Snap Judgments (cont.)

November pain

Is South Carolina swooning again in November? Following a humiliating 41-20 home loss to Arkansas on Saturday, the Gamecocks are 3-8 in the 11th month since 2007.

On Saturday, South Carolina let Knile Davis run for three touchdowns and let Ryan Mallett throw for 303 yards. Meanwhile, South Carolina's Stephen Garcia threw a pair of interceptions.

"We didn't have much tonight," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. "The way we played, you wonder how we won six games already this year."

That's no way to warm up for the program's most important game since the 9-0 Gamecocks traveled to Navy in 1984. (We won't remind cursed South Carolina fans how that turned out.) Next week in Gainesville, the Gamecocks will face Florida with the SEC East title on the line. South Carolina probably has the more talented team, but Florida has won two in a row and looked like a different team Saturday -- especially after the Gators discovered that their third-string quarterback (Jordan Reed) might be their best quarterback in a 55-14 win at Vanderbilt.

These results, of course, could be entirely misleading. Vanderbilt is bad, and South Carolina might have been sandbagging in a game that, mathematically, couldn't affect the Gamecocks' quest for the Est title. Still, South Carolina embarrassed itself, and that's no way to prepare to play for a championship -- even one as diluted as the 2010 SEC east title.

Michigan's going bowling

Raise your hand if, like me, you saw that Michigan and Illinois were headed for overtime and assumed the game would end in the 14th extra period when one of the quarterbacks fumbled a snap on a two-point conversion.

Michigan only needed three overtimes to dispatch the Illini, 67-65, after Illinois failed to convert on a mandatory two-point conversion try (RECAP | BOX).

The win probably helps the long-term employment prospects of Wolverines' coach Rich Rodriguez. As viewers, we shouldn't complain about this. These games probably drive Michigan fans crazy, but they're thoroughly entertaining for those of us with no rooting interest.

Michigan's offense isn't just capable. It's quite good. Unfortunately, the defense acts as if it was coached to pull flags instead of tackle. The only saving grace is that the offense is so strong, it makes opposing defenses play the same way.

Michigan's defensive struggles aren't surprising. The Wolverines are painfully young and are playing their fourth system in four seasons. But the pertinent question is: Why did Rodriguez wait until this season to install the 3-3-5? He had success with that defense at West Virginia. So why, when he was searching for a defensive coordinator before the 2009 season, did Rodriguez hire Greg Robinson instead of a coach who ran a 3-3-5? Robinson's lack of familiarity with the defense has provided yet another layer of excuses, but at the end of Year 3 of the Rodriguez era, it's too late for excuses.

Still, the Wolverines are headed to a bowl game after the season, and they have a winnable game next week at Purdue before a season-ending gauntlet of Wisconsin and at Ohio State. This win, coupled with the favorable news from the NCAA this week, certainly puts Rodriguez on more solid footing.

So unless Rodriguez's defensive staff finds a way to make a serious upgrade, we can probably pencil in the Wolverines for at least one more season of thrilling shootouts.

Staying alive in Stillwater

The readers of my Power Rankings got a kick out of an e-mail I published from a Baylor fan on Tuesday chiding me for being late to jump on the Bears' bandwagon. Before Baylor beat Texas last week, Richard in Spring, Texas, wrote this: "Baylor is ranked No. 25 in the BCS, but not even in your top 30? You're a fraud, and so are your power rankings. I'm glad Jesus loves you, because everybody else thinks you're a jerk."

Maybe I should have stuck to my guns for another week. I ranked Baylor No. 22 this week, and the Bears responded by getting creamed, 55-28, by Oklahoma State in Stillwater (RECAP | BOX). Cowboys receiver Justin Blackmon returned from his one-game suspension following an arrest on a DUI charge and torched the Bears with 13 catches, 173 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Blackmon also scored on a 69-yard run on an end-around to start the second half.

Now I might have to eat some crow after my pronouncement two weeks ago that Oklahoma State didn't have the defense to compete for a Big 12 title. The Cowboys can go 1-1 against Texas and Kansas -- they'll be favored against both -- and then play Bedlam against Oklahoma in Stillwater for the Big 12 South championship.

And with a dynamic offense that can run and throw effectively, it might be hard to pick against Oklahoma State in that game.

Wolfpack come out flat

The upset that blinked like a neon sign on the schedule this week was NC State at Clemson. The Wolfpack, coming off an emotional win on a Thursday against Florida State, traveled to Clemson, where the Tigers were in desperation mode after getting upset at Boston College.

The only surprise Saturday was that it took so long for Clemson to take the lead in a 14-13 win (RECAP | BOX).

Playing without leading rusher Andre Ellington, Clemson scored on a three-yard Jamie Harper run with 6:18 remaining to take the lead. NC State's offense, so dangerous nine days earlier against Florida State, failed to move the ball on two possessions after Clemson's go-ahead score.

The proof's in the pudding

The Seminoles enjoyed their time at the top for less than three hours. Florida State lost, 37-35, to North Carolina, to leave a three-way tie in the loss column between FSU, N.C. State and Maryland.

And people wonder why we're always saying the ACC is mediocre.