by The best of what we learned, what we now know and what we still need to find out following this past Saturday in college football.
Kansas State is the Big 12 title front runner.
Right now they are. Depending on his health, it’s hard to put a Cam Rising-less Utah above them, Oklahoma State has been gashed defensively, and Iowa State, well, they are a sneaky contender. But let’s focus on the Cats. Avery Johnson is the truth and DJ Giddens compliments him so well in the backfield in what is one of the most potent rushing offenses in the nation. Chris Klieman is a top 10 head coach, plus the defense (specifically the secondary) looked much sharper against Arizona on Friday. A huge game vs Oklahoma State in two weeks will further test this ascending program.
UGA survives: time to overreact?
No. I’m not one to overreact to Georgia’s ugly 13-12 win at Kentucky. Why? They’ve been there before. Last season, it took the Dogs a late TD to slide by an average Auburn team, 27-20. Two years ago, UGA survived at Mizzou in a game where Tiger fans still think they should have won. Don’t overreact to Georgia’s scare, react to how they perform at Bama in two weeks.
Teams who answered some questions in bounce back spots:
- Oregon (W, 49-14 at Oregon State)
- Alabama (W, 42-10 at Wisconsin)
- Notre Dame (W, 66-7 at Purdue)
Billy Napier is out at UF and Florida State is under water.
Should I say any more?
G5 Playoff Picture will be Fireworks
Last week I said Boise State was the clear front runner, but that statement soon became hazier. UNLV? A convincing win at an explosive Kansas team. Memphis? All Ryan Silverfield’s team did was stroll into Tallahassee and knock off the Noles to earn their marquee “resume-building” win. Toledo? A 41-19 ass kicking at an SEC school. Let’s not have a short memory either and discredit NIU’s monumental upset at Notre Dame or Tulane playing K-State and OU very tough. I left off a few teams here, but that’s a credit to how deep the G5 race is right now.
Does Alabama have most explosive offense in country?
Fifteen of Alabama’s 20 TDs this season are of 20+ yards, and, while it’s crystal clear that Jalen Milroe is not an intermediate passer, this offense’s identity is formulated upon big passing plays and an ability to run the rock at a highly efficient rate. All of this chatter will be put to the test in the one of the biggest games of the season vs Georgia in two weeks.
Raising some eyebrows.
There are a few teams across the country who have exceeded expectations and come out on fire this season. Arizona State is 3-0 and, anchored by stud RB Cam Skattebo, averaging 36.3 PPG so far. Bret Bielema and Illinois are 3-0 with a huge road test at Nebraska coming up Friday. Michigan State is quietly 3-0 too, as is Pitt, Indiana, Wazu, BYU, UCF, and Cal.
Game of the week: UCF 35, TCU 34
The Knights looked awesome offensively and KJ Jefferson silenced the haters who were skeptical about his arm. The secondary needs work, but UCF’s resiliency to pull off the win in a sneaky hostile environment after trailing 21-7 at halftime is worth an applause. Kobe Hudson is so good too.