Didn't see a ton with a lot of travel, but did follow it all.
1) Who the hell is Kansas State? Is it the team that crushed Mizzou? Is it the one that lost to Tulane? Is it the one that got 400 yards of offense and five touchdowns from Adrian Martinez in a 41-34 win over Oklahoma? I guess it's all of them? Week to week, you just never know. One thing you do know: When the Sooners host the Wildcats, take the Cats and the points. Oklahoma has lost either nine or ten home games since 2000 (I've seen both numbers reported and don't care enough to look it up). Four of those losses have been to K-State. They've lost to the Cats in Norman almost as much as they've lost to every other team combined.
2) Welcome back to earth, Miami. After everyone was all excited in the first couple of weeks, the Canes went to sleep on offense against Texas A&M in a 17-9 loss last week. This week, Miami brought its offense, but forgot to remind the defense to show up. The Hurricanes were hammered 45-31 by Middle Tennessee State and will no longer be ranked.
3) Speaking of the Aggies, they fell behind Arkansas 14-0 early on, then used a 100-yard fumble return as a spark to a 23-0 run in handing Arkansas its first loss. The Razorbacks have been living on the edge a little bit already this season. They should probably have lost to Cincinnati and should probably have lost to Missouri State. They won both of those, but not this one. Sam Pittman's crew falls to 3-1 as A&M gets ready for a run of three straight road games at Mississippi State, Alabama and South Carolina. Arkansas gets Bama, at Mississippi State, at BYU and at Auburn in the next four weeks.
4) The game of the day was in the ACC. Wake Forest had a lead on Clemson, but in the end couldn't hold on. The two quarterbacks in this game (Sam Hartman and DJ Uiagalelei) combined to throw for 708 yards, 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. Wake hardly has the country's most stout defense, but remember when we buried Clemson's offense? That may have been premature.
5) Josh Heupel is doing Josh Heupel things in Knoxville. The Vols are fourth in the country in scoring and put up 38 on Florida and then hung on for a 38-33 win. The score itself isn't overly impressive, but this is the biggest sign yet the Vols might actually be on the way back. They have had their struggles with the Gators. Their next five weeks have to be the toughest in America. They have a bye and then go: at LSU, vs Alabama, vs UT-Martin (breather), vs Kentucky, at Georgia. Oof. 3-2 in that span would be pretty damn good. 4-1 would be coach of the year worthy stuff.
6) They most surprising 4-0 team in the country is either Syracuse or Kansas. I mean, it's Kansas, but Syracuse is a pretty big surprise too. Also mentioning Syracuse and Kansas in the same sentence gives me a chance to shout out Hakim Warrick for blocking Michael Lee's three-pointer. Warrick is no Ali Faroukmanesh, but I appreciated his effort nonetheless.
7) Is Virginia Tech just awful now? The Hokies got crushed 33-10 by West Virginia on Thursday. They are 2-2 with North Carolina, Pitt, Miami and NC State coming up. VT is now 13-15 since the start of the 2020 season. It's quite a change for those of us who watched Tech go from nobody to a legitimate national power for a few years. Even once they fell from that perch, they were a perennial top 25 team. Now they're an afterthought. It doesn't take long to lose it.
8) Texas update: Not back. The Horns lost 37-34 in overtime to Texas Tech. Texas led 24-10 at half, then was outscored 24-10 in the second half and lost on an overtime field goal. You hate to see it.
9) Best box score of the week: Air Force beat Nevada 48-20. The Falcons threw three passes. They ran the ball 75 times for 461 yards. Junior quarterback Ben Brittain was 1/1 for 80 yards and a touchdown. His QB rating was 1102. In his career, Brittain is now 2/2 for 111 yards and a touchdown. Efficient.
10) Five games I'll watch next week other than Mizzou/UGA:
Michigan at Iowa, TBD, Fox: The Wolverines are second in the country in scoring. The Hawkeyes can't score at all, but have a great defense. Fascinating contrast of styles.
Oklahoma State at Baylor, TBD: Rematch of a great Big 12 title game. Winner probably has the inside track this year.
Kentucky at Ole Miss, 11 am, ESPN: This is one of those games that separates the good teams from the really good teams. The winner here sets itself up to try to make a run at something.
Alabama at Arkansas, 2:30 pm, CBS: The Razorbacks have the country's sixth worst passing defense. The Crimson Tide has Bryce Young. I bet a lot of people will pick Arkansas to keep this close. I do not think I am one of those people.
NC State at Clemson, 6:30, ABC: This doesn't feel like a matchup of top ten teams, but it probably will be when the polls come out. Clemson doesn't seem like a playoff team to me, but could be if it clears this one. NC State doesn't either, but could start generating some buzz.
1) Who the hell is Kansas State? Is it the team that crushed Mizzou? Is it the one that lost to Tulane? Is it the one that got 400 yards of offense and five touchdowns from Adrian Martinez in a 41-34 win over Oklahoma? I guess it's all of them? Week to week, you just never know. One thing you do know: When the Sooners host the Wildcats, take the Cats and the points. Oklahoma has lost either nine or ten home games since 2000 (I've seen both numbers reported and don't care enough to look it up). Four of those losses have been to K-State. They've lost to the Cats in Norman almost as much as they've lost to every other team combined.
2) Welcome back to earth, Miami. After everyone was all excited in the first couple of weeks, the Canes went to sleep on offense against Texas A&M in a 17-9 loss last week. This week, Miami brought its offense, but forgot to remind the defense to show up. The Hurricanes were hammered 45-31 by Middle Tennessee State and will no longer be ranked.
3) Speaking of the Aggies, they fell behind Arkansas 14-0 early on, then used a 100-yard fumble return as a spark to a 23-0 run in handing Arkansas its first loss. The Razorbacks have been living on the edge a little bit already this season. They should probably have lost to Cincinnati and should probably have lost to Missouri State. They won both of those, but not this one. Sam Pittman's crew falls to 3-1 as A&M gets ready for a run of three straight road games at Mississippi State, Alabama and South Carolina. Arkansas gets Bama, at Mississippi State, at BYU and at Auburn in the next four weeks.
4) The game of the day was in the ACC. Wake Forest had a lead on Clemson, but in the end couldn't hold on. The two quarterbacks in this game (Sam Hartman and DJ Uiagalelei) combined to throw for 708 yards, 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. Wake hardly has the country's most stout defense, but remember when we buried Clemson's offense? That may have been premature.
5) Josh Heupel is doing Josh Heupel things in Knoxville. The Vols are fourth in the country in scoring and put up 38 on Florida and then hung on for a 38-33 win. The score itself isn't overly impressive, but this is the biggest sign yet the Vols might actually be on the way back. They have had their struggles with the Gators. Their next five weeks have to be the toughest in America. They have a bye and then go: at LSU, vs Alabama, vs UT-Martin (breather), vs Kentucky, at Georgia. Oof. 3-2 in that span would be pretty damn good. 4-1 would be coach of the year worthy stuff.
6) They most surprising 4-0 team in the country is either Syracuse or Kansas. I mean, it's Kansas, but Syracuse is a pretty big surprise too. Also mentioning Syracuse and Kansas in the same sentence gives me a chance to shout out Hakim Warrick for blocking Michael Lee's three-pointer. Warrick is no Ali Faroukmanesh, but I appreciated his effort nonetheless.
7) Is Virginia Tech just awful now? The Hokies got crushed 33-10 by West Virginia on Thursday. They are 2-2 with North Carolina, Pitt, Miami and NC State coming up. VT is now 13-15 since the start of the 2020 season. It's quite a change for those of us who watched Tech go from nobody to a legitimate national power for a few years. Even once they fell from that perch, they were a perennial top 25 team. Now they're an afterthought. It doesn't take long to lose it.
8) Texas update: Not back. The Horns lost 37-34 in overtime to Texas Tech. Texas led 24-10 at half, then was outscored 24-10 in the second half and lost on an overtime field goal. You hate to see it.
9) Best box score of the week: Air Force beat Nevada 48-20. The Falcons threw three passes. They ran the ball 75 times for 461 yards. Junior quarterback Ben Brittain was 1/1 for 80 yards and a touchdown. His QB rating was 1102. In his career, Brittain is now 2/2 for 111 yards and a touchdown. Efficient.
10) Five games I'll watch next week other than Mizzou/UGA:
Michigan at Iowa, TBD, Fox: The Wolverines are second in the country in scoring. The Hawkeyes can't score at all, but have a great defense. Fascinating contrast of styles.
Oklahoma State at Baylor, TBD: Rematch of a great Big 12 title game. Winner probably has the inside track this year.
Kentucky at Ole Miss, 11 am, ESPN: This is one of those games that separates the good teams from the really good teams. The winner here sets itself up to try to make a run at something.
Alabama at Arkansas, 2:30 pm, CBS: The Razorbacks have the country's sixth worst passing defense. The Crimson Tide has Bryce Young. I bet a lot of people will pick Arkansas to keep this close. I do not think I am one of those people.
NC State at Clemson, 6:30, ABC: This doesn't feel like a matchup of top ten teams, but it probably will be when the polls come out. Clemson doesn't seem like a playoff team to me, but could be if it clears this one. NC State doesn't either, but could start generating some buzz.
