The Farrell Awards: Rivalry Week delivers across college football
The 2021 college football season is winding down, with conference title games just around the corner. Here are Mike Farrell's biggest takeaways from Week 13.
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BULLY BALL
Michigan beat Ohio State for the first time since 2011 on the back of its running game, which manhandled the Buckeyes' front all day. The Wolverines ran for 297 yards at a clip of 7.2 yards per carry led by Hassan Haskins who chose a great day to have his best career game. The senior from St. Louis had 169 yards and five touchdowns.
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REDEMPTION
Jim Harbaugh was firmly entrenched on the hot seat at the beginning of the season, but he validated the university's decision to stick with him after a tough 2020 season. By beating Ohio State for the first time in his career and sending the Wolverines to the Big Ten title game, Harbaugh has ensured that he will be in Ann Arbor for a long while... unless he heads back to the pros.
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IRON ILLNESS
Auburn had Alabama on the ropes - up 10-3 with 1:56 left and with possession — all the Tigers had to do was run the ball, get one first down and, most importantly, not go out of bounds. But on 2nd and 11, Tank Bigsby went out of bounds after running for 10 yards, saving a timeout for Alabama, who would get the ball back with an additional 40 seconds. The Crimson Tide went 97 yards in 1:11, and would go on to win in overtime. Another heartbreaking loss for Auburn.
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DOMINANT
Georgia absolutely dismantled Georgia Tech in a 45-0 win against its hated in-state rivals, marking the Bulldogs' third shutout of the season. The Yellow Jackets could only muster 166 yards of total offense and didn't even sniff a score. Georgia showed once again why it's a historically great defense.
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NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
Wake Forest had zero hangover from its loss to Clemson last week, as they came out and dominated Boston College to clinch the ACC Atlantic. The Demon Deacon defense was opportunistic, turning the Eagles over three times and Sam Hartman had four total touchdowns to send them into an ACC title game versus Pittsburgh. No one could have predicted this before the season.
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FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT
Amidst its win over Mississippi State, Ole Miss had some interesting timing on some injuries. It's not the first time Lane Kiffin's group have been accused of faking injuries, but this game may have had some of the most egregious examples. So while the Bulldogs didn't help themselves by dropping three-straight potential touchdowns following the "injury" in the second quarter, it's still definitely something they'll remember. The replay shows Ole Miss defender KD Hill going down with the worst acting job ever on a cramp or something which absolutely killed the Bulldogs' momentum at the end of the first half. Fake injuries led to two missed field goals for Mike Leach and company.
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ALL GOOD THINGS MUST END
UTSA's magical season came to an end on Saturday against North Texas, as the Roadrunners lost to the Mean Green, 45-23. An injury to starting quarterback Frank Harris in the second quarter hurt their momentum, but the Mean Green were already up two scores and kept going from there. A tough way to end the regular season, but the Roadrunners will be in the Conference USA title game next weekend nonetheless.
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BY THE SKIN OF THEIR TEETH
Baylor survived against Texas Tech thanks to a missed field goal at the end of regulation and a couple of critical turnovers. Without starting quarterback Gerry Bohanon, the Bears turned to Blake Shapen who played very well, throwing for 254 yards and two scores and, more critically, not turning the ball over.
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HOW DID THEY DO THAT?
With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, North Carolina was up 30-21 on NC State, giving them a 99.9 percent win probability according to ESPN. But after a long touchdown to Emeka Emezie, the Wolfpack recovered an onside kick and went 54 yards in just 26 seconds, with Emezie scoring another big touchdown. And just like that, NC State snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
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INVENTING NEW WAYS TO LOSE
Nebraska cannot catch a break. The Cornhuskers were dominating Iowa for the first three quarters on Friday, leading 21-9 at the start of the fourth quarter. But special teams errors, a safety, and more turnovers led to 19 unanswered points and a 28-21 win for the Hawkeyes. Nebraska lost a record ninth game by single digits and managed to finish Big Ten play at 1-8 with a point differential of zero.
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COWBOY UP
The Oklahoma State football team doesn’t get enough credit and now they have punted Oklahoma out of the Big 12 race with a comeback 37-33 win in Bedlam. Mike Gundy is one of the best coaches in the nation and this is a balanced football team that likely belongs in the playoff if they finish off Baylor for the Big 12 title game.
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RECORD PERFORMANCE
Breece Hall rushed for a touchdown in his 24th consecutive game on Friday, breaking a record that had stood for over four decades. So while the Cyclones didn't quite have the season that they would have hoped for, Hall has still had a very good year and his emotional reaction was an example of why college football has all the feels.
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STUFFED UP
Wisconsin had gotten the early results it wanted - Michigan had won and all the Badgers had to do was beat a reeling Minnesota team. But the Badgers couldn't get anything going against the Gophers - they were held to 62 yards on the ground and couldn't move the ball at all. It also didn't help that there were some questionable coaching decisions made down the stretch. The loss sends the Iowa Hawkeyes to the Big Ten title game and ends a topsy-turvy regular season for Wisconsin that saw them start 1-3.
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APPLES TO APPLES
Washington State still had a chance to make the Pac-12 title game and the Cougars played like it. They wiped the field with their in-state rival Washington, and made Sam Huard's first start a nightmare for the five-star true freshman. They picked him off four times en route to a 40-13 victory. Oregon ended up beating Oregon State to head to the Pac-12 title game as the North Division champion but it was still an inspired performance by the Cougars.