First thoughts
WISCONSIN VS. OHIO STATE still might be the game of the week next Saturday. But it lost its chance to be game of the year (so far) when the No. 6 Badgers and their reputedly stout defense (4.8 ppg) lost, 24-23, to 31-point underdog Illinois — the largest upset the Big Ten Conference has seen in 25 years — on a James McCourt field goal as time expired. The point spread aside, the Badgers couldn’t even protect a 9-point lead in the final 6 minutes against an Illini team that hadn’t defeated a ranked conference opponent since 2007 and hasn’t had a winning record since 2011.
LAST WEEK, Georgia. Saturday, Wisconsin. Both losing has given life-(support) to the playoff hopes of the Pac-12, and specifically No. 12 Oregon (6-1) — given the best chance (of a bad lot) by the ESPN playoffs computer to end the league's two season drought. The Ducks in turn, helped themselves by rallying to beat No. 25 Washington, 35-31. Saturday notwithstanding, they’ve given themselves this chance with defense. An afterthought when ranked among the top five scoring teams in FBS from 2010-15, their defense entered the Washington game having held their previous five opponents (all wins) to single digits — something they hadn’t done since 1958.
LSU QB Joe Burrow leaped Tua Tagovailoa in the most recent ESPN Heisman Watch. He didn’t fall off; Burrow’s ascendancy has been that startling. The latest evidence: His four TD passes in a 36-13 win vs. Mississippi State gave him 29 for the season, breaking the school record in just seven games. He is 173 for 218 (79.4%) for 2,484 yards. Said ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg: “As good as Tagovailoa has been for Alabama, Burrow’s big-play brilliance makes it hard to put anyone else atop the Heisman candidate list.”