2023 college football news and notes

[InThe313]

It's already here!  College football is back and after an amazing season last year, the race to the College Football Playoff officially begins today in (of all places) Dublin.  Here is your Opening Day schedule.

Navy Midshipmen at Notre Dame Fighting Irish today at 2:30 p.m.
UTEP Miners at Jacksonville State Gamecocks today at 5:30 p.m.
UMass Minutemen at New Mexico State Aggies tonight at 7 p.m.
Ohio Bobcats at San Diego State Aztecs tonight at 7 p.m.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Vanderbilt Commodores tonight at 7:30 p.m.
San Jose State Spartans at USC Trojans tonight at 9 p.m.
FIU Panthers at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs tonight at 9 p.m.

[InThe313]

The more the Pac-12 is gutted,the more obsolete Rand-McNally becomes.  According to Pete Thamel, the ACC voted to invite Stanford, California and SMU to join the conference in all sports starting in 2024-25.  Updates to come.

Stanford beat Hawaii, 37-24.

[InThe313]

One of the great traditions of the game is back.  Lee Corso made his headgear pick for No. 21 North Carolina while South Carolina superfan Darius Rucker looked on.  Updates to come.

North Carolina beat South Carolina, 31-17.

[InThe313]

The first week is complete and we're already reshuffling the rankings.  The new AP poll is here.  Head coach Deion Sanders has Colorado in the poll after their big upset.  Here's the full rankings and what's next.

1.  Georgia (vs. Ball State on Saturday in Athens, Ga.)
2.  Michigan (vs. UNLV on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.)
3.  Alabama (vs. No. 11 Texas on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
4.  Florida State (vs. Southern Miss on Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla.)
5.  Ohio State (vs. Youngstown State on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio)
6.  USC (vs. Stanford on Saturday in Los Angeles)
7.  Penn State (vs. Delaware on Saturday in State College, Pa.)
8.  Washington (vs. Tulsa on Saturday in Seattle)
9.  Tennessee (vs. Austin Peay on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.)
10.  Notre Dame (at NC State on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.)
11.  Texas (at No. 3 Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
12.  Utah (at Baylor on Saturday in Waco, Texas)
13.  Oregon (at Texas Tech on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas)
14.  LSU (vs. Grambling State on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.)
15.  Kansas State (vs. Troy on Saturday in Manhattan, Kan.)
16.  Oregon State (vs. UC Davis on Saturday in Corvallis, Ore.)
17.  North Carolina (vs. Appalachian State on Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C.)
18.  Oklahoma (vs. SMU on Saturday in Norman, Okla.)
19.  Wisconsin (at Washington State on Saturday in Pullman, Wash.)
20.  Ole Miss (at No. 24 Tulane on Saturday in New Orleans)
21.  Duke (vs. Lafayette on Saturday in Durham, N.C.)
22.  Colorado (vs. Nebraska on Saturday in Boulder, Colo.)
23.  Texas A&M (at Miami (Fla.) on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Fla.)
24.  Tulane (vs. No. 20 Ole Miss on Saturday in New Orleans)
25.  Clemson (vs. Charleston Southern on Saturday in Clemson, S.C.)

[InThe313]

I always love seeing this every Saturday and it didn't disappoint today.  Lee Corso said, "Play the fight song," threw on a No. 11 Texas mascot head to reveal his pick for the Texas vs. No. 3 Alabama game with NFL legend Joe Namath by his side.  Updates to come.

UPDATE:  Get to a TV now!  It's time for college football in primetime.  Texas is playing Alabama now.  No. 19 Wisconsin will play Washington State at 7:30 p.m.  Grambling State will play No. 14 LSU at 7:30 p.m.  Seven big games have kicked off right now.

UPDATE 2:  In the words of Keith Jackson, whoa, Nelly!  Alabama leads Texas, 16-13, entering the fourth quarter in a tight battle.

UPDATE 3:  Look out, SEC!  Texas upset Alabama, 34-24, for their first AP Top 3 win since 2008 when they upset No. 1 Oklahoma.  (The current-day No. 18 Sooners beat SMU, 28-11.)

Georgia State beat UConn, 35-14.
Missouri beat Middle Tennessee, 23-19.
Memphis beat Arkansas State, 37-3. 
Coastal Carolina beat Jacksonville State, 30-16.
Louisiana Tech beat Northwestern State, 51-21.
Western Kentucky beat Houston Christian, 52-22.
South Florida beat Florida A&M, 38-24.
Washington State upset Wisconsin, 31-22.
LSU beat Grambling State, 72-10.

[Cadeauxxx]

I watched the Texas/Bama game last night and have some notes.

First off, big win for Texas. I can't remember the last time anyone went into Bryant-Denny stadium and won by 10.

With that said, the game was a lot closer than it appeared. I'm not ready to buy into Texas, cause Bama could've easily won this with better QB.

Bama is running a Smashmouth offense this year like they did in the early Saban years. They looked very much like a Big 10 team last night trying to play a ball control offense and relying on the defense to do the heavy lifting. The defense did an OK job until the 4th quarter. The game was handed to Texas on an interception returned to the redzone, and then giving up a deep ball in the end. Bama didn't respect the deep ball last night, and it came back to haunt them when their defense became gassed.

I believe even with their defensive issues in the end, Bama would've won with better QB play. It would be so like Texas to go and lose to some lesser opponent after this big win.

[InThe313]

It's time to see how everything shakes out this week.  The new AP poll is here.  Texas jumped in the poll after taking down Alabama.  Here's who rose, who tumbled and what's next in the Top 25.

1.  Georgia (vs. South Carolina on Saturday in Athens, Ga.)
2.  Michigan (vs. Bowling Green on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.)
3.  Florida State (at Boston College on Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass.)
4.  Texas (vs. Wyoming on Saturday in Austin, Texas)
5.  USC (at Arizona State on Sept. 23 in Tempe, Ariz.)
6.  Ohio State (vs. Western Kentucky on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio)
7.  Penn State (at Illinois on Saturday in Champaign, Ill.)
8.  Washington (at Michigan State on Saturday in East Lansing, Mich.)
9.  Notre Dame (vs. Central Michigan on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.)
10.  Alabama (at South Florida on Saturday in Tampa, Fla.)
11.  Tennessee (at Florida on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla.)
12.  Utah (vs. Weber State on Saturday in Salt Lake City)
13.  Oregon (vs. Hawaii on Saturday in Eugene, Ore.)
14.  LSU (at Mississippi State on Saturday in Starkville, Miss.)
15.  Kansas State (at Missouri on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.)
16.  Oregon State (vs. San Jose State on Saturday in Corvallis, Ore.)
17.  Ole Miss (vs. Georgia Tech on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.)
18.  Colorado (vs. Colorado State on Saturday in Boulder, Colo.)
19.  Oklahoma (at Tulsa on Saturday in Tulsa, Okla.)
20.  North Carolina (vs. Minnesota on Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C.)
21.  Duke (vs. Northwestern on Saturday in Durham, N.C.)
22.  Miami (Fla.) (vs. Bethune-Cookman on Thursday in Miami Gardens, Fla.)
23.  Washington State (vs. Northern Colorado on Saturday in Pullman, Wash.)
24.  UCLA (vs. North Carolina Central on Saturday in Pasadena, Calif.)
25.  Iowa (vs. Western Michigan on Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa)

[InThe313]

There's no need to throw shade at this pick.  Lee Corso was joined by Dwayne Johnson as he made his milestone 400th headgear pick for No. 18 Colorado over Colorado State.  Updates to come.

UPDATE:  This rivalry finally got some heat again.  Colorado and Colorado State players got heated and need to be separated before kickoff.

UPDATE 2:  Get to a television set as soon as possible!  Colorado may be in trouble as the Buffaloes trail Colorado State, 21-17, early in the fourth quarter of their rivalry game.

UPDATE 3:  This game has lived up to the hype and the trash talk.  Colorado rallied to tie Colorado State at 28 at the end of the regulation, sending the Rams and Buffaloes to overtime.

UPDATE 4:  Whoa, let me catch my breath!  Colorado was in Prime form as Shedeur Sanders tossed two clutch touchdowns in overtime as the Buffaloes avoided a massive upset with a 43-35 double-overtime win over Colorado State.

[InThe313]

What's with all of these rivals going at it with one another?  No. 11 Tennessee and Florida players squared up threw punches in The Swamp in the closing seconds of the game after a Gators quarterback was hit while taking a knee.  The Gators upset the Volunteers, 29-16.

[Money]

Being a Tennessee fan for life I can explain some of the rivalry with bad blood the other half is the delusional Florida fans I've been around over the years I was hoping for a win but looks like I'll have to put my stuffed gator with noose back in the closet and wait to troll Florida fans later we shall return

[InThe313]

My, things have changed.  The new AP poll is here.  A perennial power dropped out of the Top 10 for the first time.  Here's what's next for each ranked team.

1.  Georgia (vs. UAB on Saturday in Athens, Ga.)
2.  Michigan (vs. Rutgers on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.)
3.  Texas (at Baylor on Saturday in Waco, Texas)
4.  Florida State (at Clemson on Saturday in Clemson, S.C.)
5.  USC (at Arizona State on Saturday in Tempe, Ariz.)
6.  Ohio State (at No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.)
7.  Penn State (vs. No. 24 Iowa on Saturday in State College, Pa.)
8.  Washington (vs. California on Saturday in Seattle)
9.  Notre Dame (vs. No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.)
10.  Oregon (vs. No. 19 Colorado on Saturday in Eugene, Ore.)
11.  Utah (vs. No. 22 UCLA on Saturday in Salt Lake City)
12.  LSU (vs. Arkansas on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.)
13.  Alabama (vs. No. 15 Ole Miss on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
14.  Oregon State (at No. 21 Washington State on Saturday in Pullman, Wash.)
15.  Ole Miss (at No. 13 Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
16.  Oklahoma (at Cincinnati on Saturday in Cincinnati)
17.  North Carolina (at Pittsburgh on Saturday in Pittsburgh)
18.  Duke (at UConn on Saturday in East Hartford, Conn.)
19.  Colorado (at No. 10 Oregon on Saturday in Eugene, Ore.)
20.  Miami (Fla.) (at Temple on Saturday in Philadelphia)
21.  Washington State (vs. No. 14 Oregon State on Saturday in Pullman, Wash.)
22.  UCLA (at No. 11 Utah on Saturday in Salt Lake City)
23.  Tennessee (vs. UTSA on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.)
24.  Iowa (at No. 7 Penn State on Saturday in State College, Pa.)
25.  Florida (vs. Charlotte on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla.)

[InThe313]

After everything I've heard about this case, good riddance!  Michigan State announced it began the process of firing head coach Mel Tucker for cause.

[InThe313]

I don't care how dirty the hit was, it doesn't warrant this!  According to Pete Thamel, Colorado State defensive back Henry Blackburn and his family received death threats after Blackburn's illegal hit on Colorado star cornerback Travis Hunter.

[InThe313]

Time to see whose headgear is being donned today.  Lee Corso made Vince Vaughn and the South Bend, Ind., crowd unhappy, wearing Brutus Buckeye’s head again ahead of tonight’s No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Notre Dame game.  Updates to come.

UPDATE:  Honestly, I can't stand either team, so I wanted to treat this game with complete apathy, but it wound up being worth the hype.  Ohio State stunned Notre Dame with a gutsy last-second touchdown for a 17-14 win.

[InThe313]

It’s big game time!  We have a massive battle of Pac-12 unbeatens as head coach Deion Sanders and No. 19 Colorado take on No. 10 Oregon.  Updates to come.

UPDATE:  Anybody wanna explain why they wanted to take the Buffaloes on the money line at 13-2?  Oregon handed Sanders his first loss at Colorado with a decisive 42-6 win.

UPDATE 2:  This is how you handle defeat with grace and humility.  Sanders praised Oregon, admitting the loss to the Ducks was a "good old fashioned butt kicking," but noted that was the worst Colorado will be.