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Random Thoughts: Bama Creates Separation

Clemson is big MAD; Ohio State and Florida struggle.

Kentucky vs Alabama
Jahleel Billingsley is flying high.
Photo by UA Athletics/Collegiate Images/Getty Images

“This game was not cancelled because of COVID,” Dabo Swinney said. “COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game. I have no doubt their players wanted to play and would have played. And same with the coaches. To me, the Florida State administration forfeited the game.”

The biggest story of the weekend occurred before any team even kicked off. Three hours before to be exact. That is when FSU chickened out canceled on Clemson. The Tigers were already in Tallahassee ready to play when someone in the Seminole program objected to one single solitary positive test returned for a reserve CU offensive lineman who had made the trip. Neither Clemson nor the ACC had objections to going forward with the game. Very few really know what happened but it sure looks like Mike Norvell and the Seminoles ducked out on what would have been an undeniable arse-whupping. Clemson AD Dan Radakovich estimated that the trip cost the school between $250,000 to $275,000. If they manage to reschedule, Dabo is going to hang 88 on them.

SEC

It was so good to have the SEC back in action. The conference only had one cancellation, that of Jimbo shuddering in fear at the thought of defending a Lane Kiffin offense that puts up 564.9 yards of offense per game (No. 1 in the nation amonf P5s) the Aggies with some sickies.

Alabama made quite a statement while every other team seemed a bit lethargic.

Alabama 63 Kentucky 3 - I don’t like using the excuse of knocking off the rust, but the Tide did get off to a slow start. Though without their top rusher, the ‘Cats twice got down to the Alabama red zone but came away with only three points. After a bad snap on an early second quarter field goal attempt gave Bama the ball near midfield, the Crimson Tide began to methodically pour it on and proved why they are the top ranked team in the country. UK had all of one first down in the second half.

LSU 27 Arkansas 24 - It was feast or famine with for the Razorbacks. Despite tallying two touchdowns in the first half, Arky had eight straight possessions that lasted no longer than four plays. Late in the game, the Razorbacks got screwed by the refs once again as a poor targeting call gave LSU life against a worn down defense. The Tigers would score and the Hogs could not respond. Even with the win, LSU is still blowing assignments in the secondary and giving up explosive plays.

The Razorbacks were reportedly down to 56 players. Among the missing was star running back Rakeem Boyd.

Florida 38 Vanderbilt 17 - Oddly enough, Florida pulled into Vanderbilt Stadium an hour before kickoff already in uniform, hoping to avoid the visitors locker room. Dan Mullen must have figured his Gators didn’t need normal pregame routine to swat the little ol’ Commodores aside (also, what was the plan for halftime? Chill in the parking lot?). Much to his chagrin, this was a mighty struggle-win for the Gators. Vandy scored first and held a 10-7 lead after one quarter. VU quarterback Ken Seals started off completing 11 or 12 but then missed on his next six attempts.

It is quite humorous how all the talking head on TV continue to blabber about how Vandy is a spunky Little Engine That Could whose 0-7 record doesn’t reflect who they or Derek Mason are. On the contrary, this is exactly who they are. Mason has not been able to recruit on the level of James Franklin. It is doubtful this team could even win the Sun Belt Conference.

For the Gators part, they continue to struggle on defense particularly the secondary (see above). UF didn’t really pu the game away until 6:46 left in the game.

Auburn 30 Tennessee 17 - Late in the third quarter, the Vols trailed 13-10 and were driving for a score. Joe Tessitore and Greg McElroy spent a good five minutes of air time complimenting Tennessee QB Jarret Guarantano when he immediately threw a 100-yard pick-6. UT would come back one more time but normally reliable kicker Brent Cimaglia missed a 37 yard field goal. Aubie would answer with another touchdown to take a three score lead. Tennessee was able to move the ball and actually outgained the Tigers 464-385 and had more first downs. It was those two mistakes that doomed them. Eric Gray rushed for 173 yards and a late touchdown for UT.

Georgia 31 Mississippi State 24 - I have new respect for the remaining Bullies. They could have taken the pass and cancel the game but these ‘Dogs want to play ball. And they almost won this game. It is unclear why it took Mike Leach so long to figure out that Will Rogers (41-52, 336 yds, 1 TD) was the better quarterback for ClangaClang and that he should cater the offense to his team’s abilities.

Though his numbers look gaudy (28-38, 401 yds, 4 TD), quarterback JT Daniels wasn’t spectacular in his first UGA appearance. Several of his long passes were underthrown and could’ve been picked if the MSU secondary learned to turn around. But he was good enough and better than anything else Kirby has been throwing our there. Which again begs the question as to why he waited so long to insert the Southern Cal transfer into a game. The bad news for the Dawgs is that they had 8 whole yards rushing on 23 attempts. A performance like that will not bode well against better teams if the Dawgs hope to continue with a play action offense.

falling asleep

Missouri 17 South Carolina 10 - Speaking of dogs... these two teams met on a football field and one of them ended up with more points than the other.

Ole Miss at Texas A&M - There is no timetable for if, or when, the game will be rescheduled. Ole Miss REALLY wanted to play this game.

BUH-BYE

Ohio State 42 Indiana 35 - The Buckeyes scored on their second play from scrimmage and it looked like anOSU was going to romp. However, Justin Fields had a bad game (18-30, 300 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT) and Indy WR Ty Fryfogle (7 rec, 218 yds, 3 TD) led comebacks from 35-7 and 42-21 to almost steal a win.

Northwestern 17 Wisconsin 7 - Were you as sick of all the accolades being showered on the Badgers this week as we were? The flapping lips kept talking about how amazing Wisky was - even though they had only played two games! And they were against Illinois and dumpster fire Michigan. This is Exhibit A why a team with 7 or 8 games under their belts should not get playoff preference over a team in double digits. The need for a wider grouping of factors is a necessity.

Northwestern had only 263 yard (24 rushing), 16 first downs, and were 2 for 15 on third down. But Wisky’s QB Graham Mertz was not going to let the Wildcats go home sad. He threw three picks and lost a fumble. Now brace yourself for everyone saying how amazaballs NW is for the next three weeks: @Sparty, @Minnie, vs ILL.

Oklahoma 41 Oklahoma State 13 - You knew this was coming, right? Mike Gundy’s record as head coach against the Sooners is 2-13. This defeat pretty much slams the door on the B12 playoff hopes.

participation award

BYU 66 North Alabama 14 - Good for you, Mormons. Have an extra cookie.

Cincinnati 36 UCF 33 - The Knighty-nights are 5-3. HaHa. Cincy still hasn’t played anyone.

MEANWHILE IN LINCOLN

Illinois 41 Nebraska 23 - ‘Huskers QB Luke McCaffrey tossed a trio of interceptions and lost one of his three fumbles. Is it time to try Adrian Martinez again? Illinois didn’t do anything special. They just took what Nebraska gave them and converted them into points.

The stupidest thing I heard this weekend came from Booger McFarland, of course. He says that Illini (2-3) head coach Lovie Smith (17–37, B1G 10–31) is building something special in Champaign. Someone needs to let that goofball know that Lovie is in his fifth season and has yet to record a winning campaign.

WILDEST ENDING OF THE WEEK (NON-MILITARY VERSION)

WORST ENDING OF THE WEEK

Purdue lost this game because of this phantom offensive pass interference call with 52 seconds remaining. That is some straight up Awbern s**t there. It is quite possibly one of the worst call in college football ever.

KEY & PEELE ALL-STAR

Western Michigan quarterback Kaleb Eleby. kaLEBELEBy - his name is almost an anagram.

DICK MOVE OF THE WEEK

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ OF THE WEEK

Is it just me or does it feel like the replay officials aren’t making as many rulings any more. We sit around waiting while they look at the replays and then they can’t be 1000% sure, so the play stands.

LITTLE DUDE OF THE WEEK

We always hear about “big man” o r “fat guy” touchdowns but how about the little guys? Tyler Snead of ECU is listed as 5’7” and 169 lbs. He could probably still post up on Kyler Murray. He also scored on a 46-yard pass and run.

SMART OR DESPERATION?

The Pac-12 has made an about-face on their overprotective policies in approving the flexibility for conference teams to schedule non-conference games should a P-12 opponent become unavailable by the end of day Thursday in any given week. This move is a complete 180° from where these doom & gloomers were a couple of months ago. It is most likely that Pac presidents and chancellors have been looking at the spreadsheets and realize they are hemorrhaging money and need that TV money.

Commish/Bozo Larry Scott has probably come to the realization that starting the season in November with no room for make-up games instead or mid-October was a big mistake. Even if Oregon goes 7-0 in a weak conference, the chance of them making the playoff is not great. Should the Dux have an opponent back out on them, 6-0 looks even worse.

LOL PLAY OF THE WEEK

STATS OF THE DAY

  • Arkansas had 24 more yards but 10 less first downs than LSU.
  • Tennessee has been outscored 105-14 in the second half of the last four games.
  • Tulane and Texas State has already played ten games before Utah even stepped on the field for an official game. The Utes lost at home to So Cal 33-17.
  • Penn State is 0-5 for the first time in school history.

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESI

Forget GameDay! Roman Harper is keeping it real on SEC Nation.

Appy may have lost to Coastal but they win the Best Helmet game.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

  • Coastal Carolina (8-0) - The Chanticleers survived Appy State. After trailing 23-21 late and fumbling the ball away through the end zone, CCU picked off passes on the next two ASU possessions and turned them into touchdowns - the second being a game-sealing pick-6. They are at Texas State and then a huge showdown with Liberty.
  • LaLaLaffy! (6-1) - How thin does a ranked FBS team have to be to cancel a game against an FCS team? The Rajuns must have that answer because they missed out on notching an easy win against FCS Central Arkansas. They need to get some negative test results asap because doormat UL-Monroe is up next.

LOVE-HATE

  • Liberty (8-1) - The Flame has gone out. A hard-fought game at NC State came down to a blocked field goal with 39 ticks to go, but two fourth quarter interceptions by former Auburn QB Malik Willis is what doomed Libby. The Flames will take out their frustrations on UMass.

COUSINS

  • Troy (4-4) - The Trojans somehow managed to lose to MTSU at home 20-17. A trip to Appy State is next.
  • South Alabama (3-6) - The Jags fell to Georgia State 31-14. Heading to Arky Lite.

THAT ANNOYING STEP-BROTHER WHO STARES TOO MUCH AT YOUR SISTER

UAB (4-3) - The Dragons cancelled their second straight game and third of the season. You need to keep those mofos east of Bessemer! Bham U has Southern Miss next on the docket.

C-USA is going to have some hard decisions to make. UAB leads their dicision at 2-1 and probably will not be able to make up all three games. UTSA is currently 4-2 and Louisiana Tech is 3-2. Deciding tie-breakers and who gets to represent the West Division is going to be a mess.

RS-Patriot

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

  • Army (7-2) - The Black Knights came back from a 21-7 deficit to beat Georgia Southern at the buzzer 28-27. Army had to overcome first quarter ball protection issues including a fumble at their own one that was converted into a touchdown and a scoop and score on the next possession. They also fumbled at the six with 41 seconds left in the first half. In the end, it was the Eagles who blundered. Next up is the Navy game on Dec. 12 unless another team rings them up for a cancellation replacement.
  • Navy (3-4) - The Midshipmen have cancelled three games in a row. Memphis is already rescheduled for this Saturday followed by Tulsa.
  • Air Force (2-2) - The Falcons finally played their fourth game of the season in a 28-0 rout of the poor New Mexico Nomads. Colorado State is scheduled for Thursday. AFA may not be able to make up their game with Army unless they meet Dec 19.
boxers

ELIMINATED

  • Rutgers, Northwestern, Maryland, Purdue, Indy, Nebraska, Illinois, Sparty, Minnesota, Michigan, Penn State, Iowa, WISKY!
  • Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor, WVU, Oklahoma Lite, Oklahoma, Texas
  • Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse, FSU, Georgia Tech, NC State, L’ville, Pitt, UVa, BC, Va Tech, UNC, Miami (see below)
  • BYU - yeah, you’re done.
  • The entire PAC; Sorry, Oregon.
  • Vandy, Arky, Missouri, UK, SC, MSU, LSU, Tennessee, Ole Miss

ELIMINATION, ENDANGERED:

  • Clemson
  • Texas A&M, Florida, UGA, Auburn

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

  • ACC - Technically, UNC is still in it but they would need to win out and hope Syracuse or Wake beat Notre Dame just to get for an invite to the ACCCG. The ‘Canes need another loss by Clemson since they were beat head-to-head by the Tigers, and win out. For eother of those things to happen, it’s more likely that dinosaurs will parachute from the sky and rampage through Times Square in tiny bowler hats.
  • SEC - Bama, Fla, and TAMU are all in contention. Ugly home wins are a UGA specialty. This latest one probably knocks them off the wall for good.
  • Big 12 - It’s looking like the much-needed chaos is not going to materialize for the B12. It’s not very likely a two-loss team from this conference makes the playoff. And just to reiterate, Iowa State lost to ULL. At home. By 17.
  • Big Ten - It’s Ohio State or nobody, but Bucky showed some cracks in the foundation. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah blah blah Northwestern. Get real.
  • PAC-12 - What little chance Oregon had, they needed to win all their games in dominating fashion. A three-point home win against UCLA who was playing with a QB who had never thrown a pass in a college game before Saturday does not fill that criteria.
  • Indies - It is not the M.O. of the CFP Committee to play the charitable organization. A big part of their formula is quality wins - something BYU and Cincy don’t have.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

The first CFP rankings will be revealed tonight on a long-drawn out ESPN blabfest 6pm CT / 7pm ET. Below is the AP Poll which mean basically nothing other than bragging rights for the lower teams. It is very likely that they CFP rankings will include the same teams in some order in the top 6.

  1. Alabama (62)
  2. Notre Dame
  3. Ohio State
  4. Clemson
  5. Texas A&M
  6. Florida
  7. Cincinnati
  8. BYU
  9. Oregon
  10. Holly came from Miami-FLA
  11. Northwestern
  12. Indiana - good try
  13. Georgia
  14. Oklahoma
  15. Iowa State
  16. Coastal Carolina
  17. Marshall
  18. Wisconsin
  19. So Cal
  20. Texas
  21. Oklahoma State
  22. Auburn
  23. ULL
  24. Tulsa
  25. North Carolina

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to the QUITTERS. At this point in the season if a player’s team is losing a lot of games, he is healthy and “opts out”, it is flat out quitting on teammates when times get tough. Don’t think NFL GMs won’t remember.

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. Mac Jones was pretty stable but he threw a bad pick and took a few chances that he got away with. Even still, the talking heads are back to yammering about him.
  2. Kyle Trask (QB, Jorts U., Sr.) - With Clemson-FSU cancelled, Florida-Vandy was moved to the ABC noon slot which should have provided a showcase for his Heisman bid. He was okay but didn’t really wow the viewers. We at RBR were expecting him to try and throw 6 or more TDs. Instead, the Gators struggled and his stats were 26-35, 383 yds, 3 TD. By 2020 standards, those are good not great numbers.
  3. Trevor Lawrence (QB, Dabo Cult, Jr.) got cancelled on. Pitt is going to get a pisst off Sunshine (and with good reason). He only has a few games to get back in the good graces of his fanboys. The Panthers are fourth in the nation in defense among Power-5 teams who have played at least 4 games.
  4. Justin Fields (QB, anOSU, Jr.) The Buckys really hadn’t played a good defense through three games and Fields was lighting them up. Game 4 was a different story. He was 18 of 30 with three picks, and got sacked five times. This performance knocked him down the pecking order.
  5. A token running back - Najee Harris played only three quarters but looked sharp and made a lot of highlight reels. Travis Etienne of Clempson DNP. Iowa State’s Breece Hall had a big day (15 car, 135 yds, 2 TD) but nobody is paying attention to the Cyclones. ISU plays Texas this week. It might be is last chance.
  6. Ian Book (QB, Notre Dame, Sr.) had a bye week.
  7. BYU QB overinflated stats against little ol’ FCS North Alabama.

WHO SHOULD WIN

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

It feels like a three man race between Mac Jones, Trask and Sunny.

THE SICK REPORT

  • Alabama TE Miller Forristal was out with a sprained ankle, per Saban. He could have played if needed. After missing three games, DE LaBryan Ray (elbow) was back.
  • According to beat reporters, the following players were missing from warm-ups against UK: Darrian Dalcourt, Pierce Quick, Jah-Marien Latham, Shane Lee, King Mwikuta, Kristian Story, Paul Tyson, and Stephon Wynn. Dalcourt and Quick were noticeably missing when only three second team OL joined starters Emil Ekiyor and Evan Neal. Later in the fourth quarter an entire different five entered the game.
  • Notre Dame starting center Jarrett Patterson will miss the rest of the season following foot surgery. Starting guard Tommy Kraemer is out for Friday’s game with UNC following appendectomy.
  • Top South Carolina wide receiver Shi Smith is questionable for the UGA game and is in the concussion protocol after taking a hit towards the head on Saturday night.
  • Tenn AD Fat F*** Phil Fulmer, Maryland coach Mike Locksley and Miami coach Manny Diaz gots the sicky-sick. See them in 10 days.
  • Lou Holtz has it too. The former ND, Arky and SCar coach is 83-years old but has not had any major health scares in recent years.

DRAMA

  • Interesting side notes to the FSU cancel drama: Freshman quarterback Chubba Purdy, who made his first career start in the last game, will miss the remainder of the season after surgery. With former starter James Blackman quitting on his team, Florida State has only two healthy scholarship quarterbacks left: Jordan Travis who had missed the previous week’s game with an injury and a true freshman Tate Rodemaker who was ranked the No. 652 recruit in 2020. (See Dabo is big MAD above)
  • Kansas cancelled a likely humiliating shellacking from Texas. It looks like Les Miles still has a little bit of LSU left in him.

QUITTERS

  • South Carolina DB Jaycee Horn.
  • Mississippi State defensive lineman Nathan Pickering.
  • Florida State defensive tackle Cory Durden.
  • Southern Miss starting QB Jack Abraham.

KOACHES KORNER

This says all you need to know about me-first Fat F*** Phil Fulmer. Smack dab in the middle of the pandemic in May, the Vols AD quietly negotiated a 2-year contract extension for himself. It wasn’t announced and had gone unreported until someone at the Knoxville News stumbled across it. Remember that 15 percent salary cut he so “honorably” took? It sure sounds now like he had some stipulations to go with that. Fatty McBackstabber wanted some insurance before he took any pay cut. His annual retention bonus increased from $100,000 to $150,000, which will easily make up for the tiny pay cut. He also received incentive bonuses that could knock his pay up another $400,000 annually.

I am really curious what this f**k-wad has done to deserve all this financial security. Football still sucks. Men’s basketball had two good years but hasn’t lived up to any Final Four hype and were 17-14 at the end of last season. Women’s basketball, once the toast of the town, is now firmly mediocre. Baseball, softball, and gymnastics are also-rans. Donations are flat and the student-athletes are still competing in the same old decades old facilities. The Vols are now stuck with this gelatinous blob through 2023.

Black and White TV

TEEVEE

Predictably, The Masters took quite the beating in TV ratings. Even with much of the SEC on the sidelines, more viewers tuned into college football on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday. Lesson learned.

TBH, I never understood why the PGA took such a paranoid stance. You’ve got three sets of golfers and caddies in a group, and it is so easy for them to stay separated from each other. In addition, they are outside.

THIS WEEK

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

Thursday, November 26

All of these schools have had cancellation issues. So, don’t hold your breath.

Colorado State at Air Force 1pm/2pm CBSSN
New Mexico at Utah State 6pm/7pm FS1

Friday, November 27

This is typically Rivalry Week. There are 12 games on Friday but here are the highlights.

Iowa State at Texas 11am/noon ABC
Notre Dame at North Carolina 2:30/3:30 ABC - Elimination Watch!
Oregon at Oregon State 6pm/7pm ESPN

Saturday, November 28

SEC

We have two cancellations this week. To amend, the two non-cancelers will play each other.

Kentucky at Florida 11am/noon ESPN
Arkansas at Missouri 11am/noon SECN
RESCHEDULED: Vanderbilt at Missouri 11am/noon SECN
Auburn at Alabama 2:30/3:30 CBS - IB
Mississippi State at Ole Miss 3pm/4pm SECN - Why isn’t this game on Thursday or Friday???!?
LSU at Texas A&M 6pm/7pm ESPN
Georgia at South Carolina 6:30/7:30 SECN
Tennessee at Vanderbilt 6:30/7:30 SECN Alt

DURING COMMERCIALS

Ohio State at Illinois 11am/noon FS1 - Hangover potential?
Pitt at Clemson 2:30/3:30 ESPN - Clemmy gonna be MAAAD!
Northwestern at Michigan State 2:30/3:30 ESPN2
Oklahoma at West Virginia 6:30/7:30 ABC

TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM

(Name that quote without Google and we will put your name at the top of the #Refund pile.)

Nevada at Hawaii 10pm/11pm Alohavision

Sunday, November 29

Utah at Arizona State TBD - giving ASU more time to recover from an outbreak. If they can’t go, Washington is a possible replacement.

MACK and SABAN vs. OZ and LAVELL

Rank Name Years Wins Losses Behind
1 Joe Paterno 46 409 136 154
2 Bobby Bowden 40 346 123 91
3 Bear Bryant 38 323 85 68
4 Pop Warner 44 319 106 64
5 LaVell Edwards 29 257 101 2
6-T Nick Saban 25 255 65 -
6-T Tom Osborne 25 255 49 0
8 Mack Brown 31 251 125 -4
9 Frank Beamer 33 238 121 -17
10 Lou Holtz 30 236 115 -19

Mack Brown lost ground as his Tar Heels had a bye week. Nick Saban has now tied Osborn and eyes Edwards.

[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 squawking 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

  • I am amazed that some Alabama fans are still down on this defense. Are they 2016? No, but they have vastly improved since early October. They have not given up a touchdown in the last NINE quarters and only one field goal in that span. Over the last four games, the Tide D has yielded only seven points in the second half.
  • The Crimson Tide defense has scored a touchdown in three straight games on a pair of pick-6s and a scoop & score.
  • Jahleel Billingsley opened some eyes with three receptions for 78 yards and some acrobatic moves. He is a talented pass-catcher for sure but rein back the talk of him supplanting Miller Forristall. The sophomore still has work to do on his blocking and following assignments. As an example, go back and look at the first play of the second half that resulted in Najee Harris being stuffed for six yards.
  • It was a bit humorous to hear the SEC Network’s Tom Hart announce that “Drew Kobayashi” was back to punt for Alabama. The walk-on receiver shares the jersey number of 85 with punter Charlie Scott and was also confused for part-time tight end Kendall Randolph last season. Against Kentucky, the Air Force grad-transfer quietly had boots of 51 and 41 with no returns.
  • The world also got the first look at freshman running back Jase McClellan who tabulated 99 yards on ten carries. Of all the running backs in the Alabama stable, Jase was the one I was most excited about seeing play and he did not disappoint. He reminds many of us here at RBR of Alvin Kamara.
  • Najee Harris is now fifth in Alabama rushing touchdowns (36) which is six behind leaders Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram. He is fourth in total touchdown and trails #1 scorer Shaun Alexander 49 to 43. Henry’s Alabama career rushing yardage record leads Harris by a mere 417 yards.
  • I know what you are going to say: Najee played four seasons. Yet, among Bama runners with at least 500 attempts, Harris is tops in yards per carry at 6.1.
Player Att Yds Avg TD
Najee Harris 524 3174 6.1 36
Derrick Henry 602 3591 6.0 42
T.J. Yeldon 576 3322 5.8 37
Trent Richardson 540 3130 5.8 35
Mark Ingram 572 3261 5.7 42
Bobby Humphrey 615 3420 5.6 33
Shaun Alexander 727 3565 4.9 41
Johnny Musso 574 2741 4.8 34
Kenneth Darby 702 3324 4.7 11
Sherman Williams 535 2486 4.6 27
Dennis Riddle 612 2645 4.3 23

  • If Najee can score 21 more rushing touchdowns, he will match Barry Sanders’s single-season record of 37 from 1988. /SoYoureTellingMeTheresAChance.gif
  • All the accolades are going to DeVonta Smith for his SEC record 33 receiving TDs. He also moved into second place in yards for Alabama receivers, standing 451 behind Amari Cooper. Jarett Dillard holds the FBS touchdown record with 60 from 2005 to 2008 at Rice. Among Power-5 teams, Ryan Broyles had 45 at Oklahoma (2008-2011). I’m thinking Smith has a better NFL career than those two.
  • Looking ahead, but not looking ahead: There has still been no word on a possible make-up date with LSU. If you read my Random Thoughts last week, you saw my grand plan for squeezing it in. However, the postponement of Ole Miss and Texas A&M would mean more finagling. If they move OM-TAMU to Dec 12 and Tenn-TAMU to Dec 19, the original model still holds true. It could be that the SEC does not want to make that move until the Aggies are definitely eliminated. This all works until a team like Auburn chickens out this coming Saturday. With Florida already scheduled to play Dec 12, the SEC will probably want to make the Tide play on that day as well to make things fair.

GAME 8: Saturday, November 28, 2020

Auburn Tigers (5-2*) at Alabama Crimson Tide (7-0)

Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL ~ 2:30pm CT/3:30pm ET, CBS

  • Announcers: you-know-who.
  • Eli Gold on Alabama Radio.
  • Alabama is 46-37-1 all-time against the barn.
  • The line on this game is around Bama -23½. Over/Under is 60½.

Poll

Did FSU abuse protocols as an excuse to the back out on Clemson?

This poll is closed

  • 78%
    Yes, it would have been a humiliating loss with Signing Day a few weeks away.
    (411 votes)
  • 21%
    No, one positive is one too many.
    (110 votes)
521 votes total Vote Now