The sheer number of upsets and overtime games last weekend proved once again why college football is so great. It’s only been two weeks but many of the preseason expectations have been shifted.
The best game by far last weekend was the Texas-Alabama showdown in Austin. If only Quinn Ewers hadn’t gotten hurt, the Longhorns definitely could have knocked off the Crimson Tide. Alabama looked way more vulnerable than we expected them too, even with all the special treatment they were getting from the refs.
While it looks like it will come down to Michigan and Ohio State again in the Big 10 East, the West is completely up for grabs. After just two weeks Minnesota is the only team without a loss. The west is always a toss up, but expect chaos from them this season.
Surprisingly enough, the two conferences that are doing the best so far are the Big 12 and the Pac 12. Maybe the Pac 12 will finally get a team back into the Playoffs.
Let’s get into another great week of college football!
My top 10 rankings continue to be mostly resume based at this point because we don’t have that many data points on each team. My exception is Michigan, because although they have played an insanely easy schedule, the team looks so solid, especially under JJ McCarthey.
My Playoff Predictions:
Georgia
Ohio State
Michigan
USC
Sleeper: BYU (if they win out they will have a resume even better than UC’s last season)
Potential Heisman Candidates:
CJ Stroud QB Ohio State
Bryce Young QB Alabama
Caleb Williams QB USC
Stetson Bennett QB Georgia (from walk-on to Heisman??)
My Predictions for this Week:
Last Week: 8/10
(6)Oklahoma at Nebraska: The Scott Frost era is officially over at Nebraska and interim coach Mickey Joseph will be leading the Cornhuskers. The Oklahoma-Nebraska game was close last season, and I think it’s going to be close again this year despite Oklahoma being much more talented. The Nebraska crowd of 90,000+ will be crazy, which will be an adjustment for Oklahoma quarterback Dillion Gabriel, who isn’t used to playing in front of crowds like that in the AAC. Ultimately I think Oklahoma will win, but I would expect a close, fun game and for Nebraska to cover the spread.
Abilene Christian University at Mizzou: Mizzou needs to have a good showing to make up for their absolutely horrible game last weekend at Kansas State. Both of Missouir’s quarterbacks looked like they should be playing in the group of 5, not the SEC. Brady Cook will continue to be the starter, but I would expect Sam Horn to get his first bit of game time action if the Tigers pick up a lead in the second half. Luther Burden will need to get more touches. There are rumors he may be the punt returner starting this week. I believe this game will be a big blow out.
Fresno State at (7)USC: USC has blown out their first two opponents, but the defense has sneakily not been too strong. This isn’t surprising though, as the defense is full of transfers. The offense will be able to put up enough points in most of their games to keep pressure off the defense, but one of these times it will catch up with them. Fresno State has an offensive that I believe can go toe-to-toe with the Trojans. Their quarterback is Jake Haener, who was in the top five in passing in the country last season. I am going to pick another upset and go with the Bulldogs in this game.
(1)Georgia at South Carolina: Georgia is clearly the best team in the country, and is so strong on both sides of the ball. Stetson Bennet isn’t even that special, but because of the immense amount of talent around him he can easily put up good numbers. Carolina’s offensive line is very weak and I think Georgia will get to Spencer Rattler very easily. I am expecting a blowout here.
(22)Penn State at Auburn: With all the chaos at Auburn this offseason, I am very excited to see what the Tigers bring to the table in this big time matchup. Penn State has already played a big time game on the road this season, and Sean Clifford was able to be a leader in crunch time. Auburn’s quarterback is TJ Finlay, who should not scare Penn State fans. Auburn hasn’t looked great so far, but they always show up to big time games in Jordan Hare. I think this will be a close game but Penn State will pull away at the end. If Sean Clifford is struggling don’t be surprised if true freshman Drew Allard comes in.
(12)BYU at (25)Oregon: If BYU can beat Oregon, they are building quite a resume for a playoff berth. The Cougars knocked off a top ten Baylor team last weekend thanks to a walk off field goal in double overtime and will look to build on that momentum as they travel to Eugene. They were missing their top two receivers last weekend, and it is still unclear if Nacua and Romney will be back for this game. Oregon was horrendous against Georgia, and Bo Nix showed no improvements. I think BYU will have a hangover effect in the first half but will come back after halftime and get another huge win.
(11)Michigan State at Washington: Michigan State has quietly opened the season and been churning through opponents. The defense shutout Akron last weekend and will look to do the same in Seattle. Washington has had a good start as well, led by transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Although this game is at home, I’m not sure how great the Washington crowd will be because the students are not back in session yet. It's hard to tell which team has the edge, but Mel Tucker has done a great job so I will be taking the Spartans.
UTSA at (21)Texas: This is a major trap game for the Longhorns. Yes, they were really impressive last week in the narrow loss to Alabama. However, I don’t like how much Texas is taking a moral victory from the game. Look at this tweet sent out by defensive line coach Gary Patterson:
Who tweets something like this after a loss?? Texas will not have Quinn Ewers for at least a month, and Hudson Carr is a bit banged up as well. UTSA has already played two overtime games, so if this is close at the end, the Road Runners already know what to do. I think they will pull the upset because Texas is in fact not back.
(13)Miami at (24)Texas A&M: Texas A&M was upset big time by App State last weekend (which I predicted), and the future is not looking bright for them. The offense can’t get anything going and Jimbo Fisher won’t make the offense explosive despite all of their highly rated receivers. Fishcher also has an $85 million buyout, so the Aggies are stuck with him for a while. Miami has a whole new life under Manny Diaz and is coming into College Station hot. I know Miami is the easy pick here because Texas A&M looked so bad, however, I think they will be so desperate to bounce back that their top rated recruiting class will show a little bit of the talent they have. I would suggest betting the under for this game.
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