Cream rises to the top
It may be early, but playoff picture coming into focus
Buckeyes team to beat in Big Ten: Ohio State scored 13 points in the final eight minutes to beat Penn State on Saturday, highlighted by a 96-yard game-winning drive engineered by QB Dwayne Haskins. The Buckeyes have a clear path to a Big Ten title. Play call hard to figure: Penn State will be thinking about that fourth-down call for quite some time. After watching Trace McSorley carve up Ohio State’s defense for 461 total yards, it’s inconceivable James Franklin would chose to go with a handoff to running back Miles Sanders on a critical fourth-and-5 with 1:22 left in the game. Sanders was stuffed, sealing an Ohio State win. Clemson proves elite: Just about everybody had written off the Tigers after QB Trevor Lawrence left the game against Syracuse with an injury, but coach Dabo Swinney’s team leaned on a stout defense and punishing rushing attack to help backup Chase Brice keep them undefeated and in the playoff hunt. Notre Dame looks legit: The decision to make a switch at QB from Brandon Wimbush to Ian Book has paid off handsomely for the Irish. Book has accounted for nine TDs and the offense is averaging more than 500 yards the last two games. Couple that with a solid ‘D’ and manageable schedule and things are looking up in South Bend. The switch to Ian Book at QB has helped transform unbeaten Notre Dame into a serious playoff contender. Deja vu for Pac-12: For a conference desperate to rebound after being shut out of last year’s College Football Playoff, the Pac-12 did itself no favors after Stanford lost to Notre Dame, leaving unranked Colorado as the league’s only undefeated team. Washington and Stanford appeared to have the league’s best chance of earning a semifinal bid and both already have one loss. West Virginia may challenge Sooners: The Mountaineers could pose the biggest threat to Oklahoma in the Big 12. West Virginia is 4-0 for the first time since 2016 and should be heavy favorites until they have to face Texas, TCU and Oklahoma State in November before the regular-season finale against the Sooners. Alabama not quite perfect: It’s true. The No. 1 Crimson Tide missed two field goals during their 56-14 blowout of Louisiana. Outside of that, it’s hard to point out any faults on a team that appears to only be getting stronger each week. Mullen gets last laugh: It was an emotional day for the Florida coach, who returned to Starkville to take on his former Mississippi State team. Despite the hostile crowd, the Gators pulled out a 13-6 victory. Kentucky can win SEC East: Don’t laugh, the Wildcats are for real. Just ask Florida, Mississippi State and South Carolina, which found out the hard way. Kentucky has played with a massive chip on its shoulder all season and it has helped fuel strong play by running back Benny Snell and linebacker Josh Allen, who’ve led to the Wildcats to their best start in the SEC since 1977. Not always easy as the new guy: Scott Frost and Chip Kelly were two of the hottest coaching candidates last offseason, but things haven’t gone as planned. Nebraska and UCLA are two of four winless teams remaining at the FBS level.