2025-10-02 07:29

The conference games did start as majority of the matchups and the results were often stunning.

How stunning?

Well, there is one SEC HC position vacant after this weekend.

Ironically this came from a non-conference game, still a very important one, which outcome did show the program, that they have to move on from their setup so far.

I’m talking about Notre Dame visiting Arkansas, which turned out to be a quite one-sided game. Sure, you already guessed, that Arkansas did fail to do anything and lost 13:56 at home. Their HC so far was Sam Pittman, in his 6th season, and while his team did peak in year 2 of his reign, last seasons 7-6 was only accomplished by winning a bowl and the start of this season was 2-3, including now 3 losses in a row.
So, he got fired and his interims HC is not an unfamiliar face on Razorbacks campus, since he was already the HC of Arkansas from 2008 to 2011, with a constant increase on wins from 5 to 8, 10 and then 11 in his last year. That’s right, Bobby Petrino, this season so far, the OC of the team, is named interims coach. You might ask yourselves, why he did not coach further at Arkansas, when he had 11 wins in his last season? Well, there was a motorcycle crash with a female trainer of Arkansas, which did turn out to be his love affair at that time. Petrino was fired roughly 10 days later. Since he had several other jobs as HC and coordinator, but none was as successful than his time at Arkansas since.

I don’t think he will become the permanent HC after the season, but in this crazy business, you never know. He already did fire several assistants, so maybe he CAN change the Razorbacks to a better version of themselves during the season?

More crazy results?

- East Carolina did win against Army, 28:6 and Army is now 1-3 after winning the AAC last year.
- Virginia did beat Florida State, 46:38 on 2OT. The Virginia fans did storm the home field, and FSU did drop severely in the rankings, while Virginia did get into the ranks for the 1st time this season.
- BYU did sink Colorado, 24:21, which leaves Colorado at 2-3 right now. Looks like the big hype is over for the Buffs.
- Duke did whip Syracuse,38:3, on the road. The Orange won last week against Clemson on the road and now Duke! did upset them on the home field.
- Louisiana-Monroe won against Arkansas State, 28:16. ASU is 1-4 and that could mean, a coach change is coming soon.
- Cal won against BC on the road, 28:24. It looks like both teams will not have a big say inside the ACC, but they did at least settle their standings against each other.
- UConn did beat Buffalo, 20:17. UConn now 3-2 and the fans are wondering what’s going on.
- Hawai’i won against Air Force, 44:35 on the road. Air Force lost 3 in a row now.
- Kennesaw State did beat Middle Tennessee, 24:16. Not sure what the Blue Raiders are doing, but they should change it, fast, now being 1-4.
- Old Dominion won against Liberty, 21:7. Liberty is now 1-4 and in deep trouble. Right now, this looks like the worst season of that HC so far, which could mean, he will not see his 4th season.
- Virginia Tech did win against NC State, 23:21. The team won now 2 in a row with the interims HC, but granted last week was against a FCS team. This victory here is ace.

I like this, even that means the picking is getting tougher.

Let’s look at the games I did pick as preview last week and review them.

The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 5

Sat. Sep 27
#4 LSU @ #13 Ole Miss
This went almost as expected.
The Rebels offense had more problems scoring than in the games so far and the LSU offense had even more problems.
The 1st quarter was still quite open, and LSU got in the lead, but with an INT starting the 2nd quarter, LSUs luck ran out and Ole Miss scored twice to get into the locker with a 17:7 lead.
A sloppy 3rd quarter by Ole Miss did give LSU all the chances they could get, but they had to settle for field goals and went trailing 13:17 into the last quarter.
And that was all offense and all-time management.
Ole Miss scored extending the lead and did eat some stuff of the clock.
LSU did answer on an even longer drive and left roughly 5 minutes to play.
They did a regular kickoff and tried to stop LSU, but they did just get 1st down after another even with a 4th down try and did run down the clock to zero, winning the game.
Tough loss for LSU, Big win for Ole Miss.
Maybe we will see both teams in the playoffs or even in the SEC Championship game, but I have doubts.
Right now, Ole Miss looks like a good bet for a spot in both events, LSU not.
#4 LSU 19 @ #13 Ole Miss 24 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 6-1

#6 Oregon @ #3 Penn State
A so call white-out game, meaning inside the stadium of Penn State with over 100K capacity all fans do wear white clothes to have a specific look.
The game was one of the top games of the BIG10 and might become a preview of the BIG10 championship game or at least a decide on the top seats.
So, high stakes and at the end it was a great game.
The game started all defense and went 3:3 into the half.
Then did Oregon score a TD on the 3rd and put by that pressure on the Lions at home.
Beginning of the 4th did Oregon score another TD and all did look like lost for Penn State.
But the team did come back, scored a TD on the next drive, stopped Oregon and scored again to tie the game.
Oregon had the ball last and was stopped, so the game went into OT.
Penn State got the ball first and scored a TD, Oregon did respond and scored also. So, 2nd OT.
Oregon needed just one play to score a TD and Penn State needed only one play also, but to lose the game with an INT.
Both teams did look sharpe and will likely get to the playoffs.
It will get down to Ohio States results and maybe some other team(s) to find the BIG10 Championship participants and I do guess it will come down to a tiebreaker.
#6 Oregon 30 @ #3 Penn State 24 (2OT) -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 7-1

#17 Alabama @ #5 Georgia
The real surprise this weekend, with Georgia facing Alabama and with the Bulldogs winning so good last week against Tennessee on the road, was that game here.
I mean, at home. Against a rival. What could go wrong?
Turned out, a lot.
The 1st quarter was almost all defense, but Alabama did score a TD and took the lead.
Then came the 2nd quarter all offense and every team did throw punches, with Georgia having a fumble on top to let Alabama win this quarter also to go in total into the locker rooms with Alabama leading by 10 points, 24:14.
The 3rd quarter was then almost all defense again, with Alabama missing a field goal and Georgia scoring a TD to start the comeback, right?
No, in the 4th quarter the teams did bring their best defenses, which was a nightmare for Georgia, which was stopped on 4th and 1 on the Bama 8 and later having to punt from mid-field with 3 minutes left to play.
Alabama did run down the clock and the Bulldogs got their 1st defeat of the season, at home, against that damn rival, who lost already against the Seminoles start of the season. Fair?
No, if you are Bulldogs fan. Live, for all others.
Tough loss for Georgia, losing that crucial game, no 1 game behind in the SEC standings.
Big win for Alabama, now dreaming of the SEC Championship and beyond.
I’m quite sure we will see both teams in the playoffs, but maybe I’m wrong.
#17 Alabama 24 @ #5 Georgia 21 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 7-2

And some other interesting games:

Sat. Sep 27
#21 USC @ #23 Illinois
I was wrong.
Illinois was absolutely able to score, and USC had to play catch-up most of the game.
They did finally get the lead with less than 2 minutes left to play and Illinois did march down the field and kicked a walk-off winning field goal from 41-yards for a 34:32 win. BAM!
Great win for Illinois, especially after last weeks disaster against Indiana. Bad loss for USC, since as one of the self-declared top programs of the country you need to win such games to play with the big boys.
We will see, whether USC can recover from that, but my guess is, not.
The BIG10 will be very tight this season and this loss is devasting.
Jacks interesting games Score: 5-2

#11 Indiana @ Iowa
Not sure, this was an entertaining game.
Quite defense driven and both teams had their chances.
At the half tied at 10 did the 3rd quarter feature only drives with punts at the end.
Then in the 4th did finally Iowa score a go-ahead field goal, only to have that tied at 13 a drive later by Indiana.
Then came the crazy part, with both teams sharing INTs, Iowa missing a field goal and finally Indiana getting a TD to get the lead.
Iowa tried everything, played out the 4th and 10 on mid-field with 16 ticks to play, but failed and Indiana did kneel down and allowed even a safety to happen to run down the clock for a 20:15 win.
I don’t know how good Indiana really is, but in 2 weeks they play Oregon and late in the season Penn State and then we will know.
Not sure they will make the playoffs with that schedule.
Iowa on the other side did already get 2 heavy blows, so likely they will be no part of the post-season conversation, except some bowl invite.
Jacks interesting games Score: 6-2

Eastern Michigan @ Central Michigan
I make this short.
My hope in the Eagles was wrong, they did get a clear loss by CMU.
The final score was 24:13 Central Michigan and the Eagles are now 1-4, which is one of the worst starts of the current HC, while CMU is 3-2 and might have a good season ahead of them under their new HC.
Jacks interesting games Score: 6-3

That’s it for the last gameday.
Unfortune, it looks like the games of next week are not stacked with a lot of great games I’m longing for.
Still, several of those games could be important or even deciding for the conferences standings or even playoffs, since right now, we just don’t know, which teams will be THE hot teams.

Some websites do promote several teams right now with a good chance for the playoffs, but seriously, with just 1 or 2 losses this picture could turn upside down for almost every team in the TOP 25 to 50 teams!

Sure, a team like Eastern Michigan has now with 1-4 record no chance getting into the playoffs, or at least very very limited chance. It’s clear the top 12 teams, will likely have a margin of 1 to 3 losses during the season to make the playoffs, especially since the spots are not bound to conferences and conference standings.

So, let’s have a look on the games of the upcoming weekend.

The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 6

Sat. Oct 4
#14 Iowa State @ Cincinnati
This one is on paper quite clear, I think.
Iowa State did win so far, all games and in Matt Campbells 10th season as HC, the team looks well build. The won against Kansas State (at that time preseason ranked), they won against one of the best FCS teams, they won against rival Iowa at home for the 1st time since ages (how odd THAT is), won against Arkansas State and they won against Arizona last week.
What can go wrong against Cincinnati, even on the road?
Well, number one, the team lost 2 starting CB due injuries.
Number 2, Cincinnati is also unbeaten and won 3 in a row, they lost only to Nebraska on season start. Scott Satterfield is their HC and in his 3rd season, and the teams win total did go up so far from 3 to 5 in the past 2 seasons and this year the team will likely get at least to a bowl.
Doesn’t sound too bad for Iowa State?
You are right, at least for me, but Vegas has the home team favored by 1.5 points, so there is not much confidence in Iowa State, or a lot of confidence in the Bearcats. I don’t know.
I think the Cyclones defense will be the key. They did great so far and did control all offenses they did face.
Down by 2 CBs, this might get a bit messier, but the real strength of Iowa State is that they play with blitzes.
If Cincinnati can’t handle that, they will fall. If they do and the incoming backups at Iowa State are not that efficient as the 2 injured guys, this could become the 1st loss of the Cyclones.
Campbell did so far always field a good defense, so I think they can compensate.
Cyclones win.

#16 Vanderbilt @ #10 Alabama
Last year, this game at Vanderbilt was THE thing for Alabama fans.
The Crimson Tide lost to the Commodores for the 1st time in 40 years!
That was eventually a coincidence with Alabama in a transition phase with a new HC and Vanderbilt having one of the strongest teams in the last 10+ years with overall 7 wins including a bowl win. The last time a coach won 7 or more was when James Franklin did win 9 in consecutive seasons, which did earn him right away the job at Penn State. Prior to that there was a season at 2008 and then 1982! In fact, Vanderbilt has a history record of 0.485.
What is so disturbing for the Bama fans was, a) the series of 40 seasons winning against Vandy was interpretated as ‘forever’, b) the current HC Clark Lea did win until that season only 9 games in 3 seasons before, and the team had only 2 the season prior that named game. And c) ... it’s VANDY! No, c is, they did win almost every game in the past 10+ years and did expect to do further, even under a new HC.
Well, they did not.
So, Clark is in his 5th season now and so far they are ... drum roll ... 5-0!
Alabama is in the 2nd season of Kalen DeBoer and are 3-1. But of course, that is not the whole truth.
The whole truth is, Vanderbilt did so far play no quality team and even they might have lost such games often in history, this season they did not. But with Alabama, LSU, Texas and Tennessee on the schedule until season end, it’s hard to imagine, the team will stay unbeaten.
If so, they would be the best team for 100 years.
And Alabama did so far play FSU (lost), ULM (well ...), Wisconsin and last week Georgia and they won those past games.
Most impressive obviously the Georgia game on the road.
Crimson Tide is favored by Vegas by 10.5 points, I think they will likely beat that.
But never underestimate the Commodores with that current QB.
Crimson Tide win.

#3 Miami @ #18 Florida State
Oh man, FSU did look so good so far and then did the team lose to Virginia in OT. That was a major drop in national confidence on that team and it was also a loss which might hurt in conference standings.
So far, they are now 3-1 and the do only have a rank left, since they won against Alabama on season start.
Miami on the other hand is 4-0 with wins included against Notre Dame and Florida. If Miami wins this game here, they get the Florida Cup, which they also won last year. The Florida Cup is a non-regular Cup between FSU, Florida and Miami.
Do I have to say, what Vegas sees here? Sure.
Miami is favored by 4.5 points.
Not that much. Likely the Bama-game.
Because I think Miami is way better that FSU.
They had several tough situations and games already and they did best all of it, thanks to their defense and the QB.
FSU did fall last week against Virginia ...
I might troll the Seminoles a bit here and of course they have a chance, still I can’t imagine the Hurricanes falling victim to such a team.
Hurricanes win.

And some other interesting games:

Sat. Oct 4
#24 Virginia @ Louisville
Tony Elliott is in his 4th season and tries to get Virginia back on track. His results were so far not big, 3 wins in his first 2 seasons, 5 last year, but now the team is 4-1 and has taken down FSU at home last week.
They face Louisville, who is under the watch of Jeff Brohm, now in the 3rd season. He was quite successful at Purdue and was hired to have Louisville in the top ranks of the ACC or beyond. The success was so far OK, but went from 10 wins to 9 wins last year and this season the team is 4-0.
There is no doubt that the Cardinals are the favorite.
Vegas gives them a line of -6.5 at home, I personally think they will likely win with a higher margin.
The only x-factor in this is the Virginia offense. If they can expose the Cardinals defense as last week the Seminoles defense, this will get interesting. But honestly, I doubt that.
Granted, Louisville has not played really tough teams, but the team looks promising and Brohm should be able to get this done.
Cardinals win.

#11 Texas Tech @ Houston
TTUs win against Utah did put the team in top conversation within the BIG12. Houston on the other hand did win so far against disappointing Colorado and Oregon State, so not the best teams so far on the schedule.
Willie Fritz leads the Cougars in his 2nd year as HC and has already as many wins now (4-0) as last year in total.
For Vegas the favorite is clear with the Red Raiders favored by 10.5 points. But we did see many favorites fall with even higher betting line, so, nothing is given.
I like the Cougars so far, but I cannot ignore how bold they did win against Utah on the road.
And the team did also win against Oregon State in a much more convincing way.
Hence ...
Red Raiders win.

UNLV @ Wyoming
A top matchup in the Mountain West.
UNLV is 4-0 in Dan Mullens 1st season as HC, so maybe that was a homerun hire for the Rebels. They face Jay Sawvel 2nd year version of the Wyoming Cowboys and it looks better than last seasons version (3-9) at 2-2 already.
The team lost to 2 BIG12 teams, which is not unusual and has the chance to make a mark inside the MWC.
Vegas favors UNLV by only 3.5 points, which is likely because they have to play on the road and UNLV has also so far no signature win, except a win against a very bad UCLA team.
I like the progress Mullan has made with the team so far and I hope for a close game.
Rebels win.

'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE

Tags: Block of Granite, News