Sunday, November 6, 2016

Reactions from Week 10

The first weekend of November in the books. Big matchups, championships being chased - the good stuff!

The over-reaction:
  • This season is BORING! All of the power conferences are top heavy with at least one team unbeaten in conference!
  • Time for LSU's annual post-Alabama crash. Enjoy an upcoming win, Arkansas!
  • Speaking of Alabama, I might as well stop watching their games. The conclusion's forgone!
  • The SEC East is trash! They might go 1-13 against the West!
The "wait and see" reaction:
  • In all seriousness, the SEC West could pull off a 13-1 mark against the East (the lone East win being Kentucky over Mississippi State). The only remaining cross-divisional games are:
    • Auburn at Georgia
    • Ole Miss at Vandy
    • Florida at LSU
    • Arkansas at Missouri
  • With Texas A&M falling to Mississippi State, a new team will be in the CFP Committee Top 4. Will it be the team with 0 losses (Washington), the best player (Louisville), or perhaps the best resume (Ohio State)?
  • With injuries becoming a factor for so many teams, just how will things shake out this coming weekend, with so many division races close to wrapping up?
    • Can Nebraska get back on the winning track against a surging Minnesota team that controls its championship destiny?
    • Can Virginia Tech shake off a few defensive dings and keep things going against Georgia Tech - a GT team possibly with a dinged-up QB?
  • As with last year, Oklahoma has their toughest 3 conference games remaining to close out the season (with a break during Thanksgiving weekend this year and Bedlam on 12/3). Can the Sooners repeat last year's run and knock off Baylor, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State?
Tony's Takeaways:
  • Western Michigan played early - literally minutes after their ranking was announced on Tuesday. And they performed marvelously. If they run the table, it'd be a hard sell to put another Group of Five team ahead of these Broncos. They'll play again this coming Tuesday, once again just after the announcement of the new rankings.
  • After last weekend, I illustrated a possibly epic Thanksgiving Weekend filled with championship implications. Some of those scenarios can be guaranteed after this coming weekend:
    • Auburn-Alabama looks like it'll be for the SEC West, as long as Auburn beats Georgia
    • Washington-Washington State should be a fantastic high-flying affair on Black Friday. If Washington beats USC, while Washington State beats Cal, then the Apple Cup is guaranteed to be winner-take-all for the PAC-12 North.
    • If USC does indeed lose, then Utah and Colorado can make a similar guarantee for the Rumble in the Rockies determining the PAC-12 South. Utah plays at AZ State; Colorado at Arizona.
  • Forget the last weekend. Here are some clinching possibilities for this week:
    • Clemson clinches the ACC Atlantic with a win vs Pittsburgh
    • Virginia Tech can clinch the ACC Coastal with a win + UNC loss
    • Florida can clinch the SEC East with a win + Tennessee loss
    • Alabama can clinch the SEC West with a win + Auburn loss
    • Western Kentucky can clinch C-USA East with a win + ODU loss
    • Louisiana Tech can clinch C-USA West with a win + Southern Miss loss
  • There's already one team that has clinched its division. Congrats to San Diego State for winning the West Division of the Mountain West. 
    • How did the Aztecs lose to South Alabama again?

No comments:

Post a Comment