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College Football Roundup: Week 7

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I think we turn on a lot of TV sets, and let’s not be naïve. It’s about who is watching the game, too.” —Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio on his team’s ability to be selected for this year’s College Football Playoff and the politics of the new system. Although Michigan State only has one loss, to top-10 team Oregon, the rest of their schedule is dull as mud. (A member of the Big Ten, Michigan State plays all those teams who lost earlier this season to teams they had no business losing to.) But as Dantonio says, the playoff might not be about wins and losses or schedule strength; it might be about ratings.

THINGS TO KNOW

• Mississippi State and Ole Miss Are For Real

Last week, Mississippi State and Ole Miss made history after they played undefeated, top-15 teams and won, moving them up to No. 3 in the rankings. (Yes, they were tied.) Traditionally the “punching bags” of the SEC, both teams hadn’t been ranked in the top 15 while facing top-15 opponents since 1953.

Well, folks, they’ve done it again. Faced top-15 teams and won, that is. Mississippi State defeated No. 2 Auburn 38-23, while Ole Miss went on the road to beat No. 14 Texas A&M 35-20. Ole Miss remains at No. 3, but Mississippi State, having beaten three top-10 teams in a row, is now ranked No. 1. Both teams now lead the SEC West, a division many commentators have said is the best division in college football. Talk about fast-tracks to success.

• No. 5 Baylor Wins Big (Literally AND Figuratively)

In their first game of the season against a ranked opponent, No. 5 Baylor looked as though they may lose to No. 9 TCU after falling behind 21 points in the fourth quarter. But with some high-flying offense, Baylor scored 24 points in less than 11 minutes to win their biggest game of the season with a record-breaking score. Winning 61-58, it is now the highest combined score on record between two top-10 teams.

LOOK AT IT THIS WAY…

• Happy or haunted Halloween?

Haunted for Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston. Winston spent much of last season in the midst of a rape investigation in which he was the alleged attacker, and although no chargers were filed, Florida State officials opened their own investigation regarding the matter earlier this year. This past week, Florida State officials notified Winston that he will face a disciplinary hearing very, very soon, saying he could be charged with as many as four violations of student conduct, two of which involve sexual assault. Not good. Not good at all.

GAME SPEAK

• Strength of schedule

Strength of schedule is a vague but often used term that refers to the ease or difficulty of a team’s opponents in a given year, usually determined by opponents’ rankings, the order in which opponents are played, and on-the-road matchups. Teams will often receive higher rankings for having higher or “stronger” strengths of schedules, i.e. playing and beating more difficult teams.

Read up: wildcat, tiebreaker, rushing yards, trap game, pick six, cupcake, conference

GAMES TO WATCH

• Kansas State (#14) at Oklahoma (#11): ESPN, Saturday, Oct. 18, noon EST

• Texas A&M (#21) at Alabama (#7): CBS, Saturday, Oct. 18, 3:30 p.m. EST

• Oklahoma State (#15) at TCU (#12):  FOX Sports 1, Saturday, Oct. 18, 4 p.m. EST

• Notre Dame (#5) at Florida State (#2): ABC, Saturday, Oct. 18, 8 p.m. EST

• Stanford (#23) at Arizona State (#17): ESPN, Saturday, Oct. 18, 10:30 p.m. EST

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