Around college football: Minnesota as Playoff barometer
Very few of the one-loss College Football Playoff contenders have played the same opponents, a fact that has only complicated the constant debate between teams of similar qualities from different leagues.
That's why Minnesota is in a unique spot. The Gophers lost to TCU, 30-7, on Sept. 13, and they lost to Ohio State, 31-24, two weeks ago.
Based on that, is it possible to say which team β the Horned Frogs or the Buckeyes β is better? TCU is No. 5 in the latest Playoff rankings; Ohio State is No. 6.
"There's starting to be some of that buzz about that, about who do we think is better since we're the only common opponent," Minnesota assistant coach Jay Sawvel, who coaches defensive backs and special teams, told USA TODAY Sports.
"The thing is, you can't just compare a score and say, well, 'TCU beat 'em by 23 and Ohio State beat them by seven so TCU must be better.' We're a lot better football team than we were when we played TCU. We played Ohio State on a day where it was 18 degrees and snowing. Had we played TCU on that day, I'm not sure they would have enjoyed that atmosphere very much. I think you've got to look at the whole body of work with it."
Sawvel said both TCU and Ohio State have outstanding quarterbacks, and he added that he thought the Buckeyes were a really well-rounded team. "To tell you who's better or who'd win a best of seven, I don't know," Sawvel said, laughing. "I try to avoid those questions."
A side effect of being directly involved in the TCU/Ohio State debate is buzz β for Minnesota itself.
"The fun thing about it is that everybody is looking at us as a common really good opponent," Sawvel said. "TCU is getting credit for playing us. That's good for our program, too. We're being acknowledged by people. 'Hey, you played Minnesota. You've got to work to play them and beat them.' β¦ We have become difficult to beat.
"It's gratifying when people look at you and say this is a really good, quality team, for all the work that our players and coaches have done."
β N.A.
Swinney's big Saturday
No coach whose job is completely secure faces more pressure during Rivalry Week than Clemson's Dabo Swinney.
The 45-year old Swinney, who has elevated Clemson from perennial underachiever to one of the nation's elite programs, is coming to the end of his sixth full season as head coach with one major knock on his reΜsumeΜ: He can't beat Steve Spurrier and South Carolina.
"The reality is we've lost five in a row, and nobody's happy about it," Swinney said this week. "But to sit here and say one game completely discounts everything that's been accomplished at Clemson the last six years is crazy. That's really a lack of respect for our players for what they've been able to do."
Since a 31-14 win in 2008 when Swinney was interim coach β a game that undoubtedly helped him get the job on a permanent basis β Clemson has lost five in a row to South Carolina, including the past two meetings during otherwise spectacular 11-2 seasons. Of the 26 losses on Swinney's record, nearly one-fifth have come at the hands of the Head Ball Coach.
And that doesn't sit particularly well with a fan base that watched Clemson dominate the series between 1971 and 2008, winning 27 of 38 meetings (with one tie).
"I'm disappointed and just as disappointed as anybody else," Swinney said. "But I don't sit around and focus on the negative β¦ I don't sit around and wake up every day miserable with life because we've got one major disappointment over the last few years. We've done too many great things."
It's of of paramount importance, though, that Swinney end the streak now, because South Carolina hasn't been this weak coming into the Clemson game since 2009. The 6-5 Gamecocks have struggled all season defensively, and for Clemson (8-3) to lose at home to this version of South Carolina would be a massive blow to the Tigers' ego and credibility.
"It's not something that's ruined our six years here, but it's something we've got to get changed," Swinney said. "It really is a season of its own. You have the season, then you have South Carolina. You can lose a game and a couple months later you see people in the grocery store and they're not going to say anything about it. But when you lose this one, it never stops because it's something everybody is really passionate about."β
β D.W.
Potential Memphis milestone
Justin Fuente hasn't allowed himself to get wrapped up in the bigger meaning of what Memphis can accomplish on Saturday. The road to get here was too hard to stop and look back now.
"If you can get to the end of it, I think that's when you reflect on it," Fuente said. "I think enjoying the journey is part of it. Sitting back and relaxing and saying, 'job well done,' is not."
Regardless of what happens Saturday, however, it has been a job well done for Fuente, who came to Memphis at arguably the lowest point in the history of a program that has had more downs than ups. Just three years after inheriting a roster low on numbers, talent and work ethic, Fuente's Tigers (8-3) need only to beat UConn at home to clinch at least a share of the American Athletic Conference title. The last time Memphis won a conference title was 1971 in the Missouri Valley, and the landscape of college football looked significantly different than it does these days.
Though hardly anyone would have predicted this kind of turnaround, given that Memphis finished 3-9 last season and just 1-7 in the AAC, there were signs it was possible.
The Tigers were tied with Duke in the fourth quarter of last year's season opener, led UCF until a turnover with 2:05 remaining and nearly came back to tie Louisville late β all behind a freshman quarterback in Paxton Lynch. But all the energy and emotion the Tigers expended just to compete in those games wore them out by the end of the season, and the bottom fell out in ugly losses to Temple and UConn.
"If you think about it, it's not a whole lot of different guys than what we had last year, but they've continued to work hard and be a selfless group," said Fuente, who worked under Gary Patterson as TCU's co-offensive coordinator. "They've been able to see is what it truly means to be a team, what it takes, how you've got to play and how you cant take foolish penalties, taking care of the football and all the little things that actually win games."β
β D.W.
The overlooked aspect of Oregon
Oregon's defense utilizes about eight different systems to oppose the wealth of offenses in the Pac-12 Conference, where each opponent brings about a new style despite basic similarities β spread tendencies, for example.
Combating the Pac-12's offense-first mindset falls on first-year defensive coordinator Don Pellum, a longtime Oregon assistant who ascended to the coordinator position following Nick Aliotti's retirement following last season.
"It's a challenge," Pellum told USA TODAY Sports. It's also been a work in progress: Oregon ranks no higher than eighth in the Pac-12 in total, rushing and passing defense, though the Ducks are ranked second in scoring defense.
"One of the challenges for a (defensive) coordinator in this conference is that there are so many diverse offenses," he said. "You look at Colorado, and it's a spread, but it's totally different than what Oregon does, and it's totally different than what Arizona, totally different than UCLA. So they all have their unique tweaks."
Some of the issues can be tied to a shift in mentality. The defense looks the same, Pellum said, and the calls are the same, "but the way it's taught and the way we expect it be executed are a lot different."
Yet the Ducks are still in line to achieve their preseason goals: Oregon is No. 2 in the latest College Football Playoff selection committee's ranking, meaning it can secure a spot in one of the two national semifinals by defeating rival Oregon State on Saturday and defeating the winner of the South Division in the conference championship.
One game at a time, Pellum said, and for the defense in particular.
"Next week, it's Oregon State," said Pellum. "And you've got to take some different defensive systems and put them away. 'Guys, let's ramp up these other defensive systems.'"
β P.M.
SMU's woeful finish
With two games left in SMU's season, Tom Mason's career record as a head coach stands at 1-17.
It's never easy on the interim coach. Back in 1996, Mason replaced Boise State coach Pokey Allen, who was battling cancer, for the first 10 games of the Broncos' season; the team went 1-9. SMU has lost all eight games since Mason replaced June Jones, who retired after the second game of the season.
"I knew when I took this, if I didn't get it done and get some wins as a head coach, it was probably going to be my last chance, because this is a career-destroyer," Mason told reporters earlier this week. "It was the same thing when I went through it at Boise. Now, you've got to go back and rebuild what you've done."
Despite the best efforts of Mason and the SMU coaching staff, the Mustangs have compiled one of the worst regular seasons in recent college football history. Ten losses in as many tries, just one by single digits. Just two came by two scores or less.
Only once has SMU held an opponent under 38 points; in total, the defense ranks last in the 128-team Football Bowl Subdivision in total defense and scoring defense.
"We haven't played great defense this year because I haven't had enough time to be on top of everything, and we kind of built this thing on defense," Mason said.
SMU's upcoming hire β coming as soon as the week following the conclusion of the regular season β will end Mason's run with the program, which began as one of Jones' original hires in 2008.
"I would like to think I could maybe take a coordinator job and do a good job for somebody else across the country," he said. "I personally think I can do a great job as a head coach, but it's just never been a situation where I had a chance to put a staff together and have an offseason and a fall camp to get a program established.
"You never know why the Lord puts you in those situations. He does. Something good will come out of it. You've just got to be positive."
β P.M.