College Football Awards, Week 12 (2019) November 18, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, B1G, Baylor, BYU, Cal, California, Clemson, Cyclones, Duke, Florida, Floyd of Rosedale, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Golden Gophers, Hawaii, Hawkeyes, Herm Edwards, Idaho State, Iowa, Iowa State, Jason Candle, Kansas State, Kirby Smart, liberty, Lincoln Riley, Longhorns, Louisville, LSU, Mario Cristobal, Matt Rhule, Middle Tennessee State, Minnesota, Missouri, Navy, Nick Saban, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rocky Long, Rutgers, San Diego State, SDSU, SEC, SMU, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Toledo, Tom Herman, UMass, USC, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Walt Bell, West Virginia
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Lucky guy: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Poor guy: Matt Rhule, Baylor
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jason Candle, Toledo
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Rocky Long, San Diego State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Tom Herman, Texas
Desperately seeking … anything: Walt Bell, UMass
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: BYU (defeated Idaho State 42-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida (defeated Missouri 23-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Rutgers (lost to No. 2 Ohio State 56-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Syracuse (defeated Duke 49-6)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: USC (defeated Cal 41-17)
Dang, they’re good: Clemson
Dang, they’re bad: Texas State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Minnesota
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Georgia Tech
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 10 Oklahoma 34, No. 13 Baylor 31
Never play this again: No. 3 Clemson 52, Wake Forest 3
What? Oregon State 35, Arizona State 34
Huh? West Virginia 24, No. 24 Kansas State 20
Are you kidding me?? No. 20 Iowa 23, No. 8 Minnesota 19
Oh – my – God: Iowa State 23, No. 19 Texas 21
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 12, pre-week 13)
Ticket to die for: No. 9 Penn State @ No. 2 Ohio State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Liberty @ Virginia
Best non-Power Five matchup: SMU @ Navy (hon. mention: SDSU @ Hawaii)
Upset alert: Syracuse @ Louisville
Must win: Texas @ No. 13 Baylor
Offensive explosion: (inconclusive)
Defensive struggle: Tennessee @ Missouri
Great game no one is talking about: Pittsburgh @ Virginia Tech
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mario Cristobal of Oregon vs Herm Edwards of Arizona State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Samford @ No. 16 Auburn
Why are they playing? Western Carolina @ No. 5 Alabama
Plenty of good seats remaining: Old Dominion @ Middle Tennessee
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? BYU @ UMass
Week 12 Thoughts:
Iowa vs Minnesota
This had to have been one of the biggest face-offs for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy in recent memory. Funny things happen in rivalry games such as this, and a few small errors ended up making the difference in the Hawkeyes’ favor. The Golden Gophers have an easy outing against Northwestern. Such should be a tune-up game for the following week, when Wisconsin comes calling and the berth for representing the Western Division in the B1G title game hangs in the balance.
Iowa State vs Texas
Despite the Longhorns’ offense inexplicably sputtering most of the game, Texas could have won the game after Iowa State missed a field goal with two minutes left in the game. Instead, Texas got an offsides penalty at the worst possible time. It allowed for the Cyclones to get further downfield, kill the clock, and kick the game-winning field goal at the buzzer. No excuses, Tom Herman. Do better.
Looking ahead:
Shoutouts to Texas A&M, Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee: they are the only SEC teams who had the guts to play real games this upcoming week. While the rest of their fellow SEC members are wasting everybody’s time with pointless body bag games (e.g., Western Carolina @ Bama; Abilene Christian @ Mississippi State), The Aggies, the Georgia Bulldogs, the Mizzou Tigers, and the Volunteers will give us real games this week. Technically, the same should go for LSU and Arkansas. While on paper it’s a glorified body bag game, at least those two teams are keeping it in-conference. To the rest of you in the SEC: get it together. Step up and play real games.
College Football Awards, Week 11 (2019) November 11, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Alabama State, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Bi1G, Big Ten, Bill Mallory, Central Florida, Chad Morris, Cincinnati, Commodores, Copper Bowl, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida State, Floyd of Rosedale, Gators, Georgia, Hoosiers, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Les Miles, Lincoln Riley, Louisville, LSU, Luke Fickell, Maryland, Matt Campbell, Memphis, Michigan State, Mike Gundy, Minnesota, New Mexico State, Nick Saban, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn State, Rutgers, Scott Satterfield, TCU, Temple, Texas, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, UCLA, UMass, Utah, Vanderbilt, Washington, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Ed Orgeron, LSU (hon. mention: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota)
Glad I’m not him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Lucky guy: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Poor guy: Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Scott Satterfield, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: James Franklin, Penn State
Desperately seeking … anything: Chad Morris, Arkansas
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Maryland 73-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Michigan State (lost to Illinois 37-34)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Vanderbilt (lost to No. 10 Florida 50-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Oregon State (lost to Washington 19-7)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Western Kentucky (defeated Arkansas 45-19)
Dang, they’re good: LSU
Dang, they’re bad: UMass
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Penn State
Did the season start? TCU
Can the season end? Northwestern
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 17 Minnesota 31, No. 4 Penn State 26
Never play this again: No. 1 Ohio State, Maryland 14
What? Tulsa 34, UCF 31
Huh? Texas 27, No. 16 Kansas State 24
Are you kidding me?? No. 2 LSU 46, No. 3 Alabama 41
Oh – my – God: No. 17 Minnesota 31, No. 4 Penn State 26
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 11, pre-week 12)
Ticket to die for: No. 5 Georgia @ No. 13 Auburn
Next-best game of the week: No. 24 Indiana @ No. 11 Penn State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: none
Best non-Power Five matchup: Tulane @ Temple
Upset alert: UCLA @ No. 8 Utah
Must win: No. 8 Oklahoma @ No. 10 Baylor
Offensive explosion: No. 18 Memphis @ Houston
Defensive struggle: Kentucky @ Vanderbilt
Great game no one is talking about: Texas @ Iowa State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Les Miles of Kansas vs Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 2 Ohio State @ Rutgers
Why are they playing? Alabama State @ Florida State
Plenty of good seats remaining: UMass @ Northwestern
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? UIW @ New Mexico State
Week 11 Thoughts:
Alabama vs LSU
What more can be said about this dramatic and incredibly consequential game? On paper, was it LSU’s victory really an upset? They were ranked No. 2 in the polls ahead of Alabama at No. 3, after all. So what made the Tigers’ win an upset? Call it a mental block. Call it a [proverbial] monkey on LSU’s back. They had, after all, lost to the Crimson Tide eight straight times, often with national championship aspirations on the line. This time, they finally won, and now, the Tigers control their own destiny to Atlanta and to the Playoffs as well.
Minnesota vs Penn State
The Golden Gophers have earned their biggest win in more than a decade. They currently lead the Western Division of the Big Ten. While they control their own destiny to the conference championship, they have a challenging road ahead if they want to make it to Indianapolis. Their next game is at No. 18 Iowa, a border rivalry where they play for one of the most prominent trophies in college football, the Floyd of Rosedale. After a respite against a down Northwestern, they close out the regular season at home against Wisconsin. The Badgers alone are a tough out, and they usually are the perennial Western representative in the B1G championship. Factor in the border rivalry and the fact that both teams play for the Paul Bunyan Axe (have you seen the size of that thing?), and one is apt to anticipate a high-stakes, high-drame showdown in Minneapolis come Nov. 30. But first, the Gophers have to win their other remaining games, starting with Iowa, which is never easy these days, Floyd or no Floyd.
Florida vs Vanderbilt
This blowout only merits mention because the Commodores attempted a “sad field goal” and failed. The definition of a “sad field goal” is if your team is down by more than two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and yet you go for a field goal anyhow. That sounds sad just saying it, does it not? Well, Vandy attempted the saddest of field goals as they were down 49-0 to Florida in The Swamp late in the 4th quarter. Instead of going for it with nothing to lose, they attempted a sad field goal, which went wide left. Like a train wreck, you can’t not watch.
Looking ahead: Indiana at Penn State
When was the last time that Indiana was ranked in football? Give up? It was 1994. Bill Mallory was the head coach at that time. He built a decent program, too, winning the 1991 Copper Bowl. But his labors went unnoticed because IU was more basketball-obsessed than it is today, which saying something. Frankly, I don’t hold out much hope for the Hoosiers, but if they put up a fight against wounded Penn State, it should be an entertaining game.
College Football Awards, Week 10 (2019) November 4, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Arkansas, Auburn, Ball State, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Bryan Harsin, Clemson, college, Dan Mullen, FIghting Irish, Florida, football, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hokies, Huskies, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Justin Fuente, Kansas State, Kirby Smart, liberty, Liberty Bowl, LSU, Maryland, Memphis, Minnesota, Mustangs, NCAA, Nebraska, New Mexico, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, P.J. Fleck, Pac-12, Pat Fitzgerald, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, SMU, Sonny Dykes, South Alabama, South Carolina, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Tigers, Tom Allen, UMass, Utah, Utes, UTSA, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Washington, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Wofford, Wyoming
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Dan Mullen, Florida
Lucky guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Poor guy: Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bryan Harsin, Boise State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Tom Allen, Indiana
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Sonny Dykes, SMU
Desperately seeking … anything: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Clemson (defeated Wofford 59-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Auburn (defeated Ole Miss 20-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: UTSA (lost to Texas A&M 45-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Georgia Tech (lost to Pittsburgh 20-10)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Liberty (defeated UMass 63-21)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: Arkansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: SMU
Did the season start? TCU
Can the season end? Rutgers
Can the season never end? Oregon
GAMES
Play this again: No. 8 Georgia 24, No. 6 Florida 17
Never play this again: No. 4 Clemson 59, Wofford 14
What? Georgia Southern 24, No. 20 Appalachian State 21
Huh? Purdue 31, Nebraska 27
Are you kidding me?? No. 8 Georgia 24, No. 6 Florida 17
Oh – my – God: No. 24 Memphis 54, No. 15 SMU 48
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 LSU @ No. 2 Alabama
Next-best game of the week: No. 5 Penn State @ No. 13 Minnesota
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Appalachian State @ South Carolina
Best non-Power Five matchup: Wyoming @ No. 21 Boise State
Upset alert: Iowa State @ No. 9 Oklahoma (hon. mention: Virginia Tech @ No. 22 Wake Forest)
Must win: No. 20 Kansas State @ Texas
Offensive explosion: Kansas State @ Texas
Defensive struggle: No. 18 Iowa @ No. 16 Wisconsin
Great game no one is talking about: Ball State @ Western Michigan
Intriguing coaching matchup: James Franklin of Penn State vs P.J. Fleck of Minnesota
Who’s bringing the body bags? Maryland @ No. 3 Ohio State
Why are they playing? New Mexico State @ Ole Miss
Plenty of good seats remaining: South Alabama @ Texas State (dishonorable mention: Purdue @ Northwestern)
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Vanderbilt @ No. 6 Florida
Week 10 Thoughts:
Again, am I the only one who has noticed that waaaaay too many teams have bye-weeks for upcoming week 10?
Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech
Earlier in the awards list, I listed Justin Fuente as the “Poor Guy” of the week. Really, though, I should have created a special, one-off category for him this week called “Stupid Guy” instead. His Virginia Tech team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the last few minutes of the game by persistently playing a “prevent” defense (specifically, rushing only three and dropping back the remaining eight) that allowed for Notre Dame to pick the Hokies’ secondary apart in the final minutes, play by play. Not once did Virginia Tech mount anything resembling a pass rush, and the Irish made them pay dearly for not doing so. All it would have taken would be to rush a couple of extra men, as one or two sacks in the process would have ruined Notre Dame’s day. But no. Once again, we are reminded that the only thing the prevent defense prevents is the implementer of said defense from winning the game. Period.
Georgia vs Florida
Can anybody recall, within recent memory, a Georgia-Florida game with as much drama, excitement, and close play as this week’s matchup? Neither can I.
SMU vs Memphis
Another undefeated bites the dust. May your undefeated season rest in peace, SMU. Still, what a game, and what a moment. ESPN’s College Gameday crew visited Memphis for the first time, and the fans came out in droves to celebrate the arrival and to show their support for their Memphis Tigers. The latter point is especially worth noting. U-Memphis has historically been known as a basketball school. Yet an ESPN-televised game at night, in front of a sellout crowd in the Liberty Bowl stadium, with ranked Memphis taking on then-undefeated SMU shows that UM’s football prowess is on the rise, and that is always a wonderful thing, notwithstanding the unfortunate side-effect of SMU’s undefeated season going by the boards.
Utah vs Washington
Utah needed to bring their A-game to Seattle, since the Huskies can be unpredictable at times. Eventually, the Utes did just that. Combine their win at Washington with USC’s crushing loss at home to No. 7 Oregon, and Utah controls their own destiny regarding clinching a Pac-12 South berth for the conference championship game.
College Football Awards, Week 8 (2019) October 21, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Badgers, Ball State, Baylor, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Buckeyes, BYU, Cal, California, CHip Kelly, college, football, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Herm Edwards, Illinois, James Franklin, Jim Harbaugh, Kansas, Kansas State, Les Miles, liberty, LSU, Maryland, Matt Rhule, Miami, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Navy, NCAA, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Paul Chryst, Penn State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Texas, Toledo, Tom Arth, Tom Herman, Tulane, UCLA, Utah, Vanderbilt, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: James Franklin, Penn State
Glad I’m not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Lucky guy: Tom Herman, Texas
Poor guy: Les Miles, Kansas
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Tom Herman, Texas
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Rhule, Baylor
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
Desperately seeking … anything: Tom Arth, Akron
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Northwestern 52-3)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas (defeated Kansas 50-48)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Arkansas (lost to Auburn 51-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Illinois (defeated Wisconsin 24-23)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Ball State (defeated Toledo 52-14)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Rutgers
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Wisconsin
Did the season start? Washington
Can the season end? Arkansas
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
GAMES
Play this again: No. 10 Penn State 28, No. 16 Michigan 20
Play this again, too: No. 15 Texas 50, Kansas 48
Never play this again: No. 4 Ohio State 52, Northwestern 3
What? Ball State 52, Toledo 14
Huh? Georgia Tech 28, Miami (Fla.) 21, OT
Double-Huh? Vanderbilt 21, No. 22 Missouri 14
Are you kidding me?? BYU 28, No. 14 Boise State 25
Oh – my – God: Illinois 24, No. 6 Wisconsin 23
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 8, pre-week 9)
Ticket to die for: No. 13 Wisconsin @ No. 3 Ohio State
Next-best game of the week: No. 9 Auburn @ No. 2 LSU
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Liberty @ Rutgers
Best non-Power Five matchup: Tulane @ Navy
Upset alert: Kansas State @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Must win: No. 11 Auburn @ No. 2 LSU
Offensive explosion: No. 15 Texas @ TCU (hon. mention: WSU @ No. 11 Oregon)
Defensive struggle: (inconclusive)
Great game no one is talking about: Cal @ No. 12 Utah
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Harbaugh of Michigan vs Brian Kelly of Notre Dame
(honorable mention: Herm Edwards of Arizona State vs Chip Kelly of UCLA)
Who’s bringing the body bags? Arkansas @ No. 1 Alabama
Why are they playing? Liberty @ Rutgers
Plenty of good seats remaining: Akron @ Northern Illinois
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Maryland @ No. 17 Minnesota
Week 8 Thoughts:
Two more undefeated teams bite the dust. First No. 6 Wisconsin in the noon time slot, who went down to defeat at lowly Illinois on a last-second field goal. Then, late at night, the second undefeated team lost today when No. 14 Boise State lost on the road to BYU. The latter, however, is not nearly as massive as the former.
The shame of such an upset is that it takes some of the [proverbial] starch and the all-too-real excitement out of next week’s upcoming matchup between the Badgers and the Buckeyes. But it will still be a great game.
Texas vs. Kansas
Texas had to score 50 points to beat Kansas. Yes, Kansas. Granted, Les Miles has the Jayhawks continually improving. Still, this does not bode well for the Longhorns. Clearly, injuries have depleted their defense, especially their secondary. Any team with a good quarterback can thus score points on them. The question becomes, can the Horns still stop the run? Assuming they can, then they stand a chance yet against TCU next week.
College Football Awards, Week 7 (2019) October 14, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Bowling Green, Brian Kelly, Bronco Mendenhall, Buckeyes, Buffalo, Clay Helton, Clemson, college, Duke, Ed Orgeron, Florida, football, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Herm Edwards, Hurricanes, Jalen Hurts, Jim Harbaugh, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Kyle Whittingham, Lincoln Riley, Longhorns, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, Missouri, NCAA, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, playoffs, Purdue, Red River Shootout, Rutgers, Scott Frost, SMU, Sooners, South Carolina, Temple, Texas, Toledo, Tulane, UConn, UMass, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest, Washington State
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma (hon. mention: Ed Orgeron, LSU)
Glad I’m not him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Lucky guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Poor guy: Clay Helton, USC
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia
Desperately seeking … anything: Scott Frost, Nebraska
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Utah (defeated Oregon State 52-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Georgia (lost to South Carolina 20-17 in 2OT)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: UConn (lost to Tulane 45-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Arkansas (lost to Kentucky 24-20)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Purdue (defeated Maryland 40-14)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Rutgers
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Virginia
Did the season start? Washington State
Can the season end? Georgia Tech
Can the season never end? Oklahoma (honorable mention: LSU)
GAMES
Play this again: No. 6 Oklahoma 34, No. 11 Texas 27
Play this again, too: No. 5 LSU 42, No. 7 Florida 28.
Never play this again: Louisiana Tech 69, UMass 21
What? Bowling Green 20, Toledo 7
Huh? Temple 30, No. 23 Memphis 28
Double-Huh? Miami 17, No. 20 Virginia 9
Are you kidding me?? Louisville 62, No. 19 Wake Forest 59
Oh – my – God: South Carolina 20, No. 3 Georgia 17, 2OT
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 7, pre-week 8)
Best game of the week: No. 16 Michigan @ No. 7 Penn State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: none
Best non-Power Five matchup: Temple @ No. 19 SMU
Upset alert: No. 5 Oklahoma @ West Virginia
Must win: No. 17 Arizona State @ No. 13 Utah
Offensive explosion: No. 25 Washington @ No.12 Oregon
Defensive struggle: Michigan @ Penn State
Great game no one is talking about: Duke @ Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Kyle Whittingham of Utah vs. Herm Edwards of ASU
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 3 Ohio State @ Northwestern
Why are they playing? Minnesota @ Rutgers
Plenty of good seats remaining: Buffalo @ Akron
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Missouri @ Vanderbilt
Week 7 Thoughts:
Oklahoma vs Texas
Rivalries are a funny thing. On paper, the Sooners should have defeated the Longhorns by at least two touchdowns, given the disparity in ranking (No. 6 vs. No. 11). Yet the Horns’ defense stepped up in a huge way, was able, at least some of the time to, to contain Jalen Hurts and the OU offense.
Louisville @ Wake Forest
Great win/upset for Louisville. Yet the score concluded at 61 to 52. Ever heard of defense, guys?
Florida @ LSU
The other game of the week (outside of the Red River Shootout in Dallas) was resurgent Florida @ LSU. This game as well lived up to its hype, with big plays on both sides, and in the end, the Bayou Bengals triumphed over the Gators, 42-28. In light of the massive development in Athens, Ga. (see below), expect LSU to move up a notch in the rankings.
Possible playoff scenario
Georgia lost in shocking fashion to rival South Carolina, at home, in double-overtime, 20-17. In light of this huge development, here is a new, possible playoff scenario, should other current shadows remain unchanged: Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU/Alabama, and Clemson. The latter two are plausible placeholders for the perennial southern/southeastern representatives that have come to dominate the playoffs as of late. But with the Buckeyes and the Sooners both in the picture, that would bring in a larger national audience, what with representation both from the Plains and, more importantly, the Midwest. As a not-so-distant aside, Ohio State and Oklahoma alone would be a game we would all love to see, playoffs or no playoffs.
College Football Awards, Week 5 (2019) September 29, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arizona State, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, Boston College, Bowling Green, Buckeyes, BYU, Cal, California, Central Florida, Clemson, Cornhuskers, Dabo Swinney, Florida, Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech, Golden Bears, Huskers, Iowa, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Justin Wilcox, Kansas State, Kent State, Louisville, LSU, Mack Brown, Mario Cristobal, Mark Stoops, Maryland, Michigan, Middle Tennessee State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Ryan Day, Scott Frost, SMU, Sonny Dykes, South Florida, Stanford, Tarheels, TCU, Temple, Texas A&M, Toledo, Tom Osborne, Tulane, UCF, UCLA, USF, Utah State, Washington, Wisconsin
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Ryan Day, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: Scott Frost, Nebraska
Lucky guy: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Poor guy: Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Justin Wilcox, Cal
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Sonny Dykes, SMU
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech
Desperately seeking … anything: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Michigan (defeated Rutgers 52-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Clemson (defeated North Carolina 21-20)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Middle Tennessee (lost to No. 14 Iowa 48-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: North Carolina (lost to No. 1 Clemson 21-20)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: SMU (defeated USF 48-21)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Rutgers
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Cal
Did the season start? Purdue
Can the season end? Georgia Tech
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
GAMES
Play this again: No. 1 Clemson 21, North Carolina 20
Play this again, too: No. 23 Texas A&M 31, Arkansas 27
Never play this again: No. 12 Penn State 59, Maryland 0
What? Temple 24, Georgia Tech 2
Huh? Oklahoma State 26, No. 24 Kansas State 13
Are you kidding me?? Toledo 28, BYU 21
Oh – my – God: Arizona State 24, No. 15 Cal 17
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 5, pre-week 6)
Ticket to die for: No. 7 Auburn @ No. 10 Florida
(Possible second choice): No. 14 Iowa @ No. 19 Michigan
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Utah State @ No. 5 LSU
Best non-Power Five matchup: Tulane @ Army
Upset alert: Michigan @ Iowa (also: No. 15 Washington @ Stanford)
Must win: Boston College @ Louisville
Offensive explosion: Cal @ No. 13 Oregon
Defensive struggle: Northwestern @ Nebraska
Great game no one is talking about: TCU @ Iowa State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Justin Wilcox of Cal vs Mario Cristobal of Oregon
Who’s bringing the body bags? Purdue @ No. 12 Penn State
Why are they playing? Bowling Green @ No. 10 Notre Dame
Plenty of good seats remaining: Oregon State @ UCLA
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Kent State @ No. 8 Wisconsin
Week 5 Thoughts:
North Carolina vs Clemson
Mack Brown remains full of surprises. Not the least of which was the stunning near-upset over previously-No. 1 Clemson, in which the Tigers escaped the Tarheels by only a point. A botched [surprise] two-point attempt on the part of UNC allowed the escape. Had such an attempt been successful, it would have set the college football rankings on fire. As it is, nobody in their right mind should protest Brown’s surprise move at the end. If they went for the tie with an extra point, then the game would have gone into overtime, where Clemson would quite likely have outlasted North Carolina. The two-point attempt thus, after further analysis, remained the Tarheels’ best bet.
Time will tell if this valiant performance on North Carolina’s part is a harbinger of better football to come from this team.
Nebraska vs Ohio State
Ohio State drubbed Nebraska 48-7 in Lincoln. It could have been even worse. All but 10 of those 48 points were scored in the first half (meaning, the Buckeyes put in lots of backups in the second half). This game and its outcome are a tale of two teams in two different directions.
For Ohio State, this is another key test the Buckeyes have passed in their assertion that they belong in the national conversation. Indeed, this performance helped them supplant LSU as the No. 4 team in the nation, currently. That has typically been good enough to make the playoffs, should such shadows remain unchanged.Will such shadows change? After all, nothing is a given in the Big Ten. Such was the case in its late-1990s glory days, and such is the case since roughly 2014 as well. Next week the Buckeyes face an arguably tougher test when Michigan State comes to Columbus. But the ultimate showdown in the conference is still likely when Wisconsin take on the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium on Oct. 26 in what could be one of the games of the year. Why this fixation on OSU’s fortunes? Because the more teams from more regions outside of the Southeast contend for the national title, the better it is for college football.
On the other side of the coin is Nebraska. Head coach Scott Frost, one might recall, left a Central Florida program that he had built into arguably the strongest non-Power Five team in the land so he could coach his alma mater. Last year’s campaign only resulted in a 4-8 finish. Currently the Huskers stand at 3-2, and even some of those wins were struggles over South Alabama and Illinois. What gives?
No, it would stand to reason that Frost has not forgotten how to coach. Rather, the systemic problem of geography has come into play. Frost had the advantage of being right in the middle of [embarrassingly] talent-rich Florida when he built up the UCF program. Nebraska does not produce any top-caliber players, save for the possible offensive lineman or two. Much of Nebraska’s unstoppable linemen during theTom Osborne (especially the latter era) came from much more lax standards and screening mechanisms for steroid use. Those days are now gone.
Also gone are the days of Prop-48 players, which gave Nebraska an easy pipeline to high-caliber talent without the normal barrier of NCAA eligibility standards found elsewhere. Perhaps even more devastating, though, is that Nebraska prospered in the days when only a relative handful of teams were consistently on national television. This made the program in Lincoln an attractive destination for top recruits despite its cold weather and geographic isolation. That advantage, too, was nullified when cable channels greatly expanded college football coverage in the 2000s, giving prized recruits many more options than in earlier times. Given this current environment, how is one to attract top recruits to this cold, isolated place? Scott Frost has his work cut out for him.
College Football Awards, Week 4 (2019) September 23, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Appalachian State, Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Bowling Green, Camp Randall Stadium, Charlotte, Cowboys, Dana Holgorsen, Delaware, Florida, Florida State, Gary Patterson, Georgia, Iowa, Iowa State, Jeremy Pruitt, Jim Harbaugh, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Kirby Smart, Les Miles, Longhorns, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Mack Brown, Maryland, Memphis, Miami (OH), Michigan, Middle Tennessee, Navy, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, San Jose State, Sanford Stadium, Scott Satterfield, SJSU, SMU, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tulane, UCLA, UMass, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Washington State, Willie Fritz, Willie Taggart
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Willie Taggert, Florida State
Poor guy: Scott Satterfield, Louisville
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mack Brown, North Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Willie Fritz, Tulane
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking … anything: Dana Holgorsen, Houston
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Miami, Ohio 76-5)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Georgia (defeated Notre Dame 23-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Charlotte (lost to Clemson 52-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: SMU (defeated TCU 41-38)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Kent State (defeated Bowling Green 62-20)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Arkansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: TCU
Did the season start? Stanford
Can the season end? Tennessee
Can the season never end? Iowa State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 3 Georgia 23, No. 7 Notre Dame 17
Play this again, too: No. 12 Texas 36, Oklahoma State 30
Never play this again: No. 6 Ohio State 76, Miami, Ohio 5
That will leave a mark: Iowa State 72, Louisiana-Monroe 20
What? Appalachian State 34, North Carolina 31
Huh? San Jose State 31, Arkansas 24
Double Huh? USC 30, No. 10 Utah 23
Are you kidding me?? SMU 41, No. 25 TCU 38
Oh – my – God: No. 13 Wisconsin 35, No. 11 Michigan 14
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 4, pre-week 5)
Possible best game of the week: No. 18 Virginia @ No. 10 Notre Dame
(Possible second choice): Nebraska @ No. 6 Ohio State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Northern Illinois @ Vanderbilt
Best non-Power Five matchup: Navy @ Memphis
Upset alert: Maryland @ No. 13 Penn State
Must win: UCLA @ Arizona
Offensive explosion: Washington State @ No. 19 Utah
Defensive struggle: (inconclusive)
Great game no one is talking about: Kansas State @ Oklahoma State (also: Iowa State @ Baylor)
Intriguing coaching matchup: Les Miles of Kansas vs. Gary Patterson of TCU
Who’s bringing the body bags? Towson @ No. 9 Florida
Why are they playing? Delaware @ Pitt
Plenty of good seats remaining: Akron @ UMass
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Middle Tennessee @ No. 18 Iowa
Week 4 Thoughts:
Week 4 has been arguably the best week for college football thus far in the 2019 season. Friday started off the weekend with a bang with an engaging matchup between USC and Utah. The following first time slot of Saturday (noon EDT) was great, at least on paper. Michigan faced Wisconsin in Camp Randall Stadium, and left the game exposed for having severe weaknesses on offense that must be addressed or Jim Harbaugh’s future with his alma mater may be in doubt.
That said, two key games in the following time slot (Louisville at Florida State and Auburn at Texas A&M) lived up to their billing. Louisville is clearly headed in the right direction as a program, but much improvement remains. Perhaps it is unreasonable for Scott Satterfield to turn things around so quickly, given the mess that Bobby Petrino left in his wake. Meanwhile, the Aggies fought the good fight at home, but came up short against a gradually but steadily ascendant Auburn. Both were good game, regardless.
The evening time slot proved that the best was yet to come that day. Oklahoma State came calling at Texas, for one. The Longhorns had failed to beat the Cowboys the previous five seasons, so the urgency was clearly there to get that proverbial monkey off the Horns’ collective back.
Then, a half-hour later, the “ticket to die for” lived up to its billing as Notre Dame put up a strong fight against Georgia in Sanford Stadium. The game was a close defensive struggle for three and a half quarters before the Bulldogs finally asserted themselves in accordance with their full potential. In other words, in the latter half of the fourth quarter, the cream finally rose to the top.
With so much great football having been played on Sept. 21 from noon through 11 PM Eastern, such will be a very tough act for Week 5 to follow. Case in point: no game for Week 5 offers a “ticket to die for”, which is more the pity.
College Football Awards, Week 3 (2019) September 19, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Auburn, Boston College, Bulldogs, BYU, Chattanooga, Chis Klieman, Citadel, Clay Helton, Clemson, college, Dabo Swinney, Dan Mullen, FIghting Irish, Florida, Florida State, football, Furman, Geoff Collins, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Iowa, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisiana, Louisville, LSU, Mark Stoops, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, NCAA, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Rutgers, San Jose State, South Alabama, Southern Illinois, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Virginia Tech, Washington, Wisconsin
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Glad I’m not him: Clay Helton, USC
Lucky guy: Dan Mullen, Florida
Poor guy: Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Chris Klieman, Kansas State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech
Desperately seeking … anything: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Notre Dame (defeated New Mexico 66-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Virginia Tech (defeated Furman 24-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Arkansas State (lost to Georgia 55-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Temple (defeated No. 21 Maryland 20-17)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tennessee (defeated Chattanooga 45-0)
Dang, they’re good: Oklahoma
Dang, they’re bad: South Alabama (honorable mention: Indiana)
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Maryland
Did the season start? Purdue
Can the season end? Georgia Tech
Can the season never end? LSU
GAMES
Play this again: No. 9 Florida 29, Kentucky 21
Play this again, too: No. 18 Iowa 18, Iowa State 17
Never play this again: Louisiana 77, Texas Southern 6
That will leave a mark: Miami 63, Bethune-Cookman 0
What? Kansas State 31, Mississippi State 24
Huh? Temple 20, No. 17 Maryland 17
Double Huh? Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24
Are you kidding me?? BYU 30, No. 24 USC 27
Oh – my – God: Arizona State 10, No. 18 Michigan State 7
NEXT WEEK (rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)
Ticket to die for: No. 7 Notre Dame @ No. 3 Georgia
Best game of the week (second choice): No. 8 Auburn @ No. 16 Texas A&M
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: No. 23 Washington @ BYU
Best non-Power Five matchup: Air Force @ No. 22 Boise State
Upset alert: No. 23 Washington @ BYU
Must win: No. 10 Michigan @ No. 14 Wisconsin
Offensive explosion: Oklahoma State @ No. 12 Texas
Defensive struggle: Boston College @ Rutgers
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Florida State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mario Cristobal of Oregon vs. David Shaw of Stanford
Who’s bringing the body bags? Charlotte @ No. 1 Clemson
Why are they playing? San Jose State @ Arkansas
Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ New Mexico
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Southern Illinois @ Arkansas State
Week 3 Thoughts:
Too many body-bag games to in the first three weeks for college football in 2019. At least next week starts with a bang with Michigan vs. Wisconsin in the noon time slot, and we are treated to an early Big XII quasi-rivalry with Texas vs. Oklahoma State in the evening, which will be an intriguing distraction from the game of the week, in which the Notre Dame Fighting Irish venture down to Athens, Ga., to take on the Bulldogs “between the hedges”. Oh, and Auburn plays Texas A&M in the 3:30 EDT time slot, so prepare for an engaging Saturday come the 21st!
Also, belated shout-out to an incredible game the previous week with LSU at Texas. Had the Horns done a slightly better job of stopping the Tiger’s passing game, they might have triumphed. As it is, LSU seems to be a top-flight QB this season, and, based on their stellar performance in Austin, could end up vying for the SEC West divisional title. Mark you calendars for November 9 now.
College Football Awards, Week 13 (2018) November 25, 2018
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Arkansas, Boise State, Bronco Mendenhall, Cincinnati, Clemson, David Cutcliffe, Derek Mason, Duke, East Carolina, Georgia, Iowa State, Jeremy Pruitt, Jim Harbaugh, Jonathan Smith, Justin Fuente, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Memphis, Michigan, Middle Tennessee, NC State, North Texas, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Pat Fitzgerald, South Carolina, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UAB, UCF, UConn, Urban Meyer, Utah State, UTSA, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin
add a comment
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 13] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Lucky guy: Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
Poor guy: Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: David Cutcliffe, Duke
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee
Desperately seeking … anything: Jonathan Smith, Oregon State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Kentucky (defeated Louisville 56-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas (defeated Kansas 24-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: East Carolina (lost to Cincinnati 56-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: UTSA (lost to North Texas 24-21)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated No. 4 Michigan 62-39)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Louisville
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Washington State
Did the season start? Wisconsin
Can the season end? Arkansas
Can the season never end? Clemson
GAMES
Play this again: No. 6 Oklahoma 59, No. 13 West Virginia 56
Play this again, too: No. 22 Texas A&M 74, No. 7 LSU 72, 7OT
Never play this again: Temple 57, UConn 7
What? Minnesota 37, Wisconsin 15
Huh? No. 23 Boise State 33, No. 21 Utah State 24
Double Huh? No. 16 Washington 28, No. 8 Washington State 15
Are you kidding me?? No. 22 Texas A&M 74, No. 7 LSU 72, 7OT
Oh – my – God: No. 10 Ohio State 62, No. 4 Michigan 39
NEXT WEEK
Rankings are current AP (week 13)
Ticket to die for: No. 14 Texas vs No. 6 Oklahoma also: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 5 Georgia
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Marshall @ Virginia Tech
Best non-Power Five matchup: UAB @ Middle Tennessee
Upset alert: No. 19 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Ohio State
Must win: Any conference championship game
Offensive explosion: inconclusive
Defensive struggle: inconclusive
Great game no one is talking about: Memphis @ No. 9 UCF
Intriguing coaching matchup: Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern vs Urban Meyer of Ohio State
Who’s bringing the body bags? East Carolina @ NC State
Why are they playing? Drake @ No. 25 Iowa State
Plenty of good seats remaining: inconclusive
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Akron @ South Carolina
College Football Awards, Week 12 (2018) November 18, 2018
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Boise State, Boston College, Brian Kelly, BYU, Chad Morris, Chris Petersen, Eastern Michigan, Florida State, Frank Solich, Fresno State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Jeff Brohm, Jeremy Pruitt, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisville, Lovie Smith, Maryland, Miami (OH), Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee, Mike Leach, Mississippi State, Nebraska, New Mexico, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Paul Chryst, Purdue, Rutgers, San Jose State, Songbook, South Florida, Southern Miss, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, UAB, UCF, Urban Meyer, Utah, Utah State, UTEP, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin
add a comment
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 12] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Glad I’m not him: Chad Morris, Arkansas
Lucky guy: Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
Poor guy: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Frank Solich, Ohio U
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee
Desperately seeking … anything: Lovie Smith, Illinois
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Mississippi State (defeated Arkansas 52-6)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Ohio State (defeated Maryland 52-51 in OT)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: New Mexico (lost to No. 25 Boise State 45-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Middle Tennessee (lost to No. 17 Kentucky 34-23)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Ohio U (defeated Buffalo 52-17)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Arkansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: West Virginia
Did the season start? Michigan State
Can the season end? Tennessee
Can the season never end? Notre Dame
GAMES
Play this again: Oklahoma State 45, No. 9 West Virginia 41
Play this again, too: Wisconsin 47, Purdue 44, 3 OT
Never play this again: Iowa 63, Illinois 0
What? Miami (Ohio) 13, Northern Illinois 7
Huh? Kansas State 21, Texas Tech 6
Double Huh? Nebraska 9, Michigan State 6
Are you kidding me?? Florida State 22, No. 20 Boston College 21
Oh – my – God: Oklahoma State 45, No. 9 West Virginia 41
NEXT WEEK
Rankings are current AP (week 12)
Ticket to die for: No. 4 Michigan @ No. 10 Ohio State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: BYU @ No. 19 Utah
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 11 UCF @ South Florida
Honorable mention for above: UAB @ Middle Tennessee
Upset alert: Auburn @ No. 1 Alabama also: Georgia Tech @ No. 5 Georgia
Must win: Purdue @ Indiana
Offensive explosion: No. 6 Oklahoma @ No. 9 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: Eastern Michigan @ Kent State
Great game no one is talking about: No. 23 Utah State @ No. 25 Boise State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Chris Petersen of Washington vs Mike Leach of Washington State
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 17 Kentucky @ Louisville Also: San Jose State @ Fresno State
Why are they playing? No. 15 Texas @ Kansas
Plenty of good seats remaining: Southern Miss @ UTEP
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Rutgers @ Michigan State