2017-18 NCAA Football (Week 9)

(2) Penn State 38-39 (6) Ohio State
I watched this game and I gotta say Penn State was the better team, but they did that thing teams do sometimes when they get a good lead late: they just stopped playing offense. They stopped getting first downs, getting field position and when emergency time came, they had no momentum on the offensive side at all. The Buckeyes deserve the credit for coming back and pulling it out but they left me with the feeling that they aren't really as good as the Nittany Lions. The Buckeyes control their fate from here on out and the Nittany Lions do not.

(4) TCU 7-14 (25) Iowa State
What is it about Iowa State this year? They stung the Sooners, almost stung the Nittany Lions, and kept the Horned Frog attack off-balance all day (but dropped home games to Texas and Iowa, neither of whom are particularly noteworthy this season). Big ol' logjam at the top of the Big 12 standings, not sure how it works out for any of these teams.

(14) North Carolina State 14-35 (9) Notre Dame
I've watched NC State a few times this year, been impressed with their D line and the sturdiness of their offense. The first half of this game was pretty even but the Irish whipped them soundly in the second half. Another really good win for Notre Dame, a bad beat for the Wolfpack.

(11) Oklahoma State 50-39 (22) West Virginia
Fun game. I stopped watching in the 4th quarter and they each scored a ton more points after I left. West Virginia's QB kept throwing interceptions that somehow always felt like the receiver's fault, weird. Ok State's offense was just unstoppable in this game. Good W on the road for the Cowboys, the Mountaineers are a nice team but they're not gonna make a dent in the Big 12 this year.


Top 25
Handled their business
(3) Georgia, (5) Wisconsin, (6) Ohio St., (7) Clemson, (8) Miami, (9) Notre Dame, (10) Oklahoma, (11) Oklahoma St., (12) Washington, (13) Virginia Tech, (18) Central Florida, (21) Southern Cal, (24) Memphis, (25) Iowa St.


Won but did not impress
(20) Stanford.  On the road (in the middle of nowhere) is never easy but come on, man, Oregon State is 1-6 with an anemic offense, couldn't the Cardinal have mustered up a little more than an end-of-game squeaker?


Not so good
(2) Penn State. Should've won.
(4) TCU. The next to fall prey to Iowa State.
(14) North Carolina State. Bad beat.
(15) Washington State. PAC 12 is a weirdo conference.
(16) Michigan State. They still have Penn State and Ohio State, doesn't get easier from here.
(17) South Florida. This year's kookiest Cinderella possibility finally bows out of the race.
(22) West Virginia. Bad beat.


Power Rankings
Okay, I've paid enough attention to football this year to feel like I'm already tired of the rankings, gonna do my own.

(1) Alabama
Yup, still unbeatable (til someone beats them).

(2) Georgia
The Bulldogs are perennially overrated but not this year. This team is legit good, I expect them to go undefeated down the stretch and get their shot against the Tide in the SEC Final (wouldn't be surprised if they won), even a playoff rematch isn't out of the question.

(3) Clemson
Still don't know how they lost to Syracuse, an inexcusable stumble from the best non-Alabama team out there. Not sure if the ACC finishes strong enough to earn Clemson a shot at the final four but I have no doubt that Clemson has the talent to be there.

(4) Ohio State
Thought they should've fared better against Oklahoma but I thought they did well to sneak past Penn State. Unless they stumble over the Spartans (it has happened before), then the Buckeyes will face (and should trounce) Wisconsin for their spot in the final four.

(5) Notre Dame
I thought they were the better team in their loss to Georgia to start the season and I was impressed at the way they took apart Southern Cal and NC State in successive weeks, they're playing good ball right now. I think they'll add W's at Miami and at Stanford before year's end.

(6) Penn State
They should've beaten the Buckeyes, letting that one slip away will likely doom their season. Oh well, they're really good, too bad they're praying for a Michigan State miracle to get back into the Championship discussion.

(7) Oklahoma or Oklahoma St
The winner of next Saturday's contest goes here, the loser gets jettisoned. Yeah, that sounds about right.

(8) TCU
Sneaking up behind the Oklahoma squads...yeah, that sounds about right.

(9) Virginia Tech
I've watched them a coupla times this year, generally been impressed. I think they'll beat Miami next week and blast through the rest of the ACC schedule. Only a loss to Clemson so far, can't downgrade them for that.

(10) Washington
Ehhh, I haven't seen them do much yet but in a conference that cannibalizes itself the way the PAC does, they've still got the best shot to come out. In a playoff they may well get destroyed, maybe we'll find out.

(11) Wisconsin
Yeah, they're undefeated but they haven't played anyone worth mentioning nor will they. They're riding a quirk in the schedule all the way to a shot against the Buckeyes.


Next week's notable games
(7) Penn State @ (24) Michigan State
(6) Clemson @ (20) North Carolina State
(18) Stanford @ (25) Washington State
(8) Oklahoma @ (11) Oklahoma State
(19) LSU @ (1) Alabama
(13) Virginia Tech @ (9) Miami
(23) Arizona @ (17) Southern Cal