Every college football team starts the season with its list of goals. You needn't go further back than every news conference of every coach at every top-shelf program at every summertime media day to hear the list aloud:

Win the division;

Win the conference;

Make the College Football Playoff;

Win the national championship.

So what happens when those goals become impossible as they are eliminated one by one, in reverse?

What do you do when you're Houston, and before you go to bed Saturday night, you turn on SportsCenter and hear Heather Dinich saying your playoff hopes have been sunk by Navy?

What do you do when you're Louisville and you just lost to Clemson by inches and now you're turning on the radio and everyone is saying that Houston is taking you down with them ... on your day off?

What do you do when you're Notre Dame and you were a preseason playoff darling, but you've lost two of the past three and are sitting at 2-4?

Stanford, LSU, Michigan State, USC, UCLA, Ole Miss, even BYU and San Diego State ... what do you do?

What can a coach do when the wind is taken from a locker room's sails? Stand up on a chair and blow and hope to get the ship moving again?

Christian McCaffrey had a rare rough night in Stanford's loss to Washington State. Samuel Stringer/Icon Sportswire

"It's tough because of the way that the national conversation has changed now," said Stanford coach David Shaw, whose team was throttled by Washington in Week 4 and then endured a baffling 42-16 stumble against Washington State, made worse by an injury to 2015 Heisman runner-up Christian McCaffrey.

"Because of the playoff and the expectations of postseason awards, that's what people talk about. And that's fine. But the goal for a football coach is to keep the view shorter than that. If you don't take care of today, this week, the next game, then none of those other things are possible. The irony of it being that when certain goals become out of reach, it forces some people to finally start focusing on that shorter-term view."

Shaw is not an easily frustrated person. He prides himself on keeping his needle close to the middle, no matter the situation. That's why it was such a shock when he reacted so strongly to the questions following Stanford's season-opening loss to Northwestern last season and still bristles a bit when that postgame news conference is brought up. "That was a total overreaction that day," he said. "We ended up having a great year. So did they. But the overreaction to those things is just how it is now."

So, it is asked of the man who spent nine years as an NFL assistant and grew up as the son of a career pro coach, does this feel like life in the NFL? Super Bowl or bust?

"A little bit," Shaw said, "but certainly closer than it was."

Down in Tallahassee, Florida, Jimbo Fisher rode out a three-week roller coaster that included being housed by Louisville, getting snuck up on by North Carolina and having all of the goals listed above wiped out ... all amid incessant rumors that he would be leaving to take the vacant LSU job. But Florida State came out on the other side with Saturday night's emotional, last-second win over Miami, powered by his maligned defense. How? By taking an old-school approach that Fisher has used before: the Our Locker Room versus The World approach.

Fisher was extra chippy in last week's Monday news conference, openly challenging anyone who claimed his locker room was divided. His players have echoed that defiance, including during the Miami postgame.

"You have to find other motivations," says ESPN analyst Mack Brown, who endured 16 years of drama as head coach at Texas and openly feels the current pain of his successor, Charlie Strong. "OK, you can't win the national championship, but you can still win the conference. OK, you can't win the conference, but you can still play on New Year's Day or New Year's Eve. OK, we can't play on New Year's, but you know what? We can beat our rival and keep them from doing any of that stuff, either. Guys, we know we are better than this. We know we are just as good as those guys. And if we can't win it all, then I sure don't want to watch them do it. Do you?"

That's what Texas nearly did to Oklahoma, a playoff team, one year ago in the Red River Rivalry, and it helped soothe the scars of a disappointing 5-7 season in Austin. On Saturday, the Sooners returned serve, instantly healing the hurt of a 1-2 start that was threatening to erase all of their goals from the locker room marker board in Norman. Now, suddenly resurgent Oklahoma can still win the Big 12 and still play in one of the sport's biggest bowl games.

Last week, prior to the Texas win, Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops was asked if conference titles and big-ticket bowl games are no longer enough for fans of top-shelf programs, accomplishments overshadowed by missing the College Football Playoff. "Probably is," he responded sharply. "But those are our goals. And I've got guys who are ready to do whatever it takes to get them done."

Well said, Coach. Now let's get on with Flipping the Field.

Book of Matthew: On Saturday morning, I chatted with a group of North Carolina state troopers who were assigned to help with traffic coming in and out of the NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. All were standing in the wind gusts of Hurricane Matthew, soaked to the bone, looking exhausted and waiting to hear what their marching orders would be for the day and night. One of the troopers, a 25-year-plus veteran, said he'd never seen a day like that one.

It's rare when all four Tobacco Road teams have home games, but it happened on Saturday: NC State hosted Notre Dame, UNC played Virginia Tech, Duke hosted Army and Wake Forest welcomed Syracuse, the first three games overlapping. Meanwhile, there were three FCS games, four Division II games and one D-3 contest all being played across the state. There were also other small college games on Thursday and Friday night, along with high school contests scattered through the weekend in anticipation of the storm.

All of this while a deadly hurricane was forcing evacuations of small towns along the coast, and a wave of displaced residents of states to the south arrived looking for shelter.

"We have thousands of people driving into areas for football games in the exact places where we're telling people it's too dangerous to leave their homes," one trooper told me. "At any minute, both us and local law enforcement could get the call to bail on helping these events and go help with hurricane evacs. That's why this is nuts."

A second trooper added, "I know this. We're damn glad the [Carolina] Panthers are playing Monday night and not [Sunday]."

Speaking of which, weather across the state was picture perfect on Sunday, during which the 500-mile NASCAR race and the one relocated Tar Heel State game -- Winston Salem State at Johnson C. Smith -- was run without a hitch.

From the Ridonculous Stats Department:

Arizona State kicker Zane Gonzalez is now the all-time NCAA field goals leader with 89 and still has six regular-season games remaining.

Going into its game with Navy, the Houston D had allowed only 42 rushing yards per game. On Saturday, the Cougars surrendered 306.

Oklahoma and Texas combined for 85 points, the most in the history of the Red River Rivalry. Oklahoma is 6-1 when the game tops 70 points. Dede Westbrook set the OU single-game receiving record with 232 yards, also a Red River Rivalry offensive record.

And sure, Texas has lost three straight, but on a positive note, quarterback Shane Buechele already has more TD passes than the Horns had all of last season: 11 in five games versus nine in 2015.

Michigan's 78-0 win over Rutgers produced a mountain of ridonculous stats, including 600 yards of offense versus 39; 119 yards passing versus 5; 481 yards rushing versus 34; and 23 first downs versus 2. Rutgers averaged 0.3 yards per pass and 0.9 yards per rush.

Speaking of Michigan: Jabrill Peppers needs his own weekly Ridonculous Stats Department. On Saturday, he scored a pair of TDs, had a 63-yard run that set up another and had the best kick return you'll ever see that was called back by a penalty. So far this season, he has played 12 different positions. He's the Jose Oquendo of college football (you kids out there can look him up), and after the rout of the Scarlet Knights, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh openly touted his player as "a Heisman Trophy winner" and being "on the same dance floor" as Jim Thorpe.

"We're going streaking!" My math-loving brothers and sisters at ESPN Stats & Info tell me that Iowa's rally to defeat Minnesota was the Hawkeyes' eighth straight road win, tying a team record set in 1920-23. ... Washington has now scored 35-plus points in nine straight games (more on the guy producing all those points coming up).

"Get in the car, Frank ..." UNC QB Mitch Trubisky ended his streak of passes without an interception at 243. ... Tennessee extended its SEC West losing streak to 12. ... Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason is 0-10 in SEC road games. ... Pitt won in a thriller over Georgia Tech, but running back James Conner had his streak of games with a rushing TD stopped at unlucky 13. The longest current streak is now Louisville's Lamar Jackson at eight straight. ... Purdue's OT win at Illinois snapped a nine-game losing streak and was its first road win since 2014. ... Navy ended an 0-18 drought versus AP Top 10 teams, dating to its 1984 win over second-ranked South Carolina, a loss that was as devastating to the Gamecocks then as it was to Houston now.

Clothing done right: Pitt earned universal social media praise on Saturday for its throwback uniforms that conjured up memories of Johnny Majors, Tony Dorsett and that tall QB who used to sell Isotoner gloves.

The only thing that would make it better , is a dude wearing #13 , with some curls coming out of helmet. #DanMarino pic.twitter.com/vXIMKa1ZcQ — Maximiliano Bretos (@mbretosESPN) October 8, 2016

Clothing done wrong: The ghost of Al Czervik showed up in Lexington, Kentucky. Hey ... you buy a pair of pants like that, I bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh?

Pant game in Lexington 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tlYIia4vdw — SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 8, 2016

Helmets done right. The folks at Wake Forest had no idea that when they decided to pay tribute to alum Arnold Palmer, they'd also be adding a little extra protection from the rains of Hurricane Matthew.

Tonight we will be wearing the umbrella in remembrance of our own Arnold Palmer pic.twitter.com/wWF7SoQ650 — Wake Equipment (@WakeEquipment) October 8, 2016

Helmets done right, Part Deux: The ULM Warhawks paid tribute to cancer survivors during Saturday's "Pink Out" game versus Idaho.

.@ULM_FB will honor all cancer survivors at today's game with a "Pink Out" themed helmet 👀 pic.twitter.com/XcIpko2B7q — #FunBelt (@SunBelt) October 8, 2016

Danny Ford Scientific Rocket Quote of the Week: Charlie Strong, Texas. After the loss to Oklahoma, the Horns head coach was asked how badly he needed to win the Red River Rivalry. His response? "I need 'em all."

Frank Reich Backup QB Of The Week Award: Will Worth, Navy. OK, yes, I know he's the starting quarterback for Navy. But he's not supposed to be. A career backup, the now-senior had the best seat in the house to watch Keenan Reynolds, the Best-Ever Navy Player Not Named Staubach, the past few seasons and was ready to settle into the same role behind Tago Smith in 2016. But Smith was lost for the year in the season opener and Worth was pressed into service. He has led Navy to a 4-1 record and pushed the Midshipmen into the improbable driver's seat in the American Athletic Conference East after Saturday afternoon's upset of Houston. In that game, he rushed for a game-best 115 yards and a TD while completing 3 of 5 passes for 76 yards and 2 TDs.

Comeback of the Week Award, also named for Frank Reich: Oklahoma State. If you're an Iowa State fan, you might want to skip this part. For the second week in a row, the Comeback of the Week comes at the expense of the Cyclones. During Week 5, the Baylor Bears came back from 14 down to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired. On Saturday, the Clones were up 17 and threw it into reverse, spending their next four possessions producing only 25 yards of offense and turning the ball over twice. The Pokes tossed the game-winning TD with 3:40 remaining. Over the past two weekends, with double-digit leads, Iowa State has been outscored 34-0 in the fourth quarter.

Jake Browning led Washington to a rout over Oregon. Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

The Guy You Should Know About But Probably Don't: Jake Browning, QB, Washington. I'm not talking to those of you who live in Seattle or those of you whose favorite Pac-12 team has had to play the Huskies this season or those East Coasters (like me) who are addicted to #Pac12AfterDark. I'm speaking to those who don't spend Sundays bleary-eyed or those who went out on Week 5's Friday night instead of watching the Stanford game.

You people are missing out. And it's time for you to include this sophomore on your Heisman watch lists.

On Saturday night, Browning dismantled Oregon with a 22-of-38, 304-yard, 6-TD passing performance. He also rushed for 21 yards and 2 TDs. What's more, he's an affable kid who appears to be the perfect complement to head coach Chris Petersen, which is to say they both hate being complimented. For more on the leader of 6-0 UW, read this awesome profile by my bud Ted Miller, perfectly titled "Please stop telling Jake Browning how well he's playing."

The Team You Should Know About But Probably Don't: South Florida. The Bulls beat East Carolina 38-22 to run their record to 5-1, their only loss coming to Florida State two week ago. USF rolled up 556 yards of offense, 5 TDs and topped 35 points for the 10th straight game.

It didn't come without controversy, as ECU head coach Scottie Montgomery gave USF counterpart Willie Taggart a half-hearted postgame handshake and questioned why the Bulls attempted long passes on the final four plays of a 16-point game. Taggart's response: "We want to be in attack mode. ... To take a knee for anybody, where in the rulebook does it say you have to do that?"

Ethics debates aside, USF is well on its way to its first back-to-back winning seasons since 2010-11, Jim Leavitt's last season and Skip Holtz's first. It's a fitting tribute to the late Lee Roy Selmon, who was instrumental in starting the USF football program. The Selmon family was on hand Saturday. After a visit from UConn, the Bulls take on Temple, Navy and Memphis as they try to hang on to the AAC East division lead.

The Finish You Should Know About But Probably Don't: Southeastern Louisiana 31, McNeese 24. The Southland Conference showdown was tied 24-24 with 10 seconds remaining when Lions QB Justin Alo hurled a Hail Mary downfield. The ball was nearly intercepted by cornerback Jermaine Antoine, but it slipped through his hands and was tipped into the waiting hands of wide receiver Brandon Acker, who fought off defenders to complete the 82-yard TD reception. See it for yourself here.

The Game You Should Be Psyched For But Probably Aren't: West Virginia at Texas Tech. I'll give you two reasons to watch: 1. West Virginia, which was off over the weekend, is 4-0 and one of 11 remaining undefeated FBS teams; 2. A pair of Air Raid scholars -- Dana Holgorsen and Kliff Kingsbury -- will be matching wits within the very kiln that the offense was forged. The final score might be 77-74.

Extra Point: Lost amid the rainfall in Raleigh was NC State's celebration of the 50th anniversary of Carter-Finley Stadium. It has long been one of the most underrated venues in college football, tucked into the pine trees behind the North Carolina State Fairgrounds and a place that has been updated tremendously over the past decade.

For me, the celebration was personal. Carter-Finley was the stadium where I learned college football. I grew up in Raleigh as the son of an ACC official, but because we lived in town, he wasn't allowed to work Wolfpack games. So anytime the Pack held scrimmages, they would call Dad, and he would let me and my little brother tag along. We would play on The Hill while the team -- including my favorite player, future Philadelphia Eagles star receiver Mike Quick -- played below.

Sometimes we'd play tackle football with another group of boys, brothers who were also there with their father. One of them was never much fun, a little guy who would pitch fits and try to call penalties such as pass interference and defensive holding during a 3-on-3 game between preteens. His name was Lane Kiffin and his tears were like ...