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This week in college football explained by Jimi Hendrix
Quarterback J.T. Barrett of the Ohio State controls the ball against the Nebraska Cornhuskers as the Buckeyes defeated Nebraska 62-3, taking them to their version of Jimi Hendrix's "Red House" in the win. Jamie Sabau/Getty Images, David Redfern/Redferns via Getty Images

This week in college football explained by Jimi Hendrix

Of course.

Of course the Saturday right after the first College Football Playoff rankings were released, we would have some of the most surprising upsets and dominant blowouts that we have seen this season so far. Be sure to stay tuned tomorrow for our recap of the selection committee's revised top 25, because there are bound to be some huge changes (a top 10 Western Michigan, maybe?). For now, however, we've enlisted the help of Jimi Hendrix to get you all caught up on the game action you may have missed while you were watching, I dunno, Georgia-Kentucky.

"House Burning Down": Michigan State is probably the second-worst team in the Big Ten



This is historic. One year removed from not only winning the Big Ten, but securing a spot in the College Football Playoff, Michigan State has now been locked out of a bowl by the Fighting Illini. If not for the existence of Rutgers, a group created by a cabal of arcane wizards trying to transform the Benny Hill theme song into a football team, Michigan State would be the worst team in the Big Ten. Now, to the Spartans' credit, the Big Ten is strong this year — it's arguably the strongest conference in the country — but that doesn't excuse Michigan State's precipitous slide. I asked some fans where this terrible play is coming from, but they just coughed and changed the subject. It doesn't seem like they want to talk about it.

"Castles Made Of Sand": No. 4 Texas A&M's playoff hopes destroyed by Mississippi State



Raise your hand if you called this loss right after the selection committee released its rankings on Tuesday. The Texas A&M Aggies would immediately be exposed for the frauds they are, clearing the path for the Washington Huskies to enter the top four.

Now put your hands down because, come on, so did everyone else; that doesn't make you special. Just like Hendrix'll tell you, castles made of sand fall in the sea eventually. And a castle made out of the sand of close wins against UCLA and Tennessee will do the same. Sure, the Aggies are a good team and they deserve to be ranked, but their schedule isn't particularly strong and it never really made sense to put the one-loss Aggies in front of the undefeated Huskies. This week, that mistake will hopefully be rectified, and we'll see Washington where it belongs, in the top four.

"Red House": No. 6 Ohio State trounces No. 21 Nebraska



Oooh, Ohio State. Can you imagine what we'd be talking about this week if it hadn't lost to Penn State? As it stands now, there's a red house over yonder where a playoff berth lives, and Ohio State's key doesn't unlock the door.

That said, if the Buckeyes want to claw their way back into a top spot, they're certainly doing their best. On Saturday, they invited 10th-ranked Nebraska into their own red house and proceeded to lay down a 62-3 stomping. Now, it does bear mentioning that after an incredibly scary injury, the Huskers' starting quarterback missed the majority of the game. Thankfully, it seems like the injury isn't incredibly serious, as he did return to the sidelines in hospital scrubs to cheer on the team, but his return was unfortunately not enough to compel Nebraska to make the game close or even score a single touchdown.

Ohio State is playing angry, and it's looking more and more like it'll be able to secure a playoff spot with a win against Michigan on Nov. 26. And hey, if the Buckeyes don't, and the committee doesn't love them no more, I know a New Year's bowl will. Yeah.

"Crosstown Traffic": Texas beats Texas Tech 45-37, might actually be OK



It seems like we've been talking about Charlie Strong a lot lately, and for good reason. He's really been coaching for his job the past few weeks, literally. And thanks largely to D'Onta Foreman's 340-plus yards and three touchdowns against the Red Raiders, his seat might be cooling down a little bit.

Don't get me wrong, it's still uncomfortably warm. And granted, this is a game that Texas should have won, but that doesn't change the fact that Texas was driving 90 miles an hour all game. There is, however, a traffic jam straight up ahead — the West Virginia Mountaineers. Though the Longhorns have gone a long way toward righting their ship these past few weeks, a win over West Virginia would be key in completing the process (and securing Strong's job for another season or two).

"Are You Experienced?": Notre Dame has been all but locked out of a bowl



Notre Dame had six possessions on Saturday against Navy. Six. And thanks in part to a boneheaded 12-men-on-the-field penalty on a key drive, those six possessions were not enough to sink the Midshipmen. Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish now sit at three wins and will need to win out to become bowl-eligible.

That's, uh, not going to happen when the last three games of their season are against Army, Virginia Tech and USC. There's no question that Brian Kelly is experienced as a football coach, but he's not experienced in this. This will be the first season in Kelly's tenure at Notre Dame that he will miss a bowl game. I know, I know, Kelly. You'll probably scream and cry that your little world won't let go. But who in your measly little world are you trying to prove to that you're made of gold and can't be sold? Remember when I said earlier that the Michigan State Spartans are one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, with a record of 2-7? One of those two wins came against Notre Dame.

This will likely be Notre Dame's worst season since Charlie Weis's 3-9 outing back in 2007, and though Kelly is unlikely to be fired, he won't be used to missing a bowl game and will likely rant, rave, lash out at players, fans and assistant coaches, refusing to take any blame himself. And not to get too psychological on a man I don't know, but those are signs of a flustered man, a man who doesn't know what to do. So the question remains for Brian Kelly: Are you experienced?

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