2023-24 NCAA Football (Week 7)

Games I saw (some of):

(1) Georgia 37-20 Vanderbilt

Okay, last week I wrote in this space that when Georgia laid a double-deuce ass-whippin' on Kentucky that was a sign that Kentucky was actually pretty good--you probably thought that was the dumbest thing you'd ever read. But look at what UGA did to Vandy: the Bulldogs put forth zero effort, didn't cover the spread, and won handily even while giving up a bunch of points late. Are you gonna tell me that this is because Vandy is better than Kentucky? Do you see what I mean? UGA went full throttle on Kentucky because they're actually kinda afraid of Kentucky and put forth zilch effort here because they're not the least bit afraid of Vandy (or, I would suggest, South Carolina or Auburn, two other zero effort games they've played so far). Keep an eye on Florida and Tennessee, the other two opponents I expect Georgia will bring full force to. UGA was fine, barely broke a sweat, didn't do anything particularly noteworthy but won with ease; meanwhile, those Vandy boys will braggin' for the rest of their lives about covering the spread against the #1 team. 

(8) Oregon 33-36 (7) Washington 

Frankly, I thought Washington was the better team throughout. But when Oregon was up late, driving with under 2 minutes left, I was wondering where it all went wrong for the home side. But then Oregon blew it on 3rd down, then went for it on 4th down, blew it again and gave the Huskies the ball at the 50-yard line instead of punting (which is what a normal football coach would've done--or, hey, if you knew you were going to go on 4th down, how about calling a better play on 3rd down?). Washington quickly went down the field and scored the go-ahead TD, then watched as Oregon sailed the tying FG wide. So instead of winning a conference game on the road, Oregon chose to not even go to OT. Man, I'm still reeling from last year's Oregon debacle at Stanford (involved this week in another debacle, see below), where they just refused to take the W that Stanford was begging them to have. Again, Oregon simply refused to win this game--just wouldn't have it! Oh well, I thought Washington was the better team anyway, not sure why they were down late in the 4th quarter. 

(10) Southern Cal 20-48 (21) Notre Dame

Well, Caleb Williams haters got to see probably the worst game he'll play as a collegian--and, you know what? None of those 3 interceptions was really his fault. USC was just unlucky, didn't go their way, credit the Irish for playing hard and taking advantage of mistakes. But I'm still not out on Southern Cal--they just had a bad day--and as for Notre Dame, well, the worst of their schedule is now behind them and they weathered it pretty well: tough L to Ohio State, good W's over Duke and Southern Cal and a puzzling L @ Louisville. I expect Notre Dame to drift back into the top 10 by the end of the season (and have a good shot at laying a beatdown on Clemson). As for USC, well, the tough part of their schedule is still ahead: Utah, Oregon, Washington, UCLA still staring at them. Might be a long season for the Trojans but they've got a for-real QB, so we'll see how many of those games they can pull out. 

Texas A&M 13-20 (19) Tennessee

Man, the Aggie QB is one of the most puzzling dudes I've seen in ages: he made some really gutty, gritty tough guy plays and he made some of the softest, dumbest, lamest mistakes I've ever seen. Can't recall a single performance with such high highs and such low lows at the same time! At any rate, he single handedly kept them in this game and simultaneously doomed them with untimely mistakes. The Vols are okay, not great, not as good as last year I'd say, but they'll probably beat Kentucky and Missouri and should give Bama a good run (man, imagine beating the Tide 2 years in a row...) and that should put them in line for a nice bowl. A&M has nice talent, they hang around in games but they just don't have the moxie to close out games and get W's. (I know they're paying Jimbo Fisher a ton of money but it feels like the right coach could come in there and win right away, though what are the odds they pick the right coach?).

(23) Kansas 32-39 Oklahoma State

The Cowboys were better early and late and, though they sagged badly in the middle, they did enough to win this game. I was impressed with the Jayhawks, I don't recall ever watching them play football (and I watched Duke football, too! What a crazy season!). Rugged conference match, ranked team on the road, home team that feels disappointing (though no one expected them to be any good), all made for a fun game. Glad I gave it a watch.  

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Georgia, (2) Michigan, (3) Ohio State, (4) Florida State, (6) Penn State, (7) Washington, (12) North Carolina, (15) Oregon State, (16) Utah, (17) Duke, (19) Tennessee, (21) Notre Dame, (22) Louisiana State

Won but did not impress

(11) Alabama

Another week, another display of poor QB-ing. They've still got plenty of talent and are gonna be a tough out for anybody, but they aren't the overpowering Tide we've seen over the last decade. 

Bad beat

(8) Oregon

Could've had it, managed to blow it. Was the coach auditioning for the Chargers gig? (He looks very Charger-y to me)

(10) Southern Cal

Tough L but when you're in the top 10, you're supposed to win the big ones and so far USC hasn't done that.

(18) UCLA

Oregon State must be a tough place to play (or even find!). So I'll look the other way at a tough conference L on the road. 

(25) Miami

So weird to watch the Hurricanes unable to beat the Tarheels for another year. This is not the U I grew up with. 

Not so good

(14) Louisville

Beat Notre Dame (handily, no less) but couldn't get stops @ Pitt? Oh well, Louisville has probably already overperformed this season.

(19) Washington State

Whoa! How did they get smoked (smoked!) at home by a sloppy Arizona side? 

(23) Kansas

@ Oklahoma State is never easy and KU played well for most of this match, but I think they're actually pretty good, we'll see how they bounce back. 

(24) Kentucky

Felt like after the Wildcats took their annual beating from UGA that they'd be toughened up and ready to kick some ass for the rest of the season. But after going up 14-0 on Missouri, they just kinda stopped playing--a dangerously bad habit to get into. UK still has Tennessee and Louisville ahead, are they gonna right the ship or is this just another Kentucky team?

BONUS

Is the Colorado hype machine running out of gas? I myself had finally come aboard, only to see Colorado let an easy conference W slip away. Look, Colorado is already way better than last year, if they lose out, they'd still show a marked improvement. But the hype so far would suggest that UC is ready to run with the big dogs and yet here they manage to blow it....to a tree.

Stanford 46-43 (2OT) Colorado

Next week's intriguing matches

(7) Penn State @ (3) Ohio State (your marquis match right here, this is the one to watch)

(17) Tennessee @ (11) Alabama (fun one, we'll see if Bama can play a complete game and gut out a tough W because UT will be bringing their best effort, I guarantee)

(16) Duke @ (4) Florida State (this is probably the best team the Blue Devils have had in....ever? If they're gonna win in Tallahassee, now is the time)

(14) Utah @ (18) Southern Cal (another good match in the PAC)