The Pirates are currently 5 games under .500. They are sitting 5.5 GB of the 2nd
Wild Card and that could move to 6 if the Mets win tonight in Atlanta. They have played 73 games to this point,
leaving 89 games in the season, 16 games until the All-Star Break and 30 until
the trade deadline.
That last number is key, the Trade Deadline.
The Pirates have to decide whether they are going to be
buyers or sellers at this deadline.
Since the Wild Card expanded to 2 teams, no team in the National League got
into the Wild Card with less than 88 wins.
Over those same 4 years the 2nd Wild Card averaged 90.75 wins
to gain a berth in the postseason.
The Pirates are currently 34-39. That means they would have to go 54-35 in
their final 89 games to get to that magic number of 88 wins. Add 3 more wins if you are going based on the
average. 57-32! Now ask yourself, have you seen anything at all from this team
so far this season that make you believe that they can play at a .640 clip the
rest of the way this year?
I’ll answer that for you, NO!
But if you would like to hold out hope, that is fine. Let’s
give the team until the All-Star Break and see where they stand. They have 16 games to play before the break, of
those 16 games 13 are against teams with a better record than them. To have any realistic chance of reaching 90
wins, or even 88, reaching .500 by the All-Star Break should be the goal. That means going 11-5 in the next 16
games. Those next 16 games include 4
against the Dodgers (currently in position for the top Wild Card spot), a 9
game road trip which includes 5 on the west coast and 4 in St. Louis, and they
finish against the Cubs, who have beaten the Pirates 8 out of 9 times this
season. How’s that 11-5 run look now?
It is officially time to lower the Jolly Roger and raise the
White Flag on the 2016 Pirate baseball season.
The Pirates are only 1 of 3 teams that can make the claim of
reaching the postseason each of the last 3 years. And that came off of a 21-year hiatus. Now is not the time to live in the recent
past, but to look towards the future.
The Pirates have a bright future, with plenty of young talent in the
organization and most of their starting line-up locked up long term. So why not sell off valuable pieces to help
the future?
The Pirates have plenty of pieces that would be valuable to
a team in the race in September. SO who
are they?
First and foremost, Mark Melancon. It is well known that the Pirates shopped
around Melancon last off season, knowing that he was going into his final year
of arbitration. He is a free agent after
this season and it seems like the Pirates have zero interest in paying him this
winter. What team doesn’t need bullpen
help in October? You’d have to think that
other than the Yankees Aroldis Chapman, Melancon would be the best reliever available
come July. He would get a big return.
Another pitcher is next, Francisco Liriano. Before you laugh at the thought of anyone
giving the Pirates more than a bucket of Double Bubble for the struggling
lefty, realize this, he is a proven commodity and a lefty. He also has another year of control on his
contract, making him more valuable to the team that gets him. And apparently at
least one team has shown interest in him.
(Rotoworld blurb from Wednesday: http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/505192/Orioles-showing-interest-in-Francisco-Liriano
) Liriano would also get a nice return,
not as much as Melancon, but something worthwhile.
Neftali Feliz is another rental player that the Pirates
would be able to get a decent return on.
As said with Melancon, teams are always looking for another arm for the
postseason. He is another guy that has
done it in big games and still can be dominant at times. He, like Melancon is also a free agent after
this season, so why not try to get something in return for him?
The final 3 guys on the list are 3 bats, Matt Joyce, Sean
Rodriguez and David Freese. All 3 of
these guys can be upgrades for teams that are looking for some versatility or
some pop off the bench. You aren’t going
to get much return for these 3, but you will get something. Again, all 3 of these guys are free agents to
be, so why not get something in return for them while you can?
I would encourage Neal Huntington and the Pirates to try
their best at moving all 6 of these players before the deadline. They aren’t part of the future but can help
the team be better in the future.
I would also encourage Huntington to use the time after
these trades to let the young guys in the system get their feet wet. If you are trading Joyce, Rodriguez and
Freese, bring up Josh Bell and Alen Hanson and play them. Bell should be the everyday 1st
baseman, with John Jaso available to give him a day off here and there. Hanson takes the role of Rodriguez and is
capable of playing behind both Mercer and Harrison, which should get him on the
field 3 or 4 games a week, plus pinch hit opportunities.
Moving Melancon means finding a new closer. Tony Watson, here is your chance to prove
yourself. You want the closer role in
2017 win the job in August and September of this season. If Watson isn’t the man, priority #1 in the
offseason is already upgrading the bullpen, but not it is finding a closer to
lead the way.
Liriano leaves a spot open in the rotation. Hopefully by the time these trades are made
the Juan Nicasio and Jeff Locke experiences are over too. Bring up Tyler Glasnow and Chad Kuhl and let
them learn on the job this season. It is
better they take their poundings in meaningless games against Major League hitters
in August and September of a throw away season, then bringing them up next year
and have them learn on the fly when the season could mean something.
The future is now with this organization. If the Pirates want to be serious contenders next
season, it starts now.
Why was there such surprise from college football fans when
the 1st College Football Playoff Rankings were released a few weeks
back? You didn’t think a 1-loss Alabama team should be in the playoff ahead of
8 other undefeated teams? What about
Notre Dame and their resume that lacks a big win?
Guess what, it doesn’t matter what you think. ESPN runs the College Football Playoffs. They pick the teams and given the chance,
they are picking big names like Alabama and Notre Dame. Look at last year, #3 TCU beats Iowa State
55-3 the final week of the season and they DROP 3 spots in the standings to
make room for Ohio State, who jumped up from #5 (outside the playoff) to #4 (in
the playoff). Who do you think gets more
eyes on the television, Urban Meyer and Ohio State or TCU? Who has a bigger fan base? Who has a rich football tradition and who is
still somewhat new to the national picture in college football?
Yes, Ohio State won the national championship, I realize
that. But does that justify them even getting into the playoff? TCU then went on to beat the #9 team in the
nation 42-3 in their bowl game. How do
we know they don’t do the same thing to Alabama in the Playoff Semifinal? That #9 team that TCU beat was Mississippi. The same Mississippi team that handed Alabama
their only regular season loss last season.
Last year it was Ohio State, this year it is Notre Dame.
Notre Dame brings eyes to the television. ESPN knows this. That is why if Notre Dame wins their last 2
games, they will be in the playoff, deserving or not.
That is also why I am hoping for mass chaos over the final
few weeks of the season. Consider these
possibilities, this is what I’m rooting for.
IN THE ACC:
Clemson wins their final 2 regular season game. Finish regular season 12-0 North Carolina wins last 2 games of
regular season. Finish regular season 11-1 NORTH CAROLINA WIN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP.
Both teams finish 12-1.
IN THE B1G:
Iowa wins out in regular season, finishes 12-0. Michigan State wins out in the
regular season to finish 11-1. Ohio State loses to Michigan State,
but beats Michigan. Finishes 11-1 MICHIGAN STATE BEATS IOWA IN B1G
CHAMPIONSHIP.
All 3 teams from Big Ten have 1 loss. 2 coming in the final 3 weeks.
OR
Iowa wins out,
going 12-0 Ohio State loses both of their final
2 games, finishing at 10-2 Michigan wins their fins 2 games,
finishing 10-2 Michigan State beats Ohio State, but
loses to Penn State MICHIGAN BEATS IOWA IN B1G CHAMPIONSHIP.
2-loss Michigan gets bid over 1-loss Iowa?
OR
Iowa loses to
Nebraska, finishes 11-1 Ohio State wins out. Finishes 12-0 IOWA BEATS OHIO STATE.
Both tied at 12-1
IN THE SEC:
Florida loses to Florida State, finishes the season 10-2. Alabama wins out, going 11-1 FLORIDA BEATS ALABAMA.
Both teams from SEC have 2 losses
OR
Florida loses to
Florida State, finishes the season 10-2. Alabama loses to Auburn, finishes
10-2. BEST 2 SEC TEAMS WITH 2-losses BEFORE
THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
OR
Florida wins out,
goes 11-1. Alabama loses to Auburn, finishes
10-2. Mississippi wins out and finishes
9-3. Arkansas loses 1 of their last 2,
finishes 7-5. MISSISSIPPI BEATS FLORIDA
SEC Champ has 3 loses.
IN THE BIG XII &
PAC-12 In both of these conferences there are still so many possibilities, I just
checked out some of the extremes.
In the PAC-12, there are only 5 teams that can possibly play
in the conference title game. 2 of the teams
already have 2 losses, the other 3, each have 3 losses. We could conceivably have conference champion
that have 3 or 4 losses.
Stanford could
finish 8-4, win the title game and finish at 9-4 USC could end up the same, 8-4 in
the regular season, but a 9-4 conference champion. Oregon, Utah and UCLA could all
finish 9-3, meaning a 3-loss conference champion.
The Big XII at least has a possible playoff team remaining,
but they also backloaded their schedule so that every team that has a chance has
to play a brutal schedule down the stretch.
Here is what the Big XII schedule looks like the final 3
weeks. #6 Oklahoma State – vs #10 Baylor,
vs #7 Oklahoma #7 Oklahoma – vs #18 TCU, @
#6Oklahoma #10 Baylor - @ #6 Oklahoma, @ #18
TCU, vs Texas #18 TCU - @ #7 Oklahoma, vs #10
Baylor
Sure Oklahoma State could run the table and be undefeated after this stretch
and play their way into the playoff. Or
all 4 teams could end the season 10-2 in a 4-way tie. Nice job Big XII!
We didn’t even mention Notre
Dame yet. With 2 games left, the
Irish still leave plenty of questions, a lot of which sit with their opponents
and schedule this season.
Notre Dame could still lose to Boston College today or Stanford next week. But even if they win out, who is their best
win (Temple, USC, Stanford, Pitt, Navy)? Tough to find one in that group. Even worse would be for Notre Dame to win
out, but Clemson loses once or maybe even twice. They have hung their hat on having the best
loss. Well if Clemson suddenly isn’t #1,
then what does Notre Dame have going for them?
What if Notre Dame wins out AND Oklahoma State wins
out? Who does the committee take, an
undefeated Big XII champ or a 1-loss Independent team?
Oh yeah… What about Houston,
they are still undefeated too. If chaos ensues, does a 2-loss Power 5 team get
in over an undefeated Houston team? A Houston team that would have 2 wins over
Power 5 schools and 2 wins over ranked opponents and the same “best win” as
Notre Dame (Navy).
Lots of question still to be answered over the last 3 weeks. I don’t know what will happen, nobody does,
but I do know who I will be rooting for.
The
Pirates made 2 scheduling announcements today. The 1stannouncement, that Major League Baseball has selected the Pirates
and Cardinals to officially open the season, moving the game from its
originally scheduled date of Monday April 4th, to an ESPN Broadcast
Sunday afternoon game. Typically,
ESPN kicks off the season with a Sunday night game, but this game will be a
1:05 1stpitch to kick off the
season. With the season
opener moving up 1 day, the rest of the series adjusts as well. The series was originally scheduled
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday. This
now changes to playing Sunday, OFF DAY Monday, play Tuesday and Wednesday, OFF
DAY Thursday. The Pirates
then travel and play in Cincinnati for a weekend series beginning Friday.
Obviously,
this is a huge honor and recognition for the Pirates to be selected for this
game, but the 1stthing that I thought of was
how this allows Hurdle to set up his rotation. If the Pirates would elect to, and I
don’t see why they wouldn’t, they don’t need to throw their #5 starter until
GAME 8 of the season. Considering the large question marks regarding the
Pirates starting pitching staff for the 2016 season, I think this could be very
beneficial. This also
allows the Pirates to throw Cole 3 times in the teams 1st9 games. I
know that people may complain about pushing him too much early in the season,
but he is the ace of your staff and he would still be going on full rest for
all of these starts. The
way the Pirates have started off the last 2 seasons, I would say it would be a
good idea to push Cole to make these starts. The Pirates were 21-26 in April over
the last 2 years, which is 5 games UNDER .500. They were a combined 63 games OVER
.500 after April in those 2 seasons. For
whatever reason, the Pirates get off to slow starts, this may be something that
helps to avoid that again in 2016.
Another
small benefit from this scheduling means that the team could elect to carry an
extra bat for the 1st7 games of the season. Being that the Pirates play in Detroit
for games 7-8, I’m guessing that they will opt to keep an extra bat, since they
will need a DH.
As
for the 2ndannouncement made today, the
Pirates will be playing in Puerto Rico this season. The Pirates and Marlins are scheduled
to play a 4-game series in Miami from May 30thto June 2nd. Major League
Baseball, assuming with the Miami Marlins, moved the 1st2 games of that series to Puerto Rico. The move was to celebrate Roberto
Clemente, as all of Major League Baseball will celebrate Roberto Clemente Day
on May 31st.
My
only hope is that the celebration of Roberto Clemente Day is kicked off by
Major League Baseball announcing the retirement of the number 21 league
wide. It would be long overdue.
The good news about the 1st CFB Playoff rankings
that were unveiled earlier this week is that there is still plenty of time for
all of these rankings to work themselves out.Of course there has been a lot of 2nd guessing, 1-loss Alabama
and Notre Dame teams ahead of 8 undefeated teams, 2 SEC schools but no PAC-12
or Big XII teams are two of the more common complaints.But as I said, luckily it will all play out
on the field.
We are going to breakdown the rankings and figure out what
exactly we can expect as the season continues.
1) CLEMSON TIGERS (8-0, 5-0 ACC)
Next Game: SAT vs #16 Florida State
Best Win: vs #5 Notre Dame 24-22
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: #16 Florida State this week
Clemson has been probably the most consistent team both week to week and unit
to unit on the field.The Clemson D is
one of the top in the nation and the O can also put up points with the best of
them.
2) LSU TIGERS (7-0, 4-0 SEC)
Next Game: SAT @ #4 Alabama
Best Win: vs #10 Florida 35-28
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: #4 Alabama this week
LSU has done it with a power running game and a stingy defense all season.Saturday in Tuscaloosa will be the Tigers
biggest challenge to date.A win against
Alabama will put them in the driver’s seat in the SEC West.
3) OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
Next Game: SAT vs Minnesota
Best Win: @ Virginia Tech 42-24
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: vs #7 Michigan State 11/21
Ohio State is the Florida State of this season.They have not been very impressive, but they keep winning.Like FSU last year, they probably don’t
deserve to be in the rankings, but as long as they win, the defending champion
will have a spot reserved in the playoff.
4) ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (7-1, 4-1 SEC)
Next Game: SAT vs #2 LSU
Best Win: @ #19 Texas A&M 41-23
Worst Loss: vs #18 Mississippi 43-37
Biggest Remaining Challenge: vs #2 LSU this week
Alabama is a very good team that is not deserving of this ranking.If they beat LSU on Saturday, then you put
them here, but their bad home loss weighs more for me than their handful of
good but not great wins.
5) NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (7-1)
Next Game: SAT @ Pitt
Best Win: @ #22 Temple 24-20
Worst Loss: @ #1 Clemson 24-22
Biggest Remaining Challenge: @ #11 Stanford 11/28
Notre Dame is not the best 1-loss team.They will get a chance to earn that title the last game of the season
against Stanford.ND always puts
together a tough schedule, but this year none of their opponents lived up to
expectations, making it tough to get a good read on the Irish.
6) BAYLOR BEARS (7-0, 4-0 Big XII)
Next Game: THUR @ Kansas State
Best Win: @ Texas Tech 63-35
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: @ #8 TCU 11/27
Baylor has pounded everyone they have faced, but unfortunately they have played
nobody.Their 3-game stretch in
Mid-November will be a make or break stretch for the Bears.
7) MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
Next Game: SAT @ Nebraska
Best Win: @ #17 Michigan 27-23
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: @ #3 Ohio State 11/21
Michigan State has been tried and tested, but just keeps winning.In my eyes they have been the best team in
the Big Ten.When they face Ohio State
in Columbus in 3 weeks it will not only be for the Big Ten East, but also
likely a playoff spot.
8) TCU HORNED FROGS (8-0, 5-0 Big XII)
Next Game: SAT @ #14 Oklahoma State
Best Win: vs Texas 50-7
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: vs #6 Baylor 11/27
TCU has not been as dominant as Baylor in their wins over bad opponents.The Big XII back loading the conference
schedule is not doing anyone any favors.TCU finishes with 3 Top 15 opponents in their final 4 games.
9) IOWA HAWKEYES (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
Next Game: SAT @ Indiana
Best Win: @ Wisconsin 10-6
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: Big Ten Championship Game 12/5
Iowa should be the overwhelming favorite to win the rest of their games.If that happens, does an undefeated Iowa team
from a very weak Big Ten West make the playoffs?
10) FLORIDA GATORS (7-1, 5-1 SEC)
Next Game: SAT vs Vanderbilt
Best Win: vs #18 Mississippi 38-10
Worst Loss: @ #2 LSU 35-28
Biggest Remaining Challenge: vs #16 Florida State 11/28
Florida finally has an explosive offense to go with a tough defense.The Gators have already clinched a spot in
the SEC Title game against most likely the winner of ALA/LSU this week.That could give them a chance for a rematch
against LSU.
At this time last year, Ohio State was ranked #16, so there
is still a lot of time for change in these rankings.Some other teams to keep an eye on outside of
the Top 10 are Stanford and Oklahoma.Stanford still has 2 or 3 games to help their cause and Oklahoma still
has games against 3 undefeated teams to state their case.
We are 8 into the college football season and I look back
and wonder, have we learned anything yet about this season?
Think about it, all the questions that fans ask themselves
as the season goes on are still unanswered.
So in this weeks’ review I am going to do my best to answer them or at
least try to answer them.
Before we get started on that though, there are 2 other
matters that we DO KNOW that need to be discussed. First, did you see the end of that Florida
State – Georgia Tech game?! If not, check it out!
2 weeks in a row now, a last second special teams play goes completely haywire
and results in a possible CFB Playoff team losing. Last week Michigan, this week Florida State.
And how can we not mention the mess at Miami?
Lose by 58, the worst loss in school history. Fire Al Golden (which we all knew was
coming). Now where does Miami go? As you know I love coaching searches and the
domino effect it has nationwide, I just didn’t think we would have so many
openings in the middle of the season.
Normally in college football coaches almost ALWAYS last the season,
simply because the number restriction put on by the NCAA for coaches allowed
per team. It isn’t very easy to replace
a head coach when every coach is stretched thin already with their prior
duties. We knew it was bad for Golden at
Miami, but this bad?
Okay, on to the important questions of the season, not who
is going to replace Golden, that is for another time (I plan on writing a
coaching rant soon).
The top offense in
the country, Baylor, is now going to be without their starting quarterback Seth
Russell for an extended period of time, can they still win without him? Can they make it to the CFB Playoff without
him? First instinct is to say, “No way, Baylor is done!” But then you take a
closer look and see that Russell’s backup is not terrible. I realize that isn’t a ringing endorsement,
but the thought behind that is, “How good do you really need to be in that
system at Baylor?” Each of the last 6
years Baylor has averaged over 40 points a game and that is with 4 different
quarterbacks. So is it the player or the
system, I’m leaning towards system. That
being said, the backup in question, Jarrett Stidham, is a true freshman that
was the 6th ranked dual threat QB in the country last year and had
offers from pretty much every school in the country. He chose to play at Baylor and for Art
Briles. In limited time this year
Stidham has gone 24-28 (85.7%!!!!!) for 331 yards, 6 touchdowns and no
interceptions. He has also run for 26
yards and a touchdown. There will
obviously be a drop off from Russell, a guy who has played in the system for 3
years and has over 300 more pass attempts then Stidham, a guy who was playing
high school ball at this point last year.
Luckily for Stidham this injury came at the best possible time. Baylor is off this week before going on the
road to Kansas State Thursday November 5th. Kansas State has yet to win a Big XII game
this season. He will get extra time and
extra reps before he plays in that K-State game, then he will get a long week
with extra reps before his 1st test, Oklahoma, which is still 3
weeks away. Is it an ideal situation for
Baylor, no, but can they still win? Yes,
I think they can.
Is Washington State
under Mike Leech actually good?
Simple answer, YES! Mike Leach has been
off the radar since being fired at Texas Tech in 2009. While at TTU, he never had a losing record
and went 84-43 in 10 seasons. In his
first 3 seasons at Washington State, he was 12-25 and was surely on the hot
seat entering his 4th season at the school. After losing the season opener to FCS
Portland State, that seat only got hotter.
Since that game the Cougars have won 5 of 6 including road wins at Oregon
and Arizona. WSU is now 5-2 overall, and
3-1 in PAC-12 play entering this week’s game with Stanford who is the only team
ahead of them in the PAC-12 North. As
long as QB Luke Falk and WR Gabe Marks stay healthy, this could be a special
year in Pullman. 2 more wins this season
and it would give them the most wins since 2003.
Has there been any
conference that has proven they deserve at least one spot in the CFB Playoff,
regardless of who their eventual champions in?
Of course we could go crazy here and use ridiculous examples of why no
conference is safe, but that would just be a waste of time. Plus, even without going overboard it isn’t a
sure thing that any conference is safe. We
are going to just focus on the teams that remain undefeated or have just 1
loss, because nobody with 2 losses is going to make the playoff. Let’s go conference by conference. ACC: (Clemson, Duke, Florida State,
North Carolina & Pitt) Clemson is the front-runner in the ACC and if they stay undefeated it will
be very difficult to keep them out of the playoff. However, if they do stumble along the way, I
find it hard to believe that there would still be a spot for an ACC team. Florida St losing to Georgia Tech last week
all but eliminates them from contention.
They do still have 2 big road games to help their cause, playing Clemson
and Florida. One key for both Florida
State and Clemson is that whoever wins the ACC Coastal division be 11-1 or 10-2
going into the conference championship game.
Duke, North Carolina and Pitt are all still undefeated in the ACC from
the Coastal division, but they also all still play each other, starting this
week when UNC travels to Pittsburgh.
Pitt has a slight advantage in the ACC race, as they are 4-0 in
conference play, where both Duke and North Carolina are 3-0. Pitt’s lone loss is to an undefeated Iowa
team, which certainly helps the Panthers.
They also have a chance to make a statement with 1 last non-conference
game against Notre Dame next week. Pitt
gets North Carolina at home and travels to Duke in November. North Carolina, who’s lost to South Carolina
the 1st week of the season looks a lot worse now than it did 6 weeks
ago. UNC’s fate will be determined in
their next 2 games as they host Duke next week after their Thursday night game
with Pitt this week. Duke, also with
just 1 loss, lost to Northwestern, which like UNC looked better a few weeks ago
than it does now. The best case for the
ACC is to get Pitt into the championship game at 11-1, with that lone loss
being to an undefeated Big Ten team. The
ACC then needs the winner of the FSU-Clemson game to run the table and win the
ACC Championship game. Anything less
probably leaves the ACC out of the playoff picture.
Big XII: (Baylor, Oklahoma,
Oklahoma State, TCU)
The nice thing about the Big XII is that they have a balanced schedule where
all 10 teams play each other. The
downfall is that they do not have a championship game and that leaves the
potential for a tie atop the conference like last year, when Baylor and TCU
were both left out of the playoff after finishing tied for 1st
place. The interesting thing to consider
in this instance is that the conference also set up the scheduling that none of
these 4 teams have played each other yet.
They won’t play this week either.
The Last Man Standing Contest in the Big XII begins November 7th. Oklahoma is the 1 team in this group that
already has a loss, and it was an ugly one, losing to rival Texas. The Big XII could be on the outside looking
in once again this year when the playoff teams are announced if Oklahoma runs
the table, giving every team at least 1 loss.
A tie atop the standings could also prove to be damaging to the Big
XII. The Big XII will be rooting for
either Baylor, TCU or Oklahoma State to make a clean sweep over the next month,
giving them a clear cut candidate for the playoff.
Big Ten: (Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State) The Big Ten, like the Big XII will have a chance to sort itself out on the
field. Michigan State and Ohio State
still are yet to play, and the winner of that (and the EAST) will most likely
square off against Iowa. The Hawkeyes
would have to lose 2 of their last 5 games and have Wisconsin win out for them
not to make the Big Ten Championship.
Now the biggest question is does an undefeated Iowa team get into the
playoff? Iowa’s best non-conference win
is Pitt. Their best win of the season
will be in the Big Ten Championship if they end up undefeated. I don’t know if that is good enough. If either Ohio State or Michigan finish the
season unbeaten, they will certainly get into the playoff. One interesting scenario is what if Michigan
beats Ohio State? If that happens, there is a chance that there is a 3-way tie
for the Big Ten East between Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. A Michigan-Iowa Big Ten Championship Game
would not be good for the Big Ten. It
would also open up the possibility of a 1-loss Ohio State or Michigan State
team getting into the playoff without even playing for the conference
championship.
PAC-12: (Stanford,
Utah)
This is about as simple as it gets, Utah is in the PAC-12 South and Stanford is
in the PAC-12 North, those are the only 2 teams with a chance to play in the
playoff from this conference. The winner
of the championship game gets in, the loser is out. That is, if both of these are the 2 teams
that are representing their divisions in that championship game. Utah plays in the tougher division, but they
have already played USC and Arizona State.
Their biggest remaining game is UCLA, which could steal that bid to the
conference championship game with a win.
The PAC-12 South is another division (like the Big Ten East) that could
have a sloppy tiebreaker in play. Utah
is currently in 1st place, but UCLA, USC and Arizona State are all
just 1 game back. In the North, Stanford
has a 1 ½ game lead over 2nd place Washington State and could all
but wrap up the division with a win in Pullman this week. The downfall for Stanford however could be
their regular season finale, a non-conference game against Notre Dame.
SEC: (Alabama,
Florida, LSU) If one of these 3 teams win the SEC, they will be in the CFB Playoff. Florida has the easiest path, playing in the
SEC East. Florida will still have to
beat Florida State to close out their regular season, then whoever comes out of
the SEC West. Both LSU and Alabama still
play each other (November 7th) as well as others from the SEC
West. If any of these 3 schools win out,
they will be in the CFB Playoff.
Has there been any
conference that has proven they should be in consideration for 2 of the 4 CFB
Playoff spots?
This is something a lot of people have talked about, especially about the SEC,
but honestly I think it will take a lot to convince anyone that one conference
deserves half of the bids to the playoff.
The playoff is already set up that 1 conference champion is left out, if
2 teams from one conference get in, that means 2 champions will be left out,
while 1 team that didn’t win their conference makes it. I don’t think this is likely to happen this
year, but let’s take a look at any of the possibilities. ACC: The ACC is widely considered the weakest conference of the Power 5, fair or
not, and many think that even an undefeated Clemson would be the one left out
if all the other conferences have high ranking teams. That being said, I think it is safe to say
that the ACC will not have 2 entrants into the playoff this season. The best the ACC could do this year would be
to have 2 1-loss teams. It would take
convincing for the selection committee to put in 1 team from the ACC with 1
loss, let alone 2.
Big XII: The Big XII has a chance for 2 playoff spots after getting shut out last
year, but it will take some crazy happenings for it to fall in place. The 2 likely candidates are Baylor and
TCU. Both schools are undefeated and
have been near the top of the rankings all season. These 2 play the 2nd to last week
of the season AT TCU. The only way I see
both teams making the playoff is if they play each other in a closely contended
game and the home team (TCU) wins. Then again,
that exact thing happened last year, with Baylor winning a 61-58 showdown at
home last year and both teams were still shutout. However, that is when they both had 1
loss. Maybe an undefeated TCU and a
1-loss Baylor team could make it this year, if everything else falls right for
them.
Big Ten: The Big Ten has a few different ways that I could see them landing 2 teams
in the playoff (even though I think the conference as a whole is very
overrated). The first way is if an
undefeated Iowa wins the Big Ten Championship game over an undefeated Ohio
State or Michigan State. In that
instance, I believe that Iowa gets in by default, but I think the loser of that
game also has a strong case to make the playoff if there are no other
undefeated conference champions to pick from.
PAC-12: The PAC-12 is much like the ACC where they may not even get 1 team in the
playoff let alone holding out hope for 2.
The PAC-12 may even have a tougher hill to climb than the ACC
however. Where the ACC has the potential
of 2 1-loss teams, there is no chance of that in the PAC-12. With no undefeated teams remaining and just
Utah and Stanford with 1-loss, the best the conference could do is 1 remaining
1-loss team after the conference championship game.
SEC: The SEC has 3 teams that could end the regular season with 1-loss, 2 of
them which would end up in the SEC Championship. I think there is a distinct possibility that the
winner of the SEC Championship and the 2nd place SEC West team or,
if Florida wins the SEC Championship over an undefeated LSU team, both of those
teams make the playoff. Obviously this
would all depend on how the other conferences finish, but I feel like this is
the most likely situation for 1 conference to claim to playoff spots.
What 1-loss teams are
in the best position to make a serious claim at a playoff bid?
Notre Dame as an independent has a lot working against it when it comes to the
playoff selection committee, but they have put themselves into a good position
this season. Their only loss is to an
undefeated Clemson team on the road.
They have also played just enough other Power 5 teams to make themselves
warrant their high ranking. At the
beginning of the season their schedule looked brutal, but teams like Georgia
Tech and Texas have not lived up to their preseason expectations, allowing the
Irish to get to this point in their schedule with just 1 loss. Notre Dame still has 3 games remaining over
ranked teams, all on the road. If ND can
run the table they would have to be considered one of the top 1-loss teams in
the country. There are 10 teams
remaining from Power 5 conferences (plus Notre Dame) that have just 1
loss. Let’s see how they would rank with
the rest of the 1-loss teams in the country at this point.
1) Stanford would be my top 1-loss
team right now. They are playing as good
as anyone in the country and their only loss came in Week 1, when ESPN forced
them to travel east and still play a noon game (I’ve discussed this in the
past, I’m not a fan of this). Stanford
has already beaten USC on the road and have a 21-point win over UCLA under
their belt. They close the season with
home games against Oregon, Cal and Notre Dame.
The last game will be a make shift elimination game for playoff
contention if both enter that game still with just 1 loss.
2) Alabama is my number 2 team and I
think there is a pretty big drop off between 2 and 3. Alabama has looked great at times this year,
but also very un-Alabama like other times this season. Their loss came at home against Mississippi. They didn’t look like a playoff team this
week at home either, when they needed a last minute touchdown to beat a pretty
average Tennessee team. The good thing
for Alabama is that they still have plenty of opportunity to prove themselves with
upcoming games vs LSU and at Mississippi State in back to back weeks. If they take care of those 2 and the final 2 regular
season games, they will also get a highly ranked Florida team in the SEC
Championship Game.
3) Florida got on the map after
pasting Ole Miss 38-10, just 2 weeks after Mississippi beat Alabama in
Tuscaloosa. The Gators then pounded the
2-time defending SEC East Champion Missouri, 21-3 on the road. Florida also had a solid showing, losing to
LSU by 1 touchdown, while playing with their back-up QB. Florida should only improve as new QB Treon
Harris gets more reps and more comfortable in the offense. Playing in the SEC East, they have a pretty
easy road to the SEC Championship game, they do however still have their end of
the season rivalry game with Florida State, another 1-loss team.
4) Notre Dame as mentioned above,
has put themselves in a good position to claim a playoff spot with just
1-loss. They do still have 3 road
challenges ahead, when they take on undefeated Temple this week, 1-loss Pitt
next week and another 1-loss Stanford team the final week of the season.
5) Florida State is ranked in this
position right now, but they still have 2 games on the road against Clemson and
Florida, which could certainly knock them from playoff contention. The Seminoles started the season slow, but
had been playing better before tripping up last week on the road to Georgia
Tech.
6) Oklahoma is still in contention
to win the Big XII, but their lone loss was a bad one, losing to Texas while
the Longhorns were in the midst of playing their worst football of the
year. The Sooners still have a chance to
prove they belong, as they have 3 games left against undefeated teams (TCU,
Baylor, Oklahoma St).
7) Utah is a team that I’m still not
completely sold on. Their best wins are
against overrated Oregon and Cal teams as well as beating Michigan in Week
1. That was not the same Michigan team
that has taken the field recently in Ann Arbor.
With a pretty weak remaining schedule, UCLA looks like they would be the
only team that could challenge the Utes.
Utah would still have a PAC-12 Championship game with Stanford if they
survive the final 5 games on their schedule.
8-10) Duke/UNC/Pitt I don’t think
that any of these teams are really a threat to make a run to an 11-1 finish of
the regular season. All 3 are still
undefeated in the ACC Coastal division, but I don’t think it is out of the
realm of possibility that the division winner still loses 1 more game. These 3 teams all still play each other, so
things should sort themselves out, but I wouldn’t consider any a real threat to
be sitting with 1 loss at the end of the season, putting themselves in playoff
talk.
THIS WEEKS TOP GAMES: A slow week, only 1 game on the schedule is between 2 ranked teams.
North Carolina @ Pitt – Thursday 7:00pm, ESPN
Oregon @ Arizona State – Thursday 10:30pm, ESPN
USC @ Cal – Saturday 3:00pm, FOX
Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech – Saturday 3:30pm, ESPN
Notre Dame @ Temple – Saturday 8:00pm, ABC
Stanford @ Washington State – Saturday 10:30pm, ESPN
We are now at the mid-way point in the college football
season, so I wanted to go back and take a look at the 1st 6 games
for the Pitt Panthers.
OVERVIEW:
Pitt is 5-1 for the 1st time since the 2009 season, when the
Panthers started 9-1. Of those 5 wins
for Pitt, 3 of them have come against teams that beat them last year (Akron,
Virginia, Georgia Tech). They also have
wins against Youngstown State, who they lost to the last time the two teams
played in Paul Chryst’s debut and Virginia Tech, who was considered to be one
of the two favorites in the ACC Coastal this season (Georgia Tech the
other). Pitt has played 4 of 6 games on
the road, winning 3 of them. The
Panthers only loss has come to an undefeated Iowa team on the road in a game
that ended on a 57-yard field goal to give the Hawkeyes a 27-24 victory.
The Panthers are 3-0 to start conference play, something that last happened in
2010 as a member of the Big East. Pitt
still has 5 ACC games remaining on the schedule, to go with a non-conference
game against Notre Dame.
OFFENSE:
The Pitt offense suffered a major loss in the 1st half of the 1st
game of the season when they saw the reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year,
James Conner, go down with a season ending knee injury. They have also seen their returning starter
at quarterback, Chad Voytik, get replaced by graduate transfer Nate Peterman. The offense has not been the same without
these 2 players on the field. It currently
ranks 105th in the nation in total offense, averaging 346 yards per
game. Last year the Panthers were 40th
in the country, averaging nearly 100 more yards per game.
Peterman offers a different style of play than Voytik. Peterman has a bigger and better arm than
Voytik, but really seemed to struggle grasping the system early on, making many
fans, myself included, wonder why he was the choice over Voytik. I think the biggest problem with the offense
has come in the many differences between the Peterman and Voytik. The thing that made Voytik so good last year
was his running ability. Last year he
had 2 games in which he ran for over 100 yards.
Peterman isn’t that type of player.
He is a pocket passer, which Voytik is not. Although both quarterbacks are learning a new
system under new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, this system is a much better
fit for Peterman than Voytik. Peterman
has gotten better in each of his last 3 games as quarterback, with his 3
touchdown performance against Georgia Tech on Saturday being his best game of
the year.
With Conner out for the year and a new quarterback at the helm, a lot of
defensives have stacked the box to take the run away, while also trying to
shutdown Tyler Boyd, thus forcing Peterman and the inexperienced wide receiving
corp to beat them. To this point nobody
has been able to take Boyd out of the game, as he has 41 of the teams 91
receptions, despite being suspended for the season opener. Also, the trio of Qadree Ollison, Chris James
and Darrin Hall have been just good enough at running back to keep the running
threat in play.
The play of the offensive line coming into the season was a question mark due
to injuries. Since then, the Panthers
have stayed somewhat healthy and the unit as a whole has performed well. Pitt has allowed just 14 sacks in 6 games
this season and have averaged just over 5 negative plays per game on the
offensive side of the ball. Considering
some of the more high profile type offenses in the country like, West Virginia,
Boise State and Arizona State all average nearly double that, 5 isn’t all that
bad. Nationally that ranks around 50th
out of the 127 teams in college football this season.
Basically, the offense is a work in progress.
It has been just good enough to this point in the season to produce the
results necessary for this team. This is
a young and inexperienced unit that will only get better the more they play
together as a group. That is a good
thing for this Panther team.
DEFENSE:
When Pat Narduzzi came to Pitt, most people figured he would bring his tough,
physical and stingy defense with him, they just didn’t think it would produce
so quickly. With a lot of the same
players back from last year, the defensive side of the ball has put up
considerably better numbers. The
Panthers are allowing 60 yards and 5 points less per game this season. In just 6 games, they have also already
surpassed their total sack numbers from last year (19 to 22). Pitt is ranked in the top 20 national in 1st
Downs Allowed (6th), Passing Yards Allowed (12th), Sacks
(3rd), Tackles for Losses (19th), Total Defense (17th).
Two of the players this season that have helped the defense improve are freshman
safety Jordan Whitehead, who leads the team in tackles and senior defensive
lineman Ejuan Price, who has been a menace in opposing backfields, leading Pitt
tackles for losses and 2nd on the team in sacks. Whitehead, a highly touted recruit last year,
has come right in and contributed immediately.
Price, has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, but finally
seems healthy and playing to his potential.
The Pitt defense has been what has kept the Panthers in games this season while
the offense was trying to find its footing.
That is a complete role reversal of the two units from last year, when
the Pitt offense had to outscore their opponents because their defense couldn’t
stop anyone.
The one area that Pitt could certainly improve at on the defensive side of the
ball is in the takeaway department. Pitt
has only forced 8 turnovers this season (2 fumbles, 6 interceptions). The Panthers only forced 14 turnovers all of
last season, so they are ahead of that pace, but that is still well below the
national average.
This unit has been a pleasant surprise for the Panthers this season and they
have needed it to be with the offense being sluggish at times. The defense is playing fast and aggressive and
the more success they have the more confidence the players will get. The defense has been very good this season
and should get even better as the season progresses.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Pitt Special Teams unit hasn’t been all that special this season. While they have had their moments of
greatness, they have been just average for the most part so far. Pitt has scored 2 touchdowns on PT this year,
a kick return for a score in the opener vs Youngstown State and a blocked punt
returned for a touchdown at Iowa. In the
kicking game, although Chris Blewitt made a clutch 56-yard FG to win the game
against Georgia Tech, he has just been okay overall this season, going just 6
of 9 in field goals. He has made all 21
extra points, but if you are a scholarship kicker in division 1 football, you
should make all your extra points. The
punting of Ryan Winslow has been good, but not great. He has shown the ability to place the ball
and have some touch punting inside the 20, but he hasn’t done it on a
consistent basis. In the return game,
Pitt hasn’t been great on returns or on kick coverage. I guess the best way you can look at it is
that they are averaging about 7 yards more per kick return than allowed and
almost 3 yards more per punt. That net
yardage can add up and shift field position, which is never a bad thing. The Panthers have blocked 3 kicks this year,
which is tied for 2nd in the nation. That is obviously pretty good.
For me the having an excellent Special Teams unit is a bonus. Special Teams can be a game changer for you
if you do things right. At the same
time, it can cost you a game if you do things poorly. Pitt has done just enough on special teams to
impact games for a positive, while not having their special teams cost them any
games.
COACHING:
Another season, another coaching staff.
That is just the way things have gone at Pitt in the past 5 years or
so. The excitement that came in with Pat
Narduzzi and his staff has certainly not worn off to this point. One of the things that Narduzzi preached
early on and has continued to talk about was changing the mindset of this
team. He wanted them to expect to win
and be confident. I feel that the
Panthers have done that in every game this season. In years past, Pitt would not have been 5-1
at this point. They have only outscored
their opponents by an average of 6 points, yet are still 5-1. That means that they are winning close games. They are winning in the 4th
quarter. That has historically been when
Pitt decided to fold. Not this
year. I think the coaching staff is the
reason.
LOOKING FORWARD:
Pitt has 6 games left beginning this Saturday at Syracuse. After that, the Panthers leave Heinz Field
just once, a road game against Duke.
That means Pitt gets 4 of their final 5 games at home. If Pitt can get past Syracuse this week, they
will be 6-1 with 5 of those 7 games on the road. Coming home for that final stretch could be
the difference for this team. They will
get North Carolina at home in a game that should greatly impact the ACC Coastal
division. With both undefeated in ACC
play, the winner will be in the driver’s seat going into the final month of the
season. They also get Notre Dame at
home. The Irish have much more talent
than Pitt this season, but that hasn’t stopped the Panthers in previous years
against Notre Dame. Pitt has won 2 of
the last 3 at Heinz Field between these 2 teams and each of the last 6 meeting
have been decided by a touchdown or less.
In the Panthers final 6 games they have 3 games in which they should win
(Syracuse, Louisville, Miami), 2 games in which could go either way (UNC, Duke)
and 1 in which they will be considered an underdog (Notre Dame). That said, we know how Pitt works, they could
go 1-5 with their lone win being against ND and I don’t know if I would be
surprised. Either way, it should be a
fun final 6 games.
After 7 weeks into the season, I have come up with 5
categories to describe where various teams stand.
STUDS Teams that have to look of true national title contenders at this point in
the season.
Baylor – The Bears offense is beyond video game mode right now. They have scored 56 or more in every game
this season, and 62+ in their last 5. 14
different players have scored offensive touchdowns so far for Baylor, there are
8 FBS teams that have 14 fewer TOTAL touchdowns this year. The Bears are averaging 63.8 points per game,
the difference between them and the 2nd best offense in the nation
(TCU) is the same difference as the 2nd best offense and the 30th
best offense.
Utah – It hasn’t always been pretty, but the Utes just keep winning. Utah scored the final 20 points on Saturday
night to beat Arizona State. Utah is the
only remaining undefeated team in the PAC-12 and 1 of 2 with CFB Playoff hopes. The other being 1-loss Stanford.
Michigan State – The greatest ending to a college football game in
history? Seriously, I know that we live
in the present a whole lot nowadays and make bold statements like that all the
time, but I can’t think of anything bigger than the last :10 at the Big House
on Saturday. The Spartans have struggled
at times this year, but they have still yet to lose. They have 3 very winnable games (vs IND, @
NEB, vs MD) on the schedule before a showdown in Columbus with Ohio State.
Clemson – The offense has weapons all over the field and the defense is one of
the best in the country. The undefeated
Tigers have 2 ACC road games before a showdown with undefeated Florida State at
home November 7th. If they
can take care of business, the ACC might have their 2nd
representative in the CFB Playoffs in 2 years.
Stanford – Since the Cardinal week 1 loss to Northwestern, they have been just dominating
teams. As I said when it happened, no
west coast team should travel east for a noon kickoff, and that is just what
happened in that opening game loss.
(They can thank ESPN for scheduling that one for them). Stanford looked sluggish that entire game and
probably shouldn’t be judged on that game, but will. If Stanford is going to make a run at the
PAC-12 title and a CFB Playoff spot, they are going to earn it. They close with Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame, and
the PAC-12 title game (probably Utah).
LSU – The top team in the SEC to this point of the season. Alabama may have something to say about that
November 7th, but until then, the Tigers get to hold that
claim. The Tigers get a warm-up this
week with Western Kentucky before a week off. Then they will travel to
Tuscaloosa for that showdown with the Tide.
LSU has done it with the running of Leonard Fournette and the rush
defense. The Heisman favorite has run
for 1,202 yards and 14 scores in 6 games, while the LSU defense is allowing
just 92 yards per game and 5 scores. The
one negative with LSU to this point is that they have let teams hang around in
games they should have put away. That
could hurt them if they continue that trend.
Alabama – The Tide have looked like a completely different team since their
home loss to Ole Miss last month.
Alabama have 28 point and 18 point victories on the road against
Top-10 teams in their last 3 games. The
bad news for Alabama is that the SEC doesn’t seem to have a ton of top notch teams,
which could hurt as they look for big wins to get back into the CFB Playoff
picture. The good news is that they are
Alabama and are normally given the benefit of doubt. That, and the fact that they do have at least
1 more chance to impress when they host LSU on the 1st Saturday of
November.
DUDS Teams that had a good showing out of the gate and got the hopes up of their
fan base only to fall flat on their face since.
West Virginia – The Mountaineers opened the season playing one of the weakest
non-conference schedules in the country.
After jumping out to a 3-0 start after beating up on the likes of Georgia
Southern, Liberty and Maryland, WVU has dropped 3 straight by a combined 51
points and 1 of those 3 went to OT. At
0-3 in the Big XII play and TCU on deck, you have to wonder if the wheels will
come off for the Mountaineers. It isn’t
crazy, looking at their schedule to think that they could start 0-6 in
conference play this year. If that
happens, does Dana Holgerson have a job come December?
Northwestern – The Wildcats started the season 5-0 with wins over Stanford and
Duke. Since then, they have lost 2
straight by a combined 68 points.
Luckily, they play in the Big Ten West so they don’t have many more games
that should challenge them. But you have to think that Northwestern saw a
schedule without Ohio State and Michigan State and thought this season could be
something special after that hot start.
Boise State – The Broncos turned the ball over 8 times in last week’s game,
EIGHT! 7 of those turnovers came in the 1st half. BSU had just 6 turnovers in their 1st
6 games this season. Boise State was not
in the running for a playoff spot and was really on the outside of even getting
a Selection Committee bowl, but with that loss to Utah State, any chance they
might have had is gone.
Ole Miss – For a team that has been able to take it to Alabama for 2 straight
years, it is shocking to see how average they have been since that game. The 2 road games since their win in
Tuscaloosa have been a 28 point loss to Florida and an 18 point loss to a
non-conference Memphis team. Yes,
Memphis is talented and very good, but no way should Ole Miss have been
outscored 37-10 by the Tigers in the final 55 minutes of that game.
STILL WAITING
I know that we are half way into the season, but there are still a few teams
out there that just are tough to get a good read on. Here are a few.
Notre Dame – I have watched at least part of every Notre Dame game this season, and they are the most frustrating team for me because I have no idea how good
they are. The Irish are 6-1, and the only
game where they really wowed me was the one game that they lost at
Clemson. Other than that, I feel like
they have played down to their competition.
They needed a last minute Hail Mary to beat a bad Virginia team. They were only up by 1 late in the 2nd
half over a 1-5 UMASS team before pulling away in the final 35 minutes. They were tied with Navy until the final
seconds of the 1st half. Even
last week, they were tied at halftime and down 7 going into the 4th quarter to
a USC team that had fired their head coach 5 days earlier and was in complete
shambles. Good teams shouldn’t be in
these types of situations, but Notre Dame continues to find themselves in
them. I’d like to say that ND only has 1
game remaining (@ Stanford) that is losable for them, but the way they have played
to this point, every game is a game they lose.
Ohio State – FINALLY Urban Meyer played the quarterback that is best fit for
his system, and for the 1st time all season the Buckeyes looked like
the defending national champions. JT
Barrett was in on 15 offensive plays in Saturday’s win over Penn State, and those
15 plays accounted for 132 yards and 4 touchdowns. Barrett was 4 for 4 passing for 30 yards and
2 touchdowns, and he also ran 11 times for 102 yards and 2 more scores. Meyer has always had more success with a
quarterback that was a running threat, and Cardale Jones is not that. Jones is a talented thrower, but he makes the
Buckeye offense one-dimensional. Ohio
State has 3 cupcake games before ending the season with Michigan State and
Michigan. It will be interesting to see if Meyer makes the necessary switch at
QB to allow this team to be a title contender.
They might be ranked #1 right now, but they aren't playing like the best
team in the country and haven’t all season.
TCU – The Horned Frogs are very talented, but their defense has
hurt them to this point in the season.
Sure, they are still undefeated, but at some point, TCU is going to come
up against a team they can’t just outscore.
TCU is the 2nd highest scoring team in the country, but they
are also 69th in scoring defense and 73rd in total
defense. With teams like Oklahoma State,
Oklahoma and Baylor still on the schedule, the Frogs better fix that defense, or
it will be a disappointing November.
Florida St. – The Noles are good, but this might be the biggest case of “who
have they beat?” ever. Take a look at
the 6 teams that FSU has notched W’s against this year: Texas St, USF, BC, WF,
Miami, and Louisville. Those teams are a
combined 16-21 this season and Miami is the only team with a winning
record. Dalvin Cook has been sensational
for Florida State this season, when healthy, averaging 8.7 yards per carry, rushing
for 955 yards and 10 touchdowns. With
the ACC lacking much power at the top, FSU will only have games at Clemson and
Florida to prove how good they really are.
SURPRISING
Teams that were nowhere near anybody’s preseason Top 25, but have found
themselves ranked at the halfway point of the season.
Iowa – The Hawkeyes are undefeated. Let
me say that again, the Iowa Hawkeyes are UNDEFEATED! There are only 14 undefeated teams remaining
this season, only 4 of them are 7-0 and Iowa is one of them. Iowa had 7 wins all last season and that is
with a bowl game. Maybe even crazier
than all of this is that, in all likelihood, they will be favored to win the
rest of the games on their schedule.
That speaks volumes for how bad the Big Ten West is, but at the same
time, a win is a win. If a team can make
it through the regular season in a Power 5 conference, you would think they
would have to be considered for the CFB Playoff.
Pitt – The Panthers don’t have any great wins to this point, but they are 5-1
and 3 of those 5 wins are against teams they lost to last season. Pitt is 3-0 in the ACC and in 1st
place in the ACC Coastal division. They
showed up at #25 in the AP Poll this week, the 1st time they have
been ranked in season since 2009. The
5-1 start for Pat Narduzzi and the Panthers is the best start for a 1st
year head coach at Pitt since Foge Fazio started 7-0 in 1982. He did that with the help of a little known
quarterback by the name of Dan Marino.
Temple, Memphis, Houston, Toledo – 4 Group of 5 schools that are all looking to
throw a wrench into the Selection Committee bowls and maybe even the CFB
Playoff. All 4 of these teams are not
only undefeated, but all have at least one win over a Power 5 team already under
their belts. Houston has a win at Louisville in week 2. Memphis has that Ole Miss home win we already
discussed to go along with a 32-point road win over Kansas. Temple dominated Penn State to open the
season and have another opportunity when they host Notre Dame in 2 weeks. Toledo also has 2 such wins, at Arkansas
and home over Iowa State. This week
could be key to these teams' success. All
4 teams are in action, and all 4 will be playing on the road.
Florida – The Gators were a mess at this point last season, coming off 2
straight home losses, including a 42-13 loss to Missouri. Fire Will Muschamp. Enter Jim McElwain and with a lot of the same
players, and Florida is now 6-1 and the clear favorite to win the SEC East. Florida’s lone loss came this week at LSU, and
that game went down to the wire, with Florida playing their back-up
quarterback. The Gators finish the
season with 4 of their final 5 games inside the Sunshine State. What a difference a coaching change can make!
DISAPPOINTING
Teams that had high expectations to begin the year, but never reached them. This
is the group for the 2015 season.
Georgia Tech – The Yellow Jackets won 5 straight games to end the 2014 regular
season before taking Florida State to the wire in the ACC Championship game,
then pounding a good Mississippi State team in the Orange Bowl. Coming off that success, they were the
overwhelming favorite to win the ACC Coastal division at the beginning of this
season, and some even thought they could win the ACC Title. Tech started this season 2-0 and ranked #14
in the country before losing 5 straight.
To be fair, the losses come to teams with a combined 27-4 record this
season, but they are still losses. GT
was a favorite to win their conference, now they might not even be bowl
eligible by the end of this season. No
worries though, it has to get easier now, right?
Nope, they get undefeated Florida State this week.
Michigan – The Wolverines could very easily be placed in the “SURPRISING” group
after their 5-1 start, but after that finish to rival Michigan State, there is
no other way to describe Michigan right now than “disappointing”. We will be able to see if Michigan will
fold or bounce back after such a tough loss.
3 of their final 5 games will be on the road, and 1 of the 2 home games
will be against the current #1 team in the country.
USC – The Trojans were finally back at full strength after their NCAA sanctions
and won 4 of their last 5 in 2014, entering this season in the preseason
Top 10. They started 2-0, but have lost
3 of 4 since, and have now fired yet another head coach. The talent is still there, but they
need to have it somehow produce on the field.
This week would be a good start when undefeated #3 Utah comes to town.
