The last Saturday in September is in the books, which means conference play is beginning across the nation. This is the time of year when the true contenders separate themselves from the fool’s gold.
One team that has failed to live up to preseason expectations in recent years is Tennessee. That is not the case this season. The Vols are off to a 4-0 start and made a statement in Knoxville against Florida.
In the most electric home atmosphere I have seen in this young season, Tennessee bested Florida for just the second time in its last 18 meetings. Josh Heupel has turned this program around quicker than anyone could have expected, and he has his star quarterback to thank for that.
Hendon Hooker is making an early Heisman bid after his dominant performance against the Gators. Tennessee leads the nation in total offense and appears to be the biggest threat to Alabama and Georgia in the SEC.
The Vols welcome Alabama to Neyland Stadium in a few weeks and are looking to get their first win against the Crimson Tide since Nick Saban was hired back in 2007.
Speaking of shootout wins against ranked opponents, how about Clemson winning 51-45 in double overtime against Wake Forest? While beating Wake in overtime isn’t noteworthy on the surface, the way Clemson won should turn heads.
DJ Uiagalelei and the Tigers’ offense have struggled since the start of last year, having many doubting whether they could win when their defense wasn’t holding opponents under 20. Uiagalelei had a career game, throwing for 371 yards and five scores, showing that Clemson’s offense can win the day.
What separates good teams from great teams is the ability to win multiple ways. Clemson’s offense needed to step up after losing Brent Venables at defensive coordinator, and it did just that on Saturday.
The longtime leader of the Tigers’ defense took his first defeat as a head coach this past weekend after Oklahoma took another upset loss to Kansas State. For any fans clamoring for parity in the sport, look at the conference where every team is viable, the Big 12.
There is no clear favorite in the Big 12, and you can make a somewhat reasonable case for every team as a contender. Even Kansas is 4-0 with road wins against West Virginia and Houston.
Ultimately, the conference will likely consume itself and wind up getting left out of the playoff. That is the price of parity, however, the race for the Big 12 Championship should be the most entertaining of any conference.
Last week, I mentioned Texas A&M’s brutal three game stretch to start off SEC play. Well, the Aggies narrowly survived their first test against Arkansas. Needing a 99-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown and a field goal to doink off the top of the right goal post, A&M’s playoff hopes remain on life support.
The Aggies travel to Starkville this week and hope to avenge their defeat from a year ago. As for the Razorbacks, they host an Alabama squad that has struggled on the road as of late.
This weekend’s slate of games is the best we have had so far with five matchups between ranked opponents. Saturdays in the fall are just beginning to warm up, and these next couple of weeks will be huge for conference races and the playoff picture.
College Football Top 25 Rankings:
1.Georgia Bulldogs(4-0) W vs Kent State 39–22, last week-1
2.Alabama Crimson Tide(4-0) W vs Vanderbilt 55-3, last week-2
3.Ohio State Buckeyes(4-0) W vs Wisconsin 52-21, last week-3
4.Clemson Tigers(4-0) W vs Wake Forest 51-45, last week-5
5.Michigan Wolverines(4-0) W vs Maryland 34-27, last week-4
6.USC Trojans(4-0) W vs Oregon State 17-14, last week-6
7.Tennessee Volunteers(4-0) W vs Florida 38-33, last week-11
8.Utah Utes(3-1) W vs Arizona State 34-13, last week-9
9.Kentucky Wildcats(4-0) W vs Northern Illinois 31-23, last week-10
10.Penn State Nittany Lions(4-0) W vs Central Michigan 33-14, last week-12
11.NC State Wolfpack(4-0) W vs UConn 41-10, last week-13
12.Baylor Bears(3-1) W vs Iowa State 31-24, last week-15
13.Oklahoma State Cowboys(3-0) Bye Week, last week-14
14.Oregon Ducks(3-1) W vs Washington State 44-41, last week-16
15.Washington Huskies(4-0) W vs Stanford 40-22, last week-19
16.Texas A&M Aggies(3-1) W vs Arkansas 23-21, last week-22
17.Arkansas Razorbacks(3-1) L vs Texas A&M 23-21, last week-8
18.Oklahoma Sooners(3-1) L vs Kansas State 41-34, last week-7
19.Ole Miss Rebels(4-0) W vs Tulsa 35-27, last week-18
20.BYU Cougars(3-1) W vs Wyoming 38-24, last week-20
21.Minnesota Golden Gophers(4-0) W vs Michigan State 34-7, last week-unranked
22.Kansas State Wildcats(3-1) W vs Oklahoma 41-34, last week-unranked
23.Florida State Seminoles(4-0) W vs Boston College 44-14, last week-unranked
24.Kansas Jayhawks(4-0) W vs Duke 35-27, last week-unranked
25.Pittsburgh Panthers(3-1) w vs Rhode Island 45-24, last week-25
Dropped out of rankings- Texas, Michigan State, Wake Forest, Florida