10 college football teams with something to prove in Week 12
Nov. 15, 2013 10:32 AM


Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn leaves the field with Auburn wide receiver Sammie Coates (18) followed by Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall (14) after defeating the Tennessee Volunteers 55-23 at Neyland Stadium. / Jim Brown, USA TODAY Sports


by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports


Auburn and Alabama stand on the precipice of a historic Iron Bowl, one that would amplify the normal insanity surrounding the annual rivalry to near-unfathomable proportions. With matching wins Saturday, both teams will enter the season finale â?? this time, at Auburn â?? with one or fewer losses for the first time since 1994. What's on the line? The SEC West Division, for one, followed by the SEC, perhaps followed by a shot at the national championship.

First things first: Auburn must get past Georgia. It's the oldest rivalry in the South, hence the title â?? the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry â?? and also the most evenly matched series in major college football. The Tigers and Bulldogs have met 116 times since 1892; the all-time record stands at 54-54-8.

An impressive Auburn win could alter the Bowl Championship Series landscape heading into the season's final weeks. At 10-1 heading into the Iron Bowl, the Tigers could conceivably earn an at-large BCS bid even with a loss to the Crimson Tide. Better yet, Auburn could theoretically finish 12-1 â?? beating Missouri in the SEC title game â?? and get some help, squeezing into the BCS National Championship Game in coach Gus Malzahn's first season with the program.

Washington: The Huskies have already packed two seasons into nine games. There were the salad days of 4-0, complete with impressive wins against Boise State and Arizona. Then came the downturn, when UW dropped three in a row to the Pac-12's best â?? Oregon, Stanford and Arizona State. But the Huskies have bounced back to win two in a row in impressive fashion, breezing past California and Colorado, and can reclaim much of the team's lost luster by beating No. 15 UCLA on the road. A victory could move Washington back into the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll while creating the possibility for a 10-win season.

Cincinnati: Starting 7-2 is easy when you don't play a team currently holding a winning record. That's set to change for Cincinnati, which trades the nation's easiest schedule for the threesome of Rutgers, Houston and Louisville to end the regular season. Starting with Saturday's trip to Rutgers, the Bearcats are on a quest for national respect.

Oklahoma State: They're the forgotten team in the Big 12, for one reason or another. Hidden behind Baylor's juggernaut offense, Texas' resurgence, Oklahoma's missteps and Texas Tech's torrid start under a new staff, No. 10 Oklahoma State sits at 8-1, front and center in the race for the league's BCS bid. The road is clear: OSU heads to Texas on Saturday, taking on the injury-ravaged Longhorns, before closing with Baylor and rival OU, both at home. Considering the team's growing pains on offense, this might mark Mike Gundy's finest coaching job.

Michigan State: All that stands in Michigan State's path to a Big Ten Legends Division title is Nebraska, which has been tough to beat in November home games under coach Bo Pelini. In the Spartans' corner stands the nation's best defense, one that has allowed only 44.44 rushing yards per game and 1.62 yards per carry. Can Nebraska's run-based offense find any traction? With a win, Michigan State can turn its focus to Ohio State and the conference championship game.

Michigan: Speaking of running the football â?? or trying, at least: Michigan accounted for minus-69 rushing yards in losses to the Spartans and Cornhuskers. While blame has been heaped on offensive coordinator Al Borges and quarterback Devin Gardner, the onus falls on the underachieving and supremely disappointing play of the offensive line. The only Big Ten team scuffling more than Michigan is Northwestern, which hosts the Wolverines having lost five in a row after its 4-0 start. Something has to give.

Florida: The Gators have two four-game losing streaks since 1990; both have come under third-year coach Will Muschamp. Saturday's trip to South Carolina comes with bowl eligibility on the line: 4-5 Florida closes against Florida State, so a loss to the Gamecocks essentially ends any hopes of continuing the nation's longest active bowl streak. Behind the scenes, how Florida caps its regular season may have enormous bearing on how Muschamp approaches his staff in 2014; while his job is secure, the Gators could opt for changes on the offensive side of the ball.

Baylor: What does Baylor have left to prove? Not much, to be honest. But there's still a degree of intrigue surrounding Saturday's matchup with Texas Tech at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Consider: Baylor has played only two road games during its 8-0 start. With trips to Oklahoma State and TCU up next, facing off against the Red Raiders on a neutral field might give the Bears a taste â?? if only a small taste â?? of what's to come during the next two weeks.

Stanford: There is a growing national dialogue supporting Stanford's case for a top-four ranking â?? ahead of an undefeated team â?? despite the Cardinal's one loss to Utah. Stanford can add fuel to the conversation by beating red-hot USC, which has altered the direction of its own season since replacing Lane Kiffin with Ed Orgeron in late September. At the very least, the Cardinal can put itself in position to play for the national championship if only one undefeated team is left standing at the end of the regular season.

Oregon State: It's entirely possible that Oregon State falls from 6-1 to 6-6, dropping its last five games to limp into the postseason as the coldest team in the Pac-12. Perhaps we should have seen this coming: OSU started 6-1 against a cherry-picked schedule of Pac-12 patsies, and has since found tougher sledding against tougher league competition. Saturday's trip to Arizona State provides an opportunity to right the ship, should the Beavers prove capable of stopping the Sun Devils' run game.

Paul Myerberg, a national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @PaulMyerberg.

http://news.cincinnati.com/usatoday/arti...=sportsmod

Talk is cheap, make a statement on the field , Bearcats. This could be a special period.

GO CATS!

The story is spot on. We've played nobody of any significance and so the jury is still out on our DB's, OL, DL, special teams and WR's. Kay will likely see lots of pressure by Rutgers and that is what hurt last year. He made a few bad decisions and got sacked and we had trouble scoring and moving the ball consistently.

When SMU is the one "good" team we have played to date, that says a mouthful.

I don't know that anyone really knows what to expect the next couple of weeks. Should be interesting.

I know what I'm expecting. Let's just say I hope I'm wrong.

(11-15-2013 08:51 PM)bearcatjim Wrote:  I know what I'm expecting. Let's just say I hope I'm wrong.

X2

Wow, I would think the writer would have singled out Big Ten bound Rutgers who has
yet to beat a team with a winning record. They got destroyed by AAC Houston in Jersey
and then needed a miracle to win in Jersey by 3 against Temple in their last 2 games.

(11-15-2013 09:12 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  Wow, I would think the writer would have singled out Big Ten bound Rutgers who has
yet to beat a team with a winning record. They got destroyed by AAC Houston in Jersey
and then needed a miracle to win in Jersey by 3 against Temple in their last 2 games.

Hey, if they want to dole out respect for a win against Rutgers, I'm not gonna complain.

(11-15-2013 07:59 PM)vabearcat Wrote:  The story is spot on. We've played nobody of any significance and so the jury is still out on our DB's, OL, DL, special teams and WR's. Kay will likely see lots of pressure by Rutgers and that is what hurt last year. He made a few bad decisions and got sacked and we had trouble scoring and moving the ball consistently.

One of the things I'm watching for today is how much Kay has grown since last year. They are going to pressure him all day.

Couldn't agree more about gaining national respect. All we can ask for is the opportunity in these final three games. It's time to put up or shut up. GO CATS!!!

I have high hopes for today because:

1) The Rutgers defensive backs are terrible
2) Kay has been spot on completing passes
3) Say what you will about the offensive line's run blocking, but opponents are not getting to Kay
4) Our defensive backs are far from great, but they have been improving week by week, and that should be enough to pick a quarterback like Gary Nova a couple of times today.

(11-15-2013 09:12 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  Wow, I would think the writer would have singled out Big Ten bound Rutgers who has
yet to beat a team with a winning record. They got destroyed by AAC Houston in Jersey
and then needed a miracle to win in Jersey by 3 against Temple in their last 2 games.

Maybe its because Rutgers is 5-4. Lost to Fresno, Louisville, Houston. They simply arent that good. Were 7-2 but havent played a team with more than 3 wins. So we need to prove than 7-2 isnt shallow and we actually are worth our record

(11-16-2013 10:27 AM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  I have high hopes for today because:

1) The Rutgers defensive backs are terrible
2) Kay has been spot on completing passes
3) Say what you will about the offensive line's run blocking, but opponents are not getting to Kay
4) Our defensive backs are far from great, but they have been improving week by week, and that should be enough to pick a quarterback like Gary Nova a couple of times today.

So far so good!

(11-15-2013 08:51 PM)bearcatjim Wrote:  I know what I'm expecting. Let's just say I hope I'm wrong.

Wrong, for sure.

Indeed! Very pleasantly surprised!

(11-16-2013 10:27 AM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  I have high hopes for today because:

1) The Rutgers defensive backs are terrible
2) Kay has been spot on completing passes
3) Say what you will about the offensive line's run blocking, but opponents are not getting to Kay
4) Our defensive backs are far from great, but they have been improving week by week, and that should be enough to pick a quarterback like Gary Nova a couple of times today.

Not bad!

They proved something to me again. This offense is pretty dang good when its not artificially held back.

I had Dan and Jim on the radio while watching...on 3 occasions they mentioned how great the up tempo pass heavy offense for UC is but that its not what the coaches want to do...they still want to be a power team. Oy vey.

Heck, I want to be a gentleman farmer...I am just an attorney because that is what actually works.

(11-17-2013 07:33 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  They proved something to me again. This offense is pretty dang good when its not artificially held back.

I had Dan and Jim on the radio while watching...on 3 occasions they mentioned how great the up tempo pass heavy offense for UC is but that its not what the coaches want to do...they still want to be a power team. Oy vey.

Heck, I want to be a gentleman farmer...I am just an attorney because that is what actually works.

this makes me mad

Power football is boring compared to the spread (in ANY of it's variations).

Especially when you are loaded with wide receivers and all but one return next season. Hard to believe that McClung is the only senior WR on the team.

(11-17-2013 09:18 AM)subflea Wrote:  Especially when you are loaded with wide receivers and all but one return next season. Hard to believe that McClung is the only senior WR on the team.

Exactly

As for the current team…anything but spread is going to be bad coaching move.

Moving forward, even when CTT has 'his kids'…power football sucks.