No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama lights up the college football landscape this week with the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide set to clash in the most important game we will see this college football season. Well, maybe it is -- sort of. Or is it time to kick back, grab the remote and wait for the reruns because the expanded College Football Playoff has left us in a place where a monster game like this could be the first of three meetings this season?
Georgia vs. Alabama just happens to be the first, best example of a possible big-game hat trick of the same games in a four-month period. Call it a three-meet. Both teams are ranked in the top five, loaded with talent and can withstand a loss Saturday -- just to make up for it later.
Stay with me. No matter the result Saturday night, there would conceivably be a rematch in the SEC Championship Game and/or the College Football Playoff.
The end of conference divisions means the top teams will meet in the league championship game annually. The loser in Saturday's SEC showdown can still finish 11-1. Heck, the loser could probably endure a second loss and still make the SEC title game. It's easy to envision yet another meeting in the CFP.
Oh, the playoff suits didn't tell you about that possibility? You aren't alone. They don't want you to know that by the end of the season teams could be playing for seeding in league championship games. That's probably the most likely scenario in the SEC.
The masses initially realized a three-meet was most likely with Ohio State and Michigan when the expanded playoff was announced a couple of years ago; the Big Ten's two biggest brands have combined to win every Big Ten title since 2017.
Why not run it back ... twice?
Now that we have the CFP dates plugged in, we know the details. The Buckeyes and Wolverines could meet three times in slightly more than a month.
Using this year's calendar:
- Saturday, Nov. 30 -- Michigan at Ohio State
- Saturday, Dec. 7 -- Big Ten Championship Game
- Wednesday, Jan. 1 -- CFP Rose Bowl quarterfinal
How it would look for Georgia-Alabama:
- Saturday, Sept. 28 -- Georgia at Alabama
- Saturday, Dec. 7 -- SEC Championship Game
- Tuesday, Dec. 31 or Wednesday, Jan. 1 -- CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinal
Not that Saturday's contest isn't big and rife with storylines. This is Kalen DeBoer's early prove-it game as Alabama coach. Georgia has the best program in the country but was only 1-5 against 'Bama under Saban. This is rare air. Each of Georgia's last two losses have come to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
The CFP math is starting make a three-meet almost probable. Georgia and Alabama aren't alone in the SEC title picture. We haven't even considered multiples of Texas-Georgia (meeting for the first time this season on Oct. 19), Alabama-Tennessee (also Oct. 19) and Georgia-Tennessee (Nov. 16).
Week 5 storylines
Anonymous former FBS coach breaks down Georgia-Alabama: "I'm so impressed with Georgia from the Clemson game. You had to see who Clemson was after the Georgia game, and they're not bad. Then you watch [Georgia in] the Kentucky game. Sometimes it's week-to-week. I was impressed with Alabama from the Wisconsin game. We don't know if Wisconsin is great, but Alabama was dominant. They're willing to design runs for Jalen Milroe; before, it was more scramble stuff. You saw down there on the goal line that he was getting a lot of designed runs out of empty formations, getting counter trey-type looks with the guards and tackles pulling. That's the hardest thing to defend when you've got a quarterback who can run and still throw it. Obviously, Carson Beck, to me, doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He is that guy who just wins. I like Kalen DeBoer's demeanor. He's won everywhere he's ever been, [but] he's never seen anything like this."
The thing about young five-stars is that they're young: The two most difficult positions to excel at an early age are quarterback and offensive line -- the latter being obvious because it's a development position. With few exceptions, those guys have to be bulked up, coached up and schemed up before they can trade licks in the trenches. You just don't see them dominate at a young age. We're tougher on young quarterbacks, however. Both Oklahoma and Kansas State fans might be questioning the loss of veteran quarterbacks in the portal. Transfer Will Howard (Kansas State) has been a plug-and-play for No. 3 Ohio State. Same for Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma) at No. 8 Oregon. OU's elite five-star sophomore Jackson Arnold lost his job this week, basically being booed off the field in last week's home loss to Tennessee. K-State's Avery Johnson threw two interceptions in the loss to BYU last week.
Something will have to give Saturday when No. 21 Oklahoma visits Auburn. Each teams' starters were benched. Freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. will take over for Oklahoma. Arnold and Auburn redshirt sophomore Hank Brown were the only two FBS quarterbacks last week to commit at least three turnovers before halftime.
The "Q" word at North Carolina: I've known Mack Brown for 20 years, and what he said following the James Madison game was total emotion. I believe him when he said that if he was the problem, he would quit. In a way, I don't blame him. Coaches always say the lows of losing are much deeper than the highs of winning. Brown spoke from his heart, basically putting it on the players for him to continue as coach. They supported him. But the "Q" word -- quit -- is loaded and potentially dangerous. At some point things will go bad again for North Carolina again this season. Then it becomes a question of how the Tar Heels react and what their coach is going to say after another loss. Even though they want to keep their coach, are they fully bought in at this point? What about those assistant coaches who now have to consider what's best for them and their families? The controversy deflected from a football travesty -- no Power Four team should give up 70 to James Madison. Did those Tar Heels give it their best effort after being rolled on their home field by a program that has played at the FBS level for less than two seasons? The news cycle over Brown's comments extends all the way to Saturday's showdown with Duke. It will be interesting how a 3-1 program still with aspirations figures out the rest of the season.
Passing coach weighs in on Michigan's QB woes: After throwing for all of 32 yards against USC, the No. 12 Wolverines go into the Minnesota game last among Power Four schools (129th overall), averaging 123 passing yards per game: "Create play-action plays based on designed runs that they've shown. Also, use play-action from their power formations. Try play-action shots on first downs." Easier said than done. Michigan is tied for third-worst nationally with only two pass plays of at least 30 yards. Sherrone Moore cannot win big relying so much on the run; sooner or later it will meet its match. No. 13 USC was that team Saturday until it gave up three big run plays that basically decided the game.
There's something about Illinois: Torrie Cox Jr. held the fate of two programs in his arms last Friday at Nebraska. The Illinois defensive back somehow wrestled away a sure touchdown pass from Nebraska's Isaiah Neyor in what was then a 10-10 game. That pick was arguably the difference in the game -- won by No. 19 Illinois in overtime -- and possibly the season for both seasons. Nebraska (at Purdue) still hasn't beaten a ranked team since 2016. There's something magical happening with the Illini, though, as they travel to Penn State. Both coordinators are having huge years. Offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. has plenty of experience having developed Hunter Henry at Arkansas. Quarterback Luke Altmyer -- an Ole Miss transfer -- has the most touchdowns (10) without an interception. Defensive coordinator Aaron Henry dialed up blitzes in overtime on Nebraska's Dylan Raiola that the young star QB hadn't seen all night. Henry was the architect of that interception as a defensive backs specialist.
Trends you probably haven't noticed.
Road to the Big 12 goes through Utah: No. 10 Utah and No. 22 BYU are both 4-0 after beating ranked Big 12 opponents (Oklahoma State and Kansas State, respectively) last week. If you want to look forward to the Holy War on Nov. 9 going a long way toward deciding the Big 12, then go ahead. Adding to the rivalry's frenzy, Utah freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson, now starting in place of the injured Cam Rising, is the brother of former BYU star Zach Wilson.
When Matthew Sluka left UNLV, Vegas oddsmakers reacted: UNLV went from a 4-point favorite against Fresno State to a 1.5-point favorite late Wednesday upon the news that the Rebels quarterback was leaving the team amid an NIL rift with the school. The Rebels' chances of getting to the CFP also went from 9-1 to 12-1.
Louisville as an ACC contender: While No. 17 Clemson and No. 7 Miami look to be the ACC favorites, don't sleep on No. 15 Louisville as the Cardinals are peaking once again as they hosts Notre Dame. But don't get too excited. Since 2018, Jeff Brohm is 26-24 after Oct. 1. The Irish have won 18 straight against the ACC.
Texas road graders: The No. 1 Longhorns play their first SEC game against Mississippi State as 38.5-point favorites. Texas' average winning margin (42 points) is the most through four games since 1977. Mississippi State is at least a 35-point underdog for the first time in 30 years.
What hope is there for the rest of us?: No. 5 Ole Miss (vs. Kentucky), Texas (vs. Mississippi State), Miami (vs. Virginia Tech) and Ohio State (at Michigan State) have won all 15 their games this season by a cumulative 670 points -- an average of 44.7 points per game.
Quick kicks
- Baylor has a name for its defense against that Colorado Hail Mary pass that tied the game with no time remaining on Saturday: "Victory Cigar." Might want to change that designation, Bears, until you bat down the next desperation pass with no time left on the clock.
- Alabama is a home underdog for the first time since 2007. That designation snaps a streak of 113 games as a home favorite, believed to be the longest in the last 30 years.
- To put it in perspective, Alabama 17-year-old freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams was born in 2007.
- Jalen Milroe is the first FBS quarterback to post multiple rushing and passing TDs in his team's first three games since Nevada's Colin Kaepernick in 2010.
