In Week 9 of the college football season, we’ll get a very good indication of just how ready Georgia is to compete with Alabama
Week 9 of the college football season is probably the most important one yet, mainly because it’s the final chance for a lot of teams to impress the College Football Playoff committee before the initial rankings are released on Tuesday night. So, there are many lessons to be learned this weekend as we gear up to freak out over the first playoff rankings next week, beginning with just how far ahead of the pack Georgia is from everyone else in the SEC East.
Georgia’s out to shut the SEC East down for the season
OK, have the Florida Gators had a less-than-stellar season thus far in 2017? Yes, they have. However, with losses to Michigan of the Big Ten and Texas A&M and LSU of the SEC West, you may have lost sight of the fact that Jim McElwain and the Gators could are still in contention to win their third consecutive title in the SEC East where they could go on to be slaughtered by Alabama once again.
Florida fans have not forgotten about this, and they continue to hold out hope for that third straight division title, but those hopes are likely going to be stomped all over Saturday afternoon as the rival Georgia Bulldogs … well, probably stomp all over Florida in Jacksonville.
Sitting at No. 3 in the AP Poll currently, it’s been evident for a few weeks now that Georgia is the clear second-best team in the SEC and really the best option to defeat Alabama this year. Ric Flair famously said, “To be the man, you gotta beat the man,” and the Bulldogs are setting out to dethrone the defending two-time kings of the SEC East, sending a message to the country and the rest of the conference that Jake Fromm, Sony Michel, Nick Chubb and the rest of these Dawgs are ready to make a national title run down the stretch here.
And, with the way the Gators have performed this season on the field, they’ll presumably be wildly successful in that venture. The Gators’ defense hasn’t operated like its usual self the past few years and this Georgia offense has been deadly, especially on the ground where its 10th in the country in rushing offense at nearly 283 yards per game. That’ll happen when you have two horses like Michel and Chubb in the same backfield.
Ultimately, with Georgia well-rested coming off a bye week, and given the way they’ve performed to this point in the season, Saturday should begin the coronation of a new SEC East king. Then we can really start salivating about the potential Georgia-Alabama showdown in Atlanta.
Todd Graham can really save his job this weekend
Sure, there are some more pressing topics in college football this weekend to discuss, but this week I do feel the need to talk about Arizona State head coach Todd Graham. I, admittedly, like many others, have never been the biggest fan of Graham. A few weeks ago, I was constantly beating the drum that Graham should finally be ousted from Tempe following a 2-3 start through five games, with a 10-point loss to San Diego State of the Mountain West included in that start.
However, I’m a huge proponent of giving credit where it’s due, and the fact of the matter is that you have to give Graham credit for basically taking a fire extinguisher to his scorching seat. Two weeks ago, Graham simmered down talks of his eventual departure when he handed defending Pac-12 Champion Washington their first loss of the year, and they followed up that performance with an impressive 20-point win over Utah last week to move to 4-3 on the year.
So now, here we are in Week 9 and not only is Graham being on the hot seat not a topic on the table, but one thing we can discuss is the fact that his Sun Devils are very much in contention for the Pac-12 South title. And on Saturday, they have the chance to stake their claim as the frontrunner in the South as they take on a reeling USC Trojans team that currently sits in first place.
USC is a bit damaged coming off that brutal loss to Notre Dame last weekend, while as you’d expect, Arizona State is riding one of the biggest momentum waves in college football right now. If the Trojans don’t have their heads full on straight after what happened in South Bend last Saturday evening, then talking about Graham needing employment soon will be non-existent, having been replaced by discussing him and his Arizona State team in the driver’s seat to the Pac-12 title game in December.
Another statement from the Cyclones coming?
Speaking of teams carrying a ton of momentum into Week 9 of the season, you have to bring up the Iowa State Cyclones. Matt Campbell has more than proven his worth as a head coach at the major level, with Iowa State on a three-game winning streak that includes wins over an Oklahoma team that was ranked third in the country at the time and Texas Tech. Also of note, in that win over the Red Raiders last weekend, Campbell’s Cyclones defensive unit held that high-powered offense from Lubbock to just 13 points, and it can’t be overstated just how impressive that is.
Saturday afternoon at home, Iowa State will face undoubtedly their toughest test of the season when they welcome in the undefeated Big 12 leader into Ames, the TCU Horned Frogs. Suffice to say, should the Cyclones pull this one off and knock No. 4 TCU from the ranks of the unbeaten, it’ll trump the other two big wins they own this year thus far.
Campbell and his team will need to play a near flawless game to take down a Horned Frogs team that’s one of the most balanced in the nation. If anything, the lone aspect working on their side is the fact that they’re home in Ames — and we’ve certainly seen some crazy take place when top teams make a trip there.
Iowa State probably won’t come out on top, but even if they could keep this one close, it’s another feather in the cap for Campbell and this Cyclones program quickly on the rise.
Penn State at Ohio State
Really, there’s nothing else that needs to be said. In what is the marquee matchup of the weekend, the undefeated and No. 2-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions will head to Columbus and the Horseshoe to take on the No. 6-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The winner of this one will be in the driver’s seat to represent the East Division in the Big Ten title game, as well as have a leg up in the race for the conference’s College Football Playoff spot.
This one is truly tough to call, and it’ll need to just be watched as it plays out on the field. Since its convincing loss to Oklahoma at home in Week 2, Ohio State has been tearing the opposition up on the field, looking like a completely different team out there. However, an argument could be made that Penn State hasn’t really played anyone to write home about either to get to its 7-0 record. Sure, a 42-13 win over Michigan looks good on paper when paying attention to just the names, but we all know this Wolverines team is in a huge transition this season.
So, we’re going to learn a lot about both squads on Saturday afternoon. Ohio State’s defense is 14th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing just below 110 yards per game, but do they have enough to hold down Heisman frontrunner Saquon Barkley? While Michigan isn’t the juggernaut some thought they’d be, their defense had been one of the best all season … until they met up with Barkley last weekend. Could the same thing happen to the Buckeyes?
Has J.T. Barrett really turned the corner? The veteran Buckeyes quarterback was criticized heavily early in the year but has been playing phenomenally since. Since that loss to the Sooners, Barrett has tossed 18 touchdown passes, and more importantly, he hasn’t turned the ball over. His only pick of the year came against the Sooners. Saturday, though, Barrett will face a very good secondary in Penn State (7th in the nation in passing yards allowed), so we’ll get to see whether or not the former Heisman contender really has made the turnaround Urban Meyer needed him to make to put this team in a position to make a return trip to the College Football Playoff.
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Then, of course, there are the revenge factors for both teams. The Nittany Lions are a bit salty after being left out of the playoff fold despite being the Big Ten champs and defeating the Buckeyes last year, while at the same time Ohio State and Meyer don’t take losing well, and the loss to Penn State last year probably still stings in some fashion.
One of the biggest matchups of the college football season is not void of storylines, making this the unquestioned game everyone needs to watch at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon.