College Football Odds and Sods: The Big Ten Eliminates Itself From Playoff Contention
By Ty Duffy
Jim Delany believes writing off the Big Ten after week two would be premature. That makes sense. The trouble is the system set up by Delany and others does not. It will choose four teams based on perception (They know it when they see it). The Big Ten already faced a struggle there from past failures. Last Saturday saw nearly every one of its major programs gelded on a major public stage. No defeat, by itself, was crippling. But the combined effect, in such a short time frame, confirmed an already entrenched narrative: the Big Ten stinks.
Michigan State collapsed on the road at Oregon. The Spartans held a nine-point lead in the third quarter. They were poised to piss in the Yalu. Then, the floor fell out from under the defense. Tempo and heat. Oregon posted four unanswered touchdowns in its final five drives. The Ducks won by 19. A road game at Autzen was a tough ask. Spartan fans won’t be too dispirited by their effort. But, the best Big Ten team being unable to keep it within two touchdowns against, perhaps, the best Pac 12 team is not a positive.
Notre Dame shut out Michigan 31-0 in South Bend. Brady Hoke is now 1-11 outside Ann Arbor vs. teams that finished the season above .500. Barring an Irish collapse, this will be the Wolverines’ seventh-straight loss, regardless of venue, against teams that reach a bowl game. The scoreline was a tad flattering to Notre Dame. Had Michigan converted third downs, not turned the ball over, possessed a competent kicker and caught the opposing quarterback on a marginally less effective day, they might have kept it within two touchdowns. The Wolverines could bounce back to finish 9-3, and convince no one.
Ohio State lost by two touchdowns in the horseshoe to Virginia Tech, with the marauding Hokie defense sacking J.T. Barrett seven times and hitting him 31 times. This season may be a write off for the Buckeyes with Braxton Miller out. It will be sold as one now. But, Braxton wasn’t going to be blocking for himself or featuring in the back seven of the defense. The Big Ten’s two biggest programs, by name, were foiled by Scott Loeffler and Brian VanGorder, the coordinators from Auburn’s 2012 team.
On smaller stages, the Big Ten lost the B1G-MAC challenge. Central Michigan crushed Purdue 38-21 in West Lafayette, with Michigan transfer Thomas Rawls rushing for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries. Northwestern dropped its in-state battle to Northern Illinois 23-15. Iowa needed two touchdowns in the final six minutes to limp away with a 17-13 win at home against Ball State. Let us not overlook Nebraska, who needed this crazy touchdown catch from Ameer Abdullah to fend off McNeese State 31-24. Here’s what it looked like to be on the losing end of that.
Delany is correct that half the non-conference games and all the conference games remain. However, the most high-profile B1G game outside the conference left is…Michigan against Utah? If the Wolverines win that, it accomplishes little. If they lose at home, it incites the narrative torrent further. B1G contenders won’t get national credit for going 8-0 in a watered down conference schedule. A 12-1 Wisconsin’s best regular season wins would be Nebraska, Iowa or Minnesota. A 12-1 Michigan State’s would be…Michigan or Ohio State, maybe.
Narrative gets written at the top. The ACC is quite similar to the Big Ten. The conference has a terrible bottom tier and a broad swatch of mediocrity. Its national powers have been waning for the better part of a decade. It has had one team finish in the SRS Top 10 since 2009. The difference is the ACC has Florida State, who crushed Florida beat Auburn and won the national title. Clemson beat LSU in the bowl game after 2012, beat Georgia to open the season and beat Ohio State in its bowl game.
College Football is cyclical. Perhaps, the Big Ten will build up again. But, top Big Ten teams have to assert themselves outside the conference to alter the narrative. Last Saturday was a major missed opportunity that, barring a tortured scenario of multiple-loss carnage, will leave the Big Ten on the outside looking in.
Should have pushed for eight teams with five automatic bids, Jim.
The Good…
Undefeated… The ACC went 11-0 against non-conference teams. Seven of them were FCS schools. Two of the others were Troy and Tulane. A ranked North Carolina team trailed San Diego State at home in the fourth quarter. But, with Virginia Tech beating Ohio State, the weekend was a comprehensive narrative win.
Irish Still Fighting… Notre Dame had five players suspended during an academic fraud investigation. That didn’t stop them from thumping Michigan 31-0 at home. Much of that may have been the Wolverines not being very good. But, a much improved Everett Golson being undisturbed by pressure and making throws into decent enough coverage should encourage. Of course, this was just one “test” on the Irish schedule. ND still has Stanford, North Carolina, Florida State (Away), Arizona State (Away), Louisville and USC (Away) awaiting them.
The Not So Good…
Texas is Still Texas… Texas tried to avenge their bad 2013 loss to BYU. They did not do so. Taysom Hill ran for 99 yards and three touchdowns (hurdling a dude in the process). The Longhorns’ offense, devastated by injuries, turned the ball over four times and averaged fewer than four yards/play. The Cougars won 41-7. But, Tyrone Swoopes “had a lot of fun” out there. So there’s that.
Defeat From The Jaws of Victory… Stanford had the ball across the USC 40-yard line on all nine drives. From that field position, they scored 10 points. That would be how you dominate a game along both sides of the ball and lose. Play-calling may be the cheapest critique. But, here, it’s hard to look away from it. The Cardinal did everything else right.
Anchored Down… Vanderbilt cut the turnovers down from seven to one. That was about the only positive to take from their 41-3 shellacking by Ole Miss. The Rebels did not punt the entire game. The Commodores’ lone scoring drive came in the 4th, after falling behind 41-0. Vanderbilt received the ball on the opponents’ five-yard line, lost four yards in three plays and kicked a field goal. Derek Mason has gone form zero to punchline in about 10 days.
In a Losing Effort…
Eastern Washington QB Vernon Adams Jr. completed 31/46 for 475 yards and seven touchdowns in the Eagles’ 59-52 loss to the FBS Washington Huskies. Runner up goes to Buffalo who scored three touchdowns to pull within a score of Army, after being down 30 in the 4th quarter.
Gambling Moment of the Weekend…
Alabama’s 41-0 win over Florida Atlantic was ruled final, after a lightning delay in the fourth quarter. The point spread, at many casinos, was 42. The game was delayed with Alabama about to kick a field goal from 4th and goal on the four yard line. All bets were cancelled. A strong second-place performance by Arizona having a late defensive touchdown against UTSA called back that would have covered the spread.
GIF of the Week…
LSU super-recruit Leonard Fournette scored his first LSU touchdown, on a four-yard scamper against Sam Houston State. He then pulled a Desmond Howard. This is probably just a forgettable moment from an 18-year-old with a promising future. We cannot believe a teenager who spent two years being feted by the national college football media and a summer being compared to Adrian Peterson would have an inflated self-image.
[USA Today Sports]