NCAA Week 11: Good Snark, Bad Snark

Halfway through Cutz da Nutz November, College Football Playoff contenders are doing a fair job of sorting themselves out.

But there's still lotsa time for the sirens of messiness and uncertainty to make themselves known.

So, in some arcane way, shape or form, the Selection Committee is gonna go off the hard-stat grid to complete its four-team bracket. And who really knows what goes on in that Dallas boardroom?

Whoa! Who let Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott in there?

Good Snark: Hot Tar ... Who knew Steve Spurrier's signature win this season -- or what there was of it for him -- would come on opening weekend? Of course, it was more about North Carolina slinger Marquise Williams' three red zone interceptions than anything the Ol' Ball Coach conjured up. But since then, the Tar Heels have been serving notice that Clemson won't be skating into the Featured Four.

Could an ACC title game upset put UNC in there instead? Their other three non-cons would put a tear in a Big XII contenders eye, so why not?

Bad Snark: The National Narrative ... Nine conference games, two losses, championship game, and lovely parting gifts? Really?

Good Snark: Bobblicious ... Georgia Southern and Texas State kept the ball in the air so long, there was ample time to discover that it was Tennessee's General Robert Neyland who first said, "When you throw the ball, three things can happen, and two of them are bad."

Bad Snark: November Vanilla ... Ohio State has only played one Big Ten team with a winning record, but that total doubles this weekend when Sparty comes to the Horseshoe. Apparently leaving nothing to chance, Urban Meyer kept most of his offense under wraps against Illinois. Because he could.

Think about that; this late in the season, and the Buckeyes can still get away with using a restrictor plate.

Good Snark: Hawkeye Piercing ... It wasn't the best of days for Iowa's defense, but it's carried Kirk Ferentz's crew all season, allowing only three opponents to score 20 points or more. So the 35 Minnesota laid on them wasn't enough to keep the Hawkeyes from hitting 10-0 for the first time ever.

70,585 fans saw it, and combined with the 42,287 who showed for the undercard, it was quite a day in Iowa City, population 67.862.

Bad Snark: Disco ... Mike Leach is showing up here almost as often as the Wazzu flag makes it on Game Day. But how can his dissertation on Neil Young not receive all the oxygen of publicity that cyberspace can provide?

Rust never sleeps, dudes. Which is something for UCLA to ponder right about now.

Good Snark: Damn the Torpedoes ... The Bruins may have gone all bone frog on Saturday, but Navy's Keenan Reynolds was the real deal for playing the way a SEAL would. It was full speed ahead for a record-breaking 78th time on this play against hapless SMU:

One can only wonder what the dude does for a pre-game meal. Could it be the Sailor's Special?

Bad Snark: Large Leads ... Neil Young's fuzzbox was out in force on Saturday:

• Moribund Arizona State kept its bowl hopes alive by erasing a 17-point second-half deficit to overtake Washington.
• Oklahoma State's Cowboys dodged a serious bullet at Iowa State after being down 17 in the second quarter and remained in the hunt for New Year's Eve.
• And the Houston Cougars rallied from a 20-point hole in the fourth quarter to also remain undefeated.Head coach Tom Herman has a way with backup QBs. Last year, as Ohio State's OC, it was JT Barrett and Cardale Jones. And now, he's answered the less-than-burning question of Who the hell is Kyle Postma?

Snarkalicious: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité ... Maybe the United States Military Academy isn't having the season their brothers-in-arms down in Annapolis are, but they know how to stay on point:

Contrary to the vote-whores' simple-minded pandering, it's a complex world out there with no easy answers. Stay diligent.

But in the world of fun and games, there are better answers than this, or whatever the hell the CFP Committee is doing in that boardroom: