College Football Week 10 – First playoff rankings out Tuesday

In the State of Florida,

it was a sad state of affairs

Yes, it was a sad and a bad weekend in the State of Florida. Florida, Florida State, Miami, South Florida and Florida Atlantic all lost. Only FIU won. UCF didn’t play. But, then again,  UCF doesn’t play anybody to begin with.

The carnage began Friday night – not once, but twice. First, Miami fell to Boston College, 27-14. The loss dropped the Canes to 5-3 on the season. When the season began, Miami was the overwhelming favorite to win the Coastal Division of the ACC. Currently the Canes are sitting in fourth place in the  division.

Immediately after the game, Canes fans flooded social media, calling for Mark Richt’s job.  “Fire Mark Richt” comments were prevalent. Miami is 2-4 in its last six ACC games – 5-6 in its last 11 games overall.

And then there’s Lane Kiffin. Kiffin was one of the hottest coaches in the country last year when he coached Florida Atlantic to an 11-3 record in his debut season with the Owls. FAU entered this season on a 10-game winning streak. Friday night, Florida Atlantic lost to Louisiana Tech, 21-13, dropping the Owls to 3-5 on the season.

All of a sudden, Kiffin isn’t so hot anymore. And this was supposed to be a great season for Florida Atlantic. At preseason, FAU was picked to win the C-USA championship. Today, the Owls are in fifth place in the East Division of C-USA.

Saturday, the carnage continued – not once, but three times. In Tallahassee, Florida State suffered its worst-ever home loss, falling to Clemson, 59-10. Beating the Noles, Clemson became the first ACC team to beat FSU four-straight years. Florida State’s previous worst loss in Doak Campbell Stadium was 58-14 to Southern Miss in 1981. And 59 points is the most ever allowed by FSU at home.

Clemson’s lopsided win could have been worse. Late in the fourth quarter, the Tigers led the Noles, 59-3. Florida State scored its sole touchdown with 4:43 left on the clock. The loss drops FSU to 4-4. At preseason, the Noles were picked to finish second in the Atlantic Division of the ACC. Today, FSU is in fifth place in the division.

Then, at the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, Florida lost to Georgia, 36-17. The loss dropped Florida to 4-2 in SEC play and virtually eliminated the Gators from winning the East Division of the SEC. Georgia and Kentucky are each 5-1 in SEC play and both have wins over Florida.

It’s obvious that Florida has no pass defense. That’s Todd Grantham’s problem. Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm picked apart the Gators secondary. It’s also obvious that Florida doesn’t have a quarterback. That’s Dan Mullen’s problem. Feleipe Franks is a boob. He’s careless. Florida had three turnovers in the game and Franks was responsible for two of them. He also only passed for a measly 105 yards.

Finally, on Saturday, unbeaten South Florida lost to Houston, 57-36. The Bulls were actually in the game until the fourth quarter. But in the final 15 minutes, South Florida was outscored 14-0 by Houston.

The lone bright spot for Florida’s FBS (Division IA) teams over the weekend was Florida International. FIU beat Western Kentucky, 38-17. The win improved the Panthers’ record to 6-2. Picked to finish fourth in the East Division of C-USA, today FIU is in first place in the division with a 4-0 conference record.

FIU is coached by former Miami (Florida) and North Carolina coach Butch Davis. In his second season with the Panthers, Davis is 14-7. FIU and FAU clash this week – Davis against Kiffin.

Undefeated UCF (7-0) was off. The Knights resume play this week at home against Temple.

Yes, Saturday was a sad state of affairs in the State of Florida.

Week 9 of college football began early. Tuesday night, Troy beat South Alabama, 38-17.

Thursday night, West Virginia and Georgia Tech rolled to victories. West Virginia’s offense and defense put together two good halves, as the Mountaineers vented their frustrations on Baylor, 58-14. Will Grier passed for 353 yards in just three quarters. Backup quarterback sophomore Jack Allison played the entire fourth quarter for the Mounties and threw a 36-yard touchdown pass.

Meanwhile, in Blacksburg, Georgia Tech failed to complete a pass (0-for-1) the entire game, but the Yellow Jackets racked up 465 yards rushing, as they pounded Virginia Tech, 49-28. Jackets quarterback Tobias Oliver rushed for 215 of those yards. Georgia Tech led 49-21 until late in the fourth quarter.

Appalachian State’s appearance in the Top 25 will be brief. Also on Thursday night, Georgia Southern smacked Appalachian State, 34-14. App State entered the game ranked 25^th in the AP Poll.

Chip Kelly’s two-game winning streak came to an end. Utah plastered UCLA, 41-10. Kelly is now 2-6 for the season. In the Big Ten, Minnesota scored a touchdown with 1:34 left in the game and then held on to beat Indiana, 38-31. Entering the fourth quarter, the Gophers had a 31-9 lead on the Hoosiers.

Herm Edwards and Kevin Sumlin both won Saturday. On the road, Arizona State downed USC, 38-35, improving Edwards’ Sun Devils to 4-4. Then, at home, Arizona surprised Oregon big time. The Wildcats beat the Ducks, 44-15, improving Sumlin’s Wildcats to 4-5.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, there were some interesting outcomes. With 19 seconds left on the clock, Washington State kicked a 42-yard field goal and beat Stanford in Palo Alton, 41-38. California surprised Washington. The Bears upset the Huskies, 12-10, in Berkeley. But the biggest surprise of all occurred in Boulder. Oregon State, losers of their last 13 Pac-12 games, stunned Colorado, 41-34 (OT). Trailing Colorado 31-3 in the third quarter, the Beavers scored 28 unanswered points to tie the score 31-31 at the end of regulation. Oregon State last won a Pac-12 game in November 2016.

The most exciting game in the SEC took place in Columbia, Missouri. Trailing Missouri 14-3 with less than six minutes to go in the game, Kentucky rallied to knock off the Tigers, 15-14. Kentucky’s winning touchdown came as time expired in the game. Actually, it came after time had expired in the game.

On what would have been the final play of the game as time expired, Kentucky threw a pass into the end zone. The pass was incomplete, but defensive pass interference was called on the play. That penalty gave Kentucky a second chance. And the second time was a charm for the Wildcats. Kentucky was successful on a 2-yard pass into the end zone.

In the other Columbia, South Carolina rallied and held on to edge Tennessee, 27-24. Will Muschamp is now 6-0 against Tennessee – 3-0 at Florida and 3-0 at South Carolina. Meanwhile, Mississippi State spoiled Texas A&M’s visit to Starkville. The Bulldogs beat the Aggies, 28-13.

In the Big 12, it was a big day for the Oklahoma’s. In Norman, the Sooners, as expected, rolled past Kansas State, 51-14. In Stillwater, Oklahoma State blew a 31-14 halftime lead over Texas, but ultimately held on to beat the Longhorns, 38-35. The big surprise in the Big 12, and it was a big one, occurred in Lawrence, Kansas. The Jayhawks, losers of their last 14 Big 12 games, shocked TCU, 27-26. Kansas last won a Big 12 game in November 2016.

In the Big Ten, Penn State, Michigan State and Northwestern all won. In University Park, Penn State edged Iowa, 30-24. In East Lansing, Michigan State stymied Purdue, 23-13, and in Evanston, Northwestern surprised Wisconsin, 31-17.

Syracuse and Pitt had big wins in the ACC. In the Carrier Dome, Syracuse won a thriller over NC State, 41-31. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, Duke and Pitt were tied 45-45 with less than a minute to go in the game. Pitt got a touchdown and a safety, all in the final 5 seconds of the game, to beat Duke, 54-45.

UTEP extended its losing streak to 19 games – the nation’s longest. The Miners lost to UAB, 19-0. But San Jose State ended its 6-game losing streak. The Spartans beat UNLV, 50-37. Also, in the MWC, Nevada upset San Diego State, 28-24.

Massachusetts knocked off Connecticut, 22-17. And Army improved to 6-2, with a 37-22 win over Eastern Michigan.

For the third week, no one joined the “70s Club.” But Maryland and Utah State came close. The Terps beat Illinois, 63-33, and Utah State downed New Mexico, 61-19.

In addition to Oregon State-Colorado, the only one other overtime game – Cincinnati 26, SMU 20 (OT). Cincinnati not only won the game in overtime, but the Bearcats won it on a “kick-6” in overtime.

In 2015, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino pulled Matt Colburn’s scholarship offer just 48 hours before national signing day. Colburn went on to sign with Wake Forest. Saturday, Colburn got his paybacks. The Wake Forest running back ran for 243 yards and three touchdowns, as Wake Forest beat Louisville, 56-35. Justice!

So, after nine weeks of football, four teams remain undefeated – Alabama (8-0), Clemson (8-0), Notre Dame (8-0) and UCF (7-0). South Florida (7-1) lost for the first time. Like UCF, Alabama was off Saturday. Clemson, as mentioned, took care of Florida State and Notre Dame rocked Navy,  44-22.

This week, Alabama visits LSU (7-1) and Notre Dame travels to Northwestern (5-3). Clemson hosts Louisville (2-6) and UCF entertains Temple (5-3). Stay tuned!

The first college football playoff rankings will be released at 7 pm, Tuesday, on ESPN.

Touchdown Tom

October 29, 2018

https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com

Weekend Recap

GAME OF THE WEEK:  Dawg party – Georgia 36, Florida 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Florida 24, Georgia 20). With less than 9 minutes to go in the game, Georgia only had a 6-point lead – 23-17. Then the Dawgs exploded for two touchdowns. Florida had three turnovers to none for Georgia. The teams were close in rushing yards, but Georgia had 240 passing yards to only 105 for Florida. Attendance in Jacksonville: 84,463

RUNNER UP: King for a day – Houston 57, South Florida 36 (Touchdown Tom said: Houston 33, South Florida 27). This was a tight game until the fourth quarter. Houston led 43-36 at the end of three. The teams combined for 1,147 total yards, but Houston had 681 of those yards. Houston quarterback D’Eriq King had 419 yards and 5 touchdowns passing and 132 yards and two touchdowns rushing. Attendance in Houston: 31,631

REST OF THE BEST:  Mulch – Washington State 41, Stanford 38 (Touchdown Tom said: Washington State 26, Stanford 24). Washington State won the game on a field goal in the closing seconds. The Cougars won the game in spite of only 59 yards rushing. Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew passed for 438 yards. Attendance in Palo Alto: 39,596

Happy in the Valley – Penn State 30, Iowa 24 (Touchdown Tom said: Iowa 24, Penn State 22). Iowa controlled the stats, including time of possession. But the Hawkeyes couldn’t control the score. Neither quarterback – Nate Stanley of Iowa and Trace McSorley of Penn State – were impressive. Both completed less than 50% of their passes. Attendance in University Park: 105,244

Retreat – Clemson 59, Florida State 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Clemson 33, Florida State 23). The Clemson defense held FSU to just 21 yards rushing. Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence passed for 314 yards. Clemson had 25 first downs to 14 for FSU. Attendance in Tallahassee: 68,403

Richt-less – Boston College 27, Miami (Florida) 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Miami 30, Boston College 26). A good game in the first half, BC led at the break, 17-14. Then it was all BC in the second half, as the Eagles defense kept the Canes from scoring. BC running back A.J. Dillon rushed for 149 yards, as the Eagles had 439 total yards. Attendance in Chestnut Hill: 44,514

Orange is the new Red – Syracuse 51, NC State 28 (Touchdown Tom said: Syracuse 30, NC State 28). Syracuse jumped out to a 24-7 lead. NC State rallied and the game became a barn burner. The teams combined for 1,102 total yards. But both teams had less than 90 yards rushing – 81 for Syracuse and 68 for NC State. NC State quarterback Ryan Finley passed for 473 yards and Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey passed for 411 yards. Attendance in Syracuse: 40,769

Poked – Oklahoma State 38, Texas 35 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas 37, Oklahoma State 21). Okie State controlled the stats and the clock, but barely won the game. Texas came on strong at the end. Okie State quarterback Taylor Cornelius passed for 321 yards. Attendance in Stillwater: 56,790

Eagles soar – Georgia Southern 34, Appalachian State 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Georgia Southern 30, Appalachian State 29). After a scoreless first quarter, Georgia Southern took control of the game, outscoring App State, 17-7 in the second quarter and 17-7 in the second half. The Eagles led 34-7 until late in the fourth quarter. App State had five turnovers in the game, including four interceptions. Georgia Southern won the game in spite of only managing 57 yards passing. The Eagles running Shai Werts rushed for 129 yards. Georgia Southern improved its record to 7-1. Attendance in Statesboro: 19,252

It ain’t over until it’s over – Kentucky 15, Missouri 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Missouri 22, Kentucky 21). Thanks to a defensive pass interference call, Kentucky got a second chance after time had expired. The Wildcats capitalized on that chance. The game was a defensive battle. Both teams rushed for less than 100 yards – 91 yards for Kentucky and 84 for Missouri. Mizzou quarterback Drew Lock had a terrible game.  Attendance in Columbia: 53,397

….AND TWO TO KEEP AN EYE ON: 

Totality – West Virginia 58, Baylor 14 (Touchdown Tom said: West Virginia 30, Baylor 17). West Virginia scored a touchdown on its opening drive, just 50 seconds into the game, and the Mountaineers were off and running. WVU outscored Baylor 41-0 in the first half and 17-14 in the second half. WVU racked up 568 total yards to 285 for Baylor. Mountie receiver David Sills had five receptions for 139 yards and Gary Jennings had three receptions for 100 yards. WVU’s defense held Baylor to 80 yards rushing. Attendance in Morgantown: 53,117

Where’s Don Ho when you need him? – Fresno State 50, Hawaii 20 (Touchdown Tom said: Fresno State 34, Hawaii 27). This game was all Fresno State. The Bulldogs led 50-13 early in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs had 565 total yards and held Hawaii to 88 yards rushing. Fresno State quarterback Marcus McMaryion passed for 284 yards. Bulldogs running back Ronnie Rivers ran for 125 yards. Fresno State even got a touchdown on a “kick-6.” Attendance in Fresno: 33,659

YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS: 

Shucked – Nebraska 45, Bethune-Cookman 9 (Touchdown Tom said: Nebraska 56, Bethune-Cookman 12). Nebraska just toyed with Bethune-Cookman. The Wildcats lone touchdown came as time expired. Huskers running back Devine Ozigbo rushed for 110 yards. Attendance in Lincoln: 88,735

The defenses forgot to show up – Pitt 54, Duke 45 (Touchdown Tom said: Duke 25, Pitt 21). What a game! The teams combined for 1,253 total yards. Most of Pitt’s yards were rushing – 484. Most of Duke’s yards were passing – 396. Three running backs – two from Pitt and one from Duke – rushed for more than 100 yards. Attendance in Pittsburgh: 31,510

Boilers weren’t up – Michigan State 23, Purdue 13 (Touchdown Tom said: Michigan State 26, Purdue 23). The Spartans were still mad and the Boilers were still celebrating. It was a tight game throughout. Michigan State just led 16-13 with less than 2 minutes to go in the game. The Spartans defense held Purdue to 62 yards rushing. Michigan State quarterback Rocky Lombardi passed for 318 yards. The Spartans controlled the clock for more than 38 minutes. Attendance in East Lansing: 72,657

Week 9 Results:   9 correct picks, 6 fumbles (60 percent)

For The Season:  92 correct picks, 43 fumbles (68.1 percent)

ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA: 

FIU 38, Western Kentucky 17 – Attendance in Bowling Green: 15,138

Louisiana Tech 21, Florida Atlantic 13 – Attendance in Boca Raton: 14,948

Florida A&M 38, Morgan State 3 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 14,037

Stetson 56, Davidson 53 – Attendance in Davidson: 3,992

San Diego 59, Jacksonville U. 35 – Attendance in San Diego: 1,047

West Florida 26, North Greenville 10 – Attendance in Tigerville: 2,687

West Alabama 29, Florida Tech 22 – Attendance in Livingston: 5,106

Superlatives

Impressive Passers: 

NC State’s Ryan Finley – 26-44-1-473 (3TDs); Utah State’s Jordan Love – 23-34-0 for 448 yards (4TDs); Washington State’s Gardner Minshew – 40-50-0-438 (3TDs); Houston’s D’Eriq King – 28-41-2-419 (5TDs); Syracuse’s Eric Dungey – 27-38-0-411 (3TDs); Boise State’s Brett Rypien – 20-34-0-399 (5TDs), and Duke’s Daniel Jones – 27-42-0-396 (4TDs).

Also, NC State’s Ryan Finley – 26-44-1 for 373 yards (3TDs); Louisville’s Jawon Pass – 30-54-0-358 (1TD); West Virginia’s Will Grier – 17-27-0-353 (3TDs); Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray – 19-24-0-352 (3TDs); Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder – 33-50-2-352 (2TDs), and TCU’s Michael Collins – 23-33-1-351 (1TD).

Impressive Rushers:

Wake Forest’s Matt Colburn – 243 yards (3TDs); Georgia Tech’s Tobias Oliver – 215 yards (3TDs); Utah’s Zack Moss – 211 yards (3TDs); Arizona State’s Eno Benjamin – 185 yards (2TDs); Wyoming’s Nico Evans – 176 yards (1TD), and Vanderbilt’s Ke’Shawn Vaughn – 172 yards (3TDs).

Also,  Florida Atlantic’s Devin Singletary – 171 yards (1TD); Troy’s B.J. Smith – 170 yards (1TD); Duke’s Deon Jackson – 162 yards; Georgia State’s Tra Barnett – 161 yards (2TDs); Illinois’ Reggie Corbin – 155 yards (1TD), and Minnesota’s Shannon Brooks – 154 yards (1TD).

Quotes of the Week

“This is what happens when you have Urban Meyer at the helm. Ohio State, you brought this upon yourself with how sloppy and undisciplined this team is. When you’re worried about deleting texts off your phone, when you’re sending out five different apology tweets, because of your behavior and your program’s behavior, when you’re worried about the findings of a sham internal investigation. This wasn’t a real internal investigation into Urban Meyer at Ohio State, it was an absolute sham. When you have to worry about that stuff, you’re unfocused, and that leads to your team being undisciplined,” ESPN and SEC Network college football commentator Peter Burns.

“That’s Urban Meyer’s fault, but more importantly, it’s Ohio State’s fault, and their lack of leadership has hurt those kids, because I think that team at Ohio State is as talented as any team in the country right now. But they are led by someone who is unfocused, and that’s the reason they lost that game to Purdue, and I think they’ll lose another,” ESPN and SEC Network college football commentator Peter Burns.

At some point, Ohio State has to realize what’s better for their university, and guess what, it’s not Urban Meyer being the head coach,” ESPN and SEC Network college football commentator Peter Burns.

“Urban Meyer looks anguished, emotional and erratic on the sidelines and the Buckeyes have big problems. There are issues there,” ESPN college football commentator Kirk Herbstreit.

“They need an expanded playoff system, minimum 16 teams. I haven’t quite figured out how everybody from rec league softball on down can figure out how to put together a tournament and Division I can’t,” Washington State coach Mike Leach, on an expanded college football playoff.

“It’s official. The U is dead under Mark Richt,” former Miami player Warren Sapp.

“Dear Bulldog fans, can you please take Mark Richt back? Please,” Miami fan Calvin Capone.”

“I’m not optimistic, but Kentucky being at home has momentum. This is going to be the biggest football game in Kentucky history. That’s not saying very much. It’s going to overshadow the Duke-Kentucky basketball game a couple of nights later. This place will be insane,” ESPN college football commentator Paul Finebaum, on the Georgia-Kentucky football game.

“It’s going to be a celebration. Do I think they’re going to win? Probably not,” ESPN college football commentator Paul Finebaum, on Kentucky’s chances against Georgia.

Signs of the Day

Herschel Walker Didn’t Get Into UF

If you or a loved one has been exposed to Georgia football, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Call 1-800-UGA-SUCKS

Tebow Cries At Weddings

Eat Mor Bulldawg

Who Names Their Kid, Kirby?

Win Or Lose, At Least I Don’t Go To UCF

Touchdown Tom’s Picks for

This Week’s 10 Biggest and Most Intriguing Games…and then some

GAME OF THE WEEK:  1. Alabama (8-0) at LSU (7-1) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 8 pm ET, Saturday, CBS – This is the biggest game of the season to date and may end up being the biggest game of the season. But it won’t be big unless LSU wins or comes darn close. The Tigers have not beaten Alabama since 2011. And the Tide turned around and beat LSU in the second game (BCS Championship) that season. So it has been a tough seven years for the Tigers. Make it a tough eight years – Alabama 26, LSU 23.

RUNNER UP:  2. Georgia (7-1)  at Kentucky (7-1) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, CBS – This is the “it” game for Kentucky. Win and Wildcats  fans will be talking about this game for 100 years – maybe more. Lose and it’s when does basketball season start? Anything could happen. But I think Wildcats fans will be talking about basketball season – Georgia 26, Kentucky 21.

REST OF THE BEST:  3. Penn State (6-2) at Michigan (7-1) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 3:45 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – Jim Harbaugh has the Wolverines on a roll. James Franklin has the Nitts flickering. Roll bets Flicker – Michigan 30, Penn State 20.

4. Notre Dame (8-0) at Northwestern (5-3) – (Ind. vs. Big Ten) – 7:15 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – You gotta figure Northwestern is capable of beating Notre Dame. Capable is the “key” word here. The Irish gotta be feeling the pressure. It’s not easy being undefeated, unless you are Alabama. Pressure survives capable – Notre Dame 24, Northwestern 19.

5. West Virginia (6-1) at Texas (6-2) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, FOX – Both teams have one loss in Big 12 play. Neither can afford another one if they want to make the Big 12 title game. This one has the makings for an interesting contest – very interesting. Bevo steaks go good with moonshine – West Virginia 33, Texas 27.

6. Temple (5-3) at UCF (7-0) – (AAC vs. AAC) – 7:30 pm Et, Thursday, ESPN – Temple has already knocked off one unbeaten team this year – Cincinnati. The Owls will be looking to make UCF its second unbeaten victim. If the game were played in Philly, it could happen. But the game is played in Orlando. Knights prevail – UCF 29, Temple 22.

7. Oklahoma (7-1) at Texas Tech (5-3) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 8 pm ET, Saturday, ABC – The Red Raiders are capable of giving Oklahoma’s defense a test, especially in Lubbock. But Kyler Murray should have a heyday against Tech’s defense. The Sooners win the shootout – Oklahoma 35, Texas Tech 20.

8. Stanford (5-3) at Washington (6-3) – (Pac-12 vs. Pac-12) – 9 pm ET, Saturday, PAC-12N – Last week, the Trees lost to the other Washington team on a last second field goal. They could lose the same way this week. Washington lost too and the Huskies will be mad. The Trees are uprooted – Washington 26, Stanford 21.

9. Texas A&M (5-3) at Auburn (5-3) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ESPN – The Aggies got bounced in Starkville last week. Meanwhile, Auburn was sitting back resting up for this encounter. It’s hard to figure Jimbo Fisher losing two straight games. It’s hard to figure Gus Malzahn beating Jimbo – Texas A&M 29, Auburn 23.

10. Boston College (6-2) at Virginia Tech (4-3) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 3:45 pm ET, Saturday, ACCN – Two teams going in opposite directions. BC is having a good season and coming off a good win against Miami. Va Tech is having a disappointing season and coming off a bad loss to Georgia Tech. Still, the Eagles have their weaknesses and the Hokies have their strengths. But the Hokies don’t find BC’s weaknesses in this one – Boston College 26, Virginia Tech 22. 

….AND TWO TO KEEP AN EYE ON: 

11. Duke (5-3) at Miami (Florida) (5-3) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 7 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN2 – Duke left its defense at home last week. Miami left its offense home. The Dookies may have lost their defense for good. The Canes better win or the calls for Mark Richt’s firing will get stronger. Richt breathes a little easier – Miami 30, Duke 25.

12. Iowa (6-2) at Purdue (4-4) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN2 – Both teams tripped and stumbled last week. The Boilers have some more tripping and stumbling to do – Iowa 23, Purdue 17.

YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS

Missouri (4-4) at Florida (6-2) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 4 pm ET, Saturday, SECN – Both teams are mad and frustrated. Florida coming off the loss to Georgia and Missouri coming off the beyond the last second loss to Kentucky. Florida gets its act together. Missouri discombobulates – Florida 24, Missouri 16.

Nebraska (2-6) at Ohio State (7-1) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, FOX – Nebraska may be getting better and Ohio State may be getting worse, but the Huskers are playing the Buckeyes at the wrong time. After the bad loss to Purdue and all the negative commentary about Urban Meyer, Ohio State is going to come out mad and fired up. And the game is in Columbus. It won’t be a pretty site for the Huskers – Ohio State 38, Nebraska 16.

ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA: 

Florida State (4-4) at NC State (5-2) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ABC….

Tulane (3-5) at South Florida (7-1) – (AAC vs. AAC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, CBSSN….

Florida Atlantic (3-5) at FIU (6-2) – (C-USA vs. C-USA) – 7:30 pm ET, Saturday….

Florida A&M (6-2) at Howard (3-4) – (MEAC vs. MEAC) – 1 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN3….

Bethune-Cookman (4-5) at Morgan State (2-6) – (MEAC vs. MEAC) – 4 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN3….

Butler (3-5) at Jacksonville U. (1-6) – (Pioneer vs. Pioneer) – 1 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN3… 

Morehead State (3-5) at Stetson (6-1) – (Pioneer vs. Pioneer) – 1 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN3….

North Greenville (4-4) at Florida Tech (6-3) – (Gulf South vs. Gulf South) – 2 pm ET, Saturday….

Valdosta State (8-0) at West Florida (6-3) – (Gulf South vs. Gulf South) – 5 pm ET, Saturday….

Touchdown Tom

https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com

P.S.

Not exactly college football related, but there was one passing of note last week – Tony Joe White.

Tony Joe White, the songwriter who wrote “Polk Salad Annie” and “Rainy Night in Georgia,” died last week at his home in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, near Nashville. He was 75. White was known for his deep, growling voice and potent “swamp rock” sound, which incorporated elements of blues, rock, country and R&B. During the past 50 years, his songs have been recorded by countless greats, including Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, Brook Benton, Ray Charles, Waylon Jennings, B.J. Thomas, Kenny Chesney, Johnny Cash and Tina Turner, among others. It was White’s 1972 record “The Train I’m On” that brought serious attention to his singing and songwriting. Tony Joe White was born on July 23, 1943, near Oak Grove, Louisiana. His debut album “Black and White” was released in 1969. The song “Soul San Francisco” was a hit in France. Nine months after the album’s release, the song “Polk Salad Annie” entered the charts and peaked at No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot 100. At the same time, Brook Benton’s recording of “Rainy Night in Georgia was zooming up the charts. It peaked at No. 4 on the Pop Charts. In the late 1980s, Tina Turner recorded four of White’s songs, including “Steamy Windows.”