My Nearly Perfect Playoff Scenario November 16, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Alabama, AP, Auburn, B1G, Baker Mayfield, Big Ten, BYU, Clemson, college football, Crimson Tide, Georgia, Hurricanes, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, NCAA, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pac-12, playoffs, poll, TCU, Utah State, Wisconsin
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGfwy-i4jbM
The developments in this past week of college football have shaken up the polls yet again, thus further modifying the playoff projections. Given the current state of affairs, if the new AP poll is of any indication, here’s how I think things could play out.
The current top eight in the AP poll is as follows:
- Alabama
- Miami
- Oklahoma
- Clemson
- Wisconsin
- Auburn
- Georgia
- Ohio State
So, based on current polling and whom the teams have yet to play, who goes into the final four of the playoffs? My scenario could lead to near-perfection.
Let’s start with Alabama. Mississippi State almost beat them at home. So, the Crimson Tide is vulnerable. Nevertheless, they’ll get an easy win over a cupcake in Mercer this Saturday. That leaves us with Auburn at No. 6. Strange things happen in rivalry games. Even stranger things happen in the Iron Bowl, arguably the most heated, bitter rivalry in college sports. Bama thought they would be playing for the national title until the famous “kick-six” incident of 2013, for example. Nevertheless, let us say for the sake of argument that Bama beats Auburn. On paper, this is entirely possible. Auburn will thus have three losses, and be eliminated from playoff consideration.
The Tide remains undefeated, and goes onto the SEC championship game in Atlanta. There, they play Georgia, who was briefly No. 1 before getting their asses handed to them by Auburn. Now at No. 7, they’ll still give Alabama a good challenge in Atlanta. But on paper, the odds still favor The Tide. Let us thus accept the law of averages and say Bama wins. Again. Having knocked out both Auburn AND Georgia, Bama as undefeated AND SEC champs, also ranked No. 1, instantly clinch a playoff berth.
Berth No. 1 of 4: Alabama
Next up is Miami. After tearing Notre Dame a new one in Hard Rock Stadium, the Hurricanes now sit at No. 2 in the AP. They have also clinched the Atlantic Division of the ACC for the first time since the conference split into those two divisions. To remain undefeated in the regular season, they need to take out Virginia (at home) and Pittsburgh (on the road). Both are doable, obviously, though keep an eye out for the Canes having to deal with cold Pittsburgh weather in late November.
At any rate, the Hurricanes are now slated to play Clemson, currently No. 4 in the AP, for the ACC Championship. That game will be in Charlotte in early December, effectively a home game for the Tigers. IF the Hurricanes can overcome this huge challenge and triumph over Clemson, they shall be undefeated, ACC champs, and shall have clinched the second spot in the playoffs. This could actually be the most tenuous of contingencies. Nevertheless…
Berth No. 2 of 4: Miami
Oklahoma currently sits at No. 3. Aside from Iowa State, the Sooners have risen to the occasion each game, recently beating a tough TCU squad. OU quarterback Baker Mayfield is a more mature version of Johnny Manziel: someone capable of making special things happen. Despite legit challenges from strong teams within the conference, nobody can credibly take the Sooners down this year. If these shadows remain unchanged, they’ll surely clinch a playoff berth.
Berth No. 3 of 4: Oklahoma
That leaves us with the last spot. In this scenario, three out of the eight are already in. Three of the remaining five are out. That leaves us with the remaining two: Wisconsin and Ohio State. “But wait,” you protest, “Ohio State already has two losses, one a both recent AND embarrassing one to Iowa.” A valid point you would raise, to be sure. But here’s the deal. The Buckeyes’ schedule is still much stronger than Wisconsin’s, for one. Whereas OSU had the guts to play a tough OU squad that, as already mentioned, shall surely be playoff-bound, Wisconsin padded their schedule with Utah State, Florida Atlantic, and a weak (for this year) BYU.
Moreover, IF Ohio State shows up ready to play, they can beat anybody. Would you want to coach head-to-head against Urban Meyer? I didn’t think so.
Finally, both Wisconsin and Ohio State, if both win out, are destined to butt heads in the Big Ten Championship game. They both need to beat Michigan to guarantee this scenario. Should they play each other for the B1G title, and should Ohio State actually triumph, Wisconsin shall be effectively eliminated. Why? Again, their relatively weak schedule without winning their own conference. Meanwhile, Ohio State will be the last team standing in the top eight in the current AP poll. Could winning the B1G over an undefeated team be enough to get them back into playoff contention? I would wager “yes.”
Berth No. 4 of 4: Ohio State
Yes, this scenario is contingent on many factors. Change one major factor (Bama loses to Auburn, for example), and it all falls apart. Wisconsin and Ohio State’s viabilities depend on both beating Michigan. Miami still needs to face Pittsburgh in the cold of late November at Heinz Field. After that, they must face down Clemson. Obviously, that’s a tall order.
If, however, all these things come to pass, it would be a nearly geographically-perfect playoff line-up. Alabama would represent the south. Miami could represent urban, coastal fans of the game. Ohio State could represent the Midwest, the Big Ten, and its demographic TV-viewing juggernaut along with it. Finally, Oklahoma could represent other parts of Middle America. Indeed, the only problem with this scenario is that it lacks a Pac-12 team. If it did, we would have perfection. Too bad the Pac-12 teams ended up cannibalizing themselves this year, but that could be the case with the B1G, too, depending on how things truly do come to pass. The only way we’ll know one way or the other is to keep lining them up and playing.
College Football Awards, Week 8 (2017) October 22, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Baylor, Boston College, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, BYU, California, Clay Helton, Coastal Carolina, Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Houston, Hurricanes, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kirk Ferentz, Kliff Kingsbury, Larry Fedora, Matt Campbell, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Gundy, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Sam Ehlinger, San Jose State, South Carolina, South Florida, Spartans, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, Tigers, Tom Herman, Tulsa, UCF, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Vols, Volunteers, West Virginia, Western Michigan
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 8] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: James Franklin, Penn State
Glad I’m not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Lucky guy: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Poor guy: Tom Herman, Texas
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Clay Helton, USC
Desperately seeking … anything: Larry Fedora, North Carolina
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Virginia Tech (defeated North Carolina 59-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Miami (defeated Syracuse 27-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Tennessee (lost to No. 1 Alabama 45-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Baylor (lost to No. 23 West Virginia 38-36)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Missouri (defeated Idaho 68-21)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Georgia Southern
Can’t Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? Michigan
Can the season end? Tennessee
Can the season never end? Penn State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 9 Oklahoma 42, Kansas State 35
Play this again, too: No. 10 Oklahoma State 13, Texas 10
Never play this again: Missouri 68, Idaho 21
What? Rutgers 14, Purdue 12
Huh? Iowa State 31, Texas Tech 13
Are you kidding me?? Boston College 41, Virginia 10
Oh – my – God: No. 13 Notre Dame 49, No. 11 USC 14
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 8, pre-week 9)
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Penn State @ No. 6 Ohio State (B1G game of the year?)
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Houston @ No. 16 South Florida
Upset alert: No. 14 NC State @ No. 9 Notre Dame
Also: Florida State @ Boston College
Must win: No. 3 Georgia @ Florida
Offensive explosion: No. 10 Oklahoma State @ No. 23 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: Vanderbilt @ South Carolina
Great game no one is talking about: California @ Colorado
Also: Mississippi State @ Texas A&M
Intriguing coaching matchup: James Franklin of Penn State vs Urban Meyer of Ohio State
Also: Kirk Ferentz of Iowa vs. P.J. Fleck of Minnesota
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 8 Miami (FL) @ North Carolina
Why are they playing? Austin Peay @ No. 18 UCF
Plenty of good seats remaining: San Jose State @ BYU
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Texas State @ Coastal Carolina
Week 8 Random Thoughts:
Poor Texas. Try as they might with their strong defense, offensively they cannot score enough points to get over the proverbial hump. Yesterday in Austin, they held No. 10-ranked Oklahoma State, with the most productive offense in the county, to only 13 points. However, the Longhorns in turn could only score 10 points. Texas seems to have a capable quarterback in Sam Ehlinger, but he is only a true freshman, and the offense seems to rely too much on his guts and determination alone. Part of the problem is that many of the offensive players are still young, and shall have to grow in experience, and presumably in capability as well. The tentative verdict is that it will simply take time for the Horns to return to Top-10 status. They are close, but not there yet.
Speaking of taking time, Purdue practically controlled their own destiny. Current trajectories indicated they had a clear path to start a decent winning streak after getting beat up by a couple of conference heavyweights. Then they lost by two points on the road to Rutgers. Yes, Rutgers. What happened? Most likely, defensive coordinators around the league have taken notice of the tricks that Jeff Brohm has been left no choice but to use on account of the dearth of talent that his predecessor has left him. Thus, for Purdue to show marked, consistent improvement, things shall take more time. Basically, Brohm will need to bring in better recruiting classes so as to beat his opponents on the field with talent instead of trickery. This of course is not to blame the man for what he is doing right now. If we were in his proverbial shoes, we would likely find ourselves left to resort to the same things.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8MBWj6YzqQ
Tennessee, meanwhile, is officially a dumpster fire. Sure, we all knew at this rate that Alabama would blast them into defeat, but what none of us anticipated was the lack of dignity on the Vols’ part. The obscene gesture to Bama’s fans by one of Tennessee’s defensive backs after a pick-six is a black eye to the program, and could only hasten Butch Jones’ eventual departure as head coach. But that aside, the Volunteers do have talent on their team. Jones has sadly failed to harness it properly, to say nothing of orchestrating that talent into a cohesive effort at the top level that the SEC demands.
To put it another way with regard to the Vols and their current dumpster-fire status, they are to play Kentucky next week. Tennessee is currently 3-4, while the Wildcats, who usually only barely belong in the SEC, are 5-2. Yes, that means the world is officially upside-down.
Meanwhile, it’s always mildly intriguing when two conference foes who are about to butt heads share the same thing in common. Think: Mississippi State vs. Georgia, as both are the Bulldogs. Think also: LSU vs. Auburn, or Missouri vs. LSU, or Auburn vs. Missouri. All three are the Tigers. In the case of Mississippi State and Texas A&M, though, both have the same school colors of maroon and white, and both play each other next week. What makes things even more intriguing is that both have quietly amassed a respectable 5-2 record in the course of the season. After that game, those records shall inevitably diverge.
This week was a statistical anomaly, specifically with a cluster of defensive struggles. Who would have thought that Indiana at Michigan State would have been such a defensive struggle, with a 17-9 outcome in the Spartans’ favor? Even more to the point was the aforementioned 13-10 outcome at Texas. That the Horns held the Cowboys’ high-powered offense to just 13 points (including one overtime) must surely cause Mike Gundy to reach for the Rolaids while watching film today. If that’s not enough, the Purdue-Rutgers affair ended at 14-12 in favor of the Scarlet Knights. Northwestern and Iowa kept the score low at 17-10. UConn triumphing over Tulsa 20-14 does not count in past eras, but might as well in a time where the hurry-up, no-huddle offense is de rigueur. Same thing goes for Western Michigan over Eastern Michigan, 20-17…in overtime, no less.
College Football Awards Week 7 (2017) October 15, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas State, Auburn, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Boston College, Bronco Mendenhall, Butch Jones, BYU, Cal, California, Charlotte, Clemson, Dabo Swinney, Dino Babers, East Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Gus Malzahn, Idaho, Iowa, Jim McElwain, Justin Wilcox, Kansas, Kansas State, Longhorns, Louisville, Mark Dantonio, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Navy, North Carolina, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Red River Shootout, Showdown, Sooners, South Carolina, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tigers, UAB, UCF, UCLA, UMass, UTEP, Virginia, Washington, Washington State, Will Muschamp, Wisconsin
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3K5x1eRfaw
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 7] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Justin Wilcox, Cal
Glad I’m not him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Lucky guy: Dino Babers, Syracuse
Poor guy: Jim McElwain, Florida
Desperately seeking a clue: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Desperately seeking … anything: Butch Jones, Tennessee
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oklahoma State (defeated Baylor 59-16)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Clemson (lost to Syracuse 27-24))
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Baylor (lost to No. 14 Oklahoma State 59-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Purdue (lost to No. 7 Wisconsin 17-9)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Cal (defeated No. 8 Washington State 37-3)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: UTEP
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Washington State
Did the season start? Louisville
Can the season end? North Carolina
Can the season never end? Georgia also: Alabama
GAMES
Play this again: No. 12 Oklahoma 29, Texas 24
Play this again, too: Texas A&M 19, Florida 17
Never play this again: Arkansas State 51, Coastal Carolina 17
What? West Virginia 46, No. 24 Texas Tech 35
Huh? LSU 27, No. 10 Auburn 23
Double Huh? Arizona State 13, No. 5 Washington 7
Are you kidding me?? Cal 37, No. 8 Washington State 3
Oh – my – God: Syracuse 27, No. 2 Clemson 24
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 7, pre-week 8)
Ticket to die for: No. 19 Michigan @ No. 2 Penn State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Idaho @ Missouri
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 20 UCF @ No. Navy
Upset alert: No. 19 Michigan @ No. 3 Penn State also: Kansas State @ No. 10 Oklahoma
Must win: Louisville @ Florida State
Offensive explosion: Oregon @ UCLA
Defensive struggle: Iowa @ Northwestern
Great game no one is talking about: Kentucky @ Mississippi State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Harbaugh of Michigan vs. James Franklin of Penn State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kansas @ No. 4 TCU
Why are they playing? Idaho @ Missouri
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia Southern @ UMass
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? UAB @ Charlotte
Week 7 Random Thoughts:
The Red River Shootout Showdown did not disappoint. In recent years, the matchup has often turned into a lopsided affair in favor of Oklahoma. Not this time. The unranked Longhorns held their own against the Sooners this time, with a game full of excitement and drama (see the game summary at the top of the page). The main takeaways are that Oklahoma is still strong enough to be a legitimate top-10 team, while the Longhorns have proven that their dramatic win over Kansas State last week was no fluke. Indeed, they keep improving, which is a sign of a well-coached team.
Speaking of well-coached teams, the opposite can sadly be said for Louisville. The Cardinals were stronger earlier in the year than they are now, having just lost in a shootout, at home, to lowly Boston College. Bobby Petrino has done nothing to address his team’s deficiencies from last year. His skill position personnel are still young, and he has not done a thing to address his weak offensive line play. Depending on your star quarterback to carry the team in every phase of the game is no way to go through life, sir. Nor is it recommended to try to mold said star quarterback into another Aaron Rogers when he is clearly Michael Vick 2.0 instead.
Poor BYU. They’ve had such a rough year. At 1-6, perhaps they could catch a break this upcoming week when they play 1-6 East Carolina. Then again, the Pirates might be thinking the same thing.
Meanwhile, where did Michigan State come from all of a sudden? They had a few lackluster wins earlier in the season, and lost rather badly to Notre Dame (who, in the Spartans’ defense, was ranked at the time), 38-18. But then they turned around and beat top-10 Michigan, in the Big House, no less, and now win convincingly, on the road, in inclement weather, at Minnesota. How can Mark Dantonio not be considered one of the best coaches in the business? These past several years, he has consistently done more with less. Moreover, the team is clearly better now than they were earlier in the season, which again, is one sign of a well-coached team. Part of the secret to his success? The Spartans have this new thing called a running game, which so many teams these days sorely lack.
This upcoming week, the moments we have all waited for are about to commence with Michigan about to take on Penn State. Yes, it will be one of the key clashes of Big Ten Titans, and two things shall be ascertained. One is whether or not Michigan can bounce back from losing the Paul Bunyan Trophy to Michigan State. The other is whether or not Penn State belongs in the top five nationally. It will also be a nice warmup for an even more enticing matchup (Ohio State vs. Penn State) later this month.
Speaking of teams that keep improving as the season progresses, Purdue deserves a mention. Yes, they lost, but it was on the road, at Wisconsin, ranked 7th nationally. The loss was quite respectable, only 17-9. One would think that the formidable Badgers would have defeated the unranked Boilermakers by at least two touchdowns, but Purdue fought hard to ensure that did not happen. Now the Boilers enter the easy part of their schedule. To wit, they have yet to play, in order: Rutgers, Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, and Indiana, all of which are winnable to varying degrees. Indeed, the biggest question mark that remains on the schedule is Iowa (they did take Penn State to the wire, after all), but aside from that, they could theoretically win out. Time will tell, but focus and consistent effort on their part shall make it so.
Remember last week about South Carolina entering the brutal part of their schedule? So far they have handled it with aplomb, upsetting Tennessee, in Knoxville, in a low-scoring affair, 15-9. Next week they face Vanderbilt at home, at game that appears increasingly winnable as time progresses (could it be that the Commodores defeating Kansas State earlier this year was just some weird fluke?). Forget Georgia, however, as they remain as strong as ever, continuing to roll their opponents. But Florida is something of a question mark. Yes, they have been good enough to win most of their games thus far, but this time, they were not quite good enough to win at home, narrowly losing to Texas A&M. Maybe it was those god-awful uniforms that cursed them. Maybe the Gators deserved to be cursed for wearing them. Oh, and forget South Carolina beating Clemson. Not happening; not at this rate, even after the Tigers lost at Syracuse (which, again, OMG). All that aside, the Gamecocks could theoretically finish the season at 7-5, if not 8-4. Perhaps I misjudged Will Muschamp’s ability to coach after all. Perhaps I should at least reserve judgement until the regular season concludes.
Speaking of Tennessee, after losing at home to South Carolina, it’s a safe bet that Butch Jones’ hot seat just got hotter. No time to lick their wounds, either, as the Volunteers take on hated Alabama next week. At this rate of Tennessee’s spotty [at best] performance, beating Kentucky at month’s end is not a given. LSU won’t play dead for them come mid-November either. In short, Tennessee has talent, but they’re a mess, and Jones has proved incapable of cleaning up after himself. A 6-6 finish could be enough to turn Jones’ hot seat into an ejection seat.
College Football Awards Week 6 (2017) October 9, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Auburn, Big XII, Bobby Petrino, BYU, Cardinals, Charlotte, Clemson, David Bailiff, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gamecocks, Gary Anderson, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Lincoln Riley, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Marshall, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Miami (OH), Michigan State, Mike Norvell, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NC State, Nittany Lions, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Oregon, Oregon State, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Red River Shootout, Showdown, South Carolina, Spartans, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa, USC, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Glad I’m not him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Lucky guy: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Poor guy: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Norvell, Memphis
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Desperately seeking … anything: Gary Anderson, Oregon State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Maryland 62-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Clemson (defeated Wake Forest 28-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kansas (lost to Texas Tech 65-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to No. 2 Clemson 28-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tulane (defeated Tulsa 62-28)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Rice
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Oklahoma
Did the season start? Florida State
Can the season end? East Carolina
Can the season never end? Penn State
GAMES
Play this again: Michigan State 14, No. 7 Michigan 10
Play this again, too: Texas 40, Kansas State 34 (2OT)
This merits a second look, too: No. 8 TCU 31, No. 23 West Virginia 24
Never play this again: No. 10 Ohio State 62, Maryland 14
What? LSU 17, No. 21 Florida 16
Huh? No. 24 NC State 39, No. 17 Louisville 25
Are you kidding me?? Michigan State 14, No. 7 Michigan 10
Oh – my – God: Iowa State 38, No. 3 Oklahoma 31
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: No. 12 Oklahoma vs. Texas in the Red River Shootout
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: BYU @ Mississippi State
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 25 Navy @ Memphis
Upset alert: Georgia Tech @ No. 11 Miami also: Utah @ No. 13 USC
Must win: Oregon @ No. 23 Stanford
Offensive explosion: Texas Tech @ No. 23 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: No. 10 Auburn @ LSU
Great game no one is talking about: Florida State @ Duke
Intriguing coaching matchup: P.J. Fleck of Minnesota vs. Mark Dantonio of Michigan State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Missouri @ No. 4 Georgia
Why are they playing? Charlotte @ Western Kentucky
Plenty of good seats remaining: Miami (OH) @ Kent State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Old Dominion @ Marshall
Week 6 Random Thoughts:
These past couple of weeks, there were not that many upsets. This week made up for that in quality if not for quantity. Favored Louisville choked on the road at NC State. Unranked LSU beat the Gators, in the Swamp, and in a defensive struggle, by a single point. ACC cellar-dweller Syracuse beat respectable Pitt. To cap things off, unranked Michigan State defeated Michigan, in a dramatic 14-10 finish (wait, that’s still a thing in 2017?), in the Big House, no less. What a week.
South Carolina defeated Arkansas in a game that could have gone either way. The Gamecocks should enjoy the win while it lasts, because the remainder of their schedule is brutal. In order, they shall play: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Florida, Wofford (huh?), and close out the season at home versus Clemson. Aside from Wofford, the Gamecocks could lose every one of those games. Yes, that is to say that even Vandy is iffy since they beat Kansas State earlier this year.
Given how hyped Florida State was coming into the season, and the potential regard in which they are still held in the eyes of most fans, is it valid to consider No. 13 Miami’s win in Tallahassee an upset, or simply a comeuppance to an overrated team?
Texas might have turned a corner with a win in double-OT over Kansas State, a team never to be taken lightly and capable of running the tables on the northern schools – what few remain — in the Big XII. With this key win for the Horns coupled with Oklahoma’s embarrassing upset at home to Iowa State this week, it will make next week’s Red River Shootout Showdown all the more unpredictable.
Maryland has proven that they’re a decent team. Not great, but decent. Nevertheless, they came into Columbus, Ohio, and Ohio State demolished them, 62-14. Nothing like a body-bag game (in hindsight) for homecoming. All kidding aside, could it be that the Buckeyes have solved their identity crisis on offense? We’ll know for sure by the end of the month when they butt heads with Penn State.
Speaking of whom, Michigan will have ample opportunity for redemption for this week’s upset loss at home when they take on the Nittany Lions on Oct. 21. It only takes one loss on Penn State’s part for the Big Ten race to become very, very interesting.
College Football Awards Week 5 (2017) October 2, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arkansas, Bowling Green, Butch Jones, BYU, Colorado, Colorado State, Duke, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia State, Indiana, Jeff Brohm, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Louisville, LSU, Miami (OH), Mike Bobo, Mike Gundy, Mike Jinks, Minnesota, Missouri, NC State, New Mexico, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, P.J. Fleck, Purdue, Rutgers, San Diego State, San Jose State, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Troy, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Utah State, Virginia, Wake Forest, Washington State, West Virginia
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqy_RS03Gdg
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Poor guy: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Bobo, Colorado State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Mike Jinks, Bowling Green
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Murray State 55-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida State (defeated Wake Forest 26-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Miami (OH) (lost to No. 22 Notre Dame 52-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to Florida State 26-19)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Georgia (defeated Tennessee 45-0)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: San Jose State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? North Carolina
Can the season end? Bowling Green
Can the season never end? Georgia
GAMES
Play this again: No. 16 Washington State 30, No. 5 USC 27
Play this again, too: UCLA 27, Colorado 23
Never play this again: No. 11 Ohio State 56, Rutgers 0
What? Utah State 40, BYU 24
Huh? New Mexico 49, Air Force 38
Are you kidding me?? Troy 24, No. 25 LSU 21
Oh – my – God: No. 16 Washington State 30, No. 5 USC 27
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 4, pre-week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 23 West Virginia @ No. 8 TCU: either that, or No. 1 Alabama @ Texas A&M?
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Eastern Michigan @ Kentucky
Best non-Power Five matchup: Colorado State @ Utah State
Upset alert: No. 5 Georgia @ Vanderbilt also: Maryland @ No. 10 Ohio State
Must win: No. 17 Louisville @ No. 24 NC State
Offensive explosion: No. 23 West Virginia @ No. 8 TCU
Defensive struggle: LSU @ No. 21 Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Arkansas @ South Carolina also: Duke @ Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jeff Brohm of Purdue vs. P.J. Fleck of Minnesota
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 19 San Diego State @ UNLV
Why are they playing? Charleston Southern @ Indiana
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia State @ Coastal Carolina
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Missouri @ Kentucky
Week 5 Take-aways:
There were so few upsets this week that I had to scape near the bottom of the barrel in order to fill in all four degrees of upset slot, and even then I barely made it. However, similar to last week, there were lots of near-misses. Unlike last week, however, there were few near-misses of major consequences. Nevertheless, to wit:
Northwestern has unexpectedly struggled this year, yet for a good portion of the game actually led formidable Wisconsin, before the Badgers eventually came back and beat the Wildcats, 33-24. Still, given how weak the Wildcats have seemed up until now, such a loss to such a strong team is hardly disgraceful.
Florida State had to struggle to beat lowly Wake Forest 26-19, much like Louisville had to do last year to beat the Demon Deacons. Thus, Wake Forest remains one of the most enigmatic of teams. Kentucky, who has proven to be a decent team, only beat Eastern Michigan 24-20. To be sure, part of the reason is that the Eagles are no longer a gutter team. In case you forgot, they were actually a bowl-bound team last year. No, that was not a dream.
Lowly Charlotte almost earned their first “W” of the year (of the program?) before just missing out at the end to gradually-improving Florida International. In case you have forgotten, Butch Davis is now the Panthers’ head coach, so that would explain the improvement. Meanwhile, it has been established that Ohio U is a decent team. Under Frank Solich’s leadership, they contend perennially for the MAC title. How then does one explain THIS? By “this,” I mean A) beating UMass by only eight points, and B), allowing the Minutemen to score 50 points on the Bobcats. Yes, the score was 58-50. Try not to overthink this, or you too will be sucked into a quandary vortex.
One of the most interesting studies in uniform contrast was the Oklahoma State at Texas Tech game. The Cowboys wore matte-black helmets with chrome-silver grilles, along with trendy, gray pants. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders, who have been associated with black helmets for 15+ years, wore white helmets with a plain-looking “TT” logo, red jerseys, and white pants with traditional red-black striping. The contrast was thus the trendy vs. traditional look, which was all the more intriguing since, from what I surmise after looking over things on The Helmet Project, Texas Tech chose this evening, for some reason, to wear throwback unis from ca. 1974: weird.
Speaking of weird, “body bag games,” so-called because of the gross mis-matches on paper, are supposed to be ‘gimme’ games for the heavily favored team. Apparently Troy never got that memo when they ventured into Baton Rouge to take on the Bayou Bengals. That’s right, the Trojans upset the Tigers – again, in Death Valley – 24-21. Coach Orgeron’s backside, meet chair that overnight just got really hot.
Speaking of hot seats, after Tennessee’s historically embarrassing loss to Georgia at home, Butch Jones’ hot seat has reached the most extreme of levels of hot, colloquially known as the “ejection seat”. We all know that at this rate, it’s just a matter of time, folks.
College Football Awards, Week 2 (2017) September 11, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arkansas, Art Briles, Auburn, Baylor, Big 12, Big XII, Bobby Petrino, Brian Kelly, Bronco Mendenhall, Buckeyes, BYU, Cal, Charlotte, Clemson, Dabo Swinney, Dino Babers, Duke, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Gus Malzahn, Horned Frogs, Idaho, Jeff Brohm, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Lincoln Riley, Louisville, LSU, Matt Rhule, Miami Hurricanes, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, Morgan State, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nicholls, North Carolina A&T, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Randy Edsall, Razorbacks, Rutgers, San Jose State, Sooners, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Toledo, Tulsa, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah, Utah State, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 2] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Glad I’m not him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Lucky guy: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Poor guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Dino Babers, Syracuse
Desperately seeking … anything: Matt Rhule, Baylor
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 19 Kansas State (defeated Charlotte 55-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Kentucky (defeated Eastern Kentucky 27-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: San Jose State (lost to Texas 56-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Nicholls (lost to Texas A&M 24-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Duke (defeated Northwestern 41-17)
Dang, they’re good: USC
Dang, they’re bad: Baylor
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Ohio State
Did the season start? Texas A&M
Can the season end? New Mexico
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
GAMES
Play this again: No. 15 Georgia 20, No. 24 Notre Dame 19
Play this again, too: Utah 19, BYU 13
Never play this again: Utah State 51, Idaho State 13
Close call: No. 3 Clemson 14, No. 13 Auburn 6
What? Middle Tennessee 30, Syracuse 23
Huh? New Hampshire 22, Georgia Southern 12
Are you kidding me?? Eastern Michigan 16, Rutgers 13
Oh – my – God: No. 5 Oklahoma 31, No. 2 Ohio State 16
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 2, pre-week 3)
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Clemson @ No. 14 Louisville
Also: Texas @ No. 4 USC
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Oregon @ Wyoming
Best non-Power Five matchup: Utah State @ Wake Forest
Upset alert: No. 10 Wisconsin @ BYU
Must win: No. 23 Tennessee @ No. 24 Florida
Offensive explosion: Tulsa @ Toledo
Defensive struggle: No. 12 LSU @ Mississippi State
Great game no one is talking about: Purdue @ Missouri
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bobby Petrino of Louisville vs. Dabo Swinney of Clemson
Also: Randy Edsall of UConn vs. Bronco Mendenhall of Virginia
Who’s bringing the body bags? Georgia State @ No. 4 Penn State
Why are they playing? Mercer @ No. 15 Auburn
Plenty of good seats remaining: North Carolina A&T @ Charlotte
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Morgan State @ Rutgers
Week 1 Take-aways:
This week leaves us with more questions than answers. For one, Louisville had fewer penalties against North Carolina than they did against Purdue. All well and good, but is that enough improvement at this rate to be ready for Clemson at home next week? Regarding the TCU-Arkansas game, are the No. 23 Horned Frogs that good, or are the Razorbacks that mediocre? The Auburn-Clemson game was a surprising defensive struggle. What was the bigger surprise: that Auburn’s defense held the Tigers to only two touchdowns, or that Auburn’s offense – supposedly a specialty under head coach Gus Malzahn – could only muster a measly six points? Moreover, what does this portend for Auburn’s offense during the rest of the season?
The shocker of the week was Oklahoma’s upset over Ohio State in Columbus. The question becomes, are the Sooners that good, or are the Buckeyes overrated? Ohio State has plenty of NFL-potential bodies on both sides of the ball. What accounts for their lackluster offense this game, and their defensive collapse in the 4th quarter? Actually, there is an answer. The Buckeyes are currently experiencing an identity crisis on offense. Until they get that cleared up, they’ll continue to fail to play up to their potential this season, and that will be a genuine shame.
Questions aside, let us take a glance at the Big XII Conference. Simply put, they’re looking good right now. The Sooners are rolling after their huge win over the Buckeyes. Oklahoma State has two wins with impressive margins. TCU embarrassed Arkansas on the road today. Kansas State won convincingly, even though it was a body bag game. West Virginia is playing quite strongly right now, though a body bag game against Delaware State next week will obviously be meaningless. It all adds up to a conference that is playing well and giving the rest of college football cause for notice. The ironic weak links are Baylor and Texas. Concerning the Bears, it would only stand to reason that Matt Rhule has not forgotten how to coach. The turmoil surrounding the player sexual assault scandals, the sudden firing of Art Briles, and the havoc wrought by Hurricane Harvey have all combined to take a serious toll on the program. Baylor looks shell-shocked right now, and it will be interesting to see if Rhule, who brought Temple to respectability, can keep things afloat at a program with greater potential but higher expectations, too.
Speaking of Hurricane Harvey, that might also account for Texas A&M has not been playing up to their potential, as well as for Texas’ gigantic miscue against Maryland last week. After all, many players for these two programs, as well as for Baylor, have come out of the Houston area, which is still reeling in the wake of the hurricane damage and the residual flooding damage. The latter of which alone has for longer-lasting implications than the former. Let us all pray for those who have been afflicted by that terrible storm, as well as for those who are being afflicted by Hurricane Irma in Florida. As the floodwaters recede and the area rebuilds and moves forward in general, perhaps the morale of the aforementioned Texas teams shall improve, along with their performances.
Speaking of Hurricane Irma, that storm shall leave implications long into the season, given all the games that have already been postponed. One notable example is No. 16 Miami vs. No. 10 Florida State. That game would have been one of the best of the upcoming week. Little doubt lingers that they’ll find a time to reschedule such a matchup that is A) a heated, in-state rivalry, and B) a game with conference standing implications. If both teams keep playing to their potential, perhaps both will be ranked even MORE highly by the time they finally butt heads. Let us stay tuned the rescheduling on Oct. 7!
One final note about an overlooked game for the upcoming week: Ole Miss at Cal, which kicks off at 10:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time. While both teams are currently unranked, it does not matter, for it’s always a treat to watch SEC vs. Pac-12 matchups!
College Football Awards, Week 12 (2016) November 20, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Army, Baylor, Big XII, Bobby Petrino, BYU, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Clay Helton, college, Colorado, Cougars, Duke, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida State, football, Gary Patterson, Houston, Hurricanes, Iowa State, Jason Candle, Jim Harbaugh, Jim McElwain, Kansas, Kentucky, Kyle Whittingham, Longhorns, Louisville, LSU, Mark Helfrich, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, NCAA, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Rice, Rutgers, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas State, Toledo, Tom Herman, Trojans, Troy, UMass, Urban Meyer, Utah, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 12] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Tom Herman, Houston Hon. Mention: Jim McElwain, Florida
Glad I’m not him: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Lucky guy: Mark Helfrich, Oregon
Poor guy: Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jason Candle, Toledo
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking … anything: Charlie Strong, Texas
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: BYU (defeated UMass 51-9)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Ohio State (defeated Michigan State 17-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Syracuse (lost to No. 17 Florida State 45-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (defeated Texas 24-21)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Pittsburgh (defeated Duke 56-14)
Dang, they’re good: USC
Dang, they’re bad: Texas State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Louisville
Did the season start? TCU
Can the season end? Texas
Can the season never end? Florida
GAMES
Play this again: No. 12 Colorado 38, No. 20 Washington State 24
Play this again, too: No. 21 Florida 16, No. 16 LSU 10
Never play this again: Army 60, Morgan State 3
Close call: No. 3 Ohio State 17, Michigan State 16
What? Oregon 30, No. 11 Utah 28
Huh? No. 21 Florida 16, No. 16 LSU 10
Are you kidding me? Houston 36, No. 3 Louisville 10
Oh – my – God: Kansas 24, Texas 21 (OT)
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 12, pre-week 13))
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Michigan @ No. 2 Ohio State (game of the year?)
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Rice @ Stanford
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 18 Houston @ Memphis
Upset alert: No. 6 Washington @ No. 23 Washington State
Must win: No. 24 Tennessee @ Vanderbilt
Offensive explosion: No. 6 Washington @ No. 23 Washington State (Friday)
Defensive struggle: No. 13 Florida @ No. 15 Florida State
Great game no one is talking about: No. 21 Utah @ No. 9 Colorado also: Duke @ Miami (FL)
Intriguing coaching matchup: Urban Meyer of Ohio State vs Jim Harbaugh of Michigan
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kentucky @ No. 11 Louisville
Why are they playing? No. 19 West Virginia @ Iowa State
Plenty of good seats remaining, B1G Edition: Rutgers @ Maryland
They shoot horses, don’t they? Troy @ Texas State
Week 12 Take-aways:
The playoff picture is instantly minus one controversy with Louisville’s decisive, almost ignominious defeat on the road against a resurgent Houston squad. In hindsight, the quick turnaround time from Saturday night to Thursday night (from playing fundamentally-sound Wake Forest to the Cougars) was too insurmountable a task for even a formidable team like the Cardinals. Now with extra time to prepare for in-state rival Kentucky, the Cardinals can potentially end the season with a big win (provided they execute properly), and can still aim for a good New Year’s Day bowl game. Before the Playoffs came into being, when a team capped off their season in such a way, that feat was universally hailed as a success.
Meanwhile, Bobby Petrino could learn a thing or two from this defeat and from Florida’s win over favored LSU. For one, recruit better offensive linemen. Houston put real athletes on the defensive line against the Cardinals, and they made Lamar Jackson’s life difficult all night long. For another, recruit more marquee white players, as they will provide more consistency and better discipline to team play. If white defensive linemen can make sizeable contributions for a program such as formidable as Florida, sure they can do the same for Louisville. Obviously, too many whites leads to a deficit of team talent and athleticism. But conversely, an excessive imbalance of black players leads to a break-down in discipline and too inconsistent of a team effort. Think of black players as bricks and white players as mortar. You need both in order to build a strong wall that is your team.
November’s cruelty against Ole Miss sadly continues. As a reminder, they did start off the season ranked No. 11. Now, they just lost to Vanderbilt. Currently 5-6, they must win next week’s game – against in-state rival Mississippi State, no less — just to be bowl eligible.
It appears as though we are back to a version of Texas from earlier in the season, the one where the season was shot. Hindsight continues to change the more the season unfolds, but it remains 20-20 nonetheless. After losing to Oklahoma State unexpectedly, then to Oklahoma, then later to Kansas State, we had given up the Longhorns for dead. Moreover, we were certain that Charlie Strong had signed his own death warrant. Then suddenly, Texas handed Baylor its first loss of the season, and followed that up with a win on the road in a shootout against Texas Tech. Might Strong have righted the ship after all? No reasonable person could have said no, since they lost by only four points on the road to a dangerous West Virginia squad. But losing to Kansas (as in, 2-9* Kansas)? That is the last straw.
*Kansas was 1-9 (0-7 in the Big XII) before this week’s game.
Now at 5-6, the Longhorns face a TCU team that was humiliated at home by Oklahoma State, and will be out for redemption. Translation: bowl prospects remain bleak for the second year in a row. Regardless, major boosters have permanently soured on Charlie Strong, and after Tom Herman’s huge win over Louisville, they are, by that same token, calling for Herman to replace Strong. The writing on the wall could not be bolder or in bigger strokes.
On the west coast, USC may have gotten off to a rough start (namely getting their doors blown off by Alabama during the opening week), but few teams, if any, would want to face the Trojans now. Their win over Washington on the road last week was decisive and dominating. The eyeball test of how they line up against other teams shows that there are “men” on the Trojans’ side of the ball. Granted, Alabama would still beat them if the two played right now, but the score would not be so lopsided as it was week 1. Clay Helton deserves considerable credit for bringing about such an improvement in his team’s performance, though to be sure, his coaching staff talent remains, inexplicably, lackluster. Nevertheless, the record (three losses this year) might not show it, but USC is back.
College Football Week 10 Awards, 2016 November 7, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Boise State, Boston College, Bronco Mendenhall, BYU, Cal, California, Coastal, Dan Mullen, Duke, East, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Huskies, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa State, Jim Grobe, Jim McElwain, Kevin Sumlin, Kirk Herbstreit, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Maryland, Matt Rhule, Miami, Michigan State, Mike Riley, Mississippi State, Navy, NC State, Nebraska, Nick Saban, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Rutgers, San Jose State, SEC, South Carolina, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Urban Meyer, UTEP, Virginia, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Wolfpack
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN8Uyq5erGM
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Glad I’m not him: Mike Riley, Nebraska
Lucky guy: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Poor guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jim McElwain, Florida
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Rhule, Temple
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jim Grobe, Baylor
Desperately seeking … anything: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Boston College 52-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Boise State (defeated San Jose State 45-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Maryland (lost to No. 3 Michigan 59-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Iowa State (lost to No. 14 Oklahoma 34-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: TCU (defeated No. 17 Baylor 62-22)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Texas State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Texas A&M
Did the season start? Baylor
Can the season end? Notre Dame
Can the season never end? Louisville
GAMES
Play this again: No. 1 Alabama 10, No. 13 LSU 0
Play this again, too: Texas 45, Texas Tech 37
Never play this again: No. 25 Washington State 69, Arizona 7
Close call: No. 22 Florida State 24, NC State 20
What? Illinois 31, Michigan State 27
Huh? Navy 28, Notre Dame 27
Are you kidding me? TCU 62, No. 17 Baylor 22
Oh – my – God: Mississippi State 35, No. 4 Texas A&M 28.
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11))
Ticket to die for: No. 25 Baylor @ No. 9 Oklahoma
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Notre Dame vs. Army in San Antonio
Best non-Power Five matchup: Tulsa @ Navy
Upset alert: USC @ No. 4 Washington also: No. 19 LSU @ Arkansas
Must win: Kentucky @ Tennessee
Offensive explosion: Cal @ No. 23 Washington State
Defensive struggle: NC State @ Syracuse
Great game no one is talking about: No. 21 North Carolina @ Duke
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Richt of Miami vs. Bronco Mendenhall of Virginia
Who’s bringing the body bags? Maryland @ No. 6 Ohio State
Why are they playing? Southern Utah @ BYU
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ Florida Atlantic
They shoot horses, don’t they? Boston College @ No. 20 Florida State
Week 10 Take-aways:
Is Ohio State that good or is Nebraska that overrated? Or, is the answer the one preferred by Sterling Archer: A little of Column A and a little of Column B? Probably the third option. It’s never wise to bet against Urban Meyer, who has proven to be the best coach in the business over the past decade (though just a hair better than Nick Saban). But the Huskers have given fans in the stands and at home some great games through some great defensive efforts, and perhaps such efforts fooled the voters into thinking they were, hitherto, a No. 6 team. Still, the demotion all the way down to No. 21 seems a bit extreme, too.
The SEC East, this year, is frankly atrocious. Kentucky is always overhyped, South Carolina and Missouri are under-performing (the latter worse than the former), Florida just got shellacked on the road to enigmatic Arkansas, and Tennessee has developed into a collective head case of a team. Kirk Herbstreit expressed it best when he described the SEC Least as “awful,” and that they might as well cancel the SEC Championship game. That game would be a mere formality anyhow, since it has been shown that it’s Alabama followed by everyone else at this rate.
One of the overlooked tragedies this year is that Arizona’s season has already collapsed. Moreover, it seems as though they might now win another game this year (Colorado? Forget it. Oregon State? Not at this rate. Arizona State? Don’t count on it). Rich Rodriguez has put together some good seasons in Tucson, so this painful season has us all scratching our heads.
NC State has to be the best 4-5 team in the country. They defeated Notre Dame in absolutely hurricane-drenched slog. They almost beat Clemson, in Death Valley. They [mysteriously] narrowly lost to cagey Boston College. This weekend, they lost to Florida State by only four points. The Wolfpack’s subsequent opponents will put themselves in danger if they take this team lightly on account of their currently mediocre record. On that same note, Duke must be the best 3-6 team in the country. They are well-coached and will always give you a tough fight. Ask Louisville for reference.
Virginia Tech now controls its own destiny, at least as far as the ACC Coastal division is concerned. Assuming they seize the opportunity of control by winning out (which is doable), they could muster a more-than-credible challenge for seemingly unstoppable Clemson. Such a match-up remains a pleasing prospect indeed!
Once again, we are left to ask ourselves, what are we to make of Texas? Just a couple of weeks ago, the Horns looked completely hopeless against Kansas State. Then, just a week later, they handed Baylor their first loss of the season. This week, they went on the road and bested an evenly-matched (record-wise) Texas Tech squad. Lest we start to think the Horns are turning things around, they do play No. 20 West Virginia next week, and end the season against a TCU team that flat out embarrassed Baylor on the road this week. Translation: much remains to be seen, and a 6-6 record still seems to be the likely outcome.
Much ado has arisen in the wake of the Playoff Committee releasing their first set of rankings. Not the least of the controversies was No. 4 Washington (No. 4, that is the in the AP Poll) being demoted to No. 7 in the Playoff rankings. “How can this be,” ask many observers. Simple: Washington’s dirty little secret is that they’re still rebuilding, and part of the rebuilding process has been a very weak out-of-conference schedule. Let’s face it: a non-conference slate of Rutgers, Idaho, and Portland State is pretty darn pathetic. If you dial up wins with body-bag games like this, you have no right to complain when your rankings suffer as a result when they count the most. Many other contenders have played tough out-of-conference games this year. If the Huskies truly want to be counted among the big boy contenders, they will have to do the same.
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