Last weekend was the “big upset that wasn’t” weekend. Auburn, Alabama, Florida State, and Oregon all had near misses. In fairness, the Alabama game wasn’t that close at the end but Florida sure had them nervous in parts of that game. And let’s all admit that every non-Alabama fan wants to see them drop 4 games this season just because they are due.
Meanwhile, the Big 10 finally realized the college football season was underway, with everyone but Michigan beating a non-conference opponent. Raise your hand if you thought you’d ever hear: “Indiana with the conference leading upset of the day.” referring to Hoosier football? Yeah, no one outside of the delusional in Bloomington has ever uttered a phrase.
Finally, I don’t want to think about the college football playoff too soon. And while ESPN is desperate to get their $7.3 billion investment back by talking about the playoff at every stop in the season I want to take the time to enjoy the ups and downs of the season before making predictions about who is in and who isn’t. Flat out, while some teams are legitimately out of contention there are probably 20 teams with realistic scenarios to get in… it’s simply too early to think about it.
San Diego State
The Aztecs made of game of Oregon State in 2013. That wasn’t to be in 2014. We were simply overmatched by a Beaver team that was bigger on defense and run by a true NFL-ready QB in Sean Mannion. He was laser-like and we struggled to disrupt his passing lanes all day. He had plenty of time and just flat-out picked us apart. That said, at 1-2 the season is hardly over. We were in the same spot in 2013 and ended up winning 8 games in a row including a bowl game. I look forward to the Aztecs heading into conference play… I think we’ll walk all over UNLV on Saturday.
Notre Dame
The Irish had a bye last week. So they got a little healthier and the pressure came off of them a bit for a week. This week, they get back 2 key starters on defense, and play in their second Shamrock Series game of the year, this time in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. (For those keeping track the Irish haven’t had a true road game yet. They are just relocating some home games to neutral sites for recruiting purposes… because they can fill any stadium, any where.) I think that Syracuse will play the Irish tough this week but ultimately Golson’s legs will remind the Orange that this is football and not basketball. (The Irish get 5-star recruits in football while the Orange get 3-4 star recruits.)
Results
Week 4: 7-6 (Another Michigan reference!)
2014 total: 18-21
Week Five Predictions
Syracuse at Notre Dame – Irish
UNLV at SDSU – Aztecs
Fresno State at New Mexico – Bulldogs
UCLA at ASU – UCLA
Tennessee at Georgia – UGa
Northwestern at Penn State – PSU
Arkansas vs. Texas A&M – A&M
Minnesota at Michigan – Gophers
Stanford at Washington – Cardinal
Cincinnati at Ohio State – Cincy
Missouri at South Carolina – Gamecocks
Boise State at Air Force – Broncos
Oregon State at USC – Beavers
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