This kind of thing bugs me (and the Week 10 College Football TV Schedule)

Posted on October 31, 2023 by guelphbossman

Deion Sanders did it this past weekend. So did Pat Narduzzi. And other coaches have done it in the past.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about calling our your players during a press conference and basically running them down in front of the entire college football world. I honestly don’t get the point of it.

Let me start by being VERY clear here: I am not saying players don’t need the proverbial boot up their ass every so often. It’s part of coaching. As long as it’s not abusive, it will probably help in a player’s overall development. Players need to hear what they are doing wrong or otherwise how can they not do that thing wrong again? It’s the same with management in the rest of the working world (I won’t get into the fact that I estimate a good 70% or so of managers don’t know how to manage and that management is a skill because this blog post would end up taking you three hours to read). You have to help your team get better. It makes everything a bit easier, a bit better, and reflects well on the manager.

Saying all that, telling a ton of people that a player or group of players suck(s) is not the way to go about it. I get that coaches can be frustrated but doing that just makes you a bad manager/coach/mentor/teacher/trainer, etc. You do that in private.

Worst part of all this, in Sanders’ case, is Deion’s son is the quarterback and he verbally lambasted the offensive line in that press conference. Look, I agree: their offensive line is not good at all and Shedeur is getting his ass handed to him back there. So will these players step up and do a whole lot better or will they get pissed off and maybe allow a defensive lineman or two by a little bit easier? It’s not Shedeur’s fault but he may end up taking the brunt of this. Is it right to do this? No, but you never know how people are going to act when the coach tells everyone you suck and he has no faith in you.

As for Narduzzi’s, this may be worse. Unlike Deion, Narduzzi recruited all these players. They’re essentially his choices to play at Pitt. So if they don’t do well or don’t develop, he has to take at least a part of the blame as head coach and recruiter. So to throw them under the bus (or at least appear to) looks very poorly on him. And the players are obviously upset. Again, this really isn’t the way to push a player to do better. It may work but it would almost be out of spite rather than from Narduzzi’s choice words.

OK we are still in the midst of football EVERY DAMN DAY! So we must rejoice, no matter the quality of the games. Hey, Conference USA had a few good ones in October and now MACtion and the Fun Belt take over in the final regular season month of the college football season. Let’s get to that schedule which includes more weekday fun!

Tuesday

		US	Canada
Northern Illinois at Central Michigan	7:00
Buffalo at Toledo	7:30

Ah, it’s that time of year. MACtion on a Halloween night. By the time the games start, most of the kids are finished trick-or-treating so we can sit down and watch all four of these teams play, probably in relatively frigid temperatures, all for our enjoyment. God bless college football.

Wednesday

		US	Canada
Ball State at Bowling Green	7:00
Kent State at Akron	7:00

OK not nearly as good a MACtion night as the previous one but Bowling Green is way better than they probably had any right to be so far this season so there’s that.

Thursday

		US	Canada
Wake Forest at Duke	7:30
South Alabama at Troy	7:30
Mississippi Valley State at Bethune-Cookman	7:30

I figured the USA-Troy game would be for the Sun Belt West title but both teams have stumbled a bit. Now, the loser is pretty much out and has no shot at a conference championship game appearance.

Friday

		US	Canada
Princeton at Dartmouth	7:00
Boston College at Syracuse	7:30
Colorado State at Wyoming	8:00

Have you noticed there are never ranked teams playing on weeknights? It’s like the schedule makers understood the assignment. “Give them football but not great football teams.” Anyway, the hilariously awful bottom half of the ACC continues their march to…can’t even say mediocrity for this one. Loser will have it rough to become bowl eligible the rest of the way.

Saturday Early

Quite a few decent games here. I figured Notre Dame-Clemson was going to be a much bigger game but Dabo decided he’s allergic to NIL. KSU-UT could decide one of the teams going to the Big XII Championship. And…if you had said Jacksonville State would be the favoured Cocks in this matchup I would have thought you were on serious drugs. Not the unserious ones.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Georgia Tech at Virginia	2:00
Arizona State at #18 Utah	2:00
Army vs. #17 Air Force (in Denver)	2:30
#10 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State	3:30
Virginia Tech at #15 Louisville	3:30
Illinois at Minnesota	3:30
#14 Missouri at #1 Georgia	3:30
#4 Florida State at Pittsburgh	3:30
#23 James Madison at Georgia State	3:30
#21 Tulane at East Carolina	3:30
#9 Penn State at Maryland	3:30
Auburn at Vanderbilt	4:00
California at #6 Oregon	5:30

OK things start to pick up here. One big game against two ranked teams where Mizzou could shock the entire college football world. Plus another NINE games involving ranked teams. It’s rare to see that many ranked teams in one timeslot. Realistically, all the ranked teams should worry at least a bit as you never know when the underdog can rise up and bite you in the ass. Except for Tulane. I have a feeling they will do just fine with East Carolina.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Louisiana Tech at Liberty	6:00
Marshall at Appalachian State	6:00
#22 Kansas at Iowa State	7:00
#5 Washington at #24 USC	7:30
SMU at Rice	7:30
Purdue at #2 Michigan	7:30
Kentucky at Mississippi State	7:30
#13 LSU at #8 Alabama	7:45
Miami at NC State	8:00

Ah, the annual SEC on CBS primetime matchup between LSU and Alabama. A tradition unlike any other. Well, that tradition comes to an end on this night. Other than possible Ole Miss shenanigans, this game should determine the SEC West champion. The Huskies’ game against the Trojans looked much bigger a few weeks ago but USC has struggled mightily on defense and really should move on from Alex Grinch if they are to have any chance at becoming a true contender. Finally, it will be interested to see what happens if Liberty ends up the only undefeated Group of Five team. At this point, their schedule is so weak that they wouldn’t be able to pass most of the one-loss teams if that was the case. But there is a month left so you never really know what could happen.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
Stanford at Washington State	9:00
Boise State at Fresno State	10:00
#16 Oregon State at Colorado	10:00

Big Mountain West game. Even with Boise starting the season off pretty badly, they still have a very good shot at getting back to the Mountain West Championship game. The Broncos will need a win down in the valley in Fresno to keep their hopes alive. The Bulldogs held on for a big win last week over UNLV and are sitting second behind Air Force for that other conference championship spot. Stakes are high.

Hey, Watch This

LSU at Alabama (7:45, CBS) – Don’t mind the bizarre start time. It may be something they are trying out for the future since even the slightest edge can help in the ratings war. This is CBS’s only primetime pick of the season and yet again, it’s the Tigers and the Tide. Unless Ole Miss makes a run, this is for the SEC West crown. LSU is going to be trying their damndest to be the first ever two-loss College Football Playoff team but they need a lot of help. First off, they need to take care of business in one of the toughest stadiums to play in as a visitor against one of the toughest coaches to ever play against. Easy, right?

Missouri at Georgia (3:30, CBS) – Both ends of the SEC on CBS doubleheader are the top two games of the week. Just like they drew it up. Mizzou has played way above their heads all season. Not saying they have talent. They do but Eli Drinkwitz has, I don’t know, finally figured things out and is doing the best coaching of his career. And if the Tigers win here, boy oh boy, there is going to be a lot of talk about this in the college football media and you probably won’t hear of anything else.

Kansas State at Texas (Noon, FOX) – This and the next game could be swapped and no one would bat an eye. This feels like a Big XII semi-final as neither team probably has a shot at going to JerryWorld if they lose here. I am sure GUS JOHNSON and Joel Klatt are praying for a close game here. They switched to the 3:30 game last week and, lo and behold, the Big Noon Kickoff game ended up being a classic. Poor guys. There’s only so much excitement you can infuse into a blowout, you know? Unless you’re Joe Tessitore and everything is exciting.

Washington at USC (7:30, ABC/TSN+) – Washington is still undefeated. It feels like they are trying not to be but they have pulled out some close ones against *checks notes* Arizona State and Stanford. OK then. Look, if the Huskies don’t put at least 40 on the board here, they should consider it a loss. USC’s defense is atrocious. Their offense, on the other hand…they can put up points in bunches so U-Dub better watch out and not fall too far behind early in this one at the Coliseum.

Sickos Game of the Week

Iowa vs. Northwestern (at Wrigley Field) (3:30, Peacock) – Look, I know. I am breaking my own rules here. We can’t this game (legally) up here. But the over/under is 29.5. TWENTY-NINE-AND-A-HALF. That is so fucking absurd. And yes, I would still consider betting the under. This feels like a game straight out of 1912. Maybe it’s a good thing we can’t see it.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

UConn at Tennessee (Noon, TSN+/specialty pack) – I think we have to consider that last season’s UConn Huskies football squad’s performance may have been a fluke. This team is not good again. Not as bad as the years before 2022. But still bad. Plus, the Vols need the warmup for when they head to CoMo the following Saturday.

Wanna Bet?

How about my two upset picks last week? Yeah, they were shit. As were my Oklahoma, Clemson and Oregon State picks. Yeesh. Let’s just get on to the new week and see if I can somehow do better.

Tennessee 56 UConn 6

South Carolina 31 Jacksonville State 17

Texas 34 Kansas State 28

Virginia 41 Georgia Tech 23

Utah 31 Arizona State 14

Florida State 43 Pittsburgh 20

Minnesota 23 Illinois 13

Georgia 30 Missouri 24

Auburn 26 Vanderbilt 19

Appalachian State 48 Marshall 21

USC 56 Washington 46 (small upset)

Alabama 42 LSU 37

Oregon State 34 Colorado 16

As is the usual, I will be on X/Twitter/Elon Musk’s money-losing venture this Saturday. I always hope to be able to interact with other college football fans because that is part of the fun of all this. It’s one thing to watch the games: bantering with others while doing it makes it more enjoyable. As long as no one acts like a complete asshat. Then it brings everyone down. That’s why I stick with college football Twitter (which is honestly OK to pretty good) compared to, say, NFL Twitter, which can be rough. Or political Twitter which is a fucking cesspool. Anyway, many hours of college football coming up for all of us. Enjoy the games everyone!

We’re looking ahead again (and giving you the Week 8 College Football TV Schedule)

Posted on October 17, 2023 by guelphbossman

Last year I decided to do some looking ahead in the middle of the season. Did it work out then? Eh. So why not try it again? What’s the worst that could happen? Why so many questions?

Will one of the surprise Group of Five teams keep things going into November? Air Force realistically has a clear path to 10-0 now. They end up with UNLV and Boise State and that’s where their mettle will be tested. If they don’t get there undefeated then they may not deserve that Group of Five New Year’s Six spot. James Madison, at this point, really has nothing to play for although that could be scary. They could run the table almost to spite the NCAA at this point. Finally, if things go awry for the AFA, JMU (and Liberty), watch out for Miami-Ohio. Quietly they are 6-1 and have the biggest game of the MAC season against the other 6-1 team in the conference, Toledo. Win that and they could conceivably go 11-1 and pout a lot of pressure on the top G-5 teams.

Is there anyone who will stop a Georgia-Alabama SEC Championship? Are there some small landmines left on UGA’s schedule? Sure. And now with Brock Bowers out for the season, any one of Tennessee, Missouri and, yes, Florida could upend the apple cart so to speak. Out in the SEC West, Bama has a much tougher road to hoe but if they can get through their next two games against the Vols and LSU, it might be clear sailing to Atlanta.

Can Penn State finally push through in the Big Ten East? Yes. This might be their best chance ever. They have to show that, though, this coming Saturday. Lose to Ohio State and forget about it. Win and they will make all Michigan fans nervous until their mega-matchup. This next month will define James Franklin’s tenure at State College.

Which conference will miss the College Football Playoff? Or will it be conferences…plural? If UGA and Bama make it to conference championship weekend undefeated then it will be two conferences being left out almost guaranteed. If not, then it will be a dogfight but I still worry about the Pac-12 and what feels like the inevitable cannibalization which has kind of already started. Washington is their best best but absolutely cannot lose more than one game the rest of the way.

The biggest upset the rest of the way will be…I am going to go with Oklahoma losing to either Oklahoma State in Bedlam or TCU on Black Friday. Something tells me they will not get through unscathed.

Now who will win the Heisman? Caleb Williams isn’t out of the race but man he looked awful in South Bend. Michael Penix Jr. is now the frontrunner but he will have to basically outlast Bo Nix, Jordan Travis, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy of all people who is slowly and efficiently powering Michigan through everyone on their schedule. This might be one of the tightest races in recent memory.

OK enough Nostradamusing….it’s sked time!

Tuesday

		US	Canada
Middle Tennessee at Liberty	7:00
Southern Miss at South Alabama	7:30
WKU at Jacksonville State	7:30

Time for some CU(SA) Next Tuesday action as the two conference favourites play…in two separate games. Some Fun Belt action alongside it as well. I am so loving football every day for damn near two months.

Wednesday

		US	Canada
FIU at Sam Houston	7:00
New Mexico State at UTEP	9:00

Maybe, just maybe, Sam Houston can finally get their first FBS win. Also, the Battle of I-10 (now a conference game!) is later on as the Aggies and Miners play for the Silver Spade. I also love these less-well-known trophy games. You can always tell it means a lot to these teams even if they don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.

Thursday

		US	Canada
James Madison at Marshall	7:00
Rice at Tulsa	7:00
NC Central at Morgan State	7:30

Easily the highlight of the weeknight games is the Dukes travelling to Huntington to face off against the Thundering Herd. I hope that JMU can get a waiver to go bowling because if they keep going like this they deserve it. Also, the first of two HBCU games this weekend that you can see up here. Other than Week Zero that is something that almost never happens.

Friday

		US	Canada
SMU at Temple	7:00

Look, there’s nothing else on…maybe baseball. So hopefully this one gets weird.

Saturday Early

The absolute main course of the week goes off at noon hour with PSU and tOSU facing off. Many hate the fact these big games are on at Noon but I saw a tweet that said this is a good way to get people to watch college football all day as since they introduced the ABC Saturday Night game, viewers shifted their viewing habits and were watching the games starting 3:30 and after way more than the Noon games. Not anymore.

We also have a big Group of Five matchup as Air Force looks to continue their undefeated run in a Commander’s-In-Chief Trophy game against Navy. Finally, Rutgers (RUTGERS!) could clinch bowl-eligibility with a win over the lowly Indiana Hoosiers.

Saturday Afternoon

Could the Vols upset the Tide? It’s entirely possible considering how average Bama has sometimes been. Wazzu and Oregon face off in a Pac-12 elimination game of sorts. The two most surprising teams in the Big XII will try and keep their surprising runs going. Imagine one of Texas or Oklahoma loses out on a Big XII Championship spot in their final year in the conference because of Oklahoma State? Or even worse, West Virginia? Big XII fans would never let either school live it down.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Virginia at #10 North Carolina	6:30
Utah State at San Jose State	7:00
#13 Ole Miss at Auburn	7:00
TCU at Kansas State	7:00
Appalachian State at Old Dominion	7:00
#16 Duke at #4 Florida State	7:30
#2 Michigan at Michigan State	7:30
Army at #19 LSU	7:30
Clemson at Miami	8:00
Georgia State at Louisiana	8:00
#14 Utah at #18 USC	8:00

The biggest game of the night is…*checks notes*…Florida State hosting Duke? DUKE? Yep. This could be a massive upset if the Blue Devils can pull it off. Also, let’s not understate that if the Noles win it counts as a big win and gives them another big push towards the College Football Playoff.

The rest of the primetime schedule features another Pac-12 elimination game. Imagine saying that the Trojans and Caleb Williams are eliminated from the Pac-12 race over a week before Halloween? Say that at the start of the season and some would have thought you were crazy.

Also, we have a potential Fight Night II as Michigan heads to East Lansing to face Baby Brother, the Spartans. If there’s even a sniff of a potential brawl it will get a lot of attention. I’m sure Captain Khaki will tell his players to steer clear of any of that shit because they have national championship aspirations and any suspensions could cause serious problems.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
#25 UCLA at Stanford	10:30
Montana State at Sacramento State	10:30

Wow this is….this is technically the late night schedule. Look, if the Montana State-Sac State game is anything like the Montana-Idaho game last Saturday night then this could be a fun one to watch.

Hey, Watch This!

Penn State at Ohio State (Noon, FOX) – There is no other game that could occupy this top spot. This is one of the three-team Big Ten East Round Robin Games of the Year (along with the games against Michigan) where one or even two teams will be eliminated from the CFP conversation for having the audacity to be in the same division as the other teams. A loss here doesn’t fully eliminate either team from contention as you will know from my preview posts back in August.

Duke at Florida State (7:30, ABC) – The Blue Devil Dream Season could hit a crescendo at around 11:00. Weeks after, arguably, their biggest win in program history over Clemson they could one-up that if they pull off the monumental upset here. On the other hand, Jordan Travis could re-introduce himself into the Heisman race if he can put on a big performance and lead FSU to victory.

Tennessee at Alabama (3:30, CBS) – Gee, I wonder who Gary Danielson will be pulling for in this one? Look, I am sure there are some people who are surprised that the Vols are only 6 spots behind the Tide in the rankings. You shouldn’t be. As I said above, Bama has looked entirely average at times this season (see their game against USF). Saying all that, this is still the Alabama Damn Crimson Tide and you know Nick Saban will have the players up for this game so UT can’t afford a slow start here.

Utah at USC (8:00, FOX) – If USC hadn’t played poorly last Saturday in South Bend and if the Utes hadn’t looked terrible against Oregon State a couple weeks back, this game could have been close to number one on the list. Instead, both squads will be fighting for their Pac-12 lives which is something no one figured for this game considering there is still more than a month left in the season.

Sickos Game of the Week

Northwestern at Nebraska (3:30, Big Ten Network) – This is why conference networks exist. To bury games like this far away from many eyes while still being able to say it’s being broadcast to a fairly wide audience. I can’t see there being much interest in this game anywhere, except for Wildcat and Cornhusker fans (and even then).

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Army at LSU (7:30, TSN+/SP) – There are speed bump games and then there is this. Unless LSU shits the bed, this is not going to end well for the Black Knights. So no, this is not a speed bump game or a lookahead game or anything else you want to call it. It will probably end up being a good old fashioned beatdown.

Wanna Bet?

Who called the Pitt upset? This fucking guy….I’m pointing at myself. Enough said. Let’s get on to this week’s picks!

UTEP 29 New Mexico State 23

Ohio State 34 Penn State 24

Air Force 39 Navy 38

Ohio 20 Western Michigan 16

Arkansas 21 Mississippi State 14

UAB 38 Memphis 35 (upset!)

Oklahoma State 27 West Virginia 23

Alabama 31 Tennessee 28

North Carolina 41 Virginia 33

Michigan 45 Michigan State 17

Florida State 30 Duke 13

USC 20 Utah 16

Louisiana 25 Georgia State 24

The Bossman Top 26!

It’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Yeah, I figured it was about time to whip out the Bossman Top 25 so here it is in all its….well, glory might be too strong a word…wait hold on…oh no. Not the Top 25. I’m going one better. Top 26, motherfuckers! Let’s ride!

#1	Georgia
#2	Michigan
#3	Ohio State
#4	Washington
#5	Florida State
#6	Penn State
#7	Oklahoma
#8	Alabama
#9	Oregon State
#10	Texas
#11	North Carolina
#12	Oregon
#13	Ole Miss
#14	Notre Dame
#15	Utah
#16	Tennessee
#17	USC
#18	LSU
#19	Duke
#20	Missouri
#21	Louisville
#22	Tulane
#23	UCLA
#24	Iowa
#25	Air Force
#26	James Madison

“Bossman, why don’t you have Michigan at #1?” “Bossman, why do you have Bama up at #8?” “Bossman, why don’t you have James Madison in the Top 25?” Look, I try to base this on how good a team is, their record, and who they have played. You could exchange Air Force and JMU and it makes not a lick of difference. You could flip flop Georgia and Michigan. You could have Oregon State above Alabama. You could do all these things, sure. And it may end up working out that way. I find it much easier (now) to start the rankings in the middle of the season because I have a better idea of where most of the teams should be. Plus I know that all the big games coming up will actually alter how the season plays out, something that can’t be done with a preseason poll.

Football every day, folks. FOOTBALL….EVERY DAMN DAY! Until American Thanksgiving Eve. Embrace it. Everyone have a great rest of the week and enjoy the games!

Oh man, here we go again

Posted on August 1, 2023 by guelphbossman

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!

More bowl projections? Don’t mind if I do.

Posted on November 1, 2021 by guelphbossman

Another crazy weekend of college football has graced our presence. Nine ranked teams lost on Saturday as this insane 2021 season continues. So let’s get right to the Bossman Top 25, shall we?

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

Yes I have Michigan State at #3. And I kind of contemplated putting them at #2 but decided against it. Unless Georgia loses, #2 is the highest Cincinnati can possibly get and it’s honestly downhill from here unless they can seriously impress The Committee. The first College Football Playoff rankings come out tomorrow night so we will have a good idea what they’re thinking at this point. Anything lower than Top 4 in the first CFP Poll and you can forget the Bearcats chances unless absolute chaos happens. I mean it could happen as this season has been nuts but the chaos would really have to be centred on the SEC. If Georgia and Alabama both lose once the rest of the way, it gives Cincy a massive shot in the arm and a much better opportunity at cementing their place in history. And how about Wake Forest? Firmly in the Top 10 and they were the last Power Five team to finally get into the Top 10 of the AP Poll for the first time. To me, that’s crazy that even that year they won the ACC Championship they were never in the Top 10. As for BYU, I have them at #16 and a lot would have to happen above them to get an at-large bid into the New Year’s Six. Chances are they would have to be no worse than #11 since it wouldn’t surprise me if either the ACC or Pac-12 champ was outside the Top 12.

OK we are not quite at the point where bowl projections start to resemble something that probably will happen. But we’re close I think. Unless what happens going forward is what has happened already this season. In that case, I can print these projections out and wipe my ass with them since that’s all they would be worth. Alright, let’s go with the projections!

Orange Bowl	CFP Poll #1 vs. CFP Poll #4	Georgia vs. Cincinnati
Cotton Bowl	CFP Poll #2 vs. CFP Poll #3	Oklahoma vs. Ohio State

The Cotton Bowl didn’t change at all. Neither did the Orange Bowl. But holy moly do I have Cincinnati in by a thread. There are a few teams that could lay claim to this spot depending on what happens the rest of the way. Alabama, Michigan State and, yes, even Notre Dame might have shots at getting into this spot. Alright, now to my first New Year’s Six projections of the season:

Sugar Bowl	SEC #1 vs. Big XII #1	Alabama vs Oklahoma State
Rose Bowl	Big Ten #1 vs. Pac-12 #1	Michigan State vs. Utah
Fiesta Bowl	CFP At-Large vs. CFP At-Large/G-5 #1	Notre Dame vs. Oregon
Peach Bowl	CFP At-Large vs. CFP At-Large/G-5 #1	Wake Forest vs. Kentucky

A lot to unpackage here. Here’s what I see happening:

- Notre Dame wins out. With their only loss being to 4th-ranked Cincinnati they are easily in.
- Michigan State does not make it to the Big Ten Championship after losing to Ohio State; however, with only one loss, they are an easy choice to go to the Rose Bowl.
- Oklahoma State loses the Big XII Championship in a Bedlam rematch with Oklahoma but is juuuuuuust better than Baylor for the Big XII spot at the Sugar Bowl.
- Alabama is in the Top 4 going into the SEC Championship but loses to Georgia. It’s enough to drop them to the Sugar Bowl even though some in the media desperately push for their entry into the CFP.
- Hey the ACC doesn’t look too bad here to be honest. I don’t foresee Wake going unscathed the rest of the way. But they will do enough to win the ACC Atlantic. Then they will dispatch Pitt in the ACC Championship in a close one. This will be enough to get them the Peach Bowl spot (since the Orange Bowl is one of the CFP semi-finals).
- Kentucky doesn’t get to the SEC Championship since UGA already clinched their spot (before Halloween!). But they win out and as a 2-loss team in this crazy season, that’s enough to go the NY6 for the first time.
- Utah beats…wait for it…Washington for the Pac-12 Championship. No I am not drunk. I see Oregon being upset by Washington and losing one of their other remaining games to fall below the Huskies in the Pac-12 North. That Stanford loss will loom large. Oregon will still be ranked high enough to be picked for the final at-large spot over Houston, Auburn, Michigan and UTSA.

OK so that’s good enough for now. Next week, I may put in full bowl projections. We shall see.

Tomorrow night, there’s MACtion! Three games in all. Ball State-Akron will be on CBS Sports Network starting at 7:00. The other two MAC games will be on the specialty pack. Enjoy the games everyone!

The Land of the Undefeated 6.0

Posted on October 12, 2021 by guelphbossman

It’s the sixth edition of The Land of The Undefeated! Last year, obviously, it made no sense to do one so this is the first time in two years that we will be looking at the undefeated teams remaining and how I believe they will do the rest of the way.

Normally I do this after Week 5 and I didn’t. Why? Honestly, it’s because I forgot to. It happens. At least I got to it before it got to like Week 12. That would have been a relatively short post. Anyway, here we go!

#1 Georgia (6-0) – I figured they were going to have two losses by now. Lucky for them, Clemson and Auburn aren’t as good as they were advertised and the rest of their sked has been relatively easy. The rest of their schedule…is kind of the same other than their next two games. Kentucky this Saturday and Florida at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party are what is keeping the Dawgs from a sure 12-0 and #1 ranking going into conference championship week. I think they do just that and almost assuredly clinch their spot in the College Football Playoff. Predicted record: 12-0.

#2 Iowa (6-0) – Somewhat of a surprise at the #2 spot but it shows how crazy the season has been so far. Unless their offense starts showing some real pop, though, it will be tough to get out of the regular season unscathed. And I believe they will drop a single game on their way to what will still be a relatively easy Big Ten West division crown. Predicted record: 11-1.

#3 Cincinnati (5-0) – Quite the start for the Bearcats. Big win over the Irish is the thing that will keep them in the mix. They have a tough test this Saturday against UCF but if they win, they should be 10-0 when they host SMU. It’s their Group of Five spot, at the very least, to lose but Luke Fickell’s team’s goal is, and has been all season, the CFP. Predicted record: 12-0.

#4 Oklahoma (6-0) – The Sooners have had quite the first half of the season. They somehow got past Texas in the Red River Shootout to get to 6-0 and are really lucky to be there. I think it won’t be luck the rest of the way as they may have found something with Caleb Williams and Kennedy Brooks is proving to be a beast on the ground. They should win out. Predicted record: 12-0.

#8 Michigan (6-0) – They’ve looked a lot better than many people thought they would be. Not awesome but good enough to be undefeated. They were able to escape Lincoln with a win and made Wisconsin look terrible a couple weeks ago. Problem for Michigan is that they are in the toughest division in college football and surviving that is a slim possibility. I’m going to go further and say the possibility is zero for the Wolverines. Predicted record: 10-2.

#10 Michigan State (6-0) – Very few are talking about Michigan State being in the Top 10 but here they are. The Spartans are rolling but soon enough hit the big part of their conference schedule which will be a minefield. I believe they are going to start to struggle with a very tough schedule the rest of the way. Saying that, they should get to the Michigan game the day before Halloween undefeated. After that….ugh. Predicted record: 9-3.

#11 Kentucky (6-0) – The Wildcats sure are fun to watch. That fun may go by the wayside very soon as they have Georgia on the schedule next week. Win that and it might be smooth sailing. I am assuming rough waters for the Cats for that game and a game they should win but end up shitting the bed on. Predicted record: 10-2.

#12 Oklahoma State (5-0) – Just another fantastic coaching job done by Mike Gundy this season. Considering that no one figured this team would be any better than probably 4th in the conference, they are overachieving so far. They are also a team that has snuck their way into the Top 15. The sneaking is going to stop soon now that they have everyone’s attention. Predicted record: 9-3.

#15 Coastal Carolina (6-0) – It always felt like the Sun Belt never had a really good team well into October and now it happens every season. The conference is set up well for the next set of realignment that’s for sure. As for Coastal, they are having another great season but still have to hope that Cincinnati trips up at least once for them to nab that New Year’s Six spot. Coastal probably won’t lose the rest of the way so their fate lies in the rest of the Bearcats’ conference opponents. Predicted record: 12-0.

#16 Wake Forest (6-0) – This feels like I am repeating myself but Dave Clawson is doing an amazing coaching job in Winston-Salem. They are the ACC’s final hope for the College Football Playoff and it’s a slim one. I can’t see them pulling through. Predicted record: 10-2.

#23 SMU (6-0) – I’ll be honest with you: I still don’t have the Mustangs making it to the AAC Championship Game. Seriously. They are very lucky to still be undefeated and that luck will end soon with a brutal schedule the rest of the way. Predicted record: 8-4.

#24 San Diego State (5-0) – Kind of surprising to see the Aztecs here. This was a team that seemed destined to win 7 or 8 games again and go to a low-level bowl. Instead, they are technically still in the mix for the Group of Five NY6 spot although they would need a lot of help. A great season for a team that is playing nowhere close to their campus. I mean it’s not going to continue but it’s been fun to watch so far if you were willing to stay up that late. Predicted record: 8-4.

UTSA (6-0) – I figured the Roadrunners would lose in Champaign to Illinois and then maybe once more all year. Instead, they beat the Illini, then also beat Memphis to complete a perfect non-conference schedule. Looking at the rest of their schedule, they would have to botch a game seriously to fall from the land of the undefeated. They should make for three undefeated Group of Five teams at the end of the season and eventually (hopefully next week) be ranked in the Top 25. Predicted record: 12-0.

13 undefeated teams remain as we head into mid-October. This post is a lot shorter than normal because it’s a couple of weeks later and we’ve had a bit of chaos at the top. I can almost guarantee that by Halloween this number will be in the single digits. I do have five teams finishing the season undefeated, however, so it will be interesting to see how The Committee would deal with that at the end of the season. My guess is with a lot of booze.

Tonight is a big Sun Belt affair on TSN2 with Appalachian State visiting Louisiana. Wednesday I will have your college football schedule and Thursday I will present the NFL schedule. Same old, same old. Have a great Tuesday!

Are we looking at chaos? – Week 3 College Football Recap

Posted on September 20, 2021 by guelphbossman

After this past week, you have to wonder. Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma all won but they were close games against teams they should have blown out of the water. Cincinnati struggled for a little over a half with Indiana but was able to pull away late. Virginia Tech and UCLA lost. Even Alabama almost allowed Florida to come all the way back to beat them. Remember what I said last week about Bama? You can scratch that…kind of. I still think Alabama, and probably Georgia, are a cut above the rest. But it’s not like they are unbeatable. And the rest of the Top 10, at this point, has looked vulnerable. Many in the college football media are already looking at possibly comparing this season to 2007. It may be a bit too soon to say that but there has been more chaos than normal through three weeks. Usually, as Fall officially begins, you can still look at like 10-15 teams and say they are serious contenders and they are in that tier above everyone else. This season? Yeah, might want to put the brakes on that idea. I hope it does end up that way because it’s always fun to see some college football chaos! I mean unless you’re a college football coach and fans of certain teams.

Alright, enough comparisons. Let’s get to the action from the weekend of college football!

Fun-Time Crazy Recap!

Well, the Buckeyes sure didn’t look too sharp against Tulsa. Luckily they had TreVeyon Henderson go off for over 250 yards on the ground since other than that, no one would be scared of the rest of the Buckeyes that played this past Saturday. Remember, this is the Tulsa team that lost to UC-Davis. It totally fits in to what I mentioned above with teams having fairly big questions already in the season. Now that I say that, watch them blow through the rest of their schedule to finish 11-1 and be #1 at some point.
If you missed the Arizona State-BYU game, boy did you miss a good one. Just look up this one play. Jaren Hall throws an ill-timed interception as he’s falling down. Arizona State picks it up and the defender runs down the sidelines. Then Tyler Allgeier catches up to him, jumps over his back and knocks the ball out of his hands and back into play. After all that, Jaren Hall is the one that recovers the fumble. Absolutely insane. The Cougs would win this one and are now 3-0 against the Pac-12. The Pac-12 had a pretty horrific weekend unless you talk about to the people I encountered on Twitter…
So I made a tweet during the third quarter of the USC-Washington State game. The score was tied at 14 and I said “I see the Clay Helton firing really got the Trojans going.” Then Kedon Slovis goes down with an injury and Jaxson Dart replaces him and plays amazing and the Trojans score 31 unanswered. So yeah, the tweet did not age well and I said that. That wasn’t enough for some USC fans. Some mentioned the same thing and I am fine with it. Someone called me “son” for some reason. And some buffoon put a pic that said “I don’t even have a meme for this kind of fuckery.” Really? Very classy. I don’t mind normal discourse on Twitter which a few of them did (and rightfully so) but why go over the line? To make themselves feel better. Maybe because their lives are shitty so they want to take it out on someone else. Who knows. It’s the one major thing I hate about Twitter (and social media in general): people can’t help but be assholes to others just because they can. As Mike Tyson said, “Social media has made acceptable to say things to people that they would never say to their face.” So true. By the way, Mike Tyson Mysteries? Hilarious show (RIP Norm MacDonald).
College Gameday was in State College this past weekend. The whiteout was in full effect and it showed during their primetime game with Auburn. The offense struggled at times with the crowd noise. They still didn’t play poorly as if it wasn’t for a couple of miscues, the Tigers would have had a chance to win. I think both teams could be en route to the New Year’s Six if they keep playing like that (especially against lesser teams).
I did not pass the Hawaii test. I just couldn’t. I assume the game didn’t end until 4 in the morning and I was already feeling kind of crappy by 11 so I felt good just to get to the end of the normal late night slate.
A horrible blown call (one of quite a few this past weekend) cost Boise State a touchdown against Oklahoma State and, eventually, the game. I mean not that either team really wanted to win after the first half since there was absolutely no scoring in the second half. None. Very un-Boise and un-Poke like for sure. I’m surprised Mike Gundy’s mullet didn’t start shedding from the panic. Also, I can’t remember the last time Boise State started 1-2. I assume it was in Division 1-AA (remember that?).
Uh, what the hell happened in Clemson? I get that a two-hour lightning delay can mess up a team’s flow. But how do they allow Georgia Tech, who is still learning how to live without the option, almost beat them at home? I would say that maybe their run at the top of the ACC is done but then I see what Virginia Tech did in their loss to West Virginia and, even worse, how Miami got beat up by Michigan State and realize they’re still fine for now.
Oh, UCLA. The Bruins were looking pretty damn good through their first two games this season. Then in comes Fresno State to the Rose Bowl, a team I figured would suck this season. Boy was I (along with many others) wrong. This was an amazing game that had four lead changes in the final eight minutes that ended with injured Bulldog quarterback Jake Haener willing his team to the winning touchdown and the upset. After getting off the hot seat it seemed for the rest of the season, Chip Kelly maybe feeling a tiny bit of a temperature hike now.
Alabama plays Ole Miss in two weeks. Considering what Ole Miss did to Tulane (yes the same Tulane that almost beat Oklahoma), the over/under for this one should be 100 and I think I’m being conservative with that number.
I don’t like the new overtime rules. After one overtime, it becomes a two-point conversion contest. The equivalent of hockey’s shootout (which I also despise). It may have finally got to the point that the NFL somehow has the better overtime system (and it’s still not that great). Can there be a perfect system for overtime? I don’t know to be honest but it feels like college football is going backwards.
How about what went down in The Swamp? Early on it looked like yet another Bama rout as they were up 21-3 14 minutes into the game. So I stopped watching for a bit and focused on other games. I would see in the ticker that Florida got a touchdown. Then another. The Tide responded but then the Gators got another TD to get it within 5. Florida would score a touchdown with three minutes to go but couldn’t convert on the two-pointer and that was the margin of victory. So the Fighting Sabans aren’t so dominating it seems. This is a very interesting turn of events for this already crazy 2021 season.
In another episode of “Refs Make The Darndest Calls,” Memphis’ Calvin Austin scored on a questionable punt return where the back official seemed to have signaled for the clock to stop but the play kept going. In the end, Mississippi State had a chance to tie it on a two-point conversion but failed, losing by the same 31-29 score as the game in the previous point. Look, I get that officials aren’t perfect. And this is fine. It is what it is. But when something happens that becomes a turning point or the reason (at the end) that one team wins or loses, then it’s tough to swallow. Let’s not even get into the gambling aspect of what this can do.
It looked like Louisiana Tech was going to get a huge home victory over a good SMU squad. But LaTech allowed SMU one final shot and they took advantage with a 33-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass on the final play of the game. This was a game with almost 750 yards passing combined from two former Oklahoma quarterbacks. How are the Sooners losing these quarterbacks? I get that Spencer Rattler is really good but it’s not like the two starters in this one, Austin Kendall and Tanner Mordecai, aren’t. It’s nice to see these guys get their shot at other programs.
Finally, speaking of Oklahoma, that was yet another less than impressive showing by the Sooners. They barely got out with a win yesterday over Nebraska. Yes, the same Nebraska that has struggled for a few years now and lost to Illinois to start their season. Scott Frost had to be happy with his team’s performance and the fact that his hot seat will get slightly cooler. Oklahoma, on the other hand, does not look like the national title contender I thought they were going to be and that has to be a bit concerning in Norman. Conference play will show all of us what this Sooners team is really made of.

So another great weekend of college football. My remote control suffered as I believe I watched portions of almost 40 games. As for my Top 25, well, here it is!

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

Is it really truly fair to rank teams this early in the season? That’s debatable but everyone else is doing it so I might as well, too. Nice to see Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Liberty and Fresno State in the Top 25 with a few other Group of Five teams lurking just outside. Should be an exciting race to the Group of Five spot in the New Year’s Six. Also, are we heading to undefeated Michigan State playing undefeated Michigan the night before Halloween? Can you even imagine the media hype, let alone the fan banter? I’m almost getting sick of it already.

Have a good week everyone.

Well this certainly makes things interesting – Week 9 College Football Recap

Posted on November 2, 2020 by guelphbossman

Look I knew that Trevor Lawrence being out due to a positive COVID-19 test would be huge and would hamper Clemson’s offense a bit. But man, I didn’t think the defense would be affected as much. Clemson had to come back from 18 down to beat Boston College. This does not bode well for next Saturday night’s game against Notre Dame where they will be without Lawrence again. DJ Uiagalelei looks like the quarterback of the future but he will have to seriously step up to combat the Irish’s fairly stingy defense. Makes thinks a lot more interesting next weekend for sure.

Alright let’s get to the final recap that doesn’t include Pac-12 After Dark or MACtion. Things are really starting to heat up. Let’s go!

Don’t write off Oklahoma just yet. We knew the Sooners would have a bit of a tough road to even get to the Big XII Championship, let alone the New Year’s Six. The losses to Kansas State and Iowa State definitely did not help. I mean yes they didn’t lose by much and were competitive in both games. But a loss is a loss and even in this pandemic year, two losses pretty much ruins a College Football Playoff opportunity. As for the Red Raiders, who the Sooners destroyed, even with every team being bowl-eligible, I can’t see them being selected for one unless they win most of the rest of their games.

I think most of us thought Oklahoma State would win. And, of course, I was one of them. This game was all over the place but Texas was carrying things most of the way in the first half. Problem was it didn’t lead to, well, a lead. The Cowboys actually went up by 11 in the third. Texas immediately started their comeback with a kickoff return for a touchdown and then a long drive in the fourth to take the lead. The Pokes needed a field goal late in the fourth just to get to overtime. But man, they looked awful in overtime. Six plays that gained no yards. Brutal. This effectively eliminates the Big XII from the CFP picture…at Halloween.

Could Ohio State-Indiana become the pivotal Big Ten game of the season? Don’t be surprised. Indiana made sure that Rutgers didn’t get that Schiano magic once again (except for that eight-lateral touchdown that didn’t count that would have been one of the greatest touchdowns in college football history if it had counted). The Buckeyes are still damn good as they showed in holding off a game Penn State team. So this brings us to November 21st when the Buckeyes host the Hoosiers. As of this point, this looks like the most important Big Ten game of the season by a country mile. Are there any teams really close to these two? You could argue Wisconsin could be but we haven’t seen much of them yet after their game against Nebraska was cancelled due to a ton of positive COVID tests within the Badgers team. Other than that, nah. Tom Allen should get a big raise if somehow he is able to coax a win over tOSU from his Indy squad.

Let’s talk about Atlantic Coast Conference contender, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Brian Kelly has a damn good team in South Bend this season. Well, the offense is good, not great, to be honest. But the defense has been phenomenal and has mostly carried this team to a 6-0 record. The Irish are solidly in the College Football Playoff conversation. That will make a lot of people cringe due to their hatred of everything Notre Dame. But really, they are two games against Clemson (probably) from being in the Final Four. Georgia Tech is still improving…slowly. It takes time to do what Geoff Collins is doing in Atlanta and it’s a good thing to see he is getting that time.

Yep, Cincinnati is still undefeated. Not totally surprised but man have the Bearcats looked good this season. Let’s be real here: the Bearcats being in the American Conference will probably make it so they are excluded from the CFP. Saying that though, they are now #6 in the country. If a few things happen to the teams above them then who knows? Honestly, it’s not like the Bearcats have a tough schedule the rest of the way. If they can mow down the opposition and look good doing it, they may not fall out of the Top 10 and may be close enough to sniff that rarified air of the College Football Playoff which would be a huge news story going into December.

Back to Big XII Upset Watch. The other upset of the day in the Big XII came in Morgantown. The West Virginia Mountaineers kept Kansas State from doing much of anything all day and ran away with a huge win. This may have ruined KSU’s chances of getting to the Big XII Championship but considering the way the conference has been this year, who the fuck even knows anymore. I am sure Drunk Uncle Dana was at his Red Bull-infused best during this one.

Well we know there will be a new champion. Man has the bloom come off the rose quickly in Baton Rouge. LSU got boatraced by Auburn in a game that was never close. And it’s not like Auburn is great because they aren’t. Bo Nix has been underwhelming this season and yet looked almost like Auburn Cam Newton in this one. LSU’s defense couldn’t stop anything. Again the SEC on CBS was a complete waste of time to watch. Maybe it’s not a bad thing the contract will be going to another network in a few years.

Yes, a Mike Leach team didn’t score a point. Yep, it looks like it took one game for the SEC to figure out the Air Raid. Alabama toasted Mississippi State to the tune of 41-0. And that’s with Bama only getting two touchdowns in the second half. It feels like it was years ago when that massive win over LSU happened and it’s looking worse and worse every week…for both teams. The Pirate is going to have to do something slightly different or it could be a long year in Starkville for the Bulldogs.

How about the crazy finish in Tulsa? Or more like the refs robbing East Carolina? Tulsa never led until their touchdown with 29 seconds left. But it shouldn’t have even got to the point where the Golden Hurricane could take the lead. It had looked like Tulsa’s T.K. Wilkerson fumbled with the Pirates recovering the ball, essentially ending the game. Somehow the replay booth said Wilkerson recovered the ball when he hadn’t. This allowed the drive to continue and for Tulsa to get the winning score. My hope is that the replay official is at least suspended for that mistake since that cost ECU a victory. Problem is, the officials almost never get punished. And you wonder why people hate the refs. There’s one reason why.

Is Georgia any good? Like I honestly don’t know after this weekend’s horrible performance against Kentucky. They won 14-3 but the Wildcats are a complete disaster on offense so it’s not like the UGA defense had a tough fight out there. Stetson Bennett only threw 13 passes and had 2 interceptions. A horrible day all around. They should feel lucky to escape Lexington with a win. With the Cocktail Party coming up, the Bulldogs have to be considered the easy underdog here (no pun intended).

Lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllet’s get ready to RUMBLE! Oh man did you see that halftime brawl between Florida and Missouri? Florida players were pretty upset at a non-call when Missouri defenders should have been called for roughing the quarterback. Then Dan Mullen comes sprinting off the sideline at the officials, screaming his damn head off. This gets some of the players involved and then the fists starting flying. For football, it was quite the brawl. Then, as heads into the tunnel for halftime, Mullen acts like a babyface wrestler riling up the crowd. So fucking hilarious. I’m not saying we need more brawls in football because we definitely don’t. But Mullen to me is a great personality and we need more coaches and players showing personality (without getting violent of course.

Well the Tar Heels to the College Football Playoff train just crashed into a wall. Many of us wondered if the loss to Florida State was just a speedbump on North Carolina’s season. Well, maybe that wasn’t the case. Virginia’s win over the Heels means UNC’s chances at the College Football Playoff, New Year’s Six…hell, the ACC Championship game are pretty much gone. Don’t get me wrong: I still expect Mack Brown to get this team to seven or eight wins this year. Which is a step in the right direction. But they are obviously still a year away from truly contending.

Alright, enough recappin’. Let’s get to the Bossman Top 25!

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

Yes I have Alabama at #2. They have looked really good but compared to Clemson I don’t think they measure up…yet. Cincinnati is at #5 but we know what their schedule is like so this might end up being their peak ranking. The first CFP Rankings don’t come out for over three weeks due to this season being a bit of a mess. There is a possibility Cincinnati is barely in the Top 10 at that point even if they are undefeated. It’s just the way things are unfortunately. This is mostly because the Pac-12 starts their season (finally) this coming week and expect teams to move up the rankings rapidly if they do well. With the Big XII already a shitshow, there could be room for a Pac-12 champ in there if a few things happen above them. But there will have to be an undefeated season in there first. Without that, there is no possible way, in my opinion, that a Pac-12 team gets into the CFP. As for BYU I have them at #9 and the AP Poll has them the same and I feel that their ceiling is #12 or #13 unless a lot of chaos happens. This is due to their quite weak schedule which is an unfortunate byproduct of the pandemic.

Football. Every. Day. That’s right. Every day between Wednesday and the day before American Thanksgiving. And that day is the only day off between now and the end of November. Let’s drink it in and enjoy this! Saying that we are a little late to the party but we know what starts Wednesday night: MACtion Baby! If it wasn’t for the American election it would have started Tuesday night but hey, good things come to those who wait, right? Have a great week everyone.

Can’t say we didn’t see this coming – Week 9 College Football TV Schedule

Posted on October 29, 2020 by guelphbossman

OK we all know the facts here. COVID-19 is a virus that has wreaked havoc in some areas of the world and has changed the way we live, possibly for a long time. Also, sports have come back but with the amount of contact involved, some sports are more vulnerable than others to this pandemic. Which brings me to Wisconsin. Graham Mertz had a great game this past weekend. Almost perfect passing the ball. Wisconsin already looks good despite the fact they only played Illinois.

So now we find out that Mertz tested positive for COVID. So he’s out for this coming week’s game. Backup Jack Coan is dealing with a foot injury so he won’t play. And now we find out that third stringer Chase Wolf has also tested positive for the Coronavirus. So the Badgers are down to their fourth-string quarterback. Wow. So that means Danny Vanden Boom (great name by the way) gets the start on Saturday. Luckily it’s Nebraska that’s the opponent. But if Wisky loses to the Huskers, they can flush any College Football Playoff hopes down the drain no matter how much The Committee will give them some slack for what happened. This will happen again this season. Guaranteed. Wisky is just the highest profile team so far. What if it happens to a unit for Alabama or Clemson? Shit will hit the fan then for sure.

UPDATE: So after that amazing intro, it was all for naught. Wisconsin-Nebraska has been cancelled after more positive COVID-19 tests.

Alright, enough about the Wisky Covid situation. Sounds like something the military would say in a battle. Anyway, the schedule!

Thursday

		US	Canada
South Alabama at Georgia Southern	7:30 PM
Colorado State at Fresno State	10:00 PM

We are getting close to football every day but we aren’t quite there. Saying that, I am getting a bit more excited for weeknight football, especially weeknight football that lasts past midnight. It’s not like these are huge games because they aren’t but it’s football so I will watch. I mean what else are you going to watch? Baseball is over. I will let you know about the Thursday nighter later on this post but it’s not exactly a barnburner itself. So instead you can sit down, watch the Sun Belt and then the Mountain West, and be happy.

Friday

		US	Canada
Minnesota at Maryland	7:30 PM

Hey remember when Maryland had two amazing games to start last season and everyone was heralding Mike Locksley as a great hire? Since then, the Terps have been nothing short of awful and, surprisingly, a guy who could barely win a game at New Mexico has struggled at Maryland. And by surprisingly, I mean not surprisingly. At all.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
Boston College at #1 Clemson	Noon
#20 Coastal Carolina at Georgia State	Noon
Purdue at Illinois	Noon
Memphis at #7 Cincinnati	Noon
#16 Kansas State at West Virginia	Noon
Michigan State at #13 Michigan	Noon
#5 Georgia at Kentucky	Noon

This feels like a lot of games where a ranked team is facing an unranked team where the ranked team should slaughter the unranked team. Not exactly a stellar Noon schedule but I digress.

Memphis-Cincy could be the most interesting game since that is your best shot at an upset in this timeslot. MSU-UM is a lot less important than it was before the Spartans’ upset loss to Rutgers. The Sun Belt game isn’t huge but it will be interesting to see how long Coastal can keep this up. I hope they make it so at least The Committee becomes a bit uncomfortable with the Group of Five selection for the New Year’s Six.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
#4 Notre Dame at Georgia Tech	3:30 PM
#17 Indiana at Rutgers	3:30 PM
LSU at Auburn	3:30 PM
Northwestern at Iowa	3:30 PM
TCU at Baylor	3:30 PM
Texas at #6 Oklahoma State	4:00 PM
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt	4:00 PM

What was thought to be a huge CBS game is now no longer nearly as big. We shall see whether LSU has found their new quarterback and if Bo Nix can get back into the good graces of Auburn fans. It could be a God-send for Brad and Gary though since this might end up being a pretty close game, something the SEC on CBS isn’t exactly known for these days.

One good thing about 2020 is it might have (MIGHT HAVE) killed reverse mirrors for good. There is really no reason for them anymore in this day and age. It’s really just a headache for all involved. Most Americans get both ABC and ESPN2 in some form or fashion so it has become a moot point to use reverse mirrors. Without specialty packs (as far as I know), this wouldn’t affect Canadians but man was it ever a crock of shit to deal with a reverse mirror that isn’t figured out properly and you got the same game on two different channels.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
#25 Boise State at Air Force	6:00 PM
Mississippi State at #2 Alabama	7:00 PM
#3 Ohio State at #18 Penn State	7:30 PM
Navy at #22 SMU	7:30 PM
#24 Oklahoma at Texas Tech	8:00 PM

Ohio State-Penn State. What else do we need to say? How about that this matchup lost a LOT of its luster after last week’s crazy loss by PSU to Indiana. ABC was hoping for a Top 10 matchup and won’t quite get it. They should still dominate the timeslot though.

This feels a bit better than the afternoon timeslot. But it’s close. I am hoping there could get be some good games here and it looks like there might be some gems. Alabama has to show they are still CFP-worthy and not fall to a Mike Leach speedbump, SMU has a test hosting Navy and could Air Force pull the upset and really cripple the Mountain West’s NY6 chances in its second week?

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
San Diego State at Utah State	9:30 PM
Western Kentucky at #11 BYU	10:15 PM

Pac-12 After Dark finally returns next week. For now we get a Mountain West matchup and BYU’s march to….something. BYU has ascended to #11 but they have to keep beating teams and beating them badly to keep in the Top 12 and have a legitimate shot at the New Year’s Six.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Ohio State at Penn State (7:30, ABC/TSN1) – No one should sleep on the Nittany Lions despite their crushing loss to Indiana. James Franklin is still one of the better coaches in college football right now. They have Sean Clifford at quarterback who is fairly underrated. They have a team that could still sneak into the College Football Playoff (although the chances are slim now). We know what can happen here. PSU is still looking up at tOSU in the Big Ten East but the Nittany Lions 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 despite the late start to the Big Ten season. Justin Fields is still awesome and it looks like even with the loss of Chase Young to the pros, they have reloaded with another amazing defense. This could end up being a Game of the Year candidate if Penn State leaves it all out on the field.

Memphis at Cincinnati (Noon, ESPN) – Another huge American Conference game. You can expect one pretty much every week from now on from the conference who considers themselves part of the Power 6. The Bearcats are definitely in the driver’s seat after their win over SMU last week. But they can’t look ahead to, well, anything when a team like Memphis comes to town. The Tigers have only lost once and have been a good team the past few years. This is ripe for an upset.

Texas at Oklahoma State (4:00, FOX) – I would be surprised if even Cowboy fans thought that Oklahoma State would be this high up in the rankings at this point. The Big XII has had a rough year and the Pokes are the only bright spot at this point. Anyway, Tom Herman’s Longhorns could pretty much destroy the Big XII’s season on Halloween with an upset here.

Kansas State at West Virginia (Noon, TSN4) – OK it severely drops off a cliff after the first three games. Somehow, WVU is 3-2 at this point of the season. Neal Brown is doing a hell of a job in Morgantown. And Chris Klieman may be doing even better in Manhattan. One of these teams will actually have a legitimate shot at the Big XII Championship with a win here. I do have to remember, however, that the regular season goes into mid-December now. So I can’t be making too many crazy predictions when there is still a month-and-a-half left to go.

Indiana at Rutgers (3:30, BTN) – Fuck it, let’s go crazy here. Undefeated (yes, UNDEFEATED) Rutgers hosts undefeated (yes, UNDEFEATED) Indiana. Rutgers has never been in the games of the week section and I figured this was as good a time as any. One of these teams will most likely be tied with Ohio State and Michigan at the top of the Big Ten East. Going into November. No that is not a misprint.

Honourable mention: Boston College at Clemson (Noon, ABC/TSN1); UCF at Houston (2:00, ESPN+); Arkansas at Texas A&M (7:30, SEC Network)

Some gambling fun and games

OK I got none of my upset picks correct. For a bit, I thought SMU and Georgia Southern 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.

Oklahoma State over Texas

Clemson over Boston College

Cincinnati over Memphis

West Virginia over Kansas State (big upset!)

UCF over Houston

Texas A&M over Arkansas

Indiana over Rutgers

Ohio State over Penn State

BYU over Western Kentucky

Utah State over San Diego State (let’s call it a mild upset)

Georgia State over Coastal Carolina (massive upset)

We are oh so close to football every day for like four weeks. I can feel it!

Thursday Night Football again! We get Atlanta heading to Carolina. Not the greatest game but they can’t all be. I have heard a few people marvel at the games that TNF gets. I have to say that once FOX paired up with the NFL Network the quality of games improved a bit. This is good. It really has replaced Monday Night Football as the second-best night game of the week. I’ve said this before and it may sound like blasphemy but I know MNF is an institution but to be honest, I could do without it. I think most teams would agree as well now with the advent of TNF. And in this COVID world, making things easier on the teams should be an idea worth looking into.

Will I watch like 26 hours of football this weekend? No. But I will do my best to watch as much as I can. I’m sure I will have other plans at some point but it’s mostly a free weekend. 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!

The Big XII: A big toilet bowl of college football diarrhea – Week 4 College Football Recap

Posted on September 28, 2020 by guelphbossman

I am not putting a picture of diarrhea here OK? I think that would be in bad taste…even for me.

The Big XII is quite awful. I am trying to be nice here. I mean it’s bad. The American is light years ahead of them. Hell I would put the Pac-12 ahead of them and they won’t be playing for another month. Should I recap what happened? Yeah why not. Here we go:

Oklahoma held a 21-point lead on Kansas State. Things seemed to be going swimmingly. Spencer Rattler was having a great day. Then Oklahoma’s defense remembered they were Oklahoma’s defense and shit the bed in a major way. K-State came all the way back and beat the Sooners. Are the Wildcats great? No, they are not. They are quite good. But Oklahoma is supposed to be the class of the conference. To do this. Ugh. They may actually be shut out of the College Football Playoff this year. Now who is the SEC supposed to boatrace in the semi-finals?
Texas looked like they were done. Texas Tech went up 15 with very little time left. Texas scores, recovers the onside kick (maybe the Red Raiders accidentally watched Falcons’ tape of how to recover an onside kick) and the Longhorns scored again, got the 2, went to overtime and scored the only touchdown. 63-56. Yeesh. Again, no defense. It’s like arena football. Fun to watch but also pathetically hilarious.
Brock Purdy threw one of the worst pick-sixes in college football history, yet somehow the Cyclones were able to beat TCU. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. It’s awful.
Oklahoma State again looked pedestrian, this time against West Virginia. I don’t know what’s up with their offense but it’s just not that good. And they have Chuba Hubbard so I don’t get it.
Baylor beat Kansas. Whatever.

So yeah, the Big XII better pick things up before the Big Ten and Pac-12 start play or they will be already out of contention by the time November comes. Now some recaps of my predictions. Oh this should be fun. And by fun, I mean brutal.

Week 4 Prediction Recap Time!

UAB at South Alabama: Only one game. Not good.

And it wasn’t. This game was over early. But the pro Jags were playing just as bad as the college Jags. There were no happy Jags this night.

Middle Tennessee at UTSA: Anyway, UTSA has to be considered the favourite here. Again, I am not joking.

And I wasn’t. And the Roadrunners proved me right. Yes it wasn’t an easy go of it but they held off the Blue Raiders to go to 3-0. First 3-0 of the season. UTSA. Yeah. I love it.

#13 UCF at East Carolina: Oh yeah, UCF-ECU on ABC might be the most bizarre change to a college football schedule ever.

This was so true. Never has a game gone from ESPN+ to ABC. It was the only game that could be put there unless you moved a game off of ESPN2 there since the SEC was on ESPN and they can’t be on ABC (at this point). And yeah, I barely watched any of it since it was an easy win for the Knights.

Mississippi State at #6 LSU: Mississippi State might now have Mike Leach but I don’t think they have the quarterback to run a Mike Leach offense.

Could I have been more wrong? K.J. Costello just went out and broke the SEC record for passing yards in a game. Over 600. Those are Big XII numbers. And the Bulldogs upset LSU. I am thinking the SEC will have to watch out for this team despite the fact LSU isn’t the LSU of last year.

Florida State at #12 Miami: And after FSU’s loss to Georgia Tech, it doesn’t feel like their game against The U will be close either. So by halftime you may be looking for something else to watch.

Oh yes. Let’s look at the halftime score: Miami 38 Florida State 3. I am sure ABC had to be so pleased with this. What an absolutely terrible choice for the ABC Primetime game. Let’s hope Fowler and Herbstreit get some better games to call as the season goes on. They should once we get close to Halloween as the rest of the conferences will finally begin play.

Troy at #18 BYU: Seriously though this should be a good game and we will find out if BYU is seriously for real.

No this was not a good game at all. And BYU is very much for real.

Other games I didn’t mention above

#4 Georgia at Arkansas: Man I was really worried here for a bit. The halftime score was 7-5…for the Razorbacks. Actually worried is the wrong word: excited is a better word. To start the SEC season with an upset like that would have been massive (although the upset we got was something). Instead, the Dawgs pulled away and I still assume the Hogs will not be good at all. Like zero wins not good.

#24 Louisville at #21 Pittsburgh: What a big early season ACC matchup that was overshadowed by the first big timeslot of the season. Pitt’s defense is something to behold and they may have a say in at least who gets to the ACC Championship as I still don’t see them being a Top 2 team in the conference but you never know.

#22 Army at#14 Cincinnati: This never felt close, despite the final score. The Bearcats looked the real deal and was even able to use the option effectively against Army’s defense. All around great performance.

Tulane at Southern Miss: Tulane put up 66 points against the Golden Eagles. This is going to be a long season in Hattiesburg as I think the Jay Hopson resignation/firing is just the tip of the iceberg here.

UTEP at ULM: UTEP is 3-1. UTEP. No this is not a joke. Not saying they’ve played some amazing talent but Dana Dimel may have done the most incredible coaching job in college football so far this season.

Texas State at Boston College: Texas State had the Eagles dead to rights. And then they allowed BC to score 10 late points to pull out the home opener. The Bobcats might be the most unlucky team in college football right now. They lost to undefeated (yes, undefeated) UTSA in overtime and to SMU by a touchdown. Now this. One of these times they will close a team out and it may be an upset.

Tennessee at South Carolina: It felt like no one wanted to really win this one. No other way to put it. Lucky for the Vols, a late Gamecock muffed punt return allowed them to close out their seventh straight victory. Oh yes, one of the longest winning streaks in college football belongs to Rocky Top. College football, everyone!

No rankings again. I am strongly considering including them next week for the recap but I’ll see.

So that was a great college football Saturday. Every week is better than the previous one. Let’s hope it keeps up. Have a great week everyone!

Just a dog’s breakfast of a college football season we are looking at

Posted on August 28, 2020 by guelphbossman

I was going to put a picture of dog vomit here, or just plain vomit, and decided against it. I don’t want to gross myself out as well.

Alright I get that COVID-19 has really put a kibosh on any type of traditional schedule. I can appreciate that. I can also appreciate the effort put forth by schedule makers and athletic directors trying to put something resembling a season together. What I cannot, and will not, appreciate is how much of a shitshow this has been. If there has ever been a time where a unifying force for all college football (or at least all FBS football) this was it. Instead, we got the NCAA saying “Hey, we weren’t technically in charge before so we don’t plan on doing it now”, some conferences going “I don’t care what other conferences are doing, we are either playing football or not and that’s the final decision”, and finally, other conferences going “DURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.”

As of right now, six FBS conferences are planning to play, for the most part. But now the Big Ten may be starting their schedule on Halloween and not in early January. So where would that leave the other three conferences? I am positive the MAC and Mountain West are not starting up before January. The Pac-12 is in a tough spot though. If the Big Ten, for some reason, decides to reverse course and play in 2020, that would leave the far left conference as the only Power Five conference not playing this calendar year. That could be bad for the Pac-12 and its member teams because I have this feeling that spring football, at least at the FBS level, will not happen. Just call it a hunch.

Welp, we know that we have college football coming tomorrow. Yes, it’s just FCS, but it’s still college football. The FCS Kickoff happens in Montgomery, Alabama tomorrow night at 9 Eastern. Central Arkansas and Austin Peay will kick the season off. This game is appearing on TSN3. UPDATE: Because of the NBA moving their schedule around due to the protests earlier this week, TSN is now showing basketball on most of their channels tonight. The program pushed off? You guessed it: the FCS Kickoff. Fingers crossed it ends up on the specialty packs but no guarantees thanks to how late this happened. We have no other Week Zero games this year. I wonder if Week Zero will be a thing of the past now.

UPDATE #2: Looks like it will appear on TSN Direct for anyone who doesn’t have the specialty pack. Thanks to reader Matt Snyds who let me know on Twitter about this.

Anyway, this will be not be a long post. I will be starting prediction posts next week as I move through the six conferences that will be playing this season. I will not include the three conferences not playing in the Fall, nor the Big Ten who can’t seem to figure out what to do. I will try and piece together season-end predictions but who knows what that will look like. College football itself has no idea either so I feel good there. Have a great weekend everyone, and keep your eye out for new posts coming soon.

Could it be? – Week 10 College Football TV Schedule

Posted on October 31, 2019 by guelphbossman

The NCAA decided, two days ago, to modify their rules about how players can make money off their name, image and likeness (NIL). If you had said this would happen even a month or so ago I would have scoffed at the notion. But once California passed a bill to allow collegiate athletes to make money off their NIL it felt like a matter of time where the NCAA would have to at least meet them halfway. Whether they just let it be carte blanche or there will be some relatively strict rules doesn’t matter so much at this point. It’s a step in the right direction. Funny how SMU is in the Top 15 for the first time since before they got their death penalty for paying players.

What else does this mean? Oh yes it will be happening soon: the return of the NCAA Football video games. I will actually buy a new system to get this game. I still love it on my PS3 and don’t play it near enough to be honest with you. This is super exciting. Sorry Doug Flutie Maximum Football. Your stay at the top (so to speak) will be temporary and probably lost to history but hey, you gave it a shot, right?

We are now starting almost a month straight of FOOTBAW on every day! Rejoice all you college football hooligans! Normally I would say this is where the schedules become seriously stacked. You might notice something different about this week’s schedule though…that it’s about as stacked as a single, sad pancake. Let’s get to the schedule and examine this odd phenomenon (at least for college football).

Thursday

		US	Canada
Georgia Southern at #20 Appalachian State	8:00 PM
West Virginia at #12 Baylor	8:00 PM

Baylor tries to stay perfect with a below-average Mountaineers team coming to Waco. Speaking of Mountaineers, App State also tries to stay undefeated and in the Group of Five race against rival Georgia Southern. This is one of very few high points to the schedule.

Friday

		US	Canada
Princeton at Cornell	6:00 PM
Navy at UConn	8:00 PM

Technically this is football. I guess you could be interested on how UConn’s defense handles Navy who is playing like Army was supposed to play this season (and vice versa).

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#14 Michigan at Maryland	Noon
Boston College at Syracuse	Noon
Northern Illinois at Central Michigan	Noon
NC State at #23 Wake Forest	Noon
Houston at UCF	Noon
Buffalo at Eastern Michigan	Noon
Nebraska at Purdue	Noon
UTSA at Texas A&M	Noon

Not a ton here as it really is the appetizer to the rest of the day which is I guess better but not amazing by any stretch of the imagination. Big games for Nebraska and Wake Forest but for slightly different reasons. UB-EMU could end up being the surprise great early game. Other than that, it’s football and that’s all that counts at this point.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Virginia Tech at #16 Notre Dame	2:30 PM
Miami at Florida State	3:30 PM
Rutgers at Illinois	3:30 PM
#6 Florida vs. #8 Georgia (in Jacksonville)	3:30 PM
Army at Air Force	3:30 PM
TCU at Oklahoma State	3:30 PM
Arkansas State at ULM	3:30 PM
#22 Kansas State at Kansas	3:30 PM
UTEP at North Texas	3:30 PM
Wofford at #4 Clemson	4:00 PM
Tulsa at Tulane	4:00 PM
#9 Utah at Washington	4:00 PM
Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech	4:00 PM
Mississippi State at Arkansas	4:00 PM
Oregon State at Arizona	4:30 PM

Now this gets good. The Cocktail Party! Another four games involving a ranked team. Plus Pitt and Georgia Tech in the crazy ACC Coastal. Makes for quite a good afternoon slate which I won’t call great because it isn’t. OSU-UA, MSU-Arkansas and Arkansas State-ULM (which somehow gets on to ESPNU) aren’t exactly must-watch. Considering we are into November now, these are not really the kinds of games that would even come close to highlighting anything.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
#17 Cincinnati at East Carolina	7:00 PM
Ole Miss at #11 Auburn	7:00 PM
UAB at Tennessee	7:00 PM
Northwestern at Indiana	7:00 PM
#15 SMU at #24 Memphis	7:30 PM
Virginia at North Carolina	7:30 PM
Vanderbilt at South Carolina	7:30 PM
#7 Oregon at USC	8:00 PM

If it wasn’t for SMU-Memphis which, at this point, could be a candidate for game of the year if it comes close to past AAC big games, the primetime timeslot wouldn’t be as good as the afternoon timeslot which seems to be happening with more and more regularity. Oregon-USC should be a good one as this could be the game that gives Clay Helton his safety into next season (and perhaps continues to destroy the Pac-12’s College Football Playoff chances. Don’t sleep on UAB-Tennessee as that could be VERY interesting. UVA-UNC is a big ACC (Crazy) Coastal Division matchup. Despite all I’ve said here, though, it is still one of the weaker primetime skeds of the season.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
Colorado at UCLA	9:00 PM
BYU at Utah State	10:00 PM
#21 Boise State at San Jose State	10:30 PM
New Mexico at Nevada	10:30 PM

Any big games here? No. But Boise State has to not trip up against a surprisingly decent SJSU team. The other games are college football games so I will watch them as well and get less sleep than I should going into Sunday morning.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Florida vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville) (3:30, CBS) – The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party! They should have Uncle Verne come back to help out in the booth even it’s for just part of the game. Or they could do what I have said they should do: have an open bar in the booth. Drunk Gary Danielson? Think of the ratings! Anyway, the winner here has basically clinched the SEC East since no other team is close to these two. Should be electric in the home of the Jag-You-Ares.

SMU at Memphis (7:30, ABC) – I love to see these American Conference games in primetime on ABC. It usually means it’s a game that will probably be the biggest piece of the Group of Five race for the New Year’s Six spot. Also, it’s SMU. SMU! Really this shouldn’t be happening but the Mustangs have surprised everyone and now get the biggest national spotlight since…well you know. Don’t sleep on Memphis either. They were my pick for the New Year’s Six and other than a terrible loss to Temple and a surprisingly tough win over Tulsa, they have looked damn good. They could actually put Appalachian State into the driver’s seat if they can defeat the Stangs here.

Oregon at USC (8:00, FOX) – Oregon at #7. Are we back to the Oregon Ducks of old? Who knows but I would honestly consider this a speed bump game for Oregon as we don’t know which USC will show up. Considering what these two teams can be like, don’t be surprised if the game is going on after midnight (which is official Pac-12 After Dark time). As I say almost every week, the favourite here (Oregon) losing would be disastrous to the conference’s (Pac-12) CFP chances, which may be in the negative at this point anyway.

Virginia Tech at Notre Dame (2:30, NBC) – NBC going with the classic 2:30 start time for this one to give it more of a spotlight. Smart move. The Hokies are just outside the Top 25 which is surprising until you realize they are 5-2 and have been playing pretty good. Justin Fuente’s hot seat is now a lot less hot and the last chapter of the Bud Foster story might actually end up being great. A second straight loss here by the Irish could spell trouble for Brian Kelly as the rumours are hot and heavy that Urban Meyer might be hired to bring Touchdown Jesus back to glory. Wouldn’t that just piss off all the Fighting Irish haters?

Georgia Southern at Appalachian State (Thursday, 8:00, specialty pack) – When has a Sun Belt game ever been in my top five games of the week? I don’t feel like looking so I will just say never. Depending on what happens in the second best game of the week, this could end up being hugely important in the whole Group of Five rankings. I don’t see the Mountaineers losing this one but Georgia Southern has given them fits in the past so don’t put it past them to knock App State out of the ranks of the undefeated. Plus it’s Halloween night so let’s say it could be a weird night to start this week of college football.

Honourable mention: NC State at Wake Forest (Noon, TSN1); Kansas State at Kansas (yes, the battle for Kansas and it goes off at 3:30, FloSports); Utah at Washington (4:00, FOX).

Some gambling fun and games

How about my Michigan over Notre Dame pick! And my Florida State over Syracuse pick! Just ignore most of the rest of my picks last week though. But hey we are on to a new week with new picks so let’s do this!

Notre Dame over Virginia Tech

NC State over Wake Forest (upset number one!)

Appalachian State over Georgia Southern

Kansas State over Kansas

Georgia over Florida (upset number two!)

Oregon over USC

Washington over Utah (upset number three!)

Memphis over SMU (upset number four?)

Eastern Michigan over Buffalo (upset number five!)

Tennessee over UAB

Illinois over Rutgers

Thursday Night Football is upon us again and hey this could be pretty good. San Francisco at Arizona. I am very interested to see if the Niners can get to 8-0 which would be something special. The execs at FOX have to be super happy to get an up-and-coming Cardinals team against a really good San Fran team. FOX (and I guess the NFL Network) have got a pretty darn good schedule this year for Thursday Night Football. Honestly, Monday Night Football is the one thing I don’t watch nearly as much anymore. If they took it off the air, I don’t think I would miss it. Crazy I know but it rarely has good games anymore. I would say “Poor ESPN” but it’s ESPN so no.

I, as per usual, will be on Twitter this Saturday although I have to take breaks throughout the day. I am showing my age. But I do enjoy interacting with people online and it adds to the day of watching 14+ hours of college football (which may or may not require some caffeine assistance). I try my best to not get into online arguments because people who are willing to go into full argument mode are not ones to even debate because you can’t win a debate against an idiot. Enjoy the games everyone!

Bossman's Blog

A lot of college football (and perhaps a bit of miscellaneous crap that I think warrants a post)

Tag Archives: Halloween

More bowl projections? Don’t mind if I do.

Well this certainly makes things interesting – Week 9 College Football Recap

The Big XII: A big toilet bowl of college football diarrhea – Week 4 College Football Recap

Just a dog’s breakfast of a college football season we are looking at

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday Early

Saturday Afternoon

Saturday Primetime

Saturday Late Night

Hey, Watch This

Sickos Game of the Week

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Wanna Bet?

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday Early

Saturday Afternoon

Saturday Primetime

Saturday Late Night

Hey, Watch This!

Sickos Game of the Week

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Wanna Bet?

The Bossman Top 26!

Thursday​

Friday

Saturday Early​​

Saturday Afternoon

Saturday Primetime​​

Saturday Late Night​​

Thursday

Friday

Saturday Early

Saturday Afternoon

Saturday Primetime

Saturday Late Night

Thursday

Saturday Early

Saturday Primetime

Saturday Late Night