Welcome back to VIBE CHECK, where we monitor and assess the weekly pulse of college football. Each week, we grade a handful of teams based on their on-field performance, off-field shenanigans (good and bad!), message board chatter, and more. This is very (read: not at all) scientific and should be taken very (read: not at all) seriously.
Happy Friday, everyone. We have an incredible slate waiting for us this weekend with six ranked-ranked matchups, including No. 3 Alabama at No. 6 Tennessee. Remarkably we are at the half-way point of the season, and no one team looks totally untouchable. Does this mean we will see a CFP of someone other than just Alabama/Georgia/Ohio State/someone else? Probably not. But let’s pretend it might.
Let’s get to the vibes.
You Love to See It: Hendon Hooker
The biggest game of the week is a top-10 matchup between Alabama and Tennessee. It’s the second time this season that ESPN’s College GameDay has made the trip to Knoxville, and there’s even demands that the one and only Dolly Parton be the guest picker (OH MY GOODNESS MAKE IT HAPPEN).
But while all of this is great for the No. 6 Tennessee Vols, we need to talk about Hendon Hooker. The Virginia Tech transfer has been incredible under center for Tennessee, helping lead the team to a 5-0 start. He’s tied for the third-best odds (+1400) to win the Heisman Trophy, and yet it feels like he’s completely underrated.
Hooker is completing 70 percent of his passes, has thrown for more than 1,400 yards and has 10 touchdown passes with zero interceptions. He’s also rushed for three touchdowns. This weekend, he’ll have a chance to make a very, very loud statement.
WHAT A DIME FROM HENDON HOOKER 🎯🤭 pic.twitter.com/wckV4s644g
— ESPN (@espn) October 8, 2022
Straight Up Not Having a Good Time: Virginia
The Virginia Cavaliers are 2-4 on the season after last weekend’s loss to Louisville — which included this play that faked out the entire stadium — and things just aren’t going well in Charlottesville. It’s the first year under new head coach Tony Elliott — who came over from Clemson where he was the offensive coordinator — but there have been more growing pains than expected.
The stunning retirement of former head coach Bronco Mendenhall left the Hoos in an unexpected situation. Instead of building off of a 6-6 year with one of the best offenses in the country, they were left to find a new head coach and to try and keep as many players as possible. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong and wide receivers Keytaon Thompson, Dontayvion Wicks and Lavel Davis Jr. all returned (with Davis coming back from an ACL tear), but the offensive line was decimated with graduations and transfers.
Departures combined with a new system and some head-scratching mistakes (drops, bad passes, penalties) have led to some struggles. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the schedule only gets harder with North Carolina, Miami, Pitt and Virginia Tech (who is also Not Having a Good Time but is still the rival that is 17-1 in the last 18 meetings) still remaining.
This isn’t to say Elliott isn’t the guy. Things just aren’t much fun right now.
You Love to See It: The Pac-12
Look at the Pac-12! In the preseason poll, the Pac-12 had three teams ranked in the top 15 with No. 7 Utah, No. 11 Oregon and No. 14 USC. Then Utah lost to Florida and Oregon got demolished by Georgia. It seemed like there wasn’t going to be much fight out West this season, and that could have an impact on a team like USC trying to earn a College Football Playoff spot.
Now, the 6-0 Trojans are No. 7 and one of four ranked Pac-12 teams. No. 11 UCLA has snuck up on everyone with wins over then-No. 15 Washington and then-No. 11 Utah, and Oregon and Oregon have hung in there at No. 12 and No. 20, respectively.
It’s safe to say Lincoln Riley has gotten off to a hot start in Los Angeles.
Lincoln Riley is the first @uscfb head coach to start their tenure 6-0 since Jess Hill in 1951. ✌️ pic.twitter.com/q0Ay6Vqy0k
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) October 12, 2022
Can the Pac-12 make a push for a CFP spot?
Straight Up Not Having a Good Time: Brian Harsin and Auburn
If you want to know just how bad things have gotten in the Plains, just Twitter search Brian Harsin. The Tigers are 1-2 in the SEC and 3-3 overall through six games this season, and enthusiasm is low. Auburn lost an uninspired game to Penn State, a mess of a game to LSU and an absolute beatdown of a game to Georgia.
Fans have had beyond enough, with many already taking to the message boards and talking through who the new hire should be.
Deion Sanders at #Auburn would bring Saban, Kirby, and Dabo to their knees. #WDE #MakeThePush pic.twitter.com/40QicgWSJ3
— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) October 13, 2022
With another ranked road trip — this one to Ole Miss — on the schedule for this weekend, things could get worse for Harsin and Auburn before they get better.
You Love to See It: Ranked JMU
It took just five games at the FBS level for James Madison University to make its first appearance in the AP Poll. The Dukes came in at No. 25 in the latest rankings after a 5-0 start. Due to an NCAA rule, they won’t be able to play in a bowl game in their first season. The strong start shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that has followed the Dukes at all as JMU has been consistently one of the best FCS teams.
The Dukes have FCS titles in 2004 and 2016 and have made at least the semifinals of the FCS Championship for the last three seasons. JMU is just getting started.
𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐄𝐃❗️
JMU makes its debut in the @AP_Top25, coming in at #25 after a 5-0 start to the year.
📰 https://t.co/rUvbqbBeTE#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/ntew9K4p5A
— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) October 9, 2022
