We’re left with only four undefeated teams, only three of which are eligible for postseason play. Of the four, only Oregon would have been a team that anyone would have thought to have a chance to go undefeated when the season began. Ohio State, having hired a new coach who was going to introduce a drastically different system on both sides of the ball, having lost so many impactful starters, and having no postseason for which to play, wouldn’t have been guessed -- even by this Buckeye fan. Notre Dame, after the quarterback controversy of last year (then signing the top quarterback recruit in the offseason), after its 2012 schedule being deemed the most difficult in the nation, and after losing five games in each of the last two seasons, wouldn’t have been guessed. Then there is Kansas State. Even with their explosion of ten wins last season after averaging 5.6 wins a season over the previous 7 seasons and even with the emergence last year, albeit unnoticed by far too many, of Collin “Optimus” Klein, who quietly tied the record for most rushing touchdowns (27) by an FBS quarterback last season (Ricky Dobbs), the Wildcats wouldn’t have been guessed. The worry now is about what will happen if three undefeated teams finish the regular season and who will be left out of the BCS National Championship game if they all do. Brian Kelly is pleading the case for the Fighting Irish. Jimbo Fisher, whose team has no shot at a title, called the BCS retarded because it uses computers. Sorry, Mr. Fisher, but the humans saw that your Seminoles played two FCS schools who currently have a combined record of 5-15 and lost to an NC State team that just lost by 27 to a then 2-6 Virginia squad. Oh yeah folks, it’s getting interesting now. It’s getting heated.
1. Joker Phillips is gone -- but he’ll finish the season. The first of probably four SEC coaches fell last week at Kentucky. I’ve never been a fan of firing a coach during the season and it makes even less sense here given that Kentucky can’t even make a push for a bowl. However, I think the Kentucky AD wants to get a jump on the coach search knowing that Arkansas has already announced they’ll look for a new coach at season’s end, that Dooley’s departure is imminent (one source actually announced he was already fired and he came out and denied the report), and that Chizik’s future is in serious trouble. My pick to take Phillips’ place is Willie Taggart out of Western Kentucky -- although it may appear a bit harsh given that Taggart’s squad handed the Wildcats a loss this season. Phillips has announced he’s coaching the final two games against a 7-3 FCS school, Samford, and then at 4-6 Tennessee. We’ll call that last one the No SEC Wins Bowl. Tennessee would have to win out to become bowl eligible, but I don’t know if we can count Vanderbilt as a win for the Volunteers at this point.
2. As we hit the home stretch, don’t forget the power of the rivalry games. For most teams, the last game of the season matches up teams against their biggest rival. It’s a game for much more than what it does for a team’s chances in the postseason, it’s for bragging rights. However, rivalry games are different in more than just what they represent, they’re different on the field too. We’ve all seen it happen. One team is having a much better year than the other team and kicks its butt in nearly every statistical category. On paper, it’s not even close. Then the next thing you know it’s halftime and the underdog is winning or it’s tied. You shake your head and look at the screen again to verify you see the score right and you can’t believe what you’re seeing. I think it is because of these rivalry games that we rarely see more than two teams finish the year undefeated. The week before the rivalry game is a bit of a trap game because the excitement has already been built up for the real game -- the one that matters. Teams relax a little bit and then … bam! A one in the loss column appears. Some teams and players won’t fall for that trap, but then let the rivalry game seduce them and they focus on the pageantry and the smack-talking they’ll do in the postgame interviews rather than the man in front of them -- bam!
3. Mike Leach being investigated by the Pac-12. I know what you’re thinking … again? Mike Leach, perhaps most famously known for being accused of locking Craig James’ son in an electrical closet while coaching at Texas Tech, is being accused by one of his players of verbal and physical abuse saying that Leach “preferred to belittle, intimidate, and humiliate us”. The player, Marquess Wilson, is a junior who set school records for receptions and yards in season last season; he was also leading the team in both this season before he left the team. This is Leach’s first season at Washington State and it seems a bit high risk for him to have physically abused a player knowing that the accusation of such was the reason he had to leave TTU. Leach has referred to his team’s effort multiple times in postgame press conferences as zombie-like and several other such descriptions. I’m sure details of this “abuse” will surface over the coming weeks, but let’s keep in mind that this could just be a kid who is angry. He’s the school’s all-time leading receiver and was demoted to second-string three weeks ago for a supposed lack of effort. He walked out of a conditioning session last week and was suspended for violation of team rules. It’s possible that this lack of effort and obedience could be a reaction to the alleged abuse. It’s also possible that Wilson knows what Leach was accused of at Tech and makes the same allegation against him so it appears plausible. I’m sure we’ll find out -- we always do.
4. Has there ever been a nosedive like this? There is one winless team in the FBS right now -- one. What if I told you that this winless team won a school-record 12 games last season and won its conference? What if I told you this team hasn’t had a losing season since the year NAFTA was signed? Give up? One more clue: this team ruined Case Keenum and the Houston Cougars chance at an undefeated season and a place in a BCS bowl last season. That’s right, it’s Southern Miss. I realize head coach Larry Fedora left to take the job at North Carolina. I realize they lost their starting quarterback to the NFL (Austin Davis was an undrafted free agent signed by the Rams who was also drafted by the Red Sox in the 31st round). However, they returned 8 starters on offense, who could have predicted this kind of freefall? I don’t think anyone could have predicted that the Golden Eagles would play five different quarterbacks this season either due to injury or playing poorly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a turnaround that has been quite so sharp and the question is: can they get a win before season’s end? They host 2-8 UTEP this coming week and then visit 2-8 Memphis the following week. Neither sounds too daunting although they did lose to a then 1-7 UAB team two weeks ago. So for the last two weeks, I hope all of you will join me in rooting for the Golden Eagles. I don’t think anyone wants to see a crash like this -- but we won’t look away either.
5. Because so many of you enjoyed the Cosby nugget: My mentioning that Bill Cosby played fullback for Temple received more attention than I would have thought it would ever get. So I thought I’d pass along another interesting nugget of celebrity/college football information that you may or may not be familiar with. Anyone who watches College Gameday is probably familiar with crazy Lee “Not So Fast” Corso and the fact that he played at Florida State (he held the Seminole career record for interceptions with 14 for quite some time). What you may or may not know is that he was roommates with a kid from West Palm Beach, Florida who received a scholarship to play halfback for the Seminoles by the name of Burt Reynolds. Reynolds’ career as a Seminole was short-lived, however. He was injured in his first game. Later that same season, he was in a car accident that made the injury even worse and his dreams of becoming a football player came to an end. Jimbo Fisher’s rant about the BCS made me think about Florida State players and reminded me of Reynolds. I thought I’d pass it along.
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