Choppy: College Football Is Always On My Mind
College Football is about halfway through the 2017 schedule, so what better time to talk about what I've learned throughout the first 6 weeks of the season? Yea, I can't think of a better time either.
So here goes, the things that have stuck out to me through the first 6 weeks:
-Gary Patterson is the most disrespected coach in America. All this guy does is win game after game, and he's never talked about nationally, and TCU is never ranked as high as they should be. He could leave tomorrow and take over A&M, Tennessee, Auburn, USC, and have them in the National Title game in 2 years with the talent those schools have.
-The hot seat seems to start earlier and earlier every year. Butch Jones was fired after Week 3 in the eyes of the fans. Kevin Sumlin was gone somewhere between halftime and Josh Rosen's miracle finish. Bret Bielema gets canned by the fans every day. Oregon State has just booted their coach. Its not even Mid-October.
-There's a clear Top 2 teams, a clear #3, and then a muddled mess. Bama and Clemson are clearly the 2 best. Penn St is clearly #3, and you better pray the Committee likes your team that day if you're not one of the 1st 3.
-Saquon Barkley is the best player in NCAA and I don't even know who would be 2nd. This guy is a monster of a player. If he doesn't win the Heisman, they need to dump the award and call it the "Best QB of the year trophy."
-Assuming UGA beats Florida, which is a big assumption the way that series has gone recently, the SEC Title Game will be a play-in game for the Final 4. And if Clemson or Penn St slip, the SEC might get 2 teams in a down year for them.
-Chris Peterson is 100% right about Pac-12 start times. ESPN can put up graphics all they want that the ratings are higher for Pac-12 late games, but that isn't the point. Nobody east of Denver watches 7:45 Pacific time games. There's a reason the Pac-12 has been hosed by Heisman voters when the team doesn't play in LA.
-Jim Harbaugh is now 1-4 against his rivals at Michigan. He is 5-4 in his last 9 games. Nick Saban has lost 4 games in the last 4 YEARS. He's in no trouble at all to get fired, nor should he, but before we anoint this guy as a great coach, remember, great coaches don't have the same 31 game record as their predecessor who just got fired for being a horrible football coach.
-My Top 4: Alabama, Clemson, Penn St, Georgia.
Washington, TCU, OU and Ohio St would be right behind.
Washington and Clemson have fairly easy schedules the rest of the way, so nothing should change with their undefeated records and high rankings.
*R.J. Choppy is co-host of the morning show "Shan & RJ" on 105.3 The Fan. Follow him on twitter @RJChoppy
