OVERREACTION TIME!!! It’s the time of the
year when fans nationwide will overreact as the first College Football Playoff
Rankings were released. The committee broke it down like this:
1. Clemson
2. LSU
3. Ohio State
4. Alabama
5. Notre Dame
6. Baylor
7. Michigan
State
8. TCU
9. Iowa
10. Florida
Now obviously, coming off of last year’s
debacle where TCU was truly screwed over in their bid for the playoff, their
fans are probably already going crazy. Seeing themselves undefeated and sitting
at number 8, definitely won’t sit well in Fort Worth. Iowa is another team that’s
undefeated yet find themselves barely in the top 10. But I won’t overreact. It’s
the first playoff ranking, with several more to go. Now I disagree
wholeheartedly with Notre Dame being at number 5. That was definitely the
shocker for me. Besides they have a loss already, granted it came to their
number 1 team on their ranking but still. I would rank almost every team ahead
of them in that top 10. I was also surprised at Alabama being at 4. Not sure
why though, as we all know the committee LOVES that overrated SEC. I guess
losing to an Ole Miss team with 2 losses that was destroyed by the number 10
team Florida gets you in the top 4. I don’t know even know what Alabama’s best
win is this year. The good thing about these rankings is that everything will
basically play itself out. For a lot of these teams, its simply win out and you’re
in.
My Rankings
1. Clemson
2. TCU
3. Ohio State
4. LSU
5. Stanford
6. Alabama
7. Michigan State
8. Baylor
9. Florida
10. Iowa
Upcoming Week
As I said before, a lot of this will play
itself out and it starts this Saturday. At least 3 bigtime matchups are taking
place, allowing some teams to finally make a real statement as to what they’re
all about. Finally Oklahoma State will get to show if they’re truly legit or
not. The Bama/LSU rivalry is renewed, and Florida State gets a chance against
number 1.
Alabama vs LSU
Alabama can’t afford a loss. LSU possibly
could but if they lose, that would instantly place them 3rd in the
SEC West. Luckily, they do get a chance to play Ole Miss down the line as well.
This should be a GREAT game. I just pray it’s nothing like that BORING 9-6 game
we saw a few years ago. I honestly don’t see Leonard Fournette running through
this Alabama defense. They may have the best front 7 in the country led by
Reggie Ragland. My main question is Alabama’s quarterback, Jacob Coker. He
plays so up and down, that I don’t trust him at all. He has shown he can make
plays when the time comes but he has also made some crucial mistakes. While
Brandon Harris can also be a wild card, he made some throws against a great
defense in Florida that makes me believe more than before. Basically this is a
tough call but it’s in Tuscaloosa. With that said, my prediction:
Alabama 27 LSU 23
Clemson vs Florida State
With only one loss, Florida State is not
completely out of this race. A win against the number 1 team in the country
would be saying something. Clemson has shown me that they are REAL this year.
They have a Heisman candidate at quarterback in Deshawn Watson and talent on
both sides of the ball. Dalvin Cook for Florida State may be the best running
back in the country. Florida State should compete but I just think Clemson will
make a few more plays. This game will come down to turnovers and I trust
Clemson to not make those mistakes... My prediction:
Clemson 34 Florida State 21
TCU vs Oklahoma State
A matchup of 2 undefeated teams. I expect
nothing less from a BIG 12 game, than a high scoring affair and this should be
no different. TCU has the leading Heisman candidate (at least to me), in Trevone
Boykin who I’m sure is giving OSU defensive coordinators nightmares as they
prepare for this matchup. OSU is coming off of a week where they scored 70
points in a comeback win against Texas Tech. TCU is getting a little more
healthy on defense and I think that’ll be the difference. As much I respect OSU’s
coaches, and athletes, I respect TCU’s more. My prediction:
TCU 41 Oklahoma State 27
Miami’s WIN
As I stated before. I’m a Miami fan so there
was nothing I loved more than seeing Miami get a MUCH NEEDED win in a stressful
and emotional week where the coach was fired and a player had a tragic loss. I
have seen so many of these crazy plays attempted and finally I saw one that
actually worked! Definitely glad it came from the U! Now look, I’m not naïve. I
KNOW there was some questionable calls on this play and NEVER have I ever seen
a referee come on the field after a review, and then say they need more time to
review. I swear it felt like 20 minutes of reviews and checking with the guys
upstairs. Obviously the refs missed a knee down, as well as a block in the
back, and another one that was questionable. That, I don’t deny. BUT on Duke’s
previous touchdown, did the quarterback really get the ball across the goal line?
I don’t think he did. The refs missed that call. So basically Miami wins this
game anyway. And for the idiots that even brought overturning the result into
question, that’s probably the dumbest thing I have ever heard! As Jalynn
mentioned, if you do that then let’s just look at missed calls in every game
that happen and overturn the result afterwards. You CANNOT set a precedent like
that! At the end of the day, this goes down as an epic play and an epic win!
Miami!
JT Barrett
I don’t have a ton to say on the JT Barrett situation.
He made a dumb decision to get behind of the wheel of a car while impaired.
That could potentially cost him and Ohio State going forward. He battled for
the starting job all offseason, and basically competed all season long to be
handed to keys to the offense and this is what he does when he gets it? NOT
SMART! So this could go one of 2 ways. Cardale Jones could play great against
Minnesota, earn his spot back and send JT back to the bench. Or Ohio State
could actually lose to Minnesota which is VERY possible and end their postseason
hopes! Either way, Barrett’s decision could affect more than just himself, especially
from the financial side as well.
-D-WILL
Now, let’s see what Jalynn has to say!
JT Barrett
So am I the
only person, outside of Ohio State, that doesn’t think this is a big deal? The
headlines make this look MUCH worse than it actually is, “JT Barrett Loses
Scholarship over DUI”. First of all, he didn’t lose his scholarship. He
forfeited his summer financial aid, BIG DIFFERENCE. Summer financial aid checks
are huge to athletes, heck any financial aid checks are huge to athletes. But
this is essentially like a fine, you want him to think twice before making a
decision, legally hit him in his pockets. He’ll have quite a bit less spending
money next summer. Secondly, he didn’t have a DUI. He was driving while
impaired, which is a misdemeanor. There are a lot of people thinking he really
should lose his scholarship or be kicked out of the University, which is
preposterous. He blew .08……. .08!!!! Do you know what it takes to blow a .08?
On average, it takes about 3 beers to blow a .08. I don’t know about you guys,
but it takes more than 3 beers to get me to the point where my judgment is affected.
After 3 beers I can’t even tell that I’ve had a drink. And if you’re reading
this and acting like you’ve never driven a car after drinking at least 3 beers…..just
stop. We’ve all been in college before. And JT is 6’1” 225lbs, I’m pretty sure
he can handle 3 beers. BUT, wrong is wrong and he should have been smarter, he’s
underage, he’s the captain of the team, he has to be a better leader for his
teammates and all that jazz. <—- that’s my disclaimer. Moving on…
Duke/Miami
Hands down the craziest finish to
a game that I’ve ever seen in my life!! Unreal! The officials completely blew
it but let’s take a minute and thank them for allowing us to witness one of these
plays that actually worked. *slow claps* Now, there’s a lot of talk that this
game should be overturned and I couldn’t disagree more. And here’s why. You can
NOT punish Miami because of the officials’ mistake…mistakes…several, critical
mistakes. I’ll turn to the go-to line for coaches when they have a player that
costs them the game, “One play doesn’t decide a game. Everyone could have made
an extra play earlier in the game to keep us from being in that position.” Of
course, that never makes anyone feel better because no one thinks about plays
leading up to that point, they only remember that one critical play that
decides who wins and who loses regardless of what did or didn’t happen during
the game. But in this situation, Duke has to realize that when you’re a 7pt
favorite to win AT HOME against a struggling Miami program that just fired
their coach, you have to make sure the game isn’t this close in the first
place. The officials have been suspended, rightfully so, and that’s about as
far as this one needs to go. I don’t think the NCAA wants to set a precedent of
overturning games over 1 play with this insignificant game. Because what
happens when an official makes a mistake in the 3 minutes into the 2nd quarter
and the team on the wrong end of that bad call loses? Will the NCAA look into
overturning the game then? Yeaaaa….. Let’s let it go.
College Football Playoff Rankings
So the first Playoff Rankings are
out and I couldn’t be more excited!!!!!!! :) ………could you sense the sarcasm
reading that? If not, I’ll tell you, it was sarcastic. This might be the most
insignificant thing that gets talked about all week long. We’ll see those upset
that they got snubbed, the SEC has too many teams ranked, bowl projections, and
then half the teams in the Top 25 will lose by the end of the year and all of
this talk won’t matter because they were too busy worrying about where they’re
ranked mid-way through the season instead of focusing on taking care of
business ON THE FIELD. Let me put this into perspective, last year in the first
Playoff Rankings there were 3 teams in the Top 4 that were from the SEC WEST.
That’s one division in a conference if you didn’t realize. For those of you
that don’t realize, the SEC West can only send 1 team to the conference
championship game. So how in the HELL can you have 3 teams in the projected
playoffs? By the end of the year, only one of those teams remained and do you
know what eventual champion Ohio State was ranked in the first Playoff
Rankings? 16th. So, yea I’m not reading too much into this and I honestly haven’t
even looked at the entire list. I just so happen to see the top 4 as I scrolled
through Twitter. I did notice that 2 SEC West teams were right there in the Top
4 again. Since it’s one less than last year, maybe next year they’ll get it
right and only choose 1. Who knows we’ll see. But this weekend will take care
of that issue. Hey D Will, you like that segway?
Big Games This Weekend
There are 2 games this weekend
that are absolutely can NOT miss TV. Bama/LSU and Clemson/Florida State.
Alabama/LSU has the makings of the 2011 game written all over it, that’s the
game that everyone in the country was tuned in to watch #1 LSU and #2 Alabama
clash in the battle of the top 2 teams in the country. The winner might as well
had been handed the BCS National Championship trophy right then and there. And
then 9-6 happened and everyone was disappointed. I honestly believe that game
is what triggered the tide to turn, no pun intended, with everyone’s perception
of the SEC. How can the 2 top teams in the country not score a single
touchdown? But then you have the SEC fans saying that it was a product of great
defense, even though other teams didn’t have trouble finding the end zone
against either of these defenses. But that’s a different topic for a different
blog. This is a new year! And you’ll have Leonard Fournette, the future
Heisman, against the 4th ranked defense in the country! We’ll get a glimpse
into if he’s the real deal or does he just bully lesser opponents?
And then you Clemson/Florida
State. Clemson, boasting a Heisman hopeful of their own in Deshaun Watson as
well as the nation’s 5th ranked defense, hopes to keep that undefeated record
against Florida State and Dalvin Cook. Some people believe Dalvin Cook to be a
better pro prospect than Fournette. They say he’s more elusive, better at
avoiding contact instead of trying to be a bruiser. Which is true, but let me
remind you of the last “super elusive” running back that came out with high
expectations. Does Reggie Bush ring any bells? All of Fournette’s critics seem
to think that his “run through you” mentality won’t work at the pro level, well
it seemed to work for one guy that is SCARILY similar to Fournette, and that’s
Adrian Peterson. It also seems to be working just fine for Todd Gurley. But as
I mentioned before, this weekend will tell us a lot about these Heisman
candidates, but their teams as well. I’m definitely looking forward to it.
-Jalynn
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