US LBM Coaches Ballot: How damaging was Ohio State’s loss to Michigan?
The most recent US LBM Coaches Ballot is right here and Paul Myerberg explains the influence Ohio States stunning loss to rival Michigan.
Sports activities Pulse
Bowl Subdivision convention championship matchups are lastly settled after weeks of uncertainty, setting the stage for the ultimate weekend of the common season and the ultimate School Soccer Playoff rankings.
The 9 championship video games might be performed on Friday and Saturday. The playoff rankings and bracket might be launched early on Sunday afternoon.
Practically each recreation can have some form of playoff influence. The three exceptions are the Convention USA, Mid-American and Solar Belt championship video games, since these leagues is not going to issue into deciding which Group of 5 crew earns an automated playoff bid.
That spot will go to the American Athletic or Mountain West, with these two title video games set to happen concurrently on Friday night time. The matchup within the MWC is predicted to Boise State in opposition to UNLV, although that received’t be official till Tuesday night time’s penultimate playoff rankings. Each Energy 4 matchup will at a minimal affect seeding and which groups earn opening-round byes.
These video games will shut the door on a loopy common season and get us set for the postseason:
ACC: SMU (11-1) vs. Clemson (9-3)
The Tigers had been in a position to sneak into this recreation after Miami dropped a shootout in opposition to Syracuse. After shedding to South Carolina on Saturday, beating SMU is Clemson’s solely shot at reaching the playoff. The Mustangs would’ve been a robust at-large contender with a loss to one-loss Miami, however that might not be the case ought to they fall to the three-loss Tigers. The percentages are rising that the ACC is a one-bid league.
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Huge 12: Arizona State (10-2) vs. Iowa State (10-2)
It is a win-and-in matchup for a pair of 10-win groups that took barely completely different routes to the title recreation. Iowa State was 7-0 earlier than dropping video games to Texas Tech and Kansas; the Cyclones rebounded to beat Cincinnati, Utah and Kansas State to achieve Arlington, Texas, for the second time in Matt Campbell’s tenure. Arizona State play for Huge 12 championship in its first season within the league after one look within the Pac-12 title recreation again in 2013. The Sun Devils will head into Saturday on a five-game profitable streak highlighted by wins in opposition to Kansas State and Brigham Younger. Whereas these two didn’t meet within the common season, Arizona State misplaced to Cincinnati however beat Kansas, if which means something.
Huge Ten: Oregon (12-0) vs. Penn State (11-1)
Each groups are within the playoff, so this may decide which Huge Ten crew will get bye to begin the playoff and which is able to hosts a customer within the first spherical. The loser would possibly find yourself at No. 5, which has two main advantages: one, drawing the No. 12 seed, and two, doubtlessly matching up with Boise State within the quarterfinals. The Geese needs to be a lock for the No. 1 total seed with a win. Ought to the Nittany Lions prevail, they could possibly be within the combine for that place with Georgia or Texas of the SEC.
SEC: Texas (11-1) vs. Georgia (10-2)
The rematch needs to be extra aggressive than Georgia’s 30-15 win in Austin earlier this 12 months. Whereas the Bulldogs struggled in an eight-overtime basic in opposition to Georgia Tech, Texas overcame some main sloppiness within the second half to attain a 17-7 win at Texas A&M. That places the Longhorns within the playoff no matter what occurs on Saturday. You may’t essentially say the identical for Georgia, since a 3rd loss would invite comparisons to fellow three-loss contenders Alabama and Mississippi, which beat the Bulldogs.
American Athletic: Tulane (9-3) at Military (10-1)
The host crew by going an ideal 8-0 in league play and ending first within the remaining standings, the Black Knights might be watching the scoreboard and hoping for an upset within the Mountain West. With a Boise State loss and a win in opposition to Tulane, the Black Knights would have an argument for being the Group of 5 choose for the playoff. However even that isn’t sure on condition that UNLV would have a case of its personal.
Convention USA: Western Kentucky (8-4) at Jacksonville State (8-4)
Yeah, these two groups will meet once more on Friday night time, six days after Western Kentucky topped Jacksonville State 19-17 to clinch a spot within the Convention USA title recreation. The Hilltoppers had been in a position to end second within the standings because of the head-to-head tiebreaker with Sam Houston State. The large query heading into this matchup: How a lot did Wealthy Rodriguez and the Gamecocks present Western Kentucky on Saturday, figuring out they may meet once more lower than per week later? Jacksonville State had received eight in a row, scoring not less than 31 factors in each recreation however one.
MAC: Ohio (9-3) at Miami (Ohio) (8-4)
Each groups are on a roll. Ohio has received 5 in a row, together with two keys wins in opposition to Buffalo and Toledo, and Miami has taken seven in a row, capped by Friday’s victory in opposition to Bowling Inexperienced. These groups met on Oct. 19, with the RedHawks scoring a 30-20 win. Miami is on the lookout for back-to-back MAC titles for the primary time since 1973-75 whereas Ohio is aiming for this system’s first league crown since 1968.
Mountain West: UNLV (10-2) at Boise State (11-1)
Boise State is within the playoff with a win, and possibly whilst one of many prime 4 convention champions. However the identical could be stated of UNLV, which rose to No. 22 in final week’s playoff rankings. Military was unranked after shedding to Notre Dame and Tulane was No. 17, although the Green Wave very possible received’t be on this week’s rankings. That implies the Mountain West winner would be the Group of 5 consultant within the playoff. The 2 groups met earlier within the season in Las Vegas with Broncos prevailing 29-24.
Solar Belt: Marshall (9-3) at Louisiana-Lafayette (10-2)
Louisiana will host the championship recreation, which is a vital benefit given convention historical past: The house crew is 5-0 within the Solar Belt title recreation because the league enacted its divisional break up in 2018. The Ragin’ Cajuns have been probably the most constant crew within the convention, which had eight groups attain bowl eligibility after inserting 12 within the postseason a 12 months in the past. Marshall booked its seat after climbing out of a 17-0 halftime gap at James Madison to win 35-33 in double additional time. Louisiana would possibly’ve had an opportunity on the playoff had it not misplaced to South Alabama earlier this month.
(This story was up to date to vary a video.)
