College football week 9 thread: The Midshipmen Who Stare at Goats

I did not have sound up on that game when they showed the pregame shoving incident and stare down in College Station. What were the details of that? Because that looks like exactly the kind of idiocy this Bama team lived to swan dive into.

 

Looked like an A&M guy was just getting into it with LSU players, although they didn't really explain what it was about other than being an idiot.
Same guy later got a personal foul for knocking Nussmeier to the ground after a play. On the next play he should have gotten another one for clubbing an LSU RB on the back of the head after the guy was tackled, but no flag was thrown.

 

Duke had approximately 206 chances to win the game.

Poor kicker hooked a point-after attempt, another field-goal attempt and had one blocked (that I'll have to watch on DVR, but until I see it again, the guess is that the kick had nowhere near enough height, which made blocking it much easier).

SMU had six turnovers, and Duke none. Yet the Ponies won. Blue Devils much better than anyone expected at 6-2, but the gamble that SMU's oil boosters by paying their athletic bills and foregoing millions in revenue sharing in the league – just to get in a power conference again – paying off so far with a 7-1 start.

 

Not that it affects me in the slightest and I know Gameday will go to Happy Valley for Ohio State-Penn State, I hope they buck the trend and go to Pitt at SMU (I assume they are hoping to wait for Clemson-Pitt, where the other choice is Tenn at Georgia

 

Closing stretch for the Big 10 unbeatens:
Indiana -- at Michigan State, vs. Michigan, at Ohio State, vs. Purdue
Oregon -- at Michigan, vs. Maryland, at Wisconsin, vs. Washington
Penn State -- vs. Ohio State, vs. Washington, at Purdue, at Minnesota, vs. Maryland

Ohio State is still sitting there at 3-1 and gets two of the unbeatens at home, so the Buckeyes are far from out of it. I think Oregon wins out and Ohio State picks off both Penn State and Indiana at home and ends up in a rematch with the Ducks in Indy.

 

ACC gets a ranked on ranked matchup in Pitt SMU and puts it on ACC network. Had no idea the conference hired the marketing people from the Big East football conference when it imploded.

 

Certainly Oregon should be favored to sweep November, but I find it interesting that they have two more trips east while the remaining three will miss the Pacific Time Zone the rest of the way. By sheer force of numbers, I think if it will work out this way against the West Coast teams much more often through the years.

 

I'd love to see Indiana play Notre Dame in a first round playoff game. LSU is done. Even a win over Bama wouldn't be a cure all it might normally be. It would be fun if the SEC allowed teams that need a late season boost for a playoff shot to schedule conference games against other teams needing a late season boost. I think paying off the FCS schools would be a no-brainer. I figure Texas and Georgia will be in, leaving Texas A and M, Bama and Tennessee battling for two spots.

 

Coach Prime is a point-spread winner and bowl-eligible.

 

For all the increased excitement around this season, Rivalry Weekend is shaping up to be a dud. Horns-Aggies looks like a monster, but after that the most compelling game is … Iowa State vs. K-State?

 

Me, an Ohio fan, as my wife’s IU friends try to tell me how great Kurtis Rourke is at a Halloween event last night:

 

Looking at some other teams ...

If BYU (8-0) can get through the Holy War on 11/9 unscathed, the Cougs close with vs. Kansas, at Arizona State, vs. Houston.
Iowa State-K State is probably for the other spot in the Big 12 title game.

Miami (8-0) closes vs. Duke, at Georgia Tech, vs. Wake, at Syracuse. Honestly, at SU in the season finale might be the toughest game left in that stretch.

Pitt (7-0) has been a great story, but the schedule gets dicey here coming up. SMU and Louisville on the road, Clemson at home.

It's simple for Notre Dame (7-1). Win out against FSU and UVA at home, Army at Yankee Stadium, and USC in L.A, and the Irish are in the playoff. Lose any of those, they're out.

Would an 11-1 Washington State get a sniff? Unlikely, since they're essentially playing a Mountain West schedule and lost by three TDs to Boise State.