Week 11 Curator & Coach

Curator Sam Burnham

PLAYOFF TEAMS 
GEORGIA - Georgia has clinched the East and are headed to Atlanta. This is a dominant football team. There is some skepticism about the Dawgs because they are overdue for a slip up and there is evidence to support that The Plains is a likely location for the to happen. But Georgia's goal was not to win the East, They have higher aspirations. Trust the process.
ALABAMA - We all saw the Ric Flair 30 For 30 this week. If you din't, you should. We all know the drill. "To be The Man, you gotta beat The Man." Clemson won the title last year but all of college football still knows that Alabama is The Man. No one is chanting "We want Clemson." Alabama is going to have a say in the final result. It's eaither them or someone has to beat them. Until one of those happens, here they sit. 
MIAMI - Undefeated. Dawg fans can say what they will - good and bad - about Mark Richt. He remains undefeated this season. This is a Miami team that has us thinking about the old days off the field, but without a lot of the off-field drama of yesteryear. I think this team is not getting their due from the other polls. Beating Virginia Tech 28-10 was not a fluke. That wasn't Rutgers they were playing. Miami has an impressive football team and they belong in this spot this week. 
CLEMSON - The Tigers still have a rightful claim to this spot. one minor hiccup, much like one last year, but otherwise spotless. Getting here in the end will involve surviving a storm that is brewing down in South Florida. We'll see how that shakes out soon enough.
FIRST 2 OUT
NOTRE DAME - The Irish have one loss. They lost by one point at home to the #1 team in the nation. They've beaten everyone else that has been put in front of them. That includes Miami (Ohio) but it also includes Southern Cal, NC State, and Sparty. If you see me slinging kudos in the direction of South Bend, you better believe they've earned it because I don't enjoy it. 
OKLAHOMA - i counted them out. Don't laugh, you did too. But it turns out that that little team in Ames isn't the joke everyone thought they were and The Sooners are back in the playoff chat, albeit on the fringe. Oklahoma is still on the outside looking in but after theis week's match ups? Who knows? They could be sitting at the top. 
UNDER THE RADAR
AUBURN - Yeah, I've beaten the Sparty drum for so long that y'all know where I stand there and Coach is talking about them over to your right. Auburn is still a very dangerous football team and they are in the unique position of having the opportunity of knocking off the top two teams in the nation. It wasn't that long ago that both Bama and Georgia had the Plainsmen beaten, done for. But the football gods cried War Eagle and the rest is history. Granted this was a stroke of magic, a highly unlikely series of events and lightning could never strike twice...twice...or could it? 
GAMES TO WATCH
Holy smoke where do we start? We could do an entire post on the games to watch this week. Let's try to narrow it down:
GEORGIA @ AUBURN - This is The South's oldest rivalry. Georgia and Auburn have slugged it out almost every year since the first time in Atlanta's Piedmont Park in 1892. In a 120 game history, Georgia has a two game lead in the series and there have been 8 ties. If you can find a closer, more exciting rivalry than this one, I'll call you a liar. This is the greatest active rivalry in college football. There is no coherent argument to the contrary. 
NOTRE DAME @ MIAMI - Talking about stirring up echoes and Hurricane warnings. This is another great rivalry that is being dusted off and there could not be a better time to do it. Notre Dame and Miami have had some of the greatest games out there, especially when there were national championship implications involved. The old Lou Holtz vs Jimmy Johnson days were a living highlight reel. This renewal promises to be equally exciting and equally important. Thus game holds enough importance that it is a playoff game. Loser go home. A one loss Miami team might, MIGHT, be able to creep back in if they win the ACC. A two loss Notre Dame team is O-U-T. 
UPSET ALERT OF THE WEEK
IOWA @ WISCONSIN - This will be Wisconsin's first game against a ranked opponent. Iowa is coming off a viscous demolition of the Buckeyes. The Hawkeyes are playing good ball and the Badgers are untested. This one is ripe for an upset.  (p.s. Whoever put Sparty as 17-point underdogs to the Buckeyes was a fool.)

Coach Drew Burnham

PLAYOFF TEAMS
ALABAMA – There’s no easy way out now for the Tide. Mississippi State Saturday on the road followed by a visit from Mercer and then the Iron Bowl in Auburn the final week of the season presents a final push worth noting. 2 tough road games are winnable for the Crimson and White but will not be easy. I have an idea of how the Tide will answer the bell…What do you think?
WISCONSIN – “They haven’t played anybody” seems to work for the Badgers, but never seems to come up when considering that the best team Alabama has played is LSU by far. Interesting. Could it be that strength of schedule is actually a nonfactor and good football is good football regardless of who it is played against? Or could it be that football fans of a certain region simply do not possess the ability to acknowledge that good football could be played in other far corners of this beautiful country? I’m not sure. What I am sure of is that the boys in red are absolutely playing football in Madison, Wisconsin and I enjoy watching them.
NOTRE DAME – The Irish jump right back on to the Murderer’s Row this week as they travel to take on Coach Richt and the Hurricanes in what is sure to be a thriller. Saturday Night in Miami. One of college football’s dirtiest rivalries reloaded after a hiatus. In light of the 30 for 30 release this week: “Woooo!!”I believe the Irish have what it takes to win a big one and stay in the hunt.
CLEMSON – The Tigers are on the downhill side of the schedule. They should be able to make it through the last 3 games unscathed but, as we all know, “Should” means exactly nothing in college football. Clemson has to keep their head on straight and power through the rest of the schedule, but I don’t believe that will be a problem. They’re still in.
FIRST 2 OUT
No one makes it to this point in the season undefeated by accident, happenstance or luck. If you still have a 0 in the L column at this point, you’re a fantastic football team. Don’t overlook that.
GEORGIA – The Dawgs are phenomenal and I feel like a broken record, I just don’t think they can get past the Tide (Much like the rest of the country) and believe that they will be left in the cold by the committee. I don’t have to agree or think it’s right to believe that it will happen. I don’t, for the record.
MIAMI – Much like the UGA situation, I think the Canes are a fantastic bunch and Coach Richt is doing a great job there, I just don’t think they can win out. There is a lot of exciting ball happening in Coral Gables and change is coming for them. The resurgence of The U has started.
UNDER THE RADAR
SPARTY- Haven’t heard much about ole Sparty this year (except for in the column to your left). An early loss to Notre Dame and dropping a tough one to Northwestern removed them from the playoff talk and seemingly every other talk. Now you look up and they’re…..in 1st place in the Big 10 East??? How did this happen? I had the outstanding pleasure of meeting Coach Dantonio in January and he was everything I had dreamed of. Lax, boring, quiet, unexcitable….but steady. That’s what this season has been for Michigan State. Steady. Never too high up, never too far down. Steady. Now they’re in a position to potentially take the Big 10 and no one notices. Just the way coach likes it.
GAMES TO WATCH
7 games this week feature ranked teams matched up. What a week we are in store for!
IOWA @ WISCONSIN – The Badgers take on their 1st ranked opponent of the season Saturday afternoon thus allowing them to make their first major statement. I hear a lot of hate for the Badgers. Just maybe, this will help them sure up some legitimacy in the eyes of the public. Not me. I think they’re absolutely the real deal and will not disappoint this weekend.
TCU @ OKLAHOMA – Playoff game! Absolutely no chance of the loser of this game getting in makes this one certainly exciting to watch. If you like defense, change the channel. What a shootout this is destined to be! Give the track meet a look Saturday night.
UPSET ALERT OF THE WEEK
Last week the Frogs were held to their 2nd lowest offensive production numbers of the season but managed to escape with a W nonetheless.
UGA @ AUBURN – The Dawgs have sealed their trip to Atlanta. Probably feeling themselves a little bit. Probably feeling like they can finally take a breath for the first time this season. Auburn is highly underrated. Perfect storm. Keep your eyes open for this one. ​

Week 11 Game Picks

Washington over Stanford
​Georgia over Auburn
LSU over Arkansas
Iowa State over Oklahoma State
Michigan State over Ohio State
Virginia Tech over Georgia Tech
Clemson over Florida State
Alabama over Mississippi State
TCU over Oklahoma
​Miami over Notre Dame