Stanford’s loss makes the national title race all the more serious while Clemson and Florida State battle it out this week hoping to stay alive.
Playerof the Week:QBMarcus Mariota-The Oregon signal caller is likely the frontrunner for the HeismanTrophy, and his team might be the best in the land.
RunnerUp: QB Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M)-Manziel’s heroics are the only thing keeping the Aggies in the titlehunt, and they are certainly keeping him very much in the Heismanrace.
Whatwe have learned…
1.Oklahoma is mostly hype…Before the season, I said that this was not a particularly strongOklahoma team. Their loss to a floundering Texas team proves that.
2.So is Michigan.The Wolverines fell from the ranks of the unbeaten after severalclose calls against inferior foes. At this point, it is pretty clearthat Michigan is not ready for prime time.
3.The SEC East is a mess.Georgia’s loss to Missouri through the East out of whack. On top ofthat Missouri signal caller James Franklin will be out for weeksmaking the entire division a toss up.
Feelinggood…
HCMack Brown (Texas)-Just when we think Brown is done, he pulls off a shocking win overthe Longhorns’ main rival.
RBBishop Sankey (Washington)-Despite his team’s loss, Sankey’s performance has him firmly in theHeisman race.
QBChristian Hackenburg (Penn State)-After leading his team to an upset win over Michigan, the elitefreshman quarterback has to be feeling optimistic about his promisingfuture in the Blue and White.
Missouri-The Tigers are 6-0 and just pulled off a significant win overGeorgia, putting them in the driver’s seat in the SEC East.
HCGary Anderson (Wisconsin)-The Badgers’s coach landed a signature win with a dominant victoryover Northwestern. Meanwhile, it is always nice when your predecessoris suffering a humiliating loss as Bielema did against SouthCarolina.
Feelingbad…
Missouri-Undefeated. At the top of the SEC East. And without their starquarterback for potentially the rest of the season.
HCDavid Shaw (Stanford)-The Cardinal have been as consistent as any program in the country,but have not been able to make it to the title game. After Saturday’sloss against Utah, it looks unlikely that the streak will break thisyear.
HCBret Bielema (Arkansas)-All indications pointed to a tough transition for Bielema from perennial BigTen contender Wisconsin to Arkansas, but a 52-7 loss at the hands ofa South Carolina team that has looked pretty mediocre this season isembarrassing.
Lookingahead…
UCFat Louisville-Central Florida is far from an elite team, but they may provide achallenge for the Cardinals.
Floridaat Missouri-This matchup could have a profound effect on who wins the SEC Easttitle.
Auburnat Texas A&M-The Aggies looked vulnerable against Ole Miss, but it is hard toimagine the Tigers being able to stop Johnny Football.
UCLAat Stanford-For UCLA, a victory against the Cardinal could vault them into theranks of legitimate title contenders.
Washingtonat Arizona State-After a rough two week stretch, the Huskies face off against anothertough team in the Sun Devils.
LSUat Ole Miss-The Rebels pushed the Aggies to the limit, and the matchup againstLSU could be telling in the SEC West.
USCat Notre Dame-Neither team is very good this year, but this game is always worthwatching.
FloridaState at Clemson-There may not be another game more important to the national titleand Heisman race than this one. This is the definition of a must seegame.
FollowCole Muzio on Twitter @ColeMuzio for more college football insights.
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