There’s a reason College Gameday goes to the game it goes to each week. Through the first six episodes of Gameday, the game for which the program went to was decided by one possession in four of the six games, with Texas and Tennessee being the two teams that won by more than one score (both ironically, wear a shade of orange).
Alabama and Georgia epitomize why Gameday went there, as they dueled in what looks like the game of the year. Despite a 28-0 hole, Georgia clawed their way back to the lead before eventually losing their grip on the game. Carson Beck had his worst game based on three interceptions, but he lit up the Crimson Tide in the second half. The stars shined when they had to, as Jalen Milroe made plays with both his arm and feet, and Ryan Williams showed why he should be the frontrunner for the Biletnikoff award. Milroe is in the lead for the Heisman in my opinion as well despite not consistently shredding Georgia’s defense, but Beck played himself to me into the status of best player available in next year’s draft as he made timely throws to get Georgia back into the game.
He may not go to the best team, but he is far and away the best player at a position of utmost importance, and he did, against Alabama, what he will need to be able to do when he becomes an NFL quarterback against better-coached athletes.
I’m not surprised that Alabama jumped Texas for the top spot in the polls, but I’m glad that Georgia wasn’t punished playing poorly in a large part of what was a close game, as they stay in the top 5. The SEC leads the pack with 5 teams in the top 10 and four of those five in the top 5, and the Big Ten has four teams in the top 10. I’m not a fan of four auto bids for each of the Big Ten and SEC, but right now it looks like those conferences are each good enough to get four teams into the playoff field this year. Teams like Georgia and Alabama that make it in will be battle-tested and will have earned their spot based on the games they play.
Michigan is a surprise return to the top 10 as they struggled put Minnesota away, but they will test the validity of that ranking when they play away from home for the first time. UNLV also seemed to thrive without what appeared to be their best player after Matthew Sluka redshirted for the remainder of the season.
This past week was a rough one regarding my picks as I thought Ole Miss would win going away, so that takes the cake as my worst pick of the week. I did have some good picks though where Indiana over Maryland gets the nod for best pick this past week. I hope to bounce back after a tough week in week 5.
Record after week 5: 277-83 (.769)
Week 5 record: 33-22 (.600)
October 3 (2 games):
Texas State def. Troy, 35-21
Sam Houston State def. UTEP, 38-10
October 4 (4 games):
Jacksonville State def. Kennesaw State, 35-10
TCU def. Houston, 38-17 (X)
6) Oregon def. Michigan State, 38-20
Syracuse def. 25) UNLV, 30-27
I apologize for not living up to the promise that anyone saw here by writing the remaining predictions here on Saturday morning instead. However, please find them below.
October 5 ():
7) Penn State def. UCLA, 45-17
9) Missouri def. 25) Texas A&M, 29-27
SMU def. 22) Louisville, 31-27
Wisconsin def. Purdue, 37-21
Northern Illinois def. Massachusetts, 34-20
Virginia def. Boston College, 27-23
North Carolina def. Pittsburgh, 37-34
NC State def. Wake Forest, 28-21
Navy def. Air Force, 28-21
Army def. Tulsa, 35-21
Tulane def. UAB, 37-16
Western Michigan def. Ball State, 34-27
3) Ohio State def. Iowa, 31-14
5) Georgia def. Auburn, 42-14
South Carolina def. 12) Ole Miss, 31-28
23) Indiana def. Northwestern, 27-17
UConn def. Temple, 41-17
Virginia Tech def. Stanford, 31-20
Marshall def. Appalachian State, 31-27
Toledo def. Miami (OH), 34-17
Bowling Green def. Akron, 33-18
East Carolina def. Charlotte, 30-23
Rutgers def. Nebraska, 24-20
West Virginia def. Oklahoma State, 34-30
1) Alabama def. Vanderbilt, 59-7
Oregon State def. Colorado State, 35-24
15) Clemson def. Florida State, 27-26
21) Boise State def. Utah State, 48-17
Coastal Carolina def. Old Dominion, 36-27
Arkansas State def. South Alabama, 33-30
James Madison def. UL Monroe, 34-20
Louisiana def. Southern Miss, 38-21
4) Tennessee def. Arkansas, 35-17
10) Michigan def. Washington, 24-20
11) USC def. Minnesota, 31-24
16) Iowa State def. Baylor, 27-13
San José State def. Nevada, 38-24
UCF def. Florida, 31-30
Duke def. Georgia Tech, 28-24
Arizona State def Kansas, 27-21
San Diego State def. Hawaii, 30-24
8) Miami def. California, 34-20
Texas Tech def. Arizona, 38-35
A few parting thoughts about this week’s games:
While I picked against Texas A&M, there’s no doubt in my mind Mike Elko is the right man for the job. The biggest problem they had under Jimbo Fisher is a sputtering offense, and while Elko’s coordinator experience was on defense, the offense appears to be doing play better and playing more complementary with their defense, which has allowed 18 PPG through 5 games, with an average of 16.8 allowed during their 4-game win streak. Their schedule is no slouch either and they’re 4-1, which says a lot about the job Elko is doing with a roster that appeared so disjointed under Jimbo Fisher.
I am also buying into the Duke stock – Manny Diaz has appeared to learn from his past at Miami and while I don’t think he’s changed his philosophy on defense, it is one that is motivating to players and it fits in well with a school that isn’t known for it. Duke continues to prove doubters wrong and after last week’s comeback from 20 points down to beat North Carolina and Diaz’s mentor Mack Brown, I’m a believer.
Another big question lies in the following for Ole Miss and Florida State: How will you respond? Lane Kiffin’s ole miss teams in 2021 and 2023 were able to fight through adversity well with 10-3 and 11-2 records those years, but in 2022 they went 1-5 after a 7-0 start. Florida State welcomes a major rival in Clemson, so will they be up for the challenge? My thought is, because South Carolina is tough at Williams-Brice, that Ole Miss better be ready. Clemson better be ready for a fight as well because Florida State won’t take this game lightly, especially having snapped a 9-game losing streak vs. the Tigers last year.
College Football Prediction Central with Paul Shen 