Mississippi State loses, FSU comes back again, Muschamp resigns, and running backs go wild. Here are five takeaways from the college football weekend.
Mississippi State Suffers First Loss
#1 Mississippi State’s Cinderella season is no longer perfect after losing to #5 Alabama, leaving only Florida State and Marshall in the club of the unbeaten. Bulldog QB Dak Prescott never seemed to find his comfort zone with the Tide defense spying him all game and stealing three passes.
Mississippi State shouldn’t plummet in the playoff poll because its loss comes on the road in a close game to a quality, highly-ranked team. The committee set a precedent when they didn’t kick Ole Miss out of the top four after losing at LSU, whose resume is not nearly as good as Alabama’s.
Florida State Holds On…Again
Once more, FSU rallied back from a halftime deficit to barely edge out what was supposed to be inferior talent. Miami led until the three-minute mark in the fourth quarter, when FSU scored to seal the game.
FSU QB Jameis Winston’s QBR was 59.8 with one TD and one INT. The Seminoles’s remaining games are at home against unranked Boston College and Florida.
Muschamp Out at Florida
It’s official: Will Muschamp will not return next season. After four seasons at Florida, he will coach the Gators’ remaining games as a lame duck. Muschamp’s tenure started with two winning seasons and two bowl games, but has since declined. Before accepting the head position at Florida, he was the highest paid coordinator in the Big 12 and coach-in-waiting behind Mack Brown at Texas. Now, he’s on the move again. Let the coaching search and salacious speculation begin.
Week of the Running Back
Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon ran into the record books against Nebraska, racking up 408 yards on 25 carries, surpassing former TCU RB LaDainian Tomlinson’s single-game record. He accounted for 65% of Wisconsin’s total yards. Three other CFB running backs rushed for more than 275 yards this weekend.
Georgia RB Todd Gurley returned from his NCAA-imposed four game suspension this week against Auburn. Gurley, also a kick-returner, took the opening kickoff 100 yards to the house. A microcosm of Gurley’s season: the exciting touchdown was revoked as Georgia was punished for holding; he rushed for 138 yards and tore his ACL in the fourth quarter.
Playoff Committee Predictions
The CFB Playoff Committee has a tough test this week with Mississippi State losing to a great team and FSU, Ohio State, and TCU scraping by. Here are this week’s committee predictions:
1. Oregon: previously #2—Bye week.
2. Alabama: previously #5—beat #1 MS State at home.
3. FSU: unchanged—narrowly defeated rival Miami on the road. Continues to show that it has the goods to win, but never convincingly.
4. Mississippi State: previously #1—lost at #5 Alabama.
If you loved this column or hated it, let Daniel J. Freeman know on Twitter @djfree.
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