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TigerSpirit was founded in 1988 and is owned and operated by graduates of Mizzou so we take great pride in the merchandise we sell and the Mizzou fans we meet. We’re excited to be able to offer our products to Mizzou fans and alumni nationwide on our website! We’re located on 9th Street alongside your favorite shops, bars and restaurants and there isn’t a hotter spot to be on game day than TigerSpirit! Come see us in our store or shop with us online. MIZ-ZOU!
This might be relatively quick because the truth is there are bigger fish to fry with Mizzou and our focus is going to be there the next few days, especially trying to get things done early in the week with the holiday. But here we go.
1) Let's start with the misery of others.
Tom Herman is:
A) Insane
B) Not doing a very good job as the Texas football coach
C) Both
Herman is 23-15 as the Longhorns head coach. His team, that was talked about by many as a playoff contender, is 6-5 with the regular season finale against Texas Tech this week. It is the definition of a mediocre football team. Which has almost nothing to do with why I wanted to start with Tom Herman.
That's unhinged, man. Or an unhinged man.
2) From the same game, Matt Rhule should be the national coach of the year. Baylor was a train wreck three years ago. And a lot of us (myself included) hoped it would never recover and the athletic department would burn to the ground. But then Mack Rhoades did what he couldn't do in Columbia. He hired Rhule. After a 1-11 debut season, he now has the Bears 10-1 and headed to the Big 12 championship game for the first time in school history. You should still despise everything that happened in Waco. But none of it was Matt Rhule's fault and none of it was Mack Rhoades' fault. They deserve credit for bringing that thing out of the ashes in a hurry.
3) BREAKING: Arkansas covered. The Razorbacks were a 40 something point underdog to LSU, the largest spread anyone could find in an SEC game pretty much anywhere. The Tigers jumped to a 56-6 lead, but the scrappy Hawgs battled back for two huge touchdowns to make the score 56-20. Barry Lunney is 0-1 as the Razorbacks head coach, but he is 1-0 ATS. In some places, we call that progress. And then Ed Orgeron gave us the quote of the year
5) Oregon, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? The Ducks had it all there. If they won out, they were probably in the playoff. And then they lost 31-28 to Arizona State in a quintessential PAC 12 game. The score was 13-7 entering the fourth quarter and then the two teams combined to score 39 points in the fourth. The Sun Devils scored just enough to end Oregon's playoff hopes...and maybe the PAC 12's. More on that in a bit.
5) Oklahoma keeps doing just enough to win...but are the Sooners great? They're good, don't get me wrong. They're one of the top 10 teams in the country. But they've played five top 40-50 teams this year. They beat Texas by 7, Iowa State by 1, Baylor by 3, TCU by 4 and lost to Kansas State. They're not elite. There's not enough there for me to consider them a legit playoff contender. They're the best team in the Big 12, but to me, they're just a very good team in a league with one other very good team and four or five above average teams. I don't think Oklahoma State knocks them off in Bedlam this week, but it wouldn't totally shock me.
6) Meet SEC Oklahoma, err, I mean, Georgia. The Bulldogs beat Texas A&M 19-13. They are 10-1 and will beat Georgia Tech into submission this week to go 11-1 into the SEC title game against LSU. And yet, I keep wondering, is this all there is? The Bulldogs win and they deserve credit for that. But I always walk away from their games thinking, there has to be something more here. Where's the next level? Maybe it's time to admit it just isn't there.
7) Either Memphis or Cincinnati is probably playing in a New Year's six bowl. The Tigers beat South Florida 49-10 yesterday while the Bearcats survived Temple 15-13. Cincy is already in the AAC title game regardless of next week's result...against Memphis. The Tigers either need to beat the Bearcats or have Navy lose to Houston to get in. Navy beat SMU yesterday and is tied with Memphis at 6-1 in one division of the AAC, but Memphis has the tiebreaker. So Cincinnati and Memphis are probably playing two weeks in a row. If either team wins both games it will get the G5 bid to the New Year's six. But what if they split? If that happens, it's possible Boise State sneaks above them both in the final rankings to steal the spot. For what it's worth, Luke Fickell and Bryan Harsin are names Missouri fans might want to familiarize themselves with. I'd say Mike Norvell too, but I think he's going to be too far down the road talking about another job already by the time Missouri needs a new coach...if it does.
8) My Heisman ballot as of today:
Joe Burrow, LSU--He's already won it
Chase Young, Ohio State--I know he was suspended for two games, but he had two sacks yesterday and he's the best player in college football
Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma--He's the reason that team is in the position it is. Hell of a year.
9) If the playoff started today, which it doesn't, here's how I'd seed it:
1) LSU vs 4) Georgia
2) Ohio State vs 3) Clemson
LSU, Ohio State and Clemson are in barring collapsing and losing their last two games. I think all can afford one loss. Georgia can't. If the Bulldogs beat LSU in the SEC title game, I think it will be 1) OSU vs 4) LSU and 2) Clemson vs 3) UGA. The next best chance belongs to Utah, which needs to beat Colorado next week and Oregon in the PAC 12 title game. If the Ducks beat the Utes (and LSU beats Georgia), then it comes down to Alabama at 11-1 or Oklahoma if the Sooners can beat Oklahoma State and Baylor.
There are mass chaos theories out there which are possible, but without complete madness, those are the seven teams who have a chance
10) Eight (yes, eight) games I'll watch next week:
Ole Miss at Mississippi State, 6:30 Thursday, ESPN: I could not possibly care less about this game. But it's football on Thanksgiving night and I'll watch
Iowa at Nebraska, 1:30 Friday, Big Ten Network: I probably won't watch this because I don't think I'll get the Big Ten Network where I'm at, but I will if I can
Cincinnati at Memphis, 2:30 Friday, ABC: See thought number 7
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State, TBD Saturday: Bedlam is almost always a really fun game
Ohio State at Michigan, 11 am Saturday, Fox: OSU clinches a playoff spot with a win
Alabama at Auburn, 2:30 Saturday, CBS: Can Bama keep its playoff hopes alive and send Gus Malzahn packing too?
Wisconsin at Minnesota, 2:30 Saturday, ABC: Winner gets Ohio State in the B1G title game
Texas A&M at LSU, 6:00 Saturday, ESPN: Good nightcap to the best football weekend of the year
TigerSpirit was founded in 1988 and is owned and operated by graduates of Mizzou so we take great pride in the merchandise we sell and the Mizzou fans we meet. We’re excited to be able to offer our products to Mizzou fans and alumni nationwide on our website! We’re located on 9th Street alongside your favorite shops, bars and restaurants and there isn’t a hotter spot to be on game day than TigerSpirit! Come see us in our store or shop with us online. MIZ-ZOU!
This might be relatively quick because the truth is there are bigger fish to fry with Mizzou and our focus is going to be there the next few days, especially trying to get things done early in the week with the holiday. But here we go.
1) Let's start with the misery of others.
Tom Herman is:
A) Insane
B) Not doing a very good job as the Texas football coach
C) Both
Herman is 23-15 as the Longhorns head coach. His team, that was talked about by many as a playoff contender, is 6-5 with the regular season finale against Texas Tech this week. It is the definition of a mediocre football team. Which has almost nothing to do with why I wanted to start with Tom Herman.
That's unhinged, man. Or an unhinged man.
2) From the same game, Matt Rhule should be the national coach of the year. Baylor was a train wreck three years ago. And a lot of us (myself included) hoped it would never recover and the athletic department would burn to the ground. But then Mack Rhoades did what he couldn't do in Columbia. He hired Rhule. After a 1-11 debut season, he now has the Bears 10-1 and headed to the Big 12 championship game for the first time in school history. You should still despise everything that happened in Waco. But none of it was Matt Rhule's fault and none of it was Mack Rhoades' fault. They deserve credit for bringing that thing out of the ashes in a hurry.
3) BREAKING: Arkansas covered. The Razorbacks were a 40 something point underdog to LSU, the largest spread anyone could find in an SEC game pretty much anywhere. The Tigers jumped to a 56-6 lead, but the scrappy Hawgs battled back for two huge touchdowns to make the score 56-20. Barry Lunney is 0-1 as the Razorbacks head coach, but he is 1-0 ATS. In some places, we call that progress. And then Ed Orgeron gave us the quote of the year
5) Oregon, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? The Ducks had it all there. If they won out, they were probably in the playoff. And then they lost 31-28 to Arizona State in a quintessential PAC 12 game. The score was 13-7 entering the fourth quarter and then the two teams combined to score 39 points in the fourth. The Sun Devils scored just enough to end Oregon's playoff hopes...and maybe the PAC 12's. More on that in a bit.
5) Oklahoma keeps doing just enough to win...but are the Sooners great? They're good, don't get me wrong. They're one of the top 10 teams in the country. But they've played five top 40-50 teams this year. They beat Texas by 7, Iowa State by 1, Baylor by 3, TCU by 4 and lost to Kansas State. They're not elite. There's not enough there for me to consider them a legit playoff contender. They're the best team in the Big 12, but to me, they're just a very good team in a league with one other very good team and four or five above average teams. I don't think Oklahoma State knocks them off in Bedlam this week, but it wouldn't totally shock me.
6) Meet SEC Oklahoma, err, I mean, Georgia. The Bulldogs beat Texas A&M 19-13. They are 10-1 and will beat Georgia Tech into submission this week to go 11-1 into the SEC title game against LSU. And yet, I keep wondering, is this all there is? The Bulldogs win and they deserve credit for that. But I always walk away from their games thinking, there has to be something more here. Where's the next level? Maybe it's time to admit it just isn't there.
7) Either Memphis or Cincinnati is probably playing in a New Year's six bowl. The Tigers beat South Florida 49-10 yesterday while the Bearcats survived Temple 15-13. Cincy is already in the AAC title game regardless of next week's result...against Memphis. The Tigers either need to beat the Bearcats or have Navy lose to Houston to get in. Navy beat SMU yesterday and is tied with Memphis at 6-1 in one division of the AAC, but Memphis has the tiebreaker. So Cincinnati and Memphis are probably playing two weeks in a row. If either team wins both games it will get the G5 bid to the New Year's six. But what if they split? If that happens, it's possible Boise State sneaks above them both in the final rankings to steal the spot. For what it's worth, Luke Fickell and Bryan Harsin are names Missouri fans might want to familiarize themselves with. I'd say Mike Norvell too, but I think he's going to be too far down the road talking about another job already by the time Missouri needs a new coach...if it does.
8) My Heisman ballot as of today:
Joe Burrow, LSU--He's already won it
Chase Young, Ohio State--I know he was suspended for two games, but he had two sacks yesterday and he's the best player in college football
Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma--He's the reason that team is in the position it is. Hell of a year.
9) If the playoff started today, which it doesn't, here's how I'd seed it:
1) LSU vs 4) Georgia
2) Ohio State vs 3) Clemson
LSU, Ohio State and Clemson are in barring collapsing and losing their last two games. I think all can afford one loss. Georgia can't. If the Bulldogs beat LSU in the SEC title game, I think it will be 1) OSU vs 4) LSU and 2) Clemson vs 3) UGA. The next best chance belongs to Utah, which needs to beat Colorado next week and Oregon in the PAC 12 title game. If the Ducks beat the Utes (and LSU beats Georgia), then it comes down to Alabama at 11-1 or Oklahoma if the Sooners can beat Oklahoma State and Baylor.
There are mass chaos theories out there which are possible, but without complete madness, those are the seven teams who have a chance
10) Eight (yes, eight) games I'll watch next week:
Ole Miss at Mississippi State, 6:30 Thursday, ESPN: I could not possibly care less about this game. But it's football on Thanksgiving night and I'll watch
Iowa at Nebraska, 1:30 Friday, Big Ten Network: I probably won't watch this because I don't think I'll get the Big Ten Network where I'm at, but I will if I can
Cincinnati at Memphis, 2:30 Friday, ABC: See thought number 7
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State, TBD Saturday: Bedlam is almost always a really fun game
Ohio State at Michigan, 11 am Saturday, Fox: OSU clinches a playoff spot with a win
Alabama at Auburn, 2:30 Saturday, CBS: Can Bama keep its playoff hopes alive and send Gus Malzahn packing too?
Wisconsin at Minnesota, 2:30 Saturday, ABC: Winner gets Ohio State in the B1G title game
Texas A&M at LSU, 6:00 Saturday, ESPN: Good nightcap to the best football weekend of the year
