2022-23 NCAA Football (Week 6)

Games I saw (some of):

(11) Utah 32-42 (18) UCLA

Fun game! Two fairly evenly matched teams going back and forth on each other. My gut is that Utah is probably the better team but with 2 losses now, they're no longer in any kind of discussion, while the Bruins are still undefeated and sneaking into the top ten. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(2) Georgia, (3) Ohio State, (4) Michigan, (5) Clemson, (6) Southern Cal, (7) Oklahoma State, (8) Tennessee, (9) Mississippi, (12) Oregon, (15) Wake Forest, (17) Texas Christian, (18) UCLA, (23) Mississippi State

Won but did not impress

(1) Alabama. What is their problem with A&M? The Aggies have done nothing but disappoint week after week this season and yet there they were at the doorstep on the final play of the game with a chance to steal a W in Tuscaloosa. How does that happen? I'm not as into this Alabama side as in previous years (the WR dominance seems to have finally passed, dumb mistakes on defense, I'm not as in on the QB play as everyone else, etc), I just don't think they have the offensive dominance we've come to expect from them--but they still should've handled this rather pedestrian A&M side. What gives, man?

(14) North Carolina State. Am I supposed to be impressed that they scrambled late to beat Florida State? Yes, conference games are always a toss up but if the Wolfpack are worthy of being ranked in the top 12-ish zone, then they should handle the Seminoles with more confidence.

(20) Kansas State. Iowa State is always a tough place to win but this kind of slog against a weaker conference opponent is not striking fear into any hearts out there. 

(24) Cincinnati. Seriously? South Florida has not been very good this year either at home or on the road, so there's no reason why Cincy should have struggled so mightily--if in fact the Bearcats are a top 20-ish team.

Bad beat 

(11) Utah. UCLA and Utah strike me as pretty evenly matched, they are familiar conference opponents and the Utes were on the road--and it was a pretty fun game. I got no complaints on Utah here, this was a good W for UCLA. 

(19) Kansas. Kansas was probably ranked too high just for novelty's sake and they put up a pretty good fight against a TCU side that can score some points. Kansas is still in the midst of the best season they've had in eons.

(25) Louisiana State. LSU probably shouldn't be ranked this season at all anyway, so they came in a little overhyped. But the Vols are good and this was just another Saturday in the SEC. LSU will be back next year I'm guessing, but not right now. 

Not so good

(13) Kentucky. Yeah, without Will Levis, they had no chance to move the ball with a redshirt freshman making his debut even against a hapless side like South Carolina. My gut is that this will be the data point people use to suggest that Levis should be the #1 pick (Random radio idiot: 'With Levis the Cats were a top 10 team but without him, they're not very good at all! He was elevating them by his presence!'), but I say hogwash to all that. I'll go ahead and say it: there is no way--NO WAY--Will Levis at the next level will be any better than Mitch Trubisky. I get it: he's had nice moments and apparently in person he's got the wow factor that snows NFL GMs (yeah, so did EJ Manuel). But if you think he's the next savior for the Steelers or the Panthers or whoever, you are mistaken and you'd be better off trading that #1 pick. (Hey, man, not trying to hate just being honest) Oh, as for Kentucky, yeah, their season is done. With a brand new frosh under center, there's no way they beat Tennessee or even Louisville (do I have to even mention Georgia?) and, hell, even Vandy's got a shot. I'd be surprised if we see Kentucky in the top 25 again this year. 

(16) Brigham Young. Notre Dame on a neutral field isn't exactly a cake walk but if BYU was capable of bringing it, then they would've brought it this weekend and they didn't.

(21) Washington. Conference road games are never easy for anyone but if the Huskies were top 20-ish, they should've handled their business against a weak Arizona State side and they did not. 

Next week's intriguing matches:

(10) Penn State @ (5) Michigan (game o' the week, must win games are good games this time of year)

(8) Oklahoma State @ (13) TCU (another good conference match, must win game, I suspect OSU is better but we'll see)

(3) Alabama @ (6) Tennessee (barn burner, we all know the Tide if the better team but they're not unbeatable and the Vols are legit good this year)

(7) Southern Cal @ (20) Utah (seems like this one could be a laugher, but don't be shocked if Utah bounces back from last week's loss to UCLA and stings the Trojans)

And then there's....Really? Am I supposed to get up for (15) NC State @ (22) Syracuse or (16) Mississippi State @ (22) Kentucky?