Week four was another fun one, but this coming week will be another super week. We watched as some crazy things happened, notably with some Ducks and Wolverines. It’s the weekly whip around in college football.
Wolves Are In; Ducks Are Out
The Oregon Ducks suffered another loss ,a dismantling, this time at the hands of the Utah Utes. As a result, the Ducks are no longer a top 25 team. This is the first time the AP Top 25 hasn’t had Oregon in it since 2009.
It’s weird seeing a team like Oregon on the receiving end of a blowout (62-20) but they did lose Marcus Mariota among others. This team wasn’t going to be very strong this year; it’s going to take some rebuilding. But it’s college football, that’s what happens.
On another note, the Michigan Wolverines, once a perennial top 25 team, have finally climbed back into the poll after a big 31-0 win over the giant killer, BYU.
Last Saturday, we watched the Harbaugh era at Michigan take flight. After losing week one to the Utes, people didn’t want to buy into UM. We now know that the Utes are a pretty good team and Michigan may also be a pretty good team.
The two polar opposite ends of the rebuilding phase are in plain view with Oregon starting the process and Michigan seemingly ready to play competitive football.
The biggest winner? The Big Ten. They now have another team to pair with Michigan State, Ohio State, and Wisconsin.– The conference is starting to look like it did in the early 2000’s.
UCLA Legitimizes Itself
The first huge game of super-frosh Josh Rosen’s career is in the books and he passed with flying colors, going 19-of-28 for 284 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Bruins were able to win 56-30, but they were aided by Arizona QB Anu Solomon’s second quarter injury. However, it was 28-7 at the time, so that’s not much of an excuse. The Bruins rolled.
Going forward, UCLA has Utah and USC staring at them to end the season, as well as Stanford and the rest of the conference gauntlet waiting for their chance to end the run.
The Bruins now have the inside track to the College Football Playoff. They just have to win. With Rosen at quarterback they’ve proven to be solid, but he’s still a freshman and freshman tend to make a major mistake at some point. If the Bruins can weather the freshman storm, whenever it comes, they’re a legit contender. CFP Committee be on notice.
Next Week Is Much Anticipated
This week left us with some fun, next week is the golden ticket as far as I’m concerned. Maybe a little biased in my opinion, but the #8 Georgia- #13 Alabama game is going to be one fun matchup. The last time these teams met the Dawgs ended up a few yards short of winning an SEC title in one of the most exciting games of the last ten years.
They are essentially the same teams: tough defense, run-first offense, and “weaker” at the quarterback position. How do I see the matchup shaking out?
Defense: UGA wins this battle. Why? They are faster. Alabama has the size, but UGA is so fast on defense. Leonard Floyd is one of college football’s top edge rushers with 23 tackles, two sacks, and 3.5 tackles for loss. With five interceptions this year, the secondary looks much improved in year two with Jeremy Pruitt at the helm. Turnovers and pressure will be key.
Offense: UGA wins again. The Dawgs have Nick Chubb, one of my top Heisman candidates and granted Alabama has Kenyan Drake and Derrick Henry. But outside of Chubb, the Dawgs have Sony Michel, Keith Marshall, and Isaiah McKenzie. All of which have been major contributors this season. For all involved, this is an important moment in any perspective Heisman campaign. Chubb and Henry, this is your most important game of the season (for now anyway. . .). At the quarterback position, I want to make it clear how much Greyson Lambert has improved. He’s thrown two incompletions in the past two weeks. TWO. He’s now 52-of-68 (77%), 733 yards, with seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. He’s just what Mark Richt and the Dawgs need. He has to play well under pressure this weekend.
UGA 28 – Alabama 17
Another key game is #6 Notre Dame versus #12 Clemson. This matchup is going to be a fun one behind two tough teams.
Deshaun Watson vs. DeShone Kizer is going to be an epic battle. Ultimately, the offensive battle comes down to everyone else maybe even more, whoever has the better defense will come out on top.
Clemson allows only 12.3 points per game, while Notre Dame only allows 19.8. That’s where the game will be won.
For that reason, I’m picking Clemson to find a way to win. Kizer has stepped in and played well in a tough situation. But Notre Dame has been suffering too many injuries, and that will influence this week’s matchup.
Clemson 27 – Notre Dame 13
Last week was fun, this week will be even better, and then college football will continue to grow throughout the season. Get ready fans, it’s going to be a wild weekend!
An addition from here on out, my projected College Football Playoff:
1. Michigan State Spartans
2. TCU Horned Frogs
3. Georgia Bulldogs
4. UCLA Bruins
Sparty will find a win over the Buckeyes and coast to the B1G title. TCU will bounce back from a near devastating weekend. The Dawgs will win the SEC with running, defense, and an improved quarterback. Finally, UCLA freshman Josh Rosen leads the Bruins to the promised land.
Heisman Rankings
1. Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU 34-of-54, 485 Yards, 4 TD-0 INT Trend: –
Boykin found a way to stay scrappy and lead TCU out of the gates of despair. Texas Tech nearly pulled off the first major upset of 2015, but not so fast my friend. Boykin proved that he was a super-hero with his incredible game, despite a 78.1 QBR.
2. Nick Chubb, RB, UGA 15 CAR, 131 Yards, 2 TD, 49 Long Trend: –
He’s now tied with legend Herschel Walker with 12 consecutive 100+ yard games. To break Walker’s record, he has to do it against Alabama in the sophomore’s biggest game. Last week was the tune up; this week is his Heisman moment.
3. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU 26 CAR, 244 Yards, 2 TD Trend: +1
Fournette is everyone’s Heisman favorite right now. Not mine. LSU has a solid team, but I still see them with a pair of losses at least. I don’t think he makes it to Atlanta for the SEC title game, and that will be costly. However, if he keeps putting up two bills a game, it’s going to be tough to keep him out of New York.
4. Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss 24-of-42, 321 Yards, 1 TD-2 INT Trend: -1
The Rebels had a near disaster with the SEC’s weakest team, Vanderbilt. That was a result of coming off of last week’s high and quarterback Chad Kelly throwing a pair of interceptions. Kelly drops because of that, but it’s really just because Fournette is college football’s darling right now.
5. Derrick Henry, RB, ALA 13 CAR, 52 Yards, 1 TD Trend: ^
Henry moves into my top-five simply because I don’t want to put any of the others in the top-five. Russell, Rosen, Allen, and Prosise could all make the leap in the coming weeks. For Henry, the game against UGA will determine his fate. He needs to show up. If he doesn’t, he could be gone for good. They ‘rested’ him this past week in anticipation of the UGA game.
Seth Russell, Josh Rosen, Kyle Allen, C.J. Prosise, Ezekiel Elliott
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