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.
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Bob Chesney, UCLA
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Desperately seeking … anything: Jon Sumrall, Florida
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Northwestern (defeated Ball State 45-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Indiana (defeated Nebraska 20-17) Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Stanford (lost to Notre Dame 58-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Penn State (lost to USC 31-23)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Purdue (defeated Minnesota 41-13)
Dang, they’re good: Notre Dame Dang, they’re bad: Appalachian State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Texas
Did the season start? Florida Can the season end? Northern Illinois
Can the season never end? Georgia
GAMES Play this again: Oklahoma 27, No. 1 Texas 24
Play this again, too: No. 2 Georgia 20, No. 6 Alabama 17
Never play this again: Oregon State 66, SDSU 14
What? No. 21 UCLA 17, No. 13 Oregon 15
What-what? Purdue 41, Minnesota 13
Huh? North Carolina 21, No. 25 Pittsburgh 17
Double-Huh? Kentucky 34, No. 10 LSU 33 (OT)
Are you kidding me?? South Carolina 38, No. 16 Florida 19
Oh – my – God: Oklahoma 27, No. 1 Texas 24
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 7) Ticket to die for: No. 5 Ohio State @ No. 7 Indiana
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: none
Best non-Power Four matchup: Memphis @ Tulane (Friday)
Upset alert: Florida @ No. 7 Texas
Must win: No. 6 Alabama @ No. 14 Tennessee
Offensive explosion: No. 13 Missouri @ No. 9 Ole Miss
Defensive struggle: Penn State @ Michigan
Great game no one is talking about: No. 18 Oklahoma State @ No. 20 Houston
Also: Washington @ Purdue
Intriguing coaching matchup: Brent Venables of Oklahoma vs Will Stein of Kentucky
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 25 Northwestern @ Michigan State
Why are they playing? Elon @ Stanford
Plenty of good seats remaining: Ball State @ Bowling Green
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Rutgers @ Maryland
Week 6 Thoughts:
The Red River Rivalry did not disappoint in terms of delivering a dramatic game. Having 92,000 fans in the storied Cotton Bowl stadium, evenly divided between fan bases in a bitter rivalry never fails in delivering an incredibly electric environment.
As far as the game itself and its dramatic outcome, there are lessons to be learned. On paper, Texas should have put Oklahoma away early on. The fact that they failed to do so, thus allowing for the Sooners to hang around, eventually got the underdogs thinking that they could win the game. Some key errors late in the 4th quarter, namely Steve Sarkesian opting for a [missed] field goal instead of going for it on 4th and 2, and Arch Manning throwing a most-costly interception that put Oklahoma in position to kick a game-winning field goal in the final seconds. So one lesson learned: if you are the Number-one team, act like it, assert yourselves accordingly, and put your rival away without mercy.
As far as Arch Manning goes, it is beyond time to have a grown-up conversation that he is not as great a QB as hype would suggest otherwise. That said, he does have the occasional flash of brilliance. The long bomb into the end zone in the 1st quarter was certainly impressive. Sark would do well to sometimes get out of his way and allow for him to move the chains with his schoolyard ball-style heroics that did him so well against Ohio State. The other lesson, should Sark thus heed it, is to take the straightjacket off Arch, who has clear limitations at this point, and let me run more with the ball.
In fairness, credit Oklahoma with their offensive line play. They held off Texas’ killer front four the whole game, minimizing sacks allowed with their QB, Mateer, was underperforming throughout the game except for, inexplicably, the final series.
Elsewhere, Georgia beat Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, in a hard-fought game. Many have speculated that the Bulldogs could be the best time in the country currently, but as good as they looked, it was against nobodies. Now they played somebody in the form of Kalen DeBoer’s resurgent Alabama squad, and beat them at that. Now we know that Georgia is for real after all.
Random Thoughts:
Don’t look now, but UCLA is 5-0 and just upset Oregon. Given the offensive output of both teams going into that game, it seemed like an enticing prospect for an offensive explosion. Inexplicably, it turned out to be a defensive struggle instead.
Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Purdue, who was one of the conference punching bags for a while, just beat Minnesota, in butt-kicking fashion no less. Next up for the Boilermakers to prove they deserve more respect in the conference is a Friday night matchup against visiting Washington, a team that is trying to lick its wounds after taking a 41-24 shellacking at home against Iowa this past Friday.
Louisville remains the biggest mystery in the ACC. After frustrating performances against both Wake Forest and NC State, they turn around and wallop Florida State, arguably a better team than either of the previous two. If we did not know any better, we might assume that they flipped some magical, invisible switch that got the Cardinals to play good football again.
Florida’s decline seems to continue. First they laid an egg last week against Missouri. Now South Carolina embarrassed them at home. Was their ripping victory over Ole Miss at Pyrrhic?
Back to Red River to offer a parting observation: throughout that game, neither team’s QB elected to throw over the middle, despite it being undefended during the bulk of regulation. No doubt this will be a vexing issue for both Texas’ and OU’s offensive coordinators to deal with this week during film study, and have a thing or two to point out to their respective QBs in the process.
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)
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 thesearticles 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.
Ticket to die for: Ohio State vs Indiana in the B1G Championship game
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: N/A
Best non-Power Four matchup: North Texas vs No. 24 Tulane in the AAC Championship game
Upset alert: Georgia vs Alabama in the SEC Championship game
Must win: BYU vs Texas Tech in the Big XII Championship game
Offensive explosion: (inclusive)
Defensive struggle: Georgia vs Alabama
Great game no one is talking about: Kennesaw State vs Jacksonville State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Ryan Day of Ohio State vs Curt Cignetti of Indiana
Who’s bringing the body bags? Troy vs James Madison
Why are they playing? Duke vs Virginia in the ACC Championship game
Plenty of good seats remaining: Miami (OH) vs Western Michigan in the MAC Championship game
Week 14 [Random] Thoughts:
Ohio State finally ended a four-game losing streak to Michigan, in the Big House, in a near-blizzard, no less. In so doing, Ryan Day was able to get a massive monkey off his back, in gritty conditions, no less. Even more disheartening for Michigan was that the weather definitely favored the home team, yet Ohio State still won by double-digits. This does not bode well for teams about to face the Buckeyes in the playoffs.
But before those games are to commence, a quasi-national championship matchup awaits us fans in the Big Ten championship game between Ohio State and Indiana. Lest we forget, this Hoosier team is vastly improved over last year’s playoff-participant squad.
Northwestern has to be the best 6-6 team in the nation. Most of those six losses came against formidable Big Ten teams. Should they go to a bowl game, they’ll be a deceptively dangerous team to face.
Louisville finally played up to its potential, taking out its freak loss frustrations on in-state rival Kentucky, giving the Wildcats one of their worst butt-whippings ever in a Governor’s Cup matchup, 41-0. If the Cardinals played with that consistency in half the games they lost, they would be vying for the ACC championship and a playoff spot. Then, fans would be treated to a far-better matchup than the current one of five-loss Duke vs Virginia. What could have been…
While we are on the subject of championship games, critical thinking compels us to ask: with this new era of playoffs, what is the point of them? What is the point of having extra games? With playoff rankings, flawed as they may be, what is the point of having extra opportunities for injuries for your team that could cripple it come playoff time? It is thus time that we rethink this system of championship games, and evolve away from them. Push the Army-Navy game back to the first game of the regular season, if necessary. That way, you can have the playoffs the first weekend after Rivalry Week, and be done with the season by New Year’s Day, or around that time. Oh, but what about the bowl games? Those are a vestige of the pre-playoff era. Time to evolve away from those, too. Want a few consolation games for those teams who did not make the playoffs? Fine, let’s have those, but not at the expense of the playoff schedule itself. This all drills down to the biggest systemic problem facing college football today: too many interests vying to protect their own turf at the expense of real progress and reform. We need to appoint a commissioner of college football in order to push these necessary reforms. The playoffs have brought their need to light more than anything else, after all.
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bret Bielema, Illinois
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Sean Lewis, San Diego State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Brent Key, Georgia Tech
Desperately seeking … anything: Jeff Brohm, Louisville
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Auburn (defeated Mercer 62-17)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Illinois (lost to Wisconsin 27-10) Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Syracuse (lost to No. 9 Notre Dame 70-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Stanford (defeated Cal 31-10)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Texas (defeated Arkansas 52-37)
Dang, they’re good: Notre Dame Dang, they’re bad: Sam Houston
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia Tech
Did the season start? Louisville Can the season end? Florida State
Can the season never end? Oregon
GAMES Play this again: No. 11 Oklahoma 23, No. 4 Alabama 21
Play this again, too: No. 12 Utah 51, Kansas State 47
Never play this again: No. 9 Notre Dame 70, Syracuse 7
What? Penn State 37, Nebraska 10
Huh? Stanford 31, Cal 10
Double-Huh? TCU 17, No. 23 Houston 14
Are you kidding me??Wisconsin 27, No. 21 Illinois 10
Great game no one is talking about: Arizona @ No. 25 Arizona State
Also: Cincinnati @ TCU
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mario Cristobal of Miami vs Pat Narduzzi of Pittsburgh
I.C.M., B1G Edition: P.J. Fleck of Minnesota vs Luke Fickell of Wisconsin
I.C.M., SEC Edition: Clark Lea of Vanderbilt vs Josh Heupel of Tennessee
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 2 Indiana @ Purdue
Why are they playing? Charlotte @ No. 24 Tulane
Plenty of good seats remaining: Bowling Green @ UMass
Plenty of good seats remaining, ACC Edition: Boston College @ Syracuse
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? UTEP @ Delaware
Week 13 [Random] Thoughts:
In an offensive explosion to end all offensive explosions, Utah triumphed over Kansas State 51-47: there’s the Big XII we all know and love, where defenses treat their job as if it’s a pillow fight!
The potential outcomes for the ACC champion right now are so convoluted, one would need one of those diagram boards detectives use to figure out “whodonit”. But Pittsburgh just beat hitherto contender Georgia Tech in convincing fashion, and are now about to face tough-but-inconsistent Miami (Fla.) this week. If Pat Narduzzi’s squad can pull an upset win, ought there not to be a path for the Panthers to walk away with the conference crown?
Am I the only person out there who thinks that Georgia should be ranked No. 2 in the playoffs instead of No. 4? They can demolish almost any team not named Alabama, or, possibly, Ohio State.
Rivalry Week is now upon us, where any number of crazy things can happen. Case in point: the theme music from The Twilight Zone is required to play in the background when discussing the fact that Vanderbilt is favored over Tennessee, rankings-wise…yet Tennessee still has a good team this year. There’s a twist, no?
This week is special for a number of reasons, one of which this time around is that there are so many intriguing coaching matchups. One that should perhaps also be mentioned in the list above is Dan Lanning of Oregon vs Jedd Fisch of Washington. While we’re at it, how about Eliah Drinkwitz of Missouri vs Bobby Petrino of Arkansas, or Jeff Brohm of Louisville vs Mark Stoops of Kentucky, or Dabo Swinney of Clemson vs Shane Beamer of South Carolina? I would be somewhat tempted to include Barry Odom of Purdue vs Curt Cignetti of Indiana, but the former will be so outgunned that the game will surely end in tragedy for the host team. Nevertheless, the list goes on, but the reader understands one more fascinating aspect of why this week could yield so many great games.
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jake Dickert, Wake Forest
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jeff Brohm, Louisville
Desperately seeking … anything: Bobby Petrino, Arkansas
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Tennessee (defeated New Mexico State 42-9)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Georgia Tech (defeated Boston College 36-34) Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Minnesota (lost to No. 8 Oregon 42-13)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: South Carolina (lost to No. 3 Texas A&M 31-30)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Nevada (defeated San Jose State 55-10)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia Dang, they’re bad: San Jose State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Alabama
Did the season start? Louisville Can the season end? Arkansas
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
GAMES Play this again: No. 11 Oklahoma 23, No. 4 Alabama 21
Play this again, too: No. 3 Texas A&M 31, South Carolina 30
Never play this again: Nevada 55, SJSU 10
What? Texas State 41, Southern Miss 14
Huh? Arizona 30, No. 25 Cincinnati 24
Are you kidding me??: Clemson 20, No. 20 Louisville 19
rankings are current AP (week 13) Ticket to die for: USC @ Oregon
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: Western Kentucky @ LSU
Hon. mention: Coastal Carolina @ South Carolina
Best non-Power Four matchup: Missouri State @ Kennesaw State
Upset alert: Arkansas @ Texas
Must win: BYU @ Cincinnati
Offensive explosion: Hawaii @ UNLV
Defensive struggle: Minnesota @ Northwestern
Great game no one is talking about: Tennessee @ Florida
Also: Arizona @ Cincinnati
Intriguing coaching matchup: Rhett Lashlee of SMU vs Jeff Brohm of Louisville
Who’s bringing the body bags? Charlotte @ Georgia
Why are they playing? Samford @ Texas A&M
Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ UTEP
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Mercer @ Auburn
Week 12 [Random] Thoughts:
After seeing the way Ohio State easily dispatched with UCLA and how Georgia dominated an improved Texas, it has become quite clear that, barring a massive development along the lines of a huge asteroid hitting the Earth causing another mass extinction, the Buckeyes and the Bulldogs are destined to duke it out for the national championship. Glad we got that cleared up and out of the way.
That being said, barring a similar development as described above, it seems increasingly likely that Ole Miss shall punch through a major barrier hitherto holding them back and make finally make the playoffs. They passed yet another test by beating the Gators. Granted, the casual observer might sniff “big deal, Florida’s not that good this year.” To which I may respond, granted in turn, but they’re also not that bad, and they took down Texas right before the Longhorns took down a then-hitherto juggernaut Sooner squad. But even then, let that not obfuscate a more salient point which is: since 2003, the two have played each other seven times. Despite the relatively massive successes of the Eli Manning years, the Hugh Freeze and now the Lane Kiffin eras, the Rebels were only 3-for-7 against the Gators. In that light, beating Florida is no small thing, and is further proof that Ole Miss not only controls their own destiny, but is in the unique position to do so ably, what with a bye next week before closing out the regular season with the Egg Bowl.
Back to the Texas-Georgia game. Even if the Longhorns win out (tall order, what with Texas A&M being the last game on their schedule), their playoff hopes are likely dashed after the beating they took Between the Hedges. Kirby Smart demonstrated he was a level above Steve Sarkesian in terms of coaching when, after scoring on the Longhorns, they then sucker-punched Texas with an on-side kick that they recovered. The message was clear: “forget about momentum and forget about your comeback. We won’t even let you have the ball again”.
Thus we are led to a rather painful conclusion: Sark is not the coach to lead the Horns to the promised land. He is a great offensive architect, but that has been both a blessing and a curse. The curse is that he has yet to decide if he is an offensive coordinator or a head coach first. This self-imposed quandary has led to him tying himself up at knots at times, seemingly straightjacketing Arch Manning in the process, while ignoring other details of overall team organization. Hence, Sark has earned the reputation of his team not being entirely “buttoned up”, and an obvious manifestation of that are the unnecessary penalties that plagued his team last night and in many games before then.
So, if Sark is not the coach to take Texas all the way, who is? That is the question we shall have to explore further in subsequent articles.
In the meantime, next week shall sadly be a let-down, in that the rest of the SEC has its body-bag fest before Rivalry Week. Alabama assumes the role of pitiless executioner to Eastern Illinois; Auburn to Mercer; Texas A&M to Samford; Charlotte to Georgia. Rather convenient, it is, that the SEC teams can have such a breather while the rest of the teams in FBS put in the work. At least LSU makes it somewhat interesting playing Western Kentucky (8-2 compared to the Tigers’ 6-4 record). That game could be all the more intriguing given LSU’s recent struggles and coaching avulsions.
Fortunately, this farcical aspect of SEC schedules ends soon. Starting next year, SEC teams shall play a 9-game conference schedule like everyone else, and thank heavens for that.
Meanwhile, some SEC teams got their requisite November body-bag games out of the way earlier, and shall thus have decent, if not great, matchups for us to enjoy after all, what with battered Texas playing reeling Arkansas, or, better yet, Florida playing Tennessee. Can the Volunteers avenge last years upset loss against the Gators? We’ll find out next week.
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Willie Fritz, Houston
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: N/A
Desperately seeking … anything: Brian Kelly, LSU
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Indiana (defeated UCLA 56-6)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oregon (defeated Wisconsin 21-7) Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Oklahoma State (lost to Texas Tech 42-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: North Carolina (lost to Virginia 17-16)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Iowa (defeated Minnesota 41-3)
Dang, they’re good: Texas A&M Dang, they’re bad: Oklahoma State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: South Florida
Did the season start? Illinois Can the season end? Nevada
Can the season never end? Georgia Tech
GAMES Play this again: No. 10 Vanderbilt 17, No. 15 Missouri 10
Play this again, too: No. 4 Alabama 29, South Carolina 22
Never play this again: No. 2 Indiana 56, UCLA 6
What? Virginia Tech 42, Cal 34, 2OT
Huh? Memphis 34, No. 18 South Florida 31
Are you kidding me?? Houston 24, No. 24 Arizona State 16
Oh – my – God: Washington 42, No. 23 Illinois 25
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 10) Ticket to die for: No. 18 Oklahoma @ No. 14 Tennessee
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: none
Best non-Power Four matchup: Navy @ North Texas
Upset alert: No. 17 Cincinnati @ No. 24 Utah
Must win: No. 9 Vanderbilt @ No. 20 Texas
Offensive explosion: Baylor @ No. 24 Cincinnati
Defensive struggle: Kentucky @ Auburn
Great game no one is talking about: No. 15 Virginia @ Cal
Intriguing coaching matchup: Lincoln Riley of USC vs Matt Rhule of Nebraska
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 12 Notre Dame @ Boston College
Why are they playing? N/A
Plenty of good seats remaining: Louisiana @ South Alabama
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Sam Houston @ Louisiana Tech
Week 9 [Random] Thoughts:
Vanderbilt, the perennial punching bag of the SEC, is now ranked in the top ten for the first time since 1947. Let that sink in for a moment. How did this come about? The likely answer is, a number of factors. Clark Lea certainly had a vision, greatly aided to fruition by talented QB Diego Pavia. But surely other talented players have been key factors in this fascinating development. That is where the combination of the transfer portal and the NIL come into play. Vanderbilt has enjoyed the well-earned reputation of being the most prestigious school in the SEC, and with that surely comes some reasonably deep pockets to fund a strong NIL collective, to say nothing of its location in growing corporate hotbed Nashville. As fans of college football, let us embrace the opportunity to witness this further develop, for if nothing else, it gives us all the more great SEC matchups to enjoy every Saturday.
Texas pulled off an improbable comeback in the 4th quarter at Mississippi State. Arch Manning went 29-35 for 346 yards and 4 touchdowns, with one interception, and that came from a deflection off the hands of a receiver. In the 4th quarter, Manning went 12-20, passing for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Yet the biggest irony of all was when he went out, concussed, in overtime. Backup Matthew Caldwell went into the game, and executed in a massive way, throwing the game-winning touchdown. Could it be that the biggest untapped strength of this young, unstable Texas team is its backup QBs?
Is the Brian Kelly experiment in Baton Rouge about to come to a sudden, ignominious end? Texas A&M embarrassed LSU in Death Valley, 49-25. Early in the 4th quarter, fans started to empty the stands in droves. Such is hardly the look the powers that be in LSU’s athletics department like to project during a primetime game on ABC. But in Kelly’s defense, the Tigers’ three losses all come to current, top-ten teams, those being Ole Miss (currently No. 8), Vanderbilt (currently No. 9), and now Texas A&M (currently No. 3). Can some blame be nevertheless placed at Kelly’s feet for not having an optimal season? Surely, yes. He certainly has failed at designing an offense to play to QB Garrett Nussmeier’s strengths, but that also assumes that he has any strengths worth noting in the first place. But while many are now calling for Kelly’s head, some context in this situation might be a benefit to everyone.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss seemed to pass a key test by defeating Oklahoma on the road, 34-26. With a reasonably clear path to win out in the regular season, it is quite reasonable to conclude that the Rebels control their own destiny to make the playoffs this year, surely legitimizing Lane Kiffin’s tenure in Oxford in the process.
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.
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.
Did the season start? Florida State Can the season end? UCLA
Can the season never end? Ole Miss
GAMES Play this again: No. 6 Oregon 30, No. 3 Penn State 24, 2OT
Play this again, too: No. 13 Ole Miss 24, No. 4 LSU 19
Never play this again: No. 22 Notre Dame 56, Arkansas 13
What? No. 23 Illinois 34, No. 21 USC 32
Huh? No. 17 Alabama 24, No. 5 Georgia 21
Double-Huh?: No. 13 Ole Miss 24, No. 4 LSU 19
Are you kidding me?? No. 6 Oregon 30, No. 3 Penn State 24, 2OT
Oh – my – God: Virginia 46, No. 8 Florida State 38, 2OT
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 6) Ticket to die for: No. 3 Miami (FL) @ No. 18 Florida State
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: Boise State @ No. 21 Notre Dame
Best non-Power Four matchup: FIU @ UConn
Upset alert: No. 16 Vanderbilt @ No. 10 Alabama
Must win: Mississippi State @ No. 6 Texas A&M
Offensive explosion: No. 11 Texas Tech @ Houston
Defensive struggle: No. 7 Texas @ Florida
Great game no one is talking about: No. 24 Virginia @ Louisville
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bret Bielema of Illinois vs Barry Odom of Purdue
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 7 Penn State @ UCLA
Why are they playing? Kent State @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Plenty of good seats remaining: Miami (OH) @ Northern Illinois
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Campbell @ NC State
Week 5 Thoughts:
What a week for the game. We experienced a week in college football where the monster Saturday lived up to its hype. We witnessed an epic nighttime clash in Happy Valley; an interesting test for the No. 1 team in Seattle; a stunning upset Between the Hedges; defensive struggles in College Station and Iowa City alike; a near-upset in Starkville; and a statement game near The Grove. Did we also mention a Friday-night upset in Charlottesville, echoing one involving the same opponents almost 30 years ago to the day?
So, where to begin?
If we were to start with perhaps the biggest of all the games this day, why not start with the purported “ticket to die for”? What was a 3-3 tie at halftime became a 17-17 tie in regulation. Penn State struggled to get their running game established for the majority of the 60 minutes, but managed to put together some impressive runs late in the 4th quarter, enough to come back from a deficit to Oregon. Both teams scored in the first OT, Oregon answered with another TD in the 2OT, but botched their two-point attempt. The window for the Nittany Lions was open…only for it to close in an instant when Drew Allar threw an inexplicable pick to the right side of the field. What ended in huge triumph for Dan Lanning and the Ducks ended in turn as continued frustration for James Franklin & Co., who continue to search for a top-ten win.
Ohio State journeyed out to Seattle to take on undefeated, underrated Washington. The Huskies were prepared well to take on Ohio State, but the Buckeyes managed to slowly, gradually, subdue their hosts over the course of the game, winning 24-6.
Alabama came into a raucous Sanford Stadium at night to take on Georgia, and led for the majority of the game in an incredibly physical contest, walking out from Between the Hedges with a huge win that vindicates Kalen DeBoer’s tenure – for now – in Tuscaloosa, and continues Kirby Smart’s head-scratching Alabama woes.
The purported “defensive struggle” for this week, Kentucky @ South Carolina, turned out not to be for this pathetic prognosticator, as the Gamecocks surprisingly revived their offense to drub the Wildcats 35-13. Meanwhile, the true defensive struggle took place in College Station, where the home team Aggies beat Auburn 16-10. The Tigers have demonstrated to have a good defense, but to describe their offense as anemic would still be an understatement.
The other defensive struggle of note took place in Iowa City. Apparently, Indiana was still on Cloud Nine after ripping Illinois the previous week, for their offense seemed to take the week off. Meanwhile, Iowa, who seemed to discover their offense against UMass (does that even count?) only to lose it again when it counted two weeks later. That aside, an early 4th-quarter field goal put the Hawkeyes up 13-10 over the Hoosiers, who nevertheless answered in delayed fashion with a touchdown with 1:36 left in the game. It proved to be the decisive score, ending at 20-15 in IU’s favor.
Tennessee came calling at Mississippi State, amid more than 60,000 fans with clanging cow bells. The Bulldogs, undefeated prior to this game, put up an incredible fight against the Volunteers, staying close to the orange-clad team throughout regulation, where the teams ended in a tie. But Tennessee’s talent shined through in OT, allowing them to leave with a win, 41-34. Nevertheless, if Mississippi State’s performance is any indication, they can make life difficult for many subsequent teams on their conference schedule.
Meanwhile, a true ‘statement game’ unfolded in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Despite No. 4 LSU drawing first blood in this huge game, home team (and No. 13-ranked) Ole Miss quickly took the lead, and never looked back for the remainder therein. Backup QB Trinidad Chambliss contributed 385 of total offense, including a 20-yard completion for a 4th-down conversion that sealed the game. This decisive win was a ‘statement’ in that it proved the Rebels belong in the conversation as part of the highest tier in the brutal SEC. Conversely, this loss to a major rival raises lots of questions for LSU. Fans were already grumbling over what they perceived to be an unconvincing win over dubious Florida earlier this month. Imagine the grumbling in Bayou Country right now. Perhaps instead of complaining about whether the scrutiny over his coaching is justified, perhaps Kelly should work to develop an offense that takes advantage of QB Garrett Nussmeier.
Finally, Friday night yielded perhaps the greatest upset of the week, when No. 8 Florida State came into town to play unranked Virginia. The Cavaliers played the undefeated Seminoles closely throughout the game, even taking the heavily-favored visitors into overtime. Throngs of students gathered on the grassy slopes behind Scott Stadium’s northwest endzone in anticipation of their Virginia team coming through, which they did when Florida State failed to convert in the second overtime. Instantly, the fans filled the field in wild celebration. This 46-38 win echoes a similar upset 30 years earlier, when, on a Thursday night game on Nov. 2, 1995, then-No. 2 Florida State came to town, only to leave Charlottesville with their first loss of the season (and Virginia’s first-ever win over the vaunted Seminoles). Time to party like it’s 1995!
Random Thoughts:
Here we thought that Syracuse was a good team, I guess, because they beat Clemson. Then they go on to lose a home game in embarrassing fashion to Duke. What gives?
Remember how we thought that Arkansas’ defense taking leave of the entire second half against Memphis was a fluke? Perhaps it was not after all, given the drubbing the Razorbacks just took at home to Notre Dame. Sam Pittman just nudged Billy Napier out of the No. 1-coach-on-the-hotseat-in-the-SEC spot after sustaining the Razorbacks’ eighth-worst loss at home.
