College Football Random Thoughts From Around the Country: Tricks and Treats!

Happy Halloween! With another flip of the calendar, Alabama remains undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation.

While the Crimson Tide took the weekend off, a lot of teams held their bags open and got a rock. To begin the weekend, seven P5 teams and two mid-majors were undefeated. Four teams no longer hold that distinction.

BIG XII IMPLOSION

A few weeks after announcing that the conference would not be taking on any new members, the braintrust that is running this ship aground has decided that they will not create divisions like every other conference in the world has done. Bob Bowlsby, the captain of this Titanic, stated "given our round-robin, nine-game scheduling model, it is expected the Big 12 champion will be uniquely positioned for College Football Playoff consideration." Seriously, Bob? Are you not paying attention? I have serious doubts if this conference will survive the decade intact.

Appropriately, the last two undefeated teams of the Big 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7.... lost a "round robin" game, likely knocking them out of whatever longshot chance they had at a spot in the CFP. Additionally, Iowa State and Kansas both suffered their seventh defeat, the only P5 schools to do so.

Texas 35 Baylor 34 - This was a game riddled with baffling coaching moves, assignment mistakes, and porous defenses. Just your typical B12 Saturday. A 39-yard field goal with 46 seconds remaining was the difference in a back-and-forth affair.

Oklahoma State 37 West Virginia 20 - Three times, the Cowboys forced turnovers and gained possession inside the West Virginia 15-yard line, leading directly to 17 points.

THE SAFETY DANCE

Wyoming 30 Boise State 28 - One of the craziest endings happened in Laramie when a Cowboy defender knocked the ball out of the Boise QB's hands and it rolled through the end zone for a safety with 1:25 remaining.

This is what Krazy Kristi was ranting about last week. The Smurfs were ranked #13 just because they were 7-0 for beating nobodies. Well, now they are 7-1. I'm sorry Boise, what part did you not understand? The buh or the bye?

Wisconsin 23 Nebraska 17 (OT) - Wisky pounded the ball and came out the victor with a stop in OT. Former DB turned RB Dare Ogunbowale had 11 rushes, 120 yds and a TD. The Cornhuskers fall to 7-1 as they prepare for a trip to Columbus, OH.

GRAB BAG

Clemson 37 Florida State 34 - In what many thought would be Clemson's final stumbling block, the Tigers twice rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the Seminoles, winning at Doak Campbell Stadium for the first time in 10 years. FSU QB Deondre Francois (sacked six times for -56 yards) took several big hits all night long and may want to take up a safer hobby, like lion taming. Just as they have all season long, the Tigers looked unspectacular but ended up on the right side of the scoreboard.

Washington 31 Utah 24 - If you ever wanted to call shenanigans on Pac-12 refs, this game might have been the best chance. An evenly matched game was decided when UW's Dante Pettis returned a punt 58 yards with 3:25 to go. However, the officiating crew missed potentially three blocks in the back on the play.

Kentucky 35 Missouri 21 - Benny Snell and Stanley Williams combined to gain 374 rushing yards and 3 TDs. The 'Cats are one win away from bowl eligibility. I kinda feel sorry for UK. This is going to make it harder to get rid of Mark Stoops.

Mississippi State 56 Samford 41 - No offense to you Samford fans but this was an ugly win for MSU. It was a one score game until Clanga score a TD with 5:14 to go. The stats were pretty even across the board. Samford rolled up 627 yards of offense.

Texas A&M 52 New Mexico State 10 - Everybody played in this game. 20 different TAMU Aggies got touches. Christian Kirk returned two punts for touchdowns but also lost a fumble.

Louisville 32 Virginia 25 - UVa (2-6) scored a touchdown and two point conversion with 1:57 remaining to take a one point lead, but that was too much time for Lamar Jackson. The Cards punched in the game-winner with 13 ticks remaining on the game clock.

Ohio State 24 Northwestern 20 - A week after losing to Penn State, the Buckeyes struggled to put away Northwestern. J.T. Barrett did not find the end zone on the ground or through the air.

CIRCLING THE DRAIN

South Carolina 24 Tennessee 21 - A pathetic and listless effort from the Vols led to their third straight defeat. Arm tackles, penalties, three turnovers, and 12 of 26 passing from Joshua Dobbs was their undoing. Amazingly, SC is now 4-4 (2-4) and just need to beat Mizzou and Western Carolina at home to get to six wins. This unexpected turn of events likely drops UT out of a chance to get to Atlanta.

Florida 24 Georgia 10 - The Gators defense held the Bulldogs rushing attack to a scant 21 yards. UGA fans are already having buyers' remorse with Kirby Smart. They demand National Championships in Year 1 thru 20, Kirby! After winning the Super Bowl at Mizzou in Week 3, the Dawgs have dropped four of five and are 4-4. They REALLY need a serious slap in the face and a culture change in Athens. Up next is Kentucky, which is no gimme.

Auburn 40 Ole Miss 29 - Kamryn Pettway ran for a career-high 236 yards and a touchdown. However, the Tigers (6-2) vaunted defense gave up 465 Chad Kelly passing yards. Remember that Dream Team they assembled in Oxford back in 2013? The dream has turned into a nightmare as the Rebs (3-5) lose their third straight and struggle to get to six wins.

Notre Dame 30 Miami 27 - After starting 4-0 and being with fluffed with a #10 ranking, the 'Canes have gone 0-4.

Michigan 32 Michigan State 23 - The nightmare just won't end for Sparty. With six straight losses and Ohio State still to play, their hopes for a bowl game are mighty dim.

SEC BOWL PROJECTIONS:

In: Alabama, TAMU, Florida, Auburn. Tennessee needs to beat Tennessee Tech this Saturday.

Should be in: Arky needs one win (@MSU or @Miz); Ole Miss needs three wins (GaSouthern, @TAMU, @Vandy, MSU); UK needs one win (UGA or Austin Peay).

Not so fast: LSU needs one win (Ala, @Ark, Fla, @TAMU); UGA needs two wins (@UK, Aub, UL-Laf, GaTech).

It's possible: SC needs two wins (Miz, WCU)

Longshot at best: Mizzou needs four wins (@SC, Vandy, @Tenn, Arky); Vandy needs two wins (@Aub, @Miz, OM, Tenn).

NFW: MSU needs to win out (@SC, Vandy, @Tenn, Ark).

BAMA STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• Southern Cal improves to 5-3 (PAC 4-2) with a dominating 45-24 win over Cal (4-4). Sam Darnold threw five touchdowns passes and Ronald Jones rushed for a career-high 223 yards. It is the Trojans' fourth straight win. Up next: Oregon.
  
• WKU - The Hilltoppers (6-3) demolish FAU! 52-3. They are bowl eligible.
  
• Chattanooga improves to 8-1 with a 38-25 victory over Western Carolina. They are #8 in FCS.
  
• Kent State (3-6) upsets Central Michigan (5-4) on a 35-yard field goal as time expired, 27-24.
  
• Kentucky, TAMU and Missy State all won.
• Tennessee lost but that is quite alright.
  

~~~~~

ADOPT-A-TEAM

• Jacksonville State (7-1) wins 47-14 over #22 Eastern Illinois. They are the #2 FCS team.
  
• South Alabama (4-4) takes down Georgia State 13-10. Entering the fourth quarter down 10-3, the Jags mounted a 14 play 92 yard scoring drive to tie it up. USA got a late stop on a tackle for loss and a sack. An 18-yard punt put the Jaguars in excellent field position and they took advantage, moving the ball to the 13 yard line, before kicking the game winning field goal at the buzzer. Remaining schedule: @ULM, @Idaho, NMSU.
  
• Wyoming pulls a big upset on the Smurfs. The Cowboys busted them Broncos and stand at 6-2, 4-0 in the Mountain West! Brian Hill added another 146 rushing yards to his season tally to put him at 1,156.
  

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

• Army (5-3) bounces back with an upset win at Wake Forest 21-13. With Morgan State coming up in a couple of weeks, the Cadets are pretty much guaranteed to get to 6 wins and a bowl game.
  
• Air Force (5-3) spotted Fresno 14 points but outscored FSUw 31-7 the rest of the way to win 31-21.
• Navy (5-2) took their lumps against South Florida and still made it a game. After giving up 28 first quarter points, the game looked over. The Middies kept chipping away but ran out of time, losing 52-45.
  

ELIMINATED*:

All non P5 teams, all Big 12 teams, Tennessee.

* crazier things

THE CONTENDERS

A way WAY too early look at the College Football Playoff (CFP) picture:

• ACC - Clemson keeps cruising. Their next four opponents should be easy wins: Syra, Pitt, @Wake, SC. Louisville is skating on thin ice: @BC, Wake, @Hou, UK.
  
• Big Ten - Michigan is still winning. Nebraska and Ohio State have an elimination game this weekend.
  
• Big 12 - Baylor is done. Despite one loss, they cannot recover from the weak schedule (they have faced only one team with a winning record so far) and have no championship game. West Virginia lost pretty handily and still have not played Oklahoma, Texas, or Baylor.
  
• PAC-12 - Washington slides by Utah. The Huskies are 8-0, but don't use ink just yet! Their remaining schedule looks a lot like the A-Team: @Cal (Hannibal), Southern Cal (B.A. Baracus), Arizona St (Faceman), @Wazzu (Murdock).
  
• SEC - Alabama and Texas A&M are still in the hunt. Florida likely needs to win out.
  
• Notre Dame

The CFP Committee will release their first rankings of the season on Tuesday evening. If this version is consistent with the committees of past seasons, they will not just look at records like the lazy pollsters do. They will see how teams won. Anyone thinking Louisville is a shoe-in needs to take note: they barely beat Virginia. To repeat: VIRGINIA.

My seedings of the New Year's Six are as follows:

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Washington
4. Michigan
5. Texas A&M
6. Ohio State

What does your top 6 look like?

~~~~~

Krazy Kristi's "SHUT UP!" of the Week goes to the Big 12. Can you say "Irrelevant"?

• Nick Saban turned 65 on Monday but he is not slowing down any time soon!
• OG Alphonse Taylor is still "day-to-day".
  

Hurd has been upset at the way he has been used in Tennessee's zone-read scheme

— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) October 31, 2016

• As Alabama fans, you probably are enjoying a nice little cup of schadenfreude right now. For me personally, this makes me angry. If you have not heard, Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd has announced that he is going to transfer to another school, like right now. So, little Jalen is not getting the ball enough and he is just going to quit on his 100+ teammates who have been busting their tails all year long? What a cowardly selfish act. You know what Nick Saban would call this? Say it with me: entitlement. I hope Hurd got a big heavy rock in his Trick or Treat bag.
  
• Duke leading rusher Jela Duncan will miss the rest of the season after the senior tore his Achilles celebrating a touchdown run by teammate Shaun Wilson in the third quarter.
• Ole Miss LB DeMarquis Gates (knee) is expected to miss Saturday's game vs. Georgia Southern.
• Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio confirmed that QB Brian Lewerke suffered a broken tibia during Saturday’s loss to Michigan, and the redshirt freshman will miss the final four games of the Spartans’ already woeful season.
• LSU CB Dwayne Thomas says Tigers are "going to dominate" Alabama. For those of you keeping score at home, Thomas wears jersey #13.

STAT OF THE DAY

Baylor had 10 penalties. However, they only added up to 39 yards.

KEY & PEELE PLAYER ALL-HOLIER THAN THOU TEAM

Fresno State LB Messiah Tyler
Michigan State QB Messiah deWeaver (???!!!)
FSU WR Jesus Wilson
Fresno OL Micah St. Andrew
Tulsa WR Bishop Louie
Boston College FB Colton Cardinal
TAMU DB Priest Willis
Eastern Illinois RB Devin Church
UMass DL Sha-Ki Holines

LET'S GO BOWLING!

• 37 FBS teams now have six or more wins, that is enough to fill 18 bowl games, which sounds like more than enough. An additional 84 teams have a chance to reach that "magical", yet pathetic, number six.
  
• Iowa State, Kansas, FAU!, Rice, UMass, and Bowling Green all have seven losses. Fresno State has the unpleasant distinction of being the only team with eight defeats to their record.

HEISMAN HYPE
With the exception of TWO YEARS, the Heisman Trophy voting is basically a hype award. That being the case, we'll bring you "Who Will Win" and "Who Should Win".

• Who Will Win - Oh boy, here we go. ESPN & Co. have finally found a shiny new toy in Jabril Peppers. The hype is in overdrive. It might all come down to what he does against Ohio State on Nov. 26...  Lamar Jackson again put up the big numbers but his team struggled to put away a bad team...  Deshaun Watson is the quarterback of an undefeated team and was a Heisman runner-up last year. That is good enough for some of the lazy azz media.... Some of the monkeys with laptops still want to put J.T. Barrett in the discussion...
• Who Should Win - The #hottaeks are that Lamar Jackson heroically "rescues" his team with the winning touchdown with 18 seconds left. But it was VIRGINIA! 2-6 Virginia who has nine conference wins in the last five seasons and have not been to a bowl since 2011. A few more Hermoine wins and he could slip from the good graces.
  

We are in the final month of the regular season, Week 10. Take a drink. Let it roll across your taste buds. Savor. NFL and College Football games every night this week.

Times are CT/ET.

Tuesday, November 1

Western Michigan at Ball State 7pm/8pm ESPN2 - Well, I guess we'll have to see what the WMU fuss is about...
Bowling Green at Northern Illinois 7pm/8pm ESPNU- It's MACtastic!

Wednesday, November 2

Toledo at Akron 6:30pm/7:30pm ESPN2 - It's MACredible!

Thursday, November 3

Buffalo at Ohio 5pm/6pm CBSSN - It's MAChiavellian!
Oklahoma at Iowa State 6:30pm/7:30pm ESPN - Okie needs to stay perfect and pray... a lot!
Arkansas State at Georgia State 6:30pm/7:30pm ESPNU
UCLA at Colorado 8pm/9pm FS1 - Can the Buffs snap the Bruins 5 game streak over them?

Friday, November 4

Central Michigan at Miami (OH) 5pm/6pm CBSSN - It's MACdiculous.
Temple at UConn 6pm/7pm ESPN2
San Jose State at Boise 9:15pm/10:15pm ESPN2 - Smurfs gonna smurf.

Saturday, November 5

SEC:

Georgia Southern at Ole Miss 11am/noon ESPNU- What's it gonna be Rebs? Wake up or roll over?
Texas A&M at Mississippi State 11am/noon SECN- Did the Aggies pay attention to Tenn-SC?
Vanderbilt at Auburn 11am/noon ESPN - It's good to be reminded how much we hate Auburn.
Florida at Arkansas 2:30pm/3:30pm CBS- These lucky fans get Brad Nessler with Aaron Taylor.
Missouri at South Carolina 3pm/4pm SECN- SC hopes to keep rolling.
Tennessee Tech at Tennessee 3pm/4pm SECN Alt- Sad trombone.
Georgia at Kentucky 6:30pm/7:30pm SECN- Whoda thunk two months ago that this would be a close one.

(No more bye weeks for SEC teams the rest of the way.)

DURING COMMERCIALS:

Not much worth flipping over for, unless you love your country! 'Muricah!.

Navy at Notre Dame 10:30am/11:30am CBS- A nice way to start your day with a Navy W!
Air Force at Army 11am/noon CBSSN - Military Appreciation Day.

Oregon at Southern Cal 6pm/7pm ESPN - Two teams going in opposite directions.
Nebraska at Ohio State 7pm/8pm ABC- ELIMINATION GAME!

CAN'T SLEEP?

Utah State at Wyoming 9:15/10:15 ESPN2 - Check out the Cowboys' running back Brian Hill who is second in the nation in total rushing yards and third in rushing yards per game (144.5).
Washington at Cal 9:30/10:30 ESPN - The Golden Bears could surprise.

#ALABAMA

ALABAMA at LSU CBS at 7pm/8pm with that old guy and the other old guy.

#RollTide!