Summa Cum Laude – WHO’S HOT?

Louisiana 
The Ragin’ Cajuns are off the mat and ready to compete with the likes of Georgia Southern and South Alabama for another Sun Belt Conference crown. Louisiana has answered an ugly three-game losing streak with a three-game winning streak, capped by Tuesday’s impressive 55-40 defeat of Arkansas State. The team rushed for 419 yards and eight scores, getting a monster performance out of RB Elijah McGuire. 

Marshall RB Devon Johnson 
Yeah, QB Rakeem Cato is getting help this season, about 243 pounds of it from his bruising backfield mate. After being lost in the crowd as a sophomore, Johnson has erupted into the ideal power back to complement the precision passing of Cato. No. 47 helped rescue the Herd from a slow start versus Florida Atlantic by motoring for 272 yards and four touchdowns on only 24 carries. Johnson has been held below 100 yards just once in 2014, back on Sept. 13. 

Offensive Coordinator of the Week: Sonny Cumbie and Doug Meacham, TCU 
What Cumbie and Meacham continue to do in Fort Worth is nothing short of a miracle. This Horned Frog team averaged 25 points per game in 2013. This year? Double it. TCU is norming 50 points per game after hanging a school-record 82 on Texas Tech this past Saturday. QB Trevone Boykin is flourishing in the new system, tossing 10 touchdown passes over the last two games alone, and injecting himself into Heisman discussions. 

Defensive Coordinator of the Week: John Chavis, LSU 
Chavis’ legacy as a top-flight SEC defensive coordinator added another chapter in Baton Rouge Saturday night. The coach’s D coupled with an old-school power running game to hand Ole Miss its first loss of 2014. The Tigers held the Rebels to just seven points, blanking them over the final three quarters, and stopped all but 6-of-20 third and fourth-down tries. 

Stockpile more shares in … Mississippi State RB Josh Robinson 
Yeah, QB Dak Prescott has been the frontman of the Bulldogs’ perfect season and rise to the top of the polls. But do not discount the importance of Robinson, a stocky north-south who really helped bail out his team in Lexington against Kentucky on Saturday. He rushed for two scores and a career-high 198 yards, one more yard than he had against the LSU defense a month ago. 

Madden Cover Material: Arizona LB Scooby Wright 
Wright is a force of nature on the field, one of those rare defenders with a knack for completely altering the momentum of a game. He was at it again on Saturday night versus Washington State, notching eight tackles, three sacks and three forced fumbles. The sophomore has now forced five fumbles on the season, the most by a Wildcat in over four decades. 

Bucking for a promotion: Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables 
As most people focus on the struggles of the Tiger offense, the Tiger D is dominating opponents. Over the last four games, Venables’ kids have allowed just three offensive touchdowns and a measly 3.5 yards per play, while making 40 stops for minus yards. On Saturday night, Syracuse managed just 170 yards on Clemson, the Orange’s worst output in six years. Venables is young, accomplished and ready for a bump in responsibility. 

Bucking for a promotion: Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck 
Fleck’s career in Kalamazoo began inauspiciously; his debut season was marked by a single win and a nonsensical video aimed at teaching the student body how to support the team. But Fleck is maturing, and it’s showing up in the results. His Broncos are unlikely 5-3, winners of three straight games for the first time since 2010 behind the prolific running of rookie RB Jarvion Franklin. 

He’s how young?! Cincinnati RB Mike Boone 
Just what Gunner Kiel needs—more weapons. Boone came off the bench to become the first Bearcat in four years to rush for more than 200 yards in a game, splicing through the South Florida defense in Friday night’s win. The 5-10, 205-pound true freshman from Macclenny, Fla. needed only 19 carries to amass 212 yards and a long touchdown burst. 

He’s how young?! Ohio State DE Joey Bosa 
On film, Bosa looks like a fifth-year senior, both in terms of his physicality and his ability. In reality, he’s just a little over a year removed from St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) High School. At 6-5 and 278 pounds, he’s the kind of terror who can beat opposing linemen with his technique or his raw power. Bosa leads the Big Ten with 11.5 stops for loss, including a game-ending bull rush sack of Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg Saturday night. 

Can I be your agent … Duke Johnson? 
Johnson was injured last year when his Miami Hurricanes faced Virginia Tech. The Hokies hope No. 8 is already in the NFL when the teams square off next fall. Johnson shredded the Gobbler D for a career-high 249 rushing yards and a touchdown on 29 carries in Thursday night’s 30-6 blowout in Blacksburg. If there was any doubt whether the junior has shaken off all of the rust following last year’s ankle injury, he’s dismissed it with four straight 100-yard games. 

Start designing the Fathead of … Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah 
Abdullah is such a likable young man. Unless you’re trying to tackle him. And then he becomes downright nasty. Rutgers was the latest defense to incur the wrath of the senior, who amassed a school-record 341 all-purpose yards, including 225 and three scores on the ground. Abdullah has gone for more than 200 yards on the ground four times this season, fueling a surging Husker team. 

North Carolina 
It was a rough week off the field in Chapel Hill, as the University became more deeply embroiled in an academic scandal. Apparently, though, the Tar Heels don’t have rabbit ears. They’ve won back-to-back games over Georgia Tech and Virginia to climb to .500, and breathe life into their postseason hopes. Carolina upset the ‘Hoos in Charlottesville Saturday, when backup QB Mitch Trubisky threw the game-winner after starter Marquise Williams was forced to take a play off when his helmet came off. 

UCLA on the Road 
No, it hasn’t always been pretty, and style points have come at a premium this fall for the Bruins. But they’ve found ways to win away from home, which is never easy at any level. UCLA was tested in Charlottesville, Arlington, Berkeley and Boulder. And it had to travel to Tempe to face an Arizona State team that’s turning out to be pretty potent. Yet, the Bruins have won them all, opening the season 5-0 on the road. 

Team of the Week II: Utah 
The Utes now own Los Angeles after pairing their Oct. 4 upset of UCLA with Saturday night’s exciting comeback to defeat USC. There’s a mighty tough road ahead in Sack Lake City, including games with Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford and Arizona. But Utah can take solace in the fact that it’s bowl-eligible and finally proving it can compete, week-in and week-out, in the Pac-12. 

Team of the Week: LSU 
Given up for dead following a 41-7 loss to Auburn on Oct. 4, the Tigers have rallied with consecutive wins over Florida, Kentucky and Ole Miss this past weekend. The defense is playing well again, and the deep, Leonard Fournette-led backfield has been vintage LSU. The Tigers aren’t winning the SEC West, but as they showed in Week 9, they’re more than capable of playing spoiler, especially with Alabama visiting Death Valley in two weeks. 

Summa Cum Lousy – WHO’S NOT?

Is it December yet? BYU 
Was there a more valuable player in college football this season than Cougar QB Taysom Hill? When the dual-threat junior was healthy, BYU was unbeaten, generating a local buzz of support for a possible playoff run. Since Hill was lost for the year to a fractured leg, the Cougars have dropped four straight, including Friday to Boise State, 55-30. Now, the program is in danger of not even reaching bowl-eligibility. 

Being Voted Off College Football Island: Oregon State QB Sean Mannion 
There were whispers in the summer that Mannion could have been gearing up for a salary run senior season in Corvallis. Those whispers have disappeared, as has Mannion’s effectiveness through the air. It’s not entirely his fault. The line has been suspect, and the receiving corps desperately misses Brandin Cooks. But Mannion has too much arm talent to throw just seven touchdown passes in seven games, including none Saturday against Stanford, after tossing 37 a year ago. 

Heisman Nopeful: Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett
The growing buzz about Barrett nudging his way into the Heisman discussion? Yeah, that’s probably died down for good after the rookie struggled in Happy Valley. Oh, Barrett ran for a couple of scores in overtime, including the game-winner, but he also completed just 12-of-19 for 74 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He’ll be firmly in the Heisman hunt, but just not this season. 

Start evacuating the bandwagon of … Texas 
Miracles were not expected in Charlie Strong’s debut season in Austin. But the ‘Horns are far worse than anyone anticipated. After losing to Kansas State, 23-0, Texas’ first shutout loss in a decade, the program is 3-5 and in jeopardy of missing the postseason for just the second time this century. This week, UT couldn’t score. Last week, it couldn’t stop Iowa State in a testament to its overall erratic behavior and inconsistency. 

Oklahoma State 
The wheat has started separating from the chaff in the Big 12. The Cowboys are the chaff. As teams, like TCU, West Virginia and Kansas State, have gained a foothold in the conference race, Oklahoma State begun to drift back in the pack following consecutive losses to the Horned Frogs and the Mountaineers by a combined score of 76-19. The defense is suspect, and the offense is missing QB J.W. Walsh now that successor Daxx Garman has regressed throughout October. 

Pitt 
The Panthers have slumped back to the .500 mark with their fourth loss in the last five games. And the latest defeat was arguably the most embarrassing one of the Paul Chryst era. The defense, which had performed so surprisingly well all year, never got off the bus in a 56-28 loss to Georgia Tech. Matt House’s unit got no help from a bumbling offense that coughed up the ball seven times, six of which were recovered by the Yellow Jackets. 

You emit a foul and unpleasant odor: The UTSA Offense 
If you’re going to go an entire game making two first downs and 70 total yards, you better be facing the Dallas Cowboys D … during a hailstorm. The Roadrunners achieved the latter futility versus UTEP … inside its own indoor facility. UTSA has been on an unexpected nosedive since shocking Houston in the opener, dropping all but the Oct. 11 game with Florida International. 

You emit a foul and unpleasant odor: The Texas Tech D 
Kliff Kingsbury’s entire team has been bad in his second season at his alma mater. But the defense sunk to new levels of futility in 2014. The Red Raiders began Week 9 as the Big 12’s worst D, and then set out to make sure it remained there throughout the month of November. TCU QB Trevone Boykin has been a revelation in Fort Worth, but a school-record 82 points and 785 yards? Heads are going to roll on that Tech defensive staff once the regular season ends. 

Needing a vote of confidence: Virginia head coach Mike London 
This season was the must-win variety for London, and everyone around the program knew it. And while the Cavaliers are clearly improved from a season ago, they’ve also lost their last two games to slip back to the .500 mark. This next month is crucial for the entire staff, with bowl-eligibility an absolute must. However, Virginia hosts improving Miami, while traveling to Georgia Tech, Florida State and Virginia Tech. 

The SEC East (except Georgia) 
The Dawgs are just fine at 6-1, with a berth in the league title game all but a certainty at this point. But the balance of the division is dragging down the overall quotient for the Southeastern Conference. This past weekend, the East went 0-3 versus the West, another reminder that the weaker half of the league has Georgia and a whole lot of mediocrity among the other six members. 

Team of the Weak II: Michigan 
It’s a little to imagine just how far the Wolverines have fallen under Brady Hoke. The team slipped to 3-5 with yet another whooping at the hands of Michigan State, which has seized complete control of this series with six wins in the last seven meetings. Michigan was kept out of the end zone until producing a meaningless touchdown late in the fourth that snapped a streak of 186:08 of game action without scoring six on the Spartans. 

Team of the Weak: Virginia Tech 
How can this be the same team that stunned Ohio State in Columbus back in Week 2? Since that supposed turning point win, the Hokies have gone 2-4, reaching rock bottom with Thursday’s night feeble, 30-6 loss to Miami. Even Blacksburg at night can’t spare this fading program. Tech has already lost three times at Lane Stadium, the first time that’s happened since 1992.