There is no “off” in college football. In today’s game, the off-season sounds more like myth than reality. The time between the last whistle in January to the first kick in late August provides as much drama as a mid-October upset. The myriad of culprits is ever evolving, but this year’s cast included recruiting, the transfer portal, NIL deals, contentious coaches, and conference realignment. Before talking season becomes a distant memory and bold projections become mocking tweets, here is a recap of a few of the biggest off-season storylines and some final predictions for how it all unfolds when the pads crash on the gridiron.

1.       The Saban-Fisher Feud

The Paul Finebaum Show had phones ringing off the hook in May, an unconventional time for the popular SEC Network talk show to garner as much attention as it did. One clip of Coach Nick Saban at a luncheon with business leaders in Birmingham sent football fans into mid-season form with opinions, criticism, and calling for heads to roll. Saban was presenting his concerns on how NIL, specifically collectives, may impact the recruiting landscape. To illustrate his point, Saban referenced the approach taken at Texas A&M, going so far as to allege “A&M bought every player on their team.” As soon as the words left his mouth, the sound bite went surfing the web, ultimately finding its way across the desk of Texas A&M Head Coach Jimbo Fisher. In an attempt to fight fire with fire, Fisher made it personal by attacking the Alabama coach’s character and insinuating skeletons in the closet saying, “We build him up to be the czar of football. Go dig into his past... What he does and how he does it, it’s despicable.”

The dispute came to a head amid claims that Texas A&M senior leadership called upon SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey to punish and suspend Saban. The Commissioner stepped in with a public reprimand to both coaches, and the emotions that boiled over simmered down by the time SEC Media Days rolled around. Despite public intrigue for more fireworks at the Conference’s most public summer function, both coaches walked back their initial words in an attempt to dissuade any sort of bulletin board material lingering into the season.

Alabama linebacker and consensus pre-season All-American Will Anderson noted that it will all be handled on the field. So how does that play out?

Don’t expect a repeat of last year’s Aggieland thriller where a walk-off field goal dethroned No. 1 Alabama and snapped a streak of one-hundred straight wins over unranked opponents. The Crimson Tide will use this game to make a statement on behalf of their coach and roll over the Aggies by a four-touchdown margin.

2.       Arch Goes to Austin

The age-old question: when will Texas finally be back? The return to glory may not be too far away as the No. 1 ranked QB in the class of 2023 committed to the Longhorns. Arch Manning had his pick of the litter with offers from every major college football program at his disposal. The legacy quarterback decided to forgo family ties to Ole Miss and Tennessee, along with ignoring home-state roots to LSU and blaze his own trail at soon-to-be-SEC Texas.

              By the time Arch steps foot on campus, expect Head Coach Steve Sarkisian to be facing one of the hottest seats in college football. The 2022 campaign for the Horns will follow the trend of years past with some exciting wins and inexplicable losses. It is not out of the realm of possibility that UT slips up to a non-conference opponent not named Alabama and starts 1-2, while later breaking the streak in the Red River Rivalry and capturing its first win against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl since 2018.

3.       Transfer of Power

Perhaps the off-season's biggest winner is the University of Southern California, where the football team finally reflects the same flashy lifestyle of the Hollywood Hills – at least on paper. Lincoln Riley, one of the hottest names in coaching, made the journey west to take the head coach role at USC, leaving behind the same position at Oklahoma. Reports circulated about his new destination buying him a 6 million dollar mansion, meanwhile on the message boards fans speculated about his fear of the SEC. One thing is for sure, the coach landed in a pasture loaded with green.

              Caleb Williams, the former No. 1 QB in the 2021 recruiting class and starting QB at Oklahoma following last season’s comeback win against Texas, followed Riley westward via the transfer portal. Joining Williams is Biletnikoff Award-winning WR Jordan Addison, who transferred from Pitt. Rounding out the transfer trio of offensive firepower is WR Mario Williams, also from Oklahoma. It is evident that Riley is intent on building the same juggernaut-style power that he managed at Oklahoma and will look to bring back relevance to West Coast football.

              The resounding boom atop the Trojans' fight for post-season relevance is the move to the Big 10.  The Big 10 Conference sent shockwaves across the college landscape when they poached UCLA and USC from the PAC-12 this summer for a 2024 start, which matches moves made by the SEC last year. Just as a semblance of order flirted with college sports, everyone was sent back into a spiral when news broke of the realignment. It is yet to be seen what pieces will continue to unfold, if, and when additional universities opt to bring their program to a new conference.

              Despite the looming changes in competition, USC opens the 2022 season at No. 14 in the AP Poll. They will have some ground to cover to catch up to No. 11 Oregon and No. 7 Utah but expect the Trojans to get hot late and find their way to Las Vegas for the PAC-12 Championship Game. A test against Notre Dame at the end of the regular season will likely make or break College Football Playoff hopes for both teams.

4.       Notable NIL

Aside from the millions of dollars tied up in collectives, it appears NIL is serving its purpose for Nebraska WR Decoldest Crawford. The former LSU commit from Shreveport, La., epitomizes brand integration through his partnership with Omaha-based SOS Heating & Cooling. In the commercial, Decoldest tells viewers who to call to keep their air conditioning cool. This local partnership is a welcome respite for fans agonizing over the future of NIL.  

Crawford and his fellow Cornhuskers have some work to do in helping cool down their head coach’s not-so-frosty seat. Scott Frost is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Huskers and has yet to post a winning record for the program. Once lauded as the next Tom Osborne, Lincoln has only been left with disappointment. Nebraska is hoping their luck will change as they open the season in Dublin, Ireland, during Week Zero action. A light first half of the season paves the way for bowl eligibility by the end of October and springs a program in need of positivity to their first Bowl Season since 2016.

 

Talking season is over. Voices will soon be lost as either faint whispers of pre-season expectations or cheers in stadiums by jubilant fans celebrating victory. Though it was never really “off,” football is finally here again.

 

 

It’s June and while we wait for football to return, all we can do is look at projections and predictions. Today, we’ll look at some of the VERY early TaxAct Texas Bowl projections to see who the experts think will take the field at NRG Stadium on December 28.

Last year’s matchup featured lots of purple with the K-State Wildcats facing off against the LSU Tigers. K-State took home the hardware after a 42-20 victory over LSU that featured four Deuce Vaugh touchdowns. With the 2022 TaxAct Texas Bowl in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look at some predictions for the 2022 game.

 CollegeFootballNews.com

Bowl Projection: Baylor vs Auburn

The first projection features a matchup between two teams that haven’t faced off on the gridiron since 1976. Previous matchups have resulted in two Baylor wins, one Auburn win, and one draw. The Baylor Bears are 1-1 in their two TaxAct Texas Bowl games while the Auburn Tigers don’t have an appearance yet. With this being only their fifth matchup ever and their first in almost 50 years it makes for an interesting Bowl game.

 

247sports.com

Bowl Projection: Texas vs. Kentucky

This is another matchup that hasn’t happened in quite some time. These two teams last met on the field back in 1951 with the win going to the Longhorns by a score of 7-6. Now that Texas joining the SEC in the next couple of years this would be one of the last chances for these two to meet before becoming conference mates. Texas has one TaxAct Texas Bowl appearance while Kentucky is a fresh face for this Bowl game. With one team looking to bounce back after a down year and another looking to continue their success from the previous season this looks like a pretty good matchup overall.

 

Actionnetwork.com

Bowl Projection: Texas vs. Tennessee

Once again, we have Texas and a new face to the Bowl game. With these two teams in the game, it becomes a battle of orange schools whose names start with a ‘T’. It’d be the perfect follow-up to the purple vs purple matchup of the K-State vs LSU Bowl game. These two haven’t faced each other since 1969 and the current score is two Texas wins to one Tennessee win. It’s been a long wait but if this is the matchup then Tennessee finally has a chance to tie the series up.

            Join the waitlist to stay informed on all things TaxAct Texas Bowl. 

As spring football comes to a close and teams prepare for the final stretch before the season starts let’s take a look at some rankings. With no actual action on the field, all we can do is argue about where all our teams rank. Here are some post-spring football power rankings for both the BIG 12 and SEC.

In the first set of SEC rankings, there’s the usual Crimson Tide in first place followed up by the defending national champions, the Georgia Bulldogs. Bryce Young and Will Anderson leading their respective units have the Tide as the favorites to claim the National Championship after a one-year drought. With Georgia having 15 total players drafted they’ll be looking to reload and at worst be in the mix for a CFB playoff spot again. The Aggies are coming in hot this season after assembling the greatest recruiting class in CFB history. Anything other than a CFB Playoff birth will be seen as a wasted year. All those four and five-star players should be able to get the Aggies into their first-ever CFP.

 

Full rankings:

1.       Alabama – Crimson Tide

2.       Georgia – Bulldogs

3.       Texas A&M – Aggies

4.       Kentucky – Wildcats

5.       Arkansas – Razorbacks

6.       Tennessee – Volunteers

7.       Mississippi State – Bulldogs

8.       LSU – Tigers

9.       Ole Miss – Rebels

10.   South Carolina – Gamecocks

11.   Florida – Gators

12.   Auburn – Tigers

13.   Missouri – Tigers

14.   Vanderbilt – Commodores

 

The Big 12 rankings by USA Today have Oklahoma as the current favorites to claim the conference title. Even after taking some considerable loses at various coaching positions and some players transferring OU has done a lot of work to prove they’re still in contention. With Dillon Gabriel out of UCF stepping in at QB and Brent Venables taking over as HC the Sooners will most likely contend for a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl once again. Behind the Sooners are both Oklahoma State and Baylor who both had very successful seasons last year. After facing off for the conference championship last year both teams will look to contend with OU for the Big 12 title this year.

 

Full rankings:

1.       Oklahoma – Sooners

2.       Oklahoma State – Cowboys

3.       Baylor – Bears

4.       Kansas State – Wildcats

5.       Texas – Longhorns

6.       West Virginia – Mountaineers

7.       Iowa State – Cyclones

8.       TCU – Horned Frogs

9.       Texas Tech – Red Raiders

10.   Kansas – Jayhawks  

 

The incoming crop of QBs doesn’t have the usual one or two prospects that blow experts away. This means that we’ll end up seeing the next GOAT taken in the first round when no one was expecting it. Where do the experts think all the top QB prospects are headed?

Read on to see where the experts think these top QBs are headed and give us your opinion on the latest @TexasBowl tweet.

These are the consensus top 5 QBs in the 2022 draft in no particular order.

1.       Kenny Pickett, Pitt

2.       Malik Willis, Liberty

3.       Matt Corral, Mississippi

4.       Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati

5.       Sam Howell, North Carolina

There might not be a first overall pick at the QB position but lately there’s been a lot of noise around Malik Willis. As we approach the draft it seems like Willis is the favorite to be the first QB taken off the board or at least that’s what Twitter says.

 

In CBS Sports latest mock Malik is the first QB taken at #6 while the rest of the QBs fall into the second half of the first round. They even left Ridder out of the first round while other’s have Ridder going first. Without a consensus top QB opinions vary widely, so we’ll see the QBs move around quite a bit.

#6 Panthers – Malik Willis

#18 Saints - Kenny Pickett

#26 Titans – Matt Corral

#32 Lions – Sam Howell

 

Up next is the PFF mock which has just two QBs going in the first round. With two of the top four QBs going in the 40s PFF shows that they’re not very confident in the upcoming class. Just one top ten pick and a top 20 means all the others will have to wait until the second night to hear their name called.

#8 Falcons- Desmond Ridder

#20 Pittsburgh – Malik Willis

 

This one really decides to shake things up like no other. The Ringer’s draft has not just one but two QBs going in the top ten and then nothing for the rest of the first. For most of the draft process QBs haven’t been considered top three worthy but with his recent combine and pro day performances The Ringer believes that Willis is worthy. Pickett doubters believe that his hands will be a problem because QBs with smaller hands usually don’t find success in the league. Will hand size really matter to a team enough to stop them from picking Pickett?

#2 Lions – Malik Willis

#6 Pittsburgh – Kenny Pickett

 

Last one up is the Bleacher Report mock featuring a single QB picked in the top ten. This one is like your average mock draft with 3 QBs going in the first spread out around the mid and late round. Once again it features Willis as the top QB off the board showing that he’s probably seen as the top QB by most people. He’s at least a favorite for those who make mock drafts so that must mean something.

#9 Seahawks – Malik Willis

#11 Commanders – Desmond Ridder

#20 Steelers – Kenny Pickett

       With no surefire top overall QB who do you think will be the best pro of the bunch?

 

 

It seems like for this upcoming draft QBs might have to wait a bit longer than usual to hear their name. There isn’t a consensus top QB among the experts which means that a group of EDGE and OTs have taken over some of the top spots in many prospect rankings. Who do the experts think sits on top?  

Coming into the season Kayvon Thibodeaux from Oregon was considered the top prospect by most, but as the season went on a serious contender began to emerge in Aidan Hutchinson out of Michigan. It seems that most experts agree that the top five prospects for this draft consist of two EDGE, two OTs and one safety. 

Bleacher Report

1) Kayvon Thibodeaux | EDGE | R-Soph. | Oregon

2) Ikem Ekwonu | OT | R-Soph. | NC State

3) George Karlaftis | EDGE | Jr. | Purdue

4) Evan Neal | OT | Jr. | Alabama

5) Drake London | WR | Jr. | USC

6) Kyle Hamilton | S | Jr. | Notre Dame

7) Jordan Davis | DL | Sr. | Georgia

8) Derek Stingley Jr. | CB | Jr. | LSU

9) Tyler Linderbaum | OC | R-Jr. | Iowa

10) Chris Olave | WR | Sr. | Ohio State

Bleacher Report is an odd ranking because it doesn’t feature Hutchinson in the top ten and it also has Drake London out of USC in the top five while not many others have him that far up. It does feature a Big 10 EDGE in the top three but this one is a boilermaker, George Karlaftis, who not many place as a top five talent in the draft. Not believing Hutch is a top three player is one thing but dropping him to the mid-teens at number 14 is far out there and different from the rest. 

Pro Football Focus

1) Aidan Hutchinson | EDGE | Sr. | Michigan

2) Kayvon Thibodeaux | EDGE | R-Soph. | Oregon

3) Kyle Hamilton | S | Jr. | Notre Dame

4) Derek Stingley Jr. | CB | Jr. | LSU

5) Evan Neal | OT | Jr. | Alabama

6) Charles Cross | OT | Jr. | Mississippi State

7) George Karlaftis | EDGE | Jr. | Purdue

8) Ahmad Gardner | CB | Jr. | Cincinnati

9) Tyler Linderbaum | OC | R-Jr. | Iowa

10) Garrett Wilson | WR | Jr. | Ohio State

 PFF has a similar top 3 to many others with the Hutchinson and Thibodeaux duo sitting in the top two spots. They change it up by moving Stingley into the top five and taking Ekwonu out of the top ten. Another big difference with other rankings is that George Karlaftis, an EDGE out of Purdue is number seven for PFF while many others don’t consider the Junior a top ten prospect.                                            

CBS Sports

1) Kayvon Thibodeaux | EDGE | R-Soph. | Oregon

2) Derek Stingley Jr. | CB | Jr. | LSU

3) Kyle Hamilton | S | Jr. | Notre Dame

4) Aidan Hutchinson | EDGE | Sr. | Michigan

5) Tyler Linderbaum | OC | R-Jr. | Iowa

6) Evan Neal | OT | Jr. | Alabama

7) Garrett Wilson | WR | Jr. | Ohio State

8) Charles Cross | OT | R-Soph. | Mississippi State

9) Ikem Ekwonu | OT | R-Soph. | NC State

10) Jameson Williams | WR | Jr. | Alabama

This CBS Sports ranking it quite different from many of the others. While it does feature some familiar names it also shakes up the order compared to most others. Having Stingley Jr. as the second-best player available with no Gardner in sight shows that they believe one is far superior to the other. Who the top corner and where they rank is a debate all on its own with no one in agreement. Something else that sticks out on this ranking is that it features more offensive players than defensive players which most other rankings do. 

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.

1) Aidan Hutchinson | EDGE | Sr. | Michigan

2) Kayvon Thibodeaux | EDGE | R-Soph. | Oregon

3) Evan Neal | OT | Jr. | Alabama

4) Kyle Hamilton | S | Jr. | Notre Dame

5) Ikem Ekwonu | OT | R-Soph. | NC State

6) Derek Stingley Jr. | CB | Jr. | LSU

7) Drake London | WR | Jr. | USC

8) Devin Lloyd | LB | R-Jr. | Utah

9) David Ojabo | EDGE | R-Soph. | Michigan

10) Nakobe Dean | LB | Jr. | Georgia

This is THE draft prospect ranking by Mel Kiper. This ranking is heavy on the defensive side of the ball showing that there’s lots of talent on that side of the ball. This doesn’t necessarily mean that there’ll be a run on defensive players early on but with some elite prospect sitting there some teams might be more inclined to take a chance on the best available instead of need. 

No one really knows who the best will be, but it’s always interesting to look at rankings years down the line. Being a top pick doesn’t guarantee success in the same way that being undrafted doesn’t mean a player will never be an All-Pro. With the combine starting this week there’s still a lot of changes to rankings coming and even more changes after pro days happen. Nothing is certain until the names start being called up on draft day. 

Is 12 the magic number? Leading minds in the college football space can’t seem to decide. But big things are happening in collegiate sports right now.

Coming off the NCAA Convention in January, the move to decentralize the management of Divisions, schools and athletes might get the wheels turning on an expanded playoff. Keep reading to see a breakdown of where things are headed and how we might just see the future of college football come to fruition this off season.

Don’t forget to give us your opinion on where college football is heading by joining the conversation on our latest TaxAct Texas Bowl Twitter post.

The expanded playoff is a topic that isn’t new in the college football world. And most can agree that an expanded playoff has the potential to positively affect football schools around the country—so why aren’t we there yet?

Power Struggle

When it comes to the extended playoff discussion, there are two major factors: how do we get more teams involved, and how do we make more money. By far the loudest voices are coming from Power Five conferences, who for the most part stand to reap most of the benefits from an expanded format.

The ACC signed their fledgling commissioner in February 2021 and are concerned with the timing of a playoff that extends a full 12 games. Their proposal says let’s expand to eight, it makes things easier. One could also make the argument that they don’t have the consistent talent to extend more than one team to a field of 12 so eight looks like a better fit for Clemson to climb to the top.

Still fresh in the college football landscape, the Big Ten commissioner is hung up on requiring the top teams from all Power Five conferences receiving an automatic bid regardless of ranking. The automatic qualifier precludes a one or two-loss Big Ten Champion being left out  the Big Ten from having a Big Ten champ that isn’t ranked in the top five like the 2017 and 2018 Ohio State and Wisconsin teams. Ope.

The Pac-12 and their shiny new commissioner signed this past July, seems to just be happy with whatever you want, so long as there is expansion. They just don’t want to be left out again. Kind of like going to dinner with someone who is indecisive but really doesn’t feel like a burger, or Chinese food, or tacos, or…

The Big 12 and the SEC are by far the most supportive of the 12-team format and pushing the decision to be made before the current format comes to an end in 2026. A 12-team playoff is most conducive to getting two to three teams in annually coming off the heels of their conference expansions. Both conferences also tout well-tenured commissioners who have both seen and led change. Don’t anticipate either backing down from advocating for what they see as the best path forward.

Fighting the Power

Beyond the disruptions in football the past few years, there is a lot happening in collegiate athletics right now. The NCAA Convention held this past January welcomed in a new, simplified NCAA Constitution. The goal of the new legislation is to decentralize the management of conferences, teams and ultimately players. As proven by NIL legislation and adjustments to Transfer Portal requirements, collegiate athletics is moving to give the power to the student athletes that it looks to serve.

This adjustment in power does a few things for our expanded playoff hopes. 

First, it may slow things down a bit while the world of collegiate athletics attempts to find this new, decentralized identity. Commissioners and Athletic Directors have major hurdles to conquer this offseason including NIL guidelines, transfer portal aftermath and more. 

With this shift in power, we may also see student athlete voices rising with opinions on how the expansion should work—not unlike the nation-wide leadership we saw during the beginning of COVID. Now that students stand to profit from their national exposure in an expanded playoff, we would expect those voices to be pushing for the extension. 

The Power of Football 

Regardless of where the playoff map goes this offseason, the power of college football still stands. Through COVID, transfer portal chaos, a crazy coaching carousel, NIL uncertainties and countless more drama, the magic of college football remains stronger than ever. We will still be on the edge of our seats until the first kickoff this September, we will still be screaming at the top of our lungs when things go right (or wrong) with our favorite team, and we will still keep making epic memories watching our favorite sport unfold each fall.

 

The 2021 TaxAct Texas Bowl matchup is set between the K-State Wildcats and the LSU Tigers. Both teams had a season full of up and downs with thrilling victories and disappointing loses. From the highs and the lows let’s take a look at what led the Wildcats and Tigers to Houston.

LSU’s road to Houston.

Beginning of the season: 
LSU started out 3-1 and looked like they could easily reach bowl eligibility with just a few more wins. A disappointing loss and then three straight wins had the Tigers looking like they would enter the hard part of their schedule in good standing. A string of tough SEC matchups set the course for the rest of LSU’s season and their fight to get to a bowl game. 

Middle of the season:
Six straight ranked opponents is a daunting task for any team specially for one in the SEC. A bad start to their conference schedule with 2 straight losses against Auburn and Kentucky left the Tigers sitting at 3-3 with four more ranked opponents on their schedule. Then an upset win over #20 Florida put the Tigers back over .500 as they got through the middle of their conference schedule showing that they could still put up a fight. After the high of the Florida win came the lows of some crushing defeats. 

End of the season:
To end the season LSU lost three straight, including two one score loses to #2 Alabama and #25 Arkansas, before setting themselves up for a bowl game with two straight wins. Going into the final week 5-6 against #15 Texas A&M with bowl eligibility on the line was not ideal but in a big upset the Tigers managed to take a 27-24 win and reach bowl eligibility. It wasn’t pretty but the Tigers managed to get a big win to end the season against a tough opponent. 

K-State’s road to Houston.

Beginning of the season: 
Three straight wins to start the season had the Wildcats thinking of a bowl game at the end of the season. After cruising to three straight wins K-State struggled against an Oklahoma State team that was surging up the rankings. This loss started a streak that would leave K-State sitting at 3-3 at the midpoint of the season. 

Middle of the season: 
Three straight losses and a 3-3 record later K-State faced a Texas Tech team that was also fighting for their bowl eligibility. At the half the Wildcats trailed 24-10 and their chances of winning weren’t ideal, then the offense put up 15 straight and the ‘Cats came out with the win. 

End of the season: 
The one point win at Texas Tech started a four game winning streak for the Wildcats that locked up their bowl eligibility for the season. Their win streak ended with a 20-10 loss vs #11 Baylor and then they closed out their season with a 22-17 loss at Texas. With a 7-5 record the ‘Cats returned to a bowl game after a year of not being eligible. 

 

 

Nothing goes together quite like pumpkin pie and football. As we look forward to watching rivalry week stuffed with Thanksgiving leftovers, we look back at the top five, season-defining wins so far this year.

Read on for our take on which key wins (and losses) teams should be most thankful for heading into the final week of regular season. Don’t forget to check out our latest @TexasBowl Twitter post to tell us which win (or loss) you are most thankful for this season!

Week 1 | Georgia 10, Clemson 3

We knew from the get-go this was going to be a big-time game. Clemson set out to prove themselves with a QB not named Lawrence and Georgia looked at this season as the one to prove they belong in the playoffs. For all the fans of gritty defensive battles, this faceoff was a fun one to watch. Defense held strong on both sides as neither offense reached the end zone and the Dawgs pick-six won them the game. 

Georgia is very thankful for a top five win in week one, setting their season on a course for success. Now leading the College Football Playoff Rankings at No. 1, we are looking ahead to their potential semi-final match-up this Bowl Season. 

Week 3 | Alabama 31, Florida 29

While Alabama is surely thankful for a narrow win against a solid Florida team, Texas A&M is equally as thankful for the Gators revealing the chinks in the Alabama armor. It was this game where all of college football (unless you’re a Bama fan) sat licking their chops, seeing that Alabama was not the invincible squad they were last season.  

Week 4 | Arkansas 20, Texas A&M 10

Arkansas single-handedly swept the state of Texas in September. With this season-defining win, Arkansas snapped the Aggies nine-game winning streak over the Razorbacks dating back to 2011. With an impressive display of force, Arkansas proved their run game can beat the best of them. They can be thankful for this win for elevating their season expectations to more than their typical average SEC West finish.

Week 6 | Texas A&M 41, Alabama 38

Did someone say upset? Every playoff hopeful is thankful for this game. Both teams had been inconsistent to this point, and one final blow from Aggies kicker Seth Small took down the mighty Crimson Tide. With six of the current top ten teams sitting at 10-1, this game took the playoff selections from pretty predictable to very debatable. We hope you enjoy the debate with your friends and family this holiday!

Week 9 | Houston 44, SMU 37

Straight off their Big 12 announcement, Houston proved they could play with the big boys—knocking off the previously undefeated SMU Mustangs. Marcus Jones’ 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 17 seconds left made a major statement for the Cougars. Things are looking good for the soon-to-be Big 12 Coogs to make a run at the AAC title against Cincinnati in a few weeks. Should Houston fall to Cincinnati, the Bearcats would use this top-25 win as another feather in their hat for their playoff campaign.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Week 2 | Arkansas 40, Texas 21 – The one where the Arkansas said, ‘we’re baaaack’

Week 6 | Oklahoma 55, Texas 48 – The one where OU finally decided on a starting QB

Week 11 | Baylor 27, Oklahoma 14 - The one where Baylor beat OU for the first time since 2014 and took away their chance at being undefeated

 

College football in November has always had one certainty: an inevitable helping of chaos as the game wraps up its final regular season month. Should the unprecedented happen, rivalries could cut even deeper at the Thanksgiving dinner table this year. Looming around is the possibility, though unlikely, of a six-way SEC West tie as teams trudge on to week eleven.

Read on to realize the possibilities of the wild SEC west heading into the end of conference and make sure to check out our latest @TexasBowl Twitter post to give us YOUR opinion.

Every team besides LSU could stake a claim at the top of college football’s most competitive division with a 5-3 conference record. Here’s the complete breakdown to what creates college football pandemonium and resolving who would set a date with Georgia on December 4 in the SEC Championship:

Arkansas and Mississippi State win out

The Bulldogs and Razorbacks had perhaps the most exciting match-up in the SEC this past weekend. A back-and-forth affair saw a last-minute go-ahead touchdown and a heartbreaking miss on a game-winning field goal attempt as time expired, letting the Hogs emerge victorious.

Arkansas (6-3, 2-3), and in the CFP rankings for the first time at No. 25, needs to beat LSU, Alabama, and Missouri to close their schedule. Meanwhile, Mississippi State (5-4, 3-3), must take care of business against Auburn and Ole Miss.

First up: The Golden Boot. LSU is mathematically eliminated from contention after falling short of a blindside win against Alabama in a scrapy effort from the Tigers this past weekend. They’ve proven tough all year long and could be a challenge for Sam Pittman’s Hogs. As LSU and Texas A&M revealed, Alabama is beatable. A trip to Tuscaloosa isn’t the lost cause that it has seemed in years past. Finally, Arkansas wraps up the season in the Battle Line Rivalry against SEC East bottom-dweller Missouri. 

Mike Leach’s air raid attack has been ether high-flying or grounded and canceled with little in-between this season. They face an Auburn squad who didn’t manage to step foot in the endzone last week against Texas A&M but is hungry and always dangerous with Bo Nix behind center. The Bulldogs wrap up the season on Thanksgiving night in one of college football’s most under-rated rivalries, the Egg Bowl. The Egg Bowl always manages to surprise, but even more so now with two of the most creative minds in charge with Leach and Lane Kiffin. 

Auburn and Ole Miss win two and lose one

Considering the scenarios above, No. 17 Auburn (6-3, 3-2), needs to beat South Carolina and Alabama after losing to Mississippi State. South Carolina shocked the Gators last weekend and will be more of a test than anyone assumed earlier this season. Then, the Iron Bowl. There are few things Alabama fans dislike more than facing the Tigers in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn has won three-of-the-last-four on the Plains and will have an opportunity to take another victory against an Alabama team that has largely underperformed as of late.

Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2), must beat Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. ESPN’s College Gameday returns to Oxford this weekend as No. 11 Texas A&M takes on No. 15 Ole Miss. The trip marks the crew’s first time back in the Magnolia State since October 2014, when the college football landscape was rattled by a pair of upsets featuring Ole Miss and Mississippi State in back-to-back weeks. Katy Perry will need to come ready to compete to beat a Texas A&M team who seems to have figured it out in recent weeks. After this week, don’t expect the Rebels to have much trouble with Vandy.

Texas A&M needs one more win

Texas A&M (7-2, 4-2) concludes their season in Baton Rouge, in what will be Coach Orgeron’s last game in Death Valley at the helm for the team he led to a national championship just two years ago. The Aggies will need to make a statement in that game to make the 5-3 conference mark.

Alabama loses their final two

The Crimson Tide (8-1, 5-1), have come out with sluggish starts in back-to-back weeks against Tennessee and LSU. If the Tide can’t get back to their usual course of routing opponents, losing to Arkansas and Auburn, though a longshot, isn’t out of the realm of possibility. 

So, who wins?

If the SEC West has six teams with a 5-3 record conference record, they would enter the Conference’s tie-breaking procedure.

Step One: Combined head-to-head record among tied teams. This step would look at how each team faired against the other 5-3 contenders. In this scenario, Arkansas, Auburn, and Mississippi State would remain candidates with 3-2 records against the other five tied-up opponents. On the flip side, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M would be eliminated with their 2-3 records. 

Step Two: Record of the tied teams in within the division. This step looks at how each team performed in the SEC West. Both Arkansas and Auburn would sit at 4-2, while Mississippi State would be eliminated via their 3-3 division mark. 

Step Three: With two teams remaining, the two-team conference tie-breaker is used. Simply, the head-to-head result. With six teams tied atop the SEC West, the division’s fate is decided by an October 16 trip to Fayetteville, where the 38-23 Auburn victory sends them to Atlanta.

Absurd? Yes. Possible? Not Likely. Everything we want from college football in November? Absolutely. Regardless of if we get to bear witness to circumstances unseen in the SEC before, the remaining three weeks will have enormous implications on the postseason landscape. It is far more plausible to see Alabama or A&M take on Georgia in the SEC Championship, but here’s hoping the spectacle in the west is bigger than any other feast by the time Thanksgiving rolls around.

 

Forget trick-or-treating, Week 9 is bringing us some scary good matchups for our Top 25 contenders in preparation for the College Football Playoff rankings debuting on Nov. 2. Who should be haunted by this weekend’s competition and who has the upper hand?

Read on to see which teams should be ready for fright night this Halloween weekend. Don’t forget to check out our latest @TexasBowl Twitter post to give us your opinion.

Michigan vs Michigan State: This Top-10 thriller headlines the weekend. Not only with a wicked rivalry but these two 7-0 teams are playing to stay undefeated in the Big 10.

Auburn vs Ole Miss: Both teams are still riding high off big wins last week and will compete to see who Alabama’s top foe in the SEC West will be.

Florida vs Georgia: Georgia is the heavy favorite for this game, but they can’t look past the Gators this weekend. With the thrill of a rivalry and a Florida squad that’s proven they can compete (flashback to their two-point loss to Alabama) the Bulldogs will need to put their best foot forward.

Texas vs Baylor: The Bears and the Longhorns are both fighting for hopes of competing in the Big 12 Championship. Thus far, Baylor has been more consistent but with the Longhorns hanging on to playoff hopes by a thread, they may be scary good on the field this weekend.

Mississippi State vs Kentucky: Kentucky’s record says that they should take the win this weekend but Mississippi State’s impressive offensive showing against Vanderbilt last week says this game should be a thriller.

Houston vs SMU: The Mustangs barrrrrely edge out the Cougars as the favorite this weekend. With SMU snubbed on the Big 12 transition and Houston with Big 12 shoes to fill, this will be a fun faceoff.