Nine things we learned in college football week three
- We never know who the ‘favorites’ are
How many of our preseason picks for the Playoff are already eliminated? Notre Dame is now 1-2 after losses to Texas and Michigan State. Oklahoma is 1-2 after losses to Houston and Ohio State. Darkhorse pick Iowa lost to an FCS team, all but ruling them out. USC and Ole Miss can already be ruled out. Tough roads lay ahead for LSU, TCU, Florida State, and others. Currently, you could argue a 4-team field of Alabama, Louisville, Houston, and Ohio State. I don’t think I’m alone in not thinking that three weeks ago.
- Louisville might win that Playoff…maybe
If you weren’t watching Louisville’s 63-20 drubbing of Florida State, where the deuce were you? Lamar Jackson had another stellar performance, accounting for five total touchdowns. All the doubters who scoffed at Louisville’s authenticity as a Playoff contender, the Cardinals emphatically silenced. But before you succumb to all the talk shows and pundits declaring the Cardinals the national champions, remember two dates on Louisville’s schedule: October 1 and November 17. To keep their Playoff hopes alive, Louisville must survive those two trips at Clemson and Houston, two games which may act as de facto Playoff auditions.
- Stanford does as Stanford does
You never see Stanford dumping 60 points on an opponent. You rarely see Stanford blowing out an opponent by 30+ points. Yet you’ll rarely see a more dominating, fundamentally sound football team. On top of the fundamentals, however, the Cardinal sport one of the best 1-2 punches in the nation in superhuman Christian McCaffrey and the vastly underrated Bryce Love who trampled over the Trojans for 221 yards in their 27-10 victory. It doesn’t look like a dominating performance, but it was a typical Stanford win. And that’s just the way Stanford likes it.
- Don’t pay to play North Dakota State
It’s a tradition as old as college football itself. Cupcake team comes to play a larger program. Larger program has easy game where they win by 50. Cupcake team gets paid a lot of money for their troubles. North Dakota State doesn’t like that tradition. Though they’ll gladly take the money still. In six straight wins against FBS teams, the Bisons have received $2.175 million to do so. In other words, those six games would pay head coach Chris Klieman’s 2015 salary almost six times over.
- Washington is the best team no one’s talking about
How much have you heard about the Huskies? Probably not much. But it might be time to give them your attention. Three straight wins of 35+ points, albeit against less than stellar competition, have the Huskies poised to compete for the Pac 12 title and a possible Playoff spot. The Huskies will soon be tested though, as a Friday night showdown at home against Stanford looms on September 30, followed by a trip to Eugene to play Oregon a week later. If they can survive that two-week stretch, the Huskies will have one of the easier paths to the Playoff in the country.
- Ohio State-Michigan may result in the formation of a black hole
I know it’s still over two months away, but there might not be a better regular season game this year. The two sides are already ranked #3 and #4, with room to move up after Florida State’s loss to Louisville. Unless Michigan State interrupts, the two could very well still be unbeaten coming into that final regular season game, creating a kill-or-be-killed scenario with a spot in both the Big Ten championship and the Playoff on the line. There’s always a couple of games you circle well ahead of schedule, and this one could trump them all.
- The Big 12 is officially in trouble
The only unbeaten teams left in the Big 12? West Virginia and Baylor. In short, that’s not what the Big 12 was hoping for three weeks into the season. Oklahoma’s scheduling of Houston and Ohio State in their first three games now looks like a laughable decision. TCU and Texas both need to run the table for any chance at inclusion in the Playoff. Their best hope for the Playoff may be to add Houston midseason.
- Carrying the ball across the goal line is hard
Texas was almost given a miracle lifeline in their loss to Cal this weekend, as Cal RB Vic Enwere dropped the ball at the 1-yard line while celebrating what should have been a touchdown. Fortunately for the Bears, no immediate recovery occurred and Cal was able to run out the clock. In Oklahoma’s loss to Ohio State, Joe Mixom almost made it worse by blatantly dropping the ball at the 1-yard line. Refs missed it, however, and Mixom’s 97-yard kickoff return TD stood. Both incidents beg the question: is it really that hard to cross the goal line before you start celebrating? It apparently is.
- Keep your arms and hands inside the vehicle at all times
It seems we go through the same process every year. We go through the entire offseason supposing that we know exactly how the upcoming season will go down. But once the season actually starts, we quickly learn that we know next to nothing as college football relegates our preconceived notions and expert opinions to the trash pile. We’re three weeks into this season. Conference play has hardly started yet. There are plenty more surprises and plot twists to come and we’re already dazed and amazed by what’s already happened. If you haven’t already, buckle up. It’ll only get crazier from here.