Just like that
As expected, three of the top four teams in the college football playoff lost on Saturday. This is pure sarcasm for those who do not know. I never thought Iowa would beat Michigan especially after losing by 27 to Penn State the previous week. Pittsburgh lost by 22 to Miami the week prior to playing Clemson. Alabama beat USC 52-6 the first game of the season. Now I'll admit the Trojans have looked a lot better this season especially with Sam Darold at QB. Washington fans clearly were not ready for Bama.
The craziness of it all is all three still have a chance to get back into the college football playoffs. I don't think Washington will make it. I think they will lose to Washington State in the Apple Cup. Clemson and Michigan remain in the hunt. Michigan and Clemson remain No.4 and No.5 in the AP. We'll see how it looks when the playoff poll comes out on Tuesday. We know Michigan still plays at Ohio State on November 26. Clemson will beat Wake Forest and South Carolina. They won't lose in the ACC Championship to Virginia Tech (most likely to win coastal). Clemson won't have any impressive wins left on the resume.
Chaos is here. Guess what? Bama doesn't really care who it plays. The talking heads keep saying Bama's kryptonite is playing against a quarterback who can run and throw. Have any of these guys watched Bama play this fall? This isn't the Bama teams of the past who have lost to Johnny Manziel or Cam Newton. This defense is built to shut down the mobile QBs. I'm really not sure why this is discussed each week. There are special players out there like Lamar Jackson, J.T. Barrett, and Deshaun Watson. I think they would make some plays throughout the game against Alabama. Wil they be able to dominate them? No. Deshaun Watson had an unbelievable championship game a year ago. I don't think he would have the same performance against the Tide.
Bama dominates the Bulldogs
I was riding down to Tuscaloosa with a friend on Saturday morning. I was asked about the point spread. He surely thought the Bulldogs would cover the 29-30 point spread. There was just no way coming off the game against LSU, and Mississippi State's win against Texas A&M for Alabama to win by four touchdowns.
Vegas is pretty good at this thing. Of course, I thought when he asked me about the spread it could easily be a game where Alabama wins something like 49-7. Alabama was impressive in the first half, and cruised to an impressive 51-3 win against the Bulldogs. Jalen Hurts had a record performance and you hope he can build off of it the rest of the way as it is needed. I'm not going to discredit Jalen at all, but did you see what Samford QB Devlin Hodges did to Mississippi State a few weeks ago? 468 yards passing with three touchdowns.
On to Chattanooga- rest, rest, get healthy, get healthy. Iron Bowl, SEC Championship.
These teams are 8-2
Oklahoma
Penn State
Colorado
Utah
Oklahoma State
South Florida
NFL Power Rankings (IMO)
1. Seattle Seahawks
2. New England Patriots
3. Dallas Cowboys
4. New York Giants
5. Kansas City Chiefs
6. Atlanta Falcons
7. Oakland Raiders
8. Denver Broncos
9. Baltimore Ravens
10. Washington Redskins
Notable commitment performances
Najee Harris, five-star running back from Antioch High School in California
Harris rushed for 289 yards and three touchdowns in a first round playoff win.
Tua Tagovailoa, Rivals100 QB from St. Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawaii
Tua completed 13-of-15 passing for 162 yards and three touchdowns. He added 67 yards on the ground and another score helping his team reach the state championship game.
Chadarius Townsend, four-star athlete from Tanner High School in Alabama
Townsend completed 7-of-11 passing for 149 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also carried the ball seven times for 56 yards and one touchdown. Tanner travels to Lanett High School on Friday night.
Brandon Ruiz, three-star kicker from Williams Field High School in Gilbert, Arizona
Ruiz connected on 2-of-2 field goals with a long of 58 yards. He was 5-of-5 on extra points.
Dameon Pierce, 2018 four-star running back from Bainbridge High School in Georgia
Pierce rushed for 152 yards and five touchdowns in a second round playoff win.
Trey Sanders, 2019 running back from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida
Sanders had 95 yards rushing and two touchdowns in a blowout win.
As expected, three of the top four teams in the college football playoff lost on Saturday. This is pure sarcasm for those who do not know. I never thought Iowa would beat Michigan especially after losing by 27 to Penn State the previous week. Pittsburgh lost by 22 to Miami the week prior to playing Clemson. Alabama beat USC 52-6 the first game of the season. Now I'll admit the Trojans have looked a lot better this season especially with Sam Darold at QB. Washington fans clearly were not ready for Bama.
The craziness of it all is all three still have a chance to get back into the college football playoffs. I don't think Washington will make it. I think they will lose to Washington State in the Apple Cup. Clemson and Michigan remain in the hunt. Michigan and Clemson remain No.4 and No.5 in the AP. We'll see how it looks when the playoff poll comes out on Tuesday. We know Michigan still plays at Ohio State on November 26. Clemson will beat Wake Forest and South Carolina. They won't lose in the ACC Championship to Virginia Tech (most likely to win coastal). Clemson won't have any impressive wins left on the resume.
Chaos is here. Guess what? Bama doesn't really care who it plays. The talking heads keep saying Bama's kryptonite is playing against a quarterback who can run and throw. Have any of these guys watched Bama play this fall? This isn't the Bama teams of the past who have lost to Johnny Manziel or Cam Newton. This defense is built to shut down the mobile QBs. I'm really not sure why this is discussed each week. There are special players out there like Lamar Jackson, J.T. Barrett, and Deshaun Watson. I think they would make some plays throughout the game against Alabama. Wil they be able to dominate them? No. Deshaun Watson had an unbelievable championship game a year ago. I don't think he would have the same performance against the Tide.
Bama dominates the Bulldogs
I was riding down to Tuscaloosa with a friend on Saturday morning. I was asked about the point spread. He surely thought the Bulldogs would cover the 29-30 point spread. There was just no way coming off the game against LSU, and Mississippi State's win against Texas A&M for Alabama to win by four touchdowns.
Vegas is pretty good at this thing. Of course, I thought when he asked me about the spread it could easily be a game where Alabama wins something like 49-7. Alabama was impressive in the first half, and cruised to an impressive 51-3 win against the Bulldogs. Jalen Hurts had a record performance and you hope he can build off of it the rest of the way as it is needed. I'm not going to discredit Jalen at all, but did you see what Samford QB Devlin Hodges did to Mississippi State a few weeks ago? 468 yards passing with three touchdowns.
On to Chattanooga- rest, rest, get healthy, get healthy. Iron Bowl, SEC Championship.
These teams are 8-2
Oklahoma
Penn State
Colorado
Utah
Oklahoma State
South Florida
NFL Power Rankings (IMO)
1. Seattle Seahawks
2. New England Patriots
3. Dallas Cowboys
4. New York Giants
5. Kansas City Chiefs
6. Atlanta Falcons
7. Oakland Raiders
8. Denver Broncos
9. Baltimore Ravens
10. Washington Redskins
Notable commitment performances
Najee Harris, five-star running back from Antioch High School in California
Harris rushed for 289 yards and three touchdowns in a first round playoff win.
Tua Tagovailoa, Rivals100 QB from St. Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawaii
Tua completed 13-of-15 passing for 162 yards and three touchdowns. He added 67 yards on the ground and another score helping his team reach the state championship game.
Chadarius Townsend, four-star athlete from Tanner High School in Alabama
Townsend completed 7-of-11 passing for 149 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also carried the ball seven times for 56 yards and one touchdown. Tanner travels to Lanett High School on Friday night.
Brandon Ruiz, three-star kicker from Williams Field High School in Gilbert, Arizona
Ruiz connected on 2-of-2 field goals with a long of 58 yards. He was 5-of-5 on extra points.
Dameon Pierce, 2018 four-star running back from Bainbridge High School in Georgia
Pierce rushed for 152 yards and five touchdowns in a second round playoff win.
Trey Sanders, 2019 running back from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida
Sanders had 95 yards rushing and two touchdowns in a blowout win.
