2015 Season Thoughts: End of September

With September's college football games in the books, I thought I'd reflect my thoughts on where things stand at month's end.

Week 4 wrap up

Teams that play a nine-game conference schedule, or have a late season rival in another conference have all started playing, and we're already seeing the conference landscapes start to take shape in some surprising ways.

ACC Wheel of Destiny

Atlantic
No Atlantic teams played conference games in week 4, so this is all the same from last week.

Controls destiny:
Clemson (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Louisville.
Florida State (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Boston College.
Syracuse (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Wake Forest.
NC State has not started conference play.

Needs help:
Louisville (0-1) needs two Clemson losses.
Boston College (0-1) needs two FSU losses.
Wake Forest (0-1) needs two Syracuse losses.

Coastal
Controls destiny:
Duke (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Georgia Tech.
Miami, UNC, Pitt, Virginia Tech, and UVA have not started conference play.

Needs help:
Georgia Tech (0-1) needs two Duke losses.

SEC

East
Controls destiny:
Georgia (2-0) has tiebreakers over Vanderbilt and South Carolina.
Florida (2-0) has tiebreakers over Kentucky and Tennessee.

Needs help:
Kentucky (2-1) has tiebreakers over South Carolina and Missouri, but needs two Florida losses.
Tennessee (0-1) needs two Florida losses.
Missouri (0-1) needs two Kentucky losses.
Vanderbilt (0-2) needs three Georgia losses.  Their other loss was cross-divisional.
South Carolina (0-2) needs three Georgia losses and two Kentucky losses.

West
Controls destiny:
LSU (2-0) has tiebreakers over Auburn and Mississippi State.
Ole Miss (2-0) has a tiebreaker over Alabama.
Texas A&M (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Arkansas.

Needs help:
Mississippi State (1-1) has a tiebreaker over Auburn, but needs two LSU losses.
Alabama (0-1) needs two Ole Miss losses.
Arkansas (0-1) needs two Texas A&M losses.
Auburn (0-2) needs two LSU losses and a Mississippi State loss.

B1G
In the East, Penn State (1-0) controls their destiny with a tiebreaker over Rutgers, and Rutgers (0-1) needs two Penn State losses.  The West has not started conference play.  No change from last week.

Pac-12

North
Controls destiny:
Stanford (2-0) has a tiebreaker over Oregon State.
Cal (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Washington.
Oregon (0-1) only has a cross-divisional loss.
Washington State has not started playing yet.

Needs help:
Oregon State (0-1) needs two Stanford losses.
Washington (0-1) needs two Cal losses.

South
Controls destiny:
Utah (1-0) has a cross-divisional win.
UCLA (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Arizona.
USC (1-1) has a tiebreaker over Arizona State.
Colorado is still (0-0).  They have four OOC games, because they played at Hawaii in week 1.

Needs help:
Arizona (0-1) needs two UCLA losses.
Arizona State (0-1) needs a USC loss.

Big 12
Controls destiny:
TCU (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Texas Tech.
Oklahoma State (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Texas.
Baylor, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Kansas, and Kansas State have yet to start conference play.

Needs help:
Texas Tech (0-1) needs two TCU losses.
Texas (0-1) needs two Oklahoma State losses.

Games to Watch -- Week 4

This week is a bit lighter on intriguing games on the front end, but I imagine that there will be no shortage of drama as you're channel surfing on Saturday.

Friday, September 25
8 PM
Boise State at UVA, ESPN.  This is UVA's last chance to get a non-conference win against an FBS team.  A battle of blue and orange.

Saturday, September 26
Noon
LSU at Syracuse, ESPN.  One of the more intriguing SEC out of conference games.  At least LSU gets points for leaving their state on a home-and-home series.  MIG

Georgia Tech at Duke, ESPN2.  Could this be the first knockout round for the ACC Coastal?

12:30 PM
Indiana at Wake Forest, ACC Network.  The final ACC/B1G matchup, and it all comes down to the bottom feeders of both conferences.  Currently, the two conferences are tied 3-3.

3 PM
Maryland at West Virginia, FS1.  An interesting non-conference matchup between bordering states.  However, it's probably a low tier Big Ten/Big 12 matchup.  MIG

3:30 PM
Virginia Tech at ECU, ABC/ESPN2.  The Hokies are looking to revenge the loss they took at home last year, while also trying to make strides to see if their team is ready for the ACC challenges beginning next week.

Tennessee at Florida, CBS.  I think this game could be very telling for the SEC East.

7:30 PM
Mississippi State at Auburn, ESPN2.  Could this be the final nail in Auburn's coffin?

8 PM
UCLA at Arizona, ABC.  This could be a key Pac-12 game.

Week 3 wrap up

There haven't been a lot of conference games yet, but there's been enough to cause some separation. As usual, all records listed here are conference only.

ACC Wheel of Destiny

Atlantic
Controls destiny:
Clemson (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Louisville.
Florida State (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Boston College.
Syracuse (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Wake Forest.
NC State has not started conference play.

Needs help:
Louisville (0-1) needs two Clemson losses.
Boston College (0-1) needs two FSU losses.
Wake Forest (0-1) needs two Syracuse losses.

Coastal
No teams in the Coastal have started conference play.

SEC

East
Controls destiny:
Georgia (2-0) has tiebreakers over Vanderbilt and South Carolina.
Florida (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Kentucky.
Missouri and Tennessee have not started conference play.

Needs help:
Kentucky (1-1) has a tiebreaker over South Carolina, but needs two Florida losses.
Vanderbilt (0-1) needs two Georgia losses.
South Carolina (0-2) needs three Georgia losses and two Kentucky losses.

West
Controls destiny:
LSU (2-0) has tiebreakers over Auburn and Mississippi State.
Ole Miss (1-0) has a tiebreaker over Alabama.
Texas A&M and Arkansas have not started conference play.

Needs help:
Alabama (0-1) needs two Ole Miss losses.
Auburn and Mississippi State (both 0-1) each need two LSU losses.

B1G
In the East, Penn State (1-0) controls their destiny with a tiebreaker over Rutgers, and Rutgers (0-1) needs two Penn State losses.  The West has not started conference play.

Pac-12
The only conference game so far was a cross-divisional match where Stanford (1-0) beat USC (0-1).  Technically, everyone still controls their destiny.

The Big 12 has not started conference play.

Saturday OTAs: Week 3

Games you can watch the old school way if you have to.

Noon
ABC:  Air Force at Michigan State

12:30 PM
ACC Network:  Northwestern at Duke

3:30 PM
ABC:  Northern Illinois at Ohio State OR Nebraska at Miami
CBS:  Auburn at LSU

7:30 PM
FOX:  Cal at Texas

8 PM
ABC:  Stanford at USC

Thinking about a 16 team conference

One of the more contentious aspects of college football (especially now that we have the Playoff) is conference alignment and scheduling.  The biggest problem that the larger conferences face is that there are teams in their conference that they rarely see.

Games to Watch -- Week 3

When Tony and I were compiling our list of most intriguing games of the season, this week featured the most games.  That seems surprising since a lot of teams are still burning off their FCS or mid-major opponents.  Still, the bulk of the ACC/B1G challenge occurs this week (five games), and we're finishing up most of the marquee non-conference games.

We'll be denoting games that were selected in our Most Intriguing Games (MIG) posts during the summer.

Week 4 - six day options

Here are the games that got selected for the six day option in week 4 (9/26) -- Meaning we won't know until 9/20 when and where they will be broadcast.

Let's see if we can figure out what week 3 games will help determine the time or channel.

Week 2 wrap up

These wrap up posts are always hard in the early weeks of the season.  Especially this season, when there were no conference games in week one, and the ACC and SEC combined for the only four conference games this week.  In fact, this post is mainly just to lay the groundwork for future weeks.

In the ACC Atlantic, Syracuse actually sits on top at the moment, beating Wake Forest in what I'm sure will be referred to as the Toilet Bowl of the conference.  That means WF needs two Syracuse losses.

Georgia and Kentucky control their destiny in the SEC East.  Meanwhile, Vanderbilt needs two losses from Georgia, and South Carolina needs two losses from Kentucky.

In the West, LSU leads the way, with Mississippi State needing two LSU losses.

Saturday OTAs: Week 2

Games that don't require cable in week 2.

Noon
ABC:  Oregon State at Michigan

12:30 PM
ACC Network:  Wofford at Clemson

3:30 PM
ABC: Notre Dame at UVA
CBS:  Georgia at Vanderbilt

4:45 PM
FOX:  Iowa at Iowa State

8 PM
ABC:  Oregon at Michigan State

Why This Game Matters: Week 2

Throughout the last two seasons, I highlighted some under-the-radar games each week. For 2015, I thought I’d change it up and consider what could be the highest of highs.

Games to Watch -- Week 2

I admit, week 1 turned out a bit lackluster.  Even the big games didn't quite have the competitive feel that most were expecting.  Outside of Ohio State cementing their #1 ranking, no one else really put together a performance that is indicative of where this season is going.

Now we head into week 2, where the teams that had big week 1 games get their cupcakes.  There's a few key matchups, but it largely feels like teams are still marking time until they start their conference schedule.

Thursday, September 10
ESPN has decided to skip a Thursday game this week, as the NFL is kicking off.  Fox Sports 1 isn't being so nice, but they have a C-USA game on.

Friday, September 11
9 PM
Utah State at Utah, ESPN2.  This might be a good time to get a better feel for Utah after their defeat of Michigan.

Saturday, September 12
11:30 AM
South Florida at Florida State, ESPN.  The main reason I'm listing this is that it starts before noon (causing Gameday to wrap early -- thanks US Open).  It's also the first non-primetime home game for FSU in two years.

Noon
Oregon State at Michigan, ABC.  The state of Oregon invades the state of Michigan in the first of two matchups on ABC today.

12:30 PM
Wake Forest at Syracuse, ACC Network.  A rare conference game in week 2, although it's probably the toilet bowl of the Atlantic division.

3:30 PM
Washington State at Rutgers, ESPNU.  Two lower level power 5 teams facing off, but could it also be the beginning of the end for Mike Leach at Wazzu?

Notre Dame at UVA, ABC.  UVA's nonconference gauntlet continues, against a team that blew Texas out last week.

Furman at Virginia Tech, ESPN3.  Yikes, this was supposed to be a nice breather after the big Ohio State opener, but now VT is forced to break in a new quarterback.  Season expectations are going to have to be adjusted, and it all starts here.

Georgia at Vanderbilt, CBS.  Maybe we can see what Georgia can do with a full 60 minutes of playing time?

6 PM
Oklahoma at Tennessee, ESPN.  A rare marquee home and home matchup with the SEC.

7 PM
East Carolina at Florida, ESPN2.  So, ECU goes to play a Power 5 team that isn't VT?  Of course, Florida will not be returning the favor of a home game for ECU in the future.

8 PM
Oregon at Michigan State, ABC.  The second half of the Oregon invasion of the state of Michigan.  It's also the first game of the season where we have a chance to see some separation at the top of the polls.

9:15 PM
LSU at Mississippi State, ESPN.  LSU finally gets to start their season after a weather cancellation, and we get to see which team has a shot of contending for their division title.

Opening Night thoughts

I had to work, but I still caught parts of several games.

North Carolina vs. South Carolina - I only saw a bit of the first drive (didn't want to kill my data plan at work on this game), but UNC frightened me a bit by the way they were able to move the ball.  Looked too much like GT.

Western Kentucky at Vanderbilt - Honestly, I flipped over once, saw Vanderbilt was losing and moved on.

Michigan at Utah - Not sure if Utah is good, or Michigan is bad.  Still, I liked quite a bit of what I saw from the Utah QB.  The "Khaki Cam" on the Fox Sports Go app that kept on Harbaugh for the entire game was kind of creepy.


Duke at Tulane - I flipped over a couple of times during commercial breaks, and I just couldn't care.  Duke was shutting out Tulane at the time, and there was minimal crowd noise.


TCU at Minnesota - Another game where it's hard to gauge how each team really is.  I thought either TCU would blow out even more, or Minnesota would put up more of a fight.

Saturday OTAs: Week 1

Sometimes, you're stuck somewhere without access to cable, but you have an antenna.  Here are the games that you'll be able to see in week 1.

12:30 PM
ACC Network:  Wofford at Clemson

3:30 PM
ABC:  BYU at Nebraska
CBS:  Louisville vs. Auburn (Chick-fil-a Kickoff)
FOX:  UVA at UCLA

7:30 PM
NBC:  Texas at Notre Dame

8 PM
ABC:  Wisconsin vs. Alabama (Cowboys Classic)

Countdown to Kickoff 2015 #1: Games to Watch - Week 1

It's here!  We're finally into September, and it's time to take a look at the games to keep an eye on each week.

Over the last few years, opening weekend has gotten stretched further and further.  Now, we have nearly a full slate of games crammed into Thursday evening.  And this year, it's all a lead-in to possibly the most anticipated rematch of the year!

Thursday, September 3
6 PM
North Carolina vs. South Carolina, ESPN.  One of those non-conference games that looks like it should happen more often, but has only occurred three times in the last 23 years, all of them taking place in the past 8.

8 PM
Western Kentucky at Vanderbilt, SEC Network.  Vandy kicks off their season on a Thursday night SEC Network game for the second straight year.  Hopefully they can avoid the embarrassment of last year's blowout.  But, if there is one team that knows how to handle lower level SEC competition, it's WKU.

8:30 PM
Michigan at Utah, Fox Sports 1.  The beginning of the Harbaugh era in Michigan actually starts against one of his former Pac-12 foes.

9 PM
TCU at Minnesota, ESPN.  The main network certainly has one heck of a doubleheader for a Thursday night.  A highly ranked team with a rare road non-conference game.

9:30 PM
Duke at Tulane, CBS Sports Network.  Nothing overly special here, but I'll probably be flipping over from the other game to get a feel for how Duke is going to perform this year.

Friday, September 4
7 PM
Michigan State at Western Michigan, ESPNU.  I think this is the directional Michigan team that VT played last year for Homecoming.  I'll be taking a look because I'm always intrigued by Michigan State.

Baylor at SMU, ESPN.  Sadly, this is probably the toughest non-conference opponent Baylor has, not just for this year but for many others.  But still, I'm hoping for more of the high powered offense that we saw with RG3 and Bryce Petty under center.

10:15 PM
Washington at Boise State, ESPN.  Another case of a coach going from mid-major to big time, and then coming back with his new team.

Saturday, September 5
Noon
Stanford at Northwestern, ESPN.  This could be two evenly matched teams from two Power 5 conferences.

Richmond at Maryland, ESPNU.  I'll always give FCS Richmond a look, and it's interesting to see them play an FBS team that's not in the ACC.  Although I'm sure Maryland was when this game was scheduled.

3:30 PM
Louisville vs. Auburn, CBS.  For the second year in a row, the Chick-fil-a Kickoff Game is in the 3:30 slot, and now on CBS for the first time.  Still, this could be an interesting match up of teams who are expected to be somewhere in the middle to upper ranks of their divisions.

UVA at UCLA, Fox.  I expected a butt whooping last year, but got a near upset.  Maybe this year, UCLA can provide the score that we all expected last year.

7 PM
Arizona State vs. Texas A&M, ESPN.  It's the Houston kickoff game.

7:30 PM
Texas at Notre Dame, NBC.  You always gotta pay attention with Notre Dame plays at night.

8 PM
Wisconsin vs. Alabama, ABC.  The Cowboy Classic at Jerryworld has now become the premiere kick off game apparently.  For Alabama, this is exactly where they want to be following the Sugar Bowl.  Oh wait, I guess they're eight months too late.

Sunday, September 6
3 PM
Purdue at Marshall, Fox Sports 1.  Last year, Marshall was one of the potential Group of 5 breakthrough teams, while Purdue has been the doormat of the B1G for a while.  There are worse ways to get used to football returning on Sundays.

Monday, September 7
8 PM
Ohio State at Virginia Tech, ESPN.  Lane Stadium on Labor Day is a special place.  Last time a game was played here on a Monday, it was the first overtime game in the history of the stadium.  This year, the matchup happens to be the hottest ticket in that stadium, possibly ever.  The defending national champions come into town, remembering the one loss they took at their own place a year ago.  Meanwhile, the Hokies have the one thing they have lacked over the last three years - continuity.  All of their scoring players from 2014 are returning this year, with more experience.

Countdown to Kickoff 2015 #2: CFP Primer

Now in Year 2, there are no tweaks to the CFP system, but the games have rotated around, causing a different scenario.

First, last year's CFP Primer.

This year, the CFP goes through the Orange and Cotton Bowls before concluding at the University of Phoenix Stadium (home of the Arizona Cardinals and Fiesta Bowl).  This means that we do not have to worry about the second participant of the Orange Bowl this year.  The only conference that has the potential for their champion to be displaced is the ACC.

Because the Rose and Sugar Bowls are locked into New Year's Day, the semi-finals are shifting to New Year's Eve this year.  The Peach Bowl leads off the festivities at Noon ET, followed by the two semi-finals at 4 and 8 PM.  The exact order will be announced with the final CFP ranking in December.

New Year's Day will feature the Fiesta, Rose, and Sugar Bowls, in that order.  The championship is on January 11.

Depending on how the semi-finals are ranked, this could end up being the exact same schedule as last year, at least in terms of when each bowl is played.