WHO’S HOT

Summa Cum Laude 

UCF LB Terrance Plummer 
Fast, aggressive and instinctive—Plummer embodies what it means to be a UCF defender. The senior linebacker thrived in front of a national audience Thursday night. His Knights needing a lift against visiting BYU, he racked up a career-high 17 tackles, 4.5 stops for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a sack. Plummer is a guided missile from his inside spot. 

The Stanford D 
The personnel, both players and staff, may change, but the Cardinal continues to be one of the premier defensive groups in the country. Through half a season, the rebuilt unit has yet to allow more than 17 points in a game, including in Friday night’s win over high-scoring Washington State. Opponents are averaging just 3.6 yards per play versus Stanford, which is the lowest output in the country. 

Offensive Coordinator of the Week: Philip Montgomery, Baylor 
Saturday afternoon in Waco was Exhibit A why Montgomery is one of the hot young coaches at this level. His Bears rang up 61 points and almost 800 yards … on a Gary Patterson defense. Baylor essentially moved the ball at will, erasing a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit with a flurry of accurate darts from QB Bryce Petty to his cadre of big-play receivers. Baylor is accustomed to explosive games, but not always against a D the caliber of TCU’s. 

Defensive Coordinator of the Week: Pete Kwiatkowski, Washington 
At the start of Week 7, Cal had gone four consecutive weeks scoring at least 45 points, including 119 points in the last two weeks alone. Kwiatkowski’s Huskies held the Bears to a single touchdown after the game was out of reach, while forcing three fumbles and punishing QB Jared Goff. U-Dub has one of the nation’s best pass rushes, led by Danny Shelton from the inside and Hau’oli Kikaha from off the edge. 

Stockpile more shares in … Minnesota 
On a day that the offense labored, the Gophers got a special teams spark to win for the third straight game. Jalen Myrick returned a kick 100 yards for the game-winning score in the final quarter to keep Minnesota unbeaten in Big Ten play. The West Division is there for the taking in 2014, and the Gophers want to step up and nab it in the second half of the year. 

Stockpile more shares in … Iowa 
The Hawkeyes have gradually begun showing signs of becoming the plucky Big Ten team many thought they’d be in the offseason. They’ve won three straight, with the offense chipping in more than its usual tepid support in Saturday’s 45-29 defeat of Indiana. If QB Jake Rudock can contribute the way he did today, Iowa has a shot in the wide-open Big Ten West. 

Kentucky 
So far, so good on the Wildcats’ ability to handle prosperity. The week after shocking South Carolina, Kentucky shook off a slow start to zip past UL-Monroe with 45 unanswered points. Patrick Towles threw three touchdown passes, and the speedy D collected 12 tackles for loss and three takeaways en route to a first 5-1 start in seven years. 

Madden Cover Material: Oregon QB Marcus Mariota 
Who better than Mariota to get the Ducks back on track after the dreadful home loss to Arizona? The unflappable junior wasn’t perfect, and he’s been more prolific at times in his career, but he was exactly what Oregon needed him to be at UCLA. Mariota didn’t make mistakes, while accounting for 285 yards and four touchdowns, two through the air and two on the ground, in a crucial blowout of the Bruins. 

Bucking for a promotion: UAB head coach Bill Clark 
What Clark has done in his Blazer debut, sans a lot of proven talent, has been remarkable. And athletic directors from larger programs are beginning to take notice. UAB has already won more games than at any point in the last three seasons, getting to 4-2 with a 56-21 demolition of defending Conference USA champ North Texas. Clark’s offense has been vastly improved, but it was the D that stood out Saturday with three touchdowns. 

He’s how young?! Miami QB Brad Kaaya 
Kaaya just keeps getting better and better for the ‘Canes in his first year out of high school. Against Cincinnati on Saturday, the rookie delivered one of his best efforts of the season so far, beating the Bearcats on 17-of-24 passes for 286 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. Kaaya is the quarterback this program has been after for years. 

He’s how young?! Ole Miss DE Marquis Haynes 
As dominant as the Rebel defense has been so far this year, its sack leader is a backup true freshman from Jacksonville, Fla. The 6-3, 220-pound Haynes has an explosive first step, and enough support around him to do damage in opposing backfields. The rookie got to Texas A&M’s Kenny Hill twice in College Station, bringing his season sack total to four. 

Can I be your agent … Melvin Gordon? 
As Todd Gurley served a suspension, Gordon seized the opportunity to become the nation’s best available back. As he’s done all season, Gordon made an opposing defense, Illinois, look silly as it tried to hunt him down. The Wisconsin junior speedster raced for at least 175 yards in a fourth straight game, adding four touchdowns in yet another electrifying performance. 

Start designing the Fathead of … USC RB Javorius Allen 
Allen showed in Tucson why he’s one of the most underrated backs in the country, rushing for 205 yards and three scores on 26 carries to help carry the Trojan offense. He’s rugged between the tackles, with enough giddy-up to go the distance. The Tallahassee native leads the Pac-12 on the ground, and has been held under 115 yards just once this year. 

The Ole Miss D 
Wow. Just wow. Coordinator Dave Wommack continues to make a play for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach. His unit is playing remarkably well, becoming the first D to ever shut out a Kevin Sumlin-led team in the first half. The Rebels suffocated Texas A&M in College Station, dominating at the point of attack, while producing a pair of defensive scores. The fast-paced and athletic Aggie attack was completely neutralized by the deep Ole Miss D. 

Team of the Week II: Baylor 
The Bears deserve a ton of credit for not quitting on a game with TCU that looked as if it was out of reach in the final quarter. Baylor scored 24 points over the final minutes to complete one of the great comebacks in Big 12 history. QB Bryce Petty was clutch down the stretch, shaking off a pair of picks, and receivers Jay Lee, KD Cannon, Corey Coleman and Antwan Goodley made it a habit of getting behind the overmatched Horned Frog secondary. 

Team of the Week: Mississippi State 
Not since 1983 has a team beaten three top 10 opponents in a row. But the Bulldogs have now joined that exclusive company, adding an exclamation point to wins over LSU and Texas A&M by schooling No. 2 Auburn. Mississippi State is the nation’s hottest team at the midway point of the season, a most unlikely development for a program that began the 2014 campaign outside the Top 25.

WHO’S NOT

Summa Cum Lousy 

Is it December yet? Texas Tech 
Even when it looked as if the Red Raiders might break through with a much-needed win, they came up short following an amazing West Virginia rally. Texas Tech took a 34-20 lead on a Justin Stockton touchdown run with 7:32 left, but whatever happened next typified the Raiders’ 2-4 start. The Mountaineers scored 17 points in the final six minutes, capped by a game-winning Josh Lambert field goal from 55 yards out. 

Being Voted Off College Football Island: Georgia RB Todd Gurley 
Should college athletes be compensated for products bearing their likeness? Absolutely. Should Gurley have exercised better judgment when dealing with memorabilia peddlers? Absolutely. The Gurley case that has the game’s best back serving a suspension isn’t about what the rules should be; it’s about what they are right now. And the fact that Gurley flouted those rules is disrespectful to his teammates, his coaches and the Dawg fans that support him. 

Heisman Nopeful: Texas A&M QB Kenny Hill
Remember when folks were ingloriously tripping over themselves to find a moniker for Hill? Yeah, that was a little premature. The redshirt freshman has a terrific future ahead of him in this Aggie offense, but he’s come back to Earth, along with many of his teammates and coaching staff. Hill, who was on Heisman boards after just three weeks of his career, has thrown seven picks in the last four games, and has seen his number of explosive plays plummet as the level of competition has risen. 

Start evacuating the bandwagon of … NC State 
Squandering a huge lead to Florida State two weeks ago is something from which the Pack has yet to recover. State led the Seminoles, 24-7, at the end of the first quarter on Sept. 27. Since then, though, it’s been outscored, 120-31, to squander all of the energy Dave Doeren had generated in his second season. Even QB Jacoby Brissett, the September catalyst, has flubbed as the Pack have started playing like last year’s team. 

Start evacuating the bandwagon of … Oklahoma QB Trevor Knight 
Katy Perry may dig Knight these days, but not for his playmaking ability. For the third straight week, Knight looked nothing like the quarterback who made a name for himself by carving up ‘Bama in the 2014 Sugar Bowl. The ineffective complement to RB Samaje Perine was unable to get the ball downfield on the Texas D, and has now completed just 42-of-84 for 643 yards, two touchdowns and three picks over the last three games. 

You emit a foul and unpleasant odor: The Cincinnati defense 
For the third week in a row, the Bearcats got rocked, this time by Miami, 55-34, The Hurricanes cranked out more than 600 yards, with a nice blend of Brad Kaaya’s passes and the running of Duke Johnson and Joseph Yearby. Cincinnati can hang up points, but it’s a far cry from the team that opened the season with so much promise with a blowout of Toledo. 

Needing a vote of confidence: Illinois head coach Tim Beckman 
After falling to Wisconsin, its third straight loss, the Illini has slipped back under .500 at 3-4, with no notable wins to point to in 2014. Can Beckman survive another losing season after beginning his career 6-18 over the first two years? He’ll need multiple upsets down the stretch to improve what has become a very tenuous job security. 

Penn State 
The Nittany Lions became Michigan’s streak-buster in Ann Arbor Saturday night, falling 18-13 in another lethargic effort out of the offense. Penn State managed just 214 yards in one of the poorest played games of the weekend, and has produced just one touchdown in back-to-back losses to Northwestern and the Wolverines. NCAA sanctions have been lifted, but the Lions will need to scrap to pick up the two wins needed to become bowl-eligible. 

The Alabama Offense 
Remember when Lane Kiffin and his quarterback, Blake Sims, were swimming in bouquets? Yeah, feels like a long time ago, right? The Tide attack has plummeted back to Earth with back-to-back shaky performances. The nasty Ole Miss D got the credit last weekend, but what’s the excuse for being shut down by Arkansas? ‘Bama could only manage 10 first downs on Saturday, while never getting the running game out of the blocks.

Team of the Weak: Missouri 
With an opportunity staring it in the face, Mizzou was awful for the second time in the last three weeks. The Tigers, which lost to lowly Indiana on Sept. 20, got waxed by a Georgia team that was distracted and playing without its best player, RB Todd Gurley. While there’s no shame in losing to the Dawgs, Mizzou failed to score or convert a third down in a 34-0 implosion. 

UCLA 
It’s official. Just about everyone overrated the Bruins this past offseason. The bottom is beginning to fall out for UCLA, which has dropped two straight in Pasadena, including an embarrassing performance versus Oregon this past Saturday. The Ducks were vulnerable, but they were never challenged, building a 42-10 bulge before shifting into the prevent D. UCLA is just not a very well-coached team right now, and it hasn’t been since the opener. There’s time, but the Bruins must do an about-face to remain in the Pac-12 South race.