Penn State QB Rocco Becht passes against Washington, Joe Nicholoson IMAGN IMAGES
Everyone, Mikey is finally back from his hiatus, bringing you the best college football analysis in the world. I got two words for you all: what’s going on with college football? I’ve said this almost every week, but it truly feels like everything is backwards this season. Up is down. Down is up. Teams are good and bad at the same time, like Schrodinger’s Cat in a way.
This week we are officially expanding to 12-teams to fit the playoff format. It won’t be the exact bracket as I’m not going to predict conference championship winners or the Group of 5 automatic bid, but I still hope to give a good picture for everyone going into the College Football Playoff rankings.
Game of the Week: Penn State vs Washington
You may be asking, “Michael, was this really game of the week worthy” To non-Penn State fans, the answer will be a no. To Penn State fans, the answer will also be no. However, to me? The answer is still no. But I can’t keep quiet anymore. I am a Penn State fan, and this game made me believe again. It made me feel joy for almost 2 quarters. My beloved Nittany Lions finally beat a kind of competent B1G opponent. Quarterback Rocco Becht actually looked good for most of the game. We could finally mostly establish a run game. Even without the best wide receiver in the country, Koby Howard, we prevailed. Our run defense finally looked kind of good for a little bit. I am getting emotional writing this. My Penn Staters, the time is now. We will rally. We are.
Ok, to tell you the truth, I really think there were a lot of incredible games this Saturday. There were a lot of great games with close endings, comebacks, and highlights for days. It felt so hard to just pick one, so here are some that I think are worth going back to at least check out: Arizona/TCU, Miami/Notre Dame, BYU/Utah, Oregon/Ohio State, Ball State/Massachusetts, and, finally, NC Central/Norfolk State. The last game especially, please go watch the final play. I know it’s FCS, which I usually don’t cover, but it is truly one of the worst endings to a football game I’ve seen.
Mikey’s Rankings:
1. Georgia (8-1)
It’s hard to argue that any other team deserves this spot. Georgia absolutely dropped the hammer on Ole Miss this week, winning 42-7. QB Gunner Stockton was able to throw for 4 touchdowns while only completing 9 passes, which has to be some sort of record. What’s more shocking than that is the thrashing UGA gave QB Trinidad Chambliss. For the first time this season, Chambliss ended a game with less than 200 yards and no touchdowns. One of the biggest factors was Georgia’s defense line, who recorded 5 sacks while also keeping Ole Miss to only 66 rushing yards. Right now, Georgia is the clear top dawg in college football and my personal favorite to win the championship this year.
2. Utah (9-0)
Utah came up big this week in the Holy War. QB Devon Dampier was the clear star of the show, throwing for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns plus 2 rushing touchdowns. Dampier was also the Utes leading rushing, going for 89 yards. On top of all that, Dampier was also Utah’s 3rd leading receiver with 29 yards. RB Wayshawn Parker didn’t find much success against BYU’s top tier run defense, only rushing for 36 yards. Utah’s defense was also able to pick off BYU QB Bear Bachmeier 4 times, with 2 coming in the 4th quarter when BYU was in scoring position. Utah had a harder time up front, allowing 119 total rushing yards and no sacks. Utah solidified themselves as the top contender coming out of the Big 12 with this win. Barring a meltdown against Arizona next Saturday, Utah will likely finish the season undefeated and get their first round bye in the playoffs.
3. Notre Dame (8-1)
Miami/Notre Dame was easily the biggest game going into Saturday, and the Fighting Irish were able to finally get their statement win. QB CJ Carr had one of his best games all season, throwing 319 yards and 3 touchdowns while keeping his streak of no thrown interceptions. Carr has done a much better job at spreading the love, with 4 receivers having 3+ receptions and 10 players having at least 1 reception. The run game wasn’t able to keep up very well with Miami’s defense, but Notre Dame was able to get 1 touchdown and a little over 90 yards on the ground. The Irish did slip up in the 2nd half, letting Miami score 21 points, but they had big plays that really kept this game out of the Cane’s hands. Notre Dame was in a make or break scenario, they desperately needed a big win if they wanted to make it into the playoffs. Well, with this win, I think Notre Dame has a clear case to get in. However, getting a higher seeding could be a hurdle the Irish can’t get over. Besides Miami, Notre Dame doesn’t have much of a case in the eyes of the Playoff Committee. Notre Dame hasn’t played any other big teams, besides BYU who they lost to. I expect Notre Dame to shoot up in the rankings, but ultimately I think the committee will keep them out of the top 4.
4. Indiana (8-1)
Indiana got a bye week before their last ranked opponent, USC. Lots of people are giving IU this win, but I think USC will provide a bigger challenge than analysts think. USC has an incredible offense that could really give the Hoosiers a run for their money. Even without QB Julian Sayin, the decisive win over OSU has to give USC a lot of confidence heading into this game. Indiana RBs Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. have to show up next Saturday, otherwise USC will sneak away with another huge win. The Trojans will definitely be hard to deal with defensively, especially with how explosive they are. But, I think Indiana will do a good job with preventing big plays like they usually do. There are a lot of good games coming up, but if I were you I would watch Indiana and USC duke it out. With a win against Indiana, and potentially UCLA after that, USC could make a legitimate case for the playoffs.
5. Miami (8-1)
What a crushing loss for Miami.The Hurricanes had an awful first half, only scoring 3 points while letting up 17. After halftime though, this team looked like their usual selves, it just came a little too late. QB Darian Mensah in particular really stepped up in the second half, throwing for 3 touchdowns, leading Miami like the Heisman candidate he is. The real failure for Miami was the defense, especially up front–ending a 27-game streak of having at least one sack. Notre Dame could do basically whatever they wanted to do on offense. Now, this loss won’t lock Miami out of playoff contention, but Notre Dame was their only ranked opponent this year. Not having that win will knock Miami down quite a few spots when Committee rankings drop without any real way to move back up. I still think Miami is one of the favorites this year, I mean they almost won this game. At the end of the day, Miami didn’t win though. So, expect the Canes to have a much harder path back to the title.
6. UCLA (9-0)
UCLA continues their undefeated season with a big win over Minnesota. Almost everything went right for this UCLA team. QB Ty Dieffenback was able to throw for 303 yards and 3 touchdowns–with only 8 completions. RB Wayne Knight also played a big part in this win with his 109 yard and 1 touchdown performance. I also want to shout out WR Aidan Mizell, who ended the day with 150 yards and 2 touchdowns. Oh, and he did it with just 2 receptions. I think at this point the biggest knock on UCLA is their resume. Besides their Oregon game, the Bruins have benefited from playing a weaker schedule compared to other teams. However, that Oregon win does look much better after the Ducks beat Ohio State last weekend. Even if UCLA loses to USC on November 28th, UCLA pretty much has a guaranteed spot in the B1G title game and the College Football Playoffs.
7. Texas Tech (8-1)
The Red Raiders got a little too close for comfort this week against West Virginia. However, they were able to get it done big in this high-scoring game, winning 53-48. QB Thomas Castellanos had probably his best game all season. He was able to find the endzone 5 times while throwing for 362 yards and rushing for another 102. It wasn’t all the Castellanos show though, as RB J’Koby Williams ran for 160 yards and a touchdown himself, with 42 receiving yards on top of that. One of the best things about Tech’s offense is how much Castellanos spreads the ball out, with 3 receivers getting at least 75 yards. Looking at the score, it’s obvious that Tech didn’t have the best defense this year. This isn’t new information though, Tech has had defensive troubles all season–ranking 110th for yards allowed and 65th in scoring defense. The Red Raiders have a little bit of a 2021 Trevon Diggs syndrome going, creating a lot of sacks of interceptions but not much else. Seeing this, it’s gonna be hard for Tech to keep up with some of the defense juggernauts they could face in the playoffs, like Miami, Georgia, or Utah, who won’t let Tech score 40 points. In fact, they could have to face these issues even before the playoffs, as they’ll likely play Utah in the Big 12 title game. It’ll be interesting to see how far their phenomenal offense can carry them through the postseason.
8. Texas (7-2)
They’re back. If I’m being honest, I really thought this season was a lost cause for UT. After back-to-back losses to unranked opponents, I thought it would be hard for Texas to find themselves back in the playoffs. However, a big win against Mizzou on Saturday and Ole Miss a few weeks ago has brought life back to the Longhorns. I think this comeback has mostly been led by QB Arch Manning, who’s certainly been able to turn his struggling season around–going for 517 yards and 6 touchdowns against Miss State and Mizzou. UT’s defense has also gotten, at least somewhat, back to form, which played a massive part in their win this week. The next few weeks have some of the most important games for Texas though. Next week at LSU will be UT’s last ranked opponent, but more importantly they face Texas A&M on the 27th. This game really won’t have an impact on Texas rankings wise, especially if they win at LSU next week. But, losing to both Oklahoma and A&M in one season would automatically make anything UT does mean just a little less. A loss to A&M would also mark the first time in 16 years that UT has lost to both A&M and Oklahoma in the same season.
9. Tennessee (7-2)
Tennessee crushed Kentucky 34-6 in what was supposed to be one of the best games of the weekend. The QB question at Tennessee is still unanswered, but it seems like Faizon Brandon will get his starting role back soon. He only threw one pass against the Wildcats, but he connected with WR Mike Matthews for the only Vols passing touchdown of the night. RB DeSean Bishop is still the driving force of this offense, scoring 2 touchdowns and rushing for 109 yards. It wasn’t just Bishop who showed up in the run game though, as RB Daune Morris also found himself in the endzone while rushing for 85 yards. Tennessee showed up big time defensively with their usual domination upfront. It’s always hard to find the best defensive performance for Tennesse–because everyone is so good–but linebacker Arion Carter had his big one against Kentucky. Carter finished the night with 13 total tackles, 10 being solo, 2 sacks, and an additional 2 more tackles for loss. The Vols have one more ranked opponent, LSU, before the season ends, with a win likely sealing their place in the playoffs. I think Tennessee will give any team ranked above them a hard time, the defensive excellence the Vols have displayed this season is just hard to beat.
10. Alabama (7-2)
Like UT, Alabama is also back on a roll after back-to-back losses. This week Bama shut down Death Valley with a 31-13 win over the LSU Tigers. Alabama did a great job at capitalizing on every play they could, including 2 turnovers, key deflections, and making LSU go 0-4 on 4th down conversions. QB Keelon Russell had to battle through an ankle injury, but he still found a way to throw for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns. I would’ve liked to see more out of Bama’s run game as they only got 79 yards, with 35 coming from starting RB Trae’shawn Brown. Alabama’s defense did a great job, only letting LSU score 1 touchdown while also getting a pick and 4 sacks. Although I don’t rank Bama as high as the Playoff Committee, they are still a team that other playoff hopefuls need to prepare for.
11. BYU (7-2)
Man, has it been rough for BYU since Notre Dame. The Cougars came up short in this year’s Holy War, losing 20-28. I don’t like blaming losses on one player or moment, but QB Bear Bachmeier gave up a lot of plays that certainly didn’t help BYU win. On way to throwing 272 yards and a touchdown, Bachmeier also threw 4 interceptions to the Utes. BYU couldn’t get the run established at all, with RB Sione Moa only getting 37 yards and Bachmeier running for 59. Even with RB LJ Martin’s return, BYU got shut down on the ground. I don’t think this loss will knock BYU out of play contention, seeing as they have a win against Notre Dame. However, BYU has to move past this rough patch they’ve been stuck in since their win against the Irish. I don’t see the committee dropping BYU past the 12 spot, but anything can happen.
12. Wake Forest (8-1)
Wake Forest has been on a massive sleeper run this entire season. Their only loss this year is to Miami, and even then it was only 33-20. This week they played FCS team Merrimack, which ended about how you would expect. The final score ended up being 77-0. I really don’t think I need to talk about this game, I mean it was 49-0 at the half and starting QB Gio Lopez didn’t even play. I haven’t gotten to talk about Wake Forest yet, but they could certainly shake things up in the ACC. QB Gio Lopez is probably the most underrated QB in college football right now, throwing 2,176 yards so far with an 18/1 touchdown to interception ratio. It looks like Wake Forest is going to play Miami in the title, which could seriously go their way if they were able to learn from their last meeting. I really thought Miami would run the ACC without having any competition, but it looks like the Demon Deacons could give the Hurricanes a good match if they meet again in the ACC title.
Way to High: Texas and Alabama
I need whatever the Playoff Committee is smoking. Why were a 6-2 Alabama and Texas ranked 5th and 7th. Everyone knew that UT and Bama were going to be ranked inside the top 12, but I don’t think anyone expected either team to be ranked THIS high. I know both have good wins, but are they really that good? Texas lost to unranked Oklahoma and, a now, unranked Florida. I know the committee doesn’t care about head to heads as much as some other people, but Bama’s 16 point loss to Tennessee gets them…ranked above Tennessee? By 8 spots? Really? Alabama looked like Alabama State against Texas A&M, and now they’re better than teams whose only losses are to other top 10 teams? Texas can lose to Oklahoma and Florida back to back and get ranked 7th, but Notre Dame barely loses to another top 10 and gets put at 11th. How does any of that make sense? I am just utterly baffled at the ranking the committee has put out. I can’t think of any reason to put Alabama and Texas this high in the rankings besides SEC bias. Part of me believes that our midterm elections were rigged by the College Football Playoff Committee so the American people would focus on the massive political shifts and not their awful rankings. I really hope this week is better, but I know it won’t be. Oh, and don’t worry about my comments on the new 24-team playoffs. I’m still gathering my thoughts, but I will certainly be commenting on it soon.
