College Football Week 12 Recap

As the college football season draws closer to an end, every game becomes more and more imperative. One single play can derail an entire season. In light of this, The Sports Examiner will now have a playoff section where we will look at the playoff picture in detail. Also, the rankings that we use will be the CFP rankings instead of the AP Poll. Since we don't want to make the post too long, the notable games section will be shortened a little bit. Let's get started.

Notable Games:

The biggest game of the week was #1 and undefeated Mississippi State taking on #5 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Tide D really stepped their game up here, as they forced three turnovers and got a safety. As a result of this game, Alabama jumped four spots back up to #1 (their first time at the top of any poll this season) while the Bulldogs tumbled three spots.

TCU entered the week at #4, but slipped after their meeting with Kansas. The Horned Frogs did pick up the victory, but the 3-7 Jayhawks kept it very close, prompting the voters to drop Texas Christian a spot.

After their huge win over Notre Dame last week, many people believed Arizona State was going to make the playoffs. Instead, the #6 Sun Devils lost to Sean Mannion and Oregon State 35-27.  With that loss, ASU dropped to #13 and lost their perch atop the Pac-12 South.

Speaking of Notre Dame, the #18 Fighting Irish lost in OT to the Wildcats of Northwestern. This was ND's third loss of the season and it knocked them out of the rankings completely. Just a month ago, ND was one of only six undefeated teams left. Now, they're not even ranked.

Duke also fell off the rankings this week. Their tumble came as a result of a loss to Virginia Tech, which came into the game 4-5. The Blue Devils were once seen by many as the last possible team that could beat FSU before the playoffs, but now it looks like they will not get that shot.

Another team to fall off the polls: #24 Texas A&M. Kevin Sumlin and the Aggies were coming off a huge win over Auburn last week, but could not parlay that momentum into a win against Missouri. The Tigers won 34-27 and picked up their eighth win of the season. They are now ranked at 20 and are in position to repeat as SEC East champions. 

Arkansas entered the week at 4-5 and with a streak of 17 straight conference losses. After some close calls this season, they finally broke that streak by upsetting #17 LSU 17-0. That was the Tigers' fourth loss of the season and sent them spiraling off the rankings.

Notable Performances:

Florida State kept their perfect season alive by beating Miami (Fl) 30-26. It was very close, but the Seminoles eeked out the win. A big reason was freshman Dalvin Cook, who rushed for 92 yards and two scores. 

USC started the week unranked, but now find themselves at #19 after their 38-30 win over California. The gameball went to (or at least should have went to, I'm not really sure who it actually went to) QB Cody Kessler, who threw for 371 yards and four touchdowns. 

Western Michigan won their seventh game of the season by laying the smackdown on Eastern Michigan. Leading the way  was sophomore QB Zach Terrell, who went 17 for 19 through the air,  threw for 357 yards (leading to a great 18.8 average), threw four scores and zero picks, ran six times for 41 yards (a 6.8 average), and ran for a TD. In fact, his performance was so good, The Sports Examiner gives him their official seal of approval. 

Like USC, Oklahoma started the season unranked but are now ranked (they're now 21). The reason they're ranked: a 42-30 win over Texas Tech. The main reason they won:  Samaje Perine. His 213 yards on the ground made up for a shaky Sooners passing game.

Finally, let's give some love to Brandon Doughty of Western Kentucky. His three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown led WKU to a 52-24 win over Army. That gave WKU their fifth win of the season.

Heisman Watch:

Even though the season is drawing to a close, we still have ten players on our Heisman Watch, though this will no doubt change as the end of the season approaches. Like last week, Gerod Holliman of Louisville sits on the bubble. He'll need to pick off Everett Golson at least once on Saturday to get on this list. We also have one guy dropping off the list: Ameer Abdullah of Nebraska. His 69 rushing yards against Wisconsin simply didn't cut it.

10. Cody Kessler, USC (Last Week: NR)- This may seem like a weird pick, but Kessler (a dark-horse Heisman candidate at the beginning of the year) has had a great year. Only eight players have more TD's than him and he has only thrown three picks.

9. Bryce Petty, Baylor (Last Week: 8)- If both Petty and Hundley had the week off, how did they switch places? Simple, UCLA moved up to second in the Pac-12 South, meaning that if they beat USC on Saturday, they'll most likely play Oregon for the Pac-12 championship. But if Petty puts up big numbers against Oklahoma State on Saturday, he could move right back up.

8. Brett Hundley, UCLA (Last Week: 9)- As I just stated, the opportunities for Hundley to shine are right there, If he can take advantage of them, he'll move up nicely in the Heisman Watch. First off: a game for control of the Pac-12 South with USC.

7. Rakeem Cato, Marshall (Last Week: 7)- It seems like no one is paying attention to Cato or Marhsall anymore, but Marshall is still undefeated and Cato is still playing quite well. Against Rice, he threw for four touchdowns and accounted for more than 300 yards.

6. Amari Cooper, Alabama (Last Week: 6)- Cooper had a nice game against the Bulldogs (eight catches for 88 yards and a score), but he stays put at #6. If he puts up big numbers against Western Carolina (which he should), he should crack the top five.

5. Trevone Boykin, TCU (Last Week: 5)- TCU struggled against Kansas, but they still won. Boykin's passing game was good (330 yards, one touchdowns, and one INT) but he struggled on the ground (11 rushes for two yards).

4. Dak Prescott, Mississippi State (Last Week: 2)- Prescott falls two spots after being picked off thrice by the Crimson Tide. If he wants to reclaim his top spot, he'll need a big showing against Vandy on Saturday.

3. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State (Last Week:4)- If you look at the season this guy has had, it's really hard to argue that he should not make the trip to New York. And remember, this guy has only been the starting QB for about 85 days.

2. Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin (Last Week: 3)- Gordon moves into the two spot after a simply phenomenal showing against Nebraska. He rushed for four scores and an FBS-record 408 yards, leading his Badgers to an impressive 59-24 win.

1. Marcus Mariota, Oregon (Last Week: 1)- As good as Gordon's week was, Mariota still stays in the top spot. He'll have a chance to bolster his stats next week against Colorado as he waits to see who he will face in the Pac-12 title game.

Playoff Picture:

After their win against Mississippi State, Alabama moved up to #1. In order to keep their top spot, they'll need to win the Iron Bowl and the SEC Championship. If they do lose one of those games, they could miss the playoffs entirely, seeing as they already have one loss.

Right after Alabama are Oregon and Florida State, respectively. Out of the two, FSU has an easier path to the playoffs. Georgia Tech is sneaky good, but not on the level of UCLA and USC. It's the fourth spot that is tricky. Right now, it's occupied by Mississippi State, which makes sense. They've only lost once, and that was to the current top team. If they don't win the SEC Championship however, expect the voters to give the last spot to either TCU or Ohio State (depending of course, whether or not they win their conferences).

But what if neither Alabama now Mississippi State win the SEC title? What if Missouri or Georgia wins. Missouri is currently ranked 20, but it is unfathomable to think of the playoffs without an SEC team in there. If 'Bama were to beat Auburn, Ole Miss were to beat Mississippi State, and Missouri beat 'Bama in the SEC title game, we could even see both the Tigers and Tide in the playoffs.

Games to Watch Next Week:

#24 Louisville goes up to South Bend to take on the Irish. The Irish are still smarting after two straight losses, and a win over Louisville would most likely put them back in the rankings. This could be one of the best games of the weekend.

A lot of FBS teams trip up against Division II and Division III teams, such as Florida last year. Alabama however, has absolutely no problem against these teams. In fact, they completely dominate them. That's what makes it fun to watch. Expect a brutal beat-down when they take on Western Carolina on Saturday.

Duke and North Carolina will be meeting on Thursday in what should be an interesting match. Neither of these teams are ranked, but they're both talented teams and should have an interesting encounter.

There is only one top ten team going against another ranked team this week, and that would be #9 UCLA taking on #9 USC. This is going to be the biggest game of the week, as Pac-12 South supremacy is on the line. If the Bruins win, their playoff dreams become a little bit more real and clearer.

Quick, who leads the FBS in passing yards? Not Boykin, not Petty, and not even Barrett. It's Connor Halliday of Washingston State. You'll get a chance to see his arm at work against #13 ASU on Saturday. The Sun Devils are ranked 26th in passing offense, so this could be a fun offensive-minded showdown.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to check out other articles on this page and look for next week's recap. 

College Football Week 11 Recap

On paper, this looked like it would be a great week for college football. There were some match-ups between ranked teams with big playoff consequences. In reality, it was an exciting week, but not as good as it could have been. There was a lot of shake-up in the rankings. Speaking of which, we will now be referring to the CFP rankings, instead of the AP. Let's get started.

Notable Games:

LSU and Alabama have had some of the best games in recent years. They even played for the national title a few years ago. Their game on Saturday was no different. Blake Sims led a 50 yard drive in 50 seconds, capped by a game-tying field goal by Adam Griffith. The Tide then won the game in overtime, sending the Tigers to sixth in the SEC West.

The only other great game of the week featuring a ranked team featured #3 Auburn and Texas A&M. Kevin Sumlin has loved to play spoiler these last few years, and that continued on Saturday. Behind a great game by freshman Kyle Allen, the Aggies picked up a 41-38 win, seriously hurting Auburn's playoff chances. A&M meanwhile, moved up to 24.

#10 Notre Dame and #9 Arizona State were supposed to have a classic. Instead, the Sun Devils took a 34-3 lead in the second quarter and never looked back. ASU ended up winning 55-31 and now sits  at #6. ND meanwhile, dropped all the way to 18. Could we see two Pac-12 teams in the playoffs? It's certainly a possibility, with both Oregon and ASU playing well.

Speaking of Oregon, the #4 team in the country had an easy going against #17 Utah, dropping the Utes to 6-3, fifth in the Pac-12 South, and to #23 in the rankings. Oregon meanwhile, leapfrogged to the two spot and clinched the Pac-12 North.

The week started off with #21 Clemson visiting Wake Forest. Though the Demon Deacons kept things interesting, the Tigers broke away and won 34-20. Clemson is now ranked #19 and is behind only Florida State in their division.

#7 Kansas State took on #6 TCU in a battle of top ten Big 12 teams. Unfortunately for K-State, things went downhill pretty quickly. The Horned Frogs jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first and ended up winning 41-20. TCU is now ranked fourth and is second in the Big 12, only to Baylor.

Baylor meanwhile, easily dispatched of #15 Oklahoma quite easily. The #12 Bears won 48-14 and moved into the top ten. Oklahoma meanwhile, dropped off the rankings completely, even though they are 6-3.

Brett Hundley led #18 UCLA to a win over Washington, becoming the school's all-time leader in career touchdown passes. The Bruins are now ranked 11 and still have a shot at making the playoffs, though it will be tough.

One of the biggest upsets of the week was unranked Texas taking down #23 West Virginia. This is the best win so far of coach Charlie Strong's first year at Texas. This moved the Longhorns up to fourth in the Big 12 and moved West Virginia (now unranked) to fifth.

Not many people have paid attention to the American Athletic Conference now that East Carolina dropped off the rankings, but the conference does have some good teams. Leading the pack right now is 6-3 Memphis, who knocked off Temple 16-13. If Memphis does win the conference, they will surely be ranked.

Notable Performances:

We start with Army's Angel Santiago. He was only 2/3 for 38 yards, but his main contribution was on the ground. Santiago rushed 25 times for 97 yards and two scores, helping Army beat Connecticut 35-21.

Many experts believed Georgia was out of the playoff race after their star running back Todd Gurley was suspended, but the Bulldogs have actually done quite well since then. Their most recent win: A 63-21 thumping of Kentucky. Leading the way was Hutson Mason, who went 13-16 for four scores and zero picks.

Arizona entered the week at 19, but moved up five spots after beating Colorado 38-20. A big reason was freshman QB Anu Solomon, who accounted for 316 total yards and four passing touchdowns. Is it time he get a little Heisman love?

Isaac Blakeney had only three catches for #22 Duke in their conference game against Syracuse, but they went for a total of 94 yards and two scores. The Blue Devils are now ranked #19 and are one of the favorites to win the Coastal division.

You probably didn't know this, but Lousiana Tech is 6-0 in conference play and 7-3 overall. Granted, they do play in Conference USA, but that's still impressive. Their seventh win came over UAB in a game mainly controlled by the Bulldogs. Junior Kenneth Dixon had three scores on the ground and 17 yards receiving to help the Bulldogs win.

Heisman Watch:

We had a big shake-up this week, as two top six candidates (Everett Golson and Nick Marshall) fall off the list completely. We have two returning players to the list and only one guy on the bubble: Gerod Holliman of Lousiville, who had three interceptions against Boston College. He's a dark horse candidate, but he has a shot.

10. Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska (Last Week: 10)- Abdullah stays at number 10 after a week of inactivity. Remember, he was injured in his previous outing, so that could affect his status for next week against Wisconsin. If he misses that game, his Heisman quest is done.

9. Brett Hundley, UCLA (Last Week: NR)- Hundley moves back into our list after putting up great numbers against Washington. Not only did he throw for 302 yards and two touchdowns, he also ran for 18 yards and two scores.

8. Bryce Petty, Baylor (Last Week: NR)- Petty is the second returning player on our list. He only threw one touchdown against Oklahoma, but his Bears are ranked #7 and first in the Big 12. If Baylor does make the playoffs, it can only help Petty's Heisman dreams.

7. Rakeem Cato, Marshall (Last Week: 8)- Marshall is 9-0, and Cato is a big reason why. Against Southern Mississippi, Cato had three scores and accounted for 278 yards of offense. If Marshall goes undefeated, Cato could get invited to New York.

6. Amari Cooper, Alabama (Last Week: 7): Cooper didn't have a fantastic game against LSU, but the Crimson Tide won and Cooper had 8 catches for 83 yards and a score. Receivers are always long shots to win the Heisman, but Cooper definitely has a chance.

5. Trevone Boykin, TCU (Last Week: 9)- Boykin enters the top five after leading TCU to a huge win over #7 Kansas State. The Horned Frogs are now ranked 4 and if they win out, will probably make the playoffs. If so, Boykin is a near lock to be a Heisman finalist.

4. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State (Last Week: 5)- Barrett moves up after showing up the stout Michigan State defense. Barrett accounted for five total touchdowns, leading his Buckeyes to a huge win over #8 MSU.

3. Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin (Last Week: 3)- Gordon leads the country with 1,501 rushing yards and 166.8 yards per game. Those numbers won't guarantee him the Heisman, but they sure will help his case.

2. Dak Prescott, Mississippi State (Last Week: 2)- Prescott had 260 total yards and three scores for Mississippi State in their win against Tennessee-Martin. The real test however, comes next week when he takes on Alabama. If the Bulldogs win, Prescott could once again become the Heisman front-runner.

1. Marcus Mariota, Oregon (Last Week: 1)- The junior accounted for 300 yards and four scores as Oregon trounced #20 Utah. If Oregon wins the Pac-12 title, it's all but guaranteed that Mariota will be a Heisman finalist.

Games to Watch Next Week:

Notre Dame is still reeling from their loss to ASU. Northwestern is a sneaky good team that is ready to prey upon the unsuspecting Irish. The #18 Irish are heavily favorite, but the Wildcats could pull off the upset.

Duke Johnson has had a pretty great year so far. In fact, he could even be in the Heisman race. To further his candidacy, he and his Hurricanes of Miami (Fl) will have to beat #3 Florida State on Saturday.

The biggest game of the week is undoubtedly #1 Mississippi State travelling to take on #5 Alabama. The Bulldogs are undefeated while 'Bama has only one loss, so the winner's playoff aspirations will get a big boost.

#19 Clemson and #22 Georgia have been under-the-radar this season, but they are ranked (obviously). These two will clash in Week 12, and the loser will likely have their ACC Championship dreams dashed.

Texas A&M is now ranked #24 after upsetting Auburn last week. However, they now have to contend with 7-2 Missouri, who could actually win the SEC East. This could possibly be one of the best games of the week.

Thanks for reading, If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe, comment, and share. And of course, be sure to check in for next week's recap. 

College Football Week 10 Recap

This recap is a little late (sorry about that), but it's never too late to recap the week. Well sometimes it is too late, but in this case it's not. Week 10 was an interesting week in college football. It was the first week with the CFP rankings, so there was extra pressure to impress the committee. Let's get started with out weekly recap. As always, all rankings will be AP unless otherwise stated.

Notable Games:

The best game of the week was #4 Auburn visiting #7 Ole Miss. Both of them are ranked in the top four in the CFP, so this game had BIG playoff implications. These two teams gave everything they had, but it was Auburn that pulled out the win. Ole Miss dropped five spots while Auburn moved up to #3.

The first game of the week for a ranked team was #2 Florida State taking on Louisville, who was ranked 25th on the CFP. Louisville jumped to a 21-0 lead, but the Seminoles won 42-31. This dropped the Cardinals out of the rankings completely, while Florida State is still ranked second in both polls.

Arkansas gave first-place Mississippi State all they could handle. The Razorbacks jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but Dak Prescott threw for a career-high 331 yards to lead the Bulldogs to their eighth win of the season.

The biggest upset of the week was unranked Florida beating #9 Georgia. The Bulldogs came into this game as the favorites to win the SEC East division while Florida coach Will Muschamp was supposedly in danger of losing his job. Instead, the Gators rushed for 418 yards and snuffed out any chances Georgia had of making the playoffs.

Another big upset: 6-1 East Carolina (ranked #23 in the CFP) lost to Temple, ending any chances ECU had of making the playoffs. A big reason the Pirates lost: five turnovers, while Temple had zero.

The last game of Saturday night was Utah (ranked 17 in the CFP) and Arizona State (ranked 14 in the CFP) battling for control of the Pac-12 South. ASU won in overtime, moving them up to #9 in the CFP.

One of the best games of the week featured #10 Texas Christian University taking on #20 West Virginia University. The Mountaineers jumped to a 13-0 lead, but a field goal by Jaden Oberkrom as time expired lifted the Horned Frogs to a 31-30 victory. TCU is now ranked #6 in both polls and West Virginia is now ranked 24 in the AP.

Oregon has had some problems with Stanford in recent years, but there was no problem for the Ducks on Saturday. The fifth-ranked Ducks trounced Stanford, sending them to 5-4. Oregon is now ranked #4 in the CFP.

#11 Kansas State picked up a big conference win over Oklahoma State. The Wildcats looked very impressive in their 48-14 win over the Cowboys. K-State is now ranked #7 in the CFP and has a legitimate shot at making the playoffs.

#24 Duke picked up a tough win over Pittsburgh in 2OT. The Blue Devils won 51-48, earning their seventh win of the season. Duke is on top of the ACC Coastal Division and will probably face Florida State for the ACC Championship.

Notable Performances:

In his first career start, freshman Brian Hill of Wyoming rushed for 281 yards and caught 106 yards. His two scores helped Wyoming beat Fresno State 45-17. The Cowboys are now fifth in the Mountain West Mountain division.

#19 Oklahoma picked up a huge win against Iowa State this week. Leading the way was QB Trevor Knight. He accounted for six total touchdowns, three from the air and three from the ground. In total, he had 376 yards.

#12 Baylor picked up a 60-14 win over unranked Kansas. Bryce Petty threw for three touchdowns, including two to Corey Coleman. Including one kick return, Coleman accounted for 188 total yards. The Bears are now ranked tenth.

Vanderbilt may be last place in the SEC West, but they beat Old Dominion 42-28. A lot of credit goes to freshman quarterback Johnny McCrary who went 20 for 29, 281 yards, and five touchdowns, all of which went to different receivers.

It's been a touch season for Michigan so far, but they did pick up a nice win over Indiana. Helping them win was #20 running back Drake Johnson, who rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns. U of M is now 4-5, meaning they will probably make a bowl game.

Heisman Watch:
There wasn't a lot of mix-up on the Heisman watch this week, though we did have one player slip six spots. The only player to fall out of the list this week: ECU's Shane Carden, who was scoreless against Temple. Unfortunately for the senior QB, his Heisman candidacy is dead. Now, let's look at the ten players who have the best Heisman shots.

10. Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska (Last Week: 4)- Abdullah drops six spots after sustaining an injury in the first quarter against Purdue. Abdullah did not return, and his stats up to that point were disappointing: six rushes for one yard.

9. Trevone Boykin, TCU (Last Week: 9)- Boykin stays locked into the ninth spot after a win over West Virginia. Boykin's stats weren't phenomenal (166 passing yards, two scores, and a pick) but he did help TCU pick up a good win.

8. Rakeem Cato, Marshall (Last Week: 8)- Marshall was off this week, so Cato remains at #8 on our list. If the Thundering Herd are able to stay undefeated and Cato continues to put up solid numbers, we could see him become a Heisman finalist.

7. Amari Cooper, Alabma (Last Week: 7)- 'Bama was off this week, but Cooper remains in the seventh spot on our Heisman watch. In order to move up this list, he'll have to put up big numbers against LSU in Week 11.

6. Nick Marshall, Auburn (Last Week: NR)- The Tigers QB finds his way back onto our rankings after Auburn's impressive win over Ole Miss. Marshall threw for a season-high 254 yards and had four touchdowns. If he keeps this up, look for him to get invited to New York.

5. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State (Last Week: 6)- The Buckeyes absolutely dominated Illinois, winning 55-14. Barrett only played for one half, as Urban Meyer decided to let sophomore Cardale Jones get some reps. However, Barrett still managed to rack up more than 200 all-purpose yards and throw for two touchdowns.

4. Everett Golson, Notre Dame (Last Week: 5)- Golson moves up one spot after accounting for six total touchdowns against Navy. If Golson wants to be a Heisman finalist, the Fighting Irish will have to win out and Golson will have to put up big numbers, both of which are very possible.

3. Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin (Last Week: 3)- Gordon had a relatively quiet game against Rutgers, picking up 128 yards and two scores on 19 carries. He did leave the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent knee injury, but head coach Gary Anderson said later that he was fine.

2. Dak Prescott, Mississippi State (Last Week:1)- The Bulldogs did beat Arkansas, but it was not an impressive win. Mississippi State is #1 in the country and Arkansas hasn't won an SEC game in two years. Prescott wasn't very impressive either (he had two picks), and slips out of the top spot as a result.

1. Marcus Mariota, Oregon (Last Week: 2)- Mariota regains the top spot after an impressive win against Stanford. Not only that, the Ducks QB leads the nation in efficiency rating, is second in yards per pass attempt, and and is sixth in completion rate, At this point, this is Mariota's race to lose.

Games to Watch Next Week:

One of the biggest games of the week: #8 Notre Dame taking on #11 Arizona State. This game has big playoff implications, as both of these teams are on the bubble. The loser will have their playoff dreams dashed.

The best game of the week will probably be #4 Alabama and #14 LSU. These two teams are among the best in the country and will no doubt be giving it their all, as the winner will have great standing in the SEC West.

The biggest Big 10 game of the week is #13 Ohio State and #7 Michigan State. Both of these teams have playoff hopes, so this game has big implications. Both the Spartans and Buckeyes are 4-0 in conference play.

#6 TCU and #9 Kansas State square off in the biggest Big 12 game of the week. Both of these teams are on the playoff bubble, and a win here would add some steam to their campaigns. This has potential to be a really good game.

The best Pac-12 game of the week (notice a pattern here?) is between #5 Oregon Ducks and #20 Utah Utes. Oregon is one of the top teams in the country right now, but don't expect Travis Wilson and Utah to go down easily.

Week 11 has the potential to be a really exciting week, and hopefully, it is.