NCAAF 2024 - WEEK FOUR

[Dolfan in NYC]

Next up Cal!   Will the nerds from Berkley take the Noles to the woodshed too? 

(Also, in other fun news, Northern Illinois is now #23.)

[Brian Fowler]

In 2015 Michigan played Rutgers for the second time ever. That was the last time Michigan played a conference game against a team they had a losing record against. (A 2018 game against Nebraska was the last time they played a conference game against a team they didn't have a winning record against.)

Saturday they play USC who hold a 6-4 record against the Wolverines.

[madl]

Went to the Backyard Brawl over the weekend (WVU-Pitt) and it was a lot of fun until the last five minutes. Boy, Neil Brown may not be a good football coach at this level, but he sure knows how to kill a fanbase. He somehow won WVU fans over in the offseason and managed to squander all that goodwill in three weeks,  WVU was up by ten points with 4:58 to play in the game and Pitt had 4 yards of offense in the second half at that point.  Of course, Pitt then proceeded to carve up the WVU secondary not once, but twice in the last five minutes and WVU aided and abetted Pitt’s unlikely come-from-behind win by completely failing to run time off the clock when they got the ball back.  

Be interesting to see what each team does in conference play. Big 12 lacks a true powerhouse and will probably be wide open. ACC will probably be up for grabs unless Florida State pulls itself together.  Saturday's game didn’t convince me either team will contend when all is said and done, but stranger things have happened. Both coaches are probably in precarious positions, since neither one has been consistently impressive and the athletic directors who hired them have both been fired.  Both Narduzzi & Brown have made it this far in large part due to premature contract extensions that guarantee them most of their money unless fired for cause. I’m guessing luck runs out for at least one of them this December, probably Brown.

[Brian Fowler]

And Alex Orji is going to start the USC game.

[EVA]

SINGLE WING INCOMING LETS GO

[RIPPA]

Per reports - the AAC is trying to add Air Force which would give them all three military schools in football

[RIPPA]

I don't think this was mentioned already but apparently Wake Forest bought its way out of the 2nd game of its home and home with Ole Miss

Lane Kiffin is still pissed about it

Quote

Kiffin broke the news about that decision in his postgame news conference and was still unhappy about the timing two days later.

"That's rarely ever done," Kiffin said Monday. "I've never really heard of doing it, and it really puts us at a big disadvantage. It is what it is. It obviously wasn't appreciated very much, them putting us in that situation.

"Now we've got to go find somebody and most people are all scheduled up. And even when you find somebody, you've got to go pay them. It's kind of an unwritten rule not to do that, actually."

The decision leaves Ole Miss having to try to find another Power 4 conference -- or major independent -- opponent for next season or seeking a waiver from the Southeastern Conference on that requirement. Getting a waiver would mean facing four nonconference teams, without having an opponent from one of the four most prominent leagues.

"That's not what we want to do, but they may have put us in an unavoidable situation not to," Kiffin said.

He took issue with the timing of the decision.

"I really find it amazing that you wait until the week of the game to tell the team," Kiffin said.

The game was scheduled for Sept. 13, 2025.

 

[hammerva]

This feels like peak the business of 2024 college football right here.  And Cam Rising still has another year 

 

[EVA]

Honestly, the rules on eligibility are getting so flimsy that we’re probably not far removed from guys just getting to play college ball forever.

And, hey, if somebody’s willing to pay them to do it, I don’t see why they shouldn’t be able to in this here US of A.

[Log]

Those guys have been in college since way back when having weird mustaches was considered trendy.

[Sex Machine Gun]

Tennessee versus Oklahoma will be the game of the week. I know the Vols are rolling but in my experience the last twenty years, as soon as we have a little momentum we get slapped down by a real team. A win will be tight at best but a loss could be a blowout. No idea how we're favored by a touchdown.

[Brian Fowler]

14 hours ago, Sex Machine Gun said:

Tennessee versus Oklahoma will be the game of the week. I know the Vols are rolling but in my experience the last twenty years, as soon as we have a little momentum we get slapped down by a real team. A win will be tight at best but a loss could be a blowout. No idea how we're favored by a touchdown.

Well, if you subscribe to the "it's how you play, not who you play" philosophy, Tennessee has made a pretty good early case for being one of the best teams in the country, and Oklahoma... Hasn't.

[RIPPA]

Arch Manning will start on Saturday

[EVA]

South AL went to App State and beat their ass tonight in a pretty shockingly lopsided result. I think Shawn Clark could be in danger there.

South AL has really gotten things turned around in the last two games after a pretty embarrassing start to the season.

[Brian Fowler]

16 hours ago, RIPPA said:

Arch Manning will start on Saturday

A quarterback whose grandfather played SEC football in Mississippi, who had two uncles that were both NFL quarterbacks, and a father that bucked the family tradition by playing wide receiver gets major national exposure on the field at DKR Saturday.

I am, of course, talking about ULM QB General Booty.

Edited September 20, 2024 by Brian Fowler

[Brian Fowler]

Hell of a game in Lincoln. Tied at 17, heading into the fourth.

[Tabe]

Illinois with the win in OT but dodged a bullet in the form of an all-time blunder by one of their defenders. After a short completion on 3rd & 42 - yes, you read that right - by Nebraska, Illinois hit the receiver late. Somehow, no flash was thrown and the game ended on the next play. 

Nebraska lost a touchdown to an interception and missed a FG before losing. They're 3-1 but I guess Matt Rhule hasn't gotten rid of the "always lose close games" stench from Scott Frost just yet. 

[Cobra Commander]

turns out that late night Pac12 football and the CW is a perfect tag team

[EVA]

Kind of a sleepy noon window, but I’ll be keeping my eye on a couple of Desperation Bowls in Kansas/WVU and Florida/MSU. Dropping to 1-3 would put the season on the brink for all these teams, but you gotta think these are especially big results for the guys coaching WVU and Florida.

[EVA]

Clemson up 28-0 on NC ST in the first…quarter.

NC ST in the Top 25 remains my biggest “wait, you’re serious about that?” of the preseason rankings.

[Brian Fowler]

2 hours ago, EVA said:

Clemson up 28-0 on NC ST in the first…quarter.

NC ST in the Top 25 remains my biggest “wait, you’re serious about that?” of the preseason rankings.

And yet, I'm not sure they had the worst half of a school from North Carolina.

[BobbyWhioux]

27 minutes ago, Brian Fowler said:

And yet, I'm not sure they had the worst half of a school from North Carolina.

53 first half points surrendered to James Madison U in basketball:  well, that's not great but you can come back from that if you bear down and--

oh.

Oh.

That's football.

Oh dear.

[EVA]

That JMU/UNC score line is wild!

[EVA]

Through the first 2 drives, USC and Michigan seem to both have the same strategy: don’t fuck up and lose this game early.

[RIPPA]

Imagine scoring 50 points and still losing by 20