Lawd, there was some really bad, uncompetitive football this weekend. I hope all went well at the wedding.
We saw College Football Playoff hopes of a few teams dashed by underdogs but mostly by higher ranked teams. In particular were No.2 anOhio State falling to unranked Southern Cal. It was the third time in four weeks of a No. 2 feeling the sting of defeat: Notre Dame, BYU, anOSU.
Parity is really starting to sink in as many top teams not in the SEC are barely eking out wins against inferior competition. Yet, in the SEC, the divide is widening.
Ole Miss45 Auburn15 – OM scored 28 unanswered points. Aubie (4-4) had no answers as QB Byrum Brown continues to struggle.
Georgia27 Florida8 – The Gators played two quarterbacks and the both stunk it up: two turnovers each and four sacks. Why is it opponent continue to cough up the ball in weird ways against the Dwags?
South Carolina42 Oklahoma25 – Reborn SC quarterback LaNorris Sellers had 397 total yards and 5 TDs. The Gamecocks have won three straight SEC games – @Florida, vs Tennessee, and @Okie – and are actually ranked! The Sooners sink to 4-4 on the season.
Texas31 Mississippi State3 – The Bullies are garbage without injured QB Kamario Taylor.
Missouri34 Arkansas10 – Everybody beats Arky. Except Vandy…
* Alabama, LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt were all off.
Miami-FL38 North Carolina35 – Once the 'Canes faced a foe with a pulse, it all becomes a struggle. But yeah. Let's rank them No. 1 because of their record. Just don't look at who they have played. Imagine Miami's record if they were in the SEC.
Carolina had their shot but a key turnover ↑↑↑ made it real difficult to comeback.
Wake Forest51 Virginia7 – Daggum the Demon Deacons (7-1) keep on winning.
It looks like some dude tore his ACL ↑↑↑. Keep ignoring it. It's just a matter of time until someone gets seriously injured…
Southern Cal30 Ohio State18 – SO CAL SUPER BOWL! The Buckys reached the red zone four times but managed only one touchdown, two field goals, and a turnover on downs. They also fumbled in Trojans territory. Sometimes, it is good to have a game manager.
How pathetic is it that the Trojans fans stormed the field? That is not something a so-called blueblood would do.
Syracuse30 SMU27 – ORANGEMEN SUPER BOWL! The Mustangs are really close to being eliminated. Still, it's a pretty dumb reason to rush the field against a team that is far from being a rival and highly-unlikely to make the CFP.
Iowa State51 Oklahoma State49 – ISU SUPER BOWL! Cowpokes QB Drew Mestemaker got a lot of NFL Draft hype this past week. Too bad he can't play defense.
Baylor41 Center Florida9 – It was a deadly combination in Orlando Friday night: a Super Bowl Hangover versus New Coach Fever. A week after upsetting No. 2 BYU, Center Florida got trounced at home by a team that just fired their head coach. The first phenomena is when a team beats a rival/ranked team/blueblood and overreacts with stupidity like rushing the field. Almost always, that team loses the next week to a meh team. "New Coach Fever" is the spark that gets lit under a team when someone gets canned and someone gets promoted to interim coach. Again, we often see that team come out with new fire. But it is almost always fleeting.
This could not have happened to a better team. Center Florida stole their mascot, logo, and team colors from Army, and stole the bouncing thing from Wisconsin. And they tried to steal the 2017 National Championship with their B.S. schedule. #NeverForget
Indiana23 Minnesota16 (OT) – Minnie lost at home after beating Iowa last week.
Utah49 Cincinnati25 – Cincy fell at home after an upset of Texa$ Tech.
Iowa30 Wisconsin0 – Wisky's bubble popped following a defeat of Southern Cal.
Only South Carolina survived the Super Bowl hangover.
Where has this guy been hiding.
The zebras did get a couple right this week.
I know it seems dumb but this ruling has been around for a pretty long time. Your special teams coach should have taught you this in August.
NOPE! NOT the definition. Here is the danger of being one of those Australian punters. The NCAA rulebook say the kicker "does not automatically lose his protection…unless he carries the ball outside the tackle box." In this instance, the punter "loses his roughing or running-into protection by carrying the ball outside the tackle box." Rightfully, no flag was thrown.
Watch the Tar Heel at the top of the screen. What was he thinking? He wasn't even going to be in on the play.
Sorry, Michy fans. Under NCAA Rule 6-5-1b, a valid fair catch signal extends the unimpeded opportunity to catch even after a muff/bobble, as long as the receiver still has a chance to secure it before the ball hits the ground. Contact by Michigan during that window was kick-catch interference.
A botched onside kick attempt by Oklahoma occurred against South Carolina in the 4th quarter (losing 42–25).
LOL that they ended up at the 25 yard line.
This is why Charlotte is 1-7. It would have been great if they had made the first down but they didn't. Instead of being pinned deep, Tulane got good field position and drove down to score a tying touchdown with 10 seconds left to force overtime. The Green Wave would eventually win 38-31.
I find it hilarious that these people think three young men and a DEI woman holding a buffalo with leashes would be able to control it if it decided to take a left instead of a right.
[I know some of you are going to get bent out of shape about the 'DEI' thing but let's get real. There is no way this girl was in the Top 4 of capable people for this job.]
Two 60 yards field goals by opposing teams? What is going on here?
According to Ryan Paganetti : "Before that game (Indy-Minnie), there had never been an NCAA or NFL game in which both teams made a field goal of 60 yards or longer in the final 30 seconds of regulation. First time in the history of the sport of football."
No way that was 59,000.
Get a job.
This guy's given name is Sirr Bruce Wayne Bible. What is wrong with people? It's a human being. Not a hamster.
According anOSU beat reporter Jon "JR" Rhoades Ohio State has never converted a 2 point conversion under Ryan Day. The last time the Buckys converted a 2 pointer was August 31, 2017, against Indiana.
Wake Forestis ninth in the nation in scoring with 39.1 ppg. It's gotta be that offensive coordinator .
Air Forcehad zero passing completions in three attempts against UConn, but tallied 366 rushing yards in a 35-26 win.
Against FSU, Clemsonconnected on a first quarter touchdown pass. It was the Tigers' first such score since Sept. 19 vs North Carolina.
According to Kevin Scarbinsky , "Auburn lost 7 games last year by a combined 50 points. Auburn has lost its last 2 games by a combined 51 points."
College GameDay was in boring ol' Bloomington, IN for Indy-Minnie.
Former Hoosier basketball player Isiah Thomaswas guest picker. He picked anOhio State to defeat Southern Cal and got booed for it by the Indies.
Some Hoosiers fan tried twice to kick his $1,000,000 field goal and was ruled wide left. The guy was a former soccer player so LOL. I may be alone on this but I root for embarrassing misses.
Next up is South Bend for Notre Dame-Miami (FL).
Fox's Big Noon Kickoff was in Iowa City for the Hawkeyes and Badgers and it was just as boring. It really was a good weekend to get married.
BNK will be in West Point, NY for Air Force-Army.
Memphis(7-2) crushed Army 49-22.
Western Michigan(6-3, 4-1) dumped Bowling Green 23-10.
New Mexico(7-1, 4-0) survived San Jose Canseco State 21-16 on an interception with 11 seconds remaining. The AP is jumping on the bandwagon with a No. 22 ranking.
Troy(4-4) – What a hangover JMU must have had after losing to App State last week! From CFP hopeful to a two-loss also-ran, the Dukes fell at home to the three touchdown underdog Trojans on a 27-yard field goal in overtime. LaTech comes to town.
Jacksonville State(6-2) – The Gamecocks shut down and shut out New Mexico State 24-0 to become bowl eligible. godawful Sam Houston (1-7) is next.
South Alabama(4-4) – The Jags lost to conference leader LaTech 35-20. USA visits ULL.
UAB(4-4) – The Dragons got thumped by USF 30-10. Hopefully they can manage a meet-up with listless Charlotte.
Air Force(6-2) – The Falcons defeated UConn, 35-26. After already topping Navy, AFA can clinch the 2026 Commander-in-Chief's Trophy at Army on Saturday.
Army(5-3) – The Black Knights lost at Memphis 49-22. Next ↑↑↑
Navy(2-6) – The Midshipmen lost to Notre Dame 35-13. Temple arrives.
Eliminated:Boston College, Cal, Clemson, FSU, Georgia Tech, NC State, North Carolina, Pitt, Syracuse, Stanford, Virginia, Arizona State, Baylor, Center Florida, Cincinnati, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, TCU, West Virginia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers, Purdue, Washington, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
In Danger:Duke, Louisville, SMU, Virginia Tech, Arizona, Houston, Oklahoma State, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, anOhio State, Southern Cal, Wisconsin, Alabama, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, Notre Dame
Still Alive:BYU, Texa$ Tech, Utah, Indiana, UCLA,Wake Forest, Georgia, Kentucky,
Clinched Playoff Birth:Miami-FL (due to lame-ass schedule)
SEC– Kentucky's magical season faces a huge challenge in Knoxville on Saturday. Georgia is at Ole Miss and then hosts Mizzou.
Big Ten– UCLA (8-0) still has not played anyone worth a hill o' beans. They finish @Minnie, vs Illinois, @Michy, and vs Southern Cal. There is no way they win all those. Right? Southern Cal is probably the last hurdle for Indiana. We may have to root for the Trojans. anOSU hosts Oregon and Northwestern. They NEED to lose one or both.
Big 12– BYU-Utah on Saturday. Texas Tech doesn't play either but faces Okie Lite on the road in two weeks.
ACC– Think about this: the second place team in the ACC is Wake Forest. I'll repeat – WAKE.FOREST. In third place is Louisville (5-3) who everyone left for dead about a month ago. Miami-FL is going to run the table and that is fine. Fatten up on these cupcakes until you face a real team in the CFP and get upset.
Indies– Notre Dame has already lost the first game of their three-game season (BYU). The Irish have Miami-FL in town this weekend.
Things have gotten real complicated for the Participation Trophy slot in the CFP.
Boise(Pac-12) had to rally to get past Texas State after blowing 25-point halftime lead. The Smurfs were looking like the runaway candidate for the charity spot in the playoff. Quarterback Maddux Madsen got injured in the one point win over Bobcats (4-4). When will he be back? And when he returns, how limited will he be? Boise's only loss came against Oregon, but that "win-in-defeat" is not looking so impressive anymore. BSU should be okay at turrible Colorado State (3-5) on Saturday. But then they host upstart Oregon State (5-3) which could be a problem. San Diego State (4-5) is their final game of the regular season.
UTSA(AAC) at 7-1 had the week off. After FAU on Thursday, the Roadrunners host North Texas (6-2, 4-0).
New Mexicoleads the MWC at 7-1 (4-0). A 14-6 loss to Oklahoma is their only flaw.
Liberty(7-1, 4-0) keeps hanging around in Conference USA, but they will probably have to deal with Jax State (6-2, 4-0) in their championship game.
James Madison(7-2) is looking out of contention.
This is the dumb AP Poll. The CFP Committee claims they don't reference it but you know they do.
Miami-FL (62)
Georgia (7)
Utah (1 vote – Stephen Means of Cleveland.com)
Notre Dame
UCLA
Indiana
BYU
Kentucky
Alabama
Texas
anOhio State
Ole Miss
Texa$ Tech
Wake Forest
LSU
Tennessee
Houston
Southern Cal
Missouri
Boise
We'll see how close the two lists are tonight, Tuesday, at 6pm/7pm (ESPN) when the committee releases the first College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings for the 2026 season.
Only three teams remain undefeated. Miami-FL, Utah, and UCLAare each 8-0.
Indianais the only 8-1 team.
40 teams are now bowl eligible.
Northern Illinois(0-8) is still alive as the final team in the running for the prestigious Triple Golden Sombrero (12 whiffs)!
Washington Statejoins NIU in the 8-loss category at 1-8.
Charlotte, Rice, Bowling Green, Akron, Sam Houston, ULM, UTEP, Old Dominion, and Sac Stateall have 7 losses.
Ten teams have six defeats and will have to win out in order to become bowl eligible. Among them are the ACC's Caland Georgia Tech. The Big Ten have THREE: Michigan State, Rutgers, Maryland.
Only two of Conference USA teams ( Liberty, Jax State) have winning records.
Krazy Kristi's "SHUT UP!" of the Weekgoes to the Big 12 replay officials.
BYU27 Arizona State20 – Some time after the game on Saturday, the Big 12 acknowledged an officiating error on an apparent Cougars touchdown. Hmm. Imagine that. A call that benefits one of the conference darlings over a 4-3 team.
On BYU's first offensive possession, the quarterback attempted a run up the middle on 2nd-and-goal from the 1-yard line but fumbled. After a few moments, his running back picked it up and ran it in for an apparent touchdown. However, the rules say otherwise.
As mentioned in the video above, no audible whistle could be heard in that replay. However, both linesmen came laterally running in like the play was over. And then there is the issue of whether the running back's knee was down. Beyond that, they butchered the ruling. These guys should have the rule book memorized and if not, they should have at least had someone crack it open and look it up.
It's the third consecutive week that a BYU game has featured questionable officiating decisions. This is absolutely unbelievable/suspect/inexcusable – take your pick. These review officials are supposed to be experts and they continue to clown it up.
Odds per FanDuel :
1. QB Darian Mensah (Miami-FL) +160 – It must be nice to have a lame-o schedule.
2. WR Jeremiah Smith (anOhio State) +270
3. WR Malachi Toney (Miami-FL) +350 – see above
4. QB CJ Carr (Notre Dame) +1100 – see above
5. QB Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss) +1200
6. (tie) QB Drew Mestemaker (THE Oklahoma State) +5000
6. (tie) QB Gunner Stockton (Georgia) +5000
6. (tie) QB Sam Leavitt (LSU) +5000 – Yeah. Let's just forget those first six games…
9. WR Jesse Legree (THE Oregon State) +6500
10. QB Gio Lopez (Wake Forest) +6500
11. QB Devon Dampier (Utah) +10000 – Who?
12. QB Keelon Russell(Alabama) +12500
Boise QB Maddux Madsenwas injured midway through the fourth quarter in the Smurfs game with Texas State. He was hit low near his left knee and needed help getting off the field.
Notre Dame LB Drayk Bowensuffered a right ankle injury near the goal line against Navy and has been ruled out long-term.
Texas leading receiver Ryan Wingo(36 recs, 470 yards, 4 TD) is undergoing further testing for a shoulder injury. Fellow WR Cam Colemanis questionable.
Longhorns RB Hollywood Smotherscontinues to deal with severe shoulder and knee injuries that could sideline him for the remainder of the regular season. Bullet dodged.
There have been reports that anOhio State WR/diva Jeremiah Smithis "determining his future" at the university and could sit out the remainder of the 2026-27 season.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormarkis leaving the conference, a decision he made as he prepares to take another job outside of college sports. I'm not sure you can blame the guy. Might as well jump ship before the water reaches your chin.
Oregon wide receiver Messiah Hamptoncould not be saved when he was arrested Friday afternoon in connection with a high-speed chase earlier this month in which two vehicles evaded Springfield, OR police. He is facing two felony charges of attempting to elude police and one misdemeanor charge of reckless driving, according to jail records. The instance happened near the area where Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewartwas later arrested and charged with DUII. Oregon tight end Jamari Johnsonwas given a Class A speeding ticket that same morning. How was this not Georgia?
Run & Shoot virtuoso June Jones(1953-2026) died at 73. He was the winningest head coach at Hawaii (76-41) and later headed up SMU. He also coached the Atlanta Falcons for three seasons (1991-1996), as well as stints in the CFL and XFL.
THE TWO USC's
What an odd moment. Did he write that statement before the game or after? Did he proofread it before he decided to read it? I'm not sure it had any effect on anything.
Southern Cal's Lincoln Rileyhas turned back the hordes for now with his first Top 5 win as a head coach of the Trojans. Albeit, it was against a team that traveled 2,000 miles and was without their starting quarterback. We'll see which way the pendulum swings in two weeks in the Hoosier State.
It is Cocktober in South Carolina and that means the Gamecocks are a dangerous team. Shane Beamerhas lit a fire under mistake prone QB LaNorris Sellers who guided the team to three straight SEC wins. Their next two are Texas A&M and at Arkansas. The 'Cocks very well could be 7-3 when they welcome Georgia into Williams-Brice Stadium on Nov 21.
FIRED
The other shoe finally dropped in Tallahassee as Seminoles head coach Mike Norvellwas let go. It is hard to understand how they are going to afford the massive buyout which is believed to be approximately $50.3 million. After two losing campaigns to begin his FSU career, Norvell went 10-3 and 13-1 in 2022 and 2023. And then everything went down the crapper. He went 2-10 and 5-7, followed by 3-5 this season. In that span, he won 4 conference games and lost 17.
Oklahoma's Brent Venableshas fired offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckleafter less than two seasons. The Sooners score 22 points per game – 108th in the nation. That tracks.
HOT SEAT
The dude is losing it.
They are turning up the heat again on Brent Venablesin Oklahoma.
Remember that time when Nebraska was 5-0? They have lost three straight since then. According to Chris Fallica , the Cornhuskers have "trailed for a total of 8:41 and led for 116:10 in its three game losing streak." The big problem for UNL? Matt Rhuleis locked in until 2032.
It still seems like Greg Schiano's second go round at Rutgers (2-6) will come to an end in short order.
Tim Albinis 2-17 in two seasons at Charlotte. How long does he have?
After having sex, Urban Meyertold his wife "I'm so glad you're a nurse?" His wife responded, "Why is that?" Urbie replies, "Because you took care of me so well." Then his wife tells him, "You should have been an anesthesiologist?" Beaming, he replied, "Why is that?" Her answer, "Because I didn't feel a thing."
Fat F*** Phil Fulmer's shadow weighs sixty-two pounds.
Below is just a sampling highlight of games of interest this week. If you REALLY MUST know about the BIG Delaware-Kennesaw clash, click here .
Ohioat Akron6pm/7pm ESPN2
Buffaloat Miami (OH)7pm/8pm ESPN
Ball Stateat UMass6pm/7pm ESPNU
Toledoat Sac State6pm/7pm CBSSN
CMUvs Eastern Michigan(in Detroit) 6:30/7:30 ESPN2
UTSAat FAU6:30/7:30 ESPN
– YUGE game for the Roadrunners.
James Madisonat Southern Miss7pm/8pm ESPN2
Virginia Techat SMU6pm/7pm ESPN
South Floridaat East Carolina6:30/7:30 ESPN2
Nebraskaat Illinois7pm/8pm FOX
New Mexicoat Nevada8pm/9pm CBSSN
TCUat Arizona9:15/10:15 ESPN
Texasat Missouri11am/noon ESPN
– Loser is probably out of the CFP.
Arkansasat Auburn11:45/12:45 SECN
Texas A&Mat South Carolina2pm/3pm ESPN
– Can SC stay hot?
Vanderbiltat Mississippi State3:15/4:15 SECN
– MSU need two wins to get to six Ws.
Kentuckyat Tennessee5:15/6:15 ESPN
– Tough test for UK.
Georgiaat Ole Miss6:30/7:30 ABC
Oklahomaat Florida6:45/7:45 SECN
* No more bye weeks for anyone in the conference.
BYUat Utah11am/noon ABC
– HOLY WAR!
Oregonat Ohio State2:303:30 CBS
– This one is not looking so great anymore.
Miami-FLat Notre Dame6:30/7:30 NBC
Wyomingat UNLV9:30/10:30 CBSSN – Winner makes it to 6-3.
Oh, how I miss that man. Happy Birthday, Coach.
On Monday, Kalen DeBoertold reporters in regards to injuries "a lot of these guys from Zabien Brown to Ryan Coleman-Williams, EJ [Crowell], Racin [Delgatty], Terrance Greenin particular – if there's more, you can feel free to ask – but those guys are all working onto the football field. They're not all in the exact same spot, but they're all out there going through workouts. Some are taking team reps, some are taking non-contact reps. But I think the progress by all of them is headed in a good direction. We'll see. I think a lot of it has to do with how their bodies respond after they're out there being pushed a little bit more at the end of the last week, yesterday, as well. And that will continue to happen throughout the course of the week."
Regarding Desmond Umeozulu: "Desmond will still be out for a while yet. Hopeful later on this season, but it will be toward the very back end of the regular season."
DeBoer's teams have an 8-0 record following byes, including a 4-0 record for the Crimson Tide (twice vs LSU and twice vs UGA).
Lane Kiffin's teams have a 9-6 record during post bye-week games. This includes an 0-3 record against Alabama in those games.
NOT LOOKING AHEAD but… Alabama will face Vanderbilt at 11:45am CT (SEC Network).
Coach:Lane Kiffin (1st season as a head coach at LSU; 121-55 in his career at 5 stops)
2026 LSU:I am sure Kiffin thought he would just swagger into Red Stick and go 16-0 in his first campaign. But things have not quite worked out as he expected. The first loss came when LFK thought he could just make up the rules as he went along. But the SEC smacked him down like a dog trying to steal a dinner roll off the dining room table. LSU whupped up on Clemson and was feeling pretty good about themselves until Ole Miss struck them down. After a win over TAMU, Kentucky shocked them with an OT two-point conversion. The Cajun Tigers dominated a Kamario/Bothwell-less MSU. In the last game, they smacked Auburn around.
Series:Alabama is 58-27-5 against the Bayou Bengals. The Crimson Tide have won 15 of the last 17 meetings. The last Purple Tigers win came in 2022 against Heisman winner Jayden Daniels. Previous to that, it was Heisman winner Joe Burrow in 2020. [ED.NOTE: Sam Leavitt ain't winnin' no Hypesman.]
Editorial:Man, did the bye week come at the right time for the Tide. This Bama offense is not the same without Ryan Williams and Racin Delgatty. If the Tide can get them and others back, it could get the team back on track.
Weather:The forecast calls for a high of 79° and mostly cloudy skies.
TV Announcers: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge
Radio:Chris Stewart & Tyler Watts on Alabama Radio .
/ Vegas:The FanDuel point spread has LSU as a 4.5 point favorite. Over/Under is 53.5.
