The thoughts behind my ballot:
Tennessee’s offense is averaging 50 points a game and they have a win over Alabama. They are the best offense in the country and deserve to be ranked first.
Ohio State looked good against Iowa, but that is not hard to do. CJ Stroud could very well win the Heisman, but this improved defense is what is really making the Buckeyes so strong.
Georgia has flown under the radar since their near upset to Mizzou, but has gone back to destroying teams as of late.
Michigan is back to the top four after they passed their test against Penn State with flying colors. While JJ McCarthy is great, the real star of the Michigan offense is Blake Corum.
TCU became the first team in college football to win four straight games against ranked opponents in a month, and deserve a top five ranking for that. While the Horned Frogs have gotten lucky with opposing teams quarterbacks getting hurt, that is not the sole reason for their success. TCU is a legitimately good team and is my favorite to win the Big 12.
Clemson survived Syracuse despite turning the ball over four times. DJ was benched for Cade Klubnick during the game, but as soon as the game ended Dabo Swinney assured everyone there would be no quarterback controversy in Clemson.
Stat of the Week:
Iowa’s offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, the son of the head coach Kirk Ferentz, is set to make $900,000 this season. This means that through seven games Ferentz had made about $525,000. Iowa’s offense has scored a total of ten touchdowns the entire season so right now Ferentz is making $52,500 PER touchdown. I guess when your dad’s the coach it’s ok to have the worst offense in the country.
My Playoff Predictions:
Ohio State
Clemson
Alabama
Tennessee
How this plays out:
Ohio State wins out
Clemson wins out
Alabama and Tennessee both win their remaining games and meet again in the SEC Championship game, with Alabama winning this time
My Predictions for this Week:
(2)Ohio State at (13)Penn State: Penn State looked pretty mightly after their blowout of Minnesota in the awesome white out last weekend, but Ohio State is on another tier than the Nittany Lion. Although CJ Stroud has sometimes struggled under pressure and forced some passes, I do not think Penn State will be able to get enough pressure on him to stop his explosive arm. Penn State true freshman running back Nick Singleton has been great, but I think the Buckeyes defense will really limit his carries. I would expect OSU to pull away in the second half.
(20)UC at UCF: The Bearcats keep just squeaking by, but a win is a win and they are still in play for the group of 5 New Year’s Six spot. UCF is 5-2, but just had a tough loss to Eastern Carolina. UCF quarterback not only has a decent arm, but is dangerous on his feet. The Bearcats will need to make sure they are limiting his run game. I hate to say it, but I think that UC’s luck in close games is going to come to an end and the Bearcats will lose a close one on the road.
Florida vs (1)Georgia: If Kirby Smart has any say in the matter, this could be one of the last “World’s Largest Cocktails” in Jacksonville. Smart went on record this week saying he would prefer to have this game played in home teams stadiums to help with recruiting. This is one of the few neutral site games where I think being at a neutral site actually makes it better. It’s pretty cool to see the aerial footage of the stadium split by red and blue. In regards to the actual game going on, I think Georgia will get out to an early lead and then sit in as they look ahead to their big matchup with Tennessee next weekend. The Georgia defense will likely force a few turnovers from Anthony Richardson that will keep the Gators out of reach.
Mizzou at (25)South Carolina: Mizzou finally got their first SEC win of the season, but I’m pretty sure the Homecoming victory against Vandy made Tiger’s fans feel worse about the team than better. Missouri actually has a pretty impressive defense, but the offense is just painful to watch. Lucky for the Tigers, South Carolina’s offense is not too hot either. Spencer Rattler and Brady Cook are both not SEC level quarterbacks, and have more interceptions than touchdowns. Carolina has gotten very lucky in close games and I do not believe they should be ranked. Eliah Drinkwentz has a track record of struggling on the road, but I think this is a game that Missouri can win. Kris Abrams Draine will keep the Carolina receivers in check and if the Tiger’s can use Luther Burden correctly they may be able to get some points. I am going to pick the Missouri upset here.
Michigan State at (4)Michigan: Despite being labeled Michigan’s “little brother”, Michigan State has won the last two meetings and ten of the last fourteen. However, this seems like a revenge game for the Wolverines. Michigan State is really struggling, while the Wolverines are on the rise. Michigan can just keep pounding the ball down the Spartans throat, and their defense will easily handle the Michigan State offense. I know this is a rivalry game and anything can happen, but I see this being a big Michigan win.
(15)Ole Miss at Texas A&M: The Texas A&M football program is currently in a dumpster fire. Despite having the best recruiting class of all time, the Aggies continue to spiral down. Their main problem is the offense, but there is no hope of that improving anytime soon unless someone wants to fork over $90 million for Jimbo Fisher's buyout. This is an absolutely must win game for Texas A&M, but they may be having to start true freshman Conner Weigman. Ole Miss is coming off a bad loss to LSU that exposed the Rebels. I think it would be hilarious to see Lane Kiffin’s comments if his team can take down the Aggies, but I think Texas A&M will be desperate enough to scrape out a win.
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