[Rainier Ehrhardt – Times-Union]

This was the week.

Every year, there’s one week that looks mediocre at best on paper, but winds up sending shockwaves through the college football landscape. With four undefeated Power Five teams, the playoff picture was crystal clear – and three of those teams lost, two at home. First, Clemson wound up losing a shootout on a long last-second field goal against a Pitt team with a great offense and an equally not great defense; USC went on the road to Washington and suffocated the previously undefeated Huskies; Michigan traveled to Iowa and lost on a game-winning Hawkeye field goal in a game with horrible offense on both sides.

Though each three of those teams still might control their own destiny in the playoff race (Washington is the one that may need some help, but they’d probably be fine at 12-1), there’s renewed optimism in other places – Oklahoma, Penn State, Wisconsin, Colorado, etc. The playoff picture is a mess with two weeks left in the regular season and surely there will be more surprises in store for us.

[More on the week that was after the JUMP]

ACC

--- Heading into the fourth quarter, CLEMSON seemed to be in control of the game against PITT – they led by eight, had the ball near midfield, and had only been slowed down by Deshaun Watson interceptions to that point. With about six minutes left in the game, with the ball inside the Panther five-yard line, Watson threw his third interception of the game, which was returned deep into Clemson territory. Pitt scored a touchdown within a few plays, but having missed an extra point earlier in the game, needed a two-point conversion to tie and didn’t convert. The Tigers got the ball back and, with less than a minute left, went for it on fourth-and-one in Pitt territory to try to seal the game. They didn’t get it, Pitt maneuvered into field goal range, and hit a 48-yarder with a few seconds left to win 43-42 in Death Valley. Clemson relied heavily on Watson, who threw the ball 70 times for 580 yards – but did have those three interceptions. Mike Williams and Artavis Scott combined for 28 catches, 327 yards, and two touchdowns, repeatedly torching the Pitt secondary. The Panthers have allowed an average of just shy of 40 points per game against Power Five opponents, but their balanced offensive attack did enough to get the win. Clemson simply needs to win next week against Wake Forest to make it into the ACC Championship game, so it’s not a devastating loss, but their defensive liabilities showed up in a big way – in addition to Watson’s carelessness with the ball.

--- The top two teams in the other division – the Coastal – were also upset in Week 10. On Thursday night, NORTH CAROLINA raced out to an early lead over DUKE, but the Blue Devil offense woke up in the second quarter, scoring three touchdowns and tying the game heading into halftime. Duke won the turnover margin by two, forced UNC to settle for field goals in the second half, and won 28-27 after both teams went scoreless in the fourth. It was Duke’s first conference win and they won by controlling the game on the ground with the effective one-two punch of Shaun Wilson and Daniel Jones. Not to be outdone, VIRGINIA TECH was blown out at home by GEORGIA TECH; the Hokies trailed 20-0 heading into halftime and were unable to stop the Yellow Jackets’ vaunted triple-option attack. Some turnovers by VT QB Jerod Evans didn’t help matters, but he was the only threat offensively for the Hokies. Two long garbage time drives made the final margin – 30-20 – look closer than the game actually was. Since VT beat UNC earlier this season, they hold the tiebreaker and should win the division – their only remaining conference game is against lowly Virginia.

--- In what may have been the most bizarre game of the weekend, WAKE FOREST jumped out to an early 12-0 lead (on four field goals, three of which were set up by LOUISVILLE fumbles) and actually led heading into the fourth quarter – only to see Louisville’s offense ignite, scoring five touchdowns en route to a 44-12 win. Lamar Jackson had a relatively pedestrian day – though he did run for 153 yards – with a touchdown and a turnover, but Cardinal RB Brandon Radcliffe scored three touchdowns in what eventually became a blowout, despite being a close, mistake-filled game through three quarters.

--- Elsewhere in ACC action, FLORIDA STATE clobbered BOSTON COLLEGE, MIAMI pulled away from VIRGINIA in the second half to win comfortably on the road, and NC STATE managed to come back against SYRACUSE in what was a pivotal game for both schools’ bowl hopes.

[Eric Upchurch – MGoBlog]

Big Ten

--- MICHIGAN’s undefeated season came to an end in Iowa City as IOWA managed to turn the game into a hideous slog and won with a field goal as time expired. After several blowouts and high-scoring offensive performances throughout the season, the Wolverines gained just 201 yards (which wasn’t that much worse than Iowa’s 230) and were held to just three points after a Ty Isaac touchdown made it a 10-0 game about halfway through the second quarter. The Hawkeyes notched a safety after a punt was down at the one-yard line and later scored a touchdown on fourth-and-goal heading into halftime. The Hawkeye running game was surprisingly more effective than Michigan’s as Akrum Wadley was easily the best offensive player on the field on Saturday. While Michigan’s stable of running backs was held in check, Wilton Speight, who missed some deep shots and completed less than half of his passes, really stuck out after a couple of very strong performances throwing the ball. A dubious “roughing the snapper” penalty on Iowa extended the fourth quarter drive that put Michigan up 13-11, and a bad facemask call on Mike McCray put the Hawkeyes in field goal range for the winner. Michigan still could win the Big Ten and make the playoff with a couple of wins, but the game against Ohio State looks much, much tougher than it did a week ago with Michigan’s total meltdown on offense, especially now that Speight is injured.

--- PENN STATE might be the big winner from that one, as an OSU win over Michigan (and wins from PSU over Rutgers and Michigan State) would put them in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Nittany Lions had a tough test on the road against INDIANA and a resurgent Hoosier offense, but won 45-31 after a scoop-and-score on IU’s last drive to try to tie the game. Saquon Barkley was held to just 58 yards rushing on 33 carries, but had two touchdowns; Trace McSorley only completed 16 passes but those went for 332 yards – he also threw two picks. A PSU touchdown with just under four minutes left gave them the lead; a turnover on downs from IU, a PSU field goal, and then the final score on a Richard Lagow fumble ended a high-scoring and entertaining game.

--- NEBRASKA needed a second half comeback to beat MINNESOTA at home a week after getting destroyed by Ohio State in Columbus. Shockingly Cornhusker QB Tommy Armstrong played after suffering a scary head injury in that game against OSU; he led a 91-yard scoring drive and punched in the touchdown in the fourth quarter to take the 24-17 lead that would become the game’s final margin. Minnesota was able to get the ball into the red zone, but Mitch Leidner threw an interception that effectively ended the game. Technically Minnesota had control of their own destiny in the Big Ten West, but they still haven’t played Wisconsin and this loss probably ended their chances.

--- There were plenty of blowouts. OHIO STATE beat MARYLAND 62-3; WISCONSIN beat ILLINOIS 48-3; MICHIGAN STATE got their first conference win with a 49-0 victory over RUTGERS; NORTHWESTERN took care of PURDUE, 45-17.

[Elaine Thompson – STF]

Pac-12

--- USC had been looking great since inserting freshman QB Sam Darnold as the starter, and they notched their biggest win in years by upsetting previously undefeated WASHINGTON in what wound up being a convincing 26-13 win. Darnold, who threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns, shook off an interception on the first drive to lead three straight scoring trips – a field goal then two touchdowns – to give the Trojans a 17-6 lead heading into halftime. In the third quarter, John Ross put a move on All-American CB Adoree’ Jackson to score a 70-yard receiving touchdown for the Huskies, but that was their only big play on the day as the Trojan defense stifled the normally productive U-Dub rushing attack and forced Jake Browning into two picks. Late in the third quarter, Washington had a field goal blocked and USC scored on the subsequent drive, giving them a two-score lead; a late safety finalized the score at 26-13. Washington, like Clemson and Michigan, still controls its own destiny in the conference race and should be in if they win out – but after their worst performance in some time and a difficult season finale against Washington State looming, their playoff hopes are very much in doubt. On the other hand, USC is playing great football but are still a half game behind Colorado in the Pac-12 South standings – and with tiebreakers, a division title is unlikely.

--- COLORADO and UTAH will face off in the season finale for a spot in the conference title game against either Washington or Washington State. Those two teams held serve against the overmatched Arizona schools, beating ARIZONA and ARIZONA STATE, respectively, by similar scores of 49-24 and 49-26. It’s sort of hard to believe that the two (relative) newcomers are now in control of their division – they’ve each beaten USC, UCLA fell off a cliff, and the two Rocky Mountain teams are probably going to play for the South title in a few weeks. Colorado’s matchup against Washington State next weekend will be difficult, however.

--- WASHINGTON STATE is quietly the only team left who’s undefeated in conference play; they handled CAL easily in a 56-21 win. The schedule gets tougher from here though. STANFORD’s anemic offense found a cure in Brady Hoke’s OREGON defense – the Cardinal led 52-13 through three quarters and blew out the Ducks on the road. It’s hard to believe Mark Helfrich will survive this season. UCLA leapt out to an early lead over OREGON STATE, the game tightened, but the Bruins kept their bowl hopes alive with a win.

[John Bazemore – AP]

SEC

--- In a week of chaos, one thing held constant: ALABAMA crushed MISSISSIPPI STATE. The Tide are the only remaining undefeated Power Five team.

--- Their in-state rivals, AUBURN, who’d rebounded nicely from early-season offensive struggles, saw those issues resurface in a tough 13-7 loss to GEORGIA. The Bulldogs’ only touchdown came on a Maurice Smith pick-six in the third quarter; two fourth quarter field goals from Rodrigo Blankenship gave UGA the first signature win of the Kirby Smart era. Georgia controlled the game, more than doubling up Auburn’s total yardage, but the game was close until the end. The Tigers’ starting quarterback, Sean White, was dealing with an injury and only completed six passes for 27 yards; Auburn had been rampaging through defenses with a powerful Gus Malzahn running game, but Georgia did a good job of holding Kerryon Johnson to under 100 yards rushing on the day. UGA QB Jacob Eason largely played mistake-free football, and for a freshman quarterback playing opposite a dominant defense on Saturday, that’s all Smart could ask for. That loss sealed Alabama’s division title.

--- Last week, OLE MISS lost star QB Chad Kelly to a season-ending injury and decided to pull the redshirt off 5* Shea Patterson to take over for the final three games, despite their 4-5 record. TEXAS A&M also lost their starting QB, Trevor Knight, for the rest of the season with an injury last week. The two teams faced off in College Station: A&M led 21-6 heading into the fourth quarter but Patterson rattled off three consecutive touchdown drives and got them into field goal range so Gary Wunderlich could hit the game-winning field goal and get the 29-28 win for the Rebels. Patterson did throw an interception, but also passed for 338 yards and two touchdowns while adding 64 yards on the ground; Akeem Judd rushed for 100 yards for Ole Miss as well. Jake Hubenak was decent in his first start for A&M, but the Rebel defense seemed to have figured the Aggies out in the second half.

--- The SEC’s two former Purdue quarterbacks each won as LSU dominated ARKANSAS and FLORIDA took care of SOUTH CAROLINA in the Muschamp Bowl. Both defenses had more to do with those wins: Arkansas only scored ten points and South Carolina only scored seven. LSU’s run game was dominant as Derrius Guice ran for 252 yards and two touchdowns (Leonard Fournette added 98 yards and 3 TDs). Florida is still likely to win the SEC East.

--- TENNESSEE won a shootout over KENTUCKY to stay alive in the division title race; MISSOURI notched their first conference win by beating VANDERBILT.

[James Gregg – AP]

Big 12

--- WEST VIRGINIA kept its Big 12 title hopes alive with a win on the road over TEXAS; despite surrendering 536 yards of offense, the Mountaineers only allowed 20 points and several long Texas drives didn’t result in touchdowns – including the last one, as time expired with the Horns at the WVU 27-yard line. Texas had a field goal blocked in the third quarter and would have been in position for a game-winning field goal attempt as the game wound down, but they wound up losing 24-20. Between the amount of total offense Texas gained, and the three interceptions from Mountaineer QB Skyler Howard, it was a surprising result, given the box score, but WVU’s bend-don’t-break defense was just effective enough to get the job done. Texas’s D’Onta Foreman, the leading rusher in the Big 12, had 35 carries for 167 yards but was held out of the end zone. West Virginia’s upcoming game against OKLAHOMA (who handed BAYLOR its third consecutive loss with a 45-24 win this week) will go a long way in helping determine the Big 12 champ.

--- OKLAHOMA STATE is still in the title picture after escaping with a 45-44 win over TEXAS TECH: the Red Raiders scored a touchdown with a minute and a half left but missed the extra point that would have tied the game. Predictably, TTU QB Patrick Mahomes lit up the OSU secondary to the tune of 344 yards and three touchdowns (and added two more touchdowns on the ground), but the Tech defense was vulnerable – allowing 395 passing yards and 210 rushing yards. It was a classic Big 12 shootout and Oklahoma State was actually held scoreless in the fourth quarter, but Tech decided not to go for two to take the lead and the missed extra point was a fitting conclusion in a year that’s been really tough in Lubbock.

--- IOWA STATE came back to beat KANSAS in the worst Power Five league game this season. Entering the game, the two teams were each 0-6 in Big 12 play and 1-8 overall.