Week 11 - Sunday Storylines

Miami meets a BUZZsaw, Big Game Lane Kiffin and a blowout in Baton Rouge.

Instant Replay

What did we just watch?

Miami meets a BUZZsaw - The excerpt below is from last week’s Sunday Storylines. My point still stands.

Every 2024 Miami Hurricanes football game feels like watching a drunk guy at a bonfire begging people to dare him to jump over the fire after drinking a fifth of Jack Daniels.

Every few games, the Hurricanes look like the drunk guy destined to fall in the fire and get burned. Correction, at least twice a game they look like that drunk guy.

After nine straight wins and three second-half, double-digit comebacks, fourth-ranked Miami met a buzzsaw in Atlanta, falling to Georgia Tech 28-23. A major kudos goes to Brent Key and his team full of ass-kickers. Bumped and bruised and with what felt like a million guys out, it would’ve been easy for Georgia Tech to roll over, but those fellas put on a helluva performance.

Press F to pay respect to Georgia Tech for approaching this game like a hostage scene in a Hollywood film. That Georgia Tech offense used tire irons, pliers, a wrench, a two-quarterback system and 48 rushes for 271 yards to bleed the Hurricanes out and extract the answer it was looking for.

Miami’s Heisman-hopeful quarterback Cam Ward was predictably good, finishing with almost 350 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He was, however, sacked three times and fumbled the ball on the final Hurricanes’ possession of the game.

The road ahead just got a lot tougher for Miami. Now with one conference loss, the Hurricanes no longer sit atop the conference and will surely need to win out to reach the ACC title game and keep hopes of a College Football Playoff berth alive.

Big Game Lane Kiffin - For a long time, I’ve stuck to the company line that Lane Kiffin-led teams do not win big games. Today is the day that line dies.

No. 16 Ole Miss thoroughly controlled every aspect of the game against No. 3 Georgia, knocking off the Bulldogs 28-10. Kiffin teams are known for offense, but tonight, it was all about that swarming Rebels defense.

Ole Miss made things uncomfortable for Georgia quarterback Carson Beck all night. Beck was sacked five times and averaged just six yards per completion. That is simply not good enough for a team or game of this stature.

If you were wondering how sections of the UGA fanbase feel about Beck, someone on social media said they weren’t even sure Beck was car dealership material. Ouch!

Beck has looked off all year. I’m not sure what his issue is. He went from being a potential number-one pick to dropping to the third or fourth round. He’s been so bad I wouldn’t blame Georgia if they considered benching him. What a fall from grace.

This is a monster win for Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin in particular. He gets the big game moniker off his back and the Rebels stay alive for the College Football Playoff hunt.

Blowout in the bayou - Alabama made a statement Saturday night.

In a driving rainstorm and with the backdrop of what felt like a bazillion angry, screaming LSU fans, Alabama ran roughshod on the Tigers, trouncing them 42-13 in an SEC title and College Football Playoff elimination game.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe dazzled with his legs, racking up 185 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. On the other side of the field, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and company did not live up to the billing. A few critical turnovers killed any momentum the Tigers might’ve had.

This is the type of loss that makes you reevaluate everything. I imagine a certain cluster of the fanbase have turned on head coach Brian Kelly and its hard to blame them. Let’s watch this space moving forward.

Ten-Windiana - Survive and advance is the name of the game this time of year, style points be damned. Despite a somewhat sluggish offensive day, No. 8 Indiana grinded out a 20-15 win against a stout Michigan team, even after a strong second-half push from the Wolverines.

Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke was immense again, finishing with a little over 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His poise and leadership are impressive, and it’s clear that he’s the engine that makes this team go.

Unlike many Hoosier wins this year, it was the defense, not the offense, that carried this team down the stretch. We know Michigan has a suspect offense, but holding the Wolverines to just 69 rushing yards is some really good work.

For the first time ever, Indiana has hit the 10-win threshold. Truly special stuff we are watching. I can’t wait to see the Hoosiers take on Ohio State in a few weeks.

Colorado cruises - It’s hard to understate just how improved No. 20 Colorado looks in Year 2 of the Deion Sanders experiment.

Last season, the Buffaloes boasted one of the worst defenses in all of Division I. This year, that units ranks somewhere in the 40s. Impressive stuff.

Tonight, the Buffaloes staved off a a loss in a tricky trap game situation against Texas Tech with a 41-27 victory. Quarterback Sheduer Sanders was great once again, but so too, was the defense.

CU’s defense had seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss against a pretty decent Texas Tech offense. That’s a helluva showing on the road.

With the win, the Buffaloes move squarely into second place in the Big 12 and have their eyes set on a Big 12 title game berth.

Cyclones stutter - A week after having its undefeated season upended by Texas Tech, No. 17 Iowa State faltered once again in a 45-36 loss to Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium.

It’s hard to understate just how bad of a loss this is for Iowa State. Two Big 12 losses likely eliminate a guaranteed spot in the Big 12 title game and all but dashes any hopes of a College Football Playoff berth.

I was particularly taken aback at how bad the Cyclones’ defense looked against a struggling KU team. Strange scenes.

OK Cool, Hook ‘em - I don’t have a ton to say about the Longhorns’ 49-17 pummeling of Florida, other than this is a truly hilarious graphic.

Country Roads - Scott Satterfield, have some shame.

You finally got your team within striking distance of a bowl game. You have a home game against a beaten-up West Virginia team led by a backup quarterback. And you lay an absolute egg in a 31-24 loss. Woof.

Give credit where credit is due, that’s a gutsy win for the Mountaineers. Neal Brown’s boys play hard for him and that was on full display today.

Ashton Jeanty Heisman Watch - No. 12 Boise State outlasted Nevada 28-21 to move to 8-1 overall.

And Ashton Jeanty had a monster stat line to help them get over the line. The Heisman hopeful finished with a 34-carry, 209-yards and three touchdown stat line. With tonight’s showing, he’s officially surpassed 1,500 yards and also has 20 touchdowns to his name.

With Miami’s loss today, I think Jeanty has moved back into pole position as the Heisman frontrunner for me.

Troops keep truckin’ - Army quarterback Bryson Daily returned this week from injury and powered the Black Knights to a 14-3 victory over a tricky North Texas team.

Army handled business in traditional fashion, eating up nearly 42 minutes in time of possession with 293 rushing yards to boot.

The troops still have an outside shot at the College Football Playoff and that’s pretty cool.

America’s Team - Texas State picked up a crucial 38-17 victory over UL-Monroe Saturday night to move to 5-4. On the flip side, the Warhawks feel stuck at 5-4 and run the risk of missing out on a bowl game.

I love watching Texas State, so selfishly, I hope it can use this win as a springboard to finish the season strong.

Ragin Cajuns - Make no bones about it, Louisiana is legit.

The Ragin Cajuns absolutely rolled Arkansas State 55-19 to go to move to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the Sun Belt.

This has been a fun revival to see after a post-Billy Napier world at Louisiana. We love a good bounce back story.

Gamecocks are good? - It feels a bit strange to say, but South Carolina is legitimately a few small breaks away from being one of the best teams in the SEC. If you reverse those endings against Alabama and LSU, we’re talking about an eight-win Gamecocks team. Wild.

Today, South Carolina took care of business against an upstart Vanderbilt team to clear the six-win threshold. Good win. Both of these teams are fun.

Hawkeye heartburn - Amidst the backdrop of a sleepy Friday night slate, Iowa traveled a few timezones and lost a weird 20-17 game at UCLA. I did not have this result on my weekly Bingo card.

Shoutout to UCLA, perhaps this team is a little better than we once thought. Back-to-back wins against Nebraska and Iowa is not nothing.

For Iowa, man, this loss stinks. I don’t care how good or not good you think UCLA is. Iowa stud running back Kaleb Johnson was held to under 50 yards. Just not good enough from the offensive line or the unit as a whole.

Midweek MAC round-up - Both Bowling Green and Miami Ohio secured important victories midweek to move to 4-1 in the conference. Ohio won big on Wednesday to also move to 4-1.

Looking at the standings, there’s a logjam atop the conference. This is just a shot in the dark, but I like the idea of a Miami-Ohio versus Ohio championship game. Let’s see if it happens.

Hail Mary heroics - The people of Ruston, Louisiana, were treated to a special sight on Saturday evening.

Up six with just seconds to go, the hometown La Tech Bulldogs gave up a 55-ish yard Haily Mary at the buzzer from Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks later lined up to kick the PAT and, well, the young man missed it.

In overtime, it was the Jacksonville State who came good for the 44-37 victory.

What a bad/weird way to lose if you’re Sonny Cumbie.

The Brent Musburger Gambling Guide

Let’s review my locks of the week.

+1 units on the season

-6.5 Iowa vs. UCLA - -1 units

Arkansas State vs. -14 Louisiana - +1 units

What I’m Reading This Season

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2201 Kimball Ave | Cameron Morgan - 2201 Kimball Ave is essential reading for all followers of Kansas State football. As a lifelong K-State fan and former player, Cameron brings a unique and thoughtful approach to the analysis of the Wildcats' football team. His newsletters are rational and insightful and I genuinely learn something new with every newsletter.

Split Zone Duo | Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson and Steven Godfrey - SZD is essential reading and following for CFB ball knowers. Godfrey, Richard and Alex are the Holy Trinity for college football analysis and insight. Each member brings a unique flavor to the conversation, which makes for insightful and downright hilarious banter about the sport we all love. If I had someone ask me where to start for smarter college football coverage, this SZD is where I'd send them.