We have already hit the point when seeing the AP Rankings makes me extremely angry. Once again they follow no order and are completely brand name biased.
For example, Clemson, who has a loss, is still ranked over unbeaten UC, Texas A&M, and Penn State. How can you say that Clemson, whose offense looked awful against Georgia, is a better team. This ranking is based completely on past history.
The ranking I find the most unexplainable is Oklahoma at number three. How can someone defend the Sooners above Iowa and Oregon when they have played two bad teams and barely survived one of them. Meanwhile, Iowa, in both of their games, have beaten ranked teams and proven they have a top defense in the country. And Oregon survived a scare against Fresno State, then turned around and beat OSU in the Horseshoe. How can you still say that Oklahoma deserves to be ranked higher than Iowa or Oregon.
The rankings will never make sense, so I need to just enjoy the games and not worry about the rankings. Last weekend came with a wild number of upsets, and I expect more this weekend!
My Playoff Predictions:
Alabama
Oregon
Georgia
UC
Heisman Watch:
Bryce Young Alabama QB
CJ Verdell Oregon RB
Matt Coral Ole Miss QB
My Picks:
Last week I was 5/9 (56%)
Michigan State at (24)Miami: Michigan State has played past their expectations behind surging quarterback Peyton Thorne. Miami, meanwhile, got destroyed by Bama and barely survived App State, but somehow is still ranked. Their quarterback D'Eriq King has not looked the same since his ACL injury last year, and because of this I think Michigan State is going to pull the upset here.
(15)Virginia Tech at West Virginia: An old Big East matchup is happening in Morgantown this weekend, and I think this could be a really fun game. VT had the huge upset opening night, and took care of business last weekend against Middle Tennessee. WVU fell to Maryland on the road in their opener, but have shown some signs of improvement from last season. The atmosphere at West Virginia is always great, and this feels like a trap game for VT to me, so I am going to pick the Mountaineers here.
Nebraska at (3)Oklahoma: Although this game was once an instant classic, Nebraska has fallen to a level that this game will be over in the first quarter. If the Cornhuskers couldn’t beat Illinois, they have no chance against the Sooners. If Nebraska gets absolutely destroyed, this could impact Scott Frost’s job.
(8)UC at Indiana: Indiana’s weaknesses were displayed against Iowa, and UC should learn from these to take advantage of this game. I think Desmond Ridder is going to shine in this game, along with the Bearcats defense. Michael Penix and the Hoosiers offense has not been too hot, and with UC’s strong defense, I think the Bearcats will come out on top and secure their spot as the top G5 team.
Purdue at (12)Notre Dame: I believe this is going to be a sneaky good game. Notre Dame is clearly not where they were last season, and Marcus Freeman’s defense has not looked great so far. Purdue on the other hand, has an explosive offense, especially with future NFL wide receiver David Bell. I do think that Notre Dame will pull off the win, but I would not be surprised to see the Irish in another super close game and Purdue covering the spread.
(1)Alabama at (11)Florida: Dan Mullen is 0-10 against Nick Saban, and it quickly will become 0-11 this weekend. Florida has no chance in keeping up with Alabama when their starting quarterback Emory Jones, who has been in the program forever and is finally getting his chance, has thrown double the amount of interceptions than touchdowns. Florida does not have a great defense, definitely not enough to slow down Bryce Young and the Alabama offense. I think this game will turn into a blowout and it will be clear Florida is not really the 11th best team in the country.
(22) Auburn at (10)Penn State: Attending a Penn State whiteout is on my bucket list, but I am pretty certain the Auburn players do not feel the same way about visiting Happy Valley. Both teams have quarterbacks that are super similar: showed great potential but then just plateaued. Auburn’s Bo Nix has been historically bad on the road, and I think the environment at Penn State will cause him to make even more mistakes. I am taking Penn State in this game, and to cover the spread as well.
(19)Arizona State at (23)BYU: BYU, who was supposed to have a down year, had back to back wins over P5 teams, and is performing above expectations. Arizona State still has so many questions around them because of their lingering NCAA issues, with many coaches currently on leave. I am going to pick BYU to win a close one, mainly because they are the home team.
Fresno State at (13)UCLA: I think UCLA is currently a little underrated, but this test against Fresno will tell us a lot more about the Bruins. Fresno State, lead by quarterback Jake Haener, is a really solid team, and almost took down Oregon, who just beat OSU. Fresno State is a 11 point dog, which I believe is unfair, and I am actually going to pick them to not only cover the spread but pull off the upset.
Megan Dorr... YOU ROCK!!