Happy hump day, and welcome to Week Five Midweek Musings!
Week Five Midweek Musings
LSU
Buckle up, Tiger fans: it could be a bumpy ride this year. With a huge amount of turnover on both offense and defense, to say nothing of the coaching staff, this wasn’t unexpected. After an uneven performance in a loss to Mississippi State, the Tiger dominated in their second game. Granted, the opponent was Vanderbilt. But it was crucial that LSU get a run game going after being held to 80 yards in the opener, and they did. Sophomore John Emery, Jr. ran for 103 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Quarterback Myles Brennan added 337 yards and four touchdowns passing in the 41-7 stomping of the Commodores.
The Tigers face Missouri this week, in what should be another good tune-up game for them. LSU-Florida the week after will be a game to watch for sure.
Auburn
This set of Tigers didn’t have the same kind of Saturday LSU did. Georgia completely shut down the Auburn run game- shut down as in Auburn’s leading rusher had 31 of their 39 yards. Sophomore quarterback Bo Nix was not at his best either, completely just over half of his passes for 177 yards and an interception in the 27-6 loss.
The Bulldogs, on the other hand, managed 202 yards on the ground despite a) not having a 100-yard rusher and b) getting -15 yards from quarterback Stetson Bennett.
Which Auburn team will show up against a better-than-expected Arkansas team next week? The one that handily beat Kentucky, or this one?
Arkansas
(Last SEC team, I promise). The Razorbacks won their first SEC game in THREE YEARS this weekend when they beat Mississippi State. Yes, the same Mississippi State team that beat defending champion LSU a week ago. They also hung in with a very good Georgia team for a while in their opener.
This isn’t a team that’s going to threaten in the SEC West- not this year, anyway. But could they cause some chaos? Stay tuned.
Most Improved Conference: The ACC
Among my Week Five Midweek Musings: the ACC looks to have gone from Clemson and Company to a conference with depth comparable to the rest of the Power Five. Four ACC teams are currently ranked in the Top Ten: #1 Clemson, #5 Notre Dame, #7 Miami, and #8 NC State. Virginia Tech comes in at #19. Some of those teams will move down a few slots as the Pac-12 and Big Ten begin to play, but it’s still impressive to see how far the conference has come in just a few years.
Looking Ahead: The Playoff
This weekend may have put a dagger in the heart of the Big 12’s CFP hopes. Oklahoma has now lost consecutive games for the first time since 1994, and Texas lost a heartbreaker to TCU. The only unbeaten in the conference is Oklahoma State, and they have some tough games down the stretch, including late-season road trips to both Oklahoma and TCU. As ESPN’s Heather Dinich writes, conference strength will mean more than usual this season.
Could the ACC get in two of Clemson, Miami, and Notre Dame? Will the shorter season harm the committee’s opinion of Pac-12 and Big Ten teams? It’s a long shot, but could this be the year a Group of Five team sneaks in?
In Case You Missed It
This ESPN story about Iowa State’s Jack Trice, for whom their stadium is named, was incredible.
Week Six Schedule Changes:
Knock on wood, so far there are none!
Those are my Week Five Midweek Musings. Have a great week and stay safe, everybody!
