TWIF Notes 9/29/25

Welcome Back!

What an exciting weekend of college football! Six games went into OT, and half of those ended in a 2nd OT. In addition, 24 games ended with the losing team within 8 points or less of the winner. 

This year, I decided to keep up with which teams I watch on tv, with a goal of seeing every team. Now, there is no way I can watch every team play a full game, so my criteria is seeing every team play at least one offensive and one defensive drive or series. So far, I have seen 117 of the 136 FBS teams, including every P4 team. I am only missing 1 team from the American (Navy), 4 from the Mountain West, 3 from the Sun Belt, 6 from the MAC, and 5 from CUSA. If that seems like I am prioritizing the G5 teams less, that is only partially true. My TV package does not include ESPN+ or CBS Sports Network, so I have to wait for teams to appear on Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN, SEC, BTN, or ACC networks. I also have the MWC app (it's free!), which allows me to watch contests from the Mountain West Conference that don't appear on other networks. For this reason, I'm looking forward to the midweek games in the MAC, CUSA, and SBC in October so I can catch those that don't normally make the "big" networks.

Anyway, let's get into the winners and losers.

Winners

Alabama- The Crimson Tide took control of their destiny by holding on against UGA in the 24-21 win. With the win, the Tide are now back in the SEC and CFP conversations (if they had ever truly been out of consideration).

Ole Miss- The Rebels are 5-0 heading into their bye week, and by dispatching LSU 24-19, they control their own destiny at 3-0 in the SEC and only road games at Georgia, Oklahoma, and rival Miss State standing in their way (they also have SC and UF at home, plus 2 OOC games). 

Vanderbilt- The Commodores routed Utah State 55-35 to move to 5-0 for the 1st time since 2008 (when they finished 7-6 under HC Bobby Johnson) and only the 2nd time since they started 5-0 in 1941 under HC Red Sanders (finished 8-2). The Dores also started 5-0 in 1937 (HC Ray Morrison- finished 7-2), 3-0 in 1932 (HC Dan McGugin- finished 6-0-2), 6-0 in 1928 (HC McGugin- finished 8-2), 6-0 in 1921 (HC McGugin- finished 7-0-1), 6-0 in 1916 (HC McGugin- finished 7-1-1), 7-0 in 1915 (HC McGugin- finished 9-1), 6-0 in 1912 (HC McGugin- finished 8-1-1), 4-0 in 1910 (HC McGugin- finished 8-0-1), 5-0 in 1908 (HC McGugin- finished 7-2-1), 9-0 in 1904 (HC McGugin- only undefeated and untied team in Vandy history), and 8-0 in 1902 (HC W.H. Watkins- finished 8-1. There are 3 takeaways from all this info- 1) it's been a while since Vandy started a season this well, 2) the Commodores were a power early in the last century, and 3) HC Dan McGugin was a heck of a coach!

Mississippi State- Even though the Bulldogs lost 41-34 to Tennessee in OT, they proved their 4-0 start was no fluke, and that they could get to a bowl game.

Ohio State- The Buckeyes and QB Julian Sayin passed their 1st road test with flying colors, defeating Washington 24-6. OSU has only allowed 22 points in its 4 games, or 5.5 ppg. They have 2 tests remaining on their schedule: Penn State in The Horseshoe on Nov 1, and at The Big House on Nov 29.

Oregon- The Ducks finally played a quality opponent- Penn State- and came out on top 30-24, though it took 2 OTs after allowing the Nittany Lions to come back from a 2 TD deficit. 

Illinois- The Fighting Illini bounced back in a big way, kicking a game-winning FG to best USC 34-32.

Indiana- The Hoosiers survived at Iowa 20-15 to stay unbeaten. After an off week, they travel to Eugene to take on the Ducks. Win that and there is one more hurdle to an undefeated season- at Penn State on Nov 8.

Georgia Tech- The Yellow Jackets are both lucky and good, a combination needed for a special season. They were the beneficiary of a non-call when they were offsides on defense, which allowed them to get the ball back and drive for the tying FG to send the game into OT. And then they were able to break up Wake Forest's 2-pt try to secure the 30-29 win. The Jackets now get a deserved week off before hosting Va Tech.

Duke- The Blue Devils blasted Syracuse 38-3 as they appear to have moved beyond their 2 losses to Illinois and at Tulane. At 2-0 in the ACC, Duke is obviously still in the race, but they have a big game against Ga Tech in a few weeks after playing Cal on the road.

Virginia Tech- The Hokies moved to 2-0 under interim HC Philip Montgomery by outlasting NC State 23-21. Can they keep it going?

Virginia- The Cavaliers are 2-0 in the ACC, and if they can get by Louisville this weekend, could be favored in 5 of their remaining 6 games.

California- The Golden Bears won their ACC opener 28-24 over Boston College to improve their record to 4-1, with their only loss an inexplicable 34-0 blowout to SDSU.

Utah- The Utes are another team that bounced back from a big loss last week, pouncing on West Virginia to win 48-14.

Iowa State- The Cyclones are one of 9 teams to get to 5-0 as they routed Arizona 39-14. With a win at Cincinnati this weekend, ISU could get to bowl eligibility.

Kansas State- The Wildcats finally had some success, getting by UCF 34-20 to earn their 1st FBS win of the year. At 1-2 in the Big 12, they are all but eliminated from the CFP.

BYU- The Cougars topped Colorado 24-21 to remain undefeated, and they very well could be 6-0 when they host Utah on Oct 18.

Cincinnati- The Bearcats eked by Kansas 37-34 to get to 3-1 on the year, and 1-0 in the Big 12. Cincy seems to be much improved, but have a huge test against Iowa State in Nippert Stadium on Saturday.

Houston- The Cougars slipped by Oregon State 37-24 in OT, and now are 4-0/1-0, with a big game this weekend against Texas Tech. 

Notre Dame- The Fighting Irish demolished Arkansas 56-13, leading to the firing of Razorback HC Sam Pittman. The Irish are now back in the CFP picture.

Memphis- The Tigers continue to roll along, improving to 5-0 with a 55-26 win over FAU.

Navy- The Naval Academy stayed undefeated at 4-0 with their closest win yet, 21-13 over Rice. The Midshipmen are already 3-0 in the American Conference, and take a brief break from conference play with Air Force coming to town this weekend. 

North Texas- The Mean Green are 5-0 for the 1st time since 1959 with the 36-22 win over South Alabama. They get to enjoy the feeling during a bye week, but host USF and UTSA in their next 2 games, and then Navy 2 weeks later.

Boise State- The Broncos are back in the CFP picture with a 47-14 rout of App State, but that will quickly go away if they can't play Notre Dame close this weekend.

Hawaii- The Rainbow Warriors are 4-2 after downing Air Force 44-35. With just 2 more wins, they could make it back to bowl eligibility for the 1st time since 2021, and 3 more gets them their 1st winning season since they were 5-4 in 2020.

New Mexico- The Lobos are 3-1 after besting rival New Mexico State 38-20, but as important as that is, now the real challenge begins. Can they get 4 MWC wins for the 1st time since 2016?

ODU- The Monarchs dominated Liberty 21-7, going 3-1 in OOC play with their only loss to undefeated Indiana in the opener. The Flames are/were expected to be the class of CUSA. 

ULM- The Warhawks are 3-1 for a 2nd year in a row after topping Arkansas State 28-16. It seems unlikely that they will match last year's 5-1 start, as they play at Northwestern this weekend, but their goal is to do better than the 0-6 finish from last year, which means going at least 4-4 in the SBC.

Ohio- The Bobcats just keep winning as they beat Bowling Green 35-20 to improve to 3-2/1-0.

La Tech- The Bulldogs flattened UTEP 30-11, moving to 4-1/2-0 with their only loss at LSU. This could be a big year for LT!

WKU- The Hilltoppers appear well on their way to a spot in the CUSA CG with a 27-22 win over Missouri State, making them 4-1/2-0.

Kennesaw State- The Owls defeated MTSU 24-16, and they are now 3-2/1-0, marking the 1st time they are over .500 at the FBS level and over .500 in CUSA play. They are off this week, but have La Tech at home on Oct 9.

Losers

Georgia- Not only did the Bulldogs lose to Alabama for the 10th time in the last 11 meetings, they also suffered their 1st home defeat since 2019 and only their 2nd since 2016 (and the 1st home night game under HC Kirby Smart). The Dawgs now have to win the rest of their SEC games, or they will miss the SEC CG for the 1st time since 2020. They can still suffer 1 more loss and make the CFP (I think), but they have to do better than they did against the Tide, when they squandered multiple opportunities and couldn't make a stop when it mattered, allowing Bama to convert 13 of 19 third down attempts. 

LSU- The Tigers struggled once again to generate offense, as they scored less than 24 for their 4th consecutive FBS game, this time not even breaking 20 in their 24-19 loss to Ole Miss. The Bayou Bengals have an off week to get ready for the rest of their schedule, and they now have little margin for error. 

Arkansas- The Razorbacks were destroyed 56-13 by Notre Dame to fall to 2-3, and their schedule doesn't get any easier. HC Sam Pittman has been relieved of duties and replaced with interim HC Bobby Petrino. Oh dear...

Penn State- The Nittany Lions again lost to one of the top teams in the Big Ten, as they fell 30-24 to Oregon in 2 OT at home. They'll get another chance at Ohio State in November.

USC- The Trojans saw their dreams of an undefeated season go up in smoke when they lost to Illinois 34-32 on a last second FG. Suddenly, the rest of their schedule looks more daunting.

UCLA- The Bruins are one of only 4 winless teams, and the only one that's in a P4 conference. The 17-14 loss to Northwestern eliminates one of their few chances for a win.

FSU- The Seminoles fell 46-38 in 2 OTs to Virginia on Friday night, as the Cavaliers ended FSU's dreams of an undefeated run through the ACC before it even started. Now the Noles are in danger to dropping to 0-2 in the conference if they lose to Miami this week. 

NC State- The Wolfpack lost to Virginia Tech 23-21, falling to 2-3 on the season, and 1-2 in the ACC. NC State started the season 3-0, and seemed to be a team on the move, but once again, they fail to live up to expectations.

Syracuse- The Orange squandered all the good will they had built up by not even being competitive in the 38-3 loss to Duke.

Boston College- The Eagles fell 28-24 to Cal, and BC still doesn't have an FBS win, as they are 0-2 in the ACC.

Oklahoma State- Unlike other teams, the Cowboys did not play better under their interim HC (Doug Meacham), losing by 18 to Baylor.

Oregon State- The Beavers are 0-5 after losing in OT 27-24 to Houston, the only team so far with 5 losses. However, there are several winnable games on their schedule, as their most difficult stretch (4 P4 opponents out of the 1st 5 games) is over. 

Army- It's apparent that the Black Knights will not be repeating their success from last year as they are 1-3/0-2 after the 28-6 loss to ECU. They can still make it back to a bowl game if they can get things turned around.

San Jose State- The Spartans were expected to build on last year's 7-6 record, but instead have started the season 1-3 with no FBS wins. 2 of their losses were by a combined 3 points, including 30-29 to Stanford on Saturday (the other was to Texas), but they can still win the MWC, as they open conference play with New Mexico in CEFCU Stadium.

Air Force- The Falcons fell to 1-3/0-3 with a 44-35 loss to Hawaii at home, and they've now lost 10 of their last 14 FBS games. Could Troy Calhoun be the next long-time HC to be let go?

Colorado State- The Rams put up little resistance in a 20-3 loss to Washington State at home. They are now 1-3 with no FBS wins, but start Mountain West play at SDSU this weekend.

Georgia Southern- The Eagles were non-competitive in losing to James Madison 35-10, dropping their record to 2-3/0-1.

South Alabama- The Jaguars are a miserable 1-4 after losing 36-22 to UNT.

UMass- The Minutemen stayed winless with a 42-6 loss to Missouri.

Liberty- The Flames were picked by virtually everyone to win CUSA, but instead are 1-4/0-1 with no FBS wins. They are 3 losses away from having their most ever at the FBS level.

Middle Tennessee- The Blue Raiders just lost at Kennesaw State by a score of 24-16, dropping them to 1-4. This is one of the worst teams in FBS.

UTEP- The Miners are also 1-4 with no FBS wins after a 30-11 loss to La Tech. 

That's it for this week! Come back tomorrow for my updated Power Rankings!

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