College Football Monday Madness: The Gus Bus Is Gone.

Welcome back to another installment of College Football Monday Madness. As the weeks continue, and I think things are about to calm down, the opposite happens. This weekend was a wild weekend in College Football. The “Gus Bus” has officially left the station. The Puddle Kittens played hard, earning their old moniker of the Bayou Bengals back.

This weekend was supposed to be an easy, relaxing weekend. But alas, College football had other plans. So while you’re getting through your day, kick back and lets have a good time. As always, this is College Football Monday Madness.

The Gus Bus Is Long Gone:

Auburn. Out of the big three tigers, your roar has been the meekest. LSU flew a little too close to the sun, but flew nonetheless. Clemson is… well Clemson. They have established themselves as a premiere program. Auburn is a strange one. They are one you want to put in the upper level, but it just feels wrong.

Simply put, the Tigers are not in the premiere group of College Football. In fact, an argument could be made that they aren’t even in the follow-up tier. They should be better, but playing in a hard conference and having big brother Alabama looking forward to beating you is never what you want.

But even through all of that, there was some light. Sure, Gus was a lot of flash, but that was his style. Gus did strange formations, different schemes, and you know what? It worked. Gus was himself to a fault. Unfortunately, that style has its drawbacks. Word on the street, at least at the time of this, Mario Cristobal, the head coach of the Oregon Ducks looks to be the frontrunner for the job. If you have read past installments, you know I am high on him.

The Puddle Kittens Are Back to the Bayou Bengals:

I just wrote about LSU’s struggles and if Ed Orgeron was losing his grip. If there was ever a statement win, this was it. A lot has gone wrong at LSU this year, so I’m not going to absolve everything because of this win. It is a great win regardless. The type of win that you can use to turn a negative season into one that ends on a high note. Do that Coach O, and I will admit I was wrong.

I’m not even claiming LSU has to win out. I get that you have a bunch of losses, a bad defensive coordinator, injuries, and opt-outs. Losses were bound to happen this year, that isn’t my issue. My issue is the Tigers have been dominated, not beaten. That isn’t LSU football, not the LSU football I know. Sure, LSU may lose games during the season, but they have been flat out dominated this year. The mission? Fight, and prove that you refuse to be dominated.

What a way to start. Florida has been riding high for some time. Trask was surging up draft boards and Heisman contention alike. He was having a “Burrow-esque” year. But that was all stopped by the Tigers. Sure, Florida will still win their side of the division and play Alabama in the SEC championship. Except they now have two losses, both to teams that Alabama dismantled. Not the way you wanted to enter the game, their playoff hopes all but gone. Texas A&M on the other hand, looks to be in an interesting place. Where the committee will put them may be the most interesting storyline this year.

For Florida, ahh, the stench of “de-feet”. Of all the things to do, you throw a shoe? That is one of the most perplexing plays in College Football’s recent history. What a way to lose. If you’re going to do it, do it big, I suppose.

Boar Down:

So this isn’t surprising. Alabama beat the brakes off Arkansas like they always do. I am bringing it up for a very good reason. Number 31 has arrived, ladies and gentleman. If you have been to my YouTube page, you will have seen that I have been high on Anderson since game one. He showed big time flashes in the first game, and has gotten better each week since.

In the video I talked about how once he got the speed and timing of College Football down, opposing teams were in trouble. Anderson contains a rare mix of speed and power. Usually the first off the line by a mile, he won’t just blow by you. He will go right through you.

For the “Box-Score-Analysts” out there, Anderson has had a slow season. Not notching his first sack until the later part of the year. For those who watched the games, however, you knew. Anderson was getting a ton of quarterback hurries. He was still learning the timing. Now, he may have it figured out. Good luck stopping that. Even if you do, true freshman duo Brian Branch and Malachi Moore look to be the future of the Alabama secondary. Already playing like seasoned vets, Moore may already be cornerback number two and the presumptive cornerback number one after Surtain’s departure.

The Who?

Miami, you got smoked this weekend. Mack Brown and his disdain for Manny stopping the run came full circle this weekend. The Tar Heels unleashed one of the most dominant rushing performance ever on Saturday. Their running backs tallied up almost six hundred rushing yards. To be dominated like that is inexcusable.

This is a not so bold, bold statement: North Carolina has the best running back duo in the nation. They compliment each other so well, it is a thing of beauty to watch. Howell is a great young quarterback who looks to have a great future. I love what the offense is doing right now. Rely less on your young quarterback and more on one of the best running back units in all of college football. Those backs are unreal. IF you haven’t seen them, you are absolutely missing out.

The BIG 10’s Big Problem:

The BIG 10 has a problem right now. Maybe the biggest part of this College Football Monday Madness is what the committee will do with Ohio State. The Big 10 changed the rule this past week to allow for the Buckeyes to get into the conference championship. COVID has absolutely wrecked the Ohio State season.

Do I think that Ohio State is one of the best teams in the nation? I do, but is it right that they should be able to get into the playoffs by only having half the workload as everyone else? At that point, it just screams “We are about to lose a ton of money, so here is how we can make some back”.

This is going to expose a big problem with this season. What happens when a team misses a large portion of their games? Even worse, the BIG 10 has been a big disappointment. It is bad and is only being carried by a few programs right now. Michigan is a train wreck, Penn State is in hiding, and Nebraska is Nebraska. At least there is some normalcy.

Thanks for reading College Football Monday Madness! Remember, your team didn’t have the worst weekend, unless you’re a Florida fan, then you had the worst weekend. Check out all the great content on Belly Up Sports! We have you covered for all of your sporting needs! Follow me on Twitter, and check out my YouTube page for even more content!