Tusk to Tail: Notes that include silly long shots and recreational marijuana

THE QUESTION
We have reached the final month of the regular season. Who do you think will play in the College Football Playoffs?

Jeb: Ohio State, Clemson, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Ohio State has one tough game this year, Michigan, and they will not lose to them two years in a row. Clemson must play powerhouses such as Wake Forest and NC State. Snore. Right now, Tennessee has all the momentum and no injuries, so they are a lock to make it (I am hoping my powers of reverse psychology kick in). Okay, that last playoff team seems a bit of a long shot, but technically it can still happen. Look it up! Bama loses out, then we finish tied with LSU and Ole Miss with wins over both to get the tiebreaker to win the SEC West. Clint Stoerner, Anthony Lucas and Chris Chukwuma give the Hogs a pregame peptalk, motivating the Razorbacks to a victory in Atlanta and a berth in the playoffs.

David: Since somebody has to take this question seriously, let’s look at who has a legitimate shot to get in. The winner of this week’s Tennessee-Georgia game should be undefeated heading into the SEC Championship. Win that and they are in, but a loss, particularly to Alabama, could propel the West team past them. It’s a similar story in the Big 10. Whoever wins Ohio State-Michigan at season’s end is a lock as long as they don’t stumble in their championship. Clemson, TCU, and Oregon round out the most likely candidates, but each would need to win out, which seems unlikely. I’ll go out on a limb and say Tennessee wins this weekend, but loses the rematch to Bama. This time, only the conference champion makes the playoff. Assuming Michigan-Ohio State was close, both get in, and Clemson does too if they are still undefeated.

THE GAMES
#23 Liberty @ Arkansas
Willard: The last time a disgraced, offensive genius, former SEC head coach with ties to Arkansas rolled into Fayetteville with an undermanned team led by a stellar quarterback, it was way too close for comfort. And I expect this game, too, will be highly competitive. But I’m counting on the Hogs being better than they were in Week 3. Arkansas 48, Liberty 42

Jeb: Liberty is not the 23rd best team in the country. Do the people who come up with the rankings each week live in states that have already legalized marijuana? Don’t mistake me, Liberty is talented, and I get that we can’t overlook them. But one big reason Missouri State played us close is that we lost the turnover battle 3-0. I don’t see that happening here. 38-28 Hogs

David: Jeb picked Arkansas to make the playoffs, but thinks others might be high? At least I agree with his prediction for this one. I say we win 38-27.

Todd: It’s insane that it’s been over a month since the Hogs have played at home. Liberty comes into Fayetteville with the possible future head coach at Auburn, Hugh Freeze. He’s too good not to be coaching at a Power 5 school, and he knows how to beat Alabama, which is all Auburn wants in a coach. The Flames are Jekyll and Hyde. They play poorly against no-name teams and then play well against bigger names. They lost to Wake Forest by 1 and throttled a BYU team that was beaten up by Arkansas a week before. They also beat powerhouse Gardner-Webb 21-20 two weeks ago. The Razorbacks offense is rolling. Arkansas should be able to win the line of scrimmage and run downhill all day, mixing in some big passing plays downfield. They will wear them down as the game goes along. Liberty will put some points up on this defense. Who hasn’t? But they are looking better since getting more bodies off the DL. Hogs put out the Flames in the second half. 37-24

Florida @ Texas A&M
Willard: The Jimbo Fisher Buyout Tour continues with a home game against the freshly cut Billy Napier and his Gators. The Aggies have lost four in a row which is hilarious, but they win this early kick 21-20.

#20 Wake Forest @ #21 North Carolina State
Willard: I’d have a better chance of explaining cryptocurrency than picking an ACC football game with any knowledge or accuracy. I’ll take the Tim Duncans over the Lorenzo Charleses 28-20.

#6 Alabama @ #15 LSU
Jeb: For my master plan stated above to work, we need LSU to win. LSU gets Bama in a night home game, which of course is a huge advantage for the Tigers. Boy, I wish the SEC schedulers would grace Arkansas with a night home game sometime this decade. While you are at it, move the SEC baseball tournament from middle of nowhere Hoover to somewhere people want to go, like maybe Memphis? Now I am just getting greedy. I am not going to give a pick here, so how about take the over of 56.5.

David: I love the enthusiasm, but it’s not gonna happen. Bama wins and covers the 13.5-point spread, 35-21.

Todd: Even though this is a top 15 matchup, it just doesn’t feel like it. There is no big hype like in years past where everything was on the line. Everyone is talking about the Tennessee and Georgia matchup instead. But this game does have huge ramifications for Alabama and is Step 1 for the Tide getting back in the playoff hunt. Step 2 would be winning SEC championship game. Look for it to be tight for three quarters, but Bryce Young will do enough Bryce Young things in the 4th to pull away. The Tide rolls 34-17.

#5 Clemson @ Notre Dame
Jeb: I hate Notre Dame with an undying passion. I hate them so much that I won’t watch Rudy, because I don’t want to accidentally receive inspiration from those entitled jerks. You know what inspires me? Notre Dame being picked preseason top 5, and sucking with losses to Marshall and Stanford. I think Clemson covers the spread, 31-23.

#2 Tennessee @ #1 Georgia
Willard: The most significant SEC East game in at least a decade. Two of the top four teams in the country, and one won’t win their own division. It’s hard to pick against the defending champs at home, but I like Tennessee to keep a magical season rolling with a 32-31 victory over the Dawgs.

Todd: Georgia seems like they have been lulled to sleep and just going through the motions since a convincing 49-3 win against Oregon in their opener. They have non-impressive wins against the likes of South Carolina, Kent State, Missouri, and Florida. They get the top-ranked team in the nation in their house now, the team who took their #1 ranking this week. This will be the best defense Tennessee has seen this season. They roasted Alabama’s secondary, which hardly ever happens and is odd to even type. Georgia has a secondary. The Vols will get their points but the Bulldogs have the home crowd and an offense that will hit on all cylinders to knock the Vols out. The Dawgs reclaim their #1 ranking, 38-31.

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