The Morning After...

1) Sometimes, you have to learn to get out of your own way. The Clemson coaching staff was trying to get some valuable playing time for a younger player and add another dynamic to an already uber-dynamic offense. But lesson learned. With a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter, co-offensive coordinators Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott elected to run the "Wildcat" with freshman quarterback Kelly Bryant. Bryant fumbled, Syracuse recovered, scored on the next play, and the belief meter shot through the Carrier Dome roof. Next time, let's wait until the game is in the third or fourth quarter to get our younger players the experience they need.

2) With that said, Clemson took a shot from a hungry bunch. Syracuse had lost six straight games - now seven - but the record isn't indicative of the team the Orange have. 'Cuse struggles on the road, but in the Dome, the Orange are dangerous. Clemson and LSU have the two largest wins as opponents, both by 10 points. Survive and advance is the name of the game for the Tigers who need to win three more games to assure themselves a spot in the College Football Playoff. Never thought I'd be typing those words in 2015...

3) What else can you say about Deshaun Watson? The guy is ridiculously good. He finished another game with over 400 yards of offense - 360 passing, 105 rushing - adding three touchdowns. He orchestrated Clemson's offense to its sixth straight game of over 500 yards, a first time in school history. And every time he took the field with Syracuse looking to swipe momentum, he showed poise and moxie to move the Tigers down the field. The kid is legit. To steal a line from the ESPN broadcast, "He, alone, is worth the price of admission."

4) Statistically speaking: Clemson is 10-0 for the first time since 1981, the season of the Tigers' first and only national championship ... The 10 wins marks the fifth straight season Clemson has won that many games. Clemson became just the 15th program in NCAA history to do that ... Clemson is 7-0 in the ACC and has never been 8-0 ... Clemson has 699 wins in its history and can claim No. 700 against Wake Forest Saturday, which happens to be game No. 1200 for the Tigers ... CU has won 27 ACC games in the last four years, a school-best ... 13 straight wins dating to last year and 37 straight wins over unranked teams in the AP Poll ... Watson is 14-1 as Clemson's starting QB.

5) Is Big Game Bob back? I don't know if I'd go that far, but Big Game Baker most certainly is. Baker Mayfield continues to prove every doubter wrong. He had to walk on a Texas Tech, starred as a freshman for the Red Raiders, and was let go by Kliff Kingsbury who decided he wanted to go in another direction. Mayfield showed up on Oklahoma's campus unannounced, walked on with the Sooners, and has now taken the reigns of the Sooner Schooner. What a win for the Sooners to waltz into McLane Stadium where Baylor was undefeated in its brief tenure in its sparkling new home. Mayfield's passion bleeds through his crimson and cream uniform and finds itself spreading on the Sooner sideline. Add in the fact that Oklahoma is, you know, extremely talented and the equation results in a scary thought ... No one wants to play this Oklahoma team. OU has won five straight games, outscoring its opponents 276-84. If they can find themselves in the College Football Playoff, watch out.

6) Farewell, Pac-12. We hardly knew ye. With two regular season weeks still to play, the conference is finished. Stanford was the best hope for a Playoff spot and everyone pointed to the Cardinal's season finale with Notre Dame and the Pac-12 Championship Game as the de facto play-in games. Oregon went to Palo Alto and said, "Remember us?" and knocked off Stanford 38-36. That left Utah as the final one-loss team from Pac-12. But the Utes dropped a two-overtime thriller at Arizona. With several unbeatens and many more one-loss teams, you can assuredly leave the Pac-12 out of the Playoff this season.

7) That's good news for the Big 12, whose fate now rests in the state of Oklahoma's hands. The aforementioned Sooners are surging toward what looks to be another Bedlam classic. Oklahoma State used another 17-point comeback to take down upset-minded Iowa State, 35-31. The Cowboys are the Big 12's last unbeaten and still have Baylor and OU in the final two weeks. Should OU beat TCU and OSU beat Baylor this coming weekend, all eyes in the college football world will turn to America's heartland Nov. 28.

8) Alabama may have had the most impressive win of the weekend by going into Mississippi State and out-classing the Bulldogs. The Tide's 31-6 win over the No. 17 team will likely solidify their spot in the Top 4. However, that impressive win over LSU took a hit as Arkansas went to Baton Rouge and upset the Tigers. The Hogs wasted little time in asserting their dominance with a 31-14 win to keep the Golden Boot trophy. Still, Bama seems to be on track to claim a Playoff spot. Personally, I don't have them in my Top 4, but we know the Committee can't keep Nick Saban out.

9) We are down to five unbeaten teams with Baylor's loss. There are four Power 5 teams - Clemson, Ohio State, Iowa and Oklahoma State. And then there's Houston. The Cougars looked dead in the water at home, trailing 34-14 to Memphis after the first play of the fourth quarter. Houston's star quarterback Greg Ward Jr. went down in the first half with an injury and backup Kyle Postma was thrust into the fire. He led a furious comeback and a Memphis field goal sailed wide right with under 30 seconds to play, securing a 35-34 Houston win. It was the first big game for Houston and the Cougs' first chance to impress the Playoff Committee. Mission accomplished. Houston now is the frontrunner for the Group of 5 spot for a New Year's Six Bowl, especially following Temple's flop against South Florida. The Owls impressed everyone two weeks ago with a hard-fought loss to Notre Dame, but fell 44-23 to a mediocre USF team.

10) Senior Day has arrived in Death Valley and this senior class tops the last one as the winningest in Clemson history. Let's send them out in style. Beat Wake Forest.

-BtW