With apologies to Florida State, LSU, Clemson and Georgia Tech, I’m going to keep running my weekly thing.
Week 1 has finally arrived, and she has delivered well. While the media proclaimed that it was one of the best 1 weeks we’ve had in a long time, I didn’t have the same feeling or the same vibe. I mean it wasn’t bad or anything and we had some interesting games, but with the exception of a few games here and there, nothing was really motivated.
The teams that should dominate this year have dominated. Teams that could surprise had a mixed bag, and the PAC-12 is already in a world of trouble in terms of playoff aspirations. So let’s look at it.
TOP 5 WINNERS
1. OHIO STATE: People wanted to pamper the Buckeyes for their 11-point win over Notre Dame. It’s kind of a bad look when people do that. Notre Dame is ranked 5th and is not a pushover. But while you may have more questions on offense right now than on defense, maybe that’s a good thing given Ohio State’s difficulty on defense last year. But Ohio State is one of those teams that, once they get going, can’t be stopped. And remember, the committee often reviews the entire body of work.”Beating Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and maybe Wisconsin would give the Buckeyes a solid resume.
2. FLORIDA: Billy Napier has already removed the nonsense of the Dan Mullen era. If it had been the Mullen Gators, Utah wins by 20. But you feel like this is a different Florida team that can really bounce back and take charge. The next big battle: Kentucky.
3. GEORGIA: If anyone was wondering that Georgia would collapse after losing all of its players from last year’s national championship team, it should have been wiped out after that absolute blast on Oregon. Maybe it’s more about relying more on the offense that looked robust than the defense (gave up a few more yards at times, but still looked strong). Honestly, I don’t see anyone taking Georgia out until the first Saturday in December. But wow, were they on point yesterday.
4. ARKANSAS: The Razorbacks had a big W at home against Cincinnati and some are going to poop on it saying “oh this is not a power 5 school and this is at Arkansas.”How many times have we seen the Razorbacks collapse against a top team that is not called Texas A&M? Anyway, nice win and you have to think this is *maybe* the best team to challenge Alabama in the Western section.
5. PENN STATE: I’m not sure what was more surprising here: Penn State starting the year unranked, Penn State getting a win at Purdue of all places to be here, or James Franklin not ruining a game (or in this possible case, Franklin wasn’t the head coach making a head decision to cost his team the game). But it’s a start. But we also know where it starts and ends with Penn State: Michigan and Ohio State.
TOP 5 LOSERS
1. OREGON: I thought the Ducks were ranked a little too high at 11 with a few losses on both sides to compile that with a new head coach. On top of that, starting quarterback Bo Nix is one of the most inconsistent quarterbacks in college football and now Oregon fans are seeing it. But they were humiliated by Georgia at the weekend. They were overwhelmed, overplayed and overworked in every sense of the word. And they were disproportionate. This may be one of the teams that start ranked high but end up in the middle of the road around 6-6.
2. UTAH: Continuing the trend of PAC-12 teams that have disappointed, Utah had the chance to come out of the region to face a tough conference opponent in Florida. And they fell late. It wasn’t like they played poorly like Oregon, but they needed this win because it gave them the little bit of victory they needed in a hostile environment. Instead, especially if Florida goes 7-5 or 8-4, the Utes will have an extremely difficult time showing the CFP Committee that they are worthy of one of those spots.
3. NOTRE DAME: They didn’t play badly against Ohio State and a loss isn’t going to ruin them. BUT Notre Dame has a dark and ominous cloud over their heads where they can’t get that big win. Last year it was Cincinnati. Years before, in Georgia. Alabama, Clemson (in a normal year), and now Ohio State. But with USC possibly back and Clemson appearing to be almost at full speed, the Irish could look 9-3 with no playoff talk.
4. CINCINNATI: We thought the Bearcats would take a step back from last year’s losses (Ridder, Gardner) and losing to Arkansas is not a bad thing now. But it basically eliminates Cincinnati from any discussion of the playoffs until they join the Big 12.
5. PURDUE: I’ll talk more about that, but Purdue needed this win to really push the boundaries of the Big Ten West. Instead, they chose to make stupid decisions on offense when they were up late. This is not a championship team or even a decent team. Now the boilermakers have to avoid the snowball effect.
