The FIVE was awful this week, I hope you faded. I went 1-3-1 which brings my season record to 3-5-2 so far. Not good. On a brighter note I went 2-0 for the BetTheRent.com newsletter which brings me to 4-0 this season on that front.
The problem that I'm having is that I'm using my best picks for the newsletter and not the FIVE. And I'm getting killed on the "replacement" games. Still, the last few seasons I went 0-5, 1-4 and 0-5 to start the year so it's not all bad.
Items:
1. Clemson is the best team in the country (right now). Their defense is scary good and it appears that they haven't lost all that much on offense. They've got two big wins under their belt already (Auburn and Louisville) with Virginia Tech upcoming after what should be a snoozer versus a bad Boston College team. (Beware! Sandwich week).
2. Oklahoma is the 2nd best team in the country (right now). They have the "best" win, on the road against Ohio State and they demolished Tulane last week. The problem for the Sooners is that they really don't play anyone until Bedlam on November 4th.
3. Alabama is still pretty good. They handled an average Colorado State team as you would expect them to and now they enter conference play in what appears, early, to be a down year for the SEC. It's possible, just, that Mississippi State could be the toughest opponent remaining on the Tide's schedule.
4. Top 25 rankings at this point in the season are worthless. So ignore them. Also, ignore pretty much everything that the 'media' is spouting and calling "analysis". The big media outlets all have an interest in pimping up their conference affiliations. So CBS will tell you that the SEC (the only property they have) is the best, while Fox will pimp the Pac-12, Big XII and (now) the B1G, while ESPN apes the SEC and ACC the best they can. It.is.all.crap.
5. LSU is in trouble. They looked gormless against Miss State and were out coached on every level. Ed Orgeron's team looked like Orgeron's Ole Miss teams. That's not a compliment. Still, they get a little softer over the next two weeks before starting their mid-season conference run. Maybe the Tigers can turn it around, but I have my doubts.
6. San Diego State is REALLY good. And while I still think Stanford is a program in decline the win by the Aztecs was impressive. My early season pick for the Group of Five New Year's Six representative was USF. I still think the Bulls will be there but the race with SDSU should make for some interesting week-to-week poll watching.
7. Kevin Sumlin will not survive the year. The Aggies are not a good football team. And they're poorly coached to boot. aTm is going to have to find some money and pay-off Kevin Sumlin. The question is, who next? I would argue for UTSA coach Frank Wilson but that pick would likely face resistance from alumni who would be leery of getting another small-school coach from a Texas college.
8. Kentucky and Purdue on the rise? Both teams are 3-0, and while both have been in relatively soft (South Carolina is OK thought) both have handled their business. The Boilermakers get Michigan at home on Saturday while Kentucky welcomes Florida. Good acid tests for both teams IMO.
9. Abandon Hope, all who enter here. Kansas, ECU, New Mexico State, Nevada, Boston College, Charlotte and Missouri can all start looking forward to basketball season. Baylor is in for a long season, as is UConn. The line between the haves, and the have-nots in College football is getting glaring.
And finally.....
10. Texas is not "back". Yes, they played hard against USC, just losing in 2 OT's but that Longhorn's offense is going to get them murdered in Big XII play. There's also ample evidence that Tom Herman's "jerk" routine is growing stale in Austin.
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