We've covered every angle of Mizzou/A&M. Let's look at the rest.
1) The SEC East is decided. Georgia has a two game lead over Kentucky with three to play. For the Bulldogs to get caught, they'd have to either lose twice while Kentucky wins out or lose three times while Florida wins out. Neither will happen. UGA will play in the SECCG. The only question is whether they will have a playoff spot locked up by then or if they've stumbled somewhere and will have to win that game to get in. I suspect it will be the former. Nobody else in the league can beat them unless Bama plays an A game and UGA plays a B+ game or worse. Kentucky deserves a ton of credit. I think they'll go 11-1 and make the Sugar Bowl. They just aren't quite on the level of UGA and there's no shame in that.
2) The Big Ten playoff spot is back up for grabs after Iowa just completely tripped over itself in a 24-7 loss to Purdue. David Bell had 240 yards receiving for the Boilermakers. Iowa had 261 in total offense. The Iowa skeptics were right. You just can't rely on punts and takeaways for an unbeaten season. At some point, you've got to score.
3) If I told you there was one fanbase that was capable of putting a stain on what should have been an incredible story of the return of one of the best atmospheres in college football, who would you have guessed and why would you have guessed Tennessee? I'll just let Twitter tell this story.
4) Meanwhile, Matt Corral may have vaulted to the top of the Heisman list in that game. The Ole Miss quarterback threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns and ran it 30 times for 195 and carried the Rebels to a win. They've got a shot at second in the West.
5) Let's stick with programs that used to be great and now are not. Nebraska had looked better. It had looked good enough you thought Scott Frost might stick around. And then the Huskers lost to Minnesota 30-23 to fall to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten. They still have to face Purdue, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa in the last four weeks of the season and they've got to win three of those to make a bowl game. Spoiler alert: They will not. A lot of people believe your performance in close games is a good indicator of your coaching acumen. If that's the case, ouch, Scott Frost
6) There's a decent chance Mizzou and Arkansas meet with a bowl game on the line for the winner at the end of the year. Mizzou needs to beat South Carolina and Vandy to go into that game 5-6. The Razorbacks, the darlings of college football at 4-0 and No. 8 in the country, lost their third straight to Auburn. They'll beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but then need a win over either Mississippi State or LSU (they're not beating Bama) to get that sixth win before the final game of the regular season. A luxurious trip to Birmingham could be on the line on Black Friday.
7) Speaking of LSU, just when we were ready to bury Ed Orgeron, he rose up and saved his job for a few weeks. The Tigers beat Florida 49-42 to stave off the pitchforks for Coach O. Florida fell to 4-3 and likely out of the top 25 and it seems like a long time ago the Gators nearly knocked off Alabama. I'm still fairly confident Orgeron is going to get fired, I just don't think it's going to happen today.
8) The biggest upset in college football probably wasn't one any of you noticed. Louisiana-Monroe came into yesterday 2-3 and a 32-point underdog to Hugh Freeze and Liberty. ULM scored 28 points in the third quarter to beat the Flames 31-28. Liberty ought to beat North Texas and UMASS and then head to Oxford for Hugh Freeze's return to Ole Miss. They should do a week long reality series for that. I'd watch.
9) The playoff if it started today:
1) Georgia vs 4) Alabama
2) Cincinatti vs 3) Oklahoma
Obviously it won't shake out that way. The best case scenario for the SEC is that Georgia and Bama both win out then Bama beats UGA in the SEC title game, which will get them both in the playoff. That's the only way they both make it. Oklahoma gets in if it wins out. Oklahoma State probably does too because that would mean it has two wins over OU and one over Iowa State. I still think Cincinnati gets in if it wins out. Those five teams are the only ones that control their own destiny. Everybody else needs help.
Oregon vs Ohio State would be interesting if both win out. Oregon won the head to head game, but lost to Stanford and wouldn't have beaten another ranked team while OSU would have wins over Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State plus the Big Ten title game against Iowa. I think the Buckeyes would get the nod there and would deserve to. That Big Ten East could be a bloodbath. Ohio State and Penn State have to win out to have a chance. Michigan and Michigan State are unbeaten, but still have to play OSU and PSU and if they lose that game, they'd presumably lose the tiebreaker and probably wouldn't even make the conference title game.
I think it will end up being Georgia, Cincinnati, a Big Ten East team and either Alabama or Oklahoma depending on what happens in the SEC title game. But I'm ready for them to put OU and OSU in over Cincinnati and give us the same crap we've gotten for the last six years.
10) Three games I'll watch next week on Mizzou's bye (I actually won't watch any because I'll be watching the first swim meet for the University of Chicago):
Oregon at UCLA, 2:30, ABC
Oklahoma State at Iowa State, 2:30, FOX
LSU at Ole Miss, 2:30 CBS
That's it. The schedule is awful next week. Three decent games (and calling Oregon/UCLA decent might be a stretch) all on at the same time. Go to the apple orchard or the pumpkin patch or volunteer to do some yard work or clean out the attic. This is a terrible week in college football.
1) The SEC East is decided. Georgia has a two game lead over Kentucky with three to play. For the Bulldogs to get caught, they'd have to either lose twice while Kentucky wins out or lose three times while Florida wins out. Neither will happen. UGA will play in the SECCG. The only question is whether they will have a playoff spot locked up by then or if they've stumbled somewhere and will have to win that game to get in. I suspect it will be the former. Nobody else in the league can beat them unless Bama plays an A game and UGA plays a B+ game or worse. Kentucky deserves a ton of credit. I think they'll go 11-1 and make the Sugar Bowl. They just aren't quite on the level of UGA and there's no shame in that.
2) The Big Ten playoff spot is back up for grabs after Iowa just completely tripped over itself in a 24-7 loss to Purdue. David Bell had 240 yards receiving for the Boilermakers. Iowa had 261 in total offense. The Iowa skeptics were right. You just can't rely on punts and takeaways for an unbeaten season. At some point, you've got to score.
3) If I told you there was one fanbase that was capable of putting a stain on what should have been an incredible story of the return of one of the best atmospheres in college football, who would you have guessed and why would you have guessed Tennessee? I'll just let Twitter tell this story.
4) Meanwhile, Matt Corral may have vaulted to the top of the Heisman list in that game. The Ole Miss quarterback threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns and ran it 30 times for 195 and carried the Rebels to a win. They've got a shot at second in the West.
5) Let's stick with programs that used to be great and now are not. Nebraska had looked better. It had looked good enough you thought Scott Frost might stick around. And then the Huskers lost to Minnesota 30-23 to fall to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten. They still have to face Purdue, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa in the last four weeks of the season and they've got to win three of those to make a bowl game. Spoiler alert: They will not. A lot of people believe your performance in close games is a good indicator of your coaching acumen. If that's the case, ouch, Scott Frost
6) There's a decent chance Mizzou and Arkansas meet with a bowl game on the line for the winner at the end of the year. Mizzou needs to beat South Carolina and Vandy to go into that game 5-6. The Razorbacks, the darlings of college football at 4-0 and No. 8 in the country, lost their third straight to Auburn. They'll beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but then need a win over either Mississippi State or LSU (they're not beating Bama) to get that sixth win before the final game of the regular season. A luxurious trip to Birmingham could be on the line on Black Friday.
7) Speaking of LSU, just when we were ready to bury Ed Orgeron, he rose up and saved his job for a few weeks. The Tigers beat Florida 49-42 to stave off the pitchforks for Coach O. Florida fell to 4-3 and likely out of the top 25 and it seems like a long time ago the Gators nearly knocked off Alabama. I'm still fairly confident Orgeron is going to get fired, I just don't think it's going to happen today.
8) The biggest upset in college football probably wasn't one any of you noticed. Louisiana-Monroe came into yesterday 2-3 and a 32-point underdog to Hugh Freeze and Liberty. ULM scored 28 points in the third quarter to beat the Flames 31-28. Liberty ought to beat North Texas and UMASS and then head to Oxford for Hugh Freeze's return to Ole Miss. They should do a week long reality series for that. I'd watch.
9) The playoff if it started today:
1) Georgia vs 4) Alabama
2) Cincinatti vs 3) Oklahoma
Obviously it won't shake out that way. The best case scenario for the SEC is that Georgia and Bama both win out then Bama beats UGA in the SEC title game, which will get them both in the playoff. That's the only way they both make it. Oklahoma gets in if it wins out. Oklahoma State probably does too because that would mean it has two wins over OU and one over Iowa State. I still think Cincinnati gets in if it wins out. Those five teams are the only ones that control their own destiny. Everybody else needs help.
Oregon vs Ohio State would be interesting if both win out. Oregon won the head to head game, but lost to Stanford and wouldn't have beaten another ranked team while OSU would have wins over Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State plus the Big Ten title game against Iowa. I think the Buckeyes would get the nod there and would deserve to. That Big Ten East could be a bloodbath. Ohio State and Penn State have to win out to have a chance. Michigan and Michigan State are unbeaten, but still have to play OSU and PSU and if they lose that game, they'd presumably lose the tiebreaker and probably wouldn't even make the conference title game.
I think it will end up being Georgia, Cincinnati, a Big Ten East team and either Alabama or Oklahoma depending on what happens in the SEC title game. But I'm ready for them to put OU and OSU in over Cincinnati and give us the same crap we've gotten for the last six years.
10) Three games I'll watch next week on Mizzou's bye (I actually won't watch any because I'll be watching the first swim meet for the University of Chicago):
Oregon at UCLA, 2:30, ABC
Oklahoma State at Iowa State, 2:30, FOX
LSU at Ole Miss, 2:30 CBS
That's it. The schedule is awful next week. Three decent games (and calling Oregon/UCLA decent might be a stretch) all on at the same time. Go to the apple orchard or the pumpkin patch or volunteer to do some yard work or clean out the attic. This is a terrible week in college football.
