Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Notre Dame, Michigan & Oklahoma All Fight To Say In CFB Playoff
There is happiness in Ann Arbor, despair in Baton Rouge, a lot of clapping in Clemson, satisfaction in South Bend, kickoff confusion in Lincoln, bedlam coming to Boomertown, and Tua in Tuscaloosa.
With the arrival of fall, several teams have fallen out of the College Football Playoff race, as well as the favor of their fans, leaving few teams standing as true contenders.
This week could bring confusion or clear up the playoff picture for the leaders while others are left to salvage what they can from a season that’s gone beyond the brink.
All times Pacific because The Prognosticator live on the West Coast.
Ohio State at Michigan State (9 a.m. FOX)
It’s been a nutty season for the Nuts, who have been rolling around like leaves blowing in a fall wind. They have cracked once and were close to splitting wide open last week and now head to East Lansing to try to keep it all together. Sparty can’t score any more than Brutus can run, but there is one advantage the somewhat spartan Spartans have: the home field. If the green-clad fans can fire up their team then they will put the final crack in the Buckeyes season. Winner: Michigan State.
Wisconsin at Penn State (9 a.m., ABC)
There’s been a white out in the Pennsylvania hills all season, for the Nittany Lions’ championship prowess has proved to be a snow job. This is something to which Bucky Badger can relate, as the only thing he’s been badgering are the fans’ high hopes. This preseason battle for the Big 10 is now a battle among two of the most friendly fans in college football, and that in itself is a victory for both sides. Winner: Wisconsin
UCLA at Arizona State (11 a.m., Pac-12 Network)
The Baby Bears are not just in hibernation for this season, they are in hibernation for this game. An 11 o’clock kickoff on the Pac-12 Network in a notoriously thin-crowd stadium is about as hidden as a team can get and still actually be playing a game. Then again, Bruin fans are covering their faces with their paws this year; among last week’s numbers of blunders were the team lining up to kick a field goal without – get this – its kicker. They will get kicked this week, all right, even tho few will witness it. This brings up. the interesting “falling tree in the forest” scenario for college football: if the Herminators win and nobody is around to see it, did it actually happen?? Winner: Arizona State
Mississippi State at Alabama (12:30 p.m., CBS)
The State Dogs cross the state line from Mississippi to a place where a lot of their students go to party on weekends. But they won’t find very hospitable hosts when they take to the turf in Tuscaloosa. The Pachyderms are stomping everything in their path and as a bunch of Tigers found out last week, the Tide has an old Alabama defense again to go with the Tua Tsunami and that will make this a party all right, but only for those wearing crimson and not maroon. Winner: Alabama
Oklahoma State at Oklahoma (12:30 p.m., ABC)
Bedlam comes to Norman with the visitors hoping to put the hosts’ playoff hopes to bed. The Pokes can poke enough holes in the Boomers’ headboard to reduce it to sawdust, although there’s so much spring in the mattress that OU can score even when seemingly laying flat on the floor. In another Big-12 shootout, the scoreboard is going to be booming in Norman. Winner: Oklahoma
Michigan at Rutgers (12:30 p.m. Big 10 Network)
After the taming of the Lions, the Fighting Harbaughs will run right through the Knights like a bunch of modern warriors going against medieval jousters. They invade New Jersey with a swarming army and while they are better on the defensive, they will glisten like knights in shining armor on offense this week against the hapless hosts. Winner: Michigan
Auburn at Georgia (4 p.m., ESPN)
The Gus Bus got an unexpected repair job from Texas A&M Head Coach Jimbo Fisher just as it was running out of gas and about to be towed off to the Auburn junkyard. In Athens-town the sputtering offense will encounter a bunch of Junkyard Dawgs who will disassemble any parts Fisher put on that malfunctioning machine. They had better keep their toolbox handy, however, because Auburn doesn’t generally misfire too often in the South’s Oldest Rivalry. Winner: Georgia
Florida State at Notre Dame (4:30 p.m., NBC)
The last time The Prognosticator put faith in the Spears, he got speared, and even tho the Irish have been fighting for their playoff lives more often than they have been waking up the echoes, this game is a golden opportunity to polish their golden dome.The Blazing Saddles coach – “Taggart!” – has managed to make his team as laughable as the classic movie. Winner: Notre Dame
Clemson at Boston College (5 p.m., ABC)
The Felines have been running unchallenged through the ACC as if it’s the lone predator on an open Serengeti. Next on its menu are the low-flying birds from Boston who should be as easy to devour as a midnight snack. How well these cats can hunt at night in the cold of a New England November remains to be seen but they should have a thick enough fur coat to weather the conditions. Winner, in a close one: Clemson
Cal at USC (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
In an attempt to wrestle the Dumb Play Call Of The Week from Fisher, Cal’s Justin Wilcox also threw a fourth-quarter pass that wound up costing his team the game last week. Now he goes against the team where he was once both praised and booed as its defensive coordinator. He may leave with Trojans fans wishing he were back there as the head coach. Winner: USC
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