Three And Out, Week 5: Big SEC Showdown, Remember Penn State And Realignment Blues
The biggest game of the college football season will take place this week when No. 2 Georgia will travel one state west to play No. 4 Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The winner will have the inside track to earning one of the two spots in the SEC Championship Game, while the loser will be fighting an uphill battle for the remainder of the season.
Elsewhere, a conference battle in the Big Ten could wake up the masses and show that there’s a College Football Playoff contender that seemingly nobody is talking about.
Let’s take a spin around the country in this week’s "Three and Out"
Run The Dang Ball
Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo has been around the program off-and-on for more than a decade, and the phrase "Run The Ball, Bobo" has been pervasive during his various tenures. He’s going to need to do that against Alabama - and it’ll be the key to the outcome.
Georgia's Trevor Etienne runs the ball as Zion Childress of the Kentucky Wildcats. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
There’s one problem, though. The Bulldogs haven’t been successful on the ground. They rank 13th in the SEC in rushing at 145.67 yards per game, and Florida transfer Trevor Etienne - who was supposed to be the "1-A" back - is only averaging 78.5 yards per game during his two games following a Week 1 suspension.
Georgia lost star wide receiver Ladd McConkey and tight end Brock Bowers to the draft last offseason. Quarterback Carson Beck needs some help. That falls squarely on the rushing attack - and it hasn’t lived up to its end of the bargain quite yet.
Remember Penn State?
It seems like the ninth-ranked Nittany Lions have fallen completely off the radar despite a 3-0 start and a quarterback in Drew Allar who has transformed himself into a weapon, not a liability. He has eight touchdowns in three games, and is averaging 12.6 yards per attempt - which is a 180-degree turn from the dink-and-dunk passing attack that he has become known for during his career.
Penn State Nittany Lions QB Drew Allar. (David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports)
Is this the weekend that people wake up? They host No. 19 Illinois and a defense that is giving up just 4.69 yards per play.
This could be that weekend!
As the conferences turn …
Realignment never stops, and that has been proven over the last few weeks as the Pac-12 looks to save itself from annihilation like Bill Pullman did when he played President Thomas Whitmore in "Independence Day."
It’s attempt to dismantle the Mountain West failed, which means the wheels will continue spinning for the foreseeable future. I have reached the point in realignment where I just want to know what the end is. Presidents are leaking information, athletic directors are trying to keep up and coaches/players are getting peppered with questions that they can’t possibly know the answers to.
I’ve reached the point where I simply can’t get caught up in the minutiae. College football will be fine. College athletics will be fine. It’ll look different, but there won’t be too much that will change.
Tell me when the wheels stop spinning and I’ll adjust to reality. It doesn’t seem that will happen anytime soon, though.