College Football
Week 4 – Is Georgia the new Alabama?
Which one will be
fired first –
Manny Diaz or Mike
Norvell?
Yes, the Miami and Florida State programs are on the skids. And the bottom doesn’t appear to be in sight.
Saturday, Miami lost at home to Michigan State, 38-17. In their last five games – two last season and three this season – Miami has giving up 41 points a game. Canes coach Manny Diaz is supposed to be a defensive guru. In addition to being the head coach, Diaz also is the defensive coordinator.
Against Michigan State, Miami was outscored 21-3 in the fourth quarter. The Canes only had 52 yards rushing. At 1-2, Miami’s only win this season was by two points – 25-23 over Appalachian State. That victory came on a field goal with two minutes to go in the game. In his third season, Diaz is 15-12. I’m not sure he will make it through this season.
Then there is Florida State. Saturday, the Seminoles lost to Wake Forest 35-14. It was FSU’s third loss this season. Yes, the Noles are 0-3, including a 20-17 loss at home to Jacksonville State last week. FSU coach Mike Norvell has been criticized for his lack of leadership.
Against Wake Forest, FSU was held scoreless in the second half. The Noles leading rusher – Treshaun Ward – only had 48 yards rushing. Wake Forest had two running backs each rush for more than 48 yards. FSU’s two quarterbacks – McKenzie Milton and Jordan Travis – only passed for 226 yards combined. Wake Forest had one quarterback – Sam Hartman – pass for 259 yards.
In his second season in Tallahassee, Norvell is 3-9. I’m not sure he will make it through this season either. Both Miami and Florida State could finish their seasons under interim coaches. Stay tuned!
Every season seems to be a wild and crazy season. But after Saturday, I think this season may end up being the wildest and craziest. And the strangest.
In addition to Miami and Florida State being on the skids, you have Oklahoma’s strange games, Clemson’s inability to score, Alabama almost losing, Hail Mary ending, weird officiating, the Drum, etc.
Then there were five quarterbacks passing for more than 400 yards – one for more than 500 yards, and two running backs rushing for more than 200 yards – one for almost 300 yards.
After three weeks, Boston College and Wake Forest at 3-0 are the only undefeated teams in the ACC. The Big 12 has six undefeated teams – Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech. In the Big Ten, Maryland, Michigan State and Rutgers are all 3-0. When was the last year those three teams began the same season at 3-0?
After three weeks, Iowa (3-0) is the only undefeated team in the Big Ten West, and Oregon (3-0) is the only undefeated team in the Pac-12.
At preseason, Oklahoma was the second-ranked team in the country. The Sooners were predicted to be a serious threat for the national championship. Opening weekend, Oklahoma was heavily favored to beat Tulane. Opening weekend, the Sooners hung on to beat Tulane, 40-35. Saturday, OU was heavily favored to beat Nebraska. Saturday, the Sooners hung on to beat Nebraska, 23-16. OU’s 23 points were their fewest scored in a game in more than five years. What’s going on with Oklahoma?
Opening weekend, Clemson only scored three points against Georgia in a 10-3 loss to the Dawgs. Saturday, the Tigers only scored 14 points in a 14-8 win over Georgia Tech. Against Georgia, Clemson only had 23 yards rushing. Against the Yellow Jackets, the Tigers only had 106 yards rushing. What’s up with Clemson’s offense?
Everyone is used to Alabama rolling over its opponents. Saturday, Alabama was lucky to get out of The Swamp alive. The Crimson Tide got by Florida, 31-29. With 3:10 to go in the game, Florida scored to pull within two of Bama. The Gators failed on their two-point conversion. Had Florida not missed its extra point kick on its first touchdown in the game, the Gators would not have been forced to go for two. An extra point kick would have tied the game at 31-31.
Ah, everyone loves Hail Mary’s. Everyone loves Bloody Mary’s too. But I digress. Going into the final play of the game on Saturday, Louisiana Tech led SMU, 37-33. SMU had the ball on the Louisiana Tech 33 yard line. On the final play, as time expired, Mustangs quarterback Tanner Mordecai went back and tossed a Hail Mary pass into the endzone. It was caught by SMU receiver Reggie Robertson. SMU won the game, 39-37. Mordecai, by the way, passed for 395 yards and five touchdowns in the game.
Then there was the bad officiating in two games, both by SEC crews. The officiating was so bad in the Mississippi State-Memphis and Auburn-Penn State games, that the SEC commissioner’s office issued apologies following the games. In the Miss State-Memphis game, a punt return for a touchdown by Memphis should have been nullified.
In the third quarter, Miss State punted to Memphis. The punt was not caught and the ball rolled to a stop on the field. The back judge ruled the ball dead and waved for the clock to stop. However, a Memphis player picked up the ball and returned it for a touchdown. Also, on the same play, Memphis had two players on the field wearing the same number on their jerseys. There were two infractions on the play, but Memphis was erroneously awarded the touchdown and went on to beat Miss State, 31-29.
There were a number of strange and bad calls in the Auburn-Penn State game. The most flagrant was on what should have been a third-down play for Penn State was ruled fourth down by the officials. They literally robbed Penn State of a down, jumping from second to fourth down.
It seems like it has become all too common every weekend for the SEC to issue apologies for its officiating crews. They need to get their act together.
If you have ever seen Purdue’s “All-American Marching Band” perform, you know that a feature of the band is the “Big Bass Drum,” touted by Purdue as the “World’s Largest Drum.” When sitting on its carriage, its height is a little over 10 feet.
The Boilermakers played at Notre Dame Saturday. Purdue’s band made the trip for the game. But get this: Notre Dame would not let Purdue bring the “Big Bass Drum” into the stadium. How petty and arrogant of Notre Dame. Part of the fun and excitement of college football is the pageantry and traditions of the schools. But Notre Dame is too self-centered and self-absorbed to acknowledge the traditions of other schools. Thumbs down to Notre Dame. The Irish beat the Boilermakers, 27-13.
College football Week 3 got underway Thursday night in Lafayette, Louisiana. The Rajin’ Cajuns pounded Ohio, 49-14. Along the way Louisiana racked up 562 total yards, and improved to 2-1.
Meanwhile, Ohio fell to 0-3, including a loss last week, 28-26, to Duquesne of all teams. Former Ohio coach Frank Solich retired over the summer, saying he was suffering from cardiovascular issues. I’m sure he was. I’m sure he took one look at this Bobcat team and became very ill.
Two games were played Friday night. In the first of the two, UCF lost its first game of the season. The Knights fell to Louisville, 42-35. Louisville ended the game with 501 total yards. UCF didn’t have a defense under Scott Frost or Josh Heupel and the Knights don’t have a defense under Gus Malzahn either.
Maryland is off to a 3-0 start. In the second game Friday, the Terrapins scored 10 points in the final 2:13 of the game to beat Illinois, 20-17. Maryland won the game on a 32-yard field goal as time expired. Terp quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa passed for 350 yards.
In other games Saturday, West Virginia held a 27-7 lead over Virginia Tech late in the third quarter. But the Hokies rallied, scoring two touchdowns and trailed the Mountaineers, 27-21. In the closing minutes of the game, Tech intercepted a WVU pass and drove to the Mountaineers goal line. In the closing second seconds, the Hokies had a first and goal. For four downs, the West Virginia defense put up a goal-line stand and took possession of the ball with 0:06 on the clock. WVU won, 27-21. West Virginia’s Leddie Brown rushed for 161 yards and one touchdown in the game.
Early in the fourth quarter, Indiana led Cincinnati, 24-23. But the Bearcats scored two touchdowns in the final 12:13 of the game and beat the Hoosiers, 38-24. Cincinnati is 3-0.
Last week, Pitt beat Tennessee, 41-34. Saturday, the Panthers lost to Western Michigan, 44-41. Like I said, it’s going to be a wild, crazy and strange season. Pitt and WMU combined for 1,007 total yards. In a losing effort, Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett threw six touchdown passes.
Upstart Coastal Carolina remained undefeated. The Chanticleers moved to 3-0, beating Buffalo in a thriller, 28-25. Last week, Colorado barely lost to Texas A&M, 10-7. Saturday, Colorado lost to Minnesota, 30-0.
With less than eight minutes to go in the game, Marshall led East Carolina, 38-21. The Pirates proceeded to score three touchdowns – 21 points – in the final 7:31 of the game. East Carolina beat Marshall, 42-38. In a losing effort, Marshall quarterback Grant Wells passed for 433 yards and MU running back Rasheen Ali rushed for 189 yards. ECU and Marshall combined for 1,218 total yards.
With 10:47 to go in the second quarter, North Carolina led Virginia, 24-7. Ten minutes and 41 seconds later, Virginia led North Carolina, 28-24. And so it went, with North Carolina ultimately beating Virginia, 59-39. The teams combined for 1,273 total yards.
In Colorado Springs, Utah State and Air Force gave us a wild and exciting show. With 10:47 to go in the game, Air Force led Utah State, 45-34. The Utes scored two touchdowns – 15 points – in the final 9:51 of the game and beat the Falcons, 49-45. Utah State is 3-0.
In an offensive first half and a defensive second half, Oklahoma State led Boise State, 21-20 at halftime. Neither team scored in the second half. The Cowboys beat the Broncos, 21-20. Oklahoma State is 3-0.
BYU led Arizona State, 21-7 at halftime. But the Sun Devils rallied in the third quarter, scoring 10 points. As the fourth quarter began, BYU led Arizona State, 21-17. With 1:19 to go in the game, the Cougars added another touchdown and BYU downed Arizona State, 27-17. BYU is 3-0.
There was a bit of a surprise in the late show. Entering the final quarter, Fresno State led UCLA, 26-17. In a wild fourth quarter, the teams combined for 34 points, with the lead changing hands four times. Two touchdowns were scored, one by each team, in the final 54 seconds of the game. First, with 0:54 on the clock, UCLA scored to go up 37-33. But with 0:14 to go in the game Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener connected with receiver Jalen Cropper on a 13-yard touchdown pass. Fresno State beat UCLA, 40-37. Haener passed for 455 yards.
In Ohio State’s 41-20 win over Tulsa, Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson rushed for 277 yards. In the loss, Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin passed for 428 yards. In Oklahoma State’s win over Boise State, Cowboys running back Jaylen Warren rushed for 218 yards.
Welcome back Ivy League! Last year, due to COVID, the Ivy League made the decision not to play football. It’s hard to imagine the college football season without the Ivy League. After all, they were the original giants of the game. Saturday, the Ivy League began its 2021 season, its first football games since 2019.
The Ivy League went 5-3. The winners were: Columbia 37, Marist 14; Dartmouth 28, Valparaiso 18; Harvard 44, Georgetown 9; Penn 30, Bucknell 6, and Princeton 32, Lehigh 0. The losers were: Rhode Island 45, Brown 24; VMI 31, Cornell 21, and Holy Cross 20, Yale 17.
After only two games into the season, USC coach Clay Helton was fired last week. The firing came after the Trojans lost to Stanford, 42-28. Helton was 46-24 at USC. He became the full-time head coach of the Trojans near the end of the 2015 season. Prior to that, Helton was the interim head coach of USC on two occasions. He is the second coach to be fired this season. The week before, Connecticut coach Randy Edsall was fired.
In a recent conversation with Eli Manning, Alabama coach Nick Saban revealed the two coaches who had the biggest impact on his career. They are former Washington and Kent State coach Don James and New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. James was the head coach at Kent State when Saban played for the Golden Flashes. Saban was the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (1991-1994) when Belichick was the head coach of the Browns.
Talk about egotism, how about Gus Malzahn. In a press conference last week, Malzahn said, “I’m not interested in the USC job,” even though no one asked about or even mentioned the USC opening to him. Maybe Gus was just trying to inject a little humor.
Swamp Mama injected a little humor last week. Every football season, we fly the West Virginia and Florida banners on the front of our house. When Swamp Mama got out the banners this season, she noticed the Florida banner had a couple of holes. The Florida banner has a side view of the Gator’s head. By chance, the holes were located on two of the Gator’s teeth. Swamp Mama folded the Florida banner and pinned a note to it.
As it so happens, our dentist is a Florida grad and a big Gator fan. She took the banner with the note to our dentist’s office and left it with the receptionists. Her note asked our dentist to please fill the Gator’s cavities. Not waiting for our dentist to fill the cavities, Swamp Mama ordered a new Florida banner.
Touchdown Tom
Weekend Recap
GAME OF THE WEEK: So close – Alabama 31, Florida 29 (Touchdown Tom said: Alabama 34, Florida 24). Florida all but outplayed Alabama – more first downs, more total yards, more time of possession. The Gators held Bama to 88 yards rushing. But the Gators had one turnover to none for Bama. And the Gators blew the extra-point kick after their first touchdown. That was a biggie. That hurt. Big turnaround in the game. Before the first quarter was over, the Tide led 21-3. Little by little, Florida fought back. In the end, Florida’s two-point conversion failed. It was a strange play call for the conversion. The way Emory Jones kept holding onto the ball seemed to impede the forward motion of Malik Davis and slow him down. This seemed to allow the Alabama defenders to easily stop his forward progress. Bama fans trashed Nick Saban on social media after the game. Alabama fans aren’t used to winning close games. Attendance in Gainesville: 90,887
RUNNER-UP: Tigers bow to the Lions – Penn State 28, Auburn 20 (Touchdown Tom said: Penn State 24, Auburn 17). Auburn led through most of the first half. But when Penn State went up 14-10 with 1:23 to go in the half, the Nitts never looked back after that. But the game remained close throughout and Auburn pulled within 21-20 early in the fourth quarter. Auburn shut down Penn State’s running game. But the Tigers couldn’t stop the Nitts passing game. Sean Clifford was 28-of-32 passing. The contest was one of the worst, if not the worst, officiated games I have ever seen. Bad calls on both sides of the ball. Just bad calls all over. Attendance in State College: 109,958
REST OF THE BEST: Cougars are 3-0 – BYU 27, Arizona State 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Arizona State 33, BYU 30). Arizona State dominated the stats. But the Sun Devils also dominated the turnovers – two fumbles and two interceptions. Attendance in Provo: 61,570
The Cats are Wild – Kansas State 38, Nevada 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Nevada 27, Kansas State 23). Entering the fourth quarter, the game was tied – 17-17. Then it was all K-State in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats scored three touchdowns – 21 points. Nevada only had 25 yards rushing. K-State running back Deuce Vaughn rushed for 127 yards. Attendance in Manhattan: 48,768
Bully has the Blues – Memphis 31, Mississippi State 29 (Touchdown Tom said: Mississippi State 35, Memphis 30). Miss State led 17-7 at halftime. Then the Bulldogs were outscored 24-12 in the second half. Miss State scored with 1:32 to go in the game to pull within two points. But, like Florida, the Bulldogs failed on their two-point conversion. Miss State totally dominated the stats. The Bulldogs had 468 total yards to 246 for Memphis. Miss State also dominated time of possession – 39:59 to 19:01. Attendance in Memphis: 43,461
Aggie force – Utah State 49, Air Force 45 (Touchdown Tom said: Utah State 26, Air Force 19). A lot of offense. The teams combined for 1,247 total yards. Air Force was the running team – 437 yards. Utah State was the passing team – 448 yards. Utah State receiver Deven Thompkins had nine catches for 188 yards and his teammate Brandon Bowling had nine catches for 136 yards. Attendance in Colorado Springs: 20,264
Drumless in South Bend – Notre Dame 27, Purdue 13 (Touchdown Tom said: Notre Dame 30, Purdue 27). The second and fourth quarters were big for Notre Dame. The Irish outscored Purdue 10-0 in both of those quarters. Purdue only had 57 yards rushing. Attendance in South Bend: 74,341
Brennan had a strong arm – North Carolina 59, Virginia 39 (Touchdown Tom said: North Carolina 24, Virginia 21). This game went in streaks. North Carolina won first quarter, s21-7. Virginia won the second quarter, 21-3. North Carolina won the third quarter, 21-3. Virginia only had 21 yards rushing. Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong passed for 554 yards. Cavs receiver Dontayveon Wicks had seven catches for 183 yards. North Carolina running back Ty Chandler rushed for 198 yards. Attendance in Chapel Hill: 50,500
Red-out – Oklahoma 23, Nebraska 16 (Touchdown Tom said: Oklahoma 35, Nebraska 21). Oklahoma was supposed to dominate this game and quite frankly they didn’t. If anything both defenses dominated the game. Nebraska had its chances. Huskers quarterback Adrian Martinez passed for 289 yards. First down, total yards and time of possession stats were pretty even. Attendance in Norman: 84,659
Gold dust – West Virginia 27, Virginia Tech 21 (Touchdown Tom said: West Virginia 27, Virginia Tech 21). West Virginia almost couldn’t handle its early success. The Mountaineers came out flat in the second half. Very similar to the second half of the Maryland game. Almost like Neal Brown’s staff is not making proper adjustments at halftime. Virginia Tech only had 106 yards rushing. Attendance in Morgantown: 60,022
In the five games I told you to keep a very close eye on: Cincinnati rallied to beat Indiana, 38-24…. Coastal Carolina escaped Buffalo, 29-25…. Ole Miss clobbered Tulane, 61-21…. Oklahoma State slipped by Boise State, 21-20…. And Fresno State upset UCLA, 40-37.
YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:
A game of two halves – Duke 30, Northwestern 23 (Touchdown Tom said: Northwestern 28, Duke 27). Duke owned the first half. Northwestern owned the second half. The Dookies outscored the Wildcats 30-7 in the first half. Northwestern outscored the Devils 16-0 in the second half. The Dookies had 573 total yards. Devils quarterback Gunnar Holmberg passed for 314 yards. Attendance in Durham: 40,004
Uga scared the doo out of Cocky – Georgia 40, South Carolina 13 (Touchdown Tom said: Georgia 28, South Carolina 10). Georgia’s defense just shut down South Carolina. The Cocks had no running game – 96 yards. Georgia quarterback J.T. Daniels passed for 303 yards. Georgia had 26 first downs to 13 for South Carolina. Attendance in Athens: 92,746
Texas 58, Rice 0 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas 33, Rice 11). Poor Rice. Texas took out its Arkansas frustrations on the Owls. The Horns had 620 total yards to 284 for Rice. Texas had two running backs rush for more than 100 yards. Bijan Robinson had 127 yards and Roschon Johnson had 112 yards. Attendance in Austin: 91,978
Week 3 Results: 9 winners, 4 fumbles (69.2 percent)
ELSEWHERE AROUND
FLORIDA:
Louisville 42, UCF 35 – Attendance in Louisville: 39,022
Wake Forest 35,
Florida State 14
– Attendance in Winston-Salem: 29,564
West Florida 35,
Texas A&M-Commerce 17 – Attendance in Commerce: 8,269
Superlatives
Impressive Passers:
Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong – 39-54-1 for 554 yards (4TDs); Fresno State’s Jake Haener – 39-53-1-455 (2TDs); Marshall’s Grant Wells – 24-39-2-433 (1TD); Tulsa’s Davis Brin – 31-54-2-428 (2TDs); Mississippi State’s Will Rogers – 50-67-0-419 (3TDs); Texas Tech’s Tyler Shough – 26-35-0-399 (4TDs), and SMU’s Tanner Mordecai – 36-48-0-395 (5TDs).
Also, USC’s Jaxson Dart – 30-46-2 for 391 yards (4TDs); Miami of Florida’s D’Eriq King – 38-59-2-388 (2TDs); Pitt’s Kenny Pickett – 23-31-1-382 (6TDs); LSU’s Max Johnson – 26-35-1-372 (5TDs); East Carolina’s Holton Ahlers – 30-48-0-368 (2TDs); Washington’s Dylan Morris – 23-39-2-367 (3TDs), and Arkansas’ K.J. Jefferson – 13-23-0-366.
Also, Louisiana Tech’s Austin Kendall – 24-41-1 for 351 yards (4TDs); Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa – 32-43-0-350 (1TD); Missouri’s Connor Bazelak – 21-30-0-346 (3TDs); Western Michigan’s Kaleb Eleby – 23-35-0-336 (3TDs), and Ole Miss’s Matt Corral – 23-31-0-335 (3TDs).
Impressive Rushers:
Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson – 277 yards (3TDs); Oklahoma State’s Jaylen Warren – 218 yards (2TDs); North Carolina’s Ty Chandler – 198 yards (2TDs); Marshall’s Rasheen Ali – 189 yards (3TDs); Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker – 172 yards; West Virginia’s Leddie Brown – 161 yards (1TD), and Iowa’s Tyler Goodson – 153 yards (3TDs).
Also, South Alabama’s Kareem Walker – 150 yards (2TDs); Coastal Carolina’s Shermari Jones – 145 yards (1TD); Massachusetts’ Ellis Merriweather – 142 yards; Fresno State’s Jalen Cropper – 141 yards (East Carolina’s Keaton Mitchell – 135 yards (1TD); 1TD); Air Force’s Emmanuel Michel – 133 yards (2TDs); Utah State’s Calvin Tyler – 132 yards(2TDs); Syracuse’s Sean Tucker – 132 yards (4TDs), and Colorado State’s David Bailey – 132 yards.
Quotes of the Week
“Here is the sad, honest truth about Florida State right now: This is a losing program,” ESPN staff writer Andrea Adelson.
“He may have the most talented football team in the history of Georgia football,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, on Kirby Smart, prior to the South Carolina-Georgia game.
“No chance. I’m here and committed to try and build an organization,” Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer, on the possibility of becoming the USC coach.
“I really don’t think this will be a fourth quarter game. I don’t think Florida’s in the same category as Alabama. I believe the Crimson Tide will go into Gainesville and blow the opposition out,” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, prior to the Alabama-Florida game.
“We have a lot to gain and very little to lose in this game,” Nebraska coach Scott Frost, prior to the Oklahoma game.
“The discipline of our team is not very good. It starts with me. I’ve got to fix it. It’s my responsibility,” Arizona State coach Herm Edwards, after the loss to BYU.
Sign of the Week
(At Penn State) We Want Bama, Not Their Little Brother
Touchdown Tom’s Predictions for
GAME OF THE WEEK: 1. Arkansas (3-0) vs. Texas A&M (3-0) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, CBS – Okay Arkansas, Texas A&M is not the same as Texas. But you know that. Texas A&M is tougher, and this game is not in Fayetteville. It’s on a neutral field in Arlington, Texas. This will be a tough game for both teams. Aggies go to a Pig pickin’ – Texas A&M 26, Arkansas 18.
RUNNER-UP: 2. Rutgers (3-0) at Michigan (3-0) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ABC – Is Rutgers for real? We’ll soon find out. If anybody can make them real, it’s Greg Schiano. He’s made Rutgers a winner before. This will be Michigan’s first test of the season. The Knights get lost in the Maize – Michigan 30, Rutgers 18.
RESRT OF THE BEST: 3. Kansas State (3-0) at Oklahoma State (3-0) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 7 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN+ – Two unbeaten Big 12 teams. Which one is the better? Okie State has had some close games. This one will be close too. The Cowboys saddle up – Oklahoma State 25, Kansas State 23.
4. SMU (3-0) at TCU (2-0) – (AAC vs. Big 12) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, FS1 – After SMU’s Hail Mary win last week, the Mustangs will be sky high. Maybe too sky high. TCU is a lot tougher than Louisiana Tech. The Frogs lasso a Pony – TCU 33, SMU 28.
5. UTSA (3-0) at Memphis (3-0) – (C-USA vs. AAC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPNU – Memphis had a tough one last week. UTSA will be tough too. The Roadrunners are better than you think. Memphis won’t have the refs helping them out this week. But they still win – Memphis 34, UTSA 30.
6. West Virginia (2-1) at Oklahoma (3-0) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, ABC – West Virginia jumps out of the frying pan and into the fire. The Eers got by Virginia Tech. Getting by Oklahoma is a different story. Hopefully, OU’s offense is still having issues. Unfortunately, Oklahoma is OK – Oklahoma 31, West Virginia 23.
7. Texas Tech (3-0) at Texas (2-1) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ABC – This could be the end of Texas Tech’s perfect ride. Texas has Arkansas out of its system. Just ask Rice. Still, there should be a lot of scoring in this affair. Bevo does the raiding – Texas 35, Texas Tech 27.
8. Iowa State (2-1) at Baylor (3-0) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday – After stepping on its toes against Iowa two weeks ago, Iowa State bounced back last week against UNLV. The bouncing continues this week. Baylor’s smooth sailing comes to an end. Cy dive bombs the Bears – Iowa State 27, Baylor 24.
9. Missouri (2-1) at Boston College (3-0) – (SEC vs. ACC) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ESPN2 – This is an interesting matchup. Missouri is the stronger team. BC may have more finesse. Cats like to catch birds – Missouri 30, Boston College 26.
10. Wake Forest (3-0) at Virginia (2-1) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 7 pm ET, Friday, ESPN2 – Big test for Wake Forest. Brennan Armstrong is liable to pass the Deacons dizzy. But the Deacs should put up a good fight. Cavs knock the Demon out of the Deacons – Virginia 37, Wake Forest 33.
And keep a very close eye on these six games:
YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:
Tennessee (2-1) at Florida (2-1) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 7 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – I could see Florida getting off to a slow start in this game. The Gators may still have that Bama game and “what ifs” on their minds. They need to get that out of their system or Tennessee could sneak up on them. But otherwise, the Gators should have little to no trouble in this game. This still ain’t Fulmer’s Vols – Florida 38, Tennessee 17.
Nebraska (2-2) at Michigan State (3-0) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 7 pm ET, Saturday, FS1 – Nebraska was surprisingly good against Oklahoma. Or was Oklahoma surprisingly bad? Whatever, Michigan State will be tough. Too tough for Herbie – Michigan State 30, Nebraska 20.
Kansas (1-2) at Duke (2-1) – (Big 12 vs. ACC) – 4 pm ET, Saturday, ACCN – This Dookies get another win this week. And they will be 3-1. Not bad. Kansas is getting better, but not better enough. However, Kansas may send its basketball team. The Dookies play hoops too – Duke 35, Kansas 23.
Georgia (3-0) at Vanderbilt (1-2) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, SECN – Georgia may be the new Alabama this season. They could be that good. Regardless, it won’t make any difference for Vanderbilt. The Dores are still the Dores – Georgia 48, Vanderbilt 12.
Illinois (1-3) at Purdue (2-1) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, BTN – The Boilers should get back on the winning track this week. I’m sure Illinois will let the Drum in its stadium. The Boilers pound the Drum. They pound the Banned Indians too – Purdue 27, Illinois 21.
ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:
Central Connecticut (1-2) at Miami (1-2) – (Northeast vs. ACC) – 12:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN3….
FIU (1-2) at Central Michigan (1-2) – (C-USA vs. MAC) – 1 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN+….
Louisville (2-1) at Florida State (0-3) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN2….
Bethune-Cookman (0-3) at Alabama State (1-1) – (SWAC vs. SWAC) – 6 pm ET, Saturday….
Florida Atlantic (2-1) at Air Force (2-1) – (C-USA vs. MWC) – 8 pm ET, Saturday….
Touchdown Tom
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