Seen 'em all – 136 FBS teams in action! In 2025, we added both the CFP Championship game, Indiana 27 Miami 21 and the FCS Championship, Montana State 35 Illinois State 34. We've now attended 740 games since 1979. Please order and review our book on Amazon.com: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly to enjoy this great, unique lifetime adventure. We look forward to the 2026 season!
Memphis, TN – The Memphis Tigers’ speed burned Navy to overwhelm them on both sides of the football to subdue the Mids, 35-17. Memphis QB Seth Henigan needed to complete only eight of 12 passes for 215 yards. Three came on different drives went for 49 yards to Jason Ivory, 74 for a TD to Eddie Lewis, and 51 to Koby Drake in the third to set up scores. Once in the red zone, the Tigers capitalized with short scores. Henigan sat out the fourth quarter.
Two lightning strikes with rolling thunder in between
Henigan tossed a three-yard TD to Sean Dykes to finish the opening drive of the game set up by Ivory’s catch. After that, Navy’s “best defense” dominated to keep the Tiger offense. They kept them off the field with a 21-play, 11:50 minute scoring drive. The Mids converted first downs three times on third and once on fourth to sustain the drive. Navy controlled the line of scrimmage until FB James Harris II plunged into the end zone from the two with 20 seconds left tin the first. His Mom sitting nearby cheered wildly, “His first touchdown!” However, Tiger WR Calvin Austin III took a reverse toss on the next Memphis play from scrimmage. He raced unscathed around the right side 69 yards for a 14-7 home team lead as the period ended.
Memphis’s Brandon Thomas closes out the first half scoring with this three-yard run.
In the second, Navy LB Diego Fagot intercepted and returned for an apparent pick-six. However, a gold helmet lain in the middle of the field, and the refs assessed Navy with a personal foul due to participation without a helmet. The Mids settled for Bijan Nichols’ 35-yard FG as a result of the game’s only turnover. Memphis countered again quickly with Henigan’s 74-yard scoring strike to Lewis. The Tiger receiving corps could not be covered by Navy’s secondary. With 40 seconds left, Memphis capped the scoring in the half with a 12-play, 63-yard drive with Brandon Thomas taking it over from the three. Tigers 28, Mids 10 at intermission.
Navy’s Diego Fagot (54) returned this INT for an apparent TD. However, note helmetless Tyler Fletcher (47) and his lid lying on the field. Penalty!
Down but not out, yet
Navy (1-5, 1-3) opened the second half with a 75-yard scoring drive finishing unusually with 21-yard TD pass from QB Tai Lavatai to WR Mychal Cooper. Maybe the Mids could make this a game with a key turnover or two, but as noted, the Memphis Tiger offense possessed superior speed to allow the Mids to get within scoring distance. Henigan’s 51-yard pass to Drake put them at Navy’s 17 on the next drive. Marquavious Weaver ran in from the four to go up, 35-17, with 6:07 left in Q3.
Playing through
The teams played to a scoreless standstill the rest of the game. Memphis HC Ryan Silverfield inserted second teamers into his offense in the fourth. Down by 18, Navy converted a fake punt into a first down and picked up 15 more on a roughing the passer infraction. However, starting QB Lavatai got injured on a sack of 10 yards by Rodney Owens on the next play. Xavier Arline replaced him for the balance of the game. The Mids attempted a 55-yard FG by Nichols, but came up empty. After that, Memphis gave its reserves some game experience on offense to run out the clock.
The Mids sustained a long drive of 21 plays for their first score by converting three third downs and a fourth into first downs.
Next up
With the score settled, 35-17, Memphis stands at 4-3, 1-2 ending a three-game losing streak. They travel to Central Florida a week from Saturday. Cincinnati does not appear on their slate this season. However, Navy hosts the No. 3 Bearcats that same day. Collegefootballfan.com has its second game of Week 7 tomorrow. We’ll see FCS No. 10 East Tennessee State (6-0, 3-0) visit UT Chattanooga (2-4, 1-2) in a key Southern Conference match. We’ll also be sure to visit the Chattanooga Brewing Company right next to Finley Stadium as we did in our season opener there.
Extra Points:
Speaking of side trips, we visited Elvis Presley’s Graceland before heading to the Liberty Bowl. St. Laurie and I visited the Elvis Exhibitions and The King’s airplanes. Enjoyed the videos of his concerts gone by, his car collection, and the tribute to his service in the Army. Can’t imagine many celebrities nowadays that would make that commitment as Elvis did. We laughed having our pictures inserted with Elvis and co-stars on some of his classic movie posters. It’s great to have the time now, since retired, to go to games and plan some interesting side trips as well.
We also met up with a long-time friend and Auburn fan/alum Rick Selleck who’s had some health issues. He’s recovering nicely though. We had hoped to have him join us at the game, but instead we had lunch together at the Germantown Commissary for some great BBQ. We’ll catch up again in the future now that we are fellow Tennesseans!
Memphis Tiger Belles!
Out with the new, in with the old
Still trying to get used to new technologies replacing old traditions like game programs and paper tickets at college games. Regarding programs, why can’t the publish laminated tri-fold as least with team rosters and some update stats? It’s better than whipping out a cell phone to look stuff up. We don’t miss all the ads and overdone historical analysis of seasons past and traditional game histories from cover to cover in every edition. It would be nice, however, to allow fans to have basic game information in their hands for quick references.
Regarding electronic tickets, here’s an issue run into at this game. Purchased from the Naval Academy, the cell phone ticket gave “7:30” as the start time. They need to at least indicate the time zone. The game kicked off at 6:30 pm CST. That is where the ticket holder is going to attend the game. Had another phone app not been checked, we would have been late. We had to cancel a tailgate plan to get to the game on time, find parking, and walk half a mile to the game. Luckily, we got there on time, but I will definitely talk with the Navy ticket department about this.
This even surprised us, this was only the third time we attended a Memphis game. They have won two and lost one. We first saw them play Army at West Point when both played in Conference USA. Though we’ve been to the Liberty Bowl before, we saw the actual bowl game in 2009 when Kentucky defeated East Carolina.
Surprisingly as AAC West foes for eight years now, this is only the second time we’ve seen these two butt heads! (not butt-heads)
We at Collegefootballfan.com look forward to College Football Week 7 as most teams are near or have played six of twelve scheduled games so far. Results have started separating the men from the boys as we say in old school lingo. What makes this upcoming week special is that this is the first this season when we’ll attend two games. In past years, we accomplished that by Labor Day weekend, but in the new digs this year, we just didn’t get it together.
On Thursday night, we’ll attend the game in Memphis (3-3, 0-2) where one of our annual stalwarts, Navy, will play against a good Memphis team loaded with offensive firepower in an American Athletic Conference game. Navy (1-4, 1-1) seems to be getting on track now offensively with a QB more skilled than what we saw they had when they lost to Air Force earlier this season.
This Saturday, we return to Chattanooga, site of our season opener. UTC Chattanooga has struggled since to 2-4, 1-1 in the Southern Conference. Forecasted as a pre-season FCS Top 25, they’ll entertain the No. 10 FCS team leading the SOCON, Eastern Tennessee State University (6-0, 3-0) . If the Moccasins have any chance to win the conference to get a playoff bid, they need to start with a victory here. Successful seasons are on the line for all four teams on our docket during College Football Week 7.
Quarterback Depth Perception
The advent of the transfer portals makes QB depth the toughest problem for Head Coaches today. Teams face this everywhere. A short-term issue causes a long term-void. Alabama exemplified the issue a few years ago. Jalen Hurts won a national championship his freshman year. Tua Tagovailoa stepped into the championship game to seal the victory and the fate of Hurts at the same time. A year later, the sophomore QB lingered along the sideline after a stellar season. He eventually transferred to Oklahoma. There, he led the Sooners to the CFP, a loss to Bama in the playoff, and moved on to start in the NFL. It worked well for Alabama and for Hurts, but the issue will continue, and it won’t always work for both parties in the end.
Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa completes first pass in 2018 Peach Bow to defeat Oklahoma and Jalen Hurts,45-34.
Best-laid plans?
Georgia HC Kirby Smart may be living up to his surname as he has eight QBs on his roster after JT Daniels transferred over from USC two years ago. He went down to injury, and Stetson Bennet stepped back in. Luckily for UGA, they had an experienced QB who hung around as a back-up his senior year. A senior signal-caller hanging around will be an unusual luxury in the future with the portal transfer system in place – a year later that senior will be playing for somebody else (Baylor’s Charley Brewer, for instance, going to Utah).
Among the other six slingers at Georgia, three are Freshman (I hope that term doesn’t offend any of them). If Daniels comes back this season, Bennet’s not going anywhere if he’s needed again. How many of these current benchwarmers in the waiting wings for the Dawgs will still be on the roster in their Junior or Senior year if they don’t get any playing time. Like Hurts, who can blame them from seeking playing time? Surely with their credentials to play for Georgia, they will find playing time elsewhere.
Exposure
Look at the situation last weekend when Penn State had to pull starter Sean Clifford due to an injury in the second quarter leading 17-3. Back up Ta‘Quan Roberson came in to replace him. Without game experience, he played ineffectively to fall to Iowa, 23-20. QBs going consistently for three and outs cannot win football games. Why didn’t James Franklin have a more experienced back up QB on hand? Well, Will Levis took that transfer portal last season for greener pastures. How did that work out? Great for Levis and the Kentucky Wildcats. Levis is the starting QB at UK, 6-0, ranked 11th, and playing No. Georgia in a big SEC East showdown this Saturday.
The portal challenges coaches to win with the best QB possible (ask Nick Saban) and keep the rest of his back-ups happy to stick around waiting for a chance to replace the starter. If that doesn’t happen quickly, they’ll find that portal. Inexperience comes into play after they leave. If your starter goes down, how do you prepare? Texas A&M’s Zach Calzada, another freshman, replaced their former starter to lead A&M to their win over No.1 Alabama. Based on his performance, does he continue to start?
As a frosh, he’s got a few more years ahead of him. Haynes King and Eli Stowers, also freshman, stock Jimbo Fishers cupboard well for now, but what will they be thinking next spring? “Do I stay or do I go?” Going forward, it’s going to be imperative to keep a starting QB healthy, but if not, you have to have the next guy prepared to step-in. The back-up will have to have enough experience to keep him happy and effective. If not, he’s no longer there. Pot-luck after that.
“Captain Obvious”
Usually when “guru” Paul Finebaum speaks, he’s wrong. Before the season, he said Oklahoma is his dark horse if Alabama doesn’t win because the Sooners have a good defense. Really? That has proven wrong. Unless he considers 60th in scoring defense and 112th against the pass as a good defense. Last week, he said he has “concern for The Big Ten” as a conference. They can’t be taken seriously, he insisted. The conference still has four undefeated teams now that conference play has started, and five are ranked in the Top Ten this week (only two SEC teams).
After the only team he stakes his reputation on, Alabama, fell to Texas A&M, 41-38, he labeled Alabama’s defense as “disgraceful”, and their play calling as “inexplicable” in their first loss this year. The loss marked the first to a non-ranked team in fifty such contests and the first for Nick Saban to a former assistant.
Well, no kidding! A lot of other people who watched the game on television like he did think the same. As a pundit totally focused on The Crimson Tide, why didn’t he consider these weaknesses before this game rather than vote them No. 1 in the nation each week beforehand? As an analyst, this proves he’s unqualified. After the fact, his opinion is pretty consistent amongst most college football fans. He states the obvious. He second guesses Nick Saban of all coaches? Based on what? What value does he bring to college football other than to be Alabama’s head cheerleader and to build the reputations for other teams in the SEC who fall to The Crimson Tide season after season? Maybe he can do hotel commercials on television instead!
Clemson’sDeShaun Watson was the first QB we saw shred an Oklahoma defense in a 2015 CFP game, 37-17.
Some Food for Thought
Reviewing RJ Young’s Top 25 last Monday, which many did not agree with, gave us some ideas. We didn’t agree with all the rankings, but we liked his originality that can be considered. He basically took all ten currently undefeated teams and ranked them No. 1 – 10. Next, he rated all once-beaten teams and ranked them persistently between No. 11-20. The last five of the 25 consisted of some two-loss and one-loss teams where he considered a little more regarding strength of schedules among them.
Nice thing here is that eight of ten conferences are ranked in his Top 25. The MAC and ConferenceUSA did not make his poll. Looking at the overall quality of wins between those two conferences, there’d be no or little argument from anyone. If a decision is made for eight teams to qualify for the CFP and the rankings finish along the current lines, you could have eight conferences being represented based on that criteria. Or, for an argument that some of the best teams (based on human perceptions and bias) don’t make it, at least a preliminary playoff could be set up among the Group of Five in a play-in format to at least give this group representation. At least one, but maybe even two teams should play depending on the year. They represent 50% of the Football Bowl Subdivision. Here’s Young’s current rankings. It’s interesting.
Our Best of Week 6 in Review
We had hoped for BYU to stay undefeated for our trip to Provo on October 30, but Boise (3-3) ruined that for us, 26-17. The Cougars, ranked No. 19, visit 5-1 Baylor this week meaning the winner gets to stay or move up into the rankings. We still look forward to seeing BYU host pass-happy Brennan Armstrong and Virginia in Provo…In the consolation game between Ole Miss and Arkansas, we gave the Rebels the nod as the home team. They trailed for a while, but the home field must’ve helped their comeback in their 52-51 victory. Wonder how Finebaum felt about those defenses if he watched, or cared? They both stay in the rankings at Nos. 12 and 21 respectively.
Cincinnati’s way
We thought “improved” Navy (1-4) could possibly throw a wrench into Cincy’s success if they knocked off now No. 23 SMU (6-0) at home. Luckily for No. 3 Cincy of the American Athletic, SMU pulled it out in the end over the Mids, 31-24, to stay undefeated. If the Mustangs stay that way, they will pose The Bearcats with their toughest challenge if ranked and undefeated when they meet on November 20. In the meantime, the Bearcats won how they have to to stay in CFP contention. They did it right blasting Temple, 52-3. We may consider going to the American Athletic playoff in Cincy, most likely against the winner between SMU and Houston at this time… As expected, Georgia’s defense handled Auburn, 34-10. Reminder: UGA defeated Cincy in the Peach Bowl last year, 24-21. Rematch in the CFP this year?
We got to see Cincinnati and Central Florida square off last year in an American Athletic Conference game. The Bearcats 36-33 win drew them a bid to the Peach Bowl to play Georgia. Now they look to roll everyone left on their slate to get another possible shot at the Bulldogs for a shot at No. 1.
Upset? Or, which doesn’t belong and why?
In the battle of winless teams, UMASS (1-5) “surprised” UCONN, 27-13. We banked on the Huskies taking this one based on two consecutive games where they hung in and lost by two in each. The Minutemen surprised here. Now what’s of interest this week, UCONN (0-7) hosts Ivy Leaguer Yale (2-2). If the Bulldogs beat the Huskies, what is the bottom line for UCONN who’s already lost to FCS Holy Cross of the very weak Patriot League already? Three rival teams ahead of Yale in the Ivy – Harvard, Princeton, and Dartmouth- are all 4-0. As for UMASS, in November, they’ll host Colonial Athletic members No. 14 Rhode Island (6-0) and Maine (1-4). If both FBS bottom-feeders stumble in these games, we say, rejoin the FCS!
QB Rally Needed
We looked for Penn State to beat Iowa, but the story comes down to the Lions being up 17-3 in the second when QB Sean Clifford left the game with an unknown injury. Ta’Quan Roberson stepped in and could not move the Nittany Lions against a tough Iowa defense. The Hawkeyes prevailed, 23-20, and rose to No. 2. Not sure what Clifford’s status is, but Penn State needs him back quickly with a date at Ohio State after Illinois comes to State College for a visit. PSU’s success for the year will be predicated on their QB’s performance, whoever it is, going forward.
Our Favorite Games of Week 7 to come
Well one of interest played Tuesday night. In a game between top Sunbelt squads, Louisiana (5-1, 3-0) surprisingly walloped Appalachian State (4-2, 1-1), 41-13. We have interest in both. Next Wednesday, we’ll be in Boone, NC to see Appy host No. 15 Coastal Carolina (6-0, 2-0). On November 20, we penned in Louisiana at Liberty (5-1). With potential bowl games here in the southeast, any of these teams can potentially wind up on our schedule once again…Speaking of weekday nights, we’ll see Navy’s improved triple-option against Memphis on Thursday. Since we saw them struggle against Air Force, Soph QB Tai Lavatai returned from injury to run the offense more adeptly. The Mids (1-4) will be challenged to keep Memphis’s (3-3) high-speed passing attack led by QB Seth Henigan and WR Calvin Austin off the field to minimize the Tiger scoring.
Historical Collegefootballfan.com matchups this College Football Week 7
On Friday, Clemson visits Syracuse. Last time we attended that game played on a Friday night in 2017, SU pulled off the upset over the then No. 2 Tigers, 27-24. With three wins each right now, would a Syracuse win constitute an upset? Probably not…UCF visits No. 3 Cincinnati. We attended this contest last season when the Bearcats defeated the Knights in Orlando, 36-33. Without QB Gabriel Dillon though, a win here for the Golden Knights (3-2) would be an upset. Cincy knows they have to continue to win big to considered for the CFP. They will show no mercy in games going forward.
Syracuse fans and students rush to the on-field celebration after their upset over No. 2 Clemson in 2017! Maybe a milder repeat this Friday night?
Eyes on potential future game plans
No. 11 Kentucky (6-0, 4-0) hasn’t seen the likes of No. 1 Georgia’s defense (6-0, 4-0). The Wildcats have won four of six games by seven points or less including against FCS UTC Chattanooga. The Dawg defense allows 5.6 point per game. Good thing there are other televised games on Saturday afternoon. We may consider seeing Tennessee at UK in Lexington on November 6 despite the result here.
The outcome of NC State (4-1, 1-0) at Boston College (4-1,0-1) on College Football Week 7 helps us decide if we want to make a few changes to our future schedule. We’ll see the Wolfpack at Wake Forest on November 13, that is set. If BC wins, we’ll probably trek back up to Louisville (3-3, 1-2) the week after for another barn-burner. If the Purple Eagles keep winning and a big game looms in Chestnut Hill on Thanksgiving weekend versus Wake, we’ll likely be there since we have a traditional New England Thanksgiving family gathering already planned there. A possible option looms as URI may host an FCS playoff as well.
We’ll predict this again until we get it right
No. 4 Oklahoma (6-0, 3-0) pulled if off late against Texas last weekend, 55-48, with the sudden insertion of new folk-hero, QB Caleb Williams (what happens if Spencer Rattler sits the rest of 2021?). However, that OU defense can’t be saved all the time. We’re looking for a big upset by TCU (3-2, 1-1). With that, OU is out of the CFP and we will consider buying tickets for the CFP playoff in the Orange Bowl. From personal history, we know OU will get throttled no matter who they would play there. Their defense cannot shut down any good team they will play (are you reading this, Paul?). Even if the Sooners luck out again here, look at their last three games – at 5-1 Baylor, vs. 3-2 Iowa State, and at No. 12 Oklahoma State who just hates them.
Commander-in-Chief contenders
Army (5-1) brings their triple option to Madison, Wisconsin to face the 2-3 badgers whose defense allows only 217.8 yards of offense per game, second only to Georgia. In five games, they’ve allowed only 207 total yards rushing. Army is only second to Air Force in the rushing department nationally averaging 318.2 yards per game. The unstoppable force meets the impenetrable wall in this one. This will be interesting to watch. Thus far, the Badgers offense has yet to get on track scoring only 98 points through five games. On November 6, the Cadets travel to Air Force for the second contest for the C-I-C Trophy. An Air Force win seals the award since the Falcons already beat Navy.
Air Force (5-1, 3-0 MWC) travels to Boise (3-3, 1-1) Saturday in a key conference match-up. The Broncos have been up and down against competition with a great, combined record of 25-7. Will the Falcons catch the Broncos up or down after their upset win over BYU last week? USAFA returns all their starters from the last two seasons. RB Brad Roberts’ 680 yards makes him the sixth leading rusher in the FBS and has tallied six TDs. We look for Air Force to overcome Boise on its blue field. The following week, No. 24 San Diego comes calling in Colorado Springs before the rivalry meeting with Army in Arlington, Texas.
USAFA QB Haaziq Daniels (4) led his Falcons past Navy 24-7, for the first jewel of the Commander-in-Chief’s crown.
Louisville, Kentucky – Virginia Cavaliers QB Brennan Armstrong tossed a one-yard scoring strike to TE Grant Misch with 22 seconds remaining. It put the finishing touch on a 17-point third period deficit to defeat the Louisville Cardinals, 34-33. Louisville QB Malik Cunningham almost reversed these fortunes leading his team down to the 31 after the late TD. However, the FG attempt went wide left as the game clock expired.
The ACC football battle started out as if it would be a high-scoring, seesaw battle before both teams seemed to settle down from their original, wide-open passing attacks to more balance with runs and short passes. Virginia, in particular, opened up more at the end to meet the urgency to score quickly with the game on the line. The Cavalier defense stepped up when needed to curtail more LU scoring as the game wound down. Armstrong finished the day completing 40 of 60 passes for 487 yards, three TDs, and two INTs. His fourth period stats accounted for 15 of 22 for 203 of those yards and two TDs. Both after throwing two pick-sixes in the third.
Opening “two-minute drill”
Virginia (4-2, 2-2) opened the scoring on its first drive of 85 yards converting three third downs in its wake. A 15-yard TD pass went from Armstrong to Billy Kemp IV. LU’s Cunningham (17 of 25, 270 yards, TD) wasted no time by launching a 92-yard catch and run for a TD to Tyler Harrel on their first play from scrimmage 24 seconds later. Half way through the first period, Guest Game Analyst Eugene “Judge” Mosley noted that both teams were close to 200 passing yards already. The teams traded field goals by the end of the first to knot the score, 10-10.
Virginia PK Brian Farrell opened the second with the only score in the period on a 21-yard FG. A UVA drive later in the period aided by an invisible pass interference call set up a second field goal attempt, but Farrell came up short before the half ended.
Halftime in style
We met Judge, a long-time Cardinal fan and season ticket holder, for the first time as he offered us a discounted ticket to join him in his family seats in the club level. We took the elevator to The Williamson-Brown Club in a very nice large, open area with concessions and plenty of cash bars to enjoy the game. Large monitors televised the game. Club members coming in from their seats watched with cocktails at a level half-way up in Cardinal Stadium. The beautiful red brick stadium overlooks retired, red, railroad cabooses similar to the Cock-a-booses down at South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium.
Judge and yours truly enjoyed drinks and shared fun stories during halftime festivities and plan to stay in touch. He and I found we had both attended the Army-Louisville game at West Point on a cold, Thursday night in 1999 when Army upset the Cardinals in OT. Up until 2019, it remained as Collegefootballfan.com’s highest scoring game since that time, 59-52. My daughter and his granddaughter both graduated in recent years from the University of South Carolina.
What the..?
Our conversation was interrupted suddenly by loud cheering from the other LU fans in the lobby with us as the Cardinals scored on their first possession of the second half. We got back out into our great seats to catch back up on the action!
Louisville Lead
Cardinal RB Hassan Hall (14 carries, 162 yards, TD) burst 52 yards on the fifth play of the possession to give Louisville a sudden 17-13 lead. They continued to dominate the entire period. DB Trey Franklin intercepted to return the ball into scoring position at UVA’s 25. The Cavalier defense, among the worst in ACC football regarding total yards and point allowed, forced a FG. Cardinal James Turner booted it through from 28. On their next possession following a Cav punt from the end zone, LU drove 36 yards in four plays with Jalen Mitchell taking it in from the three.
Another Card INT by Kenderick Duncan put the LU offense in business again. This time, Turner’s 38-yard conversion put Louisville up 30-13 before the third period expired. LU seemed well on its way to a 4-2, 2-2 record for a needed ACC victory. By that time, Judge figured he could leave as he had dinner plans and had to beat traffic. We enjoyed watching the game together. As a dedicated Cardinal fan, he’s probably glad now he left when he did.
Virginia Cavaliers’ Comeback
UVA began the last period with a third and ten at LU’s 49. H-back Keytaon Thompson capped this series with a five-yard scoring run. Armstrong started to dominate the passing lanes. His key strikes found Ra’Shaun Henry (9 catches for 179 yards) and Thompson (9 catches for 132 yards). The Cav defense held Louisville to a three-and-out. The offense took over again, this time from their 27. With 7:49 remaining, Armstrong connected with Jalen Woods on a three-yard slant pattern for a scoring strike to narrow the LU lead, 30-27.
The two ACC football teams traded punts. Louisville DT Matt Reiger sacked Armstrong for an 8-yard loss to force UVA to punt. Louisville took over from their 15 with 3:58 left. Both teams still had three time-outs remaining. Hall cut back through a big gap to rip off 53 yards to the Cavs’ 27. The Virginia defense held LU to only five more yards on three plays. Turner came in to put up another three for Louisville to lead, 33-27, leaving UVA within scoring range to despite having used all three time-outs before Turner’s kick.
Down to the bitter end
On a fourth and six from their 29, Armstrong and Kemp connected for a first down at the 46. Another completion to Thompson on the next play earned a first down at LU’s 37. On fourth and eight at the 35, Armstrong threw a strike to Thompson for a first down at the LU 19. Next, on second down, the same two connected again with Thompson’s dive coming up short at the one. From there, Armstrong lofted a short, high pass to wide-open TE Grant Misch in the right corner for his only catch of the game, the game winner! Cunningham led the Cardinals from their 25 to the Cavaliers’ 31 in just 19 seconds, but after four conversions, Turner’s FG attempt from 47 went wide left as time expired. The Virginia Cavaliers exploded on the sideline in celebration!
Cardinal fans among the 40,320 in attendance left the stadium quietly, orderly, stunned, and frustrated. Great game, tough loss. From Collegefootballfan.com’s perspective, our choice for college football excitement this particular day was spot on. We watched college football at its best for drama and excitement on the playing field. In the end though, one team has to lose a tough one and the other gets to win a great game! Glad we were there to witness the excitement.
Next!
UVA returns to Charlottesville to entertain Duke (3-3, 0-2). We will see the Cavaliers play on the road again when we see them visit No. 19 BYU in Provo, Utah. HC Bronco Mendenhall takes the Cavs back to play the previous program he successfully led.
Louisville (3-3,1-2) has a bye week for HC Scott Satterfield to work with his team to prep for the second half of a challenging ACC football season. Boston College (4-1, 0-1) comes to town the week after their game with NC State this Saturday. We may be back in Louisville for that one in two weeks.
Collegefootballfan.com starts up earlier than usual this Thursday night. We’ll see improving Navy (1-4, 1-2) visit the Memphis Tigers (3-3, 0-2) in an American Athletic clash. On Saturday, we’ll return to Chattanooga for a 12:30 pm kickoff. The FCS division Moccasins of UTC (2-4, 1-1) play No. 10 East Tennessee State (6-0, 3-0) in a Southern Conference contest.
Extra Points:
Our new acquaintance, Judge, played basketball for Bellarmine University when it competed in the ‘70s as a D-2 program. With a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his face, he admitted that he still holds a school record for Knights’ basketball – most shots ever attempted! Footnote: he started all four years he played there. Today, the Knights compete in the ASUN Conference as a D1 program. BU’s home court is Freedom Hall in Louisville, and this season’s schedule includes the likes of Purdue, UCLA, and Gonzaga.
Sorry about the lack of photos this week – someone forgot to reload a disc in our camera. We might salvage a few pics however. Now we definitely have to get back to Cardinal Stadium, hope that the weather is as nice, and that we get another day game.
When Finebaum’s “not buying”, who’s he kidding? He’s selling!
And of course, he’s not buying into the Big Ten! As usual, he’s throwing out his support to the top-heavy SEC. This guy is so one-dimensional. He gets away with it because no other media challenges him. We did! Does any conference other than the SEC have such a one-sided pundit who is allowed to dominate the airwaves as liberally as he does? Why should the rest of college football, including SEC fans not of Alabama or Georgia, care about what he says right now? No one else can express a different opinion? Talk about “unfreedom of the Press”. We rarely do this, but here what we responded with to this article this past Monday:
The SEC has lost non-conference games to Penn State, UCLA, Memphis, Pitt, BC (beat Texas and NC State) and Auburn lucked out against Georgia State, Kentucky struggled against UT Chattanooga, A&M struggled with Colorado, and the conference’s automatic win, Vanderbilt, lost to ETSU. Bama’s win over Miami was played at a “neutral” site where they’ve played 17 times since Saban started. Michigan State of the Big Ten went to Miami to handle them just as easily. He’s buying into the entire SEC? They got Bama and Georgia, but give us a break! He’s nothing but the SEC wingman throwing up smoke and mirrors to protect the conference paying him. He wants four SEC teams in the CFP. no kidding. Who should care what he thinks?
“Wildcat” Tyler Warren (44) prepares to leap for a touchdown to give PSU a 21-10 lead. Paul Finebaum must’ve forgotten that Penn State of the Big Ten already beat Auburn of the SEC this season.
They should read our Salvos
Of course, brainwashed SECers jump to his defense, but as far as we’re concerned, they only make his case weaker. Information we shared here the last few weeks provided the Salvos to shoot them down as well. We look forward to the SEC championship to see what happens if Bama or Georgia dominates the other in the SEC finale to see what arguments they’ll use to justify both playing in the CFP.
Already those two have shown how much better they are than other “SEC!SEC!” programs by whipping Ole Miss and Arkansas respectively last week, 42-14 and 37-0. They should stop their common praise by association. Most of the SEC can’t can compete as will be proven through the balance of this season. Every other team in the conference, like most teams nationally, cannot compete with The Tide nor the Bulldogs.
More fine-tuning from our side
We decided to cancel going to this Thursday night’s match-up with No. 15 Coastal Carolina playing at Arkansas State. The timing offered us convenience to see the No. 15 team play, but as we prefer, we like to attend “competitive games.” This counters that desire. The Chanticleers average 48 ppg. The Red Wolves under new HC Butch Jones, as of late Alabama’s DC a year ago, allow about that much per game. So, a 50-0 blowout at night after a five-hour drive doesn’t thrill us. (Won by CCU, 52-20).
Good news! We came up with a much more desirable alternative. On Wednesday, October 20, about six hours in the opposite direction from us, the Chanticleers (5-0, 1-0) visit Boone, NC to play SunBelt foe Appalachian State (4-1, 1-0) in a game with some meaning for the conference championship. Last season, the Chants prevailed at home, 34-23, to win the conference. This makes this change very worthwhile!
Last time we saw Appy State play on November 1, 2014 it was cold enough. What will a night game in Boone, NC be like this October?
Our Week 5 Review
Regarding our insight for games played last week, BYU got off to a good start to defeat Utah State, 34-20, to move up three spots to No. 10 in the nation. We look forward to seeing them host UVA on October 30 for our first game ever in the state of Utah…Okay, we were fooled into thinking and hoping that the SEC was more balanced than it really is when we predicted Arkansas would give No. 2 Georgia a true fight in the loudest stadium we’ve ever been to. Instead of competing, they just rolled over to fall, 37-0. The Razorbacks fell from lofty No. 8 to 13. They could fall farther if they fall big in this week’s “consolation game”.
Surprise!
Wake Forest (5-0, 3-0) remained undefeated in a very good game down to the wire as usual with Louisville in a 37-34 win. They have a chance at maintaining a winning streak despite games at Army and at UNC before we meet up with “Bug” and his Boys at Winston-Salem on November 13. NC State comes calling. Having moved up from No. 24 to No. 19, Wake also sits atop the Atlantic Division of the ACC. Surprisingly, at this point, they rank highest among all ACC teams. The conference lost its top dog this year in Clemson, but overall, there’s a lot of competitive football being played within the ACC.
Bearcats football ready, but…
And as we called it, the Cincinnati Bearcats defeated Notre Dame in South Bend to move up from No. 7 to No. 5 sending the Irish down from 9 to 14. Behind QB Desmond Ridder, this squad is focused on breaking the Power Five hold on the CFP. They’re going to need some help even if they run the American Athletic table though. UCF without QB Dillon Gabriel in action negates their effectiveness as seen by their loss, 34-30, to winless Navy last week. SMU will have to continue a good showing to enable the Bearcats to pick up a quality win late in the season. Hopefully, consideration can be made for their last-second loss, 24-21, last season to Georgia in The Peach Bowl.
UCF QB Gabriel Dillon challenged the Bearcats last year in Cincy’s win in Orlando,36-33.
Oklahoma State moved up from No. 19 to 12 hanging in as we called with their 24-14 win over previously undefeated Baylor. They have the Big Twelve gauntlet ahead of them until November 27 when they’ll host their in-state rival Oklahoma in the Bedlam Bowl. With OU’s future move to the SEC, there’s added incentive for the Cowboys in this one. They have a bye this week to prep for Texas the week after the Longhorns shoot it out with OU in Dallas.
It pays off to see teams play in person
We called it as we scouted both teams personally the two prior weeks in PSU’s defense dominating Indiana in a shutout. Winning 24-0 to maintain their No. 4 position, Iowa jumped ahead of PSU with a 51-14 win over previously unbeaten Maryland. We’ll talk about this in our Week Six preview. The Lions’ defense is tenacious, and its offense picks its spots.
As stated in last week’s preview of Alabama taking on Ole Miss, we got everything but the popcorn comment correct. As stated, “The soap opera stuff gets put aside and the teams play. Saban, the Recycler, will know how to beat Lane Kiffin. It won’t be pretty…” Bama dominated from the start and won more handily than the final score, 42-14, indicates. Alabama should handle struggling Texas A&M this week. Arkansas travels to Ole Miss in the consolation round after last week as both fell hard from the undefeated ranks to Bama and UGA. Which will recover? We’ll go with Ole Miss in this case.
To the rear, march!
We had to comment on these two results as our regular season ends once again this year with Army-Navy in December. We surmised in assessing Week Four that Army would go 4-0. However, we pointed out the meat of its schedule will offer its toughest challenges the following four games. Already, our prediction came to fruition as they lost at Ball State, 28-16. In two weeks, the travel to Wisconsin who thrives on defense only. We’ll be interested to see how the Badgers defense fares against Army’s potent triple option with one week to prepare. Will the Badgers offense show up for this one?
In Annapolis, Navy shocked us with their 34-30 win over Central Florida. No doubt, the Mids were helped by the Golden Knights’ loss of QB Dillon Gabriel, but more shocking, we didn’t know they had an injured QB on the sideline who came back and ran an effective triple option. Soph QB Tai Lavatai powered the Mids triple option offense with 348 yards rushing – Navy style football. Not only does he improve it with rushing yards, but it keeps high-flying offenses like UCF’s off the field. USNA had control of the football for 39:18 of the game. They host No. 24 SMU this Saturday. If Navy has the QB to run this offense, they can turn the tide to make Army Navy a classic contest in The Meadowlands.
Good times returning to Annapolis?
Coming Up – Best of Week Six!
Our game between two 3-2 ACC squads with exciting QBs should be an exciting contest to the end. With our first trip ever to Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, dual-threat Cardinal QB Malik Cunningham will motor the Cardinal offense. Brennen Armstrong of UVA is the second highest ranked QB in the nation with 1,973 yards passing and 14 TDs. The defenses look very even statistically ranked at the bottom of the ACC. Louisville hung in down to the wire last week at Wake Forest while Wake doubled up the score against UVA in Charlottesville. Close game goes to the Cardinals in a fun one for us.
Consolation game
No. 13 Arkansas travels for the second week in a row to Ole Miss for the “consolation round” after both got slammed on the road last week ending undefeated quests to Georgia and Alabama. Both teams appeared unstoppable at home prior to running into these two behemoths on the road. Ole Miss gets the nod here being the home team once again…
Sooners due now rather than later
No. 6 Oklahoma (5-0) vs. No. 21 Texas (4-1) in the Red River Shoot-out: the Sooners have beaten four FBS teams played to date by seven points or less. UT fell on the road to Arkansas, and beat TCU in a close one at home last week. UT relies on their running game and OU relies on Spencer Rattler’s passes. Two weeks ago, we said OU would fall to either Texas or TCU first. We look for Texas to upend the Sooners this week. OU won’t just get by in this one.
Looking for Texas ground game to hook the Sooners this Saturday!
Fatal blow for Cincinnati?
No. 24 SMU at Navy, who comes in with a true option QB again after its upset over UCF last week, could be in for some trouble here. Navy had defeated SMU at home even in close ones the last six times these two met in Annapolis. SMU QB Tanner Mordecai has thrown for 24 TDs already. They’ve defeated LA Tech and TCU on the road in close games. This will be close too, but Mordecai will be able to thread passes against the Navy secondary. The key will be how effective he can make each possession if Navy can control the clock again. The Mids pulled off a close one last week and the Brigade will be pumped in Annapolis. We look for Navy to pull off a close upset against SMU. Cincy will try take it out on the Mids when they meet in Annapolis on October 23.
No. 2 Georgia plays at No. 18 Auburn in the longest rivalry in the Southeast. Auburn will hang for a while, but in the end, we see UGA playing strong down the stretch. The Bulldog defense has given up only 23 points in five games. AU’s defense averages giving up 23 ppg in its last three games and escaped a loss at home to 1-4 Georgia State. Mistakes will be hard to overcome against UGA this week.
Battle for the bottom
UCONN (0-6) at UMASS (0-5) for this year’s Bottom of the Barrel Battle. First of all, these two programs should go back to playing in the FCS where they fit better budget-wise, geographically, recruiting-wise, and academically with the likes of the Colonial Athletic Association. Hopefully, both administrations will consider this in the future. What value either gets from playing as Independents in the FBS has yet to be determined. The past two weeks, UCONN has “improved” losing to Wyoming (4-0) and at Vanderbilt by only two points to each. UMASS averages a losing margin by 35 points and it’s grown wider in the last two weeks against Coastal Carolina and Toledo. UCONN wins for their only win of 2021! UMASS will finish 2021 as No. 130 in the FBS.
No. 4 at No. 3?
Penn State travels to Iowa against a team that leap-frogged them a week ago with the Hawkeyes defeating undefeated Maryland on the road, 51-14. Penn State’s been there and done that to optimistic 4-0 Maryland in 2019 to the tune of 59-0. So, we don’t put much credence into the stature of Iowa’s offensive dominance against the Terps. Both the Nittany Lions and the Hawkeyes handled Indiana already. Iowa has defeated Kent State and Colorado State at home. We think the Lions defense will show up to shut down this Iowa offense, and QB Sean Clifford will be ready to have a big day.
The Lions have held back offensively since beating Auburn. They didn’t have to flex their muscles much against a good FCS Villanova (4-1) and put together long drives to knock off Indiana who could not score. PSU wins this bigger than anyone expects. James Franklin’s team is focused this season. He’ll use this leap-frog dissing as ammo and knows other challenges remain ahead. His team has to get its foothold in the Top Four now and just ignore any comments from that SEC guru who won’t acknowledge the Lions as do many pundits. This could be their year as they take one game at time.
PSU RB Ricky Slade takes the ball over from the one for PSU in their 59-0 win at Maryland in 2019.
Clarksville, TN – The second half battle between Tennessee State and Austin Peay made up for a lackluster first as the Tigers (2-3, 1-0) fought off the Governors (2-4, 0-1) to a 24-22 victory in an Ohio Valley Conference contest. TSU Tiger QB Geremy Hickbottom led his offense with a TD run of 44 yards and two TD passes. The Governors challenged right to the bitter end after failing on a two-point conversion late TD with less than two minutes remaining.
Uneventful start
Punts, missed field goals, and a Tiger fumble marked time for the action of the first half. Not until 4:15 remained before intermission did TSU put three points on the board with a 25-yard FG by Antonio Zita. After that conversion, both teams failed on subsequent field goals attempts before heading to their locker rooms. If the action continued this way in the second half, we envisioned this game matching our record lowest scoring game ever going back to 1981 when Rutgers defeated Virginia in The Meadowlands by that final score, 3-0.
Tennessee State PK Antonio Zita follows through on the only three points scored in the first half.
Second half starts slow
A punt-fest continued into the second half until a roughing the kicker penalty put APSU at the TSU 49 with renewed life. A 29-yard pass to Baniko Harley placed the Govs at the Tiger 12. Maddux Trujillo finally put three on the board to knot the score. The tie seemed to spark life into both squads for the rest to the game. The Governor crowd got into it with chants of “Let’s go Peay!”, and the Austin Peay band across the way added much to the spirit through the end.
Sparks start to fly
Hickbottom lofted a long pass leading WR Rodell Rahmaan nicely toward the end zone with an over the should catch down the left sideline for a 63-yard TD pass. AP blocked the ensuing extra point attempt. On the very next Governor possession, the offense found sudden energy as RB Brian Snead burst through a hole for a 66-yard TD sprint to put his team up for the first time for a 10-9 lead. That lead did not last long, however. Hickbottom broke out of the protected pocket and raced 45 yards to pay-dirt to regain the lead. He connected with Rahmaan on a short slant over the middle on the two-point conversion giving TSU the 17-10 lead going into Q4.
Austin Peay RB Brian Snead (4) races 66 yards to give the Governors a short-lived 10-9 lead in the third period.
Austin Peay’s first two possessions in the final period resulted in Trujillo field goals from 24 and 39 yards respectively. Up 17-16, Hickbottom completed a 37-yard pass to Zaire Thornton to get to the Gov’s 38. After a loss and a penalty, he connected again with Rahmaan on a crossing pattern for a 45-yard catch and run down the left sideline for a 24-16 lead. With 5:53 left in the game, a lot of fans started to leave. With young, energetic HC Scotty Walden leading AP as we’d seen at Chattanooga, the Govs could still win this game! However, after three consecutive incompletes, his team had to punt the ball away to put Tennessee State back in control under first-year HC Eddie George. AP Freshman QB Draylen Ellis (25 for 54, 254 yards, TD) is still a work-in-process.
Tennessee State Head Coach and Heisman Trophy winner (wearing white visor) keeps a close watch on his team to make his Tigers more competitive in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Fight to the finish and beyond
The APSU defense forced TSU to a three and out late in the fourth. Starting from the 25, Ellis came through to lead a drive culminating with a 10-yard TD pass to WR Baniko Harley (5 catches for 85 yards, TD) to close within two. On the ensuing two-point conversion, the ball fell from the intended receiver’s hands a few yards short with 1:56 left. Suddenly, the night sky opened up with hale-like rain, and the remaining fans ran for cover where they could find it. Maybe the ones who left earlier knew this was coming.
TSU QB Geremy Hickbottom breaks loose for a 44-yard TD run to recapture the Tigers lead, 17-10.
There was no quit in either team. They continued to fight. AP’s onsides kick bounced high and out of bounds. TSU took possession at the AP 45. Using two remaining time-outs, the Governors D forced another TSU punt for a touchback. Time ran out to end any possible AP comeback, and as the two teams met at midfield after, a few scuffles broke out and campus security, some pretty big ones, stepped on to help quell the situations quickly. The intensity that started late in the game festered after time expired. Great game that started off slowly and intensified into a late, great, exciting finish. Our last-minute scheduling change resulted with the type of finish that we always hope for.
Next up:
Austin Peay remains at Fortera Stadium next Saturday to host OVC foe Southeast Missouri State (1-4,1-1) whose only win is over the TSU Tigers, 47-14. Tennessee State has a week off before returning to Nissan Stadium in Nashville to host Tennessee Tech (1-4, 1-1) whose first win came over SE Mizzou this past weekend, 28-17. It seems the OVC playoff bid may be wide open based on these results.
As for us at Collegefootballfan.com, we may be calling another audible as the Thursday night game to see No. 15 Coastal Carolina at Arkansas State (1-4) may be cancelled on our end. The CCU Chanticleers (5-0, 1-0) average 46 ppg. The ASU Red Wolves’ defense allows about the same per game to their opponents. As we always say, we like to find the most competitive games. Of course, this is a Thursday night game and would be nice to see the highly-ranked Chants.
However, into our first year of retirement, we are learning how to use our new-found flexibility to our advantage. The Chants play at Appalachian State (4-1, 1-0) on Wednesday, October 20, in a key SunBelt battle for first. We’re looking to pull this off to add to our schedule. Keep an eye on this website for updates. And if this works out, we still have a great ACC game on the slate next Saturday when Virginia (3-2, 1-1) travels to Louisville (3-2,1-2) for our first game at Cardinal Stadium. Both teams have explosive QBs in Brennan Anderson for the Cavaliers and Malik Cunningham for the Cardinals. The Cavs and Cards average over 30 points per game, and both have already fallen to Wake Forest. This should be a good one.
Extra points:
Punter Kaleb Mosley averaged 40.7 yards on seven punts for TSU with a long of 58. However, AP punter Matthew Rigney outdid him with 46.6 yards on eight with a long of 60. We usually don’t acknowledge punters, but they dominated the first half and made some other critical kicks throughout. One or both of these guys could end up playing on Sundays in the future.
After all these years, we never knew we had been missing “the greatest tradition in all of college football” according to the PA announcer before the start of this game. Surely, not many others outside of the Austin Peay community are aware of this. Their fantastic-sounding marching band traditionally plays the Monkees’ hit, “The Last Train to Clarksville,” to wind down their pre-game show to get the AP fans fired up! Never knew that. The way this game started, the Governors didn’t play fired up football. “Last Train to Clarksville”? Oh no, no, no! Besides, we already witnessed and heard their best and most unique tradition down in Chattanooga when AP fans chanted, “Let’s go Peay!” But what do we know? What other unique college traditions have we missed after attending 619 college football games to date? Always learning something new, and that makes going to all these games at new venues a lot of fun!
Take the last train to Clarksville and meet us at Fortera Stadium, home of the Austin Peay Governors.
SEC policy? Doesn’t get any more blatant than this, Paul.
Tennessee, looking to get back into consideration for respectability meaning more wins, cancelled a contract to play Army West Point next season. Army, who runs the triple option that the Vols never see, has been on the upswing the past few years. Against a few Power Five teams the past few years, they threatened, but came up short: West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl, 24-21; at Michigan, 24-21, and at Oklahoma, 28-21. Tennessee planned to host the Cadets next season with Knoxville hosting the 2022 Congressional Medal of Honor Society Convention! Evidently fearing a loss, they paid Army $500,000 to cancel and booked wayward Akron in their place for a one-million-dollar payout.
“On Brave Old Army team, on to the fray…” They frightened off Tennessee, however.
SECret to success
This year these same Zips lost to Auburn, 60-10, and to Ohio State, 59-7. So why not contract a team you can clobber instead of a team that will challenge? Maybe make your team better? No. Easy win for the money serves a purpose for more money. Basically, assured of a win, Akron replacing a possible loss helps them. Non-conference games with Akron, Ball State, and UT Martin at home and Pitt on the road, they’re doing the math for 2022. At best, 3-1 now. Vanderbilt looks to be a certain fourth win. South Carolina, Mizzou, and Kentucky present possible wins. If they win two, that’s six wins (6-2) – a Bowl game. The balance of the season lists Florida, at LSU, Alabama, and at Georgia. They get into a guaranteed bowl game at 6-6. Thank you, Akron, for stepping up. It’s conjecture, but it’s part of the plan. More bowl games, the more money into the SEC coffers.
If you can’t beat ‘em, don’t play ‘em.
This year, Alabama plays FCS Mercer and New Mexico State (slowest team ever seen if you watched highlights against Hawaii) this year. Too many clunkers dot SEC slates: Rice, Alabama State, Arkansas- Pine Bluff, Samford, Charleston Southern, LA-Monroe, Missouri State, Eastern Illinois, Tennessee Tech, Prairie View, UConn. They counter that they play these teams because their conference is so tough. How do they prove that? SEC non-conference games this year include losses to UCLA, Memphis, Boston College, Penn State, Pittsburgh, and East Tennessee State. Throw in a few desperate wins against Colorado, UT Chattanooga, Georgia State, and even down-trotting Clemson. Not much proof of any extraordinary “toughness” here. The Game Day guys will talk about the Arkansas win over Texas and the Ole Miss win over NC State, but they won’t go into any depth about these.
At least Auburn agreed to a home and home series with Penn State in 2021-22. First time at a Big Ten campus in 90 years. Was it the last?
Fine-tuning our schedule again
This Saturday, we had planned to go see Middle Tennessee (1-3,0-2) host a good Marshall team (2-2, 0-1) in a ConferenceUSA match. MTSU lost at Charlotte last week, 42-38. Marshall fell to a good Appalachian State team, 31-30. It might not be a very good game. We’re thinking of going to see an FCS game even closer to us instead for better competition on the gridiron. Austin Peay (2-2) hosts Tennessee State (1-2) in Clarksville. We get to add the TSU Tigers under new HC Eddie George for one thing. We had planned to see the Tigers host Tennessee Tech on October 16. Tech is currently 0-4, and rather than go to see these two clash in big, empty Nissan Stadium that day, we set eyes on a more competitive game with some bite.
That day in the Southern Conference, FCS No. 19 Chattanooga (1-2, including a 28-23 loss versus Kentucky) hosts FCS No. 14 East Tennessee State (4-0,1-0). ETSU plays on our slate for the first time. Both have two games prior to this meeting. If both teams win both games, it will be a fight for first in the SoCon. That’s what we like to see!
Ailym Ford nears end zone for UTC against Austin Peay. Back to Chattanooga for us in October.
Finebaum’s Smoke and Mirrors
The SEC also has their watchdog, Paul Finebaum , throwing out signals attacking the ACC on its way down, starting with Clemson. No other college football fan can see that ,of course. Only Paul can see that with all those TV monitors in front of him. Give us the news he doesn’t want us to see. For bashing, he should look no further than his beloved SEC. However, he takes the low road to distract everybody form the evident decline of the SEC. That’s what his network pays him for, being the conference’s wingman. Nice job if you can find the work.
Week Four in Review
We wanted to see if either undefeated Big Ten team would be exposed as very overrated, but No. 14 Michigan’s 20-13 win over Rutgers (3-1) showed that the Scarlet Knights held their own against a nemesis who had beaten them 280-61 over five games before last season’s 48-42 U of M win. RU gets tested again the next two weeks against No. 11 Ohio State (3-1) and at No. 17 Michigan State. Michigan (4-0) won’t run into the top of their eastern division foes until going to Michigan State on October 30…
Boston College (4-0) defeated Mizzou (2-2), 41-34. Anyone notice the SEC sent the same refs to Boston that had officiated the Penn State-Auburn week the previous week? They must’ve done a stellar job per SEC evaluations to get to travel to BC for this non-conference contest…In other ACC action, we had special interests seeing how Wake Forest and Virginia would do against each other last Friday. We’ve got both penned in for upcoming games. Wake (4-0) defeated the Wahoos soundly, 37-17, to jump up to No. 24 – ahead of Clemson! We’ll see UVA against Louisville on October 9 and at BYU on October 30. The Demon Deacons will host NC State on our agenda on November 13…Of course, NC State pulled the upset we called last week when they defeated Clemson, 27-21…
At 4-0 after beating Missouri of the SEC last week, can the Eagles challenge for the ACC title? Quick, somebody tell Paul Finebaum!
Notre Dame beat Wisconsin, 41-21, scoring 21 points in Q4. The three late TDs came on a kickoff return and two pick sixes. Not sure if anyone can say the Irish offense is that good, or if the Wisconsin defense is not what it seems based on this score. We’ll find out about both this upcoming weekend…UT San Antonio (4-0) could be rising to the top of ConferenceUSA after their 31-28 win at Memphis (3-1). They start conference play next week versus UNLV (0-4).
Our Best of Week Four
Collegefootballfan.com is excited to see BYU play for the first time since 1989 this season when they host Virginia on October 30. Also, our first game ever in Provo! This weekend, the No. 13 Cougars will visit Utah State (3-1). The Aggies will be up for this after suffering their first loss last week to Boise, 27-3. We look for State to throw a scare into BYU, but they will remain unbeaten…
SEC
No. 2 Georgia (4-0) is untested despite a close win over Clemson who struggles offensively. Thirty-five points in the first quarter against Vanderbilt on the road is nothing to brag about. The Dores are bad. UAB? South Carolina? No. 7 Arkansas (4-0) has locked horns with Texas and A&M, both ranked. Look for them to make this very close, if not an upset surprise… Also in the SEC, No. 12 Mississippi (3-0) at No. 1 Alabama (4-0): the soap opera stuff gets put aside and the teams play. Saban, the Recycler, will know how to beat Lane Kiffin. It won’t be pretty…
ACC
Louisville (3-1, 1-0) at No. 24 Wake Forest (4-0, 2-0), another ACC scouting report for us, will be a tussle. Both beat Florida State and beat good passing teams respectively in UCF and in Virginia. It will be close with Wake taking this win at home, based on their wealth of experience, and QB Sam Hartman…
Wake and Louisville duked it out two years ago to a final score of 62-59 won by the Cardinals. Looking for similar results when Wake meets Louisville again this weekend, but Deacs coming out on top .
AAC/Independent
No. 9 Notre Dame inflated their win over Wisconsin who has no offense to speak of and a very good defense with a kickoff return and two pick sixes in the fourth quarter last week to win, 41-21. No. 7 Cincinnati plays strong on both sides of the ball. They are a team on a mission. This game and Indiana were must-wins before American Athletic competition begins. With a bye last Saturday, they are focused to get to the CFP. QB Desmond Ridder will lead an offense that can keep ND’s off the field. Their defense will hold the Irish in check with or without Jack Coan. This is the Bearcat’s shot and they know it…
Big Twelve
We saw Baylor (4-0) defeat Texas State in our FBS opener, and they haven’t lost since including last week’s win over No. 14 Iowa State to land at No. 21 in this week’s AP poll. Oklahoma State looms at No. 19 with a 21-20 victory at Boise and with a win over previous No. 24 Kansas State. OSU has been solid at home and they will meet in Stillwater. Baylor relies on the run mostly and the Cowboys stop the running game. They should prevail in a good game at home…We still see Oklahoma on course to lose one of its next three. WVU came close to pulling it off last weekend.
Big Ten
No. 4 Penn State (4-0,1-0) looks forward to having Indiana (2-2, 0-1) visit Beaver Stadium after they handed the Nittany Lions a one-point loss in last season’s opener on a controversial last-play score. We saw IU defeat Western Kentucky last week, 33-31. Though Michael Penix threw for 373 yards, he never tossed one into the end zone against a very loose Hilltopper secondary. IU’s defense also gave a lot of cushion to WKU’s receivers last week allowing Bailey Zappe the throw for 365 yards and three TDs. Topper receivers were wide-open all night. Penn State will not offer Ty Fryfogel and their TE Peyton Hendershot anywhere near the amount of space they enjoyed last week. On the other side, Sean Clifford, Jahan Dotson, and the rest of the PSU receiving corps will take full advantage of the space IU will give them. We look for the Lions to win by at least three touchdowns.
WKU’s Dalvin Smith scores on a 13-yard TD pass against Indiana. If IU allows PSU receivers to get this open on Saturday, the Lions’ offense should have a field day.
Rack ‘em up for Eight in “Achtober”
During the first full month of fall, we plan to attend seven and hopefully eight games during October. Thanks to a couple of Thursday night games and our new-found flexibility to venture to new locations, we are taking advantage. After our short ride to Austin Peay this Saturday against Tennessee State, we head out Thursday to Jonesboro, Arkansas to see No. 16 Coastal Carolina (4-0) with QB Grayson McCall take on Arkansas State (1-3). Saturday after, we venture a few hours away for an afternoon game in Louisville to see the Cardinals take on the Virginia Cavaliers.
On Thursday night, October 14, we plan to see Navy (0-4) try to turn things around in Memphis against the Tigers. We look forward to seeing a significant SoCon game in Chattanooga when UTC plays ETSU the following Saturday. We stay FCS on October 23 if the Ohio Valley Conference game between Austin Peay at Murray State matters for a conference title. If not, Boston College at Louisville could be of interest in the ACC instead. Hopefully, the TV programmers will see thing our way to time the start of UCLA at Utah conveniently to allow us to see that game along with Virginia at BYU in Provo on October 30. Looking forward to Halloween. No tricks, just treats this year!
Bowling Green, Kentucky – The Indiana Hoosiers (2-2) took a 14-0 lead in the first period over Western Kentucky (1-2) on the road, but the Hilltoppers opened up a comparable passing attack and battled to the end as IU won in a close one, 33-21. Indiana QB Michael Penix passed for 373 yards completing 34 of 53 to very wide-open receivers. He ran for a TD and his RB Stephen Carr added two on short runs all finishing long drives. WR Ty Fryfogel caught key passes gaining 98 yards on ten receptions.
WKU, down by 14, went to the air on QB Bailey Zappe’s arm to offset IU’s successful air attack. He countered with 31 of 44 completions for 365 yards and three TDs. WKU’s pass defense was porous. As the game progressed, however, the IU secondary showed their coverage lacked more than the Toppers. Zappe passed at will. Early penalties and mistakes cost them in several critical situations. Neither team turned the ball over which could be attributed to no pressure on either QB. Neither team recorded a sack. Both secondaries played very loose coverage.
QB Michael Penix submarines underneath this pile for Indiana’s second score.
One positive note for the Hilltopper defense, it displayed a “bend but don’t break” scenario forcing four FGs. However, Hoosier PK Charles Campbell lived up to the task converting all four attempts from 46, 37, 25, and 48 yards. IU’s first punt of the game came late in Q3.
Hilltoppers climb back in
Long drives finished by short TD runs by Penix and Carr spotted the Hoosiers a 14-0 lead by the end of Q1. WKU got its offense going into the second period finishing a 77-yard drive with a one-yard plunge by Adam Cofield. Campbell’s first two FGs extended the IU lead, 20-7. WKU showed it figured IU’s weakness through the air and drove 72 yards in 1:42 scoring with only 55 seconds left in the half. A 25-yard pass to Daewood Davis at the right pylon closed the gap by six. IU started its next possession with two straight complete passes and a 21-yard run by Carr to the Topper’s 15. Three incompletions and an offsides by WKU brought Campbell back on to boot is third FG for a 23-14 margin as time ran out to end the half.
Memory of Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium/Fiex Field
Though this was Collegefootballfan.com’s first time ever at the home site of the Western Kentucky football program, this game revived a vivid memory of a WKU football game played in this venue from 1970. Back then, ABC-TV featured a Sunday morning college football program featuring four or five games from the previous day before. The field goals in particular, while sitting up above the north end zone this evening overlooking a highway running parallel to railroad tracks running east to west, reminded me of a game recorded on that program back then.
Looking up records after, I confirmed my memory was correct! I believe the broadcaster narrating the highlights was either Bill Simpson or Bob Murphy of NY Mets broadcasting fame. The game featured Western Kentucky hosting Eastern Kentucky. As a field goal cleared a high, chain-linked fence beyond the end zone at that time, one of two school-aged kids standing on the desolate road at that time caught the football. They both started running away from the football field with the game ball as the narrator exclaimed, “And here is the longest run of the day!” Being at Feix Field, a beautiful football facility by the way, and seeing FGs landing in the stands brought back the WKU memory. What memories of so long ago – shocking!
Charles Campbell’s four FGS at WKU stirred some memories of a highlight reel from 1970 at the same stadium.
You can look it up!
I confirmed all of this on Wikipedia. WKU won the Ohio Valley Conference that season with a record of 8-1-1, 5-1-1. They finished No. 12 in the AP and No. 9 in the UPI final polls in the NCAA College Division. On October 24 in Bowling Green, they defeated No. 14 Eastern Kentucky, 19-7, in the “Battle of the Blue Grass.” Several WKU alum on that team made it to the NFL. Of note, one of the Hilltoppers’s football assistants was Romeo Crennel, long time NFL coach since.
Feix Field is named for the HC of WKU at the time of this game. Jimmy Feix played QB for the Toppers in 1949-1952. He was an assistant there from 1957-68. He became HC from 1968-1993 finishing with a career record of 106-56-6. His teams won the Ohio Valley Conference six times. Great stuff! We wonder if there is any record of the two kids responsible for the “famous” longest run with that ball that day?
Hoosiers hold on
In the second half, Zappe came out firing. His 13-yard TD pass to Dalvin Smith closed the score to 23-21 within the first two minutes of the second half. Field goals by both teams made the score 26-24 going into the final period.
WKU’s Dalvin Smith scores on a 13-yard TD pass to close the gap early in the third period.
Carr’s five-yard TD run to finish an 86-yard Hoosier drive extended IU’s lead, 33-24. WKU’s ensuing drive stayed alive on a fourth and seven-yard pass completion to Mitchell Tinsley. The 38-yard gain renewed life for the Hilltoppers at IU’s 34. With 2:43 left, Zappe connected with a wide-open Malachi Corley for a 19-yard TD pass. WKU got back within two, 33-31.
Indiana took over at their 35 when the Topper kickoff landed out of bounds. A third and eight pass from Penix to Fryfogel for ten yards put IU in control after WKU used up all its time-outs to run out the clock to take home the Big Ten Team’s 33-31 victory, but not without exposing some weakness going forward into conference play.
IU WR Ty Fryfogel didn’t score on Saturday, but he had several key catches including a final first down late in the game to seal the Hoosier win.
Next week
IU’s conference play starts next Saturday at No. 4 Penn State. Having seen the Nittany Lions and Hoosiers both play these last two weekends, look for our prediction regarding that one later this week in Steveo’s Salvos. Speaking of Big Ten play, WKU continues the same traveling to East Lansing, Michigan to play No. 17 Michigan State (4-0). Collegefootballfan.com is calling an audible. We decided that high-scoring Marshall (2-2) visiting Middle Tennessee (1-3) will not be as competitive as another local alternative game. We will travel to nearby Clarksville, TN instead to see our first game at Austin Peay (2-2). They host Ohio Valley Conference foe, Tennessee State (1-2), an HBCS coached by Heisman winner Eddie George. We will see these Tigers play for the first time. Interestingly enough, these two will meet again in Nissan Stadium on October.
Extra points:
Since we both have an interest in exploring locations not far from where we live now in Tennessee, my wife “St. Laurie” joined me on this excursion to Bowling Green within an hour away. On the way, we stopped at The Mint Gaming Hall in Franklin, Kentucky right over the north Tennessee border. Slots and horse simulcasting only. We went for drinks and apps at Double Dogs Sports bar in Bowling Green for our pregame meal.
Good beers and three appetizers were good, but even Laurie got intrigued by the games being played on the multi screens long enough to watch the Louisville-FSU game with a small but hard-core group of Cardinal fans. Even more so, she was intrigued to watch Clemson going down since she is the mother of a die-hard Gamecock fan! However, Clemson tied the game at the end of regulation and I pried her away from OT since we were unfamiliar with the parking arrangements at WKU.
We got to the campus easily enough, but signs for football parking were not evident. On this date where Power Five team Indiana visited for a rare occasion, the facility probably was not organized to host the 25,171 fans that showed up for this one. Probably twice what they usually have at Topper games. We followed what we thought were others searching for football parking, stopped to ask several people who directed us to the local high school lot, parked for free, and thought nothing of it since we had quite a trek ahead of us.
A bunch of high school bands were practicing near their buses for what we figured was a HS band halftime extravaganza. We never saw them again. After the game, we walked along dark streets and found we were the last car left. One gate was locked. Uh oh! We found a main gate wasn’t, luckily. On the way back we were the only ones walking along this route. We had parked at a high school band competition at the Warren Central High School. Oh well, we’ll know better next time! WKU vs Middle Tennessee is on our slate later this season, for now.
The record crowd created long lines on the way into Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium. By accident, we ended up in the shorter of two lines luckily to get in a few minutes late into the game. No tickets could be added to the collections as these were bought electronically in advance, and no programs were to be had either. Not sure if they had run out or just never sold any. New technology puts a damper on some of the fun of attending college football games.
Collegefootballfan.com plans to visit Topper the WKU mascot again!
To many not affiliated with the vaunted Southeastern Conference, it really means “Alabama and the other 13”. Conference members still try to knock The Tide off the top of the SEC since Nick Saban has taken them over since 2007. However, nobody else in the FBS gets a true shot either until it comes to the CFP. Take Miami this year, for instance. Like other Alabama openers in the past, they’re supposedly playing at a neutral site. This was the eighth opener in Atlanta Alabama has played since 2007. All against different teams. And during those seasons under Saban, The Tide has competed in the post-season play in Atlanta nine times. Neutral? Easy drive for their dedicated fans base. Great times had by all.
And funny how teams like Duke and Louisville met them in openers after successful seasons. Lots of pregame hype. However, in both of those cases, starting QBs from their previous seasons, Daniel Jones and Lamar Jackson respectively, already headed to the NFL. Another key to success, open against an inexperienced QB while no one is looking. This year, Miami heralded D’Eriq King’s return at QB. Did the neutral field “neutralize” him in the Hurricane’s 43-14 loss? Evidently not. Michigan State visited the Hurricanes on their home turf much farther from their East Lansing home last Saturday. The Spartans came away with a 38-17 win from Hard Rock Stadium.
A key point here is The Tide refuses to play a home and home series with any of these teams. When was the last time an Alabama team coached by Saban played on a non-conference Power Five campus? It was in 2011, in a 27-11 win at Penn State who started an inexperienced QB. They met Michigan, Wisconsin, and USC in “neutral” Arlington, Texas in other openers. Wonder whose fan-base is predominant at that site? If you don’t know, take a lesson in US Geography. How about playing these teams the following year in Chicago, Indianapolis, or Las Vegas? They’re neutral, or aren’t they?
Don’t tell him. He knows what he’s doing.
Who needs a big pay-out?
Then of course, in case they ever slip up, they play an FCS team next. This year – Mercer. Alabama has the top recruiting class in the nation every year. So, they schedule a team not even among the 130 other schools supposedly recruiting FBS level players? Should this game even count? They should lose votes for scheduling this game no matter what the score. Ok, one school that non-competitive is no excuse, but two? New Mexico State brings up the back-end of the slate before their biggest threat every year, their instate rival – Auburn. Maybe he forgot his team slaughtered the same in 2019, 62-10. Maybe he thinks they got better?
Is Saban really afraid his team will lose focus at that time of year so much? Since he started coaching Bama in 2007, does he not know that the Aggies have only won 39 games over that period of time. Does his juggernaut always need a “gimme” game to prepare for the next challenge? He’s got the best football talent in the college football universe, but he hates to be challenged. So, he avoids challenges until he has no choice. No wonder why he didn’t last long at the next level. He found out that without recruiting and scheduling advantages, he’s just a run of the mill coach when the playing field is level. Smart thinking on his part. Can’t blame him, but the current system offers advantages to those who know how to manipulate it. And no one can do that better than he can.
SEC? SEC? SEC? or “The Other 13”
As for the others in this vaunted conference so far: LSU fell at UCLA in an unusual west coast trip for the Tigers. Auburn played a Big Ten school on the road for the first time in 90 years and lost to Penn State last weekend. Mississippi State lost to AAC Memphis not far away but on the road, 31-29. And the SEC says they lost it on a non-call by their refs after the Bulldogs left a punt on the turf? How come they’re not admitting to at least four major bad calls their refs made against Penn State last weekend in their 28-20 win over Auburn? Nobody else wants to hear it.
Pitt beat Tennessee, 41-34, in Neyland two weeks ago and then fell at home to Western Michigan, 44-41, last week. No. 7 Texas A&M pulled out last minute win at Colorado, 10-7. A week later, Minnesota visited the Buffalos in Boulder and dominated to win, 30-0. Last week, Kentucky struggled against one of our new favorite FCS teams near us in Tennessee, Austin Peay, to get by, 28-23. Every SEC team’s conference patsy, Vanderbilt, lost to East Tennessee State of the FCS in their home opener, 23-3. Georgia’s opening win over Clemson, 10-3, lost some luster when the Tigers could only beat Georgia Tech two weeks later, 14-8.
Probably the best non-conference wins among the Other 13 came when Ole Miss beat NC State at home, 24-10, and when Arkansas defeated Texas at home, 40-21. Ole Miss hosts Liberty late in the season. The point is that the Other 13 play on equal par with other conferences. During the regular season, they don’t have many chances to prove they are dominant. Of course, come bowl season, when they virtually all get another “home” game by virtue of their advantageous proximity to warm weather climates, they will attempt to make that claim most likely. This year could be different though.
We watched Kentucky win over South Carolina in our third and final game of 2020. They meet in South Carolina this Saturday.
We beefed up our schedule
After Florida State’s opening close loss to Notre Dame, their trip to Clemson enticed us to possibly go see a meaningful, competitive, ACC game against the Tigers on October 30. Following FSU’s losses to Jacksonville State and a big one to an improving Wake Forest team last weekend, we decided to abort that mission. Clemson struggles offensively as well. Our five-hour trip will still be there the next few years, we figure. So, looking at that date, we see the possibility of a game or maybe even two that interest us at venues we’ve never attended. We committed to a trip to Utah, and we now await the TV people to figure the times. Former BYU HC Bronco Mendenhall will bring his Virginia Cavaliers (2-1) back to Provo to play his former employer, BYU, currently 3-0 and ranked No. 15.
UVA QB Brennan Armstrong can put a lot of points on the board and HC Kalani Sitake’s defense continues to keep opponents, three Pac- 12 foes thus far, averaging less than 17 ppg. A lot can happen between now and then, but if the TV gurus plan this game at night, we hope we get the chance to see No. 24 UCLA visit the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City as well. Utah State (3-0) is little farther north of Provo but plays Hawaii at 1 pm. Hoping things work our way for two, but BYU vs. UVA may be worth this trip alone.
Week Three in Review
What can we say about our game last week? Great game despite the officiating inadequacies. Hope to see Penn State (3-0) and Auburn (2-1) go deep into the CFP considerations this year…We predicted that if any FCS team had a shot to beat an FBS team, Delaware (2-1) could possibly overcome Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights (3-0), however, put the whammy on the Blue Hens, 45-13. For the FCS upset of the week, we should have looked no further than two weeks ago. The Texas State Bobcats (1-2) got beat at home by Incarnate Word, 42-34. HC Jake Spavital goes into the pressure cooker now in a road game against Eastern Michigan before games in the improving Sun Belt Conference…
Notre Dame (3-0) defeated Purdue (2-1) albeit unimpressively, 27-13. Ranked 12th, the Irish have games coming up against Wisconsin (1-1) with their tough defense in Chicago. Now that’s what we call a neutral site. The following week, the Irish host No. 8 Cincinnati (3-0) who have a bye this week…
Cincinnati looks to get the AAC recognized as a the sixth “Power’ conference these past few years. Now it looks to get the Other Five a spot in this year’s CFP.
No. 4 Oklahoma defeated former rival Nebraska, 23-16. Very unimpressed. The Sooners have WVU, a game at Kansas State, Texas in Dallas, and TCU the next four weeks. They’re bound to trip somewhere by then…Cincy knocked off Indiana (1-2) with late plays. This and the ND game were required wins by the soothsayers before they try to run the table against the American Athletic Conference. Luke Fickell’s squad has a very legitimate shot to break the Power Five hold on the CFP this season…Alabama may have shown some vulnerability in their 31-29 win The Swamp against the Gators last week. Surely, Saban has his team in a recovery mode against Southern Miss (1-2) this week just in time to prepare for his former OC Lane Kiffin when Ole Miss visits Tuscaloosa the week after.
Our Best of Week Four
Rutgers (3-0) at No. 19 Michigan (3-0) – who’d have thunk this? Which team steps back into reality? Neither team has beaten anybody of note. At home and based on tradition, we have to go with U of M… Missouri (2-1) at BC (3-0) – again no one has beaten anyone of note. We’ll bank on Jeff Hafley’s Eagle defense to challenge the Tigers offense this weekend. Hopefully, this will overcome any surprise the SEC team may bring along to Boston…
Wake Forest (3-0) at Virginia (2-1) on Friday night – Both teams are scoring about 40 points per game so we expect this to be high-scoring right to the bitter end. We have great interest in this game since both teams will play twice on our schedule late this year. Should be fun. Who has the better defense? Not sure yet, but based on a shoot-out with Louisville two years ago, we’re going with Wake in a slight upset…
Wake and Louisville duked it out two years ago to a final score of 62-59 won by the Cardinals. Looking for similar results when Wake meets UVA Friday night.
No. 12 Notre Dame (3-0) vs. No. 18 Wisconsin in Chicago – we go with the Badgers as their defense can stop Notre Dame and their familiarity with former Badger QB Jack Coan will work against the Irish. Too bad because an Irish loss here may take any luster off a Cincinnati win the following week…Marshall (2-1) at Appalachian State (2-1) on Thursday night. What the heck happened to the Thundering Herd last week in that come from behind loss at home to East Carolina, 42-38? Appy beat ECU at home in their opener, 33-19. We’ll go with the Mountaineers on that mountain in Boone, NC…
Texas San Antonio (3-0) at Memphis (3-0). We like what we saw from WR Calvin Austin last week versus Mississippi State. The overall Tiger team speed is going to put Memphis past the Roadrunners…We think NC State’s defense will hold No. 9 Clemson in check again this week. At home, the Wolfpack brings enough offense to knock the Tigers out of CFP contention early this season to shock the college football world. Looking forward to a few new entries in the Final Four this year – along with Alabama come Georgia, Penn State, and Cincinnati.
State College, PA – Penn State’s offensive line held Auburn’s tough, front seven to one, single sack, and enabled QB Sean Clifford to complete 28 of 32 passes for 280 yards and two TDs for a great 28-20 Penn State victory over Auburn (2-1). WR Jahan Dotson, the recipient of 10 catches for 78 yards and a TD, including several tremendous catches, also tossed a 22-yard completion on a PSU scoring drive. Horrible and questionable officiating by the SEC crew kept this closer than the final result should have been. The two ranked teams battled in front of 109,538 of mostly PSU fans, all clad in white in a “white-out” game in raucous Beaver Stadium. Auburn orange dotted the scene throughout for the first game their Tigers played at a Big Ten venue in 90 years.
White out warm-up!
Tigers score first
Auburn halted the initial Penn State possession on downs and took over to score first. PK Anders Carlson booted a 45-yard FG for the early Tiger lead. An exchange of punts put the Lions back on their 12. Three consecutive pass completions put the Lions on AU’s four. Clifford’s next pass to Jahan Dotson, who made a leaping catch at the back of the end zone before going out of bounds, gave PSU the 7-3 lead heading into Q2.
SEC! SEC! SEC!
Auburn continued its next drive into the second period, finishing a 75-yard TD drive on Tank Bigsby’s four-yard TD to retake the lead by three. Penn State’s next series was thwarted by the SEC crew’s first officiating debacle. On a first and ten, Clifford’s pass sailed over his intended receiver who turned the wrong way and got flagged for intentional grounding??? If that was the case, officiating crews at both the collegiate and pro levels could learn from this bunch. To add insult to injury, well, read the official play by play on the ESPN website.
PSU got penalized five yards after the first down play with a loss of the down. On supposedly second and sixteen, Dotson caught a pass for five yards. On third and 11 from the 33, the Lions’ Jordan Stout punted. The SEC officiating crew including the replay monitor insisted this was fourth down despite the protests of PSU HC James Franklin! After that, the mistake was admitted, but nothing could be done at that point to reverse the damage.
Nittany Lions overcome
Penn State forced AU to punt on a real fourth down from their 45. The Lions strung together a drive mixing up passes with runs by Noah Cain (19 carries for 51 yards, one TD). A two-yard TD reception by TE Brenton Strange (4 catches, 71 yards, TD) gave the Lions a 14-10 lead. Before the half expired with 47 seconds left, PSU’s possession ended on a Clifford pass from the 41 toward the end zone that got intercepted at the three where AU took a knee to end the first half.
Jahan Dotson (5) signals TD as TE Brendon Strange takes it over for go ahead TD for the Nittany Lions in the second period.
Pre-game pleasantries
Our six-hour tailgate in Happy Valley for the first time in years on a bright, beautiful, albeit very hot day was great. Great company, great food, great drinks (cold beers and bourbon concoctions) with a majestic view of Mount Nittany! We have to thank our tailgate neighbors who noted Guest Game Analyst John Massimilla’s (PSU alum) Pittsburgh Steeler folding chairs. They insisted they if we helped them set up their 13’X13’ canopy, we could use the shade while they partied elsewhere. It turned out to be a game-saver for us under the intense sun. They never came back before we went into the game and were gone when we returned around midnight! Thank you, fellow fans!
Also, we don’t remember more spacious parking in Happy Valley than we had today. So easy to get in and out, that fellow tailgaters Shane and Laura were able to tailgate with their French Bulldogs, Millie and Macie. Two hours before the game, they left to bring them home, and they returned to park back in the same space in time to go in with us.
Mount Nittany loomed near us on a beautiful day to tailgate in Happy Valley! Too bad it doesn’t light up at night to be used as a landmark to find your car when the game ends at midnight.
Flipside Frustrations
The flipside of the pleasantries at our tailgate turned to the questionable calls of a suspect officiating crew which is being blistered in social media. Such arrangements by these “objective” officiating crews called into question after, especially since the “spineless” NCAA allows conferences to take the responsibility which offers the freedom to manipulate the outcome of a game. Ball spotting and non-calls fell in favor of the visitors were flagrantly incorrect as the game continued. Instant replay comes into question as reputable as well. It can be as manipulative as those on the field if the “wrong” people are in place.
Without taking control out of the jurisdiction of the conferences, this can continue to be a problem. Online comments include statements such as, “Did the SEC officiating crew return home on the same flight as the Auburn football team?” Most likely, since flights to Alabama are limited heading out of State College Airport. We figure these individuals would have been in the stands with the rest of the Auburn fans with orange shakers in hand if not making calls on the field. Worst one-sided job ever witnessed personally regarding non-conference visiting officials among our 617 college football games to date. An investigation should be made, but won’t be. Just ignore what happened.
Back to the Hard-hitting Action
To start the second half, PSU got the break it needed to extend their lead. Auburn’s Kobe Hudson fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, and Derrick Tangelo recovered at AU’s 20. TE Tyler Warren took it over from the two four plays later on a dive over the middle from the ”Wildcat” for their 21-10 lead. Auburn responded with a 75-yard TD drive as RB Tank Bigsby (23 carries, 102 yards, two TDs) did the brunt of the work breaking tackles to pick up key yards for his six-yard TD to bring AU back to trail by four, 21-17.
“Wildcat” Tyler Warren (44) prepares to leap for a touchdown to give PSU a 21-10 lead.
On Penn State’s subsequent possession, another officiating mistake thwarted a Penn State drive. At the Auburn 43 on a fourth and one from punt formation, the ball was snapped to 6-4, 326-lb blocking back/DT PJ Mustipher. Initial contact held him up briefly as he continued to drive his legs. A surge from behind pushed him ahead to an apparent first down as the whistle finally blew. The crew moved it back short of the first down back to where the initial contact was made, but the play continued. AU took over on what should have been a PSU first-down. How many chances could these zebras off the Tigers?
When will these officials knock it off?
Auburn started Q4 continuing a drive from its 43. The possession resulted in Carlson’s FG from 43, but again, not without officiating controversy – a flagrant non-call. Penn State’s pass rush trapped Bo Nixon (21 for 37, 185 yards) who sprinted away from the line of scrimmage and threw an errant pass over the PSU bench from the pocket with no receiver even close. It warranted an illegal grounding call as he clearly never came out of the tackle box. No flag from this officiating crew. Instead of pacing off 15 yards back to the 50, the Tigers remaining at the 35 on second down and such kept Auburn in range to convert another Carlson FG to close the gap, 21-20, with 14:55 left to play.
QB Bo Nixon led the Tigers hard until the end to try to beat Penn State.
The next Lion drive started from the 25 to take some time off the clock. However, key pass completions to John Lovett for 18 yards out of the backfield and the next to TE Brenton Strange put the Lions on the Auburn three. Following an Auburn timeout, Cain took the hand off and made a cut to his left behind OT Rasheed Walker’s block to put the Lions up, 28-20. The Lion defense had to step up to hold off a game Tiger offense for the rest of the game.
Auburn continues to threaten
Bigsby demonstrated he was tough to stop. When called on, he ran over and around PSU tacklers behind good blocking. However, HC Bryan Harsin insisted on using Nix to move the Tigers more often through the air against a tenacious Nittany Lion secondary. He seemed willing to rely on getting some favorable calls on pass interference, but the Penn State DBs focused more on playing the ball while in the air. AU punted from their 34. PSU gave the ball back on a punt to give the Tigers the ball with 7:02 left.
The Tigers drove all the way to the Lion ten for a first down. After an incompletion, Bigsby added a yard. Nix completed a pass to TE John Samuel Shenker at the two. On fourth down, Nix lofted a pass over the right corner of the end zone well out of bounds to Kobe Hudson who got tangled up with S Jaquan Brisker who played the ball perfectly to avoid any interference call. The Lions took over on their two.
On second and eleven from the two, Clifford led Dotson down the right sideline with a pass, and interference was called against Auburn to allow PSU to maintain possession. They eventually punted from the 13. Punter Jordan Stout’s high kick went 49 yards to the Auburn 38 where the Tigers took over with 38 seconds left. Nix led his team to the 26 and stopped the clock with a spike. With seconds left, Brisker read his last past to knock it down as time expired. The intense, hard-hitting game ended in the 28-20 victory for the Nittany Lions (3-0).
WR Jahan Dotson played a great game in Saturday’s White-out against Auburn!
Meet again, but under definitely has to be under better circumstances
The Lions moved up to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and Auburn slipped to No. 23. There’s lots of time ahead to see what these two teams will do in future conference games to challenge for CFP positioning. A rematch would be fantastic, and we hope better officiating will be available to remove too many questionable calls in evidence this evening. Next season, the Nittany Lions will venture down to Auburn for a rematch. Hopefully, Big Ten officials replacing the SEC’s will be much more professional and objective to what we witnessed in our 617th game.
Extra points:
PSU will host FCS No. 8 Villanova next Saturday at Beaver Stadium – unlikely to be played before 109,000 fans. Auburn goes back home again versus Georgia State (1-2), 20-9 winner over Charlotte on Saturday after humbling losses previously to Army and to North Carolina. Maybe AU can score enough points in this one to get their PPG average back up to 61! Collegefootballfan.com looks forward to going to Bowling Green, Kentucky for the first time. There the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (1-1) will host Indiana (1-2) who fell to No. 8 Cincinnati Saturday, 38-24, and to No. 5 Iowa, 31-6, to open the season.
This past weekend marked the 111th game Penn State game we’ve attended (86-25). This was our 12th with Auburn for a record of 5-6-1.
Our best game of the year impacting national implications occurs Saturday when we travel to State College to see No. 10 Penn State host No. 22 Auburn. The Big Ten and SEC have long seasons ahead and there is no reason to count these two out of consideration for the CFP. This first regular season meeting ever between these two historic programs will be played before a sold out, “white-out”, at 7:30 pm in front of a national TV audience.
Both sport records of 2-0, but PSU has been significantly more challenged than AU. The Nittany Lions defeated No. 18 Wisconsin in their opener on the road, 16-10. Last week they defeated defending MAC champ Ball State, 44-9. The Tigers defeated MAC doormat Akron, 60-10, and FCS Alabama State, 62-0 on their home turf known as “The Plains.” State College will be the first game at a campus north of the Mason-Dixon line since who knows when?…
AU comes in with new HC Brian Harsin after a successful eight-year stint a Boise with a 74-26 record. His new defensive coordinator is Derek Mason who succeeded PSU HC James Franklin after he left Vanderbilt. Franklin hired OC Mike Yurcich from Texas to add more firepower to the Lion offense. The Lions seemed to make progress from week one to week two. They will be more tested this week than last.
The key to this game will be more progress on the Nittany Lion O-line to protect QB Sean Clifford from a very good Tiger front seven. Auburn, of course, will be greatly tested on offense as Bo Nix and company have not faced the likes of the Penn State defense They averaged 575 yards per game and 61 points against lesser talent. The Lions allow 330 yards and 9.5 points per game. With 110,000 white jerseys backing them, the Penn State will pose a challenge the Tigers have not yet encountered. The key to the win will be the play between the o-line of Penn State and the front seven of Auburn. Can’t wait!
Cute, cuddly Aubie, Auburn’s mascot, will be venturing into territory unknown to him in The Happy Valley this weekend.
Stepping over the line?
We are very critical, to say the least, of the Navy offense as we reported in our last game review. Many others are as well. Navy AD Chet Gladchuk shocked many on Monday, including supposedly HC Ken Niumatatolo, when he “fired” Navy offensive coordinator Irvin Jasper. Talk about a knee-jerk reaction and over-stepping!
The AD has every right to be disappointed with the Navy performance so far this year. However, though there’s not much optimism for improvement, how can he target a successful coach who’s served the Academy for 14 years during one of the greatest stretches of football success it’s ever had? Much of that success has to be credited to Jasper who developed that triple-option offense and mentored the great QBs they’ve had up until now.
He overstepped Niumatatolo who rightfully convinced the miffed AD to rehire Jasper back a strictly the QB coach. This has to strain this relationship already. These look to be sudden, tough times for the Mids, but why was the OC coordinator targeted? Navy fans we talked to Saturday spoke about the overall decline of talent seen on this team – smaller offensive linemen, less depth in the backfield, no big, bruising fullback like in past seasons. The entire program has to be challenged and that starts with the HC who’s done a stalwart job with this program who has won over 100 games at Navy – more than anyone else.
Gladchuk has to put aside the emotional reactions and try to be problem solver for the overall program to succeed. Over-stepping and criticizing and changing personnel suddenly cannot solve the issues in the short term. The only positive envisioned here is possible wake-up call to the team. Maybe that is where the emotions need to be stirred. In the meantime, right this ship! Don’t scuttle it! Go Navy!
What does AD Chet Gladchuk’s move mean for the future of HC Ken Niumatalolo staying in Annapolis?
Review of games last week
Coastal Carolina knocked off Kansas as expected, 49-22. We just like to keep our eye on KU HC Lance Leipold who we respect as a HC based on previous successes. Optimism reins here that he will bring some measure of success to this downtrodden Jayhawk program. Don’t expect it this year, but we feel if anybody can turn this program around, it’s this guy… Coastal looks like it hasn’t skipped a beat from last year. The No. 16 Chanticleers are added to our schedule at Arkansas State on October 7… PSU’s win showed some improvement of offense we hoped to see in its win over Ball State, 44-9. However, room for improvement from the o-line still exists as reported in our preview above.
Army defeated Western Kentucky (1-1) at home, 38-35. The result indicates to us that WKU can be competitive. Failing to unravel Army’s triple option to trail the Cadets, 35-14, in the fourth, QB Bailey Zappe led the Hilltoppers back into the game to lose by three. The transfer from Houston Baptist threw three TD passes for 435 yards. Indiana (1-1) will bring more defense to Bowling Green on September 25, but the Hilltoppers will not be contending with an unfamiliar offensive style. The Hoosiers don’t seem up to par with where they were a year ago.
Army (2-0), seen in action against Navy here two years ago, will most likely be 3-0 after playing poor UConn this week. They won’t be challenged until Oct. 2 when they start a stretch of four games against Ball State, Wisconsin, Wake Forest, and Air Force.
Big Ten power exchange: Oregon knocked off Ohio State, 35-28, for the big upset of the day in Columbus demonstrating that the Buckeye’s offense has some chinks in it. OSU dropped down from three to nine and has some challenges still ahead. Iowa rose from No. 10 to No. 5 beating intrastate rival Iowa State 27-17. The Cyclones fell to No. 14. Penn State will visit the Hawkeyes on 10/9 and the Buckeyes on 10/30. On 10/30 the Hawkeyes visit Wisconsin. Much remains for the outcome of the Big Ten.
Week 3 games of interest
We’re on vacation this week in Delaware. The 2-0 Fighting Blue Hens, No. 6 in the FCS, visit the 2-0 Scarlet Knights of Rutgers this week. Several FCS teams have pulled some big upsets over the FBS thus far. This looks like the best chance for another this week…Purdue (2-0) at No. 12 Notre Dame (2-0): The Boilermakers were always a nemesis for the Irish in their heydays. Not sure if Purdue is up to par, but the Irish have just gotten by their first two opponents late in both games. Purdue pulled the last big upset in the Big Ten over Ohio State a few years ago…
Maybe Delaware, in blue, will intimidate Rutgers this week with uniforms similar to Michigan’s. RU has never beaten U of M since they joined the Big Ten.
Oklahoma hosts Nebraska in a nostalgic rivalry. Our interest lies in the amount of points the Huskers (2-1) will score in this one. Come on, 76-0 over Western Carolina? Why did the Sooners even schedule that one? They thought the Catamounts would create a distraction for this one?… No. 8 Cincinnati at Indiana. This was supposed to be a test for the “Other Five” team, but if not, Notre Dame still looms before AAC play…No. 1 Alabama visits No. 11 Florida in the Swamp. This is the first of three true tests for Bama from our perspective.
Cincinnati TE Josh Whyle snags pass from Derek Ridder (9) for a 29-yard TD pass against UCF last season. Cincy starts to challenge this week for a CFP spot in January.
