RANDOM THOUGHTS SO FAR...

[collegefbfan-8898]

Okay just curious on a few things here:

The College Football Playoff: Not saying this will happen with these teams, but just hear me out. Just say VT wins, out and Ohio State wins out. How will the Committee try to not have a rematch?
Is Purdue that bad? VT goes to Purdue and beats them pretty handily. I thought after the Hokies had a lead, they would play "not to lose" rather than "keep playing to win".

Temple beats Penn State and then almost loses to UMass? What is the deal?

Oregon is giving up some points this season. They have given up 101 points in 3 games, and 2 of those opponents were below the level of Michigan State. They gave up more points to Eastern Washington than Michigan State, AT MICHIGAN STATE!!!

I was going to go out on a limb and told a bud of mine that the final two would be Buckeyes and Southern Cal. Not so sure now.

What other crazy points have I missed?

[Cane from the Bend]

BYU

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[Derek]

They aren't going to put VT in...I just don't see them winning the ACC. I realize that by saying that, I've probably guaranteed that it will happen.

I dropped Ga in my rankings due to QB problems, and the QB sets an NCAA record today....What do I know??

[collegefbfan-8898]

I mean any two teams that faced each other in regular season. I highly doubt VT could do it but what if... It could be Oregon and Michigan State. Just thinking fans would hate to see a rematch... or not.

[Cane from the Bend]

I thought about that last night, too. Michigan State could very well win out (or at least win the B1G). And Oregon could potentially win the Pac.

I'm not sure they would do that, seeing as how hey separated the Big 10 & Pac 12 teams in the playoff last season. Though, I think that was more about the want to put Winston vs Marriota.

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[Derek]

I mean any two teams that faced each other in regular season. I highly doubt VT could do it but what if... It could be Oregon and Michigan State. Just thinking fans would hate to see a rematch... or not.

I don't think many want to see a rematch, and therefore they will probably try to ensure that it doesn't happen. Not to be too cyncial, but it's a balance between the best teams and the teams that will get the biggest audiences IMO.

[Derek]

I thought about that last night, too. Michigan State could very well win out (or at least win the B1G). And Oregon could potentially win the Pac.

I'm not sure they would do that, seeing as how hey separated the Big 10 & Pac 12 teams in the playoff last season. Though, I think that was more about the want to put Winston vs Marriota.

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The player matchup's is another good driver of ratings.

[Eric]

Yeah I don't think the 1/4 vs. 2/3 really matters in the grand scheme of things, as long as you get in. You're going to get a difficult matchup either way and you're going to have to bring your A-game for two straight games if you're going to win the championship. The committee is always going to take some leeway in determining the matchups and I think you're naive if you think they don't take storylines, drama, potential ratings, homefield, etc. into account.

Eastern Washington scoring on Oregon really didn't raise my eyebrows, even though it was still a blowout at the end of the day. Georgia State scoring as much as they did was an eyebrow-raiser. GSU is really terrible. I still like Arbuckle and they have a couple of solid receivers, but this is a team that somehow managed to lose to Charlotte who is in their first year of transitioning into the FBS after starting up from scratch. Pretty terrible loss. I wonder if it has something to do with "showing up," because FSU looked at a complete loss against Boston College. It's too early to tell what's a fluke and what isn't at this stage. I thought Auburn's performance against Jacksonville State was a fluke because of how well Jeremy Johnson has played throughout his career up to that point, but it looks like Auburn just isn't very good right now.

[Derek]

The committee is always going to take some leeway in determining the matchups and I think you're naive if you think they don't take storylines, drama, potential ratings, homefield, etc. into account.

Ditto.

[Cane from the Bend]

I thought about that last night, too. Michigan State could very well win out (or at least win the B1G). And Oregon could potentially win the Pac.

I'm not sure they would do that, seeing as how hey separated the Big 10 & Pac 12 teams in the playoff last season. Though, I think that was more about the want to put Winston vs Marriota.

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The player matchup's is another good driver of ratings.

Especially when those players were the last two Heisman trophy winners.

Remember they did the same thing when Oklahoma got beat by florida in the 2008 national title. Colt McKoy should have won the Heisman trophy that year, but they gave it to Sam Bradford because the Sooners were going to play in the championship game, even though McKoy's stats were better in every category.

Last year, they didn't need to manipulate the Heisman voting, because with the playoffs, they could just put whatever teams they wanted, wherever they wanted to place them.

Of course, FSU had to travel west, because regardless of how well the Ducks did, the Pac school fan base rarely draw outside of their region.

It's too early to tell what's a fluke and what isn't at this stage.

I do not believe any of it is a fluke. I think some teams just gel and get better as the season goes on, while others prove the scrutiny they have been receiving is justified.

This year is going to play out interesting. In the larger scheme of things, Michigan State, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU and notre dame all look to be the teams vying for a championship; Georgia could be a wild card near season's end. Everyone else is holding on for dear life.

If Bama loses to LSU, the SEC West could fall on the Ole Miss/LSU game.
If Bama beat LSU, then LSU were to win against Ole Miss... Lookout Georgia!

As improved as Tennessee seems to look (unless they were playing UP vs Oklahoma), the Vols could easily be a wrinkle for any team in the SEC; so it will be fun to watch Georgia/Tennessee game @ Rocky Top on October 10th (a game Tennessee lost by only 3 points last year between the Hedges @ Sanford Stadium, in Athens).

A couple of other teams to pay attention to, Oklahoma & North Western.

Stoops has a program with a Jekyll & Hyde complex. One year they look unbeatable, the next two they seem as though they fall into the spoiler role for other teams, or as a strength of schedule support beam for others' championship run. I'm not quite sure what to make of them yet, this season. They could make a grand push themselves. Especially with all of the attention in the Big XII focused on Baylor & TCU. The Sooners could sneak up and seize the conference.

Pat Fitzgerald has done a splendid job in Evanston. Northwestern is playing gritty football. Hard nosed & rugged, they play to wear the opposition out. I don't know how far it can get them, but, their win over Stanford was no fluke. The Wildcats controlled every aspect of that game, and just won it. Furthermore, they did it in the fashion Stanford would, which not only tells me they beat Stanford at their own game, but did it against the Cardinal defense that practices for this sort of tactic -- and Stanford went on to beat USC this past weekend, using that tactic; a Trojan team many thought were positioning themselves for a playoff run. Here are some games Northwestern to look out for:

Oct. 3rd Home vs Minnesota
Oct. 10th @ Michigan
Oct. 17th Home Iowa
Oct. 24th @ Nebraska
Nov. 21rst @ Wisconsin

Minnesota is a crafty team, and could give the `Cats some fits. It is a home game for Northwestern, so they will have that advantage.
Anytime you go into Ann Arbor it is a big deal. 100,000+ screaming fans can be unnerving. If the Wildcats are undefeated coming into this week, then the Wolverines will be looking to make this a statement game. It would mark a nice achievement in Harbaugh's inaugural season, and help wash the taste of the Utah loss outta the mouth -- though, a Northwestern win could mean serious momentum if the `Cats stay healthy.
I put Iowa up here, because, if Northwestern makes it this far unbeaten, then they could be spent. They don't have the depth the bigger schools in their conference have, and by this point, they may be running on fumes. Iowa is never a pushover in midseason either. The Hawkeyes have a tendency to step it up and derail a budding conference winner. These teams thus far have looked fairly even matched, so, it could be a highlight game many will be interested in.
The Husker nation is reeling right now. First BYU, and now Miami. Nebraska could just as well have won both of these games, and right now be undefeated. Instead, the chips fell the other way, and now, the Cornhuskers are hoping just to go in to conference play, and take it all out on the Big 10. If Nebraska gets themselves regathered to the point where they are making a run at their division; this game could be huge for the B1G. It will be @ Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, which will only make this game that much more intense, with 92,000 people in attendance (yep, another Giant Big Ten Midwest Stadium).
Wisconsin may be the most one dimensional division contender in all the FBS -- but the cheese heads can get rowdy, and with a potential Big Ten West championship on the line, the environment would be near pandemonium -- this game could come down to whomever has the ball longest. Yet, it is so far away at this point, I can only speculate on how each team will match up.

The most significant thing you'll notice about these key games for Northwestern, is that I didn't put Michigan State or Ohio State up there. That is because the only place the Wildcats would see either team, is in the Big 10 Conference Title game. Northwestern's regular season schedule is without them, giving the Wildcats some relief before entering into post season competition.

Anyhow, I've had fun watching this season [save maybe for my disappointment with the `Canes, I'm just aggravated]. Rather than post the typical, "I can't wait to see how the rest of the season unfolds" comment, I'd like to conjecture the opposite, and would instead put haste aside, saying "This season has been entertaining, and I want nothing more than to bask in it, and reverie the moments as they pass by until the next week's games begin. Forget looking ahead to the end, let's relish in what we have while we have it".

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[Vileborg]

I don't know that VT will end up having any ranked teams on the schedule at the end of the season except for the loss to OSU and a CCG. I think they are doing well. There is an actual offense on the field which has not been the case quite a few years. The soft schedule may prop them up but I doubt seriously they stand up against FSU in the CCG should they make it.

Say they get that far and win the CCG.

They would still probably not get in because a 1 loss B10/B12/SEC/PAC99 would likely take the slot. I don't think the committee would shy away from a rematch but I don't think they have to worry about it.


Georgia is easily one of the top 2 or 3 teams in the SEC. I think the MIZ/FLA games define the scope of their season. They should get by both of them and then it's just a question of how they look after the CCG. The SEC is so hard to escape unscathed but I think a 1 loss SEC team that wins their CCG is a lock for the top 4.