2026-27 NCAA Football (Week 9)

Games I saw (some of):

Minnesota 16-23 (OT) (4) Indiana

I've watched Indiana a few times this year and that offense just isn't that good. Also, what is their deal with OT? They get into OT and dominate when they just as easily could've dominated any of the previous 4 quarters. I like Indiana's D-line and their WR's, but the rest of the team just does not strike me as top 5 caliber. Oh well, this game came down to a rather stunning 4th quarter conclusion: back to back 60 yard FGs to lock it up. Normally I don't go hognutty over FGs, but back to back bombs was fun stuff.

I dunno, man: I'm not convinced that Indiana is really any better than the rest of the sludgefest Big 10 right now, not sure why they're still in the top 5. 

4th quarter flipping between channels:

(1) Miami 38-35 North Carolina

I saw none of the first three quarters, but it struck me that North Carolina was running out of gas and that Miami only emerged as the clearly better team late in the match. That said, it was a slog, the Hurriances dominated nothing but were the better team, so this outcome looks about right. 

(2) Ohio State 18-30 Southern Cal

Kept waiting for the Buckeyes to do something--ANYTHING! Nope, not much. I guess I should give some leeway for a 2nd string QB in the pouring rain but, man, it was everybody else that sucked. Had a feeling every single player on the Ohio State side played the worst game of their life here. Good W for Southern Cal, they clearly saved up everything they had for this match,  

Texas State 45-46 (20) Boise State

Back and forth action usually sucks me in but, OMG! There was an injury on every play! Every single play lasted 5 minutes longer than it needed to and this was one of the slowest sludgiest scorefests I've ever seen. Can't say that I was particularly impressed with Boise State, they didn't win the game so much as they accidentally had more points on the board when the clock ran out. No one was in control here, no one looked good. Typically I love games like this but this one was a slog, a game where no one wanted to win. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Miami, (3) Georgia, (5) Notre Dame, (6) Utah, (7) UCLA, (8) Brigham Young, (11) Texas, (12) Mississippi, (13) Texas Tech. (15) Wake Forest, (23) Missouri

Won but did not impress

(4) Indiana (Minnesota 16-23 (OT) Indiana)

Indiana's offense is still pretty uninspiring 9 weeks into the season.

(20) Boise State (Texas State 45-46 Boise State)

Good for you, Boise, you tried as hard as you could to lose and you still couldn't do it. Something noble about that.

Bad beat

(17) Florida (Florida 8-27 Georgia)

I don't think this game was as close as the score would indicate. Florida got absolutely nothing going against UGA this week. UGA needed the W and they took it. 

(22) Arizona (Arizona 26-34 Texas Tech)

Back and forth match, either team could've been the winner. Arizona showed up, but they couldn't stop the late run but I think these teams are closer than you think.

Not so good

(2) Ohio State (Ohio State 18-30 Southern Cal)

Yes, it was a 2nd string QB in the pouring rain on the road, but, man, the rest of the team played like shit, too, so this was a teamwide collapse. Good W for the Trojans, clearly they were waiting for this high profile match.

(19) Southern Methodist (SMU 27-30 Syracuse)

SMU is supposed to have a high powered offense but they were kinda blown off the field by a so-so Syracuse squad. The Mustangs need every win and they let this one get away from them.

(20) Northwestern (Northwestern 26-34 Oregon)

Just when we thought Northwestern could hang, they let the warmed over Ducks get to them. Not good. 

(24) Oklahoma State (Oklahoma St 49-51 Iowa St)

You see what-if questions posed to fans online all the time. Ponder this: would you be happy if your favorite team never came close to winning a championship but would reliably get an out-of-nowhere upset every single year? Feels like the Iowa State fanbase shouted "YES" to this question because that's what Cyclones do every year. I kinda thought they'd miss their shot at an upset this season, but here it is. And, dropping a 50-burger on a solid scrappy Cowboy squad. Weird....

(25) Wisconsin (Wisconsin 0-30 Iowa)

How is a 30-point win even possible in today's Big 10? This had 13-10 written all over it. Feels like Iowa scored all their points for the whole year in this game. 

Next week's intriguing matches:

(7) Brigham Young @ (3) Utah (gonna be a good one)

(10) Texas @ (19) Missouri (curious to see how Texas fares on the road, how Missou fares against a stout defense)

(8) UCLA @ Minnesota (undefeated against a good ol' fashioned brick wall Big 10 defense)

(9) Alabama @ (15) Louisiana State (I find both of these squads strangely overrated at the moment, but they both need this one, gonna be a good one)

(8) Kentucky @ (16) Tennessee (can UK win in Knoxville? Can UT claw their way up the SEC ladder?)

(1) Miami @ (4) Notre Same (Notre Dame must win, Miami needs it, too, something's gotta give)

(2) Georgia @ (12) Mississippi (can UGA get revenge for last year's playoff? Can Ole Miss get their mojo back?)

(21) Iowa @ Northwestern (loser leaves town)

My top 12:

(1) Georgia

(2) Miami

(3) Kentucky

(4) Utah

(5) Texas

(6) Mississippi

(7) Alabama

(8) Indiana

(9) UCLA

(10) Notre Dame

(11) Brigham Young

(12) Ohio State

2025-26 NFL (Week 7)

Games I saw some of: 

Patriots 24-30 Bears

When I first saw QB Williams in the NFL, my first thought was that his footwork was not like anyone I'd ever seen before and I wondered whether his footwork would be his superpower or his downfall. In this game, it was a superpower, man, when he's moving freely, he's always ready in the pocket and simply glides when he has to scramble. When he is effortlessly in control like that, then you see immediately why scouts have been salivating over him since high school. I thought the Pats were fine in this game, but the Bears are damn good. Unfortunate L for the Pats but hardly a killer, Bears are balling right now.

Steelers 16-10 Saints

The Steelers sucked less than the Saints. That's really all I got out of this match. The Saints play hard but just aren't very good. The Steelers have moments of quality but are more mediocre than not. 

Niners 20-29 Falcons

The Falcons came to play, they got shit done. The Niners seemed like they were waiting for something to happen, like McCaffrey was suddenly going to be perfectly healthy and dominant. I kinda love QB Purdy, think he's been great this year, but he was kinda stuck all by himself here and when he's alone like that, he likes very mortal. When the Falcons get good QB play, they're pretty damn good actually. 

Packers 17-20 Lions

Back and forth, but out of sludgy incompetence rather than mutual brilliance. Lions hung around long enough to steal the W. Hey, that'll work. 

The rest of the slate: 

Browns 27-24 Titans

The Titans are scoring points, that's kinda cool. The Brown just keep winning.

Colts 10-16 Vikings

The Colts are done, right? The Vikings still can't score but they keep everyone else from scoring, too, so its still working.

Dolphins 28-25 Jets

Well, this is one of the few games on Miami's schedule that might've felt winnable and they got the win, good for them. Boy, if the Jets aren't gonna beat the Dolphins at home, then who are they going to beat?

Bucs 43-13 Panthers

Bucs finally got going, I've watched them a coupla times this season and it seems to me all they have to do is not turn the ball over and they're pretty good. The Panthers were down this week, might well be up next week.

Bengals 35-13 Ravens

The Ravens dominated the 1st half, the Bengals extra-dominated the 2nd half. Division game, these things happen.

Giants 27-21 Texans

Felt like the Texans were ready to get a vibe going but the Giants gave them the what-for. Excellent road W for the Giants, disappointing home L for the Texans.

Broncos 30-16 Cardinals

Seems about right. See, big bad tough guy teams (like, say, the Chargers or the Rams) just think they're better than the lowly bottom feeders (like, say, the Cardinals) and they can just roll in defeat them with little effort. But mid-tier young teams (like, say, the Broncos) take nothing for granted and know they have to bring their best effort each week to win. So even though the Cards have a coupla nice W's this year and you think they'd be able to hang at home with a nice-but-not-great squad like the Broncos, they got pretty well stomped because the Broncos are hungry and paranoid and got no time to give away games. Good W for the Broncos.

Rams 35-21 Raiders

The Rams got their offense going here, the Raiders couldn't keep up. Not a shock.

Chiefs 3-20 Seahawks

The Seahawks needed this one more than the Chiefs, that said, it seems like the Chiefs were kinda awful here.

Cowboys 38-21 Eagles

Okay, division is up for grabs, so...the Cowboys are still in it? They'll be adding rather than subtracting at the deadline? And the Eagles have lost their QB and a bunch of games and have been sloppy all season long, they'll be selling at the deadline? The division is still close enough that even a sloppy Eagle squad can still win--and a mighty Cowboys squad can still gack it up....so....what happens now?

2026-27 NCAA Football (Week 8)

Games I saw (some of):

(2) BYU 31-39 (2OT) Central Florida

Thought BYU would eventually figure out UCF's attack, but they didn't. UCF scored all the way through and at times really dominated this game. BYU did well to get to OT but couldn't keep up once they got there. Heard some chatter about complaints that Utah had to travel a long way and play an early game after playing Notre Dame in prime time last week....wtf? This is how college football has worked forever, the term is "trap game" and the Utes got trapped. I kinda dug UCF's QB, don't know who he is but he was in control of this game. Utah isn't done but they do have this traditional problem of the poorly timed dud game and UCF got them. I suspect Utah is gonna be just fine and I can totally see them in the final 12.

(6) Indiana 13-6 (OT) Michigan

Really all I caught was Michigan's final drive, where they tied the game with a late FG, and the OT. I dunno, man, it kinda weirded me out that Indiana dominated both sides of the ball in OT but didn't figure out how to do that in the previous 4 quarters. The two teams were similar: just enough of a running game with a stingy defense. Indiana is still a top quality squad, not sure why they didn't handle Michigan a little better. 

(11) Tennessee 24-27 South Carolina

This has been a pretty even series over the last decade or so and I was not shocked that South Carolina jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Then UT got going and for most of the game, they felt like the better team and I figured they would do what needed to be done to get the W on the road. But--just like last week's UGA-Auburn game--UT fumbled the ball away as they were heading down to the game winning drive and handed the late game momentum back to the Gamecocks who were able to steal the victory. South Carolina has been up and down but they're not a bad squad, so not a shock they kept the Vols close, but I am surprised Tennessee couldn't get the win.

Vanderbilt 17-34 (12) Kentucky

Vandy went up 10-0 real quick, but on the opening drive of the 2nd half, UK was able to go up 21-10. Felt like they had regained the momentum, they outlasted Vandy's opening salvo and they'd cruise to an easy win over a team they typically beat. But on Vandy's next drive, the Commodores stalled on 3rd down, seemed ready to punt, late flag came in, gave them a few extra yards, so they decided to go for it on 4th down; instead of piling into the pile hoping to squeeze out a few yards, they went for a bomb up the sideline that worked perfectly. I ain't gonna lie: I was not mad. I was so gobsmacked by that play that I had to tip my hat to those wily Commodores. Fortunately, that was Vandy's last moment, it didn't interrupt Kentucky'  mojo and the Wildcats rather easily finished off the match. I liked Vandy's QB, he really does have a presence. Kentucky is off next week then a gauntlet of Florida, Missouri, Tennessee and Louisville. If the Cats keep it up, they'll be playoffing this year. (*)

Texas A&M 20-31 (13) Alabama

I just thought Alabama was the better team pretty much all the way through. A&M had moments, even had a chance late to steal it but Bama clamped down and killed the clock. Not saying Alabama is back, it's been a tough coupla weeks for them, but they didn't fall for the A&M trap, and that's a good sign. 

(16) Southern Cal 7-24 Wisconsin

USC did nothing in this game. One good drive, got a TD, otherwise the Badgers stuffed them pretty consistently from beginning to end. I'm still not in on UCLA and I'm not in on USC either. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Miami, (6) Indiana, (9) UCLA, (10) Utah, (12) Kentucky, (13) Alabama, (18) Louisiana State, (19) Texas, (21) Boise State, (23) Southern Methodist, (24) Northwestern, (25) Arizona

Won but did not impress

(6) Indiana (Indiana 13-6 (OT) Michigan

They were more impressive last week losing to Ohio State than they were getting the W in Ann Arbor. What's up with that?

Bad beat

(14) Houston (Houston 13-21 Utah)

Tough road conference game, Utah is on a roll right now, bad beat for Houston.

Not so good

(2) Brigham Young (BYU 31-39 (2OT) Central Florida

You got to go on the road and beat unranked conference foes if you want to stay in the top 10. UCF came to play.

(7) Mississippi (Mississippi 27-34 Texas)

This could've been a Bad Beat, but Ole Miss is the higher ranked team, Texas came in on a 2-game losing streak and the Rebels dominated late, felt like they could've taken this. UT needed it more, they stepped up and took it, Ole Miss couldn't stop them. Not good. 

(8) Texas Tech (Texas Tech 24-37 Cincinnati)

Tech had been rolling been, man, Cincy took it to 'em and Tech had no answers. Not good. 

(11) Tennessee (Tennessee 24-27 South Carolina)

The Vols probably still should've won this. The Gamecocks don't suck and they've played UT even for years now, so this result isn't a shock. But the Vols have top 10 aspirations and they've got to win on the road in conference. 

(15) Iowa (Iowa 10-13 Minnesota)

Another one that isn't a surprise, but Iowa has got to figure out how to win these games. 

(16) Southern Cal (USC 7-24 Wisconsin)

Trojans got drubbed. Not good. 

Next week's intriguing matches:

(22) Arizona @ (13) Texas Tech (Tech is coming off a tough loss, my gut feeling is they will pull it together and drop a bomb on Arizona, we'll see)

(17) Florida @ (3) Georgia (if Florida brings their best offense, they can win; if they don't, they will lose badly)

(6) Utah @ Cincinnati (Cincy still has a murderer's row of the Big 12 ahead of them, if they get a winning streak, they'll be in the playoff; Utah can't let an L turn into a losing streak)

(*) Don't wanna start talking shit too early, but fuck all y'all! Yeah! (Sorry, but I've never had much opportunity to do that in football season)

NFL (Week 6)

Games I saw (some of):

Seahawks 14-17 Broncos

The Seahawks waited til the last minute to do anything on offense and it was too late. QB Darnold just doesn't have the confidence he had last season and the running game isn't there either. I'm not done with the Seahawks, I can still see them coming out of the NFC but they're not playing well right now. The Broncos is just kinda okay, solid on defense, up and down on offense, they play hard but they don't always play smart. They can win games but I don't see them as some kind of juggernaut.

Steelers 26-19 (OT) Bucs

Ugh, what a sludgesfest. These are maybe my two least favorite teams to watch in the whole league. The Bucs seemed to have the game locked down but late turnovers forced them to scramble to get a late tying FG, then Rodgers was kinda perfect in OT, got the TD and wasted all the clock. The Bucs are just a bumbling team right now.  

Bills 33-30 Raiders

The Bills did what they needed to do, got a big enough lead that the Raiders couldn't come back (although, damn! Look at that bomb!)

Weird observation: is it me or does it seem like QB Allen suddenly does not want to run any more? Felt like he was buying time more than looking to run in this game, maybe he just trusted his receivers to find space or something. The Raiders are fun and strangely not as incompetent as usual. The Bills are the Bills, man, they move the ball and usually they outscore their opponent.

The rest of the slate:

Texans 34-31 Jaguars

The Texans might be ready to rise up. The Jags are used to playing in London, wonder why they couldn't hold their home continent advantage?

Bears 31-23 Falcons

Wow, QB Williams was just about perfect in this game. The Falcons are kinda okay. 

Ravens 10-13 Browns

The Ravens gacked it up and the Browns stole it. 

Titans 26-20 Colts

Yipes! What happened here? Are the Titans ready to go on a run?

Jets 19-26 Patriots

The Pats did just enough, the Jets are almost frisky.

Saints 34-27 Giants

Looks like a weird game. Giants up early, Saints then built a huge lead, Giants almost clawed their way back. 

Panthers 25-14 Eagles

The Eagles are hurting. The Panthers are kinda scrappy. 

Cards 18-16 Rams

The Cards are 20 at Sofi Stadium this year. The Rams are still scuffling--and you'd like to think they'll get better as their schedule gets easier but they already lost to Arizona!

Chargers 6-22 Chiefs

The Chargers are just awful. Fire sale coming any day now. The Chiefs are doing enough to win, the running game looks really good. 

Cowboys 13-23 Packers

Didn't see any of this one. I thought the Cowboys were poised for a breakout season, but no, not so much. The Packers seem like they're turning around. 

NCAA Football (Week 7)

Games I saw (some of):

Auburn 27-24 (1) Georgia

I kept waiting for UGA to take over and it felt for a minute like they were gonna pull it out. But they just kept turning the ball over and even as weak as Auburn is this season, it was enough to put them ahead. Auburn fans will be living off this one for a while. As for UGA, well, they beat Bama and they're still in line to win the SEC, so all isn't lost but it got a little harder this year.

(4) Ohio State 19-15 (5) Indiana

Oh man, feel bad for that kid.

Sluggish game on both sides but I was more unimpressed with the Buckeye offense than I was impressed by the Hoosier defense. Ohio State did enough to win and Indiana is a worthy opponent but I thought this was the chance for the Buckeyes to blow up and get a monster W. Both squads are still very much alive.

(6) Alabama 10-26 (14) Tennessee

Bama sucked in this game! Their one TD was a near pick-6 that led to an easy score (not unlike their comeback against Kentucky, though the Cats gave them several easy scores in the 4th quarter). Otherwise, the Bama offense never got going. Tennessee looked more fluid than their sludgefest with Texas a coupla weeks ago, but I kinda think it was bcause Bama just never got their defense going either (which is how they turned the tide against Kentucky). Back to back L's for Alabama is weird, that team looks like they're just tired of playing football. Not really sure about Tennessee, they could get rolling here or maybe they're just an up-and-down team.

Florida 27-24 (7) Texas

Texas jumped out to an early lead then....just stopped. Florida did well to grind their way back into the game and then to continue to take the lead and hold it. The Arch Manning haters are hatin' more than ever but, again, I'm still not convinced this poor Texas team is his fault. The O-line isn't there and the receivers aren't impressive. As for Florida, they're another one of those up-and-down SEC squads. 

(15) Kentucky 21-13 Oklahoma

If you told me that Kentucky would win at South Carolina, at Texas A&M and at Oklahoma in the same DECADE. I'd be dubious. To do all that in the same season (and a W over LSU and a halftime lead against Alabama!) is...breathtaking. The last time Kentucky was this high in the conference this late in the season was 1978, which was the last truly good year Kentucky ever had. So allow me a moment of hyperbole: this is easily the best Kerntucky football side of my football watching life. Still have to play Florida, Tennessee, Missouri and Louisville, so still time for this season to go horribly sideways but, for now, let me have this fantasia, lord! 

Top 25

Handled their business

(4) Ohio State, (8) Brigham Young, (9) Mississippi, (10) Texas Tech, (11) Utah, (14) Tennessee, (15) Kentucky, (20) Houston, (21) Wake Forest, (22) Louisiana State, (24) Southern Methodist

Won but did not impress

(3) Miami (Florida State 35-43 (2OT) Miami)

Miami is your new #1....and they needed every ounce of luck to get past a sorry-ass Seminole squad. They won, they did what they needed to do, I get that, but they're #1 in the nation now, I just expect a little more from a varsity letterman.

(12) UCLA (UCLA 17-7 Wisconsin)

I'm just not impressed (yet) by UCLA. Do they have it in them to really shine out? I don't know.

(25) Northwestern (Northwestern 24-21 Michigan State)

This Spartan squad is pretty bad, if this Northwestern team is really ready to kick some ass, I would've thought a decisive victory in Lansing wouldn't be too much to ask. Perhaps I'm being harsh, it is a road win in conference, but I thought they'd cruise and they did not. 

Bad beat

(5) Indiana (Ohio State 19-15 Indiana)

Indiana struggled but they made the Buckeyes struggle, too. And they almost pulled it out (well, should have to be honest). Not a devastating L (I don't think they even dropped in the standings).

(18) Oklahoma State (Oklahoma State 25-28 Texas Tech)

I was skeptical of Oklahoma State but I've warmed up on them and they gave a high powered Tech squad a good game. 

Not so good

(1) Georgia (Auburn 27-24 Georgia)

UGA shouldn't have fallen behind, should've been able to come back, should not have given the game away late.

(2) Notre Dame (Notre Dame 24-28 BYU)

I thought they'd roll over BYU and they got stung instead. A close match and BYU is pretty good, perhaps I'm being a little hard on the Irish but they were ranked #2, they should've won this game.

(6) Alabama (Alabama 10-26 Tennessee) 

Bama sucked and UT kinda stomped them. Not good. 

(7) Texas (Florida 27-24 Texas)

Texas had a good lead and didn't hold it. Not good. 

(13) Missouri (Missouri 3-31 Mississippi)

Yipes! Not surprised they lost, this would've been a Bad Beat if they'd put up any kind of fight in Oxford. But, they didn't.

(16) Mississippi State (Mississippi State 0-31 LSU)

Likewise, with Missouri: I just needed to see some fight in Baton Rouge and MSU brought none. 

Next week's intriguing matches:

(7) Mississippi @ (17) Texas (Ole Miss is rolling, Texas is struggling, this is the Longhorns' best chance to right this season)

(11) Tennessee @ South Carolina (surprised that the Vols are a road dog but the Gamecocks can be spicy, should be worth catching)

(14) Houston @ Utah (odd to me that Houston is rather big underdog on the road, they should put up a lot of points, no?)

2026-27 NFL (Week 5)

Games I watched (some of):

Colts 22-34 Steelers                                                                                    

This game was kinda sad. The Steelers are wily veterans and the Colts are young and dumb, which made for a sloppy uninspiring match. The Steelers are okay, the Colts are not that good.

Ravens 30-23 (OT) Falcons

The Falcons have their moments, the Ravens are good at giving away games, but this game was backwards. The Falcons kinda dominated the game until the Ravens got going late to get to OT and then to take over. I'll say it: I believe in the Falcons, if they can get some consistent QB play, they'll score. As for the Ravens, I dunno, man, I've never been as big a fan of this style as I feel like I'm supposed to be. 

Bills 37-34 (OT) Rams

Okay, look: if you go into OT, you have 10 minutes to outscore your opponent. During the course of that 10 minute period it will likely come down to one single play to seal the victory. So....just spitballin' here....why not go for the 2-point conversion to win the game at the end of regulation? WTF is so special about putting your team out there for 10 more minutes? At any rate, the Rams had their chance to win and they chose to overtime instead....I thought the coach was a genius but I guess I'm not seeing it. Both teams can score, not sure either team can stop a serious offense.

The rest of the slate:

Bucs 24-16 Cowboys

Oh, Cowboys, even when the game is handed to you, you can't take it? 

Eagles 17-19 Jaguars

The Jags are good right now and the Eagles are scuffling, looks like this game was closer than it should've been.

Bears 7-31 Packers

Division game. Bears with a 2nd string QB, Packers finally getting some semblance of cohesion. Watch out for a Packer run!

Texans 26-3 Titans

The Titans are not good--so not good that I presume their 2027-28 opening day QB will be Arch Manning. The Texans have not played well so far but they can't be as bad as they've looked, don't be surprised if they start wrecking the playoff hopes of their upcoming opponents. 

Bengals 31-24 Dolphins

The Bengals are okay, the Dolphins are not. 

Raiders 17-45 Patriots

The Pats win big! Clearly all their problems have been solved! The Raiders taste tested QB Mendoza, wonder how much more we'll see of him this season. 

Vikings 23-13 Saints

The Vikings D is good, the offense quite a bit less so. The Saints are the Saints. 

Browns 12-27 Jets

Thought the Browns had a winnable game, but bad weather and just general Brown-ness led to them being thwarted. The Jets have their moments, I don't think they've figured anything out yet but they play hard. 

Giants 27-27 Commanders

Yeah, a draw. "I'll take the tie and get out of town!"

Broncos 23-17 Chargers

Saw none of this, probably a good game. The Chargers still can't figure it out. 

Lions 45-21 Cards

Looks like a fun one. The Lions can score, but the defense...not so much. The Cards are looking ahead to the 2027 Draft.

Niners 32-29 Seahawks

Looks like a fun one. Niners and Seahawks may well be playing for the NFC championship.

2026-27 NCAA Football (Week 6)

Games I saw (some of):

(1) Texas 24-27 Oklahoma

Wow, I thought Texas worked really hard to lose this game! The Longhorn defense is very good but it gives up ridiculous penalties; the Longhorn offense has moments but is mostly stagnant. Oklahoma, on the other hand, is okay, they're not particularly good at anything on either side of the ball, they're not an embarrassment but this is by no means some classic Sooner squad. Man, all Texas had to do was not give this away and that's precisely what they did. My Arch Manning hot take: he reminds me of Will Levis; yes, I know that sounds awful but going into the draft Levis was considered as a potential #1 pick, so maybe that isn't as bad as you think; that said, when Levis got to Kentucky, I thought he was really good at running the ball and playing backyard football but he clearly wanted to mold himself into an NFL prospect and so he stood there like an old timey pocket passer and...well, he wasn't very good at that. Manning needs to let himself be himself and maybe he'll turn in to something; and, if not, well, he wasn't gonna be the NFL QB we all wanted him to be anyway 

(7) Indiana 20-17 Nebraska

I was impressed with Nebraska, they made stops on D and managed to pull out nifty big chunk plays on offense when they needed it. Unfortunately, there was more clock than they were ready to deal with--if this game was 50 minutes long, I think the Cornhuskers win convincingly. The Hoosiers have Ohio State coming up next week, this was a "trap" game, and they wriggled out of it, so good on them. But I really thought they could've/should've been wildly better than Nebraska and I wanted to see them take over game earlier than the last 5 minutes (where they were able to successfully play Nebraska's aggressiveness against them). Good W for the Hoosiers, keep an eye on the Huskers, I think they might be kinda good. 

(10) Louisiana State 34-35 (OT) Kentucky

I was back and forth with baseball on this night (and I was drunk as all get out--but both my teams won, so all good!), but this was a fun one. Kept waiting for LSU to take control, to squeeze the life out of the Cats (as I've seen happen so many times in my life) and it just didn't happen. The Cats made plays down the stretch, then stole the W in OT for the 2nd time in as many weeks! LSU isn't ready to take over the world just yet, while Kentucky surges up the rankings. Pinch me. 

(21) UCLA 17-15 (13) Oregon

Wow, Oregon suuuuuuuuucccccckkkkked in this game! They didn't do anything well at any point in the game. They were so bad that its hard to get a sense of UCLA, I mean, the Bruins should've dominated the shit out of this game but it was still close late. But, man, Oregon was awful at every phase of the game, so for UCLA to squeak it out late is not a ringing endorsement, though they have played well so far. I don't know what's up with Oregon, they are not right. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(2) Georgia, (3) Notre Dame, (5) Ohio State, (8) Brigham Young, (9) Mississippi, (12) Utah, (14) Missouri, (15) Tennessee, (18) Oklahoma State, (19) Southern Cal, (20) Iowa, (21) UCLA, (22) Houston, (23) Boise State

Won but did not impress

(7) Indiana (Indiana 20-17 Nebraska)

Good win really for the Hoosiers, they could've fallen and they didn't and I should be more optimistic about that, I suppose. But they could've wrapped this up early with a more consistent offensive game plan and instead they relied on last minute hero ball.  

Bad beat

(6) Alabama (Georgia 20-17 Alabama)

Losing to your main rival at home always sucks, but Georgia is really good right now, I presume they will be #1 in next week's poll. Alabama has been up and down but when their offense is cooking, they've looked damn good at times and I don't think this L will doom their season. 

Not so good

(1) Texas (Texas 24-27 Oklahoma)

Yipes, Longhorns, what do you want? Do you want to win? 

(10) Louisiana State (LSU 34-35 (OT) Kentucky)

I seem to recall 2 seasons ago when UK beat Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss squad in Oxford, kinda destroyed their season really. Long live the Kentucky "season-killer" Wildcats!

(13) Oregon (UCLA 17-15 Oregon)

Oregon has to figure some things out. 

(16) Florida (South Carolina 38-19 Florida)

Wow, 2 weeks ago I was blown away by Florida's dominance of Ole Miss. Since then, they got stomped in Missouri and and now at home by South Carolina. WTF, Gators?

(25) Pittsburgh (North Carolina 21-17 Pittsburgh)

Pitt was undefeated and ranked but couldn't handle the Tar Heels. Not a good look. 

Next week's intriguing matches:

(4) Ohio State @ (5) Indiana (game of the week--in a pretty strong week!)

(16) Mississippi State @ (22) Louisiana State (SEC probably has too many ranked teams, no?)

(6) Alabama @ (14) Tennessee (good bounce back opportunity for the Tide or back to back devastating rivalry L's)

(13) Missouri @ (9) Mississippi (SEC probably has too many ranked teams, no?)

(2) Notre Dame @ (8) Brigham Young (the Irish are riding high, should probably flummox BYU, but we'll see)

(15) Kentucky @ Oklahoma (Kentucky is as hot as they've been in...ever? OU just beat Texas, one of these teams is gonna be disappointed)

(18) Oklahoma State @ (20) Houston (two schools ready to jump up the rankings)