#Lousiana Ragin Cajuns

[thecollegefootballguy]

2021 Top Games of the Week: Championship Week

Well folks, we made it. It’s the end of the season. Boy, there’s obviously plenty to discuss just with all of the coaching changes, but that’ll have to be its own post just like the conference realignment news. For now, let’s relish in the glory of championship week.

The Top Ten Games of the Week

10. Kent State 7-5 (6-2) vs Northern Illinois 8-4 (6-2) (Detroit, MI)

Congratulations to both Kent State and Northern Illinois. The Golden Flashes have only played in Detroit once, back in 2012. Kent has never won the MAC Championship Game before, their last league title was all the way back in 1972. The Huskies are more familiar with Ford Field. NIU’s last trip was back in 2018, which netted them their fourth conference title in a decade.

9. Western Kentucky 8-4 (7-1) at UTSA 11-1 (7-1)

Both teams took an interesting path to get here. Western Kentucky looked dead in the water, starting the year 1-4, but the Hilltoppers roared back to win the East. Meanwhile, UTSA nearly stormed through the entire 2021 season undefeated. The completely unheralded Roadrunners lost to North Texas at the end of the season to stumble over the final hurdle. Texas-San Antonio is playing in their first ever C-USA Championship Game. WKU has only played twice before, winning back to back conference titles in 2015-16.

8. Appalachian State 10-2 (7-1) at #24 Louisiana 11-1 (8-0)

The Sun Belt nearly lived up to the billing this year. Appalachian State tore the East Division back from Coastal Carolina, giving the Mountaineers their 3rd title in 4 seasons. Louisiana has won the West Division in all 4 years since the Sun Belt went to a championship game format. App State is currently undefeated against the Cajuns in that title game.

7. Utah State 9-3 (6-2) at San Diego State 11-1 (7-1)

Utah State makes their second ever appearance in the Mountain West Championship Game. The Aggies last represented the Mountain Division back in 2013, the first ever year of the division split. USU managed to navigate a competitive division this year, getting by with a solid offense and timely defense. San Diego State managed to nearly go undefeated despite having no offense to speak of, the Aztecs rely on a great defense and one of the best punters there has ever been on a college field. Seriously. SDSU is in the MW Championship for the first time since 2016, the second year of their back to back league titles.

6. #15 Pittsburgh 10-2 (7-1) vs #16 Wake Forest 10-2 (7-1) (Charlotte, NC)

The ACC’s usual powers are all asleep at the wheel, giving both Pittsburgh and Wake Forest golden opportunities to gain a plumb spot in a New Year’s Bowl. Both the Panthers and the Demon Deacons have only played in one ACC Championship Game before this week. Pitt’s trip was a failed attempt against Clemson in 2018, but Wake actually managed to win the conference title in 2006 over Georgia Tech.

5. #10 Oregon 10-2 (7-2) vs #17 Utah 9-3 (8-1) (Las Vegas, NV)

This should be interesting. At different points both teams have looked like the PAC-12′s best squad. Oregon had the road win of the decade by putting away Ohio State in Columbus. The Ducks mostly looked solid but their head scratching loss against Stanford dented their otherwise sterling Playoff resume. Meanwhile, Utah started off horrifically, dropping two crucial road dates at BYU and SDSU. The Utes then quietly put together a great conference season, putting away nearly every team. Then two weeks ago Utah absolutely mauled Oregon 38-7 in Salt Lake City. Has the ground shifted that much? Can Utah put away a team like the Ducks a second time? Oregon is 4-0 in the PAC-12 Championship Game all-time, the Utes are 0-2. The Rose Bowl is on the line this year.

4. #21 Houston 11-1 (12-0) at #4 Cincinnati 12-0 (8-0)

Here it is, Cincinnati is going for the Playoff. If the Bearcats can win out, they should logically keep the #4 spot if they can clear this last hurdle. I’m not sure it’ll come down to that necessarily, but hey, Cincinnati certainly has to win to get the spot. Can they? UC has had enough to beat everybody else they’ve played. They’re up there with Georgia as the only other undefeated team. Houston has had a wonderful year that went completely under the radar because they started the year stumbling out of the gate with an inexplicable loss to Texas Tech. Oh well, the Cougars have played immaculately since then. I doubt they’ll be able to press their case for the Playoff if they beat Cincinnati, but they should definitely get the NY6 bowl. The Bearcats are the defending champions, they are 1-1 in the previous two AAC Championship Games. Houston is 1-0, having won the first ever championship game in 2015.

3. #2 Michigan 11-1 (8-1) vs #13 Iowa 10-2 (7-2) (Indianapolis, IN)

Ok Michigan, here it is. If you really want to supplant Ohio State, you need to put this one away early. Act like you’ve been here before. We’ve got another tough, no offense, manball abomination that mashed its way through the West in Iowa. The Hawkeyes make their first trip to the Championship Game since their perfect regular season ended in disaster in 2015. The Wolverines, of course, have never won the Big Ten East until this year. They never even won the Legends, but every dog has its day. If the Buckeyes were here and at full strength, they’d play the manball team just as tough with five times the offensive talent. What will Michigan do?

2. #9 Baylor 10-2 (7-2) vs #5 Oklahoma State 8-1 (11-1) (Arlington, TX)

I am so interested in this game. Oklahoma State stands on a knife edge. Their season hangs in the balance. I can almost feel the pressure. The Bears won’t be easy to beat a second time. If they win they might make the Playoff based on the outcome of the #1 game. After all these years, Oklahoma State is finally playing in their first ever Big 12 Championship Game. The Cowboys would have played several times between 2011 and 2016 when the game was dormant. Baylor likewise would have made a few Big 12 title games in that span, but they also broke through in 2019, falling to Oklahoma. Will they lose to Oklahoma State and fall just short once more?

1. #1 Georgia 12-0 (8-0) vs #3 Alabama 11-1 (7-1) (Atlanta, GA)

Obviously. Two of the top teams in the sport are seeking to once more alter the Playoff race. Georgia is probably in. Even if the Bulldogs lose I have a hard time believing they’ll be left out at 12-1 with arguably still the best body of work. The question is where Alabama places in the final rankings.

If Alabama loses, they’ll likely fall outside of the top 4, safely inviting both current #4 Cincinnati and current #5 Oklahoma State a spot in the Playoff. That would give us both the first ever G5 team to make the Playoff in the Bearcats, and a Playoff newcomer in Oklahoma State. Now both Cincinnati and OK State could lose and none of this will matter, but if they do it’ll put a lot of pressure on the SEC Championship Game.

If the Crimson Tide win, they’ll stay in the top 4, and the rankings would suggest that this will shoot down #5 Oklahoma State’s season, but I don’t think that’ll happen. I think #4 Cincinnati will be put out to #5 in the final rankings if Oklahoma State, Alabama, and Michigan all win their championship games. I think it’s the logical move the committee will take. If you want to see a revolution in the Playoff, 3 new teams in Michigan, Cincinnati, and Oklahoma State, and a one-time in Georgia, you want the Bulldogs to win.

But this is all subtext of course. Intrigue outside of the big show. The SEC Championship is once again the main event and things almost never get any bigger than this. Alabama are the defending champs in both Atlanta and the national title, and they got there by steamrolling Georgia back in 2020. But 2020′s Crimson Tide looked like one of the most talented teams ever, the 2021 team has looked a bit listless, a bit slow at times. Bama lost to Texas A&M, which is looking more inexplicable by the week, and have had a few scares. This Bulldog team certainly doesn’t look like last year’s either. UGA looks invincible. Instead of having a good offense and great defense as in previous seasons, the Dawgs have a great offense and one of the best defenses we’ve ever seen. They’ve only given up 83 points in a full regular season.

The titans of football battle it out once again. The SEC Championship remains the highest proving ground for football all year outside of the National Championship Game itself. Alabama are coming in as the rare underdog, as they try to hold off Georgia once more. The Dawgs have been snakebit many a time by Bama in Atlanta, let’s see if they have what it takes to reverse history.

[racingtoaredlight]

College Football 2020 Season Week 4 TV Watch Em Ups: Rivalry Week!

There’s still a whole lot of magic missing from the first COVID college football season but at least the B1G and Pac-12 will be playing weird schedules and we’ll have the worst bowl season ever. I’m not being sarcastic, I’m actually happy about those things.

It’s hard to look at this all and not feel the pull of regret that the season is even happening. I said on twitter a few days ago that I wish every athlete in the country would just go on strike right now and I stand by that. The plague isn’t getting better and the poxes are piling up. Oh, well, what the hell. Let’s just keep on playing.

The gambling info is from the same place as always and the scheduling info is from the other same place as always. Times are Eastern, the worst of all possible time zones for sports watching.

Saturday, September 26

Matchup                                                     Time (ET)            TV/MobileTickets

Georgia Southern at 19 Louisiana           12:00pm                  ESPN2

If you don’t really look at it even sort of then it’s almost an SEC game. This is the Ragin’ Cajuns Lousiana school, right?

Georgia Tech at Syracuse                         12:00pm               RSN/ESPN3

Syracuse should go back to being an independent and Georgia Tech should go back to the SEC just for laughs.

24 Louisville at 21 Pitt                                12:00pm                   ACCN

Hard to imagine a more painful sounding matchup of ranked teams. Louisville got worn out at home by Miami last week and, even though it made me “happy,” I didn’t really see anything of particular note to be excited by Louisville’s team. Pitt, as with most years, just sort of exists. My prediction for this game is that neither team is ranked next week when the BOneG teams are allowed back in the rankings.

Kansas State at 3 Oklahoma                     12:00pm                    FOX

The Big 12 is really only fun in that they have conference games that also act as conference games.

Campbell at Appalachian State                 12:00pm                    ESPN+

Not worth the risk to stage this game in non-pandemic times.

5 Florida at University of Mississippi        12:00pm                     ESPN

A major topic of conversation in SEC circles right now is “are the Gators actually good?” We probably won’t learn a lot to that end from this game. But then again, we might. Such is post-Urban Meyer life for UF.

23 Kentucky at 8 Auburn                            12:00pm                     SECN

If you go by rankings this noon slate is pretty good. I’m not seeing a lot of entertainment value on the face of things but I’m very much a downer for this whole season. Surely, things will go hilariously off script all day and I’ll sit around like a bump on a log watching it go by.

13 UCF at East Carolina                              12:00pm                ABC/ESPN+

People get paid to write insightful shit about sports and can’t even be bothered to care about any of it. Here I am giving my soul away for spare clicks. Life is terrible.

FIU at Liberty                                                  1:00pm                    ESPNU

... and getting worse.

Eastern Kentucky at The Citadel                  1:00pm                     ESPN3

While Thee Citadel was offering blood to Clemson last week my wife asked me what the hell that school is. I knew a guy that went there out of high school but I can’t for the life of me remember what the set up is. Are they like a school for the national guard? Backups to the Coast Guard? Just a military academy for college aged fail sons? I’ve never figured out Disqus for the phone so I probably won’t see what you write but answer my questions in the comments, please.

Iowa State at TCU                                          1:30pm                          FS1

I’m not always good at this but I did warn you that having Iowa State ranked in the preseason was a bad idea.

Tulane at Southern Miss                                2:30pm                     Stadium

Tulane blew a 24-0 halftime lead against Navy last week and Southern Miss is in Southern Mississippi. Praying for these two teams to put those crushing disappointments behind them at kickoff time.

22 Army at 14 Cincinnati                                3:30pm                        ESPN

Call me crazy but does anybody else think if we put together a football team of troops they could totally cover a 13-point line on the road against Ohio State’s non-union equivalent?

UTEP at ULM                                                   3:30pm                       ESPN2

The line is tilting towards ULM but the o/u is still only 50 so I’d advise strongly against trying to watch this one up.

Mississippi State at 6 LSU                             3:30pm                         CBS

Suddenly realizing I can’t remember which one Mike Leach is coaching at this year. Well, the bloom is off that guy in any case so fuck him. Hope he’s at MSU and they get buried by 60+ this week. It’s only worth saying that if he’s in Starkville because if he’s at Faulkner’s alma mater I always want them to lose by 60+ every week.

West Virginia at 15 Oklahoma State               3:30pm                          ABC

Okie State looked horrible last week and so did WFV. Don’t put too much stock in week one, especially with a ton of roster churn. Pound that over at 51.5, in my humbly offered opinion. Which is only for entertainment purposes even in a gambling is mostly legal environment.

8 Texas at Texas Tech                                      3:30pm                          FOX

Texas at #8 looks fucking stupid but Texas Tech might be as bad as they’ve been since before Spike Dykes showed up in Lubbock. So the Horns -17.5 seems very reasonable to me.

4 Georgia at Arkansas                                      4:00pm                         SECN

Georgia is pretty talent-heavy and Arkansas is very much not but Kirby Smart and crew aren’t the kind of bloodthirsty loons that make my heart go pitty-pat. O/u of 53 and a 28-point line make sense but I’ll be plenty surprised if the score is actually in the realm of UGA 41-Ark 12. I’m thinking more like 24-6 or some boring shit like that.

Duke at Virginia                                                 4:00pm                         ACCN

Wa-HOO-wa! The line is tilting very heavily in Duke’s favor but the Cavaliers are still at -4. Hopefully that holds and the Hoos strangle the Devils in the crib to honor the blue lean of voters in the commonwealth.

Texas State at Boston College                         6:00pm                  RSN/ESPN3

BC bludgeoned Duke last week but only get 18.5 at home against one of the few teams in the country to have a defined personality so far. Texas State is a bad team and there probably aren’t a ton of people eyeballing this one just yet. Load up on the Eagles.

2 Alabama at Missouri                                        7:00pm                      ESPN

Bama is still the king, really. The whole team is still 5-stars in front of 5-stars in front of 5-stars. Betting with Nick Saban is fool’s gold, though, because whatever he has in mind from week-to-week against the lower level opponents is impossible to divine.

Houston Baptist at Louisiana Tech                    7:00pm                    ESPN3

I don’t need to waste mental space on this and neither do you.

Stephen F. Austin at SMU                                   7:00pm                     ESPN+

Pony Diddlers exploded all over the 096ers last week with a new playcaller. I’ll assume this is just schedule fluff and look away.

Kansas at Baylor                                                  7:30pm                    ESPNU

R.I.P. to an all-time legend.

16 Tennessee at South Carolina                              7:30pm           SECN

No comment.

Vanderbilt at 10 Texas A&M                                      7:30pm       SECN Alt.

aTm is a 30.5-point favorite and even if Vanderbilt is real trash I can’t imagine feeling confident putting money down on this one.

Florida State at 12 Miami (FL)                                   7:30pm           ABC

Everything in the world is saying Miami rolls in this one and I find that completely nerve-wracking. Is the offense really good after stealing Rhett Lashlee from SMU? Is the defense even decent if they can get exposed so often against Louisville? Does FSU being a pile of shit with a head coach somehow alone on the COVID list mean anything? I’ve got a feeling the answer is no, no and no but I’m openly pessimistic.

Missouri State at Central Arkansas                        8:00pm           ESPN3

Every year, week after week, I write one word or one sentence capsules that boil down to supreme indifference. This season it’s even more pronounced because the whole enterprise is so obviously crummy.

NC State at 20 Virginia Tech                                    8:00pm              ACCN

Not sure if I realized VPISU was ranked before now. Are they the first team to ever lose a home opener to Kentucky and have a ranking the following week? 

Troy at 18 BYU                                                         10:15pm             ESPN

A proper as hell night game. This is the kind of game a college football Saturday should wrap up with in normal times. Can’t wait for the 2020 version of degenerate football to end up with a 100% positive rate in the coming weeks.

GAMES OF THE WEEK:

Georgia State at Charlotte                                      Postponed

Tulsa at Arkansas State                                           Postponed

USF at Florida Atlantic                                             Postponed

North Texas at Houston                                           Postponed