Finebaum: "Vanderbilt Could Beat a Lot of B1G Teams"

[30Duck]

I agree.  Penn State, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, USC, Washington, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan State, UCLA Northwestern, Maryland, Rutgers. Purdue.

 

Paul Finebaum says Vanderbilt ‘could beat a lot of those Big Ten teams’ in CFP rankings

SATURDAYTRADITION.COM

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Paul Finebaum is trying to remind the college football world that Alabama's loss to Vanderbilt should not be viewed in a traditional...

 

[Solar]

"Could"

 

I guess they could beat those teams. Penn State not so likely.

 

It's so weird for us going from a conference that had the most parity to a conference that has the least.

[Krsmqn]

So "could" Washington State... This means nothing. Finebaum showing his bias once again  

[Ktmguy2018]

The SEC faces an identity crisis this year.  Aside from Georgia and possibly Texas (until recently anyway) no other SEC team passes the "eye test" (the phrase so popular to justify why a team doesn't get a coveted ranking/spot) of an elite team.  

 

Alabama/LSU play a playoff-elimination game this weekend.  Loser has three losses and will be out.

 

Texas has looked very mortal the last couple of weeks.

 

Texas A&M is the darling one week and then fumbles that away next week. 

 

The SEC is not installing fear in anyone.  But trotting out a, by their own words, "perennial SEC doormat" and saying this team would beat a lot of Big 10 teams is the epitome of desperation!

 

College football has shown that any team is "capable".  The great/elite teams don't allow that to happen.  

 

I hear people saying (I am as guilty as anyone), "Well, Indiana really hasn't played anyone yet"

 

Maybe not, but they are undefeated against the teams that they "SHOULD" beat.   

 

The SEC homers are having a hard time rationalizing that they just may not be the class of college football this year.

[JabbaNoBargain]

So he’s saying the #6 team from the SEC could beat a lot of teams from an 18 team conference?
 

BOLD prediction there chief.

 

[Charles Fischer]

Oh dear.  Somebody is feeling threatened by a stronger B1G,

who dominates the top eight of the Playoff field on the first week.

 

Every once in a while...

...he's gotta do this for the SEC.

 

[Ktmguy2018]

On 11/8/2024 at 9:27 AM, Charles Fischer said:

Oh dear.  Somebody is feeling threatened by a stronger

B1G, who dominates half of the Playoff field on the first week.

 

Every once in a while...

...he's gotta do this for the SEC.

 

 

Well, with the SEC, this year is more:

 

[Charles Fischer]

On 11/8/2024 at 7:29 AM, Solar said:

It's so weird for us going from a conference that had the most parity to a conference that has the least.

So true.

 

The B1G was top-heavy before, along with a bunch of mediocre teams, and now it is even worse with Oregon added to the top...and three Fresno States.

 

[PittDuck]

Finebaum, the biggest SEC honk that yaps (incessantly).

 

Can hardly wait to see him gone.

[Augduck]

Paul is still not over the fact that , Nick Saban retired and did not tell him first.

[30Duck]

On 11/8/2024 at 9:03 AM, Ktmguy2018 said:

 

The SEC homers are having a hard time rationalizing that they just may not be the class of college football this year.

It is. In the 4-team format, the SEC team always got 2 L's before they were eliminated. Now, Alabama or LSU are out when one of them has 3?, the other is still in with 2? I'm trying to see where else that consideration is given, and " Vandy could beat" is right there with "You could get wet if you stood in the rain." Would is the word you're looking for, Paul.

Edited Friday at 06:24 PM by 30Duck

[30Duck]

Finebaum is pretty sure that Alabama could beat LSU tomorrow: “I like LSU to go down at home.” 

[Nevada Dawg]

We'll see how "down" the SEC is at playoff time. One reason that SEC teams might not pass the eye test is that they play each other and rarely have the luxury of playing three mediocres in a row as can  and does happen in the B1G. While the very best teams in the B1G are very good. I do believe that Penn State would have its hands full with this year's Vandy. I think they are pretty good, but the fact of the matter is that Indiana hasn't beaten anybody notable yet this year. But I do expect them to win in Ann Arbor tomorrow.

 

One thing I also suspect is that no one in the B1G would have come out of the season unscathed had they had to play Georgia's 2024 football schedule (playing what home games Georgia has at their home and road games at Tuscaloosa,  Austin, Tx, and Oxford Mississippi--a notoriously tough place for road teams over the years. Georgia still has tomorrow's game in Oxford and top-10 Tennessee the following week. Whew!

 

[TFITZ81]

The Fact is the Sec for years stacked talent from paying players, now every team can pay and with the transfer portal 4 and 5 stars aren't sitting buried on sec rosters, there's going to be more parody among the conferences now

[30Duck]

On 11/8/2024 at 10:30 PM, Nevada Dawg said:

 While the very best teams in the B1G are very good. I do believe that Penn State would have its hands full with this year's Vandy.

So do I.

[Mike West]

On 11/8/2024 at 10:30 PM, Nevada Dawg said:

We'll see how "down" the SEC is at playoff time. One reason that SEC teams might not pass the eye test is that they play each other and rarely have the luxury of playing three mediocres in a row as can  and does happen in the B1G. While the very best teams in the B1G are very good. I do believe that Penn State would have its hands full with this year's Vandy. I think they are pretty good, but the fact of the matter is that Indiana hasn't beaten anybody notable yet this year. But I do expect them to win in Ann Arbor tomorrow.

 

One thing I also suspect is that no one in the B1G would have come out of the season unscathed had they had to play Georgia's 2024 football schedule (playing what home games Georgia has at their home and road games at Tuscaloosa,  Austin, Tx, and Oxford Mississippi--a notoriously tough place for road teams over the years. Georgia still has tomorrow's game in Oxford and top-10 Tennessee the following week. Whew!

 

 

I believe Penn State is misunderstood.   They should have tied Ohio State at the end (bad play calls-the Tackle that motioned on the last play should have caught a pass for a TD-obviously not the play, but he was completely uncovered b/c Ohio State knew he was going to motion into the box).  Furthermore, Ohio State played a more "I will out physical you instead of playing to my complete strengths-kind of disguising what they will do in the playoffs <using that lethal mid range passing game against teams that can defend the run>.

 

Penn State is the kind of team to bite on playing physical instead of creating more opportunities for their explosive TE.  I expect QB Allar to run more often, and maybe their Backup QB to assist in that.  They proved a team like Vandy wouldn't be able to out physical them (and I don't think Vandy can pass protect against PSU's Front 7-especially on the edge).  Vandy likely couldn't stop PSU's running game, or if PSU wants to, getting the ball to their RB in space on short passes. Vandy isn't built for that.  Furthermore, I doubt Vandy can pressure QB Allar much-which will hurt them tons.

 

I also think Penn State misuses their WRs.  That group can't separate deep.  They are effective on clutch routes like a deep out though.  I don't like the way the OC handles that group.  It puts too much pressure on the rest of the unit.  Their defense is more than solid.  You will not run on that group consistently enough to control the game.  Ohio State proved that (despite that last drive-I believe the PSU defense was deflated by the last drive by the offense.  They didn't play with the same intensity to end the game in my opinion).

 

I doubt anybody could take on three top ten teams on the road and come out unscathed.  Just not possible.  Ohio State struggled against two top five teams.  It's just hard physically to do that-even when you play those within 4 weeks.  I also believe UGA would have struggled at Oregon and Penn State (despite having much more talent that PSU).  

 

I'm not sure the SEC is really much better than the B1G this year.  Especially the top of the conferences.  Oregon and Ohio State present too many challenges for SEC defenses to handle.  

 

I believe Tennesse and Texas have sealed playoff berths.  Tennessee won't beat UGA, but they will use that game as their measuring stick for handling teams like Georgia.

Texas will win out.  But they need to work on being more consistent on offense against "physical" defenses.  QB Ewers must be much more clutch (Texas seems much like last year on both sides of the ball against top echelon teams).

 

Georgia is talented enough to win out-including the SEC Title game.  They are missing that killer instinct they used to have.  And QB Beck needs to make better decisions.  He has been shaky in the big games so far.  He's putting a lot of pressure on the defense.  UGA's defense is also hot and cold.  They really rely on their DL to pressure QBs.  I believe the best way to attack their defense is to run up the middle.  They have too much lateral speed to out run them on the edges.  

 

I believe people (especially the pundits) will be surprised at how well Indiana's offense can handle physicality.  Especially against Ohio State.  They have a quick passing game that can handle Ohio State's physical DL.  Ohio State will blitz often on Indiana.  I also believe Ohio State is prepping their run game on offense to dominate Indiana.  In my opinion, the Buckeyes believe they will have to run the ball effectively to handle the playoff caliber teams.  That will be their foundation for the play action passes they'll use later.

 

Ohio State and OBD are the two best teams in the country.  I definitely would not want to play either team.  You can't really stop either team on offense, and you will struggle to score more than 21 on either defense -including Georgia.  I doubt any team can run for more than 125 on those two defenses, and that is a requirement.  I don't think any team can pressure either QB enough to make a difference.   These two teams are the most consistent, and the most difficult to out--match. 

 

My opinion of course.

 

The pundits, the sportsbooks and the mathematicians disagree with me.  I've been paying close attention to all three. 

 

This season has been so awesome.  

 

[Nevada Dawg]

I'm with you Mike on this being an awesome year for college football. For the record, this doesn't feel like a championship season for my Dawgs, even though if things break just right it could happen. I agree that the center of the DL isn't up to Georgia's recent standards. The receiving core is also somewhat substandard, and Beck has been victimized with a higher percentage of drops than any of the top QBs. Both of these problems are being addressed in spades in the coming recruiting class, but as will be true with the Ducks, Georgia faces a big restocking/rebuilding year in 2025.

 

Of course, if and when my Dawgs bow out, I am behind the Ducks all the way.  Depth of experience is my biggest concern over a long playoff run. But given continued good fortune on the injury front, I expect the Ducks to make a deep run in the playoffs. Roster depth is my biggest concern over a long playoff schedule, but good luck on the injury front will make the Ducks a tough "out" for anyone.

[Just Ducky]

The travel for SEC teams is like walking across the street compared to the B1G teams. Took half the week for UMT to travel across the country to Eugene, get a beating, then get to make that trip back home.

 Plus the fact the SEC fans rarely have to wear winter clothing. Humidity is a real thing if you’re not used to playing in it.

 

 Feeling sorry for that conference is not in my DNA.

 

 However I’m still a closet Bulldog fan thanks to DL.

[Sandy Rocks]

That guy is a suck up wanna be Alabama fan. He doesn't even try to be impartial. He is so pathetic.

[Jon Joseph]

 

But the Commodores could not sink Vanderbilt!

 

Paaawwwwall, stay in your own lane!

[CalBear95]

I can't figure out the SEC this year so it's really hard to get a read on how elite some of its top teams are.  Take Georgia, for example.   Depending on which Carson Beck shows up they are either great or meh.  And the good/bad versions show up with some frequency, often in the same game.  So, how do you measure a team like that, a team that is highly inconsistent?

 

Alabama is sort of the same way.  Looked great against LSU but not so much against Tennessee (and both were tough road environments).  The Georgia game was an extreme example of this (also, see above).  Consistency is an issue.

 

Texas A&M anyone?  Manhandles LSU in the second half and look pretty good but get smacked by the Gamecocks (a good team) the following week.

 

How good is Texas?  Who can say.

 

So, probably parity among the top 7 but less clear is how elite the top 2 teams are.

 

Could Vandy beat Minnesota or Wisconsin or Illinois?  Again, I don't know.

 

It is fair to say, however, that there is a massive drop off in the B1G so I would not be surprised if the bottom of the SEC could handle the bottom of the B1G.