2019-09-26 14:47

This weekend did feature one of the craziest games in college football.

Washington State was 18 point favorite and did lose by 4 points.
So far not so crazy beside the fact that UCLA did suck so far in the past weeks and did visit the unbeaten Cougars on the road.
No the crazy thing was WSU did lead 35-18 at the half, 49-17 at some point in the 3td quarter, then did let UCLA closing the gap to 49-46.
Went behind at UCLA leading 60-56, got the lead back with 63-60 and lost 67-63.
This game did feature almost everything you can have in football.

For me not THE craziest game, but for sure crazy.

So, let's have a look at the BLOCK OF GRANITE GAMES FOR WEEK 4

Sat. Sep. 21
#7 Notre Dame @ #3 Georgia
This went almost as expected, with 1 slightly difference, I did expect the Irish QB to run more.
But he was held to 18 yard with 3 carries, so he needed to do it by his passing arm (the whole rushing game of the Irish was in a deep hole with 46 yards in total) and this was not enough.
Georgia did play good, Notre Dame did their best, but at the end the Bulldogs were able to keep the lead and defend the comeback tries of their guests.
For Georgia this means they are at least for now the favorite to win the SEC East and easily under the TOP 3 teams, including 1 1st place vote.
For Notre Dame it means they did fall to 10th place and will have to play perfect for the remaining season to have at least an outsider chance for a playoff spot, under normal circumstances.
They still have some ranked teams on their schedule, but most of them did struggle already and might even fall deeper, until the Irish get a chance to play them.
So much for the reputation.
I do predict now that the Irish need outside help to get back into the playoff picture.
#7 Notre Dame 17 @ #3 Georgia 23 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 5-7

#8 Auburn @ #17 Texas A&M
Auburn as guest did start fast and the Aggies were as it seems astonished until the 4th quarter, trailing at that point 3-21.
That is a bad starting point to get a comback going, but they did try it anyway, scored a TD, did give Auburn the chance to score also (which they did), got a Filed Goal and forced a fumble.
The next Aggies touchdown did shrink the Tigers lead to 8 points (20-28 was the score at that time) and about 2 minutes left to play.
The onside-kick-try failed and Auburn was able to play down the clock.
How Fisher was able to have his players play so bad that they not only were unable to score, but also to let Auburn score 3 TDs in 3 quarters is beyond my understanding.
Auburn did get a the title 'contender' right behind LSU and Alabama, while A&M might become eventually 'annoing team', if they are able to score more often or to prevent scoring regularly.
#8 Auburn 28 @ #17 Texas A&M 20 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 5-8

#11 Michigan @ #13 Wisconsin
Right now, Michigan is toast.
This was the supposed to be big year for the Wolverines with Urban Meyer finally gone (which is also some kind of a pitty excuse, 'we were unable to win, since Meyer did coach Ohio State') and OSU under new management, a HC-rookie.
Now we have an OSU team which is on top of their game and seems to miss nothing, while the Wolverines do miss almost everything, including a defense.
The Badgers did run at will against the Michigan defense and did lead 28-0 at the half.
As Wolverine-fan I would have taken my 'for sale'-sign and put it right into the front-lawn of Coach Harbaughs house.
Together with 100.000 other fans I would hope. A forest of 'for sale'-signs.
This program might recover this season against some other teams and might even get a bowl spot (likeley they will get even more wins), but they can cancel all hopes to win the BIG10. My opinion, not the facts.
The facts are, they need to win the remaining BIG10 games and they actually can get into the Championship game.
I just doubt they will manage to do that.
Just to have the game complete, Michigan was able to score 14 points in the 2nd half and did allow only 7 more for Wisconsin, but what's that worth if you lost 28-0 in the 1st half?
Wisconsin is the favorite to win their division right now and might even have a good chance to win the BIG10.
#11 Michigan 14 @ #13 Wisconsin 35 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 6-8

Other interesting games:

Fri. Sep. 20
#10 Utah @ USC
Utah did play good, but USC did prevail with good defense late in the 4th and enough offense to keep Utah in check.
The final score was 30-23 and the PAC12-South is again open.
A small rumor is that USC might hire Urban Meyer, but so far nothing did happen.
Jacks interesting games Score: 9-4

Sat. Sep. 21
Oklahoma State @ #12 Texas
Early in the 4th did Texas lead 36-23 and from that point on they were able to play a good remaining game and securing the win at 36-30.
OSU was too error-prone and commited too many turnovers to really get Texas into trouble.
By that is OSU behind Texas in the BIG12 contention, but both teams still have to play Oklahoma, which will be the real test.
Remember, the BIG12 does send #1 and #2 to the BIG12 Championship game and I guess at least #2 will be open for a very long time.
Jacks interesting games Score: 10-4

#16 Oregon @ Stanford
Stanford did score 6 points in the whole game.
The only thing which they can be OK with is, they held Oregon to 21 points, but what's that worth when losing 21-6?
Right now is Oregon the best bet to get any PAC12 team into the playoffs, but only on a very slim chance.
OK, they (the PAC12) might be fine with that, but honestly, right now is the PAC12 not going into the right direction regarding strength.
Jacks interesting games Score: 11-4

Other interesting results:
Tulane won again Houston 38-31 and right now there are some headlines at Houston, because 2 senior players did redshirt themselves, so they can play next season their senior year as redshirt-senior. Some say tanking, some say other things, not much makes really sense, and we never get the real reason. I guess.
Pitt won against UCF 35-34 and ends that way a 27 regular-season-unbeaten-streak of UCF. I'm currious to see who Pitt will play against the ACC rivals.
SMU did win against TCU 41-38. TCU was ranked at #25 at that point, now of cause no longer. Looks like SMU might get back to old strength.
Louisiana Lafayette won against Ohio 45-25.
Troy won against Akron 35-7, so not a good week for MAC teams against Sun Belt teams.
Buffalo won against Temple 38-22. Yes, that BUffalo team which lost against Liberty last week and that Temple team which won against ranked Maryland before that. Also a bit crazy, Temple was favored by 14.0 points.
Tulsa won against Wyoming 24-21. Not really a good team inside the American did Tulsa make a statement here against a Wyoming team which was at least consider on contention inside the MWC.
Appalachian State did win against North Carolina 34-31. UNC did lose now 2 in a row against not so good teams, but won 2 against good teams. Hmmm.
New Mexico did win the 2nd time in a row the Rio Grande Rivalry against New Mexico State, this time 55-52. Lots of points, which almost nobody did see.
Colorado did win on the road against Arizona State 34-31, which did make the PAC12-South open again.
San Jose State won against Arkansas 31-24. For me the UPSET OF THE WEEK. Sure Arkansas did suck so far, but San Jose State, played at home? Come on!

So let's move on to the upcoming weekend when some really important games do come up.

I selected this 3 games as the BLOCK OF GRANITE GAMES FOR WEEK 5

Sat. Sep. 28

#18 Virginia @ #10 Notre Dame
The unbeaten Cavaliers do play the Irish in South Bend.
Notre Dame is 2-1 and the 2 wins were not that impressive, the loss was clear, but against a good team (Georgia).
Virginia on the other hand did win all 4 games so far with 2 games quite impressive (Florida State and Pitt).
Anyway, the Irish are 12.5 point favorites, which is a lot.
For Virginia there is a lot to gain here, a win would put them basically on the map (at least for a short period) regarding playoff considerations, a loss would mean nothing inside their division and would keep them at least in the race regarding playoffs, if they would win later the ACC.
That's a high aim they might have.
For the Irish, this game is do or your are done.
They can of cause still make it to a bigger bowl, but a loss at home against Virginia would put them out of the playoffs for good.
I think their chances are already slim, last season their needed a perfect run to get the 4th spot, but with 2 losses, they are toast.
This game is easy and tricky in the same way.
Easy, because I think Notre Dame will play extra tough at home after a loss.
Tricky, because Virginia is not that easy to beat as you might think and they did win against Pitt on the road.
Overall I do trust Notre Dame to win here a bit more than Virginia, but an upset would not really surprise me.
Fighting Irish win.

#21 USC @ #17 Washington
Hand up, who thinks this will be a close one?
The Huskies are 10.5 point favorite at home, eventually because USC did already play with their 3rd or 4th QB.
But they won with him and there is not much competition left, so we will likely see him play again.
Good enough to win at Huskies home court?
Not sure.
The Huskies got their 1st loss against Cal a few weeks ago, at home, and since then they did play good.
USC is a different caliber, the only question here is, whether they can play according their big name with so many distractions, or not.
Distractions?
We have transfers, latest is a WR going to Oregon State, but also a QB did transfer after the 2nd game.
There is also the rumor that the HC is basically a lame duck already and a new coach is in the line, hottest name is Urban Meyer.
Can the team put that aside and play football?
Likely they can, because there is always drama around USC and Helton, the HC, was in question since day 1 of his job.
I think both teams can win, but I have Washington a bit higher on the win-likeliness-scale than USC.
Oh, will it be a close game?
I think yes.
Huskies win.

#5 Ohio State @ Nebraska
I like the matchup, even it will be likely a very onesided game.
Ohio State is a 17.0 points favorite, which means it is very likely they will win.
There is every reason to believe they will, except they are playing on the road against Nebraska.
Ohio State is 4-0 so far, Nebraska is 3-1, with that loss being the game against Colorado, lost in OT on the road.
Frost will need a team with passion to play against the Buckeyes to win this.
Nebraska can play football and they can upset Ohio State, if everything does click.
They play at home, so the crowd will be on their side and that means alot here.
Do I pick the Huskers?
No.
For me, Ohio State looks a bit better overall and they will counter everything Nebraska will try with something tough and rough.
Buckeyes win.

Other interesting games:

Sat. Sep. 28
Texas Tech @ #6 Oklahoma
Not much to say here, the Sooners are favored by 27.5 points. Why did I pick this?
The Red Raiders do have a new coach this season with Matt Wells and they do have also a new QB, since their starter is sidelined with a shoulder injury.
So this can go totally different in any direction.
I still pick the Sooners, since they play like they do belong into the playoffs, but eventually we will see a good game here.
Sooners win.

#1 Clemson @ North Carolina
The next odd matchup.
On paper, this did done.
Clemson is a 27.0 point favorite and should win this easily.
But North Carolina did gain something from Mack Browns expierence which might become a trap for the Tigers. They don't quit.
I still believe Clemson will win here, but we might see something special here.
Tigers win.

#24 Kansas State @ Oklahoma State
Kansas State did get the best coach of the FCS of the past few seasons and did start so far 3-0, including a win against Missisippi State.
Oklahome State still have Gundy as coach and still seems to have the same issues.
Scoring on offense normally no problem, preventing scoring of the oppenent with the defense, major issue.
They are 3-1 and do luckly face the Wildcats at home, which gives them a 4.5 point favorite line.
I think both teams can win here and I'm willing to give the Wildcats the nod this week. The Wildcats might become a force inside the BIG12.
Wildcats win.

Don't forget your Pick'em picks.

'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE

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