WEEK 12: WINNERS & LOSERS
WINNERS
TCU: In the very general sense, winning at Texas Tech isn’t cause for celebration. But it was a nice win for TCU, which entered the game dealing with injuries — including one to starting quarterback Kenny Hill — but put the clamps down on the Red Raiders’ offense in a 27- 3 victory. It had the makings of a trap game but turned out to be anything but. TCU maintained its path toward a rematch with Oklahoma to decide the Big 12.
Texas: The Longhorns clinched their first bowl berth since 2014 with a 28- 14 win against West Virginia. There might be a portion of the Texas fan base that expected more from Tom Herman’s debut, which was unfair. Herman might have come with an impressive résumé, but this was never going to be an immediate fix. Getting six wins with the potential for eight is a positive sign for 2018 and likely will yield a strong close on the recruiting trail.
The American: It was a good weekend for the American Athletic Conference, which by landing wins from its three front- runners moved one step closer to ensuring a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl. It wasn’t pretty for South Florida, which barely escaped past Tulsa on Friday, but UCF handled a road test with a 45- 19 win against Temple and Memphis outscored SMU 66- 45. The Knights are unbeaten; the Tigers and Bulls have just one loss.
LOSERS
BYU: You wouldn’t think this season could get any worse for BYU. And then it does. Maybe the 16- 10 loss to UMass was rock bottom. One can only hope. BYU failed to crack the 100- yard mark for total offense until three minutes remained in the third quarter in suffering its ninth loss of the year. The Cougars need a win against Hawaii next Saturday to avoid the program’s first season with double- digit losses since 1949.
Bret Bielema: Arkansas’ 28- 21 loss to Mississippi State capped a terrible week for Bielema, the Razorbacks’ embattled coach. On Wednesday, the university fired athletic director Jeff Long, who hired Bielema away from Wisconsin in 2013. That’s not good. Then came Saturday’s loss, which secured Arkansas’ second losing finish under Bielema and its first since his debut season. A coaching change is almost inevitable.
Bob Diaco: Once the subject of an offseason bidding war between Nebraska and Arkansas, the former UConn coach has seen his stock take a major hit with the Cornhuskers’ woeful defensive performance since the start of the regular season. The matchup with Penn State was always bad for Nebraska, but come on: PSU was the second team this fall to score 42 points in the first half against Diaco’s 3- 4 defense.
— Paul Myerberg, USA Today