For all the talk of the big bad Big Ten, it was the good ol’ SEC that had a dominating weekend.

SEC 13-1: 13 teams had emphatic wins. The sole defeated team, Tennessee, lost to a pretty good-looking West Virginia. As a conference, the SEC outscored their opponents 611-209.
B1G 11-2: The Big Ten went 11-2 but there was an abundance of struggle against cupcakes. The B1G’s score total was 488-290.
ACC 10-4: ACC teams went 0-3 against P5 foes (excluding FSU-VaT).
B12 6-3: Texas again lost to Maryland and Kansas fell to FCS Nicholls State.
PAC 8-4: UCLA and Arizona lost at home. Washington fell to Auburn.

ESS-EE-SEE

The SEC went 13-1 on the weekend. Many of the teams played cupcakes but to their credit, all of them took care of business.

Alabama 51 Louisville 14 - The Crimson Tide has a different look this year in a high-powered offense, a hard-hitting but developing defense, and an electric return game. The ‘Ville was manhandled but has some promise to be a winning team.

Auburn 21 Washington 16 - The Tigers excised some Atlanta demons with a win over the #6 Huskies. For some reason, Gustavo attempted a trick play on a two point conversion in the first quarter that failed miserably. It almost came back to haunt him as UW held a one-point lead in the fourth quarter. Jarrett Stidham engineered a 10 play, 76 yard drive for the game winning score.

West Virginia 40 Tennessee 14 - The Vols kept this one close for the first half, trailing 13-7. The second half was a different story. Will Grier threw for 429 yards and five touchdowns for the game. For some reason, Jeremy Pruitt stuck with QB Jarrett Guarantano “Bay” over former Stanford starter Keller “Cocoa” Chryst. Someone named Tim Jordan ran for 118 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown for Tennessee.

LSU 33 Miami 17 - To people who follow recruiting, the name Nick Brossette should not be a new name. The former 4-star signed with LSU in 2015 with high promise that never came. On Saturday, Brossette eclipse his total rushing yardage from all of last season of 96 with 125 on 22 carries. The senior also scored the first two touchdowns of his career. The ‘Canes Turnover Chain was M.I.A. as was the offense. Malik Rosier was 15/35 with 1 TD and two picks. The U had more penalty yards (85 on 11 penalties) than rushing yards (83 on 34 attemtps).

Ole Miss 47 Texas Tech 27 - With QB Shea Patterson transferring to Michigan, the Rebs have not missed a beat. Jordan Ta’amu and his receivers A.J. Brown, DaMarkus Lodge and D.K. Metcalf lit up the Red Raiders for a 24-7 first quarter lead and did not look back. OM’s Scottie Phillips outrushed Tech 204-164.

Texas A&M 59 Northwestern State 7 - Come
Georgia 45 Austin Peay 0 - on.
Missouri 51 UT Martin 14 - You
Mississippi State 63 Stephen F. Austin 6 - don’t
South Carolina 49 Coastal Carolina 15 - really
Kentucky 35 Central Michigan 20 - care
Arkansas 55 Eastern Illinois 20 - do
Florida 53 Charleston Southern 6 - you
Vanderbilt 35 Middle Tennessee 7 - ?

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

NATIONAL

Notre Dame 24 Michigan 17 - Notre Dame jumped out to a 21-10 lead and hung on for dear life. The Irish offense managed only 69 yards and five first downs in the second half. Their second half possession went INT, 3-&-out, field goal, punt, 4-&-out, 3-&-out, kneel down. So much for Shea Patterson being the QB savior at Michigan. He was 20/30 for 227 yards, 0 TD, an INT, and fumbled with 46 seconds left in the game. He was also sacked three times.

Maryland 34 Texas 29 - Getting fired at LSU may have been the best thing to happen to Matt Canada. With DJ Durkin on administrative leave, the Terps OC was named interim coach and might just become the full time coach after Maryland defeated Texas for the second straight year. Playing with heavy hearts after the death of teammate Jordan McNair, the Terrapins forced three turnovers in the final 6:09 and scored the game’s final 10 points to stun the 23rd ranked Longhorns. It’s a nice story but how long can they ride this emotional wave? Meanwhile in Tejas...

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

GRAB BAG

Cincinnati 26 UCLA 17 - Chip Kelly’s home debut at UCLA went kerflop against a Bearcats team that went 4-8 in 2017. Former Michigan signal caller Wilton Speight was 8/12-45-0-1 for UCLA before leaving the game after injuring his back in the first half.

Clemson 48 Furman 7 - Kelly Bryant started for Clemson against FCS Furman and was solid. Mr. Wonderful Trevor Lawrence showed some sparks of talent but was erratic and benefited from some acrobatic moves by his wide receivers. Don’t believe the lazy media members who just look at highlights. These two have work to do.

Virginia Tech 24 Florida State 7 - Still wondering why Jimbo skipped town? 5 turnovers doomed FSU in a humiliating home loss on national TV.
Southern Cal 43 UNLV 21 - The Trojans got out to a sluggish start against a team that has had one winning season since Y2K, leading by a mere five points at the half.
Oklahoma 63 FAU! 14 - The Sooners had a dominating performance against an FAU team that was thought to make some noise this year. Did that humiliation stop Lane Kiffin from Tweeting? Nope.
TCU 55 Southern 7 - A tune up for thatOSU in two weeks.
BYU 28 Arizona 23 - The Mormons spoil Kevin Sumlin’s big home debut. QB Khalil Tate was far from being a Heisman candidate.
Boston College 55 UMass 21 - I only mention the Screaming Eagles because they might just cause some chaos in the ACC this year. 14 UMass points came in garbage time against back-ups.
Villanova 19 Temple 17 - AAC team loses to FCS
NC A&T 28 East Carolina 23 - AAC team loses to FCS
Nebraska vs Akron - Canceled due to weather. Nebraska bent over backwards to get this game played on Sunday, but Akron rejected it. It is ridiculous that Akron could not hold over a day to get in this game. There was no school or work for anyone on Monday. But what do you expect from Terry “Spanky” Bowden?

KAN’T-SAS

Nicholls State 26 Kansas 23 (OT) - The Jayhawks have reached their annual new low.
Kansas State 27 South Dakota 24 - K-State squeaked out a win against a middle-o-the-road FCS team.

WOMEN & CHILDREN LAST

Michigan State 38 Utah State 31 - Sparty struggled against a MWC team that hasn’t had a winning season since 2014. A TD with 2 to go saved their hides.
Wisconsin 34 Western Kentucky 3 - Wisky beats a really bad WKU team in a sleep-inducing manner.
Ohio State 77 Oregon State 31 - Urban is a miscreant.
Penn State 45 Appalachian State 38 OT - PSU was outgained (451-434) and outplayed much of the game. Penalties (PSU 2-10, ASU 10-100) and an overtime interception saved the day for the Pittany Scions.

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESMOND HOWARD

Two of the playoff-predicted teams by Desi (UW and Michy) lost this past weekend. Corso and Herbie also had the Huskies in the final four. My picks all won but Penn State almost blew it.

• 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

We kinda knew this was coming for the ‘Ville. Now it’s time to root for Petrino and his adorable little team as they take a stab at respectability.

• Louisville - The Cardinals will move to 1-1 after they beat up poor little Indiana State this week. They project to 8-4.
• Arkansas State - Justice Hansen threw six touchdown passes to defeat Southeast Missouri State 48-21. The Red Wolves could conceivably win 11 games this year. Adoption (after Saturday, of course)?
• La-Laf (Sept 29) - The Ragin’ Cajuns guarantee themselves a non-winless season after decimating Grambling 49-17. That must be a load off their shoulders.
• Citadel (Nov 17) - The Fightin’ Cupcakes lost to Wofford 28-21. No SOS here.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

The fan favorite appears to be FAU! There are so many things to like here. First off, their name is FAU! And then there is the always entertaining polarizing ex-Bama OC, head coach Lane Kiffin. But WOW, the Owls looked awful getting trounced by Oklahoma. They host Air Force Saturday 1pm/2pm CBSSN. Can they win our hearts back?

Hawaii (2-0) is really starting to turn some heads after a second big win (see SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS below). Are they are worthy of our admiration?

Anyone else catch you eyes?

COUSINS

• Troy (0-1) lost to Boise 56-20. It seems like BSU quarterback Brett Rypien has been in Smurfville for seven years now. He is the nephew of former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien and a pro prospect himself. Up next for the Trojans is punching bag FAMU.
• South Alabama (0-1) the Jags lost to LaTech 30-26. They now travel to Stillwater to get spanked by Okie State. Interestingly, Boise and thisOSU will face off in Week 3.

THAT ANNOYING STEP-BROTHER

UAB (0-1) - The Blazers beat up on perennial doormat Savannah State 52-0. Both their fans celebrated with a warm glass of milk.

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

• Navy (0-1) The Midshipmen were outscored by Hawaii’s Cole McDonald who threw for 428 yards and six touchdowns. The Rainbow Warriors won 59-41. Next for Navy is Memphis. Ugh.
• Army (0-1) - Duke jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 34-14 win. The Black Knights now host the Liberty Fightin’ Falwells.
• Air Force (1-0) - The Falcons destroyed something called Stony Brook 38-0. Sounds like a drug rehab center or country club or something. Up next is a trip to Mr. Kiffin’s Wild Ride in Boca Raton.

ELIMINATED

Ima leave this right here...

• All non-Power 5 teams including UCF. Schedule up and then we can talk.
• Ole Miss - bowl ban.
• Arizona
• Kansas
• Oregon State
• UCLA - There is no getting over losing a home game to Cincinnati.
• UNC - lost to Cal.

ENDANGERED

Despite some high-profile P5 teams losing, the following are still in the running but have a slim margin for error.

• FSU
• Miami
• Michigan
• Texas
• Washington

THE CONTENDERS

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

Already a shake up in the race for the playoff.

• ACC - Clemson took care of business. Miami has been exposed as the fraud they are and were last year. Va Tech hopes to make a run.
• Big Ten - Penn State’s struggles against App State might come back to haunt them. Michigan State also had a tough time against a cupcake. Michigan is behind the 8-ball. Ohio State and Wisky beat up on patsies.
• Big 12 - Okie and WVU looked good. TCU trounced an FCS team. Texas has a longshot chance to get back in the chase.
• PAC-12 - Washington is not out but it’s a long road. Southern Cal, Oregon and Stanford all won but were far from great.
• SEC - Alabama, UGA, Florida, South Carolina, MSU, Aubie all won pretty handily.
• Indies - Notre Dame is still in it.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

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

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

LET’S GO BOWLING

The College Football Playoff announced bowl dates through 2026. Start booking those hotels:

2018-19
Saturday, Dec. 29 - Peach Bowl, Cotton Bowl semifinal, Orange Bowl semifinal
Tuesday, Jan. 1 - Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl Game, Sugar Bowl
Monday, Jan. 7 - CFP National Championship (Santa Clara)

2019-20
Saturday, Dec. 28 - Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl semifinal, Peach Bowl semifinal
Wednesday, Jan. 1 - Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl Game, Sugar Bowl
Monday, Jan. 13 - CFP National Championship (New Orleans)

2020-21
Wednesday, Dec. 30 - Cotton Bowl
Friday, Jan. 1 - Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game semifinal, Sugar Bowl semifinal
Saturday, Jan. 2 - Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl
Monday, Jan. 11 - CFP National Championship (Miami-South Florida)

2021-22
Thursday, Dec. 30 - Peach Bowl
Friday, Dec. 31 - Cotton Bowl semifinal, Orange Bowl semifinal
Saturday, Jan. 1 - Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl Game, Sugar Bowl
Monday, Jan. 10 - CFP National Championship (Indianapolis)

2022-23
Friday, Dec. 30 - Orange Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 31 - Fiesta Bowl semifinal, Peach Bowl semifinal
Monday Jan. 2 - Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl Game, Sugar Bowl
Monday, Jan. 9 - CFP National Championship (Los Angeles)

2023-24
Friday, Dec. 29 - Peach Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 30 - Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl
Monday, Jan. 1 - Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl Game semifinal, Sugar Bowl semifinal
Monday, Jan. 8 - CFP National Championship (Houston)

2024-25
Saturday, Dec. 28 - Peach Bowl, Cotton Bowl semifinal, Orange Bowl semifinal
Monday, Dec. 30 - Fiesta Bowl
Wednesday, Jan. 1 - Rose Bowl Game, Sugar Bowl
Monday, Jan. 6 - CFP National Championship (site TBD)

2025-26
Saturday, Dec. 27 - Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl semifinal, Peach Bowl semifinal
Tuesday, Dec. 30 - Orange Bowl
Thursday, Jan. 1 - Rose Bowl Game, Sugar Bowl
Monday, Jan. 5 - CFP National Championship (site TBD)

STAT OF THE DAY

Michigan has lost 17 straight road games to ranked teams. Their last such win occurred in 2006 when Nick Saban was still in Miami. Shoulda taken that Bears job like I suggested, Harbie.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week once again goes to Ohio State. Did a three-game suspension for the unrepentant Urban Meyer sound too lenient of a punishment? Well, guess what. He is suspended for just the games. He has already returned to the team and can be with them all week at practice. KK has no doubt that final score against THE Oregon State came at the directive of this childish bully who thinks he did nothing wrong and wanted to show up all his critics.

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. That being the case, we’ll bring you “Who Will Win” and “Who Should Win”.

Who Will Win Candidates -

• Will Grier (QB West Virginia) had a good game against Tennessee.
• Jonathan Taylor (RB Wisconsin) had 145 yards and two scores against defense-optional WKU.
• Dwayne Haskins (QB thatOSU) ran up the score on woeful Oregon State.
• Tua Tagovailoa (QB Alabama) was superb.
• Ed Oliver (DT Houston) 5 solos, 8 assists, 3 TFL, 2 QBH but the opponent was Rice. Houston faces off with Arizona on Saturday. He won’t win because he is a DT.

Struggles -

• Bryce Love (RB Stanford) - The preseason darling was pretty pedestrian. He ran 18 times and gained only 29 yards. That is 1.6 yards per carry. He did not find the end zone.
• Khalil Tate (QB Arizona) - This campaign might be over before it began. 17/34, 197 yds, TD; 8 rush, 14 yds, TD in a loss to BYU.

Who Should Win -
In his six series against Louisville, Tua converted five touchdowns. The one series that did not result in a score was heading that way before DeVonta Smith fumbled on the Cards’ 17 yard line.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

THE SICK REPORT

• No new injuries to report for Alabama. Roll Tide!
• UPDATE: Chaisson, LSU’s best pass rusher, is out for season. Magee to miss 2-3 weeks.
• UCF cornerback Aaron Robinson, who was briefly a member of the Crimson Tide, suffered an injury on hre opening kickoff vs. UConn. He had to be taken off the field on a stretcher but should be okay after a few weeks off. You can see the video here. He is the first gunner through at the bottom of the screen with hair hanging out the back of his helmet. It appeared to be just a freak accident that could have happened in a normal play from scrimmage. But expect to hear more blabbering about eliminating kickoffs.
• Notre Dame starting cornerback Shaun Crawford suffered a torn ACL in his left knee earlier last week in practice and will not play again this season. DL teammate Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa (cousin of Tua) broke a foot against Michigan. He will surely benefit from the new redshirt rule.
• Oklahoma DE Addison Gumbs will miss the season after suffering non-contact knee injury in practice on Friday. He did not play against FAU.
• Already thin at running back Georgia will be without second RB James Cook who will miss the first half Saturday vs South Carolina due to targeting against Austin Peaypants. He led UGA running back with 66 yards on 6 carries

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING NCAA

• Remember that Clemson DT Josh Belk who was not going to see the field behind the Tigers’ NFL-ready line so he transferred to South Carolina? Guess what he did. He filed the magic NCAA waiver and was (GASP!) ruled immediately eligible at by the NCAA! The NCAA simply does not reject transfer eligibility waivers.
• Astonishingly, the NCAA could find no rule violations in sexual assault cases against Michigan State. What exactly is the NCAA doing??? This investigation involved not only the disgusting Larry Nassar case but also separate sexual assault allegations made against members of the football and men’s basketball programs. They learned well from Notre Dame.

DISCIPLINE POSER

• Iowa State’s opener against South Dakota State was canceled after only four minutes due to lightning strikes several miles away and a Doppler that made ISU administrators pee themselves a little. Four minutes may not seem like much, but to the Cyclones four minutes is enough to satisfy the definition of a one-game suspension for three players, two of whom are starters. Gee, I wonder if the fact that they are playing Iowa next Saturday has anything to do with it?
• The big shocker of the weekend is nobody in the B1G got busted for beating up a woman or molesting children.

SHORT MEMORIES

When Louisville’s Dorian Etheridge recovered DeVonta Smith fumble on Saturday, the sideline gave him a championship belt. Astonishingly, both Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit stated that this sort of thing all started last year with Miami’s turnover chain. Uhhhh, no it didn’t. Alabama has been giving out a Ball-Out Belt since at least 2015.

And what is the deal with Herbie CONTINUALLY calling Jawon Pass by the name “Puma Pass”. That got old real quick.

EYEBALLS

Birmingham was the number one TV market for the Virginia Tech-Florida State game with a rating of 12.4. Pretty good for a city that doesn’t have a dog in the fight.

1. Birmingham 12.4
2. Jacksonville 11.7
3. Richmond 10.5
4. Tampa-St. Pete 9.7
5. Norfolk 8.4
6. West Palm Beach 7.9
7. Greensboro-High Point 7.8
7. Orlando 7.8
9. Greenville 7.7
10. Columbus, OH 7.4

Birmingham was second (16.9) behind New Orleans (25.5) for the Miami-LSU game. Miami was fifth at 8.6.

THIS WEEK

Fall Weddings are strictly verboten! But if it’s your boss’s daughter or your sister who is the one getting hitched, this wouldn’t be such a bad weekend to have it. SO many cupcakes...

Week 2 is marred by a proliferation of FBS vs FCS games. By my count, there are 29 such games this Saturday. I may be way off base but it seems to my hazy recollection that these games were a little more rare in days past.

(Below is an abbreviated list of games of interest. If you need to know details about Kansas at Central Michigan, may God have mercy on your soul.)

Friday, Sept 7:

TCU at SMU 7pm/8pm ESPN2 - The Frogs have the stage all to themselves. Don’t screw it up.

Saturday, Sept 8:

SEC:

Mississippi State at Kansas State 11am/noon ESPN - Early road test for the Bullies.
Nevada at Vanderbilt 11am/noon SECN - The names of these two schools share 5 letters. Sorry, that’s all I got.
Georgia at South Carolina 2:30/3:30 CBS - Gonna need two TVs or flip over during commercials (see #Alabama below)
Southern Illinois at Ole Miss 3pm/4pm SECN - What the heck is a Saluki anyway?
East Tennessee State at Tennessee 3pm/4pm SECN - Former Vols QB (1984-88), longtime Vols assistant (1989-2005) and Jimbo assistant (2013-17) Randy Sanders gets his first shot as a head coach at ETSU.
Clemson at Texas A&M 6pm/7pm ESPN - ** GAME OF THE WEEK ** After 3 straight wins over Jimbo, Dabo gets one last shot to stick it to his old rival.
Southeastern Louisiana at LSU 6pm/7pm ESPN2 - Is there nay reason to watch this?
Wyoming at Missouri 6pm/7pm ESPNU - A smidge better opponent for Mizzou this week.
Alabama State at Auburn 6:30/7:30 SECN - Battle for the second best team in the state!
Arkansas at Colorado State 6:30/7:30 CBSSN - The Hogs could easily lose this one.
Kentucky at Florida 6:30/7:30 SECN - UK has not beaten Fla since 1986. That’s 31-straight games.

NATIONAL:

Duke at Northwestern 11am/noon ESPNU - Braniac Bowl
Georgia Tech at South Florida 11am/noon ABC or ESPN2* – Baby Blakey Barnett finally get his bottle.
Arizona at Houston 11am/noon ABC or ESPN2* – Can Sumlin’s Cats keep Ed Oliver out of Khalil Tate’s backfield?
UCLA at Oklahoma noon/1pm FOX – Chip Kelly (past) vs. Lincoln Riley (future).
Memphis at Navy 2:30/3:30 CBSSN - During commercials.
Colorado at Nebraska 2:30/3:30 ABC - see above.
Iowa State at Iowa 5:00 PM FOX – Early season rivalry game.
Penn State at Pitt 7pm/8pm ABC - Pitt’s 2016 upset basically kept PSU out of a playoff birth.
South Alabama at Oklahoma State 7pm/8pm FSN* - USA tries on their big boy pants.
Southern Cal at Stanford 7:30/8:30 FOX - Who will step forward to carry the banner for an already-reeling PAC-12?

* Check your local listings.

INSOMNIACS

UConn at Boise 9:15/10:15 ESPNU - Smurfvision
Cal at BYU 9:15/10:15 ESPN2 - BYU IS BACK, BABY!
Michigan State at Arizona State 9:45/10:45 ESPN - This might be worth a gander... until you pass out on the couch. Potential elimination game for Sparty.
San Jose State at Washington State 10pm/11pm PAC12 - Arrr, matey.
Rice at Hawaii 11:59 PM Alohavision - G’nite!

#ALABAMA

66 Tide players saw action on Saturday. The new redshirt rule changes the perception of playing true freshman, but the following Class of 2018 frosh were among the 66: Jaylen Waddle, Ale Kaho, Skyler DeLong, Slade Bolden, Cameron Latu, Jerome Ford, Patrick Surtain Jr., Jaylen Moody, and Eyabi Anoma. Also seeing their first Bama playing time were juco transfer Tevita Musika and grad-transfer Austin Jones. Juco transfer Savion Smith is the only newcomer to start.

Saban is now at 224 after the victory over Louisville.

I am sure you all saw the uproar and silly overreactions to Saban’s post-game interview with Maria Taylor. I just love all the big heroes like Finebaum who think they need to come to Maria’s rescue. I think she did just fine on her own.

The real news here is that Saban was in a rotten mood after a 51-14 drubbing of a decent ACC team. When Saban is in an honery mood, that is good for the Tide.

TBH, I am a bit concerned about Saivion Smith. He did a lot of jawing and celebrating that might get him in trouble down the line.

GAME 2 - Saturday, September 8, 2018, 2:30/3:30

Arkansas State at ALABAMA

ESPN2 - As of post, announcers have not been released. Let us pray. O dear benevolent Lord, please don’t let it be Beth Mowins. I promise to eat my vegetable. No injuries. Amen.

UPDATE: Our prayers have been answered! The Arkansas State-Alabama game will be called by Kevin Brown and Andre Ware with Alex Corddry on the sidelines.

Alabama is 2-0 against the Red Wolves. The Tide won 35-0 in 2008 and 34-7 in 1982.

#RollTide!