Rivalry week did not disappoint. From teams ending long losing streaks against hated rivals and putting themselves in position to get into the Playoff or much better bowl games to bad season finishes and blown games, Week 13 had something for everyone. We’ve got storylines below but first, here’s the Best Game(s) of the Week>>>>
Game of the Week 1:
#7 Oklahoma State 37 - #10 Oklahoma 33
This game featured several lead changes, each team muffing a punt and essentially handing the other team a TD, a fumble that resulted in a safety, a kickoff return TD and an accidental backwards lateral that was also kicked out of bounds for a penalty. Through all that, I thought the game actually had some great defense despite the high score. Oklahoma had two shots in the last two minutes to take the lead back and were turned away both times by that Cowboy defense. Bottom line, Oklahoma State is now firmly in the College Playoff picture and I think would be 50/50 or better to make it if they beat Baylor on Saturday. An amazing season for the Pokes and Mike Gundy (see below) plus it looks like Oklahoma may be dealing with some program chaos for the first time in over 20 years.
Game of the Week 2:
#3 Alabama 24 – Auburn 22 (4OT)
The first overtime game in Iron Bowl history…Three plus quarters through this game I wanted to wash my eyes with bleach and call it a night. I would not have called it anywhere near the best game of the week but a miraculous 97 yard drive with no timeouts in under 1:30 – after being awful for the whole game – by Bryce Young and the Crimson Tide led to a tie game then the teams traded 10 points each in tense overtimes before starting two point conversion periods. Each team converted their first but Alabama held Auburn out on the second exchange (4th OT) and Young connected with Metchie for winning 2 point play. Alabama lives to fight for playoff if they can somehow beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game (I’m not so sure it’s likely) and Auburn ends season with four straight L’s.
Storylines from Week 13:
Rivalry results rock playoff outlook…Michigan beating Ohio State was an unexpected result for most, including me, and they now face tricky, tough Iowa (thanks to Minnesota upsetting rival Wisconsin) in the Big 10 Championship game next week. Win that and the Wolverines are going to the Playoff. Notre Dame and Cincinnati both won. The Irish are in the clubhouse needing help, including a Cincy loss to Houston in the AAC Championship Game. Both teams would like Georgia to beat Alabama and eliminate them from Playoff contention as would Oklahoma State who needs to beat Baylor following up on their win in Bedlam. Got all that? The only team locked in for the Playoff right now is 12-0 Georgia. A lot of work left to do.
Coaching Carousel spinning wildly…but starting to take shape at the top…USC made huge news Sunday with reports that they are hiring Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley in an unexpectedly huge coup – this means that Oklahoma will now be open. Florida has settled on Louisiana’s Billy Napier, probably the hottest G5 name (other than Cincy’s Luke Fickell). LSU is now left holding the bag a bit as they were chasing Riley and seemed to have thought of Napier as a fallback. Rumor is they may be waiting on Dave Aranda from Baylor who has a conference title game Saturday. Washington State stuck with their interim Coach Dickert as permanent replacement and TCU hired Sonny Dykes. However, there are still open jobs like Washington, Virginia Tech and more. Plus we’re not sure what else might open in the next few days. However, due to a bunch of high profile coaches getting extensions at their current jobs and/or making firm pronouncements about staying (Franklin, Tucker, Jimbo, and even guys like Smith at Oregon State, Fleck at Minnesota, and Beamer at South Carolina) the open job market has started to become a bit constricted. Where will Matt Campbell, Dave Aranda, and Mark Stoops end up or will they stay put? What about the next tier down of hot assistants like Georgia DC Dan Lanning, Clemson DC Brent Venables and mid-major coaches like Jamey Chadwell? Or fired coaches who could still be in demand like Mullen and Patterson? The next 7 days will be fascinating.
Top 3 Coaching Performances of Week 13:
1. Jim Harbaugh – Michigan: A signature win finally over Ohio State – and not just any win – a thumping that springboards the Wolverines into the B1G Championship Game and clear shot at Playoff that eluded them five years ago due to “the Spot”. Michigan was dominant in the trenches all day and, despite giving up 27 points, had really great defensive game plan too. Harbaugh took a pay cut and bet on himself and his reward was an 11-1 season.
2. Mike Gundy – Oklahoma State: Only Michigan slaying a team that was better kept Gundy from being #1. Longsuffering Cowboys fans had to wonder if Gundy was tailing off before this season. Instead, he and the Pokes dispatched Oklahoma in a thrilling game and are could be set up to be in college football playoff if they can beat Baylor next week.
3. P.J. Fleck – Minnesota: Two bad losses (Bowling Green and Illinois – which doesn’t seem as bad today) kept this from being another 2019 dream-like season for the Gophers. However, they ruined arch-rival Wisconsin’s bid to win the B1G West on Saturday with a dominant performance and end the year at 8-4 – all without their top offensive player who was hurt in the first game of the season. Fleck continues to build this program foundationally.
Honorable Mention:
Sam Pittman, Arkansas, Mel Tucker, Michigan State, Seth Littrell, North Texas
Worst 3 Coaching Performances of Week 13:
1. Sonny Dykes – SMU: A chance to go out on top for Sonny Dykes before leaving for TCU was squandered when the Mustangs let decidedly average Tulsa control most of their game and win to get to bowl eligibility. SMU finishes 8-4, a good record especially for a program that only a few years ago was really struggling, but not the breakthrough needed. Dykes seems to have had his foot out door for a month.
2. Bronco Mendenhall – Virginia: If the Cavs aren’t going to beat Virginia Tech when they’ve fired their coach and struggling to find any identity when will they? Other than the 2019 win, the Cavs haven’t beaten Virginia Tech in 20 years. This should have been the year – instead Virginia falls to 6-6 and lets their hated rivals reach bowl eligibility.
3. Pat Fitzgerald – Northwestern: This was supposed to be a down year for the Wildcats not a “fall off the cliff” year. To cap it off getting totally blown out by your in-state rivals, previously 4-7 Illinois by 33 points is NOT a good look and really shouldn’t happen.
Dishonorable Mention:
Jimbo Fischer, Texas A&M, Paul Chryst, Wisconson, Ryan Day, Ohio State
Later this week we’ll have a final “Most Meaningful” list for Week 14 – which is Championship Saturday. All the games are meaningful of course so I’ll be ranking them from best to “worst”. As the coaching carousel explodes and teams get ready for their bowls or championship games, be sure to follow me on Twitter @ReadyCFB!