It’s easy to get too high or too low after each week’s results in college football. Such is the nature of the sport that breads emotional responses based on what happens positively or negatively every Saturday.
That’s why we’re here. A step back from the action can provide perspective that rightfully will temper some of the misplaced enthusiasm from positive performances and lift up those feeling down in the dumps after negative results.
Week 3 had plenty of examples on both sides of the coin. Here are the five biggest overreactions from the action:
That was the best shot to stop Alabama
How is this possible given that Florida looked better than Alabama in the second half and only a missed two-point conversion kept the Gators from tying the game with three minutes left?
Not to minimize the effort by Florida, but there’s going to be tougher competition ahead for Alabama. There’s Mississippi, Texas A&M and a potential matchup with Georgia in the SEC title game. The Rebels have the ability to score with the Tide and have shown an improved defense. The Aggies and Bulldogs boast stingy defenses and the spottiness of the Alabama run defense will be inviting to their offenses. The narrow win the Swamp won’t be the only close game for Alabama this season.
Clemson is not the best team in the ACC
Yes, the Tigers have some major issues to sort out on offense. And they don’t look like they’ll be fixed soon as a potential tricky matchup at North Carolina State looms. However, this is a team that will improve throughout the year, though the growing pains are evident after just 14 points against Georgia Tech at home. The first task for offensive coordinator Tony Ellliott is to get D.J. Uiagalelei playing with more confidence and connectedness with his receivers.
We’ve become accustomed to Dabo Swinney’s teams blowing people away. The group is going to have to grind out wins with an improved defense that quietly has only allowed 21 points and seven of those came on an interception return for a touchdown. The good news is that the rest of the ACC continues to flop. The bad news is that there aren’t any quality teams outside of a possible matchup against North Carolina in the ACC title game that would help Clemson’s schedule strength when the debate about playoff spots takes place.
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Southern California has a quarterback controversy
There’s the makings of one for the Trojans after their impressive win at Washington State that saw them lose starter Kedon Slovis to injury in the first quarter and then trail 14-0. In stepped true freshman Jaxson Dart, who was brilliant in his first meaningful college game. The Utah native threw for 391 yards and four touchdown passes after shaking off some early turnovers in a 45-14 victory.
Interim coach Donte Williams said Slovis is expected to return to practice this week. Whether he is healthy enough to face Oregon State on Saturday is uncertain, though expect him to be behind center if he is. While Dart looked great, you don’t discard your veteran starter for someone that has an impressive game against Washington State.
Ohio State might not be one of the top three teams in the Big Ten East
Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State all have gotten off to unbeaten starts, making it more likely than expected that the Buckeyes will see their run of four consecutive conference championships end. The Nittany Lions clearly have been the most impressive team in the division with two defeats of ranked opponents. The Wolverines and Spartans have shown signs of major improvement, and make this the division with the biggest intrigue in college football with Maryland and Rutgers also without a loss.
While the past two games have not been good for Ryan Day’s squad, it’s too soon to write them off. Last week’s closer-than-expected defeat of Tulsa again exposed holes in its defense and, more concerning, freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud struggled for most of the game. Ohio State still owns a good road win at Minnesota and will face both the Penn State and Michigan State at home. This transition year has started off shaky, but there’s no reason to believe Day won’t get much of solved by the time the toughest test start in the second half of the season.
Cincinnati has lost its chance to make the playoff
The argument for the Bearcats being the first Group of Five team in the field at the start of the season was based on their non-conference road games against Indiana and Notre Dame. Both the Hoosiers and Fighting Irish were expected to have strong seasons, and add those wins along with running the table in a competitive American Athletic schedule.
Now that potentially strong resume looks much weaker with the Hoosiers already losers of two of their three games and the Irish with three close wins against less-than-stellar competition. However, the playoff race is completely unpredictable in most seasons and this one seems potentially off the charts with almost every team in the top 10 showing signs of weakness. Cincinnati needs to keep on winning and it will be right in the mix in the end.
