Jon Joseph

Ducks at 6. Highest-ranked loss team. Perfect. 6 Pac-12 ranked. Nice. 5 B12 teams ranked, not so nice. Oklahoma on Saturday plays 22. OK ST instead of an unranked OK ST. But besides this, OK plays West Virginia, at BYU, and TCU. 3 teams that are not yet bowl-eligible. Texas plays #23, not AP #25, Kansas State on Saturday. Not much of a difference here. The last 3 games for UT: are at TCU, at Iowa State (currently in a 5-way 1st place tie in the B12,) and Texas Tech. 3 teams that are not bowl-eligible to date. A 1-loss B12 champ Oklahoma will not, IMO, take a playoff spot from a 12-1 Pac-12 champ Oregon. But a 12-1 Texas with the committee showing some love for the B12 and with a win in Tuscaloosa would have a stronger case than Oklahoma. Georgia has work to do with 12. Mizzou, 10. Ole Miss, and at 17 TN, before finishing at Georgia Tech. FSU should stroll into the ACC champ game and likely play a Louisville team that is not that good away from home. FSU plays at Pitt, Miami, North Alabama (the ACC's 8-game conference schedule is a joke, and even with going to 17 teams in 2024, the ACC plans to stay at eight games) and finishes at Florida. Miami and Florida are two rivalry games that could be tough. 5. UW, like UGA, has 3 ranked teams left - at 20 USC, 18. Utah, and at 16 OR ST, and finishes with WSU. I do not see UW going 12-0. 3. Michigan has 2 ranked games, at 11. Penn State, and 1. Ohio State remaining. Ohio State has one ranked team left, at 3 Michigan. 5 undefeated P5 teams are left and at the finish, I expect to see 2, if that. The SEC has 3 teams in the Top 10. Not good that Ole Miss jumped Penn State in the committee's ranking. The conference with the best shot at getting 2 teams into the Final 4, 12-1 conference champ Alabama and 12-1 Georgia. But Bama has to get by LSU on Saturday before finishing with a game at Kentucky, Chattanooga (SIGH,) and at Auburn. This is the 1st of 5 playoff committee rankings and I like where Oregon is situated.

I think the computer algorithms take into account the remaining schedules. Cannibal?

Michigan SOS - 110! I think 11-1 OH ST will possibly have a chance to get in but not 11-1 Michigan.

6 Pac-12 teams ranked. 1. Ohio State 2. Michigan 3. Georgia 4. FSU 5, Washington 6. Oregon 7. Oklahoma 8. Texas 9. Alabama 10. Ole Miss 11. Penn State 12. Mizzou

2022 Trojans - 28 takeaways - 7 TOs by Troy - 1.5 a game net was #1 in the FBS. In 2023, SC's YPP is up and yards surrendered is down but SC is .22 in net TOs. 2014 - Ducks - 1.53 TOs a game was #1. And This showed up versus FSU in the Rose Bowl. I'm not counting out SC just yet. 5-1 in the conference and currently in 2nd place, a half-game behind UW, and a half-game ahead of OREGON. Looking at the polls, UW -3 is a thin spread.

January 1, 2024, Oregon vs. FSU in the Rose Bowl. Maybe Time is a Flat Circle? Thanks, David.

Tickets for 35 opponents' games equal a lot of framing. Harbaugh is the Sergeant Shultz of CFB.

Did Stanford hire Jimmy Lake as an assistant coach?

2024 - Rivals B1G Rankings to Date 2. Ohio State - Just behind Georgia. A recruiting machine. 5. OREGON - Keep it up DL + friends. 14. Michigan - Michigan has withdrawn Harbaugh's new contract deal. He leaves, how many stay? 15. Penn State - Need to find difference-makers on O. 18. Wisconsin - Decent effort so far by Fickel in his 2nd season. 25. USC - Holy Pete Carroll! 26. Nebraska - I do think Coach Ruhle will bring the Huskers back but not to champ level. 29. Purdue - A Boilermakers finish in the top 30 would mean drinks all around. 31. Maryland - Mike Locksley has not recruited as well as hoped. 34. Rutgers Bowl eligible - Soprano family applauds the return of Pisano, Coach Schiano. 36. Minnesota - Lot of rowing to do. 37. Iowa - Why would any skill player want to play ball at Iowa? 48. Illinois - Bret Bielema is not having a recruiting impact in the B1G. Kind of like the SEC. 48. Washington - At least Professor Lake could kind of recruit. 52. Indiana - Good luck to the new HC. Has basketball season started? 56. UCLA - Recruiting-wise, the Chipper is consistent. 67. Michigan State - This will be a B1G rebuild for the new HC. 68. Northwestern - Figures. But 4-4 to date in 2023 is a heck of a season.

The recruiting comp will be coming from Columbus. Ohio State - #2 ranked class. 5* 5 / 4* 11. Get your popcorn ready for next season's game in Eugene.

The Grapevine Gurus, the College Football Playoff Committee (POC) will reveal its 1st rankings of the 2023 season on Halloween. Will it be a trick or a treat for AP Poll (AP) #6 ranked Oregon? (Rankings below are from the Week 10 AP.) Oregon is the top-ranked 1-loss AP team. We are all aware that the 1st reveal will not mirror the final ranking. But the outcome of the following games will help, or hurt, Oregon's Final 4 opportunity down the road. 1. #6. 7-1 OREGON -24 Vs. NR 3-5 Cal A win against the Golden Bears is a Pac-12 title and Playoff necessity. A win will be nice. A cover with style points on the line in November will further help Puddles cause. Q. Do POC members have access to Larry's Lost Network? This will likely be Oregon's last appearance, thank goodness, on the Network that the Nation Forgot. 2. #5. 8-0 Washington -3 Vs. 24 7-2 USC UW's last 2 sloppy wins do not auger well for what could be a shootout in LA. If there is ever a get-right game for a struggling offense, it is against the Trojans. Coming into Week 10 the Troy defense is giving up 32.8 points a game, 113th, and 5.9 yards a play, 95. This is a shot for Michael Penix, Jr. to get his Heisman hopes back on track. I hate to say it, but OREGON needs UW to win this game to give the Ducks a chance to play an undefeated UW in the Pac-12 champ game. 'The whole world will be watching' the top 2 Pac-12 teams play in Las Vegas on Friday, December the 1st. Q. Is there any way both teams can lose? 3. #7 Texas 7-1 -4.5 Vs. #25 Kansas State 6-2 Texas and K State are two of the five B12 teams tied for 1st place in the conference. K State is 0-6 in its last 6 games against the Longhorns. In the absence of starting QB Quinn Ewers, Maliik Murphy (6'5' 238 lbs.!) played decent, not great ball, against BYU in Saturday's 35-6 (sound familiar) win. A K-State win here would hand UT its second loss of the season and help the Ducks. Q. Will K-State be able to hold down the UT run game and force Murphy to go to the air? 4. #8 Alabama 7-1 -3.5 Vs. #13 LSU 6-2 What an LSU win can do for you, Puddles? A lot. LSU has 2 losses to date and a 2nd loss by The Tide would take Bama out of the playoff picture and devalue the Texas win in Tuscaloosa. LSU's D is shaky but its O when clicking is very hard to stop, even for an excellent defense like Bama's. This season, Saint Nick has had to win on the D side of the ball and I think he likes this. After last season's win over the Tide in Baton Rogue, LSU will come into this game with no fear. Q. Will LSU QB Jaydon Daniels (formerly a Hermie at ASU) play a Heisman-worthy game? 5. #10. Oklahoma 7-1 -6 At NR Oklahoma State 5-2 Will there be Bedlam in what could be the last Bedlam game ever played? Last Saturday, OK St RB Ollie Gordon II matched Barry Sanders with being the only two OK. St RBs to put up 250+ yards rushing in back-to-back games. Ollie has 3 consecutive 200+ yards games rushing and 1,134 yards in his last 5 games. OK. St is one of the 5 B12 teams tied at the top of the conference and has rebounded from an awful start including a beat-down loss at the hands of South Alabama, and gets an Oklahoma team coming off an unexpected loss in Lawrence, Kansas. A Cowboys win here would be injurious to the B12's playoff hopes and help OREGON's playoff cause. Q. Will Oklahoma, without its best player on D, LB Danny Stutsman, 70 tackles, 11.5 TFL, injured last week against Kansas, be able to stop the Ollie By Golly run game? You're Saying There's A Chance? #1 Georgia Vs. #20 Mizzou/ #2 Michigan (109 SOS!) Vs. NR Purdue / #3 Ohio State At NR (but bowl eligible!) Rutgers/ #4 FSU At NR Pitt. How About NO! It's going to be one heck of a ride.

Great post, thank you. And in the B1G, Michigan has rescinded its new contract offer to Jim Harbaugh. How will this affect Wolverines recruiting? It can't help.

Charles, you may be a bad boy but this, Sir, is a great article. Thank you.

East Bay, I had the same concern. I think B1G vs, B12 made a difference here and will continue to make a difference.

Here's another futuristic playoff take. Because of the MONEY, in 2026, ESPN loses its exclusive broadcast rights and the Playoff expands to 16 teams, with a spot guaranteed for one G5 team (in the field below this would be presumptive Mountain West member Oregon State) but no seeding preferences for conference champions and no 1st round byes. This could work if all teams play the 1st game on what is now Week 0 and money, via NIL or otherwise, is paid to participating players. 1st round playoff opponents could be juggled to avoid 1st round rematches and conference members playing 1st round games against one another but with so many B1G and SEC teams in the mix there will be rematches as the playoff progresses, 16. Oregon State At 1. Georgia 9. Penn State At 8. Alabama 13. LSU At 4. FSU 12. Notre Dame At 5. UW 15. Louisville At 2. Michigan 10. Oklahoma At 7. Texas 14. Mizzou At 3. Ohio State 11. Ole Miss At 6. OREGON 4 B1G home games, UW, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State playing at Alabama. Show Puddles the $!

Candy, good call on viewership but this season to date, Oregon has had more collective eyes on its games than has Bama and Texas. Some of this is due to Prime at CU. But mostly due to Oregon being a national brand, a brand that is getting very favorable kickoff times on Fox and ESPN, and not on FS1, E2, or EU, and Larry's Lost Network. On Saturday, Oregon vs. Cal will be on the Pac-12 network but with a 5:30 Eastern kickoff which is far better than a 7:30 and of course, a 10:30 PM kickoff. This should be Oregon's last game on P-12N. I do think there is a good chance that Oregon at ASU will be a Pac-12 After Dark kickoff on ESPN, kicking off at 10:30 Eastern. But you are spot on cautioning Ducks fans to be wary of the Bama and UT brands. How about a great Ducks Playoff Trifecta on Saturday? Beat Cal while LSU takes down Bama and #25 defeats Texas with UT playing its backup QB.

FWIW, I see neither an 11-1 Ohio State nor an 11-1Michigan beating out a 12-1 Pac-12 champ for a playoff spot. (A 13-0 UW is in.) On Tuesday we will find out which 1 loss team the playoff committee likes the best among Oregon and Texas. The committee could slot both 1 loss UT, and Alabama above Oregon but will not rank Bama above a one-loss Texas team that defeated Bama in Tuscaloosa. I think that the AP voters have it right with 6. Oregon, 7. Texas, and 8. Alabama. But I am not objective. (DUH!) Down the road, the Oklahoma loss at Kansas could help Oregon. But the best help for Oregon will be for both UW and the Ducks to run the table with the Ducks winning the Pac-12 champ game. As other commenters have noted on OBD, if the ACC, B1G, and SEC have undefeated champions, it could come down to 12-1 Oregon vs. 12-1 Texas. We'll have a good idea of how the Committee values a neutral site 3-point loss to Oklahoma, now a 1-loss team, and win at Alabama, to Oregon's 3-point loss at UW and win at Utah. Puddles needs UW to muddle through to 12-0 and for the 11-1 Ducks to win in Las Vegas. It would also help Oregon's cause for LSU to win in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. And for an improved OK St team to win what will likely be the last Bedlam Game against Oklahoma in Stillwater. Oklahoma's best LB and leading tackler hurt his knee against KU and will not be able to play on Saturday. UW is -3 headed to LA. The over/under is a robust 75.5 points. In its last 6 games, USC is 0-6 ATS (against the spread.) In its last 11 games vs. USC, UW is 8-3 ATS. The College Football Power Index simulated the game 20,000 times. SC won 53.9% of the time. Which of the Jekyll and Hyde SC and UW teams will show up? Will Penix be on track? If so, I don't think the SC D is good enough to win a shootout on Saturday. But if UW plays like it did against ASU and Stanford, SC will win the game. I wouldn't bet on this game if I had Elon Musk's money.

Thanks. This is a prospective look at the 2024 season 12-team playoff field. The top 4 highest ranked conference champs will have a bye. Hypothetical MW champ Oregon State ranked 16 in the AP, today would get the 4th seed and the bye over B12 champ Utah which is ranked 18. Because of the seeding preference for the top 4 ranked conference champs, playoff rankings do not wholly sync with Week 10 AP rankings. This is next season's ceiling walking and is not applicable to this season's final Final 4. I agree with your points that the Pac-12 could cannibalize itself out of the playoff. 2L Utah, USC, and OR ST are not out of the conference race but are out of the playoff race. UW if it finished 13-0, it is obviously in the Final 4. It hypothetically would be 1 of 4 undefeated conference champs along with Georgia, OH ST/MI, and FSU. A 12-1 UW, if not blown out in its 1 conference loss and with a Pac-12 title would be in. UW has 3 games remaining vs. currently ranked teams plus a 4th in the champ game. With 2 currently ranked teams left on the schedule, 3 wins against teams .500 or better, and a playoff statement win at Utah, Oregon as a 12-1 champ with a champ game win over a ranked team would be in. I do not see a situation where the 2 teams in the 2023 Pac-12 playoff game will not be ranked. But I can see UW suffering perhaps 2-losses and also Oregon losing another game which means no playoff for the Pac this season. But I do not see Oregon losing a home game. And I do not see Oregon losing at ASU. I do see Oregon winning the Pac-12 champ game and in the field with a 12-1 record. Nationwide, it will be interesting. I see UGA and FSU going 13-0 and the winner of Ohio State/Michigan could do so. I do not see an 11-1 B1G runner-up knocking out a 12-1 Pac-12 champion. Without a win over Michigan Ohio State's SOS will be good but not far above 1L Oregon/UW. Michigan's SOS is terrible, 110 currently, and an 11-1 Michigan with not trump a 12-1 Pac-12 champ. Fasten your seat belt.

Great observation, Mike. Fortunately, the Ducks trip to Tempe and not Tucson. I want no part of the Wildcats in Tucson. ASU is playing better but not at the level of AZ.

Pac-12 continues to have 6 AP-ranked teams (I pay no attention to the Sports Information Directors poll) along with the SEC. UGA's schedule predicted to be a nothing-burger in the preseason is ramping up. 20. Mizzou, 11 Ole Miss, At 19 Tennessee, At a Georgia Tech team that kneeled on Miami, and beat a nose-diving UNC on Saturday. We'll see what the Committee does on Tuesday. It's great to see Oregon as the highest-ranked 1-loss team in the Week 10 AP Poll but will the committee prefer Texas's win over Bama? 2024 Playoff using AP, 5 champs, and 7 at large, accounting for realignment. 1. Georgia - SEC 2. Michigan - B1G 3. FSU - ACC 4. Oregon State - Mountain West 5. Ohio State vs. 12. Utah - B12 6. Washington vs. 11. Oklahoma 7. OREGON vs. 10. Penn State 8. Texas vs. 9. Alabama 5 B1G/ 4 SEC/ 1 ACC, B12, Mountain West .......................................................................................................................................... Is Time a flat circle? FSU? The Seminoles best win is a neutral site victory over 2-loss LSU, a team that plays suspect defense. Clemson? LOL! But the ACC is crummy (see the beat down of Louisville at Pitt) and Florida, FSU's final regular season opponent before the ACC champ game, looked bad against Georgia yesterday. It will not be surprising to see FSU finish 13-0. One loss OREGON undressed the ACC's undefeated FSU, Jameis, and Jimbo in the first playoff game in the Rose Bowl. Might we see the same two teams playing in the Rose Bowl this season? Bring it on! With Oklahoma's loss at Kansas yesterday, a 1-loss Pac-12 champion is a playoff lock. A 1-loss Pac champ will have a very good strength of schedule. But could be a 4-seed if UGA, Michigan/Ohio State, and FSU win out.

The Ducks lost in Seattle. But the physical beating OR put on UW lingers. Struggle to beat ASU and Stanford. That is one heck of a hangover. Meanwhile, The Grinch Who Stole D made another unknown QB (a goat farmer?) look like a Heisman contender. A baffling UW heads to LA and I have no idea how this game will go. I do know that at a neutral site today Oregon would be favored over UW. Post-game it was revealed that Penix was sick. The entire UW enterprise appears to be sick. That's what getting punched in the mouth by Puddles will do. To wit: After 6 Ducks sacks, Cam Ward and WSU could not pull out a win in Tempe. How bad is Wisconsin and how good is Ohio State? No Easy Day in the Pac this year but I am happy that Oregon drew ASU and not Arizona.

D Marsh, I believe the Ducks will have another chance to show up against UW. Hats off to SC for a comeback after being down 29 43 in the 4th Q. At home and you don't go into OT? Then again, Cal had scored 49 points and given up 50. UW did not have an easy day down on The Farm. Oregon today looked like the best team in the conference by a mile. The OL Prime has put up in front of his kid. Suspect! Can children divorce their parents? The targeting foul on the second son was male bovine excrement.

WOW! Mylanta was not needed. Two Words - SMASH MOUTH! The 2 Utes in My Cousin Vinny may have played better than these Utes today. But that's because Oregon came out on top like Vinny, and if, like Vinny, Oregon was in contempt, it was in contempt of Pat McAfee. Texas beat down BYU (a bad day for the state of Utah) and still has the best win, on paper, at Bama, but in the 1st Committee rankings, with OK losing after 18 wins in a row to Kansas, I love it when 18 streaks are erased, The Ducks should be ranked 6, at least. BEAT Cal!

Replay Sunday morning on FS1 at 4 AM on the Right Coast.

Speaking of 'pissed,' based on CGD signage, Utah fans are obsessed with the process of micturition. Toilet training had to be tough in many a Utah family.