Best of The Herd

Here we go on a Friday—what a heater last night, and how great is college football.

Miami’s back in the title chase in ten days, and yes, we’ve got a postseason Blazing Five after a 60 percent regular season.

Miami’s the most talented outfit left, shoved Ole Miss around, yet kept the door open with drops, penalties, and cute calls.

They can overwhelm Oregon, but if they play that sloppy, Indiana punishes you.

Teams grow as the season rolls, leaders emerge, and if you get hot at the right time, you can carry it into the playoffs where it’s settled on the field.

That game exists because of NIL, the portal, and a playoff that lets young teams stumble and recover.

One run where Miami drove Ole Miss back a dozen yards summed up the SEC slide, and without deep-pocketed boosters the league’s getting outmuscled by places like Michigan, Notre Dame, USC, Oregon, and Miami.

If Miami doesn’t drop a handful of interceptions, that game’s not close.

Teams mirror their coach; Cristobal’s a trench-loving brawler, so Miami’s a raw-power bully that still sprays mistakes.

They’re back in the spotlight, but the efficiency gap means Indiana and even Oregon may be favored.

Let’s wait on the ‘they’re back’ talk until they see Indiana, and I’d make Indiana and maybe Oregon small favorites.

We’ll add perspective to the end-zone pass interference uproar next.

The SEC’s looking like the Mountain West with bigger stadiums, and Saban saw the change coming.

In the NIL era you need car makers, not car dealers—oil money and billionaires are powering Indiana, Oregon, Texas, and Texas Tech past old SEC muscle.

People don’t grasp how fast this is moving; Indiana’s five-year outlook beats places like Auburn if the money keeps flowing.

Blazing Five postseason: Rams to roll at home off a loss, Bears in bad weather with the better run game, Jags as the hotter, tougher side, Eagles at home with red-zone sevens and health, and Indiana’s clean execution over Oregon.

I like the Rams and Eagles; Indiana–Oregon feels like a real coin flip with revenge fueling Oregon.

Urban, does a rematch give Oregon any real edge, or is this a clean slate?

It’s a new game and season, so there’s no special edge beyond knowing personnel, and both sides are amped.

I’m seeing Indiana fans everywhere in Atlanta.

Indiana never fumbles or drops; how do you build that?

Players buy into daily technique like two-hand ball security through traffic, and it shows up in every detail.

I rarely see blown fits, missed pickups, or sloppy perimeter blocking from them.

Miami feels like a pro-style bully with speed and edge, but they let teams back in; what do you love and what worries you?

Physical teams are separating, and Miami’s one of them, controlling the line and playing rugged defense.

With Carson Beck finally protecting the ball and dealing, Miami’s a real problem for the winner of Indiana–Oregon.

For years the SEC owned the trenches; now I’m seeing fronts get shoved around and Saban knew the shift—do you see the same drop?

Yes, that fear factor is gone, and film confirms it—Big Ten teams have hammered SEC programs, and I can’t yet explain the change.

The Washington quarterback signed, then tried to bolt before backing off; how did that land with you?

It’s the most disturbing thing I’ve heard in a decade, because it turns your back on the locker room and screams for real regulation.

On that end-zone throw, I wouldn’t call it then; do you make that call?

It’s a foul, but in that moment it needs to be blatant, and the left hand bothers me the most.

After watching it a bunch, I’d probably throw the flag.

If they’d thrown a flag and Ole Miss scored, the uproar would’ve been bigger than old title controversies, so you almost can’t call it there.

They should’ve won big, but I’d still draft that Ole Miss quarterback late; he moves well, the ball jumps, and he carries himself like a grown-up backup you want in your room.

He dragged Ferris State to a title, then nearly took Ole Miss to one.

Sometimes don’t overthink it—the tape shows juice, mobility, and resilience, and I’d bet on that story on Sundays.