Most Important Games Of Week 3

     I started to write this piece again last week, but it was a fairly down week in college football. This week is a little better with some big match ups that I'm sure many of you will be watching or at least keeping your eye on the score. So if your team is blowing out it's opponent and you need something else to watch/root for, or if you just crave more football in general, then I am going to give you a list of games with importance to the SEC as a conference.

     Again this list is meant to have more of a big picture feel to it early in the season. This is intended to give fans a rooting interest in games that don't always involve SEC teams, but can indirectly impact the SEC's strength of schedule reputation and therefore impact playoff seeding. We are rooting for the SEC to get multiple teams in the playoff with as high a seed as possible. Having said that, let's start the list. Here are the Top 8 games for week 3.


#8. All SEC vs Non-Conference Opponents
     These games are pretty obvious why they are important; the more times SEC teams beat non-conference opponents the better the SEC looks as a conference. UCF @ Mizzou, UMass @ Vandy, Arkansas @ Texas Tech*, UL-Lafayette @ Ole Miss, Miss St @ South Alabama**, Southern Miss @ Alabama, UL Monroe @ LSU, Tennessee @ Oklahoma*, Rice @ aTm. These are 9 games throughout Saturday that are important to the SEC's reputation. Some more so than others.

*These are the biggest of games in this group. I'll mention them again later.
**I don't care who you are, it says something to go on the road and beat a team on their field.

#7. Ohio @ Marshall
     Marshall is a team that was talked about pre-season as potentially going undefeated this year. They probably will. Normally I wouldn't have a problem with this. But the less the media (ESPN) talks about giving the little guy that happened to go undefeated a chance at the playoff, the more they can talk about giving multiple spots to the SEC. So Go Bobcats! Kickoff is 12:00 pm ET on CBS Sports Network.

#6. Boise St. @ UConn
     Ole Miss beat Boise St. the first weekend of the season. Therefore, the better Boise St. looks, the better Ole Miss looks. At least on paper. Kickoff is 12:00 pm ET on ABC/ESPN2.

#5. Wake Forest @ Utah St.
     Tennessee beat Utah St. the first weekend of the season, so see #6 for one reason this game is important. Add on top of that, a MWC team beating an ACC team can only help to drag down the ACC as a conference helping to give some room between the SEC and ACC. Kickoff is 7:00 pm ET on CBS Sports Network.

#4. ECU @ Virginia Tech
     South Carolina beat ECU last weekend. Also, Virginia Tech beat Ohio State last weekend. I think you can start to see the picture I'm trying to paint with this game. SEC<C-USA<ACC<B1G. I know this isn't how it really works, but no harm in rooting for it. Additionally, multiple SEC teams play multiple C-USA teams so the better the C-USA looks, the better the SEC looks. Kickoff is 12:00 pm ET on ESPN/WatchESPN.

     Yes, I do realize that in #7 I am rooting for a MAC team to beat a C-USA team which contradicts what I just said in the previous paragraph. However, any C-USA team beating a Power 5 conference team can greatly help the SEC's strength of schedule. Hence why this game is far more important that the other game.

#3. UTSA @ Oklahoma St.
     This is somewhat of a unique game for this list. Neither of these teams play and SEC team. However, UTSA is a new member of the C-USA and quite frankly I think they are a dark horse candidate to win their conference. Again, anytime a C-USA team can beat a Power 5 conference team that can only help the SEC. UTSA is actually a decent team and Oklahoma St. doesn't play defense. If UTSA can keep it close they just might be able to pull off the upset, but keeping it close is a small victory in itself. Kickoff is 7:00 pm ET.

#2. Arkansas @ Texas Tech
     I don't think I really need to explain why this game is important. I actually think Arkansas has a great chance of beating Texas Tech. Arkansas is getting better on offense and Tech doesn't even pretend to play defense. Like, at all. They have given up a combined 61 points to Central Arkansas and UTEP. Yes, you read that correctly. So look for lots of points to be scored in this game and hopefully Arkansas can have the ball last with a chance to win. This game is being played in Dallas and kickoff is set for 3:30 pm ET on ABC.

#1. Tennessee @ Oklahoma
     And now we have reached the most important game of week 3. This game is huge. This is the type of game that can shape and define conference perceptions. Oklahoma is currently ranked #4 in a bunch of polls that don't matter any more. Tennessee is still rebuilding, but this game will certainly test the foundation. A Volunteer victory here would all but punch a second ticket for the SEC into the playoff. No better comparison of how much better the SEC is than everyone else when a supposed lower to middle of the pack SEC team beats your conference's best team. We should all be Tennessee fans this weekend. Yes, even you Bama fans. Beating a team that beat the #4 ranked team looks pretty good on a resume. So let's all begrudgingly learn the words to Rocky Top and cheer our a** off this weekend. Kickoff is 8:00 pm ET on ABC.

NCAA D1-A Autonomy And What It Means To The Average Fan

     It means things are going to change, and I mean potentially big changes. Don't worry, the same 10-15 big name schools will still be the ones winning the championships, however there will most likely be a new championship being played. This new championship will allow the mid-majors an opportunity to compete for a trophy and potentially added revenue. Granted this added revenue won't be of the former BCS level, but it will be a slight boost. But I'm getting ahead of myself, let me back up and tell you how I got to this conclusion.

     First off, autonomy will be a step in the right direction for a small minority of student-athletes. To start, this will affect most athletes at the major universities, i.e. increased scholarship limits in sports such as baseball, softball, and other minor sports. This will really impact college football. This will allow universities to provide stipends to support full cost of attendance, medical coverage, and many more benefits. This will effectively toe the line of amateur athletics. After a few years of this passes and everyone realizes that attendance/viewership doesn't drop, more steps will be taken to push the student-athletes of the power 5 conferences toward semi-professionals. This will further separate the power 5 from the mid-majors and the rest of the NCAA. Once there is a full separation of the power 5 from the NCAA, these schools will be able to treat athletes as a sort of employee. Paid partly in education and partly in on field performance. This, of course, is something that happens roughly 10-15 years down the road.

     The benefit to the mid-major schools is a chance to compete for their own championship and potentially added revenue from increased bowl games. This doesn't mean there will be more bowl games overall, just more access to bowl games for the mid-major schools. The power 5 will eventually turn their respective conference championship games into a sort of bowl game/playoff game while eventually expanding the playoffs themselves. With an entirely new subdivision of NCAA football, there will be even less incentive to play the lower subdivisions within the NCAA. Thereby shortening the regular season while expanding the playoffs. Playoff expansion could extend into the conferences themselves, meaning a four team playoff for the conference championship. Explaining the feasibility of this idea is another article unto itself.

     All of these ideas/predictions could just be the day dreaming of a crazed lunatic, or maybe some of it comes true. Either way, feedback is always welcomed. Let the debates begin!