Week 10 College football review

Week 10 College Football Review

I didn’t expect a couple of these upsets which weren’t as big a deal as they look. Can the Aggies do the unthinkable? For once, the Big 10 is actually interesting. Two chances to avoid Cincinnati in the CFP.

1.     In the Big 12, lowly 3-5 TCU hosted and beat the 7-1 #12 Baylor Bears. Baylor had only lost to Oklahoma State and now must prepare for a trip to Norman. OU had better watch out and not be thinking ahead to Bedlam. OU and Oklahoma State are in the driver’s seat for the Big 12 title.

2.     In the “well that makes as much sense as anything in the Big10 department” Purdue beat #3 Michigan State. I’ve been telling you that only one of Michigan/Michigan State/ Ohio State/ Penn State will survive as a top 10 team for weeks now. Purdue already beat then (allegedly #2 – that was way too high) Iowa so MSU should have been better prepared. And this was not some Stanford OT upset of Oregon (yes, I will mention that several more times since it is the only bright spot on the Stanford season)… Purdue tied MSU in Q1 and outscored them for each of the next three quarters. Purdue has beaten Michigan State before, most recently when George Bush was President and Tom Cruise was marrying Katie Holmes… The Big 10 is a mess, but two more weeks will resolve most questions as the big games finally happen. MSU Ohio State on 11/20, Ohio State Michigan on 11/27. PSU can’t do anything but play the spoiler at this point. Ohio State looked tepid against 3-7 Nebraska so at this point any of OSU, M and MSU can win the Big 10 east. The likelihood of an undefeated Big 10 Champion is now 0.0 and a 2-loss champion is an even bet.

3.     The situation in the Big 10 West is less interesting but more confusing. While the leading teams in the East were ranked 3,5 and 7 last week, the west was home to three teams ranked 20-22. Of these, #20 Minnesota went down in flames against then 3-6 Illinois. Illinois had beaten Penn State so surely the Gophers knew they would be challenged. Minnesota and Wisconsin can decide the West champs in a shootout on 27 November if they win out. If they both falter badly, Penn State and Iowa retain a theoretical shot at limping into the Big 10 Championship game.

4.     As predicted, Boise State “upset” #23 Fresno State and North Carolina beat previously undefeated and over ranked but undefeated #9 Wake Forest. I put upset in quotes because the oddsmakers in Vegas had both unranked teams as favorites. The ACC is now officially a hot mess with no one caring who wins since the winner is not in contention for a CFP slot and they will be battling it out for a Gator Bowl or Sun Bowl bid.

5.     Likewise #14 Texas A&M (at home) beat #13 Auburn as predicted. The Aggies may not be SEC Champions but they are the State of Alabama Champions this year. See #8 for the Aggies route to fame.

6.     As predicted BYU pounded hapless Idaho State. They have another tune-up game against lowly 4-4 Georgia Southern (a real school, I checked) before facing once vaunted but now 4-4 USC to finish the season. They could easily finish the season 10-2 and go to the same Bowl game they would go to if 7-5.

7.     The PAC-12 looks to come down to a Utah-Oregon championship December 3rd (a Friday). They will get to practice that game when they meet November 20 and a Ducks loss in either game (or any remaining game) would eliminate them from CFP contention.

8.     The once inevitable Alabama-Georgia matchup in the SEC Championship game December 4th is looking increasingly “evitable” as Alabama played uncharacteristically poorly against LSU who admittedly brought their A game. Sadly for them, they needed their A+ game but had a legitimate chance to beat Alabama at home. The line on the Iron Bowl has narrowed. Alabama has one of their late season “tune up games” (the Tide should be embarrassed scheduling perennial doormats late in the season but they are not) next week against 1-8 NMSU before facing Arkansas and Auburn. A loss by the Tide and the Aggies winning out would put A&M in the SEC Championship and in the unlikely event of them beating Georgia, an 11-2 A&M would be SEC champions and the CFP could (at least theoretically) be saying no to as 12-1 Georgia for the CFP nod. Hah!

9.     In more (yawn) upset news, #18 Kentucky lost at home to a pretty disappointing Tennessee team. Wildcat fans have to be disappointed but this is really the first quality win for Tennessee since winning the Gator Bowl to cap the 2019 season.

10.  Cincinnati looked sad playing now 3-6 Tulsa. CFP fans are praying for a strong showing by SMU and/or UH. Houston could easily be 11-1 and ranked in the mid-teens (at least) when the conference championship rolls around. Even a loss to SMU by Cincinnati would put them in the championship but an American Conference champion is only a contender for the CFP if undefeated.