Alabama 62 Ole Miss 7

What is this strange sensation I am feeling? It’s an emotion of great pride in an Alabama offense that can NOT be stopped. It is a feeling I am unfamiliar with. The Crimson Tide has had good offenses in the past, but this one is perhaps a once in a generation lifetime offense.

Alabama has had many great defenses going way way back to them olden days when your granddaddy had to walk five miles in the snow to get to Bryant-Denny. This one is not quite great yet but it is pretty darn good. They took an Ole Miss offense that put up 47 and 76 in their previous two games and shut them down.

Savor it. Take it in and appreciate it for what it is.

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

JALEN HAWT TAEK

I have had a hunch about Jalen Hurts for awhile now. I have held my tongue for a bit because I wasn’t sure that it would happen. I am now fully convinced that Hurts will not redshirt this season. He might leave after the season is over when he has graduated but for right now he is committed to the Process® and will make himself available for every game this season.

ESS-EE-SEE

LSU 22 Auburn 21 - This game was a bell curve for Aubie. In the early going it looked like LSU would run away with the game scoring the first 10 points. Momentum swung to the War Plainsmen Tigers as they responded with 21 unanswered points. It looked like the game was theirs until Joe Burrow connected on a 71-yard pass to Derrick Dillon to trail by the slim margin of 21-19 late in the 4th. LSU forced a 3-and-out from Auburn’s latest Heisman-winning QB Jarrett Stidham (16/28 198 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT) and then put together a drive of 52 yards on 14 plays that lasted 5:38 and concluded in the game-winner seen above. After opening the second half with a touchdown drive, Auburn went 3&punt, INT, missed FG, 5&punt, 3&punt to end the game.

Georgia 49 Middle Tennessee 7 - Jake Fromm was steady passing 10-12, 128 yards, 3 TDs. Elijah Holyfield (one of Evander’s eleven children with six different women) ran for 100 yards on 8 carries with a long of 66, but did not find the end zone. Neither played in the second half.
Missouri 40 Purdue 37 - This game went down to the wire with Mizzou kicking a 25-yard field goal as the clock hit 0:00. The Boilmakers fall to a disappointing 0-3. Many fan bases were frothing at the mouth over PU coach Jeff Brohm this past season. He’s not looking so hot now.

North Texas 44 Arkansas 17 - Arky QB Cole Kelley threw four interceptions including a pick-six and was booed by the home crowd. His two back-ups each threw one INT apiece. UNT also returned a punt 90 yards on a trick play for a score in this embarrassing display of bad football on the Razorbacks part. The Mean Green’s (3-0) stomping of the Hogs should be no surprise. Seth Littrell’s team is 12-5 over the last 55 weeks. Meanwhile, Arky continues to circle the drain. I said it last week and it bears repeating, Arkansas (1-1) very well could lose the rest of their games.
Notre Dame 22 Vanderbilt 17 - The ‘Dores coulda shoulda woulda won this game... A Fighting Irish defender knocked the ball loose from a Vandy receiver with 1:07 remaining to give Notre Dame a fourth-down stop and preserve the win. Brandon Wimbush is a terrible quarterback but he is the best ND has.
Tennessee 24 UTEP 0 - The Vols outgained the Miners 512-134 but also lost two fumbles and had six drives end in punts. Oh, yeah. And they scored 24... on UTEP....
Florida 48 Colorado State 10 - Although the Gators fans are not into it, their team seemed to be getting back on track. Felipe Franks was again inadequate (8-15, 119 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT) but UF didn’t need him to do much other than hand the ball off (222 yards team rushing). The Gators had a blocked punt for a score and a 85 yard punt return for another.
Texas A&M 48 ULM 10 - The Aggies, tuning up for the Tide, had no turnovers and 530 yards of offense.
Mississippi State 56 LaLaf 10 - Nick Fitzgerald and Aeris Williams both rushed for over 100 yards in this exhibition.
Kentucky 48 Murray State 10 - UK beat up on a bad FCS team.
South Carolina-Marshall was cancelled.

LITTLE GUYS TAKE THEIR LUMPS

Two teams outside the Power 5 that hoped to break into the playoff were defeated on Saturday.

Texas Tech 63 Houston 49 - Despite help from the refs, the Cougars fell victim to the aerial attack of the Red Raiders. Tech QB Alan Bowman passed 43/59 for 605 yards and 5 TDs. UH’s Ed Oliver has still yet to record a sack.
Oklahoma State 44 Boise 21 - The Cowpokes defense turned up the heat holding the Smurfs to 34 yards rushing, while sacking Brett Rypien seven times.

NATIONAL

Villanova beat Temple who beat Maryland who beat Texas who beat Southern Cal. Thus, Villanova is crowned PAC-12 Champs!

Ohio State 40 TCU 28 - The Frogs held a 21-13 lead until the bottom dropped out. thatOSU scored on a 63 yard pass and then a pick-six on TCU’s next possession. TCU would punt and the Blackeyes scored two plays later. Suddenly, an 8 point Frogs lead turned into a 12 point deficit and that was ll she wrote.
Texas 37 Southern Cal 14 - The Trojans jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead and figured that was enough. After that, it was all Longhors. So Cal managed -5 yards rushing for the game.
Washington 21 Utah 7 - Mediocrity.
Oklahoma 37 Iowa State 27 - ISU hung tough but the baseball-playing QB was too much for them. 348 yards passing and 77 rushing for Kyler Murray.
Clemson 38 Georgia Southern 7 - The Tigers first three drives of the game resulted in a Kelly Bryant interception, a missed 39-yard field goal, and a fumble near midfield. Against a good team, this could have been disastrous. But GSU is not a good team. The Eagles managed one first down in the first half and 7 for the game.

LOLs

Syracuse 30 Florida State 7 - In honor of the late Burt Reynolds, the Florida State Seminoles are playing like the 1957 team. Despite losing their starting quarterback to injury, the Orange dominated the Noles. FSU had 62 yards rushing for the game. QB Deondre Francois (18/36 178-0-1) was beaten and bruised, with little support from the wet paper towel offensive line. He visibly yelled at his OL and gave them death-stares on several occasions.
Fresno 38 UCLA 14 - The Bruins could muster only 270 yards and 14 first downs while giving up 420 and 24 to the Bulldogs. UCLA lost two fumbles and threw a pair of picks. Chip Kelly lost seven games in four seasons at Oregon. He might match or surpass that total this season in Westwood. They have a realistic shot at 0 for 2018.

KAN-SAS?

Kansas 55 Rutgers 14 - What has come over the Wildcats? After a humiliating home loss to the Nichols State Fighting Nickles to start the season, the Jayhawks have reeled off two straight against Central Michigan and Rutgers by a combined score of 86-21. Kansas has won back-to-back FBS games for the first time this decade.

NO FLY ZONA

San Diego State 28 Arizona State 21 - Hermania didn’t last too long.

Arizona WINS! - Khalil Tate threw for 349 yards and five scores as Kevin Sumlin gets a big win over the Utes 62-31! Oh, it wasn’t Utah? So, they beat Utah State, still a nice bounce back. What’s that? Southern Utah? Never heard of them.

BIG 1 and SMALL 11

Big Ten teams Maryland, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Northwestern all lost to non-P5 teams, including a stunning victory by Akron over the Wildcats. Also, Rutgers got destroyed by Kansas (who is basically non-P5).

BYU 24 Wisconsin 21 - The Mormons may have ruined Wisky’s chances at a playoff spot.
Troy 24 Nebraska 19 - We all know about Troy coach Neal Brown. Now the fine folks in Nebraska do too. The Cornhuskers were a mess in the first half with a fumble, an interception, a missed field goal and a punt return on them for a score.
Akron 39 Northwestern 34 - The Zips’ first win against a Big Ten team since 1894 – two years before the Big Ten existed. The team they beat was none other than Ohio State. I’m guessing Akron regrets not playing that game with Nebraska.
Kansas 55 Rutgers 14 - The Jayhawks outgained New Jersey U. to the tune of 544 to 274. You know you have a lousy team when you get routed by Kansas. The Scarlet Knights should bring back Greg Schiano (and he never shoulda left!).
Temple 35 Maryland 19 - We knew the emotional play-for-our-fallen-teammate good vibrations wouldn’t last.
South Florida 25 Illinois 19 - Lovie Smith might be on his way to early retirement. He is 7-20 at Illinois.

SHARKNADO

A few ADs did a great job of finding a way to get these games played. Other lazy overpaid ADs took the easy way out.

GOOD ADs:
Coastal Carolina 58 Campbell 21 - game moved from Saturday to Wednesday and from Conway, SC to Campbell’s tiny campus in Buies Creek, NC, south of Raleigh.
Charlotte 28 Old Dominion 25 - moved from Saturday to Thursday.
Boston College 41 Wake Forest 34 - moved up to the early evening Thursday.
Norfolk State at Liberty - postponed to be played to Dec. 1.

LAZY ADs:
Marshall at South Carolina - cancelled.
East Carolina at Virginia Tech - cancelled
West Virginia at NC State - cancelled.
UCF at North Carolina - cancelled.
Southern Mississippi at Appalachian State - cancelled.

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESMOND HOWARD LEE CORSO

No real movement except for Corso’s naive belief in Wisconsin. Everyone has at least one team in their Final 4 with a loss after three weeks except good ol’ CB969.

• DESI - Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, West Virginia, Washington. Mich over WVU; Bama over UW; Mich over Bama.
• CORSO - Georgia, Clemson, Wisconsin, Texas, Washington. Clemson over UW; Wisky over UGA; Wisky over Clemson.
• HERBIE - Alabama, Clemson, Penn State, Oklahoma, Washington. Bama over UW; Clemson over PSU; Bama over Clemson.

MY PICKS

• Alabama, Clemson, Penn State, Oklahoma, Washington. Bama over Okie; Clemson over PSU; Bama over Clemson.

BAMA STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

Not much help here this week.

• Louisville - The Cardinals (2-1) took their first lead of the game against WKU (0-3) on a TD with 5 minutes to go to win 20-17. Not a good showing but it’s a win. Up next: @ Virginia (2-1).
• Arkansas State (2-1) - The Red Wolves got over a big hurdle with a 29-20 road win over upstart Tulsa (1-2). They host UNLV. Keep an eye on ASU.
• La-Laf (Sept 29) - The Ragin’ Cajuns (1-1) followed the script and were obliterated by Missy State 56-10.
• Citadel (Nov 17) - The Fightin’ Cupcakes (0-2) rescheduled their game with Charleston Southern to Nov. 29 due to the whooshy whooshy thing in the sky (Good ADs).

ADOPT-A-TEAM

• FAU! (2-1) - The Owls beat up on poor little Bethune-Cookman 49-28. They led 29-0 in the first quarter and eased off the gas. They won’t have that luxury with a trip to UCF on Friday.
• Hawaii (3-1) could not slow down the triple option of Army 28-21. Despite losing, the 28 points is the least the Rainbow Warriors have given up all season. Up next should be win #4 against FCS Duquesne.
• Next season, Alabama kicks off the season against Duke (3-0). This year’s version is not so bad. They defeated a decent Army team (34-14) and then went on the road to beat both Northwestern (21-7) and Baylor (40-27) by double digits. Are they worthy of adoption? We’ll find out what kind of team David Cutcliffe has come September 29 when Va Tech comes to town.

COUSINS

• Troy (2-1) - WHOA, Nellie! The Trojans upset the Cornhuskers giving the Big 10 team a record of 0-2 for first time since 1957. And it only cost Nebraska $1.15 Million! Troy won 24-19 despite accumulating only 253 total yards. The big play was a 58-yard punt return for a score. Neal Brown’s crew now travels to ULM. Can they avoid a letdown like they had last year after upsetting LSU?
• South Alabama (1-2) - The Jags got their first win with a 41-31 jaunt over Texas State. Next is a doomed trip to Memphis.

THAT ANNOYING STEP-BROTHER

UAB (2-1) - The Blazers beat Tulane 31-24. Charlotte is next on the slate.

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

• Navy (2-1) The Midshipmen shot down the FCS Lehigh Mountain Hawks 51-21. Fourteen of Lehigh’s points came on Navy’s reserves players in the fourth quarter.
• Army (2-1) - The Black Knights handed Hawaii their first loss, amassing 465 yards on 41:18 of possession time and converting 11 of 19 third downs.
• Air Force (1-1) - The Falcons had a bye week to prepare for a tricky game at Utah State (2-1).

ELIMINATED

NEW:
Southern Cal - No two-loss PAC 12 team is going to the playoffs.
Nebraska - Reality and Karma ganging up on Scott Frost.
Maryland - It was only a matter of time.
Baylor - Lost to Duke at home.
Arizona State - Well, that didn’t last long.
Vandy - Nope.
Wake Forest - One loss is all it takes for this perennial also-ran.

All non-Power 5 teams.
Ole Miss
Tennessee
Arkansas
Arizona
BYU
FSU
Georgia Tech
Illinois
Iowa State
Kansas State
Kansas
Louisville
Northwestern
Oregon State
Pitt
Purdue
Rutgers
Syracuse
UCLA
UNC
Texas Tech
Virginia

ENDANGERED

The following are still in the running but have a slim margin for error.

Auburn
Florida
Miami
Michigan
Michigan State
South Carolina
TCU
Texas
Texas A&M
Utah
Washington
Wisconsin

THE CONTENDERS

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

• ACC - It’s pretty much Clemson or nobody.
• Big Ten - Penn State, Ohio State are the leaders. Michigan, Wisky, and Michigan State are on thin ice. There is a chance this conference will cannibalize itself out of the playoffs.
• Big 12 - It’s still a two-horse race between Okie and WVU. TCU lost. Okie Lite will eventually falter as they always do.
• PAC-12 - Stanford steps to the forefront. Southern Cal is toast. Oregon and Washington are still hanging around.
• SEC - It’s Alabama, UGA, MSU, and... LSU? Aubie is a longshot.
• Indies - Notre Dame is not going undefeated.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

Here is my half-ass as-of-now ranking:

1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Oklahoma
5. Clemson

LET’S GO BOWLING

Purdue and UCLA are the only 0-3 P5 schools. The good news is their plans for December are looking WIDE open.

STATS OF THE DAY

• Alabama is number one in scoring offense at 56.7 ppg and number eight in scoring defense at 9.3 ppg. Their scoring differential is +47.4. Missy State is second by almost a full touchdown at +41.3. UCF (+38.5), Georgia (+37.0), and Ohio State (+35.6) round out the top five.
• Notre Dame has won their three games by the eerily similar scores of 24-17 (Mich), 24-16 (Ball St) and 22-17 (Vandy). They have scored a total of 6 points in the fourth quarter all season. All games were played at home. Read into that what you will.
• Auburn is 3-9 against LSU over the last 12 seasons.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to Appalachian State for cancelling their game with Southern Miss. If you are not familiar with Boone, NC, it is a mountain town with an elevation of 3,333 feet, is located 300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and about 15 miles to the Tennessee border. They are called Appalachian State! As in the Appalachian Mountains! Hurricanes don’t climb mountains. Their excuse was danger of “heavy rains”. So, we are canceling games for heavy rain now? KK has been informed by boots on the ground that there was nothing more than a light mist on Saturday.

HEISMAN HYPE

With the exception of TWO YEARS, the Heisman Trophy voting is basically a hype award. Often times voters fall in love with someone way too early. Later in the season, we’ll bring you “Who Will Win” and “Who Should Win”. But for now, let’s just look at them for how they present themselves.

Who Will Win Candidates (in no particular order)-

• Will Grier (QB West Virginia Sr.) - The Mountaineers cancelled their trip to Raleigh which is a shame. NC State does not have a great defense but they are probably better than most of what the Big 12 has to offer.
• Jonathan Taylor (RB Wisconsin Soph.) Whoopsie! Semi-decent stats 26 carries, 117 yds, 4.5 ypc, 0 TD but a home loss to BYU tarnishes his effort.
• Dwayne Haskins (QB thatOSU Soph.) is having a pretty good year but you have to wonder if the voters will shy away from voting for a player who is playing under Urban’s storm clouds.
• Tua Tagovailoa (QB Alabama Soph.) was again flawless. His seven series resulted in five touchdowns, a missed field goal, and a fumble by WR Henry Ruggs that would have been a first down.
• Kyler Murray (QB Oklahoma Jr.) is the shiny new toy that reporters can’t stop blabbing about. He has good numbers and he is exciting but FAU!, Ucla and Iowa State are not the greatest of defenses.

Meh-

• Bryce Love (RB Stanford Sr.) - Did not play due to injury (again) in an underwhelming 30-10 win over UC-Davis. He is injured a lot. I am this close to scratching him from the list.
• Ed Oliver (DT Houston Jr.) - Here is a perfect example of a player the stupid press falls in defiant love with. He had a great 2017 and will be a first round pick someday but he really has not done anything spectaular this season. TBH, Quinnen Williams has played better. Yet Oliver will be in New York in December because the voters think they are so clever with their it’s-not-just-an-offense-award defense.

Who Should Win -

• Tua give me a reason.

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

THE SICK REPORT

• No new Alabama injuries to report - Roll Tide! - but I am getting worried about Mack Wilson.
• Texas A&M WR Kendrick Rogers (7 rec, 120 yds, 2 TD vs. Clemson) and senior kicker Daniel LaCamera did not play vs. Louisiana-Monroe. Their status for Alabama is unknown at this time.
• As if the FSU offensive line didn’t have enough problems, they will have to continue on without starter Derrick Kelly. Check him out in action (or inaction) #74 against Syracuse.
• LB Nick Bosa is out this week for Ohio State vs. Tulane with an abdominal and/or groin injury.
• Southern Cal has lost their kicker Chase McGrath for the year to a torn ACL.
• Florida running back Malik Davis is out with broken foot. Although not a starter, he was a regular part of the RB rotation.
• Kentucky lost TE Keaton Upshaw to season-ending injury.
• Michigan State star RB LJ Scott (hamstring) is questionable.
• Notre Dame LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (foot) is out for season.
• Texas DE Malcolm Roach is out 6-8 weeks with a foot injury.
• Deondre Francois is okay but he is pisst!

DRAMA

• Vanderbilt AD David Williams is stepping down. He has been in charge of Commodores athletics since 2003. While Williams appears to be around the age of retirement (I have no idea how old he is but he sure looks old), the timing seems a bit interesting to me. The best move that Williams, who is African American, may have made at Vandy was to hire the school’s first African-American coach in James Franklin to coach football. Franklin went 6-7, 9-4, and 9-4 which is Vandy-tantamount to Alabama circa 2015-2017. When Franklin left for Penn State, Williams hired another African American Derek Mason who has not found the same success. Mason has gone 3-9, 4-8, 6-7, and 5-7. At a bigger program, that record would have surely got him canned. Despite the 2-1 start, I have a hard time seeing this ‘Dores team make it to a bowl. If this is another losing season, Williams does not want to be the one to fire Mason as his last act as AD. In addition, what new AD who replaces Williams will have the chutzpah to do rightfully fire Mason as one of his first acts?
• After another terrible performance, Jawon Pass has been shown the bench as Malik Cunningham has been named the starter for Louisville Saturday vs Virginia.
• Suspended LSU WR Drake Davis has been arrested again and charged with 2 counts of battery on a “dating partner”. This is his 2nd arrest since August involving his ex-girlfriend getting beaten. Coach O finally kicked him off the team on Monday.
• LSU’s John Battle will miss the first half vs Louisiana Tech due to targeting against Auburn.
• Urban Meyer is a disingenuous pathological liar and super-duper mega-King Kong dickhead.

EYEBALLS

Alabama at Ole Miss game on ESPN earned a 2.2 overnight, cable’s second highest rated Saturday game of the season trailing only ESPN’s telecast of Clemson-Texas A&M in week 2 (3.0 overnight). The overnight for the Crimson Tide’s emphatic victory was up 57% year-over-year, and peaked early at 3.7 overnight as Alabama extended their lead in the first half (7:30-7:45 p.m.).

THIS WEEK

(Below is an abbreviated list of games of interest. If you need to know details about the Buffalo-Rutgers, check the New Yawk Times, ya Yamn Dankee!)

Thursday, Sept. 20:

Tulsa at Temple 6:30/7:30 ESPN - The Owls just upset Maryland, so of course they will lose this game.

Friday, Sept 21:

FAU! at UCF 6pm/7pm ESPN - This should be a fun game.
Penn State at Illinois 8pm/9pm FS1 - Yuck.
Washington State at Southern Cal 9:30pm/10:30pm ESPN - I’d prefer sleep.

Saturday, Sept 22:

SEC:

Georgia at Missouri 11am/noon ESPN - Is UGA ready for Drew Lock and the high-powered Mizzou offense?
Kent State at Ole Miss 11am/noon SECN - The Rebs are gonna take out their frustrations on the poor Golden Flashes.
South Carolina at Vanderbilt 3pm/4pm SECN - Worth a peek during commercials.
Louisiana Tech at LSU 6pm/7pm ESPNU - LaTech is 2-0 and had a week off to prepare. Will LSU have a letdown? Prolly not.
Mississippi State at Kentucky 6pm/7pm ESPN2 - Be careful, Bullies.
Florida at Tennessee 6pm/7pm ESPN - Kids, go ask Granddad what it was like when this game mattered.
Arkansas at Auburn 6:30/7:30 SECN - Aubie will hammer the Hogs.

NATIONAL:

Notre Dame at Wake Forest 11am/noon ABC - After watching ND-Vandy, Wake might have a shot at the upset.
Nebraska at Michigan 11am/noon FS1 - Either Nebraska goes 0-3 or Michy has their season ruined. It’s win-win for viewers.
Boston College at Purdue 11am/noon ESPN2 - Check out BC’s AJ Dillon.
Clemson at Georgia Tech 2:30/3:30 ABC
Northern Illinois at Florida State 2:30/3:30 ESPNU - It’s like a car wreck. Can’t.Look.Away...
TCU at Texas 4:30 PM FOX
Army at Oklahoma 6pm/7pm PPV $54.99? - This intriguing game is only available on PPV due to a bad B12 TV deal. What is this? 1992?
Stanford at Oregon 7pm/8pm ABC - Two 3-0 teams face off. ESPN GameDay will be there for the game.
Wisconsin at Iowa 7:30/8:30 FOX - ELIMINATION GAME

CAN’T SLEEP?

Air Force at Utah State 10:15 PM ESPN2 - Could be mildly entertaining.
Arizona State at Washington 10:30 PM ESPN - Will Herm ruin the Huskies season for good?
Eastern Michigan at San Diego State 10:30 PM CBSSN - That’s a hard pass.
Duquesne at Hawaii 11:59 PM Alohavision - GO Warriors!

#ALABAMA

Class of 2018 Tide players who saw action on Saturday: Ale Kaho, Emil Ekiyor, Eyabi Anoma, Jaylen Moody, Jaylen Waddle, Jerome Ford, Josh Jobe, Patrick Surtain, Saivion Smith, Skyler DeLong, Stephon Wynn, and Tevita Musika. It was especially good to see defensive end Wynn in the game after being slowed by a fall camp injury in early August.

Deonte Brown subbed in at left guard for Lester Cotton to start the second half. There was nothing wrong with Cotton. The move was just a chance to give Brown a chance to play with the other four starters. We saw Nick Saban do this with Alex Leatherwood last season. Brown struggled at first, allowing a pair of TFLs, but quickly settled into a groove. Chris Owens joined Brown and the other three starters on the next series at center. These two could be starters next season.

Saban is now ahead of Hayden Fry at 226 FBS/I-A victories. The Ol’ Ball Coach is within reach. For clarification, this list is FBS/I-A wins only. No wins at FCS/I-AA or lower level schools.

GAME 4 - Saturday, September 22, 2018, 2:30pm/3:30pm

Texas A&M at ALABAMA

CBS - Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson , designated blonde: Jamie Erdahl. SEC Nation will be there as well.

(Game 5: 9/29 - 11am/noon Louisiana at Alabama SECN)

#RollTide