This week didn’t have any Top 10 teams playing each other, it did have many good conference rivalry’s going on! In conference games, you never know what might happen.

I hope you enjoy!

#1.

Clemson 21 – North Carolina 20. The 26.5 spread was not covered.

What happened to the Clemson Tigers, The team who had made winning look easy? The North Carolina Tar Heels were supposed to be a walk in the park. Was this game a fluke or were the Tigers exposed? I like to look at a few stats to try to determine the answer to this question. Let’s see, Clemson had one fumble that the Tar Heels recovered. The Tigers had 10 more yards of penalties, but it was still on 30 yards total. Clemson only moved the ball 41 more total yards than North Carolina. This game was close in statistics and on the scoreboard. So, what happened?

First, that 30 yards of penalties were on 6 penalties that were Clemson shooting itself in the foot. It was mostly from false starts, this kept the Tigers from ever getting their rhythm going. They would move the ball a few yards and drop back a few yards.

North Carolina coach Mack Brown had a great game-plan for this game. Slow down the game, keep the Tigers off the field. The Tar Heel defense did their part by holding a very high-powered offense to only 21 points. This game was well played and well-coached by Mack Brown and his staff.

So, what won the game for Clemson? In my opinion, a Tar Heel coaching error. Why would you go for the one-point win with a two-point conversion? Why didn’t North Carolina go for the sure one point PAT, tie the game and take it into over-time? Coach Brown rationalized that with only 1:17 left on the clock, Clemson's offense had plenty of time to score and win, instead, all they had to do was hold the ball and let the clock run. A win by one is as good as a win of 100. Except it’s not.

The Tigers dropped to #2 in this week's AP Poll.

Clemson will enjoy a bye week this Saturday and take on the Florida State Seminoles on October 12th.

#2.

Alabama 59 – Ole Miss 31. The 37.5 spread was not covered.

Ole Miss or as we in Alabama like to call them, “Ole Sis”. Who remembers them surprising the Tide and winning two years straight? I certainly do. In the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Heartbreaking for Bama all though they won the National Championship in 2015 with one loss, marred only by Ole Miss.

But, Bama was supposed to win this game by 37.5 points! Well, my thought on this, the oddsmakers are nuts! Some of the spread points they have given this season have been ludicrous. What team wins by 40 points every week? No one, that’s who.

I will happily take a 28 point win over a team that had beaten us twice in the last 5 years. I am worried about the Tide defense. They allowed 476 yards by a lack-luster Ole Miss offense. Bama’s ground game is still in need of tweaking, only gaining 155 yards. But, did you see Tua Tagovailoa and DeVonta Smith connect for 5 touchdown passes? It was a thing of beauty and amazing awe. Smith set a school record with 11 receptions for 274 yards and 5 touchdowns. Tua T. set a new school record by passing for 6 touchdowns and rushing for one.

So yes, the Tide won by 28 points not the ridiculous 37.5 predicted, but they are continuing to struggle on the defensive side of the ball and in the ground game. Also, they had 10 penalties and forfeited 76 yards.

Alabama moved up to #1 in this week's AP Poll.

Alabama will enjoy a bye week this weekend and prepare to take on Texas A&M on October 12th.

#3.

Georgia enjoyed a bye week and remained at #3 in this week's AP Poll.

Georgia will travel to Tennessee on October 5th. The spread on this game is currently off.

#4.

LSU enjoyed a bye week and dropped to #5 in this week's AP Poll.

LSU will host Utah State on October 5th as a 24.5 point favorite.

#5.

Ohio State 48 – Nebraska 7. The 17.5 spread was covered.

I awoke this past Saturday morning to the ESPN crew talking about how they believed that the Buckeyes are actually the best team in the country. If this game was any indication, maybe they are correct.

This was supposed to be the first real test for Ohio State if this was a test they passed with flying colors. The Buckeyes were able to crush the Corn Huskers passing attack and held them to only 47 yards in the air and forcing 3 interceptions.

Ohio State dominated Nebraska in every way and controlled the clock by holding the ball for almost 37 of the 60-minute game. The Buckeyes also played an extremely clean game giving away only 25 yards in 2 penalties.

Ohio State moved up to the #4 position in this week's AP Poll with Georgia and LSU being idle.

Ohio State will host Michigan State on October 5th as a 20.5 point favorite.

#6.

Oklahoma 55 – Texas Tech 16. The 27.0 spread was covered.

Holy cow! 644 yards of offense, 443 of those in the air! I love Jalen Hurts, what a fantastic young man and quarterback. There are not enough accolades for him. He is amazing and I miss him at Bama, but I am so proud of his accomplishments with the Sooners.

The only error came when Hurts threw his first interception of the season in the third quarter on a tipped ball. He is human after all. Human, yes. One of the greatest quarterbacks, in my humble opinion, yes.

The Red Raiders of Texas Tech had a couple of firsts in this game. This was the first time this season they had not forced a three-and-out on their opponents opening possession. It was also the first time they had allowed points in the first quarter this season.

Oklahoma remained at #6 in this week's AP Poll.

Oklahoma will travel to Kansas on October 5th as a 35.5 point favorite.

#7.

Auburn 56 – Mississippi State 23. The 10.5 spread was covered.

With the exception of a lost fumble, Auburn scored on every possession in the first half of this ball game. The Tigers first punt didn’t come until late in the third quarter. AU was not playing a cupcake team, this is a respected SEC opponent that the Tigers lined up and whipped.

Auburn’s high-powered, fast scoring offense is led by true freshman Bo Nix. Bo is the son of AU 1992 alum and quarterback, Patrick Nix. Coach Nix also coached his son at Pinson Valley High School in Alabama. Pinson Valley won the 6-A state championship last year. This was Pinson Valleys first-ever state football championship. So, while Bo is a true freshman, he has been groomed for the Auburn quarterback position his entire life.

Auburn retain their #7 position in this week's AP Poll.

Auburn will travel to Florida on October 5th as a 3.0 point favorite.

#8.

Wisconsin 24 – North Western 15. The 23.5 spread was not covered.

This game was shocking from the beginning when we first saw both teams “throwback” uniforms. Throwback to 1891, these were very ugly. Just sayin’.

It was the Wisconsin defense that kept them from losing this game, by holding the Wildcat offense and also scoring two of the Badger touchdowns. They also sacked the Northwestern quarterback three times in this game.

Badger quarterback Jack Coan stated that the offense owed the defense for this win and he was absolutely right in saying so. The Wisconsin offense could only muster 243 total yards and 13 first downs. The Badgers also accumulated 79 yards in penalties and coughed up the ball twice. Northwestern had one field-goal in the first quarter, this was the first game Wisconsin has allowed their opponent to score in the first half so far this season.

The Badgers didn’t “shine” but they did win.

Wisconsin held their #8 position in this week's AP Poll.

Wisconsin will host Kent State on October 5th as a 36.5 point favorite.

#9.

Florida 29 – Towson 0. The spread was off for this game.

This game was a lot more lopsided than the scoreboard. The Towson Tigers threw two interceptions and one fumbled the ball away once on their way to getting a beating from the Gators.

Florida coach Dan Mullen was very proud of his two-time starting quarterback Kyle Trask but stated his offensive line had to improve to continue to take care of business. The Gators were able to put up 422 total yards of offense against the lower-division Tigers.

While Towson was able to move the ball on the Gators their drives seemed to end in turnovers, both fumbles, and interceptions or missed field-goals.

Florida held out two defensive starters for this game due to injuries. Coach Mullen stated they would be back next week in time to take on the Auburn Tigers.

Florida dropped to #10 in this week's AP Poll.

Florida will host Auburn on October 5th as a 3.0 point underdog.

#10.

Notre Dame 35 – Virginia 20. The 12.5 spread was covered.

Notre Dame’s defense stepped up with eight sacks on the Cavaliers quarterback on their way to a 15 point victory.

The Fighting Irish were coming off a disappointing loss to Georgia the previous week. They were hungry to redeem their name and show that they were worthy of the Top 10 teams in the Nation.

The #18 University of Virginia team was undefeated coming into this game and also had something to prove. Both teams fought valiantly. The Cavs actually had better stats than the Irish. They had 338 total offensive yards to Notre Dames 322. Virginia also controlled the ball seven minutes more than the Irish. The Cavaliers were very predictable with 334 yards passing and only 4 yards rushing.

The biggest difference in this game was the 5 turnovers committed by the Cavaliers. You can’t win a game over a quality opponent with 3 fumbles and 2 interceptions.

Notre Dame moved up to the #9 place in this week's AP Poll.

Notre Dame will host Bowling Green on October 5th as a 45 point favorite.

I wish I could speak directly to the Vegas oddsmakers and let them know that I think they’re stupid when it comes to some of these spreads, especially against conference foes. At any rate, these games were fun to watch! Until next week.

Mama