1. And then there were four. With Michigan’s 30-24 win in The Game over Ohio State on Saturday, there are now just four undefeated teams remaining: Michigan, Georgia, Washington and Florida State. Which certainly makes things simpler for the College Football Playoff committee.
Because at the moment, picking the four teams to compete in the college football playoff is now as simple as just pointing to the standings. Yet with all four of those teams playing in their respective conference championship games this weekend, there’s no way they all just win out, right? That would be too easy, too convenient. Considering how wacky this college football season has been, culminating in some wild finishes just this last week, my guess is at least one of these teams stumbles this week.
The most likely culprit to me is Washington, who started this season so strong, but have looked mortal for the last month, winning their last three games (against good teams) by a combined 12 points, while QB Michael Penix has struggled with accuracy (31-61 in his last two games). This week they get an Oregon team who thumped number 16 Oregon State last week, 31-7. Oregon’s only loss was to Washington, by 3 points, and revenge is certainly on their minds.
Also keep an eye on Florida State, who had to move on from injured QB Jordan Travis last week against Florida, and while backup Tate Rodemaker played with some confidence, Florida probably should have won the game, if it wasn’t for several dumb penalties down the stretch. Michigan should handle Iowa, as long as they can score one touchdown. And Georgia against Alabama is always going to be tough, even with UGA riding a 29-game win streak and nearing full health.
Who gets the nod if one of these teams fails? My guess is if Oregon wins, they’re in. If anyone else loses, maybe even including Alabama, Ohio State is probably right there waiting. Stay tuned…
2. I’ve come to peace with the idea that Oregon QB Bo Nix will most likely be the winner of the Heisman Trophy. To be clear, this is something that I do not endorse. To me, Bo Nix has not been the best player in college football this season–on my ballot I’d rank LSU’s Jayden Daniels as the best, with Michael Penix a close runner-up.
Which isn’t to say Bo Nix hasn’t been great. Nix has posted a career-best 3,906 yards passing, with 37 TDs against 2 INTs, in leading Oregon to a 11-1 record. Those numbers are even more staggering when you contrast them against the mediocrity Nix showed in his three seasons at Auburn.
But more than just stats, Nix just feels like the kind of player who usually ends up winning the Heisman. It isn’t necessarily the “best” professional prospect, but the guy who was the best college football player and ambassador for the sport. And in his fifth season of college football, Nix has been a really good college football player this season.
Even if Nix looks like Homelander from “The Boys.”
3. The Carolina Panthers, who are currently 1-10, parted ways with coach Frank Reich this morning, which probably shouldn’t have been much of a surprise, considering the guy who owns the Panthers was heard yelling the f-word after exiting the Panthers locker room on Sunday. The interim coach will be offensive coordinator Thomas Brown; the Panthers are ranked 30th overall in total offense.
I happened to watch a lot of the Panthers game on Sunday, and I’m not sure there’s much any coach could have done to make things better, short of running the triple option. Carolina’s field position is consistently terrible, and poor Bryce Young is basically running for his life on every pass play (he’s been sacked 40 times in 10 games). I know they ended up tanking last year, but they weren’t when the season began, and they ended up axing Matt Rhule five games into last season. Heading into next season, the Panthers will be on their third coach in three seasons. Including interims, the Panthers have had five coaches since 2019.
It all makes me think about patience, and the value of building something sustainable. Maybe when the Panthers fired those dudes, they knew Matt Rhule and Frank Reich weren’t going to get them where they needed to be. But then why did they hire them in the first place?
As a Falcons fan, the tenure of Arthur Smith has had highs and lows. And while I don’t think Desmond Ridder is the long-term answer at QB, and the Falcons are sitting at a ho-hum 5-6 this week, the Falcons are also in freaking first place in the NFC South.
I admire teams who are decisive and bold, unafraid to eat dead money and move on when the time is right. But there’s also something to be said for being steady and methodical.