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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 7 (2026) October 19, 2026

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Kalani Sitake, BYU

Glad I’m not him: Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame

Lucky guy: Mario Cristobal, Miami

Poor guy: Mike Norvell, Florida State

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bob Chesney, UCLA

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Billy Napier, James Madison

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirby Smart, Georgia

Desperately seeking … anything: Steve Sarkisian, Texas

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Texas A&M (defeated The Citadel 41-0)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Northwestern (defeated Michigan State 24-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kent State (lost to South Florida 29-2)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Michigan State (lost to No. 25 Northwestern 24-21)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Army (defeated Florida Atlantic 56-24)

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

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia

Did the season start?  Texas
Can the season end? Washington State

Can the season never end? BYU

GAMES
Play this again: No. 8 BYU 28, No. 2 Notre Dame 24

Play this again, too: No. 4 Ohio State 19, No. 5 Indiana 15

Never play this again: Texas A&M 41, The Citadel 0

What? No. 14 Tennessee 26, No. 6 Alabama 10

Huh? Florida 27, No. 7 Texas 24

Are you kidding me?? No. 8 BYU 28, No. 2 Notre Dame 24

Oh – my – God:  Auburn 27, No. 1 Georgia 24

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 8)
Ticket to die for:  No. 7 Ole Miss @ No. 19 Texas*

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

Best non-Power Four matchup: Western Michigan @ Toledo

Also: North Dakota State @ New Mexico

Upset alert: Pittsburgh @ No. 1 Miami

Must win: No. 14 Houston @ No. 10 Utah

Offensive explosion: No. 8 Texas Tech @ Cincinnati

Defensive struggle: New Mexico State @ Sam Houston

Great game no one is talking about: Virginia Tech @ Clemson

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Dan Lanning of Oregon vs Bret Bielema of Illinois

Who’s bringing the body bags?  Liberty @ Kennesaw State

Why are they playing?  N/A

Plenty of good seats remaining: Hawaii @ Northern Illinois

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Missouri State @ Delaware

Week 7 Thoughts:

Today was an historic day for top-ten losses.  For the first time in more than 5,000 days, both the number-one and number-two teams lost their respective games.  If that is not enough, other top-ten teams lost as well, not only Georgia, but also Texas and Alabama.  The last time that all three of those teams lost on the same day was Oct. 26, 1996, almost 30 years to the day.

In the process were some thrilling games, and others with improbable outcomes.  An example of the latter was the Florida game at Texas, where the Longhorns led for most of the game, only to have zero offensive output for most of the second half, save for a quick drive late in the fourth with a touchdown made possible by a beautiful, long pass from Arch Manning, who then fumbled on the last drive to essentially seal the deal for the Gators.  For the second week in a row, the Longhorns improbably gave the game away, in part due to anemic second half offensive performances. 

To break it down further:  Texas currently depends too much on Arch Manning while neglecting their running game.  Worse yet, Manning is clearly over-coached, to the point of him appearing to be caught in an invisible straightjacket.  Add late-game turnovers on top of that, and you have the Horns’ current death spiral.  Needless to say, Steve Sarkisian has coach his way onto a burned orange hot seat.

Speaking of improbable losses, what to make of Georgia’s head-scratching loss to Auburn at home?  While Kirby Smart owned up to his team getting out-played during the post-game presser, in hindsight, this was a trap game for the Bulldogs, who just came off a massive win on the road over Alabama, only to be caught in the Oldest Rivalry of the Deep South the following week.  Welcome to the stupefying vicissitudes of college football.

Meanwhile, Ohio State was able to settle a major score with Indiana, in Bloomington no less, but it came at the cost of QB Julian Sayin being knocked out of competition for several weeks, making the Buckeye’s victory a Pyrrhic one.

As things developed, ABC Sports was wise to schedule the Notre Dame @ BYU game in the evening.  Speaking of which, even though I had listed the Ohio State-Indiana game as the “Ticket to die for”, this game also qualified as such.  The matchup was a classic one of heart vs talent, with the outcome being one of the relatively rare instances when heart won the day/night.  This massive win for the Cougars amounted to the biggest regular season victory in the history of the program.  Only the 1984 Holliday Bowl triumph, securing BYU’s only national title to date, could be considered greater.  Such a victory has surely put the rest of the college football world on notice, proving that the Cougars can hang with the heavyweights, at least for this year.

After such a monster week for some big games, let us now brace for the let-down.  Next week’s slate of games will not be as good.  But then again, they can’t all be winners.

Random Thoughts:

Last week’s supposed/predicted offensive explosion turned out to be quite the one-side affair, 31-3 in favor of Ole Miss, with Missouri’s offense deciding to take a bye week without telling the rest of the team.  Aside from the anomalous Texas State over Colorado State 66-27, a closer offensive explosion in reality turned out to be West Virginia over Cincinnati, 45-42, no overtime involved.  An honorable mention would be Army over Florida Atlantic 56-24.  Evidently, the Fighting Schellenbergers did not bring much fight with them to this week’s game.

Along the lines of trap games (see:  Auburn’s massive upset over Georgia), keep an eye on BYU venturing to Central Florida next week.  The Golden Knights’ record is nothing to right home about, but always beware of teams going on the road after an historically emotional win.

*The rationale for this game’s designation is twofold.  A) it’s a down week.  Georgia, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Penn State, Louisville, Wake Forest, Florida and many others have byes for Week 8.  B) like a trainwreck, you cannot not look away.

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 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 10 (2025) November 3, 2025

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Brent Venables, Oklahoma

Glad I’m not him: Josh Heupel, Tennessee

Lucky guy: Steve Sarkesian, Texas

Poor guy: Clark Lea, Vanderbilt

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Willie Fritz, Houston

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh

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

Desperately seeking … anything:  Hugh Freeze, Auburn

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Florida State (defeated Wake Forest 42-7)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Notre Dame (defeated Boston College 25-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Colorado (lost to Arizona 52-17)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Purdue (lost to Michigan 21-16)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Fresno State (defeated Boise State 30-7)  

Dang, they’re good: Indiana
Dang, they’re bad:  Colorado

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia Tech

Did the season start?  Miami, FL
Can the season end?  Auburn

Can the season never end? Ole Miss

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 5 Georgia 24, Florida 20

Play this again, too: SMU 26, No. 10 Miami 20, OT

Never play this again: No. 2 Indiana 55, Maryland 10

What?  UTSA 48, Tulane 26

Huh?  West Virginia 45, No. 22 Houston 35

Double-Huh?  SMU 26, No. 10 Miami 20, OT

Are you kidding me??:  No. 20 Texas 34, No. 9 Vanderbilt 31

Oh – my – God:  NC State 48, No. 8 Georgia Tech 36

Told you so:  Kentucky 10, Auburn 3

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 11)
Ticket to die for:  No. 8 BYU @ No. 9 Texas Tech

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

Best non-Power Four matchup: San Diego State @ Hawaii

Upset alert: Cal @ No. 14 Louisville

Must win: No. 6 Oregon @ Iowa

Offensive explosion: No. 3 Texas A&M @ No. 19 Missouri

Defensive struggle: Florida @ Kentucky

Great game no one is talking about: Tulane @ No. 22 Memphis

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Dan Lanning of Oregon vs Kirk Ferentz of Iowa

Who’s bringing the body bags, B1G edition?  No. 1 Ohio State @ Purdue

Who’s bringing the body bags, ACC edition?  SMU @ Boston College

Why are they playing? The Citadel @ No. 7 Ole Miss

Plenty of good seats remaining: Sam Houston @ Oregon State

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  FIU @ Middle Tennessee

Week 10 [Random] Thoughts:

Texas played some of its best football all season – for three-and-a-half quarters, at least.  A long bomb to the end zone threatened to break favored Vanderbilt’s collective back, only to find out that the receiver dropped the ball upon further review.  That gave the Commodores enough time to regroup in an effort to overcome a three-TD deficit.  The Longhorns’ collapse of their defense late in the 4th quarter almost enabled that.  Sloppy play on both sides of the ball that pushed Vandy’s on-side kick out of bounds finally sealed the deal for Texas.  But the final minutes of play left the 100,000+ faithful in DKR Memorial Stadium breathing a sigh of relief instead of belting out a massive cheer in celebration of this counterintuitive upset.

To zoom out the lens, Texas pulled off an improbably comeback on the road last week.  This week, they almost allowed for an improbably comeback at home.  Looks like Sark needs to teach his team how to play the whole 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, can Josh Heupel & Co. find a higher gear?  As good as this Tennessee teams have been these past few years, he cannot seem to be able to pick up a signature win against the heavyweights within his own conference, or even others (witness the drubbing the Volunteers took in Ohio Stadium during last year’s playoffs).

Oklahoma, conversely, picked up a quality win, which, ironically, gives hated rival Texas’ decisive win over the Sooners all the more quality.

Where has this Florida team been all year?  Notwithstanding their win over the Longhorns in the Swamp, the Gators have underperformed the rest of the year…until now, when they threatened to upset No. 5 Georgia at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville (yes, I’m still calling that), and it turned out to be the greatest game of the week.

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 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 5 (2025) September 29, 2025

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Dan Lanning, Oregon

Glad I’m not him: James Franklin, Penn State

Lucky guy: Bret Bielema, Illinois

Poor guy: Lincoln Riley, USC

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

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Ryan Silverfield, Memphis

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

Desperately seeking … anything:  Sam Pittman, Arkansas

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Missouri (defeated UMass 42-6)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Indiana  (defeated Iowa 20-15)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Akron (lost to Toledo 45-3)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  South Alabama (lost to North Texas 36-22)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Notre Dame (defeated Arkansas 56-13)  

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

Can’t Stand Prosperity: LSU

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.

College Football Awards, Week 1 (2025) September 2, 2025

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Ryan Day, Ohio State

Glad I’m not him: Steve Sarkesian, Texas

Lucky guy: Brent Key, Georgia Tech

Poor guy: Deion Sanders, Colorado

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Chris Klieman, Kansas State

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Norvell, Florida State

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jeff Monken, Army

Desperately seeking … anything:  Kalen DeBoer, Alabama

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Illinois (defeated Western Illinois 52-3)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Kansas State (defeated North Dakota 38-35)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Marshall (lost to No. 5 Georgia 45-7)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Toledo (lost to Kentucky 24-16)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Temple (defeated UMass 42-10)  

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

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  N/A

Did the season start?  Kansas State
Can the season end?  Army

Can the season never end? Florida State

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 3 Ohio State 14, No. 1 Texas 7

Play this again, too: No. 9 LSU 17, No. 4 Clemson 10

Never play this again: BYU 69, Portland State 0

What?  No. 3 Ohio State 14, No. 1 Texas 7

Huh?  No. 9 LSU 17, No. 4 Clemson 10

Are you kidding me??  Florida State 31, No. 8 Alabama 17

Oh – my – God:  Tarleton State 30, Army 27 (2OT)

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 2)
Ticket to die for:  Michigan @ Oklahoma

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: James Madison @ Louisville

Best non-Power Four matchup: North Texas @ Western Michigan

Upset alert: UConn @ Syracuse

Must win: UCLA @ UNLV

Offensive explosion: Kansas @ Missouri

Defensive struggle: Miami (OH) @ Rutgers

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

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Frank Reich of Stanford vs Kalane Sitake of BYU

Who’s bringing the body bags?  San Jose State @ Texas

Why are they playing? Florida International @ Penn State

Plenty of good seats remaining: Bryant @ UMass

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Eastern Washington @ Boise State

Week 1 Thoughts:

The 2025-’26 college football season has launched for real, and a few good games have helped the season launch more than respectfully.  Indeed, in one of the greatest opening games in living memory, No. 1 Texas came to Columbus to play No. 3 (and defending national champ) Ohio State.  Adding even more drama and poignancy to this already-historic matchup was the fact that this was legendary ESPN football commentator Lee Corso’s last appearance on the network’s College Gameday show.  In a very classy farewell gesture, Corso, 90, wore a tuxedo for his farewell appearance.  The Ohio State band formed the letters “CORSO” on the field right before kickoff, and he was joined by the Gameday crew a the 50 yard line of Ohio Stadium to deliver his final “headgear” stunt.  Appropriately, he donned the Brutus Buckeye head.  How could he not?  Twenty-nine years ago, his first ever big-game outcome prognostication vis-à-vis donning the team’s mascot head was born at Ohio State, where he likewise put on Brutus’ head.  It was more than fitting that he bookended his legendary body of work at ESPN by doing the same thing, in fitting tribute to the place where the cherished tradition began.

The game itself was incredible, with huge defensive plays abounding throughout the game.  Ryan Day’s overall strategy of bringing in Matt Patricia from the NFL paid off handsomely.  Patricia used his vast NFL experience to call up defensive schemes to make inexperienced Texas QB Arch Manning uncomfortable, and it showed in the Longhorns’ lack of offensive output throughout all but the last drive of the game.  Still, Manning managed to exploit the occasional crack in the Buckeyes’ defense, and Texas was thus one pass completion away from taking the game into overtime.

In a larger sense, this loss on the part of the Longhorns shall not tank their season.  Should Texas effectively regroup and make the playoffs come season’s end, surely their path shall cross that of Ohio State yet again.  Should they do so, it is almost always impossible to beat the same formidable opponent again in the same season, as the Buckeyes demonstrated with devasting effectiveness against Oregon in the most recent Rose Bowl.

The Broader Line-up of Games

In what might become an annual tradition for the first week of college football awards each season, it is worth noting the many poor matchups among a few really great games.  Once again, most of the matchups scream “[W]hy are they playing?”  To wit (final scores indicated in parentheses): 

Louisville vs EKU (51-17); Arizona State vs Northern Arizona (38-19); SMU vs East Texas A&M (42-13); BYU vs Portland State (69-0); Tulsa vs Abilene Christian (35-7); North Texas vs Lamar (51-0); Ole Miss vs Georgia State (63-7); Texas Tech vs Arkansas Pine Bluff (67-7); USC vs Missouri State (73-13); Florida vs Long Island University (55-0); Arkansas St. vs SE Missouri State (42-24); W. Kentucky vs North Alabama (55-6); Oklahoma vs Illinois State (35-3); Iowa vs Albany (34-7); James Madison vs Weber State (45-10); Memphis vs Chattanooga (45-10); Arkansas vs Alabama A&M (52-7); Oregon vs Montana State (59-13); Penn State vs. Nevada (46-11); Georgia vs Marshall (45-7); Iowa State vs South Dakota (55-7); Air Force vs Buckness (49-13); Boston College vs Fordham (66-10); West Virgina vs Robert Morris (45-3); UConn vs Central Conn. St. (59-13); Pittsburgh vs Duquense (61-9); Navy vs VMI (52-7); Illinois vs Western Illinois (52-3); Kansas vs Wagner (46-7); Florida International vs Bethune-Cookman (42-9); SDSU vs Stony Brook (42-0); Houston vs Stephen F. Austin (27-0); Missouri vs Central Arkansas (61-6); Oklahoma State vs Tennessee-Martin (27-7); Duke vs Elon (45-17)

I would add other games as well to the above litany, except that the intended punching bags managed to make the games somewhat respectable, such as Indiana vs Old Dominion (27-14); Wisconsin vs Miami (OH) (17-0); Minnesota vs Buffalo (23-10); Wyoming vs Akron (10-0); UNLV vs Idaho State (38-31); Kentucky vs Toledo (24-16) and Michigan vs New Mexico (34-17).  The joke was truly on Army, who lost to lowly Tarleton State in the second overtime, 30-27.

As far as college football has evolved (e.g., the new playoff format), further evolution is clearly in order.  To be sure, these absolutely atrocious lineups are likely a holdover of the recent time when one loss could potentially tank a team’s entire season.  That is no longer the case, however, so going forward, it is not unreasonable for us fans to expect more marquee matchups such as the aforementioned Texas vs Ohio State, or Virginia Tech vs South Carolina, or Alabama @ Florida State, or Miami (FL) vs Notre Dame, and especially LSU @ Clemson, a memorable game in its own right.  Likewise with Notre Dame @ Miami (Fla.), which turned out to be another fantastic game.  More of these top-ten matchups, please!  Moreover, Monday night matchup of TCU @ North Carolina, which happens to also be Bill Belichick’s college coaching debut, holds much promise as well.

Just do not expect to see such needed evolution take place next week, which shall deliver too many “why are they playing?” matchups as well.

College Football Awards, Week 14 (2024) December 3, 2024

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Steve Sarkesian, Texas

Honorable mention: Sherrone Moore, Michigan

Glad I’m not him:  Mike Elko, Texas A&M

Lucky guy: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

Poor guy: Matt Rhule, Nebraska

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mario Cristobal, Miami (FL)

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Fran Brown, Syracuse

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Ryan Day, Ohio State

Desperately seeking … anything:  Ryan Walters, Purdue

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Indiana (defeated Purdue 66-0)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Georgia (defeated Georgia Tech 44-42)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kent State (lost to Buffalo 43-7)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  USC (lost to No. 5 Notre Dame 49-35)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Colorado (defeated Oklahoma State 59-0)

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

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  Ohio State

Did the season start?  Miami (FL)
Can the season end?  Florida State

Can the season never end? Indiana

GAMES
Play this again:  Michigan 13, No. 2 Ohio State 10

Play this again, too (told you so):  Iowa 13, Nebraska 10

Never play this again: Indiana 66, Purdue 0

What?  Memphis 34, No. 17 Tulane 24

Huh?  No. 15 South Carolina 17, No. 12 Clemson 14

Are you kidding me??  Syracuse 42, No. 6 Miami 35

Oh – my – God:  Michigan 13, No. 2 Ohio State 10

NEXT WEEK

(rankings are current AP (week 15)
Ticket to die for:  No. 2 Texas @ No. 5 Georgia in the SEC championship game

Honorable mention:  No. 1 Oregon vs No. 4 Penn State in the B1G championship game

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

Best non-Power Four matchup: No. 17 Tulane @ Army

Upset alert: No. 12 Clemson vs No. 9 SMU in the ACC Championship game

Must win: All championship games, but especially the No. 16 Arizona State vs No. 18 Iowa State in the Big XII championship game

Offensive explosion: No. 22 UNLV vs. No. 11 Boise State

Defensive struggle: Ohio vs Miami (OH)

Great game no one is talking about: Western Kentucky @ Jacksonville State

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Dan Lanning of Oregon vs James Franklin of Penn State

Who’s bringing the body bags? N/A

Why are they playing?  N/A

Plenty of good seats remaining: N/A

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  N/A

Week 14 Thoughts:

Let us confront the 800-lb. gorilla in the room.  It was all set for Ohio State.  All they had to do was win the game.  But the game turned out to be “The Game”, and in “The Game”, the Buckeyes choked massively.  QB Will Howard failed to seek out his marquee weapons.  The receivers dropped key passes. 

While we can lay this massive failure at the feet of the offense, perhaps we should be more specific and lay the failure at the feet of Ryan Day and the offensive tactics he chose by wanting to prove how tough his team was by winning “tough”, that is, winning by battling out in the trenches running the ball between the tackles.  That’s all well and good, but when your strengths are at the perimeters, not on the line (remember, Ohio State was working with a patchwork line-up on the o-line due to injuries), then the smart play is to play to those strengths.

This tactical failure on the part of Day is all the more stark when one considers that while Ohio State has an unbeatable receiving corps, Michigan was “patchwork” in the secondary.  Such is the magnitude of the missed opportunity.  My lingering question is, to what extent did Chip Kelly influence the offensive tactics for this game?

No more B1G championship berth for Ohio State:  that now goes to Penn State instead.  At least they have retained a No. 7 ranking in the polls, which should, in all likelihood, help them clinch a spot in the playoffs anyhow.  But this loss will smart, especially since Ryan Day is now 1-4 against their hated rival, “that school up north”.  One takeaway is that Day’s tenure in Columbus just became much more tenuous.  He can consult John Cooper on the “why”.

Elsewhere, Miami (FL) had a golden opportunity to make it to the ACC championship and clinch a spot in the playoffs.  All they had to do was beat Syracuse, but then they blew a three-TD lead to Syracuse in the second half.  Now, not only are the Hurricanes out of the ACC championship, their potential bid for the playoffs is very much in doubt.  Funny how one game can do that, but this reminds us that November is for everything.

One team that did rise to the occasion, barely, was Texas.  The Longhorns and the Aggies renewed their rivalry on Saturday, playing for the first time since 2011.  The Horns were ranked No. 3, but the Aggies were also ranked and No. 20.  Sounds like advantage, Longhorns…except that the game was at nighttime in Kyle Field, a bona fide hostile place to play.  Nevertheless, despite some hiccups on offense (Ewers threw a pick-six, for example), Texas still prevailed, 17-7.  Were it not for the pick-six, the game could have ended 24-0 or better in Texas’ favor.  Give the game ball to the Longhorns’ D for shutting down A&M’s offense.  Meanwhile, Sark has work to do on offense when they take on Georgia in Atlanta for all the marbles in the conference.  To that end, is Ewers dealing with a more serious injury than we are led on to believe?  If so, Sark would be well-served to deploy Manning at the drop of a hat in Atlanta next week.

One interesting development is that South Carolina defeated in-state rival Clemson in Death Valley (no small feat), but since the Tigers’ loss was not in-conference, they still get to play SMU for the ACC championship.  Looks like that loss to Louisville earlier in the season did not mortally wound their chances for the playoffs after all.  But how might they fare against the Mustangs?  The potentially lone ACC representative hangs in the balance of that game’s outcome.

Same goes for Iowa State playing Arizona State for the Big XII title, unless the playoff committee chooses Colorado to be within the bubble for a playoff bid.  Speaking of the Buffaloes, they certainly make a strong case to be considered by crushing Oklahoma State 52-0.

Two teams that quietly get things done:  Notre Dame and Boise State.  We can debate about strength of schedule for these two teams, especially that of the latter, but in the beauty contest that is college football, the pollsters and the playoff committee alike seem to like what the Broncos are selling.  Perhaps we will all need a dose of truth serum should Boise State make the playoffs and get embarrassed in the first round.  Tuesday’s latest round of revised rankings will give us a better idea of where these teams stand regardless.

Both Alabama and South Carolina are on the bubble for a playoff berth.  Should the Gamecocks be favored over the Tide?  It’s a fair question when one considers that Alabama laid an egg to a sub-par Oklahoma team, while South Carolina beat their ranked, hated rival on said rival’s home turf, no less.  Clearly the better momentum is with the ‘Cocks.  Will the playoff committee consider these as they release their updated rankings come Dec. 3?