College football never disappoints. It just doesn’t.
The blog this week practically writes itself. I don’t even know where to start. I’m sitting here in October, not even six weeks after writing my season preview, and three of my four predicted semi-finalists are out. Remember this clown shit?
There’s a lot of red ink on that page. And there could be even more blood spilled if/when ASU loses to Utah this week.
Regardless of how wrong I was, this is just how I love college football. Unpredictable. Chaotic. Hectic. It’s perfect. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Penn State suffers one of the worst losses of the College Football Playoff era
UCLA is one of the worst teams in the Power Four. Its head coach and offensive coordinator were out the door by the first week of October. It lost by four scores to New Mexico. There was legitimate worry the Bruins wouldn’t win a game in 2025.
And James Franklin, Jim Knowles, Andy Kotelnicki, and Drew Allar found a way to lose to THAT team. It’s one of the most shocking results I can remember. And with dates with Ohio State, Indiana, and others still on the schedule, the Nittany Lions are all but eliminated from the playoff.
Just remember that I was far from the only person who picked Penn State to win it all before the season. This was supposed to be THE team at Penn State. Allar back. Allen and Singleton back. An elite defense. Everything was in place for a perfect season.
When talent fails to meet expectations this consistently, you have to look at the coaching staff. James Franklin has simply not lived up to what his employers expect. On top of that, he’s hitched his wagon to a quarterback in Allar that clearly is not good enough to get the program where it should be going. Heads have to roll. It’s that simple. I don’t think Penn State will fire Franklin, but it really should. When is the administration there going to stop accepting “Almost?” “Second-best?” “Not quite?” It’s time to move on in (not so) Happy Valley.
Texas flops against Florida
For the second time this season, the Texas offense went into a hostile environment and looked completely lost. And it wasn’t just Arch Manning. The Longhorns’ offensive line got manhandled up front. Their receivers consistently lost against Florida DB’s. And do they even have running backs? Texas just doesn’t even try to run the ball.
Overall, it’s a team with “mediocre” written all over it. I just wish I hadn’t been so quick, like everyone else, to rush to the assumption that Arch Manning was an upgrade at quarterback. He clearly isn’t. Good quarterbacks don’t miss wide open touchdowns or constantly whiff on protection calls. Good quarterbacks don’t make the mistakes Arch is making.
I know the Longhorns are still mathematically alive in the playoff race, but look at their schedule. This woeful offense is staring down the barrel of a matchup against an elite Oklahoma defense next week. After that, Vanderbilt, Georgia, and Texas A&M all still remain on the docket. Hell, the trip to Starkville looks like an uphill battle for this sorry-ass team.
Yeah, Texas isn’t making the College Football Playoff.
Miami is a war machine
I don’t think any team in the country looks as impressive as Miami does right now. The Hurricanes should be the number one team in the country, but they won’t be as long as Ohio State does nothing to lose the top spot.
Miami is truly elite on both lines. I’m not sure there’s a team in the country that can overmatch them at those spots. When you add that in with the skill position talent the Canes have, you get a championship-caliber roster.
Carson Beck is playing as well as ever, and Malachi Toney might already be the most explosive receiver in college football.
This team just looks different right now. I know it let go of the rope and let the Seminoles back into the game late. But the Canes went into a rowdy Doak Walker Stadium and choked out their hosts for three quarters. It was incredibly impressive. A couple games left on the schedule look a little tricky, but the most likely outcome for this team is a 12-0 cruise into the playoff.
Alabama exorcises some demons
After last year’s inexplicable let-down in Nashville, I wasn’t surprised to see Alabama handle Vanderbilt. That loss in 2024 probably drove the Tide to fend off any sort of hangover from the win in Athens last week. The result and performance proved to me that Alabama has recovered from its week one loss.
Most notable is the emergence of Ty Simpson as a legitimate game-changer behind center. You could argue that no quarterback is playing better than Simpson right now. He’s completed nearly 70% of his passes for over 1,400 yards and has 13 TD passes against one interception. At this level, Simpson is a Heisman contender and clearly capable of taking Alabama deep into the College Football Playoff.
It feels like that opening loss to Florida State was a simple wake-up call for the Crimson Tide. This already looks like a completely different team than the one that lost in Tallahassee. And notably, unlike in that first game, Alabama did a relatively decent job of containing a mobile quarterback.
I’m guessing Diego Pavia’s pre-game comments and antics didn’t help the Commodores when it came to Alabama’s motivation on Saturday.
Weekly Pick Review
Y’all should just be used to me not getting my picks out on time. I’m a busy guy, what can I say??
Colorado @ TCU: Colorado -13.5
How about that front-door cover, huh? Thanks, Horned Frogs.
Texas Tech @ Houston: Texas Tech -13.5
The Red Raiders were just way better than Houston. Conner Weigman going out sealed the deal.
Vanderbilt @ Alabama: OVER 57.5 Points
This looked great early, but red-zone turnovers killed any chance of this hitting.
Washington @ Maryland: Maryland ML
Whyyyyyyy. WHYYYYYYYYYY!?!?!?!? Such a tease.
Air Force @ Navy: UNDER 51.5 Points
I’ll never not take the total under in a game between academies. The game’s gone.
Texas @ Florida: Texas -4.5
🙁
Week Six College Football Playoff Prediction
Time for more clown shit. With Texas and Penn State out, there’s so much more room for activities.
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One response to “CFB Week Six: Preseason Top Two Knocked Out of Playoff Race”
[…] a few, we’re all the way back and it’s playoff or bust. That’s just what we do.I know I was calling for change at Penn State after it lost to UCLA, but I fully believed that was one of those rushed, irrational takes that wouldn’t come to […]