Random Thoughts: Finally Some CHAOS!

It took nearly three months, but college football finally had it’s chaos week. There is nothing like Rivalry Week at the end of the season to bring out the hate and the realization that this might be the last game in a college uniform.

CHAOS!

South Carolina 31 Clemson 30 - Rattler started out slow going 5-13 with a pick six but then heated up and started to throw darts again like he did the previous week against Tennessee.

The Tigers led most of the game and had a 30-21 advantage late into the third quarter when Spencer Rattler connected on a 72-yarder to inch closer. After a feeble three-and-out for CU, the ‘Cocks drove 54 yards and connected on a go-ahead field goal. Clemson had yet another three-and-out followed by an interception and things were looking perilous. With just over 2 minutes to play, South Carolina punted and the return man fumbled the ball giving SC the ball at the Clem 45. With only one timeout, Clemson had a chance to force a punt but gave up a first down on a 3rd & 5.

#MakeClemsoningGreatAgain! Clempson screwing the pooch is back in fashion and I couldn’t be more pleased. Dabo keeps sticking with godawful DJ Uigelelele (8-29, 99 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) and it is LOL. South Carolina ends Clemson’s Playoff hopes while snapping the Gamecocks’ nine-game losing streak in the Palmetto Bowl and ending Clemson’s 40-game home win streak going back to 2016. No “traditional” field rush for the Clemmers this time.

Michigan 45 Ohio State 23 - You may not think this to be chaos but losing at home by three touchdowns+1 is devastating for anOSU. If it had been a close loss with, say, a last second field goal or a two-point conversion by Michigan, the Buckeyes might still be in the top four.

The Buckys led 20-17 at halftime but were flat out-played in the second half. Michigan outscored their rival 28-3 on their way to a dominating win.

It was reported that OSU coach Ryan Day had privately said his team would hang 100 points on Michigan. With 27 points last year and 23 this year, they are halfway there.

Oregon State 38 Oregon 34 - Any chance the Ducks had at sneaking in the CFP was dashed on Saturday afternoon. With Oregon leading 31-10 late in the third quarter, the Beavers abandoned their detrimental passing game (6-13, 60 YDS, 2 INT) altogether and relentlessly pounded the rock into the Ducks line. UO gave their rivals a short field on three consecutive possessions and Oregon State converted all three drives into touchdowns without attempting a single pass. The biggest and dumbest play of the game was the Dux going for it on 4th & 1 on their own 29 up by 3. And not just that, the play call was Bo Nix running off tackle against at a stacked box. It failed and The OSU scored four plays later. But Oregon wasn’t done. They drove 72 yards to the goal line but was again stopped on downs and the Beavs ran out the clock.

MINI-CHAOS!

Note that there was no flag for DPI. Great job, @SECOfficiating.

Texas A&M 38 LSU 23 - With two only losses and an SEC West title, the Bayou Bengals still had a remote shot at a Playoff spot. That wishful thinking ended when they came out flat against a hyped-up Aggies team that had a motivated Moose Muhammad (5 REC, 94 YDS, 1 TD) and a finally healthy Devon Achane (38 CAR, 215 YDS, 2 TD). The game had three ties but A&M never trailed. LSU scored a garbage TD + 2 to make it look a little closer. Tigers QB Jayden Daniels got the crap beaten out of him most of the game.

NC State 30 North Carolina 27 (2OT) - There was not much of a chance for UNC getting into the playoff, but if Bama, TCU, So Cal, Tenn and a few others had lost and the Tar Heels beat NCSU and Clemson, ya never know. Instead, we saw the real North Carolina. They of pathetic schedule and zero wins over ranked teams lost two in a row to Georgia Tech with a lame duck coach and then to their cross-town rival who had just lost two in a row to BC and Louisville and were down to their FOURTH QUARTERBACK Ben Finley (27-40, 271 YDS, 2 TD).

Heels QB Drake Maye threw one TD pass - to give him one for the last two games - but it did come on the last play of regulation. After an exchange of short field goals in the first OT, the Wolfpack made a 21-yarder in the second but UNC missed a 35-yarder and took another home defeat.

SEC

Alabama 49 Auburn 27 - It wasn’t the prettiest of wins but the Tide seemed motivated and the offensive playbook looked like something right out of 2020. As an Alabama fan you are happy with the performance but it also makes you wonder “where has that play been all year?!?!”

Kentucky 26 Louisville 13 - The lazy bums who did not watch the game want to credit their not-so-secret crush Will Levis (11-19, 188 YDS, 2 TD) but it was the running of Chris Rodriguez (24 CAR, 120 YDS) and the ‘Cats defense that made the difference. Kentucky picked off two passes, coerced a fumble, and stopped the ‘Ville on downs on the Cards second possession. After that stop and fumble on the next U of L series put UK up 13-0 with momentum on their side. Two second half picks propelled the Wildcats to victory.

Missouri 29 Arkansas 27 - What is the deal with Arky versus Mizzou? The Tigers have beaten the Hogs 8 out of 10 times. Even with KJ Jefferson behind center the Razorbacks struggled to keep up. Miz QB Brady Cook took what the Arkansas defense gave him and ran for a career high 138 yards. With the win, issouri becomes bowl eligible.

Mississippi State 24 Ole Miss 22 - Of course it would not be the Egg Bowl without some craziness. MSU had the ball 2nd & goal at the one with just under 5 to go and a 24-16 advantage, when QB Will Rogers coughed it up. Ole Miss would drive 99 yards to score a touchdown but could not convert a game-tying 2-point conversion.

Florida State 45 Florida 38 - The Gators led 24-21 at the half before allowing FSU to score 17 unanswered point in the third quarter. UF tied it up at 38-38 in the fourth but the ‘Noles answered. Florida had one last shot but stalled out at the 4th & 12 at FSU 26.

SEC VS DOORMAT RIVALS

Georgia 37 Georgia Tech 14 - Once again, the Bulldogs struggled to get going against an underwhelming opponent. UGA led by only 10-7 at the half. In the third quarter, the Yeller Jackets’ punter muffed the snap and UGA took over at the 17. It would take Georgia 7 plays to move the ball 16 yards. After Old Man Bennett is stopped twice at the goal line, the QB underthrew a pass to Brock Bowers on 4th & goal that 99 times out of 100 would have been ruled that it touched the ground. But it was Brock Bowers and it is Georgia and it was ruled a touchdown. This “catch” shifted momentum and the Dwags took over from there.

* * Start the video at 4:26. * *

Tennessee 56 Vanderbilt 0 - Who cares?

DABO’S DOWNERS

It’s been a rough season for Dabo Swinney and his coaching tree.

• Clemson lost to their biggest rival and stand at 11-2 on the merits of a wet paper towel schedule.
• Brent Venables limps his Sooners across the finish line at 6-6 - their worst record since going 5-6 in 1998, the year before Bob Stoops was hired - after losing to Texas Tech 51-48 in overtime.
• UVa’s Tony Elliott was not doing so great and already had 7 losses before their campus tragedy. For the second straight Saturday, Virginia canceled a game. This one was against rival Virginia Tech leaving the Cavaliers at 3-7 in his inaugural season.
• USF already fired Jeff Scott. They finish out 1-11 with the only win coming over Howard.

OTHER STUFF

Texas 38 Baylor 27 - Sark finishes the regular season 8-4 and third in the B12. Of course Tom Herman was 10-4 in his second season and where is he now?

Southern Cal 38 Notre Golly Dam 27 - blahblabhblah, beat Utah and we’ll talk.

TCU 62 Iowa State 14 - LOL to how the flapping gums all act like beating ISU (4-8) is a big deal.

Nebraska 24 Iowa 17 - If I was a Hawkeye fan, I would be so done with old-ass Kirk Ferentz and his stubborn strategy of punt and play defense. Iowa finished 7-5, 5-4. What a joke.

NON-POWER 5 INCLUSIVENESS EVERYONE GETS A NY6 BOWL GAME SWEEPSTAKES

This year is a perfect example as to why non-Power 5s should not get an automatic NY6 game or future playoff spot. There is a very good chance that the top team will have three losses. They might need a stipulation that says they are in the top 12.

Tulane 27 Cincinnati 24 - Beating Cincy puts Tulane (10-2) in a great spot to grab the charity NY6 slot. However, they get a rematch with Center Florida (9-3) who will be looking for revenge in the AACCG.

Center Florida 46 South Florida 39 - see above.

UTSA 34 UTEP 31 - The Roadrunners (10-2) barely won their season finale at home against the 5-win Miners (impressed?). Now all they need to do is beat North Texas (7-5) in the C-USACG and they might just end up ranked higher than either participant in the AACCG.

James Madison 47 Coastal Carolina 7 - CCU blew their shot after being mauled by JMU.

“EXPERT” ANALYSIS

BUTT CATCH

THAT ONLY WORKS IN MOVIES, DABO

MASCOT FIIIIGHT!

SEC MASCOT FIGHT

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

WEIRDEST FAN THING OF THE WEEK

Why were Oregon State fans wearing orange Okie Lite cowboy hats. I have spent time in Corvallis, OR. There are no cowboys there.

FISHIEST GAME ENDING OF THE WEEK

Down 12 points in an unwinnable situation, Utah State throws an ugly - almost suspiciously bad - pick-six and Boise covers the 17 point spread.

TROLL OF THE WEEK

See the Tweet that was retweeted for the full effect.

DICK MOVE OF THE WEEK

PREMATURE CELEBRATION OF THE WEEK

PREMATURE CELEBRATION OF THE WEEK (IDIOTS VERSION)

WEIRDEST FIELD RUSH

Georgia Southern beat Appalachian State and apparently they are rivals. With both teams finishing 6-6. Rah.

A-HOLE FIELD RUSH

I’m no Oregon fan and I am thrilled the Ducks lost but these OSU a-holes deserved to get punched. After storming the field, Oregon State fans were s--t-talking these players like they had free-reign. Watch these Ducks getting jostled as they are trying to leave the field with these little twerps chirping at them (start video around 38 seconds.)

First off, you are trespassing onto a space where they are allowed to be. Secondly, do you think you can jaw at a 6-4, 220 lbs bad ass dude and not have repercussions? This field rushing thing has gotten way out of hand.

FAT GUY TOUCHDOWN I

FAT GUY TOUCHDOWN II

KAYSHON BOUTTE/JORDAN ADDISON PEACE OUT WATCH

• Another miraculous recovery! Kayshon Boutte who sat out the UAB game with “the flu” played against TAMU. He had four receptions for 43 yards. His totals for the regular season are 42 catches for 431 yards and one touchdown that came against Southern U.
• Jordan Addison had 3 receptions for 45 yards. So Cal had 39 rush attempts and 22 passes. J-Add must be pisst!

SOMEBODY IS CRANKY 1

SOMEBODY IS CRANKY 2

DGAF OF THE WEEK

New Mexico State 49 Liberty 14 - What an utterly disgraceful display by Hugh Freeze and the Flames. Freeze must have thought he had the job at Auburn wrapped up so he straight up mailed it in for the last three weeks. Auburn fired coach Bryan Harsin on October 31. After defeating BYU the week before, Liberty won at Arkansas on November 5 and Freeze probably got a phone call from newly hired AD John Cohen that week. Liberty proceeded to lose three straight to the dregs of the FBS: UConn, Va Tech, and most recently New Mexico State. Good luck with that, Aubie.

STATIONARY RUNNING BACK OF THE WEEK

• South Carolina running back MarShawn Lloyd had 11 rushes for 16 yards against Clemson.

STATS OF THE WEEK

• Before their 38-23 win over LSU, Texas A&M had not scored more than 28 points since Week 1 in which they beat Sam Houston 31-0.
• After starting their seasons 1-2, both Troy and UTSA are riding the nation’s longest winning streaks of nine games.
• Michigan State (5-7) is now 7-8 since Mel Tucker signed his massive extension last year. lol
• UAB RB DeWayne “The Tub I’m Dwowning” McBride rushed for 272 yards on only 16 carries for a whopping 17 yards per carry. Despite the Dragons lame 6-6 record, he is the 2022 NCAA regular season rushing leader with a nation-best 1,713 rushing yards (155.7/game) and new UAB record holder for single season rushing yards. But don’t invest too much in McBride. He had only 34 yards on 13 tries against LSU.
• Colorado State QB Clay Millen was sacked 53 times this season. They need to get him a mattress NIL deal. Next highest was Akron’s DJ Irons at 41.
• Missy State’s Will Rogers attempted the most passes in FBS this season with 566. For comparison, Bryce Young had 359.
• Florida’s Anthony Richardson was 9 of 27 passing against FSU but three of his completions went for touchdowns.

GAMEDAY SIGN OF THE WEEK

ANNOYING GAMEDAY SIGNS

I will be one of the last people to bash Christianity but these signs are annoying and off-putting. Can you not let us have a little fun, just for a little while?

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESI

Of course GameDay was in Craptown, Ohio for the Michy-anOSU game.

This week they’re headed to JerryWorld for TCU vs K-State in the B12CG. Odds of Lee Corso putting on a Frog head is 1 to 1.

After all that, Desmond Howard might bet one right.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

• ...... does not compute ......

COUSINS

• Troy (10-2) - With Arky State leading 19-14 entering the final quadrant, the Trojans scored a relentless 34 straight points for a 48-19 triumph and clinched the Sun Belt West. They will play Coastal Carolina on Saturday at 3:30 for the Conference crown.
• South Alabama (10-2) - The Jags trailed Old Dominion 13-20 at the half but shut the Monarchs out in the second half for a 27-20 win. USA earns their first double-digit win season as an FBS team. Bowl Projection: New Orleans Bowl - Book those hotel rooms NOW!
• Samford (10-1) had a first round bye as the No. 6 seed in the FCS playoff. The Bulldogs will face SE Louisiana who defeated Idaho in the first round.

THAT ANNOYING GUY WHO FISHES WITH HAND GRENADES

• UAB (6-6) - With the Dragons 37-27 win over LaTech, they pick up win No. 6 and head to the Bahamas Bowl against Miami-Ohio on Dec. 16.

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

Photo by Edward Diller/Getty Images

• Navy (4-7) - The Midshipmen rested this week and next before the Army-Navy Game on December 10 in Philadelphia.
• Army (5-6) - The Black Knights destroyed UMass 44-7. The Cadets still have a shot at the post-season if they can beat Navy, but could get passed up by other 6-6 teams due to two of their wins coming against FCS opponents.
• Air Force (9-3) - The Falcons took down San Diego Maradona State 13-3 on 1 of 3 passing. Up next is a bowl somewhere West of the Pecos.

Odds/lines are provided by DraftKings and subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

Eliminated: all non-Power 5 incl. Houston, Cincinnati, BYU, FSU, Pitt, Boston College, Wake, Virginia Tech, Duke, Virginia, Miami-FL, NC State, Syracuse, Louisville, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisky, Minnie, Maryland, Northwestern, Sparty, Penn State, Rutgers, Indiana, Okie, Okie Lite, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Texas, Kansas State, Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona State, Arizona, UCLA, Utah, Washington State, Washington, Mizzou, Vandy, Florida, Auburn, South Carolina, Missy State, Arky, Texas A&M, LSU, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Tennessee. NEW: Clemson

Endangered: Southern Cal - lame schedule. NEW: TCU - a blowout loss could knock them out.

Extremely Endangered: Ohio State - a 22 point defeat at home with Michigan’s best player not playing? Yikes. That is tough to defend; Alabama - two close road losses by four total points.

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

Only six teams have odds.

1. Georgia +180 to +100 to -120 to -150 to -160
2. Michigan +1500 to +900 to +700 to +1000 to +290
3. TCU +3500 to +2500 to +1600 to +1200
4. Southern Cal +4000 to +3000 to +1200
5. Ohio State +180 to +200 to +240 to +240 to +1000
6. Alabama is back at +2000

OFF THE BOARD

• Clemson +1600 to +4000 to +5000 to +2200 OFF
• LSU to +4000 to +4000 to +3500 OFF
• Oregon ??? to +8000 OFF
• Washington ??? to +50000 OFF

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• ACC - Clemson vs UNC. Not much chance of either factoring in the CFP.
• Big 12 - TCU vs K-State who has been playing well and wants revenge.
• Big Ten - Michigan should pound Purdue.
• PAC-12 - Southern Cal vs the only team that beat them this season in Utah.
• SEC - Georgia faces 3-loss LSU. Alabama waiting in the wings.
• Indies - Nope
• Non-Power 5 - Nuh-uh.

It’s hard to imagine Georgia or Michigan losing their respective championship games. TCU and Southern Cal both have big challenges.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

Tonight at 7pm is the unveiling of the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings according to the CFP Committee. If Alabama is placed at No. 5 as “influencer” Kirk Herbstreit has them and Southern Cal and or TCU lose, the Tide could slide right into that No. 4 spot without playing a game.

You can ignore the AP Poll since they are clearly biased blind bozos. Just look at this year’s preseason AP Poll with 16 ranked teams who are currently unranked:

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Clemson
5. Notre Dame
6. Texas A&M - unranked
7. Utah
8. Michigan
9. Oklahoma - unranked
10. Baylor - unranked
11. Oregon
12. Oklahoma State - unranked
13. NC State - unranked
14. Southern Cal
15. Michigan State - unranked
16. Miami - unranked
17. Pitt - unranked
18. Wisconsin - unranked
19. Arkansas - unranked
20. Kentucky - unranked
21. Ole Miss - unranked
22. Wake Forest - unranked
23. Cincinnati - unranked
24. Houston - unranked
25. BYU - unranked

LET’S GO BOWLING!

• Of the 130 FBS teams, only three are still undefeated after five weeks: Georgia, Michigan, and TCU.
• 80 FBS teams are bowl eligible for 84 slots. JMU is not eligible as they are transitioning (trigger word! Don’t Vox me, CoralBeth!) from FCS to FBS.
• By winning on Saturday, UAB, Southern Miss, ULL, and Georgia Southern all became bowl eligible in their regular season finales.
• Appy State has six wins but two of them have come against FCS teams. Army is 5-6 with one game to go but also has two FCS wins. They will need waivers from the NCAA.
• Buffalo needs to beat Akron in a weather make-up game this Friday to become bowl eligible.
• After a San Jose Canseco State player was hit by a bus and died in October, the Spartans postponed their game against New Mexico State. Now, the Aggies find themselves with a 5-6 record and on the brink of only their fifth bowl game ever, and SJSU (7-4) has no intention of making up the non-conference game. NMSU finds themselves scrambling to find an opponent. I’d suggest Virginia Tech who got cancelled on by UVa. Rumor has it, they are zeroing in on FCS Valpo (5-6) - booooo - but it would also be a second FCS win.

LET’S GO BLOWING!

• Colorado and Northwestern both wrap the season with identical 1-11 records. UMass and USF also finish with one win, while Akron pulled off an upset at Northern Illinois for win No. two. A week off from a postponed game with Buffalo probably helped the Zips.
• 47 teams have more than 6 losses on the season including Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Auburn.
• By virtue of a loss last Saturday, the following teams will miss bowl season: Auburn, Sparty, Ga Tech, Vandy, Miami-F.L.A., FAU!, and UTEP.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to all the bozos proclaiming Brian Kelly as some kind of GOAT.

Every time someone beats Nick Saban, he is anointed as the Chosen One. But they almost always fizzle out. Freeze? FIRED. Sumlin? FIRED. Ed O? FIRED. Gus? FIRED. Chizik? FIRED. Les Miles? FIRED. Urban? Forced out. Dabo? Scuffling. Jimbo? Would be fired if his buyout wasn’t so ridiculous. Heupel? Blown out by SC and about to find out what life is like without all of Jeremy Pruitt’s bought recruits.

HEISMAN HYPE

ODDS

Below are the top Heisman picks in order of the money lines. Only six on left on the board.

1. QB Caleb Williams (Soph, Southern Cal) +700 to +600 to +320 to +600 to +500 to +1300 to +800 to +1400 to +700 to +1200 to +130 to -2500
2. QB Max Duggan (SR, TCU) ??? to +4000 to +2500
3. QB C.J. Stroud (JR, Ohio State) +220 to +350 to +260 to +140 to +160 to -130 to +110 to +100 to +140 to -125 +3000
4. QB Stetson Bennett XIV (8th YR SR, UGA): +1800 to +1400 to +1800 to +1800 to +2800 to +3000 to +3000 to +8000 to +10000
5. QB Michael Penix is not going to win +10000
6. QB Bryce Young (JR, Alabama) from +400 to +300 to +340 to +350 to +800 to +1500 to +1800 to +2200 to +2500 to +8000 to +10000 to +20000

OFF THE BOARD

• RB Blake Corum (JR, Michigan) ???? to +1800 to +1800 to +1200 to +1400 to +750 to +550 to +1500 OFF
• QB Jayden Daniels (RS-JR, LSU) ??? to +4000 OFF
• QB Bo Nix (SR, Oregon) from ???? to +3000 to +800 to +8000 to +6000 OFF
• QB Drake Maye (Soph, UNC) ???? to +4000 to +550 to +10000 OFF

PERCEPTIONS

• The New Girl At School Syndrome strikes again. How many times have we seen this? Some player screws around all year and does just good enough. Then November rolls around and he gets a couple of high-profile wins and steals the hearts of the monkeys with laptops. Ewok, anyone? Unless Caleb Williams absolutely faceplants against Utah, the trophy is his.
• Bryce Young has a good chance of making the NYC final but he can’t win without being in the SECCG to please the parvenu.
• Stetson Bennett XIV is one of those stories, but the Heisman voters have heard that story to death. Also, nobody wants another Eric Crouch winning. Same could be said about Max Duggan.
• It is amazing how it takes a loss for people to see that C.J. Stroud has not been that great his year. Is he a good QB? Yes, but he has not been the best QB much less best player in the nation.
• They would nominate a Michigan player other than injured Blake Corum but nobody has seen them play more than one game this season.

WHO SHOULD WIN

• Nobody.

THE SICK REPORT

Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

• LSU QB Jayden Daniels repeatedly got the crap knocked out of him in College Station. He is in walking boot, but reportedly avoided a more serious high ankle sprain. Bet the house on UGA covering.
• Cincinnati QB Ben Bryant is out for season with afoot injury.
• Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson was carted off with a lower-body injury.

DRAMA

• Wisconsin interim coach Jim Leonhard made a bold claim this week: “Teams are tampering with other teams’ players,” Leonhard said last week after a loss to Iowa, in the wake of rumors about Badgers running back Braelon Allen considering a transfer to Michigan. Jim Harbaugh tampering?? (Clutching pearls) Well, I never!
• Former Alabama tight end Jahleel Billingsley is no longer a part of the Texas program. Word is that most of his teammates got sick of his mouth.

KOACHES KORNER

INTERIM COACH FEVER #HireCadillacYouCowards

Arizona State - OUT: Herm Edwards, INTERIM: Shaun Aguano L (2-7), IN: Kenny Dillingham
Auburn - OUT: Bryan Harsin, INTERIM: Cadillac Williams L (2-2), IN: Hugh Freeze
Charlotte - OUT: Will Healy, INTERIM: Peter Rossomando DNP (2-2), IN: Biff Poggi
Colorado - OUT: Karl Dorrell, INTERIM: Mike Sanford L (1-6)
Georgia Tech - OUT: Geoff Collins, INTERIM: Brent Key L (4-4)
Nebraska - OUT: Scott Frost, INTERIM: Mickey Joseph W (3-6), IN: Matt Rhule
South Florida - OUT: Jeff Scott, INTERIM: Daniel Da Prato L (0-3)
Wisconsin - OUT: Paul Chryst, INTERIM: Jim Leonhard L (4-3), IN: Luke Fickell

HOT SEAT

.

• West Virginia - In Year 4, Neal Brown again finished at 5-7. He is 22-25 overall. However, WVU still needs to hire a new athletic director. In addition, the B12 school is not exactly SEC or B1G rich. Estimates of buyouts of Brown and staff are around $20M.
• Texas A&M - Are the deep pockets at TAMU really willing to shell out millions of dollars to make train wreck Jimbo Fisher go away?
• Navy - How much longer will the Naval Academy gaze down upon Ken Niumatalolo with joy? The Midshipmen haven’t had a winning campaign since 2019, going 11-22 in that stretch.
• Northwestern - Would the Wildcats really be looking to dispose of Pat Fitzgerald? He won the B1G West in the weird Captain Trips season of 2020 but has gone 3-9 and 1-11 in the last two seasons and was 3-9 in 2019. UPDATE: Fitzy threw his DC and two other assistants under the bus.
• Saban’s favorite car detailer, Butch Jones, is 5-19 in two seasons at Arkansas State.
• In seven campaigns with Indiana, Tom Allen is 30-40 and 0-3 in bowl games. He has four FBS wins and two Power-5 wins over the last two seasons.
• I really feel sorry for Justin Wilcox. The woke administrators at Cal don’t give a hoot about football and try to sabotage him at every turn. What they don’t realize is that football pays for their over-bloated salaries.
• Just like Randy Edsall’s disastrous return to UConn a few years ago, Greg Schiano second go around at Rutgers (3-6, 5-8, 4-8) has not gone so well.

FIRED ... INTO THE SUN

• After FAU fell 32-31 in overtime to Western Kentucky on a two-point conversion, the Owls canned third-year coach Willie Taggart. He went 5-4, 5-7, and 5-7 in three seasons at the school after inheriting Lane Kiffin’s Conference USA Champion team. He went 1-10 in games played after November 1st while coaching in Boca Raton. Taggart has coached 13 seasons (71-80) at five different schools and had one season with more than eight wins (10-2 USF in 2016). It’s hard to understand how this guy kept getting hired but he will never get another Power-5 head coach job.
• David Shaw has “resigned” but, yeah, he was fired. His Stanford Cardinal won 14 games over the last four seasons with matching 3-9 records the last two campaigns. He started out his career with 8 straight winning seasons with three PAC-12 crowns and five division titles. However, they have not been to a bowl since 2018.
• Texas State fires Jake Spavital after four seasons. He went 13-35 and 4-8 in back-to-back seasons to end his tenure. Spavital failed to make a bowl game in his four years as Bobcats head coach.
• Tulsa has fired football coach Philip Montgomery after eight seasons. The Golden Showers Hurricanes went 5-7 this year and he was 43-53 overall.
• WMU fired coach Tim Lester. He went 37-32 and was 5-7 this year - his first losing season in six.
• UNLV fires coach Marcus Arroyo after three seasons. He had a 7-23 record but went from 2-10 to 5-7 this season with four one-score losses. You would have thought they would have given him one more year.

AUBIE

This whole Coach Caddie lovefest has been one big farce. The true nature of this whole thing was Aubie virtual signaling and fraudulent one-upmanship. They had a black by-god coach and - daggum it - they wanted him so bad. But oh shucks. Those mean o’l administrators are going another direction. On social media they wanted everyone to know how forward thinking they are and that they are better than you because of it. The Aubies knew it was safe to extol the virtues of Williams because they knew he had no prayer of getting the full-time job. Did you ever see that Seinfeld episode in which George tries to prove he is not racist by getting a black friend?

Auburn’s first choice of Lane Kiffin has received a new contract extension from Ole Miss that will take his average annual salary into the $9 million range. He made $7.25 million this season. I told you all LFK was not leaving Oxford just yet. He is holding out for his Daddy Nick to retire. Mark my words, he will stay in that job until the G.O.A.T. finally hangs it up.

On Monday, Auburn dug deep down into the bottom of a scum pond and hired former Ole Miss sleezeball and Liberty coach Hugh Freeze much to the disdain of everyone. Many in the Auburn fan base are not pleased. Sleazy controversy has followed Freeze everywhere he has gone. Aubie AD John Cohen claimed that the search was “thoughtful, thorough and well-vetted.”

Once respectable journalists Chris Low turned apologist tweeted that “everyone has a past” and was rightfully ripped to shreds for it.

And what of Cadillac? Back to the cabin with him.

CAROUSEL

• Talk is swirling that new Georgia Tech AD Jay Batt wants to bring in 62-year old Willie Fritz out of Tulane as the Yeller Jackets new coach. Fritz has never won more than 7 games at Tulane in 7 seasons until this year. UGA REALLY wants this to happen so they can continue to dominate recruiting in the Peach State. Another more suitable candidate is Bama OC Bill O’Brien. Until a few weeks ago, Batt was Greg Byrne’s number two at Alabama. If he goes through with this fiasco in the making, I hope he is renting in Atlanta. UPDATE: GT Alumnus and Interim Coach Brent Key has risen to the top of the search board. Much like Cadillac Williams, Key rallied his team and even upset Pitt and UNC They even respectfully hung with UGA for awhile If he gets the gig, add another head coach to the Nick Saban Coaching Tree Key grew up in Trussville, Alabama and played football at Hewitt-Trussville before joining George O’Leary’s Georgia Tech.
• Deion Sanders confirmed that Colorado has offered him the head coaching job. However, he has not said anything about accepting it. USF has also been rumored to be in contact with him. I don’t know why Georgia Tech is not going after him. He would be perfect for them. That said, I am not so sure he wants to leave Jax State. He went there for a reason and that was to promote HBCU. I’m sure it’s not about money. He has plenty. In addition, his son is starting QB and just a sophomore. If he left now - and took his son with him - it might come across as disingenuous/selling out.
• Nebraska swooped in and hired former Baylor and Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule as the Cornhuskers next head coach with a massive $74M contact over 8 years. He is a really good hire for them.
• Wisconsin has agreed to hook up with Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell to be the school’s next head coach. Another good hire.
• DILLY DILLINGHAM! Arizona State has hired Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham as head coach. The 32-year old will be the youngest coach in the Power Five. He is a 2012 graduate of Arizona State and a native of Arizona. I have a bad feeling about this hire.

Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

• An 18-wheeler ended it’s three day journey in carrying Fat F*** Phil Fulmer to New York City this past Thursday. The city was alerted ahead of time to not fire on him as he had no intentions of wrecking the city. Workers were on stand-by (above) to provide for his hourly feeding.
• Urban Meyer was visiting an old friend who told him to make himself at home. So, he threw him out. He hates having visitors.

TEEVEE

f Soccer. That is all.

THIS WEEK

(Below is a list of all FBS Championship Games with lines provided by DraftKings. If you REALLY need to know about the Akron @ Buffalo make-up game on Friday at noon/1pm on CBSSN that the Bulls need to win to become bowl eligible, you can find the details here.)

Friday, December 2

Pac-12 Championship Game

Southern Cal (-2.5) vs. Utah 7pm/8pm FOX (played in Las Vegas, NV)

C-USA Championship Game

North Texas at UTSA (-8.5) 7pm/8pm CBSSN (San Antonio, TX)

Saturday, December 3

Big 12 Championship Game

Kansas State vs TCU (-2) 11am/noon ABC (Arlington, TX)

MAC Championship Game

Toledo vs Ohio (-3) 11am/noon ESPN (Detroit, MI)

Sun Belt Championship Game

CCU at Troy (-8.5) 2:30/3:30 ESPN (Troy, AL)

American Championship Game

UCF at Tulane (-2.5) 3pm/4pm ABC (Nawlins, LA)

Mountain West Championship Game

Fresno at Boise (-4.5) 3pm/4pm FOX (Boise, ID)

SEC Championship Game

LSU vs Georgia (-16.5) 3pm/4pm CBS (Atlanta, GA)

ACC Championship Game

Clemson (-8.5) vs North Carolina 7pm/8pm ABC (Charlotte, NC)

Big Ten Championship Game

Purdue vs Michigan (-16.5) 7pm/8pm FOX (Indianapolis, IN)

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

SABAN vs. MACK, POP & BEAR

If being negative motivated the players, then I am glad to do my part.

Below is a count of career FBS/Division I-A win totals for coaches.

For those of you new to RBR Random Thoughts, we count all on-field wins at the FBS/Division I-A level. So, before you go squawking about Frank Beamer, 42 of his wins came at Murray State. Mack Brown had six victories in one season with Appalachian State when they were still in what was known at I-AA (FCS today). Brian Kelly won 118 games with something called Grand Valley State. So, let’s stop talking about his win record with such reverence. In addition, we don’t recognize NCAA sanctioned forfeits. If you won on the field, it counts in our books.

Mack Brown drops another game behind Saban with a nice little two-game losing streak. If the Heels lose to Clemson in the ACCCG, Brown will have exactly twice as many losses as Saban.

#ALABAMA

• With the Iron Bowl victory, Nick Saban has delivered 15 straight double-digit win seasons in T-town. Let that sink in for a moment. It is the longest streak in major college football history breaking Bobby Bowden’s 14 straight years of 1987-2000.
• Bryce Young is the first player in Alabama history to record 3,000 passing yards in multiple seasons.
• Tide senior players who took part in the pre-game ceremonies with their families were Jordan Battle, Darrian Dalcourt, DJ Dale, Emil Ekiyor, Tyler Harrell, DeMarcco Hellams, Cameron Latu, Jaylen Moody, Kendall Randolph, Will Reichard, Tyler Steen, Henry To’o To’o and Byron Young. Also recognized were walk-on seniors Bret Bolin, Grant Krieger, Gabe Pugh, and Jackson Roby. Moody and Randolph are the only two who are definitely out of college eligibility.

TRANSFER PORTAL

The transfer portal will open Dec. 5.

• Unsurprisingly, former 5-star running back Trey Sanders has announced his intentions to transfer. Despite a heroic effort to get back into shape after an ACL injury followed by a perilous car crash, he has never been quite the same and has been passed up on the depth chart. He probably would have sunk deeper with 5-stars Justice Haynes and Richard Young joining the team next season. It is unfortunate but it is the best move for all parties.
• DB Khyree Jackson also intends to transfer out of Alabama. He tweeted “I’m going into my senior season not a graduate transfer.” Way to sell yourself there, bud. He’s basically saying that he using his one-time free transfer as an undergrad but still has the grad transfer option down the road. Jackson came to Alabama from a juco in 2021 and started the 2021-22 National Championship Game due to injuries to starters Jalyn Armour-Davis and Josh Jobe. Most of his playing time this season has been limited to special teams. However, he has been suspended since before the Ole Miss game.
• Oddly enough, both Trey and Ree wore a No. 6 jersey this season.

GAME 13: Saturday, ???, 2022

??? vs Alabama Crimson Tide (10-2)

???, ESPN

Several media outlets project Alabama to play Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl (Dec. 31).