MUST SEE VIDEOS OF THE WEEK (Link is all of the words):
1-I know there is controversy on whether or not this counts, but did you see Central Michigan?! What an incredible finish, they did it once again. (throwback link here to last miracle CMU play).
2-Unlike a certain NFL backup quarterback, I think that public displays of patriotism shown at sporting events are incredible, as I have the utmost respect for the military and the greatest country on Earth. The scene at Bristol this weekend was amazing. God Bless America.
3- Arizona State's Kalen Ballage tied the FBS single-game record with eight touchdowns against Texas Tech Saturday night/Sunday morning. Here is his final score of the evening.
4- LSU's Tre'Davious White provided a huge spark for LSU Saturday night to put this game out of reach. The ability to change field on a punt return drew crazy reactions from my roommates and I.
5-In the weekly non-college football spot, how awesome was this drive by the Lions? If only they didn't need these late game heroics to win after blowing a 21-3 lead...
GROUP OF FIVE TOP FIVE
1-Houston: Ranked #6/7, the Cougars are in the driver's seat until they get dethroned. The health of Greg Ward Jr. lingers in question however as the Cougars will play Cincinnati on Thursday.
2-Western Michigan: Row the Boat. The Broncos blew out North Carolina Central 70-21 Saturday night. With one B1G win under their belts, they are FAVORITES at Illinois on Saturday.
3-San Diego State: In a shootout 45-40 win over Cal, the Aztecs increased their winning streak to twelve games, trailing only Alabama for the nation's longest win streak. The MWC Title game against Boise State could be for the G5 spot if the two teams continue to win this fall.
4- Central Michigan: I know there is controversy on whether or not this counts, but did you see Central Michigan?! What an incredible finish, they did it once again. (throwback link here to last miracle CMU play). The Chippewas are a legitimate threat to the Broncos in the MAC this fall.
5-Boise State: The Broncos, the original "BCS Buster" and inspiration for the G5 berth, held on for a close victory late Saturday night against Washington State. The MWC Title game against San Diego State could be for the G5 spot if the chips fall the right way.
WEEK 2 G5 PREDICTIONS:
Houston @ Cincinnati: In a Thursday night game that is better than the terrible "Color Rush" product the NFL forces upon us, the Cougars will need Greg Ward Jr to escape with a road W.
W.Michigan @ Illinois: As of Monday morning, the Broncos were four point favorites on the road at a B1G program. That speaks volumes to the respect PJ Fleck has earned. WMU with another B1G W
San Diego State @ N.Illinois: In a battle of two top G5 teams the past few years, the Aztecs find themselves heavy favorites as a result of NIU's slide this fall. SDSU wins yet again.
Central Michigan v UNLV: UNLV is not very good yet, as Tony Sanchez needs time to build his program similar to the way he did at Bishop Gorman. CMU with the W to go to 3-0.
Boise State is idle this week.
FIVE FCS UPSETS TO FOLLOW
Last week, in the five FCS upsets I listed, two of them emerged victorious (Eastern Illinois and North Carolina A&T), and a third lost when their game-winning two point conversion attempt was unsuccessful (North Dakota). This week, there are only twelve FCS matchups, so the picks are slightly harder to make. The five most intriguing:
1-Liberty at SMU: The Flames gave Virginia Tech a run for their money two weeks ago, and this SMU team is reeling off a blowout loss to Baylor last week. Perhaps the perfect storm?
2-Monmouth at Kent State: My apologizes to my friends at Kent State, you're on the list yet again. But you lost last week, and Monmouth is 2-0...watch out, lightning occasionally strikes twice.
3-North Carolina A&T at Tulsa: Speaking of lightning striking twice, NCA&T is coming off a win at Kent State, and they play a Tulsa team that has looked inconsistent in their two games.
4- UC Davis at Wyoming: The Aggies nearly led Oregon for a whole quarter (UO scored with 25 seconds left in the first). Wyoming's defense is giving up an average of 38 points per game.
5-North Dakota State at Iowa: Iowa is a really good team, I have respected them as a legitimate threat since last year, but NDSU has won five straight FCS titles, and you cannot ignore that fact.
FIVE PLAYERS YOU OUGHT TO KNOW
In 2015, Christian McCaffrey had one of the better seasons in recent college football history, yet he did not win the Heisman Trophy. Many attribute this to the fact that he plays on the West Coast and as a result, his games are not watched as frequently by the voters due to late kickoff times. In this section, I list five of college football's best players that for one reason or another, you have not heard of yet.
1- Patrick Mahomes (QB Texas Tech) Kliff Kingsbury's pass-heavy offense has Mahomes leading the FBS in passing yards with 1023 yards and nine touchdowns on 68/96 passing.
2- Davis Webb (QB California) Perhaps my favorite FBS QB, Webb also benefits from a pass-heavy system as he is second in passing at 963 yards and nine touchdowns on 79/126 passing.
3- Corey Davis (WR Western Michigan) The Broncos star player (who has a Heisman Trophy campaign page linked here), is the FBS 16th all time leading receiver. When he goes, they go.
4- Donnel Pumphrey (RB San Diego St) Pumphrey is coming of back-to-back 1600+ yards rushing, and is already poised to break the 1000 yard mark this year, as he has 379 yards in just two games.
5- Marcus Cox (RB Appalachian State) Cox is another running back with two straight 1400+ yard seasons, and he was a reason they hung around Tennessee. If they expect to do the same against Miami Florida this Saturday, Cox will need his fifth straight game of 100+ rushing yards.
TURN YOUR TV TO THIS:
Weekday: Houston at Cincinnati (TH 7:30, ESPN), Arizona State at UTSA (FRI 9:30, ESPN2)
Sat Early: Florida State at Louisville (12:00, ABC), Miami FL at App State (12:00, ESPN)
Sat Mid: Oregon at Nebraska (3:30, ABC), Alabama at Ole Miss (3:30, CBS)
Sat Prime: Michigan State at Notre Dame (7:30, NBC), Ohio State at Oklahoma (7:30, FOX)
Sat Late: UCLA at BYU (10:15, ESPN2), Texas at California (10:30, ESPN)
An interesting note here is that ESPN got a weak draw this week as three of the four matchups between ranked teams are not on the network. CBS, NBC and FOX all got one matchup, and the only matchup ESPN gets between ranked teams is the noon kick between Florida State and Louisville.
WEEK 3 PICKS:
Houston over Cincinnati: As noted in the G5 section, the Cougars can win if they have Ward Jr.
Arizona State over UTSA: If you stayed up Sunday morning, you found out ASU can score...wow.
Florida State over Louisville: Lamar Jackson, meet the first legit defense you've seen. Show's over.
Miami FL over App State: The Mountaineers hung with Tennessee, and will do the same here.
Nebraska over Oregon: Brady Hoke and a Pac-12 defense? This has shootout written all over it.
Alabama over Ole Miss: The Crimson Tide always struggle in this one, may be best game of the day.
MSU over N.Dame: The Spartans are coming off a bye, ready to get a big road victory.
Ohio St over Oklahoma: Isn't it awesome that the B1G actually has good teams this year?
BYU over UCLA: In another late night shootout, Taysom Hill and Josh Rosen will score in bunches.
Texas over California: I love Davis Webb, top QB in FBS, but Texas is too good. Longhorns close.
PARTING WORDS: Last week, the Arizona State Sun Devils took on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in a 10:00 kick. In a ridiculous display of offense, I found myself disgusted at the product that they called football. Growing up in Big Ten country, most teams use multiple tight end sets, fullbacks still exist, and in most games, the teams score less than thirty points. In this contest, it was 37-34..AT HALFTIME. The offensive numbers in this game are sickening. The 68-55 final produced 123 points, 1264 combined yards of offense including 891 through the air. Do these schools even recruit defensive players? No wonder Brady Hoke can coordinate a defense in the Pac 12, a majority of the Big Twelve and the Pac-12 (it must be in the league name) both cannot play defense to save their lives, and shootouts like this happen all of the time. How people can possibly enjoy this style of football played by their own team confuses me, it's painful to watch. I cannot wait for the Big Ten season to start so I can see Michigan State and Wisconsin bashing each other's heads in on the ground, playing real, true, physical football. Three yards and a cloud of dust forever.
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