Ty's Mid-Season NCAA College Football Redo

I know that I am about a week or so late, but I need to do my mid season college football check up. Boy, was I very off on 2 of my four playoff teams. I was also wrong about a few teams, both good and bad, from the power 5 conferences. I'll go through each conference with a short little redo, and then I will pick my new winners, most should be the same, and my new playoff teams. I will also pick a new Heisman winner.

Okay, lets get to it.

First off, lets go to the ACC. I mean, does any other team matter in this conference besides Clemson? They are so far ahead of every other team. They are like the Warriors of the ACC. I thought Miami could give them a fight, but they have stumbled as of late. They can't find a QB and their defense, while still very good, cannot win all the games they play. FSU is a total mess. They looked to be getting back to normal, but then Clemson came to town and everything came crashing down again. UNC is mediocre. So is Pitt. Virginia Tech has stumbled big time since Old Dominion beat them. NC State has lost their last 2 after starting 6-0. Louisville, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia are all at, or around .500. Duke is okay. But, Syracuse might be Clemson's biggest "threat". Clemson owns the ACC, and they will continue to for many years to come it seems.

The Pac 12 is a lot like the ACC, except they don't have a dominant team. At one point this season it looked like Oregon, Stanford or Washington could fight for a playoff spot. Oregon just got smashed by a 4-5 Arizona squad, Stanford, who is again making me look foolish, just cannot get it together, most recently losing to Washington State. And Washington might be one of the most disappointing teams in all of college football. They just got beat by Cal, and only scored 10 points in that game. USC is in a tail spin. Colorado just blew a 28 point lead to Oregon State, who is awful. Arizona State has some okay wins, but they are very blah. UCLA is STRUGGLING in Chip Kelly's first year. The only 2 teams that are kind of consistent are Washington State and Utah. Utah is solid in all three phases,  but they don't blow anyone away. Washington State throws and throws and throws the ball, and they have the best record, at 7-1, but their defense will doom them. I was made a fool again by Stanford, and they have no shot at the playoff or the Pac 12 title. So, I guess that I am going to go with WSU, but I have zero confidence in their defense. I wouldn't be shocked if Utah does find a way to win the conference.

Up next I want to go to the Big 12. The Big 12 is solid, but the Big 12 does not play defense. Oklahoma, even with the lone loss to Texas, is still the best team to me. They have a great, great offense. They play zero defense, but when you score upwards of 50 a game, that doesn't really matter. Texas was the darling of the conference for a minute, but they got beat by Oklahoma State, and Tom Hermann made an ass of himself in the process. Oklahoma State is okay, but they are no real threat to Oklahoma. West Virginia has a great QB in Will Grier, and they can run, but their defense is suspect. TCU has fallen off a cliff. Iowa State is still a tough out, but they are no better than a 7 or 8 win team. Kansas has won 3 games, which matches their total from the last three years, which says all I need to about their program. Kansas State is having a very down year. Baylor should not be allowed to field a team. And Texas Tech is the same every year. They can air it out and they can't stop anyone. Oklahoma has the best player and the game against Texas feels like an aberration to me. They will win the Big 12.

The SEC is all about Alabama. Sure, Georgia is a top 10 team, but they have their own problems. Florida is much, much better under Dan Mullen, but they are not at Alabama or Georgia's level. Texas A&M is better under Fisher, but they still have a long way to go. Kentucky is a top 15 team, but they needed a timeless down to beat Missouri. LSU has been very, very solid all year. Their offense isn't great, but they have signature wins and a tremendous defense. Tennessee is still trying t get back to relevance. Missouri has a very good QB, but a horrendous defense. Vanderbilt stinks. Arkansas is worse. Auburn is right there with Washington as a disappointment. South Carolina is average. So is Ole Miss, who should be sanctioned to hell soon. And Mississippi State has been wildly inconsistent. Alabama is Alabama. They seem unbeatable. They are top notch everywhere on the field. Tua Tigaviola is one of the best college QB's I have ever seen. They got Jalen Hurts to stay. They have threats all over the field. Their defense is amazing. Alabama is the Death Star of college football. LSU has the best "shot" to beat them, but they won't. Alabama is going to roll the rest of the season, especially through the SEC.

The final power 5 conference, is my conference, the Big 10. The Big 10 has been wild, disappointing and surprising this year. Nebraska is not very good. Sure, they have won 2 straight, but against real teams, they have been dominated. I think Scott Frost will turn it around, but it will take time. Minnesota is struggling to find an identity under PJ Fleck. They started 3-0, and are now 4-4, just barely beating Indiana last week after blowing a 4 score lead. Rutgers is a tire fire, but they did show signs of life 2 weeks ago against Northwestern. Indiana has a better defense than normal, but they cannot put together a full game. Maryland is about to go through the ringer with the NCAA, as they should, and they are mediocre. Illinois is bad. Lovie Smith looks like he now hates coaching football. I wouldn't be shocked if he steps down at the end of this year. Purdue started 0-3, then won 4 straight, one of which was a thrashing over the University of Ohio State. But, they just let Michigan State manhandle them. Michigan State, who also shouldn't be able to field a team with the offseason stuff, is average at best. They do have a good defense though. Penn State is all about their QB. They go as he goes, and luckily for them, he is usually pretty good. Wisconsin doesn't have a good enough QB, their O line isn't as stout as it was last year and their defense is a mess. They just got manhandled by Northwestern. Speaking of Northwestern, that team has just found ways to win their last couple of games, 2 over once ranked teams. They aren't the best, but they are currently in first in the Big 10 West. and I didn't forget about Iowa. Iowa should have beaten Penn State, but they didn't, and that may haunt them. They are a bit more fun on offense though. The University of Ohio State had an atrocious game their last time out. Apparently they have some inner turmoil with the staff. Urban Meyer is a liar and a phony. And the team is very average on defense. Their offense however is explosive. They are a very, very light version of Oklahoma. And then there is my team, the Michigan Wolverines, winners of 7 straight. First off, I still have my doubts about this team. It took them forever to pull away from MSU. I know that is a rivalry game, and it was on the road, but they were the much more talented team. I also watched them struggle mightily to beat Northwestern in person. They also didn't really blow out SMU like they should have. It took them until the third quarter to pull away from Wisconsin. They start off too slow. If that happens this Saturday, at home against PSU, that could be a problem. Now for the good. They are much better on offense this year. Shea Patterson has shown that he is easily the best QB in the short Jim Harbaugh era. They can run the ball. I love Karan Higdon. The receivers are big and strong, and Tarik Black could be back this weekend. The O line has been better. The defense, in their last game, absolutely shut down MSU. Since week one, the defense has been solid. They have the pieces in place to actually make a run. They have a tough game this weekend, they then have to travel to Rutgers, and road games are tough, then they get Indiana at home, but for the past 6 or 7 years it seems, Indiana plays them very tough, and they finish out the season in Columbus. Where we sit today the Wolverines are in complete control of their side of the Big 10. I am very curious to see how they play now that they are expected to win. That hasn't been the case sine Peppers was a Heisman finalist, and they stumbled to finish that season. Saturday will show me a lot about this team. That game will determine how they finish. They are now the team with the bulls eye on their back. Lets see which team shows up. Right now though, and I do not like doing this because I am a pessimist when it comes to anything Michigan related, I am going to go with the Wolverines to win the Big 10. They should.

As far as teams outside the power 5, Notre Dame is going to get in the playoff as long as they win out. They have the win over Michigan to open the year. They went to Blacksburg and won. And even with struggles against Ball State and Pitt, they still found a way to win. UCF still hasn't lost in a game in almost 2 years. They may not have a tough schedule, but you play who you play, and they have beaten all comers. Mackenzie Milton is awesome too. Houston is really good, and they have the best defensive player in football in Ed Oliver. And Utah State and Fresno State are having a flash back to the early 2010's, finding their way into the top 25.

As far as the Heisman, I had Bryce Love to start the year. I was very, very wrong. He, of course, has been perpetually hurt all year. Tua is going to win. He is putting up monster numbers on the best team in college football. Tua is the best QB Alabama has had under Saban as well. He is an amazing talent.

The playoff, this was tough for me. The first official rankings come out tomorrow, and while that will most definitely change, I know 2 of the teams that will be there will be in my final four. Going from 1-4 I have, Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, and number 4, the toughest one for me to pick, I am going to go with Oklahoma. Michigan will be the team left out. Oklahoma has the great, probably Heisman runner up QB, Kyler Murray. They also have an easier end of season schedule than Michigan. Oklahoma should run the table the rest of the way. Michigan could too, but they could also lose a couple of those games. Like I said, the last time they had expectations, they stumbled. Oklahoma is going to be able to outscore every team left on their schedule and in the Big 12 title game. They then get the unfortunate task of playing a rested Alabama team. Alabama is so much better than EVERY team in college football. They win with ease. So does Clemson in the 2-3 game. Notre Dame has not, and will not, face a team as talented as Clemson the rest of the year. Clemson will dominate that game. So, we would get, for the third time in the four year history of the college football playoff, a Clemson-Alabama game. And, Alabama will cruise. They are so, so great. They have stars all over the field. You know how I said that Clemson is the Warriors of the ACC? Alabama is the Warriors of all of college football. They are so dominant.

Now, with only 5 weeks of regular season games left, I think a lot of this could change. But, where we are now, at this point in the year, this is my redo. These are my changes. Lets see how these picks pan out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Wolverines could every game the rest of the year, including the National Championship, and Ty would still not be optimistic on Michigan’s chances this year. The terrible life of a superfan.

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