Still much football to be played, but there are plenty of takeaways to digest!
Context
Remember those big opening-weekend games between Notre Dame-Michigan and LSU-Miami? It turns out that LSU and Notre Dame might be among the nation's top few teams after all. No shame for Michigan and Miami (though we might not have been saying so at the time), who seem to be rolling now and haven't lost since.
The fun is in the speculating (what if 5 or 6 teams are undefeated?!? the chaos!!!). And at first glance, we could look at the conferences and say how everything is so top-heavy. But I will not.
- SEC - Yes, Alabama has looked otherworldly. But can they really get through the whole season without taking a punch from anyone?
- ACC - Does Clemson's QB situation give the rest of the conference a shot? Syracuse came up just short; how can NC State fare?
- Big Ten - Ohio State may not lose the 2 games Penn State needs them to. But can one team do what TCU and Penn State couldn't and finish against the Buckeyes?
- Big 12 - Oklahoma? Someone's defense surely has to get them...Army's almost did!
- PAC-12 - Yeah, they've already shown they're not top-heavy. I don't think we have to worry about this conference muddying the year-end waters.
Under-the-Radar Props
On the Group of Five side, the American once again stands out as the most New Year's Six-likely. With three unbeaten teams in one division (UCF, USF, Cincy) all playing well, might all three end up ranked? If so, we're in for a treat in November:
- Week 11 (Saturday) gives us USF at Cincy,
- Week 12 (Saturday) gives us Cincy at UCF,
- Week 13 (Black Friday) featuring the War on I-4 (this year at USF).
Best Games of September
Looking back at 5 week's worth of games, here are my Top 5 games of the season's first month:
1. Ohio State - Penn State. A real back-and-forth classic between two top programs. We may have just seen one Playoff spot get spoken for.
2. Syracuse - Clemson. The drama. The comeback. 60 minutes of thrills! Might that have been the Atlantic Division Championship? Syracuse looked legit, though aided by Clemson's internal chaos. We'll see how both teams carry on, and if the Tigers can become the first team to win 4 straight ACC Championship Games.
3.Clemson - Texas A&M. The game had the Jimbo-Dabo hype and went right down to the wire. It showed that there might still be hope for A&M to take that next step as a program, and provided what could be a very valuable win for Clemson.
4. Stanford - Oregon. I believe Oregon really choked this game away at the end. But credit to Stanford for not giving up and pulling off a thrilling come-from-behind overtime win!
5. Washington - Auburn. Another close one, with the Tigers eeking out a win in Atlanta. This also figures to be high-impact, and was a good, defensive thriller.
BONUS: Virginia Tech - Florida State. Even though my Hokies are the ultimate case of inconsistency (beat 2 ranked teams on the road; lose to ODU), this game was a fantastic showcase for our program. Labor Day, night game, hostile crowd, and we dominated! I can endure some growing pains if I have more of this to look forward to!
Anticipated Games - October
With a new month ahead, here are some big games that could help define the season:
- Notre Dame at Virginia Tech. The Irish and their new QB did marvelously against Stanford. How about a primetime road game in amped-up Blacksburg? And can the Hokies pull off a program-elevating win?
- Georgia at LSU. Is there really a challenger to Alabama in the SEC, or to the other conferences for a potential 2nd CFP spot? This game figures to tell us a lot.
- Colorado at USC. With the Trojans looking shaky, could the Buffs take this game - and the Division?
- Wisconsin at Michigan. A game that figures to elevate the winner and eliminate the loser from CFP contention. And we'll see just how these teams have improved from their losses to the Independents.
- NC State at Clemson. The Wolfpack have come close the last 2 years. Can Clemson pull it out yet again?
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