Rankings:
Recap of Last Week:
I debated even writing about college football this week after my embarrassing pick that Minnesota would win the Big 10 West. Last night they moved to 0-2, after losing to MARYLAND, the same team that got thumped by Northwestern last week and went 1-8 in conference play last season. Minnesota is not the only Big 10 team having issues, as covid has struck the Big 10. Their 9 games in 9 weeks plan has already backfired, with Wisconsin having to shut down after just one week. They already canceled their game against Nebraska this week, and will decide on Tuesday if they can play Purdue next week. After a huge breakout game for QB Graham Mertz, he will be out for at least 21 days after catching covid, which puts a huge damper on the Badgers season. If Wisconsin only ends up playing some of their schedule, they are going to have a hard time being considered a true contender. So far Wisconsin is the only Big 10 team with a covid outbreak, but as we’ve seen around the other leagues, there will likely be more teams going down.
The Big 10 returned last week, and brought a lot of fun. Indiana finally beat a top 10 team for the first time since the 80’s on an epic two point conversion. The entire fourth quarter and overtime of the game was back and forth and super exciting. Ohio State dominated Nebraska, with Justin Fields having an almost perfect game. He went 20 of 21, and the only incompletion was a dropped pass. If he keeps this up, he will give Lawrence some major competition in the Heisman race. Northwestern had a huge win over Maryland, with a complete 180 on the offensive side from last season. They looked like they could be a threat in the west this year. Purdue beat Iowa in a close game, even without their top player Rondale Moore. Rutgers got their first conference win since 2017, beating Michigan State, who had six turnovers. It’s not looking good for MSU this week, as they are playing in state rival Michigan, who looked great last week. Michigan seems to have found their quarterback in Joe Milton, who played great against Minnesota. While Ohio State is clearly the top team in the Big 10, Week 1 showed that the rest of the Big 10 seems pretty even, and will be super fun to watch.
Notre Dame had a big win against Pitt last week, finally putting up a lot of points. There was lots of concern around the Irish’s offense, but last week they put some of the doubt down. The big showdown against Clemson is looking like it could be closer than thought with the news of Trevor Lawrence’s covid case. He is out this week against Boston College, and it is unsure whether he will be able to play against Notre Dame. If he is out, that will be a blow to Clemson, but they still have more weapons than Notre Dame. Clemson’s starter for this week is true freshman DJ Uiagalelei, who was a five star recruit and has a huge arm. No other team in the ACC has performed well enough to look like a challenge to Notre Dame or Clemson.
The Big 12 only has two undefeated teams in conference play left. Oklahoma State is 5-0 on the season, and has one of the best defenses in the country. They overcame ranked Iowa State last Saturday in a low scoring, gritty game. They lead the county in stops on third down, only allowing third down conversions 19% of the time. I think they are the Big 12’s only chance of getting a team in the playoffs, and they will most likely have to win out to do that. The other undefeated conference play team in Kansas State, but their wins have been less impressive than Oklahoma State’s. Their big win was against Oklahoma, but their other wins were against bad teams, like Kansas and TCU. Oklahoma is back in the ranking, but I think that is just because of their past success, not because they are actually a top 25 team. They have two losses and quarterback Spencer Rattler has been very inconsistent, throwing lots of picks. I don’t think they will make it to the Big 12 title game this season, and if they somehow do, they are not capable of winning it.
In the SEC, it seems like there are three tiers of teams. At the top is Alabama, Georgia’s in the second tier, and then everyone else is in the third one. The SEC usually has five or six really good teams that challenge each other, but this year they don’t quite have it. Alabama is playing far above the others, and Georgia has a solid defense, but their offense isn’t good enough to keep them competing with Bama. Texas A&M and Florida are ranked high, but both teams have been inconsistent and I don’t see them being capable of truly competing for the SEC title. Alabama did take a huge blow last week with Jalen Waddle’s season ending ankle injury. Waddle was not only one of the best receivers in the country, but also was a talented punt returner. Alabama has players who can replace him, but no one will be able to fill in the hole Waddle left.
After UC’s huge win against SMU, they are the clear favorite in the AAC. Houston and Tulsa are also undefeated in conference play, but they have played less games and have not put up stats anywhere near as good as UC. UC’s defense has been huge this season, coming up with lots of turnovers. The offense is more off and on, but quarterback Desmond Ridder looked solid last week. If UC can finally beat Memphis this week, they will be the front leader in the race for a New Year’s six bowl game spot, and maybe even the playoffs if they can stay undefeated.
My Playoff Predictions:
Ohio State
Clemson
Alabama
Oklahoma State
First Four Out: UC, Georgia, Wisconsin, Oregon
Picks for the Week:
(16)Kansas State at West Virginia: West Virginia has played better than expected this year, but I think Kansas State will win this in a close game.
(5)Georgia at Kentucky: Georgia had last week off, and Kentucky played terribly last week. Kentucky is a hard team to figure out this year, but they have played tough football. I think Kentucky will hang around, but never get close enough to get an upset.
Michigan State at (13)Michigan: Michigan State played terrible last week, with six turnovers, while Michigan's defense and offense looked explosive. I expect Michigan to win easily.
(23)Iowa State at Kansas: Iowa State is coming off a disappointing loss to Oklahoma State, but they are playing Kansas, which means they are playing a high school team, and I think they will win huge.
Memphis at (7)UC: Can UC finally overcome Memphis? I think they will come out strong wanting to get revenge from their losses last year, but Memphis's offense has been putting up huge points, and the UC defense will have to play really well to stop them. If this game turns into a shootout, UC could struggle as their offense hasn't been putting up that many points. I think this is the year UC will finally beat Memphis.
Boston College at (1)Clemson: The first half might be close, with Clemson adjusting to the new QB, but Clemson should pull away in the second half for the win.
(17)Indiana at Rutgers: Both teams are coming off huge wins last week, and will both carry momentum into this game. Indiana only put up 200 yards last week, but I think they will be able to put up more this week, and beat Rutgers.
(4)Notre Dame at Georgia Tech: Notre Dame should win easily, but I think Notre Dame might find themselves looking ahead to next week, and the game might be a little closer than the line.
Texas at (6)Oklahoma State: Although Texas has not been good this season, under coach Tom Herman, they have had multiple wins as underdogs against ranked teams. I think Sam Elingher will be able to break down Oklahoma State's defense a little bit, but no enough to pull off the upset.
Mississippi State at (2)Alabama: This game will not even be close, Alabama will win easily.
(3)Ohio State at (18)Penn State: After Penn State's loss last week, this game isn't as big as a deal as expected. Ohio State looked dominant last week, while Penn State struggled. I think the first half will be close, but OSU will pull away in the second quarter.
Arkansas at (8)Texas AM: This game has the making to be an upset, but I don't have enough confidence in Arkansas to do that yet. I think Arkansas will keep it close, especially if they can force turnovers off Kellon Mond, but I think Texas AM will ultimately win.
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