Fortuna Files: The home stretch is near. Let the debating begin.
What kind of surprises are in-store Tuesday for the first batch of College Football Playoff rankings? In Year 1 of the 12-team format, we can't wait to find out.
Twenty thoughts in honor of Ashton Jeanty’s nation-leading 20th TD rush this past weekend. (Back after a one-week maintenance-induced hiatus.)
1. And then there were five: Army, BYU, Indiana, Miami and Oregon are the only remaining unbeaten FBS teams. Incredible, right? Throw in SMU, whose only loss was at BYU, and you have six remaining teams that are unbeaten in conference play. Just how we drew it up back in the offseason.
2. SMU buying its way into the ACC and dominating the way it has is the equivalent of a blueblood paying six or seven figures to beat up on an FCS opponent. The Mustangs dominated Pitt to improve to 5-0 in ACC play. And with BC, Virginia and Cal remaining, they are all but assured of playing in next month’s ACC title game.
3. Remember: This is SMU’s first year in the ACC. Mustangs boosters put forward $100 million and change to make up for the forfeiture of media rights deals through 2030. It’s nice work if you can afford it, but I wonder now what I wondered at the time of the deal last year: At what point does SMU start beating up full-share teams so badly that the friction becomes a real problem in the league? There are already two programs (Clemson and FSU) suing to get out.
4. If it’s an SMU-Miami ACC title game next month, 1980s nostalgia will rule the day. But the storylines would go beyond that, particularly with SMU coach Rhett Lashlee, who was Miami’s OC during the Manny Diaz era, and who has been open about taking advantage of the DFW metroplex the way Miami has with South Florida. Former Hurricanes QB D’Eriq King is SMU’s QBs coach now, too.
5. The first College Football Playoff selection committee rankings will come out on Tuesday, and as always, there will be plenty to debate. There is even more intrigue this year given that it’s the first year of the 12-team CFP bracket. We can only assume that the committee will hold the same values as it did during the four-team era, but who are we kidding? There are no rules here, other than the first four seeds having to come from different conferences.
6. One storyline worth monitoring the rest of the season is if Boise State can steal a first-round bye as a top-four seed. Remember, the four highest-ranked conference champs get those slots, which doesn’t necessarily mean the four power conference champs. For what it’s worth, undefeated BYU is currently (No. 9/No. 9) ahead of the one-loss Broncos (No. 12/No. 14) in both the AP and coaches’ polls, respectively. But that could change if BYU loses a game. The Broncos, meanwhile, may have one of the “best losses” in the country, falling at now-No. 1 Oregon by three points back in Week 2.