After a costly Saturday for the Crimson Tide losing the great Tua Tagolovailoa, they are at No.5 in the Playoff rankings with still a possibility of making the playoff though it’s an uphill climb with Clemson looking pretty good, LSU pretty solid and Ohio State looking good, though that could change in the next 3 Saturdays. Georgia at No.4 is pretty good, but I don’t see them as great. They could be. It’ll be interesting to see them against A&M this Saturday at home. If they’re impressive, I’ll be more of a believer in them, but if they struggle on offense again, I see them as susceptible to losing, particularly to LSU if the Bengal Tigers win out, which looks highly probable. Tua’s hip injury is severe, but people are hopeful that he can make a full recovery from his dislocated and fractured hip and still be a top 10-15 NFL Draft choice. He sure has paid his dues. His recovery time looks to be 3 to 6 months, so he will miss the NFL Combine, but he’s proven himself as a stellar college quarterback and as Mr. Fun says, “A warrior.” Tough blow for Tua and the Crimson Tide, but you can’t feel sorry for yourself, nobody else is going to. Mac Jones will get a tune up this Saturday for the Iron Bowl the following Saturday, Nov. 30th at 2:30 PM CT on CBS. Can Alabama get to the playoff with Jones? Not out of the realm of possibility. A blowout victory over Western Carolina and a victory at Auburn against a very good defense would give the Crimson Tide a compelling case for the Committee to ponder and decide. But they’ll need to look very good the next 2 weeks and hope that they won’t be jumped and can jump Georgia if Georgia loses to LSU in the SEC Championship game provided LSU takes care of business against Arkansas and A&M to close out the season. Clemson, with their low stress schedule, is looking pretty much like a sure thing, though they might have to play Virginia or Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game and that could be kind of interesting though not likely. Ohio State has Penn State this Saturday at home in a big matchup though Ohio State is a heavy favorite. But then they go to Michigan a week from Saturday at 11 AM CT on FOX, and that should be extremely interesting as the Wolverines are getting better and better every week. And then you have the Pac-12 with Oregon and Utah possibly headed for a collision course in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Both play in Arizona this Saturday then Oregon plays a pretty decent Oregon State team at home to close out the season. Utah plays at Arizona this Saturday then hosts Colorado to finish off the regular season. Oregon goes to a pretty decent Arizona State team this Saturday. So if both teams win out, the winner could impress the Committee enough to leapfrog Alabama. And the Crimson Tide will have their hands full at Auburn. That stellar Tigers defense will give the Crimson Tide everything they want and if Gus doesn’t mess it up, Auburn can score some points on a very banged up, youthful defense though the young guys have been through a lot of battles now and are tested. It’s just injuries that are the problem on defense for the Crimson Tide and a lack of veteran leadership due to injuries. I don’t think Oklahoma is out of it. That 25 point comeback against Baylor was beyond impressive. Jalen Hurts is having a phenomenal season and led OU in a championship manner and their defense held Baylor to 3 points in the second half and got a couple of turnovers. OU still has games with TCU at home Saturday and at Oklahoma State on November 30th (Saturday) so they can impress some more. They’ll need help, but that offense is phenomenal and the defense showed ability last Saturday Night in Waco in a 34-31 victory.

So there it is. A lot to be decided in the upcoming 3 weeks. Makes for a sensational time in college football. Can’t wait for this Saturday and the 2 coming up afterwards as the Playoff along with New Year’s Six Bowls and the regular bowls will be decided on the field. Here are predictions for this week.

Last Week: 14-2

Overall: 202-72, 74%

All games Saturday. All times Central

No.5 Alabama 52, Western Carolina 0

11 AM

ESPN

Bama by 61

What a point spread. Mac Jones needs to play well and an injury riddled defense does too and needs to stay healthy as the Tide tunes up for a massive trip to the Plains on November 30th.

No.15 Auburn 42, Samford 10

11 AM

SEC Network

Auburn by 48 1/2

The Tigers are also getting a tune up. They need to play well Saturday also and have some momentum heading into the Iron Bowl. The offense HAS to improve.

No.4 Georgia 30, Texas A&M 14

2:30 PM

CBS

GA by 13 1/2

Like the Dawgs to impress the committee this Saturday. Their defense is as stout as Auburn’s.

No.1 LSU 57, Arkansas 28

6 PM

ESPN

LSU by 44

Like Joe and the offense to do well, but that defense is not what they’re looking for right now.

No.2 Ohio State 44, No.8 Penn State 24

11 AM

FOX

Ohio State by 18

This is somewhat of a test for the Buckeyes though I like them to take care of business at home.

Tennessee 23, Missouri 21

6:30 PM

SEC Network

Missouri by 4

Like the Vols to keep their upward trajectory going with an upset at Faurot Field in Columbia.

Kentucky 48, UT Martin 7

2:30 PM

SEC Network

No Line

Mississippi State 52, Abilene Christian 7

6:30 PM

SEC Alternate Network

No Line

State gets ready for Egg Bowl versus the Rebels at home on Thanksgiving Night at 6:30 on ESPN.

Vanderbilt 34, East Tennessee State 7

2:30 PM

SEC Alternate

No Line

Vanderbilt AD Malcolm Turner gave Derek Mason a ringing endorsement that he is their coach going forward. Not sure why. 6 years of below average results can qualify a coach to have a bright future at a school. I don’t know how you fire the basketball coach for one bad year when he lost his 5th pick in the first round of the NBA draft to a knee injury last November that sunk the Commodores season for 2019, then keep a coach who’s probably going 4-8 this season and never shows signs of improvement. Turner fired Bryce Drew in his first move as AD when he came in this past February and then Mason puts together another disastrous season and he gets another shot. It’s laughable quite honestly, but really not that funny. It’s a disaster and he’s running a joke athletic department if he thinks Derek Mason is a good coach. He’s not. He’s terrible and the numbers don’t lie. 26-46 overall in 6 and 3/4 seasons and 10-37 in the SEC. That gets every coach fired except by Malcolm Turner who is clueless.

No.6 Oregon 38, Arizona 17

6:30 PM

ABC

Oregon by 14 1/2

Certainly bullish on this team. The loss to Auburn is nothing to feel bad about. Auburn had a better offense the first game of the season than they do now. Gus has had time to mess it up. Auburn has played phenomenal defense all year, but Gus is being Gus and the offense, which has the players to excel, is dysfunctional under a dysfunctional coach. I like this Oregon team though. They’re for real and can play with anybody ahead of them in the playoff rankings.

No. 7 Utah 34, Arizona 17

9 PM

Fox Sports 1

Utes by 22 1/2

I see Utah as a high caliber team as well. They might have a little trouble in the desert but not a lot. The Pac- 12 Championship game should be spectacular and crucial in the playoff picture.

No.9 Oklahoma 45, TCU 31

7 PM

FOX

OU by 19

Defense is still a struggle for the Sooners but offense clearly isn’t. TCU plays decent defense so that’ll keep them in there for a while and true freshman quarterback Max Duggan is a player and tough as Joe Burrow. TCU could have a good future with Duggan under center. Like the Sooners to keep their outside hopes alive.

Texas 34, No. 14 Baylor 31

2:30 PM

Fox Sports 1

Baylor by 5 1/2

I like the Horns to pull it off in Waco.

No. 13 Michigan 45, Indiana 24

2:30 PM

ESPN

Wolverines by 9

Like Michigan to keep ascending in preparation for a visit from the Buckeyes a week from Saturday.

No. 16 Notre Dame 41, Boston College 20

1:30 PM

NBC

Notre Dame by 19

Like what I’m seeing from the Fighting Irish’s lately.

No. 21 Oklahoma State 38, West Virginia 30

11 AM

ESPN2

OK State by 7

Believe in this team a lot. Like them to survive Morgantown and be ready for Bedlam and the Sooners on November 30th at home.

No. 25 SMU 35, Navy 34

2:30 PM

CBS Sports Network

Navy by 3 1/2

Like the Ponies to pull off the slight upset in Annapolis. The Mustangs still have an outside shot at a New Year’s Six Bowl, but they’ll need to win out and get some help. Pretty amazing story this team.

No. 20 Boise State 34, Utah State 31

9:30 PM CT

CBS Sports Network

Boise State by 8

Boise is 2 spots back in the playoff rankings behind Memphis (18) and 1 back of Cincinnati (19). They’ll need to win out and have Memphis and Cincy beat each other in the final regular season game at Memphis and in the AAC Championship game. This Group of 5 scenario with the New Year’s Six Bowl is quite fascinating. The Group of Five representative are the teams in the American, Conference USA, the Mountain West, the Sun Belt and the MAC. They are the teams just below the Power 5 of the SEC, the Big Ten, the Pac-12, the Big 12 and the ACC. Just for clarification. The highest ranked group of 5 team at the end of the season goes to the New Year’s Six Bowl which will be the Cotton Bowl this year on Saturday, December 28th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Boise State has a tough game this Saturday. I like them to barely survive.

No. 23 USC 34, UCLA 31

2:30 PM

ABC

SC by 13 1/2

Mr. Fun and I were talking at lunch and are surprised that a 4 loss USC team is in the top 25. They’ve been playing well lately and defeated Utah at home earlier in the season, so I guess that makes some sense. I like the Bruins to give the Trojans everything they want though in the Coliseum.

Cal 24, Stanford 20

3 PM

Pac-12 Network

Stanford by 3

Like the Golden Bears to pull off the upset in Palo Alto. Quarterback Chase Garbers is back with the team and playing and the defense is still stout.

No. 18 Memphis 48, South Florida 31

3 PM

ESPNU

Memphis by 14 1/2

Memphis tune up for the visit from the Cincy Bearcats.

No. 19 Cincinnati 38, Temple 27

6 PM CT

ESPN2

Cincy by 10

No. 10 Minnesota 38, Northwestern 24

11 AM

ABC

Minnesota by 13 1/2

The Golden Gophers bounce back after a tough defeat at Kinnick Stadium last week to Iowa.

No. 12 Wisconsin 42, Purdue 17

3 PM

FOX

Wisconsin by 24 1/2

The Badgers keep their Big Ten West hopes alive. At Minnesota next Saturday, 11-30, @ 2:30 PM on ABC for West title provided they take care of business Saturday.

Virginia Tech 34, Pittsburgh 28

2:30 PM

ESPN2

Va Tech by 4

Washington 38, Colorado 23

9 PM

ESPN

Washington by 14 1/2