On the alleged unbeatable Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide, as the honorable Lee Corso might say, “Not so fast, my friends.”
In arguably their worst outing in three years, Kirby Smart’s crew slogged to a 26–22 win over Missouri in a game in which it took its first lead with four minutes, three seconds left. The Bulldogs trailed 16–3 in the second quarter, 19–9 in the third and 22–12 in the fourth before mounting their comeback in Columbia.
And as for Alabama, its Heisman Trophy-winning starting quarterback, Bryce Young, suffered a shoulder sprain, and its defense allowed 23 consecutive points. While its game against Arkansas turned into a rout (49–26) this was anything but.
Do we finally have some parity in this ol’ game of ours? Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. But for those teams scratching and clawing at the heels of the Tide and the Bulldogs, know that they are indeed beatable.
And what about everyone else? Well, Ohio State and Michigan have played the weakest schedules of any top-10 team. Penn State put up a stinker of a win Saturday against Northwestern. And even Clemson has shown vulnerability this season. No one is perfect and maybe that’s good for the whole.
Speaking of the whole, 10 AP Top 25 teams lost Saturday (five of those played against fellow ranked teams). Still, this felt like a prove it-type day in which the frauds were exposed and the victors were rewarded with a boost of confidence. Take for instance Florida State, whipped at home by Wake Forest. There was Kentucky, too, which lost to Ole Miss. And Washington got housed at UCLA.
Meanwhile, a trio of teams (Illinois, Tulane and Maryland) moved to 4–1 by beating a trio of teams (Wisconsin, Houston and Michigan State) that dropped to 2–3. Yes, you read that correctly.
In news of the bizarre, Georgia Tech won a road game over a top-25 team (Pitt) for the first time in six years on the week it fired its coach; ESPN is heading to Kansas (Kansas!) for the unbeaten clash we all saw coming in August when the Jayhawks host TCU; and Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M team got bludgeoned by 18 points in Starkville, Mississippi.
In not-so-weird news, Iowa’s offense is still stinking up the whole of college football!
O.K., it’s time for the Top 10, which we remind you is not only a gauge of your record but the records of your opponents!
