Weird Week 11: Don't expect steep rankings drop despite upsets
— -- You tell me what's weirder: that the second-, third- and fourth-ranked teams could lose on the same Saturday for the first time since 1985, or that the effect on the rankings of something so eclipselike in its rarity could be so negligible. Clemson, Michigan and Washington aren't going to fall out of playoff contention. In fact, they aren't going to fall far at all. That's a tribute to the credibility they built in the first 10 weeks of the season, a commentary on all the two- and three-loss teams immediately behind them and on the oddity of this weird but entertaining 2016 season.
1. To recap, No. 5 Ohio State may be the best team in the Big Ten and not make the conference championship game, and No. 20 USC may be the best team in the Pac-12 and not make its conference championship game. Watch where the Trojans land in the College Football Playoff rankings, and remember that if the Pac-12 champ goes to the playoff, the Rose Bowl gets to choose the Pac-12 team it desires. And either Clemson or Louisville is the best team in the ACC, and one of them won't make that league's championship game. Can you remind me again why the Big 12 thinks a championship game will solve all its problems?
2. Pitt began the season as a dark horse in the ACC Coastal and, thanks to an unexpectedly leaky defense, never brightened up. The Panthers' defense has been uncharacteristically leaky -- for a Pat Narduzzi-coached team -- and that's why Pitt has lost four games. But when the Panthers have made stops, they have won big games. Is there another 6-4 team that has wins over two top-10 teams (No. 10 Penn State and No. 2 Clemson)? That should be a source of pride for Pitt. Or a source of what might have been.
3. Two consecutive late-game plays in Iowa's 14-13 upset of Michigan raised eyebrows. The first came with the Wolverines having a third-and-8 at their 18, with 1 minute, 43 seconds to play and Iowa down to its last timeout. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh eschewed running the ball and forcing the Hawkeyes to use their last timeout. He went for the first down that would have clinched the game. Of course he did. He's Jim Harbaugh. Michigan quarterback? Wilton Speight, hurried by the rush of Parker Hesse, threw an incomplete pass. Iowa saved its timeout.
4. And then came the punt, a low line drive that Desmond King fielded at the Iowa 41 and returned 8 yards. Michigan linebacker? Mike McCray's?right hand raked across King's helmet, swiveling the returner's head. McCray was called for a face mask penalty, although he didn't grab it, and Iowa started that final possession all the way at the Michigan 36. Wolverine fans are not happy with the call. But in not grabbing the face mask, McCray did slap King upside the head. Either way, it's a personal foul, right?
5. When the barroom debate gets to best marriage of coach and program, it would be easy to pick Saban-Bama, Meyer-Ohio State, Harbaugh-Michigan or Swinney-Clemson. But if you get to the final four and Mike Leach and Washington State aren't in there, you better be prepared to defend your argument. Leach thrives as a maverick, and there's no more mavericky Power 5 program than the Cougars out there on the Palouse. Washington State, after an 0-2 start that included a loss to FCS Eastern Washington, has won eight straight in the same season for the first time since 1930. The Cougars went to the Rose Bowl that year.
6. The FPI says that the winner of No. 11 Oklahoma's visit to No. 16 West Virginia on Saturday night will be the favorite to win the Big 12. Whither the Mountaineers and the playoff? They tried with their nonconference schedule, which included Missouri and BYU, only to be let down. West Virginia could be one of only six one-loss Power 5 teams. But there is room for only three in the playoff, after Alabama, and there may not be even that. No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 10 Penn State, each with two losses, could play for the Big Ten title and get a playoff bid ahead of West Virginia.
7. It is difficult to imagine a scenario that would deny Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson the Heisman Trophy. If we are going to question his efficacy Saturday, when he accounted for "only" 298 total yards and one passing touchdown, then we are measuring Jackson not against other players, but against his own otherworldly performance in the first nine games of the season. That's not fair to Jackson. He has been far and away the best player in the FBS for 10 games. To my mind, it's the biggest runaway in the Heisman since Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith got about 90 percent of the first-place vote a decade ago.