College Football Random Thoughts: Octoberfest. All the highlights and lowlights from Week 9.

Some drinking, some dancing, and some fighting. It was the final weekend of October. It had some scares, but no real upsets.

Texas A&M 38 LSU 23 – In a battle for first place in the conference, LSU built a 17-7 lead in the third quarter when Aggies coach Mike Elko benched ineffective quarterback Connor Weigman (6/18-64-0-0) in favor of Marcel Reed. The gamble paid off as the freshman mystified the Bayou Bengals with his zone reads that had defenders tackling the wrong man on several occasions. Meanwhile, LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier who had a solid first half, was recklessly throwing into coverage in the second half. He would finish with three interceptions in the final 30 minutes. The Tigers also muffed a field goal attempt.

Texas 27 Vanderbilt 24 – Following a Quinn Ewers interception on the Longhorns’ first drive, Vandy took the ball the other way on five plays to take an early 7-0 lead. Ewers was able to rebound with three scoring drives on the next four possessions to go up 21-7. After an exchange of field goals Ewers threw his second pick of the day at his own 38-yard line. The Commodores converted that turnover into a touchdown to trail by only seven. However the UT defense clamped down on the next two VU series. With 5+ minutes to play, the ‘Dores opted to go for it on 4th & 7 at their own 35 with two timeouts. Just like Alabama last week, it failed and UT kicked a field goal. Vanderbilt was able to drive down for one more touchdown but it came with 46 seconds left. The onside kick failed and Commodores did not get the ball back.

Both quarterbacks ended up with two picks. Vandy was flagged 10 times for 107 yards versus 4 for 35 for Texas. Hmmm…

Pavia (16/29, 143 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT; 16 car, 67 yds, TD) had some good moments (above), but also had a few misfires. Had they played this game on Oct 5 before most of the nation knew about this team, it might have been a different outcome.

Alabama 34 Missouri 0 – Mizzou is a completely different team without QB Brady Cook. His replacement Drew Pyne was pretty awful completing 6 of 12 passes for 42 yards and three interceptions. Bama showed some improvement on 3rd down (3-13) and held the Tigers to 239 total yards. Preseason All-SEC receiver Luther Burden caught three passes for three net yards.

The Crimson Tide seemed to make a concerted effort to spread the ball around a little more. For only the second time this season, Ryan Williams (4 rec, 53 yds) was not the UA leading receiver. Germie Bernard had five receptions for 82 yards. Seven different receivers caught passes and seven Tide players rushed the football on Saturday with all touchdowns coming on the ground.

Jalen Milroe seemed more relaxed and focused, probably because the pressure put upon him had been alleviated somewhat. He was 16/26 passing for 215 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 11 rushes, 50 yds, 1 TD.

OTHER SEC

Arkansas 58 Mississippi State 25 – After finding himself buried in the depth chart for three years at Boise, Taylen Green made the move to Fayetteville. He had some struggles earlier in the season but is now firing on all cylinders. The Arky RS-junior completed 23 of 29 for 314 yards, 5 TDs and 1 INT. He also juked his way for 79 yards on the ground with another score. Braylen Russell added 175 more rushing yards as the Hogs stacked up 673 total yards. Missy State is now 1-7 and out of the running for a bowl game. The Bullies have looked better in defeat as of late, but could not handle this new and improved Razorback offense.

Road Warriors: Arkansas has now won at Auburn and at Starkville – both by double digits. They nearly topped Oklahoma State in Week 2 and if that game had been played last Saturday, the Hogs probably would have beaten the Cowpokes pretty handily.

Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Ole Miss 26 Oklahoma 14 – This match-up featured a pair of teams that have had some struggles scoring as of late. The Sooners well-published issues have them ranked 113th in the nation in scoring at 21.1 ppg. After blowing up scoreboards in their non-conference slate, the Rebels scored 17, 27, and 26 in the SEC docket with two of the games being losses. On Saturday, they were able to take advantage of Okie’s offensive ineptness. With OM up 10-7 in the second quarter, a Sooner running back had a big gain and then fumbled. The Reb who recovered it began his return and then he fumbled right back (see DOUBLE DERP OF THE WEEK below). On the very next play, OU quarterback Jackson Arnold was hammered and gave the ball right back to the BlackSharkAckbarBears. However, Missy was eventually stopped on 4th & 1 at the 5. Arnold recomposed himself and drove 92 yards on 13 plays to lead 14-10 at the half.

It is unclear what Brent Venables said to his troops at halftime, but he needs to sh*tcan those words. The Boomer Sooners went 3-&-out on consecutive possessions while Missy led back-to-back TD drives. Okie picked up their first 1st down of the second half with under about 4 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter but punted. OM kicked a field goal to go up 26-14 and the Sooners again went 3-&-out. That is one 1st down in four possessions. The rest of the game was just running out the clock.

After a cupcake game, Oklahoma (4-4, 1-4) finishes with @Miz, Alabama, @LSU. Rut-roh.

Auburn 24 Kentucky 10 – It took 8 games for Hugh Freeze to figure out the obvious: jump on Jarquez Hunter’s back and hang on tight. The Aubie RB rushed for a career-high 278 yards and scored 2 touchdowns. UK managed only 70 rushing yards and 13 first downs. Brock Vandagriff was an atrocious 9 of 17 for 120 yards and a pick.

Things are going south pretty quickly for UK. Following their upset win at Ole Miss in Week 5, the ‘Cats have dropped three straight SEC games against lower tier teams (Vandy, @Fla, Aub). With @Tenn, @Texas, and Louisville coming up, it seems certain Kentucky (3-5, 1-5) will be staying home in December.

Aubie head coach Hugh Freeze was not able to fly with the team to Lexington as he was sick and dealing with food poisoning. He wound up flying privately to the game. Hmmm… And they played their best game of the season. Hmmm…

OTHER STUFF

Ohio State 21 Nebraska 17 – anOSU had a big ol’ struggle early on at home in Columbus. The Buckys would finally score late in the 1st quarter and pushed the lead to 14-3 with 8 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter, but stalled out after that. Down 9-14 in the third, the Cornhuskers picked off Will Howard and returned the ball to the anOSU 7. But Nebraska’s OC dialed up some stupid predictable plays, running the ball up the gut on four straight plays and turned the ball over on downs. NU would eventually take a 17-14 lead, but the Bucks responded with a TD of their own. The ‘Huskers would 3-&-out and force a 3-&-out. On their final drive, Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola threw an interception near midfield.

anOhio State (6-1) benefited from some serious B1G referee shenanigans. (See MOST BLATANTLY BAD REFS OF THE WEEK, IN TWO PARTS below)

BYU 37 Center Florida 24 – The Gus Bus probably regrets scheduling the Cougars for homecoming. BYU had a 34-10 advantage in the 4th quarter until Center Florida made a mini-comeback, but it fell short. The Coogs are 8-0 heading into an off-week. Center Florida has lost five straight.

Penn State 28 Wisconsin 13 – The Badgers led the Brittany Lions 10-7 at the half and also had PSU starting quarterback Drew Allar knocked out of the game. What they weren’t expecting was his replacement Beau Pribula to be just as good if not better. Pribula (11-13, 98 yds) led two scoring drives and the defense added a 19-yard pick 6.

Oregon 38 Illinois 9 – The Illini had their dreams dashed by 9th year QB Dillon Gabriel (3 passing TD, 1 rushing TD). The Ducks outagined Illy 527 to 293. First downs were 27-18.

Miami 36 Florida State 14 – It’s another Karmic dagger in the hearts of the ‘Noles with a loss against their hated rival. The ‘Canes leaned mostly on their run game led by Damien Martinez’s 148 yards and Mark Fletcher’s 72 yds. It was an easy win. Cam Ward caught a TD pass on a trick play in the 4th quarter to go up 29-7. Otherwise, he did not do much for his Heisman campaign (22/35-208-0-0, -4 yds rush).

RIVALS

Kansas State 29 Kansas 27 – K-State booted a 51-yard field goal with under 2 minutes to go to slip by the JayHawks. [SIDE NOTE: F Kansas basketball.]

Michigan 24 Michigan State 17 – One of the most inconsequential Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy meetings in quite a long time.

SABAN COACHING TREE BRANCH OF THE WEEK

Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Western Michigan leads the MAC with a 4-0 conference record. The Broncos are 5-3 overall but all three defeats came on the road – and two came against Wisky and anOhio State (the other was Marshall). WMU is led by Lance Taylor who was a walk-on WR for Alabama in the 2000’s and later earned a scholarship and became a special teams captain. He was accepted by Nick Saban as GA for the Crimson Tide in 2007 and 2008.

Boise 29 UNLV 24 – Most of the lazy headlines across the country trumpeted that Boise RB Ashton Jeanty rushed for 128 yards. While this is factual, it took him 33 attempts to gain those yards. UNLV did a decent job of bottling him up, limiting him to 3.9 ypc. That said, short yardage was all they needed at a crucial moment in the game. Down 24-23 in the 4th quarter, the Smurfs had the ball 4th & goal at the one yard line and Jeanty was able to punch it in to take the lead. On the ensuing drive, Vegas moved the ball to midfield but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (and a nice little acting job) pushed them back behind the chains. After a sack, the Runnin’ Rebs were forced to punt with 8 minutes remaining. Little did they know, they would not get the ball back. On that drive, Jeanty had several rushes of 3 yards or less, but that is all they needed to continue to move the chains. BSU converted two third downs and a fourth down before they were able to run out the clock.

GLORY, HALLELUJAH!

Kennesaw 27 Liberty 24 – On a glorious Wednesday night in front of 8,209 witnesses, quite possibly the worst team in FBS upset the weak-ass scheduled Flamers and freed us all from these pretenders sneaking in the back door of the CFP. The 27-point underdog Owls came into this game winless in six previous attempts with losses to the likes of FCS Tennessee-Martin and MTSU. KSU came out the other side with their first win as an FBS team,

The Owls’ fans kinda stormed the field but you could hardly tell with so few in attendance.

COLDEST HOT TAKE OF THE WEEK

Pitt 41 Syracuse 13 – You think your QB is bad??? Orangemen QB Kyle McCord threw FIVE interceptions, THREE of which were returned for touchdowns in the first half. He did not convert a pass for a score.

A-HOLE OF THE WEEK

What a douchebag Eli Drinkwitz is. First, he trash-talking a 20-year old. Then he was caught repeatedly yelling “F–K YOU!” at Bama players. BTW, on that BS personal foul penalty, no whistles could be heard, no official ran in and waved their arms to stop the play like they are supposed to, and nobody threw a flag in the area of which the penalty occurred – which is the whole purpose of flags, used in case whistles can’t be heard.

ABSOLUTE TRASH OF THE WEEK

After a Buckeye was called for targeting, coach Ryan Day had a total hissy fit and bumped a linesman. Another flag came out and should have been a 15 yarder against Fred Flintstone’s inspiration. However, the refs were either intimidated by the crowd throwing bottles onto the field or someone got in the head referee’s ear, because the second flag somehow became a sideline warning which incurs no penalty. This is a great precedence we are setting here. Whoever is running the Big Ten these days will probably do nothing.

Above is the play these idiots were bitching about.

I’M TOLD SOUTHERN CAL IS A (PRO)BASEBALL SCHOOL

Allegedly, So Cal beat Rutger 42-20 to get back to .500. Gee. I hope it wasn’t a big recruiting weekend for Linky.

TOUCHDOWN SQUIRREL OF THE WEEK

[At the Oklahoma-Ole Miss game.]

Sign him up!

DOUBLE DERP OF THE WEEK

Okie had a fumble recovered by OM, but then the Reb fumbled it back in the return. On the very next play, the Sooners fumbled again.

DOUBLE SNAP OF THE WEEK

Was this guy running a RPO?

CONCENTRATION OF THE WEEK

FAT GUY PICK 6 OF THE WEEK

FAT GUY OFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWN OF THE WEEK

SECOND PLACE FAT GUY INT OF THE WEEK

SECOND PLACE FAKE FIELD GOAL OF THE WEEK

SYMPATHETIC ANNOUNCING OF THE WEEK

“I’m just gonna leave it alone.”

VICTORY TWEET OF THE WEEK

CHILLS! This short is pretty incredible. The movie Dune 2 is the source material.

WORST OBSERVATION OF THE WEEK

Can you believe this idiot gets paid to report on college football?

MOST BLATANTLY BAD REFS OF THE WEEK, IN TWO PARTS

The first down run was not even reviewed. On the OPI, Nebraska had the ball 3rd & 5 at OSU 30 with 15 ticks until halftime. Because of the phantom penalty, the ‘Huskers were pushed back to the 45 with 9 seconds. Dylan Raiola completed a 9 yard pass and Nebraska was able to connect on a 54 yard field goal as time expired. Without the flag, a touchdown would have been a higher probability and a huge momentum swing.

HAS ANYONE NOTIFIED HIS FAMILY?

QUIT TRYING TO BE DAN LANNING (JK)

With time winding down on the first half, Auburn at the 14 yard line had a mass of confusion/miscommunication that caused the field goal team to run on the field while the Tigers already on the field thought they were going to spike the football to stop the clock. Time ran out without Aubie scoring. (Sad trombone)

QB SNEAK OF THE WEEK

NAME OF THE WEEK

Boise QB Maddux Madsen whose dad is a big baseball fan and named his son after Atlanta Braves great Greg Maddux.

STATS OF THE WEEK

• Ole Miss sacked Okie QB Jackson “Whatchutalkinboutwillis” Arnold TEN times. Suntarine Perkins was credited with 4.
• Somehow, someway Michigan went an entire 60 minutes against Michigan State and was not flagged a single time. And then started a fight after the final whistle. I am declaring Shenanigans.
• On Saturday against Navy, Notre Dame scored more TDs in their game at the Meadowlands Stadium than the Jets and Giants had combined all season.
• Alabama has 8 shutouts against top 25 teams since 2010, three more than the next closest teams.

GAMEDAY SIGN OF THE WEEK

For reference, Indy was playing Jedd Fisch’s Washington Huskies. IU’s Curt Cignetti is famous for confidently saying “It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me.” (see ADOPT-A-TEAM below)

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESI

College GameDay was in Bloomington, IN. Lee Corso coached Indy from 1973–1982, but had only two winning seasons. The 1979 team went 8-4 and beat BYU in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego.

Nick Saban has lost it. I suppose he is trying to be kooky for entertainment purposes, but don’t be a punchline, coach.

Former Hoosier and current Phillies OF/DH Kyle Schwarber was guest picker.

PICK’EM

The GD crew’s picks:

Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff was in Columbus, OH. There was a lot of Urban Meyer content, but it’s not like the fans were going nuts over the guy. Compared to previous shows, the Ohio crowd was rather tame. A Phillie joined BNK too. For a reason I must have missed, Las Vegas native Bryce Harper – who played in Washington DC before Philadelphia, PA – was a part of the show.

GameDay and Big Noon Kickoff will both be going to Act Like You’re Happy Valley for Ohio State-Penn State.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

MAN, I am loving this guy. If things don’t work out with a certain somebody in T-town…

• Indiana (8-0) – With starting QB Kurtis Rourke sidelined with surgery on his injured right thumb, the Hoosiers merely went out and destroyed Washington 31-17 with the back-up QB. The status of Rourke is all over the place this week.
• UNLV (6-2) The Runnin’ Rebs put on a good show against Boise but ultimately fell 29-24.
• UL-Monroe (5-2) got smacked around by South Alabama 46-17. The schedule is about to get real treacherous with @Marshall, Texas St, @Aub, @Ark St, and UL-Laffy remaining.
• All former Bama back-up QB Eli Holstein (11/15-108-2-0) had to do for Pitt was not turn the ball over like his Syracuse counterpart did. The redshirt freshman exited in the fourth quarter of a 41-13 win over Syracuse last week with an undisclosed injury. His status is unclear as of post. The Panthers are unexpectedly 7-0, but have @SMU, UVa, Clem, @Louisville, @BC coming down the pipe.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• WKU (5-2) had a week off to prep for Kennesaw (1-6) followed by a trip to NMSU (2-5). The Hilltoppers should be bowl eligible VERY soon.
• USF (3-4) also had a bye with a Friday trek to FAU (2-5).
• Wisconsin (5-3) had a halftime advantage over PSU but was outscored 21-3 in the second half.
• Vandy (5-3) gave Texas hell but came up short.
• South Carolina (4-3) got to stay home and scout visiting Texas A&M.

COUSINS

• Jacksonville State (4-3) – The Gamecocks had little trouble with Middle Tennessee 42-20 to earn their fourth straight win. There is a direct correlation between JSU’s recent success and the emergence of preseason unknown RB Tre Stewart. The senior transfer from something called Limestone University did not begin the season as the starter but has become the star of the offense. On Wednesday night, he had a career high 210 yards on 21 carries plus a touchdown.
• Troy (1-7) – The Trojans are bowl-eliminated after giving up a touchdown to Arky State with 33 seconds to go. Final score 34-31. TU hosts Coastal Carolina.
• South Alabama (4-4) – I don’t know what to think of this team. The Jags either lose or they blow out their opponent. On this Saturday, it was the latter with USA stomping UL-Monroe 46-17. We’ll see if they can continue that trend when Georgia Southern rolls into Mobile.

THAT ANNOYING GUY WHO THINKS “DRESSING UP” MEANS PUTTING ON PANTS

• UAB (1-6) – The Dragons had a week off to think about what they are doing with their lives. Tulsa visits.

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

• Navy (6-1) – It was a good run for the Midshipmen, but Notre Dame is just on another level, 51-14. Navy came into this game with no fumbles lost, but gave the ball up on their first two series and five for the game – one of which was returned for a score. This game just goes to show there is still a vast gap between Power teams and non-Power. Hopefully, Navy gets back on track when they head to Rice.
• Army (7-0) and Air Force (1-6) were both on leave leading up to their clash on Saturday at 11am/noon on CBS. A win for the Cadets moves them to 8-0 for the first time since 1996. For the Falcons, a loss would mean the dreaded defeat number 7.

ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

Eliminated: Boston College, Cal, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, UNC, Stanford, Virginia, Wake Forest, Arizona, Baylor, Center Florida, Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Utah, Maryland, Minnie, Northwestern, Nebraska, Sparty, Purdue, Rutgers, Southern Cal, UCLA, Washington, Wisconsin, Oregon State, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Oklahoma.

Endangered: Clemson, Pitt, SMU, Notre Dame, K-State, LSU, Illinois, Ohio State, Mizzou, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M.

Extremely Endangered: Duke, NC State, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Cincy, Colorado, TCU, Texas Tech, WVU, Iowa, Michigan, Wazzu, Alabama, Arky, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Vanderbilt.

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

FanDuel Odds To Make The 2024-25 College Football Playoff:

1. Oregon -3500 (bet $3500 to profit $100)
2. Georgia -1700
3. Ohio State -850
4. Texas -700
5. Miami-FL -600
6. Penn State -600
7. Clemson -185
8. Tennessee -185
9. Notre Dame -175
10. Boise -140
11. Iowa State -140
12. BYU -115
13. Alabama +100 (bet $100 to profit $100)
14. Indiana +100
15. Texas A&M +100
16. Kansas State +165 (bet $100 to profit $165)
17. Ole Miss +200
18. SMU +200
19. LSU +220
20. Several teams tied at +500

POWER TWO

• Big Ten – Oregon is in the driver’s seat. Despite the HUGE loss to the Ducks, Illinois (6-2, 3-2) is not out of it just yet. They have a great shot at running the table. The Brittany Lions and anOhio State, have a big one this Saturday.
• SEC – TAMU is the only unbeaten team in conference play. Do you think Jimbo is sitting on a beach somewhere thinking “dadgummit, if they’d-a only given me one more year…”? We still have UGA-Tenn in a couple of weeks. And that Texas at Texas A&M game at the end of the regular season is going to be FIRE!

SECOND TWO

• ACC – Who woulda thunk that the ACC would be decided by Pitt this year? SMU (7-1, 4-0) is a team that needs to be talked about. The Mustangs’ sole setback was a three-pointer to undefeated BYU. Miami has a friendly upcoming schedule.
• Big 12 – With slumping @Utah and Kansas up next, followed by @AzSt and Houston, BYU has a great shot at 12-0. Iowa State also has a pretty smooth road over the next four games but concludes the season with under-the-radar dangerous K-State.

AT LARGE

• PAC-2 – Washington State (6-1) had an unimpressive 3-point win over San Diego State (3-4). The Cougars have a razor thin chance at an at-large bid – especially if the CFP Committee decides to play politics once again. However, that schedule is so weak. Sagarin ranks Wazzu 46th.
• Indies – Notre Dame (6-1) beat Navy in the Meadowlands. The win over Texas A&M back in Week 1 is looking better each week, but that Northern Illinois cloud keeps hanging overhead. Outside of the Aggies, the Irish have a pretty weak schedule, which includes only three true road games.
  @TAMU W23-13
  NIU L16-14
  @Purdue W66-7
  Miami-Oh W28-3
  Louisville W31-24
  Stanford W49-7
  GT W31-13*
  Navy W51-14*
  FSU
  UVA
  Army*
  @So Cal
  (* = neutral)

PARTICIPATION TROPHY

We are one week away from the CFP Committee rankings. It should be real interesting to see where they rank non-Power teams.

• MWC: Boise topped UNLV and appear to be the favorite for the Participation Trophy slot.
• AAC: Navy got a sharp slap of reality. Army has to eventually play Notre Dame. Memphis is 7-1 but have had several close calls against cupcakes including a last minute win over Charlotte this past Saturday. Tulane is a team that is perhaps unfairly not getting talked about. They are 6-2 but the losses came against Okie and K-State on the road.
• C-USA: DING DONG! Liberty IS DEAD!!
• MAC: Every team has at least THREE losses overall. It’s doubtful they get a CFP spot.
• Sun Belt: UL-Laffy is 6-1 with their loss at the hands of Tulane.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

This is the last AP Poll that heeds any attention. The first college football playoff rankings will be announced NEXT Tuesday, Nov. 5.

1. Oregon (61)
2. Georgia (1) – Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News was the only one to vote UGA #1.
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Miami – up one slot
6. Texas – down one
7. Tennessee
8. Notre Dame – up 4
9. BYU
10. Texas A&M
11. Iowa State
12. Clemson
13. Indiana
14. Alabama – up one – Garland Gillen of WVUE-TV FOX 8 (New Orleans) voted Bama #21.
15. Boise
16. LSU – dropped 8
17. Kansas State
18. Pitt
19. Ole Miss
20. SMU
21. Army
22. Washington State – NEW
23. Colorado – NEW
24. Illinois – down 4
25. Missouri – down 4

Navy and Vanderbilt drop out of the Top 25.

LET’S GO BOWLING!

• We are down to 8 FBS teams that are still undefeated: Army, Miami, BYU, Iowa State, Indiana, Oregon, Pitt, and Penn State. I gotta say, I didn’t see many of these coming.
• 33 teams are bowl eligible. 29 teams are one win away.
• There are 82 post-season slots to be filled.

LET’S GO BLOWING!

• FSU and Mississippi State share the dubious dishonor of being the first Power teams to seven losses. FBS now has 8 teams in that category. The others are UTEP, Wyoming, Troy, Southern Miss, and…
• And then there was one. Kennesaw’s upset of Liberty leaves Kent State as the only winless team of 2024. The Fightin’ Nick Sabans are an ugly 0-8. KSU is the last hope for the Triple Golden Sombrero (0 for 12).
• 14 teams are one defeat away from unlucky number 7. Among them are preseason #22 Kansas, Stanford, Purdue, Air Force, and UAB.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week once again goes to universally lousy officiating. Phantom calls, non-calls, baffling video review calls, game-changing calls are running rampant all across the country. The worst offenders this week, were the B1G throwing flags against Nebraska to help #1 son anOhio State. You don’t have to wear a tin foil hat to think that maybe certain teams are getting calls to help shape the narratives of games. Our friend at BamaProUpdates summed it it pretty well.

It has become overabundantly clear that it is time for national full-time referees – at least for Power teams – like the NFL has. You don’t see these issues in the NFL as often (except when Patrick Mahomes is in danger) because refereeing is a full-time job. For most of the college officials, this is a side job. They are lawyers, real estate brokers, bankers, city clerks and the like. With all the TV money floating around, they need a way to attract better officials with better pay. The national part is that each conference should not have their own crews for two reasons: 1) Rules need to be called the same across the board; 2) Reduce the potentiality for “swayed” officiating that may pr may not be helping a certain team.

HEISMAN HYPE

It seems unlikely that very many of the voters actually watched the Boise-UNLV game that kicked off Friday night at 10:30pm ET. More likely, they tuned into ESPN’s lazy highlights that showed Ashton Jeanty’s one barely touchdown and announced his yardage total without much insight to how he performed. Therefore, his “lesser” performance does not hurt his campaign.

There is a certain sect of the sportswriter population that keeps pushing two-way player Travis Hunter. However, we are still waiting on that key “Heisman Moment”.

Sadly, the new leader in the clubhouse is 10th year senior Dillon Gabriel who has had the benefit of 58 games under his belt.

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

1. Dillon Gabriel (Oregon) +230
2. Travis Hunter (Colorado) +270
3. Cameron Ward (Miami FL) +300
4. Ashton Jeanty (Boise) +440
5. Cade Klubnik (Clemson) +1600
6. Carson Beck (Georgia) +3300

THE SICK REPORT

Lotsa banged up Big Ten QBs:

• Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said Monday he remains “optimistic” that QB Kurtis Rourke will be back for Saturday’s game at Michigan State. It seems unnecessary with Sparty being wet garbage this year. Start your back-up and keep Rourke available if needed.
• NC State QB Grayson McCall announced his retirement from football following a crushing blow he took against Wake Forest on Oct. 5. McCall has a history of concussions and head trauma. The quarterback suffered a head injury against Coastal Carolina last year that ended his season and could have ended his career.
• Journeyman QB Jack Tuttle currently at Michigan is retiring from college football. He cited a fifth concussion and prioritizing his health. It probably didn’t help that after six years of football, he couldn’t beat out the other godawful Michigan QBs.
• Penn State’s Drew Allar exited Wisconsin game with “lower body injury”. On Monday, James Franklin suggested that his QB Drew Allar (left knee) could be a game-time decision for Saturday’s game against Ohio State.
• Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara is not listed on the depth chart for this week’s game against Wisconsin after leaving Saturday’s win against Northwestern with an undisclosed injury. Coach Kirk Ferentz was pretty vague on the situation, but it is sounding like McNamara may be in concussion protocol.

R.I.P.

Ten years ago yesterday, the Allman Brothers Band played their final concert. It took place at the Beacon Theatre in New York City with just the ABs and no guest artist – which is so in the vibe of “brothers and sisters”. Since that day, Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks died 2017, and Dicky Betts passed earlier this year, leaving drummer “Jaimoe” Johnson as the only surviving original band member.

DRAMARAMA

Isn’t it funny how all the classless trash is coming from the Big Ten this week?

• This past summer, Penn State tried to ever so quietly to cut ties with linebacker Kaveion Keys and defensive end Jameial Lyons. At first, the rising sophomores were put on something called “interim suspension”. Then late on a Friday in August, the two names were removed from the online roster and it was learned that they were no longer enrolled at PSU. This past Wednesday, the two 19-year olds were charged with raping, assaulting, and other offenses against two young women, one of whom was reportedly 17-years old at the time. I understand James Franklin’s hesitance to comment but he did not need to act so arrogant and childish. Especially with the scandalous history that hangs this program like a black cloud, this is not the time to be aloof and to be a-holes.

• It wouldn’t be Michigan-Michigan State if there wasn’t some scrapping going on. Following Michigan’s final kneel-down of a 24-17 win, a Michigan State and Michigan player got into a skirmish that led to a kerfuffle and then to a hullabaloo that involved staff members as well. Whoever is running the Big Ten these days will probably do nothing.
• Oregon State and Washington State will face off twice in the 2025 regular season with each team getting a home game. This unusual move is being allowed to help the two schools fill out their schedules following the implosion of the PAC-12.

KOACHES KORNER

• Rice has parted ways with head coach Mike Bloomgren after a 2-6 start to the 2024 season. The former Florida State tight end (not a good week for Seminoles) got his coaching start at Alabama as a grad assistant 1999-2001 under Mike Dubose. After stints with the New York Jets and Stanford, he was given the HC job at Rice in 2018. In seven seasons, he never had a winning record but went to a bowl in 2023 at 6-6 and lost. The Owls played in a bowl the season before at 5-7 and also lost. They were invited to that one due to not enough qualified teams and because of their academic progress. So at least he was graduating guys.
• Gus Malzahn fired his defensive coordinator Ted Roof following Center Florida’s fifth straight loss. 60-year old Roof has had 8 different gigs over the last nine seasons.
• Urban Meyer’s father’s last words to him just before he died were “are you still holding the ladder?”
• Fat F*** Phil Fulmer claims that he loves Tennessee so much that he bleeds orange. However, his doctors have diagnosed the condition to be due to his massive intake of Cheetos.

TEEVEE

CBS may be gone from the SEC but their memory lingers on. During the second quarter of game action of the Oklahoma-Ole Miss with the score tied 7-7, ESPN thought it would be a good time to interview OM and 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis for a good five minutes rather than call the game.

THIS WEEK

Below is just a sampling highlight of games of interest this week. If you REALLY MUST know about the BIG Wyoming-New Mexico saga, click here.

Tuesday, October 29

La-Laffy at Texas State 6:30/7:30 ESPN2
Louisiana Tech at Sam Houston 7pm/8pm ESPNU

Wednesday, October 30

Jacksonville State at Liberty 6pm/7pm CBSSN
Kennesaw at Western Kentucky 6:30/7:30 ESPN2

Thursday, October 31 – TRICK OR TREAT!

Tulane at Charlotte 6:30/7:30 ESPN

Friday, November 1

Georgia State at UConn 6pm/7pm CBSSN
South Florida at FAU 6:30/7:30 ESPN2
San Diego Maradona State at Boise 7pm/8pm FS1

Saturday, November 2

SEC

Ole Miss at Arkansas 11am/noon ESPN
Vanderbilt at Auburn 11:45/12:45 SECN
Maine at Oklahoma 1:30/2:30 ESPN+
Florida at Georgia 2:30/3:30 ABC
UMass at Mississippi State 3:15/4:15 SECN
Texas A&M at South Carolina 6:30/7:30 ABC
Kentucky at Tennessee 6:45/7:45 SECN

ERRYBODY ELSE – Lotsa games. Below are highlights:

Duke at Miami 11am/noon ABC
Ohio State at Penn State 11am/noon FOX
Air Force at Army 11am/noon CBS
Louisville at Clemson 6:30/7:30 ESPN
Pitt at SMU 7pm/8pm ACCN

ZZZZZZ

* No sleepy time games this week. If you can’t sleep, watch SNL. That unfunny tripe will put you out in a second.

#ALABAMA

• Alabama escaped mostly injury-free (knock on wood) with the exception of Cole Adams. Following the Mizzou win, Kalen DeBoer stated that the Tide receiver/kickoff & punt returner could miss significant time. Adams was helped off the field but later returned to the sideline on crutches in what appeared to be a cast on his left foot. It is a noteworthy loss for the Crimson Tide as the redshirt freshman has been the most reliable punt returner for Bama this season. Against the Tigers, Jaylen Mbakwe and Ryan Williams filled in but both had some scary moments.
• Tyler Booker was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week after grading out at 95% and recording nine knockdown blocks against Mizzou.
• According to Pro Football Focus, LT Overton leads the Tide in pressures with 30. Thank God he stuck to his transfer pledge. For comparison, Que Robinson is second on the team with 16.
• Have you heard stories that back-up QB Ty Simpson is fast? Check out #15 in the bottom of the screen of the below GIF:

BYE WEEK BEFORE GAME 9
Saturday, November 9, 2024

Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2) at LSU Tigers (6-2)

Baton Rouge, LA ~ 6:30/7:30 of course, (◔_◔) ABC

• The SEC announced that Alabama-LSU will be the sole night game in the league for Nov 9. Including that game, the Bayou Bengals have had six home games with all but one (vs UCLA) being a night game. Lane Kiffin said out loud what we are all thinking
• If you really MUST, this Saturday is an acceptable day to get married or go to Disney World. But you are going to miss Vandy beat the snot out of Auburn.
• LSU left guard Garrett Dellinger limped off the field in the second quarter of the Texas A&M game after he suffered an ankle injury. Starting receiver CJ Daniels was ruled out at halftime with an apparent lower leg injury.
• TV Announcers for Bama-LSU will be announced next week.
• The opening point spread had Alabama as a 2.5 point underdog in the preseason with the Over/Under around 61.5. However, new numbers are all over the place. FanDuel and a few other outlets are leading the pack by moving the Tide to a -2.5 favorite. Some still have LSU -1.5 and one still thinks Corndogs +2 as of post. I even saw the rare Pick ‘em. We should see some clarity on Sunday.