Official 2023 College Football Thread

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I watched Texas-Alabama yesterday start to finish. Texas was clearly the better team. The final score was no fluke. Although Alabama showed flashes and took a three point lead briefly in the second half, gone are the days when their lines on both sides of the ball dominate their opponents and they impose their will on people. Texas' defense did a good job of containing the Alabama running game, which made it a passing game in the hands of a freshman quarterback.

[nando714]

Week 3 

really a weak slate of games 

let’s just get into the talk of the college game, Colorado football 

struggled at home w a winless mountain west rival. Buffs honeymoon will come to a crashing end Saturday after they get blown out in Eugene 

Alabama has major qb issues. Struggled in Tampa against USF. I seen them as a 2-3 loss team. 
 

Tennessee upset by Florida. I was really surprised 

I think Washington is really really good. 

Other than that nothing pops out of my head from last weeks slate 

week 4 is loaded. Some teams are going to separate themselves 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Mel Tucker is apparently about to lose a very lucrative gig at Michigan State. He invited an advocate against sexual harassment and sexual assault to address his team, then he allegedly tried to hit on her afterward. MSU has informed him of their intention to fire him with cause after an internal investigation.

[PattyD22]

9 hours ago, Vegas Halo Fan said:

Mel Tucker is apparently about to lose a very lucrative gig at Michigan State. He invited an advocate against sexual harassment and sexual assault to address his team, then he allegedly tried to hit on her afterward. MSU has informed him of their intention to fire him with cause after an internal investigation.

This is one of the craziest stories I’ve ever read.  If the allegations are true, Mel Tucker may be the stupidest person on the face of the earth.  

[RallyMo]

Don’t call people by their first name at USC. They’ll limit your press access:
 

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/09/19/alexander-its-not-the-job-of-uscs-lincoln-riley-or-any-news-source-to-dictate-coverage/

What a bunch of idiots.

[St1ck]

Why they got to put the Oregon/Colorado game at the same time as Utah/UCLA?

[HeavenlyHalos]

Glad we put an end to the Colorado hype and the Autzen crowd was great. The Pac-12 has many good teams but Colorado is definitely not one of them. Washington's offense is phenomenal and their trio of WRs is insanely good, they will be hard to beat and I'll be at the rivalry game on the 14th but without a ton of optimism. USC really struggled with a bad ASU team and their defense remains pretty sketch. Wazzu on the other hand has far exceeded expectations as Ward has taken a massive step this season. Lastly, Utah is the best coached team in the conference and I do not know how every top tier program that fires their coach hasn't aggressively pursued Kyle Whittingham. 

[PattyD22]

Sorry guys, been gone for a little bit taking care of some family issues, but I've tried to follow College Football as mush as I could.  Like @HeavenlyHalosstated, the Coach Prime hype train not only got derailed, it got blow up also.  That was a good ole' fashioned ass whooping by Oregon and i'm kind of glad it happened.  I'm getting a little tired of the "we're being disrespected by .....or It's us against the world"  blah, blah, blah.  This week, at least on paper, you've got another ass whooping in store when USC comes to town.

Ohio State beat Notre Dame on the final play of the game when ND decided it only needed 10 players on defense to stop Ohio State.  Wrong.  Great game, but eerily similar to when ND lost on another last second play in 2005.  Bush push Part 2.

Alabama seems to have righted the ship, at least for now.  It's probably good that Alabama doesn't play Georgia this year, until maybe the SEC championship but I don't think one of these teams is going to make it.

THIS WEEK'S MARQUEE GAMES:

#11 Notre Dame gets no rest going against a scrappy #17 Duke team.  Duke has a great pass defense, but crummy run defense.  ND can run the ball.  Hmmm

#8 USC gets a crack at Colorado this week.  Not sure if this constitutes a "marquee" game, but it makes for good TV anyway.

#1 Georgia at Auburn in a traditional SEC game.  I think Auburn keeps it close early, then Georgia pulls away late.  The spread is at 14.5, and that half point hook looks pretty tempting.

#13 LSU at #20 Ole Miss.  Can Kiffin get the boys to bounce back post-Alabama?  probably not, but they are at home.  Spread is only 2.5.

Looking for an upset pick this week?  I like South Carolina and 12 points against Tennessee this week.

[Tank]

On 9/24/2023 at 12:29 AM, HeavenlyHalos said:

Glad we put an end to the Colorado hype

agreed. this has been surreal, and frankly, unwarranted. 

i hope they end up 2-9.

[HeavenlyHalos]

8 hours ago, PattyD22 said:

Sorry guys, been gone for a little bit taking care of some family issues, but I've tried to follow College Football as mush as I could.  Like @HeavenlyHalosstated, the Coach Prime hype train not only got derailed, it got blow up also.  That was a good ole' fashioned ass whooping by Oregon and i'm kind of glad it happened.  I'm getting a little tired of the "we're being disrespected by .....or It's us against the world"  blah, blah, blah.  This week, at least on paper, you've got another ass whooping in store when USC comes to town.

Ohio State beat Notre Dame on the final play of the game when ND decided it only needed 10 players on defense to stop Ohio State.  Wrong.  Great game, but eerily similar to when ND lost on another last second play in 2005.  Bush push Part 2.

Alabama seems to have righted the ship, at least for now.  It's probably good that Alabama doesn't play Georgia this year, until maybe the SEC championship but I don't think one of these teams is going to make it.

THIS WEEK'S MARQUEE GAMES:

#11 Notre Dame gets no rest going against a scrappy #17 Duke team.  Duke has a great pass defense, but crummy run defense.  ND can run the ball.  Hmmm

#8 USC gets a crack at Colorado this week.  Not sure if this constitutes a "marquee" game, but it makes for good TV anyway.

#1 Georgia at Auburn in a traditional SEC game.  I think Auburn keeps it close early, then Georgia pulls away late.  The spread is at 14.5, and that half point hook looks pretty tempting.

#13 LSU at #20 Ole Miss.  Can Kiffin get the boys to bounce back post-Alabama?  probably not, but they are at home.  Spread is only 2.5.

Looking for an upset pick this week?  I like South Carolina and 12 points against Tennessee this week.

USC should beat Colorado; not sure I am touching the spread though with SC's defense having question marks.

The SEC is not good this season and I'll be very disappointed if they somehow sneak a second team in the playoffs. Per usual, I expect the Pac-12 to cannibalize their own and have long been preaching reducing to an 8 game conference schedule since the committee rewards the SEC for it annually. Obviously, that is irrelevant now and the expanded playoffs make that of lesser importance anyways. 

I don't really know what to make of this season and any one of the top ten ranked teams could win it all this season.

As for Oregon, Lanning caught a lot of crap from the know-nothing national media for his pre-game speech but the Colorado players have not received any flack for their behavior pre-game. I wonder who they got that type of behavior from...

Speaking of Colorado, they have a tough remaining schedule and I don't see them finishing with a winning conference record. Deion should certainly help with recruiting (though the rankings do not reflect that yet) but I think he has a lot more to prove with game planning and in-game adjustments before he is anointed as some great Head Coach. With that said, he has certainly brought in a lot of revenue and eyes to the worst team the conference has seen since it moved to twelve teams.

Lastly, I am still not over the Pac dissolving. I've been an Oregon fan since I was six years old and an alumni for 12 years now and this is just incredibly sad. Oregon, Washington, SC, and UCLA all got the best end of things by joining one of the two super-conferences but I still hate it. Cal and Furd playing with a bunch of East Coast teams is dumb and I will miss playing in the Bay. This whole thing blows and Larry Scott is the worst commissioner the sport has ever seen.

[PattyD22]

14 hours ago, HeavenlyHalos said:

USC should beat Colorado; not sure I am touching the spread though with SC's defense having question marks.

The SEC is not good this season and I'll be very disappointed if they somehow sneak a second team in the playoffs. Per usual, I expect the Pac-12 to cannibalize their own and have long been preaching reducing to an 8 game conference schedule since the committee rewards the SEC for it annually. Obviously, that is irrelevant now and the expanded playoffs make that of lesser importance anyways. 

I don't really know what to make of this season and any one of the top ten ranked teams could win it all this season.

As for Oregon, Lanning caught a lot of crap from the know-nothing national media for his pre-game speech but the Colorado players have not received any flack for their behavior pre-game. I wonder who they got that type of behavior from...

Speaking of Colorado, they have a tough remaining schedule and I don't see them finishing with a winning conference record. Deion should certainly help with recruiting (though the rankings do not reflect that yet) but I think he has a lot more to prove with game planning and in-game adjustments before he is anointed as some great Head Coach. With that said, he has certainly brought in a lot of revenue and eyes to the worst team the conference has seen since it moved to twelve teams.

Lastly, I am still not over the Pac dissolving. I've been an Oregon fan since I was six years old and an alumni for 12 years now and this is just incredibly sad. Oregon, Washington, SC, and UCLA all got the best end of things by joining one of the two super-conferences but I still hate it. Cal and Furd playing with a bunch of East Coast teams is dumb and I will miss playing in the Bay. This whole thing blows and Larry Scott is the worst commissioner the sport has ever seen.

The over/under for the USC/Colorado game is at 73.5.  That's one of the largest over/under's I've seen.  The only over/under that I've seen larger than that was several years ago when Baylor played Oklahoma and the over/under was 75.  It ended up going over, the final was something like 48-45.  Or just a typical big 12 game.

[HeavenlyHalos]

1 hour ago, PattyD22 said:

The over/under for the USC/Colorado game is at 73.5.  That's one of the largest over/under's I've seen.  The only over/under that I've seen larger than that was several years ago when Baylor played Oklahoma and the over/under was 75.  It ended up going over, the final was something like 48-45.  Or just a typical big 12 game.

Boy that is a tough one. I want to take the under with how poorly Colorado played @ Oregon but this game is at Boulder against a weaker defense so I dunno. Colorado has an absolutely horrendous Offensive Line and Sanders holds on to the ball way too long, the latter is why I question his NFL prospects a lot. I'm a Miami Dolphins fan though so not really at risk of them drafting a QB early unless Tua suffers a career-ending type of injury.

[PattyD22]

2 hours ago, HeavenlyHalos said:

Boy that is a tough one. I want to take the under with how poorly Colorado played @ Oregon but this game is at Boulder against a weaker defense so I dunno. Colorado has an absolutely horrendous Offensive Line and Sanders holds on to the ball way too long, the latter is why I question his NFL prospects a lot. I'm a Miami Dolphins fan though so not really at risk of them drafting a QB early unless Tua suffers a career-ending type of injury.

Sanders is a typical over-hyped college football QB.  He’s a freelancer, like Justin Fields or CJ Stroud.  Great college QB’s in that sort of system, but QB’s who can’t make reads correctly, then tuck and run, don’t last very long in the NFL.

Ask RG 3, and his ilk.

[PattyD22]

As much as I dislike Jason Whitlock, he does speak the truth here.   At least on this topic.  I can’t believe a black guy had the guts to speak out against Coach Prime.

 

https://thesportsrush.com/nfl-news-colorado-is-about-coaching-his-sons-jason-whitlock-accuses-deion-sanders-of-joining-cu-to-build-his-own-son-shedeur-sanders-brand/

[HeavenlyHalos]

16 hours ago, PattyD22 said:

Sanders is a typical over-hyped college football QB.  He’s a freelancer, like Justin Fields or CJ Stroud.  Great college QB’s in that sort of system, but QB’s who can’t make reads correctly, then tuck and run, don’t last very long in the NFL.

Ask RG 3, and his ilk.

I don't think Stroud is a great example, as he is off to a solid NFL start despite the Texans having zero rushing attack and 4/5 of their OL banged up. Additionally, he is very far from a run first QB as he did not run a lot at Ohio State. Fields is definitely applicable as he cannot read a defense and has a slow release, very much negatives in Sanders' game. Fields also probably had the greatest set of WRs in college history with: Garrett Wilson, Olave, Harrison Jr., and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Four first round WRs is absolutely nuts.

[PattyD22]

16 minutes ago, HeavenlyHalos said:

I don't think Stroud is a great example, as he is off to a solid NFL start despite the Texans having zero rushing attack and 4/5 of their OL banged up. Additionally, he is very far from a run first QB as he did not run a lot at Ohio State. Fields is definitely applicable as he cannot read a defense and has a slow release, very much negatives in Sanders' game. Fields also probably had the greatest set of WRs in college history with: Garrett Wilson, Olave, Harrison Jr., and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Four first round WRs is absolutely nuts.

You’re right.  Stroud was not a good example.  

[HeavenlyHalos]

One example is Johnny Manziel. I thought it was fairly obvious that he was going to bust, not because of all the drinking/partying/not taking it seriously but simply his game of running around and chucking it up to Mike Evans was never going to translate. Evans on the other hand looked phenomenal. 

[nando714]

Really a tale of 2 half’s for usc. Play defense like they did in the first half and they win the conference.

play like they did in the 2nd half and they easily lose 3 games. 
 

Georgia seems kinda weird and won’t really get tested till the SECCG. Tennessee might give them a scare in Knoxville. 
 

really no dominate team so far in 2023. 
 

teams will begin to separate themselves in a couple weeks 

I’m really intrigued by the ucla / wazzu game Saturday. I think ucla wins 

[PattyD22]

1 hour ago, nando714 said:

Really a tale of 2 half’s for usc. Play defense like they did in the first half and they win the conference.

play like they did in the 2nd half and they easily lose 3 games. 
 

Georgia seems kinda weird and won’t really get tested till the SECCG. Tennessee might give them a scare in Knoxville. 
 

really no dominate team so far in 2023. 
 

teams will begin to separate themselves in a couple weeks 

I’m really intrigued by the ucla / wazzu game Saturday. I think ucla wins 

I’m pretty sure the USC/Washington game May break the record for the highest over/under ever recorded.  It may hit 80.  USC’s defense (at least in the 2nd half) was atrocious.

Georgia’s schedule is laughable.  Kind of like Michigan’s so far.

In the meantime, Notre Dame is playing their 3rd straight game against a Top 25 team this week, and will make it 4 straight when they play USC in 2 weeks.

Texas/Oklahoma should be a typical Big 12 game.  Probably 58-55 or something like that.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Alex Grinch is one of the worst defensive coordinators that I have ever seen. With as many games as his defense cost Oklahoma, it baffles me why Lincoln Riley insisted on taking him to USC. If history is any indication, his defenses will only get worse. They won't always have Caleb Williams to bail him out.

Choke of the week goes to the Miami Hurricanes. Needing only to take a knee to seal a win, instead they ran the ball and lost a fumble. They were beaten on a touchdown bomb at the end by a very pedestrian Georgia Tech team in front of a home crowd. Oregon ought to send them a thank you card for taking Mario Cristobal.

Notre Dame lost to Louisville, so there's that.

Edited October 9, 2023 by Vegas Halo Fan

[arch stanton]

It’s been 45 years since it happened between the Giants and Eagles. Pretty much cost McVay his career as a coach but 

[nando714]

I actually didn’t mind USC’s defense from quarters 2-4. Allowed 11 points , got in the backfield , created a turnover. 
 

let’s see if they can take a step against Notre Dame. 
 

I think Washington beats Oregon in Seattle. Oregon got a scare in Lubbock, other than that the schedule hasnt been anything to brag about. 
 

Washington just has too many weapons. I think the question is if Washington can stop Oregon. I think yes. I think Washington by 10-14 points 

Beavers handle the bruins. It will be interesting to see how Moore handles his second hostile environment. He was a disaster in SLC. 
 

Other than the west coast schools , the rest of the schedule looks pretty mid. 
 

I mean Miami / UNC? I think Miami has a hang over from the disaster that was last week. UNC is a good ball club too. 

 

[PattyD22]

On 10/11/2023 at 1:58 PM, nando714 said:

I actually didn’t mind USC’s defense from quarters 2-4. Allowed 11 points , got in the backfield , created a turnover. 
 

let’s see if they can take a step against Notre Dame. 
 

I think Washington beats Oregon in Seattle. Oregon got a scare in Lubbock, other than that the schedule hasnt been anything to brag about. 
 

Washington just has too many weapons. I think the question is if Washington can stop Oregon. I think yes. I think Washington by 10-14 points 

Beavers handle the bruins. It will be interesting to see how Moore handles his second hostile environment. He was a disaster in SLC. 
 

Other than the west coast schools , the rest of the schedule looks pretty mid. 
 

I mean Miami / UNC? I think Miami has a hang over from the disaster that was last week. UNC is a good ball club too. 

 

Nice recap @nando714.  Not really sure how Notre Dame is a 3 point favorite over USC.  I get it, SC’s defense is not great, but Notre Dame’s offense has been stagnant over the last 3 games.  And if I recall correctly, ND couldn’t stop Caleb Williams at all last year.  My gut is to bet the farm on USC, but I’ve been on a slight losing streak and I don’t even trust myself anymore.

Mario Cristobal pulled one of the biggest dipshit moves ever last week, and payed the price.  Not sure if this team bounces back this week.

I like Michael Penix and this matchup is the big game this week.  Lots of offense, limited defense, and like you, I like Washington in this one.

For those of you who were watching the Braves/Phillies game (I was) I just happened to flip over to the Houston/West Virginia football game and caught the last 2 mins.  It was absolutely insane, with two TD passes in the last 12 seconds.  Check out the highlights on CBS Sports or ESPN.  Crazy stuff.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Colorado managed to blow a 29 point halftime lead at home and lose to Stanford in two overtimes.

[PattyD22]

10 hours ago, Vegas Halo Fan said:

Colorado managed to blow a 29 point halftime lead at home and lose to Stanford in two overtimes.

Absolutely stunning.  I went to bed when it was 29-6, as I just couldn’t take the knob-gobbling of Coach Prime and his son by ESPN’s Mark Jones and Louis Riddick.  It was way over the top.

Fuck, I wish I could have stayed awake.  I’d have LOVED to hear how those morons polished that turd?  

Cracks are starting to appear for Colorado and the schedule is about to get real for them.