Arguably the best weekend of the 2019 college football season to date is in the books and there's a lot of ground to cover as we survey the landscape, and in some cases the wreckage.
LSU is for real ... In the much-anticipated battle between LSU's offense and Florida's defense, the Tigers won out. LSU defeated the Gators 42-28 in a fantastic night game atmosphere in Baton Rouge. LSU's red zone offensive efficiency is as impressive as it gets and there has been no slowing this machine down. Ed Orgeron has a team capable of winning the national championship, but they'll have to go through Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 9 first.
Florida is for real, too ... Just not on the same level as LSU. The Gators are a much better team with Kyle Trask at quarterback, so when I think back to UK's collapse against UF, my first reaction is that the Wildcats were fortunate to get Feleipe Franks for as long as they did. Trask is accurate and he's a distributor, facilitating the offense through UF's very talented receiving corps.
Georgia was never the third-best team in the country ... I said at the time that UGA's home win against Notre Dame was a good look for the Irish, because they looked the part and kept it close, but a bad look for UGA -- because the Bulldogs simply did not look like the best version of themselves that we've seen in the Kirby Smart era. But I had no inkling that South Carolina would win in Athens. Georgia's offense just looked very pedestrian.
Will Muschamp is off the hot seat ... And deservedly so. South Carolina has really improved this season from the first game of the year. The Gamecocks played Alabama as tough as most teams are going to play them, they handled Kentucky, and now they have a road win at Georgia. Unlike some previous versions of South Carolina in recent years, this is a physical, mentally tough Gamecock team that appears to be better without Jake Bentley.
Three teams can win the SEC East ... Before the season I was convinced that UGA was the runaway favorite to win the East and any alternative scenario was ludicrous. With UGA's offensive deficiencies on full display against South Carolina, it's now fair to say that UGA, Florida, and Missouri are all capable of winning the East and taking on either Alabama or LSU in Atlanta after the regular season. None of those teams have played one another so it will be an interesting round-robin.
Tennessee over Mississippi State is not surprising ... The Bulldogs simply are not a very good team and the Kentucky of Weeks 1-3 wins in Starkville. Only a porous quarterback situation and a flat performance after the Florida game caused that UK loss in Starkville. Tennessee, meanwhile, has been a "worst case scenario" dumpster fire for the season up until this past weekend. This was a big performance by the Volunteer defense. If you thought Kentucky was going to get the Tennessee team that lost to Georgia State, you were probably mistaken.
Oregon isn't totally eliminated from playoff consideration ... It will be tough for the Ducks to climb back into the top four but Mario Cristobal's team churned along with a dominant and impressive 45-3 win against Colorado. The Ducks have a defense and they can play with just about any team in the country.
Nightmare for the ACC Coastal ... The best case scenario for the ACC's league championship game this year would have been a perfect 12-0 Clemson team playing for a berth in the playoff against a 10-2 Virginia team from the Coastal. But with UVA losing to Miami 17-9 and looking anemic offensively, the plan has been derailed. UVA can still win the Coastal but it's more up in the air.
Alabama is growing on me ... At the start of the year I wasn't sure about the Crimson Tide. Though I had picked them preseason to win the national championship, they simply didn't pass the look test to quite the same degree that some other Nick Saban teams have. But Tua Tagavailoa and that offense are growing on me, following a dominant 47-28 win in College Station. It's hard to see any defense slowing this passing attack down.
Clemson's finding its stride ... Was there any doubt this would happen? Clemson throttled Florida State in Death Valley -- creating the worst two-year scoring deficit against any opponent in Florida State history in the process -- and the Tigers are looking like prime national championship contenders again. Hopefully nobody doubted. It's so difficult to see Clemson losing a regular season game. This year's defense doesn't have the overwhelming pro talent up front that last year's team had, but they're fundamentally sound and fast.
Oklahoma one step closer to another playoff berth ... The Sooners survived Texas 34-27 in the Red River Shootout. The Longhorns have been playing OU well recently so this is a big win. Jalen Hurts again topped the 100-yard mark on the ground (131 yards) and the Sooners held Sam Ehlinger without a touchdown pass. This was a great showing for the Oklahoma defense. There aren't many games on the Sooners' schedule that should scare them moving forward. They might have to beat Texas again in the Big XII Championship game. They'll also have to survive Bedlam and Baylor on the road in November. If OU runs through the season undefeated they're an easy choice for the playoff.
Can Wisconsin win the national championship? ... I may regret ever even posing the question but I can't help but be amazed at the consistent domination offered up by this Badger team every single week. Jonathan Taylor is a truly special college running back, the Badgers are physical as always, the passing game keeps opponents honest, and this defense is one of the best two or three units in college football. They get Ohio State in Columbus this week in what should be a preview of the Big Ten title game. I think the Badgers are a real national championship contender even if they lose a close game this weekend.
Penn State is now interesting ... The Nittany Lions are not a serious national title contender but James Franklin just notched his first road win against a ranked team as a head coach with the Lions' 17-12 road win against Iowa. They are one of the better teams we haven't talked a lot about this year because of the defense. It's still hard to see this team beating Ohio State but give it up for PSU, beating Iowa six times in a row.
Mike Leach's guys are struggling. Arizona State isn't ... Washington State fell to 3-3 with its 38-34 road loss to Arizona State. The Sun Devils, meanwhile, are 5-1 and ranked No. 18 in the country. Eno Benjamin is a fantastic back but more impressive Saturday for the Sun Devils: Brandon Aiyuk's seven catches, 196 yards, and three touchdowns.
ND hangs on against USC, but this didn't help ... If the Irish are holding onto any playoff hopes, this weekend hurt their chances. With a loss already, ND needs style points all season long. Barely beating a 3-3 USC team, even in a rivalry game, isn't a great look. UGA's home loss to South Carolina makes ND's close loss to UGA on the same field less impressive as well.
Scott Satterfield is the early favorite for ACC Coach of the Year ... Louisville is 4-2 having just defeated No. 19 Wake Forest on the road, handing the Demon Deacons their first loss of the season. The Cardinals' 62-59 win was one of the most exciting games of the day. Wake Forest scored 28 points in the fourth quarter but it wasn't enough. UofL is deploying its skill talent effectively and the offense is much improved. This will be a very difficult game for Kentucky at the end of the regular season.
Baylor remains undefeated ... And although a strong Bears defense gave up 30 points to Texas Tech (in a 33-30 win), 10 of those were in overtime. Baylor's defensive turnaround is one of the stories of the college football season. They are 6-0 and get both Texas and Oklahoma at home in the last month of the season.
Vanderbilt is terrible ... This appears to be Derek Mason's last go-round in Nashville. The Commodores are 1-5 after a 34-10 loss to UNLV in Nashville this weekend. Making that loss worse: UNLV was 1-4 going into the game. There's no excuse for an SEC team to be this bad.
Minnesota 34, Nebraska 7 ... Serious question: Are the Cornhuskers any better than they were a season ago? Yes, they started 0-6 last year. But they finished strong. Nebraska has been blown out by Ohio State and Minnesota and they lost to Colorado. This is a team with no quality wins. Scott Frost isn't delivering early in his tenure. Meanwhile, PJ Fleck has one of the most quietly interesting teams in the country. While Wisconsin and Iowa are the Big Ten West teams everyone is talking about ,the Gophers are 6-0.
LSU is for real ... In the much-anticipated battle between LSU's offense and Florida's defense, the Tigers won out. LSU defeated the Gators 42-28 in a fantastic night game atmosphere in Baton Rouge. LSU's red zone offensive efficiency is as impressive as it gets and there has been no slowing this machine down. Ed Orgeron has a team capable of winning the national championship, but they'll have to go through Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 9 first.
Florida is for real, too ... Just not on the same level as LSU. The Gators are a much better team with Kyle Trask at quarterback, so when I think back to UK's collapse against UF, my first reaction is that the Wildcats were fortunate to get Feleipe Franks for as long as they did. Trask is accurate and he's a distributor, facilitating the offense through UF's very talented receiving corps.
Georgia was never the third-best team in the country ... I said at the time that UGA's home win against Notre Dame was a good look for the Irish, because they looked the part and kept it close, but a bad look for UGA -- because the Bulldogs simply did not look like the best version of themselves that we've seen in the Kirby Smart era. But I had no inkling that South Carolina would win in Athens. Georgia's offense just looked very pedestrian.
Will Muschamp is off the hot seat ... And deservedly so. South Carolina has really improved this season from the first game of the year. The Gamecocks played Alabama as tough as most teams are going to play them, they handled Kentucky, and now they have a road win at Georgia. Unlike some previous versions of South Carolina in recent years, this is a physical, mentally tough Gamecock team that appears to be better without Jake Bentley.
Three teams can win the SEC East ... Before the season I was convinced that UGA was the runaway favorite to win the East and any alternative scenario was ludicrous. With UGA's offensive deficiencies on full display against South Carolina, it's now fair to say that UGA, Florida, and Missouri are all capable of winning the East and taking on either Alabama or LSU in Atlanta after the regular season. None of those teams have played one another so it will be an interesting round-robin.
Tennessee over Mississippi State is not surprising ... The Bulldogs simply are not a very good team and the Kentucky of Weeks 1-3 wins in Starkville. Only a porous quarterback situation and a flat performance after the Florida game caused that UK loss in Starkville. Tennessee, meanwhile, has been a "worst case scenario" dumpster fire for the season up until this past weekend. This was a big performance by the Volunteer defense. If you thought Kentucky was going to get the Tennessee team that lost to Georgia State, you were probably mistaken.
Oregon isn't totally eliminated from playoff consideration ... It will be tough for the Ducks to climb back into the top four but Mario Cristobal's team churned along with a dominant and impressive 45-3 win against Colorado. The Ducks have a defense and they can play with just about any team in the country.
Nightmare for the ACC Coastal ... The best case scenario for the ACC's league championship game this year would have been a perfect 12-0 Clemson team playing for a berth in the playoff against a 10-2 Virginia team from the Coastal. But with UVA losing to Miami 17-9 and looking anemic offensively, the plan has been derailed. UVA can still win the Coastal but it's more up in the air.
Alabama is growing on me ... At the start of the year I wasn't sure about the Crimson Tide. Though I had picked them preseason to win the national championship, they simply didn't pass the look test to quite the same degree that some other Nick Saban teams have. But Tua Tagavailoa and that offense are growing on me, following a dominant 47-28 win in College Station. It's hard to see any defense slowing this passing attack down.
Clemson's finding its stride ... Was there any doubt this would happen? Clemson throttled Florida State in Death Valley -- creating the worst two-year scoring deficit against any opponent in Florida State history in the process -- and the Tigers are looking like prime national championship contenders again. Hopefully nobody doubted. It's so difficult to see Clemson losing a regular season game. This year's defense doesn't have the overwhelming pro talent up front that last year's team had, but they're fundamentally sound and fast.
Oklahoma one step closer to another playoff berth ... The Sooners survived Texas 34-27 in the Red River Shootout. The Longhorns have been playing OU well recently so this is a big win. Jalen Hurts again topped the 100-yard mark on the ground (131 yards) and the Sooners held Sam Ehlinger without a touchdown pass. This was a great showing for the Oklahoma defense. There aren't many games on the Sooners' schedule that should scare them moving forward. They might have to beat Texas again in the Big XII Championship game. They'll also have to survive Bedlam and Baylor on the road in November. If OU runs through the season undefeated they're an easy choice for the playoff.
Can Wisconsin win the national championship? ... I may regret ever even posing the question but I can't help but be amazed at the consistent domination offered up by this Badger team every single week. Jonathan Taylor is a truly special college running back, the Badgers are physical as always, the passing game keeps opponents honest, and this defense is one of the best two or three units in college football. They get Ohio State in Columbus this week in what should be a preview of the Big Ten title game. I think the Badgers are a real national championship contender even if they lose a close game this weekend.
Penn State is now interesting ... The Nittany Lions are not a serious national title contender but James Franklin just notched his first road win against a ranked team as a head coach with the Lions' 17-12 road win against Iowa. They are one of the better teams we haven't talked a lot about this year because of the defense. It's still hard to see this team beating Ohio State but give it up for PSU, beating Iowa six times in a row.
Mike Leach's guys are struggling. Arizona State isn't ... Washington State fell to 3-3 with its 38-34 road loss to Arizona State. The Sun Devils, meanwhile, are 5-1 and ranked No. 18 in the country. Eno Benjamin is a fantastic back but more impressive Saturday for the Sun Devils: Brandon Aiyuk's seven catches, 196 yards, and three touchdowns.
ND hangs on against USC, but this didn't help ... If the Irish are holding onto any playoff hopes, this weekend hurt their chances. With a loss already, ND needs style points all season long. Barely beating a 3-3 USC team, even in a rivalry game, isn't a great look. UGA's home loss to South Carolina makes ND's close loss to UGA on the same field less impressive as well.
Scott Satterfield is the early favorite for ACC Coach of the Year ... Louisville is 4-2 having just defeated No. 19 Wake Forest on the road, handing the Demon Deacons their first loss of the season. The Cardinals' 62-59 win was one of the most exciting games of the day. Wake Forest scored 28 points in the fourth quarter but it wasn't enough. UofL is deploying its skill talent effectively and the offense is much improved. This will be a very difficult game for Kentucky at the end of the regular season.
Baylor remains undefeated ... And although a strong Bears defense gave up 30 points to Texas Tech (in a 33-30 win), 10 of those were in overtime. Baylor's defensive turnaround is one of the stories of the college football season. They are 6-0 and get both Texas and Oklahoma at home in the last month of the season.
Vanderbilt is terrible ... This appears to be Derek Mason's last go-round in Nashville. The Commodores are 1-5 after a 34-10 loss to UNLV in Nashville this weekend. Making that loss worse: UNLV was 1-4 going into the game. There's no excuse for an SEC team to be this bad.
Minnesota 34, Nebraska 7 ... Serious question: Are the Cornhuskers any better than they were a season ago? Yes, they started 0-6 last year. But they finished strong. Nebraska has been blown out by Ohio State and Minnesota and they lost to Colorado. This is a team with no quality wins. Scott Frost isn't delivering early in his tenure. Meanwhile, PJ Fleck has one of the most quietly interesting teams in the country. While Wisconsin and Iowa are the Big Ten West teams everyone is talking about ,the Gophers are 6-0.
