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We are halfway through the regular season, but there is still a little over a week of finals football matches at the College, which publishes its first rankings. This means that all the discussions surrounding university football will focus on the CFP over the next two months. So I think we could as well give us a length in advance.
When Ohio State lost to Purdue 49-20, there was the same kind of reaction to a frustrated high-level team we still see. The first type of answer you see is the answer, "Wow, I can not believe it happened." It's pure and reasonable. The next one you see, both fans and the media, is this: "Their playoff hopes are dead."
It's a natural reaction itself, but that's not true either. The hopes of the Ohio State series are not dead. They are badly injured and the Buckeyes are at extreme risk of infection that could kill them, but they are not dead.
So, inspired by this, I will look at what teams are still alive in the CFP hunt at this point of the season. There are more teams than you think, but some have a much better chance of winning than others.
The three obvious
Alabama: Every part of my college football brain that has seen this happen year after year tells me that it is possible that Alabama could lose and jeopardize its hopes in the playoffs. A few weeks ago, I wrote at this very place that chaos will eventually happen for everyone and that it could happen for Alabama. But what do you know? Even with LSU coming in two weeks, and the upcoming SEC championship game, I do not see this team losing. I've seen people say how much Alabama's excellence is boring and I get it, even though I'm not entirely in agreement. I feel we could just put Alabama in the playoffs and wait to see who will lose afterwards.
Clemson: Until the last matches, it was a team that had the impression of not living up to expectations, but things have turned on since Trevor Lawrence has settled down. He crushed NC State 41-7 and is now the favorite. in the ACC. The problem for Clemson is that the CAC has not done him any service. There is no resume available at the conference at the moment – sorry, NC State, but I do not think you were counting – so if Clemson manages to fail, it could be expensive.
our Lady: It's simple for Notre Dame. Keep winning and you can play in the playoffs. His wins on Michigan, Stanford and Virginia Tech give him one of the best CVs in the country. Of course, the "keep winning" part is a lot easier to say than to do.
Teams that "control their destiny"
LSU: The Tigers control their destiny. They have the best resume in the country with victories over Miami, Auburn, Georgia and now the state of Mississippi. The problem is that these victories over Miami, Auburn and Mississippi State may not seem like much before the end of the season. Still, Georgia's win is one of the best in the country and the defeat against Florida does not look bad, especially now with the Gators in the top 10. Oh, and LSU can still face Alabama. If he wins this match, he probably wins the West and can play in the SEC championship. If she loses, the second defeat almost replaces it.
MichiganWolverines are in a similar position to LSU. The Wisconsin and Michigan State wins are good, but we do not know how good they will be in late November. The loss to Notre Dame is not a prejudice. The key is to keep winning, and with games to play against Penn State and Ohio State, there are more chances to boost your stock. Another defeat eliminates them, but if they win, they are almost certainly committed.
Georgia: Unlike LSU and Michigan, Bulldogs do not have a CV yet to win. What they have is a healthy defeat and three more chances to get a winning resume. First place is Florida, then a car trip to Kentucky. Then, if they win the SEC East, they will likely have Alabama or LSU at the SEC Championship game. You think that a champion of the SEC is left out? I'm sure that it's not the case.
Florida: It's here for the same reasons as Georgia, but the LSU has won a much more impressive victory than anything Georgia has to date, and the defeat in Kentucky looks much better now than it is. she was there at the time, while the Wildcats were firmly in the lead 15. The Gators also qualify for the exemption "no SEC champion will be ruled out" because they are still alive in SEC title race.
Teams that need help
Texas: In the current state of things, the victory in Oklahoma is huge, but the victories on USC and TCU do not make much change. The good news for Texas is that it has a shot to impress against West Virginia and that it could have a rematch with Oklahoma at the Big 12 Championship Game. So, if it wins, it's hard to see a Texas 12-1 out of the top four, but the others must lose.
Oklahoma: I've considered placing Oklahoma in the previous category, but I do not think it's permissible. Yes, if he wins, he has a good chance to participate in the playoffs, but nothing is guaranteed. The reason is that I do not know what is the best Oklahoma victory yet. Is the state of Iowa? Baylor? Army? The Sooners have already played against a ranked team and they lost that game. They need Texas and West Virginia to keep winning so they can add some punchy wins to their resume.
state of Ohio: As I mentioned earlier, this team is still alive, but hurt. Purdue is a much better team than most people realize, but it's not a good defeat for the Buckeyes. The victory of the TCU seems less impressive every week. The Penn State win is the best of the Buckeyes to date, but Penn State lost at home against Michigan State and had problems with Indiana. If this team wins and finishes the season with a win over Michigan and a Big Ten title, it will be on the hunt, but this defeat of Purdue probably means it's not a sure thing.
West Virginia: Maybe mountaineers control their destiny and I misclassified them. They still have the opportunity to play Texas and Oklahoma and have a potential game for the Big 12 title. They win, they will have an impressive resume. That's right, given the way things have worked in the past, I do not know if we should consider a Big 12 champion as a lock for anything. Even if they deserve. In addition, this loss of the state of Iowa will be used against her in a playoff court, just as the loss of the state of Ohio against Purdue will be exerted against her.
Neglected lost teams
Kentucky: The United Kingdom controls its destiny, as do Georgia and Florida, because if it wins the SEC, it comes into play. I know it, but I say it here because most people do not take it as a serious threat, even if that is the case. # 12 in the last Top 25 AP. Am I confident this Kentucky team will win the SEC? No, but to be honest, I'm not convinced that a team other than Alabama will win the SEC, so do not take it personally, Cats.
State of Washington: The Couguars are the only hope of the Pac-12, but the problem they face is that most people have already completely written off the Pac-12. Wazzu is the highest ranked team in the conference at 14th place and its position is tricky. If it loses, it's done. If the Cougars beat Stanford and Washington, they will further tarnish the reputation of the Pac-12, because everyone will say that they have not played anyone well enough to deserve a place.
IowaThe Hawkeyes have not yet won an impressive victory, but they will face Penn State on the road this week. After that, they get Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois and Nebraska. If they won and won the West – they would need Wisconsin to lose again – they could get Michigan or the Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. Will a 12-1 team from Iowa with a Big Ten title and who overrides the East Champion, Penn State and Purdue, would suffice?
The Joker
UCF: The Knights have won 20 straight wins. If they finish the unbeaten 2018 season and win the AAC again, there will be many people who express their support for the UCF to qualify for the playoffs. I may be one of them, but there are still important obstacles to overcome. The first is about the Power Five Boys Club. It will not be easy. The second is what will be the best UCF victory? At present, it's either Memphis (which is now 4-4 after being crushed by Missouri) or Pitt (who is Pitt). Although the games remain against Temple, Cincinnati and South Florida, I'm not sure that any of these will move the needle. So, yes, UCF is still alive for the series, but I remain skeptical about its choice given its 2018 calendar.
Perception Survey of the Week
Consistent with what I just said, I asked Twitter which conference was most likely to get a place for the series: Big Ten or Big 12. It's hard not to to agree, but I think it's closer than the results indicate. Michigan has the most juice of any team in one or the other conference right now. If I were to rank the teams of both conferences in their chances of getting there, I would go from the front: Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio, and then West Virginia.
Stat of the week
There were 19 shots in Michigan's 21-7 win over Michigan on Saturday. Alabama has hit 18 times all season.
Team of the week
Do you remember when UAB dissolved its football program? The Blazers did not exist in 2015 and 2016 and were a great story last season when they returned to the field and went 8-5, reaching a bowl match. Well, they are a better story this year. After defeating North Texas 29-21 on Saturday, the Blazers are already eligible and firmly in the USA West conference headquarters. The 6-1 start of the UAB is the best start in the history of the program. If Bill Clark is not among the coaches' ballots this year, I'm not sure why we have this award. He was our CBS Sports Coach of the Year in 2017.
Staredown of the week
Did you catch that? While Delaware's Nasir Adderley had an impressive punt return for a touchdown, it's not the return itself that should have caught your eye. If you have not seen it the first time, go back and watch Adderley after hitting a tackler along the sideline. Adderley the truck guy then stops and stays on him for a second before resuming his return. Honestly, the staredown played an important role in allowing Adderley to return the ball, as it seems New Hampshire players thought the game was over.
Punt of the week
I like football so much on snow.
Ref Truck of the Week
If only Moe Neal had stopped and stood beside the referee, as had Nasir Adderley of Delaware, he would have perhaps brought it to the House.
Smack Talk of the week
Michigan's defensive wing, Chase Winovich, felt after Michigan's victory over the Michigan State. He brought back the angle of the "little brother" against the rivalry that Mike Hart had started a decade ago, then dubbed on Twitter later in the day.
You know, I do not think Michigan and the state of Michigan like it a lot.
Tweet of the week
#FollowFelder.
AP elector of the week
This week we are looking at the ballot of the Marietta Daily Journalis John Bednarowski. Now, before I get to my problem with Bednarowski's ballot, I would like to congratulate him for placing our UAB Weekly Team in 25th place. Monday after appreciates the support given to his Blazers.
However, there was a flagrant omission on John's ballot. I went back and forth and could not help but notice that the state of Washington was not there. Now, this in itself might not be a flagrant offense. If you wish, you can state that Washington State is not one of the top 25 teams in the country. I do not know how convincing an argument would be, but you can do it. Of course, once the person with whom you are arguing indicates that you have Oregon at number 20 on your ballot – the Washington State team just beat 34 to 20 – your argument for maintaining Wazzu will have no more leg. stand.
I hope that Mr. Bednarowski has just made an honest mistake and that he has not deliberately left the Cougar.
Coaches Survey Conspiracy of the Week
Like the Top 25 of AP, Alabama is at the forefront of the coaching survey. Unlike the AP Top 25, Alabama is not unanimous in the coaching poll, with Clemson having two votes in first place. So who are the two coaches placing Clemson at No. 1? Well, we do not know for sure because, unlike the AP, the coaching poll does not make its ballots public (it's unlikely that coaches will not vote if they did so). ), but we are free to assume everything we love.
And it's here that I point out that Nick Saban is a voter of the Coaching Survey this year.
He definitely places Clemson at No. 1, right? He then shows the poll to his team and how Alabama does not get all the votes in the first place. He uses it to tell his team that "NO OTHER COACH OF THIS COUNTRY BELIEVES IN YOU!" There is a 150% chance that this will happen.
As for the other coach placing Clemson in the lead, I guess that's Dabo Swinney or Gus Malzahn.
College Football Screening of the Week
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. LSU
4. Our Lady
Until the following Monday After!
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