Greetings, BBN!
This week, there was a clear-cut bottom state: the one that sent half of its head coaches packing over the weekend. The Natural State went 0-2 in games that weren’t even close—especially the one in Fayetteville. The Arkansas Razorbacks got roasted by Notre Dame 56-13 and trailed 42-13 at halftime. That was the last game for coach Sam Pittman, whose run at the helm of the state’s flagship school has ended after five full seasons and five games of this one. The school’s younger brother,
Arkansas State, also turned out a dud, falling 28-16 against UL Monroe. So not a lot to celebrate there. Looking at the states with the best week, though, there were several candidates. Notre Dame stomped Arkansas, and IU edged Iowa in another great week for the Hoosier state, but this week’s award is going to their neighbor to their left, who squeaked past California schools for close wins in dramatic finishes.
The Bottom State: Arkansas
It was a good run for the Hogs under Pittman, but the rest of the league has gotten too far ahead of them, and now they’ll be bacon for everyone’s breakfast the remainder of the season.
The Top State: Illinois
The Lincoln State has three schools: Illinois, Northwestern, and Northern Illinois. Y’know, just looking at those names, you could be tricked into believing they all refer to one university somewhere outside Chicago! But no, they are three different schools. And they all won! Well, the two Big Ten ones did. NIU is not a MAC powerhouse, but what the Illini and the Wildcats did in Big Ten play Saturday was extremely impressive. #21 USC held a 32-31 lead in the final minute, but Illinois got into field goal range, took the clock down to four seconds, and walked off with the ranked win. Northwestern also hosted a Southern California school, the UCLA Bruins, and won 17-14 for their second win of the season. It wasn’t the prettiest considering they were up 17-0 at half, but a win is a win, and those two wins make Illinois the Top State of the week!
