Seen 'em all – 133 FBS teams in action. Three new members to be added the next two years. All divisions: 695 games attended since 1979! Get my new book now available on Amazon.com in Kindle and in Paperback: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly! Follow our 31-game schedule in 2024.
Despite what the odds makers are saying about the CFP 2022 game Monday night, we feel one evident, primary advantage between these two programs makes the difference. We go with Alabama. As our Auburn buddy Charlie Murren has always said, you never go against HC Nick Saban. He loses players and coaches annually. He just replaces both with the same talent level. The key variable remains though – him. All under Nick Saban want to come play or coach for him to move on to a better, guaranteed opportunity. Ask Kirby Smart, HC of Georgia. Until this year, no former coach of Saban’s, except for Jimbo Fisher of Texas A&M, has beaten this former mentor.
Professor Saban takes us to class
Saban has college football down to a science to get to the CFP 2022. The momentum at Alabama will never change as long as he’s coaching there. Forget the “SEC” chants! SEC? The SEC fans bases might just as well chant, “Roll Tide!” He gets the best talent before anyone else can. Every season, he softens up his well-scouted opposition – the coaches, QB experience, perceived strengths that are weaknesses, what needy FCS school will pay for play. And he doesn’t worry about it because nobody will judge him for it. He pays them a nice fee.
When Professor Saban speaks…
CFP 2022 boredom?
However, it’s just taken the fun for fans of 120+ other teams of anticipating who will be in the CFP every year. Alabama, of course. A handful of about five other “usual suspects”. A surprise team from among the Power Five conferences. Add a possible longshot from about another 115 FBS schools. Ho-hum. In the end, everyone knows who will win. Attendance and TV ratings will drop in Monday’s finale at Indianapolis. No matter how uneventful, not Saban’s problem.
Times have changed for good
As we stated early in the season, despite this advantage of Alabama’s and of a few others, and now add the transfer portal and the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) conundrum, we at collegefootballfan.com take each game we attend as an equitable matchup. For the sheer enjoyment, we look forward to attending a hopefully competitive college football game each week. Why care about the CFP 2022? After recruiting results come out, the Top Ten has already been determined. Now the transfer portal exists. Need an experienced QB? Just cut a deal.
We still love the games for what they are
We achieved good success this season with our goals. We attended 21 games. Eleven resulted in margins of ten points or less. Many scores not finalized until the waning moments. An exciting OT in a bowl game, a one-point victory, six others won by two or three points, and four more settled by less than 10 made for many exciting games.
Before bowl season, seven teams of 28 seen in 2021 landed on the Top 25. Twenty-two FBS teams went on to play in post season games. In the FCS, East Tennessee State finished No. 8 overall.
Other games ending in wider margins brought us satisfaction in other aspects – attending an annual rivalry, attending games at new venues, watching a convenient, weekday game nearby, or adding some FCS teams we had never seen compete before. We considered attending the CFP 2022 in Indianapolis this Monday night, but considering the prices and fees of tickets, though dropping, we can’t get excited about attending a rematch that we don’t see being much different from the previous result. Every year we say, we intend to get to the CFP game eventually, but this one just seems too anti-climactic. Other fans seem to feel the same. Check the availability of tickets still available for sale on-line for CFP 2022 at this late date.
As of today, all these sections in purple at Lucas Oil Stadium have tickets available for Monday night.
2021 – wrapping up another great season for collegefootballfan.com
In the end, we say we saw great teams among the 28 we watched in person this year. Several won conference championships. We hope that some year all of these title winners will participate in a larger CFP tournament. Of the 28 on our slate, 19 achieved winning records. Of these 19, 15 garnered nine wins or more! Three teams finished 6-6. The remaining six programs played under .500 with Indiana winning the least with only two wins. However, they played well when we watched them against Western Kentucky (9-5) early this season winning, 33-31.
Among the top winners with 13 were No. 4 Cincinnati and No. 23 Louisiana. Surprising No. 7 Baylor and No. 20 Houston won 12 games with bowl wins over Ole Miss and Auburn respectively. Coastal Carolina, Utah State, and No. 17 Wake Forest took 11 wins each, including bowl victories. Appalachian State and No. 13 BYU came up with ten wins each, but both fell in their respective bowl contests. Finishing successful seasons with nine victories each, we saw UAB, Army, NC State, Purdue, and Western Kentucky. Teams we attended games for more than once included Navy (3), BYU, Virginia, Wake, and WKU all with two. We attended our first Independence Bowl and our sixth Music City.
Did Western Kentucky QB Bailey Zappe’s draft stock go up when he set seasonal passing marks by playing in the Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl? How will his value and his career compare to Pitt QB Kenny Pickett who opted out?
Beware Alabama, you play Austin Peay next year!
We attended four FCS games featuring Austin Peay three times and UT Chattanooga twice. These two opened our season with the APU Governors upsetting the preseason-ranked Moccasins, 30-20. Both participated in upsets later in the season. The Governors fell to Tennessee State (5-6) in an Ohio Valley Conference game, 24-22. Later, they blasted 6-5 Murray State on the road, 47-7.
In a Southern Conference contest, the UTC Moccs upset the No. 7 East Tennessee State Buccaneers at home, 21-16. For ETSU, the Moccs defeated them for their only loss in the regular season. Their next loss came in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoff to North Dakota State who will be playing for their ninth FCS championship in 11 years when it clashes with Montana State on January 8 in Frisco, Texas. Hopefully, in the future, the CFP for the FBS championship will be modeled like the current FCS championship format. More teams, more excitement. Next year, we propose Alabama play North Dakota State in a grand finale. What the heck? Maybe all the Bama players will opt-out and the Bison will win. Bottom line, college football is becoming more and more about the money than ever before.
Like Cincinnati fans who celebrated their win over to Houston to earn a bid to the CFP, this is the way we feel at the end of our great season even though we’re not going on to Indianapolis either!
Nashville, TN – Purdue thwarted Tennessee on fourth down in OT before Mitchell Finneran’s FG in OT finished the Purdue win as offensive, defensive, and attendance records fell in the 23rd edition of the Music City Bowl. A record Music City crowd of 69,489 witnessed an exciting finish. In the final period before going into OT, both squads scored two touchdowns each.
Close and controversial
On fourth and goal in the first and only OT, the Volunteers’ (7-6) RB Jaylen Wright got tackled short of the goal line. Lying on top of the defenders Jamar Brown and Kieren Douglas and before a whistle blew, Wright reached the ball out over the line for an apparent six. However, after review, the call upheld the ruling that forward progress had stopped before the ball broke the plane. Shocking to us! On their subsequent possession, the Boilermakers (9-4) spotted the ball for Finneran’s 39-yard kick to seal the victory for Purdue.
Vols take commanding lead
The Volunteers led at the end of Q1, 21-7, for the largest scoring margin of the game. Two of Tennessee’s scores came on TD passes from QB Hendon Hooker to Cedric Tillman for 41 yards and 61 yards respectively. Purdue’s came on a 75-yard scoring pass from QB Aidan O’Connell to Broc Thompson. This tied the bowl record for longest TD pass in its 23-year history. Thompson’s seven receptions for 217 yards set the record for most receiving yards, and he’d score another TD later. Jabari Small (26 carries for 180 yards, one TD) capped the first period scoring with his two-yard run for Tennessee.
Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker (5) rolls right to connect with Cedric Tillman for their 61-yard scoring pass in the first quarter.
Purdue comeback
In the second, Purdue relied on Finneran for three field goals from 24, 36, and 29 yards respectively. They trailed UT, 21-16. Then a sack of Hooker by DT Damarcus Mitchell causing a fumble put the Boilermakers at UT’s 28. A 26-yard pass to Deion Burks set up O’Connell’s two-yard TD pass to Payne Durham. This gave PU its first lead before going into halftime to lead, 23-21.
Purdue WR Deion Burks hauls in diving catch at the one to set up two-yard TD pass before halftime to take a 23-21 lead for the Boilermakers.
Sounds of the Music City
The best music performed by both marching bands lent to the atmosphere of a great college football game at halftime. It’s the first time in our long memory that a venue allowed the two outstanding bands to perform their musical skills throughout the game. Most often, venues persist on playing pre-recorded music wiping out the spirited sounds of great college traditions. The musical performances of the bands enhance the spirit of college football.
Also, not only was the PA announcer very objective and accurate throughout the game, his voice added excitement no matter which team came up with a big play. The sounds from the bands, the announcer, and the record Music City crowd added to the great spirit of a very entertaining college football game.
The Music City Bowl gets a deserved, big drum roll for allowing both school bands to take the lead in this game for spirited marching band music!
A lot of help from his friends
In the second half, the two teams traded scores keeping the margin within seven points at most in a truly seesaw battle. Tennessee started the scoring with a 71-yard drive capped by Hooker’s 16-yard TD pass to Velus Jones. They retook the lead by five. Purdue answered with a 75-yard drive resulting in O’Connell’s 10-yard pass to TJ Sheffield on a fade pass in the right corner. The Purdue receiving corps made many outstanding catches with great efforts all day. They padded O’Connell’s stats to look outstanding (26 of 47 for 534 yards, five TDs, and three INTs). Their combined efforts set the Music City record for passing yards as a team and for an individual quarterback. Forced and errant passes by O’Connell were overcome by several outstanding, circus catches by his teammates.
UT WR Velus Jones scores on a 16-yard catch and run to retake the Volunteer lead in the third period.
Before the third came to a close, one of those errant passes got picked off by Byron Young. UT was in business at Purdue’s 49. The turnover resulted in a 30-yard FG by Chase McGrath to give UT a 31-30 lead. Once again, O’Connell gave the ball back to the Vols on an overthrow scooped above the turf by DB Trevon Flowers. However early in the fourth, the Boilermaker defense avoided more damage by stopping the Vols’ subsequent, 15-play drive to their 24. On a fourth and one, they halted the drive and took over on downs.
Fight to the Finish in the Fourth
After exchanging punts, Purdue started from its 10. Two pass interference calls helped them get to the 38. O’Connell’s next pass connected with Payne Durham on a crossing pattern. Hit and being pushed off to the near sidelines, he suddenly broke free and raced down the right sideline for a 62-yard catch-and-run TD pass. O’Connell connected with him on a short pass just over the goal line for a two-point conversion, and the Boilermakers led, 38-31.
Jabari Small took the first handoff from the 35 to start UT’s next drive and raced 60 yards to the Purdue five. The Boilermakers held UT to short gains. A holding call forced the Vols to a third and goal at the 13. Following an incomplete pass, Hooker connected with Tillman on a slant across the middle for a tying touchdown with 3:37 left to play. On PU’s third play following a touchback, O’Connell connected with Thompson on the right sideline. He beat a defender who fell, and raced 70 yards for a 45-38 lead with 2:57 left. O’Connell’s fifth TD pass tied him with two others for the Music City Bowl TD pass record.
Boilermaker receivers like TE Payne Durham made outstanding catches today to give QB Aidan O’Connell a record setting day!
Tying the game and the record
Starting from the 28, Hooker completed a 58-yard pass to Princeton Fant to get to the Purdue 2. With 1:35 left, Hooker connected on a two-yard scoring pass on a fade to Jalin Hyatt who made a diving catch keeping his feet in as he landed out of the end zone. Tying the score at 45-45, with his fifth TD pass, Hooker tied the Music City record with three others for his five TD passes this day.
Tennessee WR Jaylin Hyatt keeps both feet in to tie the score late in regulation, 45-45.
Purdue gained only six yards before punting to Tennessee on its subsequent possession. UT took over from its 40 with 44 second left in regulation. Both teams burned time-outs as the Vols got as far at the Boilers’ 42. With two ticks left, McGrath’s FG attempt from 56 came up short. The overtime period added another Music City bowl record as the longest contest since the inception 23 games ago.
OT!
It took the Vols six plays from the 25 in OT to get a first and goal at the two. A sack by DE Jack Sullivan put UT back at their eight. Purdue’s defense stopped consecutive runs by Wright for five, two, and no yards to turn the ball over to start the Boilermaker possession. Purdue picked up seven on a pass to Durham to the 18 before their FB Zac Horvath (17 carries for 58 yards) centered the ball on two carries to give Finneran the chip shot for Purdue’s bowl win, 48-45!
For the Record(s)
Among the QBs O’Connell and Hooker tied for the TD passing record, one was Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham who we saw do this against Purdue in their 63-14 trouncing in the 2018 edition. The 93 total points set a new Music City record for most points by both teams. Tennessee set the record of highest by the losing team (45). UT also set the mark for total yards of offense at 666. Their 31 first downs also set the highwater mark. A defensive record was established by LB Jeremy Banks who totaled 20 tackles for the Vols.
Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham rears back to toss a 74-yard bomb to Darius Slayton for one of five TD passes in the 2018 Music City Bowl.
Our History
For Collegefootballfan.com, the Purdue Boilermakers won their first in this, the seventh game, we saw them play. That’s saying a lot. Two of them featured Drew Brees at QB against Penn State in 1998 and 2000. Their losses in our history include the aforementioned Music City against Auburn and the Champs Sports Bowl in 2006 to Maryland.
For Tennessee, this was their second loss among eight games we’ve attended, most in bowl games. Their first was a win over Wisconsin in the 1981 Garden State Bowl. Willie Gault returned a kickoff for a TD in the 28-21 win. In 1987, they defeated Iowa at the Meadowlands in the Kickoff Classic, 23-22. Their first loss came against Penn State in the 2007 Outback Bowl, 20-10. In 2009, we visited Neyland Stadium for the first time where they welcomed Western Kentucky to the FBS and won big, 63-7.
Four Vol Bowls
We attended the lopsided Taxslayer win over Iowa in 2014; the big Outback slaughter against Northwestern in 2015: and the Music City win over Nebraska in 2016. Just like this year’s Music City, in all cases, we bought the bowl tickets before we knew who was playing. The Vols show up for us wherever we go! They stand at 6-2 in the annals of our history.
With the CFP championship slated for January 10, this great Music City event regretfully ends our fantastic 2021 season. Look for some Salvos coming up to summarize our season along with other special features during the months leading up to the 2022 season. Already, we can’ wait!
Also remember, three more teams join the FBS within the next two years – James Madison, Eastern Kentucky, and Jacksonville State. We’ll be planning to add them to maintain our ongoing goal to see ‘em all!
We attended the Independence Bowl where UAB defeated BYU, 30-27. As we wait to attend the Music City Bowl in our new home area of Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday. We’ve made a lot of observations since on the televised games we’ve witnessed. Can’t wait for Friday’s results to determine if we’ll attend the CFP or not. Our most significant observation – we definitely prefer going to games as opposed to watching and listening to all the hype, misinformation, and bias on television. To begin with, we knew redundant commercials stink to begin with.
Are we missing something?
Speaking of commercials, we start with the AFLAC commercial featuring HC Deion Sanders of “burgeoning” Jackson State and Nick Saban of Alabama fame. Anyone has to realize that these two coaches performed remotely, and someone remotely edited the scene and the dialogue separately.
During the conversation, how does Sanders become “Coach Brown” as referred to by Saban? Saban states,” You know how coach Brown feels about money.” Who? Suddenly they’re talking about the late Paul Brown of Cleveland Browns fame? If these two were actually speaking directly, you know Deion would have been all over it after a laugh. Just an example of the inaccuracies fed to us on television.
Jiminy Cricket!
How did Deion’s 10-1 Jackson State team get crushes by 6-5 South Carolina State 30-6 in the Cricket Celebration Bowl? Evidently, he got caught up in his hype about absconding with recruit Travis Hunter from Florida State for his JSU Tigers program. With all the activity seen in the new transfer portal this bowl season, we wonder what the over/under in days will be when Hunter thinks that he has to prove his worth at the FBS level and transfers.
Poor little SEC
The dialogue between Dave Neal and Deuce McAllister of ESPN as SEC Mississippi State got hammered by 6-6 Texas State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, 34-7, in Memphis, Tennessee. According to Neal, MSU should have been to a better game after losing on a bad call against AAC’s Memphis Tigers. He said they should have 8-9 wins. We didn’t watch the Georgia State win over Ball State, but we wonder if any mention came up regarding GSU’s loss to Auburn, 34-24, that resulted from a major missed call and non-replay change.
Things looked better than “rosey” for Franklin James and Penn State when they were 3-0 after beating Auburn.
Not only would GSU have finished 9-4, but Auburn would have been bowl ineligible at 5-7. We saw four questionable calls by SEC officials against Penn State when they played Auburn. In one case, a Nittany Lion third down became fourth. The calls got swept away because the Lions won, 28-20. We will give Mississippi State credit though. They had the best SEC win over a non-conference team during the regular season. They beat No. 18 NC State, 24-10.
Rolling with the SEC
Neal and McAllister’s energy, optimism, and wishful thinking rose and fell with the Bulldogs throughout the game. They provided the evidence to show ESPN’s favoritism toward the SEC because of their TV contracts. No neutrality exists with ESPN when it comes what conference they will favor year after year. They insinuated how bad it is for the SEC to be 0-4 now, but they say that will change. We’ll see. The SEC has not beaten any good non-conference competition during the regular season. Why do they expect them to now? So far, losses to Army, UCF, No. 19 Houston, and Texas Tech in Texas, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee. All reside in the SEC footprint. Tougher competitors loom ahead.
American Athletic, 3-0
This is Cincinnati’s conference. Not bad. Includes wins over Florida and Auburn. Both are considered “tough” SEC school that both lost to both Alabama and Georgia. Can’t wait for Friday.
Cincy LB Darrian Beavers (0) signals Houston’ s final turnover on downs to to punctuate the Bearcat victory and to start the night-long celebration!
Need Money back guarantees
Fans put up lot of money to support their teams at bowl games. Tickets, hotels, meals, and airfares costs dedicated fans “big bucks”. What’s unfair is when after buying a ticket is when key players and coaches decide the team is no longer their priority. The opt-out to get ready for the next level while watching their “teammates” from the sideline. Don’t they have to start working out? For fans, these last minute decisions seem to cause a rip-off referred to as the old “bait and switch”.
Avoid coaching changes, reschedule recruiting season
This is a double-edged sword. Neglect the kids you’ve coached and developed as a successful team, and then turn your back on them and go elsewhere to build your next program. And by the way, encourage your players to do the same. It’s something that is terribly horrible in college football. It counters all the basic values it’s supposed to teach – teamwork, loyalty, dedication, together to the bitter end. Less than two percent of all players in college go pro. These attributes are what they should all get out of this for a lesson of a lifetime.
Double trouble, runaway coaches and players
As an example, Nevada got to go to the Quick Lane Bowl in cold, gray Detroit. After a very competitive 8-4 season including three conference losses each by two-points, their Head coach Jay Norvell leaves to start recruiting for Colorado State. His Wolfpack defeated the 3-9 CSU Rams in their last regular season game, 52-10. On top of that, Junior QB Carson Strong with 4,186 passing yards and 36 TDs opts out for the pros. Leading receivers WR Romeo Doubs and TE Cole Turner did the same.
ESPN Quick Lane Bowl commentators Rod Gilmore and Dave Fleming, we believe, could not figure out how the Wolfpack defense allowed 31 points to Western Michigan by the half. That pointed out that they gave up that amount on average per game this season. Well, when your QB and leading receivers opt out and you replace them all with first time starters, your offense does not control the clock to keep the opponent’s offense off the field. Nat Cox started at QB for the first time all season. A “bowl” becomes a preseason scrimmage for next year is what this becomes. You’d think astute broadcasters could figure this out.
Our game 634, Music City #6 for us
Tennessee gets to play Purdue. Should be a good close game. We figure that with the Tennessee Volunteers playing in the heart of their home state, the home crowd in that Orange that hurts our eyes will get them some calls their way. The Vols will win this in a close one. Despite the Boilermakers’ incentive to avenge their 63-14 loss to Auburn at the Music City in 2018, it won’t be enough to overcome.
Shreveport, LA – On a gusty, rainy day, UAB stopped a late scoring drive to upset No. 13 BYU, 31-28. Momentum swings for both teams set the tone. The teams battled back and forth. Dewayne McBride rushed for 183 yards and one TD for the UAB Blazers while Cougar RB Tyler Allgeier had another banner day for BYU in our presence, running for 193 yards and three TDs.
Blazer QB Dylan Tompkins passed for 189 yards, one TD, and threw one INT. Subbing for injured starter Jaren Hall who suffered a foot injury in the final game against USC, BYU’s Baylor Romney matched Hopkins adequately. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 195 yards. In the end, the difference came down to a completed pass fumbled by Sam Nacua on a late drive. The Blazers controlled the clock on the ground as McBride and Jermaine Brown ran the ball for first downs to force BYU to use its three time-outs. They ran out the last 3:36 of the game.
Independence Bowl: Windy, rainy city – Shreveport
Blazing start
The game started by exchanging two of the only three punts on the day. Thereafter, the Blazers (9-4) started the scoring with a 60-yard drive resulting in a 10-yard TD pass from Hopkins to TE Gerrit Prince who took it in along the right sideline. BYU (10-3) turned the ball over on downs to give UAB its next possession starting from their 33. They got back on the board again quickly as McBride ran up the right sideline 64 yards on the second play for a 14-0 lead at the end of the first.
UAB TE Gerrit Prince tip-toes down right sideline for 10-yard TD pass to open Independence scoring.Oddly, no block in the back called here.
BYU needed a wake-up call…
The second score by UAB seemed to wake up BYU. If a cold rainy, miserable day in a sparsely crowded, under-maintained bowl facility wasn’t depressing enough, to be without their regular starting QB had to be even more disheartening for the Cougars. However, on top of that, they probably felt somewhat dissed by the bowl planners at ESPN.
Originally, this game contract matched the Cougars and the champions of ConferenceUSA, namely the 12-1 UTSA Roadrunners who ranked in the Top 20 most of the season. What a great game this looked like on the first Saturday of bowl season! Because of the enticing match-up, we decided this game looked best among the opening Saturday bowl options this weekend. Let’s go!
We at Collegefootballfan.com almost reconsidered not attending later since they announced now the No. 13 team was playing the unranked 8-4 Blazers. The original alternative got us excited about seeing 10-2 BYU playing 12-1 UTSA in a more meaningful test. Somehow, ESPN got UTSA to play San Diego State, loser of the MWC championship instead. Maybe they knew Hall wasn’t going to play? Even BYU fans near us wondered why Hall wasn’t starting.
UAB’s defense shut BYU down to go ahead, 14-0, in the first.
Why we persevered
No excuses made for the BYU side, but the change of such an opportunity could have “taken the wind out of their sails” as the saying goes. We only went at this point to add the Independence Bowl “experience” for the first time. We’re glad we attended the game after driving eight hours, the last three in the rain , but to say the least, we don’t plan to go back again. The aging facility leaked like a sieve under the stands during the downpour. No atmosphere.
Granted it was raining hard, but everything seemed to be planned last minute. Concessions (beer) opened later than the gates. No restroom facilities in any parking lots. Not sure what else the stadium is used for, but without an interesting matchup to start, nothing much was going on here. The Gumbo we got was good to start, but it was all rice in the bottom half of our cup. Check the box. We’ve been to the Independence Bowl.
BYU battles back
We analyzed what was happening on the field. Thankfully, we noted that the second score by UAB seemed to start an attitude adjustment along the BYU sideline. A kick return started BYU at their 28. Then the offense got going on the back of Allgeier who we saw score five TDs at Provo this season when the Cougars defeated UVA, 66-49. Handoffs to him resulted in gains of 37, 6, 18, 8, and four yards down to the one before he took it in for the Cougar score. It got the No. 13 team fired up finally. HC Kalani Sitake even started pumping his fists along the sideline. The defense came up with big hits on UAB’s next possession.
The Blazers lost four yards on three plays before the last punt of the game. Hobbs Nyberg returned the punt 13 yards to set BYU up on the 50. Two completions from Romney to his brother WR Gunner Romney and to Allgeier set up a two-yard scoring run by WR Samson Nacua. The Cougars seemed to be feeling like themselves again. The Blazers usurping the big underdog role to their advantage in this bowl, came right back with a nine-play, 78-yard drive. Hopkins unleashed a 23-yard scoring strike to Prince who made a diving catch in the end zone to recapture the lead for UAB, 21-14.
Samson Nacua crosses goal line for BYU score to lock up score, 14-14.
Duck! Their kind of weather
At intermission, we ducked back under the upper deck to dry out and warm up a little. At least the chicken sandwich in tin-foil was hot, but by the end of the half in this sparsely populated stadium, they already sold-out hot chocolate and coffee. The announced attendance in this old building holding 51,000 supposedly totaled 26,276. No way! If that was the official count, more than half of it included no-shows. Luckily, both bands could perform from their wet perches high above the end zone. At one point, the crews of cancelled the B-52 Stratofortress flyover from the nearby Shreveport AFB were introduced. Another downer here at this year’s Independence Bowl.
BYU marching band and UAB’s performed from above today.
Allgeier again: before defenses take over
BYU wasted no time to tie this up. On the third play of Q3, Allgeier raced 62 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown to make it 21-21. UAB drove down in response to the BYU 13, but two consecutive sacks by Tyler Batty pushed the Blazers back to the 21. Matt Quinn put up a three for UAB from the 34 to take back the UAB lead. The Blazer D came up big halting a BYU run on a fourth and one at their 32 to take back over on downs. The Cougars turned it around though on the next series as a deflected pass from Hopkins got picked close off the ground by Cougar DB Hayden Livingston to take over from the BYU 48.
BYU’s Tyler Allgeier sprints past Blazer defense for 62-yard TD jaunt very early in Q3.
On the subsequent possession, BYU spotted the ball at the 33 to start the final period. On the very next play, Romney connected with Mason Wake (3 receptions, 55 yards) on a short flip pass past the line of scrimmage to ramble 26 yards to the one. Everyone left in Independence Stadium know who was getting the call, and Allgeier put the Cougars up, 28-24. The UAB Blazer offense clicked on its next possession. McBride picked up the bulk of the yardage, and Hopkins connected on several passes to keep the drive alive. On a key fourth and one at the BYU 20, McBride picked up three for the first. However, the killer for BYU came on a fourth and seven at BYU’s 14. Hopkins connected with WR Trea Shropshire in the end zone for only his second catch of the day and the lead, 31-28.
Trea Shropshire celebrates flipping ball after catching 16-yard game winner in the rain.
Down to the wire
With 5:51 left to play, BYU went with Allgeier on three straight plays. On fourth and four, Romney opted to throw a 17-yard strike to Wake to get a first down at the 50. His next pass was spot on as well when Samson Nacua extended his arms for the catch, but the Blazer defender grabbed his arms to cause the fumble and Mac Williams recovered for the Blazers at their 28. This derailed BYU’s comeback attempt, and the Alabama-Birmingham offense controlled the clock until time expired. Great game! Disappointing bowl setting.
The Blazers came up with the upset over No. 13 BYU in a well-played game by both teams on a day where weather was at its worst for any bowl contest. Too bad for us. Great for UAB! We still wish we could have seen the original match-up against the actual CUSA champion Roadrunners.
DeWayne McBride (22) rocked for 183 yards including a 64-yard TD in the Blazer victory.
Extra point:
At the end of the first bowl weekend of eight bowl games, ConferenceUSA came out with a 3-2 record. Middle Tennessee (7-6) surprisingly defeated Toledo (7-6) of the MAC, and Western Kentucky (9-5) whacked 10-4 Appy State of the Sun Belt, 59-38, in the Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. UTEP (7-6) fell to Fresno State (10-3) and No. 23 Louisiana (13-1) felled Marshall (7-6). ODU (6-7) fell to Tulsa (7-6) today to even out the C-USA bowl mark at 3-3. UTSA (12-1) and North Texas (6-6) carry the flag for CUSA in bowl games on Tuesday and Thursday respectively to finish the conference slate for 2021.
On a rainy day with gusty winds throughout, Dylan Hopkins set the Independence Bowl record for completion percentages with 19 of 23 for 189 yards. Quite an accomplishment in today’s rainy, wind-swept setting.
Next!
After this weekend’s travels and our first ever Tennessee family holiday to celebrate around a shortened Christmas holiday for most, we’ve decided to skip the Birmingham Bowl next Tuesday to enjoy what we can this year. What’s nice is we don’t have to travel far for our next bowl. It’s a very short drive to Nissan Stadium to see Tennessee and Purdue play in this year’s Music City on December 30. Then we’ll settle in to watch the CFP games on New Year’s Eve in comfort at home and see if we want to make it up to Indy for the championship game on January 10. Merry Christmas to our faithful collegefootballfan.com followers and college football fans of all teams.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all have a great bowl season from Collegefootballfan.com!
Forty-four bowl games will be played between Friday, December 17 and on Monday, January 10 when the College Football Playoff (CFP) final will take place in Indianapolis for the championship of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Collegefootballfan.com’s plans to get right into the mix starting on Saturday. We will attend our first of three pre-determined bowl games we’ve selected to attend. For now, we’ll wait for the CFP semifinals to be determined to consider if we will attend the Big One on January 10. We have to make it to one of the finals eventually. Now only a four-hour trek for us, Indianapolis is a good possibility.
Fast start among the teams we’ve seen
Having attended 19 regular season games already this year, we’ve seen 22 bowl teams in action already. Of the first eight bowl games to be played this Friday and Saturday, we’ve seen at least one team in seven of these upcoming start-ups. The one game without a participant we’ve seen is the PUBG Mobile New Mexico Bowl between UTEP and Fresno.
BYU’s Tyler Algeire scored five TDs when we saw the Cougars beat Virginia. We’ll see him play again Saturday vs. UAB.
Other Collegefootballfan.com Head-to-Head Bowl Game selections
Three bowl games align both teams we saw play this past season. We select 6-6 Memphis based on speed over 6-7 Hawaii even though the Easy Post Hawaii Bowl is a Rainbow Warrior home game. No. 20 and 11-2 Houston lost to Cincinnati, and 6-6 Auburn lost to Penn State in the annals of our recent history. Our selection goes with Houston, and we will be at the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl. However, we’ll wait to buy tickets when we get there to avoid any fee. In the Servpro First Responder Bowl in Dallas, the 9-3 Air Force Falcons go to battle with the 6-6 Louisville Cardinals. We favor the Falcon triple-option attack to defeat the Cardinals.
Collegefootballfan.com – “at home” in the 2021 Music City Bowl
Over the years, CFF.com has attended five Music City Bowls going back to 2008. These trips to Nashville at the time along with other non-football excursions to the area put the thought here that this would be great place to retire. We did so this past July. So far, so good. On December 30, we’ll take a short drive to Nissan Stadium for this year’s TransPerfect Music City Bowl between 7-5 Tennessee and 8-4 Purdue.
In 2016, we watched a gray-clad Tennessee defeat Nebraska, 38-24. In 2018, we watched Auburn destroy Purdue here, 63-14. The score was closer than it seemed as AU led at halftime, 56-7. We spent the second half in downtown Broadway across the Cumberland River at the dearly departed Benchmark. We expect this bowl game to be competitive, but we give Tennessee the nod as we expect that sea of orange that hurts the eyes non-Vol fans. This will be a UT home game. We expect Purdue QB Aidan O’Connell to give UT’s secondary fits and the Boilermaker defense allowing only 20.6 per game to keep the Vols in check. However, the crowd will give UT some added benefits.
We almost didn’t recognize the gray-clad Tennessee Volunteers in the 2016 Music City Bowl against Nebraska. No problem here. Their orange hurts our eyes. We’ll see what they will wear at the Music City on December 30.
NIL problems arise
Through contacts out there in the college football world, we’ve heard of a Power Five team, who will remain nameless, in some turmoil due to this “Name, Image, and Likeness” policy. Two QBs on the squad have such an arrangement. One promised to share with the O-line, but hasn’t yet. As those who have money now to flaunt what they’ve got, consternation arises between the offense and the defense. Other great lessons to be learned from this new NCAA policy, both good and bad – sharing, teamwork, loyalty, fairness, greed, jealousy, etc. These are just the tip of the iceberg. More “bad” comes out of this policy as it continues.
This could be below the tip of the iceberg
Former Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler, benched behind Frosh QB Caleb Williams midway through this season, and his TE Austin Stogner, both left the Sooners and landed at South Carolina. Shane Beamer is now Head Coach there. Within a day of entering the portal, the transfers were complete. Of course, Beamer already had a feeler out having been the OU TE coach from 2018-2020. Rattler, from Arizona, was projected by some to go to Arizona State. You just have to wonder what’s going on behind the scenes in these cases now.
Not saying that it’s happened here, but can teams throw NIL money around now to outbid other programs? Or maybe Rattler was so excited that the Sooners were moving on to the SEC, he decided to join up rather than wait. Maybe he wants to play against his former school in a few years. Sure, that’s it.
South Carolina looks to improve their 6-6 record under Shane Beamer in 2021 with the addition of Spencer Rattler from Oklahoma next season.
Deion’s Splash
So, Deion Sanders got the No. 1 recruit in the world, 6’1 160-lb WR/DB Travis Hunter from Georgia to sign on with Sander’s Jackson State program de-committing from Florida State. Surely Travis is a great recruit, but everybody seems to have different opinions about who’s No. 1. Now questions come up if Deion will set the new trend of Historically Black Colleges attracting talent away from the rest of the FBS. We believe maybe some, but we do believe that this will not last for long. College football is a big money business now and getting bigger with this NIL policy.
Deion can sell his worth to the kids he wants at Jackson State, but the other schools? Eddie George coaches at Tennessee State. His assistant and former pro assistant Hue Jackson just left for Grambling. We’ll see what happens in the near future. However, if and when these coaches become successful at these FCS programs, what’s going to stop them from moving to the next level where there’s more money for them? They’ll eventually be up there if successful, and the players they recruit will follow.
Tennessee State Head Coach and Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George (wearing white visor) keeps a close watch on his team to make his Tigers more competitive in the Ohio Valley Conference in their win over Austin Peay we attended this year.
Urban Meyer’s lesson
There is a wide chasm between being head coach at the collegiate level and the professional level. Both are totally different games. Use Nick Saban as a benchmark. He left LSU to coach the Miami Dolphins and within a year went back to college to go coach Alabama. Remember Steve Spurrier’s short stint in the NFL between Florida and South Carolina? His college coaching record ended with an impressive record of 228-89-2. His record with Washington (the professional team, not U. of) ended at 12-20. At least the old ball coach finished two full seasons before heading to Carolina. There are plenty of other successful college coaches who never reached any similar heights at the pro level. One of the most recent rarities is Pete Carroll, but he’s also an example of a college rules breaker who found amnesty in the NFL. And they say cheaters never win.
Consider your skill sets, and don’t kid yourself
Any coach making such a transition has to go into this with an understanding of the major differences and that, if anything, success is not guaranteed overnight. In college, you have your pick of any player in the country. Your staff is trained to “sell” as much, if not more, as they are to coach and develop young players. A major skill set is to present what you have and how it’s better for an 18-year-old to come play for you than anybody else – the future you can offer, the pretty girls on campus, the sliding board in the dorm, easiest courses to pass, possibly a four-year degree, etc.
Different game/different rules
In the pros, get in line with 32 other organizations every year and pick just one guy per round to fill in where you need to improve your team. Eventually, you select 40+ players to fill your needs for the upcoming season. You have a little surplus on the side, but you don’t have bunch of guys on your bench that every competitor is clamoring to have.
In the pros, your entire game schedule is given to you before the current season is over. You don’t get to play 75% of your games at home. You don’t get to schedule the three weakest teams in the league every year. CFL teams are not options to play during the regular season. You’re going to get a mix of games comparable to what everybody else in the league is going to play. Be thankful you get a few exhibition games that don’t count so you can figure out your eventual starting line-up and practice your play-calling.
Tua Taglivailoa (13) and Devonta Smith (6) undoubtedly received scholarship offers from most FBS schools and both landed at Alabama. To start their pro careers, their Heisman talents went in the draft respectively to Miami and Philadelphia.
On a more level playing field
Media guys can’t vote for your team to get into the post-season, thankfully! You have to win more games against comparable competition to get into playoffs, not a bowl game or two. Competing among equals as far as player talent and game schedules make the playing field level in the pros. Your skill set mastering a game plan and getting the most out of the talent you’ve developed gets you to the top now.
In the pros, you need to select the best players you can from what everybody else can get – through the draft, free agency, trades, etc. Put the best team you can on the field. Have the back-ups necessary to replace guys that get injured and who can contribute to your special teams as well. Build team camaraderie. Use your leaders among the players to do just that. Improve the skills of your younger players. Put together a game plan with the talent you have and execute them with the coaches you hired.
Football is a business
Nobody is saying this is easy, especially when taking over a team that’s been struggling. Realize the strategy of continuous improvement as it’s called in the business world. Success doesn’t happen over night by recruiting a whole, new, young class of blue-chip athletes who want to come play for you because their parents liked you. It’s about developing the talent you have, making them better players, and developing and executing a game plan. Just do it all better than the one the guy across the field who has to beat you. And keep a “positive” attitude toward the future that your players can buy into. Don’t be a cry-baby or a finger pointer. They’re never successful in any business, and that is what football has become at both levels first and foremost.
If you’re not ready for this alternative world of football, stay in the college game where your skill set of attracting 18-year-olds is the best you got. Also, maybe your program has a lot of money to pay to schools without the money to play you since you’ve hoarded the players. Take advantage. They didn’t have the same resources to attract as you did. However, you probably already know that.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Bowl Game season to you and yours!
East Rutherford, NJ – In the 122nd version of their long-storied rivalry, Navy beat Army, 17-13, in a knock-down, drag-out fight. The game wasn’t pretty. The contest depicted toe-to-toe and hand-to-hand combat. The Mids (4-8) achieved the highlight of the 2021 season by beating Army to lead the series now, 62-53-7. The game started like it would be an unexpected, see-saw battle, but both defenses adjusted quickly facing offenses that they see every day in practice. Neither side gave up, and Navy’s defense stuffed the last attempt by Army to recapture a lead with only 1:27 left to play.
At our pre-game tailgate party, we welcomed some surprise visitors walking by – the pilots of the Navy FA 18 Super Hornets who performed the pre-game flyover for today’s game.
Hot starts
Army QB Christian Anderson broke through the Navy line on the left side with a 56-yard jaunt on only the fourth play of the opening drive. However, that long burst would be the last of the day as Army’s vaunted triple-option netted only 56 more yards the entire day. Anderson added only 11 of those. The Cadets averaged 301.2 yard per game against mostly suspect competition this year. Navy’s subsequent possession lasted longer with 11 plays, but attained the same result. Navy QB Tai Lavatai ran for the final eight yards to knot the score. Army scored three more on Cole Talley’s 31-yard FG to put the Cadets up after the first fifteen, 10-7.
The defenses controlled the next four series forcing punts after three-and-outs. A missed FG by the Mids was followed by a 32-yard boot by Talley to provide Army a 13-7 advantage at half-time. Half-time memorialized the events of 9/11/2001.
Navy starts second half “full speed ahead”
Navy took the second half kickoff and drove 74 yards in 12 plays. The key play turned out to be a 26-yard run by Chance Warren, his only carry of the game. He took the ball around right end with a slight swing back before turning up field. He broke tackles and tip-toed up the right sideline before getting knocked out at the two. Lavatai slammed it over from there, and Navy suddenly had a 14-13 lead.
Proud to get together with some old friends from USNA Second Company Class of 1978 at this year’s Army-Navy tailgate!
Defense! Defense!
Navy forced a three-and-out. Both defenses forced punts before the third ended. Navy started its next drive before entering the fourth quarter. When Navy displays an effective offense, it eats up clock. This drive consumed 8:56 into the fourth before Bijan Nichols booted a 43-yard FG to put Navy up by four, 17-13. Navy forced Army to punt again from its 49 after their next series using up 2:51. The Cadet defense held the Navy to punt after picking up only three yards before forcing a punt, but they burned all three time-outs with only 2:56 to play.
Army forced to air it out
Starting from their 33, Army offense had to resort more to the pass than it desires. After a nine-yard completion and a three-yard run, the Cadets added a first down from their 45. MetLife Stadium rocked with the Brigade of Midshipman and Corps of Cadets cheering their class mates on. Two Army passes fell incomplete. The next one went for seven yards. The game would possibly be decided here at Navy’s 48 on a second and three for Army. Navy stopped Anderson for a two-yard gain, and the Mids took over on downs. With 1:27 left, Navy went into the Victory formation and knelt three times to run out the clock. Go Navy!
Navy QB Tai Lavatai picks up yards on Mids’ first quarter scoring drive.
Next up!
The Mids finished a frustrating season at 4-8. For the second year in a row, they failed to go bowling. The Cadets finished 8-4, and go to the Lockheed-Martin Armed Forces Bowl to play 6-6 Missouri on December 22. Collegefootballfan.com travels to Shreveport, LA next Saturday to attend our first Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. There, we will see No. 13 BYU (10-2) meet Conference USA’s U of A-Birmingham. The Blazers (8-4, 6-2) finished second to UTSA Roadrunners in the Western Division of Conference USA.
According to previous information, the Cougars would meet this season’s Conference USA champs. The 12-1 UTSA Roadrunners ranked all season until a surprising defeat to North Texas State. Despite their conference championship win over Western Kentucky to win the CUSA title, ESPN got involved in pitting UTSA against San Diego State (11-2) who fell to Utah State in the MWC Championship. Our loss. BYU vs. UTSA would have been fun bowl game to attend.
“God forbid if Cincinnati wins it all!” That’s one of the first ESPNU radio comments heard Sunday Morning on the show with Matt Schick and Myron Medcalf. Really? We believe God has many more issues to be concerned about than who wins the CFP this year. We were on the way home after attending the Bearcats impressive 35-20 win over 11-2 Houston to win the American Athletic Conference Championship the night before!
Defenders of the status quo – why?
What’s with these media guys? Why is it so important to them to maintain a desired status quo among specific teams that should be among the chosen few to win the College Football Championship every year? How many people’s lives depend on this? Alabama, Georgia, and/or Michigan fans and alum are not going to commit mass suicide if the Cincinnati Bearcats win this year’s title. Do these guys sitting with microphones in front of them know things other human beings aren’t aware of? No. Our proposed system would spread the wealth of talent rather than leave it to the handful that right that now basically vie for the CFP every year. Let’s get past that!
From Collegefootballfan.com’s perspective, and probably that from a lot of others, Cincinnati winning could be one of the best things to happen to college football. It would break the boring status quo. It would prove to fans, players, coaches, recruits, and anyone else who enjoys or thrives on the competitive world of college football, that maybe someday, all soon-to-be 133 FBS programs have a real shot at the national championship.
For Cincinnati, it started with the AAC championship against Houston. Next step, CFP Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs. Alabama.
Break up the monopoly
Of course, we know that is impossible, but as we explained in our recent article of Steveo’s Salvos on November 18 entitled, “Expand playoffs to Champions only…”, for various reasons, this could break the CFP “monopoly.” The same top seven or eight teams attain the best talent to vie for a perceived championship every year. The media hypes much of their opinions based on this before seasons even start every year. Spread the talent more among as many schools and conferences as possible.
“God forbid?” College Football is a great tradition and great entertainment, but these guys have to wake up and look beyond their little worlds behind their microphones. Their vision seems be limited to influences around them that make them think the world can’t survive unless just a handful of college football programs need to win the national championship every year. And to their amazement, there’s even a bigger world beyond this great sport. The Lord has greater concerns than the CFP. In their little worlds, they should also consider the bigger picture for our favorite sport as well.
2021 W-L record of 210-119; Cincinnati tops at 13-0
Collegefootballfan.com attended 22 regular season college games so far this season. One more exists this Saturday, Army-Navy. Of the 22, 18 were played between FBS schools and four among FCS teams. We plan at least three more bowl games, hopefully four. Of the 28 FBS schools we will see by the end of this season, 18 will finish with winning records. Six finished their regular season at 6-6. All are in bowl games, so they can add to our teams with winning records and/or losing records.
Only four finished with losing records, but Hawaii (6-7) plays Memphis (6-6) in the Easy Post Hawaii Bowl. Our FCS slate included four of five teams with winning records. East Tennessee (11-1) lost to UT Chattanooga (6-5) when we saw them battle, but ETSU continues to play for the FCS Championship this week in the quarterfinals when they will meet perennial champ North Dakota State.
Needless to say, we have seen a lot of good teams and great games this season. Ten teams seen won 10 games or more. Of course, we witnessed our Top team just last weekend. Only No. 4 Cincinnati (13-0) remains undefeated among all 130 FBS programs. If they win their next game vs. Alabama, we hope to see them again in the CFP championship game. Stay tuned to what has already been a great season for Collegefootballfan.com.
We attended Appalachian State’s 30-27 win over Coastal Carolina in their Sun Belt clash. The Mountaineers and Chanticleers both won ten games this season and head to well-deserved bowl games.
Our playoff plan for 2021
Referring back to our Salvo for WEEK 12, click here to review our proposals. If you look back on it, we provided our plan to select the Top 12 teams from a season based on 10 conference winners, one independent, and one at-large. The seedings would be done then based on a selection by Commissioners of all conferences. Without the benefit of our proposed “Independent playoff” (this year hypothetically between Notre Dame and BYU), and using Georgia as the at-large despite a very weak schedule (more on that later). This is how we perceive our 2021 bracket would be established based on our proposed criteria:
Round 1
No. 12 Northern Illinois at No. 5 Notre Dame
No. 9 Oregon at No. 8 Pitt
No. 11 UTSA at No. 6 Baylor
No. 10 Louisiana at No. 7 Utah
Round 2
NIU – ND winner at No. 4 Georgia
Oregon-Pitt winner at No. 1 Alabama
UTSA-Baylor winner at No. 3 Cincinnati
Louisiana-Utah winner at No. 2 Michigan
All these games will be played at the higher seeds’ home stadium. Winners of Round 2 go on to the CFP semi-finals at venues designated that year like they are now. Final game played at a neutral site. All other traditional bowls or “consolation games” to be filled by the committee based on records and locations. All ratings here are hypothetical but provide the effectiveness that such a playoff format can enhance the interest among all conferences and fans of college football.
We saw Baylor defeat Texas State 29-20 to start their season. We never anticipated the Bears would finish 10-2 and win the Big 12. Here, Abram Smith barrels in for his second TD of the day against the TSU Bobcats.
SOS=BS
How does Alabama get ranked #4 overall for strength of schedule (SOS)? Mercer, Southern Miss, New Mexico State as we harped on all season long? Miami at a neutral site? A 32-game winning streak against the SEC East? What does that say about that level of competition? “SEC? SEC?” Those folks should be chanting “Alabama! Alabama!”
Quantity wins, not Quality
Where’s the quality, non-conference wins among the SEC foes Bama’s beaten? UGA over Clemson with no offense, 10-3. Mississippi (Louisville, Liberty?), Mississippi State (lost to AAC Memphis), Arkansas (5-7 Texas?), LSU (lost to UCLA), Auburn (lost to Penn State), Tennessee (lost to Pitt), Florida (5-7 beat FSU, 27-24), and BAMA lost to 8-4 Texas A&M (won at 4-8 Colorado, 10-7). So, the total wins among their conference brethren are against each other. Just like every other conference, but that SEC East only won three games against the West this year – Georgia’s two wins and South Carolina over Auburn without Bo Hicks. Wins among conference foes don’t add up to quality if they can’t beat anyone of significance on a regular basis in our estimation.
We saw Memphis defeat Navy this year at the Liberty Bowl, 35-17. The Tigers beat the SEC’s Mississippi State there four weeks earlier, 31-29.
Maybe the SEC East fans should chant, “SEC West! SEC West!” Alabama No. 4 SOS? In the spirit of Christmas, “Baah! Humbug!” Just another media tool to hype the SEC. Cincinnati defeated Notre Dame in South Bend. The Bearcats ended the Irish’s 24-game home winning streak. That’s nothing to sneer at. Neither are wins against UCF and Houston. Let’s see what happens when these two meet Florida and Auburn in their respective bowl games.
Coaches Poll, More “Baah! Humbug! “
We heard plenty of evidence this past week after Championship Weekend and the announcement of CFP match-ups to strengthen our feeling about any Coaches polls. We stated that head coaches voting for the top 25 only know about two teams – their own and the last one they played. They have to get ready for the next one. Every interview last Sunday went like this, “So coach what do you know about your upcoming foe and what will you have to do to beat them?”
The answers seemed brutally honest from, “We don’t know anything about them.”; “We have to start looking at film.”; “Not much.”; “Nothing.”; “We’ll enjoy this tonight and start looking at them tomorrow.” These came from guys who supposedly voted for Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, and Cincinnati as the four top teams they and their fellow head coaches voted for among 25 other teams chosen among 130 in all. How do they do that not knowing anything about these teams. It’s a joke. Do away with the coaches’ polls. Meaningless.
ArmyNavy – Upset this weekend
One game only, as it appropriately should be, to end the regular college football season will be played this Saturday. Army-Navy! It will be our ninth in a row (tenth had all tickets not been cancelled last year) and our 13th overall. This year, the 122nd edition will be at the Meadowlands in NJ in honor of the people killed across the Hudson River in New York City, 20 years ago on 9/11/2001. Many graduates from both these service academies since then have served, fought, and died against the terrorism that has threatened us since. We plan to meet with several friends Saturday who graduated from Annapolis who have served during this time.
As for the game, Army has won the last five clashes, comes in with a record of 8-3, trails only Air Force as the second leading rushing team in the nation averaging 301.2 yards per game, and defeated the Air Force, 21-14, on November 6 to have a chance at winning the Commander in Chief Trophy outright if they beat Navy. They’re favored by 7.5 points over 3-8 Navy. We believe this is prime upset territory.
Navy has struggled this season, but emotions will be high! They won the 14 previous contests. Their schedule was much more demanding than Army’s. The threw a scare at undefeated No. 4 Cincinnati when they fell, 27-20. They gave tough games to SMU and to No. 21 Houston falling, 31-24 and 28-21 respectively. They beat up on Temple last game and lost by three to an improving East Carolina squad, 38-35 before that. They fell to Air Force early 24-3 without starting QB Tai Lavatai. If he’s healthy, the Navy offense will be well led. If it’s any offense the Mids are ready for, it’s the triple option.
When Navy fell, it’s been to mostly pass-oriented teams. Army will throw a few surprises at them. While the Mids played in the improving American Athletic, Army lost to ball State, Wisconsin, and Wake Forest, their most formidable foes. Since their OT win over Air Force, they’ve beaten lowly FCS Bucknell, 1-11 UMass, and a floundering 7-5 Liberty we saw get crushed by Louisiana. This game will be a typical ArmyNavy fight to the finish. We think the Mids have the incentive here to win this close one by less than a TD. Go Navy!
Cincinnati – The No. 4 Cincinnati Bearcats (13-0, 9-0) defeated the Houston Cougars (11-2, 8-1), 35-20, to win the American Athletic title and to secure their selection into the CFP to play No. 1 Alabama at the Cotton Bowl on December 31. The Bearcats achieved the “honor” of being the first of the Group of Five teams to ever earn a bid to be among the final four in the College Football Playoff. The Bearcats charged into the CFP defeating No. 21 Houston on MVP Gerard Ford’s spectacular performance of 18 rushes for 187 yards and two explosive touchdowns runs. Houston exchanged scores with Cincy early, but the Bearcat defense finally adapted and shut them down from the second period on.
Cougars compete
Houston scored on its first possession with Dalton Witherspoon’s 38-yard FG. Cincinnati advanced right down the field on their subsequent possession. The announced Nippert Stadium crowd of 37, 978 roared when Desmond Ridder connected with WR Tyler Scott for a 25-yard TD pass. U of H QB Clayton Tune (12 for 25, 250 yards, 2 TDS, 1 INT) led the Cougars right back finishing a 74-yard drive with a TD pass to Nathaniel Dell. On Cincy’s next play from scrimmage, Ford broke through the Houston defensive line and raced 79 yards for a 14-10 first quarter Cincinnati lead.
Houston WR Nathaniel Dell (1) sprints to Clayton Tune’s pass for Cougars’ first TD.
Houston reacted with a drive resulting in a Witherspoon 47-yard FG. The Bearcat defense held the Cougars to two field goals on three scoring drives to maintain the lead, 14-13. The next Cincy possession went for naught as a 23-yard FG failed. The Bearcat defense, however, started to stiffen thereafter. The next Houston possession advanced only 28 yards before punting. The next five Cougar series each ended in less than three plays each totaling -16 yards. A devastating turnover in the third period provided the Cats the momentum they needed for the victory.
Cincinnati defenders dropped Tune many times behind the line of scrimmage and held Houston to 86 rushing yards the entire game.
The “Bear” comes out of the Bearcats
Starting from the 25 on their first possession in the second half, Ridder (11 for 17, 190 yards, 3 TDs) rolled right on a run-pass option from the eight. He fired the ball to Leonard Taylor on a sprint out pattern to pad the Bearcats margin, 21-13. The CFP committee would be looking for Bearcat dominance in their post-season win to assure them a spot.
On the first play of Houston’s next series, Tune fired a pass over the middle snagged quickly out of the air by Cincy LB Joel Dublanko. He gave the home Bearcats a great field position at the U of H 23. Two plays later, Ridder tossed a 21-yard strike to TE Alec Pierce falling backwards in the end zone to extend the CU lead again, 28-13. Looking good for the CFP pollsters.
Bearcat Cheerleaders had much to smile about throughout their team’s CFP audition.
Putting the “C” in CFP
Next, the Bearcats forced a Cougar punt from the 18 after pushing them back 12 yards. The fired-up Cat defense sacked Tune eight times and made 12 tackles for losses by the end of the day. The offense went back to work quickly. Ford burst over right tackle, swerved to his left, and raced again untouched for a 42-yard TD run. Up 35-13, the defense held again. How could the CFP committee ignore this team? A subsequent UC drive resulted in a turnover on downs before heading into the final period.
After playing solid, heads-up defense for 30 minutes, the Bearcats relented slightly. Cougar WR Dell (9 catches, 152 yards, 1 TD) grabbed a pass for 53 yards to the CU seven. With 6:06 remaining, Tune connected with Jake Herslow for a scoring pass. After that, the Bearcats remained in control running out the clock on offense while the defense turned the ball over on downs on Houston’s one, remaining drive.
Cincy LB Darrian Beavers (0) signals Houston’ s final turnover on downs to to punctuate the Bearcat victory and to start the night-long celebration!
The celebration went on for hours after the American Athletic Trophy award was presented by AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco. A CFP championship shot was the focus of this team since its Peach Bowl 24-21 loss to Georgia last season. Desmond Ridder and fellow seniors such as DB Coby Bryant, S Bryan Cook, OL Cody Lamb, DL Myjai Sanders, Pierce, Beavers, and Dublanko came back to get a national championship despite what media “experts” say. They definitely deserve to prove their worthiness to all of college football now.
Nippert Stadium erupts for post-game celebration of the American Athletic Conference title and the anticipated bid to play for the CFP championship!
Let’s go Bowling!
The Bearcats get their wish into the CFP 2021 and will face No. 1 seed Alabama (12-1, 8-1) at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on January 31. When the Bearcats win, the CFP championship prices will drop, and we will be there in Indy!
No. 21 Houston (11-2) heads to the Ticketsmarter Birmingham Bowl on December 28 to face the Auburn Tigers (6-6). Auburn lost their last four, and we saw them fall to PSU, 28-20. We plan to go to this bowl, too. Our move to Tennessee this past year put us in range of a lot of desirable bowl opportunities. We plan to do this as long as we still can.
Before Bowl season and the CFP begin, however, we have our final regular season game this Saturday at The Meadowlands. It’s the only FBS game of the day and rightfully so! All we have to say is, “Go Navy! Beat Army!”
Only eleven FBS games (who cares about USC vs. Cal?) will be played this weekend, and ten will determine a 2021 conference championship in Week 14. We aptly refer to it as Conference Championship Week. We at Collegefootballfan.com are proud (and surprised) to report that among those twenty teams doing battle for their respective conference titles, we attended games played by six of them this season. Two more are on our docket this weekend as we plan to attend the AAC’s grand finale.
Our top team in 2021 coming up
We select our games primarily based on the most competitive games we can find every week. They don’t always turn out that way, but the schedule we developed shows we got our fingers on the pulse regarding the national scene. Despite a limited budget and travel opportunities, that’s pretty good!
So far, 2021 has been a fun season, and we look forward to greater match-ups possibly going into January for bowl games and possibly FBS playoffs. From the latest AP Top 25 poll, we add No. 4 and No. 21 as two of eight teams on our slate. We’ll see Cincinnati (12-0) host Houston (11-1) at Nippert Stadium when they play for the American Athletic Conference title this weekend. We will be there rooting for the Bearcats to rank in the Top Four to get into this year’s CFP.
On Saturday, No. 9 Baylor (10-2,7-2) plays No. Oklahoma State (11-1, 8-1) in Arlington, Texas for the Big 12 title. Baylor opened our FBS season in September with a 29-20 win over Texas State in San Marcos. BU was not a preseason Top 25 pick anywhere. The Bears later fell to the OSU Cowboys, 24-14, at Stillwater. QB Brian Bohannon makes their balanced offense go, and the Cowboys come off a big win over archrival Oklahoma. More often than not, it seems like the revenge factor has a major influence in these championship games between teams that have already met.
No Conference Championship for No. 11
In addition to Conference Championship teams, No. 11 BYU (10-2) who we watched beat Virginia this year, 66-49, does not play this weekend. The Independent awaits the winner of UT San Antonio vs. Western Kentucky on Friday night for title of ConferenceUSA. The winner will play the Cougars in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. Until last weekend, the UTSA Roadrunners (11-1, 7-1) were ranked and undefeated until getting upset by North Texas State. We saw WKU (8-4, 7-1) play twice this year. QB Bailey Zappe leads the nation in passing yards with 4,968 and TD tosses with 52.
BYU should be sharpening their defensive skills as they await an Independence Bowl match up with either UTSA or WKU. Virginia with QB Brennan Armstrong put up 49 points in the Cougars 66-49 win when we saw them!
Last Saturday in Chestnut Hill, MA, close to where we celebrated Thanksgiving in Rhode Island, we watched No. 16 Wake Forest outclass spiraling Boston College, 41-10. The week before, the Demon Deacons (10-2,7-1) fell to traditional nemesis Clemson. A loss to BC would have knocked them out of Conference Championship contention. We needed to be there for our WFU friends after we joined them before the Clemson game to see the Deacs defeat now No. 18 NC State in a thriller, 45-42.
Utah State, nice place to see a game, but…
At 3 pm EST on Saturday, unranked Mountain Division winner Utah State (9-3, 6-2) meets No. 19 San Diego State (11-1, 7-1) MWC West Division winner. We thoroughly enjoyed attending USU’s win over Hawaii at Merlin Olson Field this year. Situated in beautiful Logan, we hope to definitely see another game there. However, some influence from beyond dictates to us when it comes to determining the Aztecs chances here on earth. See our all our predictions later in, “WEEK 14: Previews of our top college football Conference Championship games”.
We recommend fans to check out Utah State’s playing field named for Merlin Olsen – USU All-American and NFL Hall of Famer with the Las Angeles Rams. We enjoyed the great atmosphere there!
Battle Royale
The next Conference Championship game should be a battle right to the finish between both SunBelt teams we saw win impressively this season. The unranked Mountaineers of Appalachian State (10-2, 8-1) return to Lafayette, LA where they lost to the No. 24 Ragin Cajuns in a one-side match, 41-13. The Cajuns have reeled off 11 straight wins since losing their opener to Texas. On November 20, we saw them dominate Liberty (7-5) in Lynchburg, VA, 42-14.
We think the Mountaineers will come into this game with huge chips on their shoulders. The week after they lost to the Ragin’ Cajuns, we watched them knock Coastal Carolina from the ranks of the unbeaten and out of the Top 25, 30-27. Since then, their five straight wins were won by 24 points or more. Known historically for remarkable upsets, the Mountaineers should be primed for this one. Last week, the Cajuns just got by rival UL-Monroe at home, 21-16. Letdown? Looking past the 4-8 Warhawks? Not sure. Since they defeated Appy, they edged 2-10 Arkansas State, 28-27 a week later, and since defeated 7-5 Georgia State, 21-17, at home. Maybe they need a challenge? They both have one ahead of them. This will be a Conference Championship battle between two fired-up football teams!
Appy’s defense has clamped down on opposing offenses since their 41-13 loss against Louisiana.
The other Conference Championship contests
On the second Friday night game, No. 17 Utah and No. 10 Oregon go at it again since they met on November 20 with the Utes pummeling the Ducks, 38-7. We almost saw Utah play UCLA when we ventured to the Beehive State, but when they scheduled that game for the evening, we already committed to see BYU-UVA.
The SEC and Big Ten Conference Championship games are void of any teams we’ve seen play. No. 1 Georgia plays No. 3 Alabama, for the SEC of course while No. 2 Michigan meets No. 13 Iowa for the Big Ten title. Our possibility of seeing either conference represented this weekend came apart after seeing Penn State beat Auburn in September, 28-20. Neither stepped up after QB injuries impacted the balances of their respective seasons.
Auburn QB Bo Nixon went down after their 28-20 loss to PSU, and the Lions’ Sean Clifford battled injuries incurred in the Iowa loss to knock both squads off their respective Conference Championship tracks.
Cram the Coaching Carousel
Lincoln Riley leaves 10-2 Oklahoma for USC. Brian Kelly leaves 11-1 Notre Dame for LSU. Brian Napier absconds 11-1 Louisiana for Florida. Does this all have to happen right before their respective teams go on to bowl games their teams worked so hard for with and for them all season? Can’t these guys and the hiring universities keep their wallets in their pockets until after the entire season is finished? Some will say they need to start recruiting right away. Well, why doesn’t the NCAA delay that “season”?
There are antitrust laws and free markets that violate institutions of higher learning from disallowing these moves at this time. We wished there could be a “legal” way to delay this until after the final rankings for the season announce the national champion. Same with these transfer announcements. Loyalty and teamwork, valuable lifelong lessons, go out the window. Yet, greed and avarice by individuals and universities take precedence over these honorable qualities that need to be taught.
Coaches look for commitments from their players for their personal success every year. Time to re-focus on other life lessons here in the world of academia. They can teach all of the ethics classes they want, but their actions here speak louder than words. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!
Our Best Game results of Week 13
We said what Cincinnati had to do to maintain their shot at being the first school among the Other Five to make the CFP. We called for them to win by two TDs, and they defeated a battling East Carolina (7-5), 35-13…Our scouting report having seen Liberty fall to Louisiana in Week 12 paid off. Army’s offense couldn’t be handled right off to lead 24-3 by halftime. The Cadets controlled the clock offensively for 36:13 to 23:47. They outscored the Flames in the end, 31-16…
Louisiana’s OL just bull-rushed Liberty’s defense into the end zone Emani Bailey’s score. We’ll see if they can continue to do that when they meet Appalachian State in their Conference Championship this week.
We predicted Wake Forest’s offense would be potent and that their defense would keep Boston College in the game, but their defense didn’t live up to our expectations. Instead, the Deacon D came up big, and Wake came up with a 41-14 decision to win the ACC Atlantic… Oklahoma State’s defense made the difference in the win over archrival Oklahoma, but not until the second half when they held the Sooners scoreless. The game was tied at the half 24-24, and the Cowboys triumphed, 37-33. You read that correctly. Oklahoma’s “defense” scored nine points in the second half with a safety and a fumble recovery in the end zone. Eliminated from the CFP, their coach goes to USC.
Can’t guess ‘em all correctly
We figured Ohio State still had Harbaugh’s number and would win by ten. Michigan rose up to beat the Buckeyes, 42-27. U of M (11-1) moved up to No. 2 and into the CFP picture. They face Iowa now in the Big Ten Conference championship.
WEEK 14: Previews of our top college football Conference Championship games
Revenge match
Despite Western Kentucky’s 8-4 record and that includes a 52-46 loss to UTSA (11-1, 7-1) before their current 7-game winning streak, we lean to WKU. A last-minute drive INT by the UTSA Roadrunners of QB Bailey Zappe (4968 yards, 52 TD passes) thwarted a last-minute WKU win. Other WKU losses came by three to Army’s ball controlling triple option, by two at home to Indiana before their QB Michael Penix was lost for the season, and to 11th ranked Michigan State, 48-31.
They scored 519 points this season to UTSA’s 442. They haven’t scored less than 31 points all season. Since their last loss, the defense has allowed only 18.8 ppg. UTSA allowed 76 in the last two weeks. We see WKU by seven with Zappe making sure they don’t lose this one.
QB Bailey Zappe, a grad transfer from FCS Houston Baptist, now leads the nation in passing yards and TDs at WKU.
Pressure from within
Cincinnati Bearcat HC Luke Fickell continues to drill his “Other Five” team on knowing what they have to do to get into the CFP. They have to win big. Despite what “experts” think, this American Athletic has been competitive with all comers the last few years. QB Desmond Ridder sat out last year’s NFL draft to get his team to this one.
Also, we’ll keep reminding everyone that the toughest win Georgia faced in their current 16-game winning streak was their 24-21 win over these Bearcats in last year’s Peach Bowl, 24-21. Cincy led 21-10 going into Q4. The Bearcat roster came back basically intact this year. Against comparable AAC competition this year, Cincinnati’s defense has been superior to Houston’s. This team is on a mission. They know they have to win by at least two TDs to offset other challenges after all the Conference Championship games are concluded.
Cincinnati TE Josh Whyle snags pass from Derek Ridder (9) for a 29-yard TD pass against UCF last season. Cincy needs to win big this week over 11-1 Houston to assure a CFP spot in January, and they know it.
Bears and Cowboys; this isn’t the NFL
For the Big 12, it awaits the winner of this game since both defeated Oklahoma with superior defenses than what the Sooners typically have. OSU (11-1) defeated Baylor, 24-14 on October 2. A lot has happened since then. Between the two, the Cowboys are on a roll now sensing that opportunity to get into the CFP if a current team among the final four falters. One of them is guaranteed to, so like Cincinnati, the Cowboys have much at stake here. We’ll go with them in close one by three points over Baylor.
RB Abram Smith barrels in for his second TD of the day for the Baylor Bears in their opening day win over Texas State.
San Diego State (11-1) has defeated tougher foes of the MWC winning over the likes of Air Force, Nevada, and Boise. An early win over Utah impresses as well, and most of their wins have recently been tight slugfests. In their last seven games (6-1) the average winning margin is by 4.3 ppg. For Utah State (9-3), they’ve only beaten two squads with winning records, Air Force and Washington State, by four and two respectively. Their three losses have come against teams with records of 6-6 or better (Wyoming, Boise, and BYU). The SDSU Aztecs of our late friend Tom Ables, Mr. San Diego State, is reason enough to indicate we can’t pick against them, but they will win another close one by three.
San Diego State’s No. 1 fan and Alum, the late Tom Ables, WWII Navy Vet who served aboard USS Alabama, missed only two Aztec games between 1946-2017!He attended 788 Aztec games during his lifetime. We miss him.
Roll back the Tide!
Georgia’s defense is superior to what anyone else has with Oklahoma State and Cincy not too far behind. However, among the current Top Four, Alabama does not have the defense that can hold Georgia. On the other side, its OL does not display the dominance previous Alabama editions have been built upon. Saban dominated former assistants until Bama’s loss to Jimbo Fisher’s A&M squad this season. Kirby Smart will become the second to do this to his former mentor. In this case, his defense keeps Bama in check and the Dawgs win by two TDs. Say bye-bye to Bama’s CFP invitation.
Can’t be there, but…
No. 16 Wake and No. 15 Pitt have common records of 10-2, 7-1. Both have outstanding QBs in Sam Hartman for the Demon Deacons and Kenny Pickett for the Pitt Panthers. Hartman has passed for 3,711 yards and 34 TDs. Pickett, first team ACC QB, accumulated 4,066 yards and 40 TDs. Wake’s defense gives up more yards on the ground while Pitt allows more through the air. The game is in Charlotte, and could bring out more fans for WFU located in Winston-Salem. This will be a shoot -out. We pick the Deacs to surprise with an upset here by three.
Wake goes the way of their QB Sam Hartman (10). The Deacs need to shore up their defense against Pitt this weekend to win.
Collegefootballfan.com CFP predictions:
Good Year Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Oklahoma State
Capital One Orange Bowl: No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Cincinnati
Chestnut Hill, MA – On a cold, blustery day in New England, Wake Forest traveled north to best Boston College, 41-10, to take the ACC Atlantic title. The No. 18 Demon Deacons (10-2, 7-1) travel back to neighborly Charlotte, NC next to meet No. 17 Pitt (10-2, 7-1) for the ACC championship. For the Deacs, their last 10-win season came in 2008.
A slow start overcame Boston College which seemed more sluggish as the Deacs held the Eagles scoreless beyond midway through the second quarter. Surprisingly, their defense held BC (6-6, 2-6) to 182 total yards. They made three take-aways and held the Eagles to only 19 yards passing.
The Demon Deacons invaded BC’s Alumni Stadium to stake their claim to the ACC’s Coastal Division title.
Hartman leads the Deacs
For Wake Forest, QB Sam Hartman (20/32 passes, 236 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) punctuated a 71-yard scoring drive in the first with a seven-yard TD run. Their second score came the more conventional Wake way as he connected with AT Perry on a 35-yard pass and catch following an INT by DB Ja’Sir Taylor. Trailing 14-0, the Eagles looked like that would climb back into the game. Before the first period ended, QB Phil Jurkovec who has experienced better days, completed one of his three completes of the game for 15 yards to TE Trae Barry to close the score 14-7.
Wake’s defense sacked BC QB Phil Jurkovec three times to shut down the Eagle passing attack.
Accurate, Wake PK Nick Sciba booted a 45-yard FG early in the second, and the Eagles responded with a 23-yarder by Connor Lytton. Jurkovec fumbled the ball away on the next BC possession on his 19. Wake failed to capitalize though as Hartman’s pass into the end zone was picked easily by BC CB Brandon Sebastian. After a punt by BC from their 13. Wake’s next drive starting at the 50 went for paydirt as Hartman connected with Perry again (four catches 81 yards, two TDs) for an 11-yard TD pass with 00:10 left in the half.
Wake’s AT Perry (9) caught two TD passes today, but BC CB Brandon Sebastian picked off a Hartman pass in the end zone to thwart a third.
It’s sunnier in Philadelphia and in the upper stands at BC
With a 24-10 Wake Forest halftime lead, we looked for warmer climes during intermssion. We moved out of the shade in the south end zone to the upper west sideline of BC’s Alumni Stadium in the warm sunshine. The 25,851 in attendance reported seemed to be dwindling aleady. The figure was most likely bloated as student season ticket holders probably stayed home on Thanksgiving weekend. Their Eagles hadn’t given them much to cheer about. They lost five of their last seven games. Why bother to stay on campus to sit out in 35 degree weather against the best of the ACC this year?
All Wake Forest in the second half
A BC punt from their four was returned 22 yards by WFU’s Tyler Morin. With the aid of a face mask penalty,the Deacs started at the BC 14. Sciba drilled a 23-yard FG midway through the third. On Wake’s next series, a 32-yard completion to Jacquiri Roberson (5 catches for 71 yards) put Wake at the BC three. It resulted in a five-yard TD pass to RB Christian Turner (18 carries for 51 yards, one TD) to put the Deacs up, 34-10. An INT by Wake DB Malik Mustapha had Wake Forest on the move again heading into Q4.
Wake’s Tyler Morin (83) returned this punt and a face mask penalty put the Deacs at BC’s 14.
Sixty-one yards later, Hartman connected with TE Blake Whiteheart for a two-yard scoring pass. With 11:10 remaining, the writng was on the wall. This game was over. The sun set and the chill picked up. Didn’t want to drive back to Rhode Island in the dark. Getting hungry. Time to go. Good call. No one scored after we left.
TE Blake Whiteheart hauled in a two-yard TD pass for Wake’s final score of the day.
Mission accomplished
Contacted Wake Alum and enthuisast, Jim “Bug” Harton, “Mission accomplished.” My Wake nickname officially changed. With this win, the Deacs have won 10 of 11 games collegefootballfan.com has attended in person. The new moniker is now “10 and almost 0” Koreivo! Proud of that mark and proud to be of service to my Wake Forest friends looking forward to seeing their Deacs play Pitt in the warmer climes of Charlotte next Saturday.
CFF.com plans for AAC championship
Having rooted hard for some new blood in the CFP and focusing on Cincinnati since early this season as our favorite longshot, we’ve decided to go to Nippert Stadium next Satureday for the 4 pm EST kickoff! The No. 3 Bearcats (12-0, 8-0) host the No. 16 Houston Cougars (11-1, 8-0). We want to root hard for the Cats in this one to be sure they make it to the CFP.
Since Houston lost their first game of the 2021 season to Texs Tech, 38-21, they went undefeated the rest of the season. Last Saturday, they defeated 1-11 UConn on the road, 45-17. A tougher animal than the hapless Huskies await them in Cincy. In the annals of our 43-year history, the Bearcats stand, 2-3. The Cougars stand 3-3. First trip to Nippert, so we’re psyched! Check out our Conference Championship picks later this week on Steveo’s Salvos!
Maybe some day more Wake Forest fans will understand the legend of “10 and almost 0” Koreivo! Bigger question: How much longer can we keep the “almost 0” intact?
