I was in Savannah for a few days, which meant I only got to watch a minimal amount of football, it took me a good bit on Sunday to catch up on highlights. Do not fear folks, I did my homework. The big news this week is that Sam Houston State picked up their first win of the season. It was a come-from-behind victory against Kennesaw State, but hey, a win is a win.
I think this week, instead of some comment about the team, I will give their final three opponents and my projected final record.
- Georgia (9-0)–#1–W 30-21 #13 Missouri. Ole Miss, Tennessee, Georgia Tech…12-0
- Michigan (9-0)–#2–W 41-13 Purdue. Penn State, Maryland, Ohio State…11-1
- Ohio State (9-0)–#3–W 35-16 Rutgers. Michigan State, Minnesota, Michigan…11-1
- Florida State (9-0)–#4–W 24-7 Pittsburgh. Miami, North Florida, Florida…12-0
- Washington (9-0)–#5–W 52-42 #24 USC. Utah, Oregon State, Washington State…11-1
- Oregon (8-1)–#8–W 63-19 California. USC, Arizona State, Oregon State…11-1
- Texas (8-1)–#6–W 33-30 OT Kansas State. TCU, Iowa State, Texas Tech…10-2
- Alabama (8-1)–#7–W 42-28 #15 LSU. Kentucky, Chattanooga, Auburn…11-1
- Penn State (8-1)–#11–W 51-14 Maryland. Michigan, Rutgers, Michigan State…11-1
- Ole Miss (8-1)–#9–W 38-35 Texas A&M. Georgia, ULM, Mississippi State…10-2
- Louisville (8-1)–#10–W 34-3 Virginia Tech. Virginia, Miami, Kentucky…11-1
In this scenario, before conference championship games, we would have two teams undefeated. Those championship games would end up being like the first rounds of a playoff. These are the teams that are in the playoff hunt. - Tennessee (7-2)–#16–W 59-3 UConn. Missouri, Georgia, Vanderbilt…8-4
- Kansas (7-2)–#20–W 28-21 Iowa State. Texas Tech, Kansas State, Cincinnati…9-3
- Oklahoma State (7-2)–HM–W 27-24 #14 Oklahoma. UCF, Houston, BYU…10-2
- Missouri (7-2)–#13–L 30-21 #1 Georgia. Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas…10-2
- Tulane (8-1)–#18–W 13-3 East Carolina. Tulsa, FAU, UTSA…11-1
- JMU (9-0)–#21–W 42-14 Georgia State. UConn, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina…11-1
- Oregon State (7-2)–#22–W 26-19 Colorado. Stanford, Washington, Oregon…8-4
- Utah (7-2)–#23–W 55-3 Arizona State. Washington, Arizona, Colorado…9-3
- UNC (7-2)–#25–W 59-7 Campbell. Duke, Clemson, NC State…9-3
- Oklahoma (7-2)–#14–L 27-24 Oklahoma State. WVU, BYU, TCU…10-2
- LSU (6-3)–#15–L 42-28 #7 Alabama. Florida, Georgia State, Texas A&M…9-3
- Arizona (6-3)–WL–W 27-10 #17 UCLA. Colorado, Utah, Arizona State…8-4
- Fresno State (8-1)–NR–W 37-30 Boise State. San Jose State, New Mexico, SDSU…11-1
- Toledo (8-1)–HM–W 31-13 Buffalo. EMU, Bowling Green, CMU…11-1
Honorable Mention
Liberty (9-0)–HM–W 56-30 Louisiana Tech. Old Dominion, UMass, UTEP…11-1
Notre Dame (7-3)–#12–L 31-23 Clemson.Bye, Wake Forest, Stanford…9-3
Memphis (7-2)–NR–W 59-50 South Florida. Charlotte, SMU, Temple…10-2
Troy (7-2)–WL–W 28-10 South Alabama. ULM, Louisiana, Southern Miss…10-2
Iowa (7-2)–NR–W 10-7 Northwestern. Rutgers, Illinois, Nebraska…9-3
This is why divisions are stupid. Iowa will most likely get a chance to play for a Big Ten Championship against either Ohio State/Michigan/Penn State (in my scenario above they all end with one loss).
Watch List
Kansas State (6-3)–WL–L 33-30 OT #6 Texas. Baylor, Kansas, Iowa State…8-4
Duke (6-3)–WL–W 24-21 Wake Forest. UNC, Virginia, Pitt…9-3
Kentucky (6-3)–NR–W 24-3 Mississippi State. Alabama, South Carolina, Louisville…7-5
NC State (6-3)–NR–W 20-6 Miami. Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, UNC…8-4
USC (7-3)–#24–L 52-42 #5 Washington. Oregon, UCLA, Bye…8-4
This week we have three big games, and three very big games. Yep, double the big game action from me!
#12 Tennessee at #15 Missouri–I think the Tigers will rebound against the Vols at home.
USC at #6 Oregon–I think the Ducks absolutely destroy USC.
West Virginia at #21 Oklahoma–I could see the Mountaineers pulling off the upset, but I will settle if they cover the spread.
Okay, onto the very big games. #19 Utah heads to #5 Washington. If anyone is going to beat the Huskies, I think it can be the Utes. Next up we get #10 Ole Miss at #1 Georgia. The Bulldogs win by twenty. And finally, the big game of the week! #2 Michigan at #9 Penn State. I moved the Nittany Lions up in the rankings after seeing the offense come alive against Maryland. I truly believe that interception helped Drew Allar out. This is Michigan’s first test of the year, plus the scandal continues to swirl. If there ever were a time for Penn State to pull off a big win against a top-tier opponent…this is it!
