Random Thoughts Week 6: True Colors

Now in the first week of October, most teams have dispatched of the cupcakes and have played at least two decent teams (“most” I say). At this point, we can start properly evaluating. As the great philosopher

Cyndi Lauper once said: “I see your true colors shining through.”

Alabama 30 Vanderbilt 14 – This game started out a little rocky for Alabama. The Commodores were gashing the line and UA quarterback Ty Simpson was not hitting his marks. However late in the first quarter, something monumental happened: Alabama linebacker Justin Jefferson rocked Diego Pavia and made him fumble the ball. This was not just a big turnover. It deflated the Vandy quarterback. He was never the same after that hit. The Crimson Tide defense did a much improved job at sealing the edges and slowing the Vanderbilt offensive attack. Pavia would later throw an interception in the red zone, threw another one that should have been hauled in, and yet another one that was negated due to a phantom defensive hold that was never shown. [BTW, what was the deal with that sh*tty ABC broadcast? Unless a play was being reviewed or was a score, there were hardly any replays. They never replayed Jam Miller’s TD run.]

Meanwhile Simpson and the Bama passing game started to heat up. Eight different receivers caught balls with each of the Big 3 catching at least 4 passes each. Miller was outstanding with 136 rushing yards.

ALABAMA TRUE COLORS: Simpson is looking like one of the best field generals in college football. One of the great things is that he is using several different receivers instead of focusing on just one or two. And now that Jam Miller is back? Watch out! The defense has allowed only seven points in the second halves of the last two games.

VANDY TRUE COLORS: So, this is who you’re hitching your wagon to? A crude rude a-hole QB who everybody hates, his inspiration and 32-year-old loser Johnny Fkg Football, and dirtbag Theo Von? It’s pretty telling that head coach Clark Lea was on national TV talking about how great his quarterback is as a person while that very person is being shown grabbing his crotch in the direction of the Alabama student section. How desperate does a head coach, Chancellor, AD and University have to be to accept this as their school’s representative?

Miami-FL 28 Florida State 22 – The final score does not really give justice to what transpired in South Florida on Saturday night. The Hurricanes pretty much dominated this game up until FSU scored garbage points at the end. Carson Beck led the ‘Canes on four touchdown drives through three quarters, while the defense forced three takeaways and held the ‘Noles to three points. Mario Cristobal et al kind of took their foot off the gas in the 4th quarter, which allowed the Seminoles to score two touchdowns plus a pair of two-point conversions and a field goal to draw to within one score. The lazy national press will try and tell you that Beck was the big hero. However, he could not have done it without the heroics of fantastic freshman flash Malachi Toney (7 rec, 107 yds, 2 TD).

MIAMI TRUE COLORS: Getting out of two toxic relationships – Athens and his TikTok girlfriend – suits Beck well. As for the rest of the team, this is an example of what college football is today: the best team money can buy. If the ‘Canes face Texa$ Tech in the Championship, it might just kill the sport for a lot of people.

FSU TRUE COLORS: It is starting to look like the ‘Noles/Gus Malzahn spent the entire off-season focused on beating Alabama while the Tide thought they could just show up in Doak Campbell in their pretty white uniforms and shiny black shoes and win the game. FSU is a good team and much improved from last season and should end up with a bowl invitation. But they are not looking like a CFP candidate anymore.

Florida 29 Texas 21 – The Gators jumped out to a 10-0 advantage on their first two possessions and never looked back. UT quarterback Arch Manning had some good and bad, but the two interceptions overshadowed the two passing scores. He was also sacked six times and missed some open receivers. DJ Lagway had one of his better games (21/28-298-2-1). The difference? UF freshman Dallas Wilson. After missing the season’s first four games due to an injury, he made an incredible Gators debut with 6 receptions for 111 yards and a pair of scores.

UF TRUE COLORS: It’s like deja vu all over again for Billy Napier. Right around this time a year ago, his Gators started off 4-5 and the noise was growing louder. All he did was turn around and beat ranked LSU, top 10 Ole Miss, and walloped FSU in Doak, plus a BIG bowl win over Tulane – all of which basically saved his job for another year. The question is whether Gators Nation is again willing to settle for that hope that things will get better. 

TEJAS TRUE COLORS: You have to feel sorry for Arch. He didn’t ask for any of this. He didn’t stand up on a soapbox, beat his chest, and proclaim himself to be the next great Manning. The truth is, he has talent but he’s not top shelf elite and may never be. A big problem for the Loghorns is Steve Sarkisian does not have a back-up plan at QB and no difference makers at receiver who can make up for quarterback deficiencies like we have seen in Gainesville and Miami.

UCLA 42 Penn State 37- Outplayed, outcoached, and just plain outed as frauds. The Brittany Lions staff and defense seemed to be caught off-guard that the Bruins QB might actually dare to run the ball on them – despite the fact that he is UCLA’s leading rusher. Nico Iamaleava ran for a career high 128 yards and three scores. The Californians built a 27-7 lead at the half after scoring on every possession. PSU made a second half comeback, but the defense could not keep UCLA out of the end zone.

PENN STATE TRUE COLORS: It’s been a dozen years that Franklin has been in Happy Valley, and 15 total as a head coach. You would think he would know better than to have a letdown game or to overlook a bad team. He did both on Saturday. His coordinators are combined making several millions of dollars and they just got whooped by a bunch of lame duck analysts. And Drew Allar. Every year we hear from the Yinzer press corp about how Penn State quarterback (fill in the blank) is a first team All-American/Heisman front-runner/NFL 1st round prospect. The truth is, PSU has not had a really good QB since Kerry Collins. Maybe they should switch back to the wishbone.

UCLA TRUE COLORS: Following the firing of DeShaun Foster on September 14, Tim Skipper was named the interim head coach for the Bruins. Joining Foster were the DC and OC and tight end coach Jerry Neuheisel (above) was promoted to play-caller and they put a daggum analyst in charge of the defense. Somehow they found magic in a bottle, but will it last? It didn’t for Virginia Tech.

OF NOTE: Jerry Neuheisel is the son of Rick Neuheisel who played for and coached UCLA (2008–2011) and is now a personality for CBS who was airing the game.

ESS-EE-SEE

Texas A&M 31 Mississippi State 9 – Believe it or not, this was a dogfight for the first 30 minutes. Jeff Lebby had America thinking he could pull the upset. TAMU QB Marcel Reed’s 34-yard touchdown pass to KC Concepcion gave the Aggies a 7-3 halftime lead but that was the only first half highlight for the Aggs. The second half was a different story as the Fake Army poured it on the Bullies.

Georgia 35 Kentucky 14 – A typical three touchdown lull-you-to-sleep win over a cupcake that UGA seems to do with great frequency. This is one sad Kentucky team. Enjoy retirement, Mark Stoops.

Oklahoma 44 Kent State 0 – An FCS team might have put up a bigger fight. KSU had 7 first downs and 135 total yards and Okie played the scrubs in the final quarter. This win came without Okie QB John Meteer.

* Mizzou, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee were all off.

OTHER STUFF

Clemson 38 North Carolina 10 – Wow. Who knew Grumpy Old Bill Belichick would fail in Chapel Hill? Well, just about everybody outside of the UNC administration. CU scored early and often, building a 28-3 lead – in the FIRST QUARTER! From there, the purple Tigers just kinda put it in cruise control. UNC got a garbage time TD against the Clemson scrubs, coaches’ sons, and tuba players to make it look a smidge better. No wonder the Falcons hired some retread instead of Belichick.

Notre Dame 28 Boise 7 – If you can’t sleep, put this game on and you’ll be out in no time. The Irish scored one touchdown in every quarter in this game played in South Bend but not much else exciting happened on offense. Air Force scored 37 points against this BSU defense. USF beat the Smurfs 34-7. The Dames defense profited from four interceptions and four sacks.

Anyone impressed by this schlock should not be reporting on college football. This ain’t your Daddy’s Boise team. Let’s stop pretending like the Smurfs are elite. It’s been 12 years since Chris Petersen skipped town. The last time Boise beat a Top 10 team was in the 2009-10 season, when they defeated No. 4 TCU 17-10 in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl.

Cincinnati 38 Iowa State 30 – Typical midseason flop from ISU. Every time they get a good record and find themselves ranked, they pull this crap.

Texa$ Tech 35 Houston 11 – UH quarterback Conner Weigman was knocked out of the game in the the second quarter with a concussion. It probably did not matter all that much as they Coogies were down 22-3 at the time. Tech put up 549 total yards to 267 for Houston.

WILDEST ENDING OF THE WEEK

Arkansas State 31 Texas State 30 – After three quarters, this game had the timid score of 10-10. In the 4th quarter, each team went back and forth scoring touchdowns. TSU scored with a minute remaining but the kicker missed the extra point. Arkie Lite went the other way in those 53 seconds and scored a TD plus the extra point with 7 seconds to spare.

CATCH OF THE WEEK

Baylor Tight End Michael Trigg

CATCH OF THE WEEK BY DUDES WHO DON’T USUALLY MAKE CATCHES

IMMATURE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Really, bro? Practicing taking a knee and celebrating? What are you like 8? And where are the coaches? How do you let a guy do this kind of nonsense?

IMMATURE 32-YEAR OLD OF THE WEEK

How sad is this. Little Johnny Football’s 15 minutes of fame ended over a decade ago and here is trying to Uncle Rico with Pavia and the Commodores, and he is flipping off Bama fans. Now, go back into the rat hole you climbed out of.

FAT GUY TOUCHDOWN OF THE WEEK

Okie DL Gracen Halton 6-2/292.

ASK GRANDPA UNIFORMS OF THE WEEK

If you are under the age of 40, you probably have no clue why the red & white Houston Cougars were wearing light blue. They were emulating the Houston Oilers who moved to Tennessee and changed their name to the Titans. However, the Nashville-based NFL organization still holds rights to all Oilers trademarks. Pretty petty of the Titans if you want my opinion.

WORST QB RATING OF THE WEEK YEAR

This former Buckeye came in and threw one pass RIGHT TO A BLUE DEVIL DEFENDER and finished with a -200.0 QBR. That’s bad. Right?

TRUCK OF THE WEEK

KADYN PROCTOR HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

THOUSAND YARD STARE OF THE WEEK

NO SHOE, NO HELMET, NO PROBLEM

OKAY, MAYBE TY SIMPSON NOT THROWING THE BALL AWAY WAS NOT SUCH A BAD THING LOL

WEATHER EVENT OF THE WEEK

Aw, c’mon now! I am still in shorts and flip flops. UNLV eventually topped Wyoming 31-17.

SHADIEST FINISH OF THE WEEK

Up 21 points with 51 seconds to play, just run the ball up the middle. Right? Not when the point spread is 27.5. No, I am not making that up. This is shady AF.

NOT SO SHADY FINISH OF THE WEEK

This is not as shady because Bama was trying to run the clock more than score a touchdown. On the final possession up by 9 points, the Crimson Tide ran Jam Miller four straight times, not passing the ball like USF. By the time he crossed the goal line, 17 seconds remained in the contest. Spread was 12.5. Alabama won by 16.

DOINK OF THE WEEK

KICKOFF OF THE WEEK

Why not? The Brittany Lions were just daring them.

I’D LIKE TO REPORT A MURDER

QUITTER OF THE WEEK

I know these plays rarely work. But it was an EIGHT POINT GAME! You have to at least try.

GOOFBALL OF THE WEEK

FORMER BAMA PLAYER GARBAGE SCORE OF THE WEEK

UGA can’t even stop former Tide players!

ANTI-FANS OF THE WEEK

FAIR-WEATHER FANS OF THE WEEK

Rent free.

DERP OF THE WEEK

TCU would score shortly after and eventually take the W based on this derp by the Buffs.

THIS NEEDS TO BE KADYN PROCTOR’S NEXT PLAY

HIGH JUMP OF THE WEEK

TIP DRILL OF THE WEEK

SENIOR CITIZEN OF THE WEEK

Zach Calzada was supposed to be the next big thing at Texas A&M. He played sparingly as a freshmen. In Year 2, he was beat out by now Georgia Tech QB Haynes King. So, he left for Auburn and BOY were the Aubies excited about him! However, he ended up not playing a single down for the PlainWarTigerEagles due to a shoulder injury. After the season, he transferred to Incarnate Word and played two season for them. In December 2024 at age 24, he joined Kentucky. This fall, he has pretty much sucked and then was injured in Week 2 and has not returned. He turns 25 in early November and would be interested in talking to you about your insurance needs in January.

HONK IF YOU HAVE A FORMER TAMU QB ON YOUR TEAM

• Conner Weigman, Houston
• Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt
• Haynes King, Georgia Tech
• Max Johnson, North Carolina
• Zach Calzada, Kentucky

Did I miss any?

NAME OF THE WEEK

Illinois RB Ca’Lil Valentine. Do ya think when he was younger they called him “Li’l Ca’Lil”?

STATS OF THE WEEK

• Florida wasn’t top 10, but it should be pointed out that Steve Sarkisian is 2-8 vs top 10 teams as coach of Texas.
• When UCLA scored a touchdown at the 10:26 mark of the first quarter, it was the Bruins’ first lead in a game all season.
• Vanderbilt rushed for 113 yards on just 5 carries in the first quarter at Alabama. Over the next 45 minutes of play, the Commodores only managed 22 yards on 14 carries. But yeah, Vandy bros. It was a “close game.”
• Notre Dame and Boise combined for 24 penalties. Oddly enough, both got penalized 112 yards each.

THE WACKY WORLD OF CORSO IDIOT ESPN PROGRAMMERS

She took the words right out of my mouth.

We joked about it last week and bygod if he ESPN did it to us again. Why?

2025 College GameDay Guest Pickers:

• Week 1 (Aug. 30): Columbus, OH, for Ohio State vs. Texas. Guest Picker: Lee Corso’s finale, no guest picker.
• Week 2 (Sept. 6): Norman, OK, for Oklahoma vs. Michigan. Guest Picker: Sooners alum Trae Young.
• Week 3 (Sept. 13): Knoxville, TN, for Tennessee vs. Georgia. Guest Picker: Tennessee alum Candace Parker.
• Week 4 (Sept 20): Miami, FL, for Miami vs, Florida. Guest Picker: Florida Panthers Matthew Tkachuk.
• Week 5 (Sept. 27): State College, PA, for Penn State vs. Oregon. Guest Picker: Penn State alum LaVar Arrington.
• Week 6 (Oct. 4): Tuscaloosa, AL, for Alabama vs. Vanderbilt Guest Picker: Dirtbag podcaster and bandwagon Vanderbilt fan Theo Von.

There are literally hundreds of former Bama football players who could have been chosen, chief among them recently retired and future Hall of Famer Julio Jones. Of current players, Mac Jones, who is 3-0 with the 49ers since taking over for injured overrated Brock Purdy, would have been an excellent choice having just topped the Rams in L.A. on Thursday. The Packers are off this week. How about 3-time Pro Bowler Josh Jacobs?

If they didn’t want to go the football route, there are half a dozen former Tide golfers in the PGA. Justin Thomas has done it once before in the past, but is there a rule against bringing a guy back? They have had Joe Namath three times. And if you want to see Nick Saban fanboy over a guy, JT is a great option.

The NBA has started their exhibition season, so that is excusable. How about non-sports Bama fans? Any of them out there? Hmm, let’s see. How about Lucas Black, Channing Tatum, Jason Isbell (they once had no-Bama connection Eric Church in T-town as guest picker), Deontay Wilder, Courteney Cox, Melissa Joan Hart, Sydney Thomas? No? They all turned you down, ESPN?

As for Von, it’s not like getting him was some big coup. He had done GameDay one previous time for the 2023 Georgia vs. Alabama SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. I am betting half of you had never heard of the guy before this week – just like Nate Bargatze who has disappeared into thin air.

I know who Von is. I’ve listened to his show a few times (only because he was interviewing someone I found interesting). There is nothing he has ever said that has made me laugh or stop and say “Hmm”. I don’t get why some people love him so much. He is not funny or intriguing. He reminds me of some random drunk at a bar who rambles on about something, and you smile and nod your head until he is done so that he doesn’t take a swing at you. I would tell ESPN to “do better”, but I know that is a ridiculous request.

I will say, Bama Nation turned out for GD. There was a sea of crimson. The next GD will be in Eugene, Oregon for the Hoosiers and the Ducks. I bet the guest picker won’t be Dane Cook.

Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff was in Ann Arbor for Michigan’s predictable mauling of Wisconsin. Current LA Ram and Michigan alum Blake Corum was on set. WOW! What a concept!

For some reason, FOX is giving Head Moron Dave Portnoy a chance to rant every week on some random subject. This week he picked some low-hanging fruit about how the B1G is superior to the SEC. “Clearly the three top teams… Ohio, Oregon, even Penn State are so far above everybody in the SEC.” Hmm. How’d that one work out for you?

Oddly, BNK is heading BACK to the state of Illinois (for anOhio State-Illinois) for the third time in five weeks – once before in Champaign and Evanston for a Northwestern game. It’s unclear what their plans are once winter hits that godforsaken part of the world.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

• Georgia Tech (5-0) – The Yeller Jackets were off. Down and out Virginia Tech heads to Atlanta.
• ON PROBATION: Maryland (4-1) After a week off of sitting at home and reading how amazing they are on social media, the Terps lost at home to Washington. They led 20-0 in the 3rd and the Dogs scored 24 unanswered. Nebraska comes a-callin’.
• ON PROBATION: Do we still care about USF (4-1)? I’m not so sure we should embrace them since the Crimson Tide has to play them again in 2026. They whupped up on Charlotte 54-26.

COUSINS

• Troy (3-2) – The Trojans beat South Alabama in overtime with a touchdown and a defensive stop, 31-24. A dangerous trek to Texas State is on tap for Troy.
• South Alabama (1-5) – More misery for Major Applewhite and the Jags. Arkansas State challenges USA a week from today (Tues, Oct 14).
• Jacksonville State (2-3) – The Gamecocks had a bye week before a trip to godawful Sam Houston.
• West Alabama (5-0) – The scheduled game for Scott Cochran’s Tigers with Lincoln University (CA) was was postponed due to LU’s inability to play because of excessive injuries. D-II football, man.

THAT ANNOYING GUY WHO SPEEDS UP WHENEVER YOU PUT YOUR BLINKER ON

• UAB (2-3) – The Dragons were tied up with Army 7-7. Then the Cadets reeled off the next 24 points to win 31-13. Bham committed two turnovers and 11 penalties. Who was there for Parents Weekend? What do you have to report?

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

^{Looks like the end of Alabama-UGA. ^^^}

• Navy (5-0) – Never ever bet on a Commander in Chief Trophy game. Anything can happen. This game was tied at 10, 17, 24, and 31. The Midshipmen kicked a field goal with 6 and a half to play to take the lead. The Falcons took the kickoff and drove over midfield when a pitched ball was batted out of the air and recovered by Navy. They were able to bleed out the clock to win the first round of the CIC. Coming up, it’s about a two hour drive to play Temple in Philly.
• Air Force (1-4) – The Falcons have a tough trip to UNLV.
• Army (2-3) – The Black Knights took the University of Birmingham to the woodshed. Charlotte invades.

ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

Eliminated: Washington State, Oregon State, Boston College, UNC, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, UCLA, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky

Endangered: Louisville, Arizona, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, TCU, Utah, Nebraska, Maryland, LSU, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame

Extremely Endangered: Clemson, Cal, Duke, FSU, NC State, Pitt, SMU, Syracuse, Baylor, Center Florida, Iowa, Sparty, Penn State, Auburn, Miss State, South Carolina, Tejas

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

POWER 2

• SEC – OM, TAMU, and Okie are all undefeated. Bama and Mizz play this week. Don’t forget UGA and their sleepwalking ways of winning.
• Big Ten – Oregon at Indy could sort some things out. anOhio State has schizo Illinois to deal with.

SECOND 2

• Big 12 – Texa$ Tech and BYU are both 5-0. Don’t pencil in the Red Raiders just yet. They have a tough one at Arizona State in two weeks and the Coogs on Nov 8.
• ACC – Miami is starting to look like a lock. Georgia Tech is a plucky little team but it isn’t going to last. Is it? Virginia (5-1) has a cush schedule coming up: Wash St, @UNC, @Cal, Wake, @Duke, Va Tech. Must be nice!

AT LARGE

• Indies – Notre Dame handles meh Boise at home 28-7, who we should recall got smoked by USF. Homers with meh NC State and meh So Cal booting up. Didn’t I tell you they would finish 10-2 and make the playoff?
• PAC-2 – nope

PARTICIPATION TROPHY

• Memphis is 6-0, though their close home win over Arkansas is not looking as great as it did a few weeks ago. The Blue Tigers still have to face USF, Tulane, and Navy but get them all at home in that decrepit old stadium.
• UNLV is still chugging along at 5-0.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

Do you want to know how stupid AP voters are?

PRESEASON TOP 25:

1. Texas (25) – Two losses
2. Penn State (23) – Two losses
3. Ohio State (11)
4. Clemson (4) – Three losses
5. Georgia (1)
6. Notre Dame – Two losses
7. Oregon (1)
8. Alabama
9. LSU
10. Miami-FL
11. Arizona State
12. Illinois
13. South Carolina – Two losses
14. Michigan
15. Florida – Three losses
16. SMU – Two losses
17. Kansas State – Four losses
18. Oklahoma
19. Texas A&M
20. Indiana
21. Ole Miss
22. Iowa State
23. Texas Tech
24. Tennessee
25. Boise – Two losses

The first college football playoff rankings will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 4.

LET’S GO BOWLING!

• At 6-0, Memphis is the first bowl eligible team for 2025.
• 20 other FBS teams are one win away.

LET’S GO BLOWING!

• I hope you all listened to Erik and plunked down some money on New Mexico State last week. It made absolutely NO sense that Sam Houston (0-5) was a -1.5 favorite, MUCH LESS on the road. The Lobos throttled this godawful team 37-10. The Bearkats will need to go 6-1 just to get to a bowl.
• In the comments section of Erik’s post, I mentioned Wake Forest was a 6.5 point dog at Virginia Tech (2-4). Despite the Hokies winning at NC State the week before, that upset win felt like an emotional performance fueled by coach Brent Pry getting fired. That kind of juice doesn’t usually last. Wake won the game outright 30-23.
• If Oregon State isn’t careful, they are heading for the Triple Golden Sombrero of 0-12. The Beavers’ loss to App State represents their 6th defeat of the season. OSU, Sam Houston, and UMass (0-5) are the only winless teams in 2025.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to the Quitter Mentality that has crept in and how it is perfectly acceptable. Oregon coach Dan Lanning announced last Wednesday that preseason All-American running back Makhi Hughes has asked to redshirt this season. Hughes joined the Ducks from Tulane in the offseason after a 1,401-yard, 17-touchdown campaign in 2024. However, through four games with UO, he has found himself spending much of his time on the sidelines or at home. He did not travel with the team to Happy Valley two Saturdays ago. Hughes has carried the ball 17 times for 70 yards and has yet to score a touchdown. Rather than work hard and get better, this little wuss is quitting because that is what these snowflakes are being taught is an okay thing to do these days. #MakeBullyingGreatAgain

HEISMAN HYPE

Ty Simpson is back in the discussion. However this new generation of CFB media is so anti-Alabama, it may take a Herculean effort to wrest the trophy away from someone else.

Jeremiah Smith’s name continues to be spoken. What exactly has he done in 2025 that just blows everyone’s minds? He has only three touchdowns against the three Power teams anOSU has played. He is 15th in yards, tied for 13th in most receptions. Good receiver? Really good receiver with NFL prospects? Yes. The most outstanding college football player in 2025? Far from it.

Maybe I am wrong but it sure looked like Carson Beck put a lot of air under his long passes and it was his receivers – especially Malachi Toney – who made him look good.

1. Carson Beck (Miami) +600
2. Dante Moore (Oregon) +600
3. Ty Simpson (Alabama) +750
4. Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) +850
5. Julian Sayin (Ohio State) +1400
6. Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) +1400

THE SICK REPORT

• Oklahoma wide receiver Keontez Lewis crashed into a brick wall after trying to corral an overthrown pass past the end zone. He made the catch but was out of bounds and could not stop his momentum. He laid motionless on the ground as medical staff attended to him and he left the field on a cart. X-rays were negative for broken bones, and he was reportedly doing well.
• Terrible development for Mississippi State as star RB Fluff Bothwell was carted off the field late in the fourth quarter against Texas A&M. The Bullies leading rusher has 84 carries for 465 yards and six touchdowns. He is from Oneonta, AL. Any Oneontans in the house?
• Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (remember him?) suffered the dreaded “upper-body injury” that knocked him out of the game against Texas Tech.
• Ohio State defensive end Kenyatta Jackson left the game against Minnesota with an injury in the first quarter which was reported to be a “stinger”. Jackson walked off the field on his own and was evaluated in the locker room but did not return to the game.
• Iowa State’s run might be in jeopardy after losing longtime starting corners Jontez Williams and Jeremiah Cooper for the rest of the season due to knee injuries.
• Penn State starting linebacker and leading tackler Tony Rojas will be sidelined long term because of an unspecified injury sustained in practice last week.

DRAMARAMA

• STAY CLASSY, COLORADO! The Big 12 Conference fined Colorado $50,000 and got a blistering public reprimand from the commissioner after a “derogatory chant” from Buffy fans that targeted a certain religion followed by BYU. You can probably use your imagination, but it started with “F**k the…” BTW, that only pisst the Coogs off and they came back and won the game.
• A federal judge has allowed the Pac-12 Conference‘s lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference over $55 million in “poaching fees” to go forward. Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Boise State are set to leave the Mountain West and join the Pac-12 starting in 2026.
• If you frequent Twitter, you know that on Sundays, the accounts of the college teams typically brag about accomplishments of their alumni in the NFL. UNC does it but apparently not all of them. It has been widely reported that curmudgeon Bill Belichick is selfishly preventing the folks who run the Tar Heels social media accounts from tweeting about any Patriots. This despite former QB Drake Maye‘s big headline-grabbing upset win over first place Buffalo. Remarkably, a Tweet finally did show up on @UNCFootball Monday morning and he is getting roasted over it. Makes you wonder if there was a little conversation between coach and AD and or school President/Chancellor on Sunday night.

KOACHES KORNER

• Billy Napier has staved off his execution for another week.
• Bob Stoops says there is “zero chance I’m walking away” from Kentucky. That’s good. He may have to run if the burning torches and pitchforks come out.
• Lost in all the UCLA Jerry Neuheisel fanfare is the guy who left to make way for the next wunderkind du jour. Former Bama assistant Tino Sunseri was given his walking papers as offensive coordinator the week before. It should not be a big surprise after his boss, DeShaun Foster, was canned too. The really bad thing is that the Bruins offense looked fantastic in his absence. Tino was in his first season as offensive coordinator after coming over from Indiana. The Bruins were 134th in scoring with 14.3 ppg coming into the Penn State game. There may be a lot of unemployment in the Sunseri family soon. Dad Sal Sunseri (66) has not coached since 2023. Brother Vinnie Sunseri is co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach at Florida and his job may be in a precarious situation.
• Urban Meyer came home from work while his wife was watching the Food Network. Urbie asks, “Why do you watch that? You still cant cook.” His wife responds, “Why do you watch porn? You still cant f***.”
• Fat F*** Phil Fulmer is well-known for his motivational skills. Everyone says they have to work twice as hard when he is around.

TEEVEE

• Alabama’s win over Georgia blew the competition out of the water with 10.4 million viewers. The B1G competition in the same time frame drew an adorable 7.7M, holding off LSU-Ole Miss for second at 6.7M.
• A few others of interest: FSU-UVa 4.4M; Notre Dame-Arkansas 4.3M; Aub-TAMU 2.5M; BYU-Colorado 2.5M.
• A quick note on Greg McElroy: he is really annoying. How he became ESPN’s No .2 color guy is beyond me. Do you recall when he was leading Alabama to the 2009 National title, everyone heard him speak to the press and thought “he’s going to be a Fortune 500 CEO, or a Senator, or something big someday”? Instead, we get this…

THIS WEEK

Below is just a sampling highlight of games of interest this week (ones not listed are dogs). If you REALLY MUST know about the BIG Missouri State at Middle Tennessee drama, click here.

Wednesday, October 8 – Two Games Total

Liberty at UTEP 7pm/8pm CBSSN

Thursday, October 9 – Four Games

East Carolina at Tulane 6:30/7:30 ESPN
Jacksonville State at Sam Houston 7pm/8pm CBSSN
Southern Miss at Georgia Southern 7pm/8pm ESPN2

Friday, October 10 – Three Games

South Florida at North Texas 6:30/7:30 ESPN2
Rutgers at Washington 8pm/9pm FS1

Saturday, October 11

SEC

Washington State at Ole Miss 11:45/12:45 SECN
Oklahoma at Texas 2:30/3:30 ACC – Red River Shootout!
Arkansas at Tennessee 3:15/4:15 SECN – Can Arky take a page from UCLA’s playbook?
Florida at Texas A&M 6pm/7pm ESPN
Georgia at Auburn 6:30/7:30 ABC – 130th meeting of the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry”
South Carolina at LSU 6:45/7:45 SECN

* Kentucky, MSU, Vandy are off.

National

Ohio State at Illinois 11am/noon FOX
Indiana at Oregon 2:30/3:30 CBS
NC State at Notre Dame 2:30/3:30 Peacock – Another patsy for the Irish.
BYU at Arizona 7pm/8pm ESPN2

Sleep, Pretty Darling, Do Not Cry, And I Will Sing A Lullaby

Arizona State at Utah 9:15/10:15 ESPN #Big12AfterDark

#ALABAMA

• LB Justin Jefferson played a whale of a game: NINE solo tackles, 5 assists, sack, and a momentum changing forced fumble. For his efforts, the SEC named him Defensive Player of the Week. The ironic thing about Jefferson’s three hour harassment of Diego Pavia is that if it was not for Pavia and his lawyers trying to make college football a career, Jefferson would be out of eligibility. For the record, Pavia is in his fourth FBS season and sixth overall. JJ is in Year 3 of big boy football after two years at juco.
• The stats won’t show it (0.5 TFL), but Yhonzae Pierre had a pretty excellent game, setting the edge and not letting Pavia do his improv scrambles for big gains. He played a massive 53 defensive snaps at Wolf linebacker – the most of any Bama defender on the day. Freshman Justin Hill relieved him on 10 plays.
• Domani Jackson took to some coaching this past week and vastly improved from the UGA game in not letting guys outside him.

• We’ve seen a lot of combinations on the Crimson Tide offensive line so far this year. Early on Saturday, the Alabama offense was sputtering – including two holding penalties – until freshman Michael Carroll (40 of 69 snaps) came in at right tackle, Wilkin Formby (44 total snaps) slid over to guard, and James VanDerBeek uh Geno VanDeMark (54 snaps) came out. The O started to click, though VanDeMark did return to the lineup and play a good deal of the game. Starting guard Kam Dewberry was in on 31 snaps. William Sanders had 38 to his credit. Oddly, Olaus Alinen got in on one play. Left tackle Kadyn Proctor and center Parker Brailsford did not sub out. Brailsford was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.
• Let’s talk Conor Talty. Kickoffs are pretty good. On extra points and field goals of 40 yards or less, he is money. By “money”, I mean “on the money” he splits the uprights right down the middle – every time. I suppose Kalen DeBoer doesn’t watch kicking practice because he made the sober choice to attempt a 53 yarder against FSU that landed woefully short. I don’t know what that garbage 43-yard attempt against UGA was. And then Saturday was an awful attempt from 47. His only connection from more than 40 yards was a 46 yard boot to put Bama up 45-0 against nonthreatening kittens of ULM. It seems pretty clear the strategy from here on out should be to kick a field goal from 40 or less and go for a first down in other circumstances. Unless the Tide is up by 30, I suppose. This may sound harsh, but Talty is still a valuable kicker. TCU missed a 30-yarder and Michigan was wide from 27 yards out on Saturday – neither were blocked. In addition, Texas State missed a late 4th quarter extra point that led to them losing to Arkansas State by one point.
• On the injury front, it appears the dude on the chain gang was the only real casualty. The Tide got out of this game pretty clean. Safety Keon Sabb was seen entering the medical tent at one point, but he returned to the field. For all we know, it could have been an equipment issue.
  ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
• I know I am jinxing it, but only three penalties for Bama after four the week before.
• TSIO: Alabama-Tennessee will kickoff at 6:30/7:30 and once again air on ABC. That is six out of seven games on ABC. The ULM game aired on the SEC Network.

GAME 6: Saturday, October 11, 2025
Alabama Crimson Tide (4-1) at Missouri Tigers (5-0)
Columbia, MO ~ 11am/noon ABC

• Coach: Eli Drinkwitz is in the midst of his 6th season in Columbia-West. He is 43–24 overall as the Tigers coach and 23–20 in the SEC.
• Miz 2024: The Bulldogs went 10–3 last season, which included a 34-0 blasting by the Tide in Tuscaloosa. Mizzy has not lost at home since October 7, 2023 versus LSU.
• Miz 2025: The Mo-Tigers had a bye week to rest up for Bama. Thanks, Sankey! They have dispatched of Central Arkansas, Kansas, ULL, South Carolina, and UMass. Missouri has yet to leave CoMo for a game this season. Thanks, Sankey!!
• Series: Alabama is 6-2 all-time against Mizzy with the two defeats coming in 1968 and 1975. Bama has won six straight and five since Los Tigres joined the SEC in 2012.
• Weather: It should be a nice day in Columbia-West with partly cloudy skies and temperatures peaking around 82° by the end of the game.
• SEC Nation will be on-site for the game. Josh Pate is there too if that is important to you.
• TV Announcers: Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, & Katie George
• Radio: Chris Stewart, Tyler Watts, Corey Reamer on Alabama Radio.
• Vegas: The FanDuel opened Alabama as a 4.5 point favorite with an Over/Under of 52.5 but it quickly moved to -3.5 and 53.5.

Poll function isn’t working. #NoRefunds