Wow.  Just when you think you have it all figured out.  It looked like it was going to be Alabama and Georgia and everyone else for the season.  Then Alabama goes on the road to College Station and loses on a last second field goal to Texas A&M.  This has really shuffled the national picture.  Alabama is definitely not eliminated from Playoff contention with a loss.  That would be foolish to assume.  And if they run the table and beat Georgia in the SEC championship, there could still possibly be 2 SEC teams in the Playoff.  This of course lessens that percentage.  If there was ever a year for a Group of 5 team to make it, this really could be it for Cincinnati.  They need to keep demolishing teams on the rest of their schedule, and they need Notre Dame to keep winning so that win holds up.  BYU lost a golden opportunity to throw their hat in the ring with a loss to Boise State.  But this year seems to have just gotten very interesting, but in the end it will probably still be what we all expected.  Ohio State is already back up to #6 in the country.  Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State still have their round robin to go, with Iowa probably waiting for them in the Big 10 Championship.  There are five Big 10 teams in the top 10, but it just feels inevitable at this point Ohio State will come out on top.  Oklahoma is perilously sitting at #4 still.  They needed a miracle comeback to beat Texas and remain undefeated.  They feel like they are on the verge of losing any week.  Oklahoma State is still sitting there undefeated just outside the top 10.  They might emerge as the Big 12 champion.  And the PAC 12 has pretty much faded into the background.  At least Oregon is still a thought.  The ACC is just completely irrelevant this year. Read more...

Another big weekend is on tap.  We have a huge top 4 showdown between Penn State and Iowa.  This is one of those games that will have national implications, and over the years these two teams have played some tight, entertaining games.  I think most everyone is expecting the same this weekend.  Even if Penn State comes out on top of this, they still have Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State on the schedule.  Combine that with their win over Auburn already, and Penn State is definitely a Playoff contender if they can get through that plus the Big 10 championship.  This weekend we also have Oklahoma and Texas meeting in their annual rivalry game.  Both teams come in ranked, but Oklahoma hasn't looked as dominant as many expected coming into the season.  This feels like a year Texas can take one from their rival, but you never know if the good or bad version of Texas is going to show up. Read more...

Another weekend, another rash of top 25 teams losing.  We knew there would be at least four since there were four top 25 matchups, but there also were 5 ranked teams losing to unranked teams, including two top-10 teams.  It looks like after all these years Oregon still has a Stanford problem.  Just a couple weeks ago it looked like Oregon might have the easiest path to the Playoff with the PAC 12 teams dropping like flies, but now Oregon is one of those flies.  Who knows if that means their hopes are dashed or not - we probably will have a lot more losses amongst ranked teams this year.  Florida was the other top 10 team to lose to an unranked foe.  After a close loss to Alabama, they had thoughts about challenging Georgia for the SEC East crown.  That looks like that is going to be hard to do already 2 games behind in the standings and with Georgia's defense looking historically good.  Georgia's defense is only giving up 4.6 points per game.  That is crazy.  They just shut out a top 10 team that was averaging nearly 36 points per game.  It looks like we are heading for a Georgia-Alabama SEC championship game and possibly a rematch in the National Championship.  Those 2 teams clearly are a cut above the rest of college football right now.  If the SEC is top heavy, then the Big 10 has some pretty good depth right now.  Iowa, Penn State, Michigan, and Michigan State are all undefeated, and Ohio State is back in the top 10 because they are a name brand program and get the benefit of the doubt when they have an early loss. Read more...

The calendar has flipped to October, which means we are getting into the heart of the college football season.  The first weekend in October is not disappointing us either.  It is a pretty loaded weekend of matchups with four pitting top 25 teams against each other, and even two top 10 matchups!  Before we get to the matchups, we should acknowledge what a weird season this has been so far.  The highest ranked team from the ACC is ranked #23 (AP Poll) - and it's not Clemson.  In fact, Clemson isn't even the second highest ranked ACC team.  NC State checks in at #23, Wake Forest is #24, and then Clemson is ranked #25, which even that is surprising Clemson is even hanging on in the rankings with how they have looked this year.  We thought Georgia's biggest game this month would be the annual World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Read more...

That went off the rails quickly.  Clemson suffered a second loss in the month of September.  A team that has been a model of consistency and reloading for the past decade, has finally fallen on some hard times.  It looks like Alabama is the only team that can keep churning out amazing teams year after year.  Clemson is 105th in the nation in scoring at 22.3 point per game.  Honestly, I was surprised to see it that high.  That probably tells you what sort of struggles they are going through.  They are 5th in the nation in defensive scoring at 12 points per game, but if you can't score, that doesn't matter.  Oklahoma fans were booing their quarterback that was a Heisman favorite a few weeks ago.  The Sooners are still undefeated, but it feels like they are on the brink of dropping one of these close games.  Not that USC was a serious contender at this point, but getting blown out at home to Oregon State is not a good sign for the state of the program - even after signs were bad firing their coach after the second game. Read more...

This season feels like it is teetering on the edge of complete chaos.  What are we to make of the top contenders coming into the season?  Alabama won, but actually looked mortal for the first time in forever.  Oklahoma could barely muster a win against a Nebraska team that was ready to fire its coach after the first game of the season.  Clemson already has a lost, and instead of an aberration, it looks like that game was an indicator that they can't score touchdowns this year.  Ohio State struggled with Tulsa until pulling away late.  What does it all mean?  Does it mean Georgia is going to emerge as the best team?  Can Oregon stake a claim?  Although Oregon's biggest win is now looking a tad suspect with Ohio State struggling.  Could this finally be the year a Group of 5 team makes the Playoff?  Cincinnati has a huge game against Notre Dame coming up.  If they win that and teams finally succumb to the chaos, it's quite possible we might see it happen. Read more...

The weekend with a lack of top 25 matchups went ahead and produced an early season, landscape-altering result in the big matchup of the week as Oregon took down Ohio State on the road.  This is more a of boon for Oregon than it is a death knell for Ohio State.  If there is anything we have learned in the past, it's that brand name programs get the benefit of the doubt for an early season loss.  When it comes to determining the Playoff spots at the end of the year, don't be surprised if Ohio State is right there if this ends up being their only loss.  Oregon on the other hand solidified its spot among contenders, but appear to have no margin of error going forward.  The PAC 12 is not looking too great in terms of strength of conference.  USC getting walloped by Stanford is not a good sign.  Utah was downed by BYU.  Oregon's supposed major roadblock in the North, Washington, is already 0-2, after their loss to Michigan.  Maybe Michigan can finally step up and take down Ohio State's grip on the Big 10?  Probably not. Read more...

The only constants in life are death, taxes, and Alabama football dominating.  What an opening week of surprising results.  How much second guessing of picks is already going on across the Jacknife leagues?  The good news is, college football fans never overreact to Week 1 results, because they know there are still 3 months of football to go.  But those national title contenders did not look like national title contenders this week.  It started off with Ohio State trailing Minnesota at half and needing late in the game to put them away.  Oklahoma's improved defense was nowhere to found against Tulane and the Green Wave were driving for the winning score.  Clemson and Georgia couldn't muster an offensive touchdown between the two of them.  Maybe we need to look to the top tier of the Group of 5 teams for that next team behind Alabama?  Cincinnati and Coastal Carolina put on some beatings like we were expecting of the other teams.  Who knows?  Maybe it will be one of those 2007-type seasons. Read more...

College football season is back!  As always, it was a long offseason to slog through to get back to this point.  This seemed like an extra long offseason even though there was a season last year.  It was just a strange year.  Some teams played basically full seasons.  Some teams didn't play at all.  Other teams ended up only playing a handful of games before all their other games were canceled.  It feels like they are pushing ahead with a full season this year.  So after a season off because we had no idea how would we would rank teams, Jacknife Sports is back!  The interest in the Sun Belt and MAC is back in high gear! Read more...