Tag: Cincinnati Football

College Football Big Game Reaction: Purdue, LSU, Georgia, OU & More

Week 7 Reaction: Georgia vs UK, Purdue vs Iowa, Cincinnati vs UCF, OU vs TCU, MSU vs IU, Ole Miss vs Tenn, Ok State vs Texas, LSU vs Florida

Quick reaction to the biggest games of Week 7: Georgia vs Kentucky, Purdue vs Iowa, Cincinnati vs UCF, Oklahoma vs TCU, Michigan State vs Indiana, Ole Miss vs Tennessee, Oklahoma State vs Texas, and LSU vs Florida

College Football Big Game Reaction: Week 7

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– Week 7 Scoreboard, Predictions

Week 7 Big Game Reactions 
– Oklahoma State 32, Texas 24
– Ole Miss 31, Tennessee 26
– Michigan State 20, Indiana 15
– Oklahoma 52, TCU 31
– Cincinnati 56, UCF 21
– Purdue 24, Iowa 7
– Georgia 30, Kentucky 13

LSU 49, Florida 42 Reaction

Find two more interesting back-to-back games in a recent series than the ones Florida and LSU came up with.

Last year, the Tigers won a thriller in the fog, and this time around they pulled the game – and possibly the Ed Orgeron era – out of the fire in a defense-optional fight.

Tyrion Davis-Price ran for 287 yards and three scores, and LSU didn’t even win the time of possession battle and was outgained by 35 yards overall.

Florida was supposed to be the running team – it almost pulled off the upset over Alabama with the ground attack – but it got bottled up by the Tigers and had to throw to win. That was a problem.

The yards were there – 350 of them – but Anthony Richardson and Emory Jones each threw two picks, and the -4 turnover margin turned out to be the difference as the Gators ducked out of the SEC title chase.

After losing three of the last five games, what’s next? Georgia in two weeks. At this point, though, the game doesn’t really matter at three games back of the Dawgs in the East.

This did matter, though, for LSU.

It’s still technically in the SEC title chase after this, but forget that. the Tigers needed this just to stay alive for a bowl game, and that’s hardly a given even at 4-3.

There should be a win over ULM in late November, however, coming up …

At Ole Miss, at Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas A&M to close.

For now, LSU got a big win, it was fun, the running game looked great, and Orgeron’s voice was cashed after it was over – all like it’s supposed to be.

Week 7 Big Game Reactions 
– Oklahoma State 32, Texas 24
– Ole Miss 31, Tennessee 26
– Michigan State 20, Indiana 15
– Oklahoma 52, TCU 31
– Cincinnati 56, UCF 21
– Purdue 24, Iowa 7
– Georgia 30, Kentucky 13

NEXT: Oklahoma State 32, Texas 24 Reaction

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8

Cincinnati vs UCF Prediction, Game Preview

Cincinnati vs UCF prediction, game preview, how to watch: Saturday, October 16

Cincinnati vs UCF prediction, game preview, how to watch: Saturday, October 16

Cincinnati vs UCF How To Watch

Date: Saturday, October 16
Game Time: 12:00 ET
Venue: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
How To Watch: ABC
Record: Cincinnati (5-0), UCF (3-2)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

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– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Cincinnati vs UCF Game Preview

Why UCF Will Win

Didn’t you used to be UCF?

One of the most dominant offensive powerhouses in college football over the last few years was rocking and rolling to kickoff the Gus Malzahn era, and then it all fell apart with the loss of QB Dillon Gabriel to a shoulder injury.

The O couldn’t get the job done against a punchless Navy team, but it was able to slug its way past East Carolina team with three takeaways and a solid defensive performance.

And that’s what it’s going to take.

Look, we’re all adults here – UCF isn’t about to face the third-best team in college football.

Cincinnati is obviously very good, and it could turn the lights out in a hurry if UCF gets down, but it’s stunningly bad on third downs, there’s no pass rush, and it does nothing to control the clock – and UCF can capitalize on all of that.

Malzahn and the coaching staff have to tweak and adjust.

The defensive front isn’t bad against the run, the backfield has some terrific runners – and could be a whole lot stronger if Isaiah Bowser can somehow get back from a leg injury – and the offensive line is talented enough to hold up. But …

– Week 7 CFN College Football Expert Picks

Why Cincinnati Will Win

Yeah, UCF is really banged up, and there’s still the question about the quarterback play.

Freshman Mikey Keene hasn’t been awful in his two games, but he’s a freshman, he hasn’t thrown for more than 200 yards, and he gave up a pick in each starting outing.

He can be decent for the UCF attack, but this isn’t a high-flying fun show that will throw any sort of a scare into the Bearcat secondary.

There isn’t the normal Knight downfield passing game to worry about, there’s not a whole lot happening in the backfield from the defensive front, and it shouldn’t take a whole lot of point to take a firm grip on the game.

– Week 7 College Football Schedule, Predictions, Game Previews

What’s Going To Happen

UCF still has guys.

It’s a good enough team to rise up and come up with something special now that it’s in the role of the decided underdog. Malzahn has been in us-against-the-world games before, the lines should be able to hold up and make this a fight, and …

The Cincinnati secondary will take over just when it seems like UCF has a shot.

The Bearcats have NFL parts that can lock down, allowing under 50% completion on the year, allowing just three touchdown passes and picking off nine passes.

They’ll come up with two late takeaways to ease the pressure and allow Cincinnati to keep the dream going.

– CFN Week 6 NFL Expert Picks

Cincinnati vs UCF Prediction, Line

Cincinnati 38, UCF 20
Line: Cincinnati -21, o/u: 57.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3

Must See Rating: 3.5

5: Caramel apple anything
1: Pumpkin spice anything

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– Fearless Predictions of Every Game
– Bowl Projections | Rankings

College Football Daily Cavalcade: Think, Know, Believe After Week 6

College Football Daily Cavalcade: What I think, what I know, and what I believe after Week 6.

College Football Daily Cavalcade: What I think, what I know, and what I believe after Week 6.

College Football Daily Cavalcade

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

It’s up 28-7 after the first quarter. In full and total control, it can just coast on in as long as Lincoln Riley doesn’t do something dramatically crazy, like pull Spencer Rattler.

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Seriously, if you haven’t been entertained by the first six weeks of the season, I can’t help you. Now, over the second half of the 2021 college football campaign …

I think … I know what’s going to happen.

I know … I believe what’s going to happen.

I believe … I think I know what’s going to happen.

I think … I’m jaded by years of doing this.

I know … I’m used to calming down normally sane and rational college football people who think THIS is the season we’re all in for something weird.

I believe … weird will happen, but it’ll end up leading to an all-too-familiar place.

I think … weird things happen in the second half of the season.

I know … good teams that aren’t used to being among the elite get very, very, very tight at some key moment – when it’s really on – in the second half of the season.

I believe … elite programs end up showing why they’re elite in the second half of the season.

I think … Iowa is a fine team with a great defense.

I know … the Penn State coaching staff did a miserable job of helping out backup quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson, who had no prayer of getting the passing game going against that swarming Hawkeye D.

I believe … I’ve seen this Iowa movie before. It’s a blast of a ride, and you want to root for the hero, but it doesn’t end well.

I think … there a whole lot of messed up things about college football.

I know … there are a whole lot of messed up things we blow off because the games on Saturday are so amazing.

I believe … there’s absolutely nothing that college football does that’s better than pausing a massive game between two top four teams to wave hi to a bunch of sick kids watching from a hospital.

I think … Nick Saban was right when he was grousing about his team not being good enough in a win over Mercer.

I know … the media liked to dog him for getting all hot and bothered over blowout wins early on.

I believe … there’s a reason why Nick Saban is Nick Saban, and for all his flaws, the guy knows what he’s doing.

I think … Caleb Williams HAS to be the starting quarterback.

I know … the vultures are circling as we speak.

I believe … in the 2021 college football world, you’re not doing your job as an elite football program if you don’t somehow reach out to the Spencer Rattler camp – and that includes any marketing types – and show why he’d be loved, needed, and cherished if he became a part of the (insert school here) family.

I think … the SEC is a whole lot better than you think.

I know … I can’t believe I still have to argue every year – EVERY … YEAR … – that the SEC is really good at college football.

I believe … the last few Saturdays proved just how deep that conference is.

I think … Notre Dame is going to keep finding creative ways to get through games.

I know … the College Football Playoff dynamic totally changes if Cincinnati goes undefeated and Notre Dame finishes 11-1.

I believe … there’s at least one more loss along the way for Notre Dame, but I’ve thought that before and the team keeps on getting it done.

I think … it’s not about the one game big performance when it comes to the College Football Playoff.

I think … Cincinnati is a fantastic team that could beat anyone on the right day.

I know … we’re not allowed to schedule-shame Cincinnati.

I believe … last Saturday proved that the every week grind of a Power Five schedule all but disqualifies anyone outside the Power Five – if it didn’t just lose to Boise State, BYU would’ve been the exception with its slate – in a system that only allows four teams in a playoff. But …

I think … it’s not fair.

I know … the College Football Playoff should be expanded.

I believe … there HAS to be a way for every conference champion to have a chance at playing its way into the national championship, even if that includes an expanded play-in bracket. But until then …

I know … it’s about beating Miami in your big non-conference game, and then trying to get past Florida, and then Ole Miss, and then Texas A&M, and then Mississippi State, and then Tennessee, and then LSU, and then Arkansas, and then Auburn, and then – if all goes well – come up with one more win over a great team that’s having a monster season …

I believe … it’s about beating Washington in your big non-conference game, and then trying to get past Wisconsin, and then Nebraska, and then Northwestern, and then Michigan State, and then Indiana, and then Penn State, and then Maryland, and then Ohio State, and then – if all goes well – come up with one more win over a great team that’s having a monster season …

I think … it’s about beating Ohio State in your big non-conference game, and then trying to get past Arizona, and then Stanford, and then Cal, and then UCLA, and then Colorado, and then Washington, and then Washington State, and then Utah, and then Oregon State, and then – if all goes well – come up with one more win over a great team that’s having a monster season …

I know … it’s about beating Nebraska in your big in your big non-conference game, and then trying to get past West Virginia, and then Kansas State, and then Texas, and then TCU, and then Kansas – strike that – and then Texas Tech, and then Baylor, and then Iowa State, and then Oklahoma State, and then – if all goes well – come up with one more win over a great team that’s having a monster season …

I believe … it’s not about beating Indiana and Notre Dame, and then Temple, and then a UCF team without its starting quarterback, and then Navy, and then Tulane, and then Tulsa, and then USF, and then SMU, and then East Carolina and then – if all goes well – come up with one more win over a decent team that’s having a good season.

Week 6 Roundup What It All Means
CFN 1-130 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 6 scoreboard, all the predictions
Week 7 opening lines | AP | Coaches
Big Game Reaction: Texas A&M, Iowa, OU, more

I think … again, I know what’s going to happen.

I know … we’re seeing something special with this Georgia defense and offensive front.

I believe … the dream season at a 2019 LSU and 2020 Alabama level will all unravel at some point unless JT Daniels gets healthy.

I think … we’re not going to get the weird College Football Playoff that you might think.

I know … we all want to see that one outlier crashing in with the big-name bluebloods.

I believe … we might be all playing this thing out to see who loses to Georgia.

I think … Oregon and Arizona State are more in this than everyone thinks.

I know … Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State are all in this more than everyone thinks.

I believe … don’t laugh, but Kentucky is more in this than we all think, know, and believe, at least to get into the College Football Playoff.

I think … Kentucky is going to beat Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, New Mexico State, and Louisville.

I know … Kentucky is going to lose to Georgia.

I believe … we’re going to end up having a very, very serious theoretical College Football Playoff discussion over how much a one-loss SEC team should be punished for losing to Georgia.

I think … Oklahoma will lose one game – like, at Oklahoma State – but end up in the College Football Playoff.

I know … a one-loss Power Five champion is absolutely in – assuming Wake Forest loses twice and Boston College loses once, taking the ACC totally out of the picture.

I believe … the field of possible Power Five teams that could realistically get into the College Football Playoff is whittling down fast.

I think … the college football world would have fun with, say, Georgia, Iowa, Cincinnati, and Oregon, even if it becomes the Georgia Invitational.

I know … the College Football Playoff has sucked over the past few years with the chalkiest of chalk and bluest of the blue blood programs in it.

I believe … it’s somehow going to be Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Ohio State, and if it’s not that, it will be some other College Football Playoff veteran like Oregon in it for Bama.

I think … you want something different.

I know … you don’t really want Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Ohio State.

I believe … deep down, you’re cool with Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Ohio State as long as the College Football. Playoff games stop sucking.

I think … I know it’s all going to be okay.

I know … I believe it’s all going to be okay.

I believe … I think it’s all going to be okay.

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Week 6 Roundup What It All Means
CFN 1-130 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 6 scoreboard, all the predictions
Week 7 opening lines | AP | Coaches
Big Game Reaction: Texas A&M, Iowa, OU, more

College Football Roundup Week 6: What It All Means, Winners, Losers, Overrated, Underrated

College football Week 6 roundup with the 5 things that matter, winners and losers, overrated and underrated, and what it all means.

College football Week 6 roundup with the 5 things that matter, winners and losers, overrated and underrated parts of the weekend, and what it all means.

College Football Week 6 Roundup

Week 6 Roundup 
CFN 1-130 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 6 scoreboard, all the predictions
Week 7 opening lines | AP | Coaches
Big Game Reaction: Texas A&M, Iowa, OU, more

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– A&M’s Win: One Really Big Thing
– Heisman Race: Most Overrated Thing
– Hello, Ohio State: Most Underrated Thing
– A new champion? What It All Means, Week 6

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Winners & Losers From Week 6

Loser: The Bret Bielema Bowl. The former Wisconsin head coach got a shot at his old program when the Badgers came to Champaign to face Illinois, but …

Winner: The Wisconsin defense didn’t let the home side have any fun. Already the best in the nation in several categories, the Badger D gave up just 93 yards of total offense, one third down conversion, and allowed the O to have the ball for almost 43 minutes in the 24-0 win.

Loser: BYU finally lost on its home field. The Cougars hadn’t dropped a game in Provo since a 45-19 blowout to Washington in 2019. It hadn’t lost at home to a team outside of the Power Five since a strange 7-6 clunker to Northern Illinois in 2018, and then …

Winner: Boise State took one for the Mountain West. BYU might have had its fun beating the Pac-12 South – with wins over Arizona State, Arizona, and Utah – but it couldn’t get by the Broncos at home in a 26-17 loss. At 2-3 coming into the game, it might have been a season-saver for Boise State and new head man Andy Avalos.

Loser: West Virginia. It started the season with a loss in a good battle at Maryland. That was fine – it could’ve gone either way – followed up by two wins including a 27-21 victory over Virginia Tech. The Mountaineers have dropped three straight with a 45-20 loss to Baylor on Saturday.

Winner: Baylor is now 5-1. More on this later, but don’t scoff – there are a surprising few Power Five teams undefeated or with one loss. The Bears lost to Oklahoma State a few weeks ago, but that’s been it. It’s a very, very rough road ahead, but second-year head man Dave Aranda has turned things around fast.

Loser: USC lost to Utah 42-26 to drop to 3-3. Losing to the Utes isn’t all that new – it happened in 2018, too – but including the 1993 Freedom Bowl, it was the first time the Trojans lost to them in the greater LA area.

Winner: Akron against Bowling Green. The Zips started the season 1-4, but it didn’t beat an FBS program until it took down the Falcons 35-20. Their only win last year was against  Bowling Green, too. Those two were the only victories over an FBS team since beating Central Michigan in the middle of 2018, right after the last road win of any kind, beating Kent State.

Loser: The Rutgers defense that was starting to get a reputation for being good enough to keep the team in games – especially with a ton of takeaways – got ripped up by Michigan State in a 31-13 loss.

Kenneth Walker ran for 232 yards including a 93-yard touchdown dash – the longest play in Spartan history. WR Jalen Nailor caught five passes for 221 yards and three scores, but he didn’t get a walk-off like …

Winner: Wake Forest WR AT Perry caught three passes in the 40-37 overtime win over Syracuse. All three went for touchdowns, with a 46-yarder in the second quarter, a 69-yard play late in the third, and the game-winner in OT from 22 yards out.

– A&M’s Win: One Really Big Thing
– Heisman Race: Most Overrated Thing
– Hello, Ohio State: Most Underrated Thing
– A new champion? What It All Means, Week 6

NEXT: The really big Week 6 thing was …

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Think, Know, Believe After Week 5: College Football Daily Cavalcade

College Football Daily Cavalcade: What I think, what I know, and what I believe after a huge Week 5.

College Football Daily Cavalcade: What I think, what I know, and what I believe after a huge Week 5.

College Football Daily Cavalcade

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

It meant for you to get your popcorn ready because popcorn is yummy, not because it thought it would be any good against Alabama.

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It’s not like you all would rather be spending the next several months arguing whether or not Notre Dame should be in the College Football Playoff

I think … Cincinnati is very, very good.

I know … it could at least hang with – if not beat – any one of 127 other college football teams this year.

I believe … it’s not Alabama or Georgia. However, this year, no one is.

I think … Miami University, Murray State, at Indiana, at Notre Dame, Temple, UCF, at Navy, at Tulane, Tulsa, at USF, SMU, at East Carolina is not anywhere near a worthy enough slate to deserve one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff, no matter what.

I know … it’s absolutely not fair to Cincinnati.

I believe … very soon, BYU is going to be the real outside-the-box team we’re going to be talking about in the College Football Playoff.

I think … it would be fine if Cincinnati got in. Whatever.

I know … it would create enough energy to at least placate the Everyone Gets A Trophy crowd that wants to see the Group of Five team get a shot.

I believe … Tim Tebow and Florida just scored again on unbeaten Cincinnati in the 2010 Sugar Bowl.

I think … the Pac-12 continues to be the most entertaining conference in college football – for the most part.

I know … 2020 was a blast for the Pac-12 – in a limited season – and this year’s big games are a must see.

I believe … 95% of America was sleeping during the first half of Arizona State-UCLA.

I think … you should never, ever, ever, ever, EVER go for two unless you absolutely have to.

I know … Arizona State changed the entire tenor of the game by converting an unnecessary two-point conversion early in the second half.

I believe … if you have the over on the 55 point total, and the team hits the mark by unnecessarily going for two … cool.

Week 5 Roundup: What It All Means
CFN 1-130 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 5 scoreboard, all the predictions
Week 6 opening lines | AP | Coaches
Big Game Reaction: Cincinnati, Oregon, more

I think … that even though I’m the Never Go For 2 guy, in Arizona State’s case early in the second half against UCLA, it absolutely did the right thing. (To whiteboard this, Arizona State was up 24-23, scored a touchdown on the first drive of the second half, and it went for two and got it to go up nine. UCLA had to take several extra chances the rest of the way because of it.)

I know … if you score a touchdown to go up seven, going for two is a no-risk shot at making it a two score game.

I believe … in almost any situation, if you miss the two and remain up seven, the other team will always kick the extra point to tie it up if it scores a touchdown. Herm Edwards is the one coach who seems to get that.

I think … Georgia really might be the best team in college football.

I know … Alabama actually is beatable.

I believe … the 2021 Georgia team might be a modified version of 2019 LSU – with the Dawg D as good as that Tiger O – if we ever get to see a healthy JT Daniels and a slew of able-bodied receivers.

I think … Florida is still the third-best team in the SEC.

I know … Kentucky beat the Gators for just the second time since 1986.

I believe … the Wildcat schedule is so manageable, the Sugar Bowl is a real, live possibility.

I think … Wisconsin is suddenly bad at football now.

I know … it’s because it can’t run, and that’s what the program did as well or better than anyone for over two decades.

I believe … it doesn’t matter who wins or where else you go or went. For the fun factor, deep down, in places you do talk about at parties, EVERYONE wishes they went to Wisconsin.

I think … I’m done trying to figure out West Virginia.

I know … I’m done trying to figure out USC.

I believe … I’m REALLY done trying to figure out Minnesota.

I think … Clemson is just mediocre this year, partly because of injuries and partly because the O line can’t get the ground game going.

I know … it still has the talent to be a whole lot better than it is.

I believe … it’s somehow still going to win the ACC Championship.

I think … Texas is about to rise up soon and start making a giant statement.

I know … Oklahoma is going to get tagged at some point.

I believe … the Big 12 is still knee deep in the College Football Playoff chase.

I think … I honestly don’t know what we’re all supposed to call the Texas and Oklahoma game.

I know … I really don’t care if it should be called the shootout, the rivalry, or Steve.

I believe … from here on, I’m going with the Red River Cocktail Party.

I think … I know it’s all going to be okay.

I know … I believe it’s all going to be okay.

I believe … I think it’s all going to be okay.

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Week 5 Roundup: What It All Means
CFN 1-130 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 5 scoreboard, all the predictions
Week 6 opening lines | AP | Coaches
Big Game Reaction: Cincinnati, Oregon, more

College Football Roundup Week 5: What It All Means, Winners, Losers, Overrated, Underrated

College football Week 5 roundup with the 5 things that matter, winners and losers, and overrated and underrated parts of the weekend.

College football Week 5 roundup with the 5 things that matter, winners and losers, overrated and underrated parts of the weekend, and what it all means.

College Football Week 5 Roundup

Week 5 Roundup 
CFN 1-130 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 5 scoreboard, all the predictions
Week 6 opening lines | AP | Coaches
Big Game Reaction: Cincinnati, Oregon, more

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– Cincinnati & BYU: One Really Big Thing
– SEC teams: Most Overrated Thing
– Hello, Kentucky: Most Underrated Thing
– Who’s No. 3? What It All Means, Week 5

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Winners & Losers From Week 5

Winner: Georgia pass defense

78.2. That’s the passer rating of the first five teams on the Georgia slate. The season isn’t halfway done, but by comparison, Northwestern was the only team last year to have a pass rating D under 100.

2011 Alabama was the last team to finish a season holding offenses to under 90, and no one has come close to that 83.7 mark over the last decade.

Clemson, UAB, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas have combined to hit 48% of their passes for 55 yards with one touchdown and seven picks against the Dawgs. Auburn is up next.

That’s one part of the state …

Loser: Georgia Southern pass defense

2016 Arizona State was the last team to finish a season allowing over 350 passing yards per game. Georgia Southern has a long way to go, but over the first five games it allowed an average of 351 per game with 18 touchdowns and four picks – all four interceptions were last week in the 59-33 win over Arkansas State.

Winner: Coastal Carolina

It’s not like there’s been a good team on the slate yet, but Coastal Carolina has kept the 2020 good vibes going by averaging 48 points per game in blowout after blowout.

Buffalo provided the one push – a 28-25 Chanticleer win – but everyone else has been hit by 49 points or more as the program is on a run of 17 straight regular season wins.

Loser: Wisconsin

The 1990 Badgers beat Ball State 24-7 in mid-September for their only win of the season. That was the last time the program started 1-3 until this season.

The blowout losses to Notre Dame and Michigan also mark the last back-to-back double-digit defeats since the 2009 team – that turned out to be terrific – dropped October dates to Ohio State and Iowa.

Winner: Accurate passers

14. That’s how many quarterbacks with at least 75 attempts are connecting on 70% or more of their throws. Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall leads the way at over 80%. Last year, seven QBs finished hitting the 70% mark, and as recently as 2017, just one passer even got past 68% for a season – Baker Mayfield finished completing 70% of his throws.

Loser: Missouri run defense

Mississippi State ran for 151 yards in the 2020 season finale win over Missouri, but that’s Mississippi State – it doesn’t run the ball. Before that, Georgia and Arkansas combined to run for well over 600 yards against the Tigers.

Tennessee ran for 458 yards in a 62-24 blowout in Columbia, marking the sixth time in the last eight games that Missouri allowed 275 rushing yards or more.

– Cincinnati & BYU: One Really Big Thing
– SEC teams: Most Overrated Thing
– Hello, Kentucky: Most Underrated Thing
– Who’s No. 3? What It All Means, Week 5

NEXT: The really big Week 5 thing was …

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

College Football Big Game Reaction: Cincinnati, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Michigan, Oklahoma

Quick reaction to the biggest games of Week 5. Cincinnati, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Michigan win, and Oregon suffered a brutal loss.

Quick reaction to the biggest games of Week 5, with the big wins by Cincinnati, Alabama, Georgia, and Michigan, the huge loss by Oregon, and the survival by Oklahoma.

College Football Big Game Reaction: Week 5

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– Week 5 Scoreboard, Predictions

Week 5 Big Game Reactions 
Stanford 31, Oregon 24 OT
Oklahoma 37, Kansas State 31
Michigan 38, Wisconsin 17
Georgia 37, Arkansas 0
Alabama 42, Ole Miss 21

Cincinnati 24, Notre Dame 13 Reaction

Let’s save all of the College Football Playoff talk for the next two months and start with this.

Cincinnati did what it had to do.

We’ll absolutely argue about whether or not the Bearcat schedule and overall body of work will be worthy of the final four – if the team goes unscathed – but it went on the road and beat Indiana, and it went on the road to beat a Notre Dame team coming off the buzz of the win over Wisconsin.

The Bearcats didn’t run all that well, but they got the hard yards when needed against the great Notre Dame defensive front. Desmond Ridder wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t throw any picks and he hit the downfield throws the Irish couldn’t connect on.

There were two turnovers, and the problems on third down will be a big deal if there really is an important showdown at some point, but they held up once the Irish had a little momentum in the second half, the American Athletic Conference lines held up, and the program proved it could win a game like this with everyone watching and all the pressure on its shoulders.

Give it a few days to breathe. Let the program enjoy the moment, and then the CFP spotlight is on.

Week 5 Big Game Reactions 
Stanford 31, Oregon 24 OT
Oklahoma 37, Kansas State 31
Michigan 38, Wisconsin 17
Georgia 37, Arkansas 0
Alabama 42, Ole Miss 21

NEXT: Stanford 31, Oregon 24 OT Reaction

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What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame vs. Cincinnati

How those who know college football see this game.

We don’t know whether Notre Dame’s undefeated record will remain that after it plays Cincinnati. What we do know is that it’s as difficult a game to predict as any the Irish have played over the first month of the season. Will Marcus Freeman’s unit be able to outperform the defense he helped to shape when he was with the Bearcats? Will whoever is starting at quarterback for the Irish have a difficult time with that defense?

Here’s what some college football experts, including those on the Wire sites, are predicting for this game:

What the College Football Playoff would look like if it was based on point differential

This is what the College Football Playoff would look like if it was based simply on point differential.

Imagine a world where Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, and Oklahoma get left out of the College Football Playoff. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?

Now picture a system that only chose playoff teams based on their point differential. Sounds as flawed as the BCS rankings, right? Even though we are two weeks into the college football season, it’s interesting to look at some of the teams that have come out the gate swinging. Dominating their opponents on the scoreboard.

This is what the College Football Playoff would look like if it was based simply on point differential.

NOTE: These point differentials only include games between two FBS schools.

Group of Five Teams In New Year’s Six Bowl Hunt: 21 For 2021 Preview Topics

21 for 2021 preseason topics: No. 10. The top Group of Five college football teams that should be in the New Year’s Six bowl chase.

21 for 2021 preseason topics: No. 10. The top Group of Five college football teams that should be in the New Year’s Six bowl chase.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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This piece is almost certainly going to be wrong.

Two years ago we didn’t get Memphis – who ended up getting the New Year’s Six Bowl nod – and last season we weren’t even in the right zip code when it came to the rise of Coastal Carolina and Louisiana.

But we did have Cincinnati on the 2020 list.

So far in the College Football Playoff era, six teams from the Group of Five conferences – the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt – have been the highest-ranked conference champion in the final CFP rankings to get the New Year’s Six spot. None of them have been able to get into the playoff, but if the tournament expands, that will change.

Boise State beat Arizona in the first shot for the Group of Five, and Houston followed it up with a win over Florida State. Western Michigan, Memphis, Cincinnati, and UCF (twice) are the other schools to get the big spotlight game, going 3-4 overall and generally playing very, very well in the losses.

This year, the Group of Five champion – if it’s not in the College Football Playoff – will either play in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl or the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

21 for 2021 Preview Topics (so far)  
21. Thoughts, Wishes, Hopes for 2021
20. Best Teams To Not Make CFP
19: Teams That Will Rebound Big
18. Teams That Will Fall Back
17: Every Power 5 Team’s Letdown Game
16. Expectations For New Head Coaches
15. Expectations For 2nd Year Head Coaches
14. Power 5 Hot Seat Coach Rankings
13. 21 Key Transfers You Need To Know
12. Group of 5 over Power 5 Upset Alerts
11. 5 of College Football’s New Superstars

– CFN 2021 Preview: All 130 Team Previews

So what does it take for a Group of Five program to get that New Year’s Six slot? Realistically – but not technically – 1) needs to go unbeaten or finish with just one loss, 2) it should have at least one signature win to impress the College Football Playoff committee that does the rankings, and 3), as part of the requirement, it has to win its conference championship.

Here’s hoping that a few teams will rise up and shock the world, but assume that one of these teams will likely have the best shot at getting the New Year’s Six nod.

Let’s start with a total cop-out.

College Football Group of Five Programs in the New Year’s Six Hunt

5. San Jose State at Nevada winner

– CFN 2021 San Jose State Preview

Boise State is always the instant pick from the Mountain West to have a shot at the New Year’s Six bowl bid, but this year’s team is undergoing a coaching overhaul and it has a few tweaks it has to make, but there are three problems …

Non-conference schedule, non-conference schedule, non-conference schedule.

The Broncos should be strong enough in a relatively weak Mountain Division to get to the Mountain West title game, but they have to start the season at UCF, host Oklahoma State, and they have to go to BYU.

If they win all three they should probably be No. 1 on this list, if they win two of the three they’ll be in the hunt, and if they win just one, forget it. Throw in the road games at San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State, and it’s a tough ask.

– CFN 2021 Nevada Preview

From the West, Fresno State will be dangerous, San Diego State always has a puncher’s chance to get to the NY6, and Hawaii will be plucky, but it should – like last year – come down to the showdown between San Jose State and Nevada.

The Spartans have to go to USC, but they other three non-conference games are against Western Michigan, New Mexico State and Southern Utah. If they’re good enough to win the Mountain West title, they’ll be good enough to win all three of those.

They don’t have to play Boise State and get San Diego State and Fresno State at home. However, they start November with a trip to Reno.

The Wolf Pack are loaded with high-octane offensive talent, the overall experience is in place, and the coaching staff is hitting its stride. They have to at least split the road games against Cal and Kansas State, and they follow that up with a trip to Boise State. Throw in road games at San Diego State and Fresno State, and there’s a problem.

However, get by San Jose State, go on to win the Mountain West title, and they should be in the hunt.

NEXT: Group Of Five Teams In New Year’s Six Bowl Hunt, No. 5

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