College Football Awards Week 6 (2017) October 9, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Auburn, Big XII, Bobby Petrino, BYU, Cardinals, Charlotte, Clemson, David Bailiff, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gamecocks, Gary Anderson, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Lincoln Riley, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Marshall, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Miami (OH), Michigan State, Mike Norvell, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NC State, Nittany Lions, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Oregon, Oregon State, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Red River Shootout, Showdown, South Carolina, Spartans, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa, USC, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Glad I’m not him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Lucky guy: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Poor guy: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Norvell, Memphis
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Desperately seeking … anything: Gary Anderson, Oregon State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Maryland 62-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Clemson (defeated Wake Forest 28-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kansas (lost to Texas Tech 65-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to No. 2 Clemson 28-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tulane (defeated Tulsa 62-28)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Rice
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Oklahoma
Did the season start? Florida State
Can the season end? East Carolina
Can the season never end? Penn State
GAMES
Play this again: Michigan State 14, No. 7 Michigan 10
Play this again, too: Texas 40, Kansas State 34 (2OT)
This merits a second look, too: No. 8 TCU 31, No. 23 West Virginia 24
Never play this again: No. 10 Ohio State 62, Maryland 14
What? LSU 17, No. 21 Florida 16
Huh? No. 24 NC State 39, No. 17 Louisville 25
Are you kidding me?? Michigan State 14, No. 7 Michigan 10
Oh – my – God: Iowa State 38, No. 3 Oklahoma 31
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: No. 12 Oklahoma vs. Texas in the Red River Shootout
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: BYU @ Mississippi State
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 25 Navy @ Memphis
Upset alert: Georgia Tech @ No. 11 Miami also: Utah @ No. 13 USC
Must win: Oregon @ No. 23 Stanford
Offensive explosion: Texas Tech @ No. 23 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: No. 10 Auburn @ LSU
Great game no one is talking about: Florida State @ Duke
Intriguing coaching matchup: P.J. Fleck of Minnesota vs. Mark Dantonio of Michigan State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Missouri @ No. 4 Georgia
Why are they playing? Charlotte @ Western Kentucky
Plenty of good seats remaining: Miami (OH) @ Kent State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Old Dominion @ Marshall
Week 6 Random Thoughts:
These past couple of weeks, there were not that many upsets. This week made up for that in quality if not for quantity. Favored Louisville choked on the road at NC State. Unranked LSU beat the Gators, in the Swamp, and in a defensive struggle, by a single point. ACC cellar-dweller Syracuse beat respectable Pitt. To cap things off, unranked Michigan State defeated Michigan, in a dramatic 14-10 finish (wait, that’s still a thing in 2017?), in the Big House, no less. What a week.
South Carolina defeated Arkansas in a game that could have gone either way. The Gamecocks should enjoy the win while it lasts, because the remainder of their schedule is brutal. In order, they shall play: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Florida, Wofford (huh?), and close out the season at home versus Clemson. Aside from Wofford, the Gamecocks could lose every one of those games. Yes, that is to say that even Vandy is iffy since they beat Kansas State earlier this year.
Given how hyped Florida State was coming into the season, and the potential regard in which they are still held in the eyes of most fans, is it valid to consider No. 13 Miami’s win in Tallahassee an upset, or simply a comeuppance to an overrated team?
Texas might have turned a corner with a win in double-OT over Kansas State, a team never to be taken lightly and capable of running the tables on the northern schools – what few remain — in the Big XII. With this key win for the Horns coupled with Oklahoma’s embarrassing upset at home to Iowa State this week, it will make next week’s Red River Shootout Showdown all the more unpredictable.
Maryland has proven that they’re a decent team. Not great, but decent. Nevertheless, they came into Columbus, Ohio, and Ohio State demolished them, 62-14. Nothing like a body-bag game (in hindsight) for homecoming. All kidding aside, could it be that the Buckeyes have solved their identity crisis on offense? We’ll know for sure by the end of the month when they butt heads with Penn State.
Speaking of whom, Michigan will have ample opportunity for redemption for this week’s upset loss at home when they take on the Nittany Lions on Oct. 21. It only takes one loss on Penn State’s part for the Big Ten race to become very, very interesting.
College Football Awards Week 5 (2017) October 2, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arkansas, Bowling Green, Butch Jones, BYU, Colorado, Colorado State, Duke, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia State, Indiana, Jeff Brohm, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Louisville, LSU, Miami (OH), Mike Bobo, Mike Gundy, Mike Jinks, Minnesota, Missouri, NC State, New Mexico, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, P.J. Fleck, Purdue, Rutgers, San Diego State, San Jose State, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Troy, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Utah State, Virginia, Wake Forest, Washington State, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Poor guy: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Bobo, Colorado State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Mike Jinks, Bowling Green
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Murray State 55-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida State (defeated Wake Forest 26-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Miami (OH) (lost to No. 22 Notre Dame 52-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to Florida State 26-19)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Georgia (defeated Tennessee 45-0)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: San Jose State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? North Carolina
Can the season end? Bowling Green
Can the season never end? Georgia
GAMES
Play this again: No. 16 Washington State 30, No. 5 USC 27
Play this again, too: UCLA 27, Colorado 23
Never play this again: No. 11 Ohio State 56, Rutgers 0
What? Utah State 40, BYU 24
Huh? New Mexico 49, Air Force 38
Are you kidding me?? Troy 24, No. 25 LSU 21
Oh – my – God: No. 16 Washington State 30, No. 5 USC 27
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 4, pre-week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 23 West Virginia @ No. 8 TCU: either that, or No. 1 Alabama @ Texas A&M?
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Eastern Michigan @ Kentucky
Best non-Power Five matchup: Colorado State @ Utah State
Upset alert: No. 5 Georgia @ Vanderbilt also: Maryland @ No. 10 Ohio State
Must win: No. 17 Louisville @ No. 24 NC State
Offensive explosion: No. 23 West Virginia @ No. 8 TCU
Defensive struggle: LSU @ No. 21 Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Arkansas @ South Carolina also: Duke @ Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jeff Brohm of Purdue vs. P.J. Fleck of Minnesota
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 19 San Diego State @ UNLV
Why are they playing? Charleston Southern @ Indiana
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia State @ Coastal Carolina
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Missouri @ Kentucky
Week 5 Take-aways:
There were so few upsets this week that I had to scape near the bottom of the barrel in order to fill in all four degrees of upset slot, and even then I barely made it. However, similar to last week, there were lots of near-misses. Unlike last week, however, there were few near-misses of major consequences. Nevertheless, to wit:
Northwestern has unexpectedly struggled this year, yet for a good portion of the game actually led formidable Wisconsin, before the Badgers eventually came back and beat the Wildcats, 33-24. Still, given how weak the Wildcats have seemed up until now, such a loss to such a strong team is hardly disgraceful.
Florida State had to struggle to beat lowly Wake Forest 26-19, much like Louisville had to do last year to beat the Demon Deacons. Thus, Wake Forest remains one of the most enigmatic of teams. Kentucky, who has proven to be a decent team, only beat Eastern Michigan 24-20. To be sure, part of the reason is that the Eagles are no longer a gutter team. In case you forgot, they were actually a bowl-bound team last year. No, that was not a dream.
Lowly Charlotte almost earned their first “W” of the year (of the program?) before just missing out at the end to gradually-improving Florida International. In case you have forgotten, Butch Davis is now the Panthers’ head coach, so that would explain the improvement. Meanwhile, it has been established that Ohio U is a decent team. Under Frank Solich’s leadership, they contend perennially for the MAC title. How then does one explain THIS? By “this,” I mean A) beating UMass by only eight points, and B), allowing the Minutemen to score 50 points on the Bobcats. Yes, the score was 58-50. Try not to overthink this, or you too will be sucked into a quandary vortex.
One of the most interesting studies in uniform contrast was the Oklahoma State at Texas Tech game. The Cowboys wore matte-black helmets with chrome-silver grilles, along with trendy, gray pants. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders, who have been associated with black helmets for 15+ years, wore white helmets with a plain-looking “TT” logo, red jerseys, and white pants with traditional red-black striping. The contrast was thus the trendy vs. traditional look, which was all the more intriguing since, from what I surmise after looking over things on The Helmet Project, Texas Tech chose this evening, for some reason, to wear throwback unis from ca. 1974: weird.
Speaking of weird, “body bag games,” so-called because of the gross mis-matches on paper, are supposed to be ‘gimme’ games for the heavily favored team. Apparently Troy never got that memo when they ventured into Baton Rouge to take on the Bayou Bengals. That’s right, the Trojans upset the Tigers – again, in Death Valley – 24-21. Coach Orgeron’s backside, meet chair that overnight just got really hot.
Speaking of hot seats, after Tennessee’s historically embarrassing loss to Georgia at home, Butch Jones’ hot seat has reached the most extreme of levels of hot, colloquially known as the “ejection seat”. We all know that at this rate, it’s just a matter of time, folks.
College Football Awards, Week 3 (2017) September 17, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Aaron Rogers, Auburn, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Cardinals, Clemson, Dabo Swinney, David Cutcliffe, Duke, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida International, Gamecocks, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Jim McElwain, Jim Mora, Kansas State, Kentucky, Lamar Jackson, Louisville, LSU, Matt Rhule, Memphis, Miami, Michael Vick, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pitt, Purdue, Rice, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Tigers, Toledo, Tom Herman, Tulane, UCF, UCLA, UMass, UNLV, USC, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Will Muschamp, Wolverines
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 3] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Glad I’m not him: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Lucky guy: Jim McElwain, Florida
Poor guy: Jim Mora, UCLA
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Will Muschamp, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Cutcliffe, Duke
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Matt Rhule, Baylor
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oklahoma (defeated Tulane 56-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Auburn (defeated Mercer 24-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: East Carolina (lost to No. 16 Virginia Tech 64-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Vanderbilt (defeated No. 18 Kansas State 14-7)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Purdue (defeated Missouri 35-3)
Dang, they’re good: Clemson
Dang, they’re bad: UTEP
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Kansas State
Did the season start? LSU
Can the season end? Rice
Can the season never end? Duke
GAMES
Play this again: No. 4 USC 27, Texas 24
Play this again, too: No. 24 Florida 26, No. 23 Tennessee 20
Never play this again: Arizona 64, UTEP 16
What? No. 24 Florida 26, No. 23 Tennessee 20
Huh? Memphis 48, No. 25 UCLA 45
Double Huh? Northern Illinois 21, Nebraska 17
Are you kidding me?? Vanderbilt 14, No. 18 Kansas State 7
Oh – my – God: Mississippi State 37, No. 12 LSU 7
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)
Ticket to die for: No. 16 TCU @ No. 6 Oklahoma State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: UCF @ Maryland
Best non-Power Five matchup: Ohio U @ Eastern Michigan
Upset alert: No. 17 Mississippi State @ No. 11 Georgia
Must win: Notre Dame @ Michigan State
Offensive explosion: Toledo @ No. 14 Miami
Defensive struggle: Pitt @ Georgia Tech
Great game no one is talking about: Duke @ North Carolina
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Harbaugh of Michigan vs. Jeff Brohm of Purdue
Who’s bringing the body bags? UNLV @ No. 10 Ohio State
Why are they playing? UMass @ Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida International @ Rice
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Georgia Southern @ Indiana
Week 3 Take-aways:
The Clemson-at-Louisville game was the game of the week, and on paper, such a designation was obvious. But sometimes these “games of the week” become lopsided affairs. This was sadly such a game, whereby the Tigers triumphed over the host Cardinals, 41-27. Did the game’s outcome have to weigh so heavily in favor or Clemson? No. The problem for Louisville was a combination of a few things. For one, the Tigers’ offense had incredible speed in their skill positions that kept Louisville’s secondary on their toes the whole night. The second was their powerful offensive line opened up huge gaps up the middle, allowing their runningback to gain lots of yardage between the tackles. Much of that could have been cancelled out had Louisville’s offense been allowed to fire on all proverbial cylinders. Why the hindrance? Because head coach Bobby Petrino seemed bent on trying to mold Heisman winner Lamar Jackson into another Aaron Rogers, when he is clearly another Michael Vick instead. Petrino is apparently so bent on micro-managing his quarterback that he has forgotten that an artist needs to be allowed to be, well, an artist. Let Jackson play to his strengths, and Louisville’s offense shall rise to the level of its potential. But as long as Petrino continues to micromanage the offense the way he currently is, the Cardinals’ offense shall continue to stagnate. The choice is that simple.
Meanwhile, what a game in Los Angeles. The 2005-2006 BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena was the greatest college football game of my lifetime. This was the first time Texas and USC had played each other since, and like the previous game, it did not disappoint, with plenty of drama and big plays on both sides. Despite the unranked Horns’ eventual loss, the moral victory is theirs in that they took the No. 4-ranked Trojans into overtime and only lost by a field goal. For the first time this year, Texas finally played up to its potential. Even though moral victories are not counted in any statistic or record book, this is one that Coach Tom Herman can build upon if he is smart about it.
That said, the moral victory for Texas might have been an actual one had it not been for the Longhorns’ four turnovers that game.
Meanwhile, what a difference an offseason and change of coaches can make. Purdue was a gutter team last year. Then, out with previous head coach Darrell Hazell, in with new head coach Jeff Brohm, and the difference in team performance is as stark as night and day. The Boilermakers have grown into a team not to be taken lightly. Their only loss was to a strong Louisville team. The following week they won, handily, over Ohio U, one of the best teams in the MAC. This week, they journeyed to Missouri to take on the Tigers, whom the Boilermakers rolled, 35-3. This upcoming weekend, they play No. 8 Michigan. On paper, the odds heavily favor the Wolverines, but do not be surprised if Purdue takes Michigan to the wire just like Texas did with USC this week.
As an aside, Kentucky has beaten South Carolina for the fourth straight time. The past two times, Will Muschamp has been at the helm of the Gamecocks. How many more times are the fans going to tolerate such an embarrassing loss to a team that barely belongs in their conference before they run Muschamp out of town on a rail?
College Football Awards, Week 2 (2017) September 11, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arkansas, Art Briles, Auburn, Baylor, Big 12, Big XII, Bobby Petrino, Brian Kelly, Bronco Mendenhall, Buckeyes, BYU, Cal, Charlotte, Clemson, Dabo Swinney, Dino Babers, Duke, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Gus Malzahn, Horned Frogs, Idaho, Jeff Brohm, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Lincoln Riley, Louisville, LSU, Matt Rhule, Miami Hurricanes, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, Morgan State, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nicholls, North Carolina A&T, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Randy Edsall, Razorbacks, Rutgers, San Jose State, Sooners, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Toledo, Tulsa, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah, Utah State, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 2] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Glad I’m not him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Lucky guy: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Poor guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Dino Babers, Syracuse
Desperately seeking … anything: Matt Rhule, Baylor
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 19 Kansas State (defeated Charlotte 55-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Kentucky (defeated Eastern Kentucky 27-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: San Jose State (lost to Texas 56-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Nicholls (lost to Texas A&M 24-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Duke (defeated Northwestern 41-17)
Dang, they’re good: USC
Dang, they’re bad: Baylor
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Ohio State
Did the season start? Texas A&M
Can the season end? New Mexico
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
GAMES
Play this again: No. 15 Georgia 20, No. 24 Notre Dame 19
Play this again, too: Utah 19, BYU 13
Never play this again: Utah State 51, Idaho State 13
Close call: No. 3 Clemson 14, No. 13 Auburn 6
What? Middle Tennessee 30, Syracuse 23
Huh? New Hampshire 22, Georgia Southern 12
Are you kidding me?? Eastern Michigan 16, Rutgers 13
Oh – my – God: No. 5 Oklahoma 31, No. 2 Ohio State 16
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 2, pre-week 3)
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Clemson @ No. 14 Louisville
Also: Texas @ No. 4 USC
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Oregon @ Wyoming
Best non-Power Five matchup: Utah State @ Wake Forest
Upset alert: No. 10 Wisconsin @ BYU
Must win: No. 23 Tennessee @ No. 24 Florida
Offensive explosion: Tulsa @ Toledo
Defensive struggle: No. 12 LSU @ Mississippi State
Great game no one is talking about: Purdue @ Missouri
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bobby Petrino of Louisville vs. Dabo Swinney of Clemson
Also: Randy Edsall of UConn vs. Bronco Mendenhall of Virginia
Who’s bringing the body bags? Georgia State @ No. 4 Penn State
Why are they playing? Mercer @ No. 15 Auburn
Plenty of good seats remaining: North Carolina A&T @ Charlotte
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Morgan State @ Rutgers
Week 1 Take-aways:
This week leaves us with more questions than answers. For one, Louisville had fewer penalties against North Carolina than they did against Purdue. All well and good, but is that enough improvement at this rate to be ready for Clemson at home next week? Regarding the TCU-Arkansas game, are the No. 23 Horned Frogs that good, or are the Razorbacks that mediocre? The Auburn-Clemson game was a surprising defensive struggle. What was the bigger surprise: that Auburn’s defense held the Tigers to only two touchdowns, or that Auburn’s offense – supposedly a specialty under head coach Gus Malzahn – could only muster a measly six points? Moreover, what does this portend for Auburn’s offense during the rest of the season?
The shocker of the week was Oklahoma’s upset over Ohio State in Columbus. The question becomes, are the Sooners that good, or are the Buckeyes overrated? Ohio State has plenty of NFL-potential bodies on both sides of the ball. What accounts for their lackluster offense this game, and their defensive collapse in the 4th quarter? Actually, there is an answer. The Buckeyes are currently experiencing an identity crisis on offense. Until they get that cleared up, they’ll continue to fail to play up to their potential this season, and that will be a genuine shame.
Questions aside, let us take a glance at the Big XII Conference. Simply put, they’re looking good right now. The Sooners are rolling after their huge win over the Buckeyes. Oklahoma State has two wins with impressive margins. TCU embarrassed Arkansas on the road today. Kansas State won convincingly, even though it was a body bag game. West Virginia is playing quite strongly right now, though a body bag game against Delaware State next week will obviously be meaningless. It all adds up to a conference that is playing well and giving the rest of college football cause for notice. The ironic weak links are Baylor and Texas. Concerning the Bears, it would only stand to reason that Matt Rhule has not forgotten how to coach. The turmoil surrounding the player sexual assault scandals, the sudden firing of Art Briles, and the havoc wrought by Hurricane Harvey have all combined to take a serious toll on the program. Baylor looks shell-shocked right now, and it will be interesting to see if Rhule, who brought Temple to respectability, can keep things afloat at a program with greater potential but higher expectations, too.
Speaking of Hurricane Harvey, that might also account for Texas A&M has not been playing up to their potential, as well as for Texas’ gigantic miscue against Maryland last week. After all, many players for these two programs, as well as for Baylor, have come out of the Houston area, which is still reeling in the wake of the hurricane damage and the residual flooding damage. The latter of which alone has for longer-lasting implications than the former. Let us all pray for those who have been afflicted by that terrible storm, as well as for those who are being afflicted by Hurricane Irma in Florida. As the floodwaters recede and the area rebuilds and moves forward in general, perhaps the morale of the aforementioned Texas teams shall improve, along with their performances.
Speaking of Hurricane Irma, that storm shall leave implications long into the season, given all the games that have already been postponed. One notable example is No. 16 Miami vs. No. 10 Florida State. That game would have been one of the best of the upcoming week. Little doubt lingers that they’ll find a time to reschedule such a matchup that is A) a heated, in-state rivalry, and B) a game with conference standing implications. If both teams keep playing to their potential, perhaps both will be ranked even MORE highly by the time they finally butt heads. Let us stay tuned the rescheduling on Oct. 7!
One final note about an overlooked game for the upcoming week: Ole Miss at Cal, which kicks off at 10:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time. While both teams are currently unranked, it does not matter, for it’s always a treat to watch SEC vs. Pac-12 matchups!
College Football Awards, Week 11 (2016) November 13, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Army, Auburn, BCS, Bulldogs, Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Clay Helton, Clemson, college, Colorado, Dabo Swinney, David Beaty, Duke, Fiesta Bowl, Florida, Florida State, football, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Gus Malzahn, Hawkeyes, Houston, Hugh Freeze, Illinois, Iowa, Justin Fuente, Kansas, Kevin Sumlin, Kirk Ferentz, Longhorns, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Memphis, Mike MacIntyre, NCAA, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Rebels, Red River Shootout, Rice, Rocky Long, Rutgers, San Diego State, Sooners, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, The Citadel, Tigers, Trojans, USC, UTEP, Virginia Tech, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin, Wolverines
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 11] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Clay Helton, USC Hon. Mention: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Glad I’m not him: Dabo Swinney , Clemson
Lucky guy: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Poor guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Rocky Long, San Diego State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Desperately seeking … anything: David Beaty, Kansas
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Marylad 62-3)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Auburn (lost to Georgia 13-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Illinois (lost to No. 7 Wisconsin 48-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Georgia (see above)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Notre Dame (defeated Army 44-6)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Rutgers
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Virginia Tech
Did the season start? Texas A&M
Can the season end? Kansas
Can the season never end? Louisville
GAMES
Play this again: Iowa 14, No. 3 Michigan 13
Play this again, too: Pittsburgh 43, No. 2 Clemson 42
Never play this again: No. 6 Ohio State 62, Maryland 3
Close call: No. 13 Oklahoma State 45, Texas Tech 44
What? Georgia Tech 30, No. 14 Virginia Tech 20
Huh? Georgia 13, No. 9 Auburn 7
Double-Huh? No. 20 USC 26, No. 4 Washington 13
Are you kidding me? Iowa 14, No. 3 Michigan 13
Oh – my – God: Pittsburgh 43, No. 2 Clemson 42
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 11, pre-week 12))
Ticket to die for: No. 8 Oklahoma @ No. 10 West Virginia
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: No. 6 Louisville @ Houston
Best non-Power Five matchup: Memphis @ Cincinnati
Upset alert: USC @ No. 4 Washington also: No. 19 LSU @ Arkansas
Must win: No. 21 Florida @ No. 16 LSU
Offensive explosion: Cal @ No. 23 Washington State
Defensive struggle: No. 21 Florida @ No. 16 LSU
Great game no one is talking about: Duke @ Pittsburgh
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mike MacIntyre of Colorado vs. Mike Leach of Washington State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Chattanooga @ No. 1 Alabama
Why are they playing? Alabama A&M @ No. 18 Auburn
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ Rice
They shoot horses, don’t they? The Citadel @ North Carolina
Week 11 Take-aways:
Remember how November was for everything? Next year, Bill Connelly surely will add this day of the month in 2016 along with the other legendary dates in college football. Three – count ‘em, three — Top-Five teams went down to defeat tonight, and a total of five – Top Ten teams succumbed to defeat, two of whom were undefeated.
A championship-contender team can withstand a loss in September or even October and still claw its way back to playoff consideration by November – witness Oklahoma in 2008 (they lost to Texas in the Red River Shootout that year, and still managed to play Florida for the BCS Championship).
But November is for everything, remember? That same year, Texas got upset by Texas Tech early that month, and in the end, that made the difference between Oklahoma – whom the Horns defeated – going to the BCS and the Horns settling for the Fiesta Bowl.
The bottom line is, if you lose in November, your playoff hopes are likely dashed. Such might be the case with both Clemson and Michigan. Both looked unstoppable, and both lost on Saturday, in different ways. The former lost at home to a tenacious Pittsburgh squad who managed to hang with the Tigers the entire game until they were in the position to win by a field goal with several seconds left on the clock. The latter lost on the road, at night, to a feisty yet methodical Iowa team that somehow held the explosive Wolverine offense to only 13 points (!) and managed to hang on the end to successfully kick a field goal as the last second ticked off the clock.
Out on the west coast, undefeated, 4th-ranked Washington also tasted defeat for the first time all year. They too were making an obviously serious bid for the playoffs, and were playing USC at home. But the Trojans seemed to have learned to play well enough together as a team to where their talent potential has started to shine through. Such talent certainly shined Saturday night in a win that will surely be one major building block as the program slowly returns to its traditional strength.
The other losses suffered by the other two Top-Ten teams are just as intriguing. All of us were convinced that Auburn had finally found its offensive legs, and that Georgia, who had been grossly underperforming all year, did not stand a chance. All that turned on a dime this Saturday “between the hedges,” as the Bulldogs held Gus Malzahn’s newly-recharged offense to just one touchdown for the entire game. That meant Georgia’s measly 13 points were more than enough for the win, in a defensive struggle that will leave us scratching our heads for a long time to come. What happened to Auburn’s offense that looked as though it had finally tuned up to optimal performance? Where was this strong defensive showing by Georgia for the first ten weeks of the year? Has this win awakened a sleeping giant of a team in Athens?
Finally, lost in all of this plate tectonic-shifting shuffle is the fact that Texas A&M, at the No. 10 ranking, narrowly lost to [currently] unranked Ole Miss. Remember them? The Rebels started the season ranked No. 11 only to lose to then-No. 4 Florida State in the opening weekend. Losing to No. 1 Alabama was also an understandable defeat, but getting upset by then-No. 22 Arkansas in their sixth game set a downward spiral in motion just as they began a brutal three-game stretch that included an LSU team finding its second wind and then an Auburn team that seemed, at the time, to be finding its offense. If that’s not enough, in the process, they lost their star quarterback for the rest of the season to a knee injury. At 4-5, everyone had left the Rebels for dead, particularly against No. 10 Texas A&M this week. But remember, the Aggies had lost their QB last week to a shoulder injury, so the two talented teams were on equal footing after all. In the Battle of the Backup QBs, the Rebels triumphed in a close upset, 29-28. In college football, November can be a very cruel month regardless.
Still, Ole Miss now has the opportunity to salvage something of a disappointing season full of what-ifs. It is not inconceivable for them to win out and go 7-5 for the year. We must not lose sight of the fact that each of their losses came to ranked teams, either currently, or when the games themselves were played.
All this aside, with three undefeated, Top Five teams upset this week, it would seem as though the Red Sea has parted for both Louisville and Ohio State to fill the [potential] playoff berth void. No doubt the playoff committee will be burning the midnight oil trying to sort out this sudden mess. Once the new playoff rankings are released, no doubt new controversies will ensue. Let the games begin.
Intriguing Games for Week 11 (2016) November 9, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Aggies, Alabama, Army, Baylor, college football, Duke, Florida, Gamecocks, Gators, Gene Chizik, Kansas, Kentucky, Larry Fedora, Longhorns, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NCAA, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, SEC, South Carolina, Tarheels, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tulsa, USC, Vols, Volunteers, Washington, West Virginia
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Lest we forget, the Duke – North Carolina rivalry is not merely confined to the hardwood.
No. 21 North Carolina @ Duke (Thurs., Nov. 10: ESPN)
The Tarheels under head coach Larry Fedora and defensive coordinator Gene Chizik have proven to be a very efficient team. Duke, despite being only 3-6, has always been a tough out this year (see: Louisville, week 7). Factor in the close geographic proximity and the traditional rivalry between the two, and you have yourself a very, very interesting game.
(All other games are on Saturday, Nov. 12)
No. 25 Baylor @ No. 9 Oklahoma (Noon EST, ABC/ESPN 2)
The intrigue of this game is the background. Baylor has been in a weird, two-game free-fall. They were undefeated until last month, where they unexpectedly lost to a mediocre Texas Longhorns team, and thus knocked themselves out of playoff contention. Then, the following week at home, they lost horribly (a 62-22 kind of horribly) to a TCU team that seems to finally have found a pulse.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma has quietly crawled their way back into the top ten. This will be a great game if Baylor gets out of its funk and plays up to its Top Ten potential.
South Carolina @ No. 22 Florida (Noon EST; CBS)
Earlier in the season, this game looked like it would be a snoozer, what with an underperforming South Carolina team losing to both Kentucky and Mississippi State. Florida, meanwhile, had gradually improved to the point where they were No. 11 as of last week.
The trends now appear to be different. The Gators were embarrassed on the road against unranked Arkansas last week, 31-10. Their current problem seems to be a lack of identity on offense. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks have gradually improved, first with an upset win over Tennessee, and last week with a confidence-boosting win over Missouri. If these trends continue, this game will be evenly-matched, thus very competitive.
Kentucky @ Tennessee (Noon EST; SEC Network)
Remember when the Vols were supposed to vie for the playoffs? That ended when they blew it at Texas A&M. After not playing with sufficient urgency for an entire game, the whole play-from-behind drama caused Tennessee to come up short against the Aggies. The next week was Tennessee’s turn in the conference to get drubbed by seemingly invincible Alabama.
Perhaps the heartbreaking loss followed by the aforementioned drubbing took something out of them, because they then laid an egg on the road at South Carolina, thus knocking them out of the rankings.
After leading the SEC East, those three losses made it anyone’s division – even Kentucky, who also has three losses in the conference. Let that sink in for a moment. Therefore, this game will help clarify the SEC East race. Let that sink in as well.
No. 11 West Virginia @ Texas (Noon EST; FS1)
West Virginia was undefeated before suddenly losing to Oklahoma State two weeks ago. Last week’s win against Kansas was a given, ergo proves nothing. Meanwhile, Texas has two consecutive upsets under its belt, first against heretofore unbeaten Baylor, next against Texas Tech. Could the Longhorns score a third consecutive upset? We’ll find out on Nov. 12.
Tulsa @ Navy (Noon EST; CBSSN)
Here me out. Tulsa is 7-2, leading the AAC West. Navy is 6-2, has been in and out of the rankings, and tied with Memphis for first in the AAC West division. Enough said.
Army @ Notre Dame (3:30 EST; NBC)
Army is currently 5-4. Notre Dame is in relative free-fall at 3-6, and possibly still smarting from a loss to Navy last week. One more win, and the Black Knights are bowl-eligible for only the third time since 1996 and the fourth time since 1988. Could an underperforming Irish squad be that last win Army needs to make to the post-season?
If it is, Notre Dame’s season is worse than over, as their next two games are against No. 18 Virginia Tech, and a suddenly-strong USC. Talk about a must-win for both teams!
USC @ No. 4 Washington (6:30 EST; FOX)
Washington is not a juggernaut team, but they are still very good (their undefeated season is padded with three out-of-conference body bag games). USC started the season with some sputters, but has played very strongly as of late. The opportunity is thus ripe for an upset (or, at least near-upset) in Seattle this Saturday evening.
College Football Week 6 Awards 2016 October 9, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, B1G, Baylor, Big Ten, Bret Bielema, BYU, Charlie Strong, Charlotte, college, Darrell Hazell, Florida, Florida International, Florida State, football, Houston, Hugh Freeze, Hurricanes, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Ken Niumatalolo, Kevin Sumlin, Larry Fedora, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Lovie Smith, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Navy, NC State, NCAA, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Purdue, Red River Shootout, Rutgers, Stanford, Tarheels, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tom Herman, UMass, USC, UTEP, Virginia Tech, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Glad I’m not him: Charlie Strong, Texas
Lucky guy: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
Poor guy: Lovie Smith, Illinois
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Tom Herman, Houston
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Ken Niumatalolo, Navy
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Larry Fedora, North Carolina
Desperately seeking … anything: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Michigan (defeated Rutgers 78-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: TCU (defeated Kansas 24-23)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Rutgers (see above)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (see above)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Auburn (defeated Mississippi State 38-14)
Dang, they’re good: Washington
Dang, they’re bad: Rutgers
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Houston
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? UTEP
Can the season never end? Texas A&M
GAMES
Play this again: No. 8 Texas A&M 45, No. 9 Tennessee 38
Play this again, too: No. 23 Florida State 20, No. 10 Miami 19
Never play this again: No. 4 Michigan 78, Rutgers 0
Close call: TCU 24, Kansas 23
What? BYU 31, Michigan State 14
Huh? No. 23 Florida State 20, No. 10 Miami 19
Double-Huh? Washington State 42, No. 15 Stanford 16
Are you kidding me? No. 25 Virginia Tech 34, No. 17 North Carolina, 3
Oh – my – God: Navy 46, No. 6 Houston 40
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP, week 6 rankings until further notice)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 9 Tennessee
Also: No. 2 Ohio State @ No. 11 Wisconsin
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Mississippi State @ BYU
Best non-Power Five matchup: Navy @ East Carolina
Upset alert: Kansas State @ No. 20 Oklahoma
Must win: No. 17 North Carolina @ No. 10 Miami also: Stanford @ Notre Dame
Offensive explosion: UCLA @ Washington State
Defensive struggle: Northwestern @ Michigan State
Great game no one is talking about: USC @ Arizona
Intriguing coaching matchup: Hugh Freeze of Ole Miss vs. Bret Bielema of Arkansas
Also: Larry Fedora of North Carolina vs. Mark Richt of Miami (FL)
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kansas @ No. 13 Baylor
Why are they playing? Lafayette @ Army
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida International @ Charlotte
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Louisiana Tech @ UMass
Week 6 Take-aways:
Nothing like the remnants of a hurricane to throw game plans out of whack. In September of 2002, for example, the remnants of a tropical storm descended on Louisville, and a Thursday night game between an unranked Cardinals team and No. 5-ranked Florida State became one to remember. The rain seemed to level the playing field to the point where the underdog Cardinals upset the highly-favored Seminoles in overtime.
This time, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc with records and schedules alike. In the case of the LSU @ Florida game, it has been postponed with no make-up date set as of now. The Georgia @ South Carolina was postponed for just one day. In the state of North Carolina, both games played as scheduled, and with surprising results. The NC State Wolfpack help visiting Notre Dame to just three points (!), allowing their only 10 points to prevail in the game. In nearby Chapel Hill, the No. 17 Tarheels were also held to three points, while the No. 25 Virginia Tech Hokies nevertheless managed to score 34 in the downpour.
Meanwhile, with Texas, it was the same result, different day, this time to their most bitter rival in Oklahoma. The game was high-scoring, 45-40, showing once again that the Longhorns’ defensive issues have yet to be resolved. Indeed, Texas had given up a total of 620 yards (!) of offense in that game. The hotseat upon which Charlie Strong has found himself has just gotten even hotter.
Where has Michigan State’s offense gone? First they score only six points in a debacle against Wisconsin, then they lose on the road to lowly Indiana. Now, they managed to score only two touchdowns at home against BYU. Mark Dantonio seemed to have the program rolling, what with a playoff berth last year. After a team like that, surely some rebuilding would have been in order, to be sure, but this? All of us are left scratching our heads.
Don’t look now, but Stanford is in free-fall. What I surmise is that injuries have taken their toll. Unlike other major programs, Stanford lacks the depth of talent in their back-ups that other teams would take for granted. This is the proverbial gap in the armor of a school where academics are taken as seriously as they are with the Cardinal. Might it stand to reason that Notre Dame secretly suffers from the same handicap?
Meanwhile, the Toilet Bowl, B1G edition, is fast upon us next week when Rutgers and Illinois butt heads. How it works with these bottom-of-the barrel matchups is that the loser is branded with the ignominy of being the worst team in the conference for this year. The winners consolation is that they can point at said loser and say, “See? At least we’re not as bad as those guys.” Be quiet, Illinois: you have no right to complain about this designation. You lost to Purdue.
As things now stand, Washington is in the driver’s seat for the Pac-12 North, and Tennessee’s loss to Texas A&M could potentially complicate things in the SEC East. Meanwhile, Louisville’s strength of schedule could potentially be compromised with Houston’s unexpected loss to Navy. That said, their big win over Florida State remains of considerable quality with their upset win over host Miami. Perhaps these two upsets might cancel each other out in that arcane regard. We shall see, as the stakes increase as the new month of October progresses.
College Football Week 5 Awards 2016 October 2, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Bo Schembechler, Boise State, Butch Jones, BYU, Cal, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Chris Petersen, Clemson, college, Colorado, D.J. Durkin, Dabo Swinney, David Shaw, Duke, FIghting Irish, FIU, Florida, Florida International, Florida State, football, Gators, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Indiana, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Kirk Herbstreit, Longhorns, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Maryland, Miami Hurricanes, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike MacIntyre, NCAA, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Red River Shootout, Rutgers, SEC, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Utah, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Vols, Volunteers, Washington, Woody Hayes
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Chris Petersen, Washington
Glad I’m not him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Lucky guy: Butch Jones
Poor guy: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: D.J. Durkin, Maryland
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: David Shaw, Stanford
Desperately seeking … anything: Charlie Strong, Texas
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Rutgers 58-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida (defeated Vanderbilt 13-6) T
hought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Louisiana-Monroe (lost to Auburn 56-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Vanderbilt (lost to Florida 13-6)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Maryland (defeated Purdue 50-7)
Dang, they’re good: Washington
Dang, they’re bad: Purdue
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Stanford
Did the season start? Michigan State
Can the season end? Georgia State
Can the season never end? Clemson
GAMES Play this again: No. 5 Clemson 42, No. 3 Louisville 36
Play this again, too: No. 11 Tennessee 34, No. 25 Georgia 31
Never play this again: No. 20 Arkansas 52, Alcorn State 10
Close call: No.13 Baylor 45, Iowa State 42
What? Virginia 34, Duke 20
Huh? Cal 28, No. 18 Utah 24
Double-Huh? Indiana 24, No. 17 Michigan State 21
Are you kidding me? North Carolina 37, No. 12 Florida State 35
Oh – my – God: No. 10 Washington 44, No. 6 Stanford 6
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 5, pre-week 6)
Ticket to die for: No. 9 Tennessee @ No. 8 Texas A&M
Also: No. 23 Florida State @ No. 10 Miami
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: BYU @ Michigan State
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 6 Houston @ Navy
Upset alert: No. 5 Washington @ Oregon
Must win: Texas vs. No. 20 Oklahoma also: No. 25 Virginia Tech @ No. 17 North Carolina
Offensive explosion: No. 21 Colorado @ USC
Defensive struggle: LSU @ No. 18 Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Georgia Tech @ Pittsburgh
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jimbo Fisher of Florida State vs. Mark Richt of Miami
Also: Rich Rodriguez of Arizona vs. Kyle Whittingham of Utah
Who’s bringing the body bags? TCU @ Kansas
Why are they playing? No. 4 Michigan @ Rutgers
Plenty of good seats remaining: Vanderbilt @ Kentucky (the SEC Toilet Bowl)
Also: Florida International @ UTEP
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? No. 19 Boise State @ New Mexico
Week 5 Take-aways:
So much for “Texas is back”. After losing on the road to California and now losing on the road to an unranked Oklahoma State, something is wrong. The rot in Denmark is all the more apparent when one considers that A) defense was supposed to be Charlie Strong’s specialty, and yet B), the Longhorns lost to both respective teams 50-43 and 49-31. Notre Dame, it turns out, was highly overrated going into the season. That became rather obvious after getting embarrassed by Michigan State and then laying an egg at home to Duke. Oh, and overrated as the Fighting Irish are, they still scored 47 points on the Horns, in Austin. Let all this sink in for a moment. Once it has sunk in, the logical conclusion is that Strong’s seat cannot get hot enough.
But don’t take my word for it.
In any case, so far what we have seen is that Tennessee is capable of coming back strongly to dominate a rising Florida Gators team. Last year, their problem was that they had to learn to “close the deal,” which they eventually did, but not before losing to both Florida and Oklahoma.
This time, their problem is reversed. Instead of needing to “close the deal” – something they demonstrated in abundance last week – they need to learn to play four full quarters of football. Case in point: during the game at Georgia, they slacked off for the entire first half, save for the last drive of the second quarter. In so doing, they spotted the Bulldogs 17 points before they finally decided to start playing with appropriate urgency.
That urgency could not have been more palpable than in the final seconds of the game, whereby it took a Hail Mary pass that was actually completed in the end zone (!) for the Vols to come away with the win. Tennessee has no time to take a breather, though, as they face undefeated Texas A&M next weekend.
In other news, Michigan beat Wisconsin in a 14-7 slugfest, where both teams kept the ball mostly between the tackles. Both Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler were nodding approvingly. Interestingly, this was the Wolverines’ first win over a top ten team since 2008.
But let none of this obscure the showdown of the week in Clemson’s Death Valley with visitor Louisville. This “ticket to die for” certainly lived up to its hype, with high drama and a back-and-forth score. The Tigers triumphed in the end, 42-36, largely due to the fact that the Cardinals took too long to get going and also because Clemson refused to fold. The fact that the referees did not call Clemson’s subtle holds on receivers at all certainly did not hurt, though it certainly does call Dabo Swinney’s coaching ethics into question. That aside, the Tigers have a clear path to the playoffs, to say nothing of an ACC championship. The Cardinals, meanwhile, still have an 11-1 season for which to play, which would still command a premium bowl berth. Indeed, Kirk Herbstreit insisted that the Cards’ playoff hopes are not dead yet. He may very well be correct. After all, Houston still lurks on their schedule.
With all the excitement going on, one is apt to overlook that Colorado is now ranked again (No. 21); they have made the polls for the first time in roughly 15 years. Nice going, Coach Mike MacIntyre!
College football in October has started off with a huge bang, for this was one fantastic week for the sport. Next week entails a number of solid matchups (I honestly had to reach for both “Why are they playing” and “They shoot horses, don’t they”, which rarely happens), but they do not add up to anything as exciting as that which we enjoyed this time. Then again, they cannot all be this exciting all the time. As far as let-downs go, next week will be just fine, especially with the Red River Shootout awaiting in first shift.
