Who's Hot & Who's Not ... Week Eight

A&M games, Ameer Ismail, Notre Dame on 4th, down, KU in close games, Florida State, and more.

Past Hot and Not: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5
Week 6 | Week 7

Who’s Hot …

Texas A&M games
You want fun? Watch Texas A&M. There were blowout wins over Citadel, UL Lafayette, and Louisiana Tech, but the other five games have been heart-stoppers. The Aggies held on with a goal line stand as time ran out to beat Army, lost to Texas Tech on a 37-yard touchdown pass with :26 to play, beat Kansas on a touchdown run with :34 to play, beat Missouri by hanging on to the ball with a big late drive, and beat Oklahoma State in overtime this week as Stephen McGee threw a two-yard touchdown pass with three seconds to play in regulation, Jorvorskie Lane ran for a one-yard score in overtime, and sealed the win when Red Bryant blocked an extra-point attempt after the Cowboys scored on a 15-yard Adarius Bowman touchdown

Western Michigan LB Ameer Ismail
Who's the nation's best player you've never heard of? It might be Ismail, who's the best defensive player in the MAC this year with 60 tackles, two interceptions, 16 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks after tying an NCAA record with seven in the 41-27 win over Ball State this week.

Baylor QB Shawn Bell
Bell is setting record after record in the new passing offense and has been unstoppable over the last few weeks. After throwing for 303 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to Texas, the senior threw for 394 yards and five scores with three in the final 9:22 to beat Kansas 36-35. On the year, he has 2,322 yards completing 63% of his passes with 18 touchdowns with ten interceptions. He's currently tenth in the nation in total offense.

Rutgers RB Ray Rice
Rice is currently second in the nation in rushing behind Garrett Wolfe of Northern Illinois, and is quickly getting in range for the top spot. The sophomore ran for 93 yards in the 34-0 win over Navy, bit ran for 100 yards or more in the other six games highlighted by a 225-yard performance this week in the 20-10 win over Pitt.

Notre Dame on 4th downs
Boise State, Western Michigan, Iowa, and UL Lafayette have better fourth down conversion percentages, but outside of a stuffed Brady Quinn  sneak late in the miracle win over over UCLA, no one comes up with bigger plays on fourth downs than Notre Dame. The Irish have converted 14 of 18 chances, more than anyone but New Mexico and Toledo.

Who’s Not …

Kansas in close games
The Jayhawks were able to beat South Florida 13-7 and got by UL Monroe (more on this team in a minute) 21-19, but they've lost four straight in soul-crushing late fashion, and lost to Toledo in mid-September in two overtimes. They lost to Nebraska in overtime after a big second half comeback, they lost to Texas A&M on a last-second touchdown run, lost to Oklahoma State on a Bobby Reid to Adarius Bowman record setting second half, and this week, lost to Baylor 36-35 after giving up three touchdown passes in the final 9:22. You could argue that KU is roughly six plays away from being 8-0.

UL Monroe in close games
Maybe the program should go back to being the Indians. After beating Alcorn State to start the season, the Warhawks have lost six straight getting outscored 21-0 in the second half by Middle Tennessee in this week's 35-21 loss. Four of the losses have come by a total of 13 points, while this week's game was close up until the final few minutes.

Illinois vs. Penn State
Since the two first played in 1954, Penn State is 12-2 vs. Illinois with the Illini never winning in Happy Valley. The problems for Illinois continued this week with a 26-12 loss thanks to a late Nittany Lions flurry with a sack for a safety and a returned onside kick for a score. Penn State lost in Champaign 33-28 in 2001 to the Sugar Bowl bound Illinois team that went 10-2, and lost 10-8 in 1960.

Florida State
Florida State, the team that has owned the ACC since joining the league in 1992, is currently last in the ACC's Atlantic Division following a 24-19 loss to Boston College. The running game was non-existent against the Eagles gaining only 28 yards, with Seminole running backs gaining 16 if them, while three turnovers proved costly. Closing out with Maryland, Virginia, Wake Forest, Western Michigan and Florida the Noles have to be perfect to avoid a third straight season with four losses or more. The Noles hadn't lost more than two games in a season from 1987 to 2000.

New Mexico State and fumbles
The Aggies have a hard time hanging on to the ball, and it's not because of its running game. After losing two fumbles in the loss to Hawaii, NMSU is now tied with Louisiana Tech for the most fumbles with 13 with the drops usually come when the receivers get popped after the catch. Throw in the 13 interceptions, and only Illinois, Louisiana Tech and Army have turned it over more.