Some of the top-ranked, undefeated teams suffered their first losses.
- #2 Miami lost a close one to Louisville, thanks to four interceptions.
- #5 Ole Miss seemed to have their game in hand after three quarters, whereupon #9 Georgia ran off 17 points to win.
- #7 Texas Tech lost to Arizona State.
- #22 Memphis lost a shocker to UAB. That was UAB’s only conference win after three defeats. UAB came into the game with no head coach and as the worst defensive team in the nation, having allowed 41.3 points per game. That’s more than Sam Houston, U Mass or Kent State. That loss was a disaster for Memphis.
- #29 UNLV got obliterated by surrendering 56 points to Boise State.
Memphis and UNLV were among last week’s “most overrated.” I think we can now remove them from that list.
—
Elsewhere:
No more jokes from me about Northwestern and Vanderbilt. Turns out those kids have some game. Vandy (6-1) beat #10 LSU, and Northwestern (5-2) never allowed Purdue to score.
#21 Texas totally stunk it up, requiring OT and a lot of luck to defeat Kentucky. They scored only one TD and managed only 179 yards of offense behind Arch Manning’s 12-for-27 performance. Kentucky controlled the ball for twice as much time, amassed twice as much yardage, and had three times as many first downs, while executing 86 plays, compared to 55 for Texas. Texas managed only eight first downs in the entire game. The only reason Texas was able to stay in the game is that their punt returner was nearly unstoppable – and that’s not much to build a team on.
Penn State lost yet again, to Iowa this time. They are now 0-4 in the conference. Guess who they play in their next two games? First they have to go on the road to play the the #1 team in the nation. If they survive that, their next game is against the newly anointed #2 team! And they are running that gauntlet with an interim coach. At this point they have to feel like Mr. Bill playing against the Sluggo family.
—
Speaking of coaches:
Florida joined Penn State, Oklahoma State, Arkansas and UCLA in the “coachless” category. Others that have been rumored to join the club soon include Florida State, Wisconsin and Auburn.
* Dabo’s job seems safe at Clemson, but that’s based on a great track record in the past and the fact that a buy-out would cost the school $60 million. This year is a disaster. They are 3-4 after being #4 in the pre-season polls.
* Wisconsin is also facing a massive buy-out (in the $30 million range), but how much patience can they show after two straight shut outs? The Badgers are averaging 13 points per game, worst among major programs, and approaching U Mass territory. And they’re only that high because they scored 42 against Middle Tennessee, the U Mass of the Confederacy. I wonder whether the Badgers’ offensive co-ordinator has packed his bags yet.
* Belichick lost again. He has a five-year contract. The good news for North Carolina is that he’s so old he could die before they have to pay a buy-out. To be fair to the old buzzard, it takes time for a head coach to make a difference.
—
The rest of the week went approximately according to plan. These teams won to remain undefeated: Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech and BYU.
Navy, also undefeated, had the week off.
Overrated teams o’ the week
In the top 25:
1. BYU, 18 places (Computer 29, AP 11)
2. Georgia Tech, 16 places (23, 7)
2. Virginia, 16 places (32,16)
2. South Florida, 16 places (34,18)
In the “just missed” group
1. Navy, 49 places (80,31)
2. San Diego State, 47 places (79,32)
3. Tulane, 27 places (55,28)
4. Houston, 25 places (54,29)
If the regular season were now over, South Florida would be in the playoff. As I’ve noted before, there are only four strong conferences, but the top FIVE conference winners get an automatic bid. At the moment, South Florida is the top-rated conference team outside the Fab Four.
Honestly I don’t think Georgia Tech is as overrated as the computer thinks they are. I wouldn’t put them at number 7 but mid-teens feels entirely plausible.