Here’s a look at the big matchups and top storylines from around the nation as we near kickoff on another Saturday of college football:
The Big Buzz: One-loss squads take center stage
A season ago, this weekend would be a cooling-off period for college football fans around the country. In week six we were treated to the meteoric rise of the Mississippi schools. A week later we saw No. 2 play No. 3, the other No. 3 play No. 14 and No. 5 play No. 9. And then last week brought us the iconic top-five clash between Florida State and Notre Dame.
So today’s matchups, which feature big spreads and only two games between top-25 opponents, should present an opportunity for the nation to catch its collective breath after a month of madness … right? Actually, not so much. Welcome to life with the College Football Playoff.
After the first eight weeks of the season, it seems that college football couldn’t have picked a better year for their inaugural postseason playoff. Only four unbeaten teams remain — Mississippi State, Florida State, Ole Miss and Marshall — which is the fewest at this point on the calendar in 20 years.
Marshall, of course, is a long shot for the playoff coming out of Conference USA (though they’re already getting creative about stating their case). And Mississippi State and Ole Miss will meet in the Egg Bowl two days after Thanksgiving, essentially ensuring that the first four-team field will have at the very least two one-loss teams.
That brings us full circle to the beauty of this week, as well as the weeks to come. This sport’s season is no longer about a handful of heavyweight fights leading up to a national title featuring the two teams left standing. Instead, it is a four-month long maze, where every week features an abundance of teams trying to find their way through.
Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook (18) as Michigan State played Purdue in an NCAA college football game in West Lafayette, Ind., Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014. Michigan State won 45-31. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) A year ago, this week’s bouts for Ohio State, LSU, Kansas State, TCU, Arizona and Arizona State would represent a chance for an impressive team to better position itself for an acceptable bowl appearance. This year, they are must-wins for one-loss teams still eyeing the ultimate prize. Twelve such top-25 teams play today, making for a slew of intrigue in an otherwise pedestrian slate.
The playoff selection committee, which will release its first official rankings on Tuesday night, truly has its work cut out for it in year one. More than a quarter of the 65 power conference teams are either undefeated (three) or have one loss (15). We have a long way to go but with Tuesday’s committee unveiling fast approaching, it all starts today.
As Dennis Dodd ob CBS Sports writes, it has become quickly apparent that the benefits from the new postseason format will extend into October and November for college football fans:
For years — no, decades — the stakeholders told us a playoff was impossible. Not even a consideration, they said. College presents will never approve it, they reiterated. It will devalue the regular season. Remember?
If you don’t, you should. Because this week has become a milestone reminder of that miscalculation. They were wrong. Dead wrong. All of them. Five days before the playoffs selection committee releases its first poll, college football’s sacred regular season has never been more popular because of the playoff.
In her Bubble Watch feature, ESPN’s Heather Dinich calls today’s festivities “an absolute mess,” and we think she means it in a good way:
Saturday offers the last chance to make a first impression on the College Football Playoff’s selection committee before the first official Top 25 ranking is released Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. It’s like the final campaign before an election, and there are 18 one-loss teams still vying for the committee’s votes.
To sum it up: So far, so good for the NCAA’s new playoff system. Notre Dame, America’s darling, has lost yet is still alive. No Big Ten team is flawless yet several are still in the hunt. The nightmare scenarios have been avoided. And most importantly, it has brought a whole new level of conversation to a sport that hardly needed it.
Now let’s watch Bonnie Bernstein, Pete Fiutak and Doug Chapman of Campus Insiders make their picks for the games of the day:
Top games
Here’s a look at some of Saturday’s other can’t-miss matchups involving teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25:
• Michigan at No. 8 Michigan State, 3:30 p.m. ET
• No. 1 Mississippi State at Kentucky, 3:30 p.m. ET
• No. 3 Mississippi at No. 24 LSU, 7:15 p.m. ET
• No. 4 Alabama at Tennessee, 7:30 p.m. ET
• South Carolina at No. 5 Auburn, 7:30 p.m. ET
• No. 13 Ohio State at Penn State, 8 p.m. ET
• No. 20 USC at No. 19 Utah, 10 p.m. ET
Headlines
• Michigan State’s All-Big Ten center Jack Allen, who missed last game with an ankle injury, was back at practice this week and will start this afternoon against Michigan. (via MLive.com)
• A new report released by a former U.S. Justice Department official reveals that, over a two decade span, athletes at North Carolina were encouraged to enroll in classes they did not have to show up for to receive credit. (via CollegeFootballTalk.com)
Southern California quarterback Cody Kessler passes during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Colorado, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) • The Syracuse athletic department is also under investigation and reports this week indicated that the Orange football program is a significant part of it and could be subject to penalties. (via Syracuse.com)
• Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is going back to Travis Wilson at quarterback against USC tonight a week after Kendal Thompson started under center for the Utes. (via the Salt Lake Tribune)
• University of Georgia applied to the NCAA this week for reinstatement of running back Todd Gurley and hopes to have its superstar back by next weekend’s showdown in Jacksonville with Florida. (via ESPN.com)
• Speaking of the Gators, head coach Will Muschamp announced earlier this week that he will bench quarterback Jeff Driskel in favor of freshman Treon Harris against the Bulldogs. (via Yahoo! Sports)
Who they’re picking
• None of the SEC bloggers at ESPN.com expect a loss in the top five, though Chris Low can see a proud Kentucky team making a game of it in Lexington against Dak Prescott and mighty Mississippi State.
• Both Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman give USC a huge edge at quarterback, but Feldman is the only Fox Sports pundit who believes Cody Kessler will lead the Trojans to victory later tonight in Utah.
• The LSU ground attack will meet its match against the stout front of Ole Miss, according to Phil Steele of ESPN.com, who thinks the Rebels take care of business in Death Valley tonight against the Tigers.
• Michigan and Michigan State couldn’t look more different heading into the 107th battle for the Paul Bunyan trophy, says Pat Forde of Yahoo! Sports, who foresees a complete Spartans team destroying the mistake-prone Wolverines.
• The USA Today panel is all chalk on Mississippi State, Alabama, Michigan State, Auburn and Ohio State, but Paul Myerberg and Dan Wolken have LSU pulling off the upset at home against third-ranked Ole Miss.
What they’re saying
• Leading Alabama to a 6-1 record while boasting the nation’s fourth highest quarterback rating, senior Blake Sims has made those who believed his demise was inevitable look silly, as Michael Casagrande of AL.com writes:
Utah running back Devontae Booker (23) celebrates scoring on a six-yard touchdown runagainst UCLA during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, in Pasadena, Calif. Utah won the game 30-28. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) It’s not easy being wrong — even harder when you thought you knew it all. But it’s time to man up, and I suspect there are a few out there in the same boat… We’re not perfect… Blake Sims proved it… And after seven games of the 2014 season, it would be wrong to move forward without addressing this.
• As Penn State’s James Franklin and Christian Hackenberg continue to struggle in their first season together, they can look across the sidelines tonight for an example of what happens when a talented young quarterback and his coach figure it out, writes Bill Landis of Cleveland.com:
The progression [redshirt freshman J.T.] Barrett has made since Ohio State’s loss to Virginia Tech is based largely on the coaching staff’s belief that they have their guy. That trust isn’t formed over the course of the brief period a new coaching hire has to get acclimated to new players… That kind of thing takes time.
• The restraint that Mark Dantonio and his Michigan State players show with the media when it comes to Michigan shouldn’t fool anyone into thinking that the Spartans aren’t on a perpetual mission to prove the Mitten State belongs to them, writes Mike Griffith of MLive.com:
Some suggest Michigan State — the defending Big Ten champs, and now an annual contender — doesn’t need to play the underdog card, or feed off any sort of inferiority complex when it comes to Michigan… Maybe they don’t. But the Spartans still do… It’s important to understand there is a lion — and anger — that exists in the Michigan State locker room where Michigan is concerned. It’s very real.
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