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There is still a ton of games to be played and we will still have many of our minds changed about many debates. However, as Halloween has finally approached there are several things that we have learned. In a five part series, here are your “50 Things That We Have Learned Through Halloween” that we have either expected or being appalled by in the process.
50. Nick Saban and Alabama play to flawless perfection
Remember how if you did not get even touched in a game of Mortal Kombat or Street Fight, they scream ‘flawless victory’ or ‘perfect’?
Well, that is how the Crimson Tide play every dang night and they love nothing more than proving to the nation how dominant they are.
49. Notre Dame looks better than ever, at least since 1988
Notre Dame on defense is as good as it gets and it has helped transform this offense into a respectable level. While they still have some question marks, they continue to win and shut up all the naysayers that believed they would lose a few games this season. The offensive line is among the best in the country and All-American tight end Tyler Eifert has been vital all year. Everett Golson continues to grow and give hope for a team that has not seen a ton of national and relevant exposure.
48. The Notre Dame schedule was far from a death trap
Heading into the season Phil Steele had the Golden Domers schedule as the toughest in America with the potential to take on the Big Ten (Michigan, Michigan State), Pac-12 (USC, Stanford) and Big 12 champions (Oklahoma).
Instead, the slate has been a bit weak although that should take nothing away from what they have accomplished thus far.
47. The SEC is still king
Even with Marcus Lattimore is going down the Gamecocks are still a solid enough team as they are miraculously ranked No. 8 in the BCS.
That said, Alabama is the best team on the planet right now by far and Georgia, LSU and Florida are all arguably the next best in college football (alongside K-State, Oregon, ND). Nothing has changed, the SEC still gets the best players on both Saturday’s and Sunday’s and the expectations, traditions, fan bases and coaching staffs back it up with ease.
46. The Big Ten can stink up the joint with the best of them
The Big Ten has been brutal to watch this season with teams such as Michigan State, Michigan and Wisconsin really drop the ball. Some believed that all three would be top 10-15 teams this season and they have been anything but. Thank goodness for Ohio State or else the Big Ten would potentially be considered worse than both the Big East and ACC, despite the depth in the conference.
45. The Gators defense is elite, whereas the offense can be just offensive
Jeff Driskel and the offense had an abysmal six turnovers, which is a cause of concern since they SEC and BCS title dreams were over after getting thrashed by a hungrier and more productive Georgia squad. However, the Gators defense is filthy good and they still have a chance to play in a BCS bowl and at the very worst can finish the season in the top 10 with a nice Capital One or Outback Bowl victory.
44. The computer rankings are not as smart as my pet frog
So my pet frog is legit at the age of somewhere close to 20, which in itself is almost as big of a shock as Jeff Sagarin’s terrible ratings. I love the BCS more than anybody out there, and while Sagarin has had questionable picks in the past it has never been this questionable. How one could put Alabama and Oregon outside their top five is borderline insane.
43. Bill O’Brien has Penn State on the right path
I originally thought Penn State would lose at least six games, perhaps as many as eight. While they may only go 6-6 at the end of the day, Bill O’Brien deserves a few votes in the top 10 for coach of the year.
The job that he has done with the biggest albatross of an offseason cannot be summed up in words. This team is far from talented to a level of an Ohio State and it showed this past week, and yet here is PSU under O’Brien looking like one of the better teams in the Big Ten.
42. Urban Meyer is still a top five coach
Breaking News: Urban Meyer is still one of the finest coaches in all of collegiate sports. The recruiting giant is a beast in the offseason, but he develops these young college students into fine young men.
The Buckeyes are not among the best teams in college football, but their record certainly indicates so. A 11-1 season was what I imagined occurring this season with a top 10 finish identical to USC last year. In a watered down Big Ten this season, they honestly may not lose a game.
41. Boise State’s Chris Petersen is still a godsend
The dude is 80-7 all-time at Boise State and yet people heading into the year honestly though the Smurfs would lose four or five games?
What on the blue hell has happened to most prognosticators? Boise State didn’t pick up Alabama, Oregon (who they have beaten twice), LSU, Florida State and Notre Dame on the slate. They still have the mediocre opponents that they have been throttling for over a decade (Mountain West, WAC).
Still, no team on the planet has won more games than this program since 2000 and they are behind only Michigan and Notre Dame for the highest winning percentage in college football history!
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