Mr. CFB: The 2023 College Football Season Finally Starts On Saturday
Don't get me wrong. I've enjoyed the first few weeks of the college football season.
But the reality is that the landscape of our sport has changed dramatically since play began in August. And those changes, I would submit to you, require a complete reset of our thinking as the fourth Saturday in September approaches.
Here are four examples of what I mean:
1--For the first time in a long time there is real doubt in Tuscaloosa:
I talked to a big Alabama booster the other day. I have never--ever--heard him so concerned.
"We always assumed that whatever problems we had Coach (Nick) Saban would fix it," he said. "Now we're not so sure."
The fact is that Alabama's staff--and that includes the head coach, the greatest of all time--simply mismanaged the quarterback position. I won't go into all the gory details but the reality is this: Jalen Milroe will start at quarterback against Ole Miss on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Alabama MUST win because, if the Crimson Tide loses they will likely be out of the playoffs before the end of September.
Yep. You read that right.
If Alabama wins all of their goals are still within reach.
And I will say this: if Alabama loses, do not miss Monday's Paul Finebaum Show on the SEC Network. It will be epic.
Having said that--Alabama is going to win. Check out my Friday picks.
2--The phenomena of Coach Prime.
Here is all you need to know. Last Saturday's Colorado-Colorado State game drew over 8 million viewers. It was the largest television audience ever for the 10 p.m. ET time slot.
Coach Prime and his players have tapped into something here. I've talked to people who don't even LIKE college football but are glued to the set when Coach Prime is on.
CBS TV analyst Rick Neuheisel, himself a former Coloado head coach, had the perfect analogy during his radio show on Wednesday when he said that Coach Prime is the college football equivalent of Taylor Swift
So what is Coach Prime doing that others are not? Andy Staples of On3 said it best last week. Most coaches do not understand--or accept--that they are in the entertainment business.
One look at the Colorado sideline, which included "The Rock" and Master P, tells you that Coach Pime gets it.
Stay tuned.
3--The lame duck Pac-12
Needless to say, the Pac-12 (which is down to the Pac-2) is making the most of its final season in business. Through the first three weeks of the season the Pac-12 is 29-5 in non-confernce play. Two of those losses were to SEC opponents Auburn (14-10) and Mississippi State (31-24).
That winning percentage of .852 is among the best ever, according to the San Jose Mercury News. In 2011 the Big Ten's non-conference winning percentage was .900. while the SEC was at .879 just five years ago.
The Pac-12 enters conference play with eight teams in the AP Top 25.
The Pac-12 has two non-conference games left as Stanford and USC both play Notre Dame.
Next season UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington will be in the Big Ten. Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Arizona State will be in the Big 12. Stanford and California will be in the ACC.
Washington State and Oregon State have not yer determined their future.
4--The SEC West is now wide open:
When we were at the SEC Media Days in July, the feeling about the SEC West was universal: It was Alabama or LSU and everybody else was on another tier.
We now have to rethink that.
Alabama's 34-24 loss to Texas on Sept. 9 was pretty thorough. Now if Alabama can beat Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa, the Tide is capable of winning the rerst of them.
LSU was taken to the woodshed by Florida State (45-24). But you had to be impressed with the way LSU took care of business against Mississippi State (41-14) in Starkville. If quarterback Jayden Daniels (361 passing 64 rushing) keeps playing like that, the Tigers are going to be hard to beat.
Ole Miss (3-0) had impressive wins against Tulane (on the road) and Georgia Tech. If the Rebels beat Alabama then they are in it. But it should be noted that their next four games are against Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and Auburn.
Texas A&M (2-1), which has an ugly loss to Miami, gets a chance to prove they belong with a home game against Auburn.