I know…it has been a while again.
But that is the life I guess of a father/husband/educator/coach, and sometimes your priorities can just overwhelm you. Now in no way am I trying to say that College Football is not my priority (I mean just ask my wife how I have prioritized the sport in our marriage) but unfortunately my blogging had to once again take a backseat. But now that I got some free time on my hands again, I thought I’d sit down and jot down a few ideas and realizations I have over the last month.
Going forward, I hope to get back to a regular writing schedule, but let’s just see how my four year old can disrupt those plans…
Let’s talk some college football.
How is College Football Shaking Out?
So one of the many things I have been discussing with people when it comes to the NFL, is the lack of true contenders the sport seems to have a month into the season. NFL play has been sloppy at best, and have left many scratching their head about how the playoffs will shake out this January. While the parody can been a good thing, and it has always been something I have championed in every sport, there is a real lack of legitimate Super Bowl contenders this season which has resulted in lousy play.
The Giants are 4-1 and the Jets are 3-2…need I say more?
But if you had to pick who a legitimate Super Bowl contender may be, based on the first five weeks of the season, who would you land on? Bills and Chiefs would start the conversation, and with how explosive the Eagles have looked so far, they have to enter the conversation. But outside of those three, what are we left with? The 49ers with Jimmy G? Are you going to trust the Vikings and their playoff past? The Bucs with Tommy in divorce court? Maybe in a few weeks we will have a clearer picture of what is to come in the NFL, but right now, the Bills, Chiefs and Eagles seem to be the clear class of the NFL.
Does this look familiar to you? Only three teams we can actually consider to be the best in one sport? Looks a lot like College Football doesn’t it? But perhaps that is starting to change. Here are the real contenders, this season, to win the National Championship:
The Contenders: Teams who have a legitimate shot of making it to the National Title game.
1) Georgia
2) Alabama
3) Ohio State
4) Clemson
5) Michigan
6) USC
There is really no surprise to this list, especially since I had been going on and on about USC and how good they were going to be this year, but all six of these teams had the best National title chances in 2022 and all of them have had clean sheet so far this season. Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State, aside from a poor performance here and there, have been just as good as advertised for another season, and 2022 seems to be more of the same for the behemoths of the sport.
Clemson and Michigan had some serious questions to answer, specifically on the offensive side of the ball and both have appeared to figure out their offensive woes to back up what appear to be National championship caliber defenses. Their schedule is about to get tougher with some big ranked matchups coming up over the next few weeks, but if they can continue to sidestep those landmines there will be a great debate that will take place in this country about who is going to land at that number 4 spot.
I Need To See More: These teams look like they could be a contender for the title, but are lacking that true signature win.
1) Tennessee
2) Oklahoma State
3) Ole Miss
4) UCLA
5) TCU
Going into this season, I did not think any of those teams (with the exception to Oklahoma State) would be on this list but all four are making some serious noise in the championship picture. Tennessee has their biggest matchup this week (against Alabama) in what feels like 20 years and if they are able to ebay the Crimson Tide, they will instantly be vaulted into the top 4. Easier said than done. Even if they are, or are not able to beat Alabama, then Ole Miss will be next on this list. Ole Miss has not only sported one of the best offenses in the country, but it appears their defense has finally caught up as they rank in the top 5 in points allowed this season. Could one or both of these SEC underdogs enter the fray in 2022? Both must beat Alabama (or in Tennessee’s case, Georgia) to prove it.
Oklahoma State and UCLA may have the toughest roads ahead, not because of the competition they play in comparison to Tennessee and Ole Miss, but because of their lack of competition. The only way for either team to enter the playoff picture is that they are going to need to finish their season(s) undefeated in order to be considered for a spot in the playoff. UCLA has some tough matchups on their schedule remaining, like Oregon and USC but a loss to either would decimate their chances. As for Oklahoma State and TCU their matchups against Texas and Oklahoma looked promising at the beginning of the season, but with collapse of Oklahoma and Texas’s inconsistency, the shine on their schedule has dimmed considerably, and even if Oklahoma State and TCU finishes undefeated they still might once again be on the outside looking in.
Nope I’m Not Buying It: Their rank may be high, but they are not contenders.
1) Penn State
2) Oregon
3) Kansas State
4) Utah
While I know it is risky to say Penn State is not a contender the week of their matchup against Michigan, I am still sticking with my guns on this one and putting it into writing. Despite being undefeated, the Nittany Lions haven’t looked like a contender to win the Big 10, much less the National Championship. Now, if they are able to beat Michigan this Saturday, that changes the conversation slightly, but in three weeks they have to play Ohio State, so unless they are able to pull off two miracles in a month, Penn State will be out of title contention.
Oregon and Utah already have one loss on their schedule, and even if they were to win out, their strength of schedule is not good enough for serious consideration (I don’t think anyone is going to try and argue that a Bo Nix led team should be in the playoff). Kansas State is in a similar boat, but unlike Oregon losing to Georgia or Utah losing to UCLA, their sole loss comes against Tulane. Add that with playing a Big 12 schedule and that leaves you out of the mix.
2023 NFL Mock Draft:
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