It was another great weekend
of college football, mostly thanks to the fact that Tennessee finally beat Will
Muschamp in a football game. And not only beat him, but trounced him by almost three touchdowns!
Let’s just start there…
Tennessee
Won Their Third Game Of The Year And Moved Closer To Bowl Eligibility
The Vols won their third
game of the year, and now only need to go 3-1 in November to become bowl eligible
for the first time since 2016. I wrote about the Vols in more detail on Saturday, but in short, this was the best, most complete game this team has
played since probably against Kentucky last season. The defense held the Gamecocks scoreless in the second
half, the offensive line actually held blocks long enough for the downfield passing game
to open up, and that group even consistently won the line of scrimmage against what Pruitt had
said earlier in the week was the best defensive front the Vols had seen all
season.
The seniors, the Butch
Jones recruited guys, were the ones who stepped up. Daniel Bituli had 15
tackles and a blocked punt return for a TD. Darrell Taylor had two sacks and a
pass deflection on a key 4th and short in the third quarter. Jauan
Jennings had 174 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and even Marquez Callaway hauled in
a 55 yard touchdown and returned a punt for another score. Hell, Jarrett
Guarantano played arguably the best game of his career before he broke his left wrist (11 completions for 229
yards and two touchdowns).
The Vols last four games
go like this: UAB, at Kentucky, bye week, at Missouri, Vanderbilt. Strangely enough,
UAB on Saturday could be their toughest remaining game. The Blazers are 6-1, and
their only loss was to Western Kentucky, who is in first place in Conference USA
East (UAB is in Conference USA West). Three weeks ago we all would’ve though
Missouri would be their biggest challenge, but that was before the Tigers lost
consecutive weeks at Vanderbilt and at Kentucky by 22 points. Ugly.
If not UAB or
Missouri, then it’s the Wildcats, though that game is probably easier considering that Kentucky did start a wide receiver at
quarterback the last two weeks. There’s no way that Tennessee could lose to two
different Kentucky teams starting two different wide receivers at quarterback right? That’s reserved for Derek Dooley, former UT coach and current Mizzou
offensive coordinator.
The Vols are playing
better right now than every team remaining on their schedule, and they have a pretty
good chance to run the table from here on out and finish with a winning record
in conference for the first time since 2015, something that seemed impossible
back in September. Holy crap, if only they took care of business against Georgia
freaking State and were able to play pass defense against BYU, we could be
looking at a 9-3 season and a chance to pick up win number 10 in the bowl game,
something that hasn’t happened since 2007.
Regardless, Pruitt has to
get some credit for the Vol play the last month. Almost everyone in the fanbase
(including me) was basically ready to send a moving truck to his house like Bill
Battle in the 1970s, but since the bye week they’ve been a completely different team. The
question for Pruitt is going to be whether or not he can consistently beat the
teams the Vol fans truly want to knock off, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. He’s 0-6 against
them so far. Next year, with both the Gators and the Tide coming to Neyland, would
be a nice time to at least beat one of them.
Both
USCs Are Going To Have New Coaches In 2020
We already know Southern California
is going to be coached by Urban Meyer next year, but who will be the coach
at South Carolina? It won’t be Will Muschamp, who on Saturday dropped to 3-5 in his pivotal fourth year.
The Gamecocks have four
games left, three of which are extremely losable. They should beat Vanderbilt
at home this week (though Muschamp and his Natty Light gut could be out of town
on Sunday night if they don’t), but there’s a good chance they don’t win any of
their final three. They host 20th ranked Appalachian State on November
9th. Do I think the Mountaineers are the 20th best team
in the country? No. Do I think they’re a good team that’s completely capable of
beating this South Carolina team? Of course. They travel to Texas A&M on November 16th,
a team that is better than them, then get their bye week before hosting Clemson
on November 30th. The Clemson game could be for Muschamp’s job if
the Gamecocks don’t go undefeated over the next three weeks.
These South Carolina
people are not going to be patient, waiting for ole Will to get it together,
while there’s another team in their state, Clemson, who has won two of the last
three national titles and will probably be in the playoff for the 5th
straight year. If Clemson can be THAT good, then can’t South Carolina at least
go to a bowl game every year?
So when Will gets fired,
who should the Gamecocks turn to? For years, people would’ve said Mark Dantonio,
who played at South Carolina in the 1970s, but his Michigan State program has deteriorated the last couple of seasons and their offense has been putrid for years. Plus, at 63, he’s not the ideal age to start
afresh somewhere. He makes a lot of money at Michigan State; what would it take to
pry him away from there? And would he even want the job? So I’d say there’d be
no interest from either side.
I think you can win the SEC
and a national title at South Carolina. I know they haven’t really been that
program historically, but what makes them any different from Clemson on paper?
If Clemson can become a powerhouse, why can't South Carolina be a year to year challenger in the SEC? The problem would
be finding the right guy, and I don’t know how many people would be banging down
the door to compete against the behemoth that the Tigers are in their own state, plus all the programs that the SEC would be throwing at them.
Obviously you call guys
like Matt Campbell at Iowa State, PJ Fleck at Minnesota, and Matt Rhule at
Baylor and gauge their interest level. They all might turn you down, but it’s
worth a call.
Regardless, the program
is worse, not better, than it was two years ago when ole Will won nine games in
his second year. They’ll be a change in Columbia.
Oklahoma
Severely Hampered Their Playoff Hopes
The Sooners new and improved
defense faltered badly on Saturday, allowing Kansas State to score on 8
straight possessions and rack 426 yards of offense. K-State held onto the ball
for 38 of the 60 minutes, and were able to withstand a furious Sooner comeback
that ended when an OU player touched the ball a half yard early on an onside kick.
Obviously the Sooners
aren’t eliminated completely from the playoff; they can still win the Big 12
and finish 12-1, but the problem they’re going to face is that their conference
is probably the weakest one in the Power 5 outside of the ACC. Only they and Baylor
have one loss or fewer, and their Texas win from two weeks ago looks a lot less
impressive after the Longhorns went on the road and lost at TCU, a game that saw
their quarterback Sam Ehlinger throw four interceptions.
Is the committee going to
think two of group of an 11-1 LSU/Alabama, an 11-1 Penn State/Ohio State team, or a 12-1 Pac
12 Champ Oregon/Utah team, is less impressive than Oklahoma? I don’t know the
answer, though my inclination would be to say yes, based on schedule and
resume. Their best chance now would be to win out and get some carnage in the
other leagues.
Jim
Harbaugh Got His Best Win As Michigan’s Coach
The Wolverine defense held
Notre Dame to 180 yards of offense in the Ann Arbor rain storm, while they
gained 437 yards themselves, including 303 on the ground. Irish quarterback Ian
Book had the worst game of his career, finishing a paltry 8/25 for 73 yards. ND had 47 rushing yards on 31 attempts in a game that saw the rain going
sideways in the first half.
Obviously a huge W for Jim
Harbaugh, who has been, with good reason, the most beatdown coach in the
country the last year. Do I expect this performance to be one that turns things
around for Harbaugh? Does this mean he’s going to start beating Ohio State with
some regularity, or hell, at all? Nah, not really. Remember how good the
Wolverine defense was last season? They had a streak of like ten games in a row
where they didn’t allow an opponent to gain 300 yards of offense. Then, they
went to Columbus, faced the Buckeyes, and gave up 62 points and 567 yards. I expect something similar to happen at the end of the month when they
host the Buckeyes, who look like the best team in the country right now.
But good for ole Jim. He
wins one game and the Harbaugh sycophants in the media claim victory. Guys… can
he beat Ohio State once? Just once?
LSU
Knocked Off Auburn And Alabama Destroyed Arkansas To Set Up A 1-2 Showdown In Tuscaloosa
On November 9th
Is this game going to get
the “Game of the Century” label like it did back in 2011? We’ll see if it’s
hyped that way by the networks the next two weeks. Regardless, I suspect this
one will be higher scoring than 9-6 rock fight that it was in 2011, particularly if Tua is
healthy enough to play.
This will be Ed Orgeron’s
best chance to beat Alabama as long as Saban is their head coach. He’s got a Heisman-level
quarterback in Joe Burrow, a competent enough defense, and great skill position
guys all over the field. Meanwhile, the Tide will be bringing in an injured Tua
(or Mac Jones) and an inexperienced defense that is probably the worst Saban
has had since 2007. This should be a lot of fun in two weeks.
Should
Ohio State’s Chase Young Win The Heisman Trophy?
This is an argument we
have every couple of years when someone on defense is arguably the best player
in college football, yet gets no real consideration from the Heisman voters,
who instead gravitate towards quarterbacks and running backs.
Young is an incredible player,
and his contributions went a long way in destroying the Wisconsin offense on
Saturday, and by the qualifications of the Heisman, which is supposed to go to “the
most outstanding player in college football”, he should be considered, and
maybe should even be the favorite. That guy is terrifying and relentless. But we all know that’s not how the committee
votes.
The argument that seems
to win the day is that while Young might be the best football player on his
team, he isn’t more valuable than his
quarterback Justin Fields, which therefore means he can’t be the most outstanding player. That argument
is nonsensical, because “valuable” and “outstanding” are two different
standards, but valuable has basically replaced outstanding in the minds of the
voters. Meaning there’s no way Young is going to win the trophy, or even be
invited to New York for the ceremony.
You can't force
voters to change their standards, and since they really don’t care about the “outstanding”
part of the language of the award, shouldn’t we just change it to “valuable”? Seems
like an easy fix. Or certainly an easier fix than attempting to change the voting standards of the media members all across the country.
Teams
Still Alive For The Playoff
As always, you technically
remain alive for the playoff if you are a Power 5 Team with one loss or fewer,
excluding the ACC, which is so bad that it should be relegated to the FCS. (*
next to the undefeated teams)
ACC: *Clemson
The Tigers beat the hell
out of Boston College on Saturday night, and probably won’t play a ranked team
until the playoff semifinals. All Clemson needs to do is win out against their
crappy schedule to make their fifth straight playoff.
Big Ten: *Ohio State, *Penn
State, *Minnesota
Wisconsin drops out of
the playoff thanks to back to back losses at Illinois and Ohio State. Minnesota
is 8-0, and gets their bye week before facing undefeated Penn State on November
9th, the biggest college game in Minneapolis in… decades probably.
This could be a two bid conference, depending on how everything else shakes out.
The Big Ten East (and probably entire conference) will be decided on November
23rd when the Nittany Lions travel to Columbus to play the Buckeyes.
Big 12: *Baylor, Oklahoma
Baylor would get in only,
I think, if they win out. OU needs some help in front of them, but it won’t
matter if they can’t run the table. Baylor gets both Texas and Oklahoma in Waco
in November; the problem is that those games will be in back to back weeks.
SEC: *Alabama, *LSU, Georgia,
Florida
The ‘Dawgs and Gators play
a de facto SEC East Championship and playoff elimination game in Jacksonville
this weekend. The winner of that showdown will have to win out and be 12-1 to
make the playoff. Meanwhile, the aforementioned LSU-Alabama game on November 9th
probably decides the SEC West, but doesn’t technically eliminate the loser from
the playoff.
Pac 12: Utah, Oregon
The Pac 12 wants both these
teams to run the table and meet in Pac 12 Championship Game, which would
guarantee that the Pac 12 champ finishes 12-1. The issue the conference is
going to face is that while it’s definitely deeper than the Big 12, is the
committee going to think that the winner of this league is better than an 11-1
Penn State/Ohio State team? An 11-1 LSU/Alabama team? A 12-1 Oklahoma team?
They’ll probably need more chaos than Oklahoma needs to be able to sneak in.
My
Top 4
1.
Ohio State
The
Buckeyes are the most complete team in the country. Fantastic offense, great
defense. The one flaw in the resume is that they haven’t played a good team on
the road yet.
2.
LSU
This
is the best offense the Tigers have probably ever had. This is the year for
Coach O to beat Saban.
3.
Alabama
The
Tide defense is the worst Saban has had since 2007, but he’s the best coach in
the country, armed with probably the best passing offense he’s ever had.
4.
Penn State
I’ll
throw the Nittany Lions here for now, but I’ll be very interested to see what
happens when they go to Minneapolis in two weeks.