2025-09-18 08:50

The season is now moving towards week 4 and at some universities the panic is already in berserker mode.

Two HCs were already fired, mid-September. Wow.

To understand this, I think we have to make a small trip into history.

In the not so long ago past, a college football HC was hired and got usually 2 to 3 seasons to build a team based on his vision and in year 3 to 5, if the results were not as expected, the seat got hotter until he got fired, mostly late in the season, say week 8 onwards, when it became clear that the season goal was not in reach anymore or there was just no sign of improvement. Often after a significant game against a rival or an opponent which should have been beaten but wasn’t.

This kind of expectations on improvements went from high to very high to win-now in the past 10 to 15 seasons, with the win-now-part coming in since the NIL-deals / free agency part of the circus called roster building became the dominant part of the offseason.

Still, in 2023 the 1st HC to be let go, because of bad results was in mid-November. In 2024 the 1st one to be let go under such circumstances was mid-October. Now it’s mid-September. To be fair, early firings were always there, like 2022 with beginning of September firing of Nebraska HC. Or in 2021 at USC, also mid-September.

The difference is, those HC in the past were in their 5th plus season and expectations were already high and the results stayed low or went downhill, and the patience of the program went also downhill, fast.

The difference here is, we have Virginia Techs HC, Brent Pry, in his 4th season fired after an 0-3 start and we have even worse UCLA firing DeShaun Foster in his 2nd season after an 0-3 start.

Sure, if I would be in an official position at those universities, I would also become very angry and inpatient after that start, but the consequences for new HCs are tough.

I think the programs do see now in this era of college football instant improvements, because of the roster management options available, so they expect such improvements from their next HC and if those do not come, or worse, the results do show a decline in performance, the eject button is hit earlier in terms of years. And it is hi earlier in terms of months, because in the coaches market now, the earlier you start looking, the higher the chances to get the candidate you wanted.

In the past the coaches market did start to spin at season end, but now the search starts early and the signings do become official at season end, but the real stuff did happen weeks before.

Virginia Tech and UCLA are not top-level universities in terms of attractiveness and money, but they are still an improvement for many HCs and assistants, so they should be able to find a replacement. I’m just not sure they will be able to find the guy they want.

Given that start of the blog, we go right into the reviews.

The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 3

Sat. Sep 13
#6 Georgia @ #15 Tennessee
Both teams came out aggressively but only Tennessee had the better start in the 1st quarter, leading 21:7 at home, when they switched side.
In the 2nd quarter did then Georgia catch a bit up, but thanks to several errors they teams did split to the locker rooms with the Vols still leading 21:17.
Then it became an open game, when Georgia came out of the break and scored on the 1st drive to take the lead and Tennessee needed all of the 3rd quarter to regain the lead.
When the last quarter started, Tennessee led 28:27 and Georgia had the ball, which led to a field goal, hence another shift in the leading team.
But Tennessee did answer and scored a TD, Georgia fumbled and the Vols did put a FG on top, leading now 38:30. Should be enough, right?
Wrong, Georgia did score a TD to tie the game up, but Tennessee got the ball back to march over the field and ... missed a 43-yarder!
Regular time over, the game went into overtime.
Tennessee started, had to settle for a field goal and Georgia did respond with 3 strong runs to score a TD and to win this game, 44:41, in OT.
I think nobody downgrade Tennessee too much after this fight, but over all did Georgia made a splashy win here, while Tennessee got one loss inside the SEC, they might miss later in the season.
They had the win on the foot and I hope the team is behind the kicker.
That was tough.
#6 Georgia 44 @ #15 Tennessee 41 (OT) -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 1-0

#18 South Florida @ #5 Miami
This could have been the best Cinderella story since ages, but unfortunately did Miami just play hard football on South Florida and did give them never a chance.
Every quarter was way in favor of the Canes and the Bulls had often to punt of to settle for a field goal.
They got a TD in garbage time, which did start already end of the 3rd or start of the 4th quarter, but Miami was just too much and won 49:12.
I’m not sure what we will see of South Florida this season.
They might become a force inside the AAC and the quite high ranking now might help them to get into the playoffs, if they win the AAC and no other non-power4-team has a better rank.
But those are a lot of ifs, for a team which did so far only win against 2 non-conference teams and which will have to go flawless from now on to get in that described region.
Miami does look strong enough to play for the ACC title and beyond right now.
#18 South Florida 12 @ #5 Miami 49 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 2-0

#16 Texas A&M @ #8 Notre Dame
Well, eventually there goes the season for Notre Dame.
The game started great for the Irish, they blocked a punt and recovered it for a TD on the 1st drive, they stopped A&M again the on 2nd drive.
But then the guests did recover and stopped Notre Dame with 3 and out scored a TD on their next drive and from that onward, the game was wide open.
Notre Dame had a lead of 10 points, twice, but did let A&M take that lead away and gave them even a lead of 4 later on.
They claimed the lead back, let A&M tie the game and when the Irish did then score a TD, late in the 4th and their HC did decide to go for 2 with no reason beside to put more pressure on the Aggies, man that backfired the worst way. No 2-pointer and A&M scored the tying TD on that last drive and kicked themselves to the win with an XP.
The Irish did try some lateral magic, but that was of course just desperate action after a bold decision, which did go the worst way wrong.
Here comes the consequences.
Let’s start with A&M. They got a win against a ranked opponent, on the road, so they will rise in the ranks. Dependent on their SEC outcome, they did make a huge step towards a playoff spot. HUGE!
Now the Irish. BIG booboo for the program for this season. BIG!
The Irish as independents will have NO championship game to play a likely high ranked team and win to get the last boost in the ranks. Nope.
They are now 0-2, both losses against ranked teams, but still 0-2.
Even if they win all remaining games, they will be 10-2.
Only 1 team did get a playoff spot with 2 losses last season, without a championship game, Tennessee. They had a much tougher schedule, then the Irish will have this season.
So, right now, it’s hard to say, whether Notre Dames playoff hopes are already gone, but for sure they got a BIG hit.
#16 Texas A&M 40 @ #8 Notre Dame 41 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 3-0

And some other interesting games:

Sat. Sep 13
#12 Clemson @ Georgia Tech
There could be a small panic mode already at Clemson right now.
The team did play a bad 1st half at GT, tried to get the game turned in the 3rd and did then allow a walk-off-field goal from 55 yards to lose against the Yellow Jackets 24:21.
The fans did storm the field, and Clemson did rush away in shame.
Clemson wanted to dominate the ACC, but their QB is right now worse than last year and their defense struggles.
Jacks interesting games Score: 1-0

Arkansas @ #17 Ole Miss
This was an offense battle in the 1st half, which Ole Miss won, 31:28, and a defense battle in the 2nd half, which Ole Miss won 10:7.
So, in total did the teams play 41:35 and even Arkansas did lose, they did play good and we can at least expect interesting games of them this season.
Not sure they can improve their record, but they will let every opponent pay a price to get a win against them and I think we will see also some upsets by Arkansas.
Ole Miss can relax and mark the must-win-game as a win.
Still a long season to go, for both teams.
Jacks interesting games Score: 2-0

Florida @ #3 LSU
And here we have the next university in mid-level or eventually already in high-level panic.
Florida came into this game with a heavy stain on their reputation after their loss to South Florida last week.
A win against ranked LSU on the road would cool down the heat and would make many people relax.
But Florida did play only one OK quarter and then started sucking again.
After a 3:0 start in the 1st quarter did then get the lead in the 2nd.
Florida did tie the game a bit later, but from there it went downhill.
At the half did the team trail 10:13, threw and INT for a pick-six in the 3rd and both team did them decide to commit errors without consequences in the 4th, which granted LSU a 20:10 home win and Florida their next loss.
Given the upcoming games for Florida, the chances for their HC to survive the season are slim.
LSU on the other hand did look OK, but far from being the #3 team in the country.
Jacks interesting games Score: 3-0

PS: This pick record makes me look like a wizard, but my ESPN pick game had 5-5, I just was lucky or selected the right games. Don’t know.

That brings us to the next weeks previews.
I did check some news channels and beside the 2 already fired HC there are not many coaches named as next candidate for the eject button as unified answer, beside Billy Napier of Florida. Several colleges are named to have their HC on the watch, but depended on the site I look, the top 5 or 10 do look different. That does not mean there isn’t something cooking on those campus, but it seems the impressions are not nation wide and honestly, every team right now with no perfect record and without the HC on his 1st season might be on some list.

So, I skip that topic for now, except Florida, and go on with the normal previews.

The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 4

Sat. Sep 20
#17 Texas Tech @ #16 Utah
Let’s have a BIG12 game as starter.
Texas Tech is enjoying a 3-0 start under 4th season HC Joey McGuire, who had the team so far in a quite constant success rate at 7 or 8 wins and 3 consecutive bowls (2-1 there) in those numbers included.
The Red Raiders were never THE team in the BIG12, when Texas and Oklahoma were also in it, but now, they do have a shot to win big.
It’s the best start under that HC ever, but likely also the fluffiest schedule so far in that period.
Now they face Utah, a team which is under management of Kyle Whittingham in his 21st season. That guy did win everything in reach, beside the National Championship. Last year the team had the worst season since 2013 and missed a bowl spot at 5-7. The press was all over the HC, whether he would retire or not, with most sensing, he would.
Well, he did not and so far does the team look sharp, winning 3 in a row, but only against a small portion stronger opponents that TTU had so far.
The 1st real test for the programs and Utah is favored by 3.5 points right now.
The key unit will be the defense of Utah.
Because both offenses did show they can score and I’m quite confident, the Utah offense will have chances to score against TTU, but will TTU have chances to score against Utah and if so, how often.
I personally think, Texas Tech will give the Utes fans something for their money, but at the end they will drive home with their 1st loss of the season. Utah did look good so far and did play against stronger teams and plays at home ...
Sure, the Red Raiders might surprise all and win this, but right now ...
Utes win.

#22 Auburn @ #11 Oklahoma
Which brings us to a felt-2nd-tier-SEC-matchup.
None of the team had an impact last year.
Brent Venables of Oklahoma, in his 4th season with the team as HC, did have a hard time last year as new team inside the SEC and finished 6-7, including a bowl loss.
Some do speculate on his job security, but so far did the team win 3 straight, including a win against Michigan.
Nobody expects the team to keep up with the winning until season end and be a big contender for the SEC title.
Same for Auburn, in their 3rd season with Hugh Freeze as HC and his record did get worse in his 2 seasons so far, from 6-7 to 5-7.
The Tigers are not considered to be contenders and there is also rumor on Freeze job security, but so far the team won also 3 straight with a win against Baylor as biggest asset.
Both teams are right now ranked and this game here will likely send one team out of the ranks and the other will stay on the level or rise a bit.
The Sooners are favored by 6.5 points, which is not that much, still quite a lot.
This is likely based on the known results and some sort of history evaluation, with Oklahoma being just considered to be the stronger team.
I confess, that happens to me also.
It seems Oklahomas offense is not that sharp, but the Auburn defense lacks a bit of a punch also. Hence, both teams might get good shots on scoring and we might see an open, high-scoring game.
Or we will see a defense driven game with both teams struggling to do something.
I have right now problems to see Auburn taking this away from Oklahoma in Norman. So, I think a close win by Oklahoma is coming.
Sooners win

#9 Illinois @ #19 Indiana
And another matchup you don’t get previews about often.
Inside the BIG10 both teams did create some sort of annoyance image around themselves.
Bret Bielema came to Illinois and made the team something you have to earn a win against, if you win at all. Before that, for a long time, Illinois was shit, a must-win for every team playing them.
But Bielema won 8 in his 2nd year and 10 in his 4th, last year.
This season, the key will be, whether the portal stuff did mess up the team or did help.
So far, 3 wins and none was in any doubt, even not against Duke.
On the other side of the field, Indiana.
Long time also a laughing stock of the BIG10, a Basketball university willing to play football. But roughly 10 seasons ago started a transition with a coach, who had a least some good seasons with the team and in which the team was not a given win on the schedule, only to get fired 2 seasons ago and replaced by Curt Cignetti, who carried the team into the playoffs in his 1st season!
Now the team is also 3-0 and so far all good, with the problem, that the team did only play cupcake teams.
Vegas has Indiana ahead by 5.5 points and I’m willing to make that gamble also, based on their last season success and the home field advantage.
I hope for a great, close game.
Hoosiers win.

And some other interesting games:

Sat. Sep 20
Tulane @ #13 Ole Miss
Jon Sumrall took over a rebuilt Tulane team last year and kept it so far on a high level.
The Green Wave peaked in 2022 with 12 wins, including a conference championship and a bowl win. That was the best mark for the team since 1998 and since then the teams record was way under .500. Last year the new HC did get 9-5 and made it to the conference championship game, only to lose against Army and later to lose in a bowl.
But the team did start now 3-0, including wins against Northwestern and Duke.
Now they face ranked Ole Miss, which will be a different task.
Lane Kiffen is in his 6th season and since his time as OC with Alabama became much mature and has built an offense powerhouse, which did only fail to leapfrog the big contenders of the past 10 seasons. The team did start 3-0 so far with 2 SEC wins already.
The only stain the team has so far is, they did allow too many points against the 2 SEC teams from my point of view, which might turn out to become a problem, once they face a defense, which can control the Ole Miss offense more successfully.
In this game here, the assumption is, that the level of playing is way different between the AAC team and the SEC team and no wonder is Ole Miss a favorite to win at home by 13.5 points.
I think Tulane has the offense power to score against Ole Miss, but likely will lack the defense power to stop the Ole Miss offense and therefore will be outscored over the 4 quarters.
Rebels win.

Florida @ #4 Miami
I will make this short as possible.
Miami is favored to win here by 7.5 points.
That seems reasonable, considering the results Florida had so far (1-2, win against an FCS team, close loss to South Florida, loss to LSU) and Miami had so far (3-0, wins against Notre Dame, an FCS team and South Florida).
For the Florida HC Billy Napier this might be his last game as Florida HC, or at least another nail in the coffin, or it might be his path to redemption, since winning against a ranked state rival on the road will for sure cool the heat a bit.
Miami is out to win to reach for something bigger, Florida is out to win to save the coaches job.
I don’t think Florida will turn the things around quickly, hence ...
Hurricanes win.

Fresno State @ Hawai'i
And for fun the last game of the gameday on the island of Hawai’i.
The Bulldogs have a new HC, Matt Entz.
He was the HC of North Dakota State from 2019 to 2023 and won the FCS National Championship twice in that period. He went to USC to become a defense assistant and AHC last year, only to be name the HC of Fresno State for this season onward.
He has taken over a team, which had a 6-7 season last year and went under interim guidance for the whole season, because the regular HC had to step down prior the season start with health issues. (By the way, that interims HC went on to UCLA this season, only to become after 2 games THEIR interims HC, because the regular one got fired)
So, the team needs some reshape and some tooling to become the new HCs team.
Thanks to a tight schedule the team is already at 3-1, with only loss to Kansas on week zero against Kansas.
They have to travel to Hawai’i to face a Rainbow Warrior team under Timmy Chang in his 4th season. Chang has a good name with Hawai’i as a former start QB of the Warriors, but his success as coach is so far not that convincing. After a 3-10 season he had 5-8 and 5-7 so far.
The aim is for sure to improve here.
The biggest asset Hawai’i has is his home field advantage based on the traveling time every team has to do to play there.
And so far the wins the team did gain were almost entirely at home.
So far has the team a 3-1 record, with the only loss against Arizona.
The odds on the game are in favor of Fresno State at 2.5 points, which is not much.
I personally have a hard time to judge the game.
Turning a team around in 1 season, or a few games, is tough.
On the other hand, the coach did guide his former team to 2 National Championships and that’s something.
Hawai’i might have made a jump in the strength of the roster, but so far it’s hard to tell.
I favor a bit Hawai’i but only because I like them as underdogs and because of the home field advantage.
Hopefully a close and entertaining game.
Rainbow Warriors win.

'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE

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