No. 2 Ohio State has been the perfect college football team to this point.
Millions in NIL paying off? Check.
Best defense in the game? Check.
Highest scoring Ohio State offense in five years? Check.
Freshman sensation at wide receiver? Check.
Running back-by-committee without any locker room bitching? Pretty much.
This season has been Buckeye Nirvana. Only the polls say Ohio State is something less than perfect, but the Buckeyes have a chance to change that during the biggest Saturday of the season.
There’s really no argument about that, but here’s the thing: This season as a whole has been less than perfect. Heading into Week 7, the SEC has one undefeated team (No. 1 Texas). And you don’t have to squint to see everyone in the Strength Everywhere Conference ending up with two losses, at least.
Meanwhile, five Big Ten teams have not yet faced a ranked team. The only team in the nation with four wins vs. FBS opponents that currently have a winning record is Texas Tech, and the Red Raiders are getting all of seven votes in the AP Top 25 poll.
The differentiator for Ohio State is playing its first ranked team of the season on Saturday when the Buckeyes battle No. 3 Oregon. That means a lot during Showdown Saturday (trademark pending), where there are seven in-conference showdowns with six of those games involving higher-ranked teams going on the road. Three of those games involve teams ranked within the top 18.
- No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Oregon
- No. 1 Texas vs No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry
- No. 9 Ole Miss at No. 13 LSU
That’s not counting significant challenges for ranked teams elsewhere …
And there’s even one unranked team suddenly on the radar …
As we approach the halfway point of the 2024 season, anticipating what projects as the best game so far is something close to perfect. You might have noticed that all but two of the games above involve the SEC and Big Ten.
There’s a reason the two conferences met this week in Nashville in what seemed like a modern-day Yalta Conference. But in this instance, the meeting was to split up the spoils of college football instead of post-World War II Europe.
Out in Eugene, Oregon, expect a game in the 20s — the score, not the temperature. The guess here is that Oregon coach Dan Lanning has something ready defensively for freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith and that Ohio State offense that is averaging 46 points per game.
The same goes for Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who is (probably) coaching the best defense of his career. The Buckeyes have allowed their fewest points per game after five games (4.0) since 1973.
So this game essentially hinges on the star transfer quarterbacks and who can make the most big plays? Ohio State’s Will Howard is quietly having the best season of his career. The same may be eventually said of Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, but those two interceptions thrown last week in a win over Michigan State were concerning.
When Ohio State was getting run out of the building the last three years by Michigan, who knew the road to breaking that streak would go through Eugene? But as we approach the halfway point of the season, these are clearly the Big Ten’s two best teams.
To the loser, the result may not matter as much as in the past thanks to the expanded College Football Playoff. We reminded you earlier this season that this may be the first of three meetings in 2024 between the Buckeyes and Ducks.
It doesn’t take any shine off the matchup, however. Bucknuts meet Autzen. The Oregon Duck meets Brutus. What used to an attractive nonconference game is now another Power Two showdown where the Big Ten gets to keep the spoils.
For the entire conference, that would be just about perfect.
Week 7 storylines
Tennessee trap game? Can we all agree Nico Iamaleava is still a work in progress? He’ll throw one or two passes a game that look like vintage Dan Marino. Then, he runs out of bounds to stop the clock in the upset loss to Arkansas … when the clock has already run out. None of this is to suggest No. 8 Tennessee is vulnerable, but Tennessee is vulnerable. The Gators have settled in lately with quality wins over Mississippi State and UCF. I’ll stop short of predicting a Florida win, but we seem to be past the daily shadow that hangs over Billy Napier’s job security. This is a nothing-to-lose game for the Gators, while Tennessee absolutely cannot afford another loss.
Let the debate begin — sign stealing vs. faking injuries: What’s worse between the two now that the rails have come off in drama class at Ole Miss (and elsewhere) lately.
None of that B.S. will fly against No. 13 LSU. After that stinker against Kentucky, No. 9 Ole Miss rebounded against South Carolina. Pete Golding Alert! Ole Miss has allowed only 45 points all season. The defense had given up at least that many points in a game three times since 2022. The rest of the season might as well be do-or-die for the Rebels because there are going to be too many 10-2 teams in the SEC.
We have to consider Vanderbilt on the rise: The Commodores look to keep their momentum rolling this week as they head to Kentucky. Perhaps most disturbing aspect for No. 7 Alabama last week was how Vandy was physically dominant while pulling off the stunner of the year. The Commodores held the ball for over 40 minutes — which turned out to be the best defense against Jalen Milroe by not letting him see the field.
Vanderbilt now has an identity — it can bully people. That’s how it is being built under coach Clark Lea, a former Vandy fullback. With 2:44 left in a five-point game and Alabama armed with three timeouts and a 2-minute warning stoppage, Vandy picked up four first downs to run out the clock.
After Kentucky there is a breather against Ball State before welcoming Texas into Nashville. The ‘Horns have been warned.
By the way, it’s never too early in invest.
Jaunting Jeanty: At his current pace, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty will need a 13th game to surpass Barry Sanders for the once-unbeatable record of most rushing yards in a season. Sanders ran for 2,628 yards in 1988 in only 11 games during an era when bowl game stats didn’t count. At his pace of 206.2 yards per game, Jeanty would need that 13th game (conference championship, bowl, CFP?!) that would get him to 2,686 yards at his current pace. This week’s opponent, Hawaii, is second in the Mountain West in rushing defense.
Too late for Lincoln Riley to soften the schedule: USC is off to its worst start under Lincoln Riley in Year 1 in the Big Ten (3-2). The Trojans had been a combined 10-0 after five games in Riley’s first two seasons. USC now hosts No. 4 Penn State, which is the only team to start 5-0 each of the last four seasons.
Riley made vague protests about the officiating this week against Minnesota. Then said it wasn’t an excuse. Trust me, it sounded like an excuse.
We should have known Minnesota would be a problem. The Gophers’ offensive line outweighed the Trojans’ defensive line by an average of 42 pounds. Minnesota safety Jack Henderson is dynamic; he’s the only player in the country with at least 15 tackles, a pick six and a fumble recovery. USC QB Miller Moss has thrown four picks in a span of 82 throws over three games. He has been sacked six times over that span as well. Penn State’s defense is more physical than anything USC has seen this season, bit no more excuses are allowed.
Speaking of Penn State … Am I the only one who was shocked to learn Penn State football will have to drive two hours to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to catch its plane to Los Angeles this week? James Franklin basically used his weekly presser to lobby for a longer State College airport runway to support bigger planes. Penn State remains one of the most isolated Power Four campuses in the country. Call me crazy, but you’d think those types of things would be figured out ahead of major conference realignment. Unless the powers that be didn’t care about student-athlete welfare? Nah. can’t be!
If the season ended today, Clemson would be in the CFP: The No. 10 Tigers have averaged 48.8 points since the Week 1 loss to No. 5 Georgia. What’s more, the Tigers look like a playoff team heading to Wake Forest, which shouldn’t be a problem. The Demon Deacons have lost 65 straight against top-10 opponents — the longest streak of all time.
Crimson knee jerk: Those who want Alabama DB Malachi Moore kicked off the team for acting out at the end of Saturday’s game need to recall this 10-year-old clip from Nick Saban defending his players.
You can’t have it both ways. Almost everyone got a second chance with Saban. And Moore is a bum for throwing a tantrum?
Dear Kalen DeBoer: The Vanderbilt loss produced the living definition of never being the guy to follow to guy. They criticized everything from your game-day attire to playing music during practice this week. The message: Don’t let it ever happen again. Ever (starting this week against South Carolina). That’s life in T-town too.
Eli Holstein watch: Pittsburgh’s quarterback continues his unlikely rise to Dan Marino status. Holstein was a top-50 prospect out of Zachary, Louisiana, who didn’t take a snap in 2023 but has now become the first Pitt quarterback to win his first five starts since Marino in 1979. Holstein and Miami’s Cam Ward are the only two quarterbacks to throw at least three touchdowns in each of their five games this season. As the Panthers head to Cal, much credit goes to offensive coordinator Kade Bell, a transfer himself. Last year with Bell in charge, Western Carolina led the FCS in total offense.
Had to get this out of the way before Texas-Oklahoma: The game isn’t an SEC rivalry — at least not yet. The conference’s appropriation of the teams, the cultures, the traditions and the rivalry aren’t automatic.
For proof, check out the Big Ten Network “Legends” series on Tom Osborne shortly after Nebraska joined the league. Stanford and Cal are both in the ACC at the point of a sword (irrelevancy). About the only things those programs have in common with Tobacco Road is they both have an “a” in their school name.
Am I “get off my lawn” guy? Maybe. Texas-OU will quickly become branded with SEC tradition and culture, but these teams played for 80 years as Big 6/8/12/Southwest Conference rivals. For the last 27 years, they have played as Big 12 rivals. The Bob Stoops-Mack Brown matchups were some of the all-timers.
Ask Vince Young about the SEC. Or Roy Williams. The SEC’s time will come, but let’s not forget this rivalry was forged along the hamlets, bars, homes and highlights situated along I-35 in Oklahoma and Texas.
The Texas State Fair is about as SEC as Bevo and Big Tex. That will change over time, of course. A transition begins on Saturday, but it will be a hard goodbye from bygone days when the winner usually won the Big 12. In the 12-team CFP age, the clash may end up being for seeding. Either way, treat the Red River Rivalry well, SEC. It’s a treasure.
Quick kicks
- Quinn Ewers gets his job back this week against Oklahoma. What can go wrong? Texas is a 14.5-point favorite. Oklahoma faces a top-ranked Texas in this game for the first time since 1984. But, strange things happen in the Red River Rivalry. The ‘Horns are 16-1 in the last two regular seasons with the only loss coming to OU — who beat Ewers.
- If you had Indiana (6-0) becoming the first team to reach bowl eligibility this season, go buy a lottery ticket. You’re hot.
- Alabama is 114th nationally — 10th worst in Power Four — in penalty yards per game (73.2). If that holds, that would mark the third time in four years Bama has finished 114th or worse in that category.
- More reason to pay attention to that Penn State defense: This is Riley’s 98th game as a head coach, and his teams have never scored less than 20 points in back-to-back games. This could be the week.
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