Following the weekend's conquered favorites and other notables through the stages of grief.

Anger. The list of dumbfounding circumstances surrounding Florida State's latest head-slapper of a loss reads like the denouement to a game of Clue: South Florida, in Doak-Campbell Stadium, with the backup quarterback, on two 70-plus-yard completions. Not surprisingly, this has made FSU fans a wee bit testy -- or perhaps "sad and depressed," depending on your perspective -- and not surprisingly, Bobby Bowden isn't getting much benefit of the doubt:

Clean house, beginning with players that can't seem to make it to class and take it all the way up to "Coach Bubba" who feeds us more b.s. than a politician and expects us keep spending the dollars.

Hire coaches and staff based on COMPETENCY ! Wonder if Tony Dungee [sic] would come out of retirement?

More ominously, though, "coach-in-waiting" Jimbo Fisher isn't feeling much love, either:

What a sad, sad day Saturday was! I'm a loyal and patient fan but I had enough. Please Bobby, it is time to GO!!!!!! I love you and care for you but do the right thing and set us free. Do not let your Big Ego be more important than the FSU Noles!

Jimbo and Mickey, I'm sorry these kids need better guidance and more passion with discipline. You guys have torn the heart out of the Seminole country.
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Jimbo is not our Savior, he is a joke as well, replace him with a Grad Assistant who can call more than 6 plays and save us all a few bucks!!!!!!!!!!

Not sure if cost-consciousness is really what the Florida State program wants to be known for, but it beats "fourth-best program in the state," I guess.

Denial. Given that they'd just watched their top-10 team get pounded into Dorito crumbs by an unranked conference rival whose only notable contribution to the '09 season to that point had been the media frenzy that followed the on-field freak-out at Boise State, Cal fans had as much right as any in the country to go completely nuclear Sunday morning. But someone at California Golden Blogs clearly jumped on the Cymbalta Express early, because the mood over there was downright ... resolute:

... [L]et's keep in mind, it's only game one of a long Pac-10 slog. Although we don't control our own fate anymore, a lot can happen if we get back on track next week. ... Let's retool and refocus for USC. This season is not over, not by a long shot.

Check the time stamp: That post went up three minutes after the end of a 42-3 immolation. Londoners weathering the Blitz didn't keep upper lips that stiff. Hours later, CGB was trying to distract its readers by asking them for their memories of even more embarrassing losses when Cal wasn't expected to win games like this, while one particularly officious editor was offering hugs. Not that I'd ever want to cast aspersions on anyone's superhuman coping abilities, but I'd keep an eye on these guys for the next couple days. And if you get a phone call from one of them, answer it, and stay on the line as long as you have to.

Bargaining. The exceedingly clever Great Barstoolio at the Cane-centric blog The 7th Floor expressed her reaction to the Hurricanes' rain-soaked shellacking at Virginia Tech in a fashion as unsettling as it was eloquent: An animated GIF of Pennywise, the child-murdering clown from Stephen King's "It," staring down readers as long as they can stand it. (So does that mean that Jacory Harris is George Denbrough?) The pictorial commentary of reader CGNC, on the other hand, was reduced to begging and futile deal-making:

CGNC's plaintive plea calls to mind one of my favorite Onion headlines. Cruel? Oh, no doubt. But God doesn't make deals, and evidently neither does Bud Foster.

Acceptance. Entering Saturday, Kentucky had endured 22 straight losses to Florida, the second-longest active losing streak in any annual I-A rivalry. So it's perhaps understandable that while Truzenzuzex at the Wildcat blog A Sea of Blue was somewhat demoralized following UK's 41-7 loss to the Gators, his world wasn't exactly ending over it:

I really don't feel like trashing Kentucky too much for this game, it's too much like kicking a helpless person when they are down. It was a loss from the moment the coin went up. The Wildcats were nervous, and even a little scared, and it showed. Florida just took our manhood.

And even that was too intense a condemnation for some of his fellow Wildcats:

Overreaction, Tru
Really, what did we think was going to happen? Hartline is who he is, and we'll have to live with that. Heíll never be great, but heíll service us against the weaker teams. I thought they did well after the shell-shock, and Alabama wonít run past us like Florida.

Rich Brooks doesn't necessarily agree with the final assumption there, but take heart, UK fans: You still have a chance this season to end the longest active losing streak in any annual I-A rivalry -- your 24-year schneid against the Tennessee Volunteers. Even in the unforgiving SEC, redemption is always right around the corner.