What a weekend. Here we go:
1. The Big Ten is out of the playoff unless Wisconsin goes unbeaten...and still might be out. Penn State lost to Michigan State in a game that started at 11 a.m. and finished around 6 thanks to a three hour 22 minute lightning delay (I would have harmed people if I were covering that game). Meanwhile, Ohio State forgot to show up at Kinnick Stadium and Iowa ran them out of the building 55-24, intercepting JT Barrett (hey, that was a fun week where people talked about how he should be a Heisman candidate) three times. It was so bad that in the midst of a post-game article, the Ohio State Rivals site mentioned that maybe even a home game against Illinois was no longer a gimme for the Buckeyes (it is though). So the unbeaten Badgers are the last hope. The problem is their best win is either at Nebraska or home against Northwestern and they have Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and the Big Ten title game left. Sure, they might beat everybody they play, but they still won't have beaten anybody any good.
2. Hey, maybe Miami really is good. The Canes beat Virginia Tech 28-10 to roll to 8-0 and lock up a spot in the ACC title game. They have three games left before that title game. Two are against Pitt and Virginia. But this weekend? A playoff elimination game with Notre Dame. I'll be honest: I hate both of these teams. But Miami/Notre Dame in a battle of top ten teams takes me back to being a teenager. Maybe I'll watch Catholics vs Convicts again this week.
3. The machine just rolls on in Tuscaloosa. Alabama beat LSU 24-10 and it was what every Alabama game against another pretty good team tends to be. They won, they controlled every second of the game, there was never a time where you thought they were in danger of losing and it was mind-numbingly boring. Alabama is capable of looking really, really good. But the Tide is so good, they don't really even have to do that. They just suffocate their opponent until it eventually goes to sleep and then they walk out of the ring with another win and move along and everybody sits and waits for the playoff when the real Alabama games begin.
4. On the opposite end of the spectrum, let us go to Lawrence. The Jayhawks lost 38-9 to Baylor. Which hadn't won a game. Baylor started the season by losing to Liberty, who is coached by Turner Gill, who most will tell you started the downfall of the Kansas program. The Jayhawks are now 3-30 (3-30!!!) under David Beatty. The wins have come against Rhode Island, SEMO and Texas (this is my favorite factoid of the week).
5. While we're wallowing in the misery of former rivals...Nebraska lost 31-24 to Northwestern in overtime. The Wildcats became the first team ever to win three consecutive games in OT. The Huskers fell to 4-and-5 and will have to win two of three against Minnesota, Penn State and Iowa to be bowl eligible and are obviously going to fire Mike Riley and go make yet another attempt to pretend it's the mid-1990s again. Speaking of the 1990s:
6. Georgia clinched a spot in the SEC title game. They had a workmanlike win over South Carolina to move to 9-0 for the first time since 1982 (they had some kid named Herschel then). Combined with Kentucky's loss to Ole Miss, the Bulldogs wrapped up a spot in the SEC Championship Game (it is Nov. 5). Next week, UGA is at Auburn. After that it's Kentucky and Georgia Tech. Not a cakewalk to 12-0 by any means. But if they can win those three and Alabama can remain unbeaten, there's a very real chance both teams in the SEC title game make the playoff.
7. You can bitch about the defenses, but I enjoyed the hell out of Bedlam. I didn't get to start watching until the fourth quarter, but Oklahoma and Oklahoma State packed a season's worth of offensive fireworks into a night in Stillwater. Mason Rudolph threw for 448 yards and five touchdowns and was statistically the worst quarterback in the game. Baker Mayfield went for 598 and five scores. Justice Hill ran for 228 for OSU. The game had four 100-yard receivers led by the Sooners Marquise Brown who caught nine for 265. I don't want every game to be like that, but I enjoyed it for a night. Not everyone did, like former Oklahoma linebackers:
8. My Heisman vote as it stands right now:
1. Saquon Barkley, Penn State
2. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
3. Dante Pettis, Washington (he set the career record with his ninth punt return for a TD last night and caught four passes for 87 yards and a score in the same week his dad Gary was part of the Astros World Series championship, so that family had a good week. Pettis has got 571 yards and 7 touchdown catches this season in addition to being the most dangerous return man in America).
9. The playoff if it started today:
1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Notre Dame
4. Clemson
Other teams still alive: Miami, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, TCU, Washington, Auburn, UCF. It's going to take absolute chaos to get anyone else involved. And really, the last four on that list are going to need at least a little bit of chaos.
10. Five games I'll watch next week outside of Mizzou/Tennessee:
Washington at Stanford, 9:30 Friday, FS1: I'll probably check the end of this one after Mizzou and Iowa State hoops. Last week here I told you to watch out for Ohio State at Iowa. This is the game where a playoff team could see its dream end this week.
Oklahoma State at Iowa State, 11 am Saturday, ESPN2: The Clones fell behind WVU 20-0, made a fight of it and lost 20-16. After this, they have Baylor and K-State. Is Iowa State going to make this a truly special season or will they fizzle a little bit and just make it a "that was real good...for Iowa State" season? If it's going to be the former, they need a win against the Pokes.
Georgia at Auburn, 2:30 pm Saturday, CBS: Auburn only has one SEC loss. If they beat UGA and Bama, they'll make the SEC title game to rematch with UGA and if they were to go ahead and win that one, it would be almost impossible to keep them out of the playoff. A lot has to happen, but Auburn is the only two-loss team in the country with a realistic path to get in.
Alabama at Mississippi State, 6 pm Saturday, ESPN: This is a monster game for the Bulldogs. Are they a pretty good team who will wilt in the path of the Tide? Or can they turn this season upside down with an upset?
Notre Dame at Miami, 7 pm Saturday, ABC: Winner has a clear path to the playoff. Loser is out.
1. The Big Ten is out of the playoff unless Wisconsin goes unbeaten...and still might be out. Penn State lost to Michigan State in a game that started at 11 a.m. and finished around 6 thanks to a three hour 22 minute lightning delay (I would have harmed people if I were covering that game). Meanwhile, Ohio State forgot to show up at Kinnick Stadium and Iowa ran them out of the building 55-24, intercepting JT Barrett (hey, that was a fun week where people talked about how he should be a Heisman candidate) three times. It was so bad that in the midst of a post-game article, the Ohio State Rivals site mentioned that maybe even a home game against Illinois was no longer a gimme for the Buckeyes (it is though). So the unbeaten Badgers are the last hope. The problem is their best win is either at Nebraska or home against Northwestern and they have Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and the Big Ten title game left. Sure, they might beat everybody they play, but they still won't have beaten anybody any good.
2. Hey, maybe Miami really is good. The Canes beat Virginia Tech 28-10 to roll to 8-0 and lock up a spot in the ACC title game. They have three games left before that title game. Two are against Pitt and Virginia. But this weekend? A playoff elimination game with Notre Dame. I'll be honest: I hate both of these teams. But Miami/Notre Dame in a battle of top ten teams takes me back to being a teenager. Maybe I'll watch Catholics vs Convicts again this week.
3. The machine just rolls on in Tuscaloosa. Alabama beat LSU 24-10 and it was what every Alabama game against another pretty good team tends to be. They won, they controlled every second of the game, there was never a time where you thought they were in danger of losing and it was mind-numbingly boring. Alabama is capable of looking really, really good. But the Tide is so good, they don't really even have to do that. They just suffocate their opponent until it eventually goes to sleep and then they walk out of the ring with another win and move along and everybody sits and waits for the playoff when the real Alabama games begin.
4. On the opposite end of the spectrum, let us go to Lawrence. The Jayhawks lost 38-9 to Baylor. Which hadn't won a game. Baylor started the season by losing to Liberty, who is coached by Turner Gill, who most will tell you started the downfall of the Kansas program. The Jayhawks are now 3-30 (3-30!!!) under David Beatty. The wins have come against Rhode Island, SEMO and Texas (this is my favorite factoid of the week).
5. While we're wallowing in the misery of former rivals...Nebraska lost 31-24 to Northwestern in overtime. The Wildcats became the first team ever to win three consecutive games in OT. The Huskers fell to 4-and-5 and will have to win two of three against Minnesota, Penn State and Iowa to be bowl eligible and are obviously going to fire Mike Riley and go make yet another attempt to pretend it's the mid-1990s again. Speaking of the 1990s:
6. Georgia clinched a spot in the SEC title game. They had a workmanlike win over South Carolina to move to 9-0 for the first time since 1982 (they had some kid named Herschel then). Combined with Kentucky's loss to Ole Miss, the Bulldogs wrapped up a spot in the SEC Championship Game (it is Nov. 5). Next week, UGA is at Auburn. After that it's Kentucky and Georgia Tech. Not a cakewalk to 12-0 by any means. But if they can win those three and Alabama can remain unbeaten, there's a very real chance both teams in the SEC title game make the playoff.
7. You can bitch about the defenses, but I enjoyed the hell out of Bedlam. I didn't get to start watching until the fourth quarter, but Oklahoma and Oklahoma State packed a season's worth of offensive fireworks into a night in Stillwater. Mason Rudolph threw for 448 yards and five touchdowns and was statistically the worst quarterback in the game. Baker Mayfield went for 598 and five scores. Justice Hill ran for 228 for OSU. The game had four 100-yard receivers led by the Sooners Marquise Brown who caught nine for 265. I don't want every game to be like that, but I enjoyed it for a night. Not everyone did, like former Oklahoma linebackers:
8. My Heisman vote as it stands right now:
1. Saquon Barkley, Penn State
2. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
3. Dante Pettis, Washington (he set the career record with his ninth punt return for a TD last night and caught four passes for 87 yards and a score in the same week his dad Gary was part of the Astros World Series championship, so that family had a good week. Pettis has got 571 yards and 7 touchdown catches this season in addition to being the most dangerous return man in America).
9. The playoff if it started today:
1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Notre Dame
4. Clemson
Other teams still alive: Miami, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, TCU, Washington, Auburn, UCF. It's going to take absolute chaos to get anyone else involved. And really, the last four on that list are going to need at least a little bit of chaos.
10. Five games I'll watch next week outside of Mizzou/Tennessee:
Washington at Stanford, 9:30 Friday, FS1: I'll probably check the end of this one after Mizzou and Iowa State hoops. Last week here I told you to watch out for Ohio State at Iowa. This is the game where a playoff team could see its dream end this week.
Oklahoma State at Iowa State, 11 am Saturday, ESPN2: The Clones fell behind WVU 20-0, made a fight of it and lost 20-16. After this, they have Baylor and K-State. Is Iowa State going to make this a truly special season or will they fizzle a little bit and just make it a "that was real good...for Iowa State" season? If it's going to be the former, they need a win against the Pokes.
Georgia at Auburn, 2:30 pm Saturday, CBS: Auburn only has one SEC loss. If they beat UGA and Bama, they'll make the SEC title game to rematch with UGA and if they were to go ahead and win that one, it would be almost impossible to keep them out of the playoff. A lot has to happen, but Auburn is the only two-loss team in the country with a realistic path to get in.
Alabama at Mississippi State, 6 pm Saturday, ESPN: This is a monster game for the Bulldogs. Are they a pretty good team who will wilt in the path of the Tide? Or can they turn this season upside down with an upset?
Notre Dame at Miami, 7 pm Saturday, ABC: Winner has a clear path to the playoff. Loser is out.
