College Football Week 11: What’s wrong with college football – CFP No. 2 vs. No. 128?

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College football winds down to the final weeks of the 2021 season to determine four teams to compete in the College Football Playoffs.  Exciting! However, in College Football Week 11, what do we have to show for this?  Alabama versus New Mexico State.  Something’s wrong with college football – CFP No. 2 vs. No. 128? On the brink of selecting four teams to play for national championship?

    That’s not by accident. That’s by design.  Alabama plays the New Mexico Aggies again for the second time in three years (last year because of covid-19, teams the SEC stayed within the conference as did most others).  The Tide crushed NMSU in 2019, 62-10. They also play them in Tuscaloosa again. This program has had two winning seasons since 2000. In each year prior to 2019 late in the regular season, The Tide has hosted college football FCS schools like Western Carolina, The Citadel, Mercer (who they played this season already), and Tennessee Chattanooga, each multiple times. Warm-up games for Auburn?

Prudent planning

  Since the beginning of the Saban era, the Tide has won these games by a total score of 572-67.  So, as we come down to determining the Final Four of College Football, Alabama gets another automatic pass even without a “signature win”.   Why don’t they just take a bye week? Maybe a better opportunity could have been found on October 30 when they had a bye, or on September 11 when they played Mercer. Can’t find any real “competition”?  Why doesn’t Bama take a lesson from Wake Forest and North Carolina? Last week the two played a non-conference game even though both play in separate divisions of the ACC.  Wake got knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten, but they still are undefeated in conference play for the championship. 

   Why don’t Bama and Georgia come up with an agreement to do the same?  Sooner or later, they’ve got to play each other. Georgia plays FCS Charleston Southern next week.  Why bother?  Are Georgia recruits currently showing interest in CSU going to de-commit from matriculating at Charleston to go to Athens instead?  Are Alabama recruits teetering between playing in Las Cruces or in Tuscaloosa next year going to be more clear after this year’s meeting on where they will play? Who are we kidding? These opponents of these two SEC schools can’t entice the same players.

  • No doubt they’re good, but Bama on a cruise control schedule to get to the CFP once again.

BAMA-UGA rivalry – NOT!

     Heck, The Tide and The Dawgs had to play last year during the regular season because of Covid.  Bama won, 41-24. In their previous “regular” season game played back in 2015, they also won, 38-10. Before that meeting, in 2008, The Tide rolled, 41-30.  Oh, wait though. The two previous times these two met on the field in 2007 and 2003, Georgia prevailed. Is that the issue? So UGA and Bama, neighborly rivals playing in the same conference ( located only 273 miles apart; Las Cruces ~ 1,500 miles) have only met on purpose five times in the last 18 years.  Five times?  Wonder why?  If Bama would arrange a non-conference series against an Eastern division member of the SEC East, bet on them doing it with Vanderbilt.

The Very Smart and the Very dumb

   Expect Bama to hold on to second in the CFP after they drub No. 128 New Mexico State (1-8) this weekend.  A 20-14 win over struggling 4-5 LSU in Tuscaloosa didn’t cause them to lose any ground either.  For “entertaining” team No. 128 this weekend, votes should be deducted just for that. Nick Saban, however, is smart.  He knows how dumb voters calculate wins and losses. He’s ahead of “the game” in that respect – CFP No. 2 vs. No. 128? Why even take this game into consideration? Automatic win here. 51.5-point spread. A joke!

FBS expansion

   With all the revamping of college football conferences, three new teams have been drawn into the Football Bowl Subdivision to challenge for conference championships for bowl money rather than for lesser playoff money. Collegefootballfan.com will add these once they officially compete at that level to assure that we’ve still “seen ‘em all!” James Madison, who we’ve seen compete twice in the FCS playoffs joins the SunBelt effective July 2023 at the latest. The FCS national champions of 2016 who interrupted eight in a row by North Dakota State will conveniently become a member of the SunBelt for our purposes.  We will see them play again at home in Harrisonburg, Virginia, or when they visit Appy State or some other SBC campus in striking distance from us. 

    The Jacksonville State Gamecocks and Sam Houston State Bearkats will join Conference USA in 2023. Most likely, we will see both play at nearby Western Kentucky or Middle Tennessee.  An announcement was made this week that these two programs will remain in CUSA and not realign with the Mid-American. The Gamecocks may become a “local trip” for us, and we’ll find a way to see the Bearkats who won the delayed 2020 FCS National Championship last spring.  

  • The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders will continue their battles between each other and new Conference USA foes as they decided not to join the Mid-American this week as rumored.

CFF.com’s Ancient History

    We’ve seen Bearkat HC K.C. Keeler not only coach at Delaware and D-3 Rowan during the course of our history. He actually started at LB for Delaware in our first game when we started this crazy, weekly college football adventure in 1979. In our opener of 627 games so far, UD defeated Rhode Island, 49-14. His HC Harold “Tubby” Raymond (300 wins) got inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.  The Fighting Blue Hens went on to win the D-2 national championship that year.  Head Coach Keeler racked up two FCS championships – one at Delaware and one at Sam Houston.  His Rowan Profs fell in the D-3 finale four times.  We look forward to see what he can accomplish in the FBS.

  • First game program from 1979 when Sam Houston HC played LB at Delaware.

Wild Guess on our part

    Collegefootballfan.com is a big fan and follower of Naval Academy football.  Down these past few years, we hope that they will come around again soon.  The membership of the American Athletic Conference they’ve competed in since 2015 will change drastically.  Soon to be gone foes are Cincinnati, Central Florida, and Houston who will join the Big Twelve.  New teams joining the AAC include Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas State, Rice, Alabama-Birmingham, and UT San Antonio. None of these are traditional programs of college football the Naval Academy has played over the years.

     This college football program goal, despite their unique purpose (along with the Military and Air Force Academies) to develop leaders for America’s armed forces, has always been to play at the highest level of college football possible. In other sports, they play in the in the Patriot League against schools of high academic standards such as their own, all located primarily in the northeast.  This arrangement has also allowed them to maintain their natural rivalry in all the other sports with Army, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, since it is also a member of the Patriot League.

   With no disrespect to the new programs joining the American Athletic conference to play football as some, particularly UTSA, have made some developments to become very competitive recently.  One of the primary goals of Naval Academy football has always been to show the country that the Navy wants to represent The Brigade of Midshipman as a major football program throughout the country – similar to what our Navy does around the world displaying our flag on our ships on the high seas and in foreign ports.  They display our physical presence globally.

    The reforming AAC seems somewhat limited geographically and competitively to allow the Navy to show the country similar intentions.  Navy football needs to continue such exposure to the nation and succeed against the most formidable competition possible on the gridiron.  When USNA joined the American Athletic Conference, it needed assurances to keep its traditional rivalries intact with Army, Air Force, and Notre Dame for such reasons.  With all this in mind, we believe there are underlying discussions in place, and perhaps aligned with Army, that they may try to make a move to join a more competitive conference. Based on geography, their purpose, and some alliances developed in the past prior to current conference realignments, we see the possibility of Navy (and Army) trying to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.

    Academics are more than aligned with current ACC members. Annapolis and West Point sit well within the geographic footprint of the current members.  Navy has that connection with Notre Dame that has ACC membership in other sports.  If Army also joins, that is a plus to maintain the rivalry in line with scheduling needs.  Pitt, BC, Syracuse, Virginia, Duke, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech have histories with Navy and Army over the years.  Surely, there has to be some considerations going on here.  If this becomes reality, we won’t be surprised.

  • Navy and Virginia faced off with another in the 2018 Military Bowl. Played in Annapolis, the Mids defeated the Cavs, 49-7.

WEEK 10, Review of our Top college football games

     Tough picks for us last week among our best we predicted. For the game we covered, Collegefootballfan.com called for Western Kentucky to win a close one.  However, we didn’t find out until right before that Middle Tennessee lost QB Chase Cunningham the previous week to a leg injury.  Missed that one regarding the margin, but WKU came out on top, handily, 48-21. Read our game review from last week’s game clicking here…

Tough calls

We figured Air Force wanted the C-I-C Trophy more than Army since they had already beaten Navy and could take the hardware home after this one.  However, they tied Army late with a field goal to take the game into OT, 14-14.  Army recovered their own fumble in the end zone to score.  Then, they broke up an Air Force pass on fourth down in the end zone to ice the game and go to 5-4. Army wins the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy outright if they defeat Navy in the Meadowlands on December 11 in memory of 9/11 twenty years later.  We’ll be there.

     We looked for the Wake Forest defense to hold UNC’s offense and win by two TDs. They led 48-34 going into the final period, but UNC reeled off 24 straight points, 21 on TD runs of 13, 21, and 50 by Ty Chandler among his 213 rushing yards. The Tar Heels (5-3, 3-3) outscored No. 13 Wake (8-1, 5-0) with Sam Hartman pitching for 398 yards and five TDs, 58-55. We’ll see the Deacs host NC State this week (7-2, 4-1) in challenge match for the ACC Atlantic division’s upper hand…We predicted Texas A&M, now No. 11, would defeat Auburn, now No. 16, by ten.  They Aggies won at home, 30-3…

SEC close calls

     We were misled to believe big, bad No. 4 Alabama (8-1,5-1), seeded No. 2 in the latest CFP polls would destroy unranked LSU (4-5, 2-4) at home.  Instead, LSU held them down at the start and almost came back in the end, but fell in a close one, 20-14. Double standard for sure. Alabama still holds at No. 2 this week.  No problem for them to struggle nor have any win of significance yet to be held in such high regard…

  Bama defeated No. 12 Ole Miss (7-2, 4-2), you say?  Figured the Rebels should be good by three TDs over independent Liberty (7-3) in Oxford last week.  They won, 27-14. Good win here, but nothing dominant for a team that’s supposedly in the best conference in the nation.  We’ll be able to make a better comparison regarding Ole Miss against another good team we’ll see Liberty play.  On November 20, we’ll see them host No. 24 Louisiana (8-1, 6-0) of the SunBelt. The Ragin’ Cajuns continue on an 8-game winning streak, and face a good Troy team next week.  They should provide a pretty good barometer on the road to compare what an SEC squad did to The Flame only a few weeks before.

    Tennessee Vs. Kentucky turned out to be thrilling as we expected. The excitement definitely met our expectations, but the final result didn’t.  We picked Bourbon over Whiskey, but the Volunteers (5-4, 3-3) came up with the victory, 45-42, over the Wildcats (6-3, 3-3). Kentucky’s third straight loss knocked them out of the Top 25.  They should recover over the next two weekends though. They visit Vanderbilt (2-7) and then of all teams, host Alabama’s favorite patsy, New Mexico State! If they win over both of these pushovers, will they be ranked again?  Don’t be surprised.

 WEEK 11, Preview of our Top college football games

    So many great matchups this week.  Too bad Alabama decides they won’t play any meaningful games this time of the season. CFP No. 2 vs. No. 128 – 51.5-point favorites.    Short and sweet assessing nine significant contests here:

Night visions

     No. 17 Pitt (7-2,4-1) hosts a tired UNC Thursday night after last week’s upset over Wake. Kenny Pickett outduels Sam Howell in this by a TD. ACC Coastal to be determined…No. 2 Cincinnati has to score a lot and win big on Friday night over South Florida (2-7) to impress pollsters. They can then compare scores of USF losses to NC State, Florida, BYU, SMU, and Houston – some close, some not… Our game, No. 13 Wake hosting No. 23 NC State for key ACC Atlantic battle at 7:30 Saturday night.  The comeback lost to UNC has to wake the Deacs defense up. NC State plays tough defense as usual. However, they have faced no team with as much offensive firepower with QB Sam Hartman at the controls. We look for Wake to be ready for the challenge and win by two TDs.

 Going down?

  No.  4 Oklahoma (9-0) due for luck to run out against No. 18 Baylor in Waco.  Bears coming off a two-point loss to fired up TCU last week. BU’s turn to be fired up. QB Gerry Bohanon, RB Abram Smith, and WR Tyquan Thornton are among the top players in the Big 12 at their positions.  Baylor is one of the top three defenses in the Big 12 that the Sooners haven’t faced yet.…

  • No. 18 Baylor’s pass break-ups like this limited the Texas State passing attack in their opener for their 29-20 win.

No. 9 Michigan (8-1) at No. 23 Penn State (6-3) in a noon start on Saturday. PSU QB Sean Clifford playing at full strength again and Jim Harbaugh seems more focused on claiming how Michigan State beat this team because of bad calls two weeks ago.  The tough PSU defense shuts them down and shuts Harbaugh up. Lions put the Wolverines out of reach regarding any CFP hopes…

Purdue (6-3,4-2) at No. 6 Ohio State (8-1, 6-0) has proven to be no slouch with wins over Iowa and Michigan State now.  The Buckeyes are aware, but Boilermaker QB Aidan O’Connell seems to be on a roll and the Purdue defense can be stout.  This game will be close, but we look for OSU to pull this one out in the end.

Close encounters

Texas A&M (7-2,4-2) at Ole Miss (7-2,4-2), a game in which we cannot root for either coach.  For A&M, this is only their third road game of the year. Ole Miss is 5-0 at home, but no win has been overwhelming. Ole Miss lost to Bama and to Auburn on the road.  A&M beat both the last four weeks.  The Aggies should win here by a touchdown…No. 7 Notre Dame (8-1) travels 6-3 Virginia off a bye week and a 66-49 loss we attended in Provo, Utah. Supposedly QB Brennan Armstrong will play for UVA after suffering a rib injury late in their last game.  ND won their only two away games by three points at campuses visited against mediocre Florida State and Virginia Tech.  We figure they win this game by one point if Armstrong is at full strength. Otherwise, more. 

Inspiration from above and “benevolence” from below – CFP No.  2 vs. No. 128?

   Nevada (7-2, 4-1) visits San Diego State (8-1, 4-1) in a Mountain West battle. Both lost to Fresno State. We won’t go against the SDSU Aztecs like we did once before as we know our late pal, Tom Ables, Mr. San Diego State, will not let us pick against them. Aztecs beat this Wolfpack by more than a TD…

   Alabama holds its annual late season, fund-raiser for New Mexico State this weekend. Surely it will be fun – NOT! NMSU does get a big paycheck to take home at least.   Nick Saban will probably complain that the Alabama student body didn’t show up for this one.  Who can blame them?  Hopefully some college football pollsters will see the light here.  Real college football fans already do. CFP No. 2 vs. No. 128?  Definitely there are better things to do this weekend, even in Tuscaloosa!

Steve Koreivo, ed.  – Author of “Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all!” Click on the title to learn more about our book on Amazon.com

  • The college football beat goes on in 2021!

Game 627, College Football Week 10: Western Kentucky Grabs Six Picks to humble Middle Tennessee, 48-21

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Bowling Green, KY – Hilltopper QB Bailey Zappe had a typically successful passing day, but credit WKU’s six picks to humble Middle Tennessee, 48-21, in their college football rivalry unofficially titled “100 miles of hate.”  The aspect Middle Tennessee hated the most coming into this contest was losing its starting QB Chase Cunningham to a lower leg injury the week before. Reportedly, Cunningham sits out for the rest of this season. WKU QB Zappe entered this game second in the nation in passing yards. As Virginia didn’t play Saturday, he surpassed Brennan Armstrong to now lead the nation with 3,688 yards.

  • QB Bailey Zappe, a grad transfer from Houston Baptist, now leads the nation in passing yards at WKU.

Blue Raider QB Blues

     With Cunningham, the Blue Raiders won three of their last four games.  MTSU HC Rick Stockstill lost his third QB of the season if you count last year’s starter Asher O’Hara who transferred. Next, Bailey Hockman who had transferred in from NC State decided not to play college football anymore after three games.   Saturday, the Blue Raiders resorted to utilizing two non-scholarship QBs left on the bench, and the WKU secondary took advantage.

Race to the Top

     Things started better than expected for the Blue Raiders. Soph QB Nick Vittiato led them to a score on their first drive connecting with DJ England-Chisolm on 45-yard post pattern. It looked too easy.  Thereafter, things went all downhill from there for MTSU. Not surprisingly, WKU responded quickly on their first possession with a 17-yard TD pass from Zappe to Daewood Davis. Zappe threw his first of four TDs to start. However, a key pass on this series went to Jerreth Sterns who not only led the Hilltoppers with 111 yards on 11 catches this day, but he also set the all-time high for WKU pass receptions in a season.

  • WR Jerreth Sterns picks up yards against MTSU to break the Hilltopper record for receiving yards in a season. He still has at least three games left to play this season. He also transferred with Zappe from Houston Baptist.

    After an exchange of punts, the WKU pick-fest started. A tipped MTSU pass got swiped by Khalef Hailassie to put the Toppers at the Raider 19.  Malachi Corley hauled in a five-yard pass to go up, 14-7.  Before the first quarter ended, Hilltopper DB Beanie Bishop fielded an errantly thrown ball by Vittiato to nowhere near a Blue Raider receiver.  He ran it back untouched for a 43-yard pick-six.

Hilltoppers stake their claim

     Trailing 21-7, but driving early in the second, another MTSU tipped pass resulted in an INT by DE Jaden Hunter to put WKU back on offense from their 19. Getting the ball back over on downs, Stockstill brought in QB Mike DiLiello to replace Vittiato. He got the Raiders down to the 36, but Vittiato came back in and finished this drive off from there to Ali Yusuf.  Maybe MTSU was warming up now to make a serious challenge against their archrival?

  • Blue Raider QB Nick Vittiato (18) had a rough debut against the Hilltoppers to say the least. The Toppers intercepted five of his passes.

     Brayden Narveson’s 35-yard FG increased The Hilltopper’s margin by three.  Bishop picked off another pass for WKU and returned it 29 yards to the Blue Raider ten. On second down, Zappe fired a 10-yard TD pass to Mitchell Tinsley to settle the score for the half at 31-14 in favor of the Hilltoppers.

 Halftime hopes

     In Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium among 21,113 fans mostly clad in Hilltopper red, we settled back to watch halftime for the first time this season.  We hoped to see the Blue Raiders make some kind of adjustments on both sides of the ball to try to settle in.  Hopefully, maybe they could get the rivalry juices flowing to support their two seldom-used quarterbacks trying to develop a rhythm for their offense. 

  • Hilltopper cheerleaders had much to cheer about in their team’s win over rival Middle Tennessee.

Hilltoppers continue to mount attack

   WKU received the second half kick-off and put together a 74-yard scoring drive with Zappe (29 for 50, 281 yards, 4 TDs, one rushing TD) and Davis finishing it off with a 28-yard TD.  On MTSU’s third play, they fumbled, and Hunter recovered for the Toppers at the Raider 33.  Zappe carried it in from the eight for the 45-14 lead. On a bright sunny, beautiful fall Saturday for college football, this game got even more boring.

    DiLiello came in again to show what he could do. Interception by Demetrious Cain.  No difference. WKU started at the MTSU 29. Naverson booted a 42-yard FG. Vittiato came in to guide MTSU once again. He went for all with a 48-yard bomb into the end zone.  Interception, Davion Williams. No difference.  I told St. Laurie (who I enticed with a visit to the Corvette Museum, dinner, and a casino stop to go to Kentucky with me) at some point; we could leave at the end of the third.  She responded; this must be bad if I decided not to stay until the end.  She was right about that! WKU led 48-14 with 7:38 left in the THIRD QUARTER.

  • After Zappe’s eight-yard TD run, collegefootballfan.com had seen enough as WKU led 48-14 with 7:38 to play in the third period.

Early exit

    When the third period came to an end, the Topper ‘s ensuing drive was around midfield.  Though we started out of the stadium, we stopped at the portal to turn and watch the highlight of the game.  A WKU student took on the punt, pass, and kick challenge for $15,000.  He put up a nice, impressive, long punt, and somehow got good distance on a pass he tended to “submarine” down field. But, he sailed a kick through the uprights from where the ball landed to win the cash prize.  Definitely had to be a soccer player in his formative years.  Great to see it!

  On the way out we heard some cheering on the outskirts of the stadium and noted that the scoreboard indicated that the Blue Raiders had scored.  Shocking!   However, we weren’t rushing back in.  We had plans for dinner and the casino on the way home to look forward to now.  Game reviews indicated a 68-yard punt return set the Raiders up at the Topper 16. Frank Pleasant took it in from the five, and a scrimmage of second-teamers likely followed after that until the end of the game.  Thanks to seven turnovers by the Blue Raiders of which six were interceptions thrown by QB understudies, final score: WKU 48 MTSU 21.

  • The Western Kentucky Hilltopper Marching Band has a great sound!

Next:  College Football Week 11

  The Blue Raiders (4-5, 2-3) return home in Murfreesboro to face Florida International, struggling at 1-8, 0-5. It might be the perfect scenario to give their QBs some game experience for next year.  Old Dominion and at Florida Atlantic remain after that.  Next year, MTSU opens at home against Mizzou.  Definitely a consideration for us to attend to take in our first college football contest ever at Murfreesboro. 

    The Hilltoppers (5-4, 4-1) look to become bowl eligible if they can beat Rice (3-6, 2-3) on the road in Houston next Saturday. FAU and at Marshall finish out their regular season schedule. Their lone conference loss was to No. 15 UT San Antonio (9-0,5-0), 52-46.

  For collegefootballfan.com, we travel to Winston-Salem, NC to see a key Atlantic Division clash in the ACC when No. 21 NC State (7-2, 4-1) visits No. 13 Wake Forest (8-1,5-0).  We look forward to meeting up with” Bug” and his clan from Wake to tailgate for a good one on college football week 11.  We can’t believe how this time of the year always go by so quickly for us.  Only five more Saturdays to go until Bowl season starts.

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

  • We look forward to traveling to Wake Forest next week and seeing the Hilltoppers playing in Bowling Green again next season!

Steveo’s Salvos: College football, Week 10

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Time for college football to put the Whammer-Jammer, Yellow Hammer down on Alabammer!

    Alabama is College Football Playoff Committee’s No. 2? As pointed out in previous Salvos here, this is the “smoke and mirror strategy” pervaded by the slippery Mr. Finebaum (Law degree from UT) and other misinforming pundits.  Don’t know how anybody can buy into Paul’s SEC bias.  The committee says Cincinnati, who fell out of the Top 4, only has one “signature” win – over No. 8 Notre Dame.  Where’s Alabama’s “signature win”? FCS Mercer? Southern Miss?  Texas A&M – oops, that was a loss!  Maybe one of the also-rans out of the SEC – like Tennessee or Mississippi State?  Oh wait, they lost games to Pitt and Memphis, so they can’t be signature wins.  They are just SEC also-rans, maybe even embarrassments.

  • We saw Memphis beat Navy this year in an AAC game, 35-17. They also beat Mississippi State of the SEC on this same field, 31-29.

     Disrespected Cincy struggled against Navy’s triple-option offense, but still won. Tennessee opted out against playing that same offense against Army next season.   Holy smoke, Bama plays 1-7 Mexico State the week after next!   Read Ryan McGee’s latest Weekly Bottom 10 column on ESPN.com. “Whew Mexico State” and “Southern Missed” come in at seven and ten respectively in THE ESPN BOTTOM TEN.  They ever talk about that on SportsCenter? Alabama #2? Based on these credentials? What a joke!

Mixed message here

     Howie Kussoy, Sports Editor for the New York Post, says one thing we agree with, but doesn’t put his money where his mouth is.  He analyzes the UNC-Wake Forest this weekend appropriately reporting here: “‘The polls do not matter and come into our discussions,’ Play-off Committee Chair Gary Barta said with a straight face on Tuesday night. Then may I ask, ‘Where would Wake Forest – the only undefeated team in the ACC and the only team in the nation to score 35 points in every game this season – be ranked if its name were Clemson?’”  Right on the money, Howie.  Over-rated Clemson started at the top right from the get-go. Turned out not to be the same college football team without Trevor Lawrence, et al.

    However, he contradicts himself when he selected North Carolina -2.5 against the Deacons.  What did he base that on, the preseason polls?  We see he was wrong earlier when he picked UVA to beat Wake.  Wake held UVA and Brennan Armstrong to 17 points.  We attended UVA games where the Cavs put up 34 and 49 points respectively against Louisville and BYU – BYU! – on the road both times.  He thinks Sam Howell will have an easier time against Wake than Sam Hartmann will have against UNC who gives up 30 points per game? The Tar Heels don’t run the triple option like Army unless he knows something no one else following college football does.  Where are these pundits’ heads when they make these predictions?

  • We watched UVA tack 49 points on the board against a heralded BYU defense at Provo just last weekend. Wake only allowed Virginia 17 in Charlottesville!

Look in the mirror, “After the Fall Paul”

     After last week’s win by Michigan State over Michigan, 37-33, “Monday-morning” Paul says that Jim Harbaugh isn’t the best HC in the state of Michigan.  If Paul Finebaum’s so astute, why didn’t he say that last week?  His inference back then was that Michigan’s fate would be sealed against Ohio State at the end of the season, not against the Spartans.  Right here, in Salvos, we nicely agreed with him that Michigan would not make the CFP, but pointed out where he was wrong. 

     We stated, “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 forecasted Michigan’s fate would be sealed before they met the Buckeyes.  Mr. Finebaum’s not the best college football forecaster anywhere. He has no room to criticize if this is supposedly his forte.  Call him “After the Fall, Paul”.

Here’s a friendly suggestion to Paul Finebaum and Nick Saban

     Since Tennessee backed out on Army next year and picked up Akron instead (more on the Zips later), Collegefootballfan.com would like to make a proposal. Paul Finebaum said he was disappointed in his Ama Mater’s dastardly decision to cancel and do this dishonor to vets and service members around the country. Nick Saban always likes to open the Alabama season at a neutral site to offset any supposed home team advantages, the kind soul that he is.

    Collegefootballfan.com suggests Alabama schedule two upcoming season openings with twists – back-to-back seasons at two totally different sites against the same team, but not in nearby Atlanta as usual.  Real neutral sites instead.  We propose that Bama open against Army (or even play later in each season, and replace an FCS opponent). Play the first-time in the Meadowlands where the Corps of Cadets could attend, for instance, and play the following year in Arlington, Texas where The Tide has opened against a few teams in recent years.  Playing there would deliver great Army interests in the state of Texas, too.

  • Surely Brave, Old Army team would love to see their Black Knights take on the Crimson Tide in the Meadowlands! They’ve played Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Notre Dame on the road within the past decade.

 Everybody wins – Army, Bama, fans, New Mexico State, Paul

      And for the benevolent Alabama fans who say they play New Mexico State to help fund their athletic program financially, send NMSU a donation made from the profits from these games instead! Maybe even contribute to a few beleaguered FCS programs.  This arrangement would be win-win-win+ for all involved.  I’ll make the connections to get this started. Let me know.

James Franklin speaks fundamentally

  We can say that we don’t always agree with what PSU HC and former East Stroudsburg QB James Franklin’s calls in certain game situations. However, we liked what he said after the CFP votes came out Tuesday night. He stated as he’s said this in the past, “I think the first thing you have to do if you’re not going to have a true playoff system … is make sure everybody is playing under the same model. How can you have some conferences that play FCS opponents and other conferences that don’t? How can you have some conferences that are playing 9 conference games and others playing 8?” This is a very serious inadequacy with college football.

      Let’s think. In what “Power Five” conference does every school play an FCS team? In what “Power Five” conference of 12 teams or more do they only play eight conference games instead of nine which could be easily done eliminating some very uninteresting and unnecessary non-conference games? Think about it. The answer is revealed at the end of our Salvos.

Adam Rittenberg’s “Shaky starts”?

   ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg has been left out of our Salvos since Paul Finebaum provides us with so many interesting topics.  If we had more time, we could call out many of these pundits who have what we’ll call “negative impact” to the fairness of college football. Adam insinuates teams like Ohio State and Auburn got off to “shaky starts” and have made amends since the season is now half over. It’s astounding what blind eyes pundits have to the reality of college football.

  Ohio State fell to Oregon early in Week 2 and fell from No. 3 to No. 9.  Adam notes this week, “Ohio State didn’t look sharp Saturday night against Penn State, delivering a product not unlike the one it had 50 days earlier against Oregon.” Gee, why were the Buckeyes so sharp those five weeks in between averaging 50 points per game? Against Tulsa, Akron (told you they’d come up later), Rutgers, Maryland, and Indiana. How come this all gets swept under the rug?  These teams have combined records of 16-25. None have winning records.  The Buckeyes play 5-2 PSU at home and Adam wonders why they’re struggling, particularly against one of the best defenses in the nation?  Here’s your answer Adam: they beat up on weaklings relatively speaking.  Like Saban asked, “Did any of you guys ever play sports?”

    All these top teams need to be given a second thought before being put on a pedestal because they have beaten “nobodies”.  Look, there are outstanding teams out there that can’t get their competitive matches every week based on conference schedules for one thing, but the best gauge is to judge this inter-conference play until they play formidable conference foes. When teams go out of their way to load up on a few more other weak programs, that has to be taken into consideration.  The fact that Ohio State’s one loss at home to Oregon needs to be weighed-in into this analysis very heavily. 

  • Always pressure-packed games when Ohio State meets Penn State in Happy Valley!

Different definition of “Shaky start” for the Auburn Tigers

  As for Auburn’s “shaky” start, it’s shaky as to who they decided to start with. They beat Akron (noted again), 60-10, and then beat FCS Alabama State, 62-0, in their first two games. Just send Alabama State a donation or have the Educational Chancellor of the state of Alabama make a money transfer or something.  A week later they lose to Penn State, 28-20. So is this what Rittenberg refers to as a shaky start?  After PSU, the Tigers got a big break at home in their win over Georgia State.  That was “shaky”. Things are even shakier now as we can see that they’ve gone 3-1 getting clobbered by Georgia and playing other teams getting beaten as most in the SEC do every season by UGA and Bama.

  • Auburn’s “shaky” start? QB Bo Nixon led the Tigers hard until the end to try to beat Penn State. Shaky because Penn State won, 28-20? The two previous teams they played previously can be referred to as “shaky”.

Factor this as objectively as one can

   Pundits and CFP pollsters need to look at the competition before even considering wins, total points, and margins of victory. Like everything else in the media, there is too much politicking going on in college football. There’s intent here to water-down schedules purposely by programs because they see the media is blind regarding this parameter.  In the end it’s all about the money. However, we see solutions to doing this better even with the green stuff still in the way.

Week 9, Our top college football games in Review

  We called for Coastal Carolina to squeak by Troy State as the Trojans defense would offer a challenge. They surprisingly put up more points than we expected though. The Chanticleers triumphed, 35-28… As mentioned, Mel Tucker had his disrespected Spartans up for Michigan in front of the home crowd, and we noted that the Spartans beat the Wolverines at the Big House the previous season.  They came out on top, 37-33, and catapulted into the first edition of the CFP (What do these weekly ratings matter? Six more weeks of college football to go, including conference championships).

  Auburn came out on top of Ole Miss, 31-20, having performed better against comparable competition and playing at home as we noted.  Just another game between also-rans in the SEC. Ho-hum…NC State’s defense came up as expected against Louisville and derailed the Cardinals by more than one TD, 28-13. Collegefootballfan.com hopes The Wolfpack is on a collision course with Wake Forest since we will be at that game on November 13.

  We fell apart on our selections late in the day as we expected SMU to win over Houston since they seemed to have more scoring capabilities. Houston won in a fight to the finish at home, 44-37. Unless SMU surprises Cincinnati on November 20, the Houston Cougars will probably play the Bearcats in Nippert Stadium on December 4.  We have to consider trekking up to that one! …We understand Penn State’s Sean Clifford started off well and played healthy even silencing the Horse Shoe crowd for a while.  The returned fumble by the Buckeyes was big, and they prevailed, 33-24.

Our Best College Football Games of Week 10

    Our game this Saturday, unofficially known as the rivalry called “100 Miles of Hate”, is where we go this weekend.  Since we live right in the middle, how can we not go? ConferenceUSA teams, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (4-4, 3-1) meet the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (4-4, 2-2), in Bowling Green, KY. Both come off convincing C-USA wins.  WKU defeated Charlotte (4-4, 2-1) 45-13, while MTSU clubbed Southern “Missed” (1-7, 0-4), an Alabama favorite, 35-10.

     MTSU surprised Marshall and fell by three to Charlotte.  Charlotte was WKU’s best win. Prior to that on consecutive weekends, they beat ODU and FIU. Both have one win apiece. Both fell to No. 16 UT San Antonio (8-0) by competitive scores. WKU QB, Bailey Zappe is second in the nation yardage-wise in passing. This game will be close. With WKU at home, they will win by three with a lot of hate going back and forth. We’re rooting for our home team, Middle Tennessee, though. By the way, we read that these two may continue this rivalry in the MAC in upcoming seasons.

Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy Game

     Army (4-3) vs. Air Force (6-2) in Arlington, Texas. (Tell Bama Army plays there, too.)   Both run the triple option. This is for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. The Air Force Falcons take it home with a win since they already beat Navy, 23-3. Army will have to still beat Navy if they defeat Air Force. The Cadets have lost three-straight to the three best teams on this year’s slate. 

The Falcons come off a 20-14 loss to then No. 22 San Diego State, two weeks ago. This is difficult to call.  Army’s triple-option has not been as effective on the road as it’s been at home. Air Force’s defense knows this offense and has had two weeks to prep as well. No one runs it better in practice than they can. The rivalry factor plays into this.  Air Force needs to win, and Army can’t afford lose. We’ll give this slight edge here to Air Force by a TD.

  • USAFA QB Haaziq Daniels (4) found a seam on this play to race 28 yards for a Falcon TD against Navy. He’ll be looking to do the same this weekend versus Army.

    No. 10 Wake Forest (8-0, 5-0) – not Clemson – visits North Carolina (4-4, 3-3). We tipped our preference previously in “Mixed message here”.  UNC comes off a loss to Notre Dame and has also lost to Georgia Tech and Florida State. Wake QB Sam Hartmann turns out to be the Heisman candidate this year, not UNC’s Sam Howell. Sam at Wake Forest has the horses around him this year. Sam at Carolina sky blue doesn’t.  The Deacons will win by two touchdowns setting up a big ACC game the week after for us in Winston-Salem vs. NC State.

   Liberty (7-2) at No. 15 Ole Miss (6-2): the Flames record is over-inflated this season with victories over one-win teams such as ODU, UMass, and North Texas. The two losses are by three points to so-so at-best Syracuse and UL-Monroe. The rest of the wins are over teams the SEC likes to schedule.  And despite their current QB Malik Willis transferring from Auburn when he had success against Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss should win this big at home.  If not, that will give us a lot more ammo about the stature of the SEC.  We plan to see Liberty host Louisiana (7-1), leaders of the SunBelt, on November 20. A Liberty win here would make that game more interesting, but even we say Ole Miss should win this by more than two TDs at home against former HC Hugh Freeze.

SEC entertainment for those who like to fantasize

No. 12 Auburn (5-2,2-1) at No. 13 Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2) are both SEC also-rans. Auburn already lost to UGA, and despite A&M’s 41-38 win at home over Bama, they fell at home to mediocre Arkansas and Mississippi State. However, since their win vs. Alabama, momentum seems to have shifted their way with dominant wins over SEC bottom feeders Mizzou and South Carolina. Auburn sandwiched their loss to No. 1 Georgia with wins over other struggling SEC teams who can’t beat the two best teams in the conference either. We look for A&M to keep the momentum going their way now. Auburn will have to make up for this when they host Alabama in the Iron Bowl.  A&M should win Saturday by ten.

 Prepare the Remote!

   LSU (4-4,2-3) at No. 2? Alabama should not be a prime-time game. Ed Orgeron is on his way out at LSU. His team already lost to UCLA, Auburn, Kentucky, and Mississippi. You know what they say about snowballs’ chances in hell?   Turn this off and watch something else before the first half is over.  Alabama beats another struggling SEC program here by three TDs, just like they did to Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Tennessee.

Tennessee (4-4, 2-3) at No. 18 Kentucky (6-2,4-2) could be the most entertaining among the SEC broadcasts this weekend. The Vols lost to Pitt, beat some nobodies, lost to struggling Florida (4-4,2-4), lost to struggling Ole Miss in the Brew-fest at home, and then fell in line with the rest of the SEC losing to No. 2? Alabama by 28. Kentucky comes in with a two-game losing streak to No. 1 Georgia (again like every other SEC challenger) and Mississippi State, The Leach Project. 

     Three of the first four wins were close against weaker teams. They beat Florida (who may win the state of Florida championship if they beat FSU. The already beat FAU and USF) by seven and beleaguered LSU by three TDs (prime-time vs. Bama -ha!). Kentucky’s undefeated at home, and UT is 1-2 on the road. We’ll take Bourbon over Whiskey in this one by 10 points. Should be fun – better than watching Bama busting LSU.

Steve Koreivo, ed. – Author of Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ’em all! Click on the title here to get your copy now. Great short story-reading for the Man Cave or while on the toilet seat.

Answers to: In what “Power Five” conference does every school play an FCS team? In what “Power Five” conference of 12 teams or more do they only play eight conference games instead of nine which could be easily done eliminating some very uninteresting, non-conference games?

SEC! SEC!

Game 626: Brigham Young “Bronco-busted” Virginia, 66-49

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Provo, Utah – Former BYU HC Bronco Mendenhall returned to his former employer of 10 years with his Cavaliers and top-rated QB Brennan Armstrong, fell short as Brigham Young “Bronco-busted” Virginia, 66-49. Both teams came into this evening’s contest with 6-2 records.  In front of a welcoming but Cougar-charged college football crowd of 57,685, the game was tale of two halves.  The halftime score with Virginia in front, 42-38, would have been close to what we expected as the potential final outcome going into this game.

Virginia HC Bronco Mendenhall stands on the visitors sideline at Lavelle Edwards Stadium for the first time this past Saturday. He won 99 games as BYU’s HC from 2005 to 2015.

Lots of yardage, lots of points

     Up to that point the game got off to a big lead by the home team and a heroic comeback by the visitors.  The Virginia Cavalier offense scored on big plays in six consecutive possessions led by the leading passer of total yards in college football.  Armstrong led all passers coming in with 3,220 yards.  He started off slow, but added another 337 yards to his total and four TDs against a stalwart BYU Cougar D before leaving the game late with a rib injury.  

     BYU’s QB Jaren Hall kept pace with 349 yards passing and three TDs. However, RB Tyler Allgeier’s rushing performance put BYU over the top gaining 266 yards on 29 carries and crossing the goal line five times.   The individual grit among these playmakers made this game outstanding.  In the meantime, fans have to wonder, whatever happened to good defense? In the annals of our history, the 115 points make this our third highest score since we started this in 1979 among 626 games to date!

Cougars explode early

   BYU’s defense seemed in control to start the game holding the super-charged Virginia Cavalier passing attack at bay.  In the first three series with tight pass coverage and some pressure on Armstrong, the Cougar defense sandwiched an interception between two three-and-outs. Each resulted in three TDs for 21-0 lead before the first quarter ended.

QB Jaren Hall takes the ball in for BYU’s first score.

    Hall ran in from the one.  Allgeier scored from the three following LB Payton Wilgar’s INT to spot BYU on the UVA ten. WR Puka Nacua caught a 26-yard fade pass from Hall for the next six. Seemed like Brigham Young “Bronco-busted” Virginia already!   Having seen Armstrong against Louisville several weeks earlier, with his receiving corps, we couldn’t imagine them being shut down.  Referring to Armstrong, one nearby Cougar fan said, “Hit him hard. Beat him up.” Armstrong displays toughness. He started to show it.

Tyler Algeier bulls over for BYU’s second score, his first of five TDs this evening.

Comeback Cavaliers

    Armstrong capped a 75-drive in retaliation with a five-yard TD run before the first quarter ended to avoid the shut out. Going into the second period, Allgeier kept motoring to get BYU into the end zone again on a four-yard run. It didn’t look like the Cougs were ready to back down offensively at all.  They commanded with a 28-7 lead.  On the other side, the Cavs’ motors just got fired up. They started hitting – hard, fast, and often – offensively and defensively.

  Next, Armstrong connected with Jelani Woods falling into the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown. Then came a significant defensive stand. UVA held BYU to a four-and-out! Armstrong connected with Dontayvion Wicks on a 70-yard catch and run to close the gap, 28-21.  The Lavelle Edwards Stadium crowd suddenly got very quiet.  The best BYU could do to counter came from Jack Oldroyd’s 32-yard FG midway through the second.  Virginia countered three plays later on Devin Darrington’s quick exit through the defensive line and swerving downfield for a 49-yard TD jaunt.

Virginia’s Devin Darrington breaks away on his 49-yard jaunt to offset the BYU lead, 31-28.

    The Cavalier defense forced BYU to punt a second time.  Taking over from the 23, the Cavs drove to the BYU 30.  Armstrong found no receivers open, broke out of the pocket and scrambled unscathed all the way for a touchdown and a sudden and unexpected UVA lead, 35-31.  1:46 remained to play in what seemed like the end of the game, but action was winding down for what was only the first half. Both teams made the most of the time remaining.

Still the first half?

    Within only 32 seconds and three plays, Hall struck back again with a 40-yard TD pass to Samson Nacua (3 catches for 107 yards and a TD) to regain the lead.  However, Armstrong did not intend to let the Cougars take the lead going into halftime with them getting the kick to start the second half.  He brought the Cavs 75 yards downfield to score with 22 seconds remaining on a 12-yard TD pass to Billy Kemp IV.  Surprisingly with time left, BYU ran out of gas to score. In what looked like a final score, Virginal led BYU at the half, 42-38. We love to find competitively, close games, but geez, can someone besides Georgia ramp up the defenses?  Brigham Young “Bronco-busted” Virginia?  No way!

Question at the end of the half: “Coach Sitake, what changes do you have to make in the second half?” Coach Sitake answer: “We have to keep doing well on offense, but our defense has to play better.” We could figure that was said all the way up where we sat.

Fans looking forward to move to Big 12

    Prior to the game, the PA announcer welcomed the crowd to Lavell Edwards Stadium, “set in one of the most beautiful locations in all of college football”, basically that was his point.  In the darkness with an 8:15 PM kickoff, I said to the season-ticket holder next to me, “I’m sure it’s nice, but I can’t see a thing!”  He grunted, “Yea, we can’t wait to start playing in the Big 12.  They avoid scheduling many late games. We hate these late starts.  Most can’t make it home until late the next morning!”

     We could sympathize with him.  It’s all about the TV money.  The atmospheres at Penn State white-outs are tremendous.  Usually though, those games go down to the wire.  No one leaves early.  Thousands of vehicles leave in the dark sitting bumper-to-bumper for a long time.  It’s generally cold by then. Local hotels are already booked in advance at exorbitant rates for minimum stays of two days.  Closest hotels we could book take two hours to get to. By the time we roll in, it’s 3-4 a.m.  We hope they do get more day games when the Cougars join the Big 12 starting in 2023.  A day game would be great to see here to enjoy the scenery.  We’ve seen pictures.

We’d prefer to see these nice BYU cheerleader uniforms in the sunlight.

Seems like the third game for us today

   After driving two hours from the Hawaii-Utah State game in Logan, which seemed extended due to numerous penalties, reviews, and typical lengthy TV timeouts, it seemed like we had seen two complete games already. This is as close as we had ever gotten to a “triple-header!”  Hopefully, this wouldn’t go into overtime.  Plans were in place already to get up at five to turn in the rental car by 6 am to catch an 8 am flight.  We pondered just going to pick up what we left back at the hotel, and just going directly after that to Salt Lake City Airport. 

Beginning of the end of a great football Saturday in Utah

      BYU got off with another fast start. Allgeier broke off a 49-yard TD run, his third of the game, to take back the lead from UVA, 45-42.  UVA’s offense sputtered. BYU’s FG attempt at the end of the next drive caromed off the upright, no good!  This quarter, the clock moved quicker. Virginia scored on its next drive with only 2:10 left in the third. WR Keytaon Thompson, the most impressive receiver we’ve seen all season, caught a two-yard scoring pass to take back the lead for UVA, 49-45. 

Still listed as a QB on the roster shown on the internet, the senior Keytaon Thompson stands 6-4, 190 lbs. We’ll refer to him as an H-back. He’s the toughest receiver we’ve seen to bring down.  Watch for this guy at the next level. He’s something!  He stood out at the Louisville game we attended, and he stood out again yesterday.  BYU fans commented how impressive he is. He had this one short TD catch, but with 8 other catches for 89 yards, he fights for every yard he gets, punishing tacklers, but also just sliding off for more yards as well. Write down his name and see where he ends up in the draft next April. We say that he’s going to be around for a while and make an impact in the pros.

End zone entertainment

     Up until this point, in the thin mountain air in Provo, every kick-off sailed into, through, or over the end zones.  UVA’s ball boy and ball girl both actually caught kicks from there kicker behind the end lines.  The pretty blonde ball girl had impressed first with her catching capability, but the ball boy made a one-handed catch while holding a ball under his other arm. He received enthusiastic applause from BYU fans, and a replay was shown on the video board.  However, the next UVA kickoff rolled out of bounds. BYU started for the first time for either team on its 35 after a kick-off.  Maybe it signified the Virginians were being affected now by the altitude in the Rockies. 

UVA’s ball girl and ball boy performed impressively catching on kick-offs. We noted at halftime that she has pretty good arm, too!

Big Cougar Finish

     Eleven seconds into the final period, BYU finished a scoring drive with Neil Pau’u grabbing a Hall pass from 10 yards out while keeping his feet inside the left goal line pylon for the score.  The Cougs led again, 52-49. UVA’s next possession was turned over on a tremendous play by DL Uriah Leiataua. He made the hard tackle, and recovered the fumble he caused.   BYU took over with the ball at Virginia’s 31.  From there off left tackle, Allgeier took it in for the score right away, their biggest lead since the second period.

   The ensuing Cavalier drive started typically again from the 25.  At midfield, Armstrong’s pass got picked by LB Drew Jensen. The Cougar defense drove 65 yards with Allgeier doing the honors from three yards out for his BYU record fifth rushing TD of the day, now leading 66-49, with 7:12 left. Plenty of time for Mr. Armstrong? Finally, had Brigham Young “Bronco-busted” Virginia?  Well, we weren’t ready for what happened next. 

Brigham Young “Bronco-busted” Virginia

    When UVA’s offense came on the field, Jay Woolfolk came on replacing Armstrong at QB. He got the same pass protection Armstrong was afforded.  He completed two passes and ran twice to get down to the BYU 35. Three incompletions later, the ball went back to the Cougars. With 4:56 left, Allgeier converted two first downs and BYU ran out the clock. Game over! Exciting, explosive, offensive game.  After all that, who knows how the game could have ended if Armstrong remained healthy.  Finally, Brigham Young “Bronco-busted” Virginia.   BYU came out 7-2.  With the win, the Cougars climbed to No. 17 in the Top 25.  UVA fell to 6-3, but even worse, what’s with Brennan Armstrong?  They have three critical games remaining.

Though listed as a QB, Keytaon Thompson (99) carried the ball five times for 25 yards along with his nine receptions. We look for him to go in the first few rounds of the 2022 draft. Tell Mel Kiper to call us!

Next up! 

    BYU hosts FCS Idaho State next Saturday. After that, it’s got road games at two struggling teams -Georgia Southern and USC. Ironically, today. GSU announced it’s hiring former USC HC Todd Helton. We’re interested to see where BYU will go bowling and who they’ll play. Hopefully, they will get to play another Power 5 Team. As an Independent, they’ve beaten five now.  They deserve a shot at somebody else.

   Questions now linger regarding Brandon Armstrong’s health. They have another big game next week at home hosting No. 8 Notre Dame, 7-1. After that they travel to 6-2 Pitt, critical to their bowl bid considerations within the ACC. They end at home against rival Virginia Tech.

 Is it OK to use the word “Hate”?

  For Collegefootballfan.com, we don’t have to travel as far to this weekend’s game. We’ll be attending the traditional rivalry unofficially known as “100 miles of Hate”.  What choice do we have?  We live right in between the two schools now.  Middle Tennessee (4-4, 2-2) lies southeast of us, and Western Kentucky (4-4, 3-1) is to the northwest. Members of ConferenceUSA now, these two have played for years moving within conferences and divisions. They don’t like each other.

      Both come off wins a week ago, MTSU over Southern Miss, and WKU over Charlotte. The game will boil over at WKU in Bowling Green where we saw the Hilltoppers fall to Indiana this year, 33-31.  WKU QB Bailey Zappe stands at No. 2 currently behind Brenna Armstrong of Virginial in passing yardage in the FBS. He has 3,407 yards to his credit and 33 TDs.

Extra points:

These two teams are scheduled to meet again on September 9, 2023 in Charlottesville, VA.  This could change, however, since the Cougars supposedly start Big 12 competition that season. 

   The win for BYU was the 600th for this football team since it started play back in 1922. Cougar HC Kalani Sitake recorded his 46th win this evening to reach that goal.  Bronco Mendenhall recorded 99 wins during his tenure with the Cougars. Lavelle Edwards for whom the stadium is named led the program to 257 victories.  They are the top three winningest coaches in BYU history. That’s 402 from this trio alone.

      Whatever bowl BYU gets invited to this season, it will be their 39th. Their first was in 1974.  From 1978-1980 they played in the Holiday Bowl losing to Navy and Indiana before defeating SMU.  An OG for BYU those three years was Andy Reid, sixth winningest coach in the NFL history at Philadelphia and now at Kansas City.

Steve Koreivo, ed. Author of “Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all!” Click on the title to buy our book!  Great short-stories for Man Caves or bathroom reading!

Our new idol, BYU’s Cosmo the Cougar! He even leaped through a fire hoop!

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.