Rule No. 1 to concocting your very own conspiracy theory: Never let facts get in your way.
Just go with what you believe no matter how it sounds or looks!
Take NC State coach Dave Doeren, a man unafraid of taking on big, bad Florida State. Forget any apology you may have heard this week. Doeren provided the perfect fodder for two separate conspiracy theories after his Wolfpack blew an early lead and lost to the No. 1 Seminoles 56-41 on Saturday.
First, there is the classic "favored team gets preferential treatment" conspiracy theory that generally reads: Referees must protect favored team at all times! No exceptions! In this case, the highly scientific favored team theorem would read: No. 1 team in the nation + only ACC College Football Playoff contender = MUST. NOT. LOSE.
Did the refs deliberately protect Florida State? Read between the lines. "There was some unbelievable holding by their offensive line that apparently is invisible," Doeren said after the game Saturday.
Doeren already has experienced the "favored team gets preferential treatment" conspiracy theory. See: Clemson at NC State, 2013. Bryan Underwood scored the go-ahead touchdown midway through the third quarter against the No. 3 Tigers. Pandemonium ensued.
But ... ohhhhh. Look at that. Underwood was whistled out of bounds. The play was unreviewable. Clemson won. And ACC officials later said it was unclear whether Underwood had stepped out of bounds. Doeren, by the way, says he still has photographic evidence on his phone that Underwood was in. Do not trifle with a scorned Dave Doeren.
The man does NOT forget.
Now, on to the newest line in college football conspiracy theories, circa 2010: faking injuries! Doeren dug back into the Oregon/Washington conspiracy theory playbook when he accused the Seminoles of "crazy fall-down things" to slow down his high-tempo offense. Was this the reason NC State blew a 10-point second-half lead?
"You know the refs can't do anything about that, but it's horrible the way the tempo gets slowed down by these injuries. We went fast in the first quarter; I guess there were no fake injuries," he told reporters.
When asked for clarification Monday during his weekly media conference, Doeren did not back down: "One of the plays they stopped the game Saturday, the guy walked off the field as slow as humanly possible, and he's back in the game. I get it, if they are hurt, they're hurt. I'm not going to say a guy isn't hurt. But if they come right back in the game, then he might not have been hurt."
If you go back and read the mea culpa Doeren released Tuesday, he never actually apologizes for what he said. He apologizes to Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher for comments that "took away from a tremendous football game." The backlash -- and sharply worded rebuttal from Fisher -- likely led to the statement Doeren issued.
So maybe, just maybe, he still believes.
Overreaction of the week: I am sure the folks in this state are wonderful, lovely people, but does anybody else have Mississippi fatigue? Because after a month, it is still hard to buy both Ole Miss and Mississippi State as true SEC West Division contenders.
Mississippi State at least has beaten a ranked team and has a good quarterback. The Bulldogs should be ranked higher than Ole Miss, which has beaten ... Boise State, Vanderbilt, Louisiana-Lafayette and Memphis.
Show me something this weekend against the division big dogs, and then we can talk. But for now, I think Texas A&M beats Mississippi State; and Alabama beats Ole Miss by double digits.
Underreaction of the week: Kudos to Colorado State, which notched its second win over a Power 5 conference school this past weekend, a come-from-behind 24-21 win over Boston College. The Rams also beat Colorado to open the season, the first time since 2002 they have beaten two Power 5 teams in the same season.
Counting the bowl game win over Washington State to end 2013, Colorado State is the only Group of 5 team to own a current three-game win streak over teams from Power 5 conferences. The Rams are 9-3 in their past 12 games, their most successful 12-game stretch since opening 10-2 in 2002.
Some of the credit goes to Alabama. Coach Jim McElwain learned from Nick Saban before arriving in Fort Collins for the 2012 season. And Alabama transfer running back Dee Hart has two 100-yard rushing games -- against Colorado and Boston College.