Throw your stock in Hugh Freezewait before you hitch the farm to Michigan And consider reinvesting in Clemson’s promise and Dabo Swinney after Week 4.
THE Wolverines celebrated a victory after passing for 32 yards. Even after a coast-to-coast expansion, the Big Ten brand thrives. A divide is forming in the SEC, but how much wiggle room is there for the top players in the playoffs?
Auburn is not among them. Misery is creeping up on the Plains, with the prospect of a fourth straight losing season. In the ACC, Clemson has ample opportunity to nudge a few more points in a conference where everyone is always chasing Miami.
Let’s consider some burning questions.
Has Michigan Football Become a Bullying Team Again?
Sort of. The Wolverines showed they can still take down physically inferior opponents. That’s not to say a rematch with Texas would play out much differently. Michigan would need some semblance of a passing game to become a national title contender, but the Wolverines rediscovered their identity by defeating Southern California in a 27-24 victory. And Kalel Mullings filled the void left at halfback.
The problem is that Michigan faces a tough schedule. The Wolverines face No. 21 Illinois, No. 7 Oregon and No. 3 Ohio State, plus tough road games against unranked Washington and Indiana. To keep its playoff hopes alive, Michigan (3-1) can’t lose more than once while navigating this minefield.
It would definitely help to be able to pass forward.
Has Dabo Swinney figured out Clemson’s offense?
Either way, he figured out how to burn bad teams.
Look, we haven’t seen Clemson face another quality opponent since Georgia tightened the screws. Tigers in the season opener. Appalachian State is bad, and North Carolina State has struggled all year, so while Clemson’s offensive explosion against those teams has given us confidence, let’s reserve judgment until Clemson’s game against Florida State on October 5. Seminoles are limited in attack, but they are solid in defense.
It’s possible, however, that Clemson’s crushing Week 1 loss says more about Georgia’s defense than it does Clemson’s offense. The game against FSU will provide a test of that theory.
Is It Time to Sell Hugh Freeze’s Stock at Auburn?
Yes. Freeze is 13-16 in his last three seasons as an SEC coach, since his tenure at Ole Miss ended. The flower has fallen off the rose.
Freeze brought tempo and run-and-pass options to the SEC more than a decade ago at Ole Miss. That, plus his team’s work NCAA Rules-Breaking Methodspushed the Rebels to success before NCAA lawsuits descended on his program and put an end to the good times.
In his second SEC tour, Freeze abandoned his guru status. He failed to develop a quarterback at Auburn, and the chickens went home after Freeze looked up at the portal and decided not to invest in a quarterback transfer before this season.
Former quarterback Bo Wallace, one of Freeze’s best players while at Ole Miss, eviscerated Freeze in a series of social media posts after Auburn’s loss to Arkansas, in which the Tigers committed five turnovers. Wallace rightly pointed out that Freeze tended to blame his players after losses and was not the quarterback whisperer some made him out to be early in his career.
Throughout Freeze’s career, his quarterbacks have been prone to giving up points. Auburn’s 14 turnovers this season lead the nation, a development that stems at least in part from Freeze’s decision to rely on a batch of underachieving quarterbacks rather than signing a transfer.
Freeze recruits well, but it’s not enough to sign a group of four-star prospects in a landscape where half the SEC programs recruit like monsters.
This version of the SEC is different than the one Freeze left. It is now the conference of elite quarterbacks. The offensive thinking has evolved significantly. Freeze has gone from a top position to a leftover position. That won’t change if he fails to attract and develop top-notch quarterbacks.
Will the SEC qualify six teams for the playoffs?
Plausible, but unlikely.
Six SEC teams (Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Missouri) are undefeated and ranked in the top 11, and LSU, which has lost just once, also remains in the race. But a few contenders will likely emerge as we move through conference play.
Regardless, even if the SEC finishes with six teams at 10-2 or better, that doesn’t mean the selection committee has to find spots for all of them. In that scenario, a team like Missouri, with a shaky schedule and a lack of style points, might need to finish at least 11-1 to earn a playoff invitation.
Six SEC teams are in playoff contention, but five remains a more likely number.
Blake Toppmeyer is the national college football columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
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This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Sell your shares in Hugh Freeze and consider reinvesting in Dabo Swinney
