College Football Week 10 Recap

1. Louisville stuns Florida State

The Cardinals flew to a 21 - 0 lead with the help of a couple of interceptions thrown by Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, but were unable to hold off the Seminoles in the second half.  Overall, Florida State's offense turned in an impressive performance against a stout Louisville defense, coming back to win 42 - 31.  With the victory - the Seminoles' 24th straight - they remain one of only a few teams in the driver's seat of the playoff race.

2. Oregon beats Stanford by double-digits

The Ducks had an even bigger win than what I predicted, as they stomped Stanford 45 - 16.  Oregon QB Marcus Mariota made another strong argument in the Heisman discussion as he led his team to their first win over the Cardinal since his arrival in Eugene.  The path to the playoff is clear: run the table and win the Pac-12 and they're a virtual lock.  Utah and the Pac-12 South winner (among others) will have their say on the matter first, though.

3. Ezekiel Elliott rushes for career-high yardage against Illinois

The Buckeyes chose to rest up Elliot and Barrett both in this one, so the Ohio State running back was nowhere near breaking any personal records.  Everyone got their turn in the blowout, with six Buckeyes getting at least five carries, accumulating a total of 296 rushing yards.  The Illibuck stays in Columbus for at least another year as Ohio State thrashed Illinois, 55 - 14.  There's no time to celebrate, though, as the attention immediately turns to the monumental match-up with Michigan State.

4. Maryland beats Penn State for the Nittany Lions' fourth-straight loss

I was spot on with this prediction, as Maryland's offense finally got going in the fourth quarter to notch a 20 - 19 victory over Penn State (pretty close to my 20 - 17 guess).  It was the Terrapin's first-ever win in Happy Valley, and only their second against the Nittany Lions.  Maryland players came out trying to stir up some emotions in the newly revived rivalry, as the team captains refused to shake hands with their Penn State counterparts.  The Terrapins become bowl-eligible with the win, while the Nittany Lions try to regroup and stop their season from spiraling further out of control.

5. Alabama's Nick Saban starts charity fund to pay for new sports car

Saban didn't have any cars paid for by boosters (as far as I know), but the NCAA would not care if he did.  Meanwhile, Georgia running back Todd Gurley is still serving a four-game suspension for accepting $3000 for autographing memorabilia.  Now, I'm not saying Gurley doesn't deserve the punishment.  He clearly violated NCAA rules and should face the repercussions of that decision.  But doesn't it seem like there's something wrong with this picture?  Coaches, universities, TV networks, etc. all rake in millions of dollars from college athletics.  But the players don't see a dime of that money (aside from scholarships).  I am not advocating we just start letting NCAA athletes accept money or pay them a salary.  The implications of doing either are far reaching and lead down a slippery slope that ends in a bad place.  I don't have a solution, but I can see there's a problem.

Week 10 record: 2 - 3
Overall record: 19 - 31

Other headlines from week 10:

Unbeatens survive, while other contenders fall

Top-ranked and undefeated Mississippi State and Florida State both scraped by this week and hold on to the top two spots for at least another week.  Marshall remains undefeated as well, but has yet to garner the attention of the CFP committee.  Meanwhile, things are starting to get clearer (marginally) in the group of one-loss teams.  Ole Miss suffered a second-straight loss, Georgia was exposed by Florida, Arizona was stuffed by UCLA, Utah fell to Arizona State in overtime, and East Carolina was upset by Temple.  There are still a lot of one-loss teams left, all eyeing those top four spots.  These last few weeks of the season should be a wild ride as these teams duke it out.

Four team race in the Big Ten West

This weekend's game in East Lansing may likely determine the Big Ten East winner, but the West is still wide open.  This past week, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Iowa cemented their spots as three of the top four in the division with blowout wins, while Minnesota enjoyed a bye week.  The four teams remain tied, each with one conference loss.  Nebraska still looks the best, with their sole loss coming against the Spartans.  But it's still hard to say for sure, since none of these four teams have played each other yet.  That changes starting this week, as Iowa and Minnesota face off in Minneapolis, and in the remaining weeks they all eventually play one another.  The Gophers face the toughest remaining schedule, as they still have to play Ohio State, while the others miss the Buckeyes this year, and the Cornhuskers are the only ones to play Michigan State.  The Big Ten West race will be fun to watch, and will probably come down to the final week of the regular season.

Keep your eye on the ball

Indiana State tried something a little different on their kick return, down by one with less than a minute to play.  Broken tackles may have been a bigger factor than the design itself, but nonetheless, the big return setup a game-winning field goal.