How did Daniels look in his debut?
Seth Emerson, Georgia beat writer: Daniels was simply spectacular in his Georgia debut, passing for four touchdowns and becoming the first Bulldogs quarterback to exceed 400 passing yards since Aaron Murray in 2013. After a season of tumult at the quarterback position, Daniels made it look easy, showing command in the pocket, great touch on his throws, and hitting on throws long, medium and short. He looked the five-star recruit who started as a true freshman at Southern California, and leading to the what-if on Georgia’s season: What if Daniels had been the starter all along?
What should Cincinnati hope to see in the first CFP rankings?
Justin Williams, Cincinnati beat writer: Probably the same thing they’ve been seeing in the AP Top 25 and Coaches polls. Even though it feels like multiple teams ahead of them in the standings have games postponed every week — while the Bearcats keep taking care of business — Cincinnati will probably still be looking at No. 7 in the CFP rankings as well. The opinion of the American Athletic Conference has been raised in the eyes of the committee and the public the past couple seasons, but not enough for the Bearcats to start leapfrogging SEC teams. At least not yet. Everyone does seem to acknowledge that Cincinnati is good, so at the very least, the Bearcats have people’s attention.
Is there any reason to doubt Oregon as the Pac-12 favorite?
Tyson Alger, Oregon beat writer: The Ducks are 3-0 at the midway point and have, for the most part, been able to avoid some of the pitfalls the 2020 season can provide.
But after a narrow win against a UCLA team that gashed the Ducks’ defense with its backup quarterback, Oregon certainly looks vulnerable. The Ducks are struggling to defend the run and were bailed out on Saturday by the type of turnovers that haven’t shown up in the season’s first two weeks. But a win is a win, and no team in the Pac-12 has done anything yet to challenge Oregon’s status as front-runner.
What the win means for Florida
G. Allan Taylor, Florida beat writer: Trask’s streak of four-touchdown performances ended at six games, but he still threw three and the Gators pulled away with a midgame run of 24 consecutive points. With a 6-1 record, Florida remains heavily favored to win the SEC East, needing two losses to let Georgia back into the race. This one might be most memorable for the Gators players spending halftime and postgame seated outside the cramped visitors locker room at Vanderbilt Stadium, which was Dan Mullen’s way of emphasizing COVID-19 protocols. As one Florida staffer told me, “If even one player tested positive in that locker room, you’d have to contact trace the entire team.” The SEC may soon be taking a look at mandating roomier facilities for visiting teams.
(Photo: Dale Zanine / USA Today)
