I am going to begin this by saying, this blog is my opinion. It is neither hard or soft news, all though there are news items and stats in the article, it remains my opinion. I make an honest effort to be objective, but like anyone, I have teams that I love and teams that I don't care for. So, if I hurt your feelings, I’m sorry, it is not done with malice.
This week and the rest of the season the Top 10 is from the CFP (College Football Playoff) Poll, not the AP (Associated Press) Poll. The CFP is all that matters at this point. Who’s in, who’s out.
This week the SEC Playoff was set as Georgia won the East and Alabama won the West. It will be interesting to see which Power-5 Conference participants clinch Conference Championship spots in the next couple of weeks.
On to the Top Ten
#1
Alabama 29 – LSU 0 The 14.5 spread was covered
Regular SEC West Match-up
This game will tell the tale of who gets to represent the “West” in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta, on Dec. 1, 2018.
I have to say, before the game, I told Pete, “my stomach is upset, my fingers are numb and my head is pounding”. I felt like I was about to play and I was as nervous as I was when I got my drivers license 43 years ago.
Alabama came out, got the ball first and did not score on their first possession as they had in every other game this season. My nerves got worse.
The Tide defense has played a little sluggish this season, allowing way more points than in years past, but the offense had made up for it by scoring over 50 points/game. This game was going to be different.
The defense stopped the Tigers at everything they tried. The LSU offense was held to only 12 yards rushing. Wow! What a feat…… and it was a good thing as the offense couldn’t hear the snap count or Tua’s hand clap. Encroachment after encroachment penalties. They simply couldn’t hear. This is quite normal for a big game in Death Valley on a Saturday night, but something the Tide is not used to dealing with. Adjustments were made on the sidelines and the Tide could communicate again.
This game is always huge and hard played and tonight was no different. It was #1 and #3 and they were fighting to get to the Conference Championship and hopefully another National Championship for the SEC.
Bama would wind up with 29 points to LSU’s 0. It was a statement game. The Tide proved they could play with one hobbled quarterback, maybe they couldn’t run the RPO’s they are used to, maybe they didn’t have a backup quarterback with any experience but they would not be denied the end-zone and the win. Tua finally played into the fourth quarter.
Alabama welcomes Mississippi State this Saturday, November 10, 2018, at 2:30 pm CST
#2
Clemson 77 – Louisville 16 The 38.5 spread was covered
Regular Season ACC Match-up
I have always been a great admirer of Coach Dabo Swinney, he works hard and he plays hard, or so he says. But, nothing could beat one of Coach Swinney’s greatest accomplishments, his son, Will, scoring a touchdown pass during this game. That made Coach smile and smile big, more fun for Dabo and his team of Tigers.
This game was a blow-out as Louisville put up very little defense against the great Clemson offense. The offense broke records during this game. One of the most interesting was the “most snaps in program history” by the left tackle, Mitch Hyatt with 3,362 snaps in the second quarter. The Tiger offense also had a season-high rushing total with 492 yards. While not record-setting the Tigers did see three runners with more than 100 yards each. It was also Clemson’s highest-scoring game since 1981.
Clemson has all five defensive linemen back from last year. Four of this group could have gone in last years NFL Draft but chose to stay with the Tigers for another run for the National Championship. They are a mighty force against any offense.
Louisville suffered their sixth loss of the season and it is not looking good for Coach Bobby Petrino’s Cardinals this season. The Cardinals have seen wins only against Indiana State and Western Kentucky and that was by only three points.
Clemson travels to Boston College on Saturday, November 10, 2018, at 7:00 pm CST
#3
LSU 0 – Alabama 29
Regular Season SEC West Match-up
#3 LSU loses to #1 Alabama. The bigger news was LSU was shut out by Alabama.
Since I’ve covered this game above, I’m going to give some stats from the game. You can see for yourselves what a thumping the Tigers endured.
1st downs -------- Alabama 29 – LSU 13
Total yards ------ Alabama 576 – LSU 196
Passing ---------- Alabama 295 – LSU 184
Rushing --------- Alabama 281 – LSU 12
Penalties -------- Alabama 3-15 – LSU 6-60
Turnovers ------- Alabama 1 – LSU 1
Both turnovers were interceptions.
Tua Tagovailoa threw his first interception of the season.
LSU travels to Arkansas on Saturday, November 10, 2018, at 6:30 pm CST
#4
Notre Dame 31 – Northwestern 21 The 9.0 spread was covered
Regular Season Match-up
Notre Dame just keeps on winning. Northwestern hung with the Irish and even tied the game in the second quarter, but ND was just too much for the Wildcats.
The Irish were up 24-7 in the fourth when Northwestern came within 3 points making the score 24-21.
Notre Dame sealed the win with a touchdown in the closing minutes.
Northwestern has not beat a Top-5 ranked opponent since 1951.
One statistic that glares in this game are the Wildcats penalties. They were sited 8 times for 58 yards, while the Irish had 0 penalties in this game
Notre Dame welcomes Florida State on Saturday, November 10, 2018, at 6:30 pm CST
#5
Michigan 42 – Penn State 7 The 10.5 spread was covered
Regular Season Big10 East Matchup
The Wolverines of Michigan were determined to pay-back the Nittany Lions for last years embarrassing loss in Happy Valley and payback they did. The Wolverines were so embarrassed last year by the Nittany Lions they were pumped up and ready to prove the point that they are the team to beat in the Big10. Michigan took last years 42-13 loss to Penn State very personal when the Nittany Lions attempted to score on their last play of the game instead of taking the usual “Victory” formation and allowing the clock to expire.
Michigan held and controlled the ball over 15 minutes longer than Penn State. That makes a full quarter or ¼ of the game. Michigan’s defense was able to force 3 Nittany Lion turnovers.
One thing Coach Harbaugh is going to have to work on is penalties. The Wolverines were penalized 80 yards in 9 penalties.
It was a statement Saturday and Michigan made the statement that they want to be in the four-team College Football Playoff. They made that statement loud and clear with a beat down of the #14 ranked Nittany Lions. Wow, what a beating.
Michigan will travel to Rutgers on November 10, 2018, at 2:30 pm CST
#6
Georgia 34 – Kentucky 17 The 9.0 spread was covered
Regular SEC East Match-up
This game was to determine who represented the SEC East in the Conference Championship and the Bulldogs took the win!
Georgia had played in last years National Championship game and had lost only one game and that to SEC West powerhouse, LSU. But they felt they had something to prove to their fans and to the College Football Playoff Committee. They took the field against the Kentucky Wildcats determined to take the win and clinch the SEC East and do it in #11 ranked Kentucky’s house. Mission accomplished.
This game was so important the Wildcats Basketball Coach, John Calipari, called off basketball practice so his team could go to the football stadium and support the #9 Cats. The entire stadium was dressed in blue except for one little corner of red from the Georgia faithful. With all this support at a very important home game, the Wildcats would be disappointed.
Georgia’s players had felt disrespected as Kentucky was receiving the lion's share of media attention. They entered this game with a chip on their shoulder and it paid off for them.
Georgia running back, D’Andre Swift rushed for a career-high 156 yards and their other running back, Elijah Holyfield also ran for a career-high 115 yards.
Georgia’s defense was able to hold the Wildcats and much-touted running back, Benny Snell, Jr. to 84 rushing yards.
Georgia welcomes Auburn on Saturday, November 10, 2018, at 6 pm CST
# 7
Oklahoma 51 – Texas Tech University 46 The 13.5 spread was not covered
Regular Season Big-12 Match-up
The Sooners did not look that impressive against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday. At one time they were two touchdowns down and at the half, the score was 31-28 TTU.
The Red Raiders lost their Big 12 passing leader quarterback in the second quarter and he did not return for the second half. TTU’s QB, Alan Bowman, has been suffering this season with a recurring partially collapsed lung. TTU’s game changed after Bowman left the game. Bowman was to be held at a hospital overnight for observation. I sincerely wish him the best for a speedy recovery.
Everything seemed to go the Sooners way after the half. The Oklahoma defense was able to force the Red Raiders to punt 3 straight times in the third quarter. Oklahoma was able to come back strong on offense and put up a whopping 687 in total offensive yards. However, the Red Raiders were able to get to 473 with a backup quarterback against the Sooners defense.
To score 51 points but not be able to cover a less than two touchdown spread against a team with a replacement quarterback…….. yeah, the Sooners defense is in need of help.
Oklahoma welcomes Oklahoma State on Saturday, November 10, 2018, at 2:30 pm CST
#8
Washington State 19 – California 13 The 10.0 spread was not covered
Regular Season Pac-12 North Match-up
What should have been a pick-six for the Washington State, Cougars late in the third quarter was instead fumbled on the three-yard line. Yeah, it was that kind of night.
There really isn’t a whole lot to say about this game. Washington State has very little chance of getting into the CFP even if they win out. They are 8-1 with their only loss coming from USC but the Cal Bears are 5-4 and this game shouldn’t have even been close, let alone allowing Cal to lead most of the game. With 32 seconds left in the game, Washington State was able to score a touchdown on a 10-yard pass to move ahead of the Bears to win the game.
Washington State did win the stats game with a total of 471 offensive yards to the Bears 291. Maybe it was their 80 yards of penalties and 2 turnovers that just made this win look sloppy.
Washington State travels to Colorado on Saturday, November 10, 2018, at 2:30 pm CST
#9
Kentucky 17 – Georgia 34
Regular Season SEC East Match-up
#9 Kentucky Wildcats take on the #6 Georgia Bulldogs the winner will be in the SEC Championship game in December.
Since I’ve covered this game above, I’m going to give some stats from the game.
1st downs ------------ Georgia 25 – Kentucky 21
Total yards -----------Georgia 444 – Kentucky 310
Passing --------------- Georgia 113 – Kentucky 226
Rushing -------------- Georgia 331 – Kentucky 84
Penalties ------------- Georgia 4-45 – Kentucky 6-64
Turnovers ----------- Georgia 2 – Kentucky 2
Kentucky travels to Tennessee on Saturday, November 10, 2018, at 2:30 pm CST
#10
Ohio State 36 – Nebraska 31 The 17.5 spread was not covered
Regular Big10 Match-up
The Ohio State Buckeyes attempted to beat themselves with turnovers that turned into two Nebraska Cornhusker touchdown drives. The Buckeyes also suffered one interception for a total of 3 turnovers. But, they pulled it out and beat the 2-6 Cornhuskers.
Ohio St. running back, J.K. Dobbins, ran for a season-high 163 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The Cornhuskers went into the half with a 21-16 lead but the Buckeyes defense rallied and forced 5 straight punts. The Buckeye defense is floundering with missing 3 starters in their secondary.
The Buckeyes are still stunned by the upset from Purdue two weeks ago. But they bounced back and did what they had to do to win the game.
Ohio State travels to Michigan State on Saturday, November 10, 2018, at 11 am CST
This sums up week 10 of the NCAA Football season and I am already mourning the end of the season. I absolutely love college football and everything about it. The camaraderie of the teams, the craziness of the fans (myself included) and the amazing plays that come from the great competition.
Until next week,
Mama
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