CFB16 - W7 Rewind, W8 Preview - "When we play really good teams, the runs aren't going to be so easy."

If I told you that one team had 421 total yards of offense and their opponent had 171 yards, what would you predict as the outcome?  What if I also told you that one team dominated possession by nearly 10 mins more than the other.  Further, neither team had turnovers, so there was no material advantage there either.

I feel pretty confident you'd assume that the statistically dominant team won by, let's say, at least 10 points?  Maybe 17?  Well, you'd be WRONG!  Not when you're playing a scrappy D Mason led Vanderbilt team.  Or perhaps more accurately a Kirby Smart led Georgia team?  The Commodores upset the Bulldogs in Athens this weekend 17-16, notching Mason's first road SEC win of his career.  #AnchorDown

W7 Rewind:

Front and Center: Alabama, Ohio State, WVU, Vandy
Bringing up the Rear: Clemson, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Georgia

• Tennessee, riddled with injuries, ran into a crimson tide buzz saw as Alabama rolled to a 49-10 win.  Did you know that 7 of Alabama's 11 defensive starters have scored a TD?  Meanwhile, South Carolina has scored 9 TDs, total, all year.  Oh yeah, and then Saban had this quote after the game...are you not entertained?!: ""When we play really good teams, the runs aren't going to be so easy."
• Wisconsin had an unbelievable game plan against the Buckeyes, rushing for 236 yards, but just couldn't hold on as Ohio State won 30-23 in overtime.
• Was this the wake up call that Clemson needed?  In an unbelievable turn of events, NC State missed a 33 yard walk-off, game-winning field goal.  The Tigers then capitalized on their fortune and won 24-17 in overtime.
• Missouri's QB Drew Lock threw more pass TDs to Florida players than his own, Florida won 40-14.
• Louisville was a roughing the kicker penalty away from being in serious danger of their second loss, the Cardinals beat Duke 24-14.
• Nebraska beat the aforementioned secretly decent Indiana team 27-22.
• Didn't I say that Arkansas sneaks up to bite someone every year?  Well, this week the Rebels, Bears, Landsharks (can you please make up your mind as to what we should call you?!) fell victim to the Razorbacks, losing 34-30.
• Houston was clearly still hungover from that Navy loss as Tulsa fumbled away (literally) their chance at knocking off the Cougars.  Houston won 38-31.
• It is hard to know what to make of this Miami team, or really the entire ACC for that matter.  UNC won 20-13 despite not scoring in the second half.
• Speaking of the ACC, how does Virginia Tech go from destroying UNC to then losing to Syracuse?  Syracuse won 31-17.
• Who's buying this undefeated West Virginia team?  Well, we'll soon find out as their schedule is very back loaded.  WVU won 48-17 against Texas Tech.
• Speaking of undefeated, Boise State and Western Michigan both won to remain undefeated and retain hopes of a New Year's Day bowl birth.
• BYU rushed the field on Friday night after beating a 2-3 Mississippi St team, at home, and as a 7 point favorite.  #classy
• USC appears to have found their stride, beating Arizona 48-14.  Yes, it was Arizona, who may be the worst team in the Pac-12, but still, a win is a win.
• My how far you have fallen when the Stanford vs. Notre Dame game gets buried this far into the week's recap.  Notre Dame seems to have just lost any will to win, giving up a 10 point lead and losing 17-10.  Literally every point Stanford scored was on defense... (pick six, safety, fumble in end zone for six).

Game of the weekend:  Even though Bama trounced Tennessee, the best game of the weekend was the Ohio State vs. Wisconsin game.  This game had the feeling of a playoff atmosphere, with both teams trading blow after blow!

W8 Preview:

This week has some very interesting story lines and potential playoff implications, and we kick it all off on Thursday (all times central):

• Thursday, 6:00 pm
• Miami at Virginia Tech: Which team will rebound from a Week 7 loss?
• 9:15 pm
• BYU at #14 Boise State: Possibly the undefeated Broncos' hardest test to date against a very well balanced Cougars team.
• Friday, 9:30 pm
• Oregon at Cal:  Ok, I wouldn't necessarily recommend watching this.  Oregon is pretty bad.  But this may be the Ducks' last chance at a win.
• Saturday, 11:00 am
• NC State at #7 Louisville:  You saw how much trouble NC State gave Clemson last week, can they do the same against Louisville?
• #10 Wisconsin at Iowa:  A potential let down spot for the Badgers?
• 2:30 pm
• #6 TAMU at #1 Alabama:  Vegas is clearly riding the roll tide wave, as Alabama is a 18 point favorite against the Aggies this week.  Can dual threat QB Trevor Knight replicate his 2014 Sugar Bowl performance?
• TCU at #12 WVU:  Will we start to learn what the Mountaineers are truly made of this week?
• 5:00 pm
• #17 Arkansas at #21 Auburn:  No one really knows which team is going to show up in this game.  Is it the Auburn that beat LSU, or that lost to TAMU?  Is it the Arkansas that beat Ole Miss, or almost lost to Louisiana Tech (you almost forgot about that didn't you)?
• 7:00 pm
• #2 Ohio State at Penn State:  You think James Franklin expected to be a 20 point underdog at home his 3rd year in Happy Valley?
• #16 Oklahoma at Texas Tech:  The Sooners are still the best team in the Big 12, right?
• #23 Ole Miss at #25 LSU:  Coach O would like to erase many memories from his stint at Ole Miss, maybe this is part of the healing process?

If I were a betting man (YTD record 7-9): Miami +6.5, Syracuse +4.5, Arky +10, Ole Miss +6.5, TAMU +18

Your Domestic Duty Deadline (DDD) this week:  2:30 pm.

Vandy Update:
I've already sufficiently covered last week's remarkable win in Athens, or have I?  In case you missed it, Vanderbilt beat Georgia 17-16.  And through the transitive property, that means Georgia Tech will beat Georgia 38-6 on November 26th.  #EngineerMath

This week, Vandy hosts Tennessee State at home for homecoming.  Surely this will be a win, right?

Florida Update:
Last week Florida made a statement against Missouri, winning on every side of the ball.  But it was Missouri, how much can we really read into that?

This week Florida is on a BYE as they prepare for the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party next week against Georgia (who is also on a BYE).

“They'll score if they can just get into the endzone.”

DWhit

CFB16 - W6 Rewind, W7 Preview - Tenn luck runs out and the rain that never happened

In a week that started with controversy as early as Wednesday, football games were still played even in stadiums that actually got rain...

W6 Rewind:

Center stage + (pos):  TAMU, Washington, Va Tech, Bama, Michigan
Center stage - (neg):  LSU and Florida, Notre Dame (again), Stanford, MSU (both)

• I mean, could it really be possible to top the last 2 mins of the Tenn vs. Georgia game?  Well, did you watch the last 3 mins of the TAMU game?  Bounces finally did not fall the Volunteers way, fumbling six times and losing five, but somehow they managed to still take this game to double overtime.  TAMU won 45-38.
• Also, why can't these college players figure out how to hold on to the ball until AFTER they cross the goal line?!
• Does Arkansas have an offensive line? Bama's defensive line rushed Allen 12 times and sacked him six times in a pretty dominate 49-30 win.
• Ohio State held off a secretly decent Indiana and won 38-17.
• Rutgers had 39 yards of offense, in TOTAL.  Michigan won 78-0.
• Maybe Washington going undefeated wasn't such a crazy prediction.  Well, they're halfway there, while breaking a 12 game losing streak to Oregon in the process, winning 70-21.
• Unbelievable that the #6 team in the country losing to Navy would get buried this far in the highlights, but that's what Week 6 brought you.  Navy beat Houston 46-40, in all likelihood eliminating any possibility of a group of 5 team making the playoff.
• You think PATs are automatic?  Ask Miami fans.  After Miami dominated the first half, FSU turned it on in the second half, and won 20-19 after Miami scored the game tying touch down to quickly be followed by a blocked PAT.
• BYU beat Mich St 31-14.  My how far you've fallen, Spartans.
• Stanford just lost to both Washington teams.  Wait, what?  Will the Apple Cup be the difference in an undefeated season?  Wash St won 42-16.
• Jerod Evans passed for 75 yards and VT won 34-3 against UNC.
• Texas gave it a good ole' boy try, but just came up short, as the red river shootout lived up to it's name and Oklahoma won 45-40.
• Confusingly good Auburn or acceptingly bad MSST?  Auburn won 38-14.
• Vandy on track to another 3 win season.  Hey, that's almost as good as last year.  Kentucky won 20-13.
• Florida and LSU game gets suspended on a day that the weather in Gainesville was basically sunny, and yet Notre Dame and NC ST played in a literal monsoon.  NCST wins 10-3 where 6 offensive points were scored.
• Will Notre Dame go to a bowl game?  No, I'm serious.  Look at their remaining schedule, they need 4 wins out of this...:  Stanford (L), Miami (L), Navy (? they just beat houston), Army (W), Va Tech (?), USC (?).

Game of the weekend:  Navy beating Houston.  There were multiple games to choose from, but knocking out what was likely to be the only Group of 5 team who had a chance at the playoff takes the cake.

W7 Preview:

This week is somewhat light, with a couple heavy hitters that should keep us entertained (all times central):

• Friday, 6:00 pm
• Duke at #7 Louisville, where Duke is a 35 point underdog.
• 9:15 pm
• MSST at BYU: can BYU go 2-0 against MSUs?
• Saturday, 11:00 am
• NC ST at #3 Clemson: at least they won't be playing in a monsoon.
• 2:30 pm
• #10 Nebraska at secretly decent Indiana.
• UNC at #16 Miami where the battle for the Coastal continues.
• #1 Alabama at #9 Tennessee: the Vols can't afford to lay another 1st half egg against the Tide.
• 3:00 pm
• Missouri at #18 Florida, no hurricane in the forecast so I'm pretty sure they'll play this game.
• 6:00 pm
• #12 Ole Miss at #22 Arkansas: Arky isn't very good, but every year they sneak up and bite someone, could this be the week?
• 7:00 pm
• #2 Ohio State at #8 Wisconsin: arguably the best team the Buckeyes have played to date, and it's at Camp Randall which will most certainly be jumping around.

If I were a betting man (YTD record 4-8):  Tenn +13, Neb -3.5, Arky +7.5, Wisc +10

Your Domestic Duty Deadline (DDD) this week:  2:30 pm.  If history is any indication, you should basically just tune in around 5pm to catch the last 5 mins of the Bama vs. Tenn game and then carry on to the Ole Miss and Ohio State games.

Vandy Update:
In a game that most people figured would be the beginning of the end for the losing team's head coach, Vandy gives up 258 yds rushing to the Wildcats and lose 20-13.  I want to believe in you D Mason, but you're giving us zero reason to do so.  This week Vandy travels to Athens where the Bulldogs have finally figured out they have a star running back in Nick Chubb, and if Kentucky can put up 258 yds rushing...Vandy at Georgia (11am).

Florida Update:
Nothing to update here because, in case you hadn't heard, Florida didn't play a game last week.  This week, the Gators play the Tigers at home.  Missouri at Florida (3pm).

“Playing in this nice weather really makes me remember all the times I got stung by a bee.”

DWhit