Month: September 2022

Image Courtesy: Lexington Herald Leader

AP Top 6
1.Georgia 4-0 (1-0) This week: at.Missouri
2.Alabama 4-0 (1-0) This week: at.20.Arkansas
3.Ohio State 4-0 (1-0) This week: Rutgers
4.Michigan 4-0 (1-0) This week: at.Iowa
5.Clemson 4-0 (1-0) This week: 10.NC State
6.USC 4-0 (2-0) This week: Arizona State

Key games this weekend (Rankings based off of AP Poll)
16.Ole Miss at. 8.Kentucky (Saturday, 12 PM ET, ESPN)
Jaxson Dart has now been named the starter for Ole Miss at quarterback for their game in Lexington against red hot Kentucky. Will Levis has had a tremendous season thus far and with last season’s SEC rushing leader Chris Rodriguez coming back. If Kentucky’s defense continues to play the way it has, they have a great shot to win this game. Projected Score: Kentucky 27, Ole Miss 20

9.Oklahoma State at. 16.Baylor (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, FOX)
Spencer Sanders (OSU) and Blake Shapen (Baylor) have both looked good at quarterback for their respective teams but not phenomenal. The Cowboys and Bears are both known to rely on their defense more than other Big 12 teams and one of them will make a big stop to help their team win the game. Projected Score: Baylor 28, Oklahoma State 20

2.Alabama at. 20.Arkansas (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, CBS)
Arkansas struggled after their successful first quarter against Texas A&M, resulting in their first loss of the season. Alabama has not looked as dominant as expected but Nick Saban’s team is 4-0 going into October yet again. Arkansas’ secondary looked better last week with Myles Slusher back in the fold but it will be tested even more against Bryce Young and the Alabama offense. Arkansas has to play a complete game, something they have not done yet, to win this game. Projected Score: Alabama 49, Arkansas 31

10.NC State at. 5.Clemson (Saturday, 7:30 PM ET, ABC)
ESPN’s College Gameday heads to Clemson for a huge ACC showdown between the Tigers and the Wolfpack. Clemson’s DJ Uagalelei looked terrific in last Saturday’s double overtime win over Wake Forest, 51-45. NC State has struggled from time to time this season but quarterback Devin Leary has kept them going offensively. NC State upset the tigers last year but something tells me Dabo Swinney will have his team ready to beat the Wolfpack in prime time even if Clemson is coming off a tough test at Wake Forest. Projected Score: Clemson 35, NC State 24

Image Courtesy: Greenville Online

AP Top 6
1.Georgia 3-0 (1-0) This week: Kent State
2.Alabama 3-0 (0-0) This week: Vanderbilt
3.Ohio State 3-0 (0-0) This week: Wisconsin
4.Michigan 3-0 (0-0) This week: Maryland
5.Clemson 3-0 (0-0) This week: at.Wake Forest
6.Oklahoma 3-0 (0-0) This week: Kansas State

Key games this weekend (Rankings based off of AP Poll)
5.Clemson at. 21.Wake Forest (Saturday, 12 PM ET, ABC)
In a huge ranked match up in the ACC, Clemson goes for another win at Wake Forest headed by their quarterback Sam Hartman. It will be up to Clemson’s offense, led by running back Will Shipley and quarterback DJ Uagalelei to dismantle a weak Wake Forest defense. Projected Score: Clemson 31, Wake Forest 27

20.Florida at. 11.Tennessee (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, CBS)
Florida has struggled some since their opening win over then top ten ranked Utah in the Swamp. They lost to Kentucky at home but then struggled to a 31-28 win over South Florida. Highly praised QB Anthony Richardson posts a low QBR of 35.9, which is 104th in the country. Tennessee on the other hand is riding high with a 3-0 record, including a win over Pittsburgh. It is not surprising that GameDay chose to go to Knoxville with the Vols’ play but with the way Florida has played, the Gators should hope to be in this one by the fourth quarter

10.Arkansas vs. 23.Texas A&M (Arlington) (Saturday, 7 PM ET, ESPN)
Arkansas was almost upset by their former coach, Bobby Petrino and his team, Missouri State last Saturday. Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said that he was out-coached but something tells me Arkansas needed to go through that game to be more prepared for their trip to Arlington, their first game outside of Fayetteville this season. Texas A&M bounced back from their loss to Appalachian Sate by defeating then top fifteen Miami by a score of 17 to 9. Max Johnson, the new quarterback for the Aggies, looked better than Haynes King. With Arkansas’ struggling secondary being Johnson’s next opponent, viewers should expect A&M to air it out to star receiver Anias Smith and others. This game is a toss-up for me definitely. Projected Score: Arkansas 24, Texas A&M 21

Wisconsin at. 3.Ohio State (Saturday, 7:30 PM ET, ABC)
Braelon Allen, Wisconsin’s running back, will be the lone proponent going for the Badgers on Saturday night in Columbus. Ohio State’s offense, led by QB CJ Stroud and injured receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, has not had the numbers we have expected just yet, but this could very well be their coming out party. With Smith-Njigba and fellow standout receiver Julian Fleming back on the field, this game could be a blowout. Projected Score: Ohio State 42, Wisconsin 20

Image Courtesy: YouTube

AP Top 6
1.Georgia 2-0 (0-0) This week: at.South Carolina
2.Alabama 2-0 (0-0) This week: UL-Monroe
3.Ohio State 2-0 (0-0) This week: Toledo
4.Michigan 2-0 (0-0) This week: Connecticut
5.Clemson 2-0 (0-0) This week: Louisiana Tech
6.Oklahoma 2-0 (0-0) This week: at.Nebraska

Key games this weekend (Rankings based off of AP Poll)
6.Oklahoma at. Nebraska (Saturday, 12 PM ET, FOX)
Oklahoma defeated Nebraska in Norman last season in their first meeting since the Corn Huskers exited the Big 12. But, things are different now in Norman. Brent Venables replaced Lincoln Riley (who left for the same job at USC) as the team’s head coach. The Sooners added Central Florida transfer QB Dillon Gabriel to pair with what was left from the skill position players that did not join Riley in Los Angeles. Nebraska head coach Scott Frost was fired following a 1-2 record to open the season. Nebraska will hope to get a season-defining win at home over their old rivals on Saturday with interim coach Mickey Joseph. Projected Score: Oklahoma 38, Nebraska 21

1.Georgia at. South Carolina (Saturday, 12 PM ET, ESPN)
With Georgia’s success in their opening game against Oregon and Samford, they ascended to number one in the AP Poll this week after Alabama struggled to defeat Texas on Saturday. Their defense looks (almost) as good as it did a season ago and QB Stetson Bennett has become less of a game manager but a “real” quarterback in many people’s eyes. South Carolina defeated a tough Georgia State team and then lost their SEC opener at Arkansas on Saturday. South Carolina was dominated on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football and will have to be much better there if they want to upset the Bulldogs. Projected Score: Georgia 42, South Carolina 21

12.BYU at. 25.Oregon (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, FOX)
BYU defeated Baylor in overtime last Saturday and Oregon rebounded from their loss to Georgia. If this game was in Provo, it would be easy to pick the Cougars but it is in Eugene so it makes it more difficult to pick who the winner will be. BYU QB Jaren Hall and receiver Chase Roberts were spectacular last week and they will outshine Oregon QB Bo Nix and his weapons to get a second consecutive top 25 win. Projected Score: BYU 24, Oregon 20

22.Penn State at. Auburn (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, CBS)
Penn State defeated Auburn last season in Happy Valley but will have to travel to “The Plains” to face Auburn, who handily beat Mercer in week 1 and then struggled to defeat San Jose State in week 2. Penn State beat Purdue to open their season and then easily took care of Ohio on Saturday. The winner of the line of scrimmage in this game wins it I think so it will be up to Auburn running back Tank Bigsby and his offensive defensive lines and Penn State running back Keyvone Lee and his offensive and defensive lines. Projected Score: Penn State 21, Auburn 17

13.Miami at. 24.Texas A&M (Saturday, 8 PM ET, ESPN)
Texas A&M’s upset loss to respected Sun Belt program Appalachian State is probably why ESPN College GameDay didn’t choose to go to College Station this weekend. Jimbo Fisher’s team and his quarterback Haynes King will look to bounce back against a Miami team with lots of expectations going into the season. Oregon coach Mario Cristobal came back to his alma mater to take over at “The U” and will look to give A&M a second consecutive loss. His quarterback Tyler Van Dyke has led dominant wins over Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss but will have to lead his troops into a much better environment and face a much better team in College Station and Texas A&M.

Image Courtesy: Sports Illustrated

AP Top 6
1.Alabama 1-0 (0-0) This week: at.Texas
2.Georgia 1-0 (0-0) This week: Samford
3.Ohio State 1-0 (0-0) This week: Arkansas State
4.Michigan 1-0 (0-0) This week: Hawaii
5.Clemson 1-0 (0-0) This week: Furman
6.Texas A&M 1-0 (0-0) This week: Appalachian State

Key games this weekend (Rankings based off of AP Poll)
South Carolina at. 16.Arkansas (Saturday, 12 PM ET, ESPN)
Arkansas and South Carolina had their fair share of struggles in week 1. South Carolina was down 14-12 at one point during their win last Saturday against respected Sun Belt program Georgia State. Despite secondary injuries and struggles, Arkansas gave Cincinnati its first non-Bowl game loss since 2019. There is some familiarity between the coaching staffs as former Arkansas receivers coach Justin Stepp has now been the South Carolina receivers coach the last few seasons. Former Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler made his debut with the Gamecocks last weekend and KJ Jefferson, the signal-caller for the hogs has become faster but is still inaccurate on some throws. This game comes down to who is going to make big plays down the stretch and it could be either one of these teams. Projected Score: Arkansas 30, South Carolina 27

1.Alabama at. Texas (Saturday, 12 PM ET, FOX)
Texas’ offense, led by QB Quinn Ewers, running back Bijan Robinson, and receiver Xavier Worthy will look to help the Longhorns defeat Alabama on Saturday afternoon. The Longhorns will have to deal with arguably the two best players in college football on Alabama’s side including linebacker Will Anderson and Heisman-winning QB Bryce Young. ESPN’s College GameDay will make the rare trip to a FOX covered game and hope to see a more competitive game than Texas’ 40-21 loss a season ago to Arkansas when they face the Crimson Tide. Projected Score: Alabama 45, Texas 28

24.Tennessee at. 17.Pittsburgh (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, ABC)
Pittsburgh defeated Tennessee in Knoxville a season ago but Tennessee would like to return the favor in Pittsburgh tomorrow. Kedon Slovis led the Panthers to a win over West Virginia but playing Hendon Hooker and the Vols is a different test. The aforementioned QB Hooker and their running attack will give Pitt problems and get the win. Projected Score: Tennessee 35, Pittsburgh 24

20.Kentucky at. 12.Florida (Saturday, 7 PM ET, ESPN)
Kentucky crushed Miami (OH) and Florida upset top ten Utah. Florida QB Anthony Richardson was terrific and the defense made plays when it needed to become 1-0. Kentucky did what they needed to do with QB Will Levis throwing three touchdowns and an interception. He will have to avoid making mistakes like he did last week, as going into “The Swamp” will “eat you up”. Projected Score: Florida 21, Kentucky 17

10.USC at. Stanford (Saturday, 7:30 PM ET, ABC)
While Stanford coach David Shaw is terrific, his teams at Stanford have not been as good as they used to be in the early to mid 2010s. USC, based off of their tremendous week 1 performance, even if it was a 66-14 win over Rice, should handle their first road test (or test overall) this season in the Pac-12. Projected Score: USC 31, Stanford 20

9.Baylor at. 21.BYU (Saturday, 10:15 PM ET, ESPN)
Baylor crushed Albany 69-10 while BYU did the same to South Florida 50-21. The Blake Shapen-Jaren Hall battle at QB is what will win the game for both sides. BYU’s defense and atmosphere at home could be the difference in the game too. Projected Score: Baylor 28, BYU 24

Image Courtesy: CBS Sports

ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Heather Dinich confirmed on Friday that the College Football Playoff’s board of managers unanimously voted to expand the event to 12-teams by 2026 but are encouraging the format by 2024. Although, it is doubtful the CFP 12-team field will make its debut until 2026 according to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. It was described as a “historic day for college football” last summer when conversations were made public.

According to the CFP news release, the playoff will include the six-highest ranked conference champions and six at-large teams. “The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and each will receive a first-round bye. The other eight teams will play in the first round with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher seed. The quarterfinal and semifinal games will be at played at bowl sites with a national championship location announced annually ahead of the next season”.

First Round

Left side
No. 8 Seed
No. 9 Seed

No. 5 Seed
No. 12 Seed

Right side
No. 6 Seed
No. 11 Seed

No. 7 Seed
No. 10 Seed

Quarterfinals

Left side
No. 1 Seed
No. 8 Seed/No. 9 Seed

No. 4 Seed
No. 5 Seed/No. 12 Seed

Right side
No. 3 Seed
No. 6 Seed

No. 2 Seed
No. 7 Seed/No. 10 Seed

Semifinals

Winner
Winner

Winner
Winner

Final

Winner
Winner

Image Courtesy: Saturday Blitz

AP Top 6
1.Alabama 0-0 (0-0) This week: Utah State
2.Ohio State 0-0 (0-0) This week: 5.Notre Dame
3.Georgia 0-0 (0-0) This week: 11.Oregon (Atlanta)
4.Clemson 0-0 (0-0) This week: at.Georgia Tech
5.Notre Dame 0-0 (0-0) This week: at.2.Ohio State
6.Texas A&M 0-0 (0-0) This week: Sam Houston State

Key games this weekend (Rankings based off of AP Poll)
West Virginia at. Pittsburgh (Thursday 7 PM ET, ESPN)
The last time the former Big East rivals met was in 2011, when the Mountaineers defeated the Panthers 21-20 over Thanksgiving weekend that year. Pitt lost last season’s Bilitnekoff Award Winner (nation’s top receiver), Jordan Addison, who transferred to USC. Pat Narduzzi, the experienced Pittsburgh coach, will have to figure out how to stop former USC and Georgia QB JT Daniels, who will start at QB for the Mountaineers. In the same way, QB Kedon Slovis, who replaced Daniels at USC but then left the program, will start for Pitt and West Virginia coach Neal Brown will have to get his defense ready to stop that offense. Projected Score: Pittsburgh 24, West Virginia 20

23.Cincinnati at. 19.Arkansas (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, ESPN)
Despite losing All-American receiver Treylon Burks to the NFL, Arkansas has regrouped by adding former Oklahoma receiver Jadon Haselwood and by developing the group already on the team. KJ Jefferson returns at QB along with three other running backs, namely “Rocket” Sanders who is expected to start in place of Dominique Johnson, who has been hurt through fall camp. Arkansas’ defense got stronger through the transfer portal and should help the hogs win this game. Cincinnati made the College Football Playoff last year and will look to do it again without QB Desmond Ridder and defensive backs Sauce Gardner and Coby Bryant, who headed to the NFL. The replacement for Ridder will either be Evan Prater or Ben Bryant and Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell has recruited well enough for defensive replacements to be good for the program. Projected Score: Arkansas 28, Cincinnati 24

11.Oregon vs. 3.Georgia (Atlanta) (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, ABC)
Georgia looks to defend its national championship in a home away from home game in Atlanta against Oregon, led by former defensive coordinator Dan Lanning. Without Lanning and the multiple draft picks from that defense in this year’s NFL Draft, their defense will look human compared to last season. But, with the best tight end room in the country and Stetson Bennett back at QB, Georgia should be fine in this game. Former Auburn QB Bo Nix is likely to start for the Ducks and knows the Bulldogs well but expect a young Georgia defense to step up and get the opening season win. Projected Score: Georgia 31, Oregon 20

7.Utah at. Florida (Saturday, 7 PM ET, ESPN)
Utah, the reigning Pac-12 champions have high expectations this season but will be tested this Saturday in “The Swamp” when they take on Florida. Florida QB Anthony Richardson was good last year, backing up Emory Jones part of the year and starting a few games but the Florida defense will have to stop Utah’s offense led by QB Cam Rising. Projected Score: Utah 27, Florida 24

5.Notre Dame at. 2.Ohio State (Saturday, 7:30 PM ET, ABC)
In a top five match-up to open the season, number two Ohio State and number five Notre Dame face off. Ohio State’s offense is tremendous with returning QB CJ Stroud and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba catching passes. New Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman played football for Ohio State during his playing career but will hope for star tight end Matthew Mayer to lead the Irish to an upset win. Projected Score: Ohio State 45, Notre Dame 31

Florida State at. LSU (Sunday, 7:30 PM ET, ABC)
Former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly makes his debut in New Orleans against Florida State, the same team his Irish faced in week 1 a season ago. The Seminoles are coached by Mike Norvell, who needs to win to keep his job. Kelly named former Arizona State signal-caller Jayden Daniels the starter and Jordan Travis will play QB for the Seminoles. FSU defeated Duquense in their week 0 game but facing LSU, led by receiver Kayshon Boutte will be a different beast. Projected Score: LSU 24, Florida State 14

4.Clemson at. Georgia Tech (Monday, 8 PM ET, ESPN)
Despite Clemson’s struggles at QB last season, it is hard to believe that Clemson will lose to bottom-dweller Georgia Tech. Clemson’s defense is spectacular even if they lost defensive coordinator Brent Venables to Oklahoma and their offense returns its backfield, DJ Uiagaelelie and Will Shipley, will be beneficial for the tigers. Projected Score: Clemson 38, Georgia Tech 13