Bilo's College Football PASS/FAIL Reports Week 6: AAC

AAC

PASS: Navy, U Conn, USF, Memphis, Tulsa

Navy won their first game over a top 10 opponent since 1984 today, using a 21 point 3^rd quarter to take control of a close game in a win over Houston, who had been undefeated entering the day. Will Worth rushed for a TD and passed for 2 more for the Middies in the 46-40 win. It was the 13^th consecutive home win for Navy.

U Conn used their vaunted defense to shut out Cincinnati after the half, beating the Bearcats 20-9 in East Hartford. Noel Thomas caught 9 passes for 109 yards in what was an otherwise pedestrian offensive performance by the Huskies.

Quinton Flowers passed for 250 yards and 3 TDs, and USF pulled away to drop East Carolina today in Tampa 38-22. Flowers also added 115 yards on the ground in the win. Marlon Mack added 152 yards and 2 TDs on the day rushing.

Memphis trailed Temple 13-3 at the half before exploding for 31 second half points in a 34-27 win over the Owls in conference play. Memphis scored 14 points in the 3^rd quarter just over a minute apart in the win, with one coming on a fumble recovery following a 71 yard  return for a score on a kick.

Tulsa won their second straight OT game, and D’Angelo Brewer rushed for 182 yards in the win for the Golden Hurricane in a 43-40 win over SMU. Tulsa scored over 40 points for the 11^th time under Phillip Montgomery.

FAIL: Houston, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Temple, SMU

In recent weeks, the Houston veneer was crumbling in games that the Cougars should have dominated. Today was such a day, and Houston could not overcome their failures this time in a 46-40 loss to Navy, who ran well against the Cougars’ highly ranked rush defense. The Cougars had allowed 210 rushing yards on the year, and Navy pounded them for 306 yards on the ground today.

Cincinnati could not score after the half on the road at U Conn, and Hayden Moore failed to throw a TD pass for the first time this season. Moore was also sacked 3 times in the loss. The loss ended a 5 game UC win streak over the Huskies.

East Carolina dropped their fourth straight game in a 38-22 AAC game to USF today in Tampa, wasting an 18 catch performance by Zay Jones. Jones has 4 straight 100 yard games this season, but ECU has been wasting those performances weekly, as their defense cannot keep up. The offense overall today played poorly as well.

Temple held the ball for 38 minutes, and led Memphis 13-3 at the half, but still imploded in the 3^rd quarter to allow Memphis back into the game. Phillip Walker passed for 2 TDs, but was also picked twice in the loss. Temple had not lost a fumble in 434 plays, but lost a pair to the Tigers.

SMU’s Ben icks had tossed an FBS leading 9 picks entering the game with Tulsa on Friday night, but did not record one this week. Still, SMU fell just short in a 43-40 OT loss to Tulsa. SMU recorded their 13^th defensive pick in the loss, which leads the nation, but the Mustangs are still just 2-4 on the season.

PPD: Tulane, UCF

Bilo's College Football Games of the Week: Week 6

Here are my selections for the games of the week as we head into week 6 of the college football season:

AAC
Houston at Navy...The Cougars have gotten away with a couple of games. Navy is 3-1.
ACC
Florida State at Miami...Always a classic, but Miami looks to be back, FSU is struggling.
Virginia Tech at North Carolina...Hokies looking to take UNC on emotional letdown.
Big12
Oklahoma vs. Texas (at Dallas)...Whoever loses this game could have his job on the line.
Big 10
Indiana at Ohio State...Hoosiers are off to good start, but Buckeyes will be on watch for an upset.
Maryland at Penn State...If Terps win this road game, they have arrived.
Conference USA
Western Kentucky at Louisiana Tech...Tech is off to slow start, but this is still a class game.
MAC
Toledo at Eastern Michigan...EMU is still trying to get people to believe, Toledo needs defense.
Ball State at Central Michigan...The loser is out of the MAC race. It's winner all in.
Mountain West
Boise State at New Mexico...Lobos cannot afford a loss here, and Broncos are still in for NY6.
Air Force at Wyoming...Cowboys are arriving under Craig Bohl, but Falcons are soaring.
PAC-12
Washington State at Stanford...Cougars are bouncing back, Stanford is falling.
Colorado at USC...Buffs are on top in South, but USC is looking to knock them off the perch.
UCLA at Arizona State...UCLA defense against ASU offense is an interesting contrast in styles.
SEC
Alabama at Arkansas...Tide is rolling, but Arkansas is in position to challenge.
Tennessee at Texas A&M...Vols have been lucky, but Aggies have been consistent.
FCS
Northern Colorado at Eastern Washington
Richmond at Albany
Princeton at Georgetown
Cornell at Harvard
North Dakota State at Missouri State
Indiana State at Western Illinois
Tennessee State at Eastern Illinois

Bilo's College Football PRS Rankings Week 5: Division 2

1	Harding	5-0	1229
2	NW Missouri State	5-0	1219
3	Grand Valley State	5-0	1217
4	Azusa Pacific	5-0	1206
5	Sioux Falls	;5-0	1204
6	Tuskegee	5-0	1165
7	California (PA)	4-0	1147
8	Fairmont State	5-0	1139
9	Henderson State	5-0	1134
10	Colorado Mesa	5-0	1118
11	SW Baptist	5-0	1110
12	Indiana (PA)	4-0	1103
13	Florida Tech	4-1	1003
14	Texas A&M Commerce	4-0	977
15	Shepherd	4-0	968
16	Midwestern State	4-0	951
17	LIU Post	4-0	898
18	Bemidji State	4-1	864
19	Winona State	4-1	844
20	Assumption	4-1	834
21	Pittsburg State	4-1	812
22	SW Minnesota	4-1	800
23	Bloomsburg	4-1	789
24	Edinboro	4-1	786
25	Wingate	4-1	782
26	Slippery Rock	4-1	778
27t	Ashland	4-1	776
27t	UNC Pembroke	4-1	776
29	Notre Dame (Ohio)	4-1	774
30	South Dakota Mines	4-1	769
31	Wayne State (MI)	4-1	761
32	Virginia State	4-1	753
33	West Georgia	4-1	750
34	Newberry	4-1	726
35	Minnesota-Duluth	4-1	722
36	Emporia State	4-1	717
37t	Fort Hays State	4-1	714
37t	Shippensburg	4-1	714
39	Truman State	4-1	710
40	Black Hills	4-1	703
41	Northern Alabama	3-1	679
42	Southern Arkansas	4-1	659
43	Bowie State	3-2	620
44	West Florida	4-1	607
45	Central Washington	3-2	584
46	Elizabeth City State	3-2	565
47	Chowan	3-2	539
48	Colorado Mines	3-2	498
49	Augustana	3-2	467
50	Valdosta State	3-1	457
51	New Haven	3-2	446
52	Clark Atlanta	4-1	438
53	West Texas A&M	3-2	436
54	Humboldt State	3-2	434
55	Missouri Western	3-2	433
56	East Stroudsburg	3-2	432
57	SE Oklahoma	3-2	429
58	Ouachita Baptist	3-2	421
59	Benedict	3-2	420
60	Minnesota State	3-2	410
61	North Greenville	3-2	404
62	McKendree	3-2	391
63	Ferris State	3-2	382
64	Winston Salem State	3-2	382
65	Limestone	3-2	381
66	Delta State	3-2	379
67	Virginia Union	3-2	379
68	Seton Hill	3-2	376
69	Oklahoma Baptist	3-2	372
70	Glenville State	3-2	360
71	Bentley	3-2	353
72	Northern Michigan	3-2	351
73t	Central Missouri	3-2	345
73t	Northern State	3-2	345
75	Hillsdale	3-2	332
76	Quincy	3-2	322
77t	Gannon	3-2	288
77t	Saginaw Valley State	3-2	288
79	Western State	2-3	285
80t	Eastern New Mexico	3-2	279
80t	Virginia-Wise	3-2	279
82	Michigan Tech	2-3	277
83	Washburn	3-2	270
84	Missouri S&T	3-2	246
85	Western New Mexico	2-3	232
86	Morehouse	1-4	202
87	Alderson-Broaduss	3-2	194
88	Western Oregon	2-3	172
89	Texas A&M Kingsville	2-3	153
90	Tarleton State	2-2	129
91	Mars Hill	2-3	118
92	Miles	2-2	103
93	Tiffin	3-2	74
94	St.Joseph's (IN)	2-2	52
95	West Chester	2-3	28
96t	Carson-Newman	2-3	11
96t	Lenoir-Rhyne	2-3	11
98	Southern Connecticut	2-3	-13
99	CSU-Pueblo	2-3	-22
100	Catawba	2-3	-23
101	Arkansas Tech	2-3	-25
102	MSU-Moorhead	2-3	-30
103	Findlay	2-3	-32
104	Kutztown	2-3	-33
105	Charleston	2-2	-37
106	Stonehill	2-3	-54
107	American International	2-3	-63
108	Mercyhurst	2-3	-69
109	NW Oklahoma	2-3	-75
110	Ohio Dominican	2-3	-77
111	St. Cloud	2-3	-80
112	Arkansas Monticello	2-3	-86
113	West Alabama	1-2	-96
114	Concordia-St. Paul	2-3	-98
115	Lane	3-2	-99
116	Dixie State	2-3	-109
117	Upper Iowa	2-3	-130
118	Angelo State	2-3	-141
119	Concord	2-3	-147
120	Panhandle State	1-4	-181
121	St. Augustine's	1-4	-189
122	Clarion	2-3	-202
123	West Liberty	1-3	-227
124	Malone	1-3	-246
125	West Virginia Wesleyan	1-3	-258
126	Kentucky State	1-4	-322
127	Johnson C Smith	1-4	-323
128	Lincoln (PA)	1-4	-342
129	Merrimack	1-4	-356
130	Albany State	2-3	-396
131	Lindenwood	1-4	-424
132	Central Oklahoma	1-4	-431
133	Indianapolis	1-4	-434
134	West Virginia State	1-4	-434
135	Fort Lewis	1-4	-440
136	Chadron State	1-4	-442
137	Northeastern State	1-4	-467
138t	Adams State	1-4	-481
138t	Northwood	1-4	-481
140	Urbana	1-4	-484
141	SW Oklahoma	1-4	-490
142	Wayne State (NE)	1-4	-493
143	UT Permian Basin	2-3	-501
144	Kentucky Wesleyan	1-4	-507
145	Minot State	1-4	-514
146	East Central	1-4	-544
147	Walsh	0-5	-548
148	Tusculum	1-4	-561
149	Millersville	1-4	-566
150	Missouri Southern	1-4	-571
151	Mississippi College	2-3	-592
152	Livingstone	1-4	-601
153	Fayetteville State	0-5	-653
154	Lincoln (MO)	1-4	-668
155	Shorter	0-5	-698
156	Cheyney	1-4	-712
157	Central State	0-5	-720
158	St. Anselm	0-5	-744
159	Fort Valley	0-5	-802
160	Brevard	1-4	-803
161	New Mexico Highlands	0-5	-835
162	Simon Fraser	0-5	-841
163	Nebraska-Kearney	0-5	-851
164	Lock Haven	0-5	-903
165	Pace	0-5	-925
166	William Jewell	0-5	-936
167	Lake Erie	0-4	-943
168	Shaw	0-5	-980
169	Southern Nazarene	0-5	-1010
170	Minnesota -Crookston	0-5	-1070
171	Mary	0-5	-1078

Bilo's College Football Picks Week 6: Against the Spread

Boy, do I need a winning week in week 6. Week 5 was brutal, as I picked 30 games, finishing 10-19-1. I am now 46-46-4 this season against the spread, and I need a huge break this time around to stay afloat. Here are my 19 picks for this week:

Georgia Southern -7 Arkansas State

Memphis -10 Temple

Western Kentucky -22.5 Louisiana Tech

Buffalo +1.5 Kent State

Penn State +1 Maryland

Wake Forest -2.5 Syracuse

North Carolina -2.5 Virginia Tech

NC State -1 Notre Dame

Eastern Michigan +17 Toledo

Miami -3 Florida State

Old Dominion -7 U Mass

Auburn -2.5 Mississippi State

USC -5 Colorado

Michigan -28 Rutgers

Florida +2.5 LSU

Utah -10 Arizona

San Diego State -14 UNLV

California -12.5 Oregon State

Hawaii +3 San Jose State

Bilo's College Football Picks Week 6: Straight Up

The wild week that was in week 5 was highly disruptive to the picking process when it came to selecting winners straight up in FBS and FCS football. My final record last week was 80-38 overall for both levels, which drove my season record to 453-139. Here are my week 6 picks, and here's hoping for more stability:

Georgia Southern over Arkansas State

Memphis over Temple

Western Kentucky over Louisiana Tech

Clemson over Boston College

Boise State over New Mexico

UCF over Tulane

Tulsa over SMU

Alabama over Arkansas

Ohio State over Indiana

Michigan over Rutgers

Washington over Oregon

Houston over Navy

Texas A&M over Tennessee

Miami over Florida State

Stanford over Washington State

North Carolina over Virginia Tech

Florida over LSU

Oklahoma over Texas

USC over Colorado

Utah over Arizona

Cincinnati over U Conn

Minnesota over Iowa

Penn State over Maryland

USF over East Carolina

Auburn over Mississippi State

Southern Miss over UTSA

NC State over Notre Dame

TCU over Kansas

Pittsburgh over Georgia Tech

Ohio over Bowling Green

Toledo over Eastern Michigan

Akron over Miami (Ohio)

Air Force over Wyoming

Illinois over Purdue

Buffalo over Kent State

Texas State over Georgia State

Oklahoma State over Iowa State

FAU over Charlotte

Central Michigan over Ball State

Michigan State over BYU

Army over Duke

Vanderbilt over Kentucky

Hawaii over San Jose State

Old Dominion over U Mass

Western Michigan over Northern Illinois

Texas Tech over Kansas State

Marshall over North Texas

Nevada over Fresno State

UL-Monroe over Idaho

Wake Forest over Syracuse

Georgia over South Carolina

UTEP over FIU

California over Oregon State

Colorado State over Utah State

UCLA over Arizona State

San Diego State over UNLV

FCS

North Carolina A&T over Norfolk State

Charleston Southern over Albany State

Villanova over Rhode Island

Lehigh over Colgate

Brown over Stetson

Princeton over Georgetown

Dartmouth over Yale

Monmouth over Howard

Kennesaw State over Missouri S&T

Penn over Central Connecticut State

Harvard over Cornell

Fordham over Lafayette

Dayton over Morehead State

Butler over Marist

Samford over Furman

Holy Cross over Bucknell

VMI over East Tennessee State

South Carolina State over Bethune-Cookman

Drake over Valporaiso

Hampton over Delaware State

Jacksonville State over Tennessee Tech

Citadel over North Greenville

Alcorn State over Alabama A&M

Youngstown State over Illinois State

North Dakota State over Missouri State

St. Francis over Robert Morris

Prairie View over Alabama State

UT-Martin over Austin Peay

Northern Iowa over South Dakota

New Hampshire over Elon

Delaware over Maine

Richmond over Albany

James Madison over William & Mary

Western Illinois over Indiana State

Stephen F Austin over Nicholls State

Eastern Washington over Northern Colorado

Chattanooga over Mercer

North Carolina Central over Florida A&M

San Diego over Davidson

Montana over Mississippi Valley State

Wagner over Columbia

Eastern Kentucky over SE Missouri State

Gardner-Webb over Presbyterian

Morgan State over Savannah State

McNeese State over SE Louisiana

Northwestern State over Kentucky Wesleyan

Sam Houston State over Incarnate Word

Lamar over Abilene Christian

Stony Brook over Towson

Tennessee State over Eastern Illinois

South Dakota State over Southern Illinois

Montana State over Northern Arizona

Wofford over Western Carolina

Jacksonville over Campbell

Southern Utah over UC-Davis

North Dakota over Sacramento State

Portland State over Weber State

Coaches Swimming in the Dead Pool: Week 6 Edition

Three coaches have already drowned in the Dead Pool and became coaching industry shark food. LSU, FIU, and Lincoln (MO) are already looking for head coaches. I project that the following on this list will soon be joining them:

Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio)

Martin is just 5-24 now, and is in his 3^rd season, which is pivotal to development of a program. Truth be told, there has been little in the way of development. Martin had been successful before, but he hasn’t had the recipe in Oxford. It would seem that this will end badly.

David Bailiff, Rice

Rice picked third in the CUSA West this season, but has yet to win a game. Bailiff has had ample time to turn this program around, but has played in the middle for far too long. Bailiff is now just 53-65 overall in his 10^th season.

Paul Haynes, Kent State

Haynes is now just 10-30 in his 4^th season, and has a shocking loss to North Carolina A&T on his resume this season. He has allowed the Golden Flashes to fall back to the abyss that Darrell Hazell had pulled them from, and it is his time to go.

Trent Miles, Georgia State

I thought he would be gone by now, but he had a decent season in 2015, saving him from the chopping block. That has not repeated itself this season, so it would seem that his drowning in the pool was just stayed, not put off entirely.

Charlie Harbridge, FAU

His record at FAU is now just 7-22, and he just lost to rival FIU, who fired their coach a week ago. That does not bode well for his time in the Pool.

Tim DeRuyter, Fresno State

He had so much promise when he started with the Bulldogs, but the Bulldogs have completely fallen apart since the first season, and DeRuyter has lost his way in trying to turn it around. He is now just 30-27 in his 5^th season, and the ship is sinking fast.

David Beaty, Kansas

One win in two seasons will not save anybody from the Dead Pool, not even at Kansas, where Beaty inherited an empty cupboard. It is too important to turn a corner in the Big 12 to allow the losing to continue, and Beaty is just 1-16.

Darrell Hazell, Purdue

That 50-7 loss to Maryland is a sign of things to come for Purdue. Hazell is 2-2 this season, but that will surely turn south moving forward.

Mark Stoops, Kentucky

The Wildcats were dominated by Alabama last weekend, and they are not showing any signs of being good enough to move into bowl position this season, which is where they need to be for Stoops to keep his job.

Charlie Strong, Texas

There is virtually little in the way of saving Strong now. All reports are indicating that he is out at the end of the season, and once the Texas brass makes up their mind, they rarely budge. It looks like Strong will have another job in 2017, and he should have it. 

Coaches on the Hot Seat: Week 6

With three total coaches already gone this season (Les Miles, LSU; Ron Turner, FIU; Mike Jones, Lincoln MO), here are other coaches who are feeling some heat to start winning now. There is still time for these guys to get right, but time is running out...

Ron Caragher, San Jose State

He is close to landing in the Dead Pool, and is now just 16-26 in his 4^th season. I don’t know how much patience the administration has right now, but I do know that the supply is ending. A win over Hawaii this week would help. A loss could find him in the Dead Pool.

Sean Kugler, UTEP

He should be in the Dead Pool now, but he is popular amongst some, and that helps. Popularity does not last forever, however, and Kugler is now just 15-27. Time is running out.

Rod Carey, Northern Illinois

Carey has been a winner until this season, but still has gained no capital for his work. A segment of supporters would like to see him gone, but his overall record is 32-16, which is not bad at a MAC school.

Mark Hudspeth, UL-Lafayette

Hudspeth is up against the clock now, as his popularity is winding down as the Ragin Cajuns are on a downward spiral. He is 42-27 overall, but the needle is pointed the wrong way, especially after falling to New Mexico State last weekend.

Brian Polian, Nevada

Polian is proving that he is not Chris Ault. His offense is not scoring, and a 3 TD loss to Hawaii last week was bottoming out in a sense for the Pack. He needs to get the team pointed rightly, and soon.

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern

Northwestern showed some life last weekend in beating Iowa, but the Wildcats are still under .500, and have been wildly inconsistent. It’s hard to see which direction the rest of the season goes, but Mr. Wildcat needs to start winning in conference play.

Mark Helfrich, Oregon

The Ducks are 2-3, Dakota Prukop has lost his QB job, meaning that the FCS transfer experiment is failing. They will start a true freshman at QB this week, and the defense is a complete wreck. Washington is on the docket this week.

Others

Derek Mason, Vanderbilt

Doug Martin, New Mexico State

Clay Helton, USC

Bob Davie, New Mexico

Brian Kelly, Notre Dame

Tommy Tuberville, Cincinnati

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

Bob Stoops, Oklahoma

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

Bilo's College Football PASS/FAIL Reports Week 5: Independents

Independents

PASS: Notre Dame

The Irish defense is still an absolute atrocity, but scoring 23 points in the first 7 minutes against Syracuse was still impressive. Notre Dame can score with the best of them.

FAIL: BYU, U Mass, Coastal Carolina

Will the real BYU please stand up? The team that had great defense and no offense for the first month played zero defense and scored like maniacs to start the second month. I don’t know about these Cougars.

U Mass is just a mess as well, and should really consider heading back to FCS football. They lose to Tulane at home this week. Nobody cares.

Coastal Carolina is still playing an all FCS schedule until 2017, but they could not stop a fly against Charleston Southern this week in a game that reminded me of the BYU mess from Thursday night. No defense games make me want to vomit. 

Bilo's College Football PASS/FAIL Reports Week 5: Sun Belt

Sun Belt

PASS: South Alabama, Appalachian State, Troy, Texas State, New Mexico State

South Alabama continues to pick moments to shock us in 2016, this time rolling against a ranked San Diego State team on the road. Joey Jones is one of the better coaches in the game, and never gets enough credit for what he does at USA.

Appalachian State struggled for a half, but got themselves together on offense enough to take out winless Georgia State 17-3. Injuries are mounting for the Mountaineers.

Troy continues to be a huge surprise this season, handling Idaho on the road. Neal Brown may be a commodity after the season, possibly at Kentucky.

Texas State got a plush assignment this week, taking out FCS member Incarnate Word. Not much else to be said.

New Mexico State has taken Doug Martin off the hot seat for now after a rousing 37-31 OT win over ULL in league play. The Aggies are showing some life.

FAIL: Georgia State, UL-Monroe, Idaho, UL-Lafayette

I don’t really see any scenario where Trent Miles is coaching the Panthers in 2017 after an 0-5 start. The program has completely gone into reverse after a promising run last season.

ULM continues to have talent gap issues, as they were destroyed by Auburn on the road. Matt Viator has his work cut out.

Idaho completely folded in SBC play against Troy at home after a win against UNLV last week. It looks like Idaho will skulk out the back door as they head for FCS play in 2017.

ULL may be thinking coaching change after this season. Losing to NMSU is just bad on every level, especially when the Aggies are out of the league next season. The Cajuns are plummeting. 

Bilo's College Football PASS/FAIL Reports Week 5: SEC

SEC

PASS: Alabama, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Florida, Auburn, LSU

Alabama dominated Kentucky from start to finish this week, and they now move into our top spot in our FBS PRS rankings. The Tide is really the most dominant team in history right now.

Don’t look now, but Texas A&M is a top ten team under Kevin Sumlin, and Trevor Knight has been a savior for the Aggies. It wasn’t a perfect win over South Carolina, but it was good enough to move the Aggies into our top 10.

Tennessee showed why you never quit as a hail Mary catch was made at the end of the game to beat Georgia on the road. Tennessee is also in our top 10, and seems to play up to better competition. They get that this week in the Aggies.

Ole Miss had a fairly easy time of it against Memphis in a non con game this week, rolling 48-28. Back to the SEC grind this week.

Arkansas also had an easy go this week against FCS member Alcorn State, which is a game that never should have been played.

Florida always ends up in defensive struggles against Vanderbilt, but as long as they win them, it matters not.

Auburn had an easy win this week over UL-Monroe at home. Nothing can be taken from it, but the Tigers hit the road to take on Mississippi State this week.

LSU won one for Ed Orgeron this week, and the Tigers woke up from their slumber to pound Missouri 42-7. That was a nice bounce back for LSU.

FAIL: Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri

There is really no way at this point that I can see Mark Stoops coaching Kentucky after this season. The Wildcats were not on the same planet as Alabama Saturday.

South Carolina still has zero offense, which was a problem for Will Muschamp at Florida as well. The similarities may not end there eventually.

Georgia could not come up with a stop, and bad coverage at the end cost the Bulldogs a winnable game at home against Tennessee this week.

Vanderbilt continues to be inept on offense, but they can always play great D against Florida. That said, it is not enough. Derek Mason still has no dependable offensive play makers.

Missouri completely laid an egg against a team that fired their coach last week. Losing 42-7 to LSU just makes you wonder what is going on in Columbia. 

Bilo's College Football PASS/FAIL Reports Week 5: PAC-12

PAC-12

PASS: Washington, California, Colorado, USC, Washington State, UCLA

If, like me, you were still questioning the validity of Washington, you no longer should after the Huskies dismantled Stanford 44-6 this week. The Huskies are the class of the North as of this moment.

Cal picked up the biggest upset win of the week, beating Utah at home and causing a celebration from Sonny Dykes that was just pure joy. Cal looks like they are in position now to sneak into a bowl bid, but they cannot stop now. And hey, they beat the Utes on a defensive play! There is hope!

Don’t look now, but Colorado is in the head seat the South table right now. Their destiny belongs to them moving forward. This is the kind of season that Mike McIntyre needed.

USC is a complete enigma at this point after blowing out Arizona State. They get Colorado at home this week, so we shall see who the real Trojans are.

Washington State seems to be rebounding very nicely from their rough early start, and like I said two weeks ago to their grumbling fans, keep your heads up. The win over Oregon could be just the start for the Cougars.

UCLA picked up a relatively easy win over Arizona at the Rose Bowl, and the Bruin defense and special teams are the stars of the show. Once the Offense catches up, UCLA could get on a run.

FAIL: Stanford, Utah, Oregon State, Arizona State, Oregon, Arizona

Stanford was just completely outclassed by Washington Friday night, and the Cardinal look to be behind the 8 ball in the North heading into the midpoint of the season. This may be David Shaw’s biggest challenge.

Utah could not get into the end zone late against Cal, and the Utes now are in a pinch in South play. The Utes showed more inconsistencies this week, and it got the best of them.

Oregon State has shown virtually zero life this season, and Gary Anderson has got to find a way to get this engine going, and he has to do it soon.

Arizona State finally folded against better talent this week in a blowout loss to USC, and now must quickly rebound against a UCLA team that should be favored.

Oregon is falling apart quickly, and that defense, coached by Brady Hoke, is a virtual disaster. Dakota Prukop was benched at one point as well at QB.

Arizona is now down to their 4^th QB of the season, their 3^rd RB, and injuries mounted like crazy in a loss to UCLA. Rich Rodriguez is a mess right now. 

Bilo's College Football PASS/FAIL Reports Week 5: Mountain West

Mountain West

PASS: Boise State, Air Force, New Mexico, Wyoming, UNLV, Hawaii

Boise State wasn’t perfect this week, but they managed to avenge an awful loss to USU last season with a 21-10 win.

Air Force took a huge step towards winning the Commander-In-Chief trophy with a commanding win over Navy in which the Falcon passing game was in full effect.

New Mexico picked up a huge must win game against San Jose State, and Bob Davie could come off the hot seat with another win, this week against Boise State.

Wyoming is now 3-2 while nobody was looking, and pounded out a huge win over rival Colorado State.

UNLV finally showed signs of recovery in a big home win over Fresno State, but now faces a huge task on the road against San Diego State this week.

Hawaii is also showing signs of improvement under Nick Rolovich, and the win over Nevada this week was never in doubt.

FAIL: San Diego State, Utah State, San Jose State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada

SDSU had the MWC flub of the week in letting a close game get completely away from them in a whopping loss to South Alabama, who also beat Mississippi State this season.

Utah State is drifting, with only 10 points scored against Boise State. The Aggies need some answers on offense, because the defense actually played fairly well.

San Jose State is looking more and more like a change is needed on the sidelines, as this team has gotten away from Ron Caragher on several levels.

Colorado State continues to under perform under Mike Bobo, as the Rams fell hard to Wyoming this week in a rivalry game. The Rams have been consistently flat.

Fresno State losing to UNLV on the road shows that Tim DeRuyter may likely be gone after this season. The Bulldogs are lifeless.

Nevada fell apart on offense once again this week, scoring just 17 on Hawaii. The Pack is looking more and more lost, and Brian Polian looks clueless. 

Bilo's College Football PASS/FAIL Reports Week 5: MAC

MAC

PASS:  Ohio, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Akron, Western Michigan

The most impressive job this week was from Eastern Michigan, who is now just 2 wins away from becoming bowl eligible. They held off Bowling Green in MAC play for a 28-25 win, and Chris Creighton is one of my early candidates for coach of the year.

Northern Illinois also picks up a meaningful passing grade this week, as they finally picked up win number one on the season over Ball State, 31-24.

Western Michigan was fully dominant over Central Michigan in a 49-10 win, and ranks number 7 in this week’s PRS rankings.

FAIL: Toledo, Buffalo, Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green, Ball State, Kent State, Central Michigan

Toledo could not play defense all night in a horrifying 55-53 loss to BYU on the road. It was one of the single worst defensive performances I have ever seen.

Miami remains winless, and Bowling Green remains clueless under Mike Jinks. Ball State had a huge shot at a win, and yet fell to winless NIU. Kent State continues to fall to the bottom ten nationally, while Central Michigan has shown none of the energy they had against Oklahoma State, falling to WMU 49-10.