What a crazy week for college football. It started on Thursday with this fantastic fake reverse kick off return. It was so good it totally faked out the cameraman
On Saturday, the Swag Man and I went over to the Sax Man’s house to watch MSU vs Nebraska and Georgia Tech vs North Carolina.
MSU had more yards on one play in OT than the did in the entire second half, yet still managed to win.
This great punt return set up the OT:
MSU had more yards on one play in OT than the did in the entire second half, yet still managed to win.
This great punt return set up the OT:
Tech, still smarting from a close loss to Clemson last week, took it out on North Carolina in a huge upset. Geoff Collins is in his third year on the Flats and this was his first win over a ranked team.
We celebrated by going back to the Swag Man’s new house with cigars and bourbon in his hot tub. Just a great Saturday.
Upsets were the name of the game in week 4. Not only did Tech upset UNC as a 12.5 dog but NC State (they are dead to me) upset 10.0 favorite Clemson. UL Monroe, which hasn’t won a game since 2019, upset 24 point favorite Troy. The biggest upset of all – 31 point underdog Bowling Green upset Minnesota.
I was able to navigate the minefield for the most part going 15-5 on my picks. Problem was, the 5 losses blew up all five parlays. Crap. Need to do a better job organizing my parlays.
Tech, still smarting from a close loss to Clemson last week, took it out on North Carolina in a huge upset. Geoff Collins is in his third year on the Flats and this was his first win over a ranked team.
We celebrated by going back to the Swag Man’s new house with cigars and bourbon in his hot tub. Just a great Saturday.
Upsets were the name of the game in week 4. Not only did Tech upset UNC as a 12.5 dog but NC State (they are dead to me) upset 10.0 favorite Clemson. UL Monroe, which hasn’t won a game since 2019, upset 24 point favorite Troy. The biggest upset of all – 31 point underdog Bowling Green upset Minnesota.
I was able to navigate the minefield for the most part going 15-5 on my picks. Problem was, the 5 losses blew up all five parlays. Crap. Need to do a better job organizing my parlays.
Some key takeaways from the weekend. What was that Wisconsin? They went all Chernobyl in a fourth quarter melt down to ND. I knew Mertz was a turnover machine but this?
Back to back pick sixes! Epic failure. Notre Dame still has work to do if they want to return to the CFP. A win over Cincinnati this week will really help the cause.
Are the four best teams all in the SEC? Georgia is still #1 in my book with that defense. They destroyed Vandy 62-0. Too bad I took the under at 53 - one of my parlay losses. The Dawgs were up 35-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Bama continues to roll with a 63-14 demolition of Southern Miss. Now there's a bet I wish I would have made. Prior to the game I saw a stat showing that the last 9 times Bama was a 30+ point favorite, they score at least 14 points in the first quarter. The first quarter line was 13.5. Bama scored 21. I need to remember that stat.
Florida struggled a bit against Tennessee, down 14-10 late in the second quarter. But they ended up covering the 19 point spread 38-14.
Are the four best teams all in the SEC? Georgia is still #1 in my book with that defense. They destroyed Vandy 62-0. Too bad I took the under at 53 - one of my parlay losses. The Dawgs were up 35-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Bama continues to roll with a 63-14 demolition of Southern Miss. Now there's a bet I wish I would have made. Prior to the game I saw a stat showing that the last 9 times Bama was a 30+ point favorite, they score at least 14 points in the first quarter. The first quarter line was 13.5. Bama scored 21. I need to remember that stat.
Florida struggled a bit against Tennessee, down 14-10 late in the second quarter. But they ended up covering the 19 point spread 38-14.
Arkansas could be the fourth best team out there after rolling over Texas A&M 20-10. The defense is superb and the offense outgained the Aggies 443 yards to 272. A&M hadn’t allowed a passing TD all year. The Hogs scored two.
It was the first time since A&M joined the SEC ten years ago that Arkansas beat them. And by the way, with wins over Texas, A&M and Rice, Arkansas is the unofficial old Southwest Conference Champ.
The ACC is effectively out of the CFP after only four weeks. Clemson has two losses, UNC has two losses. Florida State sucks, Miami is long gone. The two best teams are Boston College and Wake Forest who play each other to end the season. Neither one gets a chance at ND so even if they are perfect, the resume won’t be there.
SMU is quietly 4-0 after downing TCU 42-34. QB Tanner Mordecai, a transfer from Oklahoma, leads the nation with 20 TD passes and is hitting 71% of his throws.
It was the first time since A&M joined the SEC ten years ago that Arkansas beat them. And by the way, with wins over Texas, A&M and Rice, Arkansas is the unofficial old Southwest Conference Champ.
The ACC is effectively out of the CFP after only four weeks. Clemson has two losses, UNC has two losses. Florida State sucks, Miami is long gone. The two best teams are Boston College and Wake Forest who play each other to end the season. Neither one gets a chance at ND so even if they are perfect, the resume won’t be there.
SMU is quietly 4-0 after downing TCU 42-34. QB Tanner Mordecai, a transfer from Oklahoma, leads the nation with 20 TD passes and is hitting 71% of his throws.
Oklahoma probably wished they had him back. Their offense scored 23 points against Nebraska two weeks ago and only 16 against West Virginia this week. Prior to those games, the Sooners under Lincoln Riley had never scored less than 24 points. Those are some pretty good defenses though.
UT San Antonio is 4-0 with a win over a Power 5 team, OK so it was Illinois. They came back from 4 TDs down, winning on a walk off FG over Memphis 31-28.
Since the CFP won’t take four SEC teams, who are the, likely, other two teams in? Arkansas vs Bama on Nov 20 will knock one of those teams out. The Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail party on Oct 30 will knock out either Georgia or Florida. The Swag Man is pleading with me to go to the game but it’s the same day as scUM v MSU.
Don’t sleep on Ole Miss either. They are 3-0 and get their shot at Bama this weekend after a bye in week 4,
UT San Antonio is 4-0 with a win over a Power 5 team, OK so it was Illinois. They came back from 4 TDs down, winning on a walk off FG over Memphis 31-28.
Since the CFP won’t take four SEC teams, who are the, likely, other two teams in? Arkansas vs Bama on Nov 20 will knock one of those teams out. The Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail party on Oct 30 will knock out either Georgia or Florida. The Swag Man is pleading with me to go to the game but it’s the same day as scUM v MSU.
Don’t sleep on Ole Miss either. They are 3-0 and get their shot at Bama this weekend after a bye in week 4,
Oregon has the best chance to make it but they struggled against a bad Arizona team this week. USC is done after losing to Oregon State. And how about a tip of the hat to the Beavers. It was their first win over USC in the Coliseum since the Big Flippy was a newborn and Ike was in the Oval Office.
Notre Dame could get in but needs to get by Cincinnati’s #2 red zone defense.
Oklahoma has a shot but Texas awaits in two weeks. The Longhorns have regained their footing after losing to Arkansas in week 2. That loss doesn’t look so bad now does it?
Oklahoma State is, like NC State, a team I can never get right. Not so hard this year though. They are 4-0 with wins over Kansas State and Boise State. Tread lightly though. Whenever I decide to get behind the Cowpokes, they gack. I’ll see how they do against Baylor this weekend before I start investing in them. The Bears are 4-0 as well.
Notre Dame could get in but needs to get by Cincinnati’s #2 red zone defense.
Oklahoma has a shot but Texas awaits in two weeks. The Longhorns have regained their footing after losing to Arkansas in week 2. That loss doesn’t look so bad now does it?
Oklahoma State is, like NC State, a team I can never get right. Not so hard this year though. They are 4-0 with wins over Kansas State and Boise State. Tread lightly though. Whenever I decide to get behind the Cowpokes, they gack. I’ll see how they do against Baylor this weekend before I start investing in them. The Bears are 4-0 as well.
Anyone from the Big Ten up for the challenge? Ohio State looks totally lost. We will see if scUM is for real when they finally hit the road against Wisconsin.
Penn State continues to roll but that big over Auburn lost a little tarnish when Auburn was dead to rights against Georgia State before scoring 14 points in the last minute to win 34-24. The Big Guy was seen washing his underwear after the game
Iowa’s defense will keep them in games but the offense will let them down at some point. Penn State in two weeks perhaps?
And the Group of Five continues to lurk around. Cincinnati versus ND is going to be huge. BYU is 4-0 (3-0 against the Pac 12) with a schedule that is more than enough to get into the CFP if they win out. What looked like a breather against Utah State is turning out to be a bit of a test. The Aggies are 3-1 with a Pac 12 win too. San Diego State is lurkng around too at 4-0 and a win over Utah.
It's been a wacky year do far. Usually by now, there are three teams with a lock and the debate is about who is the fourth team in. Not this year. There are no locks. The usual suspects are suspect.
The field is wide open. It's going to be a fun and fantastic year!
Penn State continues to roll but that big over Auburn lost a little tarnish when Auburn was dead to rights against Georgia State before scoring 14 points in the last minute to win 34-24. The Big Guy was seen washing his underwear after the game
Iowa’s defense will keep them in games but the offense will let them down at some point. Penn State in two weeks perhaps?
And the Group of Five continues to lurk around. Cincinnati versus ND is going to be huge. BYU is 4-0 (3-0 against the Pac 12) with a schedule that is more than enough to get into the CFP if they win out. What looked like a breather against Utah State is turning out to be a bit of a test. The Aggies are 3-1 with a Pac 12 win too. San Diego State is lurkng around too at 4-0 and a win over Utah.
It's been a wacky year do far. Usually by now, there are three teams with a lock and the debate is about who is the fourth team in. Not this year. There are no locks. The usual suspects are suspect.
The field is wide open. It's going to be a fun and fantastic year!