The Ole College Try

This was week 13, or more importantly, the first of two consecutive weeks of rivalry games.  Who knows what can happen in a rivalry game?  Well, almost everyone as most games played out according to form.  Which ones did and didn't - stay tuned.

Game of the Week

Yale Bulldogs 50 - Harvard Crimson 43.  Now, for those of you that think that i am biased for picking a game with my alma mater, this is NOT a biased selection.  This truly was the game of the week.  It was tremendous.  And, the bad guys won, so you know it had to be good for me to select this game.  Harvard jumped out to a lead, was up 17 with like 6 minutes left, and up 14 with just over a minute left.  A touchdown, recovered onside kick, and a touchdown sent the game to overtime - IN THE DARK.  Let me emphasize this - THE YALE BOWL DOES NOT HAVE LIGHTS.  Now, why was the game scheduled to end in the dark if there are no lights?  It wasn't.  Students protesting and demanding for divestment from fossil fuel and climate change causing companies did a sit-in at halftime, causing a 48 minute delay.  43 people arrested.  In overtime, Harvard scores on the first play.  Yale scores to tie the game, and then scores again in the second overtime to go up 7.  Harvard gets into a 4th and 5, where coach Tim Murphy calls a bubble screen, which gains 4 1/2 yards to come up just short.  Yale secures a share of the Ivy League title, despite fumbling into the end zone on the first drive, but somehow replay gave the ball back to Yale, which eventually scored a field goal.   Yale quarterback Kurt Rawlings can play on Sunday.

Best Team Performance

Utah Utes.  Other teams had bigger wins, and still other teams had more impressive wins, but Utah, with an opportunity to clinch their division with only one loss (which Oregon failed to do on the other side of the conference), Utah defeated Arizona 35-7, giving up only a meaningless fourth quarter touchdown.  If Utah can win the Pac-12, they would be in contention for the last playoff spot with LSU (if Georgia wins the SEC), or with Alabama and Oklahoma (if LSU wins the SEC). Solidly doing what they had to do, can bring Utah into the playoff discussion.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Oregon Ducks.  The exact converse of Utah, the Ducks laid an egg when given the opportunity to stay in the playoff discussion, falling 31-28 to the Arizona State Sun Devils, helped at least in part by 2 consecutive fourth quarter interceptions by Justin Herbert.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Kedon Slovis, QB - USC Trojans.  The freshman QB, paying in his first rivalry game, was 37-47 for 515 yards and 4 TDs.  He spread the ball around well, as four different receivers gained at least 100 yards in the game as USC outdistanced UCLA 52-35.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)

Xavier McKinney, DB - Alabama Crimson Tide. McKinney had only 3 tackles, but 2 interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, as Alabama destroyed Western Carolina 66-3.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Coby Bryant, CB - Cincinnati Bearcats.  Temple scores a touchdown to cut Cincinnati's lead to 13-6 in the fourth quarter, where Bryan returns the extra point for a 2 point defensive conversion to put the Bearcats up 15-6.  A later touchdown by Temple brings Cincinnati's lead down to the 2 point conversion, keeping the 10-1 Bearcats in the conversation for Group of 5 New Year's Bowl game.

Goat of the Week (Player Edition)

Every Harvard student that protested at halftime of the Harvard-Yale game.  You made the game finish in the dark, where Harvard could only try short passes and runs to try to tie the game.  You suck!

Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)

Tim Murphy - Harvard Crimson.  I get why you called the screen on 4th and 5 in double overtime, nobody could see if the pass was much longer, and, a first down was only a half a block away.  But, why did you try on onside kick in the fourth quarter up 17, giving Yale good field position to get that first score needed to start a comeback?  Don't you know Yale invented the onside kick?

Breakthrough Performance

Aiden Borguet, RB - Havard Crimson.  The first-year running back gained 269 on 11 carries, but he had 243 on his first 6 carries, with 4 TDs, to single-legedly push Harvard into its lead against Yale in his first ever appearance in THE GAME.

Finally

Bud Foster, DC - Virginia Tech Hokies.  Finally his last home game.  After coaching at Virginia Tech for 12,749 years, Bud Foster is finally retiring, and his last home game is a 28-0 shutout. Can coordinators make the College Football Hall of Fame?

Impact Injury

Tua Tagavailoa, QB - Alabama.  It is still Tua.

Team Rising

Oklahoma Sooners.  I know that it is hard to say that a team ranked 9th in the country is rising, but after defeating TCU 28-24, and with Ohio State's victory over Penn State, the Sooners are back in playoff contention.  Should LSU defeat Georgia in the SEC championship game (and Clemson and Ohio State take care of business), there will be only a few teams left for the last playoff spot, and that includes Alabama (if they defeat Auburn), Utah (if it wins the Pac-12), and Oklahoma - which has Oklahoma State and Baylor (for the second time) remaining. Given a possible conference championship for Oklahoma, it should have the advantage over Alabama.

Team Falling

SMU Mustangs.  One of the last 7 undefeateds after starting 8-0, SMU lost to Navy 35-28, its second loss of its last 3 games.  Once a contender for the Group of 5 spot in the New Year's Day Bowl game, SMU has slipped to also-ran status, as Cincinnati, Memphis, Boise State and Appalachian State remain at 1 loss.

Player(s) to Watch

Kurt Rawlings, QB - Yale Bulldogs.  Although he has played his last collegiate game since the Ivy League prohibits its football teams from playing in the I-AA, I mean FCS, playoffs (because the schedule interferes with finals for most of the schools), Rawlings went out with a bang in The Game, going 33-53 for 417 yards and 3 TDs, while gaining another 62 yards and an additional TD on the ground.  I HATE HIM!   

My New Favorite Player

Aiden Borguet, RB - Harvard Crimson.  He has SPEED.  Not Ivy League speed, but real speed.  His 4 touchdowns came on runs of 47, 59, 60, and and 67 yards.  I cannot wait to watch him run rampant through the Ivy League the next three years, despite starter Devin Darrington returning for his senior year.

Players of the Week

5.  Zack Moss, RB - Utah Utes.  Moss gained 203 yards on 26 carries, and scored 1 TD in Utah's 35-7 win over Arizona.

4.  Jonathan Taylor, RB - Wisconsin Badgers.  He gained 222 yards on 28 carries, with 1 TD as Wisconsin defeated Purdue 45-24, and putting Wisconsin in a must-win against Minnesota for the division championship.

3.  Jayden Daniels, QB - Arizona State Sun Devils.  The freshman QB threw for 408 yards and 3 TDs as Arizona State dashed Oregon'a playoff hopes 31-28.

2.  Kurt Rawlings, QB - Yale Bulldogs.  See above.

1.  Kedon Slovis, QB - USC Trojans.  See above.

Predicted Playoffs/Championship Match Ups

LSU Tigers (1) v. Oregon Ducks (4)/ (2) Ohio State Buckeyes v. (3) Clemson Tigers

Remaining Unbeatens

Clemson, LSU, Ohio State

Remaining Winless Team

Akron

Rant(s) of the Week

I understand the students felt like they were doing a good deed in protesting in favor of climate change, and asking for the divestment of school monies from companies that contribute to climate change, but boy was that the worst protest ever - and in contributed to Harvard losing the game.

Last Week's Trivia Answer

Last week's question was:

Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor eclipsed the NCAA record for most rushing yards through a junior season.  Whose record did he break?

The answer is Herschel Walker.

Match up(s) to Watch

5. Virginia Tech v. Virginia - The intrastate rivalry is increasingly important as the winner claims the ACC Coastal title and the opportunity to upset Clemson in the ACC Championship game.

4.  Cincinnati v. Memphis - In what could be the most exciting game of the weekend, Cincinnati has already clinched its division, whereas Memphis is tied with Navy.  A Memphis win sets up a re-match next week.

3.  Wisconsin v. Minnesota - The winner of this game wins the division, and the opportunity to play Ohio State for the Big 10 Championship.  If that winner is Minnesota, they would remain in playoff contention.  If it is Wisconsin, just the chance they could beat Ohio State could bring chaos to the playoffs.  

2.  Ohio State v. Michigan - Michigan has been playing incredibly well as of late, and if there was ever an interesting time for the underdog in this rivalry to pull out an upset - this would be it.

1.  Alabama v. Auburn - Last week was not much of a challenge for Mac Jones, or shall we say, Tua's replacement.  This game will show whether Alabama can play without Tua Tagavailoa, as Auburn's defense is outstanding and the Tigers/War Eagles/Plainsmen are at home. Although Auburn's offense has been stymied by exceptional defenses (Florida/LSU), Alabama's defense this year is not exceptional.  Does that increase Auburn's chances to win?  You bet.  Will they?  We shall see..

Trivia Question of the Week

With two sacks against Penn State, Ohio State defensive end has set the school record for sacks in a season with 16 1/2 (despite being suspended for 2 games).  Whose record did he break?