SEC rankings
We have our weekly SEC report on Wednesdays on Press Row.
Paschall, Wells and I submit ballots. Mine is below. This also allows a chance to share an interesting debate about rankings.
Far too often early season polls are determined by where we think teams will end rather than what those teams have done.
For example, who has been more impressive in September, Clemson or LSU? Auburn or THE Ohio State?
We know that the polls are frequently broken - for Pete's sake, Washington is ranked a spot ahead of Cal despite, you know, Cal actually beating Washington earlier this month - for whatever reason. Pollsters not paying attention, faulty reasoning, or just a lack of thought.
Granted, the cut of a team's jib matters. (For those interested, the "cut of his jib" is a phrase that was used to identify the foresail of a ship, with jib meaning face in sailor lingo.)
The eye test matters, but should it matter more than the results on the field? That's the debate, I suppose, because while Auburn has done more than any other team through four weeks and LSU's win at Texas is the best victory of the young season, I believe AU is a 14-point underdog (at least) in a neutral-site game against Clemson and LSU would be a TD-dog if it played Alabama this week in Atlanta.
With that, here's my ballot for the best five and the worst three teams in the SEC with a firm mix of resumes and recognition of talent.
1. Georgia. We've said this before and we'll say it again: It must be a joyous place to reside as an Alabama fan and bemoan your team's execution - in a four-TD win at South Carolina. Feels like Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs are spoiling their fans at a similar pace, because winning a prime time game against a top-10 team - any top-10 team - is not a reason to complain, friends.
2. Alabama. There is no doubting the insane level of NFL talent on this team through the years. There were 56 former Alabama players on opening day NFL rosters, 12 more than any school. (THE Ohio State is second with 44.)
3. LSU. Paschall mentioned this on Monday's Press Row, but it is worth repeating here: Joe Burrow has 24 incompletions and 17 TD passes. Read that again. According to OddShark.com, Burrow is the co-favorite with Jalen Fields at +300 (bet $100, win $300) to win the Heisman. Tua Tagovailoa (+400), Jonathan Taylor (+650), Justin Fields (+900) round out the top five. https://www.oddsshark.com/ncaaf/odds-win-heisman-trophy
4. Auburn. Road win at ranked Texas A&M that was more complete than the 28-20 final would dictate and a win over Oregon in Dallas are the bright spots on arguably the best resume in the country. That said, man, this Saturday - a visit from Mississippi State with a trip to Florida looming next week - feels like the classic spot where Gus Malzahn grabs a loss from the jaws of victory.
5. Florida. Anyone else think Dan Mullen force-feeding Emory Jones as Kyle Trask was lighting up Tennessee's secondary was a mistake? Yeah, so do I. But, it's getting more and more difficult to second-guess Mullen. Look around the SEC - heck the country, if you'd like - and after Lord Saban and Sir Dabo, the hodgepodge collection of who's the next best coach is intriguing. And Mullen - he took Mississippi State to No. 1 in the country, people - is firmly in that group photo.
12. Tennessee. Want to know how bad the coaching has been during the Vols spiraling fall in recent years? OK, we mentioned that Alabama has the most players on opening day NFL rosters. There were 25 former Vols on NFL rosters to start the season, the same number of former Iowa and Notre Dame players, and one behind former players from Auburn, Penn State, Stanford, Washington and Wisconsin. Yes, the need for better players is a concern for everyone outside of Tuscaloosa, Athens and Baton Rouge, but the narrative that UT has had zero talent the last decade is not accurate. Wow, is 12 too high for these Vols?
13. Arkansas. Not all records are equal folks. The Hogs are 2-2 but a 31-24 loss as a three-touchdown favorite to San Jose State is enough to make you wonder if Chad Morris is on the hottest seat in the league.
14. Vandy. If the bagel-and-3 Commodores want to hold out any bowl hope, Saturday is a must-win when Northern Illinois comes to Nashville. (Side note: If you can get the Commodores right now at minus-6.5 I like that a lot.)
Speaking of resumes
OK, we mentioned the divide between proof and expectation, resumes and realistic rankings in terms of college football teams after four months.
What about quarterbacks?
It's a universal question that normally fills a late June sports radio show, right?
It's pertinent on this Wednesday in September because of a social media dust-up between a Hall of Fame quarterback and a future Hall of Fame quarterback.
The Athletic Kansas City posted on Twitter "ICYMI: "Patrick Mahomes has thrown 36% of Troy Aikman's career touchdowns, in about 8% of the games."
Aikman fired back: "ICYMI: Talk to me when when he has 33% of my Super Bowl Titles."
Game on.
But it brings up the conversation, who is better, Aikman or Mahomes? Not who is more accomplished, who is better, and I believe Aikman is pretty universally underrated for his accuracy, his leadership and his ability to keep that supremely talented collection of egomaniacs and criminals together long enough to win three Super Bowls.
I have forever said Aaron Rodgers is the best I've ever seen play quarterback, and Mahomes is doing things that are eye-poppingly amazing. His ability to stretch the field horizontally and diagonally is unprecedented.
Thoughts?
Missed it by the Skins of his teeth
OK, we discuss gambling a fair amount, right?
Right.
That conversation is going to grow in the coverage of sports as more and more states legalize sports wagering.
Most of us are well aware of the phrase "bad beat" - a term used for a late play that swings the point spread even if it does not completely change the outcome of the game.
Well, this story is the ultimate bad beat, and not because of a play but because of the payday missed.
A bettor put 89 cents on a 20-team parlay. (A parlay is a combination bet in which you have to hit every part of it, and the more pieces, the longer the odds - both in terms of success and payout.)
So a 20-team parlay pays out at more than 500,000-to-1, so the bettor's 20-team investment of less than a dollar would have paid half a million.
So it started last Thursday with Titans-Jags under 39 and Tulane over 31. Check and check.
It continued to Friday with Utah-USC over 52.5, FIU-La. tech over 51.5, and Air Force-Boise State under 55. Check, check and check.
You get the idea, and 14 more winners, including some close calls like needing that garbage TD from Michigan to hit the over and some runaways, like the over 62.5 in LSU-Vandy.
After a 19-for-19 weekend - all of them against the spread or the total - the bettor needed one more hit.
The bettor had the Washington Redskins on the money line Monday night.
Egad.
This and that
- So I started perusing the entertainment spreads to get a jump-start on Thursday's college guesses. You know the drill: Look for outliers. Find teams overpriced after an unexpected good or bad performance the week before. (Yes, I like Michigan this week because of this.) See who's in the Thursday night game, and whether one team had a bye last week and the other played. I also scan to see who the dregs play, and we have identified that four of the worst teams in the country are South Florida (getting 7 at home against SMU, and get on that NOW people), Akron, UMass and Georgia Tech (sorry, Spy). Well, in the biggest pillow fight in recent memory, bagel-and-4 Akron and bagel-and-4 UMass play Saturday. How bad is this game? Well, the Minutemen have allowed 48, 45, 52 and 62 points in its four losses. The Akron Arths have been outscored by 39, 11, 21 and 28. Makes me think there are still plenty of good seats available.
- We referenced the list of colleges with the most former players on opening day NFL rosters. Here's the list I saw: Alabama (56), THE Ohio State (44), Miami (36), LSU and Florida (35), FSU (32), Oklahoma (31), Georgia (29), Clemson (28), Texas A&M (27), Auburn, Penn State, Stanford, Washington, Wisconsin (26), and Iowa, Notre Dame and Tennessee (25).
- Thought this was kind of strange. Ed Meek, an Ole Miss donor, asked the school to redirect his gift of more than $5 million plus interest to other charities and operations. Strange week in Oxford, considering the end to the Cal game and the news that former quarterback Jevan Snead died at the age of 32.
Today's question
Which way Wednesday will go this way.
Which QB is better, Mahomes or Aikman?
Which is more important for ranking college football teams, the realistic view or the resume?
If you had an 89 cent parlay riding on the Monday night game that could pay right at $500,000, which way are you going on the hedge-bet $100,000 or more?
As for today, Sept. 25, let's review.
Apparently it's national one-hit wonder day. Feel free to offer your favorite one-hit wonder.
Arnold Palmer died on this day in 2016.
Today is a crazy day for famous people birthdays.
Will Smith is 51. Catherine Zeta-Jones is 50. T.I. and Luke Skywalker were born today.
It is also Michael Douglas' birthday. Rushmore of Michael Douglas movies.
Go.