While it may not have looked like the most exciting weekend of CFB games at first glance, it sure produced one. We saw #3 Penn State, #10 Texas A&M, #11 Clemson, #12 Iowa State, #17 Kansas State, #18 Pittsburgh and #24 Illinois all lose on Saturday. Pretty wild day. My crazy hot streak has seemingly come to an end, as I have come back down to Earth after a 6-5 CFB showing this weekend. I did pick a few upsets correctly, most notably the Gamecocks (shoutout Beamer Ball) but we’ll get to all that. Let’s not dilly dally and get right into it.
Falcons 27 Cowboys 21: we got a glorious ending to Kirktober, as Mr. Cousins liked what he saw all day against a flaccid Cowboys defense. Kirk finished 20/24, 225 yards and 3 TDs. WR Drake London was injured early on an acrobatic TD catch, but that only opened the door for Darnell Mooney (5-88-1TD) and Bijan Robinson (26 touches 149 yards). The Falcons biggest question mark coming in was the pass rush, which was weird considering they signed Matthew Judon in the offseason, but those worries were curbed with 3 sacks on Prescott. The Cowboys stinkkk. I think they are probably just the best of the bad teams? Is that fair to say? The Dirty Birds move to 6-3 and Kings of the North.
Rams 26 Seahawks 20: Matthew Stafford, that is all. The dude still has it, that killer instinct, that dawg in him, whatever you wanna call it. In a division that’s wide open, this game had massive implications. Finding themselves down 13-3 at half, the Rams rallied behind Stafford and Kupp, who combined for 11 catches 104 yards and a score. Geno Smith was no slouch either, throwing for 363 & 3TDs but 3 INTs as well, all while missing his #1 target DK Metcalf. This thriller went to OT, and Stafford threw an absolute dime to Demarcus Robinson to win the game. The NFC West is wide open, as 3 teams sit at 4-4 and the Cardinals are in the driver seat at 5-4.
NFL Quickie: LaMVP Jackson and his Ravens hosted the Bo Nix lead Broncos, and it went about as well as you’d imagine. Baltimore hung 41 on that Top 10 defensive unit, led by Lamar (280 yards 3 TDs) Derrick Henry (106 yards 2 TDs) and Zay Flowers (5-127-2 TDs). This was never close, and the Ravens look scary. Joe Burrow and company find another win against the worst team in football. Don’t believe me? Desmond Ridder played QB for them, in the year 2024, think about that. Joe Shiesty is heating up (275 yards & 5 TDs) and the Bengals need to be perfect to keep playoff hopes alive. Bryce Young has won a game, I repeat, Bryce Young has WON a game. A good old fashion 23-22 comeback win against the sAints, and if you didn’t watch this game, see the below chain of tweets from former sAints WR Michael Thomas as he shares his thoughts. Derek Carr hospitalized another WR with a tight coverage throw right in the direction of a head hunting safety. Shoutout Bryce though, as he led a 65 yard game winning drive to give some hope to that dying franchise. Well, we saw the fun, electric & exciting Jameis last weekend, and now we got to see the scary inconsistent and interception happy Jameis this weekend. You should know by now that Jameis is perfectly balanced, so if you see him play like a hall of famer one week, expect a Mark Sanchez level disasterclass the next. Harbaugh and his Chargers picked him off 3 times and move to 5-3 with a 27-10 win. Drake Maye nearly pulls off a miracle win for the Pats as he throws a game tying TD as time expired, but an early overtime INT gives the Titans possession and Tony Pollard runs them home (130 yards) 20-17. Josh Allen propels the Bills into 1st place of the AFC East with a 30-27 shootout win vs Tua and the Phins. Jayden Daniels is very good at playing football, but he wasn’t the story of this game against the Giants. NY QB Daniel Jones somehow managed to head into the half with 0 total yards, yet have a TD pass. The Giants are depressing to watch. Since we’re talking about depressing football, let’s head to the next game, the Jags v. Eagles. Trevor Lawrence, wassup man? Are you okay? I watched Saquon hurdle a man backwards and somehow all I can think about is how surprising the downfall of Trevor Lawrence is. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles hold on 28-23 and are somehow 6-2. Hand up, when I picked the Lions v. Packers over, I was unaware of the outdoor weather conditions. The Lions ran the ball and played keep away from Jordan Love all game, and were able to play nasty in the rain to win 24-14 and maintain hold of the divison and stay atop the NFC. Similar to Jameis and his return to Earth, we were overdue for a Joe Flacco stinker, and we got it Sunday night against the Vikings. A bad bad bad primetime game, was kinda saved by Sam Darnold (GOAT) throwing for 290 & 3 TDs and Justin Jefferson going crazy (7-137). Oh yeah and the Bears played, they got embarrassed by Kyler Murray and the Cards 29-9. Sad game and a very sad stat line, one of Caleb’s worst games so far.
CFB Picks YTD: 47-29-1
#4 Ohio State holds off the #3 Nittany Lions in the most boring game of the year
OSU 20
PSU 13
No sugar coating it, this game sucked. I am not a B1G Ten truther (aside from Indiana) so I had a feeling this enormous noon kick would be a snoozer, and I was right. I unwisely chose to pick the over (46.5), hoping for some points and fun big play moments in this game. I somehow forgot that I’d be watching a rock fight between two slow offenses.
Anyway, Ohio State did everything they could to give Penn State and James Franklin a 1st half lead. A few busted plays and a pick 6 thrown by Will Howard resulted in an early 10-0 lead for the Nittany Lions. It didn’t last long, as the Buckeyes slowly started to chip away at that lead, with two big TD drives led by Howard to give them a 14-10 lead at the break. The second half was more of the same, as PSU QB Drew Allar was ass, throwing an INT and only finishing with 145 pass yards with no TDs. Ohio State ran behind the pads of former Ole Miss RB Quinshon Judkins the entire second half, and milked the clock like it was a bagged up Cow. The difference in this game came in the redzone, with Penn State having 8 downs across two possessions inside the 5 yard line, and came away with 0 total points. I get in a rivalry game field goals aren’t always gonna get the job done, but they pissed away points with poor play calling and bad decision making. Credit to Ohio State and that defense for holding that great Penn St. rush attack to just 120 yards.
Oregon stands alone atop the B1G Ten, with Indiana right there also undefeated. Ohio State and Penn State are close behind with 1 loss, and the conference battle is heating up as we head into the last few weekends of the regular season.
South Carolina give the #10 Aggies a taste of Beamer Ball(s)
USC 44
TAMU 20
Told ya. I knew eventually South Carolina and HC Shane Beamer were gonna clip one of these Top 10 teams. They nearly had LSU and then Alabama, losing to them by a combined 5 points, and shooting themselves in the foot late choking away both of those games. That was not the case here, as the Gamecocks earned their first home win of the season in a dominant fashion.
LaNorris Sellers is gonna be a problem. Truthfully, he kinda already is one, but as he continues to develop and eliminates turnovers, he’ll be a REAL problem. This game was essentially his coming out party, as the true freshman ran for 106 yards and a score, while slinging it around through the air as well (245 yards & 2 TDs). Whenever it looked like A&M had him bottled up, he would throw a dart across the field to move the chains. Similarly, when A&M dropped into coverage, he would just take off and use all 245 pounds of his 6’3 frame to pick up some tough yards. It wasn’t just Sellers running all over the Aggies, as Arkansas transfer Raheim ‘Rocket’ Sanders added 150 yards & 2 scores of his own.
Texas A&M never had a chance to play on an even field, as they trailed for 58 of the 60 minutes of this game. They we’re down 14-0 within the first 6 minutes of the game thanks to an opening drive TD run by Sellers and then a turnover on downs at their own 34 yard line. 2 plays later LaNorris tossed a TD and boom, 14 point deficit. HC Mike Elko made the decision to play their true freshman QB Marcel Reed, and the youngster was put in a tough spot from the start. He played well given the circumstances, but as predicted that USC defensive front wrecked everything. The Aggies couldn’t run the ball, giving the edges a chance to pin their ears back and give Reed hell for 4 quarters.
Get your popcorn people, the SEC is wide open.
Louisville stuns #11 Clemson in Death Valley
LOU 33
CLEM 21
Clemson, yikes, this one hurts. I suppose it’s easy to say every game is a ‘must win’, but that is and has been especially true for the Tigers since suffering that week 1 loss to UGA. Despite that loss in the season opener, they have been in control of their own destiny all season, and have strung together some great performances, but now they’re boned. With the loss to Louisville this Saturday, they are now 5-1 in conference play, a game behind both SMU and Miami (both 5-0). Obviously, in the world of an expanded 12 team playoff, they aren’t quite dead yet, but the body is starting to get cold. Looking ahead, the Tigers can’t afford to lose focus, as they have a few huge games left on the plate. They travel to Virginia Tech and Pitt on back to back weekends, and then end the season with rival South Carolina coming to town. That’s more than 1 frisky team left, and they have to be perfect to keep those hopes alive. Maybe if they drop another game or two, it’ll be enough to wake up Dabo to the realities of recruiting talent in the portal, idk. For the Cardinals, they’re ranked, 6-3, and rolling. They also have a date with Pitt in a few weeks and can continue to play spoiler there. Shoutout Louisville true freshman phenom Isaac Brown, who is averaging 7.8 yards per carry and has been a huge breakout star for them this year.
CFB Quickie: #1 Oregon jumps all over Michigan early and often, go into Ann Arbor and beats that ass 38-17 as Dillon Gabriel Heisman talks are starting to heat up. #2 Georgia gets a little too drunk at the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail party, stumbles into the game as Florida nearly gives them a sobering scare. Despite Carson Beck actively trying to give the game away, Dawgs win 34-20. Duke plays #5 Miami close for 55 of the 60 minutes, then shits all over themselves as Miami backdoor covers behind a 21-3 4th quarter and another superhuman Cam Ward game (400 yards & 5 TDs), Hurricanes move to 9-0 with a 53-31 win. #7 Tennessee holds off Kentucky and I did not watch this game so that’s all I’ve got. Vols win 28-18 to get to 7-1. Texas Tech travels to Ames, Iowa and stuns previously undefeated #11 Iowa State 23-22. TTU QB Behren Morton (not to be confused with a LOTR character) led a 72 yard game winning drive as the Red Raiders score with 19 seconds left to complete the upset. As predicted, #13 Indiana crushes Michigan State and cruises to 9-0, as they score 47 straight points to beat the Spartans at home 47-10. Speaking of upsets, #17 Kansas State goes to Houston and forgets to close the door as the Cougars sneak in late and steal this game behind two late 4th quarter TDs. #19 Ole Miss makes me eat my words, as I watch the Lane train hang 63 on the Hogs. The Rebels dine on swine all night, wrapping up a 63-31 whomping. In the battle of man vs air, #21 Army brings SAMS to a dog fight, remains undefeated and dangerous as ever with a 20-3 win. #24 Illinois suffers the bite of the upset bug as Minnesota rows the boats all the way to Champaign and drowns the Illini 25-17. Auburn and Vandy played this weekend. This game stunk booty. Vandy may have won 17-7 but it wasn’t easy. QB Diego Pavia didn’t complete a pass in the 2nd or 3rd quarter (what?) and Hugh Freeze had his offense running with the strength of an emaciated quadriplegic. The Tigers fall to 3-6 (1-5 in SEC) and the Commodores rise to 6-3 (3-2). Lasty, we travel to the Sunshine state to check in on the freezing cold body that is FSU. Pronounced dead a few weeks ago, I’m not sure why they are still forced to play every weekend. Nonetheless, they hosted UNC and it wasn’t pretty. After holding a 3-0 first quarter lead, Mike Norvell told the boys that was good enough to count as a win, so they took the next 45 minutes off, giving up a 35-8 run, ouch.
It’s November, home of the greatest holiday of them all – Thanksgiving. Try not to think about daylight savings and all the darkness and short days that will brings. Instead think about turkey, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, pumpkin pie, canned okra, meatloaf, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, etc.
Here is your meme of the week, feels applicable.
Love you guys,
TWD
