Week 6 Observations and overreactions

Wow... what a day of action.  A true season changer

No surprises in the weeknight games as the favorites all held serve.  Cincinnati had no letdown and made Temple quit

Saturday started off with a pair of bangers, Arkansas vs Ole Miss should have been the Hangover Bowl after each team came off losses to Georgia and Bama but they showed no ill effects as the might still be scoring.  They went back and forth for the entire 60 minutes, no team had a bigger lead than 10 and then Arkansas decided to go for 2 after a TD with no time remaining, it failed

The Red River Shootout (yes, it's the Shootout and always will be) also started with a bang as Texas bitch slapped the Sooners on offense, defense and special teams as they put up a series record 28 in the first quarter.  Spencer Rattled aka QB1 (now QBdone) was pulled after another subpar showing with 2 turnovers that led directly to 14 Horns points.  True Freshmen QB Caleb Williams (who didn't even play football last year in his senior year of HS) came in and dazzled with his arm and legs.   The reaction of the Sooners bench was evident that this is what they wanted.  He led them all the way back along with some help from Texas forgetting to be aggressive in the 3rd and half of the 4th.  Bijan Robinson was great, Texas QB Casey Thompson was great.  What a game....

AND THEN the bad beat happened.   Personally I had Texas all week, then didn't play them.  And was pissed about it from the first play... UNTIL the last play.  If you're holding Texas +3 or +3.5 you're sitting back and thinking worst case is an OT loss but more likely a walk off FG for a push or win by the hook.  And then Kennedy Brooks said 'sorry' and took it to the house.  Unreal.  I felt bad for anyone who had them, that was a gut wrenching kick to the balls.

Florida covered -39 after 3 quarters against Vandy

Ohio State shaping up on defense, Stroud looked good

Sparty dominated again, barely anyone notices and they like it that way

Bowling Green will not run the table ATS this year

Wake survived a comeback and OT to stay on top of the ACC.  If you didn't know, that's considered a major conference!

5 Star NIL QB Graham Mertz was 10-19 for 100 yards and a pick, but Wisconsin ran all over former HC Bielema

UMass beat UConn in the Toilet Bowl for their first win in 2 years, both fans stormed the field 

So you remember all the points scored in the noon games?   Good, because they wouldn't be seen in the afternoon slot

BYU was up 10-0, but couldn't handle Mother Nature as they lost their first fumble of the season, then their 2nd and then their 3rd as Boise found a running game and knocked the Cougs from the unbeatens.  

Georgia made Bo Nix look human after his performance last week, honestly no idea why he was still in the game late in the 4th with the outcome already in hand

Penn State and Iowa played some sort of football after Sean Clifford was injured.  Seems the backup QB had zero practice snaps and Iowa fought their way back.   End of game clock management by the Hawkeyes was...  I don't know what it was.  They lined up in victory formation with over 2 minutes left, guaranteeing that they would have to punt with a 3 point lead.  Somewhere Jim Harbaugh was watching and thinking 'yeah, that's just how I did it!'.  So they punted... and Iowa got another full possession, went 4 and out and Iowa again assumed victory formation.  Twice in one game.  It only counts for 1 win though.  I'm sure they did it in full confidence that Penn State could not muster a completion and perhaps running the ball could have resulted in a fumble, but it's just fucking weird.

More end of game clock weirdness in the Wyoming/Air Force game... AFA up 10 gets ball back on downs near midfield and also starts taking knees, but Wyoming had 2 timeouts and used them after 1st/2nd down.  They then exchange 5 yard penalties and eventually on 4th down AFA takes another knee, giving Wyoming the ball back with time left on the clock.  I only really cared because my -5 was still in play, but again... very odd.

Parallel weirdness... Notre Dame and Michigan both won 32-29 with FGs in the final minute.   Is Scott Frost and Nebraska getting closer?  Getting unlucky?  Or are they still bad?  I don't know.   Cincinnati is happy ND got that W

Just when it's time to start really talking about Kentucky, they have a trip to Georgia to make

Utah smashed SC in the Coliseum

So just when the day was already epic...   the preseason top 5 Texas A&M Aggies finally decided to join the 2021 season!  

If you just looked at the stats, you'd figure Bama won by a few scores...  yardage 522 to 379.  TOP 34 to 26 but somehow, some way the Aggies only trailed for 1:16 out of the first 55 minutes of play.  They had answers for everything, even when Bama went up 38-31 with 5 minutes left...  when was the last time someone outscored Bama 10-0 to end the game with a comeback victory?  Zach Calzada made gutsy plays, kept getting up even when he got his knee rolled on a TD pass, then still scrambled for a key first down on the winning FG drive.   

What an amazing day

Some other notes I missed:

Rattler benched for 2nd time against biggest rival...  he wasn't shown on camera celebrating Williams 4th down TD run

UCLA had 3 passing yards in the first half, a PAC12 record

New Mexico's HC quote during the week "We're not good enough on defense to be so bad on offense"

Is Oklahoma being protected by the Big12 replay officials?  Last weeks illegal double review and now this week they missed the blatant WR stepping out of bounds and only review the obvious catch.  

So my take from my little spot in the world. 

First, what happened to tackling in football? Flipping back and forth between Texas/OU and Ark/Ole Miss, I didn't see any. Is it the coaching? Softness? Or people are scared of hitting because of the targeting? 

As I sat and watched the Bama/AM game, I thought how eerily similar that I have seen this before. What do I mean by that? Well, for years, Georgia would always lose a game in the East and people would state "we still own our destiny as long as we beat Bama in the SEC Championship". Now, the tide is totally reversed. Bama stating this morning that they still own their own destiny and just beat Georgia in the SEC Champ. I will say, that never came to fruition for Georgia. But the last time Bama lost to A&M, they ran the table and won the Natty. Not happening this year. Georgia, why do you need JT again? What I saw from Bennett IV, was better than what I thought JT could have done. Bennett threw for what 270 yards, and the plus he is mobile and JT (Charm tissue) cannot. I commend Pittman for going for 2, but that play call was atrocious. Has Tennessee turned into an offensive juggernaut? Would the real Gators please stand up. Funniest thing of the day for me...I turn on College Game Day and the entire crowd begins chanting SEC, SEC, SEC...can't beat them, join them. 

Iowa will be ranked second, but not so fast my friend. They caught a break with Clifford going down. Personally, don't think the outcome would have been the same had he remained in the game. If I was a Big 10 guy, my money would still be on tOSU to win the conference and make the playoffs. Speaking of playoffs, so far to go, but my top 4 after the weekend (and it is how I see it ending, not what it is now) Georgia, tOSU, Cinncinnati and Iowa (fluid situation). 

BW, see you have found your sea legs. 

Overreaction time for Sooner fans...  who is the QB going forward?   If it is Williams, what does Rattler do?  He's obviously not NFL ready, and if Lincoln Riley turned Jalen Hurts into a passer and Rattler is still struggling, what does that say about Rattler?   Or will the blame go the offensive line...  which is the same OLine that Williams played behind.  So that's not gonna fly.   Defense still sucks too so it's not like they are going anywhere past the Big12 title if that.  Players and fans both want Williams... but we know how that goes too.   I think it goes to a 'hot hand' situation.  TCU, Kansas, Texas Tech coming up before they finish with Baylor, Iowa St and Bedlam

New Mexico's HC quote during the week "We're not good enough on defense to be so bad on offense"

Made me think of Coach John McKay, the quote machine.  

Why do teams with great running attacks go away from it?

Thinking Texas (run the clock and get first downs) and Oregon state (incomplete on first down and now you don't run.... 4_down football = WSU would never stop OSU. Need penalty or fumble)

U forgot Nebraska and same ole Scott Frost...Lose by a 1 possession game, which is a win for Nebraska fans in their minds and Same ole Adrian Martinez..choking when it matters the most and the team needs him.

Why is Spencer Rattler so difficult to look at? i understand he is a poor QB, but his face and weird skin actually give people a physical vomitus-reaction. I know he is ugly with weird DNA, but just wondering why he engenders physical sickness in most women and even men?

If Bama stomped a&m

like a lot of us thought they would I would of hit a 10 teamed for 7k 

Overreaction #1:

Sark is definitely not gonna bring Texas outta this “funk” they’ve been in since Mack Brown left. We all knew Homa was coming back but great coaches, they don’t let that happen. They keep their team in it. Maybe Sark develops that mentality. But until he does, he’s not the dude. 

Overreaction #2:

Jimbo Fischer saved his job. Like, really. How is this not being talked about at all?? Are Texas teams so used to mediocrity that they can skate through on winning seasons and random big wins?? What exactly has he done since landing there?? Win some games and….. we’re waiting

overreaction #3:

Georgia is by far the best team in the country. Idk if I’d say “by far” really.  However, that defense makes those box scores all sorts of sexy looking.  Be interesting to see what happens when they play a team with an offense. Which probably won’t happen until they meet Bama in that conference championship. (Sorry Gator fans. But an offense consists of two aspects. Running AND PASSING) 

overreaction #4:

Whats the purpose of the PAC12 again? That’s all I’ve got for them. Does anyone not on that coast even watch that shitt?? 

@BWS77

 Love reading your observations every Monday. 

Thanks 

Any news on these QB situations: AZ,New Mexico ,Akron

I'll give you that it was a bad call on the OU receiver going out of bounds. But there are many not so obvious calls throughout a game that are missed or not called. There was a blatant hold on OU db Bowman on Texas first TD that wasn't called. There were several Texas OL holds that weren't called. But not as bad as I saw at Kansas St the week before. It happens. They usually even out throughout a game. I think Texas needs to be more worried about their defense blowing a 21 point lead than they do a couple missed calls. OU doesn't get off the hook either. The defense has been a huge disappointment compared to the hype they were given before the season. I think Grinch is one of the most overrated DC's in the country. The poor player tackling and the slow defensive adjustments are on him. 

Think we should fade ole miss until kiffin stops giving possessions away inside his own 35.?…

Not sure about ARZ or Akron, but watched that New Mexico QB and he was not good.  Very basic offense.  Brookshire for SDSU was also pretty bad honestly, dude has an hour long windup and misses everything long.  I would not be comfortable betting them against a better team in conference. 

Just bet the Over...  Tennessee this weekend, they can't tackle.  Probably take an Alternate number at +$ also before kickoff...  87 or something should be like +150

ya know, I was thinking the same thing.  But there’s always something about a team scoring that many points when they’re supposed to AND coming off two weeks when they rained points down like KOBE in Toronto. 
It probably goes over and there’s no way I’d have the balls to bet the under. But I will probably watch for it to drop 10-14 points live and take it 

I do think the Vols keep it within the number too. Two tough games for Ole miss b2b. Letdown city coming 

Oh no doubt, I saw many not get called... but I'm talking strictly about reviews.  They said on the telecast specifically last week during the 2nd onside kick review that all parts of the play are supposed to be reviewed.  So on that play last week, they were supposed to watch the kickers foot and then see if the ball traveled 10 yards and other things like make sure both teams had 11 on the field.  They failed to do the job on the first one which was called on the field as a review of the spot, then Riley whined about the double-tap and they looked again (illegally).   This week, you would think having known that, they would have said 'hey, we need to check out everything from where the ball was thrown to the number of men on field to the WR being close to the sideline to the catch to the spot'..  but alas, Oklahoma catches another break on something that could have been controlled through multiple pairs of eyes and not a regular, real time play.

Going back to the well one more time. Georgia has cost me and hoping it is time for a return. Taking Kentucky plus the 22.5 points. I think it is the best offense they have faced so far plus the Kentucky's D is solid. 3 TD's? Thank you, but I also thought the same thing vs Arkansas. 

Hmmm...also just read that this is the first time since October 2014 that the top 4 has not included Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State. 

we have Tuesday Fun Belt action this week!

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/sec-shorts-hilariously-parodies-alabama-taking-an-ambulance-ride-after-loss-at-texas-am/

Does anyone outside of the South watch these videos? Pretty good each week. 

Uh, puck drops tomorrow night