College Football Top 25- Week 9

It isn’t even November, but the game of the year has already been played. #7 Penn State lost its shot at the CFP in a thrilling 9OT loss to Illinois last Saturday in a game many are calling an instant classic. The Fighting Illini were able to be successful for three key reasons. First, they ran the ball extremely well. Running back Chase Brown carried the rock 33 times for 223 yards and a touchdown against a very weak Penn State defensive front. This kept a lot of pressure off quarterback Artur Sitkowski, who only had to throw the ball 19 times (of which he only completed 8 passes, yikes) for a measly 38 yards. Why Penn State wasn’t able to successfully stack the box against the run and force Sitkowski to beat them with his arm is beyond me. However, for as bad as the defense was, the offense was atrocious. Penn State is now 2-2 on the season when running back Noah Cain has less than 12 carries, and 1-2 when star wide receiver Jahan Dotson has less than 70 yards receiving. Both these players went under that key number on Saturday, as the Fighting Illini defense was stout, holding Penn State to just 227 yards of total offense. I have said all season that Sean Clifford will need to be better in order for this team to win, and he just didn’t produce.

All of that being said, the real blame here is on James Franklin. In his tenure at Penn State his teams are 3-5 in games following their first loss of the season. Essentially, they just give up. It’s hard to blame this year’s team too much for not responding well to the Iowa loss, as they have to be distracted by James Franklin’s refusal to openly turn down the USC head coaching vacancy. When asked about whether or not he would accept an offer at USC, Franklin said this, “I am fiercely loyal to Penn State, to these players, to this staff… but there’s a lot of moving parts.” Am I the only one who actually laughed out loud reading that? That is a layup question if you actually want to stay at the school you are at. I would be furious as one of his players. With all of this going on, it is hard to see how the Nittany Lions take care of business this week against Ohio State. I see this game as a massive blowout, and with Penn State at 5-3 and most likely out of the rankings, Franklin and Penn State will mutually part ways as he goes to Southern California.

Easily the best game of this coming week is Michigan-Michigan State. The winner of this matchup will gain sole control of the top spot in the Big Ten East and will likely become a top contender for the CFP. This game is going to come down to who can control the run game. Both teams are looking to pound the ball down the other’s throat, Michigan State with Kenneth Walker III and Michigan with their stud duo of Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum. Both quarterbacks are subpar, as Cade McNamara has been a fine game manager, but has failed to really take charge of the offense this season. The same can be said of MSU’s Payton Thorne, although he has turned the ball over a couple times more than McNamara. In the end, this will come down to defense. Michigan boasts the 2nd overall scoring defense in the nation, as well as the 24th best rushing defense. I see the Wolverines stacking the box against the run and forcing Thorne to throw the ball, which won’t go well. Thorne will throw a key interception, and Michigan will bend but not break on defense. On offense, however, I see McNamara struggling to get in a rhythm. Enter JJ McCarthy. The true freshman former 5-star IMG Academy quarterback will take charge of this game and never look back. Michigan State could very well come out looking like the better team, but Michigan is playing for revenge after last season, and this is a team that isn’t going to let anybody come in between them and their CFP dream. Give me Michigan 24, Michigan State 21.

As for the other games this weekend, once again, don’t be fooled. Auburn is barely a top 25 team. Has Bo Nix ever had a good performance against a top 25 team? Ever? Maybe once? He is a professional choke artist. Look for this to be Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral’s Heisman breakout. This is the game where he wins it. Ole Miss 35, Auburn 17. Of course, the dark horse for Heisman is just “insert Georgia defensive player here”, as the Georgia defense is the best collegiate defense I have ever seen. Florida just won’t be able to hang with the Bulldogs. Please don’t be fooled by the marketing for this game, as I see this as a 38-10 win for Georgia. Easy win for the top team in the country. Get those futures bets in for Georgia to win it all.

That’s all for this week but tune in to all these games I’ve covered and watch my predictions come true! And then be sure to come back next week for my rankings once again. Cheers!