The last time the USC Trojans came calling to Bloomington, Indiana to play the Hoosiers, it was a big deal then too. 1981 was the year. Marcus Allen ran for 274 yards in a side-step toward picking up the Heisman Trophy at the NYC DAC. That game was scoreless at halftime. Tommy won it 21-0, when it was all said and played out.

Time was that Indiana’s nonconference schedule was something much more interesting than what we see leading up to the conference slate these modern times. Thankfully, that looks to change soon (wink). In a five-year span from 1977 to 1981 the Indiana Hoosiers played nonconference games against LSU home and home, Nebraska home and home, Colorado home and home, Kentucky home and home, Washington, Vandy, Duke, Syracuse and Miami (OH). There were no Howards to be played then.

Little note here, acknowledging that SEC teams were coerced into playing nine conference games this year. From 1981 to 1984, Big Ten teams played 9 conference games in an 11-game schedule. They thought better of it and returned to playing 8 conference games from 1985 to 2015. In 2016, as it was now the practice of scheduling 12 games instead of 11, the Big Ten put their big boy pants back on and have been playing nine conference games since, albeit at the expense of asking fans to look at practice games in September. There’s always a trade-off.

Looking at the calendar, and looking outside my window, I can see that my beloved October is another fading memory. I already miss it. We’re on the backside of the college football season. The real season. The CFP took its cue from the NBA Playoffs, and now it goes on a little too long. I know. I know. I sound like a cranky old codger. I’m working toward that. Thankfully there is something called “kickoff”. That’s the time that starts a magical three and half hours that will remind us of why we are here after all. And somehow all this time put in writing about these things really, actually makes total sense for a while.

On a CFL note. I will be in my Edmonton jersey tomorrow watching the Elks take on the Montreal Als. That’s short for a word I can’t spell very well: Alouettes.

Today’s Picks:

Miami beats Duke

Ohio State beats Northwestern

Cincinnati beats Ohio State… Coach Satterfield’s Novembers have to get better.

Wisconsin beats Maryland… Centenary could beat Maryland.

Texas A&M beats Tennessee… The has to be one upset in the SEC a week.

Georgia beats Missouri… Give Silver Britches the Trophy. Any Trophy.

Indiana beats Southern Cal… Looking forward to seeing the Trojans run out on the field as a member of The Big Ten.

Notre Dame beats Boston College… Sorry for the ND-NBC family’s loss of Dan Hicks this week. Dan had a voice I will certainly miss.

Oregon beats Michigan… The Ducks will cook at home.

Kentucky beats Florida… The Cats need a rebound on the gridiron.

Louisville beats North Carolina… The Heels are improved. The Cards are trending up.

Minnesota beats Penn State… Goldy wins a close one.

Texas beats LSU… One of those I wish they’d both lose.

Iowa beats Purdue… It’ll be a chilly one in Iowa City tonight.

Enjoy the games, kids. Have a great Saturday!

Georgia @ Ole Miss November 20, 1999. 27 years. How does that happen?

I was with my Aunt Barbara and my son, Jarrett, when I first laid eyes on a redshirt freshman named Eli Manning, as the Rebels were doing their “Walk” into the stadium surrounded by Reb well-wishers. Schools do this everywhere. I can attest it was warmer in Oxford that day than it was in South Bend two Novembers ago when I watched the Irish “walk” from the church to the stadium. Not a bad tradition by any stretch.

The Rebs lost to the Bulldogs that November night so many years ago. 20-17 was the final in a late Saturday Night kick. I think I wrote about this last season when the Rebs played and defeated the Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff. I was watching in a Los Angeles hotel, with Jarrett, after we had just watched the Indiana Hoosiers dismantle the Alabama Crimson Tide in The Rose Bowl.

Precious memories all.

So what song is on my mind today as the Ole Miss Rebels host the Georgia Bulldogs tonight? Hotty Toddy, of course.

We need to get to this week’s picks.

BYU beats Utah… TV making these guys kick off at 10 AM for a game this size is pathetic.

Missouri beats Texas… Yes, and not just because I am not a great fan of Texas. When Missouri is at home for a big one, they can bite.

UCLA beats Minnesota… The Bruins want to keep a roll going and playing on the road might be a welcome sight-playing in a full stadium.

Purdue beats Maryland… The Boilermakers dust off a loss in a big way.

Wisconsin beats Rutgers… The Badgers got tamed by Iowa last week. They rebound this week.

South Carolina beats Texas A&M… Look for the Gamecocks to keep rolling. A&M Coach Elko feels more heat.

Alabama beats LSU… No, I really believe that too. The script wants LSU to make it to build the narrative and feed off the Lane Kiffin soap opera and the SEC’s never-ending talking season. I think Bama can pull this off by intercepting Sam Leavitt a few times. This is a big moment.

Ohio State beats Oregon… The Buckeyes are hurt. The Ducks are hurting.

Washington beats Penn State… The Happy Valley guys aren’t so happy.

Kentucky beats Tennessee… The Wildcats are solid and won’t be intimidated by 100,000 in Neyland. This Kentucky team is solid as solid is solid.

Ole Miss beats Georgia… Good things are happening in Oxford. I wouldn’t want to be the visiting team going in there.

Iowa beats Northwestern… Playing in the new Ryan Stadium, the Hawkeyes stay grounded after blanking Wisconsin.

Georgia Tech beats Louisville… This has been the year of the Louisville letdown. Don’t enjoy it. That’s what I am looking for tonight.

Notre Dame beats Miami… The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win. The U is missing their best player in wide out Malachi Toney. The Irish pull off a good one.

Enjoy this wonderful November Saturday.

Kicking Around History

When I was a kid going to games at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati (I was fortunate enough to see The Big Red Machine), I watched batting practice in total amazement.  How can George Foster hit a baseball that far?  That one just landed in the red seats.  A red seat homer at Riverfront.  Those are the hits we still remember.

I marvel when I see a guy hit a golf ball 300 yards with regularity.  There may have been two occasions when I hit a golf ball that far.  If I did, I assure you there was a strong wind behind me and the ball was travelling downhill.

Kicking a football over a goal post from 60 yards away?  That is something I can talk to you about.  Many years ago, I did that often.  When I think about how much pop my leg had in it forty years ago, that is one of the only times I get truly wistful about father time’s assault. The feel of a ball sailing from your foot over a goal post 60 or 70 yards away is a rush.

I cannot, however, for the life of me, comprehend doing that in front of a stadium full of people when my 60 yard kick means my team goes ahead in a 13-13 tie to make the score 16-13 with 19 seconds to go.  That is just too much for this old kicker to take.  We’re not finished.  The other team gets the ball with 19 seconds left.  They run a pass play from their own 25 that is caught on the opponent’s 42.  The clock is running and with 5 seconds left that team throws an incompletion and leaves 2 seconds on the clock for their kicker to attempt another 60 yard field goal to tie the game at 16.  There’s the snap.  The kick is on the way….and it’s good!  “Unbelievable!”  In this case I quote Indiana University Football radio play by play man Don Fischer.  I could hear Don yell “Unbelievable!” behind the glass door that walls off the radio booth on the north side of the press box in Memorial Stadium Level 5.  

Both of these kicks, one by a Minnesota Golden Gopher, Luke Drzewiecki, and one by an Indiana Hoosier, Paddy McAteer, rewrote the Memorial Stadium record for longest field goal ever recorded and this was the first time in college football history each team kicked a 60-yard field goal in one game.  I sat in the press box in Bloomington last week and when it was all over, the TD pass on the first play of OT for Indiana, the sack of the Gopher QB on 4th and goal to end it giving Indiana a 23-16 OT win, I just sat there thinking about those two kicks we just saw.

I was smart enough to take this picture when it was over. This was the craziest finish I have ever seen.

In the first half, this old special teams coach was fuming. In the years I coached high school football, our special teams never looked as sorry as Indiana’s did in the first half of this ballgame.

On two occasions in the first half, the Indiana Hoosiers were forced to punt from their own 12-yard line. The first one went 15 yards. The second one was 27 yards. Billy Powell was nearly half the age of the Indiana punter (30) when he was swinging his leg for us. Billy Powell never farted like Billy Gowers did Saturday for the Hoosiers.

The special team gaffes kept coming. All in the first half. Punt returner and gifted wide receiver Charlie B. from Nashville Tennessee called a fair catch of a Minnesota punt on the Indiana three-yard line. I nearly fell out of my chair.

Throw in two bad field goal attempts by Indiana, one 52 yards and one 31 yards, and you had seemingly more special team mistakes in one half than you saw in the first 37 games of the Coach Cignetti Era in Bloomington.

The good news for Hoosier fans is that this aspect of their game can only get better moving forward. We’ll never see such ineptness of special team play in a game that is won in large part thanks to a 60-yard field goal. And I hope the dingleberries who booed the Hoosiers last Saturday drink from a can with a yellowjacket in it next tailgate.

When the Minnesota kicker hit his 60-yarder, I was still incensed at the way Indiana had so badly displayed their special team ineptness in the first quarter. Like millions of others, I thought that was the game. After all, there were only 19 seconds left.

On college football Saturdays, I often go back and forth with a cousin of mine in Mississippi. He is a good Ole Miss Rebel. A tip of the cap to Lewis Grizzard. He described himself as “A good Georgia Bulldog.” I sent my cousin a picture in a text message after the Minnesota kicker nailed his 60-yarder and I thought the game was over.

To my delight, the Hoosiers proved me wrong. I’m good with that. After all, I got to see two guys kick history around.

The last time my brother, Darrell, attended an IU football game with me in 2023, this is what Memorial Stadium looked like at kickoff.

Darrell is going to be in the stadium for tomorrow’s game. I’ll be in the press box. Darrell is in for a treat.

I don’t like it when I hear announcers saying (I know they need to say something) that the Golden Gophers of Minnesota are taking on the defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers. Not really. Most of that team is gone. Anyone who follows Indiana Football knows that. They know the difference. Nothing against Josh Hoover. Not at all. God bless him for taking on the challenge of replacing THE MAN. That Josh Hoover comes to Indiana just underscores the mastery of Coach Curt Cignetti. Guts for Guts. That’s why I am rooting for Josh Hoover. It took guts to sign on to play quarterback at the school that produced last year’s Heisman Trophy winner. It’s still all a blur to many of us.

I’m not naive. I know what college football players are being paid. I grapple with that in quiet moments when it’s just me and me fighting it out. Still, to have the courage to take snaps at the school that produced last year’s Heisman winner is more than commendable. That’s not for everybody.

Josh Hoover has proven he is a winner.

This week’s picks:

Duke beats BC… The Dukies are at home.

Illinois bears Maryland… Even at Maryland, with all their turmoil, the Illini get this one.

Notre Dame beats Navy… We’re all waiting for Notre Dame and Miami.

Iowa beats Wisconsin… How many Hawkeye fans are breathing a sigh of relief knowing this one is at home.

Michigan beats Rutgers… The Wolverines were close last week against the Hoosiers. They get this one.

Ole Miss beats Auburn… Coming off of two different worlds…or weekends. Rebs win at home.

Louisville beats Stanford… The Cards get a much needed one.

Georgia beats Florida… In Atlanta? Shame.

Indiana beats Minnesota… Must say I am looking forward to seeing the Gophers QB in live action. Drake Lindsey is a hoss from Arkansas. I have enjoyed watching Goldy this season. I always do. I have a soft spot for Goldy. Watched them play 3 Music City Bowl in the early 2000s. Indiana is a 20-point favorite. Indiana’s defense is the catalyst of their team this year. Anyone here remember the old axiom defense wins championships?

Cincinnati beats Utah… Wow. Another good one. I picked UC to beat Texas Tech last week. Nippert Stadium is a place that is hard to describe. Outside The Rose Bowl Stadium, I don’t know of another more unique place to play. This falls in the Bearcats favor.

UCLA beats Nevada…Empty the bench and have fun. Could we see UCLA against Indiana in Indy in December?

Penn State beats Purdue… Home game in Happy Valley.

Ohio State beats USC… USC was handled by Wisconsin last week. This is an important game for SC…and Coach Riley. Especially Coach Riley.

Oregon State beats Fresno State… Coach Mark Hagen is working greatness with the Beaver defense. 2-10 last year, Oregon State brought in a new staff and they are 5-2 and have won 5 in a row.

Enjoy this last October weekend. This is the best weekend of the year.

Last week was certainly thermos of coffee football weather in Bloomington, Indiana as the Indiana Hoosiers hosted and were bested by the Ohio State Buckeyes 19-15. Yes, that game. The one where the winning touchdown pass was incomplete because the wide-open wide receiver didn’t have a foot in the endzone when he caught the ball. The Pass That Never Was is how this one will be remembered. That’s okay.

Look, the Indiana Hoosiers were not going to go undefeated for a second season in a row. No. The last team most Hoosier fans want to lose to, next to Purdue, is probably the Ohio State Buckeyes. The last time Indiana beat Ohio State in Bloomington and in the regular season was in October of 1988. I was there. It feels longer than that.

Memorial Stadium was never as loud as last Saturday. For the Hoosiers, better to lose on in October than in December or January. What will be will be.

What has been one story for Indiana is the play of quarterback Josh Hoover. He’s the guy that was dogged by his former coach at TCU for throwing too many interceptions. Coach Cignetti countered that criticism and said Josh Hoover would find his two new best friends: a good defense and a good running game. I paraphrase somewhat. How has that turned out? So far this season, Hoover has thrown for 18 TDs and 0 interceptions. The last college QB with those numbers this late in the season was when Tua was playing for the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2018. Impressive. Very Impressive.

Sure, that was a heartbreaker for Indiana Football fans last weekend. You can’t miss field goals against Ohio State. Ask them about that (see last year’s Big Ten Championship Game). Ohio State scored two touchdowns on 4th down. That can’t happen either, if you expect your team to win.

You know, we have seen more clamoring over pass interference not being called than ever before. Charlie Becker looked like a rodeo pony being tugged from behind for twenty yards in the middle of the field at that. As I looked on, I just exhaled and thought to myself “Thank Goodness” figuring a flag had to fly. Nope. No flag. Crank up the song Three Blind Mice on the stadium PA system. My suggestion is to look to the North. In the Canadian Football League, which I follow and quite enjoy, pass interference can be challenged with replay. We already do that here in States for a myriad of plays. Time to clean up pass interference with the threat of a second look. This tactic works.

I’ve gone back twenty years, no more. The 2026 season is poised to be the only time in the last 21 years that ESPN’s College Gameday has failed to cover a game that featured the previous National Champion.

Perhaps the chance that Coach Curt Cignetti could make Nick Saban look like a donkey is just too much.

Coach Cig: You pick against us in The Big Ten Championship Game.

You picked Alabama in The Rose Bowl Game.

You picked Oregon.

You picked Miami to be us the Championship. Do you remember me? Do you remember the first-round draft choices I recruited to Tuscaloosa for you.”

At the end of last season, Brillo Pad stock went up 8 points because Nick Saban had so much egg to get off of his face.

Oh, never mind. ESPN will be ESPN. We’re used to that.

I did something stupid last week and only picked one game. It was the only one I could see. The rest were a bit blurry. I can see clearly now that game is gone.

This week’s picks:

Indiana beats Michigan… Has not happened during my 58 years on this orb. It’s time.

Auburn beats LSU… If they can beat UGA in Sanford, they can beat the Tigers at home.

Miami beats Pitt… Losing QB1 was huge for Pitt.

Cincinnati beats Texas Tech… Nippert Stadium can be tricky. It is small but mighty. Texas Tech takes its turn on the upset carousel.

Illinois beats Oregon… This is in Champaign. Coach Bielema is good for one of these a season. I mentioned in the preseason that the Ducks would MISS Coach Will Stein’s offensive handiwork.

Iowa beats Minnesota… I envy Tim Brando getting to call this classic Big Ten matchup. Iowa get to take Floyd home to Iowa City again.

UCLA beats Michigan State… An early kickoff in The Rose Bowl Stadium. UCLA is the darling of The Big Ten this year.

Mississippi State beats Oklahoma… The Sooners are in trouble and the boys in maroon are hungry and playing in cowbell heaven.

Tennessee beats South Carolina… The Vols are on a roll and look for them stay on it for a while.

Alabama beats Texas A&M… The Bear Bryant Bowl. I know. He coached at Kentucky too. But they gave him a cigarette lighter, and they gave Adolph Rupp a Cadillac.

Clemson beats Virgina Tech… The Tigers have to salvage something at home.

Ole Miss beats Texas… Will the Arch Train continue to wobble? Get your popcorn ready.

Wisconsin beats USC… Camp Randall has been waiting for a game like this. The Badgers lay the wood.

Kentucky beats Vanderbilt… Yes, Kentucky really is that good. Watch this bunch. they shell the corn.

Enjoy it this weekend, my friends!

The Game of the Week.

#5 Indiana hosting #4 Ohio State

The last time these two teams met was in The Big Ten Championship Game. That game featured #1 Ohio State vs. #2 Indiana. You should know what happened, if you read this page often.

The last time Indiana beat Ohio State in Bloomington was in 1988. I was there. I was also there when we celebrated Coach Bill Mallory after his passing in 2018.

Anthony Thompson ran for 190 yards and 4 TDs in that 41-7 beat down of Ohio State in 1988. This was THE GAME I held onto to. The one that meant EVERYTHING. It lasted too long. When the 2025 Indiana Hoosiers beat # 9 Illinois last year 63-10, I felt a great weight lifted. This was the new 41-7, and it took a long time to get here.

Another favorite Indiana-Ohio State memory that I have mentioned many times is easy. 2019… Anthony Thompson and I cross paths. I ask him if he has any eligibility left? He told me he didn’t want any on that day.

On to the pick. Last week 9 winners and 5 losers. Thanks a lot, Goldy!

This week? There has never been a top 5 matchup in Bloomington before tomorrow’s game. I am prepared, in honor of this game to break protocol.

This afternoon, I sent this text to Adam Disque and Andrew Evertts:

‘I just lined up one ball at the end of this green and declared, like a kid, “If I make it, the Hoosiers win.” The putt was true. Never had a doubt. I feel better.’

Indiana beats Ohio State.

Now that is speaking the rights!

A friend of mine texted me this afternoon mentioning a sense of “gravity” for Nebraska fans and its football program this weekend. Nebraska is 5-0 and they host the Indiana Hoosiers at 11 AM CDT. Look, Nebraska used to be the stuff in college football. One of my favorite pastimes as a kid was to look at the Sunday Sports Section to see how many yards Nebraska and Oklahoma put up against their Big 8 opponents. Some of those rushing numbers were staggering. For me, it was just fun to look at those numbers. Never once were these numbers things I would ever see out of Big Ten teams. In 1978, Nebraska beat Indiana 69-17. Eleven Cornhuskers ran the ball that day. I.M. Hipp, Nebraska’s bell cow running back that year, scored four touchdowns. I was there.

Face it, Nebraska Football has changed since they joined The Big Ten. They don’t scare anyone like they used to. But don’t fall asleep on them. Nebraska fans are looking for the answer to a hopeful and nervous question. “Are we really back?” That’s a tough question to ask because so much hope is in play. Lose and a great deal of air comes out of their football…again.

Indiana looked like the football version of the Rudyard Kipling story The Ship that Found Herself last week in a beat down of Rutgers in Piscataway, NJ. Indiana looked like the Hoosiers we have grown accustomed to seeing dominante their football games. Yes, I know every season is different. Some schools have gone on runs that lasted more than a decade. See Bobby Bowden’s run a Florida State. If you are a Hoosier fan, you have already become a little greedy.

Will Indiana beat Nebraska? I think they will. This game feels like a question to me. Is Nebraska really ready for this moment? Do they make the first turnover early and it brings them down? We’ll see. Nebraska’s Coach Matt Rhule is a great coach. A proven winner. There is a reason for optimism if you are a Cornhusker fan. Indiana’s Coach Cignetti was the plum that was pulled out on the thumb, 32-2 is Indiana’s record under Curt Cignetti. We all know there are losses that will come. Harder times happen eventually. In the meantime, most of America feels disdain for the Hoosiers. “That was supposed to be us!” That refrain has played loud and clear around tables where college football boosters plot their team’s future, unless you are Indiana. They got here without that table. It’s Indiana. A great place to coach a team without a doubt. Bloomington is not a place where countless people want a piece of your time compared to other schools and the fat cats around that “table”.

So, I’m in Nashville this weekend. No, not to see the Ole Miss Rebels take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. I have seen quite a few Rebs games at Vandy. Two that stand out are the 2000 game that ended 12-7 in favor of the Rebels. Looked like two mules fighting over a turnip. What I remember most is heading to Nashville after forgetting my suitcase at home on a busy school day. In 2003, Vandy went ahead of the Rebels 21-14 with 14:20 left to play in the 4th. Ole Miss kicker Jonathan Nichols was the Rebels hero that day. He opened the scoring with a 51 yard field goal in the second quarter. Nichols saved the game for senior quarterback Eli Manning when, on the 6th lead change of the game, he drilled a 54 yarder to end the scoring 24-21 in favor of Ole Miss with 3:52 left to play. Played on August 30th, this game was the season opener and it was 96 degrees at kickoff.

I’m in Nashville this weekend to celebrate my grandson Liam’s 1st birthday. I often refer to him as Merle because I can and I like it. Don’t tell the Rebs. Hanging out with Merle is more fun than watching them play. One day Merle will have other interests and I will be stuck watching the Rebels again. I am a realist. And I am also glad the Indiana Hoosiers host Ohio State NEXT weekend. I am a realist. Merle already knows that.

On to this week’s picks. 48 winners and 22 losers so far. Last week was 9-5 rough.

Indiana beats Nebraska… The Hoosiers BRING IT against the Cornhuskers.

Pitt beats North Carolina… Pitt earned their #25 ranking last week.

Mizzou beats Texas A&M… Mizzou comes off the beat down of Florida with a nail biter at home against the Aggies.

Georgia Tech beats Duke… The T-squares are finally put to good use for these engineers.

Illinois beats Michigan State… The Illini laid an egg against the Boilermakers. Give PU credit. The boys from Champaign figure this one out.

Ole Miss beat Vandy… Look for Trinidad Chambliss to lead the Rebs with his arm and his legs while the rain comes down here in Nashville.

Texas beats Oklahoma… The Cotton Bowl Stadium lives and that is a good thing.

Oregon beats UCLA… I am tempted to take the Bruins. They have played well. Oregon doesn’t lose this one at home.

Ohio State beats Maryland… The Buckeyes get ready next week in Bloomington.

Tennessee beats Arkansas… The Hogs are at home. The Vols still win.

Kentucky beats LSU… Why does this feel like this is UK’s chance to shine. LSU players will be less than enamoured with this trip and the Wildcats take advantage. Why not?

Georgia beats Alabama… The Bulldogs take down the Tide in Tuscaloosa. Then Bama moves up in the AP Poll.

USC beats Penn State… Classic matchup and a conference game at that. Look for the Trojans to disappoint the Happiness in the Valley.

Minnesota beats Purdue… Look for Goldy to force four turnovers against the Boilermaker offense.

Have a great weekend. The rain is heading North and we’ll see it Saturday in Nashville and Sunday on the way home. Old Highway 31, here we come. Rain + Interstate = 31.

Enjoy the football.

We’re getting closer to ‘moving day’ in college football. We are not there yet. The Texas Longhorns are #1 in the land. When you watch them, you wonder how that can be. A strong 4th quarter against Ohio State just goes to show how much fear of the Big Ten there is out there. Texas will be hard-pressed to keep giving us more to be impressed with. And we need some reason to be impressed from Texas. The behavior of some of their players has been less than impressive.

The Football Writers Association of America named Colin Simmons the “Player of the Week” after he recorded 5.5 sacks at Tennessee when he wasn’t acting like he was urinating after a good play. More Texas nonsense. When it gets real, they will fold like an origami petunia. Shame on the FWAA.

Last Friday night the Northwestern Wildcats showed up in Bloomington. They let me hold up their flag. The Hoosiers were a twenty-point favorite. Not so fast my friends. The Indiana offense started with two the center moved the ball penalties. Coach Cignetti was LIVID.

The Northwestern defense figured something out. Face it, those boys from Evanston probably take difficult math classes along the lake. They are a smart bunch.

Let’s face it. The Indiana offense is still trying to find itself. Moving the ball and gaining yards never put a point on the board without crossing the goal line. The Indiana Hoosiers had a hard time finding the endzone when it was just a couple yards away. What does that do to the confidence?

Look, I am a realist. The Hoosiers have outscored their opponents 91-6 in the first half this season. Raise your hand if you are dumb enough think there’s a hole to point out with that stat. You’re not Alabama fans. Coach Cig is 31-2 as the Indiana Football Coach. Don’t ever forget things like that.

Last week’s picks were an all-time clunker. 7 winners and 7 losers. Still, I am prepared to go out on limb or two this week too. The season total is 28 winners and 14 losers. That hurts.

This week:

Mississippi State beats Alabama… This State team has an offense that Bama won’t be able to stop with an 11 AM kick in Starkville.

SMU beats Boston College… The Ponies are at home.

Michigan beats Minnesota… Goldy is at home. Michigan lost a close one to Iowa. The Wolverines will rise up.

Wisconsin beats Michigan State… A team that did find itself last week was Wisconsin with a victory in Happy Valley. Look for that momentum to build at Camp Randall.

Georgia beats Vandy… Silver britches will not be denied at home.

Tennessee beats Auburn… The Vols rebound after a tussle last week with Texas.

Mizzou beats Florida… Let’s see what Florida is made of. Columbia is a long way from The Swamp.

Ohio State beats Iowa… Can the Iowa defense force enough turnovers? I don’t think so.

Virgina beats Florida State… The Cavs pull this one off, and the Seminoles keep looking for answers.

Kentucky beats South Carolina… The Cats tasted a big V already. They’ll make fewer mistakes, even on the road.

Illinois beats Purdue… That big new scoreboard in Champaign had better have new lightbulbs. It will be in for a workout on the home side.

USC beats Washington… The Trojans won’t lose a consecutive game at home.

Indiana beats Rutgers… The best thing for Indiana happens this week. That is getting out of Bloomington! Look for Josh Hoover to throw for more than 300 yards and 5 TDS.

Louisville beats NC State… This may be the game where the Cards get their head out of their shoes and play like they have good sense.

I am already wistful and it is only the first weekend of October. I don’t want to see this month end. The fall is here and gone. Have fun with it.

Last week there were 11 winners and 3 losers. I make my yearly PSA, that’s a Public Service Announcement and not a prostate claim, that I pick winners and losers for fun. I don’t gamble on college football. Maybe one day I will. I doubt it. I think I might be good at it. At the end of the day, I don’t ever want to be miffed because my team won by 18 instead of 19. My wires don’t line up that way. Games are hard enough to win, let alone by a certain amount of points.

Last week we had some great college football. One Friday last, Texas Tech beat Houston 28-26 on a failed by inches two-point conversion lunge by Cougar QB Connor Weigman. He was my Heisman dark horse coming into the 2026 season.

Ole Miss beats LSU! That was a nice ride home listening to this one after the IU game. Hotty Toddy!

Kentucky pulled off a big one and I missed this call. I just looked up at how high the top row of Kyle Field is from earth and thought, nah, UK won’t win from up there. They did it, those Wildcats. Oregon’s loss was Kentucky’s gain. I still say Oregon losing their two coordinators was much more difficult than folks picking them as a Top 3 team realized. In this age of processing a new roster every year, coaching cohesiveness is a NOW MORE THAN EVER important element.

Louisville beat SMU. That one I got. If Louisville ever cleans up their penalties and their style of play, look out. Until then, they will win until their mistakes catch up with them at the worst possible time leaving them to blame someone else. The Cards can play.

Mississippi State took down South Carolina. You get the feeling Coach Beamer needs a win over Bama or someone ranked to help him hang in down there in Columbia. State might be that from ‘out of nowhere’ team this year.

Am I the only one enamoured with the way the Iowa Hawkeyes are playing. Watching the Hawkeyes play is like listening to Cary Grant read the phone book. Nothing but a joy.

Last week the Indiana Hoosiers clunked their way through a 14-0 first half and made plays when they had to en route to a 38-0 win over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. That is what good teams do.

It helps when you have a veteran line. Indiana has just that.

Tonight the Northwestern Wildcats come calling and clawing into Memorial Stadium. What the green dot defender must wonder as to what to call when he sees Nick Marsh, Davion Chandler, and Charlie Becker all heading to the left side of the formation. This IU receiving corps is pretty tough to defend.

Watching Jackson Smith punt for WKU was a joy last week. In this era of run and punt and watch the ball fly end over end Aussie style, this young man put towering spirals that turned over beautifully and looked like Ray Guy was in town. The best looking punts I have seen in years. He’s an All-American in my book.

It was good to see Grandpa Wilson take some snaps in the second half. Grant Wilson, on his 7th season of college football, is something interesting to see and something we will be telling our grandkids about one day. They won’t believe it.

It was great seeing the Hoosier Bison and Big Red in a good mood together. I’ll take their company any day.

This week’s picks:

Indiana beats Northwestern… The line is more than 20. I’ll take a W, no matter how it gets there.

Ohio State beats Illinois… Jeremiah Smith might catch 4 tds.

Tennessee beats Texas… Can Texas win a big one like this on the road? I don’t think they are ready for this.

Louisville beats Wake Forest… Won’t be close.

UCLA beats Maryland… Cross country or not, the Bruins are much improved under Coach Chesney.

Iowa beats Michigan… In the Big House at that.

Georgia beats Oklahoma…. The SEC will have to hang its big hats on Georgia and Ole Miss this year.

Ole Miss beats Florida… Trinidad Chambliss is as cool as the center seed of the cucumber.

USC beats Oregon… The Ducks won’t go into The Coliseum and get this one… not this year.

Texas A&M beats LSU…. It is bouncing back in a big way for the Aggies. LSU has a hard time bouncing back from Ole Miss.

Mississippi State beats Mizzou… State is playing well.

Washington beats Minnesota… Goldy won’t be able to row the boat far enough to salvage this one.

Alabama beats South Carolina… The Tide needs this one and they will get it.

Michigan State beats Nebraska… This will be a good one. Coach Fitzgerald looks right at home in Sparty Green. I didn’t think that was going to be possible. College Football has really changed.

Enjoy the weekend. Enjoy you some COLLEGE FOOTBALL!

Last week was not the best effort. 9 winners 5 losers. Season total: 21-7

Let’s get to the picks.

Minnesota beats Akron… Goldy gets the best of Zippy.

Clemson beats North Carolina… UNC, the epitome of a West Virginia couch burning.

Texas A&M beats Kentucky… The boys at Kyle Field will be ready.

Alabama beats Florida State… The Tide offense will give FSU fits.

Louisville beats SMU… I know. Homer call, right? Not so fast, my friend. I look for the Cards to clean up some silly mistakes. Cut down on the penalties. No turnovers. A defense that is ready to tackle.

USC beats Rutgers… It’s a long way from LA to Piscataway. No matter, Tommy wins this one big.

Michigan beats UTEP… Anticlimactic after some Wolverine craziness in the early going of the season.

Duke beats Standford… I had to remind myself this was conference game.

Mississippi State beats South Carolina… Great QB battle in a game that is better than advertised.

Auburn beats Florida… The Tigers need this one at home.

Northwestern beats Colorado… The new stadium is a few weeks away in Evanston. Look for NW QB Aidan Chiles to put up big numbers.

Ole Miss beats LSU… Game of the day. Maybe game of the year. The Lane Kiffin saga is great theatre. Now, let’s play football.

Notre Dame beats Michigan State… A game with great history. Notre Dame adds to their smiling side of it.

UCLA beats Purdue… The Boilermakers kick off at 11 PM local time. An 11 PM game on The Big Ten Network. Brilliant.

What a way to sully a big win. So much for act like you’ve been there before. Afterall, you are Texas. This just goes to show that today’s new college football is no longer steeped in the tradition it once was.

I was dumbfounded when Arch Manning, the Texas QB, said something that sounded anything but Manningesque. Arch, in his post-game press conference, asked reporters if they had seen an AI video that portrayed Texas coach Steve Sarkisian giving Holly Rowe what for as she attempted to interview him after the game. Arch laughed. Arch was enjoying it. In truth, Sark did not strike Rowe. He did make an ass of himself when Holly Rowe tried to interview him after the game.

For Manning, this was a moment that will be hard for some to forgive. Did a Manning just say that? Was this a “true colors” moment for Arch? It sure felt like it. I thought I could hear Archie Manning coughing and choking after he heard this and swallowed his snuff. Yes, it was that bad. There’s not enough sugar to coat this. Holly Rowe is a pro. Sark and Arch are still learning. We can hope they will learn and get it right one day.

Just watching this sophomoric display from these Texas boys only makes one appreciate even more what the Indiana Hoosiers have accomplished and the way have accomplished it. It’s called CLASS.