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College Football Awards, Week 9 November 2, 2026

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Lincoln Riley, USC

Glad I’m not him: Ryan Day, Ohio State

Lucky guy: Jedd Fisch, Washington

Poor guy: Matt Rhule, Nebraska

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Rhett Lashlee

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jason Eck, New Mexico

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Brent Venables, Oklahoma

Desperately seeking … anything: Tony Elliott, Virginia

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Wake Forest (defeated Virginia 51-7)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Indiana (defeated Minnesota 23-16 (OT))
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: FIU (lost to Liberty 49-10)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kennesaw State (defeated MTSU 44-28)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Duke (defeated BC 47-2)

Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: Boston College

Can’t Stand Prosperity: SMU

Did the season start?  Ohio State
Can the season end? UTEP

Can the season never end? Utah

GAMES
Play this again: Iowa State 51, No. 24 Oklahoma State 49

Play this again, too: No. 1 Miami 38, North Carolina 35

Never play this again: No. 14 Wake Forest 51, Virginia 7

What? Iowa 30, No. 25 Wisconsin 0

Come again? Iowa State 51, No. 24 Oklahoma State 49

Huh? Oregon 34, No. 20 Northwestern 26

Double-Huh?? Syracuse 30, No. 19 SMU 27

Are you kidding me?? South Carolina 42, Oklahoma 25

Oh – my – God:  USC 30, No. 2 Ohio State 18

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 10)
Ticket to die for:  No. 7 BYU @ No. 3 Utah

Also: No. 1 Miami @ No. 4 Notre Dame

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: None

Best non-Power Four matchup: Buffalo @ Miami (OH) (Tuesday)

Upset alert: No. 5 UCLA @ Minnesota

Must win: No. 8 Kentucky @ No. 16 Tennessee

Offensive explosion: West Virginia @ No. 14 Texas Tech

Defensive struggle: Michigan State @ Michigan

Great game no one is talking about: Air Force @ Army

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Kalen DeBoer of Alabama vs Lane Kiffin of LSU

Who’s bringing the body bags?  Merrimack @ No. 14 Wake Forest

Why are they playing?  (see above)

Plenty of good seats remaining: Hawaii @ UTEP

Plenty of good seats remaining, B1G edition: Maryland @ Purdue

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? North Carolina @ UConn

Week 9 Thoughts:

Some major and some minor upsets occurred this week.  Let us address the 900-lb gorilla in the room with USC upsetting Ohio State, 30-18.  If both teams were intact, this outcome would be most unlikely, even with the Buckeyes having to venture out to the west coast to play.  But Ohio State’s victory at Indiana last week proved to be more Pyrrhic than first considered.  The loss of QB1 Julian Sayin was a major hit to the Buckeyes’ offense, which was left sputtering at times and unable to put the ball into the end zone at other times.  The rain certainly did not help things for true freshman backup Luke Fahey, either. Still, the Buckeyes dominated time of possession, and they were decent on 3rd down, on the road. One possible takeaway is that OSU can learn from this, even build upon this, and recover further as the season further progresses.

Other interesting surprises included Iowa whipping Wisconsin, 30-0.  So much for this week’s defensive struggle, at least as far as the Iowa side of the equation was concerned.

Oregon’s upset over Northwestern sounds oxymoronic on a number of levels, but the immediate context makes the categorization of an upset technically correct.  After all, Northwestern came into Eugene ranked.  The Ducks, ranked in the top-10 at the season’s start, have suffered enough losses to be currently out of the rankings altogether.  Perhaps Oregon’s win is a sign that Dan Lanning might be righting the ship for the season after all.

As for the most entertaining upset of the week, that clearly goes to South Carolina defeating Oklahoma, on the road, no less.  The high-scoring affair could also consider itself an explosion of offense of sorts, what with the Gamecocks scoring 42 points compared to the home team’s 25.  The Cocks’ triumph should remind the rest of the conference to take Shane Beamer’s team lightly at their own peril.

One of the most engaging games was the low-scoring affair in Bloomington, Ind., between defending national champ Indiana and scrappy Minnesota.  Fun fact:  this was the first game in B1G history (which spans 130 years) wherein two 60-yard field goals were kicked, and that’s not even the whole it.  Both teams kicked theirs within the last two minutes of the game.

Another near-upset occurred with North Carolina plays top-ranked Miami closely throughout, making this week’s intriguing coaching matchup even more interesting to observe as the game unfolded.

Offensive Explosion Review:

For once, my predicted offensive explosion actually came to pass.  North Texas triumphed over Florida Atlantic in a rather thrilling finish, with high scoring throughout the game.  Interestingly, that was not the only offensive explosion worth noting.  Texas State almost upset No. 20 Boise State, with a second-half near-comeback mounted in the second half (the Bobcats outscored the Broncos 22-0 alone in the 3rd quarter), but the Broncos managed to hold off the challengers in the end, barely, 46-45.

Looking Ahead

Two potentially legendary games await us next week, what with a fitting replay of the “Catholics vs Convicts” as No. 1 Miami ventures up to South Bend, Ind., to play No. 4 Notre Dame, with obvious playoff implications abounding.  At the same time, No. 7 BYU plays No. 3 Utah in what could be the most legendary, definitely most high-stakes “Holy War” ever staged. 

Elsewhere, other intriguing matchups abound.  Kentucky plays Tennessee:  the fact that the Wildcats currently outrank the Volunteers merits us to queue the “Twilight Zone” theme music. 

While UCLA currently sits at the No. 5 ranking, they now venture up to the Twin Cities to play Minnesota, a team that almost upset IU on the road.  Can the Bruins handle the frozen tundra of Huntington Bank Stadium? 

Consider that Texas heads up to Missouri.  Can the Longhorns’ defense contain the Tigers’ offense while Arch Manning continues to find his own offensive footing, including achieving further growth in playing to his strengths (he clearly takes after his grandfather more than he does his uncles).

In another must-win scenario, Oregon, which seems to have stabilized, now plays Ohio State on the road, just as the Buckeyes continue to scramble to revive their offense, assuming such a thing is possible in the first place.

Also, No. 2 Georgia plays No. 12 Ole Miss:  can the Rebels’ Trinidad Chambliss overcome the Bulldogs’ potentially stifling defense?  Conversely, can the Dawgs effectively contain Chambliss and thus put themselves into the driver’s seat in the whole SEC?  We’ll find out this and more this Saturday.  Buckle up, Buckaroos.

College Football Awards, Week 5 (2026) October 5, 2026

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  PJ Fleck, Minnesota

Glad I’m not him: Kyle Whittingham, Michigan

Lucky guy: Pat Narduzzi, Pitt

Also:  Will Stein, Kentucky

Poor guy: James Franklin, Virginia Tech

Also:  Shane Beamer, South Carolina

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Matt Campbell, Penn State

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Braun, Northwestern

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jon Sumrall, Florida

Desperately seeking … anything:  Jeff Brohm, Louisville

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Memphis (defeated Charlotte 59-8)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas Tech (defeated Colorado 29-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Stanford (lost to Wake Forest 57-3)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Rice (lost to UTSA 16-14)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Mizzou (defeated No. 8 Florida 45-17)

Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad:  UTEP

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Florida

Did the season start?  Louisville
Can the season end?  Charlotte

Can the season never end? Missouri

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 18 USC 25, Washington 21

Play this again, too: Iowa State 45, West Virginia 42

Never play this again: New Mexico 61, UTEP 7

What? Eastern Michigan 38, UMass 14

Huh?  Northwestern 34, Penn State 13

Are you kidding me??  Temple 17, South Florida 13

Oh – my – God:  No. 25 Missouri 45, No. 8 Florida 17

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 6)
Ticket to die for:  No. 2 Georgia @ No. 6 Alabama

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: none

Best non-Power Four matchup: South Florida @ UTSA

Upset alert: Oklahoma vs No. 1 Texas in the Red River Shootout

Must win: Florida State @ Louisville (Friday)

Offensive explosion: No. 21 UCLA @ No. 13 Oregon

Defensive struggle: No. 20 Iowa @ Washington (Friday)

Great game no one is talking about: No. 22 Houston @ Kansas State

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Pat Narduzzi of Pitt vs Bill Belichick of North Carolina

Who’s bringing the body bags?  Stanford @ No. 3 Notre Dame

Why are they playing?  Ball State @ Northwestern

Plenty of good seats remaining: Sacramento State @ Bowling Green

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Maryland @ No. 5 Ohio State

Week 5 Thoughts:

Let us be honest:  this was not the greatest week for college football.  Even the so-called “ticket to die for” turned out to be something of a dud.  Mississippi State is good, but apparently, Alabama found another gear of performance and shifted into it in Starkville when folks were least expecting it.

That said, there were good games.  Auburn, which has quietly gained strength, put up a real fight against the Volunteers in Knoxville.  Minnesota demonstrated that they are not a team to be taken lightly as they retained the Little Brown Jug against Michigan.  North Carolina put up an impressive fight against Notre Dame at home, and Kentucky won in a shootout at South Carolina.

If that is not enough, Iowa gave Ohio State a good fight for a half, and on-again, off-again rain in Fort Worth made the BYU-TCU game a close, defensive struggle wherein the Cougars eventually triumphed.  Moreover, Iowa State squeaked by West Virginia in a massive shootout of a game. If that is not enough, Purdue snapped a 19-game B1G losing streak, at Illinois, no less.

So there were plenty of interesting games, just no “monster games” as in previous weeks.  Games between Texas and Ohio State, and also Texas at Tennessee, not to mention Oregon at USC, have spoiled us.

But next week Georgia faces their first true test, on that road in Tuscaloosa, and it’s also Red River time in Dallas.

Random Thoughts:

What to make of Florida?  Just when they appear to be a force to be reckoned with in the SEC, they lay an egg on the road at Mizzou.  The Tigers cannot be that good, can they?

Keep an eye on how the Gators bounce back from this embarrassing loss as they venture up to South Carolina next week.  Same could be said for the Gamecocks:  they lost a heartbreaker at home to Kentucky, and now recently-embarrassed Florida is about to come calling.

Clemson put up a decent fight against Miami at home. If I were Marcus Freeman, I would be studying film of this game very intently as I prepare my team to face the Hurricanes later this year.

College Football Awards, Week 4 (2026) September 28, 2026

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Steve Sarkesian, Texas

Glad I’m not him: Josh Heupel, Tennessee

Lucky guy: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

Poor guy: Kyle Whittingham, Michigan

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jeff Brohm, Louisville

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jake Dickert, Wake Forest

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Matt Campbell, Penn State

Desperately seeking … anything:  Mike Locksley, Maryland

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Pitt (defeated Bucknell 59-0)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: SMU (defeated Missouri State 34-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Purdue (lost to No. 3 Notre Dame 49-10)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Northwestern (lost to Indiana 29-23)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Florida (defeated No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28)

Dang, they’re good: Florida
Dang, they’re bad:  Maryland

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Louisville

Did the season start?  Penn State
Can the season end?  Bowling Green

Can the season never end? Georgia

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 1 Texas 20, No. 14 Tennessee 17

Play this again, too: No 17 Iowa 20, No. 18 Michigan 19

Never play this again: Duke 62, William & Mary 7

What?  No. 24 Mississippi State 31, No. 19 Missouri 24

Huh?  Wake Forest 30, No. 16 Louisville 27

Are you kidding me??  Wisconsin 24, No. 13 Penn State 20

Oh – my – God:  No. 21 Florida 52, No. 4 Ole Miss 28

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 5)
Ticket to die for:  No. 7 Alabama @ No. 16 Mississippi State

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: Cal @ UNLV

Best non-Power Four matchup: Western Michigan @ Buffalo

Upset alert: Michigan @ Minnesota

Must win: Louisville @ NC State

Offensive explosion: No. 7 Alabama @ No. 16 Mississippi State

Defensive struggle: Michigan State @ Wisconsin

Great game no one is talking about: Pittsburgh @ Virginia Tech (Friday)

Also:  West Virginia @ Iowa State

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame vs Bill Belichick of North Carolina

Who’s bringing the body bags?  No. 11 LSU @ McNeese State

Why are they playing?  No. 11 LSU @ McNeese State

Plenty of good seats remaining: LA Monroe @ South Alabama

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Texas Southern @ Florida Atlantic

Week 4 Thoughts:

Texas survived yet another strong challenge, this time in the hostile confines of legendary Neyland Stadium.  Many in the sports commentary sphere remarked that had this been a night game, the place would have been more intimidating to the visiting Longhorns to the point where the odds would have been more in the Volunteers’ favor.  That assessment does not take a rocket scientist to figure out:  the fans would have had all day to get good and drunk.  Drunker fans equal louder fans, making for an even more hostile environment in which for the visitors to play.  Small wonder LSU plays most of their games in the evening.

To compensate for this lack of, er, augmented home field advantage, Neyland Stadium opened up its gates early.  Parking lots opened at 6 AM for example, but that’s not the half of it.  The University of Tennessee discounted all of their stadium concessions, including (read:  especially) beer, at 50 percent between 9 and 10 AM (!).  The ostensible reason for all of this was to encourage early arrival in order to avoid congestion as President Donald Trump, who also attended the game, was to arrive.  But let us kid ourselves.  As plausible as this may be, on the surface, for the reason behind this “early bird special”, we all know the real reason behind it, and its somewhat genius.  Some might say dangerously genius, as it could set a new precedence for new degrees of fan inebriation earlier in the day going forward, but time will tell.

Regardless, all of this was before the game itself.  Hard to believe that this was the first time the Horns and Volunteers played each other in the regular season.  Moreover, the last time these two storied programs clashed was in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day, 1969, almost seven months shy of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and a prelude to the Longhorns’ undefeated season that same year which culminated in a national title of their own.

The game lived up to its hype, for both teams gave strong efforts, and at the end, Texas’ defensive line made the difference in stifling Tennessee’s young but potentially-gifted QB Faizon Brandon.  Such potential showed itself in the form of Faizon almost completing a Hail Mary pass in the end zone as the game ended.

Random Thoughts:

There are body bag games, then then there are worse, even more pointless body bag games.  To wit, regarding the latter:  rarely would one consider the Pittsburgh Panthers to be pitiless executioners in such affairs, but so it went when they mercilessly ground down Bucknell 59-0.  It is one thing for a Power-Five team to pick up an easy win against a “Group of Six” team for cash.  It is quite another to pulverize a middling FCS team with no playoff hopes even at the latter’s level of competition.  In this new day and age of playoffs and increased parity in the sport at the upper levels of FBS play, is it not unreasonable that we ban such ugly matchups from ever happening again?

Same thing goes for Duke.  Scheduling a low-end Sunbelt or MAC conference team for an easy win is one thing.  Scheduling a middling FCS team is getting ridiculous.  At least with Pitt, they kept it in-state.  Stunts like these make for begging for some central authority to start making schedules like they do in the NFL.

How many holes did Jeff Brohm kick into the wall of his office in the wake of Louisville’s puzzling loss, at home to Wake Forest?  Either the Demon Deacons are far better than their currently unranked status shows, or the Cardinals demonstrated some weird refusal to effectively execute plays.  For a team to go toe-to-toe with Ole Miss and then to take down a formidable SMU squad only to come up short against this team leaves one to sympathize with Brohm in his current frustrations.

Don’t look now, but Luke Fickell finally got something close to a signature win in taking down then-undefeated Penn State, in Happy Valley, no less.  Perhaps the Badger program is gaining strength under his leadership after all.  Time will tell if this is a harbinger of further success for the program, or some curious anomaly instead.

Something to monitor for Week 5:  can Missouri’s defense contain Florida’s offense more effectively than Ole Miss’ did in The Swamp this week?

College Football Awards, Week 3 (2026) September 21, 2026

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Pete Golding, Ole Miss

Glad I’m not him: Lane Kiffin, LSU

Lucky guy: Joey McGuire, Texas Tech

Poor guy: Willie Fritz, Houston

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Brent Venables, Oklahoma

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mike Elko, Texas A&M

Desperately seeking … anything:  Bronco Mendenhall

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Kent State 59-3)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: USC (defeated Rutgers 42-35)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: UTEP (lost to No. 19 Michigan 52-17)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  New Mexico (lost to Oklahoma 14-6)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Iowa State (defeated Bowling Green 55-7)

Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad:  Northern Illinois

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Virginia

Did the season start?  Texas A&M
Can the season end?  Utah State

Can the season never end? Ole Miss

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 8 Ole Miss 32, No. 9 LSU 24

Play this again, too: Toledo 49, Temple 48 (OT)

Never play this again: No. 21 Oregon 84, Portland State 0

What?  West Virgina 38, No. 25 Virginia 27

Huh?  No. 23 Louisville 41, No. 16 SMU 31

Are you kidding me??  No. 8 Ole Miss 32, No. 9 LSU 24

Oh – my – God:  Kentucky 31, No. 9 Texas A&M 21

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 4)
Ticket to die for:  No. 1 Texas @ No. 14 Tennessee

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: Appalachian State @ NC State

Best non-Power Four matchup: Boise State @ Western Michigan

Upset alert: Wake Forest @ No. 16 Louisville

Must win: No. 23 Texas A&M @ No. 10 LSU

Offensive explosion: No. 20 Oregon @ No. 12 USC

Defensive struggle: Nebraska @ Michigan State

Great game no one is talking about: No. 15 Utah @ Iowa State

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Kirk Ferentz of Iowa vs Kyle Whittingham of Michigan

Who’s bringing the body bags?  Central Michigan @ No. 5 Miami

Why are they playing?  South Alabama @ Kentucky

Plenty of good seats remaining: Stonehill @ Ohio U

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Mercyhurst @ Western Kentucky

Week 3 Thoughts:

Lane Kiffin’s awkward homecoming back to Ole Miss as the new head coach at LSU was a game that lived up to its hype.  In addition to the obvious awkwardness and intrigue of that matchup (Kiffin’s former assistant at Ole Miss is now the Rebels’ head coach) was a layer of irony piled on top of it all.  Clearly the idea behind Kiffin’s sudden, jarring departure from a playoff-bound program was to go to an even greener pasture.  Yet the team Kiffin left behind played like the more physical team, not to mention having an overwhelming advantage in quarterback play.  Despite the Tigers’ occasional flash of brilliance, the Rebels were able to maintain their lead throughout most of the game, and triumphed in the end, 32-24, in what must have felt like a massive vindication for the faithful fans in Oxford, Miss.

When one widens the angle of the lens, a curious dynamic comes into view.  Louisville opened the season against Ole Miss, and almost beat them.  LSU, seemingly a stronger team than the Cardinals, had greater struggles against the Rebels in their game than the Cards did against the same team in theirs.  Meanwhile, Louisville defeated a formidable SMU team at home.

Next week, Wake Forest comes calling at Louisville, the same Demon Deacons that hanged tough against currently-No. 6 Miami.  Whereas the Cardinals faced a must-win for conference championship viability this just-concluded week, they could face a potential upset in the week to come.

Random Thoughts:

Offensive explosions I did not have on my bingo card this week included Florida at Auburn (the Gators won, 44-39); Mississippi State at South Carolina (the Bulldogs won, 41-34); Florida State at Alabama (the Tide eventually pulled away, 50-36); and, perhaps the most odd of them all, Purdue at UCLA, with the Bruins winning 52-38.

Speaking of Mississippi State, they have been on a tear recently.  The Bulldogs humiliated Minnesota up in Minneapolis the previous week before pulling out another win on the road in Columbia.  Now at No. 24, they face No. 19 Missouri in their biggest test yet.

Speaking of potential upsets, keep an eye on how Ole Miss reacts to their big win, as they venture into The Swamp next week to face an apparently resurgent Florida team, now ranked No. 21.

Meanwhile, whither LSU?  Now at No. 10 (only losing two spots in the rankings), they face Texas A&M, erstwhile No. 9, now all the way down to No. 23 after coughing up the game at home to still-unranked Kentucky.  Both teams now have a chance to recover their wounded pride and standing, making for a uniquely must-win situation.

Along the same subject of must-wins, how does Texas respond to their No. 1 ranking?  They now must venture into a hostile Neyland Stadium to face No. 14 Tennessee.  Not so long ago, on paper, such a discrepancy in the rankings would be overwhelming.  With NIL having brought a new level of parity to the upper rankings, that gap in rank is not so overwhelming anymore.  Bottom line, the Horns will have a major fight on their hands, in what should be the best game of the week, within the Noon Eastern Time slot, no less.

College Football Awards, Week 2 (2026) September 14, 2026

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Steve Sarkesian, Texas

Glad I’m not him: Ryan Day, Ohio State

Lucky guy: Brian Hartline, South Florida

Poor guy: Jeff Monken, Army

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jedd Fisch, Washington

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Dan Lanning, Oregon

Desperately seeking … anything:  Barry Odom, Purdue

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Georgia (defeated Western Kentucky 70-20)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Washington (defeated Utah State 16-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Rice (lost to No. 3 Notre Dame 52-0)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Oregon State (lost to Texas Tech 35-24)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Mississippi State (defeated Minnesota 38-13)  

Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad:  UNLV

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  Oregon

Did the season start?  Oregon
Can the season end?  Purdue

Can the season never end? Texas

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 4 Texas 24, No. 1 Ohio State 23

Play this again, too: Michigan 17, No. 11 Oklahoma 10

Never play this again: Houston 77, Southern 6

What?  Illinois State 28, Northern Illinois 24

Huh?  Michigan 17, No. 11 Oklahoma 10

Are you kidding me??  No. 4 Texas 24, No. 1 Ohio State 23

Oh – my – God:  OK State 39, No. 6 Oregon 31

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 3)
Ticket to die for:  No. 8 LSU @ No. 9 Ole Miss

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: Tulane @ Kansas State

Best non-Power Four matchup: Western Michigan @ Rice

Upset alert: Michigan State @ No. 3 Notre Dame

Must win: No. 16 SMU @ No. 23 Louisville

Offensive explosion: No. 22 Houston @ No. 13 Texas Tech

Defensive struggle: North Carolina @ Clemson

Great game no one is talking about: Arizona State @ Kansas

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Bill Belichick of North Carolina vs Dabo Swinney of Clemson

Who’s bringing the body bags?  Kent State @ No. 6 Ohio State

Why are they playing? Western Kentucky @ No. 4 Indiana

Plenty of good seats remaining: Stonehill @ UMass

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Northern Iowa @ No. 18 Iowa

Week 2 Thoughts:

The Ohio State-Texas game lived up to its hype, with a miraculous comeback win for the Longhorns over the Buckeyes, a result that has left Buckeye Nation in apoplexy if these articles are of any indication.  Allowing Texas to score three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter is the worst second-half collapse for the Buckeyes in the Ryan Day Era.

Conversely, OSU collapse or none, this is massive win for the Longhorns, one that gets a major monkey off the program’s – and Sark’s – back.  For how long have discussions swirled that Texas cannot win the big game?  Now they have the huge win.

Win or lose, both teams will be able to lick their wounds for a week, what with body bag games coming up for both of them.  Then, it’s on to the season, where Ohio State can no doubt take the Big Ten by storm, and where Texas has the opportunity to prove that this huge win was not a fluke as they face a positively brutal SEC schedule.

Random Thoughts:

As I look back on the random thoughts I offered for Week 2 from last year, I am struck by the interesting parallels and related differences.

For instance, take this week’s Cy-Hawk trophy game between Iowa and Iowa State.  I wrote:

“The only reason the game for the Cy-Hawk trophy ended as closely as it did was because of avoidable mistakes committed by the victors.  Sooner or later, a team that make fewer mistakes shall come along to play Iowa, and when they do, expect a humiliating defeat for the Hawkeyes and a possible end to the Kirk Ferentz era.”

Given how last night’s game was such a low-scoring affair, one could say the exact same thing for this go-around.

Regardless, there’s something about Iowa and their massive trophies.  The Cy-Hawk trophy is so heavy, at 90 pounds, it required two o-linemen to carry it.  If that’s not enough, the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, played for annually between the Hawkeyes and Minnesota, is even heavier at 98 pounds.

But in continuation of the initial observation, in another parallel to last year’s week 2 observations, Illinois played their home half of the home-and-home series with Duke.  But in contrast to last year’s 45-19 ripping victory on the road, this time Duke pulled off an upset on the road, 31-27.  While I observed last year:

“Keep an eye out for Illinois.  They are currently ranked No. 9, and defeated a well-coached Duke team, 45-19.”, the Illini are currently unranked.  I can’t imagine why.

Returning to the Texas-Ohio State game, one thing that allowed for an improved offensive output for the Longhorns in the second half was Sark getting out of Arch Manning’s way.  Let us hope for the sake of that team that their head coach continues to heed this lesson as the season progresses.

College Football Awards, Week 8 (2025) October 20, 2025

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Kalen DeBoer, Alabama

Glad I’m not him: Josh Heupel, Tennessee

Lucky guy: Steve Sarkesian, Texas

Poor guy: Mark Stoops, Kentucky

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Brian Kelly, LSU

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Braun, Northwestern

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mario Cristobal, Miami (FL)

Desperately seeking … anything:  Barry Odom, Purdue

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oregon (defeated Rutgers 56-10)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Memphis  
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Charlotte (lost to Temple 49-14)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: UAB

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Toledo (defeated Kent State 45-10)  

Dang, they’re good: Oregon
Dang, they’re bad:  Purdue

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Miami, FL

Did the season start?  LSU
Can the season end?  Sam Houston

Can the season never end? Vanderbilt

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 9 Georgia 43, No. 5 Ole Miss 35

Play this again, too: Arizona State 26, No. 7 Texas Tech 22

Never play this again: James Madison 63, Old Dominion 27

What?  UAB 31, No. 22 Memphis 24

Huh?  Minnesota 24, No. 25 Nebraska 6

Double-huh?  No. 17 Vanderbilt 31, No. 10 LSU 24

Are you kidding me??  Arizona State 26, No. 7 Texas Tech 22

Oh – my – God:  Louisville 24, No. 2 Miami, FL 21

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 9)
Ticket to die for:  No. 3 Texas A&M @ No. 20 LSU

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: none

Best non-Power Four matchup: No. 18 South Florida @ Memphis

Upset alert: No. 11 BYU @ Iowa State

Must win: No. 8 Ole Miss @ No. 13 Oklahoma

Offensive explosion: Baylor @ No. 24 Cincinnati

Defensive struggle: Rutgers @ Purdue

Great game no one is talking about: No. 23 Illinois @ Washington

Also:  Northwestern @ Nebraska

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Jedd Fisch of Washington vs Bret Bielema of Illinois

Who’s bringing the body bags?  Oklahoma State @ No. 14 Texas Tech

Why are they playing? N/A

Plenty of good seats remaining: South Alabama @ Georgia State

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  North Texas @ Charlotte

Week 8 Thoughts:

Another week has passed where upsets abounded.  The weekend launched with a bang in the form of unranked Louisville delivering a massive upset in Miami, thus exposing the Hurricanes for perhaps not being the juggernaut team some thought they were.  Jeff Brohm has been known to gear his team up for huge games, and golly, did he deliver this time.  On the other side of the ball, the Hurricanes can still regroup, finish the season strongly, and a playoff berth would surely be in the cards – an ironic expression, given the team to which they just lost – nonetheless.

Also on Friday evening, Minnesota delivered a blow to Nebraska’s brief ranking.

The next day at noon Eastern Time, the upset trend picked up where it left off with Vanderbilt exposing LSU for having an inconsistent office.  Here it is, mid-season, and Brian Kelly, a supposedly offensive coach, has yet to craft an offense to take advantage of Garrett Nussmeier’s strengths.

Then Memphis inexplicably laid an egg against UAB in Birmingham, Ala., thus jeopardizing its ranking.  At that same time, Arizona State came out of hiding and delivered the first loss of the season to then-No. 7 Texas Tech.

One would think that then-No. 9 Georgia defeating then-No. 5 Ole Miss would also qualify as a massive upset, but deep down, we all knew that the Bulldogs were the stronger team in any case, regardless of preliminary ranking.

Some near-upsets likewise occurred, such as Texas, who barely escaped Lexington with their skin on, while Washington State actually led Virginia, in Charlottesville, for a good chunk of the game before eventually losing by only two points.

Do not be fooled by the result of the Arkansas-Texas A&M game.  The Razorbacks’ loss by only three points was due to a last-minute touchdown.  That said, Bobby Petrino’s signature upset shall surely come in due time.

Another near-upset took place in Columbia, Mo., with unranked Auburn taking Missouri into OT, only to lose by a touchdown in the second overtime.  Over in Utah, while the Utes gave BYU a tough game in Provo, it was not meant to be, as the Cougars triumphed 24-21.

Random Thoughts:

The Miami Hurricanes’ quest for the playoffs is by no means dead, but look out for Georgia Tech, who remains undefeated and has now quietly risen to the No. 7 ranking, ahead of the ‘Canes sent down to that of No. 9 (a fall that could have been worse).

The Longhorns were lucky to escape Lexington with their skin on.  Now they venture to Starkville, Miss., to take on a scrappy Mississippi State squad.  High-profile QB Arch Manning was outclassed by Kentucky’s Cutter Boley last night.  Can he get it together in time to redeem himself on the road this week?

Also this week, Minnesota plays Iowa for one of the most unique trophies in all of college football, the Floyd of Rosedale, considered by many to be the top rivalry trophy in all of college football. Be ready for what should be a hard-fought matchup, as both teams are now 5-2 and are fairly evenly matched.

Look for another possibly even matchup with No. 15 Mizzou taking on No. 10 Vandy in Nashville (both teams are 6-1).  Elsewhere, 5-2 Northwestern ventures over to Lincoln to face 5-2 Nebraska, while 5-2 Illinois goes all the way out to Seattle to take on 5-2 Washington.  Perhaps the best battle of teams with matching records shall be 6-1 [No. 8] Ole Miss playing 6-1 [No. 13] Oklahoma in Norman.

It might not be the monster week we all enjoyed in week 7, but plenty of hidden gems await us all the same.

College Football Awards, Week 7 (2025) October 13, 2025

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Curt Cignetti, Indiana

Honorable mention:  Steve Sarkesian, Texas

Glad I’m not him: Dan Lanning, Oregon

Lucky guy: Kalen DeBoer, Alabama

Poor guy: Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Alex Golesh, South Florida

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mike Norvell, Florida State

Desperately seeking … anything:  James Franklin, Penn State

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Clemson (defeated Boston College 41-10)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Ole Miss (defeated Washington State 24-21)  
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: N/A

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Northwestern (defeated Penn State 22-21)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  South Florida (defeated North Texas 63-36)  

Honorable mention:  Utah (defeated No. 21 Arizona State 42-10)

Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad:  Akron

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Oregon

Did the season start?  Penn State
Can the season end?  Florida State

Can the season never end? Indiana

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 7 Indiana 30, No. 3 Oregon 20

Play this again, too: No. 8 Alabama 27, No. 14 Missouri 24

Never play this again: UTSA 61, Rice 13

What?  Colorado 22, No. 22 Iowa State 17

Huh?  USC 31, No. 15 Michigan 13

Double-huh?  No. 7 Indiana 30, No. 3 Oregon 20

Are you kidding me??  Texas 23, No. 6 Oklahoma 6

Oh – my – God:  Northwestern 22, Penn State 21

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 8)
Ticket to die for:  No. 12 Tennessee @ No. 8 Alabama

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: Washington State @ No. 19 Virginia

Best non-Power Four matchup: UNLV @ Boise State

Upset alert: Utah @ No. 18 BYU

Also:  No. 20 USC @ No. 13 Notre Dame

Must win: No. 4 Ole Miss @ No. 9 Georgia

Offensive explosion: Air Force @ UNLV

Defensive struggle: Penn State @ Iowa

Great game no one is talking about: Arizona @ Houston

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Mike Elko of Texas A&M vs Bobby Petrino of Arkansas

Who’s bringing the body bags?  No. 22 Memphis @ UAB

Why are they playing? Washington State @ No. 19 Virginia

Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia State @ Georgia Southern

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Lafayette @ Oregon State

Week 7 Thoughts:

Another monster week for college football, with great games abounding from noon Eastern through night, and upsets abounding in turn.  Indiana proved that they are a considerable force to be reckoned with in defeating Oregon, on the road, no less.  USC continues to quietly gain strength after losing to Illinois earlier in the year, this time by defeating ranked Michigan in rather convincing fashion.  Colorado proved to have some fight within them by upsetting Iowa State on the road.  Then we had the Red River Showdown, and the incredibly electric environment it always produces.  Many in the sports commentary space had given Texas up for dead after their loss to Florida in the Swamp last week.  The calculus was that since the Longhorns’ offense sputtered against the Gators’ defense, given that Oklahoma’s defense is even better, Texas would likely be demolished in Dallas.  But as the great Lee Corso would say, “[N]ot so fast, my friend!”  The Longhorns’ defense stepped up in a major way, cramping the performance of the Sooner’s star QB John Mateer as he returned to the line-up, going so far as to shut out OU in the second half and to deny them reaching the endzone the entire game.  In so doing, Texas defense gave their offense time to get their sea-legs under them.  Thus, Texas’ triumph was unexpected, and all the more savored.

Elsewhere, Pitt upset Florida State, in Tallahassee, no less, but perhaps the biggest upset of all came when Northwestern stunned Penn State in Happy Valley, 22-21.  That loss came on the heels of the Nittany Lions already losing that heartbreaker to Oregon, then laying an egg on the road to UCLA.  Now they have suffered this defeat, which is no ignominious and ill-timed that Penn State fired James Franklin today.  Penn State’s current state was made all the worse with QB Drew Allar suffering a season-ending injury late in the game.  What started out as a potential championship season for the Nittany Lions now lies in ruin.

Some near-upsets also occurred wherein Mizzou was on the verge of defeating favored Alabama before the Tiger’s QB threw a sudden pick that ended the drive and their hopes of victory.  In a similar situation was Washington State, who ventured into Ole Miss and nearly defeated the home team before the Rebels somehow managed to escape with their skin intact.  Arkansas presented a serious challenge to Tennessee, signaling that the Bobby Petrino Era 2.0 is on the rise in Fayetteville.  Late into the night, Arizona took BYU in a second overtime before the Cougars managed to pull out the win.

What a week.

Random Thoughts:

UCLA was once the whipping boy of the B1G.  Not anymore.  Perhaps all it took was the firing of the inept DeShaun Foster, inter alia.  But now the Bruins are a rising force in the conference.  First, they massively upset Penn State at home last week.  This week, they went on the road to dismantle Michigan State.  Not a moment too soon, either, since all the remaining opponents – including Indiana and Ohio State – or nearly-ranked (e.g., Maryland and Washington).  At this rate, their traditional rivalry game against USC should be one the best in Gen-Z’s living memory.

Meanwhile, has there been a team to more quietly advance up the rankings than Georgia Tech, at least recently?  The Yellowjackets are currently undefeated (6-0), and have now reached the rank of No. 12.

College Football Awards, Week 6 (2025) October 6, 2025

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Mario Cristobal, Miami (FL)

Glad I’m not him: Mike Norvell, Florida State

Lucky guy: Tony Elliot, Virginia

Poor guy: Jeff Brohm, Louisville

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Steve Sarkesian, Texas

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: James Franklin, Penn State

Desperately seeking … anything:  Bill Belichick, North Carolina

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: NC State (defeated Campbell 56-10)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Penn State  
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kent State (lost to No. 5 Oklahoma 44-0)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: UCLA

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  UConn (defeated FIU 51-10)  

Dang, they’re good: Miami (FL)
Dang, they’re bad:  FIU

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Texas

Did the season start?  Penn State
Can the season end?  Oklahoma State

Can the season never end? Alabama

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 3 Miami (FL) 28, No. 18 Florida State 22

Play this again, too: Navy 34, Air Force 31

Never play this again: NC State 56, Campbell 10

What?  Wake Forest 30, Virginia Tech 23

Huh?  Cincinnati 38, No. 14 Iowa State 30

Are you kidding me??  Florida 29, No. 9 Texas 21

Oh – my – God:  UCLA 42, No. 7 Penn State 35

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 7)
Ticket to die for:  No. 7 Indiana @ No. 3 Oregon

Best Only non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: Washington State @ No. 4 Ole Miss

Best non-Power Four matchup: No. 24 South Florida @ North Texas

Upset alert: No. 8 Alabama @ No. 14 Missouri

Also:  No. 15 Michigan @ USC

Must win: No. 6 Oklahoma vs Texas in the Red River Showdown in Dallas

Offensive explosion: Air Force @ UNLV

Defensive struggle: Iowa @ Wisconsin

Great game no one is talking about: Nebraska @ Maryland

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Barry Odom of Purdue vs PJ Fleck of Minnesota

Who’s bringing the body bags?  Houston @ Oklahoma State

Why are they playing? Washington State @ No. 4 Ole Miss

Plenty of good seats remaining: UMass @ Kent State

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Wake Forest @ Oregon State

Week 6 Thoughts:

What are we to make of what happened some of this week’s games?  Let us take Penn State as an example:  last week, they could have earned top-rank status in the Big Ten Conference, arguably the strongest conference this season.  A sudden, freak interception thrown by Penn State QB Drew Allar instead vaulted Oregon to near-supremacy in the B1G instead, though further tests await the Ducks (namely, IU coming to Eugene this upcoming weekend).

Then, in the most inexplicable of turns, Penn State ventures out west to play UCLA.  The Bruins have been notorious for reeling this year, so it stood to reason that the Nittany Lions could get well on a this hapless bunch, almost having to play the role of pitiless executioner, even on the road.  Funny thing how the Bruins failed to get that memo, as they pounced on the ‘Lions, first scoring 10 unanswered points and never relinquishing the lead throughout the game, despite giving up a safety with 0:25 left in the 4th quarter.

The questions that many observers quietly raised about the limitations of James Franklin’s coaching have now become a roaring clamor heard throughout the core geographical footprint of the B1G.  Could this be a sudden unraveling of Franklin’s tenure in not-so-Happy Valley?

Meanwhile, let us recall that many folks, Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd included, projected Penn State to play Texas for the national title.  The latter’s scenario seems almost unlikely as the former’s, as Arch Manning & Co. got swallowed up in The Swamp this week.  Manning continues to wait too long in the pocket to release his passes, but remains quite adept at scrambling for yardage.  Perhaps Steve Sarkesian and staff can coach the former out of him and lean more into the latter.  If so, then further room for growth and development remains.  It had better come quickly, as they play hated, resurgent rival Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl amid the Texas State Fair next week.

The respective problems with Franklin and Sark are polar-opposites to each other.  Sark thinks he can overwhelm his opponents with a “wow” factor, and that clearly has not worked.  Moreover, Sark’s big weakness is that he is never organizationally buttoned-up as one might expect for an elite coach.  The latter is not Franklin’s problem at all, but he is totally lacking in the “wow” factor.  That actually makes him a good fit at Penn State, which historically takes a very blue-collar attitude towards the game.

Combine the two respective strengths of these respective coaches, and one has the next Nick Saban.  But alone, they are not quite as elite coaches as we thought that they were.  In their defense, so few coaches are in an overall league (the FBS) with 136 teams.

Random Thoughts:

Not a week of many potential offensive explosions, so it seems, but my prediction record on those is spotty at best.  That said, we have a bumper crop this upcoming week for potential upsets.  In addition to the aforementioned Alabama @ Missouri and Michigan @ USC, potential upsets abound elsewhere.  To wit:  South Carolina @ No. 11 LSU; Arizona @ No. 18 BYU; Arkansas @ No. 12 Tennessee; dare we also include Arizona State (ranked) @ Utah (currently unranked), and Illinois @ Ohio State?  The last one, probably not, although it will be interesting to see how well the Illini rise to that ultimate test.

College Football Awards, Week 4 (2025) September 22, 2025

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Curt Cignetti, Indiana

Glad I’m not him: Hugh Freeze, Auburn

Lucky guy: Ryan Silverfield, Memphis

Poor guy: Sam Pittman, Arkansas

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Kyle Whittingham, Utah

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Locksley, Maryland

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bret Bielema, Illinois

Desperately seeking … anything:  Dabo Swinney, Clemson

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Florida State (defeated Kent State 66-10)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: North Texas  (defeated Army 45-38)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Oregon State (lost to No. 6 Oregon 41-7)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Army (lost to North Texas 45-38)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Indiana (defeated No. 9 Illinois 63-10)  

Dang, they’re good: Oklahoma
Dang, they’re bad:  Oklahoma State

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Illinois

Did the season start?  Utah
Can the season end?  Clemson

Can the season never end? Indiana

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 11 Oklahoma 24, No. 22 Auburn 17

Play this again, too: No. 21 Michigan 30, Nebraska 27

Never play this again: No. 7 Florida State 63, Kent State 10

What?  Maryland 27, Wisconsin 10

Huh?  Memphis 32, Arkansas 31

Are you kidding me??  Tulsa 19, Oklahoma State 12

Oh – my – God:  No. 19 Indiana 63, No. 9 Illinois 10

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 5)
Ticket to die for:  No. 6 Oregon @ No. 2 Penn State

Hon. mention:  No. 4 LSU @ No. 13 Ole Miss

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: N/A

Best non-Power Four matchup: Rice @ Navy

Upset alert: Arizona @ No. 12 Iowa State

Must win: Auburn @ No. 9 Texas A&M

Offensive explosion: (inconclusive)

Defensive struggle: Kentucky @ South Carolina

Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Pittsburgh

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Bret Bielema of Illinois vs Lincoln Riley of USC

Who’s bringing the body bags?  South Alabama @ North Texas

Why are they playing? UMass @ No. 23 Missouri

Plenty of good seats remaining: UCLA @ Northwestern

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Lindenwood @ Miami (OH)

Week 4 Thoughts:

The Texas Tech-Utah game reminded us fans that one can have a defensive struggle for a game, and still enjoy an exciting contest.  That being said, the aforementioned defensive struggle lasted for three of the four quarters of the game.  Then in the 4th quarter, things finally clicked offensively for the Red Raiders, they opened up the game, and the Utes had no answer, hence the lopsided score in the end.

A random observation:  since the Utes elected to wear white helmets at home, how come Texas Tech could not wear their signature black helmets to further, and properly, differentiate themselves on the field?  Furthermore, do not get me started on the irony of how I predicted this game to be an offensive explosion, only for it to materialize as a defensive struggle instead…for three quarters, at least. 

That said, the best game of the week was definitely the showdown in Norman, Okla., between the Sooners and visiting Auburn.  Both teams had good talent; both fought hard throughout the game.  Underdog Auburn was certainly, and commendably, game for the fight, but in the end, did not quite have enough offense to overcome the favored home team.  But what a game.  This win should put the rest of the western half of the SEC on notice that the Sooners are not to be taken lightly.

Meanwhile, what was the “ticket to die for” on paper was at…Indiana University?  That’s right.  No. 9 Illinois came calling to play at No. 19 Indiana, on an NBC night game, no less.  In what was perhaps the most electric atmosphere ever in Bloomington, Ind., the Hoosiers threw down the gauntlet early when drawing first blood at 9:35 in the 1st quarter, off a blocked punt, no less.  While Illinois seemed to answer the challenge with their own score only 1:01 later, that answer proved anemic, as the Hoosiers then ripped off eight unanswered scores in what amounted to one of the biggest blowouts of the week.  All the Illini could muster within IU’s eight-score stretch was a sad field goal right before halftime.  Not exactly the expected performance of a No. 9-ranked team:  concurrently, can we acknowledge the possibility that this year’s IU squad is even better than last year’s surprise playoff team?

Random Thoughts:

Syracuse triumphed over Clemson, in [the other] Death Valley, 34-21.  A couple of weeks ago, this would be considered a massive upset.  But going into this game, the Orange was 2-1, while the Tigers were unranked at 1-2.  Given that context, is the Orange’s win even an upset?  Not to put a bad spin on Syracuse’s big win, but it came at the cost of an injury (the crutches-and-protective-boot kind) to their starting QB, Steve Angeli, meaning that this victory could prove to be Pyrrhic.

Where was Arkansas’ defense in the second half?  Their defense allowed for 18 answered points scored, in turn allowing for Memphis to pull off a stunning upset.

So, next week should be a monster one for the sport that we love.  In addition to Auburn and Texas A&M; LSU and Ole Miss; Alabama and Georgia; plus Oregon and Penn State knocking heads, plenty other interesting matchups abound.  TCU plays Arizona State; Notre Dame plays Arkansas; USC plays Illinois; Cincinnati plays Kansas; Louisville plays Pittsburgh; Indiana plays Iowa; Tennessee plays undefeated Mississippi State; Arizona plays Iowa State; Ohio State plays Washington; and BYU takes on Colorado.  To express things another way, for once, there is a dearth of body bag games this week (potentially two, and that is it).  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God, and buckle up, buckaroos.

College Football Awards, Week 3 (2025) September 16, 2025

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Kirby Smart, Georgia

Glad I’m not him: Josh Heupel, Tennessee

Lucky guy: Mike Elko, Texas A&M

Poor guy: Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Steve Sarkesian, Texas

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Clark Lea, Vanderbilt

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Shane Beamer, South Carolina

Desperately seeking … anything:  DeShaun Foster, UCLA

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Indiana (defeated Indiana State 73-0)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas (defeated UTEP 27-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Central Michigan (lost to No. 23 Michigan 63-3)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Arkansas State (lost to No. 14 Iowa State 24-16)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  North Texas (defeated Washington State 59-10)  

Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad:  Washington State

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  South Carolina

Did the season start?  Clemson
Can the season end?  UCLA

Can the season never end? Texas A&M

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 6 Georgia 44, No. 15 Tennessee 41, OT

Play this again, too: No. 16 Texas A&M 41, No. 8 Notre Dame 40

Never play this again: No. 22 Indiana 73, Indiana State 0

Huh?  No. 16 Texas A&M 41, No. 8 Notre Dame 40

Are you kidding me??  Georgia Tech 24, No. 12 Clemson 21

Oh – my – God:  Vanderbilt 31, No. 11 South Carolina 7

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 4)
Ticket to die for:  No. 9 Illinois @ No. 19 Indiana

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: Arkansas @ Memphis

Best non-Power Four matchup: Fresno State @ Hawaii

Upset alert: South Carolina @ No. 23 Missouri

Must win: No. 22 Auburn @ No. 11 Oklahoma

Offensive explosion: No. 17 Texas Tech @ No. 16 Utah

Defensive struggle: Maryland @ Wisconsin

Great game no one is talking about: Michigan State @ No. 25 USC

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Curt Cignetti of Indiana vs Brett Bielema of Illinois

Honorable mention:  Scott Frost of UCF vs Bill Belichick of North Carolina

Who’s bringing the body bags?  North Texas @ Army

Why are they playing? Kent State @ No. 7 Florida State

Plenty of good seats remaining: Marshall @ Middle Tennessee

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Murray State @ Jacksonville State

Week 3 Thoughts:

We the fans enjoyed two incredible games this week, one was during the 3:30 EDT timeslot in Knoxville, between Georgia and Tennessee.  The other was in the evening, in South Bend, as a rematch between Texas A&M and Notre Dame.  Both we close games that went down to the wire. 

For the former, Tennessee had the chance to bring home the win, but made too many mistakes, and in the end, snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

For the latter, fewer mistakes on both sides of the ball were made, and was arguably an even more epic game.  The ‘so-what’ outcome is that Mike Elko & Co. finally have a signature win, establishing the Aggies as a force to be reckoned with in their division of the SEC.

Random Thoughts:

Either Vanderbilt is that good or South Carolina decided to take a night off in their own home stadium.  Making sense of such a drubbing on one’s own home turf shall take time in the form of seeing more games from the Commodores to find out if embarrassing the Gamecocks was some fluke or if they are the real deal.

Should the Longhorn faithful become increasingly concerned?  Probably.  For the second week in a row in what should have been a cakewalk for Texas, the home team scored only 27 points against lowly, lowly UTEP.  QB Arch Manning remains off-rhythm, still missing easy passes.  What on Earth is going on in Austin?  They have one last game to get it together (against Sam Houston State) before things start to get real with conference play.

Was Clemson overrated all this time, or has Georgia Tech been underrated for the same duration?  Regardless, the Yellow Jackets winning on a last-second field goal provided yet another thrilling finish to contribute to a great day for the game of college football.  The completed FG made me want to jump up like Homer Simpson (in Season 1 of the long-enduring sitcom), exclaiming “It’s good!  It’s good!”