Except for when I absolutely have to, there will be no mention of…well that team that I have mentioned four times (three written, one in picture form) already this post. They had very little to do with what happened this past weekend. They won big. That is all. On to much more interesting topics.
I was going to do things a bit differently this time around. I was going to include Twitter posts but since I am not tech-savvy in the least, I insert them into this post and they look like shit. Too small and when I blow them up a bit they look like someone is viewing them through the beer glasses in that drunk driving commercial years ago. So forget that. Just normal style. Well as normal as I can make it. (UPDATE: I figured it out…after I finished the post).
Friday the 13th, Part I: The weekend started on Friday night with one of the biggest upsets of the season. Syracuse played extremely well, especially defensively, and beat Clemson. And it was all on Friday the 13th. Crazy, right? Oh it was about to get a bit crazier…
Friday the 13th, Part II: Washington State laid an absolute egg in Berkeley right afterwards. Friday the 13th did turn out to be an absolute trainwreck of a night for college football. Do I love it? In a way, yes. I mean we all want 2007 (or at least 1990) to make a return. We haven’t had a truly astonishingly crazy year this decade yet. As college football fans, we’re due.
Put a Fork in the them: And the state of Washington’s weekend continued to go to shit in the college football world as Washington was upset by Arizona State. Todd Graham may have saved his job with this win amazingly enough and now ESPN is going to put every Washington game, home and away, at exactly 7:30 local time for the rest of the season and probably the near future as well. Good times!
So as for that Iron Bowl game in a month…: All Auburn had to do was win out until the Iron Bowl and that game against…you know who would be a ratings bonanza. I mean it would be a ratings bonanza for CBS but still. Then they went out and did what they have done this entire century…lose at LSU. Somehow, Ed Orgeron is going to keep his job through all this we just know it. As for Gus Malzahn who knows. One conference loss and half the fanbase wants his head on a platter. They take football super serious in the dirty south.
FINALLY! OK I don’t want to count chickens before they hatch but it sure does look like Miami will finally make its way to the ACC Championship. Over a decade after they were invited to the ACC. And were put in a different division than Florida State because for sure they would be facing each other at least every year in the conference championship. Yeah kind of missed on that one. But games like the Georgia Tech game played in a virtual quagmire is the kind of game they couldn’t close for years. Now they are so they have to be considered at least contenders for the College Football Playoff at this point, no?
It’s the RED…RIVER…SHOOTOUT!!! But it’s about guns and guns are bad despite the fact most of the crowd at this game every year owns multiple guns. America, everybody! Anyway, this game was closer than it should have been and I am starting to wonder about Baker Mayfield’s Heisman chances. He has fallen a bit behind Saquon Barkley and J.T. Barrett has rocketed up the rankings after Ohio State’s loss earlier in the year to those same Sooners. Maybe my proclamation of the Sooners and Buckeyes being out of it were premature although Oklahoma is holding on by the barest of threads at this point with no wiggle room for error.
Just like I thought it would happen. I had San Diego State running the table except for one game this season. They would mow through their division opponents and their non-conference schedule. The only blemish? Boise State. And that’s exactly what happened. So don’t be surprised if in a few weeks, the Aztecs are back in the Top 25 and stay there for the rest of the season. I still think they may be upset losses to USF and UCF away from being back in the thick of the Group of Five New Year’s Six race.
The AUDACITY! How dare Navy show up at the Liberty Bowl as a Top 25 team. How dare they! Memphis destroyed Navy’s slim chances at the New Year’s Six and has made it so the AAC’s hopes bank (probably) on the War on I-4 between USF and UCF.
Yeah that didn’t last long. Texas Tech’s time in the Top 25 lasted, well, not as long as they would have wanted it to. Worst part is they had West Virginia on the ropes and couldn’t put them away. With the rest of the schedule not looking too fun for Texas Tech, just getting to bowl-eligibility should be considered a success for Kute Kliff Kingsbury and his Red Raiders.
I gotta give Kyle Whittingham credit… He had the balls to go for two late in Utah’s 28-27 loss to USC. Yes they didn’t make it but I loved the call. Being an underdog on the road to a ranked team. Taking them to overtime probably wouldn’t have helped anyway. Might as well try to put the Trojans away in a game they weren’t expected to win anyways right? Also, no one is going to catch USC in the Pac-12 South now I don’t think. So they have basically clinched their spot in the Pac-12 Championship game before Halloween.
How many people REALLY wanted Michigan to win that game? Not too many. And a lot of people like Michigan and Jim Harbaugh. But Indiana was oh so close. Another heartbreaker for Indiana who has been close for a few years now to breaking through with a big win and end up falling just short.
How did this happen? How did a Steve Addazio-coached Boston College squad beat a Louisville squad with an elite quarterback who had another fantastic day? Boston College has had an anemic offense, at best, under Addazio and relies on their defense, which GAVE UP 42 POINTS! I don’t get it. God, I love college football.
I wonder where Butch Jones is hiding now. I think ol’ Butch is as good as gone. They could win out and I don’t think it would save him. Problem is, who can you hire to replace him? Who would take the job in Knoxville knowing that unless they can pull out a 10-win season (at the very least) they are just starting to dig their own grave? They never should have canned Philip Fulmer when they did. That started this whole cavalcade of nonsense.
OK enough recapping for now. That was a fun weekend. We need more of them like that! Alright, now for the much-anticipated Bossman Top 25!
| #1 | Alabama |
| #2 | Georgia |
| #3 | Penn State |
| #4 | TCU |
| #5 | Wisconsin |
| #6 | Ohio State |
| #7 | Miami |
| #8 | USC |
| #9 | Oklahoma State |
| #10 | Clemson |
| #11 | Oklahoma |
| #12 | Washington |
| #13 | USF |
| #14 | Virginia Tech |
| #15 | Washington State |
| #16 | Notre Dame |
| #17 | Michigan |
| #18 | UCF |
| #19 | NC State |
| #20 | Auburn |
| #21 | Michigan State |
| #22 | LSU |
| #23 | Stanford |
| #24 | Texas A&M |
| #25 | Virginia |
Clemson, Washington, Washington State, and Auburn all being gone from near the top put quite the wrinkle in this exercise this week. I am sure I have the top four as right as can be with the Tide at the top. After that, it gets to be a bit of a dog’s breakfast. It’s still too early for rankings that mean anything although the College Football Playoff initial rankings come out soon.
As for what I think the CFP combatants will be, here is what I think will end up being the rankings at the top:
- Alabama
- Wisconsin
- TCU
- USC
- Clemson
- Penn State
- Ohio State
Really, past Alabama no one can make any definitive statements at this point. Penn State could go through with one loss and be left out altogether, especially if that loss is to Michigan or Ohio State over the next two weeks (I think they will lose one of those two games). Wisconsin has the easiest schedule of this bunch and should get to the Big Ten Championship unscathed. After that who knows since they will finally have to face a true Top 10 opponent. Could be very interesting.
Alright, NFL recap of sorts coming tomorrow. Enjoy your Monday everyone (as much as you possibly can enjoy a Monday).
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