Random Thoughts: Big XII Fall Down, Go Boom!

Disaster has struck in the Southwest. After a mere three weeks of games, only Oklahoma State stands as an undefeated team in the Big XII. Four teams have 2-1 records, but two of those have lost to Sun Belt teams.

The SEC looks head and shoulders above everyone with Alabama, Georgia, and Florida looking elite.

The ACC has gone dark with cancellations and most of their games being aired on Satellite channel A-3024 SE.

STILL NOT BACK

TCU 33 Texas 31 - The Longhorns fumbled at the one yard line on first and goal with two and a half minutes to go, losing at home to unranked TCU.

LEAVING

Iowa State 37 Oklahoma 30 - For the second straight week, Okie quarterback Spencer Rattler threw a pick on an end-of-game drive to lose the game. ISU running back Breece Hall had his third straight 100+ yard rushing game and scored his fifth and sixth TD of the season.

Tulsa 34 Center Florida 26 - There will be no T-shirt National Championship for the Orlando Tragic this year as the Golden Hurricanes handed out an upset on the Knighty-nights home field.

SEC

Alabama 52 Texas A&M 24 - The Crimson Tide took an early 14-point lead, only to see TAMU tie it up after an interception on a batted ball early in the 2nd quarter. A Bama touchdown drive and a pick six pushed the home team ahead 28-14, swinging momentum firmly to Alabama’s side. It is funny how that mere two touchdown lead in the second quarter felt so insurmountable for TAMU. Despite the big win, the Tide had some trouble with Aggie WR/RB Ainias Smith (6 rec, 123 yds, 2 TD), and tight ends Ryan Renick (17-yard TD) and 260-pounder Jalen Wydermyer (8 rec, 82 yds). They also struggled with stopping the Aggies of third down (10 of 17 conversions).

Georgia 27 Auburn 6 - What should have been the game of the week was an ugly affair that felt over early in the second quarter with UGA up 17-0. Both teams had two penalties each on their opening drives. Bo Nix was pretty pedestrian (21/40, 177 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT, 3 sacks) and the Tigers eked out 39 rushing yards. Georgia QB Stetson Bennett was zeroed in on Kearis Jackson finding the WR nine times out of the Dawgs’ 17 completions for 147 yards. George Pickens had the second most catches (2) and yards (26) for UGA.

Tennessee 35 Missouri 12 - I hate to admit this publicly but the Vols look pretty good. Jarrett Guarantano is a different quarterback when he isn’t flustered. His improved play comes courteous of a solid offensive line which included newly eligible Cade Mays. The Vols had 26 first downs grinding out 232 yards on the ground.

Florida 38 South Carolina 24 - Plagued by dropped passes, the Gamecocks missed an opportunity for a big statement win in the Swamp. OC Mike Bobo really calls a good game, but SC does not have the players. Gators QB Kyle Trask was efficient (21/29 for 268 yards and 4 TDs), but also threw a pick and lost a fumble. UF still has issues on defense.

Arkansas 21 Mississippi State 14 - LSU Defensive coordinator Bo Pelini should have been fired before the weekend was out. In Week 1 against Clanga-Clang, he kept his corners playing press coverage the whole game and MSU’s K.J. Costello just kept throwing over them. Arky defensive coordinator Barry Odom watched a little film last week and realized that dropping everyone in coverage and waiting for Costello to screw up was the way to go. The Bullies’ field general was goaded into three interceptions, one returned for a score on the opening drive. Imagine that. Feleipe Franks didn’t screw up, which is the most you can ask of the Hawgs QB.

Ole Miss 42 Kentucky 41 (OT) - As you would expect, Lane Kiffin always has a good offensive game plan (too bad the OM defense sucks so bad). A UK missed extra point in overtime was the difference. College kickers, amirite? The Wildcats squandered a 408 rushing yard effort with three ‘Cats topping 100.

LSU 41 Vanderbilt 7 - The Bayou Bengals had 498 yards of offense. Oddly and stupidly, LSU quarterback Myles Brennan played the whole game. Yeah, Coach O. No reason to give the back-up any reps.

MINI-CHAOS

SMU 30 Memphis 27 - Having not played since Sept. 5, the Tigers fell to the Mustangs on a 43-yard field goal with nine seconds left.

NEAR DISASTER

Florida State 41 Jacksonville State 24 - FSU was trailing most of the game until substituting in their third-string-string quarterback, Jordan Travis, who rallied the troops. Next up is Notre Dame. Oh, my.

OTHER

North Carolina 26 Boston College 22 - Didn’t I tell you this would be close? [I got one right. I can gloat, can’t I?]

NC State 30 Pitt 29 - I’m not getting all the love for Pitt.

DICK MOVE OF THE WEEK

Gustavo Malzahn tried a fake kneel-down before the half against Georgia and was stuffed. That guy is the worst.

THE WACKY WORLD OF THE TALKING HEADS

This season is so weird with the all-conference schedules and some teams playing 11 games and others playing 8, etc., that you really can’t blame the prognosticators for getting it wrong. That said, I was way off on Oklahoma. Silly me to think they could “next-man-up”.

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

• Tulsa is a team to keep an eye on. They probably should have beaten Okie Lite (flagged for 15 penalties totaling 120 yards, including a touchdown taken off the board in the fourth quarter due to a false start) and the win over Center Florida was not a fluke. They host Cincy on 10/17.
• LaLaLaffy! (3-0) - The Ragin’ Cajuns had a week off and were supposed to play Appy State Wednesday but... ya know. They will instead play Coastal Carolina in a rescheduled match-up 10/10.
• Arkansas State (1-2) - The Red Wolves are on Adoption Probation with a 52-23 loss to Coastal Carolina. Central Arky make-up game is next.

COUSINS

• Troy (1-1) - The Trojans-USA game was postponed because of you-know-what. Texas State visits 10/10.
• South Alabama (1-2) - The Jags play Texas State 10/17.

THAT ANNOYING STEP-BROTHER WHO DIPS SKOAL AT THE DINNER TABLE

• UAB (3-1) - Who needs PAC-12 After Dark™ when you have the Blazers to lull you to sleep. The Dragons defeated UTSA 21-13 despite four turnovers. Rice is being ridiculous and canceled everything until Oct. 24 way back on Sept. 8th despite no positives. Thus, no game with Birmingham U this week. Instead, UAB has WKU on deck in two weeks.

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

• Army (3-1) - The Black Knights sought and destroyed Abilene Christian 55-23. ACU scored most of their points against the scrubs. Next victim is the faux Army of The Citadel.
• Navy (1-2) - The Midshipmen got throttled by Air Force 40-7. Theoretically, Temple is next. The Owls have yet to play a game.
• Air Force (1-0) - The Falcons held Navy to 90 yards rushing and ten first downs. The MWC assigned the Falcons six conference games, keeping the Army game intact and an open week at the end of the season. AFA will face Boise on Oct. 31.

ELIMINATED

• Rutgers, Northwestern, Maryland, Purdue, Indy, Nebraska, Illinois, Sparty, it ain’t gonna happen.
• Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Texas Tech, WVU, TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma is pretty much dead.
• 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

ELIMINATION, ENDANGERED:

• Oklahoma Lite, Tejas is almost there.
• Ole Miss, LSU, Auburn, Texas A&M
• Va Tech

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

• ACC - Clemson, Notre Dame, maybe North Carolina. Miami if they beat Clemmy on Saturday.
• SEC - Bama, Fla, and UGA are the cream of the crop. LSU has a long way to go. Tennessee could surprise.
• Big 12 - Okie Lite might be their only hope, Obi-Wan.
• Big Ten - anOSU is looking like the only possibility. Looking forward to Halloween when they play at PSU.
• PAC-12 - Nopes.
• Indies

LET’S GO BOWLING

ESPN Events has cancelled the Bahamas and Hawaii Bowls for this year, bringing the number down to 39 (78 teams). The Redbox Bowl was cancelled back on July 31 when cancelling was the hip thing to do. The 49ers took over management of that bowl in 2016. Boy, they must be kicking themselves.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

It seems silly to rank teams that have yet to play a game. First off, you haven’t seen what they can do. Secondly, should their position even move? Oregon moved up two spots this week and they don’t even play for another month. Realistically, Miami, UNC, Okie State, and Cincy could all lose before the Ducks take a single snap. Are the pollsters really going to keep moving Oregon up and up and up?

Eight of the AP voters have jumped on the Bama bandwagon. A bro from New Jersey and another from Cleveland dot com have anOSU as the number 1 team in the land.

Seven SEC teams are ranked with Missy State dropping out.

1. Clemson (52)
2. Alabama (8)
3. Georgia
4. Florida
5. Notre Dame
6. Ohio State (2) *
7. Miami-FL
8. North Carolina
9. Penn State *
10. Oklahoma State
11. Cincinnati
12. Oregon * - The only PAC team ranked.
13. Auburn
14. Tennessee
15. BYU
16. Wisconsin *
17. LSU
18. SMU
19. Virginia Tech
20. Michigan * - Where is this love coming from?
21. Texas A&M
22. Texas
23. Louisiana-Laf
24. Iowa State
25. Minnesota *

* Opting back in.

STAT OF THE DAY

• Have you ever wondered if you would be good enough to play for the Crimson Tide? Well, if you can punt a football 26 yards as Alabama punter Sam Johnson did, then suit up! [ED.NOTE: Sorry; not sorry.]
• Texas has not started a season 3-0 since 2012. They finished 9-4 that year with a 4-point win over Oregon State in the Alamo Bowl. Rah.
• All-Name First Teamer Bumper Pool had 20 tackles for Arky against MSU.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to the people out there trying to anoint Mike Leach as some kind of quarterback whisperer. Pretty much all his QBs become NFL busts or not drafted.

• 1997-98 as Kentucky OC – Tim Couch, No. 1 NFL pick in 1999, but considered a bust.
• 1999 as Oklahoma OC – Josh Heupel, sixth-round pick by Dolphins, no NFL plays.
• 2000-02 as Texas Tech HC – Kliff Kingsbury, sixth-round pick by Patriots in 2003, played in one NFL game with Jets in 2005.
• 2003 as Texas Tech HC – B. J. Symons, seventh-round pick by Texans in 2004, never played in NFL game.
• 2004 as Texas Tech HC – Sonny Cumbie, undrafted free agent, never played in NFL game.
• 2005 as Texas Tech HC – Cody Hodges, undrafted free agent, never played in NFL game.
• 2006-08 as Texas Tech HC – Graham Harrell, undrafted free agent, played in four NFL games for Packers.
• 2009 as Texas Tech HC – Taylor Potts, undrafted free agent, never played in NFL game.
• 2012 as Wazzu HC – Jeff Tuel, undrafted free agent, played in two games for Bills in 2013.
• 2013-14 as Wazzu HC – Connor Halliday, undrafted, never played in the NFL.
• 2015-17 as Wazzu HC – Luke Falk, sixth-round draft pick by Titans in 2018, started for Jets 2019 after health issues sidelined others. 0 TD, 3 INT.
• 2018 as Wazzu HC – Gardner Minshew, current starter for Jaguars after injury to Nick Foles.
• 2019 as Wazzu HC – Anthony Gordon, undrafted, Seahawks practice squad.

Minshew might be his biggest success story but let’s don’t act like he discovered him. Alabama was on the cusp on signing him, when the Pirate came along and promised him the starting role.

MORE RIDICULOUSNESS

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.) - Sunshine’s 11 game Combine workout continues. Again the game was on the ACC Network which might as well be C-SPAN3. So, the voters are just going to look at stats and say “WOW”!
2. Justin Fields (QB, anOSU, Jr.) - Still has not played. Will still be second.
3. A token running back - Travis Etienne of Clemson (who knows what he did?) or Najee Harris of Alabama didn’t put up big numbers but was solid and made a touchdown saving tackle.
4. A token defensive player.

WHO SHOULD WIN

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

1. Still too early to say. Let’s give it a few more weeks.

-*** For the record, Alabama’s Mac Jones has the highest QB rating according to ESPN at 222.1.

THE SICK REPORT

• AGAIN, No Alabama injuries! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Coach Ballou! Thank you, Dr. Rhea! Thank you, Kirby, for “stealing” Cochran! LOL
• Stupid Gary kept saying Bama WR Jaylen Waddle had a hamstring injury but it was clear he was cramping up.
• MSU running back Kylin Hill and his counterpart at Arkansas Rakeem Boyd, were both knocked out of their game early with apparent injuries. There is an oddly deep chasm of non-information about either. At one point, Hill was seen sitting alone on the bench without his helmet. Both are expected back this week.
• Wisconsin’s starting quarterback Jack Coan suffered a foot injury at practice and is out indefinitely. The injury reportedly happened at practice on Saturday and Coan will be out “several weeks” after he has surgery.
• Arizona HC Kevin Sumlin has the ol’ ‘rona. Expect him back in a week or so just like everyone else.

OPTING IN

• The Mountain West is one of the conferences who miraculously discovered that it’s safe to play football after all. Unlike the PAC-12, the MWC sensibly realized teams don’t need six weeks of practice. They kickoff 8-game schedules beginning on Oct. 24.
• As mentioned above in ”Support Our Troops”, Air Force plays Navy and Army. They are assigned only six MWC opponents.
• BYU has added two MWC teams to their schedule due to Air Force’s situation. The Mormons travel to Boise on Nov. 7 and are at home with San Diego State on Dec. 12. The Coogs and Smurfs are in the midst of a 12-year series that started in 2012 and agreed to extend it through the 2034 season just last year.
• Despite being one of the lowest infected states, the New Mexico government was one of the first states to put the kibosh on fall sports. MWC member UNM Lobos will be playing but New Mexico State will not. The perils of being an independent...
• The PAC foolishly announced their big exciting 6-game schedule on Saturday morning and hardly anyone noticed. They probably thought ESPN’s GameDay would make a big to-do about it, but it barely got a mention. If you really care, here it is. A Southern Cal and Oregon match-up is conveniently not on the docket.
• Vanderbilt had originally decided to play before empty stadiums. [insert jokes about poor attendance here] They reversed that decision for the LSU game with an “official” attendance of 2,000. LSU fans were not let into the game. So, they watched from the Marriott garage that overlooks the stadium.
• The San Jose State football team has been forced to relocate to the facilities of Humboldt State 5.5 hours north in order to be able to hold practices due to the red tape restrictions in their home county. Santa Clara County approved the 49ers and the local MLS team to resume operations but not SJSU or Stanford. Does this feel like a **** measuring contest to you? Be glad you don’t live in that f’d up state. If you do live there, please enlighten us in the comments section.

DRAMA

• Pac-12 laughingstock Larry Scott suggested expanding the College Football Playoff from four to eight teams for this season. The others told him sit down and finish his vegetables while the grown ups talk. Seriously, how has this guy not been fired? Long live Larry Scott!
• Greg Sankey has flipped on his previous stand that undergrads transferring within the conference must sit a year. Someone must have gotten in his ear. He claimed “it must be stated unequivocally that these approvals are solely a reflection of the unique circumstances present and should not be interpreted as endorsement of the rationale set forth by individuals seeking these waivers.”
• The two approved transfers are UGA-to-Tennessee OL Cade Mays and Aub-to-UK quarterback Joey Gatewood. The timing of the latter decision sucks because it sure would have been intriguing to see Gatewood take the field against his former team on Sept 26. The way Terry Wilson was playing, that scenario might have actually happened.
• Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman has been cleared by the NCAA and Big Ten to opt back in despite hiring an agent. All bets are officially off.
• Penn State All-America linebacker Micah Parsons will not be returning. I’d say that is not a good vote of confidence for PSU’s playoff chances.
• UGA-to-Ole Miss DB Otis Reese has yet to hear from the NCAA. Kirby might just win that one.

KOACHES KORNER

• To soften his image, Kirby Smart hired SEC mega-babe Laura Rutledge to interview him to show the “real Kirby”. During the interview, he munched on Kirkland Brand Oatmeal Pies and listened to Randy Meisner on 8-track. He reminisced about working at this mom’s muffler shop in... uh, East Virginia. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
• Urban Meyer has been hired to stand next to Kathy Griffin to make her look likeable.
• Fat F*** Phil Fulmer had a scene in the movie Avengers: Infinity War, but it was deleted because Thanos had to snap twice to make him completely disintegrate.

THIS WEEK

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

Wednesday, October 7

LaLaLa at Appalachian State - postponed. I REALLY hope they can make this one up.

Thursday, October 8

Tulane at Houston 6:30/7:30 ESPN - Is Houston actually going to play a game???

Friday, October 9

Louisville at Georgia Tech 6pm/7pm ESPN - Loser sinks to the doldrums of the ACC.

Saturday, October 10

SEC

Florida at Texas A&M 11am/noon ESPN - This will be only their fifth meeting and third since the Aggs joined the SEC. Both teams have two wins in the series.
South Carolina at Vanderbilt 11am/noon SECN - SC needs a win; Will they screw this one up too?
Tennessee at Georgia 2:30/3:30 CBS - Will UT take that next step?
Arkansas at Auburn 3pm/4pm SECN - Will Aubie be mad or sad? Arky feeling confident?
Alabama at Ole Miss 5pm/6pm ESPN - Saban vs Kiffin? Yes, please.
Mississippi State at Kentucky 6:30/7:30 SECN - meh
Missouri at LSU 8pm/9pm ESPN - Will it be majicuh? It’ll probably wet.

ETC.

Texas at Oklahoma 11am/noon FOX - The Red River Shootout has lost a whole lotta sheen.
Virginia Tech at North Carolina 11am/noon ABC - Winner gets the upper hand on who gets destroyed by Clemson in the ACCCG.
Florida State at Notre Dame 6pm/7pm NBC - Like driving by a car crash...
Miami at Clemson 6:30/7:30 ABC - How good are the ‘Canes? We’re about to find out.

INSOMNIACS (-.-)zzZZ

Mizzery-LSWho is the last game of the night.

MACK and SABAN vs. OZ and LAVELL

Mack Brown and Nick Saban both took a dubya this past Saturday. For Saban, it was his 250th field victory. UNC barely snuck by Boston College by four points, while Bama routed TAMU by four touchdowns. Alas, they both count the same as wins. Must be nice...

[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.]

That’s damn right, George.

#ALABAMA

* Alabama has won 19 straight home openers. Their last defeat was (hold on, I’m gonna be sick) to frickin’ UCLA under (blerg, here it comes) punkass Franchione (vomiting in rage).

* After defeating Jimbo Fisher, Nick Saban is a perfect 20-0 against former assistants. He faces three more in the next three games: Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss; Kirby Smart, UGA; Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee.

* The Tide defense is still having issues dominating for all four quarters. The Aggs put up 450 yards and had more first downs (25-22) than Bama. Their next opponent will be looking to do the same.

* Looking ahead: Alabama-Georgia kickoff time is set for 7pm CT. The game will air on CBS. Prepare for a late night.

GAME 3: Saturday, October 10, 2020

Alabama Crimson Tide (2-0) at Ole Miss Rebels (1-1)

Mariel Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, MS ~ 5pm ET / 6pm CT, ESPN
Forecast for rain and wind!

More than any other team, Lane Kiffin would love nothing more than to beat Alabama and Saban this Saturday. But it isn’t a hate thing. He hasn’t said it out loud, but he wants to be the one to inherit Saban’s crown when the G.O.A.T. steps down (in 2046). Look for Joey Freshwater to open up the playbook to try and impress the world.

• Announcers: #Blessed to have Sean McDonough and Todd Blackledge with Todd McShay and Molly McGrath on the sidelines.
• Eli Gold on Alabama Radio.
• Alabama is 55-10-2 all-time against the Rebel Black ManBearPig Ackbar Sharks. The Tide have won the last four meetings since losing two in a row to the best OM football team money can buy.
• The line on this game is around Bama -24. Over/Under is around 74 which is a BIG number.