Shakedown Saturday is here for Final Four hopefuls
It is 22 days until the College Football Playoff committee unveils its Final Four — or Alabama and three other guys as has been the case in the first three seasons of the new format to pick a national champion.
With apologies to Central Florida, there are four unbeatens that matter: Georgia, Alabama, of course, Miami and Wisconsin.
Then come the top-tier oneloss teams: Notre Dame, Clemson, Oklahoma, TCU and Washington.
This weekend offers another Shakedown Saturday or Survival Saturday (if you’re Kevin Sumlin) or whatever fancy name you want to give it.
The Big 12, which has only made the playoff once, is among the key games this week when No. 5 Oklahoma hosts No. 6 TCU.
The Sooners (8-1) are all about offense, bravado and Baker Mayfield.
“We’re built for November and this run right here,” said Mayfield, who drew plenty of notoriety earlier this season when he planted a Sooner flag at the Horseshoe after a signature win over Ohio State. “I think we’re ready for it. We’ve been talking
about it all year, that we’re going to have to play well late in the year. Right now, we’re doing just that. On to the next one for us. It’s going to be a good challenge for us.”
It’s also another chance for Mayfield to strengthen his case as the Heisman Trophy favorite. He passed for 598 yards in last week’s 65-62 win over Oklahoma State. Penn State’s Saquon Barkley and Stanford’s Bryce Love have looked only human in their recent games.
The Sooners lead the nation in total offense and passing yards per game and rank third in scoring offense. On the other side is TCU, which ranks sixth nationally in total defense and points allowed per game.
“As a defense, we like that,” TCU defensive end Mat Boesen said. “We like coming into hostile environments like that and just competing with them and giving them our all and getting after it. So I think as a team we like that, we like that pressure, we like being under pressure, being the underdog, and just coming after it.”
Once the dust has settled at Oklahoma’s Memorial Stadium, a few eyes will likely turn to South Florida, where the unbeaten and No. 7 Miami are hosting No. 3 Notre Dame.
The last time the Fighting Irish and Hurricanes met when they were both in the top 10 was 1990. Notre Dame won that year but both were playing by New Year’s Day with varying claims on the national title. Miami beat Texas in the Cotton Bowl, and Notre Dame lost to Colorado in the Orange Bowl. Colorado got the AP title, Georgia Tech was crowned by UPI, and Miami was No. 3 and felt cheated in both polls.
The new playoff format just adds to the significance of Saturday in South Bend.
Irish still in the hunt
Notre Dame has won seven in a row by an average of 25 points a game since a one-point loss to now No. 1 Georgia. But a second loss could make it tricky for the Irish to get back to the top four.
Miami has won 13 in a row dating back to a loss to Notre Dame last season but doesn’t have a signature win yet although the Hurricanes looked better in an 18-point win over Virginia Tech last week. A possible match with No. 3 Clemson in the ACC title game likely awaits Miami, which could rebound as a one-loss team. But realistically, this could be an elimination game.
“It’s really cool,” Notre Dame offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey said. “This week is kind of like, it’s old-fashioned. It’s both where these programs should be. It’s what college football wants and in some ways it’s what it needs.”
Notre Dame and Miami aren’t scheduled to play again until 2024, so college football should enjoy this one while it can.
Then there’s the SEC and Saturday’s other game with Final Four implications: No. 1 Georgia at No. 10 Auburn.
Georgia already has clinched the SEC East and, with a win over Auburn, could likely count on staying in the top four when the final teams are announced on Dec. 3 even with a potential loss in the SEC title game to Alabama.
The Bulldogs have reached 9-0 with Jake Fromm, who is looking to become the first true freshman to lead a modern-era team to the national title since Oklahoma’s Jamelle Holieway in 1985. Fromm has plenty of help from running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, who average 185.1 rushing yards and have scored 18 touchdowns on the ground.
Auburn has a path
Auburn’s rush defense has been fairly stout this season, and the Tigers despite two losses could find a way to the Final Four. All they have to do is beat Georgia this week, beat No. 2 Alabama on Nov. 25 and then win a rematch with Georgia in the SEC title game.
“We control our own destiny,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “This is a huge game, obviously, and our guys are excited. They’ve earned the right to be here in this moment.”
Easier said than done, of course.
And those other undefeateds? No. 2 Alabama is at No. 16 Mississippi State, which has won four in a row and is unbeaten at home this season.
Wisconsin is 9-0 as well, but the Badgers have played a weak schedule and would likely need to finish without a loss to join the upper echelon. They face Iowa, which handed Ohio State it’s second loss of the season last week.
And No. 18 Central Florida hosts Connecticut.