The elite teams rained all over the parades of the wannabes this past week. After five weeks of college football, the picture is becoming a little more clear as to who the contenders are and who the pretenders are.
Alabama 56 Mississippi State 23 – It was a quarterback duel that was over before it began. Keelon Russell was sensational. The redshirt freshman completed 16 of 22 passes for 285 and three touchdowns.
He had maybe several passes that were mind-blowing otherworldly. Meanwhile, Kamario Taylor was harassed all day long. The MSU sophomore completed 55.9% of his passes and was sacked five times with -26 rushing yards. He fumbled and threw a pair of interceptions – one returned for a touchdown. Bama outscored the Bullies 28-6 in the second half to roll to another big win. The Bullies could still make the playoff, but it is clear which team has the better chances.
Missouri 45 Florida 17 – Was Gators running back Jadan Baugh caught reading about how awesome he was on social media leading up to this game? After picking up at least 136 yards and two touchdowns in each of the previous four games, Baugh was held to 13 yards on 12 attempts. He gained 12 yards on his first carry of the game and had only one yard on 11 carries the rest of the way. As a team, UF averaged 1.68 yards per carry. The Mizz defense focused on bottling up Baugh and challenge Gators quarterback Aaron Philo to beat them. Philo threw for 197 yards and a touchdown, but much of that happened as they played from behind. Bless his heart but the FLorida quarterback is not going to beat an upper-echelon team.
Mizzou QB Austin Simmons threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, Jamal Roberts ran for 211 yards and three more scores in a dominating effort.
Tennessee 24 Auburn 14 – A week after gaining only 34 yards against Texas, DeSean Bishop ran for 220 on 34 attempts and produced three scores. Freshman UT quarterback Faizon Brandon, who has started every game this season, was 3 of 8 passing for ZERO passing yards and was replaced after throwing an interception. Sophomore George MacIntyre came off the bench, completed eight of 10 passes with no turnovers, and did a whole lotta handing off the ball to Bishop.
Byrum Brown was 22 of 33 for a measly 159 yards, one TD pass (on a goal line trick play), two interceptions, a lost fumble, and was sacked four times. On the plus side, he ran for 107 yards on 19 carries with a score.
Kentucky 35 South Carolina 34 – The Gamecocks blew a 17-0 advantage with the ‘Cats taking a 24-20 lead in the third quarter. SC retook the lead with a 4th quarter touchdown. Following a UK three-and-out, Carolina got the ball back with 12 minutes to go. The ‘Cocks had some mojo going and were moving the ball into the Kentucky red zone when ‘Cocks QB LaNorris Sellers got bit by the turnover bug and coughed the ball up. UK took the ball the other way and kicked a game-tying field goal. In overtime, South Carolina executed a touchdown drive. Kentucky came right back to score a TD as well and then converted a two-point conversion for the win.
Going for for two instead of extending games with a tie seems to be the new trend in college football. Sometimes it fails, but it seems to be working substantially more.
Georgia 38 Vanderbilt 14 – Was UGA caught looking ahead or are they more flawed than people think? Despite the Commodores going with their back-up quarterback, UGA took a little while to get going. It was only a touchdown lead for the Dwags at the break. Georgia outscored the ‘Dores 17-0 in the second half but it wasn’t pretty.
Georgia running back Nate Frazier (2 rush, 9 yds) is a little banged up and saw limited time. Chauncey Bowens was not great (10-31) but managed to score a TD.
Vandy receiver Junior Sherrill had a big day with 7 catches for 107 yards and a score.
Texas A&M 34 Arkansas 7 – Marcel Reed did not do anything catastrophic, which brought much joy to the Aggie faithful. He was not asked to do much via the passing game this past week. He was 13 of 19 for 170 yards with a large chunk of the yardage coming on a 7 yard pass to Kiotti Armstrong who took it another 47 yards. It was a lot of dinks and dunks for Reed with no scores through the air. Instead, Reed and KJ Edwards both ran for 66 yards each as the Aggies racked up 231 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Arky managed only 214 total yards.
NOTHING TO ESS-EE-SEE HERE
LSU 63 McNeese State 14 – Who cares?
OTHER ESS-EE-SEE
Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and Texas were off.
OTHER STUFF
Minnesota 20 Michigan 14 – Just as we suspected: Michigan sucks. Bryce Underwood completed 10 of 21 passes for 101 yards, no TDs, and two interceptions. One of the Wolverines two touchdowns was a pick-six.
Pitt 35 Virginia Tech 33 – This showdown of undefeated ACC teams was a wild back-and-forth affair that saw both teams comeback from down double digits only to have the game come down to the final play the game. The Hokies stretched out the final drive for 3:54, getting down to the Pitt 18 yard line with 2 ticks to go. In a hectic ending, a Va Tech 36 yard field goal was ruled no good as it appeared to go over the vertical plane of the left upright [SIDE NOTE: It is so crazy that MLB and minor league baseball can judge if a 97 MPH pitch is a hair within or outside the strike zone with TrackMan technology, but we can’t get this thing utilized in football. I am sure Trae’shawn Brown would agree.]
The Panthers won the game but took a huge loss when gunslinging QB Mason Heintschel exited the game with an injury on the fourth play of the second half. Holden Geriner, who was once upon a time an Auburn back-up, came in on relief and was good enough to get the W in Blacksburg.
Northwestern 34 Penn State 13 – What a development this is. The Wildcats are a big problem and Brittany Lions are trash. It is the second straight defeat for PSU.
Ohio State 31 Iowa 14 – It was so ridiculous how ESPN was trying to pump this game up like it was something special when everybody knew how it would end. Jeremiah Smith is just toying with midwest DBs.
Notre Dame 37 North Carolina 26 – UNC was hanging with the Irish for awhile.
Miami-FL 41 Clemson 13 – Tait Reynolds (oops. I almost misspelled that first name) got the start for Clemson and threw an interceptions, fumbled, was sacked six times, and had -22 yards on 14 rushes. As a team, the Orange Tigers averaged 1.8 yards per rush attempt (31-55).
BYU 17 TCU 10 – The Mormons had a big ol’ struggle with the 2-3 Christians.
THIS IS YOUR BIG DEBUT/IT’S LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE
Northwestern opened their new stadium to rave reviews and kicked Penn State’s teeth in.
LIPREADERS BEWARE
ONE SECOND INSANITY OF THE WEEK
We don’t usually cover too much FCS stuff here, but this was a wild stupid ending. Idaho was 0-4, trailing the defending FCS national champ Montana State who was 4-0 at the time. It looked like time had run out but the Vandals had one second because the officials assumed since it was a first down that the clock stops long enough to spot the ball. With everyone scrambling to line up, Bobcats head coach Brent Vigen decided to call a timeout so his defense could get set. It was a pretty dumb move considering the circumstance. Thanks to the stoppage, winless Idaho had one more play. They got a touchdown and smelling blood in the water, they went for two, converted and took home an improbable last-second victory.
ARE THEY PLAYING TWO-HAND TOUCH?
What a pathetic effort by the So Cal defense.
COLD HARD FACTS
INCOMPENTENT BOOBS OF THE WEEK
How did they not know this?? German twitter guy Freddy probably knew this. This officiating crew was the same group that blew the Michigan vs Western Michigan game.
BLOCK OF THE WEEK
How soft do you have to be that the ref is still standing and you are on your backside?
EASY MONEY
DUMBEST COACH OF THE WEEK
Someone in Colorado’s program left their game plan playbook in the team hotel bar and it was found by some Texas Tech fans.
DUMBEST UNIFORMS OF THE WEEK
TROLL OF THE WEEK
WORST KICK OF THE WEEK
HOUDINI OF THE WEEK
KARMA OF THE WEEK
Passive aggressive scheduling by the SEC? 😏
FAT GUY TOUCHDOWN OF THE WEEK
Le gros garçon: 6-5/295
LEBRON IMITATION OF THE WEEK
OF COURSE, they are going to throw a weak flag to benefit anOSU.
FLECK IS SO F***ING WEIRD
PLAY TO THE WHISTLE
DABO MOMENT OF THE WEEK
DEION MOMENT OF THE WEEK
Seems like a coaching problem to me.
HOLLY ROWE MOMENT OF THE WEEK
Wow. Insightful interview.
THY WILL BE DONE
YOU’VE BEEN BAMA’D!
It was not a good day for meatheads.
KICKOFF RETURN OF THE WEEK
This return drew Carolina within reaching distance of a tie ball game, but Belichick went for two after the touchdown kickoff return for some odd reason and failed. Way to kill momentum, Bill.
WORST YOLO OF THE WEEK
DICK MOVE OF THE WEEK
Up 36-10, Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz figured it was important to go for two just in case the Gators stormed back for 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
DERP OF THE WEEK
WORST FANS OF THE WEEK
DOINK OF THE WEEK
NAME OF THE WEEK
Real name, not a nickname. Sincerely, a stupid name.
STATS OF THE WEEK
- Including the game with McNeese, LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt has thrown an interception in all five games for the Bayou Bengals this season. He is tied with Auburn’s Byrum Brown and some guy at Charlotte for the most interceptions on the season with seven.
- Speaking of Byrum Brown, he has been sacked a nation-leading 18 times, tied with some slow-footed bro at Washington State (1-4).
- Oregon State may have just won the Transfer Portal. The Beavers brought in Braden Atkinson from Mercer and the sophomore is lighting up some secondaries. In THE OSU’s 56-26 win over Colorado State, he was almost perfect completing 30 of 33 passes for 404 yards and 5 touchdowns with no turnovers. Atkinson is the leading passer in the country with 1,851 yards, 16 TDs and 2 picks. Not bad for a former zero-star recruit.
- Nebraska finished their win over Maryland with a school-record 16 penalties, in a game that saw 28 accepted penalties between the two teams. Big Ten Football, y’all!
STOPPING THE RUN
How important is stopping the run versus the passing game in college football?
FBS RUSH DEFENSE LEADERS:
- Miami-FL 42.6 ypg allowed, 1 TD
- Pitt 55.6 ypg allowed, 3 TD
- Georgia 57.4 ypg allowed, 4 TD
- Notre Dame 58.4 ypg allowed, 1 TD
- LSU 58.4 ypg allowed, 4 TD
- Duke 63.8 ypg allowed, 0 TD
- Indiana 64.4 ypg allowed, 3 TD
- Houston 65.4 ypg allowed, 7 TD
- BYU 75.0 ypg allowed, 3 TD
- Alabama 78.6 ypg allowed, 4 TD
(nine of these teams are ranked. Unranked Duke is 4-0.)
FBS PASS DEFENSE LEADERS:
- Kansas State 106.3 ypg allowed, 2 TD
- UAB 118.4 ypg allowed, 4 TD
- Penn State 119.6 ypg allowed, 2 TD
- Oklahoma 122.5 ypg allowed, 1 TD
- North Dakota State 134.0 ypg allowed, 3 TD
- Virginia 140.8 ypg allowed, 2 TD
- Kansas 144.8 ypg allowed, 4 TD
- Sam Houston State 145.3 ypg allowed, 5 TD
- Michigan 146.8 ypg allowed, 6 TD
- Jacksonville State 150.8 ypg allowed, 5 TD
(No ranked teams.)
THE WACKY WORLD OF HERBIE
College GameDay was in the thriving metropolis of Iowa City for Ohio State-Iowa. Basketball star Caitlin Clark was guest picker. She may be good at shooting three-pointers but she sucks at picking CFB games. She went 5-5. Kirk Herbstreit was the only one to correctly pick Minnie to top Michy.
It should be no surprise that Gameday will be in Tuscaloosa this weekend before the clash between Alabama and Georgia. I wonder what idiot they will get to be guest picker. Maybe Neil Young? Danny Kanell?
Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff was in Minnesota as the Gophers hosted Michigan. Our favorite weirdo coach PJ Fleck was at it again.
Urban Meyer made a comment that he thought the SEC was better than the Big Ten. As a reaction, the Minnie fans started chanting “overrated” which is just plain stupid since their only loss of the season was a 38-13 home thumping at the hands of Mississippi State.
FOX has finally wised up and kicked Dave Portnoy and the Barstool meatheads to the curb. I don’t know why anybody thought this biased jerk would be entertaining on TV.
ADOPT-A-TEAM
- Western Michigan (3-2, 1-0 MAC) defeated Buffalo 20-17 after stopping the Bulls on 4th & goal at WMU 2-yard line with 2 seconds to play. The Broncos have a tough defense, but that offense… ugh.
- Memphis (4-1) annihilated godawful Charlotte 59-8 as they should.
- ON ADOPT PROBATION: Tulsa (3-2) lost at home to North Texas in OT. I am beginning to think their season opening win over Oklahoma State was a fluke.
COUSINS
- South Alabama (3-2) – The Jags blew up UL-Monroe 52-35. USA has a short week as they travel to Arkansas State for a Thursday night game.
- Jacksonville State (3-2) – The Gamecocks had a bye week since they face Kennesaw tomorrow (Wednesday).
- Troy (2-2) – The Trojans were off this past weekend because they play Southern Miss tonight (Tuesday).
- West Alabama (5-1) – Scott Cochran’s Tigers blew a big lead but hung on to beat Chowan University. Their mascot should be Down. The Chowan Down. Sorry. I’ll see myself out.
THAT ANNOYING GUY WHO HUGS YOUR SPOUSE JUST A LITTLE TOOOO LONG
- UAB (3-2) – The Dragons had a tough time with Samford until scoring 17 in the 4th quarter to win 33-14. A ride to Memphis is next.
SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS
- Air Force (3-1) – The Falcons take an early lead in the Commander-In-Chief Trophy standings after grinding out a 14-9 win over Navy. However, a bit of bad news: Air Force starting quarterback Liam Szarka will miss the rest of the season with a lower leg injury sustained in Saturday’s win. A trip to Northern Illinois is on the docket for AFA.
- Navy (1-3) – The Midshipmen had less rushing yards (110) than passing (143). Tulsa comes for a visit.
- Army (2-2) – The Black Knights comeback against La Tech fell short, 31-29. Tulane invades.
ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION
Eliminated: Boston College, Cal, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse, Stanford, Colorado, Kansas, TCU, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers, Purdue, Arkansas, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
In Danger: Clemson, FSU, North Carolina, NC State, SMU, Virginia, Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Center Florida, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Minnesota, Northwestern, Oregon, Penn State, Southern Cal, Washington, Wisconsin, Auburn
Still Alive: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas State, Texa$ Tech, Utah, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio State, UCLA, Duke, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Clinched Playoff Birth: Miami-FL (due to lame-ass schedule), Notre Dame (due to lame-ass schedule)
A way WAY WAY too early look at the College Football Playoff (CFP) picture
POWER 1 & 2
- SEC – Alabama, UGA and Texas lead the conference. LSU and Ole Miss could find a way into the CFP. Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, and Tennessee are hanging around.
- Big Ten – Indiana and Nebraska have a showdown this Saturday. Surprising UCLA and Oregon face off as well. Ohio State will head to Indy after they pound Maryland this weekend.
NEXT 2
- Big 12 – Texa$ Tech still has road games at Cincy and Okie State in the future. BYU has Notre Dame and Utah down the road. Utah (4-0) has three straight with Houston, Cincy, and BYU starting in two weeks.
- ACC – Pitt (5-0) lost their starting quarterback. Duke (4-0) had the week off.
AT LARGE
- Indies – Notre Dame starts their three game season in two weeks. They are at BYU, followed by home games with Miami-FL on Nov 7, and SMU Nov 21.
PARTICIPATION TROPHY
- Memphis (4-1, AAC) previously lost to Boise (4-1, PAC-12). They will have to win out and hope the Smurfs fall by the wayside.
- FAU (AAC) is 4-1 with a loss to Florida to open the season. UTSA (4-1) is in a similar boat with a defeat at Texas in week 3. South Florida (4-1) is probably out after falling to lousy Temple this past weekend.
- The Sun Belt’s James Madison (5-0) continues to run the table on their weak-ass schedule. As we have seen, having a weak schedule doesn’t matter all that much to the CFP Committee.
- North Dakota State (5-0, MWC) marches on. They face New Mexico (4-1, MWC) in two weeks.
RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM
The lazy idiots of the AP poll hardly made any changes. So instead, here is the top 10 college football (no NFL) movies that are a little too close to the truth.
- The Waterboy – You can DO IT!
- Forrest Gump – There’s a little joke in here about Gump playing five years of college football. Future generations will not catch that one.
- We Are Marshall – Depicts the aftermath of a tragic plane crash involving the Thundering Herd football team.
- The Blind Side – Filmed in 2009 with Alabama coach Nick Saban playing an LSU coach, Tommy Tuberville as the Auburn coach (who is now a US Senator somehow), Fat F**k Phil Fulmer as the Tennessee coach who was pushed out a few weeks before the movie premiered, Lou Holtz as South Carolina coach – fired four years prior, Houston Nutt as Arkansas coach but was actually Ole Miss coach at the time, and Ed Orgeron as the Ole Miss coach despite being canned from that job a year before.
- The Program – LFK’s favorite movie.
- The Junction Boys – The true story of Paul W. “Bear” Bryant whipping some entitled Texas boys into shape. Not a great movie but a fun look into a part of Bryant’s life as a coach.
- Necessary Roughness – A 30-something year old quarterback was supposed to be a punchline. Now, it’s the norm.
- Everybody’s All-American – Some football sequences were filmed during halftime of Alabama’s 1987 upset win over then No. 5 LSU.
- Johnny Be Good – About the recruitment of the nation’s number one prospect getting many benefits and the dirty backroom dealings – most of which is now done out in the open.
- Rudy – “Tells the inspiring true story of a young man who dreams of playing for Notre Dame.” Right? Except that most of the movie was based on a load of horse-poop. #RudyWasOffsides #ThePlayersNeverTurnedInTheirJerseys #ThereWasNoRudyChant #CarryingRudyOffTheFieldWasMeantAsAJoke #GroundskeeperWasFictionalized #RudyWas25YearsOld
LET’S GO BOWLING!
- Only 15 teams remain undefeated. Ten are at 5-0 while five others sit at 4-0. Those totals will change by at least two when Georgia visits Alabama and Indiana heads to Nebraska.
LET’S GO BLOWING!
- The last winless teams are Northern Illinois 0-4, ULM 0-5, and Charlotte 0-5.
- Purdue’s win over Illinois was their first victory over a Big Ten opponent since the 2023 season. Now, tell me again about how the B1G is just as good or better than the SEC.
- Conference USA has only two teams (Liberty 4-1, Jacksonville State 3-2) over .500.
Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to the so-called “leaders” of the College Football Playoff who are continuing to push for the 24-team model. My gawd. They won’t quit until they have completely ruined college football.
HEISMAN HYPE
Look who is moving up the charts. It doesn’t take a Gump to know that Keelon Russell has looked outstanding the last two games.
Jeremiah Smith had another big game (11 rec, 206 yds, 2 TD), running past the Big Ten safeties and struck a Heisman pose. This caused all the bozo sports writers to go into a tizzy because they think that is a qualifier for the trophy. Smith is a great receiver, is having a great season, and should have a fine NFL career. However, just because he struck a pose, doesn’t mean anything. If anOhio State loses another game before the voting, he might be out. For now, the national press is just salivating.
Meanwhile, the Notre Dame simps continue to push Irish quarterback CJ Carr (21/29-234-4-0) for beating up on North Carolina.
Odds per FanDuel:
1. WR Jeremiah Smith (anOhio State) +100
2. QB Darian Mensah (Miami-FL) +650
3. (tie) QB Keelon Russell (Alabama) +1200
3. (tie) QB CJ Carr (Notre Dame) +750
5. QB Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss) +1500
6. (tie) QB Arch Manning (Texas) +3000
6. (tie) WR Malachi Toney (Maimi-FL) +3000
6. (tie) QB Gunner Stockton (Georgia) +3000 – “Some folks call it a sling blade, I call it a Kaiser blade.”
9. (tie) QB Kamario Taylor (Miss. State) +3500
9. (tie) QB Julian Sayin (anOhio State) +3500
THE SICK REPORT
- Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele exited the Golden Bears’ game against UNLV just before the end of the first half after taking a hit that caused a collision to his head. Cal would go on to lose 39-31. Coach Tosh Lupoi confirmed post-game that it was not a concussion, and Sagapolutele is expected to be available for the upcoming matchup against Virginia Tech
- Tennessee’s All-SEC offensive guard Wendell Moe is expected to miss the rest of the season with the dreaded “lower-body injury”. [Well, that narrows it down. Why don’t they just say what it is?] Moe was on the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy preseason watch lists. Curly and Larry were not available for comment.
- Pitt QB Mason Heintschel has torn his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. He got injured in the win over Virginia Tech on Friday. Another obstacle has been removed for Miami’s benefit. THose two teams meet on Oct 24.
- San Diego State’s football team is dealing with a mumps outbreak. San Diego County Public Health Services had confirmed 14 cases.
DRAMARAMA
- A former Auburn football staff member has been accused of stealing trade secrets from the War Tigers and sending them to their competitors. David Rudolph Jenrath, 24, was charged with theft of trade secrets and computer tampering, which are both felony charges. Can you imagine this nerd in the Lee County Jail??
- After committing six turnovers in three games, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables is mulling whether to bench embattled starting quarterback John Mateer when the Sooners face Texas on Saturday. The backups are some JAGs named Whitt Newbauer and Bowe Bentley.
- A week after it was reported that LSU was hemorrhaging money ($44 million shortfall in 2025-26 and projected $26 million deficit this year), Louisiana regent Wilbert Pryor, a Shreveport attorney and LSU Law graduate, said that Louisiana Tech, ULL, and ULM should take a slice of “humble pie” and drop to lower football tier of FCS. The audacity of that state’s leaders in mind-blowing. In other news, Mississippi has changed their state motto to “At Least We’re Not Louisiana”.
- In a surprise move, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte called out the football team on their “vulgar” celebrations, referring to them as “embarrassing” for the school. ICYMI, defensive end Colin Simmons simulated urinating on the field after a sack in the win over Tennessee. Following a touchdown score in the same game, running back Raleek Brown put his hand to his crotch and then to his face before pretending to pass out. The former was flagged but the latter was not. Vulgar may not be the right word. How about “weird”?
SCHEDULING
- In late August, the NCAA moved the start of the season up by one week to what is now Week 0 – the weekend that is one week before Labor Day weekend. As a reaction to this move, Alabama and several other program have amended their schedules. The Crimson Tide will now host Marshall on August 28, 2027. In 2028, a matchup with Georgia State originally slated for September 2 moves the contest up one week to August 26. And finally, the Crimson Tide will host Louisiana Tech on August 25, 2029. Alabama also plays a home-and-home with Ohio State 9/18/27 (Week 4) and 9/9/28 (Week 3). In 2029, the Tide will play the first of two with Notre Dame in South Bend in Week 2 following the La Tech game.
- Nobody’s looking ahead but game time for Alabama at Tennessee is 2:30/3:30. TV has not yet been decided.
KOACHES KORNER
HOT SEAT
- Shane Beamer ($22-24 million) – A 17-point blown lead by South Carolina (2-3) is not helpful.
- Mike Norvell ($45-50 million) Florida State (3-2) beat up UVa 38-7. The ‘Noles might just screw up and be stuck with Norvell another year.
- Barry Odom (about $20.25 million) Purdue (2-3) staved off execution for another week with an upset win at Illinois.
- Mike Locksley ($8-10 million). The Terps (2-3) were thumped by Nebraska and anOSU is up next.
- Lincoln Riley (around $60 million) is the most embattled 4-1 coach in the nation. Southern Cal survived Washington 25-21.
- Bill Belichick ($10-12 million) – UNC (2-2) lost at home by 11 to Notre Dame.
- Greg Schiano (roughly $18.5 million) – Rutgers (1-4) was throttled at home by Indy.
- Deion Sanders (approximately $33.6 million) – The Buffys (2-3) have lost three straight by the collective score of 93-27.
- Well, that is a first. Colorado State and head coach Jim Mora parted ways with DC Tyson Summers… in the middle of the game! The Rams were whupped by Oregon State 56-26.
- Lane Kiffin is full-on blanketing himself in the role of college football’s a-hole. Against little FCS McNeese State (2-4), the LSU coach was given the option to enact a running clock in the second half of the Cajun Tigers’ rout of McNeese, a game during which his team led 35-0. He refused. LSU went on to win 63-14.
- Urban Meyer’s granddaughter told him she was afraid to go to sleep because she was worried she may never wake up. Urbie just smiled and replied “It’s okay. That just means there’ll be more for me for breakfast.”
- When Fat F*** Phil Fulmer goes the beach, he’s the only one who gets a tan. (Thanks, W.A.)
TEEVEE
This past Thursday began a streak of two months with at least one college football or NFL game every day.
THIS WEEK
Below is just a sampling highlight of games of interest this week. If you REALLY MUST know about the BIG Texas Southern-FAU showdown, click here.
Tuesday, October 6
Southern Miss at Troy 7pm/8pm ESPN2
Wednesday, October 7
Jacksonville State at Kennesaw 6pm/7pm CBSSN
New Mexico State at FIU 6:30/7:30 ESPN2
Thursday, October 8
Sam Houston at Liberty 6pm/7pm ESPNU
Missouri State at Western Kentucky 6pm/7pm CBSSN
South Florida at UTSA 6:30/7:30 ESPN
South Alabama at Arkansas State 6:30/7:30 ESPN2
Friday, October 9
Florida State at Louisville 6pm/7pm ESPN
Iowa at Washington 8pm/9pm FOX
Washington State at Utah State 8pm/9pm CW
Wyoming at San Jose Can You See State 8pm/9pm CBSSN
Iowa State at BYU 9:15/10:15 ESPN
Saturday, October 8
SEC
Texas A&M at Missouri 11am/noon ABC
South Carolina at Florida 11:45/12:45 SECN
Texas vs Oklahoma 2:30/3:30 ABC – Red River Shootout
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt 2:30/3:30 ESPN – OM running back Kewan Lacy is expected back.
Tennessee at Arkansas 3:15/4:15 SECN
LSU at Kentucky 6pm/7pm ESPN – UK is a 10.5 point dog at home!
* Auburn and Mississippi State have a bye.
OTHERS
Indiana at Nebraska 11am/noon FOX – GO HUSKERS!
UCLA at Oregon 2:30/3:30 CBS – Undefeated Bruins look to drop the Dux
Southern Cal at Penn State 6:30/7:30 NBC – Two desperate programs face off.
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” – William Shakespeare
Boise at Fresno 9:30/10:30 CW – The Bulldogs (4-1) could be a challenge.
#ALABAMA
- Alabama now has FOUR pick-sixes in five games by four different players. That is most in FBS. The Crimson Tide’s eight total picks is tied for third most. [SIDE NOTE: Unexpectedly, New Mexico is still tops in INTs with 12.] Four non-offensive touchdowns surpasses the total from last season (Zabien Brown ×2, DaShawn Jones ×1). Alabama had none in 2024 and two in 2023.
- Technically, WR Ryan Williams did not start. The Tide came out in an I formation with Jay Lindsey as the up back in front of Daniel Hill. Rico Scott was split out to the left with Daniel Lewis and Josh Ford at either ends of the offensive line. What an amazing tight end unit Bama has along with Marshall Pritchett and Kaleb Edwards.
- Speaking of Williams, he wore a brace on his right knee but did not seemed to be slowed by it. He was in on 33 plays. He hauled in all three of his target for 43 yards and a 15-yard score. He has four TDs in the last three games.
- DB Red Morgan spent some time in the medical tent and eventually headed to the locker room during the first half of the MSU game. He did return to the field in the third quarter. Chuck McDonald and Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. picked up snaps in Morgan’s absence.
- Right tackle Jayvin James did not play against MSU. In his place, Tyrell Miller went the distance with 65 snaps according to PFF – the most of any Tide player. He struggled a little early on but got better as the game went on. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said he is “optimistic” that James will return opposite UGA this Saturday.
- UA OL according to PFF:
- LT Jackson Lloyd: 0 pressures, 0 penalties
- LG Will Sanders: 1 pressure, 1 penalty (illegal formation)
- C Racin Delgatty: 0 pressures, 0 penalties
- RG Michael Carroll: 2 pressures (1 sack), 1 penalty (phantom holding)
- RT Tyrell Miller: 1 pressure (1 sack), 0 penalties
- Xavier Griffin is about to Wally Pipp some dudes. The true freshman played 45 snaps (PFF), recorded three solo tackles, six assists, a QB hurry, four pressures, and shared two half sacks – though he led the charge on both. [SIDE NOTE: I have never understood why they don’t record sacks and half sacks as different stats.] Griffin was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
- All was not rosy for the Tide in Starkville. Running back Daniel Hill fumbled the ball on that first play mentioned above in what would have been a nine yard gain. Fortunately, teammate Michael Carroll pounced on the loose ball about four yards back. Alabama was not so lucky in the 2nd quarter when Hill again lost the ball, but this time within the shadow of his own goal post. [SIDE NOTE: The MSU defender who caused the fumble had lost his helmet. By rule, just such a player is supposed to stop playing or be flagged for illegal participation.] Alabama was up 21-7 at that moment. MSU got the ball at the 11 yards line and quickly made it 21-14.
- Prior to Hill’s second fumble, Dijon Lee muffed a punt with the same score (21-7) that would have set the Bama offense up near midfield. If not for these gaffes, the Tide probably could have put the Bullies away much earlier.
- The Tide committed 10 penalties for 64 yards, many of which negated good gains. There have been too many pre-snap penalties such as delay of game and illegal formation that needs to be cleaned up.
- Keelon Russell was sacked three times. Austin Mack was taken down once. But who’s complaining?…
- Alabama played 66 players including three walk-ons. Lorcan Quinn recorded his first point of the season with an extra point on Austin Mack’s 3 yard TD run.
GAME 6: Saturday, October 10, 2026
Alabama Crimson Tide (5-0) vs Georgia Bulldogs (5-0)
Tuscaloosa, AL ~ 6:30/7:30 ABC (SkyCast+ on SEC Network)
- Coach: Kirby Smart (122–21, 72–12 SEC in 11th season as a head coach)
- 2026 UGA: The Dwags have not really been challenged this season with two cupcakes and SEC games with Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt. The meeting with the Razorbacks has been the only away game for the Uggz.
- Series: Alabama leads the all-time record at 45-27-4. The Doggies won the 2025 SEC Championship Game after losing to the Tide in the regular season. Bama also fell in the 2022 CFP Championship Game. Since 2008, Alabama is 10-2 versus Georgia.
- Editorial: What more is left to be said? It’s two of the top teams in the nation, rankings be damned. This is where we find out who is real.
- Pregame: Country music singer Justin Moore performs. He has had 11 number-one US Billboard Hot Country singles.
- Weather: Early forecasts are calling for rain in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. But that is what they were saying about the MSU game as well. Stay tuned.
- TV Announcers: Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit with Laura Rutledge and Holly Rowe on sidelines.
- Radio: Chris Stewart & Tyler Watts on Alabama Radio.
- Vegas: The FanDuel opening point spread has Alabama as a 1.5 point favorite. Over/Under is 54.5.
