Man, oh man, were there some overreactions this week…oh and the Week 2 College Football TV Schedule

Look, did Colorado surprise a lot of people this past weekend? Absolutely. No doubt about it. Deion Sanders is proving, whether you like him or not, that he can flat-out coach. And overhauling the roster like he did was not a bad idea at all. It does suck for the players that had to transfer out but unfortunately it’s football and the name of the game is winning.

Saying that………the amount of people I saw on Twitter that said Colorado will win 10 or 11 games this season was way too much. It should have been zero. Colorado may be better than advertised but they aren’t all of a sudden a New Year’s Six possibility. But hey, that’s the reactions from Week 1 of college football. Every. Single. Fucking. Year.

So let’s do it again on here! It’s overreaction time! Let’s look at some of the other overreactions you may (or may not) have heard after the Week 1 games were complete:

• Ohio State is just an average team. Do we expect more from the Buckeyes against a team like Indiana? Sure. But they are bringing in a new quarterback and their best receiver was not 100%. The defense was amazing. Now the offense does have to be ready since in about a week and a half they get Notre Dame and that could get ugly if they don’t produce more points.
• Colorado will have not one, but TWO Heisman finalists. What in the fuck? Who are the morons saying this? They are out there for sure. I saw them. Sure, they did great in their opening week win over TCU but calm the fuck down. TCU isn’t the TCU of last season for one and it’s only WEEK ONE. Anyway, moving on…
• Gene Chizik has finally got the defense cooking in Chapel Hill. Again, it’s one game. Do the Heels look improved? Sure. But it’s not like South Carolina played well at all because, for the most part they didn’t. That, and the chain gang wouldn’t eat their hot dogs fast enough. Let’s see how UNC does when a top-notch offense is staring them in the face.
• Jalen Milroe is already looking like another Alabama Jalen…that being Hurts. My God where do these people come up with this shit? Milroe looked OK but it was Middle Tennessee and he’s playing for Ala-frickin-Bama. We will see how he handles SEC competition before crowning him anything.
• Washington has the best offense in the country. Could that end up being the case? Possibly. Michael Penix Jr. has already started his Heisman campaign in style. But let’s slow our roll here. There are at least four teams who looked better on offense (Colorado, Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon) during Week 1. And I wouldn’t even say any of those teams will be the best offense in the country so why go ahead and put the Huskies at #1?
• Book the Sooners for the Big XII Championship NOW! As I said, their offense was on fire but they were playing Arkansas State. We are all waiting to see if Brent Venables can have a Venables-type defense in Norman. If that happens, this could very well happen. But for now, I wouldn’t book any tickets yet if I were a Sooners fan.
• Miami is BACK. Ho boy. Pump the damn brakes.

Let’s just put Week 1 behind us, shall we? Let’s move on to Week 2 which…oh my. Well, it’s better than Week 1. That’s really all I can say. But you know what that usually means. That’s right…chaos!

Thursday

		US	Canada
Murray State at Louisville	7:30

Yep, that’s a new logo you see. TSN+ will be showing college football games this year. It kind of mimics the specialty pack but there are a few differences. But if you want to get TSN+ rather than the specialty pack for your college football fix, you are getting close to the same. Not a bad alternative and a good move by TSN to copy ESPN for the 10,000th time.

Friday

		US	Canada
Indiana State at Indiana	7:00
Illinois at Kansas	7:30

It kind of feels like this could be a relatively important game when the Illini travel to Lawrence to face the Jayhawks. Imagine saying that even two years ago. You’d be laughed out of whatever building you were in.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
Vanderbilt at Wake Forest	11:00 AM
#10 Notre Dame at NC State	Noon
Youngstown State at #5 Ohio State	Noon
Delaware State at Army	Noon
#12 Utah at Baylor	Noon
Purdue at Virginia Tech	Noon
James Madison at Virginia	Noon
Nebraska at #22 Colorado	Noon
Ball State at #1 Georgia	Noon

Is the quality there? Eh, not really. But there’s choice. A lot of it. Can’t ask for much else. Also…MORNING FOOTBAW! The ACC Network’s weird annual Week 2 quadrupleheader hits again with the odd three hour-and-fifteen-minute windows. This will be a lot easier to do next year when Stanford and California join as you know one of them will host the ACC After Dark Week 2 matchup, guaranteed.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Charleston Southern at #25 Clemson	2:15
#23 Texas A&M at Miami	3:30
UTEP at Northwestern	3:30
Richmond at Michigan State	3:30
UNLV at #2 Michigan	3:30
Wagner at Navy	3:30
#20 Ole Miss at #24 Tulane	3:30
Iowa at Iowa State	3:30
Marshall at East Carolina	4:00
Kent State at Arkansas	4:00
Tulsa at #8 Washington	5:00
Appalachian State at #17 North Carolina	5:15

Is the afternoon slate better than the Noon slate? Sure. Not by much though. Some intriguing matchups though. As per the rules, one of Texas A&M or Miami must win their game against each other. Ties were outlawed almost three decades ago. Will CyHawk feature more than 30 points? Can App State and UNC put up ridiculous numbers like last year? And this will be Tulane’s opportunity to get a huge leg up in the Group of Five. A win over Ole Miss would be massive.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Ohio at FAU	6:00
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh	6:30
#11 Texas at #3 Alabama	7:00
#13 Oregon at Texas Tech	7:00
Houston at Rice	7:00
#19 Wisconsin at Washington State	7:30
Eastern Michigan at Minnesota	7:30
Temple at Rutgers	7:30
UCLA at San Diego State	7:30
Grambling at #14 LSU	7:30
McNeese State at Florida	7:30
Charlotte at Maryland	7:30
Arizona at Mississippi State	7:30
Air Force vs. Sam Houston (in NRG Stadium)	8:00
Southern Miss at #4 Florida State	8:30

FIFTEEN GAMES! Holy shit! I think this has to be the most in one timeslot ever on this blog. I don’t feel like checking so let’s just say we have a new record! Plenty of games but most people will be watching one game in particular, that being the Longhorns and the Crimson Tide. If Texas can somehow do what they were robbed of last season and upset Bama, this season turns on its head. This game is so big that they are also showing it on ESPN2 in the US and on TSN+ and the specialty packs. But it’s not the same broadcast. It’s the Pat McAfee Show alternate broadcast. So if you like that kind of thing, have at it.

Also, you will notice we have a new network showing college football. That’s right, the CW, with such hits as 7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls, Smallville and LIV Golf (well it was a hit with the golfers who got fucking PAID with that Saudi blood money) will be showing ACC football (and later on, ACC basketball) this year. This replaces Bally which, for all intents and purposes, is flat broke. There will be games most weeks and, it looks like, at odd times. 6:30? Weird.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
UC-Davis at #16 Oregon State	9:00
Auburn at California	10:30
Stanford at #6 USC	10:30

FOX quadrupleheader? Don’t mind if I do. TSN2 quadrupleheader? Yes, please. A good week if you are a Canadian as I don’t remember seeing this much college football being shown up here in a while. Maybe things are turning around. Looks like TSN finally gives a shit about things that aren’t the CFL, NFL, and NHL (which they don’t even have the national broadcasting rights to).

Hey, Watch This!

Texas at Alabama (7:00, TSN2/TSN+/specialty pack) – Unequivocally the game of the week and there’s nothing else close. That also means there will be some wild and wacky finishes that might overshadow this game. That is, unless, this is a close one and the Longhorns pull off the upset. Then it will be THE story in college football no matter what else happens.

Ole Miss at Tulane (3:30, TSN+/specialty pack) – As I mentioned above, if the Green Wave pull off a win here in front of what should be a raucous crowd in hot and humid New Orleans, there’s not a whole lot that will prevent them from a perfect regular season and another New Year’s Six spot. Normally I would say this is a lose-lose situation for any Power Five team in this situation but when the Group of Five team is ranked it can count as a big win (as long as that team doesn’t totally shit the bed the rest of the way).

Texas A&M at Miami (3:30, ABC/TSN2) – I made the joke above that one of these teams has to win, as per the rules of college football. We may actually see which one of these teams is back (for the most part) and which team still has some work to do. Now watch it be a 13-10 almost-unwatchable slog.

Nebraska at Colorado (Noon, FOX) – Alright, I’ll bite. Let’s see if the hype matches what ends up happening. Some might have put this higher but that’s crazy. It makes this list because of the talk, not because of the teams involved. And Colorado can’t just win this game by a little. That would prove nothing. If they beat the brakes off the Huskers, then we all have to take notice and maybe think the Buffs could be for real.

Sickos Game of the Week

Temple at Rutgers (7:30, specialty pack) – Look, Rutgers is probably going to start 2-0 which really doesn’t mean a whole lot considering their schedule but still, that’s something right? With everything on at this time, you would have to be a complete psychopath to watch this game. I will make sure to tune in and watch at least a few plays. I feel like I owe it to everyone and myself.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Ball State at Georgia (Noon, TSN+/specialty pack) – Time to bring back the blowout of the week segment. And this could be the dictionary definition of blowout. I could see UGA putting up 60 on the poor Cardinals.

Wanna Bet?

Nebraska was actually a good bet. That game ended up exactly how I thought it would (for the most part). Florida, however….well the less said about that one the better. Time for my gambling picks for the second week of the college football season. Use them at your own peril.

Indiana (-30.5) over Indiana State

Purdue (+3) over Virginia Tech (and the outright win)

Ohio State (-41.5) over Youngstown State

Utah (-8) over Baylor

Nebraska (+2.5) over Colorado (and the upset win…definitely going out on a limb with this one)

Michigan (-37.5) over UNLV

Tulane (+7.5) over Ole Miss (but the Rebs will hold on for a close victory)

Texas A&M (-4) over Miami

Alabama (-7) over Texas

Washington State (+6) over Wisconsin (with the Badgers winning a tight affair)

Minnesota (-20.5) over Eastern Michigan

Mississippi State (-9) over Arizona

Stanford (+29.5) over USC (I feel a backdoor cover in this one)

I will be on the Twitter/X machine again this weekend. Even without Tweetdeck I am figuring out how to navigate fairly well. We shall see if I can make it two Saturdays in a row making it all the way to the end. Enjoy the games everyone!

Let the debates begin! – Week 10 College Football TV Schedule

The debates have already commenced.  And it won’t be fun to hear this shit for over a month.  But let’s just get used to it and go through this information.

We all had to know that Cincinnati wouldn’t be as high as their AP (or Bossman) poll ranking.  They were never going to be #2 but the hope is that they would get some semblance of respect and be put in at #4.  You have to wonder if their last two games, where they didn’t exactly light it up against weak American Conference competition, cost them as they start at #6.  Behind Ohio State, which will also stick in their craw.  I’m not too surprised with this, but Alabama at #2 is surprising.  Even worse is Kirk Herbstreit, Joey Galloway and, I believe, Rece Davis all saying that it’s cut and dry for Bama: if they win the SEC Championship they’re in and if they don’t they’re out.  Please.  If Bama stays at #2 until conference championship weekend and then loses to Georgia, I see them getting a lot of support to stay in the Top 4, and maybe even be #3 to avoid a rematch in the semis with the Dawgs.  That’s why these first rankings are still somewhat important because it can frame where you end up later in the season.

But on to better news…last night started football almost every day until November 29th!  The only day with no football will be the day before American Thanksgiving which I don’t understand but whatever.  They should put some MACtion or Fun Belt on there.  Who says no to that?  This is when the serious meat (the brisket even) of the college football season starts so let’s dig in to the schedule for this week!

Wednesday​​

		US	Canada
Northern Illinois at Kent State	7:00 PM
Central Michigan at Western Michigan	7:00 PM

MACTION!!!!!!  It has finally returned.  I mean it’s not like last year where they put all six games on a Wednesday night but still, it just feels right.  There were three games last night and two tonight.  Always nice to have some Wednesday night football (hear that ESPN?  So schedule a game the night before Thanksgiving god dammit!).  Anyway, if you thought Northern Illinois and Kent State would be leading their respective divisions heading into November then head to Vegas because you are extremely lucky (or go to a doctor to get the horseshoe out of your ass).

Thursday​​

		US	Canada
Georgia State at Louisiana	7:30 PM
Delaware State at Morgan State	7:30 PM

Two games, one in FBS, one in FCS.  It is technically football but I see a lot of people changing the channel to the NFL Thursday Night Football game featuring….the Jets and the Colts.  OK, maybe not.

Friday

		US	Canada
Princeton at Dartmouth	6:00 PM
Virginia Tech at Boston College	7:30 PM

Technically, Virginia Tech is still in the hunt for the ACC Coastal title because that conference, and that division in particular, are almost always a mess, behind the top team (which was usually Clemson and is now Wake Forest).  A loss by the Hokies may just pretty much hand the division to Pittsburgh but who knows considering the season we’ve seen so far.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
Army vs. Air Force (in Arlington, TX)	11:30 AM
#9 Wake Forest at North Carolina	Noon
#25 Pittsburgh at Duke	Noon
Louisiana Tech at UAB	Noon
Missouri at #1 Georgia	Noon
Illinois at #20 Minnesota	Noon
SMU at Memphis	Noon
#5 Ohio State at Nebraska	Noon
Liberty at #16 Ole Miss	Noon
Georgia Tech at Miami	12:30 PM

A good amount of games but nothing hugely special although that could be the theme of the week to be honest.  Nothing is huge but Wake heading to North Carolina as an undefeated underdog will be an interesting watch.  It’s insane that they are not favoured but it shows that Wake still doesn’t quite get the respect that most Power Five teams do.  Army-AFA could be done by 1 in the afternoon.  And perhaps even a halftime coach shitcanning?  I can’t see things going well for the Huskers in this one.  This would mean the hot seat Scott Frost currently inhabits would get even hotter.  Does he make it to the end of the season?  Maybe, but I doubt he coaches in 2022, at least in Lincoln.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
#3 Michigan State at Purdue	3:30 PM
#21 Wisconsin at Rutgers	3:30 PM
#13 Auburn at #14 Texas A&M	3:30 PM
Colorado State at Wyoming	3:30 PM
#11 Oklahoma State at West Virginia	3:30 PM
Tulsa at #6 Cincinnati	3:30 PM
#12 Baylor at TCU	3:30 PM
Navy at #10 Notre Dame	3:30 PM
#19 NC State at Florida State	4:00 PM
Tulane at UCF	4:00 PM
#17 Mississippi State at Arkansas	4:00 PM

Now this gets…better.  Still not great though with only one game involving two ranked teams.  But there’s also EIGHT other games involving a ranked team.  That has to be a record I’m sure.  Saying that, you have to be careful with the assertion that having a ranked team involved makes the game good.  Like, Tulsa-Cincy and Wisconsin-Rutgers probably will not be any good.  MSU-Arkansas should be but that’s only because the Bulldogs being ranked #17 is some kind of joke…I think.  Oh and Cincinnati will be scoreboard watching for sure.  They have to blow Tulsa out of the water and then hope Notre Dame does the same to Navy.  It’s the only way for them to potentially move up to #5 in the next rankings (unless something drastic happens).

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
#22 Iowa at Northwestern	7:00 PM
Boise State at #23 Fresno State	7:00 PM
LSU at #2 Alabama	7:00 PM
Tennessee at #18 Kentucky	7:00 PM
#4 Oregon at Washington	7:30 PM
Clemson at Louisville	7:30 PM
Houston at USF	7:30 PM
Indiana at #7 Michigan	7:30 PM
Florida at South Carolina	7:30 PM

At the start of the year, you could have pointed to a few games here as potentially massive games in the grand scheme of things.  Now, not so much.  Indiana is not nearly as good as many thought they would be.  Same goes for Washington, LSU, Boise State, Clemson and Louisville.  Let’s throw Florida in there but I think it doesn’t matter since South Carolina is really not that good.  So we will call it a comprehensive primetime slate but not an overly amazing one.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
UTSA at UTEP	10:15 PM
USC at Arizona State	10:30 PM

We were so close to College Gameday going to El Paso this weekend.  I mean I’m not a huge College Gameday watcher and I usually only watch the picks every week but still, that would have been cool to have it there for the first time.  Instead they are heading to Cincinnati where I’m sure they will treat the ESPN reporters with kindness after what we saw last night.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Auburn at Texas A&M (3:30, CBS) – Alright so this week does not have a marquee game of the week, that is for sure.  Nothing against the Tigers or Aggies but it doesn’t even contain a Top 10 team.  Saying that, it’s the only game this week with two ranked teams playing each other so it pretty much goes here by default.  The winner here is on the inside track for a New Year’s Six spot as a CFP spot is probably completely out of sight.  That is unless Bama falls again against either these very same Tigers.  Or the Razorbacks.  Or the Tigers of the LSU variety.  Or New Mexico State….you know what, no that won’t happen.

Michigan State at Purdue (3:30, ABC) – I will say that the afternoon does have the best schedule of the day so at least there’s that.  While many would not think much of this game, this could be a serious trip-up game for the Spartans.  On the road, against a fairly good Boilermaker team, with Ohio State to look ahead to in two weeks.  Don’t be surprised if this is a close game.  Now watch Sparty be up by like 31 at halftime.

Wake Forest at North Carolina (Noon, ABC) – The ACC hasn’t made this list too much this year.  And for good reason since their top team, Clemson, has been average.  Enter the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.  They are 8-0 and ranked #9 in the first CFP Poll.  And they are a 2.5-point underdog going to Chapel Hill.  The disrespect!  They could make a huge statement by winning this game over the Heels as they have NC State the following week, at home, in arguably the biggest game in the ACC Atlantic this season.  Imagine saying that at the start of the year.  Many would think you were smoking crack.

Oregon at Washington (7:30, ABC) – Oregon is at #4.  I don’t know about that ranking but then again, it’s 13 (possibly drunk) people who are or have been prominent in college football setting these rankings.  This all means that the Pac-12 is somehow already back in the game when just a few weeks ago, everyone wrote the conference off after the Ducks’ loss to Stanford.  Oregon has to continue to win, and possibly beat some teams pretty badly, to stay in the Top 4 though.  Man, ABC lucked out this week with their game selection, despite the fact it’s really just an average week, on paper.

Mississippi State at Arkansas (4:00, specialty pack) – To be honest, it’s not like there are a lot of great choices for this spot.  I could put like 6 different games here and could argue for any of them.  I think this will be the closest and the toughest to predict so that’s why it gets the final spot on the list.  The Bulldogs are somehow #17 and play an Arkansas team who could have been in the Top 25.  The Hogs are favoured by 5 so at least Vegas kind of understands.  A win would definitely but Arkansas in the Top 25 and a loss would probably push Mississippi State right out of the Top 25 as both teams try to keep their slim New Year’s Six hopes alive.

Honourable mention: Missouri at Georgia (Noon, TSN2); Liberty at Ole Miss (Noon, specialty pack); LSU at Alabama (7:00, specialty pack).

Wanna bet?

How about my Houston over SMU pick?  Or Auburn over Ole Miss?  Didn’t do too badly if I do say so myself (don’t look at the Michigan or Buffalo picks).  Let’s not think about the past but forge on with new picks for the future.  Let’s begin!

Ole Miss over Liberty

North Carolina over Wake Forest (massive upset)

Michigan State over Purdue (but it will be close)

Georgia over Missouri

Alabama over LSU

Arkansas over Mississippi State

Texas A&M over Auburn

Washington over Oregon (another massive upset)

Western Michigan over Central Michigan

UAB over Louisiana Tech

TCU over Baylor (yet another big upset)

Yes I truly believe that this may be a huge shakeup weekend in college football.  Which is saying something considering what the 2021 season has already brought us.  I hope I didn’t jinx things and all the ranked teams win now.  Because that would suck and I would have to take some of the blame.

I have been on Twitter again but am doing a bit less tweeting these days.  Not just because of the issues I’ve stated earlier this year but just general fatigue.  I’ve always said I usually enjoy interacting with others on the platform but I have to take small breaks or otherwise I’ll just collapse in front of my laptop.  Not saying I don’t get in viewing for most of those 14+ hours but hey, you need bathroom breaks, breaks for food and drink, breaks to even lift weights or go on the treadmill for a bit.  Something to break up the day.  I’m the same on NFL Sunday.  I guess I’m just getting old.   Enjoy the games everyone!

Is it time for the Return of the Mack?

No, not THAT Return of the Mack (although that is honestly one of my all-time favourite songs).

Mack Brown has already done amazing things in his second stint in Chapel Hill.  But he has one more hill to climb, at least when it comes to the ACC.  And man is it ever a huge hill.  An escarpment.  Maybe even consider it a small mountain.

Clemson is never ready to relinquish their crown, the same crown they’ve had for years now since Florida State decided it didn’t want to be good at football for a while.  Almost like they said “You know what?  We’ve won so much for over two decades.  Let’s give another team a chance.”  And now Clemson is the same way.  When will they fall from their perch?  Who the hell knows.  Dabo Swinney is not known for sharing the ACC sandbox.

OK let’s get right to the predictions followed by some sweet, smoky Carolina BBQ thoughts:

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

Sweet & Smoky Carolina BBQ Thoughts

• I always love watching the ongoing battle between different parts of the U.S. claiming they have the best barbecue.  Honestly, barbecue has got close to the spot where pizza occupies: very rarely is it so bad you can’t eat it.  Most barbecue is probably very good.  Unfortunately it’s not like we have very many barbecue spots up here or any sort of barbecue tradition.
• Clemson is still the best team in the conference, despite their loss of Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne.  D.J. Uiagalelei (I always wonder where the n sound comes in) looked great against Notre Dame last year so there shouldn’t be a huge drop-off but there will be some.  The defense will pick up the slack and be the backbone of the team that will fairly easily walk to the Atlantic Division title.
• The Coastal might not have Coastal Chaos this season.  I know, I know, hard to believe.  But UNC is pulling slightly away from the field, especially with one of the Heisman favourites, Sam Howell, at QB.  Miami is good but need a full, healthy season from D’Eriq King or there’s no chance they will push for the division crown.  Expect a bounceback season from Virginia Tech which could give Justin Fuente an extension as the fans in Blacksburg are getting a little antsy based on the past few years on the field for the Hokies.
• Florida State truly starts their climb this year.  I absolutely believe it.  This is Mike Norvell’s chance to put his stamp on the program.  If he can’t at least get this program to a bowl game this year, I think his days are numbered in Tallahassee.
• It’s going to be quite the battle…for the basement of the ACC.  I have five teams all within one game of each other at the bottom (in terms of overall record).  Georgia Tech, Duke, UVA, Louisville and Syracuse all have a claim to being the worst team in the conference.  If I had to choose, I would go with Syracuse.  I fear that time’s almost up for Dino Babers in western New York.  He had one great season but other than that the train went off the rails there and things aren’t looking a whole lot better for the near future either, forget this season.
• The bloom has also come off the rose for Scott Satterfield.  Cards fans sure turned on him quick and I can’t see him turning it around right away.  If Bobby Petrino is available, I’m sure the Louisville brass would look at him and this is not a joke.
• I predict nine bowl teams from the ACC.  And if bowls have to dip into the 5-7 pool of teams, don’t look at this conference…there won’t be any.
• Oh baby, ready for the bombshell?  OK here it is.  I have the Tar Heels beating Clemson to wrest the ACC title from the Tigers.  Yeah, there.  I said it.  OK more like I typed it.  I have this feeling hardly anyone, outside of most Tar Heel fans, think this could happen.  I believe in the Mack and believe in the Heels this year.  Now watch them lose six games and I look like a fucking idiot.

That’s it for the ACC.  Three conferences in.  Next up will be the teams with no conference to call home, the Independents.  Have a great Sunday everyone!  Remember, we are a mere 41 days away from the start of the college football season!  Soon enough we will be down to single digits.

Let’s talk about bacon – Week 6 College Football Recap

If you know what you are looking at then chances are your blood may be already starting to boil.  If not, let me explain.

Late in the Arkansas-Auburn game, Arkansas had the lead but Auburn was driving for a score, only needing a field goal to win.  The play above is where things really go off the rails.  Bo Nix takes the snap and immediately fumbles it.  He picks it up and then immediately spikes it.  First of all, you can’t do that in college football.  That’s considered intentional grounding.  What’s worse is that Nix spiked it behind his foot.  So that is a backwards pass…a lateral if you will.  At this point, a few officials blow their electronic whistles, one official definitely doesn’t, and one official throws a bean bag.  In the aftermath of this, an Arkansas player eventually recovers the ball.  So of course this is chaos already.

The referee calls it intentional grounding.  Of course many know that there is more to this than that.  And some are perplexed because the NFL does not have that rule about fumbling the snap (as far as I know).  The play gets reviewed.  It is pretty obvious the spike was behind Nix so it’s technically a fumble.  What does the replay official conclude?  He sticks with the call of intentional grounding, basically to bail out the officials on the field.  What a fucking joke.  According to Terry McAulay, retired official who does the rules for Sunday Night Football, said that because the Arkansas player continued to play through the whistle to recover the ball and that an Auburn player also continued to play at that point, that the whistle is irrelevant and that Arkansas should have been considered to have had an immediate recovery.  Instead, Auburn gets their chance at the field goal and hits it to win, robbing the Hogs of a deserved win.  So the SEC doubles down hours later about the rules.  And probably nothing will happen to either the replay official or the officiating team on the field.  This was not a missed call that was bad but really didn’t affect the outcome of the game.  It certainly did.  And Arkansas will not get the win they deserve.  Sad.

As for the rest of the weekend it was the best weekend so far.  A low bar for sure but there was a lot of exciting football.  Kept me glued to the TV for over 11 hours.  Let’s get down to recapping all this shall we?

And now for the rest of the recap

• A great game down in College Station this past weekend.  Texas A&M won over Florida in a game many would call an upset.  I have to agree especially since Florida was a Top 5 team and I picked the Aggies to win in an upset (which makes me feel good).  Instead the Aggies gutted out a last-second walk-off field goal win and now their College Football Playoff aspirations are legit.  As for Florida, ugh….  When you think they are about to be a threat to Georgia in the SEC East, something like this happens.  It definitely won’t be easy for the Aggies the rest of the way in the SEC West but if they can somehow win out, then you have to take them seriously.  Also good for Jimbo Fisher for finally getting a signature win as the Aggies head coach.
• Another upset occurred early in the day in a game that had to be moved because of Hurricane Delta (Burke?).  Missouri held on to beat the defending champs from LSU in a game moved from Baton Rouge to Columbia.  Everyone kind of knew the Tigers (of LSU) weren’t the same team but many their defense has looked terrible so far.  But you have to give Mizzou some credit.  If it wasn’t for them finally finding a starting quarterback in freshman Connor Bazelak, this game would have been an easy LSU win.  I am positive now that there will be rumblings of Ed Orgeron being fired because it’s college football and many fans are shitty people.
• How about that game down in the other Death Valley (or the first Death Valley depending on which Tigers you prefer)?  Many felt the Canes would have a chance against Clemson.  Man were they ever fucking wrong.  This was not close, in any way, shape, or form.  Clemson just looks that much better than everyone in the conference.  Saying that, they do have new conference mate (for this season), Notre Dame later in the season which should be a banger.  As for Miami, they should still be fine.  It’s one blemish but they can work their way back into the New Year’s Six pretty easily if they run the table the rest of the way.  OK so pretty easily is a strong term.
• And there is the unluckiness that is Pitt.  It was the Pittening yet again.  Kicker Alex Kessman made a 58-yard field goal with 40 seconds left just to send their game with Boston College into overtime.  Then, after BC had scored a TD and Pitt scored one of their own, Kessman missed the extra point.  You can’t make this stuff up.   Poor guy probably wanted to crawl under the turf at that point.
• Alabama beat Ole Miss.  OK not a big deal.  What was amazing was Lane cutting the brakes off his offense and going nuts with it.  And it worked.  The Tide could not keep up with the Rebel offense.  It’s too bad the Rebel defense was equally as bad.  Although let’s be honest: Alabama’s offense is seriously good.  Not quite Clemson good, but arguably the best in the SEC.  And now Evil Nick Saban is 21-0 against his former assistants.  The student has not surpassed the teacher yet.
• Let history show that the Tennessee football Volunteers led Georgia 21-17 at the half in this game. Again, the Vols allowed the the Dawgs to close out the game on a huge run, this one 27 points, but it’s still not a bad thing to see the Vols at least somewhat competitive.  They may be a year or two away from contending in the SEC East but the fans can see the light at the end of that tunnel.  Now they just have to allow Jeremy Pruitt to continue to improve things in Knoxville and it will work out (possibly).
• I didn’t think Florida State could keep it close.  Like not at all.  But they were surprisingly effective until late in the second quarter.  But the Irish were still way too much for the Noles.  They are a legit contender to go to the ACC Championship.  Mike Norvell is struggling so far at Tallahassee and it will be interesting to see if he gets the same amount of chances as Willie Taggart got before he was dumped.
• Back to games that were completely bonkers, look no further than the Red River Shootout.  And a shootout it was.  This game went to four overtimes and it felt like neither team wanted to win despite the fact they were putting up some gaudy stats.  Finally, Spencer Rattler didn’t fuck up and Sam Ehlinger couldn’t get it done and the Sooners pulled off the victory.  Still, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see neither of these two teams in the Big XII Championship in December.
• That Virginia Tech-North Carolina game was more of a Big XII game than pretty much all the Big XII games on Saturday.  A hilariously poor showing of defense on both teams’ accounts.  North Carolina was able to pull away late but it wasn’t pretty.  The Tar Heels can’t afford to be like that on the defensive side of the ball when they play Notre Dame later on in the season or it could be a long day for Mack Brown and the boys from Chapel Hill.
• Don’t sleep on the BYU Cougars.  The Cougars are 4-0 and look like they will probably be 7-0 when they get into November and their game against Boise State.  They are solidly in the Top 25 but will need to win and win big to move up the rankings.  Winning by a touchdown over UTSA won’t cut it, despite the fact the Roadrunners are going to be at least a contender to go bowling if not an outside shot at being a thorn in UAB’s side for the Conference USA West crown.
• Iowa State keeps trundling along in the Big XII after that horrible opening loss to what is really a good Louisiana team.  The way things are going, it wouldn’t surprise me (and shouldn’t surprise others) if the Cyclones were heading to Dallas for the Big XII Championship in about two months.
• What the hell happened at Mississippi State?  They looked great two weeks ago against LSU and then can’t do anything in their previous game and were even worse at Kentucky.  300 yards passing and 2 points.  So of course Mike Leach is already starting to blame some of the players.  This usually takes like two or three seasons to occur: it’s happening in two weeks in Starkville.  Yikes.
• Another great game just happened to be Temple’s first game of the season.  No I’m not kidding.  And they played the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of college football, Navy.  Navy doesn’t know if they want to be good or they’re really fucking bad.  All I know is this ended up being a close finish after Navy took a fairly large lead and then allowed the Owls to crawl their way back for a chance to tie late.  I am sure Ken Niumatalolo secretly drinks heavily after games like this.
• USF…what can you say?  They got throttled by East Carolina.  Yes, the East Carolina football Pirates.  The Bulls are so bad that when I tweeted about them being bad, a few people replied and agreed and they’re USF FANS!  Wow.
• Finally, Charlotte took down North Texas.  That’s not really news.  The news is about the graphics used on the ESPN scoreboard.  Charlotte has a C with a pickaxe in the middle of it.  North Texas has UNT with an eagle.  Yes, it was a C followed by a UNT.

Alright that was seriously fun.  And soon enough we will get college football that lasts past 2 in the morning, like God intended it.  Oh man, there goes my sleep, which has already been bad but is about to get much worse.

Alright, let’s now look at the Bossman Top 25:

#1	Clemson
#2	Georgia
#3	Alabama
#4	North Carolina
#5	Notre Dame
#6	Ohio State
#7	Oklahoma State
#8	Florida
#9	Cincinnati
#10	Auburn
#11	Miami
#12	Penn State
#13	BYU
#14	Oregon
#15	Texas A&M
#16	Tennessee
#17	Wisconsin
#18	SMU
#19	Louisiana
#20	Michigan
#21	Iowa State
#22	Virginia Tech
#23	Kansas State
#24	Marshall
#25	Minnesota

Yes there are some differences between my rankings and the AP Poll, as usual.  I have Georgia at #2 and Notre Dame down at #5.  The Irish should move up just for the fact that I doubt we will have two SEC teams in the top three (I hope).  As for #6 through #12, pick the teams out of a hat to figure out the order.  A lot can happen the rest of the way and at this point, no one team is that much better than another.  And how about Marshall at #24.  I know the AP Poll doesn’t have them in there but man they deserve to be there in my humble opinion.  Also, yes I have BYU at #13.  It sounds like they probably won’t move that much further up from there but they are still undefeated and shouldn’t fall unless they lose.

Hey guess what we have?  FUN BELT!  Yes, weekday Sun Belt action is back and it starts on Wednesday night.  8:00 but who knows if Canadians can get it.  And it’s a big one.  Coastal Carolina and Louisiana.  I love weekday football.  Honestly, and I know I rail on the NFL being on Thursday but between late August and early January, the more football the better.  Have a good week everyone!

Bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls, etc. (The Bowl Game TV Schedule)

 

Look at all those bowl games.  LOOK AT THEM!  Ok I get it.  Some of these bowl games have changed and many of the sponsors have as well.  I don’t care.  It’s a good pic that shows the absurdity and awesomeness of bowl season.  The bowl season could be better and I could help out since I have tried in the past to do so.  If someone is fine with giving me a boatload of money to make bowl season even better, I’m fine with accepting said money.  All in the name of college football (and making me rich).

TSN has their bowl game schedule up…kind of!  Everyone rejoice…sort of!  Will it change?  Probably.  I mean all it says at this point is TSN…doesn’t show us which TSN station although you can see what bowl games will be on a part of the TSN network.  But at least the first draft of it is up and that is good enough for me (until I get a bit miffed that they change something for no reason whatsoever).  Anyway, here’s the fairly long bowl schedule!

Friday December 20th

Bahamas Bowl: Buffalo vs. Charlotte

2:00 PM

Again, why does this happen?  WHY?  I guess it’s a little bit better since this game isn’t starting at Noon but at 2:00 but it’s still stupid.  They need to do a better job scheduling these games.  Since I will be working that day I will inevitably miss it so hopefully one team beats the other by like 40 so I don’t feel bad missing a good game.  So stupid.  Oh well, it’s Charlotte’s first bowl game ever so we know they will be jacked for it.

Frisco Bowl: Utah State vs. Kent State

7:30 PM

The Frisco Bowl seems to be the most balanced bowl in how it is stuctured.  Decent-sized stadium but not too good.  Primetime spot.  College football-mad area.  Mountain West tie-in.  The only thing missing is replacing the MAC with either Conference USA or the Big XII.  Also it is nice to see Kent State in a bowl game for the first time in a while.

Saturday December 21st

Celebration Bowl: Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T

Noon

The Celebration Bowl does not start the bowl season anymore.  It’s still the biggest game of the HBCU season, though, and if you like bands you can hear a lot of the bands during the broadcast.  Usually this bowl is quite a good game so don’t skip out on this early one because you might not know anyone from either of these two teams but there is a good chance at least one player here will be drafted in a few months’ time.

New Mexico Bowl: Central Michigan vs. San Diego State

2:00 PM

It’s opening Saturday for bowl games so I will watch this.  I know I will.  This is usually a fun bowl to watch in front of a possibly half-filled stadium.  This isn’t the sexiest of matchups but the intrigue on Jim McElwain will be on full display throughout this one.

Cure Bowl: Liberty vs. Georgia Southern

2:30 PM

A normally shitty bowl is a bit more important this season.  Liberty’s first bowl ever and they play one of the better Group of Five teams in Georgia Southern, the team that made it so Appalachian State is not in the Cotton Bowl.  A lot of passing vs. a lot of rushing.  Nice contrast of styles.

Boca Raton Bowl: SMU vs. Florida Atlantic

3:30 PM

The Owls are at home at this one.  I believe Lane Kiffin is coaching this one but I am not sure.  We have two of the better G5 teams here and it’s on ABC.  This is a great national showcase for these two programs (and might be a personal showcase for Sonny Dykes).

Camellia Bowl: FIU vs. Arkansas State

5:30 PM

Well this is football so I’ll watch it.  Butch Davis still doing a good job at FIU.  Blake Anderson, for everything he has gone through, this has to be a nice reward for him and his squad.  I wonder when either of these two guys will be poached for better jobs.

Las Vegas Bowl: #19 Boise State vs. Washington

7:30 PM

The Chris Petersen Bowl!  The coach’s final stand (for now) in college football will be this game as he coaches his current team against his former team.  The Huskies seriously underperformed this season whereas the Broncos were within a pubic hair of the Cotton Bowl spot.  But this means nothing in bowl season when crazy results can happen.  But yeah I would pick the Broncos here to win big.

New Orleans Bowl: #20 Appalachian State vs. UAB

9:00 PM

App State was one bad game from getting some serious New Year’s Six consideration…again.  One of the best Group of Five teams plays UAB, who is an amazing story in their own right.  I still believe G-5 conference champs should get their shot against Power Five teams though.  That’s how you sell tickets and grab viewers.

Tuesday December 23rd

Gasparilla Bowl: UCF vs. Marshall

2:30 PM

I’m still happy this game was moved from the shithole that is Tropicana Field to Raymond James Stadium.  Even with UCF there I can’t see a sellout or anything close.  Ugh it’s on in the afternoon?  Why?  This makes no sense.

Wednesday December 24th

Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs. BYU

8:00 PM

Back to Christmas Eve where this game belongs.  Gives me something to watch while I do the final Christmas preparations, especially stuffing the stocking stuffers into the stockings.  And for once, pretty much all my Christmas shopping is done already!  Oh yeah!

Saturday December 26th

Independence Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs. Miami

4:00 PM

I’m wondering if Miami would have preferred if Temple had kept Manny Diaz.  Then again, there still seems to be a talent issue at The U and it’s not always that they have a lack of it.  Remember, being idiots only works when you win or are a good player.  Otherwise that shit is annoying, right Tate Martell?  Anyway, they belong in the bowl outpost known as Shreveport in my opinion.  I am still surprised that no one has contacted Skip Holtz at a better program that needs a coach.

Quick Lane Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan

8:00 PM

This is technically a bowl game.  Watch it be super exciting and one of the better games of the year.  Only the second game on the specialty pack during bowl season as TSN has FINALLY stepped up to the plate with college football this season.  Took you guys long enough.

UPDATE: This game has been moved to TSN5.

Friday December 27th

Military Bowl: North Carolina vs. Temple

Noon

Mack Brown did a fantastic job in his first season back at Chapel Hill.  Same thing with Rod Carey in Philadelphia.  This could be a surprisingly good bowl game.​

Pinstripe Bowl: Michigan State vs. Wake Forest

3:20 PM

I think the Deacs should be a huge favourite here but I am sure Sparty will be overrated going into this one.  I don’t buy it and I wonder about Mark Dantonio’s future with the Spartans.​

Texas Bowl: #25 Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M

6:45 PM

Texas A&M should have basically a home advantage for this one despite the fact that this is still Big XII country and the Pokes will have a good turnout at this game.  This should be a sellout considering the teams involved which is something that honestly doesn’t happen for non-CFP, non-NY6 bowls before New Year’s.

Holiday Bowl: #22 USC vs. #16 Iowa

8:00 PM

Hey we actually can get this game this year!  And it’s one of the very few games that aren’t New Year’s Six games that have two ranked teams involved.  And now that Clay Helton is for sure coming back next season (and Kirk Ferentz has basically a lifetime contract), there should be no talk about the coaches right?  I assume most of the talk will be about where the media wants to put USC in next season’s pre-season rankings (don’t be surprised if it’s in the #7-#10 range).

Cheez-It Bowl: Air Force vs. Washington State

10:15 PM

The Cheez-It Bowl last year was hilariously bad.  This year is the ultimate match of contrasts.  Expect about 1,400 yards offense and take the over.

Saturday December 28th

Camping World Bowl: #15 Notre Dame vs. Iowa State

12:00 PM

Irish fans are pissed to be here.  I am sure the Irish themselves are as well.  Iowa State is always happy to make it to a bowl game even with the program doing quite well this decade.  I hope the Cyclones win by 40.

Cotton Bowl: #17 Memphis vs. #10 Penn State

12:00 PM

This should be a really good one.  Nice to see the Tigers in a NY6 bowl for the first time ever.  And look, I get all the people who are pissed off that the best Group of Five team gets into the New Year’s Six automatically but I like it.  Almost always they are good, competitive games.  Now as for automatically giving them a shot at the national championship…that’s a different story for a different day.

Peach Bowl: #4 Oklahoma vs. #1 LSU

4:00 PM

The winner vs. the runner-up, for the second year in a row in the semi-finals.  I’m talkin’ about the Heisman race as Joe Burrow beat out Jalen Hurts (who was somehow second over Chase Young which makes no sense to me but whatever) for the Heisman Trophy this year.  The Sooners missed out on three Heisman winners in a row but I am sure they would prefer a win here over the team most people are thinking will win the whole thing.  I sincerely hope this isn’t a dud because that would put a lot of pressure on the next game to carry the load.

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

8:00 PM

The second of the two semi-finals should be a good one and, I believe, it’s the first time two undefeated teams have faced each other in the semi-finals.  So it should be, in theory, a good game.  Both teams are seriously deep on both sides of the ball and everyone shouldn’t sleep on Clemson since they are still the reigning, defending, undisputed college football champion until they get beaten.

Monday December 30th

First Responder Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. Western Michigan

12:30 PM

I wonder if this First Responder Bowl will be played this time.  If you remember last year’s edition, weather forced the cancellation of the game.  To me that sucks since many people spend a lot of money and time going to these games and for it to be outright cancelled is a huge slap in the face to the programs involved (which were Boston College and Boise State).  I would kind of laugh if it happened again though.

Redbox Bowl: California vs. Illinois

4:00 PM

Lovie Smith in a bowl game.  If you had told me that four months ago I would have laughed and/or wondered if you were drunk.

Music City Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Louisville

4:00 PM

Scott Satterfield did a great job at Louisville bringing the Cardinals back from the Petrino mess.  Mississippi State kind of did the opposite and were worse than many (including myself) thought.  They needed the craziest of mistakes in the Egg Bowl just to go bowling.  Now watch the Bulldogs boatrace the Cards.

Orange Bowl: #9 Florida vs. #24 Virginia

8:00 PM

Ugh.  OK I get that there are tie-ins but seriously?  People are jumping all over Memphis being in the New Year’s Six but this is much more egregious.  Nothing against the Hoos but they don’t belong here.  There are other teams that could have, and should have been selected to play here.  Like say….Utah.  Part of the evolution of college football should be about making these games make sense in terms of scheduling and that tie-ins don’t become the be-all-end-all here yet in lesser bowls they are sometimes fully ignored.  Hopefully when they do expand (which they will) the College Football Playoff, they look at this issue as well because it is a problem.

Tuesday December 31st

Belk Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky

Noon

The final Belk Bowl will be upon us.  Belk ends its sponsorship with this one and it was supposed to be Tennessee but I explained what happened in the final confirmed bowls post as to what happened (basically it was that the Vols acted like whiny little bitches and got their way).  I will miss the Belk Bowl Twitter account.  So fun and entertaining.

UPDATE #2: The Belk Bowl has been moved from TSN1 to TSN2.  It is still on ABC as well.

Sun Bowl: Florida State vs. Arizona State

2:00 PM

Look, even when ASU played the last time here the place was barely over half full.  What will it take for the Sun Bowl to get a Big XII team in here instead of an ACC team which absolutely makes no sense.  Either that or take it off CBS.  That will never happen so revert to my first point.

Liberty Bowl: #23 Navy vs. Kansas State

3:45 PM

Kansas State always seems to end up at bowls like this.  They never seem to get into like the Alamo Bowl or some other bowl that the Big XII has ties with.  They will have headaches with the most un-Big XII team there is (arguably) so hopefully they have learned how to stop the run or this could get ugly real fast.

UPDATE #3: Reader Troy’s worst fear has come to fruition (or at least the worst fear from this post) as TSN is not showing the Liberty Bowl.  Why?  Because showing the Tetris World Championship is more important.  I shit you not.

Arizona Bowl: Wyoming vs. Georgia State

4:30 PM

I mean guess it’s in its own time slot and not up against a CFP game.  So that’s a good thing.  But this is not must-see, especially being on New Year’s Eve.

Alamo Bowl: #11 Utah vs. Texas

7:30 PM

Two teams who probably really do not want to be in this bowl game and for very different reasons.  The Utes thought they’d still be in the NY6 but have been “relegated” to this game.  The Longhorns were supposed to be much better and have an outside shot at the NY6 and weren’t even close.  It also doesn’t help it won’t finish until 11 on New Year’s Eve night which, unless it’s a close game, will drive a ton of fans away.

Wednesday January 1st

Outback Bowl: #18 Minnesota vs. #12 Auburn

1:00 PM

This will be totally overshadowed by the other bowl game on at that same time.  Too bad for the Golden Gophers who had a great season.

UPDATE #4: This game is now on TSNs 1, 3 and 4 which starts the tripleheader on TSN with the Rose and Sugar.

Citrus Bowl: #14 Michigan vs. #13 Alabama

1:00 PM

This is the game with the two highest ranked teams not in the NY6 or CFP and not named Utah or Auburn.  And it will get the most attention to those games by a country mile.  Two teams who everyone thought would be in the College Football Playoff this season are here in Orlando.  I wonder if Bama gets pissed off and runs the Wolverines out of the building or if they really don’t show up acting like they don’t really care because it’s beneath them.  Both would be entertaining to be honest with you.

Rose Bowl: #6 Oregon vs. #8 Wisconsin

5:00 PM

Cue the Pac-12 disrespect.  We will get it in spades during this game.  Which sucks for the conference but they really do put it on themselves.  I get that the nine-game schedule is a good idea but they don’t have to do it.  And even with all the money pumped into some of these programs, they lose recruits by the fistful to teams east of them.  But the media doesn’t help.  Oregon could win this by 60 and still would be no higher than like #9 in next year’s preseason rankings.

Sugar Bowl: #5 Georgia vs. #7 Baylor

8:45 PM

Again I will be super exhausted going into work the day after but I don’t care.  This should be a really fun game that will end after midnight between two teams who had their destiny in their own hands and blew it back on conference championship weekend.

Thursday January 2nd

Birmingham Bowl: Boston College vs. #21 Cincinnati

3:00 PM

Thankfully the Birmingham Bowl always delivers since Legion Field is a shithole although I think they have done some work on it to make it better.  We are back to having lower-tier bowls after all the big bowls.  I like it.  Saying that, it’s on at 3 in the fucking afternoon so I guess I won’t be watching most of it.

Gator Bowl: Indiana vs. Tennessee

7:00 PM

Two teams that are better than many thought they would be.  And the Vols are here only because, as I said above, they whined and complained to be changed to here rather than the Music City Bowl.

Friday January 3rd

Idaho Potato Bowl: Ohio vs. Nevada

3:30 PM

Another game on during a weekday when I work in the afternoon.  Fuck.  Oh well, there’s only so much ESPN can do with these games.  Anyway, if I should be able to catch the second half and it should be hilarious because cold-weather bowl games are always fun to watch.

UPDATE #5: This has been moved from TSN2 to TSN1 and TSN3.  Either way, it’s in the afternoon on a weekday after New Year’s.  Why couldn’t have this been on at night again?

Saturday January 4th

Armed Forces Bowl: Southern Miss vs. Tulane

11:30 AM

Morning football!  This is to make sure this is fully done before even the NFL playoff pre-game show starts.  Smart move there.  Saying that I now wonder if it’s the ESPN/ABC game that this runs into.

Monday January 6th

Dollar General Bowl: Louisiana vs. Miami-OH

7:30 PM

One quite good Group of Five team and one average Group of Five team.  By this point I might be worn out but I will watch because this is when we start to realize the end is near.

Monday January 13th

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 looks like so for us Canadians:

• TSN – 23 bowl games (with 1 simulcast from ABC)
• ABC – 6 bowl games
• CBS Sports Network – 2 bowl games
• FOX – 1 bowl game
• CBS – 1 bowl game
• FloSports – 1 bowl game
• specialty pack – 8 bowl games

23 games on TSN?  More than half.  That’s nice.  Now the schedule isn’t truly finalized after December 28th so that might change.  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!

Let’s recap my thoughts about the schedule and do the Week 4 recap at the same time, OK?

No?  Well too bad.  Third year in a row doing this and I figured it was a good idea to recap a, let’s say, insane weekend of college football.

Week 4 Prediction Recap Time!

Houston at Tulane:  Only one game.  Not good.

I should have known what was up for the weekend after the ending of this game.  The “only one game” part had to do with this being the only game on Thursday night.  But man what a game it was.  A back-and-forth affair that ended with the Green Wave getting a long touchdown pass with very little time left to break the tie and win the game and introduce themselves as a true player in the AAC West.

#10 Utah at USC:  Utah has to be careful with the Trojans since who knows what USC team will show up.

What did I say?  I warned the Utes.  The “good” Trojans showed up Friday night and continued to completely fuck up the Pac-12’s College Football Playoff hopes in what I would call a mild upset.  It also probably saves Clay Helton’s job through Thanksgiving…our Thanksgiving.

#11 Michigan at #13 Wisconsin:  A loss by either team might eliminate them from the College Football Playoff (and in Michigan’s case, put Jimmy Khakis back on the coaching hot seat).

Michigan struggled big time with the Badgers.  This game was never in doubt as Wisky went out to a huge lead.  And yes, the rumblings about Jim Harbaugh are starting again.

#8 Auburn at #17 Texas A&M:  Huge game on CBS with Auburn and Texas A&M where the winner honestly still has a shot at either LSU or Bama in the SEC West.

And it certainly did end up being a great game.  A close game and all this proved is that Bo Nix is the real deal…I think.  The Gus Bus may cause chaos in the SEC again if they continue to play this well.

#7 Notre Dame at #3 Georgia:  Notre Dame-UGA.  Funny enough, the Dawgs are favoured by 12.  Seriously.  Many think it will be over by halftime.  For CBS and Brad Nessler’s sake, I hope it’s a close game.

Oh yes.  This game was fantastic.  Brad Nessler had to have been so pleased.  I do seriously worry about him considering most of the games he has called on CBS since taking over for Uncle Verne have been terrible.  Let’s hope this is one of the many good games he gets to call.  And let’s give the Irish credit.  They kept it close with Georgia when almost no one thought that would be the case.  Win out and they have a case for the CFP.

UCLA at #19 Washington State:  Pac-12 After Dark!  Usually this is a fun game.  Usually.  This may not be the case here.  The other two games will probably be much better than the UCLA-Wazzu affair.

This is the game of the year.  If anything beats it I will be shocked.  This was so crazy.  Washington State up by 32 in the third quarter.  Then UCLA comes back by scoring 50 points in the final 19 minutes of the game.  Chip Kelly folks!  Anthony Gordon threw nine, yes NINE, touchdowns and lost!  This is exactly the kind of game that makes me say that college football is ALWAYS better than the NFL.  I wasn’t even tired when it was over and it was almost 2:30 in the morning.

The other two games ended up being really good too.  Utah State had to hold off a late San Diego State charge to win a crucial conference game and Toledo beat Colorado State in another wild one out in Fort Collins.  Arguably one of the greatest Saturday late night set of games ever.

#16 Oregon at Stanford:  Stanford over Oregon (this may be the last time I ever pick Stanford)

Can someone hold me to this?  At the very least I can’t pick them again this season since that would be stupid.

Other games I didn’t mention in the schedule post

Tennessee at #9 Florida:  God the Volunteers are awful.  There was a point during this game where I thought they could keep it close into the fourth quarter.  Then anything could happen (see UCLA at Washington State above).  Instead, they look like shit and I don’t see how Jeremy Pruitt keeps his job unless they turn it around and at least be bowl-eligible at the end of the season.

#23 California at Ole Miss:  What a wild finish to this one.  Ole Miss drove down the field in the final minute and looked like they had scored a touchdown with less than ten seconds left.  The official, however, said the player was short of the goal line and with no timeouts, the time ran out on the Rebels.  From what I could see, it looked almost impossible for the ball not to be in the end zone because most of the receiver’s body was in the end zone.  I digress though.  Amazing game and, ladies and gentlemen, Cal is your only undefeated team left in the Pac-12.  In late September.  Yeah.

#15 UCF at Pittsburgh:  Can we stop calling that trick play that the Philadelphia Eagles used the _______ Special?  I mean yes it was fun to see Pitt use the “Pitt Special” to defeat previously undefeated Group of Five darling UCF.  But they had the chance to call it Pitty City and they didn’t use it?  C’mon man.

Miami-OH at #6 Ohio State:  Miami-OH was up 5-0 at one point.  Then tOSU put up 76 straight.  Wow.

Temple at Buffalo:  So one week after Temple upset Maryland, Buffalo upsets (kind of) Temple.  The College Football Transitive Property has had a heyday with this one and I am sure it will continue if Buffalo is beaten by like Akron later in the season.

SMU at #25 TCU:  The Iron Skillet is going back to Dallas as the Mustangs defeated TCU in a close one.  So now the AAC West has Memphis, Tulane and SMU.  Going to be a tough go this year for Houston and Navy me thinks.

Appalachian State at North Carolina:  Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.  App State blocked a kick on the last play of the game to upset a Power Five team.  I know right?  Now the Mountaineers have put themselves in the thick of the New Year’s Six race.  Also, the bloom has come off the rose of the Mack Brown Chapel Hill Experience (Part Deux).

San Jose State at Arkansas:  Arkansas sucks.  No other way to put it.  The Spartans looked like the better team and showed it.  Chad Morris may not be long for Fayetteville as it’s getting to the point where the Hogs fans are tired of the losing.

There were upsets galore last weekend and a lot of movement.  So let’s look at the new Bossman Top 25!

#1	Clemson
#2	Georgia
#3	LSU
#4	Alabama
#5	Auburn
#6	Ohio State
#7	Wisconsin
#8	Florida
#9	Oklahoma
#10	Texas
#11	Penn State
#12	Notre Dame
#13	Oregon
#14	Iowa
#15	Virginia
#16	Washington
#17	Michigan
#18	California
#19	Boise State
#20	Utah
#21	Texas A&M
#22	UCF
#23	Michigan State
#24	USC
#25	Kansas State

Well aren’t I a cheeky bastard.  Bama at 4?  Utah over USC?  UCF still in the Top 25?  No this isn’t a joke: this is my Top 25.  And yes, I have four of the top five spots as SEC teams (and six of the top eight).  It won’t stay that way.  We know that.  But for now that’s how I have it.  I’m sure if I was some “expert” I would have 1,000 tweets at this point telling me what a moron I was.

So that was a great college football Saturday.  Already this feels like a better season than 2018.  Let’s hope it keeps up.  Have a great week everyone!

How about a little OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVERTIME and a Week 2 recap?

I love college football.  You know that.  So what’s better than a bunch of games going into overtime, eh?  Let’s recap those games right off the hop OK sounds good let’s go.

• Michigan 24 Army 21 (2OT) – What a game this was….for Army.  Michigan did not play well at all and it kind of felt like they had no idea what to do with Army’s triple option.  Even so, Shea Patterson stunk and the playcalling was puzzling at times.  Michigan lucks out by getting a strip sack in double overtime to stay in the Top 10.  As for Army, watch out for them if no teams end up undefeated this season.
• Colorado 34 Nebraska 31 (OT) – A classic Big 8 matchup that was a barnburner.  It looked like the Huskers were going to destroy the Buffs until a late game comeback by Colorado put them into overtime.  A missed field goal clinched the game and now I am starting to feel kind of stupid for drinking the Nebraska Koolaid (which was obviously cherry-flavoured).
• Kent State 26 Kennesaw State 23 (OT) – The earlier women’s field hockey game was stopped in double overtime so that this game could start on time.  Absolutely crazy.  And then we almost see Kennesaw State pull the FCS-over-FBS upset.  Kent State escapes and continues to be known for bad things, one much, MUCH worse than the rest.
• Florida State 45 ULM 44 (OT) – Good god Willie Taggart.  What is going on in Tallahassee?  Most of the fans had left by the time this game ended.  And for a while it looked like the Warhawks would win in regulation.  Instead, FSU tied it up and then won the game thanks to a ULM missed extra point.  Yeesh.  Not a good look for the Noles who may have hit a bit of a rock bottom.
• BYU 29 Tennessee 26 (2OT) – Since we are talking about once-proud teams who have fallen far, let us check in on the University of Tennessee Volunteers football program.  Gross.  They could not put BYU away.  And to top it off they have a coverage breakdown and allow BYU to go more than half the field with under 15 seconds to play to get the tying field goal just to make it to overtime.  Expect Jeremy Pruitt to now be on every hot seat list in the country.
• Minnesota 38 Fresno State 35 (2OT) – College football this past weekend conspired to not allow me to go to bed at a reasonable time…and when I say reasonable time I mean 2 in the morning.  A great back-and-forth game which ended on a great Antoine Winfield Jr. interception in double overtime.  Maybe other Big Ten teams should take note and not make trips to the West Coast.

This week of college football really had a dearth of marquee games, as is somewhat usual for Week 2.  However, the action this week was damn good.  A fun Saturday of college football was had by all (who watched).  Let’s go through the week that was!

• Let’s take a trip out to Seattle for a game that didn’t start until 1:30 in the morning.  I am not joking.  Thanks to some severe weather they had to delay the game by almost three hours.  I did not stay up to stay updated on this game and I missed a great one of course.  Washington did not play well at all and let Cal stick around for far too long.  This led to the Golden Bears winning on a last-minute field goal and furthering the Pac-12’s overall misery.
• Kansas lost a game…at home…to Coastal Carolina.  So yeah it is going to take quite a long time for Les Miles to turn this thing around.
• Clemson made relatively easy work of Texas A&M.  Yes they only won by 14 but it never felt like the Aggies were in this one.  So the Tigers beat yet another SEC team.  I think they need to stop this whole “Oh yeah well Clemson doesn’t have an SEC schedule” horseshit.  They are damn good, plain and simple.  And they are still the favourite to win the whole thing in January.
• Don’t look know but there might be a new contender in the ACC Coastal.  Step right up Mack Brown!  The Tar Heels looked good against Miami and won the game late in front of a raucous home crowd in Chapel Hill.  Yes, the same team that almost beat Florida in one of the worst college football games of the year so far.  Considering the state of the ACC Coastal beyond Virginia, don’t be surprised if North Carolina isn’t at least bowl-eligible by the end of the year which would be a huge complement to Mack Brown’s coaching ability.
• Breaking news!  West Virginia is awful.  No wonder Dana Holgorsen left for a Group of Five team.  Neal Brown is going to have a tough go here in 2019.  I sincerely hope that the Mountaineer faithful are patient with this as this will not be a fun season in Morgantown, that’s for sure.
• Maryland blew Syracuse out of the water on Saturday, winning by 43.  No that is not a misprint and no it’s not a joke.  The toughest division in college football just got a lot tougher as the Terps are looking seriously good this season so far.  As for the ACC, Virginia will replace Syracuse in the Top 25 but will more than two teams ever get into the rankings?  It doesn’t look good for the conference.
• On Friday night, Boise State beat Marshall but it sure wasn’t convincing.  14-7 doesn’t exactly speak dominance and the fact that freshman quarterback Hank Bachmeier was average at best in this one…let’s just say I am still not convinced the Broncos will be the Group of Five representative in the New Year’s Six if this keeps up.
• Joe Burrow was absolutely fantastic in the primetime ABC game as he threw for the second-most yards in LSU history.  The Tigers beat Texas but Texas also hung around as well.  Both teams need to play better defense as the season wears on but these two offenses may be two of the best in college football this year.  And Burrow may force himself into the Heisman conversation whether people like it or not.
• Ohio State shutout Cincinnati in Luke Fickell’s return to Columbus.  I don’t know, it feels like Ohio State is going to look really good at least into October and then they will lay an egg or three and we will wonder what kind of team they really are.  You know, like almost every other season they have had.
• Everyone was wondering how Kedon Slovis would play against Stanford.  Well, Clay Travis can breathe a bit of a sigh of relief as Slovis was excellent, the Trojans played a nearly flawless game, and we continue the narrative that no one really wants to win the Pac-12.  Except maybe Utah.
• I don’t think Charlie Strong is long for this 2019 season.  Another loss, this time to a rebuilding Georgia Tech team, puts the Bulls at 0-2 to start the season and at eight straight losses stretching back to last year.  For a team that not too long ago was battling with UCF to be the big-time team in this conference, this is a stunning fall and Strong is going to be the scapegoat for it, rightly or wrongly (mostly rightly).
• Oh and how could I forget UCLA?  They lost again, this time to San Diego State.  UCLA was behind most of the game and never really seemed in it.  I don’t know if it’s just Chip Kelly not having the right personnel to run his offense or what.  But for a team that many (including myself) thought would at least be going bowling this season, it’s not a good look, for the Bruins or for Kelly himself.

Recap complete!  Considering the schedule was one of the worst I have seen (beyond the top two games) it was a super fun weekend to watch college football.  The lesson?  Never assume when it comes to this sport.  Some great schedules create horrible weeks (in terms of quality of the actual games played) and some shitty schedules produce some of the most historic weeks.  You never know.  Anyway, here’s the return of the Bossman Top 25:

#1	Clemson
#2	LSU
#3	Alabama
#4	Georgia
#5	Ohio State
#6	Oklahoma
#7	Michigan
#8	Florida
#9	Auburn
#10	Notre Dame
#11	Utah
#12	Penn State
#13	Wisconsin
#14	UCF
#15	Texas
#16	Michigan State
#17	Texas A&M
#18	Oregon
#19	Iowa
#20	Washington State
#21	Washington
#22	Boise State
#23	Iowa State
#24	Maryland
#25	Virginia

As per usual I am close to the current polls but have a few differences.  And yes, I have LSU leapfrogging Alabama for #2.  Bama ain’t played nobody and LSU just beat Texas so I have to give them the nod here.  I don’t have USC in the Top 25, yet.  Not entirely convinced that they belong there but if they win next week they will be there.  Other than that I am confident that this is the perfect Top 25.  You all agree, right?  Don’t answer that.

Another recap done.  Hurricane Dorian was devastating to the Bahamas.  The States were mostly spared from the destruction.  So for now, we can safely say there will not be games added during conference championship week.  If you have read this blog before, you know my thoughts on these games.  Now they are at the peak of hurricane system so as long as they can get through the next few weeks unscathed there shouldn’t be any scheduling issues and, most importantly, no more damage to people and their property.

Same old, same old with the college football schedule Thursday and the NFL schedule Friday.  We are back in football season, ladies and gentlemen and it feels oh so good.  Enjoy your week everyone.

Well I see ACC Media Days got off to a rousing start…

…thanks to one Mr. Larry Fedora.

You see, Lawrence here believes that college football will not look the same in ten years.  Which is undoubtedly true.  I mean the game is changing every year and…wait, there’s more?  Oh OK.

“And I do believe that if it gets to that point, that our country goes down too.”

Wow.  That is an incredibly scorching take that seems borderline ridiculous.  He went on to say there is no link between football causing CTE in some players.  OK he has crossed over into lunacy now.

Look, I get it.  He wants the best team he can get in Chapel Hill.  To do so he has to recruit and recruit hard to match what is happening in most of the rest of the ACC.  He wants to shed North Carolina’s image of being “just a basketball school” (like Kansas except not as bad).  And to do that he has to convince himself and others that football should stay the smashmouth type sport with no regard for one’s body and that this won’t cause any damage to said body and you will come out after four years a man instead of a boy.  I mean he’s wrong.  Let’s make no mistake about it.  I think he tends to forget that it used to be that most teams ran the ball more than passed it.  And for some teams that works but for all teams to do it is, quite frankly, really fucking boring.  So some rule changes to arguably open up the passing game (and offense in general) isn’t a bad thing especially since there’s a safety aspect to it.  I get that the targeting rule still needs refinement since some of the calls are ones that even Jeff Triplette wouldn’t make but it’s better than what it used to be.  College football, like every other sport, has to evolve or otherwise, yes, it won’t be nearly as popular ten years from now.  And then Larry will be fully correct.  But I am sure if America is not as good at that point it will have nothing to do with college football and everything to do with almost everything else you read and hear about American life these days.

Alright enough of that.  Let’s get to what you’re here for (I think)…the first set of conference predictions for the 2018 season (followed by notes in a thick Boston accent):

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

Notes in a THICK BAWstun Accent

• You know, since Boston is part of ACC country.  Really does seem to fit still but who cares in this day of conference realignment insanity.
• Honestly, Clemson looks really good this season.  Their defense looks insanely good: like one of the best in recent memory.  That defensive line the Tigers possess could be historically good.  They really are a (relatively) easy choice to run the regular season table in the ACC.
• The other side of the conference should see Miami and Virginia Tech battle for supremacy.  I think the Hokies will beat the Kings of the Turnover Chain to win the Coastal division but it will be a nice race to the finish either way.
• Florida State will be back being competitive this season (so Noles fans can calm down).  They aren’t quite back to the way they were as they have to learn Willie Taggart’s systems and figure out their quarterback going forward but they could be set up for something good next season, especially once Clemson loses all those defenders to the draft.
• Back to Larry Fedora, I can guarantee this wouldn’t be considered nearly as offensive if his team wasn’t coming off a terrible year (and will probably have another terrible one this year).  Winning cures a lot of things.  Sad but true.
• Dino Babers and Bronco Mendenhall may be in for a world of hurt this season if they can’t be better than advertised.
• I’ve got nine bowl teams coming out of the ACC with two others on the cusp.  Don’t be surprised if the bowls have to dip into the 5-7 teams yet again (after a hiatus in 2017) and take either Boston College or Duke to fill a spot.
• In the end, I have Clemson (like a lot of others) winning the ACC Championship over a tough Virginia Tech squad which will undoubtedly put them in the College Football Playoff.

First conference done.  Nine more to go, plus those crazy independent teams.  Next up is the conference that we get a lot less games from now than we did a few years ago, the Big Ten.  Have a great weekend everyone!  Remember, we are 36 days away from college football!