October can be a tricky month for a number of reasons, but which potential trap games are on the docket for College Football Playoff contenders?
We’re only one full month into the 2017 season and College Football Playoff contenders have already been shifting heavily and also dropping like flies. Just this past week, we saw the USC Trojans be upset by the Washington State Cougars. In turn, Mike Leach’s bunch may have put their name in the conversation. In short, too few games have been played for anything to be decided.
However, the best way to make sure that your team is going to make the College Football Playoff and have a go at a National Championship is simply to win. If a team is one of the four best in the country, or wants to be considered as such, that should be easy enough, right? Well, when you get into October and the heart of the schedule, there’s nothing easy about it.
For the most part, October tends to signify the beginning of conference play, or even getting into the heart of it. As such, there are some moderate to big rivalry games being played, which is a challenge to be sure. Having said that, it may be even more challenging to avoid the trap games surrounding the big and marquee matchups.
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While the likes of the Alabama Crimson Tide or Clemson Tigers don’t have much to worry about in October, several other teams indeed do. Here are five trap games that these College Football Playoff contenders need to not overlook.
5. Penn State at Northwestern – Saturday, Oct. 7
Saquon Barkley and the Penn State Nittany Lions are undeniably dangerous. Everyone expected them to be such coming into the season, and they’ve cemented their case for that to this point. It hasn’t all been easy for them, most notably a gritty victory on the road against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Regardless, they enter October with a pristine record and as the No. 4 team in the country — and with the Heisman Trophy favorite, Barkley, in tow.
With that being said, few teams have a more brutal upcoming schedule in the country than do the Nittany Lions. On the third Saturday in October, they have to take on the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines and one of the best defenses in the country. What’s more, they take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 10) in Columbus the following week, followed by a matchup with the much-better-than-most-thought Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing.
Before all of that, though, they play the Northwestern Wildcats on the first Saturday of the month. With such a big trio of games lying immediately ahead, it’s not hard to see how they might overlook the Wildcats on Saturday at Ryan Field. Sure, Penn State is the far superior team in terms of talent, record and pedigree.
However, Northwestern just showed in their last game that they can hang tough with the best in the conference, battling with Wisconsin in Week 5 of the season. They have experience and talent with the likes of Clayton Thorson and Justin Jackson on offense and a defense that’s hard-nosed. If the Nittany Lions aren’t careful, they could be tripped up to begin the new month.