College football is a game of emotions. It’s not just the fans that are emotional, but also players and coaches. The games can be won or lost on one play, which creates an intense atmosphere.
The college football rankings is a topic that has been receiving a lot of attention. There are many overreactions to the rankings, and some people are taking these rankings as gospel.
We’ve reached the halfway mark of the tumultuous 2021 college football season.
Already, 40 ranked teams have dropped out, including Alabama, the reigning national champion, on Saturday night. According to statistics from ESPN Stats & Information, that’s the most in the first six weeks of the season in the AP poll period (since 1936).
And it’s possible that the figure is much higher. On Saturday alone, five other ranked teams — Iowa, Oklahoma, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Wake Forest — were behind in the fourth quarter but recovered to win. This is the most such teams in a single day in the last 15 years.
The rest of the season will be an adventure if the first six weeks of the season are any indicator. Hold on, things will only get better.
After Week 6, here are our overreactions.
Alabama’s CFP aspirations have come to an end.
Each week, choose the winner of ten college football games. Play confidently or straight up. Make your selections
Auburn is the most recent example of a national championship winner going down in flames. The Tigers lost 9-7 in their next 16 games after winning the championship in 2010, and coach Gene Chizik was dismissed in 2012. Ed Orgeron and Chizik have a lot in common, which makes them a perfect fit amid LSU’s difficulties. LSU had Burrow and the high-flying offense under passing game coach Joe Brady, while Auburn had Cam Newton, a transfer who won the Heisman Trophy.
Orgeron’s departure from the Tigers is most likely a matter of when, not if. Starting with Saturday’s home game against No. 20 Florida, LSU’s next five SEC games are against teams that are presently ranked (noon ET, ESPN and ESPN App). The Tigers next go to No. 13 Ole Miss and No. 5 Alabama for back-to-back road games. It’ll only get worse from here. Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., the Tigers’ top defensive player, is sidelined for the season due to a foot injury. With an ankle injury, star receiver Kayshon Boutte, who is tied for the FBS lead with nine touchdown receptions (more than the rest of the LSU squad combined), is also gone for the season. After that rough stretch, LSU could easily be 3-6, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index, which gives the Tigers a 44 percent chance of making a bowl game.
On both sides of the ball, LSU has a slew of issues. With 83.3 yards per game, it is ranked 127th in the FBS, ahead of just Arkansas State, Bowling Green, and Mississippi State. (The Tigers have almost twice as many carries as the Bulldogs, who prefer to throw the ball.) The LSU defense is also unable to halt the run. In a 42-21 defeat to Kentucky on Saturday, it gave up 330 yards. Orgeron made a $4 million blunder by bringing Bo Pelini back to LSU after defensive coordinator Dave Aranda departed to become Baylor’s coach after the 2019 season. Pelini only lasted a season, and his successor, Daronte Jones, a former NFL assistant, hasn’t fared any better.
Every button Orgeron pressed in 2019 seemed to work, culminating in one of the best seasons in SEC history. He hasn’t done anything right since then, on or off the field.
The Heisman Trophy will not be won by a quarterback.
Kenny Pickett, the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is emerging as an unexpected Heisman Trophy contender. Mike Stewart/AP Photo
The favored quarterbacks are tumbling down the Heisman cliff as quickly as Texas A&M kicker Seth Small’s family leapt over a stone wall to rejoice on Saturday night. Caleb Williams’ outstanding performance (212 yards passing with two touchdowns and 88 yards running with one score) in a 55-48 win against Texas in the Red River Showdown may have cost Spencer Rattler his starting position. D.J. Uiagalelei of Clemson is completing just over half of his throws and has three touchdowns to go along with his three interceptions. JT Daniels of Georgia has missed three games due to injury, while D’Eriq King of Miami is undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. North Carolina’s Sam Howell is in charge of a squad that has already suffered three defeats.
While two running backs, Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III and Texas’ Bijan Robinson, seemed to be the most important players in the first half of the season, the chances are still high that a quarterback will win the stiff-arm trophy again. Bryce Young of Alabama, Matt Corral of Ole Miss, C.J. Stroud of Ohio State, and Desmond Ridder of Cincinnati are all in the mix. Don’t forget about Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, who is completing 72 percent of his throws for 1,731 yards, 19 touchdowns, and only one interception. The only problem is that I don’t believe a Heisman Trophy winner’s team has ever lost to Western Michigan.
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