Halloween weekend has arrived and with it, the final stretch of the college football regular season. This season has had plenty of tricks and treats, and this upcoming Saturday will be no different.
Whether you are setting up decorations or preparing to go trick-or-treating (which I was the best at back in the day), Halloween is one of the most fun holidays on the calendar.
With the holiday season fast approaching, the race for the playoff is on everyone’s mind. While several of the top teams were on bye this past weekend, there were still many takeaways from Week 8.
We nearly had a season-altering upset in Clemson as the Tigers narrowly escaped Syracuse with their ACC and playoff hopes intact.
Behind a career day from Will Shipley and a dominant defensive effort, Clemson prevailed to all but punch its ticket to Charlotte.
While the Tigers remain in the thick of the playoff hunt, some uncomfortable questions were raised regarding the quarterback situation.
DJ Uiagalelei silenced his critics with a strong start to his second season under center, however an off day against the Orange prompted Dabo Swinney to pull his veteran signal caller in favor of true freshman Cade Klubnik.
Klubnik only threw four passes, and Swinney has since come out and said Uiagalelei will remain the starter, however making the change with the season on the line shows Swinney has faith in his first year signal caller.
Uiagalelei is a vastly improved player, and his coach has been his biggest supporter publicly. With that being said, what happens if Clemson finds itself in the same situation going forward?
While their resume is as good as any in the country, many, including myself, have doubts whether the Tigers can hold their own against the other playoff frontrunners.
Clemson will certainly run into a high powered offense should it make the four-team dance, and Swinney knows as well as anyone how important elite QB play is in order to win it all.
The Tigers’ upcoming schedule will give them plenty of opportunities to get Klubnik reps, and the last time they put their faith in a true freshman signal caller, they won a national title.
Clemson fans have long debated with LSU fans over whose stadium is the real “Death Valley,” however there isn’t any question that LSU has exceeded expectations in year one under Brian Kelly.
Corny dances and fake southern accents aside, Kelly has proven why he is one of the best coaches in the nation.
Ole Miss entered Tiger Stadium undefeated and controlling its destiny in the West. By the time the sun set in Baton Rouge, LSU had grabbed control of the division as it awaits the Crimson Tide in two weeks.
On a Saturday that will decide who goes to Atlanta, Nick Saban and the Tide will head into Death Valley (sorry Clemson fans) to take on the upstart Tigers.
Alabama’s road struggles have been well documented since the start of last year, and the Tide cannot afford a second loss if they want to add another golden football to their collection.
Many fans wrote off LSU after they lost to Florida State on a blocked PAT in the opener. The team that lost that matchup is not the same team that will host Bama next Saturday.
LSU would love nothing more than to knock its former head coach out of the SEC and National Championship discussion.
This Saturday is an opportunity to make an impression on the playoff committee who will unveil their first rankings next Tuesday.
I will be very intrigued to see how they stack up the top teams and how much they value resume vs the eye test.
Most people can agree that Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia and Tennessee are the four best teams; it’s just a matter of what order they are in.
We won’t have to speculate for long, as the former two and latter two will play each other in the regular season.
The winner of those two matchups should all but punch their ticket into the playoff while the losers will cross their fingers that an 11-1 record will be enough to get them in.
College Football Top 25 Rankings:
1.Ohio State Buckeyes(7-0) W vs Iowa 54-10, last week-1
2.Georgia Bulldogs(7-0) Bye Week, last week-2
3.Tennessee Volunteers(7-0) W vs UT Martin 65-24, last week-3
4.Michigan Wolverines(7-0) Bye Week, last week-4
5.Clemson Tigers(8-0) W vs Syracuse 27-21, last week-5
6.Alabama Crimson Tide(7-1) W vs Mississippi State 30-6, last week-6
7.TCU Horned Frogs(7-0) W vs Kansas State 38-28, last week-7
8.Oregon Ducks(6-1) W vs UCLA 45-30, last week-9
9.Oklahoma State Cowboys(6-1) W vs Texas 41-34, last week-13
10.Utah Utes(5-2) Bye Week, last week-11
11.USC Trojans(6-1) Bye Week, last week-12
12.Wake Forest Demon Deacons(6-1) W vs Boston College 43-15, last week-15
13.Penn State Nittany Lions(6-1) W vs Minnesota 45-17, last week-16
14.UCLA Bruins(6-1) L vs Oregon 45-30, last week-10
15.LSU Tigers(6-2) W vs Ole Miss 45-20, last week-23
16.Ole Miss Rebels(7-1) L vs LSU 45-20, last week-8
17.Syracuse Orange(6-1) L vs Clemson 27-21, last week-14
18.Kentucky Wildcats(5-2) Bye Week, last week-17
19.North Carolina Tar Heels(6-1) Bye Week, last week-21
20.Illinois Fighting Illini(6-1) Bye Week, last week-22
21.Kansas State Wildcats(5-2) L vs TCU 38-28, last week-18
22.NC State Wolfpack(5-2) Bye Week, last week-25
23.Texas Longhorns(5-3) L vs Oklahoma State 41-34, last week-19
24.Liberty Flames(7-1) W vs BYU 41-14, last week-unranked
25.Tulane Green Wave(7-1) W vs Memphis 38-28, last week-unranked
Dropped out of rankings- Mississippi State, Purdue