College Football Week 5: LSU, Tennessee hit new lows; Heisman, playoff rankings

Tennessee and LSU hit rock bottom, Nick Saban inches toward a milestone, Bryce Love joins Saquon Barkley in the Heisman conversation and early playoff contenders.

The SEC is no longer the best conference in college football. There never used to be any debate about that for the better part of the last decade with Florida, Alabama, LSU and Auburn all winning national championships. There was a debate that began last year with the uprising of the ACC and national champion Clemson, but the 2017 state of the SEC leaves no room for debate. It’s not the best and it may not even be second.

When the SEC was the top dog in college football, it wasn’t just those four teams that made it so. It was Georgia winning nine games every year, South Carolina thriving under Steve Spurrier, Missouri winning two East titles, Mississippi State ranked No. 1, Ole Miss beating Alabama, Texas A&M beating Alabama and having a Heisman winner in Johnny Manziel. Even Vanderbilt had their golden era under James Franklin before he departed for Penn State.

Related: Visit the FanSided college football page for more news, opinion and analysis

The depth of the conference just isn’t there this year. Alabama is the best team in the country and Georgia is my No. 5 team in the country and Auburn may actually be pretty solid. It’s the play of Tennessee and LSU that is so alarming. Tennessee lost 41-0 at home to Georgia and Butch Jones is probably being fired any second now.

As bad as that was, it wasn’t half as bad as LSU losing at home, on a Saturday night, to Troy. EVen worse, LSU paid $1 million that could have gone toward Coach O’s buyout.

Can’t blame this one on Les Miles. Orgeron is not a good head coach and LSU should have buyer’s remorse. They kept Miles one year too long when they could have had Jimbo Fisher. Now, they’re stuck with a coach who just oversaw one of the worst losses in recent program history.

In case you are wondering, Ed Orgeron has a $12 million buyout and Jones carries a $9.2 million price. Jones may not make it to Halloween and Orgeron may not make it to the end of 2018. If only, LSU didn’t bungle their handling of Jimbo Fisher.

College Football Playoff

After the first month of the season, the top four teams are pretty easy to identify and they come from four different conferences. Alabama has been untested and with the state of the SEC, may not be tested until the semifinals. The reigning national champion Clemson Tigers look as good as ever. Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma have the most impressive win of the year at then-No. 2 Ohio State and scoring a ton of points. Saquon Barkley is the best player in the country and Penn State is the team to beat in the Big Ten. Plenty of time left this season for some anarchy to take place, but on Oct. 1, it’s an easy foursome.

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Oklahoma
4. Penn State

Next Two In: Georgia, Washington

Heisman Hierarchy

What’s Love it to do with it?

Bryce Love has officially joined the Heisman conversation. The Stanford running back is filling the shoes of Christian McCaffrey quite nicely through five games. Love entered Saturday’s game vs. Arizona State leading the nation with 787 rushing yards, and finished as only the fifth player to have 1,000 yards in five games.

Love had 301 rushing yards, breaking McCaffrey’s school record, and scored three touchdowns on only 25 carries. Love has 1,088 yards on 98 carries, an average of 11.1 yards per carry. With seven straight games with at least one run 50 yards or longer, Love is hitting home runs at a greater rate than MLB home run leaders Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge.

Love’s Heisman resume compares quite favorably through the first month of the season to last seven running backs to win the Heisman. The only thing hurting his case today is Stanford’s losses to USC and San Diego State.

Saquon Barkley had not one, not two, but three plays that will be on his highlight tape when he’s in New York for the Heisman ceremony in December. What was most surprising was Barkley showing off his skills as a passer on a touchdown pass to add to his Heisman resume.

With that throw, the comparisons to Pro Football Hall of Famer, LaDainian Tomlinson, are going to intensify. LT, like his mentor, Walter Payton, was able to beat defenses with their arm on the occasional touchdown pass.

1. Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
2. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
3. Bryce Love, RB, Stanford
4. Luke Falk, QB, Washington State
5. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

Fun With Numbers

Tennessee Futility – 1905

Tennessee’s 41-0 loss to Georgia marked the first time the Vols were shutout in 23 years when they lost to Florida in 1994. Think about that, the average Tennessee senior was still a year or two away from being born the last time couldn’t get on the board. Even worse, the 41-point margin of defeat was the worst loss at home for the Vols since losing 45-0 to Vanderbilt 112 years ago in 1905.

Most Wins as AP No. 1 – 49

With Alabama’s win over Ole Miss, Nick Saban moved one win away from his 50th while ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll with the Crimson Tide. If you ever doubt that Saban is the greatest coaching bargain in college football, consider Woody Hayes and Bobby Bowden coached a combined 60 years to total 80 wins as a No. 1 team. At this rate, Saban could pass that total by the time the freshman class are seniors in 2020. He’s the best college football coach of all-time and may only trail legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden as far as college coaches are concerned.

1. Nick Saban 49-6 (2007-Present)
2. Woody Hayes: 40-6 (1951-1978)
3. Bobby Bowden: 40-5 (1976-2009)

Overtime

It’s more than just a wave at Iowa

The new tradition at Iowa football home games where fans wave at Iowa Children’s Hospital across the stadium has been one of my favorite stories from the first month of the season. Tom Rinaldi’s feature on College GameDay on Saturday morning shed light on the connection to Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz and his family. Grab a tissue. Matter of fact, grab the box. I was an emotional wreck after watching it live and repeat viewings left me feeling similar emotions. After the segment aired and Rinaldi was on screen to send a wave from everyone at GameDay. 

RIP Joe Tiller

I was saddened to hear of the passing of former Wyoming and Purdue head coach Joe Tiller on Saturday morning. Tiller led the Boilermakers to the Big Ten championship in 2000 behind Heisman finalist Drew Brees. Tiller brought the spread offense to the Big Ten that had famously been a “three yards and a cloud of dust” conference but Tiller aired it out and Brees later finished as the Big Ten’s passing and touchdowns leader. Tiller’s teams were fun to watch as a result. It was new and different and this underdog of a program was competing with Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State for conference supremacy. That team played in the Rose Bowl that year for the first time since 1967. Purdue hasn’t been back or won a Big Ten title since.

Next: NFL Draft Prospect Rankings

I thought Tiller got an unceremonious exit in 2008 when he was fired after going 4-8, only the second losing season in his 12 seasons in West Lafayette. In the eight full seasons since Tiller’s firing, Purdue has one winning season. I think there will be brighter days ahead for Purdue, however, under the direction of first-year head coach Jeff Brohm. And he’ll do so using many of the same spread principles Tiller first brought to the Big Ten 20 years ago. Rest in peace, Coach.