CFW Week 7 Results – Penn State fires James Franklin
It’s been a bat-crap crazy season
Downright bonkers!
How else do you explain it?
Saturday, in University Park, Pennsylvania, Penn State hosted Northwestern. The Nittany Lions were 21-point favorites. Late in the first quarter, Northwestern kicked a 27-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead. The second quarter was busier. Penn State scored a touchdown early in the quarter to go up 7-3.
Midway through the second quarter, the Wildcats scored a touchdown to retake the lead at 10-7. About six minutes later, the Nittany Lions scored a touchdown, with 1:19 remaining in the first half. Penn State was back on top, 14-10. With 0:03 left in the half, Northwestern kicked a 34-yard field goal. Penn State led at halftime, 14-13.
In the second half, neither team scored in the third quarter. But just a few seconds into the fourth quarter, Northwestern kicked a 41-yard field goal. The Wildcats retook the lead at 16-14. A little more than three minutes later, the Nittany Lions scored a touchdown. Penn State was back in the lead, 21-16.
Six minutes later, with 4:51 remaining in the game, Northwestern scored a touchdown. The Wildcats were back up, 22-21. It was the sixth lead change in the game. It was the last lead change in the game. Northwestern held on to upset Penn State, 22-21.
The loss to Northwestern was the second-straight week Penn State had been upset by an unranked team. Last week, the Nittany Lions were 25-point favorites over 0-4 UCLA. The Bruins knocked off Penn State, 42-37. The week before the UCLA loss, the Nittany Lions lost to Oregon. Penn State was 5-point favorites in that game. Penn State has lost three-straight games.
As the season began, Penn State was No. 2 in the AP Poll. Seven weeks into the season, the Nittany Lions are unranked – 3-3 overall, and – 0-3 in Big Ten play. As the season began, Penn State had one of the best, if not the best, backfields in the country with quarterback Drew Allar and running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Seven weeks into the season, Allar is not among the Top-50 quarterbacks in the country, and Singleton and Allen are not among the Top-35 running backs in the country. Following an injury in the Northwestern game, Allar is now out for the remainder of the season.
Less than 24 hours after Penn State lost to Northwestern on Saturday, Penn State fired its head coach James Franklin. Franklin was in his 12th year at Penn State. He had a record of 104-45.
Downright bonkers!
Opening weekend, Alabama was a 14-point favorite to beat Florida State. Unranked Florida State upset Alabama, 31-17. The Noles not only upset Alabama, but they also plowed through the Tide like Grant moving through Georgia. It appeared that Alabama was overrated, and Florida State was underrated.
Saturday, Florida State lost its third-straight game, while Alabama won its fifth-straight game. Since beating Alabama, Florida State is 2-3. Since losing to Florida State, Alabama is 5-0. Saturday, Florida State lost to Pitt, 34-31. The ending wasn’t as close as it looks. Until 1:45 remaining in the game, the Panthers led the Noles by 10 points – 34-24. There were four ties in the game at 7-7, 14-14, 21-21 and 24-24.
Florida State is now 0-3 in ACC play. Noles coach Mike Norvell is 2-13 in Florida State’s last 15 games against Power Four teams. The Noles are 1-10 in their last 11 ACC games. Meanwhile, since that opening weekend, Alabama has been playing like a Top-5 team in the country.
Downright Bonkers!
Indiana has always been known as a basketball school. For years, the Hoosiers were a joke as a football school. That began to change last year. It’s changing more this year. Saturday, Indiana, an eight-point underdog to Oregon, went into Autzen Stadium, Eugene, and upset the Ducks by 10 points. The game was tied twice at 10-10 and 20-20. In the fourth quarter, tied 20-20, Indiana scored a touchdown with six minutes remaining and a field goal with two minutes remaining to beat Oregon, 30-20.
College football Week 7 resumed Thursday night with four games. Kennesaw State improved to 4-2, beating Louisiana Tech, 35-14. In spite of 11 penalties for 96 yards and a turnover, Tulane managed to beat East Carolina, 26-19. Tulane quarterback Jake Retzlaff passed for 347 yards and two touchdowns, as the Green Wave (5-1) kept its hopes alive for making the CFP.
Jacksonville State kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired to beat Sam Houston, 29-27. Jax State had 370 yards rushing. Sam Houston remains winless at 0-6. In the final game Thursday night, Southern Miss held off a Georgia Southern rally to beat the Eagles, 38-35. Georgia Southern outscored Southern Miss 28-10 in the second half – 14-3 in the fourth quarter.
College football Week 7 continued Friday night with three high-scoring games. In the big battle in the American Conference, South Florida handed North Texas its first loss. The Bulls downed the Mean Green, 63-36. The difference in the game came in the third quarter. That’s when USF outscored North Texas 28-7. South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown passed for 245 yards and three touchdowns. Brown also rushed for 82 yards and two more touchdowns. USF and North Texas combined for 1,005 yards. The Bulls had 582 of those yards.
Washington got off to a slow start against Rutgers. The Huskies trailed the Scarlet Knights 13-10 at halftime. Washington came to life in the second half, outscoring Rutgers 28-6. Washington went on to beat Rutgers, 38-19. The two quarterbacks combined for 788 yards passing. Washington quarterback Demond Williams also rushed for 136 yards. The teams combined for 1,083 yards. Washington had 590 of those yards.
In the finale Friday night, Colorado State clobbered Fresno State, 49-21. Fresno State dominated the stats but suffered from 4 turnovers.
After seven weeks of football, there are 11 undefeated teams – eight Power Four teams and three Group of Five teams. The Power Four conferences each have two undefeated teams – Georgia Tech and Miami from the ACC, BYU and Texas Tech from the Big 12, Indiana and Ohio State from the Big Ten and Ole Miss and Texas A&M from the SEC. Georgia Tech-Miami, Indiana-Ohio State and Ole Miss-Texas A&M do not play each other during the season. BYU-Texas Tech will meet on November 8 in Lubbock.
The three undefeated Group of Five teams are Memphis and Navy from the American and UNLV from the Mountain West. Memphis was off this weekend. Navy and UNLV barely survived – barely remained undefeated.
In Philadelphia, Navy, an 11-point favorite over Temple, was in a fight for its life against the Owls. At halftime, Temple led the Middies, 17-7. Midway through the third quarter, Temple led Navy, 24-14. Navy then scored 10 unanswered points. Midway through the fourth quarter, the game was tied, 24-24. With just 1:16 remaining in the game, Temple scored a touchdown and went up 31-24. Following the kickoff, Navy went 75 yards in five plays, scoring a touchdown with 0:39 on the clock. The score was 31-31. Navy went for two and succeeded. The Middies beat the Owls, 32-31.
In Las Vegas, UNLV, an eight-point favorite over Air Force, was living on the edge. In a wild game that saw the lead change hands no less than 10 times, UNLV managed to survive. As the fourth quarter began, UNLV led Air Force, 29-28. The teams scored 42 points in the fourth quarter – three touchdowns each. The Falcons scored a touchdown with 1:13 remaining to take a 48-44 lead. Six plays and 75 yards later, UNLV scored a touchdown with 0:36 left on the clock. UNLV beat Air Force, 51-48.
Those two games – Navy-Temple and UNLV-Air Force were just bat-crap crazy.
UCLA made a statement that last week’s win over Penn State was no fluke – no flash in a pan. Saturday, the Bruins went into East Lansing and beat Michigan State, 38-13. By the way, when people see Rick Neuheisel now, they say “There’s Jerry Neuheisel’s father.”
Ole Miss had a scare from, of all teams, Washington State. Late in the third quarter, Ole Miss trailed Washington State, 14-10. Ole Miss scored 14 unanswered points and edged Washington State 24-21. Likewise, Tennessee got a scare from Arkansas. The Vols edged the Razorbacks 34-31. LSU added to South Carolina’s misery. The Tigers beat the Gamecocks, 20-10.
In a big surprise in the Sun Belt, Marshall stunned Old Dominion, 48-24. Old Dominion was a 15-point favorite. The most exciting game in the Sun Belt went into overtime. At the end of the first quarter, Troy trailed Texas State, 28-7. But in the final three quarters, Troy outscored Texas State, 34-13. Troy went on to beat Texas State, 48-41 (OT).
In the ACC, Georgia Tech downed Virginia Tech, 35-20. After beginning the season 0-2, Notre Dame won its fourth-straight game, beating NC State, 36-7.
In the Big 12, Colorado handed Iowa State its second-straight loss. The Buffaloes upset the Cyclones, 24-17. Cincinnati won its fifth-straight game, downing UCF, 20-11. Kansas State beat TCU, 41-28.
After you went to bed Saturday night, Boise State beat New Mexico, 41-25. San Diego State downed Nevada, 44-10. And Hawaii toppled Utah state, 44-26. Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado passed for 413 yards and three touchdowns.
Yeah, I don’t know how you explain all the madness, but I’d say it was a bat-crap crazy weekend. Downright bonkers!
And speaking of bonkers, in addition to James Franklin, Oregon State fired its head coach Trent Bray, and UAB fired its head coach Trent Dilfer. In just his second season with the Beavers, Bray had a record of 5-14 – 0-7 this year. Dilfer was in his third year at UAB. He had a 9-21 record. Saturday, UAB lost to Florida Atlantic, 53-33. Sunday was a bad day for coaches named Trent.
With Franklin, Bray and Dilfer, that makes seven coaches who have been fired already this season. I don’t think there has ever been a season where that many coaches have been fired this early (seven weeks) in the season. Franklin is the second Big Ten coach to be fired this season. UCLA coach DeShaun Foster was the first coach fired. Ironically, UCLA, with an interim coach, beat Penn State which contributed to Franklin’s firing. That’s just bat-crap crazy.
Up and coming coaches have some prize jobs to go after – UCLA, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Oregon State and Penn State. And I suspect Wisconsin, Auburn, Florida, North Carolina and Florida State could be opening up before long.
Saturday was the halfway point of the 2025 college football season. Seven weeks have been played. We have seven weeks of the regular season remaining. Hang on!
The Top-5 teams in this week’s AP Poll are 1. Ohio State (6-0), 2. Miami (5-0), 3. Indiana (6-0), 4. Texas A&M (6-0), and 5. Ole Miss (6-0). There are two Group of Five teams in the Top 25 – South Florida is 19th and Memphis is 22nd.
Super Loyola (Chicago) basketball fan Sister Jean died on October 9. Sister Jean was the chaplain for the Loyola Ramblers basketball team. She became the chaplain for the team in 1994. Sister Jean was famous for her presence at Loyola’s basketball games, especially during the NCAA basketball tournaments. A native of San Francisco, Jean Dolores Schmidt (born Dolores Bertha Schmidt) was 106.
British musician John Lodge died on October 10. Lodge is best-known as the bassist, songwriter and co-lead vocalist for The Moody Blues. Among others, he wrote the songs “Isn’t Life Strange,” “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)” and “Gemini Dream.” A native of Erdington in Birmingham, England, John Charles Lodge was 82.
Film, television and stage actress Diane Keaton died on October 11. She received various accolades throughout her career, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Her career began on stage when she appeared in the original 1968 Broadway production of “Hair.” She was known for her rolls in such films as “The Godfather” (1972), “Annie Hall” (1977), “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” (1977), “Reds” (1981), “Father of the Bride” (1991) and “The First Wives Club” (1996). Keaton had relationships with Woody Allen, Al Pacino and Warren Beaty. A native of Los Angeles, Diane Hall was 79.
Touchdown Tom
October 13, 2025
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
Weekend Recap
GAME OF THE WEEK: Duck a l’Red – Indiana 30, Oregon 20 (Touchdown Tom said: Oregon 27, Indiana 24). Oh my, what a game. At the end of the first quarter, Indiana led, 10-7. The Hoosiers led 13-10 at halftime. Indiana’s lead was 20-13 at the end of three. But Oregon tied it 20-20 early in the fourth quarter. Indiana scored 10 unanswered points in a four-minute span late in the fourth quarter. The rest is history. Indiana dominated the stats – rushing, passing, first downs. Oregon had two turnovers and Indiana had one. Indiana receiver Elijah Sarratt had eight receptions for 121 yards. Attendance in Eugene: 59,625
RUNNER-UP: Hopes fade in Champaign – Ohio State 34, Illinois 16 (Touchdown Tom said: Ohio State 31, Illinois 21). This wasn’t a contest. Ohio State led 20-3 at halftime. Illinois had more first downs and more total yards, but the Banned Indians had three turnovers. Illinois also only had 47 yards rushing. This was Ohio State’s 10th-straight win over Illinois. The Buckeyes last lost to the Banned Indians in 2007. Attendance in Champaign: 60,670
REST OF THE BEST: Mizzou in a stew – Alabama 27, Missouri 24 (Touchdown Tom said: Alabama 28, Missouri 24). This game remained close throughout. Once Alabama took a 17-10 lead in the second quarter, the Tide never trailed again. But the score was 17-17 throughout most of the third quarter. Then Alabama scored 10 unanswered points to go up 27-17. Missouri added a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson threw three touchdown passes. Alabama controlled the ball, holding a 17-minute edge in time of possession. The loss ended Missouri’s 15-game home winning streak. Attendance in Columbia: 57,321
Bevo came sooner – Texas 23, Oklahoma 6 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas 27, Oklahoma 20). Close in the first half. Texas led 6-3 at the break. Then the Longhorns outscored the Sooners 20-0 in the second half. Coming off a recent surgery on his hand, OU quarterback John Mateer played, but he wasn’t himself. Mateer threw three interceptions. Arch Manning was 21-27-0, passing for 166 yards and one touchdown. OU only had 48 yards rushing. Attendance in Dallas: 92,100
Trojans “amaize” the Wolverines – USC 31, Michigan 13 (Touchdown Tom said: USC 30, Michigan 27). Surprise, surprise, USC found a defense. Early in the fourth quarter, the Trojans led 24-7. USC running back King Miler rushed for 158 yards and one touchdown. USC racked up 489 total yards. Both teams had two turnovers. Attendance in Los Angeles: 75,500
Stubborn as mules – Georgia 20, Auburn 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Georgia 28, Auburn 17). What a defensive battle this was. Auburn led 10-3 at halftime and still led 10-3 halfway through the third quarter. Auburn did not score in the second half, while Georgia scored 17 points. Georgia took its first lead with 1:22 to go in the third quarter. Combined, the teams only had 578 total yards. Georgia only had 79 yards rushing. Neither quarterback threw a touchdown pass. Georgia has dominated this series of late, beating Auburn for the ninth-consecutive time. Attendance in Auburn: 88,043
Tech continues to win – Texas Tech 42, Kansas 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas Tech 35, Kansas 21). Texas Tech scored in all four quarters. Kansas scored all 17 of its points in the second quarter. Tech jumped out to a 21-0 lead. Kansas pulled to within 21-17. In the second half, Tech scored 21 unanswered points. Tech quarterback Behren Morton left the game with a leg injury in the second quarter. He was replaced by Will Hammond. Tech running back Cameron Dickey rushed for 263 yards and two touchdowns. The Red Raiders had 505 total yards – 372 yards from rushing. Kansas actually had a 13-minute edge in time of possession. Attendance in Lubbock: 60,229
Rainy night in Uth – Utah 42, Arizona State 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Utah 30, Arizona State 23). In the rain in Salt Lake City, Utah pelted Arizona State. ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt did not play due to a foot injury. Utah quarterback Devon Dampier passed for 104 yards. Dampier rushed for 120 yards and three touchdowns. ASU had a 13-minute edge in time of possession but couldn’t score. Utah had 415 total yards. Attendance in Salt Lake City: 51,444
Tense in Tucson – BYU 33, Arizona 27 (2OT) (Touchdown Tom said: BYU 27, Arizona 24). This was quite a game. BYU led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. Arizona led 17-14 at halftime. Neither team scored in the third quarter. Arizona built its lead to 24-14 early in the fourth quarter. BYU scored 10 points in the final four minutes of the game. BYU’s final score was a touchdown with 0:19 remaining in the game. Both teams kicked a field goal in the first overtime – 27-27. In the second overtime, Arizona failed to score, while BYU got a touchdown. BYU running back L.J. Martin rushed for 162 yards and one touchdown. The teams were fairly close in the stats. BYU was the better rushing team, and Arizona was the better passing team. BYU had two turnovers and Arizona had one. Attendance in Tucson: 47,960
Cardiac kids – Nebraska 34, Maryland 31 (Touchdown Tom said: Nebraska 28, Maryland 24). Nebraska is giving its fans heart attacks these days. After leading Maryland 24-17 at halftime, Maryland came back and held a 31-24 lead as the fourth quarter began. Nebraska added a field goal with eight minutes to go and trailed 31-27. The Huskers scored a touchdown with 1:08 remaining to grab a 34-31 lead and win. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola threw three interceptions. But Huskers running back Emmett Johnson rushed for 176 yards. Raiola did throw four touchdown passes. Nebraska dominated the rushing, passing and first down stats. Attendance in College Park: 39,623
YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:
Lifeless in College Station – Texas A&M 34, Florida 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas A&M 27, Florida 20). After coming to life and beating Texas last week, the Gators fell out of their groove against A&M. It was close for a while. Tied 14-14 after one quarter, the Aggies led 21-14 at the break. After three quarters, A&M led 24-17. But the Aggies added 10 points in the fourth quarter and the Gators added none. Florida only had 74 yards rushing. The Gator offense just stalled. Billy Napier is now 0-14 against ranked opponents on the road. Texas A&M has a 6-0 start for the first time since 2016. Attendance in College Station: 105,086
Too many miscues – Minnesota 27, Purdue 20 (Touchdown Tom said: Minnesota 28, Purdue 27). Purdue almost won this game. It would have been their first Big Ten win. The Boilers led 7-0 after one quarter. They led 17-13 at halftime. Purdue led 20-13 after three quarters. Minnesota scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The second of the Gophers two touchdowns was an interception return – a pick-6. Purdue threw three interceptions in the game. That was the killer for the Boilers. Purdue had 456 total yards to 262 yards for Minnesota. The Boilers had 25 first downs to 17 for the Gophers. Minnesota only had 30 yards rushing. Purdue had a nine-minute edge in time of possession. But Purdue had four turnovers. Attendance in Minneapolis: 49,254
Week 7 Results: 11 winners, 1 fumble (91.7 percent)
For the Season: 71 winners, 28 fumbles (71.7 percent)
ELSEWHERE AROUBND FLORIDA:
South Florida 63, North Texas 36 – Attendance in Denton: 31,386
Pitt 34, Florida State 31 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 65,256
Cincinnati 20, UCF 11 – Attendance in Cincinnati: 35,782
Stetson 21, Morehead State 14 – Attendance in Deland: 1,490
Bethune-Cookman 45, Southern 14 – Attendance in Daytona Beach: 5,257
North Carolina Central 45, Florida A&M 7 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 10,012
West Florida 40, Chowan 10 – Attendance in Pensacola: 5,156
Florida Atlantic 53, UAB 33 – Attendance in Boca Raton: 20,052
Superlatives
Impressive Passers:
Troy’s Tucker Kilcrease – 30-39-0 for 415 yards (5TDs); Hawaii’s Micah Alejado – 34-54-1-413 (3TDs); Washington’s Demond Williams – 21-27-0-402 (2TDs); Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis – 31-50-1-386 (2TDs); TCU’s Josh Hoover – 26-48-2-376 (3TDs); UNLV’s Anthony Colandrea – 20-32-0-361 (1TD); Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff – 26-36-0-347 (2TDs); Temple’s Evan Simon – 25-36-0-345 (1TD), and Notre Dame’s C.J. Carr – 19-31-1-342 (2TDs).
Impressive Rushers:
Texas Tech’s Cameron Dickey – 263 yards (2TDs); Jacksonville State’s Cam Cook – 218 yards (2TDs); Air Force’s Owen Allen – 192 yards; Iowa State’s Abu Sama – 177 yards (2TDs); Nebraska’s Emmett Johnson – 176 yards; BYU’s L.J. Martin – 162 yards (1TD); USC’s King Miller – 158 yards (1TD), and Navy’s Blake Horvath – 155 yards (2TD’s).
Quotes of the Week
“We’re a real team. We’re not just a one-hit wonder,” Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, after the win over Oregon.
“We didn’t have the fastball today,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning, after the loss to Indiana.
“We believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships,” Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft, on the firing of James Franklin.
“Penn State’s James Franklin beat Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell and Florida’s Billy Napier in the race to buyout bliss,” USA Today sports writer Blake Toppmeyer.
“The hot seat remains cranked on high at Wisconsin and down to Auburn, Florida State and Florida,” USA Today sports writer Blake Toppmeyer.
Touchdown Tom
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
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