College Football Random Thoughts: Where Is The Chaos?

To this point, it feels like the College Football Playoff Committee has been ranking by just records. They probably thought that chaos would ensue and do all the hard work for the. But here we are in Week 12 and it had some drama but no chaos.

Georgia 38 Tennessee 10 - The Vols scored on the first play of the game, a 75-yard touchdown run. But it was all downhill from there. Sadly, UGA has worked through all their kinks and deficiencies early in the season against doormats. Joe Milton (17 of 30 for 147 yards) continues to prove Josh Heupel wrong.

Michigan 31 Maryland 24 - Without knowing beforehand what plays the Terps were calling, UM had a big struggle in putting away a team who had lost four of their last five, including Northwestern and Illinois. MD’s Taulia Tagovailoa was responsible for two interceptions and a lost fumble. The Wolvies’ J.J. McCarthy was not very Heisman-like with a 12/23, 141 yard, 0 TD, 1 INT performance.

Ohio State 37 Minnesota 3 - Big shocker.

Florida State 58 North Alabama 13 - FSU got down early to the Lions 13-0. With less than two minutes left in the first quarter, ‘Noles QB Jordan Travis suffered a gruesome leg injury that knocked him out for the rest of the 2023 campaign. Back-up Tate Rodemaker came in and did okay (13/23, 217 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT). But mostly they wore UNA down with the ground game that had 5 different Seminoles score a touchdown via the run. It was a big score the the Semis, but an ugly game.

Washington 22 Oregon State 20 - Yet another close call for the Huskies. Everybody’s darling Michael Penix had another craptastic game completing only 13 of 28 passes for 162 yards. Lucky for him, DJ Uiagalelei was atrocious. The former Clemson QB went 15/31, 164 yds, 0 TD, 2 INT. OSU had no business being #11.

Oregon 49 Arizona State 13 - Bo Nix blah blah blah. I bet he is so dang happy he can stand in the pocket against these meatbags instead of Alabama, Georgia, and New Mexico State.

Texas 26 Iowa State 16 - Ya know what? Quinn Ewers (23/33-281-2-0) is just kinda okay. He really reminds me of Sam Ehlinger.

SEC

Missouri 33 Florida 31 - It looked like the Gators had this one won until the Tigers converted a 4th and 17 on a 27 yard completion to to Luther Burden and then kicked a 30 yard field goal with 5 seconds to play.

South Carolina 17 Kentucky 14 - It’s November so you know what that means: SCar starts winning and Kentucky loses. This was one of the ugliest SEC games of the year, chockful of derps. Thanks a lot, UK.

SEC VS CUPCAKES

Alabama 66 Chattanooga 10 - Without some banged up starters, the Tide still demolished the Mocs with 574 yards of offense.

LSU 56 Georgia State 14- This game is kinda easy when you have time to stand back there like a statue.

Ole Miss 35 ULM 3 - OM went missed FG, turnover on downs, touchdown, downs, and punt in the first half. I’m guessing Kiffin had a few strong words for his team because they came out on fire in the second half scoring on four of five possessions (not counting a kneel down at the end).

Texas A&M 38 Abilene Christian 10 - It was not the blowout you would expect from TAMU against such a doormat FCS team. Jaylen Henderson’s first pass of the day wobbled in the air and was picked off and run back for a touchdown to put ACU up 7-0. The Aggies pecked away and finally took control but it was no walk in the park.

Arkansas 44 FIU 20 - The Hogs rolled up 323 rushing yards and KJ Jefferson was only sacked ONCE! I’d say that is progress.

Mississippi State 41 Southern Miss 20 - Clang-Clang snapped a three game slide with a closer-than-it-looks win over USM. Missy State had a slight 26-20 advantage in the 4th quarter. A 59-yard TD run and a pick by Jett Johnson who lateraled to former Tide DB Marcus Banks for another score made the final tally look a little more lopsided.

CUPCAKES VS THE SEC

New Mexico State 31 Auburn 10 - Haven’t I been telling you about Jerry Kill’s Aggies? This was no fluke. The game had no turnovers and penalties were even. This was just a good ol’ fashioned butt-whuppin’. NMSU outgained the Tigers 414-213 and held them to 12 first downs. Jarquez Hunter was held to 27 rushing yards on 8 carries. The Aggs QB Diego Pavia totaled three touchdown passes and also body-slammed a mfer. On that play, Aubie had intercepted but the Tigers’ defense jumped offsides before the play could get underway. The interception was erased but a message had been sent!

Aubie paid NMSU $1.85 million to have their arses kicked in Jerdin-Hair.

OTHER STUFF

Louisville 38 Miami 31 - The Cardinals clinch a spot in the ACCCG after a close win over the ‘U’. Miami got down to the 5 yards line on a Hail Mary but time ran out. With their third straight loss, the ‘Canes fall to 6-5.

UCLA 38 Southern Cal 20 - Lincoln Riley’s outdated one-dimensional offense managed all of 3 yards of rushing. You can’t win on passing alone.

Washington State 56 Colorado 14 - The Buffys got absolutely waxed. The bad news is they have to play Utah next.

Arizona 42 Utah 18 - So much for Oregon’s best win, huh?

Clemson 31 North Carolina 20 - The Tigers finally put an end to the farce that was the Tar Heels. Ya think maybe Drake Maye might be regretting not going to Bama?

NEVER BET ON IOWA

Iowa 15 Illinois 13 - The Hawkeyes, favored by -2.5 at home, took the lead with 4:43 left, but missed the extra point. They would get the ball back with 3:40 left and got down the Illini 16 yard line but knelt it out. Iowa also continued the miraculous trend of going under the OVER/UNDER of 32.5. The ‘Eyes are the best of a terrible division, winning Big Ten West.

SOMEONE LET LSU KNOW THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY WHAT TARGETING LOOKS LIKE

REFEREE OF THE WEEK

CAN WE TALK ABOUT TARGETING?

Targeting is a good rule to cut down on headhunters looking to put an opponent in traction. However, a repercussion of the overprotective calls of the foul as well as the plethora of unnecessary roughing calls is that guys don’t have a fair chance to make tackles. Not so long ago, the DB would have lit the wide receiver up on a play like we see above. It used to be a big emotional lift for a defense and would also makes a receiver think twice about coming across the middle. We are not advocating violence on other players, but defenders are losing the fair advantage to take a guy down in this era of near-flag football.

OH, TY. NOT LIKE THIS

This is a coach’s son. You’d think he would know better.

MOLLY MCBATH

DOLLY

There was some stuff going on before the UGA-UT game in Knoxville but I can’t bring myself to hype that school over it.

NOT SO WEIRD

Texas A&M has a LOT of weird traditions - some of which REALLY need to be put out of to pasture. However, the Aggies have one cool tradition remaining and it was on display Saturday against li’l ol’ Abilene Christian. The “12th Man” was conjured up in a 1922 bowl game when injuries were befalling the Aggs. With their numbers dwindling, the coach called upon a former player sitting in the stands to beef up their reserves. Despite some tellings, the guy did not play in the game, but his readiness to help out developed the concept of the 12th Man.

In the 1980s, coach Jackie Sherrill, who was honored at halftime, created the 12th Man Squad composed solely of walk-on players for kickoffs which was wildly popular and somewhat successful. Sherrill’s successor, R. C. Slocum, amended the tradition in the 1990s to allow one walk-on player, wearing the No. 12 jersey. In the years that followed, the tradition slowly dropped off and disappeared. However on Saturday, they brought back an 11-man walk-on team for a kickoff and recovered a fumble. It’s nice to see something come out of College Station that is not an embarrassment to the SEC.

STRIP AND SCORE OF THE WEEK

Does he have an offer from Bama yet?

OLD GUY OF THE WEEK

It’s no surprise that BYU is 5-6. It used to be they were the only ones with dudes in their mid-20s. Now it’s everybody.

HARD LESSON OF THE WEEK

AUDACIOUS MOVE OF THE WEEK

Harbaugh takes being an @sshole to a whole new level.

A-HOLE FAN BASE OF THE WEEK

BEST FAN BASE OF THE WEEK

NAME OF THE WEEK

What happens every time you wanna go outside in the South in the summer?

MOST CARTOONISH HELMET OF THE WEEK

Who else but TCU?

WE TRIED TO TELL THEM

Remember when people actually thought Colorado was headed for a national title? And the Buffs had multiple players headed to NYC for the Heisman Trophy ceremony? Good times.

THE FINAL STAGE OF GRIEF: ACCEPTANCE

SNAKE BIT

STATIONARY RUNNING BACK OF THE WEEK

• Southern Cal netted 3 rushing yards against UCLA. MarShawn Lloyd had 17 yards on 8 carries. Austin Jones was 6 and 6.

STATS OF THE WEEK

• Colorado punter Mark Vassett punted nine times for 406 yards. The Buffys had only 255 yards of offense.
• Colorado has allowed 54 sacks this season - most of any team and ninth most of any FBS team dating back to 2009. The highest number is 63 but the Buffs have only one game left on their 2023 campaign.

GAMEDAY WEIRDO OF THE WEEK

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESI

College GameDay and FOX Noon Kickoff will both be going to Ann Arbor for Michigan-Ohio State. SEC Nation will be in Auburn for the Iron Bowl.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

• New Mexico State (9-3) HOW ‘BOUT THEM DAM AGGS?! For only the third time in the 128 year history of the program, NMSU has tallied up nine wins in a season.
• Tulane (10-1) beat godawful AFU 24-8.
• Jamey Chadwell (42-6 over the last four seasons)

COUSINS

• Troy (9-2) - It’s 8 wins in a row for the Trojans as they top ULL 31-24 and clinch the Sun Belt West. Troy (-16.5) should make it nine in a row at sad sack Southern Miss.
• South Alabama (6-5) - The Jags shut out Marshall 28-0 and will be going bowling in December. USA is a surprising 5 point favorite at @Texas State.
• Jacksonville State (8-3) - The Gamecocks whupped up on Louisiana Tech 56-17. JSU wraps the regular season at New Mexico State (-2).

THAT ANNOYING GUY WHO USES HIS FINGERS TO GET THE PEANUT BUTTER OUT

• UAB (4-7) - The Dragons burned the Temple 34-24. They head to North Texas as a 3 point underdog.

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

• Air Force (8-3) - The Falcons are in a major funk losing to UNLV 31-27 - their third defeat in a row. AFA got down to the Vegas 8 yard line but could not punch it in. Maybe kick the field goal next time, Coach? Air Force wraps the regular season at Boise (-6) with the winner going to the Mountain West Championship Game against the Running Rebels.
• Army (5-6) - The Black Knights still have a shot at bowl eligibility by stopping Coastal Carolina 28-21 - their third straight win. They will have to beat Navy on December 9.
• Navy (5-5) - The Midshipmen shut out and shut down ECU to 189 total yards in a 10-0 victory. They gonna lose to SMU (-20), so the Army-Navy game will be a playoff of sorts with the winner heading to a bowl game.

ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

Eliminated: All non-P5s, Notre Dame, Clemson, Duke, UNC, Boston College, Louisville, Miami-FL, NC State, Syracuse, Virginia, Wake, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma, Houston, Iowa State, K-State, Kansas, West Virginia, BYU, Cincinnati, Center Florida, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, Rutgers, Sparty, Maryland, Minnie, Nebraska, Northwestern, Iowa, Purdue, Penn State, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado, Stanford, Cal, Southern Cal, Oregon State, Utah, UCLA, Wazzu, South Carolina, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Mizz, LSU, Missy State, Arky, Auburn, Florida, Texas A&M, Mizzou, Ole Miss NEW: n/a

Endangered: Alabama, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Ohio State NEW: n/a

Extremely Endangered: NEW: FSU

Other: Michigan, Georgia

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

DraftKings odds to win the 2023 National Championship:

1. Georgia +220 to+240 to +230 to +300 to +260 to +280 to +275 to +240 to +260 to +240 (bet $100 to win $240)
2. Michigan +800 to +750 to +700 to +475 to +400 to +340 to +280 to +225 to +240 to +220 to +210 to +260
3. Ohio State +700 to +750 to +900 +1200 to +1000 to +800 to +750 to +900 to +800 to +700 to +750 to +700 to +800 to +550
4. Oregon to +1600 to +1400 to +2500 to +3000 to +1400 to +1000 to +850 to +600
5. Alabama +600 to +550 to +2500 to +4000 to +4000 to +2500 to +2000 to +1400 to +900 to +650 to +700
6. Washington to +1500 to +1200 to +800 to +1200 to +1400 to +1100 to +1300 to +1400
7. Texas +2200 to +1000 to +800 to +750 to +1800 to +2200 to +1600 to +1500 to +2000 to +1400
8. FSU +2000 to +1100 +1000 drop to +1200 to +800 to +900 to +800 to +700 to +600 to +600 to +950 to +3000
9. A few others are listed at DraftKings.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

• ACC - Florida State probably still wins @Florida. Louisville in the ACCCG might be trouble.
• Big 12 - Okie is out. Texas remains... but just barely. The Longhorns host Texas Tech who has won three straight.
• Big Ten - Michigan and anOSU finally face off. The winner goes to the B1GCG against Iowa, played in Indianapolis.
• PAC-12 - Once yet AGAIN, Washington escaped disaster. They have the Apple Cup at home with struggling Wazzu. Oregon hosts Oregon State on Friday in the rivalry known as the Civil War (unless you are still doing that woke thing).
• SEC - UGA has @Georgia Tech left. Alabama plays @Auburn. Anything can happen in rivalry games.
• Indies - Notre Dame
• Non-Power 5

NON-POWER 5 QUAGMIRE

This season’s candidates for the non-Power 5 Participation Trophy:

• Tulane (10-1), AAC, ranked 24 in last week’s CFP Poll - The Green Wave lost to Ole Miss in Nawlins by 17. They have won a lot of squeakers against really bad teams. UTSA will not be a pushover.
• James Madison (10-1), Sun Belt - The Dukes are still not even eligible for any bowl much less a NY6.
• Liberty (11-0), C-USA - The Flames have not played any P5s and the 9-team Conference USA is weak even by non-P5 standards.
• Toledo (10-1), MAC - The Rockets have played nobody except Illinois (5-6) who they lost to.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

Everyone won in the Top 10, some better than others. But that doesn’t seem to matter anymore. The big dilemma is what to do about FSU. Do they deserve to be in the Top 4 with the development that their star quarterback is done for the year? Surely, they cannot think that this is the same Seminoles team without him.

The next ridiculous college football playoff rankings release will be aired tonight, November 21, on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT.

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Florida State
5. Washington
6. Oregon
7. Texas
8. Alabama
9. Missouri
10. Louisville

KICKOFF NEWS

• Oh, now this is sad. The Duke’s Mayo kickoff game has been very entertaining since it’s inception in 2015. The Week 1 game usually pairs an ACC team with an SEC team with South Carolina (4 times) and North Carolina (3 times) getting the most appearances. This year’s game pitted Tar Heels against the Gamecocks - a UNC victory. 2024’s match-up will have NC State and Tennessee. Charlotte vs App State in 2025 doesn’t exactly rev many engines.

LET’S GO BOWLING!

• 67 teams (excluding Jax State and JMU) are now bowl eligible for 82 bowl slots. 24 teams are one win away at 5-6. Navy is 5-5.
• The newly eligible are Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Texas Tech, Arkansas State and South Alabama.
• Nine of 14 SEC teams are bowl eligible: Bama, UGA, OM, Tenn, Mizz, UK, LSU, TAMU, and Aubie. The Gators (5-6) are a longshot with FSU remaining. SCar and Mississippi State are also 5-6. The ‘Cocks finish with a home game against Clempson. MSU will need to win the Egg Bowl.
• Only six teams are still undefeated: FSU, Georgia, Washington, anOhio State, Michigan, and Liberty*.

* Ain’t played nobody, PAAWWWWLLLL.

PARITY FOREVER!

• 45 FBS teams are either 6-5 or 5-6. Such mediocrity...

LET’S GO BLOWING!

• With their loss to Bowling Green on Wednesday, the Fightin’ Nick Sabans of Kent State became the first and only FBS team to record 10 defeats.
• Vanderbilt and ULM have the nation’s longest current losing streak at nine straight. Tennessee is the final test for the Commodores. #RelegateVandy
• 40 teams now have 7 or more losses each. Among the newest teams in this category are Colorado, Wake Forest, and Houston.
• Power 5 teams that still have yet to defeat a fellow P5 are as follows: Vanderbilt. #RelegateVandy
• BYU, Houston, Center Florida and Cincy have combined for a 7-25 record in B12 games thus far.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to Maria Taylor and the idiotic FOX CFB crew. I don’t have video and I’m sure some of you think Maria is adorable, but she sacrificed a factual statement for something cutesy catchy. After the late Texas-Iowa State game on FOX, she and some other numbskulls were doing rapid-fire highlights of the top teams which is basically just one clip and the final score. For the Michigan-Maryland game, she giggled out a little quip of “No Harbaugh, no problem!” When in fact, the game was a problem for the Wolverines. They barely hung on to beat the Terps, losers of 5 of their last 6. It is this kind of eight second attention span bulls**t that keeps the lazy crap of evaluating teams for the playoff based solely on whether they won or loss. If UM had played Oneonta Junior Varsity team and won on a late pass interference call and a field goal that bounced of the Goodyear blimp and through the uprights, the media would have thrown them a parade.

HEISMAN HYPE

Jayden Daniels is the second player in the SEC history to compile 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in a season. Johnny Manziel was the other. He is also the sixth player to achieve this feat in all of D-I college football. Lamar Jackson did it twice for Louisville.

As an Alabama fan, you may hate to see an LSU player win the Heisman Trophy. However, you can probably live with the satisfaction that Daniels had his “worst” game against the Crimson Tide and was the second best quarterback on the field for that particular game.

Meanwhile, the national media is gushing over old men Bo Nix and Michael Penix lighting up sorry ass PAC-12 teenage defenses. Daniels reluctantly gets my vote.

PAC-12 PASSING DEFENSE, YARDS PER GAME ALLOWED
(RANK, TEAM, YPGA)

46 Oregon, 213.8
63 Oregon State, 224.3
63 Utah, 224.3
84 UCLA, 234.1
94 Arizona State, 239.4
102 Washington State, 241.7
106 Arizona, 243
115 Southern Cal, 255.2
119 Washington, 260.5
128 Cal, 280.1
131 Colorado, 296.5
132 Stanford, 312.4

Daniels takes a

Below are the top 12 Heisman picks in order of the money lines. Odds are provided by DraftKings and can be seen at that link under the AWARDS tab. [Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.]

1. QB Jayden Daniels (4th FULL YR with RS, LSU) +1100 to +3000 to +2200 +1800 to +2500 to +3500 to +1400 to +340 to +400 to OFF THE BOOKS (due to his injury vs Bama) to +380 to -125
2. QB Bo Nix (5th FULL YR, never redshirted, Oregon) +1000 to +900 to +600 to +2000 to +1600 to +600 to +210 to +120 to +150
3. QB Michael Penix (6th YR, started college in 2018, Washington) from +1600 to +900 to +550 to +400 to +380 to +200 to -140 to +320 to +280 to +140 to +300 to +600 (13 of 28 passing for 162 yards and 2 TD and he is still in the running?)
4. WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (3rd YR, anOhio State) +2000 to +1600 to +1200 to +1800 to +450 to +4000 (3 rec, 30 yds, 1 TD)
5. QB Carson Beck (4th YR, Georgia) to +3000 to +1200 to +4500 to +6000
6. QB Jalen Milroe (3rd YR, Bama) +12000 to +10000 to +9000 to +5000 to +8000 to +5000 to +4500 to +15000
7. RB Blake Corum (4th YR, Michigan) The hype machine is rolling in Big Ten. This dude comes out of nowhere to +20000
8. QB Kyle McCord ((3rd YR, Ohio State) More silly hype because he’s on an undefeated team. +30000 ~AND~ QB JJ McCarthy (3rd YR, Michigan) out of nowhere up to +1000 to +240 to +300 to +650 to +9000 to +30000

• RB Ollie Gordon (2nd YR, Oklahoma State) +4000 to +20000 to +50000
• QB Jordan Travis (6th YR, started college in 2018, FSU) from +1400 to +900 to +1500 to +1200 to +1500 to +1600 to +1200 to +800 to +1100 to +800 to +850 to +4500 OFF THE BOOKS
• QB Caleb Williams (3rd YR, Southern Cal) +450 to +400 to +380 to +400 to +180 to +220 to +2000 to +8000 to +9000 to +20000 OFF THE BOOKS
• QB Dillon Gabriel (4 FULL YR with RS, Oklahoma) +1200 to +1000 to +1100 to +3500 to +12000 to +15000 to OFF THE BOOKS
• QB Drake Maye (3rd YR, UNC) +1800 to +5000 +10000 to +12000 to +20000 to OFF THE BOOKS
• QB Sam Hartman (6th YR, started college in 2018, Notre Dame) +1600 to +2000 to +1100 to +2200 to +6500 to +8000 to +10000 to +30000 to +50000 to OFF THE BOOKS
• RB Jase McClellan (4th YR, Bama) +12000 to +15000 to +20000 to +20000 to +30000 to OFF THE BOOKS

• QB Shedeur Sanders (3rd YR, Colorado) +1800 to +8000 to +12000 to +20000 to +30000 to +50000 to OFF THE BOOKS
• QB Quinn Ewers (RS-SO, Texas) +1300 to +900 to +700 to +600 to +900 to +3000 +5000 to OFF THE BOOKS

THE SICK REPORT

• Florida State QB Jordan Travis is done.
• In a weird bit of symmetry, Florida lost their quarterback Graham Mertz on the same night. FSU plays the Gators on Saturday. The fifth year senior went down with a non-displace fracture in his collarbone.
• Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders was knocked out of the Wazzu game with numbness in his hand. He has been sacked an FBS high of 52 times. Does he really want to come back another year to this punishment?
• Utah QB Cam Rising missed the entire 2023 season with a significant knee injury and says he plans to return to the Two Utes in 2024.

DRAMA

Is that so, Dan? Please, tell me more.

GOLLY GEE! MAYBE THEY WEREN’T SO INNOCENT AFTER ALL!

Michigan has been playing the victim in recent weeks but it is all coming crumbling down.

• UM announced on Thursday that they were dropping their legal case against the Big Ten and that coach Jim Harbaugh would serve his three-game suspension levied by the conference. Hmm...
• On Friday, another announcement came that UM linebackers coach Chris Partridge has been relieved of his duties effective immediately. Hiding behind employee privacy laws, no explanation was given for his dismissal. Hmmm.....
• Later on Friday, it was reported that the NCAA presented Michigan evidence that pointed to a UM booster named “Uncle T” who allegedly funded part of Connor Stalions scouting operation. HMMMM......
• They also presented evidence that points to a certain UM assistant destroying a computer or at least computer files documenting the in-person scouting scheme. HMMMM......!!!!
• Representatives from Tom Brady’s camp deny that he is the infamous “Uncle T”. Not that he isn’t a Michigan grad or doesn’t have tons of money at his disposal or anything....

Hm, ya suppose that change is targeted at the PAC-2?

• Earlier last week, Oregon State and Washington State won an important victory in Whitman County (Washington) court. A judge granted the “Pac-2” schools a preliminary injunction, making them the only voting members of the Pac-12 board. The decision could give the two schools access to Pac-12 revenue from the Rose Bowl, March Madness payouts and more totaling as much as $500 million.
• Oregon State and Washington State are in discussions with the Mountain West about scheduling a partnership and potential future merger.
• In related news, Wazzu and UW have agreed to continue the rivalry at least through the 2028 season.
• The idiotic NCAA denied a formal requests of James Madison (10-1) and Jacksonville State (8-3) to be included in this December’s post-season. The two teams are subject to some antiquated ridiculous rule that says programs transitioning from FCS to FBS cannot be eligible for conference championship games or bowl games for TWO years. Unbelievable. Enjoy the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl with Rice vs Eastern Michigan.
• Soon after the NCAA rejection of JMU and JSU participating in the postseason was announced, the Virginia Attorney General threatened legal action if the Dukes “exclusion from bowl consideration” isn’t reversed. “This injustice transcends athletics, and should not be allowed to stand.”
• The transfer portal window opens Dec. 4.

KOACHES KORNER

• Dino Babers has been fired after eight seasons in Syracuse. He finishes his career with a 41-55 overall record and 20-45 in the ACC. He had two winning seasons and made two bowl games.

• Rumors were swirling last week that the head of UCLA head coach Chip Kelly was on the chopping block. The Bruins had lost two in a row to the Arizonas, but then whupped up on cross-town rival Southern Cal. Kelly’s record in L.A. is 34–33.
• Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek informed Razorbacks players and staff Saturday night that he’s sticking with Sam Pittman as the team’s head coach. He is 23-24 in four years with the Hogs.
• Following their upset win at Wisconsin November 11, Northwestern promoted interim coach David Braun to full-time coach. To that point, he had led the Wildcats to a surprising 5-5 record (3-5 vs P5) after the firing of Pat Fitzgerald in the summer. Following the announcement, NW promptly went out and beat Purdue to earn bowl eligibility. It will be their first since 2020.
• On Thanksgiving, Urban Meyer gives thanks for how wonderful he is.
• No need to carve a turkey at Fat F*** Phil Fulmer’s house. He just eats it between two loaves of bread.

TEEVEE

Notre Dame and NBC have agreed to an extension to televise the Irish football home games through the 2029 season.

THIS WEEK - RIVALRY WEEK!

(Below is an abbreviated list of highlighted games of interest with lines provided by DraftKings. If you REALLY need to know about the big Ohio-Akron showdown, you can find the details here.)

Tuesday, November 21

Bowling Green at Western Michigan 6pm/7pm ESPNU
Eastern Michigan at Buffalo 6:30/7:30 ESPN2

Thursday, November 23

EGG BOWL! Ole Miss (-13) at Mississippi State 6:30/7:30 ESPN - F the NFL. This is always must see TV.

Friday, November 24

(Friday has 13 FBS games, but some of them are dogs. Below are best ones in each time slot)

TCU at Oklahoma (-10) 11am/Noon FOX
Iowa at Nebraska (-1.5) 11am/Noon CBS - 27 over/under
KEEP AN EYE ON - UTSA at Tulane (-3) 2:30/3:30 ABC - This is a pretty important game as to the future of college football. The powers that be believe that the best non-P5 team deserve an automatic bid into the 12-team playoff. Should the 8-3 Roadrunners win, it gives the Green Waves a second defeat which would serves a mighty blow to that belief of inclusion of a non-P5s.
OZARKS CUP - Missouri (-7) at Arkansas 3pm/4pm CBS - Mizzou is hoping to reach a NY6. They will need this W.
Air Force at Boise (-6.5) 3pm/4pm FS1
Texas Tech at Texas (-13) 6:30/7:30 ABC - Strength of Schedule doesn’t seem to matter. So... Go Tech!
CIVIL WAR - Oregon State at Oregon (-13.5) 7pm/8pm FOX - On Friday, we are ALL Beavers fans.

Saturday, November 25

SEC - RIVALRY SATURDAY!

Kentucky at Louisville (-7) 11am/Noon ABC -
Texas A&M at LSU (-11.5) 11am/Noon ESPN -
Vanderbilt at Tennessee (-27) 2:30/3:30 SECN -
Florida State (-6.5) at Florida 6pm/7pm ESPN -
Georgia (-24) at Georgia Tech 6:30/7:30 ABC -
Clemson (-7.5) at South Carolina 6:30/7:30 SECN -

OTHERS WORTH A LOOKY-LOO SATURDAY

Ohio State at Michigan (-3.5) 11am/Noon FOX - Have you heard about this one?
Washington State at Washington (-16.5) 3pm/4pm FOX - Apple Cup with a lot on the line.
Jacksonville State at New Mexico State (-2) 3pm/4pm ESPN+

SING ME TO SLEEP/SING ME TO SLEEP/I’M TIRED AND I/I WANT TO GO TO BED ~ “Asleep” by The Smiths

Cal at UCLA (-9) 9:30/10:30 ESPN

SABAN vs. POP & BEAR

Nick Saban now has 295 career wins. He will have to wait until next season to be only the fifth head coach to compile 300 D-I/FBS victories.

Below is a count of career FBS/Division I-A win totals for coaches.

For those of you new to RBR Random Thoughts, we count all on-field wins at the FBS/Division I-A level. So, before you go squawking about Frank Beamer, 42 of his wins came at Murray State. Mack Brown had six victories in one season with Appalachian State when they were still in what was known at I-AA (FCS today). Brian Kelly won 118 games with something called Grand Valley State. So, let’s stop talking about his win record with such reverence. In addition, we don’t recognize NCAA sanctioned forfeits. If you won on the field, it counts in our books.

Mack Brown loses ground to Saban as his Tar Heels were dominated by Clemson. He again has twice+ as many defeats as the G.O.A.T.

UNC is 8-3 with NC State and a bowl game remaining. The Heels are 38-25 in Brown’s second go-round with Carolina. His predecessor Larry Fedora was 40-25 in his first five seasons in Chapel Hill. One has to wonder how long the administration is willing to roll with the 72-year old Mack and his 9 or 8 win seasons. The extension he signed this summer pays him through the 2027 season at $5 million annually.

#ALABAMA

Dambit, Saban. Play the man!

• Will Reichard is already the top career scorer for kickers. With 12 points against UTC, he is only 9 away from being the top scoring college football player. Before your obnoxious Auburn fan neighbor goes yelping about him having an extra year, yes, this is his fifth season of college football. However in his freshman year, he only had 22 extra points attempts and made 4 field goals in the first four games of that season. Reichard was injured in the fourth game and aggravated that injury early in the next game while punting. He did not attempt a field goal or extra point in that fifth game. At the time, it was speculated that Bama filed for a medical redshirt year and it probably would have been approved. Technically, he could come back for a sixth season but that is highly unlikely.

1. QB Keenan Reynolds, Navy 530 (+9)
2. RB Kenneth Dixon, Louisiana Tech 522 (+1)
3. PK Will Reichard, Alabama 521
4. RB Montee Ball, Wisconsin 500
5. PK Austin Seibert, Oklahoma 499
6. PK Zane Gonzalez, Arizona State 494
7. PK Christopher Dunn, North Carolina State 491
8. PK Daniel Carlson, Auburn 480

• Reichard now holds the Alabama record for most 50 yard field goals with eight.
• Starting safety Jaylen Key (quad) warmed up for the UTC game without his helmet and was later seen on the sidelines in street clothes and his jersey. Reserve DB Earl Little did not dress and had his right arm in a sling. LB Deontae Lawson (ankle) and wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks (shoulder) were also out.

GAME 12: Saturday, November 25, 2023 - IRON BOWL

Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1, 7-0) at Auburn Tigers (6-5, 3-4)

Tuscaloosa, AL ~ 2:30pm/3:30pm CBS

• In Hugh Freeze’s first season at Aub, the Plain War Tiger Eagles defeated three cupcakes, followed by four straight losses to SEC foes TAMU, UGA, LSU, and OM. That was followed up with wins against MSU, Vandy, and Arky by double digits. And then came the inexplicable loss to New Mexico State last Saturday.
• Alabama is 49-37-1 all-time against Auburn. Bama has won seven of the last nine meetings.
• The Cowtown weather forecast in west Georgia calls for partly cloudy skies and a high of 61°.
• TV Announcers will be Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson with Jenny Dell on the sidelines.
• Chris Stewart will be on Alabama Radio and assumption is he’ll take the reins throughout the post-season.
• The point spread according to DraftKings has Bama as a -14.5 favorite as of post. The Over/Under is around 48.5.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.