Random Thoughts: Welcome to the Party, Pal

The Big Ten pulled up to Nakatomi Plaza this past Saturday and took their fair share of lumps. With their 8+1 seasons, any team not starting with an “O” would probably have to go undefeated. Many a high hope were dashed.

The one and only team in the ACC looked pretty mediocre against a horrible team who was boat-raced by Liberty the week before.

In the SEC, it was business as usual.

Asterisk [ as-tuh-risk ] noun

1. a small starlike symbol (*), used in writing and printing as a reference mark or to indicate omission, doubtful matter, etc.

SEC

Auburn 35* Ole Miss 28 - So, it was a back and forth game with OM dropping a lot of key passes and an easy INT, Nix thinks he can outrun everybody to the edge. But let’s get to the real story. For the second consecutive week, officials blew a call that aided in a victory for Auburn. This time, it was a kickoff that may or may not have hit the Auburn player’s fingertips, and had a clear and immediate recovery by Ole Miss - something the SEC emphasized just seven days ago, whistle or no whistle. The worst part about this episode is that it wasn’t even reviewed in the booth: A) It was a close play that should’ve been looked at; B) There was the typical timeout after a kickoff with no hurry-up offense trying to snap the ball; C) After last week’s Aub-Arky debacle, you’d think they would look at EVERY play under a microscope. Lane Kiffin was told by the side judge that it had been viewed and “there’s nothing there”. Kiffin took to Twitter to rightfully criticized the refs. He got a call from the SEC this week stating, “yep, we blew it. Oh, yeah. And here is a $25,000 fine for saying we blew it.” So, much B.S. Auburn’s 2020 season is now under an asterisk.

Alabama 48 Tennessee 17 - If you asked me on Saturday morning “who is the one Tide player that Alabama can absolutely not do without?” I would have said Jaylen Waddle. As I am sure you know, Waddle went down on the first play and yet the Crimson Tide had no problems brushing the Vols aside with 587 yards of offense and a robust 30 first downs. The defense continues to improve and even got a scoop and score from Malachi Moore - Alabama’s 77th non-offensive touchdown since Nick Saban came on board. Although the Tide got beat on a couple of plays, there were no blown coverages and UT’s third down efficiency was only 4 of 16.

LSU 52 South Carolina 24 - Even with a true freshman quarterback making his first collegiate start for LSU, there was no way a Muschamp-led SC team was going to have two signature wins in a row. That is simply not how the Gamecocks roll. The 6’6” 250 pound tight end linebacker quarterback TJ Finley tore through the Carolina defense to the tune of 17/21, 265 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT, 8 rush, 24 yds, 1 TD. But is he Cam Newton or is he a moment-in-time Cardale Jones?

Missouri 20 Kentucky 10 - Are you still skeered of Kentucky? This score should be a surprise to nobody. UK has a really good defense (just like UGA but less so) but their offense is trash (just like UGA but more so). Among the 76 teams who have played more than one game, the ‘Cats are 68th in yards per game and 55th in scoring. In this game, Kentucky tallied all of 145 yards and 8 first downs. Quarterback Terry Wilson (3/9, 35 yds) is dreadful. Coach Mark Stoops needs to think long and hard about how long he wants to proceed with Wilson over Joey Gatewood, Sawyer Smith, or a damn wide receiver at QB. Mizzou has their mojo working ever since Connor Bazelak (21/30, 201) took over under center. However, the real hero was Larry Rountree III (37 rush, career high 126 yds, 2 TD).

MINI-CHAOS

Indiana 36 Penn State 35 (OT) - The wildest game of the day was this back-and-forth affair that saw 22 points scored in the final 2:30 of the fourth quarter. PSU scored to take a 21-20 lead. After a few sacks, Indy spurned the chance to punt from their own 14 yard line on 4th-and-21 and 1:53 remaining. Stupid, right? Wrong? This move would either be a first down or give the Nittany Lions the ball deep in Indiana territory. Tom Allen knew that PSU would have a hard time running out the clock. Much like the Lions-Falcons game on Sunday, the Hoosiers let the running back Devyn Ford run free and he looked bewildered as to why it was so easy. Suddenly, he tried to stop at the goal line but it was too late. He scored and IU got the ball back. The Hoos had only one timeout. Why James Franklin wasn’t taking a knee is beyond me. Down 28-20, Indiana would march down field and get the touchdown and two-point conversion to tie it up. 3-D chess. Penn State would miss a 57-yard field goal and the game went to overtime. PSU scored first to go up 7 and Indy would answer right back. Allen again rolled the dice and went for two. His QB would just barely break the goal line (see above) for the W. I still don’t know if he scored or not but there was no way anyone could overturn this play. It was that close.

Michigan 49 Minnesota 24 - I really did not see this one coming. Meeshagin outgained Minnie 478 to 326 and had a scoop & score to eliminate the Gophers.

THE REST

Louisville 48 Florida State 16 - Yep. just as predicted. A week after a big win over UNC, the ‘Noles laid a big fat egg.

Oklahoma State 24 Iowa State 21 - Okie Lite keeps on winning, but the schedule gets tougher: vs. Tex, @KSU, @Okie.

Cincinnati 42 SMU 13 - Cincy trounced a pretty good Mustangs team with 439 yards of offense. The Methodists had 290.

OTHER

Clemson 47 Syracuse 21 - Shhh, don’t tell anyone but Trevor Lawrence kinda sucked. He was 27/43 for 289 yards, 2 TD, 1 pick. The Tigers struggled holding a tenuous six-point lead in the third quarter. Fortunately for Clemmy, they play in the ACC. The Orangemen gave up a scoop & score and two interceptions on three of their next four possessions to hand the Dabo Pizza Party Cult a deceptive 26-point win.

SO SAD

Northwestern 43 Maryland 3 - Taulia Tagovailoa was 14-25 passing for 94 yards and threw 3 INTs. The Wildcats gained 537 yards with 325 on the ground. The Terps had 207. Total. They really should go back to the ACC.

Rutgers 38 Michigan State 27 - When Mark Dantonio left East Lansing, that cupboard was bare. He salted the earth and set the oil wells on fire. What a mess that whole University is right now.

KEY & PEELE ALL-STAR

Indiana WR Whop Philyor’s given name is Mister Elias De’Angelo Philyor. His parents began calling him “Whop” because of his love for Burger King’s Whoppers.

DICK MOVE OF THE WEEK

anOhio State decided to allow only 1,600 warm bodies in their ginormous stadium. That number includes everybody in the stadium: players, coaches, staff members, guests (around 650), concession workers, ushers, police officers, etc.

Instead of having fans, anOSU is @generously@ selling cardboard cutouts of fans for $25-$75 a pop. Unlike the MLB and NFL, proceeds do NOT go to charitable causes in the community. More likely, the money will go towards paying Urban Meyer’s bullsh*t salary for his bullsh*t job with his bullsh*t title as “Assistant Athletics Director - Athletics Initiatives and Relations”.

All purchases, the athletic department says, are final. No refunds. If it breaks, tough @#$%. Oh, and you cannot have the cutout at the end of the season. But for an extra $20, the athletic department will ship a duplicate of the cutout to the purchaser. There is a lengthy list of rules. It must be so joyless working for anOSU.

DICK MOVE OF THE WEEK II

Up 45-17 on Nebraska with 2:50 to go, anOhio State kept rushing the ball and piling up yards. You can’t blame them for that. However with 18 seconds left, the Buckeyes had 1st & goal from the 2 yard line and punched in one more score. Coach Ryan Day later apologized saying “I didn’t feel like we had the personnel to take the knee.” Really? How hard is it to carry that out?

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESI

The SEC Nation crew all went 2-2 on their picks. But we all know Roman Harper shoulda been 3-1:

• Tebow - Aub, UK, SC, Bama
• Roman - OM, UK, LSU, Bama
• Rodgers - Aub, UK, SC, 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) got two wins this week. One was the predictable 56-35 thrashing of Southern Miss. The other was the unpredictable commitment from DE Khristian Zachary over Alabama, Colorado, Missouri, Tennessee and others. The Tide might have taken him depending on how some others decide down the road and if a scholly was still available at that time. Regardless, it’s a big pick up for the Flames. I wonder if he’ll stick after Hugh Freeze skips town in December. A trip to Virginia Tech in two weeks is up next for the Libertines.
• LaLaLaffy! (4-1) - A 100 yard kickoff return aided the Rajuns to a W over UAB in Bham 24-20. @Texas State should be an easy win.
• Coastal Carolina (5-0) - 28-14 win over Ga Southern. Now they play the other GSU in ATL.

COUSINS

• Jacksonville State (3-1) - Due to the FCS Gamecocks belonging to one of them yankee conferences, the Ohio Valley Conference, their season was callously cancelled several months ago when that was still en vogue. JSU was forced to find their own opponents. They almost beat FSU earlier this month and on Friday defeated FIU of Conference USA 19-10. The ‘Cocks also conquered Mercer and North Alabama to finish their fall season - unless they can find another sucker to play them. What a shame.
• Troy (3-2) - The Trojans lost to Georgia State 36-34. Two late TDs made it looks closer than it was. Troy is dangerously flirting with mediocrity. @Arky State.
• South Alabama (3-2) - With their third win, the Jags top their win total from a season ago. Hapless ULM falls to 0-5. Next for USA is a quick turnaround road trip to Georgia Southern for a Thursday game. Yeah, four days to learn how to defend the triple option? Good luck with that.
• Thompson 39 Hoover 23 - The Bucs have lost four straight to the Warriors. Official attendance: A LOT.

THAT ANNOYING STEP-BROTHER WHO EATS CRAYONS... AS AN ADULT

• UAB (4-2) - The Dragons blew a 20-10 lead against ULLaffy and then threw two interceptions on their final two drives in a desperate comeback bid. Official attendance: 11,610

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

Army (6-1) - The Black Knights took down another cupcake topping fledgling FCS Mercer 49-3. Air Force is up in two weeks and we’ll see what kind of team this is.

Navy (3-3) - The Midshipmen fell to Houston. The schedule gets real tough with @SMU, Tulsa, Memphis up on the docket.

Air Force (1-1) - After a scoreless first half, a 92-yard San Jose Canseco State scoring drive and a Falcons fumble at their own 14 led to the Spartans taking a 14-0 lead and an eventual 17-6 win. Nick Starkel is QB for Jose. Next: Smurfs.

ELIMINATED

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

ELIMINATION, ENDANGERED:

• Penn State, Minnesota, Iowa
• Oklahoma Lite, Oklahoma, Texas
• Miami, Notre Dame, UNC
• Texas A&M, Florida, UGA, Auburn

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

• ACC - Clemson is vulnerable.
• SEC - It’s still Bama plus the UGA-Fla winner. TAMU has a good chance as a second SEC team.
• Big 12 - Okay, Gumps. It may be time to start cheering for Okie Lite... at least for a little while. If they can win out, they are in the CFP. Why do we want this? First off, REVENGE. Alabama is 0-1 vs. the Cowpokes and need to exorcise some demons from the 2006 Independence Bowl. Secondly, if anOhioStU loses a game, this will diminish their chances of making the Final Four which would be delicious. Thirdly, Tejas and Okie Classic would be SO MAD. OkSt’s next three games are vs. Tex, @KSU, @Okie. Yikes!
• Big Ten - Michigan eliminated Minnesota. Iowa and PSU took themselves out but can still play spoiler this Saturday. Wisky and anOSU are still alive.
• PAC-12 - Nyet.
• Indies

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

Clemson lost two first place votes and Alabama picked up two first place votes. Virginia Tech, Minnesota, and NC State dropped out. Too bad they didn’t play Illinois.

1. Clemson (52)
2. Alabama (10)
3. Ohio State *
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma State
7. Cincinnati
8. Texas A&M
9. Wisconsin * - moved up 5 spots for beating big bad Illinois.
10. Florida
11. BYU
12. Miami
13. Michigan * - moved up 5 spots.
14. Oregon **
15. North Carolina
16. Kansas State - moved up 4 spots for beating big bad Kansas. Still lost to Arky State.
17. Indiana *
18. Penn State * - tumbled ten spots. Imagine if the ruling had gone the other way.
19. Marshall
20. Coastal Carolina
21. Southern Cal ** - keep on moving up.
22. SMU
23. Iowa State
24. Oklahoma – look who is back.
25. Boise *

* Played ONE game.
** Has yet to play.

LET’S GO BOWLING

• Army has officially accepted an invitation to play in the Independence Bowl. 2020, y’all.
• New bowl sponsor alert: We now have the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? This horrid bowl takes place in the horrid Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
• Bum-bum-bum. Another west coast bowl bites the dust. In typical PAC-12/Big Ten fashion, the Holiday Bowl in San Diego has cancelled their party two months before the actual event because of the scary Chinese bat disease. They join the Redbox Bowl, the Bahamas Bowl and the Hawaii Bowl on the sidelines this winter. The Holiday Bowl is one of the very few that ESPN has kicked to the curb in recent years. Finances might have something to so with it as well. FS1 (aka Big Lots ESPN) picked up broadcast rights in 2017.

STATS OF THE DAY

• Among teams that have played more than one game, Alabama is the nation’s highest scoring team with 48.4 ppg just ahead of Clemson’s 48.2. The Tide is third in total offense at 566.4 ypg behind UCF and North Texas.
• UNC kicker Grayson Atkins missed a 22-yard field goal attempt. It was a dry field, playing at home, good snap, good hold from the right hash mark, and he hit the left upright. College kickers, amirite?
• LSU returned a kickoff for a touchdown at home for the first time since 1981. How is that possible?
• Saturday marked the first time Jim Harbaugh opened the season at Michigan with one of his quarterback recruits as the starter.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to the Big Ten schedule makers. They knew full well that the best chance they have at having a member school represented in the College Football Playoff was in an undefeated Ohio State. So, they made that path as smooth as possible. No Wisconsin. No Minnesota. No Iowa. Instead, their cross-division foes are Illinois and Nebraska. This is looking like a two-game season for the Buckeyes, Oct. 31 at Penn State and home vs Michigan, Dec. 12:

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.) was far from great (27-43, 289 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT) against a crap team and threw another interception. That is two games in a row with a pick. He has been sacked 8 times.
2. Justin Fields (QB, anOSU, Jr.) was pretty good: 20-21, 276 yds, 2 TD, 15 car, 54 yds, 1 TD
3. Mac Jones - He will get some votes but he doesn’t have long flowing blonde hair. 25-31, 387 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT.
4. A token running back - Travis Etienne of Clempson (16 car, 86 yds, 3 TD, played in every series but the last one) will be a solid pro but he is not blowing anyone away. Najee Harris compiled 97 rushing yards and three scores in three quarters of play. Iowa State’s Breece Hall had a good stat line (20 car, 185 yds, 1 TD) but ISU lost. You have to be REALLY good to win the Hypesman on a lsoing team.
5. The BYU QB is getting love for thrashing a bunch of bottom feeders.

WHO SHOULD WIN

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

• At the risk of sounding like a homer, Alabama’s Mac Jones did not miss a beat even after Jaylen Waddle went down on the first play. He has never wavered and steady as a rock.
• Justin Fields was really good in his season opener but it’s a small sample size.

THE SICK REPORT

• Add me to the SICK REPORT becuase I am just sick to my stomach. Alabama has been cursed by fluke injuries. And it’s not small injuries to reserves. It’s season-enders to the most important irreplaceable players.
• Offensive lineman Deonte Brown was not on the field for the final drive of the second quarter and did not return to the field in the second half. Running back Brian Robinson, also suffered a minor injury. Both could have re-entered the game if needed.
• DL LaBryan Ray (sprained elbow) and TE Carl Tucker (hamstring) did not play against Tennessee. Ray is “still very questionable” in terms of a return date to game action.
• LSU starting quarterback Myles Brennan did not play against South Carolina due to a “significant lower-body injury” (his pee-pee?). He could miss more games.
• Auburn right guard Brandon Council is expected out for season with knee injury.
• anOSU’s path to an undefeated regular season just got a little easier after Penn State announced their top running back Journey Brown will likely miss the entire season with an undisclosed medical condition. He had 890 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2019. PSU will also be without LB Jesse Luketa for the first half due to an ejection for targeting in the fourth quarter of the Indy game.
• For unknown reasons, All-American mighty-mite Rondale Moore sat out Purdue’s opening game with Iowa. Reports say he will return this week vs. Illinois.
• 90-year old former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden seems to have kicked Captain Trips to the curb.

DRAMA

• Bama DL Ishmael Sopsher has entered the transfer portal but is still on the official roster.
• LSU starting offensive left tackle Dare Rosenthal suspended indefinitely. No details.
• Wisconsin starting quarterback Graham Mertz tested positive for you-know-what over the weekend and will take further tests to confirm the result. Fortunately for the Badgers, they have @Nebr and home versus Purdue on the schedule before a trip to Michigan in 11/14.
• Former starting QB Garrett Shrader announced he will transfer from Mississippi State. The true sophomore started four games for Mississippi State in the 2019 season. Mike Leach’s stubborn love affair with the air raid offense has no use for a running quarterback.
• Kansas star RB Pooka Williams has opted out of remainder of 2020 season for “family health issues”. Williams cited his mother’s health as the reason for opting out, but being on a train wreck of a team probably weighed heavily on him as well. Don’t be surprised if he is wearing a different color jersey next season. Les Miles pulled off a coup convincing the former 4-star recruit from Boutte, LA to follow him down that rabbit hole.
• The New Mexico-Colorado State game was called off and the Lobos were forced to pause team practices last week because of local health orders and traveling out of state. No outbreak. Just a bunch of government a-holes putting their noses in everyone’s business.

KOACHES KORNER

• Purdue coach Jeff Brohm was denied his appeal to coach from home and communicate with coaches. It’s a stupid rule but it didn’t really matter since the BoilerBoyz beat Iowa anyway.
• ULM coach Matt Viator is winless in five tries in 2020. Now in his fifth season in Monroe, he has never had a winning season and possesses an overall record of 19-35. How has this guy not been fired?
• Urban Meyer has been very busy this week opening candy wrappers, coughing all over them and resealing the wrappers. Happy Halloween!
• Fat F*** Phil Fulmer is so fat he wears Orion’s belt.

TEEVEE

The NBA Finals ratings averaged 7.45M viewers, peaking with Game 5 at 8.89M. The six games in the series are the six lowest rated games ever recorded. The NHL also struggled, tabulating in the least-watched Stanley Cup Finals since 2007. Overall, the six game series averaged just 2.03M viewers. The World Series is struggling as well. But SEC football? We’re doing just fine, thank you for asking.

THIS WEEK

It’s Halloween weekend and then a break for Alabama.

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

Thursday, October 29

South Alabama at Georgia Southern 6:30/7:30 ESPN
Colorado State at Fresno 9pm/10pm CBSSN

Friday, October 30

Marshall at FIU 6pm/7pm CBSSN - Oh, the humanity.
Minnesota at Maryland 6:30/7:30 ESPN - Minnie is gonna be mad.
Carolina at Tulsa 8pm/9pm ESPN2
Hawaii at Wyoming 8:45/9:45 FS1

Saturday, October 31

SEC

Georgia at Kentucky 11am/noon SECN - D vs D.
LSU at Auburn 2:30/3:30 CBS - Which LSU will show up? Which Aub?
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt 3pm/4pm SECN - Think you can handle this one, Lane?
Mississippi State at Alabama 6pm/7pm ESPN - Look for Leach to air it out.
Arkansas at Texas A&M 6:30/7:30 SECN - Arky has lost the last 8 in this series including 3 OT games.
Missouri at Florida 6:30/7:30 SECN Alt - The Gators returned to practice Monday and expect to play this game.

ET AL

Boston College at Clemson 11am/noon ABC - Can BC put a scare in CU?
Memphis at Cincinnati 11am/noon ESPN - Maybe the last obstacle for Cincy until December.
Texas at Oklahoma State 3pm/4pm FOX
Ohio State at Penn State 6:30/7:30 ABC - Game 1 of anOSU’s two-game season.

NIGHT OWLS (no, not FAU Owls but since you brought it up FAU!)

WKU at BYU 9:15/10:15 ESPN - more LDS After Dark

MACK and SABAN vs. OZ and LAVELL

Mack Brown and Nick Saban both notch Ws. Nebraska legend Tom Osborne is now on the same city block. The national outlets probably won’t recognize it because math is hard and researching is just too much work. RBR stands behind their calculations.

[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.]

#ALABAMA

• Saban is now 23-0 against former assistants with Jeremy Pruitt losing for a third straight time. Saban may not be done with this category this season. There could be another meeting or two with Kirby Smart in the postseason.
• Game 5 captains were Miller Forristall, Alex Leatherwood and DeVonta Smith. Smith went to midfield for the coin toss.
• Najee Harris inches closer to the career rushing touchdown record shared by Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram of 42. With three on Saturday, Harris has 34 scores via the ground attack.
• Nickelback Malachi Moore recorded his third turnover in his first five games with his scoop and score versus Tennessee.
• Freshman Tim Smith saw extensive playing time on the defensive line. Jamil Burroughs also noticeably got some late snaps for the second game in a row.
• Roger Myers informed us Saturday morning that Charlie Scott (Air Force grad transfer and brother of the legendary JK Scott) was the only punter to make the travel team for Alabama. I commented that the Tide would not need a punter and of course Bama punted on their first possession. Scott’s first boot went 41 yards and forced a fair catch at the nine. His second and final kick traveled only 28 yards, but it too forced a fair catch and left the Vols inside the 20.
• Saban had good things to say about Scott and kicker Will Reichard who connected on field goals from 39 and 24 yards. Reichard has not missed a field goal (6-6) or extra point (32-32) this season. He has been amazingly accurate with kicks often right down the middle. Not to be too Gumpy, but this kid could be something special.
• Looking ahead: @LSU Nov. 14 will be 5pm/6pm on CBS, magic not included. Nov 7 is a bye week for Bama. Go get married, you crazy romantics!

GAME 6: Saturday, October 31, 2020 - NICK SABAN’S 69th BIRTHDAY!

Mississippi St. Bulldogs (1-3) at Alabama Crimson Tide (5-0)

Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL ~ 6pm CT/7pm ET, ESPN

• The status of Mississippi State star running back Kylin Hill is still up in the air. “No update,” Mike Leach said on Monday. “He’s still unavailable.” Hill was suspended for Texas A&M game on Oct. 17. Might we have a mutiny?
• Announcers: Sean McDonough & Todd Blackledge with Todd McShay & Molly McGrath on the sidelines.
• Eli Gold on Alabama Radio.
• Alabama is 84-17-3 all-time against the MSU. The Crimson Tide have won the last 12 meetings. In nine of those games, the Bullies scored in single digits.
• The line on this game is around Bama -30½. Over/Under is 64.