We've covered Mizzou/Vandy from every angle. Here are my thoughts on what else went on yesterday
1) We like to rag on the Big Ten and it's usually deserved. But the two best games of the day were played in the Big Ten yesterday. Michigan/Michigan State was just a ball to watch. The Spartans are for real. Mel Tucker is the national coach of the year and Kenneth Walker III leads the country in rushing and is the first player to ever score five touchdowns against Michigan.
Meanwhile in Columbus, it wasn't the blowouts they've had for the last five weeks, but Ohio State did enough to beat Penn State and keep its national title hopes alive. Also, you better put true freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson on your Heisman watch list for next season. Probably freshman quarterback CJ Stroud too.
2) Georgia is playing a different game and Florida is a .500 team. We know what the Bulldogs are. They scored 21 points in 2:16 in the second quarter to end the Cocktail Party early. Meanwhile, the Gators are 2-7 in their last nine games against Power Five competition and Dan Mullen's job isn't in any trouble at all, but I'd bet Florida fans aren't exactly filling his inbox with love letters.
3) One of the country's better coaching jobs has been done by Bryan Harsin. I wasn't sure he fit at Auburn. I didn't think Bo Nix was all that good. But Harsin has Auburn sitting at 6-2, second in the SEC West. They've got A&M, Mississippi State and South Carolina coming up and it's no cake walk, but if they can win those three games, the Iron Bowl is going to be for the SEC West title and that's not something I would have thought would be possible.
4) I want Cincinnati in the playoff. But it's fair to question if they belong. The Bearcats struggled with Tulane for about three quarters yesterday before winning 31-12. Tulane isn't good. Style points matter for Cincinnati and they could use a couple of blowouts of Tulsa and USF before facing SMU in week 11. The biggest thing going for them might be that you can hardly argue Oklahoma belongs when the Sooners struggled with the same Tulane team and trailed Kansas for more than three quarters. Oregon, Ohio State and Wake Forest are gonna be factors, though. Cincy really needs to turn it on if they're going to get in.
5) If Mel Tucker isn't the national coach of the year (he is), then Dave Aranda is. Baylor beat Texas 31-24 yesterday to move to 7-1 on the season. They'll beat up Texas Tech next week before a showdown with Oklahoma. The Sooners also still have to play Iowa State and Oklahoma State. I'd look for Baylor to play the winner of Bedlam in the Big 12 title game. That's a heck of a job by Aranda and, as much as it will make everyone mad here, Mack Rhoades has done a pretty damn good job in Waco.
6) Clemson played Florida State yesterday and nobody really noticed. What a time to be alive. For the record, the Tigers won 30-20 to move to 5-3 on the year while the Seminoles fell to 3-5. There was nothing remarkable about the game. I didn't watch a snap of it. And that's the remarkable part. This game simply didn't matter for the first time maybe ever.
7) The best play I saw from yesterday
8) My Heisman ballot as of today:
Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State
Jordan Davis, Georgia
Harrison Mevis, Missouri
I'm kidding. Kind of. I think. Not about the first two though.
9) What the playoff would be if it started today:
1) Georgia vs 4) Oklahoma
2) Cincinnati vs 3) Alabama
What the playoff should be if it started today:
1) Georgia vs 4) Ohio State
2) Michigan State vs 3) Oregon
Teams with a chance: Cincinnati, Alabama, Michigan (unlikely, not impossible), Wake Forest, Oklahoma State, Baylor
I think everyone else is out of the running.
10) Five games I'll watch next week other than Mizzou/Georgia
LSU at Alabama, TBD -- It probably won't be much of a game, but it's LSU/Bama and I'll probably watch
Ohio State at Nebraska, 11 am -- This also won't be much of a game which is why I will watch. I enjoy Husker pain.
Wake Forest at North Carolina, 11 am, ABC -- It's time to start taking the Demon Deacons seriously. This is also exactly the kind of game North Carolina wins
Michigan State at Purdue, 2:30, ABC -- Purdue already ended one Big Ten team's title hopes. Can the Boilers do it again?
Auburn at Texas A&M, 2:30 -- It's probably for second in the SEC West. It's not a great game, but it's a pretty good game.
1) We like to rag on the Big Ten and it's usually deserved. But the two best games of the day were played in the Big Ten yesterday. Michigan/Michigan State was just a ball to watch. The Spartans are for real. Mel Tucker is the national coach of the year and Kenneth Walker III leads the country in rushing and is the first player to ever score five touchdowns against Michigan.
Meanwhile in Columbus, it wasn't the blowouts they've had for the last five weeks, but Ohio State did enough to beat Penn State and keep its national title hopes alive. Also, you better put true freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson on your Heisman watch list for next season. Probably freshman quarterback CJ Stroud too.
2) Georgia is playing a different game and Florida is a .500 team. We know what the Bulldogs are. They scored 21 points in 2:16 in the second quarter to end the Cocktail Party early. Meanwhile, the Gators are 2-7 in their last nine games against Power Five competition and Dan Mullen's job isn't in any trouble at all, but I'd bet Florida fans aren't exactly filling his inbox with love letters.
3) One of the country's better coaching jobs has been done by Bryan Harsin. I wasn't sure he fit at Auburn. I didn't think Bo Nix was all that good. But Harsin has Auburn sitting at 6-2, second in the SEC West. They've got A&M, Mississippi State and South Carolina coming up and it's no cake walk, but if they can win those three games, the Iron Bowl is going to be for the SEC West title and that's not something I would have thought would be possible.
4) I want Cincinnati in the playoff. But it's fair to question if they belong. The Bearcats struggled with Tulane for about three quarters yesterday before winning 31-12. Tulane isn't good. Style points matter for Cincinnati and they could use a couple of blowouts of Tulsa and USF before facing SMU in week 11. The biggest thing going for them might be that you can hardly argue Oklahoma belongs when the Sooners struggled with the same Tulane team and trailed Kansas for more than three quarters. Oregon, Ohio State and Wake Forest are gonna be factors, though. Cincy really needs to turn it on if they're going to get in.
5) If Mel Tucker isn't the national coach of the year (he is), then Dave Aranda is. Baylor beat Texas 31-24 yesterday to move to 7-1 on the season. They'll beat up Texas Tech next week before a showdown with Oklahoma. The Sooners also still have to play Iowa State and Oklahoma State. I'd look for Baylor to play the winner of Bedlam in the Big 12 title game. That's a heck of a job by Aranda and, as much as it will make everyone mad here, Mack Rhoades has done a pretty damn good job in Waco.
6) Clemson played Florida State yesterday and nobody really noticed. What a time to be alive. For the record, the Tigers won 30-20 to move to 5-3 on the year while the Seminoles fell to 3-5. There was nothing remarkable about the game. I didn't watch a snap of it. And that's the remarkable part. This game simply didn't matter for the first time maybe ever.
7) The best play I saw from yesterday
8) My Heisman ballot as of today:
Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State
Jordan Davis, Georgia
Harrison Mevis, Missouri
I'm kidding. Kind of. I think. Not about the first two though.
9) What the playoff would be if it started today:
1) Georgia vs 4) Oklahoma
2) Cincinnati vs 3) Alabama
What the playoff should be if it started today:
1) Georgia vs 4) Ohio State
2) Michigan State vs 3) Oregon
Teams with a chance: Cincinnati, Alabama, Michigan (unlikely, not impossible), Wake Forest, Oklahoma State, Baylor
I think everyone else is out of the running.
10) Five games I'll watch next week other than Mizzou/Georgia
LSU at Alabama, TBD -- It probably won't be much of a game, but it's LSU/Bama and I'll probably watch
Ohio State at Nebraska, 11 am -- This also won't be much of a game which is why I will watch. I enjoy Husker pain.
Wake Forest at North Carolina, 11 am, ABC -- It's time to start taking the Demon Deacons seriously. This is also exactly the kind of game North Carolina wins
Michigan State at Purdue, 2:30, ABC -- Purdue already ended one Big Ten team's title hopes. Can the Boilers do it again?
Auburn at Texas A&M, 2:30 -- It's probably for second in the SEC West. It's not a great game, but it's a pretty good game.
