, Coaches Corner (0/2) , Howtos (0/10) , Inside Deventer Devils (0/28) , Jack6s RZA Guide (0/21) , News (0/652) , Rumours (0/0) , Stories (0/4) , Top25 Rankings (0/22) 2025-11-13 07:30
With just 3 regular season gamedays left, the fields are beginning to narrow down, one way or another.
Unfortune for some fan bases, it seems their teams are not focused enough to bring the team to the sweet pot, called championship game seats and/or playoff seats.
We will have to wait, until the final verdicts are in, whether some losses are just exceptions to the regular results, or the start of a meltdown to season end.
Miami (OH) was the lone unbeaten team left inside the MAC and had to play Ohio on the road, slightly the underdog. They lost 20:24 and by that pushed the door inside the MAC wide open for the 2 championship game seats.
UCF was despite a 4-4 record and with only 1 BIG12 win so far in the pocket the small figure favorite against the guests from Houston. Well, Houston did a long time to get control over the game but won it 30:27 and are still with 2 losses in the hunt for championship seats behind the leading bunch of 3 teams with 1 loss each.
Wake Forest was aiming for a bowl eligibility, but had to visit leading team Virgina, which was favored by 7.5 points. Somehow did Wake Forest manage to keep the Cavaliers out of the endzone and won this game 16:9, which did a) opened up the ACC to now 5 leading teams with 1 loss each, including Virginia, and b) made the Demon Deacons bowl eligible.
Almost similar situation for Cal, only that Louisville was already hit once this season, but was favored by 18.5 points to win. Well, Cal did allow early the 4th quarter Louisville to tie the game but won in OT 29:26 to send a) Louisville into the field of hopeful 2-loss teams (together with Miami) and b) get the bowl status.
Wisconsin had a bad season so far, but did get their 1st BIG10 win by upsetting 10.5-point favorite Washington, 13:10.
Duke has played a good season so far and was favored to take down UConn by 7.5 points, but the Huskies had other plans and won this game 37:34. That did decline the Blue Devils bid for a bowl spot for at least a week and gives UConn the chance to match or even best the result of last season. They are right now at 7 wins and last year they had 9, including a bowl win.
Iowa State did take down TCU, 20:17. TCU is still looking for a boost on the seasons results to take them back to the top of the BIG-12, while Iowa State got their bowl eligibility by that win.
Clemson did bounce back from some bad games by winning against rival Florida State, 24:10. Right now I would bet that FSU will change the HC after the season.
And at last I have Hawai’is win against so far leading team of the Mountain West San Diego State, 38:6. That does open the MWC a little bit, but overall, not too much, unless in the next weeks mor upsets would happen to the top teams.
Let’s look at the games I did pick as preview last week and review them.
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 11
Sat. Nov 8
#7 BYU @ #8 Texas Tech
Oh man, BYU got schooled by the Red Raiders, big time.
The Cougars got no chance at all, did fail to score until the 4th quarter and were at that moment already 0:26 and on top did only score that one time. Texas Tech does look like a good choice for a championship game spot, BYU did not on that day and unfortune doesn’t also the 3rd leading team Cincinnati look like a champ.
The teams will play 3 more games each, so still room for adjustments in the standing, but right now does only TTU look like a team worth a championship AND a playoff spot.
#7 BYU 7 @ #8 Texas Tech 29 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 18-7
#3 Texas A&M @ #22 Missouri
Missouri never had a chance, from my point of view.
They were kept scoreless in the 1st half, then got a TD, but A&M still won that 3rd quarter and on the final 4th quarter did A&M score 2 more TDs, while Missouri just scored 10 points.
A&M is really on winning mode this season.
I think it’s save to say, that Missouri is out of any playoff contention. They are still ranked, thanks to their tough schedule, but with 3 losses, they would need total chaos in the last 3 weeks to get back into any conversation. Texas A&M is very close to get to the SEC Championship game and right now, I would say, they are already a lock for the playoffs.
#3 Texas A&M 38 @ #22 Missouri 17 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 19-7
#9 Oregon @ #20 Iowa
THAT did go almost as I did anticipate it. The difference was, Iowas defense did play way better than I did think they would and by that did Oregon really had something to prove.
The 1st quarter did only see a safety scored by Oregon, the 2nd was won by Oregon 10:7, so the Ducks went into the break with a 12:7 lead.
Iowa did fumble their chance to take the lead away after a long drive in the 3rd, already in the Ducks redzone, and were lucky the Ducks got only a field goal out of that. 15:7 Ducks.
Then came the Hawkeyes and scored a field goal, stopped the Ducks and scored a TD on top, with a failed 2-pointer, so only 16:15 for Iowa.
With less than 2 minutes to play did then Oregon march over the field, went to the 21-yard-line of Iowa and kicked a game winning field goal with 3 ticks left to play.
Iowas desperate try to make a kickoff-return did fail.
That means for Oregon to stay right behind Indiana and Ohio State with 1-loss (together with Michigan and USC), waiting for a booboo by either of the teams.
Iowa on the other hand got their 2nd loss inside the BIG10 and is very likely out of completion for the championship game and also very likely out of the playoffs, thanks to their loss to rival Iowa State earlier.
#9 Oregon 18 @ #20 Iowa 16 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 20-7
And some other interesting games:
Fri. Nov 7
Tulane @ Memphis
Tulane came well prepared and got the lead early and did build on that over time. They did lead at the half 35:17 and it did not look like a change in momentum was up. After an all-defense 3rd quarter did then finally Memphis shift into 2nd gear and started scoring more often. They held the Tigers scoreless, but that INT on the 3rd drive in the last quarter did just cost them too much time until they had the ball back. The margin for errors was then at zero and on a 4th and 8 the team was stopped for good to lose against Tulane, 32:38.
The AAC looks like a mess right now, with 5 teams at 1 loss plus Memphis behind them with 2 losses. But 3 gamedays will shrink the field, at least a bit. But chances are high a tiebreaker is needed to determine the championship participants.
Jacks interesting games Score: 16-9
Sat. Nov 1
#2 Indiana @ Penn State
It did start quite good for Indiana, with them leading at the half 17:7. They did profit from a Lions fumble on the 2nd quarter and did play solid defense. The 3rd quarter did go so-so for the Hoosiers, since they did only get a field goal out of a Penn State INT, but they did also only allow a field goal for the Lions in that quarter.
Then came the 4th quarter and they made some errors. They allowed a TD, did throw and INT and allowed another TD afterwards. Suddenly the score was 24:20 Nittany Lions and the Hoosiers offense did sputter.
With less than 2 minutes left to play did Indiana get another drive and this time the ball was moving, with big gains. With roughly 30 ticks left to play did Indiana score, and Penn State tried their best to get into field goal range to eventually tie the game, but they were stopped at mid-field. So, Indiana won 27:24, the upset did fall apart and by that did Indiana stay hot inside the BIG10 and nationwide.
Penn State would need 3 wins in a row to get to a bowl. Not out of reach, based on the opponents.
Jacks interesting games Score: 17-9
James Madison @ Marshall
JMU was quite dominant throughout the game and did Marshall never back into the game to start a serious comeback try. The final score was 35:23 Dukes and leave them still on top of their division, while Marshall can forget to have any chance on the division crown this season and should concentrate on winning 2 more games out of 3 to get at least to a bowl.
Jacks interesting games Score: 18-9
That’s it for gameday 11.
A small note on the fired HC of LSU, Brian Kelly, on whom it was reported to have accept a smaller buyout on the 53 million dollars the school owns him. Turns out, he did not accept any offer. He still wants the full amount, since the offers were not ok for him. And on top did the school seek to change the termination in a ‘with cause’ case, which would mean, the school doesn’t own him anything. The school argues that the now fired AD had not the authority to fire Kelly and since Kelly did not show up for work afterwards, Kelly was fired with cause. Kelly does of course counter than. I’m quite sure the court will shred that argumentation of LSU in pieces, but most likely this will end with some sort of settlement, since nobody wants to have such stuff for a long period in the media and in court.
Let's go to the conference standings after week 11.
Please note, that the rankings are for the 1st CFP-ranking, which was published on Tuesday.
American Athletic Conference
Leading teams with 1-loss each inside the conference are Navy, #24 South Florida, Tulane, North Texas and East Carolina. It’s quite realistic to foresee the 2 championship game teams will be out of that list.
And behind is only Memphis with 2 losses.
It’s very plausible, that the seats will be determined by a tiebreaker between 3 or more teams.
Atlantic Coast Conference
With Virginia losing, the ACC did also get wide open with #16 Georgia Tech, #19 Virginia, #22 Pittsburgh, SMU and Duke all with 1-loss each. Behind them with 2 losses are #20 Louisville and #15 Miami.
Also, here the chances are high, that the 2 seats for the championship game will be determined by tiebreaker rules between 3 or more teams.
BIG10 Conference
#2 Indiana and #1 Ohio State remained unbeaten on top of the conference and have a quite easy remaining schedule. With 1-loss behind are #17 USC, #8 Oregon and #18 Michigan. OSU has to play Michigan as rivalry game on season final as only troubling game, while Indiana has only losing teams left to play.
BIG-12 Conference
Another conference fell to the 1-loss-teams are in the lead, when BYU lost heavily to TTU. Now #6 Texas Tech, #12 BYU and #25 Cincinnati are in the lead, with Houston, #13 Utah and Arizona State behind with 2 losses.
TTU has a quite easy remaining schedule and likely the winner between Cincinnati and BYU will be the other team to play for the title, but overall, 2 to 3 games left to play and every team can stumble.
Conference USA
Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State remain to dominate the CUSA unbeaten. With 1 loss behind are Western Kentucky and Missouri State. But MSU is ineligible for post-season activities, thanks to their FCS-to-FBS-transition.
The leading teams will play each other the upcoming weekend and that gives WKY a chance to get into the final. WKY has also Jacksonville on the schedule left, so here is still potential for a big makeover.
Mid-American Conference
Miami (OH) lost to Ohio and by that did the MAC have a 4 teams leading group with 1 loss each, Ohio, Miami, Buffalo and Western Michigan.
With 2 losses are behind Central Michigan, Toledo and Ball State.
The schedules of those 7 teams are heavily interlinked, so a lot is still possible. On paper does Western Michigan the easiest, while Buffalo looks the toughest regarded remaining games.
Mountain West Conference
This conference looks odd.
San Diego State and Boise State have 1 loss each and are the only teams with that (which is strange, since in several other conferences there are like 30% in that group) and it has a big bunch of 2-loss teams behind them, with Hawai’I, New Mexico, UNLV, Fresno State and Utah State.
Before Boise and San Diego did lose to strangely, I would have said, both would drive this to the championship game, but now, almost everything is possible.
Southeastern Conference
No big changes here. #3 Texas A&M and #4 Alabama are flawless.
Right behind them are the hopeful teams with 1-loss each, #5 Georgia, #7 Ole Miss and #10 Texas. No change at all.
Sun Belt Conference
The East is still James Madison territory as perfect team. Behind is left Coastal Carolina with 1 loss, playing the Dukes on season finale.
In the West is Southern Miss still perfect and leading the division. Troy is the lone 1-loss-team here left and those 2 teams do also play on season finale!
Bowl eligible teams
8 more teams did qualify, making it 59 teams so far.
Week 6: Memphis,
Week 7: Georgia Tech, Navy, Indiana, Ohio State, BYU, Texas Tech, UNLV, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Week 8: Virginia, North Texas, South Florida, Tulane, Oregon, Cincinnati, Houston, Hawai’i, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, James Madison
Week 9: Louisville, Miami (FL), Virginia, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Washington, TCU, Utah, Western Kentucky, Boise State, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas, Southern Miss, Troy
Week 10: SMU, Arizona State, USC, Minnesota, Illinois, Kennesaw State, Notre Dame, UConn, Fresno State, New Mexico, Old Dominion
Week 11: East Carolina, Wake Forest, Cal, Arizona, Iowa State, Jacksonville State, Ohio, Coastal Carolina.
That’s that for the overview.
As said, 2 to 3 games are left in the schedules for each team.
That makes more or less every game coming now a finale, at least for the contenders. Some are likely easy, when you play as heavy favorite, but as seen over the whole season, being named favorite, even by large numbers, and winning the game, can be something different.
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 12
Sat. Nov 15
#11 Oklahoma @ #4 Alabama
On paper, this is clear, Alabama is higher ranked, unbeaten, plays at home.
That does Vegas acknowledge and gives the Tide the favorite role, by 6.5 points, which is not that much, if Oklahoma is the weaker team and plays on the field of one of the top teams inside the SEC.
I don’t get the betting line, I did expect a higher one.
Sure. Alabama was not that convincing compared to the best seasons of Sabans era, but they did win all games, including tough ones, since that initial loss to FSU on day 1.
Oklahoma lost to Ole Miss and Texas, and not by less than a score.
So, can Oklahoma upset Alabama?
Right now, with the games playing out as they do, I can see that happen, sure.
But for me, maybe in 30 of 100 games. Now I can’t pick that way, just one team or the other.
Alabamas offense will be the key, if they click, the team is unbeatable. But if Oklahoma can disrupt them, it will be a funny game.
Crimson Tide win.
#9 Notre Dame @ #22 Pittsburgh
This could be a tough game for the Irish, because played in Pittsburgh against a rival, even the games do only happen every few years, on national television, will be a tough test.
The Irish lost twice this season, against Miami and Texas A&M, but won since then all games. That includes the USC rivalry game, played in South Bend. Now they face another ranked team, but on the road.
Pitt is 7-2 and lost to Louisville and West Virginia so far. Likely was the Louisville game, at home, the toughest one so far.
On paper, Notre Dame is better, and Vegas has the same impression, making them a 12.5-point favorite on the road.
They won also the last 5 rivalry games, the last win of Pitt was 2013, at home.
Do I believe in a Pitt win? No.
Would I be surprised by a Pitt win? No.
I think we will see a close game and likely also a low scoring one.
In such games, any error can turn the tide.
Fighting Irish win.
#10 Texas @ #5 Georgia
Looking into the SEC right now, the winner can dream on getting eventually a spot in the SEC championship game, the loser is out of that competition. And the loser will also sink in the national standing eventually too deep to get a playoff spot.
But to be clear, the logic in the playoff standing is not based on win or losses, it also does count in to whom a team lost and THIS here will be a hero loss, even it is a loss anyway.
Means, the sinking might not be too severe and compared to a different team with similar record the loser here will swim on top.
We have here 2 teams struggling against the expectations, set by the fan base and the programs itself.
Texas was supposed to be the dominating force inside the SEC and national wide and Georgia is still Georgia under that HC, who game the team not 1 but 2 National Championships.
But Texas lost twice so far, Georgia once. Not bad, right? But too bad compared to the expectations.
Georgia is favored by 5.5 points and I’m willing to follow that.
Texas can beat them, if their offense clicks, but it did not in many scenarios so far, so no sure thing in that.
And Georgia seems to adjust to the opponent, and we might see them shutting them down, or not.
Played in Athens, I pick the home team.
Bulldogs win.
And some other interesting games:
Sat. Nov 15
#21 Iowa @ #17 USC
Almost similar situation like Texas-Georgia, but with the difference, that both teams were not supposed to be THAT dominant and the losing team here will be out of any competition, except a regular bowl. The loser will sink deep in the ranks or will even drop out, national wide, and inside the BIG10, both teams are already on praying mode anyway, even USC would have a better shot than Iowa.
Played in California, this is a big advantage for USC.
They are only favored by 6.5 points, likely, because Iowa did play so far very good and USC will have to overcome one of the best defenses in the conference, if not national wide.
But USC has as HC one of the best offense minds as HC, so expectations are, they will solve that puzzle, especially at home.
My pick ...
Trojans win.
Sat. Nov 1
Boise State @ San Diego State
This game will open up the Mountain West wide again, regardless of who wins.
Both have 1 loss so far inside the conference and reign on spot 1 and 2 of the conference.
The loser will drop to 2 losses, in which after that gameday max 4 more teams will sit to fight for that 2nd spot in the championship game.
SDSU is favored at home by 2.5 points, which means, nobody is sure, who is the stronger team here.
I’m also confused, based on the results of the past few weeks, where Boise lost to Fresno State at home and San Diego lost to Hawai’i big time, even that was on the road.
I doubt for the home team.
Aztecs win.
Kennesaw State @ Jacksonville State
And a quite similar situation inside the CUSA as of the Mountain West, only that here the teams are unbeaten inside the conference and the field of 1-loss-teams is only 2 teams strong, of which 1 team is ineligible to play in the championship game.
So, much more relaxed situation.
Still a win would mean very sure to get into that championship game, while a loss does jeopardize the spot.
Kennesaw State is favored by 3.5 points, I’m willing to admit, I don’t know if that is fair or not.
Both teams did play great but lost also non-conference games.
I see here Jacksonville State, based on the results a bit weaker, but they play at home, which should not be underestimated.
Hmmm. Get me the coin.
Visiting Owls or homefield gamecocks?
Gamecocks win. (arg, I’m not sure)
'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE
Tags: Block of Granite, News
2025-11-06 07:20
This weekend was tough for a lot of teams. You might remember, I did say, that a lot of big favorite games are scheduled for that weekend and that not many interesting games are there to pick from. And that I did say, there is a lot of opportunity to upset the favorites and that those games are hard to pick.
Guess what, lots of upsets DID happen and in games many had not on their list.
But before I start with the upsets, with one of them did again cost a coach his job, I would like to add something to the situation at LSU.
Last week I did write about the situation at LSU, that Brian Kelly was fired, that the university does own him 50+ million dollars.
Well, a weak later the university does not only look for a new HC, it does also look for a new AD. Not sure how this did come to place, but what I did read was, that the governor of Louisiana did state, that this AD, Scott Woodward, would NOT s e l e c t the next HC and a day later it was reported, that the AD did leave LSU. Looks like he was fired, too.
Since LSU is a state-owned university, the governor is basically the boss of everyone there, so he can make that call.
Looks like there were concerns on the timing and the actions on Kellys firing and also regarding the money, which is right now reported to be half as much as initially reported, because Brian Kelly agreed to such a reduction. But initially it was 54 million dollars and thanks to the SAME AD another university, Texas A&M, had to pay 77.5 million dollars to Jimbo Fischer, when he was fired from his contract, which was initially set up by that AD and later prolonged by a different one (the prolongation did at the end cause the amount of money, but the contract structure did cause the guaranteed part with no loophole).
So that AD did directly and indirectly cause initially a damage of 130+ million dollars, now reduced thanks to Kelly to 100+ million dollars.
If I would be a dean at an university, I would know, which guy NOT to s e l e c t for the next AD ...
Oh, there is one good news on coaching. Kent State had fired their HC late in the offseason (April) after 2 miserable seasons, 1-11 and 0-12, and named the OC Mark Carney interims HC. With November left to play, the AD did drop the interims tag of Carney, making him the permanent HC of the Golden Flashes after a 3-5 start.
Back to the weekend.
The Auburn Tigers were favored by 11.5 points to win against visiting team Kentucky Wildcats. The game was very defense driven and at the half were both teams tied at 3.
Later did Kentucky score a TD, and both teams then did decide to just play possum and nothing big happened, except a Kentucky INT, which was returned for 15 yards by Auburn, only to be fumbled a way and Kentucky got the ball back to play possum again.
At the end did the Wildcats win 10:3 and to get their 1st SEC win of the season and Auburn did fire their HC Hugh Freeze after 2+ seasons with the Tigers and a 15-19 record, 6-16 inside the SEC. The university owns him roughly 15.5 million dollars for that exit. Auburn is a tough spot to coach, because their ambition is to be on the same level as Alabama, if not better, and the reality is different. Yes, the University can afford good coaches, but they did not made good decisions in the past 15 seasons, since their last national title. That HC was let go, once the QB, who gifted the team that championship was gone (a guy named Cam Newton, you might have heard of him) and the win total did sink. The next guy was good, but not great (he even won a SEC Championship) but did not overcome the Alabama compare and was let go after 8 seasons. And then the drama did really start, with the next guy being fired after 1+ season and now Freeze being fired after 2+ seasons.
It will be interesting to see, who will come next, but I hope he makes a good contract.
More crazy games?
Coastal Carolina was a 7.5 points underdog against Marshall, but did win 44:27. By that did CCU stay in the hunt inside their division, as lone team behind the lead team James Madison. Marshall is one game behind CCU now, with some other teams.
UTSA won against favorite Tulane, 48:26. Thanks to this game and another one, the AAC is now WIDE open.
NC State did flex their muscles against Georgia Tech, who were favored to win by 6.5 points, and won 48:36. That did cost GT the lead inside the ACC and gives a lot of teams now a realistic chance to get into the championship game.
Houston did host West Virginia and was favored by 12.5 points. But the Mountaineers did win 45:35 and did send Houston down into the pick calls ‘other teams’ behind the leading contenders. Still chances to get to a championship game seat, but man, that does hurt.
Imagine you did start the season with a veteran QB with the ambition to get back to the top level your team had the past 10+ seasons and the season becomes a hunt for a pity bowl spot. Clemson was favored to win at home by 4.5 points against Duke, which seems to be an insult already, but did then LOSE 45:46. While Dukes enjoys the sun in almost at the top of the ACC, Clemson is 3-5 overall right now and is in the last 3rd of the conference.
Buffalo did beat Bowling Green by 28:3. The Falcons were a small favorite at home but lost big time and are way down in the conference standings.
While we are talking about a down season, Iowa State is having a bad season this year and did increase the drama by losing as 8.5-point favorite at home against Arizona State. ASU can still dream on some outside chances to reach the championship game, while ISU still needs a win to at least get into a bowl.
UNLV did can their season with a loss to New Mexico, 35:40. They were favored at home and needed that win to stay in the hunt inside the Mountain West, but sucked and are right now 1 loss behind the other team, which lost this week, but which stayed in the driving seat for a championship spot, which is ...
Boise State lost surprisingly against Fresno State, 7:30, at home, as 17.5-point favorite! With that loss, they are now the lone team inside the MWC with 1 loss and stay on 2nd place (thanks to UNLV losing), but they play the leading team soon and another 2-loss team at season finale, so this can become shit very quickly.
Louisiana (Lafayette) did win the fight against South Alabama, 31:22. Both teams are struggling in this season, but USA was favored and lost at home, while UL did get their 2nd conference win to get lifted to mid-level inside the SUN BELT.
Arkansas was favored to win against Mississippi State, but lost at home, 35:38. Both teams were seeking for their 1st SEC win of the season, but only MSU was successful.
Arkansas State did beat favored Troy on the road, 23:10. Both teams are now 1 game behind the leading team inside the SUN BELT division. ASU had a rough start into the season but has now won 4 win a row to be back in the hunt.
That’s it for the small notes.
Let’s look at the games I did pick as preview last week and review them.
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 10
Sat. Nov 1
#9 Vanderbilt @ #20 Texas
Hmmm. Vanderbilt was bad in the 1st quarter, fumbled the ball away after a Longhorns score and stayed on offense infective until they finally did score a field goal start of the 2nd quarter. But at that moment, they were already down deep in a hole. 3:17 after the successful kick.
Texas scored a TD afterwards and Vandy finally did also score a TD, so the teams went into the break with Texas leading 24:10.
Over?
Not so fast.
After Texas did increase the margin with the help of another Vandy-offense-not-really-on-the-field-quarter, the Commodores started a comeback in the final quarter.
Down 10:34 did they score their 2nd TD but dodged a 2-point-try.
Now Texas had their 1st error by missing a field goal and Vandy used that to score another TD. Thanks to a 2-pointer, the team was suddenly only down by 10 with 4 minutes left to play.
Texas? Ineffective suddenly and Vanderbilt marched again over the field and scored a TD, now down only by 3 but less than 40 ticks left.
The onside kick was a miss and by that did Texas then run down the clock and won the game, 34:31.
With a bit more Vanderbilt could have won this, but at the end, it makes no sense to speculate. Texas won and stays in the 1-loss-group of SEC teams in the hunt, while Vanderbilt dropped into the group of 2-loss-teams, which will likely not have an impact on the SEC and the playoffs.
#9 Vanderbilt 31 @ #20 Texas 34 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 16-6
#18 Oklahoma @ #14 Tennessee
One quarter with too many errors did sink Tennessee’s hope for a great season.
They won the 1st quarter 10:7, even with a fumble.
Then came the bad 2nd quarter, with a missed field goal, 2 INTs and too many field goals for Oklahoma to lose this one 0:9.
For the remaining game the Vols needed even some Sooners errors to keep the game close, but both quarters went down with ties, 7:7 and 10:10, which means, the final score was Oklahoma winning 33:27.
Oklahoma can as 2-loss-team dream over some unlikely if-then-scenarios, while for sure Tennessee with 3 SEC losses is out of contention for everything, except a bowl game.
#18 Oklahoma 33 @ #14 Tennessee 27 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 16-7
#17 Cincinnati @ #24 Utah
Oh man, a far from close game.
Cincinnati did just blew it in this game.
Lots of errors, and the offense was a kitty cat on vacation.
Utah did win ever quarter, by at least a score, often more.
At the end, the score was 45:15 and Cincinnati was lucky to only get credited with 1 loss here, because according to the results, the standings inside the BIG-12 are still misleading.
The Bearcats are now 1 loss behind the leading teams, while Utah is 2 losses behind, thanks to a tougher schedule so far.
I think that game of Cincinnati against BYU will be the final test and right now I would predict BYU to win that big time.
#17 Cincinnati 14 @ #24 Utah 45 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 17-7
And some other interesting games:
Sat. Nov 1
#10 Miami @ SMU
Another shipwreck inside the ACC, with SMU winning against favored Miami, 26:20 in OT. For Miami, this is worst case scenario, as team, which did start with a hope for a ACC championship and playoff ambitions, now being 1-game behind a lot of 1-loss teams inside the ACC and being now ranked outside the likely playoff ranks. Still a lot of games left to play, but for sure, a loss does never help.
Jacks interesting games Score: 15-7
Navy @ North Texas
North Texas came out into the 1st quarter and did set statements, while Navy needed that whole 1st quarter to adjust.
When both teams started playing on the same level, Navy was 14 points behind and UNT did keep that margin more or less intact until the end, winning 31:17.
That breaks the AAC wide open, and 6 teams are now in the driving seat to get one of the 2 championship spots, including Navy and UNT.
Jacks interesting games Score: 16-7
Washington State @ Oregon State
Oregon State is under interims coaching reign, because they did start the season 0-7. They then played an FCS team and won and the Washington State Cougars last week. The Cougars were 4-4 before the game and were the favorite to win the game.
Guess what?
The defense driven game ended with a Beavers win, 10:7 and they can claim again the unofficial PAC-12 Championship for this season.
Crazy.
Both teams are in deep trouble, and I hope it will become better next year.
Jacks interesting games Score: 16-8
That’s it for gameday 10
Let's go to the conference standings after week 10.
Please note, that the rankings are for the 1st CFP-ranking, which was published on Tuesday.
American Athletic Conference
As mentioned, the conference is wide open, thanks to the losses by Navy and Tulane. Leading teams with 1-loss inside the conference are now, Navy, Memphis, North Texas, South Florida, Tulane and East Carolina.
And behind them are with 2 losses Temple and UTSA.
I think the next 2 weeks will shrink the contenders list down fast, but most concerning is right now, that there is not a real strong team, which means, if the conference gets a team into the playoffs, it will be a 1st-round-victim, very likely.
Atlantic Coast Conference
The ACC did also get a big hit regarding national recognition, because they lost their 2nd unbeaten team. Now #14 Virginia is the lone perfect team left, with #17 Georgia Tech, #24 Pittsburgh, #15 Louisville, SMU and Duke sitting with 1-loss behind them on that 2nd seat for the championship game. #18 Miami is with 2-losses the lone team to have an outside chance for that 2nd seat.
BIG10 Conference
#2 Indiana and #1 Ohio State are still unbeaten leading the conference. A bunch of 1-loss teams are hoping for some meltdown by one of them or both. #21 Michigan, #9 Oregon, #20 Iowa and #19 USC all hope for something which might never happen. But you never know. Indiana and Ohio State still have tough games ahead.
BIG-12 Conference
#7 BYU is the lone unbeaten team left here. Next are #8 Texas Tech and #25 Cincinnati with 1 loss each looking for the 2nd spot in the championship game right now. But 2-loss teams do still have a chance here, with Houston, #13 Utah, Arizona State and TCU in that list of hoping programs.
Conference USA
Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State remained unbeaten.
With 1 loss behind are Western Kentucky, Missouri State, which are ineligible for post-season activities, thanks to their FCS-to-FBS-transition and Liberty. No change to last week.
Mid-American Conference
Miami (OH) remained unbeaten.
The 2nd spot in the championship game try to claim 1-loss-teams of Buffalo, Western Michigan and Ohio.
Central Michigan did drop to 2-losses, waiting for their chance to get back into the hunt, with Toledo, Ball State and Kent State.
Mountain West Conference
And another conference, which lost their leading duo.
San Diego State is the lone team left with no losses inside the conference. But the fun part here is, Boise State is right now the lone 1-loss team behind them.
Fresno State, Hawai’i, New Mexico, UNLV, Utah State and San Jose State, so almost the whole rest of the conference, are looking for another booboo by Boise State to have a chance on that 2nd seat for the championship spot as 2-loss-teams.
I think the next 2 weeks will shrink this field fast.
Southeastern Conference
No big changes here. #3 Texas A&M and #4 Alabama are flawless.
Right behind them are the hopeful teams with 1-loss each, #5 Georgia, #6 Ole Miss and #11 Texas. Last week, they were 4, but Vanderbilt did lose.
Sun Belt Conference
The East is still James Madison territory as perfect team. Behind is left Coastal Carolina with 1 loss, beating Marshall out of that list.
In the West is Southern Miss still perfect and leading the division. Now Troy and Arkansas State follow with 1 loss each.
Bowl eligible teams
11 more teams did qualify, making it 51 teams so far.
Week 6: Memphis,
Week 7: Georgia Tech, Navy, Indiana, Ohio State, BYU, Texas Tech, UNLV, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Week 8: Virginia, North Texas, South Florida, Tulane, Oregon, Cincinnati, Houston, Hawai’i, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, James Madison
Week 9: Louisville, Miami (FL), Virginia, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Washington, TCU, Utah, Western Kentucky, Boise State, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas, Southern Miss, Troy
Week 10: SMU, Arizona State, USC, Minnesota, Illinois, Kennesaw State, Notre Dame, UConn, Fresno State, New Mexico, Old Dominion
That’s that for the overview.
Now, forward to week 11. There are a few games between contenders or at least teams in the direct hunt and other teams or other hunting teams this weekend. That means, the losing teams will have a problem, and the winner can dream further on championship seats. Those games are the best to sort out the real deal from the wannabees or, to bring chaos to a conference, which leads to many people starting to look up the tie-breaker rules of that conference (and there are some crazy ones!).
Please note, one of the games is on Friday night already.
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 11
Sat. Nov 8
#7 BYU @ #8 Texas Tech
BYU is the lone unbeaten team standing in the BIG-12 and Texas Tech was the most likely opponent for them in the championship game.
But TTU did lose against Arizona State and by that, suddenly this game becomes a game for survival for them.
If the Red Raiders lose, they will drop to 2 losses and are likely a long shot for the championship game. If BYU loses, the Cougars are together with TTU and eventually Cincinnati in the group of contenders, still one game ahead of all others.
Texas Tech is favored by 10.5 points, which means, that nobody does believe, similar to the Cincinnati game last week, that their record does reflect their strength.
And it is true, their strongest opponent so far was Utah, which they won against in that rival game at home by 3 points.
Now they are on the road against TTU, who won against Utah on the road by 24.
Not sure this is as easy in compare, still a hint.
I’m not sure the line is OK, but I think the Red Raiders can win this, in a close game.
Red Raiders win.
#3 Texas A&M @ #22 Missouri
The Aggies are on course to the SEC championship game as perfect team. Missouri is on live support regarding their championship game dreams with 2 SEC losses way behind the leading teams (Aggies and the Tide).
But a win here would bring them (and a bunch of other teams) one step close to eventually fulfilling their dreams, because then one seat would be filled with a non-perfect team at least.
But the Aggies did look good throughout the season so far and are favored by 6.5 points, while the Tigers did lose to Vandy and Alabama so far.
My gut feeling is, the Tigers will play like hell, but it won’t be enough. Texas A&M looks like the team to beat and so far every team did get a kick in the private parts, and I do not see, why this should be different this week.
Aggies win.
#9 Oregon @ #20 Iowa
A tough game for Oregon. They did look great until they lost to Indiana at home. Now they try to stay in the hunt and are looking for a chance to get back into the driver seat (which can only happen, if Indiana or Ohio State stumble), but they need that win here, to keep their hopes alive.
Iowa is strong, surprisingly strong for me, and this is played in a hostile environment.
Oregon is favored by 6.5 points. They lost inside the BIG10 only 1 game, also against Indiana, quite close.
Here is the primer: If the Hawkeyes defense, which does play so far very well, can control the quite explosive offense, every error will tip the game to one side or another, because it will be a low scoring game.
If the defense can NOT do that, this game will be over, fast, because even the Iowa offense is better than in recent years, they won’t be able to match that power.
I think we will see tough game, but at the end Oregon will prevail by a bit more than an inch.
Ducks win.
And some other interesting games:
Fri. Nov 7
Tulane @ Memphis
When Tulane lost last week to UTSA (and Navy to North Texas) the American Athletic Conference went wide open for 6 teams to have a realistic shot and 2 more teams to have a long shot to the championship game, including Tulane itself (and of course Navy also). Memphis was waiting for such an opportunity, since they lost surprisingly to UAB mid-October and were waiting for the top teams to fall or the direct matchup.
Well, the top teams did fall AND we have a direct matchup on top, which means, the winner will be part of a now smaller group of contenders and the losing teams will line up with the hopeful teams waiting for the chance to eventually sneaking into contention again.
The problem here will be, the more you lose, the worse your tie-breaker score will likely get, if you lost to a team in contention, so, losing is not an option, for both teams.
Vegas has Memphis ahead 3.5 points, which reads like home field advantage.
I think, Memphis is fielding the stronger teams here, but I expect a close game. Tulane has the weapons to stay in the game and eventually winning it, but if Memphis can copy the UTSA defense approach, the Memphis offense will take down Tulane by just too many points.
Tigers win.
Sat. Nov 1
#2 Indiana @ Penn State
This looks like the last real test for Indiana until post season. The remaining games on the schedule are against Wisconsin (2-6) and Purdue (2-7), both winless inside the BIG10. Penn State was aiming for a national championship and did fall from grace, fired their HC and is 3-5 now, also winless inside the BIG10, but the roster is way better and if the interim HC can bring the team together, at home, that team could bring down any BIG10.
The big, giant, question is, what can Penn State bring to the table.
On paper, the game is done. Losing team against high-flyer, Hoosiers -14.5 points betting line. Over.
If the Lions find their identity, this could become a stunner, if not, Indiana will win big time, again.
I hope for a close game, but with the recent results of Indiana, I’m quite sure, the Hoosiers will take care of business and win this, again.
Hoosiers win.
James Madison @ Marshall
Last chance for Marshall. If they lose, any chance to get on top of the division again, is spoiled with then 3 losses and JMU still perfect. But IF they win, JMU would have 1 loss and Marshall 2, so still hope.
Do I believe that? No.
James Madison did take care of all teams so far, in a good way.
Vegas favors them by 13.5 points, on the road.
I did put this only into the mix here, because a) there is an outside chance the game will be close and eventually an upset, and b) because SUN BELT often gets overseen and this matchup is quite important.
Dukes win.
'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE
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