College Football

cross-posted from: https://fanaticus.social/post/411711

From the article:

The 18-person task force formed to come up with a solution to combine the school’s academic name (UC Berkeley) with its athletics name (Cal) produced an 18-page report that concludes this:

Recommendation #3

Shift the athletics identity to Cal Berkeley in both name and logo. Develop a visual identity that clearly communicates this shift.

In essence, the “Cal” and “UC Berkeley” names were merged for sports in this recommendation.

Maddox Kopp — a quarterback who started the Buffaloes' last game in 2022 — was in the front row last December, among those suddenly told their services were no longer needed by Coach Prime. He and dozens of his teammates were basically told to transfer elsewhere so Sanders had room for his "Louis."

But after transferring to Miami (Ohio), Kopp has become the latest waiver warrior in a controversial transition of another kind. Kopp was recently denied a waiver request by the NCAA to transfer a second time as he sought immediate eligibility with the RedHawks. He began his career at Houston in 2021 as a three-star prospect. Kopp then transferred to CU in January 2022.

[The] NCAA ruled he couldn't play right away at Miami (Ohio). The quarterback, his family and their attorney sought a waiver citing learning disabilities and a "totality of circumstances including runoff and public and private statements made by the head coach," that attorney, Jason Montgomery, told CBS Sports.

Florida's had the number of its SEC East rival, winning nine straight at home and 16 of 18 meetings overall since 2004

Love you too, @g0d0fm15ch13f.

Colorado State coach Jay Norvell is adding fuel to the fire for Saturday's rivalry game against Colorado. During a recent appearance on his coach's show, Norvell took a shot at Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders, who frequently wears a hat and sunglasses to press conferences.

"I don't care if they hear it in Boulder: I told them, I took my hat off and I took my glasses off and I said, 'When I talk to grownups, I take my hat and my glasses off,'" Norvell said. "That's what my mother taught me."

Of course, a follow-up question should have been asked if visors count as hats — something Norvell frequently wears to his press conferences.

That's it, that's the post

USC coach Lincoln Riley revealed that his family needed armed security after he announced plans to leave Oklahoma in November of 2021. In an interview on the YouTube series "In Depth with Graham Bensinger," Riley said there were multiple security incidents that put his family at risk.

Riley was announced as USC's coach on Nov. 28, 2021, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The original plan, according to Riley, was to let his two daughters — who were nine and five at the time — finish out the fall semester before moving them to Los Angeles. After the break-ins and a handful of other incidents, Riley decided he had to "get them out of here" as fast as possible.

If you want to feel really poor, this article is the perfect read.

In all seriousness, it's an interesting detailed narrative of how to get into a power conference (which took a little more effort than just ponying up $200M).

Of note:

At one point last fall, SMU officials were engrossed in serious conversations with all three conferences.

Referring to the ACC, Big XII, and PAC12 before the Texas schools in the Big XII stymied those efforts and the PAC12 imploded.

“It was, ‘OK, we know what we have to do,’” recalled Bill Armstrong. “It wasn’t, ‘Bill, are you good for a million a year?’ Nothing like that. It was, ‘Are you in?’ And everybody was like, ‘We’re in.’”

The combined net worth of the room was more than $15 billion.

And probably the most interesting tidbit was that SMU had hired Oliver Luck as a consultant, whom I consider basically the allegorical CFB czar given his crazy industry connections.

The Big XII did okay this week, going 10-4 yet again.

Here's my tier list and thoughts around the conference this week:

Tier 1

Texas (2-0)

Texas not only won in Tuscaloosa, they made Alabama (ranked AP #3 and c/CFB #4) look like a mediocre P5 team. The thing is, it's early enough in the season that Alabama might just be a mediocre P5 team so I felt uneasy putting them in a league of their own. But Texas performed well at every position, only slightly marred by drops in the red zone that forced Texas to settle for multiple field goals (one of which kicker Auburn missed). Ewers had a couple flawless deep throws (including this incredible moon shot, answering one the biggest question about him. The RB room looks stacked, filling the need created by Bijan's departure for the NFL. The front 7 pressured Bama QB Milroe all night, registering 5 sacks (Ewers took none). Milroe was also picked off by both Barron and Thompson, so don't think Texas is all offense and no defense.

Tier 2

KU (2-0), K-State (2-0), OU (2-0)

Not only did Kansas QB Jalon Daniels return from injury in this game, he looked pretty darn good, leading KU to a decisive P5 non-con victory over Illinois (34-23). And it wasn't as close as the score suggests (the only reason I watched the whole game was because nothing else was on). Thus, they move up a tier. But they didn't make Illinois look totally helpless in their comeback attempt, with great scrambling by QB Altmyer (see this amazing run), and the fact that Illinois was successful on both 2-pt attempts tells me KU could work on their red zone defense.

K-State pushed Troy -- one of the better G5 schools, or so I'm expecting this season -- around for an hour and won by 4 scores (42-13). Will Howard is arguably the top QB in the conference (certainly one of the most experienced), and he showed out in this one with 3 passing TDs and 2 rushing TDs. I didn't get many eyes on this game as I was mostly watching Baylor, but I'm keen to see if they can put up another 40-burger when they face a P5 team next week (Missouri -- which I imagine will only add to the "SEC is trash" narrative building this season).

I'm only keeping OU in this tier because I think this game might have been a fluke, as they struggled with SMU (28-11), a vastly superior team to Arkansas State but still G5 (well, I guess not for long). SMU was only a field goal down during the 4th quarter in this contest. If not for the turnover margin (2-0), plus a missed field goal, the Mustangs could well have won. As a rule, I don't watch OU games besides RRS or when they're losing, so I probably missed some context for this one.

Tier 3

Cinci (2-0), TCU (1-1), Texas Tech (0-2), UCF (2-0)

Congrats to Cinci for the rivalry win (27-21). I think they surprised a lot of people, myself included, for pulling this off with the HC reshuffle at the end of last coaching carousel. Props to Satterfield for circling the wagons and assembling a decent team to best a Narduzzi squad (who might just be Michigan State's coach next year). I don't have much else to note as I didn't watch the game (and to be perfectly honest, I only just realized Emory Jones is here and not at Florida despite writing about him in last week's post...), but I don't like that Pitt mounted a comeback drive. Take notes, West Virginia.

TCU pushed around an FCS team (41-6), as they should. Probably could have won by more if they were playing angry following last week's letdown, but I believe teams should get their backups experience whenever possible as TCU did here. I was watching the Texas-Bama game so I'm just recapping from the box score: I see a 57-yard field goal -- I like 57 yard field goals. Props to QB Morris for his rushing TD. Also, in the AP account of the game was this gem from Morris re: his W1 performance against CU:

I had two costly turnovers last week that I mean, I couldn't even turn on Animal Planet during the week and watch some shows without seeing it on TV.

Are they showing CFB highlights on Animal Planet now?

So it might be controversial to have a winless team roughly in the top half of the conference, but I thought Texas Tech bounced back from their lethargic performance in Laramie last week in this week's home game against the might Ducks (30-38). I know Oregon covered, but I expected them to beat Tech by more and Tech even led for more than a quarter of game time. If not for the pick-six in the last minute of the game (and Bo Nix doing Nix things), Tech could well have won by a walk-off FG. I've never been high on Tech QB Tyler Shough though (obviously the story in this game was that he was once at Oregon), so I'm not sure why I'm holding out high expectations for this team... Probably because I know they've got the weird tortilla magic that can ruin my Longhorns' season on Black Friday. We've seen what McGuire can do for recruiting but can he turn the ship around on a losing season?

Y'all okay, UCF fans? I believe this is a good Boise squad so a nail-biter (18-16) against them on the Smurf turf is nothing to be ashamed of. But I would hope you have more up your sleeve for conference play than kicking FGs (shout out to Colton Boomer for hitting 4, including 2 for 50+ and the go-ahead walk-off 40 yarder). After last week's solid performance, I would not have expected a pair of red zone interceptions. And with QB Plumlee out due to injury for a few weeks, I'm very curious how UCF regains their footing. I trust Malzahn will devise serviceable game plans, but maybe they lose one more game than expected going forward.

Tier 4

Baylor (0-2), BYU (2-0), Iowa State (1-1), Oklahoma State (2-0)

Behold my surprise when Baylor pushed around Utah for the majority of their contest (yes, Utah had key players out), only to choke in the fourth and then be robbed of a chance at OT (13-20). But just as Texas left points on the board, Baylor really should have capitalized more on all the momentum they had. There was no need to push so hard in the fourth in a tied ball game -- all you need to do is manage the clock to kick a late field goal (and if you miss, let it go to OT). But no, let's throw an interception instead. And then give up a whole TD in about a minute (leaving only 17 seconds to score your own TD to equalize). Props to Utah here for recognizing that Barnes wasn't working at QB and resorting to playing former Longhorn Ja'Quinden Jackson as wildcat QB and just running the ball. Baylor's not going in the basement this week just because they looked more dominant than a ranked team for 58 minutes.

I've not go much to say about BYU blowing out an FCS school (41-16). 4 passing TDs and a rushing TD from QB Kedon Slovis is always commendable, I guess. Props for getting a blocked punt. And always good to add an INT to that for the defense (but Slovis had one of his own as well). But I would expect a higher score when your opponent also muffs a punt and misses a FG. Now good luck going into Fayette-nam next week, BYU. flashbacks begin

Iowa State could just not get things going in ¡El Assico! this year (13-20). Nearly shut out of the first half, they allowed Iowa to do Iowa things (scoring on defense) and had to settle for 50+ walk-off field goal to get on the board. And Iowa didn't even look great (especially on offense, go figure), taking home the Cy-Hawk Trophy but crucially falling short of their 25 point target. Because the Cyclones seem plagued by drops and bad QB play, they are relegated a tier this week.

I caught a bit of the Big-XII After Dark game, which looked fairly evenly matched until OK State pulled away in the fourth quarter (15-27). But maybe both teams are auditioning for the B1G or something, as 9 drives ended in punts and 4 turned over on downs. Looks like Mike Gundy is still going with a committee at the QB position, with 3 getting significant playing time. I'm expecting this to be a bad ASU team (true freshman QB Jaden Rashada looked way too raw) so the Pokes really needed to win by more and not trail for so long for me to have them any higher.

Tier 5

Houston (1-1), West Virginia (1-1)

Houston lost to some carbs (41-43). I guess this makes me feel better about Texas's sluggish performance against Rice last week. Rice was just in control of this game, up 28-0 late in the 2nd quarter. Props to JT Daniels for passing for over 400 yards and to Luke McCaffrey for this amazing catch. Houston had to mount a hurried comeback to get to OT, but fell short of the required 2pt conversion in the 2nd OT period. I hope Holgo is wearing fire-retardant pants because his seat is probably getting very hot after this cross-town rivalry performance.

West Virginia beat up their FCS foe, scoring a whopping 28 points in the 2nd quarter to do so (56-17). But they shouldn't have been tied with Duquesne at the end of the first quarter. I have the same trousers comment for Neil Brown as I did for his predecessor, so it's fitting they get to hang out in the Big XII cellar together.

Please tell me how I got everything wrong and why your team is going to win the conference this year!

Place	Team	Points	#1 Votes	Movement	Noisy
1	Georgia	191	6	-	Georgia
2	Michigan	189	0	-	Michigan
3	Texas	180	1	+6	Ohio State
4	Florida State	177	0	+1	Texas
5	Ohio State	163	0	-2	Florida State
6	Penn State	148	0	-	Penn State
7	Washington	139	0	+1	Washington
8	USC	138	1	+4	USC
9	Notre Dame	135	0	+4	Notre Dame
10	Alabama	121	0	-6	Alabama
11	Tennessee	121	0	-4	Tennessee
12	Utah	116	0	-2	Utah
13	Oregon	108	0	-2	Oregon
14	Ole Miss	80	0	+4	Kansas State
15	Oklahoma	77	0	+1	Ole Miss
16	Kansas State	72	0	+1	Oklahoma
17	LSU	65	0	-3	LSU
18	North Carolina	63	0	-3	North Carolina
19	Oregon State	50	0	+2	Oregon State
20	Miami (FL)	43	0	NR	Miami (FL)
21	Colorado	38	0	+2	Colorado
22	Duke	37	0	-	Duke
23	Washington State	21	0	NR	Louisville
24	Arkansas	17	0	NR	Troy
25	Iowa	17	0	NR	Baylor

Others receiving votes: Wisconsin (15), Texas A&M (14), UCLA (14), Auburn (10), Louisville (10), Wake Forest (10), Kentucky (8), Kansas (5), Rutgers (4), Clemson (3), Tulane (1)

Link to check out the spreadsheet of responses here

Games this week with over 1M viewers:

• Texas @ Bama: 8.76M
• Nebraska @ Colorado: 8.73M
• TAMU @ Miami: 4.02M
• ¡El Assico! in Ames: 3.38M
• UNLV @ Michigan: 2.97M
• ND @ NC State: 2.93M
• Oregon @ Texas Tech: 2.55M
• Wiscy @ Wazzu: 2.28M
• Auburn @ Cal: 2.23M
• Stanford @ USC: 1.75M
• Ole Miss @ Tulane: 1.44M
• Illinois @ Kansas: 1.36M
• Utah @ Baylor: 1.31M
• Youngstown State @ tOSU: 1.22M
• UCLA @ SDSU: 1.08M

Texas Tech‘s first ever 5-star recruit. Committed yesterday but I forgot to post the article.

Kyle McCord is officially Ohio State's starting quarterback. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day announced during his Monday press conference that McCord will be first off the bench for the rest of the year, edging out sophomore Devin Brown for the job. Brown and McCord were locked in a competition that extended through the first two games of the season, but evidently McCord's experience and comfort with the offense won out.

Shortly after Texas' 34-24 win over Alabama on Saturday, video surfaced of Crimson Tide fans directing racist and homophobic language towards Texas players on the Longhorns sideline. On Tuesday, The University of Alabama responded to the incident in a statement provided to USA Today.

"We are disgusted by reports of vile language and inappropriate behavior Saturday night," the statement reads. "To be clear, we condemn this behavior and it will not be tolerated in our venues. It is not representative of UA or our values. We expect all attendees to act with class and respect toward others. Fans are strongly encouraged to report issues to our security on-site. Gameday and delayed reports are appropriately addressed and anyone found to be in violation of our rules and expectations will be promptly removed and may be banned from future events."

Alabama football player Antonio Ross was arrested on a sexual assault charge on Monday. Ross, a preferred walk-on wide receiver for the Crimson Tide, was charged with second-degree sodomy and released from Calhoun County Jail on a $50,000 bond. Details of the case were not immediately available, though Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew Wade [said] that Ross was taken into custody on Monday at a home in Weaver, Alabama.

According to the Alabama criminal code, sodomy of the second degree involves a defendant over 16 years old receiving oral or anal sex from a victim who is between 12 and 16 years old. The Calhoun County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the investigation involved a juvenile female victim.

“People talk about this portal all the time," Swinney said. "Do I prefer the portal? No. But am I opposed to it? No, absolutely not."

Swinney said that they have considered taking players in the portal before, but it has to be the right fit.... "...but guess what? They got to love you too. Just because you want them don’t mean they want you. And then other guys that we have evaluated, but we like the guys we have here."

So, to paraphrase (and possssssibly editorialize): Dabo (1) tells everybody how much he hates the portal, and (2) expresses mild surprise that top portal targets don't choose to come to Clemson.

Texas A&M starting defensive lineman Shemar Turner was arrested for reckless driving on Monday, according to Brazos County Jail records. Turner was released after posting a $3,000 surety bond.

The arrest centered on a motor vehicle incident that occurred on Aug. 12. According to the Houston Chronicle, Turner was driving 85 miles per hour in a busy area near Texas A&M's campus with speed limits listed at 35 and 45 miles per hour. A responding officer was "unable to safely overtake the vehicle," which was why the arrest came nearly a month later after Turner's car was identified.

The Superior Court of Washington ruled in favor of Oregon State and Washington State Monday, granting a temporary emergency restraining order against the Pac-12 that will disable the conference from conducting formal board meetings until the court rules further. Judge Gary Libey, however, amended the order to allow the Pac-12 to conduct business regarding urgent matters for the 2023-24 academic year before 10 of its 12 members depart for other conferences next summer.

The hearing and subsequent ruling came less than one week after Oregon State and Washington State, which are the only continuing Pac-12 members beyond the 2023-24 academic year, filed a complaint against the conference and commissioner George Kliavkoff. The complaint seeks to prevent any votes on the Pac-12's future from occurring until legal clarity is obtained on who controls what is left of the conference.

Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen was hospitalized Sunday after suffering an undisclosed medical episode at approximately 12:40 p.m. ET at the Wildcats' football complex, the school announced. Details of the incident have not been released as of Sunday evening.

"He is currently in good condition at UK Chandler Hospital, while doctors and medical personnel continue to monitor him, and is expected to be released Monday," the school announced via a press release. "Out of respect for his privacy and that of his family, we will have no additional comment at this time."

Coen is in his second stint as the offensive coordinator of the Wildcats. He was hired by Mark Stoops prior to the 2021 season and helped the Wildcats thrive under then-starting quarterback Will Levis. His success with Levis and Stoops in 2021 vaulted him to the NFL where he served as offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams for one season. He re-joined the Kentucky staff in January.

Here are this week's upcoming games. I will update links here as game threads open, but may post some game threads early due to travel. I will only be posting FBS v. FBS game threads involving at least one P5 team or any games involving a /c/CFB Top 25 team. If your team is in a G5 v. G5 matchup or is playing an FCS opponent this week and is not ranked in our top 25, please feel free to post your own game thread.

Rankings per our community poll. All times Eastern:

Thursday, September 14

Friday, September 15

Saturday, September 16

A leg injury will force UCF starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee to miss multiple weeks, coach Gus Malzahn said Monday. With Plumlee sidelined, South Florida transfer Timmy McClain will start against Villanova in Week 3.

Plumlee suffered the injury in the waning minutes of UCF's 18-16 win over Boise State. The senior's right knee bent awkwardly as he was hit while trying to slide on a zone-read keeper on first down. Plumlee stayed in the game, but was visibly unable to put weight on his right leg. The effort was enough to set up a game-winning 40-yard field goal from kicker Colton Boomer.

The injury will not require surgery, but it is expected to keep Plumlee out as UCF prepares for a historic stretch to open its tenure as a Big 12 program. The Knights play their first conference game on the road against No. 15 Kansas State on Sept. 23. UCF returns to the Bounce House on Sept. 30 for the Big 12 home opener against Baylor.