The only team MSU will be favored against is Arkansas, and it’s not like that is an automatic win for them. They’ll be pretty substantial underdogs in every other game I would imagine.
Yesterday, I finally watched the 9/6 Missouri Kansas game beginning to end. Most of the time if you have a QB, Jalen Daniels, around for 6 years it turns out well. KU matched up physically for the entire game. KU in the game for 3 quarters. Missouri QB Pribula a gamer wolf in sheep's clothing. The RB Hardy and backup are B++.
I watched both of the Tech UU & most of the Houston/Tech game. Utah easily has top 5 OL national. TT DL neutralized that OL and several times man handled. LBS Dingle and Jacob Rodrigues are they real deal. Both of these LBs run sideline to sideline and defend the run and pass better than most LB tandems in B12. DLs Lee Hunter, Height and Bailey are NFL draftable. TT defense beat UU by loading the box with a 4th LB pretending to be a safety (Cole Wisniewski) @ 6'4" 220Lb. UU QB Dampier had nowhere to run.
I think their final record may not indicate how good they are. They took Tennessee down to the wire. Didn't look great against aTm, though. They just happen to have Florida, Texas, Mizzou, Georgia and Ole Miss left on their schedule. Not likely many wins, but I guess the point is that they are a pretty good football team and not truly the bottom of the SEC this year.
I don't think they are a bad football team but I think the only SEC team I think you can say they are definitely better than is Arkansas. I'd maybe say Kentucky and South Carolina too but I think if they played those two teams it would a very competitive game. I think the other twelve SEC teams are clearly better than MSU, at least to some degree.
I think what we are seeing is that the transfer portal has created a lot more "good" teams because less talented teams can fill in spots of need quickly with upgrades. At the same time, I think it's making it harder for the elite programs to be exceptionally good because all of the turnover makes it difficult for a really talented team to have continuity.
I'm not sure many of those SEC fans were happy with 9-3 seasons previously, but yes, there is are going to be some really good teams end up with 3-4 losses because the really good teams are playing each other a lot more often. Heck, I think Florida is probably a pretty good team, and they could easily go 5-7 this year. Unless you are a REALLY good team, you're not going go through that UF schedule and win 9 games. Granted, they aren't all that tough but if anyone gets through an SEC schedule with two or less losses, that's damn good.
Ok, I will say they lose 2 games of the ASU, Kansas, BYU
Tech needs to beat BYU, ASU, and Kansas. that helps TCU. As much as it makes me sick, I will be pulling for Tech to win those and the Frogs to take care of business and meet Tech in the Big 12 championship.
BYU doesn't matter so much. We have take care of them directly either way. But we definitely could use a Tech win over ASU, unless ASU is going to go in as the #1 seed and Tech drops another one.
If we look at Indiana vs. Oregon this weekend, this will offer a sliver of light on the Transfer portal situation. Some teams are wildly better than other teams when managing the transfer portal. Indiana landed their QB transfer portal superstar Fernie Mendoza and a couple of T Hodges Tomlinson CB badger clones Ponds and Gandy. I think the teams who appointed a real General Manager early, currently have a bigger advantage going forward. How else do you explain Indiana's acquisitions of QBs Kurtis O'Rourke and then F. Mendoza the leading Hesiman favorite as of a week ago?
