American Athletic Conference

What We Learned From Week 10

Everybody took responsibility this week. Almost nobody took the blame.

Week 10 was the week of the accountability speech.

Ryan Day said it all starts with the staff. Will Hall said it starts with him. Matt Rhule said he’s responsible, then fired his offensive coordinator.

And Deion Sanders said he isn’t worried about Deion Sanders.

Here are the 10 things we learned.

1. Ohio State hasn’t been here since 2011.

The Buckeyes hadn’t dropped two straight regular-season games in 5,467 days.

That ended in Columbus, where Ohio State led Oregon 14-0 and then gave up 38 straight points. The Buckeyes had won 140 straight home games when leading by 14 or more, a streak that went back to Wisconsin in 2001. Now they’re 6-3, with three losses in a season for the first time since Day took over.

“Not someplace we thought we’d be,” Day said.

Last week, Ross Bjork’s problem was Lincoln Riley. This week it’s the standings, where Ohio, the one without the State, has a better record than Ohio State.

2. Friday, we diagnosed Matt Rhule. Saturday, he operated.

Nebraska lost 24-13 at Illinois on Friday night, its fourth straight Big Ten loss after a 5-0 start.

On Saturday, Rhule fired offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. The Huskers have averaged 13.5 points a game during the skid, and in Champaign they turned 426 yards into 13 points. Quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas calls the plays now.

“I am angry,” Rhule said, and he isn’t the only one in Lincoln.

Rutgers is next, then Ohio State and Iowa. If the new play caller can’t find the end zone, the next statement out of Nebraska won’t come from Rhule.

3. Coach Prime needed three “reallys.”

Colorado lost 20-10 at Arizona State and fell to 3-6.

That’s six losses in seven games. The Buffaloes trailed 17-0 at halftime with 103 yards of offense, against a true freshman quarterback. Asked if he’s coaching for his job, Sanders said he’s not here for his job and he’s not built like that: “I’m really, really, really not.”

A man who isn’t worried needs one “really.” Two, tops.

4. Kyle Whittingham left Utah for Michigan. Utah’s doing fine.

Morgan Scalley is 10-0 as Utah’s head coach, counting last year’s bowl game.

The Utes beat BYU 28-20 to go 9-0, and their 14-game win streak is the longest in the country. Scalley is the sixth FBS coach in 40 years to start a career 10-0. Whittingham took a big chunk of Utah’s staff with him, and Scalley built a contender out of what was left.

Meanwhile, Michigan lost 15-6 at home to Michigan State.

The Spartans came in 0-5 in the Big Ten, and Pat Fitzgerald hadn’t won a Big Ten game since 2022. It was the third straight home game Michigan didn’t score in the first half, something that last happened three times in one season in 1979.

The Wolverines are 5-4. That isn’t what Michigan was paying for.

5. Lane Kiffin’s fourth-down math came out to zero.

LSU outgained Alabama by 172 yards and lost 31-13 at home.

The Tigers went 0-for-4 on fourth down, the most tries without a conversion in Kiffin’s career. They made four trips to the red zone and came away with 10 points. Alabama scored the last 21.

Asked what’s keeping his team from making winning plays, Kiffin said, “I don’t know.”

LSU was a preseason title favorite. It’s 6-3, and Texas comes to Baton Rouge next.

6. Mario Cristobal found somebody to blame.

No. 1 Miami lost its unbeaten season 31-24 at Notre Dame, and Cristobal said he was “beyond upset” with the officials.

The play in question was a fourth-down grab in the end zone that would have tied it, ruled incomplete with 3:36 left. Maybe it was close. Miami also trailed 24-3 in the third quarter.

The refs didn’t spot Notre Dame 21 points.

7. Brent Venables gave his offense to a guy who coached high school last year.

Oklahoma fired offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle on Monday and gave the play sheet to tight ends coach Jason Witten.

A year ago, Witten was coaching high school football in Argyle, Texas. Saturday, his offense went into the Swamp, ran a 20-play, 89-yard touchdown drive that ate 12:45, and beat No. 25 Florida 23-7. Florida had won 48 straight home games against teams visiting the Swamp for the first time.

Make it 48 and 1.

On the other sideline, Jon Sumrall’s Gators made the CFP rankings for the first time since 2020 on Tuesday. By Saturday night they were 5-4, with a losing record in the SEC.

8. Tulane’s AD is embarrassed. He should be.

Tulsa beat Tulane 60-10 on homecoming, and led 46-0 before the Green Wave scored.

That night, athletic director David Harris posted a statement saying he was “embarrassed” and calling the loss “alarming.” He also said he’s accountable for Tulane Athletics. On that, we agree.

Last season, we called Will Hall the worst hire of the cycle. Here’s the résumé Harris looked at:

  • 14-30 in four seasons at Southern Miss
  • 10-30 against FBS teams
  • A 1-6 start in three of those four seasons
  • One winning season, a 7-6 year in 2022
  • Fired seven games into 2024, then rehired by Tulane as a position coach

Harris looked at that and called it “a proven track record of success at every level.” Tulane’s own announcement called Southern Miss a “remarkable turnaround.”

Hall inherited a College Football Playoff team. Ten months later, Tulane is 4-5, and the AD is issuing statements on homecoming night about the man he promoted.

Nobody at Tulane should be surprised. The record was right there, and Harris hired it anyway.

Jon Sumrall’s old team and his new team lost by a combined 66 points Saturday.

9. Florida State finally won a road game, six days too late for Mike Norvell.

Interim coach Rick Stockstill won his debut, 31-24 at Boston College.

It was FSU’s first true road win since Nov. 25, 2023, the day the Seminoles finished 13-0. They lost 12 straight road games after that. The Seminoles scored on a fake field goal, and Stockstill, who played quarterback for Bobby Bowden, said he’s got “Coach Bowden blood” in him.

Norvell went 13-0 that year and never won another road game at Florida State.

Nobody flew a banner this time, so nobody had to spell anything.

10. Maryland finally won a Big Ten game, and Purdue fired the same coach twice.

The Terps beat Purdue 34-29 and ended a 13-game Big Ten losing streak.

Interim coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim got carried off the field. Then the Big Ten Network cut to its studio, where Mike Locksley, fired a little over two weeks earlier, was sitting on the set. Twelve of those 13 losses came on his watch, and he called it his “first guaranteed victory.”

That’s the most awkward live shot of the season, and Locksley knew it.

On the other sideline, Barry Odom fired defensive coordinator Kevin Kane.

Purdue already fired Kane once, with Ryan Walters’ staff after 2024. Odom hired him back last December. The Boilermakers are 3-6, they’re allowing 32.3 points a game, and they gave up 27 second-half points to a team that hadn’t won a Big Ten game all season.

Purdue’s next defensive coordinator will be its third in three seasons. Odom faces the media Monday, with Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana left.

Tulane hired a coach Southern Miss fired. Purdue rehired a coordinator Purdue fired. At least Tulane had the sense to get a new address.

Still waiting, Sean.

Does anyone know Sean Mullen? Please pass along that we’re still looking for him.

The bottom line?

Saying the right things is the easy part.

Day said there needs to be accountability for all of it. Rhule said the offense simply isn’t working. None of that shows up in the standings.

The Week 11 Coaches Hot Seat Rankings drop Tuesday. See where all 138 coaches stand.

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