Instant reaction to Week 10 developments on the field …
1. Big Ten (partial) clarity
Ohio State and Oregon handled their business on Saturday afternoon in State College and Ann Arbor, respectively, and did the Big Ten a huge favor in the process.
As November dawned, there was an intriguing scenario looming for the conference.
The Ducks were atop the standings with a 5-0 mark, along with Penn State and Indiana.
Three teams, all undefeated — and with no head-to-head matchups between them on the schedule.
You didn’t need to squint to see the giant mess that would have materialized if an undefeated team had been boxed out of the conference championship game in Indianapolis.
Then the Ducks and Buckeyes walked into Week 10 with the power washer and cleaned everything up.
Sure, Oregon’s 38-17 victory over Michigan was impressive, but let’s not overstate the significance. After all, the Wolverines have four losses — all of them by double digits and two of them at home.
But the performance pushed the Ducks one step closer to locking up a berth in the conference title game without need for a tiebreaker. They will be heavily favored against Maryland, Wisconsin and Washington and should run the table.
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes were in desperation mode for their latest victory over Penn State, which both cleared their path to Indianapolis and knocked the Nittany Lions out of the three-way tie for first place.
It’s easy to envision Ohio State stomping Purdue and Northwestern, out-classing Indiana, which is not used to spotlight games, and then rolling Michigan in the finale.
If they sweep their final four, the Buckeyes would have the tiebreaker advantage over Indiana and Penn State — thanks to head-to-head wins over both — and face Oregon in the title game matchup everyone expected all along.
The Big Ten could have been on yellow alert, staring deep into its seven-step tiebreaker.
Instead, the most likely outcome is a process that won’t get past the head-to-head results.
2. Northwest mediocrity
We carved a few minutes out of Saturday evening to watch a low-profile matchup of .500 teams that, try as they might, are struggling to gain traction in a conference filled with powerhouse programs.
Washington’s 26-21 victory over USC didn’t disappoint — at least for neutral observers seeking riveting theatre.
The Huskies led 20-7, fell behind, regained the lead, then tried to give the game away with a colossally bad mistake.
The Trojans trailed by 13, scored back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter, relinquished the lead, then failed to capitalize on UW’s gift.
Following a timeout with 1:42 remaining, the Huskies took the field with 12 players, which turned third-and-one into third-and-six. The penalty stopped the clock, led to a punt and, ultimately, gave the Trojans one final chance with plenty of time remaining.
They almost took advantage, but the ensuing drive stalled at UW’s 14 yardline.
And that’s exactly what you might expect from two mediocre teams.
The end result was USC’s fifth loss in seven conference games. Increasingly-embattled coach Lincoln Riley must win two of his final three games to become bowl-eligible. That won’t be easy with resurgent UCLA and Notre Dame on the upcoming schedule, in addition to Nebraska.
The Huskies are in better shape, needing one victory in their final three games to qualify for the postseason. They visit Penn State, host UCLA and head to Oregon.
One of those games is not like the others.
3. Big 12 (total) mayhem
Week 10 brought a heaping pile of chaos to a conference where upsets rule and upstarts thrive.
Let’s begin at the top of the conference standings, where undefeated Iowa State lost at home to Texas Tech, which was coming off back-to-back losses to Baylor and TCU.
But that wasn’t all, as second-place Kansas State lost at Houston and dropped off the top tier of contenders.
The season is 10 weeks old. We are into November. And Brigham Young is alone at the top of the conference — the only unbeaten team in the Big 12 and one of four undefeated teams in the Power Four (with Miami, Indiana and Oregon).
Two teams are one game behind the Cougars: Iowa State and Colorado.
That’s right, folks. The Buffaloes have a fairly wide path into the Big 12 title game. And if they reach the title game, the Buffs would be one win from the College Football Playoff (and making ESPN’s holiday dreams come true).
Next up for Deion Sanders and Co. is a trip to Texas Tech, which should be challenging.
After that, CU faces Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State, which have a combined record of 2-14 in league play.
4. The Tempe turnaround
One of the top turnaround stories in major college football continued Saturday as Arizona State secured a bowl berth with its 42-21 victory at Oklahoma State.
Yes, the same team that was 3-9 last year and picked last in the Big 12 and playing with an inexperienced transfer quarterback and a 30-something second-year coach — that team is bowl eligible while USC and Washington are not.
The Sun Devils (6-2) endured a multi-hour weather delay in Stillwater, then outscored the Cowboys 21-7 following the break.
Much of the damage came courtesy of tailback Cam Skattebo, who totaled 274 yards running and receiving, along with three touchdowns.
Kenny Dillingham should be on the short list of candidates for Big 12 Coach of the Year, but the competition is stiff with BYU’s Kalani Sitake and Colorado’s Sanders.
Not on that list: Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy.
The Cowboys were picked third in the preseason poll but are currently winless — that’s right, winless — in conference play.
5. Meanwhile, in Tucson …
Also not on the Big 12 Coach of the Year list: Arizona’s Brent Brennan, whose team flew across the country to face UCF when the Wildcats should have just stayed home and saved everyone the hassle.
Their 56-12 loss was even worse than the final score suggests.
The Wildcats trailed 14-0 late in the first quarter, 28-0 late in the second and 42-6 early in the third.
Put another way: The Wildcats lost by 44 points and only committed one turnover.
They simply weren’t competitive at the line of scrimmage — or anywhere else on the field, frankly.
The Hotline rarely accuses a team of quitting, but the q-word crossed our mind watching Arizona’s fifth-consecutive loss unfold in ghastly fashion.
Brennan’s problems have gone from daunting to Defcon 1 levels. It stands to reason that someone on his coaching staff will get fired — or reassigned — during the upcoming bye week.
The Wildcats are dreadful on defense, awful on offense and look to have cashed out their emotional investment.
That said, basketball season starts Monday.
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