The Gould Standard: Good Tests for Ohio State, Illinois and Notre Dame.

Deep in the heart of college football, the season is taking shape—for winners and stragglers.

Last week, we were marveling at being halfway through another college football season.

This week, with the Joy and Heartbreak about to crescendo—Trick or Treat!—a few observations about the Saturday Game.

@ Every time Clemson plays a bumpy game and survives against a supposed quality ACC opponent, I wonder: Would the Tigers have a tougher time in the American Athletic? How about the Sun Belt?

Think about it. What’s a tougher gauntlet: N.C. State, Syracuse and Florida State? Cincinnati, Tulane and UCF? Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion and James Madison?

If the ACC rates the edge, it’s not a giant gap.

@ It’s Truth or Dare time for Notre Dame. The Irish (4-3) take their fight to Syracuse this week. And play host to Clemson on Nov. 5.

ND doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. But it can mess up some ACC plans, especially Clemson’s playoff hopes. And the Irish can help the SEC and Big Ten advance their plans for multiple playoff teams.

@ Wouldn’t it be cool if the Mid-American changed its name to the Rust Belt? I realize that’s about as likely as Northwestern changing its name to Midwestern. . . But both changes would be more evocative. And geographically correct.

And how cool would a Sun Belt/Rust Belt Challenge be?

@ I never thought Jimbo Fisher was nearly as brilliant as his reputation. But to recruit like he recruits and be 3-4 is beyond comprehension. Given that an $85 million buyout exceeds the deep pockets and scary decision-making of the most rabid football fans in Texas, here’s a suggestion: Go out and hire the best offensive and defensive coordinators in the land. And tell Jimbo to let them do their jobs. That would cost a lot less than $85 million.

Illinois did a version of that when Ron Zook was shaky, and got reasonably good results with O.C. Paul Petrino and D.C. Vic Koenning. But then, being Illinois, it changed athletic directors and the new guy replaced Zook with Tim Beckman. Who had an O.C. named Matt Campbell.

@ Did anybody notice that the last Pac-12 unbeaten, UCLA, fell at Oregon on Saturday? I’ll bet people in Tuscaloosa did. The door to a one-loss Alabama snatching a College Football Playoff bid along with a one-loss Georgia just got a little easier. And no, a one-loss (49-3 to Georgia) Oregon is not playoff timber.

@ Three SEC earning playoff berths is about as likely as a $3 bill. And a good thing, too. Two teams from the same conference in a four-team playoff is phony enough.

@ When is it going to be time to start talking about Ohio State and Michigan both making the playoff? How about after this weekend, when Ohio State plays at Penn State and Michigan takes on Michigan State?

Better yet, maybe wait until Illinois plays in Ann Arbor on Nov. 19.

@ Speaking of the Illini, the target changes this week, when they travel from the Land of Lincoln to Lincoln, Nebraska. in Illinois’ last game, the target was on Minnesota, which was favored by a touchdown.

Now Illinois, a seven-point favorite, will need to line up against a hungry underdog. And both the Illini and the Cornhuskers have had a week off to prepare.

Amazingly, the Illini are likely to be favored in all but one of their remaining games. That would put them at 10-2 and in the Big Ten championship game.

That would make Bret Bielema, a scorned man after he washed out at Arkansas, the comeback story of the year. Maybe even the coach of the year.

@ If Nebraska upsets Illinois, the Big Ten West becomes a real tizzy. The Huskers, Illini and Purdue all would be 3-2, with a trio of three-loss teams—Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa—lurking.

@ That said, Illinois looks like the real deal. It has strong all-around balance, especially if quarterback Tommy DeVito can stay healthy and productive.

Playing as the frontrunner is a different challenge. This looks like a team that can handle that challenge, but things like that change quickly in college football.

@ I hesitate to criticize officials. It’s a difficult job. But the crew that did the Purdue-Wisconsin game missed the boat too many times. They gave the Boilermakers a rushing TD that seemed to shock even the Boilermakers. The ball never got within a foot of the goal line.

Gotta love Jim Leonhard pleas that ``It wasn’t even close.’’ I’m not a lip reader, but that was plain as day.

They also called a phantom offensive pass interference, seeing a Badger pick that was not even close. It was a receiver running a route. And then they missed a late hit on the Badgers.

None of this stuff affected the outcome. But geez, I’d like to see the supervisor’s report.