Brandon Peters, backup quarterback of Illinois, watched the Penn State end zone in the 9OT of the game. He should not even be in this situation. Illinois and Penn State are currently in the longest game in FBS history. Sean Clifford is beat up and can’t do anything. Art Sitkowski broke his arm in 6OT. Peters came on. Penn State playoff chances were hanging on this snap. The snap comes. Peters catches it, throws it in the end zone to Casey Washington, who catches the two-point conversion to win the game 20-18, shocking Penn State on its homecoming game.
Now, this event actually seems pretty minor compared to what’s happened so far, including bizarre upsets making so-called terrible teams feel like they have a chance. Alabama, Oregon, Iowa, Texas, BYU, Coastal Carolina, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Virginia Tech, Penn State, and Florida are examples of top 25 ranked teams that have lost to unranked opponents. Another crazy fact, out of these twelve teams, HALF of them are not ranked anymore. The six that are ranked are Iowa, Oregon, Alabama, Penn State, Coastal Carolina, and BYU. Also another interesting fact, two teams not ranked in the preseason poll are currently ranked in the top 10. I’m pretty sure the people who made that poll are not feeling good about their decisions.
One of the biggest disappointments this season is Clemson. Starting off the season with a loss to top-ranked Georgia, their season has gone downhill from there, with more losses to NC State and Pittsburgh. Clemson is currently 4-3 this year, and their coach, Dabo Swinney, is probably on the hot seat for them. Speaking of big disappointment, the ACC( Atlantic Coast Conference) is the weakest it has ever been, with only TWO teams even ranked in the conference, No.13 Wake Forest and No.17 Pittsburgh, who are set to play in the ACC title game unless unranked Virginia, a surprise with a 6-2 record, with only loses to North Carolina and Wake Forest, can jump Pitt, which seems highly unlikely based on the fact that Pittsburgh only challenging game for the rest of the season is Virginia itself, and for Virginia, they have though games against No.25 BYU, No.11 Notre Dame, a rivalry match against Virginia Tech, and of course the game against No.17 Pittsburgh.
The BIG ten is also a surprise, but not because they’re weak. They have FIVE teams ranked, and out of those five, four of them are in the top ten. The four teams are Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and lowa. The BIG Ten might get a couple of teams in the College Football Playoffs. While Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and we can't rule out Penn State fighting for the BIG Ten East, Iowa has a clear path to take the West. So the title game will probably be Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State, or Michigan versus Iowa, depending on who wins the big games against one another. I also want to point out that Minnesota is currently ahead of Iowa.
The Pac-12 is clinging on getting ONE team in the playoffs in Oregon, the only ranked team in the conference, who has beaten Ohio State, and the only thing that hurts its tremendous season is a tough upset loss to Stanford. It seems clear that Oregon dominates the conference and plays a good bowl, but who knows? Oregon State, who is currently second in the Pac-12 North behind Oregon, could get on a tear. Arizona State is a decent team. Anything could happen in this season.
Meanwhile, the Big-12 has confirmed rumors about the two teams that have dominated the conference for so long, Oklahoma and Texas, are moving to the SEC conference. But let’s move past that with the fact that three teams are the favorites to come away with the Big-12 title. The first team is, not surprisingly, Oklahoma, which is ranked No.4 in the country and is focused on winning its fifteenth title in the conference, twelve places higher than its closest competitor in Texas. The second is a surprise in Oklahoma State, which is determined to prove that Oklahoma does not own their state or conference, and is currently ranked No.15. The last is Baylor, a strong sturdy team with impressive wins over pretty solid teams and is ranked No.16.
The last power five conference, and the most dominant in the SEC(Southeastern Conference), looks even stronger than usual, with two teams just in the top three, Alabama and Georgia. There also other SEC teams ranked to, such as No.10 Ole Miss, No.12 Kentucky, No.14 Texas A&M, and No.18 Auburn. Even though there are so many ranked teams in the conference, it seems pretty clear Alabama and Georgia are meeting in the SEC title game.
There are even teams outside of the power five conferences that are making a name for themselves . Cincinnati is currently ranked No.2 and is undefeated, but does Cincinnati deserve it? With an epic win over No.7 Notre Dame at Notre Dame, but besides that no challenging games at all until facing No.19 SMU, and with Ohio State, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Oregon all edging to jump them, I don’t know if Cincinnati will hold their top four position much longer. But even if they don’t get in, it’s still an impressive season in this club.
As the weeks build down and the drama climbs, by the end we have to agree this football season is just beginning, so take out your popcorn, turn on your TV and watch your favorite top teams climb, or fall off the edge.
Resources::
https://www.espn.com › college-football › rankings
https://www.espn.com › college-football › team › sched…