Welcome to the eighth edition for the junior season of The Hangover, where I recap the previous weekend in college football. This week, The Hangover comes to you from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where I saw LSU get by Auburn despite plenty of sloppy play. There is a ton to parse through from this past weekend, so let’s dive in!
Before starting work for the Auburn-LSU game, we sat with many as the madness unfolded between Oklahoma and Kansas State on Saturday. The Wildcats blew the game open in the third and early fourth quarter, then Jalen Hurts led a magnificent comeback attempt that came up just short after a somewhat controversial onside kick. Now, the Big 12 is out of undefeated teams and the CFP landscape has completely shifted. Here are some of the winners and losers from the shocker in Manhattan.
Winner: The Pac-12’s Playoff Chances
Oregon and Utah are now very much back in the thick of things after the Sooners’ defeat. As stated before in this column, I think Oregon will continue to rise in the rankings as long as they keep winning. If you’re going to lose, getting it out of the way in Week One is the best way to do it. I’m not sure either of these teams from out west could hang with Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama, or LSU if they played head-to-head, but the Utes and Ducks are waiting in the wings to move ahead of any of these squads if they slip up down the stretch.
Loser: Jalen Hurts for Heisman
It’s unfair because Hurts isn’t the reason Oklahoma lost Saturday (he had 491 yards of offense), but his stock takes a hit all the same because none of the other contenders have lost this year. In our opinion, Hurts now sits fourth behind Joe Burrow, Chase Young from Ohio State, and Tua Tagovailoa. Jalen can certainly move back up the list, but it’ll take more heroic efforts the rest of the season.
Winner: The Loser of Alabama-LSU
Whichever team loses the “Game of the Century” coming up on November 9th will be ranked ahead of Oklahoma barring a complete blowout. That’d wouldn’t have been the case, obviously, if the Sooners were still undefeated. Now, though, the door is wide open for two SEC West teams to make the CFP as long as that game between the Tide and Tigers is somewhat close.
Loser: The Big 12
The Big 12’s bell cow is now officially undefeated Baylor. I’m not saying the Bears can’t win the conference, but it’s hard to imagine Matt Rhule’s squad running the table. At best, we see Baylor going 12-1, which wouldn’t be enough to make the playoff but would probably guarantee a second loss for Oklahoma, which would knock the Sooners out. So yeah, the Big 12 is in an extremely precarious situation.
It’s not fair to completely write off the Sooners after the loss to Kansas State, but the road is much harder now for Jalen Hurts and company. At this point, it will take a lot of falling dominoes to get Oklahoma back in a favorable position for the playoff.
More Week Nine Thoughts
-LSU’s ugly win over Auburn probably didn’t win over any new fans, but I see the 23-20 victory as a positive. The Bayou Bengals finally got a sloppy, scrappy game full of adversity, and they really dominated for the most part. Auburn couldn’t do much on offense, and the LSU defense was smothering. It’s hard not to continuously be impressed by Ed Orgeron’s team.
-Jonathan Taylor had just 52 rushing yards on 20 carries for Wisconsin in a 38-7 loss to Ohio State, and that stat alone shows why the Buckeyes have been so impressive this season. Many times last season, we saw opponents pop off for crazy amounts of yardage on the ground. Not so much this year, as Ohio State continues to shine on that side of the ball.
-Is Tennessee good now? The Vols have seemingly gotten it together, and they looked as impressive as they have all year in a 41-21 win over South Carolina Saturday. Now at 3-5, Tennessee has a chance to make a bowl game with UAB, at Kentucky, at Missouri, and Vanderbilt ahead on the schedule. After a disastrous start to the year, the turnaround from Jeremy Pruitt’s team is impressive.
-Minnesota’s 52-10 win over Maryland prior to a bye week sets up an undefeated match-up between the Gophers and the Nittany Lions of Penn State on November 9th. It’ll be an 11 am CT kick, and all eyes should be on Minneapolis as we all wait and see if P.J. Fleck’s team is for real.
-Two weeks ago, we delivered the official list of teams still eligible to make the College Football Playoff according to trends of past seasons. Last week’s results slimmed the list down to 17, and this week we say goodbye to three more squads: Wisconsin, Auburn, and Notre Dame. Now, 14 teams have a chance at the playoff.
Gray’s Top Ten
- LSU
- Ohio State
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Penn State
- Florida
- Oregon
- Georgia
- Utah
- Oklahoma
Don’t look at this as me dropping Alabama. Instead, think of it as me advancing Ohio State. Look, the Buckeyes are scary. This defense is extremely legit, and J.K. Dobbins may be the best running back in the country. Still, Ohio State’s win over Wisconsin wasn’t quite enough to bump them over LSU, who stays at number one. Clemson is four, but the Tigers are seemingly back on the right track. Penn State moves into the top five after another suffocating win, and Florida sits at six ahead of this weekend’s game against Georgia, who I have at eight. Oregon escaped Washington State late Saturday night to move into the seven spot, and Pac-12 counterpart Utah makes an appearance in the top ten for the first time since the Week Three edition of The Hangover. Finally, Oklahoma clings to the ten spot, just ahead of Baylor and SMU.
Coach of the Week
You’re playing football in a monsoon. The weather is gross, and the rain is harsh. What do you do? Run it 57 times and only throw the football 14 times. Yes, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis have made it into the COTW spot for the first time this year. The Wolverines recognized the situation at hand and called plays that gave them the best chance to win against Notre Dame, and it worked to the tune of a 45-14 blowout. Compare that to the Fighting Irish, who called 29 passing plays compared to 31 runs. A little of that was because Notre Dame was trying to fight back from a deficit, but it wasn’t the total reason–Brian Kelly’s squad threw it 13 times in the first half compared to 15 rushing plays. Michigan’s offense looks like it has turned a corner, and a lot of credit goes to the coaches who’ve apparently gotten the message across.
Idiot of the Week
As children, we are taught to “look both ways before you cross the street.” I’m no football coach, but I recommend we create a new phrase: “look for a teammate before you pitch the ball.”
After Kansas’ 40-yard field goal was blocked by Texas Tech, Red Raiders safety Douglas Coleman picked up the loose ball for the return. Coleman danced around for a moment and then, without an avenue in front of him, pitched it to…nobody. Kansas recovered and kicked another field goal with two seconds left to get Les Miles his first Big 12 win with the Jayhawks.
150 Corner
Watching Michigan and Notre Dame this past weekend reminded us of all the various entertaining match-ups between these two rivals over the years. Since the Wolverines and Fighting Irish won’t be meeting again until 2033 (which means freshmen on those teams are currently around four years old), we thought we’d provide some of the best recent moments from the series. Hint: Saturday’s game is not among these highlights.
Random Rankings
Here at RR HQ, we have a stocked fridge. It’s got waters mostly, and maybe a Milo’s sweet tea every once in a while, but occasionally on the weekends we will indulge in some libations. When picking domestic beers for these ventures, here’s the hierarchy of our choices. Remember, this list is final. You may disagree, but it won’t change a thing.
- Michelob Ultra
- Coors Light
- Miller Lite
- Bud Light
- Busch Light
SEC Power Rankings
As we get closer and closer to the final month of the regular season, the SEC continues to look like a mess behind the top five. How can anyone rank these teams when things change weekly? We’ll give it a shot anyway. Here’s how The Hangover sees things stacking up in the conference where it just means more.
- LSU (LW: 1)
- Alabama (2)
- Florida (3)
- Georgia (4)
- Auburn (5)
- Texas A&M (8)
- Kentucky (9)
- Tennessee (11)
- Missouri (7)
- South Carolina (6)
- Ole Miss (10)
- Vanderbilt (13)
- Mississippi State (12)
- Arkansas (14)
So Who’s Ready for Next Week?
Week Ten is looking a little light, but that doesn’t mean some chaos can’t happen. Here’s what’s coming up in college football:
West Virginia at #12 Baylor, 7:00 CT on ESPN (Thursday)
#14 Michigan at Maryland, 11:00 am CT on ABC
Virginia Tech at #16 Notre Dame, 1:30 CT on NBC
#8 Georgia vs. #6 Florida, 2:30 CT on CBS
#22 Kansas State at Kansas, 2:30 CT on FS1
Miami at Florida State, 2:30 CT on ABC
TCU at Oklahoma State, 2:30 CT on ESPN
#9 Utah at Washington, 3:00 CT on FOX
UAB at Tennessee, 6:00 CT on ESPNU
#15 SMU at #24 Memphis, 6:30 CT on ABC
Virginia at North Carolina, 6:30 CT on ACC Network
#7 Oregon at USC, 7:00 CT on FOX
That’s it for this edition of The Hangover! We’ll be in Jacksonville this weekend for the Cocktail Party between Georgia and Florida. Until next week, football fans!