As Halloween night wound down, millions of children headed home and sifted through their haul of candy. During the house-to-house journey, they got to figure out which neighbors offered sweet treats and which ones served up bitter tricks. College football can be seen the same way as we work into November. With one month left in the season, what tricks and treats have we discovered in our grab bag of gridiron stops?
Trick: Utah's Quarterback Stability
In their last couple of seasons in the Pac-12, the Utes weren't just among the top of their conference, they were sniffing contention for the College Football Playoff. And they continued to stay in the rankings despite a bit of a rotation at quarterback. After making an appearance in the Pac-12 title game in 2019, Utah has regularly been near the top of the heap.
Tyler Huntley's fantastic 2019 campaign was also his senior one, meaning the position would be turned over the next year. This happened to be the COVID-shortened 2020 stanza. When everything got back to "full bore" in 2021, Cam Rising stood out as the heir apparent. He guided the team to the conference title before losing an epic Rose Bowl to Ohio State.
After a repeat performance (Pac-12 title, Rose Bowl loss) in 2022, the momentum was for the Utes to finally break through. Unfortunately, Rising's body did not agree. Injuries over the past season plus have finally caught up with Kyle Whittingham's squad. They've lost four in a row in the first Big XII season and face ranked opponents (as of this weekend) over the next three.
Treat: Ashton Jeanty's Heisman Viability
The Heisman Trophy has become a quarterback award. For any person outside of signal-caller, just getting a ticket to New York is an honor. This year, the QB role call is a little light. Because of that, two names have emerged as top contenders for the hardware. Colorado Swiss Army knife Travis Hunter is dazzling voters with his lockdown corner defense and outstanding receiving offense.
Boise State star Ashton Jeanty is running all over his opponents. His 8.7 yards per rush are tops among primary running backs. His 1,376 yards on the ground leads the country by more than 200 tallies. With 5 games left in the regular season, becoming the 30th back in history to reach 2,000 yards seems inevitable (barring injury). Could Barry Sanders' single-season record of 2,628 still be within reach? Can Jeanty guide the Broncos to the new playoffs? Will all of that lead to the first running back to win the Heisman in nearly 10 years?
Trick: Missouri's Preseason Hype
There's always that one team that plays over its skis and finishes with a fantastic year, only to end up short of an ultimate goal. Windows of opportunity may open in some sports, but the length of time for those avenues varies per endeavor and level. Unless you are a long-standing blueblood, college football windows typically last a very short amount of time. And that may be the way of things for the Tigers. Last season, Mizzou burst through the Dam of Mediocrity, ending up with a 10-2 regular season and a berth in a New Years' Six bowl bid. Unfortunately, if that campaign was pushed a year forward, it would have resulted in a playoff berth.
The Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State was supposed to be a launch point to the new postseason structure. The Tigers were a top-10 team before the season got underway. The offensive stalwarts were mostly back and ready for a run. But that offense has sputtered through the first eight games. It was non-existent in the two biggest contests of the bunch ... at Texas A&M and at Alabama. Now, the team will still go to a bowl. They should finish with 8-9 victories. It's another example, though, where the realities will fall short of the possibilities.
Trick: Florida State's Pride
Did the Seminole program, the University, and the higher-ups in Tallahassee complain a bit much back in December? I guess. However, in my opinion, this amount of payback is a bit much. Some will call it karma. I call it dragging someone through the mud. Personally, I don't think Mike Norvell deserves this amount of cratering, even though he doesn't really have anyone to blame but himself.
In the opposite form from Clemson's Dabo Sweeney, Norvell may have become too reliant on the transfer portal. Norvell is the one who brought in D.J. Uiagalelei, who showed all the potential in the world as a freshman, but has struggled mightily over the last couple of seasons. In my opinion, I would give the coach a pass due to the avalanche of fallout. There is, though, an accountability standard that could lead a school to fire a head coach that follows a 13-0 season with a 2-10 (?) campaign.
Treat: The Unforeseen Undefeateds
Piggy-backing off of Missouri and Florida State's 2023 seasons, there are a few teams that are making a push that hasn't been experienced in a long time. Of the eight unbeaten teams left in the country, five of them are in waters that haven't been sailed in a while. BYU did go 8-0 in 2020, and this is only the third time since the turn of the century (2001) the Cougars began this strong.
The last time Army won its first 7 games was 1996. Pittsburgh hasn't seen a 7-0 start since 1982. At 8-0, Indiana is hitting heights not experienced since 1967. Then, there's Iowa State. My alma mater has never been a world-beater in the sport. To drive that point home, the Cyclones' 7-0 record is tied for the best in the program's history. Only other instance ... 1938.
Can any of these stories crash the playoff party? Could any of these squads dream of making a deep run? The next month will sort that out. But it'll be fun to find out.
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