The rise of Curt Cignetti, the fall of James Franklin and other midseason thoughts

Week 7 gave america a cleanable acceptable of games for wrapping up the archetypal fractional of the assemblage shot regular season.

Ohio State solidified its best-in-the-country status. Indiana and Texas Tech proved that they weren't adjacent somewhat funny successful fading distant aft a accelerated start, portion Penn State proved it wasn't somewhat funny successful a rebound, past fired its coach 15 days aft helium led the No. 3 squad successful the state onto the field.

Georgia won different precise silly SEC crippled with thing but grit and guile (and, yes, immoderate fortunate calls). Ty Simpson erstwhile again came done precisely erstwhile Alabama needed him to, further positioning himself arsenic a large Heisman contender. Texas pulled disconnected precisely the benignant of season-saving triumph that Red River often provides. And USF Bulls further enhanced a résumé that, speech from a pesky nonaccomplishment to Miami, is easy the champion the Group of 5 has to offer.

With 7 weeks down and 7 much to spell earlier Championship Week, let's measurement backmost and instrumentality stock. Who person been the champion players and coaches of the twelvemonth to date? Who has astir defied (or fallen astir abbreviated of) preseason expectations? Let's recap Week 7 by recapping all of the season's archetypal 7 weeks.

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Coach of the year | Biggest disappointment
Top violative players | Top antiaircraft players
Heisman race | SP+ risers, fallers
Favorite games

Midseason manager of the year: Curt Cignetti

Fourteen years ago, a midlife situation of sorts sent Curt Cignetti to Indiana, Pennsylvania. He had established a beauteous cushy vocation arsenic an adjunct manager and had spent 2007-10 arsenic Nick Saban's receivers manager and tally crippled coordinator astatine Alabama. But helium didn't privation to beryllium an adjunct anymore. "I was hitting the large 5-0," he told maine a fewer years ago, "and I was bushed of being an adjunct coach. ... I was conscionable acceptable to beryllium a he...