November is the final month of the college football season reported and still question marks araise from which SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big12 teams.
Saying that this has been a crazy season all over the country would not be a hyperbole yet, as there isn’t a college football team that appears invincible even now. And to be honest, that’s a welcome notion given the growing popularity of the college football playoff to 12 teams.
The SEC and Big Ten are still very unpredictable, but now there is a better idea, in which teams will be competing for a chance at the championship. The ACC appears to be a two horse conference, but then SMU and Pittsburgh decided to get into the race, which has definitely spiced things up.
For the Big 12 this has been one of the most fun conferences to watch since there are several more teams alive for the automatic bid, and getting one more into the playoffs.
Okay, so let’s see the situation, on the threshold of the final part of the 2024 regular season.
The Big Ten is playing like a three-team league, but let chaos happen.
Of the most compelling news stories in this season up to this point, there perhaps is none more intriguing than the 7-0 Indiana Hoosiers, who are vying for a chance in the Big Ten championship game as well an at-large bid. Of course, Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon appear destined to go as the conference’s automatic qualifiers but there is a particular set of circumstances where the Buckeyes do not and it starts this weekend.
This Saturday, as Hoosiers wait for their chance to take on Buckeyes, we’re getting a great game against Nittany Lions where Ryan Day can potentially lose his second conference game of the year on the road. If the Nittany Lions can pull off the win this weekend it really puts the shoe on the other foot for the Buckeyes who still have Indiana on their schedule.
I’m not here to cause some Ohio State fans to freak out, but their offense is precisely why we’re talking about them not making it. Surrender this weekend to Penn State and then the November 23rd clash with Indiana is a do or die affair.
You would have thought the Hoosiers had their hands on the wheel and the rudder of their own ship but again the strength of schedule was not much of an improvement. Which is why this game later in November is so important, it’s for playoffs.
SEC Has A Chance At Four Teams But It Could Get A Little dicey
This past weekend’s game of Texas A&M against LSU was big for the Aggies and their chances of getting into the playoffs. It placed them at the top of the SEC standings that is something they have not done all season and it also prepares them for later in November. Yes, there are always one or two games that feel like a trap starting this weekend against South Carolina, but Mike Elko will have his team sitting at 8-0 in the conference when Texas arrives.
And guess what? The Aggies could have beaten that team and still not have made it to the playoffs.
Texas should be okay, after a victory at Vanderbilt over the weekend and a break to prepare for a game in Florida. Losing to Texas A&M in the last game of the season won’t necessarily be fatal, fortunately for them the Aggies are respectable enough to let them remain in contention for the play off.
The Bulldogs are in the right spot for now, but that game against the Rebels next week will be huge. Do not get beat on the road to a Lane Kiffin team, which still has a possibility of earning an at-large bid after feeling the ground shift beneath its feet after defeat to Kentucky and LSU.
The other competing teams as well will obviously be trying for a place. Tennessee controls their own fate and so does Alabama. I’m pretty much out on Missouri, as the Tigers aren’t playing good enough for that to be a conversation in this regard currently.
Interesting You’re Making It ACC, Hello There
Well this has been a two team show for the last month and Miami and Clemson are battling for the ACC crown. But, now, we have SMU and Pittsburgh which have thrown the conference into disarray, in preparation for their meeting on Saturday night.
It’s going to be a great race down the stretch either way, but the Mustangs and Panthers are going to take a hit this weekend, no matter who the winner of this game is. But here we were still in a way of tiebreakers of a weird kind.
If in any case, the tiebreaker rules bring forth a situation where Miami or Clemson is left out of the ACC championship, then that will be good for the conference. In either case I come up with the Tigers and Hurricanes making it to the playoffs, but there could be a third team and that would be interesting to watch come playoff time.
Big 12 conference has been must see tv and colorado is hanging.
Fortunately, Iowa State and BYU are both undefeated at the moment, and because they will probably remain so, the conference could end up with two teams in the playoff, even if one of them gets a loss.
The fascinating part about all of this is Kansas State and Colorado who are each sitting on a loss in the conference. The Wildcats are ahead of Colorado in the tiebreaker, which means that Deion Sanders would require his side to triumph in all their remaining games while praying that Kansas State succumb to Iowa State in November.
This feels like it would set us up for an inevitable Cyclones-Cougars tilt for the Big 12 championship, but, well, it IS the Big 12, so nothing is out of the realm of possibility here neither.
Group of five is beginning to run through Boise State
That is Boise State’s chance to lose now that Navy is out of this perceived picture after being beaten by Notre Dame this weekend. AAC has interesting conference game with Army and Navy: Sure, Navy, who is top tier team, is undefeated in AAC but still there is very nice matchup here.
That victory against UNLV last week was important for Boise State and we might see them play again in the Mountain West championship game. This is the Broncos’ spot to lose and that is exactly what we have seen this season with multiple bouts of utter insanity.
