We've covered Mizzou/Florida every way we can. Here's the rest of what I noticed yesterday:
1) Good God, Ohio State. The Buckeyes should be No. 2 in the playoff rankings. They're ridiculous. Maybe Michigan State was a little overrated. But OSU made Sparty look like a local high school team was filling in. CJ Stroud went 32/35 for 432 yards and six touchdowns. Almost all of that happened in the first half when the Buckeyes scored touchdowns on all seven possessions and led 49-0. I root for chaos and I root for new teams, but the Ohio State offense against the Georgia defense would be something to watch. If they don't meet in the national title game, they should just play that game as an exhibition because college football fans deserve to see it.
2) Thanks for clearing things up Oregon. The Ducks, since beating Ohio State, never looked like a playoff team. They took care of the argument no-showing in a 38-7 loss to Utah, the worst loss ever by an Oregon team that was in the top five. The game was decided when Oregon punted with 7 seconds left in the first half and let Utah's Britain Covey run it back for a 78-yard touchdown. Maybe just kick the thing out of bounds?
3) Iowa State and Missouri have the same record. Yes, the Cyclones have largely lost to better teams, but ISU went from preseason top ten to 6-5 with a 28-21 loss to Oklahoma. This isn't a "Matt Campbell sucks" hot take. I still think he'll be offered one of these bigger jobs that's open. But that school might have to pay him a little less than it would have had to 12 months ago. There's a ceiling in Ames. Campbell banged his head against it last year.
4) Alabama survived Arkansas thanks to the transfer Missouri fans should be losing sleep over. Jameson Williams had eight catches for 190 yards and three touchdowns. He's the first player in Alabama history to have four touchdowns of 75 yards or longer in a season. He's the nation's eighth leading receiver, 10th in yards per catch and second in touchdown catches. Oh, by the way, his quarterback Bryce Young is about to pass Mac Jones for second on the all-time touchdown passes list and he's five short of Tua Tagovailoa's record of 43 and he threw for 559 yards against the Hogs who might be the best four-loss team in America. Arkansas has lost three games to top ten teams (two of them by one score) and lost to Auburn and if it was in any division other than the SEC West it would probably be headed for a New Year's Six bowl game.
5) Speaking of Auburn, the Tigers lost to South Carolina 21-17. I don't know if that says more about Auburn or the Gamecocks. Auburn was playing over its head for the first half of the season and now is going to finish 6-6. South Carolina was generally considered the second-worst team in the SEC coming into the season and is headed to a bowl game regardless of what it does against Clemson next week. Shane Beamer has done a hell of a job there. Both of these programs now need to see if they can keep their coaches. Beamer will be a candidate to take over at Virginia Tech where his dad did great things. Bryan Harsin is on the list at Washington.
6) There are two guarantees in college football every Saturday: Nebraska will make it close. Nebraska will lose. The Huskers are now 5-19 in one-score games under Scott Frost. That's not bad luck. That's a trend. They lost by a touchdown to Wisconsin yesterday thanks in large part to a blown pass interference call which makes me feel not a single bit bad. At least nobody kicked the ball for a touchdown. How's 3-9 feel, Husker fans?
7) The most underrated unit in college football is Oklahoma State's defense. The Pokes have made their bones for the last 15 years as an offensive team with some hellacious skill position players. But it's the other side of the ball that has OSU headed to Bedlam with a 10-1 record and playoff hopes that are very much alive. Oklahoma State is 2nd in the country in scoring defense, fourth in run defense, third in overall defense and 10th in pass defense, which in the Big 12 is the equivalent of being No. 1 by a mile. The Cowboys shut out Texas Tech 23-0, the first home shutout of the Red Raiders since 1987. Jim Knowles should be on some short lists around the country.
8) What the playoff should look like on Tuesday night:
1) Georgia vs 4) Cincinnati
2) Ohio State vs 3) Alabama
Georgia is in assuming it doesn't wet its pants against Georgia Tech AND lose to Alabama. Alabama has to beat Auburn and Georgia to make sure it's in. The Tide might still make it with two losses, but to be sure, they'd better not lose again. The winner of Ohio State/Michigan next weekend is in if it wins the Big 12 title game. Cincinnati should be in by beating East Carolina and winning the AAC title game because the next team in line is Notre Dame and the Bearcats have a win in South Bend. The only other team with a chance is the winner of Oklahoma/Oklahoma State. If that team wins the Big 12 title game and gets some help, it's still possible. I don't see a path for anyone other than these eight teams and it's really six teams because two of them are guaranteed to lose a game this weekend.
9) My Heisman ballot as of this morning:
It's a jumbled mess. I don't know. CJ Stroud will probably be on it, but he's also throwing to the best receiving corps in the country and I don't really think he's one of the three best players in the country. Do I really vote for Bryce Young? I think I'd rather go with Jameson Williams. How can I stick with Kenneth Walker after he ran six times for 25 yards and his team got blown out in its biggest game of the year? Kenny Pickett will probably get a spot there. Hell, I can't even list Harrison Mevis now that he's missed twice. Maybe I'll just vote for San Diego State's punter.
10) Four games I'll watch this week besides Mizzou/Arkansas (I couldn't find a fifth to care about):
Ole Miss at Mississippi State, 6:30 Thursday, ESPN: Nothing better than the Egg Bowl and a food coma
Ohio State at Michigan, 11 am, Saturday, FOX: Playoff eliminator
Alabama at Auburn, 2:30 Saturday, CBS: It's gonna be a blood bath, but it's still the Iron Bowl
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State, 6:30 Saturday, ABC: Bedlam part 1?
1) Good God, Ohio State. The Buckeyes should be No. 2 in the playoff rankings. They're ridiculous. Maybe Michigan State was a little overrated. But OSU made Sparty look like a local high school team was filling in. CJ Stroud went 32/35 for 432 yards and six touchdowns. Almost all of that happened in the first half when the Buckeyes scored touchdowns on all seven possessions and led 49-0. I root for chaos and I root for new teams, but the Ohio State offense against the Georgia defense would be something to watch. If they don't meet in the national title game, they should just play that game as an exhibition because college football fans deserve to see it.
2) Thanks for clearing things up Oregon. The Ducks, since beating Ohio State, never looked like a playoff team. They took care of the argument no-showing in a 38-7 loss to Utah, the worst loss ever by an Oregon team that was in the top five. The game was decided when Oregon punted with 7 seconds left in the first half and let Utah's Britain Covey run it back for a 78-yard touchdown. Maybe just kick the thing out of bounds?
3) Iowa State and Missouri have the same record. Yes, the Cyclones have largely lost to better teams, but ISU went from preseason top ten to 6-5 with a 28-21 loss to Oklahoma. This isn't a "Matt Campbell sucks" hot take. I still think he'll be offered one of these bigger jobs that's open. But that school might have to pay him a little less than it would have had to 12 months ago. There's a ceiling in Ames. Campbell banged his head against it last year.
4) Alabama survived Arkansas thanks to the transfer Missouri fans should be losing sleep over. Jameson Williams had eight catches for 190 yards and three touchdowns. He's the first player in Alabama history to have four touchdowns of 75 yards or longer in a season. He's the nation's eighth leading receiver, 10th in yards per catch and second in touchdown catches. Oh, by the way, his quarterback Bryce Young is about to pass Mac Jones for second on the all-time touchdown passes list and he's five short of Tua Tagovailoa's record of 43 and he threw for 559 yards against the Hogs who might be the best four-loss team in America. Arkansas has lost three games to top ten teams (two of them by one score) and lost to Auburn and if it was in any division other than the SEC West it would probably be headed for a New Year's Six bowl game.
5) Speaking of Auburn, the Tigers lost to South Carolina 21-17. I don't know if that says more about Auburn or the Gamecocks. Auburn was playing over its head for the first half of the season and now is going to finish 6-6. South Carolina was generally considered the second-worst team in the SEC coming into the season and is headed to a bowl game regardless of what it does against Clemson next week. Shane Beamer has done a hell of a job there. Both of these programs now need to see if they can keep their coaches. Beamer will be a candidate to take over at Virginia Tech where his dad did great things. Bryan Harsin is on the list at Washington.
6) There are two guarantees in college football every Saturday: Nebraska will make it close. Nebraska will lose. The Huskers are now 5-19 in one-score games under Scott Frost. That's not bad luck. That's a trend. They lost by a touchdown to Wisconsin yesterday thanks in large part to a blown pass interference call which makes me feel not a single bit bad. At least nobody kicked the ball for a touchdown. How's 3-9 feel, Husker fans?
7) The most underrated unit in college football is Oklahoma State's defense. The Pokes have made their bones for the last 15 years as an offensive team with some hellacious skill position players. But it's the other side of the ball that has OSU headed to Bedlam with a 10-1 record and playoff hopes that are very much alive. Oklahoma State is 2nd in the country in scoring defense, fourth in run defense, third in overall defense and 10th in pass defense, which in the Big 12 is the equivalent of being No. 1 by a mile. The Cowboys shut out Texas Tech 23-0, the first home shutout of the Red Raiders since 1987. Jim Knowles should be on some short lists around the country.
8) What the playoff should look like on Tuesday night:
1) Georgia vs 4) Cincinnati
2) Ohio State vs 3) Alabama
Georgia is in assuming it doesn't wet its pants against Georgia Tech AND lose to Alabama. Alabama has to beat Auburn and Georgia to make sure it's in. The Tide might still make it with two losses, but to be sure, they'd better not lose again. The winner of Ohio State/Michigan next weekend is in if it wins the Big 12 title game. Cincinnati should be in by beating East Carolina and winning the AAC title game because the next team in line is Notre Dame and the Bearcats have a win in South Bend. The only other team with a chance is the winner of Oklahoma/Oklahoma State. If that team wins the Big 12 title game and gets some help, it's still possible. I don't see a path for anyone other than these eight teams and it's really six teams because two of them are guaranteed to lose a game this weekend.
9) My Heisman ballot as of this morning:
It's a jumbled mess. I don't know. CJ Stroud will probably be on it, but he's also throwing to the best receiving corps in the country and I don't really think he's one of the three best players in the country. Do I really vote for Bryce Young? I think I'd rather go with Jameson Williams. How can I stick with Kenneth Walker after he ran six times for 25 yards and his team got blown out in its biggest game of the year? Kenny Pickett will probably get a spot there. Hell, I can't even list Harrison Mevis now that he's missed twice. Maybe I'll just vote for San Diego State's punter.
10) Four games I'll watch this week besides Mizzou/Arkansas (I couldn't find a fifth to care about):
Ole Miss at Mississippi State, 6:30 Thursday, ESPN: Nothing better than the Egg Bowl and a food coma
Ohio State at Michigan, 11 am, Saturday, FOX: Playoff eliminator
Alabama at Auburn, 2:30 Saturday, CBS: It's gonna be a blood bath, but it's still the Iron Bowl
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State, 6:30 Saturday, ABC: Bedlam part 1?
