Game 625: Utah State Aggies race past Hawaii and fend off comebacks to win their sixth game, 51-31

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Logan, Utah – USU QB Logan Bonner racked up 361 passing yards and four TDs Saturday to race past Hawaii and fend off comebacks to win their sixth game of the season, 51-31.  Bonner connected with four different receivers for scores.  Deven Thompkins snagged seven catches for 176 yards, and Elelyon Noa carried 23 times for 111 yards and at TD.  Aggie WR Brandon Bowling scored the last two TDs for State – one on a pass reception and one on an unusual kickoff return. Defensively, Utah State held the Rainbow Warriors to 12 yards rushing and recorded five sacks.  An early Warrior drive was halted by an interception in the end zone.

  • Utah State QB Logan Bonner added twenty-five yards rushing in addition to his 361 passing yards.

Aggies race past Hawaii!

     On a beautiful Saturday afternoon on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium surrounded by scenic mountains in front of an enthusiastic, USU, Halloween-clad, student body, the Aggies got off to a fast start.  They scored on their first three possessions. Noa closed out their first drive with a one-yard TD run. A pick by Cash Gilliam in the end zone led to USU’s next series. Bonner connected with Justin McGriff for a 45-yard TD.

  • USU DB Cash Gilliam (4) gets under tipped pass to intercept to halt an early Hawaii scoring threat.

    Aggie PK Connor Coles added a 41-yard FG to put the Aggies up 17-0 early in the second period. Then, Hawaii started to challenge.  Matt Shipley’s 49-yard FG finally put the Warriors on the scoreboard.  The Hawaiian defense halted the next Aggie drive to take possession back on downs.   From his 31, U of H QB Chevan Cordeiro (23 for 39, 296 yards, three TDS, one INT) tossed a pass to Dedrick Parson for a 29-yard score to whittle the Aggie lead down, 17-10.  With Bonner removed temporarily from play with an injury, back-up QB Andrew Peasley connected with Thompkins for a 45-yard completion down to the three.  With seven seconds left, Coles finished the first-half scoring with a 22-yard FG. He enhanced the Aggie lead before halftime festivities in front of 19,219 fans, 20-10.

  • The exuberant Aggie student body cheered their team on throughout the contest against the Rainbow Warriors.

Blow-out? No so fast, my friends.    

 Bonner came out firing right out of intermission.  The first drive resulted in a 46-yard TD pass to Derek Wright.  Some might have called it a back-shoulder throw. Others may call it an underthrown pass which the receiver came back to catch in the end zone.  Most of the second half plays came with penalty flags (Hawaii 10 for 89 yards, USU seven for 80) or reviews for various reasons. However, Utah State’s momentum did not slow down.  The next drive of 80 yards finished with a well-executed screen pass left to wide open Carson Terrell. He received an escort blocker into the end zone from 21 yards out.  After Hawaii’s three and out, a 69-yard drive resulted in a 14-yard scoring pass to Brandon Bowling. With USU ahead, 41-10, Aggie HC Blake Anderson started to substitute now with the game seemingly well in hand.

  • On the opening drive of the third period, Derek Wright caught this 46-yard scoring strike in the end zone from Logan Bonner to extend the Aggie lead, 27-10.

   With 4:37 left in the third, Cordeiro led his Warriors down field to score on a TD pass to Kaoli Nishigaya from 12 yards out.  Peasley now substituted for Bonner with an ample lead of 41-17.  He fumbled on his first drive, however, and the Bows took over at Utah State’s 45.  Cordeiro took advantage and fired a scoring strike to Calvin Turner Jr. They followed up together on a two-point conversion to close the deficit, 41-25, before the end of the third. Supposedly, we suspect many attendees had Trick-or-treating plans.  They headed toward the Maverik exits to take advantage of nice weather despite the sudden Warrior comeback looming.  We planned to go to Provo for more college football after this, but we stayed enjoying every minute of this contest.

  • Warrior WR Calvin Turner, Jr. (7) hauls in a Cordeiro pass from 27 yards to close the score, 41-25.

Aggies fend off comeback

   Anderson put Bonner and Noa, who was replaced during various series to give RB Pailate Makakona reps, both back in to stem the potential Warrior threat.  The moves paid off with some relief as Coles put up three more with his 22-yard FG.  More relief came from the defense. They held Hawaii in check to halt a fourth and one on their 28 to take back over on downs.  Anderson returned to his starters to the bench again.

 So close, yet so far  

Peasley had the Aggies moving until he seemed to panic under pressure with a misfired backward lateral that rolled past his intended RB.   Rainbow DB Eugene Ford scooped up the rolling ball and returned it 74 yards for six points. The two-point conversion failed, but with 8:20 left to play, the 44-31 Aggie lead did not seem so comfortable.  The Bows felt an opportunity to challenge as well, and displayed it on the ensuing kickoff. 

HC Todd Graham, who we first saw as a head college football coach at Tulsa back in 2007, called for some trickery.  His kicker approached the ball from right to left, stopped, and another player approached from the left to kick it onsides to the right.  WR Brandon Bowling of the Aggies raced forward to pick it up on the hop. He raced past Warrior defenders 45 yards untouched for the kickoff return.  Seven seconds later, the Aggies were up by 20, 51-31.

  • USU’s Brandon Bowling (10) fields onsides kick before steaking past Hawaii kicking team for 45-yard touchdown return.

“It’s not over until – we say it is…”

    Despite the margin with 8:13 remaining, this game felt like it was “The Game That Was Never Going To End”. Collegefootballfan.com had a long drive ahead of us to get to our next game in Provo!   Penalties, turnovers, and reviews continued.  State looked like it had another score on a fumble recovery that was returned. However, the play was reviewed for targeting.  On the replay, it looked like the tackler hit Cordeiro squarely on the shoulder, and the targeting would be reversed. But it wasn’t.  Hawaii (4-5, 1-3) kept the ball with a first and ten from their 40.   

Utah State took over with an INT by DB Monte McGary, and two flags were thrown. After reviews, USU did take over from their 40.  They stalled and punted. Cordeiro was replaced at QB by Brayden Schager.  He got sacked and fumbled.  Utah State started from its 47.  They punted, and U of H went four and out. USU lined up in victory formation.  The game was finally over.  Utah State’s record now stand at 6-2, 4-1.  A post-season game or two, including a conference title game, should lie ahead for the Aggies.

  • Hawaii’s DL DJuan Matthews (2) stops RB Elelyon Noa for a short gain. Noa compiled 111 yards rushing for the Aggies and scored the opening TD of today’s game.

Next up! 

     These two teams head in different directions next week logistically and from a challenge perspective. The Aggies head to New Mexico State (1-7) who lost twice this season already to Hawaii.  The Rainbow Warriors return home to take on San Diego State (7-1, 3-1) who just got knocked out of the Top 25 on Saturday with a 30-20 loss to Fresno State. 

     The Aggies, now alone atop college football’s Mountain Division of the MWC, do not play the SDSU Aztecs during the regular season.  If they can make it to the championship game against the West Division, they could play SDSU, Fresno, or Nevada. All are currently 3-1 in MWC play. Fresno and Nevada still have to play each other. Fresno’s detriment lies in their lone MWC loss to 1-3 Hawaii.

   Collegefootballfan.com left the beautiful, Logan area and traveled back out to I-15 South as daytime turned into night on our way to Provo for the highly anticipated shoot-out there between Brigham Young (6-2) and Virginia (6-2), coached by the BYU Cougars former HC, Bronco Mendenhall.  Look for our Game Review shortly!

  • The fall foliate and the scenic mountains surrounding Logan, Utah on a sunny fall day make Maverik Stadium at Utah State a great venue to enjoy college football on a Saturday afternoon!

Extra Points:

   Bought a great seat on the goal line 18 rows up, courtesy of an Aggie Fan, George, who attended with his wife.  They had extra tickets last minute since his son and friends couldn’t make it.  First time George had these seats.  He also noted how good they are. In an oval-shaped stadium, the view line is great as from the “corner” the angle provides a view of the entire playing field as well as the scoreboard directly in front of you for stats and replays.  This location has become our location of choice at many venues we attend for the first time. Basically, we choose it for these reasons and for picture-taking as well.

  • Speaking of picture-taking, the Utah State sideline scenery is pleasant to cheer with as well! These girls had plenty to smile about.

 Let’s do this again!

    The Maverik Stadium surroundings are some of the most picturesque among the 160 venues we’ve now attended on and off campuses throughout the country.  Ice-capped mountains and fall foliage on a sunny, comfortable mid 50s afternoon is unforgettably enjoyable. We have to say the fans and students, who stayed throughout most of the game, seemed to enjoy themselves. They supported their team throughout with great enthusiasm.

      Many celebrated Halloween within the spirit of the day costumes and all, but they showed strong support for their team on the field.  They have great team spirit out there in Logan.  They totally get involved celebrating and cheering their team on with their “alternate fight song”, “The Scotsman”. It sings of their pride being Aggies from Utah “where the sagebrush grows”. Click here to witness the Utah State Aggie Spirit.  It was great!  We hope to go back to Merlin Olsen Field to see the Aggies and their fans again in the future!

 Happy Halloween!

  On our way out we saw a unique Halloween costume idea by a group of Aggie coeds dressed up in caps and gowns with a sign depicting them as “Future Trophy Wives.”  We enjoyed the creativity displayed out there in Aggie land.  The “Fan of the Game” was introduced on the video board with a sign she made revealing her true Aggie Spirit.  The PA broadcast said she arrived early at the game and showed great spirit throughout. She was shown with the sign that she made honoring the Aggie QB Logan (how appropriate for a kid from Rowlett, TX to end up in this town) Bonner.  It read, “Bonner plays hard” with a heart on it.  She smiled and shrugged her shoulders a little as the announcer spoke.  Not sure if she was among those future trophy wives, but she could have been.

 Check it out!

   On a historic note, we read a college football report that noted Deven Thompkins gained over 100 yards in his sixth consecutive gamed for the Aggies.  He’s one game shy of tying the record of seven consecutive games set by WR Kevin Curtis in 2002.  We watched Utah State play the first time ever before that streak when they defeated UCONN quarterbacked by an up-and-coming freshman, Dan Orlovsky.  In 2001, State became the 71st team added to our “goal to see’ em all!” The Aggies won a hard-fought 38-31 victory. Orlovsky and Curtis both made it to the NFL. Check out this history and more of 118 other FBS teams seen over the years in our book, “Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all!”  

    Steve Koreivo, ed. – Author of “Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all!”

  • Namesake of Utah State’s playing field, Merlin Olsen. USU All-American and NFL Hall of Famer with the Las Angeles Rams.
    More scenes surrounding Merlin Olsen Field below.

Steveo’s Salvos: College Football Week 9

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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!“

Game 624: Homecoming Horror – Austin Peay in a blow-out over Murray State, 47-7

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Murray, Kentucky – Austin Peay RBs Ahmaad Tanner and Brian Snead combined for five TDs and 280 rushing yards to lead the Governors (3-4, 1-2) in a blow-out over Murray State, 47-7.  In a rivalry played between two nearby teams on opposite sides of the Kentucky-Tennessee border, the traditional annual meeting named the “Battle at the Border” turned out to be the Blow-out at the Border.  When a team plans Homecoming, normally they invite a foe to beat handily in front of alumni to reap financial benefits.  Even we at Collegefootballfan.com anticipated a competitive clash here.   Instead, the Murray State Racers (3-4, 0-2) hosted a Homecoming Horror and took a shellacking.  Evidently, we and Murray State both miscalculated their match with Austin Peay!

  • Roy Stewart Stadium at Murray State is known as “The Track”.

“Lot Full” read the sign, but no one was “Home”

     After attending the energetic and competitive meeting the previous Wednesday between Appy State and Coastal Carolina, we disappointingly dropped from a great high to a disappointing low.  With Austin Peay QB Sheldon Layman making his first start this season, the Governors came prepared to play.  The Racers, despite celebrating homecoming, played lethargically and apathetically through this entire game in front of 10,023 at their Roy Stewart Stadium, named for an alum known as a great benefactor of the horse-racing industry.  To our surprise when we arrived, the stadium parking lot was full an hour prior to kick-off.  However, not a single soul could be seen in the tall amphitheater stadium overlooking the packed, parking lot. There didn’t seem to be much enthusiasm amongst the home crowd to get this game underway.   

Let the “Battle” begin

     In the first period, Tanner ripped through the Murray State defense for a 37-yard TD run to start the Racers’ Horror Show a week before Halloween. On their next possession, Snead raced in for another score from the 44. A failed two-point conversion and a missed PAT kept the Govs up, 12-0.

  • Ahmaad Tanner sprints in “The Track” on his way to Austin Peay’s first touchdown at Murray State’s Homecoming Horror.

   Austin Peay’s only score in the second came on Layman’s 35-yard TD strike to Baniko Harvey in the far right corner of the end zone.  We noted as the game progressed that Layman handled the ball adeptly with his quick hands making fakes to throw defenders off to hesitate or cause them to lose track of the ball.  Prior to the end of the half, Murray State QB DJ Williams faked a hand-off and arched a short pop pass over the middle for a two-yard TD to TE Jake Saathoff.  AP stuffed the two-point attempt in the backfield to lead, 19-6.

  • AP LB Jack McDonald denies Murray State on their two-point conversion.

Quarterback controversy – Not!

   At our opener this season, when we saw AP defeat UT Chattanooga, we noted that QB Draylen Ellis needed some improvements as a first-time starter.  Since that opening upset, the Governors won only once in five games. We also attended their 24-22 loss to Tennessee State in Clarksville. Evidently, HC Scotty Walden decided to change QBs for this game, and yesterday he surely liked the results.   Layman’s adept hands and fakes to his running backs and his passing success (16 of 25, 126 yards, two TDS along with his 67 rushing yards) resulted in 497 yards of total offense for the Governors. They eclipsed the 289 gained by the Racers.

  • QB Sheldon Layman played well for the Governors in his first start of the season for the big win.

A one-horse race

    Entering the third period, the Govs maintained their offensive efficiency.  Tanner (20 carries for 148 yards, and three TDs) scored on AP’s first possession to complete a 75-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown run.  In the meantime, the Governor defense stopped the Racers with turnovers on downs several times.  On AP’s ensuing possession, their 67-yard drive ended with Tanner taking the ball over in the Wildcat formation from the two.  The Governors dominated, 33-6, going into the fourth period.  Starting another drive from the 23 in the third, Austin Peay’s offensive efficiencies continued to give the Racers Homecoming Horrors!

  • Brian Snead (4) battles here for yardage among his 132 gained on the ground.

     Layman connected with WR Drae McCray on the 12th play of the next series with a six-yard scoring pass. Homecoming Horrors struck suddenly like a bolt of lightning by the name of Riley Stephens.  The Governor kicking specialist kicked off, raced downfield, made the tackle, caused a fumble, and recovered the football at the three-yard line.  In 623 football games prior to this, we can’t recall ever seeing that happen.  Snead (14 carries, 132 yards, two TDS) ran it across with 12:37 remaining to lead, 47-7.  We’d seen enough.  Disappointed mostly because this game was unexpectedly so one-sided, we exited Roy Stewart Stadium.  Nicknamed “The Track”, we witnessed a one-horse race the entire afternoon.  The horse was named Austin Peay. 

Good timing

     Evidently after our departure, HC Scotty Walden called out his first teamers for the balance of the Racer Homecoming Horror.  The score stood as we had left it, 47-7.  Since the opener against UT Chattanooga and the loss to Tennessee State, we noted improvements in this game for the AP Governors.     With a 3-4, 1-1 record, if QB play continues to improve with Sheldon Layman, the Govs may have a chance to challenge for the conference title that could earn them an FCS bid.  As we heard the fans chant during the two prior games we attended, “Let’s go Peay! Let’s go Peay!”

  • AP Head Coach Scotty Walden and his staff keep their team charged throughout the course of their games.

Coming up, Week 9

     For the Ohio Valley Conference title, AP gets their primary shot next Saturday when they visit the Skyhawks of UT Martin. With a record of 6-1 and 2-0 in OVC play, UTM ranked 13th nationally in last week’s FCS Coaches poll.  A win for the Govs here would give them a chance.  Murray State goes to Tennessee State (4-3, 2-0) in Nashville.   TSU will face UTM later this season in a key OVC contest.

   Collegefootballfan.com heads out to Utah for two games to be played next Saturday. We will do a site-seeing tour starting from Salt Lake City. Utah State (5-2, 3-1) hosts Hawaii (4-4, 1-2) in a Mountain West clash at 1 pm in Logan. We should have plenty of time to travel after to Provo for an 8:15 pm kickoff there. No. 25 BYU (6-2) hosts Virginia (6-2).  Long day for some good competition at two venues we’ll be visiting for the first time.

  • In a rare moment, The Murray State Cheerleaders had something to cheer about early in the game.

Steve Koreivo, ed. Author of Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ’em all!

Game 623: ASU Mountaineers Upset No. 13 Coastal Carolina as time expired, 30-27

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Boone, NC – Three times, Appalachian State mounted comebacks with a big-play offense and late-game, aggressive defense as the Mountaineers upset No. 13 Coastal Carolina as time expired, 30-27.  Mountaineer QB Chase Brice (18 for 28, 347 yards, two TDs) teamed up with receiving mate Malik Williams ten times for 206 yards and two TDs.  The defense held the formidable Chanticleer offense and QB Grayson McCall well below their 48.8 per game scoring average.  They forced three late game punts with sacks, TFLs, and pressure.  They set up Chandler Staton’s 24-yard FG as time expired to give ASU (5-2, 2-1) a leg up over CCU toward the Sun Belt Championship. 

For Collegefootballfan.com, our decision to forgo seeing CCU at Arkansas State at a very non-competitive game last week turned out to be worthwhile.  We attended this very thrilling Mountaineer upset instead, played before a very excited and enthusiastic packed house of 31,061 at Kidd Brewer Stadium!

Happy to be back in Boone when the pom-pom squad hadn’t broken out the winter garments yet.

Blow-out in Boone?

     The Chanticleers of CCU got off to a fast and dominating start.   After taking possession of a turnover on downs from their 28, they drove the length of the field methodically on 10 plays with Shermari Jones scoring on a one-yard run.  Their next possession finished quickly with a 74-yard catch and run when McCall (15 for 23, 291 yards, one TD) hooked up with Kameron Brown.  After the ASU 41-13 loss to Louisiana a week ago, things looked suddenly bleak for the home team down 14-0 to the No. 13 team at the end of the first quarter.

CCU WR Kameron Brown (11) races downfield after catch for a 74-yard touchdown and early 14-0 lead.

“Not so fast, my friends,” as Lee Corso likes to say

    Starting from their 21, ASU’s Brice and Williams initiated their aerial attack with passes of 45 and 32 yards consecutively.  Camerun Peoples carried it in for a one-yard touchdown. The game momentum shifted to the Mountaineers on the ensuing kick-off.  PK Michael Hughes one-hopped a perfect onsides kick toward the right sideline bouncing into the hands of WR Milan Tucker to start ASU with a prize possession at the Coastal Carolina 48.  The Mountaineers wasted no time. Brice connected with Williams on a streak for a 47-yard score to tie the Chants who have rarely been challenged midway through this season.

    After CCU took over on downs late in Q2, a sack of McCall halted their drive at ASU’s 33. Massimo Biscardi made good for a 50-yard FG to put the Chants back in the lead with 2:33 left.  CCU recovered a Mountaineer fumble on a pass play, and took over at the ASU 29. As the half ended, Biscardi made good again from 47 to give CCU a 20-14 lead.

Appalachian State fans among 31,061 at Kidd Brewer Stadium lit up their cell phones for “Sweet Caroline”, but their team turned out the lights on Coastal Carolina’s 11-game SunBelt winning streak.

“E” for Energy and Enthusiasm in ASU student body

    The energetic crowd cheered their Mountaineers (5-2, 2-1) to start the second half.  Their D forced Coastal to punt on their opening possession.  The offense built off that stop and the crowd’s energy.  Brice connected with Corey Sutton for a 28-yard scoring pass to take the lead, 21-20.  The Chants’ offense got back in gear moving the ball 83 yards on nine plays. Jones capped the drive from the one again to put CCU up by six. The Mountaineer offense stayed on track as well relying on its ground game.  Peoples eventually shot through the the right side of his line rambling 43 yards to tie the score.  With a misplayed snap on the extra point that resulted in a failed two-point conversion attempt, the score remained dead-locked at 27 going into the final quarter.    

ASU’s Camerun Peoples finds a seam between his guard Baer Hunter (51) and tackle Craig McFarland (78) to race 43 yards to tie the score at 27 before the end of the third.

   The teams exchanged punts, but then the Mountaineers continued a drive deep in Chanticleer territory.   However, the Chants forced a fumble on a pass completion. DJ Brewer recovered it for CCU on their seven-yard line with less than seven minutes to play.  Surprisingly, many from this very enthusiastic crowd started toward the exits.  Parking seemed limited and tight around downtown Boone. However, the game was tied, critical in the conference standings, undecided, and a potential upset!  Why would anybody leave this one early?  Craving for a Mountaineers upset, the student body, housed throughout Boone, remained in the stands, of course.

Grayson McCall of Coastal Carolina seen here in loss at Appy State in 2021.
ASU’s defense kept tight pressure on McCall and limited their high-scoring offense to earn the Mountaineer upset.

Mountaineers Upset in the making

    Appalachian State’s defense allowed Coastal Carolina only out to the 26, highlighted by a hard tackle for a loss and heavy pressure on McCall. A heavy rush hurried a third down incomplete attempt before forcing a punt.  The Mountaineers resumed possession from their 38.  Brice connected with Williams on consecutive passes of 16 and 19 yards to get down to the CCU 25.  From there, ASU stayed on the ground.  CCU used its remaining time-outs.  In the waning minute, an ASU runner stopped short of the goal line taking a knee to avoid a touchdown and a pending kickoff back to Coastal with time remaining. HC Shawn Clark’s staff managed his team and the game clock well late in this game.  

   His offense eventually centered the ball between the uprights.  With 0:03 left, ASU called time out. Staton put the finishing touch on this Mountaineers upset score with his game-winning 24-yard FG.  The ASU celebration began! The student body stormed the field as the previously undefeated Chants (6-1, 2-1) exited the field with heads hanging.  No shame, but great disappointment.  Tonight, college football was played at its best!

WR Malik Williams snares a 19-yard reception at the CCU 25 to put the Mountaineers near the goal line as the upset draws near.

Next up in Week 8 and Week 9!

   CCU heads home to host Troy next Thursday night.  The Trojans are also 2-1 in conference play, 4-3 overall.  Their defense only allows 19.7 ppg. The can also present CCU with a challenge. 

  ASU comes back to Kidd Brewer to host the UL Monroe Warhawks for Homecoming. Fresh off their 31-28 upset over Liberty despite their record of 3-3, 1-2, will ULM surprise ASU?  

   Collegefootballfan.com takes a lesser path nearer to home this Saturday, but to what should be another competitive game.  Though both squads share non-winning records, they look evenly matched. We take our first trip ever to Murray, Kentucky to see the Murray State Racers (3-3, 1-1) take on the Austin Peay Governors (2-4, 1-1) in an Ohio Valley Conference rivalry.

   This local run two hours away will give us a bit of a reprieve before next Saturday in College Football Week 9. We finish our “Achtoberfest” (“acht” means eight in German) with our seventh and eighth games of the month.  Both will be played next Saturday in Utah.  Our first game will be either Hawaii at Utah State or UCLA at Utah. The final plan will be determined by TV schedules based on this week’s game results for the two PAC-12 teams.  Our night cap is set in stone – Virginia at BYU.  Should be a high-scoring affair.  We look forward to our Beehive State bonanza!

Steveo Koreivo, ed. Author of Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ’em all. Click on the title to buy this fun book!

Bedlam in Boone!
Rooting for UCLA to play Utah at 1 pm MT because we are big Bruin fans!

Steveo’s Salvos: College Football Week 8

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Buzz on, Buzz off

    During the course of all the controversy seen on TV and read about regarding the debacle witnessed at Neyland Stadium Saturday night, no media has mentioned this, but we will here – underage drinking.  Why hasn’t it occurred to anybody that not until recently do college football stadiums sell alcohol at football games on campuses?  The problems and most launchings of objects (SEC broadcasters noted water bottles, mustard bottles and golf balls, but made no mentions of aluminum beer cans and bottles lying on the ground) came from the student sections primarily. When we attended college, many states lowered the drinking age to eighteen.  We are proud to say that we were among those and had a great time when we could. Even better, we became the reason most states increased the legal drinking age back to 21!

   No wonder why his happened.   Put a bunch of college kids together en-mass and sell alcohol. Give them all swipe cards and fake IDs and it’s easy. The 21-year-olds are going to help the younger students get their alcohol as well.  Open up alcohol sales at college football games and kids make ongoing efforts as to how to get alcohol.  How can college administrations be so blind? In the past, partying went on before games and after in the parking lots or in dorms.  All those who matriculated over the decades know this.  Now that alcohol sells in college stadiums on campuses during games, the party continues there.  This tragedy was bound to happen, and it won’t be the last time.

  • Our Game 600th tailgate party’s “before” picture. Tailgating is a great tradition of college football, but maybe schools need to look more closely about sales inside their stadiums to avoid problems like the debacle witnessed at Neyland Stadium last Saturday.

    The SEC thinks a $250,00 fine is going to stop this?   Reports say that Tennessee now has to review files to find the specific culprits and ban them from future games. Why not? It’s only a start though. Everything is being recorded nowadays.  They did this years ago during the “Ice bowl” incidents in Giants Stadium with photographs taken to make arrests.  If the SEC or NCAA really want to quell such a debacle witnessed at Neyland Stadium from ever happening again, ban the sales of alcohol at upcoming games.  This would send the strongest message to make the most impact.  

     Wonder why nobody is addressing this? Surely, it’s got to do with the money the schools now reap from alcohol sales. It always comes down to money.  These institutions of higher learning may use this education offered here and learn to use those profits to avoid these embarrassing situations better in the future.  Free advice. Meantime, party on!

“SEC Smoke and Mirrors” Finebaum’s inept input of the week

     Finebaum’s doing his best to try to keep Cincinnati out of the CFP.  He says that even if they take care of all their business on the field, the Bearcats are not a lock to get in.  He says they’ve “managed their schedule well” even beating not so great Indiana and No. 13 Notre Dame (Paul as a Tennessee grad knows the SEC “manages” schedules better than any conference).  

     He says Cincy is not beating teams that matter, but Alabama wins over Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Mercer, Miami on a neutral field, and the rest of Alabama’s slate that includes New Mexico State matter? The Tide lost to A&M, but the 49-9 win over Mississippi State shows The Tide is back?  Those same 3-3 Bulldogs got beat by Memphis, a fellow member of The American Athletic that Cincinnati will most likely win.   He says they’ll need lot of help from the teams like Oklahoma State and carnage in the Big Ten.  So, what he’s saying if Alabama doesn’t beat Auburn and still possibly beats Georgia in the SEC final, Bama still gets in with two losses and Cincy won’t, though they are undefeated?

    In the past, teams like Bama got credit running up scores against also-rans in their conference. Different standards for the other conferences, right?  An undefeated Penn State beat Indiana one year by only 14 points and fell in the rankings.  All these SEC losses this year to UCLA, Pitt, Penn State, Boston College, and Memphis (who beat SEC “power” Mississippi State) just get swept under the rug because Paul can’t admit that the SEC overall is not competitive with other Power 5 (make that 6 by adding the AAC) conferences. 

  • Someone tell Paul Finebaum that the SEC has not fared well this season against non-conference FBS opponents. We watched Penn State beat Auburn, 28-20, this season among the SEC losses.

     Georgia and Alabama are among the best no doubt, but he has to admit as a neutral observer which he’s not, the competition against these two on paper (based on what, recruiting rankings?) may make them appear good, but in head-to-head competition among the rank and file of college football, they don’t prove any superiority on the playing field;  nor do they against the only two superior members in their conference.  This year, in the case of Cincinnati, they just happen to be the best of that AAC crew. Live with it. 

   Wake up, Paul! Stop influencing the media interns around you.   You can’t kid the true fans who’ve been around a while.  You’re just one of us millions, but for some reason, they hand you a microphone and give you a platform. If you want to contribute to the good of college football, go straighten out the problems at your alma mater, Tennessee.   BTW, also go see if you can get them to reinstate Army on their schedule.  Tell them the Cadets lost two games this year now so there’s nothing to fear.  Maybe the Vols can entertain them now.

Schedule updates and options

    With our trip back and forth to Boone, NC for this Wednesday night’s clash, we decided we’ll go to our closest game possible on Saturday in Austin Peay at Murray State.  They are not the best of teams right now at 2-4, 0-1 and 3-3, 0-1, but based on their records, it should be a close game.  That’s our primary objective. With kick-off at 2 pm and only a two-hour drive each way, we’ll get back in time to catch up on the day’s highlights.  Also, from a personal perspective, we had a grade school teacher and knew a player from our high school in NJ many years ago who both played at Murray State, so we look forward to see where these guys once played their college football.

  • At Appy State in Boone, NC, these fans were prepared for the elements in October before the Georgia State game in 2014. We hope it won’t be snowing come this Wednesday night versus Coastal Carolina!

   On an upbeat note, because of updated TV schedules posted, we found our trip to Utah on October 30 will definitely allow us to see two games. We have our tickets for Virginia at BYU, a Bronco Mendenhall reunion that will be played in Provo at 8:15 PM MT.  AT 1 pm MT, Hawaii plays Utah State in Logan.  The starting times for both work well to get us from one to the other in between. 

    However, we await the announcement of a game time we are more interested in.  UCLA comes to Salt Lake City to do battle in a PAC-12 clash at Utah.  If this game gets assigned to the earlier time slot, we’ll be at Salt Lake instead of Logan.  It’s also a shorter ride to Provo from there, and depending on what happens this weekend, it could have implication in the PAC-12 South.  Either way, we look forward to a great trip where we will see two games in the Beehive State instead of just one.  We look forward to it!

SEC – benefactor and supporter of FCS football, or alms for the losers?

    Here are the 14 FCS teams this year that reap the benefits of “charitable” contributions from the SEC this season. It’s so nice that all the Power 5 teams in the SEC are willing to step down to invite one FCS school with their hand out to come get them stepped on for about $500K. This generally assures each benevolent host with a sixth win if necessary hopefully to get more funding later from a bowl game physically near them:

Mercer, Alabama State, Arkansas – Pine Bluff, Samford, Charleston Southern, UT Chattanooga, McNeese State, Austin Peay, Tennessee State, SE Missouri State, Eastern Illinois, Tennessee Tech, Prairie View A&M, and East Tennessee State.  Thanks to all of them for showing up except for ETSU who had the audacity to return Vanderbilt’s favor by beating them instead of losing to them.  They may not be invited back to Nashville, but others may be willing to consider offering their monetary benevolence in Vandy’s place if the circumstances are right.

  • UT Chattanooga LB Kam Jones makes one of four unassisted tackles against Austin Peay in our FCS opener. The Moccasins gave Kentucky all it could handle leading 16-14 in the fourth before falling to its SEC opponent, 28-23, on September 18.

WEEK 7 Game Reviews and What Lies Ahead

   Though reported last week since Louisiana (5-1, 3-0) and Appalachian State (4-2, 1-1) played last Wednesday, concerns arose about our game this Wednesday game since the Ragin’ Cajuns handled the Mountaineers in dominating fashion, 41-13. The Mountaineers rarely get dominated by anybody, especially within the SunBelt Conference.  Collegefootballfan.com travels to Boone, NC to see ASU play No. 14 Coastal Carolina.  The Chanticleers have blown away every opponent thus far except for 3-4 Buffalo, by three points.  We doubt the Mountaineers looked past the Ragin Cajuns. However, despite CCU averaging 48.9 ppg with brilliant QB Grayson Wells taking charge, the cumulative record of its six opponents stands at 14-28.  Before Louisiana drubbed them, Appy allowed 20 ppg.  Look for the Mountaineers to give CCU its toughest game of the season prepped for a potential upset at home…

Our history didn’t repeat  

  Syracuse didn’t repeat the upset over Clemson on a Friday night like the one we attended in 2017. Clemson’s defense allows only 12.5 ppg and SU looked pretty inept on offense to begin with. The 17-14 Tiger win made sense.  The Tigers may be in trouble at Pitt this weekend. The Panthers (5-1, 2-0) average 40 ppg against FBS foes. Clemson (4-2, 3-1) averages 14.8 ppg offensively against the FBS. Clemson defeated Georgia Tech at home, 14-8. Two weeks later, Pitt walloped Georgia Tech in Atlanta, 52-21. The Panthers look forward to making up for a few big losses to the Tigers in two of the last three years.  They should put the Tigers away regarding even a divisional title this season.

Cincy and Georgia on collision course for post-season rematch

     No. 2 Cincy, as mentioned previously, does what it has to by showing pollsters they can dominate anybody in the AAC as they did in their 56-21 win over Central Florida. They will do the same against Navy (1-5) this week. Look for Desmond Ridder to have big day passing. Navy’s secondary has to be slowest in the nation…No. 2 Georgia exposed Kentucky (6-1, 3-1) as the SEC also-ran it is. UK should get back on track against 3-3, 1-2 Mississippi State on the road. Other-wise, the Cats will get exposed even further since Bama blew them away to Paul Finebaum’s liking last week. Georgia rests this weekend to prep for the struggling Florida Gators in Jacksonville the week after.

We have to take the Good with the Bad

     NC State soundly defeated Boston College, 33-7.  The good for CFF.com is that on November 13, No. 18 NC State at No. 16 Wake Forest could be for all the marbles in the ACC Atlantic division.  The bad news is we decided to hold off on returning this weekend to watch Louisville host BC. We may still return to LU if the Clemson game means anything…

No. 3 Oklahoma remains undefeated with their 52-31 demise of TCU. Their offense still saves their poor defense in every game.  An upset still awaits them, but not this week against Kansas. Away games against No. 20 Baylor and No. 8 Oklahoma State still lie ahead, however. A No. 3 OU in the CFP forces us to refrain from buying any tickets to the CFP Orange Bowl. If they play in the CFP there again, we don’t want to waste our time and money attending a guaranteed blow-out as we’ve regretfully witnessed three times already.

  • Joe Burrow and LSU provided us with our “third time the charm” to the national championship when the Tigers torched Oklahoma in the CFP Peach Bowl in 2019, 66-28. Previously, Alabama and Clemson rambled past the Sooners in lop-sided CFP games. No more OU Bowls for us!

Defense Department Football

     Army’s triple-option revved up late against the tough Wisconsin defense, but the Badgers (3-3) mustered up just enough offense to get the win, 20-14. We predicted Army (4-2) would struggle in their previous two games and the next two teams which provide the meat of their FBS schedule as an Independent. No. 16 Wake Forest had a bye last week to work on stopping their triple option.  The balanced Demon Deacon offense is probably the best the Cadets will oppose this season averaging 38.6 ppg. WKU’s offense is probably the closest Army faced previously.  The Hilltoppers tallied 35 in a three-point loss to the Cadets.  QB Sam Hartman will be as effective if not more than QB Bailey Zappe who plays for WKU.

    Air Force (6-1, 3-0) defeated a tough Boise State squad on the Blue Turf last week, 24-17. No 24 San Diego State (6-0, 2-0) visits Colorado Springs this weekend.  They have the best win between both teams in a 33-31 home win vs. Utah.  We hate to pick against the favorite team of our late, great friend Tom Ables, Mr. San Diego State, but based on their triple option efficiency and their home turf, Air Force will win a tight one here to get the signature win they want to crack the Top 25.

Other Best Games of WEEK 8

Wisconsin (3-3, 1-2) struggles offensively cracking 20 points at most on a good day against decent competition.  No. 25 Purdue (4-2, 2-1) plays good defense as well allowing only 14 ppg.  U of W’s offense will not challenge Purdue.  After a big upset at Iowa last week, 24 -7, Purdue should win by a comparable score over the Badgers here at home.

Scouting ahead, hopefully

    We await the time of the UCLA at Utah game on October 30 hoping that these two PAC-12 foes will meet at 1 PM MT in Salt Lake City.  We’re hoping that this will be the first of two games we will see in the Beehive State that day as mentioned earlier. So, the outcomes of this weekend’s games for both will be essential for TV Scheduling.  

    Both Oregon State and Utah defeated USC in the Coliseum by comparable scores. The Utes (4-2, 3-0) showed they have a little more firepower than does Oregon State with a 35-21 win over Arizona State last week. We saw OSU (4-2, 2-1) on TV a few weeks ago, and they played with tenacity.  At home, we think the Beavers will win close in this one.

    UCLA (5-2, 3-1) hosts No. 10 Oregon (5-1,2-1), but since the Bruins won at home over LSU, they’ve lost to Fresno State and Arizona State at the Rose Bowl.  Oregon beat Ohio State on the road, and this defense can hold the Bruins down. They also just got by the Cal Bears last week, 24-17.  In the Chip Kelly reunion, we look for the Ducks to escape from these Bruins as well by more than a touchdown. If both games go as we predict, we assume UCLA-Utah won’t be on at prime time. Yes!

  • Fond memories of the last PAC-12 game we attended when UCLA played USC. When and where, we don’t remember, but who cares?

SEC fodder

    Tennessee (4-3, 2-2) at No. 4 Alabama (6-1, 4-1) will start strong after their fans embarrassed by the debacle witnessed at Neyland Stadium last week. They will hang until about Q3 when Alabama will start to handle them like the Eastern division also-ran they are among the rest of the Southeast Conference.  The score will seem closer than it should have been in the end, but the pollsters will still bestow the accolades to keep Bama at No. 4. 

Need more intersectional games like this

   USC (3-3) travels to No. 13 Notre Dame (5-1) for their traditional intersectional rivalry. The Trojans score at least 24 points even when they lose.  Aside from the Wisconsin game where the Irish got 21 points from defense and special teams, the Irish offense always scored just enough to win close games.  They will have to in this one, too, but against this hated rival, the Irish may not pull this one out.  Jack Coan is not their answer at QB and their younger QBs still have much to learn. The Trojans will pull an upset in South Bend.

Steve Koreivo-ed. Author of “Tales from the Tailgate”

Game 622: UT Chattanooga Upsets No. 10 East Tennessee, 21-16

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Chattanooga, TN – In the game known as the “Rail Rivalry”, UT Chattanooga pulled off the upset over FCS No. 10 East Tennessee State in a key Southern Conference contest, 21-16.  The combined rushing of Moccasin RBs Tyrell Price (102 yards on 14 carries, two TDs) and Ailym Ford (97 yards on 14 carries, one TD) outshone the Buccaneers duo of Quay Homes and Jacob Saylors, 197 yards to 186.  However, timely defensive efforts posted by UTC DE Deveonnsha Maxwell’s five sacks and S Jay Person’s turnovers keyed stops to hold the undefeated Buccaneers (6-1, 3-1) to 16 points, well under their 39.3 ppg heading into this game.  LB Ty Boeck led the UTC defense with ten stops.

Defensive domination at the start

     As missed FG by ETSU and a fumble recovery by Person held the Buccaneers in check before the Mocs started a drive before the end of a scoreless first period. On the first play of Q2, Price’s eight-yard run put the home team up in front of 7,838 fans at Finely Stadium, 7-0.  Interceptions by both teams foiled ensuing drives.   Jerrell Lawson’s put the Moccs at their 42.  They drove to the ETSU 11, but Buccaneer DB Alijah Huzzie picked off Cole Copeland (8 for 14, 82 yards, one INT) in the end zone to thwart that drive. The score stood 7-0 in favor of the Mocs at the half.

Offenses start firing in third

    After the first half, Buccaneer DB Tyree Robinson recovered a Moc fumble to gain possession at the UTC 38.  Tyler Keltner finally put ETSU on the scoreboard to trail, 7-3, with his 51-yard FG.  On the Mocs’ next series, Ford broke through over left tackle for a 49-yard TD jaunt to extend UTC’s lead, 14-3.  After a kick return of 49 yards out to the 45 by Buc Trey Fester, Jacob Saylors answered Ford’s jaunt bursting off right tackle unscathed for a 54-yard TD run.  The teams went into the final period with UT Chattanooga up by four, but ETSU was on the move with a first and ten at the Moccasin 38.

    ETSU drove the ball down to the nine.  On fourth and two, Buccaneer HC Randy Sanders decided to go for the first, at least.  QB Tyler Riddell (17 of 29, 182 yards, one TD, one INT) mishandled the snap in the shotgun, and Jay Person jumped on it quickly to gain possession at the 21 with 10:20 left to play.  The Mocs capitalized with another long run.   Price raced 58 yards to paydirt to extend the UT Chattanooga lead, 21-10.

 Maxwell brings down his Silver Hammer, but Bucs rally

    A sack by Maxwell on a fourth and long turned the ball back to UTC on downs at their 42.  The Buccaneers used up all three time-outs before UTC punted back from their 46.  Two more sacks on consecutive plays by Maxwell put East Tennessee in a fourth and 25 situation.  On a long pass attempt, UTC got called for pass interference.  ETSU maintained possession and scored when Riddell connected with WR Will Huzzie who dove for the pylon for a 28-yard TD.  The review stood.  The two-point attempt got picked off by the ubiquitous Person.  With :39 left, ETSU recovered an onsides kick, but they got penalized five yards for going offsides.  UT Chattanooga recovered the subsequent onsides and as time ran out, scuffles started, but ended quickly. 

    The Mocs grabbed the Rail Trophy to keep for the third year in a row for victory in this rivalry. The players carried it off and started the celebration along with their fans. Both teams have one loss each in conference play.  Hopefully at least one of these two will get a bid in the 24-team FCS playoff format.  Collegefootballfan.com plans to go if either hosts a contest for the FCS championship.

  • “To the victors go the spoils!”

Week Eight

    UT Chattanooga travels to play Samford next Saturday to continue SOCON play through the end of the season which finishes on November 13.  Samford (3-3,1-1) fell to ETSU previously, 55-48, in OT.  ETSU hosts Furman (4-2, 2-1). Going into conference play next weekend, five SOCON teams each have one loss.  The others include VMI (lost 37-34 in OT to UTC already) and Mercer.  Through the end, SOCON teams should probably determine their ultimate champion in exciting fashion!

    Collegefootballfan.com resumes games this Wednesday evening when we travel to Boone, NC to see No. 14 Coastal Carolina (6-0, 2-0) facing Appalachian State (4-2, 1-1) in a SunBelt battle.  On Saturday, for convenience due to proximity, we may visit Southeast Missouri (2-5, 2-1) at UT Martin (5-1, 2-0) or Austin Peay (2-4, 0-1) at Murray State (3-3, 0-1) in the struggling Ohio Valley Conference.  A decision will be made later this week.  We’ve never ventured to either host venue in the past.  Stay tuned.

Extra Points:

   Stopped at Naked River Brewing Company located at the north end of Finley on Reggie White Boulevard for beers and a sandwich before the game. We recommend their Double Slap brew, a double IPA.  Their pulled pork sandwich was the tastiest eaten since we’ve moved to Tennessee.  We’ll go there again whether we attend another game at Finley or visit Chattanooga for any other reason!

   Ruben Studdard of American Idol fame, performed The Star-Spangled Banner before the kickoff. He lives in Tennessee and has a connection with someone at UT Chattanooga.  He played college football for Alabama A&M according to his biographies on line.

SEC! SEC!

   Of note in the Gameday 2021 program available at Finley Stadium, it mentions that ETSU’s 23-3 victory over Vanderbilt, one of ten recorded by FCS programs over the FBS this season, resulted in the widest victory margin.  Against another SEC opponent, Kentucky, in Week 3, UT Chattanooga led the now No. 15 Wildcats (6-1), 16-14, early in Q4.  A TD drive and pick-six gave UK a 28-23 win before a 75-yard TD drive by the Mocs when time expired in Lexington.

-Steve Koreivo, ed.

Game 621: Memphis Tigers’ speed burns Navy, 35-17, with big plays

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Memphis, TN – The Memphis Tigers’ speed burned Navy to overwhelm them on both sides of the football to subdue the Mids, 35-17.  Memphis QB Seth Henigan needed to complete only eight of 12 passes for 215 yards.   Three came on different drives went for 49 yards to Jason Ivory, 74 for a TD to Eddie Lewis, and 51 to Koby Drake in the third to set up scores.  Once in the red zone, the Tigers capitalized with short scores. Henigan sat out the fourth quarter.

Two lightning strikes with rolling thunder in between

    Henigan tossed a three-yard TD to Sean Dykes to finish the opening drive of the game set up by Ivory’s catch.  After that, Navy’s “best defense” dominated to keep the Tiger offense. They kept them off the field with a 21-play, 11:50 minute scoring drive.  The Mids converted first downs three times on third and once on fourth to sustain the drive.  Navy controlled the line of scrimmage until FB James Harris II plunged into the end zone from the two with 20 seconds left tin the first.  His Mom sitting nearby cheered wildly, “His first touchdown!” However, Tiger WR Calvin Austin III took a reverse toss on the next Memphis play from scrimmage. He raced unscathed around the right side 69 yards for a 14-7 home team lead as the period ended.

  • Memphis’s Brandon Thomas closes out the first half scoring with this three-yard run.

    In the second, Navy LB Diego Fagot intercepted and returned for an apparent pick-six.  However, a gold helmet lain in the middle of the field, and the refs assessed Navy with a personal foul due to participation without a helmet.  The Mids settled for Bijan Nichols’ 35-yard FG as a result of the game’s only turnover. Memphis countered again quickly with Henigan’s 74-yard scoring strike to Lewis.  The Tiger receiving corps could not be covered by Navy’s secondary.  With 40 seconds left, Memphis capped the scoring in the half with a 12-play, 63-yard drive with Brandon Thomas taking it over from the three.  Tigers 28, Mids 10 at intermission.

  • Navy’s Diego Fagot (54) returned this INT for an apparent TD. However, note helmetless Tyler Fletcher (47) and his lid lying on the field. Penalty!

Down but not out, yet

   Navy (1-5, 1-3) opened the second half with a 75-yard scoring drive finishing unusually with 21-yard TD pass from QB Tai Lavatai to WR Mychal Cooper.  Maybe the Mids could make this a game with a key turnover or two, but as noted, the Memphis Tiger offense possessed superior speed to allow the Mids to get within scoring distance.  Henigan’s 51-yard pass to Drake put them at Navy’s 17 on the next drive. Marquavious Weaver ran in from the four to go up, 35-17, with 6:07 left in Q3.

Playing through

   The teams played to a scoreless standstill the rest of the game. Memphis HC Ryan Silverfield inserted second teamers into his offense in the fourth.  Down by 18, Navy converted a fake punt into a first down and picked up 15 more on a roughing the passer infraction.  However, starting QB Lavatai got injured on a sack of 10 yards by Rodney Owens on the next play. Xavier Arline replaced him for the balance of the game.  The Mids attempted a 55-yard FG by Nichols, but came up empty. After that, Memphis gave its reserves some game experience on offense to run out the clock.

  • The Mids sustained a long drive of 21 plays for their first score by converting three third downs and a fourth into first downs.

Next up

With the score settled, 35-17, Memphis stands at 4-3, 1-2 ending a three-game losing streak. They travel to Central Florida a week from Saturday.  Cincinnati does not appear on their slate this season.  However, Navy hosts the No. 3 Bearcats that same day. Collegefootballfan.com has its second game of Week 7 tomorrow.  We’ll see FCS No. 10 East Tennessee State (6-0, 3-0) visit UT Chattanooga (2-4, 1-2) in a key Southern Conference match.  We’ll also be sure to visit the Chattanooga Brewing Company right next to Finley Stadium as we did in our season opener there.

Extra Points:

    Speaking of side trips, we visited Elvis Presley’s Graceland before heading to the Liberty Bowl.  St. Laurie and I visited the Elvis Exhibitions and The King’s airplanes.  Enjoyed the videos of his concerts gone by, his car collection, and the tribute to his service in the Army.  Can’t imagine many celebrities nowadays that would make that commitment as Elvis did.  We laughed having our pictures inserted with Elvis and co-stars on some of his classic movie posters.  It’s great to have the time now, since retired, to go to games and plan some interesting side trips as well. 

    We also met up with a long-time friend and Auburn fan/alum Rick Selleck who’s had some health issues. He’s recovering nicely though.  We had hoped to have him join us at the game, but instead we had lunch together at the Germantown Commissary for some great BBQ. We’ll catch up again in the future now that we are fellow Tennesseans!

  • Memphis Tiger Belles!

Out with the new, in with the old

   Still trying to get used to new technologies replacing old traditions like game programs and paper tickets at college games. Regarding programs, why can’t the publish laminated tri-fold as least with team rosters and some update stats?  It’s better than whipping out a cell phone to look stuff up.  We don’t miss all the ads and overdone historical analysis of seasons past and traditional game histories from cover to cover in every edition.  It would be nice, however, to allow fans to have basic game information in their hands for quick references.

  Regarding electronic tickets, here’s an issue run into at this game.  Purchased from the Naval Academy, the cell phone ticket gave “7:30” as the start time.  They need to at least indicate the time zone.  The game kicked off at 6:30 pm CST. That is where the ticket holder is going to attend the game.  Had another phone app not been checked, we would have been late.  We had to cancel a tailgate plan to get to the game on time, find parking, and walk half a mile to the game.  Luckily, we got there on time, but I will definitely talk with the Navy ticket department about this.

This even surprised us, this was only the third time we attended a Memphis game. They have won two and lost one. We first saw them play Army at West Point when both played in Conference USA. Though we’ve been to the Liberty Bowl before, we saw the actual bowl game in 2009 when Kentucky defeated East Carolina.

  • Surprisingly as AAC West foes for eight years now, this is only the second time we’ve seen these two butt heads! (not butt-heads)

Steveo’s Salvos: College Football Week 7

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We at Collegefootballfan.com look forward to College Football Week 7 as most teams are near or have played six of twelve scheduled games so far. Results have started separating the men from the boys as we say in old school lingo. What makes this upcoming week special is that this is the first this season when we’ll attend two games. In past years, we accomplished that by Labor Day weekend, but in the new digs this year, we just didn’t get it together.

On Thursday night, we’ll attend the game in Memphis (3-3, 0-2) where one of our annual stalwarts, Navy, will play against a good Memphis team loaded with offensive firepower in an American Athletic Conference game. Navy (1-4, 1-1) seems to be getting on track now offensively with a QB more skilled than what we saw they had when they lost to Air Force earlier this season.

This Saturday, we return to Chattanooga, site of our season opener. UTC Chattanooga has struggled since to 2-4, 1-1 in the Southern Conference. Forecasted as a pre-season FCS Top 25, they’ll entertain the No. 10 FCS team leading the SOCON, Eastern Tennessee State University (6-0, 3-0) . If the Moccasins have any chance to win the conference to get a playoff bid, they need to start with a victory here. Successful seasons are on the line for all four teams on our docket during College Football Week 7.

Quarterback Depth Perception

The advent of the transfer portals makes QB depth the toughest problem for Head Coaches today.  Teams face this everywhere.  A short-term issue causes a long term-void.  Alabama exemplified the issue a few years ago.  Jalen Hurts won a national championship his freshman year.  Tua Tagovailoa stepped into the championship game to seal the victory and the fate of Hurts at the same time. A year later, the sophomore QB lingered along the sideline after a stellar season.  He eventually transferred to Oklahoma.  There, he led the Sooners to the CFP, a loss to Bama in the playoff, and moved on to start in the NFL.  It worked well for Alabama and for Hurts, but the issue will continue, and it won’t always work for both parties in the end.

  • Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa completes first pass in 2018 Peach Bow to defeat Oklahoma and Jalen Hurts, 45-34.

Best-laid plans?

Georgia HC Kirby Smart may be living up to his surname as he has eight QBs on his roster after JT Daniels transferred over from USC two years ago.  He went down to injury, and Stetson Bennet stepped back in.  Luckily for UGA, they had an experienced QB who hung around as a back-up his senior year. A senior signal-caller hanging around will be an unusual luxury in the future with the portal transfer system in place – a year later that senior will be playing for somebody else (Baylor’s Charley Brewer, for instance, going to Utah).

    Among the other six slingers at Georgia, three are Freshman (I hope that term doesn’t offend any of them). If Daniels comes back this season, Bennet’s not going anywhere if he’s needed again.  How many of these current benchwarmers in the waiting wings for the Dawgs will still be on the roster in their Junior or Senior year if they don’t get any playing time.  Like Hurts, who can blame them from seeking playing time?  Surely with their credentials to play for Georgia, they will find playing time elsewhere.

Exposure

  Look at the situation last weekend when Penn State had to pull starter Sean Clifford due to an injury in the second quarter leading 17-3.  Back up Ta‘Quan Roberson came in to replace him.  Without game experience, he played ineffectively to fall to Iowa, 23-20.  QBs going consistently for three and outs cannot win football games.  Why didn’t James Franklin have a more experienced back up QB on hand?  Well, Will Levis took that transfer portal last season for greener pastures. How did that work out?  Great for Levis and the Kentucky Wildcats.   Levis is the starting QB at UK, 6-0, ranked 11th, and playing No. Georgia in a big SEC East showdown this Saturday.

    The portal challenges coaches to win with the best QB possible (ask Nick Saban) and keep the rest of his back-ups happy to stick around waiting for a chance to replace the starter.  If that doesn’t happen quickly, they’ll find that portal.  Inexperience comes into play after they leave. If your starter goes down, how do you prepare?  Texas A&M’s Zach Calzada, another freshman, replaced their former starter to lead A&M to their win over No.1 Alabama.  Based on his performance, does he continue to start?

  As a frosh, he’s got a few more years ahead of him.  Haynes King and Eli Stowers, also freshman, stock Jimbo Fishers cupboard well for now, but what will they be thinking next spring?  “Do I stay or do I go?”  Going forward, it’s going to be imperative to keep a starting QB healthy, but if not, you have to have the next guy prepared to step-in.   The back-up will have to have enough experience to keep him happy and effective.  If not, he’s no longer there.  Pot-luck after that.

“Captain Obvious”

     Usually when “guru” Paul Finebaum speaks, he’s wrong.  Before the season, he said Oklahoma is his dark horse if Alabama doesn’t win because the Sooners have a good defense. Really?  That has proven wrong. Unless he considers 60th in scoring defense and 112th against the pass as a good defense.   Last week, he said he has “concern for The Big Ten” as a conference. They can’t be taken seriously, he insisted.  The conference still has four undefeated teams now that conference play has started, and five are ranked in the Top Ten this week (only two SEC teams). 

After the only team he stakes his reputation on, Alabama, fell to Texas A&M, 41-38, he labeled Alabama’s defense as “disgraceful”, and their play calling as “inexplicable” in their first loss this year. The loss marked the first to a non-ranked team in fifty such contests and the first for Nick Saban to a former assistant.

    Well, no kidding!   A lot of other people who watched the game on television like he did think the same.  As a pundit totally focused on The Crimson Tide, why didn’t he consider these weaknesses before this game rather than vote them No. 1 in the nation each week beforehand?  As an analyst, this proves he’s unqualified.  After the fact, his opinion is pretty consistent amongst most college football fans.  He states the obvious.  He second guesses Nick Saban of all coaches?  Based on what?  What value does he bring to college football other than to be Alabama’s head cheerleader and to build the reputations for other teams in the SEC who fall to The Crimson Tide season after season? Maybe he can do hotel commercials on television instead!

  • Clemson’s DeShaun Watson was the first QB we saw shred an Oklahoma defense in a 2015 CFP game, 37-17.

Some Food for Thought

   Reviewing RJ Young’s Top 25 last Monday, which many did not agree with, gave us some ideas.  We didn’t agree with all the rankings, but we liked his originality that can be considered.  He basically took all ten currently undefeated teams and ranked them No. 1 – 10. Next, he rated all once-beaten teams and ranked them persistently between No. 11-20. The last five of the 25 consisted of some two-loss and one-loss teams where he considered a little more regarding strength of schedules among them. 

Nice thing here is that eight of ten conferences are ranked in his Top 25.  The MAC and ConferenceUSA did not make his poll.  Looking at the overall quality of wins between those two conferences, there’d be no or little argument from anyone.  If a decision is made for eight teams to qualify for the CFP and the rankings finish along the current lines, you could have eight conferences being represented based on that criteria.  Or, for an argument that some of the best teams (based on human perceptions and bias) don’t make it, at least a preliminary playoff could be set up among the Group of Five in a play-in format to at least give this group representation. At least one, but maybe even two teams should play depending on the year.  They represent 50% of the Football Bowl Subdivision.  Here’s Young’s current rankings. It’s interesting.

Our Best of Week 6 in Review

     We had hoped for BYU to stay undefeated for our trip to Provo on October 30, but Boise (3-3) ruined that for us, 26-17.  The Cougars, ranked No. 19, visit 5-1 Baylor this week meaning the winner gets to stay or move up into the rankings. We still look forward to seeing BYU host pass-happy Brennan Armstrong and Virginia in Provo…In the consolation game between Ole Miss and Arkansas, we gave the Rebels the nod as the home team.  They trailed for a while, but the home field must’ve helped their comeback in their 52-51 victory.  Wonder how Finebaum felt about those defenses if he watched, or cared? They both stay in the rankings at Nos. 12 and 21 respectively.

Cincinnati’s way

   We thought “improved” Navy (1-4) could possibly throw a wrench into Cincy’s success if they knocked off now No. 23 SMU (6-0) at home. Luckily for No. 3 Cincy of the American Athletic, SMU pulled it out in the end over the Mids, 31-24, to stay undefeated.  If the Mustangs stay that way, they will pose The Bearcats with their toughest challenge if ranked and undefeated when they meet on November 20. In the meantime, the Bearcats won how they have to to stay in CFP contention.  They did it right blasting Temple, 52-3. We may consider going to the American Athletic playoff in Cincy, most likely against the winner between SMU and Houston at this time… As expected, Georgia’s defense handled Auburn, 34-10. Reminder: UGA defeated Cincy in the Peach Bowl last year, 24-21. Rematch in the CFP this year?

  • We got to see Cincinnati and Central Florida square off last year in an American Athletic Conference game. The Bearcats 36-33 win drew them a bid to the Peach Bowl to play Georgia. Now they look to roll everyone left on their slate to get another possible shot at the Bulldogs for a shot at No. 1.

Upset? Or, which doesn’t belong and why?

   In the battle of winless teams, UMASS (1-5) “surprised” UCONN, 27-13.  We banked on the Huskies taking this one based on two consecutive games where they hung in and lost by two in each.  The Minutemen surprised here. Now what’s of interest this week, UCONN (0-7) hosts Ivy Leaguer Yale (2-2). If the Bulldogs beat the Huskies, what is the bottom line for UCONN who’s already lost to FCS Holy Cross of the very weak Patriot League already? Three rival teams ahead of Yale in the Ivy – Harvard, Princeton, and Dartmouth- are all 4-0. As for UMASS, in November, they’ll host Colonial Athletic members No. 14 Rhode Island (6-0) and Maine (1-4).  If both FBS bottom-feeders stumble in these games, we say, rejoin the FCS!

QB Rally Needed

    We looked for Penn State to beat Iowa, but the story comes down to the Lions being up 17-3 in the second when QB Sean Clifford left the game with an unknown injury.  Ta’Quan Roberson stepped in and could not move the Nittany Lions against a tough Iowa defense.  The Hawkeyes prevailed, 23-20, and rose to No. 2.  Not sure what Clifford’s status is, but Penn State needs him back quickly with a date at Ohio State after Illinois comes to State College for a visit.  PSU’s success for the year will be predicated on their QB’s performance, whoever it is, going forward.

Our Favorite Games of Week 7 to come

   Well one of interest played Tuesday night. In a game between top Sunbelt squads, Louisiana (5-1, 3-0) surprisingly walloped Appalachian State (4-2, 1-1), 41-13. We have interest in both. Next Wednesday, we’ll be in Boone, NC to see Appy host No. 15 Coastal Carolina (6-0, 2-0).  On November 20, we penned in Louisiana at Liberty (5-1). With potential bowl games here in the southeast, any of these teams can potentially wind up on our schedule once again…Speaking of weekday nights, we’ll see Navy’s improved triple-option against Memphis on Thursday. Since we saw them struggle against Air Force, Soph QB Tai Lavatai returned from injury to run the offense more adeptly. The Mids (1-4) will be challenged to keep Memphis’s (3-3) high-speed passing attack led by QB Seth Henigan and WR Calvin Austin off the field to minimize the Tiger scoring.

Historical Collegefootballfan.com matchups this College Football Week 7

   On Friday, Clemson visits Syracuse. Last time we attended that game played on a Friday night in 2017, SU pulled off the upset over the then No. 2 Tigers, 27-24. With three wins each right now, would a Syracuse win constitute an upset? Probably not…UCF visits No. 3 Cincinnati. We attended this contest last season when the Bearcats defeated the Knights in Orlando, 36-33. Without QB Gabriel Dillon though, a win here for the Golden Knights (3-2) would be an upset.  Cincy knows they have to continue to win big to considered for the CFP. They will show no mercy in games going forward.

  • Syracuse fans and students rush to the on-field celebration after their upset over No. 2 Clemson in 2017! Maybe a milder repeat this Friday night?

 Eyes on potential future game plans

  No. 11 Kentucky (6-0, 4-0) hasn’t seen the likes of No. 1 Georgia’s defense (6-0, 4-0). The Wildcats have won four of six games by seven points or less including against FCS UTC Chattanooga. The Dawg defense allows 5.6 point per game.  Good thing there are other televised games on Saturday afternoon. We may consider seeing Tennessee at UK in Lexington on November 6 despite the result here.

The outcome of NC State (4-1, 1-0) at Boston College (4-1,0-1) on College Football Week 7 helps us decide if we want to make a few changes to our future schedule.  We’ll see the Wolfpack at Wake Forest on November 13, that is set.  If BC wins, we’ll probably trek back up to Louisville (3-3, 1-2) the week after for another barn-burner. If the Purple Eagles keep winning and a big game looms in Chestnut Hill on Thanksgiving weekend versus Wake, we’ll likely be there since we have a traditional New England Thanksgiving family gathering already planned there.  A possible option looms as URI may host an FCS playoff as well.

We’ll predict this again until we get it right

    No. 4 Oklahoma (6-0, 3-0) pulled if off late against Texas last weekend, 55-48, with the sudden insertion of new folk-hero, QB Caleb Williams (what happens if Spencer Rattler sits the rest of 2021?). However, that OU defense can’t be saved all the time.  We’re looking for a big upset by TCU (3-2, 1-1). With that, OU is out of the CFP and we will consider buying tickets for the CFP playoff in the Orange Bowl. From personal history, we know OU will get throttled no matter who they would play there.  Their defense cannot shut down any good team they will play (are you reading this, Paul?). Even if the Sooners luck out again here, look at their last three games – at 5-1 Baylor, vs. 3-2 Iowa State, and at No. 12 Oklahoma State who just hates them.

Commander-in-Chief contenders

   Army (5-1) brings their triple option to Madison, Wisconsin to face the 2-3 badgers whose defense allows only 217.8 yards of offense per game, second only to Georgia. In five games, they’ve allowed only 207 total yards rushing. Army is only second to Air Force in the rushing department nationally averaging 318.2 yards per game.  The unstoppable force meets the impenetrable wall in this one. This will be interesting to watch. Thus far, the Badgers offense has yet to get on track scoring only 98 points through five games.   On November 6, the Cadets travel to Air Force for the second contest for the C-I-C Trophy. An Air Force win seals the award since the Falcons already beat Navy.

   Air Force (5-1, 3-0 MWC) travels to Boise (3-3, 1-1) Saturday in a key conference match-up. The Broncos have been up and down against competition with a great, combined record of 25-7. Will the Falcons catch the Broncos up or down after their upset win over BYU last week?  USAFA returns all their starters from the last two seasons. RB Brad Roberts’ 680 yards makes him the sixth leading rusher in the FBS and has tallied six TDs.  We look for Air Force to overcome Boise on its blue field. The following week, No. 24 San Diego comes calling in Colorado Springs before the rivalry meeting with Army in Arlington, Texas.

  • USAFA QB Haaziq Daniels (4) led his Falcons past Navy 24-7, for the first jewel of the Commander-in-Chief’s crown.

Game 620: Virginia overcomes 17-point deficit in fourth to drop Louisville, 34-33

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Louisville, Kentucky – Virginia Cavaliers QB Brennan Armstrong tossed a one-yard scoring strike to TE Grant Misch with 22 seconds remaining. It put the finishing touch on a 17-point third period deficit to defeat the Louisville Cardinals, 34-33.  Louisville QB Malik Cunningham almost reversed these fortunes leading his team down to the 31 after the late TD. However, the FG attempt went wide left as the game clock expired. 

     The ACC football battle started out as if it would be a high-scoring, seesaw battle before both teams seemed to settle down from their original, wide-open passing attacks to more balance with runs and short passes.  Virginia, in particular, opened up more at the end to meet the urgency to score quickly with the game on the line.  The Cavalier defense stepped up when needed to curtail more LU scoring as the game wound down.  Armstrong finished the day completing 40 of 60 passes for 487 yards, three TDs, and two INTs.  His fourth period stats accounted for 15 of 22 for 203 of those yards and two TDs. Both after throwing two pick-sixes in the third.

Opening “two-minute drill”

     Virginia (4-2, 2-2) opened the scoring on its first drive of 85 yards converting three third downs in its wake. A 15-yard TD pass went from Armstrong to Billy Kemp IV.  LU’s Cunningham (17 of 25, 270 yards, TD) wasted no time by launching a 92-yard catch and run for a TD to Tyler Harrel on their first play from scrimmage 24 seconds later.  Half way through the first period, Guest Game Analyst Eugene “Judge” Mosley noted that both teams were close to 200 passing yards already.  The teams traded field goals by the end of the first to knot the score, 10-10.

     Virginia PK Brian Farrell opened the second with the only score in the period on a 21-yard FG.  A UVA drive later in the period aided by an invisible pass interference call set up a second field goal attempt, but Farrell came up short before the half ended.

Halftime in style

    We met Judge, a long-time Cardinal fan and season ticket holder, for the first time as he offered us a discounted ticket to join him in his family seats in the club level.  We took the elevator to The Williamson-Brown Club in a very nice large, open area with concessions and plenty of cash bars to enjoy the game.  Large monitors televised the game. Club members coming in from their seats watched with cocktails at a level half-way up in Cardinal Stadium.  The beautiful red brick stadium overlooks retired, red, railroad cabooses similar to the Cock-a-booses down at South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium. 

     Judge and yours truly enjoyed drinks and shared fun stories during halftime festivities and plan to stay in touch.  He and I found we had both attended the Army-Louisville game at West Point on a cold, Thursday night in 1999 when Army upset the Cardinals in OT. Up until 2019, it remained as Collegefootballfan.com’s highest scoring game since that time, 59-52.  My daughter and his granddaughter both graduated in recent years from the University of South Carolina.

What the..?

     Our conversation was interrupted suddenly by loud cheering from the other LU fans in the lobby with us as the Cardinals scored on their first possession of the second half.  We got back out into our great seats to catch back up on the action!

Louisville Lead

     Cardinal RB Hassan Hall (14 carries, 162 yards, TD) burst 52 yards on the fifth play of the possession to give Louisville a sudden 17-13 lead.  They continued to dominate the entire period.  DB Trey Franklin intercepted to return the ball into scoring position at UVA’s 25.  The Cavalier defense, among the worst in ACC football regarding total yards and point allowed, forced a FG. Cardinal James Turner booted it through from 28.  On their next possession following a Cav punt from the end zone, LU drove 36 yards in four plays with Jalen Mitchell taking it in from the three. 

Another Card INT by Kenderick Duncan put the LU offense in business again.  This time, Turner’s 38-yard conversion put Louisville up 30-13 before the third period expired.  LU seemed well on its way to a 4-2, 2-2 record for a needed ACC victory.  By that time, Judge figured he could leave as he had dinner plans and had to beat traffic.  We enjoyed watching the game together.  As a dedicated Cardinal fan, he’s probably glad now he left when he did.

Virginia Cavaliers’ Comeback

    UVA began the last period with a third and ten at LU’s 49.  H-back Keytaon Thompson capped this series with a five-yard scoring run.  Armstrong started to dominate the passing lanes. His key strikes found Ra’Shaun Henry (9 catches for 179 yards) and Thompson (9 catches for 132 yards). The Cav defense held Louisville to a three-and-out. The offense took over again, this time from their 27. With 7:49 remaining, Armstrong connected with Jalen Woods on a three-yard slant pattern for a scoring strike to narrow the LU lead, 30-27.

    The two ACC football teams traded punts. Louisville DT Matt Reiger sacked Armstrong for an 8-yard loss to force UVA to punt.  Louisville took over from their 15 with 3:58 left.  Both teams still had three time-outs remaining.  Hall cut back through a big gap to rip off 53 yards to the Cavs’ 27.  The Virginia defense held LU to only five more yards on three plays.  Turner came in to put up another three for Louisville to lead, 33-27, leaving UVA within scoring range to despite having used all three time-outs before Turner’s kick.

Down to the bitter end

    On a fourth and six from their 29, Armstrong and Kemp connected for a first down at the 46.  Another completion to Thompson on the next play earned a first down at LU’s 37.  On fourth and eight at the 35, Armstrong threw a strike to Thompson for a first down at the LU 19.  Next, on second down, the same two connected again with Thompson’s dive coming up short at the one. From there, Armstrong lofted a short, high pass to wide-open TE Grant Misch in the right corner for his only catch of the game, the game winner!  Cunningham led the Cardinals from their 25 to the Cavaliers’ 31 in just 19 seconds, but after four conversions, Turner’s FG attempt from 47 went wide left as time expired. The Virginia Cavaliers exploded on the sideline in celebration!

   Cardinal fans among the 40,320 in attendance left the stadium quietly, orderly, stunned, and frustrated.  Great game, tough loss. From Collegefootballfan.com’s perspective, our choice for college football excitement this particular day was spot on. We watched college football at its best for drama and excitement on the playing field.  In the end though, one team has to lose a tough one and the other gets to win a great game!  Glad we were there to witness the excitement.

Next!

   UVA returns to Charlottesville to entertain Duke (3-3, 0-2). We will see the Cavaliers play on the road again when we see them visit No.  19 BYU in Provo, Utah. HC Bronco Mendenhall takes the Cavs back to play the previous program he successfully led.

   Louisville (3-3,1-2) has a bye week for HC Scott Satterfield to work with his team to prep for the second half of a challenging ACC football season.  Boston College (4-1, 0-1) comes to town the week after their game with NC State this Saturday.  We may be back in Louisville for that one in two weeks.

    Collegefootballfan.com starts up earlier than usual this Thursday night. We’ll see improving Navy (1-4, 1-2) visit the Memphis Tigers (3-3, 0-2) in an American Athletic clash.  On Saturday, we’ll return to Chattanooga for a 12:30 pm kickoff. The FCS division Moccasins of UTC (2-4, 1-1) play No. 10 East Tennessee State (6-0, 3-0) in a Southern Conference contest.

Extra Points:

Our new acquaintance, Judge, played basketball for Bellarmine University when it competed in the ‘70s as a D-2 program.  With a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his face, he admitted that he still holds a school record for Knights’ basketball – most shots ever attempted! Footnote: he started all four years he played there.  Today, the Knights compete in the ASUN Conference as a D1 program.  BU’s home court is Freedom Hall in Louisville, and this season’s schedule includes the likes of Purdue, UCLA, and Gonzaga.

Sorry about the lack of photos this week – someone forgot to reload a disc in our camera.  We might salvage a few pics however.  Now we definitely have to get back to Cardinal Stadium, hope that the weather is as nice, and that we get another day game.

Steveo’s Salvos: Week Six, October 10, 2021

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When Finebaum’s “not buying”, who’s he kidding?  He’s selling!

And of course, he’s not buying into the Big Ten!  As usual, he’s throwing out his support to the top-heavy SEC. This guy is so one-dimensional.  He gets away with it because no other media challenges him.  We did! Does any conference other than the SEC have such a one-sided pundit who is allowed to dominate the airwaves as liberally as he does?   Why should the rest of college football, including SEC fans not of Alabama or Georgia, care about what he says right now?  No one else can express a different opinion? Talk about “unfreedom of the Press”.  We rarely do this, but here what we responded with to this article this past Monday:

Steve koreivo2d

The SEC has lost non-conference games to Penn State, UCLA, Memphis, Pitt, BC (beat Texas and NC State) and Auburn lucked out against Georgia State, Kentucky struggled against UT Chattanooga, A&M struggled with Colorado, and the conference’s automatic win, Vanderbilt, lost to ETSU. Bama’s win over Miami was played at a “neutral” site where they’ve played 17 times since Saban started. Michigan State of the Big Ten went to Miami to handle them just as easily. He’s buying into the entire SEC?  They got Bama and Georgia, but give us a break!  He’s nothing but the SEC wingman throwing up smoke and mirrors to protect the conference paying him. He wants four SEC teams in the CFP. no kidding.   Who should care what he thinks?

  • “Wildcat” Tyler Warren (44) prepares to leap for a touchdown to give PSU a 21-10 lead. Paul Finebaum must’ve forgotten that Penn State of the Big Ten already beat Auburn of the SEC this season.

They should read our Salvos

    Of course, brainwashed SECers jump to his defense, but as far as we’re concerned, they only make his case weaker.  Information we shared here the last few weeks provided the Salvos to shoot them down as well.  We look forward to the SEC championship to see what happens if Bama or Georgia dominates the other in the SEC finale to see what arguments they’ll use to justify both playing in the CFP.

    Already those two have shown how much better they are than other “SEC!SEC!” programs by whipping Ole Miss and Arkansas respectively last week, 42-14 and 37-0.  They should stop their common praise by association.  Most of the SEC can’t can compete as will be proven through the balance of this season.  Every other team in the conference, like most teams nationally, cannot compete with The Tide nor the Bulldogs.

More fine-tuning from our side

     We decided to cancel going to this Thursday night’s match-up with No. 15 Coastal Carolina playing at Arkansas State.  The timing offered us convenience to see the No. 15 team play, but as we prefer, we like to attend “competitive games.”  This counters that desire.  The Chanticleers average 48 ppg.  The Red Wolves under new HC Butch Jones, as of late Alabama’s DC a year ago, allow about that much per game.  So, a 50-0 blowout at night after a five-hour drive doesn’t thrill us. (Won by CCU, 52-20).

     Good news! We came up with a much more desirable alternative. On Wednesday, October 20, about six hours in the opposite direction from us, the Chanticleers (5-0, 1-0) visit Boone, NC to play SunBelt foe Appalachian State (4-1, 1-0) in a game with some meaning for the conference championship.  Last season, the Chants prevailed at home, 34-23, to win the conference.  This makes this change very worthwhile!

  • Last time we saw Appy State play on November 1, 2014 it was cold enough. What will a night game in Boone, NC be like this October?

Our Week 5 Review

     Regarding our insight for games played last week, BYU got off to a good start to defeat Utah State, 34-20, to move up three spots to No. 10 in the nation. We look forward to seeing them host UVA on October 30 for our first game ever in the state of Utah…Okay, we were fooled into thinking and hoping that the SEC was more balanced than it really is when we predicted Arkansas would give No. 2 Georgia a true fight in the loudest stadium we’ve ever been to.  Instead of competing, they just rolled over to fall, 37-0.  The Razorbacks fell from lofty No. 8 to 13.  They could fall farther if they fall big in this week’s “consolation game”.

Surprise!

     Wake Forest (5-0, 3-0) remained undefeated in a very good game down to the wire as usual with Louisville in a 37-34 win.  They have a chance at maintaining a winning streak despite games at Army and at UNC before we meet up with “Bug” and his Boys at Winston-Salem on November 13.  NC State comes calling. Having moved up from No. 24 to No. 19, Wake also sits atop the Atlantic Division of the ACC. Surprisingly, at this point, they rank highest among all ACC teams. The conference lost its top dog this year in Clemson, but overall, there’s a lot of competitive football being played within the ACC.

Bearcats football ready, but…

     And as we called it, the Cincinnati Bearcats defeated Notre Dame in South Bend to move up from No. 7 to No. 5 sending the Irish down from 9 to 14. Behind QB Desmond Ridder, this squad is focused on breaking the Power Five hold on the CFP.  They’re going to need some help even if they run the American Athletic table though.  UCF without QB Dillon Gabriel in action negates their effectiveness as seen by their loss, 34-30, to winless Navy last week.  SMU will have to continue a good showing to enable the Bearcats to pick up a quality win late in the season.  Hopefully, consideration can be made for their last-second loss, 24-21, last season to Georgia in The Peach Bowl.  

  • UCF QB Gabriel Dillon challenged the Bearcats last year in Cincy’s win in Orlando, 36-33.

   Oklahoma State moved up from No. 19 to 12 hanging in as we called with their 24-14 win over previously undefeated Baylor.  They have the Big Twelve gauntlet ahead of them until November 27 when they’ll host their in-state rival Oklahoma in the Bedlam Bowl.  With OU’s future move to the SEC, there’s added incentive for the Cowboys in this one.  They have a bye this week to prep for Texas the week after the Longhorns shoot it out with OU in Dallas. 

It pays off to see teams play in person

     We called it as we scouted both teams personally the two prior weeks in PSU’s defense dominating Indiana in a shutout. Winning 24-0 to maintain their No. 4 position, Iowa jumped ahead of PSU with a 51-14 win over previously unbeaten Maryland.  We’ll talk about this in our Week Six preview.  The Lions’ defense is tenacious, and its offense picks its spots.

    As stated in last week’s preview of Alabama taking on Ole Miss, we got everything but the popcorn comment correct. As stated, “The soap opera stuff gets put aside and the teams play.  Saban, the Recycler, will know how to beat Lane Kiffin.  It won’t be pretty…”  Bama dominated from the start and won more handily than the final score, 42-14, indicates. Alabama should handle struggling Texas A&M this week.  Arkansas travels to Ole Miss in the consolation round after last week as both fell hard from the undefeated ranks to Bama and UGA.  Which will recover?  We’ll go with Ole Miss in this case.

To the rear, march!

   We had to comment on these two results as our regular season ends once again this year with Army-Navy in December.  We surmised in assessing Week Four that Army would go 4-0. However, we pointed out the meat of its schedule will offer its toughest challenges the following four games.  Already, our prediction came to fruition as they lost at Ball State, 28-16.  In two weeks, the travel to Wisconsin who thrives on defense only.  We’ll be interested to see how the Badgers defense fares against Army’s potent triple option with one week to prepare.  Will the Badgers offense show up for this one?  

    In Annapolis, Navy shocked us with their 34-30 win over Central Florida.  No doubt, the Mids were helped by the Golden Knights’ loss of QB Dillon Gabriel, but more shocking, we didn’t know they had an injured QB on the sideline who came back and ran an effective triple option.  Soph QB Tai Lavatai powered the Mids triple option offense with 348 yards rushing – Navy style football. Not only does he improve it with rushing yards, but it keeps high-flying offenses like UCF’s off the field.  USNA had control of the football for 39:18 of the game.  They host No. 24 SMU this Saturday. If Navy has the QB to run this offense, they can turn the tide to make Army Navy a classic contest in The Meadowlands.

  • Good times returning to Annapolis?

Coming Up – Best of Week Six!

     Our game between two 3-2 ACC squads with exciting QBs should be an exciting contest to the end.  With our first trip ever to Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, dual-threat Cardinal QB Malik Cunningham will motor the Cardinal offense.  Brennen Armstrong of UVA is the second highest ranked QB in the nation with 1,973 yards passing and 14 TDs. The defenses look very even statistically ranked at the bottom of the ACC.  Louisville hung in down to the wire last week at Wake Forest while Wake doubled up the score against UVA in Charlottesville.  Close game goes to the Cardinals in a fun one for us.

Consolation game

   No. 13 Arkansas travels for the second week in a row to Ole Miss for the “consolation round” after both got slammed on the road last week ending undefeated quests to Georgia and Alabama. Both teams appeared unstoppable at home prior to running into these two behemoths on the road. Ole Miss gets the nod here being the home team once again…

Sooners due now rather than later

No. 6 Oklahoma (5-0) vs. No. 21 Texas (4-1) in the Red River Shoot-out: the Sooners have beaten four FBS teams played to date by seven points or less. UT fell on the road to Arkansas, and beat TCU in a close one at home last week. UT relies on their running game and OU relies on Spencer Rattler’s passes.  Two weeks ago, we said OU would fall to either Texas or TCU first. We look for Texas to upend the Sooners this week. OU won’t just get by in this one.

  • Looking for Texas ground game to hook the Sooners this Saturday!

Fatal blow for Cincinnati?

   No. 24 SMU at Navy, who comes in with a true option QB again after its upset over UCF last week, could be in for some trouble here. Navy had defeated SMU at home even in close ones the last six times these two met in Annapolis.  SMU QB Tanner Mordecai has thrown for 24 TDs already. They’ve defeated LA Tech and TCU on the road in close games.  This will be close too, but Mordecai will be able to thread passes against the Navy secondary.  The key will be how effective he can make each possession if Navy can control the clock again. The Mids pulled off a close one last week and the Brigade will be pumped in Annapolis.  We look for Navy to pull off a close upset against SMU.  Cincy will try take it out on the Mids when they meet in Annapolis on October 23.

   No. 2 Georgia plays at No. 18 Auburn in the longest rivalry in the Southeast.  Auburn will hang for a while, but in the end, we see UGA playing strong down the stretch.  The Bulldog defense has given up only 23 points in five games. AU’s defense averages giving up 23 ppg in its last three games and escaped a loss at home to 1-4 Georgia State.  Mistakes will be hard to overcome against UGA this week.

Battle for the bottom

     UCONN (0-6) at UMASS (0-5) for this year’s Bottom of the Barrel Battle.  First of all, these two programs should go back to playing in the FCS where they fit better budget-wise, geographically, recruiting-wise, and academically with the likes of the Colonial Athletic Association.  Hopefully, both administrations will consider this in the future. What value either gets from playing as Independents in the FBS has yet to be determined. The past two weeks, UCONN has “improved” losing to Wyoming (4-0) and at Vanderbilt by only two points to each. UMASS averages a losing margin by 35 points and it’s grown wider in the last two weeks against Coastal Carolina and Toledo. UCONN wins for their only win of 2021! UMASS will finish 2021 as No. 130 in the FBS.

No. 4 at No. 3?

     Penn State travels to Iowa against a team that leap-frogged them a week ago with the Hawkeyes defeating undefeated Maryland on the road, 51-14. Penn State’s been there and done that to optimistic 4-0 Maryland in 2019 to the tune of 59-0. So, we don’t put much credence into the stature of Iowa’s offensive dominance against the Terps. Both the Nittany Lions and the Hawkeyes handled Indiana already. Iowa has defeated Kent State and Colorado State at home. We think the Lions defense will show up to shut down this Iowa offense, and QB Sean Clifford will be ready to have a big day.

      The Lions have held back offensively since beating Auburn. They didn’t have to flex their muscles much against a good FCS Villanova (4-1) and put together long drives to knock off Indiana who could not score.  PSU wins this bigger than anyone expects. James Franklin’s team is focused this season.  He’ll use this leap-frog dissing as ammo and knows other challenges remain ahead.  His team has to get its foothold in the Top Four now and just ignore any comments from that SEC guru who won’t acknowledge the Lions as do many pundits. This could be their year as they take one game at time.

  • PSU RB Ricky Slade takes the ball over from the one for PSU in their 59-0 win at Maryland in 2019.