CFB week 7 knee-jerk reactions

Halfway through the college football season, the playoff picture is starting to clear up.

Here are some knee-jerk reactions to the Week 7 action:

OSU HC Ryan Day melts again under the bright lights

No. 2 Ohio State (5-1, 2-1) lost 32-31 to No. 3 Oregon (6-0, 3-0) due to poor clock management and a real lack of attention from the HC that trickled down to its players . With OSU trailing in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, QB Will Howard scrambled for 12 yards but slid onto the turf late as time expired before the Buckeyes called a timeout and attempted a potentially game-winning field goal could. While the senior signal-caller will likely take all the heat, Day, who is now 1-7 against top-five opponents, takes the brunt of the blame. He didn’t realize that after an offensive pass interference penalty two plays early, the clock would start running, taking 12 precious seconds to run out the clock, and it set the stage for an ending that came to him during had become all too familiar during his time in office.

Alabama doesn’t appear to be much of a contender after getting past South Carolina

QB Jalen Milroe accounted for 21 points (two rushing TDs) but showed his limitations in the pocket by throwing two interceptions in the 27-25 win. Meanwhile, South Carolina freshman QB LaNorris Sellers had a career day (23 of 31, 238 yards, two touchdowns) against a defense that has allowed 33.0 points in the last three games after allowing just 8 in the first three weeks. 7 per game this season. Since beating No. 2 Georgia, Alabama has responded with a loss against an unranked team (Vanderbilt, 40-35) and an underwhelming win against another team before three straight matchups against ranked opponents (No. 8 Tennessee, No. 21 Missouri, No. 13 LSU).

No. 4 Georgia showed cracks in a 10-point win over Mississippi State

Georgia improved to 5-1 (3-1) after defeating Mississippi State (1-5, 0-3) 41-31, although they didn’t look great doing it, some numbers notwithstanding. QB Carson Beck had an incredible outing (36 of 48, 459 yards, three touchdowns) but committed two turnovers that led to 10 points, while the Bulldogs’ defense allowed 21 points in the second half for a comfortable 37-point lead. 10 undone at the break. Perhaps the Bulldogs were looking forward to next week’s SEC matchup with undefeated No. 1 Texas, but only time will tell.

Clemson QB Cade Klubnik is sneaking onto the list of candidates for the Heisman Trophy

The junior was fantastic in No. 10 Clemson (5-1, 4-0)’s 49-14 win over Wake Forest (2-4, 1-2) on Saturday, finishing the game 31 of 41 for 309 yards and three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Since the poor start to the season against Georgia (18 of 29, 142 yards, one interception), Klubnik has played like a contender for the Heisman Trophy: He threw for 1,386 yards and completed 67.7 percent of his passes (105 of 155) with 17 touchdowns and just one Interception. According to FanDuel, he has the fourth-best odds (+1000) to win the award, which could improve with similar performance down the road, particularly in the Tigers’ upcoming game against No. 22 Pittsburgh (11/16).

Army or Navy in the CFP?

Following Army’s 44-10 win over UAB on Saturday, both the Black Knights (6-0, 5-0) and Navy (5-0, 2-0) are undefeated in six weeks on the college football schedule . If the winning streak continues for both teams, they could meet in the AAC Championship (Dec. 6), which could be the final outright bid in the College Football Playoff, just a week before the annual Army-Navy game -Washington, DC game on December 14th.