At some point, my feeling that I have a handle on this season is going to pay off. Straight up I'm fine, clocking in at a blah 6-4 this week and 70-29 for the season. That's not too bad. Against the spread however I had a blah week at 5-5 which leaves me at 45-52-1 for the season. Considering the minimal time and effort I put into this, that's not bad, but I'd sure like to have a winning week before the year ends. Maybe these last few weeks and bowl season can pull me out of the negative?
Without further ado: Let's take a look at the week that was......
1. 'Bama. The LSU game was much closer than the 38-17 score might indicate. The fact is LSU is a deeply flawed team under Coach Miles. But this year's Bama team is flawed as well, especially on defense. Good passing teams give the Tide fits. FSU is a good passing team, with athleticism and a good defense. I don't think the Seminoles are likely to beat Alabama, but I think they might at least have a chance should they make it to the B(C)S Title Game.
2. Oregon. My gut feeling here is that Oregon was exposed. But then you have to realize that Stanford is a lot better than I (and many others) thought they were. That loss to Utah is a puzzler, but they got all over Mariota and the final score of 20-26 doesn't reflect just how dominating their performance really was. Is this the end of Oregon in the National Championship conversation? Possibly, for many years to come.
3. Baylor. This is going to anger a LOT of Baylor alums but the fairest question to ask about the Bears is whether they are this good, or is the Big Twen this bad? They trounced a formerly highly regarded OU team 41-12 in a game that wasn't that close. The problem is, OU's offense is abysmal which might have made Baylor's defense look pretty good. You can write off Baylor's slow start to nerves. This is the first time they've been in a game this big this season.
4. Texas. Wouldn't you know it, the week I decide to believe UT-Austin has turned it around they go out and lay a stinker against West Virginia. Yes, they won 47-40, but they had to go to overtime and looked less than impressive in doing so. I said at the time (on Twitter) that this UT-Austin team has to be one of the worst in the country that's leading a conference. I still stand by that sentiment.
5. Houston. I have to hand it to the Coogs, they played a lot better than I thought they would, only losing 14-19 to a very strong UCF team. Amazingly, the Louisville vs. UH line opened up at -17 1/2 Louisville on Sunday. If you're of a gaming persuasion I'd suggest jumping all over that line before it moves down. Based on their play against UCF, I'm going to have a hard time not picking UH to pull the upset here.
6. Duke. The Blue Devils are 7-2. Let me say that again: The Blue Devils are 7-2. Congratulations coach Cutcliffe.
7. Florida. Some people are questioning whether or not it's sane for Will Muschamp to be on the hot seat. I've seen Florida play before their QB Driskoll went down with injury. Yes, it is a fair question.
8. Florida State. I'm not sure if he has a prayer of winning the Heisman, but Jameis Winston might be the best player in College Football. For that matter, Florida State might be the best team in college football right now. Of course, they could look much worse against Bama if Saban has a month and a half to prepare for them.
9. Notre Dame. So they will NOT be in contention for a B(C)S bowl. That this below-average team needed to lose to Pitt for people to realize that illustrates just how bad a system the B(C)S was.
And finally......
10. Michigan. Aw Blue. Saturday's debacle against Nebraska now means that Michigan has rushed for -69 yards over the last two weeks. That's exactly 69 yards less than Bo Schembechler has rushing over that span of time. He probably gets one more year to turn it around, but Hoke and Co. are increasingly looking like a program in decline. This must change.
Top 5:
1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Ohio State
4. Baylor
5. Stanford
Misc. - Eastern Michigan finally fired Ron English on Friday. They did this because the AD reportedly saw a film with English using gay slurs in a speech to his players. In my view this is a coward's way out. Ron English was fired because he was 1-8 this year and 11-46 overall.
Top Conferences:
1. SEC - Until someone knocks them off.
2. PAC12 - Nipping at the SEC's heels
3. ACC - Weak at the bottom, but pretty solid at the top.
4. B1G - Looking better and better every week.
5. American - UCF, UH, Louisville and Cincinnati are better than Baylor, UT-Austin, OSU & OU right now.
6. Big Twen - Down year but this could be the new norm for a horribly ran conference that's in danger of being torn apart.
Week 12 picks coming......
