Five things we learned after a weekend of one-handed picks (Michigan's Jourdan Lewis), nutty blowouts (Ohio State) and a defensive stand by ... Indiana?
_Double your pleasure. After Louisville went down valiantly to Clemson, talk centered on the Cardinals' improved playoff hopes. Yes, in some ways, improved. Louisville has a signature win (63-20 over Florida State, though that victory is losing value) and a tight road loss to a team that could go undefeated and win the ACC. If Louisville beats Houston on the road Nov. 17 and finishes 11-1, it will be hard to deny the Cardinals a playoff spot. Of course everything depends on what the other leagues do. Such as ...
Like Clemson and Louisville, Michigan and Ohio State play in the same division of the same conference league, so only one can make the conference title game. Right now both look like playoff teams. The Buckeyes have been in Operation Steamroll, outscoring opponents 228-37, and Michigan scored a comfortable victory over Wisconsin despite three missed field goals. If both win out until Nov. 26, Michigan-Ohio State could be for all the marbles ... or merely pride and the right to beat up on the Big Ten West champ.
_Indiana had a 'D'elightful victory. All you need to know about the Michigan State-Indiana game transpired in overtime. Indiana sacked Tyler O'Connor twice in three plays, leading to a missed 49-yard field-goal try by Michael Geiger. Indiana won after a Spartans "leaping" penalty on its first field-goal miss kept the drive alive, then Griffin Oakes converted a 20-yard game-winner.
"Barely," coach Kevin Wilson said on BTN after the game. "They got a hand on it. We make it hard."
_They do. But at least Indiana is now a hard "out" because of better defense. Michigan State, meanwhile, is at a crossroads after losing two straight and committing 11 penalties in Bloomington.
_Northwestern did many things well at Iowa. But covering punts and kicks was not one of them. The Wildcats yielded 115 yards on five punt returns (23-yard average) and 139 yards on four kicks (34.8). "It looked like we got our butts whipped _ everywhere," NU coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
Injuries have eaten away at NU's coverage teams, but that doesn't explain why the Wildcats got fooled on a "decoy" punt return _ Desmond King pretending to field a ball that Riley McCarron grabbed near the NU sideline and returned 38 yards. "The decoy move," Fitzgerald said, "was really cool."
_Ohio State is embarrassing. Wait, that sentence need a few more words: Ohio State is embarrassing nearly every team it plays. The Buckeyes obliterated Rutgers 58-0 and the advantage in yardage was even more stunning: 669-116.
_Wisconsin needs to examine this question. Can arm strength be improved? Alex Hornibrook threw mainly changeups at Michigan, and the result was a 9-for-25 passing day with three interceptions. Hornibrook has a nice feel for the position, but he needs more zip. Who does he think he is, Peyton Manning?
_Poll position: My top 16 in the Football Writers/National Football Foundation poll: 1. Alabama; 2. Ohio State; 3. Houston; 4. Clemson; 5. Washington; 6. Michigan; 7. Louisville; 8. Texas A&M; 9. Wisconsin; 10. Florida State; 11. Tennessee; 12. Ole Miss; 13. Nebraska; 14. Stanford; 15. LSU; 16. Arkansas.
