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.
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.
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
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.
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)
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.
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.
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jedd Fisch, Washington
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Dan Lanning, Oregon
Desperately seeking … anything: Barry Odom, Purdue
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Georgia (defeated Western Kentucky 70-20)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Washington (defeated Utah State 16-14) Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Rice (lost to No. 3 Notre Dame 52-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Oregon State (lost to Texas Tech 35-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Mississippi State (defeated Minnesota 38-13)
The Ohio State-Texas game lived up to its hype, with a miraculous comeback win for the Longhorns over the Buckeyes, a result that has left Buckeye Nation in apoplexy if thesearticles are of any indication. Allowing Texas to score three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter is the worst second-half collapse for the Buckeyes in the Ryan Day Era.
Conversely, OSU collapse or none, this is massive win for the Longhorns, one that gets a major monkey off the program’s – and Sark’s – back. For how long have discussions swirled that Texas cannot win the big game? Now they have the huge win.
Win or lose, both teams will be able to lick their wounds for a week, what with body bag games coming up for both of them. Then, it’s on to the season, where Ohio State can no doubt take the Big Ten by storm, and where Texas has the opportunity to prove that this huge win was not a fluke as they face a positively brutal SEC schedule.
Random Thoughts:
As I look back on the random thoughts I offered for Week 2 from last year, I am struck by the interesting parallels and related differences.
For instance, take this week’s Cy-Hawk trophy game between Iowa and Iowa State. I wrote:
“The only reason the game for the Cy-Hawk trophy ended as closely as it did was because of avoidable mistakes committed by the victors. Sooner or later, a team that make fewer mistakes shall come along to play Iowa, and when they do, expect a humiliating defeat for the Hawkeyes and a possible end to the Kirk Ferentz era.”
Given how last night’s game was such a low-scoring affair, one could say the exact same thing for this go-around.
Regardless, there’s something about Iowa and their massive trophies. The Cy-Hawk trophy is so heavy, at 90 pounds, it required two o-linemen to carry it. If that’s not enough, the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, played for annually between the Hawkeyes and Minnesota, is even heavier at 98 pounds.
But in continuation of the initial observation, in another parallel to last year’s week 2 observations, Illinois played their home half of the home-and-home series with Duke. But in contrast to last year’s 45-19 ripping victory on the road, this time Duke pulled off an upset on the road, 31-27. While I observed last year:
“Keep an eye out for Illinois. They are currently ranked No. 9, and defeated a well-coached Duke team, 45-19.”, the Illini are currently unranked. I can’t imagine why.
Returning to the Texas-Ohio State game, one thing that allowed for an improved offensive output for the Longhorns in the second half was Sark getting out of Arch Manning’s way. Let us hope for the sake of that team that their head coach continues to heed this lesson as the season progresses.
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bret Bielema, Illinois
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Sean Lewis, San Diego State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Brent Key, Georgia Tech
Desperately seeking … anything: Jeff Brohm, Louisville
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Auburn (defeated Mercer 62-17)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Illinois (lost to Wisconsin 27-10) Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Syracuse (lost to No. 9 Notre Dame 70-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Stanford (defeated Cal 31-10)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Texas (defeated Arkansas 52-37)
Dang, they’re good: Notre Dame Dang, they’re bad: Sam Houston
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia Tech
Did the season start? Louisville Can the season end? Florida State
Can the season never end? Oregon
GAMES Play this again: No. 11 Oklahoma 23, No. 4 Alabama 21
Play this again, too: No. 12 Utah 51, Kansas State 47
Never play this again: No. 9 Notre Dame 70, Syracuse 7
What? Penn State 37, Nebraska 10
Huh? Stanford 31, Cal 10
Double-Huh? TCU 17, No. 23 Houston 14
Are you kidding me??Wisconsin 27, No. 21 Illinois 10
Great game no one is talking about: Arizona @ No. 25 Arizona State
Also: Cincinnati @ TCU
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mario Cristobal of Miami vs Pat Narduzzi of Pittsburgh
I.C.M., B1G Edition: P.J. Fleck of Minnesota vs Luke Fickell of Wisconsin
I.C.M., SEC Edition: Clark Lea of Vanderbilt vs Josh Heupel of Tennessee
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 2 Indiana @ Purdue
Why are they playing? Charlotte @ No. 24 Tulane
Plenty of good seats remaining: Bowling Green @ UMass
Plenty of good seats remaining, ACC Edition: Boston College @ Syracuse
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? UTEP @ Delaware
Week 13 [Random] Thoughts:
In an offensive explosion to end all offensive explosions, Utah triumphed over Kansas State 51-47: there’s the Big XII we all know and love, where defenses treat their job as if it’s a pillow fight!
The potential outcomes for the ACC champion right now are so convoluted, one would need one of those diagram boards detectives use to figure out “whodonit”. But Pittsburgh just beat hitherto contender Georgia Tech in convincing fashion, and are now about to face tough-but-inconsistent Miami (Fla.) this week. If Pat Narduzzi’s squad can pull an upset win, ought there not to be a path for the Panthers to walk away with the conference crown?
Am I the only person out there who thinks that Georgia should be ranked No. 2 in the playoffs instead of No. 4? They can demolish almost any team not named Alabama, or, possibly, Ohio State.
Rivalry Week is now upon us, where any number of crazy things can happen. Case in point: the theme music from The Twilight Zone is required to play in the background when discussing the fact that Vanderbilt is favored over Tennessee, rankings-wise…yet Tennessee still has a good team this year. There’s a twist, no?
This week is special for a number of reasons, one of which this time around is that there are so many intriguing coaching matchups. One that should perhaps also be mentioned in the list above is Dan Lanning of Oregon vs Jedd Fisch of Washington. While we’re at it, how about Eliah Drinkwitz of Missouri vs Bobby Petrino of Arkansas, or Jeff Brohm of Louisville vs Mark Stoops of Kentucky, or Dabo Swinney of Clemson vs Shane Beamer of South Carolina? I would be somewhat tempted to include Barry Odom of Purdue vs Curt Cignetti of Indiana, but the former will be so outgunned that the game will surely end in tragedy for the host team. Nevertheless, the list goes on, but the reader understands one more fascinating aspect of why this week could yield so many great games.
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jake Dickert, Wake Forest
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jeff Brohm, Louisville
Desperately seeking … anything: Bobby Petrino, Arkansas
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Tennessee (defeated New Mexico State 42-9)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Georgia Tech (defeated Boston College 36-34) Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Minnesota (lost to No. 8 Oregon 42-13)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: South Carolina (lost to No. 3 Texas A&M 31-30)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Nevada (defeated San Jose State 55-10)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia Dang, they’re bad: San Jose State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Alabama
Did the season start? Louisville Can the season end? Arkansas
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
GAMES Play this again: No. 11 Oklahoma 23, No. 4 Alabama 21
Play this again, too: No. 3 Texas A&M 31, South Carolina 30
Never play this again: Nevada 55, SJSU 10
What? Texas State 41, Southern Miss 14
Huh? Arizona 30, No. 25 Cincinnati 24
Are you kidding me??: Clemson 20, No. 20 Louisville 19
rankings are current AP (week 13) Ticket to die for: USC @ Oregon
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: Western Kentucky @ LSU
Hon. mention: Coastal Carolina @ South Carolina
Best non-Power Four matchup: Missouri State @ Kennesaw State
Upset alert: Arkansas @ Texas
Must win: BYU @ Cincinnati
Offensive explosion: Hawaii @ UNLV
Defensive struggle: Minnesota @ Northwestern
Great game no one is talking about: Tennessee @ Florida
Also: Arizona @ Cincinnati
Intriguing coaching matchup: Rhett Lashlee of SMU vs Jeff Brohm of Louisville
Who’s bringing the body bags? Charlotte @ Georgia
Why are they playing? Samford @ Texas A&M
Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ UTEP
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Mercer @ Auburn
Week 12 [Random] Thoughts:
After seeing the way Ohio State easily dispatched with UCLA and how Georgia dominated an improved Texas, it has become quite clear that, barring a massive development along the lines of a huge asteroid hitting the Earth causing another mass extinction, the Buckeyes and the Bulldogs are destined to duke it out for the national championship. Glad we got that cleared up and out of the way.
That being said, barring a similar development as described above, it seems increasingly likely that Ole Miss shall punch through a major barrier hitherto holding them back and make finally make the playoffs. They passed yet another test by beating the Gators. Granted, the casual observer might sniff “big deal, Florida’s not that good this year.” To which I may respond, granted in turn, but they’re also not that bad, and they took down Texas right before the Longhorns took down a then-hitherto juggernaut Sooner squad. But even then, let that not obfuscate a more salient point which is: since 2003, the two have played each other seven times. Despite the relatively massive successes of the Eli Manning years, the Hugh Freeze and now the Lane Kiffin eras, the Rebels were only 3-for-7 against the Gators. In that light, beating Florida is no small thing, and is further proof that Ole Miss not only controls their own destiny, but is in the unique position to do so ably, what with a bye next week before closing out the regular season with the Egg Bowl.
Back to the Texas-Georgia game. Even if the Longhorns win out (tall order, what with Texas A&M being the last game on their schedule), their playoff hopes are likely dashed after the beating they took Between the Hedges. Kirby Smart demonstrated he was a level above Steve Sarkesian in terms of coaching when, after scoring on the Longhorns, they then sucker-punched Texas with an on-side kick that they recovered. The message was clear: “forget about momentum and forget about your comeback. We won’t even let you have the ball again”.
Thus we are led to a rather painful conclusion: Sark is not the coach to lead the Horns to the promised land. He is a great offensive architect, but that has been both a blessing and a curse. The curse is that he has yet to decide if he is an offensive coordinator or a head coach first. This self-imposed quandary has led to him tying himself up at knots at times, seemingly straightjacketing Arch Manning in the process, while ignoring other details of overall team organization. Hence, Sark has earned the reputation of his team not being entirely “buttoned up”, and an obvious manifestation of that are the unnecessary penalties that plagued his team last night and in many games before then.
So, if Sark is not the coach to take Texas all the way, who is? That is the question we shall have to explore further in subsequent articles.
In the meantime, next week shall sadly be a let-down, in that the rest of the SEC has its body-bag fest before Rivalry Week. Alabama assumes the role of pitiless executioner to Eastern Illinois; Auburn to Mercer; Texas A&M to Samford; Charlotte to Georgia. Rather convenient, it is, that the SEC teams can have such a breather while the rest of the teams in FBS put in the work. At least LSU makes it somewhat interesting playing Western Kentucky (8-2 compared to the Tigers’ 6-4 record). That game could be all the more intriguing given LSU’s recent struggles and coaching avulsions.
Fortunately, this farcical aspect of SEC schedules ends soon. Starting next year, SEC teams shall play a 9-game conference schedule like everyone else, and thank heavens for that.
Meanwhile, some SEC teams got their requisite November body-bag games out of the way earlier, and shall thus have decent, if not great, matchups for us to enjoy after all, what with battered Texas playing reeling Arkansas, or, better yet, Florida playing Tennessee. Can the Volunteers avenge last years upset loss against the Gators? We’ll find out next week.
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ole Miss (defeated The Citadel 49-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Indiana (defeated Penn State 27-24) Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Boston College (lost to SMU 45-13)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Penn State (lost to Indiana 27-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Kentucky (defeated Florida 38-7)
Great game no one is talking about: Clemson @ No. 19 Louisville
Also: Arizona @ Cincinnati
Intriguing coaching matchup: Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame vs Pat Narduzzi of Pittsburgh
Who’s bringing the body bags, B1G edition? Wisconsin @ No. 2 Indiana
Who’s bringing the body bags, ACC edition? No. 14 Georgia Tech @ Boston College
Why are they playing? New Mexico State @ No. 21 Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Oregon State @ Tulsa
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Tennessee Tech @ Kentucky
Week 12 [Random] Thoughts:
Indiana averted one of the biggest upsets of the season when they came back in the last minute of the game to score on Penn State, in Happy Valley. For the first time all year, the Hoosiers had to play from behind, initially having to punt with only four minutes and change left in the game, and somehow forcing Penn State to punt at the two-minute warning. Moreover, the game-winning drive only became such with a series of amazing catches, including two improbable ones, one of which was the touchdown itself, what with Omar Cooper, jr., barely keeping his feet in bounds at the back of the end zone. Still, Penn State theoretically had time to kick a field goal with the ball back, with the drive stalled at the 50, forcing a Hail Mary play that went nowhere.
Once again, Penn State played up to their initially high-rank potential, as if they too were still a top-ten team. In so doing, instead of getting their doors blown off, as my speculated they would, the Nittany Lions forced the Hoosiers into situations they had not faced all year. Upon further review, perhaps Curt Cignetti should send a case of wine over to the Penn State coaching staff, as they forced IU into situations the Hoosiers will certainly have to deal with some playoff time.
In other news, Texas Tech boat raced BYU during the Noon ET timeslot in Lubbock. Remember when that was supposed to be the game of the week (admittedly as part of a relatively weak slate of games for this weekend)? As things manifested, however, it soon became clear that the Red Raiders had too many ponies for the Cougars to corral. Just as war is a laboratory to find out what should have been known between countries’ powers before the first battle, lining up teams and having them play is the ultimate showing of who is actually better than whom, and the outcome of this game is “Exhibit A”.
They say that by November, you pretty much are who you are as a team. For example, by November of 2014 (Steve Spurrier’s last full season coaching South Carolina), the Gamecocks were a team that blew 4th quarter leads. Today, and in a similar vein, Louisville is a team that blows it in overtime at home.
Who had the Auburn @ Vanderbilt game as the offensive explosion of the week on their bingo card? Not this guy: where had that offense for Auburn been all year?
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Willie Fritz, Houston
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: N/A
Desperately seeking … anything: Brian Kelly, LSU
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Indiana (defeated UCLA 56-6)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oregon (defeated Wisconsin 21-7) Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Oklahoma State (lost to Texas Tech 42-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: North Carolina (lost to Virginia 17-16)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Iowa (defeated Minnesota 41-3)
Dang, they’re good: Texas A&M Dang, they’re bad: Oklahoma State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: South Florida
Did the season start? Illinois Can the season end? Nevada
Can the season never end? Georgia Tech
GAMES Play this again: No. 10 Vanderbilt 17, No. 15 Missouri 10
Play this again, too: No. 4 Alabama 29, South Carolina 22
Never play this again: No. 2 Indiana 56, UCLA 6
What? Virginia Tech 42, Cal 34, 2OT
Huh? Memphis 34, No. 18 South Florida 31
Are you kidding me?? Houston 24, No. 24 Arizona State 16
Oh – my – God: Washington 42, No. 23 Illinois 25
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 10) Ticket to die for: No. 18 Oklahoma @ No. 14 Tennessee
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: none
Best non-Power Four matchup: Navy @ North Texas
Upset alert: No. 17 Cincinnati @ No. 24 Utah
Must win: No. 9 Vanderbilt @ No. 20 Texas
Offensive explosion: Baylor @ No. 24 Cincinnati
Defensive struggle: Kentucky @ Auburn
Great game no one is talking about: No. 15 Virginia @ Cal
Intriguing coaching matchup: Lincoln Riley of USC vs Matt Rhule of Nebraska
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 12 Notre Dame @ Boston College
Why are they playing? N/A
Plenty of good seats remaining: Louisiana @ South Alabama
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Sam Houston @ Louisiana Tech
Week 9 [Random] Thoughts:
Vanderbilt, the perennial punching bag of the SEC, is now ranked in the top ten for the first time since 1947. Let that sink in for a moment. How did this come about? The likely answer is, a number of factors. Clark Lea certainly had a vision, greatly aided to fruition by talented QB Diego Pavia. But surely other talented players have been key factors in this fascinating development. That is where the combination of the transfer portal and the NIL come into play. Vanderbilt has enjoyed the well-earned reputation of being the most prestigious school in the SEC, and with that surely comes some reasonably deep pockets to fund a strong NIL collective, to say nothing of its location in growing corporate hotbed Nashville. As fans of college football, let us embrace the opportunity to witness this further develop, for if nothing else, it gives us all the more great SEC matchups to enjoy every Saturday.
Texas pulled off an improbable comeback in the 4th quarter at Mississippi State. Arch Manning went 29-35 for 346 yards and 4 touchdowns, with one interception, and that came from a deflection off the hands of a receiver. In the 4th quarter, Manning went 12-20, passing for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Yet the biggest irony of all was when he went out, concussed, in overtime. Backup Matthew Caldwell went into the game, and executed in a massive way, throwing the game-winning touchdown. Could it be that the biggest untapped strength of this young, unstable Texas team is its backup QBs?
Is the Brian Kelly experiment in Baton Rouge about to come to a sudden, ignominious end? Texas A&M embarrassed LSU in Death Valley, 49-25. Early in the 4th quarter, fans started to empty the stands in droves. Such is hardly the look the powers that be in LSU’s athletics department like to project during a primetime game on ABC. But in Kelly’s defense, the Tigers’ three losses all come to current, top-ten teams, those being Ole Miss (currently No. 8), Vanderbilt (currently No. 9), and now Texas A&M (currently No. 3). Can some blame be nevertheless placed at Kelly’s feet for not having an optimal season? Surely, yes. He certainly has failed at designing an offense to play to QB Garrett Nussmeier’s strengths, but that also assumes that he has any strengths worth noting in the first place. But while many are now calling for Kelly’s head, some context in this situation might be a benefit to everyone.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss seemed to pass a key test by defeating Oklahoma on the road, 34-26. With a reasonably clear path to win out in the regular season, it is quite reasonable to conclude that the Rebels control their own destiny to make the playoffs this year, surely legitimizing Lane Kiffin’s tenure in Oxford in the process.
