Who were your five (5) favorite teams from Saturday’s games?
It seemed like yesterday’s games were the equivalent of Saturday at Augusta.. “Moving Day”. Which were your five favorite teams - and, if you care to add.. why?
Mine, in descending order are:
5. Tennessee - their offense was pretty ineffective, and that was nice to see. The love that the Vols were getting in the media was huge. They’ll fall in the next rankings release but - will be back in the: “should there be two SEC teams in the CFP” conversation in four weeks.
4. LSU - I hope their game results in just a little less “Bama deserves to be in the CFP every year” conversation. I’m not saying Saban’s reign is over, but - the fat lady’s definitely ready to go on stage.
3. ND - my view was their OL play improved significantly from their opener and it showed. Of course, I’m not “pro ND”, but I am glad they showed what a fraud Clemson is / was.
2. Michigan - because they are my team, and always will be. A “slower” start with a solid second half.
1. Northwestern - the weather dictated a game plan for the teams. I have felt that line play from the team in Columbus has been over-rated all season. It was great to see how their lines performed / executed. I hope they keep doing what they’re doing.
So, who did you enjoy watching play on Saturday?
November 6th, 2022 at 5:13 AM ^
Mgoblog offers, like all sports blogs, an especially happy home for quick bad hot takes. But the number of people here who wrote off Marcus Freeman after two-three games might deserve a special place in the College Football Hall of Whoops.
November 6th, 2022 at 6:38 AM ^
We’ll see. Clemson is a decidedly bad football team so I’m not so quick to think he is waking up the echos yet.
November 6th, 2022 at 6:56 AM ^
Meh. He had been hyped up beyond belief in the media during the off-season so it wasn't hard to imagine he'd have a reality check. But my guess was that Freeman would work out in the long run if they let him stick around, but he's facing a learning curve for sure. As others have said, Clemson was grossly overrated, so I wouldn't crown Freeman just yet either.
November 6th, 2022 at 8:15 AM ^
He has losses to Marshall and Stanford this year. If he loses to USC, it will be very hard to call this season anywhere near a success given the preseason expectations. It's not like he had to rebuild or take over a downtrodden program. The ACC is garbage this year so hard to read much into the rest of their schedule.
November 6th, 2022 at 9:58 AM ^
100%. He inherited a team that has gone 44-6 over the previous four seasons (excluding last year’s bowl loss, which was Freeman’s first game as head coach.) I don’t think he gets the first-year coach leeway most coaches get, who usually take over a mess they have to fix. Freeman was given a Ferrari out of the gate.
November 6th, 2022 at 10:21 AM ^
You mean just because you were born on third base ...
November 6th, 2022 at 8:27 AM ^
I watched the ND/Stanford game....they laid the egg in that one. Just an awful game.
November 6th, 2022 at 12:10 PM ^
Because he won a single game against a team ranked highly because of a win against perennial powerhouse Wake Forest? Cumong mang
November 6th, 2022 at 5:36 AM ^
Illinois was disappointing.
The Notre Dame beatdown of Clemson was enjoyable, as they were exposed for the overrated team that they are. The overrated team that everyone knew they were except for the committee.
November 6th, 2022 at 8:09 AM ^
The committee knew, they just wanted their check from Dabo's church to clear.
November 6th, 2022 at 5:38 AM ^
My favorite teams to watch yesterday?
1 - Michigan Defensive Team
2 - Michigan Offensive Team
3 - ND
4 - LSU
5 - Michigan Special Team
November 6th, 2022 at 9:24 AM ^
You liked watching Michigan's special teams last night? Yeesh... Not me! Jaybaugh has some work to do this week - they did not continue doing everything the best!
November 6th, 2022 at 11:02 AM ^
Mine were
1. Michael Barrett
2. The rest of the Wolverines
November 6th, 2022 at 5:52 AM ^
- Michigan
- Michigan
- Michigan
- Michigan
- Michigan
November 6th, 2022 at 8:41 AM ^
I fixed it for you….
Michigan’s offense
Michigan’s defense
Michigan’s Special Teams
Michigan’s Coaches
Michigan’s Fans
Go Blue!
November 6th, 2022 at 9:56 AM ^
Starting to sound like a James Franklin press conference...
November 6th, 2022 at 6:12 AM ^
ND kicking Clemson's sorry ass back to its rightful place is the clear #1 for me.
LSU knocking Alabama from its perch is #2.
I'll take Georgia exposing and pummeling TN at #3. The chaos this creates in the SEC is a very good thing. Now we need LSU to knock off Georgia and win the SEC. The beautiful chaos that would ensue!
Northwestern outgaining OSU was special-they're #4.
As things stand, Georgia and Michigan look like #1 and #2 respectively. Georgia looked damn good. That OSU proved itself to be so one dimensional that it could not pick itself up off the mat was pretty definitive. I have always thought that, in general, the committee has done a good job. We will see if they have the integrity to make the next ranking Georgia, Michigan, OSU, TCU. Here, hopefully "The Game" would simply move the loser to #4-and separate the two.
Still three huge games to go.
November 6th, 2022 at 6:30 AM ^
Totally agree on your rankings, but don’t think this committee has the competence to move Michigan above OSU. They’ll justify osu at 2 because 1. OSU won, even if not convincingly, 2. The weather excuse, 3. the committee seem to be comprised of middle school children who haven’t taken their adderall and muppets who don’t watch football.
November 6th, 2022 at 6:42 AM ^
Frankly I don’t think Michigan deserves to move ahead of Ohio State. The final score is lovely but watching what other elite teams can do through the air compared to what Michigan can do is alarming. I am envisioning Michigan v Georgia in my head and I’m not liking what I’m seeing. It was a dominant second half defensively but also confirmation that what we thought might be an issue is definitely an issue.
November 6th, 2022 at 7:13 AM ^
I don't agree with your reasoning. Ohio was unable to run the ball effectively against a 1-7 Northwestern and weather cannot be an excuse. In fact, buckeye has had problems running the ball much of the year. To say Michigan doesn't deserve a higher ranking, ignores the elite ground game Michigan has developed. Not saying Michigan will overtake ohio in the rankings, but there is an argument that what ohio has in the passing game Michigan has in the running game.
By the way, Northwestern matched ohio's passing yards yesterday.
November 6th, 2022 at 7:21 AM ^
I think Michigan had the opportunity to deliver a type of performance that would have moved them to 2, I just don’t think they gave it. 1. Georgia, 2. OSU, 3. Michigan, 4. TCU, 5. Tenn, 6. Oregon, 7. LSU. That is my prediction.
November 6th, 2022 at 10:57 AM ^
They won by 35 points, covered the spread, on the road, despite giving up a rare punt block TD…what on earth do you mean it wasn’t a good enough performance? OSU was tied with a worse team and didn’t take a 2-score lead until very late in the 4th quarter…
November 6th, 2022 at 7:17 AM ^
I don't see any team matching with Georgia the way they played yesterday. They are strong in trenches and they also make big plays in passing game. Do you see any team matching them in the trenches? UM has the best chance in comparison to anyone I saw yesterday. How did that sexy passing game of TN work against Georgia?
It seems Georgia has achieved Bama status from a few years ago, where they are 1 and everyone else is 4 or 5. You need a perfect game from a team to beat them with a down game from Georgia. It can happen. I give UM a better chance than many other teams (OSU-not strong in trenches, TCU-B12 D does not work, Oregon-We have seen this movie, USC-Riley is averse to D, LSU-I give them a good shot, Bama-is out). See what I mean. UM has a good shot being #2 because of their OL and DL, but there is a huge gap from Georgia. There is still 2 months left if we make it to playoff. We will see.
November 6th, 2022 at 7:35 AM ^
You are correct about being weary of a Michigan vs Georgia matchup. However, I think Georgia is the clear #1 and would expose Ohio St or any other team.
November 6th, 2022 at 8:44 AM ^
Point well taken, however our run game seems better than other teams. And JJ does have a good passing / running game. Our D is what No.# 3 in CFB? Ga. yea they're on another level.
November 6th, 2022 at 8:46 AM ^
Do I wish our air attack is better, yes. We scored 38 points in the 2nd half with 28 of those point coming in the 3rd quarter. With this team, I think focusing on the passing game is not always a fair criticism with this team. The fact that we have Corum is naturally going to cause us to run the ball more. He is the best player in CFB right now.
November 6th, 2022 at 9:44 AM ^
I think this is exactly the type of hand waving of obvious weaknesses that people were saying was going to take place in the game thread after we came back and won the game. Right now Michigan has no vertical passing game, full stop. It’s a problem. Glad they got the win, looks like a pretty easy road to Deathmatch 3 with OSU. The pass game has to start click though. It has to. Stokes looks like a serviceable #2 back. At this point I think they should just move Edwards to WR1 on the outside.
November 6th, 2022 at 10:47 AM ^
I think Corum is absolutely exhausted from being run in the red for 3-4 games straight. I don't think we have the depth to take Edwards out of RB. I think that's why we saw so much more Edwards last night, Corum looked spent.
November 6th, 2022 at 10:52 AM ^
That is why we have to start finding ways to move the ball through the air. Corum IS spent. I honestly think they should throw 20 straight passes to open the game against Nebraska. Take the crutches away and force them to walk.
November 6th, 2022 at 11:26 AM ^
I don't disagree that UM has to do better in passing game. OSU has similar problems in running game and not necessarily strong in the trenches. They are not going to be able to fix that in time for The Game. UM may be able to have a serviceable passing game. No team is perfect is what I am trying to say and we all are focused way too much on UM's weakness only. Georgia seems to be strong on all aspects, especially in the OL and DL
November 6th, 2022 at 7:00 AM ^
weather should not be an excuse in football. a good team should be ready to play under any condition
November 6th, 2022 at 10:42 AM ^
Kye, it’s not like this weather “cane out of nowhere”, it was being projected for five days. So, there was plenty of time to plan for it.
And, some people are talking about “the rain”, I don’t live too far from Evanston - it was very windy, but the precipitation wasn’t that bad.
November 6th, 2022 at 7:44 AM ^
Every replay of the OSU game talked about the weather. Northwestern must have pulled the dome over when they were on offense
November 6th, 2022 at 8:31 AM ^
Did NU passed for more yards than OSU? It felt like it.
November 6th, 2022 at 9:45 AM ^
Stroud was 10/26 for 76 yards. Sullivan was 10/14 for 79 yards.
November 6th, 2022 at 10:14 AM ^
Most of Sullivan's passes were short dump offs whereas Stroud's were at least 15 to 20-yard versions. NU had zero passes over 15 yards. The point being that if opposing LBs and DBs can cover for at least 3 or 4 seconds, Stroud in not effective
November 6th, 2022 at 9:21 AM ^
If LSU beat UGA, there would be ESPN talking heads saying all 4 SEC teams should make the playoff.
November 6th, 2022 at 10:29 AM ^
LSU winning the SEC championship wouldnt eliminate Georgia it would add LSU. No thanks
South Carolina wins out
Georgia wins out
No Tennessee
No Clemson
No LSU
No Bama
Georgia isnt missing these playoffs.
November 6th, 2022 at 6:22 AM ^
Media love for TN’s offense reminds me of hearing the commentator in the OSU-M game in 2006 say “nobody is stopping this buckeye team.”
a few weeks later, FL completely clobbered OSU in the national championship and stifled the unstoppable offense.
GA proved again that dynamic defense and a more NFL-style offense will last through weather issues and deep into the playoff.
it was also a joy to watch ND expose Clemson in such an embarrassing manner.
I hope some media outlets point out that this weekend also exposed the inaccuracy of the initial CFP rankings. The committee really made some terrible calls. Clemson looked average all year, so claiming that “a win is a win” is not the full story. Top Teams shouldn’t look like crap against below avg or mediocre opponents. Clemson has struggled all year and squeaked out some wins against mediocre opponents.
November 6th, 2022 at 7:10 AM ^
I’m gonna briefly glom on to the word “inaccuracy” here. The committee’s job is not to predict who will win which games. If they are projecting forward, then they are doing their jobs totally backwards, and that would be very bad for the sport. One could very credibly say that on a neutral field, Alabama could beat almost anyone, including the two teams that beat them in their own stadiums. But they do not deserve to be in the playoff. Deserve’s got everything to do with it.
Clemson had indeed been winning ugly. It was likely their expiration date going ti arrive. But the committee shouldn’t be in the business of prognosticating.
I’m not defending nor impugning last week’s rankings. But they are meant to judge on the available data.
November 6th, 2022 at 7:39 AM ^
The committee does what suits them. Resume when it's convenient. Eye test when it's not. Shuffle the deck to get whatever answer confirms their bias.
November 6th, 2022 at 9:38 AM ^
November 6th, 2022 at 7:44 AM ^
Your argument fails when OSU had was put ahead of UM. ND did not have a good team at that point. OSU beat PSU on the road, in the fourth quarter. UM clobbered them at home. Why rank OSU 3 spots ahead of UM and 1 spot over Georgia? Style points?
November 6th, 2022 at 8:44 AM ^
The committee, my feelings only, tend to punish teams for things that weren't indicative of the results on the field. For example, Michigan doesn't normally run up the score and play more to win a game and not lose it (think NFL) rather than show off for a committee (definitely NCAA). They also punish you for your schedule, which in the case of Michigan 2022, fair. But sometimes the 3 teams you chose to schedule just have off years. Sometimes they play well and shock you. This seems like it should not be punished as it's out of the direct control of the team that year.
They tend to justify each place on the rankings by some varying statement. Those justifications shift from team to team or week to week. They, in short, sound like clueless bosses in a performance review leaning on soft skills as opposed to performance data such as, "your interpersonal skills could use improvement, your leadership skills are lacking, or you aren't a team player".
This week I fully expect them to play up LSU as a quality team on the rise, Norte Dame as an underated 3 loss team and keep Clemson and Bama in the top 10. They will say since ND is now a good team, so is OSU better than Michigan (which maybe true at the end of it all, but doesn't work so far based on result).
I don't think they are biased against Michigan, but their principles are often contradicted by data. S&P+ had Clemson at 14 last week, while the committee had then at 4. Incredible.
November 6th, 2022 at 9:35 AM ^
They were already playing up LSU as a quality by putting them at 10. They will also keep Penn State out of the top 10 no matter what.
November 6th, 2022 at 9:50 AM ^
Putting LSU at #10 was only because they were playing Alabama this weekend and they wanted to hype a top ten SEC matchup and, as usual, prop up Bama to give them another quality win HAD they won for the playoffs. If LSU had played Vanderbilt this weekend instead of Bama, they would have stayed ranked #16.
But you're probably right about Penn State.
November 6th, 2022 at 10:57 AM ^
I don’t know, man. I think LSU is pretty damn good.
November 6th, 2022 at 9:47 AM ^
They only punish schedules for teams outside the ACC and SEC.
November 6th, 2022 at 9:33 AM ^
I mean, because OSU scheduled, played, and beat a ranked Notre Dame team. (Yes, they aren't that good -- not the point). Michigan scheduled, played, and beat Hawaii. Of course OSU should be ranked ahead of us. They played in a rain storm, on the road, and won by two touchdowns.
I'm not saying OSU is better than us, nor that they'll win in three weeks. But to insist that Michigan should be ranked ahead of OSU at this point is to reject the idea that you should get any credit at all for at least trying to play a good non-conference schedule.
If we beat them, we'll be (properly) ranked ahead of them. If they beat us, we'll be (properly) ranked behind them. Who the F cares what the rankings are now?
November 6th, 2022 at 11:10 AM ^
Meh. Notre Dame vs UCONN would be a close game.