College Football Every Day - Nothing is better

November 25th:

• This weekend will be the third straight week of rivalry games to be played - and as with the last two weeks, playoff spots will be at stake (or at risk). Nothing is finer than college football in November!

• One rivalry game that won’t be played is the Virginia - Virginia Tech game. Sometimes we are reminded that some things are more important in life, but unfortunately it’s a tragic event, more often than not, that makes us realize it.

• Ole Miss lost their Egg Bowl matchup last night with Mississippi State - their third straight loss, which drops them to 8-4 on the season. This end-of-season slump could be the result of a certain distraction. Was this the last game that Lane Kiffin will coach at Ole Miss?

• HBCU fans also got to enjoy the 98th Turkey Day Classic yesterday, a game won by Arkansas-Pine Bluff over Alabama State 19-14. The Hornets of ASU have played in all 98 games, and they have now faced eight opponents. For the next three years (including the 100th game), they will face their most common opponent - Tuskegee. The Hornets and Golden Tigers have met 87 times in this Classic and 103 times overall (Tuskegee leads the series 62-38-3).

• Tulane is giving Cincinnati all they can handle this afternoon as the Green Wave leads the Bearcats 13-10 at halftime. Cincinnati has won two straight AAC Championships and bring a 32-game home winning streak into today’s matchup, but it was announced they would be without starting quarterback Ben Bryant for the rest of the season.

• Today Eastern Michigan is looking to cap an eight-win regular season for the first time since 1987 with a victory over the Chippewas, while, Central Michigan is hoping to retain possession of the Michigan MAC Trophy - which will become the possession of EMU if the Eagles win. These teams are meeting for the 100th time in a rivalry dating back to 1902 with Central Michigan holding a 63-30-6 all-time advantage in the series.

November 19th:

• Last night while enjoying some Belleflower beer and conversation with family, I was asked about how the college football season was going. I responded by saying that I haven’t watched many games and I haven’t had a chance to do much writing on it - but did say that I had certainly been following it daily. When my brother inquired about how the NESCAC season went - as well as the Ivy League, I gave a thorough response that probably made him regret asking the question. I could have gone on and on, but realized that others should be involved in conversation and I did want to drink my beer…

• I have my the lineup of games that I want to watch from 12:00 to 1:30 on ESPN+: The Citadel at VMI and Wofford at Furman for the first 30 minutes. Then for the next 30 minutes I will watch Lehigh at Lafayette by themselves, and to wrap up the time slot, I will go back and forth from Cornell at Columbia to Penn at Princeton.

• Unfortunately I will not get to see Yale at Harvard today because it’s being broadcasted on ESPNU - a station I don’t currently have. But I will be tracking it via ESPN’s scoreboard!

• I will already know the results, but from tomorrow until early next week I will watch repeats of Delaware at Villanova, UNH at Maine and William & Mary at Richmond on Flosports…

• Back to the Ivy League for a moment - if Penn beats Princeton on the road and Harvard overcomes Yale in Cambridge, the Ivy League crown will be claimed by these four teams as they will all finish the year 5-2 in the league. This would be the first time it has happened in the league’s history. My call - Princeton will claim the title with a win over the Quakers and the Crimson handling the Bulldogs…

November 10th:

• On Friday, East Carolina Head Coach Mike Houston will be looking for his 100th career win as a head coach, but to do it he will have to overcome the odds against a tough Bearcat team. Cincinnati has won 31 straight games at Nippert Stadium (second-longest active home winning streak in the FBS), and UC has won 20 of its last 21 games against AAC opponents. Lastly, the Bearcats have won 9 of their last 10 meetings with the Pirates.

• The meeting between Memphis and Tulsa on Thursday will mark the 32nd all-time game between the two programs dating back to 1961.  The Tigers hold the advantage in the series 19-12 after having won five of the last seven games, but the Golden Hurricanes defeated the Tigers last year, 35-29, in Tulsa.

• Tonight’s game between Georgia Southern and Louisiana at Cajun Field has been moved to ESPN2 from ESPNU.  The matchup will be the sixth all-time between the Eagles and Ragin' Cajuns with Louisiana owning a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series, including three straight wins.

November 9th:

• It looked like Toledo was going to continue its recent trend of losing games it needs to win, but they scored the last 14 points to beat Ball State and virtually wrap up the MAC West. I’m happy for the Rockets who have been consistent in terms of winning seasons, but have won only three MAC Titles in the last 20 years.

• When Kent State visits Bowling Green tonight, the Anniversary Award will be up for grabs -the trophy was created in 1985 (Falcons lead the trophy series 25-11) and celebrates the founding of both schools in 1910. The conference rivals will be meeting for the 90th time overall and have met every year since the MAC was founded in 1946. Bowling Green holds the all-time lead in the series 60-23-6, but Kent State has won the last four meetings.

• When Buffalo takes on Central Michigan tonight, this will be the seventh road game for the Bulls over the first 10 games of the season. The Bulls are looking to win their fourth road game of the season for just the second time as an FBS program - they won five road games in 2018.

• Already eliminated from the bowl season, Northern Illinois will hope to end the Broncos bowl hopes as well, but the Huskies haven’t won in Kalamazoo since 2014. Four of the last six games between the teams have been decided by one possession or less, including NIU's last win, by a 17-14 score, in 2019, so we can expect a close game.

• We now have our first Division II coaching casualty in 2022 as Morehouse College head coach Rich Freeman resigned his position yesterday. Freeman coached the Tigers for a total of 15 years and led them to their first Division II playoff appearance ever in 2010. Unfortunately his teams have had losing seasons five out of the last six seasons - including a 1-9 record this year.

• I should give out kudos to Air Force for winning the Commander-in-Chief trophy last Saturday when they beat Army. A standout defensive effort and big offensive games from key seniors lifted the Falcons to the win, and with that they were able to capture their 21st overall CIC trophy - their first since 2016. For Army, they now need to win their remaining three games to become bowl eligible - which is not likely to happen.

November 8th:

• MACtion…I love to see College Football starting the week on Tuesday…

• If Toledo beats Ball State and Northern Illinois beats Western Michigan, the Rockets will win the MAC West after becoming bowl eligible for the 13th straight year.

• Ball State and Toledo are meeting for the 48th consecutive year (Rockets lead the series 25-21-1) - every year since the Cardinals joined the MAC in 1975

• Ohio comes into their “Battle of the Bricks” rivalry with Miami (Ohio) leading the MAC East by way of tie breakers. This is the 98th meeting between the Bobcats and the RedHawks - where Miami (Ohio) leads the all-time series 54-41-2, but Ohio has won 12 of the last 15 meetings since 2006.

• Miami (Ohio) Head Coach Chuck Martin succeeded Brian Kelly as head coach at Grand Valley State in 2004 and proceeded to win two Division II National Championships (2005 and 2006).

• With a win tonight over Akron, Eastern Michigan would become bowl eligible for the fourth straight season (excluding COVID shortened 2020 season). - the first time in program history. In fact, the Eagles went to one bowl game (1987) prior to 2016.

November 2nd:

• Last night Ohio beat Buffalo to become bowl eligible and take over the top spot in the East Division of the MAC, but when the season comes to a close I see Buffalo winning the division - and maybe we will get a rematch between the Bulls and Toledo. Meanwhile Ball State stayed in the thick of things in the West Division with their win over Kent State - which saw their bowl hopes diminish drastically.

• A couple of notes about tonight’s Central Michigan at Northern Illinois game - in which the winner gets to escape the West Division basement and keep its hopes alive for bowl eligibility: The Chippewas are 10-1 in November under Jim McElwain. Central Michigan is NIU’s most frequent FBS foe as the teams will play for the 57th time. And, linebacker Kyle Pugh has made NCAA FBS history as he is back for his eighth season as a member of the Husky football team.

• I wouldn’t have believed before the season began that Bowling Green would have more conference and overall wins than Western Michigan. But tonight the Falcons are looking for their 5th win and 4th conference win - their most victories in a season since winning the MAC back in 2015. Unfortunately, Bowling Green has lost six of its last seven games to Western Michigan dating back to 2005. This will be their 56th all-time meeting with the Falcons leading the series 32-20-3.

• I have to edit my Longest Tenured FBS Head Coaches spreadsheet again after another firing this past weekend. That makes a dozen firings before November when looking all NCAA divisions and include North Alabama letting go Chris Willis in addition to Harsin’s firing at Auburn. I would have to say that the Tiger’s opening is now the most enticing job when looking at all the openings.

• A good bit of news on the coaching front as the interim tag was removed from Kris McCullough’s title based on his success at East Central this year. The Tigers are 6-3 this season with two games to go. I haven’t confirmed it, but East Central’s website claims that the 26-year-old McCullough is the youngest Head Football Coach in the nation.

• As Jackson State remains undefeated, Deion Sanders is content with a bid in the Celebration Bowl if his Tigers win the SWAC because it makes sense financially to the institution. Have to say that it would be nice to see them go up against North Dakota State or Montana State…

October 31st:

• Can’t believe that it’s already the end of October! That means we have only two more regular season weeks for both Division II and Division III. So, with no looking back - only ahead at this point!

• Speaking of looking ahead, I’m already making plans to pull together 2023 weekly schedules - at least through September. Not many conferences have posted weekly schedules for the whole season…four in fact if I have my number right. The conferences are: SEC, Big Ten, Ivy League, and the Big Sky. Must say - those conferences boast some great games!

• Also, while looking at 2023 for a moment, 247sports has put out a piece on potential quarterback transfers at the end of this season - thus impacting 2023. A nice read, and really no big surprises as to teams that might potentially lose some depth - with Texas leading the pack.

• For MACtion tomorrow night, Buffalo will travel to Ohio in a battle for first place in the East Division. The Bulls are looking to improve to 5-0 in MAC play for the fourth time in program history, but they are only 1-10 when playing at Ohio’s Peden Stadium. Their lone win came back in 2008. In the other matchup we have Ball State visiting Kent State. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 21-8, but they have lost their last three games on the road in this series dating back to 2010.

• Must say that the Clemson vs. Notre Dame game has gotten a bit more interesting after the Irish went to Syracuse and knocked off the undefeated Orange. Can the Irish now take the Tigers out of the playoff picture? The Irish have won 26-straight games against their ACC opponents, including a 47-40 double overtime win against the Tigers back in 2020.

• All season I have been impressed with how UConn has played this year, and now, after beating Boston College, it’s a real possibility that the Huskies will be bowl eligible. During lunch I was reading Stewart Mandel’s piece on theathletic website, where he brings up the possibility of UConn going bowling and Texas A&M staying home. Before the season began, who’d have thunk (intentional spelling) that?

• Even though we are just entering November and there are a lot of wide open conference races, I’m pretty certain we can name the ACC Championship game: Clemson vs. North Carolina. Clemson has to win one of two remaining ACC games, and they are both at home - where they have won 38 consecutive games. Meanwhile, UNC can go 2-2 their last four games, or go just 1-3 - and Duke or Miami would have to win out, which is highly unlikely for either team.

• Georgia’s game with Tennessee will mark the first 1-2 matchup in Sanford Stadium history and just the third top five matchup. In 1983, No. 3 Auburn edged No. 4 Georgia 13-7 while in 1942, No. 5 Georgia blanked No. 2 Ga. Tech 34-0. The Bulldogs the all-time series with the Volunteers 26-23-2, including winning the past five meetings.

October 29th: (Part 1?)

• According to Yale’s Sports Information Department, last night’s win over Columbia was a milestone win for the Bulldogs - well I consider it a milestone. It was win number 925 in their 149th football season (as we can’t count 2020 when the pandemic canceled the Ivy League season). A different source (the NCAA Record Book) indicates that win number 925 came two weeks ago with Yale’s win over Bucknell. Guess it doesn’t really matter because the Bulldogs are the only FCS team with over 900 wins - at least until Harvard get there sometime next year.

• Speaking of milestone wins as a program - Ohio State will probably (most likely) pick up their 950th win against Penn State. The funny thing is that Alabama also has 949 wins, but the Crimson Tide loss to Tennessee will allow the Buckeyes to get their first. The only thing that Alabama can say is that it will take them 5 less games to achieve this milestone. And the only team ahead of these two in all-time wins: The Michigan Wolverines with 983 wins since 1879.

• The race to 1,000 wins between Ohio State and Alabama (2026?) will be interesting. Will Nick Saban still be Alabama’s coach? And if he is, will Ryan Day have supplanted him as the best coach in college football by that time?

• It looks like there will be some great uniforms on display this Halloween weekend. Tennessee’s look against Kentucky will be awesome! The best uniform this weekend I think will be the classic unis that Pitt and UNC will wear when squaring off against each other tonight. For a look at some of today’s looks - go to the ESPN and Uni Watch websites.

• Really looking forward to the Kentucky at Tennessee game tonight. The matchup will pit the SEC's top scoring offense and second-ranked scoring defense against one another. Tennessee enters the game having scored 30 or more points in 10 straight games (longest active streak in the SEC) while Kentucky hasn't allowed more than 24 points in 11 consecutive games (longest active streak in the FBS). And if that isn’t enough - this meeting between the Vols and Wildcats will be the 118th in the all-time series. The Vols are 34-3 against the Cats since 1985, but UK has come away victorious in two of the previous five meetings, including the last time the two programs faced off inside Neyland Stadium in 2020.

• Another historical matchup in the Ivy League this week: 125th meeting between Harvard and Dartmouth. The Crimson lead the all-time series 71-48-5, but the Big Green have won the last three in the series. Even better, seven of the last eight contests have been decided by one score, and six of those by three points or fewer. So it’s going to be a close one. Topping it all off - this is a meeting of boyhood friends. Buddy Teevans and Tim Murphy grew up together and vacation together with their families. Doesn’t get much better than this!

October 28th:

• A confession…I was so tired yesterday that I completely forgot that it was Thursday, and that there were games being played. Didn’t realize it until this morning when I jumped on ESPN at 4:00 am…

• Won’t make that mistake tonight because right now there is a game being played on ESPNU that in my book is historic. Yale is visiting Columbia. This is the 100th meeting between the two Ivy League schools. Their first meeting was 150 years ago - in 1872. In fact, the Lions were the Bulldogs first opponent. Unfortunately for the Lions, Yale leads the all-time series 75-22-2. A very special matchup tonight…

October 24th:

• Wow - it’s so easy to write down my thoughts about this beautiful sport during the offseason, but when the ball starts getting snapped, there is SO much to read and think about that it’s hard to get the fingers working on the keyboard. I need 36 hour days…

• I was very anxious when checking on Maryland - as they hosted Northwestern without starting quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa. If the Terps lost this one, it would have been a challenge for them to become bowl eligible. Their next three games are: at Wisconsin, at Penn State, vs. Ohio State. Thank god they pulled it out - cartwheel and all!

• A team that continues to have trouble putting away opponents: Texas. Shades of Nebraska here. When the Longhorns got the ball back with just under a minute left, I was thinking that Ewers had a chance to pull this game out - but he threw his second interception in two drives. Guess he has a long way to go still. Longhorn fans might want to start sweating a decommit from Arch Manning…

• After this weekend’s game between UTSA and North Texas - I am happy to see that they will continue their budding rivalry in the American Athletic Conference next year. With the Roadrunner last second win, the all-time series is now tied at 5-5.

• This year’s Ivy League championship could come down to the Penn at Princeton game on 11/19. Both teams still need to take care of business, but they are alone at the top of the standings and are a perfect 6-0 overall so far this year. The Quakers have the easier path, but the Tigers seem to be the best team - especially after handling Harvard 37-10 in Cambridge.

• Mid-season firings are happening at all levels - well except Division II so far. The latest - Charlotte fired Will Healy, Arkansas Pine Bluff fired Doc Gamble, and Division III Anderson (IN) fired Steve Rock. How many more this year?

• Can’t help but feel a bit shocked when looking at the current NESCAC standings - except for Trinity sitting at the top. Seeing Amherst and Williams in the basement isn’t the norm. But nice to see Bowdoin get their second win this weekend against Wesleyan - and Colby got their fourth win with their victory over Hamilton. My prediction of Bowdoin getting three wins and Colby having a winning season might just be true…

• Worst days: Miami with eight turnovers at home leading to another loss - this one against Duke. And how about the day that Weber State’s long snapper had? Four bad snaps that led to four Montana State safeties.

October 13th:

• Tonight in Division II play, Fairmont State will host West Liberty in Mountain East action. These conference rivals have been going at it for almost 100 years, as they first met in 1923. Fairmont State leads the all-time series 44-39-5, but the Hilltoppers won last years game 52-31. A bonus reason for me to watch - West Liberty has Nathan Isajar on their roster - who was an all-state defensive back for the Portland (ME) Bulldogs last year.

• Sticking with Division II, the two top-ranked teams on this level will also clash when Ferris State hosts Grand Valley State. The Anchor Bone Classic is always big, but this season seems to be a little bit bigger. Ferris State is the defending Division II champions and went 14-0, while the Lakers finished 10-2 - with both losses coming against the Bulldogs. Another thing that the Lakers are up against - Ferris State has won 43 consecutive regular-season games going back to 2017.

• Bucknell visiting Yale wasn’t necessarily on my radar during the summer, because the Bison’s primary Ivy League rival is Cornell (Battle of the Nells), and to a lesser extent Penn. But, the series did start in 1902 - but more importantly, I happened to read that Bucknell had played at least one Ivy League team every year since 1978, a streak that reached 42-consecutive seasons. The streak ended during the pandemic because the Ivy League canceled their season - though in my eyes that shouldn’t count. Unfortunately for the Bison, it is highly likely that their losing streak will be extended to 13 games.

• Three interesting tidbits as cross-state rivals North Alabama takes on Jacksonville State for the 50th time - the Gamecocks lead the all-time series 28-18-3: 1) Jacksonville State was North Alabama’s first-ever opponent back in 1949. 2) From 1992 to 1995, the two schools combined to win four straight NCAA Division II National Championships (Lions won three of them). 3) This will be the first collegiate football game played at Toyota Field, in the city of Madison. The baseball diamond of the Rocket City Trash Pandas has been flipped to a gridiron, and all offensive plays will be headed in the same direction, toward the first base dugout on the converted baseball field.

• I’ll be keeping an eye on the Colgate at Army game, as it’s a good in-state game. Since starting the series in 1903, they have played 30 times - though this will be only their second matchup in 25 years - and there are currently no games scheduled between them in the future. The Black Knights have won the last six meetings going back to 1989.

October 12th:

• Tonight Louisiana faces Sun Belt Conference newcomer Marshall in Huntington, WV. Their only previous meeting was 10 months ago in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - a Ragin’ Cajuns 36-21 win. Louisiana entered the 2022 season as the reigning Sun Belt Conference Champions, but they are currently 0-2 in conference play after their 20-17 loss to South Alabama on October 1st.

• Next week there is another Wednesday night Sun Belt game (Georgia State at Appalachian State), and then things resort back to Thursday for the start of college football games for one week - before we hit November and get some MACtion starting on Tuesdays for the next three weeks. Hard to believe that we are already in the middle of the season!

• Tomorrow night folks can get some MEACtion on ESPN2 as Morgan State visits North Carolina Central. Morgan State leads the series against N.C. Central with an overall record of 24-17-2 since the teams first played on Nov. 15, 1930, but NCCU has won the last five meetings since 2015, including a 28-17 victory last year.

• Another game that Bears watching on Thursday night - Baylor visits Morgantown to take on the Mountaineers. The game is important to both teams as the defending Big 12 champions don’t want to drop below .500 in conference play, and Neal Brown is feeling the heat again and could use this win to keep the armed mob at bay. A good sign for West Virginia - they have never lost to the Bears at home in five tries.

October 11th:

• What a difference a year makes: Syracuse. Last year the Orange started the year at 3-1, and then suffered three straight losses by three points - which led to a 5-7 season. A year later, the Cuse is 5-0, with two three point wins over Purdue and Virginia, and ranked 18th in the AP Poll. But their schedule is loaded on the back end…NC State, at Clemson, Notre Dame, at Pitt, Florida State, and at Wake Forest before wrapping up the season in Chestnut Hill.

• While reading Oklahoma’s Game Notes before their game with Texas, I saw a surprising fact - OU, Texas and Notre Dame all had 931 all-time wins. This led me to records kept by the NCAA, and it was true. While there, I couldn’t help but notice another interest tidbit. Five of the six teams that have more than 925 all-time wins (Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan and Oklahoma) have winning percentages between 72.64% and 73.27. That’s 0.63 difference between these five top programs!

• Read a great article by Seth Emerson (theathetic.com) talking about Georgia and their attempt to find a replacement for the retiring Vince Dooley, who coached the Bulldogs for 25 years from 1964 through 1988 - the years of my birth and finding the woman that I plan to spend the rest of my life with (if she will have me)! I never realized what a fiasco it was for so many. It all worked out in the long run…Kirby Smart has won more than 80% of his games coached, and most importantly - a national championship!

• When North Dakota State hosts South Dakota State in the Fargodome, it will be just the seventh meeting between the No. 1 (NDSU) and 2 (SDSU) ranked teams, and it’s just the second in the regular season after Northern Iowa’s 27-26 win over Idaho on Oct. 24, 1992. The Bison have won the most recent No. 1 vs. 2 matchups in the 2015 and ’19 season finals in Frisco, Texas. These two rivals are meeting for the 113th time - NDSU leads 63-44-5, but the Jackrabbits have won the last two games. Did I mention that there is also a trophy (Dakota Marker) up for grabs?

October 10th:

• Looking at the latest AP Top 25 poll, I can’t believe that I see Syracuse, Kansas (stayed pat after a loss!), Illinois (first ranking since 2011) and James Madison (first-ever FBS ranking)! I don’t think that even Vegas would have the odds of that happening so no one will become rich for taking that longshot.

• The Longhorns were certainly up to the task of beating the Sooners. I’m not sure about his facial hair choice, but Quinn Ewers, who hadn’t played since the Alabama game, didn’t receive much pressure from the OU defense, so he was able to freely throw downfield. Texas has shown a lot of maturity this year, and I think that quarterback Hudson Card deserves some major kudos for keeping the Longhorns afloat - while playing injured!

• Nov. 7th, 1998 - the last time the Sooners were shut out. The streak of scoring in 311 consecutive games came to an end at the hands of their rivals on Saturday. But this wasn’t the longest scoring streak to end on Saturday - because Dayton was shutout by Butler. The Bulldogs hadn’t held anyone scoreless since 2010, but they were the first team since 1976 to hold the Flyers scoreless (a streak of 501 games).

• How about that game-winning catch and run by Tre’Shaun Harrison with 13 seconds remaining? Stanford had no business losing that game - but it was a great play by the Beaver receiver!

• Back in 1975, I remember watching Tony Dorsett gain 303 rushing yards against Notre Dame. TD was the reason that I started following Pitt and their rivalry with Penn State. Now after almost 50 years, that record has been eclipsed as Izzy Abanikanda (love the name!) gained 320 yards (and six touchdowns) against Virginia Tech.

• Another great individual performance: Quinyon Mitchell - the Toledo cornerback had four interceptions - returning two for touchdowns, against Northern Illinois.

October 8th:

• Close games last night - with two coming down to the final seconds. In particular, the Cougars were down by 19 points to the Tigers going into the 4th quarter - but a pair of touchdowns in the final two minutes completed their 33-32 comeback win.

• And as time expired, Colorado State kicked a field goal to beat Nevada 17-14 - ending the Rams 10-game losing streak. It gave former Wolfpack head coach Jay Norvell his first win as the head coach of Colorado State. Funny thing - Norvell led his Wolf Pack team onto Sonny Lubick Field in the season finale on Nov. 27 and was the final head coach to walk off the turf. He returned to Fort Collins nine days later as the Rams new head coach.

• Rutgers black uniforms looked sharp, but the Scarlet Knights offense was once again anemic. And Nebraska came away with the win, though I’m not sure that it was deserved. Looking at the history of the two teams this morning, they have played about the same amount of games - despite the Cornhuskers not starting play until 1890 (21 years after Rutgers), but not surprisingly Nebraska had won 248 more games! Both teams should be looking at themselves in the mirror after this game.

October 7th:

• A bunch of intriguing games tonight, with perhaps the Nebraska-Rutgers game being the least interesting. Although, it will be “Blackout Game”, and the Scarlet Knights are 16-8 in home night games under Greg Schiano. Rutgers has never beaten the Cornhuskers in five tries, but they have been getting closer each time - losing by seven points two years ago. Maybe tonight they will overcome the Huskers…

• In Ivy League action, Cornell and Harvard will be meeting for the 86th time dating back to the first meeting in 1890 with the Crimson leading the all-time series 49-34-2. To stretch their overall series, Harvard has won 17 of the last 20 contests, though the teams have split the last four — both Cornell wins in Ithaca.

• The meeting between Memphis and Houston on Friday will mark the 31st all-time game (tonight’s game is the 10th consecutive year they have played) between the two programs dating back to 1963. The Cougars snapped a five-game losing streak to the Tigers a season ago and they hold a 16-14 lead in the series, but they are looking for their first win at Memphis since 2014. With Houston leaving the AAC next year for the Big 12, this series will be put on hold for a bit.

October 6th (Part 2):

• Have to say, I didn’t think that I would be talking about Kansas much at all this season - but here they are hosting College GameDay as TCU comes to town. Before becoming Big 12 opponents when the Horned Frogs joined the conference in 2012, the teams had actually played 21 straight years from 1944 through 1964. In 2022 they are playing as ranked teams - and Kansas has an opportunity to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2008.

• A couple of really good contender or pretender games on Saturday: Tennessee at LSU and Utah at UCLA. The Vols had a week off after beating Florida - but they are now heading into a brutal part of their schedule: LSU at Death Valley (fortunately not a night game), Alabama at home, then a breather (UT Martin) before hosting Kentucky and then playing Georgia between the hedges. Splitting the four conference games could be considered a success. Meanwhile, the Bruins host the Utes at the half empty Rose Bowl. UCLA is still undefeated after a big win over Washington, but will their hopes of a Pac-12 championship end this weekend? Utah has won five straight in the series, and they won last year’s game easily, 44-24.

• Even though the Red River Rivalry features two unranked teams for the first time since 1998, the game means a lot - especially to Texas. The Longhorns are favored for the first time in 13 years, and are expecting the return of Quinn Ewers - so if they lose to the Sooners for the 5th straight time that won’t bode well for what Sarkisian is trying to build in Austin.

• Mid-season coaching changes has reached the FCS level. Wofford head coach Josh Conklin has resigned after coaching the Terriers since taking over the program in 2017 from Mike Ayers. After leading Wofford to league titles in 2018 and 2019, the Terriers are just 2-19 since then as they battle a 15-game losing streak.

October 6th:

• Have to get back to business…and I will start with SMU, which is coming off a rough second half against UCF. I was curious as to how the Mustangs would respond after a coaching change, and I had hopes for them after their first 4.5 games - but I’m thinking that they might miss a bowl game now. Maybe I should be more hopeful, but it appears as though they are going in the wrong direction.

• Coastal Carolina lost a lot of talent, but they did return quarterback Grayson McCall. So the Chanticleers are sitting at 5-0 currently, and looking like they will be tough to beat through this month. November will be fun as they will play Appalachian State, Virginia, and James Madison. I don’t want to wish away October though…

• The Mountain West appears wide open as Boise State and Fresno State have struggled, and San Diego State is having a down year. Maybe it’s time for UNLV and San Jose State to step up and take the lead, as they prepare to face each other Friday night. This should be a fun matchup because UNLV head coach Marcus Arroyo played quarterback for the Spartans between 1998-2002, and he spent four years (2005-08) with current Spartans’ HC Brent Brennan on Dick Tomey’s staff at San Jose State. In fact, Brennan was a part of Arroyo’s wedding…

October 1st (Part Two):

• Not sure what I am going to do at noon time - there are six games I really want to watch, and if I throw in Texas Tech at Kansas State on ESPN+ that would make seven. If I had to narrow it down to three - I would go with Kentucky at Ole Miss, Michigan at Iowa, and Navy at Air Force.

• After seeing the caps that Purdue is wearing for their game against Minnesota - I might have to fit them in as 3b. The Gophers are undefeated, and they lead in the nation in total defense - while being ranked 3rd in total offense. Also - these teams are meeting for the 78th time since 1894, with the Gophers winning the last four matchups and leading the overall series 41-33-3

• Lots of exciting FCS games to watch today: Holy Cross at Harvard - the Crusaders have won 14 straight on the road, but haven’t won in Cambridge since 2000. Princeton at Columbia - the Lions are the Tigers 2nd oldest series/rivalry (1874) behind Yale (1873). Lafayette at Bucknell - It's the 100th meeting in the all-time series between the Bison and the Leopards, which began with Bucknell's first-ever game in 1883. Brown at Rhode Island - meeting for the 40th Governor’s Cup football game, with Rhody holding a 20-19 edge since the Governor’s Cup was first presented in 1981. Also - this will be the 106th all-time meeting between the two schools dating back to 1909, with Brown leading the series 73-30-2.

October 1st:

• Hope we are not seeing the end of the Utah State - BYU rivalry with the Cougars entering the Big 12 next year They spent 37 years as conference foes as members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference from 1922-37 and the Mountain States/Skyline Conference from 1938-61, and they play for possession of “The Old Wagon Wheel” - which became a part of the rivalry in 1948. Following this year's meeting between the schools, there are no future games scheduled. The two schools were scheduled to face one another four more times through the 2026 season, but the contract contained language that would void the existing agreement based on conference affiliation with BYU.

• There wasn’t much of a contest between South Carolina and South Carolina State as expected - but I liked the Gamecock throwback helmet!

• Last night’s action was full of surprises! Going into the season, I was thinking that Houston would be the best Group of Five team, but after losing to Tulane and their 3rd string quarterback at home - that is not the case. UCLA, didn’t fill the Rose Bowl with their fans, but they certainly played well in beating Washington - and in Friday night Ivy League action, Penn kicked a field goal with 1 second left on the clock to tie the game, and then won it in OT over Dartmouth - the Big Green’s second consecutive loss in OT.

• When Marcus Arroyo became head coach of UNLV, he lost his first 14 games - and was finding himself on the hot seat. After last night’s win over New Mexico, his Runnin’ Rebels team have now won six of their last nine games.

September 28th:

• With a hurricane getting ready to make landfall in the Tampa area, FBSchedules.com is the best source I believe to see how this nasty weather is going to impact this weekend’s games.

• Top 25 Games this week (All Divisions): FBS - Kentucky at Ole Miss, Alabama at Arkansas, Oklahoma State at Baylor, Wake Forest at Florida State, NC State at Clemson. FCS - Richmond at Elon. Division II - Saginaw Valley at Grand Valley State, Valdosta State at Delta State. Division III: Wheaton College at North Central, UW - Whitewater at UW - LaCrosse, Delaware Valley at Stevenson.

September 27th:

• Another good read on Sunday or Monday is in footballscoop.com where Zach Barnett will recap the action with some good tidbits in a piece he titles “Nuggets: Recapping the Biggest Game from College Football.

• Have to mention how exciting the Big Sky race is going to be this year as four teams in the top 7 of the FCS Coaches Poll, with rivals Montana and Montana State at the top - for the time being. Sacramento State is having another solid season, while Weber State is bouncing back from a “down year” in 2021 when they were 6-5.

• So Delta State starts the season 3-0, with a win over FCS Mississippi Valley State, and then go on the road to beat 6th ranked West Florida to go 4-0. With accomplishing all that, they just crawled into the Division II Coaches Poll - as they are currently ranked 25th. This week they host #13 Valdosta State. Maybe another win will give them the respect they deserve.

• From 2011 thru 2016, Adam Dorrel was 76-8 with 3 NCAA Division II Championship titles while coach of Northwest Missouri State. On Saturday, the new Central Oklahoma head coach defeated his former team, which was ranked #2, 23-14, in a shocker. It was only the Bronchos (love the spelling) second win over the Bearcats since joining the MIAA in 2012.

• Was hoping to keep this game out of my thoughts - but when I saw the final stats I can’t help but bring it up. North Central hosted Elmhurst and they put a beating to them statistically: The Cardinals scored 76 points, and rolled up 667 yards of offense - which included 476 rushing yards. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays offense mustered just 81 total yards (75 coming on the final drive), and their two quarterbacks threw 6 interceptions - to six different defenders. Ugh.

• While talking North Central…running back Ethan Greenfield gained 137 yards on just 11 carries to go over 5,000 (5,026) yards for his career.

• Moving to Waverly, Iowa - the Wartburg College Knights (play in the American Rivers Conference) have pitched three shutouts in four games, and have allowed only seven points against them all season on the scoreboard. Up next for them are the Duhawks of Loras College - a team they have beaten sixteen straight times.

• Before the season I believed that Bowdoin would win more than two games for the first time since going 3-5 in 2013. Now after seeing Colby play two solid games against Williams and Trinity (going 1-1), I’m thinking that the Mules might put up a winning season. They haven’t done that since 2005, and they would be the first Maine school in the NESCAC to have a winning season since Bates went 5-3 in 2012.

September 26th:

• Two articles/pieces that I really enjoyed reading today: Sam Herder from Hero Sports providing his FCS Top 25 ballot and providing detailed analysis, and Stewart Mandel’s Final Thoughts (21 of them) regarding the weekend of games. He mentioned quite often how wide open the race is in the Big 12…

• Maryland’s kicker, Chad Ryland is a joy to watch. Two fifty+ yard field goals - right down the pike and with plenty to spare (good from 60?). He has a nation-leading streak of consecutive field goals with 23 in a row. Wolverine running back Blake Corum outshined him though - 30 carries, 243 yards and two touchdowns.

• Middle Tennessee and Appalachian State have big wins this year over Power 5 teams - but James Madison has beaten them both to be an impressive 3-0. Too bad they won’t get a chance to play in the postseason. And the Blue Raiders win over Miami (FL) makes this Friday’s game with UTSA and their 10/8 matchup with Western Kentucky a bit more exciting.

• Was going to put something out on Geoff Collins being fired early this morning after seeing it from a source on Goggle - but didn’t dare pull the trigger on it until confirmed. Now it is done. Three head coaches fired before the end of September - and it was thiiiiiissssss close to being four.

• ESPN’s David Hale made mention in his Sunday morning piece that Texas suffered seventh loss by a touchdown or less in their past eleven games. This sounds like a familiar story. Oh yes, something similar was/is happening in Lincoln…

• FBSchedules has posted an article about Florida Atlantic and FIU agreeing to a four-game football series starting in 2024 after the Owls depart CUSA for the American Athletic Conference. Great to see that rivalry games don’t have to end with conference realignment. Maybe the Bedlam series’ opponents should take notice.

• I probably shouldn’t have mentioned Dartmouth’s 20-game winning streak in non-conference games one week ago today, as they lost to Sacred Heart on the road in OT - after seemingly having the game in hand.

• The CAA was rocked a bit this weekend as Monmouth defeated Villanova in a back-and-forth game, while Elon put together a big rally to beat William & Mary on the road. Meanwhile, the Blue Hens gave a rude welcome to Hampton with an easy 35-3 win, and UNH sits at the top of the standings (3-0) for the time being.

• As of 1:40 today - I am thinking that Hurricane Ian may cause havoc to teams scheduled to play in the Southeast this upcoming weekend…

September 25th:

• The last Saturday in September proved to be “Survival Saturday” - and as the results show at the end of the day, some survived (Clemson, USC) while others didn’t (Oklahoma, Arkansas). And there were teams that survived tests: Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. One loss doesn’t end all playoff hopes - but it leaves no room for error for the remaining eight/nine games.

• What a difference a week made for Kansas State. Last week they were stunned at home by Tulane (who this week lost a trophy game to previous winless Southern Miss), and this week they went into Norman and beat 6th-ranked Oklahoma. This was the Wildcats third win in four years against the Sooners.

• Jaydn Ott has an impressive Pac-12 debut. The freshman running back for Cal rushed for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns (72, 74, 18 yards) on 19 carries. I’ll be curious to see if we hear more about him this season, or if this game for him was a one hit wonder.

• Marshall lost their first Sun Belt game (Troy 16-7), while both Old Dominion and James Madison rallied for their first wins as Sun Belt members. Particularly impressive was the Dukes scoring 28 unanswered points on the road against Appalachian State.

• With Miami (Ohio) winning at Northwestern, it was the RedHawks 7th win in nine tries at Evanston.

September 24th:

• Oldest Series being played today: Tufts at Bates (1875), Lafayette at Penn (1882), Lehigh at Princeton (1887), Yale at Cornell (1888), and Bowdoin at Williams (1890). The Ivy League and NESCAC are well represented here today!

• Most Played Series today: Harvard at Brown (120 games), Ursinus at Franklin & Marshall (102 games), Kansas State at Oklahoma (102 games), and TCU at SMU (100 games)

• Series being played for the 100th time today: Oregon at Washington State (Ducks lead the all-time series 52-40-7) and Pittsburg State at Emporia State (Gorillas lead the all-time series 63-34-2)

• In the fifth and final game of the 1893 season, Dec. 29, 1893, Washington took on Stanford, marking the Huskies' first-ever game against another college. Over 92 all-time meetings, Washington and Stanford have arrived at a dead-even record, with 44 wins for Stanford, 44 for UW, along with four ties (44-44-4). After winning eight straight vs. Stanford from 1959 to 1966, the Huskies lost 10 in a row from 1967 to 1976. Since that 1976 loss, Washington has gone 25-14 against the Cardinal.

• Tonight, the Wyoming Cowboys and Brigham Young Cougars will renew an old rivalry this coming Saturday when the two teams meet for the 79th time. For the better part of a century, the Wyoming Cowboys and Brigham Young Cougars played each other in football on an annual basis. From 1921 through 2010, Wyoming and BYU were members of the same conference, first as members of the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference (1921-37), then as founding members of the Skyline Conference (1938-61). Both schools were also founding members of the Western Athletic Conference (1962-98) and the Mountain West Conference (1999-2010). Lets hope that this home-and-home series that wraps up in 2024 isn’t the end of the rivalry…

• Was thinking “Here we go again…” when I heard “Hail to the Victors” seven seconds into the game - but the Terps are playing solid in the Big House this afternoon!

• Glad to see the Vols hold on for the win over Florida - though I was wondering if the Gators were going to pull it off at the end. With the all the excitement regarding this series, I’m surprised that it has been played only 52 times.

• Must admit that I am shocked that Miami (FL) still has never beaten Middle Tennessee!

• Fordham quarterback Tim DeMorat had another big game today as he threw for over 500 yards and six touchdowns. On the season he has thrown for 22 touchdown passes - that’s an average of over five per game.

• Boy - did the Gophers dominate Michigan State on the road. I figured that this was going to be a test for both teams, but I never would have thought that Minnesota would win so easily.

September 23rd:

• A couple of things regarding last night’s game between West Virginia and Virginia Tech: Hard to believe that the Hokies haven’t beaten a non-conference Power 5 team at Lane Stadium since 2009. And if you are a fan of this rivalry, this will be the last game between these teams for close to a decade because the earliest they could schedule a meeting would be in 2031.

• Tonight’s Virginia at Syracuse game should be entertaining on a couple of fronts. Their last meeting back in 2015 went to triple overtime with the Cavaliers finally defeating the Orange 44-38. This year, Syracuse’s offense has been firing on all cylinders thanks to former UVA assistant coaches Robert Anae and Jason Beck, while Virginia’s offense is struggling to find its rhythm.

• Another game to follow this evening is the New Haven at Bentley matchup. The Chargers and Falcons met twice last season with the first securing the first NE10 Championship for New Haven since 2012 and the second in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Championship - another win for the Chargers.

• Two hard to believe facts I read this morning on ESPN: Florida has won 16 of the last 17 meetings in their series with Tennessee. And Wisconsin hasn’t won in the Horseshoe since 2001 - but upon further research, the Badgers have played only five games in Columbus during that time. Easy to believe: Alabama has won 22-straight over Vanderbilt

• The Iron Skillet game between SMU and TCU will have a little extra sizzle tomorrow because Sonny Dykes left the Mustangs to take over the Horned Frogs program back in December. The home team is hoping to serve up an extra portion of frog legs for dinner.

• Tomorrow, Houston and Rice will play for The Bayou Bucket (Cougars lead the trophy series 30-10) in the Bayou City (Houston), while ULM and Louisiana will square off in “The Battle of the Bayou”. The winner will receive the Wooden Boot Trophy, which was created in 2002. The Ragin’ Cajuns have gotten the boot 13 times, while the Warhawks have taken it seven times.

• Who would have believed that Duke and Kansas (a great basketball matchup) are meeting in Week 4 as unbeaten teams? One of the two will be 4-0 after tomorrow’s game…

• Houston Baptist University, as of yesterday, is now known as Houston Christian University. Their colors (orange and blue) and nickname (Huskies) will remain the same.

September 22nd:

• The Bedlam rivalry between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State is older (1904) than the state of Oklahoma (1907). It also happens to be one of the most (if not the most) lopsided annual rivalry in college football as the Sooners lead the all-time series 90-19-7.

• Trophies up for grabs this weekend: Black Diamond Trophy (West Virginia at Virginia Tech), Southwest Classic Trophy (Arkansas vs. Texas A&M), Bayou Bucket (Rice at Houston), Wooden Boot (Louisiana at UL-Monroe), Iron Skillet (TCU at SMU), Battle for the Bell (Southern Miss at Tulane), Chancellor’s Spurs (Texas at Texas Tech), Lou Little Trophy (Columbia at Georgetown), Old Settler’s Musket (Adams State vs. Fort Lewis), Traveling Trophy (Harding vs. Ouachita Baptist),

September 21st:

• I could keep looking back at last weekend’s games - but I am looking ahead instead, starting with a quick glance towards 2023. Yesterday the SEC posted their 2023 schedule - the first FBS conference to do so. Looking at FCS, three conferences have already posted their schedules: Ivy League, Big Sky, and MVFC.

• Top 20 Matchups this weekend (all divisions): FBS - Clemson at Wake Forest, Arkansas vs. Texas A&M, and Florida at Tennessee. FCS - South Dakota State at Missouri State, Montana State at Eastern Washington, and Eastern Kentucky at Austin Peay. Division II - Harding at Ouachita Baptist. Division III - Mary Hardin-Baylor at Hardin-Simmons

• Thursday night's game between the Mountaineers and the Hokies will mark West Virginia's first visit to Lane Stadium since 2004. The winner of the border battle receives the Black Diamond Trophy, which was introduced in 1997 and is meant to symbolize the Appalachian region's rich coal heritage. Virginia Tech has held the Black Diamond Trophy in seven of the 11 years it has been contested, but West Virginia leads the all-time series 29-23-1. Lastly, the Hokies and Mountaineers were conference foes from 1991 to 2003 as members of the Big East Conference.

• Don’t sleep on Thursday’s Chattanooga at Illinois matchup. The Mocs (No. 9 in FCS Coaches Poll) last game against a Power 5 opponent was a 28-23 loss to Kentucky a year ago. Both teams are looking to go undefeated in non-conference play. Illinois running back Chase Brown is averaging over 165 rushing yards per game, but the Mocs’ defense has given up an average of just 78 rushing yards per game through their first three games. Something will have to give…

September 20th:

• Didn’t take long this morning getting my thoughts going about this great game…starting with ESPN’s College Football Week 3 Recap by their college football reporters. What a fun read - and awesome clips to watch. Being that I missed a lot of the action on Saturday (I am ashamed of myself), what a call by Willie Fritz with two minutes left in the game! And I didn’t realize how very close Notre Dame came to being 0-3!

• Two head coaches down, how many to go? I have talked about Colorado’s troubles and Karl Dorrell - and after this weekend lets add Geoff Collins and Bryan Harsin. Rumor has it that the administration at Georgia Tech is already putting together a list of new candidates for next year, if not midseason, while Harsin barely survived after 2021, so getting beat soundly by Penn State at home is not good for is resume.

• I couldn’t help but chuckle when I saw that Sam Herder from Hero Sports put out his first version of how he sees things shaking out for the 2022 FCS Playoff. It’s a bit early to predict the Auto-Bids from conference champions - but his overall playoff field is solid. He left out Eastern Washington, who I believe is going to play Big Sky spoiler, while Furman and Rhode Island are currently left out of his field - and these are teams I hope sneak in…

• On Saturday evening I watched a bit of the 110th Mid-America Classic between Illinois State and Eastern Illinois - a game dominated by the Redbird defense that scored two touchdowns and forced five turnovers. Illinois State has now won five straight over Eastern Illinois (and 7 of 8), bringing their advantage in the all-time series to 59-42-9.

September 19th:

• First off…Happy Birthday shoutout to my sweet daughter! Happy 30th birthday Abigail! Maybe I can sweet talk you, Josh, Megan and Brian into visiting Whittier Field with me this fall for some Halloween Ale and Bowdoin football…

• And before moving to the FCS, the axe has fallen again. Herm Edwards is out as coach of the Sun Devils, which isn’t a surprise after all the allegations, but after a loss to Eastern Michigan, it seemed like the ideal time for Arizona State’s administration to pull the plug.

• On the flip side, Walt Wells returned to the sideline this past weekend to see his EKU Colonels easily defeat Charleston Southern with a strong second half performance. There is a great article about on FootballScoop.com about his medical episode that was far more serious than I ever thought.

• Congratulations to Dartmouth for winning their 725th game this weekend against Valparaiso. 2022 is the Big Green’s 140th season of football, and their all-time record is 725-459-46, which is a win percentage greater than .600. Also, Dartmouth has now won 12 straight season openers and 20 consecutive non-conference games (longest streak in FCS).

• William & Mary and Lafayette have combined for almost 1,300 wins since their programs got their start in 1893 and 1882 respectively - but on Saturday they played each other for only the 7th time (all since 2012). The Tribe came up with an easy 34-7 win on the road to take a 6-1 series lead.

• Western Carolina routed Presbyterian, 77-21, matching its program high for points and setting the record with 766 offensive yards. Starting quarterback Carlos Davis missed the game, but four other signal callers passed for TDs. Wasn’t a very nice way to treat a fellow Carolinas Conference member (1965-1968).

• I was hoping for a very close and competitive game between Delaware and Rhode Island, but the Blue Hens easily handled the Rams in South Kingston, RI.

• This weekend Dayton scored for a NCAA-record 500th consecutive game.

September 18th:

• Here is the list of undefeated, unranked teams after week 3: North Carolina, TCU, James Madison, Tulane, Syracuse, Indiana, Florida State, Iowa State, UCLA (this was almost South Alabama), Rutgers, Minnesota, Coastal Carolina, Washington State, Kansas, Duke, Oregon State, Washington,, and Maryland. More than half of these teams are a surprise.

• Three of four teams at the bottom of Ryan McGee’s Bottom 10 won yesterday: UMass (beat FCS team Stony Brook), Hawaii (Timmy Chang’s first win as a head coach), and Charlotte (won at Georgia State - the site of their first FBS win in 2015).

• Louisiana visited Rice for the first time since 1989, and the Owls ended the Ragin’ Cajuns 15-game winning streak.

• The Bison’s loss to Arizona (31-28) snapped NDSU's six-game winning streak against FBS opponents dating back to 2010. North Dakota State is now 9-4 against FBS competition.

• Four alternate helmets that I liked: Missouri (first-ever script), Rice (1972 throwback helmets), Utah (Ute Proud uniform) and Kansas State (white helmet).

• Speaking of Kansas State, Kurt Warner and his wife were proud parents today as they watched Kade Warner playing wide receiver for Kansas State and true freshman Elijah Warner starting at quarterback for Temple.

• And with Rutgers close win over Temple, Greg Schiano got his 79th victory with the Scarlet Knights surpassing former head coach Frank Burns for the most wins in program history.

• Bobby Petrino’s return to Fayetteville was going well for three quarters, but No. 10-ranked Arkansas scored 21 unanswered points in the final 11 minutes, 38 seconds to overcome a double-figure lead by visiting Missouri State, escaping with a 38-27 win over the Bears.

September 17th:

• An announcer for the Arkansas State at Memphis gave me a chuckle when he called this matchup “kind of a rivalry”. Well, it has a trophy (Paint Bucket Trophy), began in 1914, and this is the 60th meeting (Tigers lead 30-24-5). Seems like a good ole rivalry to me.

• Seems to me like the Georgia at South Carolina game flew under the radar - even to me. But, it is the second oldest rivalry game in the FBS being played today, and when the teams took the field today, it was the 75th meeting between the schools. After an impressive win, the Bulldogs now lead the series 54-19-2.

• The oldest FBS rivalry that was played today: Cincinnati at Miami (Ohio). The series started in 1888, and after being played 125 times - the series was tied 59-59-7. The Bearcats won 38-17 (their 16th straight win in the rivalry), so they now lead the all-time series by a game over the RedHawks.

• Most surprising results thus far today: Tulane over Kansas State, Kansas over Houston and Southern Illinois over Northwestern.

• Marcus Freeman finally got his first win as a head coach - and tonight Timmy Chang will probably have his best chance this year to get his first-ever win as a head coach.

September 16th:

• Despite all that’s happening in Lincoln, don’t overlook tomorrow’s noontime game between Oklahoma and Nebraska. The Sooners and Huskers shared conference membership for 89 years – first hooking up in the MVIAA (Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association) in 1921 and then as co-members of the Big 6 (1928-47), Big 7 (1948-59), Big 8 (1960-95) and Big 12 (1996-2010). Oklahoma leads the all-time series 46-38-3 and has won six of the last seven matchups. Enjoy today’s game because they won’t be playing again until 2029 and 2030..

• Harvard is in action tonight, but tomorrow we see the rest of the Ivy League playing their first games of the season. One in particular is worth watching: Yale at Holy Cross. Last year the Crusaders won at the Yale Bowl with a last second field goal, and this year, playing at home and coming off a big win against FBS Buffalo, they should beat the Bulldogs - but it’s going to be a fight.

• And the last league to get going starts up at 1:00. All three Maine schools get going (Hamilton at Bowdoin, Williams at Colby, and Bates at Wesleyan) - and of the three I will be watching Hamilton at Bowdoin. The Polar Bears were young last year and were competitive in many of their games - though their record didn’t indicate it. Bowdoin hasn’t won two games or more since 2015, but I have a feeling that they will get those wins this year - but it will have to start with today’s game against the Continentals.

September 15th:

• Only one game being played in college football tonight - and even this one (Savannah State at Benedict College) has no significance for me. Anyone else missing the action from the first Thursday of the season? Bring on the MACtion…

• Friday does have some good games in my eyes, kicking off with Post at Bentley (Division II) at 6:00pm. The Post Eagles program debuted two weeks ago against the Lock Haven Bald Eagles - a game that went down to the wire. The Eagles scored with just under a minute to play, and trailing by just a point (35-34) went for the two-point conversion. Unfortunately, the Eagles came up just short. Now, after losing to Stonehill (former NE-10 team that moved up to the FCS) 76-0, Post will take on Bentley - a team that made the Division II playoffs last year. The Falcons are celebrating their 50th year of football this year.

• Two leagues (in fact - two of my favorite) are kicking off for the first time this weekend. One league (Ivy League) gets started tomorrow evening when Harvard hosts Merrimack (another former NE-10 that moved up a league). The Crimson enters the game having won its last three games of 2021, including a thrilling 34-31 road victory over Yale in its season finale. The Warriors, meanwhile, are 1-1, falling to nationally ranked Holy Cross in its opener before defeating Assumption last Friday. Harvard and Merrimack, despite being separated by roughly 30 miles, are meeting for the first time.

• Six years ago, Florida State and Louisville clashed in a Top-10 matchup - a game the Cardinals easily won, 63-20. Since that time when these teams have met, both the Seminoles and Cardinals have been unranked. That’s the case this year as well, but this game is important to both teams because they each need a win to keep building momentum - both for the teams and the coaches.

• Another fun game to watch tomorrow night is happening at War Memorial Stadium in Wyoming - where I love the name of the stadium and the location. Air Force has won six straight games dating back to last season, which is the third longest active win streak in the FBS (Louisiana leads the way at 15). The six game streak is the longest by the Falcons since a nine game streak from 2019-20. Meanwhile, Wyoming ranks No. 1 among FBS teams in terms of the largest percentage of its roster who are underclassmen -- 84.2 percent (96 of 114 total players), which leaves the Cowboys with 3 seniors and 15 juniors. This will be the 60th meeting, in which Air Force leads the overall series against the Cowboys, 30-26-3, and has a 21-19 mark in conference games.

September 14th:

• BYU and Baylor wrapped up their home-and-home series just in time to become conference opponents in 2023. With what we have seen the last two years, I think that it’s safe to say that this is going to be a fun series to follow.

• After losing 31 straight to Florida from 1987 thru 2017, Kentucky has won three of the last five matchups with the Gators. This has quickly become one of my favorite SEC East matchups to follow - especially with Mark Stoops doing such a great job coaching the Wildcats.

• 85 years. That’s how many years straight (1927 thru 2011) Kansas State and Missouri played as Big 8 (and later Big 12) opponents. Saturday they played for the 98th time (Tigers lead the series 59-34-5), and the former rivals will meet one more time next season to finish up their home-and-home series. Unfortunately we will have to wait at least a decade for them to possibly play for the 100th time…

• Sad to see Colorado completely outplayed by Air Force. The Buffs gave up 435 rushing yards to the Falcons - and now they head to Minnesota to meet up with the strong running game of the Gophers. Could be a winless season for CU. Will the administration pull the plug on Karl Dorrell before the season ends?

• Great win on the road for the Beavers over a solid Fresno State team. Increases their chances of returning to a bowl game for the second straight year. It also increases my excitement for their game with Oregon!

• And how about that seven overtime game between Eastern Kentucky and Bowling Green that the Colonels eventually won! Even better than that win - Walt Wells will return to the sideline this Saturday against Charleston Southern after suffering a cardiac event just before the season began. Things are looking up for EkU!

September 13th:

• A new trophy was unveiled this past Saturday when Carroll played Wisconsin Lutheran met for the first time. This matchup between the Pioneers and Warriors hopes to become a long tradition, after the announcement of the Glazers Bowl. The winning team claims the newly made 'Golden Glazer' trophy and will celebrate with boxes of Glazers Donuts post-game, provided by the regionally based, convenience store Kwik Trip. Carroll took home the Golden Glazer trophy in the inaugural Glazer Bowl Presented by Kwik Trip with a dominant, 54-7 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran.

• Another first on Saturday in Division III was Hilbert College stepping on the field for actual game action just 310 days after they announced that they were going to add the sport this academic year. The Hawks were excited to jump right into game action and not have to wait an entire year. It was a busy preseason for Hilbert, which had roughly 20 practices before it had to face an established program like Denison, which was playing their 1,144 game since 1889. Unfortunately, the result was not good for the Hawks, but to field a team as soon as they did was their victory!

• Freshman running back Jatron Bevly of Lakeland made the most of his first collegiate start as he rushed 17 times for 343 yards and five touchdowns in just over two and a half quarters before leaving the game after his final TD with 5:42 left in the third quarter. This set the school single-game rushing record and came up just short of NACC single-game mark. Bevly scored touchdowns on runs of 36, 54, 75, 47 and 70 yards as Muskies took 34-10 lead, when his pads came off after his last touchdown - as he was a bit dinged up. Unfortunately the lead wasn’t safe, as Buena Vista scored 31 unanswered points to come away with a 41-34 win.

September 12th:

• Very, very late with my thoughts regarding the games this past weekend, but hopefully I can catch up with all that I was thinking when reading each of the results. It was a weekend of games that left me both in awe and scratching my head. Actually, that sounds like every weekend…

• Thursday night’s game between UT-Martin and Missouri State was a great way to start off the week, as these teams met in the playoffs last year. This year, the Bears prevailed 35-30 - but the game was evenly matched in yardage, first downs, time of possession, and there were no turnovers. Maybe they will get to play each other again in the postseason.

• After last week’s loss to Syracuse, I thought that this might be a do-or-die game for Scott Satterfield as the head coach of Louisville. The first half was not pretty for the Cardinals, as they trailed the UCF Knights at halftime 14-7, but Malik Cunningham rallied Louisville with his arm and legs in the second half. Satterfield is safe for now, but I’m not sure that it’s going to be a good season for the team in Red.

• I figured that Scott Frost was in trouble after losing to Northwestern in Ireland, but I didn’t think that Georgia Southern would be the team to drive a stake in his heart. How ironic is it that Clay Helton, the first head coach fired in 2021 after just four games, would lead to Frost’s ruin after just three games?

• Alabama squeezing by Texas surprised me, Appalachian State upsetting Texas A&M was a bigger surprise, but the Thundering Herd beating Notre Dame in South Bend was an absolute shocker! What a day for the Sun Belt Conference!

• Congratulation to Mark Stoops for becoming Kentucky's all-time winningest football coach after the Wildcats beat the Gators in Gainesville 26-16. It was his 61st win - one more than Bear Bryant. Meanwhile, Greg Schiano earned his 78th victory when the Scarlet Knights defeated Wagner, matching former head coach Frank Burns for the most wins in program history. Burns led RU from 1973 to 1983.

September 8th:

• I like the upcoming non-conference game between Dayton and Youngstown State. These Ohio teams last met in 2013, and have played a total of 10 contests. The Penguins defeated the Flyers 28-10 in that game in 2013, which was their first win in the series against nine losses, dating back to 1939. In addition, YSU tailback Jaleel McLaughlin is the active career NCAA leader in rushing attempts (1,052), rushing yards (6,781) and rushing touchdowns (68). And, Dayton coach Rick Chamberlin got his 100th career victory last week - all coming with the Flyers.

• Northern Iowa will be visiting Grand Forks, ND for the first time since 1976. A small problem for the Panthers - North Dakota, which was tied with the Cornhuskers at Nebraska midway through the third quarter, has won 35 consecutive home openers as well as 15 of its last 16 overall games at the Alerus Center. That’s the longest active FCS win streak in Home Openers. This will be the 38th all-time meeting between North Dakota and Northern Iowa, with the Panthers holding a 24-13 lead in the series.

September 7th:

• Nice to see that Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman has been cleared to play again, and he could play this weekend against Vanderbilt. Freshman Mitch Griffis played well in Hartman’s absence last week against VMI going 21-of-29 and three touchdowns. Seems like the Demon Deacons are in good shape at the quarterback position.

• After a big start to week 1 last Thursday, there is only one FCS game on the schedule for tomorrow, but it is a battle of ranked teams. In a regional rivalry that dates back just a few years (1996), Missouri State will host UT Martin, a series that the Bears lead 6-1. Last season, the teams squared off in the opening round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs at Plaster Stadium (11/27/21) with the Skyhawks prevailing, 32-31, in a thriller. Unfortunately for the Bears, they turned the ball over six times in that game!

September 6th:

• Clemson’s win over Georgia Tech was the Tigers eighth straight over the Yellow Jackets - their longest winning streak ever over Tech. GT still leads the all-time series, which started in 1898, 51-35-2, but Clemson has won eleven of thirteen since losing to the Yellow Jackets in the ACC Championship game back in 2009.

• Last year St. Thomas made a successful jump from Division III to FCS by going 7-3 (6-2 Pioneer League). This year they opened the season by losing to Southern Utah, 44-13. The not so good news for the Tommies - last year the Thunderbirds were 1-10 (0-8 Big Sky). Year 2 might be a bit rougher for St. Thomas when looking at the results of Week 1.

• James Madison certainly dominated in their first FBS contest, as they beat Middle Tennessee 44-7. What’s interesting to me is that the Dukes entered the game as a 5.5 point favorite. JMU quarterback Todd Centeio, a Colorado State transfer, had a big game as he finished 21-of-33 for 287 yards and six touchdowns passing and rushed 14 times for 110 yards. The Dukes finished the game with 548 total yards to the Blue Raiders 119 total yards.

• I spent a lot of time today on https://theathletic.com/college-football/. reading a great piece by David Ubben on a Post-Lee Corso College Gameday, as well as some articles on mascots. I love the writing on this website - they have so much to choose from!

September 5th:

• FSU’s win last night over LSU made the Seminoles the second ACC team to escape with a win because of their opponents special teams miscues. On Saturday, NC State was on the ropes against East Carolina, but a missed extra point and field goal allowed them to leave Greenville with a victory. Ugly wins though sometimes lead to better things during the season.

• In other Sunday action Jackson dominated SWAC East foe Florida A&M, 59-3 in the Orange Blossom Classic. Shedeur Sanders started the game going 16 of 16 for 157 yards and 3 TDs. Sanders threw two more touchdowns in the second half to set a new all-time Jackson State single-game passing touchdown record. He finished the game completing 29 of 33 passes — to 11 different wide receivers — for 323 yards and five touchdowns.

• Last year UIW made it to the 2nd round of the FCS playoff behind the arm of Cameron Ward, but he transferred to Washington State during the offseason. His spot was filled with Lindsey Scott, Jr., who played for Nicholls last year. Well, after one week it doesn’t look like the Cardinals missed a beat as they defeated 9th-ranked Southern Illinois at home, 64-29. As for Scott, he was 17 of 25 for 391 yards and six touchdowns. For good measure, he also had a rushing touchdown. Not a bad replacement.

• FBS head coaches still looking for their first win going into Week 2: Dan Lanning (Oregon), Stan Drayton (Temple), Timmy Chang (Hawaii), and Jon Sumrall (Troy). My guess is that Chang will be the last one to pick up his first win…

September 4th:

• There were a couple of surprises yesterday in the Pac-12. I thought that Oregon would give Georgia a tough time, but the Bulldogs ate them up feathers and all, while the Ducks in-state rival, the Beavers, forced five turnovers and easily beat Boise State. A game that didn’t surprise me though - Arizona over San Diego State. Fellow transfers Jayden de Laura and Jacob Cowing hooked up for three touchdowns - something the Wildcats wanted to see when they agreed to come to Tucson.

• Delaware got the second FCS win over a FBS team with their 14-7 win over Navy. The Midshipmen lost three fumbles in the first half after losing only five all of last year.

• Four more FBS coaches got their first wins as head coaches: Tony Elliott (Virginia over Richmond), Brent Venables (Oklahoma over UTEP), Joey McGuire (Texas Tech over Murray State), and Rhett Lashlee (SMU over North Texas). Speaking of Lashlee, I was surprised at how easily the Mustangs beat the Mean Green - especially after North Texas already had a game under their belts.

• Both Willie Fritz and Craig Bohl hit coaching milestones with their wins yesterday. Fritz collected his 225 win when Tulane beat UMass 42-10, while Craig Bohl and Wyoming had to go into 2OT to get his 150th win to defeat Tulsa 40-37.

September 3rd:

• Somewhat surprised this morning when reading the result of William & Mary’s win over Charlotte - the first FCS win over a FBS team in 2022. The Tribe rolled up almost 600 yards of offense, so this could be a rough year for the 49ers. So, W&M picks up a win and collects a $300k check - not a bad day for the Tribe!

• Before kickoff everything was going well for Colorado: cool throwback uniforms (a tribute to Cliff Branch), a raucous crowd (fueled by beer? lol), and Ralphie’s run. Then came the actual game. At halftime, the game was close - but the Horned Frogs scored 31 unanswered points in the second half. Could be a long season for Karl Dorrell and the Buffs…

• Wonder if the Hokies are regretting the 10-game series (starting this year) that they agreed to with Old Dominion? They have played two games now in Norfolk, and the Monarchs have stunned VT both times. No matter how the rest of the series plays out, I give Virginia Tech kudos for this commitment that they have made to Old Dominion!

• Some big games to watch, but I won’t write anything about them because there is so much great reading out there for all to read. Also, I believe that nine trophies across all divisions will be on the line today, with two already handed out (one on Thursday, and one last night). Overall, as usual, there are many, many games that I can’t wait to follow and see!

September 2nd:

• Two potential coaching milestones tonight - with one being a guarantee: Temple plays at Duke tonight, so either Stan Drayton (Owls head coach) or Mike Elko (Blue Devil head coach) will get their first win as a head coach. While in Ypsilanti, MI, Eastern Michigan will be hosting Eastern Kentucky. Eagles head coach Chris Creighton is looking for career win number 225.

• In Big Ten action tonight, Indiana will face Illinois in a season opener for the fifth time - the four previous meetings came in 1959, 1960, 1973 and 1974. These teams are also meeting for the first time since 2017 and the first time in Bloomington in almost a decade! The schools first met in 1899, and Illinois leads the all-time series 45-25-2 (13-15-1 in Bloomington), but the Hoosiers have won the last three matchups.

• Villanova begins the 125th season of playing football by entertaining Lehigh tonight - it will be the sixth straight season that these teams have played. Villanova leads the all-time series (started in 1903) with Lehigh by a 12-5 margin and has won each of the past nine meetings in a streak that began with a 30-20 win in 2007. During the nine-game winning streak, the Wildcats have topped 30 points in eight of the nine contests and have outscored the Mountain Hawks by a margin of 316-129

• No Division II games being played tonight, but there are twelve games being played in Division III - all of them in either New England or the Mid-Atlantic region. Whitworth at Carnegie Mellon could pad the winners resume come time for the playoff, while two New York schools, Alfred at Hobart, are playing for the 80th time since 1902. The Statesmen of Hobart have won eleven straight games in the series since 1996 to take a 40-35-4 series lead. Meanwhile in Massachusetts, two cross-town rivalry games (Western New England at Springfield and WPI at Worcester State) are being played tonight. In fact, the opposing teams for both games are separated by only 2 miles!

September 1st:

• I was caught by surprise when I saw two games being played tonight that had originally been scheduled for Saturday: Cal Poly at Fresno State and Eastern Illinois at Northern Illinois. Both are FCS/FBS matchups, but there is a history between the opponents - the Mustang/Bulldog game actually had a rivalry trophy at one point.

• Coaching milestones from tonight: Mike Gundy got is 150th win when his Cowboys beat Central Michigan. Gundy is starting his 18th year with Oklahoma State. Jeff Tedford won his first game back when Fresno State beat former rival Cal Poly. Tedford is starting his second stint with the Bulldogs, as he coached them from 2017 thru 2019. And the newest FBS coach, Bryant Vincent, saw his UAB squad easily defeat Alabama A&M, 59-0. Vincent was elevated to head coach when Bill Clark stepped down this past June.

• Kennesaw State was the second FCS Top 10 team to lose in the last two weeks, as they were defeated at Samford, 27-17. Funny thing about the game…the Owls scored their points in the first and third quarters, while the Bulldogs got their 27 points in the second and fourth quarters. The Southern Conference looks like it is going to be fun to watch this year, because Samford was projected to finish seventh in the conference…

• Tonight was the big day of the weekend for Division II as 14 out of the Top 25 teams were in action - including #4 Colorado School of Mines at #5 Grand Valley State - where Brian Kelly got his head coaching career started in 1991. Kelly’s former team won this matchup 25-22. Two other Top 25 teams lost to unranked teams as #10 Notre Dame College got beat by Ashland and #22 Bemidji State was beaten by Minnesota State - Mankato.

August 31st:

• Mack Brown returns to Boone, NC as the opposing head coach against Appalachian State, who will be looking to upset the Tar Heels. The Mountaineers were Brown’s first head coaching gig - a job he held for only one year back in 1985. Since that time Mack has coached at Tulane, North Carolina (twice), and Texas. Quick Facts about the coach: He has 266 career victories (second among active FBS coaches), He is one of five active head coaches who has won a National Championship. Lastly, Brown has led his teams to 12 seasons of 10 or more victories during his career.

• When Josh Heupel was hired to replace Scott Frost as the head coach at UCF, I thought it would be a step back for the Knights in terms of coaching. Four years later, I have to say that Heupel has proven to be the superior head coach. As head coach of UCF, he had a record of 22-4 before the 2020 season, where the Knights defense was decimated by injuries, transfers and opt outs. But to me his most impressive year was in 2021, when his Volunteer team went 7-6 after an OT bowl loss to Purdue. This year, with the return of Hendon Hooker, Knoxville is hoping for a Top 25 finish. More successful than Scott Frost I would say…

• With Ken Wilson winning his first game as a head coach last week when Nevada beat New Mexico State - that leaves 10 FBS coaches looking for their first win as a head coach: Tony Elliott (Virginia), Mike Elko (Duke), Brent Venables (Oklahoma), Joey McGuire (Texas Tech), Dan Lanning (Oregon), Rhett Lashlee (SMU), Stan Drayton (Temple), Timmy Chang tries again, Jon Sumrall (Troy), and Bryant Vincent (UAB).

August 30th:

• One of the most contentious rivalries in college football gets revived on Thursday night when West Virginia visits Pitt - a game that will be watched nationwide on ESPN. Almost every year from 1895 to 2011, these teams traveled the 75 miles between the two institutions to play in the Backyard Brawl. I will be relaxing with my favorite beer (Halloween Ale from Gritty’s) watching the 105th game in this rivalry hoping to hear the Mountaineer fans chant the chorus line “Eat Shit Pitt” when Sweet Caroline is played…

• Glad to see that Nick Saban got a contract extension that once again gives him the top salary for a college football coach - topping Kirby Smart. Saban is the highest-paid coach for a season - he has won six national championships while at Alabama, giving him seven in total when adding in the one he won at rival LSU. If he coaches until the end of his contract in 2029, he will end up with over 350 career wins, which would be good for 5th-most wins all-time. Ten national championships is also within reach.

• The first Game Notes that I read for the 2022 College Football season: West Virginia’s. Game Notes and Media Guides are great resources for information…

August 29th:

• I was happy to see that Maryland and Wake Forest have agreed to a home-and-home series in 2030 and 2031. These former ACC opponents haven’t played since 2013 as the Terps moved to the Big Ten after that season. Funny thing about this series - the first game was played in 1917, but the teams wouldn’t play again until 1943. Then they played almost every year from 1954 thru 2013. Maryland leads the all-time series 43-18-1, but the schools have split the last ten meetings.

• I also like seeing that Louisiana and McNeese have agreed to renew their rivalry for a year in 2025. Separated by 77 miles, these schools first met in 1951 and played every year until 1986. The series fizzled out when McNeese dropped down to Division I-AA in 1982, though two close rivals who played for the Cajun Crown Trophy should have continued the series - especially since they are in such close proximity of each other. When they meet in 2025, this will be only their third meeting in the last forty years!

August 28th:

• If anyone needed a win during the first week of the season, it was Scott Frost. Unfortunately the Cornhuskers lost their 7th straight game - all by single digits and six of them were one possession games. Not a good sign when Nebraska gets beat in the trenches - especially when that was their strength during the Osborne years. Another bad sign - Nebraska beat Northwestern last year 56-7.

• CUSA had two conference games played on Saturday. The North Texas-UTEP game was evenly played on paper when looking just at the statistics, but the Mean Green easily won the game on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Charlotte got on the board first against Florida Atlantic, but then the Owls reeled off 33 unanswered points on their way to an easy 43-13 win. Back to the North Texas-UTEP game for a moment…there was a great turnout at the Sun Bowl as 46k attended the game!

• It was an underwhelming win for Nevada over New Mexico State, but Ken Wilson got his first win as a head coach. After 35 years as a coach (started in 1986), Wilson finally got his first opportunity as a head coach when Jay Norvell left the Wolfpack for Colorado State. Might not be an easy season for him because Nevada has just six starters returning from last year’s team.

• Rich Rodriguez had a successful debut as head coach of Jacksonville State - the Gamecocks beat Stephen F. Austin 42-17. The Lumberjacks jumped to an early 17-7 lead, but Jax State scored 35 unanswered points until the game was called with 13:18 remaining in the 4th quarter because of weather. A great start to the 2022 season for the Gamecocks as they prepare to jump up to the FBS in 2023.

August 25th:

• Harvard and New Hampshire have agreed to play a home-and-home series beginning in 2024 - the first matchup between the schools since 1939. The two-game agreement will begin with the Wildcats traveling south to Cambridge for a game set for Oct. 5, 2024. Two seasons later, the Crimson will make its first-ever appearance at Wildcat Stadium for a clash on Sept. 19, 2026. Harvard and UNH played regularly in the ‘30s, facing each other seven times from 1929-39. The Crimson won each of those games by a combined score of 282-3, including a 46-0 victory in the last meeting on Nov. 18, 1939.

• While talking about Harvard, I should probably write a little something about their head coach Tim Murphy. He has been in the position since 1994, and last year he became the fifth coach in FCS history to win 200 games at that level. Murphy reached that milestone on the strength of 16 consecutive winning seasons from 2001 thru 2016. Depending on how many more years Tim coaches - he could end up with the second-most wins in FCS history.

• Another fun note regarding Tim Murphy - he was the UMaine Black Bears head coach for two years (1987-1988) before being hired by the Cincinnati Bearcats. His record at Orono was 15-8, with one Yankee Conference championship. In 1990, Kirk Ferentz was hired by UMaine, but his three year record at the school was only 12-21. Before returning for a fourth year, Ferentz was hired away by Bill Belichick to be the offensive line coach of the Cleveland Browns, and of course he eventually landed at Iowa - where he replaced legendary coach Hayden Fry.

August 21st:

• Have to love the 2022 schedule for Arkansas! Not only do they have to play their SEC West schedule, but they also have Top 25 teams Cincinnati and BYU, two first-time opponents for the Razorbacks. Arkansas will also host a third first-ever opponent, a tough Liberty team, and their fourth non-conference opponent will be Missouri State, which is coached by former Razorback head coach, Bobby Petrino.

• Stephen F. Austin will be a team worth watching this fall. Ranked 10th in the Preseason FCS Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the Lumberjacks are looking to win their first playoff game since 2009 after losing in overtime to UIW in the first round of the playoffs last year. SFA brings back a big chunk of last season’s production (12 returning All-Conference players), and they have a successful head coach, Colby Carthel (won a Division II National Championship in 2017 with Texas A&M - Commerce) who has SFA going in a positive direction. Throw in the additional fan support, 89% increase in football ticket sales in the last three seasons, and you have a program ready to take a major step towards gaining a lot of national attention.

• Can’t wait to follow North Central (Division III) running back Ethan Greenfield during the 2022 season. Greenfield has led the nation in rushing (Division III) the last two years, and he has established North Central career records for rushing yards (4,682), rushing touchdowns (61), total touchdowns (66), points scored (396) and all-purpose yards (5,478). He was also named Most Outstanding Player of national championship game after rushing for 138 yards and three touchdowns in 41-14 victory over UW-Whitewater. Greenfield should top 6,000 career rushing yards before the year is over if he remains healthy.

August 19th:

• The Ohio Valley Conference, which is the 3rd oldest FCS conference, is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2022. Unfortunately it has been going through a bit of transition the last couple of years as Eastern Kentucky, a former charter member, and Austin Peay (member for almost 60 years) both left for the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2021. Next year, another charter member (Murray State) is leaving for the MVFC. That will make Tennessee Tech the oldest member of the OVC by 40 years since Tennessee State is the second oldest, and they joined the conference in 1988!

• Speaking of Murray State and their move to the MVFC in 2023, their first new conference opponent next year will be Indiana State on Sept. 30th. This will be the tenth meeting between the Racers and the Sycamores, with Indiana leading the all-time series 5-4. The Racers will close their conference schedule against Youngstown State, who themselves were part of the Ohio Valley Conference from 1980 thru 1987.

• And, one last thing about Murray State today - in 2023 they will be playing a familiar old foe from the Ohio Valley Conference when they play Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders were a part of the OVC from 1952 thru 1997, and their rivalry with the Racers goes back to 1925. These schools have played only twice since the Blue Raiders moved up to the FBS, but at one point they had played each other for 51 consecutive years. Middle Tennessee has won the last two meetings, and they lead the overall series 37-30-3.

August 18th:

• Four good reasons for me to attend the Fordham at Holy Cross game on October 29th: 1) The Crusaders are the preseason favorite to win their fourth straight Patriot League championship. 2) The Rams will be the biggest challenge to Holy Cross for the title, and they feature NFL prospect Tim DeMorat at quarterback, and tackling machine Ryan Greenhagen (31 tackles against Nebraska) at linebacker. 3) It is a trophy game: Ram-Crusader Cup. 4) And Fitton Stadium is the fourth oldest Division I football stadium - as it was built in 1908.

• Missouri State has made the playoffs two straight years under Bobby Petrino after having missed the playoffs for the previous thirty years, and the Bears are expected to again challenge for the MVFC championship. What I noticed today though was their future football schedule against FBS teams. This year they play Arkansas, and in future seasons the Bears will play Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, and Tulsa, as well as the Razorbacks again. Challenging games against these in-state/cross-border schools, with the opportunity to knock off one or two of these opponents.

• Added spice to the Missouri State game against Arkansas: Bobby Petrino was the head coach of the Razorbacks (34-17 record from 2008 thru 2011) until his April 2012 motorcycle accident with Jessica Dorrell (hired as student-athlete development coordinator) as a passenger. Arkansas leads the all-time series 7-2 - including a 100-0 win back in 1911.

August 16th:

• Twelve days ago the Houston Zoo euthanized Shasta the Cougar, a cherished member of the zoo family, and an icon for the University of Houston for eleven years. Shasta came to the Houston Zoo in December 2011 after a hunter illegally shot and killed his mother in Washington state. As a five-week-old cub, Shasta had little chance of survival in the wild, so a partnership was formed between the zoo and the city university so that he could be designated as the official mascot of UH. Shasta will probably be most remembered for diligently guarding the rings for each graduating class!

• Staying in Texas, the Longhorns have had a run of unfortunate news. On Friday it was announced that sophomore wide receiver Agiye Hall will be suspended indefinitely, not only for his misdemeanor arrest for destroying a parking boot, but for a body of work. Sounds like he is done for the year, and will probably hit the transfer portal again. On Saturday, Texas held their first scrimmage, and junior wide receiver Isaiah Neyor and senior offensive lineman Junior Angilau both suffered season-ending knee injuries. Then on Sunday, Longhorn legend Steve Worster died at the age of 73. He and the other members of UT’s 1967 recruiting class (dubbed “the Worster bunch”) went on to be a big part of what was arguably the program’s best three-season stretch ever, one in which the Longhorns compiled a record of 30-2-1 with three conference titles and two national championships. Worster was one of five members of that 1967 recruiting class to win All-America honors during their Longhorn career. An on Monday, the Longhorns weren’t part of the AP Preseason Top 25. Not a good four days!

• Something to think about with this preseason AP poll…in the last 50 years, only five teams (1975 Oklahoma, 1979 Alabama, 1995 Nebraska, 2004 USC, and 2012 Alabama) have successfully defended their national championships. And since 1989, preseason No. 2 teams have won twice as many national championships as preseason No. 1s (8 to 4). Is this the year of the Buckeye? Also…beware of James Franklin’s Nittany Lions and Brian Kelly’s Tigers - two proven winners with talented rosters are flying under the radar as unranked teams in the preseason…

August 15th:

• I find it interesting that there are five FBS head coaches on their 2nd stint with a school: Mack Brown (North Carolina), Greg Schiano (Rutgers), Jeff Tedford (Fresno State), Brady Hoke (San Diego State) and Don Brown (UMass). And Jeff Tedford is also one of 21 FBS head coaches that is coaching at their alma mater.

• There are also eleven FBS head coaches looking for their first win as a college football head coach: Tony Elliott (Virginia), Mike Elko (Duke), Brent Venables (Clemson), Joey McGuire (Texas Tech), Dan Lanning (Oregon), Rhett Lashlee (SMU), Stan Drayton (Temple), Ken Wilson (Nevada), Timmy Chang (Hawaii), Jon Sumrall (Troy), and Bryan Vincent (UAB). And Timmy Chang is also coaching at his alma mater.

• Two former UMaine HCs are Coordinators at FBS schools:  Joe Harasymiak – new DC at Rutgers after three years of being co-DC at Minnesota.  Nick Charlton – new Asst. Head Coach/OC at Connecticut. He was the youngest Div I Head Coach when he was hired by UMaine at the age of 30 before the 2019 season.

August 14th:

• A little bit later than I wanted to be with today’s thoughts, but I am excited to say that I have finished compiling the all-time team records for all 655 NCAA teams with the help of the NCAA records (thru the 2020 season) and ESPN standings for 2021. I have spent some of the weekend cutting through Divisions II and III. So, between this info and the 1,463 games that I have put on my radar - I think that there will be plenty of material to reference throughout the 2022 season!

• In the hope of mentioning each of the 655 NCAA teams from now until 12/31/2021 - I should perhaps adopt the slogan “Every school deserves my attention no matter how new the program or size of their enrollment”. Might seem contradictory to my love of tradition, pageantry, and rivalry games, but no matter the level of competition, the young kids that play for the love of the game deserve their time in the limelight - even if it’s my little website that mentions them on any given day…

• Dana Dimel, the current UTEP head coach, has an underwhelming career W-L record (42-72), but numbers don’t always tell the true story.  A long-time assistant (1987-1996) under Bill Snyder at Kansas State, Dimel got his first head coaching job at Wyoming, where he compiled a 22-13 record in three years as the youngest head coach in Division I-A.  Unfortunately, his success at Wyoming didn’t follow him to Houston, where he compiled a 8-26 record in three seasons – including an 0-11 record in 2001.  It took him sixteen years to find his next head coaching gig at UTEP in 2018, and after a 5-27 record from 2018-2020, the Miners finished 2021 with a 7-6 record after a seven-point loss to Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl!  2022 seems to be a crucial year for Dimel, as he looks to continue his rebuilding job as head coach of the Miners!

August 13th:

• Two weeks until Week Zero kicks off with Austin Peay (love the chant “Lets go Peay”) at Western Kentucky! And this could be the most excited I have been for a college football season in a long, long time! In the last three months, I have made only 12 entries to this blog - which I am very ashamed of, and hope it NEVER happens again. It was in early May, that I lost my focus on the game, and for a period of about ninety days I concentrated on something else that I thought was very special and dear to me. Yesterday, what I was working towards came crashing down! And I have nobody to blame but myself for this lapse in judgement - and even though it has to be the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life, nobody’s perfect, and sometimes you need to fail to learn life’s lessons. All I know is that I am back in the game and I will be better than ever as life begins again for me on this site tomorrow!

August 9th:

• Less than three weeks until Week Zero and the kickoff of the 2022 College Football season! Last night I finally updated the schedule of games for August 27th by adding a couple of CUSA games, as well as the UNLV-Idaho State game. One thing I hadn’t noticed before, CBSSN will be busy televising games for more than twelve hours - starting with Austin Peay at Western Kentucky and wrapping up with Vanderbilt at Hawaii.

• Speaking of the Vanderbilt at Hawaii game, on paper it’s not a very exciting matchup - especially since it’s their first meeting, but it’s an important game to win for both teams. The Commodores have lost 21 straight conference games, so it’s important for Clark Lea and his team to get off on the right foot with a win on the road. On the opposite sideline, Timmy Chang has returned to his alma mater, and he will be looking for his first win ever as a college football head coach.

• Another coach looking for his first win ever as a head coach is Ken Wilson, who was hired at Nevada to replace Jay Norvell after he left the Wolf Pack for Colorado State. Wilson has a good chance to get the win as Nevada plays at New Mexico State - a team they beat easily at home last year.

July 12th:

• First game of the 2022 College Football season: Austin Peay at Western Kentucky - 12:00 pm, August 27th. These teams first met in 1940, and played for 26 consecutive years from 1958 thru 1983 - mostly as Ohio Valley Conference opponents. In their most recent matchup in 2012, the Hilltoppers defeated the Governors 49-10, their fifth consecutive victory over Austin Peay, and now lead the overall series 35-6-1.

• First conference game of the 2022 College Football season: Nebraska vs. Northwestern (Dublin. Ireland) - 12:30 pm, August 27th. This will be the 16th all-time meeting between the two schools, with Nebraska holding a 9-6 advantage. Since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, eight of the 11 meetings have been decided by eight or fewer points - including four of the last five. The first game in the series was played in 1902, but the schools only met three other times before 2011.

July 11th:

• Traveled up to Castine this past weekend, and made a stop at The Chicken Barn in Ellsworth - which is a very nice consignment shop. I say that because I have come away with some good books. One I found on Thursday - Horns, Hogs & Nixon Coming, authored by Terry Frei. So much attention is made of Texas vs Oklahoma or Texas vs. Texas A&M, but this series is also filled with lots of hatred - especially the Hogs towards the Longhorns! Can’t wait for this series to resume after having been played only five times in the last 30+ years.

• The poor WAC takes another hit when Lamar announced today that they were returning to the Southland a year early. So in mid-July, the Southland, the WAC, and even the Atlantic Sun conferences will all have to rework their schedules for this fall! The Southland is the conference standing tall after having been raided by the WAC!

• Nice to see UNH and Holy Cross sign up for a home-and-home series in 2024 and 2025! The se teams first met more than 100 years ago – the Crusaders were 13-0 victors Oct. 2, 1909 – but the 2024 game at Fitton Field will be just the 18th meeting overall and the seventh in the 2000’s. New Hampshire currently leads the overall series with Holy Cross, 9-8, but the Crusaders defeated the Wildcats 13-10 In their most recent matchup in 2019.

July 6th:

• July 6th has always been and always will be a very special day in my life - so what better day to shake the cobwebs from my head and get back to business on this site!

• Coming into July, I was thinking that the biggest conference realignment topic for me to discuss was UIW deciding to spurn the WAC so that they could stay in the Southland Conference. Little did I know that USC and UCLA would be announcing that they were leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. I love the teams and I love the conference, but I must admit that I have been hurting since the big announcement. I came to accept OU and Texas joining the SEC, but much like Maryland leaving the ACC, the PAC-12 losing these schools is painful and I’m not sure I can accept it. Suddenly the existence of the PAC-12 is in serious jeopardy and the precious Rose Bowl tradition is all but gone. This hurts.

• 100 years ago the Southern Conference, currently made up of FCS teams, was created and will be considered the first (and I wish only) super conference. Basically it was a combination of current SEC and ACC teams, with Washington & Lee, VMI (1923), and Sewanee (1924) and it lasted in this form until some teams broke away and formed the SEC (1933). Twenty years later in 1953 the ACC was formed, so the Southern Conference was relegated to being a regular conference like all the others. If Super Conferences form again, will they survive as that - or will “lesser” teams be kicked out? Do Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Purdue or Rutgers stand a chance to stay in their current conferences? Time will tell.

• If my count is right, Texas has received 10 commitments (two 5-star and four 4-star) since Arch Manning announced his intention to play in Austin. This should give second-year coach Steve Sarkisian the talent and depth needed to get the Longhorns back on the map before their SEC move. And in regards to Manning’s commitment to Texas, we will have to keep an eye on the Longhorns quarterback coach A.J. Milwee. This is no small feat, and if the trend continues, one will have to put Milwee in the class of top recruiters…

June 25th:

• Finally received my second College Football preview magazine - this one from Athlon Sports. It’s convenient to order via the website and have one mailed, but you do pay a significant shipping charge and you are dependent on the USPS to deliver it in good shape. The packaging got worked over a bit, but thankfully it doesn’t impact the content of the magazine, as there is plenty of good stuff to read.

June 22nd:

• Has there been a better run in recruiting than what Ohio State has been able to do with bringing top wide receivers to Buckeye Nation? The combination of Ryan Day and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline is proving lethal for other schools. With the recent announcements of Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss coming to Columbus, that makes 12 ESPN 300 receivers joining Ohio State since 2020. What makes this even more impressive - these receivers get developed into NFL receivers…

• It’s been almost two months since the NFL Draft, but I came across an article on CFN that got me to looking into a couple of details before moving on without looking back on the draft: More than 1/3 of the FBS teams (45) didn’t have a player drafted - including these Power 5 teams: Duke, Louisville, Syracuse. TCU, Texas, West Virginia, Arizona, Colorado, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt. And Miami had only one player drafted - and that person was taken in the 7th round! Lastly, the SEC had by far the most players drafted (64), followed by the Big Ten (45).

• Looking at the winningest FBS programs, Michigan is at the top with 976 all-time wins. What surprises me about the Wolverines is that five coaches have won national championships there, but Bo Schembechler isn’t one of them. Behind Michigan, you have both Alabama and Ohio State tied with 942 wins, and my prediction is that both will surpass the Wolverines in probably ten years - and Day will still be with the Buckeyes, while Saban might be retired by then. Following behind the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide is Oklahoma (931 wins), Notre Dame (929 wins) and Texas (928 wins). Obviously, the Sooners and Fighting Irish jumped the Longhorns last year, as Texas has had a series of “down” years.

June 17th:

• Earlier this week Kyle Whittingham got a well deserved extension from Utah. Last year Whittingham led the school to its first Pac-12 title, and this year he will have the Utes competing for a CFB Playoff berth. Entering his 18th season as Utah’s head coach, Whittingham is 143-70, with two conference titles and six AP Top 25 finishes. Not bad for a BYU graduate.

• Six days ago, three CUSA schools (Charlotte, UTSA, FAU) announced that they will join the American Athletic Conference in time for next season. Two days ago, the AAC made an official announcement that six teams will join in 2023 (in addition to those already named - North Texas, RIce, and UAB). So with all this official, the Big 12, AAC and CUSA will look quite different next year. The last domino to fall (for now) will be when Texas and Oklahoma join the SEC.

• Southern Utah knows how to keep rivalries going even after changing conferences. The Thunderbirds are moving from the Big Sky to the WAC this fall, so this put their rivalries with Northern Arizona and Weber State in jeopardy. A year ago, Southern Utah and the Lumberjacks agreed to a 12-game series for the 2028 through 2039 seasons, and yesterday the Thunderbirds announced that they have scheduled a six-game series with Weber State starting in 2026. Even though there will be a four year gap before the games begin, these teams jumped right in making sure that these rivalries will continue as non-conference battles.

June 16th:

• It might not be very exciting to some, but seeing the future sites for the Army-Navy game is something I look forward to when they are announced. This morning I was thrilled to see that the game will be held at Gillette Stadium next year! My chance to attend the rivalry that has the most pageantry and tradition in all of sports…

• Not sure if I have whined about this or not, but Alabama just announced that they have added two FCS opponents to their future schedules - an neither of them are in-state. In fact, the Crimson Tide has not played an in-state FCS opponent since Samford back in 1944! They haven’t even played UAB - which would be great for the Birmingham area. I don’t like this one bit.

• Reading an article on Herosports.com about the best returning FCS quarterback, I was initially surprised to see that it was Jason Shelley of Missouri State. After seeing that he was named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, I was no longer surprised - especially after seeing that he had started some games at Utah in 2018 and 2019. No wonder the Bears are ranked as high as #5 this year in the FCS Preseason Top 25 polls!

June 11th:

• I updated Nick Saban’s win total against Top 25 teams yesterday, and I can’t help but be impressed with his record - particularly at Alabama. Last year he went 5-1 vs. Top 25 teams, with the only loss coming in the National Championship game against Georgia. In 2015, the Crimson Tide knocked off eight nationally-ranked opponents on the way to a national championship win over Clemson in 2015, and they beat beat nine ranked opponents the following season before losing a national title game rematch to Clemson. Impressive.

• Last year Navy had a 4-8 record, as 11 of their 12 opponents went to bowl games, and three (Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Houston) finished in the Top 25. They also lost four games by eight points or less - so if they had won two of those games, the Midshipmen would have gone bowling! This year, the schedule is a bit less challenging, but without being able to field graduate students or accept transfers, Navy will be hard pressed to improve their record.

• Going into 2022, 24 FCS teams (excluding the Ivy League and six teams not yet eligible) have never made the playoffs on this level. Realistically, I see three teams that might end their drought, but unfortunately two will be playing in the same conference - and the chances of two bids is next to nothing. Both Mercer and Bryant were very close last year, but key losses kept them out. The good news is that both will be contenders again, but the Bulldogs will have a new conference to win as they join the Big South. The other new playoff contender is also in the Big South - the Campbell Camels, who had a tremendous recruiting season in 2022. I am looking forward to seeing how these teams fare in 2022!

June 9th:

• My attention has been diverted elsewhere for a bit, but a series of events yesterday and this morning have got me refocused again on this great sport that will be starting up again in less than three months. A College Football Preview Magazine (Lindy’s Sports) arriving in the mail is a great motivator! Tonight I will have to order Athlon Sports Preview Magazine…

• Driving into work early this morning (4:30 am), a truck passed me and I couldn’t help but notice his Razorbacks vanity plate! It got me to thinking about Sam Pittman and his recent contract extension. I know that Arkansas had gone winless in conference play for two years before his arrival, but maybe the school should have waited to see how 2022 goes before they doubled his salary.

June 4th:

• Future scheduling is being written about on various sites - especially regarding the SEC who can’t decide which model to use. If all Power 5 conferences use an eight game conference schedule, all but the SEC could maintain longtime rivalries and still play all remaining teams in the conference every two years. I know that I want the SEC to adopt the three and six game model, but I see the one and seven being chosen.

• Dartmouth is considered one of the early favorites for the 2022 Ivy League championship after having won their Ivy League record 20th title last year - but they will be replacing 14 starters (seven on each side of the ball). To some, winning in 2022 is reasonable because the Big Green had only 4 starters return last year, but two straight years of losing so much depth, my nod goes to Harvard this year.

• West Florida looked like an early Division II championship contender this winter, but that could change dramatically because their elite quarterback Austin Reed transferred to Western Kentucky in March. In his two seasons at West Florida, he went 22-3 as the starter and led the program to two NCAA playoffs, claimed a national title and he had 7,507 yards passing and 78 passing touchdowns. Quite a blow to the Argonauts.

May 20th

• I probably don’t need to remind those of love college football, but we are now under 100 days until the season kicks off with its biggest Week Zero yet on August 27th. A total of 13 games highlighted by Nebraska vs. Northwestern in Ireland, and Jacksonville State at Stephen F. Austin. The Gamecocks will be moving up to CUSA next season, while the Lumberjacks could be a Top 10 team in 2022.

• The BEST website for televised games in college football, http://www.lsufootball.net/tvschedule.htm is starting to populate its site with games - starting of course with Week Zero and Week 1. This has been a favorite of mine for years, and it’s always exciting to see games being added to the schedule!

• I never thought that there would be a bigger or more heated game on the first Saturday of October than Texas vs. Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, but with what has transpired the last couple of days, I believe that Texas A&M visiting Tuscaloosa this year will trump what is happening in Dallas. The game of the year? Can’t wait to see and find out…

• Tallied up the teams mentioned on this website through April - and I came up with 174 as of April 30th, an increase of 97 from the month before. I also tallied up the number of games that are currently listed on my Rivalry and Traditional Games spreadsheet - and I am now up to 1,854 games with three more Division III conferences to comb through for worthy games.

May 8th:

• A day after the announcement of the home-and-home series between Syracuse and Penn State, there was a piece about the Ohio State-Boston College series being moved out to 2035 and 2036. This caught my attention because it was a series agreed to a decade ago, and was originally scheduled for 2020 and 2021, but since that time it has been pushed back three times now (2023-2024, 2026-2027 and now 2035-2036). Will it be canceled altogether in a few years?

• A couple of draft tidbits that I enjoyed reading this week: 247 had an article about the college programs with the most NFL draft picks since 2000. No surprises at the top - Alabama had the most first-rounders (39), while the Buckeyes had the most overall picks (157). And Hero Sports has been tracking UDFA and Tryout Invites of FCS players - which was fun to comb through. Nice to see that quarterbacks EJ Perry and Cole Kelley were picked up quickly, and even better to see WR Andre Miller from UMaine getting a chance to show his stuff for the Giants.

• Of course with Syracuse-Penn State playing again, it made me bring up my handy-dandy spreadsheet because I love adding dates to a older rivalry that reads “not scheduled” in the Next Game column. With fourteen rivalries starting up again in the next couple of years because of conference realignment, that will leave about 75 games that will be in the “not scheduled” status. Hopefully we will see some home-and-home series added soon from this group…

May 7th:

• I don’t want to say that I am a bigger fan of college football, but I can say that I have come to appreciate the game more as I have put time and energy into the lower divisions of the sport. And I can also say at this point that a rivalry doesn’t necessarily have to have a trophy or a 100+ year history to mean something to the players or the fans.

• As an example of the point above - Husson University in Bangor, Maine started their football program in 2003, and a frequent non-conference opponent for them has been Springfield College - one of the better football programs in the Northeast. Not surprisingly, the more established program didn’t have much of a problem with the new kid on the block - until the the last two meetings. The Eagles have beaten the Pride the last two meetings, and will look to make it three straight on the road on Sept. 24th. This will be only the 11th meeting between the teams - but it has become a solid New England matchup that deserves some attention.

• So happy to see Penn State and Syracuse agree to a home-and-home series in 2027 and 2028. Though it is still five years away, it will be so good to see these Eastern teams meet up for the first time since 2013! Penn State and Syracuse first met on the gridiron in 1922 and have played a total of 71 contests.

May 3rd:

• Finished up all the schools’ websites on Sunday! On thing I have always wondered is - how many rivalry games have been played 100+ times. I now have a total for Divisions I and II: 92 series have topped 100 games. When I get Division III tallied up - it might settle at around 130 series.

• A little NFL Draft: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly…The Good - Players from 105 different schools were selected in this year’s NFL Draft - up from the 89 schools represented in the NFL Draft.

• Another good - 20 FCS Players drafted, as well as 5 Division II players! Four FCS players were taken in the first two rounds, and three teams had two players drafted: North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Montana State.

• The Bad - the “Punt God” Matt Araiza was not the first, but the third punter to hear his name announced. Araiza was picked in the sixth round, while Jordan Strout and Jake Camarda were picked in the fourth round. Another bad for Araiza - he will go from kicking in San Diego to booting it in Buffalo. Slight climate change,,,

• The Ugly - The Longhorns didn’t have a player drafted this year for the first time since 2014. Even worse…32 players who played high school football in the state of Texas got drafted. Not good…

April 29th:

• Where does the time go? I swear, it goes faster the older I get! I was hoping to get through all the websites of Division II and III teams by the end of this month - and I have 3 conferences left after having done 40. And between all divisions, I think that I have over 1,800 games in my spreadsheet!

• The Southern California conference (Div. III) has been another conference to frustrate me with their lack of good material to use - but I won’t be denied, I will find things! For example, for the Whittier Poets I was scanning their coaching records, and I was surprised to find that not only did George Allen coach them from 1951 to 1956, but also the Poets hired Don Coryell, who posted a 21-5-1 record in the three years following Allen.

• It has certainly been worth my time going through all these websites, because I am also finding hidden gems about the schools or their rivalries, while learning about new trophy games or coaching changes. And hopefully some of these sites continue to evolve and provide more information - or else I will have a few emails to write to Sport Information Directors.

• Last night was the first round of the NFL Draft - as everyone knows. I liked that the Steelers took Kenny Pickett after passing on Dan Marino forty years ago. Also, great to see two FCS players getting picked in the first round - now I want to see Josh Williams, a cornerback from Fayetteville State (Div. II), get picked today.

April 25th:

• Time passes quickly when involved with home projects. Four straight days of work outside in the gardens. Bad news: Very little time spent on college football. Good news: Garden projects got finished with my long weekends!

• I did see that USC and Oklahoma had “dueling” spring games. Quite a rivalry going, to no one’s surprise, but no games scheduled between the two. How nice would it be if Arkansas State and Nevada played each other instead on 9/2/23, and open up the date for the Trojans and Sooners to face one another…

• 247sports had a post regarding the Top 25 College Football Helmets going into 2022, and I saw some changes that could occur - even though it would be hard to remove those teams that are listed. But, I would add Colorado, Purdue, SMU, and Nebraska - while removing Miami, Louisville, NC State and Oregon. Also, with apologies to Tapout32284, I don’t see OSU as having the best helmet. I would give that to the Longhorns. Kudos to having Wyoming on the list!

• I know that the NESCAC only plays a conference schedule, but maybe they should allow Middlebury to play Norwich at least one more time! They first met in 1893, have played 99 times (Middlebury leads the all-time series 49-43-7, and they played for a trophy - the John B. Wadsworth Trophy. For Vermont, and for New England fans - lets get this rivalry game played again!

April 21st:

• A quick number update regarding this site: Last year through June, I had 3,073 visits. This year, I have had just under 3,000 visits - so my hope is to have 3,075 visits by the end of the month so that I can be two months ahead of last year’s pace.

• I have tried to stay clear of the NFL Draft so that I can focus on the 2022 season, but I got sucked into it this morning when I met up with “The Beast”. It’s 288 pages of analysis on this year’s draft candidates. A great piece of work by Dane Brugler!

• Yesterday while working on teams from the NEWMAC, of which I learned a majority of schools were part of the former Freedom Football Conference, I literally took pencil to paper (a step up from using a napkin), and I worked on some series records that I was hoping to include in my spreadsheet. For one non-conference matchup, I dove back into Catholic’s 2012 Game Notes against McDaniel and then added each subsequent game they played to get the full series results. Crazy I know!

• Created a new folder called 2022 CFB Stories. This came about when I found an article titled “A Rivalry for Revelry” in which it talks about the Norwich-Coast Guard Academy rivalry. I enjoyed it so much, I had to store it away somewhere so that I could read it again and again. In fact, the mascot stealing part was so damn amusing, it will find a place on my site in the very near future!

April 20th:

• Five days since my last writing? Not sure where the time went - other than working my way through Division III websites. With my head down I haven’t had too much time for thoughts. Hope it changes by May 1st.

• I did read, and I’m pretty sure that it’s a go, that Howard University will be leaving the MEAC and joining the CAA in 2023. It’s good that they will reunite with Hampton and North Carolina A&T, but I certainly have mixed feelings about them leaving the MEAC.

• Worked on the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, a conference that traces back to the late 19th century - so these teams have a long history with each other. Except for Trine - who joined in 1995, and resides in Indiana. So in my digging, I believe it to be that Albion is the only team in all of NCAA Football to have won more than 90 games in a series against two different opponents. The Britons lead their series against Kalamazoo 93-37-4, and Olivet 90-25-6.

• In yesterday’s Sun Belt West preview by Bill Connelly (I enjoy his writings and analysis), it was nice to see former Maryland recruit Lance Legendre’s name mentioned as a potential replacement for former Ragin’ Cajun quarterback Levi Lewis. Unfortunately Lance was mentioned after two other backups vying for the spot.

April 15th:

• Three good things regarding Backyard Brawl Series: 1) Just recently, four more games were added to the series (2029 thru 2032), so we get eight games in eleven years after being without it for ten years. 2) It is being played on a Thursday night this year - September 1st. 3) With JT Daniels committing to WVU, that means it will be ex-USC quarterbacks dueling it out in 2021.

• Must admit I was frustrated a couple of days ago as I couldn’t find any substantial information on the Anderson - Manchester Bronze Ball Trophy game. I know, I know - it doesn’t mean much to a lot of folks. But today, with digging into a couple of other websites, I was able to learn that: 1) The Trophy game started in 2001. 2) The overall series started back in 1947. 3) Anderson leads the overall series 46-29-1, but Manchester leads the trophy series 12-9.

• I got a glimpse today of how weak the MASCAC (Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference). Framingham State was undefeated in the conference, outscoring their opponents 299-97 (avg. 25 ppg). The Rams lost their three non-conference games (2 Empire 8 schools and Muhlenberg in the playoffs) by a score of 114-7. This could be another “who cares” story.

• Lastly, so far I have a total of 1,654 games listed on my spreadsheet with a few more Division II and III games to add…

April 13th:

• A recent recruit announcement (Josh Conerly) made me realize that Lincoln Riley still has his work cut out for him at USC and that not everything is going to go the Trojans way. On the flip side, new Oregon head coach Dan Lanning proved himself by keeping Conerly away from Riley, as well as the Huskies because Josh is from Seattle.

• The Harvard-St. Thomas home-and-home series announcement starting in 2023 intrigues me. Two great schools academic-wise and two great locations - Boston and the Twin Cities. Will be curious to see how the Tommies stand up to the Crimson in Cambridge next year.

• I was worried about the coaching transition at SMU going from Sonny Dykes to Rhett Lashlee, but after seeing Lashlee reel in running back Camar Wheaton (former Alabama recruit), I feel better. This certainly softens the blow of Ulysses Bentley leaving the Mustangs to play for Ole Miss. Bring on the TCU-SMU game!

• While doing research on Cortland football, I came across this interesting tidbit of information: The 1966 game between Hobart and Cortland featured a 61-yard field goal by Red Dragon Bill Shear – the first 60-plus yard field goal in organized football at any level.

April 12th:

• After reading that sad and depressing article yesterday on ESPN, I lost my momentum for the day researching Division III websites. Until then I had been making solid progress in working through the remaining Eastern conferences.

• To get my mojo back I spent some time reading up on articles that would make me look forward to this fall. An ESPN article got me to thinking about the upcoming Notre Dame at Ohio State game is helping. Twenty-one national championships and over 1,800 wins between the two teams makes it one of the greatest matchups between two of the biggest teams in the history of the game. How is it that they have played only SIX times?

• Another article, this time from Hero Sports, got me to thinking about the upcoming CAA race this fall. With James Madison moving up to the FBS this year, could we see the conference title come down to the two blue bloods - Villanova and Delaware? How sweet would it be to see them battle for the title on November 19th?

• The official NCAA site then got my mind going on who will be the top teams in 2022 with their way-too early Power 10 piece. Defending champion Ferris State will have to hold off their conference mate Grand Valley State, while West Florida and Valdosta State will knock heads during the regular season, and with any luck, again in the playoffs. And don’t fall asleep on Northwest Missouri State!

• These fun thoughts have now gotten me ready for more research…

April 8th:

• More conference realignment but thankfully it doesn’t impact 2022! Lamar officially announced that they will be returning to the Southland Conference in 2023 after the story was broken yesterday afternoon. For what it’s worth - I think that they made the right decision.

• Must say I am happy to be getting back into Divisions II and III again. I had forgotten that Becker College (MA) had closed their doors last year, so I moved their football stats to a growing pile of discontinued programs.

• And while doing more work in the Commonwealth Coast Conference, I found out that the Curry Colonels yesterday announced the hiring of Todd Parsons as their new head coach. Funny thing - I couldn’t find any article on the web about the departure of Skip Bandini, who had been Curry’s coach since 2006. Head scratcher.

• The head coach of Curry before Skip Bandini? Former Patriot linebacker Steve Nelson. In eight years, Nelson had a 64-22 record and three playoff appearances.

April 7th:

• Just some quick quips today starting with new head coaches in Division III. Football Scoop is saying that there have been 25 head coaching changes in the division, but a count of my document has 31 changes coming up this year. Even d3football.com doesn’t have this many turnovers. Guess we know who has the most comprehensive list going…

• I have mixed feelings about Notre Dame’s announcement that they have added Tennessee State to their 2023 schedule. Good for the Tigers and there is the Ohio State connection between Eddie George and Marcus Freeman (though George is older), but the Irish playing a FCS team? That leaves just USC and UCLA as FBS teams that have never faced a FCS team. Seeing the Tigers marching band on NBC might just be worth it though!

• Somebody must have said squirrel because I got distracted between quips to start looking at 2023 Week Zero games. Hahahaha

• I am happy for Stonehill moving up to the NEC, but maybe it could have waited until next year. Now the NE-10 teams will be scrambling for an opponent after most teams have filled their schedules for the season. Not sure it’s the right thing to do to your former conference.

April 6th:

• Finished up reviewing Division II websites, which leaves me with just under 115 Division III websites to explore. Problem is that most of the teams left don’t put a ton of effort into their pages, so it will be a challenge to find things that are relevant to what I need for my spreadsheet. Oh well - it’s still fun to visit each team’s site.

April 5th (Breaking):

• Not huge news, but I visited FBSchedules.com and Northeastconference.org to see if they have mentioned it on their sites (which they haven’t) - so I can say that I am kind of breaking the news…Stonehill College posted on their website this morning that they are transitioning up to Division I this fall and they will be joining the NEC. The Skyhawks will be rejoining a conference with Long Island and Merrimack - both of which are former members of the Division II NE-10 conference.

April 5th:

• These last few weeks I have learned much, but the biggest thing I have realized is that a scheduled game isn’t just about the number of games played between the opponents or the hardware that they are playing for, but it’s the meaning of the game for the players, the fans, and the school. Two examples that quickly pop into my mind: Southwestern Oklahoma State and Ouachita Baptist (OK) didn’t play each other until 1988, but they created the Paul Sharp Cup in 2013 after Sharp died suddenly of a heart attack in 2012. Paul had played football at Ouachita Baptist and was a head coach at SW Oklahoma State. The other example is the newly created (2021) “Battle of the Birds” rivalry between Quincy University (Hawks) and William Jewell (Cardinals). Each school’s president noticed the competitiveness of the games and together decided that the winning team deserved the bragging rights of a trophy.

• Another thing I have noticed is that not only are new programs getting a start but other teams are getting a new start after having being discontinued years ago. Off the top of my head there are new re-starts like Bluefield State and Erskine, while others like St. Anselm or Midwestern State have been back for twenty or more years. Here is another case where numbers don’t necessarily matter, but being able to resurrect a program adds meaning to the games these teams play.

• Big Division II day…but what do you expect when I am trying to blow through each team’s website? This all leads me to Shorter, a relative newcomer (2005), who I noticed has had a string of not-so-good seasons. A quick run to the NCAA Statistics website and I see that the Hawks have lost 37 straight conference games. It’s not the worst streak of conference losses…that belongs to the Whittier Poets in Division III, as they have lost 42 straight.

April 4th:

• Didn’t get a ton of work done this weekend in regards to research but I did work my way through the CIAA conference (Division II), a conference that was established in 1912. I must say that the teams in this conference don’t have the best websites, but in combination with the college-football-results website (goes back to only 1940), I can make things work.

• As I finished up last night (I was being called to bed - for sleep), Winston-Salem was the last website I visited. It turns out, as I did some quick number crunching this morning, that the Rams were the 500th school website I have visited these last few weeks! 166 to go…

• Speaking of college-football-results, I did some digging in there this morning regarding the Arkansas-Pine Bluff/Prairie View A&M series. The SWAC goes back more than 100 years (founded in 1920), and I saw that Prairie View A&M is the only remaining charter member in the conference. Next oldest member: Texas Southern - who joined in 1934.

• Have to put in this plug as to the legitimacy of this website…I believe that I have the most comprehensive list of the new head coaches in Division II football going into 2022 because I have four hires that aren’t included in footballscoop.com. Here they are: Bentley, Mercyhurst, Missouri S&T, and Virginia State. Also, in my list I don’t include interim coaches that were hired as permanent head coaches for 2022.

April 1st:

• No April Fool joke - it took South Carolina 8 tries and 102 years as a football team to win their first bowl game in 1994. Part two - the Gamecocks first opponent was the Furman Paladins, and they played on Christmas Eve 1892. These teams will play in 2023 - their 50th meeting.

• Two days ago, FBSchedules posted “The 12 College Football Rivalry Trophies with the Best Backstories.” A great read for anyone interested in Rivalry Trophies or just plain old rivals. When looking at the Ohio State-Illinois and Michigan-Minnesota rivalries, I felt a bit robbed that they aren’t played every year. To be truthful….more so about The Little Brown Jug.

• Have started to look at the details of the spreadsheet that I have been putting together for the last few weeks. Since I have always been curious as to how many rivalries have met for 100+ games, I finally got an accurate count of FCS series that have hit the milestone: 27. By 2030, that number should be 40. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are six FCS games on my list that are meeting for the first time this year!

March 31st:

• Damn! I got distracted from my research yesterday because I got caught up in reading some great pieces on theathletic.com. That site always seems to get my hooked with their quality blogs and articles. My favorite for the day was Chris Vannini’s writing about Ron Simmons and his playing days at Florida State. Great stuff!

• No surprise that CUSA let Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss join the Sun Belt for the 2022 season, but am surprised that they are keeping the division format with a championship game. The conference’s new schedule also adds to new games to Week Zero: Charlotte at Florida Atlantic and North Texas at UTEP. Games being played on August 27th are now up to thirteen - and I must now update my posted schedule for that week.

• I was surprised that Bryant announced that they were leaving the NEC for the Big South - giving that conference six teams this year. It was presented as if this is a good move for the Bears, but I’m not quite so sure that a Rhode Island school fits in with the Big South. One thing that it does do is that it reunites them with a former NEC opponent - Robert Morris.

• And speaking of the Colonials, when the Big South released their schedule yesterday, it was announced that Robert Morris would be playing a non-conference game with Dayton on September 3rd. Since starting their program back in 1994, the Colonials began their series with the Flyers in 1996 and have played 22 times since then. Unfortunately for Robert Morris, Dayton leads the all-time series 19-3.

March 29th:

• A little after midnight, someone took a peak at my Division II Coaching Changes blog, which reminds me that it needs updating. Four days ago, Bentley’s Head Football Coach Bill Kavanaugh stepped down after eight years at the helm. He ends on a high note as his teams won 14 of their last 16 games and this year advanced to the Division II playoff for the first time in fifteen years.

• Yesterday I began to work on the South Atlantic Conference (Division II) and its teams. After going through the Mars Hill website, I was getting ready to write it off as a waste of time, but before closing it, I clicked on their single Game Notes tab. I initially overlooked/ignored it because it was the only one out of the whole season. Shame on me, because this link led to the entire season of them, and it was quite detailed - in fact, it is a combination Game Notes and Record Book. Worth a return visit or two.

• Back in 2013 as Old Dominion was transitioning up to FBS, Virginia Tech agreed to a long-term series. The two teams, who originally agreed to a three-game series the previous December (2017 thru 2019), added four years, and the games are to be played from 2022 thru 2025. Then, just as the series was about to commence, these schools added six more games! Here we are in 2022, and they have now met three times (Hokies lead 2-1), with another ten games to follow thru 2031. Most impressive, if VT sticks to the series, is that the Hokies will play in Norfolk six out of the thirteen games!

March 28th:

• Two divisions down, two to go. Spent the weekend in a mad scramble to finish looking at each FBS team. I believe that between the FBS and FCS there are 260 teams - with the former now having 131 with the addition of James Madison. Now I need to make a push to finish up Divisions II and III - where I am probably 40% done between the two.

• A serious contender for the ACC title in 2022, Wake Forest caught my attention twice yesterday: The Demon Deacons have played Virginia only 51 times (Cavaliers lead the series 34-17), but they played them almost three years before the Tar Heels did, and almost six years before Virginia started their feud with Virginia Tech. Secondly, I included Wake Forest’s game against Vanderbilt in my list of games to watch simply because the Commodores own a winning record against them.

• Another late addition to my spreadsheet was USF’s upcoming games against Cincinnati. These teams have met every year since 2003, as they have been in the Big East and American Athletic together for most of these years. But after this year, they might not meet again for quite some time since the Bearcats are moving to the Big 12.

March 25th:

• I couldn’t help but smirk as I came to the conclusion that my Rivalry and Traditional Games spreadsheet will forever be a WIP. Not only will I have to deal with new teams, conference realignment, and games that no longer get scheduled because of hard feelings - but my own criteria changes from day-to-day. Two examples: Deciding to add this year’s Temple/Lafayette game because I like the two programs, and they’re only separated by 60 miles. Didn’t matter that they hadn’t played since 1965. And reviewing Eastern Illinois’ Series History for a second time since the OVC schedule came out yesterday, and deciding to add their matchup with Murray State since the series was competitive (Tied 19-19). At one time the criteria was simple: The Rivalry had to have a name, a trophy, or have been played at least 75 times.

• Two days ago, South Carolina State came out with their official 2022 schedule. On it were three former conference opponents who had moved on to greener pastures: Florida A&M, North Carolina A&T, and Bethune-Cookman. Something I discovered because of my nerdy spreadsheet: The Bulldogs have played each of these teams 56 times even though the series started at different times - 1924, 1930, and 1956 and two of the series records are identical (33-23) with the third real close (31-23-2). Hard to believe!

• Was looking at Texas State’s schedule and series history. It was nice to see that the Bobcats and North Texas will resume their series with home-and-home matchups for the first time since 1994. But what would be nicer is if the Bobcats can resurrect their bigger rivalry with Sam Houston when the Bearkats move to CUSA next year. These teams have played 90 times since starting in 1915, but have met in just over a decade. While they are at it, Texas State should add a game or two with Stephen F. Austin (series started 1923 and has been played 86 times)

March 24th:

• Happy to say that I have completed one division! Late this morning, I wrapped up the FCS games of interest - which almost reached 350 with games ranging from September 1st to one happening as late as September 9th, 2028. It won’t be long before I wrap up Division I games, as I have about 20+ teams to finalize in FBS.

• As I have mentioned before, albeit briefly, schools can give varying amounts of information on their websites. And size doesn’t really matter because I have found loads of useful details, facts and figures on Division III school websites - and I have struggled finding good tidbits on Division I websites. Maybe I ask too much, but here are the things I look for in a website: Game Previews (which can be a brief write up - but have a couple of great bullets), Game Notes (which is more in depth - and very useful for media folks), Series Results (not only overall series results - but yearly outcomes), and a Media Guide and or Record Book (much more in depth than Game Notes, with history, traditions, and even specific rivalry stories). I’m not asking for too much am I?

March 23rd:

• Yesterday afternoon the CAA released their 2022 schedule, which was a bit later than usual because they had to factor in two new schools - Hampton and Monmouth. Have to admit that I got a bit giddy as I entered the game times into my spreadsheet. Things got even better as I found decent connections between the newbies and their existing members.

• While digging around St. Thomas’ website I found a couple of interesting tidbits: The Tommies were the first NCAA Division III football team to move directly to Division I since Buffalo and Dayton did it in 1993. Secondly, their average road trip in 2019 was 46 miles, while in 2021 their average road trip jumped to 911 miles!

• Discovered a new trophy game in Division II yesterday - the Paul Sharp Cup that was introduced in 2013. Paul Sharp was a head coach at Southwestern Oklahoma State, where he led his team to a NAIA National Championship, and played football at Ouachita Baptist (in Oklahoma). Sharp died of a sudden heart attack in 2012 - so both schools paid tribute to his memory by creating a trophy that’s awarded to the winning team.

March 22nd:

• Time flies when you are having fun…I have been trying to wrap up all FBS and FCS games that are interesting matchups - at least in the preseason. Depending on how the season plays out and conference races commence, there are games that will be added - as well as perhaps a couple dropping off the interest. All I know is in another few days, I will be getting into the discussion of games rather than just researching.

• One team that I have had trouble with in my research is Robert Morris out of the Big South - a conference they had joined in 2020. The problem is that the Colonials are a relatively new team (established in 1994), with no connections to their new conference mates - at least not yet. Now, if they were still in the Northeast Conference they would have local rivals Duquesne and Saint Francis, as well as perhaps non-conference rival Dayton. The Colonials are now slouches, their overall record is 116-102-1, and they won or shared the first five NEC titles.

• One rivalry that deserves some attention now and during the season: Tuskegee and Morehouse. After having been played in Columbus, GA for 85 straight years, the game got moved to “The Football Capital of the South” last year - Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The oldest HBCU rivalry (1902 and 109 games played) will be at “The Old Gray Lady” thru 2023 - at least.

March 18th:

• Spent the last couple of days getting through another two conferences of Division III teams. Takes a lot of time digging out the good stuff! Even without getting through all the teams, I have more than enough games to talk about, so I will have to think about moving on those sooner than later.

• Thought with March Madness here, I would have fewer hits on the site for the next couple of weeks, but I was wrong based on what happened yesterday and today! This time of year, I consider 20 visits a day to be quite good - between yesterday and today I have had over 400 visits. The blog that is driving all this traffic is the Female Mascots in FBS Football.

• Today I did something that I thought I would never do - I hand counted the series between Beloit and Eureka! Had to do it because both teams have little to offer on their sites, and I knew that there was a good history between them. What I found: Series started in 1899, there have been 103 games played in the series, and Beloit leads the series currently 56-45-2.

March 16th:

• It has been almost two weeks since I laid out my renewed hope and different challenges desire (1000 different games discussed and all NCAA football teams mentioned at least once). Had to do a quick number tally to see how things have gone: Games gathered on my spreadsheet: 1,368 games listed and counting. 720 scheduled and another 345 that need scheduled dates. I have also identified another 100 games that are scheduled for 2023 and out, while just over 200 games that used to be “traditional” or “rivalry” are currently not scheduled. So I won’t have a lack of games to talk about.

• And in two weeks time I have talked about or mentioned 77 teams across all NCAA divisions. I have just been scratching the surface here, and expect it to pick up significantly once I have done all my research.

• TCU at SMU on September 24th - Is it worth watching: Former Southwest Conference opponents. What? Iron Skillet Trophy. What? 100 games played in series. What? Scuffle at the end of last year’s game. What? And Sonny Dykes returning to Dallas after leaving the Mustangs for the Horned Frogs. Give me a Hell Yeah!

March 15th:

• Received an email this morning telling me that I had a new comment on my Female Mascots in FBS Football blog - the second one in the last couple of months. I am thrilled that folks have reached out letting me know that a couple of mascots were not on my list. While making the additions, I realized that I had accidentally left off the biggest and badest - Ralphie the Buffalo. This blog, created because I am a big fan of mascots, has become my biggest hit thus far in 2022!

• A couple of interesting Patriot League-Ivy League matchups have been announced the last couple of days. Penn will visit Georgetown on October 8th, a series that dates back to 1894, but has been played on six teams (Quakers lead 5-0-1), while Bucknell will visit Yale a week later on October 15th. Like the previous game mentioned, this series goes back quite a while, (1902) but has been played only four times - with the Bison winning the last game in 1997.

• Before Miami (Ohio) plays Cincinnati for the 126th time, the RedHawks will visit Lexington on Sept 3rd to take on Kentucky. This series (Wildcats lead 8-4-1) started in 1894, but this will be only their sixth meeting in the last 100 years. After the BearCats, Kentucky is Miami (Ohio)’s second oldest FBS opponent.

March 14th:

• Thought I was making good progress on Division III teams this weekend, then I realized that I am working on my tenth conference - and there are 24 in the division. Good thing I am researching now rather than July.

• Interesting to see the Lindenwood Lions moving up to the Ohio Valley Conference from Division II. The Lions joined the NCAA just a decade ago, and have had mixed results since there move from NAIA - one winning season in seven while a part of the tough Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association before cranking out two successful years in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Time will tell how the Lindenwood will do in Division I, but my initial thoughts are that they will struggle.

• The Hampton Pirates will have new series to cultivate in their new conference, the CAA, but their non-conference schedule will include old rivals. Their season starts when the host Howard in the “Battle of the Real HU”, then they welcome Tuskegee the following weekend -who they first played in 1907. And the Pirates last non-conference game will be “Battle of the Bay” against neighboring Norfolk State. Very nice non-conference schedule!

March 12th:

• Worked on my Football Records spreadsheet for a little while yesterday. I have now finished the W-L-T records for every FBS and FCS team, and I moved teams around to account for the latest conference realignment. Can’t wait to use this source of information in the upcoming months.

• Speaking of conference realignment, as I moved Southern Miss out of CUSA and into the Sun Belt I realized that the last remaining charter member of CUSA has now moved on. Going back twenty-five years ago, here are the original members of CUSA: Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Miss, and Tulane. A year later, East Carolina joined. Pretty good list of teams!

• Working through Kent State’s non-conference schedule for 2022, they have some nice road trips and fun venues to visit: Washington, Oklahoma, and Georgia. The Golden Flashes also have quite a list of teams to play in 2024: Pitt, Penn State and Tennessee. Have to be one of the toughest non-conference schedules out there.

March 11th:

• Made a couple of changes/updates to coaching changes for FCS, Division II and Division III. Since my list is longer than a couple of sources I use because I stumble across coach hirings on college websites - maybe I have the most comprehensive list of all.

• Just a little while ago Chris Vannini ranked the current Group of 5 head coaches on The Athletic. There are some good coaches in that group! When I looked at the names of those who didn’t rank in his Top 15, I was surprised at the quality. And seeing UAB head coach Bill Clark listed near the top was nice to see - especially when Chris pointed out that last season’s 9-4 record felt like a “step down”. Is this the same UAB that closed the door on the program just a short time ago?

• It was just announced that Virginia has added James Madison to there 2023 schedule. This will be their fourth meeting, and since the Dukes are moving up to the FBS, this could become an intriguing in-state rivalry. The Cavaliers other non-conference matchups in 2023 are Maryland and William & Mary, two old rivals, so Virginia gets a big thumbs up for their scheduling!

March 10th

• The past few weeks have been dedicated to doing research and then more research for this site and the upcoming college football season, but today I made an exception. I couldn’t help but read Bruce Feldman’s article on George DeLeone. A beautiful article on a beautiful human being. Thank you for a great read Bruce!

• Along a similar path, yesterday’s research was done on CCIW teams. Spent time on each school’s website determining what would be of use - and I came upon my neighbor’s name in the coaching records of Elmhurst University. In the short time that I have known him, I have enjoyed each and every one of my conversations with Paul Krohn. In fact, I believe that he would do anything for anybody - he is that type of human being. His wife Bev is the same. Deb and I are lucky to have them as neighbors.

• Wrapping up my gibberish before research…I learned a lesson (again!) about the first bullet from yesterday. Double check a source’s information before assuming it is correct because I bought into the Morehead State - Mercer game being the tenth game of Week Zero this fall. Even though I have the games posted, I went with the school’s website because ‘it sounded right.” Wrong! Week Zero is now eleven games strong.

March 9th:

• Woke up this morning to see that we have a new game that was added to Week Zero this fall: Morehead State at Mercer. Not exciting, and not historical (first meeting), but both teams won seven games last year and were on the verge of the playoffs, so it should be worth viewing. I believe that it brings the total number of games on August 27th up to ten.

• Southern Miss moving to the Sun Belt re-opens the Golden Eagles cross border rivalry with Louisiana. The teams first met in 1923 and played consistently thru the 1960s, with a resurgence in the 80s and 90s. USM currently leads the overall series 40-11-1, but the Ragin Cajuns will be looking to make a dent in that record in the upcoming years.

• In 2006 Northern Colorado moved up to Division I and joined the Big Sky Conference. Since joining the conference, the Bears have struggled - only two winning seasons (6-5 records) in fifteen years. Sad to think that around 25 years ago Northern Colorado won back-to-back Division II National Championships in 1996 and 97. Maybe Ed McCaffrey can get Northern Colorado back to their winning ways…

March 8th:

• Yesterday North Carolina Central announced their 2022 schedule. The first game that caught my attention was their game on September 10th matchup as they host old Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) foe Winston-Salem State. This will be the 46th meeting between the Eagles and the Rams since 1945 with NCCU holding a 23-22 series advantage after last season's 20-13 triumph.

• And I can’t walk away from the Eagles quite yet because their first game of the year will be played in Charlotte against North Carolina A&T. A rivalry that was at risk because of A&T leaving the MEAC, will instead be played for the 93rd time this fall. Even better, this historic rivalry has been signed through 2030 which means the 100th meeting will take place in 2029!

• With Southern Utah leaving the Big Sky for the WAC this year, the Grand Canyon Rivalry between the Thunderbirds and Northern Arizona was in jeopardy. Even though the named rivalry and trophy have been around for just over a decade, losing these games are tough - and it’s something that happens to often. The good news though - the series will be on hiatus for the next six years, these schools have scheduled a 12-game, home-and-home football series for the 2028 through 2039 seasons. Another series that will survive despite conference realignment!

March 7th:

• Division III powerhouse Mary Hardin-Baylor has won 48-straight conference games, which is the longest current streak in all of NCAA football, but Mount Union is right behind them with 40-straight wins. What’s more impressive about the Purple Raiders, they have lost only three conference games in the last thirty years. Ohio Athletic Conference members that have beaten Mount Union in that timeframe: Baldwin-Wallace, Ohio Northern, and John Carroll.

• Colorado Mines, who made it to the semifinal round of the playoffs last year in Division II, will have a challenging non-conference schedule in 2022. The Orediggers will open with Grand Valley State on Thursday, September 1st - in what will likely be a matchup of top-10 teams. The following week, Angelo State will visit, a rematch of their playoff game from last year.

• Discovered a trophy game this morning. New Mexico Highlands and Western New Mexico, former Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents, play for the Warrior’s Helmet Trophy. To learn more about this rivalry I will have to email the Sports Information Directors from each school because the team websites are not very helpful.

March 6th:

• It’s not being played until 9/9/23, but the Louisiana Tech vs. Northwestern State will be a great FBS/FCS matchup to follow. These two rivals met every year from 1926 thru 1987 (minus 1943), but have only played only three times in the last 35 years. Though the Bulldogs have dominated the series the last few games, winning 17 of the last 21 matchups, it will be nice to see this brief renewal of an old series that started in 1907.

• I talked a bit about Cincinnati yesterday, but I have a bit more to say about the Bearcats. They are playing Indiana this year, and are signed up to play Pitt and Ohio in the near future, but there are three non-conference opponents that I would love to see them play: Ohio State, Louisville, and Kentucky. Great opportunities for future scheduling!

• Dropping to Division III, Thiel (PA) is on my Rivalry and Traditional Game list six times because of playing opponents for over 100 years (three of them since the late 1800s). Unfortunately, their track record has been rough recently as they have lost 37 straight games heading into 2022. The Tomcats are two seasons away from matching the Division III record of consecutive losses held by Earlham. The Quakers lost 55 straight from 2013 to 2018 before discontinuing their football program.

March 5th:

• I read this morning that in preparation for their move to the Big 12, BYU continues to remove games from their future schedules as they canceled a home-and-home series with Rice in 2023 and 2025. This leaves the Cougars with having to remove another couple of games for these years. Meanwhile, the Owls scheduled a home-and-home series with UConn - which could be the Pillow Fight of the Year.

• While talking about the Big 12, I was going over Cincinnati’s key opponents for the upcoming years, and noticed that I had included Memphis in prior years. With the Bearcats move to the Big 12 and the teams not meeting this year, I removed the Tigers from the list and added Houston - not only an older rival (by about 10 years), but also a team joining them in the Big 12.

• Dipping down into Division III to wrap up today, I found a “new” old trophy game. Last year crosstown rivals Otterbein and Capital, who first met on the field in 1894, revived their “Battle for the Oars” trophy which originated in 1932. I am hoping to add the background of this trophy to my Trophy Stories tab soon. By the way, Otterbein won the oars by beating Capital 38-33, to take the overall series lead 46-45-3.

• By the way, Capital recently changed their nickname from the Crusaders to the Comets. Hopefully another story, because there have been some recent changes by teams…

March 4th:

• Renewed hope and different challenges…2022. The last couple of years I have focused on growing the visitors to this site, and that goal was successfully met. This year I hope to match last year’s visitor count, while getting back to my roots of digging for info on college websites - not ESPN or CBSports or the Athletic.

• By my calculations, there are about 300 days left in the calendar year. I think that this amount of time leaves me the opportunity to do two things: Talk about 1,000 different games - scheduled or unscheduled and mention each NCAA football team at least once. And just having a team on a schedule doesn’t count.

• Regarding the previous bullet I have had things come and go in my head about what to write as I have done my research, but that will stop today. So here we go…finding interesting and exciting opponents to tie to a newer team like Florida Atlantic is not easy, unless I go the easy route and talk about their rivalry with Florida International - who they have met on the gridiron for the last twenty years in the Shula Bowl. But, I found out today that South Florida was the Owls first FBS opponent on August 28th, 2002. They have met only four times - the last meeting was in 2013, but they will now be reunited in the American Athletic Conference. And how about North Texas? They have met the Owls 13 times, and that’s not a lot, but they have already played in the same conference twice (Sun Belt and CUSA), and next year it will be a third conference that they have shared membership because the Mean Green is also moving on to the American Athletic. Four teams down. lol

March 3rd:

• I didn’t realize how many days I have spent researching and not adding an entry to this page. Yesterday, I was saying to someone that it was a day of renewed hope and different challenges. As soon as I said it, I couldn’t help but think about this site. Trying to comb through more than 500 websites (not counting FBS teams) is daunting - yet fulfilling. A new sense of purpose as well as wanting to get back to the basics of why I started this. So I will continue with my thorough research that will certainly take me through April - and then I can start to see the fruits of my labor here. Until then - hang with me and know that I am still thinking or talking about this game every day of the year.

• One thing I can mention, in my digging I have found fourteen teams in seven games that will play their 100th game against a rival/opponent - and two pertain to Maine schools: Oregon vs. Washington State, Maine vs. Rhode Island, Bucknell vs. Lehigh, Columbia vs. Yale, Emporia State vs. Pittsburg St., Johns Hopkins vs. McDaniel, and last, but not least Amherst vs. Bowdoin.

February 18th:

• Full research day yesterday, so a quick bit of writing today before digging back into things. As I comb through football websites, it still amazes me and at the same time frustrates me when some have everything I am looking for - while others give me nothing to use. That’s why I am going through this exercise so that I can concentrate on the colleges that have solid websites, and maybe include games that don’t fit my normal criteria: Trophy or Named Rivalry Game, 75 games played in series or Series that are more than 100-years-old.

• I saw that the American Athletic Conference released their conference schedule yesterday - leaving the MAC and Sun Belt as the only FBS Conferences to hold off announcing their conference games. The Sun Belt is understandable because of their current feud with CUSA. Would be amusing if the Sun Belt released their conference schedule that included “current” CUSA members that want to move on…

• Not sure I have talked about this, but how nice it would be if the Rhode Island FCS schools (Brown, Rhode Island, and Bryant) got together and created a three-way trophy series. Maybe call it the Ocean State Cup. Looking at FBSchedules - they have scheduled each other at least through the 2027 season.

• And speaking of multi-team trophies, what is in store for the four-way Sergeant York Trophy now that Austin Peay has left the Ohio Valley Conference for the Atlantic Sun - and they haven’t got UT Martin, Tenn. State or Tenn. Tech on their future schedules?

February 16th:

• Yesterday was spent researching, and today starts off with the urge to write a thing or two. The other day, a reader brought it to my attention that I had forgotten a certain Female Mascot - Josie the Bruin. I really loved that it was brought to my attention, and I will have to updated my Female Mascot piece. I also add at least three head coaches to my Coaching Changes (1 FCS and 2 Division III). Could be another or two that I will stumble upon.

• Speaking of coaches - will be curious to see the fallout of Jim Harbough flirting with the NFL this offseason as well as what Auburn has done with Bryan Harsin. I know of some SEC coaches that will take advantage of him on the recruiting trail - if it hasn’t been done already. On the flip side, Luke Fickell will now receive $5M per year as coach of the Bearcats - making him the highest paid Group of Five coach.

• Looks like CUSA is putting up a fight to keep Old Dominion, Southern Miss, and Marshall around for another year, as they posted the conference’s schedule for this fall with these teams included. Seems to me, that if they want to leave, why keep them around - cut them loose and collect the buyout money, and don’t look back. Consolidate your teams by eliminating divisions, and create a new schedule.

• Already loving Bill Connelly’s previews - starting with the MWC West! Looks like Fresno State’s to lose - so welcome back Jeff Tedford to a loaded roster!

February 14th:

• After spending some quality time on the websites of each team from the NESCAC and Centennial conferences, it surprises me how they differ in quality. Some sites are so well done, I can get almost any information I want and need, while others aren’t worth the effort to even visit. With the notes I’m now gathering, I’ll know where to go in a hurry for some fun nuggets of information.

• The Centennial Conference in football will go through some changes for the 2023 season. They will lose their three associate members (Moravian, Juniata, and Susquehanna) because these teams main conference (Landmark) will now sponsor football because they will have six members that play the game. The other teams: Catholic (NEWMAC), Lycoming, and Wilkes - both current members of the Middle Atlantic. With another conference stealing an automatic bid to the playoff, that will leave only four at-large bids.

• 247 Sports published a piece on the toughest FBS schedules for this fall. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of teams from the SEC West and the Big Ten East. Looking a bit closer at Ohio State’s upcoming slate - if they make it through their schedule, they will certainly be worthy of a playoff spot.

February 12th:

• Updated the Rivalry and Traditional Games spreadsheet with the latest information I found on the Centennial Conference website. Fantastic site since it provides the full series results for all the conference games - and as a bonus I found the 2022 weekly schedule for the conference. Best find: discovering that Johns Hopkins and McDaniel will be playing for the 100th time on 11/12/22.

• It looks like Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss will be joining the Sun Belt Conference on July 1st of this year - joining James Madison from the FCS. Since that leaves CUSA with eleven teams at the moment, I would think that they will be scrapping their division format.

• Two days ago, I mentioned that Jackson State was backing out of the Southern Heritage Classic with Tennessee State in Memphis. I can understand where they are coming from in regards to money playing a big part in their decision, but I hate it when it impacts tradition. Well, today I was reading on fbschedules.com that Jackson State is back on for the Heritage Classic. Neither teams’ websites confirm this news, so I won’t hold my breath until both teams release their schedules.

• Have meant to comment on the Big Ten moving some of their conference games to weeknights. I think that it’s a great idea because on Saturday, the games would be overlooked by bigger games - but now moving to Thursday or Friday will give the conference more market share. Although, have Penn State at Purdue goes up against West Virginia at Pitt might not be the best idea.

February 11th:

• Spent some quality time on my Rivalry and Traditional Games spreadsheet - which was my original piece that got me going with this website. Last year, I got away from it because of time restrictions, but I have now realized again that it will be a time saver in the long run this fall. More games are being added to it as I factor in the age of a rivalry, especially if it exceeds the century mark.

• The NESCAC got some overdo loving yesterday. Each team’s website was explored in depth to determine which school does the best in providing information for the casual observer. To be perfectly truthful, I was disappointed in probably half the schools - especially Maine-based institutions.

• Hero Sports put out some good pieces on FCS football last week. One article broke down the average home attendance for each FCS team this past fall. No surprise that Jackson State topped the list, outdistancing the next team, Montana, by almost 18 thousand fans per game (42.3k vs, 24.6k). The other end of the spectrum…LIU (Long Island University) average less than 1,000 fans per game.

February 10th:

• Sad to see the Southern Heritage Classic game between Jackson State and Tennessee State get canceled by JSU - especially with the history shared between the two schools. I’m sure Memphis will fill the void for the city, but it won’t be the same. Coach Sanders claims it’s about business in the SWAC and he might be right…JSU will earn about $3 million playing in Birmingham the next two years in the SWAC Classic as opposed to making $6.3 million in 28 years of participating in the Southern Heritage Classic for 28 years.

• While talking Jackson State - I was surprised to see that even though the Tigers signed the top recruit in 2022 (Travis Hunter), Campbell (Fighting Camels!) had the highest ranked recruiting class for FCS schools - and 88th overall. Jackson State was second (116th overall) for FCS schools, followed by Sam Houston (118th), Central Arkansas (121st), and Grambling State (123rd.)

• Two other surprising finds for the 2022 Recruiting cycle…Texas A&M signed seven 5-Star recruits, which was as many as Alabama, Ohio State and Texas combined! And I thought that USC had a bad recruiting year (65th) with only 8 recruits - but Washington had an even worse year. The Huskies had the 94th ranked class with only 9 recruits - in context, that’s six spots below the Fighting Camels.

• Perhaps another advantage for Texas if they do bring in David Cutcliffe - it might help in the recruitment of Arch Manning. Cutcliffe is known for quarterback development, and he was Peyton’s offensive coordinator at Tennessee and Eli’s head coach at Ole Miss.

• Last year Penn State added depth to their offensive line by bringing in Eric Wilson from Harvard. Wilson played in all thirteen games - and started twelve of them. The Nittany Lions are again headed to the Ivy League for help on their offensive line. It has been reported that Hunter Nourzad, out of Cornell, is headed to Happy Valley. Nourzad was second-team All-American this past year, and had more than a dozen Power 5 offers to decide from…

February 9th:

• Yesterday I spent a chunk of time looking at and adding to my Rivalry and Traditional Game spreadsheet. I have decided that no matter the number of games played between two teams (my cut off for the most part was 75 games), any series that started on or before 1922 deserves to be included being that the teams had met 100 years ago or more.

• Late last summer VMI and Richmond announced that they had agreed to a three-game series beginning in 2025. These schools first met in 1893 and have played ninety times - so it’s a great rivalry getting renewed. Now, VMI and William & Mary announced that they will start a four-game series in 2024. Though they didn’t start their series until 1905, these teams have met on the gridiron 88 times. I love seeing these games getting scheduled again!

• Though a lot of the top players from the transfer portal have announced where they are going to be playing next fall, there are still some quality players still looking for new teams. Two of the more interesting players are DEs Grayson and Gabriel Murphy - who are leaving North Texas. These twins are described as disruptive (on the field) and together combined for 15.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. They will pick their next school together, so some team will be thrilled to nab these brothers.

• Lastly, if I read this correctly, Joe Burrow could become the first player in history to win the Heisman, win a National Championship and win a Super Bowl. Pretty impressive stuff for an after thought quarterback out of Ohio…

February 8th:

• Very surprised at how much time has passed since updating this particular page. Where does the time go? I guess my attention has been on reading up on any college football news I can find and updating my rivalry document - primarily Division II games. I do love having college football at my finger tips every day!

• FBS Head Coaching jobs have all been filled, but coaches are still making the news. Jim Harbaugh is staying at Michigan, but he lost both of his coordinators. Mario Cristobal has hired himself two very good coordinators. Kind of scares me to think that he might bring back the U. Auburn’s program seems to be in disarray as more talent is departing than coming in, and Texas might have themselves two special assistants (Gary Patterson and perhaps David Cutcliffe) who would have more than 40 years of head coaching experience.

• The ACC has put out its 2022 conference schedule - the last of the Power 5 conferences. I think it’s great to have the Backyard Brawl on Thursday, Sept. 1st, as well as the Florida/FSU game on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

• NFL Draft Preview…I know someone would love to see former Seminole Jermaine Johnson II drafted by the Eagles…

January 26th:

• I really enjoyed touching four divisions of college football yesterday. I even found a new coaching vacancy (Fort Valley State) while doing some research on a rivalry game in Division II. Hope I can hit all four again today…

• Six days ago I mentioned former Buckeye quarterback Jagger LaRoe, a preferred walk-on who wanted to continue his career elsewhere. I heard yesterday that he found a new team: Texas A&M - Commerce. The Lions are joining the Southland Conference (FCS) in 2022 from Division II, and six days ago their site announced their first Division I schedule.

• The CAA has announced that they are adding Hampton and Monmouth this upcoming July. This will give the conference 13 teams - which is now the biggest football conference in the FCS after the Big Sky lost Southern Utah, dropping them to twelve teams. This new alignment isn’t good for the Big South conference, which is now down to five teams after having already lost Kennesaw State and North Alabama to the Atlantic Sun.

• Looking out west a bit - I’m sad to see that the BYU-Boise State series is ending for a bit after 2022 after having played the last ten years. This has come about because the Cougars need to pare down their schedule after agreeing to join the Big 12. Hopefully some future home-and-home series will pop up - but not at the expense of Utah or Utah State games!

January 25th:

• A new goal of mine going forward is that when I work on my site or when I gather information to use, I want to be able to touch all four divisions each time. Something I felt this past year was that my work with the lower divisions suffered a bit - and that may have been because they didn’t play for the most part in 2020. Hopefully I can turn that around next fall.

• I see that Ithaca (Division III) will have a new coach this fall. Dan Swanstrom, who went 32-11 (.744 winning pct.) in four years of competition with the Bombers, is returning to Penn to become their offensive coordinator. Nice move for Swanstrom, and hopefully Ithaca can keep their momentum going with their new head coach, who is tbd.

• 247sports has provided a piece on the teams that have put together the best transfer portal classes for this upcoming fall. LSU stands at the top, as Brian Kelly wants to get his Tigers back on top of the SEC West. Meanwhile, Lincoln Riley has done a great job on the West Coast - especially getting talent from other Pac-12 teams, and he has the Trojans positioned to take the top spot if Caleb Williams decides to follow his former coach.

• Looking at the draft prospects of players on the FCS level seems pretty discouraging. Back in the 1990s, there would be an average of 25 players selected in the NFL Draft, but the last two years have had only six players taken each year. And it looks like the same again this year. The transfer portal has something to do with this as players move up to get more exposure, but the downward trend has been happening since 2001.

January 24th:

• With so much to update, I was thinking in order to keep things moving forward, I will have to refresh documents in chunks so that I don’t get bogged down with one piece of the pie. I’m feeling pretty good with what I have been gathering, and if I just keep refreshing my information, things should go well in 2022. This morning I was updating my trophy/rivalry spreadsheet just to keep it going because there are so many games in all divisions to follow over the course of the season.

• One day after June Jones said “no thank you” to the stipulations put forward by Hawaii, the school turned around and hired favorite son Timmy Chang on Saturday. Seems a bit fishy to me…almost like they really didn’t want Jones to begin with.

• 247sports already has the projected 2022 win (and loss) totals for each SEC and Big Ten team. They believe that the Big Ten East will have three 10-win teams and a 9-win team. While over in the SEC, it looks like both Alabama and Georgia will make it through their regular seasons undefeated. Most interesting record: Nebraska going 8-4.

• 247sports also has put together a list of ten teams they feel will compete for a national championship in 2023. I never thought I would see Wake Forest mentioned as a possible national championship contender!

January 22nd:

• Hopefully by end of day, I will have details added to each of the Week Zero games - but no promises. I have also been gathering various tidbits of info that I hope turn into a story or two. If I only had 36 hour days…

• I find it interesting that Bryan Harsin has already dumped both his 2021 coordinators, Might not turn out too bad though for Derek Mason, who appears headed to Oklahoma State. If so, a good pickup for Mike Gundy. Harsin is already having his feet put to the fire after a 6-7 season, so if these new hires don’t work out he might find himself unemployed at Auburn.

• It’s been reported that Caleb Williams is down to two schools: USC and LSU. He has certainly taken his time with this decision. No doubt Trojan fans are on the edge of their seats. If Williams chooses the Tigers, will Jaxson Dart return to the Trojans or will Riley have to flip a transfer that has committed to another program?

• June Jones, after talking about wanting to be the head coach of Hawaii again, has declined the school’s offer as of Friday night. No surprise when reading the details of the offer - two year contract and assistant coaches picked by the AD. Good Luck to Hawaii in finding a coach with those stipulations.

January 21st:

• Spent a bit of time updating coaching changes in FCS, Division II and Division III. Really wasn’t much to add - maybe a fire or hire at each level. While talking about coaching changes, June Jones might be the next Hawaii coach - a hire that would be good for the program. If indeed he is hired, Jones would be a part of the Rainbow Warrior’s program in five of the last six decades.

• I enjoyed a good read about Sonny Dykes on The Athletic - though I am sad that he left SMU. Dykes will have TCU near the top of the Big 12 as long as he is there.

• What a difference a year makes for some. Before the season began Spencer Rattler was a top Heisman Candidate who was expected to lead the Sooners to the playoff. After struggling a bit, especially against Texas, he found himself on the bench and on a new team before 2022. I think that Shane Beamer will be a happy coach next year.

• When UCF beat Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl (what bowl?), the Knights were the first in-state school other than Miami or Florida State to beat the Gators since Stetson in 1938! To add salt to the wound for the SEC, three of their teams (Florida, Auburn and Missouri) were beat by Non-Power 5 teams!

January 20th:

• Today has been a fun day of bouncing around my favorite sites catching up on the latest news in college football. It has been a successful distraction for me as I try to figure out what to update next on cfbeveryday. I could stick with schedules and gather information on games being played in September, or I could provide more info on coaching changes throughout the different divisions. Or….maybe add some meat to my rivalry tab - which I must admit is pretty weak. Better yet….I need to come up with my next piece that will bring the site more traffic…

• I really like the home-and-home series that Tennessee and Washington scheduled for 2029 and 2030! Two high-caliber programs with great fans that have stadiums on the water for boatgating. Funny thing is they have never met on the gridiron before - I was very surprised to see that…

• While Cornell OL Hunter Nourzad considers his dozen Power 5 offers, Harvard graduate Chris Smith has announced his commitment to PJ Fleck. The Gophers are adding depth to their trenches on both sides of the ball via the transfer portal, and in Smith they are getting a First-Team All-Ivy League defensive tackle.

• A very interesting read about Ohio State quarterback Jagger LaRoe on The Athletic website. A walk-on quarterback that has earned his degree from OSU, now wants to use his remaining eligibility (two years) elsewhere. His criteria for a program: a place that wants him and a program that wants to win immediately. I hope that he and the program he chooses find success next year!

January 19th:

• I have now posted the first four weeks of the 2022 FCS schedule. Games will still be added I’m sure because some teams will have to fill out their schedule and not all conferences have posted league games. I have stopped at four weeks (through September) until the remaining conferences post their schedules - which I believe will be complete within the next couple of months.

• Yesterday Brenden Rice confirmed that he will be leaving Colorado to play for USC next fall. The son of Jerry Rice, Brenden will certainly contribute as an all-purpose player. Just this past Sunday, former Alabama quarterback Paul Tyson transferred to Arizona State. Tyson is the great-grandson of Bear Bryant. A couple of very famous football names.

• A couple of things that Oklahoma State’s comeback win over Notre Dame meant to the Irish: Notre Dame has now lost ten consecutive major bowl games - their last major bowl win was the 1994 Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M. And, the Irish had been 79-0 since 2004 when leading by at least 21 points. Hope it’s not too late to talk bowl games…

January 18th:

• Spent time last night updating the first four weeks of next year’s FBS schedules. Then it hit me that I should post the FCS schedules as well, so I’ll get to working on that sooner than later.

• Yesterday was the last day that underclassmen could declare for the NFL Draft this year. By my count, 134 want to play on a professional level next year - slightly up from last year. Alabama and Virginia Tech were hit the hardest with seven leaving early.

• Nebraska got some quarterback depth with Chubba Purdy leaving Florida State for a new start with the Cornhuskers. Between the additions of Purdy, Casey Thompson, and OC Mark Whipple - and last year’s hard luck hopefully behind them, there shouldn’t be any reason for them not to win seven or eight games in 2022.

January 17th:

• FBSchedules.com has now posted their weekly 2022 schedule for games in the FBS and FCS that have been assigned a date. In the FBS, Group of Five conferences have yet to come out with the date of their conference games - so you won’t see those yet, as well as a majority of FCS conferences. The Ivy League has posted their schedule - so that will keep me happy for a while!

• I was noticing two FCS matchups taking place in Week Zero this August - Alabama State vs. Howard and Jacksonville State vs. Stephen F. Austin. That brings August 27th up to ten games in 2022. I’m not sure - but this could be the most games played thus far in Week Zero.

• Nice to see McKenzie Milton end his collegiate career where it all began - playing in the Hula Bowl at UCF’s Bounce House. Milton decorated his helmet with both UCF’s logo and the Seminole’s spear - and he paid tribute to his former teammate Otis Anderson, Jr…

• Was concerned when I read that VMI wide receiver Jakob Herres was transferring to Richmond - reuniting him with his former OC at VMI, Billy Cosh. But when I read the story, Herres had graduated from VMI, and the academy doesn’t have a graduate program, so if Jakob wanted to use up his football eligibility he would have to leave the Keydet team.

• The other detail I picked up on when reading about Herres - his former quarterback Reece Udinski was also transferring to the Spiders after spending a year at Maryland. I can’t find fault in him trying to find playing time…

January 15th:

• Quite a bit of coaching news from yesterday: Kirk Ferentz has had his contract extended through 2029, and surprisingly UCLA announced that they gave Chip Kelly a four-year extension. It had been talked about for a while that the Bruins were going to wait until Kelly’s buyout dropped to $0 before possibly cutting him loose. I believe that UCLA made the right decision. And as for Kirk, if he coaches to at least 2028, he would have 30 years with the Hawkeyes and probably 250 career wins. Not bad!

• I guess the pressure got to Todd Graham because he resigned (reluctantly I am sure) as the head coach of Hawaii. Players have been talking about verbal abuse - which has led to 17 Rainbow Warriors looking to leave the program, including Graham’s son. Allegations were so bad that even the state senate got involved with a hearing. Not a pretty situation out on the island.

• No surprise that Georgia and Alabama are getting hit hard with early departures for the NFL Draft. The Bulldogs are losing three defensive stars, as well as four players on offense, while the Crimson Tide are losing four of its top five receivers - though I am not sure why Slade Bolden is heading off to greener pastures (he hopes). Can’t feel sorry for these schools because they will just restock and reload with new recruits and the transfer portal.

January 14th:

• Finished my composite Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2022 last night. I had ten rankings, but used nine because 247 Sports and CBS Sports were the same - and they are tied together, as I believe CBS Sports runs 247Sports. By the looks of things, 2022 is going to be an exciting year - just like every other year. Alabama got 224 out of a possible 225 points (25 points awarded for being ranked #1), while Ohio State, Georgia, and Utah wrapped up the top four - with Texas A&M and Notre Dame just on the outside.

• FBSchedules published a revised Big Ten schedule for 2022. This was done by the conference so that some schools didn’t visit the same venue for three straight years. This website also posted what they thought are the best non-conference games in the upcoming season. A worthy read!

• Continuing on a couple of interesting bowl notes…The Pac-12 hasn’t won a bowl game since the 2019 season (Oregon’s Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin), and this year the ACC ended a 13-bowl game losing streak. The ACC finished 2-4 this year because four games were canceled because of COVID-19.

• Casey Thompson transferring to Nebraska from Texas is a win for Scott Frost. Even though longtime starter Adrian Martinez was a solid quarterback, he was prone to poor management and mental errors. Wouldn’t be fair to put the entire 0-for-8 record in one-score games on Martinez - but it all begins with the quarterback position. Thompson will add stability to Frost’s quarterback room. On a side note - I can’t help but wonder what Charles Thompson thinks…seeing his son play for the Longhorns and now the Cornhuskers, after he had a storied career at Oklahoma…

January 13th:

• The Athletic has put out its 2021 Ranking of all 130 FBS teams. Of course, we know the top teams - and we should know the bottom dwellers. But for fun here are the five bottom teams: 130 - UConn, 129 - UMass, 128 - FIU, 127 - New Mexico State, and 126 - Akron. The five worst Power 5 Teams? Arizona (125), Vanderbilt (117), Kansas (115), Duke (109), and Indiana (108).

• FBSchedules announced that the WAC has put out its 2022 conference schedule. Took me a moment to remember that the conference is now in the FCS. As a reminder, their members: Abilene Christian, Dixie State, Lamar, Sam Houston, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, and UIW. They will have some recruiting to do next year because Sam Houston will be moving up to the FBS.

• As expected, Utah’s star LB Devin Lloyd declared himself eligible for the 2022 NFL Draft. Good news for Hawkeye fans - LB Jack Campbell, who led the nation with 143 tackles last fall, will return to Iowa for his senior season. Cincinnati Bearcat tight end Josh Whyle, who had six touchdown receptions, also announced that he will return.

• With Georgia winning the national championship, they are one of seven schools who broke their program record for wins in a season this year: Baylor (12), Cincinnati (13), Georgia (14), Georgia State (8), Louisiana (13), San Diego State (12), and UTSA (12).

January 12th:

• The 2021 college football season was a historic one in the state of Utah. For the first time ever, BYU, Utah and Utah State all finished the same season ranked in the AP final rank. The Utes led the trio, coming in at No. 12, followed by the Cougars at No. 19 and the Aggies at No. 24. Congratulations to the Beehive State!

• I am collecting some Way-Too-Early Top 25 predictions for 2022 to try and blend them into one that will get me to the Preseason Top 25. With any luck I will gather 8-10 of them from very respectful sources and merge them into one using a simple point system. My priority this week.

• Seems to me that Washington State and Arizona got themselves a win-win via the transfer portal. Cameron Ward, who I followed with great interest last spring, has followed his former head coach (Eric Morris) to Washington State. Ward, was the best freshman in the FCS during the spring 2021 season and in just two years set school records for passing TDs (71) and yards (6,908) at UIW. Meanwhile, the Cougars starting quarterback in 2021, and current Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, Jayden de Laura, is headed to Tucson.

• USC quarterback Jaxson Dart was the second Trojan qb to hit the transfer portal this winter. No doubt his is keeping his options open, particularly while Caleb Williams is still on the loose. I just hope that Dart returns to LA - and for the Trojans - not the Bruins.

• Sad to see this morning that Jameson Williams has a torn ACL - all from an awkward cut, no contact.

January 11th:

• Been too long since I have been able to make an entry into this blog! But I’m back! Guess the timing couldn’t be better because as of today it’s time to look forward to the 2022 College Football season that begins in 239 days if my quick calculation is correct! We have gone through a lot of coaching changes - but there are still transfers/transfer destinations and Early Entry decisions for the NFL Draft to go through in the coming days and months. Have to say I am already looking forward to August 27th!

• Before only looking ahead to the upcoming season, I must give recognition to the Georgia Bulldogs! Last night they brought home the school’s first national championship in forty-one years! They had a great year and I’m happy to see that it came to a successful conclusion for them.

• Doesn’t seem like forty-one years since Herschel Walker was a freshman manchild for the Bulldogs. Georgia’s season culminated with a victory over Notre Dame - and Walker ran for 150 yards…with a dislocated shoulder!

• Stetson Bennett - can’t wrap this up without mentioning this guy. As the season progressed, I was doubtful that he could deliver a title to Athens, but I was wrong and he proved me and many doubters wrong. Not a bad career for a 2017 walk-on quarterback who was considered too small to warrant only one scholarship offer (Middle Tennessee State).

January 5th:

• Had to take this directly from ESPN: “This season's Alabama-Georgia matchup ensures that 12 of the past 16 national champions will have come from the SEC. If Georgia wins, that would make it five different SEC schools winning national titles during that span.” Even before the conference adds Oklahoma and Texas - nobody is going to knock the SEC of its pedestal.

• Speaking of Oklahoma - don’t worry too much Sooner fans about potentially (probably) losing Caleb Williams. Dillon Gabriel passed for 8,041 yards, 70 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions as a three-year starter at UCF. And there are a couple of similarities between Gabriel and Josh Heupel - who was the last Sooner quarterback to win a national championship: Both are left-handed quarterbacks, and both transferred to OU to play for a first-time head coach who had previously been viewed as one of the best defensive coordinators in college football.

• It has taken me a while to say this - but what a Rose Bowl! Even in defeat, Utah should definitely hold their head high, which they will because they have one of the best head coaches in Kyle Whittingham. And as for OSU, what a receiving performance by Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 15 catches, 347 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. Of course, he couldn’t have done it without his quarterback having a great game!

• This probably isn’t a big deal to many, but I thought I would mention it. When Pitt beat Wake Forest in the ACC Championship game a month ago, it was the Panthers third conference title, but the first two (Big East in 2004 and 2010) where shared championships.

January 4th:

• The final bowl game will be played tonight - as the Wildcats and Tigers get ready to tussle in the Texas Bowl. These teams are meeting for just the second time ever and the first in 41 seasons, as K-State fell at LSU, 21-0, to open the 1980 season.

• After what I have been reading recently, no surprise that OU quarterback Caleb Williams has entered the transfer portal - but he hasn’t closed the door on returning to the Sooners. This has had an effect already as Dillon Gabriel has changed his mind again, and will now play in Norman rather than LA (UCLA that is). And a potential effect could be that more members of the Sooners enter the portal like Williams.

• Meanwhile the Terps added depth to the wide receiver position by getting Jacob Copeland from Florida, but at the same time, two quality linebackers (Branden Jennings and Terrance Lewis) have committed to play elsewhere next year.

• And unfortunately for Dabo, he is losing another member of his coaching staff (Todd Bates) to Oklahoma. Lincoln Riley leaving Norman for USC continues to shake up the world of College Football…

January 3rd:

• Already took a day off from writing down my Daily Thoughts - but it was worth it. I binge watched Cobra Kai Season 4. Hearing Johnny’s comments and seeing his behavior never gets old!

• Was thinking this morning more than ever as I read 247 Sports Top 25 Projection for 2025 that Dabo Swinney would probably take over as Nick Saban’s successor when Saban finally retires. Losing both coordinators this year is going to hurt, both on and off the field, so in a few years time, it might be in Swinney’s best interest to head over to the Crimson Tide.

• This year, the average attendance at Jackson State’s six home games was 42,293 - the new single-season record for a FCS school. But what’s most impressive, the city of Jackson estimates that the economic impact to the city was over $30 million - nearly double the impact of the 2019 season.

• Bowl games have been canceled this past December - but Memphis was lucky. They discovered that they weren’t going to play in the Hawaii Bowl the day before the game. The team’s flight couldn’t be rescheduled, and the flight wasn’t until 9 p.m. the next day. So the Tigers got 36 free hours to enjoy Waikiki Beach. Could have been a lot worse - like getting stuck in Idaho.

January 1st:

• New year for college football - and their is nothing greater. Will we see Nick Saban add another championship to his resume, or will Georgia have enough bite to take their first title since 1980?

• A question for today…Can Utah get their first Rose Bowl victory, or will the Buckeyes grow some and get their 9th Rose Bowl win?

• Oklahoma State had a great season, topped by their win over the Fighting Irish - but I want to know how Notre Dame gave up 30 unanswered points from the end of the 1st half until the game was a minute from being over?