First up, the Week 11 summary, pieced together from some notes I jotted. --MPF004
P6 2012: Week 11 Heard a Thunderous Sound
And that sound was either a "crack" or a "thud." The "crack" was Texas A&M piercing the invincibility of Alabama. After about seven minutes of football, it was 14-0 A&M. Bama could never recover. The "thud" was at the final gun when Bama fell from the ranks of the undefeateds, creating an opening for K-State and Notre Dame to claim one of the two slots in the national championship game.
Big gainers: nobody except Michigan +3, to rejoin the poll as the least deserving in the poll and the most over-rated three-loss team in the country. It was a quiet week.
Big losers: Louisville -9 after getting killed by Syracuse. Alabama -3 and (at least so we thought at the time) its chances at the national championship. Toledo -3 and out (losing to Ball State will do that to ya).
Best week: Congrats to "Keiimik," "Haskins Mama," and "The Big D" who all had a +7.
Enough jibber jabber, who's winning?
"Thomas the Train" and "Dix Pix Six" both tumbled, leaving an opening for our old friend from Week 7 and 8, "Flying Cougars," who shamefully benefitted from Michigan's win.
Gamewide average: basically flat, from 54.1 to 54.0.
In Week 12, Flying Cougars has a matchup between Ohio State and Wisconsin. But more importantly, what about those losses?
P6 2012: Week 12 Watched It and Still Couldn't Believe It
I think we all figured Notre Dame would cruise past Wake Forest (Jim Grobe: good guy, runs a clean program, has a MAC feather in his cap, but was way overmatched). And I think some were hopeful that stodgy, tough Stanford could hang with the high-flyin' Ducks of Oregon.
But nobody saw Oregon losing AND K-State losing, particularly the way they did. Add it all up and I get email messages like this:
N D # 1
Didn't think this morning this could happen. Hope you got to watch/listen to the games!!!!!!
And pictures like this (click to embiggen):
Also: Tennessee fired Derek Dooley on Sunday (cue sad Scott Miller).
I was speechless Saturday night and I'm still at a loss for words (mostly because it's late and I want to get this posted so I can go to bed). All I can say is, if Notre Dame can beat USC, featuring a redshirt freshman making his first collegiate start, then they will play for the national championship. Those words are so bizarre and so true.
To the poll:
Adios to Southern Cal, Louisana Tech and Texas Tech. Ahhh, don't pretend to be sad (said with a Michael Corleone "ahhh"). You didn't have either of those Techs, and if you had probation-battered Southern Cal, well, it's your own fault. Welcome to: Oklahoma State (an original Group "D", making 9 players happy), Mississippi State (unloved and unchosen by the Pick Sixers) and Northern Illinois, making this week's Top 25 doubly MAC-tastic since Kent State is still there. Being a Chicago-based game, I'm surprised no one jumped on the Huskies as a Pick Sixth. I guess all that Midwestern love went to the Irish, and rightly so you pickers!
By the way, is Georgia really the third best team in the country? Despite losing in OT, when you look at their body of work, it's not Oregon? Or, you know, 11-0 Ohio State?
Biggest winners: Notre Dame obviously, and I'm not talking about the two points in the poll. But back to the rankings math: Oklahoma State, who beat the former No. 23 Red Raiders of Texas Tech. Stanford, +3 for beating the Ducks and making Saturday historically awesome. Michigan, again, improving 3 points, clearly not based on anything special they did Saturday.
Big losers: Voters did not look kindly on losing to 4-5 Baylor and dropped K-State five spots. USC: dropped five notches (and out) after that pathetic performance against cross-town rival USC. Oregon down 4.
Best week: I still don't know (yet) what Caillou is, and why "I Hate Caillou" hates it so much, although I assume I'm going to find out soon enough. Dislikes aside, my old buddy in North Carolina came through with a mightly +12, benefitting from Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Stanford and ND, all of whom gained a couple notches apiece. Despite a huge gain, he only moves from 7th to 5th in the game. Who could have possibly topped him?
Enough jibber jabber, who's winning?
"Dix Pix Six" scored a +7 on the week, good enough for 97 points and a one-point lead over last week's leader, "Flying Cougars." I'm way down at 34th, partially because I put my Pick Six "A" faith in this guy:
Top kid: "Thomas the Train." Top cat: Mutchka. Top dog: "Silly Milly." Gamewide: up one point, from 54.0 to 55.0. So I guess it was a good week for our teams, overall.
Standings: read 'em and weep.
We're down to the last full week of the regular season. The last week sees classic rivalries like Alabama-Auburn and Notre Dame-USC, both of which need to dispatch weaker foes to keep their slot in the championship game. There are other exciting rivalries that will move the standings, like South Carolina-Clemson and Ohio State-Michigan. And, uh, Iowa-Nebraska. A game that I planned my Thanksgiving around to make sure I'd be home for. Oh well, at least there's the Iron Bowl too.
Good luck next week. Keep an eye on your teams to see how they finish it out!
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