Wk #11: Wow Week

Texas over #24 WVa. TAM over #3 Auburn. ASU putting up 55 on the Irish. #20 Georgia scoring 63 on Kentucky...who scared #1 MSU just two weeks ago. In the sport where nothing seems to be surprising anymore, it still is. I was calling spoilers on Friday but did not pick any of these. Forget the rankings. Forget all the hype about a playoff reducing the excitement of the regular season. Forget what you know...or think you know. None of it matters.

Bama and LSU did not disappoint, taking it to OT in Death Valley with the Tide emerging as the winner. TCU handled K-State with no problem and Ohio State made their case against MSU. And don't count out Baylor and ASU...yet. Georgia bounced back from the embarrassing loss to UF last week and in preparation for Gurley's return and a now-reeling Auburn next week. BYU was idle...again. (Is this independent thing really working out?).

Hang on...only four more Saturday's and we'll have the first-ever college football playoff ine-up to talk about. And with the SEC-West match-ups left along with all the conference championships there are many surprises lying in wait...we'll see.

Wks #9 and #10

Wk #9: The First Poll
The long-awaited first CFB Playoff poll was released this week. Long-awaited but once here it was rather anti-climatic. Another poll, patterned after existing polls we already read, and at this point in the season it doesn't mean a thing...especially since it was top-heavy with SEC-West teams that will knock each other out of the top spots over the next few weeks.

But it does give us something new to talk / whine / cheer / rant / fuss about for a week before the new poll comes out. But the only poll that matters is the one that comes out December 7.

(BTW...any good answers yet on why Condoleeza Rice is on the CFP committee?)

Wk #10: Any Given Saturday
This week started with the FSU - Louisville match-up on Thursday night. Once again the Seminoles go into the half looking sluggish and down a couple of scores only to come out a different team. IMHO a team can't keep that up an entire season and not get burned (OK...maybe Auburn). I still think they'll drop one...Boston College, Miami or maybe even Florida. Nonetheless, as much controversy as surrounds that program you still can't knock their abilities (OK...2nd half abilities). Their play calling and play execution is spot on and just enough for the W.

Georgia went in to the World's Largest Cocktail Party against the struggling Gators feeling good after two Gurley-less wins and 3-in-a-row against their border rival. Never count out your rival. Florida may be having a down year but that's when teams pull out all the stops and play like it's their last game. Georgia never had momentum and played flat and passion-less. I don't recall a game in recent memory where one team never at least seemed to have the mo going for them at some point. Muschamp's seat is a few degrees cooler and Mizzou is happy to be back on top of the SEC-East.

BYU desperately needed a win and should feel much better down the home stretch. It'll still be tough without Hill at QB but Stewart will do better now that he has a win (confidence) under his belt and the team has shed the losing streak. 

Wk #08: 3-and-Out

1. Jameis Winston and his antics are annoying and have taken way too much focus off the college football season. But he is one accurate, never-say-die QB well worthy of discussion for his talents on the field. If he can put a damper on his off-the-field antics FSU should ride out the rest of their schedule with relative ease.
2. BYU was a one-man team. Give credit to the D and Christian Stewart for stepping it up a few notches to fill the Taysom gap, but it is just not enough. The last two losses simply needed a Taysom punch play to seal the win.
3. Georgia was really good with Gurley...but they have been dominant without him thanks to their D and offense in general stepping it up a few notches. UGA was not a one-man team. Although they took their foot off the gas in the 2nd half against Arkansas they never gave up the steering wheel.

Wk #07: Chaos - Part 2

Not quite as chaotic as last week but just as exciting as we watched MSU continue its dominant attack, USC take down the last PAC-12 unbeaten, Baylor pull off a last-minute field goal against TCU, and both Bama and OU squeaking by their opponents. Who'd have thought that in mid-October we would see #2 vs #3 and this many Top 25 match-ups in two weeks? And next week doesn't slow down: FSU vs Notre Dame, TAM vs Bama, Kansas State vs OU.

Un-ranked in the pre-season and now #1, the Mississippi State-ment is real. Sure, FSU started there and hasn't lost. The rankings aren't perfect but they are a good indicator by October and MSU has dominated three Top 10 teams in as many weeks. Show me another team that has done that. "Give 'em bell" MSU fans...your team is the most deserving IMHO (currently).

Taysom-less BYU put up a good fight; better than what I expected. BYU will do OK the rest of the season now that the back-up QB has a little confidence and the defense stepped it up a notch. And Gurley-less Georgia didn't miss a beat. The talk in August was how deep they were at RB and this game showed it. And the defense sure did they're part in pitching a shutout.


Once again the "pay for play" comes into question. Once again we ask how schools and the NCAA can rake in so much moolah then turn around and suspend your money-maker for taking a little for himself. Gurley knew better, he knew the rules (as did the memorabilia con), and he knew that even antiquated, hotly-debated rules are still rules with potential consequences. Student-athletes live in a "fame no fortune" world run by NCAA suits. Given the same circumstances we'd all be tempted. We'll sure miss Gurley and his amazing abilities on the highlight reels...

The Devil Went Down to Georgia (R. Ruiz, Oct 2014)
The devil went down to Georgia, he was looking for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind and willing to make a deal.
When he came across a young boy runnin' the ball and runnin' it hot.
The devil jumped up in his suit and tie and said, "Boy, let me tell you what."

"This here's a pretty good college but it can only bring you fame.
Your fortune I can give you if you'll just sign your name."
The boy said, "My name's Gurley and wrong as it may be,
I'll take your cash for my autograph and risk the Heisman trophy."

Gurley keep a runnin' that ball and making defenders fall,
Cause hell's broke loose on Georgia and the devil's gonna call. 
If word gets out they'll all say you sold your runnin' soul.
And the devil will laugh as the rankings take their toll.

The devil may have won this one, and then again maybe not.
Maybe the suits should change the rules and give the kids a shot.
Ship the devil out west where they think they're best at the game of Xs and Os.
Keep his big fat mouth far from the the south and all the future pros. 

Wk #6: Chaos is King

It started Thursday when un-beaten and un-ranked Arizona beat Oregon. Friday night a 2 - 2 Utah State took down un-defeated BYU. But the college football carnage had only just begun. When it was all said and done, five of the top eight had lost for the first time since the AP poll began (1936). I was already fast asleep when Utah pulled off the upset at UCLA and had just missed the ASU's hail mary win over USC. Only 10 un-beatens remain. Rankings schmankings...

 

Is the inaugural playoff picture clearer now? Not even close. It's way too early and we've been blatantly reminded that anything can happen. The pre-season predictions could still actually play out ... or not. But you're best guess right now is probably wrong.

Un-touched were Baylor and FSU with their soft schedules...so far. Baylor faces TCU and OU and OSU, while Notre Dame looms for FSU. Plus I think Virginia will give FSU a battle and if 5 - 0 GaTech keeps it up those two will face off in the ACC championship.

 

But what an exhausting weekend. Ole Miss over Bama. MSU torching TAM. TCU rising from the Big 12 ashes. Kentucky over SCAR ... really? I'm sure voters struggled today with where to place teams. How much do you really ding an SEC-West for a close loss? How much credit do you give Arizona for taking down #2? Both Arizona and GaTech were un-ranked but now 5 - 0 while pre-season Top 10 South Carolina now has three losses. Had Arizona or GaTech started high they'd be in the Top 10 today but instead halfway through the season they are only at #13 and #23, respectively. (And that is a huge jump for Arizona).

As a voter you gotta ask yourself how you missed the mark that far. You missed it because it's college football and the exciting, gut-wrenching, unpredictable, week-to-week is why we love it.

I love GameDay, a good laugh and taking risks. But this celebrity picker and college football game virgin  may have been a little too far out on the limb for most of us football fans.