Top passer, Brennan Armstrong, at No. 25 BYU on Saturday
Collegefootballfan.com looks forward to seeing Brigham Young play at Lavelle Edwards Stadium for the first time, and we couldn’t have selected a more exciting match-up to see the nations’ top passer, Brennan Armstrong, at No. 25 BYU on Saturday night. We saw Armstrong shred Louisville on October 9 at Cardinal Stadium in a great game won by Virginia, 34-33. Armstrong finished the day completing 40 of 60 passes for 487 yards, three TDs, and two INTs. Collegefootballfan.com looks forward to being at this one anticipating a similar outcome. Brennan Armstrong leads the nation with 3,220 passing yards and has 23 TD passes to his credit. The Cougars and the Cavaliers both stand at 6-2 this season.
Fun times ahead this weekend
On top of this contest itself, this game caps our day that evening after attending the MWC game between Hawaii (4-4, 1-2) at Utah State (5-2, 3-1). In the case of this BYU appearance for us, they benchmark the annals of our history. Since we last saw the Cougars (2-0 in CFF games) play at Navy in 1989, we’ve attended games played by all 129 FBS teams. So, for us, this is the longest stretch between seeing any particular FBS team play. In 1989, QB Ty Detmer led the Cougars at QB in the win over the Mids, 31-10. A year later, he won The Heisman.
Utah State QB Kent Myers and WR Hunter Sharp combined for three TD passes on this day in their team’s 35-28 loss at Air Force in 2015, the second of two Aggie games we’ve attended. The other was at UCONN.
This contest is also a homecoming of sorts for UVA HC Bronco Mendenhall. After assisting there for several years, he became BYU’s Head Coach in 2005. He ran the program at Lavelle Edwards Stadium in Provo through 2015 before heading to Virginia. His career with the BYU Cougars tallied a final record of 99-43. Since 2016 at Virginia, his Cavalier record stands at 36-34 to date. His counterpart in this tussle rests in Cougar HC Kalani Sitake. Under him the past six years, his BYU record successfully stands at 44-28. Some consider this a recruiting trip of sorts for Bronco Mendenhall looking to attract Utah talent back to UVA.
First game of our “double header”
The Aggies of Utah State and the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii come in with similar records and fairly even stats regarding points for (PF) and points against (PA). However, we see the Aggies having more strength here based on their slate so far having defeated Air Force and Washington State both on the road. Their two losses both came at home to tough competition in BYU and Boise State.
The Warriors have a good win to their credit with a 27-24 win over Fresno State back in the Islands. Two of their wins came in a home and home arrangement with New Mexico State (1-7). They won both games by a combined score of 89-55. We’ll give the edge in this one to Utah State looking to salvage a win for their home town fans in Logan. Of course, Nick Saban has 1-7 New Mexico State lined up later this season for the second time in three years. Wonder why? According to Alabama fans, it’s to contribute funds to the NM State Athletic program. Isn’t that sweet? Sweet at home in Alabama. Why don’t they just all send a check to the NMSU athletic department if they are so benevolent? In the meantime, think about scheduling Army instead since Tennessee backed out to avoid any embarrassment for the SEC.
Last time we saw Hawaii play it was at UMass where we saw them beat the Minutemen in the season opener for both in 2017, 38-35. This was our third of three games we’ve seen the Warriors play on the Mainland. Other games were at Rice and at Navy.
Well, wonders never cease! We agree with Paul Finebaum – to a point.
The Crimson Tide’s wingman believes No. 6 Michigan has no shot at making the college football playoff. Well, wonders never cease. We don’t want to brag, however, seeing this coming since Michigan has remained undefeated since the beginning on this season. We kept our thoughts to ourselves knowing that Jim Harbaugh’s program had not faced any of its traditional nemesis during their 7-0, 4-0 run.
Now, where we do disagree with Paul in this matter rests on his claim that only Ohio State stands in his way. We see this week’s road trip to No. 8 Michigan State (7-0, 4-0) definitely a challenge to the Wolverines’ unblemished record. In two weeks, when they go to No. 20 Penn State, if the Lions can cast some doubts aside, that’s a second. We agree that No. 5 OSU (6-1, 4-0) is definitely a show stopper. So, no matter what combination of these three defeat Michigan, there’s no way they are in the CFP. Paul Finebaum is correct in that respect.
As for Penn State…
Seems to us that James Franklin has let some visions of grandeur get in his way in Happy Valley. If he thinks USC or LSU is a step up from what he’s got now, and wants either, he has a funny way of showing it. In getting beaten by Illinois (3-5, 2-3) in nine overtimes, how many times does it take a team, supposedly well-coached, to score from the three-yard line? USC and LSU should start reconsidering any investment in James Franklin. What’s he going to do to show he’s a better coach than that this weekend against Ohio State? For his sake, he’d better win. If he loses big, PSU may tell him to go look elsewhere.
Franklin’s greatest coaching attribute is his recruiting capability. However, now that his starting QB Sean Clifford is banged up, he’s got no one else ready to step in. Granted, Will Levis took the portal after last season to Kentucky. However, who else did he recruit? Ta’Quan Roberson, a much-heralded recruit hasn’t measured up? Well as a coach, do you just rest on the player’s recruiting laurels? We say a real coach develops all his players to improve them – in this case not just Roberson, but any of the other QBs he went out and built his recruiting reputation on. Building a team starts with recruiting, but a coaching staff needs to improve that talent next and then put together the right game strategies together with the talent he has. That’s not happening in Happy Valley. Can James Franklin do it elsewhere? That is for somebody else to find out.
What we’d propose if Franklin moves on…
Kansas (1-6) leading No. 3 Oklahoma at the half last week, 13-0? Jayhawk HC Lance Leipold stepped on to the Lawrence, Kansas campus in late spring from Buffalo. Got a few recruits, pulled a coaching staff together, and got the beleaguered Jayhawks ready to play ball on short notice. Kansas has not had a winning season in years, but watch out for Lance with his six D-3 championships and building success at hapless Buffalo. Like Kansas, how do you get talent to play and win at Buffalo?
Give this guy a top program like Penn State and watch him do great things. If Penn State needs a replacement in 2022, hire Lance Leipold before someone else does. Leipold would not only bring in good talent based on a top brand name alone, but he will make his recruits play even better. On game day, he will work out a superior game plan even without such talent. Kansas displayed such against OU last week in a game they eventually lost. If he stays in Lawrence though, given time, the Jayhawks will become a better team. So PSU, if there’s an opening, get this guy Lance Leipold before someone else eventually does!
Buffalo Head Coach Lance Leipold visited Beaver Stadium in 2019 with his Bulls. If James Franklin departs from Happy Valley after this season, it would be nice to see him wearing Penn State blue next season at Beaver Stadium from our point of view.
Week 8, Our Top Games in Review:
Most of the calls we made last week worked out as forecasted. We said Coastal Carolina would finally be challenged last week and possibly get upset by Appalachian State (5-2). Great game! Glad we made the trip as Appy’s FG as time expired dropped CCU (6-1) from the unbeaten and down to No. 19.
Pitt with QB Kenny Pickett gaining Heisman momentum set Clemson back to 4-3, 27-17. Cincy won over Navy, but not as handily as we expected. We thought Des Ridder would have a bigger day throwing, but Navy played tough as usual under such circumstances, and the pollsters agreed keeping the Bearcats at No. 2 with their 27-20 win over the struggling Mids (1-6). We’ll stick by what we said last week as No. 12 Kentucky visits Mississippi State (4-3) this upcoming week. Wisconsin suddenly found a running game late to vanquish Purdue, 30-13, to knock them out of the Top 25 after defeating Iowa the week before.
No. 13 Wake Forest (7-0) held off Army’s triple option 70-56. To overcome the 4-3 Army’s ball control offense, under QB Sam Hartman (458 yards passing, 5 TDs) who we said would be the difference factor in this game, the Demon Deacons scored 70 points in less than 18 minutes. Link on to this article by Pete Thamel on Yahoo Sports right here. Wake should handle struggling Duke (3-4) this week, and they’ll probably face a shoot-out with QB Sam Howell and UNC (4-3) the following week. Hopefully, the game with NC State we’ll attend on November 13 with our buddy Jim “Bug” Harton and crew will have a bearing for the Deacs to get to the ACC championship this year.
Rocky Mountain lows
We fell short on our prediction for Air Force (6-2, 3-2) to defeat San Diego State (7-0, 3-0). The No. 21 Aztecs came away with a 20-14 win. Our late friend Tom Ables looks down smiling upon his alma mater; and laughing at us! Utah and UCLA both fell in close scores as predicted respectively to Oregon State (42-34) and Oregon (34-31). Because of No. 7 Oregon hosting paltry 2-5 Colorado this Saturday, the game between Utah and UCLA got the prime TV slot up against BYU Vs UVA. We’d have preferred to see the Utes host the Bruins at midday instead Utah State vs. Hawaii. We’ll miss watching the UCLA cheerleaders perform. Oh well..
Regretfully, the conflict caused by TV scheduling this Saturday nullified an opportunity to update our UCLA cheerleader album 🙁
Alabama toyed with Tennessee. As predicted UT gave them a game early even going up, 14-0, but No. 3 Bama prevailed in the end, 52-24. We miscalculated an upset by USC (3-4) over No. 11 Notre Dame predicated on Fighting Irish QB play. The Irish running game, however, got them the 31-16 victory in this rivalry.
Our Best Games of WEEK 9
Troy (4-3, 2-1) has a defense comparable to Appalachian State in allowing points, maybe even a little tougher. Not sure how their offense will perform this Thursday night, but look for Coastal to just squeak by the Trojans in this one at home… No.8 Michigan State (7-0, 4-0) will be up for this one with all the ballyhoo about rival and No. 6 Michigan primed for a spot in the CFP. Spartan HC Mel Tucker, in his second year, must be reminding his team how disrespected they are. Hell, Sparty beat the Wolverines (7-0,4-0) in the Big House last season, 27-24. Has everybody forgotten? Fans in East Lansing will remind the TV audience on Saturday.
SEC
No. 18 Auburn (5-2, 3-1) hosts No. 10 Ole Miss (6-1,3-1). Tough call to determine the best also-ran in the SEC West. Both have beaten LSU and Arkansas. Auburn lost to No. 1 Georgia and Ole Miss got creamed by No. 3 Alabama. We give the edge to Auburn at home in this one. Also, against “legitimate” FBS competition, the Tiger defense has tested better this season.
AAC and ACC
Another tough one, No. 19 SMU (7-0, 3-0) at Houston (6-1,4-0) basically playing for the right to play Cincinnati in the American Athletic championship game. Neither has a signature win although against Big 12 comp SMU defeated TCU and Houston fell to Texas Tech. We figure that when SMU needs to score, they are more able to do it than Houston can. We look for the Ponies to win by a touchdown… NC State (5-2, 2-1) hosts Louisville (4-3,2-2) in an ACC clash that the Wolfpack needs to win to stay in contention for a shot at the championship game. Coming off a 31-30 upset loss to Miami last week and heralding a much better defense than the Cardinals, State has the incentives and the defense to defeat the Cardinals in this one by a touchdown.
B1G
No. 20 Penn State (5-2, 3-2) at No. 5 Ohio State (6-1, 3-0) comes down to the health and effectiveness of Sean Clifford at QB for Penn State. The sting of the Illinois loss will be another factor, but the defense performed in that game as usual while the offense didn’t. Clifford was not at 100%. How will this team react? He or whoever will play behind Clifford has to be able to move this offense to keep OSU’s offense off the field. WR Jahan Dotson will have to come up with big plays, but the running game will have to produce also.
CJ Stroud and company have scored 345 points this season, but the defenses of Tulsa, Akron, Rutgers, Maryland, and Indiana’s don’t compare to the Nittany Lions. The Buckeye defense struggled early, but the last four offenses they defeated fall short of what Penn State can do and offered little as a challenge to keep the OSU offense from getting on the field. Penn State has a chance here, but it will be heavily dependent on their play at QB. If Sean Clifford’s not 100%. OSU wins by two TDs. If he’s 100%, many will be surprised at the result.
We saw Western Kentucky throw all over Indiana this season in a 33-31 loss. We watched how porous the Hoosier passing defense is. Ohio State put up 54 against IU last week. Penn State’s defense will not give the Buckeyes the room to maneuver that Indiana gives.
Sorry we can’t watch
While we’ll be checking in on the Penn State-Ohio State score, we’ll be doing it from our seat at the BYU-Virginia game. Brennan Armstrong will come out firing as usual to his good receiving corps. However, BYU probably plays a tighter pass defense than most of UVA’s competition thus far. They’ve only allowed five passing TDs all season and held passing attacks to lower QB ratings than any defense the Cavaliers have played in ACC competition. This will be a good game like the 34-33 win the Cavs had at Louisville. We look for Virginia to win this by a score of 28-24 over BYU. This should be great weekend of college football all over the country.
Warning in advance for Our Game in Week 10!
On November 6, Collegefootballfan.com will attend the college football rivalry unofficially nicknamed “100 miles of Hate”. We have no choice. Now we reside basically right in the middle of the two “haters”. We had no idea. The two rivals have played this game 70 times dating back to 1914. We will travel to Bowling Green, Kentucky to watch Western Kentucky host Middle Tennessee State in a ConferenceUSA collision. Doesn’t get much better than to be involved somehow with a rivalry referred to as this. They say the juices get flowing for this one. WKU leads this series 35-34-1. Now that’s what we call a rivalry!
Steve Koreivo, ed. And Author of “Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ’em all!“