Three Observations: CFB Playoff Picture, early thoughts on Alabama vs. LSU, and Recruiting
The college football playoff rankings will be published for the first time this season on Tuesday, October 30. While Alabama will be ranked number one, who will be number two, three, and four? I’ll outline those thoughts below. Alabama at 8-0 on the season heads into week 10 taking on 7-1 LSU who is a top-five ranked team in what will be the Crimson Tide’s biggest test of the season. I’ll touch on what’s at stake, what’s likely to happen and compare the two teams grad wise. Lastly, I'll touch on Alabama's number one ranked recruiting class. All this, in a special Sunday edition of three observations.
1. College Football Playoffs
I’ll start off by talking about the College Football Playoff Rankings. Tuesday evening on ESPN, the committee will reveal their college football top 25. Alabama who is ranked number one in both the AP and Coaches Top 25 will be at number one. This is a 100% lock entering the final days of October.
So who will be at the number two spot? That is an easy pick as well. Clemson who is coming off a 59-10 win over Florida State and a 41-7 victory over NC State is 8-0 on the season. The Tigers have outscored their last three ACC opponents by a combined score of 163-20.
Led by freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Clemson’s remaining schedule includes Louisville, a potential trap game traveling to Boston College on November 10, Duke, and a rivalry game against South Carolina on November 24. You have another easy pick for the number three spot in the college football rankings with Notre Dame being 8-0 and coming off a 44-22 victory over Navy.
The Fighting Irish three wins over Top 25 teams this season: Beating No. 14 Michigan 24-17, beating Stanford 38-17, and beating No. 23 Virginia 45-23. To end the season, Notre Dame will travel to Northwestern, then host Florida State, take on Syracuse, and travel to Los Angels to take on USC. I could see Notre Dame dropping a game to either Northwestern or Syracuse. What about you?
The number four spot in the playoffs will be the most interesting. LSU at 7-1, Michigan at 7-1, Georgia at 7-1, Oklahoma at 7-1, and Ohio State at 7-1. To open the playoff rankings, you have to think the four spot goes to either LSU or Michigan. The Tigers have a very good resume beating Miami when the Hurricanes were ranked No. 8, then beating No. 7 Auburn, beat No. 2 Georgia, and beat No. 22 Mississippi State.
The Tigers’ only loss comes to No. 22 Florida. Like each of these teams, LSU controls their own destiny, but you have to remember Alabama is next up. Michigan is 7-1 on the season and has key wins over No. 15 Wisconsin and No. 24 Michigan State. The Wolverines’ only loss on the season comes against undefeated Notre Dame.
Here are my college football playoff rankings
1. Alabama 8-0
2. Clemson 8-0
3. Notre Dame 8-0
4. LSU 7-1
5. Michigan 7-1
6. Georgia 7-1
7. Oklahoma 7-1
8. Ohio State 7-1
2. An early look at Alabama vs. LSU
When we looked at “Alabama @ LSU” way back in the preseason, I think it was safe to say we all had that game circled on our calendar and here it is. While the nation expected Alabama to enter this game with a perfect 8-0 record, did anyone expect LSU to be 7-1? LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron now in his third year at the helm has beaten Miami, Auburn, and Georgia all in the same season, that is commendable.
However, Orgeron knows that he needs to beat Alabama and during his recent SEC teleconference, he said that LSU needs to beat Alabama in order to take this program where they need to go. Alabama has been a buzz-saw to play this season with sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa the front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy.
The Crimson Tide are outscoring the opposition 54-15 and enter this next contest against rival LSU as a two-touchdown favorite. What is at stake: A shot to play for the SEC Championship, an opportunity to reach the college football playoffs, and while the same can be said for LSU regarding what is at stake, Orgeron could be the first coach since Les Miles in 2011 to beat the Crimson Tide.
Here are the comparisons between the two teams grading wise.
Alabama’s Offensive Passing Grade: 93.7
Alabama’s Offensive Run Grade: 85.2
Alabama’s Overall Offensive Grade: 97.6
Alabama’s Defensive Passing Grade: 94.4
Alabama’s Defensive Run Grade: 95.9
Alabama’s Overall Defensive Grade: 96.4
Alabama’s Special Team Grade: 80.6
LSU’s Offensive Passing Grade: 74.5
LSU’s Offensive Run Grade: 78.5
LSU’s Overall Offensive Grade: 76.2
LSU’s Defensive Passing Grade: 93.1
LSU’s Defensive Run Grade: 91.2
LSU’s Overall Defensive Grade: 92.8
LSU’s Special Team Grade: 73.0
3. Alabama has the number one ranked recruiting class
The Crimson Tide have the number one ranked recruiting from 2019 going into the remaining days of October. With 22 commitments thus far, Alabama has landed 17 Four-star commitments and recently added Three-star Braylen Ingraham a 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive end from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. How many more commitments will Alabama take? Listening to Andrew Bone’s last show on youtube (MUST WATCH) he says don’t worry about the numbers, but could see as many as eight more prospects joining this class.
Following Alabama in recruiting rankings is Texas A&M who has 25 total commitments and they’ve landed two Five-stars. Former assistant coach Mario Cristobal has done a fantastic job at Oregon and has 22 commitments, 16 Four-stars and has the Ducks ranked number three in recruiting just above Clemson and Oklahoma.
Several key targets remain on the board for Alabama and I encourage you to follow Andrew Bone’s recruiting board as we get closer to the first National Signing Day which is on December 19, 2018.
Full Alabama commitment list
All feedback welcomed and enjoy your Sunday
The college football playoff rankings will be published for the first time this season on Tuesday, October 30. While Alabama will be ranked number one, who will be number two, three, and four? I’ll outline those thoughts below. Alabama at 8-0 on the season heads into week 10 taking on 7-1 LSU who is a top-five ranked team in what will be the Crimson Tide’s biggest test of the season. I’ll touch on what’s at stake, what’s likely to happen and compare the two teams grad wise. Lastly, I'll touch on Alabama's number one ranked recruiting class. All this, in a special Sunday edition of three observations.
1. College Football Playoffs
I’ll start off by talking about the College Football Playoff Rankings. Tuesday evening on ESPN, the committee will reveal their college football top 25. Alabama who is ranked number one in both the AP and Coaches Top 25 will be at number one. This is a 100% lock entering the final days of October.
So who will be at the number two spot? That is an easy pick as well. Clemson who is coming off a 59-10 win over Florida State and a 41-7 victory over NC State is 8-0 on the season. The Tigers have outscored their last three ACC opponents by a combined score of 163-20.
Led by freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Clemson’s remaining schedule includes Louisville, a potential trap game traveling to Boston College on November 10, Duke, and a rivalry game against South Carolina on November 24. You have another easy pick for the number three spot in the college football rankings with Notre Dame being 8-0 and coming off a 44-22 victory over Navy.
The Fighting Irish three wins over Top 25 teams this season: Beating No. 14 Michigan 24-17, beating Stanford 38-17, and beating No. 23 Virginia 45-23. To end the season, Notre Dame will travel to Northwestern, then host Florida State, take on Syracuse, and travel to Los Angels to take on USC. I could see Notre Dame dropping a game to either Northwestern or Syracuse. What about you?
The number four spot in the playoffs will be the most interesting. LSU at 7-1, Michigan at 7-1, Georgia at 7-1, Oklahoma at 7-1, and Ohio State at 7-1. To open the playoff rankings, you have to think the four spot goes to either LSU or Michigan. The Tigers have a very good resume beating Miami when the Hurricanes were ranked No. 8, then beating No. 7 Auburn, beat No. 2 Georgia, and beat No. 22 Mississippi State.
The Tigers’ only loss comes to No. 22 Florida. Like each of these teams, LSU controls their own destiny, but you have to remember Alabama is next up. Michigan is 7-1 on the season and has key wins over No. 15 Wisconsin and No. 24 Michigan State. The Wolverines’ only loss on the season comes against undefeated Notre Dame.
Here are my college football playoff rankings
1. Alabama 8-0
2. Clemson 8-0
3. Notre Dame 8-0
4. LSU 7-1
5. Michigan 7-1
6. Georgia 7-1
7. Oklahoma 7-1
8. Ohio State 7-1
2. An early look at Alabama vs. LSU
When we looked at “Alabama @ LSU” way back in the preseason, I think it was safe to say we all had that game circled on our calendar and here it is. While the nation expected Alabama to enter this game with a perfect 8-0 record, did anyone expect LSU to be 7-1? LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron now in his third year at the helm has beaten Miami, Auburn, and Georgia all in the same season, that is commendable.
However, Orgeron knows that he needs to beat Alabama and during his recent SEC teleconference, he said that LSU needs to beat Alabama in order to take this program where they need to go. Alabama has been a buzz-saw to play this season with sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa the front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy.
The Crimson Tide are outscoring the opposition 54-15 and enter this next contest against rival LSU as a two-touchdown favorite. What is at stake: A shot to play for the SEC Championship, an opportunity to reach the college football playoffs, and while the same can be said for LSU regarding what is at stake, Orgeron could be the first coach since Les Miles in 2011 to beat the Crimson Tide.
Here are the comparisons between the two teams grading wise.
Alabama’s Offensive Passing Grade: 93.7
Alabama’s Offensive Run Grade: 85.2
Alabama’s Overall Offensive Grade: 97.6
Alabama’s Defensive Passing Grade: 94.4
Alabama’s Defensive Run Grade: 95.9
Alabama’s Overall Defensive Grade: 96.4
Alabama’s Special Team Grade: 80.6
LSU’s Offensive Passing Grade: 74.5
LSU’s Offensive Run Grade: 78.5
LSU’s Overall Offensive Grade: 76.2
LSU’s Defensive Passing Grade: 93.1
LSU’s Defensive Run Grade: 91.2
LSU’s Overall Defensive Grade: 92.8
LSU’s Special Team Grade: 73.0
3. Alabama has the number one ranked recruiting class
The Crimson Tide have the number one ranked recruiting from 2019 going into the remaining days of October. With 22 commitments thus far, Alabama has landed 17 Four-star commitments and recently added Three-star Braylen Ingraham a 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive end from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. How many more commitments will Alabama take? Listening to Andrew Bone’s last show on youtube (MUST WATCH) he says don’t worry about the numbers, but could see as many as eight more prospects joining this class.
Following Alabama in recruiting rankings is Texas A&M who has 25 total commitments and they’ve landed two Five-stars. Former assistant coach Mario Cristobal has done a fantastic job at Oregon and has 22 commitments, 16 Four-stars and has the Ducks ranked number three in recruiting just above Clemson and Oklahoma.
Several key targets remain on the board for Alabama and I encourage you to follow Andrew Bone’s recruiting board as we get closer to the first National Signing Day which is on December 19, 2018.
Full Alabama commitment list
All feedback welcomed and enjoy your Sunday
