TWIF Notes 9/30/24

Welcome Back!

What an exciting 5th weekend of college football! We had unexpected close games, unexpected blowouts, an OT game, and some surprising results.

There were only 3 FBS vs FCS games this week, and 2 were routs, but new FBS member Kennesaw State saw their best chance for a win go by the wayside as they lost to UT-Martin 24-13.

The Liberty at App State game was canceled due to Hurricane Helene. The game will not be rescheduled.

Here are my thoughts on the FBS vs FBS games.

Army opened the week with a 42-14 pasting of Temple on Thursday night. The Black Knights are having a banner year so far as they are now 4-0, and 3-0 in the AAC. Even more, Army has won 8 straight games dating to their win over Air Force last year. The Owls have lost 7 of their last 8, and 12 of their last 14.

Miami, Fl eked out a 38-34 win over Virginia Tech to stay undefeated. The Hokies were originally credited with the winning TD on their last play Hail Mary pass, but it was overturned on replay. VT is 2-3, but only 0-1 in the ACC.

Rutgers eased by Washington 21-18. The Scarlet Knights are still undefeated, and have a relatively easy Big Ten schedule ahead of them.

Kentucky upset Ole Miss 20-17, perhaps solidifying their status as a real threat in the SEC. Their loss to SC still remains baffling, but with their SEC schedule, could end up 5-3 in the conference.

Michigan hung on to defeat Minnesota 27-24. The Wolverines will still be a team to be reckoned with in the Big Ten, which keeps them in the hunt for the CFP. Minnesota will be lucky to finish out of the bottom 3rd.

Kansas State routed Oklahoma State 42-20 to get back into the win column and stay in the Big 12 race. The Cowboys are 0-2 in the conference, and will have an uphill battle to make it into the CFP after starting the season with high hopes.

BYU survived Baylor 34-28 to stay unbeaten.

Indiana topped Maryland 42-28 to stay undefeated and drop the Terps to 0-2 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers have scored at least 31 points in every game, and 42+ in their last 4.

Nebraska moved to 4-1 by beating Purdue 28-10, and in doing so, evened their Big Ten record at 1-1. The Huskers have held 4 of 5 opponents to 10 points or less.

UConn blasted Buffalo 47-3, as the Huskies now look like a team that could win 8 games.

Boston College roared back to defeat WKU 21-20, which, as you'll soon see, was evidently the score of the day. 

NC State squeezed by Northern Illinois 24-17, dropping the Huskies to 2-2 with their 2nd straight loss following their upset of Notre Dame.

Navy crushed UAB 41-18, as, like Army, they are 4-0, and 3-0 in the AAC. Could they actually end up playing each other in the AAC Championship Game? A week before their scheduled game (not counted as a conference game)? That would be weird...

Tulane stomped USF 45-10 to reassert themselves at the top of the AAC food chain.

James Madison devastated Ball State 63-7, as the Dukes have scored 133 points in their last 2 games. And they're 4-0 for the 3rd straight season at the FBS level (out of 3).

Sam Houston upended Texas State 40-39, not only hurting TSU's chances of making the CFP, but also the entire Sun Belt's chances. Don't look now, but the Bearkats are 4-1 a year after going 3-9 in their 1st season at the FBS level.

USC pulled away from Wisconsin to win 38-21, and in doing so, kept themselves in the conversation for both the CFP and the Big Ten title game. The Badgers may be hard pressed to get to 6 wins.

Notre Dame held off Louisville in a 31-24 victory, exacting revenge for last year's loss and staving off CFP elimination.

Texas A&M clipped Arkansas 21-17 to stay unbeaten in SEC play. The Aggies only play 3 more teams as underdogs, and if they can get an upset or 2, could get to the SEC Championship Game. The Razorbacks are another team that may not get to 6 wins.

Miami, Oh needed OT to get by UMass 23-20 to get their 1st win of the season, which leads me to believe the Redhawks may not be as good as expected this year.

Louisiana struck a blow for the SBC with a 41-38 win over Wake Forest. The Ragin' Cajuns may just be the best team in the SBC, based on results so far.

TCU bounced back from 2 losses in a row to defeat Kansas 38-27, continuing the Jayhawks' disappointing start to the season.

Colorado plastered UCF 48-21, and the Buffs are suddenly 4-1 while dropping the Knights to 3-1.

UNLV destroyed Fresno State 59-14. The Rebels look like the favorite to get the G5 spot in the CFP, and a win against Syracuse at home this week would give them 3 P5 wins.

Central Michigan outlasted San Diego State 22-21. Neither of these teams will be going bowling.

Georgia Southern pulled away to best rival Georgia State 38-21. 

Marshall beat Western Michigan 27-20 in a game that will have very little bearing on anything- not conference races nor the CFP.

Ohio skipped past Akron 30-10 in the MAC opener for both teams.

Eastern Michigan slapped Kent State 52-33, as the Eagles have the best overall record in the MAC at 4-1.

Oklahoma came back and defeated Auburn 27-21. The Sooners claimed their 1st SEC victory, and kept the Tigers winless in the conference.

Duke scored 21 unanswered points to stun North Carolina 21-20. The Blue Devils are 5-0.

East Carolina surprised UTSA 30-20, and now I'm wondering if the Roadrunners are as good as everyone thought.

Texas pulled away late to beat Mississippi State 35-13, and my main takeaway from this is that the Bulldogs haven't given up on their season, but I only see 1 win on their remaining schedule.

ODU gave the SBC 2 wins in 3 contests against the MAC in a 30-27 victory over Bowling Green. Not much was expected from the Monarchs, who are 1-3, but the Falcons were thought to be one of the best teams in the MAC.

FIU squeezed by La Tech 17-10, but neither team is any good.

Ohio State stomped Michigan State 38-7 in their 1st "test" of the season. The Buckeyes play Iowa and at Oregon the next 2 weeks- those will be real tests.

Clemson decimated Stanford 40-14 as the Tigers have scored 40+ in each of their last 3 games.

Iowa State shut out Houston 20-0, the 2nd straight game the Cougars have been held scoreless.

ULM upended Troy 13-9 to run their record to 3-1/1-0.

Charlotte got their 1st FBS win of the season 21-20 over Rice. The Owls have been a huge disappointment, as I expected them to be 3-2 at this point, instead of 1-4.

North Texas thumped Tulsa 52-20 in the AAC opener for both teams. The Mean Green may be a threat to make it to the conference title game, but they don't have an easy path.

Alabama bested Georgia 41-37 in a game of 2 halves. The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 28-0 lead, and led 30-7 at the half, but the Bulldogs fought back to (briefly) take the lead late in the game before giving up the winning TD pass. The Dawgs continued their propensity for slow starts, and unbelievably effective 2nd half adjustments, but it wasn't enough. But let's take a minute to admire what UGA has done the last few years. Here are the streaks that ended: 42 straight regular season wins, 28 straight conference wins, 15 straight true road wins, and 13 straight SEC road wins. They have still won 25 straight home games, and 17 straight SEC home games. And they haven't lost to anyone not named Alabama since 2020 (Florida), winning an astounding 48 of their last 51 games (94.1%). Alabama proved that they are still the best team in the SEC, and will remain so until the Dawgs (or someone else- Texas maybe?) dethrones them.

Penn State slogged past Illinois 21-7 to stay unbeaten and push the Fighting Illini from the ranks of the undefeated.

Memphis kicked Middle Tennessee all over the field to prevail 24-7.

LSU dominated South Alabama 42-10 in an entirely expected result.

SMU embarrassed FSU 42-16, and it's obvious the Seminoles are a shell of the team they were last year. I'm still not sure how good the Mustangs are, but at 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the ACC, they are definitely in the hunt for a conference title and a CFP berth.

Texas Tech outscored Cincinnati 44-41 in a game that didn't feature much defense.

New Mexico got their 1st win of the season, 50-40, over rival New Mexico State, giving new HC Bronco Mendenhall his first victory at UNM.

Wyoming got past Air Force, and it's time to accept that the Falcons just aren't very good this year. The Cowboys got their 1st win of the year.

Boise State ran all over Washington State to win 47-24. The Broncos' game at UNLV on Oct 26 could decide 1st place in the MWC.

Arizona upset Utah 23-10 to knock the Utes from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Oregon rolled over UCLA 34-13 to win their 1st Big Ten game. It still sounds strange to say that.

That's it for this week! Come back tomorrow for my updated Power Rankings! And there are some major changes!

Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!