College football week ten ramblings

Week ten, where'd the time go, September feels like yesterday, yada yada yada. The playoff clearly isn't waiting for anyone so let's do some rambling.

Down goes Oklahoma! Jalen Hurts and the Sooners simply got punched straight in the mouth by Kansas State last weekend, and their nearly miraculous comeback was rejected by the Cats as they were able to hold on to a 48-41 upset. The Big 12 has done a pretty good job of destructing itself, but there is one remaining unbeaten team: the 7-0, No. 12 Baylor Bears.  Baylor's remaining schedule includes West Virginia (this Thursday night), a visit to TCU, No. 10 Oklahoma, Texas, and a trip to Kansas. So definitely don't be shocked if the Big 12 continues to eat itself up, further diminishing the conference's playoff hopes. The Big 12 doesn't seem to have the depth its had in recent years, so even if a team wins the conference with only one loss, I don't think it'll impress the playoff committee all that much.

If the Big 12's shot at the playoff is looking less legitimate, does that bring the Pac 12 back into the conversation? The only two Pac 12 teams in the rankings are No. 7 Oregon and No. 9 Utah, and I think the only scenario in which the conference could be considered in playoff discussions would require Oregon to be a one-loss Pac 12 Champion. If Utah wins out and takes home the conference title, their one loss to USC would be comparable to Oklahoma's one loss at Kansas State (assuming Oklahoma would win out, which isn't a given). The Pac 12 lacks the same depth that the Big 12 does, and that's when the eye test starts to play a bigger role than the résumé. And if Oregon wins out, they'd still have one loss. However, that lone loss to Auburn at a neutral site in week one holds far more value than the in-conference losses suffered by the Utes and Sooners. I know I've ranted about "good loss" being a stupid term, but it's undoubtedly something the playoff committee at least ponders. Winning out does not guarantee the Ducks a playoff spot, not in the slightest. I think in order for either the Pac 12 or Big 12 to be considered, things would need to shake out a certain way in the SEC.

Coach. Leader. Hype Man.@Coach_EdOrgeron's sportsmanship is next level 👏 #SECInside pic.twitter.com/10Leki6Ax2

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 30, 2019

So how exactly will things shake out in the SEC? Guess what, I have absolutely zero idea. But I do believe this year has far more potential for parity this deep into the season. It's definitely easiest to imagine a playoff scenario in which we get Ohio State, Clemson, the SEC Champ (expected to be LSU or 'Bama), and then the fourth spot being granted to the eventual loser of the LSU vs Alabama game. As simple as it is to envision that, both teams would need to win out after their meeting on Nov. 9. We also cannot forget that Alabama still has to play at Auburn to close out the regular season. And this weekend we have essentially a play-in game to represent the East in the SEC Championship between No. 8 Georgia and No. 6 Florida. The Gators have mixed it up with two out of the SEC West's best three: they topped Auburn 24-13 before falling short 42-28 to LSU (they do not play Alabama). Georgia has not gone up against any of those three, although they play Auburn on Nov. 16. So there's definitely still plenty that can and will happen in the SEC, and that clear-cut playoff picture is far from confirmed. But if there is a conference to boast two playoff teams, it's the only conference that's done it before.

But what about the BIG 10? Yes, they do have two teams currently in the top-five with No. 3 Ohio State and No. 5 Penn State (for what it's worth I think OSU should be No. 2 right behind LSU). The two face off on Nov. 23 in Columbus. The winner of that will go on to play in Indy for the conference title. One of those teams could end up with only one loss to the eventual conference champ. But if it does play out that way, the BIG 10 will not have two playoff teams. This isn't the SEC, so those accomplishments don't hold the same weight for the playoff committee. The only way they would have two teams in there is if every other conference imploded in the next month or so. I don't make the rules. We have a clash of undefeateds in the BIG 10 this weekend as Penn State travels to the Twin Cities to take on the No. 13 Golden Gophers. This will be undefeated Minnesota's first game against a ranked opponent. Following this weekend, they have to hit the road to play No. 19 Iowa. Things will figure themselves out, and whether you like it or not that likely means Ohio State is winning the conference and heading to the playoff.

Four out of the top five teams have a bye this week, and Clemson plays an FCS team, so this weekend's slate immediately takes a hit. The weekend's marquee matchup will be in Jacksonville between Florida and Georgia for the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. The Bulldogs are currently favored by 6.5. The two teams' only losses both came on the same day, Oct. 12 when Georgia was stunned in OT by South Carolina, while the Gators couldn't hang on any longer and were left in the dust by LSU. So very different calibers of losses, but none of that will matter come Saturday afternoon. This will be the 97th meeting between these rivals: Georgia leads the series 51-43 with two ties. Since 2008, each program has taken its turn winning three years in a row; Florida won 2008-10, Georgia was victorious 2011-13, and then the Gators again from 2014-16. The Bulldogs came out on top in 2017 and 2018, so we'll see if they can continue this recent trend and make it three straight. The last time the SEC East was represented in the conference championship by someone other than Florida or Georgia was in 2014, when Mizzou lost to Alabama 42-13.

Another noteworthy afternoon game has the No. 9 Utah Utes on potential upset alert, as they travel to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies. Utah is favored by 3.5. The Huskies were No. 25 until they fell out of the rankings last week after failing to hang on with Oregon, resulting in a 35-31 loss at home. Utah has only allowed 10.3 points per game, the fourth fewest in the country (and the fewest of any non-BIG 10 team).

The only top-25 matchup aside from Florida vs Georgia comes in the form of some G5 action, as No. 15 SMU heads to Memphis to play the No. 24 Tigers. Memphis has jumped in and out of the rankings a few times, and their only loss was by two points on the road at Temple. They re-entered the polls after narrowly topping Tulsa 42-41 last Saturday. SMU, on the other hand, has been ranked since week six. And as they've continued to remain unbeaten, they've continued to move on up in the world. SMU has former Longhorn quarterback Shane Buechele under center, and running back Xavier Jones has recorded 14 rushing touchdowns (tied for fourth most in the country). The 'Stangs are putting up 43 points per game, the sixth most in the nation, while Memphis ranks at No. 10 in points per game with 39.5. As I write this, Memphis is favored by six points at home on Saturday night.

College football week nine: ramblings, games to watch

Week nine, time is moving too quickly. Let's get to some rambling:

Last week I said that the top-six, in my mind, were the only certified playoff contenders. Well, the Wisconsin Badgers no longer fit the criteria of that group, being neither in the top six or a contender, after losing to Illinois on a last-second field goal as 31 point favorites. There's nothing excusable about any of that. The five others (Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, and Oklahoma) all remain to be the favorites.

I also mentioned that last week Penn State, who has since taken over Wisconsin's No. 6 spot, seems like a good team, but hadn't impressed me to the point of consideration for playoff contention. The Nittany Lions are coming off of a solid 28-21 home win under the lights against Michigan. I can't disparage a conference win over a ranked conference team. But Michigan is not a good football team and that's hopefully something that we can all agree on. I'm not even claiming that Penn State is a bunch of frauds or anything, I just can't bring myself to firmly believe in them as a threat to the nation's top teams. Yet, at least.

There are many questions surrounding the expectancy of Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's return from ankle surgery. The other day, Nick Saban claimed there is "no real timeline" for when Tua will be back in action. In his place will be sophomore Mac Jones, a native of Jacksonville, FL. Jones has gotten on the field in six of Alabama's seven victories, totaling 237 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. Luckily for 'Bama, Jones will be facing off against Arkansas on Saturday, and then they have a bye before hosting LSU, which should be one of the best games all season. However, Tua's absence obviously would radically modify that evening's expectations. Hopefully for everyone's sake though (other than LSU), Tua will be back for that Nov. 9 matchup with Joe Burrow and the Tigers.

Speaking of the SEC, nowadays it's been assumed that Alabama and Georgia will meet for the conference championship game, with recency bias being a huge cause of that. That's still a very likely outcome, but for the sake of variety and shaking things up, we should all be rooting for another likely outcome: LSU vs Florida in the SEC Championship, which has never happened before. I'd be absolutely, positively stunned if we see a B1G Championship without Ohio State, Clemson not playing for the ACC title, and the Big 12 Championship being played without Oklahoma on the field. Those all seem like guarantees. But the SEC still has potential for parity. As I had mentioned, LSU and Alabama go at it on Nov. 9, while No. 10 Georgia and No. 7 Florida play each other on Nov. 2 in Gainesville.

Looking at the top-25 as a whole: the BIG 10 has the most currently ranked teams in the country with six: No. 3 Ohio State, No. 6 Penn State, No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 17 undefeated Minnesota, No. 19 Michigan, and No. 20 Iowa. The SEC has the second-most with five, and all five of those land in the top-ten: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 LSU, No. 7 Florida, No. 9 Auburn, and No. 10 Georgia. The Big 12 has four, with No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 14 Baylor (7-0), No. 15 Texas, and No. 23 Iowa State. Our West Coast brethren in Pac 12 have three ranked teams: No. 11 Oregon, No. 12 Utah, and No. 24 Arizona State. The only ranked ACC team other than No. 4 Clemson is No. 25 Wake Forest. We'll see how long the Demon Deacons can last in the rankings. The remaining of the 25 spots are occupied by: Independent Notre Dame at No. 9, AAC members No. 16 SMU (7-0) and No. 18 Cincinnati, No. 21 App State (6-0) representing the Sun Belt, and the No. 22 Boise State out of the Mountain west.

Games to watch:

Early game: No. 13 Wisconsin @ No. 3 Ohio State

This would have been much more of a blockbuster had the Badgers not completely choked against Lovie Smith's Fighting Illini, as we should have had two undefeated squads in a top-ten matchup. Now, Wisconsin losing doesn't automatically make them a bad football team. In the games they've won, they've absolutely dominated. Their defensive numbers had been absolutely insane, and Jonathan Taylor has been one of the best running backs in the country. But getting upset in embarrassing fashion really dampens all of those accomplishments. Like I said, that loss won't cause the Badgers to revert to a Pop Warner team, causing them to endure the rest of the season without a win. But Ohio State has been performing at an elite level through seven games, and Wisconsin hasn't beaten them since 2010. Sconnie sure did need some momentum heading into Columbus this weekend, which they had plenty of, until it all just simply dissolved in Champaign last Saturday.

Both of these defenses have allowed the two fewest points per game of any team: Wisconsin with 7.6 and Ohio State with 8. They also hold the top two spots for yards allowed per game: the Badgers with 193.9 and the Buckeyes with 229. On the offensive side of the ball, Ohio State is far more dynamic and threatening. Sure, the Badgers have scored the 12th most points per game with 39.7 and have Jonathan Taylor as a running back, but the Buckeyes offense is far more multidimensional. Quarterback Justin Fields is a legitimate Heisman hopeful who has thrown for 1,492 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just one interception. Fields has also rushed for 291 yards and eight touchdowns. Also statistically speaking, Ohio State's running back JK Dobbins has been nearly as efficient as Jonathan Taylor; his seven rushing TDs are less than half of Taylor's, but Dobbins is averaging a full yard more per carry than Taylor, bringing his 947 rushing yards just ten yards short of the Badgers' running back. And Dobbins has a mobile quarterback to take some of the carries as well. In the passing game, Dobbins has caught ten balls for 74 yards and two touchdowns, while Taylor has 16 receptions for 138 yards and four touchdowns. The Buckeyes are currently favored by 14 points.

Afternoon game: No. 9 Auburn @ No. 2 LSU

As remarkable as LSU has looked so far, they still have to take care of some serious business. It'd be easy to look ahead to the Alabama game in a few weeks, but that'd undoubtedly be detrimental to the preparation of their immediate challenge: the No. 9 Auburn Tigers. Auburn definitely tends to get overlooked a bit lately with 'Bama and LSU (and even Florida) hogging all of the spotlight. Auburn's only loss came on the road, coming up short 24-13 to against Florida. Florida's only loss this season was to LSU, 42-28. Can Auburn complete the cycle of of these three and dish LSU its only loss?

LSU has put up an average of 50.1 points per game, while allowing 20. Auburn has been scoring an average of 36.3 points per game, and allowing onyx 17.1. The quarterback comparison in this one is pretty wild; the Heisman favorite (29) has nearly three times as many touchdown passes as the true freshman (11). Despite that, and Burrow throwing the ball a total of 49 more times, Bo Nix still has thrown two more interceptions than Burrow. Burrow's 2,484 yards tower over Bo's 1,301. But that doesn't mean these teams have nothing in common other than the Tiger mascot: their rushing leaders are nearly identical in terms of numbers. Auburn's JaTarvious Whitlow has ran the ball 110 times for 544 yards (4.9 average) and seven touchdowns. LSU's Clyde Edwards-Helaire has tallied 89 rushes for 547 yards (6.1 average) and seven touchdowns. Clyde has done it on fewer carries than Whitlow, but those numbers are eerily similar. Even more comparable than the running backs are the stats regarding yards allowed by these two defenses: Auburn has allowed 319 total yards per game (224.7 passing yards and 94.3 rushing yards), and LSU has allowed an average of 319.4 (226.1 passing and 93.3 rushing). LSU is favored by 11 at home on Saturday.

Night game: No. 8 Notre Dame @ No. 19 Michigan

A nice rejuvenation of a classic Midwest rivalry game, featuring two ranked teams under the lights in the Big House. Top tier aesthetics with both uniforms. Those are some excellent assets of this game, without a doubt. This will be the 43rd meeting between the two programs, with Michigan winning 24 times, Notre Dame winning 17, and one tie. But to me, the most intriguing aspect is the continuing failure of Jim Harbaugh's tenure at his alma mater. I can't speak for the Michigan AD but Harbaugh deserves to be coaching for his job right now. His consistent inability to win big games is truly remarkable to me. He finally has his own recruits to fit his system that was supposed to revitalize the Michigan football tradition (another reminder that his most impressive season was with Brady Hoke's eventual NFL recruits). Yet here we are, in year five, and Harbaugh has barely done anything praiseworthy. It's been laughable. As I write this, Notre Dame and Michigan is a pick 'em. Notre Dame is a more talented team, but maybe the bright lights at home, and the echoes of firing Harbaugh, will light a fire under this team, allowing them to outperform the Irish. If Michigan comes up short in this one and keeps Jim Harbaugh as their head coach, they've simply lowered their standards to the acceptance of mediocrity.

College football week eight: midweek ramblings

Every single football season, at some point, we get the same exact feeling of, "damn, where has the time gone?" Just seeing and registering the words "week eight" seems absolutely asinine. Erroneous. Perhaps even incoherent. Yet here we are, in week eight of the college football season. Labor Day seems like three weeks ago, tops. And of course, the further we get into the season, the more we can interpret in terms of the big picture. We have updated résumés to review, and hard evidence is now outweighing speculation.

For now, it seems to me that the top six teams are the legitimate contenders for the four-team playoff. That current top-six are as follows: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 6 Wisconsin. I will say, No. 7 Penn State has earned my respect so far, but just haven't done enough to convince me they deserve to be in the "contenders" tier. Yet. Of these top six, Clemson and Oklahoma have their most difficult regular season opponents in the rearview; the Tigers don't have anymore ranked teams left on the schedule, thanks to the ACC being abysmal. Oklahoma does have one ranked opponent remaining: No. 18 Baylor, who has put up a nice 6-0 record, but has yet to take down anyone of relevance. LSU and 'Bama face-off on Nov. 9, while Wisconsin travels to Ohio State on Oct. 26. So despite any external factors, the top-six are bound to do a bit of self-destruction in the coming weeks, further unveiling the potential playoff scenarios. This does not means the playoff will automatically be Clemson, Oklahoma, and the two winners of the aforementioned games. That could happen, but teams outside of these half-dozen are certainly capable of shaking this all up. Not to mention, conference championship games aren't (supposed to be) a gimme.

Mack Brown and the UNC Tarheels were just short of taking down the reigning National Champs, but man it's starting to feel as if that was the one chance for Clemson to be taken out in the regular season. For parity's sake, the large majority of people would have loved that outcome. And before that UNC two-point conversion I'm sure the large majority of people thought, "Clemson either loses here and is eliminated from playoff talk, or stops them and rolls through the rest of the schedule with ease." Just seemed like one of those things where there was no in between. Clemson obviously hasn't fulfilled their expectations this season, despite not losing. But the ACC really is just that terrible nowadays, it doesn't really matter that they haven't been fully clicking.

LSU's résumé is the most impressive in the country, which obviously means they should be ranked No. 1. However, it's impossible to let Alabama and Clemson's recent dominance influence people's decision to not have either of them as No. 1. I don't agree with it, but can see exactly why that overshadows what a team has done this season. But at the end of the day, it's nothing to get worked up about whatsoever. The rankings will work themselves out. Destiny is in LSU's hands, despite the number next to their name.

Oklahoma's offense has been spectacular so far with Jalen Hurts under center, and CeeDee Lamb is showing why he'll be a draft pick next spring. That's all been expected. But what's really noteworthy with the Sooners is the defense. Their biggest flaw for as long as I can remember has now become something to praise. Could this take them to the next level? The 27 points they allowed to Texas last weekend doesn't indicate how well the unit played. Perhaps a rematch is in store again for the Big 12 Championship.

The Wisconsin vs. Ohio State game will be the BIG 10 game of the year, and very well could be a conference championship preview. This one should feature two unbeaten teams, as long as Ohio State beats Northwestern on Friday night, and the Badgers need to beat Illinois on Saturday. Seems likely. It should be awesome to watch the Buckeye's high powered offense go up against an absolutely monstrous Wisconsin defense. And on the flip side, the Badgers' offense is uncharacteristically productive, which will be fun to see against an Ohio State defense that is abundant with talent. Jonathan Taylor, Justin Fields, Chase Young...this one will have some serious marquee names.

No. 10 Georgia could still make a run and win the SEC Championship, but the loss to South Carolina will taint their reputation completely. Plus, going on a run and winning out to secure a playoff spot doesn't seem likely with how brutal their offense looked. Georgia's loss also essentially wipes No. 8 Notre Dame from any serious playoff conversations.

The final score in last Saturday night's LSU vs Florida game didn't quite properly reflect how close of a back and forth battle it was. And the No. 9 Gators can bounce back from that. The Nov. 2 matchup between Florida and Georgia could serve as a play-in game to represent the SEC East in the conference championship. Also in the SEC east mix is No. 22 Mizzou (led by Kelly Bryant), who plays the Gators on Nov. 16.

Penn State remained undefeated with a quality 17-12 win under the lights at Iowa last Saturday. It was a very BIG 10 game, and Penn State's high-powered offense wasn't necessarily present. We'll see how they get through their handful of remaining obstacles: No. 16 Michigan, Michigan State, No. 20 Minnesota, and No. 4 Ohio State (with Indiana and Rutgers sprinkled in there too).

Not saying that I don't pay attention to them at all, but preseason Heisman odds are almost as silly as preseason polls. But now, as we prepare for week eight, the Heisman hopefuls have made their names known. The current Heisman odds, per Odds Shark:

• Tua Tagovailoa +115
• Jalen Hurts +300
• Joe Burrow +300
• Justin Fields +900
• Jonathan Taylor +1200

Although I just disparaged any use of preseason Heisman odds, let's be honest this is the top five we expected in preseason. Except, of course, one glaring difference: instead of LSU's Joe Burrow, everyone expected Clemson's Trevor Lawrence to surely have one of three seats in NYC come December. But there's no doubt about it, he hasn't had a Heisman type season so far. And even if he slices every defense that remains on their schedule from now until the Heisman ceremony, there aren't any headline games that can provide those "Heisman moments." This once again is looking like a quarterback's award, with Jonathan Taylor being the one hope to break the trend. Only three running backs (Derrick Henry, Mark Ingram, and Reggie Bush [despite what the NCAA says]) have won it since the turn of the century. In order for Taylor to pull that off, he'd need to dominate two wins over Ohio State, get a BIG 10 ring, and eclipse triple-digits probably every remaining game. But the crazy thing is, that's a possibility for this kid. But yeah I'll snap out of it, a QB is winning this thing.

This weekend's slate isn't all that impressive, admittedly. But who knows, it seems like crazy stuff tends to happen when a tame weekend is expected.

Early games: No. 3 Clemson @ Louisville, West Virginia @ No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 6 Wisconsin @ Illinois, No. 9 Florida @ South Carolina.

None of these should be close, but chaos can always strike. But even if they're blowouts, get familiar with the nation's top teams.

Afternoon games: No. 2 LSU @ Mississippi State, No. 12 Oregon @ No. 25 Washington 

I can't say it enough: LSU's offense is remarkable and so much fun to watch. They haven't had a QB like Burrow in so long, and why would you not want to watch a Heisman favorite. In the Pac 12 game, you'll get to watch two talented quarterbacks in Justin Herbert and Jacob Eason. The Ducks and Huskies have been the top tier of the conference lately, so this tends to be an entertaining and competitive game.

Night games: No. 17 Arizona State @ No. 13 Utah, No. 16 Michigan @ No. 7 Penn State, Tulane @ Memphis

We get another top-25 Pac 12 matchup at night between Herm Edwards' Sun Devils and the Utah Utes, who have one of the most talented defensive lines in the country. Michigan was written off early after their blowout loss to Wisconsin, but this is still Penn State's biggest test yet. Memphis is coming off of a loss to Temple that knocked them out of the rankings, and Tulane's only loss this year came to Auburn in week two. Both teams are 5-1. 

Week seven college football games to watch

No matter what time you're able to plant yourself on the couch this Saturday (hopefully all day) there will be multiple games of interest on. Conference play is in full swing which always adds more value and familiarity to the weekly matchups. It's an extremely full menu of noteworthy games, and this is the point in the season where you realize just how quickly it all goes by. This is the type of weekend that you're really going to want to soak in everything you can. This is also the point in the season where teams' identities really start to form, helping pencil up a very rough sketch of the playoff picture.

The Early Slot: No. 6 Oklahoma vs No. 11 Texas

The annual Red River Showdown between Texas and Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl will be played this Saturday at 11 am Central, with the Sooners being favored over the Longhorns by 11 points. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 62-47, and there have been five ties between them (1903, 1937, 1976, 1984, and 1995). Texas won the Red River game 48-45 last year, but as we know, eventually fell to Oklahoma when the stakes were higher in the Big 12 Championship.

This will be Oklahoma's biggest test yet, as they've rolled through their schedule so far: 49-31 over Houston, 70-14 vs South Dakota, 48-14 at UCLA, 55-16 vs Texas Tech, and 45-20 at Kansas. The Sooners are averaging 644 total yards per game, which is more than any team in college football at the moment. They're also putting up 53.4 points per game, with nobody but LSU scoring more on average. They land in the top-five for both passing yards per game: (355.4, 5th best) and rushing yards per game (288.4, 4th best). Jalen Hurts is expectedly performing at a Heisman level, throwing for 1,523 yards and 14 touchdowns, while tallying 499 rushing yards and seven TDs with his feet. The Sooners have allowed 19 points per game, but that seems to be of minimal concern with an offense playing this effectively.

Each week that passes, the Longhorns' week two loss to LSU looks more and more reasonable. I don't completely love the idea of good losses but this certainly was a good loss if you believe in them. Texas only lost by seven to what we now know as a very legitimate playoff contender. The Longhorns also nearly stumbled at home against Oklahoma State, but squeezed out a 36-30 win. Texas' other victories so far have been: 45-14 over Louisiana Tech, 48-13 vs Rice, and 42-31 at West Virginia. They've scored an average of 41.8 points per game (13th most nationwide) and the 19th most yards per game with 484. They certainly favor passing in their play calls, and QB Sam Ehlinger has been impressive so far. The junior has recorded 1,448 yards and 17 touchdowns, only throwing two picks. He's also averaging 4.6 yards per carry with 236 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. We've seen in the past that Ehlinger likes to use his legs in big games, as he's a very aggressive and physical runner. You always want to avoid an abundance of physicality with your starting QB, but those big plays are what Texas needs in games like these. The 'Horns are allowing an average of 26.6 points per game, which isn't particularly ideal. Sure, we can sit here and point out that LSU's 45 points are skewing that average, but the damage LSU's offense was able to do in Austin is a strong indicator of what Oklahoma's offense should be capable of at a neutral site against this defense.

Last year's Red River Showdown was a thriller, especially with the underdogs coming out with a victory. I'm always for the playoff picture being shaken up, and an upset by Texas would certainly do that. On the other hand, I've said since the preseason that Oklahoma is a playoff team, and I've consistently been a Jalen Hurts backer, but I'm just hoping for a good old fashioned Big 12 barn burner at the end of the day.

Other early games of interest:

• No. 3 Georgia vs South Carolina 
• No. 23 Memphis @ Temple

The Afternoon Slot: No. 8 Wisconsin vs Michigan State

Look, I'm fully aware that this game only features one ranked team, and that at the same time there is a top-25 SEC matchup between No. 1 Alabama and No. 24 Texas A&M. But Texas A&M being ranked is a complete joke. They're 3-2. I know their two losses are to Clemson and Auburn, but that Auburn loss suddenly isn't much to hang your hat on. And I bet the same SEC homers who have completely written off Clemson after the close call with UNC, still call the 14 point loss to them a "good loss." The Aggies' three wins have come against Texas State, Lamar, and Arkansas (in a four point game). What part of that is impressive? Two "good losses" and three wins over bad football teams? If we want to look at things that way, then Wisconsin vs. Michigan State should be a top-25 matchup. The Spartans also obtain two of these mystical good losses: They fell 34-10 last week to Ohio State, who has been one of the more impressive teams in all of college football so far. They also lost 7-3 to Herm Edwards and Arizona State, who are now ranked No. 18 in the country. The same amount of losses and one more win than A&M, as Michigan State is 4-2 with wins over Tulsa, Western Michigan, Northwestern, and Indiana. If you don't think they should be bottom dwellers of the top-25, than you should agree that the same goes for Texas A&M. Whatever, rankings are stupid. 'Bama will wipe the floor with the Aggies in College Station and for all we know that'll move A&M up to No. 19. Onto the BIG 10.

The Badgers host Michigan State at Camp Randall this Saturday afternoon as 10.5 point favorites. The Spartans lead the all-time series 30-23. The two programs have only faced off once with Paul Chryst as Wisconsin's head coach; the Badgers beat Mark Dantonio's squad 30-6 in 2016 in East Lansing. The away team has won the last two meetings, as Michigan State won 16-13 in 2012.

No. 8 Wisconsin has looked absolutely dominant through every game this season, not including a closer-than-it-should-have-been 24-15 victory over Northwestern. The Badgers were absolutely rolling to start the game, yet allowed the Cats back in it. Northwestern was a few questionable plays calls away from making it even sketchier for Scon. The aforementioned dominance in the Badgers' other four games, however, is indisputable. Aside from the (still victorious) Northwestern blunder, Wisconsin has seriously taken care of business: 49-0 at USF, 61-0 vs Central Michigan, 35-14 vs Michigan, and 48-0 vs Kent State. The Badgers' 43.4 points per game ranks as the 11th most, and their 5.3 points allowed per game leads the nation. Running back Jonathan Taylor continues to be one of college football's premiere players; he's notched 745 rushing yards (tied with BC's AJ Dillon for third most), 12 touchdowns (tied for second most with SMU's Xavier Jones), and is averaging 7.2 yards per carry. He's also reeled in twelve catches for 114 yards and four touchdowns so far.

The Spartans have allowed an average of 18.2 points per game, with only 20 teams allowing fewer this year. The defense looked a bit more solid through the first four games, giving up just a touchdown to Tulsa, 17 points to Western Michigan, ten points to Arizona State, and ten points to Northwestern. Not too shabby. But then in the last two weeks, the Spartans have allowed 31 points to Indiana, followed by a 34 point performance by Ohio State. 34 points is a lot, but that's actually the Buckeyes' lowest score so far this year (second lowest was 42 vs Cincinnati), so there's a little bit of value there. But letting Indiana put up 31 on you is certainly concerning. Perhaps it was simply an off day. Michigan State has totaled 19 sacks this season (tied for 9th most) and seven interceptions (tenth most). They've allowed an average of 199.3 yards per game through the air, and have only allowed an average of 100.3 rushing yards (22nd best). That's great and all, but best of luck trying to stop Jonathan Taylor and the massive push of this offensive line. On offense, the Spartans have scored an average of 27.8 points per game, ranking only 75th in the country. Michigan State has been more efficient through the air this year, as Brian Lewerke has thrown for 1,543 yards (11th most in the country) and eleven touchdowns, completing 58.5% of his passes. Five different targets have contributed to his eleven TD passes.

Other afternoon games of interest:

• No. 1 Alabama @ No. 24 Texas A&M 
• No. 2 Clemson vs Florida State 
• No. 18 Arizona State vs Washington State

The Night Slot: No. 5 LSU vs No. 7 Florida 

It was just a week ago that I highly doubted the Gators, even on their home field in Gainesville, only for them to go on and beat Auburn 24-13 (while wearing some excellent uniforms). I yapped all about the Gators not beating anybody all that impressive, playing with their backup QB, not deserving a top-ten spot, etc. Yet here we are a week later; the Gators took the No. 7 spot away from Auburn and boast a 6-0 record. And here I am again, absolutely and completely disregarding them as a legitimate threat. Florida enters Saturday night's game as 13.5 point underdogs, and understandably so. Death Valley is going to be absolute chaos under the lights, and College GameDay will be on campus. The atmosphere in Baton Rouge should be simply remarkable.

Joe Burrow, for now, is putting on a legitimate Heisman campaign this season: he has thrown for 1,864 yards (only Washington State's QB has more), 22 touchdowns (only Tua has more), and a mere three interceptions. No quarterback in the country has a higher completion percentage than Burrow's 78.4. The Tigers' offense has not scored fewer than 42 points this season. They lead the nation with 54.6 points per game. On defense, they've allowed 19.8 points per game, which much like Oklahoma (19 points allowed per game) isn't all that concerning when you can dismantle opposing defenses at will.

Yes, the Gators defense has been outstanding throughout their six victories. They've held their opponents to 9.5 points per game, the fifth fewest of any team. But come on, their biggest threat being Bo Nix in the Swamp is incomparable to Burrow and this LSU offense in Death Valley. Burrow's numbers will probably be stunted a bit by this defensive unit, but completely shutting him down seems to be too outrageous of a feat. Florida has proven me wrong so far this season; they're better than I initially gave them credit for and I'm ready to admit that. But I will eat my hat in one bite with no water to wash it down if Kyle Trask and the Gators come out of Saturday night with more points than Coach Orgeron's Tigers. I will be livid if the band doesn't play "Neck" for this game. Absolutely livid.

Other night games of interest:

• No. 9 Notre Dame vs USC 
• No. 10 Penn State @ No. 17 Iowa 
• No. 14 Boise State vs Hawaii

Previewing No. 7 Auburn at No. 10 Florida

There's been a lot of chatter about player compensation in amateur athletics, essentially further exposing college sports, particularly football, as a true business. And let me tell you, folks, business is BOOMING in the good old SEC nowadays, with college football's premiere conference occupying half of the current top-ten. Two of those top-ten teams go up against each other this Saturday afternoon. At 2:30 Central, The No. 7 Auburn Tigers will take on the No. 10 Florida Gators at the Swamp in Gainesville. Auburn is currently favored by three points.

Auburn leads the all-time series between these two programs, with a 43-38 record against the Gators. Two meetings ended in ties, way back in 1939, and then a decade later in 1949. This will be the first time they've played since 2011. The Tigers have taken the last three: winning 17-6 in 2011, 20-17 in 2007, and 27-17 in 2006. Both teams are on noticeable winning streaks, as Auburn hasn't lost since last season's Iron Bowl to 'Bama, and Florida hasn't lost since dropping to Missouri on November 3rd of last year.

While this is a top-ten matchup, let's all be honest with both ourselves and each other: the only reason Florida is ranked in the top-ten is because the Associated Press deemed them No. 8 in the preseason polls. Hey, maybe Florida ends up proving themselves as a top-ten team by the time winter rolls around, but it's tough to truly believe that based off of what we've seen so far. Sure, they haven't lost yet, but there's a reason they've dropped two spots despite being 5-0: the Gators ain't played nobody Pawl. Florida's most impressive win so far was by eight points on the road over Kentucky...who is 2-3, with the Wildcats only wins coming over Toledo and Eastern Michigan. Aside from Kentucky, Florida has also topped Miami and Tennessee (both objectively bad football teams), along with Towson and UT Martin, both FCS teams.

Auburn, on the other hand, has looked impressive by beating No. 13 Oregon in a neutral site game, topping Texas A&M in College Station, and torching Mississippi State 56-23 last week. The conference opponents that the Tigers have trumped aren't necessarily the most impressive, but they sure are better than Kentucky and Tennessee. Auburn's 5-0 has rightfully garnered more respect than Florida's 5-0.

Both defensive units have been the highlights of their team's season: the Gators have only allowed 8.8 points per game (fifth fewest nationwide), while Auburn has allowed an average of 17.2, the 22nd fewest in the country. Both defenses have allowed an average of fewer than 100 rushing yards per game: 95.2 for Auburn and 86.8 for Florida.

Expect there to be a lot of action on the ground in this one, and that's not only because we have a true freshman QB facing off against a backup QB. There hasn't been a game yet this season in which either Auburn or Florida has thrown the ball more than they've run it. In fact, Auburn hasn't had less than 40 rushing attempts in a game yet in 2019. The Tigers' rushing attempts per game through five have been: 43, 45, 62 (!), 42, and 45. Six different players have contributed to Auburn's 17 total rushing touchdowns.

Florida's offense hasn't been quite as run-heavy as Auburn's, but their rushing attempts through their first five have been: 28 attempts, 38, 41, 37, and 32 (again, all more than the passing attempts in the same game). Seven players have contributed to the team's eleven total touchdowns on the ground.

So if we should expect these offenses to favor the run on Saturday afternoon, how should we expect the run defenses to perform? Through Auburn's first five games they've allowed: 3.1 yards per carry and 90 total rushing yards against Oregon, 4 ypc/120 total vs Tulane, 2.9 ypc/92 total vs Kent State, 2.7 ypc/56 total @ Texas A&M, and 3.1/118 total vs Mississippi St. In 2019, Florida has allowed: 2.4 yards per carry and 87 total rushing yards against Miami, 2 ypc/54 total vs UT Martin, 5.1 ypc/138 total @ Kentucky, 3.3 ypc/88 total vs Tennessee, and 2.2 ypc/65 total vs Towson.

Florida's defensive numbers against the ground-attack seem to be a little more impressive than Auburn's on the surface, but take note of the outlier: Kentucky. That's likely the best team they've faced so far, and although they didn't get flattened by the Wildcats' run game, it's definitely the one performance they'd rather forget about. Florida's run-defense might get exposed on Saturday, as they've yet to see a running back corps and O-line as talented as Auburn's.

Although the Gators tend to call more rushing plays than passing plays, they've been more effective through the air this season, totaling 1,441 passing yards (tied for 18th most). They have the 30th best passing yards per game average with 288.2 Although Feleipe Franks is out for the rest of the season due to injury, junior quarterback Kyle Trask's numbers have been very comparable to Frank's with a similar sample size. Franks started the season completing 54/71 throws (76.1%) for 698 yards (9.8 yards per completion), five touchdowns, and three picks. Trask has completed 51 of his 66 throws (77.3%) for 647 yards (9.8 yards per completion), five touchdowns, and two picks. You probably had to re-read that paragraph because you thought you were mixing up each QB's stats. So far, it doesn't appear that much has changed under center for Florida with Franks' absence.

Florida likely has a better chance of debunking Auburn's defense through the air; the Tigers haven't been abysmal or anything on pass defense, but they're more vulnerable in coverage than in shutting down the run. The Tigers have allowed an average of 225 pass yards per game (ranks 72nd in the country).  Like I said though, passing on Auburn won't be particularly easy: they've allowed a completion percentage of 54.9 (19th best) and have recorded 13 sacks (tied for 23rd most). They've allowed 242 passing yards to Oregon, 103 against Tulane, 229 vs Kent State, 335 @ Texas A&M, and 216 vs Mississippi State.

I wouldn't expect too many big plays in this one, to be quite honest. I certainly foresee some serious smash mouth football between Auburn and Florida for a relatively rare SEC battle. I think both front sevens will be wildly disruptive, but I trust Auburn's playmakers more to grind it out and eventually take over the game.