Brain Droppings

Let's just get this out of the way right off the bat, if you are one of those people that said a 4 team playoff would ruin CFB, get out of here. We're halfway done with the season and there is so much turmoil everywhere, that I can't tell you that one of the 4 teams I put down as a playoff team will make it. FSU is the only one I'd bet on and that's because their schedule is a joke. I know Mississippi State has looked unbeatable. They still have to play Ole Miss and Alabama on the road. Ole Miss? They have LSU at Death Valley in a night game this week. Nevermind that they still are looking at State and Auburn down the stretch. What about a Big 12 or PAC 12 team? Those conferences are cannibalizing each other. Everyone knows the Big 10 is weak but Michigan State is in the conversation again. I honestly have no idea how the selection committee will decide. I know there's a lot of football to be played but if you had to pick this week, good luck. On to my thoughts...

Studs: Nick Chubb - No Todd Gurley? No Problem. Chubb ran for 202 yards against Arkansas. Every ESPN analyst I saw said that the Hogs would stack the box and stuff the UGA run game. Not so, my friends. How about UGA's offensive line? They've been the real MVP this season. UGA looks formidable down the stretch but still has a very tough game with Auburn on the schedule. Don't sleep on them just yet. That being said, how did they lose to Carolina? Notre Dame - I know they lost the game on Saturday night but I thought they were going to get smoked. They should've won the game. They didn't cost themselves a spot in the playoff by losing, but they gave themselves no room for error with a tougher schedule down the stretch. West Virginia - A lot of people thought WVU would be a dumpster fire this year. Turns out that was just Morgantown after they upset #4 Baylor on Saturday. Kevin White is a pretty awesome receiver and Clint Trickett has that offense humming. Tough loss for Baylor. The Big 12 is wide open.

Thuds:  Texas A&M - Getting beat 59-0 pretty much sums up what I've been saying for a while now. The Aggies were overrated after that impressive win against Carolina on opening night. We know Carolina isn't very good. The Aggies were flat out awful. Props to Bama for bouncing back but Kenny Trill ought to think of changing his nickname to Kenny Still hasn't thrown a TD this Week. Georgia Tech - Look, as a UGA fan, it's no secret I hate Tech but I actually want them to be good. That way when we kick the crap out of them at the end of the year I feel better about myself. This is a bad loss to an awful UNC team. Paul Johnson is in trouble. Florida's Offense - The defense held Mizzou to 120 yards and one score. The offense gave up 2 TDs and special teams gave up two more. The fans started calling for Will Muschamp's head during the game. 2 Gators came to the sidelines to sing the Alma Mater after the game. Looks like Coach Boom is about to go off. Somehow I'm still worried about this game as a UGA fan in two weeks.

Playoffs - (1) Mississippi State (2) Ole Miss (3) Florida State (4) ????? I'd probably put Auburn in this slot for now, but I ultimately think it will be Michigan State. I'm still leery of the SEC getting 2 teams in, but you never know. Lots of 1 loss teams still alive, including Notre Dame. Here's my problem with ND/FSU. I know it was a great game but was that because two decent teams were playing? I get the feeling there are 3-5 SEC teams that would wipe the floor with both the Noles and Irish. However, that's not how it will work. If either make it to the playoffs, we'll see how good they are.

   

Next Week - Kind of slow. Utah and USC could be interesting. LSU and Ole Miss is the game of the week. Other than that, I'm not sure there's a marquee game. That's usually the time when things go haywire though so watch out!

SEC: The top 6 are pretty dang good. The top 4 are really freaking good. The bottom is pretty bad though.

14) Vanderbilt - Took a week off from getting beat. They'll get back to it next week.
13) Tennessee - Continually look worse every week. Not sure what happened to a team that looked poised to improve this year.
12) Florida - Wow. The Gators are a dumpster fire right now. Smells like Muschamp will be on the lookout for a new job.
11) Kentucky - The second half of the schedule is much more daunting than the first half. Look no further than getting whipped by LSU this week.
10) South Carolina - Somehow this team has wins over UGA and ECU.
9) Texas A&M - Bet these guys wish it was still August 30. They haven't basked in the glow of that Carolina win for a while now. Defense is bad and offense is bad against good defenses.
8) Arkansas - 16 straight SEC losses. Their improved but at what point do they get frustrated and possibly quit.
7) Mizzou - Their offense is really struggling right now. Fortunately the Gators were happy to let them score every other way imaginable.
6) LSU - Starting to get their mojo back. A huge game against Ole Miss this weekend.Will they be able to feed Fournette?
5) Georgia - UGA continued it's resurgence without Todd Gurley. A win in the Cocktail Party would have them primed for a solid stretch run.
4) Alabama - This team might be unbeatable at home. Uh oh Mississippi State. Still some questions but that was pretty impressive on Saturday.
3) Auburn - Their win over K-State looks better than it did at the time. However, their schedule continues to be brutal.
2) Ole Miss - Whipped a bad Tennessee team. Bo Wallace was afforded a so-so game because their defense is so good.
1) Miss State - I don't know if they can sustain it, but State is the team to beat even after playing nobody this week.