College football Week 10 overreactions — Alabama not a top-four team? Oregon a CFP lock?

You can find less than a thirty day period left in the 2021 higher education football frequent season, and the respectable College or university Football Playoff contenders will get started to arise around the following four months.

Can Ga and/or Oklahoma go unbeaten? Who will gain the Major Ten East? Can Cincinnati grow to be the to start with Group of 5 staff to assert a person of the 4 CFP spots?

Those queries will be answered in between now and Dec. 5, when the ultimate CFP rankings are announced.

For now, college or university football’s pulse will ebb and circulation with the weekly CFP rankings. We are going to get the 2nd edition on Tuesday night.

In the meantime, here are some overreactions from Week 10:

Alabama is just not a top rated-4 group

Whilst they’re not fairly as explosive on offense as they ended up a year in the past, the Crimson Tide continue to rank No. 4 in the FBS with 43 factors for each video game. Quarterback Bryce Young, in his 1st time as a starter, has thrown for 2,755 yards with 28 touchdowns and only three picks. Receivers John Metchie III and Jameson Williams are potential initially-round picks in the 2022 NFL draft, according to ESPN’s Todd McShay.

You can find only 1 issue: The Crimson Tide do not block really properly. The offensive line’s woeful performance in Saturday night’s 20-14 victory more than depleted LSU was even further evidence. Alabama experienced 6 internet speeding yards, tying for its least expensive hurrying whole in a game relationship back again to at minimum 1940. The Tide also ran for 6 yards in a 9- reduction to Penn State in 1990.

Brian Robinson Jr. experienced just 18 yards on the ground — and the Tide had 6 total — in Saturday’s close contact towards LSU. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

“I consider there are a lot of points in the activity that we in all probability failed to do perfectly,” Tide coach Nick Saban reported Saturday night. “We did not block them up front truly effectively. We did not operate the ball pretty very well on offense. We couldn’t run it at the stop of the activity when we wanted to. We were not as helpful on third down. We experienced some protection troubles. A whole lot of points that we can resolve, and I think we want to deal with them so we can be a tiny a lot more constant.”

Surprisingly, the offensive line has struggled for much of the time. Alabama has permitted 22 sacks in nine game titles, together with 4 in a 41-38 decline at Texas A&M and four much more towards LSU. The Tide’s sack rate of 6.6% is nearly three periods as significant as No. 1 Georgia’s (2.3%) and ranks 74th between FBS groups.

While left tackle Evan Neal has played very well, proper deal with Chris Owens has struggled in move safety and still left guard Javion Cohen hasn’t been wonderful on operate performs. Versus LSU, the Tide shed commencing heart Darrian Dalcourt to an ankle harm, forcing Owens to move to centre. Alabama has a lot to shore up right before it closes the frequent season at No. 13 Auburn in the Iron Bowl on Nov. 27 and a opportunity date from Ga in the Dec. 4 SEC championship recreation. But that doesn’t indicate the Tide will not get it finished.

Oregon is a lock for the CFP

The Ducks were No. 4 in the CFP choice committee’s preliminary rankings past 7 days, and they may be even bigger on Tuesday soon after No. 2 Alabama struggled versus LSU and No. 3 Michigan Condition suffered its initially reduction, 40-29 at Purdue.

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Oregon can clinch the Pac-12 North title if it defeats Washington Point out at home Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN & ESPN App) and Oregon Point out loses to Stanford at residence. But then it will get tricky for the Ducks. They perform at Utah on Nov. 20 and shut the regular period from Oregon Condition in the Civil War at property.

ESPN’s FPI presents the Ducks only a 12% possibility to earn out, including the Pac-12 championship recreation, possible another meeting with Utah, and get to 12-1. FPI offers 6 other title contenders — Ga (94%), Cincinnati (84%), Oklahoma (54%), Ohio Condition (40%), Notre Dame (37%) and Alabama (31%) — far better odds of ending the common season with just one or less losses.

The CFP range committee will suitable its Cincinnati slip-up

There was plenty of outrage very last week, at the very least on Twitter, that undefeated Cincinnati was not provided in the leading 4 in the original CFP rankings. I wrote in this space last 7 days that the Bearcats deserved to be about No. 6, and the variety committee agreed.

Go all-accessibility with UCF football as new head coach Gus Malzahn and the Knights cost into the 2021 higher education football time with hopes of even more setting up the software as one particular of the country’s finest. Stream on ESPN+

So, following the Spartans lost to the Boilermakers, the Bearcats have to shift up, proper? Possibly not, or at least not very substantially. Cincinnati struggled for the 3rd 7 days in a row against a lesser opponent, needing two intention-line stands in the final minutes to protected a 28-20 victory around Tulsa, which dropped to 3-6. A 7 days before, the Bearcats led Tulane just 14-12 at the 50 percent (the Environmentally friendly Wave are 1-8). Before that, they led Navy 13-10 at the 50 % (the Midshipmen are 2-7).

My guess is the assortment committee will penalize the Bearcats for yet another ho-hum general performance. My guess is they’re going to shift up to No. 5 or keep at No. 6, driving Georgia, Oregon, Alabama, Ohio Condition and perhaps even Michigan Condition.

Florida will fireplace Dan Mullen

A working day right after Dan Mullen admitted he didn’t see the Gators’ humiliating 40-17 decline at South Carolina coming, he fired defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy on Sunday. Everyone who has viewed Florida’s defense the past two seasons most likely observed that information coming from a mile absent, but questioned why it hadn’t come faster.

In the past 3 online games, all losses, the Gators permitted 123 points, their 2nd-most factors permitted all through a 3-activity span in the past 100 a long time, according to ESPN Stats & Information analysis. Only in the last a few games of the 2020 period, when LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma mixed to rating 144 points, has Florida permitted much more.

“I seemed at how we performed Saturday and some matters that designed up to it, we weren’t the place we needed to be,” Mullen mentioned Monday. “We’re not superior than we had been before in the calendar year. In actuality we are worse than we were being earlier in the calendar year, and so we had to make some improvements with what we’re executing, with exactly where we’re at.”

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Following yet another challenging reduction, Florida’s Dan Mullen states the Gators will make improvements with what they’re executing and in which they are at.

Florida’s drop has been swift and surprising. Last season, the Gators whipped rival Georgia 44-28 and received the SEC East. They nearly knocked off Alabama in the SEC championship activity in a 52-46 decline, then were being operate about by Oklahoma 55-20 in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Traditional immediately after lots of of their finest gamers opted out.

On Sept. 18, Florida nearly upset the No. 1 Crimson Tide yet again in a 31-29 reduction. That was the spotlight of the 2021 year. Considering the fact that then, the Gators fell at Kentucky for the initial time since 1986, dropped to an LSU staff that had previously fired its coach (and would announce it the following working day), looked carefully overmatched in a 27-place decline to Georgia, then suffered its worst decline in school heritage from South Carolina, a rebuilding Gamecocks team no less.

The most important indictment versus Mullen is that the Gators just usually are not participating in challenging and aren’t disciplined. They have shed back again-to-back again game titles by 20 or far more details for the to start with time in his tenure. They’ve dropped eight of their past 10 online games against Electrical power 5 opponents, with the only wins against Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Linebackers mentor Christian Robinson will immediate the Gators’ protection the relaxation of the year, whilst previous Syracuse and UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni, previously a unique assistant, will transfer into an on-subject job. Assistant Michael Sollenne will coach the offensive line.

Florida’s largest issue is recruiting. The Gators’ present course for 2022 is rated seventh in the SEC and 23rd in the state by ESPN. Missouri, Georgia Tech, Indiana, South Carolina and West Virginia have courses that are at the moment ranked increased. Which is not fantastic adequate for the flagship college of one of the most fertile recruiting states in the region.

Absolutely sure, Mullen’s opinions previous 7 days about not seeking to converse about recruiting till after the period could have been taken out of context and blown out of proportion. But it is no solution that recruiting just isn’t his specialty and that he doesn’t specially like it.

With game titles still left towards FCS opponent Samford, Missouri and Florida Condition, Mullen’s career seems safe and sound for now. Losing any of those games may well improve that, nevertheless.