Alabama looks unbeatable, even without Nick Saban. Is Notre Dame for real? Why are some people ranking Florida over Texas A&M? And a great accomplishment for Sarah Fuller.
Top 25:
1 Alabama
2 Notre Dame
3 Ohio State
4 Clemson
5 Cincinnati
6 Florida
7 Texas A&M
8 BYU
9 USC
10 Miami
11 Georgia
12 Coastal Carolina
13 Oklahoma
14 Indiana
15 Oregon
16 Iowa State
17 North Carolina
18 Indiana
19 Northwestern
20 Oklahoma State
21 Marshall
22 Wisconsin
23 Louisiana
24 Washington
25 Tulsa
Weekly Awards
Offensive Player of the Week: Jaret Patterson, Buffalo – 408 yards, 8 touchdowns
Defensive Player of the Week: Tre Sterling, Oklahoma State – 9 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 INT, 1 TD
Freshman of the Week: Will Anderson Jr., Alabama – 1 Sack, 1.5 TFL
Coach of the Week: Steve Sarkisian, Alabama – 42-13 win over Auburn
$100 Handshakes – Underclassmen that stood out or draft eligible players that improved their stock
Quarterbacks:
Dillon Gabriel, UCF – 22/36, 336 yards, 4 touchdowns
Mac Jones, Alabama – 18/26, 302 yards, 5 touchdowns
Malik Willis, Liberty – 16/24, 223, 3 touchdowns, 63 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD
Running Backs:
Dezmon Jackson, Oklahoma State – 235 yards, 3 touchdowns
Jermar Jefferson, Oregon State – 226 yards, 2 touchdowns
Kyren Williams, Notre Dame – 124 yards, 2 touchdowns
Receivers/Tight Ends:
Kyle Pitts, Florida – 5 catches, 99 yards, 3 touchdowns
DeVonta Smith, Alabama – 7 catches, 171 yards, 2 touchdowns
Cade Otton, Washington – 8 catches, 108 yards, 2 touchdowns
D-Line/EDGE
Rashad Weaver, Pitt – 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 hurries
Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Washington – 6 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 TFL, 2 fumble recoveries
Tarron Jackson, Coastal Carolina – 6 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 TFL
Linebackers
Mike Rose, Iowa State – 13 tackles, 1.5 TFL
Blake Gallagher, NW – 11 tackles, 3 TFL
Paddy Fisher, NW – 13 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 INT
Defensive Backs
Derek Stingley Jr., LSU – 3 tackles, 3 pass break ups
Elijah Molden, Washington – 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT
Stephan Blaylock, UCLA – 7 tackles, 1 INT
Final Thoughts:
Texas A&M vs Florida is a debate we are probably going to have for the rest of the season. A&M beat Florida early on in the season but Florida has looked like a much better team since. Which is why I have Florida ranked ahead of A&M and because Florida will most likely be playing Alabama in the SEC Championship and have a true chance at the playoff. A&M has already lost to Alabama and it would take a miracle to get them into the CFP. And let’s all remember, we’re looking for the four best teams in the nation. Not the four most deserving teams. After a bad performance against a bad LSU team (that felt weird to type) A&M will be lucky if they stay at five in the CFP rankings.
Alabama is going to be a problem. Even without Nick Saban the Tide rolled right over Auburn and are starting to play even better. Mac Jones and Devonta Smith are creating more and more chemistry together and Najee Harris is just going to get stronger as the season goes on. Alabama is truly in a league of their own this season and i can’t imagine any other team winning the Natty. Hell, even the second tier teams like Florida, Georgia and Texas A&M are all top 10 teams in the nation. I know a lot of people think there is some “SEC bias” but the only reason there is bias is because it is warranted. If you put any of these three schools in the Big 12 or Pac 12 they would win the conference easily and would be a top two team in the ACC or Big Ten.
Brian Kelly and Notre Dame are legit. I’ve been waiting for the Irish to overlook an opponent, and I thought it might be North Carolina this weekend, but it wasn’t. Ian Book is running the offense well and the defense came to life, shutting down the high powered Tar Heels on the ground and in the air. It might be safe for the Fighting Irish to assume they will be in the CFP regardless of an ACC Championship title.
Trevor Lawrence finally made his return to play and he looked just like we all remembered. It’s great to see T-Law out there chucking the ball to all levels of the field and doing so against a good Pitt defense. Clemson will use these next couple weeks to get Lawrence comfortable playing again before the rematch with Notre Dame in the ACC Championship game on December 19th.
To be the first person to ever do something is an accomplishment. I mean, we’ve been around for how many years and we still have people that are the first at something. It’s crazy. This weekend saw Vanderbilt kicker and goalkeeper Sarah Fuller be the first female to compete in a SEC and power five football game. I hope we get to see Fuller have another chance to play and kick some field goals, as Vandy did not have that opportunity against Mizzou.
This summer we, draft twitter/analysts, said the EDGE class was going to be weak and that there really wasn’t much outside of Gregory Rousseau from Miami. We were wrong. A few players have had great seasons so far and even look like first round players. Kwity Paye, Joseph Ossai and Azeez Ojulari have all had great years and are competing for not only EDGE2 but also EDGE1 in the 2021 draft class. Other edge rushers like Joe Tryon, Jaelan Phillips, Carlos Basham Jr, Shaka Toney, Jayson Oweh and Rashad Weaver have also risen up my draft board. Making a position that we thought would be a weakness, a strength.
Week 14 Preview:
3 Clemson @ Virginia Tech
5 Texas A&M @ 22 Auburn
12 Indiana @ 16 Wisconsin
1 Alabama @ LSU
Liberty @ 20 Coastal Carolina