College Football Week 5 – No longer ranked: FSU
Weekend 4 had its share of
thrills and chills, as the men
were separated from the boys

There were nine games Saturday matching undefeated teams. Four of the games lived up to their billing, while five didn’t.

The most thrilling and chilling of those four games had to be Penn State’s 21-19 time-expiring win over Iowa. A defensive struggle in the first half, the Hawkeyes led the No. 4 Nittany Lions by two points – 7-5 – at the break. Penn State appeared to take the game in its hands in the third quarter, outscoring Iowa, 10-0. At the end of three, the Nittany Lions were up, 15-7.

However, in the fourth quarter, Iowa found life, scoring two touchdowns – taking a 19-15 lead over Penn State. The Hawkeyes second touchdown of the two was scored with only 1:42 left in the game. On both of the fourth quarter touchdowns, Iowa attempted two-point conversions and failed – failures, and perhaps decisions, that would ultimately haunt the Hawkeyes.

With just 1:42 on the clock, Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley drove the Nittany Lions 80 yards in 12 plays – scoring on a 7-yard pass to Juwan Johnson as time expired. Penn State won by two points.

In what was billed as the game of the week, No. 16 TCU surprised No. 6 Oklahoma State, 44-31, in Stillwater. The Horned Frogs only trailed once in the game. That was by one point for less than three minutes in the first half. Aside from that, TCU dominated Oklahoma State, twice holding 17-point leads in the second half.

Texas Tech handed Houston its first loss, as the Red Raiders beat the Cougars, 27-24. Houston was plagued by five turnovers – three fumbles and two interceptions.

In the Pac-12 opener for both schools, No. 5 USC and California fought on even terms for three quarters. The score was tied – 13-13 – at the start of the fourth quarter. But in the fourth, the Trojans outscored the Golden Bears, 17-7, to take a 30-20 victory over Cal.

Then there were the five games matching undefeated teams that ended up being mismatches. After starting out 3-0, including an impressive 14-7 win over Kansas State, Vanderbilt was no match for No. 1 Alabama. In fact the Commodores were a big disappointment, as the Crimson Tide demolished Vandy, 59-0. Alabama racked up 677 total yards, while holding Vanderbilt to a measly 78 total yards.

How does a team go from beating LSU, 37-7, one week to losing to Georgia, 31-3, the next? That’s exactly what No. 17 Mississippi State did, as the Bulldogs lost to No. 11 Georgia.

Colorado kept it close with No. 7 Washington for one half. The Buffs trailed the Huskies by only three points – 10-7 – at the break. But in the second half, Washington outscored Colorado, 27-3, to claim a commanding, 37-10, win over the Buffaloes.

Likewise, Toledo hung with No. 14 Miami (Florida) for much of their game. The Rockets held a 16-10 lead on the Hurricanes at halftime. But in the second half, it was a different story. Miami outscored Toledo 42-14 in the final two periods. The Canes beat the Rockets, 52-30.

In one of the biggest surprises of the day, UCF went up to Maryland and beat the Terrapins, 38-10. This the same Maryland team that opened the season with a 51-41 victory over Texas. UCF improves to 2-0. Scott Frost is doing good things at UCF.

Along with the nine matchups between undefeated teams, Saturday was not lacking in other games filled with chills, thrills, shocks and surprises. Two of those games were decided in the closing seconds and by only one point.

After pulling out a victory on the final play of the game last week, No. 20 Florida did the same thing again this week. Only this time, instead of a game ending touchdown pass, it was a missed field goal by Kentucky as the time expired, which enabled the Gators to hold on and beat the Wildcats, 28-27. Florida had just scored its go ahead touchdown 43 seconds earlier, capping off a 14-point, fourth quarter rally by the Gators.

In Columbia, South Carolina, Louisiana Tech kicked a 25-yard field goal with 0:55 on the clock to take a 16-14 lead over South Carolina. But quarterback Jake Bentley led the Gamecocks down the field in the closing seconds. With 0:04 left in the game, Parker White kicked a 31-yard field goal, as South Carolina beat Louisiana Tech 17-16.

Then there was an overtime thriller in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Texas A&M and Arkansas put on a classic battle. Early in the second quarter, the Razorbacks had a 21-7 lead over the Aggies. By midway through the third quarter, A&M had come back and taken a 24-21 lead.

During the next 18 minutes, the lead changed hands five times. With 0:04 on the clock, the Aggies kicked a 27-yard field goal to tie the score at 43-43 and put the game into overtime. Texas A&M claimed victory in the first overtime, downing Arkansas, 50-43.

Shockers? Yes there were a couple. In Tallahassee, NC State stunned No. 12 Florida State, 27-21, in a game that the Wolfpack never trailed. While in Tempe, Arizona State surprised No. 24 Oregon, 37-35. Trailing the Sun Devils throughout the game, the Ducks took their first lead over Arizona State – 35-34 – with 6:41 left in the fourth quarter. But with 2:33 on the clock, the Sun Devils kicked a 41-yard field goal and hung on to win.

Two games ended in identical scores. Duke downed North Carolina, 27-17, while Nebraska took a 27-17 win over Rutgers. The Husker win came just two days after Nebraska fired its athletic director, Shawn Eichorst, making Husker coach Mike Riley, what some think is, a lame-duck coach.

In two unexpected blowouts, Notre Dame busted Michigan State, 38-18, while Stanford throttled UCLA, 58-34. Bruins coach Jim Mora will definitely be canned by the end of the season and Spartans coach Mark Dantonio may be in trouble.

No. 22 San Diego State, perhaps the best Group of Five team out there, scored with 5:39 left in the game to beat Air Force, 28-24. Rashaad Penny scored on a 53-yard touchdown run. Arizona gave undefeated and No. 23 Utah a scare, but in the end, the Utes hung on to beat the Wildcats, 30-24.

Upstart Purdue hung with No. 8 Michigan for three quarters. The Boilers led the Wolverines 10-7 at the half, and only trailed Michigan 14-10 at the end of three quarters. But Michigan poured it on in the fourth quarter and beat Purdue, 28-10.

In a couple of near misses, Tennessee, probably still stunned from the game ending loss to Florida last week, escaped Massachusetts, 17-13. And No. 3 Oklahoma darn near lost to winless Baylor. The Sooners trailed the Bears, 31-28, late in the third quarter. Oklahoma found itself in the fourth quarter, taking a 49-31 lead over Baylor. Then the Sooners hung on to escape the Bears, 49-41.

Three undefeated teams kept their perfect records intact. No. 18 Washington State blew past Nevada, 45-7; UTSA dominated Texas State, 44-14, and Memphis outscored Southern Illinois, 44-31.

In a game played Sunday, East Carolina won its first game of the season, beating Connecticut, 41-38.

There was a lot of chatter last week about the current state of SEC coaches – some calling it a “coaching crisis” in the SEC. Going into Saturday’s games, apparently, fans of only four of the 14 SEC schools were happy with their coach. Coaches at nine of the SEC schools are on the short end of the stick with the fans, while at one school, fans are 50/50 on their coach.

I suspect some of this favorability, or lack thereof, may have changed after Saturday’s games. The four schools where fans were reported to be happy with their coach are Alabama (Nick Saban), Mississippi State (Dan Mullen), Kentucky (Mark Stoops) and Vanderbilt (Derek Mason). Following Saturday’s outcomes, feelings may have dampened a little at Mississippi State, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Not that Vanderbilt really cares.

Meanwhile, the nine schools where unhappiness resides are Texas A&M (Kevin Sumlin), Arkansas (Bret Bielema), Missouri (Barry Odom), Florida (Jim McElwain), South Carolina (Will Muschamp), Ole Miss (Matt Luke), Auburn (Gus Malzahn), LSU (Ed Orgeron) and Tennessee (Butch Jones). I would say the situation is definitely not any better, probably worse, at Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Sitting in the middle are Georgia fans on Kirby Smart. Going into Saturday, Dawgs fans were supposedly so/so on Kirby. But I suspect his ratings went up after the win over Miss State. Key this week will be the outcomes of Georgia vs. Tennessee, Mississippi State vs. Auburn and South Carolina vs. Texas A&M. Stay tuned! And, heaven forbid, should Troy upset LSU and/or Eastern Michigan upset Kentucky.

And speaking of SEC coaches, there was a lot of chatter, sometimes humorous, sometimes serious, about Ole Miss hiring Tommy Tuberville or Les Miles.

Yeah, Nebraska fired its athletic director, Shawn Eichorst, last Thursday – this on the heels of Nebraska’s 21-17 loss to Northern Illinois last week. With a new AD coming in, does he fire Mike Riley or keep him around for another year? A lot depends on when the new athletic director is hired. No way is an interim AD going to fire Riley.

So don’t look now but Duke, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, Minnesota and Washington State are still undefeated. The Blue Devils, Red Raiders and Cougars have big obstacles to get over this week in Miami (Florida), Oklahoma State and USC respectively.

And don’t look now, but Florida State is still winless. Yes, FSU is missing in action. The Seminoles play at Wake Forest this week. Wonder who Tim Muth is cheering for?

I’m thinking the best of the Group of Five are San Diego State, UCF, South Florida, Memphis, Navy and UTSA. All are undefeated.

How about Baylor quarterback Zach Smith. In a loss, Smith passed for 463 yards (no interceptions) against Oklahoma. And how about Kansas running back Kahlil Herbert and Stanford running back Bryce Love. In a loss to West Virginia, Herbert rushed for 291 yards, while in a win against UCLA, Love rushed for 263 yards. Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, Miami of Florida’s Mark Walton and Washington’s Myles Gaskin were pretty impressive rushers too.

Division III rivals St. Thomas and St. John’s, both of Minnesota, set a Division III attendance record over the weekend. They played in front of 37,355 at Target Field home of baseball’s Minnesota Twins. The Tommies beat the Johnnies, 20-17. Go Tommies!

And here we go again at Ole Miss. It was only a few years ago Ole Miss students, and maybe alums, voted to change the school’s mascot from Col. Sanders to a Black Bear. Well, Ole Miss students will be voting again on a new mascot on September 26. Apparently, the Black Bear hasn’t been cutting the mustard ever since it replaced Col. Sanders, after the Colonel ran out of chicken. According to sources, the new mascot is expected to be the Landshark. Stay tuned.

Bootsie, Rockledge Gator, Swamp Mama and I will be in Gainesville this weekend for the Vanderbilt-Florida game. Naturally, we’re staying at the best place to stay in Gainesville – The Laurel Oak Inn. We are looking forward to seeing Peggy and Monta Burt, along with others.

It was good to hear from Scott Greenwood and Brian Smith last week. Brian was the first to tip me off about Nebraska AD Shawn Eichorst getting the boot.

Enjoy your week!

Touchdown Tom
September 25, 2017
www.collegefootballweek.blogspot.com


Weekend Recap

GAME OF THE WEEK: Froggy went a courtin’ – TCU 44, Oklahoma State 31 (Touchdown Tom said: Oklahoma State 35, TCU 25). Who would have thunk it? Maybe Frogs fans. Certainly not Oakie State fans. Granted, the Cowboys are a little loosey-goosey on defense. But who was going to stop their offense. TCU just let Mason Rudolph do his thing. The Frogs stopped the Cowboys everywhere else. Rudolph passed for 398 yards. But Oakie State only rushed for 102 yards. The Cowboys also had four turnovers. Rudolph threw three interceptions. TCU is better than we thought. Attendance in Stillwater: 56,790

RUNNER UP: Where was Ralphie? – Washington 37, Colorado 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Washington 30, Colorado 26). This was a repeat of last year’s Pac-12 championship game. Washington clobbered Colorado in that game too. Three turnovers didn’t help the Buffaloes any. Attendance in Boulder: 47,666

REST OF THE BEST: Uga was the tougher Dawg – Georgia 31, Mississippi State 3 (Touchdown Tom said: Georgia 25, Mississippi State 20). Obviously, Miss State was still living in last week’s glory. It was like: Who cares after you beat LSU. Attendance in Athens: 92,746

Embarrassment! – Alabama 59, Vanderbilt 0 (Touchdown Tom said: Alabama 28, Vanderbilt 12). I thought they played defense at Vandy? They certainly don’t play offense – 3 first downs. Vandy only had the ball for 17 minutes of the game. Attendance in Nashville: 40,350

Deceptive – Penn State 21, Iowa 19 (Touchdown Tom said: Penn State 31, Iowa 23). In spite of the close score, Penn State totally dominated the game – 31 first downs to 11 for Iowa; 581 total yards to 273 for Iowa and the Nitts controlled the ball 40 minutes to 20 for Iowa. Attendance in Iowa City: 65,205

Fruit turnovers – USC 30, California 20 (Touchdown Tom said: USC 30, California 19). Cal had six turnovers. Therein was the difference in the game. Attendance in Berkeley: 45,745

Strong gusts – Miami (Florida) 52, Toledo 30 (Touchdown Tom said: Miami 30, Toledo 25). Miami is a threat. The Canes had 587 total yards. Attendance in Miami Gardens: 49,361

A win is a win – Texas Tech 27, Houston 24 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas Tech 29, Houston 27). Kliff Kingsbury had to be happy. His Red Raiders weren’t favored in this game. Tech is 3-0. Attendance in Houston: 36,383

Running out of steam – Michigan 28, Purdue 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Michigan 30, Purdue 27). Purdue hung with Louisville till near the end. The Boilers did the same thing against Michigan – until near the end. Purdue needs to become a fourth quarter team. For the first time this year, Purdue didn’t show much offense – only 30 yards rushing. Michigan played good defense. Attendance in West Lafayette: 60,042

Rich Rod’s in trouble – Utah 30, Arizona 24 (Touchdown Tom said: Utah 26, Arizona 19). Arizona out-passed and out-rushed Utah, but the Wildcats couldn’t outscore the Utes. Early in the first quarter, Utah took a 7-0 lead and never trailed for the rest of the game. But Arizona kept it close to the end. The Utes remain undefeated at 4-0. Attendance in Tucson: 36,651

Down to the last play of the game, again – Florida 28, Kentucky 27 (Touchdown Tom said: Florida 27, Kentucky 21). Two weeks in a row of pulling it out in the closing seconds. The Gators are going to give their fans heart attacks. Kentucky really is jinxed. Thirty-one straight years Florida has won this game. So is Luke Del Rio the new starter? Attendance in Lexington: 62,945

Oh Danny Boy – Notre Dame 38, Michigan State 18 (Touchdown Tom said: Michigan State 24, Notre Dame 22). Notre Dame obviously found something. Either that or Michigan State is pretty bad. Three turnovers didn’t help the Spartans any. Actually, Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke looked pretty good. Attendance in East Lansing: 74,023


.…AND ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON:

Burned in the desert – Arizona State 37, Oregon 35 (Touchdown Tom said: Oregon 33, Arizona State 23). Now this was a surprise. Oregon obviously still has problems on defense – big problems. The Sun Devils had 347 yards passing. Attendance in Tempe: 50,110


YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:

What was that about – West Virginia 56, Kansas 34 (Touchdown Tom said: West Virginia 40, Kansas 20). Obviously, WVU had a strange attitude about this game. Assuming the Mounties had any attitude at all. Maybe it was the heat. At times, West Virginia played like it wanted to win. At times, WVU played like it didn’t give a you know what. The offense was inconsistent and the defense was downright sloppy. The Mountaineers had 635 total yards. But Kansas had 564 total yards. The nonsense on defense has to stop. Attendance in Lawrence: 23,901

We don’t need no AD – Nebraska 27, Rutgers 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Nebraska 28, Rutgers 16). With the AD getting fired, you figured Nebraska might go into this game with a funky attitude. It took the Huskers a while to get their act together. Rutgers led 17-14 early in the third quarter. Tanner Lee threw two more interceptions. Attendance in Lincoln: 89,775

Can you say 4-0 – Duke 27, North Carolina 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Duke 31, North Carolina 24). The Dookies can and they are. This was still anybody’s ball game at the start of the fourth quarter. The Heels led 17-13. But the Dookies got hot in the fourth and outscored the Heels 14-0. The Dookies can play some defense when they have too. Attendance in Chapel Hill: 59,000

Week 4 Results: 13 correct picks, 3 fumbles (81.3 percent)
For the Season: 46 correct picks, 19 fumbles (70.8 percent)


ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:

South Florida 43, Temple 7 – Attendance in Tampa: 24,325
NC State 27, Florida State 21 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 73,541
Howard 26, Bethune-Cookman 24 – Attendance in Washington, DC: 2,217

UCF 38, Maryland 10 – Attendance in College Park: 33,280
Campbell 49, Stetson 21 – Attendance in Deland: 2,316
Jacksonville U. 44, Marist 37 – Attendance in Poughkeepsie: 4,077
Florida A&M 20, Savannah State 14 – Attendance in Savannah: 4,670

Buffalo 34, Florida Atlantic 31 – Attendance in Buffalo: 14,346
Florida International 13, Rice 7 – Attendance in Houston: 18,932
Florida Tech 35, Mississippi College 0 – Attendance in Clinton: 3,934


Superlatives

Impressive Passers:

UCLA’s Josh Rosen – 40-60-2 for 480 yards; Washington State’s Luke Falk – 36-47-0-478; Baylor’s Zach Smith – 33-50-0-463; East Carolina’s Thomas Sirk – 30-39-0-426; Connecticut’s Bryant Shirreffs – 24-39-1-406; Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph – 22-41-2-398; Cincinnati’s Hayden Moore – 28-46-0-381, and Appalachian State’s Tyler Lamb – 26-50-0-372.

Also, West Virginia’s Will Grier – 2539-1 for 347 yards; Arizona State’s Manny Wilkins – 24-39-0-347; Louisiana-Monroe’s Caleb Evans – 28-34-0-343; Toledo’s Logan Woodside – 28-48-0-342; Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke – 31-51-1-340, and Miami of Florida’s Malik Rosier – 27-36-1-333.


Impressive Rushers:

Kansas’ Kahlil Herbert – 291 yards; Stanford’s Bryce Love – 263 yards; North Texas’ Jeffrey Wilson – 261 yards; Penn State’s Saquon Barkley – 211 yards; Miami of Florida’s Mark Walton – 204 yards, and Washington’s Myles Gaskin – 202 yards.

Also, Georgia Tech’s KirVonte Benson – 196 yards; UTSA’s Jalen Rhodes – 174 yards; Oklahoma’s Abdul Adams – 164 yards; TCU’s Darius Anderson – 160 yards; Oklahoma’s Trey Sermon – 157 yards, and New Mexico’s Colin Gerhart – 156 yards.

Also, Florida Atlantic’s Devin Singletary – 156 yards; South Alabama’s Xavier Johnson – 155 yards; Alabama’s Damien Harris – 151 yards; Ohio’s A.J. Ouellette – 145 yards, and New Mexico State’s Larry Rose – 144 yards.


Quotes of the Week

“You mean besides all their 5-star players,” Mississippi State coach Dan McMullen, when asked what’s the biggest challenge playing Georgia.

“Yeah, they are,” Nebraska coach Mike Riley, when asked if these are tough times.

“I’m always coaching for my job,” Nebraska coach Mike Riley.

“The SEC is a shell of its former self, and Alabama will reap the benefits,” Chris Low, ESPN staff writer.

“Tom Osborne is one of the greatest college coaches that’s ever lived. But more than that, he’s as good of a man as I’ve ever known. I admire him not because we won 255 games, but because of who he is,” UCF coach and former Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost, on his former coach.

“I think there is a coaching crisis in the SEC right now,” Paul Finebaum.

“Did Nebraska make Mike Riley a lame-duck coach?” ESPN staff writer Mitch Sherman.

“I want to get one thing real straight. I’m going to win here. That’s going to happen. We will win,” Missouri coach Barry Odom, after the Tigers fell to 1-3, losing to Auburn, 51-14.


Signs of the Week

Easier To Get Hamilton Tickets Than A UF Touchdown

I Tried To Change My Password To Bama, But Gmail Said It Was Too Weak

Go Rutgers, LOL


Touchdown Tom’s Predictions for
This Week’s 12 Biggest and Most Intriguing Games…and then some

GAME OF THE WEEK: 1. Clemson (4-0) at Virginia Tech (4-0) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 8 pm ET, Saturday, ABC – We know Clemson is for real. We think Virginia Tech might be. We’ll soon find out. The Hokies need some magic. But they don’t get it – Clemson 30, Virginia Tech 22.

RUNNER UP: 2. USC (4-0) at Washington State (4-0) – (Pac-12 vs. Pac-12) – 10:30 pm ET, Friday, ESPN – The Trojans are undefeated, but they are wobbly. I think Mike Leach has a horse up his sleeve. Pullman can be a tough place to play. The Trojans have a bad night – Washington State 30, USC 28.

REST OF THE BEST: 3. Miami (Florida) (2-0) at Duke (4-0) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 7 pm ET, Friday, ESPN – Remember this game two years ago. Duke scored and was winning by a few points. In the closing seconds the Dookies kicked off to Miami. As the clock expired, the Canes ran the kickoff return back for a touchdown. But only after the runner’s knees had touched down and Miami committed about six blocks in the back. But hey, you know how bad the ACC refs are. Sorry Dookies, but you don’t get revenge this year – Miami 30, Duke 25.

4. Memphis (3-0) at UCF (2-0) – (AAC vs. AAC) – 7 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN2 – This could be one of the most exciting games of the week. Both teams can score. But only the Knights play defense – UCF 34, Memphis 26.

5. Georgia (4-0) at Tennessee (3-1) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, CBS – How can you forget this game from last year in Athens. The Dawgs scored and appeared to have the game won. But in the closing seconds Tennessee scored and won the game. Well Rocky Toppers, it won’t happen this year – Georgia 28, Tennessee 23.

6. Oklahoma State (3-1) at Texas Tech (3-0) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 8 pm ET, Saturday, FOX – The Cowboys machine got clogged up last week. And the Cowboys defense got exposed. Texas Tech can score. But Kliff Kingsbury’s luck runs out – Oklahoma State 42, Texas Tech 31.

7. Indiana (2-1) at Penn State (4-0) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, BTN – Well, I’m thinking Indiana will play inspired ball like the Hoosiers did against Ohio State. What’s that? Oh, that’s right, the inspiration only lasted for about two and a half quarters. Yeah, this could be fun for a while. Then the Nitts have all the fun – Penn State 34, Indiana 28.

8. Northern Illinois (2-1) at San Diego State (4-0) – (MAC vs. MWC) – 10:30 pm ET, Saturday, CBSSN – I’m thinking the Aztecs could be the best team in Group of Five football. But Northern Illinois knocked off Power Five Nebraska. Sorry Huskies but you don’t get another athletic director fired – San Diego State 28, Northern Illinois 20.

9. Mississippi State (3-1) at Auburn (3-1) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 6 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – Two weeks ago, the Auburn fans wanted Gus Malzahn out. Meanwhile, the Miss State fans thought Dan Mullen was the greatest thing since sliced bread. If Auburn wins, Malzahn is breathing easier. If Auburn loses, Malzahn might be a gonner. If Miss State loses, Mullen goes from hero to goat. Mullen cheese, anyone? – Auburn 27, Mississippi State 22.

10. California (3-1) at Oregon (3-1) – (Pac-12 vs. Pac-12) – 10 pm ET, Saturday, FS1 – Cal had its chance against USC. But the Bears committed too many turnovers. Oregon has no defense so this should be a good one. Cal makes its close, but in the end, the Ducks are doing the quacking – Oregon 33, California 30.

11. Troy (3-1) at LSU (3-1) – (Sun Belt vs. SEC) – 7 pm ET, Saturday, ESPNU – Watch out for Troy. The Little Trojans can play some football. They are hoping that Zydeco Orgeron is overlooking them. But he isn’t – LSU 27, Troy 17.

12. Northwestern (2-1) at Wisconsin (3-0) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ABC – Wisconsin may be the best team that no one is talking about. The Badgers are quietly winning football games. We know no one is talking about Northwestern. There’s nothing to talk about – Wisconsin 32, Northwestern 20.


.…AND ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON:

13. Maryland (2-1) at Minnesota (3-0) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, FS1 – Maryland looked hot when the Terps knocked of Texas at the beginning of the season. Since then the Terps became Twerps and they haven’t looked so hot. P.J. Fleck has Minnesota playing good. Not that good, but better than the Turtles – Minnesota 27, Maryland 18.


YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:

Vanderbilt (3-1) at Florida (2-1) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ESPN – Here we thought Vandy might have something and the Dores lost to Alabama, 59-0. What imposters! Well, we never have thought Florida had anything until the last few minutes of the game. McElwain smothers the Dores with his B-B-Q sauce – Florida 24, Vanderbilt 12.

Nebraska (2-2) at Illinois (2-1) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 8 pm ET, Friday, FS1 – What a cakey entry into Big Ten play – Rutgers, Illinois. The Huskers don’t know how lucky they are – Nebraska 26, Illinois 19.

Texas (1-2) at Iowa State (2-1) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 8 pm ET, Thursday, ESPN – Intriguing game. Not sure what either team really has – or hasn’t. Both have looked good and bad. The Horns look good in this one – Texas 27, Iowa State 23.

West Virginia (3-1) and Purdue (2-2) are off this week.


ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:

North Carolina Central (2-1) at Florida A&M (2-2) – (MEAC vs. MEAC) – 7:30 pm ET, Thursday, ESPNU….

South Florida (4-0) at East Carolina – (AAC vs. AAC) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, CBSSN….
Stetson (0-4) at Valparaiso (1-3) – (Pioneer vs. Pioneer) – 1 pm ET, Saturday….
Guilford (2-1) at Jacksonville U. (2-1) – (Old Dominion vs. Pioneer) – 1 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN3….

Florida State (0-2) at Wake Forest (4-0) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ABC….
Savannah State (0-3) at Bethune-Cookman (1-3) – (MEAC vs. MEAC) – 4 pm ET, Saturday….

Middle Tennessee (2-2) at Florida Atlantic (1-3) – (C-USA vs. C-USA) – 7 pm ET, Saturday….
Charlotte (0-4) at Florida International (2-1) – (C-USA vs. C-USA) – 7 pm ET, Saturday….
West Florida (2-1) at Florida Tech (3-1) – (Gulf South vs. Gulf South) – 7 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN3….

Touchdown Tom
www.collegefootballweek.blogspot.com


P.S.

Not exactly college football related, but near the end of September as the college football season was about to move into its second month, the number one song in the country…

…75 years ago this week in 1942 was “(I’ve Got A Gal In) Kalamazoo” by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra

…70 years ago this week in 1947 was “Near You” by Francis Craig and His Orchestra

…65 years ago this week in 1952 was “You Belong To Me” by Jo Stafford

…60 years ago this week in 1957 was “That’ll Be The Day” by The Crickets

…55 years ago this week in 1962 was “Sherry” by The Four Seasons

…50 years ago this week in 1967 was “The Letter” by The Box Tops

…45 years ago this week in 1972 was “Baby, Don’t Get Hooked On Me” by Mac Davis

…40 years ago this week in 1977 was “Best Of My Love” by The Emotions

…35 years ago this week in 1982 was “Abracadabra” by The Steve Miller Band

…30 years ago this week in 1987 was “Didn’t We Almost Have It All” by Whitney Houston

…25 years ago this week in 1992 was “End Of The Road” by Boyz II Men