WINNER: Florida State. The Seminoles’ football national-title hopes were improved dramatically when #3 Oregon lost at #5 Stanford on Thursday. Oregon was the team best poised to leapfrog fsu into the #2 position in the bcs down the stretch.
LOSER: Florida State. Miami had its arse handed to it by unranked Virginia Tech. Florida was thumped by Vanderbilt at home. Now fsu doesn’t get a game against a team with a winning record until the ACC Championship Game, and it doesn’t get a one-loss, Top 10 Miami. It could end up facing, get this, Duke. (Or Georgia Tech. Or Miami. Or Virginia Tech.) If there’s any chance Ohio State or Baylor can catch and pass Florida State, hey, the door is wide open.)
WINNER: Logan Thomas. You gotta feel for the guy. Thomas looked like a first-round pick after his sophomore season two years ago, but regressed last year and took yet another step back as a senior as the talent around him at wide receiver and tight end (and significantly, the O-line) deteriorated. And then look at what Thomas was able to do down in Miami: 408 total yards, two TDs, and most importantly, no turnovers. The kid has talent, and while he’s not a first-rounder next April, he’s going to go somewhere in the fourth or fifth round, and have a chance to play on Sundays at some point in the near future.
LOSER: Mickey Matthews. That 2004 national title and 2010 win at Virginia Tech seem forever and a day ago. Saturday’s loss at new hampshire all but eliminates JMU from FCS playoff contention. Is Matthews’ seat starting to get at least warm?
WINNER: Mike London. As of this writing, around midnight Saturday, London still has a job. Maybe that makes him a loser; he’s due another $8 million or so whether UVa. has him leading its football program or not. Most of us in his place would take the money and run, though some would argue that London is already doing that given the putrid results for his four years of work to date.