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.
No comments:
Post a Comment