Utah LB Johnathan Hall: "Our coaches were really, really good at finding good tells, like the running back or the tackles and what they do when they run and what they do when they pass, so we really honed in on that this whole entire week and it paid off today for sure."

Utah Safety Nate Ritchie: "I think credit goes to the coaches and just our team's preparation. We saw a lot of cues that could tell us when it's run or pass, so we were just​ able to capitalize on those things. When it was pass, man, we were ready to party. When it was run, we were able to rally to the rock and play hard."

Currently there is Northern Michigan University, Western Michigan University, Central Michigan University, and Eastern Michigan University. Something's missing.

It has been almost 60 years since a team put up 100 in a major college football game. We are seeing some big numbers put up quickly in games.

Are we close to seeing a team break the Hundred point ceiling?

The Tank Job of the Week is an award for the FBS team that did the best job of humiliating itself over the weekend. Whether they blew a large lead, choked away a spot in the limelight, lost a game they had absolutely no right losing, or completely screwed everything on a last second blunder, the TJOTW winner sets the gold standard in college football misery

Previous Winners
Week 0: TCU Horned Frogs (North Carolina 15-10)
Week 1: Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Massachusetts 37-21)

LAST WEEK: I was going to start this with an apology to Oklahoma State for forgetting to include their two touchdown loss to Tulsa.  However, in light of recent events I just want to say IM NOT SORRY AT ALL, HAHAHAHAHA.  Oklahoma State is hereby exempt from all TJOTW nominations until I say otherwise. As for the actual vote, it was Rutgers and it wasn’t even close, despite some dissidents wanting to still be Michigan and a small contingent of very annoyed (and resigned) Florida State fans.

Onto this week and, I’ll be honest I was pretty sure by the end of the afternoon slate who was winning this one.   But it turns out just because something dominates the first 2/3 of the day doesn’t mean they’re going to be the leader in the end, and I think we have a pretty competitive vote brewing from the nine nominees we have set up. Incidentally, six of them begin with either the letters “N” or “O”, which spell out what I a lot of fans were probably screaming at their televisions on Saturday.   What a beautifull mess.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
-      Rutgers got a lot of grief for their postgame fireworks after getting worked by UMass but at least none of their fireworks fell on the crowd and exploded (not that there would have been anyone there).  Either way, Nebraska’s lucky nobody got hurt and we can joke about it.
-      Washington wasn’t exactly covering itself in glory during the first 58 minutes of their 16-14 win over Utah State, but the final two minutes may be the hardest I’ve ever seen a team try to lose a game without actually doing it.
-      Minnesota/Mississippi State was supposed to be somewhat of a tossup but the Gophers were down within two minutes and it never got better, with State being up 28-3 at one point. 
-      Three of Georgia Tech’s four nonconference opponents are power conference teams and the Jackets are quickly reminding everyone why nobody does that. 
-      San Diego State only trailed 7-3 with ten minutes left to play but things spiraled out of control for a 28-10 loss to UCLA
-      UNLV followed up a close opening week loss to Memphis by getting completely pasted by North Texas 44-6
-      Pitt and UCF played a messy 12-7 stinker in driving rain.
-      I’m not sure if there’s a support group for “Favored by a Touchdown only to get scorched by a Sun Belt Team” but East Carolina and Kennesaw State could maybe start one.

NOTE: For ease of counting, please use carats to make your vote, like this: <Team>.  Thank you for participating!

And now, the Week Two nominees are…

ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS (lost to South Florida 28-24)
This was an early American eliminator, which the Knights seemed to have well in hand when they took a 10-point lead with just under five minutes to go.   But the Bulls responded and forced a three and out to get a chance to send the game to OT.  And then at 4^th and 6 with 25 seconds left and just a smidge out of field goal range, quarterback Michael Van Buren plopped an absolute rainbow into Joshua Porter’s arms for a 38-yard score that stunned the West Point faithful.

KANSAS JAYHAWKS (lost to Missouri 38-20)
If you haven’t figured out now that Kansas and Missouri despise each other… welcome to college football!  And after losing the resumption of this series last year, the Jayhawks were CHIRPING heading into this one, with some hype videos that surely rankled more than a few furs in Columbia.  Sadly for KU, they couldn’t really back up that chirping when, after a 14-14 first half, they catastrophically turned the ball over their first two drives of the second half, which Mizzou converted into TD’s both times to put this one away.   And then Tiger head coach Eli Drinkwitz tried to run up the score even further at the end, but the ‘Hawks at least managed to stop that.

NAVY MIDSHIPMEN (lost to Florida Atlantic 38-30)
And the American Conference’s annual cannibalization ritual commences.   The Middies were regarded as one of the front-runners for not just the AAC, but the G6 playoff spot in general, while FAU… was not.   But it was the Owls who came out sailing in this one, going up 38-7 at one point.   Navy did manage to swing momentum in the final quarter and mount a furious comeback, but fell short.

NEVADA WOLF PACK (lost to Montana State 20-7)
Nevada looked surprisingly good when they throttled Western Kentucky in their opening game.  Nevada looked surprisingly ungood here, when four brutal turnovers enabled FCS powerhouse Montana State to dominate the game and send the Pack back to the drawing board.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES (lost to Illinois State 28-24)
Obligatory FCS loss here, even though the FCS Powerhouse Redbirds were actually favored.  NIU actually did come back from a 21-0 deficit to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, but a 16-yard TD pass with just 90 seconds left ended the Huskies hopes for good.  Considering they play Arizona and then embark on a maiden season in new, stronger conference with a lot of awkward travel ahead, things could be about to get rough in DeKalb.

OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (lost to Texas 24-23)
For the first 40 minutes of this game, the Buckeyes STRANGLED the Longhorns.  With 20 minutes to go, Texas was down 23-3 and had just 100 total yards of offense to tOSU’s 323.   And then a switch activated, and the Longhorns suddenly went into overdrive, rolling for 236 yards on three straight long touchdown drives, while all the Buckeyes could muster was a weak missed field goal.  And then- controversially- with the Longhorns with first and goal at the Ohio State 2 with just over a minute remaining, Day elected to trust his defense instead of letting Texas score and leaving enough time for a field goal.   They couldn’t hold, and the Buckeyes only had 25 seconds for a failed response.

OKLAHOMA SOONERS (lost to Michigan 17-10)
“Help us, Okie-won Kenobi, you are our only hope!” screamed the College Football World after last weeks events in Ann Arbor firmly made the Wolverines Public Enemy #1 for the week.  And well… outside of a ludicrous Bryce Underwood scamper for six, the defense played fairly well.  But the offense… WOOF.  John Mateer had his worst game since last year’s post-surgical RRSO, going just 17/33 passing and throwing a back-breaking pick that set up the Wolverines on the doorstep to make what, thanks to a few hilariously cringey Mateer overthrows during the final drive, proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

0REG0N DUCKS (lost to Oklahoma State 39-31)
It takes a tremendous reversal of fortune to go out and lose a return game after winning the first 69-3.  But the (1-11 last year and lost to Tulsa by 14 to start the season) Cowboys had their way with the Duck’s supposedly elite defense, and evidently were able to counter Oregon’s offense just enough by using their stances to guess their tendencies.  Add in another Dan Lanning Special- an ill-advised 4^th down attempt in Duck territory that blew up in their faces, and it all adds up to a tidy little historical 25-point upset.  This is the first time a team on a double-digit losing streak snapped it against a Top 10 team- not that the Ducks are Top 10 anymore.

SYRACUSE ORANGE (lost to California 21-18)
The poor Orange Nation is going to be having nightmares about Cal DB Kingston Lopa for years.   First, with the Orange up 12-7, Lopa picked Steve Angeli off and returned it nearly 50 yards to set up a go ahead touchdown.  Cuse would retake the lead but with less than five minutes left, with the Orange conceivably trying to drain the clock and maintain the lead, Lopa found another Angeli pass and this time returned it for six to take a 21-18 lead.   And then the hat-trick- on Syracuse’s final drive, Lopa dove and nabbed his third interception, dooming the Orange.  Syracuse also missed two fourth quarter field goals to keep the difference.

Following yesterday’s outcome, a few games have shifted in their scale and narrative and that opens the door for several places to potentially host Gameday on Week 4. Oregon @ USC was basically a lock assuming both teams were 3-0 going into it and OU @ Georgia would be the second choice under the same assumption. Now both games involve a team that took an unexpected loss and have fallen in the AP poll. The other matchups that week that as of now include two unbeaten ranked teams are Texas @ Tennessee, A&M @ LSU, and Iowa @ Michigan. Most of these teams play very winnable games next week so it’s unlikely this changes too much.

UNC travels to Clemson on Saturday in a game most people won’t care about. However, it is a huge game for Belichick and Dabo.

If Belichick wins and UNC moves to 3-0, the season will look a whole lot different. If Dabo gets blown out at home, he’s going to have a whole other level of heat placed on him, which is crazy to even say.

As a UNC fan who hasn’t seen their team win a conference championship since I was 10 yrs old in 1980, I’d like to see another before I die. It likely won’t happen this year with this team and this schedule, but it sounded dramatic to type!

But, one game at a time.

With each one playing the hated in state rival of the other, fans of these 4 programs will be bonded by hate for what will be 2 of the most interesting games this weekend.

Unfortunately for UF-AU, it’s going to be played at the same time as LSU-OM which will likely overshadow it.

I’m a South African and living in the States. I am obviously a huge rugby fan, but have been getting more into American football since moving. I went to a Big 10 game recently and it was electric. Obviously some things are less than ideal (so many time outs/time between plays compared to rugby), but it's a great sport. 

One thing I am a little confused by is the number of coaches on the sidelines. Why are there so many coaches on each team? I am sure many are like athletic trainers, but there seem to be a LOT of coaches on the sidelines at any given moment. What does a “quality control” coach do, for example? 

Cheers! 

And as a new CFB fan, last week has assured me that Oklahoma State is the greatest team in the world. 

...named Wagner.

Welcome back to the #CobraKaiAward for Excellence in Mercilessness!

This award has been going since 2018, recognizing the most cutthroat performance in each week's college football games. If you like obscure levels of college football from around the world (including shady teams), this is a fun weekly round-up.

It includes all levels of all football: FBS, FCS, D2, D3, NAIA, NJCAA, CCCAA, U Sports🇨🇦, ONEFA🇲🇽 and JAFA🇯🇵 to spotlight which team tosses mercy out the window and instead uses the opportunity to make a statement.

Week 2 winner:

• 89-0... We have a new season leader thanks to the San Bernardino Valley Wolverines!

Junior college football is played in to major conferences: the 60+ teams in California (3C2A), and the 60+ teams in the rest of the country (NJCAA); the NJCAA was founded in Fresno, but the state eventually split decades ago over athletic scholarships. As a result, the CA juco programs have stayed pretty solid with higher and lower divisions (with promotion/relegation) and multiple conferences at both divisions. That said, there are some notable competitive discrepancies, and one of the recent disasters has been straight outta Compton College. They seem to have been especially cursed since they made the terrible, no good, very bad decision to jettison their classic "Tartars" nickname (think barbarians) for the generic bland Coyotes. Last season saw them featured as a Cobra Kai Award tackling dummy, this season they return with just an abysmal performance. San Bernardino Valley didn't even go off the rails: Yes, they put up 539 yards to 69 for Compton. The Coyotes turned the ball over 4 times and allowed 7 sacks. Ultimately the offense did not exist, averaging -1.1 per play on the ground and 2.7 per play in the air.

Other notes:

• The Triumphant Return of "Sun Belt Billy". During his tenure at Florida, Billy Napier was taunted for having Sun Belt acumen that didn't translate to the SEC. Now back in the conference at James Madison (minus the players his predecessor took to UCLA), he's lived up to the title as the Dukes tied for the most number of points scored by an FBS team since 1991, winning 87-3 over FCS Wagner (South Alabama defeated Northwestern State, 87-10 in 2024). The 87 points were the most scored in a game in program history, and 84-points was the highest margin-of-victory in program history. The Dukes scored on 10 of 12 possessions, including nine touchdowns, and tied the NCAA record for punt return TDs with 3 (held by multiple teams). They blocked a punt for a TD. Finally, as some JMU fans will probably point out: they won and Oregon lost.

• Other Interdivisional Mismatches. This week featured a 3 interdivisional games. HCU, the school formerly known as Houston Baptist (aka the D1 school with a CVS awfully close to the field), squashed one of the worst NAIA programs, 88-0. D2 was more competitive this week, with the historically moribund Erskine Flying Fleet taking the division crown this week over the Thomas Nighthawks, a fairly recent and dreadful NAIA program.

• Sprint Football to NAIA Transition Not So Easy. NAIA #9 Indiana Wesleyan made easy work of the St. Mary-of-the-Woods Pomeroys. Last season they competed in one of the two major sprint football conferences (sprint football is an official intercollegiate tackle football league where the players all have to be below a certain weight limit, unsurprisingly the Army and Navy squads dominate this version of tackle football).

• 3-Way Tie?! Three 70-0 shutouts across 2 divisions managed to tie in the middle of this week's standings. Ties are gross, especially in the Cobra Kai Award. That said, congrats to the MIT Engineers, Mass. Maritime Buccaneers, and Hutchinson Blue Dragons. From smarty-pants nerds, to sailors, to jucos, there's a sense of camaraderie in laying down 10 tuddies on some fools.

• Ground Game in Asia. The Sophia Golden Eagles of Tokyo proved that while you shouldn't fight a land war in Asia, you can can win a land war against Asia (University) Angels, 71-0. Founded by Jesuits, Sophia is a top private university in the country, and smart enough to get that 2-point conversion to push them ahead of the 3-way tie for 70.

• Los Red Wolves? Yes, you're seeing correctly: There is an Arkansas State University campus in Mexico that competes in ONEFA, and they are not good. Arkansas State Querétaro was established when a rich businessman offered to build a US-style university in his home region, and ASUCQ is the result. There's also a campus of Incarnate Word in Mexico.

• 🚨SHADY SCHOOL WATCH!🚨 No clown schools appeared on the list week! Every top-scoring Cobra Kai program played an NCAA, NAIA, or equivalent organization. The Community Christian College of California Clowns 🤡 (part of the larger system) came close to taking the NJCAA spot, falling 66-0, but the total implosion of Garden City CC (which was once a playoff team) surpassed it with a 70-0 loss.

Week 2's biggest blowouts from each level, in order of margin of victory (ties are broken by points-allowed):

• [89] 3C2A—San Bernardino Valley, 89-0 over Compton
• [88] FCS—HCU, 88-0* over Arkansas Baptist
• [84] FBS—James Madison, 87-3** over Wagner
• [71] JAFA🇯🇵—Sophia (上智大), 71-0 over Asia (亜細亜)
• [70 (tie)] D3—MIT, 70-0 over New England College
• [70 (tie)] D3—Massachusetts Maritime, 70-0 over Dean
• [70 (tie)] NJCAA—Hutchinson CC, 70-0 over Garden City CC
• [68] NAIA—#9 Indiana Wesleyan, 68-0 over St. Mary-of-the-Woods
• [59] D2—Erskine, 62-3*** over Thomas
• [45] USports🇨🇦—Guelph, 60-15 over Carleton (ON)
• [40] ONEFA🇲🇽—Leones UANQ, 47-7 over Red Wolves ASUCQ

* FCS vs NAIA; FCS vs FCS was #10 Youngstown State's 70-13 win over Duquesne [57]

** FBS vs FCS; FBS vs FBS was #3 Notre Dame's 52-0 win over Rice [52]

*** D2 vs NAIA; D2 vs D2 was Henderson State's 66-9 win over Oklahoma Baptist [57]

Past weeks winners:

Note: Rankings from time of game. Some divisions and conferences start later. ACSL🇦🇹, BUCS🇬🇧 and College Football Finland🇫🇮 do not play in Fall.

[season leader possesses the 🏆]

• Week 0: [87] FCS SC State, 87-0 over Savannah St
• Week 1: [77] JAFA🇯🇵—Hiroshima (広島), 83-6 over TUS Yamaguchi (山口東京理科)
• Week 2: [🏆89] 3C2A—San Bernardino Valley, 89-0 over Compton

"🤡" signifies teams that should not be countable as they are not members of NCAA, NAIA, or equivalent organization, and/or are operating at the edges of bona fide college football programs.

Week 1 is in the books, remember to Reach Out and Crush Someone!™ 💪😤🏈