Around CFB: Familiar faces continue domination, Pac-12 missing elite team

Variety, it is said, is the spice of life.

In that case college football’s Power 5 conferences are becoming increasingly bland. The same teams are dominating four the five major conferences and there appears little chance of that changing this season.

Clemson has posted four consecutive ACC championships. The only currently unbeaten conference foe remaining on the Tigers’ schedule is Wake Forest, which struggled to hold off North Carolina last week.

Ohio State has won back-to-back Big Ten championships. Penn State won the conference title in 2016, but it was Ohio State that advanced to the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes have gotten off to another fast start.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Big Ten East — the conference’s dominant division — have shown their vulnerability. Michigan needed overtime to defeat Army. Penn State survived an upset bid by Pitt. Michigan State managed one score in a 10-7 home loss to Arizona State. Maryland lost to Temple.

Oklahoma has won four straight Big 12 titles. The Sooners have outscored three opponents 167-59. Texas figures to challenge them, but the Longhorns allowed 45 points in a home loss to LSU.

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Tua Tagovailoa leads one of the country’s most potent offenses at Alabama. 

Alabama has won the SEC five of the last eight years. Georgia will remind it won the SEC title in 2017 and LSU will remind it won in 2011. Alabama will say “that’s cute” and remind the Tide won the National Championship both of those seasons.

Alabama seems to have cracks in its defense, which LSU’s new offense could expose. But it’s doubtful the Tigers, who allowed 38 points to Texas, could outscore Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where the game is played this year.

The Pac-12 is the exception to the rule. It hasn’t crowned back-to-back championships since Stanford in 2012-13. Since ’13, four different teams have won the conference title. Unbeaten Utah looks like a good bet to be the fifth different champion with Washington falling to Cal, Oregon losing to Auburn, Stanford getting embarrassed by UCF and USC falling to BYU.  

That raises the question of whether the dominance is good for college football, especially with some programs seeing declines in attendance.

USA Today national college football columnist George Schroeder isn’t sure what the answer is.

"I don’t know if its good for college football. It’s just reality,” Schroeder said. “I do find it fascinating the Pac-12 has six teams ranked in the current polls. Now, none are in the Top 10, but it’s actually a good league filled with good teams. We look at it as a bad league because none are elite.”

Utah is actually 10th in the Associated Press poll, but is 11th in the Coaches Poll. But Schroeder’s point in well taken. The Pac-12 may be viewed as inferior to the ACC because of Clemson. But No. 21 Virginia is the only other ACC team that is ranked.

“I don’t know if it’s good when one team dominates leagues, but when one team is elite we think that league is terrific,” Schroeder said. “The perception is your league is very good if you have a contender even if one team is dominating the league.”

The Pac-12 may have trouble chasing that perfection. Pac-12 teams are only 10-7 against  “Group of Five” opponents. Colorado has lost to Air Force, UCLA has lost to Cincinnati and San Diego State, Oregon State and Arizona have lost to Hawaii and so on.

And while the Pac-12 is currently 4-3 against ‘Power 5’ opponents that may change.

Cal travels to Ole Miss this week. Later, USC and Stanford play Notre Dame. At best, the Pac-12 figures to break even, but very well could finish 4-6 in ‘Power 5’ non-conference games.

Maybe it would be better off with one dominant program.

Heisman Watch (If my ballot was due today)

1. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma, QB: The Alabama transfer had another spectacular outing. He passed for 289 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed for 150 yards and a TD in a  48-14 victory over UCLA. He ranks 14th in the nation in passing, eighth in rushing, second in total offense and has  accounted for 13 touchdowns (9 passing, 4 rushing).
2. Joe Burrow, LSU, QB: He followed up a big effort in a win over Texas with a predictable showing against overmatched Northwestern State. Burrow passed for 373 yards and 2 touchdowns. He rushed for another score. He’s third in the nation in total offense. He’s also produced 12 touchdowns (11 passing, 1 rushing).
3. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama, QB: Tagovailoa had a typically strong showing in a 47-23 victory over South Carolina. He passed for 444 yards and five touchdowns — 4 on passes of at least 24 yards. He’s ninth in the nation in passing and 10th in total offense. He’s responsible for 13 touchdowns (12 passing, 1 rushing).
4. Sam Ehlinger, Texas, QB: Ehlinger completed 23 of 27 passes and threw for 3 TDs in a blowout win over Rice. He’s now 11th in the nation in passing and eighth in total offense. He’s produced 12 touchdowns (11 passing, 1 rushing).
5. Justin Fields, Ohio State, QB: Though competition hasn’t been strong, the transfer from Georgia has been outstanding. He threw for 3 TDs and ran for another in a 50-10 pasting of Indiana. He’s accounted for at least 4 touchdowns in all three games. Fields has thrown 9 touchdown passes overall and has rushed for 4 to account for 13 scores.

Predicted playoff participants

1. Clemson: Wake Forest might be the best remaining opponent on Clemson’s regular season schedule.

2. Alabama: Think Alabama is slipping? South Carolina scored a touchdown with 11 seconds remaining to pull within 24 points of the Tide. And the Gamecocks bragged about it.

3. Oklahoma: OU has scored at least 48 points in every game thus far.  That streak may not end.

4. Ohio State: Recent res ults seem to indicate no team in the Big Ten East can match the Buckeyes’ offensive production.

This week’s best games

1. No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 3 Georgia: A victory would make Notre Dame a leader in the playoff field discussion.

2. No. 8 Auburn at No. 17 Texas A&M: The winner is established as a contender in the SEC West.

3. No. 11 Michigan at No. 13 Wisconsin: The Wolverines struggled vs. Army, but is still are the first legitimate challenge Wisconsin has faced.

4. No. 10 Utah at USC (Friday): Beating USC — even  mediocre Trojans team — remains the key to winning the Pac-12 South.

5. Oklahoma State at No. 12 Texas: The Cowboys have enough speed at receiver and running back to cause some problems for the Longhorns.

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