Random Thoughts: Big Wins But Do You Believe?

One of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders’s big mantras was “Do You Believe?” After the Buffaloes lackluster 2 OT win over Colorado State, he added “now” to his query. After his team predictably got hammered by Oregon, there aren’t too many people who do. So, we should move that question to some other teams.

Ohio State and Notre Dame played a sloppy game that ended on the last second. FSU snuck by Clemson in another ugly game full of coaching malpractice. Southern Cal schlepped around against a terrible team. Texas has not been as great as they were in Week 2. Michigan and Oklahoma have played absolutely nobody. Georgia has looked sluggish all month against their creampuffs. So, here is the question: Do you believe in any of these teams?

Ohio State 17 Notre Dame 14 - “What a comeback?” Really ESPN? A snoozefest first half ended with the Buckeyes up 3-0.

At the end of the second half, anOSU took three plays but finally scored the go ahead touchdown from the one yard line with one second left.

With that one tick on the board, the Buckys still had the extra point(s) to consider. Up 16-14, the only real way OSU could lose would be to have the extra point blocked and returned the other way. The probability of that occurring is low but Ryan Day still elected to kick rather than the safer bet of taking a knee. Oh by the way, the spread on the game was Ohio State -3.

Florida State 31 Clemson 24 (OT) - Clemson scored a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter and then stopped FSU on a three-and-out. The Tigers gained 46 yards on the next play and had all the momentum going. Then a big hit by a Seminoles defender knocked the ball out of Cade Klubnik’s hands and was returned for a tying touchdown. The 4th quarter had no scoring but Clemson had a chance to win it. During the week, Dabo Swinney was not happy with his team’s kicking. That is when one of his sons reminded him that former walk-on kicker Jonathan Weitz was currently a Clemson grad student and still had a year of eligibility left. Weitz put a job he was ready to start in New York on hold to join the team and make his first career field goal attempt. It was a story ABC had been building up all game long. Then with the score tied and 1:24 remaining, the young man stepped up and promptly shanked a 29-yard field goal attempt with the ball spotted in the middle of the field. The game would eventually move to overtime.

Keon Coleman made a fantastic scoring catch and Clemson responded with some uninspiring play calls and could not score. Clemsoning is definitely back.

Alabama 24 Ole Miss 10 - Freshman Alabama wide receiver Jalen Hale introduced himself to the world with two 30+ yards catches including one for a third quarter touchdown. Jase McClellan ran for a tough 105 yards and a touchdown.

The Tide defense battered the Rebs signal caller Jaxson Dart with 5 sacks, 8 QBH, and held him to a season low 6 net rushing yards. The ten points scored by OM is the lowest total for Lane Kiffin during his time at Ole Miss.

Oregon 42 Colorado 6 - Karma, Part 1. Predictably, the Ducks absolutely dominated Deion’s Band of Flashy Nothingness. Oregon outgained the Buffs 522 to 199 with most of Colorado’s gains and their sole touchdown coming against the Dux scrubs late in the game. Colorado had 40 rushing yards and committed 12 penalties.

SEC

Texas A&M 27 Auburn 10 - TAMU might have a quarterback controversy. After leading 6-3 at the half, Max Johnson replaced injured Conner Weigman at quarterback and led the Aggies with 123 passing yards and two second-half touchdowns. Auburn’s only touchdown came from a scoop-and-score. The Tigers gained 200 total offensive yards - 56 passing among three different ineffective quarterbacks

LSU 34 Arkansas 31 - This SEC West matchup had a slew of defensive gaffes with receivers on both side running free. In the end, LSU was the last team with the ball and kicked a 20-yard field goal with 5 seconds to go for the W.

South Carolina 37 Mississippi State 30 - Unlike last week against UGA, Spencer Rattler (18/20-288-3-0) stayed hot in a tight game. MSU got down 14-0 and realized it was time to move back towards the passing game. But it wasn’t enough and SCar never trailed against the Bullies slow-ass defense.

Missouri 34 Memphis 27 - Luther Burden caught 10 passes for 177 yards.
[SIDE NOTE: If you haven’t noticed, ESPN is forcing another female play-by-play announcer on SEC fans. Her name is Courtney Lyle and she’s a Tennessee grad. She is paired with former UGA medicore QB Hutson Mason. Yuck and Yuck.]

Kentucky 45 Vanderbilt 28 - AJ Swann threw a pair of pick-sixes and had four turnovers on the day for Vandy. Devin Leary was not great at QB for UK either (15/29, 205 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) as the Wildcats amassed only 365 total yards and committed 10 penalties for 106 yards.

SEC VS CUPCAKES

Georgia 49 UAB 21 - UGA struggled with the one-win Blazers and has been sleepwalking for most of the season. They will not be going undefeated this season.

Tennessee 45 UTSA 14 - Joe Milton ran for an 81-yard touchdown on the first play of the game but had 8 yards on his other four rushes. He also completed 18/31 for 209 yards and two TDs against this one-win team. Yawn. And Vols fans wonder why Bama is ranked higher (#12) than UT (#21).

Florida 22 Charlotte 7 - This Gators team sure is a Jekyll and Hyde team. UF managed 18 yards - including minus-1 rushing - in the second quarter against one of the worst defenses in FBS. After scoring on their first four possessions, the Gators went punt, field goal, turnover on downs, punt and field goal. Needless to say, they did not cover the 27.5 point spread. But congrats on your hotdog circus catch.

OTHER STUFF

Utah 14 UCLA 7 - This past week, all the wagging tongues tried to convince you that the PAC-12 was STROOONGG! What a slog this game was. 11 first downs to 13, 243 total yards to 219, and 8 punts apiece.

MELTDOWN OF THE WEEK

Northwestern 37 Minnesota 34 (OT) - Minnie blew a 31-10 fourth quarter lead to a terrible team. I didn’t see this one coming.

HOT SEATS IN VIRGINNY

NC State 24 Virginia 21 - The Cavailers lost their seventh consecutive game after being flagged three times in the final 36 seconds. The final penalty was a “leaping penalty” that nullified a blocked field goal. The Wolfpack got another chance and drilled the game winner. Former Dabo Swinney OC Tony Elliott is the UVa coach... for now. He is 3-11 in two seasons.

Marshall 24 Virginia Tech 17 - Without injured quarterback Grant Wells, the Hokies punted 7 times and had 9 penalties as they fell to 1-3. Brent Pry is 4–11 in two campaigns.

Iowa State 34 Oklahoma State 27 - Mike Gundy’s Cowboys lost a second straight game and stand at 2-2, 0-1 in the B12. The Cyclones pick up their first FBS win in three tries.

Penn State 31 Iowa 0 - If you don’t know this story, longtime Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has employed his no-talent son Brian as OC and the guy absolutely sucks. Last week, the Hawkeyes ran up the score on Western Michigan (130th in scoring defense) and sonny-boy ran his mouth. And then he faced a real defense. Iowa tallied a grand total of 76 yards 4 first downs. Someone needs to throw a brick through a window.

OFF THE HOT SEAT?

West Virginia 20 Texas Tech 17 - Somehow, the Mountaineers are 3-1 after squeezing by the Red Raiders. Even still, the WVU students are not fans of their coach, Neal Brown, who is one game under .500 in five seasons.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK

Oklahoma 20 Cincinnati 6 - Two Sooners attempted to celebrate their win over Cincinnati by chugging some of that ridiculous Skyline Chili that the city of Cincy seems to be so gaga over for some reason. However, they cut off the video when the duo had trouble keeping the first slurp down.

JUST PLAIN WEIRD

STUPID FIELD RUSH OF THE WEEK

You beat Oregon State. Calm the f**k down.

FUNNIEST LINE OF THE WEEK

Sean McDonough with the gem.

CHANNELING FETTERMAN

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

THERE IS A REASON THESE GUYS ARE LOSING

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

FAT GUY FIRST DOWN OF THE WEEK

WELCOME TO BIG-12, B*TCH!

Kansas 38 BYU 27

AND YOU THINK YOUR QUARTERBACK SUCKS?

AND YOU THINK YOUR CENTER SUCKS?

FAILED HUBRIS OF THE WEEK

Deion has a Turnover Throne that he has players pose for on the sidelines - during games. He actually had the nerve to haul that gaudy eyesore all the way to Oregon.

ELDER ABUSE OF THE WEEK, PART 1

After Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame, Ryan Day celebrated by lashing out at 86-year old Lou Holtz. Jeez, dude. Insecure much?

ELDER ABUSE OF THE WEEK, PART 2

After Washington State’s win over Oregon State, Jake Dickert celebrated by lashing out at 88-year old Lee Corso. Jeez, dude. Leave the crazy old guy alone. Why are you watching GameDay on game day anyway??

CLEMSONING

WORST MISSED TACKLE OF THE WEEK

Yep, that’s Jimbo.

WORST PREDICTION OF THE WEEK

NAME AND NUMBER OF THE WEEK

Steve Carell fans will get this.

TIP DRILL OF THE WEEK

MOST CONFLICTING UNIFORMS OF THE WEEK

I think that is supposed to be orange. They are honoring the military which is nice but... that orange!

ANOTHER FORMATION RECOMMENDATION FOR ALABAMA

STATS OF THE WEEK

• Against Texas A&M, Auburn had as many punts as they did pass completions: 9.
• Dating back to last season, Auburn quarterbacks have failed to throw for over 100 yards in five straight games vs P5 opponents. (@VernFunquist)
• FSU ended a seven-game losing streak to Clemson.
• Army opened their game with Syracuse with a drive that lasted 17 plays, 75 yards, 9:25. The Cadets’ next two possessions were three-and-outs. The fourth was made up of 19 plays, 64 yards, and 9:20 that resulted in a 38-yard field goal.

GAMEDAY SIGN OF THE WEEK

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESI

Despite what appeared to be a “farewell” video from last week, Lee Corso was back. College GameDay will randomly be in Durham, NC for the Notre Dame-Duke game.
SEC Nation is headed to Lexington for Florida-UK.
Oddly, FOX’s Big Noon is going back to Boulder again to watch Southern Cal pummel Colorado.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

• I am not going to suggest we adopt Liberty. I am however going to nominate their coach, Jamey Chadwell. The 46-year old led Charleston Southern to the only two 10-wins seasons in school history and won the Big South Conference for only the second and third time in CSU history. He then headed up Coastal Carolina as they transitioned to FBS. After two rough seasons, he compiled records of 11–1, 11–2, and 9–3 with three bowl games before moving to Liberty this season. The Flames sit at 4-0, making him personally 35-6 over the last four seasons. He might be a good candidate for a certain blueblood program should a certain coach retire...
• Tulane (3-1) star quarterback Michael Pratt (no, not the guy from Guardians of the Galaxy.) was back in the starting line-up and played the first 3 quarters as the Green Wave topped FCS Nicholls 36-7. It is a shame they did not have him for the Ole Miss game.
• Fresno (4-0) dominated Kent State 53-10.
• Wyoming (3-1) toppled App State 22-19.
• Washington State beat Oregon State 38-35 and is thus crowned the 2023 champion of the Pac-2.

COUSINS

I’m sorry, Troy fans, but Nick Saban needs to pilfer this guy.

• Troy (2-2) - The Trojans held on to beat Western Kentucky 27-24. They head to 4-0 Georgia State (-3).
• South Alabama (2-2) - The Jags gave up a TD to Central Michigan with 13 ticks to go to lose 34-30. USA heads to James Madison (-4.5) for a BIG Sun Belt showdown.
• Jacksonville State (3-1) - The Gamecocks topped an awful Eastern Michigan 21-0. The ‘Cocks (-5.5) will be next to beat up on hapless Sam Houston.

THAT ANNOYING GUY WHO NEVER ACKNOWLEDGES WHEN A STRANGER HOLDS THE DOOR FOR HIM

• UAB (1-3) - The Dragons actually hung with the top-ranked UGA for awhile but ultimately fell 49-21. Next, they travel to Tulane (-21). Yikes!

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

• Air Force (4-0) - After San Jose Canseco State took a 20-10 lead, the Falcons would score five unanswered touchdowns for a big 45-20 victory. Next for AFA (-10.5) is the other San State: San Diego Maradona State.

• Army (2-2) - The Black Knights led 10-3 at the half, but Syracuse scored 26 straight to take the game 29-16. The Cadets now conduct a “tactical retrograde” for a week before Boston College invades in two weeks.
• Navy (1-2) - The Midshipmen had a week of R and R before facing USF on Sept 30. The Middies are favored by 4 points.

ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

Eliminated: All non-P5s, Boston College, Virginia, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Baylor, Houston, Iowa State, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Rutgers, Sparty, Minnie, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Arizona State, Arizona, Stanford, Cal, South Carolina, Vanderbilt. NEW: Clemson, BYU, Colorado, Missy State, Arky, Center Florida, Iowa, Wake

Endangered: TCU, Texas A&M, Alabama, Florida, Auburn, LSU, Mizzou, Tennessee NEW: Notre Dame

Extremely Endangered: NC State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, NEW: Ole Miss, UCLA, Oregon State, Auburn

A way WAY WAY too early look at the College Football Playoff (CFP) picture:

DraftKings odds to win the 2023 National Championship:

1. Georgia +220 to+240 to +230 (bet $100 to win $230)
2. Michigan +800 to +750 to +700 to +475 to +400
3. Texas +2200 to +1000 to +800
4. Ohio State +700 to +750 to +900 +1200 to +1000 to +800
5. FSU +2000 to +1100 +1000 drop to +1200 to +800
6. Penn State +2200 to +1800 to +1600 to +1400
7. Southern Cal +1500 to +1600 to +1500 stays at +1400 to +1600

• Notre Dame +3500 to +2800 to +2200 to +1600 to +3500
• Alabama +600 to +550 to +2500 to +4000 to +4000
• LSU +1100 to +3500 to +3500 to +3000 to +4000
• Texas A&M +12000 to +10000
• Clemson +1800 to +7500 to +8000 to +6000 to +20000

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

• ACC - Florida State holds a tenuous lead after another close win that really could’ve gone either way. Miami-FL and UNC meet Oct 14. Louisville has Notre Dame on the horizon.
• Big 12 - It’s Texas at the top. Okie had a hard time at Cincinnati.
• Big Ten - anOSU, Michigan, and PSU.
• PAC-12 - Southern Cal with Washington and Oregon, maybe the Utes.
• SEC - Georgia looking uninspired once again. Alabama, LSU, and Tennessee all already have one loss each.
• Indies - Notre Dame (+3500) is still in the running after losing to anOSU in the final second.
• Non-Power 5

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

Alabama took LSU’s spot at #12. Southern Cal dropped three slots after their lackadaisical performance against feeble Arizona State. Oregon State and Ole Miss fell five places. Colorado, UCLA, and Iowa dropped out of the top 25. Mizzou, Kansas, and Fresno took their places.

Six teams got at least one first place votes. These AP voters are such biased nimrods.

1. Georgia (55)
2. Michigan (1)
3. Texas (2)
4. Ohio State (1)
5. Florida State (3)
6. Penn State
7. Washington (1)
8. Southern Cal
9. Oregon
10. Utah
11. Notre Dame
12. Alabama
13. LSU
14. Oklahoma
15. North Carolina
16. Washington State
17. Duke
18. Miami
19. Oregon State
20. Ole Miss
21. Tennessee
22. Florida
23. Missouri
24. Kansas
25. Fresno

The first 2023 College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Nick Saban’s 72nd birthday, October 31, 2023.

LET’S GO BOWLING!

• Of the 131 FBS teams eligible for the post season, only 27 are still undefeated.
• 26 teams are 4-0. Marshall is 3-0.

LET’S GO BLOWING!

• The following teams are winless after four games: Sam Houston, Virginia, UConn, Buffalo, and Nevada.
• Sam Houston (0-3) has scored ten points in three games.
• After four weeks, all 12 MAC teams and 14 AAC teams have at least one defeat on their records.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to every other fan base outside of Alabama. Bama fans LOVE college football. They will watch every game possible, even if the teams involved and the outcome of the game have no impact on the Crimson Tide season.

HEISMAN HYPE

We are now four weeks into the season which is pretty close for an early sample size. I am not a Heisman voter. If I was, I would eliminate anyone who is older than Sam Howell, now in his second NFL season. Because of a short-sided and rash ruling to curry favor by embattled and unpopular former NCAA President Mark Emmert, we are stuck with a slew of older players still playing college ball when they should have moved on by now.

Below are the top Heisman picks in order of the money lines. Caleb Williams falls into a tie with UW’s Michael Penix. Fifth year starter (never redshirted) and 23-year old Bo Nix skyrockets to fourth. Li’l Prime Time and old man Sam Hartman both dropped.

Odds are provided by DraftKings and many more options can be seen at that link under the “AWARDS” tab, including Purdue QB Hudson Card at +30000. [Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.]

1. QB Michael Penix (6th YR, Washington) from +1600 to +900 to +550 to +400
2. QB Caleb Williams (JR, Southern Cal) +450 to +400 to +380 to +400
3. QB Quinn Ewers (RS-SO, Texas) +1300 to +900 to +700 to +600
4. QB Bo Nix (SR, Oregon) +1000
5. QB Jordan Travis (6th YR, FSU) from +1400 to +900 to +1500 to +1200
6. QB Jayden Daniels (5th YR, LSU) +1100 to +3000 to +2200 +1800
7. QB Sam Hartman (6th YR, Notre Dame) fell from +1600 to +2000 to +1100 to +2200

• QB Shedeur Sanders (JR, Colorado) +1800 to +8000
• Jalen Milroe +12000 to +10000
• Jase McClellan +12000

THE SICK REPORT

• No word on Harrison’s availability.

• Texas A&M starting quarterback Conner Weigman will “likely miss around 2-4 weeks” with a high-ankle sprain. The Aggies host Alabama in two Saturdays. Max Johnson (aka Wally Pipp) will be the starting quarterback in his absence.
• Florida might have just dodged a bullet. Remember in the off-season how they lost a commit from a hotshot quarterback because UF could not come up with the $13M+ NIL deal they promised him? Well, that guy flipped to Arizona State and now he might just be out for the season. True freshman Jaden Rashada started the first two games and TBH was not very good completing just 56.7% of his passes for an average of 201.5 yards per game. His head coach has stated that Rashada is expected to miss four to six weeks with “an injury that has bothered the freshman since he was in high school” and he might redshirt. I would bet dollars to donuts he transfers. Money well spent. Huh, Sun Devils?
• LSU safety Greg Brooks had a brain tumor removed during an emergency surgery. Brooks played in LSU’s first two games this season before being scratched from Week 3 game at Mississippi State.

R.I.P.

• In March, a pickup truck that was going 50 miles per hour struck Teevens while he was attempting to cross a road on his bicycle in St. Augustine, FL. He sustained a spinal cord injury and had a leg amputated.

DRAMA

• The Mel Tucker drama is starting to get interesting. They are now calling it an “attempted firing”. Read more here.
• After meetings this past week, the NCAA committee announced a recommendation of removing cannabis from banned substances lists in all divisions.
• The Florida Gaming Control Commission has sent cease-and-desist letters to paid fantasy sports companies Betr, Underdog Fantasy, and PrizePicks.
• LA Rams QB Stetson Bennett has reportedly been completely removed from the team’s roster. Sources say it’s due to an ‘excessive alcohol problem’ that has stemmed through his college days. Wait. Who was his college coach again?

KOACHES KORNER

• Wow. Southern Cal coach Lincoln Riley may have to become a regular feature. This past week, So Cal suspended Orange County Register reporter Luca Evans from covering the Trojans football team for two weeks for allegedly “violating the school’s media guidelines”. His horrendous violation? “In the lede of that story, Evans detailed a harmless conversation between (Quinten) Joyner and fellow freshman Braylan Shelby. The conversation, which occurred in front of reporters but before media availability, was about how they were nervous to speak with journalists — something they hadn’t done much of so far in their careers. Evans even talked with Joyner’s father on the phone later, and his dad thought the conversation was funny and spot-on.” Lincoln seems a little touchy.
• Urban Meyer always turns off How the Grinch Stole Christmas! after the main character leaves Whoville with all the stolen goods. He then smiles and has a brandy.
• Fat F*** Phil Fulmer has moved into a new house in nearby Maryville, Tennessee. In other news, Krispy Kreme announces the opening of three new stores in Maryville, Tennessee.

TEEVEE

Despite being a bad game with one-loss Bama against an uninteresting team, Alabama-USF still had higher TV ratings than other so-called blue bloods. The 2.7 rating was four and a half times higher than Michigan’s crapfest with WKU (0.6).

THIS WEEK

(Below is an abbreviated list of highlighted games of interest with lines provided by DraftKings. If you REALLY need to know about the big Wagner-Rutgers showdown, you can find the details here.)

Thursday, September 28

Middle Tennessee at Western Kentucky (-8) 6:30/7:30 CBSSN - Strength of Schedule game for Bama. WOOHOO!
Temple at Tulsa (-5) 6:30/7:30 ESPN
Jacksonville State (-5.5) at Sam Houston 7pm/8pm ESPNU - RichRod should move to 4-1.

Friday, September 29

Louisville (-3) at NC State 6pm/7pm ESPN
Utah at Oregon State (-1.5) 8pm/9pm FS1 - Eliminator
Cincinnati at BYU (-3) 9:15/10:15 ESPN - Can you believe this is a B12 game?

Saturday, September 30

SEC

Florida at Kentucky (-3) 11am/Noon ESPN - Gators are an underdog!
Texas A&M (-6.5) at Arkansas 11am/Noon SECN (in Arlington, TX)
Georgia (-15.5) at Auburn 2:30/3:30 CBS
Missouri (-12) at Vanderbilt 3pm/4pm SECN - Yuck
LSU (-2.5) at Ole Miss 5pm/6pm ESPN
South Carolina at Tennessee (-11.5) 6:30/7:30 SECN

OTHERS WORTH A PEEK

Southern Cal (-23) at Colorado 11am/Noon FOX - Karma, Part 2
Clemson (-7) at Syracuse 11am/Noon ABC - The Orangemen are 4-0.
Kansas at Texas (-17) 2:30/3:30 ABC
Notre Dame (-5.5) at Duke 6:30/7:30 ABC - Go Dookies!

GOODNIGHT, SWEETHEART. WELL, IT’S TIME TO GO

Washington (-18) at Arizona 9pm/10pm PAC12
Nevada at Fresno (-24.5) 9:30/10:30 FS1

SABAN vs. POP & BEAR

Below is a count of career FBS/Division I-A win totals for coaches.

For those of you new to RBR Random Thoughts, we count all on-field wins at the FBS/Division I-A level. So, before you go squawking about Frank Beamer, 42 of his wins came at Murray State. Mack Brown had six victories in one season with Appalachian State when they were still in what was known at I-AA (FCS today). Brian Kelly won 118 games with something called Grand Valley State. So, let’s stop talking about his win record with such reverence. In addition, we don’t recognize NCAA sanctioned forfeits. If you won on the field, it counts in our books.

Mack Brown’s Tar Heels beat a wretched Pitt team to keep pace with Saban.

#ALABAMA

• LB Deontae Lawson sprained an ankle versus Ole Miss. “He’s gonna be day-to-day. It’s a pretty good one, so nobody knows exactly how long it will take for him to respond. So that’s all I can tell you about that one.” Nick Saban said. Jihaad Campbell replaced him and played very well compiling seven solo tackles.
• Offensive lineman Terrence Ferguson played several snaps but left Saturday’s game with an injury. He replaced starting right guard Darrian Dalcourt, who appeared to sustain an injury of his own. But Dalcourt was able to return to the game, while Ferguson went to the locker room. Jaeden Roberts also got some reps.
• Elijah Pritchett came in at left tackle for Kadyn Proctor. In his post-game presser, it sounds like this was a planned move by Saban.
• “I feel like as the game went on, we started to make them quit,” Dallas Turner told reporters. “We could see it in their eyes. We still hammered them as a defense, still getting hits on the quarterback and whatnot. It was a very good game making them quit. That’s always the goal.” Mississippi QB Jaxson Dart sure was a lot less cocky in the second half.
• After a big game against USF, RB Roydell Williams had 21 yards on 8 carries for an average of 2.6 ypc against the Rebels.

#BamaAfterDark

GAME 5: Saturday, September 30, 2023

Alabama Crimson Tide (3-1) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-2)

Starkville, MS ~ 8pm CT/9pm ET ESPN

• The Bullies have wins over SE La and Arizona and losses to LSU and @South Carolina.
• Upon the sudden death of Mike Leach (God bless is beautiful wacky soul) last winter, the administration promoted DC Zach Arnett to Interim coach for their bowl game with Illinois. So impressed by his one career coaching victory, they lazily made him the full-time coach. Arnett quickly disassembled the highly-successful Air Raid offense that made Will Rogers’ a preseason All-SEC pick and turned it into a boring predictable blahness that has them looking like an SEC West cellar dweller.
• FUN FACT: Rogers’ mother attended Alabama and his father went to Ole Miss.
• TV Announcers are Mark Jones and Rod Gilmore with Quint Kessenich on the sideline.
• Chris Stewart pinch hits for Eli Gold on Alabama Radio as the Tide hits the road.
• Alabama is 87-17-3 all-time against MSU. The Tide’s last two losses to Clanga-Clang came in 2006 and 2007.
• The StarkVegas weather forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 89° with temperatures dropping down to 64° overnight.
• The point spread according to DraftKings has Bama as a -14.5 favorite as of post. The Over/Under is 46.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.