College Football Awards, Week 10 (2026) November 8, 2026
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Arizona, B1G, Baylor, Big XII, Bill Belichick, Boston College, Brent Brennan, Bruins, Buckeyes, BYU, Ducks, Duke, FIghting Irish, Florida, Florida International, Georgia, Iowa, Jacksonville State, Jeff Brohm, Jon Sumrall, Josh Heupel, Kentucky, Kyle Whittingham, Lane Kiffin, LSU, Manny Diaz, Marcus Freeman, Mario Cristobal, Miami, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Missouri State, Morgan Scalley, Mountaineers, NCAA football, Neal Brown, New Mexico State, North Carolina, North Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, Purdue, Red Raiders, Ryan Day, Sam Houston State, SEC, SMU, Sonny Dykes, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa, UCLA, USC, Utah, UTSA, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Michigan
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
Glad I’m not him: Lane Kiffin, LSU
Lucky guy: Brent Brennan, Arizona
Poor guy: Sonny Dykes, TCU
Desperately seeking a wake-up call clue: Kyle Whittingham, Michigan
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Neal Brown, North Texas
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jon Sumrall, Florida
Desperately seeking … anything: Ryan Day, Ohio State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Wake Forest (defeated Merrimack 77-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Arizona (defeated TCU 29-28)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Sam Houston State (lost to Jacksonville State 47-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: TCU (lost to No. 22 Arizona 29-28)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tulsa (defeated Tulane 60-10)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: Sam Houston State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Miami
Did the season start? Ohio State
Can the season end? Purdue
Can the season never end? Utah
GAMES
Play this again: No. 11 Notre Dame 31, No. 1 Miami 31
Play this again, too: No. 15 Texas Tech 53, West Virginia 48
Never play this again: No. 16 Wake Forest 77, Merrimack 0
What? Oklahoma 23, No. 24 Florida 7
Huh? No. 23 Oregon 41, No. 12 Ohio State 28
Are you kidding me?? No. 13 Tennessee 34, No. 6 Kentucky 6
Oh – my – God: No. 11 Notre Dame 31, No. 1 Miami 24
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current Playoff Rankings (week 10)
Ticket to die for: No. 7 Texas @ No. 14 LSU
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: None
Best non-Power Four matchup: North Texas @ UTSA
Upset alert: Illinois @ No. 8 UCLA (Friday)
Must win: No. 20 USC @ No. 4 Indiana
Offensive explosion: No. 15 Texas Tech @ Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: Minnesota @ Penn State
Great game no one is talking about: No. 14 Wake Forest @ SMU
Intriguing coaching matchup: Manny Diaz of Duke vs Mario Cristobal of Miami
Who’s bringing the body bags? Western Michigan @ Akron
Who’s bringing the body bags, BIG edition? Purdue @ No. 19 Iowa
Why are they playing? Boston College @ No. X Notre Dame
Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ Missouri State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Florida International @ Delaware
Week 10 Thoughts:
A number of “statement games” played out on Saturday. Not the least of which was Oregon venturing into Columbus to take on Ohio State, who was still favored despite the injury to QB-1. The Ducks’ decisive victory over the Buckeyes reminds us all that they are not going anywhere and are still very much playoff contenders after all. Also, in hindsight, despite Ohio State’s admirable playing at USC last week despite that loss as well, the Buckeyes are clearly missing Julian Sayin more than we initially fathomed.
Another statement game took place in Knoxville with a 130-plus-year border rivalry between Kentucky and Tennessee. The Wildcats were ranked No. 6 in the playoff standings compared to the Volunteers currently ranked at No. 13. But Tennessee remained in control the game, triumphing in most convincing fashion, 34-6. Josh Heupel and Co. have started to fire on all cylinders, and should control their own destiny to a playoff spot.
Lest we ignore the biggest gorilla in the room, Notre Dame had everything riding on winning Saturday’s game. Many teams have cracked under such pressure, but not this bunch. In a memorable continuation of the “convicts vs catholics” high-profile matchups of the 1980s, the Fighting Irish defeated visiting No. 1 Miami 31-24, thus demonstrating their playoff worthiness after all, something hitherto very much in doubt, but no longer.
Other minor statement games took place as well, such as UCLA venturing up to play P.J. Fleck’s scrappy Minnesota bunch, and walking away with a 34-20 win. In so doing, the Bruins remain undefeated and still in the driver’s seat of the B1G.
Other Thoughts:
No. 3 Utah did triumph over in-state rival No. 9 BYU, 28-20, in the biggest, grandest edition of the storied “Holy War” to date. The Utes are clearly in good hands with head coach Morgan Scalley, not even missing the steady hand of Kyle Whittingham.
The latter has become an ironically tragic figure at the moment, leaving the blessed Mountains of Ephraim for what appeared to be even greener pastures in the storied program of Michigan, only for him to struggle this season. The Wolverines currently sit at 5-4 after losing a very winnable game to rival Michigan State (only 3-6). The frank fact of the matter is that Whittingham’s struggles are self-inflicted on account of his own inflexibility.
His many years in the Mountain West / Pac-12 / Big XII ingrained in him that the spread offense was the only way to go. He clearly took that mindset with him eastward, only to fall flat on his face when it turns out that his current personnel in Ann Arbor is far-better suited to a power-running offensive attack. Yet despite this painfully obvious fact, Whittingham has stubbornly stuck to his spread offensive formulas, thus forcing his team to suffer in his self-inflicted struggles. Time to get a clue, to be a bit flexible, and to adjust.
Offensive Explosion Review:
For once again, inexplicably for the second week in a row, the predicted offensive explosion actually came true. The scoring between Texas Tech and visiting West Virginia took off like a rocket from the start, with the first quarter already ending at 17-14 in the Mountaineers’ favor. From there the scoring became a see-saw battle, with the Red Raiders scoring 27 points in the second quarter, only for the Mountaineers to answer with 21 in the third. But Texas Tech scoring 12 more unanswered points in the fourth quarter sealed the deal for them, 53-48. If that is not an offensive explosion, what is?
In the interest of intellectual honesty, another offensive explosion took place, albeit a minor one, given its low-level, non-Power Four status. All that said, Kennesaw State did defeat Delaware 42-40.
Looking Ahead
LSU just got pounded at home to Alabama. Now they face Texas at home, which passed a key test, even a potential trap game, at Missouri.
Speaking of Mizzou, after having the insufficient personnel to keep up with Texas, now they must face an even more daunting task as they venture to play juggernaut Georgia. Such is the brutality of the SEC, wherein the rumor of said brutality’s diminishment has been greatly exaggerated going into this season.
On the B1G side of the ledger, USC, fresh off a bye after their big win over Ohio State, now travels to Bloomington to face No. X Indiana. Can the Hoosier’s magic and prowess prevail one more game, or shall USC continue their giant-killing trend? Tune into CBS Saturday at 3:30 ET to find out.
After Utah’s massive win, they must now face Arizona in Tucson. The Wildcats currently sit at No. 22 in the playoff standings, which should be a fairly simple dispatching for the No. 3 team, despite the former’s quiet strength. But Utah ought to beware of the let-down game, a type of game that has already trapped favored teams more than once this year.
As BYU was on the losing end of Utah’s huge win, they have little time to lick their wounds as they must play 6-3 Baylor, who might be smelling blood in the water.
In another intriguing coaching matchup, keep an eye on Bill Belichick of North Carolina against Jeff Brohm of Louisville, which could become a hard-fought game in its own right.
College Football Week 8 Awards (2026) October 26, 2026
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arizona, Army, Badgers, Bill Belichick, Boise State, BYU, Camp Randall Stadium, Cincinnati, college football, Colorado, Colorado State, Curt Cignetti, Dan Lanning, East Carolina, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Floyd of Rosedale, football, Gamecocks, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Josh Heupel, Kennesaw State, Kyle Whittingham, liberty, Longhorns, Luke Fickell, Mario Cristobal, Miami, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri State, Navy, NCAA football, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota State, North Texas, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, P.J. Fleck, Rice, Rich Rodriguez, Rutgers, Sam Houston State, San Diego State, Shane Beamer, Sonny Dykes, South Carolina, Spencer Danielson, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Trinidad Chambliss, UCF, UCLA, USC, Utah, UTEP, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, Wisconsin
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Shane Beamer, South Carolina
Glad I’m not him: Josh Heupel, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia
Poor guy: Sonny Dykes, TCU
Desperately seeking a wake-up call clue: Kyle Whittingham, Michigan
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Spencer Danielson, Boise State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kalani Sitake, BYU
Desperately seeking … anything: Dan Lanning, Oregon
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Northwestern (defeated Rutgers 42-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida Atlantic (defeated Rice 51-49)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kennesaw State (lost to Liberty 34-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Michigan (lost to Indiana 13-6 (OT))
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Hawaii (defeated Northern Illinois 56-21)
Dang, they’re good: Miami
Dang, they’re bad: Sacramento State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: BYU
Did the season start? Tennessee
Can the season end? Vanderbilt
Can the season never end? UCLA
GAMES
Play this again: No. 19 Texas 34, No. 7 Ole Miss 27
Play this again, too: Virginia Tech 20, Clemson 16
Never play this again: Delaware 61, Missouri State 38
What? Minnesota 13, No. 15 Iowa 10
Come again? Wisconsin 24, No. 16 USC 7
Huh? South Carolina 27, No. 11 Tennessee 24
Double-Huh?? No. 19 Texas 34, No. 7 Ole Miss 27
Are you kidding me?? Cincinnati 31, No. 8 Texas Tech 24
Oh – my – God: UCF 39, No. 2 BYU 31 (2OT)
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 9)
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Ohio State @ USC
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: No. 5 Notre Dame @ Navy*
Best non-Power Four matchup: Army @ Memphis
Upset alert: No. 22 Arizona @ No. 13 Texas Tech
Must win: No. 17 Florida vs No. 3 Georgia
Offensive explosion: Florida Atlantic @ North Texas
Defensive struggle: No. 25 Wisconsin @ Iowa
Great game no one is talking about: South Carolina @ Oklahoma
Intriguing coaching matchup: P.J. Fleck of Minnesota vs Curt Cignetti of Indiana
Also: Mario Cristobal of Miami vs Bill Belichick of North Carolina
Who’s bringing the body bags? UTEP @ North Dakota State
Why are they playing? Nevada @ No. 7 UCLA
Plenty of good seats remaining: Sam Houston State @ Missouri State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Missouri State @ Delaware
Week 8 Thoughts:
Just as last week’s game involved many upsets, this week was certainly not devoid of them, either. For example, after celebrating its biggest regular-season win in program history, BYU suffered a let-down on the road at UCF. It’s college football: this phenomenon is not unheard of. Ole Miss suffered a loss at Texas, despite a now-predictable stagnant offense on the part of the Longhorns in the second half, and also despite 4th-quarter heroics from Trinidad Chambliss. One thing that negated a typical Chambliss-engineered comeback was that, unlike the previous two weeks, this time Texas discovered this new thing called a running game late in the second half.
Elsewhere, USC discovered the hazards and tribulations of playing a night game at Camp Randall Stadium. No doubt the shock of the hostile environment and the colder-than-normal weather did not set well with the Trojans. How else to account for losing 24-7? On the other hand, Luke Fickell now as a signature win for 2026, with a Badgers sitting at 5-2, and at a much better spot than they were during the previous season.
In Columbia, S.C., the Gamecocks were able to get their act together, and upset Tennessee with a last-second field goal. No doubt the South Carolina faithful was happy to eat the half-million-dollar fine when the fans stormed the field in celebration.
In another interesting upset, with a rivalry trophy on the line, Minnesota held off Iowa in arguably the grandest defensive struggle of the week, 13-10, and thus winning the famed Floyd of Rosedale trophy for a year.
Despite the week’s matchus appearing to be a minor let down after last week’s legendary slate of games, many turned out to be thrilling after all. Not bad for a week that was not supposed to be a “winner”.
Offensive Explosion Review:
Remember when I predicted that the Utah vs Texas Tech game was supposed to be an offensive explosion? It turned out to be quite the opposite, with Utah triumphing in the end 21-13. Some games that could have qualified as offensive explosions, though, include Oklahoma State over Colorado, 57-24 (a bit lop-sided, to be sure). Another possible example along those same lines was Delaware over Missouri State, 61-38. A less lopsided example would be Memphis over East Carolina, 41-34. One would not need to look far for two textbook examples, though, such as Florida Atlantic over Rice, 51-49, and, perhaps the grandest of the week, Colorado State over San Diego State, 56-49.
College Football Awards Week 6 (2026) October 12, 2026
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Arch Manning, Ball State, Bob Chesney, Bowling Green, Brent Venables, college football, Florida, football, Georgia, Indiana, Jon Sumrall, Ken Niumatololo, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Longhorns, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, NCAA football, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Purdue, Red River, Rutgers, SDSU, SJSU, Sooners, South Carolina, Sports, Stanford, Steve Sarkesian, Tennessee, Texas, Tulane, UCLA, USC, Washington, Will Stein
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Lucky guy: Brent Venables, Oklahoma
Poor guy: Ken Niumatololo, SJSU
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.
College Football Awards, Week 5 (2026) October 5, 2026
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Auburn, B1G, Ball State, Bill Belichick, Bowling Green, BYU, college football, Colorado, Cougars, David Braun, Eastern Michigan, Florida, football, Gators, Georgia, Hurricanes, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Jeff Brohm, Jon Sumrall, Kentucky, Kyle Whittingham, Louisville, Maryland, Matt Campbell, Memphis, Miami (FL), Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Mizzou, NCAA football, New Mexico, NFL, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, P.J. Fleck, Pat Narduzzi, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Red River, Rice, SEC, Shane Beamer, South Carolina, Sports, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Tigers, UCLA, UMass, USC, UTEP, UTSA, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington, West Virginia
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COACHES
Wish I were him: PJ Fleck, Minnesota
Glad I’m not him: Kyle Whittingham, Michigan
Lucky guy: Pat Narduzzi, Pitt
Also: Will Stein, Kentucky
Poor guy: James Franklin, Virginia Tech
Also: Shane Beamer, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Matt Campbell, Penn State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Braun, Northwestern
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jon Sumrall, Florida
Desperately seeking … anything: Jeff Brohm, Louisville
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Memphis (defeated Charlotte 59-8)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas Tech (defeated Colorado 29-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Stanford (lost to Wake Forest 57-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Rice (lost to UTSA 16-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Mizzou (defeated No. 8 Florida 45-17)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: UTEP
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Florida
Did the season start? Louisville
Can the season end? Charlotte
Can the season never end? Missouri
GAMES
Play this again: No. 18 USC 25, Washington 21
Play this again, too: Iowa State 45, West Virginia 42
Never play this again: New Mexico 61, UTEP 7
What? Eastern Michigan 38, UMass 14
Huh? Northwestern 34, Penn State 13
Are you kidding me?? Temple 17, South Florida 13
Oh – my – God: No. 25 Missouri 45, No. 8 Florida 17
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 6)
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Georgia @ No. 6 Alabama
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: none
Best non-Power Four matchup: South Florida @ UTSA
Upset alert: Oklahoma vs No. 1 Texas in the Red River Shootout
Must win: Florida State @ Louisville (Friday)
Offensive explosion: No. 21 UCLA @ No. 13 Oregon
Defensive struggle: No. 20 Iowa @ Washington (Friday)
Great game no one is talking about: No. 22 Houston @ Kansas State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Pat Narduzzi of Pitt vs Bill Belichick of North Carolina
Who’s bringing the body bags? Stanford @ No. 3 Notre Dame
Why are they playing? Ball State @ Northwestern
Plenty of good seats remaining: Sacramento State @ Bowling Green
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Maryland @ No. 5 Ohio State
Week 5 Thoughts:
Let us be honest: this was not the greatest week for college football. Even the so-called “ticket to die for” turned out to be something of a dud. Mississippi State is good, but apparently, Alabama found another gear of performance and shifted into it in Starkville when folks were least expecting it.
That said, there were good games. Auburn, which has quietly gained strength, put up a real fight against the Volunteers in Knoxville. Minnesota demonstrated that they are not a team to be taken lightly as they retained the Little Brown Jug against Michigan. North Carolina put up an impressive fight against Notre Dame at home, and Kentucky won in a shootout at South Carolina.
If that is not enough, Iowa gave Ohio State a good fight for a half, and on-again, off-again rain in Fort Worth made the BYU-TCU game a close, defensive struggle wherein the Cougars eventually triumphed. Moreover, Iowa State squeaked by West Virginia in a massive shootout of a game. If that is not enough, Purdue snapped a 19-game B1G losing streak, at Illinois, no less.
So there were plenty of interesting games, just no “monster games” as in previous weeks. Games between Texas and Ohio State, and also Texas at Tennessee, not to mention Oregon at USC, have spoiled us.
But next week Georgia faces their first true test, on that road in Tuscaloosa, and it’s also Red River time in Dallas.
Random Thoughts:
What to make of Florida? Just when they appear to be a force to be reckoned with in the SEC, they lay an egg on the road at Mizzou. The Tigers cannot be that good, can they?
Keep an eye on how the Gators bounce back from this embarrassing loss as they venture up to South Carolina next week. Same could be said for the Gamecocks: they lost a heartbreaker at home to Kentucky, and now recently-embarrassed Florida is about to come calling.
Clemson put up a decent fight against Miami at home. If I were Marcus Freeman, I would be studying film of this game very intently as I prepare my team to face the Hurricanes later this year.
College Football Awards, Week 4 (2026) September 28, 2026
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Bill Belichick, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Cal, college football, Duke, Faizon Brandon, Florida, Florida Atlantic, football, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Jake Dickert, Jeff Brohm, Josh Heupel, Kirk Ferentz, Kyle Whittingham, LA Monroe, Longhorns, Louisville, Luke Fickell, Marcus Freeman, Maryland, Matt Campbell, Michigan, Mike Locksley, Mississippi State, Missouri, NCAA, NCAA football, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Panthers, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, SMU, South Alabama, Sports, Steve Sarkesian, Tennessee, Texas, UNLV, Virginia Tech, Volunteers, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Michigan, Wisconsin
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Glad I’m not him: Josh Heupel, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Poor guy: Kyle Whittingham, Michigan
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jeff Brohm, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jake Dickert, Wake Forest
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Matt Campbell, Penn State
Desperately seeking … anything: Mike Locksley, Maryland
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Pitt (defeated Bucknell 59-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: SMU (defeated Missouri State 34-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Purdue (lost to No. 3 Notre Dame 49-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Northwestern (lost to Indiana 29-23)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Florida (defeated No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28)
Dang, they’re good: Florida
Dang, they’re bad: Maryland
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Louisville
Did the season start? Penn State
Can the season end? Bowling Green
Can the season never end? Georgia
GAMES
Play this again: No. 1 Texas 20, No. 14 Tennessee 17
Play this again, too: No 17 Iowa 20, No. 18 Michigan 19
Never play this again: Duke 62, William & Mary 7
What? No. 24 Mississippi State 31, No. 19 Missouri 24
Huh? Wake Forest 30, No. 16 Louisville 27
Are you kidding me?? Wisconsin 24, No. 13 Penn State 20
Oh – my – God: No. 21 Florida 52, No. 4 Ole Miss 28
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 7 Alabama @ No. 16 Mississippi State
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: Cal @ UNLV
Best non-Power Four matchup: Western Michigan @ Buffalo
Upset alert: Michigan @ Minnesota
Must win: Louisville @ NC State
Offensive explosion: No. 7 Alabama @ No. 16 Mississippi State
Defensive struggle: Michigan State @ Wisconsin
Great game no one is talking about: Pittsburgh @ Virginia Tech (Friday)
Also: West Virginia @ Iowa State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame vs Bill Belichick of North Carolina
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 11 LSU @ McNeese State
Why are they playing? No. 11 LSU @ McNeese State
Plenty of good seats remaining: LA Monroe @ South Alabama
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Texas Southern @ Florida Atlantic
Week 4 Thoughts:
Texas survived yet another strong challenge, this time in the hostile confines of legendary Neyland Stadium. Many in the sports commentary sphere remarked that had this been a night game, the place would have been more intimidating to the visiting Longhorns to the point where the odds would have been more in the Volunteers’ favor. That assessment does not take a rocket scientist to figure out: the fans would have had all day to get good and drunk. Drunker fans equal louder fans, making for an even more hostile environment in which for the visitors to play. Small wonder LSU plays most of their games in the evening.
To compensate for this lack of, er, augmented home field advantage, Neyland Stadium opened up its gates early. Parking lots opened at 6 AM for example, but that’s not the half of it. The University of Tennessee discounted all of their stadium concessions, including (read: especially) beer, at 50 percent between 9 and 10 AM (!). The ostensible reason for all of this was to encourage early arrival in order to avoid congestion as President Donald Trump, who also attended the game, was to arrive. But let us kid ourselves. As plausible as this may be, on the surface, for the reason behind this “early bird special”, we all know the real reason behind it, and its somewhat genius. Some might say dangerously genius, as it could set a new precedence for new degrees of fan inebriation earlier in the day going forward, but time will tell.
Regardless, all of this was before the game itself. Hard to believe that this was the first time the Horns and Volunteers played each other in the regular season. Moreover, the last time these two storied programs clashed was in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day, 1969, almost seven months shy of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and a prelude to the Longhorns’ undefeated season that same year which culminated in a national title of their own.
The game lived up to its hype, for both teams gave strong efforts, and at the end, Texas’ defensive line made the difference in stifling Tennessee’s young but potentially-gifted QB Faizon Brandon. Such potential showed itself in the form of Faizon almost completing a Hail Mary pass in the end zone as the game ended.
Random Thoughts:
There are body bag games, then then there are worse, even more pointless body bag games. To wit, regarding the latter: rarely would one consider the Pittsburgh Panthers to be pitiless executioners in such affairs, but so it went when they mercilessly ground down Bucknell 59-0. It is one thing for a Power-Five team to pick up an easy win against a “Group of Six” team for cash. It is quite another to pulverize a middling FCS team with no playoff hopes even at the latter’s level of competition. In this new day and age of playoffs and increased parity in the sport at the upper levels of FBS play, is it not unreasonable that we ban such ugly matchups from ever happening again?
Same thing goes for Duke. Scheduling a low-end Sunbelt or MAC conference team for an easy win is one thing. Scheduling a middling FCS team is getting ridiculous. At least with Pitt, they kept it in-state. Stunts like these make for begging for some central authority to start making schedules like they do in the NFL.
How many holes did Jeff Brohm kick into the wall of his office in the wake of Louisville’s puzzling loss, at home to Wake Forest? Either the Demon Deacons are far better than their currently unranked status shows, or the Cardinals demonstrated some weird refusal to effectively execute plays. For a team to go toe-to-toe with Ole Miss and then to take down a formidable SMU squad only to come up short against this team leaves one to sympathize with Brohm in his current frustrations.
Don’t look now, but Luke Fickell finally got something close to a signature win in taking down then-undefeated Penn State, in Happy Valley, no less. Perhaps the Badger program is gaining strength under his leadership after all. Time will tell if this is a harbinger of further success for the program, or some curious anomaly instead.
Something to monitor for Week 5: can Missouri’s defense contain Florida’s offense more effectively than Ole Miss’ did in The Swamp this week?
College Football Awards, Week 3 (2026) September 21, 2026
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Boise State, Brent Venables, Bronco Mendenhall, Bulldogs, Cardinals, Central Michigan, college football, Florida, football, Gators, Georgia, Houston, Iowa State, Joey McGuire, Kent State, Kentucky, Kirk Ferentz, Kyle Whittingham, Lane Kiffin, Longhorns, Louisville, Miami (FL), Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Elko, Minnesota, Mississippi State, NC State, NCAA, NCAA football, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pete Golding, Purdue, Rich Rodriguez, SMU, South Alabama, South Carolina, Sports, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tigers, Toledo, UCLA, USC, Utah, Utah State, Virginia, Wake Forest, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan
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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 12 (2025) November 17, 2025
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arch Manning, Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Bobby Petrino, Boston College, Buckeyes, Bulldogs, BYU, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, college football, David Braun, Florida, football, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Jake Dickert, Jeff Brohm, Kirby Smart, Longhorns, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Mike Elko, Minnesota, NCAA, Nevada, New Mexico State, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, San Jose State, Shane Beamer, Sherrone Moore, Sooners, South Caroina, Southern Miss, Steve Sarkesian, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, UNLV, UTEP, Wake Forest, Western Kentucky
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Lucky guy: Mike Elko, Texas A&M
Also: Sherrone Moore, Michigan
Poor guy: Shane Beamer, South Carolina
Also: David Braun, Northwestern
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: N/A
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
Oh – my – God: No. 11 Oklahoma 23, No. 4 Alabama 21
NEXT WEEK
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.
