By Mike Luce
1. Mississippi State.
All of Starkville celebrated a dominant win by its newly minted #1 Bulldogs over SEC West powerhouse Auburn. Lou Holtz brought the cowbell.
The #2 Tigers were just the latest Top 10 victim: Mississippi State has already defeated #8 LSU and #6 Texas A&M, with upcoming games against #7 Alabama and #3 Ole Miss.
And that’s how you go from unranked to No. 1 in just five weeks, “the quickest rise in the 78-year history of the AP poll.”
2. Ole Miss.
Not to be left out of the party in the Magnolia State, #3 Ole Miss beat #14 Texas A&M, 35-20. Mississippi’s “Land Shark” defense forced three turnovers, including two picks of A&M QB Kenny “Trill” Hill.
The Rebel Land Shark, by the way, was among the ideas considered by the Ole Miss Mascot Selection Committee in 2010 as the replacement for the school’s infamous “Colonel Reb” in 2010, as was “Hotty and Toddy” and 10 other variants of Rebels.
Ole Miss eventually settled on the Rebel Black Bear. Our favorite was always Admiral Ackbar, Leader of the Rebel Alliance. Unfortunately, he was unavailable, as you can see here:
Damn. We could’ve had it all.
3. The Union.
Don’t get cocky, Mississippi. Your state still sucks and your Rebels were rebelling against the good ol’ USA.
4. Florida State’s Defense.
They totally shut out Justice.
5. Baylor.
The Bears mounted a furious comeback against #9 TCU, pulling out a ‘W’ after scoring 24 unanswered points in the final 11 minutes. The final score: 61-58.
6. Vince Young.
Texas went down to rival Oklahoma 31-26 in the Red River Showdown, but the former Longhorn QB defeated this turkey leg.
7. Minnesota.
The Gophers seized control of the Big Ten West with a 24-17 win over Northwestern. A two-possession sequence nicely summed up the Wildcats’ season to date: NU fumbled a kick return, recovered at their own 3-yard line, drove 97 yards for a touchdown to the tie the game at 17, and promptly surrendered a 100-yard return for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff.
8. MATS.
While UMass has posted a 1-6 record straight up in 2014, Massachusetts Against The Spread is an impressive 5-1 against the spread.
(This week, in a battle of Mid-American Conference basement-dwellers, UMass triumphed over Kent State 40-17. The Minutemen broke a 12-game losing streak while the Golden Flashes dropped to 0-6 on the season.)
9. The Citadel.
Statistical highlights from The Citadel’s 63-56 victory over Charlotte in double overtime:
* The Citadel rolled up 689 total yards; Charlotte notched 679.
* Each team had 36 first downs.
* The Citadel had 78 rushing attempts.
* Citadel QB Aaron Miller threw for just 135 yards, but ran for 197. (Charlotte QB Matt Johnson threw for 358 yards and ran for 15.)
* Charlotte’s Austin Duke caught 12 balls for 254 yards.
That’s college football, baby!
10. Montana State.
“UC Davis may have found a quarterback and a rejuvenated running back during its Big Sky Conference homecoming game against No. 11 Montana State on Saturday,” the Sacramento Bee reports.
“But the Aggies also learned that they couldn’t keep pace with the Bobcats’ big-play offense and their gifted sophomore quarterback, Dakota Prukop, in falling 77-37 in a game that featured a slew of highlight-reel plays to keep the crowd of 7,152 entertained.
“The two teams combined for 1,346 total yards, 63 first downs, 16 touchdowns and a handful of school records.”
That’s college football, baby!
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Mike Luce is our man on campus – every Friday and Monday. He welcomes your comments.
Posted on October 13, 2014