2024-10-29 08:50

This week, most games did go as expected or within a margin of error which seems OK.

The major programs in terms of leading teams did from my point of view get the wins needed and expected with a few exceptions.

Another HC got the pink slip this weekend. Mike Bloomgren was fired by Rice after a 2-6 start this season and an overall record of 24-52 in 7 seasons. He came to Rice after a 1-11 season by his predecessor and increased the win total every season from 2018 to 2023, with the exception on the shorter season of 2020. In 2022 the team went to a bowl with a 5-7 record, thanks to the highest APR in the country of all 5-7 schools (and lost). In 2023 the team went also to a bowl with a 6-6 record (and lost again).
This season the team won so far only 2 games, one against a FCS team and one against UTSA.
The program decided to look for a new HC early on. Good luck, Rice is a very special program, which is known for their teaching, not their sports, so you need to find a person with a tough skin.

Let's go to the conference standings after week 9.

American Athletic Conference
The undefeated bunch is still Army, Navy and Tulane.
The 1-loss-group contains now only Memphis, since North Texas and Charlotte lost against direct contenders.

Atlantic Coast Conference
The ACC remained as strange as is was, with Clemson, Miami, SMU and Pittsburgh staying on track so far.
As 1-loss team is only Virginia Tech left.
Duke and Syracuse did fight against unbeaten teams and lost to them.

BIG-12 Conference
BYU and Iowa State are still standing unbeaten.
With 1 loss are Kansas State and Colorado.
Texas Tech lost (eventually surprisingly) to TCU and Cincinnati lost against a contender.

BIG10 Conference
The BIG10 is still led by undefeated teams from Indiana, Oregon and Penn State.
With 1-loss behind them is only Ohio State left.
Illinois and Wisconsin lost against contenders.

Conference USA
Only 2 unbeaten teams left here, Western Kentucky and Jacksonville State.
Liberty did surprisingly lost to Kennesaw State and dropped to the 1-loss-team group, which has also Sam Houston in it.

Mid-American Conference
The MAC has only 1 unbeaten team left, Western Michigan.
The list of 1-loss teams has Miami (OH), Ohio and Bowling Green.
Buffalo and Toledo lost to contenders. Eastern Michigan was upset by Akron.
I still keep the 2-loss teams out, those are 4 additional teams, which are right now irrelevant.

Mountain West Conference
The MWC has now 3 unbeaten teams left, Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State.
UNLV lost to Boise State and dropped to the 1-loss club, having now in addition only Fresno State.
San Jose State and New Mexico lost to direct competitors and dropped out for now.

Southeastern Conference
The SEC had a match between the 2 unbeaten teams left and only Texas A&M is now perfect inside the SEC.
LSU joined the 1-loss-field, containing in addition Georgia, Texas and Tennessee.
Missouri got hammered by Alabama and Vanderbilt lost a close one to Texas and bot are for now outside the focus.

Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt had a tough weekend for the leading teams.
The East has now only 1-loss-teams as leading teams, with Old Dominion, Georgia Southern and Marshall.
In addition, there are James Madison and Coastal Carolina with 2 losses, which might get into the driving seats fast.
The West is led by Louisiana only as unbeaten team, since Louisiana-Monroe lost big time to South Alabama.
So, ULM now a 1-loss team with Arkansas State, South Alabama and Texas State.

That's it for the conference.
A lot of stuff still open, especially the many unbeaten teams are a bit concerning, since almost no conference is playing a full round robin (so a game against each other team in the conference) anymore, because there are not enough gamedays. That means some teams, like Miami, do NOT play Clemson, Pittsburgh and SMU on the remaining games and the conference might end up with 2 or even 3 unbeaten teams to fill the 2 championship game seats.
Not perfect, but on the other hand better than having eventually 1 weak division and 1 strong division and the championship game is dull in 90% of the time.

Bowl eligible teams
8 additional teams got the 6th win this weekend, so now 33 teams have already bowl eligibility, which is almost half of the bowl spots available.

Week 6: Miami, Indiana
Week 7: Army, Pittsburgh, BYU, Iowa State, Oregon, Penn State and Texas
Week 8: Clemson, Duke, SMU, Memphis, Navy, Illinois, Kansas State, UNLV, Washington State, Texas A&M, LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, Louisiana and Notre Dame
Week 9: Tulane, Ohio State, Colorado, Sam Houston, Boise State, Alabama, Ole Miss, James Madison

78 bowl spots are available.

The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 9

Sat. Oct 26
#8 LSU @ #14 Texas A&M
Man, I don't know what happened, but LSU did just crumble to nothing in the 2nd half.
The Tigers led 17:7 at the half, all well, except they missed 2 FG-tries in that half, so they could have been more in front.
The 3rd quarter started OK, but on the 2nd LSU drive, the QB was intercepted, and A&M did score a TD a bit later.
Then LSU did get the ball back and fumble the ball away, only to let the Aggies again score a TD.
Now the Aggies in lead, 21:17, LSU did try their best to get the game 100% down the toilet and did throw an INT again.
From there it was all catchup for LSU and at the end did Texas A&M win this 38:23.
The high praised QB of LSU had 3 INTs and the LSU defense did allow 242 yards rushing and 5 TDs from that squad.
THAT is not top-level SEC.
I might be wrong, but I think LSU will not play for the SEC Championship.
#8 LSU 38 @ #14 Texas A&M 24 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 21-7

#21 Missouri @ #15 Alabama
Oh, this is easy.
The 1st half was quite open, but Alabama was the better team.
The Tide led 13:0 at the half.
And then ... Missouri had 2 more turnovers and Alabama just had to cash in, control the clock and the Missouri offense was too weak to get any comeback try going.
Losing with 0 points is a tough cookie for the Tigers.
#21 Missouri 0 @ #15 Alabama 34 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 22-7

#12 Notre Dame @ #24 Navy
Oh my god, when I did read the score, I could not believe it.
An Irish win, sure, but by a margin of 37 points? No.
A closer look did reveal that Navy had 1 INT and fumbled 7 times, losing 5 of those. 6 turnovers!
You cannot come back from that.
On top was the rushing defense of Navy not in the stadium as it seems 265 yards. But to be fair, Notre Dame allowed 224, which is one of the reasons I did believe in a much close game.
But OK, it is as it is.
#12 Notre Dame 51 @ #24 Navy 14 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 23-7

And some other interesting games:

Fri. Oct 25
#17 Boise State @ UNLV
UNLV did start strong and took the lead in the 1st quarter, but Boise State answered with a very strong 2nd quarter to get into the locker room with a 20:10 lead.
But the game was not over, UNLV won the 3rd quarter and regained the lead.
Boise State got the ball back, marched over the field and scored a TD, still more than 12 minutes left to play.
But this time did UNLV fail to get a lot of yardages and had to give the ball back to the Broncos.
And those did eat away the clock, they did even play a 4th down, instead of trying a 53 yarder, and converted that.
The game ended with Boise kneeling down, no extra score, just the 29:24 win.
Boise secured the W in this TOP game inside the MWC, UNLV is set back with now 1 loss behind the Broncos.
Jacks interesting games Score: 18-10

Sat. Oct 26
#5 Texas @ #25 Vanderbilt
Until the 2nd Quarter ended, this did look like a clear Longhorns win. They led 21:10 at the half.
Then they scored a field goal in the 3rd, stopped Vandy and when they had the ball back, they did throw and INT.
Vandy did not asked why and scored a TD to make it a 1-score-game.
After a period of punt-drives, Texas was again able to kick a field goal, or better Vandy did keep Texas out of the endzone, and the Longhorns had to kick.
Then the Commodores did try everything, with less than 2 minutes left, and managed to score a TD.
Unfortune for them the onside kick did fail and Texas won the game, 27:24.
Jacks interesting games Score: 19-10

#20 Illinois @ #1 Oregon
I make this short, Oregon was dominating the Illini, big time, winning 38:9.
For Illinois that means they likely have to aim a bit lower than championships and playoffs, for Oregon it means they are right on track to get to the BIG10-Championship game and further.
Jacks interesting games Score: 20-10

UL Monroe @ South Alabama
And here the bonus game, which did turn out to be a bad pick.
The 1st half did look promising, ULM leading 17:12.
But from the start of the 3rd quarter onward did ULM just not play anymore.
Southern Alabama did score 34 unanswered points and won 46:17.
Since ULM was not expected to be 5-2 at that point, this loss is not too bad for them, still a bit disappointing.
Southern Alabama did keep themselves by the win in the wider mix for the division title.
Jacks interesting games Score: 20-11

And some more funny result of week 9:

- Sam Houston won against FIU, 10:7, and by that became bowl eligible. It's the 3rd FCS-to-FBS-Program in the past few seasons which managed to do that on the 1st season they could do that. The others were in the past Jacksonville State and James Madison in 2023 (both had enough wins, but were still in the transition year and got an invite only, because several spots in the bowls were still open) and Liberty in 2018 (got enough wins but did not play in a bowl because of the transition phase and got eligible again in 2019 and played in a bowl then).
- Kennesaw State did upset Liberty 27:24, giving them the 1st win of the season and the 1st FBS win of the program at all.
- Old Dominion won against Georgia Southern, 47:19, and did by that push the East division of the Sun Belt wide open. A big hit for Georgia Southern and a huge win for Old Dominion.
- Miami did win the rivalry game against Florida State, 36:14, which seals the season for FSU as non-bowling-season, now 1-7, since FSU is usually very bad on APR, so even if they get to 5-7 and a spot is open, likely another university will get the spot. And to be clear, I don't think FSU will finish 5-7. More 3-9 or so.
- Indiana won against Washington at home, 31:17. This does keep Indiana in the competition for a championship spot. Their biggest game is likely Ohio State late November.
- UNC won against Virginia, 41:14. Still a long way for UNC, but at least they did stop the 4-game-losing-streak.
- TCU did beat Texas Tech, 35:34. For Tech a big setback in the contenders ranking, for TCU another step towards a turnaround.
- Akron did win against Eastern Michigan, 25:21. EMU was one of the teams aiming for a spot in the MAC-Championship game, but with that kind of performance, no way.
- Houston won against Utah, 17:14. The Utes having now clearly a down season with crucial injuries and maybe also a lack for motivation.
- Auburn won against Kentucky, 24:10, and by that did kick Kentucky down the ladder inside the SEC.

We are entering November and that means, we have max 5 games left for the teams to get the standings final and to find the teams worth a spot in the conference championship games, a spot in a bowl game and / or a spot in the national championship playoffs.

On 5th of November the 1st committee ranking will be published and THEN it will make sense to look at the possible 5+7 teams having a shot for the national championship.

Week 10 is coming and that has again not many very crucial games, but of course are ALL games crucial (ask the teams, which did take too many of those supposed to be not-crucial games too lightly, like Florida State) and some of the games this week will HAVE a huge impact on the conference standings, since a loss against a direct competitor will set the losing team always not only 1-loss behind, it also does ruin the direct compare in case of a tie-breaker.

A small hint for all college football friends, RZA-manager hmpf22 did asked me, whether I knew that YOUTUBE would stream so many games and since when? And I had to admit, I did not know.
The last info I had was, that for Germany the rights for TV were not purchased, by any station and therefore no channel would broadcast college football games. The news did not mention the live streaming on YOUTUBE and I did never looked for it. But it is true, if you search for 'college football games live' on Saturday, you get a lot of high-class games streamed by several channels.
Don't ask me, how this is done, regarding streaming rights and so on, as consumer you don't have to case about that, at least according to German law, as far as I know.

The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 10

Fri. Nov 1
San Diego State @ #15 Boise State
Of the 3 teams still unbeaten inside the MWC, here 2 of them do meet.
Boise State is this season all the rage, having so far only lost to Oregon in September, and that in a close way.
Oregon is right now ranked #1, so that game does Boise State not hurt much, likely even help them.
The Broncos have a Heisman-Candidate as RB! who is right now still on the path to eventually break Barry Sanders single season rushing record. Even if he does not, just watching him play, is fun.
San Diego State is 3-4 so far, but perfect inside the MWC and will take on that liked and maybe hyped Broncos team.
Vegas does NOT favor the Aztecs, in fact they give Boise State a line of -23.5, which is massive.
Why? Because San Diego State lost to Wazzu (7-1) last week and won only to Hawai'i (3-5) and Wyoming (1-7) the games before.
This season many favorites, even with heavy lines, did fall, so everything is in the mix, but I personally think Boise will take care of the Aztecs on their blue home turf fast.
Broncos win.

Sat. Nov 2
#4 Ohio State @ #3 Penn State
OK, NOW we really have a tough matchup.
Ohio State did basically buy a lot of players in the offseason to get the team back into the top level of the BIG10 and beyond, but so far, the team did not perform 100% according to the expectations. Those would have been a perfect record, instead of 1 loss to Oregon, and convincing wins against all teams, not named Oregon so far, which did not happen. Last week the win against Nebraska was by 4 points only.
Ohio State, as guests, are favored by 3.5 points, but I'm not sure that does tell the story right.
Penn State did so far play perfect, and the team did look like they would struggle against several of the teams but did at the end prevail.
Yes, they did not have a game like OSU had with Oregon, but they had tougher games.
Now they play for sure a very good team, at home.
I'm not 100% sold on the Buckeyes, but I'm also not 100% sold on the Nittany Lions.
The reason is both had their struggling moments.
I believe OSU has a few more top-level players, but if those play sloppy or not in synch, the Lions team will compensate this, especially at home.
History says in such games Penn State will lose, but not all goes according to history, and I like Penn State this season so far.
Nittany Lions win.

#18 Pittsburgh @ #20 SMU
Pitt might be without their starting QB in this game here, but likely he will play.
Pittsburgh is one of the small wonders of the season, being now 7-0.
SMU is also very strong so far and 7-1, but 4-0 inside the conference. BYU was so far the only team, which won against SMU, in a close game, in September.
For SMU, this game here is likely the toughest game left on the schedule, so winning here would eventually mean, to go perfect into the ACC Championship game.
Pitt on the other hand has several tough games ahead, and this is the 1st of those. In fact, there are so many still coming, that it seems unlikely that Pitt will survive this unscratched.
Vegas favors SMU by 7.5 points, and I think they are quite right.
The only thing, which will keep Pittsburgh in this game is, their defense, which did step up in basically every game.
If they can stop SMU from scoring, the have a chance.
Still ...
Mustangs win.

And some other interesting games:

Sat. Nov 2
Texas Tech @ #11 Iowa State
Tricky game.
Iowa State is as perfect team so far playing at home favored by 14.0 points.
I think they will win, not sure that high.
Texas Tech did show a lot of potential so far, especially on offense, but lost 2 in a row.
We might see a shootout, but I expect more a crazy defense by ISU and a clear win by them.
Cyclones win.

Toledo @ Eastern Michigan
Toledo is favored to win by 8.0 points in a game, which is more or less an eliminator game.
The winner can still dream of eventually getting to the championship game (both teams are 1 game behind the 2nd seat team right now) and the loser is likely out of competition.
The Eagles are good at home, Toledo solid on the road, but not unbeatable.
I favor EMU.
Eagles win.

UL Monroe @ Marshall
And another do-or-die game.
Marshall is 1 game behind the leading teams in their division in the Sun Belt, ULM is in the same situation on the other Sun Belt division.
The Thundering Herd is favored by 10.5 points, which is a lot.
Louisiana Monroe did show not much last week against a competitor, so I expect either a better performance, or that the team will slowly drop in the standings.
In doubt, for the home team.
Thundering Herd win.


Georgia Southern @ South Alabama
And another Sun Belt game for the top.
Georgia Southern did drop a game last week and might drop dead with another loss here.
South Alabama did save their season with that big win against ULM, but they need to win more.
They are favored by 6.5 points, which seems fair.
Both teams can play, and I expect a closer game.
Still, I think the Jaguars have the drive to win this.
Jaguars win.

That's for week 10, I hope you enjoy the games.

'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE

Tags: Block of Granite, News