- Texas A&M is the last undefeated team in the SEC, but faces tough road games ahead.
- Miami’s loss to Louisville means the Hurricanes no longer control their path to the ACC championship.
- BYU remains the only unbeaten team in the Big 12 after defeating rival Utah.
From a 95-yard scoop-and-score in Durham, North Carolina, to a 100-yard pick six in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to a punt returner saving the day in Lexington, Kentucky, Week 8 of the college football season presented more examples of just how fragile the illusion of game control can be. It is just that aspect of the sport that fuels us here at Overreaction HQ.
Once again we’ll leave the continual spinning of the coaching carousel for others to dissect and concentrate on the changing fortunes of the various playoff contenders.
Here are the top five overreactions from the weekend, starting as we often do in the land of ‘just means more.’
Texas A&M will sweep the SEC
A&M is the last team standing with an unblemished record in the ultra-competitive SEC, and there’s a decent chance the Aggies can keep it that way until the conference championship game. Part of that, of course, is attributable to favorable scheduling. While there are still 10 teams from the league currently ranked in the US LBM Coaches Poll, the Aggies’ first four league victories have come against the eight other unranked squads. Furthermore, though there are five other SEC teams ranked No. 12 or higher, the Aggies will not encounter any of the other four in the regular season.
None of this is to say things will be easy for the Aggies the rest of the way. Their next two league contests are on the road at LSU and Missouri, both of which will be in full desperation mode in search of quality wins by the time A&M comes to town. Then there’s the regular-season finale against Texas, a rivalry game in which strange things often happen despite what we’ve seen from the punchless Longhorns.
This is also in no way meant to diminish what the Aggies have accomplished thus far. Their September triumph at Notre Dame has held up quite well, and, as mentioned above, sometimes the difference between winning and losing comes down to just a play or two. Even A&M’s own fans would likely admit they’re somewhat fortunate to have their lofty poll position., but they also aren’t about to apologize for it.
Miami is fine
While a single loss isn’t usually a season killer, the Hurricanes’ mistake-filled setback against Louisville Friday night might have been more costly than it appeared initially. For one thing, the ‘Canes can no longer win their own way to the ACC championship game. Three teams remain without a conference loss, and SMU is the only one of that threesome Miami will meet in person. The Hurricanes don’t face Georgia Tech or Virginia, nor do the Yellow Jackets and Cavaliers play each other. If those two run the table – admittedly a long shot given the number of close calls they’ve already survived –, Miami will have to hope its at-large credentials will suffice for playoff inclusion.
On the plus side, Notre Dame has done Miami a solid by continuing to stack wins, and the Hurricanes’ victory against South Florida has also retained its value. So while one loss might indeed not be fatal for the ‘Canes, they’d be advised not to suffer a second one.
Brigham Young will win the Big 12.
The numerically incorrect Large Dozen is also left with just one unbeaten squad, and the Cougars’ most recent triumph of their 7-0 start was undoubtedly the most satisfying as they took down in-state rival Utah. But while winning the Holy War is always nice, BYU has a lot of work to do to secure a spot in the league title game.
Three difficult conference road tests await, starting next week at rested Iowa State which will be highly motivated to snap its two-game skid. BYU must also travel to Texas Tech, very much still in the hunt despite falling from the ranks of the undefeated over the weekend, and to red-hot Cincinnati, currently on a six-game winning streak since dropping its opener to Nebraska. A sweep of those three for BYU might be asking too much, but if the Cougars can manage to take two of those they’ll likely find their way to the title tilt in Arlington, Texas.
UCLA could win the Big Ten
The Bruins ran their improbable winning streak to three this weekend by staving off Maryland with a late field goal. As crazy as it sounds, the Bruins, who began the year 0-4 and are being led by an interim coach, have a path to the Big Ten championship game.
It’s not going to happen, but in the literal sense of the term UCLA does control its own destiny in the conference. All the Bruins have to do is win the rest of their games. That would of course include a victory in the season finale against cross-town foe Southern California. And oh yeah, they’d also need to beat both Indiana and Ohio State on the road. The ride will almost certainly come to an end next week in Bloomington, but there’s an element of optimism among the fan base that has assuredly not been present for a number of years.
The American champ will be in the playoff
Despite the almost unfathomable meltdown by Memphis resulting in a damaging loss to Alabama-Birmingham, conventional wisdom still has it that whoever emerges from the American will be the fifth conference champion to earn automatic inclusion into the 12-team playoff field, a spot which went to Mountain West champ Boise State last year. It was in fact the two-loss Broncos themselves who bolstered that line of argument for the American by knocking UNLV from the ranks of the unbeaten and gaining control of the MWC race. But given Boise State’s season-opening loss at South Florida, it would be behind the Bulls should both win their respective leagues and are likely behind the contenders from the American.
Said American contenders, however, are beginning to pick each other off as we’ve already seen. The conference is still likely in the driver’s seat as long as the champ gets through with two or fewer total losses, but that is anything but a guarantee. One should also not dismiss the possibility of an interloper from the Sun Belt swooping in. James Madison is lurking with just a single loss, and certainly not a bad one at Louisville. However, the Dukes likely won’t have the quality wins needed to stack up at 11-1 unless chaos happens. In short, the remainder of the season figures to be quite interesting in numerous locales.