State your case: Who is the best team in college football?
Mizzou
by Jeff Dahdah
Mizzou might not play for the national championship on Jan. 6, but they are the best team in college football.
Let that sink in.
It is unlikely that Ohio State or Florida State lose in their respective championship games, and if neither does then it blocks Mizzou from getting the opportunity to prove that they deserve to raise that crystal ball.
The Tigers only loss was to South Carolina. The Tigers played that game without James Franklin, one of the best quarterbacks that you don’t know. They also took 17-point lead into the fourth quarter, and lost in double overtime when a 24-yard field goal hit off the post.
That loss is no worse than Auburn’s 14-point loss to LSU.
Many people haven’t seen Mizzou play. As a result the general consensus is that they are 11-1 by accident. However what people may not know is that Tigers are fourth in the nation in sacks, with 39. Mizzou is no. 14 in the nation with rush yards allowed, with 119 yards per game. The Tigers are in the top 15 in the nation in both points for and points against.
Between Ohio State and Florida State the two teams have faced five total ranked teams. Mizzou took on five ranked teams alone this season, and won four. Mizzou has gone through their schedule with dominance. Of their 11 wins only one wasn’t won by double digit points, and that was against Texas A&M. Meanwhile Ohio state has been entirely unconvincing, of their twelve wins four have been by ten points or less. Including a one point win to free falling Michigan last week.
As far as their comparison to the two one loss SEC teams, Auburn and Alabama, they will prove they are better than both teams when they win the SEC title game on Saturday.
Mizzou is solid in special teams, offense and defense. They are athletic and disciplined, fast and smart and they are no longer bottom feeders, in fact they only were for one year.
People need to learn to respect Mizzou, especially Auburn who is already talking about playing for the championship themselves. If people don’t start to take this team seriously, they will sneak up on everybody.
– dahdahjm@gmail.com
Twitter: @dahdahusu
Florida State
by Curtis Lundstrom
One need only take a glance at Florida State’s schedule to see they are the best team in the country and are rightfully No. 1 in all the polls and BCS standings.
The Seminoles offense is on a level matched arguably by only Baylor. FSU has put up 53.7 points per game this season, and Jameis Winston is the runaway favorite for Heisman with the astronomical statistics he’s put up despite poor vision.
Winston has thrown for 35 touchdowns and eight interceptions and has rushed for three more.
For heaven’s sake, their lowest scoring output of the season is 37 points against a Florida team that may be horrible on offense, but is still a top-20 defense.
They’ve had games of 59-plus points five times, and have topped the 40-point plateau in every game except for the win over the Gators. Eight different players have rushed for a touchdown this season and seven different players have caught a touchdown pass.
Speaking of defense, naysayers will argue the Seminoles have benefited from a weak ACC and out-of-conference schedule, and while there’s truth to that, keep in mind two things.
First, everyone has pattycakes on their schedule. Second, Florida State has two wins against top-5 teams this season, and another top-25 win. That defense that has faced nobodys? Yeah, they allowed a combined 28 points to those three top-25 teams and shut out one of them.
Their defense is ranked first in scoring defense at 11.0 points per game and 31 turnovers this season – fifth best nationally – in 12 games. They’ve held six of 12 opponents to less than 10 points this season.
A good offense and good defense yields good results. A stellar offense combined with a stellar defense equates to almost unstoppable.
It’s too bad for the Seminoles that Winston’s off-field hurdles mean the best team in the country won’t end up national champions.
-curtislundstrom@gmail.com
Twitter: @CurtSport07
