Hurricane Season is Over, but Cyclone Season Just hit the Big 12

The best game of the weekend was #2 Penn State against #6 Ohio State and the Buckeyes won in great fashion in the last moments from the game. Here are the rest of the winners and losers from this weekend from the Top 25.

Moving on Up

#14 Iowa State (Last Week: 25)

Iowa surprised the nation when they beat Oklahoma in Norman 3 weeks ago. The Cylones struck the heart of the Big 12 again. ISU stands at the top of the Big 12, beating the 2 previous unbeaten teams. ISU is still behind Oklahoma and TCU in the polls but here is the significance of the loss for the Big 12. Currently there are 6 teams still in contention for the Big 12 championship game. At 4-1 we have ISU, TCU, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and at 3-2 we have Texas and WVU.

• Iowa State: Say for conversation’s sake, Iowa wins out. This puts Oklahoma State at 2 losses and West Virginia at 3 losses, knocking West Virginia out of the race, unless something crazy happens. Let’s not worry about ISU making the CFP, that’s a bit out of reach, maybe the Cotton or Alamo Bowl.
• Oklahoma: The battle of Bedlam happens this weekend. OU wins and they survive another week. OU loses, they now sit at 2 losses and a must win game at home against TCU. OU needs to win out and beat Iowa State in a rematch at the championship game to even have a chance at the playoffs.
• TCU: The Horned Frogs play Texas this weekend. Win and they are still in the race for the playoffs. Much like Oklahoma, TCU would need to beat Oklahoma in Norman and win out to keep their playoffs hopes alive. Then they would have to beat Iowa State in the championships.
• Oklahoma State: If they lose to Iowa State or Oklahoma, title hopes are slim. The Cowboys would need losses form Oklahoma, TCU and Iowa State to make the playoffs.
• Texas and West Virginia: Not only would Texas and West Virginia need to win out, they would need multiple losses. Seeing as WVU plays Iowa State this week, Texas plays TCU this week and they play each other in 2 weeks, one team would need to win out to even have the CG in their headlights.

#5 Notre Dame (9)

Last week, I said that Notre Dame had to beat every team on their schedule to climb the rankings and be the 4th team in the playoffs and last weekend they put the beat down on #14 NC State 35-14. RB Josh Adams had 202 yards and 1 TDs as the Fighting Irish rose 4 spots in the rankings. Notre Dame is ranked #3 in the CFP rankings released today. Big news for the Irish.

• Wake Forest – The Demon Deacons beat Louisville last week, breaking their 3 game losing streak. Still an easy win for the Irish, don’t count them out. Spread opens at 13.5.
• #9 Miami – Toughest game left on their schedule. should be a fantastic game in 2 weeks.
• Navy – Navy has a strong running game but Notre Dame has a better defense.
• #18 Stanford – Stanford still has to play Washington and Wazzu before facing the Irish.

Also, if the Irish win out, RB Josh Adams gets instantly put into the Heisman conversation.

Falling Fast

NR South Florida (17)

USF was upset by Houston last week, dropping them out of the rankings. The AAC team enjoyed their time in the rankings, even flirting with a spot in the NY6 games. This was bound to happen and eventually somebody was going to figure out Quentin Flowers and the Bull’s offense. They still have a great game at the end of November against instate rival #18 UCF.

25 Washington State (15)

Wazzu has gotten blown out in 2 of the last 3 games. Wazzu was at once the number 8 team in the nation, and looking outside at the CFP. Now at the bottom of the AP top 25, things are not looking good, especially with games against Stanford and away games at Utah and Washingtion. QB Luke Falk has 6 TDs and 9 INTs on the road vs 22 TDs and 4 INTs at home. Wazzu is 1-2 on the road. Tough for one of the better teams this year.

24 Michigan State (16)

The Spartans rose as high as #16 after beating then #7 Michigan. Last week, Michigan State lost to Northwestern in triple overtime, when Brian Lewerke threw and INT to end the game. They now play Penn State at home and then at the horseshoe. Tough games in the next two weeks. They already have a Top 7 win on the season, can they do it again? (Probably not.)