Official 2015 College Football Week 5 thread

[cartman]

Here are the match ups between Top 25 teams this week:

West Virginia at Oklahoma
Alabama at Georgia
Mississippi at Florida
Mississippi State at Texas A&M
Notre Dame at Clemson

[Kodos]

Ohio State at Indiana. A battle of undefeateds! I don't think we'll win, but I do think there's a chance. Go Hoosiers!

[digamma]

Ohio State at Indiana. A battle of undefeateds! I don't think we'll win, but I do think there's a chance. Go Hoosiers!

Indiana has definitely solidified itself as at least the third best team in the state this season. :D

[Kodos]

I'll spot you Notre Dame. Who is the second team in Indiana that is better than IU?

[digamma]

Valpo, duh.

[Butter]

I'm going Ball State.

[Kodos]

So 2-2 is now better than 4-0? I get that Ball State lost to a couple of ranked teams, but I'm not sure how that translates to them being better.

On the other hand, it's easy to kick dirt in the face of a traditional weakling like IU football.

Me, I'll be happy with the progress we're making and hope for the upset of OSU.

[Butter]

Yeah, I don't actually believe that I thought we were just joking around. Sorry.

[digamma]

Yeah, the first post was tongue in cheek, which I tried to underscore by saying Valpo in the second post.

Trust me, I'm part of the most thin skinned fan base in the nation, so it was all in good fun (and whose team may be the fourth best in its state :)).

[Kodos]

That's alright. IU football tends to be the butt of many jokes. Beat the #1 team, and maybe we'll get more respect. It's all good, guys. We don't get to enjoy many 5-game win streaks at IU.

[Eaglesfan27]

That's alright. IU football tends to be the butt of many jokes. Beat the #1 team, and maybe we'll get more respect. It's all good, guys. We don't get to enjoy many 5-game win streaks at IU.

I am rooting for you guys!

[digamma]

Oh for sure. Go Hoosiers.

[Butter]

Will be at Clemson-Notre Dame Saturday night.

Seems like Clemson is in a no-win situation. They lose, and they're supposed to lose because they're Clemson and Notre Dame is Notre Dame. (To wit: Notre Dame Fighting Irish in for true test in Clemson Tigers - Notre Dame Fighting Irish - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/blog/notre-dame-football/post/_/id/21982/clemson-will-be-true-measuring-stick-for-irish-team-in-need-of-one))

They win, and well Notre Dame's injuries finally caught up with them and they had no business being ranked that high. And Clemson will continue to be stuck around #10.

Personally, I think Clemson wins by 2 touchdowns, but their offense has been underwhelming in a year where Deshaun Watson was picked as a Heisman candidate... he has looked tentative and not explosive most of the time. Clemson also lost their #1 WR with a broken neck on literally their first drive of the season vs. Wofford.

Should be a fun one. Wondering how many Irish fans will be there.... and how much patience I will have for the 8 PM kickoff. Already put in for a day off on Monday.

Personally, I feel like Clemson could be a CFP contender NEXT season... but with the injuries to Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech looking terrible.... the Tigers have an outside shot at it this year IF they can run the home gauntlet that includes the Irish, Yellow Jackets, and Florida State and avoid a road loss at Miami, NC State, or Syracuse.

Well, who are we kidding, they're not losing at NC State.

[Kodos]

I am rooting for you guys!

Oh for sure. Go Hoosiers.

I think outside of Ohio, pretty much everyone will be Hoosiers fans this weekend. :)

[BishopMVP]

Will be at Clemson-Notre Dame Saturday night.

Seems like Clemson is in a no-win situation. They lose, and they're supposed to lose because they're Clemson and Notre Dame is Notre Dame. (To wit: Notre Dame Fighting Irish in for true test in Clemson Tigers - Notre Dame Fighting Irish - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/blog/notre-dame-football/post/_/id/21982/clemson-will-be-true-measuring-stick-for-irish-team-in-need-of-one))

They win, and well Notre Dame's injuries finally caught up with them and they had no business being ranked that high. And Clemson will continue to be stuck around #10.

Personally, I think Clemson wins by 2 touchdowns, but their offense has been underwhelming in a year where Deshaun Watson was picked as a Heisman candidate... he has looked tentative and not explosive most of the time. Clemson also lost their #1 WR with a broken neck on literally their first drive of the season vs. Wofford.

Should be a fun one. Wondering how many Irish fans will be there.... and how much patience I will have for the 8 PM kickoff. Already put in for a day off on Monday.

Personally, I feel like Clemson could be a CFP contender NEXT season... but with the injuries to Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech looking terrible.... the Tigers have an outside shot at it this year IF they can run the home gauntlet that includes the Irish, Yellow Jackets, and Florida State and avoid a road loss at Miami, NC State, or Syracuse.

Well, who are we kidding, they're not losing at NC State.That's awesome, should be a great game. To be fair on Williams, that kinda seemed like Watson's fault from the one look I had at it. ;) I think Clemson's center is out too? ND had another huge injury scare as Ronnie Stanley got rolled up on and was clutching his knee. He seems to be fine, but they wouldn't have to say otherwise - that's an injury we really couldn't afford.

[Butter]

I think Clemson's center is out too?

Correct. Clemson's O-line can be beat and if Notre Dame wins it'll be because they stuff the run with their front 4 and don't give up any big plays.

The playbook to beating Clemson is play a deep zone and make them complete short throws all night. They haven't proven that they have the patience to stick with the short throwing game, nor that Watson has the chops to read a defense. Watson tried to force several passes deep against Louisville, resulting in a touchdown, but also a couple of picks and several incompletions.

Watson also hasn't yet had a game since his ACL tear where he himself has had to run to win. Clemson fans think this is the game where that aspect of the offense gets displayed, but I am not sure.

All I know of Notre Dame was watching them struggle to beat Virginia in the second half, and pretty sure that wasn't a good gage.

[Galaril]

Correct. Clemson's O-line can be beat and if Notre Dame wins it'll be because they stuff the run with their front 4 and don't give up any big plays.

The playbook to beating Clemson is play a deep zone and make them complete short throws all night. They haven't proven that they have the patience to stick with the short throwing game, nor that Watson has the chops to read a defense. Watson tried to force several passes deep against Louisville, resulting in a touchdown, but also a couple of picks and several incompletions.

Watson also hasn't yet had a game since his ACL tear where he himself has had to run to win. Clemson fans think this is the game where that aspect of the offense gets displayed, but I am not sure.

All I know of Notre Dame was watching them struggle to beat Virginia in the second half, and pretty sure that wasn't a good gage.

I think ND is a sneaky talented team even with all the injuries and traditional power teams underestimate them this year at their own peril. I smell an Irish upset down in SC this weekend.

[cartman]

No clue how they will do. I'm guessing they will end up in the 7 to 9 win range this season.

Well, 7 wins would be a miracle at this point for Texas. They are 1-3, but just as easily could be 3-1.

I'm glad that TCU was able to pull off the win against Tech. If they had lost that game, I'd bet that they would have absolutely destroyed Texas in Fort Worth this weekend out of frustration. I still think TCU will cover the spread, which is 14.

[tarcone]

4-0 Iowa visits 3-1 Wisconsin for the Heartland trophy. Also, this is the 1st step to crown a champ in the West.

I am really excited about this one. Need to kick some Bucky butt.

Go Hawks!

[Kodos]

Go Hawkeyes!

[BishopMVP]

I think ND is a sneaky talented team even with all the injuries and traditional power teams underestimate them this year at their own peril. I smell an Irish upset down in SC this weekend.What part of ND is sneaky talented? I haven't bothered looking closely at mock drafts, but I think there are 2 guaranteed 1st round picks still playing in Ronnie Stanley and Jaylon Smith and another few potential ones in KeiVarae Russell, Sheldon Day, Will Fuller, and other O-Linemen like McGlinchey. The "6 starters lost to injury" thing is true, and it absolutely has us razor thin with depth, but other than Zaire I think Jones was the only real loss so far. Tranquill, Crawford, Folston, Smythe were all the worst starter in their position group or replaced by guys just about equal in talent level. I'd include the suspended Bryant and Williams in that too if people are counting them as losses.

I think there's a good chance ND loses, particularly if the Deshaun Watson I loved last year shows up, but the injury apocalypse is more of a media narrative than a true accounting of the situation. A great O-Line and front 7 can cover up a whole lot of inexperience at the skill positions.

[mauchow]

<iframe width="854" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b3PT5Bygz6Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[tarcone]

That was awesome. That damn fake punt. Everyone in the world except for the Iowa staff saw that coming.

[digamma]

Two threads merged.

[Wolfpack]

Well, who are we kidding, they're not losing at NC State.

Hey! :mad:

Can't you at least let us delude ourselves into thinking there's a chance before we are rudely put back into our place as the game is played out?

[Atocep]

WVU starts its brutal 4 game stretch.

@Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
@Baylor
@TCU

[panerd]

Maty Mauk suspended for Missouri’s game vs. South Carolina | The Kansas City Star (http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/article36990114.html)

And so the Drew Lock era begins for an unexpected reason...

[miami_fan]

According to ESPN

Maty Mauk and Malik Cuellar are suspended for disciplinary reasons related to violation of team policies. They will not play in Saturday's game against South Carolina.

[tarcone]

I have a good Maaty Mauk story.
There is a golf tourney in north Missouri in the Summer. It is a booster type deal. A former players family is from there and about 10 players a year show for it.
Last Summer Mauk was there. By the 15th hole he was so drunk, he had to be carried to a car as he was passed out.
Boosters were not impressed.

[panerd]

I have a good Maaty Mauk story.
There is a golf tourney in north Missouri in the Summer. It is a booster type deal. A former players family is from there and about 10 players a year show for it.
Last Summer Mauk was there. By the 15th hole he was so drunk, he had to be carried to a car as he was passed out.
Boosters were not impressed.

Yeah there is always the infamous scooter incident as well. Though you can't help but feel bad for the kid his dad is battling cancer and he is catching the grief of a bunch of couch potatoes for his subpar QB play. My dad is in his 70's and something like that would still effect my work.

http://mobile.sportingnews.com/article/4061563-maty-mauk-arrested-missouri-tigers-quarterback-scooter-two-females

[panerd]

According to ESPN

Maty Mauk and Malik Cuellar are suspended for disciplinary reasons related to violation of team policies. They will not play in Saturday's game against South Carolina.

My guess is a nice way for Pinkel to not have to bench Mauk for poor play as it is something he has very rarely done his entire time at Mizzou.

[Butter]

If he is just trying to find an excuse to bench him, then Pinkel is a worse coach than I thought.

[mauchow]

That was awesome. That damn fake punt. Everyone in the world except for the Iowa staff saw that coming.

yep, when it was happening and he had the whole field in front of him i was shocked.

[MacroGuru]

BYU has an Inside BYU Football show they show on ByuTV and Bronco shredded his team on Monday.

After watching it, I feel bad for UConn this weekend.

[panerd]

BYU has an Inside BYU Football show they show on ByuTV and Bronco shredded his team on Monday.

After watching it, I feel bad for UConn this weekend.

Be wary. Say what you want about Mizzou this season but UConn gave us a 9-6 nail-biter. They have a decent defense and will definitely get up for a game against a good team.

[MacroGuru]

Be wary. Say what you want about Mizzou this season but UConn gave us a 9-6 nail-biter. They have a decent defense and will definitely get up for a game against a good team.

Very wary.

We are without our starting LB, starting QB, our starting RB (Who was our 2nd), a Starting DB.

That Michigan game hurt more than pride...

[MizzouRah]

If he is just trying to find an excuse to bench him, then Pinkel is a worse coach than I thought.

I don't think it's an excuse to bench him, Pinkel is better than that. Why do you think he's a bad coach to begin with? I seriously doubt Pinkel gets a call Mauk violated some rule and he thought to himself.. "good now I can bench him and get Lock to play a full game without actually making the call on my own."

Which coaches are "great"? The ones that get the top high school talent every year and barely have to really coach? Pinkel has been HUGE for the Missouri program.

[Butter]

Which coaches are "great"? The ones that get the top high school talent every year and barely have to really coach? Pinkel has been HUGE for the Missouri program.

Recruiting is part of coaching. Look at the coaches who are supposedly great X's and O's guys but can't recruit worth a flip. They go back to being coordinators after they run their formerly elite programs into the ground.

Pinkel has been great at keeping the Missouri program "good". Out of his 14 seasons, they've had two years where they flirted with great, finishing in the top-10.

That's not a great coach to me. He's fine, I might even suggest "good". Unless you think that's Mizzou's ceiling, and maybe you do.

[Butter]

So, this Clemson-Notre Dame game is officially going to be a monsoon. They are calling for 1-2 inches of rain on Friday, then another 2-3 inches throughout the day on Saturday, and another inch possible during the game. Clemson has a grass field, not turf.

This could be an ugly game that actually comes down to whoever handles the conditions better. I am not sure how the Clemson field handles drainage of this much rain. This could be real interesting.

[panerd]

Recruiting is part of coaching. Look at the coaches who are supposedly great X's and O's guys but can't recruit worth a flip. They go back to being coordinators after they run their formerly elite programs into the ground.

Pinkel has been great at keeping the Missouri program "good". Out of his 14 seasons, they've had two years where they flirted with great, finishing in the top-10.

That's not a great coach to me. He's fine, I might even suggest "good". Unless you think that's Mizzou's ceiling, and maybe you do.

I'm not going to put him with Urban Meyer, Saban etc...

but as I have had this conversation many many times you can't have your cake and eat it too meaning either...

1) Pinkel is a fantastic recruiter but since Missouri doesn't have 1,000,000 subscribers to publications like Rivals and 24-7 teams like Tennessee and Texas A&M somehow always seem to magically land the 5* guys.

OR

2) He is the greatest developer in the history of college football with the amount of first round picks he is putting into the NFL that aren't 4* or 5* guys.

I lean towards #1 and will give you one small anecdotal example. There is a local kid named Brandan Scales that has been a great high school player around here. Missouri and Illinois and some smaller schools were going after him and he was the typical unranked/2* recruit. Well guess what Nick Saban came in and offered him and now is a magically a 3* and 4* in some publications guy. By the end of his senior year he will probably be 4* if not 5* across the board. I'm pretty sure this happens all the time... Our Freshman QB Lock was a 4* with an offer from Ohio State. Wonder what he would have been had he committed there?

[Kodos]

It's a running joke at Indiana that when they get a commitment, the player's star level drops.

[Logan]

Pretty sure that's a running joke at about 80% of P5 schools.

[MrBug708]

Yup

[MizzouRah]

Recruiting is part of coaching. Look at the coaches who are supposedly great X's and O's guys but can't recruit worth a flip. They go back to being coordinators after they run their formerly elite programs into the ground.

Pinkel has been great at keeping the Missouri program "good". Out of his 14 seasons, they've had two years where they flirted with great, finishing in the top-10.

That's not a great coach to me. He's fine, I might even suggest "good". Unless you think that's Mizzou's ceiling, and maybe you do.

Great recruiting = great coach? I don't believe that.. yes they win because they can recruit.. but I don't think Saban wins anymore games if he was put on say, Air Force. Now, once he starts recruiting, yes.. and I guess that is part of it all in college football.. but Great Recruiter > Great x's and o's coach.

The NFL is where the great coaches stand out, to me at least.

As far as Mizzou's ceiling.. I do believe Pinkel has done one hell of a job with his recruiting ability.. now that's a knock against Pinkel because if he could recruit better, our ceiling with him should be much higher because I believe he's a great x's and o's guy.

[Ben E Lou]

I missed this article in the appropriate week, but though I'd post it here. Some of you are aware that my first cousin was the real-life QB who was sacked by "Rudy" from the movies. The AJC did a nice story on my cousin. When visiting my home town, we attend the church mentioned in the article. (Not only is my cousin the Pastor, but my brother is the Music Director.)

Rudy Allen of Yellow Jackets sacked by Notre Dame's 'Rudy' | www.myajc.com (http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/college/other-rudy-doing-fine-40-years-later/nngyS/)

[Dr. Sak]

I missed this article in the appropriate week, but though I'd post it here. Some of you are aware that my first cousin was the real-life QB who was sacked by "Rudy" from the movies. The AJC did a nice story on my cousin. When visiting my home town, we attend the church mentioned in the article. (Not only is my cousin the Pastor, but my brother is the Music Director.)

Rudy Allen of Yellow Jackets sacked by Notre Dame's 'Rudy' | www.myajc.com (http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/college/other-rudy-doing-fine-40-years-later/nngyS/)

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTQwWDU3NQ==/$(KGrHqR,!nwFCpgQlNm4BQ65efwvHw~~60_35.JPG

[BishopMVP]

So, this Clemson-Notre Dame game is officially going to be a monsoon. They are calling for 1-2 inches of rain on Friday, then another 2-3 inches throughout the day on Saturday, and another inch possible during the game. Clemson has a grass field, not turf.

This could be an ugly game that actually comes down to whoever handles the conditions better. I am not sure how the Clemson field handles drainage of this much rain. This could be real interesting.Any chance it gets postponed? Or is Clemson far enough South of College Park/Washington that it's not necessary?

Got to think a sloppy field would benefit us with our O-Line, but I do worry about ball security with converted WR/2 FR at tailback and a FR QB (or maybe two - I feel it's only a matter of time until Kelly is rotating Kizer and Brandon Wimbush.)Great recruiting = great coach? I don't believe that.. yes they win because they can recruit.. but I don't think Saban wins anymore games if he was put on say, Air Force. Now, once he starts recruiting, yes.. and I guess that is part of it all in college football.. but Great Recruiter > Great x's and o's coach.

The NFL is where the great coaches stand out, to me at least.I don't think Saban would win a national title at Air Force either but I definitely think he has the X&O chops on defense and instills (on-field) discipline exceedingly well. The guy won at Toledo, built Michigan State into a top 10 team, and came in at both LSU and Alabama after some bad coaches and quickly built them into juggernauts.

[Galaril]

What part of ND is sneaky talented? I haven't bothered looking closely at mock drafts, but I think there are 2 guaranteed 1st round picks still playing in Ronnie Stanley and Jaylon Smith and another few potential ones in KeiVarae Russell, Sheldon Day, Will Fuller, and other O-Linemen like McGlinchey. The "6 starters lost to injury" thing is true, and it absolutely has us razor thin with depth, but other than Zaire I think Jones was the only real loss so far. Tranquill, Crawford, Folston, Smythe were all the worst starter in their position group or replaced by guys just about equal in talent level. I'd include the suspended Bryant and Williams in that too if people are counting them as losses.

I think there's a good chance ND loses, particularly if the Deshaun Watson I loved last year shows up, but the injury apocalypse is more of a media narrative than a true accounting of the situation. A great O-Line and front 7 can cover up a whole lot of inexperience at the skill positions.

CJ Proise for one.

[CU Tiger]

Hey! :mad:

Can't you at least let us delude ourselves into thinking there's a chance before we are rudely put back into our place as the game is played out?

FWIW I have had this game pegged as a loss for Clemson since the schedule came out.

Carter-Finley is a house of horrors for us..

ND-Clemson is going to be a certified slop fest. There has been a lot of chirping between the two teams and I expect it to be a bit chippy.

I agree with Bishop on the injury thing, ND is one of the Top 5 most talented teams in the country. If we are counting injuries/absences as excuses both teams are down ~10 starters from August.

Clemson will be without
#1 WR
#1 C (though I argue the b/u is better)
#1 LT
#1 SLB (which forced the SS to move to Sam)
#1 DT

All that said this game comes down to 2 battles.
OL/DL on both sides. If Clemson cant get pressure and force ND to keep the Gs in, thus allowing them to climb to Clemson's undersized LB'ers ND will control the ball and run away with it.

Likewise if the Tigers can't bye enough time to let Watson get quick throws off and open a few interior holes for Gallman to get his yards...it may be FSU 13 all over again.

A sloppy field and DW4's knee scares me. They say he is 100% but damn if he looks it to me. His landing on follow throughs has been off all year.

The line has fell to a pick 'em after opening Clemson -4.5...

I've heard that new OC Tony Elliott (oops I mean new Co-OC wink, wink, nod, nod...yeah Jeff you are CO-OC...you just cant call plays and Tony sits in the box) has many wrinkles saved for just this game.

God I hope so. Because as good of a dude as he is, and with all the talk all off season about simplifying the playbook down from Chad Morris' insane 1650 plays last year, SMU is still moving the ball at will and it has looked like Rob Spence was back in Clemson calling the dreaded Bubble Screen Raid offense. The pre snap motion HAS to return. The line counter action fake HAS to return. And DW4 has to be back to pre injury form for Clemson to have any chance.

Oh yeah CB Mackenzie Alexander #2...he better show up or it will be a loooong night.

I despise ESPN Gameday games. I actually like rain games. But I am going to hate that 3+ hour ride home getting in after 4AM soaking wet Sat night if not...

[Ben E Lou]

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTQwWDU3NQ==/$(KGrHqR,!nwFCpgQlNm4BQ65efwvHw~~60_35.JPG:thumbsup:

[CU Tiger]

Any chance it gets postponed? Or is Clemson far enough South of College Park/Washington that it's not necessary?




roughly 450 miles due south of DC.
My fear will be lightining delays ad nauseum...

[Butter]

FWIW I have had this game pegged as a loss for Clemson since the schedule came out.

Carter-Finley is a house of horrors for us..

Yeah, I agree. The end around in 2013 where the guy "stepped out of bounds" still lingers in my mind. That's a totally different game if they had scored there.

A sloppy field and DW4's knee scares me. They say he is 100% but damn if he looks it to me. His landing on follow throughs has been off all year.

Agree on this too. He just doesn't look right.

I've heard that new OC Tony Elliott (oops I mean new Co-OC wink, wink, nod, nod...yeah Jeff you are CO-OC...you just cant call plays and Tony sits in the box) has many wrinkles saved for just this game.

God I hope so. Because as good of a dude as he is, and with all the talk all off season about simplifying the playbook down from Chad Morris' insane 1650 plays last year, SMU is still moving the ball at will and it has looked like Rob Spence was back in Clemson calling the dreaded Bubble Screen Raid offense. The pre snap motion HAS to return. The line counter action fake HAS to return. And DW4 has to be back to pre injury form for Clemson to have any chance.

Oh, God the Rob Spence offense. So awful. The offense has looked so horribly straight-forward all year. The jet sweep. The runs up the middle. The bubble screens. It looks so much the same. My argument to my wife was that they are deliberately not breaking out anything much more than vanilla, but I was starting to question if they even had the confidence to try anything that wasn't vanilla. And DW did not look good throwing downfield vs. Louisville.


Oh yeah CB Mackenzie Alexander #2...he better show up or it will be a loooong night.

Bad memories of him slipping and allowing the long Maguire touchdown pass at FSU last year.

[CU Tiger]

Bad memories of him slipping and allowing the long Maguire touchdown pass at FSU last year.


Mack is a great story.
Great kid.

But dig deeper.
No one throws at him, but when they do...

GT abused him on come backs last year.
Hell App St threw 2 against him this year.
Against UL he was BEAT but the WR dropped it.

ND will target him. If he steps up Clemson will win this one as he will cause some TOs, if not...it may get ugly.

I know you follow Clemson and many others dont, or not nearly as closely, so let me clarify. Mac is a future NFL CB. He is a true boundary leave him in Man cover CB. He comes from beyond humble beginnings. (Parents are Haitian immigrants/refugees, they've never seen him play college football because they don't own a TV) he has the work ethic you want in a kid.Brent Venables tells stories of 3AM phone calls after night games where #2 is still in the football offices watching film. But he is vulnerable in this game, I think.

I hope he proves me wrong.

[MizzouRah]

I don't think Saban would win a national title at Air Force either but I definitely think he has the X&O chops on defense and instills (on-field) discipline exceedingly well. The guy won at Toledo, built Michigan State into a top 10 team, and came in at both LSU and Alabama after some bad coaches and quickly built them into juggernauts.

Fair enough sir.

[tarcone]

Ron Zook was a heck of a recruiter. Couldn't coach himself out of a wet paper bag.

[CU Tiger]

Damn its raining, windy and MUDDDY as hell here at gameday!

[tarcone]

Soooooo excited for the Iowa/Wiscy game.

Go Hawks!

[Thomkal]

They are going to try to play football here today somehow. Coastal Carolina hosts Alabama A & M, Should be a win but if the weather kicks up, who knows what could happen?

EDIT: Well Coastal doesn't seem bothered by the rain leads 38-0 in the 3rd.

[MizzouRah]

The Drew Lock era begins? Hope he has a great game today! MIZ!

[CU Tiger]

I'm pulling hard for mizzou today.

[MrBug708]

Charlie Strong needs to get Lane Kiffined

[JPhillips]

This might be enough. The only question for Texas now is do they fire him during the season or after the season.

[tarcone]

Iowa leads 10-3 at half.
Iowa owned the 1st half. Missed a short FG and went for a 4th and 2 at wiscys 8 and failed.

Fast half.

[Atocep]

This might be enough. The only question for Texas now is do they fire him during the season or after the season.

He'll survive the season unless the boosters lose patience and force something. There's no benefit to firing a college coach during the season.

[cartman]

Probably the worst half of football I've ever seen the Longhorns play.

[MrBug708]

Probably the worst half of football I've ever seen the Longhorns play.

Worse than route 66?

[tarcone]

It's a slobber knocker in Madison. Iowa leads 10-6 at start of 4th.

[JPhillips]

He'll survive the season unless the boosters lose patience and force something. There's no benefit to firing a college coach during the season.

If they have their worst loss in history, I'm not sure he makes it to the next game.

[tarcone]

40 seconds left.. Wiscy on iowas 12 4th and 2

[cartman]

I'd be surprised if an interim AD fired a coach during the season.

[tarcone]

INCOMPLETE!!!!!!!!!!

[tarcone]

Victory formation. Iowa wins 10-6

[cartman]

THE COMEBACK BEGINS!!! Now just need Texas to get 7 consecutive onside kick recoveries.

[lungs]

Victory formation. Iowa wins 10-6

Congrats. Wisconsin looked absolutely awful.

[MrBug708]

The big 10 looks bad this year. OSU is still good, Michigan is improving. MSU isnt looking so hot right now

[HerRealName]

The big 10 looks bad this year. OSU is still good, Michigan is improving. MSU isnt looking so hot right now

Northwestern did beat Stanford and is undefeated.

[Thomkal]

nice win for Iowa and its fans.

[MrBug708]

Northwestern did beat Stanford and is undefeated.

That's true. There are always a couple games that Shaw will Shaw in

[Kodos]

30 minutes in, and Indiana is leading, despite some dropped passes and a failed fake-punt deep in our own side of the field. GO HOOSIERS!

[Honolulu_Blue]

The big 10 looks bad this year. OSU is still good, Michigan is improving. MSU isnt looking so hot right now

Bad? I think the Big Ten is looking as strong this year as they have in a while. OSU and MSU, while not playing well, are still undefeated and 1 and 2 in the nation. Northwestern is undefeated. Michigan is looking better and only loss by a touchdown to Utah on the road, which obliterated Oregon.

[Thomkal]

Coastal wins easily 55-0

[cuervo72]

Yeah, UGA really looks like they deserve to be ranked top-10.

[JonInMiddleGA]

This Alabama-Georgia game is very likely the most I'll enjoy a college football game all year.

But damn it's fun.

[britrock88]

This UNC comeback against GT... :D

[Easy Mac]

Georgia is the Clemson of the SEC

[Suicane75]

Win or lose, hopefully we can end this insane narrative that Ohio State has done anything to deserve a top 5 ranking.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Meanwhile in the It's Really Pretty Irrelevant Anyway Bowl, GT has blown a 21-0 lead and now trails UNC 38-28.

[Kodos]

Dammit, things have really gone south here.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Win or lose, hopefully we can end this insane narrative that Ohio State has done anything to deserve a top 5 ranking.

While they haven't looked great the last few weeks, it's not that insane. They beat Alabama and Oregon last year and haven't lost a game in over a calendar year.

[Easy Mac]

Great defense in this OSU game

[MizzouRah]

I'm pulling hard for mizzou today.

Thanks.. Lock was great! I hope this is the start of something GREAT!

[Suicane75]

While they haven't looked great the last few weeks, it's not that insane. They beat Alabama and Oregon last year and haven't lost a game in over a calendar year.

I just don't hand any weight to what was done last year. That should not be part of the equation. This year they've been pedestrian against pedestrian competition.

Edit: One of the reasons I don't think rankings should be taken till week 5 at the earliest.

[JonInMiddleGA]

This year they've been pedestrian against pedestrian competition.

Is there anybody who hasn't?

[Suicane75]

There a more than a few, sure.

[Easy Mac]

Shit coaching by Indiana.

[Kodos]

Yep, could have handled that better, but proud that we kept fighting and had a chance at the end. That drop in the endzone was tough.

[JonInMiddleGA]

There a more than a few, sure.

Not sure what you've been watching.

Michigan State today
Ole Miss thus far today AND last week
Georgia today and last week for a half
TCU only needed a near miracle last week
Baylor hasn't played anyone until today, and even then ...
Notre Dame has beaten ... what exactly?

LSU and UCLA might come the closest and we really don't know what quality they played either tbh. LSU has quite possibly the best player in the country but what else?

I could go on & on but honestly, there really isn't a team that's shown themselves to be incapable of being non-pedestrian against non-pedestrian competition.

[cuervo72]

Win or lose, hopefully we can end this insane narrative that Ohio State has done anything to deserve a top 5 ranking.

This is a good illustration of the SEC vs other conferences, IMO. Indiana (who was 4-0) plays a tough game against OSU and the inclination is to want to discount OSU. If a team plays well against a highly-ranked SEC team, the inclination is to raise that team up.

[cuervo72]

Hey #8 on Clemson - block the guys BEHIND YOU who can get the ball carrier, not the open space that is in front of everybody, k thx.

[Suicane75]

Not sure what you've been watching.

Michigan State today
Ole Miss thus far today AND last week
Georgia today and last week for a half
TCU only needed a near miracle last week
Baylor hasn't played anyone until today, and even then ...
Notre Dame has beaten ... what exactly?

LSU and UCLA might come the closest and we really don't know what quality they played either tbh. LSU has quite possibly the best player in the country but what else?

I could go on & on but honestly, there really isn't a team that's shown themselves to be incapable of being non-pedestrian against non-pedestrian competition.

I think that what you, and a lot of people see as not being very impressive, is more that there are A LOT of good teams nowadays. You aren't going to knock the shit out of 8 teams a year. I don't hold Ohio States underwhelming wins at home against them, but I think that there have been many teams who have outperformed them and it's a shame that the name and pedigree mean more at the start of the season than actual performance.

[Suicane75]

This is a good illustration of the SEC vs other conferences, IMO. Indiana (who was 4-0) plays a tough game against OSU and the inclination is to want to discount OSU. If a team plays well against a highly-ranked SEC team, the inclination is to raise that team up.

I'm not discounting Indiana at all, I think they're a decent team. When I wrote that it was 3rd quarter and very close. My point was more that Ohio State was looking rather listless for a 3rd straight week at home. I know Ohio State is a good team, I just don't think they deserve to be ranked so high, based on how they've performed.

Edit: It's also possible that their perceived talent level has unfairly skewed how I think they should perform vs how they have.

[Suicane75]

But hey, I'm down like $500 on the season, so what the eff do I know.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I think that what you, and a lot of people see as not being very impressive, is more that there are A LOT of good teams nowadays.

That's really where we disagree, I'll agree with you about that.

What I see are not a lot of good teams, what I see is a landscape filled with very meh teams. That's a complaint that I've had for a number of years now, teams worthy of being "ranked" are few & far between.

I think that adds to the disgruntled nature of what seems like an growing number of fan bases, those who realize that what passes for "good" these days really isn't very.

[MrBug708]

UCLA looks so terrible at home

[dubb93]

My point was more that Ohio State was looking rather listless for a 3rd straight week at home.

Ohio State played at Indiana today. It was not a home game.

[Suicane75]

Ohio State played at Indiana today. It was not a home game.

I stand corrected.

[Suicane75]

That's really where we disagree, I'll agree with you about that.

What I see are not a lot of good teams, what I see is a landscape filled with very meh teams. That's a complaint that I've had for a number of years now, teams worthy of being "ranked" are few & far between.

I think that adds to the disgruntled nature of what seems like an growing number of fan bases, those who realize that what passes for "good" these days really isn't very.

Hey, you could be right. I think though, that either way, the slaughtering some teams get for a loss, is a tad dramatic. People will be shouting to the hills tomorrow about how Ole Miss sucks, and I think that's ridiculous.

[panerd]

This is a good illustration of the SEC vs other conferences, IMO. Indiana (who was 4-0) plays a tough game against OSU and the inclination is to want to discount OSU. If a team plays well against a highly-ranked SEC team, the inclination is to raise that team up.

It took Missouri like 8 weeks to get ranked again at 10-2 last season after losing to Indiana. It isn't discounting the Big 10 it's discounting Indiana.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Hey, you could be right. I think though, that either way, the slaughtering some teams get for a loss, is a tad dramatic. People will be shouting to the hills tomorrow about how Ole Miss sucks, and I think that's ridiculous.

I never bought the "OMG Ole Miss is unstoppable" kind of hype nor poll surge. To lose to a Florida team that I just saw struggle badly against UT's ineptitude last week, it's not that Ole Miss sucks ... it's just that they really aren't THAT good either.

It's a playoff elimination loss IMO.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I may need to revise my prediction: Butch Jones might not make it past the end of the season (in order to be fired next year) after all.

[Izulde]

Huge, huge win by UNLV over UNR in Reno to not only win the Fremont Cannon, but get to 2-3. I didn't expect more than 2 wins out of Sanchez's first season, so he's already ahead of the curve. Was a tight 4th quarter, but we pull out the 23-17 victory with our backup QB for most of the game, as Decker once again got hurt.

[Edward64]

I may need to revise my prediction: Butch Jones might not make it past the end of the season (in order to be fired next year) after all.

Its been painful past 3 weeks but am glad AR won.

[Eaglesfan27]

This has been a very enjoyable weekend of football with almost every game turning out how I hoped (with the exception of Indiana.)

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

Exciting ending to this ND-Clemson game.

[BishopMVP]

Congrats Butter/CU

[Dutch]

I never bought the "OMG Ole Miss is unstoppable" kind of hype nor poll surge. To lose to a Florida team that I just saw struggle badly against UT's ineptitude last week, it's not that Ole Miss sucks ... it's just that they really aren't THAT good either.

It's a playoff elimination loss IMO.

Just goes to show that nobody is ever safe in the SEC with all those SEC teams on the schedule. :)

[Julio Riddols]

Man, Fournette is ridiculous. Him and Elliott are both 1st round, top 10 pick types.

[bhlloy]

Those two plus Derek Henry really are the new breed of RB. It's scary how big and athletic those guys are. Chubb is pretty amazing as well but he's a bit more of a traditional RB in terms of style.

[CU Tiger]

Just got back to my room here....what a game.
Wow, what a finish. Don't think I'll be sleeping much tonight.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Congrats certainly in order today to our Clemson contingent, as well as our Iowa contingent. And UNLV too I reckon.

[Solecismic]

Interesting that the teams with the two top scoring defenses in the country play each other next week. Combined, they allow less points per game than Baylor averages scoring about every 13 minutes.

[CU Tiger]

Georgia is the Clemson of the SEC

Not even sure what this is supposed to mean.

[Butter]

Beats bad teams, gets blown out by good teams.

Although I'm sure after last night everyone is prepared to show how Notre Dame sucked all along instead of giving Clemson credit for being up 21-3 through three quarters and holding off a great Irish rally.

[Butter]

And holy crap was I wet after last night's game. Just poured the entire second half. Can't believe the field held up so well.

[CU Tiger]

We weren't soaked ...I broke out the camo duck hunting rain suits and had a hurricane party.

Looks like the rain is taking a bad turn in the midlands of SC this am.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I guess this is the standard DeLoss was talking about.

“We're going to have good years again,” Dodds promised. “Our bad years are not that bad. Take a school like Missouri. Our bad years are better than their good years. But we've created a standard.”

[BishopMVP]

Beats bad teams, gets blown out by good teams.

Although I'm sure after last night everyone is prepared to show how Notre Dame sucked all along instead of giving Clemson credit for being up 21-3 through three quarters and holding off a great Irish rally.I figure the people who don't want to give Clemson credit will just say ND lost the game, Clemson didn't win it. +150 yards gained, 3 TO's in our half and one at the 2. Idk how much "Luck of the Irish" was ever real, but it hasn't been the past 2 years. I swear we've recovered like 25% of fumbles. Oh well. Fwiw I still don't understand why we were running side to side and zone blocking so much in the 1st half. With that O-Line, in those conditions (and against a team missing its starting DT), just line up in an I and go downhill. That's also the 2nd time in 3 nights (Steelers in OT) on a huge must-get play a team ran a power sweep with the QB instead of at least a read-option, or a bootleg with a run/pass option, or just handing off to the RB.

Fwiw I've also always been a big proponent of going for 2 early, but that's a time where going for 2 when we got within 12 early 4th Q ended up coming back to bite us. Assuming both XP's would have been made though, which is no guarantee (holder probably would've bobbled the snap.)

[CU Tiger]

That 2 pt was actually a QB RPO play. The QB had the choice to throw the ball he chose to run. Kelly admitted to as much in the post game.

I dunno about the TO's man.
KO return was a helmet on a football.
INT was a beautiful zone blitz, he never saw the LB there until it was too late.
Fumble at the 2 was admittedly a ND gaffe.

Oh well. However it happened I'll take it.

Also, I've always heard crap stories about ND fans. Had the chance to interact with probably 20 Saturday night and all were first class. We even had one in our section who was taking immortal hell from Clemson fans after talking shat for 30 minutes pre-game. He was laughing it off and said "I guess I deserve that". I was impressed.

[MacroGuru]

Be wary. Say what you want about Mizzou this season but UConn gave us a 9-6 nail-biter. They have a decent defense and will definitely get up for a game against a good team.

I was at the UConn / BYU game. I was hoping for a good game, went in tied at half and we couldn't put them away until the 4th qtr and the only way we did it was because of two stupid plays.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I swear we've recovered like 25% of fumbles.

Through 5 games this season there have been a total of 16 fumbles (10 by ND, 6 by opponents), 6 recovered by ND (4 of their own, 2 opponents)

Notre Dame Football :: UND.COM :: The Official Site of Notre Dame Athletics (http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2015-2016/teamcume.html)

Last season there were 37 fumbles recorded (24 by ND, 13 by opponents) with 19 recovered by ND (12 of their own, 7 opponents)

Notre Dame Football :: UND.COM :: The Official Site of Notre Dame Athletics (http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2014-2015/teamcume.html)

The difference in your perception & the numbers could very well lie with points off turnovers.

Last year ND was outscored on points off turnovers 233-114 despite only being (-4) in turnover margin.

This year they've been outscored 42-18 despite being only (-2) in turnover margin

[BishopMVP]

I dunno about the TO's man.
KO return was a helmet on a football.
INT was a beautiful zone blitz, he never saw the LB there until it was too late.
Fumble at the 2 was admittedly a ND gaffe.

Oh well. However it happened I'll take it.I'm not taking anything away from Clemson. It's a part of the game, and they made those plays happen. Just saying the people who don't want to give Clemson credit will latch onto that instead of just the predictable "ND was overrated" argument.

I suspect "Clemson can't win the big games" will be their undeserved rep until they at least make the playoff. It's just like the "Tony Romo isn't clutch" crowd - when he makes a big comeback it wasn't a big game, when he doesn't it magically becomes one.Through 5 games this season there have been a total of 16 fumbles (10 by ND, 6 by opponents), 6 recovered by ND (4 of their own, 2 opponents)

Notre Dame Football :: UND.COM :: The Official Site of Notre Dame Athletics (http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2015-2016/teamcume.html)

Last season there were 37 fumbles recorded (24 by ND, 13 by opponents) with 19 recovered by ND (12 of their own, 7 opponents)

Notre Dame Football :: UND.COM :: The Official Site of Notre Dame Athletics (http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2014-2015/teamcume.html)

The difference in your perception & the numbers could very well lie with points off turnovers.

Last year ND was outscored on points off turnovers 233-114 despite only being (-4) in turnover margin.

This year they've been outscored 42-18 despite being only (-2) in turnover marginOh, my perception's definitely skewed by Saturday's game and last year's ASU game where the season started going off the rails. It doesn't matter if we recover 100% or 0 fumbles vs. a UMass or Rice.

[Butter]

We weren't soaked ...I broke out the camo duck hunting rain suits and had a hurricane party.

Looks like the rain is taking a bad turn in the midlands of SC this am.

Yeah, you have duck hunting rain suits, I had to buy waterproof boots just for this. I am a city slicker, nothing illustrated that more for me than my lack of preparedness for this compared to some of our seatmates.

Sorry to see the low country got it so bad.