Friday's piece opened with a warning. "We’ve reached the point in the season where every College Football Playoff contender has stepped on to a long, rotten rickety bridge. Every step, every jolt, every gust of wind is a tremor felt across the entire structure, and every wrong move sends you plunging into the gushing rapids 80 feet below."
A few teams survived that leg of the journey, and a couple others took the long, lonely plunge.
1. Michigan Statement. He's 34-4 over the past three seasons, and he's lost one or fewer Big Ten games in five of the past six seasons. And yet we forget just how damn good Mark Dantonio truly is. Then he does something like this, breaking the nation's longest winning streak and an FBS record intraconference winning streak over his knee.
Playing without veteran quarterback Connor Cook, the Spartans' staff invented their own two-man system and schemed the Buckeyes' attack to the point where it appeared not even Ohio State knew what it wanted to accomplish on offense (more on that later). More than anything else, though, the Spartans were just stronger, physically and mentally. They out-rushed Ohio State 203-86 and overcame mental mistakes by playing their best, meanest football at the moments they needed it most.
Ohio State scored first after a Michigan State fumble, and the Spartans responded by marching 75 yards to tie the game at 7-7.
Ohio State pounced on a muffed punt deep inside Spartans territory to take a 14-7 lead, and Michigan State again moved 75 yards to tie the game at 14-14. Then, with the game in the balance, Michigan State sat on Ohio State's front, bullying 25 yards in nine plays while consuming the final 4:07 to set up Michael Geiger's game-winning 41-yard field goal.
And now Dantonio, 6-1 in his last seven tries against the AP top five and 2-0 against an undefeated Urban Meyer, has wrested control of the Big Ten East, needing only a win over Penn State in East Lansing to set up a de facto quarterfinal game with Iowa in Indianapolis.
2. "I hate it. I hate it." That was the answer Meyer gave ABC's Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit when asked about employing co-offensive coordinators in Tom Herman's absence. Meyer justified it because the Buckeyes had yet to lose under the arrangement, saying he enjoyed his glass of victory wine every Saturday night. Turns out Ohio State's Charmin soft schedule shielded Meyer and the rest of the nation from a truth Ezekiel Elliott was all too happy to reveal in the aftermath of a 17-14 loss: the Buckeyes' offense has problems that simply raising the level of competition won't fix. To recap: the defending champs trailed an average Virginia Tech team at halftime, scored 17 points on Hawaii in three quarters, played Northern Illinois to a 20-13 final and Indiana to a 34-27 result, needed 25 minutes to crack the scoreboard against Minnesota and never put more than seven points in a quarter on Illinois. There was a reason for all of that, and this isn't the first time an Urban Meyer team has ghosted through a light schedule. In fact, it nearly perfectly mirrors his 2009 Florida team.
So where Meyer's last repeat bid ended with a thud on the Georgia Dome floor, this one (probably) comes to a close in a quiet whimper on his home field.
Both of Ohio State's touchdowns came off of Michigan State miscues, and even then the Buckeyes marched only 38 yards to get them. Their nine other possessions traveled only 94 yards. Ohio State moved 1.76 yards per play. Their 132 yards were the fewest a Meyer-coached team ever achieved, and less than even the worst days Central Florida and Kansas have produced this year.
Elliott, he of just 11 carries on the night and two in the second half, ripped the play-calling in comments you've surely seen by now.
But don't forget Meyer wasn't any kinder than his running back, either.
3. Baylor led 24-14 at the half, but Oklahoma State had the momentum. The Pokes were 4-0 on the year after trailing at halftime and Baylor was down to its third string quarterback, a guy who had yet to record a statistic all season.
And then Chris Johnson threw the ball.
Art Briles pulled the 6-foot-5 sophomore out of his bullpen and Johnson immediately tossed two long touchdown passes, pushing a 24-14 score to a comfortable 38-14 edge. Oklahoma State eventually pulled within 38-28, but Johnson rushed in from four yards out to put the game away with two minutes and change remaining.
Briles' teams always play their best with a chip on the shoulder, and he admitted earlier this year that two straight Big 12 titles and a preseason top 5 ranking robbed his program of some of that edge. It appears the Oklahoma loss brought it back, as Baylor opened both halves Saturday night on 14-0 runs en route to a 45-35 win.
The result also proved that if you are 4-0 when trailing at halftime, odds say you won't get to 5-0.
Baylor is undoubtedly under a boulder as it relates to the Playoff, but this win stands among last year's TCU win, the three wins over Oklahoma and the 2013 Big 12 clincher against Texas as the Bears' best wins in their golden era. "This is as meaningful a road win as we've had with the situation we're in," Briles said after the game.
4. TCU presented a bit of a no-win situation for Oklahoma. Win big and you completely invalidate TCU in the eyes of an already skeptical committee. Win close and you invite questions about what would've happened if Trevone Boykin and Josh Doctson could play.
Oklahoma found a way to win big and close.
The Sooners led 30-13 entering the fourth quarter, then found themselves hanging on for dear life 14 minutes later as TCU's third-string quarterback threw into the end zone on a go-ahead two-point conversion. Steven Parker batted Bram Kohlhausen's desperation toss away and the Sooners survived 30-29.
Baker Mayfield validated his Heisman status while standing on the sidelines as OU produced nothing except a 72-yard Samaje Perine rush with Mayfield on the sideline the entire second half. Still, Oklahoma rushed for 333 yards and held a 172-yard advantage in ground yards. Next week's opponent Oklahoma State was out-rushed 303-8 by Baylor. Oklahoma should like its chances no matter who happens to hand to Perine and Joe Mixon.
5. The most difficult task in college football is getting through a 9-game conference schedule unbeaten. Since the Big 12 switched to a nine-game round-robin and since the Pac-12 moved to a divisional format, neither conference has produced an undefeated champion. They are the only conferences not to do so. Both leagues need to broadcast that fact from coast to coast and border to border with Donald Trump's megaphone.
6. Who has the best individual win among the remaining national championship contenders? I'm open to debate, but here's my top five: 1. Oklahoma 44, at Baylor 34 2. Michigan State 17, at Ohio State 14 3. Clemson 24, Notre Dame 22 4. Michigan State 27, at Michigan 23 5. Iowa 40, at Northwestern 10 Discuss.
7. SEC Least. The SEC East isn't bad in the "straight A student makes an 81 on her chemistry test" way. It's just flat out bad. - South Carolina lost to The Citadel while being out-rushed 350-72. - For the second time in three weeks, Florida got a win it should be too embarrassed to accept, surviving Florida Atlantic 20-14 in overtime. FAU out-gained the Gators 299-252 and held an 18-13 first downs edge. Florida head coach Jim McElwain compared his team's energy level to dead fish after the game. - Georgia outlasted Georgia Southern 23-17 in overtime to the surprise of no one who follows the sport closely. - Tennessee beat Missouri 19-8 and Vanderbilt was shutout 25-0 by Texas A&M. It was the ninth time the Tigers and Commodores have scored 14 points or fewer against SEC East opponents this season. This division went 0-for-4 in games against ACC rivals to close the 2014 regular season and -- with the possible exception of Georgia-Georgia Tech -- will probably do so again.
8. LSU is dead, and Alabama killed them. Looking back, it's debatable how good LSU really was in the first place. The Tigers were propped up by an Auburn team that wasn't nearly as good as it appeared, drew South Carolina from the East, survived a late scare from an average Mississippi State team and posted one legitimately impressive win over a Will Grier-less Florida team and that's it. Perhaps, if viewed through that lens, LSU's free fall isn't quite so jarring. Either way, this is the most uncompetitive LSU team these eyes have ever seen. The Bayou Bengals have dropped three straight, allowing 30 or more while scoring 17 or less in each loss. Meanwhile, Hugh Freeze just became the first coach since Houston Nutt in 1998 to beat Alabama, LSU and Auburn in the same season. Yet it will take Auburn stunning Alabama for Ole Miss to win its first SEC West championship.
9. Houston lost its first game of the year... and it means absolutely nothing. Tom Herman's Cougars were never challenging for the College Football Playoff, so their Black Friday date with Navy was always going to seal their fate regardless of what happened Saturday in Connecticut. Win, and they head to the AAC championship. Lose, and they don't. That's still the true even after a 20-18 setback in Storrs.
10. Iowa State blew a 21-point lead to Kansas State, much to the delight of its former offensive coordinator. Mark Mangino, Iowa State's offensive coordinator until Oct. 26, issued this tweet after the Cyclones turned a 35-14 lead into a 38-35 loss to Kansas State: Keep in mind: Mangino's son Tommy is still on staff as Iowa State's wide receivers coach. After sending the tweet, Mangino spent the next hour of his life retweeting any insult that came his way. Just.... odd.
11. Quote of the Week. This title is split between Mike Leach and an unnamed Tulsa fan.
12. Odds and Ends. a. Power Five team you don't want to play: Oregon. The Ducks fired a USC-opponent record six touchdown passes for a 48-28 win in Eugene. Oregon has now won five straight with an easy sixth coming in the form of Oregon State. b. Group of Five team you don't want to play, part I: South Florida. The Bulls demolished AAC preseason favorite Cincinnati on Friday night, leading 51-3 at the half (51-3!) on their way to a 65-27 win. Willie Taggart's Bulls have won three in a row and six of seven with Central Florida coming next week. c. Group of Five team you don't want to play, part II: Southern Miss. Todd Monken's Eagles blew out Old Dominion 56-31. The last time anyone played Southern Miss within three touchdowns? Oct. 9. They'll meet Louisiana Tech next week for the Conference USA West championship. d. North Carolina clinched a spot in the ACC championship opposite Clemson by spoiling Frank Beamer's final home game. The Heels blew a 24-10 fourth quarter lead but hung on to win 30-27 in overtime. e. Stanford has won the Pac-12 North three times in four years after axing Cal 35-22. They'll get the winner of next week's USC-UCLA game. f. Iowa claimed the Big Ten West with a 40-20 win over Purdue. The Hawkeyes will face either Michigan State or the Michigan-Ohio State winner. g. After appearing like the first true College Football Playoff buster, Memphis has now lost three straight and been outscored 51-12 over its last five quarters after a 31-12 loss to Temple. h. Notre Dame isn't exactly playing its best football right now. The Irish turned the ball over five times yet managed to beat Boston College 19-16 because, well, it's Boston College. i. From the "Baxter ate a whole wheel of cheese" file, Boise State has managed to lose games in which it held a 40-11 first downs advantage (last week vs. New Mexico) and a 4-0 turnovers edge (Friday vs. Air Force). I'm not even mad. That's impressive. j. Your Mountain West championship - Air Force vs. San Diego State. k. Conference USA will essentially play semifinals next week. Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech will battle for the West Division, while Marshall and Western Kentucky meet with the East on the line. l. Chad Morris earned his second win at SMU with a 49-21 blowout of Tulane. m. Arkansas plus a Magnolia State team equals a Big 12 game. Two weeks after beating Ole Miss 53-52 in overtime, the Razorbacks fell 51-50 to Mississippi State. Brandon Allen threw for 406 yards and seven touchdowns but was bested by Dak Prescott's 554 total yards and seven touchdowns. n. New Mexico State has now won three in a row after beating Louisiana-Lafayette 37-34 in Lafayette. o. Poor Gary Andersen. If not for Kansas (a 49-0 loser to West Virginia Saturday) Oregon State would be the worst Power Five team. The Beavers are 2-9 after a 52-7 loss to Washington with no losses closer than 15 points save for a four-point loss to Colorado. Red hot Oregon is next. p. Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss have each won eight games for the first time since 1999. q. Miami (Ohio) completed its 2015 season on Saturday. As in, the RedHawks won't take the field again until spring ball. Which seems impossible since the season just started three weeks ago. r. Three of the four longest winning streaks died Saturday. Clemson (13), Iowa (10) and North Carolina (nine) now hold that honor. s. Let's close out the week with Dilly Bar Dan, back again, in 20 degree weather, eating a Dilly Bar and wearing shorts.