Most seasons, the college football schedule is presented in sections. The preseason is all about excitement and anticipation. The first few weeks of the regular season — mostly consisting of non-broadcast games — allow for unexpected events. Then September turns to October where preseason thoughts are forgotten, early season hype is tested in conference play and the game begins to break down into divisions and teams ready. to run to the finish line.
This time, here in the middle of October, is the best time of the year in college football. It’s too late to get an idea of how these teams compare to each other but there’s plenty of time left for many twists and turns that could change our understanding of the status quo. college football top to bottom.
For those regular season champions who become college football’s biggest bargains, the next eight weeks are our punishment. It’s a battle of survival to see who from this group of over a dozen contestants will be able to secure their place at the end of the championship in the week.
Every Power Five conference has three or four undefeated teams or one team heading into Week 8, but not enough of a chance in the championship race for ‘ all 18 teams play for trophies at the end of the season. The stakes of competition in the next eight weeks, in games that will all be held on campus, provide a practice environment that lasts more than two months.
So, with Week 8 on the doorstep and the midseason marks all set — check out the 2022 CBS Sports Midseason All-America team and our second round of expert picks for the College Football Playoff – let’s pay attention to the big stories that will encourage the conversation in college football for its completion in the 2022 season.
Tennessee disrupts the status quo
When the Volunteers defeated Alabama 52-49 at Neyland Stadium, everything changed. Few things in the entire game were more predictable heading into the season than Alabama and Georgia meeting again in Atlanta in the SEC Championship Game in another great Nick Saban vs. Kirby Smart battle and the stakes have now changed. when the Bulldogs arrived a haymaker and a CFP Champion last season.
Tennessee beating Alabama changed the outlook on the Crimson Tide’s dominance in the SEC West, but it also caused uncertainty about the Dawgs’ demise in the SEC East. If Alabama isn’t the favorite in the SEC West, how will the Tide fare in another tough road game on Nov. To see also : Games Inbox: Are zombies no longer common enemies in video games?. 12 against Ole Miss? 7-0 for the first time since 2014? That 2014 season, of course, included a win for the Rebels against the Tide in Oxford, Mississippi.
Adding to the excitement in the SEC title race is the impact on the process, which will soon be announced by the ‘when if’ scenario that could affect the league is two winners not one division loser and it’s possible. three or four teams with one loss when the CFP Selection Committee releases its final rankings. The history is more than the combined losses for this desert, but if we get to those CFP titles at the end of the season, we can thank Hendon Hooker and Tennessee for the disrupting a clear picture and the arrival of the Vols in the highest level. in the game.
Will Georgia remain the standard?
The defending national champions are undefeated at 7-0 and currently ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25. However, the Dawgs have found themselves on the radar. in the midst of Tennessee and Alabama’s struggles. Georgia suffered a speed bump in a scare at Missouri earlier this season that saw the Dawgs drop in the polls, but a shakeup in recent weeks has them back on top. in the case of Smart’s team. turn his attention to the remaining challenges in the series.
Georgia hasn’t faced a single opponent since rolling over Oregon in the season opener, 49-3, but its remaining schedule begins with the rivalry game against Florida in Week 9 followed by three weeks of testing. It starts in Tennessee at home and includes. On the same subject : USFL Championship Game odds: Gambling patterns, lines, graphics. road games against Mississippi State and Kentucky. After spending much of the 2022 season labeled “elite” and highlighted for its accumulation of talent and dominance against lesser opponents, Georgia will spend the month of November trying to prove that it is the case for the good at college football.
C.J. Stroud’s statistical supremacy
Who is the best quarterback in college football this year? To see also : Resident Evil Season 2 Access on Netflix?.
Michigan running back Blake Corum may have something to say about the Heisman Trophy discussion specifically, but the selection of the best QB in the country has a lot of impact on the awards and season finale. Hooker has already provided the kind of signature moments that many Heisman and Heisman voters want from their win, but he started the year behind Ohio State’s Stroud on the hard-hitting board, and maybe Hooker is unlikely to surpass Stroud in the eyes of many unless the latter stumbles somewhere along the way.
Stroud is currently ranked No. 1 in the country in the passing score. He also leads the nation with 10.9 yards per attempt while tied for the lead among all FBS running backs with 24 touchdowns. The Buckeyes star doesn’t get the green light to fill the stat sheet late in some of these streaks, but he makes the most of every effort he gets within the framework of the offense.
Those setbacks will make it difficult for Stroud to generate the kind of week-in, week-out attention that Hooker has received recently and will continue to receive during the Vols games to an SEC title, but the record he holds. the speed to be collected at the end of the season will not be ignored. Also, the biggest games of the season for Ohio State — at Penn State, vs. Michigan in late November — that could quickly change Stroud’s story from being a stat-stuffer to being the most important player in one of the nation’s top spots. title contender.
Of course, the QB1 debate is not limited to Stroud and Hooker. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is bursting onto the scene, Bryce Young is carrying Alabama’s offense, and Caleb Williams looks like he’s just hitting his stride at USC. But for now, Stroud is the man to beat and Hooker is the main challenger.
Big 12, Pac-12 elimination games
The most interesting races in the national championship hunt are held in the Big 12 and Pac-12, due to the lack of conference divisions. That’s nothing new for the Big 12, but the Pac-12 joining the fun in 2022 is a good time because of the overwhelming number of competitors. Each league has four teams ranked in the top 20 of the AP Top 25, and all are undefeated in conference play by just one. undefeated heading into Week 8. Because there are no divisions and conference championship games will be decided by the top seed. two teams in the standings, all head-to-head games between the rivals weigh heavily for their role in the series.
We’ve already seen one wave of potential results in Week 7. In the Big 12, TCU handed Oklahoma State its first loss while Texas managed to avoid defeat at the hands of Iowa State. while Kansas State is away. Meanwhile, we get another round in Week 8 with TCU hosting Kansas State while Texas travels to Oklahoma State. In the Pac-12, Utah took down USC in thrilling fashion, but was it a Pac-12 title show? It will most likely be Oregon and UCLA, each undefeated in league play before meeting this weekend in Eugene. , Oregon.
The way the Big 12 and Pac-12 are showing is a great sign for our division’s future. The ACC will eliminate divisions in 2023, and it’s possible that due to conference expansion we’ll see the Big Ten (plus USC, UCLA) and the SEC (plus Texas, Oklahoma) moving toward a similar model. in the future. That makes the math more complicated, of course, but it also makes some of these ties into the best teams very interesting.
Clemson would like its key back
A CFP regular — six playoffs and two national championships in eight years — the Tigers are on their way to a return to the Playoffs. ACC Championship game and contend for one of the four points in the game. After finishing with just nine touchdowns on 10 interceptions and finishing last in the ACC in passing in 2021, QB DJ Uiagalelei turned in a strong performance in 2022 it will be closer to its five-star high school status. DJU has thrown 17 touchdowns on just two picks this season and ranks in the top five among ACC QBs in completion percentage, passing yards and passing yards per game. game He also contributed to the team’s success on the ground with 337 yards and four rushing touchdowns on 11.6 attempts per game.
A Week 8 matchup with Syracuse could provide the toughest game remaining in the series for Clemson, which has wrapped up its ACC road series and has just one road trip remaining, a trip to Notre Dame. on the 5th of November. spread across the country, and as long as they can protect home and avoid the slip in South Bend, Indiana, the Tigers should regain their keys to the CFP club.
Coaching searches and hot seats
It cannot be denied that there are discussions between relevant people in the game about the upcoming coaching changes. Until we get to the final weeks of the season, many member lists can be a mailing list – filled with many options suitable for the average customer but without closeness to know if everything fits. . In the middle of last year, USC and LSU were already in the market for new coaches, so it was clear that there would be a big change in the position of coaches.
None of the five Power Five schools currently in the market for a new coach in 2023 has a national championship in the 21st Century like the Trojans and Tigers, but a couples can cause an emergency of the school while they try to fill. the situation. Nebraska’s move to hire Scott Frost had strong support as a proud program gave a coach with only two years as head coach, so expect Frost’s replacement to be more familiar. Wisconsin has a clear advantage on staff with interim coach Jim Leonhard right now, but if the Badgers (who lost at Michigan State last weekend) stumble in the finished, does he have enough support to resist the outside? Both projects might pull a teacher from another electronic conference program and stimulate more educational research as the carousel spins.
One example is Nebraska hiring former Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule, Wisconsin promoting Leonhard, Deion Sanders land somewhere (Georgia Tech?) and reducing the domino effect with a couple of former coaches and Group of Five teachers are receiving new opportunities. But hey, everyone on those candidate lists will get raises.
Year 2 coaches are diverging
Auburn has a decision to make with Bryan Harsin. It’s not uncommon for schools to let go of a coach in the modern era after just two seasons — after all, we saw Arkansas and Florida State do it in 2019 — but after an investigation into the football program in May, when changes to the game plan and what is shaping up to be a season with few SEC wins, Harsin will receive a loud and noisy statement of support from the school and the community or will he change. Unless the Tigers (3-4) snap a long winning streak to close out the season, Auburn is expected to be in the market for a new coach. Common learning curve suggests hitting the reset button too soon, but Harsin’s case for most of the time doesn’t help the success others have had. Year 2 teacher locations.
After all, right there in the SEC we saw Josh Heupel look like a coach of the year candidate in Year 2 and Kansas’ Lance Leipold and Illinois’ Bret Bielema have a good chance. to win the same honors in each of their conferences. Steve Sarkisian has Texas in the top 20 after going 5-7 last year, Shane Beamer will have a shot at his second straight bowl game in as many years and – this is what hurts the Auburn team so much — even Gus Malzahn is having a strong Year 2 with a UCF team that looks set to return to 2021 disappointment.
Therefore, on the one hand it is possible that three or four of our Year 2 coaches will receive either conference or national honors, but Harsin may join the short list. , but growing up, teachers are removed before the start of Year 3.
