CFW Week 13 Results – Cal fires Wilcox; FSU retains Norvell
Talk about a boring day in college football
Saturday took the cake.
Watching the games, I couldn’t tell you how many times I fell asleep. And if I fall asleep watching college football, the games are bad.
If you follow college football on TV, you know there are basically three time slots during the day – the 12 noon games, the 3:30 p.m. games and the 7-8 p.m. games. I generally pick out a game in each time slot that I’m going to start with. If the game is good, I’ll generally stick with it. If it’s not so good, I’ll start checking in on other games.
Saturday, at 12 noon, I began with the Missouri-Oklahoma game. Now, this contest stayed reasonably close throughout. It was just boring as heck. Neither team could really advance the ball. There were 16 punts in the game.
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer wasn’t passing very well – only completed 46% of his tosses. Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula threw two interceptions. The game was tiresome. And although the score never got out of hand, you just knew Oklahoma was going to win. Missouri only had 70 yards rushing. I don’t know what happened to Ahmad Hardy.
After I woke up the third time during the Missouri-Oklahoma game, I began channel surfing. I thought surely there is a better game to watch. Wrong! I checked out Rutgers-Ohio State. The Buckeyes were up 35-3. (Ohio State went on to beat Rutgers, 42-9.)
I switched to Louisville-SMU. SMU was beating Louisville 31-6. (SMU went on to win 38-6.) I moved to the Miami-Virginia Tech affair. Miami was winning 26-10. (The Canes went on to beat the Hokies, 34-17.)
How about Kansas-Iowa State? Bummer! Iowa State was up 31-14. (The Cyclones beat the Jayhawks, 38-14.) Finally, I tried Baylor-Arizona. Arizona was beating Baylor, 35-17. (Arizona ended up winning, 41-17.)
What was a poor boy to do? I switched back to Missouri-Oklahoma and took another nap. The Sooners won 17-6.
Surely, the 3:30 p.m. time slot would be better. I began with the USC-Oregon game. It was better. There were only 6 punts in the game compared to 16 in the Missouri-Oklahoma game. But USC only had 52 yards rushing. Just like you knew Oklahoma was going to win the Mizzou-OU game, you just knew Oregon was going to beat USC. The Ducks were up 28-14 at halftime.
I thought I could find something better. Checking in on Arkansas-Texas, Texas was up 45-23. (The Longhorns went on to win, 52-37). I switched to Kentucky-Vanderbilt. I went from bad to worse. Vanderbilt was beating Kentucky, 45-3. (The Commodores beat the Wildcats, 45-17). Out of desperation, I gave Michigan-Maryland a try. Michigan was up 35-13. (The Wolverines went on to beat the Terrapins, 45-20.).
Foolishly, I checked in on Syracuse-Notre Dame. Man, what a mistake that was. Notre Dame was winning, 56-0. Notre Dame led 21-0 before the Irish ever touched the ball on offense. (The Irish ended up beating the Orange, 70-7.).
I was dozing off again. I went back to USC-Oregon. Oregon won, 42-27.
My last hope was that I would find solace in the evening games. I began with, who else but, Tennessee-Florida. Now, I knew Florida wasn’t going to beat Tennessee. But I thought the Gators might give the Vols a good game. Wrong again. Florida was losing to Tennessee, 31-0 at halftime.
I didn’t need to put up with this torture, so I switched to Pitt-Georgia Tech. Pitt was upsetting Georgia Tech, 35-14. (The Panthers went on to beat the Yellow Jackets, 42-28). Well, I thought surely Nebraska-Penn State would be a good game. Holy Herbie, Penn State was beating Nebraska, 30-3. All my Husker friends in Nebraska must be snoozing and snoring like crazy. (Penn State won the game, 37-10).
I moved on to California-Stanford. No luck. Stanford was beating Cal, 24-10. (Stanford beat Cal, 31-10.) Maybe Arizona State-Colorado would be a winner. No, Arizona State was up, 35-17. (Arizona State went on to beat Colorado, 42-17).
Being the masochist that I am, I switched back to Tennessee-Florida. The Vols were kind to the Gators in the second half. Tennessee beat Florida, 31-11. Florida fans were kind too. They hung around for the singing of “We Are the Boys” and “Don’t Back Down” at the end of the third quarter. Then they couldn’t get out of Ben Hill Griffin fast enough.
All right, I ended the night with Washington at UCLA. I should have known my luck was not going to change. Washington blasted UCLA, 48-14. I got in a few more naps.
Now, I didn’t watch any of the following games, but to add insult to injury – Texas A&M 48, Samford 0; Georgia 35, Charlotte 3; Auburn 62, Mercer 17; Alabama 56, Eastern Illinois 0; South Carolina 51, Coastal Carolina 7, and Clemson 45, Furman 10. Give me a break. I’m so looking forward to nine-game conference schedules in the SEC and ACC.
Saturday wasn’t exactly a good college football day. Maybe, I should have watched college basketball all day. Maybe not – Illinois 98, Long Island 58. Scores like that.
I was beginning to think that Saturday wasn’t my day.
In all fairness, there were some good football games Saturday – three in particular.
Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels gave Duke a good battle. Late in the third quarter, North Carolina was trailing Duke, 24-10. The Tar Heels scored 15 unanswered points. With 13:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, UNC went up on the Dookies, 25-24. However, with 2:18 left on the clock, Duke scored, retaking the lead over the Tar Heels, 32-25. The Dookies hung on to win.
In Salt Lake City, midway through the first quarter, Kansas State took a 7-0 lead over Utah. Although there were ties at 7-7, 14-14 and 21-21, Utah never led in the game until the 10:03 mark in the third quarter. That’s when the Utes went up 35-31. Eight minutes later, Kansas State went back up 38-35. The Wildcats increased their lead to 47-35. Then, in the final 7 minutes of the fourth quarter, Utah scored 16 unanswered points. With 0:56 remaining in the game, Utah retook the lead at 51-47. The Utes hung on to win.
And finally, James Madison and Washington State gave us a thriller in Harrisonburg, Virginia. After one quarter of play, the game was tied, 3-3. Midway through the second quarter, the game was tied 10-10. However, Washington State took a 17-10 halftime lead. Late in the third quarter, the game was tied again, 17-17. Early in the fourth quarter, Washington State kicked a 36-yard field goal and went back up 20-17. Then with 6:24 remaining in the game, James Madison running back Wayne Knight broke loose for a 58 yard touchdown run. JMU led WSU, 24-20. The Dukes hung on to win.
Also, in Orlando, UCF trailed Oklahoma State, 14-0 at halftime time. At the 9:12 mark in the fourth quarter, the score was tied 14-14. UCF kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal with 0:57 remaining in the game to beat Oklahoma State, 17-14.
In Boone, North Carolina, the lead in the Marshall-Appalachian State game went back-and-forth. With 2:02 remaining in the game, App State kicked a 23-yard field goal to beat Marshall, 26-24. That game winning field goal was the sixth lead change in the game.
With 0:53 remaining in the game, Northwestern kicked a 33-yard field goal to beat Minnesota, 38-35…..Tulsa kicked a 27-yard field goal with 0:12 left in the game to beat Army, 26-25…..Connecticut scored a touchdown with 0:26 remaining in the game to beat Florida Atlantic, 48-45…..Trailing Michigan State 17-7 at the end of the third quarter, Iowa scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat the Spartans, 20-17. The winning score came on a 44-yard field goal with 0:02 remaining in the game…..TCU kicked a 29-yard fourth quarter field goal to beat Houston, 17-14…..And lastly, New Mexico State scored a touchdown with 0:21 left in the game to beat UTEP, 34-31.
On Thursday night of College Football Week 13, Louisiana squeezed by Arkansas State, 34-30. Louisiana won the game in spite of having 11 penalties to only one for Arkansas State. The Ragin’ Cajuns had a 9-minute edge in time of possession.
Week 13’s “Friday Night Lights” began in Raleigh, North Carolina. NC State added to Mike Norvell’s woes. The Wolfpack downed Florida State, 21-11. The Seminoles couldn’t hold onto the ball – four turnovers. NC State couldn’t move the ball – only 286 total yards.
“Friday Night Lights” ended in Las Vegas. UNLV beat Hawaii, 38-10. UNLV racked up 470 total yards. Dan Mullen’s Rebels are 9-2 with one game remaining.
There were four big rivalry games on Saturday. In the 161st meeting of “The Rivalry,” Lehigh beat Lafayette, 42-32. Lafayette leads the series, 82-74-5. Lehigh ended its season at 11-0.
In the 141st meeting of “The Game,” Yale got the best of Harvard, 45-28. Yale leads the series 71-62-8. Both Yale and Harvard will be playing in the FCS college football playoff. Yale as the champion of the Ivy League and Harvard as an at-large team.
Also, in the Ivy League, Brown beat Dartmouth, 35-28. Dartmouth leads the series 65-33-4. Penn downed Princeton, 17-6. Princeton leads the series 70-45-1. And Columbia surprised Cornell, 29-12. Cornell leads the series 66-43-3.
In the 119th meeting of “The Big Game,” Stanford downed California, 31-10. Stanford leads the series 61-48-10.
And finally, the 123rd meeting of the “Brawl of the Wild,” and it was wild too, Montana State beat Montana, 31-28. Montana leads the series 74-44-5.
After you went to bed Saturday night, Washington clobbered UCLA, 48-14. The Huskies held the Bruins to 10 first downs and 207 total yards. San Diego State downed San Jose State, 25-3. San Jose State had two turnovers. Utah State got the best of Fresno State, 28-17. Utah State held Fresno state to 12 first downs.
One week to go and we still don’t know who is playing in any of the conference championship games, other than that James Madison will be one of the two teams in the Sun Belt Conference championship.
There shouldn’t be much or any change at the top of the CFP Rankings this week. None of the Top 14 teams lost. The highest-ranked teams to lose were 15th USC and 16th Georgia Tech. Altogether, only 5-ranked teams lost. In addition to USC and Georgia Tech, 21st Illinois, 22nd Missouri and 23rd Houston lost. USC and Georgia Tech will fall but remain in the Top 25. Illinois, Missouri and Houston will fall out of the Top 25.
Following in the footsteps of Wisconsin and Maryland, Florida State announced yesterday it was retaining embattled coach Mike Norvell for the 2026 season. Recently, Wisconsin and Maryland announced they were retaining their embattled coaches for the 2026 season – Luke Fickell at Wisconsin and Mike Locksley at Maryland.
According to Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter, Lane Kiffin will announce on Saturday, November 29, whether he will be going to Florida, LSU or staying in Oxford. Stay tuned!
California fired head coach Justin Wilcox yesterday. In nine seasons with Cal, Wilcox was 48-55 – 6-5 this season. Cal has a final game Saturday against SMU. Wilcox is the 14th coach to be fired this year.
The Top-5 teams in this week’s AP Poll are 1. Ohio State (11-0), 2. Indiana (11-0), 3. Texas A&M (11-0), 4. Georgia (10-1) and 5. Oregon (10-1). Three Group of five teams are in the AP Top 25 – 20th James Madison, 21st North Texas and 22nd Tulane.
Touchdown Tom
November 24, 2025
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
Weekend Recap
GAME OF THE WEEK: Webbed – Oregon 42, USC 27 (Touchdown Tom said: Oregon 30, USC 27). The best USC could do was tie this game at 7-7 in the first quarter and 14-14 in the second quarter. The rest of the time, Oregon led. USC quarterback Jayden Maiava passed for 306 yards and three touchdowns. He threw two picks. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore passed for 257 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one pick. The Trojans had no running game – 52 yards rushing. Oregon had a 7-minute edge in time of possession. USC hasn’t won in Eugene since 2011. Attendance in Eugene: 59,588
RUNNER-UP: Boom – Oklahoma 17, Missouri 6 (Touchdown Tom said: Missouri 26, Oklahoma 25). Missouri had no touchdowns. Just two first half field goals. Oklahoma led 14-6 at the half. Neither quarterback, Missouri’s Beau Pribula nor Oklahoma’s John Mateer, had a good game. Missouri only had 70 yards rushing. The Tigers had two turnovers. OU had none. Attendance in Norman: 83,541
REST OF THE BEST: Burycats – BYU 26, Cincinnati 14 (Touchdown Tom said: BYU 28, Cincinnati 26). Cincinnati never ked in the game. The score was briefly tied 7-7 in the second quarter. BYU won on the running of L.J. Martin. Martin rushed for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby passed for 300 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw one pick. BYU had a 17-minute advantage in time of possession. Cincinnati had two turnovers. BYU had none. Attendance in Cincinnati: 38,034
Looks like a wreck to me – Pitt 42, Georgia Tech 28 (Touchdown Tom said: Georgia Tech 31, Pitt 30). Early in the second quarter, Pitt had a 28-0 lead. Then Tech outscored Pitt 28-14. Pitt quarterback Mason Heintscherll passed for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Pitt running back Ja’Kyrian Turner rushed for 201 yards and one touchdown. Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King passed for 257 yards and two touchdowns. He threw two picks. King also rushed for 76 yards and one more touchdown. The teams were pretty close in the stats. Attendance in Atlanta: 52,413
Clipped – SMU 38, Louisville 6 (Touchdown Tom said: SMU 27, Louisville 24). Louisville’s six points were from two field goals. SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings was 29-37-0, passing for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Jennings rushed for another touchdown. SMU receiver Jordan Hudson had 8 catches for 96 yards. Louisville had no passing or running. SMU led in first downs (28 to 12) and led in total yards (485 to 228). SMU held an 11-minute edge in time of possession. Attendance in Dallas: 32,713
Kentucky wasn’t lucky – Vanderbilt 45, Kentucky 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Vanderbilt 30, Kentucky 24). Vandy led 45-3 at the end of the third quarter. Kentucky scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was 33-39-1, passing for 484 yards and five touchdowns. Pavia also ran for 48 yards and one more touchdown. Vanderbilt receiver Tre Richardson had 6 catches for 159 yards. Vandy had 604 total yards – 539 yards passing. The Commodores only had 65 rushing yards. Kentucky only had 31 rushing yards. Kentucky had three turnovers. Vandy had one. Vandy had a 13-minute advantage in time of possession. Attendance in Nashville: 35,000
Wild finish – Utah 51, Kansas State 47 (Touchdown Tom said: Utah 34, Kansas State 20). What a game! Utah rallied in the fourth quarter to win. Kansas State running back Joe Jackson rushed for 293 yards and three touchdowns. Utah quarterback Devon Dampier passed for 259 yards and two touchdowns. Dampier also rushed for 94 yards and two more touchdowns. The two teams combined for 1,125 total yards. Kansas State had 472 rushing yards. K-State also had 10 penalties. Attendance in Salt Lake City: 51,444
Bear down – Arizona 41, Baylor 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Arizona 33, Baylor 27). Through three quarters, this was a close game. Arizona led 21-17 as the fourth quarter began. Then the Wildcats poured it on, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter. Neither quarterback, Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson nor Arizona’s Noah Fifita, had a very good game. Arizona receiver Kris Hutson had 9 catches for 133 yards. Baylor had three turnovers. Arizona had one. Arizona had nine penalties. Attendance in Tucson: 40,199
Jayhonks – Iowa State 38, Kansas 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Kansas 27, Iowa State 23). Iowa State never trailed in the game. Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht passed for 241 yards and three touchdowns. The Cyclones had 462 total yards – 241 yards passing and 221 yards rushing. That’s good balance. Iowa State had a 19-minute advantage in time of possession. Attendance in Ames: 58,275
Frogmen – TCU 17, Houston 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Houston 28, TCU 27). After one quarter, TCU led 14-0. Houston tied the score at 14-14 at the 5:34 mark in the third quarter. TCU added an early fourth quarter field goal. TCU quarterback Josh Hoover passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw three interceptions. Overall, TCU had four turnovers. Houston had one. Attendance in Houston: 30,852
YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:
The Swamp was lookin’ Rocky – Tennessee 31, Florida 11 (Touchdown Tom said: Tennessee 33, Florida 24). Tennessee built up a 31-0 halftime lead. Then the Vols let the Gators have some fun in the second half. Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar was 17-22-0, passing for 204 yards and one touchdown. Florida quarterback D.J. Lagway was lagging again – ineffective and worthless. I don’t understand why interim coach Billy Gonzalles is still playing Lagway. Tennessee led in first downs – 28 to 15. The Vols had an 11-minute edge in time of possession. Tennessee won in The Swamp for the first time since 2003. Attendance in Gainesville: 90,465
Door Matt – Penn State 37, Nebraska 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Nebraska 28, Penn State 25). Penn State came out fast, building up a 23-3 halftime lead over Nebraska. Then the Nittany Lions added icing on the cake in the second half. Both teams were playing with backup quarterbacks. Penn State backup Ethan Grunkemeyer completed 11 of his 12 passing attempts. The big difference was Penn State running back Kaytron Allen. He rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns. There was no major difference between the two teams in the stats, other than Penn State was much better at running. At one time, there were reports of Nebraska coach Matt Rhule becoming the head coach at Penn State. I can’t imagine that Penn state fans want him now. I can’t imagine that Nebraska fans want to keep him now. Attendance in University Park: 105,038
Dookies sing in the Chapel – Duke 32, North Carolina 25 (Touchdown Tom said: Duke 28, North Carolina 24). This was a pretty close game throughout, especially when North Carolina led 25-24 through much of the fourth quarter. Duke had a 12-minute edge in time of possession. Duke only punted once in the game. Attendance in Chapel Hill: 50,500
Hush, hush sweet – Georgia 35, Charlotte 3 (Touchdown Tom said: Georgia 38, Charlotte 14). Georgia built up a 28-3 halftime lead and went into cruise control in the second half. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton passed for 196 yards. He threw one pick. Georgia played three quarterbacks in the game. Georgia had more first downs (30 to 7), more total yards (449 to 169), more passing yards (257 to 130) and more rushing yards (192 to 39). Georgia also had a 13-minute edge in time of possession. Charlotte punted 8 times. Georgia had 3 punts. Attendance in Athens: 93,033
Bevo likes Pork bellies – Texas 52, Arkansas 37 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas 30, Arkansas 18). Arkansas kept the score close in the first half. At the break, the Razorbacks trailed 24-20. Texas opened up a 52-23 lead in the second half. Arch Manning had his best game of the season. He passed for 389 yards and four touchdowns. He ran for another touchdown. And Manning caught a pass for a sixth touchdown. Arkansas actually had more first downs (29 to 22) and more total yards (512 to 490). Texas only had 97 yards rushing. Arkansas had a 9-minute edge in time of possession. The Razorbacks had two turnovers. Texas had none. Attendance in Austin: 102,361
Week 13 Results: 10 winners, 5 fumbles (66.7 percent)
For the Season: 124 winners, 58 fumbles (68.1 percent)
ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:
NC State 21, Florida State 11 – Attendance in Raleigh: 56,919
Miami 34, Virginia Tech 17 – Attendance in Blacksburg: 65,632
West Florida 43, North Greenville 19 – (Division II Playoff Game – first round) – Attendance in Pensacola: 3,273
San Diego 42, Stetson 8 – Attendance in Deland: 1,721
South Florida 48, UAB 18 – Attendance in Birmingham: N/A
Connecticut 48, Florida Atlantic 45 – Attendance in Boca Raton: 16,306
FIU 27, Jacksonville State 21 – Attendance in Miami: 9,504
UCF 17, Oklahoma State 14 – Attendance in Orlando: 41,723
Bethune-Cookman 38, Florida A&M 34 – Attendance in Orlando: 55,528
Superlatives
Impressive Passers:
Florida Atlantic’s Caden Veltkamp – 42-55-1-494 (2TDs); Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia – 33-39-1-484 (5TDs); North Texas’ Drew Mestemaker – 19-23-0-469 (3TDs); UConn’s Joe Fagnano – 33-46-0-446 (3TDs), and Southern Miss’s Brayton Braxton – 31-52-1-400 (3TDs).
Also, Texas’ Arch Manning – 18-30-0-389 (4TDs); Kennesaw State’s Amari Odom – 24-34-0-387 (5TDs); Troy’s Goose Crowder – 27-43-0-361 (4TDs); South Florida’s Byrum Brown – 19-35-0-353 (3TDs), and Missouri State’s Jacob Clark – 23-32-2-344 (3TDs).
Impressive Rushers:
Kansas State’s Joe Jackson – 293 yards (3TDs); Arizona State’s Raleek Brown – 255 yards (1TD); Liberty’s Evan Dickens – 228 yards (2TDs); BYU’s L.J. Martin – 222 yards (2TDs); Tulsa’s Dominic Richardson – 203 yards (1TD), and Pitt’s Ja’Kyrian Turner – 201 yards (1TD).
Also, Ohio’s Sieh Bangura – 196 yards (2TDs); Old Dominion’s Colton Joseph – 189 yards (1TD); South Alabama’s Kentrel Bullock – 187 yards (3TDs); UTEP’s Asten Emery – 181 yards (1TD); Appalachian State’s Jaquari Lewis – 175 yards (2TDs), and Missouri State’s Shamari Lawrence – 173 yards (1TD).
Also, Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love – 171 yards (3TDs); Auburn’s Deuce Knight – 162 yards (4TDs); Penn State’s Kaytron Allen – 160 yards (2TDs); Stanford’s Micah Ford – 150 yards; Boise State’s Sire Gaines – 149 yards (2TDs), and UTSA’s Will Henderson – 146 yards.
Quotes of the Week
“We didn’t play Chattanooga State today, right? Like some other teams. It’s tough playing nine conference games. It’s tough playing in this league,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning, knocking the SEC.
Touchdown Tom
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment