With another slate of entertaining and telling college football games in the rear view mirror there's a lot to unpack.
Kentucky's bye week was uneventful for the Wildcats, but we've got storylines and rising stakes in every league.
Dan Mullen has turned Florida into a winner ... For the second year in a row, when you look at the rankings one of the first things that seems to come to mind - for me at least - would be, "Is Florida really that good?" But for the second straight year, if you really dig into who the teams ranked behind UF are, it's hard to make a case they should be much lower or lower at all. I didn't see Florida beating Auburn even at home. The Tigers are not at the level of Alabama or LSU but they had the nation's best resume through five weeks and were building impressive momentum. Mullen is 16-3 since he arrived in Gainesville, so even if they don't appear to be national contenders they are the very top of the tier outside that contender group. He has turned them into winners.
That Florida defense ... The Gators are averaging 9.5 points per game. That stings a bit if you're a Kentucky fan. The Wildcats were ahead of the Gators 21-10, comfortably, until the late momentum change.
Florida draws LSU this coming week and that will be a different kind of challenge. I won't be predicting UF to take down the Bayou Bengals but I also think it's time to acknowledge that even if Mullen has yet to prove he's capable of winning a national title at Florida, he has done a really good job already.
Tough break for Mizzou ... While Missouri handled Troy 42-10, continuing to hum along after the loss to Wyoming in Week 1, the injury to Kelly Bryant on what appeared to be a cheap shot looms large. Initial reports have been "positive", per media that covers the program, but nothing fully determined or announced yet. Before the season I heard a lot of people saying Kelly Bryant just isn't that good. But he's been pretty good so far this year, with 1,246 yards, 11 touchdowns and three picks through five games. And in Missouri's lone loss he had 423 yards passing.
Missouri and Kentucky have the two most favorable schedules of any SEC East team. Missouri's upcoming three games are against Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky in Lexington. It gets tougher after that but the Tigers will be favored to hold a 7-1 record going into Athens on November 9. Before the year I predicted they would be 8-0.
Tennessee showed signs of life - for a while ... The Volunteers led Georgia in Knoxville for much of the first half with quarterback Brian Maurer connecting on a 75-yard touchdown pass early in the game and making enough plays to generate some optimism that improvement could be coming. But UT just doesn't have the horses to win games like this anymore, even with a raucous home field atmosphere such as what they had on Saturday. UT fans had a great showing, except for those who sold their tickets to UGA fans.
Speaking of UGA fans ... We talk about how well Kentucky basketball fans travel. But there may not be a fan base in collegiate sports that travels like UGA football fans. Their takeover of Notre Dame Stadium a couple of years ago stands out, but in games at Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and other places, they give UGA home games in road stadiums.
As for the Bulldogs ... Lawrence Cager, the receiver transfer from Miami who Kentucky briefly pursued, is a baller. Big, athletic, skilled. But UGA is not overwhelming on the perimeter and while they're clearly one of the national title contenders I have not been quite as impressed with them as I was for much of last season. Their win against Notre Dame counts for something, less as other teams build resumes, but that was at home. I have spoken highly of this ND team but what that game illustrated, to me, is that even in the most anticipated non-conference football game Between the Hedges ever, UGA is just a little better than Notre Dame. I'm not sure that's actually good enough to win the program its first big hardware in four decades.
The team I continue to be very impressed with ... Is Ohio State. I would have the Buckeyes at No. 1 nationally. I know the knock against them is they don't have a "signature win". They rolled over Michigan State in Columbus last night even after a slow start. But the slow start was largely because Michigan State has one of the nation's elite defenses. That unit still wasn't close to enough to keep Ohio State from making it lopsided and the Spartans were never going to have enough offense to win that game.
I cannot see OSU losing to Penn State at home, nor can I see them losing on the road at Michigan, in a series they have utterly dominated. For me, that leaves Wisconsin, yes those No. 8 Badgers, as the main thing standing between OSU and the College Football Playoff.
But, really, there's a good chance OSU and Wisconsin will play twice this season. It's possible that regardless of the outcome of the first meeting, assuming there is a second, that a 12-1 OSU team could sneak into the national semifinal. I really don't know who wins the OSU-Wisconsin game. Both teams are bears. But in terms of eye test alone, Ryan Day's OSU team has been the most impressive in the country to me. A few of you reading will agree but I'm sure that will elicit some strong opinions in the other direction, too.
What amazes me about Wisconsin ... Is how the Badgers bring such an impressive level of violent and disciplined energy every week. It's very difficult to bring the same focus and motivation week after week against inferior opponents, most recently Kent State in a 48-0 Wisconsin win. This team has just been on a mission this year and has mowed down everything and everyone in its path. They are the easy choice for Big Ten West champs and are a very plausible playoff contender. Jonathan Taylor had five touchdowns on Saturday and the game just comes so easy to him.
Staying in the Big Ten ... The wheels are off the wagon at Purdue. With Elijah Sindelar and Rondale Moore out with injuries not much is going to be expected of the Boilermakers, which are now 1-4. But consider this: Since Purdue blasted Ohio State 49-20 at the midway point of last season, Jeff Brohm's program is 3-8. Brohm did elevate Purdue but it is far from a guarantee that he's going to enjoy even a baseline level of average especially with the West improving.
It's odd to see Northwestern struggle so much ... The Wildcats lost to Nebraska 13-10 when the Cornhuskers' walk-on kicker booted the game winner. Pat Fitzgerald is an icon there and has lifetime job security for good reason - he's the perfect man for the job and he pretty much singularly defines the program. But this isn't Northwestern's year. They're 1-4 and that's unfamiliar territory.
Baylor can play some defense ... One of the most interesting things about the Big XII to me this year has been that the Bears are really playing some "D". This program developed a reputation as one of the most explosive offenses of the modern era with Art Briles, RGIII, and others, but its the defense in Waco that has been talking. The Bears just defeated K-State 31-12 on the road and now on the season Baylor is a perfect 5-0 and allowing just 15.4 points per game.
Speaking of defense in unexpected places ... What about that 17-7 win for Oregon against Cal on Saturday? This is not your typical Pac-12 After Dark. Cal is 4-2 on the season with wins against Washington and Ole Miss on the road but has lost two in a row, 24-17 against No. 18 Arizona State and now against the Top-15 Ducks: Two quality teams. California's defense has been stingy, allowing 18 points per game, but the Bears aren't very good offensively.
Oregon, meanwhile, is allowing 9.8 points per game and the Ducks probably should have beaten Auburn earlier this year. They are a very impressive team to watch and Mario Cristobal appears to be proving himself to be the Pac-12's best hope for a powerhouse builder in the very near future if they keep this forward momentum up.
One team that has been successful even without really solid defense ... Has been Minnesota. The Gophers have allowed too many points this year, but PJ Fleck's team is 5-0 after its 40-17 win against Illinois. If you look into the Gophers schedule they miss Ohio State and Michigan. They do draw three Top-17 teams (Penn State, Iowa, Wisconsin) over the last month of the season, but Minnesota could win eight or even nine games this year based on their early work.
Kentucky's bye week was uneventful for the Wildcats, but we've got storylines and rising stakes in every league.
Dan Mullen has turned Florida into a winner ... For the second year in a row, when you look at the rankings one of the first things that seems to come to mind - for me at least - would be, "Is Florida really that good?" But for the second straight year, if you really dig into who the teams ranked behind UF are, it's hard to make a case they should be much lower or lower at all. I didn't see Florida beating Auburn even at home. The Tigers are not at the level of Alabama or LSU but they had the nation's best resume through five weeks and were building impressive momentum. Mullen is 16-3 since he arrived in Gainesville, so even if they don't appear to be national contenders they are the very top of the tier outside that contender group. He has turned them into winners.
That Florida defense ... The Gators are averaging 9.5 points per game. That stings a bit if you're a Kentucky fan. The Wildcats were ahead of the Gators 21-10, comfortably, until the late momentum change.
Florida draws LSU this coming week and that will be a different kind of challenge. I won't be predicting UF to take down the Bayou Bengals but I also think it's time to acknowledge that even if Mullen has yet to prove he's capable of winning a national title at Florida, he has done a really good job already.
Tough break for Mizzou ... While Missouri handled Troy 42-10, continuing to hum along after the loss to Wyoming in Week 1, the injury to Kelly Bryant on what appeared to be a cheap shot looms large. Initial reports have been "positive", per media that covers the program, but nothing fully determined or announced yet. Before the season I heard a lot of people saying Kelly Bryant just isn't that good. But he's been pretty good so far this year, with 1,246 yards, 11 touchdowns and three picks through five games. And in Missouri's lone loss he had 423 yards passing.
Missouri and Kentucky have the two most favorable schedules of any SEC East team. Missouri's upcoming three games are against Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky in Lexington. It gets tougher after that but the Tigers will be favored to hold a 7-1 record going into Athens on November 9. Before the year I predicted they would be 8-0.
Tennessee showed signs of life - for a while ... The Volunteers led Georgia in Knoxville for much of the first half with quarterback Brian Maurer connecting on a 75-yard touchdown pass early in the game and making enough plays to generate some optimism that improvement could be coming. But UT just doesn't have the horses to win games like this anymore, even with a raucous home field atmosphere such as what they had on Saturday. UT fans had a great showing, except for those who sold their tickets to UGA fans.
Speaking of UGA fans ... We talk about how well Kentucky basketball fans travel. But there may not be a fan base in collegiate sports that travels like UGA football fans. Their takeover of Notre Dame Stadium a couple of years ago stands out, but in games at Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and other places, they give UGA home games in road stadiums.
As for the Bulldogs ... Lawrence Cager, the receiver transfer from Miami who Kentucky briefly pursued, is a baller. Big, athletic, skilled. But UGA is not overwhelming on the perimeter and while they're clearly one of the national title contenders I have not been quite as impressed with them as I was for much of last season. Their win against Notre Dame counts for something, less as other teams build resumes, but that was at home. I have spoken highly of this ND team but what that game illustrated, to me, is that even in the most anticipated non-conference football game Between the Hedges ever, UGA is just a little better than Notre Dame. I'm not sure that's actually good enough to win the program its first big hardware in four decades.
The team I continue to be very impressed with ... Is Ohio State. I would have the Buckeyes at No. 1 nationally. I know the knock against them is they don't have a "signature win". They rolled over Michigan State in Columbus last night even after a slow start. But the slow start was largely because Michigan State has one of the nation's elite defenses. That unit still wasn't close to enough to keep Ohio State from making it lopsided and the Spartans were never going to have enough offense to win that game.
I cannot see OSU losing to Penn State at home, nor can I see them losing on the road at Michigan, in a series they have utterly dominated. For me, that leaves Wisconsin, yes those No. 8 Badgers, as the main thing standing between OSU and the College Football Playoff.
But, really, there's a good chance OSU and Wisconsin will play twice this season. It's possible that regardless of the outcome of the first meeting, assuming there is a second, that a 12-1 OSU team could sneak into the national semifinal. I really don't know who wins the OSU-Wisconsin game. Both teams are bears. But in terms of eye test alone, Ryan Day's OSU team has been the most impressive in the country to me. A few of you reading will agree but I'm sure that will elicit some strong opinions in the other direction, too.
What amazes me about Wisconsin ... Is how the Badgers bring such an impressive level of violent and disciplined energy every week. It's very difficult to bring the same focus and motivation week after week against inferior opponents, most recently Kent State in a 48-0 Wisconsin win. This team has just been on a mission this year and has mowed down everything and everyone in its path. They are the easy choice for Big Ten West champs and are a very plausible playoff contender. Jonathan Taylor had five touchdowns on Saturday and the game just comes so easy to him.
Staying in the Big Ten ... The wheels are off the wagon at Purdue. With Elijah Sindelar and Rondale Moore out with injuries not much is going to be expected of the Boilermakers, which are now 1-4. But consider this: Since Purdue blasted Ohio State 49-20 at the midway point of last season, Jeff Brohm's program is 3-8. Brohm did elevate Purdue but it is far from a guarantee that he's going to enjoy even a baseline level of average especially with the West improving.
It's odd to see Northwestern struggle so much ... The Wildcats lost to Nebraska 13-10 when the Cornhuskers' walk-on kicker booted the game winner. Pat Fitzgerald is an icon there and has lifetime job security for good reason - he's the perfect man for the job and he pretty much singularly defines the program. But this isn't Northwestern's year. They're 1-4 and that's unfamiliar territory.
Baylor can play some defense ... One of the most interesting things about the Big XII to me this year has been that the Bears are really playing some "D". This program developed a reputation as one of the most explosive offenses of the modern era with Art Briles, RGIII, and others, but its the defense in Waco that has been talking. The Bears just defeated K-State 31-12 on the road and now on the season Baylor is a perfect 5-0 and allowing just 15.4 points per game.
Speaking of defense in unexpected places ... What about that 17-7 win for Oregon against Cal on Saturday? This is not your typical Pac-12 After Dark. Cal is 4-2 on the season with wins against Washington and Ole Miss on the road but has lost two in a row, 24-17 against No. 18 Arizona State and now against the Top-15 Ducks: Two quality teams. California's defense has been stingy, allowing 18 points per game, but the Bears aren't very good offensively.
Oregon, meanwhile, is allowing 9.8 points per game and the Ducks probably should have beaten Auburn earlier this year. They are a very impressive team to watch and Mario Cristobal appears to be proving himself to be the Pac-12's best hope for a powerhouse builder in the very near future if they keep this forward momentum up.
One team that has been successful even without really solid defense ... Has been Minnesota. The Gophers have allowed too many points this year, but PJ Fleck's team is 5-0 after its 40-17 win against Illinois. If you look into the Gophers schedule they miss Ohio State and Michigan. They do draw three Top-17 teams (Penn State, Iowa, Wisconsin) over the last month of the season, but Minnesota could win eight or even nine games this year based on their early work.
