Volume 26:36
College Football
It is now August, and that means one thing: it’s College Football season. So we are going to take a look at each week of the season and tell you the top matchup.
In Week 0, we have three contenders: UNLV Rebels vs. Memphis Tigers, NC State Wolfpack vs. Virginia Cavaliers, and TCU Horned Frogs vs. North Carolina Tar Heels.
UNLV takes on Memphis in a matchup that could go a long way in determining who gets a playoff spot. Both UNLV and Memphis will be contending for that G5 playoff spot, and whoever wins this battle will get a huge early advantage.
Virginia and NC State are both projected to finish middle of the pack in the ACC. This game could be a big mark for potential ACC finishing spots.
Then there is the wildcard that is TCU vs. UNC. The Tar Heels are entering year two under Bill Belichick and it seems like there are limitless possibilities for their season. Meanwhile, TCU is also unpredictable. Projected to finish middle of the pack in the Big 12, the Horned Frogs could make noise. This early season game will tell us a lot about these two wildcards.
That being said, the game of the week is UNC vs. TCU.
There are a lot of great matchups in Week 1: Washington Huskies vs. Washington State Cougars in the Apple Cup, Oregon Ducks vs. Boise State Broncos, and Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame in Green Bay. But one matchup stands out: The Louisville Cardinals taking on the Ole Miss Rebels in Nashville. Ole Miss are the favorites. The Rebels are a preseason Top 10 team. But that plays right into the story. Louisville has derailed top teams’ seasons before. Ask the Miami Hurricanes. These Cardinals are going to be sneaky good this season. So don’t be surprised if the Cardinals pull off an upset and flex their power.
However, there is only one option in Week 2. While you may be saying, “Oh it’s Oklahoma Sooners vs. Michigan Wolverines.” Or the Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Iowa State Cyclones. But no– I think it’s The Ohio State Buckeyes vs. the Texas Longhorns. Ohio State is led by Julian Sayin, who should be taking more deep shots. Meanwhile, Texas is led by Arch Manning. The way he finished last season, it wouldn’t be a shock if the Longhorns run up the score. This rematch of last year’s 14-7 Buckeyes win should be a lot more exciting.
Week 3 features the Houston Cougars vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders, the SMU Mustangs vs. Louisville Cardinals, the Florida Gators vs. Auburn Tigers, and the North Dakota State Bison vs. Sacramento State Hornets. But Houston against Texas Tech stands out. This matchup has huge early Big 12 implications. Texas Tech are the conference favorites. Houston is mocked as a dark horse. This matchup is huge and should tell us a lot about the current Big 12 landscape.
Week 4 has Georgia Bulldogs vs. Oklahoma Sooners, LSU Tigers vs. Texas A&M Aggies, and Oregon Ducks vs. USC Trojans. There are many other great matchups in this incredible slate. But these stand out. All six of these teams are ranked. Beyond that, all of them have real chances to make noise on a national landscape. Of these teams, Oregon and Georgia look like the best. This pair of teams both have realistic national title hopes. But this Week 4, they are both going to be on upset alert until the final whistle. Oklahoma and USC will both be looking to cement their status as a team that is still relevant come December. But so will LSU and Texas A&M, as both of these teams are gunning for a playoff spot. This SEC matchup could also play a huge role in conference standings at the end of the season. While those are the premier matchups of the week, Week 4 has a very deep schedule: The Penn State Nittany Lions host the Wisconsin Badgers in a sneaky good Big 10 battle; South Carolina plays Alabama in a huge test for both sides; Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Auburn Tigers, and Florida Gators vs. Ole Miss Rebels are nice SEC battles even if they are overshadowed; Colorado Buffaloes plays Baylor Bears in a very intriguing Big 12 game; Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines, and Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Ohio State Buckeyes are both also overshadowed. This is going to be a fun Week of College Football.
Week 5 has Miami Hurricanes vs. Clemson Tigers, and Washington Huskies vs. USC Trojans. Miami vs. Clemson is a big ACC matchup and has playoff implications midseason. Washington vs. USC is going to be a great matchup between two of the Big 10’s biggest wild cards.
Week 6 has the Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Washington Huskies, Georgia Bulldogs vs. Alabama Crimson Tide, and Texas Longhorns vs. Oklahoma Sooners. This week is packed. Iowa vs. Washington is not to be overlooked. These two teams are going to play a huge role in how the Big 10 standings shape up. They are both on the fringe of the rankings, but have the potential to be playing meaningful postseason football. Then, we have possibly the best SEC week. It’s headlined by the all-important Alabama against Georgia game. This as always will have huge implications in the SEC standings. But there is also Oklahoma vs. Texas- the Red River Rivalry. When a regular season college football game is played at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, you know it’s a big game. This game is going to be nothing short of a classic Oklahoma vs. Texas battle, with huge stakes in the conference, as always. This week looks good.
Week 7 may be even better though. Once again, Alabama plays in a huge game– this time it’s a rivalry against the Tennessee Volunteers. This annual October meeting is always marked on the schedule. As usual, there are expectations on both teams, and for each of them a big one is to win this mid-season matchup. This game will never fail to give us fireworks. But still, it’s not the top game this week. You may be saying then it must be Notre Dame vs. BYU. Nope. Even though this is Notre Dame’s biggest matchup of the season, and could make or break the BYU campaign, it’s still not the main storyline. Then it must be Michigan vs. Penn State. Yes. This matchup has everything: playoff implications, huge conference impact, and a national audience. However, the matchup everyone will be watching is the Indiana Hoosiers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes. Everyone now knows the story of Indiana’s first nation title last season. But now coach Curt Cignetti has a replenished roster and is facing one of two teams who have beaten Indiana during his coaching tenure. The Hoosiers vs. Buckeyes Big 10 championship rematch will be nothing short of a firework-filled battle. This Week 7 is going to be good.
However, there is a week that has to follow the top schedule. That’s Week 8. Week 8 actually has a few good games. The Duke Blue Devils and Virginia Cavaliers face each other in an ACC Conference Championship rematch. Indiana and Alabama both remain on the tough path with Michigan and Texas A&M wanting to play spoiler this Week 8. Texas and Ole Miss play a headline matchup this week. Houston Cougars vs. Utah Utes is going to be a fun Big 12 game. We also get a North Dakota State Bison vs. New Mexico Lobos matchup that will create waves in the Mountain West title race.
Week 9 has us getting Halloween on a Saturday. Nothing is better than Halloween football. Missouri plays Arkansas in their rivalry matchup, Oklahoma plays South Carolina, and Florida plays Georgia in Jacksonville. However, none of those compare to a battle in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It’s USC hosting Ohio State. This is a huge Big 10 game, and it’s going to be fun to watch.
Penn State and Washington headline the Big 10 with their Week 10 matchup. Or do they? They don’t. Instead the national audience will be glued to the Oregon Ducks visit to Columbus for their matchup against Ohio State. National title contender vs. national tile contender, Big 10 championship contender vs. Big 10 championship contender, Ducks vs. Buckeyes. Don’t be surprised if this is a #1 vs. #2 matchup that will give us a whole lot of Big 10 clarity. Miami plays Notre Dame is a highly anticipated rematch. BYU and Utah give us the Holy War this week, and a huge matchup for the playoff picture. Georgia vs. Ole Miss, and Alabama vs. LSU would usually headline a week, but this year they also take the back seat. Despite the fact that stakes in these two SEC matchups are as high as ever.
Week 11 gives us a huge game in terms of playoff implications between Indiana and USC. This Big 10 matchup is sure to give us a great Saturday no matter what. But that’s not all. The Texas Tech Red Raiders play an unpredictable Oklahoma State Cowboys team that could be 1-11 or 11-1. Utah and Arizona keep the Big 12 rolling with their important game. As always, the SEC has a lot of great matchups. This week we get Oklahoma vs. Ole Miss and Texas vs. LSU. The week though isn’t done, as we get another huge Big 10 matchup. The Michigan Wolverines travel out to Eugene, OR to play the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium. This is, as usual, a huge Big 10 game.
Week 12 has SEC headliners. The Oklahoma Sooners host the Texas A&M Aggies. Then Tennessee and LSU play at Neyland Stadium. These games will have huge SEC impacts. Week 12 is definitely a little disappointing.
We then get rivalry week!!
Florida State vs. Florida at Doak Campbell Stadium
Texas A&M vs. Texas at Kyle Field
Alabama vs. Auburn at Bryant-Denny Stadium
Georgia vs. Georgia Tech at Sanford Stadium
Clemson vs. South Carolina at Memorial Stadium
Oregon vs. Washington at Autzen Stadium
UCLA vs. USC at The Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Michigan at Ohio Stadium
All these rivalries make Week 13 can’t miss. The Game, the Iron Bowl, the Palmetto Bowl. This week is going to be fun.
Week 14 we get all of the Conference Championships.
Week 15 is also brilliant. It’s only got one matchup. However, it’s a classic: Army vs. Navy.
That’s the College Football season preview.
MLB Update
The MLB season is rolling on. The Los Angeles Dodgers, of course, have the best record in the MLB at 69-41. The Milwaukee Brewers are right behind them at 68-41 and lead the NL Central. The NL East leader, the Atlanta Braves, are 65-45. There is one other NL team that has passed the 60 win threshold. The Chicago Cubs are chasing the Milwaukee Brewers and are currently 62-48. The Brewers and Cubs have created separation between them and the rest of the NL Central. The Pittsburgh Pirates are 55-56, the St. Louis Cardinals are 54-56, and the Cincinnati Reds are 52-57.
The Dodgers also have a big lead on the rest of their division. The Arizona Diamondbacks are second in the NL West. They sit 11 games behind the Dodgers at 58-52. The San Diego Padres are 56-54. The San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies are having rough seasons at 47-63 and 43-67.
Behind the Braves, the NL East gets very intriguing. The Philadelphia Phillies are 57-53 and fighting off the 56-55 Miami Marlins as well as the 55-56 Washington Nationals. The New York Mets are struggling to stay afloat despite having one of the best MLB teams on paper. They are 47-62 and 5th in the NL East.
The NL had four teams with 60+ wins, but the AL is different. This season the NL is clearly better, except for two teams. Those two teams are the 64-45 Tampa Bay Rays and the 62-48 New York Yankees. These two teams are in prime position to make runs this postseason. The Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox are both 58-51 and the only other AL teams with genuinely good records. The AL has a lot of teams near .500. The Baltimore Orioles are 54-56, the Minnesota Twins are 56-55, the Detroit Tigers also sit at 56-55, the Houston Astros, who lead the AL West, are 56-55, and the Texas Rangers are 55-55. The 53-58 Seattle Mariners, 52-58 Detroit Tigers, and 51-59 Toronto Blue Jays are sitting just above 50 wins. The AL is rounded out with the struggling Kansas City Royals, Athletics, and Los Angeles Angels, who are 46-65, 45-65, and 42-68.
The main storyline with MLB stats is Yordan Alvarez’s monster season. Alvarez is quite literally the only reason the Astros are first in their division. He is 2nd in the MLB with a .324 batting average, 1st in the MLB with 35 homeruns, 3rd in the MLB with 82 RBI’s, and 3rd in the MLB with 128 hits. Those first three stats are the Triple Crown stats. If a player leads the NL or AL in batting average, homeruns, and RBI’s, they win the Triple Crown. Right now, Yordan Alvarez is leading the AL in all three of those stats (and hits). Yandy Diaz has the next best average in the AL, with .302. Ben Rice has 31 homers, which is good for second in the AL. Rice also has 73 RBIs, second best in the American League. Yordan is having a great season, but a lot of those stats are lead by NL players. Luis Arraez has a .328 batting average, leading the MLB. Kyle Schawrber has 33 home runs, good for 2nd in the MLB and first in the NL. Sal Stewart has 84 RBIs, leading the MLB. Otto Lopez ranks first with 138 hits, and Nasim Nunez has 39 stolen bases. On the pitching side of things, we see Christoper Sanchez and Sonny Gray each with 13 wins, leading all of baseball. Jacob Misiorowski has an insane 1.58 ERA. Cade Smith and Bryan Baker each have 30 saves. The Miz also leads the MLB with 185 strikeouts. Sandy Alcantara has 16 Quality Starts.
