Winning with Whitt October 3, 2018

By Whitt Sparks
Tribune Sports Columnist

Texas Football is a spThe college football landscape is taking shape and now that we are just over one month into the season I can see the teams that are legitimately good and those that aren’t.  Without a doubt the best team in the country is the University of Alabama.  Not only are the Crimson Tide the best team in the country right now, they are the best Alabama team I’ve ever seen.  In the past few years the Alabama teams have had great defenses, but they have had questionable offenses that relied on the defense to win the games.  This year though, in addition to a great defense, the Tide bring an offense into the national spotlight that is every bit as good.  Led by young quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.  In five games, Tagovailoa(he’s Hawaiian) has thrown for 14 touchdowns with 0 interceptions.  He is without a doubt the best player in the country and should be the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy this season.  

Alabama hasn’t been challenged yet with a record of 5-0 where they have defeated their opponents by an average of about 40 points.  They do have a few games on the schedule that you might want to circle; namely Auburn and LSU, but honestly, they look poised right now to run the table and destroy everybody they face right through the championship game.  

There are a few teams in the top 25 that I honestly didn’t expect to be there at this point in the season.  One is LSU.  LSU is ranked #5 in the national polls this week.  I thought the Tigers would do well this season, but I did not expect them to be this good.  LSU has always had a strong defense, but the offense has surprised many, including me.  They have a great stable of receivers, and probably the best kicker in the country.  If you have time look up the story about LSU’s kicker, Cole Tracy, it’s worth a read.  Kentucky is probably the biggest surprise of the season to me.  When I think of Kentucky I think basketball, but this year Kentucky has won some big games, namely against Florida and Mississippi State, and South Carolina.  How are they this good?  I honestly have no idea.  One thing you will notice when you watch them play is that they have almost no penalties.  They execute the game plan and are probably the most disciplined team in the country.

There are also some teams that I expected to be better than they are.  One is Michigan.  Michigan is considered a top tier program, and rightfully so.  For some reason though, the Wolverines can’t seem to put a solid season together.  I hate to say it, when I look at the program over the last few seasons I think about disappointment.  They should be better than this.  Head Coach Harbaugh should be signing elite quarterbacks to run his offense, but so far,¬ he has failed to land one that can get it done.  They always seem to be one season away from greatness, but that’s starting to get old, and I bet the Wolverine fanbase is starting to get impatient.  Another team that’s not met expectations is Florida State.  This once great program that is just a few seasons removed from a national championship is bad.  I really mean it, they are bad.  They may be the worst team in the ACC, and will not even sniff a bowl this season.  Now to be fair there are a lot of things happening to make the Seminoles struggle to be successful this season, but this team is so bad, if they don’t turn the season around, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of coaches fired, and a lot of athletes searching for other schools to play football.
With all that said though, we are just five weeks into this season.  There is a lot of football to still be played.  We have already seen some upsets and memorable moments.  Keep watching and I believe you won’t be disappointed.

Come check out Oktoberfest this weekend in DeKalb.  Get some Gamechangers BBQ or some street tacos.  Come and watch the Saturday Night Live Variety show at 8:30 p.m. at the State Theater.  I’ll be there on stage with all my friends, it’s worth the price of admission, I promise.