Random Thoughts: Defenses Fight Back

If you are down on this team, maybe you should jump on another bandwagon.
CB969 Oct 13, 2020

Alabama 41 Georgia 24

The latest Game of the Century had more storylines than can be covered in just one article. The most important thing to remember is that with the Tide down 24-20 at halftime, they came back and outscored the Dawgs 21-0 in the second half. Alabama is definitely looking the part of the No. 2 team in the nation but there is still work that needs to be done. UGA losing on the road to an opponent of this caliber drops them slightly but they are far from out of contention for the playoff.

DEEEEFENSE

A week after offenses took center stage, defenses stole all the highlights. Scoring dropped and pass happy quarterbacks were finding a plethora of opposing players at the other end of their passes. The defenses of Alabama (3), Kentucky (2), South Carolina (3), Arkansas (6), Pitt (2), NC State (3), and West Virginia (2) all had multiple interceptions of their opponents. Kentucky, Arkansas, Missy State, and FSU all recorded pick-sixes.

Among ranked teams, only Clemson scored more than 43 points. Only three teams overall scored over 50.

SEC

Kentucky 34 Tennessee 7 - The Vols Jarrett Guarantano was atrocious. The senior quarterback lost a fumble on UT’s second possession and followed that up with back-to-back pick-6s. UT put in their back-up QB on the next series and he threw a INT on his first and only attempt. In the blink of an eye, UK was up 17-0. Guarantano re-entered the game and put together a TD drive but it was mostly due to the Eric Gray (24 rush, 128 yards). Guarantano’s next four possessions produced one first down. The ‘Cats compiled only 294 total yards, but didn’t really need much.

South Carolina 30 Auburn 22 - Tigers QB Bo Nix (diD yOu knOW HiS DaDdy AlsO plAYeD Qb foR aWberN??) threw three interceptions, two to Jaycee Horn. There probably should have been more with all the YOLO arm punts he was putting up. The referees tried like heck to get the barn the win but to no avail.

This one was a real ugly game with players barking at each other the whole game. SC wide receiver Shi Smith was trying to fight the whole Auburn team after the game.

Arkansas 33 Ole Miss 21 - Both of these teams had disappointing losses the week prior. One was due a letdown, the other was PISST OFF. The Razorbacks picked off Matt Corral SIX TIMES including two for scores. They also had two goal line stands.

Texas A&M 28 Mississippi State 14 - TAMU’s Isaiah Spiller had 114 yards rushing and two scores on 18 carries. MSU coach Mike Leach finally benched QB KJ Costello. His replacement true freshman Will Rogers put together the first (and only) offensive score for Clanga Clang in their last 30 possessions.

LSU-Florida - The Gators had to cancel because of 18 scholarship players, three walk-ons, and two coaches tested positive. All are asymptomatic. It seems like everyone is these days. Those losses combined with some injured Gators, including media darling Kyle Pitts, led to the cancellation of what would have been a devastating loss for the loser of this contest.

Mizz-Vandy - Florida AD Scott Stricklin went into deep detail about his program’s situation. Meanwhile, VU refuses to release any numbers or other vital information, which can make some people skeptical about their actions. It’s like back in the olden days when people had to pay per word on telegrams: CANCELLING [STOP] COVID [STOP].

MINI-CHAOS

Florida State 31 North Carolina 28 - The Seminoles may have finally settled on a quarterback as Jordan Travis recorded two running touchdowns and one through the air. The ‘Noles blocked two punts and had a pick-6 to aid the victory. FSU led 31-7 and barely held on for the upset win over fifth-ranked UNC. This is a big blow to the ACC with a perceived elite team falling to a doormat. For FSU, the win set off a wild celebration and hopes are high as a SpaceX rocket. This of course means the ‘Noles will lose on Saturday to Luhville.

THE REST

Clemson 73 Georgia Tech 7 - Jeez. Does Dabo have some long-running grudge against the Yeller Jackets that he wanted to settle? This was just cruel. Four Tigers QBs threw at least three passes each. The walk-ons played, the waterboys played, even the coach’s sons played. Wide receivers Drew Swinney and Will Swinney both had catches.

Liberty 38 Syracuse 21 - Yeah, guess who the Orange play next? ^^^

Notre Dame 12 Louisville 7 - After the ‘Ville went up 7-6, a successfully recovered onside kick in the third-quarter by Louisville was overturned when a Cardinals player was flagged for blocking an Irish trying to recover before the ball traveled 10 yards. Notre Dame was given favorable field advantage and would score a touchdown on the ensuing drive.

The pollsters put the Irish at No. 4 in the country based on wins over Duke, USF, and FSU. The Catholics barely eked out a home win against another 1-win team and now they are #3. They have no business being ranked so high.

Miami 31 Pitt 19 - Three straight losses for Pitt.

OTHER

Memphis 50 Center Florida 49 - The Tigers defeat the Nighties (2-2) for the first time in 14 tries. Haha.

DICK MOVE OF THE WEEK

Kirby’s shenanigans.

CLASS MOVE OF THE WEEK

Arky head man Sam Pittman could have easily scored one more time on OM at the end of the game but took a knee at the one on first and goal and 30-some seconds left.

WTF MOVE OF THE WEEK

For some reason, Gustavo Malzahn attempted a dippity-doo trick play two-point conversion with a back-up QB while holding a 9-0 lead ten minutes into the first quarter. It failed. They lost. They ticked the Gamecocks off.

STILL TRYING TO COVER THEIR ASSES

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESI

Forget Desi, Herbie, Corso and Pollock. It is Roman Harper who has the lock-down. The SEC Network analyst and former Alabama DB was the only one to pick Kentucky over Tennessee. He also took Arkansas over Ole Miss and SC over Auburn. And of course, Bama over UGA. Tim Tebow missed everything except Bama.

Preseason playoff predictions:

• DESI - Bama over Ohio State, Okie State over Clemson, Bama wins it all.
• POLLOCK - Clemson over UGA, Bama over Ohio State, Clemmy champs.
• CORSO - Alabama defeats Notre Dame; Clemson over Oklahoma are in the other semi. Bama wins the NC.
• HERBIE - Ohio State over Texas, Clemson over Bama, Ohio State wins the championship.

MY PICKS

Alabama over Oklahoma, Clemson over Florida. Crimson Tide wins Championship #18.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

• Liberty (5-0) beat Syracuse pretty soundly on the Orangemen’s field. The Flames should beat Southern Miss next week but follow that up with a trip to Virginia Tech. My biggest fear is that Awbern fires Gustavo and hire Hugh Freeze.
• LaLaLaffy! (3-1) - Coastal Carolina (4-0) has only had football since 2003 and moved up to the FBS Sun Belt in 2017 and already have a highly competitive team. They proved their worth handing the Ragin’ Cajuns their first loss of the season 30-27 on a 40 yard field goal with 4 ticks left on the clock.

• Arkansas State (3-2) - In a wild one, the Red Wolves top a resilient Georgia State squad 59-52 on a trick play. Former Bama walk-on tight end Giles Amos caught his seventh pass of the season. Appy State has had to postpone their last two games. Hopefully they will meet ASU on Thursday.

COUSINS

• Troy (3-1) - The Trojans clearly overlooked 1-win FCS Eastern Kentucky because it took connecting on a 47-yard field goal as time expired for them to put the Colonels away 31-29. Troy better focus because a feisty Georgia State comes a-calling.
• South Alabama (2-2) - The Jags defeat Texas State for Homecoming 30-20, matching their win total from last season. Coming up, a winnable game vs. ULM (0-5). So winnable that they’ll probably lose.

THAT ANNOYING STEP-BROTHER WHO STICKS HIS FINGER IN THE PEANUT BUTTER JAR. AND THE JELLY JAR

• UAB (4-1) - The Dragons predictably crushed WKU 37-14. On deck is a Friday night match-up with ULL but everyone will be more interested in the Hoover @ Thompson game at 7pm! Who ya got???

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

• Army (5-1) - The Black Knights took down UTSA 28-16 with 305 rushing yards. The Cadets have a good record but the schedule has been Cupcake City. Mercer plays the role of sacrificial lamb on Saturday.
• Navy (3-2) - The Midshipmen defeated ECU for the Pirates’ homecoming 27-23 though the score makes it look closer than it was. Navy never trailed and let ECU score late. Houston comes to town.
• Air Force (1-0) - The Falcons start their MWC slate at San Jose State Oct. 24. AFA should be a solid squad this year.

ELIMINATED

• Rutgers, Northwestern, Maryland, Purdue, Indy, Nebraska, Illinois, Sparty, it ain’t gonna happen.
• Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor.
• Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse, FSU, Georgia Tech, NC State, L’ville, Pitt, UVa, BC
• BYU - That schedule is still too weak.
• The entire PAC; Sorry, Oregon.
• Vandy, Arky, Missouri, UK, SC, MSU, LSU, Tennessee, Ole Miss

ELIMINATION, ENDANGERED:

• Oklahoma Lite, Oklahoma, Texas, WVU
• Texas A&M, Florida, UGA, Auburn
• Va Tech, Miami, Notre Dame, UNC

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

• ACC - Clemson is looking far and away above anyone else in the conference. Could they still lose? Yes. The Tigers still have trips to Va Tech and Notre Dame. But will they lose twice and miss the playoff. Probably not. Notre Dame ain’t beat nobody, PAAWWWLL. North Carolina just made things really hard on themselves. Miami will need to run the table and take down Clemmy.
• SEC - Bama plus the UGA and Fla winner. Keep an eye on TAMU as a second SEC team who could make the playoff only to have the honor of being trucked by Clempy.
• Big 12 - Okie Lite?
• Big Ten - Michigan and Minnesota play this weekend. Wisky, PSU and anOSU have doormat opponents. With the 8+1 schedule format, it feels like a B1G will have to go undefeated.
• PAC-12 - Nuh-uh.
• Indies

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

Clemson obliterated Georgia Tech 73-7 to maintain the top spot. Those same Yeller Jackets scored at will on Louisville to the tune of 46-27. Just a week later, Notre Dame ekes out a 12-7 home win against those very same Cardinals. For this feat, the pollsters granted the Irish a #3 ranking.

A guy from Dayton, OH and one from South Bend have Bama third behind anOSU.

1. Clemson (54) - actually lost five #1 votes
2. Alabama (8) - picked up six true believers including Brett McMurphy and Brooks Kubena.
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and then...
3. Notre Dame - see above. smh.
4. Georgia - only dropped one spot.
5. Ohio State *
6. Oklahoma State
7. Penn State * - hasn’t played, moved up.
8. Florida
9. Texas A&M
10. Cincinnati
11. Miami
12. BYU
13. North Carolina
14. Wisconsin * - hasn’t played, moved up.
15. Oregon * - hasn’t played, moved up.
16. SMU
17. Michigan * - hasn’t played, moved up two.
18. Iowa State
19. Kansas State
20. Virginia Tech
21. Minnesota * - hasn’t played, moved up FOUR.
22. NC State
23. Southern Cal * - Amazing. Without playing a game, the Trojans have gone from unanked to #23.
24. Coastal Carolina - First ranking ever.
25. Marshall

* Opting back in.

Auburn, Tennessee, and ULL dropped out.

STATS OF THE DAY

• Memphis and Center Florida combined for 1,501 yards, 75 first downs, and 99 points.
• Former Arky walk-on Hudson Clark had three interceptions, 19 tackles and a sack against Ole Miss.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to the bozos on the ABC Football broadcast who did a “Heisman Watch” segment on Saturday. Of course they trumpeted their darling Sunshine, but their second pick was BYU QB Zach Wilson. Sure the guy has pretty stats but here is who he has faced: Navy, Troy, LaTech, USTA, and Houston. That is not exactly a Murderer’s Row of defenses.

KK #2: Have you noticed all the celebration dances lately. It’s perfectly fine to do a quick little spontaneous jig after a score but there was one game (can’t recall which) in which three receivers got together and did a rehearsed dance. Also saw a guy spike a football - a long-time non-no in CFB. No flags.

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 and refuse to REALLY look at what a player has accomplished.

WHO WILL WIN

CLARIFICATION: This section is not who deserves to win. It is who the slobbering press and other voters will callously crush on.

1. Trevor Lawrence (QB, Dabo Cult, Jr.) - Beat up on another trash defense but did throw an interception.
2. Justin Fields (QB, anOSU, Jr.) - Still has not played. Will still be second.
3. A token running back - Travis Etienne of Clempson (11-44, lost a fumble). Najee Harris compiled 152 rushing yards and a score against one of the nation’s previous top defenses. Iowa State’s Breece Hall might start getting some attention.
4. Mac Jones - He will get some votes but he doesn’t have long flowing blonde hair.
5. ???

WHO SHOULD WIN

CLARIFICATION: This section IS for who deserves to win it.

To be clear, Sunshine has been pretty darn good, but he has played a crapload of ACC cupcakes. And now it looks like UNC and Notre Dame, who were supposed to be challengers to Clemson, are just cheap knockoffs. It is hard to judge someone against such inferior opponents. So, who exactly is going to test this guy before the voting concludes, pre-playoff?

Alabama’s Mac Jones once again still has the highest QB rating according to ESPN at 220.1. He threw his second interception of the season, but he was hit as the ball left his hand. The first one came on a batted ball.

THE SICK REPORT

• DL LaBryan Ray (sprained an elbow in practice) and TE Carl Tucker (pulled a hamstring on a kickoff return vs OM) missed the Georgia game. TE Miller Forristall sustained an ankle injury, but as you saw the medical team attached a new one and he returned to the game. Other than that, no Alabama in-game injuries reported! A few guys were dinged up but nothing serious. Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Coach Ballou! Thank you, Dr. Rhea! Thank you, Kirby!
• Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden was released from the hospital over the weekend and he has gotten his appetite back. To be clear, he is 90 years old and has diabetes. The odds of him living much longer are not good.
• Purdue coach Jeff Brohm had a presumed positive. Expect him back in ten days like everyone else.
• NC State (4-1) had just found their way into the rankings when starting QB Devin Leary broke a fibula. OUCH! He is expected to miss 4-8 weeks at the very least.

DRAMA

• Things are not so rosy on the plains. A heated exchange erupted between wonderboy quarterback Bo Nix and 4.3 speed [citation needed] wide receiver Seth Williams.
• After Tennessee’s beatdown at the hands of Kentucky, Jeremy Pruitt fired his defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh. The only problem is that the defensive linemen ain’t the ones throwing passes to the opposing players. However, Brumbaugh did go to Auburn, so it makes sense...
• Pinson, AL native Nico Collins is not on the Michigan roster. Reports reveal that he signed with an agent when it didn’t look like there would be a fall season, and he never came back to the team.

KOACHES KORNER

• Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M were hit with $100,000 fines by the SEC last week for “sideline mask-wearing behavior from coaches, support staff members, strength staffers” the weekend before. Jeremy Pruitt and and Lane Kiffin both wore more standard masks this past Saturday (though Kiffin did lower his A LOT). They might want to consider going back to wearing the Purina babushka and the doo-rag respectively, and take that $ hit this week because they were bad on Saturday with the high-tech masks.
• Gators coach Dan Mullen is looking like a big fat idiot. After asking for 90,000 people in the Swamp, not only did the Florida game against LSU get postponed, but Cousin Eddie caught the Captain Trips himself. He will be back in a week or so.
• Is Sam Pittman pulling a Coach O? It is hard to tell this early into his tenure how much success the Arky head coach will have in Fayetteville but he has sure surrounded himself with some doggone good coordinators. Hiring DC Barry Odom was a genius move. On the offensive side, Kendall Briles has worked wonders with an offense that was among the worst in FBS over the last two seasons.
• Kirby Smart has announced that he will catch the big bad sick this week but will be asymptomatic and then find out it was a pappy shmear test by mistake.
• For fun, Urban Meyer likes to nail his neighbor’s doors shut and throw a flaming bag of poop through a window at 4 A.M. “After a long day of being superior to everyone,” the former coach said, “it helps me relax and unwind from a stressful day. Your neck can get real sore after a full day of looking down on everyone.”
• Fat F*** Phil Fulmer went to SeaWorld but had trouble leaving because they kept throwing him back in the tank.

TEEVEE

ESPN was obnoxiously showing Patrick Nix after every play. They wanted so bad for Bo Nix to come back and have another fluke win so they could show daddy pumping his fist. Srsly, there needs to be a cap on how many times they show a parent.

THIS WEEK

The Big Ten, MAC, and MWC are back in the fold this coming weekend. The ridiculous PAC-12 is still THREE weeks away from kicking off. smh

(Below is an abbreviated list of highlighted games of interest. If you REALLY need to know about the big UNLV-San Diego State showdown, you can find the details here.)

Thursday, October 22

Arkansas State at Appalachian State 6:30/7:30 ESPN

Friday, October 23

Tulsa at USF 6:30/7:30 ESPN
Illinois at Wisconsin 7pm/8pm BTN - The B1G is back with their generic brand of crapola.
Looziana at UAB 7pm/8pm CBSSN - Bham U. has some nerve playing on a Friday night.

Saturday, October 24

SEC

Auburn at Ole Miss 11am/noon SECN - Two teams who desperately need a win.
Alabama at Tennessee 2:30/3:30 CBS - TSIO
Kentucky at Missouri 3pm/4pm SECN - This might be the most competitive game of the week.
South Carolina at LSU 6pm/7pm ESPN

DURING COMMERCIALS

Nebraska at Ohio State 11am/noon FOX - Warm-up game for anOSU in prep for PSU on Oct 31.
Syracuse at Clemson 11am/noon ACCN - Must be nice...
NC State at North Carolina 11am/noon ESPN - Could the ‘Pack surprise?
Oklahoma at TCU 11am/noon ABC - Has Okie regrouped?
Iowa State at Oklahoma State 2:30/3:30 FOX - YUGE B12 implications.
Baylor at Texas 2:30/3:30 ESPN - meh
Notre Dame at Pitt 2:30/3:30 ABC - Finally, an Irish foe with a pulse.
Michigan at Minnesota 6:30/7:30 ABC - Loss #1 for Michy

LDS AFTER DARK (-.-)zzZZ

Texas State at BYU 9:15/10:15 ESPN - Finally, something for you night owls and West Coasters.

MACK and SABAN vs. OZ and LAVELL

Mack Brown lost an easy opportunity to keep pace with Nick Saban but crapped the bed against FSU. Osborne and Edwards are within reach this season for the GOAT.

[For those of you new to RBR Random Thoughts, we count all on-field wins in Division I-A, aka FBS. So, before you go screaming about Frank Beamer, 42 of his wins came at Murray State. Brown had six victories in one season with Appalachian State when they were still in what was known at I-AA (FCS today). In addition, we don’t recognize NCAA sanctioned forfeits. If you won on the field, it counts in our books.]

Keep an eye on Alabama center Landon Dickerson (#69) as he introduces himself to pre-season All-SEC safety Richard LeCounte (#2).

#ALABAMA

• Make it 22-0 for Nick Saban against former assistants. Kirby Smart has now been victimized three times by the his former boss. Jeremy Pruitt (0-2) of Tennessee is next in line.

• Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith are averaging 260 receiving yards per game. Those two alone are averaging more rec-ypg than 50 of 77 participating FBS teams.
• At 557 yards, Waddle is only three yards behind his total for all of last season.
• Smith passes Jerry Jeudy in career receiving touchdowns for second place with 27. Amari Cooper’s school record of 31 is within reach.

• Najee Harris is now eighth in career rushing touchdowns for Alabama players with 31. He is 11 scores behind Derrick Henry’s school record. Harris is ninth in rushing yards at 2,876 trailing Henry by 715.
• Looking ahead: Missy State at Alabama on Oct. 31 will be another night game, 6pm/7pm, aired on ESPN. @LSU Nov. 14 will be 5pm/6pm on CBS, magic not included.

GAME 5: Saturday, October 24, 2020 - TSIO!

Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0) at Tennessee Volunteers (2-2)

Bryant-Denny Stadium North, Knoxville, TN ~ 2:38pm CT/3:38pm ET, CBS

The last time Bama lost to UT:

• The Fast & Furious movie franchise was only up to its third installment. Also, The Da Vinci Code and the animated Pixar hit Cars were in theaters.
• Dexter kicked off its first season on Showtime. 30 Rock debuted on NBC.
• Gnarls Barkley was a thing.
• Pop star Adele was still in high school.
• Britney Spears was still married to d-bag Kevin Federline.
• George W. Bush was President.
• Drew Brees signed with the New Orleans Saints
• The Texas Longhorns were reigning National Champs.
• Alabama would finish 6-7 and fire Mike Shula. Joe Kines (above) was interim coach for one game.
• Nick Saban was tiring of spoiled mouthy NFL players and having three bosses to answer to in south Florida, when his phone rang from a 205 area code...

TSIO Details:

• Announcers: Brad Nessler, Gary, random blonde. [CBS has to eventually run out of Alabama games they can air.]
• Eli Gold on Alabama Radio.
• Alabama is 57-37-8 all-time against the Vols. The Tide have won the last 13 meetings. If this streak was a person, it would be in ninth grade.
• The line on this game is around Bama -21. Over/Under is 61½.