Reshuffling the top of the playoff picture as Clemson and Tennessee fall
The last time it was this difficult to be Orange, my brothers in the Provisional IRA were doing their best to clean up the streets of Belfast.
As Tennessee and Clemson fell on Saturday and looked fairly pathetic doing it, the portal to the playoff at the top of the sport has been kicked wide open. Clemson was emasculated by Notre Dame to the tune of a 35-14 blowout that featured a 28-0 fourth quarter lead, including more than 75-percent of Notre Dame’s yardage coming from running down the throat of the Tigers’ vaunted defensive front. Ironically, this came on the same night that Clemson became the first team in the country to secure a conference championship game bid thanks to Syracuse’s loss to Pitt. The product at Clemson continues to degrade as Dabo does nothing but hire and promote from within and his incestuous practices yield no new ideas, no innovation, and no growth.
Tennessee’s high-flying offense was stymied and shut down by an incredible strategy from Kirby Smart that has confounded offensive coaches for years – simply playing man coverage with good players in the secondary. Georgia won 27-13 off of the strength of its man pass coverage holding up long enough for the five-star recruits in the defensive front to get home on their zone blitz calls (even without first-round pick Nolan Smith). The Dawgs now have definitive hold of first place in any reasonable measurement in the country, control their own destiny on an easy route to the SEC championship game, and have nearly guaranteed a playoff spot. Whooping on Tennessee and Oregon, two of the best offenses in America, like they have is enormously impressive and they will be a stiff test for any opponent.
The grand finale, of course, was Brian Kelly putting his big balls on the table and taking down Nick Saban and Alabama in Baton Rouge. The Tigers’ 32-31 overtime victory where they went for two in the initial overtime to take the victory is an instant classic and gives the Bayou Bengals sole control of the SEC West. The Tigers sit at 5-1 in the league with wins over Ole Miss and Alabama, giving them a functional two game lead over the next-closest opponent with just two league games left to play. One victory over Arkansas or Texas A&M books the Tigers a trip to Atlanta in Brian Kelly’s magical first season.
It may be premature and dramatic, but this feels to me like a changing of the guard moment. Saban’s formerly automatic playoff berth will be out of his grasp for the second time in four seasons. Dabo, in all likelihood, won’t make the field in back-to-back seasons. After Georgia’s national championship and the continued excellence of Ryan Day and Jim Harbaugh in the Big Ten, it’s beginning to feel like the kings of the sport over the last decade are slipping. They aren’t dead yet, but they are far from immortal.
Picture clarifies in the Big 12 with a series of upsets yet again
Another week in the Big 12, another series of ridiculous games that are somehow both muddying and clarifying the waters of conference championship contention. While TCU (9-0, 6-0) skated through untouched against Texas Tech (who have been outscored a combined 77-7 in the fourth quarter of their games against TCU, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and Baylor) and seem to be a near-mortal lock for one of the two conference championship berths, the other remains wide open.
Texas, Baylor, and Kansas State all sit at 4-2 in the league and 6-3 overall, tied for second place. The Longhorns took the upper hand with a 34-27 road win in Manhattan, but that featured a 17-3 second half comeback from Kansas State that they barely held off. Steve Sarkisian’s bunch likely gained some confidence after pulling off a win in a close game, they had been 2-8 in their last ten one-score games and have been poor in the second half. Neither team has yet played Baylor, who have risen from the dead with three straight league victories, including Saturday afternoon’s 38-35 victory over Oklahoma in Norman. The Bears play Kansas State and TCU at home in the next two weeks and then travel to Austin for the season finale. After next weekend’s contest at Baylor, Kansas State finishes at West Virginia and home against Kansas. Texas gets TCU next weekend, Kansas on the road, and then the aforementioned season finale in Austin against Baylor.
Oklahoma State has plummeted down the standings and now sits in sixth place in the conference. The Pokes have lost three of their last four, including Saturday’s 37-16 embarrassment at an injured Kansas squad. The last two games has seen Oklahoma State lose by a combined 85-16 and they are simply falling apart. Kansas needs some luck to get back in the race, but with games remaining at Texas Tech, vs Texas, and at Kansas State, they can still fight their way back.
As always, this league continues to produce excellent conference title races and thrilling Saturdays and the finish should be no different.
Chaos reigns in the B1G West
Saturday in the B1G West was eventful, to say the least. Comfortable favorite Illinois (7-2, 4-2) no longer looks so comfortable following a shocking 23-15 home loss to Mel Tucker’s Michigan State. The Illini sit just one game ahead, on league record, of a foursome of programs in the West that will push to depose them from their perch. Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, and Minnesota are lurking and although Illinois has beaten all of them aside from the Boilermakers, upcoming dates vs Purdue (Nov. 12) and at Michigan (Nov. 19) mean they have little margin for error. Should Illinois stumble against the Boilermakers next weekend, the race has been busted wide open in the West.
It is worth noting, however, that Purdue (5-4, 3-3) is reeling in their own right following an embarrassing 24-3 home loss to the Hawkeyes (5-4, 3-3) in which Iowa forced two turnovers and held the Boilermakers to just 255 total yards in a suffocating effort. All 27 of the game’s combined points came in just a 14 minute and 40 second window and it was a truly appalling affair outside of that burst.
Minnesota (6-3, 3-3) managed to hold serve with a 20-13 come-from-behind win featuring 20 consecutive points against Nebraska in the second half. The Gophers managed to rally despite losing veteran quarterback Tanner Morgan at halftime. However, the most impressive win of the day may belong to the division’s temporarily inconvenienced top-of-class. Speaking of:
It is time to give Jim Leonhard the Wisconsin (5-4) job after 23-10 home win vs Maryland: The Terps came into this game with a 6-2 record and aspirations of being ranked, but the Leonhard defense absolutely shut down Maryland’s offense and held Taulia Tagovailoa to a 10-of-23 passing performance and just 77 yards through the air. Leonhard is now 3-1 as the interim head coach, with just an overtime road loss preventing him from remaining perfect, and this job should be his at the end of the season.
A few quick hitters I want to acknowledge without full breakdowns:
Coastal Carolina (8-1) survives to win 35-28 at home over App State: It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Chants but they are well on their way to another conference title game appearance under Jamey Chadwell. The Chanticleers have at least a two-game lead in hand over everyone else in their division (aside from the ineligible James Madison).
Air Force (6-3) secures Commander-in-Chief trophy with 13-7 win over Army: The Air Force defense was dominant in this game and didn’t allow Army to cross midfield in the final 36 minutes of the contest. They won’t win the Mountain West, but an eight or nine-win season is still in reach.
Impressive 45-23 win vs Buffalo for the Ohio Bobcats (6-3) heats up the MAC East race: Buffalo, Ohio, and Bowling Green sit at 4-1 within the MAC each, with the Bulls splitting against the two opponents and Ohio and Bowling Green not facing off until the season finale. The Bobcats are not home free yet, but control their own destiny en route to a conference title and have developed well with Kurtis Rourke taking snaps. Credit to Tim Albin, whom I heavily criticized when he was hired.
Duke (6-3) is going bowling with a 38-31 road win at Boston College: Mike Elko’s first season has been tremendously impressive at Duke. The Blue Devils had a three year absence from the postseason during the twilight of David Cutcliffe’s career, but Elko has managed to reverse fortunes quickly. With Virginia Tech, Pitt, and Wake Forest on the schedule, eight or nine wins are certainly attainable. Also, it was very funny to see Jeff Hafley send out the field goal unit down 38-28 with 17 seconds remaining. What a loser.
Fourth quarter rally gives Washington (7-2) a huge league victory over Oregon State: Kalen DeBoer’s group rallied through a power outage delay and posted a 10-0 fourth quarter to win over the Beavs in Seattle. The Huskies defenses held Oregon State to just 87 passing yards and 262 yards total in a tremendously successful performance. Washington needs a little luck to get back in the conference title race, but they’re not dead yet.
North Carolina (8-1) is a win away from clinching a division championship: After their 31-28 victory at an abysmal Virginia team, the Tar Heels are a win away from clinching the ACC Atlantic. This program has played for or won a conference championship just once since 1980 and it would be a tremendous accomplishment for Drake Maye and the Tar Heels. A trip to Wake Forest is hardly a walk in the park, but the opportunity remains.
Liberty (8-1) survives late push from Arkansas on the road: Liberty fans had to be horrendously anxious in the second half, as Arkansas scored 16 unanswered to threaten their 21-3 halftime lead. The Hawgs nearly pulled off the comeback, but KJ Jefferson appeared to be just short on the two-point conversion. Hugh Freeze notched the program’s first-ever win over an SEC program in his continued audition to return to the league.
UTSA (7-2, 5-0) hangs on in overtime for 44-38 road win at UAB, remain in pole position in C-USA: The Roadrunners just keep winning games, as they are wont to do under Jeff Traylor. Although a 14-point fourth quarter rally from UAB threatened, UTSA managed to survive in overtime behind four touchdowns from quarterback Frank Harris, one of the best players in college football. They are now in range to clinch, as a win next weekend at home against Louisiana Tech and losses by both Florida Atlantic and Rice would guarantee a title game berth.
NC State’s quest for 10 wins stays alive with 30-21 victory over conference foe Wake Forest: The way that the Wolfpack have rallied around MJ Morris is so fucking cool. The true freshman quarterback accounted for all three of NC State’s touchdowns and more than two-thirds of the team’s yardage as they secured a huge home victory. Boston College comes to Raleigh next weekend as the Pack look to continue their 16-game home winning streak, followed by back-to-back road trips to Louisville and North Carolina to end the season. 10 wins and a top 15 finish is still very much in reach for this veteran crew and it would be just the second time in school history they’ve won double-digit games. I hope they pull it off.
Houston and SMU combine for an astounding 140 points as SMU takes home 77-63 rivalry victory: No real comment here, no impact on any conference titles, just simply: Jesus Christ that’s a lot of points.