This was such an exciting weekend in college football. A third of the way through the season we are starting to see the identity of teams and who are for real, and who are frauds. There were a ton of exciting finishes to games, and I am glad I actually got to watch multiple games at time again. I will never complain about being able to go to games in person, but after being on the road the last two weeks, it was nice to be able to just hang out and watch. We have a new Heisman favorite, and we are going to lead off with him in the winners section.

Winners

Jeremiah Smith

How can he not be the Heisman favorite at this point. He is having one of the best seasons in recent memory. In Ohio State’s game against Illinois, he put up 12 catches for 217 yards, and 4 TDs. Brings his season totals to 33 for 617 and 7. He did not even play the second half in two of their games this far this season. He is an absolute specimen of a human, and I am terrified for my Hawkeyes to line up with him next week. 

Jaden Baugh

It is time for people to recognize Baugh as the best RB in the country. He is averaging 7.2 YPC this season, and has 11 TDs. He has put up at least 130 rushing yards in each game, and similar to Jeremiah Smith, he has not played every quarter of each game. Jon Sumrall has a fantastic workhorse this season in Baugh and I expect the team to keep leaning on him for production this season. 

Iowa

Let me paint a picture. You are at the bar with a ton of friends from college, and you are down five with less than a minute left in the game and Iowa needs to drive 90 yards and score a TD to win the game. They somehow work down the field, and they have 2 seconds on the clock from the 16 yard line and they snap the ball. Everyone is holding their breath, surely an Iowa team who runs the ball almost exclusively will not be able to pass for a TD to win the game. Then you see Hank Brown drop a dot to Reece Vander Zee and he toe taps for the walk off win in the Big House. The bar went nuts with excitement, everyone jumping and cheering together witnessing the greatest moment in Iowa football since the 2021 Penn State game. I experienced the feeling you cannot replicate in fandom. To my Western Michigan fans, this was for you. America, this was for you.

Mississippi State

For the first time in a long time, Mississippi State fans have something to cheer for. Kamario Taylor is really something special, and it is disgusting to already be talking about other teams scooping him up in the transfer portal next season. If that is the first thing you think about when you are watching him play, you are the worst type of fan. Mississippi State continues to roll and are off to a 4-0 start and are 2-0 in SEC play. They are playing with something you cannot teach, and that is heart. Scoring 14 points in the 4th, this is not a team you can count out. But they have a massive game against Alabama next week at home. 

James Madison

Billy Napier is off to a great start at JMU. They are 4-0, and are making a case for the playoff G6 spot. They have not beat 3 really talented squads in Liberty, San Diego State, and Old Dominion. Right now for that G6 spot Boise State and JMU are in the drivers seats. 

Losers

Louisville Defense

Louisville’s offense is the reason they are winning games, but their defense is the reason they are losing them. Against P4 competition they have given up 38, 31, and 30 points. That will not cut it. They are giving up 4.7 YPC, and 250 passing YPG. Combine that with the fact that they are very undisciplined with penalties, and you are not going to continue winning games. They need to fix these issues quickly if they want a shot at the ACC championship. I still have hope for them, but not if these issues persist. 

Texas A&M

Now for Texas A&M I have no hope. How did they respond to an unranked Kentucky loss you ask? Well it is not even getting in the end zone against LSU. Six points is all they were able to put up. 197 total yards, 2 turnovers, and 4/15 on 3rd down. That is miserable. They created no pressure on LSU at all to stop their attack. Pitiful, pitiful performance. I am not sure where we go from here. 

USC

The media tells you that neither Lincoln Riley nor Dan Lanning can win a big game. But I am also told that someone needed to win this game, so one of those coaches had to be able to win a big game, and Lincoln Riley is just not that coach. Going into the half, they were only down by three, but then gave up 28 points in the second half. They went 2/11 on third down, and gave up over 500 total yards. Not going to win many football games like that. In what many are calling a playoff or bust year for Riley, he isn’t off to a great start, especially after only beating Rutgers by one score. They still have Washington, Penn State, Ohio State, Indiana, and UCLA to play this year. 

South Carolina

Things are not looking good for Shane Beamer in Columbia. They are now 0-2 in conference play, and it gets no easier with three straight ranked matchups starting next week in Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee. If they go 0-3 in that stretch, there is a chance they are looking for a new coach by November. 

jail

Dylan Stewart

He is considered one of the top draft picks this next year, but he absolutely obliterated his stock last night during the game. He personally was called for a late hit, and an unsportsmanlike conduct for punching an Alabama player. After the late hit, Shane Beamer was reaming him, and he did not care whatsoever. Another time he refused to come off the field. Somehow he was not ejected for throwing multiple punches at an Alabama player. This is something you do not want to see from what should be a leader of your team. If this is how you act when you get frustrated and emotional, that is not something I would want in my NFL locker room. Maybe it was an off night for him, but NFL scouts absolutely took notice of it. 

Desman Stephens II

Stephens put a hit on Dante Moore that took him out of the game. Was it a dirty hit, yes. Those do sadly happen sometimes, but what he did after the hit was inexplicable. Even after he was called for targeting and ejected, he was celebrating the hit. He had zero remorse for putting Dante Moore on a stretcher that will likely cause him to miss a ton of time. There is zero reason to celebrate injuring others. He was seen smiling on the sidelines, and even came back out on the sideline after he was ejected showing he still did not care. Gross behavior, and I am glad the staff indefinitely suspended him for his actions. 

betting recap

Came back down to earth this week. After hitting at nearly 60% the previous two weeks, this week we barely stayed above 50% going 13-12. This brings the season total to 56-52-3. We have had insane progress this year and I love it. The last three weeks I am 42-32.

• Week 0 – 1-6
• Week 1 – 13-14-2
• Week 2 16-11
• Week 3 13-9-1
• Week 4 13-12