So regular season is over and now it's just the conference Championships. SEC ...UGA v LSU it's Dawgs defense v Joe Burrow. Dawgs can't get into a scoring match with LSU. They have to control the ball with their running game and keep it close. This will be the best defense that LSU has faced. ACC ...Clemson v little sisters of the poor also known as UVA. They have no chance, Dabo is pissed at everybody, and you know he's going to have the team ready and will demolish UVA. Big 10...Ohio State vs Wisconsin. Ohio State already demolished Wisconsin once this year and I imagine that they will do it again. I know it's hard to beat a team twice in a season, but this will be the exception. B12 ...Baylor vs OU...now this has a lot of potential to be a very good game. OU is the favorite, but Baylor is a good team and well coached. I doubt however that OU gets off to the same type of start that they did down in Waco, so no need for a 25 point comeback. Pac12...Oregon v Utah...another really good matchup. Utes have a lot to play for and to lose should they lose to Oregon. Utes have the best defense in the West and a good offense. Oregon QB is a hot/cold type of kid. I'm guessing this will be a close game. Defense of Utah the difference. AAC. Memphis v Cincinnati ...they just played last weekend at Memphis and they are back their again. UC going to have to play a lot better this time. I'm going with the home field advantage here. This is likely for the Group of 5 spot in a New Years 6 game. Mtn West. Boise State v Hawaii...BSU already beat Hawaii handily in the regular season, will likely do it again. Boise is the other Group of 5 team that could get that New Years 6 slot, but the AAC seems to the first in line. MAC Miami vs C.Michigan....Jim McElwain the CMU coach is the old Fla.Gator coach, he's done a fine job at CMU. CUSA UAB vs FAU ...the UAB program back from the dead vs the Fighting Owls of Lane Kiffin. Kiffin's name being bandied about for Power 5 jobs, his OCoord is Charlie Weis Jr. I wonder if Kiffin gets a Power 5 job will he bring Charlie Jr. with him?
As we get past Championship week the next big event is the National Signing Day, Dec 18th. Currently the top teams for 2020 are. 1. Clemson 2. Alabama 3. LSU 4. Ohio State 5. Georgia 6. A&M 7. Texas 8. Auburn 9. OU 10. Florida 11. Oregon 12. Notre Dame 13. Michigan 14. Miami 15. Penn State.
Ah recruiting... that exact science. Since we are getting close to signing day, the inevitable has begun. Rivals suddenly decided one of my 5* kids is now a 4*. Can't have the Aggies finishing too high.
Y'all sweat this stuff too much. If you address your needs with players that can be developed then everything else should take care of itself. A top 10 class that does those things is a win. That player that was a 5 yesterday and is a 4 today is the same guy.
"Y'all sweat this stuff too much. If you address your needs with players that can be developed then everything else should take care of itself." Coming from a fan of a team that finishes at or near number one every year in recruiting.... lol
Dave, Reminds me of when Al McGuire was discussing recruiting with Dean Smith and told him, “Dean, at North Carolina, you select. At Marquette, we have to recruit”.
kp... I don't WORRY one bit about it. I'm tickled pink with the guys we have regardless of what happens to their ratings... since most of them are Jimbo's first takes who am I to quibble? With that said I've seen some dubious "changes" in player rankings in my state.
Scott, I wonder how many of.the tens of thousands of kids playing high school football these "analysts" get to see or even read. about? Also what happens in one week that would move.a player up or down a.rating? Those are the reasons I don't put much stock in those ratings and therefore why I don't put much stock in the rankings. I wonder if the analysts just count up offers and rank them that way? It gives them another income resource in the off-season.
I do think that the ratings tend to be fairly accurate. Sure there are players outside the top 100 who become stars. But just look at the current crop of QB's. Trevor Lawrence and Justing Fields were 5 stars and that was spot on, Tua was a 5 star and look at his accomplishments. There aren't that many 5 star players anyway, and I guess sometimes when the guys at Rivals or ESPN look at their Sr. Seasons they can move guys up or down. We (ND) had a couple of guys move up in the top 100 after outstanding Sr. years, I've also seen a few of our guys move down. Give me a Class with a few 5 star studs, and then a lot of 4 star players and no 3 star players..and I'd be happy and while not all of them will live up to their rankings, some will exceed their rankings. I think the summer camps that Nike and others run, like the Opening, the Elite 11, etc. Help to identify those players who are really special and make the ratings more accurate. I would however agree that at some point how do you credibly say this kid is the #348 player in the ESPN rankings and this other kid at the same position is the #410.
All three of tOSU's non-conference opponents are playing in their respective conference championship games.
kp noted (i think) that with the number of NFL level players Alabama always has, that since this is the first year that they won't be in the CFP, they may have a number of players decline to participate in the bowl game. Greg McElroy was talking about it , said a lot of those players are on the fence right now both about playing in the bowl and going to the NFL. He said we shouldn't be surprised if a couple of big names come back for "unfinished" business next year. Schools are in the midst of finals right now but after finals are over and teams gear back up to practice for the bowl, players will either opt in or out.
Ya gotta admit, the Belk Bowl's play was damned funny. I was hoping Bama would make the NY6 so the Aggies would have a shot at going somewhere out of state.
I personally hate it when Alabama loses. No one was killed over the Iron Bowl thankfully. That ugly minority of the Tide fans rear their head and since they rarely lose anymore, those jackholes are really pent up by the time they blow. Additionally, Auburn fans in general are just insufferable. At least with Alabama, the majority of them are some of are some of the best fans you'll find anywhere. It's just the ugly minority. With Barn fans, you pretty much get what you get. Then again, I find LSU fans to be enjoyable even though they're bat sh*t crazy. If you can just start off accepting that they have this break from reality, they're good people.
I suspect that Najee Harris along with some of those receivers at Bama will recuse themselves from the bowl game.... It's really screwed the bowls up in my opinion.... you're just not getting the same product out on the field. Better they sit though than do what several UF players did in the Citrus Bowl vs. Michigan in 2015... show up physically but not mentally or in spirit.