Week 5 college football thread - The Bamachurian Candidate

Penn State was a big one, and so was Arkansas leaving the Southwest Conference for the SEC a year later. The SWC blew up shortly thereafter, the rest of the major independents except Notre Dame hopped on the nearest lifeboat available, and off we went.

(Great minds think alike, dixie.)

 

Well, actually, the problems started in the 1890s when ticket prices rose to $1.50.

 

Who is "School administrators who had their heads up their asses, keeping some schools out of their conferences and not realizing the NCAA was a paper tiger (except in the case of the SWC - that league got done in by its own members doings).

"The bowls are sacred! We can't have a playoff!"

 

Games I like this week:
• Miami -17.5 vs. Virginia Tech (Friday) — I think Miami is legit, and they’re lurking in the weeds of the top 10 behind all of the SEC teams. If they go down, it won’t be this week.

• BYU +3.5 at Baylor — BYU is another team that’s quietly putting together a nice season. They could be a factor in the Big 12. And if they just throw hail marys against Baylor, they should get to 5-0.

• Texas -39 vs. Mississippi State — Normally, a line this size might scare me into a stay-away. This time, it might be a bargain. Mississippi State, which already sucked, is going on the road against the No. 1 team in the country with a true freshman QB making his first start. Their best defensive player might also be out. I’m not sure this line can be high enough.

• Oklahoma -2 at Auburn — I honestly don’t think Oklahoma is a bad team. They’re just not among the elite in a loaded SEC. Auburn is another tier below Oklahoma. Maybe two. Give me the Sooners and a small spread.

• LSU O65 vs. South Alabama — Both of these teams can score some points. More importantly, neither of them is great at stopping opponents from scoring them. I think South Alabama can score 20+, which should be enough to hit the over.

• Air Force -2.5 at Wyoming — Air Force isn’t great, but I’m all aboard the Wyoming train.

• Washington State +7.5 at Boise State — Washington State should probably be ranked. They should not be a touchdown-plus underdog against a team like Boise.

And some games I want to like, but can’t:
• Oregon -24.5 vs. UCLA — This feels like the UCLA-LSU game last week. Oregon could turn this into a blowout, but it won’t take much for UCLA to hang in there just enough to cover a huge spread. Neither outcome would stun me. Best to steer clear.

• New Mexico -7 at New Mexico State — All I know is somebody’s probably getting shot. And New Mexico can’t play more than 2 1/2 quarters. I don’t want to be a party to either one this week.

• UNLV -2 vs. Fresno State — A couple of days ago I had this as an attractive game in the afternoon window. I’ve really come to enjoy UNLV for gambling purposes. After today’s events, I’m not touching them until they get their house in order. Fresno and New Mexico State might be a nice throwaway bet on a moneyline parlay, though. Maybe add Wazzu to it to goose the odds.

• Arizona +11 at Utah — I’m just not sure what to make of either of these teams. They’ve both had moments where they look pretty good, and moments where they look kind of bad. I like Arizona at that number, but I’m not sure. When that’s the case, it’s either a stay-away or a “You knew what you were getting into” situation.

 

Now this is interesting, a linebacker on UNLV says he’s glad Sluka is done.

UNLV's Jackson Woodard: 'Bout Time' Hajj-Malik Williams Started at QB over Matt Sluka

 

Oh gosh, I thought Texas was going to Starkville. That’s going to be an unholy bloodletting.

 

“Sanctity of the bowls!”

 

Air Force, a program nobody wanted, gets a $25 million bonus for doing nothing. UNLV also decides to stay put, even though the meat and potatoes of the MWC's football and basketball dinner plates have bailed.

Strange world where a conference that lost almost all of its good football programs, its best basketball programs and its top TV markets can somehow spin that into a win.

 

Penn State also started the death of the major independents, a significant factor in conference realignment, given that it was once somewhat advantageous to not be in a conference at all.

 

UNLV loses RB as well as their QB.

https://nypost.com/2024/09/25/sport...s-to-redshirt-as-transfer-calamity-escalates/