Thanksgiving. Footballgasm. Let’s Do This!

The 2023 version of Footballgasm has arrived! Get ready for an absolute fuck-ton of college football and NFL football from Thursday through to Monday night. Why does this happen? Americans need something to do while they let all that food settle in their stomachs. I mean our Thanksgiving comes first and is pretty good but we really missed the mark. Take out green bean casserole and there’s very little to dislike about American Thanksgiving.

Alright time to unleash the college football schedule for this week, the final week of the regular season. This is done in traditional Bossman’s Blog American Thanksgiving style. Every game is listed. Some are not important. Some are very important. But every game gets their own section. College football deserves it (for the most part).

Tuesday

Bowling Green (-1.5) at Western Michigan

7:00

Does this mean anything? No. But it’s the final night of MACtion so enjoy it. Predicted score: Western Michigan 27 Bowling Green 24.

Eastern Michigan (+6.5) at Buffalo

7:30

Now this game is more important…well, at least for one team. The Eagles can become bowl eligible with a win here. The Bulls are just here to try and play spoiler. Predicted score: Buffalo 31 Eastern Michigan 21.

Thursday

#12 Ole Miss (-11) at Mississippi State

7:30

The Rebels are juuuuuuuuuuuust on the outside looking in at the New Year’s Six. Could they leapfrog Missouri or Penn State without those two teams losing? It’s doubtful but they could strengthen their case by putting a beating on Mississippi State. Predicted score: Ole Miss 34 Mississippi State 30.

Friday

Miami (-9) at Boston College

Noon

Miami destroyed any chance of doing anything this season, mostly with piss-poor coaching (although Tyler Van Dyke seriously regressed this season). The Eagles on the other hand, they played much better than expected and Jeff Hafley has saved his job. Predicted score: Miami 38 Boston College 15.

#17 Iowa (+2) at Nebraska

Noon

Big game here for the Huskers. Win and they are bowl-eligible in Matt Rhule’s first season in Lincoln. Maybe, just maybe, the sun is finally shining on Huskerland for the first time in quite a few years. To do that, though, they will have to upset the Hawkeyes who have defied every odd and probably some theories of offensive football to become Big Ten West champs. Take the under (even though the over/under is a record-low 26.5). Predicted score: Iowa 14 Nebraska 7.

Ohio (-14) at Akron

Noon

Ohio can win their ninth game of the season which is pretty impressive. Unfortunately, it won’t be enough to win the division. Akron is hoping to stay out of double digits in the loss column. Predicted score: Ohio 30 Akron 10.

Memphis (-11.5) at Temple

Noon

Memphis lost their shot at a potential American Conference championship spot last weekend. So really, this means nothing. Predicted score: Memphis 31 Temple 7.

Toledo (-10.5) at Central Michigan

Noon

The Rockets will need a win and a lot of help to somehow sneak into the New Year’s Six. The Chips are trying to get to their sixth win. Actually, quite a bit at stake here. Predicted score: Toledo 34 Central Michigan 16.

TCU (+10) at #13 Oklahoma

Noon

Huge game here for the Sooners. An Oklahoma win and they still have a shot at going to JerryWorld one last time, much to the chagrin of the rest of the Big XII members. TCU isn’t going to lie down for them, though. They have to win to go bowling. Predicted score: TCU 38 Oklahoma 26.

UTSA (+3) at #23 Tulane

3:30

Tulane gets to eleven wins with a win here. More importantly, a win here puts them in the AAC Championship game and makes them the favourite to go back to the New Year’s Six. I am honestly shocked that no team has taken a flyer on Willie Fritz, despite his age. A Roadrunners win doesn’t eliminate the Green Wave either although they would need some help from Navy. A UTSA win would put them in the conference championship and would finish one of the best conference moves (outside the Sun Belt) in recent memory. Predicted score: Tulane 29 UTSA 24.

Utah State (-7.5) at New Mexico

3:30

The Aggies go bowling if they beat the Lobos. A UNM win would put them at five for the season which, honestly, would probably save Danny Gonzales’ job and constitute one of their better seasons in a long time. Predicted score: Utah State 49 New Mexico 31.

#9 Missouri (-7.5) at Arkansas

4:00

Mizzou locks themselves into the New Year’s Six if they can defeat the lowly Hogs. Sam Pittman has already been retained for next year so no surprise shitcanning in Fayetteville like Bret Bielema got a few years back. Predicted score: Missouri 33 Arkansas 14.

Texas Tech (+13) at #7 Texas

7:30

A massive game for the Longhorns. There is honestly so much on the line here. The most important being a spot in the final four-team College Football Playoff. It’s within their grasp but they have to stop allowing teams to stick around in games. The Red Raiders, on the other hand, are playing for one thing since they are already bowl eligible: spoiling the Horns’ entire season. Predicted score: Texas 31 Texas Tech 17.

#11 Penn State (-21) vs. Michigan State (in Detroit)

7:30

Do the Nittany Lions deserve to be in a New Year’s Six bowl? It’s debatable but at this point, a win probably clinches a spot unless Ole Miss goes nuts on Mississippi State the night before. The Spartans just want to end one of the most miserable seasons in their program’s history, on and off the field. Predicted score: Penn State 49 Michigan State 28.

#16 Oregon State (+13.5) at #6 Oregon

8:30

The Ducks want a rematch with Washington for the Pac-12 Championship. The Beavers just want to spoil Oregon’s season as all teams do in rivalry games. Predicted score: Oregon 44 Oregon State 29.

Saturday Early

Kentucky (+7) at #10 Louisville

Noon

Louisville needs a win to keep their slim CFP hopes alive. That alone will make this game interesting. Kentucky has no stakes other than maybe trying not to lose too badly so that Mark Stoops can be guaranteed for 2024. Predicted score: Louisville 31 Kentucky 10.

Pittsburgh (+6) at Duke

Noon

Duke is already going bowling and are middle of the ACC standings. Pitt is pretty awful (other than playing lights out against Louisville) and are looking forward to the offseason. A lot of better options in this window. Predicted score: Duke 20 Pittsburgh 7.

Indiana (+3) at Purdue

Noon

The Old Oaken Bucket. Even with this being a rivalry game, it’s really not worth watching. Predicted score: Purdue 32 Indiana 13.

Miami-OH (-6.5) at Ball State

Noon

Redhawks are in. Cardinals are out. Let’s see if Mike Neu finally gets the axe like I’ve predicted for a few seasons now. Predicted score: Miami-OH 30 Ball State 28.

Texas A&M (+10.5) at #14 LSU

Noon

For two good teams (OK one quite good team and one OK team), this game does not mean a whole lot. The Aggies are bowling and playing under an interim coach. LSU would need a damn miracle to get into the New Year’s Six so should start packing for a Florida bowl game. Predicted score: LSU 45 Texas A&M 31.

Navy (+20) at SMU

Noon

Now with TSN pushing a lot to TSN+, games like this will almost never make it to the regular TSN channels again which sucks for people who don’t subscribe. It feels like it has finally come to the point where you have to either get one off the specialty packs, get TSN+ or go the IPTV route to see as much college football as you want as a Canadian. Anyway, Navy has two shots to go bowling and would like to close that out here. The Mustangs are in the American Championship with a win in Big D. Predicted score: SMU 48 Navy 20.

Troy (-17) at Southern Miss

Noon

Troy has no shot at the New Year’s Six and is already hosting the Sun Belt Championship. Southern Miss is home for the holidays. Meh. Predicted score: Troy 23 Southern Miss 8.

#2 Ohio State (+3.5) at #3 Michigan

Noon

Another huge version of The Game. Not a total surprise. The winner is in the Big Ten Championship and all but guarantees a spot in the playoff. And just like last year, the loser isn’t out with a loss depending on what happens on conference championship weekend. If GUS JOHNSON would ever pass out from lack of oxygen, this would be the game he would do it in. Predicted score: Michigan 28 Ohio State 24.

Saturday Afternoon

Wake Forest (+3) at Syracuse

2:00

The two worst teams in the ACC but it’s still important for one team. The Orange need a win here to somehow become bowl eligible. Wake would be just outside at five wins if they win here and could nab a spot due to their great APR score if it comes down to that. Predicted score: Syracuse 35 Wake Forest 15.

Southern vs. Grambling (in New Orleans)

2:00

Prairie View A&M has already clinched the SWAC West so this means nothing for either team other than bragging rights: both for the football teams and the bands. Predicted score: Southern 23 Grambling 18.

Colorado (+22) at Utah

3:00

Utah has been very good considering the sheer amount of injuries that team sustained. The Buffaloes season finally ends after the most hype ever given to a one-win team before the season began (and well into the season as well). Predicted score: Utah 39 Colorado 17.

BYU (+17.5) at #20 Oklahoma State

3:30

BYU needs to win here to be in a bowl game. It would be a pretty big upset if they did, but hey, crazier things have happened. The Pokes are holding on to an outside shot at the Big XII Championship. They need to win and have a few other things go their way but again, it’s not impossible. Predicted score: BYU 49 Oklahoma State 31.

Virginia Tech (-3) at Virginia

3:30

Last year’s Commonwealth Cup was cancelled after the murders of three Virginia players. Just having this game will bring back quite a few emotions I’m sure for the Cavs. For the Hokies, they can do the improbable and become bowl eligible if they beat their rivals. Predicted score: Virginia 40 Virginia Tech 35.

Northwestern (+6) at Illinois

3:30

If you had told me at the start of the season that this game would have Northwestern already going bowling and the Illini fighting for their bowl lives, I would have thought you had just went to a cannabis shop for the first time in your life and ate a few too many edibles. But here we are. The Wildcats have been amazing considering their offseason. David Braun has done a masterful job in Evanston. Bret Bielema on the other hand is still at the helm of a struggling Illini team. He will make it to 2024 but a loss here will put him on a much shorter leash. Predicted score: Illinois 31 Northwestern 23.

Maryland (-1.5) at Rutgers

3:30

I have this game showing in most homes in this area. I have no idea what will happen. Hell, I have Big Ten Network and three alternate BTNs and even then, one game usually gets left out for everyone. Why do they do this when they honestly don’t have to? Anyway, both teams are going bowling so are looking for momentum heading into the postseason and nothing else. Predicted score: Maryland 20 Rutgers 17.

#8 Alabama (-14.5) at Auburn

3:30

How close can the Tigers keep this game? The spread honestly seems way too low. Don’t even bother talking about an upset. Kind of a dud for the final SEC on CBS regular season game if you ask me. Now watch it be close deep into the fourth quarter. Predicted score: Alabama 41 Auburn 21.

#25 Liberty (-17) at UTEP

3:30

In what is feeling like a broken record, here’s another game that means very little. Sure, the Flames can finish an undefeated season with a win over the terrible Miners. Problem is they need quite a bit of help to get that coveted NY6 spot. I just can’t see it happening. Predicted score: Liberty 38 UTEP 20.

#15 Arizona (-11.5) at Arizona State

3:30

ASU is already home for the Christmas holidays. The Wildcats have to win here and hope Oregon has already lost the Civil War. So we will know going in whether this game means anything or not. Predicted score: Arizona 23 Arizona State 13.

James Madison (-9) at Coastal Carolina

3:30

Big game in the Sun Belt and unfortunately only for one team. The Dukes are almost guaranteed a bowl slot after all the bowl eligible teams get their spots. For the Chants, because of JMU’s ineligibility for the Sun Belt title, they win this and they will face Troy for the Sun Belt Championship. Predicted score: James Madison 42 Coastal Carolina 24.

Georgia Southern (+8.5) at Appalachian State

3:30

The Mountaineers will be scoreboard-watching and trying to pay attention to the task at hand. Not easy for sure. If CCU can’t beat JMU then App State, with a win, will head to Troy and face the Trojans as the champions of the Sun Belt East. Predicted score: Appalachian State 26 Georgia Southern 10.

Vanderbilt (+27) at #21 Tennessee

3:30

This would have been at least a bit more humourous being played at Vanderbilt’s stadium with their ongoing construction issues. Predicted score: Tennessee 49 Vanderbilt 21.

Washington State (+16.5) at #4 Washington

4:00

The Apple Cup continues to produce high drama. The Huskies’ dream season could come crashing down if they get upset by the Cougs. Wazzu has to win to become bowl-eligible. This should nab a lot of viewers until it gets out of hand. Predicted score: Washington 52 Washington State 17.

Saturday Primetime

#5 Florida State (-6.5) at Florida

7:00

If this had been discussed a week ago the spread might have been over 20 points. Instead, we will find out if the Noles can continue their success without Jordan Travis. The Gators could do the improbable by going bowling with a win here. Predicted score: Florida State 36 Florida 27.

South Alabama (-6) at Texas State

7:00

Two teams that are already bowl-eligible here. Good for them but it means that the NFL Network’s final game of the year will not get a whole lot of viewers. Predicted score: South Alabama 20 Texas State 14.

#18 Notre Dame (-26) at Stanford

7:00

I’m sorry but this is fucking hilarious. The final Pac-12 Network football game ever and it will feature Notre Dame. NOTRE DAME. Irish fans are going to be so damn pissed off trying to find a way to watch this. That alone makes this fun. Not quite worth watching a lot of but still, you’ll be seeing history at the end as the worst conference network closes its football doors for good. Predicted score: Notre Dame 42 Stanford 32.

#1 Georgia (-24) at Georgia Tech

7:30

A little Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. I love some of the names of these rivalries. There might be a bit of intrigue to see if UGA can cap off another undefeated regular season but other than that, you can avoid this one. Predicted score: Georgia 34 Georgia Tech 10.

Kansas (-6) at Cincinnati

7:30

Kansas is pretty good again this season. It’s nice to see. Cincinnati, on the other hand, may be regretting the Scott Satterfield hire although he deserves another season to see how they can truly compete in the Big XII. Predicted score: Kansas 28 Cincinnati 14.

Charlotte (+5.5) at USF

7:30

Speaking of teams playing much better than most thought they would, the Bulls are one win away from going bowling. They showed a lot in the near-upset of Alabama back in September and have scratched and clawed their way to this point. The only thing standing in their way? The bare arms of Biff Poggi and his Charlotte 49ers. Might not be as easy as USF thinks it should be. Predicted score: USF 31 Charlotte 30.

#24 Clemson (-7) at South Carolina

7:30

Gotta give Dabo Swinney from credit for turning around the team after that poor start. Either that or we give all the praise to Tyler from Spartanburg for lighting a fire under the Tigers. Either way, they come into this game as actually one of the hottest teams in the country. And they could actually make their season for a lot of fans by ruining South Carolina’s. The Gamecocks need the win to be bowl eligible. I don’t think this will be as feisty as their brawl-filled game many years ago but I could see it getting chippy. Predicted score: Clemson 41 South Carolina 24.

North Carolina (-3) at #22 NC State

8:00

North Carolina was supposed to be one of the teams to go to the ACC Championship this year. NC State was supposed to be fighting for a .500 record. Instead, they both come in at 8-3 with maybe something other than bragging rights on the line. Let’s be honest: teams would much rather go to a Florida destination than the Sun Bowl or Military Bowl. Predicted score: North Carolina 28 NC State 27.

Iowa State (+10) at #19 Kansas State

8:00

By this point, we will know if the Wildcats have any shot at the Big XII Championship. Other than that, neither team has anything to play for other than to win…FARMAGEDDON. Predicted score: Kansas State 50 Iowa State 34.

Saturday Late Night

Wyoming (-11) at Nevada

9:00

Yes, the odd CBS Sports Network Thanksgiving Saturday timeslot is back again. At least they do their best to cram in as much live sports as humanly possible into this day. Predicted score: Wyoming 35 Nevada 27.

California (+9.5) at UCLA

10:30

It’s really hit or miss with this final game of the regular season. Sometimes, it’s a massively important game that is must-watch and keeps everyone up well past Midnight. Other times we get games that have absolutely no importance. For once, it’s somewhere in the middle. Shockingly, the Bears are in line for a bowl spot if they can pull the upset on a Bruins team who might still be on a high after defeating USC for the Victory Bell this past weekend. Predicted score: UCLA 38 California 34.

That’s a lot of football. I am not complaining. At all. I would have thought TSN might have stepped up for the final regular season weekend but, alas, that is not the case. They are pushing TSN+ for college football so that is the future we have to live with. Oh well…progress, right? Ugh.

I will update the rankings when I see them. I figured I should get this post out in some form so my MACtion predictions don’t look too fishy. Enjoy the games everyone!

YOU READY FOR MORE DEIONMANIA, BROTHER? (and the Week 4 College Football TV Schedule)

Actually you know what? Bad choice of theme and picture. I don’t think the Hulkster cares too much for Deionmania.

But, Deionmania is upon us. Has it got out of hand? Yes. Absolutely. There is no question about it. If we were talking about Colorado playing Oregon or USC at home then fine, it would make all the sense in the world. But they were playing Colorado State. Sure it’s a rivalry game (the Rocky Mountain Showdown for any who didn’t know the name) but it’s Colorado State. It felt like a huge case of FOMO (fear of missing out) by both networks to not strike while the iron is hot. Even the Jay Norvell hat and sunglasses comment before the game rankled Sanders to the point he was giving his signature shades to his team and that company sold more than a million dollars worth of sunglasses in just a few days.

So what did we get for the game that started at 10:00 in the Eastern time zone? It was a classic. Colorado State seemed to have figured out Shedeur Sanders. The Buffaloes’ running game was non-existent. The Rams’ offense was humming. Travis Hunter was knocked out by a dirty hit in the second quarter. Then the Buffs made their late comeback. Down 11 with four minutes to go they tied it up to send it to overtime. In the first overtime, it was shocking to see Norvell not go for two and the win. Felt like some scared coaching. Colorado ended it in the next overtime. Have to say, it was a great game.

Now…Colorado was favoured by 23 points. So they didn’t exactly look awesome. And now they lose Hunter for three weeks. So things aren’t looking rosy for their next two games. Do the networks care? No because this week they are on ABC and the following week they play in Los Angeles against USC…at Noon….in the East! A 9:00 local start time. Crazy!

OK let’s calm down from all the insanity that is anything revolving around the Colorado football program and get to what you came for: hot, nasty, college football schedules. Oh yeah.

Thursday

		US	Canada
Georgia State at Coastal Carolina	7:30
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Alabama A&M	7:30

GSU-CCU might end up being a sleeper Sun Belt hit. Top two passing offenses in the conference. Take the over. Or go over to Amazon Prime and the other TSNs (and I think the CTVs as well) and watch the Giants get slaughtered out in San Francisco. Your choice.

Friday

		US	Canada
NC State at Virginia	7:30
Boise State at San Diego State	10:30

Two games on Friday evening (with two not airing up here). Boise-SDSU could very well be for one of the Mountain West Championship spots (with Fresno State watching this game VERY closely). The other game is your run-of-the-mill ACC Friday nighter meaning there is the possibility things could get wacky.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#4 Florida State at Clemson	Noon
Army at Syracuse	Noon
Rutgers at #2 Michigan	Noon
Tulsa at Northern Illinois	Noon
Auburn at Texas A&M	Noon
Virginia Tech at Marshall	Noon
WKU at Troy	Noon
#16 Oklahoma at Cincinnati	Noon
Kentucky at Vanderbilt	Noon

Only one of two games on TSN appear here and it’s a simsub of the ABC game. Ugh. I would have thought FSU-Clemson would have ended up as the ABC Primetime game but Clemson isn’t exactly lighting it up and the Noles barely survived Boston College last weekend. FOX Big Noon Kickoff picking Cincinnati as their destination hours before the Bearcats get beat by Miami-OH was definitely a choice. Also, don’t sleep on WKU-Troy. Could low-key be one of the best games of the early part of the day.

UPDATE: I guess TSN forgot they had a contract to show La Liga games? The FSU-Clemson game will not be shown on TSN2 now and is being replaced by FC Barcelona hosting RC Celta de Vigo.

UPDATE #2: I should go over the entire schedule before making updates. FSU-Clemson has been moved to TSN3.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
#19 Colorado at #10 Oregon	3:30
Boston College at Louisville	3:30
FAU at Illinois	3:30
Louisiana Tech at Nebraska	3:30
#15 Ole Miss at #13 Alabama	3:30
#18 Duke at UConn	3:30
BYU at Kansas	3:30
Ohio at Bowling Green	3:30
#20 Miami at Temple	3:30
#22 UCLA at #11 Utah	3:30
Maryland at Michigan State	3:30
Rice at USF	4:00
UTSA at #23 Tennessee	4:00

Business seriously picks up here. The best timeslot of the season so far and it’s not even close. Three games between ranked teams at one time doesn’t happen very often so savour it. Plus there is UTSA-UT and BYU-KU that should be added to the games to watch category. I wonder how far I can stretch it this week.

UPDATE #3: You can now also see Colorado-Oregon on TSN3.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Georgia Tech at Wake Forest	6:30
Appalachian State at Wyoming	7:00
Arkansas at #12 LSU	7:00
#14 Oregon State at #21 Washington State	7:00
Arizona at Stanford	7:00
#3 Texas at Baylor	7:30
Minnesota at Northwestern	7:30
Akron at Indiana	7:30
#24 Iowa at #7 Penn State	7:30
UAB at #1 Georgia	7:30
Memphis at Missouri	7:30
#6 Ohio State at #9 Notre Dame	7:30
Mississippi State at South Carolina	7:30
#17 North Carolina at Pittsburgh	8:00

Sweet God Damn Jesus! Three more games in this timeslot between ranked teams. Maybe this is the best timeslot. Either way, we are getting a hell of a day of college football. If you feel like also showing another game on one of your other screens, consider Appalachian State-Wyoming for the possible sheer insanity.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
Kent State at Fresno State	10:30
California at #8 Washington	10:30
#5 USC at Arizona State	10:30

Another FOX quadrupleheader. Good stuff. Will it be close? Highly doubtful. Same with the other Pac-12 After Dark matchup in Seattle. Actually, to be honest, all three games shouldn’t be that close. Not gonna lie.

(An expanded) Hey, Watch This!

Ohio State at Notre Dame (7:30, NBC) – So many good games but I am putting this game at the top and the rest of this section can fight to be 2A, 2B, 2C, etc. This really is a prove-it game for both squads. Neither team has been tested yet so let’s see how Sam Hartman and Kyle McCord do against much better defenses. Don’t be surprised if this ends up being a bit of a defensive struggle, regardless of the wealth of talent both offenses possess.

Ole Miss at Alabama (3:30, CBS) – This could end up being the most exciting game of the week just for the fact that Ole Miss and Bama have played a couple of great ones in recent history and they are so closely ranked. Bama doesn’t feel like Bama. Ole Miss, on the other hand, feels exactly like Ole Miss. Which could spell a lot of trouble for the Tide if the Rebels can pile the points on because I don’t think Alabama has the offense to compete that way.

Colorado at Oregon (3:30, ABC) – In terms of most viewers, this game is going to give the rest a run for their money for sure. Oregon has a hi-octane offense and we’ve seen that Colorado can score points in bunches. Definitely take the over. And if the Buffaloes win this one, watch out since they would have to be considered a dark horse contender for at least the Pac-12 Championship game and the New Year’s Six.

Iowa at Penn State (7:30, CBS) – First time ever for the B1G on CBS to appear on this list. Huge Whiteout game so already the Nittany Lions have an advantage. Honestly, I can’t see Brian Ferentz’s offense putting up that many points against PSU but I guess stranger things have happened.

Oregon State at Washington State (7:00, FOX) – That’s right…it’s the Pac-2 Championship on FOX! Kind of wish who was announcing the game (probably Tim Brando) would start with that. The two remaining Pac-12 schools face off with both undefeated, both ranked and the winner staying in the hunt in a crazy final Pac-12 season.

UCLA at Utah (3:30, FOX) – No specialty pack. All network games. Like the good ol’ days. Kind of. Anyway, it could be argued that this is the “worst” of the six games on this list. It’s why I put it last. But these are two teams that are still serious Pac-12 contenders and are one of eight undefeated conference teams at the moment. Something has to give and I feel this is going to be the start of another season where the Pac-12 teams beat up on each other and no team comes out unscathed. Sucks for the conference but until a team gets to like 6-0 or 7-0 I won’t believe one can make it out alive, so to speak.

Sickos Game of the Week

Akron at Indiana (7:30, specialty pack) – This probably won’t end up on BTN for anyone since they have Minnesota-Northwestern on at the same time. You know it’s bad when a game featuring Northwestern is light years better than the other game. I could honestly see Akron winning here. Look, you have much better choices so don’t punish yourselves by even looking for this game.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

USC at Arizona State (10:30, FOX) – UAB-UGA would have been the easy, albeit lazy, choice. This one could end up being a lot worse since I can’t see the Trojans letting up on the Sun Devils like Georgia will probably eventually do with UAB. Forks Down.

Wanna Bet?

Interesting week last week for the Bossman. Some good picks that I didn’t follow through on (Florida to cover but not beat Tennessee) and some I absolutely regret (UConn over FIU). Anyway, maybe I will think a little harder before making these picks and not just ALRIGHT HERE WE GO!!!!!!

Boise State (-7) over San Diego State

Troy (-3.5) over WKU

Auburn (+7.5) over Texas A&M (but the Aggies to pull it out)

Temple (+23.5) over Miami (the U will win by about 10)

Duke (-21.5) over UConn

Utah (-4.5) over UCLA

Colorado (+21) over Oregon (but I do have the Ducks winning a fairly close affair)

Ole Miss (+6.5) over Alabama (Bama survives by a field goal)

Tennessee (-21) over UTSA

Wake Forest (-4) over Georgia Tech

Oregon State (-3) over Washington State

Notre Dame (+3) over Ohio State (with the big win)

Iowa (+15) over Penn State (PSU wins in the final minute)

Last I checked, everything is up except for that fact that most of the schedules I look at have FAU-Illinois going to the specialty pack rather than LaTech-Nebraska. I’ll have to watch for that on Saturday.

Look, it could end up being an all-timer of a college football weekend. Let’s hope so. Enjoy the games everyone!

What is wrong with the Week 3 College Football TV Schedule?

Nothing, really.

Now if you asked me what is wrong with Mel Tucker? Or Jeff Lebby? Or a host of past football coaches? I’d say plenty. I mean what the fuck is up with some people?

If you haven’t heard about ol’ Tucks, here’s a brief rundown:

Brenda Tracy, a well-known rape victim advocate (and victim herself), was hired to speak to the Spartans football team two years ago. Depending on who you believe, Tucker and Tracy became friends and then developed a bit of a romantic interest in each other. Tucker says this is true, Tracy denies this. He said, she said. Then last April, there was a phone call between the two where Tucker decided it should be phone sex (Tucker says they were both speaking in that manner) and then decided to whip it out and jerk off on the phone.

Tracy filed a formal complaint in December and then a report was filed in July to say that they should have a hearing to discuss whether Tucker violated a school policy on sexual misconduct. This hearing was to be next month. Now Tucker is suspended and probably will be fired with cause.

Crazy. And ridiculous. And even if it isn’t all true, the stuff Tucker admits paints him as a guy who can’t control himself. Then his letter on the matter makes him sound like a fucking idiot. No matter what, this is not going to turn out well for someone.

As for Jeff Lebby, he decided this was a perfect time to let his father-in-law, disgraced piece of shit former head coach Art Briles, on to the field after an Oklahoma victory on Saturday. Lebby just wanted his family on the field. Which includes Briles. I don’t know if Lebby understood the whole situation which makes him a complete dummy. He did apologize, though. Whether he meant it or did it while Brent Venables held a gun to his nuts, we will never know.

All of this is to say that there are some college football head coaches, past and present, who seem to think they can do whatever the fuck they feel like and get away with it. Again, even if Tucker is deemed not guilty, he admitted to cheating on his wife and pretty much seems OK with it. Lebby didn’t think once that “hey, my father-in-law, who has not been hired anywhere else since he was fired from Baylor for pretty fucking terrible reasons, should get to have Sooners gear on and come on the Sooners field and celebrate with the Sooners because…”…..why exactly? Oh, because he pretty much doesn’t give a shit. That’s why some of these players need to be told “Don’t be like your coach. He’s an asshole.”

Alright, enough of that nonsense. It’s schedule time.

Thursday

		US	Canada
Bethune-Cookman at #22 Miami	7:30
Navy at Memphis	7:30

Nothing much of note here but I am interested in seeing Navy truly for the first time this season (after watching very little of them earlier on).

Friday

		US	Canada
Army at UTSA	7:00
Utah State at Air Force	8:00

Interestingly enough, the other two military academies play on Friday night. So all three are done before Midnight on Friday. Odd. But fun that they are all pretty much getting national play on their own.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#3 Florida State at Boston College	Noon
Louisville vs. Indiana (in Indianapolis)	Noon
Georgia Southern at Wisconsin	Noon
Liberty at Buffalo	Noon
#14 LSU at Mississippi State	Noon
Wake Forest at Old Dominion	Noon
Iowa State at Ohio	Noon
#7 Penn State at Illinois	Noon
#15 Kansas State at Missouri	Noon

Big games? Ah no. So devoid of big games that Big Noon Kickoff decided not to stick with Champaign as the site before the Illini host Penn State. They moved it to Colorado so they can keep that Deion Boner going. I guess you got to strike while the iron is hot.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
VMI at NC State	2:00
Weber State at #12 Utah	2:00
#10 Alabama at USF	3:30
Northwestern at #21 Duke	3:30
Western Michigan at #25 Iowa	3:30
Virginia Tech at Rutgers	3:30
South Carolina at #1 Georgia	3:30
FIU at UConn	3:30
Minnesota at #20 North Carolina	3:30
East Carolina at Appalachian State	3:30
#19 Oklahoma at Tulsa	3:30
Tulane at Southern Miss	4:00
WKU at #6 Ohio State	4:00
ULM at Texas A&M	4:00
NC Central at #24 UCLA	5:00

A ton of choice here. The CW gets to show an afternoon game. Also a Pac-12 Network quardrupleheader. Well, a quadrupleheader here if you watch Pac-12 International on YouTube. See, the games on Pac-12 International are the Pac-12 Network national feed games. There are a couple other games that won’t be shown in Canada because they are regional only. Again, no big games here but we all remember what South Carolina did Between the Hedges back in 2019. If an upset of that magnitude happened again, it immediately changes the season and turns it on its head. Finally, Notre Dame is playing today…at home. But it’s on Peacock so no getting it here.

UPDATE: Thanks to reader William, I have found out about Fighting Irish TV (https://fightingirishtv.live/login). If you want to watch the game on Peacock, there’s your ticket.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Vanderbilt at UNLV	7:00
#11 Tennessee at Florida	7:00
James Madison at Troy	7:00
Pittsburgh at West Virginia	7:30
Bowling Green at #2 Michigan	7:30
BYU at Arkansas	7:30
Akron at Kentucky	7:30
Syracuse at Purdue	7:30
Georgia Tech at #17 Ole Miss	7:30
FAU at Clemson	8:00
TCU at Houston	8:00
Wyoming at #4 Texas	8:00
Hawaii at #13 Oregon	8:00

No massive games but Tennessee travelling to The Swamp to face Florida bears some interest since the Vols have struggled there a lot in years past. Still no Harbaugh on the sidelines (unless you count Jack) as the Wolverines host Bowling Green who hopes to keep things relatively close. And lookie here…the Longhorn Network? That’s right. For the first time ever (as far as I can tell), LHN can be viewed (legally) in Canada. Hopefully Wyoming can play like they did against Texas Tech and keep this game competitive.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
Colorado State at #18 Colorado	10:00
Kansas at Nevada	10:30
UTEP at Arizona	11:00

Finally, the game that’s being played where both ESPN and FOX’s pregame shows were at…Colorado hosting mighty Colorado State. It must be since both networks were there. Don’t get me wrong, I totally get the hype but with two much bigger games coming up for the Buffaloes you think they would save this for the next couple of weeks. Or they might just camp out there until October. I mean why take the set down if you are just going to put it back up again a few days later?

Hey, Watch This!

South Carolina at Georgia (3:30, CBS) – Yes this is, arguably, the best game of the week. Kind of sad, not gonna lie. Saying that, if 2019 happens again, the SEC is seriously wide open. Don’t bet against the Gamecocks, even if they did look mediocre against North Carolina earlier this year. Or do because you think UGA will win. Either way.

Washington at Michigan State (5:00, Peacock) – This feels a bit icky but there is a ton of intrigue now with this one. A very good Huskies team against a team that will have to fight some adversity without their disgraced head coach. And it’s on Peacock of all places. NBC might have inadvertantly struck it rich by putting this game on the streaming service a while back.

Tennessee at Florida (7:00, TSN+/SP) – As I said above, the Vols, and many teams, have struggled in the hot and humid Swamp in Septembers past. Will it happen here? Eh, probably not. Man, how can a week be that devoid of big games?

Minnesota at North Carolina (3:30, TSN+/SP) – Um……well, it’s two undefeated teams so there’s that. Yeah, I got nothing.

Sickos Game of the Week

Vanderbilt at UNLV (7:00, CBSSN) – Look, there is a possibility that we see a 3-0 UNLV team by the end of Saturday night. So yeah, you could say the season is already a bit strange. And if Barry Odom wants a signature victory of sorts, this game is ripe for the picking. Or…OR…this could be a hilariously bad game that one team has to win. I am morbidly curious.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Alabama at USF (3:30, ABC/TSN2) – Why is this game on ABC? Well, it’s not like there are a ton of strong contenders *waves wildly at the Games of the Week list*. Coming off a loss, Nick Saban is going to be uber-pissed. Which will make the rest of the coaches pissed. Which will make the players very angry. And they are going to take it out on a Bulls team who might not know what hit them until long after this one is over.

Wanna Bet?

Will this list be decent? After looking back at my picks last week, I am going to venture to say that’s a no.

Bethune-Cookman (+53.5) over Miami (but the U wins by 40)

Buffalo (+3.5) over Liberty (and the outright win)

LSU (-9.5) over Mississippi State

UConn (-7) over FIU

North Carolina (-7.5) over Minnesota

South Carolina (+27.5) over Georgia (and I think this will be relatively close but the Dawgs will hold on for the W)

Tulane (-13) over Southern Miss

Florida (+6.5) over Tennessee (the Vols win a VERY close one)

Vanderbilt (-4.5) over UNLV

Michigan (-40.5) over Bowling Green

Clemson (-24.5) over FAU

Oregon (-38) over Hawaii

Colorado (-23) over Colorado State

Spotty information so far for the specialty packs as I see some information but not all of it. It should all be up by tomorrow and should match what I have. Funny enough, TSN+ has their shit together and has their full schedule up (and has since Monday).

I’ll be on the TwiXter machine this Saturday (@TheBauceman) so you can interact mwith me there if you like. Or you can just sit in your favourite chair like a normal person and watch more than 14 hours of football unlike a normal person. Enjoy the games everyone!

Oh man, here we go again

It felt like things were calm. We were all lulled into this. It was just the eye of the storm. Sure the wind wasn’t moving but about 200 metres away, a cow just went flying headlong into a barn.

What am I talking about? Realignment, of course! Another shoe has dropped…OK let me use a different analogy. Sorry Deion. We have another big move as Colorado will be going back to the Big XII starting next season. And that probably won’t be all. The rumours have at least one of Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Oregon or Washington following the Buffaloes. Or, if no other schools leave the Pac-12, the Big XII is more than willing to dip into the American Conference (hello SMU, Memphis, Tulane) or even way out east…yes, UConn! And maybe once the Pac-12 (or more like Pac-9) gets their act together, they can start bringing in teams from the Group of Five. The same teams from the American would be in play, especially SMU. Also, the Mountain West would be watching closely as San Diego State, Boise State and perhaps Colorado State and UNLV could be looked at. There will be a lot of meetings in the next month or so to determine where this all leads.

For now let’s focus on what this post was supposed to be (and still will be). It’s time for the Power Five conference predictions. This will give a better indication on how I think things will go during this season. So let’s dive right in!

Changes are coming soon for the Ess Ee Cee. Texas and Oklahoma join the conference next season. Also, no more SEC on CBS after this year. Everything moves to ABC and ESPN. And finally, no divisions. Halle-fucking-lujah.

As for this year, all the talk is about Georgia and doing something no team has done (fully) in the AP Poll era: win three national championships in a row. It’s not like they will fall apart, despite the fact they lost their starting quarterback and a bunch of other players in the NFL Draft. Then again, I’m sure Kirby Smart has looked them all dead in the eye and told them “Everyone thinks you are going to go 5-7 and lose to Vanderbilt. Prove them wrong!” And they will believe it because college football head coaches are just a notch-and-a-half below cult leaders in the pecking order of how much they can make their “followers” drink their Kool-Aid.

Remember, though, there are other teams in the conference as well. Like those lovable underdogs from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and the team that just reeks of success (in the classroom and on the baseball diamond), Vanderbilt. And eleven other teams. Want to find out how I think they will do? OK. I will do that. Just for you.

		Conference		Overall
	East	W	L	W	L
	Georgia	7	1	11	1
	Tennessee	6	2	10	2
	South Carolina	5	3	8	4
	Kentucky	3	5	6	6
	Missouri	2	6	5	7
	Florida	2	6	5	7
	Vanderbilt	1	7	4	8
	West
	Alabama	8	0	12	0
	LSU	6	2	9	3
	Ole Miss	4	4	8	4
	Texas A&M	4	4	8	4
	Arkansas	3	5	7	5
	Auburn	3	5	7	5
	Mississippi State	2	6	6	6

Just For You

• You might think I am crazy for having UGA not run the table. I do think they will lose a regular season game and it will be to those upstart Tennessee Volunteers. It won’t keep them from winning the division though as you can see I have those same Vols losing two conference games during the regular season.
• As for the SEC West, though, Bama will once again rule the roost….as long as they figure out their quarterback situation. I am thinking they will and will go undefeated and be #1 in the nation going into conference championship weekend. If they don’t get their QB situation settled…well, maybe they lose two games? Three? It’s not like they will fall to 6-6.
• I could see South Carolina or last year’s SEC West champs, LSU, making a bit of a run this time around. They have the top two quarterbacks in the SEC and could each put up piles of points. Watch for the Cocks’ game against Georgia early on in the season and LSU’s post-Halloween trip to Bryant-Denny to face the Tide. Upsets in either of those games will seriously upset the apple cart.
• Look, the Gators were barely .500 with who I think may be one of the most overhyped quarterbacks in recent memory. I don’t think Anthony Richardson was that great. And now they don’t even have him. Unless every other part of the roster improved (it didn’t), how do people expect this team to bounce back and all of a sudden become an eight or nine win team? Spoiler alert: they won’t.
• I have Mississippi State at 6-6. They will do just enough to get a bowl game. I wonder how tough it will be after the loss of Mike Leach but I can see them straightening things out just in time late in the season.
• As for the SEC Championship, SURPRISE! I have the Dawgs beating the Tide and creating a massive clusterfuck in the final College Football Playoff rankings. Fun times!
• Eleven bowl teams from the SEC with two juuuuuust on the outside. That’s insane and I don’t think I will be that far off with this prediction. Next year could be even crazier with Texas and Oklahoma joining the conference that just means more.

Man have things really changed in terms of where you will see Big Ten games this season. Gone are ABC and ESPN. In is NBC and CBS. This is gonna feel weird the first time I see it. And maybe the next few times as well. I will get used to it at some point. Now if you want the opportunity to watch every Big Ten game, better find a way to get FOX Sports One and Peacock otherwise you will be shit out of luck to watch potential bangers like Northwestern-Purdue and Indiana-Rutgers (if they end up there and not the Big Ten Network).

Alright, let’s get into the final conference predictions before the B1G gives a big Fuck You to geography and brings in USC and UCLA.

		Conference		Overall
	East	W	L	W	L
	Michigan	8	1	11	1
	Penn State	8	1	11	1
	Ohio State	8	1	10	2
	Michigan State	5	4	7	5
	Maryland	5	4	8	4
	Indiana	1	8	3	9
	Rutgers	1	8	4	8
	West
	Minnesota	6	3	8	4
	Wisconsin	6	3	9	3
	Iowa	6	3	9	3
	Illinois	5	4	7	5
	Nebraska	2	7	5	7
	Purdue	2	7	5	7
	Northwestern	0	9	2	10

Geogpraphy, Go Eat a Dick

• Look, I know some might look at the Big Ten East standings and think I am a bit crazy. I am not. Although that is what a crazy person would tell you. Yep, a three-way tie at the top at 8-1 between Big Blue, tOSU and PSU. Because each team will be 1-1 against the other two, the CFP Rankings will decide the winner. I believe the Wolverines will somehow win that. And yes, I think Ohio State also loses to Notre Dame. O-H! I-No.
• If Sparty doesn’t make it to a bowl game, they may end up giving Mel Tucker the Herm Edwards treatment and fire him before he can leave the playing surface one game. I get they have a tough division but they should be able to do well enough against the rest of their schedule to get back in the postseason after last year’s debacle.
• No, I don’t have Wisconsin winning the West division. Meaning I am different than almost every expert out there. Also, there’s the fact I’m not an expert but I digress. Again I have a damn three-way tie but no need to look at the rankings for this one as I believe the Gophers will Row the Fucking Boat all the way to Indianapolis after beating both Wisky and the high-octane Iowa Hawkeyes. See what I did there? Yeah, I don’t care that the Hawkeyes have a new quarterback in town. Until Kirk tells his son to do better, Iowa will be pushing for some 7-6 victories. Sorry. 8-6. Two field goals and a late safety to win.
• Nebraska will be better but I think the Huskers are a season away from getting back to the top of the West…just in time for the West to just not exist anymore.
• As for Northwestern…man. What a shitshow. Look, I played a lot of sports earlier in my life and did so at the university level. Are there fun little pranks and stupid things the rookies have to do? Sometimes. But it’s usually harmless. Carrying bags, standing up during a team dinner to get embarrassed by singing some Mariah Carey song, dumb things like that. Not getting fucking dry humped in some cultish fashion by weirdos in robes. What the fuck is wrong with that school? And yes, it’s not just the football program. Sounds like at least half the teams there have serious issues. Ugh.
• Now let’s get crazy. Yeah! The Big Ten Championship will…OK who am I kidding. It won’t be close. I have Michigan plowing through Minny to clinch their spot, yet again, in the College Football Playoff.

Might as well call this the Stable Conference…for now. Just nothing happening here which is just fine for most of the teams in the ACC. Status quo isn’t a bad thing. There are some changes with where you will see games. The CW…yes, the C-Fucking-W, will have an ACC game during most of the weeks of the season. You can take the ACC out of Jefferson-Pilot (or Raycom) but you can’t take the Jefferson-Pilot (or Raycom) out of the ACC. Or something like that.

So before this conference possibly gets pillaged by the Big Ten and SEC, let’s get to the predictions followed by some deep tissue massage and/or analysis.

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	Clemson	8	0	12	10
	Florida State	7	1	11	1
	North Carolina	6	2	9	3
	Pittsburgh	5	3	8	4
	Louisville	5	3	8	4
	Duke	4	4	8	4
	Wake Forest	4	4	7	5
	NC State	4	4	7	5
	Miami	4	4	7	5
	Syracuse	3	5	6	6
	Boston College	2	6	5	7
	Virginia	2	6	4	8
	Georgia Tech	2	6	4	8
	Virginia Tech	0	8	1	11

Deep Tissue Massage and/or Analysis

• I should book a massage. My back is in horrible shape.
• Some may scoff at me having Clemson going undefeated this season. They have the schedule to do it and if Cade Klubnik is as good as he can be this could relatively easily happen. If Klubnik struggles…well then this entire set of standings might need to be scrubbed from existence.
• Reader Gord will like where I have Florida State. This team could be scary good. And at the very least, they will be near the top of the ACC standings this season. Mike Norvell has done a great job getting this team back to what it was like during the Jimbo Fisher days. I had my doubts about him but I have to admit he has been the right guy to right the ship in Tallahassee.
• Hey did you notice? NO DIVISIONS! I love it.
• Don’t be surprised that if Clemson or FSU stumbles that there are no shortage of teams that could get one of the two ACC title game slots. A list of seven teams could pull off a couple of upsets and be at the top and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise. A slight surprise sure. Maybe a slightly bigger surprise if it was Miami or NC State. But not a massive surprise.
• Poor Virginia Tech. I think this will be their worst team since before Frank Beamer graced Blacksburg. It feels like it has been forever since the Hokies were contenders. It was only seven years ago when they were in the ACC Championship and almost upset the eventual national champions, Clemson. This team is pretty bad in almost every aspect of the game and the schedule will not be helpful to them. Other than Old Dominion I don’t see them winning any other game and the Monarchs have given VT all sorts of fits the past few years.
• Look for a tiny bit of a bounce back from Virginia. Just them taking the field after what happened last year is a win in my books.
• For that ACC title game, how about another game that will turn everything on its head. Yep, I think the Noles will get revenge for a regular season loss by inching out the Tigers. Chaos!

OK it’s about time the Big XII rebrands. They will have at least thirteen teams by the time the 2024 season starts and it may be as high as sixteen. So change the fucking name. They have the rights to the Big Fourteen and Big Sixteen so use one of those. It would be easy. Find a graphic design student at Kansas and have them do a new logo. Easy peasy. Why do I have to come up with everything?

Where was I? Oh that’s right, predictions. Let’s see if this conference will go all Pac-12 and cannibalize itself or if they can see a team get to the CFP once again. Also, Texas and Oklahoma will be trying their best to leave the conference on a high note much to the chagrin of the rest of the schools in the conference. So here are the Big XII standings predictions, followed by Belly Expansions.

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	Texas	8	1	10	2
	Kansas State	7	2	10	2
	Baylor	6	3	8	4
	TCU	6	3	9	3
	Oklahoma	6	3	9	3
	Texas Tech	5	4	8	4
	Oklahoma State	5	4	8	4
	Kansas	4	5	7	5
	UCF	4	5	7	5
	BYU	3	6	5	7
	Cincinnati	3	6	5	7
	Houston	2	7	4	8
	Iowa State	2	7	4	8
	West Virginia	2	7	3	9

Belly Expansions

• No I don’t mean pregnancy. I mean eating a big meal and having to loosen the ol’ belt or just unbuckle the pants altogether. Funny enough, people in the restaurant don’t appreciate that.
• Let’s start at the bottom. There won’t be one truly bad team. There will be a bunch of below-average ones. West Virginia, Iowa State, Houston, Cincinnati and BYU could all finish last and I am sure no one would bat an eye.
• I see the Longhorns making their final Big XII season a special one. They have the team, the schedule and the head coach (I think) to be the top team in this conference this season. The only question will be can Quinn Ewers hold off Arch Manning. Will one of them transfer in the offseason? Remember, when you have two starting quarterbacks, you have none. I think.
• How about this lukewarm take: Kansas State will be good again. Yeah really going out on a limb there Bossman. This team has become so steady-as-she-goes it’s almost boring. The people in the Little Apple are fine with this.
• I do think one of the newcomers will make a bowl game and that team will be UCF. I think they are the most prepared of the newbies coming into this conference. But make no mistake about it: all four teams will be good at various points over the next few years.
• I can’t see Oklahoma taking enough of a leap to get to the Big XII Championship. Nor do I think the Horned Frogs of TCU have the, uh, toads? to make it back to the conference title game. Good seasons for both, yes, but not great.
• The Longhorns should win the conference title game in their final season in the Big XII. Will this get them into the CFP or will it “relegate” them to the New Year’s Six? I think you can tell from my predictions so far but you will know for sure in a different post.

So where are we going to be able to watch Pac-12 games in the future? Who the hell knows. My money is on PBS.

But seriously, the Pac-12 is quickly dropping from the Conference of Champions to almost a Group of Five conference. They are losing USC and UCLA next year to the Big Ten. They knew that already. The bombshell of Colorado leaving now has them at nine teams starting the 2024 season. And it may not end there. The only schools I haven’t heard potentially leaving are Oregon State and Washington State. That’s not to say all these rumours will be correct but I will be pretty surprised if no more teams leave for the Big XII before next season. It’s sad for a conference that really started their slide once Pete Carroll left USC for the NFL. Thanks a bunch, Peter.

Prediction time! No divisions which is one thing they are ahead of the game with, starting that last year. Let’s get to those divisionless predictions followed by some California Nightmarin’.

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	USC	8	1	10	2
	Utah	7	2	9	3
	Oregon	7	2	9	3
	Oregon State	7	2	10	2
	Washington State	6	3	8	4
	Washington	6	3	9	3
	UCLA	5	4	8	4
	Colorado	3	6	4	8
	California	2	7	4	8
	Arizona	2	7	4	8
	Arizona State	1	8	3	9
	Stanford	0	9	2	10

California Nightmarin’

• No state will have it better this year in the Pac-12 than the state of Oregon. Both the Ducks and the Beavers look to be serious contenders and only need the ball to bounce their way one extra time to maybe get to the Pac-12 Championship. And considering the way that title game has gone, who knows what may happen after that.
• The strongest team, though, should be USC. They have Caleb Williams coming back to try and do what no one other than some guy named Archie has ever done, and that’s win two Heisman Trophies. The hope there is that the sting of the two season-ending losses will motivate them to push themselves that final step into the CFP.
• OK look, I know you see Washington in sixth place and you are wondering what the fuck is wrong with me. This is another case where the schedule is just flat-out against them. A slightly easier schedule and I might put this team at eleven or even, dare I say it, twelve wins. It will be that close at the top of the conference.
• On the other hand, I am sure no will think I’m crazy for putting Stanford in last place. It’s been a long time since the Cardinal have been this bad and it doesn’t look like they will be ready for bowl action for another year at least.
• I think I was fair putting Colorado at 4-8 for this season and playing fairly meaningful football going into November. There seems to be two schools of thought with this team. One section thinks Coach Prime has done wonders and with all the fresh faces in the lineup it will push the team over the line and into bowl-eligibility territory. The other section thinks the entire program is overhyped and they will win maybe two games. I am in the middle on this. This team won’t go bowling this year. That would be too much of a leap. But they should win more games than they did last year. If not, what the hell was all this hoopla for?
• As for the Pac-12 title game, USC gets the Pac-12 Championship they probably should have won last year. Problem is that by this point there will be a lot of teams in the mix for those four College Football Playoff spots and in typical Pac-12 fashion, the league will have cannabilized itself again and missed out on the CFP again.

There you go! You now have a complete set of Bossman conference predictions. Next up, is kind of the wrap-up post where I put everything in a nice, neat little ball and let you know who I believe will win the whole damn deal. Have a great week everyone!

Alright let’s wrap this up in a nice, neat little package

Oh man did you actually believe that?  LITTLE?  Have you not noticed what I’ve been doing the last little while?  Oh this will not be a little package I assure you; but it will be an important package of information that you, the college football fan, would like to see (I hope).

So yes, you will see what I believe the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six will look like.  You will get bowl projections from yours truly.  You will also get my Heisman ballot which is usually a big steaming pile of horseshit.  And you will get my coaching hot seat list which, honestly, is usually pretty good if I say so myself.

Let’s get right to it with the top of the pyramid (scheme)…the College Football Playoff predictions.  You probably have a good idea from the conference predictions as to who will end up here and you also know that there is a good chance I will fail miserably with one of these picks:

December 31st	Fiesta Bowl	#2 Ohio State	#3 Georgia
December 31st	Peach Bowl	#1 Alabama	#4 Clemson

New Year’s Eve semi-finals.  Will they never learn?  Anyway, Bama is the easy call here as I see them running the table and then beating UGA in what may be the biggest SEC Championship ever (and that’s saying a lot).  This also means that Georgia is probably a fairly easy call as well.  Sure, they will lose to the Tide but if they go in at #2 (which I expect them to) and lose to #1 (which I assume Bama would be) then a drop to #3 is as far as they will go.  No way they are leaving out a one-loss Big Ten champ so tOSU gets in and takes advantage of one of Alabama or Georgia having to lose to get to the #2 spot.  OK take advantage is a strong phrase since being #2 means very little other than avoiding #1 until, potentially, the title game.  Clemson ends up beating out Texas A&M, Michigan and NC State, all one-loss teams who didn’t win their division, rather easily to grab the final semi-final spot.  Oregon would have their shot at the Pac-12 Championship but lose to Utah making The Committee’s job (at least for these two games) rather straightforward.

Now we will go to the New Year’s Six bowl games where, thanks to the NFL, none of them are on New Year’s Day.  Eat shit, Rose Bowl.

January 2nd	Rose Bowl	#6 Michigan	#10 Utah
January 2nd	Cotton Bowl	#11 Oregon	#8 Houston
December 31st	Sugar Bowl	#5 Texas A&M	#9 Baylor
December 30th	Orange Bowl	#7 NC State	#12 Notre Dame

As always, it’s debate time.  Every year which is fine as long as the debates devolve into some stupid Twitter spat.  Only one conference championship loser is getting in here and that’s Oregon.  They’ll be high enough in the rankings (potentially in the Top 4) going into Conference Championship weekend that there is no way they drop out of a NY6 bowl.  Houston won’t be this year’s Cincinnati but they will be this year’s Group of Five representative in the New Year’s Six and they will coast to get here.  Michigan is going to have another good year but they have the audacity to be in the same division as Ohio State.  Assholes.  This will be enough to keep them out of the CFP.  Same goes for TAMU and NC State.  What were they thinking being in a division with other good schools.  And you wonder why I hate divisions.  We could have a tOSU-UM rematch and a Clemson-NCST rematch for conference championships.  Talk about a lot more being on the line and a hell of a lot more intrigue.

Utah, with their win over Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship, gets the other Rose Bowl spot opposite Michigan.  Luckily, they should ascend to somewhere around the #10 ranking that I have them in so they will look like they belong.  Baylor also gets the benefit of a good bowl tie-in and I have them facing their old Southwest Conference foe, the Aggies of Texas A&M.  Just like Utah, the Bears will be good enough to belong here and not spark any crazy debate about bowl tie-ins.  The only debate will be for the final spot.  Look, it’s Notre Dame.  If the Irish go 10-2, they are not being left out of this group of bowl games.  As much as some of you want that to be the case, it never will be (until the CFP structure changes).  They beat out UCLA, Oklahoma and Marshall.  Very few, other than those schools’ fans, will be super upset they were left out.

Now it’s time for the rest of BOWL SZN.  At least I know these bowls won’t be cancelled…I hope.

January 2nd	Citrus Bowl	#17 Tennessee	#18 Michigan State
January 2nd	ReliaQuest Bowl	Florida	#20 Minnesota
December 31st	Music City Bowl	Ole Miss	#22 Purdue
December 30th	Gator Bowl	Arkansas	#19 Pittsburgh
December 30th	Arizona Bowl	Boise State	Northern Illinois
December 30th	Sun Bowl	Louisville	Oregon State
December 30th	Duke’s Mayo Bowl	Kentucky	Penn State
December 29th	Alamo Bowl	#15 Oklahoma	#13 UCLA
December 29th	Cheez-It Bowl	Iowa State	Miami
December 29th	Pinstripe Bowl	Iowa	Florida State
December 28th	Texas Bowl	LSU	#21 Texas
December 28th	Holiday Bowl	Virginia Tech	#24 USC
December 28th	Liberty Bowl	South Carolina	#23 Oklahoma State
December 28th	Military Bowl	Wake Forest	#16 UCF
December 27th	Guaranteed Rate Bowl	Nebraska	Kansas State
December 27th	Birmingham Bowl	Auburn	#25 Cincinnati
December 27th	First Responder Bowl	Colorado State	Troy
December 27th	Camellia Bowl	Coastal Carolina	UAB
December 26th	Quick Lane Bowl	Maryland	Miami-OH
December 24th	Hawaii Bowl	BYU	Fresno State
December 23rd	Independence Bowl	Memphis	Army
December 23rd	Gasparilla Bowl	Boston College	Tulsa
December 22nd	Armed Forces Bowl	TCU	UTEP
December 21st	New Orleans Bowl	#14 Marshall	UTSA
December 20th	Boca Raton Bowl	Appalachian State	Florida Atlantic
December 20th	Idaho Potato Bowl	San Diego State	Toledo
December 19th	Myrtle Beach Bowl	Georgia State	Liberty
December 17th	Frisco Bowl	San Jose State	South Alabama
December 17th	Las Vegas Bowl	Mississippi State	Arizona State
December 17th	LendingTree Bowl	Louisiana	Kent State
December 17th	LA Bowl	Washington	Air Force
December 17th	New Mexico Bowl	Utah State	Western Michigan
December 17th	Fenway Bowl	North Carolina	SMU
December 16th	Cure Bowl	East Carolina	UNLV
December 16th	Bahamas Bowl	WKU	Central Michigan

More bowl games!  Honestly, I don’t care nearly as much as I used to.  It’s more football at this point.  Once the 12-team playoff (or whatever it ends up being) comes to fruition, I will be interested to see what happens to some of the lower-level bowl games.  Hey, as long as Canadians can see most of these games on TSN then there’s no real problem.  Let’s look at a few points from that long table of information I just posted:

• Only two games between ranked teams?  Good lord.  UT-MSU at the Citrus and Oklahoma-UCLA at the Alamo and that’s it.  Those two bowls are used to having fairly big matchups.  It would probably be more of a shock if the Bahamas Bowl had a Top 25 matchup (although it would definitely intrigue me that’s for sure).
• I’m not bothering with listing bowl tie-ins and or conferences that couldn’t fill their bowl quota or even 5-7 teams that I have in to fill the bowl games that don’t have two teams.
• Some of the other good matchups after the Citrus and Alamo:
  • Ole Miss-Purdue in Nashville
  • Arkansas-Pitt at the Gator
  • Iowa-Florida State playing in the cold of the Bronx
  • Wake-UCF in the Military Bowl
  • LSU going into Longhorn country (kind of) to play Texas
  • Marshall-UTSA in Nawlins
  • Nebraska-Kansas State in a Big Eight matchup in Tempe
• The Husker one is very interesting because they have the longest Big Ten bowl drought.  Can you fucking believe it?  I would have bet money that it was Rutgers or…Rutgers.  Nope.  The Huskers went to the Music City Bowl in late 2016 and haven’t gone back to a bowl game since.  Wow.

History states at least one of the CFP semi-final games will not be that good.  I hate to do this to the Tigers but sorry, Bama should win that one easy.  The Buckeyes will have big problems with the Dawgs but in the end, they will punch their ticket to the national title game to lose to the Tide who will be back on top once again.  No real surprises here.

So now that COVID is…well not behind us but it is not nearly as serious as it was, we can really get back to normality. That means that the college football head coaches are getting shorter leashes again, folks! The shitcanning season will be upon us at some point this Fall!

And when I mean short leashes I mean seriously short. Like maybe a foot long. Some athletic directors are now realizing that the college football world is pretty much fully back to normal and they have some time to make up. Some coaches received reprieves in the past two seasons thanks to the pandemic but that leeway is fucking gone now.

Look I don’t want to toot my own horn but I usually do fairly well with this list. So let’s just get right down to it, shall we? If you recall, the order is from most likely to be fired to most likely to keep their job. They are also categorized in a few different sections. Let’s go!

Almost Guaranteed Shitcanning

1. Geoff Collins (Georgia Tech) – This should be a surprise to absolutely no one.  The experiment to move away from the option to more of a pro-style offense has failed spectacularly in the ATL.  I honestly see no possible improvement here and a possible in-season firing.  Needed to keep his job – Get into the final few weeks of the season with at least a mathematical possibility of going bowling.  Prediction – He’s going to get shitcanned some time in November in the midst of a ten-loss season for the Rambling Wreck.
2. Karl Dorrell (Colorado) – Can we say that weird 2020 season was an aberration?  I think we can as the Buffaloes are dropping down the ladder once again in the Pac-12 as realignment goes wild everywhere.  Needed to keep his job – Have a shot at bowl eligibility going into the final two games.  Prediction – A whole lot of frustration for Dorrell, the Buffaloes, the other coaches, alumni and current students. And no job for Dorrell…he may end up not coaching the final game of the season.
3. Neal Brown (West Virginia) – Brown’s first year in Morgantown was considered a success.  Last year’s, not so much.  And with an improving Big XII around them, I see them falling even farther in Brown’s third year when he has most of his recruits in.  Not looking good for a guy who was a big up-and-comer not too long ago.  Needed to keep his job – Not continue the downward slide.  Prediction – I remember going to Wet n’ Wild as a kid. It doesn’t exist anymore. But it had some cool waterslides. That is how ol’ Neal is going to feel this season. He’ll end the season on the unemployment line.
4. Mike Bloomgren (Rice) – No one is really expecting Rice to be a power player in football.  Saying that, they had to the American Conference next season and I can’t see Bloomgren being the head coach.  Other than a couple of good seasons, he’s done very little in the Houston area and has fallen FAR behind their neighbour.  Needed to keep his job – Something more than what I feel they will do this year.  Prediction – The bloom has come off the rose (ha ha) and he will be looking for a new school to coach at for 2023.
5. Herm Edwards (Arizona State) – It feels inevitable that, at the very best, Herm will be done at the end of the season.  Their recruiting issues are well known and it may end up being the NCAA coming down hard on ASU (and, eventually, Herm himself).  It won’t help his cause that the Sun Devils won’t be as good as they were last year.  Needed to keep his job – I don’t know if there is anything short of a Pac-12 title that would save his job (and even then).  Prediction – Herm is shown the door before the last game of the season as the powers that be in Tempe decide it’s time to rebuild again.

Probable Shitcanning

6. Dino Babers (Syracuse) – How long has Dino been on the hot seat?  Everything was looking golden in 2018 for Babers but since then…yeesh.  I’m not saying Syracuse is a destination spot for coaching but you know things are getting tense within the athletic department with this.  Needed to keep his job – The Orange to recapture at least some of that 2018 magic.  Prediction – Dino will be a coordinator somewhere next year.
7. Scot Loeffler (Bowling Green) – I’m sure there are times where Scotty (Scoty?) would love to be back at any of the schools he used to be at.  This is his first head coaching gig and it has been a rough one to be honest.  Even though Bowling Green isn’t exactly a hotspot in college football, at some point the athletic director will be done with the team not performing.  7-22 isn’t exactly the type of record that keeps a job.  Needed to keep his job – 4 or 5 wins and look competitive inside the MAC.  Prediction – Double-digit losses and a pink slip.
8. Danny Gonzales (New Mexico) – Speaking of tough places to coach, here are the Lobos looking at potentially another coaching change on the horizon.  Definitely a spot a younger coach in the West would maybe take a shot at.  Beware though: the last time UNM won at least ten games was four decades ago.  Unfortunately between them and NMSU, the state is a dead spot for college football.  Needed to keep his job – Close to bowl eligibility.  Prediction – Three wins and a tough decision to be made from the higher ups.

Possible Shitcanning

9. Seth Littrell (North Texas) – Littrell hasn’t done bad in Denton.  Five bowls in his six seasons there is pretty darn good for a team in Conference USA.  Problem is he has lost every single one.  It truly does feel like they are kind of stuck in the middle of the conference and that’s getting some people antsy.  Needed to keep his job – At least 5 wins and competing for bowl eligibility near the end of the season.  Prediction – That’s exactly where I have the Mean Green. I think he probably survives the season but the leash will be extremely short going forward.
10. Bryan Harsin (Auburn) – This was considered a coup when the Tigers plucked him from Boise State.  His first season on the Plains was…rocky to put it mildly.  There was an attempt to get him ousted after last season ended.  Obviously it didn’t work but there are some thinking maybe he just doesn’t fit at Auburn (or the SEC for that matter).  Needed to keep his job – A winning record and better recruiting.  Prediction – I got the Tigers winning 7 to stay out of the basement of the SEC West. That should be enough to save him at least into ‘crootin season. That’s where he needs to improve or otherwise he may not see the 2023 season on the field at Jordan-Hare.
11. Ken Niumatalolo (Navy) – It is tough putting Ken on this list, I’m not going to lie.  Problem is, Navy has been pretty bad for three of the past four seasons.  That 2019 season where they won 11 games seems like a fluke, almost.  I’m sure it would take a lot to fire Niumatalolo but another season like the previous two and who knows.  Needed to keep his job – At least 6 wins.  Prediction – I have the Middies only winning three so this could be a very interesting offseason in Annapolis.
12. Terry Bowden (ULM) – I might get some flak for this one.  I know he’s only been in Monroe for a season.  I do think this year the Warhawks are going to be one of the worst teams in the FBS. Maybe there is someone on his staff who will take over for him next year so that ULM brass will feel OK to fire him? I don’t know but this doesn’t seem to be leading anywhere in a much-improved Sun Belt Conference.  Needed to keep his job – Improvement from the previous season.  Prediction – As I said, they won’t be good. I have them predicted at 1-11. I can see this being done relatively quietly in the offseason (Terry’s shitcanning that is).
13. Rick Stockstill (Middle Tennessee) – Stockstill has been at Middle for what seems like forever.  And it doesn’t feel like anything would happen because of that.  Saying that, the Blue Raiders need to do something since they have been mediocre most of the last few seasons. They also turned down a (possible?) invitation to the MAC so this is their chance to become the best of a not-so-good bunch. Will Rick lead them through that though?  Needed to keep his job – Got to be bowl eligibility really.  Prediction – I got MTSU winning 5 games which will make for some very interesting offseason chatter in Murfreesboro.
14. Greg Schiano (Rutgers) – This isn’t the Schiano that went 56-33 in his final seven seasons during his first run in Piscataway.  That was in the Big East and Rutgers is…well, they definitely aren’t in a conference like that anymore.  Still, fans were hoping for something a bit more from a guy who runs blitzes during kneel down plays.  Unfortunately, I think this won’t be that year.  Needed to keep his job – Real bowl eligibility, not the 5-7 you are a smart school kind.  Prediction – I have the Scarlet Knights regressing a bit this year. Whether Schiano returns has a lot to do with whether they think they’ve truly bottomed out and if they believe they can get a good coach in.
15. Jake Spavital (Texas State) – Has anyone ever expected the Bobcats to do anything of significance on the football field? Really, that lack of winning culture could be the one thing that gives Spavital one more season at the helm. Needed to keep his job – 5 wins and some meaningful November football. Prediction – 4 wins and a short leash into 2023.

Doubtful Shitcanning (although it still could happen)

16. Jeff Scott (USF) – Not a whole lot has gone well for the former Clemson coordinator down in Tampa.  Remember when the Bulls were #2 in the nation?  Not even Pepperidge Farms remembers that I don’t think.  What it does say, though, is that you can win at this school.  Now it’s just a matter of how long the USF athletic department will give Scott to truly turn things around.  Needed to keep his job – Stay out of the American Conference basement.  Prediction – They aren’t going to a bowl game but expect them to win around four games and be quite clear of the bottom rung of the AAC.
17. Scott Frost (Nebraska) – It has become a difficult job to recruit players to Lincoln.  I think Frost has finally figured it out and the Huskers, at the very least, should be back bowling this season. Now watch them completely tank.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl-eligibility at the very least.  Prediction – No Kool-Aid this time but I have the Huskers winning eight games. Don’t laugh.
18. David Shaw (Stanford) – I remember when Shaw was getting Stanford to bowl games and contending in the Pac-12 on a consistent basis.  Make no bones about it, he’s still a great head coach.  Give him time and he will have the Cardinal back on top of what will be the Pac-10 going forward.  Needed to keep his job –  Look better than the 2021 season.  Prediction – I have Stanford winning 4 games but the bottom of the Pac-12 North is crowded so an upset or two isn’t out of the realm of possibility for this team. Shaw is safe for another season at the very least.
19. Mike Norvell (Florida State) – Things are finally looking up in Tallahassee.  For real this time. It would have to get really bad for the Noles this season for Norvell to be let go.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl eligibility at the very least.  Prediction – Eight wins and a new lease on life. Teams won’t have it easy against this team this season.
20. Tom Allen (Indiana) – I would put Tom farther up this list as Indiana was BAD last year and won’t be a whole lot better this season.  Thing is, his buyout is huge so unless the Hoosiers absolutely have to fire him, he won’t be let go.  Needed to keep his job – Don’t do something illegal or unethical.  Prediction – Other than punching the coach of the opposing team, I can’t see Allen doing anything bad. Yes I only have them winning three games this season but that doesn’t really matter here in the grand scheme of things.

One of these days I have to go back and see how truly successful I have been at this hot seat list. I still think the numbers will back me up.

Now from a normally good section (for me) to a notoriously horrible section (for me). My Heisman ballot is back. And I don’t know if it can be any worse than what I have done for the past few years. But, I always give it my all so here’s another edition of Bossman’s Heisman Trophy Ballot If He Got a Vote (which he most certainly should not):

My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Heisman Ballot

1. C.J. Stroud, Ohio State – Last year’s ballot was horrifically bad but I did have Stroud in at #4 (and Bryce Young at #5).  So it wasn’t all bad (but mostly it was).  I have the Buckeyes getting to the National Championship and he will be the main reason why. It will be a close race this year, I believe, but Stroud will put up the numbers and get the big victories that put him over the top.
2. Bryce Young, Alabama – Yes, I do have the Tide winning the national title this year.  It still won’t be enough to not join the list of players who had a shot at pulling an Archie Griffin and came up short.  Unlike everyone else on the list, he won’t make it easy on the other contenders. The only thing holding him back is how many other Heisman candidates this team has. They are loaded.
3. Caleb Williams, USC – It was a huge coup for Lincoln Riley to convince Williams to follow him from Oklahoma to USC.  Among the contenders, Williams may have the toughest job helping turn around a 4-8 team so quickly.  This is one of the few instances where a team only being so good might end up costing a player during a Heisman campaign.
4. Will Anderson Jr., Alabama – I believe Anderson is the best defensive player in the country and it’s really not even close.  He’s also one small part of the reason that I think Bryce Young won’t win the Heisman.  He will take some of the votes that would have been thrown Young’s way.  It could work in reverse as well. Anderson could be primed to be the first defensive player in a long time to win the Heisman Trophy but all the good Bama players, including Young, makes it a bit more difficult for him.
5. D.J. Uiagalelei, Clemson – Should we try this again? Why not.  *clears throat*  Ahem…Oo-ee-un-guh-luh-lay.  Just like last year.  And just like last year I have him #5 in my Heisman rankings.  He will have to show some serious improvement and I am betting he will.  It will help that he will have a better team around him that will be competing fort he College Football Playoff.  I think we will have a good idea what kind of season he will have once September ends.
6. Tyler Van Dyke, Miami – This guy looked like the real deal down the stretch last season and could have been considered the best ACC player the last few weeks of the regular season.  The Canes will be better but, as per usual, doing better will help a lot. If the Canes can somehow win the ACC title, Van Dyke’s chances might soar.
7. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma – A fantastic quarterback at UCF.  And thanks to TransferPortalMania, he ends up in Norman, replacing Caleb Williams (and, sure, Spencer Rattler).  Being the quarterback for the Sooners is always a pressure situation but the pressure should be a lot less this season which may allow Gabriel to thrive.
8. Bijan Robinson, Texas – Running backs still get shafted, to an extent, when it comes to Heisman voting.  It takes a phenomenal year for one to win it and you have to pair it with no outstanding quarterbacks.  An uphill battle for sure.  But if there’s one running back who could break through this season, it could be the new king of dijon mustard, Bijan Robinson. He will be the guy who makes the Texas offense go so if they win even 9 games this year, look for him to get a lot of attention from voters.
9. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State – Hey, how about the guy who had a breakout game for the ages at the Rose Bowl?  He will have arguably the best quarterback in the country throwing to him.  As we know, that’s a plus and a minus when it comes to the Heisman.  At the very least, he is the highest rated receiver coming into the season so that counts for something.
10. Hendon Hooker, Tennessee – This may feel to some like an out-of-nowhere kind of pick.  Hooker showed what he could do running a decent Vols offense.  With Tennessee having a lot more talent on that side of the ball this season, he may have some crazy stats. If Tennessee somehow gets to a New Year’s Six bowl, he will get a ton of hype.

Honourable Mention

• TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
• Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama
• Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
• Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
• Quinn Ewers, Texas
• Spencer Rattler, South Carolina
• Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
• Jordan Addison, USC
• Devin Leary, NC State

I am going to wish the players on this list good luck since there is a chance the winner is nowhere to be found here. Because I am terrible at this.

All the predictions I have are now complete! In about five months or so I will find out how poorly I did.

Next up will be…hold on let me check my notes…yes….YES……YEEEEEES! College football is back! Week Zero! I mean it’s just Week Zero but still….WEEK ZERO! I will have the schedule up at some point early in the week. I’ve already been asked about the specialty packs as it pertains to this coming Saturday. My guess is they won’t show anything since normally they don’t because…who knows but I will chalk it up to some sort of incompetence since what they (Bell and Rogers) tell me makes no sense. I will keep everyone updated. Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!

OK this is a new one – Week 4 College Football Recap

I don’t think I have ever seen something like this before.  And it sounds like most of college football media had never seen it before either.

Let’s see if I can wrap my head around all that happened here.  K’Vaughan Pope, Ohio State’s senior linebacker had been grumbling about lack of playing time.  Totally understandable.  So during this weekend’s game against Akron, Pope tried to enter the game but another linebacker waved him off.  So Pope decided to head towards the locker room until someone from the Ohio State staff brought him back to the sideline.  What happens next seems ridiculous.  Pope gets back to the sideline, briefly argues with a coach, throws his gloves into the stands and starts taking his jersey off.  He had a further conversation with another coach who then got someone to take Pope off the field and to the locker room.  While the game was still happening, Pope tweeted “Fucc Ohio State.”  He deleted that tweet, then tweeted “Good lucc to my teammates” (I see he did well in English class).  Yesterday he apologized and instead of quitting said he was taking some time off.  Ohio State removed him from the roster anyway.  That is so completely insane.  In a way, though, it speaks to the pressures some of these athletes are under.  We don’t know how he’s doing in school or what his family life is like or anything else going on with him.  Things could be going poorly away from the field.  No excuses for doing what he did but there may be reasons behind it.

So yeah, some excitement at least in a game where Akron was blown out of the water by Ohio State.  Normally I would do recaps of my predictions during this week’s recap but instead I will do just a straight recap of a rather insane weekend of college football.  Let’s begin.

Week 4 Recap Time!

Fresno State 38 UNLV 30

Oof.  For a good part of the game the Rebels were handling the Bulldogs and it felt like it would be one and done in the Top 25 for the surprising Fresno State.  But they were able to get ahead and hold on for the victory and, amazingly enough, may be the Mountain West’s best hope for the New Year’s Six.  I will be glad to say I was very wrong with my prediction for this team.

Oregon 41 Arizona 19

This was actually a close game a few minutes into the fourth quarter.  I am not joking.  Arguably, the worst Power Five team in the nation kept things close with a Top 5 team.  The Ducks did make quick work of them in the final 12 minutes but still.  I’d say this looks bad for Oregon and the Pac-12 but this isn’t shaping up to be a normal year.

Oklahoma 16 West Virginia 13

It was so bad this night for Spencer Rattler that Sooner fans were chanting for his backup and openly booing him.  Worst part is he didn’t do that bad.  One interception and a few bad passes and the fans made it out like he threw two pick-sixes in succession.  I will say this though: this team does not look like a national championship contender in any way, shape or form.  At least their defense was better, right?

Oregon State 45 USC 27

To the USC fans who gave me shit last week: you can all suck it.  Kedon Slovis was merely pedestrian and the Trojan defense was fucking atrocious.  It’s a sad state of affairs in L.A. (at least for one team).  As for the Beavers, it’s a better start than most believed and they could be looking at 7-1 or even 8-1 going into November if they play like this.  Another strange occurrence of this football season that is already starting to feel like the norm.

Louisville 31 Florida State 23

Oh my.  It’s not a matter of if but when Mike Norvell will be shitcanned.  I mean Louisville is turning out to be a decent team so no shame in losing to them.  Let’s just look at the Noles schedule coming up: vs. Syracuse, at North Carolina, then vs. UMass.  So they could conceivably be 0-6 when they host the Minutemen who are god awful.  Will Norvell be gone by then?  I think many Noles fans hope so, so that the coaching search can start sooner rather than later, knowing they will have to compete with at least one team (USC) for potential head coaches.

Washington 31 California 24 (OT)

The Huskies may actually be back in the hunt in the Pac-12 North.  And it’s not like they deserved to win this one since they didn’t but the Golden Bears made enough mistakes to allow Washington to get the duke with the final mistake, a fumble near the goal line in overtime, being the difference.

Arkansas 20 Texas A&M 10 

Man, the Hogs may be for real, folks.  They built a 17-0 lead until late in the first half and then the defense took over.  If you put money down on the Razorbacks being the team that might have the best shot to usurp Alabama in the SEC West then congratulations.  Also, maybe you can help me with my NFL picks since they are, well, let’s say less than good.

NC State 27 Clemson 21 (2OT)

What a huge upset that has turned the ACC upside down…sort of.  Clemson really hasn’t looked good at all so far this season and it showed here.  Their offense can’t get anything going and D.J. Uiagalelei is not looking like the heir apparent that many thought he would be.  As for the sort of comment, the ACC was already in a mess and this makes things worse for the conference as a whole.

Baylor 31 Iowa State 29

OK the Cyclones fooled a lot of us.  Matt Campbell doesn’t look like the guy who will head to USC to try and turn around their fortunes.  All this could change if ISU runs the table the rest of the way.  The real surprise here is Baylor who, at the very least, looks like they will be bowl bound this season.  Dave Aranda is showing why he finally deserved a shot at his own head coaching gig.

BYU 35 USF 27

BYU is slowly moving its way up the rankings.  They may regret allowing the Bulls to get so close but if they keep winning then the New Year’s Six is a lock for them.

Bowling Green 14 Minnesota 10

Ouch.  The same team that went toe-to-toe with Ohio State for three quarters earlier this season looked overmatched against who I (and some others) thought would be the worst team in FBS this season.  This also hurts Ohio State as their win over Minnesota may mean almost nothing if the Gophers continue to struggle.

Arizona State 35 Colorado 13

Hey, the Buffaloes finally scored a touchdown!  I don’t think anyone thought they’d be as good as last year’s surprise showing but the offense is putrid in Boulder.  Arizona State, on the other hand, is motoring along and could luck out based on everyone else in their division struggling at times so far this season.

UTSA 31 Memphis 28

This was a great game that not many people would have ended up watching (even though they could have).  The Roadrunners are the surprise Group of Five team for some but I figured they’d be really good.  OK, not this good.  Honestly, they may very well be a game against UAB later this season away from a perfect regular season and a potential New Year’s Six bowl.  This all for a program that didn’t start playing football until 2011.

Notre Dame 41 Wisconsin 13

It looked close for three quarters.  We were getting ready for a fantastic fourth quarter at Soldier Field.  Then the Fighting Irish went crazy, scoring 31 points in the final frame to completely decimate the Badgers.  It was a very impressive showing and proved this team could be a tough out the rest of the way.

Alright that was a fun and crazy weekend.  How about a Top 25?  Alright, here you go:

#1	Alabama
#2	Georgia
#3	Oregon
#4	Oklahoma
#5	Penn State
#6	Notre Dame
#7	Iowa
#8	Cincinnati
#9	Arkansas
#10	Ohio State
#11	Florida
#12	Texas A&M
#13	Coastal Carolina
#14	BYU
#15	Ole Miss
#16	Michigan State
#17	Michigan
#18	Fresno State
#19	Auburn
#20	UCLA
#21	Oklahoma State
#22	Baylor
#23	Maryland
#24	Wake Forest
#25	NC State

I thought of putting Boston College or Kentucky in the Top 25 but had Maryland, Wake and NC State in the final three spots.  You could debate those five teams in any order and it would make perfect sense.  I have the Irish at #6 and don’t understand how they are barely in the Top 10 of the AP Poll after their big win over Wisconsin.  Yet Arkansas, who won by less, rocketed up 8 spots.  How do you not think there’s an SEC bias of sorts when shit like that happens in the polls?  I still believe polls shouldn’t start until after Week 1’s games are completed, at the absolute earliest.  I am sure almost no one in college football media would agree even if some say they would because rankings are talking points and sometimes they need them when they don’t have some Tom Rinaldi-esque story to talk about.

So that was a great college football Saturday.  It has been a great season so far.  I hope I haven’t jinxed it by saying that.  Have a great week everyone!

Let’s talk about this shitshow – The Bowl Game Schedule

How many of the bowls in that picture either don’t exist anymore or were cancelled this year?  I shudder to think of it.  Maybe I should get a different graphic for next year.  For now it works because it shows how many bowls there usually are.  Somewhere in the 40 range.  This year it is under 30 and it’s almost a guarantee at least one more will be cancelled now that the schedule has been released.  It’s been a shitshow…even more than the season was, if you can believe it.

The biggest piece of horseshit when it comes to this is Army not getting into a bowl game.  They were tied in to the Independence Bowl, which ended up being cancelled.  So instead of being invited to another bowl game, they are left home…at 9-2.  That is completely absurd.  I know what some people will say.  “Well, the other games have contracts for certain conferences and they have to abide by that.”  Not saying you’re wrong.  What I am saying is the system is completely broken when a 2-8 South Carolina team “deserves” to go to a bowl game and Army does not.  All it says is one thing…MONEY.  That’s all.  The Power Five has money and the Group of Five has very little.  It has come to a head.  The College Football Playoff Committee is a joke and ESPN is being forced to parrot that because they are in bed with the whole thing.  It has gone off the rails and needs a refresh.  This is the kind of thing that might drive people away from watching.  Might.  Who knows…I mean it is football and in the United States, football is king.

Alright, so TSN kind of has their bowl game broadcast schedule up, kind of.  I don’t blame them for not being prepared for this since games were being cancelled two days ago.  Completely ridiculous.  I’m sure things will change on their end, but for once, it’s not really their fault.  Blame college football at large for this.  Anyway, here’s the fairly long (but not as long as normal) bowl schedule!

Monday December 21st

Myrtle Beach Bowl: North Texas vs. Appalachian State

2:30 PM

Again, why does this happen?  WHY?  On a Monday before Christmas.  Completely stupid.  Also, North Texas gets in a bowl game?  North Texas.  The Mean Green.  A team that was 4-5 this season.  This just blows my mind.

UPDATE #3: My pick, as I stated before was Appalachian State.  I said they would win 41-13 on Twitter.  Well App State won.  And they won by 28.  Just like I thought.

Tuesday December 22nd

Idaho Potato Bowl: Tulane vs. Nevada

3:30 PM

Another game on in the middle of a weekday afternoon before Christmas.  I get that you have to air these games some time but this ain’t it, pal.  Even with less games, ESPN completely messes this up.  The one good thing about this is that it’s a cold-weather bowl game.  And those are (almost) always fun to watch.

Boca Raton Bowl: UCF vs. #16 BYU

7:00 PM

If it wasn’t for that one loss, BYU might be in the New Year’s Six.  Instead, because they lacked a tie-in, they took the first bowl bid available to them.  Luckily for them, UCF should be a good foe, even if they aren’t the Knights of the previous few years.  A good primetime national showcase for two of the better non-Power Five teams.  Hey, maybe the American should invite BYU to join their conference.  Why not at this point?

Wednesday December 23rd

New Orleans Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Louisiana Tech

3:30 PM

This was supposed to be the Conference USA champion facing the Sun Belt champion.  What in the hell happened?  Then again, with no fans, does it really matter?

Montgomery Bowl: Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis

7:00 PM

This was supposed to be the inaugural Fenway Bowl in Boston but it was moved here because of COVID concerns.  Two teams who were slightly better than some thought they would be land here.  Willie Taggart’s coaching sojourn is back the Group of Five level here but he’s doing a good job in Boca.  Memphis seems to always be near the top of the American.  This could be a sneaky good game (that won’t be shown on TSN…probably because of opening night in the NBA).

Thursday December 24th

New Mexico Bowl: Hawaii vs. Houston

3:30 PM

Christmas Eve was always the day of the Hawaii Bowl.  Unfortunately, this was one of the bowl game casualties of COVID-19.  Instead, we get Hawaii themselves playing on Christmas Eve.  Not as satisfying but the Rainbow Warriors are a fun team to watch.  A reminder that this New Mexico Bowl is being played in Frisco, Texas.  Why it wasn’t cancelled when so many others were?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Friday December 25th

Camellia Bowl: Marshall vs. Buffalo

2:30 PM

Christmas Day college football.  That hasn’t been a thing since the Hula Bowl and when the Blue-Gray Classic would be this day.  Two really good G-5 teams in this one so it can be considered a must-see for the die hard fan (for college football, not the Christmas movie).  It will be interesting to see if Lance Leipold gets any offers for Power Five jobs before this game.

Saturday December 26th

Gasparilla Bowl: South Carolina vs. UAB

Noon

This is bullshit.  South Carolina should just give up their spot to Army.  Actually, no.  UAB can give up their spot to Army…and then Army can put up a 70-burger on the Gamecocks.  Stupid SEC.

UPDATE #4: South Carolina has dropped out of this game.  No word on if there will be a replacement team or what.

UPDATE #5: The Gasparilla Bowl has been cancelled.  Hopefully, UAB gets to be put on some sort of a waiting list if there’s another cancellation.

First Responder Bowl: UTSA vs. #19 Louisiana

3:30 PM

UTSA made history as this is the second bowl bid they accepted this season.  The first one to the Frisco Bowl was gone once that bowl game was cancelled.  Funny how they were able to be moved into another bowl immediately.  It’s kind of like all this wasn’t planned…at all…in any way.  This is another game that has potential to be really good.

LendingTree Bowl: Georgia State vs. Western Kentucky

3:30 PM

Two decent Group of Five teams.  Look, it’s this or the World Juniors so if you’re not a hockey fan, then this is it.

Cure Bowl: Liberty vs. #12 Coastal Carolina

7:30 PM

This is EASILY the best bowl game outside the New Year’s Six in almost everyone’s opinion.  This game was scheduled for a few weeks ago where the Flames had to cancel and BYU filled in for them.  Now they get their chance against the Chanticleers, the feel good story of the college football season.  This is their chance to finish the best season in Sun Belt history undefeated.

UPDATE #9: TSN has come to their senses and will put one of the best bowl games of the season on TSN2 now.

Tuesday December 29th

Cheez-It Bowl: #21 Oklahoma State vs. #18 Miami

5:30 PM

Let’s call this the second best bowl game outside the New Year’s Six.  Both teams are probably not that happy to be here but they both played horrible at the wrong time to play themselves out of a conference championship chance.  The Mullet vs. The Manny here is a nice coaching matchup.

Alamo Bowl: Colorado vs. #20 Texas

9:00 PM

Big-time game of former Big XII conference foes.  Both of these teams should be ranked (I don’t get why Colorado isn’t, to be honest).  The Longhorns were about as good as many thought they would be this season, just missing out on a conference title and continuing to frustrated fans.  The Buffaloes were much better than advertising, harkening back to, well, I guess a couple years ago.

Wednesday December 30th

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Wake Forest

Noon

This is the reincarnated Belk Bowl.  I miss the Belk Bowl’s hilarious Twitter account.  I mean the Duke’s Mayo Bowl account is good, but nothing beat the Belk Bowl.  So fun and entertaining.  Rest In Bowl Peace, Belk Bowl.

Music City Bowl: Missouri vs. #15 Iowa

3:30 PM

Iowa thought they had a bit of a hope to make the New Year’s Six.  They could have given them a better game but even the one that was scheduled could have been good enough to move up the rankings.  Unfortunately, it was cancelled due to Michigan’s ongoing issues with the Coronavirus.  They face Missouri here in a game that, on paper, shouldn’t be close.  Now watch it be a great one.

UPDATE #10: This game will no longer be seen on TSN5.

UPDATE #15: Due to COVID-19 issues at Missouri, this game has been cancelled.

Cotton Bowl: #7 Florida vs. #6 Oklahoma

7:15 PM

This should be a really good one.  Both teams have looked really good at times this season.  And both teams have had their shit moments, with the Gators losing to LSU during Shoegate and the Sooners dropping one to Kansas State early on in the season.  It will be interesting to see which teams show up as this is the kind of game where you see teams sometimes mail it in.

Thursday December 31st

Armed Forces Bowl: #24 Tulsa vs. Mississippi State

Noon

Hey Tulsa going to a bowl game!  Good for them!  Their reward?  Playing a Mississippi State team that was figured out about five quarters into the season.  Tulsa should win this going away.​

Arizona Bowl: #22 San Jose State vs. Ball State

Noon 2:00 PM

Because of the cancellation of the Sun Bowl, the Arizona Bowl goes to the main network and man do they get a good game.  Undefeated Mountain West champ San Jose State against MAC champ Ball State.  Honestly, it feels like the Group of Five have more interesting games than the Power Five contingent.

UPDATE #17: I don’t know why I put Noon.  I believe it’s Noon local time.  If it was Noon Eastern time, it would be a 10:00 am local start.  Actually, I wouldn’t put it past them to do that.  Anyway, this is on at 2:00 Eastern.

Liberty Bowl: Tennessee Army vs. West Virginia

4:00 PM

The Liberty Bowl has wanted the Volunteers there for years.  Now they finally get their wish.  It’s not really what they had in mind though.

UPDATE: Well that didn’t take long.  Tennessee has too many COVID positives, head coach Jeremy Pruitt among them, to play in the Liberty Bowl.

UPDATE #2: Army will replace Tennessee.  This is good.  How it came about is not.

Texas Bowl: Arkansas vs. TCU

8:00 PM

An old school Southwest Conference matchup here.  If the SWC hadn’t been such a crazy, destructive conference, I would say bring it back somehow.  Why not, right?

UPDATE #16: The Texas Bowl has been cancelled because of COVID issues at TCU.

Friday January 1st

Peach Bowl: #9 Georgia vs. #8 Cincinnati

12:30 PM Noon

Alright.  Look, I am glad to see the Bearcats here.  First time in the New Year’s Six.  This is good.  Saying that, the total disrespect for them, and all Group of Five teams, from The Committee (and college football as a whole) is appalling.  It needs to be fixed and seeing what happened surrounding the end of this season is a blight on the sport.  Anyway…this should be a very good game and you will see a very motivated Cincy team against, hopefully, a very motivated Dawgs team.  They are coached by Kirby Smart so I am going to go out on a limb and say they will be motivated as well.

UPDATE #6: This game has been moved up to Noon.

Citrus Bowl: Auburn vs. #14 Northwestern

1:00 PM

Northwestern had a great season, no doubt about it.  Auburn…it’s a season they would like to forget.  Gus Malzahn is now gone and we still don’t know who the new coach will be, since a few have already turned down the job.  Bo Nix really doesn’t look like the man for the job, at this point, at quarterback for the Tigers.  The offense has been rudderless.  Just a mess.  The Wildcats on the other hand, have to deal with the almost-yearly rumours of Pat Fitzgerald possibly going to the NFL or another coaching job.  Chances are it won’t happen but you never know.

Rose Bowl: #1 Alabama vs. #4 Notre Dame

5:00 PM 4:00 PM

Bama by 30?  Bama by 40?  Naw, Bama by 60!  You will hear that and more in the days leading up to this game.  And maybe for good reason.  I mean Clemson beat the Irish pretty badly in the ACC Championship.  The only hope is that this is a halfway competitive game.  Or not.  If it’s not, more pressure for this asinine setup to change.

UPDATE #7: This game has been moved up to 4:00.  Whether it starts at 4 or not is a different story.

Sugar Bowl: #2 Clemson vs. #3 Ohio State

8:45 PM 8:00 PM

Now this should be an exciting semi-final, despite people’s thoughts about tOSU’s 2020 season.  Expect a lot of good stuff from Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields as they look for this to be their second-last chance to wow the scouts in game action before the NFL draft.

UPDATE #8: This game has been moved up to 8:00.  It starting on time all depends on the two bowl games before it on ESPN.

Saturday January 2nd

Gator Bowl: Kentucky vs. #23 NC State

Noon

Could this be an interesting game?  Sure, it could be.  I do expect the Wolfpack to blow the doors of the Wildcats but you never know with these bowl games.

UPDATE #12: This game will now appear on TSN2 instead of TSN3.

Outback Bowl: Ole Miss vs. #11 Indiana

12:30 PM

Poor Indiana.  I honestly believed (as did many) that the Hoosiers would end up in the New Year’s Six.  But since they are a “basketball school” they would probably have to go undefeated to get in and forget the College Football Playoff for these guys.  They get Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels.  Take Indy in this one.

UPDATE #11: This game will also air on TSN3.​

Fiesta Bowl: #25 Oregon vs. #10 Iowa State

4:00 PM

This is what I cannot stand.  I get the idea of bowl tie-ins.  I really do.  But this is supposed to be one of the top four bowl games of the season and it has a team that is BARELY in the Top 25 playing in it?  Come on.  Anyway, this should be part of a TSN tripleheader but this day hasn’t been set yet.  Expect this (and the other non-ABC games) to end up on a TSN station, I just don’t know which ones yet and most of that has to do with the World Juniors.

UPDATE #13: This game will now appear on TSN2 instead of TSN3.​

Orange Bowl: #13 North Carolina vs. #5 Texas A&M

8:00 PM

Yes another tie-in issue but at least Mack Brown’s boys are a pretty good team.  If it wasn’t for a puzzling loss to Florida State, UNC probably resides in the Top 10 with the Aggies.  This should be a great finish to bowl season, before the national championship.

UPDATE #14: This game will now appear on TSN2 instead of TSN3.

Monday January 11th

College Football Playoff National Championship

8:00 PM

We’ve had some good and some not-so-good championship games.  Let’s hope this is the former.

The breakdown for Canadian fans looks like the following:

• TSN – 24 bowl games (with 3 simulcasts from ABC)
• ABC – 4 bowl games
• CBS – 1 bowl game

With only 29 bowl games, TSN is showing almost all of them.  That is seriously impressive.  With no specialty pack, Canadians won’t have access to three games which isn’t too bad.  The only day where the schedule is not finalized, as I mentioned, is January 2nd.  My thought is that we won’t get less games on TSN but that the channels I have chosen might not be the right ones.  I will make sure to update this when there are updates to be had so always check the post out for the latest.

Alright I have a lot of posts to do with my rankings and the NFL schedule and I am sure a few others.  So gear up for more Bossman’s Blog this week.  Have a great week everyone!

A CFP without Clemson? – Week 14 College Football Recap

Last year I did this and talked about the College Football Playoff without Alabama.  This time I posit about Clemson possibly not making the CFP.  And that could happen.  Their win over Virginia Tech looks good on paper but man it was a struggle until about the last part of the third quarter once they finally started pulling away (and after ABC hilariously aired an interview with Ian Book during the game probably thinking the Tigers would have essentially put the game away by then).  They clinch their spot in the ACC Championship and get a rematch with Notre Dame.  If they lose, they are guaranteed not to be in the CFP since the first one back in the 2014 season.  That would honestly feel odd.  Like Bama missing it last year.

Alright, enough of Clemson’s potential issues.  Let’s get to the recap!

The Recap!

• Let’s start with what ended up being the game of the week (of the year?): the game that was scheduled on THURSDAY between BYU and Coastal Carolina.  An epic affair between two Top 20 teams with the winner getting a possible legitimate shot at the New Year’s Six.  The final play looked very similar to when the Titans came up one yard short against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.  Coastal ended up holding on for the victory which should move them up in the CFP rankings.  What it probably ended up doing though is far more important: BYU deciding to fill in for Liberty (who had COVID issues that made it so they couldn’t play) on a few days’ notice will create a new way to schedule games going forward.  This is huge for college football and is a much needed change from scheduling non-conference games 20 years out (which everyone, except ADs, think is absolutely ludicrous).
• Michigan State wasn’t even within an area code of Ohio State.  To be honest, it was painful to watch.  The Buckeyes continue their run to the Big Ten Championship (hopefully).  The game against Michigan this Saturday looms large.  Michigan’s game this past weekend was cancelled and if they still have issues with COVID-19 then they may have to have this one be cancelled as well.  As per the Big Ten rules, this would make tOSU in eligible for the Big Ten title game.  It’s ridiculous that this could happen but it’s possible that they would not even make their conference championship but get to the CFP.  If the Big Ten is smart, they find a way to get the Buckeyes a game if the the game against The Team Up North has to be cancelled.
• I think Iowa State heard the haters.  What they did to West Virginia was nasty.  That huge victory clinched their trip to JerryWorld for the first time in team history.  The Cyclones are trying to erase the memory of the early season loss to Louisiana although I don’t know why since the Ragin’ Cajuns are ranked.
• Speaking of the Ragin’ Cajuns that was something else down in Boone Friday night.  Some disgusting footbaw weather (rain this time) made it very difficult, especially for Louisiana’s poor long snapper who made multiple horrible snaps that kept the Cajuns from pulling away from the Mountaineers.  In the end, a missed App State field goal allowed Louisiana to get the duke and also stay ranked going into their bye week as they prepare for Coastal Carolina in the biggest Sun Belt Championship ever.
• Good job, Oklahoma State. Any hope to sneak into the Big XII Championship went up in flames Saturday in Fort Worth.  Not like TCU played all that well.  But the Cowboys were finally exposed and we have another season where the Mullet Express will not head to the Metroplex which has to be frustrating Oklahoma State fans at this point.
• Who picked Colorado to start 4-0?  Put your hands down you liars.  The Buffaloes were lead by Jarek Broussard’s insane day on the ground as he ran for 301 yards!  I get it, it was just Arizona.  But it was still impressive.  The worst part about all this?  Because their game against USC was cancelled, the Pac-12 might have two undefeated teams in the same division and only one of those teams will head to the Pac-12 Championship game.  For the final time, ABOLISH DIVISIONS!  It has run its course.  There is no need for them now.  Plus having no divisions ensures the best two teams (on the season) will play for the conference title.  Instead, we may see Oregon or even Washington in the Pac-12 title game.  Yuck.
• It felt like an upset was in the making for a while.  But Texas A&M did enough to hold on for the win over Auburn and keep their slim College Football Playoff hopes alive.  They have done this despite the team not looking all that good for much of the season.  Saying that, if the Aggies can make the CFP, the 10-year contract given to Jimbo Fisher starts to look a whole lot smarter.
• Let’s see if I get this correct:  Rice’s 20-0 win over Marshall was a shocker for sure.  The Herd threw five interceptions and looked horrible all day.  This marked the Owls’ first win over a ranked team in 23 years and their first shutout of a ranked opponent in 60 years!  It’s Marshall’s first loss, ending their slim NY6 hopes.  And it is probably the first time that a 1-win team has shut out a ranked team in December.  And of course it was on ESPN3 so barely anyone got to watch it.
• Texas scored 69 points against Kansas State.  Nice.
• The other game of the week ended up being Arkansas-Missouri.  What an amazing finish.  The Hogs go down the field, score the TD and decide to go for two.  The two-point conversion pass is in the Mizzou defender’s hands and just tips out and into the Arkansas receiver’s hands to give the Razorbacks the lead.  Then the Tigers go down the field and their freshman kicker nails the winning field goal.  Missouri is quietly 5-3 under first-year head coach Eli Drinkwitz.  Pretty impressive.
• Finally, Akron won its first game in 770 days.  That is not a typo.  They beat Bowling Green who is probably the worst FBS team this season.

Coaching Carousel

Hey let’s have some fun and look at the coaching carousel.

So what is happening on the ol’ carousel?  Let’s take a look.

• Get this.  Scott Satterfield, despite saying he wasn’t going to look for another coaching position, talked with South Carolina anyway.  Many people are very upset, especially at Louisville.  Don’t be surprised if Satterfield is shitcanned in the next few weeks.
• As for the Gamecocks job, it goes to Shane Beamer.  Yes, Frank’s son.  He wasn’t the first two choices, that we know since Billy Napier also turned down the job after Satterfield did.  He is going to have his work cut out for him making South Carolina a contender in the SEC East.
• Derek Mason was dismissed at Vanderbilt.  No real surprise there.  Who will replace him?  It seems like whoever it is really has to change the perception of the program and convince the university to spend more money on the program and/or get better recruits.
• Jay Hopson was fired a few months ago.  Yes it has been that long ago.  Will Hall, Tulane’s offensive coordinator, has been hired by the Golden Eagles to bring that program out of the dumps.
• Gary Andersen was fired a while ago at Utah State.  If I was a program, even at the FCS level, I would stay away from this clown since he is totally unreliable.

Potential other coaching moves:

• Texas – Even with Texas’s shellacking of Kansas State on Saturday, Tom Herman’s time in Austin may be over soon.  And of course who is the top candidate to replace him?  Urban Meyer, of course!  The other candidate looks to be Penn State’s James Franklin, of all people.  The real straw that may have broken the proverbial camel’s back at Texas is losing Quinn Ewers, the top-ranked quarterback for two seasons from now, to Ohio State.
• Kansas – The Les Miles Experiment really has not worked in Lawrence.  And who may be the first to admit it?  Les himself.  He may decide to retire rather than stick around knowing it will take at least another two years to get the Jayhawks back into contention in the Big XII for the first time in over a decade.
• Brent Venables – Every off-season his name comes up as it pertains to the coaching carousel.  This season is no different.  Expect a less polished Power Five program throwing out a bunch of money to possibly lure him into his first head coaching job.
• ULM – Things were on the up-and-up in Monroe under Matt Viator.  Then came this year’s collapse as the Warhawks are now the worst team in the Sun Belt.  They will look probably to the FCS to find candidates.  UPDATE: Viator has been fired.
• FIU – After two great years, things have been horrible for Butch Davis in 2020.  They thought they had their man but he may not be the guy to grow this program.  Problem is his buyout is over $1 million so that may keep him with the Golden Panthers for another season.
• Middle Tennessee – The thing I can’t believe is the buyout for Rick Stockstill.  $5.8 million!  Who the fuck put that into his contract?  Anyway, his contract runs for three more seasons so I could see MTSU bringing him back at least for 2021 to see if the Blue Raiders improve and then make a decision.
• Luke Fickell – This is probably the guy every Power Five program that has fired their coach or might let theirs go is looking at.  He has done some unreal things at Cincinnati.  And remember, so did Brian Kelly and Mark Dantonio and they both had very good coaching careers at the Power Five level.
• Jim Harbaugh/Michigan – Good lord, here we go again.  The buyout is large but his next season is technically his last in Ann Arbor under his current deal.  The Wolverines have been nothing short of awful this year and you have to wonder if Harbaugh has lost his spark.  He almost seems destined to go back to the NFL, if not for next season then definitely for 2021.  If Michigan pulls the trigger and fires him after this season, this automatically becomes the best coaching opening available with nothing else even close.
• Tom Allen – Don’t laugh.  This guy cemented his Coach of the Year with the big win over Wisconsin this past weekend.  The players and other coaches love him and he has endless energy.  If one of Michigan, Florida State, Penn State or Tennessee decides to move on, he is the guy.  It’s pricey.  They will have to probably chip in for his buyout which is, *GASP* $23.5 million.  Holy shit.  But it may be worth it.

Remember last week I said I would talk about the conference championship races?  Well here we go.  Man this post is getting into Super Mega Hyper Omni Post territory.

It’s the third annual Sun Belt Championship game and they still haven’t got Mountain Dew or Skoal or Shoney’s or some place like that to sponsor it.  This will be the first Sun Belt Championship not to feature Appalachian State.  Coastal Carolina and Louisiana have won their respective divisions and will face off in the championship game at the home of the Chanticleers in Conway, South Carolina, near Myrtle Beach (which you should know if you watched Mormons vs. Mullets on Saturday).

Conference USA has been a mess all season.  The conference seems to be limping to the end.  In the East, no-longer-undefeated Marshall must beat Charlotte to win the division.  If they don’t win, it feels like there will be some tiebreaker action between the Herd and Florida Atlantic (and possibly even Charlotte).  Stay tuned.  In the West, UTSA leads the way followed closely by UAB.  It all comes down to next week’s game between UAB and Rice.  Blazers win and they play in the conference title game.  If they lose, it goes to UTSA.

The MAC title tilt is halfway set, I think.  Nothing has been officially said but it feels like Buffalo has clinched the MAC East.  I don’t know why it hasn’t been announced yet though.  In the MAC West, Ball State faces Western Michigan this Saturday and the winner heads to Detroit.

San Jose State and Boise State seem primed to make up for their cancelled game in the conference championship with both teams still undefeated in the conference.  Boise plays Wyoming and SJSU plays Nevada this weekend.  Here are the scenarios:

• Broncos and Spartans win and they both go to the conference championship.
• Broncos win and Spartans lose, it’s Nevada and Boise in the title game.
• Both Broncos and Spartans lose, it’s Boise and SJSU in the championship.

Alright Cincinnati is already in.  And Tulsa clinched their spot this past Saturday.  Now Cincinnati heads to Tulsa this Saturday and then will host them the following weekend.  It would not surprise me to see this game cancelled to give both teams a week of rest.

It’s Clemson up against Notre Dame in a massive rematch of their earlier game.  Huge implications for this game.

This has been set.  The somewhat surprising Iowa State Cyclones get their chance against Oklahoma at JerryWorld.

The Pac-12 is a complete shitshow.  Let me try and make some understanding of all this.

• Washington could have clinched on Saturday but lost to Stanford.  So now if Washington beats Oregon they go to the Pac-12 title game, wherever that may be.
• Oregon, on the other hand, is in if they beat Washington thanks to Oregon State’s loss to Utah.
• USC, after beating Washington State, is tied with Colorado at the top of the South.
• If both teams win next weekend, it comes to who is higher up in the CFP rankings.  Meaning the Trojans will have the edge.

So, of course, the Pac-12 fucks things up again.  Undefeated Colorado quite possibly could be left out of the Pac-12 title game because they have divisions.  Can someone fire Larry Scott already?

Northwestern clinched the Big Ten West despite sitting at home and will await to see if the Ohio State-Michigan game gets played.  If the Wolverines have to cancel, that makes tOSU ineligible for the conference championship game.  This would mean Indiana would travel a short way to Indianapolis to play for the Big Ten crown.  If the game is played and the Buckeyes beat Michigan, then they are heading there.  Or, the Big Ten could change the rules and allow Ohio State to go anyway.  Who the hell knows anymore.

Alabama and Florida.  No LSU, who could be one of the worst defending champs in recent memory.  But in an interesting twist, it will be the Texas A&M Football Aggies who will be watching in earnest (as long as they take of business this weekend).

Alright that was a super long post.  But it keeps you informed going into next week, the quasi-last week of the regular season.  Now we can remember what it was like when Army-Navy shared the week with a bunch of other weird games.  Later in the week will be the normal bowl projection, college football schedule and NFL schedule posts.  Have a great week everyone!

It just doesn’t feel the same this year – Week 13 College Football TV Schedule

Yeah it’s time for the American Thanksgiving Footballgasm!  But it feels different this year obviously.  But it’s not just the pandemic that’s causing this to feel….somewhat foreign.  It’s the fact that the calibre of games this week isn’t exactly up to what we expect from Thanksgiving weekend.  Now, normally this is the final week of the regular season.  This is not the case this year.  So that’s part of it.  But it’s also just the way the schedule has ended up that this week is…not as good as some of them have been over the past month.  Now, let’s hope that despite this we have a great week of games on the field.  I remember a few years back we had an unreal set of games, on paper, and it was one of the worst weeks of the year in terms of entertainment value.  So yeah, you just never know.

Alright let’s just get to the schedule and maybe something will stand out as better than it could be.  And no, I won’t do it Footballgasm style because it doesn’t warrant it.  Let’s go!

Thursday​

		US	Canada
New Mexico at Utah State	7:00 PM

It starts with this.  Technically it’s football.  One Mountain West game that essentially mean nothing but it will be good to have thanks to the Thursday Night Football NFL game being postponed.

Friday​​​​​

		US	Canada
#13 Iowa State at #17 Texas	Noon
Nebraska at #24 Iowa	1:00 PM
#2 Notre Dame at #19 North Carolina	3:30 PM
UCF at USF	3:30 PM
Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan	4:00 PM
Wyoming at UNLV	4:00 PM
Stanford at California	4:30 PM
#15 Oregon at Oregon State	7:30 PM

OK wow this gets a lot better, quickly!  One of the most important games of the year, ND-UNC, is the big one of the day, along with ISU-UT.  And look at TSN.  Huge step up as they usually do on American Thanksgiving weekend.  Just a note about the Oregon-OSU game: TSN3 and TSN5 will join that game in progress at around 9:00.  If you want to watch the game from the beginning, TSN1 or TSN4 are your choices.

Saturday Early​

		US	Canada
Penn State at Michigan	Noon
NC State at Syracuse	Noon
Kent State at Buffalo	Noon
Kentucky at #6 Florida	Noon
Maryland at #12 Indiana	Noon
Texas Tech at #23 Oklahoma State	Noon
#4 Ohio State at Illinois	Noon
Vanderbilt at Missouri	Noon

A lot of games here.  A lot of viewing options.  Are there any important games?  I would say no.  And if this doesn’t tell you that the bluebloods of college football will always run things, I don’t know what will.  PSU-Michigan on ABC at Noon.  Why?  There are plenty of options yet they put an 0-5 team up against a 2-3 team who needed three overtimes to beat Rutgers.  Brutal.  And Indiana is relegated to ESPN2, not even ESPN.  So there you go.  Full disclosure: I will watch some of the PSU-Michigan game.  Not gonna lie.  Like watching a trainwreck.

UPDATE #7: tOSU-Illinois has been cancelled.  One more Buckeyes game cancelled and they will not be eligible for the Big Ten Championship.

Saturday Afternoon​

		US	Canada
Colorado at #18 USC	3:30 PM
#22 Auburn at #1 Alabama	3:30 PM
Florida Atlantic at Middle Tennessee	3:30 PM
Pittsburgh at #3 Clemson	3:30 PM
#8 Northwestern at Michigan State	3:30 PM
Louisville at Boston College	4:00 PM
San Jose State at Boise State	4:00 PM
Rutgers at Purdue	4:00 PM
Mississippi State at Ole Miss	4:00 PM

I’ll say it again: it’s nice that TSN is really stepping up this weekend.  It allows Canadians to watch more college football and that is a good thing (in my opinion).  The Iron Bowl headlines this timeslot but it isn’t the only important game.  USC has to avoid a trip up as they host the Buffaloes and Northwestern looks to keep their (possibly) historic run going against MSU.  Now with Wisconsin’s game against Minnesota cancelled, Wisky is no longer eligible for the Big Ten Championship.  This means the Wildcats have, in essence, a two lap lead in this race in the Big Ten West.  Finally, even though the Egg Bowl is on Saturday and not Thursday, don’t be surprised if there is more insanity in this game (as their has been in the past few years).

UPDATE #3: Colorado-USC cancelled due to COVID issues inside the USC program.  Colorado will now host San Diego State at 5:00 on the Pac-12 Network.

UPDATE #4: Due to CU-USC being cancelled, Pitt-Clemson has been moved to ABC and NW-MSU has been moved to ESPN.  Whether that changes what happens on TSN is yet to be seen.

UPDATE #5: NW-MSU has been moved to TSN1.  It will also air on TSN3 as was originally scheduled.

UPDATE #8: SJSU-BSU, unfortunately, has been cancelled.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Memphis at Navy	7:00 PM
LSU at #5 Texas A&M	7:00 PM
Kansas State at Baylor	7:00 PM
Arizona at UCLA	8:00 PM
TCU at Kansas	8:00 PM

Ho boy.  This kind of drops off a cliff and I don’t mean just in sheer quantity.  ABC lost their primetime game as Oklahoma-West Virginia was postponed.  FOX isn’t doing a ton better with UA-UCLA.  Anyway, LSU-TAMU could be interesting if LSU can figure things out and get back some of the magic from last season.  Memphis-Navy might end up being for third place in the American unless Tulsa fucks up.  I wonder if TCU can put a 70-burger on the terrible Jayhawks.  Oh and Kansas State faces Baylor.  Yeah, got nothing for that one.

UPDATE: Well that was quick.  Utah-Washington has been moved into the ABC primetime spot.  It will kick off at 7:30 pm.

UPDATE #6: TSN1 will join Georgia-South Carolina in progress after the end of the Virginia Tech-Temple basketball game.  Should be around 10:00.  It will also appear on TSN4 in full.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
Utah at Washington	10:30 PM

One game in the late night timeslot?  And it’s a game that was created because of two other cancellations.  It’s Pac-12 After Dark so it could end up being fun.  And if not, then we can go to bed early.

UPDATE #2: Since Utah-UW was moved to the ABC primetime spot, there will be no late night college football this weekend (unless you can get the Hawaii game).  There is also no TSN2 game in this time slot, obviously.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Notre Dame at North Carolina (Friday, 3:30, ABC/TSN5) – This is one of the most important games of the season.  At one point, it was looking like this was going to be a possible Game of the Year candidate but the Heels have lost two games along the way.  ABC has a great lineup on Black Friday, for once, and it’s actually better than the next day’s line up which is kind of odd.  Anyway, if Notre Dame wins, they essentially clinch their spot in Charlotte.  If the Tar Heels pull off the upset (and it would be an upset if they won), then the Miami Hurricanes keep their hopes alive to get to the ACC Championship (somehow).  The Heels also need the win to keep their slim New Year’s Six hopes alive.

Auburn at Alabama (3:30, CBS) – Not as big a game as it normally is but let’s make no mistake about it: Auburn could be a dangerous team for the Tide to play right now.  I mean sure, let’s call it a speedbump game for Bama.  They clinch the SEC West with a win here and get ever close to clinching a spot in the College Football Playoff.  A Tiger win, however, puts the CFP in chaos and that is kind of what I am hoping for.  This opens the door for teams like the ACC Championship loser, Cincinnati and maybe even the Pac-12 or the Big XII.  But if Bama wins, we start looking at possibly two SEC teams and two ACC teams (technically) in the College Football Playoff which would piss everyone off I’m sure.

Iowa State at Texas (Friday, Noon, ABC/TSN5) – Seriously huge game in the Big XII.  An ISU win clinches their spot in the Big XII Championship.  Texas could put a huge monkey wrench in all this with the win as they would throw their hat in the ring to head to JerryWorld.  I am sure there are some convoluted Big XII tiebreakers after head-to-head which would end up being one win each for these two teams and Oklahoma.  And don’t forget Oklahoma State either.  What a mess.  I love it.

Pittsburgh at Clemson (3:30, TSN2) – Hey the Panthers as one of the games of the week!  It seems ridiculous but remember what Pitt did a few years back to Clemson to keep them from an undefeated season.  This is one of the MANY games TSN is showing and I am delighted by it.  Honestly, TSN could have done at least one more game every week up until now and chose not to.  It makes you wonder if there is something in the contract that allows a maximum amount of college football games on TSN stations.  Anyway, Pitt could play spoiler again and it would be great for…the Miami Hurricanes.  Man, The U has to have their eyes on a couple of big games this weekend.

Colorado at USC (3:30, ABC/TSN1) – ABC has really hit it big this coming week.  This is another pretty big game and the winner is in the driver’s seat in the Pac-12 South.  Now the Pac-12 offices will not pick favourites but they desperately want USC to win this one.  A Buffs win makes it so Oregon is the only chance left for the Pac-12 to get into the CFP.  Honestly, the Pac-12 is a longshot anyway and needs a lot to happen above them to warrant inclusion.

Honourable mention: Maryland at Indiana (Noon, TSN3); Kent State at Buffalo (Noon, CBS Sports Network); Ball State at Toledo (Noon, ESPN3)

Some gambling fun and games

Don’t bother going back to see my picks from last week.  They were mediocre at best.  However, I called the NC State win over Liberty so I did well there.  Yeah I got my other two upset picks wrong but whatever.  Look, let’s just get to this week’s picks alright?

Texas over Iowa State (upset?)

North Carolina over Notre Dame (MASSIVE UPSET!!!!!)

Alabama over Auburn

Clemson over Pittsburgh

Indiana over Maryland

USC over Colorado

Toledo over Ball State

Buffalo over Kent State

Navy over Memphis

Boise State over San Jose State

Florida Atlantic over Middle Tennessee

Alright let’s hope this weekend turns out to be awesome like it normally does (from a football standpoint).  Enjoy the games everyone!

Are they going to just keep falling? – Week 9 College Football TV Schedule

OK we all know the facts here.  Clemson plays in a shitty conference.  They have won a bunch of games in a row.  But they play in a SHITTY CONFERENCE.  They haven’t played well so far this season yet are undefeated.  It’s the ACC for God’s sake!.  So of course they have been passed by Alabama, LSU and, now, Ohio State in the AP rankings.  Clemson sits at #4 yet they are one of only ten undefeated teams remaining and they are the defending national champions.

We get it.  If you win out, you should get in to the College Football Playoff.  But the ACC, again, is horrible (outside of your team).  It’s not your fault.  But maybe now you kind of have an idea of how UCF has felt lately.  They play in the American which is a Group of Five conference.  It’s the best G-5 conference but still a G-5 conference.  So they went undefeated and had almost no chance of making it in to the Final Four.  If there isn’t promotion and relegation you are going to get a year like this every so often where this is one team in a conference that is great and the rest of the conference is average to horrible.  So Tigers fans, calm down.  People who think they know college football and are pissed about this?  Do the same.  Smoke a J.  It’s legal.  Things will work itself out…unless they for some reason drop a game to Boston College and then you’re shit out of luck.

Alright, enough about the ACC situation.  On to more important matters (for us).  The schedule!

Thursday

		US	Canada
Jackson State at Prairie View A&M	7:30 PM
#16 SMU at Houston	7:30 PM

Last year at this time we had some Sun Belt and MAC games on Thursday nights, if not earlier.  Up until this point, that isn’t the case.  I am a little disappointed since this would normally be the time where the month-long FOOTBALLGASM would begin with football on every damn day for over four weeks!  I think a few things are in play here:  First, the MAC has been pushing to have more games on Saturdays for attendance purposes.  And second, with the advent of the ACC Network, both the MAC and Sun Belt have reaped the rewards by having games on ESPNU on Saturday when that never happened in the past.  So anyway, at least the American is on tonight and the team that might just be America’s Darling right now, SMU, hopes to stay undefeated as they play a Houston team where everyone seems to want to redshirt the rest of this season.  SMU being a favourite of fans is kind of interesting after what they have gone through for three-plus decades but it’s fun to watch, I will admit.

Friday

		US	Canada
Columbia at Dartmouth	6:00 PM
USC at Colorado	9:00 PM

The Clay Helton Roller Coaster of Fun and/or Doom continues as the Trojans head to the Rocky Mountains to face the Buffaloes.  USC can continue their slow run at the Pac-12 South title that they probably won’t get but them being actually still in it is hilarious and pathetic all at once.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#5 Oklahoma at Kansas State	Noon
Illinois at Purdue	Noon
Liberty at Rutgers	Noon
San Jose State at Army	Noon
Miami at Pittsburgh	Noon
#20 Iowa at Northwestern	Noon
#21 Appalachian State at South Alabama	Noon
#13 Wisconsin at #3 Ohio State	Noon
Mississippi State at Texas A&M	Noon

I am still not understanding why the ACC Network does not show all the ACC games not being shown on ABC or an ESPN network.  The fact that the regional FOX networks still exist to show these games are weird.  I guess that’s part of the weird agreement as these FOX RSN’s kind of flap in the wind and no one really owns them.

As for the schedule, it’s pretty good.  tOSU-Wisky a little less important than it was before the Badgers’ upset loss to Illinois.  Huge Sun Belt game as App State continues to try and stay in the New Year’s Six conversation.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
#6 Penn State at Michigan State	3:30 PM
Virginia at Louisville	3:30 PM
Indiana at Nebraska	3:30 PM
#9 Auburn at #2 LSU	3:30 PM
Tulane at Navy	3:30 PM
Maryland at #17 Minnesota	3:30 PM
Syracuse at Florida State	3:30 PM
#15 Texas at TCU	3:30 PM
Oklahoma State at #23 Iowa State	3:30 PM
FIU at Middle Tennessee	3:30 PM
Arizona at Stanford	3:30 PM
USF at East Carolina	3:45 PM
Duke at North Carolina	4:00 PM
South Carolina at Tennessee	4:00 PM

A massive CBS game overshadows pretty much everything in this timeslot.  We shall see whether LSU is looking ahead to Bama or is smart enough to realize that the Tide’s big rival is a force as well.  CBS (and more importantly, poor Brad Nessler) gets a gift from the college football gods and gets this game between two Top 10 teams in their SEC on CBS afternoon timeslot.  Easily the game of the day (which I will tell you again below) and could be one of the most important games of this season.

I have noticed something this year: no reverse mirrors.  That’s nice to see to be honest.  Honestly, in 2019, it has to be a headache to have these reverse mirrors.  Especially since pretty much all college football fans would probably have both ABC and ESPN2 so it would make no difference which channel it’s on.  Also, for us Canadians, the specialty packs (or more like the people running the specialty packs) don’t have to worry about fucking up and showing the same game as is being shown on ABC.

Saturday Primetime​

		US	Canada
Memphis at Tulsa	7:00 PM
Arkansas at #1 Alabama	7:00 PM
UCF at Temple	7:00 PM
Texas Tech at Kansas	7:00 PM
#8 Notre Dame at #19 Michigan	7:30 PM
Boston College at #4 Clemson	7:30 PM
Colorado State at Fresno State	7:30 PM
Arizona State at UCLA	7:30 PM
Missouri at Kentucky	7:30 PM

Notre Dame-Michigan.  What else do we need to say?  These two teams could both be under .500 and they would still get a huge audience.  It’s just the facts.  It also helps that there is nothing else that could really be the top game in this timeslot.

Not quite as good as the afternoon slate.  Not even really close.  But these are the kinds of schedules that can give us great games.  Clemson has to show they are still CFP-worthy, Temple has a test hosting UCF and could Les Miles finally get his Jayhawks to crawl out of the basement?

Saturday Late Night​​

		US	Canada
California at #12 Utah	10:00 PM
Utah State at Air Force	10:15 PM
San Diego State at UNLV	10:30 PM
Washington State at #11 Oregon	10:30 PM

Two Pac-12 After Dark games and two Late Night Mountain West games. I would say Wazzu-Oregon is the most important game in this timeslot but Cal-Utah could be interesting as well.  Oregon and Utah are on a collision course in the Pac-12 title game so any hiccups would be a huge blow to the entire conference (I feel like I say this every week).

Games to set your eyeballs on

Auburn at LSU (3:30, CBS) – Tiger Bowl time!  At one point there was doubt whether this would be the game of the week.  That’s not the case now.  I am finally used to offensive juggernaut LSU.  It took a while but I am all in with this.  I think we are heading towards a 1 vs. 2 showdown with the Tigers and Bama…unless the Gus Bus decides to run over Da Coach O and sets up a huge Iron Bowl about a month from now.

Wisconsin at Ohio State (Noon, FOX) – No one should sleep on the Badgers despite their crushing loss to Illinois.  Paul Chryst is still one of the better coaches in college football right now.  They have Jonathan Taylor on the ground.  They have a team that could still sneak into the College Football Playoff.  We know what can happen here.  Wisky is still looking up at Minnesota in the Big Ten West but the Badgers hold their fate in their hands.  Win out and it’s off to Indianapolis.  Ohio State, on the other hand, is sneaking up on nobody and there are some that think this team is the best in the country.  Justin Fields has been better than advertised and Chase Young is, arguably, the best defensive player in college football.  This could end up being a slobberknocker (as ol’ JR would say).

Notre Dame at Michigan (7:30, ABC) – I may even be stretching it putting this game at #3 but I am going with my gut here.  I am starting to get a little sick of the Harbaugh Hot Seat talks.  The guy wins, on average, almost ten games a season.  Some programs would kill to have a coach like that.  Yet Michigan fans think the year starts with a 1 and that they should be Top 10 every year and in the national championship conversation.  Not saying Michigan has underperformed at times, but they aren’t terrible.  Plus, who else would you hire that would be willing to come to the pressure cooker in Ann Arbor?

Washington State at Oregon (10:30, specialty pack) – Here is Wazzu’s chance to destroy the Pac-12’s CFP hopes.  A surprisingly pedestrian 4-3 Cougs team could give the Ducks some trouble with Anthony Gordon throwing the ball like 83 times a game.  Oregon’s defense will be tested for sure.  As I mentioned above, this is the kind of game the Ducks need to win easily, not like they did against Washington the previous week.  In the end though, you have to admit that Mario Cristobal has done a great job in Eugene which isn’t surprising (except to schools like FIU who fired him for some odd reason a few years ago).

Oklahoma at Kansas State (Noon, ABC/TSN2) – The list of best games falls off a cliff here.  There could have been like six or seven different games here and every one of them would have been fine in this spot.  Anyway, this may be the best spot for something weird to happen as Kansas State is pretty good under Chris Klieman and could pull off the upset to create at least a bit more chaos at the top.

Honourable mention: Penn State at Michigan State (3:30, ABC); Oklahoma State at Iowa State (3:30, FloSports); California at Utah (10:00, FloSports)

Some gambling fun and games

OK I got none of my upset picks correct.  For a bit, I thought Washington and Oklahoma State would pull it off but no.  As for the rest of my picks I was almost perfect so let’s see if we can keep that ball rolling this week.

Michigan over Notre Dame (upset to start things off)

Utah over California

Oregon over Washington State

Michigan State over Penn State (another upset!)

Ohio State over Wisconsin

LSU over Auburn

Oklahoma over Kansas State

Iowa State over Oklahoma State

FIU over Middle Tennessee

Florida State over Syracuse

San Diego State over UNLV

As I said before…we are not quite at football every day.  Soon though.

Thursday Night Football again!  We get Washington heading to Minnesota.  Not the greatest game but they can’t all be.  I have heard a few people marvel at the games that TNF gets.  Well since they aren’t ESPN, the NFL isn’t going to give them the shittiest games.  That’s basically the gist of it.  It really has replaced Monday Night Football as the second-best night game of the week.  Like I know MNF is an institution but to be honest, I could do without it.  And many teams would feel the same way I’m sure as a lot of times these teams get a short week to prepare after their MNF game and it’s amazing what one less day of rest and practice can do.

Also, you may have noticed I finally have Pac-12 Network listings on DAZN.  So if you get DAZN, you’re welcome.

Will I watch like 26 hours of football this weekend?  No.  But I will do my best to watch as much as I can.  At some point I have other plans and have certain things to do.  Not making excuses.  Just saying that some of my recaps might make it seem like I barely watched the game.  And that might be true.  Enjoy the games everyone!

Get ready for a lot of this – Week 8 College Football TV Schedule

Nick Bosa has decided to actually leave Ohio State, get healthy, and concentrate on the NFL Combine and the draft coming up.  People are surprised by this.  I am not.  Why the hell would he stay when he’s already been hurt this year and might miss most of the regular season anyway?  He’s gone until at least mid-November with an abdominal injury?  Think he’d risk millions of dollars and a chance at a pro career over college games?  Even if Ohio State is in the national championship conversation (which they are right now)?  Not a chance.  I wouldn’t if I was in his shoes.

And we are going to see more of this I am sure.  For the most part, it will be players that have been either injured in the past or currently injured and are predicted to be first round picks saying “You know, I could keep playing and possibly get an even worse injury that ruins any chance I have of playing pro” and say fuck it, I’m done here.  You can talk about the issues with their education and all that but that is a different conversation for a different time for many student-athletes (especially football and basketball) that have a serious chance to go pro.  I don’t want to make it about the money…but it’s mostly about the money.

Anywho, let’s get to the sked shall we?

Thursday

		US	Canada
Georgia State at Arkansas State	7:30 PM
Stanford at Arizona State	9:00 PM

Two games.  A Sun Belt game and a Pac-12 game.  Most people are probably going to watch the Thursday Night Football matchup or whichever LCS is on tonight.  Too bad since a month ago, Stanford-ASU would have a been a huge matchup between ranked teams.

Friday

		US	Canada
Yale at Penn	7:00 PM
Colorado State at Boise State	9:00 PM
Air Force at UNLV	10:00 PM

Is it an appetizer to the Saturday main course?  It always is.  But this is a little thin.  Feels like getting a quarter of a potato skin and one chicken wing.  At one point CSU-BSU was going to be big.  That point came just around kickoff of Colorado State’s Week Zero loss to Hawaii.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#9 Oklahoma at TCU	Noon
#6 Michigan at #24 Michigan State	Noon
Miami-OH at Army	Noon
Northwestern at Rutgers	Noon
Auburn at Ole Miss	Noon
Maryland at #19 Iowa	Noon
#20 Cincinnati at Temple	Noon
Tulsa at Arkansas	Noon
North Carolina at Syracuse	12:30 PM
Virginia at Duke	12:30 PM

Quite a good start to the day with Michigan-MSU which some would say is the main game of the week.  Watch out for OU-TCU and Cincy-Temple as you could see a couple of upsets there.  Also, if you enjoy punishing yourself, you could watch Rutgers play.

As of right now, UVA-Duke is not showing up on the specialty pack.  I assume that will change.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
#18 Penn State at Indiana	3:30 PM
#1 Alabama at Tennessee	3:30 PM
Colorado at #15 Washington	3:30 PM
Houston at Navy	3:30 PM
Minnesota at Nebraska	3:30 PM
#16 NC State at #3 Clemson	3:30 PM
Wake Forest at Florida State	3:30 PM
SMU at Tulane	3:30 PM
Memphis at Missouri	4:00 PM

Some great games here.  OK more like one great game and a bunch of good ones.  NC State-Clemson is a battle of undefeateds which you rarely see past the month of September.  The Wolfpack could put a huge wrench in the current College Football Playoff landscape.  Oh and Alabama will probably mop the floor with Tennessee.  Can Brad Nessler not get two good games in a row?

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
UConn at #21 USF	7:00 PM
#10 UCF at East Carolina	7:00 PM
#22 Mississippi State at #5 LSU	7:00 PM
#2 Ohio State at Purdue	7:30 PM
#12 Oregon at #25 Washington State	7:30 PM
North Texas at UAB	7:30 PM
Vanderbilt at #14 Kentucky	7:30 PM
Fresno State at New Mexico	7:30 PM

Again, the specialty pack showing four games in this timeslot.  Twelve for Saturday, fifteen for the week.  That’s a loaded schedule.  Wazzu has a chance to end their biggest day ever (which starts with College Gameday for the first time in Pullman) with a win over Oregon and giving the Pac-12’s CFP chances another crushing blow.  It’s weird to not see a game in this timeslot past 7:30 but that’s the case.  Also don’t sleep on MSU-LSU as we get to see if the Tigers have a letdown week or if Da Coach O can celebrate again with his team and possibly get into the Top 4.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
San Jose State at San Diego State	10:30 PM
Arizona at UCLA	10:30 PM

Well………it’s college football……technically.

Games to set your eyeballs on

NC State at Clemson (3:30, specialty pack) – How this game didn’t get put on ABC is beyond me.  If it was up to me I would have put it on ABC in primetime but I know it has to do with the number of appearances on each network at which time and all that jazz.  Also, it shows that NC State does not have the cache that some other ACC schools have.  This could be HUGE if the Wolfpack pull off the upset.  They almost did a few years ago and they weren’t nearly as good as they are this year.

Mississippi State at LSU (7:00, specialty pack) – Another headscratcher to some but not to me.  CBS LOVES Alabama.  They try to get them to the maximum five appearances whenever they can.  I feel bad since CBS has dropped off a bit of a cliff when it comes to airing quality SEC games.  At least last week they got it right.  The Ed Orgeron roller coaster continues here as a loss puts him on a massive hot seat because some college football fans and alumni (and media people) can be generally awful.  A win, though, makes their game against Bama must see.  The Bulldogs are odd since they have impressed at times and at other times looked awful.  For the most part it’s been pretty good in Joe Moorhead’s first season but I (along with many others) expected more from this squad.

Michigan at Michigan State (Noon, FOX) – Big brother vs. Little brother, version I don’t know many.  The Wolverines look like a seriously good team now that Shea Patterson has figured things out in Ann Arbor.  But we know what kind of headaches Sparty has given Big Blue for the last, oh, two decades.  Another game that will shape the College Football Playoff and especially the Big Ten East.

Oregon at Washington State (7:30, FOX) – Could Mike Leach’s Washington State Cougars be the Pac-12’s last hope at the College Football Playoff?  Pull off the minor upset here and that would seem to be the case which is honestly wild.  More Mike Leach is almost always good since he is good for a sound bite or twenty.  And Wazzu has been fun to watch for the past half-dozen years…kind of like they are the newer version of the Oregon Ducks who used to super exciting to watch under Mike Bellotti and then Chip Kelly.  I’m sure GUS JOHNSON will come close to having a stroke with all the offense in this one.

Colorado at Washington (3:30, FOX) – It kind of drops off a cliff after those top four games.  This is not nearly as important as it was, say, this past Saturday morning when this could have been a preview of the Pac-12 Championship.  It still could be but if it is, the Pac-12 has no hope for the CFP.  I guess it’s good to see how far the Buffaloes have come that they are back as a contender after only one not-so-good season.  Before Mike MacIntyre took over, the Buffs were a wreck for a long time.

Honourable mention: Maryland at Iowa (Noon, TSN4); Penn State at Indiana (3:30, ABC); Cincinnati at Temple (Noon, specialty pack)

Some gambling fun and games

I have no shame in saying I was wrong in some of my picks last week since last week was so wild and wacky.  I am assuming this one won’t be as crazy but I never assume anymore with college football.

LSU over Mississippi State

Clemson over NC State

Temple over Cincinnati (upset)

Oregon over Washington State

Washington over Colorado

Michigan State over Michigan (another upset)

Penn State over Indiana

Iowa over Maryland

San Diego State over San Jose State

UAB over North Texas

Oklahoma over TCU

Specialty packs, as far as I can tell, are locked and loaded and ready to go.  Good on the telcos for doing their job and getting this set up properly.

Tonight we also have some Thursday Night Football as per usual.  It’s the Broncos and Cardinals.  Watch it be an awesome game since on paper it doesn’t look like much.  Although I guess we get to hear Joe and Troy gush over Josh Rosen to the point you think it gets just a tad creepy.

So we shall see how my viewing goes this weekend.  As long as I get to the second halves of games then I am honestly perfectly fine.  I know I can’t watch all the college football I want so I take what I can get when things get busy.  And it’s the fall so everyone wants to do stuff.  Sometimes it’s annoying but it is what it is.  Anyway, enjoy the games everyone!