NCAA Football Report (Week 3)
The battle of the conferences is always an interesting debate in the NCAA Football season as the power five are in a constant struggle for the top four spots.
The College football playoff committee is always looking for balance as one conference will never make up the entirety of the payoff.
That doesn’t mean that one conference won’t make up the majority of the playoff as that has been the case in the last few years.
The SEC remains the conference that everyone is fighting against as they are led by the Tide who remain one of the biggest and best programs in the division.
They have helped the rest of their conference rise and now they are the measuring stick with all teams wanting and sometimes needing a win against an SEC team to be taken seriously.
Every year SEC teams are sitting around the top four in the rankings and being considered for the playoff.
Alabama is a constant while Georgia has become the next best team and are always near the top.
This year LSU is making their own run and after three weeks the rankings are seeing Alabama, Georgia and LSU making up three of the top four teams.
As the SEC continues their reign as the biggest conference in the country the rest of the conferences are just struggling to stay relevant.
It is a unique time in the NCAA as there have always been the power five conferences with the biggest programs in the country.
These power five conferences always dominated the league and competed to be the best int eh country.
The dominance of the SEC has led to a lot of those conferences falling off and showcasing only one good team.
It means trouble for the conferences as they have a small chance to make the playoff while the SEC takes multiple spots.
Without a group of great teams the hopes of a conference ride on one team and if they lose a big game the playoff chances are gone.
This season the SEC remains the conference to chase as they have the most teams that could make the postseason.
In the ACC the hopes are riding largely on the play of Clemson who are the top team in the country this year.
If they struggle there is not a lot of great teams to take a spot from the ACC leaving an opening for another conference.
The Big Ten is a conference that has been coming back as of late with good teams making runs at the title.
The leader of them all has been Ohio State who remain near the top of the rankings this season.
Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State are all making their own claims to the top four this year as they rise through the rankings.
If Ohio State does struggle there are teams behind them that can make a run to the playoff leaving the conference in a good spot.
The Big 12 has had its own challenges as they have a very specific type of football and can be among the most exciting teams to watch but struggle against the best teams in the country.
Still, Oklahoma leads the way for the Big 12 sitting just outside of the top four and looking like a team that can make the playoff.
Beyond Oklahoma, there isn’t much as the resurging Texas program is not as good as many hoped and the other great teams are too far to make a run.
The one conference that has struggled more than any is the Pac-12 who used to be the powerhouse of the power five.
USC and Oregon were always near the top and brought a thrilling version of the game to the top of the rankings.
That has fallen off in a major way and this year they still might struggle to get to the playoff but the signs are there that they may be on their way back.
The latest rankings have more Pac-12 teams in the Top 25 than they have had in a long time showing that there are rising teams.
The battle between the conferences will continue to be a major story as some wonder if the SEC is good enough to warrant two spots or more while others wonder why they don’t have all of the spots.
It will continue to be a major story throughout the season like every year as the SEC continues to take over.
Heisman Watch
Making a Point
Jalen Hurts was always excepted to be good after transferring to Oklahoma but nobody expected that he would be this good. In his third game with the team, he went off throwing for three touchdowns and running for another in the Sooners win over the UCLA Bruins. That gives him a total of 13 touchdowns this season in only three games. There is little doubt that he is becoming an early favourite to win it all this year in what would be the third straight Heisman winner for the Sooners.
Rising Star
Although the Tigers are often the third team that anyone is talking about in the SEC their quarterback is making some noise. He was never considered for the top individual prize in college football but he is putting his name in the fight. After a big game against Texas he put up almost 400 yards and two more touchdowns against Northwestern State in another game that has given him some hype. He will be one to watch as he could come out of nowhere to make a legitimate claim to the Heisman.
Suffering Competition
Tua Tagovailoa has been one of the favourites to win the Heisman all year but his schedule is beginning to hurt his chances. Although he is one of the best quarterbacks in the country and he continues to show that he is one he has yet to play a really good team. That is going to be his challenge as he needs to stay relevant while playing terrible teams. When he gets to the end of the season he needs to be in the conversation so that he can begin showing what he has against the better teams but if he fails to do so his schedule might be the reason he loses out.
The Sport Addiction 