College Football Week 9 in Review
Hey, everyone.
The big boys continued to crush with one notable exception. Never a dull weekend in college football!
Notable games
LSU 23 Auburn 20
LSU outgained Auburn to the tune of 508-287 but only managed to win by a score of 23-20. Auburn cut the lead to three points with a late TD but you never really got the feeling that LSU was in trouble. Auburn kept the big plays from LSU to a minimum and just needed better QB play to make things really interesting. QB Joe Burrow continues to play like a Heisman frontrunner and the running game is starting to come around. The November 9th game between LSU and ROLL TIDE should be epic!
Ohio St 38 Wisconsin 7
The Buckeyes continue to play excellent football while crushing market expectations in the process. After a scoreless first quarter the Buckeyes got used to the poor weather conditions and rattled off 38 points in the final three frames. The Badgers didn’t play a “bad” game in our estimation it was just a simple matter of being outclassed. For those who haven’t watched much Ohio St football they might have the best player in college football in DE Chase Young who tallied another four (!) sacks in this contest (13.5 for the season). We’ll let NFL MOCK DRAFT GUY have the final say but he looks like a legit #1 overall NFL draft pick to us.
Michigan 45 Notre Dame 14
Yes, guy. The Wolverines picked up where they left off in the second half of the Penn St game and played their best game of the season in horrible weather conditions. They jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead and piled on 21 points in the fourth quarter to put this bad boy away. That was the final nail in the coffin of Notre Dame’s playoff hopes but they are still likely to appear in a top-notch bowl game even if they drop another game. The good news is that their schedule lightens up in November. Michigan? They have a couple of big games remaining. The rivalry game with Sparty (at home) looks like a game they should almost certainly win. The way Michigan is playing right now there is a least a small chance (vs ZERO a few weeks ago) they can compete with the Buckeyes in the Big House and at least make it a watchable game. <grabs popcorn>
Kansas St 48 Oklahoma 41
Yup. This happened. The Wildcats won this game in legitimate fashion and Oklahoma had no answer for the Cats’ limited offense until midway through the fourth quarter when Kansas St just wanted to run out the clock. The Wildcats led this game 48-23 (!) in the fourth quarter and scored on eight consecutive possessions. The Sooners made a furious rally and recovered an onside kick which would have given them a shot to tie the game if it weren’t for a dude touching the ball a fraction before it went the requisite 10 yards. Kansas St ball. Game over. Drive safely. Huge win for Kansas St. Oklahoma needs to run the table and get some help to make the playoff.
MEGALOCKS TOP 10 after WEEK 9
This is how we rate teams based on who would win a theoretical match-up on a neutral site. It is NOT meant to be a “playoff” ranking.
- ROLL TIDE – Destroyed the Hogs. CFB Game of the Year November 9th vs LSU!
- Ohio St – Are they human? Essentially even with ROLL TIDE in our power ratings.
- LSU – Did what they needed to do vs Auburn.
- Clemson – Pounded another tomato can this week.
- Georgia – Elite defense and rushing attack. Need more production at WR.
Next in line (in alphabetical order)
Auburn – Round out the “on-paper” top ten. Finally get some schedule relief this week.
Florida – Can essentially win the SEC East this Saturday with an upset over Georgia.
Oklahoma – Disappointing loss but remain a very talented squad. Can’t slip up again.
Oregon – Escaped with their lives vs Wash St. Big game at USC on Saturday!
Penn St – Date with Ohio St for all the Big Ten East marbles on November 23.
BIG GAMES THIS WEEK!
Georgia vs Florida
Always one of the most interesting games of the year. The Gators have a realistic shot to get the Dawgs this year given the QB play they are getting from Kyle Trask. Georgia hasn’t played their “A” game too often and it remains to be seen if they can kick it up a notch on Saturday and once again look like a playoff team. Florida has the ability to be more explosive on offense. Georgia has the ability to wear you down. Let’s hope for a competitive one-score game.
Oregon at USC
The Ducks have essentially wrapped up the PAC 12 North but need to keep winning for a shot at the playoff. It feels like nobody realizes that the Trojans are in the driver’s seat in the PAC 12 South (not Utah). They beat the Utes earlier in the year and own the tiebreaker. The Trojans have been really tough to beat at home over the past few years and this one could go either way. Big game in the PAC 12!
SMU at Memphis
The American Athletic Conference (AAC) has a LOT of really good teams and a pair of them go head-to-head this week. SMU would love to make a major bowl game by rattling off an undefeated season (currently 8-0) while the Tigers are a top-25 squad that can take a stranglehold on the division with a win. If they can pull off the victory on Saturday they will remain in the top-25 and own the tiebreaker over each of their three competitors in the AAC West (SMU, Navy, Tulane). Expect a close game with lots of points.
Enjoy Week 10!