Oklahoma out of Football Four after close call in OT
The latest manufactured “could give Alabama a run” matchup was Texas A&M. The answer: “Umm, no.” Afterward, Nick Saban asked for some bad press — really, look it up, he did — apparently fearing his team will get a bit high on itself. So the Football Four will try to oblige.
One note of caution: It is worth wondering whether the last couple of opponents were as good as their billing (or, given other results Saturday, how good a couple of future opponents really are).
Clearly, though, the Crimson Tide are very, very good — college football’s best. But we went ahead and picked other teams, too, because they’ll get a shot. Remember even though it’s Week 4, we pick the College Football Playoff bracket as if the season was over.*
Football Four
1. Alabama: More bad press: To nitpick, the run game was subpar. But sorry Nick, that might not matter. Tua Tagovailoa’s passing has turned the Tide into something much more formidable than in the last few years, and they have more weapons than ever before, too.
2. Ohio State: The Buckeyes continued their impressive performances under interim coach Ryan Day — wait, what? Well, they remained super impressive. Dwayne Haskins has supercharged the offense.
3. Clemson: Trevor Lawrence, everyone — and see how Clemson’s offense ascends to another level with the freshman QB. We already knew the defense was fairly solid.
4. Georgia: The Bulldogs were pushed a little by Missouri. The defense was shy of dominant, but a couple of non-offensive touchdowns altered momentum and started ’em rolling to a convincing road win.
Four More**
5. Oklahoma: Army vs. Oklahoma almost took us back to 1946, and that was just the no-TV part. Controlling the clock for almost 45 minutes, the Black Knights were thisclose to a gigantic upset. The Sooners escape, but they fall out of the Football Four.
6. Penn State: A 35-0 fourth quarter turned a surprisingly tight game into a laugher. The Nittany Lions will have to be better in the showdown against Ohio State at Happy Valley.
7. Notre Dame: The Irish found a quarterback. At least against Wake Forest, Ian Book made them a different, much more dangerous bunch.
8. LSU: Maybe nothing’s going to come easy for these Tigers. The final score against Louisiana Tech is respectable. But they led 24-21 in the fourth quarter before pulling away. It’s a win, but this thrill ride feels iffy.
A Few More After That***
Stanford: We’re still not sure how the Cardinal did it. Rallying from a 17-point deficit to win in overtime at Oregon qualifies as so very #Pac12AfterDark. It also qualifies as a very nice win.
West Virginia: Grier to Sills. Grier to Sills. Grier to Sills. The Mountaineers keep rolling.
Auburn: Not pretty at all, but Auburn eventually beat up on Arkansas. The Tigers have some issues, though.
Washington: The Huskies keep scuffling, but they keep winning. Will grit be good enough to run through the Pac-12?
Michigan: The Wolverines played Harbaugh’s preferred bash-ball style against Nebraska, and … wow.
Central Florida: The winning streak is 16 after whipping Florida Atlantic. McKenzie Milton, y’all.
Kentucky: Hey, the Wildcats are 4-0! In football! After shutting down Mississippi State, it’s time we take them seriously.
Futile Four****
Virginia Tech: The lunch-pail defense got rolled by Old Dominion’s backup quarterback. Oklahoma State: Remember how nice things seemed after dominating
Boise State? Oof.
Tennessee: Only one player was asked to leave midgame vs. Florida, even if it felt like more. The losing streak in Southeastern Conference play is 10.
Nebraska: The ’Huskers have hit bottom, according to Scott Frost. The ’Huskers hope so, because the terrible firsts keep coming (first 0-3 since 1945). *The season is not over. **Don’t be worried that your team sits just outside the cut. This is a weekly snapshot. And what do we know, anyway?
***See the previous note, but it’s OK to be slightly concerned or very angry. But what do we know, anyway?
****No note necessary