Let's stay in
Week 2, September 7. And we move to a
different Big Ten game, this one in the
non-conference as well, Colorado at Nebraska. That's my third game shaping
the College Football season. This one's really
important for the Big 12, namely because we're questioning
right now, in the new iteration of this playoff, with the power
of the SEC and the Big Ten, is there going to be room
for a second team out of the Big 12 in the playoff? Is there going to be room for a
second ACC team in the playoff? I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Games like this
will go a long way in shaping what we think about
who's included in the playoff and what conference
they play in. Colorado, Nebraska, it's really
important for the Big 12, in particular because
they need those types of head-to-head
match-up victories, just like the ACC will need when
they face teams out of the SEC. This is going to be a
night game in Lincoln. NBC's got the call. If Colorado wins, then we're
right back in this scenario that we were early last season. And it might have
even more staying power, to be honest with you. Last year, Colorado early in
the season, tough to beat. They were healthy. The depth issues were
not showing up yet. Travis Hunter hadn't
gotten hurt yet, and they were tough to beat. If they protect Shedeur
Sanders, they're really good. He's a heck of a player. This is the old-school rivalry
that I grew up on, by the way. You know, I grew up in Colorado. Like, this is the game that I
dreamed of every single year. This is the game that
I dreamed of playing in when I went to Colorado. So, like, everything about
this game is awesome for me, and it's going to
shape the season. If Colorado wins,
all of a sudden, we're right back
into Deion mania, just like we were a year ago. It's prime time all over again. If Nebraska wins, that's a
very different type of shaping. Let me just take you
into a Nebraska win. That would be their
toughest test-- I think by a
substantial margin-- on the way to being 7 and 0
heading into play Ohio State in Columbus later in the year. That would be a game in October. If you look at their first four
games, they're all at home-- UTEP, Colorado,
Northern Iowa, Illinois. Then, their next three are at
Purdue, home against Rutgers, and at Indiana. They beat Colorado,
there's a real likelihood that they're 7 and 0. Remember, this team
was much better than their record indicated. This team was decimated by
both injuries and turnovers, and those turnovers
specifically showed up from the quarterback position. What happens if Raiola,
their freshman quarterback, comes out and plays really
well, in particular, early, and beats Colorado at night,
at home, with that fan base? You're talking about shaping
the College Football season. All of a sudden, the
Big Ten now starts to think, boy, we've
got six legitimate teams that could be in the hunt. And by the way, even after a
potential loss to Ohio State-- let's just say they go
to Ohio State and lose. They could be 8 and 1
when the first playoff rankings come out because
they play UCLA at home after Ohio State. So that's why this game against
Colorado is so important. We're either going to plunge
headlong into prime time mania again, Coach Prime
mania, or Nebraska is going to be for real. So that game is highly
interesting and a game that will definitely shape the season. Let's move on. OK, Week 5. Let's go all the way to Week 5. So we skip a couple of weeks. September 28, huge one out of
the SEC, Georgia at Alabama. And we get to find
out everything we need to know about the new Alabama. Georgia is going to be either
number one or number two. I would probably suspect
number one in the pre-season. They're going to be facing
Alabama for the first time since, obviously,
Bama ended that 29-game winning streak in last
year's SEC championship game-- knocked the Dogs out of
the playoff, by the way, I know that Bama won
their last meeting, but Georgia has won the more
recent national championships, and the legend has stepped down. So this is no longer
Kirby Smart as the protege against the master, Nick Saban. This is a Saban-less
Alabama program. That's why this game
is so interesting. I would argue that the new
standard in college football, even with Michigan as the
defending national champion, is Georgia. They are the program that is
still intact as far as a program that is a recent
national champion winner, a recent 29-game win streak. They're a few snaps away from
being back in the playoff and going for a
three-peat, right? Like we know how
Kirby has recruited. Kirby at this point, I
think it's safe to say, is the standard in
college football. So now, all of a sudden, it's no
longer Georgia trying to measure up, take down Alabama,
the protege reaching after and trying to beat his mentor. It's, in some
ways, the opposite. even though Kalen DeBoer is
not the mentee in this case. Alabama will be measuring
themselves against Georgia now. That's why this game is so
important and impactful, and will shape not
only the season, but all of college football. It will shape
exactly what we think of the sport in terms of who
holds the standard in the sport. This is a huge test for Kalen
DeBoer in the post-Saban era. That fan base is going to be
expecting them to be competitive in this game, obviously. Now, it pays that it's at home. And listen, Kalen DeBoer
is a hell of a coach. If he went to anywhere
except for Alabama, I'd be like, that's a home run. But Kalen DeBoer went to a place
where he is replacing the best-- greatest in history
college football coach that we've ever seen. That's a tall task. It's a tall task. You talk about shaping college
football, not just the playoff race, not just the SEC race,
but also the overarching sport. Who holds the standard? That's on the line in that game. Week 6, October 5. Let's go to the ACC,
Clemson at Florida State. The ACC is going to be fighting
for a second playoff spot, just like the Big 12 is. And the winner of this
game likely puts themselves in a firm, I would say,
seat path control of a berth in the ACC Championship game. It gives them some cushion
as it relates to playing for that conference
title, which then would get them the automatic
berth into the College Football Playoff. I do not think that the Big
12 and the SEC-- and the ACC, excuse me-- should rely on, hey,
we think we're going to get two. They can't rely on that. You've got to get into the game. So that's why this game
will shape the season so dramatically, is because the
winner of Clemson-Florida State, I believe, will have a firm
hold on a berth in the game that could potentially
put them into the College Football Playoff. So this game is
absolutely impactful when it comes to shaping the
season, shaping the conferences, and shaping exactly what this
playoff is going to look like. Florida State beat
Clemson last year-- finally knocking
them off, by the way, after losing seven straight. Would a second straight
win over Clemson make FSU the new
leaders in the ACC? I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I don't know exactly what
to expect out of Clemson. But the winner of
this game is certainly in control of that conference.
