Football Future-see 2015: Week Nine

This is one of the most chaos-filled college football seasons in recent memory. There is still no true #1 team in the nation, but Ohio State is finally starting to look like the top ranking that the AP and Coaches insist on giving them. Now we’re approaching the home stretch for the season, and playoff resumes are beginning to take shape. It’ll be interesting, though, to see how the playoffs shape up. Anyway, this week, we have conference games from the Big XII, the SEC, and the Big Ten. We also have Notre Dame vs Temple, and the first ever appearance on the blog by William & Mary.

RECORD

Week One	9-1
Week Two	4-1
Week Three	3-2
Week Four	2-3
Week Five	2-3
Week Six	3-2
Week Seven	5-0
Week Eight	3-2
Week Nine	4-1
Week Ten
Week Eleven
Week Twelve
OVERALL	35-15	.700

The Games:

West Virginia at 5 TCU (Thursday, 7:30pm, ESPN)

The door has opened in the Big XII for TCU to take control, due to the unfortunate injury of Baylor’s starting QB. West Virginia, meanwhile, simply has not played up to the level they grew accustomed to over the last few years. TCU should be able to make a statement here. Trevone Boykin might very well put up some big numbers here, as the Mountaineers have lost three straight conference games. The only trick here is, TCU has to face a possibly Top Ten ranked Oklahoma State next week, so this has trap game written all over it. Still, I think TCU rolls, especially in the second half.

Final Score: TCU 40, West Virginia 24
CORRECT: TCU won 40-10

11 Florida vs Georgia (Saturday, 3:30pm, CBS)

While I really hope Georgia can find a way to win this game, I’m just not sure they can. Now, it’s a rivalry game, so the stats don’t really matter ( see Texas vs Oklahoma from earlier this year). But ever since Nick Chubb went down with one of the more gruesome injuries in college football history, the Dawgs have been totally deflated. They ended up losing to Tennessee and then playing a field goal battle with Missouri. Florida, meanwhile, has been playing well, their loss to LSU notwithstanding. The Gators are back, and they can put their stamp on the SEC East with a win in the World’s Largest Outdoor Non-Alcoholic Fun-For-The-Whole-Family Party. I hope Georgia wins, but I just cannot make that call right now. Florida wins.

Final Score: Florida 21, Georgia 14
CORRECT: Florida won 27-3
***There may be a scathing Georgia post coming soon...***

(FCS #9) James Madison Dukes at (FCS #16) William & Mary Tribe (Saturday, 4:00pm, NBCSN)

Why James Madison vs William & Mary? Why not James Madison vs William & Mary? The slate for the FBS is not all that great this week, and this game features two fairly strong lower-tier teams. James Madison is coming off a tough loss to Richmond, in which they lost QB Vad Lee for the remainder of the year, but they’re still tough. I’m looking for the Dukes to roll over the Tribe, especially after halftime. JMU wins.

Final Score: James Madison 38, William & Mary 24
INCORRECT: William & Mary won 44-41

9 Notre Dame at 21 Temple (Saturday, 8:00pm, ABC)

Notre Dame has overcome every injury they’ve faced. Now they must travel to Temple to face an Owls team that is simply on fire. ESPN’s College GameDay is going along for the ride. Can Notre Dame keep up their run? Or is this the game in which the Irish throw away their playoff chance? Is this the game in which Temple announces itself as a major player in the Top 25? I’m leaning toward Notre Dame, as they seem to have a sort of magic this year. Their biggest remaining test, barring next week’s match-up with potentially-ranked Pitt, is a season ending date at Stanford. Irish win, but Temple may keep it close.

Final Score: Notre Dame 24, Temple 20
CORRECT: Notre Dame won 24-20 (Nailed it!)

15 Michigan at Minnesota (Saturday, 8:00pm, ESPN)

Michigan should’ve beaten Michigan State, but now they get a chance to rebound with a conference game against Minnesota. The Wolverines are still playing at a high level, and one miscue should not be enough to doom them in the conference. They still have a big date with Ohio State to come. Minnesota, meanwhile, is 4-3, but they’ve lost to every ranked team they’ve played, and Michigan is better than every opp
CORRECT: Michigan won 29-26

Right Wing Top Ten

Week Three of the poll features some big changes.

NR = Not Ranked the previous Week

NC = No Change from previous week

+ = Moved Up

-  = Moved Down

Dropped Out: Florida State, Texas A&M

15. Michigan Wolverines (NR)

14. Florida Gators (NR)

13. Oklahoma State Cowboys (-1)

12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+1)

11. Utah Utes (-10)

10. Oklahoma Sooners (+4)- Oklahoma just put a beating on one of the better offenses in the Big XII.

9. Iowa Hawkeyes (+1)- Anyone else realize that Iowa is still undefeated?

8. Michigan State Spartans (-1)- Sparty hasn’t been playing to their potential lately, and it has cost them in this poll.

7. Ohio State Buckeyes (+2)- Ohio State is finally playing like a top-ranked team.

6. Stanford Cardinal (+2)- Stanford now has the rightful claim to the title of best team in the PAC-12.

5. TCU Horned Frogs (+1)- TCU has an rather unfortunate opening to claim the top spot in the Big XII, now that Baylor has lost their starting QB.

4. Alabama Crimson Tide (+1)- Alabama is looking at next week as their chance to reclaim the SEC’s throne.

3. Baylor Bears (NC)- Baylor has a great offense, but they just lost their starting QB, Seth Russell, to injury for the remainder of the season.

2. LSU Tigers (+2)- LSU is playing good football, but a big game next week with Alabama will tell the story of their season.

1. Clemson Tigers (+1)- Clemson just went to South Beach and laid the worst beating in history on Miami. It was so bad Miami fired their coach, so Clemson gets the top spot this week.

Right Wing Playoff Prediction

This prediction comes from the way in which the teams are currently ranked, and how I think the rest of the season will play out. This is what I think the committee will present as their playoff field.

Orange Bowl

#1 Ohio State  vs   #4 TCU Horned Frogs

Cotton Bowl

#2 Clemson Tigers  vs   #3 Alabama Crimson Tide

Football Future-see 2015: Week Eight

A perfect week last week is nice, even if certain teams did not look all that well (lookin at you, Georgia). Florida stumbled against LSU, Alabama knocked off Texas A&M, and USC fell against Notre Dame. In the “heartbreaker of the year”, Michigan bobbled the snap on a punt as time expired, and the ball seemed to fly magically into the hands of a Michigan State defender, who ran it back for the game winning touchdown. In the “make you so mad at the stupidity of people” moment of the year, Michigan fans have sent death threats to the Wolverines punter. Pathetic.

This week we’ve got two SEC conference games, one PAC-12 conference game, one Big XII conference game, and an ACC conference game, all for my good buddy Dale. (He likes the U.)

RECORD

Week One	9-1
Week Two	4-1
Week Three	3-2
Week Four	2-3
Week Five	2-3
Week Six	3-2
Week Seven	5-0
Week Eight	3-2
Week Nine
Week Ten
OVERALL	31-14	.689

The Games:

6 Clemson at Miami (Saturday, Noon, ABC)

Miami is 4-2, but their losses are interesting: a near blowout loss to Cincinnati and close loss to Florida State. Clemson, meanwhile, is distancing itself from the rest of the ACC. The Tigers have two close wins over Louisville (3 points) and Notre Dame (2 points) and their other four victories have come by an average of 26.5 points. I have a strong feeling that this game will go more like the other four than the first two. Miami is, I think, on the rise, but like other teams, they’re just not there yet. I’m looking for a big game from Deshaun Watson and the Clemson offense. Tigers win.

Final Score: Clemson 35, Miami 14
CORRECT: Clemson won 58-0

Tennessee at 8 Alabama (Saturday, 3:30pm, CBS)

Alabama is back. That’s right, they’re back. That loss to Ole Miss is looking like a distant memory. The Tide is rolling, coming off a huge win over Texas A&M. Tennessee, meanwhile, is coming off a big rivalry win over a much deflated Georgia team, and a bye week. The Vols still aren’t at the top of their game, and a fierce Crimson Tide team will probably exploit that. Alabama rolls.

Final Score: Alabama 42, Tennessee 14
CORRECT: Alabama won 19-14

Texas Tech at 17 Oklahoma (Saturday, 3:30pm, ABC)

Texas Tech has a high-octane offense, averaging nearly 50 points per game. The Sooners, meanwhile, just exorcised some demons from the loss to Texas by shutting out Kansas State 55-0. Those numbers make this a very interesting, and likely entertaining, game. Sooners QB Baker Mayfield has played well, and leads a stout Oklahoma offense. Cliff Kingsbury’s Texas Tech offense will be looking for a big conference win. They lost close to TCU (55-52) and not-so-close to Baylor (63-35). Oklahoma is still in the running for the Big XII title, and that will push them to overcome the Red Raiders offensive firepower. Close game, and high scoring, but Oklahoma wins.

Final Score: Oklahoma 38, Texas Tech 34
CORRECT: Oklahoma won 63-27

15 Texas A&M at 24 Ole Miss (Saturday, 7:00pm, ESPN)

The SEC West is still in the process of cannibalizing itself, like it does every year. Ole Miss suffered a bad loss last week, losing a non-conference game to Memphis. The Aggies are still a good team, but last week’s loss to Alabama had to have some sort of demoralizing effect on them. I don’t believe it will be enough to get Ole Miss over the hump against the Aggies, but it will serve to keep this game close. If this were in College Station, I would say that A&M would win by a much larger margin, but since it is in Oxford, I think the Rebels keep it close. Aggies win, perhaps on a late touchdown.

Final Score: Texas A&M 28, Ole Miss 24
INCORRECT: Ole Miss won 23-3

3 Utah at USC (Saturday, 8:00pm, ABC)

Personally I believe Utah is the best team in the country. They’ve faced some tough tests lately, and they’ve overcome every hurdle before them. The wins aren’t necessarily pretty, but they’re defeating some fairly hefty competition. Now, they face one of their toughest tests of the season. USC might not be ranked, but they are loaded, talent-wise, and they would love to take down the #3 team in the country. Utah needs this win to continue making their case for a playoff spot. That being the case, I think Utah comes ready fight and takes a close one over the Trojans. Utes win.

Final Score: Utah 31, USC 24
INCORRECT: USC won 42-24

Right Wing Top Ten

Week Two of my rankings comes with a new feature to the blog, showing which teams have moved in the poll, and what direction they’re going.

NR = Not Ranked the previous Week

NC = No Change from previous week

+ = Moved Up

-  = Moved Down

Dropped Out: Michigan, Florida

15. Texas A&M Aggies (-9)

14. Oklahoma Sooners (NR)

13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (NR)

12. Oklahoma State Cowboys (+3)

11. Florida State Seminoles (+3)

10. Iowa Hawkeyes (+3)- Iowa is quietly putting together one heck of a season.

9. Ohio State Buckeyes (NC)- I still don’t think Ohio State is the best team in the nation.

8. Stanford Cardinal (+4)- Stanford may not have a chance to claim the title of best in the PAC-12 until a possible date with Utah in Levi’s Stadium on December 5.

7. Michigan State Spartans (+1)- Michigan State got the better of Michigan on a fluke play. The Spartans need to play better on the whole if they want to reach the playoff.

6. TCU Horned Frogs (-2)- TCU drops for no other reason than LSU and Alabama had better weeks than they did.

5. Alabama Crimson Tide (+6)- Alabama steamrolled a Texas A&M team that just last week I said might be the best team in the SEC.

4. LSU Tigers (+1)- LSU overcame a feisty Florida team and, at least for now, has to be considered the best team in the SEC.

3. Baylor Bears (NC)- Baylor distances itself from TCU this week, seeing as they have the better offense and are probably the frontrunners in the Big XII.

2. Clemson Tigers (NC)- Clemson is still pushing to proclaim itself as the best team in the ACC. A November 7 date with Florida State looms large on their calendar.

1. Utah Utes (NC)- Utah faces the toughest test they’ve faced all year, and it’s a huge opportunity for them to prove they are the best team in the country.

Right Wing Playoff Prediction

This is not based off how the polls currently sit, but rather how I think the Playoff committee will decide the four teams that reach the playoff round.

Orange Bowl

#1 Ohio State  vs   #4 Utah Utes

Cotton Bowl

#2 Baylor Bears  vs   #3 Alabama Crimson Tide

Football Future-see 2015: Week Seven

I’m beginning to think that there is no rhyme or reason to the AP and coaches polls. In the AP recently, UGA lost 38-10 to a team five spots behind them in the poll and subsequently dropped 11 spots. This week Northwestern lost 38-0 to a team five spots behind them in the poll and fell only 6 spots. It doesn’t make any sense. And now it seems chaos is setting in on the sidelines, as well. South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier announced his immediate retirement Monday night, and USC fired head coach Steve Sarkisian, citing health reasons. More on that later…

Anyway, the last four weeks have not gone anywhere near as well as the first two weeks. For week seven we have three SEC conference games, a PAC-12 conference game, and the yearly USC-ND game. Also this week is the debut of the 2015 Right Wing Top Ten and Playoff prediction.

RECORD

Week One	9-1
Week Two	4-1
Week Three	3-2
Week Four	2-3
Week Five	2-3
Week Six	3-2
Week Seven	5-0
Week Eight
Week Nine
Week Ten
OVERALL	28-12	.700

The Games:

18 UCLA at 15 Stanford (Thursday, 10:30pm, ESPN)

UCLA was supposed to be the class of the PAC-12 this year. So far, that’s not been the case, thanks to Utah. Stanford was supposed to have fallen off, and a week one loss to Northwestern gave many people a reason to think they had. Then they beat down the Trojans of USC and now the Cardinal face off with the Bruins in a battle for California supremacy. UCLA QB Jeff Rosen has not played up to the “Rosen One” potential, and it has cost UCLA dearly at times. I’m looking for Stanford to have a similar game like they played against USC. UCLA is better than USC, so it’ll be closer, but Stanford wins.

Final Score: Stanford 24, UCLA 20
CORRECT: Stanford won 56-35

10 Alabama at 9 TAMU (Saturday, 3:30pm, CBS)

LSU thinks it is the best team in the SEC West. TAMU thinks the same thing. Alabama is one loss behind them and trying to get back into the picture. They will, if they win, after this week, since it would be a loss for TAMU and LSU remains on the schedule. But the Tide has to get by TAMU first, and that won’t be easy. Aggies QB Kyle Allen is playing some fierce football right now. The Tide has bounced back from that tough loss to Ole Miss, and can reach prominence in the West with a win here. It’ll be a bit of a shootout, but Alabama wins. Roll Tide.

Final Score: Alabama 38, TAMU 35
CORRECT: Alabama won 41-23

8 Florida at 6 LSU (Saturday, 7:00pm, ESPN)

Florida has come out of nowhere to be a force to be reckoned with in the SEC East. LSU is running closely with TAMU as the best of the West. The two meet Saturday night in what could be a statement game for Florida. It’s just another stepping stone for LSU in the fearsome SEC West. Florida needs a big road win to maintain their momentum. Losing will open the door for Georgia to start clawing back in the East. Florida’s defense is mighty, but LSU may be one of the best teams in the country. I like the Tigers to win a fairly close game.

Final Score: LSU 28, Florida 21
CORRECT: LSU won 35-28

Missouri at Georgia (Saturday, 7:30pm, SEC Network)

Back-to-back losses have plummeted Georgia out of the Top 25. Is Georgia’s season spinning out of control is was it just another case of “oh, it’s Tennessee, let’s see how many bigtime players we can get hurt in one game?” It never fails that Georgia loses at least one key offensive player during the Tennessee game. This year UT got the better of Georgia as the Dawgs watched Nick Chubb writhe in agony on the sideline after blowing out his knee. Now Georgia plays host to two-time defending SEC East champion Missouri, but the Tigers are way down this year, coming off a hard loss to Florida. Georgia should have enough weapons, and enough anger, to overcome Mizzou this year. Dawgs win.

Final Score: Georgia 34, Missouri 13
CORRECT: Georgia won 9-6

USC at 14 Notre Dame (Saturday, 7:30pm, NBC)

Reports surfaced that USC coach Steve Sarkisian was “under the influence” during the Trojans win over Arizona State. USC athletic director Pat Haden requested Sarkisian take a leave of absence on Sunday, then fired the coach on Monday. That much turmoil at the top cannot be good for USC as they visit Notre Dame. The Irish are still good, as a close loss at Clemson indicates. Even after all the injuries they’ve faced, I’m looking for Notre Dame to take full advantage of the confusion at chaos in Troy to overcome USC. Irish win.

Final Score: Notre Dame 32, USC 14
CORRECT: Notre Dame won 41-31

Right Wing Top Ten

I cannot stand a preseason poll. They’re based off speculation and memories of the previous season. Here’s my poll, or how I would vote. I prefer to let every team play at least five games before I try to determine who is the best. The AP poll has Ohio State as #1. I think they are no better than #9.

15. Oklahoma State Cowboys

14. Florida State Seminoles

13. Iowa Hawkeyes

12. Stanford Cardinal

11. Alabama Crimson Tide

10. Florida Gators- Maybe the right coach can make a difference. The Falcons are proving it in the NFL and Florida appears to be proving it in the SEC.

9. Ohio State Buckeyes- No, coaches and AP voters, Ohio State is not the best team in the nation.

8. Michigan State Spartans- Sparty is not looking like the real deal. They aren’t putting teams away the way they should and that win over Oregon doesn’t look so hot now.

7. Michigan Wolverines- Michigan is looking like the real deal, and in turn they are making Utah look even better.

6. TAMU Aggies- Why do I call them TAMU instead of Texas A&M? Because every time I update the blog, the software changes “A&M” to “A&M” and it’s annoying. (NOTE: It appears blogger has fixed this issue.)

5. LSU Tigers- LSU allowed South Carolina to use their stadium as a home away from home because of the flood in SC. Didn’t stop the Tigers from handing Spurrier yet another big loss, likely leading to his decision to retire.

4. TCU Horned Frogs- TCU and Baylor are just about interchangeable on this list. Yes, they are undefeated, but neither has a defense.

3. Baylor Bears- Baylor and TCU are just about interchangeable on this list. Yes, they are undefeated, but neither has a defense.

2. Clemson Tigers- Clemson is undefeated against a fairly difficult schedule. Now that Deshaun Watson is playing toward his potential they could get even better.

1. Utah Utes- Utah is certainly playing like the best team in the nation. Yeah, their win over Cal wasn’t pretty, but they did make Jared Goff look like he wasn’t the best QB in the country.

Right Wing Playoff Prediction

This is not based off how the polls currently sit, but rather how I think the Playoff committee will decide the four teams that reach the playoff round.

Orange Bowl

#1 Ohio State  vs   #4 TAMU Aggies

Cotton Bowl

#2 Baylor Bears  vs   #3 Utah Utes

Football Future-see 2015: Week Six

Alright, what happened? Did anyone catch the number of those buses in Athens and Gainesville, because Georgia and Ole Miss straight up got run over. In fact, the whole AP Top 25 went through some serious upheaval in just one week. Who is the number one team in the land? It’s not Ohio State, no matter what the AP says. Michigan State has struggled against lesser competition. TCU and Baylor lack defenses to go along with those offenses. Texas A&M may be the best team in the SEC. Notre Dame is complaining about a wet field in Clemson. But dwelling on the past can keep you from paying enough attention to the present. This week, we have a conference games from each of the power 5 conferences.

RECORD

Week One	9-1
Week Two	4-1
Week Three	3-2
Week Four	2-3
Week Five	2-3
Week Six	3-2
Week Seven
OVERALL	23-12	.657

The Games:

10 Oklahoma at Texas (Saturday, Noon, ABC)

The Red River Rivalry. Okay, Oklahoma can just about name their score in this game. Texas has just simply fallen so far and nothing seems able to fix it. They’re being out-recruited by Houston at this point. The Sooners, meanwhile, have a solid QB in Baker Mayfield and they have an offense just slightly less potent than TCU, who put up 50 on the Longhorns. Texas will be up a bit, since this is a rivalry game, but the Sooners will just plain roll them. Boomer Sooner!

Final Score: Oklahoma 40, Texas 14
INCORRECT: Texas won 24-17

Georgia Tech at 6 Clemson (Saturday, 3:30pm, ABC)

On October 7, 1916, the Georgia Tech Engineers (they weren’t the Yellow Jackets yet) defeated an intramural football team from tiny Cumberland College of Lebanon, TN, by the score of 222-0. That’s right, 222-0. That won’t be the case when the Jackets travel to Death Valley and face off against the Clemson Tigers. The Tigers may just be the best team in the ACC. QB Deshaun Watson is beginning to play up to that potential that he has. For that reason alone I think Clemson beats Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets may just be one of the most disappointing teams in the nation right now. I had them picked to reach the ACC Title Game and it’s starting to look like they’ll do well to be .500 on the year. Tigers win.

Final Score: Clemson 28, Georgia Tech 17
CORRECT: Clemson won 43-24

19 Georgia at Tennessee (Saturday, 3:30pm, CBS)

Georgia simply failed to show up for the game against Alabama, leading to the Dawgs picking up their first loss. Tennessee, meanwhile, has dropped close games to Oklahoma, Florida, and Arkansas, and now has Georgia and Alabama in back-to-back games. The Vols are currently 2-3, and could be 2-5 soon. The yearly match-up between Georgia and Tennessee is always close. But Georgia is coming off a whipping that calls for them to step up and play a lot better. The Dawgs O-Line has to open up as many holes as possible for Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, especially for Chubb to reach that milestone 100 yards rushing. And I think they’ll do it. Tennessee will keep it close, but Georgia will overcome and pull away in the fourth. Dawgs wins.

Final Score: Georgia 34, Tennessee 20
INCORRECT: Tennessee won 38-31

19 Northwestern at 18 Michigan (Saturday, 3:30pm, BigTen Network)

Michigan is looking more and more like the real deal. That loss to Utah doesn’t look nearly as bad as it did after the game. Jim Harbaugh has the Wolverines believing that they are a major player in the Big Ten, and I have to admit that I’m buying it. Northwestern is riding high after a big early season win over Stanford. They are also looking to stake their claim in a Big Ten that suddenly looks wide open, as neither Ohio State nor Michigan State look to be as dominant as they should be as Top-5 ranked teams. I think Michigan is just a little better than Northwestern though. Wolverines win.

Final Score: Michigan 27, Northwestern 21
CORRECT: Michigan won 38-0

23 California at 5 Utah (Saturday, 10:00pm, ESPN)

Cal has the player, Jared Goff, that may be the best QB in the country. Utah may just be the best team in the country. This game will be a big step toward one of these teams making a statement in the PAC-12. The Utes are still beaming after a huge 42-point victory over Oregon. Cal is just pushing for more respect. I like Cal’s QB, but I just don’t think they have enough to clear the roadblock that is Utah. Utes win.

Final Score: Utah 31, California 17
CORRECT: Utah won 30-24