Wisconsin 34, No. 18 Minnesota 24

Wisconsin secures a spot in the B1G Championship against Ohio State with their win over Minnesota on Saturday.  Melvin Gordon moves past Ron Dayne for the B1G single-season rushing record, adding 151 yards and touchdown to his Heisman resume.

 

No. 17 Missouri 21, Arkansas 14

Missouri rallies late to edge out suddenly streaking Arkansas team to earn consecutive SEC East crowns.  The Tigers needed two fourth quarter touchdowns by Jimmie Hunt and Marcus Murphy and a late fumble recovery by Markus Golden to seal the victory.

 

Oklahoma, IDLE

Next game- Saturday, Dec. 6 vs. Oklahoma State

 

 

No. 21 Clemson 35, South Carolina 17
Dabo gets the Ol’ Ball Coach off his back as Clemson snaps a five game losing streak against the Gamecocks.  Quarterback Deshaun Watson returned, leading the Tigers to 491 total yards despite an ACL injury.  Fellow freshman Wayne Gallman and Artavis Scott added a season highs in rushing and receiving, respectively.  Gallman ran for 191 rushing yards and score while Scott added long touchdowns receptions (53 yards and 70 yards) on seven catches for 185 yards. 

 

No. 22 Louisville 44, Kentucky 40

Tempersflare early and often in this one.  Kentucky took the lead twice in the fourth quarter, once on defensive touchdown, their second of the game (pick-six in the second quarter and fumble recovery) and again by running back Stanley Williams with 5:31 left, putting the Wildcats up 40-37.  Louisville would answer with a four yard run by Brandon Radcliff for the go ahead and the win.   

 

No. 23 Boise State 50, Utah State 19

Boise was all over Utah State here, jumping out to a 34-10 halftime lead.  The Broncos were led by running back Jay Ajayi as he ran over, around and through the Mountain West’s best defense for 229 yards and five touchdowns.

 

Western Kentucky 67, No. 24 Marshall 66, Friday

Marshall’s perfect season is smashed in a wild shootout in overtime against W. Kentucky.  The fireworks started early and often in a game that combined for 133 points, 1,446 total yards, 74 first downs and on critical two-point conversion. 

 

No. 25 Utah 38, Colorado 34

The Buffalos lead 34-31 in the fourth but a pick-six gives the Utes the edge.  It was another hard fought game for a Buffs team that’s been competitive in almost every conference game this year.  Unfortunately, they come up just short for the final time this season.

 

 

 

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