FAVORITE TEAMS

BIG 12 CONFERENCE IS A BIG UNKNOWN

After approximately three to four Big 12 games, I honestly have no idea who will win the conference. Oklahoma and Texas could still battle a second place spot in the conference championship but miscues that could prevent them from it. Kansas State, Iowa State, and West Virginia may finally make their first appearance while Baylor and TCU have an opportunity for a second appearance. Let’s not forget Oklahoma State. They’re 3-0, in the Top 10 for the first time since 2017, and may have a defense that could contend for the Big 12 title, but they haven’t played tough competition just yet. Once the Big Ten and Pac-12 play in two to three weeks, we’ll see where the Big 12 stands by November. Right now, I’m not high on any of them for the playoffs except maybe Oklahoma State as long as they continue winning.

SEC’S DEFENSE AN ANOMALY OR SUSPECT?

So after three weeks of SEC football, Georgia has the best defense outright. They’re talented, experienced and can fly all over the spectrum against any team nationally and they proved it for a good long while under Kirby Smart. They allowed 37 points through three games while the second best team is Auburn with 68 (31-point separation between first and second in conference). As for the rest, is this just a slow start to a 10-game season, including the conference championship game, or is this a season issue? Outside of Georgia, I see a few mid-tier and low-tier teams allow less points while the top-tiers and the rest allow more points through three SEC games. Here’s a chart comparing 2019 points allowed to 2020 points allowed. COVID or not, this could just be temporary or something more. Also, not all SEC teams benched their players towards the end of the game to make it look like garbage points, so take that into consideration too.

CLEMSON IS 100% NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS

Clemson manhandled Miami from start to finish and gave quarterback D’Eriq King and the backfield one heck of a struggle on a wet evening. Everyone looks good and Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne dominated Miami’s defense. The rest of their schedule prior to Notre Dame should be a cakewalk unless injuries, COVID, and game-postponements become involved. Otherwise, this should be smooth sailing for the Tigers until they play against the second place ACC team in the conference championship. However…

…WATCH OUT FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA TARHEELS

We all wondered when North Carolina will “start playing football”. Their first two games were sluggish and quarterback Sam Howell was in a sophomore slump with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Game three against Virginia Tech was anything but that. The Heels came out firing on all cylinders and the Michael Carter/Javonte Williams show was on full display since running backs Elijah Hood and T.J. Logan in 2016. The offense has enough weapons in the pass and run game to compete for the ACC conference championship. The defense is alright as long as they have linebacker Chazz Surratt and the Foxes of the Front Seven (Tomari and Tomon). Their next seven games will determine if they are are a serious threat to Clemson.

CINCINNATI COULD BE THE MID -MAJORS ONLY HOPE FOR PLAYOFF CONTENTION

It’s way too early to assume anything until Cincinnati plays Tulsa this weekend. However, the Big 12 is anything but good, which opens the door for the AAC to contend until the Big Ten and Pac-12 play. Cincinnati are 3-0 along with a win against formerly ranked Army. Their defense is playing better than last season with only seven games remaining with hopefully no cancelled/postponed games. They’re ranked #8, which is the highest for a non-Power 5 team (Not named Notre Dame) this early through three games since #6 Houston in 2016. Their next two games are on the road against Tulsa and SMU. Tulsa is a potential trap game and SMU’s looking strong and in position to take the AAC West. Speaking of SMU, they have an outside chance of getting into the playoffs if they beat Top 10 Cincinnati. Outside of the AAC, BYU may have a say if they finish the regular season undefeated along with more chaos in front of them.