It's an interesting topic, and it's very hard to remove the hindsight factor, but I'm actually higher on Hoover at the beginning of the season than I was with Mendoza at the beginning of the season.

Obviously Mendoza went on to be incredible and the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, but coming from Cal, no one saw that. Hoover was pretty good at TCU and showed flashes of being really good. 

There are five Big Ten teams currently with two losses that are clinging to playoff hopes. Can any of them — including Michigan — run the table and get in to the College Football Playoff?

Here's a look at the remaining schedules for Michigan, Iowa, USC, Washington and Nebraska, with best wins, worst losses and some playoff chase nuggets. 

Indiana is ranked No. 2 in the country, and it's the highest ranking for the football team in school history. It's become the coolest story in the country, the ugly program that's now pushing to win a national championship.

Curt Cignetti and his fresh new $93 million contract extension are the darlings of college football. Even the Washington Post is writing front-page stories about it. Here's the link.