Nothing is Better Than College Football Every Day!

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January 9th:

  • Notre Dame and Penn State are meeting for the 20th time, with the series tied at 9-9-1. The two teams have met in the postseason once previously, the 1977 Gator Bowl (a 20-9 Irish win).

  • In the last matchup in 2007, Penn State won 31-10 as the held Notre Dame to 0 rushing yards on 26 attempts and 144 total yards.

  • Was surprised to see that both teams have been ranked on only seven previous occasions in the series.

  • Notre Dame sits tied-fourth with 960 all-time victories and No. 4 with an all-time winning percentage of .732 while Penn State sits No. 7 in all-time victories (943) and No. 9 in winning percentage (.691).

  • Sun Belt conference members now know their conference opponents as of today for the 2025 season, but it doesn’t do me any good at this time if they don’t have dates. I still have to work my way through some other conferences though…lol

  • Interesting to see that quarterback TJ Finley is moving once again - this time to Tulane. He has also had stops at LSU, Auburn, Texas State, and Western Kentucky. Wonder where he is getting his diploma?

  • And Kahlil Benson and Louis Moore are returning to Indiana after a year away. Wonder what they know? Hahahaha

  • With Luke Lehnen has started every game at quarterback for four years at North Central, it’s time that the Cardinals to change quarterbacks. Something they aren’t used to as they have had two starting quarterbacks in the last eight seasons.

  • Nice get in the portal for Oregon…former Tulane running back Makhi Hughes is a stud. In two seasons with the Green Wave, Hughes gained 2,779 yards on the ground and 24 touchdowns.

  • Saw an early 2025 Power Rankings for the Big 12. BYU is projected to be on top, followed by Arizona State and Iowa State. Surprisingly, Utah is projected to finish between 8th and 10th place. Of course the 2024 Power Rankings proved to be useless…

January 8th:

  • This morning started out fast in terms of working on my Games to Follow spreadsheet before work got in the way. Next thing I know it is almost 6:00pm! Ugh.

  • Was disappointed to see that Nebraska won’t be playing Wisconsin next year, but that disappointment went away when I realized that Penn State was added to the Cornhusker schedule.

  • Meanwhile Northwestern has UCLA and USC on their schedule next fall. Doesn’t seem possible that it’s been thirty years since their epic bowl games against these former Pac-12 teams.

  • Touching back on North Dakota State’s FCS title - what’s most impressive about the run is that it has happened with four different head coaches at the helm.

  • It was just announced today that Tarleton State and McNeese have scheduled a home-and-home series in 2026 and 2027. These non-conference matchups might have an impact on one’s playoff resume…

  • Working on plans to enhance my Division II and III tabs with more entries. Still trying to figure out how to expand my New England Teams tab…

January 7th:

  • Congratulations to North Dakota State for winning their 10 FCS title in the last 15 years! Unfortunately Cam Miller ended his career with 11,999 total yards - one yard short of hitting 12,000.

  • The Bobcats must be feeling the sting now that the Bison have eliminated them from the FCS playoffs four times since 2018.

  • While talking FCS, it was just announced that former South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski has announced that he will be playing for Iowa in 2025.

  • I enjoyed watching the two Ivy League videos that ESPN posted just before noon - one was a season review and the other was a quick clip of the postseason awards ceremony.

  • After being fired, re-hired and then retained by three different Florida Atlantic head coaches since mid-November, Roc Bellantoni has accepted an offer from Auburn to be their Outside Linebackers Coach.

  • Announced today: Pitt and Duquesne will play this fall for the first time in 86 years. The Panthers and Dukes first met on the gridiron in 1901 and last played in 1939, which resulted in a 21-13 victory for the Duquesne, but Pitt currently leads the overall series 5-2.

January 6th:

  • Congratulations to North Central for their win over Mount Union to claim their third Division III National Championship in three years.

  • Congratulations to Cardinal quarterback Luke Lehnen, who ended his career with 162 touchdown passes - which ties John Matocha’s all-divisions record. The former Orediggers quarterback was only able to enjoy the record to himself for one year.

  • Tonight we should see a great game between Montana State and North Dakota State for the FCS Championship.

  • The Cats are looking for their first national championship since 1984, when they beat Louisiana Tech 19-6.

  • Meanwhile the Bison are hoping to claim their 10th FCS championship in the last fourteen years.

  • Montana State is riding a school-record 15-game winning streak and with a victory would become just the second team in modern college football history to finish a season 16-0, joining North Dakota State’s 2019 national championship team.

  • This is North Dakota State’s 38th postseason appearance and 15th straight dating back to 2010. The Bison have advanced to the quarterfinals or beyond all 15 years in the FCS playoffs.

  • The Cats and the Bison have met in six playoff games, the most recent five (including the 2021 Championship game) have been won by North Dakota State.

January 5th:

  • Strange to wakeup this morning and not have anything to think about late games since the only game yesterday started late morning.

  • It’s official - Northern Illinois will become a part of the Mountain West, football only, in 2026. From 1993 to 1995 the Huskies were a part of the Big West conference with UNLV, Nevada, and San Jose State.

  • Ex-Gamecock quarterback Robby Ashford transferring over to Wake Forest got me to thinking about LaNorris Sellers, the current South Carolina quarterback. I’m thinking that the Gamecocks will have a legitimate chance to make the playoff in 2025, but they will have to survive a tough schedule.

  • I see that Indiana’s schedule will be a bigger challenge for them in 2025: Illinois, at Iowa, at Oregon, at Penn State, Wisconsin. I can see a solid bowl team - but no playoff.

  • Mount Union owns an NCAA-record 13 national championships, but the Purple Raiders have not won a Stagg Bowl since 2017. They lost to North Central in 2022.

  • The Cardinals are appearing in the Stagg Bowl for the fifth straight season. North Central has won two of the previous four, losing to Cortland last year.

  • Mount Union's head coach Geoff Dartt owns multiple national championship rings as a player and assistant coach. This year he hopes to win his first Stagg Bowl as a head coach.

  • North Central head coach Brad Spencer carries a career 43-1 record into Sunday's game. His only loss came against Cortland in last year's championship game.

January 4th:

  • I know that there are two “Bowl Games” left to play, but to me the 2024 Bowl Season ended earlier today with the Bahamas Bowl.

  • Buffalo won their fourth straight bowl game, and the Bulls won nine games in a season for just the third time in program history.

  • Not surprised to see the Gophers beat the Hokies last night as VT had 14 new starters for the game - seven on each side of the ball.

  • Nice to see P. J. Fleck get a mayo bath!

  • And Max Brosmer capped a solid year for the Gophers after transferring from UNH. Would be nice to see him drafted by the NFL.

  • Another CAA quarterback that had transferred up to the FBS after a great year at Albany, Reese Poffenbarger sat behind Cam Ward at Miami (FL). In December, Poffenbarger announced that he was transferring to North Texas after the Mean Green starting quarterback in 2024 Chandler Morris moved on to Virginia. Wonder what he is thinking after Drew Mestemaker’s performance against Texas State…

  • Spent a chunk of time pouring through On3’s transfer portal, and came up with a couple of ideas regarding new info to post on the website regarding transfers. Still waiting to get a good look at what players are moving up from both Division II and Division III…come on Athlon Sports.

  • Tomorrow night North Central takes on Mount Union for the Division III Championship…8:00 pm, ESPN

January 3rd:

  • Meant to do this 2.5 hours ago - but I got wrapped up in watching the North Texas - Texas State game. Mean Green freshman quarterback, Drew Mestemaker, is making his first start in four years!

  • Missed getting my thoughts out yesterday, but it was a sad day at work that left me numb until getting home today.

  • Five days ago I printed off my agenda for 2025, which is a continuation from this past year. It was six pages long. Easy to predict that I won’t get through all of it - and some of it will be carried over into 2026. lol

  • Going back to Wednesday for a moment…how beautiful is the Rose Bowl? My favorite game of the year, it even exceeds the Army-Navy game!

  • The Buckeyes looked awfully sharp - both in play and in appearance. Great threads! Seen them many times in Pasadena…

  • Notre Dame are a team to be reckoned with as they have played awfully well since losing to Northern Illinois.

  • Love the semifinal games! Four historical programs are left standing and my prediction is that two midwestern schools will be playing for the title…

  • For those who say that the byes should be done away with, haven’t bowl games always been played with significant gaps between games? I have no issue with expanding to 16 teams. And the seeding? maybe it will change for 2025, but shouldn’t Oregon be ready for OSU - whether it is in the quarterfinals or the finals? To be the champion, you have to bring your A-game each week this time of year.

  • If only Ole Miss hadn’t stubbed their toes against Kentucky or Florida. They could have been a tough out in the playoffs - or they could have been wiped out like the Ducks or Tennessee.

  • Back to the North Texas-Texas State game for a moment…these teams are meeting for the 40th time, with the Mean Green leading the all-time series 29-7-3. They have shared the same conference three times: Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Lone Star Conference and the Southland Conference.

  • This evening Minnesota will make its 25th all-time bowl appearance when they take on Virginia Tech for the first time. The Golden Gophers are 12-12 in their history in bowl games, but they have won seven straight bowl contests, which is currently the longest bowl winning streak in the country.

  • Lastly, it was announced today that Tarleton State will be hosting Chattanooga next season. The Mocs, who just missed out on the playoffs this year, will be paid $50k for the game. They could be getting paid to beat the Texans, a team that did make the playoffs in 2024.

January 1st:

  • Happy New Year! Time flies and I still have no idea where it goes!

  • Seems a bit strange that there are only three college football games today - but they are all super matchups!

  • Back to how time flies by - I can’t believe that there are only four non-playoff bowl games left to play.

  • Was happy to wake up and see that Penn State beat Boise State - thus setting up a game for the Nittany Lions against either Georgia or Notre Dame. No matter the matchup, I am looking forward to it already.

  • Was also happy to see that the Penn State defense kept Ashton Jeanty from topping Barry Sanders FBS single-season rushing record.

  • The Buckeyes would also like to prevent Dillon Gabriel from getting the FBS record for career touchdown passes, currently held by Case Keenum. Of course a win over the Ducks is their number one priority.

  • Didn’t take long to get involved in the Texas-Arizona State game! The Longhorns have made some big plays early, but I think that the Sun Devils are going to make it really tough for them.

  • Happy to see the Sun Devils wearing their Sparky helmets - have always liked them best. And of course, the Longhorns look sharp in their white uniforms!

  • The last time Georgia and Notre Dame played in the Sugar Bowl: 1981. I remember that game well!