1. What It All Means: Week 10
It was a bad weekend and it’s been a bad start for a whole lot of programs with a whole lot of big names.
Let’s put it this way. Cincinnati, BYU and Indiana are all ranked in the top ten. Marshall and Coastal Carolina are both in the top 17 in both polls, SMUm Northwestern and Liberty are each ranked in the top 23, and Louisiana and Army are both ranked.
That means something has gone haywire with a whole lot of big-time programs.
Where’s Michigan? 1-2 after getting rocked by Indiana, losing to the Hoosiers for the first time since 1987.
Where’s Penn State? 0-3 for the first time since 2001 after getting dominated by Maryland.
Isn’t this the year Nebraska was going to be good at college football again? 0-2, and it just lost to Nebraska.
Tennessee got rolled by Arkansas in the third quarter in yet another rough loss for the program. Worst of all for what’s supposed to be a superpower, that seemed like just another day when Tennessee lost a football game.
I’m old enough to remember when Florida State won the national title in the final BCS game, and went to the College Football Playoff the following year. Pitt 41, Florida State 17.
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Clemson lost. Georgia lost. Both of the defeats were more than acceptable – to Notre Dame and Florida, respectively – but those were two more powerhouses who had rough weekends.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin can’t even get back on the field, LSU is way off the national title grid, and the entire Big 12 – now realistically out of any playoff contention – is playing just for the fun of it.
So why is this happening?
Weird practice schedules, a bizarre offseason, and for most, merely being taken out of the rhythm is a problem, but that’s an excuse.
Some teams are getting through this, they’re in better shape, they’re catching the breaks, and they’re just plain playing better than some of the bigger-time football schools.
Enjoy how bizarre this all is, and enjoy that a whole lot of fan bases who never get their shot at the spotlight get to have some fun.
Merely saying something is 2020 is overused, but …
Cincinnati, Indiana, Liberty, Coastal Carolina, Louisiana, SMU and Marshall are ranked.
LSU, Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, Tennessee and Florida State – just a few national titles between them over the last 30 years – aren’t.
– Week 10 Winners & Losers
– Clemson vs. Notre Dame: One Really Big Thing
– BYU vs. Boise State: Most Overrated Thing
– Florida vs. Georgia: Most Underrated Thing
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