Tony Barnhart
By Tony Barnhart
Last Saturday’s schedule looked a bit thin when the day began.
But when it was over, we sure had a lot to talk about. So let’s start
here:
What did we learn on the fourth Saturday of the season?
1—Yes, Clemson is having a tough season. But Dabo Swinney on
the hot seat? Get real, man.
Clemson is now 1-3 after a 34-21 loss at home to Syracuse. The
other two losses were to No. 4 LSU (17-10) and No. 16 Georgia
Tech (24-21) on a 55-yard field goal at the buzzer. Clemson was
in everybody’s Top Five in the preseason.
But the fact is that he has dominated the ACC for a long time,
winning nine ACC championships in 18 seasons. He had also
won two national championships in 2016 and 2018.
So he keeps working. That is all he can do.
“There is not hope for a better yesterday,” he said after the game.
Clemson has this week off before playing at North Carolina on
Oct. 4.
2—The SEC’s nine-game conference schedule is going to officially be
released on Tuesday. Trust me, it’s going to be fun. And already there have been some leaks.
After years of debate, the SEC has added an extra game to the
conference schedule that it will implement in 2026. It is the
biggest schedule change for the SEC since it went to divisional
play in 1992.
Here’s how it will work.
--Each team in the SEC will get three annual opponents that will
seek to maintain most of its current rivals. Georgia, for example,
is expected to get two of its biggest rivals, Florida and Auburn. A
third team, probably South Carolina or Kentucky, will be added.
--One group of six will round out the schedule. Then the
following year the school will play the remaining six.
--The neat thing is that in a two-year span a school will play
every other team in the conference. In a four-year period a school
would play everybody home and away.
It is a vast improvement over the old schedule. Consider this:
Texas A&M joined the SEC in in 2012 but Georgia has yet to visit
College Station. That will change.
3—I’m worried about Sam Pittman. The Arkansas coach brings a
lot of personality to the Southeastern Conference. He is
universally respected by his peers and when he talks the other
coaches listen.
He was 4-8 last season but with quarterback Taylen Green
returning, there was optimism that things would be better in 2025.
But Saturday’s 32-31 loss Memphis may be too tall a hill to climb.
“I guess we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Pittman said after the
game.
Yep. At 2-2 Arkansas’s next four games are Notre Dame,
Tennessee, Texas A&M and Auburn. The Hogs played Ole Miss
tough, losing 41-35. The final four games are with Mississippi
State, LSU, Texas and Missouri. All are undefeated.
Stay tuned.
4—Maybe Indiana is really good again.
I’ll admit it. After Indiana’s playoff season in 2024, I assumed the
Hoosiers were the beneficiaries of a very favorable schedule.
Reality will kick in, I thought, when 2025 rolled around. They
opened the season by beating Old Dominion, Kennesaw State,
and Indiana State. I gave them no shot against Illinois, a top 10
team coached by Bret Bielemin.
That final score: Indiana 63, Illinois 10.
You know who wasn’t surprised?
That would be Curt Cignetti, the Indiana head coach.
“I felt very confident about this game going in based on what I
saw on film,” he said.
He has found another quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, a transfer
from Cal. Against Illinois he completed 21 of 23 passes for 267
yards and five touchdowns.
Indiana is at Iowa on Saturday.
5—Could Miami, Fla. be the best team in the country? The Hurricanes
were impressive on both sides of the ball in beating Florida, 26-7.
Quarterback Carson Beck completed 17 of 30 passes for 160
yards. Not gaudy numbers, but he was in control of the game and line of scrimmage.
But back to my question. How good are the ‘Canes?
They get this week off and then go to Florida State on Oct. 4.
The voters in the Associated Press media poll were certainly
impressed, moving the Hurricanes from No. 4 to No. 2 in
Sunday’s new poll.
#30