Why the Big 12 is almost out of the Playoff, and a bunch of fun Week 9 awards!

On Saturday, Baylor lost to Texas, and West Virginia lost to Oklahoma State, meaning there are no more undefeated teams inside the Big 12. The other four Power 5 leagues have one each and have fared better on the year as a whole.

Both losses came at the hands of then-unranked opponents and the conference didn’t do anything too impressive against other conferences this year. Now, the Big 12 is almost out of the Playoff, unless there is some serious chaos in the rest of the Power 5.

In non-conference play this season, TCU lost to Arkansas, Oklahoma State lost to Central Michigan (on a bad call, at least), Oklahoma lost to two good teams, Texas lost to Cal, Texas Tech lost to Arizona State, Baylor played cupcakes, Kansas State lost to a Stanford that would later lose more than expected, Kansas lost to two mid-majors, and Iowa State lost to both an FCS team and a team that has itself lost to an FCS team (Iowa).

The best thing the Big 12 did all year was either OSU beating 5-3 Pitt by a touchdown in Stillwater or West Virginia beating 4-4 BYU by three in Maryland, both easily topped by all four other Power 5 leagues.

This will weaken the committee’s view of the conference’s teams, since each team’s schedule strength will be tied together.

What’s truly sad is that the league ran out of undefeated teams just days after announcing its conference championship, coming back in 2017, will be played between its No. 1 and No. 2 teams ... even though those teams will have already played each other, given the round-robin schedule format within the Big 12.

Bad job, bad effort, Big 12.

Head coaches are mad!

After Florida State lost to Clemson 37-34, Noles head coach Jimbo Fisher ripped the officials who called a penalty on an illegal block that negated a huge Dalvin Cook run in the fourth quarter. He even called it “cowardly” and “gutless,” among other things. Yikes.

The ACC slapped him with a $20,000 fine on Sunday following his criticism of the refs, also fining Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi $5,000 for his criticism of the officiating in Virginia Tech-Pitt.

When the highlights to your game have nothing to do with actual football

No. 10 Florida beat Georgia 24-10, and the Dawgs offense, well ... let’s just say it did not look great. Running back Nick Chubb had just 20 yards on the day, and the Bulldogs finished with a season-low 164 yards (they came in averaging 403 per game).

Quarterback Jacob Eason’s best throw was arguably this one, which he launched perfectly into the pylon in the corner of the end zone.

PRECISION.

To put it into further perspective, Georgia was forced to punt, turned it over, or turned it over on downs on 10 of Georgia’s 13 drives. Yeesh.

If there was a Georgia highlight, though, it was this Dawg fan shimmying up a pole at a tailgate.

Oh, and someone got trucked by a Georgia player on the sidelines, but met Tim Tebow in the process. More on her later at this fine website.

Finally, nothing says World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party like the underage drinkers who got $500 worth of plastic-bottled booze confiscated by police!

Best celebrations!

There were so many of these this week that I had to make a new category.

First, there was this amazing safety dance after a two-pointer sealed Wyoming’s upset of No. 13 Boise State.

And let’s not forget Florida State running back Dalvin Cook waving goodbye to Clemson’s defense on a 70-yard touchdown run. Once he reached the end zone, he gave a gesture that looks like a sprinter breaking the tape at the end of a race.

And finally, we have this glorious South Carolina fan who stormed the field after the Gamecocks upset No. 18 Tennessee, 24-21.

Shocked koala play of the week

No. 4 Washington remained unbeaten on the road against No. 17 Utah after Dante Pettis returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

(Yeah, there might’ve been some blocks in the back.)

Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson also had this beautiful, game-winning touchdown throw against Virginia, one that avoided an upset from the Hoos.

Piesman moment!

300-pound Pitt lineman Brian O’Neill took an end around in for a DIVING PIESMAN TOUCHDOWN on Thursday, his second TD of the year.

Oh, and TRIPLE-LATERAL, BIG-DUDE TOUCHDOWN for former Mizzou player Harold Brantley, who’s now at Northwest Missouri State!

Bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for him.

This one did not for Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio. After scoring with one second left to make it 30-23, MSU elected to go for two. Dantonio said after the game it was to send a message, even though he knew the game was already lost. I dunno, either. Anyway, Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers made Dantonio regret that decision.

Best GameDay moment

Comedian Frank Caliendo did some hilarious impressions during his picks for ESPN’s College GameDay from Utah.

Awwwwww :)

Meet UCF starting linebacker Shaquem Griffin. As one of UCF’s leading tacklers, Griffin has been an inspiration all season, playing FBS football with only one hand.

Saturday, Griffin met with honorary UCF cheerleader Julianna Linton, who is missing her left arm. Linton, who is 10 years old, was fitted for a bionic arm earlier this year. She can even do cartwheels.

"It's an amazing feeling," Griffin told the Orlando Sentinel. "It's a feeling that everybody can't have, and I'm blessed to have that type of feeling to be that faith, that positivity, that inspiration for others, and not just for young people but for older people, men and women. It's just a blessing for me, and I wouldn't change it for [anything] in the world."

Talkin’ ’bout the polls

This week’s AP Poll was a bit interesting, given that four Top 15 undefeated teams — Nebraska, Baylor, West Virginia, and Boise State — were all handed their first losses of the season. Oklahoma State and Washington State are now ranked.

Also, the first College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled this Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. So, you’ll have even more of a reason to argue about your team not getting enough respect. Yay, mid-week rankings!