The specter of 2007 is not something to be thrown around lightly in conversations about unusual college football seasons.
Like comparing a young offensive line recruit to Orlando Pace, it sets everyone up for immediate disappointment.
Offensive linemen like Orlando Pace come around once in a generation, if that. Seasons like 2007 might be even less frequent.
Just as a reminder, that was the year that a top-5 Michigan team lost to FBS Appalachian State, Nick Saban’s Alabama lost to Louisiana-Monroe, Missouri and Kansas played a top-5 game with national title implications, Illinois went to the Rose Bowl, Stanford beat USC as a 41-point underdog, and Cal, Boston College, Kansas, and South Florida all managed to get to No. 2 in the polls. And then, when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder, No. 2 USF lost to Rutgers.
Ohio State lost at home to Illinois on Senior Day and still ended up the No. 1 team heading into the BCS title game. LSU lost two games, both in triple-overtime, and won the national championship.
This season isn’t that weird, and unless Alabama somehow blows their SEC/SoCon Challenge matchup against The Citadel, it’s not going to get there.
But it has still been pretty bonkers.
By the time most teams take the field again, it will be November, and Kentucky still controls its own destiny to make the College Football Playoff.
A team that lost to Akron now has the inside track to the Big Ten Championship Game, where they could play a team that got blown out by a team that lost to Eastern Michigan.
The Pac-12’s only College Football Playoff hopes rest not with Washington, but their in-state rivals who lost their quarterback to a tragic suicide, nearly had their head coach leave for Tennessee and saw most of their assistant coaches depart as well.
The team currently sitting alone in first place in the ACC Coastal lost to Indiana. But a team that lost 51-6 to Penn State controls its own destiny as well.
West Virginia pretty much just needs to win out to make the College Football Playoff, but if they lose to Oklahoma, then Iowa State can win its next four games to earn a spot in the Big 12 title game.
Heading into November, what’s the weirdest possible “just win and you’re in” matchup for every conference title game?
ACC
Boston College vs. Virginia
Yes, BC still controls its own destiny in the ACC Atlantic. If they win out, beating Clemson on Chestnut Hill on November 10, they will play for the ACC title. Oddly, outside of the Clemson game, a trip to Syracuse looms as BC’s toughest remaining game.
Ditto for Virginia, which has a home date with Pitt this weekend. Whichever team wins that one will control its own destiny in the Coastal.
A Boston College vs. UVA (or Pitt) title game would rival the famous BC/Virginia Tech matchup from (when else?) 2007 for most intimate gathering of close friends and family to watch a conference title game.
Big Ten
Michigan vs. Northwestern
The East side of the equation isn’t that weird. It’s true that Michigan has never actually made it to Indianapolis before, and also true that the Wolverines haven’t won even a piece of a Big Ten title since 2004. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s not the weirdest possible B1G East Champion.
Heck, if Ohio State wins out, then EMU will hold a transitive win not only over the Big Ten East champions, but also their Washtenaw County neighbors in Ann Arbor.
On the other side of the league, the weirdness gets dialed way up. Northwestern lost to Akron and Duke in back-to-back weeks in September. Wisconsin, which entered the year as a darkhorse playoff contender according to some national outlets, is unranked and would need help to get back to Indy.
Big 12
West Virginia vs. Oklahoma/Texas
Because they don’t do divisions and just play a round-robin, the Big 12 projections are kind of a mess right now. If any of those three teams named above wins out, they’ll be in. But if West Virginia wins out, the other spot could be anyone from Iowa State, Texas Tech, Texas, to Oklahoma, depending on how the tie-breakers shake out.
But just the possibility that West Virginia legitimately controls its own College Football Playoff destiny this late in the season is weird enough.
Pac 12
Washington State vs. Utah
Some particularly inept prognosticators had the Cougars pegged for an implosion this year. Instead, they’re a controversial road loss at USC away from being 8-0. They still have home games against Cal, Arizona, and Washington and a road trip to Colorado ahead, but if they win out, they could be a College Football Playoff team. Really.
Meanwhile, Utah has unranked Arizona State, Oregon, Colorado, and BYU ahead. With the tiebreakers they hold, only the road games at ASU and Colorado really matter here. Win those two, and they’re in the Pac 12 title game.
Washington State vs. Utah in Santa Clara, just like the gypsy woman said!
SEC
LSU vs. Kentucky
Some particularly inept prognosticators had the Tigers pegged for an implosion this year. Instead, they’re 7-1 and ranked No. 4 in the country. This weekend’s home game against Alabama will answer pretty much every question there is about the Bayou Bengals. Win, and they just need to get through road trips to a putrid Arkansas team and a middling Texas A&M to clinch a spot in Atlanta.
Remarkably, Kentucky is in an even better spot. They host Georgia this weekend. Win that, and they will clinch their spot in SEC Championship game already.
Of course, it’s very likely that this Saturday ends with Alabama and Georgia back in control of their respective divisions. But for the time being, it sure is fun to dream.
Geaux Jeaux!