Ken Schreiber
| Special to The Providence Journal
What is a realistic successful season for Deion Sanders and the Buffs? | Before the
Snap
What is a realistic successful season for Deion Sanders and the Buffs? | Before the
Snap
Preseason polls are a joke. Florida State was ranked No. 10, lost to unheralded Memphis at home, 20-12 and is now 0-3. How fast the mighty have fallen. Remember it was here and only here we rightly predicted an undefeated Seminole team would be left out of the CFP last year. Since then, it’s been all downhill. It’s the second time in four years that head coach Mike Norvell has started 0-3 but the real embarrassment was all the empty seats at Doak Stadium, a symbol of a team in turmoil.
More: After Deion Sanders’ latest loss, is the Coach Prime party coming to an end at Colorado?
More: Ken Schreiber’s 5 preseason takeaways as college football prepares to kick off 2024
The deserving and the undeserving
The Florida Gators, although unranked, played an uninspired, effortless game and lost to Texas A&M, 33-20. Coach Bill Napier has lost the locker room and it says here he doesn’t make it through the season. The FSU/Florida game is looking like a must-not-see-TV game. Of course, No. 7 Notre Dame is still ranked at No. 17 even though it lost to Northern Illinois at home, 16-14. And what voter could rank the Irish ahead of a 2-0 Northern Illinois team after the head-to-head loss at home? Only a misinformed one at best and a biased one at worst. Add No. 21 Arizona and No. 24 N.C. State, who both never deserve to be ranked. On the other side, Miami looks like a national contender and where are Indiana, which destroyed UCLA on the road, 42-13, and Washington State, which is 3-0 and defeated Washington, 24-19? Unfortunately, reputation is more important than results.
Legitimizing the illegitimate
The SEC? Overrated and oversaturated with teams at the top and at the bottom. No. 2 Georgia barely prevailed at Kentucky (13-12). I’m not sold on No. 4 Alabama and its quarterback, Jalen Milroe. Can No. 1 Texas now play somebody? Ditto to No. 6 Tennessee and No. 5 Mississippi. Missouri is good but ranked No. 6 and after struggling with BC. Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Kentucky look like bottom-feeders. The Big 10 is still on wait-and-see status but Michigan, which returned four starters and was ranked No. 9? The networks love rankings because they legitimize the illegitimate. We advocate dumping them until the College Football Playoff Committee begins its rankings in late October, when the sample size is enough to form an opinion and where significant attention is given to teams’ performance instead of the name on the uniform. It’s the difference between conjecture and credibility.
Coach Prime crosses the line again
Deion Sanders has once again injected himself into the weekly news cycle by calling reporters who were criticizing his players “jealous” and “envious” because they “make more money than y’all.” Really? Well coach Prime is entitled to his opinion. But saying it in a vacuum is a cowardly act. If that’s how Sanders feels, call out the reporter directly and don’t be a coward by hiding it in generic terms. That’s called transparency. Sanders might think he’s protecting his players but, in reality, he’s embarrassed himself. He’s the master entertainer but entertainers can sometimes be just like politicians. Staying in the family, quarterback Shadeur Sanders refused to shake hands with Colorado State quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi after the 28-8 win because he trash-talked on Instagram about the game. What he said was that CSU was coming for “revenge” after last year’s defeat. Instead, Sanders told him “you can’t [expletive] with me.” Class. Real class.
Will it be Manning or Ewers for Texas next week?
So, Texas quarterback Arch Manning replaces injured Quinn Ewers and it was lights out. He amassed 233 yards passing, four touchdowns and a 67-yard run for a score. Wow. Let the quarterback controversy begin. He was playing the University of Texas at San Antonio, for crying out loud. When Ewers can play, he’s the starter — end of story.
This week’s top-25 games
No. 25 Illinois at No. 23 Nebraska (-8). Friday night under the lights in Lincoln. The 400th consecutive sellout dating back to 1962. Both teams are 3-0. The Huskers have freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola and his transition to the college level has been seamless. The Huskers’ black shirts have been stingy, yielding just 10 points per game. Mississippi transfer quarterback Luke Altmyer has been steady for the Illini (54-for-78, 647 yards and six touchdowns). The key to this game is if Nebraska can continue to protect Raiola. It says here it does and gets a statement win. The Huskers aren’t back but they’re relevant. Huskers role.
No. 12 Utah (-2) at No. 14 Oklahoma State. The Utes’ first game as a Big 12 member. As impressive as the Pokes looked last week at Tulsa (45-10), this game comes down to how well Utah’s sixth-year senior quarterback Cameron Rising plays. He’s a proven stud who was out all of last season due to injury. Utah is physical, underrated and, with Rising, a team to pay attention to nationally. Arguably the biggest game all year in the Big 12. OSU quarterback Alan Bowman averages 322 yards passing per game and running back Ollie Gordon is special. OSU coach Mike Gundy will always find ways to score but can the Pokes minimize Utah’s offense, which can be explosive? A classic Big 12 game that goes down to the wire. Rising is the difference. Will be their live in Stillwater for this one.
No. 6 Tennessee at No. 15 Oklahoma (+7). The Sooners’ first game as an SEC member. Many have jumped on the Tennessee bandwagon with their impressive 3-0 record, outscoring opponents, 191-13 (first in the nation in scoring). Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been the Cadillac engine, completing 48 of 67 passes for 698 yards and six touchdowns while also running for 102 yards and only playing into the third quarter once against poor competition. The Sooners struggled with Houston (16-12) and Tulane (34-19). Their strength has been their defense, yielding 11.3 points per game and forcing an astounding 10 turnovers. But their schedule is equally unimpressive as the Vols. So, what gives? Sooner coach Brent Venables is a former defensive coordinator at Clemson, where he made his mark, while Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, a former Oklahoma player, is an offensive genius. The Sooners are a defense that can match up with the Vols’ speed. The number of turnovers will be a deciding factor. Take the points as a gift in front of a raucous crowd as the Sooners win their opening SEC tilt.
No. 11 USC at No. 17 Michigan (+6). It’s the Rose Bowl. I’m sorry. It’s a Big Ten conference game. The Trojans have a huge win over LSU and look to throw the football with quarterback Miller Moss, who has looked good early. Can Michigan’s offense move the ball? Looks like Alex Orji at quarterback after Davis Warren threw four interceptions last week against Arkansas State. The Wolverines’ defense is formidable and needs to carry them. It’s in the Big House, which will be rocking. Take the points in what should be a close game.
2-0 last week against the spread; 5-2 for the season.
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Publish date : 2024-09-19 13:00:00
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