... Who's Not (Nov. 28) - The ACC, FSU & more

Richard Cirminiello spotlights who the fizzling players and programs are in the Week 13 Who's Not.

Who's Hot & Not - Week 13

Nov. 28 Games 

Past Hot and Not: 2007 Hot & Not | 2008 Not & Not

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By Richard Cirminiello

- ... and Who's Hot? (Week 13)

Who’s Not …

10. Marshall
If the Herd fails to make it into the postseason for the first time since 2004, it has no one to blame but itself. In dire need of a seventh win to spruce up the resume, Marshall lost three of the last four games, capped by a 52-21 rout in El Paso. With so much riding on the outcome, it allowed UTEP to rack up 589 yards, including a wicked five-touchdown performance out of inconsistent QB Trevor Vittatoe.

9. Colorado Coach Dan Hawkins
Yeah, he’ll be back in Boulder again in 2010, but considering the track record, should anyone be excited about that development? In four seasons, the Hawk is 16-33, failing to even approach the success he enjoyed at Boise State. While competitive in November, the Buffs still dropped all three of their games to Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and Nebraska by no more than eight points.

8. Louisville
What a debacle. The same program that won championships when Bobby Petrino was on the sidelines has been driven into a ditch by Steve Kragthorpe, with this year’s 4-8 mark being an exclamation point. Now that Kragthorpe has been canned, AD Tom Jurich needs to go big-game hunting by landing a successor with a proven track record as a head coach at this level. The Cards are the right hire away from being right back in the mix for Big East supremacy.

7. The Nebraska passing game
The Husker defense can play with Texas in this week’s Big 12 Championship game. The offense? Not so much. The passing attack, in particular, has been impotent, especially over the second half of the year. Highlighted by a mealy effort against Colorado on Friday, Nebraska quarterbacks Zac Lee and Cody Green have now produced just four touchdown passes and six interceptions over the last half-dozen games.

6. Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead
The tools are clearly there for the junior to be a star, but the results haven’t been in 2009. In somewhat of a microcosm for his season, Snead offset his three touchdowns with three interceptions in an awful Egg Bowl loss to Mississippi State. For the season, he’s now been picked off 17 times, tying Miami’s Jacory Harris as the most generous hurler in the country.

5. Oklahoma State QB Zac Robinson
From the shoulder bruise that kept him out of last week’s Colorado game to Saturday’s shutout loss in Bedlam, it’s been a rough final stretch run for Robinson. Since torching Baylor on Oct. 24, he’s cooled considerably, producing just three total touchdowns and failing to perform like the dual-threat triggerman that Mike Gundy requires to run this Cowboy offense.

4. The Georgia Tech Defense
As soon as a physical SEC offense arrived on the Flats, the Yellow Jackets caved like a flimsy poker table. From the opening kickoff, Tech got abused by at the point of attack by rival Georgia, showing all of its defensive warts and allowing a season-high 339 yards on the ground. This unit has been flirting with danger all season, but didn’t really get exposed until a quality opponent whacked it in the chops.

3. The Heisman Hopes of Mark Ingram and C.J. Spiller
Two of the most prominent backs in the country, neither figures to win the Heisman following last weekend’s bouts with mediocrity. Ingram managed just a season-low 30 yards on 16 carries, giving way to teammate Trent Richardson in Bama’s comeback win over Auburn. And Spiller, despite taking the opening kickoff all the way back for a fourth time in 2009, rushed for just 18 yards on nine carries.

2. Florida State
It’s not as if anyone was surprised that the ‘Noles got smoked in the Swamp, 37-10. And isn’t that at the heart of the problem? No one is shocked any longer at the depths Florida State can reach. Now standing at 6-6, with no end to the mediocrity in sight, the Seminoles wrapped up the regular season by going 2-6 against teams over .500. With a third six-loss season in the last four years already in the vault, Florida State can slip below sea level for the first time since 1976 with a bowl loss.

1. The ACC
With an opportunity to make some national noise and shed some unflattering tags, the Atlantic Coast Conference wet itself in the face of more physical SEC rivals. Not only did Florida State get predictably ambushed by Florida, but Georgia Tech and Clemson, the league’s title game reps, failed to measure up versus 6-5 Georgia and South Carolina, respectively. Even North Carolina, one of the ACC’s five ranked teams entering the weekend, couldn’t carry the torch against 4-7 NC State. The league will need to rebound in the postseason in order to spruce up its tarnished image.

- ... and Who's Hot? (Week 13)