The first weekend of November provided plenty of excitement for college football fans. Louisville emerged as a serious national title contender with its double-digit win over West Virginia, while several other heavyweights (Ohio St., Michigan and Florida) had to stave off upset bids from unlikely sources.

Sylvester Croom's team collected a 24-16 win Saturday over his alma mater. (Getty)

But the feel-good story of Week 10, even if it came in a game between unranked squads, was Mississippi State’s 24-16 win at Alabama. Talk about poetic justice.

Remember, when Mike Price enjoyed several too many cocktails in Pensacola and lost his job at ‘Bama, the Crimson Tide was left without a head coach at a time of year when few coaches were available.

Mike Shula got the job ahead of Sylvester Croom, who was born and raised in Tuscaloosa and became an All-American offensive lineman under Paul “Bear” Bryant in the early 1970s. To say the least, Croom was extremely disappointed.

Yet, when the NAACP cried foul, Croom took the high road, refusing to play the race card or throw stones at his alma mater. Albeit belatedly, Croom got his first head coaching gig the following year, becoming the SEC’s first black head coach when Mississippi State came calling.

With Croom running the show at a rival school, Shula decided to change the name of an award given to the Alabama player that gave the most effort at spring practice each year. The name of that honor was the Sylvester Croom Award.

Talk about a classless move. Shula reversed that decision after he came under heavy scrutiny, but the damage was done.

So isn’t it ironic that Croom collected his most satisfying win to date Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium? And in doing so, Sly put Shula on a hot seat that isn’t likely to trigger his immediate exit out of town, but will undoubtedly bring about a drum roll that will last through a long and agonizing off-season in T-Town.

Keep in mind that the Crimson Tide will be heavy underdogs in their last two games, at LSU and vs. Auburn. A 6-6 record and another loss to Auburn will make for plenty of conversation on sports radio in Alabama.

Wake Forest continues to turn heads with its incredible and improbable 8-1 record, the first such mark for the school since 1944. The Demon Deacons knocked off Boston College by a 21-14 count as four-point home underdogs. Money-line backers cashed tickets for a plus 150 return.

Is Florida State poised to finish strong despite a disastrous 4-4 start? Maybe. One thing is for certain, the Seminoles look a lot better with Xavier Lee at quarterback, begging the question: What took Bobby Bowden so long to pull the plug on Drew Weatherford and give Lee a chance?

Lee led the ‘Noles to a 33-0 home win over Virginia, throwing for 185 yards and running for another 49 on just four carries. Most importantly, Lee has three touchdown passes and zero interceptions in a pair of starts.

FSU will play host to Wake Forest this week as a seven-point favorite. ABC has tabbed this game for its 8:00 p.m. prime-time slot. The Deacs haven’t beaten the ‘Noles since 1973 and their last victory in Tallahassee was in 1959.

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Maybe it’s time we start throwing some kudos to Hawaii head coach June Jones, who has his run-and-shoot offense clicking at a frenetic pace. The Warriors, who accepted a bid to the Hawaii Bowl over the weekend, have won six in a row since losing a 41-34 decision at Boise State.

They won’t leave the island again this season, finishing the regular season with home games against Louisiana Tech, San Jose State, Purdue and Oregon State. However, junior QB Colt Brennan might get an invite to New York City as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

Brennan threw for 413 yards and six touchdowns in Saturday’s 63-10 win at Utah State. He broke Timmy Chang’s school record for TD passes in a season, upping his tally to 39 compared to just six interceptions. That’s good for the 11th best single-season output in NCAA history, just 15 short of David Klingler’s 54 scoring strikes in 1990.

When this space is wrong, it’s never hesitant to admit it. Contrary to pre-season speculation from yours truly, the tenure of Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks probably won’t be coming to an end this year. With UK’s 24-20 win over Georgia as a seven-point home underdog, the Wildcats improved to 5-4 and got to within one win of their first bowl bid since 1999.

Brooks should thank junior QB Andre Woodson, who has enjoyed an outstanding campaign. Woodson has a touchdown-interception ratio of 20/7 after throwing for a pair of TDs against the Dawgs.

Arkansas held off South Carolina 26-20 to remain in the driver's seat in the SEC West. This game saw a pair of QB changes, as Casey Dick replaced Mitch Mustain and Blake Mitchell was outstanding in relief of Syvelle Newton.

On Sunday, Nutt announced that Dick would start Saturday against Tennessee, but Mustain will continue to get reps and playing time.

Darren McFadden ran for a career-high 219 yards against the Gamecocks, but he suffered a high ankle sprain that could cause him to miss practice time this week. As for the Vols, they might be without RB Arian Foster, who was arrested Sunday morning in Knoxville along with two other players.

With UT's loss to LSU and Florida's win at Vandy, the Gators clinched the SEC East for the first time since 2000. However, they failed to cover the spread as 17-point favorites.

UF is now 3-18 ATS in its last 21 SEC games as a double-digit favorite. On the flip side, Vandy has taken the cash in six straight spots as double-digit underdogs.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

Most compelling games for Week 11:
1-Louisville at Rutgers
2-South Carolina at Florida
3-Oregon at Southern Cal
4-Tennessee at Arkansas
5-Wake Forest at FSU

Honorable Mention: Alabama at LSU, Nebraska at Texas A&M and Georgia at Auburn.

If I had a vote for the Heisman:
1-Troy Smith (Ohio State)
2-Ray Rice (Rutgers)
3-Ian Johnson (Boise State)
4-Brady Quinn (Notre Dame)
5-Colt Brennan (Hawaii)

Coach of the Year
1-Jim Grobe (Wake Forest)
2-Greg Schiano (Rutgers)
3-Bobby Petrino (Louisville)
4-Houston Nutt (Arkansas)
5-Ralph Friedgen (Maryland)

--The ‘over’ has hit in six straight Hawaii games with a total. The Warriors have a 6-1-1 spread record for the season.

--Wake Forest now owns a 24-12-2 spread record as an underdog during Jim Grobe’s tenure.

--Arkansas RB Darren McFadden reminds me of Eric Dickerson.

--Don't be surprised if North Carolina hires Butch Davis in the coming days. That move would end speculation of his return to Miami, making Greg Schiano the leading candidate if Larry Coker is fired. There are also whispers that UM might try to persuade Barry Alvarez out of retirement.

--I’m thinking Memphis head coach Tommy West might be in trouble, especially after last night’s 42-21 home loss to Southern Miss on national television. The loss was the seventh straight for the Tigers, who are 1-8.

Brian Edwards can be reached via email at briane@vegasinsider.com.