Week of 10/12

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10/16:

  • Another back-and-forth Sun Belt game last night between Georgia State and Arkansas State. Fifteen touchdowns (8 passing for Red Wolves) and almost 1,200 yards combined between the teams. Fun game for those who love offense!

  • There are two more postponements because of the coronavirus, bringing the total to five this week. Cincinnati at Tulsa and Florida International at Charlotte are the newest cancellations. As the other FBS Conferences begin play over the next few weeks, will the number of postponements/cancellations reach double digits?

  • Sacramento State, who shared the Big Sky title last year with Weber State, has announced that they will skip the Spring 2021 season citing concerns about a short turnaround before playing their Fall 2021 schedule.

10/15:

  • A great way to get Week 7 started! Coastal Carolina and Louisiana went toe-to-toe as they answered each other’s score up until the Chanticleers kicked a field goal with :04 left on the clock. I have to admit that I am beginning to really enjoy the Sun Belt and the competition between some solid programs.

  • The Texas Longhorn season bears watching the rest of this year - and quite possibly into the next few years. They have attracted a lot of solid recruits and have veteran players, but they have not played up to expectations. Now you have Sam Ehlinger standing alone on the field after the game against OU during the playing of the school song “The Eyes of Texas”. This team does not appear to be unified - so a Top-10 team in terms of talent will probably play .500 ball if they are lucky.

10/14:

  • No surprise that the LSU-Florida game was postponed after hearing earlier in the week that Florida was shutting down football activities due to positive coronavirus tests. Probably a relief for the Tigers, who need time to pull things together.

  • Will Nick Saban’s COVID-19 diagnosis impact the big Georgia-Alabama game - especially if he is unable to communicate with the team. Will this swing the game to Georgia or is this just the beginning of positive cases for the Crimson Tide, and we get another cancellation.

  • Sad to see that another football team is getting axed. Occidental has decided to drop their football program - as they are the second D-III school to drop the sport this season, following Maine Maritime. They have been going through rough times the last few years, as they ended their 2017 early because they couldn’t field enough healthy players, and after restarting, the Tigers have lost their last 21 games.

10/13:

  • A great read on grad transfers this morning at espn.com. The writer of the article - Ivan Maisel. Sonny Dykes at SMU has used the process to perfection the last couple of years at SMU.

  • Speaking of the Mustangs, the got some tough news on the injury front. Leading receiver Reggie Roberson Jr. and starting running back TJ McDaniel will both miss the rest of the season. This will put their depth to the test. Other season-ending injuries: Texas A&M’s leading receiver Caleb Chapman, Syracuse’s preseason All-American defensive back Andre Cisco, and perhaps the most damaging injury - Kansas State’s starting quarterback Skylar Thompson.

  • Longest current winning streaks among FBS teams: Air Force and Notre Dame - 9 games, Florida Atlantic - 8 games, Liberty and North Carolina - 6 games.

10/12:

  • Two games that were supposed to be played this upcoming weekend (Oklahoma State - Baylor and Vanderbilt - Missouri) have been postponed until mid-December. The Commodore/Tiger game is the first SEC game to be canceled so far this year.

  • After a dreadful game at Missouri, it is no surprise that LSU has fallen out of the AP poll for the first time since 2017. They are the first defending national champion to tumble out of the Top 25 since Auburn did it in 2011 following Cam Newton’s exit to the NFL.

  • Some interesting stats/info from Week 6 games:

    • Kentucky shutout a Mike Leach offense for the first time ever, and they won by 22 points despite gaining only 157 yards

    • Navy’s offense had a 15 play drive, that gained 26 yards and took 9:06 off the clock - and they got three points

    • Houston lost the turnover battle to Tulane 5-0, but won on the scoreboard, 49-31