Rankings:
*I am only ranking teams that have played so far
Recap of Last Week:
There is officially chaos in the Big 12. Right now, there is only one undefeated team left: Oklahoma State. The two teams that have been dominating the conference for years, Texas and Oklahoma, both lost last weekend. Oklahoma got beat in an awesome showdown in the rain with Iowa State to lose two conference games in a row for the first time since the 80s, while Texas lost to TCU. The rest of the Big 12 teams are already beating up on each other. Going down the stretch, it is going to be really fun to watch what two teams end up in the Big 12 Championship game.
In the SEC, the usual top teams are back on top. Alabama dominated Texas A&M, with their run game looking unstoppable and Mac Jones continuing to look more comfortable as QB. The Florida offense under Kyle Trask is still putting up huge numbers, but their defense is showing some room for concern. The defense has struggled to contain South Carolina and Ole Miss, both teams that are not super explosive on offense. Georgia was able to shut down Auburn’s offense during last week’s game of the week. Auburn showed that they have some real problems that need to be addressed. Mississippi State went from beating the defending national champs to losing to an Arkansas team that had lost 20 straight SEC games. The air raid offense didn’t work as well against the Arkansas defense, adn KJ Costella threw three picks.
The ACC had a slow week, with much of their teams off. Clemson played Virginia and the game was actually a lot closer than people thought it would be. Clemson always had the lead, but they never really put Virginia away. Notre Dame and Miami were both off. Virginia Tech won again despite missing a huge chunk of the team to Covid. Pitt lost, and so did Louisville again last night. Both were ranked in the first few weeks, but it is now clear that they both are not top 25 teams. UNC struggled to beat Boston College last week, but I think that is mainly due to the fact that they had almost a month off.
Right now Cincinnati is in the driver's seat of the AAC after UCF and Memphis lost last week. UC has won their games pretty easily this season, but besides Army that have yet to face a big challenge. UCF got beat by Tusla again this year and after Memphis was off for a month they lost by a field goal to SMU (an upset I predicted). UC is off this week but they play Tusla next week, which will be a test for UC. A possible dark horse in the conference could be SMU this season. SMU is 4-0 and has been putting up a lot of points. They play UC on October 24, a matchup that might determine the top of the conference.
Another Group of 5 team that has been raising eyebrows this season is BYU. The Cougars offense has been lighting up everyone they’ve played. BYU, like Notre Dame, is an independent team, but usually plays quite a few games against the mountain west each year. When the Mountain West canceled their season, BYU only had six or seven games left to play, and besides Navy none of them were very credible opponents. However, three weeks ago the Mountain West announced their return, and BYU got back their games with Boise State and San Diego State, two teams that have been decent in past years. If BYU can remain undefeated and keep putting up huge scores, they have a shot at a bid to a New Year's Six Bowl.
My Playoff Predictions:
Alabama
Ohio State
Clemson
Oklahoma State
First Four Out: Florida, Oregon, Notre Dame, Penn State
My Picks for this Week:
(22)Texas vs Oklahoma: Most years the Red River showdown is a game that determines who is at the top of the conference, but not this year. Both teams are coming off loses and have struggled the whole season. I really think either team is capable of winning, and I really don't think Lincoln Riley will lose three in a row, but I just can't get myself to pick Oklahoma. Texas has much more experience than Oklahoma, and I think Sam Elhinger is going to lead Texas to a win in a shootout.
(4)Florida at (21)Texas A&M: I think this game is going to be pretty close if Kellen Mond can play at his top level. The Florida defense has not been playing well, but their offense is putting up enough points that it hasn’t been an issue yet. If the Texas A&M defense can make some stops, this could be a fun game. I think Florida will win in a close game.
(17)Virginia Tech at (8)UNC: *upset alert* Once again, VT will be missing a huge chunk of players, this week 15 will be out. However, this hasn’t stopped VT in the last two weeks, and I just have a feeling that UNC is going down. They haven't looked great in their two games, and Virginia Tech is looking like a gritty team.
(17)LSU at Missouri: Missouri is still in their rebuilding mode which will allow LSU to win pretty easily.
Texas Tech at (24)Iowa State:Iowa State has been hard to figure out this season. They lost their opener to Louisiana at home but then beat Oklahoma last week. Brock Purdy has been on and off this season. I think Iowa State will be coming off their high of their win over Oklahoma and let Tech keep this game close. I am picking Iowa State to win but Texas Tech will cover the spread.
(14)Tennessee at (3)Georgia: Last week Georgia’s defense came up huge against Auburn. I expect them to do the same this week. I think this game will be very similar to the game last week, with a pretty low scoring final. I think the Georgia defense will be solid to help Georgia win.
Arkansas at (13)Auburn: Arkansas will be riding their high from their win last week and I believe they will keep it pretty close with Auburn, but not enough to win.
(2)Alabama at Ole Miss: Nick Saban will be facing another former assistant when the Tide face Ole Miss, coached by Lane Kiffin. I think Alabama will win pretty easily.
(7)Miami at (1)Clemson: Going into this season, no one expected Miami to be at the top of the ACC, but after 6 weeks they are a top 10 team in the country. I don’t think Miami has enough to take down Clemson, but I don’t think Clemson will win by more than two touchdowns. It is also supposed to rain tonight so I think that will make this game pretty interesting, as both teams might have to run the ball more.
Florida State at (5)Notre Dame: Notre Dame has been off for almost a month, but Florida State has been playing so poorly that this should not be an issue. I think Notre Dame will win big again.
Kansas State at TCU: TCU is coming off a big win against Texas, and their quarterback Max Duggan has been playing really well, so I think they will win.
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