In case you missed it, Michigan State faced Michigan in the Big House last weekend in an intriguing matchup that could potentially factor heavily into the College Football Playoff.
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Utah (6-1). Playoff hopes might be cooked after Utes were blown out by USC on the road. I wanted to explore those possibilities. An undefeated ACC champ should be in, especially considering there are no more undefeated teams remaining in the Pac-12. That season saw 5 teams: Alabama, Texas, TCU (then in the Mountain West), Cincinnati, and Boise State. At 1-3 in the SEC, the Tigers are off to their worst start in conference play since 2012 when they went winless vs. league opponents. Although one loss doesn’t end any team’s playoff chances, the margin for error is gone. The Noles lost at Georgia Tech on a blocked field goal attempt that was returned for a touchdown, but it was still a loss to a 3-5 team that likely eliminated FSU from the playoff conversation. Fairbairn spent a portion of his booting a school record 60-yard field goal to close out the first half of a 40-24 win over Cal. Fairbaim is having a stellar season after a slow start as a Bruin. Now let’s look at the SEC. I see little reason to believe that Utah will win the Pac-12 at this point after their embarrassing loss to a hungry USC team.
While this was not a stellar effort by Kent State, the Golden Flashes can take comfort knowing the Falcons have put up similar numbers against almost every team they’ve faced this season. Thereafter the AP Top 25 Poll results for week 9 slotted Michigan State at six followed by Alabama, Stanford, Notre Dame, and Iowa.
The ball rolled free, and was scooped up by Spartan redshirt freshman defensive back Jalen Watts-Jackson, who proceeded to run it back for a touchdown, giving the Spartans a 27-23 victory and capping one of the most improbable victories in recent college football history. That gives us 3 undefeated teams.
Then we head down to the Big 12. Because of the round robin nature of the Big 12, only one of those teams will be undefeated at the end of the year. That gives college football 4 undefeated P5 champions. All this leads to this week’s college football power rankings. The Tigers are in position for a spot, however, as they have a manageable schedule and if they can finish with an undefeated slate, they will be in. Notre Dame is a non-starter because they lost to Clemson. Now, we’re not so sure what to make of this Utah team that once had everyone convinced they were great. Clemson would have 3 such wins. The B1G isn’t much better.
Connor Cook, Michigan State: The senior quarterback completed 30 of 52 passes for 398 yards and four touchdowns to rescue the Spartans from Indiana’s upset bid. That season, WSU finished 10-3 and in the top 10 of the AP Poll.
Now let’s talk SEC. This is the scenario that scares everyone because of SECBIAS and a few nonsense.
New Mexico State: NMSU dropped to 0-7 on the season on Saturday and did so in blowout fashion for the team’s 17th straight loss. Quarterback Deshaun Watson continues to demonstrate that last season’s ACL tear didn’t rob him of any of his dynamism, while Clemson’s defense remains one of the best in the country despite major turnover from previous year. But Ole Miss for their big win did not get much of a lift, rising only five spots to number nineteen.
If Clemson loses a game this year, we have a problem.
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Saturday provided us not one, but two, four-OT extravaganzas that were short on aesthetics and long on the amount of time it took. The odds of that aren’t exactly spectacular. It’s a far-fetched scenario, but what if Pitt wins out and wins the ACC title? The Owls will face their biggest test yet in what should be a revealing game when the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish visit in Week 9. Or no one else could lose, and we’d be in trouble.
