Dean Legge Show: George Pickens Arrives at UGA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NeYi41K1RU&feature=youtu.be
ATHENS - LSU got the biggest win of the day, and now it looks like there is a very clear top echelon of teams in college football.
Georgia and Alabama steamrolled non-competitive foes. But it was LSU that looked the best of anyone all weekend. The Tigers have scored more than 40 points two games in a row. And with a top-ten road win under their belts, LSU does appear to be a serious challenger to Alabama in the SEC West.
Meanwhile, Michigan nearly embarrassed themselves - underperforming for the second time this season in two weeks. Ohio State’s offense continues to click as does Oklahoma’s. Neither has played a legit foe yet, but it’s hard to see someone other than the Buckeyes as the favorites to win the Big Ten.
Clemson’s solid win over the Aggies wasn’t a surprise, but does raise some questions about the future for at A&M squad that didn’t score a touchdown until the final play of the game. Washington and Cal didn’t end their game until nearly dawn eastern time, but UW’s loss to the Bears seems to leave the Pac 12 on the outside looking in for the playoff race once more… that is unless USC can figure itself out. Someone in the Pac 12 will have to make a move over the next few weeks, but Oregon and Washington’s early-season losses are not ideal for that conference. Meanwhile, it looks like the Big 12 will have to depend on Oklaoma not gettin tripped up in the Championship Game. It’s hard to see Texas getting in right now after losing to LSU at home.
While it is a long season, teams in the Pac 12 and Big 12 have little wiggle room to make up ground with the likes of Clemson and the SEC powers. And this second it looks like we’ve got a group of about six - Clemson, Alabama, UGA, Oklahoma, Ohio State and LSU. Notre Dame will get its chance to kick UGA to the back of the line in what seems like a do-or-die game for the Irish.
Florida, Auburn and Utah are all still hovering around, but the Gators and Tigers have looked shaky at times this season.
LSU has looked the best of anyone so far, but the Tigers still face a slew of schools the rest of the way that can knock them off. We can’t say that about Clemson, who won’t play a legit foe until the playoffs.
The inequity of college football’s scheduling these days is another discussion for another day. A&M might end the year with three more losses, but Clemson will get credit the rest of the year for their performance on Saturday. Frankly, Clemson needs A&M to do as much damage as possible in the SEC West. If the Aggies can beat LSU or Alabama this fall that will cement Saturday’s win as a huge one for Clemson. If A&M winds up at 8-4 its not such a great look.
Time will tell.
There are no matchups this week for ranked teams playing one another. Syracuse further embarrassed the ACC by getting blown out by Maryland. If Clemson stumbles along the way will they get penalized? They’ve not in the past, so there’s no reason to expect that this fall.