Texas at West Virginia
The Longhorns travel to Morgantown. 1,404 miles from Austin. If you were driving from Austin, it is 20 hours and 23 minutes. Give or take a few stops. The Longhorns are ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and No. 12 in the Coaches Poll. West Virginia is not ranked. The game with the Mountaineers will be broadcast on ABC, with kickoff at 2:30.
Good Stuff
Two more scholarships awarded last week. Love these.
Hard work pays off. Congratulations @LBrockermeyer & @hankcoutoumanos you're on scholarship! 🤘#ThisIsTexas #HookEm pic.twitter.com/BK3Dag0ZZz
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) September 29, 2019
Take Me Home Country Roads. West Virginia is a beautiful state. Great video.
Japanese College Football. Didn’t know it existed. Glad I do now. At the end of each game, the players line up and bow, and captains cross the field to shake hands of the opposing coach.
Regardless of the outcome, each college football game in Japan ends with the players immediately lining up on the sideline and the captains crossing the field to bow to their opponents and shake hands with the opposing coach. They then acknowledge the fans. 🇯🇵🏈 pic.twitter.com/Xra9HV9ass
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) September 22, 2019
Wrecking Crew! Wrecking Crew! Gig em!
Bruh pic.twitter.com/LEPnv0Yc75
— GIGGITY (@Giggity02) October 1, 2019
I failed last week to give proper thanks to Don Counts, who shared the Weight video with me. Thanks Don!
Texas Longhorns vs. West Virginia Mountaineers
The American Broadcasting Company is sending Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Todd McShay, and Molly McGrath to Morgantown. A pretty good crew. As always, on the radio with the Voice of the Longhorns, Craig Way, and his teammates Roger Wallace and Quan Cosby.
Texas is favored by 10.5, and the over/under is 60.5. West Virginia leads the series with Texas 5-3, although the Horns hold a 2-1 edge in Morgantown. Kind of odd this is only our fourth trip to Milan Puskar Stadium.
Official preview:
https://texassports.com/news/2019/9/30/preview-no-11-12-football-at-west-virginia-oct-5.aspx
Game Notes:
https://texassports.com/documents/2019/9/30//Texas_Week6_Notes.pdf?id=13470
West Virginia Mountaineers
The couch burners have a new coach, and a good one. Neal Brown. He was the head coach at Troy University from 2015 to 2018, and before that he was offensive coordinator at Kentucky, Texas Technical, and Troy. The Trojans enjoyed great success the last three years of Brown’s tenure as head coach, with records of 10-3 (6-2), 11-2 (7-1), and 10-3 (7-1). He was one of the hot young coaches in the Group of Five, with those records, three bowl wins, and a conference title between 2016-2018.
The Mountaineers are 3-1. They opened with a close 20-13 win over James Madison (a good team from the FCS, but still FCS). They took a beating from Missouri on the road, 38-7, but rebounded with a home win over mediocre North Carolina State, 44-27. Two weeks ago, the Mountaineers struggled a little to beat Kansas in Lawrence, 29-24.
West Virginia is quarterbacked by Austin Kendall, #12, who transferred to Morgantown from Norman after last season. He played for the Land Thieves some in 2016 and 2018, attempting 39 passes over those 2 seasons. Completed 28 for 265 yards. This season for the Mountaineers, he is 94-144, completing 65.3% of his passes, averaging 6 yards per attempt. He’s passed for 871 yards and 6 TDs, and he has 3 interceptions. Averaging 217.3 yards per game. Not much of a running threat, just 26 yards on 22 attempts and no scores.
Leading rusher is #6 Kennedy McKoy, with 151 yards on 48 attempts, 3 scores. Leddie Brown (#4) has 105 yards on 19 attempts and 1 score. No. 32 Martell Pettaway has 54 yards on 22 rushes. 2 TDs.
Leading receiver is No. 14 Sam James, with 26 catches for 263 yards, a nice 10.12 yards per catch average. Just one score, and he averages 65.8 yards per game. Behind him is No. 1 T.J. Simmons, with 13 catches for 125 yards, averaging 9.62, no scores. No. 15 George Campbell has 4 catches for 100 yards and 3 scores.
The Mountaineer defense is led by No. 35 Josh Chandler, a 5-11, 224 pound linebacker. 32 tackles (18 solo), with 1 TFL. No. 24 Hakeem Bailey has 22 tackles (17 solo), 1 TFL. Bailey is a 6 foot, 188 pound cornerback. No. 4 Josh Norwood is a 5-10, 179 pound safety with 21 tackles, 11 solo. No. 55 Dante Stills, a big 6-3 295 pound lineman leads WVU with 4 sacks for 26 yards and 6.5 TFL for 29 yards, and his brother Darius Stills (6-1, 292) has 3 sacks for 23 yards and 5.5 TFL for 28 yards. Going to need to block the Stills brothers. Pretty confident in the Texas O-Line.
Mountaineer kicker, Evan Staley, is 6-9. 2-2 20-29 and 30-39, but just 2-5 over 40.
Texas Depth Chart
No surprises, just nice to see CJ back on there.
As we know, Texas got pretty banged up against LSU and OSU. The Bye Week came at a good time. Good news for the secondary, as BJ Foster and Brandon Jones should be back, which is particularly good timing in light of the absence of Caden Sterns, Jalen Green, and Josh Thompson (none of whom are traveling). DeMarvion Overshown is doubtful.
Collin Johnson will make the trip, but is a game-time decision.
The Statistics
Offense
Statistic |
Texas |
West Virginia |
| Rushing Offense | #62 – 165.5 ypg | #117 – 107.3 ypg |
| Passing Offense | #11 – 332.3 ypg | #83 – 218.8 ypg |
| Total Offense | #19 – 497.8 ypg | #118 – 326.1 ypg* |
| Scoring Offense | #13 – 41.8 ppg | #94 – 25 ppg |
| First Downs | #3 – 27/game | #102 – 19/game |
| Sacks Allowed | #45 – 7, 42 yards | #58 – 8, 54 yards |
| Tackles for Loss Allowed | #34 – 21, 69 yards | #95 – 32, 106 yards |
| Third Down Conversions | #2 – 56.9% | #67 – 39.7% |
| Red Zone Offense** | #56 – 86% / 86% | #32 – 91% / 64% |
| Long Run Plays | #53 – 24, 2, 0 | #125 – 11, 5, 1, 0 |
| Long Pass Plays | #31 – 50, 17, 6, 4, 3, 1 | #104 – 31, 9, 3, 3, 1 |
| Long Scrimmage Plays | #40 – 74, 19, 6, 4, 3, 1, 1 | #123 – 42, 14, 3, 1 |
*WVU is ranked 118 out of 130. Miami (OH) is DFL at 239.2 ypg.
**Texas is one of six schools without a field goal in the Red Zone, along with Navy, Illinois, Oregon, Maryland, and Liberty. I checked this 3 times; seems hard to believe.
Defense
Statistic |
Texas |
West Virginia |
| Rushing Defense | #40 – 122 ypg | #91 – 172.5 ypg |
| Passing Defense | #124 – 314.5 ypg | #40 – 201.5 ypg |
| Total Defense | #102 – 436.5 ypg | #56 – 374 ypg |
| Scoring Defense | #62 – 25.5 ppg | #62 – 25.5 ppg |
| Sacks | #58 – 10, 56 yards | #41 – 11, 68 yards |
| Tackles for Loss | #60 – 28, 104 yards | #79 – 25, 111 yards |
| First Downs Allowed | #104 – 23/game | #95 – 22/game |
| Third Down Conversions | #100 – 43.1% | #67 – 37.5% |
| Red Zone Defense | #119 – 93% / 60% | #81 – 86% / 57% |
| Long Run Plays Allowed | #32 – 15, 2, 1, 0 | #72 – 22, 2, 0 |
| Long Pass Plays Allowed | #117 – 54, 17, 7, 5, 2, 1 | #31 – 31, 8, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1 |
| Long Scrim. Plays Allowed | #94 – 69, 19, 8, 5, 2, 1 | #45 – 53, 10, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1 |
Note: On all long play stats, they are in order: over 10 yards, over 20 yards, 30 yards, etc. So in long pass plays allowed, Texas has allowed 54 over 10, 17 over 20, 7 over 30, 5 over 40, 2 over 50, and 1 over 60.
Other
Statistic |
Texas |
West Virginia |
| Turnovers | #15 – 3F-1I | #15 – 0F, 4I |
| Turnover Margin | #34 6:4; 0.5 | #50 5:4; 0.25 |
| Penalties | #34 – 24, 212 yards | #57 – 27, 250 yards |
*Based on total number of penalties.
Match-up Comparison
Texas Offense |
West Virginia Defense |
| Rushing Offense – 165.5 ypg | 172.5 ypg – Rushing Defense |
| Passing Offense – 332.3 ypg | 201.5 ypg – Passing Defense |
| Total Offense – 497.8 ypg | 374 ypg – Total Defense |
| Scoring Offense – 41.8 ppg | 25.5 ppg – Scoring Defense |
| First Downs – 27/game | 22/game – First Downs Allowed |
| 3rd Down Offense – 56.9% | 37.5% – 3rd Down Defense |
| Red Zone Offense – 86/86 | 86/57 – Red Zone Defense |
| LRP – 24, 2, 0 | 22, 2, 0 – LRP Allowed |
| LPP – 50, 17, 6, 4, 3, 1 | 31, 8, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1 – LPP Allowed |
| LSP – 74, 19, 6, 4, 3, 1, 1 | 53, 10, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1 – LSP Allowed |
Texas Defense |
West Virginia Offense |
| Rushing Defense – 122 ypg | 107.3 ypg – Rushing Offense |
| Passing Defense – 314.5 ypg | 218.8 ypg – Passing Offense |
| Total Defense – 436.5 ypg | 326.1 ypg – Total Offense |
| Scoring Defense – 25.5 ppg | 25 ppg – Scoring Offense |
| First Downs Allowed – 23/game | 19/game – First Downs |
| 3rd Down Defense – 43.1% | 39.7% – 3rd Down Offense |
| Red Zone Defense – 93/60 | 91/64 – Red Zone Offense |
| LRP Allowed – 15, 2, 1, 0 | 11, 5, 1, 0 – LRP |
| LPP Allowed – 54, 17, 7, 5, 2, 1 | 31, 9, 3, 3, 1- LPP |
| LSP Allowed – 69, 19, 8, 5, 2, 1 | 42, 14, 3, 1 – LSP |
Individually, several very high national rankings for Longhorns, even with the bye week. Devin Duvernay third in the nation in receptions (39) and first in receptions per game (9.8). Sam Ehlinger No. 11 in yards per game (309.3), and No. 10 Rating (181.01).
I am feeling much better about the Texas ground game, with Keontay Ingram getting healthier and Roschon Johnson showing some real prowess running the ball. Of course Sam’s ability to move the ball with his feet is a game changer. I think Ingram and Johnson have big games Saturday, and I would not be shocked to see close to 200 yards rushing. Sam will probably be over 300 yards in the air.
This is a harder score prediction than one might think. I am very confident in a Texas win, but this often seems to be a tougher game than it should be. West Virginia is desperate for a rivalry, and like most of the teams we play, beating Texas is a highlight of any season. They love throwing the horns down, and the Mountaineers are one of the few schools to have a winning record against Texas. (See Scipio Tex’s article linked below)
Their base offense is still an Air Raid with good play action, but I think Orlando has shown he can get a solid game plan to stop an opponent. If the run defense is as good as it was against Okie State, the Mountaineers won’t rush for more than 100 yards. I just can’t see Austin Kendall beating us.
The biggest edge I see is offensive line. Texas is way better than the Mountaineers. If our defense can hold up despite the injuries, our offense will score more than enough points to bring a home a Big 12 road win.
The numbers are pretty much in our favor. I am almost positive that WVU will score 24 or fewer points. I am equally or more confident that the Horns can score 5 touchdowns on the Mountaineers. I think Dicker the Kicker tacks on a couple of field goals, and I have Texas 41, West Virginia 24. Win and cover.
Scipio Tex on Barking Carnival
Wes Crochet’s preview on BON:
Scipio Tex on Inside Texas ($)
https://insidetexas.com/forums/threads/west-virginia-football-preview.88748/
Micah Charles Dean
Micah arrived Saturday morning, September 28, at 11:34 a.m. Seven pounds, five ounces, and 21 inches. Thanks be to God that both he and Kathryn are healthy. Kathryn and Mark and big brother Peter are doing great. I am so grateful that I was able to travel to Memphis and take a few days off to enjoy some quality time with the family. To my clients and colleagues reading, thank you!
West Virginia University
Aggies. Founded in 1867 as the Agricultural College of West Virginia. But they quickly changed the name to West Virginia University in 1868. They used to have a nice history on their website, but it is gone. Oddly, I struggled to find a link on the main site (wvu.edu) to Mountaineer athletics.
Their mission statement may have come from online mission statement store. “As a land-grant institution, the faculty, staff and students at West Virginia University commit to creating a diverse and inclusive culture that advances education, healthcare and prosperity for all by providing access and opportunity; by advancing high-impact research; and by leading transformation in West Virginia and the world through local, state and global engagement.” Noticeably lacking the Oxford comma. C-. Vision is a little better, but still with the lack of an Oxford comma. “As one West Virginia University, we are purposeful in our studies and our work so that we can partner with our communities – both near and far – to bring needed and valued solutions to real-life problems within the pillars of education, healthcare and prosperity.” That’s what a Land Grant school’s vision should be.
Just the facts, ma’am. https://about.wvu.edu/wvu-facts Population of Morgantown is 30,855 (down from 31,073 two years ago). Enrollment at WVU in Morgantown is 26,864 (down from 28,488 in 2017). Think the university has an impact on that economy? Wow.
West Virginia is a Land Grant School. I borrowed this from the WVU website a couple of years ago. In 1862, the U.S. Congress passed and President Lincoln signed the first Land-Grant Act (also known as the Morrill Act for its sponsor, Rep. Justin Morrill of Vermont). The purpose of the Land-Grant Act was “the endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life”. In 1890, the second Morrill Land-Grant Act led to the creation of many of America’s historically black colleges and universities. Today, there are 76 land-grant universities that trace their beginnings back to the 1862 or 1890 Land-Grant Acts. We often jokingly call them Cow Colleges, but the truth is, the Morrill Acts led to the establishment of some of the most important state universities in our country, and that system of public higher education has a lot to do with our economic success and power two centuries later.
Gordon Gee is President of WVU. Gee has supposedly held more university presidencies than any other American. He was president of West Virginia University from 1981 to 1985, president of the University of Colorado from 1985 to 1990, and president of Brown University from 1998 to 2000 (a short-lived presidency; I guess you could say he didn’t gee and haw with the Ivy League elites). He was chancellor of Vanderbilt University from 2000 to 2007, then president of The Ohio State University™ from 2007 to 2013. He became president of WVU again on March 3, 2014.
Some very famous alumni, perhaps most notably Don Knotts and the Logo, Jerry West. Other athletic alumni include Chuck Howley, Adam “Pacman” Jones, Sam Huff, and Geno Smith. Can’t leave out TV salesman Billy Mays.
Best tradition is singing Take Me Home Country Roads at football games.
Good luck to anyone going. My review of Morgantown restaurants on Yelp suggests that burgers and pizza are your mostly likely meals, not a big surprise in a college town. If I were going though, I did find one place that seems to flange up pretty well with my most important food groups: Bacon, Bourbon & Beer, 368 Suncrest Towne Centre Drive (you know it must be a good address because they put “e” on the end of Town and spelled center the British way; very high end).
Everyone Gets a Trophy
Oh my. Misspelled Kevin Dunn’s last name last week despite the fact that three JHT Crew Men are Dunn’s. No relation. Sorry Kevin and Scipio.
Dunn (follow him on Twitter – @KevinDunn01) and Paul Wadlington have a new podcast – Everyone Gets a Trophy Paul and Kevin talk sports through a Texas lens. Check it out! Apple iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
Greater Austin Sports Foundation
GASF is hosting Craig Way on Tuesday October 8, at the Rudy’s on North Lamar across from Central Market. Should be a good preview of the Red River Shootout with the Land Thieves.
http://www.greateraustinsportsfoundation.org/
Polls
AP Top 25: Alabama, Clemson, Georgia The Ohio State University™, Louisiana State, Land Thieves, Auburn, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Florida. Texas at No. 11. Virginia drops to 23. Southern Methodist at 24 (see below). Texas Agricultural & Mechanical tied with Michigan State for the last spot, at 25. But it was close. Aggie and MSU each had 147 votes, and California had 141 (that’s Cal Berkeley).
Coaches Poll: Roll Tide, Clemson, UGa, Land Thieves, The Ohio State University™, Louisiana State, War Eagle, Go Gata, Wiscy, and L’Université de Notre Dame du Lac. Texas at No. 12. Texas Agricultural & Mechanical is 21. Wahoos at No. 22. Okie A&M at No. 25.
The Juan Heisman Tailgate
We will see y’all on October 19 for the Kansas game. That is a 6:00 kick, and we will have a big one!
Jevan Snead
Texas lost another former player on September 22, when we learned Jevan Snead had passed away. After playing a Texas, he had transferred to Ole Miss.
https://www.si.com/college-football/2019/09/22/jevan-snead-dead-32-texas-ole-miss
Sad. RIP Jevan.
Week Six in College Football
Big XII
Undefeated No. 6 Land Thieves go to Lawrence to play Kansas (2-3, 0-2 in Big 12). 11:00 a.m. on ABC. Oklahoma favored by 32, and the over/under is 67.5. If you had told me the line itself was 67.5, I would not have been shocked.
No. 21 Okie State (4-1, 1-1) on the road to Lubbock. Sand Aggies are 2-2 and 0-1 in conference. 11:00 a.m. on FOX Sports 1. Cowboys favored by 10, and the over/under is 63. Should be a good game. I like the Okies in this one.
Texas Christian (3-1, 1-0) at Iowa State (2-2, 0-1). 11:00 a.m. on ESPN2. Cyclones have perhaps been most surprising of the Big 12 teams, as I really thought they would be 3-1 worst case at this point and looking for their second Big 12 win. Iowa State favored by 3.5, and the over/under is 43.5. This will probably be a very close game.
Baylor (4-0) at Kansas State (3-1, 0-1). 2:30 pm on ESPN2. Wildcats a narrow 1.5 point home favorite. Over/under is 49. Another tough one to call. Charlie Brewer is playing well for the Bears, but K State has the top passing defense in the Big 12, allowing just 127.3 yards per game. Their run defense isn’t quite so good, at No. 9 allowing 196.3. By contrast, Baylor is No. 2 rushing defense and No. 4 passing defense. Big game for K State. They need a win to avoid starting Big 12 play 0-2.
Top 25
Friday Night
No. 18 UCF at Cincinnati. 7:00 p.m. on ESPN.
Not a fan of the paint job on the Bearcat field.
Saturday
No. 5 Louisiana State hosts Utah State, 11:00 a.m. on SEC Network. Undefeated Tigers are 26.5 point favorites, and the o/u is 73.5. The Mormon Aggies are 3-1, so the line seems a bit high. Maybe not.
No. 8 Wisconsin plays at Camp Randall again, this week hosting Kent State from the MAC. 11:00 a.m. on ESPNU. Wiscy favored by 35.5, and that sounds about right. Over/under is 59.5.
Purdue at No. 12 PSU. 11:00 a.m. on ESPN/ PSU -28.5.
No. 14 Iowa at No. 19 Michigan. 11:00 a.m. on FOX. Wolverines favored by 3.5 in the Big House, and the over/under is 47.5. Michigan is going to have to win to stay in the hunt in the Big 10. My guess is they win this one.
Big game in the Swamp. No. 7 Auburn at No. 10 Florida, both undefeated and both 2-0 in the $EC. This is the featured Southeastern Conference game at 2:30 on the Columbia Broadcasting System. War Eagle favored by 2.5, and the over/under is 48.5. Should be quite a good football game. Too bad it is opposite the Texas game.
No. 9 Notre Dame at home with Bowling Green. 2:30 p.m. on NBC. Irish favored by 45.5, and the over/under is 62. Should be a slaughter. I have Notre Dame to win and cover.
No. 3 Georgia at Tennessee. 6:00 p.m. on ESPN. Bulldogs favored by 24.5, and the over/under is 51.5. Tough year for the Vols, and this weekend will not be any better.
No. 25 Michigan State at No. 4 Ohio State. 6:30 p.m. on ABC. Spartans are 4-1 and 2-0 in the Big 10, and they are 20 point underdogs. That’s how good Vegas thinks the Buckeyes are, and Vegas is probably right. Over/under is 48.5. I hope Michigan State can give them a decent game.
Tulsa at No. 24 Southern Methodist. Mustangs ranked for the first time since 1986 and the Death Penalty. Quite a rise from the ashes in some folks’ view, but a third of a century is a long time. Congrats to Buechele and Coach Sonny Dykes. 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU, from Gerald J Ford Stadium in Highland Park. Ponies favored by 14, over/under is 64.
Cal Berkeley at No. 14 Oregon. 7:00 p.m. on FOX. Ducks favored by 18, and over/under is 46 (seems low).
No. 15 Washington at Stanford. 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. Huskies favored by 16.5, and the o/u is 51.5.
No. 16 Boise State at UNLV. 9:30 p.m. on CBSSN. Boise favored by 22, and the o/u is 57.
Other Games of Interest
Tulane at Army, 11:00 a.m. on CBSSN. Both 3-1. Tulane favored by 2.5, over/under is 43.5.
Air Force Academy (3-1) at Navy (2-1). Air Force favored by 3.5. 2:30 p.m. on CBSSN.
North Carolina at Georgia Tech, 3:00 p.m. on the ACC Network. Coach Brown and the Heals favored by 10.5, and the o/u is 48.5. Good luck Mack!
Rice at UAB. Owls still looking for a win. UAB favored by 9.5.
Vanderbilt at Ole Miss. 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. Should be a great day in the Grove, and a fun game and win for the Rebs. Ole Miss favored by 7, and the over/under is 63.5. Hotty Toddy! I left this link out of the newsletter last week.
https://www.bannersociety.com/2019/9/25/20880575/ole-miss-football-gifs
Pitt at Duke. 7:00 p.m. on ACC Network. Blue Devils favored by 4.5.
UTSA at UTEP. Both teams 1-3 and both 0-1 in C-USA. 7:00 p.m. Miners favored by 1.5, and the over/under is 46.
Week 6 Viewing Guide
The Week that Will Be: Business Trip
From HornMafia:
Last Week in College Football
Big XII
The Land Thieves put a whipping on the Sand Aggies, 55-16 (o/u was 70.5; damn). Didn’t get to watch, but from what I heard it could have been worse. Lincoln Riley has another crazy good offense. Jalen Hurts was 17-24 for 415 yards and 3 touchdowns passing, 70 yards on 9 carries rushing plus 1 TD. Hurts is actually No. 2 in total offense behind Washington State’s Anthony Gordon, with 1,738 yards to Gordon’s 2187, but Gordon has 41 rushing to Hurts’ 443. At 434.5 yards per game, Hurts would be ranked No. 49 nationally on the team list, just ahead of Temple. That’s more than Texas Agricultural & Mechanical (No. 58, 426.2 ypg), No. 65 Notre Dame (419.5 ypg), and No. 118 West Virginia (326 ypg).
Texas Christian took out its frustration on the Jayhawks, beating Kansas 51-14.
Most (including me) thought Iowa State was in line for a good year. The lost to BU in Waco, 23-21, despite a furious comeback (all 21 points in the fourth quarter). Bears kicked a field goal with 25 seconds left to beat the Cyclones.
Kansas State’s top 25 ranking was short lived, as Okie A&M thumped the Wildcats 26-13 in Stillwater. Picked that one.
Top 25
PSU shutout Maryland, 59-0. Terrapins are mysterious. Hard to believe they so recently beat the Horns 2 years in a row.
Very entertaining game late Friday night in Berkeley, California. Then No. 15 Cal lost to the Sun Devils, 17-24. Over/under was 42.5. Missed on that one, I thought Cal would win. Herm Edwards is surprising a lot folks with his success, including me.
Saturday
Kudos to Coach Mack Brown. ¿Quien es mas macho? Goes for 2 to win the game and beat No. 1 Clemson. Attawaytogo Coach. Clemson was favored by 27.5. The Tigers escape Chapel Hill with a 21-20 win.
http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=27722696
Big game in the family, with Virginia at Notre Dame. But the Irish prevail 35-20. Notre Dame covered too.
Well hell. Ole Miss actually had a 10-7 lead over Alabama at the end of the first quarter in Tuscaloosa. But the Tide scored 31 in the second quarter in route to a 59-31 thumping of the Rebs. But Ole Miss covered! Hotty Toddy!
ABC had The Ohio State University™ and Nebraska as their featured game Saturday night. Bad choice, unless you enjoy watching the Buckeyes beat the heck out of someone. I don’t. The Ohio State University™ 48, Nebraska 7.
Wisconsin 24-15 over Northwestern (now 1-3), and of course the Wildcats covered.
War Eagle! Auburn no problem with Mississippi State, 56-23.
Iowa 48-3 over Middle Tennessee. Over/under was 52.5.
Michigan 52-0 over Rutgers. Got the SU right, but missed on my prediction that Rutgers covers.
Texas Agricultural & Mechanical went into the weekend ranked No. 23, the only 2 loss team in the Top 25. They preceded to let a truly crappy Arkansas team stay in it for the whole game, with aggy having to score 10 in the final frame to escape Jerry World with a 31-27 win. Vegas had Texas Agricultural & Mechanical favored by 23.5, and even I thought they would cover. Aggy gonna aggy.
Michigan State 40-31 over Indiana, as the Hoosiers cover.
Florida 38-0 over Towson. I thought the 37.5 line might be low; why do I doubt the boys in the desert?
UConn 21, UCF 56. Huskies covered.
Washington State lost at Utah, 13-38. Promising season for the Pirate already down the tubes, as they are 0-2 in the Pac 12
Other Games of Interest
Friday night, I watched Duke beat the tar out of Virginia Tech 45-10 in Blacksburg, a game in which the Hokies were favored by 2.5. Wild.
Air Force Academy took care of business against San Jose State, 41-24. Recall San Jose State beat Arkansas the weekend before, and Arkansas dang near beat Texas Agricultural & Mechanical.
Pitt coming off the upset of UCF struggled to beat the Blue Hens. Pitt 17, Delaware 14.
Not sure what’s happened to Georgia Tech, but they managed a safety in a 2-24 loss to Temple.
Wake Forest is 5-0. Beat BC 27-24.
Southern Methodist 48-21 over South Florida. Buechele was 21-25, 226 yards and 3 TDs. Ponies undefeated.
Texas State got a win, 24-3 over Nicholls.
UTEP loses to Southern Mississippi, 13-31.
Rice moves to 0-5 with a home loss to LATech, 20-23. Would be nice if the Owls could win a game.
Stanford wins! 31-28 over Oregon State.
South Carolina 24-7 over Kentucky. Win and cover for Coach Boom.
Houston with a solid win at North Texas, 46-25.
Washington & Lee
How ‘bout that! The Generals whip the Hampsters 43-24. W&L with 521 yards of total offense. I don’t remember a stat like this out of W&L in years: 244 yards passing. Generals forced three Hampden-Sydney turnovers. Great win!
Generals host Ferrum at Wilson Field on Saturday. A late afternoon game, 4:00 p.m. Shenandoah Valley time. Ferrum is 1-2 and 0-1 in ODAC, coming off a loss last weekend to Randolph-Macon. This only the second meeting with the Panthers. They just joined the ODAC last year, after 20 years in the “USA South Athletic Conference”, although the football team played in the “Atlantic Central Football Conference” 1998-2000. Ferrum was a junior college before 1985. It won NJCAA national titles in 1965, 1968, 1974, and 1977. Seven members of the Panthers’ 1968 championship team transferred to Marshall University and died in the 1970 plane crash which claimed the lives of 37 Thundering Herd players.
Preview and game notes:
https://www.generalssports.com/sports/fball/2019-20/releases/Ferrum_Notes
IVY LEAGUE REPORT FOR WEEK 3 (Oct. 5, 2019)
By Lonnie Schooler
The Ivy League gets into full swing this weekend as league play begins in earnest. Because I missed reporting last week (due to work!), here are results from the first two weeks of the season.
GAMES ON SEPTEMBER 21:
Harvard traveled to San Diego State and gave a good accounting of itself, considering the strength of its opponent, losing 31-23 to the Aztecs. Yale got the better of the Holy Cross Crusaders at home, 23-10. The Big Green of Dartmouth successfully traveled to Jacksonville and defeated the Jacksonville Dolphins, 35-6. The Brown Bruins traveled a short distance to Smithfield, Rhode Island, and triumphed over the Bryant Bulldogs of the Northeastern Conference, 35-30. The Butler Bulldogs came from Indianapolis to Princeton to take on the Tigers, and the Tigers won in a rout, 49-7. The Big Red of Cornell defeated the Marist Red Foxes, 21-7, in a road game. The Columbia Lions got the better of the St. Francis University Red Flash, 31-14. Finally, and sadly, the Fighting Quakers of Penn gave up three second half touchdowns to the Delaware Mud Hens, losing 28-27.
GAMES ON SEPTEMBER 28:
In Week 2, Harvard and Brown tangled in Cambridge in the first conference game of the year, with the Crimson easily pre-vailing, 42-7. Yale hosted Cornell in another conference game, defeating the Big Red, 27-16. In other games, Dartmouth easily defeated Colgate, 38-3; Princeton prevailed over Bucknell in a road game, 56-23; Penn went on the road and beat the Engineers of Lafayette, 28-24; and Columbia hosted Georgetown, losing 24-10.
GAMES ON OCTOBER 4-5:
This weekend, Ivy League action kicks off on Friday night in Philadelphia, as the Fighting Quakers of Penn host the Big Green of Dartmouth (a pre-season pick for League champion). The game starts at 6:00 P.M. (all times are CDT), and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
On Saturday, the University of Rhode Island travels to Providence (not a long ride) to confront the Brown Bruins at 11:30 A.M. The Columbia Lions travel to Princeton to take on the undefeated Tigers at Noon. The Harvard Crimson host the Howard University Bison in Cambridge at Noon. The Fordham Rams (alma mater of Vince Lombardi and the school that once featured the legendary offensive line known as the “Seven Blocks of Granite,” [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Blocks_of_Granite]), travel to New Haven to confront the Bulldogs of Yale at Noon. Finally, the Hoyas of Georgetown travel to upstate New York to tangle with the Cornell Big Red at 2:00. All of the Saturday games are being broadcast on ESPN+.
Enjoy your football this weekend, now that there is a hint of autumn in the air in the Northeast. Go Horns against West Virginia!
Music
Lots of bluegrass in West Virginia.
West Virginia My Home. By the Hillbilly Gypsies.
Front Porch Music
The State Anthem: The West Virginia Hills
Coon Creek Girls – How Many Biscuits Can You Eat
Going to have some great stuff next week for the Land Thieves and Horns, courtesy of suggestions from Dr. Don Counts.
Photo
Courtesy of jype on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/jtype/
God Bless Texas
Tim Taylor
Tailgating before Home Football Games The Juan Heisman Tailgate Lot 38, East of Sid Richardson Hall.
HOOK EM HORNS!!
© Timothy C. Taylor, Sr. 2019. All Rights Reserved (as to original material).
On Twitter: @tctayloratx
On LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tctatx
On Instagram: @tctayloratx
On Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Tim.C.Taylor
and: www.Facebook.com/Juan.Heisman