FAVORITE TEAMS

My college football takeways from Week 8:

A few ranked teams came out flat, and not all of them recovered and Wisconsin was the victim of that fall.

Alabama should be worried about their roster. They’re slowly banged up and even a win against Tennessee doesn’t sound like a positive thing. But a true Bama fan wouldn’t worry about the quarterback situation because most know what true Bama football is.

Remember what I’ve said about the Big Ten since Week 2? It’s widdled down to only Minnesota, Penn State, and Ohio State. The Buckeyes will likely win the Big Ten unless both Penn State and Minnesota bring out the best against them.

Boise State’s loss opens opportunities for SMU and Cincinnati to run the table for a New Year’s Six Bowl bid. Their only competition left is Appalachian State, who’s still chasing for 12-0 for the first time in program history. Watch out for them!

The Pac-12 has both Oregon and Utah still alive for a playoff run, but Oregon has more to lose.

Baylor, Texas, and Iowa State vies for a spot in the Big 12 championship, while Oklahoma’s more of the obvious pick for a Big 12 championship appearance.

Can Alabama still make their way through November with all the injuries piling up and can Clemson stay alive in their playoff run? The last two weeks on the Tigers schedule becomes a tad more difficult, while the Tide’s schedule gets hefty despite the result from the LSU/Auburn game.

 

 

5) UCF (5-2 OVERALL; 2-1 AAC) AT TEMPLE (5-2 OVERALL; 2-1 AAC) – 4PM PT / 7PM ET [ESPN2]

Temple struggled to slow down SMU on the road and there was no coming back from it. But this could be their opportunity to bounce back with a big upset over once dominant UCF. UCF suffered two losses this season and both were on the road against good competition. UCF declined slightly but they can still compete. However, they will be without leading rusher Greg McCrae, so Adrian Killins must do more for the offense. The good news is that they can still run with freshmen quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who threw 60.2 percent of his completions for 2000 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. UCF must end their two-game road losing streak and come out firing early. The winner stays in the AAC East division title race with Cincinnati.

4) MISSOURI (5-2 OVERALL; 2-1 SEC) AT KENTUCKY (3-4 OVERALL; 1-4 SEC) – 4:30PM PT / 7:30PM ET [SEC NETWORK]

Kentucky hasn’t been the best in the SEC, but they’re also not the worst in the SEC either. They won against three fairly simple opponents. The four losses on their record isn’t as bad as some people would think. Heck, it took Georgia until the second half to finally score a touchdown…AT HOME no less…RAIN or shine. So what’s the point of having them in my Top 5? Well, lets see. Missouri lost four straight matchups to the Wildcats and with how their season has gone so far, they’re on upset alert. They’re also on the road for three weeks and are currently 0-2 in road games. Their defense isn’t bad, but depth at that position is dwindling due to injuries and former starter defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat leaving the team earlier this month. Kentucky doesn’t have much starpower on their roster, but the games they’ve played, especially against Florida and Georgia, shows that they’re not a team to underestimate. Expect a closer game that might go Kentucky’s way if Missouri comes out of the gate slacking.

 

3) INDIANA (5-2 OVERALL; 2-2 BIG TEN) AT NEBRASKA (4-3 OVERALL; 2-2 BIG TEN) – 12:30PM PT / 3:30PM ET [BIG TEN NETWORK]

Another matchup that doesn’t seem important but if you’re an Indiana fan, this is very important. They’re surprisingly off to a 5-2 start, which I doubt anyone notices. Despite the losses to Ohio State and Michigan State, they played through an easy schedule. Nebraska’s hype train is over and must regroup on offense to average 30 plus points again. It’s possible they can recover against Indiana’s defense since they’re at home. This is Indiana’s first 5-2 start since 2007 when they finished 7-6 on the season. They’re on the verge of bowl-eligibility. And this time, they have five games remaining to do it instead of the last week or two to be eligible. They’re also trying to end their 5-game losing streak against Nebraska. Indiana should be motivated this weekend because this is their only chance.

 

2) #6 PENN STATE (7-0 OVERALL; 4-0 BIG TEN) AT MICHIGAN STATE (4-3 OVERALL; 2-2 BIG TEN) – 12:30PM PT / 3:30PM ET [ABC]

It’s suspect that #5 through #3 shouldn’t be on the list of top games to watch, but they have a reason to be and so is this matchup. Prior to this matchup, Michigan State is 6-10 all-time against ranked Penn State. They’re also 2-6-1 all-time against Penn State when they’re ranked in the Top 10. However, Michigan State won the last two games against Penn State when they were #17 last season and #8 in 2017. Also prior to Michigan State playing their Big Ten East opponents, their defense didn’t allow 20 points this season. Once they played the first three, they allowed on average 34 points per game. With how Penn State has performed against Iowa and Michigan, this is Michigan State’s opportunity to slow down their team at home. The offense must play well and figure out how to consistently move the ball. If the Spartans’ defense gets enough stops, they could potentially ruin Penn State’s playoff run.

 

1) #9 AUBURN (6-1 OVERALL; 3-1 SEC) AT #2 LSU (7-0 OVERALL; 3-0 SEC) – 12:30PM PT / 3:30PM ET [CBS]

This game is a battle between Auburn’s defense and LSU’s offense. I can explain the stat line all I want but I’ll make this simple. LSU could destroy Auburn because Auburn’s offense is led by freshmen quarterback Bo Nix, who struggled on the road against Florida. This team also hasn’t won in Death Valley since 1999. The only chance that Auburn has of winning this game is relying heavily on their defense to pressure Joe Burrow and force turnovers. This game will have complete ramifications for the SEC and the Top 25. Auburn’s win could threaten the SEC’s top remaining teams, but LSU’s win would set up a potential Game of the Century matchup with Alabama, which would be the matchup’s second time since 2011.

 

 

*red indicates my underrated team