Week 7 - Sunday Storylines

Hoosier Daddy, Roll Tide roll and Penn State collapses AGAIN.

Instant Replay

What did we just watch?

Hoosier Daddy - Amazing things can happen with the power of belief.

Curt Cignetti deserves a ton of credit for instilling an incredible amount of belief he’s instilled in this Indiana team. Behind a bucket load of belief and some big bollocks, the Hoosiers stormed Autzen Stadium and knocked off No. 3 Oregon 30-20, notching a statement win for their head coach in the process.

For the first time all year, Oregon looked mortal. The Indiana defense did a great job of getting after Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. The Hoosiers limited the Ducks to just 81 yards on 30 carries. And Fernando Mendoza looked every bit the part of arguably the best quarterback in the country.

They came, they saw, they conquered. I was flat-out wrong. It’s time to talk to your kids about 12-0, Indiana. Hoosier Daddy.

Roll Tide roll - Make no bones about it, Alabama is a Kalen DeBoer team now.

This version of Alabama is rollin’ the dice on fourth downs, converting on fourth-and-goal on the road, and is knocking off dynamite SEC contenders left and right. On Saturday, the Crimson Tide came up clutch down the stretch to knock off 14th-ranked Missouri 27-24.

Alabama QB Ty Simpson is a capital-D DUDE. He made big throw after big throw and looked every bit the part of the best quarterback in the Southeastern Conference.

The Crimson Tide’s defense deserves a good amount of credit for limiting Ahmad Hardy, too. Hardy, arguably the best back in college football, was held to just 52 yards on 12 carries.

I think Missouri’s d-line is pretty dang good and that the Tigers are a good football team. But Alabama is at a different level, and the Crimson Tide deserve a ton of credit for going on the road and notching a win.

Side note: One of these days, our Big Burly Boy Kadyn Proctor is going to score a touchdown, and we will all levitate.

Red River Rivalry - Saturday’s Red River Rivalry didn’t have the explosive fireworks we have grown accustomed to. Instead, it was a defensive slugfest, with Texas coming out on top 23-6.

Arch Manning was fine, but didn’t exactly throw the ball far down the field. John Mateer, just a few weeks after surgery, had a bad game, completing less than 50% of his passes and tossing three picks. And neither team looked like it had a whole lot of fun in this one.

The difference in this game was a nutty 75-yard Texas punt return for a touchdown and a wildly successful defensive showing from the Longhorns.

Catastrophe strikes - At noon, 24th-ranked FSU lost for the third week in a row, losing to a bizarro Pittsburgh team with a backup quarterback who is now the starter. The Seminoles gave up 13 fourth-quarter points and lost 34-31.

More will be written about head coach Mike Norvell in the coming weeks, but I think it’s fair to question the direction of this program. The shine from that Alabama game is long gone, and the ‘Noles are officially streaking in the wrong direction.

A hilarious factoid from ESPN’s David Hale: Since September 22, 2024, 46 different schools have more wins vs. the ACC than Florida State does.

Speaking of streaking…

Penn State lost its third-straight game in a row, this time a 22-21 stinker, to, of all teams, Northwestern. Something something bad to worse.

In the process of the loss, QB Drew Allar got hurt, and according to James Franklin, he is lost for the season. WOOF.

There’s just no way Franklin survives this stunning collapse. How we get there, I do not know. I just know we’ll get there, one way or another.

O-H-I-O - I don’t feel the need to be overly elegant about this…Ohio State’s defense is kicking major ass, and if they keep this up, they’re going to be a repeat national champion.

The Buckeyes squashed Illinois 34-16, and the game never really felt within reach for the Fighting Illini.

Ohio State will, in all likelihood, skate through the rest of the regular season. They look every bit a juggernaut right now.

Quick Hits

• North Texas and USF combined for 99 points on Friday night…and yeah, this game ruled. USF is hanging around in the American Conference title race. Hell yeah, Go Bulls!

• Bowling Green knocked off MAC favorite Toledo on Saturday. The Fighting

  Griffin Olah
  ’s are looking mighty frisky! Big ups to Eddie George for working magic on this BGSU team.

• UNLV-Air Force played one of the more batshit games of the weekend…with UNLV narrowly escaping with a victory. I’m just glad the Runnin’ Rebels remain undefeated before I get to watch them live against Boise State next week.

• Texas A&M and Texas Tech picked up strong wins against Florida and Kansas on Saturday. Both teams look like legitimate title challengers, which is awesome to see as a neutral.

• Nebraska pulled a rabbit out of a hat to knock off Maryland on the road. I dislike the Huskers, but credit where credit is due, this team seems to have fixed some of the late-game woes. With a very doable schedule moving forward, it wouldn’t shock me to see them win nine or 10 games and make a run at the College Football Playoff. Sigh.

• Wisconsin got absolutely SMASHED by Iowa tonight. Goodbye, Luke Fickell. The end is near, my friend.

The Brent Musburger Gambling Guide

My official locks of the week. (Lines are locked in at the time of writing)

+2.5 Oklahoma vs. Texas: -1 unit

UAB vs. Florida Atlantic UNDER 69: -1 unit

-6.5 San Diego State vs. Nevada: +1 unit