Week 7 - Ten things I think I think

We're halfway through college football's regular season. That's an important distinction because the natty won't be played until January 20th. Let's talk about it.

Another week where it felt like nobody was safe. Oregon/Ohio State comes down to the final play. LSU wins a game it never led until overtime against Ole Miss. Alabama and Tennessee out here surviving as double-digit favorites. Winning is getting harder for everybody not named Texas.

We’ll get to the Longhorns a little later. Here’s ten things:

10 - What’s wrong with USC?

A simple question with a complex answer. On the surface they’re 3-3 and coaching prodigy/offensive genius Lincoln Riley is suddenly 4-8 in his last 12 regular season games. Not good. However, a peek under the hood and things get more grey (or is gray?)

Trojans are a play away from beating Michigan. And Minnesota. And, frankly, Penn State this past weekend. It’s not that simple, obviously, but an argument can be made. The margins for USC are so thin. Instead of 6-0 or 5-1, they’re a .500 team. Not what they’re paying Lincoln Riley $10 million a year for, that’s for sure.

So what’s wrong? Miller Moss threw a bad pick at the end of Penn State game. The defense has been fine, but goal-line stands gone wrong against the Wolverines & Gophers are what they are. It’s like when you go to the blackjack tables and keep getting dealt 15’s all night long. Trojans are having to grind.

I’m not hitting the panic button yet if I’m a Trojan fan. But lose at Maryland this weekend and I might be. This team was never going 10-2. They’re still very much on track for the 8-4 season we all thought they’d have back in the summer.

Rare image of Lincoln Riley not wearing a visor - credit LA Times

9 - Oklahoma fans are down bad

This isn’t the most stable group of people to begin with. There’s still a lot of feelings from when Lincoln Riley left town (with Caleb Williams in tow) for Los Angeles. And that was almost three years ago.

We all watched Red River. It was 34-3. Then you turn on the TV later that night and watch your former QB ball out against Ohio State. Sooners are sitting at 1-2 in the SEC and, let’s be real, should be 0-3 if not for Payton Thorne gift-wrapping a win on the Plains a few weeks ago.

OU is down bad. Fans are disgruntled. The contrast between Texas and Oklahoma’s roster on Saturday in Dallas was pretty blatant. These two teams aren’t close. And to make matters worse, the same program who’s produced four (!) Heisman Trophy QBs in the last 20 years has hit rock bottom in that department this season. I thought for sure Jackson Arnold would get some snaps in the second half of Red River with Michael Hawkins struggling. He did not.

The milk’s gone bad in Norman, and there’s still a bunch of ranked teams on the schedule. Now for the good news: I do think Brent Venables would win an arm-wrestling contest against any and all comers, so they’ve got that going for them (which is nice).

8 - I’m good if Cam Rising comes back for an 8th year

I really am. I just don’t want to hear about it when we’re talking about Utah’s Big 12 hopes in 2025. If you want to get duped into talking about a 26-year old college QB next season, that’s your choice. Me personally? I’m over it.

This guy has played in three football games since January 2023 when his knee was destroyed in the Rose Bowl. He obviously can’t stay healthy - this year it was a hand injury he picked up in week 2. After losing at Arizona State last week (in a game Rising threw 3 picks), he’s shutting it down for the rest of this season.

I don’t have anything against Cam. I joked earlier this week that it’s time to enter the work force and start living a real life outside of college, but what if our boy wants to go full Van Wilder? Maybe he looks around at all the unhappy souls making a living and says, ‘you know what, Salt Lake City ain’t bad. Let’s apply for the waiver and see what they say’.

If I was in the urgent care or retirement community business I would approach Rising and see if he wanted to lean into this. Have fun with it, young man. I wanted to get out of college as soon as I could. Some people like hanging around for almost a decade (they’re called doctors).

7 - Oregon/Ohio State was fun. Let’s do it again in Indy. And maybe again in Atlanta?

It’s not the craziest thought in the world that the Ducks and Bucks play twice this season. Three times would be wild but I’m sure at some point in the 12-team CFP model it’s going to happen.

Last Saturday in Eugene could have gone either way. Will Howard got roasted for the slide and letting the final seconds run off the clock. He also played his best game as a Buckeye (28/35 326 yards 3 total TDs). Can both can be true? Did he single-handedly lose the game for Ohio State? Hell no.

My point is the game was so good, and so even, let’s do it again. There were 7 lead-changes on Saturday night. Give OSU one more play and there’s probably 8.

Still not sure what to do with Penn State in the Big Ten race. My gut tells me they’re fraudulent. Indiana is fun, but can they keep pace with the big guns?

6 - What if Georgia wins in Austin?

Everyone is operating under the assumption that this isn’t going to happen. Even Dawgs fans expect to lose Saturday. But the dialogue around Georgia winning at Texas is so much more fun than us crowning the Longhorns in October.

It reminds me of when we meet Eli Cash. “Everyone knows Custer died at Little Big Horn. What this book presupposes is, maybe he didn’t?”

Everyone assumes Texas is the best team in the country. What if, after Saturday night, they aren’t? Georgia is an underdog for the first time in 50 games (Clemson in Charlotte to open the ‘21 season … the 10-3 game). Who’s the best offense the Longhorns have faced the first half of the season? Glad you asked. It’s UTSA. Texas’ defense is going to have to actually show up to work Saturday night. They haven’t really had to the first six games.

Georgia has their own fair share of problems - and I’m just talking about the on-field variety. They haven’t covered a spread since week 1 against Clemson. The offense feels boring, non-explosive. When is Trevor Etienne going to run for 100 yards? Hasn’t happened yet. Carson Beck is part of the equation, but he obviously needs guys to throw to who aren’t being kicked off the team.

Give me Georgia for the upset win at Texas. And if that happens there will be receipts!

5 - What if West Virginia is good?

Don’t laugh. WVU is 3-3. The three losses are all to undefeated teams (Penn State, Pitt, and Iowa State). What if - call me crazy - they’re actually a good team that just hasn’t punched up to take down an unbeaten team?

Saturday night the ‘Neers get another shot at taking down a good team when Kansas State comes to town. And it’s a great spot for WVU; Wildcats making their second straight road trip, Morgantown will be fiesty - as always - and as long as Garrett Greene doesn’t throw it to the guys wearing purple (like he did multiple times last week with the ‘Clones), I think they got a shot.

Neal Brown probably over-achieved last year to win 9 games. And progress isn’t always linear in this sport when it comes to wins. It’s possible WVU is better than last year and not sniff that many wins this season. But the Big 12 is still very wide open, even with Iowa State and BYU (and Texas Tech - nobody’s talking about the Red Raiders being 3-0 in the league) at the top of the table.

Almost heaven. West Virginia. Need a dub Saturday night.

4 - If not Boise then who?

Enjoy the AP poll while you still can. Only a couple more weeks until we can put the writers to bed for the season and have a poll that actually, you know, matters. But right now it’s Boise at #15 and everyone just assumes they’re going to get the G5 spot as the 12 seed.

So what if they don’t? Who else is in line?

Let’s start with UNLV, who’s got one loss (out of conference to a P4 school, just like Boise), and the Rebels host the Broncos next week. That game will be the early G5 Super Bowl, and we might get it twice if they meet again for the MWC Championship.

Then there’s the service academies. Army and Navy are both undefeated and both ranked. They also both get a shot at Notre Dame, and neither of them have to travel to South Bend. The Navy game is at MetLife, and the Army game is at Yankee Stadium. If one - or God willing, both - beat the Irish, you’re looking at an Army/Navy AAC Championship game on campus for a spot in the Playoff. Then, if that’s not enough, they’d play the real Army/Navy game a week later in DC.

Let’s step back and let that sink in for a moment. We all want that, don’t we?

After the potential AAC champ with Army or Navy, you’re looking at maybe an 11-1 Washington State team (with their lone loss at Boise St), or a 12-1 Sun Belt champ. Worst-case scenario is 13-0 Liberty but their schedule is ass.

Bottom line: don’t know if 10-2 Boise will be enough. Or even 11-2 Boise, depending on how AAC plays out.

3 - Harrisonburg is still rowdy

I mentioned last week I was going to head up to the ‘burg for the first time in nearly two decades to take in a football game. Well, I did. JMU smoked Coastal Carolina 39-7 in front of a national TV audience last Thursday night, but I gotta say it wasn’t the game that impressed me most.

Bridgeforth Stadium has come a long way since the CAA days. It’s still not a massive stadium (holds about 25,000 people), but that place was rocking last week. Student section was packed before kick and the kids were into it. Not my kids - even though they were - the students. I was really impressed with the new football facility, but more so the folks filling the stadium. It was packed, it was loud, and - for folks that don’t know - JMU is still very much a party school. I lived it when I was an undergrad, and I seent it firsthand last Thursday. It’s still a vibe up there.

This may be news for some of my P4 brothers and sisters, but Sun Belt conference football has a really good thing going. They have a lot of geographic rivalries and road trips that make sense. You can realistically drive to see your team play all these games (within each division, they still have East & West). Not many other leagues can lay claim to that distinction anymore, unfortunately. If there was a way to invest in a G5 league, this is the one that’s best positioned for the next decade.

2 - Two thoughts for the weekend

I already gave you my Georgia take. What about another big-time matchup in the SEC on Saturday, when Tennessee hosts Alabama?

Last time this game was in Knoxville, this was the scene:

RIP SEC on CBS

Tennessee was unstoppable in the first month of the season (go back and look who they played), so what happened? Alabama looked unstoppable in the first quarter against Georgia but since then has lost at Vanderbilt and escaped by 2 to beat South Carolina. Neither of these teams is playing great football, and one of these fanbases is going to be looking for a ledge to jump off of Saturday night.

Jaylen Milroe is still the best player on the field. His turnover issues and decision-making has been curious the last two games. Can the Vols turn him over again? Don’t love that UT linebacker and captain Keenan Pili is out for the rest of the season, because their defense needs all the help they can get with Nico and this offense sputtering. Not going out on a limb because they’re favored, but give me the Tide.

Now for the upset special. We’re going to the ACC. Louisville over Miami. Cards have got some nice pieces on offense - Isaac Brown at running back is a true freshman and he is a problem. Ja’Corey Brooks at WR. Tyler Shough has been really good this year even though I’ve made fun of him for being an old man playing at his third school. Feels like the U has been on borrowed time lately. Saturday early they go down. Upset special.

1 - What do you do with your leaves?

It can’t be all football all the time. You already know I’m a big grass guy. I got almost 75 pounds of fescue seed just downstairs waiting for another rainy week. But now we have to deal with maybe my greatest yard nemesis: leaves.

Personally, I mow and blow. Chop ‘em up and move ‘em out. I have a bagger attachment for the riding mower which will mulch them and enable me to dump most of them into the woods. But I’m open to suggestions. I’ve seen the giant tarp method, where you rake them onto the tarp and haul it away. We live in the county, so the curbside bagging or suction is not an option for us. In short, no one is helping us. How do yall get down with leaf removal?

Educate me. Drop a note in the comments and show me the way. I love fall but these leaves got to go.

Enjoy the football this weekend - the sport is at its absolute peak the next 8 weeks and we’re going to miss it once it’s gone. Unlike the leaves.