September is done, only thing clear is that Alabama and Georgia are clearly the 2 best teams, the rest of the rankings are just guesses. Put the next 15 schools names in a jar and shake it up and then pick them out 1 at time and you'd have just about as good a 3-17 as you do right now. But Oct will settle a few things for sure, Conference play starts, schedules get harder, teams start to get a little nicked up and depth is challenged. Friday Night has 2 games of note. Iowa @ Maryland .... Both undefeated, Maryland's schedule hasn't been challenging except for their Week 1 win over a good West Virginia team. While Iowa had a good start with wins over IU and Iowa State, they were a little underwhelming in their win against Colorado State. A lot of people believe that Iowa will win the West and have a shot at taking down Ohio State or whoever comes out of the East. If all that happens CFP!! Needs to start with undefeated Maryland. BYU @ Utah State .... BYU is undefeated and played 3 Pac12 teams and USF, seems like they might be the real deal and have a shot at a great season. They do have a challenging schedule though. Utah State is a good team and should give the Cougars a battle esp at home. Saturday Some really good games on tap; Ole Miss @ Alabama ..Kiffin comes in with a good Ole Miss squad who has a hot QB some think might be the best in college football this year. Not so sure about their defense. Alabama is Alabama, Bryce Young has played extremely well and the Tide should be ready for Ole Miss. If for no other reason than I'm sure every one of them from Saban on down would like to shut up Lane Kiffin. I kind of expect a shootout. Arkansas @ Georgia. The upstart and renewed Hogs go down to Georgia to prove whether they are the real deal. Georgia is probably the best defense in college football if the Hogs can run on them, that would be something. I'm not sure still how good the Georgia offense is though, they do have a excellent QB in JT Daniel so there is that, but he wasn't that effective vs Clemson. Is the Hog defense up to forcing them to be ordinary on offense? I sort of see this as a low scoring defensive battle. It would be a monumental upset if Arkanasas can get the win though. Cincinnati @ Notre Dame ..Bearcats best team ever? Better than the undefeated team Brian Kelly had when he was there, probably! If they can beat the Irish that puts them square in the middle of the CFP debate. Herbstreit has the as a top 5 team in his rankings. It's well documented the Irish struggles with the OL and running game this year, doubtful it will be fixed in time for the Sat game. We'll have to win with defense and special teams and hope for no turnovers while forcing them from Cincy. Michigan @ Wisconsin...this game has taken on a different tone. Had Wisconsin beaten the Irish and Michigan trounced Rutgers it would feel differently. For Wisconsin this is getting to desperation time, their QB hasn't looked good and the Irish defense stuffed their running game. While UM which had been just running over people barely got over 100 yds vs Rutgers and Wisconsin's defense is good well coached defense. A loss here for Wisconsin is devestating and I have to believe that a loss for UM would be a kick in the gut for the good feelings the program was generating with their fast start. Texas @ TCU ...Longhorns licking their chops at the thought of Bijan Robinson running against that porous TCU defense that gave up a ton of yards to a SMU team that ordinarily you don't think of having multiple 100+ yard runners in the same game. Louisville @ Wake Forrest. Wake is 4-0 now and has looked good in a year where maybe Clemson is going to have 2 losses in the ACC. People looking at Wake as a potential title contender in the ACC, that's how down the ACC is right now!! Louisville a good team not a great team. But good enough to beat Wake Forrest. Oregon @ Stanford ...Oregon is the Pac 12 contender for the CFP, this isn't a great Stanford team. Stanford crowds aren't great either so it's not like the Ducks are going into a packed stadium of rabid fans. Shouldn't be a problem. OU @ Kansas State ... KSU was looking good till Oklahoma State beat them last weekend. OU hasn't looked like the CFP team everybody thought they would be, Spencer Rattler hasn't looked like a Heisman QB. OU barely escaped WVA at home, KState on the road, might be a pot hole for the Sooners. Ohio State @ Rutgers ...Rutgers gave Michigan a battle last week, sometimes games like that take a lot out of a team emotionally and they don't have the juice left to get up for another big battle, and they'll need it for Ohio State. I haven't seen if CJ Stroud will be 100% for RU, but they will be just fine with either of their backups. Should roll them. Florida @ Kentucky ... Kentucky unbeaten vs 1 loss Florida! (thanks Gipper) I wonder if that's ever been the case in this series. At one time the Gators had won a gazzillon games in a row over Kentucky. But the Wildcats under Mark Stoops have been a different program and fairly solid, not SEC East Championship solid but don't sleep on them. Gators have too much talent for them if they show up ready to play. Miss State @ Texas A&M ...just what the doctor ordered for the Aggies after their loss to the Hogs. Mike Elko's defense will have a field day against State. Mike Leach and his 5 play offense and 3x5 play sheet no match. Baylor @ Oklahoma State Big 12 game of the week, both teams undefeated Baylor took down a preseason favorite in Iowa State last week will OSU took down a solid KState team. Don't know who to favor here. Indiana @ Penn State ..revenge game, that disputed TD at the end of the game last year sent the Nit's into a tailspin they never recovered from. They look pretty salty on defense and Sean Clifford the PSU QB having his best season. IU only wins are vs Group of 5 teams. Can't see this turning out well for Tom Allen and crew. Boston College @ Clemson BC under Jeff Hafley has become a team you need to take seriously and Clemson with their troubles could lose this game. BC lost their starting QB, Phil Jurkovec, but the replacement has been OK and they are undefeated. Clemson has OL problems and DJ Uiagalelei the young QB who looked good in his 2 starts last year (BC and ND) and was on the Heisman list has not been very good. This is a dangerous game for Clemson. Northwestern @ Nebraska a couple of 2-2 teams who need a win. The Huskers could just as easily be 4-0 right now as 2-2, mistakes, mistakes, mistakes. If they play a clean game they get this win. I don't know anything about Northwestern. Auburn @ LSU Auburn needed SEC ref help to beat Ga. Southern last weekend, but I lay that off on that they were emotionally spent from the Penn State game. Talk radio says Auburn fans want the transfer from LSU over Bo Nix. LSU seems to be trending up with 3 straight after the loss to UCLA. I don't think Auburn wins very often in Baton Rouge. Eddie O will face some heat (more ) if he loses this game. They are already talking about who LSU should hire to replace him. Arizona State @ UCLA Bruins only have that close loss to a very good Fresno State, ASU a team that a lot said would be in the race for the Pac 12 South but is under investigation for recruiting issues and had to replace several coaches during August training camp who were targeted by the NCAA. They have only lost to a very good BYU team. Should be a good game. Both teams have very good QB's even if you've never heard of them. Minn @ Purdue ... Minn forgot to row the boat last weekend vs Bowling Green while the Boilermakers were recovering nicely from the ND game by beating Illinois. Since this is a big game for the Big 10 West, both teams need the win. Right now Iowa looks like the big dog in the division but you never know, I could see Purdue if they stay healthy givng them a go, but starts with sinking the Minn rowboat.
LOL... they should've beaten them if that extra point hadn't been missed early in the game! Or it would have made it unnecessary to go for 2 to try and tie the game and I have to wonder about that 2 point conversion play at the end of the game. I'd have liked the Gators chances in OT. But thanks for the heads up and I'll fix it!
I'm glad my post made you laugh. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who really appreciates your weekly previews of upcoming games. Thanks.
Matt Corral from 50-1 shot to win the Heisman to front runner!! Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral has emerged as the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy at U.S. sportsbooks ahead of the Rebels' trip Saturday to No. 1 Alabama. The SEC showdown between the Rebels and Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, features the Heisman front-runners in Corral and Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. Corral is the favorite at most sportsbooks, with odds around +160, followed closely by Young at +200. At Caesars Sportsbook, Corral and Young are co-favorites at +180 to win the award.
Listening to the talk about that Ark/UGA game. Dawgs are an 18.5 point favorite. it seems a bit much, but maybe not. Ark jumped out to 17-0 over A&M and won 20-10, only scoring 3 points after that and that was halfway through the 4th qtr. Now A&M's defense is pretty salty and UGA's might even be better so can Ark even score 18 points on Georgia? Georgia has been lighting up the scoreboard since then but not against great defenses at UAB, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Hogs do have a pretty good defense that at least early on should challenge the Dawgs. Other lines that standout. Unbeaten Irish are underdogs at home to a non-Power 5 team in Cincinnati, 2.5-point dogs. Lot of respect by Vegas for that Cincy team. No doubt fueled by the Irish OL/running game woes. Michigan only a 1-point favorite at Wisconsin. Wisconsin hasn't looked good in their 2 losses to ND and Penn State. Michigan while struggling a bit vs Rutgers has had a dominant start to the season. Would have thought they would be a bigger favorite even though it's on the road at Camp Randall. The question on Michigan is have they been very conservative throwing the ball because Cade McNamara isn't trusted by Harbaugh or because they just haven't needed to throw the football.
More bad news for Clemson. They lost another starting DT in the loss to NCState, Bryan Bresee. They had lost the other starting DT, Tyler Davis for 8 weeks due to a bicep injury. They also are thin at RB after star freshman Will Shipley was lost in the NCState game for a month, and they lost Lyn-J Dixon who had started the season as #1 at RB but decided to enter the transfer portal. This will certainly test Clemson's depth that they have built up through their outstanding recruiting.
I haven't watched Georgia a lot, but from what I've seen I expect them to slam the door shut on Arkansas offense. The Aggies gave up early big plays, but after that it was no mas. I don't think the Dawgs will make the same mistakes, and they'll grind that Arky D down with a MUCH better O line than we have. Barring some kind of freak turnover-fest, I don't give Arkansas any chance. Bama has enough D to keep Corral and Co from going haywire. Kiffen does not have enough D to keep Bama from doing their thing, but he might make it interesting.
On Ole Miss/Alabama. I do think Ole Miss has enough to make it interesting. Last year in his first season at Ole Miss, with no defense, Alabama had to go the full 4 quarters to win 63-48. Alabama is good on offense, but no Mac Jones, Devonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Najee Harris, etc and they can't be as good at this point as that Alabama offense last season. Ole Miss in their 2nd season has a better grasp of what they want to do on offense and they have a veteran QB who is having a great season so far. I do think Alabama will win, but like last year, Ole Miss will make them earn it and I'll bet it's an exciting game.
Sounds like the Buckeyes have a similar situation to ND where Jack Coan was injured and his backup seemed to ignite the team and now might be pushing for the starting job, But Kelly has come out and said if Coan is healthy he's the starter. Basically exactly what Ryan Day said yesterday about CJ Stroud. Does Ohio State have a quarterback competition on its hands? Head coach Ryan Day gave the answer on Tuesday. C.J. Stroud hasn’t exactly lived up the hype just yet. His inaccuracy was an issue in the Buckeyes’ win over Minnesota and loss to Oregon earlier this season. The former four-star recruit is dealing with an injury at the moment. That opened the door for Kyle McCord to get the start versus Akron in Week 4. He made the most of the opportunity, completing 13 of his 19 pass attempts for 319 yards and two touchdowns with one pick. Is McCord now pushing Stroud for the starting gig? Day told reporters on Tuesday that as long as Stroud’s healthy, he’s Ohio State’s starter. “We’ll see how today goes, said Day, according to Bill Rabinowitz, Ohio State beat writer for the Dispatch. “The week helped him. We’re looking forward to a great week of practice.” Rabinowitz also added in his tweet that Day said Stroud’s his starter as long as he’s healthy.
This isn't bulletin board material since it was said by ESPN's Michael Wilborn who IMHO is a clown!! Ole Miss plays Alabama this Saturday and that has everyone talking about Kiffin, Saban and a bunch of other storylines. Well, don’t expect Wilbon to cheer for the Rebels. During a recent “PTI” segment, he called the head coach of the Rebels a “clown” and an “embarrassment.”
Former Alabama RB, Derrick Henry had his Fla State single game record for yards broken recently by a kid who only has 1 hand. Henry reached out to congratulate him. Pretty good story at the link. Breaking a Florida high school record once held by current NFL superstar Derrick Henry while playing with one hand is quite an accomplishment. Having him shout you out afterward is likely a surreal experience. Kayleb Wagner has officially checked all of those boxes in his young football career. Wagner, a junior running back from Baker High School in District 1-1A, eclipsed Henry's single-game rushing record of 502 yards during his game against South Walton High School on Sept. 17. Wagner racked up 535 yards and six touchdowns, carrying his team to a 49-48 win. Derrick Henry and the 'incredible' high school player who broke his record
Apparently Tua's little brother is having a great start to his season at Maryland Fortenbaugh: If you haven't been paying attention, Maryland is surprisingly nasty this season. The Terrapins enter October 4-0 straight up and 3-1 against the spread with a credible win over West Virginia under their belts thanks, in part, to the stellar quarterback play of Taulia Tagovailoa, who is completing an absurd 75.5% of his passes this season with 10 touchdowns and only one interception. Capital One Field is going to be rocking Friday night for the first big Terrapins football game in God knows how long. That's troubling news for an Iowa program that is severely lacking in explosive plays on offense. Take note that the Hawkeyes have undefeated Penn State on deck, so this matchup does fall into the category of a "look-ahead spot."
Saban want's Alabama fans to be noisy like Gator fans! With so much at stake this weekend, Alabama head coach Nick Saban is hoping that the fans in Tuscaloosa can give his players an advantage against Ole Miss. In fact, Saban told the fans on Wednesday that he wants them to be as loud as Florida’s fans were in Week 3. There’s no question The Swamp played a role in that matchup on Sept. 18 between Alabama and Florida. “When we played down in Florida, I mean it was really, really tough on our team. And you could tell. So hopefully we can make it a little bit that way for [Ole Miss],” Saban said, via Saturday Down South. “We’re just excited to be playing in a big game at home in our stadium against a good team, and hopefully, our fans, our players and everybody will have great passion and enthusiasm for this game.”
Which Alabama team will show up this Saturday? Will it be the Alabama team that played the 1st half of the Florida game or the one that played the 2nd half of the Florida game?
Going into this weekend there are 26 undefeated FBS teams. Will be fewer because several play each other. Ole' Miss v Alabama Cincinnati v Notre Dame Iowa v Maryland Georgia v Arkansas Oklahoma St v Baylor