Player of the Week

Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor

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Colorado coach Gary Barnett said it best: "I didn't see this coming." Who did? After struggling all season, Nebraska's West Coast offense -- ranked 95th out of 117 teams nationally in yards produced -- exploded against the heavily favored Buffs, with Taylor doing most of the damage. The junior-college transfer completed 27 of 43 passes for 392 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 30-3 demolition that left Colorado fans so frustrated in the fourth quarter that two entire sections of students had to be removed for showering the field with water bottles and other debris.

Ironically, it was another rout in Boulder -- a 62-36 loss to Colorado four years ago -- that began the Huskers' descent into mediocrity. (Nebraska, 12-0 at the time, proceeded to get trounced by Miami in the Rose Bowl, go 7-7 the next year, and a year later, head coach Frank Solich was fired.) After Bill Callahan's disastrous 5-6 debut season and a follow-up campaign that at times didn't look much better, Big Red faithful can't help but wonder whether Friday's performance -- which lifted the Huskers to 7-4 and likely upgraded their bowl destination -- was a long-awaited sign of better days ahead.

Team of the Week

Nevada

There was many a raised eyebrow in the coaching profession two years ago when then-Nevada AD Chris Ault, himself a former Hall of Fame coach at the school, fired respected coach Chris Tormey, whose record had improved during each of his four seasons, and replaced him with ... himself. Sure, Ault had won seven conference championships in 19 seasons, but those were either in the I-AA Big Sky or the Big West. This was the WAC, and Ault hadn't coached since 1995. Surely he was delusional.

Apparently, the athletic director had an eye for coaching ability. In his second season at the helm, Ault's Wolf Pack (8-3, 7-1 WAC) earned a share of his eighth league championship Saturday night with a 38-35 upset of No. 16 Fresno State -- the same Fresno State team that gave No. 1 USC all it could handle a week earlier. Running back Robert Hubbard carried 16 times for 146 yards and three touchdowns, and, in one of the most selfless acts you'll ever see, intentionally stopped a yard short of a fourth score in the final seconds so Nevada could run the clock out. Afterward, Ault called the game, "one of the greatest efforts by a team that I have ever been associated with," which is saying something, considering he has coached in 252 games.

The Inaugural 'How Not to Endear Yourself to the Locals' Award

Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron

The USC import completed a less-than-spectacular debut season Saturday (3-8, 1-7 SEC) with a 35-14 Egg Bowl loss to previously winless-in-the-SEC rival Mississippi State, giving the Rebels their worst finish since 1987. As if that wasn't enough, the Jackson Clarion Ledger revealed Saturday morning that Orgeron was the previously unnamed SEC coach who looked into poaching players from Tulane's Hurricane Katrina-stricken program, specifically quarterback Lester Ricard.

In a letter to Green Wave head coach Chris Scelfo, obtained by the paper, Tulane assistant Greg Davis Jr. recounted an Oct. 19 phone conversation with Orgeron and linebackers coach Shawn Slocum in which Orgeron, after some initial pleasantries, reportedly said, "The real reason I am calling is because I got a call from somebody that said your program is going to be dropped and we want to get on your kids as early as possible, like recruiting." According to the letter, Orgeron also said he "really needed some players at Ole Miss" and asked, "Don't you have a great QB [Ricard]?" It was a detestable act considering Tulane's circumstances, but there is one thing we agree with Orgeron on: He really needs some players.

The Inaugural "Are We Boring You?" Award

ABC's Keith Jackson

It pains me to disparage one of the game's all-time legends, but it truly is painful listening to the 77-year-old call a game these days, mostly because he takes the fun out of even the most exciting contest. Saturday night's Notre Dame-Stanford game was a back-and-forth thriller, but the tone in Jackson's voice was barely different on the Cardinal's two long touchdown passes in the first half than it was for a punt attempt. He got a little more into it during the frantic final minutes, when Stanford drove for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:46 left and the Irish answered less than a minute later, but he had a hard time keeping up with the action. Jackson's style has never been overly animated, so it's not like we're looking for a Mike Trico/Gary Thorne-style screamfest, but it would at least be nice if it didn't sound like someone was making him watch the game against his will.