Let’s skip the pleasantries and dive into the chapter in the same way that a kid digs into his halloween candy. The kid didn’t dress up and walk several miles to stranger’s houses for nothing. This chapter isn’t about the weird couple who gives kids apples or floss. It’s about the good stuff.

Ole Miss 27 Auburn 19

The Auburn Tigers are paying Will Muschamp a fortune to turn a mediocre defense into a great one. It appears that he’s just taking a mediocre defense and making it into something even worse. The Rebs dropped 558 yards on the Tigers and didn’t really play that well. Laquon Treadwell had a big game and Ricardo Louis provided some big plays for the Auburn offense. I respect Sean White for playing through a noticeable amount of pain due to a knee injury.

The officials missed a call at the end of the first half that should have given Ole Miss Rebels the ball with an opportunity to kick a field goal at minimum. I was actually shocked the call was botched since the ESPN announcing crew was so sure it was going to be Ole Miss’ ball. I guess it was a bad day for officiating (more on that later) and several other calls were missed. This includes a pretty blatant offensive pass interference from Auburn’s Tony Stevens and holding on both sides.

Auburn’s Carl Lawson was very impressive. He likely hadn’t been able to practice much and was still disruptive. I thought he provided a huge spark for Auburn defensively. I understand the frustrations with Gus, Muschamp, and the season the Tigers have had. Lawson, despite all of those things, played hard and gave Auburn fans something to appreciate over the weekend. Ole Miss is now 7-2 and will take on Arkansas next week. The Rebs are in control of the SEC West if they can win their remaining three games. Auburn is 4-4 and needs to win another two games in order to get to a postseason bowl. I’m guessing they get to 6-6 and beat Georgia and Idaho to do so.

Florida 27 Georgia 3

Florida’s defense is terrifying. I think the Gators are legitimate CFP contenders. They should be 10-1 when they face Florida State at the end of the regular season. Treon Harris is athletic and made some nice throws. He’s also inaccurate and the offense misses Will Grier at least a little. I do think that Harris is a little rusty and will continue to play better with more reps. He can make some big plays that Grier couldn’t.

Georgia, on the contrary, is not a contender for anything right now. I actually believed the Bulldogs were going to be great this season. I was wrong. The hiring of Brian Schottenheimer has been a massive mistake. He’s got to be one of the worst offensive coordinators in the SEC. I think benching Greyson Lambert was a panic move and it couldn’t have gone any worse. Faton Bauta looked bad in his debut role as the Georgia starting quarterback. He threw four interceptions and the Bulldogs struggled offensively the entire game.

Mark Richt, beloved by many for being a good man, is going to have to make some difficult decisions soon. I believe that changes must be made to the coaching staff. The wide receivers are not developing and Schottenheimer has to go. The quarterback issue is more complex. The recruitment of college quarterbacks is not an exact science and it’s hard to find the right player. Georgia recruits so well and it’s disappointing for their fans when the team falls short in big games. I think some of the blame has to be placed on Richt and the rest on the coaching staff as a whole.

* Quick Slants: (More than usual this week)

• Trevone Boykin is on a different tier than the rest of the quarterbacks in college football.
• Laquon Treadwell is the nation’s top wide receiver.
• North Carolina is 7-1 thanks to an improved defense and that defense happens to be coached by Gene Chizik.
• Florida State rested their entire team this week to get ready for Clemson next week.
• Kansas fans need basketball season to get here already.
• Kyler Murray started for Texas A&M and had a big game. I think, perhaps even more important, is that he slides all the time (RGIII could learn something from this kid) and still runs very well.
• Oklahoma State is the most unpredictable team in college football and they’re undefeated.
• Iowa, Memphis, and Houston are all undefeated and scaring the CFP Committee.
• Duke got absolutely cheated in Miami’s win this weekend. The officiating crew cost the Blue Devils a conference win and have been suspended by the ACC.
• Stanford avoided defeat 30-28 over a surprisingly good Washington State team.
• Oregon’s uniforms this year have a lot of silver going on.
• Vanderbilt’s offense makes me sad.
• Tennessee could win out and finish the season at 9-4. The hype train would be out of control by the beginning of next year.
• Texas lost 24-0 to Iowa State and the disappointment is real.

Heisman Watch: Halloween Edition

It’s spooky how fast the season is progressing. November has officially begun and the Heisman hopefuls will enjoy plenty of opportunities to cement their candidacy. The Heisman is said to be won in November. I think there is a legitimate case for each player that I name (remember, this is how I would vote as of today).

1. Leonard Fournette, LSU

He’s the best player and has a chance to surge past all other candidates with road games at Alabama and Ole Miss. The Tigers also play Arkansas and Texas A&M in Baton Rouge, LA. Fournette doesn’t need LSU to be undefeated in order to win the award. He’s the favorite unless something crazy happens.

2. Trevone Boykin, TCU

Trevone Boykin is something crazy that happens. He’s got 3,451 total yards and 34 total touchdowns through 8 games. Boykin has been remarkable throwing the football and evading defenders. He’ll have a chance to take the award from Fournette if he has big games against Oklahoma State, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Baylor.

3. Corey Coleman, Baylor

Coleman keeps scoring touchdowns. He is always open. Coleman has 18 touchdown receptions in seven games.

4. Christian McCaffrey, Stanford

McCaffrey does so many things and he’s Stanford’s best bet offensively.

5. Paxton Lynch, Memphis

Lynch is going to be talked about as a top selection in the NFL Draft. He’s making quality throws each week and has tossed 18 scores and only one interception. Memphis must be undefeated for him to win the award.

6. Derrick Henry, Alabama

Henry is close to jumping McCaffrey in my opinion. I think Henry’s Heisman hopes will come down to whether or not Alabama win the rest of their games. He’s getting some blame for Alabama’s negative plays, which have come in bunches this season. Alabama has allowed 8 TFL per game and that ranks last in the SEC.

7. Greg Ward Jr., Houston

Ward is in the same boat as Lynch. Houston will need to be undefeated and he’ll need to continue to put up big numbers.

8. Josh Doctson, TCU

Doctson could steal some votes away from Trevone Boykin if he gets into the mix.

College Football Playlist: Top 40 Edition

All songs are from iTunes top chart as of November 1, 2015.

1. Ole Miss Rebels : Hit the Quan (iLoveMemphis)

2. Duke Blue Devils: Sorry (Justin Bieber)

3. Miami Hurricanes: Thriller (Michael Jackson)

4. Georgia Bulldogs: Ex’s & Oh’s (Elle King)

5. Houston Cougars: Buy Me a Boat (Chris Janson)

6. Temple Owls: Stitches (Shawn Mendes)

7. North Carolina Tar Heels: Wildest Dreams (Taylor Swift)

8. Stanford Cardinal: Focus (Ariana Grande)

9. Texas Longhorns: You Look Like I Need a Drink (Justin Moore)

10. Kansas Jayhawks: Same Old Love (Selena Gomez)

The playlist follows a reasonable rationale. I should, however, point out that reasonable is subjective. Ole Miss has been throwing the ball to Laquon Treadwell early and often this season. The ACC needs to apologize to Duke. I think they should just give them the win that they actually earned. I don’t see why they can’t do that. Miami “won” their game in a thriller. Georgia’s offense makes you wonder what type of scheme they run (or if they even practice). Houston’s Tom Herman will be able to buy a boat when he gets a new job next year and the money starts to come in. Temple needs to be pieced back together after losing a tough game to Notre Dame. I don’t think anyone, even in their wildest dreams, had North Carolina at 7-1. Stanford needs to focus each week and nearly lost over the weekend. They are the Pac-12’s only shot at the CFP. Texas looks awful and I don’t know whether I need to offer them a cup of coffee or something a little stronger. Kansas loves basketball and soon their true love will return.