College Football Awards, Week 5 (2026) October 5, 2026
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Auburn, B1G, Ball State, Bill Belichick, Bowling Green, BYU, college football, Colorado, Cougars, David Braun, Eastern Michigan, Florida, football, Gators, Georgia, Hurricanes, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Jeff Brohm, Jon Sumrall, Kentucky, Kyle Whittingham, Louisville, Maryland, Matt Campbell, Memphis, Miami (FL), Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Mizzou, NCAA football, New Mexico, NFL, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, P.J. Fleck, Pat Narduzzi, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Red River, Rice, SEC, Shane Beamer, South Carolina, Sports, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Tigers, UCLA, UMass, USC, UTEP, UTSA, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington, West Virginia
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: PJ Fleck, Minnesota
Glad I’m not him: Kyle Whittingham, Michigan
Lucky guy: Pat Narduzzi, Pitt
Also: Will Stein, Kentucky
Poor guy: James Franklin, Virginia Tech
Also: Shane Beamer, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Matt Campbell, Penn State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Braun, Northwestern
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jon Sumrall, Florida
Desperately seeking … anything: Jeff Brohm, Louisville
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Memphis (defeated Charlotte 59-8)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas Tech (defeated Colorado 29-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Stanford (lost to Wake Forest 57-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Rice (lost to UTSA 16-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Mizzou (defeated No. 8 Florida 45-17)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: UTEP
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Florida
Did the season start? Louisville
Can the season end? Charlotte
Can the season never end? Missouri
GAMES
Play this again: No. 18 USC 25, Washington 21
Play this again, too: Iowa State 45, West Virginia 42
Never play this again: New Mexico 61, UTEP 7
What? Eastern Michigan 38, UMass 14
Huh? Northwestern 34, Penn State 13
Are you kidding me?? Temple 17, South Florida 13
Oh – my – God: No. 25 Missouri 45, No. 8 Florida 17
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 6)
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Georgia @ No. 6 Alabama
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: none
Best non-Power Four matchup: South Florida @ UTSA
Upset alert: Oklahoma vs No. 1 Texas in the Red River Shootout
Must win: Florida State @ Louisville (Friday)
Offensive explosion: No. 21 UCLA @ No. 13 Oregon
Defensive struggle: No. 20 Iowa @ Washington (Friday)
Great game no one is talking about: No. 22 Houston @ Kansas State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Pat Narduzzi of Pitt vs Bill Belichick of North Carolina
Who’s bringing the body bags? Stanford @ No. 3 Notre Dame
Why are they playing? Ball State @ Northwestern
Plenty of good seats remaining: Sacramento State @ Bowling Green
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Maryland @ No. 5 Ohio State
Week 5 Thoughts:
Let us be honest: this was not the greatest week for college football. Even the so-called “ticket to die for” turned out to be something of a dud. Mississippi State is good, but apparently, Alabama found another gear of performance and shifted into it in Starkville when folks were least expecting it.
That said, there were good games. Auburn, which has quietly gained strength, put up a real fight against the Volunteers in Knoxville. Minnesota demonstrated that they are not a team to be taken lightly as they retained the Little Brown Jug against Michigan. North Carolina put up an impressive fight against Notre Dame at home, and Kentucky won in a shootout at South Carolina.
If that is not enough, Iowa gave Ohio State a good fight for a half, and on-again, off-again rain in Fort Worth made the BYU-TCU game a close, defensive struggle wherein the Cougars eventually triumphed. Moreover, Iowa State squeaked by West Virginia in a massive shootout of a game. If that is not enough, Purdue snapped a 19-game B1G losing streak, at Illinois, no less.
So there were plenty of interesting games, just no “monster games” as in previous weeks. Games between Texas and Ohio State, and also Texas at Tennessee, not to mention Oregon at USC, have spoiled us.
But next week Georgia faces their first true test, on that road in Tuscaloosa, and it’s also Red River time in Dallas.
Random Thoughts:
What to make of Florida? Just when they appear to be a force to be reckoned with in the SEC, they lay an egg on the road at Mizzou. The Tigers cannot be that good, can they?
Keep an eye on how the Gators bounce back from this embarrassing loss as they venture up to South Carolina next week. Same could be said for the Gamecocks: they lost a heartbreaker at home to Kentucky, and now recently-embarrassed Florida is about to come calling.
Clemson put up a decent fight against Miami at home. If I were Marcus Freeman, I would be studying film of this game very intently as I prepare my team to face the Hurricanes later this year.
College Football Awards, Week 4 (2026) September 28, 2026
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Bill Belichick, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Cal, college football, Duke, Faizon Brandon, Florida, Florida Atlantic, football, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Jake Dickert, Jeff Brohm, Josh Heupel, Kirk Ferentz, Kyle Whittingham, LA Monroe, Longhorns, Louisville, Luke Fickell, Marcus Freeman, Maryland, Matt Campbell, Michigan, Mike Locksley, Mississippi State, Missouri, NCAA, NCAA football, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Panthers, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, SMU, South Alabama, Sports, Steve Sarkesian, Tennessee, Texas, UNLV, Virginia Tech, Volunteers, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Michigan, Wisconsin
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Glad I’m not him: Josh Heupel, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Poor guy: Kyle Whittingham, Michigan
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jeff Brohm, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jake Dickert, Wake Forest
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Matt Campbell, Penn State
Desperately seeking … anything: Mike Locksley, Maryland
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Pitt (defeated Bucknell 59-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: SMU (defeated Missouri State 34-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Purdue (lost to No. 3 Notre Dame 49-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Northwestern (lost to Indiana 29-23)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Florida (defeated No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28)
Dang, they’re good: Florida
Dang, they’re bad: Maryland
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Louisville
Did the season start? Penn State
Can the season end? Bowling Green
Can the season never end? Georgia
GAMES
Play this again: No. 1 Texas 20, No. 14 Tennessee 17
Play this again, too: No 17 Iowa 20, No. 18 Michigan 19
Never play this again: Duke 62, William & Mary 7
What? No. 24 Mississippi State 31, No. 19 Missouri 24
Huh? Wake Forest 30, No. 16 Louisville 27
Are you kidding me?? Wisconsin 24, No. 13 Penn State 20
Oh – my – God: No. 21 Florida 52, No. 4 Ole Miss 28
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 7 Alabama @ No. 16 Mississippi State
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: Cal @ UNLV
Best non-Power Four matchup: Western Michigan @ Buffalo
Upset alert: Michigan @ Minnesota
Must win: Louisville @ NC State
Offensive explosion: No. 7 Alabama @ No. 16 Mississippi State
Defensive struggle: Michigan State @ Wisconsin
Great game no one is talking about: Pittsburgh @ Virginia Tech (Friday)
Also: West Virginia @ Iowa State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame vs Bill Belichick of North Carolina
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 11 LSU @ McNeese State
Why are they playing? No. 11 LSU @ McNeese State
Plenty of good seats remaining: LA Monroe @ South Alabama
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Texas Southern @ Florida Atlantic
Week 4 Thoughts:
Texas survived yet another strong challenge, this time in the hostile confines of legendary Neyland Stadium. Many in the sports commentary sphere remarked that had this been a night game, the place would have been more intimidating to the visiting Longhorns to the point where the odds would have been more in the Volunteers’ favor. That assessment does not take a rocket scientist to figure out: the fans would have had all day to get good and drunk. Drunker fans equal louder fans, making for an even more hostile environment in which for the visitors to play. Small wonder LSU plays most of their games in the evening.
To compensate for this lack of, er, augmented home field advantage, Neyland Stadium opened up its gates early. Parking lots opened at 6 AM for example, but that’s not the half of it. The University of Tennessee discounted all of their stadium concessions, including (read: especially) beer, at 50 percent between 9 and 10 AM (!). The ostensible reason for all of this was to encourage early arrival in order to avoid congestion as President Donald Trump, who also attended the game, was to arrive. But let us kid ourselves. As plausible as this may be, on the surface, for the reason behind this “early bird special”, we all know the real reason behind it, and its somewhat genius. Some might say dangerously genius, as it could set a new precedence for new degrees of fan inebriation earlier in the day going forward, but time will tell.
Regardless, all of this was before the game itself. Hard to believe that this was the first time the Horns and Volunteers played each other in the regular season. Moreover, the last time these two storied programs clashed was in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day, 1969, almost seven months shy of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and a prelude to the Longhorns’ undefeated season that same year which culminated in a national title of their own.
The game lived up to its hype, for both teams gave strong efforts, and at the end, Texas’ defensive line made the difference in stifling Tennessee’s young but potentially-gifted QB Faizon Brandon. Such potential showed itself in the form of Faizon almost completing a Hail Mary pass in the end zone as the game ended.
Random Thoughts:
There are body bag games, then then there are worse, even more pointless body bag games. To wit, regarding the latter: rarely would one consider the Pittsburgh Panthers to be pitiless executioners in such affairs, but so it went when they mercilessly ground down Bucknell 59-0. It is one thing for a Power-Five team to pick up an easy win against a “Group of Six” team for cash. It is quite another to pulverize a middling FCS team with no playoff hopes even at the latter’s level of competition. In this new day and age of playoffs and increased parity in the sport at the upper levels of FBS play, is it not unreasonable that we ban such ugly matchups from ever happening again?
Same thing goes for Duke. Scheduling a low-end Sunbelt or MAC conference team for an easy win is one thing. Scheduling a middling FCS team is getting ridiculous. At least with Pitt, they kept it in-state. Stunts like these make for begging for some central authority to start making schedules like they do in the NFL.
How many holes did Jeff Brohm kick into the wall of his office in the wake of Louisville’s puzzling loss, at home to Wake Forest? Either the Demon Deacons are far better than their currently unranked status shows, or the Cardinals demonstrated some weird refusal to effectively execute plays. For a team to go toe-to-toe with Ole Miss and then to take down a formidable SMU squad only to come up short against this team leaves one to sympathize with Brohm in his current frustrations.
Don’t look now, but Luke Fickell finally got something close to a signature win in taking down then-undefeated Penn State, in Happy Valley, no less. Perhaps the Badger program is gaining strength under his leadership after all. Time will tell if this is a harbinger of further success for the program, or some curious anomaly instead.
Something to monitor for Week 5: can Missouri’s defense contain Florida’s offense more effectively than Ole Miss’ did in The Swamp this week?
College Football Awards, Week 1 (2025) September 2, 2025
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arch Manning, Army, Bill Belichick, Boise State, Brent Key, BYU, Chris Klieman, Clemson, college football, College Gameday, Colorado, Deion Sanders, ESPN, Florida International, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, James Madison, Jeff Monken, Kalen DeBoer, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Lee Corso, Longhorns, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Matt Patricia, Miami (FL), Miami (OH), Michigan, Mike Norvell, Missouri, NCAA, North Carolina, North Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Rutgers, Ryan Day, San Jose State, South Carolina, Steve Sarkesian, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Texas, Toledo, UConn, UMass, Virginia Tech, Western Michigan
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Ryan Day, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Lucky guy: Brent Key, Georgia Tech
Poor guy: Deion Sanders, Colorado
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Chris Klieman, Kansas State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Norvell, Florida State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jeff Monken, Army
Desperately seeking … anything: Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Illinois (defeated Western Illinois 52-3)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Kansas State (defeated North Dakota 38-35)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Marshall (lost to No. 5 Georgia 45-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Toledo (lost to Kentucky 24-16)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Temple (defeated UMass 42-10)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: UMass
Can’t Stand Prosperity: N/A
Did the season start? Kansas State
Can the season end? Army
Can the season never end? Florida State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 3 Ohio State 14, No. 1 Texas 7
Play this again, too: No. 9 LSU 17, No. 4 Clemson 10
Never play this again: BYU 69, Portland State 0
What? No. 3 Ohio State 14, No. 1 Texas 7
Huh? No. 9 LSU 17, No. 4 Clemson 10
Are you kidding me?? Florida State 31, No. 8 Alabama 17
Oh – my – God: Tarleton State 30, Army 27 (2OT)
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 2)
Ticket to die for: Michigan @ Oklahoma
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: James Madison @ Louisville
Best non-Power Four matchup: North Texas @ Western Michigan
Upset alert: UConn @ Syracuse
Must win: UCLA @ UNLV
Offensive explosion: Kansas @ Missouri
Defensive struggle: Miami (OH) @ Rutgers
Great game no one is talking about: Iowa @ No. 22 Iowa State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Frank Reich of Stanford vs Kalane Sitake of BYU
Who’s bringing the body bags? San Jose State @ Texas
Why are they playing? Florida International @ Penn State
Plenty of good seats remaining: Bryant @ UMass
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Eastern Washington @ Boise State
Week 1 Thoughts:
The 2025-’26 college football season has launched for real, and a few good games have helped the season launch more than respectfully. Indeed, in one of the greatest opening games in living memory, No. 1 Texas came to Columbus to play No. 3 (and defending national champ) Ohio State. Adding even more drama and poignancy to this already-historic matchup was the fact that this was legendary ESPN football commentator Lee Corso’s last appearance on the network’s College Gameday show. In a very classy farewell gesture, Corso, 90, wore a tuxedo for his farewell appearance. The Ohio State band formed the letters “CORSO” on the field right before kickoff, and he was joined by the Gameday crew a the 50 yard line of Ohio Stadium to deliver his final “headgear” stunt. Appropriately, he donned the Brutus Buckeye head. How could he not? Twenty-nine years ago, his first ever big-game outcome prognostication vis-à-vis donning the team’s mascot head was born at Ohio State, where he likewise put on Brutus’ head. It was more than fitting that he bookended his legendary body of work at ESPN by doing the same thing, in fitting tribute to the place where the cherished tradition began.
The game itself was incredible, with huge defensive plays abounding throughout the game. Ryan Day’s overall strategy of bringing in Matt Patricia from the NFL paid off handsomely. Patricia used his vast NFL experience to call up defensive schemes to make inexperienced Texas QB Arch Manning uncomfortable, and it showed in the Longhorns’ lack of offensive output throughout all but the last drive of the game. Still, Manning managed to exploit the occasional crack in the Buckeyes’ defense, and Texas was thus one pass completion away from taking the game into overtime.
In a larger sense, this loss on the part of the Longhorns shall not tank their season. Should Texas effectively regroup and make the playoffs come season’s end, surely their path shall cross that of Ohio State yet again. Should they do so, it is almost always impossible to beat the same formidable opponent again in the same season, as the Buckeyes demonstrated with devasting effectiveness against Oregon in the most recent Rose Bowl.
The Broader Line-up of Games
In what might become an annual tradition for the first week of college football awards each season, it is worth noting the many poor matchups among a few really great games. Once again, most of the matchups scream “[W]hy are they playing?” To wit (final scores indicated in parentheses):
Louisville vs EKU (51-17); Arizona State vs Northern Arizona (38-19); SMU vs East Texas A&M (42-13); BYU vs Portland State (69-0); Tulsa vs Abilene Christian (35-7); North Texas vs Lamar (51-0); Ole Miss vs Georgia State (63-7); Texas Tech vs Arkansas Pine Bluff (67-7); USC vs Missouri State (73-13); Florida vs Long Island University (55-0); Arkansas St. vs SE Missouri State (42-24); W. Kentucky vs North Alabama (55-6); Oklahoma vs Illinois State (35-3); Iowa vs Albany (34-7); James Madison vs Weber State (45-10); Memphis vs Chattanooga (45-10); Arkansas vs Alabama A&M (52-7); Oregon vs Montana State (59-13); Penn State vs. Nevada (46-11); Georgia vs Marshall (45-7); Iowa State vs South Dakota (55-7); Air Force vs Buckness (49-13); Boston College vs Fordham (66-10); West Virgina vs Robert Morris (45-3); UConn vs Central Conn. St. (59-13); Pittsburgh vs Duquense (61-9); Navy vs VMI (52-7); Illinois vs Western Illinois (52-3); Kansas vs Wagner (46-7); Florida International vs Bethune-Cookman (42-9); SDSU vs Stony Brook (42-0); Houston vs Stephen F. Austin (27-0); Missouri vs Central Arkansas (61-6); Oklahoma State vs Tennessee-Martin (27-7); Duke vs Elon (45-17)
I would add other games as well to the above litany, except that the intended punching bags managed to make the games somewhat respectable, such as Indiana vs Old Dominion (27-14); Wisconsin vs Miami (OH) (17-0); Minnesota vs Buffalo (23-10); Wyoming vs Akron (10-0); UNLV vs Idaho State (38-31); Kentucky vs Toledo (24-16) and Michigan vs New Mexico (34-17). The joke was truly on Army, who lost to lowly Tarleton State in the second overtime, 30-27.
As far as college football has evolved (e.g., the new playoff format), further evolution is clearly in order. To be sure, these absolutely atrocious lineups are likely a holdover of the recent time when one loss could potentially tank a team’s entire season. That is no longer the case, however, so going forward, it is not unreasonable for us fans to expect more marquee matchups such as the aforementioned Texas vs Ohio State, or Virginia Tech vs South Carolina, or Alabama @ Florida State, or Miami (FL) vs Notre Dame, and especially LSU @ Clemson, a memorable game in its own right. Likewise with Notre Dame @ Miami (Fla.), which turned out to be another fantastic game. More of these top-ten matchups, please! Moreover, Monday night matchup of TCU @ North Carolina, which happens to also be Bill Belichick’s college coaching debut, holds much promise as well.
Just do not expect to see such needed evolution take place next week, which shall deliver too many “why are they playing?” matchups as well.
College Football Awards, Week 5 (2024) September 30, 2024
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Akron, Alabama, Army, Auburn, Ball State, Boise State, Bowling Green, Brent Pry, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Clemson, college football, Crimson Tide, Florida State, football, Georgia, Greg Schiano, Jalen Milroe, James Madison, Kalen DeBoer, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Lance Leipold, Lane Kiffin, Louisville, LSU, Mario Cristobal, Matt Rhule, Miami (Fla.), Navy, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Rutgers, Ryan Williams, SEC, Sooners, Temple, Texas, Texas Tech, Tigers, UConn, Utah State, Virginia Tech, War Eagle
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
Glad I’m not him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Lucky guy: Mario Cristobal, Miami (Fla.)
Poor guy: Brent Pry, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: (inconclusive)
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Greg Schiano, Rutgers
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking … anything: Lance Leipold, Kansas
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: James Madison (defeated Ball State 63-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oklahoma (defeated Auburn 27-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Temple (lost to Army 42-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Virginia Tech (lost to No. 7 Miami, Fla. 38-34)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Kansas State (defeated No. 20 Oklahoma State 42-20)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Buffalo
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Auburn
Did the season start? Ole Miss
Can the season end? Florida State
Can the season never end? Alabama
GAMES
Play this again: No. 4 Alabama 41, No. 2 Georgia 34
Play this again, too: Texas Tech 44, Cincinnati 41
Never play this again: James Madison 63, Ball State 0
What? N/A
Huh? Arizona 23, No. 10 Utah 10
Are you kidding me?? No. 4 Alabama 41, No. 2 Georgia 34
Oh – my – God: Kentucky 20, No. 6 Ole Miss 17
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 6)
Best game of the week: No. 9 Missouri @ Texas A&M
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: Syracuse @ No. 25 UNLV
Best non-Power Four matchup: Colorado State @ Oregon State
Upset alert: SMU @ No. 22 Louisville
Must win: No. 12 Ole Miss @ South Carolina
Offensive explosion: Utah State @ Boise State
Defensive struggle: Navy @ Air Force
Great game no one is talking about: Rutgers @ Nebraska
Intriguing coaching matchup: Greg Schiano of Rutgers vs Matt Rhule of Nebraska
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 15 Clemson @ Florida State
Why are they playing? N/A
Plenty of good seats remaining: Bowling Green @ Akron
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Temple @ UConn
Week 5 Thoughts:
Oklahoma @ Auburn
There are two types of teams that “can’t stand prosperity”. The typical type is one that is on a win streak but then inexplicably loses a winnable game. The atypical type is where a team that has been having a lousy season but then, in one game, is leading as an underdog for most of the 60 minutes, only to blow the lead in the last minutes of regulation.
Clearly Auburn fell into the latter category. Going into the game against Oklahoma at 2-2, they already lost some games that many perceived to be winnable, namely Cal and Arkansas. That losing prompted some in the press to speculate that Auburn football had lost its way.
Yet things seemed to turn around against Oklahoma. The Tigers led most of the game until the Sooners scored at 8:34 in the 4th quarter, made the two point conversion, then broadened their lead to 27-21 when they kicked a field goal with 58 seconds left in the game. Though Auburn got the ball back, that amount of time was not enough for them to go the length of the field.
So, has the War Eagle still “lost its way”? Perhaps, but then again, this is the SEC, which is brutal top to bottom. A potentially more plausible explanation is that Auburn is down in talent during a season when its surrounding competition is especially “up”, from LSU to Georgia, from Alabama to Tennessee. Ole Miss was considered a top ten team prior to their upset loss at home to Kentucky, who in turn got spanked by South Carolina earlier this month.
Can they still turn things around and salvage the season? Anything is possible. The current problem for Auburn is, they have no time to lick their wounds, as the go on the road to Georgia next week. Speaking of…
Georgia @ Alabama
Despite being down 28-0 early in the 2nd quarter to Alabama, Georgia gradually roared back and even briefly led with 2:42 left in the game. Then Jalen Milroe’s 75-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Williams, along with a two-pointer, put the Crimson Tide back on top for good at 41-34.
Does this mean that Georgia’s playoff hopes are dashed on the rocks? Hardly, but they also have one of the toughest schedules of any team in the FBS this year (they still have yet to play Ole Miss, Texas, and Tennessee), and losing to Bama put them in the hole from the outset.
Nevertheless, should they make the playoffs, perhaps next time they’ll know better than to spot a top-ranked team four touchdowns before they decide to start playing football.
College Football Awards, Week 1 (2024) September 4, 2024
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arkansas, Auburn, Boston College, Brent Key, Bret Bielema, Brian Kelly, BYU, Dan Lanning, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Lance Leipold, Lincoln Riley, LSU, Mack Brown, Miami (FL), Michigan, Mike Norvell, New Mexico State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon, P.J. Fleck, Rice, SMU, Stanford, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, UConn, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Lincoln Riley, USC
Glad I’m not him: Brian Kelly, LSU
Lucky guy: Mack Brown, North Carolina
Poor guy: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Dan Lanning, Oregon
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Brent Key, Georgia Tech (Week 0)
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mike Norvell, Florida State
Desperately seeking … anything: Mike Norvell, Florida State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Tennessee (defeated Chattanooga 69-3)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oregon (defeated Idaho 24-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Temple (lost to No. 16 Oklahoma 51-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Stanford (lost to TCU 34-27)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Miami, FL (defeated Florida 41-17)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: UConn
Can’t Stand Prosperity: N/A
Did the season start? Florida State
Can the season end? Rice
Can the season never end? USC
GAMES
Play this again: No. 23 USC 27, No. 7 LSU 20
Play this again, too: No. 7 Notre Dame 23, No. 20 Texas A&M 13
Never play this again: Auburn 73, Alabama A&M 3
What? Vanderbilt 34, Virginia Tech 27 (OT)
Huh? Georgia Tech 24, No. 10 Florida State 20 (Week 0)
Are you kidding me?? No. 23 USC 27, No. 7 LSU 20
Oh – my – God: Boston College 28, No. 10 Florida State 13
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 2)
Ticket to die for: No. 4 Texas @ No. 9 Michigan
Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four matchup: Boise State @ No. 3 Oregon
Best non-Power Four matchup: Liberty @ New Mexico State
Upset alert: Iowa State @ No. 25 Iowa
Must win: Colorado @ Nebraska
Offensive explosion: Arkansas @ No. 17 Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: Iowa State @ No. 25 Iowa
Great game no one is talking about: BYU @ SMU
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bret Bielema of Illinois vs Lance Leipold of Kansas
Who’s bringing the body bags? Tennessee Tech @ No. 1 Georgia
Why are they playing? Samford @ Florida
Plenty of good seats remaining: Merrimack @ UConn
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Texas Southern @ Rice
Week 1 Thoughts:
The 2024-’25 college football season has already gotten off to an interesting start. Already there has been a noticeable upset (Georgia Tech triumphing over Florida State on Week 0, in Dublin, Ireland, no less). Already we have also seen the Miami Hurricanes reassert themselves in a big way in the Swamp, trouncing the Gators 41-17. Either the Canes are “back”, or Florida has a long way to go to return to their championship-caliber days under Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer.
But the first full week has also been hit-and-miss. Most of the matchups scream “[W]hy are they playing?” To wit: New Hampshire @ UCF; Chattanooga @ Tennessee; Austin Peay @ Louisville; Temple @ Oklahoma; Murray State @ Missouri; Southern Utah @ Utah; Lehigh @ Army; Alabama A&M @ Auburn; Western Carolina @ NC State; and that is just the short list. Only the last listed game was remotely competitive (the Wolfpack won, but only 38-21).
These are way too many body bag games for teams that are now in expanded conferences, and are now vying for berths in a new 12-team playoff system. No more excuses. After all, what is the point in teams joining expanded conferences, if said teams are not to engage their newfound rivals? It is time for so many of these teams to start giving fans more quality matchups at the beginning of the season, and to play more teams in-conference. Too many snoozefests at the beginning of the season is bad for the sport. Period.
All that said, some games did stand out, some for the wrong reasons.
Idaho @ Oregon:
Pursuant to the matter noted above, sometimes a “gimme game” can backfire. Case in point: Idaho got a payday to come to Oregon to play the Ducks. Though ranked No. 3 in the country going into the game, all the Ducks could do was squeeze out a 24-14 win over the Vandals, an FCS team. If the Ducks want us to believe they belong at the No. 3 ranking, they better start playing like it.
All that said, three games did stand out of the right reasons:
North Carolina @ Minnesota
This game proved to be a good one. It remained close throughout, and the results went down to the wire, where in the end, the Golden Gophers had a chance to win it, but missed a field goal at the buzzer. This game also doubled as an honorable mention Intriguing Coaching Matchup, what with PJ Fleck vs Mack Brown.
Notre Dame @ Texas A&M
This game did live up to the hype, and Notre Dame proved they are a more-than-respectable team. The only thing that disappointed was the outcome for the A&M. Had the Aggies a better QB, the game could very well have ended in their favor. A concern going forward: given the Irish’s rather favorable schedule (the only ranked teams they play are Florida State and USC, at the end of the regular season), will they be overhyped and put into the playoffs, only to be crushed in the first round?
USC vs LSU in Las Vegas
What a way to start the college football season: a primetime, marquee matchup in Vegas. The game was a thriller from wire to wire, and if USC’s performance is any indication, they are instant playoff contenders, and could very well give Ohio State a tough contest for B1G champion. On the other side of the ball, LSU had chances to get ahead, but execution errors hobbled them, much to Brian Kelly’s expressed frustration, post-game.
College football is back in full-swing. Now for us to wade through more body bag games next week so we can proceed with conference schedules in earnest.
College Football Awards, Week 13 (2023) November 30, 2023
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, B1G, Big XII, BYU, C-USA, Cal, CHip Kelly, Coastal Carolina, Colorado, David Braun, Deion Sanders, Drake Maye, Georgia, Hugh Freeze, Iowa, James Madison, Jim Harbaugh, Kirby Smart, Louisville, MAC, Mack Brown, Miami (OH), Michigan, Mike Gundy, Nevada, Nick Saban, North Carolina, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Pac-12, Ryan Day, SEC, Steve Sarkesian, Texas, Toledo, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wolverines, Wyoming, Zak Zinter
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Glad I’m not him: Ryan Day, Ohio State
Lucky guy: Nick Saban, Alabama
Poor guy: Hugh Freeze, Auburn
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mack Brown, North Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Braun, Northwestern
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Chip Kelly, UCLA
Desperately seeking … anything: Deion Sanders, Colorado
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Arizona (defeated Arizona State 59-23)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Alabama (defeated Auburn 27-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Nevada (lost to Wyoming 42-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: BYU (lost to Oklahoma State 40-34)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: James Madison (defeated Coastal Carolina 56-14)
Dang, they’re good: Michigan
Dang, they’re bad: Nevada
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Louisville
Did the season start? North Carolina
Can the season end? Colorado
Can the season never end? Texas
GAMES
Play this again: No. 3 Michigan 30, No. 2 Ohio State 24
Play this again, too: No. 8 Alabama 27, Auburn 24
Never play this again: Virginia Tech 55, Virginia 17
Huh? Cal 24, No. 24 UCLA 7
Are you kidding me?? Kentucky 38, No. 10 Louisville 31
Oh – my – God: No. 3 Michigan 30, No. 2 Ohio State 24
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current (week 14)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 8 Alabama in the SEC championship game
Best non-Power Five matchup: New Mexico State vs No. 24 Liberty in the C-USA champ. game
Upset alert: No. 14 Louisville vs. No. 4 Florida State in the ACC championship game
Must win: No. 18 Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 Texas in the Big XII championship game
Offensive explosion: No. 5 Oregon vs No. 3 Washington in the Pac-12 championship game
Defensive struggle: No. 2 Michigan vs No. 16 Iowa in the B1G championship game
Great game no one is talking about: Miami (OH) vs Toledo in the MAC championship game
Intriguing coaching matchup: Steve Sarkesian of Texas vs Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State
Also: Kirby Smart of Georgia vs Nick Saban of Alabama
Week 13 Thoughts:
This rivalry week yielded so many great, close, nail-biting games. So many near-upsets that did not quite materialize, that no doubt tantalized many fanbases who were hoping that a key loss here and there would have bolstered the case for their team making it to the playoffs. Some random thoughts:
Michigan vindicated themselves against Ohio State. The Game itself was one that lived up the hype, as both worthy teams fought hard. At many moments, the game could have gone in different directions, but in the end, Michigan had to rally past a devastating injury of one of their own, Zak Zinter. Such a disaster clearly demoralized every Wolverine faithful in the Big House. What was amazing was that the team itself dragged itself up off the canvas, and once play resumed, on the very next play, they scored a touchdown. Rarely does even a talented team such as Michigan show such resilience. Should they win the upcoming B1G championship game in Indianapolis (now with Jim Harbaugh back on the sidelines), few teams shall have demonstrated that they belong in the playoffs as this Wolverine squad has.
North Carolina ended on a very low note. A team that started off so strongly and with such promise ended up sputtering at the end, losing to an in-state (practically cross-town) rival in NC State. Surely Mack Brown, let alone senior QB Drake Maye, did not envision losing the last four of six games this regular season.
Auburn had a golden opportunity to upset hated Alabama, at home. They had nothing to lose, and played like it for most of the game. They only lost the game in the end on a 4th-and-goal at the 31 yard line (no, really). Clearly Auburn squandered this incredible opportunity to shut down the Tide when they rushed only two defenders, and kept a third as a “spy”. In end, we saw example no. 236 of how the only thing that the “prevent defense” prevents is the implementer from winning the game. Translation: Auburn should have rushed at least a couple more men, obviously. Looks like Hugh Freeze’s defensive coordinator might be desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard along with UCLA’s Chip Kelly this week.
On to the Championship Week, and afterwards, let the endless playoff debates continue to a greater degree than they have already.
College Football Awards Week 6 (2023) October 11, 2023
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Arizona, Auburn, Ball State, Brent Key, Brent Venables, Craig Bohl, Florida State, Fresno State, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Jeff Tedford, Kentucky, Lincoln Riley, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, LSU, Mack Brown, Mario Cristobal, Marshall, Miami (FL), Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, San Jose State, Sonny Dykes, Steve Sarkesian, TCU, Texas, Toledo, UCLA, UMass, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin, Wyoming
add a comment
COACHES
Wish I were him: Brent Venables, Oklahoma
Glad I’m not him: Steve Sarkesian, Texas
Lucky guy: Brent Key, Georgia Tech
Poor guy: Jeff Tedford, Fresno State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Lincoln Riley, USC
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Craig Bohl, Wyoming
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mario Cristobal, Miami
Desperately seeking … anything: Sonny Dykes, TCU
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Michigan (defeated Minnesota 52-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: USC (defeated Arizona 43-41)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Virginia Tech (lost to No.5 Florida State 39-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Arizona (lost to USC 43-41)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Georgia (defeated No. 20 Kentucky 51-13)
Dang, they’re good: Michigan
Dang, they’re bad: Louisiana-Monroe
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Texas
Did the season start? Notre Dame
Can the season end? TCU
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
GAMES
Play this again: No. 12 Oklahoma 34, No. 3 Texas 30
Never play this again: No. 2 Michigan 52, Minnesota 10
What? Georgia Tech 23, No. 17 Miami 20
Huh? UCLA 25, No. 13 Washington State 17
Are you kidding me?? No. 12 Oklahoma 34, No. 3 Texas 30
Oh – my – God: No. 25 Louisville 33, No. 10 Notre Dame 20
NEXT WEEK
rankings are current AP (week 7)
Ticket to die for: No. 8 Oregon @ No. 9 Washington
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Wyoming @ Air Force
Upset alert: Auburn @ No. 23 LSU
Must win: No. 9 USC @ No. 10 Notre Dame
Offensive explosion: No. 17 Miami (FL) @ No. 14 North Carolina
Defensive struggle: Iowa @ Wisconsin
Great game no one is talking about: Marshall @ Georgia State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mario Cristobal of Miami vs Mack Brown of North Carolina
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 1 Georgia @ Vanderbilt
Why are they playing? UMass @ No. 6 Penn State
Plenty of good seats remaining: San Jose State @ New Mexico State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Toledo @ Ball State
Week 6 Thoughts:
Texas vs. Oklahoma
The question on the mind of many football fans lately has been, “is Texas back?”. Well, we sure thought Texas was. They were certainly playing like it. Maybe they still are, but there are clearly some issues that remain to be resolved. Yes, Oklahoma was also ranked, and also undefeated. But the Longhorns were still favored, and given the intensity of this rivalry, losing leaved a feeling of disgust for the defeated team. Did Texas make too many mistakes early in the game? Perhaps. But those mistakes were, by that token, made early in the game, with plenty of game left to overcome them.
A bigger issue? Execution in the red zone. The Sooners made a goal line stand that will go down as part of the lore of this storied rivalry, denying the Longhorns entry into the endzone on four straight plays. Give credit to the Sooners for pulling off the upset. Also give credit to Steve Sarkesian for realizing what still needs work.
Kentucky vs Georgia
Where was this Georgia team the whole year? Apparently sleepwalking through the first five weeks of the season. Kentucky proved to be a more-than-decent team thus far. Yet, when they ventured down to Athens, the sleeping giant awoke. Long story short, Georgia finally decided to start playing football for the first time this year, and demolished a good Kentucky team in the process, 51-13.
Arizona vs USC
Do we get the feeling that USC is playing up, or down, to their competition?
Louisville vs Notre Dame
Notre Dame has proven that they are a good game, and can handle themselves well in big games. Maybe three big games in a row was too much. Either that, or Louisville is that good. Sneaky good, but certainly more than respectable. Every time the Cardinals have been put to the test, they have passed the test. Now, the test they just passed led to one of the program’s top-five all-time greatest wins (along with winning the 1991 Fiesta Bowl; beating No. 5 Florida State in a monsoon in 2002; defeating Florida in the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and beating No. 5 West Virginia in 2006).
Looking ahead to Week 7:
Oregon vs Washington
Next week will be a tough act to follow after this wild weekend. Nevertheless, this game will help determine the eventual champion for the Pac-12, which, safe to say, will be going out on the highest note conceivable. Seriously, has anyone witnessed this conference being this deep? Even Arizona, usually a perennial bottom-feeder in the conference, is competitive.
Which leads us to this game in Seattle. Both teams could make life very hard for most other teams in the top 10 right now. Either team could make a compelling case to be a playoff contender right now. Thus it is a safe bet that we’ll be in a for a ‘dandy’ of a game in Husky Stadium this weekend!
Miami vs North Carolina
This game has huge implications for the eventual ACC championship. The bonus is that coaches Mario Cristobal and Mack Brown will be going head-to-head.
Missouri vs Kentucky
Here is an interesting situation where two good teams are coming off losses and have no time at all to lick their wounds, as both teams see this as an opportunity to ‘get well’ on their respective opponent. Intriguing, no?
Notre Dame vs USC
Fans of the Gold and Blue are now exhorting the Irish to hang in there for one more week, the last game in a brutal schedule stretch, this time against USC. Will the Trojans discover this new thing called a defense? Because playing in South Bend these days is a less-than-ideal place to make that discovery while on the job. Nevertheless, in the meantime, the Trojans’ offense will keep ND’s defense’s collective hands full, so maybe that’s a wash, and thus a good game, after all.
Texas A&M vs Tennessee
Wait, Tennessee is still ranked? Apparently. Now is a good opportunity for them to prove they deserve it, as the Aggies, who narrowly lost to Bama this past weekend, come calling. What will Bobby Petrino have in store for his offense against the Volunteers?
