Photo Credit: clutchpoints.com
College football is always as electric as it gets. Rocky Top showcased that on October 15th, they would play host to the number three ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Tennessee came into the game as nine-point underdogs, but Jalin Hyatt and Hendon Hooker played like big dogs.
Hooker and Hyatt hooked up for five touchdowns on the day, and Tennessee would squeak past Alabama 52-49. Tennessee fans went nuts after the Vols win and stormed the field, which resulted in the field goalpost being taken out of the ground and out of the stadium before ending up in the Tennessee River.
College football has always been a game of surprises; there have been many this year. Notre Dame ranked fifth in the nation, and Texas A&M started the year ranked sixth. Both programs would quickly be exposed to open the season. Notre Dame has managed to catch themselves and fight for a 5-3 record, but Texas A&M’s freefall continues.
Both the Fighting Irish and the Aggies will look to bounce back, and the programs have the top 20 recruiting classes in the nation for next year. It will be interesting to see how long Jimbo Fisher remains in College Station, as he is yet to get the job done for the Aggies.
Hendon Hooker and C.J. Stroud have emerged as the Heisman favorites at the mid-season mark. Stroud ranks 12th in the nation in passing yards at 2,377, while Hooker sits 15th with 2,338 yards passing.
Stroud is also tied first in passing touchdowns at 29 with North Carolina’s freshman quarterback Drake Maye. Hendon Hooker ranks second in passer rating at 191.6, while the first-place quarterback has a rating of 200.2, which is C.J. Stroud.
Blake Corum has been another name in the Heisman conversation with Stroud and Hooker. Corum has propelled Michigan to an 8-0 start behind his 14 touchdowns which are the second most in all of college football.
This week in college football is a good one. CFB number one Tennessee will head to Athens to take on the defending champion and AP number one ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the game of the week.
Number six Alabama will take on number ten LSU down in Baton Rouge as both teams look for a statement win.
Texas takes on Kansas State in a Big 12 battle with significant implications. Number four, Clemson will travel to South Bend, Indiana, to take on Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish will look for a huge win, and the Tigers will look to solidify their resume. The Clemson Tigers will be on upset watch this week as Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame look to play spoiler on the Tigers’ season.
Each Power Five Conference is a close race for a Championship Game bid. The ACC looks like it will come down to Clemson playing North Carolina in the Championship game. The Big 12 is a close race, but I believe it will be TCU playing Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship game.
The Big Ten is up for grabs in the West and in the East, Michigan and Ohio State look like they are going to battle in the final game of the year to determine the Big Ten East Champ. Ohio State will come out on top in the East, and Illinois will come out on top of the West, setting up their Big Ten Championship game.
The Pac-12 has five ranked teams at the top of their conference standings. Oregon and USC seem like they’re going to coast to the Championship game, but UCLA will try and pave their way to the Championship. The winner of the Tennessee and Georgia matchup this week will likely be the winner of the SEC East, and the LSU and Alabama game will probably be the winner of the SEC West.
First-year head coaches are always interesting to watch in college football. Mario Cristobal left Oregon to become the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes. Cristobal’s Hurricanes haven’t lived up to their preseason expectations, with a 4-4 record to start Cristobal’s tenure. TCU moved on to Sonny Dykes, which could not have been more perfect for the Horned Frogs. TCU has started its season 8-0 and they sit at number seven in the latest rankings. Marcus Freeman did not get off to a hot head coaching start in Notre Dame.
The Irish started 0-2 with losses to Ohio State and Marshall. Notre Dame has beaten two Top 25 teams this season in Syracuse and BYU, leading them back to a 5-3 record. Brian Kelly’s LSU coaching career did not get off on the right foot with a loss to Florida State.
But LSU has bounced back in a big way and has gone 6-1 since then, resulting in a 6-2 record and the number ten team in the nation. With Mario Cristobal leaving Oregon, Dan Lanning would take over.
Lanning and the Ducks had a rough start getting blown out by 46 by Georgia. Oregon has won their last seven games to improve to 7-1 and own the number eight ranking in all college football.
Billy Napier took over the reins for the Florida Gators this season, and Florida has struggled mightily in conference play. Overall the Gators are 4-4 on the year and 1-3 in conference play. One of the most prominent head coach signings of the off-season was Lincoln Riley to USC.
Riley has done a fantastic job with the Trojans leading them to a 7-1 start and a number nine ranking. USC’s only loss came at the hands of Utah in a 43-42 loss. Brent Venables was Lincoln Riley’s replacement at Oklahoma, who sits at 5-3 and unranked. Venables was the defensive coordinator for Clemson, and coming over being a defensive-minded coach might help Oklahoma’s defense, but Texas had other thoughts. Texas handed Oklahoma a 49-0 loss and left Sooner Nation stunned.
