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CFB PLAYOFF 4
1 - Alabama
So Alabama lost its starting QB, RB, two WR's and plenty of other players to the NFL and they beat the absolute breaks off of Miami. The most dominate team in sports continues to impress with a new young QB. Of course they are #1 still.
2 - Ohio State
Another top team with a new QB that couldn't quite deliver the promise of being the next Justin Fields in his debut. A competitive game against Minnesota may not be the best sign for the Ohio State defense but they should still run through the Big 10 and we know Michigan won't be getting in the way. A statement game coming up against Oregon can firmly plant the best team in the Big 10 in the CFB playoff barring any shocking losses.
3 - Georgia
The offense was terrible but Clemson's strength is clearly their defense. But Georgia's defense was on another level. They shut out Clemson in the first half for the first time since 2010. If you're the number 5 team in the country and beat the number 3 team I feel like I should be impressed and I wasn't. So for now I'll follow along with the AP ranking and bump them up for beating a top 5 team.
4 - Texas A&M
Not the most eye popping debut for Haynes King but the Aggies new QB got the job done. A&M should have the best backfield in all of College Football and they might have proved it in the first game of the season. I really do think A&M has a real chance to be the second best team in the country but it will simply come down to how much Haynes King can improve between game 1 and when Bama comes plays at College Station.
THE FIRST 4 OUT
5 - Oklahoma
Really? OU only beats Tulane by 5. Of course we know Big 12 defenses aren't good but it's TULANE and they gave up 35 points. Bama might have scored 60 on them. The Oklahoma defense, 3 points in the second half and 2 picks from Rattler left me unimpressed.
6 - Notre Dame
The ACC has a conference had maybe the worst weekend in all of College Football, so it may skew my view on Notre Dame a bit because it feels like they should have held on to a big lead against Florida State without needed OT to get a win. I know Notre Dame gets its ass kicked in the playoffs all the time but transfer Jack Coan might be able to get them to the playoffs once agin.
7 - Cincinnati
Clemson was great defensively but QB D.J. Uiagalelei and his o-line looked hopeless in the game against Georgia. Iowa State barely beats Northern Iowa 16-10. Potential first round pick Desmond Ritter had 5 total TD's and leads the Bearcats to a dominant victory, they get the 7th spot this week.
8 - UCLA
We learned nothing from a shortened Pac-12 season last year. So could a team like UCLA be getting overlooked before the season, I'm saying yes. Am I over hyping a victory against LSU and the past success from Chip Kelly? Probably. However, Chip Kelly has this team in a place he likes. He's still an innovative genius in my book and unless I'm putting another SEC team in my top 8, UCLA looked like one of the best teams in the country after 1 week.
WHAT ABOUT CLEMSON?
I was recently listening to Move The Sticks with Bucky Brooks & Daniel Jeremiah and they cited a source saying that Clemsons overall talent just isn't what it has been in past years. So I'm going to run with that and jump on the bandwagon that they are absolutely not Alabama and will not have sustained success forever. Count this as one of "Joe George's bad takes" that Matt Thomas loves to talk about.