We've covered pretty much every angle of Mizzou/Vandy, so here are my thoughts on what else went down this weekend
1) At least Mizzou is only paying our million a year to not score and be 3-4.
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A&M lost to South Carolina last night. The Aggies have not scored more than 25 points in an FBS game in their last nine games. They have no quarterback. The fans want Jimbo Fisher to give up the playcalling. They have highly ranked recruiting classes that are not winning games. They are, as they almost always are, the most underachieving program in the country. They have the most money in the world. They think they are great. They have not won a national title since 1938.
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This is glorious. I enjoy that everyone is coming around to the point of view I have held of A&M for 15 years.
2) The second most underachieving team in the country is one that lost to A&M. Miami got thumped 45-21 by Duke. The Canes won their first two games by a combined score of 100-20 and everyone wanted the U to be back so badly. Since then, they're 1-4 with a six-point win over an awful Virginia Tech team and losses to Duke and Middle Tennessee. Maybe he'll eventually get it going, but I've never quite understood what makes everyone so sure
Mario Cristobal is a great coach. He's 65-64 in his career. He's had two seasons with more than nine wins, three with more than eight. He had almost the exact same winning percentage at Oregon as Mark Helfrich. I don't get it.
3) Elsewhere in the ACC, Syracuse continues to be one of the most pleasant surprises in the country, but yesterday was tough to take for the Orange. They led Clemson 21-7 in the second quarter before
Cade Klubnik came off the bench to lead the Tigers to 20 consecutive points in a 27-21 win. It's Cuse's first loss of the season and it doesn't derail what is a really good story, but they had the ACC title game and a potential run at the playoff right in front of them and couldn't hold on.
4) Syracuse now joins a list of one-loss teams that need a good amount of help to get in the playoff picture and probably can't, but are at least in the running to finish the season in the top ten. That list includes Tulane, Oregon, UCLA, Oklahoma State and Wake Forest.
5) You can throw Ole Miss in that list too. The Rebels could theoretically get back in the playoff discussion, but they'd have to beat Bama and Georgia to do it and that doesn't seem too likely. They got handled at LSU in a game that proves why Vegas has big buildings and shiny lights. On the surface, LSU being favored by a field goal threw a lot of people off. The Tigers rode 369 total yards and five touchdowns from
Jayden Daniels to a 45-20 win that ended Ole Miss' undefeated run. LSU is 6-2 and 4-1 in the SEC and plays at Alabama next week. If the Tigers win that game, they're going to win the SEC West. I've never understood anyone who didn't think
Brian Kelly would be successful at LSU. I understand why people don't like him, but he's a hell of a football coach. Everybody wins big in Baton Rouge, including a lot of guys that haven't been as good as Kelly.
6) TCU is the Big 12 favorite. The Horned Frogs have four straight wins over ranked teams to start conference play. They're 7-0, 4-0. They don't play another ranked team the rest of the season (at least one Texas is unranked this afternoon). They may be underdogs in Austin, but will be picked to go 11-1. I'm not saying the Frogs are going to run the table, but it's worth watching.
Sonny Dykes is going to rival
Josh Heupel for national coach of the year. TCU was 5-7 last year and 23-24 over the previous four years. Dykes has them in national title contention in year one. That's a hell of a coaching job. They're also really, really fun to watch.
7) Montana State beat Weber State 43-38 yesterday. The difference in the game was the eight points the Bobcats scored on safeties. Never before had a team recorded four safeties in a single game (three had been scored seven times). The record for safeties IN A SEASON is five. The poor Weber State longsnapper.
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That's a hell of a way to lose a game.
8) The playoff if it started today (my poll):
1) Ohio State vs 4) Michigan
2) Georgia vs 3) Tennessee
This will not happen because Tennessee plays Georgia and Michigan plays Ohio State. Here are the teams that can still make the playoff other than these four. I think Clemson, Alabama and TCU could each get in simply by winning the rest of their games. I think the following teams could get in if they win out and get some help: UCLA, Oregon, USC, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest, Illinois. I believe that to be the entire list. That's 13 teams with a shot.
My prediction:
1) Ohio State vs 4) Tennessee
2) Georgia vs 3) Clemson
The scenario that makes the country lose its mind:
Georgia beats Tennessee, Alabama beats Georgia in the SEC title game. TCU loses once and Clemson loses once. You would have:
Ohio State 13-0
Georgia 12-1
Alabama 12-1
TCU 12-1
Clemson 12-1
Tennessee 11-1
Michigan 11-1
Easy to make an argument in that case that Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama should be the playoff teams.
9) If my Heisman vote was due tomorrow:
1) Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
2) Bryce Young, Alabama
3) Blake Corum, Michigan
10) Five games I'll watch next week other than Mizzou vs South Carolina:
Ohio State at Penn State, 11 am, Fox: I don't think the Nittany Lions can beat OSU, but things would get real interesting if they did
TCU at West Virginia, 11 am ESPN: Weird stuff happens in Morgantown
Kentucky at Tennessee, 6 pm ESPN: Vols should roll, but it's a decent game
Oklahoma State at Kansas State, TBD: Winner has the inside track to play TCU again in the Big 12 title game
Florida at Georgia, 2:30 pm CBS: I don't expect it to be a very good game. There aren't very many good games next week. Take your kids to the pumpkin patch and score some family points next weekend.
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