Snap judgments from Week 7 of college football, College football's biggest story lines can build up — or get knocked down — in one snap. After a Saturday full of action and overreaction, we're here to help you figure out what's hot, what's not and what's true as the season reaches its midpoint. Here are five story lines to know (and, in some cases, debunk):
This week's Snap Judgments:
1. There will be no crazier or more improbable win this season than Michigan State's vs. Michigan
The Spartans did not lead until there were zero seconds left on the clock. They won in the most absurd fashion possible — Michigan's punter fumbling the ball away with 10 seconds to play, and an unknown Michigan State redshirt freshman scooping it up and scoring it as time expired — with their chances of winning prior to the moment a hopelessly discouraging 0.2%. This was easily the wildest finish since the Kick Six, and perhaps even stranger than that one. We still can't quite believe it happened.
2. Texas A&M still cannot break through to the SEC's upper echelon
Another season, another lopsided loss to Alabama. This year's wasn't as bad as the last one (The weakest of silver linings: This one wasn't 59-0!) but it was equally as demoralizing for a team poised to contend for an SEC championship, or at least the West division. Instead, the Aggies threw three pick-sixes and struggled to stop Alabama both in the air and on the ground — hello again, Derrick Henry — in a 41-23 loss that wasn't all that close.
Of course, the SEC West is generally considered the toughest division in college football, so it shouldn't be easy to emerge as one of its elite teams. But Texas A&M was supposed to contend, especially with its improved defense and new defensive coordinator. Instead, we'll likely have to wait till next year.
3. Ohio State should be starting J.T. Barrett at quarterback
We've thought this all season long, but never believed it more fervently than now. Urban Meyer is going to re-evaluate the position once again this week (he keeps saying this, and to his credit, he has thrown in wrinkles — like having Barrett run Ohio State's red zone offense) and he should finally pull the plug on Cardale Jones.
Yes, Jones has a cannon for an arm and stretches the field vertically. But Barrett allows Ohio State's offense to run smoother and present more challenges to opponents. He makes the right reads. His feet add a different dimension to this offense and open up the playbook a bit. If Meyer trusts him so much in the red zone — and put him in at key moments to help hold off Penn State on Saturday — then why isn't he in all the time?
4. The American is closer to the Power Five than the Group of Five
How about Houston? And Memphis? And Temple? All three are 6-0 and with at least one impressive win against a Power Five team. Navy is also 4-1, with its lone loss coming at undefeated Notre Dame. The champion of this league will undoubtedly get the Group of Five spot in a New Year's Six bowl — but is it remotely possible that a team like Memphis could contend for a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff?
The odds are incredibly slim (not quite 0.2%, but not great) but the Tigers, for example, do have a nice win against Ole Miss on their résumé, which could look better and better if the Rebels start stringing together some more wins. Even if this pipe dream doesn't come to fruition and cause all sorts of chaos in the college football universe, it's still worth pointing out how darn talented these teams are, and how well-coached they are.
5. Stanford is totally this year's Ohio State
We've been saying this for a few weeks now, and we're not going to stop until the Cardinal proves us wrong. But after a confusing, disappointing September loss, Stanford has steadily improved and started demolishing its conference opponents with its suddenly blistering offensive attack. The latest victim? UCLA, a team many pegged as a preseason Playoff contender.
The Cardinal's remaining schedule is favorable, and it seems to be the Pac-12 North favorite. If we had to project a conference champion at this point, we'd go with Stanford, a team that embraces its parallels to Ohio State and hopes to emulate its postseason success. Now, we won't get too far ahead of ourselves just yet. But this team is definitely on the same trajectory so far.
This week's Snap Judgments:
1. There will be no crazier or more improbable win this season than Michigan State's vs. Michigan
The Spartans did not lead until there were zero seconds left on the clock. They won in the most absurd fashion possible — Michigan's punter fumbling the ball away with 10 seconds to play, and an unknown Michigan State redshirt freshman scooping it up and scoring it as time expired — with their chances of winning prior to the moment a hopelessly discouraging 0.2%. This was easily the wildest finish since the Kick Six, and perhaps even stranger than that one. We still can't quite believe it happened.
2. Texas A&M still cannot break through to the SEC's upper echelon
Another season, another lopsided loss to Alabama. This year's wasn't as bad as the last one (The weakest of silver linings: This one wasn't 59-0!) but it was equally as demoralizing for a team poised to contend for an SEC championship, or at least the West division. Instead, the Aggies threw three pick-sixes and struggled to stop Alabama both in the air and on the ground — hello again, Derrick Henry — in a 41-23 loss that wasn't all that close.
Of course, the SEC West is generally considered the toughest division in college football, so it shouldn't be easy to emerge as one of its elite teams. But Texas A&M was supposed to contend, especially with its improved defense and new defensive coordinator. Instead, we'll likely have to wait till next year.
3. Ohio State should be starting J.T. Barrett at quarterback
We've thought this all season long, but never believed it more fervently than now. Urban Meyer is going to re-evaluate the position once again this week (he keeps saying this, and to his credit, he has thrown in wrinkles — like having Barrett run Ohio State's red zone offense) and he should finally pull the plug on Cardale Jones.
Yes, Jones has a cannon for an arm and stretches the field vertically. But Barrett allows Ohio State's offense to run smoother and present more challenges to opponents. He makes the right reads. His feet add a different dimension to this offense and open up the playbook a bit. If Meyer trusts him so much in the red zone — and put him in at key moments to help hold off Penn State on Saturday — then why isn't he in all the time?
4. The American is closer to the Power Five than the Group of Five
How about Houston? And Memphis? And Temple? All three are 6-0 and with at least one impressive win against a Power Five team. Navy is also 4-1, with its lone loss coming at undefeated Notre Dame. The champion of this league will undoubtedly get the Group of Five spot in a New Year's Six bowl — but is it remotely possible that a team like Memphis could contend for a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff?
The odds are incredibly slim (not quite 0.2%, but not great) but the Tigers, for example, do have a nice win against Ole Miss on their résumé, which could look better and better if the Rebels start stringing together some more wins. Even if this pipe dream doesn't come to fruition and cause all sorts of chaos in the college football universe, it's still worth pointing out how darn talented these teams are, and how well-coached they are.
5. Stanford is totally this year's Ohio State
We've been saying this for a few weeks now, and we're not going to stop until the Cardinal proves us wrong. But after a confusing, disappointing September loss, Stanford has steadily improved and started demolishing its conference opponents with its suddenly blistering offensive attack. The latest victim? UCLA, a team many pegged as a preseason Playoff contender.
The Cardinal's remaining schedule is favorable, and it seems to be the Pac-12 North favorite. If we had to project a conference champion at this point, we'd go with Stanford, a team that embraces its parallels to Ohio State and hopes to emulate its postseason success. Now, we won't get too far ahead of ourselves just yet. But this team is definitely on the same trajectory so far.
Blogger Comment
Facebook Comment