3 Week Review (11/5-11/19)

So I basically have been taking the month of November off because school and life just get in the way.  So at the moment we're pretty behind on everything college football.  Right now I'm just going to review the important things we've missed over the past 3 weeks.  This will be pretty unorganized and short probably so sorry in advance.

11/5:
Alabama beat LSU 10-0 in a very defensive game.  Texas A&M somehow lost to Mississippi State 35-28 and are now out of playoff contention.  Ohio State beat Nebraska 62-3 so Nebraska is done in the Big 10 for the most part.  Arkansas upset Florida 31-10.  Penn State beat Iowa 41-14 and I was there so that was fun.  Those were the highlights of week 10.

11/12:
Duke upset North Carolina 28-27.  Pittsburgh upset Clemson 43-42 and that is officially my game of the year because it was just amazing to watch.  Iowa upset Michigan 14-13.  Washington lost to USC 26-13.  So the 3 of the top 4 teams lost this week.  It was the first time that happened since 1985 which is kind of cool.  So the playoff picture has really shaken up.

11/19:
Houston dashed Louisville's playoff hopes when they won 36-10 in a game that I previewed in September.  Ohio State beat Michigan State 17-16 in a game they should've lost but Mark Dantonio made a poor decision (never go for 2 when you're down by 1...).  Oregon beat Utah 30-28 with a touchdown pass with 2 seconds left in the game.  Florida somehow beat LSU 16-10.  Also Kansas beat Texas 24-21 and it was their 2nd Big 12 conference win in the last 2 years and it was the first time they beat Texas since 1938... That's before World War I... so congrats to Kansas!  Also we'd like to wish now former Texas head coach Charlie Strong the best of luck finding a new job after being let go by Texas after the loss to Kansas.

So we're approaching the last week of the regular season.  I'm going to do a playoff preview kind of thing and really focus on the #2 Ohio State vs #3 Michigan game because that's going to decide a lot in the playoffs.  I can guarantee that an Ohio State vs Michigan article will be posted before Saturday.  I will also be at Penn State's last game against Michigan State this Saturday so this Saturday is going to be a great one! See ya soon!

Saturday Review #8/Week 10 Preview

Yes, I'm a little behind. No, I don't have a good reason. I knew I had to type the review, but I just never really got to it. So, I'm going to sum up Week 9 for all of you right now. The Big 12 lost, I should've picked Wyoming, Navy is apparently not going to win the American Athletic Conference, and Kansas sucks. Now time for the preview:

#1 Alabama vs #13 LSU: Alabama-LSU games are always good. Take that 2011 game for example, both teams dominated defensively, causing both offenses to struggle, with the game ending 9-6 in overtime in LSU's favor. Then in that same year, those two teams met in the National Championship (somehow?) and Alabama continued their defensive domination and LSU's offense struggled, as the Crimson Tide avenged their loss and won the game 21-0 to win the National Championship. LSU started the season at #5 in the nation, losing to Wisconsin in their season opener at Lambeau Field. Since then, the Tigers have only lost to now #9 Auburn and are undefeated at home. Alabama comes into this game undefeated and has only struggled against Ole Miss this season. This will be a tough game to pick, but I'm going to go with LSU, just because I think home field advantage will play a major factor in this game.

#10 Nebraska vs #6 Ohio State: Despite losing to Wisconsin last week, Nebraska is still a Top 10 team, which I do not mind at all. The Cornhuskers are alright in the Big 10, having a few close games but staying undefeated until the Wisconsin game. Ohio State has only suffered one loss as well, with it coming against Penn State in what is so far my game of the year. I am going to pick Ohio State, because they're just good. I don't think Nebraska even stands a chance. The Buckeyes are angry and look to go on a tear to get a playoff spot. This just isn't Nebraska's season.

#5 Washington vs California: I threw in this game because it has potential to be good. Washington is on a roll and could go undefeated this season (wait for the Apple Cup..) easily as the Pac-12 seems to be in a struggle this season. Speaking of struggles, California comes into this game at 4-4, despite upsetting teams such as former #22 Texas and former #18 Utah (both wins at home). The Golden Bears only seem to step up when their opponent is ranked. Even though I have brought up this theory, I still pick Washington. I just think the Huskies momentum is very strong coming off a great win against former #17 Utah and I don't think anyone can stop them. Not yet at least (*cough* Washington State *cough cough*)

Iowa vs #12 Penn State: We already know my pick, but I'd thought I'd take time to mention I'll be at this game. I don't know if it'll top the last game I went to against Minnesota, but it looks to be a pretty good game. I'm picking Penn State because they're my team ("what about when you picked Ohio State to bea-" yeah that was a mistake but I trust them now so shhhh). Plus remember that time FCS North Dakota State beat Iowa when they were ranked #13?


#18 Oklahoma State vs Kansas State: Oklahoma State is fresh off of my upset pick against the formerly undefeated West Virginia Mountaineers and has all the momentum in the Big 12 at the moment. Kansas State comes into this game with 3 losses, 2 against top Big 12 teams (West Virginia by 1 and Oklahoma by 21) and Stanford when they were ranked at #8 in week 1. So this game could really be a good game. I'm going to pick Oklahoma State, for no good reason basically. I just think Kansas State won't be able to beat a major Big 12 team right now. This ain't 2012.

Well those are my picks for Week 10 of the college football season. The road to the bowls and playoff begins right here. See ya for the review (hopefully)!

 

College Football Playoff Top 25 Poll #1 (Week 10)

As you can tell from the title, we don't care about the AP Top 25 poll anymore. IT'S BOWL SEASON BABY! This is the time where we focus on the poll that decides the bowl games and the teams that go into the four team playoff because it's pointless until week 10 apparently. But this is what I'll be reviewing for the rest of the year now because the AP Poll means nothing anymore.

CFP Top 25:

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Michigan
4. Texas A&M
5. Washington
6. Ohio State
7. Louisville
8. Wisconsin
9. Auburn
10. Nebraska
11. Florida
12. Penn State
13. LSU
14. Oklahoma
15. Colorado
16. Utah
17. Baylor
18. Oklahoma State
19. Virginia Tech
20. West Virginia
21. North Carolina
22. Florida State
23. Western Michigan
24. Boise State
25. Washington State

So as you can see, this looks very different from the AP Top 25 for many reasons.  The main reason is this poll takes into account the wins over good teams and strength of schedule, which means how many good teams they play.  The only really surprising thing I can review for this is Texas A&M at #4 in the poll.  This caused a lot of controversy when the poll was released, mainly because Texas A&M just lost to #1 Alabama, and Washington is undefeated and dominating the Pac-12, but only put at #5. According to the College Football Playoff Committee, their reasoning behind it was strength of schedule. When you compare #4 Texas A&M's schedule to #5 Washington's, the Aggies have played 5 games against major teams, winning 4 of them while losing to Alabama.  Everyone seems to lose to Alabama though so it was not considered a major loss. The Huskies on the other hand, have played 2 major teams, winning both of those games, while almost losing to Arizona. So I see and understand the reasoning behind this, I just don't know if I like it. Plus Texas A&M and Alabama are both in the SEC West, so having two teams from the same conference and same division in the playoffs is kind of stupid. I guess we'll see what next week's rankings bring!