Ricky Dimon
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What a day it was in the world of sports. We saw both games of the NLDS result in 1-1 series ties and Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder unexpectedly turned out to be an instant classic. But most of all we had college football, college football, and more college football.
Three of the marquee matchups on Saturday’s schedule delivered the goods—and then some. Oklahoma’s thrilling win over Texas was a chapter of the Red River rivalry for the ages. Iowa edged Penn State in a classic Big Ten battle that decided which team remained in College Football Playoff position. The most surprising result, of course, was Alabama going down to Texas A&M. ‘Bama seemingly took control after turning a 14-point deficit into a 7-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but A&M improbably answered and eventually triumphed at the last second.
Let’s reflect on what transpired this week on the college football gridiron and what it means.
Oklahoma, Iowa, and A&M win thrillers, but…
Oklahoma’s 55-48 win over Texas won’t soon be forgotten. It was a wild one right from the start, and by the time it was over more than 100 points were scored—and Heisman Trophy candidate Spencer Rattler was benched. If you had Rattler getting replaced as the Sooners’ quarterback without being injured and with them still being undefeated, well…you won big. As for the Sooners as a whole, five of their six victories have come by single-digits and now they are dealing with a QB controversy. There isn’t anything convincing about this team.
Similarly, Iowa remained undefeated and did not look great in the process. The Hawkeyes did well to post a 23-20 come-from-behind win over Penn State, but would it have happened if Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford had not gotten injured? Doubtful. Sure Clifford did not play well when he was on the field, but the visitors needed him in there late in the game. Penn State threw 4 interceptions and still almost won. Don’t be surprised if a letdown spot awaits Iowa in the near future.
Even though Alabama lost while Oklahoma and Iowa won, it’s pretty clear that ‘Bama is still by far the best of those three teams—seemingly three of Georgia’s biggest challengers to the national championship. The Crimson Tide utterly dominated the second half against Texas A&M. They were simply undone by a poor start and then a shocking final few minutes in which they surrendered 10 points to lose 41-38. Still, it’s hard to even quantify how dominant the first 25 minutes of the second half were and that was probably the true measure of the two teams despite the ultimate result.
By the way, how did A&M’s last-second field goal go in?
SETH SMALL FOR THE WIN 😱
Texas A&M (+700) defeats No. 1 Alabama 41-38!pic.twitter.com/7BsXiUIBz7
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) October 10, 2021
Meanwhile, Cincinnati and Ohio State flew under the radar but how good of a week was it for those two teams? Sure an Oklahoma loss would have been more preferable, but nothing about OU’s results so far or the Rattler situation inspire much confidence for the future. Even with a loss, the Buckeyes are very much back in the national title picture. As for the Bearcats, it is time to start thinking about them as being part of the College Football Playoff festivities.
It’s still Alabama and Georgia
When all of that dust settled, guess what the odds say? It’s still Alabama and Georgia (albeit flipped) at the top of the National Championship picture and it’s still Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ole Miss’ Matt Corral as the favorites for the Heisman Trophy (Young is +180 and Corral is +200).
What the Crimson Tide’s loss does, of course, is put the pressure on them the rest of the way. They can’t afford another slip-up in the regular season (the only real chances left on the schedule are vs Arkansas and at Auburn in the final two weeks). The SEC Championship presumably against Georgia could be a must-win situation for head coach Nick Saban’s squad now that it will go in with a loss—although coming out on the short end of an extremely competitive contest against the Bulldogs could keep the Tide in the CFP discussion depending on how other teams rare the rest of the way.
Man, Saturday was awesome. But at this point in the season it did little to shake up the college football landscape.
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