COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 28 Fresno State at UNLV
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The MLB playoffs have started, and so has the sport's crapshoot. Compared to college football, baseball's postseason is wide open. In the last 20 years, only six times has the team with the best regular-season record won the World Series. It's only happened three times in the last 10 years. And for the first time since 2014, no MLB team won 100 games.

That goes against everything major college football stands for -- well, not in words, but deeds. 

It doesn't take kindly to Cinderellas. Look at history, access and the exclusionary tradition. In the College Football Playoff era (2014-present), 15 schools occupied the 40 available spots in the field. Only six schools won it all. 

The Big Ten and SEC meet next week in a summit that threatens to enhance that exclusion. There are rumblings the two leagues are going to demand automatic bids (beginning in 2026) for the second time this year. At the same time, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey denounced a so-called "super league" that revealed his architects this week. "Dumbing down," he called it. On several occasions, Sankey has rattled chains about the SEC staging its own playoff.

This weekend, which features just one game between ranked teams (No. 9 Missouri at No. 25 Texas A&M), actually highlights the underdogs. Navy (No. 1) and Army (No. 9) enter Week 6 in the top 10 nationally in pass efficiency. The best running back in the country, Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty, is at Boise State. The center of college football universe this weekend is arguably the Bay Area. Enterprising fans can catch Virginia Tech vs. Stanford at 3:30 pm ET. That night, and 44 miles away, they can see No. 8 Miami vs. Cal at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Elsewhere: 

So as we approach the halfway point of the season (Oct. 12), it seemed like a good time to address why the sport -- its leaders, at least -- don't fully embrace the underdog. 

Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti are armed with more takeover ammunition. They're already getting 58% of the CFP revenue beginning in 2026. They may demand more beginning next week. 

Group of Five schools go into the weekend 9-76 against the Power Four (and Oregon State and Washington State). The average margin in those games (23 ppg) is the largest in more than 20 years, per ESPN's David Hale. 

Nine of the top 12 rated games last weekend included the Big Ten or SEC. That includes the monster Georgia-Alabama game (12 million viewers). Twelve of the top 15 highest-rated games this season have included at least one SEC team.

Don't be surprised. There's a reason the Big Ten and SEC are getting paid. More or less, they have the 34 best brands that folks want to watch. 

Still, some of the game's best moments have been made by the Cinderellas. Let's not forget that this weekend -- or ever.

Meanwhile, who do you like in the World Series: the Royals or Padres?

Week 6 storylines 

Jalen Milroe for Heisman. Through four games, Alabama's quarterback is the best player in the sport. CBS Sports analyst Rick Neuheisel thinks he knows why. He compared Milroe to Lamar Jackson as Bama heads into the Vanderbilt game. Like a lot of us, Neuheisel wonders why former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees (now with the Browns) didn't fully unleash Milroe's talents last season. 

"Not enough Pistol elements in all formations and personnel groups," Neuheisel said. "They also missed out on all the play-action pass chances that Pistol and Bypass Motion afford. Probably not all Tommy's fault; he had to convince an entirely new staff on what they could do offensively. He probably counted on [Tyler] Buchner to be the guy given his familiarity with the Notre Dame offense."

Buchner has since transferred back to Notre Dame, where he became a national championship midfielder in lacrosse last spring. 

We can continue to have this conversation ... but if Milroe is Lamar Jr., then Miami's Cameron Ward is a first cousin. He goes to Cal as the first ACC quarterback this century to go for at least 300 yards passing and three passing touchdowns in a team's first five games. 

Meanwhile, Quinn Ewers is out of the Heisman race. In one way, that's a cheap headline to get you to read. But dig further. Texas' quarterback has missed the last 2 ½ games with that abdominal/oblique injury. Only one other Heisman winner in history missed multiple games that season, and Notre Dame's Angelo Bertelli in 1943 had a huge excuse. After six games, he was activated by the Marines to serve in World War II. At that point, Bertelli had thrown 36 passes all season (completing 25 for 10 touchdowns). 

Forget the Heisman, the player credited with being the first T-formation quarterback won the battle (almost killed in the Battle of Iwo Jima) and the war. 

Ponder this question during Texas' bye week ahead of the Red River game against Oklahoma: no matter how Ewers finishes the season, will voters hang with him when he might not be the most gifted quarterback on the Texas roster?

How does Georgia respond? The Bulldogs don't go anywhere unless they shore up their perimeter defense. Alabama and offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan victimized it last week in jumping to a 28-0 lead. I just figured those linebackers were better. Georgia (vs. Auburn this week) adjusted, but how does a defensive coaching staff miss that bad on Alabama's perimeter speed, particularly Ryan Williams and Milroe? It won't be a subject of conversation again until Georgia is challenged. Fast forward to Oct. 19 at Texas. By the way, this is Georgia's quickest turnaround after a loss, in terms of days, since October 2019. Other losses since have come before bye weeks or in the SEC Championship Game. 

Sizing up the CFP race one month in. This is not who necessarily makes it -- more of what it means to each program: 

Didn't you used to be in the CFP? Michigan visits Washington in only the second title game rematch in the BCS era (since 1998). It was almost nine months ago that Michigan laid down a who's-your-daddy performance on the Huskies in Houston for the national title. Since then, a combined 50 players in the two-deep on both teams have been drafted or graduated. This is the first time since 1943 that the top two teams from the previous season have met without their coaches (Jim Harbaugh and Kalen DeBoer). 

Welcome to Florida's Burma Road: The meat of the schedule that was supposed to take down coach Billy Napier starts with UCF coming to town. This is one of those games that Florida can't win in the court of public perception. If the Gators win, they're supposed to. If not, they get punked by little brother. Regardless, time to suck it up, Gators. Following UCF: at Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, at Texas, LSU and Ole Miss.  The Knights (3-1) have been a roller coaster. They were blown out by Colorado prior to eking out a one-point win at TCU. If Gus Malzahn's offense gets going -- 78.7 plays per game -- watch out. Florida has the third-worst tackle rate in the SEC, per Pro Football Focus. 

It's Clemson-Florida State, but in name only. The game that would decide the ACC (again) is now a shell of itself; however, Clemson can become the first team to win four straight times in Tallahassee since Miami from 1981-87.

Teams getting the most out of nothing: 

  • UNLV (vs. Syracuse): Coach Barry Odom lost last year's starter (Jayden Maiava) to USC. His replacement (Matthew Sluka) quit. His replacement (Hajj-Malik Williams) helped keep the Rebels undefeated. 
  • Indiana (at Northwestern): Ten offensive players were in the portal when Curt Cignetti arrived. The coach was  7 years old the last time the Hoosiers were 5-0. 
  • Arizona (vs. Texas Tech): Blown out at Kansas State, the Wildcats rebounded to win at Utah. You know how many other teams have beaten top-10 teams on the road this season? Texas, Boston College and Kentucky. 
  • Rutgers (at Nebraska): The schedule has been pliable and leading Big Ten rusher Kyle Monangai is back. Win this week in Lincoln, and the Scarlet Knights could be ranked for the first time since 2012. 
  • Iowa State (vs. Baylor): Matt Campbell's star had dimmed perhaps as coaching's next top model. But beat the Bears and the Clones would be 5-0 for the first time since 1980 when Campbell was a 1-year-old. 
  • Duke (at Georgia Tech): The Blue Devils lost their coach (Mike Elko) to Texas A&M. They lost their quarterback (Riley Leonard) to Notre Dame. Under first-year coach Manny Diaz, the Blue Devils are 5-0 for the first time since 1994. 
  • Army, Navy: Both are 4-0 for the first time since 1945. The Mids (at Air Force) are averaging their most points through four games (46) since 1918. 

Crummy games of the week: Kennesaw State (0-4) is at Jacksonville State (1-3). Only three FBS teams are winless. UTEP is 0-5 after losing Thursday to Sam Houston, 41-21. Kent State, also 0-5, is thankfully off. 

What kind of world do we live in when Texas State is turning down the Mountain West? That realignment nugget this week was a signal that the Sun Belt feels confident in its playoff access, and whatever the Mountain West becomes is not going to be a meaningful threat to that. Texas State/Sun Belt basically signaled it was OK with its $2.4 million annual media rights revenue. Let's see the new MWC beat that. 

Quick kicks

  • UCLA is playing in the Eastern Time Zone (at Penn State) for the first time since 2014
  • Miami is playing in California for the first time since 2008 
  • Michigan has won 24 consecutive Big Ten games, the FBS' longest active streak 
  • Georgia is the first team to lose a game in August or September and remain in the AP top five since Michigan in 1989 
  • Who do you like in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry? Duh. Georgia has won 26 straight home games. Auburn has lost 14 straight road games against top-five opponents 
  • High-scoring Iowa (sarcasm added) is playing its first ranked opponent (Ohio State) after being outscored in 92-0 in three such games last season. After scoring only three in the opener against Georgia, Clemson led everyone in the month of September with 55 points per game
  • Thank you, NFL and college football (especially the MAC), for making this milestone possible: Thursday began a run of 56 straight days of at least one football game on TV.