Forward Progress: Recapping Week 10 in college football
PHILADELPHIA — Temple players arriving for meetings, film work and practice on Friday were greeted with new — and temporary — wallpaper. Dotting the walls of the Owls' football facility were quarter-by-quarter pictures of the scoreboard from Florida State's win against Louisville the night before, a seesaw, back-and-forth victory carved out of an early 21-0 hole.
The lesson, according to Temple coach Matt Rhule: Winning is hard.
"There are two undefeated teams," Rhule said. "It's really hard. I mean, you have a bad day … You have to do everything right just have the chance to go undefeated."
The road from August through November is paved with potential land mines. Take East Carolina, which entered the weekend as the only ranked team from a Group of Five conference in the initial College Football Playoff ranking — and, as such, seemed to essentially control its postseason destiny.
Saturday's 20-10 loss at Temple, fueled by errors, fumbles and sloppiness amid driving rain, drastically alters the course of ECU's season; no longer atop the Group of Five pack, the Pirates must recalibrate their in-season goals.
"You can get caught up a lot with this Playoff, the College Football Playoff, making so many headlines," ECU offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said. "And the one non-Power Five team getting in. All that stuff is kind of dominating the headlines right now. We've got to make sure their eyes are away from that a little bit."
The loss also widens the race for the Group of Five's automatic bid to one of the six access bowls created by the Playoff. The bid falls to the Playoff selection committee's top-rated conference champion from the Group of Five leagues, a spot held firmly by ECU as of last week but now up for grabs among a handful of contenders.
Colorado State might have the best résumé, but the Rams have a major problem: They may not win their own division in the Mountain West Conference, let alone the league title. Marshall remains undefeated with a flimsy schedule. Boise State has a win against Colorado State and just two losses. It's even safe to say ECU remains in the thick of the hunt, though no longer at the front of the pack.
One goal remains very much in the Pirates' control, however, and it's one coach Ruffin McNeill and his staff have stressed since spring drills: ECU can still win the American Athletic Conference title.
"We're not focused on being ranked," running back Chris Hairston said. "We're focused on winning that conference championship."
The Pirates' goals — and the team's primary goal — remain in place, said quarterback Shane Carden. "We've just got to control what we control."
ECU does control its road to the American title, thanks to late-season games against Cincinnati and UCF. What the Pirates don't control, however, is the path back into the selection committee's good graces — though a conference championship would be a great start.
"I don't coach for a ranking. I never have," McNeill said. "The season's not over."
FOOTBALL FOUR PICTURE
Say goodbye to Mississippi, which will take a steep dive out of the top four of the Playoff rankings after a 35-31 loss at home to Auburn. The Tigers were the most impressive team of the weekend, courtesy of that victory, and have cemented their place among the top quartet — for now, at least.
Oregon should take the Rebels' spot, while Mississippi State and Florida State remain atop the heap despite struggling to remain unbeaten against division opponents. Here's this week's projected Playoff top four with the first two teams out:
1. Mississippi State (8-0)
2. Florida State (8-0)
3. Auburn (7-1)
4. Oregon (8-1)
…
5. TCU (7-1)
6. Alabama (7-1)
HEISMAN HOT LIST
It's difficult to call Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott's fourth-quarter touchdown pass against Arkansas a Heisman-worthy moment, seeing that the Razorbacks haven't won a conference game in two seasons. Meanwhile, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota gained 343 yards of offense with four touchdowns in the Ducks' 45-16 win against Stanford. Advantage: Mariota.
Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah's knee injury isn't serious, according to coach Bo Pelini, but it did limit the senior to just a handful of touches in a win against Purdue. In a Heisman race devoid of more than five or six major contenders, Abdullah's stock doesn't take a hit.
1. Oregon QB Marcus Mariota
2. Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott
3. Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah
4. Auburn QB Nick Marshall
5. Alabama WR Amari Cooper
PLAYOFF TOP 25 WATCH
Mississippi wasn't the only one-loss team from the initial Playoff poll to fall from the championship picture. Another four teams can feel the Rebels' pain: Georgia lost to Florida, Arizona to UCLA, Utah to Arizona State and ECU to Temple.
That's the losers' side of the bracket; all four teams are going to fall in this week's Playoff poll, with ECU clearly dropping out of the top 25 entirely. The Rebels, for example, should drop behind at least six major-conference teams with just a single loss.
But on the positive side, UCLA and Arizona State will be able to add impressive wins to their Playoff résumés. The Sun Devils, who face Notre Dame on Saturday, will be able to tout a one-loss record deserving of a spot inside the top 10. It's safe to call UCLA's win against Arizona a season-changing victory.
These teams are now out of the Playoff picture: Mississippi, Georgia, Arizona and Utah.
After the weekend, these teams' chances of reaching the Playoff are stronger than ever before: Arizona State, Oregon, TCU and Auburn.
STARS OF THE WEEK
California RB Daniel Lasco. With quarterback Jared Goff struggling with his accuracy — a bit of an issue the last three games — coach Sonny Dykes turned to Lasco to pilot the Golden Bears' offense past Oregon State. Lasco's 198 yards and three touchdowns helped lift Cal to within one win of securing bowl eligibility; last year's team lost 11 games.
Oklahoma QB Trevor Knight. These are video-game numbers: Knight threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns while adding 146 yards and three scores on the ground in the Sooners' 59-14 win against Iowa State.
Miami (Fla.) RB Duke Johnson. He may be in the Heisman mix after another solid Saturday. At one point in the second half, Johnson had more receiving yards than North Carolina's offense had total yards.
TCU K Jaden Oberkrom. The three tasks for any kicker: make your field goals, make your extra-points and control the opposition's return game. Oberkrom, whose late field goal lifted TCU past West Virginia, had a pretty good day.
Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs. There's the short term: Dobbs led Tennessee to an overtime win against South Carolina to keep the Volunteers' bowl hopes very much alive. Then there's the long-term view, and it's a much bigger deal: Tennessee and Butch Jones may have finally found a quarterback.
Ohio State DE Joey Bosa. After another two-sack game in the Buckeyes' demolition of Illinois, Bosa has essentially secured All-America status.
UCLA DB Anthony Jefferson. Thanks in large part to Jefferson's seven tackles and four pass breakups — and with some help from defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes — UCLA was able to stifle quarterback Anu Solomon and the Arizona offense in a 17-7 win.
COACHES OF THE WEEK
Temple coach Matt Rhule. On Tuesday of last week, Rhule unveiled his blueprint for beating East Carolina: ball control, extended drives and feisty defense. It worked. After going 1-11 a season ago, Rhule's first back with the program, the Owls are a win away from a bowl bid.
Oregon offensive line coach Steve Greatwood. It wasn't so long ago — maybe a month, give or take — that Oregon's offensive front was viewed as the team's Achilles heel. Since tackle Jake Fischer's return, however, the Ducks' line has been a major asset. Greatwood deserves some recognition for leading the Ducks out of the wilderness during a tough stretch.
Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. Mississippi hadn't allowed more than 20 points in its past 10 games. Auburn scored 35. The Rebels had allowed more than 455 yards in a game just once since last October. The Tigers gained 507 yards. At this point, it seems as if there isn't a defense invented that can slow down what Gus Malzahn and Lashlee look to achieve offensively.
Colorado State coach Jim McElwain. Though Colorado State may get left out of an access bowl by virtue of an earlier loss to Boise State, McElwain has the Rams on pace for double-digit wins in his third season. On Saturday, CSU outlasted San Jose State in a 38-31 win.
Missouri defensive coordinator Dave Steckel. Missouri's defense held Kentucky to just 258 yards of offense and 3.58 yards per play. This is becoming par for the course for Steckel's group, which now ranks 12th in the FBS in yards allowed per play.
Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck. It was easy to dismiss Fleck and his staff as too heavily focused on recruiting during the Broncos' one-win finish in 2013. Yeah, they can recruit — but that's not all. Western Michigan is now bowl eligible with three games left, and could factor into the divisional race with an undefeated close.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
8: The number of Idaho turnovers in the Vandals' 44-28 loss to Arkansas State.
12-1: Gus Malzahn's record in one-score games during his coaching career, including a 9-1 mark at Auburn and a 3-0 record this season.
20: Regular-season conference wins in a row by Ohio State, tying the program's own Big Ten record set from 2005-7.
24: Wins in a row from Florida State, the longest active winning streak in the FBS. Mississippi State, with 11 wins in a row, ranks second.
625: South Carolina's yards of total offense in a loss to Tennessee, the program's third-most in a single game during the Steve Spurrier era.