10 things I'm absolutely overreacting to after Week 4 in the SEC
False positive.
Nick Saban? Of course, but that’s also one way to describe what has happened to Mississippi State and Tennessee since the 2020 opener … or maybe even Bo Nix and Auburn after the Oregon opener in 2019 … or, perhaps, Georgia’s defense against elite offenses.
Subsequent tests have come up negative.
On the positive-positive side, at least nobody is waking up this morning still screaming at SEC officials.
Progress.
Here are 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after another Saturday Down South in and around the SEC.
10. The “outside lab” that produced the most famous false positive in college football
Alabama released a statement Friday updating Nick Saban’s COVID situation. The big news was that Saban had tested negative again and needed one more negative test to coach Saturday (which he got and therefore was eligible to coach and beat a former assistant for the 22nd consecutive time). Buried in Alabama’s statement was the fact “the initial positive result came from an outside lab we’ve used to supplement the SEC-mandated testing.”
This being the SEC, I immediately had 3 thoughts. A) Lord help that “outside lab.” B) I wonder who runs that “outside lab” and where everybody affiliated with it in any way went to school. C) I hope it’s not Georgia.
Overly suspicious and skeptical? Of course. It’s part of the job.
So insanely unlikely that it could qualify as the most “it might mean too much” SEC conspiracy theory of all time? Sure, until the Playoff, anyway.
9. Jarrett Guarantano is the world’s greatest roller coaster, but the end is near
Has anybody had a rockier career on Rocky Top than Tennessee’s 5th-year senior quarterback?
He’s great. Not he’s not. Yes he is, see? No he’s not, see? It seems like his entire career has been the longest roller coaster ride in world history.
He was good last week in the first half against Georgia. He struggled mightily in the second half.
Saturday against Kentucky, he produced this sequence on 3 consecutive drives:
- Lost fumble at Kentucky 26
- Pick-6 that put Kentucky ahead 7-0
- Pick-6 that stretched Kentucky’s lead to 14-0
He was benched again, but he wasn’t done. Of course not. Backup J.T. Shrout promptly threw an interception on his first attempt. Guarantano came back in … and led Tennessee on a late TD drive just before halftime that seemed to re-energize the Vols.
It didn’t.
Harrison Bailey finished the game and Neyland Stadium erupted when he completed a sideline pass.
The end is near for Guarantano, but it’s not quite here. Tennessee has Alabama next week and then a Halloween bye week. It would be unfair to ask a true freshman to make his first start against Alabama. But if that game goes as expected, you can expect the Bailey Era to start Nov. 7 against Arkansas as Pruitt fully embraces the future.
8. “Mrs. Lincoln may have liked the play, but she’s not talking about it …”
There’s no context in which a joke about an assassinated president is proper or even mildly amusing, but Tom Hart used that line to question Jeremy Pruitt’s decision to stick with Guarantano.
“The negative plays … there were 3 interceptions and 2 pick-6s. And oh, by the way, a fumble. I mean, Mrs. Lincoln may have liked the play, but she’s not talking about it.”
Just … no.
Questioning the decision is more than fair; it’s the job.
But put that line in the closet and keep it there. It was more errant than either of Guarantano’s pick-6s.
7. Bo Nix is not the answer
Here we go again.
Nix threw 3 more interceptions Saturday, the first 2 like most of the ones before. On the run, into coverage. Poor mechanics, compounded by a bad decision equaled a predictable result.
Nix completed 51% of his passes Saturday, missing Auburn’s top receiver Seth Williams numerous times, avoiding him altogether in the biggest moments.
Some frustration on Auburn's sidelines after that last offensive possession. Chad Morris trying to be the mediator between Bo Nix and Seth Williams.pic.twitter.com/ve1NWgRoVv
— Josh Vitale (@JoshVitale) October 17, 2020
On Auburn’s final drive, the 2 biggest plays Nix made were with his legs. On 4th-and-5 at South Carolina’s 12-yard line, Nix took off again instead of giving Soaring Seth Williams a chance to make a play. Nix came up short. Auburn lost.
This isn’t new. This is who Nix is.
Bo Nix's passing numbers over Auburn's last three games:
— Two touchdown passes.
— Four interceptions, including three today.
— 54 percent completion percentage (62 of 115).
— 5.5 yards per pass attempt, which would rank sixth-worst nationally if it was his season average.— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) October 17, 2020
If Gus Malzahn keeps going down this well, eventually it won’t be his decision to make.
Hey, look at that. Hugh Freeze just improved to 5-0 and knocked off a Power 5 team …
6. So, where will Barry Odom be next year?
Defensive coordinator at Alabama? Or LSU? The NFL?
Maybe he gets another shot at head coaching. There could be a couple of SEC openings.
A week after Ole Miss’ offense scored the most points on any Nick Saban defense, Odom’s Hogs forced 6 turnovers — including 6 interceptions off red-hot Matt Corral — in a 33-21 victory over the Rebels.
Arkansas set the tone immediately, too, stymying the Rebels’ first 8 possessions:
- Stopped Ole Miss on 4 tries from inside the 4-yard line, recovering a fumble on 4th-and-goal from the 1
- Forced a punt
- Intercepted a pass
- Intercepted another pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown
- Got another 4th-down stop
- Forced a punt after 3-and-out
- Forced a punt after 3-and-out
- Got another 4th-down stop
After Ole Miss scored to draw within 20-7, Arkansas intercepted passes to end the Rebels’ next 2 drives.
And then, just as Arkansas’ defense began to bend, Grant Morgan intercepted Corral and returned it 23 yards for the game-sealing points. The Hogs capped their performance with a 6th interception.
Odom’s impact on Arkansas’ defense has been the biggest — and best — in the SEC.
5. The bottom 5 of Power 5
The worst of the weak:
1. Auburn play-calling: I’m not going to blame Chad Morris for Bo Nix’s lack of accuracy or efficiency, but I am wondering why in the world you’d ask the guy to throw it 47 times in a 1-score game going into the 4th quarter. If you’re going to stick with Nix — I wouldn’t — it’s time to treat him like Terry Wilson or John Rhys Plumlee and build a game plan around his legs.
2. Tennessee play-calling: Whoops … Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt beat me to it. I will say this: Run the ball. Eric Gray is the Vols’ best offensive player. Lean on him.
3. Dan Mullen’s positive COVID test: It’s never good news when anybody tests positive. And this isn’t the time to play the blame game, either, or talk about karma. Mullen said his test result has been confirmed. Let’s hope he recovers quickly, but it’s a bad development for the Gators.
4. SEC offenses: A week after 7 SEC teams topped 40 points, only Alabama cleared 40 this week. And the Tide did it against the greatest defense in the history of the world, or so we were led to believe.
5. Notre Dame’s offense: The Irish beat Louisville 12-7. They scored 1 TD against a Louisville team that gave up 46 points last week in a loss to Georgia Tech … which just lost 73-7 against Clemson. I know the transitive property of college football is for bar arguments only, but I’ve seen enough from the Irish to know they don’t belong in the Playoff discussion.
4. The 4 Playoff teams are …
1. Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Georgia, 4. Ohio State.
Clearly, I overreacted last week when I wrote Georgia’s defense would handle Alabama’s offense at least well enough to allow Georgia’s offense to take advantage of Alabama’s suspect defense. I changed my pick. I should have known better than to doubt Nick Saban.
Alabama dominated the Dawgs Saturday.
Mac Jones played like a Heisman Trophy winner. Najee Harris controlled the tempo with his legs. And Nick Saban does what Nick Saban always does: He beat a former assistant coach.
3. Before you give up on Mike Leach, remember this …
He inherited an offense that hadn’t produced a single 31-catch receiver in the previous 3 seasons.
That fact alone provides all the context needed to explain that Leach didn’t exactly walk into an ideal setting for his Air Raid attack.
But to further explain how run-heavy Mississippi State had been recently, Fred Ross had 72 catches in 2016. In the 3 seasons since, Mississippi State’s annual leading receivers combined for 83 catches.
Osirus Mitchell, who had 29 catches last season, was the top receiver Leach inherited.
That talent/system-fit gap is just as culpable for the Bulldogs’ aerial struggles as grad transfer QB KJ Costello, who, as many have noted, is not an ideal fit for the system, either.
If we’re having this same conversation after Week 4 of next season, then I’ll be ready to overreact and say there’s no way this will work.
Until then, I’m going to give Leach a full recruiting cycle to recruit and implement.
2. Congratulations to Kentucky
Kentucky is always 1 loss from being written off, forgotten.
So when the Cats lost the opener at Auburn, many turned the page.
When the lost the next week at Ole Miss, everybody except friends and family of the program started looking ahead to Midnight Madness.
All Stoops’ troops done is make history the past 2 weeks.
First, they became the first defensive team to hold a Mike Leach offense without a single point.
Saturday, they became the first Kentucky team to win at Tennessee since the 1984 team. Players on that team are old enough to be fathers of kids on this team.
Think Stoops enjoyed Saturday’s beatdown a little bit?
Mark Stoops on KSR Postgame Show:
“You ask me if l am happy about this win? I am sitting on the bus with a glass of Bourbon. I am going home and will smoke a cigar. What’s that tell you?
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) October 17, 2020
1. It’s still Alabama’s world
Alabama couldn’t have had more questions or distractions heading into its massive showdown against No. 3 Georgia.
It couldn’t have had any more motivation, either.
For the 3rd consecutive time in Nick vs. Kirby, Alabama dominated the 2nd half of a game against Georgia.
This time, they outscored the Bulldogs 21-0, paving the way for a 41-24 victory. Their performance was nearly perfect.
Mac Jones threw for 400+ yards with 4 TD passes in his most Joe Burrow-like performance to date. He took hits and delivered knockout shots. DeVonta Smith dominated Georgia’s touted secondary for 167 yards and 2 TDs. Jaylen Waddle added 161 yards and a score. And Najee Harris helped make it possible by rushing through, over and around Georgia’s front 7 for 152 yards and a TD. It might have been his most Derrick Henry-like performance.
Whatever question you might have had about Alabama’s defense, the Tide answered. They picked off 3 passes. They got off the field. They pitched a shutout for the final 30 minutes, which is all their explosive offense needed.
Alabama looked like Alabama.
Which means Alabama looked like the best team in the country.
Always enjoy these Chris. #8 is a bit of an over reaction 150 years down the road, Oh wait a minute …….
#8 was weird. Very common expression everybody but the author has been hearing their entire lives.
I hadn’t thought much about it before reading this but Odom very well could end up in the NFL next season. The Cowboys defense is putrid, Odom is making hay at Arkansas, a school we know Jerruh pays close attention to. I could be a great fit. I think the chances are greater he stays at the college level, probably not Arkansas, but a higher profile DC job.
You could be right about the NFL, but I don’t see him taking a lateral move as a DC. Arkansas is prepared to pay him as much as any team, and I bet he prefers working for Pittman over Saban. Also, I remember hearing that their contracts prevents them from taking the equivalent job at another SEC institution. I know Pittman’s contract says that, and I think the Coordinators have the same clause.
*contracts prevent
It is his call and he’ll do what is best for him. that’s the way it is and should be. We’d all love him to stay.
It just continues to validate how poor a coach Morris is. Him and his DC Chavis just made excuses of how “bare the cupboard is” and we got rid of them and IMMEDIATELY get positive results.
Odom stays through next season. If the results are still looking great, the calls to him increase, the money gets crazy for a coordinator and he realizes no matter he stays or goes, life is great at the DC level. And why not. He could end up making HC money at the DC level..reference Clemson.
Many forget he was about to get the HC at Memphis before Mizzu came in and got him. Instead Memphis got Mike Norvell. That’s a lot of what if’s if Odom had gotten the job and missouri not offered it. It has worked out for all I think, but who knows what would have happened if he stayed in Memphis.
Exactly right, many people also don’t realize Odom while at Mizzou tried to hire Pittman on multiple occasions, so there’s a lot of ‘what ifs’ there too.
No you’re wrong little Odom Troll. Pittman detailed after his hiring his relationship with Odom and how he inquired about hiring him multiple times also LSU tried to hire Odom but we bumped his pay.
No I’m not, Odom tried to hire Pittman multiple times. That’s well documented.
Pittman has said Odom tried to hire him. I don’t know how many times, but he did. They have purportedly been friends for a long time and discussed working together before either was ever in a position to hire the other. However it happened, this was a perfect hire for Pittman – get an experienced SEC HC who also happens to be a proven DC. He is more than earning his keep. And he will eventually get the offer he wants as an HC or perhaps more prestigious DC position, though I believe the former is much more likely than the latter. I think he is enjoying working with Pittman and the hands on work with the players. I hope he sticks around for another year or two, but he will definitely have opportunities, and when the right one comes along, he will probably have earned that opportunity. And I will certainly wish him well.
I wouldn’t say it worked out for Mizzou. Odom was a bad HC. He couldn’t recruit, and despite having one of the best QBs in the country for 3 straight years, he couldn’t muster a victory against any decent teams.
He’s a good man, a true son at Mizzou, and an elite DC. But I can’t say I’m happy we had him.
I’m happy we had him under Pinkel. I’m not happy we made him head coach instead of having him under somebody else. Especially coming off the last eleven seasons where we’d just had 9 bowl game appearances, 7 wins, five ranked season endings (2 inside the top 5), and 5 division championships. We could’ve actually grabbed a respectable head coach who was looking forward to improving upon a team on the rise. We got Odom instead.
The Cowgirls can suck a fat one go Eagles
Odom isn’t going to take any job the Eagles offer, sorry.
I could see Jerry wanting to pull him away for the Cowboys, but Jerry also knows how important he is at Arkansas. One thing i think you don’t realize is just how much money there is in Northwest Arkansas. If him and Pittman can build a powerhouse program in the SEC why leave when UofA can match any other big offers?
Also let it be known that Pittman didn’t even ask about pay when he interviewed for the Head Hog position. It’s not about money to him, he wants to win at Arkansas, he wants to retire in Arkansas. They won’t have to draw big contracts for him to stay, leaving more money for assistants.
When I watched the UGA-Bama game I actually was really reminded of the UGA-UT game. UGA is like a baseball team that has a great pitcher, but can’t hit very well. As long as the pitcher is throwing a great game they have a chance, but if he makes a mistake they can’t recover. They just don’t have anywhere near the firepower of the other elite teams on offense.
I still think UGA’s front seven is truly elite, but their corners are only “very good”. If you are a team that has elite wide receivers and a really good offensive line then you can beat UGA by throwing bombs. In my opinion there are only a few teams in the country that have that kind of combination (Bama, Clemson, Ohio State, maybe a couple others).
I remember when the rule of thumb was “a great defense will beat a great offense”. Now it’s completely turned around.
Correct you are. The SEC isn’t about defense vs defense anymore, it’s about can your offense keep up with the other teams offense? The only teams who resemble the SEC 5 – 10 years ago are Kentucky, Arkansas, and GA, that’s about it. Those kinds of teams, nor any team, is going to win the SEC with defense these days. Offense has been winning the SEC in recent years and will probably continue to do so with the offensive coaches/coordinators who are in the league now, and the elite offensive talent those coaches are now landing in the SEC. It’s actually good see, and a better brand of football to watch imo. Not that defense doesn’t matter of course, but it’s interesting that now SEC pundits are slamming teams like ND who win games 12 – 7. The tables have definitely turned.
I got the Lincoln assasination joke but cannot understand what it was in reference to.
It was in reference to Pruitt’s keeping JG as QB1, I think. But I was watching the game and wasn’t 100% sure, either.
Pruitt said at halftime that outside of the interceptions UT was playing really good on offense. Tom Hart was pointing out that this is a ridiculous spin job.
Regarding the “Worst of the Week/SEC Offenses,” four of the worst defenses in the conference had their games postponed. It’s hard not to think that Mizzou wouldn’t hang at least 50 on Vandy and the Fl/LSU total wouldn’t be somewhere near 90 pts.
Not sure G gets the start vs bama. I would think they go with Shrout or maybe Maurer if he’s healthy. Bailey may very well end up in there too. It is more unfair, at this point, to continue playing G. I have been a proponent of G but his play yesterday was the worst overall I think he has ever done. It won’t matter who starts. Bama will make this a very ugly game. I think our entire coaching staff is suspect but want to see what happens after bama.
Bama is still a level ahead of UGA but it’s really not a big level. I thought turnovers would be the key to that game and never though Bennett was the answer for them at qb. His play until that game is admirable but to beat the better teams they need to start looking at Daniels. Odom is earning a big payday somewhere. Where is anybody’s guess.
On the bright side, at least you’re not stuck with Nix.
Potato potahto bayou
Pretty sure only 1 freshman QB has ever beaten Saban(not saying we’d win using a non-freshman but starting a freshamn against Alabama is just dumb)
DieselNova. No, starting one against UGA’s D would be. Alabama has a very average D or slightly above. They aren’t much better than UK’s.. Sorry, just facts. The message you send is lack of faith so much in coaching we can’t coach our 5 star O’line enough for him to complete a pass??? That sir is dumb. You have nothing to lose starting him against Bama’s D. You have everything as far as confidence to lose, starting him against AR’s D. If i’m him, i lose nothing by trying against Bama. Rotate him in at Bama at the very least.
The fact that the Arkansas game is the week after just changed my mind. Start Bailey vs Alabama and let him build chemistry in an obvious loss, then roll him out against Arkansas with some experience and see if Odom can stop him
I don’t think Tom Hart should any trouble sleeping at night after telling a joke about a historical event from 155 years ago.
Maybe he wants us to tear down his statue lol
There is nothing wrong with Mullen wanting to pack the swamp, in fact I applaud him for saying it! We can’t keep living in fear! College football isn’t college football without the fans.. There are many more schools that also didn’t play on Saturday, where is their karma?? Just some more click bait like always!
This is just dumb and ignorant.
I’ve seen some of your other comments dude you cant call anyone ignorant when you have about as loose of a grip on facts as anyone I have ever seen.
Agreed! Dumb, ignorant, and completely unaware of the spiking infection numbers in many states in the U.S.
“Hey! Let’s forget about the ongoing pandemic and pack a football stadium to the hilt so we can set the Guiness Book of World Records for the biggest superspreader event in history.”
Dumb . . . just dumb.
If they go to the game they obviously don’t care about the virus lmao. Let them do what they want
Agreed, let people move on with there lives already, if you go and catch the virus you have a 99% chance to survive it.
Flawda Boy….does it matter that 1% of the 330,000,000 people in this country equals 3,300,000? Do we have enough body bags to bury that many people?
I agree. For this age group, they have a better chance of dying while texting and driving than rona. Also few have been hospitalized for covid19 currently. And no one in this age group has died from it, according to the latest stats on rona on the college campuses. Sweden never had lockdowns.. Faired better than us.
You’re missing the entire point and the reason we wear masks abs try to stay out of crowds.
1. We can overrun our hospitals.
2. Once overrun like NYC — deaths accumulate quickly– heart attacks, strokes, car wrecks, etc. are all happening as well.
3. Masks don’t prevent Covid but help a little. They keep our hospitals from being overrun.
Lastly, our POTUS should be stressing this, but he doesn’t because like you he doesn’t understand ramifications,
New York had large numbers of deaths because the idiot governor thought it was a great idea to put covid patients in nursing homes where the most vulnerable population lived.
And they were counting “covid-related deaths” for stupid stuff like the guy who died from cancer because he couldn’t get a hospital bed because it was taken by a covid patient, so voila, he was a covid-related death.
But yes, let’s keep living in fear of some chest congestion and a fever that has a fatality rate of .054% for people over 70, .005% for people 50-69,and .002% for people 20-49.
Trump 2020
The ignorant dummies keep coming out to play. Young people are dying. Just do a little research and quit listening to the biggest liar in the history of this country. Football players are developing scar tissue on their heart muscles. Students are spreading this virus to their older parents and grandparents. Don’t you care about them? Don’t you care about the families of the 220,000 dead people in this country with infection rates continuing to increase every day? No….of course not. Let’s just move on and pretend this is not happening. Don’t believe everything you see and hear. It’s just fake news.
I need a lecture about presidential assassination jokes like I need a hole in the head.
I can’t think of a coach whose team turned so bad so quickly in his first season. Leach is in serious trouble.
If he was 0-4 folks would not be as upset as him being 1-3. That LSU win did him jo favors. Just put expectations, probably unreasonable expectations, in the fans minds. They need to give him a few years.
Leach said it himself and it’s a good point, it doesn’t matter who the QB is if the OLine can’t even give a guy enough time to make his drop back before the D is on him. Agree with fuzzyvol, give Leach a break here, those guys he inherited don’t know how to block for the passing game, much less an air raid.
Missouri stole their OL coach!
Kentucky’s 1984 players could have kids who are playing college ball? 1984 was thirty-six years ago. You either need a refresher in math or you’re assuming 16 and 17-year-olds are routinely fathering children. I have late-breaking news: the examples set in Chicago or Newark don’t apply everywhere.
The players in 1984 were probably 18 – 21 years old. They would have had to had kids late in life for those kids to be young enough to play in college. I was 8 in 1984 and my oldest son is a junior at UK
So why is Georgia still in the playoffs? Oklahoma State has a better claim as of right now.
You are correct. I am guessing this isn’t is “right now” list but a prediction. Ohio St wouldn’t be in either right now. I don’t see how georgia gets in unless they beat alabama in sec championship game, and it’s highly unlikely they get in with two losses to them. So Georgia doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. He either was not thinking this out or was just putting down his best 4 at the end of the year or both. The only way an SEC east team gets in is to win out. Even in A&M wins out the best they can do is second in the West. I don’t see this as a two team year, but then again, on the flip side, it’s not like the other top 5 schools looked good. Notre Dame and UNC looked bad. So who knows, but still think it’s a one team season for the SEC.
Yeah, the truth is GA is not in the playoffs unless they run the table and beat Bama in the SECCG. I think it’s safer to assume another team like Okie St or N.D. will get through with one or less losses than GA, or anyone in the SEC. It’s a weird year and Okie St or ND or heck even Ohio State could completely crash and burn yet, but as of right now, you’ve got a solid point.
Agreed with 3. The LSU win freaked us out, but LSU is just really bad. We’re in a rebuilding year, which makes sense given the roster (and some discipline problems that seem to be hanging over from Jomo)
Decent list. Overreaction on the Lincoln joke. It has been around forever. Too bad if your feeling were hurt. Humor, by its very nature, is cruel.
The UK team played lights out and dominated UT. G was certainly struggling, but there was plenty of blame to go around. The play calling was not outstanding, but that is something the head coach will have to address. UT was picked at .500. We will have to see if it is optimistic or not.
Almost halfway through the abbreviated season. The big10 (math challenged) joins in the fun next week.
Alabama proved that elite offense beats elite defense. Bama’s offense was nothing short of spectacular. I do think they can score on anyone right now. If you want to beat them you’ll have to outscore them.
No. They proved that the more complete teams win. Bama has an elite offense and a better than average defense. (No they haven’t looked as elite as they have in the past. Yes they had one terrible game. It happens. Most teams in the country would still kill for their defense.) UGA has an elite defense and an average offense. The more balanced team won. While it’s true that defense no longer wins championships, neither does just offense. Look at Oklahoma’s terrible performances in the last couple years in the playoffs. They can’t finish. Look at the teams that have won in recent history. LSU last year, and the Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State and even Auburn teams before. They all had elite players making elite plays on both sides of the ball. Our coaches and athletes have gotten too good to expect any sort of serious success from anything less.
Two things in this article. To not start Bailey against Bama would be the same as the UT coaches saying “yes Bama, we believe we are too inept to coach an all 5 star O’line enough to protect Bailey long enough to complete a pass”. Newsflash, Bama’s D is average at this point. What message would not starting him send to ..well..him. If he can put together some drives, this will boost his confidence and skill to face lesser foe. If you can’t move the ball against Bama, it’s understandable, if you start and can’t do it against AR’s D, that’s a bit more demoralizing.
Lastly. UGA in the playoffs after getting destroyed by the first good team they faced this season.. Ummm why again would we put them in the playoffs at this point? This is not the fourth best team in the nation at this point.
WOW! I know my mind would read like a small index card, but this article represents my feelings on almost everything that happened yesterday! My biggest reaction of all yesterday was that terrible Mrs. Lincoln quote. Maybe next week, the ignorant announcer will say something favorable about Leon Czolgosz and Charles Guiteau.
The only difference in this article and my belief is the 4th playoff team. It’s going to be hard to sneak a second SEC team into the playoff if Clemson, Alabama, and Ohio State run the table. How can Georgia beat Alabama in a rematch? I think they are at best 9-2 and maybe 8-2 before the end of the year. Maybe A&M has a better chance at 9-1 than Georgia at 9-2, and A&M may be left out at 9-1.
The Pac-12 could easily produce a 7-0 team. If there is a new President-elect, and every conference must get a trophy, the political philosophy of the nation will be “share the wealth,” and that 7-0 Pac-12 beats out a 9-1 SEC team.
Then, there is the issue with an undefeated G5 team that runs the table with one or two impressive national tv wins. Cincinnati, SMU, BYU, even Liberty are potential teams so far. The Air Force-Boise St. winner might have a shot at an undefeated season, but I think the MWC Mountain is too strong for that. Then, there’s the MAC and it’s handful of games. If a team like Buffalo or Miami (O) were to go undefeated with a 30+ point scoring margin, the Eastern socialist media may shame the NCAA into putting a G5 Eastern team into the Playoff if another G5 team doesn’t get it.
I think there is a 1 in 3 chance that an undefeated G5 team gets into the Playoffs if there are not 4 undefeated P5 teams.
Glad someone else noticed what a joke Notre Dame is. But that doesn’t fit the media’s pro-Clemson narrative, because they’ve got to hype Notre Dame in order to keep Clemson at #1.
Clemson doesn’t need any hype help. They certainly deserve to be in any conversation about who’s #1. As does Bama.
Ohio State??
Umm …no.
OSU can go play some worthless PAC-12 sissy team in the NGAF Bowl.
Little Ten had its chance to get in the game but chose politics instead.
F’em.