Unbeaten battles will provide clarity

Yeah, we all mostly looked at the first weekend of November as a diversion to get us to next weekend – when we’ll get two matchups of unbeatens, including LSU at Alabama and all of the takes about how the Southeastern Conference West Division showdown could be a Football Four accelerant … for both teams. Hold that thought. No really, hold it, because it remains unlikely – at least in part because of some potentially important developments in Week 10.

Out West, the Pac-12 (Remember it? Left for dead after Week 1?) had a very good weekend and remains very much alive.

Utah won at Washington – oh, how the Huskies have fallen – and then Oregon blew out Southern California, a dominant performance and stunning scene at the Coliseum. The result might have sealed Clay Helton’s fate. It also put Utah in control of the Pac-12 South Division. And the combination means we might be headed for a Pac-12 championship matchup of Top 10 teams. The winner could slide right into the Football Four.

Not this week, though. Not yet. Meanwhile, it had been an odd and tumultuous few weeks for Georgia: a horrible loss to South Carolina. A slog past Kentucky in the rain. A bunch of concern about the offense. Underlying everything, significant worry that this season, which was supposed to be the season when everything came together, might instead unravel.

A 24-17 win against rival Florida did not answer all of the questions or guarantee Georgia will meet its lofty expectations. It’s still uncertain whether the Bulldogs have the firepower to beat, say, Alabama or LSU in an SEC championship matchup.

But it was certainly cathartic. Jake Fromm was good. His receivers were legitimately dangerous. The Bulldogs were just better than Florida. What that means, who knows? But Georgia remains on track for at least a shot at reaching the Football Four.

As always, remember we pick the bracket as if the season was over today.* (Now, let’s move on to those matchups of unbeatens this week in Tuscaloosa and, uh, Minneapolis!)

Football Four

1. Ohio State – Took Saturday off, which is nice. And the next couple of weeks – Maryland! At Rutgers! – don’t look too much more challenging than “Bye” was. Not until Nov. 23 does Penn State come to Columbus, and after that there’s a little trip to Ann Arbor.

2. LSU – Took it easy Saturday, which is good because it won’t be easy in Tuscaloosa next Saturday. The Tigers have the best resume, but this will easily be their biggest test.

3. Alabama – Took it easy Saturday, which is good because it won’t be easy at home next Saturday. The Tide have played, well, nobody – they’ve had the softest schedule of any of the contenders. That changes with LSU.

4. Clemson – The continued conflation of that September escape against North Carolina with all of those other games in which the Tigers have been routinely dominant is a weird, weird thing. Clemson has been very, very good. (That said, Clemson should not play football against Wofford. Clemson should hang with Wofford at a cookout over at Dabo’s house.)

Four More**

5. Penn State – The Nittany Lions were off. This week, a visit to Minneapolis for a battle of unbeatens. Even as the undercard, it should be fun. We’ll find out if the Gophers are for real, and Penn

State could vault into legitimate Football Four contention.

6. Oregon – In recent years when the Ducks have forged special seasons, those have included important wins against USC. How does 56-24 at the Coliseum fit? Yeah, the Trojans are melting down, but Oregon had plenty to do with it. If the Ducks keep winning, they’ll be positioned for the Football Four bracket.

7. Georgia – A grinder of a game, which is the kind Kirby Smart likes, as the Bulldogs knocked rival Florida out of the Football Four race while staying in it themselves. Oh, and the coach wants us to know Jake Fromm can pass, which wasn’t in doubt. Georgia’s offensive philosophy? That remains in doubt. But not Fromm’s passing ability.

8. Utah – The Utes went to Seattle and ground out a fourth-quarter comeback win against Washington. Then Oregon dropped USC, putting Utah in control of the Pac-12 South. Could we be headed for a Pac-12 championship game that’s a de facto Playoff quarterfinal? Maybe.

*The season is not over today. **Don’t be worried that your team sits just outside the cut. This is a weekly snapshot. And what do we know, anyway?