By Matthew Soderberg | Sports Writer
After a fairly open-shut week of college football, nothing is truly more clear than the week prior. Still, we can still find some takeaways from this week’s games.
Clemson’s In
There have been three weeks of college football and Clemson has already faced its two best opponents. Its week two home date with the Aggies was a letdown to say the least, as the Tigers trounced Texas A&M 24-10. This past week Clemson knocked off No. 37 Syracuse 41-6, a team that had been ranked the week prior but got decimated by unranked Maryland to the tune of 63-2.
What this all means is that Clemson will finish the regular season undefeated and once again face a weak ACC team in the conference championship. I’d argue that whether they’ll be in the playoff whether they win that game or not.
What’s Going on with Chip Kelly?
Chip Kelly. A name synonymous with innovation and success on the college stage. The man won three conference titles while at Oregon, along with a trip to the BCS Championship Game. Then, he left the ranks of college coaches for a chance at the big stage: the NFL. Kelly coached three seasons in Philadelphia, finishing with a record of 26-21 with one trip to the playoffs and was then fired after making several trades that season that alienated the fanbase from the team. He then made one final stop in San Francisco, blowing it with a 2-14 record, before being booted out of the NFL.
Chip took a year off to study while at ESPN, and then was hired to revive a flailing UCLA squad before last season. They proceeded to finish 3-9, their worst record since 1971. Most national media thought he just needed a year to get his guys in the building, get his culture flowing through the locker room.
Well, the Bruins are now 0-3, having lost to Cincinnati, San Diego State, and the excusable Oklahoma Sooners. They won’t be favored in another game this year though, and times are looking tough for college football’s first offensive innovator. Time will tell if the school or the coach will want to be associated with each other after this dreadful fall.
Big 12 Cakewalk
Fortunately for the Bears, the outlook on this season is rosy. Three of their next four opponents lost this past week, and while that may mean the teams aren’t that great, it also means Baylor will have a harder time reaching a higher rank prior to the games against Oklahoma and Texas in November.
Their next home foe, Iowa State, lost to in-state rival Iowa this past weekend in an eight hour drowzer that featured two lengthy rain delays. Texas Tech, meanwhile, couldn’t stop the run game of Arizona, a great omen for when the Bears face them in Waco for Homecoming.
The only other teams relatively close to being ranked are Kansas State, No. 25 in the coaches poll, and TCU, No. 25 in the AP poll.
Drake Toll’s predictions may be coming to fruition.
