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.

Had I been on the Howard Bison offensive line, I would have been asking the same question. “Which one of these guys am I going to try to block?” I can commiserate with Howard, especially the guy snapping the ball. This was a problem for the Bison o-line all day yesterday. I think Indiana had 12 tackles for loss. Indiana’s defense held Howard to 13 yards rushing on 27 carries. Conversely, Indiana ran for 296 yards on 46 carries. It could have been more.

In a Memorial Stadium first, we are starting to get used to this concept, both head coaches agreed to play a 10-minute 4th quarter. The gambling set didn’t like this. Indiana won 55-0. The line was just a touch higher than this.

The Hoosiers looked much shaper in week 2. A 75-degree temperature at kickoff will always help that compared to last week’s 91 degrees noon start that only got hotter. Nevertheless, Indiana can brag about a sold-out crowd showing up to see a practice game. Josh Hoover and his 4 td passes were done at the half. His replacement, Grandpa Grant Wilson, threw 2 TDs in the third quarter. Had Tyler Cherry not succumbed to a little pucker factor, he may have thrown a TD in the 4th.

Overall, it was a good day to be a Hoosier. I’ll take a crowd like this any day. If you can fill a stadium like this while you are playing Pea Ridge, good on you. This will work out. The Hilltoppers from Western Kentucky come calling next week. I am determined to get a selfie with the Western mascot next week.

On a bad note, the Hoosiers missed their first PAT of the Coach Curt Cignettie era. Kicker Paddy McAteer missed his second PAT attempt of the game subbing for the injured Nicco Raddicic. So, for now, IU kickers for Coach Cig are 170 of 171 on PATs. On a good note, I love the name Paddy on the gridiron. The last time I saw this was Paddy Doyle playing wide receiver for Louisiana Tech in 1986.

Congratulations to Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns for winning a big one over the Ohio State Buckeyes. You and I can’t quantify the pressure that must be on a kid named Manning. All I know is that Arch looks more like Archie than he does his two famous uncles. Believe that when you hear it. I love me some Midwest football. This was okay. Arch Manning’s uncle MADE football in Indiana. I say any kid named Manning needs to win every week. Don’t feel bad for the Buckeyes. This loss will only make them more resilient.

The tarnish on this win for the Horns was the way their head coach steve sarkisian (I refuse to use capital letters here) treated Holly Rowe after the game when Holly was trying to get a post-game interview with the Texas coach. He was an ass. I just turned my head sideways and thought, if this guy coaches his team anything like he coaches himself, I hope Indiana faces Texas in the CFP. It’ll be another Rose Bowlesque beat down like the one the Hoosiers gave the Alabama Crimson Tide. I am not flippant here. That was a bush league move by Sark. No class. He has plenty to learn. He’ll be taught.

Michigan beats Oklahoma. I did not see this coming. Did you? As a kid of a coach, I can’t help but to gravitate towards coaches I really respect. Coach Kyle Whittingham is under the aegis of this respect. I am DELIGHTED he is coaching Michigan. He probably knows he can thank the Big Ten for helping his team dodge a loss against Western Michigan last week. Still, I hope the Wolverines do well this season under a guy with some class.

Duke beats Illinois in Champaign. That was hard to take. Didn’t see a down of it. Did not expect it at all.

Goldy disappointed too. Mississippi State came to Minneapolis and took over. Minnesota’s boat sank Saturday night.

In September, we can all still say there is still hope for the season.

A funny thing happened on the way out of Memorial Stadium in Bloomington last week. There was talk. There was unrecognizable talk. Words thrown around from folks that sounded like they have been regular callers on The Paul Finebaum Show. Welcome to the Big Time, for better or worse.

“That defense is going to have to shore up a bit. Won’t be that easy against Northwestern.”

“IU can’t be running the ball like that against someone with a defense.” Here we go.

And there were a few other comments. You get the idea. The ones who were blowing off with comments like these don’t get the real idea of winning a football game. They want the team to win like they were the ones drawing up the plays. Like this guy behind me at Tennessee ten years ago.

This is the new “Natural Order of Things” for Indiana Football fandom. And it is a strange thing to behold. My old natural order of things talk usually came up when the Hoosiers had two defensive backs run into each other and the opposing receiver catches a bomb 50 yards downfield and does the Ohio State Waltz into the end zone. I have many more examples. The 1989 Purdue game is the worst. Or Blake Ezor running 76 yards down the East sideline with no less than 8 Hoosiers with at least one hand on him is another. I need to stop there. That pain is still real.

Indiana doesn’t need fans that sound like they listen and call into The Paul Finebaum Show. These gridiron Hoosiers just got here. They have barely been around elite talk since lunch. Fans, give yourself a while longer to just sit there and enjoy it all. You can become like cranky old Alabama or LSU fans later.

Don’t start complaining about a 52-16 season opening victory, Hoosier fans. Those were the most points scored by an IU team in the opener against an FBS team since the 1969 Hoosiers beat Kentucky 58-30. 52-16 is REALLY GOOD. If you are complaining about the defense, you’ll either regret it one day or you’ll never learn. The Indiana offense did not give the Indiana defense much rest on what was probably the hottest day Memorial Stadium has ever felt. North Texas had the ball for over 37 minutes. Even with all this time, the Mean Green only scored one touchdown. That is a pretty good Indiana defense.

Welcome to the Big Time, Indiana fans. Try to act like you have imagined you have been there before.

So this week Indiana gets the mighty Howard. That’s all I have to say about that.

Last week we had 12 winners and 2 losers. I honestly thought Louisville would get Ole Miss. They almost did. I also picked Tulane.

This week’s picks:

Louisville beats Villanova… The Cards played well against Ole Miss. Lincoln Kienholz really showed great play at QB in the second half. The Cards will handle the Fighting Howie Longs.

Indiana beats Howard… Howard?

Oklahoma beats Michigan… It is great to see Michigan and Ohio State out on a limb with their non-conference schedule. That, and a game like this will only help your street cred and your players finding out where they really are. Oklahoma wins this one. Folks in Kalamazoo will be delighted.

Oregon beats Oklahoma State… If a team did show a reason for concern last week it might have been Oregon. They barely pulled away from Boise at home. I said in the preview. Losing both coordinators will put a toll on a team, regardless of how much talent is out there.

Penn State beats Temple… Classic PA matchup. Hope the Owls hang with the Nittany Lions for a while.

Washington State beats Kansas State… KState is a huge favorite. This is my upset of the day.

Alabama beats Kentucky… Kentucky played well against Youngstown State. They were supposed to. Bama beat East Carolina 48-10. No doubt that was not enough for some Tide faithful.

Illinois beats Duke… The Illini should win this one. That scoreboard they had put in this year should be worth 10 points alone in a game like this. Coach Bielema has Illinois on very solid ground.

Minnesota beats Mississippi State… Hats off to State for heading up to where the Mississippi River starts as a trickle. Hats off to Goldy for inviting them. QB Drake Lindsay looked like he belonged there last week. Additionally, Goldy returned two punts for six each. State won’t be a pushover.

Notre Dame beats Rice… Another tough game for ND. That schedule of theirs is a gauntlet…of something.

UCLA beats San Diego State… UCLA flexed for 461 yards of total offense last week. The Bruins D put Cal in 21 3rd down situations and Cal converted 11. The UCLA defense also forced 3 turnovers. 12 penalties by UCLA will need to be remedied moving forward.

Iowa beats Iowa State… The game is in Iowa City and that is a great place for a football game. These two will be like two mules fighting over a turnip.

Texas beats Ohio State… Arch will put up some numbers and the football world will gush about him again like they did before last season when Texas and Penn State were SUPPOSED to be two powerhouses. This is truly another ‘good-for-you’ in the scheduling department.

USC beats Louisiana Lafayette… A third less than Marquee matchup being played in successive weeks in The Coliseum. It kicks off at 11 ET. The darkness will help to mislead the empty seats.

The season goes too quickly. Enjoy it.

Above is a picture I took as Coach Curt Cignetti’s 2024 Indiana Hoosiers were making their debut against the Florida International Panthers. The Hoosiers won 31-7. Home game # 1 of the Cignetti era. Attendance: 44,150. Many of those showed up after kickoff for the new coach’s first game and the school that had spent more time perennially losing instead of winning.

Fast-forward. Yesterday a sign was unveiled in the South endzone marking the teams 2025 National Championship. I saw it all last year. I still find time when I have processing issues. It was remarkable, amazing, unlikely, unheard of, and unreal. We’ll never see anything like it again.

Yesterday was a little bit different. Attendance 54,439, beyond published capacity. The Hoosiers defeated the North Texas Mean Green yesterday 52-16. QB Josh Hoover shut down some doubters yesterday. Not only did he hang tough after getting his helmet turned around on his head, but he was also 13-16 for 231 yards and 4 touchdowns…and NO interceptions.

Now kids enjoying their blood on Halloween can either go as Rocky, Gene Simmons, or Josh Hoover. It’ll happen.

Indiana’s offense looked pretty good yesterday. The defense spent more time chasing runners downfield than we saw last year. Who cares? It was 150 degrees on the Memorial Stadium turf yesterday. Folks were falling out all over the stadium. It was hotter on the field. Next game up.

Did you see the end of the Michigan game last night? Unreal. I don’t spend a great deal of time rooting against Michigan. What the Big Ten did to Western Michigan is unforgiveable. The game was clearly over. The last play notwithstanding, Western had so many missed calls that went against them. Holding, facemask, running into the kicker. It was awful. It was blatantly awful.

I joked last night that Bert Jones must have a cousin working as the Michigan clock operator. Of course, this is an allusion to ONE SECOND that was preserved on the clock when Bert was playing QB for LSU in a game in Baton Rouge against Ole Miss in the early 70s. Last night’s ONE SECOND episode may not have been as blatant as Bert’s. Still, it was even worse. There was inexcusable video review in play here in good ole 2026. Michigan won 13-12. What was even more telling that things are worse in Ann Arbor that I ever imagined they could be was when the crowd rushed the field. You win by one point, thanks to the Big Ten refs, over a team you were favored against by nearly 30 points. Then you rush the field. Bo Schembechler would not approve and has obviously been largely forgotten.

Ohio State rolled over Ball State as was expected. The Buckeyes play Texas next week. I think this one is in Austin. Ohio State sits as a slight favorite right now. That’s subject to change. Julian Sayin and Arch Manning. In the parlance of Keith Jackson, “It should be a good one.”

Iowa cruised to a 40-0 victory over Northern Illinois. Looks like Coach Ferentz was a good sport. It was 33-0 at the half.

At the end of the 3rd quarter, Washington is ahead of Washington State in The Apple Cup game. Nice to see these old PAC-12 teams playing each other and keeping this rivalry alive. Husky Stadium is packed in Seattle.

In a similar matchup, Big Ten team UCLA was the visitor at ACC foe California last night. Cal’s stadium was packed and it looked wonderful, as these two old PAC-12 teams were going at it again. Much more fun than watching UCLA play Wisconsin in a conference game. UCLA pulled away. Tied 24 each at the end of the third quarter, UCLA put up 21 uncontested points in the 4th to win it 45-24.

Oregon had a time with Boise State yesterday. 34-27 was the final score in favor of the Ducks. It was tied 27 up. This was a game played at Oregon. I made mention in my college football preview that I believe Oregon losing both their OC and their DC to supposedly greener pastures (greener bank for sure) will have an adverse effect on said Ducks. We’ll see.

My Mississippi mother was aghast this afternoon when I told her I had picked the Louisville Cardinals to beat the Ole Miss Rebels tonight in a game played in Nashville. “Why would you do that?” That was the question I had to answer. I told her I was for the Rebs too. I just feel this a Jeff Brohm W in the making. This neutral site favors Louisville. Why? It’s just down I-65 and Brohm was successful once upon a time along that road in Bowling Green, Kentucky at WKU. That, and I think U of L’s running game will go and go tonight. Yes. I am for the Rebs, Mom. Hotty Toddy!

The Indiana Football fan in me would have been okay with this year’s season kicking off in October. Some of us have not gotten used to the college football landscape in Bloomington, Indiana these days. We’re good with it. We just still spend some of our time rubbing our eyes wondering how it all happened. Well, I guess we know how it happened. Coach Curt Cignetti made it happen. I know Coach Cig often gives credit to Indiana President Pam Whitten and Athletic Director Scott Dolson. Sure, they wanted it to work out and were prepared to do what they thought would be best for Indiana. Pam and Scott had no idea what was ahead of them. This is special.

Week One Picks

Alabama beats East Carolina… I am sure the Pirates will be ready. They won’t have as been big dogs.

Indiana beats North Texas… Time to move on for the Hoosiers. The Indiana defense is loaded.

Ohio State beats Ball State… Do you think David Letterman has any eligibilty?

Cincinnati beats Boston College… This should be a great game. BC has improved.

Oregon beats Boise State… A great deal of love has been bestowed on the Ducks this off season. Oregon lost their OC and DC. That will matter down the road.

Kentucky beats Youngstown State… New coach Will Stein will bring an entertaining offense.

Penn State beats Marshall… New Penn State coach Matt Campbell is a good fit in Happy Valley.

Texas beats Texas State… Texas State? The Armadillo’s? Either way, Arch Manning will do just fine this year leading the Horns.

Iowa beats Northern Illinois…. Look for the Hawkeyes to be back to their 9-win selves.

LSU beats Clemson… There are times when I hope I am wrong. This is one of those times.

Tulane beats Duke… The Green Wave is on the road. They’ll find the folks in Durham very helpful.

Notre Dame beats Swissconsin... The Irish are getting the love this off-season. Their schedule is suspect at best. When they get to the CFP, they’ll finally be tested and maybe bested.

Louisville beats Ole Miss… I suppose this is my upset this week. I’ll be rooting for the Rebs. I just have a Jeff Brohm feeling.

Washington beats Washington State… Oh, the Apple Cup. Glad they are still playing this. The Huskies will be much improved this season. They will give some Big Ten teams fits.

So here we are. It’s on. Enjoy the games. It all goes way too quickly.