(Photo Courtesy Sports Illustrated)
As we get one week closer to the start of the first-ever twelve-team playoff, college football continues to entertain, and gives us plenty to talk about, with the topic this week being potential chaos scenarios all over the country.
We begin this week down in Fayetteville, where Texas defeated their longtime rivals Arkansas 20-10. Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers returned to form, throwing for two touchdowns, and put his team atop the SEC, ahead of another rival, Texas A&M, who defeated New Mexico St 38-3. Many have talked about Texas’ high ranking and strength of schedule, considering their only loss of the year was to Georgia, and how their best win was against Vanderbilt. But I digress, Texas has the best chance for teams in the SEC to make a run for the title.
Staying in the SEC, the Georgia Bulldogs get a curial win over Tennessee 31-17. In a make-or-break game, the Dawgs executed perfectly, picking apart one of the nation’s best defenses. Carson Beck reveres his turnover skid, throwing for 347 yards and two touchdowns. While he may not be in the Heisman conversation, his NFL draft stock certainly saw a bump. Speaking of stock, all the stock in LSU’s campaign for the playoffs comes to an end, falling to unranked Florida 27-16. The Tigers are now out of both the SEC and playoff races.
Finally, the Big 12 conference has just heated up, with BYU falling to Kansas 17-13, ending their magical undefeated season. While BYU still sits atop the conference, coach Deion Sanders and his viral sensation Colorado Buffalos now have a prime opportunity (see what I did there) to clinch a spot into the BIG 12 title game and a potential first-round bye in the playoffs.
As we approach the final two weeks of the season, this week’s playoff rankings certainly gave college football fanatics plenty to talk about. The biggest surprise to me was the massive jump in seeding for Boise State. They jump into the fourth seed, giving them a projected first-round bye. Remember that the top four seeds go to the four highest-ranked conference champions. Boise State is now ranked above BIG 12 first-place sitter BYU. They are now the 12th seed.
What also shocked me was how high the committee ranked Alabama, who jumped from 10th to seventh. The playoff rankings have been known to favor teams who have had success in the past, and Alabama has undoubtedly been successful in the playoff era. They find themselves ranked ahead of some of the best one-loss teams in the country. Miami, Boise State, and SMU are all teams that have had the better and more consistent season compared to the Tide. Bama travels to Oklahoma before their rivalry game with Auburn, so we’ll see if the committee keeps them in the top 10.
With all of that being said, here are my games to watch this weekend:
5 Indiana at 2 Ohio St (Saturday NOON EST FOX)
If you were to tell me at the beginning of the season that Indiana and Ohio State would be a top-five matchup at this point of the year, I would’ve said you were crazy, and yet here we are. This for all intents and purposes, is for a spot in the BIG 10 title game. While both these quads are full of offensive highlights, it’s their defenses that have up them in their top-five spots, as they both are in the top three in the BIG 10 in both yards and points allowed per game. This one will ultimately come down to whose defense will force their opposing offense to make the most mistakes. Expect to see a typical BIG 10 matchup, low scoring, stifling defense, and special teams making a massive impact.
Kentucky at 3 Texas (Saturday 3:30 PM EST ABC/ESPN+)
Yes, the Wildcats are fully in basketball season, but despite their 1-6 record in the SEC, their only win came on the road against a then-top-10 Ole Miss. So, who’s to say they can’t get another top-10 win on the road? Well, the odds will be stacked against them. Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers is back to form, which is limited mistakes and connecting on deep balls. The Longhorns also rank first in the SEC in points allowed (11.9) and yards allowed (249) per game. It’s a perfect recipe for the Longhorns to notch another SEC win before their renewed rivalry game next week against Texas A&M.
14 BYU at 21 Arizona St (Saturday 3:30 PM EST ESPN)
The BIG 12 remains wide open, and this one will ultimately determine who plays for the right of champion. Arizona State has been one of the biggest surprises this season, currently sitting at 8-2, and 5-2 in BIG 12 play. Their running back, Cam Skattebo, is fourth in the conference in rushing yards with 1,074. He’ll be the key player in this contest, as BYU’s defense allows 315.3 yards per game.
19 Army at 6 Notre Dame (Saturday 7 PM EST NBC/Peacock)
This is Notre Dame’s game to lose, as Army has already clinched a spot in the AAC championship game against Tulane. The Fighting Irish have been on a tear since their shocking loss to Northern Illinois, averaging just under 43 points per game. Now they host America’s team, who are coming into Yankee Stadium 9-0 for the first time since 1996. Their quarterback, Bryson Daily, has 21 rushing touchdowns on the year. Notre Dame hasn’t had to defend against a prominent rushing attack all season. So, while I do see the Fighting Irish getting the win, it will certainly be Army’s best effort.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcome. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Thomas Szot tszot@student.dean.edu or Dean Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu
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