1) An overly arrogant coach that rubs a lot of people the wrong way and has found himself in a number of spats with guys on the opposing sideline got his head handed to him on Saturday. Maybe Lane Kiffin should have spent a little less time trolling Nick Saban and a little more time making sure he had the players to beat Alabama. The Crimson Tide may not have looked like a vintage Saban team offensively, but they held the Rebels, who came in averaging 52.7 points a game, to ten. For those who somehow missed it, Kiffin started the week saying that he could tell by watching tape Bama had taken defensive play calling duties away from Kevin Steele, continued it by tweeting a link to "Castles Crumbling" by Taylor Swift (Google the lyrics) and made multiple intimations that this was the last time he'd get to coach against his former boss. And then he got his ass whipped by him again.
2) Deion Sanders' team came back down to earth on Saturday too. That one was pretty easy to see coming. It's far more remarkable he got Colorado to 3-0 than that the Buffs got pasted 42-6 by Oregon on Saturday. Colorado is still very short-handed and doesn't have near the talent on the line of scrimmage to go up against college football's heavyweights. I'm sure a lot of people read the first sentence and assumed it was about Deion. I don't put the two in the same category. Sure, he's talked. But he's also overachieved so far. I didn't hear him doing much yapping heading into this one.
3) Florida State survived an upset bid (that's weird to type) from Clemson at Clemson. The Seminoles won 31-24 in overtime. The Tigers are now 2-2 and out of the national title picture. It is the first time they've lost two of their first four games since 2010, which is also the year Clemson last lost its first two ACC games. The Tigers finished 6-7 that year in Dabo Swinney's second season. It's his only losing record as a head coach. It's also the only year Clemson has lost more than it won since 1998 and just the fourth time since 1976. I don't think Clemson is headed for those depths this year, but I think they've fallen from the ranks of the college football elite. They're probably the fourth best team in the ACC...and that might be a little high.
4) Staying in the ACC with a team that's already beaten Clemson, how about what's happening in Durham, NC?
The Blue Devils steamrolled UCONN 41-7 which isn't really a story because that was expected. But they're 4-0 in Mike Elko's second season and probably headed for the top 15. They'll still likely be ranked below the Irish and underdogs, but they've got a shot, which isn't something you'd say very often. Mike Elko (would have led my hot board had we needed one this offseason) has done a hell of a job so far. He's 13-4 after taking over a program that had gone 5-18 the previous two seasons.
5) The Irish will come into Durham fresh off one of the most painful losses in recent memory. For anybody. Notre Dame led Ohio State 14-10 in the closing seconds when the Buckeyes took the lead with a one-yard touchdown plunge by Chip Trayanum with one second left. Notre Dame had ten players on the field on the play. The Irish did not have any timeouts, but could have called one anyway and taken a penalty, which would have moved the ball only 18 inches. They didn't. Marcus Freeman said after the game he didn't want to give OSU a chance to regroup. I guess I kind of get it, but I like my chances better with a full defense on the field, especially cince they'd stopped OSU on fourth and 1 earlier in the fourth quarter.
6) If Notre Dame didn't try hard enough to stop a goal line scoring effort, Arkansas tried too hard. In a 31-31 game, LSU drove to the Razorback 7 with nearly two minutes to play. The Hogs played straight up defense and stopped LSU on two running plays and a pass that drained all but eight seconds from the clock. LSU kicked a 20-yard field goal to go up 34-31 with five seconds left. I appreciate confidence in your team, but at that point, LSU was about to score on its sixth consecutive drive. Sam Pittman should have let them score at least 45 seconds earlier and given KJ Jefferson and his offense a chance.
7) South Florida beat Rice 42-29. This does not matter and would normally not make the list. Neither team is very good. But Byrum Brown (USF) and JT Daniels (Rice) combined to throw for 867 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Brown threw for 435 and ran for another 82 and a touchdown. Naiem Simmons had eight catches for 272 yards...all in the first half. Seems like a game that would have been fun to watch if there weren't so many games on that actually mattered.
8) Saturday was a rough, rough day for Brian Ferentz's future employment. Fresh off scoring 41 points against Western Michigan, the Iowa offense was averaging 28.3 points per game and riding high. The Hawkeyes were shut out 31-0 by Penn State and put up a whopping 76 yards of total offense. They completed 6/16 passes for 56 yards, a whopping 3.5 yards per attempt. But that was better than when they ran it, where Iowa ended up with 20 yards on 17 carries. They ran a total of 33 plays. The number of the day was four. That was the final tally for Iowa penalties, turnovers and first downs. Iowa is now averaging 21.25 points per game and has to pick up the pace for the OC to have his contract renewed. Good news: The rest of the schedule is crap. Iowa plays Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers, Illinois and Nebraska.
9) Mizzou opponent roundup:
Vanderbilt (2-3, 0-1) lost to Kentucky 45-28. The Cats led 21-0. I'm not sure Vandy can win another game. Up next: vs Missouri
LSU (3-1, 2-0) beat Arkansas 34-31. Don't count the Tigahs out of the CFP yet. Up next: at Ole Miss
Kentucky (4-0, 1-0) beat Vandy 45-28. The Cats have been up and down this season. Big-time swing game. Up next: vs Florida
South Carolina (2-2, 1-1) beat Mississippi State 37-30. Not all that impressed with the Bulldogs. If Mizzou can beat Kentucky and get a win here....
Georgia (4-0, 1-0) beat UAB 49-21. Bulldogs haven't been tested yet. Up next: at Auburn
Tennessee (3-1, 0-1) beat UTSA 45-14. Nice bounce back for the Vols. Up next: vs South Carolina
Florida (3-1, 1-0) beat Charlotte 22-7. Blah. Up next: at Kentucky
Arkansas (2-2, 0-1) lost to LSU 34-31. The next three for the Razorbacks are A&M, Alabama and Ole Miss. There's a chance Sam Pittman is coaching for his job against Mizzou. Up next: vs Texas A&M
10) Five games I'll watch next week besides Mizzou/Vanderbilt (actually I won't watch any because I'll be at the Ryder Cup):
Utah at Oregon State, 8 pm Friday, FS1: Big time showdown in the PAC-12 that lost a little luster with the Beavers loss to Wazzu
Florida at Kentucky, 11 am, ESPN: Separation game in the East. Florida has dominated this series, but Kentucky should win
Michigan at Nebraska, 2:30 pm, FOX: What can I say? I like seeing the Huskers suffer.
Kansas at Texas, 2:30 pm, ABC: I do not think the Jaybirds will win. I do think they will make it very interesting.
LSU at Ole Miss, 5 pm, ESPN: Tigers can't lose and stay in the playoff chase. Rebels fans will start to sour on Lane and his antics if he can't beat one of the big boys.
2) Deion Sanders' team came back down to earth on Saturday too. That one was pretty easy to see coming. It's far more remarkable he got Colorado to 3-0 than that the Buffs got pasted 42-6 by Oregon on Saturday. Colorado is still very short-handed and doesn't have near the talent on the line of scrimmage to go up against college football's heavyweights. I'm sure a lot of people read the first sentence and assumed it was about Deion. I don't put the two in the same category. Sure, he's talked. But he's also overachieved so far. I didn't hear him doing much yapping heading into this one.
3) Florida State survived an upset bid (that's weird to type) from Clemson at Clemson. The Seminoles won 31-24 in overtime. The Tigers are now 2-2 and out of the national title picture. It is the first time they've lost two of their first four games since 2010, which is also the year Clemson last lost its first two ACC games. The Tigers finished 6-7 that year in Dabo Swinney's second season. It's his only losing record as a head coach. It's also the only year Clemson has lost more than it won since 1998 and just the fourth time since 1976. I don't think Clemson is headed for those depths this year, but I think they've fallen from the ranks of the college football elite. They're probably the fourth best team in the ACC...and that might be a little high.
4) Staying in the ACC with a team that's already beaten Clemson, how about what's happening in Durham, NC?
The Blue Devils steamrolled UCONN 41-7 which isn't really a story because that was expected. But they're 4-0 in Mike Elko's second season and probably headed for the top 15. They'll still likely be ranked below the Irish and underdogs, but they've got a shot, which isn't something you'd say very often. Mike Elko (would have led my hot board had we needed one this offseason) has done a hell of a job so far. He's 13-4 after taking over a program that had gone 5-18 the previous two seasons.
5) The Irish will come into Durham fresh off one of the most painful losses in recent memory. For anybody. Notre Dame led Ohio State 14-10 in the closing seconds when the Buckeyes took the lead with a one-yard touchdown plunge by Chip Trayanum with one second left. Notre Dame had ten players on the field on the play. The Irish did not have any timeouts, but could have called one anyway and taken a penalty, which would have moved the ball only 18 inches. They didn't. Marcus Freeman said after the game he didn't want to give OSU a chance to regroup. I guess I kind of get it, but I like my chances better with a full defense on the field, especially cince they'd stopped OSU on fourth and 1 earlier in the fourth quarter.
6) If Notre Dame didn't try hard enough to stop a goal line scoring effort, Arkansas tried too hard. In a 31-31 game, LSU drove to the Razorback 7 with nearly two minutes to play. The Hogs played straight up defense and stopped LSU on two running plays and a pass that drained all but eight seconds from the clock. LSU kicked a 20-yard field goal to go up 34-31 with five seconds left. I appreciate confidence in your team, but at that point, LSU was about to score on its sixth consecutive drive. Sam Pittman should have let them score at least 45 seconds earlier and given KJ Jefferson and his offense a chance.
7) South Florida beat Rice 42-29. This does not matter and would normally not make the list. Neither team is very good. But Byrum Brown (USF) and JT Daniels (Rice) combined to throw for 867 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Brown threw for 435 and ran for another 82 and a touchdown. Naiem Simmons had eight catches for 272 yards...all in the first half. Seems like a game that would have been fun to watch if there weren't so many games on that actually mattered.
8) Saturday was a rough, rough day for Brian Ferentz's future employment. Fresh off scoring 41 points against Western Michigan, the Iowa offense was averaging 28.3 points per game and riding high. The Hawkeyes were shut out 31-0 by Penn State and put up a whopping 76 yards of total offense. They completed 6/16 passes for 56 yards, a whopping 3.5 yards per attempt. But that was better than when they ran it, where Iowa ended up with 20 yards on 17 carries. They ran a total of 33 plays. The number of the day was four. That was the final tally for Iowa penalties, turnovers and first downs. Iowa is now averaging 21.25 points per game and has to pick up the pace for the OC to have his contract renewed. Good news: The rest of the schedule is crap. Iowa plays Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers, Illinois and Nebraska.
9) Mizzou opponent roundup:
Vanderbilt (2-3, 0-1) lost to Kentucky 45-28. The Cats led 21-0. I'm not sure Vandy can win another game. Up next: vs Missouri
LSU (3-1, 2-0) beat Arkansas 34-31. Don't count the Tigahs out of the CFP yet. Up next: at Ole Miss
Kentucky (4-0, 1-0) beat Vandy 45-28. The Cats have been up and down this season. Big-time swing game. Up next: vs Florida
South Carolina (2-2, 1-1) beat Mississippi State 37-30. Not all that impressed with the Bulldogs. If Mizzou can beat Kentucky and get a win here....
Georgia (4-0, 1-0) beat UAB 49-21. Bulldogs haven't been tested yet. Up next: at Auburn
Tennessee (3-1, 0-1) beat UTSA 45-14. Nice bounce back for the Vols. Up next: vs South Carolina
Florida (3-1, 1-0) beat Charlotte 22-7. Blah. Up next: at Kentucky
Arkansas (2-2, 0-1) lost to LSU 34-31. The next three for the Razorbacks are A&M, Alabama and Ole Miss. There's a chance Sam Pittman is coaching for his job against Mizzou. Up next: vs Texas A&M
10) Five games I'll watch next week besides Mizzou/Vanderbilt (actually I won't watch any because I'll be at the Ryder Cup):
Utah at Oregon State, 8 pm Friday, FS1: Big time showdown in the PAC-12 that lost a little luster with the Beavers loss to Wazzu
Florida at Kentucky, 11 am, ESPN: Separation game in the East. Florida has dominated this series, but Kentucky should win
Michigan at Nebraska, 2:30 pm, FOX: What can I say? I like seeing the Huskers suffer.
Kansas at Texas, 2:30 pm, ABC: I do not think the Jaybirds will win. I do think they will make it very interesting.
LSU at Ole Miss, 5 pm, ESPN: Tigers can't lose and stay in the playoff chase. Rebels fans will start to sour on Lane and his antics if he can't beat one of the big boys.
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