Another great week of college football in the books! The
teams that are going to the playoffs are starting to reveal themselves week by
week and this one was no different. The luck for an SEC contender finally ran
out and a BIG 10 team continues to roll teams. Halfway through the year and the
shape of conferences is finally starting to appear.
Conference Check In
ACC
This looks to be Clemson’s league to lose. If they get past
a road game against Tallahassee and an ACC Championship game against maybe a
Miami team, they are guaranteed to again return to the playoff. Miami had a PAT
blocked against Florida State which gave them a 1 point loss. Miami however,
still controls its’ own destiny in the ACC Coastal. Louisville’s playoff hopes
took a hit when Houston lost to Navy Saturday which took away the Cardinals
last chance at a premiere game. So Clemson is definitely the favorite, with
Miami right behind.
BIG 10
Can November 26th get here faster? That game
between Ohio State and Michigan will likely decide who goes to the playoff this
year. My early thought is Ohio State will win, and it won’t be close. But until
then we can keep watching Michigan destroy the “little sisters of the poor”.
Ohio State does face a slight challenge when they travel to Wisconsin this
weekend but as much as I respect Wisconsin’s defense, I don’t think they have
enough offense to win this game.
BIG 12
I don’t think there’s a team in this league who will make it
to the playoff. I see Oklahoma beating Baylor and eliminating them. I also
think the committee wants to happen as well. All of the embarrassment that the
Baylor program has brought to college football, they simply don’t deserve it.
Texas gave Oklahoma a fight last week, but still fell short. It’s definitely
not a good look for Charlie Strong to fire his defensive coordinator, say that
he’s going to take over on defense and the following week, give up almost 700
yards. His days are surely numbered.
PAC 12
I still think this is the deepest conference in college football. Washington has clearly separated themselves from the rest as they continue to destroy teams. If they run the table, you can lock them into the playoff. Oregon and Stanford have some serious issues right now and you wonder how that will affect the rest of their season. USC is looking much better as well since the quarterback change, but I still expect them to fall this weekend.
SEC
Alabama is dominant as usual and is clearly the class of the
SEC, BUT the race to win the SEC West is not over. Texas A&M has looked
great for much of the year and have a showdown with Alabama next week in a HUGE
game! Ole Miss also has an outside shot at the title Alabama loses twice, and
they beat Texas A&M. Much easier said than done of course but anything’s
possible. Tennessee’s luck finally ran out against Texas A&M, but I came
away impressed that they could withstand all those turnovers and still get the
game into overtime. I don’t think they have a chance against Alabama this
weekend, but they definitely earned a little more of my respect.
As you can see, there is a lot of the season left, but the
outcomes are already starting to appear. It seems like a week doesn’t go by
without upsets and games that go down to the wire. Basically we really get a 4
month double elimination playoff in college football and I am grateful! Some
great players have started to break away from the rest as well.
Early Heisman
Contenders
1A. Lamar Jackson - I
had to put him on here twice! The numbers he is doing this year and being so
exciting make him clearly the favorite. He is single-handedly putting Louisville
football back on the map.
1B. Lamar Jackson – See Above
2. JT Barrett – Best player on maybe the best team in the
country. He has improved with both his running and passing this year and I
don’t see anyone slowing him down.
3. Desean Watson – After a slow start, the favorite coming
into the year has stepped his game up in a major way. He’s thrown for 9
touchdowns in his last 2 games and I expect that to continue going forward. The
only way he can catch Jackson is if he has a game for the ages against Florida
State in Tallahassee.
4. Patrick Mahommes – I know Texas Tech’s defense is
terrible but Patrick Mahommes skill on offense almost makes you forget about
that. People make a lot of noise about Lamar Jackson’s numbers but Mahommes has
27 touchdowns this year in 5 games. He is bigtime, and just as exciting.
5. Jabrill Peppers – He won’t win it because he’s primarily a
defensive player but he may get some votes. Dominant on defense and also looks
great when he gets snaps on offensive and special teams. Probably a top 10 pick
in next year’s draft.
6. Jake Browning -
Last but not least, he’s lead Washington to a top 5 ranking and looked
great so far this year. He rarely makes a bad decision and only gets better.
Pick 6
We went 4/5 last week after the LSU-Florida game was
canceled, so hopefully we can keep the good mojo going!
West Virginia (20) VS Texas Tech
Patrick Mahommes has been phenomenal this year and as mentioned
before, if he had a defense he would be getting a lot more love nationwide.
People probably don’t even know that West Virginia undefeated but they are!
They have a solid team on both sides of the all playmakers who can change the
game. I’m going with the home team in this one.
Texas Tech 38
West Virginia 32
Alabama (1) VS Tennessee (9)
Alabama is dominant and I expect that to continue Friday.
Tennessee can’t afford the mistakes they made against Texas A&M if they
expect to compete Saturday. It’s in Tennessee which might help their cause but
at the end of the day, Bama will be too much. Jalen Hurd is expected to play so
that may help, but since Bama doesn’t let anyone run against him, he’ll likely
be limited.
Alabama 37
Tennessee 17
North Carolina VS Miami (16)
2 teams coming off tough defeats. North Carolina lost 34-3
to Virginia Tech and Miami lost by 1 on a blocked PAT against Florida State.
Both will likely be looking to bounce back in a big way! Brad Kaaya who injured
his shoulder against FSU is expected to be back and even though UNC is a tough
matchup, I think Miami’s running game and defense will be too much for Florida
State.
Miami 31
North Carolina 20
Ole Miss (12) VS Arkansas (22)
This is a huge game for Ole Miss if they want to continue to
keep their SEC West hopes alive. They can’t afford a loss and going into this
game with Arkansas they have all the motivation they need. Arkansas has beaten
Ole Miss the last 2 years, including a shutout in 2014 and a miraculous win
last year converting a 4th and 25 in overtime. This game may feature
the 2 best quarterbacks in the SEC so I wouldn’t be surprised if this game is a
shootout. Basically it comes down to which defense do I trust more? The answer
is easily Ole Miss.
Ole Miss 41
Arkansas 31
Ohio State (2) VS Wisconsin (8)
Primetime matchup on Saturday night in Camp Randall. Should be
a great game, at least for a half. As I mentioned before, Wisconsin is really
good on defense and really bad on offense. Ohio State will have the best player
on the field in JT Barrett and I think he will be able to overcome a tough road
crowd and make enough plays for his team to get the win.
Ohio State 27
Wisconsin 13
Stanford VS Notre Dame
2 teams who come in struggling and not knowing what to make
of their seasons. Both came in and some people predicted they would be in the
playoff but now, there are major questions about each program. Brian Kelly of
Notre Dame continues to call his players out each week which is an extremely
weak move, so he deserves another loss if you ask me. Stanford just can’t get
it going and the quarterback issues are one of the reasons why, not to mention
the defense has lost the physicality that made them so good lately. Deshaun
Kizer should be able to make some plays against this defense.
Notre Dame 27
Stanford 21
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