Post by Uncle on Nov 1, 2022 21:27:23 GMT -6
As the calendar turns to November and the CFP Rankings will come into play from here on out, there are two conferences in the spotlight for Week 10:
The MAC:
And the SEC:
First, for those that can't get enough football every single night of the week, "MACtion" is back! "MACtion" refers to the MAC Conference scheduling games on Tues & Wed nights, meaning that with College Football already on Thu, Fri & Sat nights, and the NFL on Sun & Mon nights, in the month of November you can literally watch live College or NFL football every single night of the week! Remember those doldrum days in the offseason where football season couldn't get here fast enough? Welcome to the month of the year where it's football all the time!
As far as the SEC goes, they have two massive games with CFP implications during Week 10, one in each division. In the SEC East, it's the "SEC Game of the Year 2.0" as the #1 CFP-ranked Tennessee Volunteers travel to Athens, Georgia to go "between the hedges" and face the Bulldogs with the winner pretty much guaranteed to go to the SEC Championshp game. In the West, it's the classic Alabama/LSU game in Death Valley with a shared possession of first place on the line with Ole Miss, who has a BYE in Week 10.
There are some games on Thu/Fri night that are worth watching, but it's a somewhat lackluster Saturday lineup with two big SEC games, a solid BIG XII game and the rest just ranked teams battling lesser teams in their conference.
Thursday, 11/3
Appalachian St @ Coastal Carolina - 7:30PM ET (ESPN)
This is a solid little Sun Belt game on Thursday night that could be a nice alternative to the Eagles/Texans game which could turn into a route. The Chanticleers have a hold on the Sun Belt East standings with only 1 loss, but App St was the most exciting team in the nation in September and could very well get into the mix with a big road win. Plus, there's a couple 2023 Draft prospects to check out: App St's OLB/DE Nick Hampton and Coastal Carolina's QB Grayson McCall. I currently have McCall as a possible Day 2 prospect in my QB 2023 prospects - he has thrown 71 TD's and just 7 INT's in his 2.5 seasons as the starter for the Chanticleers.
Friday, 11/4
#23 Oregon St @ Washington - 10:30PM ET (ESPN)
If you're having trouble sleeping on Friday night, I suggest you check out this one as the Beavers, fresh off a Top 25 ranking, travel North to take on the Huskies in a pivotal PAC12 game. The Beavers have just 2 losses - to USC and Utah, both of whom are ranked inside the CFP's Top 15 rankings, so they are not an easy out at all this year. And Washington has a high-octane offense led by 2023 QB prospect Michael Penix, Jr, who leads the QB's in my 2023 QB Watch thread in total yards. It'a a de-facto knockout game in the PAC12 as the winner is still alive for a possible spot in the PAC12 Championship, while the loser is likely out with 3 Conference losses.
Saturday, 11/5 - Late Afternoon Game
#1 Tennessee @ #3 Georgia - 3:30PM ET (CBS); the "SEC Game of the Year 2.0"
I doubt this game lives up to the Alabama/Tennessee game from Week 7 on Rocky Top, but it should be mandtory TV viewing nonetheless. Tennessee's has the best offense in College Football with a Heisman candidate running it in Hendon Hooker, and although Georgia has playmakers on offense, they still make their hay on having a stout defense. Can Kirby Smart's defense contain Josh Heupel's offense? They won't have DE/OLB Nolan Smith as he's out of the rest of the season and the Volunteer defense was dominant in their Week 9 win over Kentucky. Georgia has the CB's to line up with Tennessee's great WR weapons, so Hooker is going to have to really play a great game to pull this one off. There should be plenty of NFL scouts on hand for this one.
Saturday, 11/5 - Evening Games
#24 Texas @ #13 Kansas St - 7PM ET (FS1)
For those that want an alternative to Alabama/LSU, this should be a solid BIG XII game that has big implications on who gets into the BIG XII Championship opposite TCU. Kansas St only has that 1 lconference oss so they're the frontrunner, but Texas has the players to pull upset off in Manhattan. This might be a de-facto knockout game from the BIG XII Title Game - lose and you're out. The Wildcats showed last week when they thrashed Oklahoma St that Manhattan is a difficult place to play.
#6 Alabama @ #10 LSU - 7PM ET (ESPN)
Brian Kelly accepted the job in Baton Rouge to play in bigtime college games, so he gets his wish as Nick Saban and 'Bama roll into Death Valley to continue this SEC West rivalry. All the betting money has been on the Crimson Tide in this one as no one seems to believe that the Tigers can pull this off, but their QB, Jayden Daniels, has had great back-to-back games before their BYE last week and the atmosphere should be similar to what 'Bama faced on Rocky Top in Week 7. This winner of the game gets to share the SEC West lead with Ole Miss while the loser is out of the SEC Championship with 2 Conference losses. You could argue that winning this game could be Kelly's biggest win of his career, even though he's taken Notre Dame to the CFP.
QB Matchups to Watch:
- Hendon Hooker (Tennessee) @ Stetson Bennett (Georgia)
- Bryce Young (Alabama) @ Jayden Daniels (LSU)
- Garrett Shrader (Syracuse) @ Kedon Slovis (Pitt); Shrader might not play after suffering an injury during Week 9
- Cameron Ward (Wash St) @ Tanner McKee (Stanford)
- Jordan Travis (FSU) @ Tyler Van Dyke (Miami, Fl)
The MAC:
And the SEC:
First, for those that can't get enough football every single night of the week, "MACtion" is back! "MACtion" refers to the MAC Conference scheduling games on Tues & Wed nights, meaning that with College Football already on Thu, Fri & Sat nights, and the NFL on Sun & Mon nights, in the month of November you can literally watch live College or NFL football every single night of the week! Remember those doldrum days in the offseason where football season couldn't get here fast enough? Welcome to the month of the year where it's football all the time!
As far as the SEC goes, they have two massive games with CFP implications during Week 10, one in each division. In the SEC East, it's the "SEC Game of the Year 2.0" as the #1 CFP-ranked Tennessee Volunteers travel to Athens, Georgia to go "between the hedges" and face the Bulldogs with the winner pretty much guaranteed to go to the SEC Championshp game. In the West, it's the classic Alabama/LSU game in Death Valley with a shared possession of first place on the line with Ole Miss, who has a BYE in Week 10.
There are some games on Thu/Fri night that are worth watching, but it's a somewhat lackluster Saturday lineup with two big SEC games, a solid BIG XII game and the rest just ranked teams battling lesser teams in their conference.
Thursday, 11/3
Appalachian St @ Coastal Carolina - 7:30PM ET (ESPN)
This is a solid little Sun Belt game on Thursday night that could be a nice alternative to the Eagles/Texans game which could turn into a route. The Chanticleers have a hold on the Sun Belt East standings with only 1 loss, but App St was the most exciting team in the nation in September and could very well get into the mix with a big road win. Plus, there's a couple 2023 Draft prospects to check out: App St's OLB/DE Nick Hampton and Coastal Carolina's QB Grayson McCall. I currently have McCall as a possible Day 2 prospect in my QB 2023 prospects - he has thrown 71 TD's and just 7 INT's in his 2.5 seasons as the starter for the Chanticleers.
Friday, 11/4
#23 Oregon St @ Washington - 10:30PM ET (ESPN)
If you're having trouble sleeping on Friday night, I suggest you check out this one as the Beavers, fresh off a Top 25 ranking, travel North to take on the Huskies in a pivotal PAC12 game. The Beavers have just 2 losses - to USC and Utah, both of whom are ranked inside the CFP's Top 15 rankings, so they are not an easy out at all this year. And Washington has a high-octane offense led by 2023 QB prospect Michael Penix, Jr, who leads the QB's in my 2023 QB Watch thread in total yards. It'a a de-facto knockout game in the PAC12 as the winner is still alive for a possible spot in the PAC12 Championship, while the loser is likely out with 3 Conference losses.
Saturday, 11/5 - Late Afternoon Game
#1 Tennessee @ #3 Georgia - 3:30PM ET (CBS); the "SEC Game of the Year 2.0"
I doubt this game lives up to the Alabama/Tennessee game from Week 7 on Rocky Top, but it should be mandtory TV viewing nonetheless. Tennessee's has the best offense in College Football with a Heisman candidate running it in Hendon Hooker, and although Georgia has playmakers on offense, they still make their hay on having a stout defense. Can Kirby Smart's defense contain Josh Heupel's offense? They won't have DE/OLB Nolan Smith as he's out of the rest of the season and the Volunteer defense was dominant in their Week 9 win over Kentucky. Georgia has the CB's to line up with Tennessee's great WR weapons, so Hooker is going to have to really play a great game to pull this one off. There should be plenty of NFL scouts on hand for this one.
Saturday, 11/5 - Evening Games
#24 Texas @ #13 Kansas St - 7PM ET (FS1)
For those that want an alternative to Alabama/LSU, this should be a solid BIG XII game that has big implications on who gets into the BIG XII Championship opposite TCU. Kansas St only has that 1 lconference oss so they're the frontrunner, but Texas has the players to pull upset off in Manhattan. This might be a de-facto knockout game from the BIG XII Title Game - lose and you're out. The Wildcats showed last week when they thrashed Oklahoma St that Manhattan is a difficult place to play.
#6 Alabama @ #10 LSU - 7PM ET (ESPN)
Brian Kelly accepted the job in Baton Rouge to play in bigtime college games, so he gets his wish as Nick Saban and 'Bama roll into Death Valley to continue this SEC West rivalry. All the betting money has been on the Crimson Tide in this one as no one seems to believe that the Tigers can pull this off, but their QB, Jayden Daniels, has had great back-to-back games before their BYE last week and the atmosphere should be similar to what 'Bama faced on Rocky Top in Week 7. This winner of the game gets to share the SEC West lead with Ole Miss while the loser is out of the SEC Championship with 2 Conference losses. You could argue that winning this game could be Kelly's biggest win of his career, even though he's taken Notre Dame to the CFP.
QB Matchups to Watch:
- Hendon Hooker (Tennessee) @ Stetson Bennett (Georgia)
- Bryce Young (Alabama) @ Jayden Daniels (LSU)
- Garrett Shrader (Syracuse) @ Kedon Slovis (Pitt); Shrader might not play after suffering an injury during Week 9
- Cameron Ward (Wash St) @ Tanner McKee (Stanford)
- Jordan Travis (FSU) @ Tyler Van Dyke (Miami, Fl)
... and neither is this Chris guy.