Instant Replay
What did we just watch?
Penn State falls short - What else is there to say?
Penn State, with the chance to exorcise all of its big-game demons against mighty Oregon, fell short once again. Allar came up small when it mattered. James Franklin once again lost a big game. In what was the game of the season thus far, the Nittany Lions fell short 30-24 in 20T.
This game was awesome. Both teams had some dominant offensive lines, impressive defensive lines and had some funky cool playcalls at different times.
I really like what I saw from Oregon QB Dante Moore. If Oregon keeps rolling, he’s one to watch for the Heisman Trophy conversation.
Blitz Bama Blitz - In what was the latest rendition of the Bama-UGA rivalry, Bama came out on top behind a stout defensive performance and clutch quarterbacking from Ty Simpson.
The Crimson Tide jumped out to a formidable lead and leaned on its defense in the second half to knock off the Dawgs and snap Georgia’s 33-game home winning streak.
Kirby Smart is an excellent coach, but he can’t seem to beat Bama when in recent years. Odd situation.
Island Time - The Ole Miss Rebels are officially living on Island Time.
QB Trinidad Chambliss was excellent in the Rebels’ pronounced 24-19 win over fourth-ranked LSU. Ole Miss deserves a ton of credit for doing what LSU seemingly can’t do: run the football.
Ole Miss looks like a contender, with the LSU offense looking something like a pretender.
I wonder who Brian Kelly will blame this week?
Hoos Your Daddy - On Friday night, things got weird when unranked Virginia pulled off a stunning, 2OT upset over eighth-ranked FSU, in what was one of the more fun Friday night games in recent memory.
The UVA student section had an epic field storming. The Hoos ran the ball all over the field. And Tony Elliott notched his first huge victory in charge at UVA.
Good stuff all around!
Walk off in Champaign - A week after getting pasted by Indiana, Illinois pulled itself off the mat and knocked off No. 21 USC 34-32 with a walk-off field goal.
The Fighting Illini ran for over 170 yards on 35 carries and deserve a lot of credit for the way they controlled the lines of scrimmage.
USC might just be a fun-but-flawed team. I like what they did on offense, but that defense got punished today. Not good enough.
Sadness in Starkville - Mississippi State is a wildly improved football team and damn near notched its second upset victory of the season against Tennessee on Saturday night.
This game was as back-and-forth as they come, with the Vols getting the last laugh after a deflected pass on fourth-and-goal.
Quick Hits
It feels like a matter of If not When for Sam Pittman and Arkansas. Salute to the Pittboss, but your time has come.
Alabama OC Ryann Grubb designed a pass play for Alabama’s 360-pound left tackle tonight, and for that, I want to shake your hand, sir. Thank you for drawing up something so cartoonishly awesome that it made the whole college football Internet cheer.
Liberty lost again and falls to 0-3 in conference play. Could Jamey Chadwell be on his way out after a rocky few years?
UW QB Demond Williams Jr. is awesome, but man, he had very little help today against top-ranked OSU. That o-line got worked early and often.
The Brent Musburger Gambling Guide
My official locks of the week. (Lines are locked in at the time of writing)
-5 units overall
Notre Dame vs. +6.5 Arkansas: -1 units
UMASS vs. -43.5 Mizzou: -1 units
+3.5 Oregon vs. Penn State: +1 units
Ohio State vs. +9.5 Washington: -1 units