College FB Plus: Will Buckeyes be No. 1 on Tuesday?
By Mark Blaudschun
In terms of satisfaction, this should be a good week for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Not only did Coach Ryan Day's team again take care of business in workman like fashion by putting away Big Ten West leader (at least temporarily) Wisconsin, 24-10 on Saturday night, but the Buckeyes remained unbeaten and a prime contender for the national championship.
All of that business will be settled in the next five weeks as the Big Ten time capsule again winds down to a confrontation between the Buckeyes and Michigan (in Ann Arbor) on November 25.
The start of this process will begin on Tuesday night when the College Football Playoff selection committee releases its first rankings of the 2023 season, specifically the Top 4 teams which will be part of the Final Four process at the Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl on January 1.
The assumption by many is that No. 1 ranked and two time defending national champion Georgia will occupy the top spot, especially after a fairly impressive 45-20 romp over Florida on Saturday.
Hold off placing that wager.
My feeling is that Day's Buckeyes will be slotted in at No. 1, ahead of the Bulldogs, which may be a surprise to the Buckeyes, and Wolverines and Florida State, the three other unbeaten teams who would stake a claim to the No. 1 slot..
Here's why.
Georgia's winning streak--now 25 games and counting--is impressive. But look at the teams Georgia has played and beaten this season:
UT-Martin, Ball State, South Carolina, UAB, Auburn, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Florida.
Not a Top 15 in the group which has thus far posted a combined record of: 28-34. Only 3 teams, UT-Martin, Kentucky and Florida have winning records.
Ohio State is also 8-0 against: Indiana, Youngstown State, Western Kentucky Notre Dame, Maryland, Purdue, Penn State and Wisconsin, which has compiled a record of 37-28.
Five of those teams: Youngstown State, Notre Dame, Maryland, Penn State and Wisconsin have winning records. The Buckeyes won at Notre Dame and at Wisconsin. Notre Dame and Penn State were both Top 10 teams when they faced the Buckeyes.
The selection committee has emphasized that strength of schedule is a key element in the selection and seeding process.
It's not a contest when you compare what OSU and what Georgia have done this season.
The first ballot, of course, means nothing in the final picture because a month of games remain.
But in terms of trends it is a good sign for the Buckeyes who also must be enjoying the chaos being created for Michigan with its developing sign stealing controversy.
If I had to guess right now, I would say that it will be Ohio State, Georgia Michigan and Florida State as the first group of Final Four wannabes.
Stay tuned.
***
Best sign of weekend on ESPN"s Game Day was" Michigan stole my other sign'' to the crowd in Salt Lake City gathering before Utah's game against Oregon.
We will refrain from making any assessment about Michigan's issues with sign stealing other than to repeat a comment made by an unnamed college coach who said it was mind-boggling that the Wolverines would leave such a detailed paper trail for the media and NCAA investigators to follow.
That is a combination of incredible arrogance or stupidity.
***
With Kansas' remarkable 38-33 victory over Oklahoma, the Big 12 may be on the outside in its Final Four chase with both Oklahoma and Texas each dealing with a loss.
Who's Hot
Pac 12
Oregon and Washington continue to be in the discussion as national championship contenders with Heisman candidate QBs in Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. Add defending Heisman winner Caleb Williams at USC and you have an impressive QB trio.
Washington won the regular season showdown (barely) in Seattle, but a rematch in Vegas in the Pac-12 title game seems likely.
Oregon looked ominous in crushing Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday, while Washington remains the only unbeaten team in the conference.
The rest of the conference also has had its highlight moments. Arizona and Arizona State knocked off the two Pac-12 expansion orphans, Oregon State and Washington State.
Cal and Stanford, headed to the ACC next season gave USC and Washington all they could handle before being beaten.
Overall, another solid week for the most competitive conference in CFB this season.
UMASS
No it's not a typo. The Minutemen beat Army 21-14 on Saturday for their second victory of another long season, but the win was significant.
The Vegas O/U line on total victories for the Minutemen in August was 1. Saturday's victories made UMass winners--even for a short period. Merrimack, Liberty and UConn await, so there is hope for at least one more W.
FSU
Seminoles are steadily building a case for Final Four honors and beyond. A 41-16 romp over Wake Forest.
FSU is now 8-0 with a home game against Miami and a road game against Florida as their major challenges and a possible ACC title match up with Louisville looming.
Air Force
The Falcons are 8-0, their best start in 30 years and have Army UNLV, Hawaii and Boise State remaining as will as a probable slot in the MWC championship game.
At stake is a New Year's Six bowl bid.
Who's Not
North Carolina
Back to back gut-wrenching losses to Virginia and Georgia Tech means its time for Carolina fans to start thinking about college basketball.
.
Michigan
The Wolverines had a bye week, but the ongoing stealing signs controversy makes the final month of the regular season even tougher for Coach Jim Harbaugh's team, which must drown out the outside noise.
Oklahoma
A narrow win over UCF was a clue, but the road loss to Kansas on Saturday was a potential season killer for the Sooners, who probably will have to beat Texas a second time to even have a chance at getting into the Final Four party.
Play it Forward (Games of Note next week)
LSU at Alabama--Bama can just about lock up SEC West with a victory over the Tigers, which would put them on a fast track for a meeting against Georgia in SEC title game.
Washington at USC--Heisman QB duel and another chance for USC to serve as a Pac-12 spoiler
Ohio State at Rutgers--Interesting test for Ohio State and a great challenge for Rutgers to break into next tier in the Big Ten.