Saturday in Review: Week 10

This past week I set a personal low for prediction accuracy. But I really couldn't care less, for the Florida Gators pulled off one of the most surprising, improbable upsets in my memory. And against the Georgia Bulldogs, no less. So after a joyous weekend of college football (for me and my fellow Gator fans), it's time to review the major events of the past week and their implications.

Jameis Winston passed for 401 yards against what was
statistically one of the best pass defenses in the nation. The
Cardinals had previous surrendered a season-high of 251
against Murray State. Andy Lyons

Let's start with the Thursday night game, Florida State's defeat of Louisville. This game played out much like the FSU-NCSU game earlier this season, only with some game-shifts occurring a quarter later. In both games, the red-and-black-wearing home team jumped out to an early, 20+ point lead over the Noles. But by the end of the quarter (the second in the NC State game, the third in the Louisville game), Jameis Winston and the Seminole defense had rallied their team and reduced the deficit to 24-21. Florida State started outplaying the home team in the second half, but it was still neck-and-neck during the fourth quarter. Eventually, the Noles scored a late touchdown with less than 2:15 to go, putting FSU up by two scores and obscuring the game's closeness with the final score.

The Seminole defense gave up more than 485 yards in both games, but performed well in the last quarter. In both games, the Noles piled up over 530 yards of offense (a particularly impressive feat against Louisville). Haphazard interceptions thrown by Winston helped keep both contests close. Louisville receiver DeVante Parker, who has missed all but the last two games due to injury, put up a magnificent performance in a loss, compiling 214 receiving yards on eight receptions. Florida State, meanwhile, effectively employed its entire receiving corps, keeping the Cardinal defense off-balance through the second half.

Again and again, Jameis Winston and Florida State have shown the ability to come out of nail-biters victorious.

Chaos reigned throughout SEC Land (German: Eßeeseeland), beginning with Texas A&M's near-loss to Louisiana-Monroe. The Aggies have actually looked consistently flaccid ever since their overtime-escape against Arkansas way back in late September. Missouri put away Kentucky in Columbia to secure leadership in the SEC East. The Tigers are now 4-1 in-conference and are assured a trip to Atlanta if they can win out. The Commodores earned their most convincing win of the season against Old Dominion, gaining valuable confidence before their match-up against Florida. Mississippi State just eeked out a win against Arkansas, needing a late interception to seal it against the Hogs at home. The Razorbacks were impressive in limiting the Bulldog rushing game, though, as has been demonstrated far to often this season, could not find a way to win against an SEC opponent. The Hogs have now lost all five of their conference games this season, although three of those losses were by seven points or less. South Carolina continued their downward spiral, squandering a late two-touchdown lead in an overtime loss to Tennessee. The Gamecocks have now lost four-straight against FBS competition, though none was by more than seven points. In fact, three of those four losses came after South Carolina blew a two-touchdown fourth-quarter lead. This means South Carolina is but a handful of plays away from an 8-1 record, even though they stand at a lowly 4-5. They have an extra week to prepare for Florida in the Swamp.

Matt Jones rushed for 192 yards (a career high) as the Gators
sunk the Dawgs near the banks of the St. Johns. Sam Greenwood

Now to the game formerly known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. In what must be counted among the most shocking results of the year, the Gators crushed the Bulldogs before a crowd of over 83,000 in Jacksonville. The victory was achieved almost entirely through a pulverizing rushing attack and stout defense. First-time starter Treon Harris only attempted, and only needed to attempt, six passes in the win over Georgia. Behind a spectacular effort by the Florida offensive line and other blockers, Gator running backs Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor combined for 389 yards on the ground (the most ever by a pair of Gators in a single game). Jones accounted for 192 of those yards while Taylor had 197. Each did it on 25 carries and each had two touchdowns on the day. Jones also recorded a 12-yard reception for 204 total offensive yards. When the game ended, Florida had accumulated 418 rushing yards, the most by any Florida team since Emmitt Smith wore the orange and blue. Georgia has surrendered that many rushing yards or more on only one other occasion.

The scoring actually opened when Georgia halfback Nick Chubb ran it in from 39 yards out. Chubb put up a valiant performance in a losing effort, with 156 rushing yards, 59 receiving yards, and two touchdowns by the end of the day. A few drives, a Treon Harris fumble, and an inexplicable Georgia field goal-attempt into the gusting winds later, and the Gators had it on Georgia's 21-yard-line midway through the second quarter. It was fourth down, but there was nine-to-go, so the Gators lined up for the field goal. Holder Michael McNeely took the snap, but sprinted around the right side of the line and into the end-zone, tying the game at seven-apiece. The fake-field-goal-turned-touchdown sparked a rushing onslaught by the Gator running backs and offensive line, who simply could not be stopped by the Georgia defense. Meanwhile, the Bulldog offense could get absolutely nothing going against the Florida defense. By the time 13:49 remained in the fourth quarter, the Gators were up 31-7 against the 11-point pregame favorites. By that time over 95% of the remaining spectators were cheering from the stadium's east side (Florida's half). Georgia went on the score two more touchdowns (one with only three seconds left), but it wasn't nearly enough to save their championship hopes as the Gators came away with the 38-20 win. The 2014 contest will forever be remembered as one of the most surprising upsets in the long history of this rivalry.

Kansas State's lone loss of the year was to Auburn at home.
Could a one-loss Wildcat squad make it into the playoffs over 
the Tigers if those cats end with two SEC losses?
Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Outside the southeast, Oregon cruised past Stanford while Notre Dame struggled to top Navy. It took a fourth-quarter-comeback and a last-second field goal for TCU to get past West Virginia in Morgantown and keep their playoff dreams alive. Baylor also won (over Kansas), but it appears as though Kansas State may actually be the best team in the Big 12. The Wildcats obliterated Oklahoma State in Manhattan. UCF slipped up in the cold against UConn, but remain among the five one-loss teams in their conference. Likewise, American Conference-favorite East Carolina self-destructed in Philadelphia against Temple. UCLA beat Arizona while Arizona State downed Utah, both through an impressive show of defense. This leaves the Pac-12 South as Arizona State's to lose, though several key games still remain for the Sun Devils (most notably, the season-ending Friday-night-game against Arizona in Tucson). Duke managed to survive overtime against Pitt and James Conner, keeping the fate of the ACC Coastal in their hands.

Finally, we come to Saturday's signature game, Auburn and Ole Miss. This one was surprisingly high scoring, but it came down to one of the most heartbreaking ways a team could possibly lose. With less than two minutes to play, Laquon Treadwell, who was one of three Rebels to record over 100 receiving yards in the game, fumbled the go-ahead touchdown into the end-zone. What's worse, the star receiver suffered a gruesome injury on that very play. This second-consecutive heartbreaking loss probably (though not certainly) ends Ole Miss's playoff and SEC-championship hopes. Luck resides with Auburn, who now must root for Ole Miss and Alabama to defeat Mississippi State for their own championship dreams.

Here's the final thing I'll draw your attention to: Appalachian State's unusual 44-0 victory over Georgia State. These are not very good or particularly notable teams (obviously though, one is much worse than the other). What is notable was the weather these two teams played through on the 1st of November in Boone, North Carolina. Snow buried Kidd Brewer Stadium as Appy State annihilated GSU. Clearly, the Mountaineers are more accustomed and better-suited to playing in cold, snowy weather than the Panthers (who play home games in the comfort of a dome). Appalachian State outgained Georgia State 567 to 62 (rushing, 469 to 8). The pass heavy-style of the Panthers certainly did them no favors in the slippery snow. This epitomizes the disparity of fortunes often seen between rushing/balanced teams (who typically win) and pass-heavy teams (who typically lose).

State of Florida:

• Louisville (6-3) over #2 Florida State (8-0), 34-27 42-31
• Florida (4-3) over #9 Georgia (6-2), 24-20 38-20
• FIU (3-6) over Rice (5-3), 34-28 31-17
• UCF (5-3) over Connecticut (2-6), 34-10 37-29
• Miami (6-3) over North Carolina (4-5), 38-24 47-20
• Houston (5-3) over South Florida (3-6), 24-17 27-3
• Florida Atlantic (3-6) over UAB (5-4), 31-30 31-28

Southeastern Conference:

• Texas A&M (6-3) over Louisiana-Monroe (3-5), 48-17 21-16
• Kentucky (5-4) over Missouri (7-2), 31-24 20-10
• #7 Mississippi (7-2) over #4 Auburn (7-1), 31-21 35-31
• Old Dominion (3-6) over Vanderbilt (3-6), 42-38 42-28
• #1 Mississippi State (8-0) over Arkansas (4-5), 48-31 17-10
• South Carolina (4-5) over Tennessee (4-5), 42-34 45-42 (OT)
• #3 Alabama (7-1), BYE
• #16 LSU (7-2), BYE

Top 25:

• #5 Oregon (8-1) over Stanford (5-4), 27-13 45-16
• #6 Notre Dame (7-1) over Navy (4-5), 41-21 49-39
• #20 West Virginia (6-3) over #10 TCU (7-1), 44-41 31-30
• #11 Kansas State (7-1) over Oklahoma State (5-4), 31-13 48-14
• #12 Baylor (7-1) over Kansas (2-6), 52-21 60-14
• #13 Ohio State (7-1) over Illinois (4-5), 45-21 55-14
• #14 Arizona (6-2) over #25 UCLA (7-2), 38-31 17-7
• #15 Arizona State (7-1) over #18 Utah (6-2), 20-17 19-16 (OT)
• #17 Nebraska (8-1) over Purdue (3-6), 38-20 35-14
• #19 Oklahoma (6-2) over Iowa State (2-6), 45-27 59-14
• #21 East Carolina (6-2) over Temple (5-3), 31-27 20-10
• #24 Duke (7-1) over Pittsburgh (4-5), 27-20 51-48 (OT)
• #8 Michigan State (7-1), BYE
• #22 Clemson (6-2), BYE
• #23 Marshall (8-0), BYE

Week 10 Record: 14-11 (56%)

Season Record: 131-51 (72%)