Week 8 Impressions
Since I judged a marching band event all day Saturday, I was not able to watch any football. However, I am aware of how the games played out, so I will give my impressions of the results and the conference standings.
Memphis is steadily heading toward a showdown with either UCF or USF in the AAC conference championship game. Their win over Houston on Thursday night (and over Navy the previous week) gives them the clear advantage. Iowa State continues to impress, as they have seemingly taken a huge step by winning on the road again. Their game against TCU this weekend will go a long way in determining whether this is just a nice story.
Similarly to Iowa State, Rutgers is also surging, having now won 2 straight conference games. They now travel to Michigan to face a disappointed (and disappointing) team. Can they continue their good run? Syracuse is another team that has vastly improved this year, but they were unable to overcome Miami. FSU has really fallen on hard times, and, at 2-4, are in danger of missing a bowl game for the first time in more than 30 years.
Tulsa is one of those teams where if I pick them to win, they lose, and if I pick the other team to win, Tulsa wins. There is always at least one team each year that baffles me, and Tulsa seems to be the one this year. I was very surprised at the outcome in several ACC games. I've already mentioned the FSU loss, but Boston College beating Virginia so soundly, and Pitt triumphing over Duke on the road really surprised me! Other surprising results, at least to me, were: Arizona State winning on the road at Utah; Coastal Carolina playing Appalachian State close; Kentucky getting blown out by Mississippi State; FAU dominating North Texas so thoroughly; UAB losing to Charlotte in overtime; BYU being dominated by East Carolina, even if it was on the road; Penn State completely destroying Michigan; Likewise for Notre Dame over USC; and San Diego State's complete collapse in the last two games.
This is how I see the conference races:
The AAC East will come down to the USF at UCF game on Nov 24. Memphis is clearly in the driver's seat in the AAC West, as they simply have to beat Tulane on Friday and SMU (after a bye) on Nov. 18. They already hold the tiebreaker advantage over both Houston and Navy.
The ACC Atlantic will come down to the Clemson at NC State game on Nov 4. Syracuse has an outside chance, since they defeated Clemson, but they need to win out and hope NC State loses 3 conference games, or hope for a 3-way tie for first. The ACC Coastal is still a 4-team race between Miami, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Virginia, with Miami currently the only undefeated team in the conference. Miami still has to play the 2 Virginia schools; Va Tech still must play all three contenders; Ga Tech also must play the 2 Virginia Schools, and Virginia must play the other 3 contenders, as well, all in November. This may not be decided until the final weekend.
TCU is clearly in the lead in the Big 12, as they are the only undefeated team, both overall and in conference play. They have already given Oklahoma State and West Virginia their only conference losses, and face Iowa State this weekend and Oklahoma on November 11. Win those 2, and the conference is theirs, unless they stumble in 2 of their remaining 3 games against Texas, Texas Tech, and Baylor. They are the only team with a clear path to the conference championship game.
Three teams in the Big 10 East are still undefeated: Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan State. Since they will all play each other over the remaining 5 weeks of the season, this will obviously change. Michigan and Rutgers are currently tied for 4th place! In the Big 10 West, Wisconsin is the only undefeated team, and, in fact, is the only team with less than 2 losses. Everyone else is fighting for 2nd place, currently occupied by Nebraska and Northwestern.
Conference USA is wide open! Four of the seven teams in the East are still alive for a division championship, while six out of seven in the West is still in play. Only Middle Tenness, Charlotte, Old Dominion, and UTEP have been eliminated, for all practical purposes. There is still a lot to be determined here, but Marshall and FAU are the only undefeated teams in conference play. Should be an interesting race!
The MAC East may come down to the Ohio at Akron game on Nov 14 (a Tuesday). The MAC West should be determined on Thursday, Nov 2, when Northern Illinois travels to take on Toledo.
Boise State has had a strong resurgence in the MWC Mountain Division, and that division could come down to their game at Colorado State on Nov. 11. Fresno State has taken a 2-game lead on everyone else in the MWC West, but their win over San Diego State essentially makes it a 3-game lead, since they own the tiebreaker. They only have to win one of their remaining 4 conference games to win the division!
The PAC 12 North has come down to Washington, Washington State, and Stanford. They will play each other in November, so it could come down to the Apple Cup on Nov 25. The PAC 12 South still has 4 teams in contention: USC, Arizona, Arizona State, and UCLA (barely).It is possible that the Nov 25 contest between Arizona and Arizona State could decide the division.
Georgia still must defeat its 3 closest competitors to win the SEC East: Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina. Win those three, and a loss to Auburn cannot knock them out of the SECCG. Alabama only needs to beat LSU and Auburn to clinch the division. Win those, and a loss to Mississippi State (as unlikely as that is) would not derail them from winning the division.
Finally, in the Sun Belt Conference, almost half the teams are still alive, as most have only played three conference games. Likely winners appear to be Appalachian State, Arkansas State, South Alabama, Troy or Georgia State (yes, they still have a chance!). However, since Appalachian State and Arkansas State do not play each other, it is possible that both could go undefeated in the conference and share the conference title! In fact, Appalachian State also does not play Troy or South Alabama. Arkansas State gets to avoid Georgia State, while Troy avoids Appalachian State (they have already lost to USA and defeated Ga St). USA has defeated Troy, and has Georgia State and Arkansas St to play. Georgia State has lost to Troy and has USA and Appalachian St remaining. The easiest path appears to be Appalachian State's, as they avoid playing 3 of the 4 other challengers.
That's it for today! Until next time, may your day and loved ones be blessed!
Memphis is steadily heading toward a showdown with either UCF or USF in the AAC conference championship game. Their win over Houston on Thursday night (and over Navy the previous week) gives them the clear advantage. Iowa State continues to impress, as they have seemingly taken a huge step by winning on the road again. Their game against TCU this weekend will go a long way in determining whether this is just a nice story.
Similarly to Iowa State, Rutgers is also surging, having now won 2 straight conference games. They now travel to Michigan to face a disappointed (and disappointing) team. Can they continue their good run? Syracuse is another team that has vastly improved this year, but they were unable to overcome Miami. FSU has really fallen on hard times, and, at 2-4, are in danger of missing a bowl game for the first time in more than 30 years.
Tulsa is one of those teams where if I pick them to win, they lose, and if I pick the other team to win, Tulsa wins. There is always at least one team each year that baffles me, and Tulsa seems to be the one this year. I was very surprised at the outcome in several ACC games. I've already mentioned the FSU loss, but Boston College beating Virginia so soundly, and Pitt triumphing over Duke on the road really surprised me! Other surprising results, at least to me, were: Arizona State winning on the road at Utah; Coastal Carolina playing Appalachian State close; Kentucky getting blown out by Mississippi State; FAU dominating North Texas so thoroughly; UAB losing to Charlotte in overtime; BYU being dominated by East Carolina, even if it was on the road; Penn State completely destroying Michigan; Likewise for Notre Dame over USC; and San Diego State's complete collapse in the last two games.
This is how I see the conference races:
The AAC East will come down to the USF at UCF game on Nov 24. Memphis is clearly in the driver's seat in the AAC West, as they simply have to beat Tulane on Friday and SMU (after a bye) on Nov. 18. They already hold the tiebreaker advantage over both Houston and Navy.
The ACC Atlantic will come down to the Clemson at NC State game on Nov 4. Syracuse has an outside chance, since they defeated Clemson, but they need to win out and hope NC State loses 3 conference games, or hope for a 3-way tie for first. The ACC Coastal is still a 4-team race between Miami, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Virginia, with Miami currently the only undefeated team in the conference. Miami still has to play the 2 Virginia schools; Va Tech still must play all three contenders; Ga Tech also must play the 2 Virginia Schools, and Virginia must play the other 3 contenders, as well, all in November. This may not be decided until the final weekend.
TCU is clearly in the lead in the Big 12, as they are the only undefeated team, both overall and in conference play. They have already given Oklahoma State and West Virginia their only conference losses, and face Iowa State this weekend and Oklahoma on November 11. Win those 2, and the conference is theirs, unless they stumble in 2 of their remaining 3 games against Texas, Texas Tech, and Baylor. They are the only team with a clear path to the conference championship game.
Three teams in the Big 10 East are still undefeated: Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan State. Since they will all play each other over the remaining 5 weeks of the season, this will obviously change. Michigan and Rutgers are currently tied for 4th place! In the Big 10 West, Wisconsin is the only undefeated team, and, in fact, is the only team with less than 2 losses. Everyone else is fighting for 2nd place, currently occupied by Nebraska and Northwestern.
Conference USA is wide open! Four of the seven teams in the East are still alive for a division championship, while six out of seven in the West is still in play. Only Middle Tenness, Charlotte, Old Dominion, and UTEP have been eliminated, for all practical purposes. There is still a lot to be determined here, but Marshall and FAU are the only undefeated teams in conference play. Should be an interesting race!
The MAC East may come down to the Ohio at Akron game on Nov 14 (a Tuesday). The MAC West should be determined on Thursday, Nov 2, when Northern Illinois travels to take on Toledo.
Boise State has had a strong resurgence in the MWC Mountain Division, and that division could come down to their game at Colorado State on Nov. 11. Fresno State has taken a 2-game lead on everyone else in the MWC West, but their win over San Diego State essentially makes it a 3-game lead, since they own the tiebreaker. They only have to win one of their remaining 4 conference games to win the division!
The PAC 12 North has come down to Washington, Washington State, and Stanford. They will play each other in November, so it could come down to the Apple Cup on Nov 25. The PAC 12 South still has 4 teams in contention: USC, Arizona, Arizona State, and UCLA (barely).It is possible that the Nov 25 contest between Arizona and Arizona State could decide the division.
Georgia still must defeat its 3 closest competitors to win the SEC East: Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina. Win those three, and a loss to Auburn cannot knock them out of the SECCG. Alabama only needs to beat LSU and Auburn to clinch the division. Win those, and a loss to Mississippi State (as unlikely as that is) would not derail them from winning the division.
Finally, in the Sun Belt Conference, almost half the teams are still alive, as most have only played three conference games. Likely winners appear to be Appalachian State, Arkansas State, South Alabama, Troy or Georgia State (yes, they still have a chance!). However, since Appalachian State and Arkansas State do not play each other, it is possible that both could go undefeated in the conference and share the conference title! In fact, Appalachian State also does not play Troy or South Alabama. Arkansas State gets to avoid Georgia State, while Troy avoids Appalachian State (they have already lost to USA and defeated Ga St). USA has defeated Troy, and has Georgia State and Arkansas St to play. Georgia State has lost to Troy and has USA and Appalachian St remaining. The easiest path appears to be Appalachian State's, as they avoid playing 3 of the 4 other challengers.
That's it for today! Until next time, may your day and loved ones be blessed!
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