College Football Week 13 – Tua out with broken hip

And the fourth team will be? 

Currently the top four teams in the College Football Playoff rankings are LSU, Ohio State, Clemson and Georgia. Those four teams should still be the top four when the new rankings are released on Tuesday evening. At this point, I think it is safe to say that LSU, Ohio State and Clemson are a lock for the playoff.

LSU (10-0) will beat Arkansas and Texas A&M in its final two games of the season. The Tigers may or may not beat Georgia in the SEC championship game. But even if LSU loses to Georgia, the Tigers at 13-0 or 12-1 will remain a top four team

Ohio State (10-0) will beat Penn State and will probably beat Michigan in its final two games of the season. But even if the Buckeyes lose to Michigan, they will still play in and win the Big Ten championship game over either Minnesota or Wisconsin. Ohio State at 13-0 or 12-1 will remain a top four team.

Clemson (11-0) will beat South Carolina in its final game of the season. The Tigers will win the ACC championship game. Clemson at 13-0 will remain a top four team.

The fourth team in the playoff all hinges on Georgia’s (9-1) outcome in the SEC championship game. The Bulldogs will beat Texas A&M and Georgia Tech in their final two games of the season. If the Bulldogs beat LSU in the SEC title game, Georgia at 12-1 will remain a top four team. But if the Bulldogs lose to LSU, Georgia at 11-2 will fall out of the top four.

If Georgia falls out, who will the fourth team be? Most likely Oregon or Utah. Oregon (9-1) should beat Arizona State and Oregon State in its final two games of the season. Utah (9-1) should beat Arizona and Colorado in its final two games of the season. That scenario will pit Oregon against Utah in the Pac-12 title game. The winner (Oregon or Utah) at 12-1 will be the fourth team in the playoff. Again, if Georgia loses to LSU.

The only other teams that have a chance – a remote one at that – to be the fourth team in the playoff are Oklahoma and Penn State. But the Sooners and the Nittany Lions will have to win-out, including their conference championship game. And hope for the best.

So the fourth team in the playoff all boils down to the SEC championship game. If Georgia wins, the Dawgs are in. If Georgia loses, one of the other teams (Oregon, Utah, Oklahoma or Penn State) is in. That’s my read on it.

If Oregon wins-out, the Ducks will be riding a 12-game winning streak – a good argument for their cause.

College football had a big early start last week. There were no fewer than eight weeknight games from Tuesday to Friday. Five of the games were Mid-American Conference affairs. Three of the five were quite exciting.

Tuesday night, Western Michigan beat Ohio, 37-31 (OT). It was Ohio’s second tough loss in a week. Last week, the Bobcats lost to Miami (Ohio) 24-21.

The following night, Northern Illinois beat Toledo, 31-28. The Huskies kicked a 25-yard field goal with 0:41 on the clock to win the game. Then Thursday night, Kent State rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Buffalo, 30-27. Midway through the fourth quarter, Kent State trailed Buffalo, 27-6. But in the final 7:49 of the game, the Golden Flashes scored 24 unanswered points – three touchdowns and a field goal. The clincher for Kent State was a 44-yard field goal by Mathew Trickett as time expired.

The same night, Pitt won a thriller over North Carolina. The Panthers beat the Tar Heels, 34-27 (OT). Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett was 25-41-0, passing for 359 yards and one touchdown.

Friday night, Marshall ended Louisiana Tech’s eight-game winning streak. The Thundering Herd beat the Bulldogs, 31-10.

There are few things better than college football. But one of them is being with your granddaughter on her birthday. Gator Babe turned 12 last week. On Thursday, Swamp Mama and I drove up to the panhandle to celebrate with her.

As a result, I spent Saturday mixing my football viewing with birthday activities. But thanks to today’s technology – smart phones and big screens at restaurants – I was able to catch most of the action.

Two teams – Minnesota and Baylor – lost for the first time. In spite of Tanner Morgan’s 368 yards passing, Minnesota fell to Iowa, 23-19. The Gophers dropped to 9-1 but are still in contention to win the Big Ten West Division.

In a wild game in Waco, Baylor lost to Oklahoma, 34-31. It was a game of streaks. During a nine-minute span from late in the first quarter to early in the second quarter, Baylor went on a run, scoring four unanswered touchdowns – 28 points. The Bears built up a 28-3 lead over Oklahoma. Then midway through the third quarter, with Baylor leading 31-10, the Sooners went on a run. Oklahoma scored three touchdowns and a field goal – 24 unanswered points – to win the game 34-31. The field goal came with 1:45 left in the game. The attendance of 50,223 was the largest home crowd in Baylor’s history.

In the big SEC game of the day, Auburn fell to Georgia, 21-14. The loss left Auburn at 0-3 in big SEC games this season. Earlier, the Tigers lost to Florida and LSU. Auburn freshman quarterback Bo Nix had a disappointing performance in all three losses. Neither quarterback looked good Saturday. Georgia’s Jake Fromm completed less than 50% of his passes.

A headline in Sunday’s Dothan (Alabama) Eagle read: Same tired song from Malzahn.

As expected, Ohio State, Clemson and LSU rolled over their opponents to remain undefeated. The Buckeyes beat Rutgers, 56-21. Clemson downed Wake Forest, 52-3, and LSU beat Ole Miss, 58-37. LSU’s defense continues to be suspect. The Tigers won’t win a national championship the way their defense is playing.

Texas fans must be fed up with Tom Herman. Saturday, the Longhorns lost their fourth game of the season – 23-21 to Iowa State. Les Miles lost to his old team, as Oklahoma State downed Kansas, 31-13. Miles was the head coach of Oklahoma State from 2001 to 2004. Also in the Big 12, West Virginia upset Kansas State, 24-20.

Speaking of fed up, I would think Michigan State fans have had their fill of Mark Dantonio. Michigan beat the Spartans, 44-10. Michigan State is now 4-6. Indiana gave Penn State a run for their money. The Nittany Lions edged the Hoosiers, 34-27.

Out West, Washington State romped over Stanford, 49-22. The quarterbacks combined for 1,024 yards passing. Utah continued its run for a spot in the playoff. The Utes downed UCLA, 49-3.

Alabama beat Mississippi State, 38-7, but lost its quarterback for the remainder of the season. Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered a high-ankle injury against Tennessee a few weeks ago, is now out with a broken hip. Tagovailoa received the hip injury when he was tackled late in the second quarter against Mississippi State. Some have compared it to Bo Jackson’s career-ending injury.

Notre Dame ended Navy’s run for the Group of Five spot in a New Year’s Six bowl. The Irish pummeled the Middies, 52-20. The game in South Bend marked the first time Notre Dame failed to have a sellout in 273 games. Nebraska’s sellout streak of 374 games, college football’s longest, is still running.

So far this season, only three schools have fired their coaches – Rutgers, Florida State and Arkansas. All three continue their search for a new coach. Stay tuned!

Among the Group of Five teams, five, led by Cincinnati (9-1), remain in the running for the New Year’s Six bowl spot. The other four are Memphis (9-1), Boise State (9-1), Appalachian State (9-1) and SMU (9-1). With their losses, Louisiana Tech and Navy were eliminated over the weekend.

My Top Four teams this week are 1. Ohio State, 2. Clemson, 3. LSU and 4. Utah.

My top Heisman candidates are 1. Joe Burrow (LSU), 2. Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma), 3. Justin Fields (Ohio State) and 4. Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin).


And in the latest mascot news, Colorado, after 12 seasons with Ralphie V, will have a new live buffalo mascot in 2020 – Ralphie VI. But it’s not because Ralphie V has lost a step in her old age. Quite the opposite. Ralphie V, who just turned 13 last month, is too fast for her human companions. She was held back from running around the field in Colorado’s previous two home games because she wasn’t responding to the cues from her handlers.

Bootsie and Rockledge Gator were in attendance at the Georgia-Auburn game Saturday. Unfortunately, they didn’t come away happy campers. Nor did Scott Greenwood who was in Lincoln for the Wisconsin-Nebraska game.

Touchdown Tom
November 18, 2019
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com



Weekend Recap

GAME OF THE WEEK:  Where were Chip and Joanna when you need them? – Oklahoma 34, Baylor 31 (Touchdown Tom said: Oklahoma 31, Baylor 20). It’s hard to believe that Baylor led Oklahoma 31-10 at halftime. Even still led the Sooners, 31-10, five minutes into the third quarter. But that was it for the Bears. OU scored 24 unanswered points in the final 24 minutes of the game. The winning points came on a 31-yard field goal with 1:45 left. Sooners quarterback Jalen Hurts passed for 297 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another 114 yards. Hurts had a hand in 411 of OU’s 525 total yards. Baylor only had 307 total yards. Attendance in Waco: 50,223

RUNNER UP:  Bo-Bo was a boo-boo – Georgia 21, Auburn 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Auburn 24, Georgia 22). Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Georgia led 21-0. Auburn scored its two touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the game. Actually, the Tigers scored both touchdowns within a three-minute span of the fourth quarter. Auburn had its chances in the final seven minutes of the game. But quarterback Bo Nix fumbled a center snap and couldn’t hit open receivers. Neither quarterback looked good. Auburn won the statistics race – more first downs, more total yards, time of possession, etc. Attendance in Auburn: 87,451 

REST OF THE BEST:  The Gophers couldn’t get out of their hole – Iowa 23, Minnesota 19 (Touchdown Tom said: Iowa 23, Minnesota 20). Iowa got the jump on Minnesota. The Hawkeyes led 20-6 at halftime. The Gophers outscored Iowa 13-3 in the second half. Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan passed for 368 yards. The Gophers won the statistics race, except for rushing. Iowa held Minnesota to 63 yards rushing. Attendance in Iowa City: 69,250

Weren’t caught looking ahead – Penn State 34, Indiana 27 (Touchdown Tom said: Penn State 35, Indiana 28). Indiana made a game of it, but the Hoosiers couldn’t overcome Penn State. Indiana won the stats game, except for rushing. The Nitts outrushed the Hoosiers 192 yards to 91 yards. Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey passed for 371 yards. Attendance in University Park: 106,323

Total domination – Clemson 52, Wake Forest 3 (Touchdown Tom said: Clemson 42, Wake Forest 19). Clemson totally dominated Wake Forest. The Tigers had 516 total yards to 105 for the Deacons and 26 first downs to only 5 for Wake. The Deacs had 41 yards passing and 64 rushing. Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence passed for 272 yards and four touchdowns. Attendance in Clemson: 80,875

But not a sellout – Notre Dame 52, Navy 20 (Touchdown Tom said: Notre Dame 27, Navy 21). Seventeen of Navy’s 20 points came in the second half. Notre Dame led the Middies, 38-3 at the break. Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book passed for 284 yards and five touchdowns. Strangely, Navy controlled time of possession for 36 minutes. The Irish won the passing game – 305 yards to 79 yards. Navy won the rushing game – 281 yards to 105 yards. The Middies had four turnovers – all fumbles. Notre Dame had none. Attendance in South Bend: 74,080

That’s putting the muzzle on the Dog – Marshall 31, Louisiana Tech 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Louisiana Tech 29, Marshall 26). Marshall had a big second quarter, outscoring Louisiana Tech 17-0. The Herd coasted after that. Marshall’s defense held Tech to only 67 yards rushing. The Herd’s offense had 405 total yards to 261 for the Bulldogs. Attendance in Huntington: 19,893

Let’s hear it for the field goals – Florida 23, Missouri 6 (Touchdown Tom said: Florida 24, Missouri 20). Fifteen of the 29 points scored in the game were from field goals. Both of Florida’s touchdowns were from passes by Kyle Trask. Trask passed for 282 yards. Neither team could run the ball. Florida had 56 yards rushing and Missouri had 52 yards. Attendance in Columbia: 57,280

Hooters – Temple 29, Tulane 21 (Touchdown Tom said: Tulane 24, Temple 19). Temple built up two second-half leads of 22-7 and 29-14 and Tulane couldn’t catch up. The Owls led 13-7 at the break. The teams were pretty even on the stats. Temple was the better passing team (297 yards to 130 yards). Tulane was the better rushing team (203 yards to 105 yards). Attendance in Philadelphia: 27,850

Fourth loss for the Horns – Iowa State 23, Texas 21 (Touchdown Tom said: Iowa State 33, Texas 27). Iowa State kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired to win the game. The Cyclones led throughout the game until 5:37 to go in the fourth quarter. That’s when Texas took its first and only lead at 21-20. Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy passed for 354 yards. The Cyclones dominated the stats – rushing, passing, total yards, first downs, time of possession, etc. Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger passed for 273 yards. All three of the Longhorns touchdowns were from Ehlinger passes. Attendance in Ames: 58,946



….AND ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON: 

Second half runaway – USC 41, California 17 (Touchdown Tom said: USC 30, California 24). This was a tight game in the first half. USC led 17-10 at the break. Then the Trojans outscored the Bears 24-7 in the second half – 17-0 in the third quarter. USC quarterback Kedon Slovis passed for 406 yards and four touchdowns. The Trojans won with only 56 yards rushing. Cal only had 128 yards passing. Attendance in Berkeley: 46,397 



YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:

Surprise – West Virginia 24, Kansas State 20 (Touchdown Tom said: Kansas State 33, West Virginia 20). Kansas State scored its first touchdown on a 68-yard pass on its first play of the game. Just like that, the Wildcats were up 7-0. But after that, it was all West Virginia for the rest of the game. WVU proceeded to outscore K-State, 24-13. But the game stayed close throughout. WVU quarterback Jarret Doege made his first start  for the Mountaineers. He passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns.  Attendance in Manhattan: 46,332

As expected – Wisconsin 37, Nebraska 21 (Touchdown Tom said: Wisconsin 26, Nebraska 18). Nebraska scored first and led 7-0 in the first quarter. The Huskers led again, 14-10, with 9:32 to go in the second quarter. But that was the last time Nebraska held a lead. Less than three minutes later, Wisconsin went up 17-14 and never looked back. In fact, the Badgers built that lead into 34-14. Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor rushed for 204 yards. The Huskers led in total yards – 493 to 482. But Wisconsin controlled time of possession – more than 34 minutes. Attendance in Lincoln: 88,842

Dookless in Durham – Syracuse 49, Duke 6 (Touchdown Tom said: Duke 31, Syracuse 23). Syracuse only led 14-6 at halftime. Then the Orange outscored the Dookies 35-0 in the second half. Two Syracuse running backs ran for 115 yards each – Jarveon Howard and Moe Neal. The Dookies had three turnovers to none for the Orange. Duke always seems to start out the season well only to become a complete disaster around the end of the season. Attendance in Durham: 16,286



Week 12 Results:  9 winners, 5 fumbles ( 64.3 percent)
For the Season:    126 winners, 46 fumbles (73.3 percent)



ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:

Florida State 49, Alabama State 12 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 52,857
Jacksonville U. 52, Marist 45 (2OT) – Attendance in Poughkeepsie: 1,396
Davidson 42, Stetson 14 – Attendance in Deland: 1,492 

North Carolina A&T 47, Bethune-Cookman 17 – Attendance in Greensboro: 10,355
Florida Tech 42, Shorter 3 – Attendance in Melbourne: 1,450 

Florida A&M 39, Howard 7 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 8,979
West Florida 48, West Alabama 37 – Attendance in Pensacola: 5,619
Cincinnati 20, South Florida 17 – Attendance in Tampa: 29,112



Superlatives 

Impressive Passers:

Washington State’s Anthony Gordon – 44-60-1 for 520 yards (5TDs); Stanford’s Davis Mills – 33-50-2-504 (3TDs); LSU’s Joe Burrow – 32-42-2-489 (5TDs); USC’s Kedon Slovis – 29-35-0-406 (4TDs); Michigan’s Shea Patterson – 24-33-0-384 (4TDs), and Indiana’s Peyton Ramsey – 31-41-0-371 (1TD).

Also, Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan – 25-36-1 for 368 yards (1TD); Troy’s Kaleb Barker – 30-43-0-363 (6TDs); Pitt’s Kenny Pickett – 25-41-0-359 (1TD); Central Michigan’s Quinten Dormady – 27-38-1-356; Iowa State’s Brock Purdy – 30-48-1-354 (2TDs) and Colorado State’s Patrick O’Brien – 28-43-1-347 (2TDs).

Also, Memphis’ Brady White – 22-33-1 for 341 yards (5TDs); Middle Tennessee’s Asher O’Hara – 22-31-1-338 (2TDs); Utah’s Tyler Huntley – 14-18-0-335 (2TDs); Arizona State’s Jayden Daniels – 24-36-0-334 (3TDs); Oregon’s Justin Herbert – 20-28-1-333 (4TDs), and Texas Tech’s Jett Duffey – 19-33-1-333 (4TDs).

Impressive Rushers: 

Northwestern’s Evan Hull – 220 yards (4TDs); Ole Miss’s John Rhys Plumlee – 212 yards (4TDs); Army’s Kelvin Hopkins – 208 yards; Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor – 204 yards (2TDs), and Nebraska’s Dedrick Mills – 188 yards (1TD).

Also, New Mexico State’s Jason Huntley – 174 yards (1TD); LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire – 172 yards (1TD); UAB;s Dylan Hopkins – 163 yards (1TD), and Northern Illinois’ Tre Harbison – 158 yards (1TD).



Quotes of the Week: 

“I love Auburn,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, when asked about the Arkansas rumors. 

“It’s almost like she knew she was the queen of campus and she loved to show that fact off when she ran onto the field at her public appearances,” Ralphie Program Manager John Graves, on the retirement of Colorado’s Ralphie V because she is too fast for her human companions. 

“We’re looking at probably a year recovery before he’s ready to go. Six months at the earliest, but more likely it’ll be a year,” orthopedic surgeon and ESPN medical expert Dr. Mark Adickes, on injured Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. 



Signs of the Day 

Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray & Baker Mayfield All Agree that OU is a Second-Choice School 

The Playoff Committee Named Germany the Winners of World War II Based on a Quality Loss 

The Astros Stole My Other Sign 



Touchdown Tom’s Predictions for
This Week’s 10 Biggest and Most Intriguing Games…and then some

GAME OF THE WEEK:  1. Penn State (9-1) at Ohio State (10-0) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, FOX – This week, Penn State gets its shot at knocking off Ohio State. Or at least come close to the Buckeyes. No one else has so far. The Nittany Lions may be capable of scoring on the Buckeyes. But they won’t be able to stop the Buckeyes. Nittany Lions suffer loss No. 2 – Ohio State 31, Penn State 20.

RUNNER UP:  2. Texas A&M (7-3) at Georgia (9-1) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, CBS – Like Auburn, Texas A&M can’t beat a big team in the SEC. But Georgia could have a letdown after the win over Auburn. Being at home should help the Dawgs – although it didn’t help them against South Carolina. Jimbo still has work to do – Georgia 26, Texas A&M 15. 

REST OF THE BEST:  3. Texas (6-4) at Baylor (9-1) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, FS1 – So how will Baylor respond to its loss to Oklahoma – a game where the Bears blew a big lead. They could be down. And the pressure to win is on Texas coach Tom Herman. This season has been disappointing for the Longhorns – a Top 10 team at preseason. Bears bounce back but just barely – Baylor 34, Texas 33. 

4. Michigan (8-2) at Indiana (7-3) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – Michigan could well lose this game. You know the Wolverines will be looking ahead to Ohio State. Indiana is no slouch this year. The Hoosiers can be dangerous. Just not dangerous enough for the Wolverines – Michigan 30, Indiana 28. 

5. SMU (9-1) at Navy (7-2) – (AAC vs. AAC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, CBSSN – Navy fell last week for just the second time this season. It could be SMU’s turn this week. Navy can’t pass and SMU can’t run. The game should be interesting. The Mustangs are on a mission – SMU 28, Navy 25. 

6. Temple (7-3) at Cincinnati (9-1) – (AAC vs. AAC) – 7 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN2 – Cincinnati has had two close encounters recently – beating East Carolina and South Florida on clock expiring field goals. Temple is capable of knocking off the bearcats. Close but no banana for the Owls – Cincinnati 30, Temple 20. 

7. Boise State (9-1) at Utah State (6-4)  – (MWC vs. MWC) – 10:30 pm ET, Saturday, CBSSN – Boise State is on a mission to get into a New Year’s Six bowl. They aren’t about to let Utah State stop them. But the Aggies will do their best. Just not good enough – Boise State 29, Utah State 26. 

8. Pitt (7-3) at Virginia Tech (7-3) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN2 – These two are still in the running for the ACC Coastal Division title. Pitt won the division last year. Not this year – Virginia Tech 31, Pitt 29. 

9. Illinois (6-4) at Iowa (7-3) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, BTN – Now Illinois is a much improved team. They are even bowl eligible. The Banned Indians could spell trouble for Iowa. The Hawkeyes could still be in a hangover after the win over Minnesota. They get a last minute cure – Iowa 27, Illinois 21. 

10. UCF (7-3) at Tulane (6-4) – (AAC vs. AAC) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, CBSSN – UCF has been a disappointment this year. Now the Knights are playing for pride. Tulane is a talented group. The Green Wave could be tough at home. They are tough, but not tough enough – UCF 30, Tulane 24. 



….AND ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON:

11. TCU (5-5) at Oklahoma (9-1) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 8 pm ET, Saturday, FOX – Oklahoma is a shaky 9-1. The Sooners have had a few close wins – too close for comfort. TCU is a feisty group. Just ask Texas Tech. But the Sooners are OK at home – Oklahoma 35, TCU 17.



YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:

Oklahoma State (7-3) at West Virginia (4-6) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ESPN2 – West Virginia surprised Kansas State last week. Can the Mountaineers do it again. Oklahoma State is probably tougher than K-State, especially on offense. The climb continues – West Virginia 30, Oklahoma State 29.

Nebraska (4-6) at Maryland (3-7) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, BTN – Nebraska needs a win and this should be it. Maryland is a pretty sorry team. Granted, the Huskers can be sorry too, but the Terps are sorrier – Nebraska 36, Maryland 28.

Duke (4-6) at Wake Forest (7-3) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, ACCN – Both teams were blown out last week. Duke to Syracuse and Wake to Clemson. Clemson is tougher than Syracuse. The Deacs are tougher than the Dookies – Wake Forest 23, Duke 21.

Purdue (4-6) at Wisconsin (8-2) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 4 pm ET, Saturday, FOX – Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor should have a heyday rushing against the Boilers. And Purdue doesn’t have an offense that can move against the Badgers. On Bucky! – Wisconsin 34, Purdue 17.

Florida (9-2) is off.



ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:

San Diego (8-2) at Jacksonville U. (3-8) – (Pioneer vs. Pioneer) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ESPN+….

Stetson (6-4) at Morehead State (5-6) – (Pioneer vs. Pioneer) – 1 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN+….

Bethune-Cookman (6-4) vs. Florida A&M (9-1) – (MEAC vs. MEAC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN News…. 

Memphis (9-1) at South Florida (4-6) – (AAC vs. AAC) – 4 pm ET, Saturday, ESPNU….

Florida Atlantic (7-3) at UTSA (4-6) – (C-USA vs. C-USA) – 6 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN+….

Miami (6-4) at FIU (5-5) – (ACC vs. C-USA) – 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, CBSSN….

Florida Tech (5-6) and West Florida (8-2) completed their seasons. 

Touchdown Tom
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com




P.S.

Not directly college football related, but as the regular season was coming to a climax and Thanksgiving turkeys and pumpkin pies were almost in the oven, the number one song in the country…

…75 years ago this week in 1944 was “I’ll Walk Alone” by Dinah Shore, and (There’ll Be A) Hot Time In The Town Of Berlin (When The Yanks Go Marching In)” by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters

…70 years ago this week in 1949 was “That Lucky Old Sun” by Frankie Lane

…65 years ago this week in 1954 was “I Need You Now” by Eddie Fisher, and “This Old House” by Rosemary Clooney

…60 years ago this week in 1959 was “Mr. Blue” by The Fleetwoods

…55 years ago this week in 1964 was “Baby Love” by The Supremes

…50 years ago this week in 1969 was “Wedding Bell Blues” by The 5^th Dimension

…45 years ago this week in 1974 was “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night” by John Lennon, and “I Can Help” by Billy Swan

…40 years ago this week in 1979 was “Still” by The Commodores

…35 years ago this week in 1984 was “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham

…30 years ago this week in 1989 was “When I See You Smile” by Bad English

…25 years ago this week in 1994 was “I’ll Make Love To You” by Boyz II Men 



Not exactly college football related, but there was one passing of note last week – Charles Rogers.

Charles Rogers, a former Michigan State star and Detroit Lions receiver, died last week. He was 38. At Michigan State, Rogers was an All-American wide receiver who had 135 receptions for 2,821 yards in two seasons. He was college football’s top receiver in 2002. Rogers was the second overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft. He incurred several injuries during his first two seasons with the Lions. Rogers failed a drug test in 2005 and was cut from the team the following season.

College Football Week 12 – Arkansas fires Chad Morris

Dual Heisman performances 

College football celebrated its 150^th anniversary  over the weekend. The anniversary was celebrated with a classic football game – LSU-Alabama. The game was a classic because it was between two of the Top 3 teams in the country. The game was a classic because it lived up to its hype – it was close, it was exciting. But best of all, the game was a classic because it provided not one, but two Heisman performances – one by each of the quarterbacks. 

LSU beat Alabama, 46-41. The game was in doubt until Alabama failed on an onside kick attempt with 1:21 left on the clock. Just prior to that kick, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa connected with receiver DeVonta Smith on an 85-yard touchdown pass – a Heisman moment. The touchdown and ensuing extra point brought the Crimson Tide to within 5 points of LSU with 1:21 on the clock. But with the failed onside kick, LSU was able to run out the clock. 

The 85-yard touchdown pass was Tagovailoa’s fourth in the game. Earlier, he had thrown  touchdown passes of 64, 15 and 5 yards. Hobbling on his injured ankle throughout much of the game, Tagovailoa finished with 418 yards passing. His only blemishes were a fumble on the opening drive and an interception later in the game. 

With Alabama trailing LSU, 33-13, at halftime, Tagovailoa rallied the Crimson Tide with two unanswered touchdowns to bring them back into the game, trailing 33-27 with 14:33 to go in the fourth quarter. The fight was on. A fight that LSU ultimately won. The fourth quarter was wild, with four touchdowns scored in the final 10 minutes of the game – two by LSU and two by Alabama. 

As good as Tagovailoa was, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was just ever so slightly better. Burrow opened the game’s scoring at the 9:15 mark in the first quarter with a 33-yard touchdown pass to receiver Ja’Marr Chase. By the end of the game, he was 31-for-39, passing for 393 yards and three touchdowns. 

During the game, Burrow had two more touchdown passes of 29 yards and 13 yards. Perhaps more importantly, he made two crucial third-down runs to keep alive a pair of fourth quarter scoring drives. Both were Heisman moments. Burrow’s only blemish was a fumble. 

Basically, the game came down to LSU winning the first half, 33-13, and Alabama winning the second half, 28-13. But LSU’s half was five points better. Both quarterbacks were class acts, during and after the game. Both gave Heisman performances. 

Bootsie, Rockledge Gator, Swamp Mama and I watched the LSU-Alabama contest – most of the game –  in our hotel suite. Earlier in the day, we attended the Vanderbilt-Florida game in Gainesville. Florida won, 56-0. We go to a couple of Florida games every year. The last time we recall being at a Florida game when the Gators won so big was a Kentucky-Florida game in 1994. Bill Curry was the coach of the Wildcats and Steve Spurrier was the coach of the Gators. It was a hot day – an incredibly hot day – in early September. Florida beat Kentucky, 73-7. 

The Vanderbilt-Florida game was a 12 noon ET kickoff. It ended about the time the LSU-Alabama game started – 3:30 p.m. ET.  We listened to the LSU-Alabama game in the car, while driving to our hotel. We were thinking about going out to dinner that evening. But back at the hotel, we got so into the Tigers-Tide game, that we ordered pizza instead. 

Bootsie and Swamp Mama really got into the game. Every time Alabama did something good or LSU did something bad, they uttered words that I can’t print here. Rockledge Gator and I had never heard such language in our lives. Our faces were turning red. We thought maybe the Irish Mules we were drinking were getting the best of the gals. 

Our pizza arrived. The delivery girl noticed we were watching the LSU-Alabama game. She said she was delivering a lot of pizzas and everybody is watching the LSU-Alabama game. Pizza and Irish Mules – what a combination. Actually, it wasn’t bad. 

From what I’ve been hearing and reading, LSU was the sentimental favorite with most folks. I know for sure from the words I heard out of the mouths of Bootsie and Swamp Mama that LSU was their favorite. 

Yes, it was college football’s anniversary weekend. Wednesday night (November 6), college football celebrated its 150^th birthday. Miami (Ohio) beat Ohio, 24-21. A century and a half ago on November 6, 1869, Rutgers beat Princeton, 6-4, in college football’s first game. 

During the Miami (Ohio)-Ohio game, Jimmy Burrow, the father of LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, was interviewed. Jimmy is a former defensive back for Nebraska. He later played for the Green Bay Packers and in the Canadian Football League. 
For 14 years (2004-2018), Jimmy was the defensive coordinator at Ohio under Frank Solich. He retired in 2018 so he and his wife could watch their son play for LSU. Jimmy was in attendance at the Miami (Ohio)-Ohio game. Joe Burrow grew up in Athens, Ohio, and originally signed with Ohio State, before transferring to LSU. 

Thursday night, Temple improved to 6-3, as the Owls beat South Florida, 17-7. The next night, fellow AAC member UCF lost for the third time this season. Tulsa (3-7) beat the Knights, 34-31, on a 23-yard field goal with 5:09 left in the game. It was Tulsa’s first conference win of the season. 

Also on Friday night, in the Pac-12, Washington (6-4) downed Oregon State (4-5), 19-7. The Huskies held the Beavers to just 119 total yards – 31 yards rushing and 88 yards passing.  

The LSU-Alabama game was definitely the game of the day, but, let me tell you, Saturday was full of some super crazy and super exciting games. Where to begin? 

How about the rally that succeeded and the one that didn’t. First the rally that was successful. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Michigan State led Illinois, 31-10. In the final 14:48 of the game, the Banned Indians scored four touchdowns to Michigan State’s one field goal. Illinois’ final touchdown came with just 0:05 on the clock. The Banned Indians outscored the Spartans 27-3 in the fourth quarter to rally and beat Michigan State, 37-34. 

The win all but saves Lovie Smith’s job at Illinois. Entering the season at 9-27 (3-9, 2-10, 4-8) in three years with the Banned Indians, Smith and Illinois are sitting at 6-4 (4-3 in the Big Ten) and bowl eligible for the first time since 2014. The win was also the second big one for Illinois this season. Earlier, the Banned Indians knocked off Wisconsin, 24-23. 

Then the rally that came up short – just barely. Entering the fourth quarter, Iowa State trailed Oklahoma, 42-21. The Cyclones proceeded to score three unanswered touchdowns. The third of the three TDs came with just 0:24 on the clock. Iowa State now trailed OU by one point, 42-41. Cyclones coach Matt Campbell decided to go for two points and win the game. But Brock Purdy’s two-point conversion pass into the end zone was intercepted by the Sooners. Oklahoma kept its remote chances for a playoff spot alive, improving to 8-1. 

In a mini-rally, Baylor, trailing TCU, 9-0, kicked the first of its three field goals with 9:58 to go in the third quarter. The Bears held the Horned Frogs scoreless in the second half, tying the all-field goal game 9-9 by the end of regulation. Baylor’s tying field goal was a 51-yarder with 0:36 on the clock. The two teams struggled through three overtimes before Baylor finally won, 29-23. The Bears remained undefeated at 9-0, keeping their remote chances for a playoff spot alive. 

Speaking of last second field goals, Texas rallied from a 14-0 second quarter deficit to Kansas State, to beat the Wildcats, 27-24. The Longhorns Cameron Dicker kicked a 26-yard field goal as time expired to win the game. It was the second time this season Texas has won a game on a time-expiring field goal. On October 19, Dicker kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to beat Kansas, 50-48. 

In other last second field goal wins, Purdue kicked a 39-yard field goal with 0:03 remaining on the clock to beat Northwestern, 24-22. Early in the third quarter, Purdue trailed Northwestern 16-7. And finally, Colorado kicked a 37-yard field goal as the time expired to beat Stanford, 16-13. 

While in the Pac-12, Arizona State’s rally against USC came up short. At the end of the first quarter, the Trojans led the Sun Devils, 28-7. Then during the remainder of the game Arizona State outscored USC, 19-3, only to lose to the Trojans, 31-26. 

Tennessee, trailing Kentucky 13-0 early in the second quarter got tough on defense. The Vols held the Wildcats scoreless for the rest of the game, while Tennessee scored a field goal and two touchdowns. The Vols beat Kentucky, 17-13. 

In the second battle of the undefeated Saturday, Minnesota proved it is for real. The Gophers got an early jump on Penn State. Minnesota led the Nittany Lions 24-13 at halftime. Then the Gophers denied Penn State in the second half to hold on and beat the Nitts, 31-26. Minnesota improved to 9-0 and kept its remote chances of a playoff spot alive. 

Trailing Wisconsin 21-6 in the fourth quarter, Iowa outscored the Badgers 16-3 in the final 14:06. But ultimately the Hawkeyes came up short, losing to Wisconsin, 24-22. Ohio State showed no mercy, beating Maryland by 59 points.  Leading the Terps 59-14, the Buckeyes scored two more touchdowns in the final seven minutes to beat Maryland, 73-14. 

Rumor has it that Ohio State punished Maryland for reporting Chase Young to the NCAA. Young, Ohio State’s star defensive end has been suspended from the team for a potential NCAA violation – accepting money from an agent. Stay tuned. 

In a bit of a surprise in the Pac-12, California beat Washington State, 33-20. Cal led the Cougars 33-13 late in the fourth quarter until the final five seconds of the game. Washington State scored a very late TD. 

In the MWC, Boise State kept its hopes alive for a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl. Wyoming took the Broncos to overtime, but Boise State kicked a 28-yard field goal to down Wyoming, 20-17 (OT). 

Appalachian State improved to 8-1. The Little Mountaineers knocked off South Carolina, 20-15. The Gamecocks dropped to 4-6. The loss may be the final nail in Will Muschamp’s coffin. With Texas A&M and Clemson remaining on South Carolina’s schedule, it doesn’t appear the Gamecocks will be going bowling this year. 

In the other big embarrassment for the SEC, Western Kentucky plastered Arkansas, 45-19. The Hilltoppers led 45-13 late in the fourth quarter. Sunday, Arkansas fired head coach Chad Morris. In one-plus seasons, Morris was 4-18 (0-14 in SEC play) at Arkansas. He becomes the second coach to be fired this season with less than two full seasons at the helm. Florida State’s Willie Taggart was the other coach. 

Yes, Saturday had some crazy, exciting and strange games. 

So after Week 11, we are down to five undefeated teams – Clemson (10-0), LSU (9-0), Ohio State (9-0), Minnesota (9-0) and Baylor (9-0). Clemson (Wake Forest), LSU (at Ole Miss) and Ohio State (at Rutgers) have it easy this week. They will remain undefeated. But Minnesota (at Iowa) and Baylor (Oklahoma) have some challenges. There could be only three undefeated teams next week. 

Six Power Five teams are sitting with just one loss – Oklahoma (8-1), Penn State (8-1), Oregon (8-1), Utah (8-1), Alabama (8-1) and Georgia (8-1). One or two of them will be heard from come the end of the season. 

Six Group of Five teams are sitting with just one loss and four of them are from the AAC – Cincinnati (8-1), SMU (9-1), Navy (7-1) and Memphis (8-1). The other two are Boise State (8-1) and Appalachian State (8-1). Currently, Cincinnati leads the pack for the Group of Five spot in a New Year’s Six bowl. 

My Top 4 , right now are 1. LSU, 2. Ohio State, 3. Clemson, and 4 Minnesota. 

My Top 4 Heisman candidates are 1. Joe Burrow (LSU), 2. Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama), 3. Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma), and Justin Fields (Ohio State). 

Syracuse coach Dino Babers fired his defensive coordinator Brian Ward. After nine games, the Orange were giving up 30.7 points a game and 457 total yards a game. 

After we arrived home Sunday, Rockledge Gator and I washed out Bootsie’s and Swamp Mama’s mouths with soap. Bootsie does not care for Nick Saban. That’s for sure. And I’ve never seen Swamp Mama so hopped up for LSU. Maybe it was the Mules. 

Touchdown Tom
November 11, 2019
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com 



Weekend Recap 

GAME OF THE WEEK:  Orgeron is one happy man – LSU 46, Alabama 41 (Touchdown Tom said: LSU 27, Alabama 24). The teams combined for 1,100 total yards. LSU controlled time of possession for more than 34 minutes, which is why the Tigers had 29 first downs to 22 for Bama. LSU was the better team on third down efficiency. Attendance in Tuscaloosa: 101,821 

RUNNER UP:  Watch out for those Gopher holes – Minnesota 31, Penn State 26 (Touchdown Tom said: Minnesota 28, Penn State 26). Penn State dominated the stats. Even the turnovers. Sean Clifford threw three interceptions. The two quarterbacks – Clifford and Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan – threw for 679 yards. Attendance in Minneapolis: 51,833 

REST OF THE BEST:  Cheese rules – Wisconsin 24, Iowa 22 (Touchdown Tom said: Iowa 17, Wisconsin 15). Wisconsin held Iowa to 296 total yards – just 88 yards rushing. Wisconsin also controlled time of possession for more than 37 minutes. The Badgers Jonathan Taylor rushed for 250 yards. Attendance in Madison: 78,081 

So close – Oklahoma 42, Iowa State 41 (Touchdown Tom said: Oklahoma 39, Iowa State 28). Two years ago, Iowa State beat Oklahoma in Norman. The Cyclones almost did it this year. It all came down to the failure of a two-point conversion. The teams were pretty evenly matched in the stats. Jalen Hurts was 18-for-26, passing for 273 yards and three TDs. He threw one interception. Hurts also rushed for 68 yards and two more TDs. Iowa State’s Brock Purdy was 19-for-30, passing for 282 yards and five TDs. Attendance in Norman: 83,541 

Fourth loss for Mizzou – Georgia 27, Missouri 0 (Touchdown Tom said: Georgia 26, Missouri 16). Not much offense by either team, but Missouri only had 198 total yards – just 50 yards rushing. Georgia maintained time of possession for more than 35 minutes. Attendance in Athens: 92,746 

Wake couldn’t see Forest for the Hokies – Virginia Tech 36, Wake Forest 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Wake Forest 27, Virginia Tech 25). Virginia Tech had a big second half against Wake Forest, outscoring the Deacs, 30-7. Wake only had 63 yards rushing, while the Hokies controlled ball possession for more than 36 minutes. Attendance in Blacksburg: 65,632 

The Bears live on the edge – Baylor 29, TCU 23 (3OT) (Touchdown Tom said: Baylor 27, TCU 23). Baylor survives again. It’s the Bears fifth win by eight points or less. Not much offense by either team. Baylor only had 99 yards rushing. Attendance in Fort Worth: 45,870 

Another field goal win for the Horns – Texas 27, Kansas State 24 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas 30, Kansas State 27). Texas held Kansas State to 51 yards rushing. Longhorns Sam Ehlinger was 22-for-29, passing for 263 yards and one TD. Texas’ Keaontay Ingram had 139 yards rushing. Attendance in Austin: 97,833 

Broncos continue domination in MWC – Boise State 20, Wyoming 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Boise State 29, Wyoming 25). Teams were about as evenly matched in the stats as you can get. Not much offense by either team. Neither team had more than 285 total yards. Attendance in Boise: 33,018 

Helton hangs in there – USC 31, Arizona State 26 (Touchdown Tom said: USC 30, Arizona State 27). Neither team could run the ball. USC only had 74 yards rushing, while Arizona State had 47 yards rushing. But USC passed for 477 yards. The Trojans Kedon Slovis was 29-for-39, passing for 432 yards and 4 TDs. Attendance in Tempe: 54,191 



….AND ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON: 

Getting better – Miami (Florida) 52, Louisville 27 (Touchdown Tom said: Louisville 27, Miami 24). Miami quarterback Jarren Williams was 15-for-22, passing for 253 yards and six touchdowns. After losing four of its first seven games, Miami has now won three straight. Attendance in Miami: 53,110 



YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS: 

Getting worse – Texas Tech 38, West Virginia 17 (Touchdown Tom said: West Virginia 27, Texas Tech 25). West Virginia had 549 total yards. But the Eers also had four turnovers. WVU also only had 51 yards rushing. After opening up 3-1, the Mounties have now lost five straight. WVU may not win another game this season. Attendance in Morgantown: 56,573 

The rout was on – Florida 59, Vanderbilt 0 (Touchdown Tom said: Florida 27, Vanderbilt 17). Vandy looked pretty good in the first quarter. The score was 0-0 after one. Then it all began to fall apart for Vandy. Florida had 560 total yards to 128 for Vandy – 33 first downs to 12 for Vandy. Vandy had 51 yards rushing and 77 yards passing. Vandy controlled ball possession for more than 33 minutes. When Florida had the ball, the Gators scored fast. Attendance in Gainesville: 86,201 

The Dookies had too many Irish Mules – Notre Dame 38, Duke 7 (Touchdown Tom said: Notre Dame 30, Duke 21). The Dookies were no match for the Irish. Notre Dame had 469 total yards to 197 for Duke, and 21 first downs to 10 for the Dookies. ND quarterback Ian Book rushed for 139 yards. Attendance in Durham: 40,004 

Tough year for the Purple – Purdue 24, Northwestern 22 (Touchdown Tom said: Purdue 17, Northwestern 16). Northwestern controlled the stats but Purdue controlled the points. The Boilers only had 74 yards rushing. Northwestern’s Kyric McGowan rushed for 146 yards. Attendance in Evanston: 37,194 

Week 11 Results:  11 winners, 4 fumbles (73.3 percent)
For the Season:     117 winners, 41 fumbles (74.1 percent) 



ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA: 

Temple 17, South Florida 7 – Attendance in Tampa: 26,214
Tulsa 34, UCF 31 – Attendance in Tulsa: 16,331
Florida State 38, Boston College 31 – Attendance in Chestnut Hill: 37,312 

San Diego 51, Stetson 7 – Attendance in Deland: 2,027
Florida Tech 17, North Greenville 14 (OT) – Attendance in Tigerville: 3,744
Drake 28, Jacksonville U. 14 – Attendance in Des Moines: 1,670 

Delaware State 16, Bethune-Cookman 13 – Attendance in Dover: 879
Florida Atlantic 37, FIU 7 – Attendance in Boca Raton: 17,603
Valdosta State 26, West Florida 21 – Attendance in Valdosta: 6,002 



Superlatives 

Impressive Passers: 

East Carolina’s Holton Ahlers – 32-42-0 for 498 yards (6TDs); USC’s Kedon Slovis – 29-39-1-432 (4TDs); Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa – 21-40-1-418 (4TDs); SMU’s Shane Buechele – 33-46-1-414 (5TDs); Washington State’s Anthony Gordon – 45-58-1-407 (2TDs) and LSU’s Joe Burrow – 31-39-0-393 (3TDs). 

Also, Utah State’s Jordan Love – 30-39-0 for 388 yards (2TDs); San Jose State’s Josh Love – 30-45-0-375 (2TDs); Texas State’s Tyler Vitt – 23-33-1-373 (3TDs); Illinois’ Brandon Peters – 22-42-1-369 (3TDs); Florida’s Kyle Trask – 25-37-2-363 (3TDs), and West Virginia’s Austin Kendall – 26-43-2-355. 

Also, Texas Tech’s Jett Duffey – 24-34-0 for 354 yards (1TD); Charlotte’s Chris Reynolds – 24-35-1-354 (2TDs); Florida State’s James Blackman – 18-26-0-346 (2TDs); Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan – 18-20-0-339 (3TDs); Troy’s Kaleb Barker – 27-41-1-330 (3TDs), and South Carolina’s Ryan Hilinski – 32-57-1-325 (1TD). 

Impressive Rushers: 

Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor – 250 yards; Arkansas’ Rakeem Boyd – 185 yards (2Tds); Ole Miss’s John Rhys Plumlee – 177 yards (2TDs); Toledo’s Shakif Seymour – 175 yards (2TDs); Washington’s Salvon Ahmed – 174 yards (2TDs), and Michigan State’s Elijah Collins – 170 yards (2TDs). 

Also, ULM’s Josh Johnson – 168 yards (2TDs); Boston College’s A.J. Dillon – 165 yards; Troy’s D.K. Billingsley – 163 yards (2TDs); SMU’s Xavier Jones – 157 yards (3TDs);  Western Michigan’s LeVante Bellamy – 157 yards (3TDs); Alabama’s Najee Harris – 146 yards (1TD), and Northwestern’s Kyric McGowan – 146 yards (1TD). 



Quotes of the Week 

“I’ve also heard P.J.’s name mentioned for a bunch of jobs, so you guys could spend a lot of time calling him and talking to him about it. We love it here. I really enjoy coaching these guys and don’t really see that changing anytime soon. I’m looking forward to playing Minnesota. I would love for all of you guys to call them all week long. I’ve got his number. I’ll give it to you,” Penn State coach James Franklin, on the opening at Florida State. 



Touchdown Tom’s Predictions for
The 10 Biggest and Most Intriguing Games this Week…and then some 

GAME OF THE WEEK:  1. Oklahoma (8-1) at Baylor (9-0) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, ABC – It’s over for the loser. The winner still has a shot at making the playoff. Biggest game in Waco in a long time. Jalen Hurts is due to have a top-notch game He does – Oklahoma 31, Baylor 20. 

RUNNER UP:  2. Georgia (8-1) at Auburn (7-2) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, CBS – So far, Auburn hasn’t won the big game. The Tigers lost to Florida and LSU. Georgia has some big wins, but it is about time for the Dawgs to lose a big one. South Carolina wasn’t a big one. Auburn is. Bo grows up – Auburn 24, Georgia 22. 

REST OF THE BEST:  3. Minnesota (9-0) at Iowa (6-3) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 4 pm ET, Saturday, FOX – Like Auburn, Iowa has blown it in the big games this season. The Hawkeyes are due to win a big one. Minnesota will be hungover from the Penn State win. The Hawkeyes finally get it done – Iowa 23, Minnesota 20. 

4. Indiana  (7-2)at Penn State (8-1) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ABC – Indiana is good, but the Hoosiers aren’t that good. Not good enough to beat Penn State. The Nitts tune up for the Buckeyes – Penn State 35, Indiana 28. 

5. Wake Forest (7-2) at Clemson (10-0) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ABC – Wake Forest looked good at one time. But the Deacs have turned out not to be real. Their lack of depth is showing towards the end of the season. The Tigers still have depth – Clemson 42, Wake Forest 19. 

6. Navy (7-1) at Notre Dame (7-2) – (AAC vs. Ind.) – 2:30 pm ET, Saturday, NBC – Navy should be able to give the Irish a run for their money. But they won’t beat Notre Dame. Come close, yes – maybe. The Irish hand the Seamen their second loss – Notre Dame 27, Navy 21. 

7. Louisiana Tech (8-1) at Marshall (6-3) – (C-USA vs. C-USA) – 7 pm ET, Friday, CBSSN – These two are likely to meet again in the C-USA title game. So this is a practice game for the big one. The Bulldogs practice well – Louisiana Tech 29, Marshall 26. 

8. Florida (8-2) at Missouri (5-4) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, CBS – This could be a tricky game for the Gators. The Tigers have been in a funk and they are due to break out of it. Mizzou plays better at home than on the road. The Gators escape – Florida 24, Missouri 20. 

9. Tulane (6-3) at Temple (6-3) – (AAC vs. AAC) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ESPNU – These are the best of the second tier teams in the AAC. Granted, the AAC has a lot of good teams. This will be a tough loss for the loser. A big win for the winner. Green can be mean – Tulane 24, Temple 19. 

10. Texas (6-3) at Iowa State (5-4) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, FS1 – Iowa State is a good team that has had a tough season. The Cyclones get over their tough losses this season against Texas. The Longhorns won’t know what hits them – Iowa State 33, Texas 27. 



….AND ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON: 

11. USC (6-4) at California (5-4) – (Pac-12 vs. Pac-12) – 11 pm ET, Saturday, FS1 – Clay Helton is still fighting for his life. Cal is just having fun and beating some good teams. Helton survives another week – USC 30, California 24. 



YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:  

West Virginia (3-6) at Kansas State (6-3) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – After watching WVU play well against Baylor, I thought the Mountaineers would beat Texas Tech. Boy, was I ever wrong. Maybe I’ll be wrong picking K-State to win. But I doubt it – Kansas State 33, West Virginia 20. 

Wisconsin (7-2) at Nebraska (4-5) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, BTN – Nebraska’s luck is running out. There aren’t any more beatable teams on the schedule. Well, many more. I forgot about Maryland. The Huskers will beat Maryland. But not Wisconsin – Wisconsin 26, Nebraska 18. 

Syracuse (3-6) at Duke (4-5) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 4 pm ET, Saturday, ACCN – The Dookies are due for a win. They have lost three straight. And Syracuse has lost four straight. The Dookies play straight in this one – Duke 31, Syracuse 23. 

Purdue (4-6) is off. 



ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA: 

Alabama State (5-4) at Florida State (5-5) – (SWAC vs. ACC) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ACCN….
Jacksonville U. (2-8) at Marist (3-6) – (Pioneer vs. Pioneer) – 12 noon ET, Saturday….
Davidson (7-3) at Stetson (6-3) – (Pioneer vs. Pioneer) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ESPN+…. 

Bethune-Cookman (6-3) at North Carolina A&T (6-3) – (MEAC vs. MEAC) – 1 pm ET, Saturday….
Shorter (0-9) at Florida Tech (4-6) – (Gulf South vs. Gulf South) – 2 pm ET, Saturday…. 

Howard (1-9) at Florida A&M (8-1) – (MEAC vs. MEAC) – 4 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN3….
West Alabama (6-4) at West Florida (7-2) – (Gulf South vs. Gulf  South) – 5 pm ET, Saturday….
Cincinnati (8-1) at South Florida (4-5) – (AAC vs. AAC) – 7 pm ET, Saturday, CBSSN…. 

Florida Atlantic (7-3), FIU (5-5), Miami (6-4) and UCF (7-3) are off. 

Touchdown Tom
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com

College Football Week 11 – Florida State fires Willie Taggart

Some second-year coaches

are having a tough time of it 

And they may not survive to coach a third year. Yesterday, we learned that one definitely won’t survive to coach a third year. Florida State announced that second-year coach Willie Taggart has been fired.

Florida State’s Willie Taggart was 9-12 in one-plus years with the Seminoles – 5-7 last season and 4-5 to date this season. Saturday, FSU lost to Miami (Florida), 27-10. It was the Noles third straight loss to the Canes.

Except for passing yards, FSU’s offense is among the worst in the country. And except for defense against the run, the Noles defense is among the worst in the country. Florida State didn’t qualify for a bowl game last year and the Noles are in jeopardy of not qualifying for a bowl this year. They need to win two of their remaining three games.

If you combine Taggart’s previous head coaching records at Western Kentucky, South Florida, Oregon with his one-plus years at FSU, he was 56-62 (16-20, 24-25, 7-5 and 9-12). That doesn’t measure up to Florida State pedigree.

Some thought Taggart may survive because FSU is currently in the market for a new school president and athletic director. No indication yet when they will be hired. But with the current dudes on the way out, many thought they would not want to get involved with hiring a new coach. Obviously, the demand to dispose of Taggart was too great.

Twenty other FBS coaches are in their second season at their respective schools. Already, some are superstars. For some, the jury is still out. And some are teetering on the edge of the cliff. Like Willie Taggart, they may not be head coaches next year.

The two other coaches in the greatest danger of losing their jobs are Chad Morris (2-10, 2-7) of Arkansas and Kevin Sumlin (5-7, 4-5) of Arizona.

Morris’ four wins are over two FCS teams and two Group of Five teams. He has yet to beat a Power Five team and he is 0-14 in SEC play. Saturday, Arkansas lost to Mississippi State, 54-24. The Razorbacks offense and defense is among the worst in the country of the 130 FBS teams. The defense is giving up 35.2 points a game.

If you combine Morris’ three-year record at SMU with his one-plus years at Arkansas, he is 18-40 (14-23, 4-17). I never understood why Arkansas hired Morris in the first place. He lacked the resume for the job.

Arizona’s Kevin Sumlin was a washout at Texas A&M. But two years ago, Arizona took its chances and hired him anyway. He inherited a talented team in his first season. The Wildcats were a flop (5-7). This year (4-5), Arizona isn’t any better. Saturday, the Wildcats lost at home to Oregon State, 56-38. Arizona has a decent offense, but the defense is among the worst in the country, in all categories.

Sumlin fired his defensive coordinator, Marcel Yates, last week. The Wildcats’ defense had allowed 133 points in its previous three games. That’s 44.3 points a game. In Arizona’s first game without Yates, the Wildcats gave up 56 points. After an opening loss to Hawaii, Arizona won four-straight games. Now the Wildcats have lost four-straight games.

Then there’s Scott Frost at Nebraska. In one-plus years at Nebraska, Frost is 8-13 (4-8, 4-5). If Frost was anyone else other than Scott Frost, he would be fired at the end of the season. But with his ties to Nebraska (home state and former player), Frost won’t be fired. He will be given another chance to show improvement and demonstrate that he can coach not only a winning team but also a championship team at Nebraska. But if Nebraska continues to be an erratic team, Husker patience will eventually wear out. It’s already getting a little thin. Saturday, Nebraska lost to Purdue, 31-27.

Matt Luke of Ole Miss is not looking good. Luke is 8-13 (5-7, 3-6) in one-plus years in Oxford. At the end of the season, it would not surprise me if Luke is on the outside looking in. Saturday, Ole miss lost to Auburn, 20-14.

And while we are in Mississippi, Joe Moorhead of Mississippi State has fallen into disfavor with the Bulldogs fans. Moorhead started out pretty good last year, going 8-5. This year the Bulldogs have slipped to a 4-5 start.

Likewise, there are reports that Mississippi State has fallen into disfavor with Moorhead. And there is talk that Rutgers would like Moorhead to become its new coach. So Moorhead and Mississippi State could have a mutual separation at the end of the season. On a positive note for Moorhead, the Bulldogs did beat Arkansas, 54-24.

Three coaches, who got off to rough starts last year and in the first few games of this season, may be showing signs of turning things around. They are Jonathan Smith of Oregon State (6-14), Jeremy Pruitt of Tennessee (9-12) and Chip Kelly of UCLA (7-14).

Already, Smith has gone from 2-10 last season to 4-4 this year. Last year, the Beavers only won one Pac-12 game. They have already won three conference games this season. Following an 0-2 start, Oregon State has won four of its last six games. Most recently, Oregon State downed Arizona, 56-38.

In Knoxville, Jeremy Pruitt may have turned the corner. The Vols began the season 1-4, but have won three of their last four games, including two wins over SEC opponents – Mississippi State and South Carolina. Saturday, Tennessee beat UAB, 30-7.

Two years ago, Chip Kelly was hired with a lot of notoriety at UCLA – the former successful Oregon coach returning to college football. Well, let me tell you, last year was nothing short of a disaster – 3-9. This year was beginning just as bad, if not worse. The Bruins were 1-5 in their first six games. But now UCLA has won three-straight games – wins over Stanford, Arizona State and most recently, Colorado, 31-14. Kelly could be saving his job.

Group of Five schools just don’t fire coaches, as a rule, after only two seasons. But if they did, Dana Dimel (1-11, 1-7) of UTEP, Steve Campbell (3-9, 1-7) of South Alabama and Mike Bloomgren (2-11, 0-9) of Rice would be gone from the scene this December. Saturday, UTEP fell to North Texas, 52-26, and Rice lost to Marshall, 20-7. South Alabama was off.

I think the jury is still out on two Power Five coaches who are in their second seasons – Herm Edwards (7-6, 5-3) of Arizona State and Jimbo Fisher (9-4, 6-3) of Texas A&M. Many criticized Arizona State for hiring Edwards. They thought it was a mistake. But Edwards has surprised most of his critics. Some are now believers.

Fisher has winning records at Texas A&M, but he has failed to win the big games. Aggies are getting a little anxious. Fisher has a chance to make amends with games coming up against Georgia and LSU. Saturday, A&M beat UTSA, 45-14.

Among the second-year Group of Five coaches, the jury is still out on Billy Napier (7-7, 6-2) of Louisiana. But Napier appears to be moving in the right direction. Saturday, Louisiana beat Texas State, 31-3. Likewise, the jury is still out on Sean Lewis (2-10, 3-5) of Kent State.

The superstars among the second-year coaches are Mario Cristobal (9-4, 8-1) of Oregon, Dan Mullen (10-3, 7-2) of Florida, Josh Heupel (12-1, 7-2) of UCF, Sonny Dykes (5-7, 8-1) of SMU and Chad Lunsford (10-3, 5-3) of Georgia Southern,

Cristobal has Oregon in the top spot to win the Pac-12 North Division. More importantly, Oregon has the potential to make the four-team college football playoff. Saturday, Oregon polished off USC, in the Coliseum, 56-24. The Ducks are currently riding an eight-game winning streak.

Mullen got off to a great start last season that included wins over LSU and Michigan. Already, Florida has a good win over Auburn this season. The only blemish on Mullen’s image is his 0-2 record against Georgia. He needs to do something about that. Saturday, the Gators lost to the Dawgs, 24-17.

Last year, Josh Heupel picked up at UCF where Scott Frost left off. He coached the Knights to a 12-0 regular season, before losing, without his starting quarterback, to LSU in the Fiesta Bowl. This year, the Knights have lost two games by a total of four points. Saturday, UCF beat Houston, 44-29.

In one-plus seasons, Sonny Dykes has returned the glory to SMU. Going into Saturday’s game against Memphis, the Mustangs were undefeated – 8-0. They lost a thriller, on the road, to Memphis, 54-48.

And finally, Chad Lunsford has been a hot coach at Georgia Southern. Two years in a row, he has coached the Eagles to wins over Appalachian State. Thursday night, Georgia Southern beat the Little Mountaineers for the second-straight year, 24-21. Earlier this season, the Eagles lost to undefeated Minnesota by only three points – 35-32. The Gophers scored in the closing seconds to beat Georgia Southern.

In some games of note over the weekend, Notre Dame scored a touchdown in the final seconds to edge Virginia Tech, 21-20. Wake Forest clobbered NC State, 44-10, and Virginia outlasted North Carolina, 38-31.

Utah rallied to beat Washington, 33-28, and, in the MWC, Boise State survived San Jose State, 52-42. In the Big 12, Kansas State thumped Kansas, 38-10, while in the Big Ten, Indiana improved to 6-2, beating Northwestern, 34-3.

Two teams – the only two Group of Five teams – fell from the unbeaten ranks over the weekend – Appalachian State and SMU. The seven remaining undefeated teams are all Power Five teams – Clemson (9-0), Baylor (8-), Ohio State (8-0), Penn State (8-0), Minnesota (8-0), Alabama (8-0) and LSU (8-0).

But something has to give this week, as LSU visits Alabama and Penn State travels to Minnesota. Clemson and Baylor are at NC State and TCU respectively. Ohio State entertains Maryland.

There are five one-loss teams out there who remain potential candidates for the playoff – Oregon (8-1), Utah (8-1), Oklahoma (7-1), Georgia (7-1) and Wake Forest (7-1). But they need to win-out and have some or all of the undefeated and other one-loss teams to lose.

And speaking of the playoff, the first college football playoff rankings of the season will be announced Tuesday evening. My Top 4 remain in alphabetical order: Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and Penn State.

Cincinnati (7-1), as the highest ranked Group of Five team this week, is in the lead position for the Group of Five spot in a New Year’s Six bowl. On the Bearcats tails are Memphis (8-1), Boise state (7-1), SMU (8-1), San Diego State (7-1), Navy (7-1), Louisiana Tech (7-1) and Appalachian State (7-1). 

Thursday night was a bad night for Mountaineers – all Mountaineers. Appalachian State – the Little Mountaineers – lost to Georgia Southern, 24-21, while West Virginia – the Mountaineers – lost to Baylor, 17-14. Interesting that both Mountaineers each lost by three points.

USC is expected to name Cincinnati athletic director Mike Bohn as its new AD later today. Bohn will replace Lynn Swann who resigned in September. Now it will be up to Bohn to make a decision on football coach Clay Helton. But the decision already may have been made, as reports out of Los Angeles say that USC will do “whatever it takes” to hire Urban Meyer.

Meanwhile, reports out of Minneapolis, have both Arkansas and South Carolina eyeing Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck as a potential replacement for Chad Morris (Arkansas) or Will Muschamp (South Carolina).

And finally, if you haven’t seen the video of the final play of the Dartmouth-Harvard game, look it up on your laptop, iPad or phone. It’s available. Just Google it or get it on YouTube. Dartmouth beat Harvard with a Hail-Mary pass. The final score was 9-6. Make sure you watch and listen to the video with the Dartmouth radio announcer calling the play. He’s unbelievable. The play was unbelievable too. It’s a must watch.

By the way, Dartmouth (7-0) meets Princeton (7-0) at 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPNU, from Yankee Stadium in New York.

Bootsie, Rockledge Gator, Swamp Mama and I will be in Gainesville this weekend for the Vanderbilt-Florida game. Looking forward to a good time and a pregame visit outside the stadium with my Husker/Gator friend Scott Greenwood.

Touchdown Tom
November 4, 2019
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com



Weekend Recap

GAME OF THE WEEK:  No chomp – Georgia 24, Florida 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Florida 27, Georgia 22). There was no chomp in the Gators against Georgia, especially the Gator defense. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who was a genius in the Gators game against Auburn, was an imbecile against the Dawgs. Grantham’s defensive plan went on the premises that Jake Fromm couldn’t pass. Well, guess what? Fromm can pass. He was 20-for-30, passing for 279 yards and two touchdowns. But all the blame can’t be put on the Gators defense. The Gators offense was in short – ineffective. They only had 21 yards rushing and 278 total yards. They only maintained time of possession for 24 minutes. They were only 2-for-9 on third down efficiency. Georgia was 12-for-18. Dan Mullen is now 0-2 against Georgia. Attendance in Jacksonville: 84,789

RUNNER UP:  Whirlwind – Memphis 54, SMU 48 (Touchdown Tom said: Memphis 34, SMU 28). If you like offense, especially passing offense, this was your game. The teams combined for 1,067 total yards – 806 of those yards being passing yards. Until late in the second quarter, the game went back and forth. But when Memphis took a 20-14 lead with 5:44 to go in the first half. The Tigers never again trailed in the game – although the score remained close. Along with passing, Memphis had a rushing game. SMU didn’t. Attendance in Memphis: 59,506

REST OF THE BEST:  Persistence – Utah 33, Washington 28 (Touchdown Tom said: Utah 28, Washington 26). Utah never led until 11:23 to go in the game. That’s when the Utes went up 26-21. They never trailed again after that. Washington was ineffective on the ground. Only 53 yards rushing. Utah controlled time of possession for more than 34 minutes. Attendance in Seattle: 69,270

A parade of Ducks – Oregon 56, USC 24 (Touchdown Tom said: Oregon 33, USC 27). At the end of the first quarter, USC led 10-0. After that, Oregon outscored the Trojans, 56-14. At one point, Oregon scored 35 unanswered points. USC suffered four turnovers. Attendance in Los Angeles: 63,011

It was almost an Irish wake – Notre Dame 21, Virginia Tech 20 (Touchdown Tom said: Notre Dame 28, Virginia Tech 19). The score was 7-7 after the first quarter and 14-14 at the half. Following two fields goals, Virginia Tech led 20-14 early in the fourth quarter. The Irish scored a touchdown with 0:29 left to win the game. The Hokies were held to only 240 total yards. Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book passed for 341 yards. Attendance in South Bend: 77,822

The Pack was sacked – Wake Forest 44, NC State 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Wake Forest 30, NC State 21). Wake Forest jumped out to a quick 24-0 lead and never looked back. The Wolfpack scored all 10 of their points in the second quarter. Demon Deacon quarterback Jamie Newman passed for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Wake Forest maintained the ball for more than 36 minutes. Attendance in Winston-Salem: 31,199

Fried Frog legs – Oklahoma State 34, TCU 27 (Touchdown Tom said: Oklahoma State 29, TCU 27). Okie state had 311 rushing yards. Cowboys running back Chuba Hubbard was responsible for 223 of those yards. TCU suffered four turnovers. Attendance in Stillwater: 52,861

Over the Heel – Virginia 38, North Carolina 31 (Touchdown Tom said: Virginia 27, North Carolina 24). Offensive game, t-he teams combined for 1,056 total yards. The teams were even in the stats. Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins was 30-for-39, passing for 378 yards and three touchdowns. Perkins also rushed for 112 yards, scoring two more touchdowns. North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell passed for 353 yards. The game went back and forth, but when Virginia went up 24-17 with 14:25 on the clock in the third quarter, the Cavaliers never again trailed. Attendance in Chapel Hill: 50,500

Tropical disturbance – Miami (Florida) 27, Florida State 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Florida State 23, Miami 20). Neither team could run the ball. Miami had 40 rushing yards and FSU had 31. But Miami quarterback Jarren Williams passed for 313 yards. The Canes beat the Noles for the third-straight year. Attendance in Tallahassee: 63,995

The Bears, just barely – Baylor 17, West Virginia 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Baylor 34, West Virginia 17). West Virginia found its defense but still can’t find its offense. The WVU defense kept its offense in the game but unfortunately every time the Mounties offense had an opportunity to score, they muffed it with bad center snaps and a delay of game. With a little more than four minutes to go in the game, WVU kicked a 43-yard field goal – score tied 17-17. No. Flag on the play. Delay of game on West Virginia. On the second kick at 48 yards, the kick was blocked. The WVU offense finished with only 14 yards rushing and 12 first downs. Baylor had 176 yards rushing and 26 first downs.  Attendance in Waco: 46,379 



….AND ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON:

Round table – UCF 44, Houston 29 (Touchdown Tom said: UCF 36, Houston 17). UCF got off to a slow start, trailing Houston, 17-7, late in the first quarter. The Knights still trailed the Cougars, 23-21, at halftime. Early in the third quarter, UCF went up 28-23 and never looked back. The Knights outscored Houston 23-6 in the second half. Houston maintained ball possession for more than 41 minutes. When UCF scored, the Knights scored fast. UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel was 21-for-30, passing for 298 yards and three touchdowns. Houston’s Mulbah Car rushed for 132 yards. Attendance in Orlando: 41,361



YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:

Frosty melted – Purdue 31, Nebraska 27 (Touchdown Tom said: Nebraska 30, Purdue 27). The lead changed hands five times in this game. Nebraska had the first lead and Purdue had the last lead. The Boilers scored a touchdown with 1:08 left to win the game. Purdue had 450 total yards to 375 for Nebraska. Attendance in West Lafayette: 50,606 

Week 10 Results:  9 winners, 3 fumbles (75 percent)
For the Season:     106 winners, 37 fumbles (74.1 percent)



ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:

FIU 24, Old Dominion 17 – Attendance in Miami: 14,644
Stetson 27, Jacksonville U. 24 – Attendance in Jacksonville: 1,754
West Alabama 13, Florida Tech 10 – Attendance in Melbourne: 878 

Florida A&M 52, Delaware State 30 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 7,412
Florida Atlantic 35, Western Kentucky 24 – Attendance in Bowling Green: 14,212
West Florida 17, North Greenville 14 – Attendance in Pensacola: 5,042



Superlatives

Impressive Passers:

East Carolina’s Holton Ahlers – 32-52-1 for 536 yards (4TDs); Liberty’s Stephen Calvert – 20-27-0-474 (4TDs); SMU’s Shane Buechele – 34-54-0-456 (3TDs); San Jose State’s Josh Love – 29-53-1-438 (2TDs); Troy’s Kaleb Barker – 26-35-0-385 (3TDs), and Virginia’s Bryce Perkins – 30-39-0-378 (3TDs).

Also, North Carolina’s Sam Howell – 15-29-0 for 353 yards (4TDs);  Memphis’ Brady White – 19-33-0-350 (3TDs); Notre Dame’s Ian Book – 29-53-2-341 (2TDs); Auburn’s Bo Nix – 30-44-0-340; North Texas’ Mason Fine – 24-39-0-332 (7TDs) and Oregon State’s Jake Luton – 20-26-0-328 (3TDs).

Impressive Rushers:

Boston College’s A.J. Dillon – 242 yards (3TDs); Mississippi State’s Kylin Hill – 234 yards (3TDs); Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard – 223 yards (2TDs); Texas A&M’s Isaiah Spiller – 217 yards (3TDs), and Clemson’s Travis Etienne – 212 yards (2TDs).

Also, Arkansas State’s Marcel Murray – 175 yards (3TDs); Buffalo’s Jaret Patterson – 160 yards (2 TDs); Air Force’s Timothy Jackson – 155 yards (1TD); ULN’s Caleb Evans – 148 yards (3TDs), and Middle Tennessee’s Asher O’Hara – 148 yards (1TD).



Quotes of the Week

“Notre Dame should buy out Brian Kelly and hire Urban Meyer,” ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum.

“He’ll be a game-time decision based on how he progresses,” Alabama coach Nick Saban, on the status of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the LSU game on November 9.

“Gotta give Scott Frost credit: He is finding worse ways to lose with each passing week,” American sportswriter Stewart Mandell.

“Twitter keeps telling me Jim Harbaugh is the most overrated coach in college football. It’s Scott Frost. By far,” Nebraska fan Aaron Torres.

“Nebraska fired Frank Solich for going 10-3 in 2003. The Huskers haven’t had that good a record in 16 season since,” Nebraska fan Michael David Smith.

“Is Scott Frost gonna be hiding in a closet tonight?,” Nebraska fan Kevin.

“After 21 games coaching at Nebraska, Mike Riley was 13-8. Scott Frost is 8-13,” Nebraska fan Coaches Hot Seat.

“Do Nebraska fans a favor. Fire Scott Frost,” Nebraska fan Justin Devney.

“I want to get this off my chest. I’m done with Florida State. I don’t want to talk about them anymore. I hate the way they represent themselves. Their current roster needs to go back and watch the Bobby Bowden era. Because it wasn’t about talking trash and fighting. That’s all they do. They’re the most undisciplined team you’re gonna watch. And they’re a terrible team. They need to focus more on execution and less on chirping. All they do is chirp,” ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit.

“In the interest of the university, we had no choice but to make a change, Florida State president John Thrasher, on the firing of Willie Taggart.

“Potential good coaches aren’t going to risk perhaps the biggest move of their career to go to Florida State. Not now,” CBS sportswriter Dennis Dodd. 



Signs of the Day

Urban Meyer Burned Down Cheryl’s She Shed and Lied About It

SMU: Paying Players Before It Was Cool

Touchdown Tom’s Predictions for

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

GAME OF THE WEEK:  1. LSU (8-0) at Alabama (8-0) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, CBS – The moment has come. The game we have all been waiting for. This reminds me of the 2011 game between LSU and Alabama. Both teams were undefeated. LSU won that game 9-6 (OT) – all field goals; no touchdowns. That was the last time LSU beat Alabama. Of course the big question: Will Tua Tagovailoa play? Can Alabama win if he does play? Can Alabama win if he doesn’t play? The answer is: No and No. But there will be touchdowns in this game – LSU 27, Alabama 24.

RUNNER UP:  2. Penn State (8-0) at Minnesota (8-0) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ABC – Then the other big game between undefeated teams on Saturday. Fortunately, for TV viewers they aren’t on at the same time. Everybody has been wondering: Is Minnesota for real? Yes, Virginia, there is a Golden Gopher – Minnesota 28, Penn State 26. 

REST OF THE BEST:  3. Iowa (6-2) at Wisconsin (6-2) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 4 pm ET, Saturday, FOX – This is the second biggest game in the Big Ten this weekend. But don’t expect big scoring in this affair. It will be more like two pigs fighting over an ear of corn. The Hawkeyes have the better pig – Iowa 17, Wisconsin 15.

4. Iowa State (5-3) at Oklahoma (7-1) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 8 pm ET, Saturday, FOX – Kansas State did it. Can Iowa State beat Oklahoma? And how will the Okies react with no Sooner Schooner to parade around? They’re OK – Oklahoma 39, Iowa State 28.

5. Missouri (5-3) at Georgia (7-1) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 7 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – Georgia could be in a hangover after the big win over Florida. The offense could go back into their pre-Florida funk. Well, maybe for a quarter or two. But not for the whole game – Georgia 26, Missouri 16.

6. Wake Forest (7-1) at Virginia Tech (5-3) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ACCN – Another big test for Wake Forest. Every week you wonder how real are the Deacs. And every week they surprise you. They surprise again – Wake Forest 27, Virginia Tech 25.

7. Baylor (8-0) at TCU (4-4) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, FS1 – Baylor had a close call against West Virginia. And TCU is probably better than West Virginia. Looks like another close call. But the Bears get by – Baylor 27, TCU 23.

8. Kansas State (6-2) at Texas (5-3) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – Now, this is a tough call. K-State has been playing good lately. Texas hasn’t been playing so good. But it’s time for the Horns to start playing again. Bevo rules – Texas 30, Kansas State 27. 

9. Wyoming (6-2) at Boise State (7-1) – (MWC vs. MWC) – 10:15 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – Boise State had a close call last week. The Broncos are still in the running for the spot in the New Year’s Six bowl. That’s pretty good incentive. These Cowboys can’t ride a Bronco – Boise State 29, Wyoming 25. 

10. USC (5-4) at Arizona State (5-3) – (Pac-12 vs. Pac-12) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ABC – The Trojans were embarrassed big time last week. Their coach is probably going to lose his job. And they might be playing for Urban Meyer next year. Clay Helton has a few “last hurrahs” left – USC 30, Arizona State 27.  



….AND ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON:

11. Louisville (5-3) at Miami (Florida) (5-4) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN2 – Louisville is a much improved team. This team was much maligned at preseason. Some even said last in the ACC Atlantic Division. Give credit to new coach Scott Satterfield. There’s barely a breeze – Louisville 27, Miami 24. 



YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:

Texas Tech (3-5) at West Virginia (3-5) – (Big 12 vs. Big 12) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ESPN2 – Okay, West Virginia showed promise in the loss to Baylor. Well, at least the defense did. But who will start at quarterback for the Mounties? Have we seen the last of Austin Kendall? Is this the debut of Jarret Doege? What does Neal Brown have up his sleeve? Inquiring Red Raiders want to know. Matt is not well – West Virginia 27, Texas Tech 25.

Vanderbilt (2-6) at Florida (7-2) – (SEC vs. SEC) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ESPN – How will the Gators respond to the setback to Georgia? They could be down. Down but not out – Florida 27, Vanderbilt 17.

Notre Dame (6-2) at Duke (4-4) – (Ind. vs. ACC) – 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, ACCN – I know the Dookies would like to pull off the big upset. If the Hokies almost did, surely the Dookies can. But no, not this year – Notre Dame 30, Duke 21.

Purdue (3-6) at Northwestern (1-7) – (Big Ten vs. Big Ten) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, BTN – This could be another one of those fighting over an ear of corn games. Northwestern doesn’t score much. And the Wildcats generally keep their opponents from scoring much too. The Boilers score one point more – Purdue 17, Northwestern 16.

Nebraska (4-5) is off.



ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:

Temple (5-3) at South Florida (4-4) – (AAC vs. AAC) – 8 pm ET, Thursday, ESPN….
UCF (7-2) at Tulsa (2-7) – (AAC vs. AAC) – 7 pm ET, Friday, ESPN2….

Florida State (4-5) at Boston College (5-4) – (ACC vs. ACC) – 12 noon ET, Saturday, ACCN….
San Diego (6-2) at Stetson (6-2) – (Pioneer vs. Pioneer) – 12 noon ET, Saturday….

Florida Tech (3-6) at North Greenville (3-6) – (Gulf South vs. Gulf South) – 1:30 pm ET, Saturday….
Jacksonville U. (2-7) at Drake (4-4) – (Pioneer vs. Pioneer) – 2 pm ET, Saturday….
Bethune-Cookman (6-2) at Delaware State (1-8) – (MEAC vs. MEAC) – 2 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN3….

FIU (5-4) at Florida Atlantic (6-3) – (C-USA vs. C-USA) – 6 pm ET, Saturday….
West Florida (7-1) at Valdosta State (8-0) – (Gulf South vs. Gulf South) – 7 pm ET, Saturday….

Florida A&M (8-1) is off.

Touchdown Tom
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com



P.S.

Not exactly college football related, but in early November as the college football season began its final stretch, the number one song in the country…

…75 years ago this week in 1944 was “I’ll Walk Alone” by Dinah Shore, and “(There’ll Be A) Hot Time In The Town Of Berlin (When The Yanks Go Marching In)” by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters

…70 years ago this week in 1949 was “That Lucky Old Sun” by Frankie Laine

…65 years ago this week in 1954 was “This Old House” by Rosemary Clooney

…60 years ago this week in 1959 was “Mack The Knife” by Bobby Darin

…55 years ago this week in 1964 was “Baby Love” by The Supremes

…50 years ago this week in 1969 was “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley, and “Wedding Bell Blues” by The 5^th Dimension

…45 years ago this week in 1974 was “You Haven’t Done Nothin’” by Stevie Wonder, and “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

…40 years ago this week in 1979 was “Pop Muzik” by M

…35 years ago this week in 1984 was “Caribbean Queen” by Billy Ocean

…30 years ago this week in 1989 was “Listen To Your Heart” by Roxette

…25 years ago this week in 1994 was “I’ll Make Love To You” by Boyz II Men

Not exactly college football related, but there were two passings of note last week – Robert Evans and Ron Fairly.

Robert Evans, the producer of the film classic “Chinatown” and a former Paramount Pictures production head who helped save the studio with hits such as “Love Story” and “The Godfather,” died last week. He was 89. Evans fell from grace in the 1980s when he was involved in a drug and murder scandal. He was a Hollywood first: a onetime actor who became the production head of a major studio. He was born Robert J. Shapera on June 29, 1930, in New York city. In the late 1950s, Evans played the bullfighter love-interest of Ava Gardner in “The Sun Also Rises.” In 1966, he was handpicked to head production at Paramount Pictures. Evans struck out with such films as “Paint Your Wagon,” “Darling Lili,” “Catch-22” and “Tropic of Cancer.” But over time, he had success with other movies he oversaw such as “Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Odd Couple,” “Goodbye Columbus,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “True Grit,” “Harold and Maude,” “Play It Again, Sam” and “Paper Moon.” By the end of 1971, Paramount had gone from last place to No. 1 among the major studios. Following a disastrous 1980s, which destroyed his career, Evans returned to the Paramount lot in 1991 and launched his professional comeback. 

Ron Fairly, an outfielder and first baseman who in a career of nearly a half of century played on three World Series championship teams with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1950s and 1960s and later moved to the broadcast booth, died last week in Indian Wells, California. He was 81. Fairly was a longtime broadcaster for the Seattle Mariners. He played for 21 major league seasons. Fairly played on the Dodgers teams that won the world Series in 1959, 1963 and 1965. In the mid and late 1970s, he played for the Montreal Expos and the Toronto Blue Jays. He retired after the 1978 season, after playing for the California Angels, his sixth team. Fairly was a TV and radio broadcaster for the Angels from 1980 to 1986, for the San Francisco Giants from 1987 to 1992 and finally for the Mariners from 1993 to 2006. Ronald Ray Fairly was born on July 12, 1938, in Macon, Georgia.