College Football 2015-16

This has to be the busiest Monday in college football in a long time. Edsall & Sark fired, Florida starting qb Wilk Grier suspended for a year for testing positive for a ped and then the Ol' Ball Coach retires effective immediately. Crazy.

 

There are some monster games on the slate:

#18 Ucla at #15 Stanford (Tonight). I think Stanford has the best chance to be the one Pac 12 team to make the playoff even though I'd lean towards no squad making it because of the craziness of the league. Taking the Cardinal which of course means the Bruins will win.

SEC gets a double-billing:

#10 Alabama at #9 Texas A&M. Matt keeps looking at the time to see if Saturday can get here faster. Kyle Allen has been terrific, and Bama responded once on the road at Georgia already. Love seeing Saban lose so hope your boys do work Mateo.

#8 Florida at #6 LSU. Treon Harris has plenty of starting experience so writing off the Gators completely is unwarranted. I've picked against Florida 2 weeks in row and have looked foolish...but I'm doing it again. Death Valley and Fournette (who can be held down and then boom! he rips off an 80 yarder) will be too much.

2 big rivalries

#7 Michigan State at #12 Michigan. Sparty has owned this series of late, but there is a new sheriff in town in Ann Arbor. One big talking point that has flown under the radar is how the rankings have changed each week even if a team wins. MSU has won, but has dropped from #2 to #7. That would never happen in years previously. I'm drinking the Harbaugh kool-aid and going with Meatchicken.

USC at #14 Notre Dame. The soap opera that is: 'As the Trojans Turn' is traveling to South Bend. Will go with the Irish not because of all of the drama (SC players are used to it), but because the Trojans all-american center who has started every game in his 4 years was lost for the year and ND is strong on the D-Line. Irish remember getting whacked 49-14 last year, so won't be over-confident.

The FUSA special:

#17 Iowa at #20 Northwestern. Can the Cats rebound after getting mauled? The Hawkeyes seem to have a magical season going and will say a turnover and a late Field Goal wins it for Lax.

Upset Alert:

Really had a hard time finding one that sticks out, which of course means there will be plenty;

Arizona State at #4 Utah. Sacrilege I know to even speak of the Scummies, but the Utes held on for dear life against Cal. I like everything about Utah's program (great coach, tough-minded team, solid home field advantage), but they don't have #4 talent. They might be able to get by ASWho, but they aren't running the table.

West Virginia at #2 Baylor. WVU has lost a couple in a row, but against good opponents. Baylor got to play Texas Tech at the perfect time and the rest of their schedule has been a joke. WVU beat them last year and have averaged 51 points in their last 3 meetings w/the Bears.

Louisville at #11 Florida State. The Cardinals came through for me 2 weeks ago, and the fact they did have a bye increases their chances exponentially.

 

You're right Joe, I can't wait for 2:30 Saturday to get here. I'm just hope that doesn't turn into dread right after.

UCLA @ Stanford - The Bruins are giving up close to 200 yds/game on the ground & that's a problem against a Cardinal team looking to control the l.o.s. & the clock. Stanford wins.

Bama @ A&M - I can't pick against my Aggies but I am concerned about us stopping their run game. The key for us will be to put them into obvious passing situations either by winning 1st down or jumping out to an early lead. In our favor, Bama still has that terrible record (2-8 now I think after Ole Miss) when favored by less than a td plus we've had a bye week to prep for this game & get healthy.

Florida @ LSU - I was going to go with the Gators before Grier's suspension. But Death Valley @ night is a different animal & with the qb battle levelled, I think that and Fournette are the difference.

Mich St @ Michigan - Sparty has struggled since losing both starting tackles earlier in the year. However the bigger concern has been their dropoff on defense. For both of those reasons, I'll take the Wolverines.

USC @ Notre Dame - The Irish have the better defense & USC hasn't shown anything resembling a pass rush. Kizer is good enough to beat them if they give him time. Irish win.

Iowa @ NW - Injuries have been piling up for the Hawkeyes as well & losing Ott could be the difference in a close game. I think the Cats win a tight, low scoring affair.

Upsets - Normally I'd avoid duplicating Joe here but since you took 3, I don't really have a choice. I was tempted by Louisville, but given my recent luck, their proximity to Indiana scared me off. So I'm going with:

AZ St @ Utah - Cal gave the ball away 6 times against Utah & still had a chance to win it late. The Utes rank outside of the top 20 in both offensive & defensive efficiency. You never see that from top 10 teams. The Devils strength is run defense, which is Utah's bread & butter offensively. Plus, the Utes have yet to beat ASU in their short time in the PAC 12. What else? The late PAC 12 games usually have crazy results.

Joe, you're nuts with that WV pick. The Eers just lost Karl Joseph for the season to injury, their All American safety & heart of the team. Baylor isn't the team you want to face trying to make that adjustment to your secondary. Especially on the road...and especially after you cost them a playoff spot last year.

 

Ugh, thanks for the WVU update, had no idea their best player is gone.

Ed McCaffrey was a great WR with Stanford and most notably w/the Denver Broncos. His son Christian is much shorter than his Pops, but has his Dad's athletic ability and his Grandfather's speed (1960 100m Silver Medalist Dave Sime). He ripped through the Teddy Bears for 243 and 4 TDs, and added another 130 yards all-purpose.

 

I stayed up for the 1st half & it went just about as I expected. Only difference was Stanford didn't milk the clock, probably b/c they were scoring at will.

What's up with the Pac 12 btw? Two weeks in a row their marquee matchup (rankings wise at least) has been played so late it ended after midnight in more than half the country. Not good.

 

No mention of Arizona crashing CU's homecoming, Joe? I figured you'd at least give it a one-liner.

 

Lol Evan, I'd much rather get an update about your boys chasing a national championship, but by request here is one line about this epic showdown in Boulder;

It's 5th place for the winner in the Pac 12 South, the loser will finish 6th..out of 6 teams.

 

Coastal is on a bye this week. They are still clinging to the #1 ranking in the FCS Coache's Poll after a less than impressive 24-17 victory over bottom dwellers Presbyterian College to open Big South play last week. They dropped from #2 to #3 in the STATS FCS Top 25. RB De'Angelo Henderson had 124 yards for his 15th 100-yard rushing performance. He also tied an FCS record by scoring a TD in 20 straight games. He can break that record next Saturday at Monmouth.

 

Evan, thanks for the update, hope it continues throughout the season. Old saying in coaching; 'Pat a bad team on the back, kick a good team in the butt'. I bet the coaches were happy behind closed doors, they got the win, but equally happy they're going to get the team's attention and back to the process of getting better.

Sparty's win...CRAZY!! Of course as Matt pointed out a page or two ago, the Golden Rule on Twitter is slightly different to the one we grew up with as idiot-losers started w/the death threats to the poor punter. Harbaugh should've come out and took more blame (I bet he does this week) initially. The kid did blow it, but he should've been told if it's a bad snap or the ball is fumbled just to fall on it. MSU still would've had to try a Hail Mary.

Bama returns 3 pick 6's..not a recipe for success. An opportunity lost for the Aggies.

Iowa thumps Northwestern. Looking at the rest of the schedule Lax, might as well dream big because they should be 10-0 going into Lincoln.

Only true upsets over the weekend were Memphis over Ole Miss and Utah State over Boise State, but both were home games for the underdogs and those are two very well coached teams.

Arizona beat CU..I'll take it!!

 

So we went down 22-0 in the first quarter to a team with two div I wins in the last 3+ years and then we scored 39 straight points to ruin their homecoming. Wish I could have been there haha.

 

Kentucky lost, Louisville lost, Indiana lost. When's basketball season?

 

Not a bunch of 'marquee' matches, but the heavy favorites need to stay in the moment and not get caught looking ahead:

Games of the Week

#15 Texas A&M at #24 Ole Miss: Which team can pick themselves up, dust off and grab an important win? Ole Miss is having trouble in the secondary so I'll take the Aggies to exploit it.

ACC Combo: #9 Florida State at Georgia Tech & #6 Clemson at Miami. Identical situations for the ranked teams. On the road against average teams that are capable of springing an upset (especially with Clemson/FSU showdown w/major playoff implications looming in a couple of weeks). Will go with the favorites, but not a shock if one of them stumbles.

Upset Alert: TBH this is weak schedule so very difficult to choose, but here are several longshots;

#3 Utah at USC: The Trojans do have better talent, that said 4 Head Coaches in 4 years is near impossible for even 4 & 5 star players to overcome.

Western Kentucky at #5 LSU: NO I don't think the Hilltoppers will beat the Tigers. However, they did win at Vandy, blew a double digit lead at Indiana, and blitzed every other team they've played (including stomping a solid Middle Tennessee State by 30). I will say LSU better be ready to play, because WKU has a good QB, just don't be surprised if it's a close game deep into the 2nd half.

#22 Temple at East Carolina: Big conference game, and not sure how Temple will react on the road and undefeated at this point of the season.

 

Tough loss last week for my Ags as Allen threw 3 pick sixes. While our defense got kicked in the teeth early & were repeatedly put in bad situations, I was proud of their fight back & how they played in the last 3 qtrs. Take away those int's (yeah I know you can't do that) & we win 23-20. On to this week.

Texas A&M @ Ole Miss - the Rebs don't just have secondary injuries. Their oline is dinged up & lost the battle vs Memphis & Nkemdiche may be out as well. We've struggled in the Grove since joining the SEC but have always found a way to win there. If Kyle Allen is the competitor that I think he is, we'll win this one.

ACC games - FSU is starting to come into their own & I don't see Clemson losing to Miami.

Utah @ USC - The Trojans are a 3.5 pt favorite in this one. Like Michigan St, I think Utah is on borrowed time. A road game could be that final banana peel that drops them. I'll take USC.

ECU (-3) is also favored over Temple, fwiw Joe.

There are some other interesting matchups. Cal @ UCLA, Wisky @ Illinois, Northwestern @ Nebraska and even double digit spreads like Tennessee @ Bama & Tech @ Oklahoma. And at some point you have to stop ignoring Zona (I know what you're up to) as well.

As for upsets, I'll take Memphis (-10.5) @ Tulsa on Friday night. The Friday night games can be crazy, Memphis could be in for a letdown on the road & the Golden Hurricanes are more than capable of putting points on the board. That's a dangerous combination for Memphis.

 

Matt, absolutely stunned SC is a favorite. I know it's home but they've lost 2 conference games at The Coliseum already. I totally agree Utah will eventually lose, just surprised they are a dog.

Wouldn't call the Wazzu-Zona game worth mentioning even though the winner is much better off in bowl slotting order, but you're on to something, we've won a couple games in a row ever since I kept my mouth shut. I do applaud RichRod going off on the Pac 12 this week. We played the late Saturday game last week in Boulder and next week the conference put us back in the late night slot in Seattle, which means we don't get back to Tucson until 6 am Sunday. Then we turnaround and play at USC the following Saturday. TV already hosed us out of our bye week (only 5 D-1 schools don't have a bye).

 

Yeah, I wasn't saying this week was noteworthy, just pointing out that I see what you're doing.

That's tough without a bye. A&M had a similar situation last year & the wheels came off midway through the season. Now that wasn't the primary reason why, but it certainly didn't help matters.

 

Props to Temple, 2 TDs in the final 5 minutes gave them a huge road win, and that #22 ranking is the school's first since 1979. They are traveling to South Bend next week which should be interesting. Have to think Matt Rhule the 40 year old coach of the Owls will be hearing the phone ring after the season.

Ucla got a 60 yard FG and turned Jared Goff back into a pumpkin in the Bruins win over Cal. Bad note, what's left of the Bruins once excellent defense took another hit as their leading tackler looks gone for the season (they makes their 6 best defensive players with season-ending injuries).

 

As an interested bystander...
I watched more minutes of Utah v USC than Buckeyes at Rutgers. I found it amazingly satisfying. Normally, the only time I ever root for USC is when they play ND.
Miami of Fla..... - sniff-
Sorry to see Baylor lost their QB. Hope he fully recovers, there is always a chance neck fractures dont heal well. Now, their fans' season memories will carry an * and we might never know if they could win it all.
Oh... wait....

Back to the Buckeyes... good to enjoy watching their defense, again. But now it's back to worrying about MI and MSU and there's really no more 'gimmes'.
Right, FSU?
heh...
/snark

 

Louisville won (barely, at home, against a team with a 0-5 league record), Kentucky lost, Indiana lost.
When's basketball season start?

 

Is Louisville really looking forward to Hoops season?

So another big game decided by a special teams blunder at the death. Al Golden out in Miami after a landmark loss. Zona proves we should start calling them "that team that shall not be named." Really thought Wazzu was going to Coog it though.

And then there's my Ags. The offense has almost inexplicably dried up & rumors abound about injuries, diva qb's, divided locker rooms & an OC whose playing calling is losing the team. Who knows what's going on, but South Carolina at home should be a good opportunity to right the ship.

Underachieving play caught up with the Utes & Noles. Sparty is on the clock. With JT Barrett at the helm, I no longer think it'll catch up w Ohio St. Now just how good is Iowa?