College Football Week 9 Awards (2021) November 1, 2021

COACHES
Wish I were him:  Mel Tucker, Michigan State

Glad I’m not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

Lucky guy: Dana Holgorsen, Houston

Poor guy: Sonny Dykes, SMU

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Herm Edwards, Arizona State

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Hugh Freeze, Liberty

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirk Ferentz

Desperately seeking … anything:  Steve Sarkesian, Texas

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Liberty (defeated UMass 62-17)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Iowa State (lost to West Virginia 38-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kansas (lost to Oklahoma State 55-3)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Penn State (lost to No. 5 Ohio State 33-24)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Georgia (defeated Florida 34-7)  

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

Can’t Stand Prosperity: San Diego State

Did the season start?  Iowa
Can the season end?  Vanderbilt

Can the season never end?  Michigan State

GAMES
Play this again: No. 8 Michigan State 37, No. 6 Michigan 33

Play this again, too:  No. 5 Ohio State 33, No. 20 Penn State 24

Never play this again: Liberty 62, UMass 17

What?  Mississippi State 31, No. 12 Kentucky 17

Huh?  No. 18 Auburn 31, No. 10 Ole Miss 20

Are you kidding me??  Wisconsin 27, No 9 Iowa 7

Oh – my – God:  No. 8 Michigan State 37, No. 6 Michigan 33

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 10)
Ticket to die for:  None compared to last week.  Within this week’s lineup, No. 18 Auburn @ No. 12 Texas A&M

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five  matchup: Liberty @ No. 15 Ole Miss

Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 23 UTSA @ UTEP

Upset alert: North Carolina @ No. 10 Wake Forest; also, Tennessee @ No. 18 Kentucky

Must win: Texas @ Iowa State

Offensive explosion: No. 11 Oklahoma State @ West Virginia

Defensive struggle: Kansas State @ Kansas

Great game no one is talking about: Mississippi State @ Arkansas

They have the same record??  Penn State @ Maryland

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Paul Chryst of Wisconsin vs Greg Schiano of Rutgers

Who’s bringing the body bags?  Missouri @ No. 1 Georgia

Why are they playing? Idaho State @ No. 17 BYU

Plenty of good seats remaining: North Texas @ Southern Miss

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  No. 21 Coastal Carolina @ Georgia Southern

Week 9 Thoughts:

Georgia vs Florida

Remember what I noted last year regarding Florida historically giving Georgia fits in this came?  That obviously did not happen this time.  The Bulldogs have proven that they are the legit No. 1 team for now.  If they keep up this next-level intensity, it’s going to be one epic showdown for the conference title in Atlanta.

Mississippi State vs Kentucky

Either Kentucky decided not to show up at the level they have been playing the previous several weeks, or the Wildcats simply did not match up well with the Bulldogs.  On one hand, the running game was almost non-existent, the fumbles were more frequent than usual for Kentucky.  Apparently their defense showed up in name only, too.  No time to lick their wounds after an ugly loss, as Tennessee comes calling next week, hungry for revenge after losses to the Cats in recent years.

Iowa @ Wisconsin

Wisconsin defeated Iowa, 27-7.  This game proved two things.  One, it proved FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd that Iowa is “the fake ID of college football”, as it sadly seems that every time the Hawkeyes receive a high ranking, they never can demonstrate they are for real when put to actual test in the regular season, they never sufficiently prove themselves.  Indeed, they only reason they defeated Penn State earlier in the year was due to knocking PSU’s starting quarterback out of the game.  The other thing this game proved is that Wisconsin is playing back to the level we expected them to be at earlier in the year.  Whatever slump they were in recently seems to have vanished, making things all the more interesting in the West division of the Big Ten.

Michigan State vs Michigan

The clash of top-ten titans lived up to its billing in East Lansing, giving fans both in the stands and in living rooms across this great nation a thrilling game.  The Wolverines proved to be a legitimately strong team, possibly the best of the Harbaugh era, but made one too many mistakes in the end to triumph over an inexplicably resurgent Spartans squad.  The fact that A) Michigan lost by only a few points to B) a team that continues to prove they belong in the top ten has not been lost on the voters, as C) the Wolverines, even after this tough loss, fittingly remain in the top ten at no. nine.

Penn State @ Ohio State.

Penn State clearly played back to form, as they gave Ohio State a strong challenge, wire-to-wire.  The Nittany Lions are clearly good once again.  Had they played the same way the entire game in Iowa, they would not have lost that game.  This time, the Buckeyes’ superior talent won out, and sadly Penn State has sustained its third loss of the season, knocking them out of the rankings for now.  A team this good shall not likely be out of them for long.

To broaden the scope, the East division of the Big Ten is as loaded this year as it has been in recent memory, possibly even living memory.  Already, we have experienced two outstanding games from great teams in one day.  Better yet, this is only the beginning:  For example, Michigan has yet to play Penn State or Ohio State, and these two teams continue to loom large on Michigan State’s schedule, too.  Furthermore, as we get into November, the stakes only get higher from here on.  It’s going to be a thrilling ride.  To quote Southpark’s satirical portrayal of Caitlyn Jenner, “Buckle up, buckaroos!”

Looking ahead:  Texas @ Iowa State

After three tough losses, can the Longhorns bounce back, on the road, and take down the giant killers known as Iowa State?

Tennessee @ Kentucky

It used to be that Tennessee owned this border rivalry.  How else can one describe it, when, from 1985 through 2010, The Volunteers won every matchup between these two teams?  That streak ended in 2011, and Kentucky managed to win two more within this series, one in 2017, as well as last year.  If Kentucky wins, it would be the first two-in-a-row for them in this series since 1976 and 1977 (during the Fran Curci era, of course).  What makes this upcoming matchup all the more intriguing is that the Wildcats have an exceptionally strong team this year compared with most teams they typically field, while at the same time, Tennessee is resurgent, clearly clawing its way out of the doldrums that have plagued them for more than a decade.  All this adds up to the most interesting context surrounding an SEC game in a very long time.

Maryland vs Penn State

If someone told you that, going into the first weekend in November, Maryland and Penn State would have identical records, you would likely say that this someone was crazy.  Yet, here we are.  To be sure, Penn State played back to their earlier, strong form in Columbus, Ohio, last night.  If they keep it up, they should bag another ‘W’ without too much trouble.

Texas A&M vs Auburn

The Aggies have already taken given Alabama a loss.  Can they also fend off a dangerous Auburn team?  The Tigers proved how dangerous they were in their convincing handling of Ole Miss last night.  Can they keep up that same intensity against a foe that, one could argue, is just as dangerous?

Wake Forest vs North Carolina

In one of the surprises of the year, Wake Forest is currently 8-0, and ranked No. 10.  Conversely, North Carolina may only be 4-4, but they seemed to finally live up to their potential last night, losing to No. 8 Notre Dame by only ten points.  If that sort of Tarheels squad shows up in Winston-Salem, then maybe the Demon Deacons shall experience their first loss of the season.