SWC75
Bored Historian
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It’s October and so I will once again chart the future challenges of the undefeated in major college football. Once November comes I’ll include the one-loss teams. We now have a four team playoff, (maybe someday we’ll move to 8 with auto bids for the Power Five champions), so more of these teams will continue to have a chance until the very end of the regular season. I’ll limit my coverage to ranked teams. (For fun I’ll also keep track of the teams eligible for the Tidy Bowl, which decides the worst team in the country, although I’ll not spend as much time on them. I think I’ll do a four team playoff for that, too, this year.)
MISSISSIPPI STATE 6-0 (250-120) #1 in both polls
BYE
Sat 10/25 at Kentucky (5-1)
Sat 11/1 Arkansas (3-3)
Sat 11/8 UT Martin (2-5 in FCS)
Sat 11/15 at #7 Alabama (5-1)
Sat 11/22 Vanderbilt (2-5)
Sat 11/29 at #3 Mississippi (6-0)
Comment Mississippi State, with their blow-out wins at LSU and over Texas A&M and Auburn at home has been the most impressive team so far. But they have their challenges, as well with two one-loss teams, a surprising Kentucky and Alabama and Ole Miss in oxford at the end of the season. But I like their odds of running the table. They just seem to have “it”.
FLORIDA STATE 6-0-0 (234-124) #2 both polls
Sat 10/18 #5 Notre Dame (6-0)
Thu 10/30 at Louisville (5-2)
Sat 11/8 Virginia (4-2)
Sat 11/15 at Miami (4-3)
Sat 11/22 Boston College (4-2)
Sat 11/29 Florida (3-2)
Comment: This is not last year’s team and they aren’t going to run the table playing as they have, even if their next game will be a walk-over. They will probably have a conference championship game to play after the above schedule. We’ll see where they are then. Maybe they will improve as the year progresses. Their schedule is not as challenging as their SEC pursuers, who may bump each other off. But every team has a winning record and could be a threat to an under-performing team.
MISSISSIPPI 6-0 (214-71) #3 in both polls
Sat 10/18 Tennessee (3-3)
Sat 10/25 at Louisiana State (5-2)
Sat 11/1 #6-8 Auburn (5-1)
Sat 11/8 Presbyterian (3-3 in FCS)
BYE
Sat 11/22 Arkansas (3-3)
Sat 11/29 #1 Mississippi State (6-0)
Comment: I think it would be great if the “Egg Bowl” were a battle of undefeated teams ranked in the top 5, (maybe the Top 2), and looking ahead to a possible spot in the four team playoffs. A combination of new blood and an old rivalry. (I also like it when teams that were good when SU was really good in the 50’s and 60’s do well: it suggests we can be good in this era, too.) I think the Rebels have a slightly tougher road than the Bulldogs.
BAYLOR 6-0 (316-120) #4 in both polls
Sat 10/18 at West Virginia (4-2)
BYE
Sat 11/1 Kansas (2-4)
Sat 11/8 at #11 Oklahoma (5-1)
BYE
Sat 11/22 #15 Oklahoma State (5-1)
Sat 11/29 Texas Tech (2-4)
Sat 12/6 #14 Kansas State (4-1)
Comment: The Bears, as usual, have rolled up big numbers vs. lesser competition but that didn’t prevent them from handling Texas and beating Texas Christian with a miracle comeback. They’ve got some challenges, some other teams who can also light up the scoreboard. These point a minute bunches then to have at least one game where they short-circuit. I’ll be surprised if they wind up with the golden goose egg in the loss column. But right now they seem like the bets team in the Big 12 and a strong possibility to wind up undefeated. You’d have a hard time keeping them out of the playoff if they do that.
NOTRE DAME 6-0 (207-103) #5 in both polls
Sat 10/18 at #2 Florida State 6-0
BYE
Sat 11/1 at Navy 3-4
Sat 11/8 at #17-18 Arizona State 4-1
Sat 11/15 Northwestern 3-3
Sat 11/22 Louisville 5-2
Sat 11/29 at #22-25 Southern California 4-2
Comment: If the Irish beat the Seminoles, (as they might well do), they might shoot to the top of this and never be headed. But those last four opponents could make things interesting.
General comments: Bye, bye Auburn, Texas Christian and Arizona. We may see you again in November when I’ll expand this to one loss teams. On paper, I like the Florida State-Notre Dame winner to run the table and be in a playoff with the Egg Bowl winner and Baylor and one other team, probably the Egg Bowl loser. But things could be very different in a week. That’s college football.
THE TIDY BOWL
Amazingly, only four teams, none from power conferences, are still winless:
Idaho 0-6 They have games against 1-5 Troy and App State 2-4 as well as 2-5 New Mexico State (Idaho and New Mexico State are in the same conference with Appalachian State?!?)
Kent State 0-6 They play 1-6 Miami of Ohio, 2-4 Army and 3-4 Buffalo
Southern Methodist 0-5 They play 1-5 Tulsa and Connecticut, (SMU in the same conference with UCONN?!?), as well as 2-5 Cincinnati and 2-4 South Florida
Comment: The Bottom Four will have to include one of these one-loss teams: Appalachian State, (are they having more fun in FBS than they did when they won three straight FCS championships a decade ago?), Ball State, Connecticut, Georgia State, Massachusetts, Miami (Ohio), Troy and Tulsa. Not a power five team among them. The power five have learned to protect themselves by scheduling teams like that to avoid completely disasterous seasons.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 6-0 (250-120) #1 in both polls
BYE
Sat 10/25 at Kentucky (5-1)
Sat 11/1 Arkansas (3-3)
Sat 11/8 UT Martin (2-5 in FCS)
Sat 11/15 at #7 Alabama (5-1)
Sat 11/22 Vanderbilt (2-5)
Sat 11/29 at #3 Mississippi (6-0)
Comment Mississippi State, with their blow-out wins at LSU and over Texas A&M and Auburn at home has been the most impressive team so far. But they have their challenges, as well with two one-loss teams, a surprising Kentucky and Alabama and Ole Miss in oxford at the end of the season. But I like their odds of running the table. They just seem to have “it”.
FLORIDA STATE 6-0-0 (234-124) #2 both polls
Sat 10/18 #5 Notre Dame (6-0)
Thu 10/30 at Louisville (5-2)
Sat 11/8 Virginia (4-2)
Sat 11/15 at Miami (4-3)
Sat 11/22 Boston College (4-2)
Sat 11/29 Florida (3-2)
Comment: This is not last year’s team and they aren’t going to run the table playing as they have, even if their next game will be a walk-over. They will probably have a conference championship game to play after the above schedule. We’ll see where they are then. Maybe they will improve as the year progresses. Their schedule is not as challenging as their SEC pursuers, who may bump each other off. But every team has a winning record and could be a threat to an under-performing team.
MISSISSIPPI 6-0 (214-71) #3 in both polls
Sat 10/18 Tennessee (3-3)
Sat 10/25 at Louisiana State (5-2)
Sat 11/1 #6-8 Auburn (5-1)
Sat 11/8 Presbyterian (3-3 in FCS)
BYE
Sat 11/22 Arkansas (3-3)
Sat 11/29 #1 Mississippi State (6-0)
Comment: I think it would be great if the “Egg Bowl” were a battle of undefeated teams ranked in the top 5, (maybe the Top 2), and looking ahead to a possible spot in the four team playoffs. A combination of new blood and an old rivalry. (I also like it when teams that were good when SU was really good in the 50’s and 60’s do well: it suggests we can be good in this era, too.) I think the Rebels have a slightly tougher road than the Bulldogs.
BAYLOR 6-0 (316-120) #4 in both polls
Sat 10/18 at West Virginia (4-2)
BYE
Sat 11/1 Kansas (2-4)
Sat 11/8 at #11 Oklahoma (5-1)
BYE
Sat 11/22 #15 Oklahoma State (5-1)
Sat 11/29 Texas Tech (2-4)
Sat 12/6 #14 Kansas State (4-1)
Comment: The Bears, as usual, have rolled up big numbers vs. lesser competition but that didn’t prevent them from handling Texas and beating Texas Christian with a miracle comeback. They’ve got some challenges, some other teams who can also light up the scoreboard. These point a minute bunches then to have at least one game where they short-circuit. I’ll be surprised if they wind up with the golden goose egg in the loss column. But right now they seem like the bets team in the Big 12 and a strong possibility to wind up undefeated. You’d have a hard time keeping them out of the playoff if they do that.
NOTRE DAME 6-0 (207-103) #5 in both polls
Sat 10/18 at #2 Florida State 6-0
BYE
Sat 11/1 at Navy 3-4
Sat 11/8 at #17-18 Arizona State 4-1
Sat 11/15 Northwestern 3-3
Sat 11/22 Louisville 5-2
Sat 11/29 at #22-25 Southern California 4-2
Comment: If the Irish beat the Seminoles, (as they might well do), they might shoot to the top of this and never be headed. But those last four opponents could make things interesting.
General comments: Bye, bye Auburn, Texas Christian and Arizona. We may see you again in November when I’ll expand this to one loss teams. On paper, I like the Florida State-Notre Dame winner to run the table and be in a playoff with the Egg Bowl winner and Baylor and one other team, probably the Egg Bowl loser. But things could be very different in a week. That’s college football.
THE TIDY BOWL
Amazingly, only four teams, none from power conferences, are still winless:
Idaho 0-6 They have games against 1-5 Troy and App State 2-4 as well as 2-5 New Mexico State (Idaho and New Mexico State are in the same conference with Appalachian State?!?)
Kent State 0-6 They play 1-6 Miami of Ohio, 2-4 Army and 3-4 Buffalo
Southern Methodist 0-5 They play 1-5 Tulsa and Connecticut, (SMU in the same conference with UCONN?!?), as well as 2-5 Cincinnati and 2-4 South Florida
Comment: The Bottom Four will have to include one of these one-loss teams: Appalachian State, (are they having more fun in FBS than they did when they won three straight FCS championships a decade ago?), Ball State, Connecticut, Georgia State, Massachusetts, Miami (Ohio), Troy and Tulsa. Not a power five team among them. The power five have learned to protect themselves by scheduling teams like that to avoid completely disasterous seasons.
