By Joe Torosian
College Football (Games seen)
Oregon 34, UCLA 31—This game was over and then the Ducks let the Bruins back in. Someone with a suspicious (cynical) eye might have thought the fix was in. Just can’t get excited about Oregon.
Notre Dame 31, USC 16—How easy was this win? Irish HC Brian Kelly didn’t have to bench Jack Coan to get this win. Better than the win? Safety Kyle Hamilton did not do serious damage to his knee.
TOP Four College Playoff Teams
(Strictly Based on Games I’ve seen)
1—Georgia (7-0): A college football weekend isn’t the same without the Bulldogs on the field.
2—Alabama (7-1): Tide’s biggest issue will be remaining sharp until they face Georgia.
3—Oklahoma (8-0): Why are they in the playoff contention? Caleb Williams.
4—Ohio State (6-1): We had such high hopes for Penn State-Buckeye match a few weeks ago. Now its all about their dates with the Michiganders in November.
(Outside Looking In)
5—Cincinnati (7-0): This had to happen eventually, but the weak performance against Navy makes it easier to do now. This program will love the future CFB playoff expansion…and that’s when they’ll get their fair shot.
6—Ole Miss (6-1): Rebels have one loss (Alabama) but have been solid against everyone else. Go to Auburn this week before hosting Texas A&M in two weeks.
7—Texas A&M (6-2): Running game continues to make Zach Calzada look good. Devon Archane and Isaiah Spiller make the Aggies formidable.
8—Notre Dame (6-1): The Irish are interesting, but I don’t get what they’re doing at quarterback.
9—Auburn (5-2): The Tigers have lost in Georgia and Happy Valley (before it became Sad Valley). Have big opportunity this week against Ole Miss and Texas A&M the next.
10—Oregon (6-1): Regarding Duck QB Anthony Brown’s began struggles, Kirk Herbstreit, during the broadcast, said “Brown doesn’t need to hear boos from his own fans.” Very next play Brown throws an interception.
11—Penn State (5-2): I really don’t want to list the Nittany Lions here, I’m very angry with them. But after being all cloak & dagger regarding Sean Clifford’s injury, I said a sports karma was going to get them. And it did at home against Illinois.
12—Arkansas (5-3): Razorbacks step out of the SEC, play Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and snap a three game losing streak.
13—Iowa (6-1): Prentenders who will impress until they need to so something that counts.
14—Oklahoma State (6-1): We took Iowa State because the Cowboys had played chumps up to this point—and they don’t have a quarterback. I mean they have a guy (Spencer Sanders) they try to sell as a quarterback, but he’s not a quarterback.
15—Kentucky (6-1): A week off sets them up for their final five—all winnable.
16—Texas (4-3): Just a little bit of defense would put them at 6-1 and in a playoff discussion.
17—Minnesota (5-2): Since losing to Bowling Green the Gophers have run off three straight against Purdue, Nebraska, and Maryland.
18—Oregon State (5-2): The difference in win over Utah was B.J. Baylor.
19—Utah (4-3): Went into Corvallis, led 24-14 at the break, but couldn’t finish. And missed an opportunity to turn 2021 into a special season
20—Florida (4-3): Gators going to get blown out by Georgia this week but have a shot to finish the season 8-4.
21—Washington State (4-4): With everything that’s happening in the Palouse—the Cougars come up just short against BYU.
22—UCLA (5-3): DTR is tough…but Chip & the Bruins need a better arm to get them to the next level.
23—Arizona State (5-2): The Sun Devils are excited about blowing up the Trojans in two weeks but they cannot overlook Washington State this Saturday.
24—Wisconsin (4-3): Delivered a Federal Pounding to the Boilermakers.
25—LSU (4-4): Would you rather have the USC job or LSU’s? Troy would bring more prestige and limelight. Baton Rouge comes with a commitment to football—but also annual dates with Alabama.
26—Purdue (4-3): Oh so Purdue to win at Iowa and lose at Wisconsin.
27—Stanford (3-4): Of all the quarterbacks I’ve seen this year—Tanner McKee has been the best.
28—USC (3-4): How bad is this season going? Trojan alums are now fondly remembering the glory years of Paul Hackett.
29—Nebraska (3-5): At least for one week Scott Frost didn’t have to hear people calling for his head on a platter.
30—West Virginia (3-4): TCU’s second half rollover allows the Mountaineers to rejoin the land of the living.
(Have not seen: Michigan, Michigan State, BYU, Wake Forrest, Pittsburgh.)
Next Week:
(Winners in Bold)
Georgia at Florida
Texas at Baylor
Cincinnati at Tulane
Iowa at Wisconsin
Iowa State at West Virginia
Texas Tech at Oklahoma
Colorado at Oregon
Kansas at Oklahoma State
Ole Miss at Auburn
Kentucky at Mississippi State
Penn State at Ohio State
North Carolina at Notre Dame
Minnesota at Northwestern
Oregon State at California
UCLA at Utah
Washington State at Arizona State
Purdue at Nebraska
Washington at Stanford
Arizona at USC
***
BYE
Alabama
Texas A&M
Arkansas
LSU
Joe T. is the author of “Tangent Dreams: A High School Football Novel” … “Temple City & The Company of The Ages” … “The Dead Bug Tales” … “The Dark Norm” & “FaithViews for Storm Riders”…all five available through Amazon.com.
www.JoeTorosian.com
jtbank1964@yahoo.com
Follow Joe on Twitter @joet13b
Instagram: @joet13b
Be sure to read:
Fanview (Every Monday)
College Football Breakdown (Every Tuesday)
Standings & Stuff (Every Wednesday)
College Hoops Breakdown—by Riley Saxon
The Urena Express—by Steven Urena (MLB)
From The RamCave—by Joe T. (Every Friday)
