CFB HEADLINES: WEEK 11

BIG 12

Iowa State 41, #9 Oklahoma 42

You can’t get caught sleeping against future USC head coach Matt Campbell, Oklahoma. The Sooners were comfortably in the lead Saturday night at home until they weren’t, blowing a 42-21 lead thanks to a heroic performance by ISU QB Brock Purdy. A Hurts interception lead to the Cyclones’ final drive, where TE Charlie Kolar caught a 13-yard pass to bring it within one. Campbell goes on to make the right call by going for two, but OU was able to intercept the conversion try in the end zone. Would it shock you that the poor put-upon Sooners were able to get away with a game-changing pass interference no-call? And here I thought the officials were out to get them.

#12 Baylor 29, TCU 23 (3 OT)

Trash. A mostly unwatchable game, TCU held a 9-6 lead into the last minute of regulation until Baylor tied it up with a 51-yard field goal. 5 touchdowns later and a 4th down Max Duggan interception in the end zone, Baylor pulls out the win. This is Baylor’s fourth come from behind fourth quarter victory this season, and all of them happened in conference games. They face Oklahoma next week, which has a suspect defense but should have more than enough fire-power to overwhelm the Bears. TCU plays Tech next weekend. OF NOTE: this catch by TCU WR Travailance Hunt to extend OT is amazing and incredibly smart

 

#16 Kansas State 24, Texas 27

Texas is really going to squeeze every bit of content they can out of Dicker the Kicker, aren’t they. The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead before Texas put up 24 unanswered points. After KSU tied it up late in the 4th, Ehlinger lead the Longhorns down the field to set up Dicker’s game winner. Texas is now bowl eligible and still mathematically in the hunt for the title game, but will need some help (they play Iowa State next weekend).

NATIONAL

Be Forever, Space Battleship Minnes-ato

Gophers win! Gophers win! One of the most fun story lines of the season, P.J. Fleck has the criminally underrated #17 Minnesota Golden Gophers rowing that boat and passing their huge legitimacy test against then #4 Penn State 31-26. The Gophers took the lead early and never looked back in a very fun game. Minnesota is now 9-0, firmly in the driver’s seat for the Big 10 West, and would need to lose 2 of the next 3 to miss out on the championship game, which includes ranked Iowa & Wisconsin. We here at STP stand with Goldie’s crew.

(Guttural Swamp Sounds)

LSU went into Tuscaloosa Saturday afternoon and did the damn thing. We’ve fawned a bit over him in this column before, but after that win it’s indisputable that Joe Burrow is legit and most likely the Heisman front-runner. Bama surged back from a 33-13 deficit at halftime to nip at LSU’s heels, but Burrow kept making huge plays and bouncing back from nasty hits to keep the Tigers in the lead. If you’re somehow still on the fence about Burrow, consider the following:

Hate to Say I Told You Sooooooo

One week after receiving this column’s vote of no confidence, Chad Morris is out at Arkansas. Not sure what direction they’ll go, but my vote for most entertaining would be Petrino 2: Electric Boogaloo

Blowouts A-Plenty & Other Notes

#1 Ohio State, #5 Clemson, #6 Georgia, #10 Florida all played in no-doubters. #13 Wisconsin let #18 Iowa back from a 21-6 deficit before squeaking out a win. STP ACC darling #19 Wake Forest lost to Virginia Tech : (

Rankings

So! Our beloved sport is also incredibly archaic and needlessly convoluted, and the new College Football Playoff system hasn’t done much to make things more clear. All year we’ve used the AP polls, but with the first CFP rankings coming out last week, things get a little muddy. As the CFP doesn’t update until Tuesdays, and this column comes out on Mondays, we’re just going to stick with the AP. Kirby, hit me up on the cell if you would like Staking The Plains to start announcing the new rankings in this space.

  1. LSU (-)
  2. Ohio State (⇑1)
  3. Clemson (⇑1)
  4. Alabama (⇓2)
  5. Georgia (⇑1)
  6. Oregon (⇑1)
  7. Minnesota (⇑6)
  8. Utah (-)
  9. Penn State (⇓4)
  10. Oklahoma (⇓1)
  11. Florida (⇓1)
  12. Baylor (⇓1)
  13. Auburn (⇓1)
  14. Michigan (-)
  15. Wisconsin (⇑1)
  16. Notre Dame (⇓1) 
  17. Cincinnati (-)
  18. Memphis (⇑1)
  19. Boise State (⇑2)
  20. SMU (⇑3)
  21. Navy (⇑4)
  22. Texas (NR)
  23. Iowa (⇓5)
  24. Indiana (NR)
  25. Oklahoma State (NR)
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