J.T. Barrett’s status is uncertain because of a knee injury, but Ohio State for its fourth straight win over Michigan. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Running down the highlights and lowlights of the Saturday that was in college football …
[This story will update.]
WINNERS
* Chip Kelly. As covered before, UCLA is a fit that makes sense for the former Oregon coach. He won’t be the center of attention in Los Angeles, he won’t have ridiculous expectations and he’ll have plenty of access to talent as he returns to college coaching.
He’ll also make $23 million over five years. That works, too.
[Now that Kelly has landed at UCLA, we’ll find out if college football has caught up to him]
* Georgia. The Bulldogs’ trip to Georgia Tech had the potential for anxiety. Instead, Kirby Smart’s team rolled to a 38-7 victory, holding the Yellow Jackets to just 226 yards.
Georgia (11-1) faces what amounts to national quarterfinal in next week’s Southeastern Conference title game. Win, and the Bulldogs will be hard to keep out of the playoff. A win-and-in game is as much as any team could hope for entering December.
* Ohio State. Ignoring the quarterback injury situation (more on that later), the Buckeyes can’t complain about leaving Michigan with a 31-20 victory. Ohio State (10-2, 8-1 Big Ten), already ensured a place in the conference title game, kept its hopes of reaching the playoff intact and also remained perfect under Urban Meyer in six meetings with the Wolverines.
LOSERS
* Mike Riley. The former Oregon State coach got three years in Lincoln, went 19-19, made two bowl games and posted one winning record. In the end, being the nicest man in college football — which was one of his selling points after the Bo Pelini years — didn’t outweigh average results.
[Nebraska fires Riley after three mostly unsuccessful seasons]
Much like Bret Bielema a day earlier at Arkansas, Riley’s fate wasn’t sealed in his final game. Nebraska ousted athletic director Shawn Eichorst in September, and that (on the heels of a home loss to Northern Illinois) was the beginning of the end for Riley.
The clock just ran out, and it will be up to someone else a program with a calamitous defense (No. 115 nationally against the run) that became roadkill in the underwhelming Big Ten West. Never has the Pelini Line — consistently losing four games every year — looked so good in the Cornhusker State.
* J.T. Barrett. First the good news for Barrett, who became the first Ohio State quarterback to start four victories against Michigan as the Buckeyes won in Ann Arbor.
Now the bad news: He didn’t finish the triumph, leaving in the third quarter with a knee injury. Things got stranger after the game, when Coach Urban Meyer said the injury occurred during warm-ups when “a guy with a camera hit him in the knee” and angrily vowed to find the person responsible.
It can’t be the way Barrett drew up his last meeting with the Wolverines, and it leaves his status in doubt entering the Big Ten title game. Dwayne Haskins, who played much of the second half against Michigan, would presumably start next week if Barrett cannot play.
* Texas-El Paso.Lost 28-7 to UAB to complete a winless season, the only FBS program not to enjoy at least one victory this year. The Miners (0-12, 0-8 Conference USA) failed to record a victory for the first time since going 0-11 in 1973.
More college football:
Some Maryland band members took one final knee for national anthem before Penn State game
Barry Switzer drew direct line from Madonna, Michael Jackson to Baker Mayfield
The streak goes on: Virginia Tech beats Virginia for 14th straight time
Pittsburgh upset throws a wrench into Miami’s College Football Playoff hopes
Dan Mullen is a wanted man once again, and Mississippi State reportedly wants it to stop
source http://hdsportsnews.com/college-football-winners-and-losers-its-a-bit-of-both-for-jt-barrett-and-ohio-state/
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