Thanksgiving. Footballgasm. Let’s Do This!

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

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

Tuesday

Bowling Green (-1.5) at Western Michigan

7:00

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

Eastern Michigan (+6.5) at Buffalo

7:30

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

Thursday

#12 Ole Miss (-11) at Mississippi State

7:30

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

Friday

Miami (-9) at Boston College

Noon

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

#17 Iowa (+2) at Nebraska

Noon

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

Ohio (-14) at Akron

Noon

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

Memphis (-11.5) at Temple

Noon

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

Toledo (-10.5) at Central Michigan

Noon

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

TCU (+10) at #13 Oklahoma

Noon

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

UTSA (+3) at #23 Tulane

3:30

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

Utah State (-7.5) at New Mexico

3:30

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

#9 Missouri (-7.5) at Arkansas

4:00

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

Texas Tech (+13) at #7 Texas

7:30

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

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

7:30

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

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

8:30

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

Saturday Early

Kentucky (+7) at #10 Louisville

Noon

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

Pittsburgh (+6) at Duke

Noon

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

Indiana (+3) at Purdue

Noon

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

Miami-OH (-6.5) at Ball State

Noon

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

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

Noon

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

Navy (+20) at SMU

Noon

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

Troy (-17) at Southern Miss

Noon

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

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

Noon

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

Saturday Afternoon

Wake Forest (+3) at Syracuse

2:00

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

Southern vs. Grambling (in New Orleans)

2:00

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

Colorado (+22) at Utah

3:00

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

BYU (+17.5) at #20 Oklahoma State

3:30

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

Virginia Tech (-3) at Virginia

3:30

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

Northwestern (+6) at Illinois

3:30

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

Maryland (-1.5) at Rutgers

3:30

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

#8 Alabama (-14.5) at Auburn

3:30

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

#25 Liberty (-17) at UTEP

3:30

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

#15 Arizona (-11.5) at Arizona State

3:30

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

James Madison (-9) at Coastal Carolina

3:30

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

Georgia Southern (+8.5) at Appalachian State

3:30

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

Vanderbilt (+27) at #21 Tennessee

3:30

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

Washington State (+16.5) at #4 Washington

4:00

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

Saturday Primetime

#5 Florida State (-6.5) at Florida

7:00

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

South Alabama (-6) at Texas State

7:00

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

#18 Notre Dame (-26) at Stanford

7:00

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

#1 Georgia (-24) at Georgia Tech

7:30

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

Kansas (-6) at Cincinnati

7:30

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

Charlotte (+5.5) at USF

7:30

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

#24 Clemson (-7) at South Carolina

7:30

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

North Carolina (-3) at #22 NC State

8:00

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

Iowa State (+10) at #19 Kansas State

8:00

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

Saturday Late Night

Wyoming (-11) at Nevada

9:00

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

California (+9.5) at UCLA

10:30

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

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

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

The Week 5 College Football TV Schedule is important…but not as important as this

This happens almost every year. It’s hurricane season in Florida (and other parts of the southern United States). Scary times for the residents there. It’s a time where some need to make the decision of staying or leaving for a time, depending on the severity of the hurricane.

Which brings us to Hurricane Ian. It looks like it is going to batter a good part of the state. I hope the residents don’t get hit too hard with it. This does affect the college football schedule. Yes it’s a minor thing but considering the subject matter of this blog, I need to cover it. The following games have had their times and/or dates altered:

• SMU at UCF has been moved to Sunday at 1:00
• EWU at Florida has been moved to Sunday at Noon
• SC State at South Carolina has been moved to Thursday at 7:00

More changes are coming I’m sure. The one interesting thing might be the ABC primetime game. It’s at Clemson. The Gamecocks have already moved their game from Saturday up to Thursday. This could be a very interesting scenario that hasn’t come into play ever for the big timeslot of the week.

UPDATE #3: SMU-UCF has now been moved to Wednesday night. No word if it will be shown here or not.

UPDATE #4: OK it looks like SMU-UCF will be Wednesday at 7:00 PM. The game will be on ESPN2 so there is a good chance it will be on the specialty pack as well.

Alright, let’s get to the schedule and see how this goes.

Thursday

		US	Canada
South Carolina State at South Carolina	7:00 PM
Utah State at #19 BYU	8:00 PM

Two games on tonight although originally it was supposed to only be the one. As I mentioned above SC State-USC was moved to Thursday because of Hurricane Ian. I don’t know why some games are being moved up and some are being moved back but I am sure there is a good reason for it. Anyway, both games should be blowouts so you can definitely check out the…wait a second…undefeated Miami Dolphins? OK then.

UPDATE: OK I see that games in Florida are being moved back because the hurricane is hitting there…well, pretty much right now. The hurricane will start moving up the east coast starting Friday night/Saturday early morning so it makes sense to move games in Georgia and South Carolina up to avoid that and allow road teams to leave the area before it hits.

Friday

		US	Canada
Tulane at Houston	7:00 PM
Penn at Dartmouth	7:00 PM
UTSA at Middle Tennessee	7:30 PM
San Diego State at Boise State	8:00 PM
#15 Washington at UCLA	10:30 PM
New Mexico at UNLV	11:00 PM

A heavy Friday schedule with six games. That is quite unusual. One of these games is a rather big one as the somewhat surprising Washington Huskies travel to Los Angeles to face UCLA. Maybe the Bruins will finally get a good crowd for a game as the early attendance has been dismal. The Ivy League has their first game on ESPNU this season and we shall see if Boise State can turn around this season at all or if they will be pining for the return of Bryan Harsin the rest of the season.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#18 Oklahoma at TCU	Noon
Louisville at Boston College	Noon
Illinois at Wisconsin	Noon
Navy at Air Force	Noon
Georgia State at Army	Noon
#7 Kentucky at #14 Ole Miss	Noon
Purdue at #21 Minnesota	Noon
Temple at Memphis	Noon
#4 Michigan at Iowa	Noon

This is…different. It is the first time that the ACC Network has a game on multiple TSN channels. I’d have to look to see how often the ACC Network has been on TSN, period since I am sure I can count that on one hand. CBS has a doubleheader this week that starts with the first leg of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy and ends at the normal SEC on CBS time later on. Finally, there is one quite big game that will fall under the radar this weekend and it occurs in Oxford. Kentucky and Ole Miss are both wanting to prove they are for real. A UK win here…that would make things awful interesting in the SEC East where I figured Georgia would easily win the division.

Oh you will notice the SEC Network doesn’t have a game in this timeslot. It was the one moved to Thursday night. Will they put another game here to replace it? Probably not.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Oregon State at #12 Utah	2:00 PM
#22 Wake Forest at #23 Florida State	3:30 PM
Virginia Tech at North Carolina	3:30 PM
Rutgers at #3 Ohio State	3:30 PM
#2 Alabama at #20 Arkansas	3:30 PM
Fresno State at UConn	3:30 PM
Northwestern at #11 Penn State	3:30 PM
Iowa State at Kansas	3:30 PM
#9 Oklahoma State at #16 Baylor	3:30 PM
Michigan State at Maryland	3:30 PM
Central Michigan at Toledo	3:30 PM
#17 Texas A&M at Mississippi State	4:00 PM
California at Washington State	5:30 PM

OK now we are getting into weeks where some timeslots are loaded with good games. This is one of them. Wake-FSU, Bama-Hogs and Pokes-BU are all big games that could shape how the season pans out. And if you can watch them live and not have to use a PVR, all the better. I am thankful I don’t have to do that anymore.

Not everything makes sense though here. And it has more to do with the specialty packs than anything. There should be four games in this window on the specialty packs. Right now I only see one confirmed: TAMU-MSU. Why? It makes no sense. We know they will end up there. So just do it all at once. Then again, maybe they won’t because things almost seem worse than ever at times with these specialty packs. Just schedule all the games you’re allowed to show. It’s easy. I don’t get why this is so complicated. Christ, I’m getting worked up and I don’t even have cable anymore.

UPDATE #2: If I just waited a few minutes, I could have looked again and saw that the specialty packs were updated and all the games that should appear there, are appearing there.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
LSU at Auburn	7:00 PM
Cincinnati at Tulsa	7:00 PM
#10 NC State at #5 Clemson	7:30 PM
Indiana at Nebraska	7:30 PM
San Jose State at Wyoming	7:30 PM
West Virginia at Texas	7:30 PM
#1 Georgia at Missouri	7:30 PM
Georgia Tech at #24 Pittsburgh	8:00 PM

NC State-Clemson. A huge ACC game. And I have this funny feeling it will be moved, rescheduled, something. I mentioned it above and I will say it again. It really makes no sense for South Carolina to move their home game up two days and Clemson, a mere two hours away, is doing nothing at this point. Just feels like a disaster waiting to happen. Fingers crossed nothing bad occurs.

As for the rest of the primetime schedule, it’s alright. LSU-Auburn get an undeserved ESPN spot, Georgia is yet again on the SEC Network, and we will see if Georgia Tech learned what not to do from the Geoff Collins era.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
Colorado at Arizona	9:30 PM
UC-Davis at Montana State	10:15 PM
Arizona State at #6 USC	10:30 PM
Stanford at #13 Oregon	11:00 PM

Four games in the late night sked and one really stands out like a sore thumb. Yes you are reading that correctly: the game on ESPNU will be UC-Davis against Montana State. ESPN has done this before, putting a Big Sky match on in the late night window because there wasn’t much else to put on there. This is especially the case now with ESPN not having Mountain West games. So it’s Pac-12 or bust and if any other network has Pac-12 games, it really dials back the inventory they can choose from. There’s three Pac-12 games on in this window but one is on the Pac-12 Network and another on FOX Sports One. So yeah, either ESPNU shows the FCS game, a rerun of an HBCU game (which they do from time-to-time) or something that isn’t live sports that won’t get the same ratings.

Big Games O’ The Week

NC State at Clemson (7:30, ABC) – One of the games of the year and, I would say, a pretty easy choice for Game of the Week. Let’s see if D.J. Uiagalelei can keep things going and play well enough to beat a very good Wolfpack team. No offense to Wake Forest but this is the Tigers’ greatest competition of the regular season. Win this and they are a win over Florida State away from going back to the ACC Championship. If the Pack win…ho boy this gets very interesting.

Kentucky at Ole Miss (Noon, TSN2) – Did I fool you there? You thought another SEC game would fall here. Not so fast. This game has a lot on the line and will send the winner into the hype zone, at least for the immediate future. Don’t want to use the terms “College Football Playoff” or “New Year’s Six” here for two teams that aren’t used to that much success (especially Kentucky) but you’ll hear that during the broadcast, I can guarantee that.

Alabama at Arkansas (3:30, CBS) – This is the game that most people would have put at least in the #2 spot and I wholeheartedly disagree. I believe Bama won’t have a ton of trouble with the Hogs. I’d love to see the Razorbacks win; mostly because I love chaos in college football. But until they show they can hang with the Tide, then I can’t believe they will get it done. Now watch them put up a 40-burger against them just to prove me wrong.

Oklahoma State at Baylor (3:30, FOX) – Yeah I’m going to go ahead and call this Okie State’s first true test of the season. No offense to Central Michigan, Arizona State or mighty Arkansas-Pine Bluff but they don’t hold a candle to the Bears. Also, I am waiting to see if Spencer Sanders truly can take this team to new heights since I have never been fully impressed with him.

Wake Forest at Florida State (3:30, ABC) – Look, Wake Forest isn’t completely out of the ACC Atlantic race just yet. To get back in the race, though, they have to win here. The Noles have finally found their footing under Mike Norvell and want the opportunity to at least play for the division later in the season.

Washington at UCLA (Friday, 10:30, TSN2) – I never would have thought I’d have this game on the list when the season started. The Huskies are better than advertised. The Bruins…well at least we can say they are undefeated. They haven’t made it look easy and they haven’t exactly played tough competition. A Friday night test for both teams.

Oklahoma at TCU (Noon, ABC) – The Sooners came crashing down to Earth last week against Kansas State…kind of. I think part of this is the horrendous non-conference schedule they had with no real competition. More teams really have to get away from that kind of thinking as it never prepares them for conference season. At least TCU had SMU last week after beating the worst Power Five team in the land, Colorado, and Tarleton State, who honestly might beat Colorado if they played each other.

Psycho Game of the Week

Colorado at Arizona (9:30, YouTube) – You have to be some kind of sick to want to watch this. Sure, the Wildcats are improved but they couldn’t have been any worse than they were last season. And the Buffs…my God. They are seriously awful. If they lose this one, the Karl Dorrell hot seat talk will be top of the list in that state (at least when it comes to college football).

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Rutgers at Ohio State (3:30, BTN) – With all due respect to the Fighting Schianos of Piscataway, this won’t be close. I am almost thinking of praying for Rutgers to keep tOSU under 60 points in this one.

Fun-Time Stats of the Week

• BYU and Utah State are actually in a trophy game on Thursday. They play for the Old Wagon Wheel. The Cougs have won it 17 times since 1994.
• The only team that Boise State has a losing record against in the Mountain West is San Diego State.
• The Crimson Tide have won 15 in a row against Arkansas.

The Degenerate Portion of Our Show

I’m not going to delve into my picks from last week. I just won’t. You shouldn’t either. Let’s just move on to this week’s picks:

• Houston (-2.5) over Tulane
• UNLV (-14.5) over New Mexico
• Illinois (+7) over Wisconsin (Wisky to win game)
• Oklahoma (-6.5) over TCU
• Oregon State (+10.5) over Utah (Utes to win game)
• Fresno State (-24) over UConn
• Penn State (-26.5) over Northwestern
• Florida State (-7) over Wake Forest
• Auburn (+9) over LSU (and the Tigers to win outright in my upset of the week)
• NC State (+6.5) over Clemson (Tigers win a close one)
• Pittsburgh (-22) over Georgia Tech
• Arizona State (+25) over USC (USC will win the game)
• Oregon (-17) over Stanford

I will keep watching and keep you up to date on anything that changes the schedule due to Hurricane Ian. It already looks bad along Florida’s west coast and the storm just hit. Hopefully there are no casualties down that way.

Hey, how about some more lists of games?

No, no, this won’t be bad, I promise you. OK, promise is a strong word. It will be fine. No need to worry. Look, I will just get right to the lists and then if you want to tell me afterwards that it was all bullshit then I may listen.

Sneaky-Good/Underrated Games

Let’s start with the games I would consider underrated or sneaky-good. These games are not in the Top 30 list but should be very good (and close) games. Now watch half of them be blowouts. Let’s begin.

1. Cincinnati at Arkansas (Week 1, 3:30, ESPN, confirmed) – A lot of college football fans (including myself) are looking forward to this one. Let’s just see how good the Bearcats still are after their glass ceiling-shattering performance of 2021. And the Hogs are no slouch either. This gun be good.
2. Kentucky at Tennessee (Week 9, 7:00, ESPNU) – These two teams feel like the only ones that can truly challenge Georgia in the SEC East (no offense to Florida). Whether this gets off of ESPNU is another story but if at least one of these teams is doing really well, I would think that would be considered.
3. Pittsburgh at Miami (Week 13, Noon, ABC) – This could be a massive game if either team plays above their talent this season. Pitt is coming off an amazing ACC title run and Miami feels like they may be starting to actually get back to those 80s and 90s Hurricane squads. Now watch both teams be 6-5 and this game mean absolutely jack shit.
4. Tennessee at LSU (Week 6, Noon, ESPN) – I am sure Tigers fans will be pissed off that this game isn’t at night since ALL GAMES AT DEATH VALLEY SHOULD BE AT NIGHT according to them. Not saying it’s a great atmosphere but you have to be realistic. Both teams will need this early conference win to have any hopes of a potential New Year’s Six berth.
5. Michigan State at Penn State (Week 13, 3:30, ABC) – Chances of this being part of a huge Big Ten doubleheader after tOSU-Michigan are slim. Who knows where this game will land when it comes to importance. I assume at least one of these teams will have an outside shot at an NY6 slot going into this week.
6. Tennessee at Pittsburgh (Week 2, 3:30, ABC, confirmed) – Wow, I have the Volunteers in a lot of these games. Their season could be the most volatile of all teams, at least in the SEC. We are looking at anywhere from five to maybe ten wins for this squad. If they do get to double digit wins, fans in Knoxville are going to build a statue (a small one but still a statue) of Josh Heupel in front of Neyland Stadium.
7. Kentucky at Ole Miss (Week 5, 7:30, SEC Network) – Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Lane Kiffin is entertaining. And he brings an offense that could average 40 a game if he wanted to really let go of the reins. The Wildcats are no pushovers and it is a bit of a surprise that Mark Stoops hasn’t been offered a more prominent head coaching position. Maybe after this season he will get that if the Cats hit heights that have never been achieved in Lexington.
8. Arkansas at BYU (Week 7, 10:30, ESPN) – Honestly, this could be one of the most fun games to watch all year. Two great coaches, two teams that score a lot of points, and two great fanbases (no matter what you think about the people of Provo). BYU’s only possible chance at the New Year’s Six is to win games like this and they have to hope the raucous crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium will help them in this one.
9. Baylor at Texas (Week 13, Friday, 3:30, ABC) – This could game could end up being even more important than Bedlam, which is saying something. There are even some that say that this could be foreshadowing a rematch the following week at Jerrah’s house. I mean I’m not one of them but there are some out there.
10. Purdue at Wisconsin (Week 8, Noon, ABC) – Alright, hear me out. Is Purdue now a Top 25 team? Debatable. Could they make some noise in the Big Ten West? Absolutely. And someone has to challenge the Badgers, right?

Best Group of Five Games

Let’s give the G5 some love! These games are ones that only include Group of Five teams (so no G5 vs. P5 games here). Something tells me the American Conference will show up a lot here. Oh, and by the way, I am also not putting BYU games in this section. To me they are a Power Five team.

1. Cincinnati at UCF (Week 9, Noon, ESPN) – For the second straight fucking year, Cincinnati and Houston do not play each other during the regular season. I honestly don’t get how the AAC does their schedules but it’s fucking bonkers. This means that this game ends up being the G5 game of the year and it might not even mean anything if UCF isn’t improved. Let’s hope the Gus Bus has a full tank and is ready to go.
2. Fresno State at Boise State (Week 6, 3:30, FS1) – The first game on any of these lists that we won’t be able to see here (unless you have IPTV or an illegal stream or something that most of us can probably easily find). And no, there is no way it can be moved unless FOX decides to put it on the national network because all Broncos home games are on FOX, FS1 or FS2.
3. Boise State at Air Force (Week 8, 7:00, CBSSN, confirmed) – Here’s the other part of Boise’s TV contract. Their road games must be on CBS or CBSSN. They are the special team of the Mountain West, make no mistake about it. They are the ones that bring in the eyeballs. Considering what has happened in realignment, the conference might want to add a couple teams to strengthen it and potentially weaken another FBS conference because soon enough, the Broncos will go to another conference and not change their mind.
4. Cincinnati at SMU (Week 8, 4:00, ESPNU) – Every year lately I have heard that SMU might put it all together and make a run. SMU has the pass offense to do some great things. SMU’s defense is good enough to stop the best American Conference teams. Blah, blah, blah. Until they actually do these things, I won’t believe any of the hype. If they keep this close, colour me impressed. I mean they do have the offense to do so but they have to keep the Bearcats under 50 points to have a shot here.
5. Houston at UTSA (Week 1, 3:30, CBSSN, confirmed) – I’m kind of surprised that CBS picked Arizona-San Diego State instead of this game for Week 1. Houston is the one team that many believe could knock Cincy off their perch but UTSA was amazing last year. Such a fun ride watching the Roadrunners reel off eleven straight wins and give them a much deserved national spotlight. This game will show all of us which of these two teams (if not both of them) are ready to do some damage again this year. Maybe I should have put this at #4. Too late now.
6. East Carolina at Cincinnati (Week 11, Friday, 7:30, ESPN2, confirmed) – Now here’s a team in ECU that likes to throw the ball all over the damn field. I’m sure Mike Houston’s strategy is to throw the ball until Holton Ahlers’ arm falls off…and then make him use the other arm. Bet the over.
7. Air Force at Utah State (Week 6, 7:00, FS1) – Both teams rolled past Boise State last year and don’t want to give up that top spot in the Mountain West. One team has to lose here, though, since the NCAA would rather have 53 overtimes of two-point conversions than a tie.
8. Appalachian State at Coastal Carolina (Week 10, Thursday, 7:30, ESPN, confirmed) – The Fighting Mullets are back to see if they can go back-to-back-to-back double digit win seasons. And let’s be honest: App State is always at the top of the Sun Belt heap (or near it). I love late season weekday night college football and the Fun Belt may be the top conference in providing it (no offense, MACtion).
9. UTSA at UAB (Week 10, 6:00, Facebook) – Yes, Facebook. There’s a reason these two teams (with four others) are leaving Conference USA for the American Conference next season. It’s the TV contract. It has been horrifically bad basically since the conference was created and nothing they’ve done has made it any better. And with these teams leaving, don’t think ESPN or FOX will step up to pick up games from this woebegone conference that may have completely lost its way and dropped to the bottom of the FBS pecking order.
10. San Diego State at Fresno State (Week 9, 10:30, FS1) – Your Mountain West Squared Division Championship (probably). Winner most likely ends up as the road team for the Mountain West Championship and the loser will go to Albuquerque or Boise or some other odd bowl destination. I know I’ll be watching…until about 2 in the morning.

Best Group of Five vs. Power Five Games

A new section this year! I figured I would put in just a few of these games. Group of Five teams always dream to have their shot at a Power Five team and every year there are legitimate possibilities for upsets among these games. Some P5 teams hate scheduling the better G5 teams for this reason.

1. Cincinnati at Arkansas (Week 1, 3:30, ESPN, confirmed) – I already covered this in the last post so I won’t bother here. But yeah this should be a good one.
2. Fresno State at USC (Week 3, 10:30, FOX, confirmed) – Late night FOX football is back! And if USC wants to be considered back in the Pac-12 saddle, these are the games they have to win. The Bulldogs are no pushover and they are almost feeling like the Pat Hill Anywhere, Anytime, Fresno State of the 2000s.
3. Appalachian State at Texas A&M (Week 2, 3:30, ESPN2, confirmed) – Is App State the best Sun Belt team again? A win here might confirm that. They are usually a fun team to watch but this is a brutal early season trip that won’t be easy. Almost 110,000 crazy fans (and if you’ve seen the Midnight Yell, you know they’re crazy) will make sure of it.
4. San Diego State at Utah (Week 3, 10:00, ESPN2, confirmed) – Last year these two teams played a hell of a game in front of a not-even-half-filled Dignity Health Sports Park all the way in Carson, the former home of the formerly homeless Los Angeles Chargers. The Aztecs pulled off the upset in triple overtime. This year, yeah, the MUSS will be loud and Rice-Eccles Stadium will be full so SDSU better be ready for a much different atmosphere this time around.
5. Boise State at Oregon State (Week 1, 10:30, ESPN, confirmed) – I can’t see the Broncos having two straight mediocre seasons. So expect fireworks in this one. I implore you to stay up late for this one since it should be good. Also, there’s a good chance this game makes it to TSN although that is not confirmed at this point obviously.

Worst Power Five Games

Honestly, this is one of my favourite sections to look at because it tells me the games I should avoid. Unless they are really close late in the fourth quarter and I will bite my tongue and go and watch it because I am a deranged college football fan.

1. Duke at Kansas (Week 4, Noon, FS1) – Oh my, look at what we start with. This is absolutely disgusting and glorious all at the same time. Watch it be one of the games of the year with a ton of offense and a close finish.
2. Duke at Georgia Tech (Week 6, 12:30, FSN – Regional) – It feels like Duke is going to be in this section a lot. Poor Blue Devils football fans thought they were out of this basement. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Don’t worry, though: college basketball is only about three-and-a-half months away.
3. Arizona State at Colorado (Week 9, 3:30, ESPN2) – Kind of surprised this isn’t a Pac-12 Network game. I mean, it could end up being that so I should stop before I make any guarantees. I’m wondering if by this point we know the fate of good ol’ Herm Edwards since it is just a matter of time before he is shitcanned down in Tempe.
4. Duke at Northwestern (Week 2, Noon, FS1, confirmed) – Should I just put all of Duke’s road games on this list? Luckily for most Canadians, you don’t have to subject yourself to this one since you can’t get FOX Sports One.
5. Indiana at Rutgers (Week 8, 3:00, BTN) – Ah, Rutgers our old friend is back in the list they are so very accustomed to. I mean I guess rabid college football fans are happy that they get the Big Ten Network as part of their normal cable packages now. I do miss the Big East, though. What could have been.
6. Colorado at Arizona (Week 5, 5:30, Pac-12 Network) – There we go. The Pac-12 Network has made their first appearance here. Many are saying Zona will be better than last year. Well no shit. They couldn’t be much worse. They made Kansas look competent last season.
7. Virginia at Duke (Week 5, 3:30, ACC Network) – Hey, how about one more Duke game? First ACC Network appearance. Three conference networks down, one to go.
8. Kansas at Texas Tech (Week 11, 7:00, FS1) – If the Big XII had a network AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry, I couldn’t finish that sentence. FOX Sports One might be the most extreme of channels when it comes to game quality. They always get at least one very good game a season and then they get this. Sometimes on the same day. Imagine being on that Zoom call when they figure out announcer assignments and you are praying you aren’t being sent to Lubbock. Good times.
9. Virginia at Georgia Tech (Week 8, Thursday, 7:30, ESPN, confirmed) – Not all Thursday night games are made equal. I’m sure there’s a Sun Belt game on at the same time that would be much more intriguing.
10. Illinois at Northwestern (Week 13, 7:00, FS1) – Hey maybe one of these teams will be bowl-eligible by this point so it won’t feel so bad.

Alright, that wasn’t too bad, eh? Maybe I will go this route again this coming year. We will see about that.

So it looks like everything is calm right now and HOLY SHIT, USC AND UCLA ARE GOING TO THE BIG TEN! What in the fuck? OK then, I think this kind of derails my immediate posting plans. I may have to just do an analysis of this because this is realignment insanity. This is what we call college football media crack-cocaine.

Well…have a great Canada Day weekend everyone (or, if you are reading this south of the border, have a happy Fourth of July weekend). Stay tuned for the next post!

Most Important Games of the 2022 College Football Season: Prepare for Change

Alright let’s be honest here.  It has been a slooooooow return for ol’ Bossman.  This is partially done on purpose, though, not because I have forgotten about all of you.  I am going with the less is more approach…kind of.  At least in the off-season.  I think an explanation is warranted here.  The plan, on my part, is to post less but to put a lot more in each post.  Like not going to Wendy’s as often but when you do…it’s Dave’s Triple Cheeseburger time!  I think this might just work.  Or it won’t.  I mean you never know with these things, right?  Anyway, where was I?

Ah yes: change.  Change is sometimes tough but is also sometimes needed.  So as it pertains to the usual four-post Most Important College Games series, it is going to go through an overhaul.  This post will be just about the most important games but I won’t be going week-by-week.  It will be a relatively well-thought out selection of the best 30 games of this coming year (at least at this very early point).  Don’t worry, I will still rate the weeks.  Can’t change everything.  Then I will post again later on with some other lists of games.  You know, the worst Power Five games, best Group of Five games, etc.  You ready?  I am.  Let’s go.

Remember the rules (my rules).  Most of the games after Week 3 are not set in terms of time or network.  Any game that is confirmed, I will let you know that it is.  This time I won’t include Canadian info because, especially with TSN, it’s a complete crapshoot.  Just assume that ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network and SEC Network games will appear on TSN or on the specialty packs.

It’s…time!  IT’S….TIME!  IT’S……RANKING TIME!  (cue Vader theme)  Alright the first piece of college football to discuss is the ranking of the weeks.  We know how this usually goes and it is almost never a surprise when it comes out that way.  So let’s get right to it and then I can tell you how I did this (if you didn’t know before) and all that jazz:

1. Week 13 (November 26 – American Thanksgiving)
2. Week 6 (October 8)
3. Week 10 (November 5)
4. Week 5 (October 1)
5. Week 9 (October 29)
6. Week 12 (November 19)
7. Week 7 (October 15)
8. Week 11 (November 12)
9. Week 4 (September 24)
10. Week 8 (October 22)
11. Week 3 (September 17)
12. Week 1 (September 3)
13. Week 2 (September 10)

Same as always, there are thirteen weeks of the regular season.  Week Zero is starting to get more games as more waivers are being granted but until they have I’d say at least 30 games on the schedule that Saturday then it can’t be counted as its own week.  I mean I could but it would be last place every year without a doubt.  I’ve said this before but I wish they would always have fourteen weeks in a season.  This way, every team gets two bye weeks and it’s perfect for the health and safety of the players (something that is sometimes put on the backburner).  I’m sure the NCAA will go along with my idea by the year 2058.  As for the rankings this season, not too many surprises.  The final week of the regular season is back on its perch as the best weekend of college football this season.  Week 1 has dropped off a cliff and doesn’t look  that great but the hype around it will be off the charts, I can guarantee you that.  October has a massive week as Week 6 truly starts the conference season in a big way (and you’ll see later on why I say that).  Just like last year, November is great, even SEC Sleepwalk Saturday which is a middle-of-the-road week rather than the awful week of games it used to be.  And of course, September is, well, September in college football.  A few really good games surrounded by a lot of meh but you know what will happen.  That’s right, Frank Stallone quite a few upsets since that’s how college football works.

Normally this would be the time I start the weekly breakdowns but those are no more (at least for this year).  This is a long list but I think it will be a good list.  It’s the top 30 most important games of the college football season (until some team like Northwestern comes out of nowhere and is battling for a conference title).

1. Texas A&M at Alabama (Week 6, 8:00, CBS) – Yes, Bama is again the favourite to win it all this season.  But the Aggies might be as ready as they have ever been during the Jimbo Fisher era.  Almost a guarantee this will end up as the lone CBS primetime game of the year.
2. Michigan at Ohio State (Week 13, Noon, FOX, confirmed) – Captain Khaki brings his Wolverines to Columbus to see if he can get his team to relive the magic of last season once again.  They haven’t won at the Horseshoe in 22 years.  Winner of this one most likely heads to the Big Ten Championship so huge stakes, as it usually is with this rivalry.
3. Notre Dame at Ohio State (Week 1, 7:30, ABC, confirmed) – As is normally the case, the Irish have a bunch of landmine games this season.  No game is a bigger landmine than this one.  If Notre Dame can pull this off, then the season is already turned on its head and Marcus Freeman immediately becomes a legend in his second game as head coach.
4. Clemson at Notre Dame (Week 10, 7:30, NBC, confirmed) – Clemson will be looking for a tiny bit of a rebound this year and retake control of the ACC.  Yes, this isn’t an ACC conference game but winning this game would put every other team in the conference on notice.  I am wondering, with all this realignment happening, if we may get to the point where the Irish are the only Independent team remaining.  This is something I wouldn’t have said even two years ago.
5. Georgia vs. Oregon (in Atlanta) (Week 1, 3:30, ABC, confirmed) – Is this an early-season College Football Playoff elimination game?  Could very well be.  Georgia is still loaded for bear again and the Ducks are ready to make that final climb back into the CFP.  This game (plus the ND-tOSU game later in the night) are the easy highlights of a relatively bland Week 1 schedule.
6. Notre Dame at USC (Week 13, 7:30, ABC) – It would be either a) horrible for Notre Dame fans if the Irish came in undefeated and blew a tire here against a probably good USC team or b) great for Notre Dame haters who don’t want them anywhere near the College Football Playoff (or the New Year’s Six for that matter).  This could end up being a massively important game in the grand scheme of things.
7. Utah at Oregon (Week 12, 7:30, ABC) – This might just be a preview of the Pac-12 title game and a statement game for both teams…as long as both teams are ranked at this point.  With the Pac-12 finally on the rise again (I think), this could bring in a lot of eyeballs during a week that is usually not the greatest on paper.
8. NC State at Clemson (Week 5, 3:30, ABC) – This is probably the game for the Atlantic Division title…the final Atlantic Division title if I get my way and divisions are abolished going forward.  With all due respect to Wake Forest, unless they pull off at least one upset, they aren’t getting close to these two teams.  This being in Death Valley may give the Tigers the slight edge but the Wolfpack have had some seriously huge wins on the road in their past.
9. USC at Utah (Week 7, 3:30, ESPN) – As I said above, I am only including American broadcast info at this point.  That will change when I get to network-specific posts later in the summer.  The Utes should worry about this USC team.  They are finally poised to get back into Top 10 territory and an upset of Utah isn’t a crazy idea at this point.  If Lincoln Riley can get the Trojans to pull this off, it may be off to the races and a return to glory in Los Angeles.
10. Michigan State at Michigan (Week 9, Noon, FOX) – Big brother and little brother are both good.  This always make this rivalry game extra spicy.  This game could honestly derail Michigan’s season before they get to the Game.  This should end up on FOX which means no THERE’S A TROUBLE WITH THE SNAP!  AND THE BALL IS FREE AND IT’S PICKED UP BY MICHIGAN STATE’S JALEN WATTS-JACKSON AND HE SCORES ON THE LAST PLAY OF THE GAME!  All in Sean McDonough Cracked-Voice perfection.
11. Clemson at Wake Forest (Week 4, 3:30, ESPN2) – This might be the first game I get seriously wrong.  Saying that, the ACC tends to get neglected in favour of the other Power Five conferences when it comes to game placement…especially when Wake Forest is involved.  And some would still consider this a surprising pick in the #11 spot but I stand by it.  Remember what I said above about the Deacs?  Well this would be their chance, at home, to shock the world and announce their true arrival as contenders for at least the New Year’s Six.
12. Ohio State at Michigan State (Week 6, 7:30, ABC) – Another THE Ohio State University roadblock game here.  Nothing would please Spartans fans (and Wolverine fans) for Sparty to knock off the mighty Buckeyes here.
13. Baylor at Oklahoma (Week 10, Noon, FOX) – Dave Aranda might be the most popular coach in college football and he wouldn’t give two shits about that nor would his facial expression change.  He’s in Waco to coach college football, dammit, and that’s all.  I’m sure his family has seen him smile before but those rumours are unconfirmed.  Lincoln Riley-less Oklahoma could be an interesting team to watch this year since no one knows how they will fare.  As much of a wild card as any team expected to be in the Top 25 to start the season.
14. Tennessee at Georgia (Week 10, Noon, ESPN) – This could very well be an SEC East title match although you never know what team will kind of come out of nowhere to cause havoc at the top.  Kentucky may still be good and the rest of the teams, sans Vanderbilt, could make a run if they get an upset or three.  Until further notice, though, the Dawgs are the defending champs so someone has to knock them off their perch.  Who better than the Vols?  I’m sure there would be many people who could give me quite a few examples.
15. Miami at Clemson (Week 12, 3:30, ESPN2) – If this was the 80s or early 90s or early 2000s, this wouldn’t be here because Miami would be like a 30-point favourite.  I’m sure there’d be a lot more cocaine and steroids involved as well, but I digress.  Instead, it’s the Tigers who could be a double-digit favourite coming into this potentially huge conference matchup for both teams.
16. Alabama at Tennessee (Week 7, 3:30, CBS) – Man, it took long enough to get to our first afternoon CBS game.  I guess that’s what happens when Alabama is on the network all the time.  So speaking of heavy favourites, the Tide will be those here.  The Vols, however, are better than they have been in over a decade and with the game at Neyland, who knows.  If this game is close going into the fourth quarter, watch out.
17. Miami at Texas A&M (Week 3, 9:00, ESPN, confirmed) – Oh god the weird three-hour windows rear their ugly head this week.  Game at 6:00 followed by a game at 9:00.  Can ESPN just fuck off with this horseshit?  What’s the big deal putting this at 9:30?  Half an hour won’t make a difference.  Anyway, this should be a pretty good game I think but those FUCKING THREE-HOUR WINDOWS…OK I’m gonna stop now.
18. Wisconsin at Ohio State (Week 4, 7:30, ABC) – If the Big Ten abolished divisions, this would become a much bigger game.  I mean it’s still huge but…OK fine I just hate divisions.  I’m sure Wisky’s gameplan here is to run the ball 60 times and hope tOSU’s run defense is snoozing for most of the game.
19. Wake Forest at NC State (Week 10, 7:30, ACC Network) – Look, this might change between now and then but as I’ve said before, this is how little respect the Demon Deacons get.  If both teams only have one loss (or less) at this point, then it definitely gets moved to ESPN or ABC.  Otherwise, there’s a good chance this is where this game will end up, sadly.  The winner here is probably the one and only contender to screw up Clemson’s ACC run this season.
20. Oklahoma State at Baylor (Week 5, Noon, FOX) – First appearance for the Fighting Mullets from Stillwater on this list.  The Pokes are almost always in contention even when it feels like they aren’t.  Eleventh-year starter Spencer Sanders hopes to finally find some consistency at quarterback and beat a Baylor team that could be even more special than last year’s squad.
21. Georgia at Kentucky (Week 12, 3:30, CBS) – Fine, I will put this game here but it’s iffy whether it belongs.  It isn’t like the SEC West where even the worst team usually isn’t that bad.  Saying that, UK could be good again.  It wouldn’t fully shock me.  The only thing on their side is this is in Lexington which is underrated for how rowdy the fans can get.
22. Arkansas vs. Texas A&M (in Arlington) (Week 4, 3:30, CBS) – Considering the SEC slate of games this week, it is almost a guarantee that this game will be on CBS.  Last year, the Razorbacks won this game rather easily and a good thing they did since they lost three straight right afterwards.  If both teams are as good as they are predicted to be, maybe JerryWorld will be at least three-quarters full this time around.  I still don’t get this always being a neutral-site game but whatever.
23. Ohio State at Penn State (Week 9, 7:30, ABC) – Now we are getting into the games that might not look close on paper but have a history of being inexplicably close.  I’ve seen the Nittany Lions make things difficult for tOSU so it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for them to pull off an upset on a night that will most certainly be a White-Out.
24. Alabama at Arkansas (Week 5, 3:30, CBS) – See what I mean?  Saying that, it’s not like this game will be relegated to the SEC Network as Sam Pittman has the Hogs looking good.  Not Bama-good, but definitely a far cry from the Bret Bielema/Chad Morris years.
25. Oklahoma State at Oklahoma (Week 12, Noon, FOX) – BEDLAM!  Normally near the top of these kinds of lists, this could be a sneaky-good game this season for once.  The Sooners feel like they are in rebuild mode when they really aren’t and the Pokes always feel like they are a step behind one team every season in the Big XII.  By this point, we will know if either of these teams have a hope for the Big XII Championship and a trip to good ol’ JerryWorld or not.
26. Penn State at Michigan (Week 7, 3:30, ABC) – Not exactly a CFP elimination matchup but it will be very important in terms of the Big Ten East Division race.  Look, PSU now has Sean Clifford hopefully back for a full, healthy year.  That alone makes the Nittany Lions a bit more dangerous than they were last year.  Michigan is loaded for bear so this will not be easy between the two teams with the biggest stadiums in the land.
27. LSU at Texas A&M (Week 13, Noon, ESPN) – This could end up being a forgotten matchup by this point of the season.  LSU is certainly not the Joe Burrow LSU Tigers.  And Texas A&M has been hanging on the periphery of greatness for a while now.  At some point, you think something has to give.  My guess is there is a good possibility a NY6 spot could be on the line here.
28. Wisconsin at Michigan State (Week 7, 7:30, ESPN2) – At this point I would call this an underrated game as many would probably put it in the same spot I’m putting it now.  The Badgers are probably the odds-on favourite to win the Big Ten West which is never on par with winning the much more difficult Big Ten East.  The Spartans need to win games like this to have any chance of doing what they did last year (or even more).
29. BYU vs. Notre Dame (in Las Vegas) (Week 6, 7:30, NBC, confirmed) – BYU’s final year as an Independent and as usual they have loaded up.  Call it a Western version of the typical Notre Dame schedule.  These teams don’t play nearly enough against each other if you ask me so it’s fun when they do.  And boy, will they have a TV audience, there is no denying that.  The Irish love these games because it’s a recruiting bonanza.  I guess the same for the Cougs.  Independent supremacy is on the line in this one.
30. Florida vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville) (Week 9, 3:30, CBS, confirmed) – The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.  How can this not be on this list of games?  I guess if both teams were bad which hasn’t happened in….well, it’s been a while.  This is my seventh straight year, I believe, imploring CBS to give the broadcast crew an open bar for this one.  Hey, either Gary Danielson becomes seriously fun to listen to or…he’s still Gary Danielson.

There you go.  Top 30 games of the season.  That wasn’t so bad, eh?  There is only 60 days left until the season begins.  That is much closer than I am used to when doing this post.  I may have to up my game over the next two months.

I’m not going to lie, this felt like a lot of work but it also felt good to do.  The craziness hasn’t stopped in my life and so this is my chance to start getting a break from “reality” by doing this blog again.  I think I’ve needed it (although I had to be sure I was ready to go again).  Have a great week everyone!

Let’s get ready to FOOTBALLGASMMMMMMMMMM!!! – Week 13 College Football TV Schedule

Remember last year’s Thanksgiving, American Style?  From a college football perspective it was just….another weekend.  Nothing special at all.  This year, however, that warm and fuzzy feeling is back.  It’s now the final weekend of the college football regular season and starts what is known on this blog as the Footballgasm.  Footballgasm is a crazy amount of football over a four-day span.  Almost 50 hours of football, college and pro, will be on the airwaves and computer screens starting Thursday just after Noon and going into Sunday just before Midnight.  It’s like a college football fan’s Christmas.  And it’s back after a one-year hiatus.  And while Canadians don’t have Thanksgiving tomorrow, we can still celebrate with Americans by watching copious amounts of football.  Hell, even make a turkey if you want.

To embrace this, it’s time to go back to the Footballgasm format.  Every game gets its own paragraph.  I’m not saying all the games are important but because of the special nature of this time, they all deserve it.    Let’s get on with the schedule shall we?

Thursday​

#9 Ole Miss at Mississippi State

7:30 PM

Ole Miss has no chance at the College Football Playoff, but they pretty much clinch their New Year’s Six spot if they win the Egg Bowl.  The Bulldogs have rebounded well this season and if Leach can keep this team improving, don’t be surprised if next season they are the ones aiming at a NY6 berth.

Friday​​

Boise State at #21 San Diego State

Noon

An absolutely massive game in the Mountain West and…wait, a 9:00 LOCAL START???  Look, I get that the conference has to do some things they don’t want to do (ugh this is sounding like gross casting couch shit) but this is absurd.  I guess the players can watch the sunrise during the warmup.  Both teams need wins here.  An Aztecs win clinches the division and might hand the Mountain Division to Utah State.  A Broncos win gives Fresno State a shot at winning the West Division and puts Boise in a great spot to join them in the Mountain West Championship.  A lot at stake.

Ohio at Bowling Green

Noon

This is easy.  Both teams aren’t going bowling this season so you can say this is for pride but it may not even be for that.  Definitely not a must-watch.

Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan

Noon

I guess if you are big MAC fan this could be fun to watch.  Otherwise, the Battle for Directional Michigan is not important in the slightest since both teams are going bowling and with seven wins, neither team is in jeopardy of being left out of the party.

Kansas State at Texas

Noon

Do the Longhorns have a chance to go to a bowl game?  Surprisingly yes but they need a couple of things to go their way.  First they would need to beat KSU here which is no easy task.  Then the Horns have to hope for most of the 5-6 teams trying to become bowl-eligible to lose.  This would mean that not enough teams qualify and bowl committees would have to look at some 5-7 teams and their APR scores.  This is where Texas would shine.  Now, whether they accept an invite or not is a different story.  The Wildcats are playing for nothing except destroying the last slim hope that Texas has.

#16 Iowa at Nebraska

2:30 PM

This game means a bit for the Ferentzs since a win here could move them up the rankings enough to get them into a New Year’s Six at-large spot.  Other than that, Faux Farmageddon means nothing as the Huskers are just not that good.

#4 Cincinnati at East Carolina

3:30 PM

This is big.  The Bearcats have finally got into a spot that many thought no Group of Five team could ever get to: the Top 4.  There is one more hurdle before the AAC Championship, however.  And the East Carolina Pirates are no pushover as they have won more games this year than in any season since their first season in the American back in 2014.  Mike Houston is building something formidable in Greenville and a win here would end Cincy’s chance at glory and be Houston’s signature coaching victory.

Missouri vs. #25 Arkansas (in Little Rock)

3:30 PM

The traditional Mizzou-Hogs Black Friday game again has no real stakes.  This is a good thing, though, this time.  Both teams are going to bowl games and have two of the most popular coaches in the game at the helm.  It is fun football times in CoMo and Fayetteville.

UNLV at Air Force

3:30 PM

UNLV has actually played some inspired football this season.  It hasn’t led to many wins but it should give Marcus Arroyo another season as head coach in Vegas.  On the other hand, the Falcons have a great 8-3 mark on the season and will want to finish off their season on a high note by beating the Rebels.  This would also help their MWC Mountain Division title hopes.

USF at UCF

3:30 PM

Usually the War on I-4 is a big game although lately it has been anything but.  As has been the case the past little while, this game means nothing other than the Bulls hoping to pull off an upset of their cross-state rivals.

Colorado at #19 Utah

4:00 PM

The Rocky Mountain Showdown means a whole lot of sweet fuck all this season.  Not the greatest choice by FOX but I have a feeling Black Friday was limited with choices anyway.

North Carolina at #20 NC State

7:00 PM

If you had told me in August that this game would mean everything to the Wolfpack and nothing to the Tar Heels I would have laughed at you.  But it’s true.  NC State still has a chance to win the ACC Atlantic and get to the NY6 whereas UNC is just looking to maybe get a better bowl bid with a seventh win.

Saturday Early

#1 Georgia at Georgia Tech

Noon

There’s a lot of football on this weekend but it is sometimes tough to see games like this, which have very little stakes, on ABC at Noon whereas other games are relegated to worse timeslots or networks.  In this one, the Ramblin’ Wreck is trying to figure out if the Geoff Collins Experiment should continue.  The Dawgs should win this easily so just have to avoid injuries before the SEC Championship.  So yeah, you can probably just scoreboard watch this one to see if UGA covers the spread.​

UPDATE: This has been switched to TSN2.

Maryland at Rutgers

Noon

Hey, this game has serious stakes!  Winner goes bowling.  Loser is home for the holidays.  That’s it.  I have a feeling this is going to end up being a sneaky good game.

#24 Houston at UConn

Noon

A Houston win actually benefits Cincinnati more than Houston to be honest.  UConn is terrible so, yeah, you can probably skip this one.

Florida State at Florida

Noon

Now this is one that no one could have predicted.  A Gators-Seminoles game where the stakes are bowl eligibility.  For many, including myself, it seems insane.  But it’s the facts.  I actually agree with TSN picking up this one since this will get a LOT of attention.​

UPDATE #2: This has been moved to TSN4.  I don’t know the reason for the switch.

#18 Wake Forest at Boston College

Noon

At one point, Wake was the darling of the college football world, even more than Cincinnati I would say.  Then the wheels fell off a bit with a non-conference loss to North Carolina (I’m serious) and a loss to Clemson.  That loss to the Tigers means they have to win this game against BC to still stamp their ticket to the ACC Championship.  A loss and they could be in trouble for that.  The Eagles also had a good start to their season but they are limping to the finish line.  Already bowl-eligible, this is just to make them look more valuable to bowl committees.

Navy at Temple

Noon

Oof.  Pass.

#2 Ohio State at #5 Michigan

Noon

Game of the Week right here.  At the very least it’s the Game of the Year in the Big Ten if not all of college football, at least for the regular season.  This may end up being Jim Harbaugh’s shining moment.  He gets the Wolverines to upset the Buckeyes and he would probably get a lifetime contract and a statue outside Michigan Stadium.  tOSU wants to keep erasing the memory of that Oregon loss and winning here puts them one step closer to going back to the CFP.  I assume most people will be watching this game and why not?  This smells like an instant classic.

Miami at Duke

Noon

And from the previous game we get to this one.  Unless Miami pulls of an amazing (albeit controversial) multi-lateral last-second touchdown to beat the Blue Devils, you can avoid watching this game.

Saturday Afternoon

Penn State at #12 Michigan State

3:30 PM

This is actually a pretty big game…for one team.  Sparty’s hopes for the College Football Playoff are gone but they still have a chance at the New Year’s Six.  It is imperative they look impressive in a win over PSU.  The Nittany Lions are only playing for maybe a better bowl game now that their head coach, James Franklin, has received a 10-year contract extension.

Northwestern at Illinois

3:30 PM

Um….this is football, technically.  Hopefully the weather turns really bad and the football is sloppy since that would be the only reason I would watch.

#3 Alabama at Auburn

3:30 PM

Bama has seen this story before.  An upstart Auburn squad destroying their season in the Iron Bowl.  I honestly can’t see it happening here but you never know.  If Bo Nix does what Bo Nix has done a couple of times earlier this season, this could get interesting.  The Tide need a win here to stay in this #3 spot and set up their CFP opportunity next week in Atlanta.

Western Kentucky at Marshall

3:30 PM

Winner-take-all for the Conference USA East Division.  This basically comes down to the prolific WKU offense against Marshall’s stingy defense.  Should be a good one.

Oregon State at #11 Oregon

3:30 PM

This is one of the biggest Civil War games ever.  The Ducks win and they go to the Pac-12 Championship.  The Beavers have to win and then hope Washington beats Wazzu to gobble up the division title.  Huge Pac-12 stakes which mean you might want to watch this game.

Virginia Tech at Virginia

3:45 PM

Alright this game means something once again…for one team.  The Hokies need a win to become bowl-eligible which would actually be a shock considering how poorly their season has gone.  UVA is already going bowling so humiliation is their only goal here.

Vanderbilt at Tennessee

3:45 PM

This game means nothing which seems to be the norm these days in the battle for SEC Tennessee.  Vandy is bad but not as bad as they had been the previous few seasons.  Tennessee has looked good this season yet is only 6-5 so they would love a win here and then in a bowl game to make Josh Heupel’s first season as head coach of the Vols an unmitigated success.

Tulsa at SMU

4:00 PM

If the Golden Hurricane can pull off the upset here, they would get their sixth win and be able to go to a bowl game.  Either way, we can almost guarantee this will be a close game because that’s what Tulsa does…every single time.

ULM at Louisiana

4:00 PM

Louisiana has already clinched the Sun Belt West and ULM is not going bowling.  NEXT!

#14 Wisconsin at Minnesota

4:00 PM

Huge game in the suddenly sloppy Big Ten West.  Wisky’s path is clear: win and they get a ticket to Indy.  The Gophers have a muddier path.  They must win here and hope for an Iowa loss AND a Purdue win.  Funny how tiebreakers work sometimes.

Saturday Primetime & Late Night​

#15 Texas A&M at LSU

7:00 PM

Coach Eaux’s Last Stand.  I am sure he wants to get the Tiguhz to a bowl game in his final regular season game as head coach.  Especially one in Florida so he can find some hot women on the beach.  The Aggies have a really outside shot at the New Year’s Six but would need at least a couple of teams above them in the rankings to lose this week for them to have any chance.

#10 Oklahoma at #7 Oklahoma State

7:30 PM

BEDLAM!  It’s the Pokes who already know they are in the Big XII title game which is a bit of a change from the usual.  The Sooners will need a win here to qualify.  I have to assume that Baylor will beat Texas Tech so an Oklahoma loss here would mean we would have a Big XII Championship without Oklahoma.  Good Ol’ JR would be rolling in his grave if he were dead.

#17 Pittsburgh at Syracuse

7:30 PM

Pitt has nothing really to play for since they are already in the ACC Championship.  Basically their role should be to make sure Kenny Pickett doesn’t get hurt.  The Orange, on the other hand, have everything to play for.  At five wins, they know what they have to do against their old Big East rivals.  It also could be the difference between Dino Babers keeping his job for 2022 or getting shitcanned.

Kentucky at Louisville

7:30 PM

Honestly, there is no real importance to this game.  Both teams are bowl eligible with no hope of getting into a New Year’s Six bowl.

Tulane at Memphis

7:30 PM

Surprisingly, the Tigers need a win here to become bowl-eligible.  They’ve had a rough season but should be able to close out the Green Wave to get that all-important sixth win.

#23 Clemson at South Carolina

7:30 PM

If you had told me that these two teams would be on the SEC Network in this final week, I would have laughed.  But here we are.  This game does mean quite a bit for Clemson since they can still clinch the ACC Atlantic with a win and losses by NC State and Wake Forest.  South Carolina’s only goal is to destroy Clemson’s chances.

#6 Notre Dame at Stanford

8:00 PM

This game is all about Notre Dame.  They need to win and win big here to keep their faint CFP hopes alive.  A big win would also, ironically, help Cincinnati’s CFP hopes.

Nevada at Colorado State

9:00 PM

This game means nothing.  Nevada is bowl-eligible.  Colorado State is not.  It’s the only game starting at this time so if it’s close it may be worth a watch but otherwise, don’t bother.

#13 BYU at USC

10:30 PM

This game has some serious stakes.  For the Trojans, they need to win this game to set up an opportunity for bowl-eligibility during conference championship week against Cal.  BYU, on the other hand, could crash the New Year’s Six party in a big way with a win here.  Moving up even one spot puts them in a great spot for an at-large berth, probably to the Fiesta Bowl.

Wanna bet?

As per usual, no Games of the Week section since I went over every game available up here in the Great White North.  There are a few other important games that we won’t get but hey, take it up with TSN, who’s coverage has gone to shit this season.  Seriously terrible.  And they wonder why people keep cutting cable.  Anyway, off to the biggest picks section of the season where I do picks for every damn game above.  Oh yeah.  Here we go!

Cincinnati over East Carolina

Houston over UConn

Memphis over Tulane

SMU over Tulsa

Temple over Navy (who cares)

Air Force over UNLV

Boise State over San Diego State (upset!)

Nevada over Colorado State

Ohio over Bowling Green

Central Michigan over Eastern Michigan

Notre Dame over Stanford

Oklahoma over Oklahoma State

Texas over Kansas State (slight upset)

Boston College over Wake Forest (upset!)

Clemson over South Carolina

Miami over Duke

North Carolina over NC State (slight upset)

Pittsburgh over Syracuse

Virginia Tech over Virginia (to become bowl-eligible)

Florida over Florida State (close)

Georgia over Georgia Tech

Kentucky over Louisville

Tennessee over Vanderbilt

Alabama over Auburn

Arkansas over Missouri

LSU over Texas A&M (upset to become bowl-eligible)

Ole Miss over Mississippi State

Oregon over Oregon State

USC over BYU (upset)

Utah over Colorado

Louisiana over ULM

Marshall over Western Kentucky

Ohio State over Michigan

Penn State over Michigan State (slight upset)

Rutgers over Maryland

Iowa over Nebraska

Northwestern over Illinois

Wisconsin over Minnesota

Wow, that’s a lot of games.  This should be a lot of fun.  A great way to end an amazing regular season.  Enjoy the games everyone!

Oh, it’s that time…CRAZY BOWL PROJECTIONS!!!

This is the fourth edition of this ridiculous post.  And this could be the year where these might happen because the 2021 college football season has been a shitshow.  So you never know…these somewhat illogical choices that I will show you might become somewhat logical after the next week’s games are done.  And if all these came to fruition I would take the first flight to Vegas.

As per usual, I will not do all the bowl games.  Past the New Year’s Six, it becomes a lot less crazy to be honest.  But these predictions (and I use that term very loosely) are insane.  So maybe crazy isn’t quite the word for it.  Look, let’s just get right down to it so you can determine how drunk I was when figuring this all out.

Orange Bowl	CFP Poll #1 vs. CFP Poll #4	Cincinnati vs. Ole Miss
Cotton Bowl	CFP Poll #2 vs. CFP Poll #3	Wake Forest vs. Baylor

What in the blue fucking hell is going on here?  Alright, let’s get to the, ahem, logic of all this ridiculousness:

• Alabama loses to both Arkansas and Auburn.  I don’t know, maybe they have like 10 injuries in the first quarter of the game against the Hogs.  Ole Miss wins out and actually passes Bama to shockingly win the SEC West.  So what happens to the SEC East champs?  Georgia stumbles against Georgia Tech which drops them out of the #1 spot in the CFP rankings.  The Rebels shock the college football world again and beat the Dawgs and get in as the #4 seed with their SEC title win.
• Wake wins their final two games and wins the ACC Atlantic rather easily.  In the Coastal, chaos reigns, as per usual.  Pitt loses to the Virginia, allowing the Hoos to win the ACC Coastal division.  In the ACC title game, the Deacs mop the floor with UVA, moving them into the #2 spot in the rankings as the only 1-loss team in the Power Five conferences.  OK this might not be so crazy.
• Ohio State loses to both the Michigans.  But Michigan also loses to Maryland so that leaves Sparty as the one team left standing (somehow).  Wisconsin gets stunned by Minnesota which allows Iowa, who wins their final two, to win the Big Ten West and go to Indianapolis, where they best the Spartans in a close one.  This knocks Michigan State out of the Top 4.
• Could the Pac-12 become more of a mess than it is now?  Absolutely!  Oregon State (yes, OREGON STATE!) will win their final two which will include a Civil War victory over their rivals, Oregon, which gives the Beavers the Pac-12 North title and a trip to somewhere near San Francisco.  They get Utah who, despite a close loss to Colorado, win the South Division.  Oregon State beats Utah in a tight Pac-12 Championship but really does not have the resume to be in the semi-finals.
• Oklahoma continues their run of suck by losing their next two games against Iowa State and Oklahoma State.  This puts the Cowboys in the Big XII Championship against…Baylor who wins their final two and sneaks in the back door.  The Bears then promptly upset the Pokes to replace them in the Top 4.
• Cincinnati runs the table and is one of two undefeated teams left.  They destroy the rest of their opponents and have to be the only choice for #1.  The Committee, after choosing the Bearcats at #1, get blind drunk trying to forget what they went through this season.

The Top 4, in this case, would be pretty set with fairly little argument.  Iowa and Oregon State wouldn’t be nearly good enough to get into the Top 4 and the rest are conference champions.  Cincinnati being #1 would make a few in college football media upset so I could see them dropping to #2 and Wake Forest or Baylor replacing them at #1 but I’m sticking with what I have because it’s CRAZY bowl projections, not SOMEWHAT CRAZY BUT STEEPED IN REALITY bowl projections.  This would definitely push the conferences to move quickly on expanding the playoff because this would be exactly what the P5 conferences do not want.  Whether they do go to twelve teams, which seems to be getting the most steam, is unknown.  Alright, let’s see how stupid the New Year’s Six is in this scenario.

Sugar Bowl	SEC Champ vs. Big XII Champ	Georgia vs. Oklahoma State
Rose Bowl	Big Ten Champ vs. Pac-12 Champ	Iowa vs. Oregon State
Fiesta Bowl	CFP At-large vs. CFP At-large/G5 #1	Michigan vs. Notre Dame
Peach Bowl	CFP At-large vs. CFP At-large/G5 #1	Texas A&M vs. Michigan State

Ooooooook then.  Some of this was explained above, some of it needs a longer explanation.  Here goes nothing:

• Michigan, by beating Ohio State AND being out of the conference championship, stays near the Top 4 with no way of getting in.  It’s an easy choice for The Committee to put them in the Fiesta Bowl.
• Georgia’s fall from #1 is quick after losing to Georgia Tech and then Ole Miss in the SEC Championship.  They slot in to the SEC spot at the Sugar Bowl.
• Texas A&M is the beneficiary of the Tide’s collapse.  They win their final two games and watch chaos happen around them and get in rather easily to take the an at-large spot in the Peach Bowl.
• Oklahoma State’s loss to Baylor knocks them out of the Top 4 and they are relegated to the Sugar Bowl.
• I have Michigan State falling fairly far after their loss to Iowa; enough to easily fall out of the Top 4.  The loss is their second of the season and because they aren’t the Big Ten champion they cannot go to the Rose Bowl.  With Michigan already going to the Fiesta Bowl, it leaves the Peach Bowl as the only option for the Spartans.
• As I mentioned above, Michigan State’s fall is completed by Iowa, who ends up as Big Ten champions.  With how far down they were in the rankings going into the final two weeks there is no way they get to the Top 4 so they end up in the Rose Bowl.
• Oregon State shocks a lot of people by winning the Pac-12 title over Utah to gain the conference’s Rose Bowl spot.  Honestly, I don’t think Utah winning would do any different.
• Now to the final spot in the NY6.  This might end up being a bit controversial considering their loss to Georgia Tech but I have Notre Dame getting the final spot.  Their other loss being to Cincinnati definitely helps here.  My assumption is that The Committee would pick the Irish over Oregon and Alabama because of those two teams ending the season on two-game losing streaks.  I also can’t see a three-loss team getting into the New Year’s Six unless they are a conference champion.  I don’t think it’s happened before and I can’t see it happening under the current format.

Alright I have completed that exercise.  That was tougher than I thought it would be.  Now, will all these thing happen?  No, not even half.  But some of them occurring?  Considering the season we’ve seen so far, I can almost guarantee it.

Alright, we are down to three undefeated teams with two weeks still to go.  Amazing.  Here’s my latest Top 25.

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

Not a whole lot happening near the top other than Baylor’s win over Oklahoma.  It’s still probably set up for Georgia and Bama to get their shot to both get into the CFP which I am not a fan of.  As long as the Dawgs win their final two regular season games, they are pretty much a shoo-in for the Top 4, regardless of the outcome of the SEC Championship.  Oregon wins out and they are pretty much in as well.  Ohio State has a rough road ahead of them and if they can get out unscathed, they deserve to be in the CFP.  Cincinnati will make things tough if they can win the rest of their games handily.  None of this winning by like 14 points over a team that’s at the bottom half of the American Conference.  Continue to do stuff like that and it will be easy for The Committee to rank them #5 and be done with it.  The wild card in all of this may end up being Oklahoma State.  They face Texas Tech, then Oklahoma and then possibly Oklahoma again for the Big XII Championship.  Win all three and that becomes a conundrum.  Two huge victories and another quality win to finish off the season at 12-1.  How do you keep a team like that out of the conversation?  They are the kind of team that many would want to see in but college football, being as it is, might look at the Pokes as a non-traditional power and that’s always a bad thing to be labelled when it comes to playoff conversations.

Hey there’s MACtion tomorrow night!  Western Michigan will spar with Eastern Michigan in a Battle for Directional Michigan starting at 7:30 and then Bowling Green heads to Oxford to face Miami-OH at 8.  Both games are on the specialty pack.  Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!

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

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

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

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

Wednesday​​

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

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

Thursday​​

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

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

Friday

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

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

Saturday Early

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

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

Saturday Afternoon

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

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

Saturday Primetime

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

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

Saturday Late Night

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

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

Games to set your eyeballs on

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wanna bet?

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

Ole Miss over Liberty

North Carolina over Wake Forest (massive upset)

Michigan State over Purdue (but it will be close)

Georgia over Missouri

Alabama over LSU

Arkansas over Mississippi State

Texas A&M over Auburn

Washington over Oregon (another massive upset)

Western Michigan over Central Michigan

UAB over Louisiana Tech

TCU over Baylor (yet another big upset)

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

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

This week could change everything – Week 5 College Football TV Schedule

We’ve got through most of September now.  And you don’t expect to have great weeks of college football early on.  We have truly lucked out with how quality the first part of the season has been.  Which leads us to this week.  This is looking like one of the best non-Thanksgiving weeks in a long time.  So many matches between ranked teams.  Still a few unranked teams that are undefeated and playing in important games.  It’s the kind of week that can put the entire season on its head.  You have to expect at least one upset if not more.  This week, as it says in the title, could change everything.  Maybe we finally get some new blood in the College Football Playoff picture.  The college football world would do well to hope for that as well.  It puts more teams in the mix without resorting to expansion of the playoff (which is now being hotly debated among the ten conferences and Independents).

OK, let’s get to the task at hand which is getting you the college football schedule TV information for what looks like an awesome Week 5.

Thursday

		US	Canada
Virginia at Miami	7:30 PM
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Prairie View A&M	7:30 PM

Virginia might be not bad.  Miami is looking worse than advertised and Manny Diaz is on the hot seat.  This has the potential to be a crazy game.  The other options are a SWAC game or Thursday Night Football featuring the Jacksonville Football Jaguars.  So what I’m saying is, your options are limited.

Friday

		US	Canada
Dartmouth at Penn	7:00 PM
Houston at Tulsa	7:30 PM
#13 BYU at Utah State	9:00 PM

NOW we get into some stuff, kinda, sorta.  BYU continues their run to try and go undefeated and get to the New Year’s Six.  Utah State is a good team and may cause the Cougs some problems with their firepower on offense.  A win here would make the Aggies an instant Mountain West contender.  Houston is going to try and be that second team in the AAC Championship Game that gets fucking hammered by Cincinnati.  They need to win games like this over Tulsa to do so.

Saturday Early​

		US	Canada
Texas at TCU	Noon
Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech	Noon
Charlotte at Illinois	Noon
Minnesota at Purdue	Noon
Western Michigan at Buffalo	Noon
#8 Arkansas at #2 Georgia	Noon
Duke at North Carolina	Noon
Memphis at Temple	Noon
#14 Michigan at Wisconsin	Noon
Tennessee at Missouri	Noon
Louisville at #24 Wake Forest	12:30 PM

Oh my.  This is quite the early schedule and a harbinger for what we are all in for this Saturday.  If you want to know how special Arkansas’s season is shaping up to be, realize that Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit are calling this game.  Yes, Fowler and Herbie are calling a Noon game for the first time ever.  That is insane.  Pair that with GUS JOHNSON calling a game where Michigan could win and continue to move up the rankings and you got a great pair of games.  Add Louisville-Wake, WMU-Buffalo, and Texas-TCU and this is a seriously loaded early slate.  Buckle up.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
#7 Cincinnati at #9 Notre Dame	2:30 PM
#3 Oregon at Stanford	3:30 PM
Syracuse at Florida State	3:30 PM
#11 Ohio State at Rutgers	3:30 PM
#12 Ole Miss at #1 Alabama	3:30 PM
UCF at Navy	3:30 PM
Texas Tech at West Virginia	3:30 PM
#6 Oklahoma at Kansas State	3:30 PM
Troy at South Carolina	3:30 PM
USF at SMU	4:00 PM

And the amazing schedule continues.  Holy moly it’s been a while since I’ve seen two timeslots in a row that were this good.  Where do I begin?  Let’s start with Cincinnati and their road to glory.  They beat the Irish and there is no reason for this team to not be in the Top 4 by Sunday afternoon.  The Sooners get Kansas State and you know how well they tend to do in Manhattan (spoiler: not very good).  Also, Lane Kiffin gets another shot at Bama.  You will notice there are no TSN games in this timeslot, nor the next one.  Nothing until the late night sked which is odd considering what ESPN is doing today with the 6:00/9:00 games.  Unfortunately, TSN’s contracts with UFC, MLS, CFL and NASCAR usurp anything college football-related.  I get it.  I just don’t like it.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
#10 Florida at Kentucky	6:00 PM
Liberty at UAB	7:00 PM
#21 Baylor at #19 Oklahoma State	7:00 PM
Mississippi State at #15 Texas A&M	7:00 PM
Indiana at #4 Penn State	7:30 PM
Boston College at #25 Clemson	7:30 PM
Western Kentucky at Michigan State	7:30 PM
Northwestern at Nebraska	7:30 PM
UConn at Vanderbilt	7:30 PM

OK not as good as the first two timeslots but still a solid set of games.  It’s highlighted by, you guessed it, UConn-Vandy Baylor-OSU.  And expect UF-UK to be a sneaky good game and an important SEC one.  I think ABC might be a bit miffed now to have picked Indy-PSU considering the Hoosiers’ start to the season.  Maybe they can push the Nittany Lions to the limit in this one.  And if you like pain, yes, UConn against Vanderbilt on the specialty pack.  I just don’t get it.  How many games could have been put there and then you can send this game to ESPN+ but no.  Somehow we are going to get a lot of UConn football on our TV sets this year and that’s not a good thing.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
#22 Auburn at LSU	9:00 PM
Montana at Eastern Washington	10:30 PM
#18 Fresno State at Hawaii	11:00 PM

This is an…interesting way to finish off the day.  I guess it’s a nice cooldown compared to the pure insanity we will receive all day.  The fact that TSN2 has 10:30 as a game to be determined is interesting since the only game available at that time is Montana-EWU.  UPDATE: TSN is now not showing a college football game, going with Must See SC.  I guess they saw the game and decided not to bother.  It would be the first non-Week Zero, non-FCS Playoff game on a TSN station ever (I believe).  Also, another Hawaii Test as Fresno State heads to a high school field in Honolulu for a game that will end around 2:30 or so in the morning.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Arkansas at Georgia (Noon, TSN3) – There is not an easy choice for Game of the Week with four games between ranked teams on the docket.  I do believe with the top ABC/ESPN crew going to Athens for this one, it pushes it to the top.  This is a massive game for both teams but really a bigger one for the Hogs.  If the Razorbacks can pull this one out, you might want to at least pencil Sam Pittman in as Coach of the Year already since this is already the best coaching job we’ve seen in quite some time.  It would also set up a crazy Bama-Arkansas game later on in the year between possibly two undefeated teams the week before American Thanksgiving.  Giddy up!

Cincinnati at Notre Dame (2:30, NBC) – Still no respect for this Bearcats football team.  The fact this is a day game shows what many still believe about Cincinnati and the Group of Five as a whole.  Let’s be honest: this is Cincinnati’s best chance ever to make some noise in college football.  I know they went to a BCS bowl in the past (where they were blown out by Florida).  But this is their one true shot to get into the College Football Playoff before it expands, whenever that ends up happening.  They need to win this because there are a few games on their American Conference schedule that will not help them at all, even if they win big.  I kind of hope it happens only to make The Committee’s job difficult.  I still wonder if they need an open bar when they have their meetings.  Could be fun to watch one member who goes way too far and ends up puking before inexplicably stumping for UConn to be in the New Year’s Six.

Ole Miss at Alabama (3:30, CBS) – Normally a game with the Tide in it has a shot at being the GOTW.  On almost any week this would end up being the case.  It’s still going to be a good game I think as Lane Kiffin and his offense figured out the Tide last year, putting 48 points up on the board against them.  Expect the same against a team that is not as good as last year’s.  Nick Saban’s squad is still a heavy favourite but we know what the Rebels have been able to do in the past to them.  Another game that could upset the balance in college football if an upset occurs.

Baylor at Oklahoma State (7:00, specialty pack) – If you thought this was going to be a game between two ranked teams at the start of the season, I would have taken you to Vegas to bet on roulette.  The Cowboys are a bit of a shock at this point but the Bears are a full-blown surprise.  Kind of surprised this didn’t end up being the ABC Primetime game but it does show what ABC/ESPN thinks of the Big XII (and it won’t get any better in a couple years).  Anyway, both of these teams have a serious chance to be the team that gets to surprise everyone and get to go to JerryWorld for the Big XII Championship.  With the conference being a bit of a mess right now, nothing says either of these teams can’t go all the way.

Oklahoma at Kansas State (3:30, FOX) – There are quite a few games that could go in this spot.  We know about the Sooners’ struggles in Manhattan.  Kansas State has looked good so far this season going 3-1 so it’s a team just outside the Top 25 here.  Don’t be surprised if the Sooners defense struggles yet again.  Or their offense.  Who knows with this team.  Now watch Oklahoma win by like 50 and prove me wrong.

Honourable mention: Iowa at Maryland (Friday, 8:00, FOX Sports One); BYU at Utah State (Friday, 9:00, CBS Sports Network); Louisville at Wake Forest (Noon, specialty pack); Oregon at Stanford (3:30, ABC); Florida at Kentucky (6:00, specialty pack); Ohio State at Rutgers (3:30, Big Ten Network); Indiana at Penn State (7:30, ABC); Boston College (7:30, specialty pack); Auburn at LSU (9:00, specialty pack); Arizona State at UCLA (10:30, FOX Sports One).  I told you there were a lot of good games this weekend.

You bet!

My picks were not that good although they were all upset losses.  That makes me feel at least a bit better.  I have a feeling I will do better this week.  I am adding more picks just for this week just because of the sheer number of great games.  Alright *deep breath* let’s go!

Florida over Kentucky

Georgia over Arkansas

Alabama over Ole Miss

LSU over Auburn

BYU over Utah State

Notre Dame over Cincinnati

Oregon over Stanford

UCLA over Arizona State

Clemson over Boston College

Wake Forest over Louisville

Penn State over Indiana

Iowa over Maryland

Ohio State over Rutgers

Oklahoma State over Baylor

Oklahoma over Kansas State

Alright it seems like the specialty pack schedules are still a bit slow in coming out.  I haven’t seen any definitive information for the Saturday games on any of the schedules I have looked at.  I’m sure the info will come up shortly but really this info should be ready pretty much the day after the previous week’s games are done.  I don’t buy the whole idea that it’s up to ESPN to “release” games to the cable companies.  That’s horseshit.  You have the contract, you show the games.  It’s not like you get all the ESPN and ESPN2 games this week but next week, nope, only ESPNU games.  Like, fuck off.

I went against my own advice (kind of) and did do the Twitter thing last weekend and it wasn’t bad at all.  I guess I shouldn’t judge it based on one day but I know what Twitter can be like if you get into the wrong part of Twitter…the Twitter on the other side of the tracks.  Enjoy the games everyone!

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

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

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

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

Week 4 Recap Time!

Fresno State 38 UNLV 30

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

Oregon 41 Arizona 19

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

Oklahoma 16 West Virginia 13

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

Oregon State 45 USC 27

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

Louisville 31 Florida State 23

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

Washington 31 California 24 (OT)

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

Arkansas 20 Texas A&M 10 

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

NC State 27 Clemson 21 (2OT)

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

Baylor 31 Iowa State 29

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

BYU 35 USF 27

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

Bowling Green 14 Minnesota 10

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

Arizona State 35 Colorado 13

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

UTSA 31 Memphis 28

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

Notre Dame 41 Wisconsin 13

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

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

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

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

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

OK now that Clay’s gone, who’s next? – Week 4 College Football TV Schedule

Clay Helton started the Coaching Carousel for us early this year.  Pair that with Randy Edsall’s resignation/retirement/whatever/bonus payment and it’s been a rough start for the Hot Seat coaches.  So the question now is, who will be next.  Let’s look at the candidates:

• Got to start with Manny Diaz.  He hasn’t exactly lit things up in Miami and brought back memories of The U.  The problem is, it’s not like they have a lot of money to throw around to pay a buyout and bring in another coach.  So they may be stuck at least through this season unless things get really bad in south Florida.
• Mike Norvell.  Good lord have the Noles been awful this year.  I wonder when enough will be enough.  This program doesn’t need to get back to the Bobby Bowden era but they have to get back to approaching the Jimbo Fisher era or they could have problems for years.
• Geoff Collins.  I know he needed time to change the team from an option team to run a pro-style offense.  But when is it supposed to happen?  It feels like it never will and that Collins really doesn’t deserve a chance to continue his quest in Atlanta.
• Rod Carey.  Let’s get out of the ACC and move to the American.  Carey left a good gig at Northern Illinois to replace dental hygienist-in-training Matt Rhule at Temple and it has been an unmitigated disaster.  If it wasn’t for USF they would be looking at an easy trip to the AAC basement.
• Nick Rolovich.  Rolovich’s problems aren’t just on the field where Wazzu has struggled mightily so far.  His ideas about the COVID vaccine have rankled a lot of people and I honestly wonder if they will get rid of him just because he has become an annoying pest.
• Walt Bell.  Are they really going to get anyone great to come to UMass?

As you can see, I haven’t put some of the usual suspects like Frost, Brohm, Babers or Harbaugh.  Probably because they have at least not done worse than expectations at this point and, in Harbaugh’s case, has exceeded them (so far).  We are only a quarter of the way through the season so now that conference play is slowly beginning we will see how these coaches’ fortunes turn out.

So far after three weeks we have had a damn good season.  Like a return to college football, if you will.  Here’s hoping this continues.  Let’s get to the schedule!

Thursday

		US	Canada
Marshall at Appalachian State	7:30 PM
Alcorn State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff	7:30 PM

Two games.  Neither of them really that good.  I mean, yeah, App State is still pretty good and could sneak through and cause a lot of problems in the Sun Belt.  Marshall just a blew a big fourth quarter lead and lost to East Carolina.  Nothing against the Pirates but yeesh that’s bad.  But it is still mid-week college football which is always better than no mid-week college football.  Especially if the Thursday Night Football matchup is not exactly great.  And, how about that, it isn’t.  The Panthers, they’re good.  The Texans…yes I know they’re 1-1 but they beat the Jaguars so no, they are not good.

Friday

		US	Canada
Middle Tennessee at Charlotte	6:30 PM
Wake Forest at Virginia	7:00 PM
Brown at Harvard	7:00 PM
Liberty at Syracuse	8:00 PM
UNLV at #22 Fresno State	10:00 PM

OK this is better.  Five games.  And CBS Sports Network is doing a doubleheader with their weird 6:30 start time.  It will be interesting to see how badly Fresno State will beat the Rebels, who now have Tate Fucking Martell as their quarterback.  I really don’t get how he gets so many opportunities.  Anyway, we also have the first look at Ivy League action for the first time since 2019.  OK Wake-Hoos could be good so maybe put your focus on that one.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
Texas Tech at Texas	Noon
Richmond at Virginia Tech	Noon
Ohio at Northwestern	Noon
Villanova at #6 Penn State	Noon
Boise State at Utah State	Noon
Miami-OH at Army	Noon
LSU at Mississippi State	Noon
Missouri at Boston College	Noon
Bowling Green at Minnesota	Noon
#12 Notre Dame vs. #18 Wisconsin (in Chicago)	Noon
#2 Georgia at Vanderbilt	Noon
CCSU at Miami	12:30 PM

Normally TSN would be just starting to step up with a bit more college football coverage.  Not this weekend though.  The Ryder Cup will dominate the TSN airwaves for a good part of Saturday so that moves all college football to TSN2 where there will be a quadrupleheader.  As for the games themselves, past ND-Wisky, not a whole lot that would be considered must-watch.  And you know what happens during weeks like this.  So expect one of the following to happen:

• Villanova comes close to upsetting Penn State but the Nittany Lions close it late.
• Richmond shocks Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
• The Red Raiders throw for like 600 yards and beat Texas in a barnburner.
• Mizzou and BC go to eight overtimes and maybe, just maybe, the new overtime rules aren’t as bad as I thought (they still are but anyway).

Finally, the Mountain West finally makes their way to CBS with Boise State who is just somewhat average going to Utah State who suddenly may have a prolific offense again.  1-3 start for the Broncos?  Wouldn’t be a total shock.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Rutgers at #19 Michigan	3:30 PM
Illinois at Purdue	3:30 PM
Kent State at Maryland	3:30 PM
#7 Texas A&M vs. #16 Arkansas (in Arlington)	3:30 PM
Wyoming at UConn	3:30 PM
#9 Clemson at NC State	3:30 PM
Louisville at Florida State	3:30 PM
UTSA at Memphis	3:30 PM
#14 Iowa State at Baylor	3:30 PM
Kansas at Duke	4:00 PM
Georgia State at #23 Auburn	Noon

A good old Southwest Conference showdown highlights the afternoon sked.  For once, this neutral site game that Arkansas plays every year at JerryWorld is between two good teams.  And Rutgers is on ABC!  I was so hoping they would be on in primetime but I’ll take it.  Other than that there’s not much of note unless you really need to watch Kansas and Duke play…in football.  Oh and how does CBS now think about the UConn contract?  This Huskies could be worse than the 2019 version which was one of the worst teams in a long time.  To see some of the teams that end up on ESPN+ (or somehow worse) and then know that UConn is getting a national game many weeks is pretty sad (except for Conference USA teams who unfortunately are stuck with horrible TV contracts as it is).

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Tennessee at #11 Florida	7:00 PM
Kentucky at South Carolina	7:00 PM
Navy at Houston	7:00 PM
West Virginia at #4 Oklahoma	7:30 PM
#21 North Carolina vs. Georgia Tech (in Mercedes-Benz Stadium)	7:30 PM
Akron at #10 Ohio State	7:30 PM
Southern Miss at #1 Alabama	7:30 PM
Indiana at Western Kentucky	8:00 PM

Oh man.  Feels like such a drop-off from the first two timeslots.  WVU-Sooners could be pretty good if the Mountaineers get their offense going early.  Navy and Houston, no matter how good or bad they both are, usually put on a great show.  As for the rest?  Bleh.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
USF at #15 BYU	10:15 PM
Arizona at #3 Oregon	10:30 PM
Colorado at Arizona State	10:30 PM

Mormon After Dark!  If the Cougs play like the Cougs have played so far, that game should be done by halftime.  As should the Zona-UO game.  The only interesting one could be Colorado, who struggles to score, against Arizona State, who struggles to hold on to the ball.  Fun times.  Just a reminder, the Arizona-Oregon game will start in progress after Southern Miss-Alabama is done.  Thus are the perils of hopping from network to network throughout the day and I always wonder why TSN does this.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Texas A&M vs. Arkansas (in Arlington) (3:30, CBS) – If you thought Arkansas would be in the Top 20 at this point of the season, raise your hand.  Now put your hands down, you dirty liars.  No one thought the Hogs would be this good.  Maybe bowl-eligible.  But they have looked seriously good and could put a serious damper on the Aggies’ national title aspirations and it wouldn’t be a total shock if the Razorbacks won.  Also good to see Arkansas on CBS since they almost never get on there (except for the Black Friday game against Mizzou).

Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin (in Chicago) (Noon, FOX) – So the first two games on this list are neutral-site games.  In late September.  I mean they are great games and I am looking forward to them but I find all these neutral-site games usually take away from the pageantry and specialness of games in actual college football stadiums.  It’s part of what sets it apart from the NFL.  Anyway, the Irish continue their schedule hoping to win a game without struggling…..BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  That was a good one.  This should be close which will make Irish fans sweat once again.

West Virginia at Oklahoma (7:30, ABC) – Is this the PEW! PEW! PEW! matchup of the week?  Considering the Sooners defense and the Sooners offense, I would put the over/under at about 90.  One of the worst Top 5 teams I’ve seen in a while.  At some point, they are going to either blow a team out and remind them what they are really about or will lose a game they probably shouldn’t have and confirm what many think about them.  Don’t count the ‘Eers out of this one as long as their offense plays like they did early against Virginia Tech and not late.

Rutgers at Michigan (3:30, ABC) – Fuck, yeah!  Rutgers, baby!  They haven’t been 3-0 in so long and haven’t been in a relatively important game on ABC in a long time as well.  And they have a challenge because Michigan is also playing better than many believed.  The winner stays alive in a seriously competitive Big Ten East.  But the way things are going, both teams will be going bowling and maybe, just maybe, all seven teams in the division will be in the postseason as well for the first time ever.

Iowa State at Baylor (3:30, FOX) – No specialty pack games on the Games of the Week list, which is good for many Canadians.  Yes, Iowa State was expected to be good and they have been underperforming.  And Baylor has not been good since Matt Rhule left.  Things, however, are changing in Waco with Dave Aranda in charge as they have started 3-0.  And ISU should still have quite a good season so this could be a darkhorse great game.

Honourable mention: Clemson at NC State (3:30, TSN2); Tennessee at Florida (7:00, TSN2); Kansas State at Oklahoma State (7:00, not able to be seen in this country)

You wanna bet?

Eight out of eleven isn’t too bad.  I mean it’s not awesome but hey I’ve had much worse weeks. Yes I picked Arizona State.  Yes I picked UCF (which most others did) and yeah I also picked Miami (which most others did as well).  So really not that bad I think OK fine let’s just get to this week’s picks already:

Michigan over Rutgers

Wisconsin over Notre Dame

Florida over Tennessee

Texas A&M over Arkansas

Clemson over NC State

Iowa State over Baylor

Oklahoma State over Kansas State

Oklahoma over West Virginia

Charlotte over Middle Tennessee

Arizona State over Colorado

Houston over Navy

OK here’s hoping we have another solid weekend of college football action.  Enjoy the games everyone!

A CFP without Clemson? – Week 14 College Football Recap

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

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

The Recap!

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

Coaching Carousel

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

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

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

Potential other coaching moves:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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