College Football Odyssey

Last Tuesday, the first playoff rankings were announced.  If a team winds up at #5, that position can be a prime one to make a serious run at the national championship.

The 4 highest ranked conference champions get first-round byes.  The balance of the playoff teams are seeded.  Suppose that two highest ranked teams were either in the SEC or the Big 10.  In such case, the conference runnerup would be the #5 seed.

Being #5 has two advantages.  The #5 squad will have home game against the #12 seed.  Usually, #12 will be the Group of 5 representative, although this year’s Boise squad may prove the exception to this generalization.  The Group of 5 has been greatly drained of solid programs in recent years due to conference expansion and limited NIL funds.  The Group of 5  will likely produce no more brilliant Boise State squads led by the likes of Kellen Moore.

Assuming that the #5 team survives, their next opponent would be the #4 seed at a neutral site.  The #4 seed will be almost always be the least imposing conference champion from the “Power 4” conferences.  Thus, the #5 team’s route to the semifinals may well be as easy or easier than for any other squad.

Nobody is going to be aiming for the #5 spot.  But in many years, this seed may prove to be a blessing in disguise.

In August, The Odyssey predicted a wild free-for-all in the Big 12 featuring a dozen competent teams but no squad that would take your breath away:

In one of the shocks of 2024, let’s take a look at the Big 12 records of 4 of the preseason favorites to win the crown:

Oklahoma State                  0-5

Utah                                      1-4

Kansas                                  1-4

Arizona                                 1-4

3-17 overall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meanwhile, BYU was projected to have a losing record in 2024.  Instead, the Cougars are undefeated and in the Top 10.  The Mormons, strangely featuring a Jewish quarterback, have handed SMU and Kansas State their only defeats.

Arizona State’s rise come 1-2 years earlier than anticipated.

Coach Prime now has some semblance of a defense.

A supposedly downtrodden Houston squad has upset TCU and Utah (as well as giving Oklahoma a scare).

There may only be two non-surpriing elements in the Big 12 bizarro world:

1. Iowa State and Kansas State are both quite solid and are trending toward an epic Farmageddon showdown.
2. Texas Tech gives up points as rapidly as it puts them on the scoreboard

One of Pink Floyd’s songs capsulizes this year in the Big 12: “Shine On, You Crazy Diamond.”

College Football Odyssey started in earnest on Thanksgiving night in 2000 on a rainy night in Oxford Mississippi.  That Ole Miss was playing archrival, Mississippi State, added spice but so many other highlights energized us into getting to all the FBS campuses for a game based on that rainy evening in Oxford.  The 10-acre tent city that is called The Grove provides a friendly, surreal backdrop to an Ole Miss home game.  The magic of the Grove was supplemented by pirouetting cheerleaders on a bandstand, a wonderful small town, the band playing Dixie and some crazy, crazy fight song with “Hotty Toddy” in it.

On Saturday, the Odyssey paid its sixth visit to Ole Miss to see Oklahoma limping to town for the first regular season tilt between the 2 schools.  The Sooners offense has been MIA this year due to injuries, disappointing QB play and a sieve of an offensive line.  Offensive coordinator, Seth Littrell, paid the ultimate price last week and was replaced by Joe Jon Finley.  take a bow, Billy Bob,er, Joe Jon!  The change worked as OU’s offense returned from the dead in the first half, garnering 16 first downs, 234 yards and a 14-10 lead at the break.

Coaching is paramount in football as Indiana and Michigan will tell you in 2024 – Indiana happily and Michigan not so much.  For one half, take a bow Mr. Finley.  The Odyssey was intrigued by how much former 5-star hot shot, Jackson Arnold, ran the ball.  We wondered to ourselves if QB’s repeatedly putting themselves in harm’s way would upset their family and the player’s agent in our moneycentric age.  Arnold would be credited with 24 carries, although 10 were bogus, due to sacks (primarily in the 4th quarter when OU was playing catchup).

Both the Rebel D and their QB Jaxon Dart, were exceptional in the 2nd half as the Rebels clawed back to win 26-14.  Dart was 22 for 30 for 311 yards against the vaunted Sooner D.

The Rebels need to win out to have any shot for the playoff.  Going to Fayetteville this week and hosting Georgia on November 9 will be severely testing.

Every time, the Odyssey visits Oxford, we feel we are in heaven.  In our quarter century of scouring college campuses, our opinion in 2000 remains unchanged.  The Ole Miss experience is unmatched.

Winning is a wonderful drug.  Lots of happy people after each college football weekend.

But there are degrees of happy! The Odyssey can confidently pick the happiest team and happiest individual in the past 7 days:

The individual:  Sawyer Robertson, Baylor QB

That Robertson threw for 5 TD’s as Baylor upset Texas Tech in Lubbock would be enough to make any QB happy.  But, for Robertson, other circumstances made his performance much much sweeter.  Robertson is a Lubbock product going to Coronado High School.  He wanted to go to Tech but the ill-fated Matt Wells regime opted to recruit Behren Morton.

Robertson went to Mississippi State and transferred to Baylor.  He started 4 games in 2023 but evidently did not sufficiently impress Dave Aranda.  Baylor grabbed Toledo’s DeQuan Finn in the transfer portal to be QB2024.  However, Finn got hurt to give Robertson his opportunity.

How magical it had to be for Robertson to hang 59 on the Red Raiders and saddle Tech with their first Big 12 loss.  Even sweeter, the Tech starting QB was the aforementioned Moron.  Must have been a hell of a homecoming celebration for Robertson and his family Saturday night in West Texas.

The team:  Kennessaw State

How many winless teams beat undefeated teams this time of the year?  Virtually never but it happened on Wednesday night as Kennessaw handed Liberty their first regular season loss in almost 2 years.  The victory was so sweet that the Owls’ home fans celebrated with TWO field stormings.  The first storming was premature as the refs put 1 second back on the clock.  If ever any fan base deserved two stormings, it was Kennesaw State.

In August, we posted an article which was somewhat skeptical as to how the Sooners would do in the SEC.

The near-term answer is in:  HORRIBLE!!

Oklahoma should be thankful that Auburn and Peyton Thorne imploded on The Plains.  Otherwise, an 0-8 SEC mark would be in view.

Check out the Sooners’ remaining SEC games:

Saturday  at Ole Miss

11/9 at Mizzou

11/23 Alabama

11/30 at LSU

OUCH!  DOUBLE OUCH!

It is almost humane that on November 2nd that Oklahoma is served up an FCS morsel when Maine’s Black Bears come to town.

Brent Venables is not at fault for a spate of wide receiver injuries.  However, that does not explain a putrid offensive line that could not block most grandmothers.  Nor does it excuse the regression of Sophomore QB Jackson Arnold.  Or getting blown out twice at home by Tennessee and South Carolina.

Last month, the Odyssey paid good money to snare a ticket to this Saturday’s game at Ole Miss.  Guess we should have waited.  But, no worries, when the Grove becksons, all good!

Lane Kiffin’s Rebels have already fluffed away two games that were eminently winnable.  But Ole Miss should not have a tough time on Saturday and should cover the 20 point spread – unless their paid mercenaries have thrown in the towel after 2 defeats.

Can you overdo a good trend?  Sure!  Sunshine is fantastic but prudence is in order so one is not plagued with a bad case of sunburn.

20 years ago, going for it on 4th down was not nearly as popular as in 2024.  We agree with the analytics for multiple reasons.  If you can keep the ball longer, one’s defense is fresher in the fourth quarter.  Sadly, we will never forget how Cal’s defense was totally gassed in their 4th quarter collapse against Miami.  Further, we no longer live in an era of 17-14 games where offenses often moved at a snail’s pace. If you can play keep away longer from a prolific offense, who can argue with such impeccable wisdom? (Consider Vandy’s 42 minutes of ball control against a dangerous Alabame offense).

HOWEVER!!!!

The trend has gone too far!  Way too far!

Some recent gaffes:

Texas State is leading 39-28 agaiinst long-term rival Sam Houston State.  GJ Kinne goes for it on 4th and 1 from his own 25.  Stuffed.  OOPS.  Texas State loses a 40-39 heartbreaker.

Tulsa recently played Army.  The Golden Hurricanes’ coach, Kevin Wilson, was concerned about his offense having limited possessions against the Cadets.  On the game’s opening drive, WIlson is so damned paranoid about giving up possession, he goes for it on 4th and 5 from his own 39.  Failure.  Gifted with great field possession, Army immediately scores and the rout is on.

In last Friday’s game in Tempe, ASU is nursing a 20-16 lead midway in the 4th quarter facing a 4th and 1 from inside its own 35.  Some context:  Utah’s QB Cam Rising is making his first start of 2024 and is clearly less than 100% physically.  Rising has played poorly.  Arizona State foolishly goes for it.  And fails.  That they survived is a detail but does not change the foolishness of the decision.

There are other egregious examples but my dementia is starting to kick in.  If UAB’s Trent (“The Goofer”) Dilfer has screwed up in this regard, the Odyssey would not be surprised.

One of the attractions in ordering pizza is that you get to select the toppings.  Along those lines, each of our readers can select the appropriate won-lost record for the U. (Not Miami of Ohio)

a.  6-0          “The referees are always right!”

b. 5-1          Either the Hail Mary in the Virginia Tech game was legit or the targeting call in the Cal should have been upheld

c.  4-2        Hurricane fans are obviously paying off the refs.

True, Cam Ward has been stellar in both 4th quarters but the Odyssey is inclined to bring in Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs from “Miami Vice” to investigate.

Meanwhile, therapy visits are hitting record highs in Berkeley, California this week.  Understandable when you blow a 35-10 lead well into the third quarter.

The Odyssey is truly bitter.  Cal is trying so hard to climb the rungs of college football only to encounter catastrophe.  We do appreciate the Woke Football Mob.  “Ott to Go” keeps playing in our head.  Very catchy!

Saturday, College Football Odyssey embarked on its ninth doubleheader day in its 60-year history.   Perfectly mimicking the bizarro world that 2024 college football has become,  we witnessed the first ever ACC home openers for both Stanford and Cal.  Pappy Waldorf and John Ralston must be spinning in their graves!

In the wake of Stanford’s disspiriting 31-7 loss to Virginia Tech, the Odyssey again wonders if Stanford should even bother to stay on the football carousel.  If few are willing to show up on a beautiful (if warm) afternoon, why should the Cardinal bother? The Odyssey concludes that those in Palo Alto must have exciting weekend activities since said activities surely do not involve football attendance at both a beautiful setting and an attractive stadium.

If Stanford QB, Ashton Daniels, had not tweaked his ankle the previous Saturday against Clemson, Stanford would have had a fighting chance because Virginia Tech played an indifferent game, perhaps due to the combination of a mostly empty stadium, jet lag and the overruled Hail Mary the previous week against Miami.

Daniels’ standin, Justin Lamson, was simply not up to the job.  When Stanford was driving for a key first half TD, Lamson coughed up a costly  fumble near the goal line.  His passing ineptitude castrated the Cardinal’s #1 offensive weapon, wide receiver extroardinaire, Elic Ayomanor.  For Ayomanor to have been delivered the ball consistently in this snoozer, Stanford would have needed to hire FedEx.  Stanford’s tiny band was entirely in keeping with its football squad.  Eminently unimpressive.  In days gone by, the band was much more irreverant and fun:  Such as featuring a large placard showing the classes taken and grades of the fictional Mick Dumbstud when playing at USC.  There simply was no fun in Palo Alto Saturday afternoon.

The Odyssey made two key mistakes on Saturday.  The first was taking Lovely Liliane’s grandson to the Stanford game.  Oh no!!  His first college game.   Perhaps his last after this sordid saga.  Now if we had only taken him to the evening game at Cal!

For the Cal game experience will be imblazoned in the psyche of the Odyssey for the rest of our life.  As it will for the rare (and spirited) sellout crowd in Strawberry Canyon.  Gameday made its first appearance in Berkeley.  The supposedly laid back Cal fans turned Gameday’s appearance into an all-night rave as many camped out all night before Gameday took the air at 6AM PDT.

An undefeated Miam team made the 3,000 trip for a 7:30PM start time that had to be tough on their body clocks.  That Cal would take a 21-10 halftime lead only added to a festive halftime that included 155 alumni band members and an out-of-this-world light show.

The third quarter would only get better for the Cal faithful.  Two more TD’s made this a 35-10 affair that was almost a laugher.  ALMOST, being the operative word.  Miami QB, Cam Ward, a Heisman favorite going into the game, had been repeatedly harrassed by Cal’s pass rush and gifted the Golden Bears a Pick 6.

I almost pulled the ripchord and left at this juncture.  Due to a car snafu, I had to resort to a long Lyft ride from San Mateo and was very wary of getting a driver for a return trip late at night.  Staying proved to be as interesting as witnessing an 8-car pileup on I-880.

When you have a 25-point lead well into the third quarter, coaches face a dilemma.  How conservative should one get?  Cal was quite conservative.  The Golden Bears had not sprinted off to their large lead by a bulldozing rushing attack.  Instead, Jadyn Ott, star of the memorable “Ott To Go” spoof, had largely been held in check (Cal wound up with only 73 yards on 25 rushes).  Cal had ridden the wave of three 50+ yard gains and its Pick Six to its 35-10 cushion.

However, Cam Ward was far from done.  Toss in a tiring Cal D and the Golden Bears had a recipe for unimaginable disaster.  The pass rush vanished in the 4th quarter as did the Cal lead in the final 30 seconds.  Ward finished with a whopping 437 yards of passing.

For the 2nd straight week, the U benefited from a controversial call.  With Cal nursing a 38-32 lead, the officials reviewed a call for targeting.  If so, Cal would have had a vital first down and very likely the game.  When the partisan crowd saw the play on jumbotron, they wildly cheering an imminent targeting call.  The verdict: no targeting and a jeering crowd.

For both teams, the consequences of the game’s outcome were colossal.  Miami gets to keep tightroping in its undefeated year.  For Cal, an immense opportunity lost.  The Golden Bears had not played in a Rose Bowl game since 1959 despite some megawatt stars.  During the Odyssey’s lifetime, consider Cal’s best quartet of QBs:  Steve Bartkowski, Joe Roth, Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff.  How many other programs can compare to this illustrious foursome?  Yet, Cal regularly figures out a way to shoot itself in the foot.

I contemplated massive frustration and loss while I stewed in downtown Berkeley past midnight.  I did finally get a ride and got to sleep by 2:15AM.  Regardless, I feel sure I wound up with more sleep than Justin Wilcox.

College Football Odyssey is scheduled for yet another doubleheader on Saturday.  Irony of ironies – this doubleheader will occur in the anti-hotbed of college football:  San Francisco’s Bay Area.  If that is not weird enough, both games will be ACC tilts.  In college football’s bizarro world, Virginia Tech and Miami will take long flights to the “woke” capital of the USA.

The appetizer will be Saturday afternoon at Stanford.   Believe it or not, there was a time in our lifetime where Stanford was not “woke.”  The Odyssey reminisces about 2 games from the early 1970’s we attended where Stanford played Michigan.  In those days, Stanford’s nickname was, GASP, the Indians!! If there is a team less prepared to face the NIL, insta-transfer portal world, it is Stanford.  Yet, if their QB, Ashton Daniels, can recover from an ankle tweak suffered late in last Saturday’s tilt at Clemson, the Odyssey views Stanford as a very live dog.  We hope that enough fans in the Palo Alto area will postpone their wine-tasting tours in Napa to actually attend the game.  In recent years, so many Stanford fans have disguised themselves as empty seats.

The main course will be Saturday evening in Strawberry Canyon.  Gameday is shockingly making a visit to Berkeley.  We will look to buy a “Coke vs. Woke” Tshirt!  Miami’s visit has all the makings of a sneaky, great game.  Miami is undefeated while Cal has one loss.  In another element of weirdness that is Berkeley, Miami should probably have one less and Cal be undefeated.  Was there really enough evidence to overturn Virginia Tech’s Hail Mary?  In Cal’s loss to Florida State, the Golden Bears roundly outplayed the Seminoles only to suffer massive Red Zone woes.

Will Cal’s great running back, Jadyn Ott, be back at full strength?  The Odyssey fervently hopes so.  A must do for all football fans is to get on YouTube for the following 2 videos.  First, watch the witty, suggestive video from Chappelle Roan, “Hot to Go.”  Then, the absolutely brilliant spoof of “Ott to Go.”  The Odyssey bows down to such absolute genius.

For one evening, the Odyssey can forgive the Bay Area for their laissez faire view of college football.  Go Cal!

It is pretty unlikely your last 96 hours have been as bad as those of Nick Lopez.

San Diego State was nursing a 21-19 lead at Central Michigan in the last 5 minutes of Saturday’s game.  Lopez proceeds to miss a 35-yard field goal attempt.  The miss turns out not to be fatal as the Aztecs defense stops the Chippewas and gifts the Aztec offense with the ball deep in CMU territory.  The Chippewa defense stiffens and forces a 28-yard field goal attempt by Lopez.  OOPS!  Another miss.

CMU drives down the field, which includes a 4th and 7 conversion.  Their field goal kicker, Tristan Mattson. converts a 46-yard field goal in the final seconds.  The Chips win, 22-21, as they win their 2nd  thriller in 7 days in Mt. Pleasant.

As for Nick Lopez, the Odyssey is truly feeling for you!