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The last Saturday of October started with nine unbeaten teams.Four went down and five remain, four of which -- Alabama, Clemson, Michigan and Washington -- are the leaders in a Power 5 conference.Sounds kind of perfect for a playoff ranking, right? It might start that way when the College Football Playoff selection committee unveils its initial poll on Tuesday night (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET).But we know the rankings probably wont end up that way, at least not when the four teams are selected for the playoff on Dec. 4. Theres too much football left to play. Whats going to be interesting to learn Tuesday night is how the one- and two-loss teams stack up behind the top four.No. 3 Clemson saved the selection committee an early headache by coming from behind to beat No. 12 Florida State 37-34 on the road. But we start in the Big 12, where the biggest damage was done in Week 9.Did Texas and Oklahoma State bury the Big 12s playoff hopes?Every Big 12 team has at least one loss after the beleaguered leagues last two undefeated teams fell on the road Saturday. Texas stunned No. 8 Baylor 35-34, and No. 10 West Virginia fell 37-20 at Oklahoma State.Tonight was our night, Longhorns coach Charlie Strong said.It wasnt a great night for the Big 12, though. After embarrassing itself with its latest failed attempt at expansion, the Big 12 looks like the first Power 5 league to be play itself out of contention for one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff.The Bears and Mountaineers were probably fringe playoff contenders to begin with. The Bears started 6-0 under interim coach Jim Grobe, but theyve defeated only one team with a winning record and three of the five FBS opponents they beat are 1-7. Because of its weak nonconference schedule, Baylors playoff chances were probably remote at best.Plus, whether the selection committee would admit it or not, Baylors ongoing fallout from its ugly sexual assault scandal would have left the committee in an unenviable position. The Bears had absolutely no margin for error and had to finish unbeaten to have a chance to make the playoff. They still have road games left at West Virginia and No. 16 Oklahoma, so theres a good chance theyll lose again.Like Baylor, West Virginia doesnt have a victory over a ranked opponent and its nonconference schedule (wins over Missouri, FCS foe Youngstown State and BYU) wasnt going to carry much weight with the selection committee.Dont sleep on No. 16 Oklahoma, however. The Sooners might be the only glimmer of hope in the Big 12. After two early losses in nonconference play to Houston and Ohio State, theyve won five league games in a row and will face Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma State in their final three regular-season games. Oklahoma was ranked No. 15 in the initial playoff rankings last season after an early loss to Texas, only to play its way into the top four by seasons end.?Dont be surprised to see the Sooners check in higher than that on Tuesday night.Can Strong save his job again?When LSU transfer Trent Domingue made a 39-yard field goal in the final minute to upset the Bears, Texas avoided a 3-5 start for the third straight season under Strong.If the Longhorns can win three out of their last four regular-season games to finish 7-5, would it be enough to save Strongs job? After the Longhorns dropped four of five games before beating Baylor, many Texas fans wondered when Strong was going to let Houston coach Tom Herman start redecorating his new office.Only the next four weeks will tell us if Texas has finally turned a corner and whether Strongs work is paying off. If the Longhorns lose at Texas Tech next week, their upset of Baylor probably wont mean much of anything.Texas fans want to see more consistency; this is the same team that lost 24-21 at Kansas State last week. UT still plays West Virginia at home, followed by a road game at Kansas and home finale against TCU. Theres an opportunity for a strong finish.Strong didnt hold much back Saturday night when he was asked about the speculation concerning his job. In fact, he called the rumors an embarrassment to everyone.I know this: I have a really good team, Strong said. I have a special team.Will Western Michigan row its boat to a New Years Six bowl game?The No. 20 Broncos didnt even play this weekend, but they might have been one of Saturdays biggest winners.After No. 13 Boise State lost at Wyoming 30-28 -- the Cowboys scored the winning points on a sack and fumble for a safety with only 1:25 left -- Western Michigan is the lone remaining unbeaten team from a Group of 5 conference. The Broncos will be heavy favorites in their next three games before closing the regular season against Toledo on Nov. 25.The Broncos should be the highest-ranked Group of 5 team when the CFP selection committee releases its initial rankings Tuesday night. Houston, which was the Group of 5 representative last season, was No. 25 on the first ballot.Speaking of the Cougars, they narrowly avoided a third loss to an unranked opponent, before rallying from a 21-point deficit to beat UCF 31-24 at home. Thanks to No. 22 Navys 52-45 loss at USF on Friday night, the Cougars are right back in the race for the AAC West title.Houston remains one game behind Navy and Tulsa in the loss column of the AAC West standings, so it will have to hope those teams lose again.Should Georgia and Ole Miss be worried about making bowls?Heres some ammunition for anyone who dislikes preseason polls: Ole Miss was ranked No. 11 in the preseason, Michigan State was No. 12 and Georgia was No. 18 (and then climbed to No. 9 after its opening win over North Carolina). All three teams might be in danger of missing a bowl game if they dont turn things around and finish strong.The Spartans are 2-6 (0-5 Big Ten) after falling to Michigan at home, and theyll have to win their last four games to finish 6-6. Thats probably not going to happen, as they finish the season with a home game against No. 6 Ohio State and a road game at No. 24 Penn State.Ole Miss fell to 3-5 (1-4 SEC) after losing its third game in a row, 40-29 to red-hot Auburn. Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly passed for a school-record 465 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, but the Ole Miss defense surrendered 554 yards, including 236 rushing by Auburns Kamryn Pettway.Ole Miss hosts Georgia Southern next week, and then plays consecutive road games at No. 9 Texas A&M and Vanderbilt before hosting rival Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl -- the Rebels and Bulldogs each might need to win that rivalry game to make a bowl.Georgia fell to 4-4 (2-4 SEC) after losing to Florida 24-10 in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs managed only eight first downs and 164 yards of offense, which were their lowest totals in a game in the past 20 years.Its just frustrating. We couldnt really get things going, Georgia tailback Nick Chubb said. I felt like it was always three-and-out, and we werent getting in a rhythm or anything, so it feels pretty bad.The Bulldogs play at surprising Kentucky next week, before closing the regular season with three straight home games against No. 15 Auburn, Louisiana-Lafayette and rival Georgia Tech.Playoff teams after Week 91. Alabama: The top-ranked Crimson Tide had the weekend off to prepare for next weeks SEC West showdown at No. 19 LSU, which is 3-0 under interim coach Ed Orgeron. The Tide have defeated the Tigers five straight times and havent lost in Baton Rouge since a 24-21 loss on Nov. 6, 2010.2. Michigan: The Wolverines defeated rival Michigan State 32-23, their first win in the series since 2012 and their first win in East Lansing since 2007. It was the Spartans sixth straight loss, their longest losing streak since they started 0-7 in 1982 (not counting forfeits from 1994). Michigan hosts Maryland at the Big House next week.3. Clemson: The Tigers moved to 8-0 for the second straight season with a 37-34 win at No. 12 Florida State. It was Clemsons ninth consecutive road win, 22nd straight regular-season victory and 14th ACC win in a row. Clemsons defense battered FSU quarterback Deondre Francois, and eight different Tigers defenders had a tackle for loss.4. Washington: The Huskies were tested in a 31-24 win at No. 17 Utah. Washington entered the weekend as the only FBS team that hadnt trailed in the second half this season, but that ended when the Utes took a 17-14 lead in the third quarter. Washington scored on its next possession and didnt trail again. The Huskies play at Cal next week.Next four in contention1. Louisville: The Cardinals needed a dramatic touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson with 13 seconds left to beat 34-point underdog Virginia on the road. It was the second time in three weeks that the Cardinals struggled to put away a heavy underdog; they beat 35-point underdog Duke 24-14 on Oct. 14. The good news: none of the other one-loss teams are playing exceptionally well.2. Ohio State: The Buckeyes looked pretty mediocre for the second week in a row in a 24-20 win over Northwestern. Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett failed to account for a touchdown (passing or rushing) for the first time in 25 career starts. The Buckeyes host No. 7 Nebraska next week.3. Texas A&M: After playing consecutive games against Tennessee and Alabama, the Aggies got a breather in a 52-10 rout of New Mexico State. Texas A&Ms Christian Kirk returned two punts (70 and 73 yards) for touchdowns against the Aggies, the first time in school history that a player returned two punts for scores in the same game.4. Wisconsin: The Badgers knocked off No. 7 Nebraska 23-17 in overtime at Camp Randall Stadium, their third victory over a top-10 foe this season, a first in the programs history. Wisconsins Dare Ogunbowale scored on an 11-yard run in overtime, and then Wisconsins defense batted away a pass in the end zone to secure the win. The Badgers play at Northwestern next week.Heisman candidates1. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: Jackson had four touchdown passes in Louisvilles 32-25 win at Virginia, including the game winner to Jaylen Smith with 13 seconds left. It was the first time Jackson threw the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter or overtime in his career. He has accounted for 38 touchdowns in eight games, which is three more than Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan had through eight games in 2006, when he set a FBS single-season record with 63.2. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson: Watson wasnt perfect against Florida State, throwing two interceptions, but he made the big plays when it mattered. He threw a 34-yard touchdown to tight end Jordan Leggett with 2:06 left on a busted coverage, and then tossed a two-point pass to Mike Williams to give the Tigers a 37-34 win. Watson completed 27 of 43 passes for 378 yards with two touchdowns.3. Jake Browning, QB, Washington: Browning completed 12 of 20 passes for 186 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against Utah, leading the Huskies to their 11th consecutive win. He has now had multiple touchdown passes in eight straight games, which is tied with Oklahomas Baker Mayfield for the longest active streak in the FBS. Browning also had a pooch punt that was downed at Utahs 1-yard line, which set up the Huskies winning punt return for a touchdown.4. Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State: Pumphrey moved from eighth to fifth in career rushing yards in the FBS after gaining 223 yards in the Aztecs 40-13 win over Utah State on Friday night. With 5,741 career rushing yards, he needs to average 164.3 yards in the final four regular-season games to break former Wisconsin star Ron Daynes FBS career record of 6,397 yards. Pumphreys yardage in the Mountain West Conference championship game and a bowl game would also count toward his total.Best momentsTweets of the nightBest playsWorst playsQuotes of the night1. ?Defensively, what do you say? We wanted to try to make them as one-dimensional as possible, and the dimension we wanted was to try to make them throw the ball. Our gap control in the run game was pretty spot on. -- Florida coach Jim McElwain, after the Gators held Georgia to 21 rushing yards on 19 carries in a 24-10 win.2. We do sack the quarterback at Notre Dame, for those of you who dont think that happens. -- Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly, after the Irish had five sacks in a 30-27 win over Miami.3. Theyve kind of created a monster here, and the only way to feed it is to win big games like we did today. And thats just the way its going to be from this point on. -- Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, after the Pokes knocked off unbeaten West Virginia, 37-20. It was the third time since 2013 that OSU had defeated a team with a 6-0 record or better; only Alabama (four) has more such victories in that span.4. I think its one of the biggest, if not the biggest, wins in our programs history. We had our backs to wall. -- Houston coach Tom Herman, after the Cougars rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat UCF 31-24.Stats that matter1. 72: Michigan star Jabrill Peppers played 72 snaps on offense or defense and lined up at seven positions against Michigan State. Peppers was on the field for 64 of the Wolverines 70 defensive plays and played eight snaps on offense, running or catching the ball six times.2. 62: A week after stunning Ohio State, No. 24 Penn State crushed Purdue 62-24, the Nittany Lions most points in a Big Ten game since scoring 63 against Illinois in 2005. Penn State tailback Saquon Barkley had 207 rushing yards, his second 200-yard game this season.3. 12: Boston College ended a 12-game losing streak in ACC games by knocking off NC State 21-14 on the road. It was the Eagles first ACC victory since beating Syracuse 28-7 on Nov. 29, 2014. BC went 0-8 in conference games last season and lost its first four games this year.4. 2:?Kentucky had two 180-yard rushers in the same game for the first time, and it was only the second occurrence by any team in the SEC in the last 20 years. Benny Snell Jr. ran for 192 yards with two touchdowns, and Stanley Williams had 182 yards with one score in the Wildcats 35-21 win at Missouri. Wenyen Gabriel Jersey . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Doug Christie Jersey . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. https://www.cheapkingsbasketball.com/1442b-nemanja-bjelica-jersey-kings.html . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Brian Taylor Jersey . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Mitch Richmond Jersey . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. CLEVELAND -- Once again, the Cavaliers are facing a major summer "decision." The last one was hard to accept. This one is difficult to make. And while it doesnt quite stack up with LeBron James infamous announcement that he was bolting from home three years ago and leaving Cleveland heartbroken and short of a title, the Cavs are faced with the challenge of picking another top-flight player to get them back to respectability. For the second time in three years and third time over the past decade, the Cavaliers hold the No. 1 overall draft pick. This year, its both a blessing and burden. With no player emerging as the consensus first choice, the Cavs, who also own the No. 19 pick and two second-round selections (Nos. 31 and 33) have spent the past month doing their due diligence by meeting with players, assessing their needs and weighing their many options. Theyve discussed several trades to rid themselves of the top pick, move down and acquire veterans for one of the leagues youngest teams. The Cavs have kept things close to the vest during the weeks leading into the draft. General manager Chris Grant has not spoken publicly to the media since firing coach Byron Scott after last season, and the Cavs did not open their pre-draft workouts to reporters. As of Tuesday night, Grant and his staff were still working on their draft board and its possible they could go into Thursday with their plan still evolving. Last weekend, owner Dan Gilbert, who made it clear after winning the lottery that he expects his team back in the playoffs next year, even went on Twitter to solicit some feedback. "Ok (at)cavs fans, its Chris Grants call but who do you like .1 & why?" Gilbert posted. "One of the toughest calls in NBA draft history. Lets hear your view." It was so much easier two years ago, when the Cavs took point guard Kyrie Irving, who despite some injury issues -- hes missed 38 games in two seasons -- has developed into an All-Star and is one of the leagues rising stars. That same year, Cleveland used the No. 4 pick on forward Tristan Thompson and then selected shooting guard Dion Waiters fourth overall last year. Both Thompson and Waiters proved to be solid picks, and along with Irving, form the foundation for the Cavs to build upon. Picking the next piece isnt such a given. The Cavs dont view any of the top candidates as immediate game-changers. In fact, they arent certain their top pick will crack the starting lineup as a rookie. Kentucky centre Nerlens Noel, Maryland centre Alex Len, Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore, Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr., UNLV power forward Anthony Bennett and Indiana guard Victor Oladipo are all in tthe mix and under consideration by the Cavs, who went 24-58 last season, finished 25 1-2 games out of first place and havent sniffed the post-season since James left.dddddddddddd All six of the top players have their plusses and minuses, and barring a trade, the Cavs will eventually have to settle on one of them. "The Cavs have to take the attitude of, Lets find out what these guys do well instead of obsessing over what they cant do," ESPN draft expert Chad Ford said. "Because if you do that, you disqualify every player in the draft, especially this year." Under normal circumstances, the 6-foot-11 Noel would be a slam-dunk selection. However, the Kentucky defensive standout is still recovering from a torn knee ligament sustained during his freshman season and probably wont be available to play until January. Noel visited the Cavs last week, and while the club is intrigued by his shot-blocking skills, theres concern the 206-pounder will get pushed around underneath by bigger, stronger, more seasoned centres. Also, Noel has an extremely limited offensive game and putting him on the floor at the same time with Anderson Varejao and Thompson doesnt make sense. Len, too, has injury issues. Hes recovering from surgery for a stress fracture in his left ankle, which wasnt diagnosed until after the 7-foot-1 centre left Maryland after his sophomore season. Lens statistics -- 11.9 points and 7.8 rebounds -- certainly dont scream No. 1 pick, but theres reason to believe hes only scratched the surface of his potential. The Ukranian has been compared to former Cavs centre Zydrunas Ilguaskas, who overcame serious foot problems to have a solid career and now works in Clevelands front office. McLemores stock took a hit recent amid reports Kansas officials are reviewing allegations that his former AAU coach received $10,000 to steer him to agent Rodney Blackstock. While that may raise questions about McLemores character, the Cavs like that he made 42 per cent of his 3-pointers and could see him in lineups alongside Irving and Waiters. There hasnt been a true shooting guard taken first since 1975, when Atlanta selected David Thompson, who decided to play in the ABA before coming over to the NBA when the leagues merged. McLemore, whose game has been compared to Ray Allens, knows he has a chance to do something special. "I can make history," the 20-year-old said at the scouting combine. "I could see myself as a superstar at the next level. The hard work pays off. Years before this I probably wouldnt think Id be in this position to take care of my family and take care of myself. Its a dream come true." Its up to the Cavs to make it happen. ' ' '