In this week’s edition of Mussatto’s Minutes, we project the College Football Playoff bracket, take another look at the Oklahoma State coaching search and consider Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell not for one award, but two.
Let’s get to it.
Projecting College Football Playoff bracket
No. 1 Texas A&M vs. No. 8 Oregon/No. 9 Notre Dame: Texas A&M nabs the No. 1 seed by winning out and beating Alabama in the SEC title game. A potential rematch with Notre Dame would be juicy.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Texas Tech/No. 10 SMU: Ohio State also wins out, but the Buckeyes are behind the Aggies due to strength of schedule. Texas Tech wins the Big 12 and is the conference’s lone representative. SMU is your ACC champ because someone has to be.
No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 6 Ole Miss/No. 11 Miami: Two ACC teams??? I fear it’s possible. Miami could win out, miss the ACC title game and finish 10-2. There would be a couple three-loss teams with better resumes, but the committee favors fewer losses against more quality wins.
No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 5 Georgia/No. 12 South Florida: Indiana loses to Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. South Florida gets the nod as the fifth highest-ranked conference champ.
Five favorites for the Oklahoma State football coaching job
I covered 50 names in my five-part series to find OSU’s next head coach. Here are my personal favorites, within reason, entering the second week of November.
1. Eric Morris, North Texas head coach*
Morris checks all the boxes. Regional ties? From Texas, played at Texas Tech, has spent the bulk of his coaching career in Texas. Up-and-comer? Morris, lauded for his offensive ingenuity, just turned 40. Program builder? He won 10 games at Incarnate Word. North Texas (8-1) is in the College Football Playoff hunt. QB whisperer? He discovered Cam Ward and unearthed a gem in Drew Mestemaker, who could maybe follow Morris to Stillwater.
*Tulane’s Jon Sumrall has long been No. 1 on my list, and he still would be if I thought OSU had a realistic chance of hiring him. He seems bound to get one of the open SEC jobs, though, whether it’s Auburn, LSU, Florida or even his alma mater, Kentucky, if the Wildcats and Mark Stoops can agree on an exit strategy.
2. Alex Golesh, South Florida head coach
South Florida went 4-29 in the three seasons before Golesh got the job. Now Golesh has the Bulls in the CFP mix. The former OSU graduate assistant (2008) should be a candidate at Florida and could be a candidate at Florida State if/when the Seminoles move on from Mike Norvell.
3. Zac Robinson, Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator
Our guy Scott Wright reported that Robinson “has some strong grassroot support among a group of donors, but that has been the lone tentpole of his legitimacy as a candidate.” It’s a pretty important tentpole. I don’t know if Robinson has the coaching chops, but the former Cowboy quarterback could make up for that in the way of rallying the fan base and raising funds — the importance of which can’t be overstated.
4. Ryan Silverfield, Memphis head coach
Two more wins for Memphis would give the Tigers their third-consecutive 10-win season. Silverfield has gotten some serious buzz for the Arkansas job.
5. Collin Klein, Texas A&M offensive coordinator
Klein, 36, has helped develop Aggie quarterback Marcel Reed into a Heisman candidate. Texas A&M has the fourth-best offense in the SEC by total yards and yards per play. The former Big 12 quarterback makes a lot of sense as a Big 12 head coach.
Ajay Mitchell: Sixth Man of the Year or Most Improved?
Ajay Mitchell has been a revelation for the Thunder. To the point where it doesn’t seem fair. The last thing the rest of the league needed was for Sam Presti and the Thunder to unearth another second-round gem.
- Mitchell’s 32 games as a rookie: 16.6 minutes, 6.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 steals, 50% FG, 38% 3FG
- Mitchell’s 10 games as sophomore: 27.6 minutes, 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.7 steals, 45% FG, 32% 3FG
Sure, his efficiency is down, but that’s because his usage has exploded. Mitchell is second on the team in assists behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Mitchell is running the second unit, especially in the absence of Jalen Williams.
The Belgian-born guard out of UC Santa Barbara is a smart passer, savvy finisher and capable defender. The muscle he put on in the offseason? He’s using it on both ends of the floor.
I’m not one to vote for second-year players for Most Improved, but Mitchell’s gargantuan leap warrants consideration. He’s +4000 for Most Improved, according to FanDuel. Former Thunder guard Josh Giddey is the heavy favorite at +320.
According to the odds, Mitchell has a much stronger case for Sixth Man of the Year than he does for Most Improved.
Sixth Man odds, per FanDuel.
- Jaime Jacquez Jr., Heat: +650
- Ajay Mitchell, Thunder: +750
- Jerami Grant, Blazers: +1100
- Quentin Grimes, 76ers: +1500
Then there’s a host of players at +2000. If Mitchell keeps this up, the Thunder will have to campaign for him for one award. Else some voters could have him on the ballot for one category and not the other.
Good problems to have for the Thunder. Enviable ones for the rest of the league.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Mussatto’s Minutes: Predicting College Football Playoff bracket
