College Football Changing Seasons of Week 3: nailbiters, upsets, and more.

As we get deeper into September, the temperatures are dropping and the competition on the grid iron gets tougher. Week 3 carried over more non-conference games including some cupcake games. A few non-cons were quite intriguing and conference play is revving up as well.

Alabama 42 Wisconsin 10 – Jalen Milroe is embracing the run. It is okay to be called a dual threat QB. He now has six rushing scores which is fourth in the nation among all players, including running backs. Ryan Williams caught his fourth touchdown pass of the young season. WR Germie Bernard and tight end – YES TIGHT END! – Josh Cuevas also had receiving scores. The defensive line was rocky and susceptible to the run at times, but overall the team played well, including causing a pair of turnovers – something Kalen DeBoer pointed out as an emphasis coming into the game.

The rare elusive play called a “touchdown” (above).

Georgia 13 Kentucky 12 – Over the past three seasons, viewers have watched the Bulldogs struggle with inferior opponents until they finally wore them down. This time, it took close to 59 minutes to do it. UGA got a big ol’ scare from a team that had been routed by South Carolina on the same field just seven days prior. The Wildcats defense held the Dogs offense to 262 total yards. Georgia had rushes of 17 and 12 yards. No other attempt topped 8 yards. Carson Beck (15/24-160-0-0) was largely ineffective but at least he did not turn the ball over*. The two teams exchanged field goals until the 4th quarter when UGA broke through with a TD. UK answered with a field goal and forced a 3&out. The ‘Cats got the ball up to the midfield with 2:58 remaining, but for whatever reason Mark Stoops opted to punt. That would be a nail in their coffin as Georgia burned off all but nine ticks from the clock to get the W.

* In a game mostly devoid of touchdowns, pulling these points off the board was huge. It is a tough call to interpret. It sure looked like the receiver had his hands under the ball. Or maybe it hit the ground. Who knows? But as this Tweeter points out, there is not much evidence to determine that overturning the call is the right call. (I especially love that angle that was shot with someone’s 2007 flip phone.)

Missouri 27 Boston College 21 – Like UGA, Mizzou found themselves in an unlikely dogfight. Bill O’Brien brought a spirited group into Columbia and took a 7-0 lead on the opening drive. They increased their lead to 14-3 but the Tigers scored 14 straight to go up at the half. Miz scored a TD to open the second half and then both teams punted back and forth to each other for four possessions before MU recorded a field goal. BC got a late touchdown but Mizzy ran out the clock.

LSU 36 South Carolina 33 – SC had everything going for them. The crowd was loud and effecting the Tigers O. The Gamecocks got a blocked punt and a 75 yard scoring dash by QB LaNorris Sellers to lead 24-10 in the 2nd quarter. However, Sellers came out of the game right before halftime with an ankle injury and would not return. Former Aubie QB Robby Ashford came in and the vibe changed. LSU was able to catch up but a fumble and an interception* by the Bayou Bengals kept the game tight. The Bayou Bengals took the lead with 1:12 to go. SCar had a chance to win, but I am putting this loss squarely on Shane Beamer’s dumb plan at the end. On 2nd & 10 at LSU 32 with 0:10 left, Beamer chose to run to the middle of the field to set up a field goal attempt, instead of trying a few more sideline passes to gain a few extra yards. SC let the clock run down to 4 ticks and the 49 yard attempt went wide by just a few feet.

* The late interception by South Carolina was run back for an apparent touchdown which might have clinched a victory. However, a “block” and an Oscar-worthy acting job of QB Garrett Nussmeier negated the score. The flag was for “unnecessary roughness” for a block of hands to the front shoulder/chest area. There were some really bad calls in this game. This one, at the very least, was controversial and definitely game changing.

SABAN COACHING TREE BRANCH OF THE WEEK

The Hoosiers dismantled UCLA in the Rose Bowl, 42-13. This is the first time Indiana has won three straight games by 24 or more points since 1990. Curt Cignetti was wide receiver coach/recruiting coordinator for the Crimson Tide from 2007 to 2010. Bama was his last stop as an assistant before becoming a head coach.

SEC

Ole Miss 40 Wake Forest 6 – Wake trailed 20-3 after 15 minutes. They tallied all of 46 rushing yards on 32 carries for the game.

Texas A&M 33 Florida 20 – The Aggies were without Connor Weigman, but Marcel Reed (11/17, 178 yds, 2 TD, 13 rush, 83 7ds, TD) had a pretty good audition in his place. TAMU built a 33-7 lead. UF added to late touchdowns to make it look a little closer. Gators QB Graham Mertz is just not built for big-time CFB. DJ Lagaway is talented but his mechanics are terrible.

Do we have a QB controversy in Aggieland?

SEC FLOPS

Georgia State 36 Vanderbilt 32 – Some things never change. Like Vanderbilt Vanderbilting. The ‘Dores started the season with a win over a solid Virginia Tech team and a cupcake before this ill-fated trip to Atlanta. Against the Panthers, VU fell behind early and trailed most of the game before finally taking their first lead with 1:14 left in the fourth quarter. But they allowed GSU to drive the field and score the winning touchdown with 15 seconds remaining. Well, at least they have their women’s bowling team.

I still don’t understand why Power teams are doing these home-for-home games with non-Powers.

Toledo 41 Mississippi State 17 – MSU is a mess. I hope Mike Leach is up in Pirate Heaven stealing booty instead of watching this garbage team.

SEC VS CUPCAKES

Tennessee 71 Kent State 0 – KSU trailed 37-0 before getting a first down. The Vols executed an onside kick up 30-0 and led 65-0 at the half. Stay classy, Tennessee. UT has outscored UTC, NC State and Kent State 191 to 13. A trip to Oklahoma is on deck with GameDay on site. Shield your eyes.

Oklahoma 34 Tulane 19 – QB Jackson Arnold ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns against a scrappy Green Wave team. After a pick-6, Tulane was down only five points in the 4th, but Sooners defense came up big with an interception and a sack & strip by DE Mason Thomas. His third sack of the day came with 1:40 remaining. Despite the win, OU continues to struggle with the passing game and has yet to top 175 yards in a game.

Arkansas 37 UAB 27 – The Hogs found themselves in an early 10-0 hole and were tied 20-20 at the half. Arky wore down Birmingham U in the second half. QB Taylen Green is not SEC-grade, but he can run (96 yards, 2 TD). Coach Sam Pittman probably should have gone shopping for a better option over the off-season. Ja’Quinden Jackson added 147 yards and a score as the Razorbacks racked up 266 yards of rushing.

Yeah, they actually did the TP thing after beating New Mexico. New Mexico!

Auburn 45 New Mexico 19 – Even with facing a road-weary winless opponent, the Tigers only led 17-13 at the half. Ten points were set up by a long kickoff return and an interception. Another long kickoff return and another interception in the second half set up two more AU touchdowns. The difference was that the defense clamped down and forced some punts. Jarquez Hunter finally got things going with 152 yards of rushing but the OL is inadequate. Freshman Hank Brown got the start at QB and was efficient (17/25-235 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT) and got some explosive plays against a really bad defense. UNM is 131st in points given up at 47.0 ppg, which includes a game against FCS Montana State. So, let’s pump the brakes. Yeah?

Texas 56 UTSA 7 – QB Quinn Ewers left this game early in the second quarter up 14-0 with ‘strained abdomen’. Arch Manning came in and completed 9 of 12 for 223 yards with 4 touchdowns and also had a 76-yard rushing score.

Quarterback controversy in Austin?

SAD TROMBONE

UNLV 23 Kansas 20 – The Jayhawks led Vegas 17-6 until a huge interception (above) flipped momentum. The Rebs (3-0) would convert the turnover into a touchdown going into the locker room, down only 13-17. In the second half, KU went 3&out, INT, 3&out, and 4&out before putting together a drive for a field goal. But that was all the ‘Hawks could muster in the second half. UNLV produced a field goal drive and a fourth quarter 18 plays, 75 yards drive that ate up 9:31, and put the Rebels ahead for good with a one yard touchdown with two minutes to go.

Oh, Roydell. Not like this.

Arm Punt Alert!!

Memphis 20 Florida State 12 – Saturday was a clean slate. Everything was going just fine for FSU. That is until the second play of the game when ‘Noles RB Roydell Williams fumbled the ball on the second snap of the game. The Tigers scored 13 points off Seminoles turnovers and held FSU to 238 total yards.

BUS RIDES

This weekend had a large array of in-state games.

Oregon 49 Oregon State 14 – I suppose it took playing a hated rival to wake the Dux up and become the team everyone thought they would be this year. The Quackers outgained the Beavers 546 to 309.

Washington State 24 Washington 19 – UW scored five times but on four occasions, they were relegated to field goals. The biggest moment of the game was a goal line stand by the Coogs with just over a minute to play. A glaring stat was the penalty yards. Washington was flagged 16 times for 135 yards. Wazzu had only 6 penalties for 45 yards. It is the first Apple Cup win for WSU since 2021 and only second since 2012. The win came in Seattle against their former PAC-12 mate. That must have been satisfying.

Utah 38 Utah State 21 – The Utes struggled in the first half without QB Cam Rising healing his injured finger. USU had a 14-3 advantage until Utah scored the next 25 points.

Oklahoma State 45 Tulsa 10 – An unusual road game for Okie Lite turned out okay. THE Oklahoma State University quarterback Alan Bowman (24/31-396-5-1) is starting to catch some eyes.

OTHER STUFF

Michigan 28 Arkansas State 18 – The Wolvies overcame three interceptions by their former walk-on quarterback and had to rely on their running game to get things done (301 rushing yards). ASU scored ten fourth quarter points to make it look a little closer.

Cal 31 San Diego State 10 – The Auburn-slayers are 3-0 and next play at FSU – an ACC match-up.

Miami-FL 62 Ball State 0 – You don’t really need a recap, do you?

PEACE OUT WATCH – DAYS TIL DEION QUITS: 74

Colorado 28 Colorado State 9 – Buffys coach Deion Sanders did a little backtracking this past week. After throwing his offensive line under the bus following a 28-10 drubbing by Nebraska, he followed his comments up on Tuesday with “I feel like we got the right guys.” Yeah, he better get back on those boys’ good side lest his QB son Shedeur Sanders ends up in traction from Olé blocks.

The national media continues to push the Rocky Mountain Highs into our face. So much so that the pre-game CBS blabbermouths were acting like Colorado State (1-2) is some kind of formidable opponent. One idiot with a microphone even picked the Rams to win. Of course Slim Sheddy had a big night passing (36/49-310-4-0) which caused another mic’d up bozo to declare him the best QB in CFB. I suppose they were not watching him against Nebraska.

Of note, Deion’s “other” son Shilo Sanders had surgery on his forearm and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks. I can’t imagine the senior safety opting out. He needs as much game time as he can get if he plans on getting drafted next April.

DOGGING IT?

Speaking of opting out, you have to wonder if Okie Lite RB Ollie Gordon is dipping. He burst onto the scene last year as a true sophomore with 1,732 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns and finished seventh in the Heisman voting. He was not eligible to declare for the draft, but did hold an off-season press conference to make a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT THAT … he was not transferring. Really, bro? Against Arkansas, he had 17 carries for 49 yards and a TD. On Saturday at Tulsa, he was 17 for 41 and no scores.

DUNKING ON AUBURN

The Aubies are in deep denial. Hugh Freeze is actually doing worse than his predecessor Bryan Harsin and much worse than a guy named Nick Saban when he was in Year 2 at Alabama.

REALITY OF THE WEEK

“A good ol’ fashioned ass-whupping.”

CHICKEN-SH*TS OF THE WEEK

ABANDON SHIP!

Announced attendance at Doak Walker was 55,107, but there is no way.

IMMATURE A-HOLE OF THE WEEK

Be the bigger man and shake his hand. NFL GMs: I hope you are paying attention.

BEST USE OF TWITTER READER CONTEXT

Sorry, SEC. The Dwags have a conference winning streak of one. Man, are they trying to hype them so bad.

DISS OF THE WEEK

After Wazzu took down Big Ten team Washington, they body slammed the entire conference with this one. For reference, the B1G is SOOO proud of their silly map commercial. They think it is the coolest thing in the world.

Note too the fine print above at the bottom that reads “Available anywhere that has a TV”, which takes a direct shot at the Big Ten’s dispute with Comcast that has west coast fans blacked out.

GEN X ON GEN Z VIOLENCE

GEN X ON GEN Z VIOLENCE, PART DEUX

GREASED UP PIG OF THE WEEK

I’M SENSING A THEME

They both lost, by the way.

CATCH OF THE WEEK

HUGH FREEZE IS DIABOLICAL

Tip of the hat to South Alabama.

BEST LEBRON JAMES IMITATION

KEY & PEELE NAME OF THE WEEK

San Jose WR TeyShun Hurry

STATS OF THE WEEK

• South Alabama had twelve different players score. They recorded touchdowns on six rushes, four completions, one punt return, and one pick-6. They also had one field goal, and twelve extra points booted by two different kickers.
• Through three games, Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard has thrown as many touchdown passes this season as you and I have. In the Irish’s 66-7 deconstruction of Purdue, Leonard was 11 of 16 for 112 yards. It wasn’t until back-up Steve Angeli entered the game that ND recorded their first passing score of the season. The Leprechauns had 364 yards of rushing 6 ground scores.
• Jalen Milroe is the first QB since 2012 with at least two passing and two rushing TD’s in three consecutive games.
• Florida State is the second team in the past 35 years to open the year in the top 10 during the poll era and lose their first three games. Penn State in the weird and wacky year of 2020 was the other. The Brittany Lions actually lost their first five – all B1G games.

BEST SPECIAL TEAM EFFORT OF THE WEEK

WORST SPECIAL TEAM EFFORT OF THE WEEK

IRONY

SPEAKING OF BAD SEC OFFICIATING

SABAN OUT HERE STILL COACHING

NSFW GAMEDAY SIGN OF THE WEEK

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESI

Wow, what an incredible atmosphere for College GameDay in Columbia, SC. Some fans were reportedly out all night raising hell.

Darius Rucker performed and Dawn Staley was the guest picker.

PICK’EM

The GD crew’s picks:

If you are not up to Mark Ingram’s level of Gump, you’re not doing it right.

Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff was in Madison for the Alabama-Wisky game. The crowd was a bit subdued. Either they are uber-polite or they knew what was coming.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

• Memphis beat FSU!
• UL-Monroe (2-0) had a week off to prepare for Texas.
• UNLV is a wild story. Having not had a winning season since going 7-6 in 2013, Barry Odom has turned the Runnin’ Rebs into a scary team. They were 9-5 in his first season in Sin City and now stand at 3-0 with a win over Big XII Kansas. Odom was a disaster as head man at Mizzou (25–25, SEC 13–19). He just seems better suited at a non-Power program. Here is to hoping he sticks around Vegas for awhile.

COUSINS

• South Alabama (1-2) – The Jags took out their anger on poor li’l Northwestern State 87-10. No, that is not a typo. It was 52-10 at the half and 80-10 after three quarters. The final frame was shortened to 5 minutes and some change or they might have hit 100. Things get a little tougher as USA travels to App State for a second straight Thursday game.
• Troy (0-3) – The Trojans were hanging with Iowa, down only 24-21 to begin the final quarter. But the Hawkeyes scored two TDs and prevailed 38-21. Next is FAMU.
• Jacksonville State (0-3) – The Gamecocks came back from down 31-20 in the fourth quarter with a touchdown plus two-point conversion and a 51 yard field goal to tie it up with Eastern Michigan. After trading field goals in the first OT, JSU missed a 38-yarder and EMU connected for a 37-34 W. Southern Miss (1-2) comes to town on Saturday.

THAT ANNOYING GUY WHO THINK BOILED PEANUTS IS SOME KIND OF KINKY FOREPLAY

• UAB (1-2) – The Dragons gave Arkansas all kinds of fits and were within three points with just under seven minutes to play. But the Hogs prevailed 37-27. Bham U has a week off before Navy invades in an AAC clash.

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

Photo by Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

• Air Force (1-2) – The Falcons gave up 17 points in the third quarter en route to losing to Baylor 31-3. In recent seasons, AFA has been able to rely on a little passing game sprinkled in. However, their three QBs combined to go 2 for 8 for 25 yards and one pick. The Flyboys have a chance to get their first FBS win at Wyoming (0-3) in two weeks.
• Army (2-0) – The Black Knights had a week off to prep for a home game with Rice (1-2).
• Navy (2-0) – The Midshipmen were also on R&R with a strong Memphis unit invading on Saturday.

ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

Eliminated: Definitely Florida State. Mississippi State.

Endangered: Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, UNC, Pitt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, K-State, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, LSU, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas A&M

Extremely Endangered: Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, NC State, SMU, Stanford, Wake Forest, Arizona, Baylor, Cincy, Colorado, Houston, Kansas, TCU, Texas Tech, WVU, Iowa, Maryland, Minnie, Northwestern, Purdue, UCLA, Washington, Wisconsin, Wazzu, Oregon State, Arky, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt

A way WAY WAY too early look at the College Football Playoff (CFP) picture:

Odds to win the 2024 National Championship:

1. Georgia +270 to +350
2. Ohio State +350
3. Texas +550
4. Alabama +1100 to +850
5. Oregon +1100
6. Ole Miss +1500 to +1200
7. Tennessee +2200 to +1400
8. Miami-FL +2000 to +1800
9. Penn State +1800
10. Southern Cal +3000 to +2800
11. Missouri +4000 to +4500
12. LSU to +4500
13. Utah +4000 to +5000

If you have money to burn: LSU +5000, Clemson +6000, Oklahoma +6000

• SEC – UGA plays Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss, and Tennessee. Bama faces UGA, Tennessee, and Mizzou. Texas has Georgia.
• Big Ten – Oregon looked better. So Cal, anOhio State, and Penn State each had the week off.

SECOND TWO

• Big 12 – Lotsa sportswriters are jumping on the Kansas State bandwagon even though the ‘Cats struggled with Tulane. Utah has some questions at quarterback. Okie Lite is still in the mix. TCU lost to Center Florida. Kansas and Zona are cooked.
• ACC – Miami is looking like the favorite. Louisville (2-0) has yet to face a Power team.

AT LARGE

• PAC-2 – Oregon State (2-1) is on thin ice. Washington State is 3-0. Neither has the strongest of schedules.
• Indies – Notre Dame might need to win out in order to get an at-large bid.

PARTICIPATION TROPHY

The NCAA and CFP Committee have decided to allow one non-Power conference champ to be included in the playoff. A few early candidates are listed below:

• Northern Illinois (2-0) had a bye week. Toledo (3-0) is making waves.
• Memphis (3-0) is a big favorite after topping FSU on Saturday.
• Liberty (3-0) has a garbage schedule.
• Boise (1-1) plays Wazzu in two weeks. UNLV (3-0) upended Kansas.
• No team in the Sun Belt has a quality win as of yet.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

1. Texas (35)
2. Georgia (23)
3. Ohio State (5)
4. Alabama
5. Ole Miss
6. Tennessee
7. Missouri
8. Miami

The first college football playoff rankings will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 5.

LET’S GO BOWLING!

• 30 FBS teams are 3-0. Georgia Tech is 3-1. Only three more wins to bowl eligibility! No problem. Right?

LET’S GO BLOWING!

• 11 teams now have three losses. FSU is the only Power team in that category.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to College Football Officiating. It was not a good week around the nation. A lot of BS overprotective calls

HEISMAN HYPE

“iT’s nOT JusT a QUarTeRbAck aWaRd!”

Carson Beck tumbles to sixth. Jalen Milroe is up to second. Odds for former favorite Quinn Ewers has been taken off most boards due to the uncertainty of his injury.

Below are FanDuel’s top Heisman picks in order of the money lines.

1. Quinn Ewers (Texas) +500 to ???
2. Cameron Ward (Miami-FL) +750 to +450
3. Jalen Milroe (Alabama) +1000 to +600
4. Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss) +950 to +600
5. Dillon Gabriel (Oregon) +1200 to +900
6. Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee) +1200 to +900
7. Carson Beck (Georgia) +850 to +1400
8. NEW: Arch Manning (Texas) +1600 – LET THE HYPE MACHINE BEGIN!
9. Miller Moss (Southern Cal) +1800 same
10. Will Howard (anOhio State) +2000 same
11. Ashton Jeanty (Boise State) +2800 to +2000

If you have money burning a hole in your Ty Simpson, DJ Uigelilele, and Roydell Williams are all at +30000.

MONEY MONEY MONEY

Memphis made a cool $1.3 Million for the privilege of beating Florida State in their house. Toledo was paid $1.2 million to beat Missy State in StarkVegas.

Below are the top 2024 payouts for visiting cupcakes from Power schools per Sporting News.

While Alabama and Auburn share the top spot for one game, Ohio State is dishing out $5.2M for their three sacrificial lambs.

South Florida earned only $400K for their trip to Alabama since the Tide agreed to play in Tampa last season. Mercer will receive “only” $600,000.

Northern Illinois earned $1.4M to defeat Notre Dame.

THE SICK REPORT

• Auburn freshman receiver Cam Coleman watched the New Mexico game in street clothes with a right shoulder injury. No real news on his status is available for the Arkansas game. Right tackle Izavion Miller (hip) also missed the game.
• Texas QB Quinn Ewers’ injury was the big news but it isn’t as serious as initially feared. He’s likely to miss the Louisiana Monroe game this week, but is “week to week” with what Steve Sarkisian termed an “abdominal strain”. The Longhorns follow ULM with Missy State and then Oklahoma on Oct 12, with Georgia the next week.
• Wisconsin QB Tyler Van Dyke’s knee injury was odd. I’m still not clear how he injured it. Reports came out Monday that he tore his ACL.
• Liberty lost star RB Quinton Cooley to a serious leg injury. He had 110 and 111 yards in his first two games. He rushed for 1,401 yards and 16 TDs a season ago.
• First Team All-SEC OL Tate Ratledge left the field against Kentucky on a cart. Reports have stated he has sustained a sprained MCL and sprained ankle, and will not be back by the Alabama game.
• Three-time All-Big 12 linebacker Collin Oliver will be out at least a month for Oklahoma State because of a foot injury.
• Notre Dame beat the crud out of Purdue 66-7, but lost three starters to injuries. Edge rusher Jordan Botelho (knee) and center Ashton Craig (knee) are out for the season. Right guard Billy Schrauth (ankle) is out for several weeks. It’s a shame really. A damn crying shame.

DRAMA

• I know this is going to shock most of you, but Georgia cornerback Daniel Harris was arrested last Thursday night on charges “including reckless driving, affixing materials that reduce the visibility of windows/windshield, no proof of insurance, operations of an unregistered vehicle without a current license plate/revalidation decal, and use of safety belts” – pretty much everything they teach you before the first day of driver’s ed. The punchlines write themselves! Kirby Smart continues to ignore this issue of people in his program driving like idiots.
• 6-PAC: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State are leaving the Mountain West Conference to join Pac-12 in 2026. They will join PAC leftovers Oregon State and Washington State. The league needs to get to eight teams by July 2026 in order to qualify as an FBS conference. Some speculation has it that the PAC will attempt to woo Cal and Stanford back to the west coast if the ACC crumbles. Other speculation has it they will go after Memphis and/or Tulane.

• It’s so ridiculous that ESPN and the NCAA are doing their best to turn college football into a mini-NFL; Yet, they are are adamant that the unnecessary NFL-like timeout with two minutes to go in each half that they installed this year NOT be called a “two minute warning”. For this reason, it is vital that we go out of our way to continue calling it the “two minute warning”. Also, please continue calling the last four teams left in the college football playoff the “Final Four”. It’s like they are Russia and we are Ukraine. It’s the little victories…
• Michigan is wisely switching to junior Alex Orji at QB for its game on Saturday against Southern Cal.

KOACHES AD KORNER

• A pretty surprising move in Columbia saw South Carolina AD Ray Tanner (age 66) step down from the position he has held since 2012. The fact he did it on the day before the ESPN College GameDay broadcast is interesting timing. Before becoming AD, Tanner led the Gamecocks baseball team to World Series Championship wins in 2010 and 2011 as head coach. He has been a rather meh AD. He has not done so well with his football hires (Shawn Elliott, Will Muschamp, Shane Beamer) and is on his third baseball coach as well. Men’s hoops has been to two NCAA Tournaments during his tenure. Women’s hoops coach Dawn Staley was hired in 2008. Staying out of her way is probably the best thing he did.

KOACHES KORNER

• Fans of Wisconsin (2-1) are already getting impatient with Luke Fickell. It’s like nobody gets a chance anymore. I am pretty sure everyone here on the RBR staff is a fan of Fickell. He is a good dude and coach. But Wisky in the 2020s is a tough place to coach. The state is not exactly rich in recruiting prospects. Most folks thought Nebraska was at a dead end and headed for Sewanee territory. But they seem to be on an upward projection. The Badgers fans need to pop open a Schlitz eat some more cheese and be patient.

• The Gainesville villagers have gathered their pitchforks and torches and are heading to the front gates of The Swamp. After looking at the Gators’ schedule during pre-season, pretty much everyone knew this was going to be a losing season for Billy Napier (12–16, SEC 6–11). He is another RBR favorite, but he may be too nice. A place like Florida needs a cocky a-hole – like Urban or Spurrier, but not dumb-fk like Dan Mullen. Billy ain’t it. I mean, his name is “Billy” for Pete’s sake. Have you ever known a complete a-hole named “Billy”? Florida is 1-2 with UCF (3-0), Tennessee, UK, UGA, Texas, LSU, OM and FSU still to play. They may not win a single game.
• They had an out. Sherrone Moore did not officially sign his contract to be Michigan’s head coach until the Monday after getting smoked at home by Texas.
• Urban Meyer’s granddaughter asked him if she was pretty or ugly. Urbie answered, “Both! You’re pretty ugly.”
• Fat F*** Phil Fulmer went to go audition for the new Star Wars movie as Jabba the Hutt. He didn’t get the part but they did cast him as Tatooine.

TEEVEE

USF-Alabama had 2.58M viewers, the highest of any non-network broadcast. The game beat out CBS’s offering of Iowa-Iowa State and FOX’s Baylor-Utah.

THIS WEEK

Below is just a sampling highlight of games of interest this week. If you REALLY MUST know about the BIG St. Francis (PA) at Eastern Michigan kerfuffle, click here.

Thursday, September 19

South Alabama at App State 6:30/7:30 ESPN

Friday, September 20

Stanford at Syracuse 6:30/7:30 ESPN – Another weird ACC game.
Illinois at Nebraska 7pm/8pm FOX – Don’t expect a lot of scoring.
San Jose Cuervo State at Washington State 9pm/10pm The CW

Saturday, September 21

SEC

Florida at Mississippi State 11am/noon ESPN – The Ugmo Bowl
Ohio at Kentucky 11:45/12:45 SECN – UK letdown game?
Arkansas at Auburn 2:30/3:30 ESPN – The Ugmo Bowl II
UCLA at LSU 2:30/3:30 ABC – The Bruins REALLY suck.
Vanderbilt at Missouri 3:15/4:15 SECN
Tennessee at Oklahoma 6:30/7:30 ABC – The first real test for UT.
Bowling Green at Texas A&M 6:30/7:30 ESPN+
Akron at South Carolina 6:30/7:30 ESPNU
Georgia Southern at Ole Miss 6:45/7:45 SECN – Lawd, this lame schedule.
UL Monroe at Texas 7pm/8pm ESPN+

ERRYBODY ELSE – Lotsa boring cupcake games. Below are highlights:

NC State at Clemson 11am/noon ABC
Southern Cal at Michigan 2:30/3:30 CBS
Utah at Oklahoma State 3pm/4pm FOX
Miami at South Florida 6pm/7pm ESPN
Cal at Florida State 6pm/7pm ESPN2

GOODNIGHT MOON

Kansas State at BYU 9:30/10:30 ESPN
Northern Iowa at Hawaii 10:59/11:59 Alohavision

#ALABAMA

• This Crimson Tide team likes to hit – on defense AND offense. They are going to make some teams quit this fall. Kendrick Law was singled out for his blocking (above) and rightfully so. Bandit linebacker LT Overton was a menace in the Badgers’ backfield.
• Milroe was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week along with Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart.
• Alabama has the first of two bye weeks on the season to prep for the #1 Georgia Bulldogs
• The big win in Madison came at a cost. Senior safety Malachi Moore went down in the second half, briefly went to the injury tent, and then headed to the locker room. DeBoer told reporters “Malachi got hit to the head. So I think we’re just going through, probably the protocol with him. It helps having the bye week here, so I’m thinking he’ll be alright and be fine.” Often times, guys going through concussion protocol sit out one week. Hopefully, that is the case for the Tide captain. Freshman Red Morgan replaced Moore and looked pretty good.
• Linebacker Qua Russaw got a leg rolled up on and had to be helped from the field. DeBoer stated “I think he probably later in the week will be able to do some things for us.” The redshirt freshman has started all three games for the Tide at the Wolf position this season. Keanu Koht was the beneficiary of Russaw’s absence.
• Third running back Richard Young had a similar fate as Russaw but his status is unknown.
• WR Cole Adams is still recovering from a right arm injury from Alabama’s Week 2 game against the South Florida. Of him, KDB said: “I think it’s positive steps that we’re seeing.”

GAME 4: Saturday, September 28, 2024 – IN TWO SATURDAYS!

Georgia Bulldogs (3-0) at Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0)

Tuscaloosa, AL ~ 6:30/7:30 ABC

• It’s bye week for the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs. If you really MUST, go get married this weekend. Otherwise, hold that silliness ‘til spring.
• The point spread has Alabama as a 2.5 point underdog as of post. The Over/Under is around 51.