We are nearly halfway through the 2022 regular season and much still remains unknown.
Is USC a legitimate playoff contender in year one under Lincoln Riley? Can Tennessee shock the world and make it to Atlanta? The entire Big 12 is a giant question mark with everyone outside of Oklahoma having at least an outside shot to make it to the conference title.
The biggest question left to be answered is who the best team in the nation is? Alabama and Georgia have played hot potato with the number one ranking while Ohio State has remained in the mix.
The AP has Georgia as the top team in the nation while I believe Ohio State is the best team considering they have won all their games by double-digits and appear to be as complete as anyone in America.
The consensus top team in the preseason was Alabama, however a sloppy win against a struggling Texas A&M has raised several concerns with the Crimson Tide.
Many hot take specialists were telling you that Alabama would be just as good without Bryce Young this time last week. That was not the case as backup Jalen Milroe was responsible for three of Bama’s four turnovers that let the Aggies hang around for 60 minutes.
It’s evident that Milroe isn’t Bryce Young at this point in his career and Alabama needs the reigning Heisman Trophy winner if they want to win a national title.
While Milroe is a talented player and should develop into a worthy successor to Young, the offense is onedimensional without its most valuable piece.
The good news for Alabama is that Bryce Young’s injury isn’t long term and he could be back as soon as this week.
The Crimson Tide still have an elite defense and dominant rushing attack led by Jahmyr Gibbs, however they will need Young badly when they travel to Knoxville this Saturday.
In what will be the biggest game in Neyland Stadium since the turn of the millennium, Tennessee is looking to remind everyone why the “Third Saturday in October”, is one of the premier rivalries not only in the SEC, but all of college football.
The Volunteers are winless against Alabama since a certain head coach arrived back in 2007. A once great rivalry has become a formality over the past decade, but this year’s matchup feels different.
Tennessee held their own for three quarters last year before Bama pulled away for a 52-24 victory.
The Vols are equipped to finish what they could not last year as Hendon Hooker is leading the number one total offense in the nation and has a chance to make a Heisman bid on Saturday.
Tennessee’s defense showed promise against LSU after some early season struggles. If the Vols are to pull off the upset, the defense needs to be good situationally and make whoever is under center uncomfortable.
Speaking of defenses that gave Bama problems, Texas did that and then some against Oklahoma on Saturday during their 49-0 drubbing of Oklahoma.
With the return of a healthy Quinn Ewers, Texas put on as dominant a performance as we have seen in any big game this year. The Longhorns could be 5-1 or 6-0 had Ewers never gotten hurt but despite the two losses, Texas is still a real threat to win the Big 12.
In a conference that doesn’t have a clear cut favorite, the best team could very well be found in Austin. While it’s a small sample size, Texas with a healthy Quinn Ewers outplayed Alabama and just had their most dominant win ever against Oklahoma.
While I have been burned by buying into Texas in the past, this team is as good as anyone in the Big 12 with Ewers under center.
The Pac-12 faces an uncertain future with conference realignment potentially dismantling the conference. Two teams that have already announced plans to leave are USC and UCLA who just so happen to be the conference’s last remaining undefeated teams.
No team west of Texas has made the playoff since 2016 but this season could change that. USC, UCLA and Oregon all have a path to get into the playoff.
These next couple of weekends will be vital in determining who from the west coast will be in position to spoil the party for the perennial playoff teams.
USC travels to Salt Lake this Saturday to take on a Utah team reeling from their loss to UCLA. Despite the loss, the Utes still control their destiny to a second consecutive Pac-12 title and are favored against the Trojans.
The following weekend, UCLA heads up to Eugene to take on Oregon in a must win game for both team’s playoff hopes.
It remains unclear if the west coast will have a dog in the fight this December but if they do, said team will step up in the coming weeks.
College Football Top 25 Rankings:
1.Ohio State Buckeyes(6-0) W vs Michigan State 49-20, last week-22.Alabama Crimson Tide(6-0) W vs Texas A&M 24-20, last week-13.Georgia Bulldogs(6-0) W vs Auburn 42-10, last week-44.Clemson Tigers(6-0) W vs Boston College 31-3, last week-35.Tennessee Volunteers(5-0) W vs LSU 40-13, last week-76.Michigan Wolverines(6-0) W vs Indiana 31-10, last week-57.USC Trojans(6-0) W vs Washington State 30-14, last week-68.Oklahoma State Cowboys(5-0) W vs Texas Tech 41-31, last week-99.Ole Miss Rebels(6-0) W vs Vanderbilt 52-28, last week-1010.Penn State Nittany Lions(5-0) Bye Week, last week-1111.Oregon Ducks(5-1) W vs Arizona 49-22, last week-1212.UCLA Bruins(6-0) W vs Utah 42-32, last week-1913.TCU Horned Frogs(5-0) W vs Kansas 38-31, last week-1614.Mississippi State Bulldogs(5-1) W vs Arkansas 40-17, last week-1815.NC State Wolfpack(5-1) W vs Florida State 19-17, last week-1316.Wake Forest Demon Deacons(5-1) W vs Army 45-10, last week-1717.Utah Utes(4-2) L vs UCLA 42-32, last week-818.Kansas State Wildcats(5-1) W vs Iowa State 10-9, last week-2019.Texas Longhorns(4-2) W vs Oklahoma 49-0, last week-unranked20.Syracuse Orange(5-0) Bye Week, last week-2321.Kansas Jayhawks(5-1) L vs TCU 38-31, last week-2122.Kentucky Wildcats(4-2) L vs South Carolina 24-14, last week-1423.North Carolina Tar Heels(5-1) W vs Miami 27-24, last week-unranked24.BYU Cougars(4-2) L vs Notre Dame 28-20, last week-15
25.Baylor Bears(3-2) Bye Week, last week- 24Dropped out of rankings- LSU, Washington