Official College Football Week 8 thread
 

The first half of the season is over. Still a lot of football left to be played. Here are the matchups of Top 25 teams this weekend:

Florida State at Clemson
Auburn at Texas A&M
UCLA at Stanford
Florida at Missouri

Indiana vs. Michigan will be interesting. Indiana can score but are poor on defense. Being at home, Michigan should win, but I'm not sure I put anything past a team with a QB on pace to turn the ball over 20+ times and a running game that just finished with less than a yard per carry, and I'm not sure if they have averaged 4 ypc in a game yet. If a loss comes, it could get ugly since MSU, Nebraska, and NW are next with two of them on the road.

'Bama continues Bielema's "Welcome to the SEC" tour.

Which will give? Michigan's turnover machine, or Indiana's no-takeaways D?

I'd like to say we have a chance, but pessimism is slowly winning the battle...

It's a shame to see someone beat him by 45....

I've never been more thrilled to have that douchebag lose like he is.

I am thankful for him though..he brought Wisconsin to the next level and left and we got a better coach and person. A good return.

I'm heading to Wisconsin @ Illinois, one of the few games that Wisconsin could have trouble with. The other being at Iowa.

I am pumped

Can't wait for Saturday! I just made my Gameday poster:

Pulling a Clemson: Getting Gameday in the Valley Twice in a year!

Iowa is going to get abused Saturday. Not sure what else to say. Except, when is the Purdue game?

Critical game for Washington as they travel to Tempe this weekend. Beat ASU, and they are still on track for a very strong season. Lose, and the Husky fanbase starts getting pretty ticked-off at the progress under Sark.

I would say the jury is still out on that one.

BYU travels to Houston this Saturday...and I get to watch the game on....ESPN NEWS? WTH?

Anyways, our sloppy losses to UVA and Utah hurt right now....

Ha! Love it.
Going to be a wild weekend for sure.

Our group has:

"I pulled a Clowney, but my friends carried me here"

#3 > #7

Hey Clowney if you can read this...OH Nevermind

No doubt, we should be 6-0!!

As if our secondary wasn't thin enough already, Rutgers just had a starting CB quit the team to pursue a baseball career.

Ugh.

Don't forget to bring your megaphones! I am making four of them tonight!

UCLA-Stanford should be a tough brawl of a game. The Furd will be angry at losing to Utah and will be playing at home, while UCLA will have revenge on their minds from losing twice to Stanford last year.

I think Stanford takes a close one because UCLA, despite being 5-0, has yet to truly put together the complete game they will need to beat a team as strong as the Furd.

Coastal Carolina has set a Big South record with their #4 ranking in the polls. Still undefeated after dismantling a surprising Gardner-Webb team 44-7 that was in the polls themselves a couple weeks ago, they take on one of their conference rivals, Liberty this week, on the road.

Liberty has certainly had CCU's number the past few seasons, and battled for the Big South conference title the last two years. Coastal is 1-4 at Liberty, so they don't play particularly well there.

What's the injury situation with UCLA? James still out? I know the LT is done for the season. Anyone else hurting and possibly out?

Mora's standard response to all injury inquiries is a hockey-esque "fine", as has been much joked about on BRO. So there isn't much yet coming out about James.

Word is that as of yesterday, James was still in a walking boot. I have to think he will not be playing on Saturday unfortunately.

The impact of losing James is tough to measure. He is clearly the best back because he is so versatile and by far the best blocking back on the team. But when it comes to actually running the ball, there is little drop off from him to Paul Perkins, and UCLA has a ton of depth at the position. Plus, they could also use firespark Damian Thigpen as well, a very athletic back who would give Stanford's D issues on swing passes and the like. Thigpen was actually Franklin's backup last year, not James.

It's losing White which could hurt. His replacement Bennenoch is a true FR and he is playing next to another true FR in Redmond. They are both tremendously talented, but we're talking true FR here on one side of the line, against an uber-experienced and talented front seven for the Furd. That is really rough going.

Outside of those spots, the Bruins are pretty healthy. Ellis McCarthy might not play, but his replacement Eddie Vanderdoes is almost certainly better than he is anyway. Cassius Marsh might still get suspended by the Pac 12 for his stupid punch Saturday night. No word yet.

But the D-line mostly holds the pocket in place, while the Bruins' awesome LB corps goes nuts, and those guys (Barr, Jack, etc.) are all very much healthy. That will be Stanford's challenge, to stop those guys.

Les Miles has a Columbus day message for you!

Looks like James Franklin has had a change of mind regarding taking cortisone shots. Last year, he cited personal religious reasons for not taking certain treatments that would have accelerated his healing. This year, he has decided to take all treatments offered to help heal up his shoulder sprain. Pinkel said he's likely out 2-3 weeks but expected to be back for the stretch run.

Looks like 6-0 may bend his religious faith a little more than 3-4 huh? :)

You going down this weekend? I can't wait!

Can't make it. Have some huge events at work that require my attention. But all the TV's will be tuned to the game.

I think Maty will be fine on Saturday. He's going to make a couple of mistakes, but Florida has a helluva time scoring on offense even if you give them a chance. Florida's defense may need to score two touchdowns to win this game on Saturday, which isn't out of the realm of possibilities.

Yeah you may have one of the worst jobs somebody could have for college football. Saturday has to be your busiest day.

So very much this.

Brady Hoke Is Both The Greatest And Most Frustrating Thing To Ever Happen To Michigan Fans

As an Ohio State fan, I continue to give the Brady Hoke hire my highest endorsement. Keep on being a "Michigan man" Brady, while the college football world whips by you. Keep fighting the good fight.

Always enjoy stuff from Paul Lukas and this is another great behind-the-scenes type read:

Uni Watch - Explosion of college football helmets - ESPN

Michigan-UCLA home-and-home 2022-2023. In other words, don't expect that to stick. :D

Why? Because it is so far in the future?

Basically. MSU and 'Bama had a series set up as well and then was cancelled this year due to 'Bama's future scheduling issues with all that is going on in the SEC. I'm just not willing to get too excited about something that is nearly a decade away. Hopefully it is a night game though since Michigan is really wanting to add more of those.

WTF??!?

Wow. I had no idea what was in store there.

That is the greatest thing I've ever seen.

Wait, I thought Daivd stopped work on Maximum-Football 3.0???!!?

haha 1:12 - 1:14 absolutely destroyed me.

Awesomeness.

Okay, that was two minutes of my life I am glad to dedicate to that video. Stupid hilariousness.

Why not? I thought there was a directive within the Big Ten and the Pac 12 to set these home-and-homes.

Interesting stuff with the Grambling football program. The players have refused to travel to their next game. The interim coach was fired. They're on a 17-game losing streak. The athletics budget is pretty much gone. But it's Grambling. Hard to imagine the FCS without Grambling.

What do you do when your players are convinced that a bus ride renders you non-competitive on the road, but your budget simply won't support a plane charter?

Louisville better not sleep on UCF.

The cancelling would probably be on Michigan's end if it does happen

Didn't look like they did... until Storm Johnson took over and UCF scored 3 TD's in 4 minutes here to tie it at 28 going into the 4th.

I'm hoping Louisville pulls it out, and Houston keeps winning so we can have 2 undefeated "BCS Conference" teams playing in mid-November in a completely irrelevant game. :D

You find players capable of grasping reality.

That video was incredible. Was it by the same group who did the Giants/Tigers thing last year for the World Series?

Yep.

Wow, Corso.

That might have been the greatest "Corso's Pick" in history. Bill Murray is awesome.

So the name Redskins is racist, but that Corso bit..........

Mizzou - Florida isn't even televised? How did ESPN screw this up?

Clearly the blame lies at the feet of DeLoss Dodds and the Longhorn Network.

I'll have to wait for it to go online.

:lol: DAMN YOU DODDS!

DAMN YOU TEXAS, WHY MUST YOUR JEALOUSY OF MISSOURI CONTINUE TO HARM PEOPLE?

It's on MSG in NY which means it's on some sort of network being distributed.

Did Oklahoma State steal Clemson's uniforms? That doesn't look like their normal color.

Florida/Mizz is on ESPN3, too.

Got it here on the local SEC Network affiliate (i.e. the package syndicated to local stations in various markets).

Vandys kicker is getting laid tonight

Anytime I talk myself into how good MSU could be they remind me how wrong I am. 7-0 at half against Purdue with the lone TD being from their defense.

Tennessee giving SC hell in Knoxville (17-7 late 1st half)
Georgia just got a pick six to go back in front of Vandy 17-14

And WTF, Georgia Tech leads Syracuse 21-0 middle Q2.

C'mon Vandy, step it up !

I don't know what to make of SC and Tenn as teams. Its like the rest of the SEC East is going, "No really, we want Missouri to go to the SEC title game."

ABG ... Anybody But Georgia :D

Somebody told Vandy they were, well, Vandy.

DAMMIT :(

Mizzou D just nearly decaffeinated the Florida QB. Thus ends Florida's longest drive of the day thus far: 22 yards.

What the hell on that Georgia player being ejected for targeting? Am I missing it, his head wasn't even touched? I mean, if it was, barely?

This Is The Worst Targeting Call Of The College Football Season

28-0 GT over Syracuse at the half.

'Cuse just 105 yards total offense (9 of that on the final two plays of the half)
GT 197 yards total: 197 rushing, 0 passing (0/2)

But hey, the ACC is better for them. Can't be denied!

3 SEC games this afternoon, each with a targeting penalty ejection (all on visiting players btw)

Florida lost a defender on the first play of the game at Mizzou, the Georgia one has been discussed on my wall aplenty already, and SC lost one in the opening drive in Knoxville.

The phrase "point of emphasis" comes to mind, almost as though the officials might have been told to be sure to find one to call.

Easy call. Targeting doesn't mean helmet to helmet, it means using any part of your body . When the QB is falling backwards all you see is forearm coming off the helmet.

He is a pretty good description of targeting being discussed to outrage over a penalty even being called

(Maybe folks like Marmel just meant that the rest of the ACC will have better records with Syracuse joining the conference. *shurg*)

With this explanation of the targeting rule (from a Mike Perriera column)

• No player shall target and initiate contact vs. opponent with the crown of his helmet.

• No player shall target and initiate contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent.

then the ejection in the Georgia game does appear to be correct by rule. It's the shoulder & forearm that get him, no helmet-to-helmet required.

Y'know, college football is a funny thing.

The same QB I spent hours screaming for a few weeks ago, is the one I screaming against today.

I doubt Connor Shaw really cares much either way, but I thought it was interesting to think about that.

Either you mean decapitated, or you're trying to say he got the coffee beans knocked out of him? ;)

Yes, I understand what targeting is and isn't. I don't see any hitting of the head or neck in that video. Am I just not looking closely enough? Are you guys telling me his head/neck is being hit?



Also, why does the ref pull out the flag before it even happens?

To me, it literally looks like he just ran into him and pushed him.

I think he was referring to the Florida QB's penchant for pre-game java.

Also, yeah.. That ref pulling the flag before the hit even happened? Little weird.. Although the defensive player clearly took another step and made a forceful hit on the QB well after the ball was thrown.

"Decaffeinated" 'sted "decapitated" is borrowed from a joke by a popular regional comedian named Milton Crabapple.

I actually worked with him at a radio station years back, got permission to steal whatever I wanted as long as I gave him 50% of whatever it earned me :)

You don't see the left shoulder pad impacting the facemask/side of the head?

Look at the players arms coming up. In full speed, it's easy to see where the arms are, which are coming off the helmet. I agree that it probably shouldnt be a penalty, but that's the way the rule is written

As for the flag, that's probably just the SEC for ya

Georgia Tech 42-0 with 10 mins left Q3. Drove & scored, 'Cuse turnover, GT scores again and COMPLETED A PASS !

If I'm Syracuse I'd seriously consider giving up football after this one.

Sigh. Tennessee has turned into Tennessee. :(

Yeah, I guess I just don't see that. I watched full speed and zoomed in and I don't see any hitting of the helmet. If there is any there, it is incidental grazing. Ridiculous call imo.

Ridiculous rules lead to ridiculous calls.

Can agree with that, for sure.

South Carolina in control now in Knoxville. Vols unable to stop Shaw in Q3, it's
21-17 poultry.

Vandy looks dead with the backup QB in due to injury. Georgia 27-14

Backup QB runs for 50 yd TD, Georgia Tech now 49-0 on Syracuse.

This was probably James Franklin's shot at the USC job

So um, is Georgia losing to Vandy 31-27?

DID VANDY JUST GET A TURNOVER?

Holy crap, I think UGA s going to lose to Vandy.

Vols get the signature win, FG as time expires. 23-21 over SC.

Go fucking crazy all over Tennessee, thank you 'Dores !

With Missouri playing this well Kansas is beginning to look like a shoe in for an at large BCS selection.

Nice job on the reverse double jinx, Jon. :)

And, props to Mizzou. Yeah, maybe they're pretty decent.

Had to pull out all the stops :)

Any of our amateur coaches have any clue WTF Spurrier was doing SC's last possession? Two timeouts on 4th down inside your OWN 30?

Just had this convo with my wife. My guess is that he had one specific look in mind that, if he got it, he'd have snapped the ball.

I get that for the first one. Even if that is the case, at least try to get the Vols to jump offisdes. The second time makes no sense at all to me.

I think Texas broke Oklahoma. They are down to Kansas 13-0 in the 2nd quarter.

Hundley looks terrible :(

Hey! Iowa is beating OSU, 17-10. Halftime.