CFB Week 3 SB Poll + OSU Team Analysis
The Weekly SB Poll + my thoughts on the Buckeyes QB situation and much more
The SB Top 25 Poll After Week 3:
1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Oklahoma
4. Ohio State
5. Oregon
6. Penn State
7. Michigan
8. Iowa
9. Florida
10. Notre Dame
11. Ole Miss
12. Clemson
13. Cincinnati
14. Coastal Carolina
15. Arkansas
16. Michigan State
17. BYU
18. UCLA
19. Auburn
20. Wisconsin
21. Iowa State
22. Fresno State
23. Texas
24. Kansas State
25. Texas A&M
Next Up: TCU, LSU, Virginia Tech, Virginia, App State, Maryland, USC, Arizona State
THOUGHTS ON THE OSU QB SITUATION + OTHER POSITIONS:
— This has to be addressed: C.J. Stroud is NOT the problem for the Buckeyes. I have concerns with the injury, not in his ability. He has had his share of mistakes through 3 games, but we have also seen a lot of good from him. The expectations that were placed on him from day 1 have been so unrealistic, you can’t just expect a QB who has never started a college game before to come in and win the Heisman and look better than Justin Fields. That was never going to happen. Expectations need to be tempered. HC Ryan Day said on Thursday that Stroud will be the “emergency” QB against Akron on Saturday so that he can rest his injured shoulder. Nobody knows the extent of the injury, but it was obvious in games that something was bothering Stroud. He was clearly not 100% and I think it was impacting his play. I am still a huge CJ Stroud supporter and am confident that he will only get better from here. I am glad that he will be resting for this game. I wonder if seeing other quarterbacks out there will light a fire under him, if he is who I think he is, then it will.
— I am very excited to see how Kyle McCord and Jack Miller III look on Saturday, I will be at the Akron game. I think any of our QB’s would light up the Akron defense, so it won’t surprise me if we come out and have our best game of the year.
— McCord might actually end up working better for Ryan Day’s specific style of offense. He is a better pure thrower of the ball than Stroud, but obviously CJ is more of a dual-threat. I am not sure why there hasn’t been any designed QB runs but something tells me that it has to do with Stroud’s injury. The Buckeye offense just needs a QB who can spread the ball out efficiently. Stroud has been fine, but we need to see more. We will be fine with whoever is out there.
— Seeing TreVeyon Henderson live last Saturday was a magical experience. He really carried us to the win and now every college football fan knows his name after that performance. He is beyond special. The cuts he makes, his vision and his skill are just unreal. We are in good hands. I would not be surprised if he keeps it up and finishes top 5 in the Heisman voting in his freshman year.
— The Buckeye defense did look much improved but there is still a long ways to go there. The secondary is fine. It’s the linebackers that I am concerned with. Tommy Eichenberg is a liability. Cam Martinez and Denzel Burke looked so good against Tulsa, it’s great to see that we have great cornerbacks again. I loved what I saw from Ronnie Hickman. JTT showed some flashes of greatness, it won’t be long till he gets his first sack. Tyleik Williams got a sack and showed that he is our DT of the future. We still need to start getting a lot more pressure on the QB, once we do that, we will be in good shape. The defense is still a work in progress right now.
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Heisman Watch:
1. Matt Corral
2. Bryce Young
3. Kenneth Walker
4. Brennan Armstrong
5. Desmond Ridder
Next Up: Blake Corum, Jake Haener, Malik Willis, TreVeyon Henderson, Kyle Hamilton
— Matt Corral has skyrocketed to No. 1 in my Heisman Watch after his amazing performances through 3 weeks. He has been the best and most exciting QB so far this season. I am really excited to see what he will do against Alabama next week.
THOUGHTS ON TEAMS THAT SURPRISED ME:
— Michigan State is a top 25 team this year, dare I say top 15. Payton Thorne looks really good and Kenneth Walker looks dominant. They ran all over a bad Miami team. They are really well coached. Definitely the best Sparty team in years.
— Florida gave Alabama all they could handle with Emory Jones back there. The Tide did win in the Swamp but it was not easy. Florida is a top 10 team this year, that rushing attack is lethal. The Florida defense is much improved compared to last year. Also, this close win shows that the gap between Bama and everyone else is not as wide as some people think it is.
— Fresno State shocked the world with a win over UCLA this past weekend. They also only lost by 7 to Oregon in week 1. Does this mean Fresno State is a top 25 team? The answer is yes. QB Jake Haener has even climbed into the Heisman race with his miraculous game-winning TD drive to beat the Bruins while he was clearly hobbling. They are a really good team.
— Oklahoma does not look too dominant this year. A five-point win over Tulane and a 7-point win over West Virginia does not move me. Rattler has not lived up to the hype. The offense isn’t close to as explosive as year’s past. The defense has some really good players, so this is a really odd Sooner team. I can see them losing a game or two in Big12 play if they keep looking like this.