Welcome to Four Down Territory where I’ll give you three thoughts on Missouri football or college football in general. Then, the last thought will be whatever I want it to be.
1. Looking at the top seven teams in the Associated Press Poll and which of them have to face each other.
Georgia remains at No. 1 in the AP poll, Texas jumped up one spot to No. 2, The lone non-SEC team in the top seven is Ohio State, which dropped down from No. 2 to No. 3., Alabama stays at No. 4, Ole Miss moved from No. 6 to No. 5, Mizzou jumped up to No. 6 in the AP poll from No. 9 and Tennessee jumped up seven spots from No. 14 to No. 7.
In the 88 years of the AP poll, that has never happened.
I wanted to take a look at those top seven teams and see how many of those teams face each other this season.
Georgia faces four teams in the top seven in Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss and Tennessee in that order. Only the Tennessee game will be a home game for the Bulldogs.
Texas' only top-seven opponent is Georgia. The Longhorns will host the Bulldogs in Week 8 and play No. 15 Oklahoma the week before, but those are the only remaining ranked opponents on their schedule.
Ohio State doesn't have to face a top seven team as of now, but it does have four games versus ranked opponents. The Buckeyes are at No. 9 Oregon in Week 6. They'll get a bye in Week 7 before hosting No. 23 Nebraska and then going back on the road in Week 8 to face No. 8 Penn State. Ohio State's regular-season finale will be hosting No. 17 Michigan.
Alabama hosts Georgia in Week 5 before going on the road to face Tennessee in Week 8, host Mizzou in Week 9 and go back on the road in Week 10 to face No. 16 LSU. The Crimson Tide also have to go on the road to face the Sooners in Week 12.
Ole Miss hosts Georgia in Week 11. That's the only top-seven team they will face as of now, but in Week 7 the Rebels will go to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to face No. 16 LSU. They'll get a bye week in Week 8 and then host No. 15 Oklahoma in Week 9. So, it's not Georgia's schedule but it's certainly not easy.
Missouri has to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to face the Crimson Tide in Week 9. That's the only top seven opponent Mizzou has to play but it will have to host the 15th-ranked Sooners in Week 11.
Tennessee will host Alabama in Week 8 and go on the road to face Georgia in Week 12. The Volunteers do have to go to Norman, Oklahoma in Week 4 to face No. 15 Oklahoma.
2. So, let's rank the top seven teams from the easiest remaining schedule to the hardest (in terms of ranked opponents left).
1. Missouri
I think of the top seven teams, Missouri has the best schedule remaining. The Tigers will probably be favored in all but one game (probably won't be favored at Alabama). They will face No. 15 Oklahoma in Week 11, though.
2. Texas
Coming off a dominant win on the road at Michigan showed me that Texas is the real deal. I thought they were that before the season started but now there's real proof. Michigan was always going to regress to me after the perfect season it had, but I wasn't expecting them to get blown out at home like that. The Wolverines will likely still be a top 25 team so that's a good win for Texas. The Longhorns will get another in Week 8 versus the Sooners before hosting Georgia. The Sooners barely knocked off Houston in Week 2. So, Texas could make light work of Oklahoma and see what it needs to fix before its big game at home the next week.
3. Ole Miss
The Rebels will get to ramp up before facing Georgia, but that game versus LSU is no give me. Sure, Ole Miss has won two of the last three versus LSU, but it has only won three of the last 10 games versus LSU, too. On top of that, all those wins were at home. This game is in Baton Rouge. Then, the Rebels will face Oklahoma a couple of weeks later and then Georgia two weeks after that. Again, not the worst thing in the world but they'll have to win two of three.
4. Tennessee
Honestly, you could move Tennessee above Ole Miss and I wouldn't have too much of an issue. The biggest thing for the Vols is they face two top-four teams. The reason I put them at No. 4 is because all of their remaining big games are spread out. Every four weeks they face a top team and that may give them a chance to recuperate if things go awry. The problem is it's much more likely they will go 0-3 in those games versus going at least 2-1 in those games.
5. Ohio State
At first glance, just looking at the numbers beside the team name it looks bad for Ohio State, but when you digest it a little bit it could be worse. Oregon has started the season weirdly and barely edged out Boise State in Week 2. The Broncos were game and are one of the top Group of 5 teams but the spread for that game was Oregon -19.5 and it won by three points. The 24-14 win over Idaho the week before was even weirder. The Ducks still have plenty of talent and it'll be a home game for them so it's nothing to scoff at but the Buckeyes can definitely beat Oregon. Nebraska is a cool story but it will be punching above its weight class when it faces the Buckeyes in Columbus. Plus, the Buckeyes enter that game off a bye week.
On the road at Penn State is tricky, but then again, Connor Bazelak and Bowling Green pushed the Nittany Lions to the limit in Week 2. Also, we know how James Franklin does in big games. Not great. If Michigan is going to play top teams like it played Texas then Ohio State could do the Wolverines just as bad as, if not worse than the Longhorns did. So, no top seven teams in here (for now, it could change) but this isn't an easy schedule, but this is Ohio State and I can see them winning all of these games before I see them losing multiple games.
6. Alabama
The good news for Alabama is it gets to host Georgia and get its biggest game out of the way early. A win would give them a major plus when it comes to tiebreakers (or any of that other stuff when it comes to picking teams) for the College Football Playoff, and even a loss might give the Crimson Tide more urgency to finish the regular season strong.
The bad news is the three-game stretch in late October and early November is brutal and two of the games are on the road. We still don't know what we have completely in a post-Nick Saban Alabama team but this gauntlet will let us know exactly how good this team is.
7. Georgia
The Bulldogs have the misfortune of facing four top seven teams with three of the games being road games. There's an old saying, ' To be the man, you have to beat the man.' Well, Georgia is the man and it's going to everyone else's backyard and saying, 'Give me your best shot.' I can applaud a team like that, and if it splits those four games and finishes 10-2, the Bulldogs will still get in the CFP. It's a tough task but if anyone can do it, it's probably them.
1. Looking at the top seven teams in the Associated Press Poll and which of them have to face each other.
Georgia remains at No. 1 in the AP poll, Texas jumped up one spot to No. 2, The lone non-SEC team in the top seven is Ohio State, which dropped down from No. 2 to No. 3., Alabama stays at No. 4, Ole Miss moved from No. 6 to No. 5, Mizzou jumped up to No. 6 in the AP poll from No. 9 and Tennessee jumped up seven spots from No. 14 to No. 7.
In the 88 years of the AP poll, that has never happened.
I wanted to take a look at those top seven teams and see how many of those teams face each other this season.
Georgia faces four teams in the top seven in Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss and Tennessee in that order. Only the Tennessee game will be a home game for the Bulldogs.
Texas' only top-seven opponent is Georgia. The Longhorns will host the Bulldogs in Week 8 and play No. 15 Oklahoma the week before, but those are the only remaining ranked opponents on their schedule.
Ohio State doesn't have to face a top seven team as of now, but it does have four games versus ranked opponents. The Buckeyes are at No. 9 Oregon in Week 6. They'll get a bye in Week 7 before hosting No. 23 Nebraska and then going back on the road in Week 8 to face No. 8 Penn State. Ohio State's regular-season finale will be hosting No. 17 Michigan.
Alabama hosts Georgia in Week 5 before going on the road to face Tennessee in Week 8, host Mizzou in Week 9 and go back on the road in Week 10 to face No. 16 LSU. The Crimson Tide also have to go on the road to face the Sooners in Week 12.
Ole Miss hosts Georgia in Week 11. That's the only top-seven team they will face as of now, but in Week 7 the Rebels will go to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to face No. 16 LSU. They'll get a bye week in Week 8 and then host No. 15 Oklahoma in Week 9. So, it's not Georgia's schedule but it's certainly not easy.
Missouri has to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to face the Crimson Tide in Week 9. That's the only top seven opponent Mizzou has to play but it will have to host the 15th-ranked Sooners in Week 11.
Tennessee will host Alabama in Week 8 and go on the road to face Georgia in Week 12. The Volunteers do have to go to Norman, Oklahoma in Week 4 to face No. 15 Oklahoma.
2. So, let's rank the top seven teams from the easiest remaining schedule to the hardest (in terms of ranked opponents left).
1. Missouri
I think of the top seven teams, Missouri has the best schedule remaining. The Tigers will probably be favored in all but one game (probably won't be favored at Alabama). They will face No. 15 Oklahoma in Week 11, though.
2. Texas
Coming off a dominant win on the road at Michigan showed me that Texas is the real deal. I thought they were that before the season started but now there's real proof. Michigan was always going to regress to me after the perfect season it had, but I wasn't expecting them to get blown out at home like that. The Wolverines will likely still be a top 25 team so that's a good win for Texas. The Longhorns will get another in Week 8 versus the Sooners before hosting Georgia. The Sooners barely knocked off Houston in Week 2. So, Texas could make light work of Oklahoma and see what it needs to fix before its big game at home the next week.
3. Ole Miss
The Rebels will get to ramp up before facing Georgia, but that game versus LSU is no give me. Sure, Ole Miss has won two of the last three versus LSU, but it has only won three of the last 10 games versus LSU, too. On top of that, all those wins were at home. This game is in Baton Rouge. Then, the Rebels will face Oklahoma a couple of weeks later and then Georgia two weeks after that. Again, not the worst thing in the world but they'll have to win two of three.
4. Tennessee
Honestly, you could move Tennessee above Ole Miss and I wouldn't have too much of an issue. The biggest thing for the Vols is they face two top-four teams. The reason I put them at No. 4 is because all of their remaining big games are spread out. Every four weeks they face a top team and that may give them a chance to recuperate if things go awry. The problem is it's much more likely they will go 0-3 in those games versus going at least 2-1 in those games.
5. Ohio State
At first glance, just looking at the numbers beside the team name it looks bad for Ohio State, but when you digest it a little bit it could be worse. Oregon has started the season weirdly and barely edged out Boise State in Week 2. The Broncos were game and are one of the top Group of 5 teams but the spread for that game was Oregon -19.5 and it won by three points. The 24-14 win over Idaho the week before was even weirder. The Ducks still have plenty of talent and it'll be a home game for them so it's nothing to scoff at but the Buckeyes can definitely beat Oregon. Nebraska is a cool story but it will be punching above its weight class when it faces the Buckeyes in Columbus. Plus, the Buckeyes enter that game off a bye week.
On the road at Penn State is tricky, but then again, Connor Bazelak and Bowling Green pushed the Nittany Lions to the limit in Week 2. Also, we know how James Franklin does in big games. Not great. If Michigan is going to play top teams like it played Texas then Ohio State could do the Wolverines just as bad as, if not worse than the Longhorns did. So, no top seven teams in here (for now, it could change) but this isn't an easy schedule, but this is Ohio State and I can see them winning all of these games before I see them losing multiple games.
6. Alabama
The good news for Alabama is it gets to host Georgia and get its biggest game out of the way early. A win would give them a major plus when it comes to tiebreakers (or any of that other stuff when it comes to picking teams) for the College Football Playoff, and even a loss might give the Crimson Tide more urgency to finish the regular season strong.
The bad news is the three-game stretch in late October and early November is brutal and two of the games are on the road. We still don't know what we have completely in a post-Nick Saban Alabama team but this gauntlet will let us know exactly how good this team is.
7. Georgia
The Bulldogs have the misfortune of facing four top seven teams with three of the games being road games. There's an old saying, ' To be the man, you have to beat the man.' Well, Georgia is the man and it's going to everyone else's backyard and saying, 'Give me your best shot.' I can applaud a team like that, and if it splits those four games and finishes 10-2, the Bulldogs will still get in the CFP. It's a tough task but if anyone can do it, it's probably them.
