I tell ya' Herbie

I tell ya' Herbie returns with our weekly look at the college football world starts with a win that I didn't see coming and a look back with what proved to be a prescient thought.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                           I'll admit to being very surprised with Minnesota's victory over Penn State last week and I'll be even more surprised if P.J. Fleck's Gophers can survive Saturday's trip to Kinnick Stadium in what looks to be a trap game immediately after what could eventually be looked at as a program-defining win over the Nittany Lions.
However, you have to give P.J. Fleck credit for what he has been able to build at Minnesota.
How many times in the past under Glen Mason would Minnesota start 5-0 after rolling over three non-conference weak sisters and then eat a few bottom-dwellers before melting like a Kit Kat left in the car in their first test against a conference heavyweight?
Answer: Every Time.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          I saw this coming with P.J. Fleck dating all the way back to 2015 and I'm not talking about the ability to turn programs around.
In 2015, Fleck brought the Western Michigan Broncos to the Horseshoe in Columbus and I didn't know much about him as a coach, although I did remember that he had spent one season with Ohio State under Jim Tressel as a graduate assistant.
Fleck spent the game running up and down the sideline like a nut, screaming non-stop and I remember telling Ryan- "if this guy ever gets a Big Ten job, he's going to be very annoying'.
SHAZAM!!!

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          I know Iowa State's two-point attempt was stopped by Oklahoma with 24 seconds to go as the Cyclones played for the win on the road rather than kick an extra point to go to overtime, but I still love the mentality in going for the win by Matt Campbell's Cyclones.
In my mind, if you have a lesser team and especially if you are on the road, you go for the win in these situations.
The longer the game goes, the more likely that the more talented team will be able to win.
Unless the coach in question really blows the actual play call, I wouldn't criticize the coach that goes for the win,
Campbell's name continues to be a name in play after the job that he is doing in Ames with Iowa State with his name mentioned as a candidate at the two jobs already open for 2020 (Florida State and Arkansas) and as a dark horse at the biggest of them all at USC, should that position come open.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          I wrote a post on the mess at Arkansas with their firing of Chad Morris and the corner that the Razorbacks have put themselves in with their run of recent bad hires over the last ten years.
I intended to write a small blurb for " I tell ya' Herbie", but there were so many things to discuss on the Hogs that as I was writing the post that it easily grew into its own post.
I haven't heard anything about a leading candidate other than the possibility of Auburn's Gus Malzahn, but the surprising news that I have read is that so many fans want Bobby Petrino to return.
Petrino did lead the Razorbacks to their last strong seasons but considering Petrino's exit from Arkansas (fired for deceiving the school on finances that involved paying a far younger mistress in the athletic department) and Petrino's final year at Louisville (2-8 last season), I'd be surprised if Petrino would actually be given consideration.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          The Pac 12 is getting their fair share of publicity for potentially grabbing a playoff spot for their champion (assuming that it's the one-loss survivor of an Oregon-Utah title game) and that's a fair point, but what I find odd is the conference as a whole.
Entering today, other than Oregon and Utah, the remaining ten teams in the league have records no better than 6-4 (Washington and USC), no worse than 4-6 (Colorado) and the remaining seven teams are either 5-4 or 4-5.
On one hand, that is a remarkably balanced league that can arguably see any team beat any other, including Utah, who lost to USC in their only loss, but on the other hand, it could be looked at as a league filled with a bunch of mediocre teams that can play a large number of competitive games, but with few standouts.
For the Pac 12 to thrive and begin to attract more notice for their quality of play, one or two more schools are going to have to jump up to a higher level,