The 2018 college football season hasn’t been nearly as weird as a year like 1984 or 2007 (hey
Youth Jake Matthews Jersey , it’s a high bar), but it’s still solid proof of why college football is the best and weirdest sport.We know Alabama is the
team to beat. We know Clemson is the lone second tier. The third tier is just a
few teams, and pretty much everyone else is in the fourth. But within that
fourth tier are some great surprises. Most of us didn’t see these coming.On
Saturday, Northwestern won the Big Ten West.The Big Ten West has been one
gigantic mess this season that somebody had to win at some point, right?
Technically? Well, it turns out that team is the Northwestern Wildcats.They went
into Iowa City Saturday against the No. 21 Iowa Hawkeyes as underdogs.
Northwestern came out with a 14-10 victory, making them a smooth 6-1 in
conference play.That means they’ll face either Ohio State or Michigan for the
Big Ten title in Indianapolis, Northwestern’s first-ever trip.Here’s a pumped-up
Pat Fitzgerald informing his team that the standings just broke Northwestern’s
way:And this is a real photo, no ‘shop:Which, yes, means that if Northwestern
were to win said Big Ten Championship game, they’d be in the Rose Bowl. Wild, I
know.Mind you, Northwestern started the season 1-3
http://www.falconsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-alex-mack-jersey , including a loss to the Zips of Akron! Which means ...Akron can kinda claim the
Big Ten West crown.At least, in our hearts. Akron’s first Big Ten win EVER
turned out to be a win over the West’s champ, Northwestern. It was a 39-34 win,
a game that Northwestern was a 21-point favorite in.Their only other win over a
Big Ten team came in 1894 against Ohio State, when Akron was Buchtel College, a
Unitarian institution. That’s also when the Big Ten wasn’t even a thing:Times
have changed. Also, thank goodness we don’t have Leaders and Legends
anymore.Pitt will probably make it to the ACC Championship!And they’d have as
many ACC divisional championships as Miami. There’s been a race between
everybody in the ACC Coastal this season to be the division’s clear cut best
team and representative in the championship game. It’s gone from Virginia Tech,
to Virginia, and now to Pitt, who can clinch the division next week with a win
against Miami.I’m going to let my colleague Alex Kirshner describe this
division, because it would be useless for me to attempt to do it any more
accurate and concise than this:Yeah, lol.But after a 52-22 rout of Virginia Tech
on Saturday, Pitt is making their case to be that team. A win over Wake next
week, and there really won’t be any more discussion to be had. Pitt is in.Wazzu
remains the Pac-12’s last Playoff hope.The Cougs are coming off of a week when
it took far too long for them to beat Cal at home in a 19-13 game
Mohamed Sanu Jersey , but they got it done. This week was a much easier story for Mike Leach’s squad after Gardner Minshew completed 35 of his 58 passes
for 335 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-7 win against Colorado. After the game,
Minshew put one of the fake mustaches fans wear for him on Leach:Another look at
This Thing:If your team is out of the mix, the Cougs aren’t a bad team to root
for the rest of the way. They are a long shot, but a fun one.They’re also a
reason to drink Fireball, so why not.UAB has nine wins after not existing four
years ago.The entire program shut down in December of 2014, and they’re somehow
9-1 just four years later, which seems like shouldn’t be a thing. And yet, here
we are!Against Southern Miss, well, the broadcast met the bare minimum at a
point:That doesn’t minimize the Blazers’ win on Saturday though, which came in
overtime. After the Golden Eagles got a field goal on the first possession of
overtime, Spencer Brown sealed the victory for UAB on the ensuing possession
with a 17-yard touchdown run.The Blazers’ run is impressive, not just because of
the way the program was rebuilt after its demise, but the way in which it was
built. Coach Bill Clark explained to SB Nation that part of it took turning big
JUCO individual talents and turning that into team chemistry:Clearly things are
working out in Birmingham. In just four years
Authentic Ryan Schraeder Jersey , it’s hard to overstate just how impressive that turnaround is.SMU and Tulane are very much alive in the AAC West. The AAC
East is still in the hands of defending national champs UCF. That’s no surprise.
But in the AAC West, SMU and Tulane are giving Houston fits for a spot in the
championship game.In 2017, SMU went 4-4 in conference play, and Tulane 3-5.
Simply, they weren’t good.In 2018, both are 4-2 after Saturday’s games. Tulane
gets a crack at Houston on Thursday, Nov. 15. SMU beat the Cougars on Nov. 3 at
home 45-31. So while we expect UCF to play for the AAC title, who they may face
is still up in the air among a trio of teams. The biggest game of Week 12 might
be one involving Syracuse.The Orange became the latest team to demolish Bobby
Petrino’s Louisville on Friday night, setting up what might be Notre Dame’s
hardest remaining game: a trip to Yankee Stadium while dressed up like the New
York Yankees.With a win (and maybe even with a loss), Cuse can go from no bowl
at all over the last four years to a New Year’s Six bowl in Dino Babers’ third
year.There’s plenty of season left, and things can get even weirder. We’re here
for it. Alabama quarterback and Heisman frontrunner Tua Tagovailoa left the
Tide’s game against Mississippi State on Saturday with an injury in the second
half.Tagovailoa suffered an injury late in the third quarter, and would be taken
to the injury tent as a result. According to CBS’ broadcast, Tagovailoa took a
hit to the quad on the same leg of his knee injury. The quad is the reason for
his benching, and not the knee
Youth Austin Hooper Jersey , according to CBS.Here’s the hit that sent Tagovailoa to the sideline:Tagovailoa came out of the tent after a short time,
and was seen on the sideline riding an exercise bike.Mac Jones came in at
quarterback for Alabama, who was up 21-0 at the time of his injury. Jalen Hurts
is still dealing with an ankle injury, putting the third-stringer Jones in for
Tagovailoa. Though in the fourth quarter, Hurts was seen with his helmet on,
warming up on the sideline.Jones made an appearance against LSU, after
Tagovailoa briefly left that game after another big hit. However, Tagovailoa
came back after a couple of plays with Jones.Against Mississippi State,
Tagovailoa never made it back to the game, as Alabama came away victorious
24-0.After the game, Nick Saban said, “He got beat up a little bit. I think he’s
fine.”We’ll see as the week goes along, and the Tide face the Citadel on Nov.
17.
