College Football – Week 9

This Thursday night the Oregon Ducks play the Arizona State Sun Devils in the desert. Both (4-3) Oregon and (4-3) Arizona State started the season ranked in the top 15 but have fallen on hard times. Oregon, which still has California, Stanford and USC on the schedule, can not afford a loss here. With a loss Oregon risks not playing in a post-season bowl game for the first time since 2004. The good news is that the Oregon offense is back on track now that QB Vernon Adams is healthy. As for the defense, the coaches have had time to reorganize. This game will be a big test for the Ducks.
The most important aspect of the weekend is that, on Monday, the College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee will announce their first rankings of the season. At the end of the season, the top four teams compete for the National Championship. 
Last weekend included several important results. In the Pac-12, the most important result was USC’s victory over undefeated #3 Utah 42-24. In the ACC the biggest came when undefeated #9 Florida State (FSU) lost to Georgia Tech. The game ended dramatically with a very unusual play. At the end of the 4th quarter, with 0:06 seconds remaining, the game was tied at 16-16. Florida State lined up to win the game with a field-goal. Here’s what happened next

P.S. Here is a bit of interesting news for college and pro football fans alike. Former Oregon Ducks cornerback Ifo Epkre-Olomu, now playing for the Cleveland Browns, collected the full value of a $3 million "Loss-of-Value" insurance policy for slipping downward in the 2015 NFL draft. Ekpre-Olomu had been projected to be picked in the first or second round of the draft, but due to a knee injury suffered prior to the Rose Bowl game, he was selected in the seventh round. The amount he collected was the difference between what he earned by being picked in the seventh round rather than in the second round.
Elite college players who are projected to be picked early in the NFL draft buy this insurance to guard against injuries that will lower their draft value. Buying such insurance policies is a relatively new trend that is becoming wide spread. The purchase of these insurance policies is now often financed by the university a player is attending. For example, in 2014, the University of Oregon helped four players pay for loss-of-value insurance policies. These players were QB and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, drafted by Tennessee; center Hroniss Grasu, drafted by Chicago; and defensive lineman Arik Armstead, drafted by San Francisco.
Epkre-Olomu’s most famous interception came in 2014 against Michigan State. But my favorite Ifo interception is this one from 2012.

For those of you who enjoy motivational videos here’s the latest Ducks‘ pump-up video.

Mike Resch reporting from Eugene Oregon where it never rains, it only pours touchdowns.
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Here’s a list of the best college games of the weekend. All times are USA Eastern Standard Time (EST)
October 29 and 31
Thursday
00:30 West Virginia (3-3 Big-12) vs. #5 TCU (7-0 Big-12)
03:30 Oregon (4-3 Pac-12) vs. Arizona State (4-3 Pac-12)
Saturday 
17:00 #19 Ole Miss (SEC) vs. Auburn (4-3 SEC)
20:00 USC (4-3 Pac-12) vs. California (5-2 Pac-12)
20:30 #3 Clemson (7-0 ACC) vs. North Carolina State (5-2 ACC)
20:30 Georgia (5-2 SEC) vs. #11 Florida (6-1 SEC)
20:30 #12 Oklahoma State (7-0 Big-12) vs. Texas Tech (5-3 Big-12)
00:00 #15 Michigan (5-2 Big-10) vs. Minnesota (4-3 Big-10)
01:00 #9 Notre Dame (6-1 Independent) vs. #21 Temple (7-0 AAC)
03:30 #8 Stanford (6-1 Pac-12) vs. Washington State (5-2 Pac-12)