What a
weekend! There’s a reason why they remember what you do in November and we got
a first hand look at it on Saturday! There were literally GREAT games all day
long and plenty of upsets! 3 of the top 4 teams lost which hasn’t happened
since 1985. People will probably focus on the top 3, but the Texas Tech VS
Oklahoma State was also a great game among many others! Patrick Mahommes is better
than Lamar Jackson but no one knows it! But back to those upsets. How much
chaos did that actually cause? Maybe not as much as you think…
Playoff
Madness
Wow..so
we went into this weekends game with the playoff rankings as follows.
1) Alabama 2) Clemson
3) Michigan 4) Washington
Looks
great, every team deserved to be there! Only issue was that Clemson,
Michigan, and Washington all lost! So let’s look at the losses and the possible
impact.
Clemson
lost by 1 point at home to a Pittsburgh team that came in 5-4. To me, that
record is deceiving! Pittsburgh is a good team. They beat a top 10 team in Penn
State, lost by 1 touchdown to another top 10 team in Oklahoma State, and 3 of
their 4 losses came by 3 points or less. People are undervaluing the value of
this loss! Now, should Clemson have won this game? Yes, no doubt! But they came
in not ready and not focused! Deshaun Watson has to stop turning the ball over
but the real reason for that loss was Dabo. I have NO issues with Clemson going
for it on 4th and 1 to try and seal the game but you don’t do a
freaking toss play! You either run it straight up the middle, or you put the
ball in your best player’s hands, roll him out and let him make a play! In the
end, I don’t think this hurts Clemson in the long run. They’re basically in a
win and you’re in situation. I’ll get to their ranking later.
Michigan
also lost by 1 point on the road in Iowa…at night! Now, I didn’t do a blog last
week because of just being busy with other things but this would have
definitely been my upset special of the week! Michigan hasn’t impressed me much
this year and they really haven’t beaten anyone worth noting outside of
Wisconsin and Colorado after their starting quarterback got hurt. They also haven’t played many games outside the state of Michigan so
a loss on the road in Iowa doesn’t surprise me. Iowa has struggled this year
but I still have a lot of respect for them going forward! This loss could
really cause a major shake up in the BIG 10. Michigan has to win out in order
to win the league, but if Ohio State beats them, neither of the major powers in
the conference will be in the conference championship game.
Washington
lost to USC at home! Now this is a tough loss for sure and it hurts because even
though I still have a ton of respect for the PAC 12, it’s clear that the
committee doesn’t. USC has been surging ever since they made the switch to Sam
Darnold at quarterback and this kid can REALLY play! Still, losing to a 3 loss
team won’t help you much in the standings and I expect them to take the worst
fall of the other 2 teams that lost. Washington is still very talented but I
still see another loss on their schedule this year in the Apple Cup.
So as
you can see, I don’t think these losses will cost these teams much. I saw 2
losses on Washington’s schedule eventually, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they
win out either. Clemson and Michigan are still in win and you’re in mode so 1
loss doesn’t hurt you that bad! All I know is that we are in for a great last
month of the season!
Return
from the Dead
So
every year we have those teams that start off the year terribly! We get to
firing coaches and social media goes crazy and writes them off. There’s always
a few teams that are able to bounce back and make a run! That’s what I’m
choosing to focus on in this segment.
Washington
State
In the
first post of the year, I called Washington State my surprise team to win the
PAC 12. When they started 0-2, a lot of people thought they were done and was
thinking Mike Leach might be gone. Since then, they haven’t lost a game and
have blown out a lot of those teams they’ve faced. Their offense has been
clicking and Luke Falk is passing the ball all over the field. And unlike some
of Leach’s Texas Tech teams, the defense is also making big plays. Washington
State has 2 regular season games remaining, on the road against Colorado, and
the Apple Cup against Washington. Both of those will be VERY tough games but I
can easily see Washington State prevailing and making my surprise pick come
true.
Oklahoma
So
Oklahoma was a team that I picked in the preseason to not live up to the hype,
and after 3 weeks with them sitting at 1-2, it was looking like I was right!
Fast forward 7 weeks later and they haven’t lost since! Baker Mayfield has
found his groove lately and Dede Westbrook has taken the role of Sterling
Shepherd and become a Heisman contender. I literally had a conversation with an
Oklahoma fan about it being time for Stoops to move on. They have a huge game
this week on the road in West Virginia, but win or lose, they still recovered
to have a great year.
LSU
All of
those early coaching firings we discuss every day that never happen, actually
happened at LSU. Les Miles, finally out! Even though I thought he should have
been fired after last year. Maybe the AD read my blog a little late. Anyways,
LSU has been a REALLY good team since Coach Ed Orgeron has taken the helm. They’ve
won every game, except for Alabama but I was still impressed at how they
played. They have mixed up the play-calling and are no longer predictable on
offense. While they still don’t get a ton of help at the quarterback position, it seems like every
other position has been inspired by Orgeon. I know people say LSU needs to go
after a big name coach, but I disagree. Just keep a winning one. And Orgeon
wins.
USC
Apparently
I was wrong on USC twice this year. 1st, I thought Clay Helton
should have been fired from day 1. And 2nd, when Max Browne was
benched for Sam Darnold, I again thought they were insane. But here we are
coming towards to the end of the year and NOBODY wants to play USC. They just
went on the road to Washington and dominated a team which I had been calling
the most complete team in the country. Sam Darnold is a REALLY good player and
quite frankly has just made plays that Browne couldn’t. Not to mention the
defense is looking like a USC defense of old. 3 losses won’t get them into the
playoff, and maybe not even in the conference championship game, and that makes
every other team breathe a sigh of relief.
Playoff
Ranking
Alabama
Ohio State
Clemson
Louisville
Washington
Michigan
Pick 6
Louisville
(4) VS Houston
UPSET
ALERT!!!! Thursday night games have been trouble for lots of teams over the
years and I have had this date circled on my calendar as the next big upset in
college football. Houston is 8-2, but most importantly they are undefeated at
home. This game will not be too big for them. They have wins over Florida State
and Oklahoma in the last 2 years so they will be up to the challenge. I think this game comes down to who makes the
last play. Greg Ward or Lamar Jackson. Even slightly banged up, I think Ward
makes it happen here.
Houston
34
Louisville
31
Oklahoma
State (13) VS TCU
Oklahoma
State needs a win here in order to keep their hopes of a BIG 12 championship
alive. TCU is coming off a severe beat down of Baylor, but lost 3 of their
previous 4 and the win was by 1 point against a dreadful Kansas team. TCU will
surely compete but Oklahoma State has been, and will continue to be the better
team.
Oklahoma
State 31
TCU 20
Florida
(21) VS LSU (16)
I don’t
think this game will be that close. I think Florida is TERRIBLE. They have an
even worse offense than they did last year and that’s saying something. LSU is
playing their best football of the year and will be looking to keep it up.
Florida’s defense is tough but I see Guice and Fournette being able to find
holes and make plays. Not to mention, Coach O needs every win he can to have a
shot at the job!
LSU 23
Florida
7
Indiana
VS Michigan (6)
Word
broke yesterday that Michigan starting quarterback Will Speight was out for this
week’s game and maybe longer. He wasn’t great but it’ll be an adjustment having
a new guy under center. Indiana is one of those teams that are never really
good but always compete, just as they did against Penn State this past weekend.
I just don’t think it’ll be enough.
Michigan
27
Indiana
20
Oklahoma
(8) VS West Virginia (10)
HUGE
game in the BIG 12. It could truly go either way. While Oklahoma State doesn’t have
any quality wins, they have showed talent on both sides of the ball and I
expect them to challenge Oklahoma upfront, as well as in the passing game.
Oklahoma just has more playmakers on offense and will not stop attacking the
Mountaineer defense. I see Dede Westbrook making a few more plays than West
Virginia can cover.
Oklahoma
36
West
Virginia 28
Washington
State (20) VS Colorado (12)
Big game
in the PAC 12. Can Washington State continue their winning streak on the road?
Colorado will definitely make it tough, and they can definitely play defense.
Problem is, they have a big time offense coming to town. Luke Falk is a big-time
quarterback and Washington State has several playmakers. I just think their
talent out-weights the talent of Colorado. Close game.
Washington
State 31
Colorado
23
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