There are six Top 20 games on Saturday in college football:
- (10) Baylor vs. (16) Oklahoma
- (8) Notre Dame vs. (11) Arizona State
- (9) Kansas State vs. (6) TCU
- (4) Alabama vs. (14) LSU
- (13) Ohio State vs. (7) Michigan State
- (5) Oregon vs. (20) Utah
Phrased another way, 12 of the top 20 is playing each other this weekend. Kind of nuts.
The last time this season — the only other time — that we had six ranked-vs-ranked games was October 4th weekend.
That weekend, most of the Top 5 ended up losing — Oregon to Arizona, Alabama to Ole Miss, Oklahoma to TCU, Texas A&M to Mississippi State, etc. That weekend pretty much set up our current Top 4-5, with the possible exception of Oregon losing (they’re back in the discussion now).
Another way to evaluate that October 4th weekend:
So … The AP college football poll began in 1936. This is only the 2nd weekend when 11 ranked teams lost in the same weekend.
— Jeff Rabjohns (@JeffRabjohns) October 5, 2014
So here we go again — six ranked-vs-ranked. Could everything fall apart again?
Let’s assume a world in which every game is an upset. That means you have these winners:
- Oklahoma
- Arizona State
- Kansas State
- LSU
- Ohio State
- Utah
Florida State and Mississippi State probably stay 1-2 in that context (pending a major loss by either), but Miss. St. would be a week away from “The Game of the Century” for them (at Alabama). Alabama would have just lost, though, and TCU would have fallen down the ladder, as would Oregon. In that case, LSU probably moves up, KSU moves up, and … the top four is somewhat questionable.
Here’s the current picture — if all the higher seeds lost this weekend, you might see the Top 4 as:
- Mississippi State
- Florida State
- Auburn
- Kansas State
LSU would be just outside of that, I’d reckon, and Ohio State/Arizona State could start moving into the discussion.
(Then, of course, it could change the next week if Alabama beats Miss. St. and FSU somehow struggles with Miami.)
Point is, it’s a crazy world — I love it! — and we’re nowhere near the final picture here, even though the SEC Championship is only about a month away.
