Recapping FSU and the Rest of the Top Five

Recapping this week; the No. 1 team had a bye week, two top-5 teams went down, FSU proved they belong, and the debate can officially begin as to who the best one-loss teams are.

No. 1 Mississippi State (Bye Week)

No. 2 Florida State beat No. 5 Notre Dame 31-27

FSU came into Saturday’s contest vs. Notre Dame riding a 22-game winning streak (including a 12-game ACC game winning streak), and this game was a dog fight from start to finish and easily the best of this season thus far. Notre Dame showed why it belongs in the college football playoff discussion, while Florida State solidified its spot.

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The Irish out gained the ‘Noles 470 yards to 323 yards, including 157 rushing to the Seminoles’ 50. Looking at the statistics, Notre Dame handled this game thoroughly but FSU found a way yet again to pull out the win. Everette Golson threw for 313 yards on 31/52 passing with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. His counterpart, Jameis Winston, threw for 273 yards on 23/31 passing with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The difference? Winston was 15/16 in the 2nd half with no turnovers and a touchdown.

Several ‘Noles stepped up in this contest, most obviously true freshmen wide receiver Travis Rudolph. Rudolph had 6 receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown in what could have possibly been his coming-out party. Matthew Thomas also made his presence felt, and true freshman Jacob Pugh had the game-winning interception.

Notre Dame still has some ranked match-ups this season vs. No. 14 Arizona State and No. 20 USC. The Irish have plenty of opportunities to prove their worth. FSU doesn’t play another ranked team this season, and the toughest game left on their schedule is Thursday, October 30th, at Louisville.

No. 3 Ole Miss beats Tennessee 34-3

Ole Miss came out and put a beat down on Tennessee. The Landsharks (Ole Miss Defense) is in full swing and the Rebs are impressing more and more every week.

This ball game was tied 0-0 at the end of the 1st quarter. Ole Miss only led 14-3 at halftime, so the halftime speech must have been a good one because Ole Miss came out and score 20 unanswered to win 34-3. Ole Miss out gained the Vols’ 383 yards to 191 yards, including 180 rushing yards to Tennessee’s 0 rushing yards. This Ole Miss defense is for real, forcing 4 UT turnovers as well.

Mississippi QB Bo Wallace threw for a meager 199 yards on 13/28 attempts with 2 touchdowns. Volunteer QB Justin Worley threw for 191 yards on 19/34 passing with 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

The road only gets tougher from here as Ole Miss travels to Death Valley, Lousiana this weekend to take on No. 24 LSU. The Rebs then host the Auburn Tigers November 1st in what could be the 3rd top-5 match up of this young college football season. A match up on November 29th looms as well in what could be the biggest “Egg Bowl” in history when Mississippi State heads to Oxford.

One thing’s for sure: Ole Miss is hot on FSU’s trail.

No. 4 Baylor gets upset 41-27 at West Virginia

West Virginia is a different animal when playing in Morgantown, and it doesn’t hurt when former Seminole Clint Trickett throws for 322 yards on 23/35 passing with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Baylor was coming off a huge 61-58 win vs. then No. 9 TCU and was surely not 100% coming into this contest, making this game vs. the Mountaineers the ultimate “trap game.”

Bryce Petty still played a solid game with 223 yards on 16/36 passing with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. It just was not enough as the Baylor defense once again was obsolete. Baylor still has a couple major match-ups on their schedule, including November 8th at Oklahoma, and November 22nd vs. Oklahoma State. The Big 12 not having a conference championship game could ultimately ruin the Bears’ chances on possibly re-entering the playoff discussion.

As for West Virginia, they are now ranked No. 22, and could be compiling a special season. Obviously with 2 losses a playoff birth is beyond slim, but a 2-loss top 15 finish is nothing to be ashamed of and is within reach if they can continue their upset specials considering they could have the toughest schedule remaining of any Big 12 team. They would have to win at Oklahoma State this weekend, beat TCU at home November 1st, and beat Kansas State at home November 20th.

With so much football left to play this season, there is still plenty of room for other top-10 teams to sneak into the top-4. Several 1-loss teams are battling for their chances to prove they still belong as well, but as long as FSU keeps on winning, there is no doubt they will be in the playoff.

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