The Hook
SEC Chaos
Marcel Reed and #3 Texas A&M rallied back from a 30-3 halftime deficit against South Carolina to win 31-30. This was the biggest comeback in program history as well as the largest we’ve seen so far this season in FBS. It also keeps the Aggies’ perfect season alive as they face Samford in a tune-up for their rivalry week clash in Austin.
Special teams miscues hampered #4 Alabama as they fell 23-21 to #11 Oklahoma in Tuscaloosa. It’s the Tide’s first SEC loss this season and lights a path for more SEC chaos.
#10 Texas looked like they were on the right track after a rocky start to the season, but #5 Georgia dominated this football game from start to finish, allowing just 10 points and adding 35 of their own. The Bulldogs may have their swagger back as they get ready for their tune-up against Charlotte.
USC Fights On
In a beautiful contrast of styles, the #21 Iowa Hawkeyes went west to take on the #17 USC. The Trojans looked sluggish in the first half, trailing by 11 after two quarters, but put things together and scored 16 unanswered points to keep their CFP hopes alive. A win next week at Oregon would put them in the driver’s seat for an at-large bid.
Navy Win Shakes Up G5 Bid
The race for the G5 bid has been a bloodbath this year, but going into Saturday, it looked like #24 USF had finally stood head and shoulders above the best of the rest and was on its way to the CFP. USF’s defense failed them once again this season, and despite scoring 29 2nd half points with less than 8 minutes of possession, fell 41-38 in an instant classic. James Madison now has the clearest G5 path to the playoff.
The Ladder: CFP Bracketology: The 1024 Team Playoff
I’ll start by saying that I think the playoff is a great thing for college football, the fact that we just had to share titles was absurd and led to a lot of dubious claims (looking at you, Bama). However, I think the 12-team playoff is too many, and although the campus games are electric, I think it lessens the impact of the regular season, and more importantly, I’m SICK of fans of 3+ loss teams claiming their team got snubbed (looking at you, Bama).
For some reason, networks and fans (mostly networks) want to expand the playoffs further! We skipped from 4 to 12. Why not skip from 12 to 1024? No special byes, just football. You want expansion? Let’s travel to a parallel dimension where the CFP has been expanded into a 10-round, single-elimination tournament that ends the Monday before March Madness.
Heading into week 11, here are my projections at some marquee first-round matchups:
#1024 Ohio State (club) @ #1 Ohio State
The current CFP has a spot reserved for a G5 team. Since there are fewer <1000 NCAA/NAIA teams, the final spot goes to the best club football team in the country (gonna guess you didn’t know there was club college football). Ohio State’s club team is the defending NCFA champions and is 7-0 this season, and I expect them to repeat again. I also expect them to lose by 1,000. At least they won’t have to travel far
#545 Peru State @ #480 U Chicago
Unlike Boise or Ball, Peru is technically a state, but this small Nebraska NAIA college has a date with destiny in the windy city against one of the original members of the Big Ten: The Chicago Maroons, who are on the hunt for their 3rd national title, but first since ‘13 (1913). What a game this will be
#940 1940 Stanford @ #85 California
The playoff expansion created a massive network bidding war, with ESPN forking over $50 billion to the schools. This funding was crucial for a group at UC Berkeley to invent time travel. Since the funds were earmarked for the athletic program and there’s a need to fill out all 1024 teams, the Golden Bears have decided to use this incredible scientific breakthrough to bring the 1940 Stanford team to the present day in hopes of avenging their 13-7 defeat in the Big Game a mere 85 years ago.