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Sup, Jason here. Cal is the new Nebraska, having lost four games by an average of 2.25 points.
Saturday Stuff
Dawgs trash Texas as No. 1 changes hands again
Let’s get right to it because yesterday’s biggest game had a whole lot going on.
No. 5 Georgia 30, No. 1 Texas 15
- First, credit to Georgia’s defense for slapping the clamps on the country’s No. 2 offense (per SP+) in Austin, forcing three Quinn Ewers turnovers, nearly picking him off a few more times and holding the Horns to 29 yards on the ground. The Dawgs even drove Steve Sarkisian to briefly send in Arch Manning, then grabbed a fumble from the famous backup.
- It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Georgia leap back to No. 2 in today’s AP Top 25, despite having a loss and a couple of close calls. That total demolition of Clemson to start the season is looking even better by the week, after all. (More on that in a sec.)
But despite that performance and those ramifications, this game produced something else that might linger far longer in collective memory.
Screenshot from ABC broadcast
If you’re on your phone, can you see those little objects all over the field? It’s trash! Here’s how we got there:
After the Longhorns fell behind 23-0 at halftime, Ewers led an eight-point scoring drive to open the third quarter. Hometown momentum continued as Jahdae Barron intercepted Carson Beck, one of three INTs thrown by Georgia’s QB on the night, putting Texas just a few yards away from being just a score away. Elation! But wait.
Flag. Pass interference. Everybody except Georgia fans hated the penalty. Take a look, if you missed it. In response, garbage made its way onto the field.
During the cleanup, the officiating crew revealed the penalty was, uh, no longer a thing. Direct action! Campus protests get results!
After UGA won, Kirby Smart went off, accusing ESPN (and/or ABC) of not believing in his two-time national champion that had actually opened the week as the Vegas favorite to win on the road against an undefeated power. In his postgame presser, he gained coherency, delivering a point that highlighted the confusion of the great debris deliberation:
“Now you’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes, that you got a chance to get your call reversed. And that’s unfortunate, because to me, that’s dangerous.”
In a subsequent statement, the SEC explained:
“The game officials gathered to discuss the play, which is permitted to ensure the proper penalty is enforced, at which time the calling official reported that he erred. … While the original evaluation and assessment of the penalty was not properly executed, it is unacceptable to have debris thrown on the field.”
The trash and the overturn weren’t necessarily connected? Good luck trying to convince Tennessee fans of that, boss. Speaking of, let’s hit a few other specific games before zooming back out:
No. 11 Tennessee 24, No. 7 Alabama 17
- After a sloppy game — five combined turnovers, plus a third straight scoreless first half for Tennessee — the Vols are close to clinching a CFP spot, even if they lose in Athens a month from now. Up next: Kentucky in Knoxville.
- This is Bama’s first 5-2 start since 2007, Nick Saban’s first season. (Hey, you wanted Kalen DeBoer to replicate his predecessor, right?)
- Two things are true: Bama is two plays away from being on a four-game losing streak, yet Bama’s win over Georgia might now be an even stronger CFP resume item than Oregon’s win over Ohio State.
No. 2 Oregon 35, Purdue 0
- You’re not really a Big Ten team until you squander a top-five ranking on the road in West Lafayette. Therefore, Oregon is still not a Big Ten team, having instead destroyed 1-6 Purdue on Friday night. No. 22 Illinois in Eugene is next.
- Assuming Oregon moves up to No. 1 in today’s AP, that’ll be this season’s fourth change atop the poll. That’s already the most for any season since 2014’s four.
No. 22 Illinois 21, No. 24 Michigan 7
- The weekend’s only other ranked-on-ranked game will knock the defending champ out of the polls, and hey … um … other than that trip to Oregon next week, Illinois has a solid shot at its first 10-win season since 2001. Bret Bielema is so back.
- For the Wolverines, another QB change amounted to their lowest-scoring game in a decade. They’re now 4-3 with Oregon, Indiana and Ohio State still to go. And yes, Indiana belongs in that sentence.
No. 6 Miami 52, Louisville 45
- Another week, another confounding Canes (7-0) escape with lots of ref stuff going on and some Cam Ward heroics. I keep saying Miami’s schedule looks pretty light going forward, but that doesn’t really seem to matter. Every Miami game is just a Miami game anyway.
No. 8 LSU 34, Arkansas 10
- Boy, how fortunes have changed since LSU’s loss to USC in Week 1. USC’s now 3-4, losing yesterday to Maryland on the far side of the planet, while LSU plays at Texas A&M next week for sole possession of the SEC lead. No for real, look at the standings.
No. 10 Clemson 48, Virginia 31
- Here’s another big swing. The Tigers’ average margin of victory in their six games since their Week 1 loss: 27.3 points.
Surprises
Give us Indiana vs. Florida State, please
With the season now halfway over for everybody, let’s look back at some preseason expectations. We’ll keep it mostly positive!
First, some mostly happy stuff!
Per BetMGM’s win totals from August, one of the most shocking (complimentary) teams has been No. 13 BYU, now 7-0 after a Friday night thriller against Oklahoma State. The Cougars had just a 4.5-win over/under after their 5-7 2023, and they look like a near-lock to at least double that number.
The entire Big 12 is nearly upside down, actually:
- The conference poll’s preseason favorite, Utah, fell to 4-3 yesterday, losing to a TCU team everyone had given up on.
- Oklahoma State, picked to finish third, is 0-4 in conference games. (Hey, at least it’s not Oklahoma, which lost 35-9 to South Carolina.)
- Arizona State and Cincinnati, picked to finish last and nearly last, are both 5-2 overall after the Sun Devils lost to the Bearcats.
- Iowa State has gone from being picked sixth in the league to darn near ranking sixth in the country, beating UCF yesterday to reach 7-0.
- Kansas, a team contending with high hopes for the first time in forever — 8.5-win over/under! — is at least up to 2-5 after beating Houston.
- And after beating Arizona 34-7, 5-2 Colorado is on the verge of exceeding expectations in Deion Sanders’ second season. BetMGM had the Buffs at 5.5 wins.
But the happiest power-conference stunner is surely Vanderbilt. Slated by BetMGM to win 2.5 games, it already has doubled up, including that time it did its part to make Alabama 0-2 against the Volunteer State.
If it’s not Vandy, it’s undefeated Indiana. Also listed at 5.5 wins, it might also double up. After it annihilated Nebraska 56-7 yesterday (geez), only a trip to Ohio State looks like a likely loss. Hey yeah, the Hoosiers are nearly in line for a Playoff bid … in football.
Pitt was off this weekend, but at 6-0, it already has beaten its preseason number and could hit nine or 10, similar overall to Illinois.
(Oh, who’s the biggest pleasant surprise overall? That has to be 7-0 Army, which beat ECU 45-28, and 6-0 Navy, which beat Charlotte 51-17. They each have won more games than last year, and Army nearly has clinched a spot in the AAC title game. Remember, if they both do, we get a very funny mess to close the regular season.)
As for the downside:
Also Friday, Duke beat Florida State for the first time (now 1-20 all-time). At 6-1, the Blue Devils have equaled their best start since 1994, while at 1-6, the preseason No. 10 Noles haven’t started this poorly since 1975, the last pre-Bobby Bowden season. Lose at No. 6 Miami next week, and at least we’ll only have to update that to “since 1974.”
Here’s the achievement that the Noles can unlock: going from being expected to win about 9.5 games to losing 10. And that’s if we spot them the W over Charleston Southern.
Things are so bad that their season-closing game against Florida now portends less like must-watch squalor between two miserable powers and more like just another loss to a superior team. Florida’s 4-3 after beating Kentucky 48-20, somehow.
Quick Snaps
Congrats to North Dakota State for reclaiming control of the Dakota Marker rivalry, beating two-time defending FCS champ South Dakota State 13-9. Bet they’ll meet again in the playoffs!
Headline: “Deion Sanders ribs President Obama for his Colorado roster comments.” Fine, I’ll click that.
After another up-and-down game, should we be thinking of Bama QB Jalen Milroe as a 2025 NFL Draft pick or a 2025 college QB?
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham apologized after begging someone, anyone to be his new kicker.
Pitt named former Auburn and Buffalo athletic director Allen Greene as the school’s next AD, the school announced Friday.
What did we learn about the CFP in Week 8? Ralph Russo on Alabama being out and Indiana being in?
Kirby Smart’s Georgia defense unleashed havoc on Texas’ offense last night. Stewart Mandel shares his Final Thoughts on the weekend.
You can buy tickets to every college football game here.
For streaming info on Fubo, click here.
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(Top photo of Damon Wilson II: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
