Game of the Week: Alabama
20, LSU 13 OT
The
season seemed to be over for Alabama when T.J. Yeldon fumbled inside the
Alabama 10 yard-line with a 1 minute left to go in Death Valley. It was
supposed to be the end of Alabama’s season and the coming out party for the LSU
Tigers who just two weeks ago upset another SEC foe in Ole Miss. After all,
just a couple of hours earlier that Alabama’s rival Auburn lost a shocker to
Texas A&M (stay tuned) and with the Yeldon fumble, it seemed Alabama would
suffer the same fate. But it never happened.
A
squibbed kick that found its way out of bounds, put Alabama at the LSU, and a
few Blake Sims passes later got Alabama in field goal range to tie the game. It
seemed dynasty had suddenly reversed for the Crimson Tide when Blake Sims found
DeAndrew White for a 6-yard touchdown pass in overtime, which ultimately sealed
the Tigers fate. LSU’s turn will have to wait until next year which seems to
have been the plan all along anyway as the LSU defense has returned but the
offense still needs some blossoming.
Freshman running back Leonard
Fournette ran well against a tough Crimson Tide defense, but his best days are
certainly ahead of him. Anthony Jennings was not ready for the bright lights
yet, but should significantly improve with an offseason under his belt and wide
receivers Travin Dural and Malachi Dupre showed a few glimpses last night at
what their talents can do. During this game we continued to question the
destiny of the Crimson Tide. But next year the road to the SEC title will go
through Death Valley.
Player of the Week: J.T.
Barrett, QB, Ohio State (16/26 300 yards, 86 rushing yards, 5 total touchdowns)
Theeerreee
baaaaaacckkkkk. J.T. Barrett not only helped the Ohio State Buckeyes defeat the
Michigan State Spartans, he orchestrated the blowout of Sparty in East Lansing.
In a true Heisman-worthy performance, Barrett, tore apart one of the best
defenses in the country. Barrett was able to do so with his legs and his feet.
It was as if we were watching the Oregon Ducks offense dismantling Michigan
State all over again. One could make the argument that Ohio State has one of
the best offenses in the country and Barrett may be one of its best
quarterbacks.
Disappointment of the
Week: Auburn’s Glass Slipper
Down
by 18 in the second half, Auburn kept going blow for blow with the upstart
Texas A&M Aggies. When the Auburn defense was finally able to get some
stops, including an incredible three and out at the A&M 1-yard line, Auburn
had two golden opportunities to do what Auburn has done the past two
seasons…pull out that glass slipper and win another shocker.
But
on this night the Cinderella Tigers managed to fumble that glass slipper twice,
and on the second time, the other shoe not only dropped but shattered the
dreams of the Tigers faithful. Both fumbles will live in Auburn and Texas
A&M lore, as these two potential SEC West rivals will continue to battle
year in and year out for the SEC West title. But we will continue to wonder
what could have been if Auburn won this game. Certainly their end of the year
finale with in-state rival Alabama lost some of its luster and Auburn is out if
playoff contention sooner than anyone ever anticipated.
Game to Watch: No. 1
Mississippi State vs. No. 5 Alabama, TBA
Mississippi
State’s magical run faces its toughest test as the Bulldogs travel to
Tuscaloosa to face Alabama. Mississippi State has not looked terribly
impressive in its past two, three games but perhaps head coach Dan Mullin is
playing possum and trying not to show too much to his counterpart Nick Saban.
The general feeling will be that Alabama will hold off the Disney ride the
Bulldogs have been riding. But quarterback Dak Prescott’s ball control offense
can keep the Tide at bay, while the Bulldogs defense is one of the most
underrated units in the country. However if Blake Sims is able to continue to
hook up with All-American Amari Cooper, the Tide will have all the offense they
need to put away Mississippi State and perhaps, switch spots with the Bulldogs
in the rankings.
Coach on the Hot
Seat: Brady Hoke, Michigan & Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Michigan
and Northwestern played yesterday in a underwhelming, uninspiring, dreadfully
painful game in which Michigan won a barn burner 10-9…they both can go.
Playoff Prediction:
1. Florida State
|
2. Oregon
|
3. Alabama
|
4. Ohio State
|
1. Florida State: Another
win, but another unimpressive performance for Jameis Winston and the Florida
State Seminoles. It can’t be easy playing lack-luster opponent after opponent,
but Florida State needs to figure something out before their ACC championship
matchup against potential 2013 foe, the Duke Blue Devils, or whomever the
Seminoles would play in the first round of the playoff. And by figure it out,
I’m referring to Jameis Winston who looks less like a Heisman winning
quarterback, every game.
2. Oregon: A
bizarre touchdown pass-fumble-fumble-99-yard touchdown play reversed the fortunes
in the Oregon-Utah match-up last night. In what should have been a pick-6
situation to give Utah the lead 14-0, Oregon turned the miss Utes opportunity
into a complete swing in momentum as the Ducks never looked back. Mariota
shined again and Oregon seems to be an unstoppable force heading into the
Pac-12 championship.
3. Alabama: the “Game
of the Year” almost lost all of its luster when LSU took the lead with under a
minute to go last night. But fortunately for Tide fans, Alabama battled back to set up this
showdown with Mississippi State. Winner will most likely get a spot in the playoff
whereas the loser will be out.
4. Ohio State: Don’t
say I didn’t warn you. The most interesting storyline of Tuesday Night’s
College Football Playoff Show on ESPN will be how the committee will rank the
likes of TCU, Arizona State and Ohio State. Chances are that TCU and Arizona
State will get the nod over Ohio State this week, but the lack of a Big 12
title game (I know…broken record) will ultimately hurt the Horned Frogs and
once Arizona State meets up with Oregon, the Sun Devils magic ride will come to
an end. But the big thing for this committee will be how they view the Ohio
State early season loss to Virginia Tech. There is no doubt it was a bad loss,
but this Ohio State does not look like that team that lost in Blacksburg. And
in the end, an undefeated Ohio State in conference play, with a conference
championship trophy will look better than a TCU 1-loss in conference with no
championship game trophy. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Don’t Count Them Out
Yet: TCU & Mississippi State
But
its possible that Ohio State loses and TCU forces the committees’ hand and puts
TCU in the playoff. The Horned Frogs have the most electrifying offense in the
country and their defense plays well enough at times to keep TCU winning in the
Big 12. But despite where they are ranked, its hard to see TCU getting above
the number 5 spot.
If
Mississippi State can defeat Alabama on Saturday, they will have the best
inside track of any team in the county on making the playoff. Unfortunately it
all comes down to Saturday. If the
Bulldogs lose, they would only have one loss, and if they are able to hold off
Ole Miss in their season finale they could make a pitch to get in the playoff,
however a lot would need to happen for that to take place. TCU and Ohio State
would both have to lose.
2015 NFL Mock Draft
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
College
|
Position
|
1
|
Jacksonville
|
Randy Gregory
|
Nebraska
|
DE/OLB
|
2
|
Tampa Bay
|
Marcus Mariota
|
Oregon
|
QB
|
3
|
Oakland
|
Leonard Williams
|
USC
|
DE
|
4
|
New York J
|
Amari Cooper
|
Alabama
|
WR
|
5
|
Minnesota
|
Andrus Peat
|
Stanford
|
OT
|
6
|
Washington
|
Cedric Ogbuhei
|
Texas A&M
|
OT
|
7
|
St. Louis
|
DeVante Parker
|
Louisville
|
WR
|
8
|
Houston
|
Brandon Scherff
|
Iowa
|
OT/G
|
9
|
Tennessee
|
Jameis Winston
|
Florida State
|
QB
|
10
|
Atlanta
|
Todd Gurley
|
Georgia
|
RB
|
11
|
Cincinnati
|
Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
|
Oregon
|
CB
|
12
|
Carolina
|
Sammy Coates
|
Auburn
|
WR
|
13
|
New York G
|
Mario Edwards
|
Florida State
|
DT
|
14
|
Baltimore
|
Shilique Calhoun
|
Michigan State
|
DE/OLB
|
15
|
Chicago
|
Landon Collins
|
Alabama
|
S
|
16
|
San Diego
|
Markus Golden
|
Missouri
|
DE/OLB
|
17
|
San Francisco
|
La’el Collins
|
LSU
|
OT/G
|
18
|
Cleveland
|
Jalen Strong
|
Arizona State
|
WR
|
19
|
Kansas City
|
Devin Funchess
|
Michigan
|
WR/TE
|
20
|
Cleveland (from Buffalo)
|
Vic Beasley
|
Clemson
|
OLB/DE
|
21
|
Dallas
|
Shawn Oakman
|
Baylor
|
DE
|
22
|
Miami
|
Kevin White
|
West Virginia
|
WR
|
23
|
New Orleans
|
Melvin Gordon
|
Wisconsin
|
RB
|
24
|
Detroit
|
P.J. Williams
|
Florida State
|
CB
|
25
|
Pittsburgh
|
Danny Shelton
|
Washington
|
DT
|
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