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 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 11 (2025) November 10, 2025
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Auburn, Boise State, Boston College, BYU, Cal, California, Clark Lea, Clemson, Colorado, Cougars, Curt Cignetti, Deion Sanders, Florida, football, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hoosiers, Indiana, Iowa, Jedd Fisch, Joey McGuire, Justin Wilcox, Kalani Sitake, Kentucky, Louisville, Marcus Freeman, Memphis, Michigan, Navy, NCAA, New Mexico State, Nittany Lions, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oregon State, Pat Narduzzi, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Red Raiders, San Diego State, SMU, South Florida, Steve Spurrier, Tennessee, Terry Smith, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest, Washington, Wisconsin
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Joey McGuire, Texas Tech
Glad I’m not him: Kalani Sitake, BYU
Lucky guy: Curt Cignetti, Indiana
Poor guy: Terry Smith, Penn State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Justin Wilcox, Cal
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jedd Fisch, Washington
Desperately seeking … anything: Deion Sanders, Colorado
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)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: Northern Illinois
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Virginia
Did the season start? Washington
Can the season end? Florida
Can the season never end? Texas A&M
GAMES
Play this again: No. 2 Indiana 27, Penn State 24
Play this again, too: No. 9 Oregon 18, Iowa 16
Never play this again: No. 6 Ole Miss 49, The Citadel 0
What? Tulane 38, No. 22 Memphis 32
Huh? No. 8 Texas Tech 29, No. 7 BYU 7
Double-Huh? Wisconsin 13, No. 23 Washington 10
Are you kidding me??: Cal 29, No. 15 Louisville 26, OT
Oh – my – God: Wake Forest 16, No. 14 Virginia 9
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 12)
Ticket to die for: No. 10 Texas @ No. 5 Georgia
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: none
Best non-Power Four matchup: Boise State @ San Diego State
Upset alert: Iowa @ No. 17 USC
Must win: No. 11 Oklahoma @ No. 4 Alabama
Offensive explosion: South Florida @ Navy
Defensive struggle: No. 18 Michigan @ Northwestern
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?
College Football Awards, Week 10 (2025) November 3, 2025
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arizona, Auburn, Boise State, Boston College, Brent Venables, Clark Lea, college, Colorado, Commodores, Dan Lanning, FIU, Florida, Florida State, football, Fresno State, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Hugh Freeze, Indiana, Josh Heupel, Kentucky, Kirk Ferentz, Longhorns, Louisville, Mario Cristobal, Memphis, Miami (FL), Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Middle Tennessee, NC State, NCAA, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Sam Houston, SMU, Sooners, Steve Sarkesian, Tennessee, Texas, The Citadel, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Volunteers, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Willie Fritz
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Brent Venables, Oklahoma
Glad I’m not him: Josh Heupel, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Poor guy: Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Willie Fritz, Houston
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mario Cristobal, Miami
Desperately seeking … anything: Hugh Freeze, Auburn
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Florida State (defeated Wake Forest 42-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Notre Dame (defeated Boston College 25-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Colorado (lost to Arizona 52-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Purdue (lost to Michigan 21-16)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Fresno State (defeated Boise State 30-7)
Dang, they’re good: Indiana
Dang, they’re bad: Colorado
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia Tech
Did the season start? Miami, FL
Can the season end? Auburn
Can the season never end? Ole Miss
GAMES
Play this again: No. 5 Georgia 24, Florida 20
Play this again, too: SMU 26, No. 10 Miami 20, OT
Never play this again: No. 2 Indiana 55, Maryland 10
What? UTSA 48, Tulane 26
Huh? West Virginia 45, No. 22 Houston 35
Double-Huh? SMU 26, No. 10 Miami 20, OT
Are you kidding me??: No. 20 Texas 34, No. 9 Vanderbilt 31
Oh – my – God: NC State 48, No. 8 Georgia Tech 36
Told you so: Kentucky 10, Auburn 3
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 11)
Ticket to die for: No. 8 BYU @ No. 9 Texas Tech
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: none
Best non-Power Four matchup: San Diego State @ Hawaii
Upset alert: Cal @ No. 14 Louisville
Must win: No. 6 Oregon @ Iowa
Offensive explosion: No. 3 Texas A&M @ No. 19 Missouri
Defensive struggle: Florida @ Kentucky
Great game no one is talking about: Tulane @ No. 22 Memphis
Intriguing coaching matchup: Dan Lanning of Oregon vs Kirk Ferentz of Iowa
Who’s bringing the body bags, B1G edition? No. 1 Ohio State @ Purdue
Who’s bringing the body bags, ACC edition? SMU @ Boston College
Why are they playing? The Citadel @ No. 7 Ole Miss
Plenty of good seats remaining: Sam Houston @ Oregon State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? FIU @ Middle Tennessee
Week 10 [Random] Thoughts:
Texas played some of its best football all season – for three-and-a-half quarters, at least. A long bomb to the end zone threatened to break favored Vanderbilt’s collective back, only to find out that the receiver dropped the ball upon further review. That gave the Commodores enough time to regroup in an effort to overcome a three-TD deficit. The Longhorns’ collapse of their defense late in the 4th quarter almost enabled that. Sloppy play on both sides of the ball that pushed Vandy’s on-side kick out of bounds finally sealed the deal for Texas. But the final minutes of play left the 100,000+ faithful in DKR Memorial Stadium breathing a sigh of relief instead of belting out a massive cheer in celebration of this counterintuitive upset.
To zoom out the lens, Texas pulled off an improbably comeback on the road last week. This week, they almost allowed for an improbably comeback at home. Looks like Sark needs to teach his team how to play the whole 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, can Josh Heupel & Co. find a higher gear? As good as this Tennessee teams have been these past few years, he cannot seem to be able to pick up a signature win against the heavyweights within his own conference, or even others (witness the drubbing the Volunteers took in Ohio Stadium during last year’s playoffs).
Oklahoma, conversely, picked up a quality win, which, ironically, gives hated rival Texas’ decisive win over the Sooners all the more quality.
Where has this Florida team been all year? Notwithstanding their win over the Longhorns in the Swamp, the Gators have underperformed the rest of the year…until now, when they threatened to upset No. 5 Georgia at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville (yes, I’m still calling that), and it turned out to be the greatest game of the week.
College Football Awards, Week 14 (2024) December 3, 2024
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Aggies, Alabama, Arch Manning, Arizona State, Army, B1G, Big XII, Boise State, Buckeyes, Buffalo, CHip Kelly, Clemson, college football, Colorado, Dan Lanning, Florida State, football, Fran Brown, Gamecocks, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Jacksonville State, James Franklin, Kent State, Kirk Ferentz, Longhorns, Louisville, Mario Cristobal, Matt Rhule, Memphis, Miami (FL), Miami (OH), Michigan, Mike Elko, Mustangs, NCAA, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Quinn Ewers, Ryan Day, Ryan Walters, Sherrone Moore, SMU, South Carolina, Steve Sarkesian, Syracuse, Texas, Texas A&M, Tigers, Tulane, UNLV, USC, Western Kentucky
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Honorable mention: Sherrone Moore, Michigan
Glad I’m not him: Mike Elko, Texas A&M
Lucky guy: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Poor guy: Matt Rhule, Nebraska
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mario Cristobal, Miami (FL)
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Fran Brown, Syracuse
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Ryan Day, Ohio State
Desperately seeking … anything: Ryan Walters, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Indiana (defeated Purdue 66-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Georgia (defeated Georgia Tech 44-42)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kent State (lost to Buffalo 43-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: USC (lost to No. 5 Notre Dame 49-35)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Colorado (defeated Oklahoma State 59-0)
Dang, they’re good: Oregon
Dang, they’re bad: Purdue
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Ohio State
Did the season start? Miami (FL)
Can the season end? Florida State
Can the season never end? Indiana
GAMES
Play this again: Michigan 13, No. 2 Ohio State 10
Play this again, too (told you so): Iowa 13, Nebraska 10
Never play this again: Indiana 66, Purdue 0
What? Memphis 34, No. 17 Tulane 24
Huh? No. 15 South Carolina 17, No. 12 Clemson 14
Are you kidding me?? Syracuse 42, No. 6 Miami 35
Oh – my – God: Michigan 13, No. 2 Ohio State 10
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (week 15)
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Texas @ No. 5 Georgia in the SEC championship game
Honorable mention: No. 1 Oregon vs No. 4 Penn State in the B1G championship game
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: (none)
Best non-Power Four matchup: No. 17 Tulane @ Army
Upset alert: No. 12 Clemson vs No. 9 SMU in the ACC Championship game
Must win: All championship games, but especially the No. 16 Arizona State vs No. 18 Iowa State in the Big XII championship game
Offensive explosion: No. 22 UNLV vs. No. 11 Boise State
Defensive struggle: Ohio vs Miami (OH)
Great game no one is talking about: Western Kentucky @ Jacksonville State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Dan Lanning of Oregon vs James Franklin of Penn State
Who’s bringing the body bags? N/A
Why are they playing? N/A
Plenty of good seats remaining: N/A
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? N/A
Week 14 Thoughts:
Let us confront the 800-lb. gorilla in the room. It was all set for Ohio State. All they had to do was win the game. But the game turned out to be “The Game”, and in “The Game”, the Buckeyes choked massively. QB Will Howard failed to seek out his marquee weapons. The receivers dropped key passes.
While we can lay this massive failure at the feet of the offense, perhaps we should be more specific and lay the failure at the feet of Ryan Day and the offensive tactics he chose by wanting to prove how tough his team was by winning “tough”, that is, winning by battling out in the trenches running the ball between the tackles. That’s all well and good, but when your strengths are at the perimeters, not on the line (remember, Ohio State was working with a patchwork line-up on the o-line due to injuries), then the smart play is to play to those strengths.
This tactical failure on the part of Day is all the more stark when one considers that while Ohio State has an unbeatable receiving corps, Michigan was “patchwork” in the secondary. Such is the magnitude of the missed opportunity. My lingering question is, to what extent did Chip Kelly influence the offensive tactics for this game?
No more B1G championship berth for Ohio State: that now goes to Penn State instead. At least they have retained a No. 7 ranking in the polls, which should, in all likelihood, help them clinch a spot in the playoffs anyhow. But this loss will smart, especially since Ryan Day is now 1-4 against their hated rival, “that school up north”. One takeaway is that Day’s tenure in Columbus just became much more tenuous. He can consult John Cooper on the “why”.
Elsewhere, Miami (FL) had a golden opportunity to make it to the ACC championship and clinch a spot in the playoffs. All they had to do was beat Syracuse, but then they blew a three-TD lead to Syracuse in the second half. Now, not only are the Hurricanes out of the ACC championship, their potential bid for the playoffs is very much in doubt. Funny how one game can do that, but this reminds us that November is for everything.
One team that did rise to the occasion, barely, was Texas. The Longhorns and the Aggies renewed their rivalry on Saturday, playing for the first time since 2011. The Horns were ranked No. 3, but the Aggies were also ranked and No. 20. Sounds like advantage, Longhorns…except that the game was at nighttime in Kyle Field, a bona fide hostile place to play. Nevertheless, despite some hiccups on offense (Ewers threw a pick-six, for example), Texas still prevailed, 17-7. Were it not for the pick-six, the game could have ended 24-0 or better in Texas’ favor. Give the game ball to the Longhorns’ D for shutting down A&M’s offense. Meanwhile, Sark has work to do on offense when they take on Georgia in Atlanta for all the marbles in the conference. To that end, is Ewers dealing with a more serious injury than we are led on to believe? If so, Sark would be well-served to deploy Manning at the drop of a hat in Atlanta next week.
One interesting development is that South Carolina defeated in-state rival Clemson in Death Valley (no small feat), but since the Tigers’ loss was not in-conference, they still get to play SMU for the ACC championship. Looks like that loss to Louisville earlier in the season did not mortally wound their chances for the playoffs after all. But how might they fare against the Mustangs? The potentially lone ACC representative hangs in the balance of that game’s outcome.
Same goes for Iowa State playing Arizona State for the Big XII title, unless the playoff committee chooses Colorado to be within the bubble for a playoff bid. Speaking of the Buffaloes, they certainly make a strong case to be considered by crushing Oklahoma State 52-0.
Two teams that quietly get things done: Notre Dame and Boise State. We can debate about strength of schedule for these two teams, especially that of the latter, but in the beauty contest that is college football, the pollsters and the playoff committee alike seem to like what the Broncos are selling. Perhaps we will all need a dose of truth serum should Boise State make the playoffs and get embarrassed in the first round. Tuesday’s latest round of revised rankings will give us a better idea of where these teams stand regardless.
Both Alabama and South Carolina are on the bubble for a playoff berth. Should the Gamecocks be favored over the Tide? It’s a fair question when one considers that Alabama laid an egg to a sub-par Oklahoma team, while South Carolina beat their ranked, hated rival on said rival’s home turf, no less. Clearly the better momentum is with the ‘Cocks. Will the playoff committee consider these as they release their updated rankings come Dec. 3?
College Football Awards, Week 13 (2024) November 25, 2024
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Aggies, Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Buffalo, BYU, Cardinal, Cardinals, Clemson, college football, Colorado, Crimson Tide, Curt Cignetti, Deion Sanders, East Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Hugh Freeze, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Kalani Sitake, Kalen DeBoer, Kansas, Kent State, Lane Kiffin, Louisiana, Louisville, Michael Desormeaux, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Navy, NCAA, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Ryan Day, San Jose State, Sooners, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tigers, Tulane, UMass, UTEP, War Eagle, Washington State, West Virginia, Wyoming
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Ryan Day, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: Curt Cignetti, Indiana
Lucky guy: James Franklin, Penn State
Poor guy: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Deion Sanders, Colorado
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking … anything: Kalani Sitake, BYU
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Tennessee (defeated UTEP 56-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Penn State (defeated Minnesota 26-25)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: UMass (lost to Georgia 59-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Minnesota (lost to No. 4 Penn State 26-25)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Pitt 37-9)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: UTEP
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Alabama
Did the season start? Ole Miss
Can the season end? Mississippi State
Can the season never end? Kansas
GAMES
Play this again: Auburn 43, No. 15 Texas A&M 41 (4OT)
Play this again, too: No. 4 Penn State 26, Minnesota 25
Never play this again: No. 11 Tennessee 56, UTEP 0
What? No. 21 Arizona State 28, No. 14 BYU 23
Huh? Florida 24, No. 9 Ole Miss 17
Double-Huh? Auburn 43, No. 15 Texas A&M 41 (4OT)
Are you kidding me?? Kansas 37, No. 16 Colorado 21
Oh – my – God: Oklahoma 24, No. 7 Alabama 3
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 14)
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Texas @ No. 20 Texas A&M
Honorable mention No. 1: No. 16 South Carolina @ No. 12 Clemson
Honorable mention No. 2: Michigan @ No. 2 Ohio State
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: Stanford @ San Jose State
Best non-Power Four matchup: Memphis @ No. 18 Tulane
Upset alert: Kansas State @ No. 17 Iowa State
Must win: All Big XII games involving Iowa State, BYU, Arizona State, and Colorado
Offensive explosion: West Virginia @ Texas Tech
Defensive struggle: Nebraska @ Iowa
Great game no one is talking about: Navy @ East Carolina
Intriguing coaching matchup: Hugh Freeze of Auburn vs Kalen DeBoer of Alabama
Who’s bringing the body bags? Purdue @ Indiana
Dishonorable mention: Kent State @ Buffalo
Why are they playing? Wyoming @ Washington State
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ New Mexico State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Kennesaw State @ Louisiana Tech
Week 13 Thoughts:
In perusing through some of the interesting games from this week, just as we began with a game involving Louisville last week, it seems fitting that we do so again. The Cardinals have given major Jekyll-and-Hyde vibes lately. They hang tough with Miami, only losing by a touchdown. Only two weeks later, they embarrass Clemson in Death Valley, thus mortally wounding the Tigers’ bid for the ACC crown. Then a week later, they lay an egg in the 4th quarter to Stanford, giving the Cardinal (notice the lack of the plural) a rare win for their dismal year. Apparently that embarrassment woke something up inside of them, for they turned things around the following week and ripped a potentially dangerous Pittsburgh team, 37-9. If that team shows up in Lexington this upcoming week, the Governor’s Cup could likely come back to Louisville.
What most of us thought to be the main event of the day – at noon EST, no less – was the Indiana @ Ohio State game. Finally, a chance to prove themselves against a top five team. After getting licked by the Buckeyes 38-15, clearly Curt Cignetti & Co. have further developing and growth to undertake in order to be a legit top-five team themselves in the future. But if the most recent, updated AP rankings are of any indication, it is still likely that IU could make the playoffs.
Speaking of potential playoff teams from the Big Ten, can we legitimately call Penn State the No. 4 team in the land after narrowly escaping a loss to unranked Minnesota? Yes, P.J. Fleck’s teams are never to be underestimated, and they can make a team pay if said team lets down its guard. But after such an impressive win on the part of the Nittany Lions, it raises the question of maybe the current rankings are some degree of wishful thinking than that of objective reasoning. To broaden the scope of the matter at hand, are we truly going to say with a straight face that the three of the top five teams are all in in the B1G? Are we trying to convince ourselves that No. 4 Penn State is somehow better than No. 6 Georgia? Same question applies to Notre Dame, at No. 5, to be sure. I offer this as food for thought as one last week in the regular season remains.
Meanwhile, with Kansas upsetting Colorado and with Arizona State escaping their matchup with BYU with a win, the race for the Big XII crown has been officially knocked on its ear. As many as four teams could vie for the title – Colorado and BYU still, along with Iowa State and Arizona State, the latter of whom seems to have the strongest momentum of the pack. Should all four teams win this upcoming week, how to sort out who plays for the conference title? My personal choice would be to select the explosive combination of pizzazz and momentum, thus Colorado and Arizona State. But let’s see how these teams fare in their regular season finales in the meantime.
All that said, despite the deserved hype of the Indiana-Ohio State game earlier in the day, the best game of the day turned out to be Texas A&M at Auburn at night. The Aggies might have been looking past the Tigers, understandably as that program seems to have lost its way this year. Nevertheless, Hugh Freeze managed to get the War Eagles prepared and focused, and it showed as they took they led the Aggies most of the the game, tied it up at the end of the regulation, then outlasted them in overtime in a wild thriller of a matchup in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
But if one upset in the SEC with title race implications is great, why not double our pleasure with another such upset? Raise your hand if you had not given up Oklahoma for dead? Then Alabama comes calling, only to come out flat the entire game. The Sooners inexplicably held the Crimson Tide to three points the entire game, while Oklahoma scored far more than that. Don’t look now, but Bama has three losses for this season. And yet, is anybody going to deny, with a straight face, that they could not beat half the teams currently in the AP Top Ten?
Bottom line: the Playoff Committee has their work cut out for them in sorting out this week as Rivalry Week is about to unfold.
College Football Awards, Week 12 (2024) November 18, 2024
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Brian Kelly, Buffaloes, BYU, Cardinals, Carson Beck, college football, Colorado, Cougars, Dan Lanning, East Carolina, Florida State, football, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Josh Heupel, Kalani Sitake, Kansas, Kansas State, Kirby Smart, Louisville, LSU, Luke Fickell, Missouri, Navy, NCAA football, Nico Iamaleava, North Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Oregon State, Pat Narduzzi, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Stanford, Tennessee, Tennnessee, Texas State, Tulane, UMass, Utah, UTEP, Wisconsin
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Josh Heupel, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Dan Lanning, Oregon
Poor guy: Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Kalani Sitake
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jay Norvell, Colorado State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jeff Brohm, Louisville
Desperately seeking … anything: Brian Kelly, LSU
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Alabama (defeated Mercer 52-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oregon (defeated Wisconsin 16-13)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Purdue (lost to Penn State 49-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wisconsin (lost to No. 1 Oregon 16-13)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tulane (defeated Navy 35-0)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: Oregon State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: BYU
Did the season start? Kansas State
Can the season end? LSU
Can the season never end? Colorado
GAMES
Play this again: No. 1 Oregon 16, Wisconsin 13
Play this again, too: No. 21 South Carolina 34, No. 23 Missouri 30
Never play this again: Texas State 58, Southern Miss 3
What? Florida 27, No. 22 LSU 16
Huh? Stanford 38, No. 19 Louisville 35
Double-Huh? Arizona State 24, No. 16 Kansas State 14
Are you kidding me?? No. 12 Georgia 31, No. 7 Tennessee 17
Oh – my – God: Kansas 17, No. 6 BYU 13
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 13)
Ticket to die for: No. 5 Indiana @ No. 2 Ohio State
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: No. 18 Army @ No. 6 Notre Dame
Best non-Power Four matchup: UNLV @ San Jose State
Upset alert: Kansas @ No. 16 Colorado
Must win: No. 14 BYU @ No. 21 Arizona State
(See also: “ticket to die for”)
Offensive explosion: East Carolina @ North Texas
Defensive struggle: Iowa State @ Utah
Great game no one is talking about: Illinois @ Rutgers
Intriguing coaching matchup: Pat Narduzzi of Pittsburgh vs Jeff Brohm of Louisville
Who’s bringing the body bags? UMass @ No. 8 Georgia
Why are they playing? UTEP @ No. 10 Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Charleston Southern @ Florida State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Wofford @ No. 16 South Carolina
Week 12 Thoughts:
Let us start out on the west coast with Louisville visiting Stanford. The Cardinals had two things going against them for this game. One is that they were coming off a bye week, and that typically throws college teams off, especially their offense. Second, this was a team in the Eastern Timezone that ventured out to the west coast. That time difference also throws off college teams, thus it affects their performance negatively. Still, Louisville was leading Stanford by two touchdowns going into the fourth quarter. Then the Cards blew that lead big time, and in the end, the Cardinal defeated the Cardinals on a last-second field goal. Head coach Jeff Brohm himself admitted that the team “gave in at the end”, and the barrage of penalties throughout the game likewise contributed to the upset loss.
Meanwhile, Oregon, the current No. 1 team, ventured into Madison, Wis., to take on the Badgers. Apparently Dan Lanning & Co. were unaware of just how tough a place Camp Randall Stadium is to play, especially at nighttime, hence the Ducks’ narrow margin of victory in a surprise defensive struggle, 16-13.
Turning one’s attention to the game of the week, wherein Tennessee played Georgia “between the hedges”, a key takeaway for me emerged as the Bulldogs proceeded to a convincing win. The Volunteers did not have a deep threat the entire game, and the Bulldogs exploited that by putting constant pressure on up front on their QB. Nico Iamaleava is young, and will likely grow further into his key role. What is now clear is that this year is not the year – yet – for the Vols, but with further seasoning and growth, they could likely vie more effectively for the playoffs next season.
Conversely, Georgia QB Carson Beck seems to have found his way out of his multi-week slump, and performed brilliantly against a potentially lethal foe, throwing for 347 yards and two touchdowns.
Finally, BYU did control its own destiny regarding the road to the Big XII championship and a possible playoff bid. That road now has more obstacles than before after the Cougars coughed up the game at home to Kansas, 17-13. Discerning observers of the game have noticed that the Jayhawks had improved considerably over the past couple of weeks, but to that extent? Perhaps BYU was looking past Kansas in anticipation of taking on newly-ranked Arizona State. In so doing, they added to the urgency of next week’s game in Tempe, Ariz.
All the while, Colorado continues to roll through Big XII competition, and it is still not inconceivable that the Buffaloes and the Cougs could be headed for a showdown for a playoff berth come early December.
