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The [College Football] Thread. Universities, Divest from Israel! CHAMP WEEK IS LIVE
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Honestly though I would have been fine with just ending it altogether
not sure about how it works in Seattle but at least in Pullman, it’s super inconvenient for students to attend because of how the university handles Thanksgiving break. The dorms are usually closed for from Sunday before Thanksgiving to Sunday after.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Somehow, this is the second time since I enrolled at Georgia Tech in 2003 we got a Syracuse coach fired.
At least back in the day, the dorms didn't really close at GT. If it was during the semester, you had a key and could get in. I'm not even sure how they would "close", per se.
We’d go around and make sure everyone was out, then plug the outer door locks with a special tool so nobody could get back in until an authorized person took out the plug
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
You lose a home game, but the Lumen Field game should be a true neutral site despite the location - the Seattle metro area is also where the majority of Coug fans/alums live, so the crowd should be pretty close to 50-50
Glad we got that resolved, at least. Now you guys need to cobble together the rest of your 2024 schedule
When do the students move in to the dorms at Wazzu? It sounds like it's going to be a September game moving forward, and if they play it in the first three weeks of the season it will be before the UW kids even arrive on campus
Disregard all that if it’s not
Also my anecdotes are roughly 20 years out of date
They probably have electronic keycards now
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
I’m an alum and I’m only 2.5 hours away and I hate going there
But it’s the principle of the thing
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
I DID ALREADY WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME
If JMU beats Coastal Carolina (likely, probably) then App can turn their horrible first half if the season around and win the Sun Belt East by beating our worst and definitely most evil rival, Georgia Southern, aka The Stink.
What's that? Of course they're evil. Yes intercepting their post-game pizza order and trampling it was justified. So was the goalpost that went through their bus window. Look, that's just how you defeat evil.
Please vote for Deeper Than Hate.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
Yay, mediocrity!!!
After his nepotism backfired, Ferentz really needs to conduct a broad search, go out of his comfort zone, and look even to the NFL ranks for a new perspective at OC, though someone that still understands that Iowa’s success comes from good situational football.
Someone that is also used to coaching a black and gold team
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
The committee will claim six ways from Sunday that it wasn’t a factor but it absolutely was
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Reminder: picks are due by Thursday due to the Egg Bowl.
Straight Up
#17 Iowa @ Nebraska (-2) - THE HEROES GAME! And what an appropriate game to start Hate Week with, because...
SICKOS SPECIAL: Iowa-Nebraska OVER or UNDER 26.5 points - Iowa's real rivalry is not with Nebraska or Minnesota or Iowa State or what have you. Iowa's real rivalry is with the entire concept of offensive football, so for the Hate Week Sicko's Game of the Week, we're also having you pick whether Iowa and Nebraska can get over the 26.5 point line or not. Good luck!
Texas-San Antonio @ #23 Tulane (-3) - Winner of this game is going to the AAC Championship Game, probably against SMU unless they somehow lose to Navy. Tulane has been the better team all season but UTSA has finally come around and shown off the form that made them C-USA darlings the past few years. Also, whatever you do, don't ask Jeff Traylor if he's interviewed for the Texas A&M job (he absolutely has and they should probably hire him).
Air Force @ Boise State (-6) - What an utterly fascinating game. Both these teams are at 5-2, and with UNLV facing San Jose State, the winner of this game feels likely to make the Mountain West Championship Game. That's not super surprising for Air Force, which has been one of the league favorites all year despite some recent hiccups, but it is utterly bizarre to consider that for Boise State considering THEY JUST FIRED THEIR COACH LAST WEEK. Boise clearly thinks they needed an upgrade and wanted to get a jump on what looks like a busy Mountain West hiring cycle, and with former coach Bryan Harsin available, that may be the way they go. Either way, fascinating game.
#9 Missouri (-7.5) @ Arkansas - THE BATTLE LINE RIVALRY! Honestly, how excited do you think Missouri fans are to have one of their real rivals in Oklahoma back in the fold next year so they can schedule them for this week and stop pretending this is a real rivalry? Arkansas is allegedly not firing Sam Pittman so I have no interest in them anymore, but Missouri could make a New Years Six game! That's exciting for Eli and the Tigers.
Indiana @ Purdue (-3) - THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET! Let's be honest: this is a basketball rivalry that has spilled over onto the football field, and I respect it. Purdue really isn't enjoying this year but at least they aren't Indiana, which is currently being forced to stare at Tom Allen and hope that maybe he just decides to leave.
Connecticut (-2.5) @ Massachusetts - UCUM! Consider this the secondary Sickos game of the weekend. Both teams are awful, the football will be unwatchable, and you could be watching Michigan punch Oho State in the throat repeatedly instead. So of course I will have this game open on the side.
San Jose State @ Nevada-Las Vegas (-3) - The other end of the Mountain West Championship Game picture. For UNLV, this is pretty simple: win, and you're in. Actually, you're not even in, you're hosting the damn game, which is one hell of a turnaround by Barry Odom. In fact, it looks like UNLV may just be safely in and hosting the game regardless. San Jose State needs a win and likely an Air Force win to sneak into the game, but that's not impossible!
James Madison (-9) @ Coastal Carolina - JMU's perfect season came to an end last week at the hands of App State, but now I need them to absolutely obliterate Coastal Carolina just to potentially protect us from a second year of Coastal in the Fun Belt Championship just absolutely shitting it up. You'd still need App State to also win to prevent this and they're playing an actual rivalry game, but that would be ideal since everyone's just pretending the NCAA has power and should not be ignored completely and utterly.
Wisconsin (-2) @ Minnesota - PAUL BUNYAN'S AXE! This should be an interesting game for the overall series, because they are currently tied at 62 wins apiece and Minnesota has won multiple games in a row for the first time since the early 90s. The rivalry has been dominated by Wisconsin since the turn of the century, but with Wisconsin going through some changes and Minnesota stabilized by PJ Fleck, things have gotten back to a more even state.
Georgia Southern @ Appalachian State (-9) - DEEPER THAN HATE! Thanks to their upset of James Madison last week, App State is playing for a chance to be in the Sun Belt Championship Game, and need a win here along with a Coastal loss to get in. Georgia Southern is playing more for pride as they've already clinched bowl eligibility, but this rivalry got the name Deeper Than Hate for a reason, and both these teams really do not like each other. Expect some fireworks.
Virginia Tech (-3) @ Virginia - THE COMMONWEALTH CUP! Ok, we're already starting to get to some games with nothing on the line except regional pride, but Virginia Tech is also playing for bowl eligibility, which would be a nice milestone in the rebuild Brent Pry has done so far for the Hokies. It's also just nice to get this game again after last year's edition was cancelled in the aftermath of a horrific shooting at Virginia.
Northwestern @ Illinois (-5.5) - THE LAND OF LINCOLN TROPHY! David Braun has done a tremendous job rallying Northwestern in the aftermath of Pat Fitzgerald's firing and the hazing scandal, and was announced as the permanent coach going forward. Illinois, meanwhile, is fighting for bowl eligibility, which would at least salvage a disappointing step-back season for the Illini.
#24 Clemson (-7) @ South Carolina - THE PALMETTO BOWL! Clemson has rallied after obvious plant Tyler from Spartanburg called into Dabo Sweeney's radio show and gave him the bulletin board material to fire up the Tigers. They'll obviously be looking for revenge against a South Carolina team playing for bowl eligibility.
North Carolina (-3) @ #22 North Carolina State - THE CAROLINA-STATE RIVALRY, I GUESS! I'm honestly surprised this game does not have a real rivalry name or trophy considering how long it's been played. Mack Brown and the Tar Heels should count their lucky stars that this game is not being showed on the CW, where the Wolfpack are 4-0 on the season and have officially changed the name of the network to Congratulations Wolfpack.
Fresno State (-5) @ San Diego State - THE OLD OIL CAN! Pretty disappointing seasons for both teams; San Diego State will be looking for a new coach this offseason after Brady Hoke "retired", while Fresno State may be doing the same thing, mostly because Jeff Tedford is old and only came back to help restabilize Fresno State after Kalen DeBeor left. Still, this would be a nice capper for either coach's career to get a win here.
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
Against the Spread
#12 Mississippi (-10.5) @ Mississippi State - EGG BOWL! The dumbest rivalry game every season without fail. I don't care that Mississippi State has already fired their head coach and that Ole Miss looks very good. Nothing has ever mattered going into this game, and nothing will ever matter going into this game. It's just incredibly stupid every single year and why it is the perfect Thursday night game.
Texas Tech @ #7 Texas (-12.5) - I mean, it's technically a rivalry because it's two Texas schools, but we're all just waiting for next year and the return of the A&M game, right?
#11 Pennsylvania State (-20.5) vs. Michigan State - THE LAND-GRANT TROPHY! I honestly did not assume this was much of a rivalry, but in research I found this nugget:
That's just good hating.
#16 Oregon State @ #6 Oregon (-13.5) - THE BATTLE FOR THE PLATTY, though in our hearts this will always be CIVIL WAR! And it's a momentous Civil War, with Oregon still alive in the CFP hunt should they win out, while an Oregon State win would open the door for Arizona to make the Pac-12 Championship Game. You would think that an Oregon team that is rolling would have this in the bag, but then you have not paid attention to this series before; just last year, Oregon State came back and won the game by completely abandoning the pass and just running it down Oregon's throat repeatedly. This game always delivers.
Texas A&M @ #14 Louisiana State (-10.5) - Again, we're just playing out the string until next year, when Texas-A&M retakes its rightful spot on Thanksgiving, Missouri gets to renew their rivalry with Oklahoma, and the Golden Boot can take over this spot. Everyone wins!
Houston @ Central Florida (-13.5) - There is not a ton of rivalry history here, but that did not stop our own Romanian My Escutcheon from saying a few words:
Colorado @ Utah (-21.5) - THE RUMBLE IN THE ROCKIES! Both these teams are on Quit Watch, with Colorado officially out of the running for bowl eligibility and having all the makings of a classic front-runner program in Deion's first year, while Utah is down to a bunch of backups and is going to be nowhere near what their goal was for the season.
Louisiana-Monroe @ Louisiana (-12.5) - THE BATTLE OF THE BAYOU! I went looking for something interesting about this rivalry, which has a lot of local flavor but usually involves each team ruining the other's dreams, and the best I could find was the story of the 2012 meeting, where Louisiana was looking to run out the clock when their starting quarterback mixed up signals and threw a touchdown pass on the final play that led to the ULM strength coach offering to fight anyone and everyone at midfield. ULM would show Louisiana how to properly run out the clock the next year.
#8 Alabama (-14.5) @ Auburn - IRON BOWL! Forget this game in particular, I just want to talk about how funny it is that Hugh Freeze has now lost two games in a row to New Mexico State where he was clearly looking ahead to something else (Iron Bowl, getting hired by Auburn). That's just great character development for a guy who consistently shows how bad he is at planning things out. (also if we're very quiet about it maybe no one will notice that Alabama has a shot to sneak into the playoffs still).
Vanderbilt @ #21 Tennessee (-26.5) - The history of this game is Tennessee winning, which is why recent history has been so interesting, with the rivalry being much more even than normal. Of course, that recent history also features Tennessee not knowing what they were supposed to do as a football team, so that probably helps.
#15 Arizona (-11.5) @ Arizona State - THE TERRITORIAL CUP! Once Arizona made the switch away from alleged sexual abuser Jayden de Laura to Noah Fifita, they've become one of the best teams in what has been the best conference in the country (don't @ me I don't care about your SEC/Big Ten bias). Jedd Fisch has done an amazing job rebuilding this team, and the craziest part is that the Wildcats are still technically in the Pac-12 Title race, needing an Oregon State win to sneak into the championship game. Arizona State is also here.
Washington State @ #4 Washington (-16.5) - THE APPLE CUP! The best news we got all week was the announcement that this rivalry would continue through 2028, which means we can now focus on how Washington has been dominant on the football field while Wazzu has been dominant in the courtroom. Washington finally moved into the top four of the playoffs this week, which is not just good for the Huskies but for Oregon and the rest of the Pac-12, which is having an amazing final season.
#5 Florida State (-6.5) @ Florida - THE SUNSHINE SHOWDOWN! Jordan Travis's gruesome injury is going to hang over Florida State for the rest of the season, and they could really use a great performance here to silence some of the doubters. Florida also lost their quarterback last week with Graham Mertz suffering a shoulder injury in the middle of what may be his best statistical season of his career. This game lacks some of the stupidity that the Florida State/Miami series historically has, but it still features some real hate.
#1 Georgia (-23.5) @ Georgia Tech - CLEAN, OLD FASHIONED HATE! And with that, I turn to ASimPerson, who I will quote verbatim as promised:
#18 Notre Dame (-25.5) @ Stanford - Ok, I'm using this game for two things. One, this is the last football game to be shown on the Pac-12 Network, which I think is just a perfect ending for that debacle to show two ACC teams. Second, since they're not playing this week and no one cares about this actual game, what the fuck is wrong with you USC? You are the most unserious program I have ever seen, Lincoln Riley is an absolute fraud, and I got to sit in your stupid stadium and laugh at how unreal you all are. Your college belongs in the garbage, and we're about a few months away from another sexual abuse scandal being revealed at the school. OH YOU THOUGHT THAT SINCE YOU WEREN'T PLAYING THIS WEEK YOU WERE FREE, HUH USC? YOU'RE NEVER FREE FOR DENYING ME SATISFACTION.
Iowa State @ #19 Kansas State (-9.5) - FARMAGEDDON! I, uh, don't know what the tiebreaker scenarios are for the Big 12 Championship game, and frankly, I do not care. I just think this game is fun and is the longest uninterrupted rivalry series in FBS football.
Cal Berkeley@ UCLA (-8.5) - THE BEAR BOWL! I'm actually a bit sad this series is ending, especially because this is the second-longest uninterrupted rivalry series in FBS and somehow survived the pandemic. I also think there's a surprising amount of good-natured hate here, with UCLA fans thinking it's cute that Cal Berkeley pretends they're a real athletic department and not just an extended practical joke, while Cal Berkeley fans climb down from the trees and pretend to understand the sport of football for all of three minutes before immediately wandering off to complain about water rights or something. But mostly I'm annoyed that I'm going to be stuck with Chip Kelly for another year, because you absolutely can't count on Cal Berkeley to do anything right.
GAME OF THE CENTURY OF THE WEEK (Straight Up)
#2 Ohio State @ #3 Michigan (-3.5) - THE GAME! I'm not bothering to check further, but I'm pretty sure this is the third year in a row this game has taken the top spot in the Hate Week pick'ems, and for good reason. These two teams have somehow taken the rivalry to new heights in recent years, and this year's edition has even more intrigue than normal, with Jim Harbaugh not present for the game while serving a suspension over a sign-stealing scandal that may or may not have been made public by Ohio State. And since I promised I would talk about that scandal at some point and since none of the Michigan Men or Ohio State Nuts stepped forward to write about this game, it means this is finally the time to do so.
Folks, the scandal is so, so dumb. There are a lot of moving parts, obviously; for one, Michigan definitely broke the rules, and seemingly understands now the extent to which those rules were broken outside the bounds of normal sign-stealing that every team engages in. This is also such a Big Ten scandal, because it involves Michigan getting caught doing some of the things that they loudly complain about other schools doing. At the same time, it is also hard to say this particular scandal led to Michigan winning games by itself. It is certainly something that Michigan really started turning things around right when the sign-stealing scheme began, but it also coincided with Michigan finally figuring things out on the offensive and defensive lines and just physically dominating teams. And no amount of sign-stealing was going to stop Michigan from doing the most obvious things during football games, because subtlety has never been Michigan's strong suit. So yeah, Michigan cheated, Harbaugh is paying the price, and it ultimately won't matter because they finally figured things out. I really hope they win the championship this year just for all of the nuclear takes that will be launched if that happens.
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3DS: 2981-5304-3227
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3DS: 2981-5304-3227
Form typo?
I barely managed to save them in Notes
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Fuck Michigan.
GO BUCKS!
O H I O
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
1 loss Big Ten shouldn't get in period. Big Ten is ass this year.
Not ass: Chris Creighton who has gotten Eastern Michigan to six bowls now. That's insane.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
The best part is I said we should do that and ASP did not even fight me on it.
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
Completely ignoring the part where the ACC head to head with SEC this year has indicated the exact opposite.
That said fuck the ACC and also because I wasn’t feeling doing it after Travis’ injury so didn’t submit for rivalry:
Gators suck, Go FSU. (Honestly this one contains so much less hate for me considering I have family in Gainesville, actually like the University and almost went there for college. In contrast, FMFFM, because I grew up in Miami, and they are actual garbagey trash that I will clown on at every possible opportunity. Please lose to BC and then shutter yourself as an institution, k thanks.)
Magic Online - Bertro