College football weekend wrap-up
Scores 5C; Alabama tops Amway Coaches Poll
Finally, at the halfway point, chaos came. The unbeatens began falling. Oklahoma went down; its defense is not OK. LSU’s clunky offense is not, either, and it finally cost the Tigers a victory. Meanwhile, we are another week closer to a very loud College Football Playoff conversation that involves a bracket including Notre Dame and, at least in theory, a second Southeastern Conference team (can anyone say expansion to eight teams?).
But there’s plenty of football left. Six weeks in, we’re finally beginning to see everyone’s flaws. Even Alabama, which leads the Football Four again after Week 6, has defensive issues to work through. Or something.
But halfway through, it feels more and more like it’s ’Bama and the Buckeyes, and then maybe everyone else. As always, remember we pick the bracket as if the season was over.*
Football Four
1. Alabama: Even in a rout, there is legitimate reason for concern. As good as the Crimson Tide offense is, its defense is suspect: Giving up 31 points to Arkansas won’t make Nick Saban happy. It won’t matter against any team on the regular-season schedule. But in the Playoff ? On the other hand, with Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama is built to win a shootout, anyway.
2. Ohio State: The Buckeyes tussled
for a while with Indiana, then pulled away. Dwayne Haskins was routinely spectacular. Ohio State fits neatly into an upper tier of two along with Alabama. Could we be headed for a collision in the national championship game?
3. Clemson: Wake Forest’s (lack of ) defense was just what Clemson needed. Trevor Lawrence played well in just more than a half before things got too far out of hand. Travis Etienne led three runners with at least 100 yards. It was such a laugher, wide receiver Hunter Renfrow got his turn as third-string quarterback. 4. Georgia: The Bulldogs’ romp through the early schedule continued. Jake Fromm threw three touchdown passes, including a 75-yarder on his first attempt, and Vanderbilt was not a significant obstacle. Here comes a challenge: A trip to LSU brings a chance for us to learn a lot more about the Bulldogs.
Four more**
5. Notre Dame: Inserting Ian Book at quarterback jump-started the offense and elevated Notre Dame’s potential. How about Dexter Williams? In his second game since returning from suspension, Williams was again a game-breaker: 178 yards and three TDs, including a 97-yarder, as the Irish pulled away at Virginia Tech. Beware y’all, the remaining schedule does not seem scary.
6. Texas: In a wild upset of Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, the Longhorns showed sustained periods of domi- nance. And then, after the Sooners stormed all the way back, the Horns showed grit to win it. Are they a Playoff contender? We’ll see. But Big 12? Absolutely. They’ve run off five consecutive wins, three against ranked opponents, since that loss to Maryland to open the season. 7. West Virginia: Hey look, the Mountaineers are the Big 12’s only unbeaten team, but they ain’t played no- body, Pawwl. The schedule is backloaded. November could be wild.
8. Penn State: The NIttany Lions were idle, which wasn’t a bad way to be in Week 6. Next up, Michigan State.
*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?