College football Saturday: No. 1 Tide downed; Louisville falls, Florida escapes

Alabama. They did not win. You have undoubtedly seen the guy who appears to be playing COD at the same time he is watching a football game, which seems fake to me but doesn’t say “the Chive” on it so may not be. The guy says, “CUMONG,” like a vet, which is also a point in favor of its authenticity.

Also here are some people who appear to be joint LSU/Alabama fans who tape their dog being mad about the Alabama loss and put it on the internet:

1998. One of my favorite college football seasons, and one I’ve been thinking about a lot since Saturday. That year, a clear, superior team (Ohio State) emerged, proving itself better than anybody else in the country and then losing at home to a double-digit underdog. Sound familiar?

In the Buckeyes’ place stepped a veteran squad (Tennessee) that may have lacked the same level of star power (then again ... Al Wilson, Peerless Price, etc.) or the same level of superiority of which Ohio State could brag. But they kept winning.

Oregon earns 44 first-place votes in the Week 12 BlogPoll, more than half of the total cast, but Kansas State earns 24 first-place votes of its own and is less than half a point per ballot behind the Ducks.

Alabama’s fall isn’t very steep: the Tide roll in at No. 4, behind unbeaten Notre Dame at No. 3, and Alabama still gets two first-place votes. Nick Saban’s crew is also more than two full points per ballot ahead of Georgia, which rounds out the top five and puts distance on No. 6 Florida. The Bulldogs’ evisceration of Auburn certainly looked better than Florida’s escape from the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, of all teams.

2. Kansas State. There are two kinds of Kansas State games. There is one where they beat you, 23-10, despite having nearly identical totals in the stats column in every category except turnovers and points. Then, there is the other where you outgain them, get more first downs, and allow fewer yards, just as TCU did this past weekend. You lose both of them. (Bill Snyder wasn’t impressed as a child when they invented math, and he’s certainly not impressed now.)

3. Notre Dame. May lose a BCS slot simply for forcing networks’ hands and exposing the rest of the nation to Boston College football, and would deserve it after their 21-6 snail orgy of a game against Boston’s seventh most popular SPAHTS team.

Notre Dame’s brand name might not be enough to get it into the national championship game (you heard that right, Lou Holtz), but it still has plenty of pull when it comes time for BCS bowls to make their picks.

Despite appearances - that No. 3 Notre Dame is closer to No. 2 Oregon than Oregon is to No. 1 Kansas State in the latest BCS standings - there is no chance for the Irish to catch either team without a loss by them. The Irish have maxed out their computer scores at .990 and are unlikely to get any more support in the polls unless they can rout USC at the Coliseum in two weeks.

Nick Saban probably wouldn’t admit it, but there’s a formula for beating his Alabama juggernaut, and it’s very simple, if not easy. To stem the Tide, you must win or stalemate the turnover battle, and effectively run from the quarterback position.

Since the beginning of the 2008 season, when Saban’s Alabama first had a full Saban recruiting class in Tuscaloosa, ‘Bama has lost seven times. (Just seven!) Here’s how turnovers and quarterback rushing turned out in those games, with rushing numbers adjusted to take out sack yardage:

Driskel left in the third quarter of Florida’s 27-20 win over UL-Lafayette on Saturday. The sophomore quarterback out of Oviedo, Fla., completed 13-of-16 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game.

Brissett played well in relief of Driskel. The sophomore finished 6-for-8 for 64 yards and a touchdown. On the season, he has appeared in three games. He’s completed 9 of 13 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.

Louisville running back Senorise Perry will miss the rest of the season because of a torn ACL, head coach Charlie Strong announced Monday. Perry suffered the injury during Louisville’s loss to Syracuse on Saturday; he was brought down awkwardly on a tackle.

Perry leads the team with 703 yards rushing and has scored 11 touchdowns. He also leads all Cardinals running backs with an average of 5.2 yards per carry.

Look through SB Nation’s many excellent college football blogs to find your team’s community.

Athletic director Dave Hart, who will make the final decision on Dooley’s future, did not speak on the situation, as he spent most of Sunday at a Lady Vols soccer game.

Over the weekend, two different outlets reported that it was only a matter of time before Dooley got the axe. On Saturday, Tennessee lost a quadruple-overtime game to Missouri, which marked five losses in six games for the Vols. The one win was a nail-biter against Troy.

Texas A&M fans never hesitate to tell you how talented their team is. It is often true, often not, but that really isn’t the point. Aggie Confidence never wavers. And after this past Saturday in Tuscaloosa, said confidence is going to have enough fuel to burn for quite a while.

In Texas A&M’s stunning 29-24 win over Alabama on Saturday, the Aggies proved that they indeed were not lacking in raw talent. But they also proved what they had been lacking in recent seasons: Kevin Sumlin.

Texas A&M’s upset of former No. 1 Alabama has introduced the likelihood of a BCS National Championship Game minus a SEC team for the first time in seven years, with Kansas State now moving up and into the top spot, followed by Oregon. If both K-State and the Ducks remain unbeaten through the end of the year, poll darling Oregon should be able to swap spots with the Cats due to narrowing computer rankings, but it wouldn’t matter -- all you need to be is in the Top 2.

Notre Dame isn’t out of the running, however, and neither is the SEC. The Irish will likely be the first up to take advantage of a Kansas State slip-up against Baylor or Texas or an Oregon loss to Stanford or Oregon State or in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Irish still have to play USC as well, which means we can’t rule out No. 4 Alabama or even No. 5 Georgia, which will likely get to play Bama in the SEC title game. But that’s it. The national title field has been narrowed, for all practical purposes, to five teams.

Oregon now prepares for a road matchup with Stanford, with the winner to advance to the Pac-12 Championship Game.

Here are the video highlights of the Georgia victory over Auburn.

Here are the video highlights of Kansas State’s 23-10 victory over TCU.

Klein would then seal the game for Kansas State in the third quarter. Klein would complete three passes to put his team on the TCU side of the field, and then Klein would go all the way for 34 yards to put Kansas State up 20-0. The Wildcats would add a field goal, and TCU would score twice in the fourth quarter to conclude the scoring.

Sunday, Volquest.com added that “the final piece of the equation centers on when to formally signal the imminent end” of Dooley’s three-year term as Tennessee coach. So, two similar reports from two different outlets, neither surprising, as Dooley’s record now stands at 15-20, with no significant big wins, plummeting fan confidence and many, many, many points given up over the past few weeks.

For discussion on the young coach’s future, we turn to Rocky Top Talk:

Here are the video highlights of Nebraska’s 32-23 victory over Penn State.

Penn State looked like they had a shot to go ahead in the 4th quarter, but a fumble at the goal-line (which looked like it was a touchdown since it crossed the white line) ended the drive. Nebraska got a safety and a field goal to hang on for the win.

Martin: Alabama’s stranglehold on No. 1 is over. Now that the top spot is up for grabs, who gets slotted in there, and is it just as a placeholder, or will it be for good?

Mark: What’s annoying about the debate over who should be No. 1 is that people still don’t even agree on what the criteria is for ranking teams. There’s the eye-test camp and the resumé camp. Personally, I think you have to kinda blend them into one and then let the resume be a tiebreaker if you think you can’t make a good distinction.

The SEC isn’t out of the national title running, but it’s likely gonna need two teams from among Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame to lose along the way. Take a look at their remaining schedules -- both the Ducks and Irish have very tough games left, while K-State’s game against Texas seems to look a little more challenging by the week. And USC could end up knocking off both Oregon and Notre Dame. If that happens, the winner of Georgia-Alabama in the SEC Championship will likely sneak back into the title game.

But as it stands right now, you’re looking at a classic contrast-of-styles championship game, but maybe not as drastic as you’d think. Oregon is flashy and K-State is GRITTY, but each pounds the ball on the ground, plays disciplined defense, sets up explosive plays through the air with its run threats, and has adopted the personality of its coach completely. This would be a very good game.

Here are the video highlights of Notre Dame’s 21-6 victory over Boston College.

Here are the video highlights from Texas A&M’s 29-24 upset victory over Alabama.

For more on Aggies football, visit Good Bull Hunting, plus SEC blog Team Speed Kills and SB Nation Houston.

That, essentially is what Texas A&M just did to Alabama in particular and the SEC in general. The Aggies’ upset victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium put their new conference perilously close to missing out on the BCS title game for the first time in seven years.

In Sunday night’s BCS standings, there will not be an SEC team occupying either the No. 1 or No. 2 position - the first time that’s been the case since the initial standings of the 2010 season, when Auburn was fourth, trailing Oklahoma, Oregon and Boise State. Of course, the Tigers did go on and beat the Ducks for the BCS title that season.

Cal was given no chance to win Saturday’s game by any sports pundit. It’s not a surprise, because the Golden Bears were set to face No. 3 Oregon. And unfortunately for Cal, Aaron Rodgers wasn’t available after using up his eligibility. Cal was able to keep pace with Oregon in the first half.

But whatever Ducks’ coach Chip Kelly said to his troops during half time worked. Oregon took over the second half of the game, beating Cal 59-17.

While it’d be fun to leave this photo context-free, I should probably explain. Let’s walk this back for a moment. On the UCLA touchdown that came prior to the kickoff, Washington State cornerback Daniel Simmons didn’t hear the whistle and attempted a late double-leg. The result was offsetting personal fouls after UCLA retaliated.

Then came the extra point. After the play, Washington State was flagged for not one but two personal fouls. Since those penalties are enforced on the kickoff, the ball was moved up a cool 30 yards. Thus UCLA lining up to “kickoff” from the Washington State 35.

Do not judge. You have been here before as a fan. It’s cold, the football is awful and you’ve snuck your own booze into the game. That booze is fireball, because it warms the belly with a strong cinnamon flavor. You, however, probably weren’t caught dead to rights by an ESPN television camera.

Hey, congrats bro!