College Football Looking For an Angle
Houston has had almost 13 months to stew about a hard-to-believe 38-31 loss to Tulane last September 19 in a Thursday night TV special. At one point the Cougs held a 28-7 lead in the second quarter before the Wave scored the next 24 points to take the lead. After UH tied the game at 31 on a 24-yard field goal by PK Dalton Witherspoon with 21 seconds to play, the game seemed destined for overtime in New Orleans. After the kickoff and on possession at its own 29, the Wave appeared content for overtime, but a fake kneel-down play resulted in an 18-yard run by Amare Jones. From the Tulane 47, QB Justin McMillan then hit Jalen McCleskey in traffic over the middle at the UH 25-yard line. McCleskey bounced off of two defenders and raced into the end zone with the winning score as just 3 seconds remained! Note that it was the last game in a Cougar uniform for QB D’Eriq King (now at Miami-Fla.), who left the program after the loss.
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| Miami Florida @ Clemson 10-10 |
These foes from different halves of the ACC have met infrequently in recent years, which has been good news for Miami as the Canes have been destroyed the last two meetings. In 2015, Clemson rolled into Miami and romped 58-0, prompting the dismissal of Cane HC Al Golden after the game. Interim Larry Scott finished the season before Mark Richt began his 3-year stint on the sidelines the following 2016. Richt had one shot at Dabo Swinney in the 2017 ACC title game at Charlotte but fell well short in a 38-3 loss. Into last Saturday vs. Virginia, Clemson had covered 7 straight ACC games at Death Valley, often laying sky-high prices, though landed a bit short in the 41-23 win over the Cavs. | ||||||
| Middle Tenn St @ Florida Intl 10-10 |
This C-USA series has favored the home side, which has covered the last four meetings. Last year, it was MTSU emphatically running up a 50-17 scoreline in Murfreesboro as the Blue Raiders (including QB Asher O’Hara) rushed for better than 100 yards. It was the second-worst loss that Butch Davis has suffered since he took over on the sidelines for the Golden Panthers in 2017 (only a 49-14 Shula Bowl loss to rival FAU in 2018 rates worse). | ||||||
| Mississippi St @ Kentucky 10-10 |
These are annual “crossover” opponents in the SEC each that were originally scheduled to meet on November 14 before the pandemic-altered slate was announced. In recent years, it’s been a home-oriented series, with the host winning five in a row. It was MSU’s turn last September 21 when the Bulldogs rolled 28-13 in Starkville. Note that this was in an early period of last season when Kentucky HC Mark Stoops was in between QBs, two weeks after starter Terry Wilson was lost for the campaign with a torn left patellar tendon. Troy transfer Sawyer Smith briefly assumed the reins and but struggled badly vs. the Bulldogs, completing only 15 of 41 passes, and after laboring the next week vs. South Carolina would be replaced by converted WR Lynn Bowden Jr., who would eventually ignite the Wildcats. Then-frosh QB Garrett Shrader enjoyed perhaps his best game of 2019 for MSU, accounting for 305 yards (180 YP, 125 YR) in the comfy Bulldog win. | ||||||
| NC State @ Virginia 10-10 |
NC State has had its problems lately, reflected in a 3-11 spread skid even after last Saturday’s exciting 30-29 win over Pitt. The Wolfpack had also failed to cover 8 straight away from Raleigh before the trek Heinz Field. Note that the ACC entries compete in different divisions and have met on the gridiron just once in the past seven seasons, a 35-21 Wolfpack win and cover at Carter Stadium in 2018. | ||||||
| Oklahoma @ Texas 10-10 |
The “Red River Rivalry” has been played at the Dallas Cotton Bowl since 1932, and OU and Texas are signed thru 2025 to continue playing at the venue. The rivalry, always held during the Texas State Fair (which is taking place again this year, with limited crowds), has been rumored to be on the move to either campus sites or Jerry Jones’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, though in 2008 the city of Dallas and the State Fair completed renovations that closed both end zones and raised the capacity from 68,000 to over 92,000. Note that Texas has covered six straight regular-season meetings, and won outright on a last-second Cameron Dicker field goal in 2018, though in the Big 12 title game of 2018 held at the Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington, the Sooners won and covered in an entertaining 39-27 battle. Note that Longhorns HC Tom Herman is 16-4 as an dog since 2015 at Houston. | ||||||
| Pittsburgh U @ Boston College 10-10 |
These schools used to meet often in their days as Eastern Independents and then annually in the Big East thru 2004, when a Walt Harris-coached Pitt team, which was on its way to the Fiesta Bowl, scored a pulsating 20-17 OT win at Heinz Field. After BC moved to the ACC the following 2005, these entries didn’t clash again until last season, when BC secured bowl eligibility on the final day of the regular season in a 26-19 upset win on the road. Despite the win, the Eagles fired seven- season HC Steve Addazio the following day. In his final game as an Eagle, sledgehammer RB A.J. Dillon pounded for 178 YR in the upset win. Dillon opted out of the Birmingham Bowl, in which BC would proceed to get thumped by Cincinnati, 38-6. | ||||||
| South Carolina @ Vanderbilt 10-10 |
SC coach Will Muschamp has not missed the chance to beat up Vanderbilt, winning and covering all four meetings vs. the Dores since taking the Gamecock job in 2016, including last year’s 24-7 win and cover at Columbia on November 2. The Dores were held to just 189 yards at Williams-Brice Stadium and have been held to 14 points or fewer in four of the past meetings since 2015, including a 19-10 Gamecock win in 2015 that was the first game under interim HC Shawn Elliott (Steve Spurrier resigned after the previous week’s loss to LSU). Vandy’s SU losing streak in this series now stands at 11 games. | ||||||
| Tennessee U @ Georgia 10-10 |
We’ll see if Tennessee can continue a recent uptick that has seen it cover its last five tries as an underdog for HC Jeremy Pruitt. In fact, the last time the Vols failed as a dog was in the Georgia game last October 5 at Knoxville, as the Bulldogs ran up a 43-14 winning margin. It took a while for Kirby Smart’s team to shift gears, as it trailed until inside of 2 minutes to play in the first half before erupting for a couple of TDs before halftime on TD passes by QB Jake Fromm, then the defense completely controlled matters in the second half as the Dawgs extended their margin. Tae Crowder’s 60-yard fumble return for a TD was the icing on the Georgia cake in the 4 th Q. The Bulldogs have won the last three meetings since UT’s miracle 34-31 win on a last-second bomb ‘tween the hedges, atoning for that bitter loss as all results have featured 26-point or greater final margins. | ||||||
| Texas Tech @ Iowa State 10-10 |
Note that Iowa State has won and covered all four vs. Texas Tech since HC Matt Campbell arrived in Ames in 2016. Included was a 34-24 win at Lubbock last October 19 when Cyclone QB Brock Purdy passed for 278 yards and 3 TDs, and ISU RB Breece Hall staked the ’Clones to a 27-10 lead in the 3 rd Q on a 75-yard TD explosion. Tech’s last win over ISU came with Patrick Mahomes at QB in 2015, a 66-31 romp over an ISU team coached by Paul Rhoads. Mahomes passed for 5 TDs in that Red Raider cruise, but Campbell got ISU its revenge on Mahomes and HC Kliff Kingsbury the following 2016 in a 66- 10 rout in which Mahomes passed for just 216 yards and was picked off twice as the Cyclones piled up 608 yards of offense! | ||||||
| UTEP @ Louisiana Tech 10-10 |
Surprise of surprises is UTEP off to a 3-1 start this season (albeit two tight wins over FCS Stephen F Austin and Abilene Christian, and another win over what might as well be an FCS entry, ULM). It’s the first time in a decade that the Miners have started 3-1, since Mike Price’s eventual New Mexico Bowl entrant of 2010 won three of its first four. Note this has been a road-oriented series with the visiting side covering the past four meetings. | ||||||
| Virginia Tech @ North Carolina 10-10 |
VPI has been controlling this series lately with four straight wins, but things have been much closer the past two seasons. Especially a year ago when it took a staggering 6 overtimes to decide the outcome in which the Hokies prevailed 43-41 in Blacksburg. The game ended 31-31 in regulation before a wild OT ride. Both teams missed a pair of FG tries during the overtime periods which marked the debut of a new college rule that had teams going straight to 2-point conversion tries after the third overtime (a rule prompted by the 7-OT LSU-Texas A&M overtime marathon in 2018), rather than continuing to start possessions on the 25-yard line. With a chance to win in what was the 6 th OT after Heels QB Sam Howell was sacked, Hokies 3 rd -string QB Quincy Patterson scampered in and VPI had its win. VPI had won a close 22-19 decision in regulation time the previous year in Chapel Hill after romping by 34-3 (2016) & 59-7 (2017) scorelines the previous two meetings. | ||||||
| Marshall @ Western Kentucky 10-10 |
Some interesting games lately in this C-USA series that has featured back-to-back games decided by three points (Marshall and WKU splitting outright). Back a bit further, to 2014, Marshall had a spotless 10-0 record ruined by Jeff Brohm’s Tops in a wild 67-66 OT upset over the 23½-point favored Herd. Both teams crashed thru the 700-yard barrier (WKU 738, Marshall 708!) in a game that ended 59-59 after regulation! The first half also featured a staggering 91 points! That also happened to begin a 6-game Tops spread cover streak in this series. | ||||||
| Kansas State @ TCU 10-10 |
TCU has had its problems lately laying points at home, just 5-15-1 as Fort Worth chalk since 2016, and has lost and failed to cover 4 of last 5 vs. K-State, including last year’s 24-17 Wildcats win at Manhattan. If KSU is an underdog here, note the Cats’ sparkling 22-7 mark in that role dating to 2016 and the Bill Snyder II era. Second-year HC Chris Klieman has picked up the underdog baton and covered 7 of 9 chances in that role for K-State. | ||||||
| Florida State @ Notre Dame 10-10 |
Into last weekend vs. FCS Jacksonville State, FSU had been skidding for the past three seasons, with a 13-25-1 spread mark since 2017 after a recent embarrassing 52-10 loss to Miami on September 26. That was in the top five worst margins of defeat for the Noles since the Bobby Bowden era began in 1976. Bowden’s most lopsided FSU defeat came in his second game, a 47-0 loss to Miami in ‘76, with a 58-14 thrashing administered by Southern miss in 1981 a close second. The worst loss since ‘76 was a 59-10 crushing administered by Clemson two years ago. Notre Dame also ran up a 42-13 score at South Bend in 2018, the first meeting since Jameis Winston’s FSU scored an exciting 31-27 win in 2014 at Doak Campbell. Prior to that, the teams met in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl won by FSU, 18-14, though the most memorable encounter was a late-season battle in 1993 when 2 nd -ranked Notre Dame scored a 31-24 upset in South Bend over the top-ranked Noles, with eventual Heisman winner Charlie Ward at QB. The Irish would assume the top spot in the polls for Lou Holtz the next week before a subsequent upset loss to Boston College, 41-39, allowed the Noles to leapfrog back to the top of the rankings and eventually claim the national title. Which was a bit of poll gymnastics that still has old Domers fuming, 27 years later! | ||||||
| Florida @ Texas A&M 10-10 |
Note that after covering 13 of his first 16 with the Aggies after his 2018 hire, Jimbo Fisher has now dropped 8 of last his 12 on board with A&M after last Saturday’s thumping 52-24 loss at Bama. Meanwhile, note that Gator HC Dan Mullen is 6-2 vs. the spread as an SEC visitor since taking over in Gainesville the same 2018. Since the Ags entered the SEC in 2012, these two have only met twice, a 20-17 Florida win at College Station back on September of 2012 in what was the Ags’ first SEC game, before Kevin Sumlin’s A&M got a bit of revenge, five years removed, with a 19-17 win in 2017. Long ago, these sides also met in the 1976 Sun Bowl (played on January 2, 1977), when Emory Bellard’s A&M would roll to a 37-14 win over Doug Dickey’s Gators. The MVP of that Aggie bowl win was actually PK Tony Franklin, a future NFL performer who booted three field goals, including a 62-yarder! | ||||||
| East Carolina @ South Florida 10-10 |
This series has been dominated lately by USF, which has won the last six outright while dropping just one of those against the spread (4-1-1 vs. line). Last October 26, the Bulls spotted ECU an early 7-0 lead as Tyler Snead’s 100-yard return on the opening kickoff got the Pirates off to a flying start, but by halftime, USF had forged a 35-10 lead. The Bulls would eventually gain 525 yards, bludgeoning ECU wit ha punishing infantry that pounded for 347 YR, led by then-sr. Jordan Cronkrite’s 129 YR. | ||||||
| Duke @ Syracuse 10-10 |
Duke began to sag in the middle of last season and might have reached its nadir in a numbing 49-6 home loss in Durham to the ‘Cuse last November 16. The result didn’t figure, as not only were the Blue Devils a 9½-point favorite, but the Orange had yet to notch an ACC win. ‘Cuse HC Dino Babers flipped the script and had the ‘Cuse employ a smashmouth ground game more reminiscent of the bruising Ben Schwartzwalder era; the Orange attempted only 16 passes vs. 43 runs, which banged for 286 yards (6.7 ypc) and 4 rush TDs, with both Jarveon Howard & Moe Neal gouging out 115 yards, respectively. The second-half Duke turnovers contributed to the final margin, the second-biggest loss of the David Cutcliffe era at Duke that began in 2008 (the worst loss remains a 59-7 beating administered by Wake Forest in 2018). | ||||||
| Arkansas @ Auburn 10-10 |
Remember that Auburn HC Gus Malzahn has roots in Arkansas where he was a highly-successful high school coach and spent a year on Houston Nutt’s Razorback staff as offensive coordinator in 2006. Malzahn has often been rumored headed back to Fayetteville and has used that to his advantage (or should we say his agent Jimmy Sexton has used it to his advantage) to get contract extensions and sky-high buyouts built into subsequent Auburn contracts. This rivalry obviously means something to Malzahn, who after a painful 54-46 four-OT loss to Bret Bielema’s Porkers in 2015 has destroyed Arkansas in the four meetings, since, with no final margin closer than 31 points. | ||||||
| Alabama @ Mississippi 10-10 |
Note that Bama HC Nick Saban went into last Saturday’s game vs. Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M having posted a spotless 19-0 SU mark against his former assistant coaches. This will be the first time new Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin, who served as Saban’s offensive coordinator from 2014-16, and left awkwardly after accepting the HC job at Florida Atlantic before the national title game vs. Clemson, has faced Saban as a former assistant. Kiffin has faced Saban previously as a head coach, back in 2009 in his one season at Tennessee, and came close to a major upset as a 14-point dog, losing only 12-10 when PK Daniel Lincoln’s last-second 44-yard FG try to win the game was instead blocked by Tide NT Terrence Cody. Kiffin (who had yet to assist Saban in 2009) had drawn Saban’s ire prior to that game when suggesting to the Bama coach that the Vols be allowed to wear their orange uniforms on the road, harkening back to the heyday of the series in the 1960s and early 70s when Doug Dickey’s, then Bill Battle’s, UT and Bear Bryant’s Crimson Tide always wore their home uniforms when the teams played. Saban, to no one’s surprise, declined. As for Kiffin’s new Ole Miss side, note that it has allowed 59 ppg in the current 4-game losing streak, which came on the heels of a couple of upset wins that the Hugh Freeze-coached Rebs scored vs. the Tide in 2014 & ‘15. | ||||||