On this last weekend of the traditional polling coverage we are about to enter the playoff segment of the college football schedule, and upheaval and questions only remain. Between a string of upsets and a number of upstarts overperforming, there is a lot in play as far as what the NCAA overlords will look at as valid and what needs to be dismissed.
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Tuesday evening, the initial College Football Playoff Committee will release its initial rankings for the postseason, and everybody will be riveted to the results, as nothing else at all will be taking place at that exact same time across the country. Last year the officers went through migraines and flamed messages in their email inboxes in trying to reconcile what to do about FSU. Should they have acknowledged that it was a completely different program without its quarterback, or let them into the finals as a depleted undefeated school?
This year that gets addressed better as the format will provide the chance for that to shake out as it sees triple the amount of teams qualifying, so those old arguments about who gets into the semi-finals are gone – and are moved down to arguments about who deserves the #11-12 seeds. But while that intrigue swirls Northwest of Dallas in the conference room at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas, there are still weeks of play to savor.
Their job will not be made easier after this weekend, as a number of teams poised to participate have been jolted with reality, and others carry question marks with them as they rise in the rankings. First, some fun.
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Iowa is on a scoring blast. The team that struggled to make 20 points in any game last year just crossed 40 points for the 4th time, and they already have 100 more points than all of last season. But make sense of this: they also have more losses than after nine games in 2023.
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Think of all of the top receivers that have run the lines in Miami. Hurricane receiver Xavier Restrepo had eight catches for 246 yards and three TDs to become the all-time Cane leader for receptions and career yards.
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The Big 12 has become a mess. Kansas State lost to Houston Saturday, leaving BYU and Colorado as the two forces. Utah, OSU, Kansas, UCF, and Arizona had all been looked at as possible contenders pre-season, and they occupy the bottom five spots in the conference.
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The ACC is also in complete flux. After FSU fought to keep SMU out of the conference, the Seminoles have become a punchline, Clemson sees its chances of going to the championship game at risk, and the Mustangs are a possible/probable finalist, all while Miami — which has rarely been a factor — stands as an undefeated top-5 squad.
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Speaking of FSU, how bad have they become? North Carolina throttled them easily. It is the first time coach Mack Brown beat his old school – ever. That dates all the way back to 1985.
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Ole Miss put up numbers seen against Division-2 schools, except they were playing a respectable Arkansas. Jaxon Dart was good for 562 total yards and six touchdown throws. His receiver Jordan Watkins caught five of those and had 254 yards receiving.
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Vanderbilt qualifies for a bowl game with a win over Auburn. Quarterback Diego Pavia has now beaten head coach Hugh Freeze three consecutive years as both have been involved in two different schools; Pavia won over Freeze leading New Mexico State and now with the Commodores as he defeated Liberty and then Auburn the past two years.
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Need a metaphor for this season of defending champ Michigan? QB Alex Orji ran a play as a receiver and was taken out by the CBS Network camera crane.
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Ohio State 2- – Penn State 13
I hope you were not expecting fireworks because this touted matchup was a typical Big-10 trench battle, and the Buckeyes commanded the line of scrimmage. They took care of the game by sheer force, with no less than 40 running plays and a defense that closed the door on Drew Allar while not allowing a runner to reach 50 yards. Penn State had three trips in the Red Zone that amounted to three points and the only touchdown came when (as Tim Walz would say) they ran a pick-6. Coach James Franklin has Penn State looking solid, but not great. He sports a 1-11 record against Ohio State, and just 1-13 against teams ranked in the top-5.
South Carolina 44 – Texas A&M 20
For one half it was a thrilling game. Then the Gamecocks just took over as the Aggies withered. South Carolina opened up a 14-point lead but then A&M woke up and took control, rolling to a three-point lead and tied at the half. But when running back Le’Veon Moss went down with a knee injury, their offense looked lost, and defensively the Aggies simply could not tackle anyone. Big plays dominated the game and A&M was shut out in the second half. QB LaNorris Sellers was routinely bouncing off of defenders, running for over one hundred yards and constantly being hit in the backfield — yet never once being sacked.
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Georgia 34 – Florida 20
The Gators are striving to turn the season around but then saw QB D.J. Lagway go down with an injury and the Georgia defense took control. Florida led by 10 at the half Carson Beck had three interceptions for the third time as the Dawgs offense remains an issue. Beck recovered to have a 300-yard 2-TD game.
Miami 53 – Duke 31
Former UM head coach Manny Diaz returned to Miami leading Duke and it became a typical Hurricane performance with Cam Ward outperforming the lax defense. Duke carried an 11-point lead in the 3rd quarter, but that is almost where Cam Ward wanted them. He guided Miami to 37 second-half points as he threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns.
Texas Tech 23 – Iowa State 22
The Cyclones’ dream of a postseason berth took a severe hit in a thriller in Ames. Favored by more than two touchdowns, Iowa State had to rely on a 44-yard strike from Rocco Becht just ahead of the 2-minute warning to take the lead. However, they failed on the two-point conversion and left a lot of time on the clock. The Red Raiders managed to go 12 plays and capped it off with a 5-yard TD to steal an upset.
Louisville 33 – Clemson 21
The Tigers went from a postseason favorite to now a longshot, as they were never in a game played at home. Isaac Brown was the key, ripping off 151 yards for the Cardinals while Clemson shot themselves with failed drives. Four times, the Tigers went for at least ten plays and came away with no points.
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Indiana 47 – Michigan State 10
Big news occurred when the Hoosiers were trailing by 10 points in the 1st quarter. (Now Army is the only team remaining to have never trailed in a game.) Following that shock they managed to reel off 47 points to remain undefeated and stay as the surprise of the season. Kurtis Rourke had 263 yards passing and four touchdown throws. This leaves the Big 10 to be led by newcomers Oregon and an overperforming Indiana.
Here are the latest AP rankings, leading into Tuesday night’s new playoffs formation.
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Oregon
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Georgia
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Ohio State
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Miami
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Texas
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Tennessee
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Penn State
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Indiana
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Brigham Young
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Notre Dame
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Alabama
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Boise State
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SMU
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LSA
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Texas A&M
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Ole Miss
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Iowa State
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Army
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Clemson
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Washington State
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Colorado
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Kansas State
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Pittsburgh
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Vanderbilt
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Louisville