Ohio State Continues Domination Over Nittany Lions

The Buckeye defense was just too much for Penn State to overcome. Ohio State controlled the ball in the 4th quarter giving Penn State little opportunity and the game ended Ohio State 20 Penn State 13, the 8th consecutive win in a row over Penn State for the Buckeyes. But make no mistake, the Nittany Lions are far from out of contention for a National Championship. They will most certainly be among the elite 12 listed when the first CFP rankings are announced  Tuesday night.  Don't do a double take here, but it appears SMU and Miami (Fla.) may be headed for a showdown in the ACC. SMU demolished previously unbeaten Pittsburgh 48-25 while Miami was taking care of Duke 53-31. The Big 12 was turned upside down when Texas Tech sneaked by previously unbeaten Iowa State with a late field goal with 20 seconds left on the clock to win 23-22, and after a 4 hour weather delay Kansas State fell to Houston 24-19. Tennessee came to life in the second half to down Kentucky 28-18, but Texas A&M was not so lucky. The Aggies traveled to South Carolina and met up with an angry bunch of Gamecocks who tore A&M apart 44-20. Projections will post Tuesday. 

Indiana Crushes Washington 31-17

The surprising Hoosiers moved to 8-0 on the season after cruising past the Huskies. Indiana is 8-0 for the first time since they won the Big 10 and played in the Rose Bowl in 1967. The Big 10 also dominates the top of this weeks Billingsley Report with Oregon at #1, Penn State at #2 and Ohio State at #5. A showdown looms this Saturday as the Buckeyes travel to Happy Valley in a much anticipated conference clash.  Things are tight in the conference races. The ACC has Miami (Fla.) and Pittsburgh still undefeated with Clemson and SMU nipping on their heels with one loss, both to non conference opponents. Clemson lost to Georgia and SMU lost to BYU. In the Big 12 the Cougars remain unbeaten with a convincing 37-24 road win over Central Florida. Iowa State remains undefeated after being idle this week and Kansas State kicked a late field goal to nip arch rival Kansas 29-27. Colorado continues to look better each passing week, downing Cincinnati 34-23. Boise State took control of the MWC with a 29-24 win at UNLV. Vanderbilt is for real folks. They took Texas to the wire. The Longhorns escaped Nashville with a hard fought 27-24 win. But it's the Aggies from Texas A&M who top the mighty SEC right now after a strong 2nd half performance propelled them to a 38-23 win over LSU. November will certainly be a month to remember in 2024. Lots of huge games yet to play and with the new 12 playoff, two or maybe 3 losses may still be good enough to get in.   

Dawg Defense Derails Longhorns

The biggest game of the weekend almost turned into a rout with Georgia jumping out to what seemed an almost insurmountable 23-0 lead, but Texas fought back in the 3rd quarter to close the gap to 23-15. But it was too late and the Georgia defense shut down Texas in the final quarter, ending the game with a 30-15 win over the #1 Longhorns. Oregon, 35-0 winners over Purdue, moved into the top spot in this week's Billingsley Report, followed by idle Penn State. Georgia jumped to #3 followed by #4 Texas. Miami (Fla.) takes the #5 position.  Indiana shocked the Husker nation with an unbelievable 56-7 beat down of Nebraska. The Hoosiers moved to 7-0 on the season. Illinois beat Michigan 21-7 to move to 6-1. The Trojans are finding life very difficult in the Big 10. USC fell to 3-4 after losing at Maryland 29-28. BYU and Iowa State remained unbeaten by identical scores of 38-35, and both in similar dramatic fashion with wins coming over Oklahoma State and UCF in the final moments of the game. Tennessee beat arch rival Alabama 24-17. All the cigar smoke gave new meaning to “Smoky Mountains”. Oklahoma was humiliated at home by South Carolina 35-9. It was the worst home loss for the Sooners since the John Blake era of 1997, a 69-7 loss to Nebraska. Projections will post Tuesday.     

Oregon nips Ohio State 32-31

In a battle of Big 10 Titans (I still can't wrap my head around that statement), the Ducks prevailed in a back and forth tussle with the Buckeyes. Ohio State appeared positioned to kick a game winning field goal but the last second ticked off the clock as the Buckeye QB slid trying to gain a few precious more yards before the attempt. Something tells me we will see these two powerhouses play again, and maybe twice, before a National Champion is crowned.  Pittsburgh remained unbeaten after squeaking by California 17-15 in an ACC conference game. Can I just say this? I miss the Pac 12! Cal and Stanford in the ACC? Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA in the Big 10? It's more than this old timer can handle. Hell, I still miss the Big 8 and the SWC. Those were the days, the 1950's thru the 1970's were college footballs greatest years.  Penn State had the comeback of the day, scoring 14 late points to move the game with USC into overtime, then beating the Trojans 33-30. Iowa finally showed some offensive muscle, pounding Washington 40-16. The Hawkeyes are now 4-2. The Big 12 is all up for grabs, although BYU and Iowa State lead the pack at 6-0. Kansas State, Texas Tech and Arizona State are all 5-1.  Oklahoma scored the first points in the Red River Rivalry to lead 3-0….. and never saw the light of day again. The Longhorns smothered the Sooners with 34 straight points. I just took a look at Oklahoma's upcoming schedule, Yikes. South Carolina, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama and LSU. I don't believe Oklahoma will be going bowling this year. LSU won a thriller over Ole Miss 29-26. Hard to beat the Tigers in Death Valley at night. And Vandy did it again, pulling off another upset, this time on the road over Kentucky 20-13. The Commodores now stand at 4-2. Nashville may never stop celebrating.  Texas remains #1 in this week's Billingsley Report, followed closely by Oregon. As the season unfolds I doubt anyone will go undefeated and we could be looking at several two loss teams in the CFP. Anyone want to bet a 3 loss SEC or Big 10 team might sneak in at #12? Wouldn't surprise me in the least. Projections will be posted Tuesday. 

Alabama Falls into Vanderbilt Trap

Longtime fans of college football could see it coming a mile away. On one hand we had Alabama, undefeated, ranked #1 in the nation after beating longtime foe Georgia in what was called an “Instant Classic”, a "game for the ages", going on the road to play perennial SEC cellar dweller Vanderbilt. Problem is…… Vandy was a very well prepared eager hungry team that had already beaten Virginia Tech and taken Missouri to double overtime. Result: Vanderbilt 40 Alabama 35. I lived in the Nashville area for 12 of the best years of my life. I know their frustrations first hand and I don't want to take a thing away from the Commodores. They played the best game in Vanderbilt history and they earned it with great offensive play calling, great defense, and sheer determination.  It was a weekend full of upsets. The Crimson Tide was not the only casualty. Texas A&M destroyed previously unbeaten Missouri 41-10 and Arkansas shocked unbeaten Tennessee 19-14 in the night cap. Texas rose to #1 after being idle, preparing for the Red River Rivalry game with Oklahoma Saturday. Miami (Fla.) roared back from 25 points down to sneak past California 39-38. Army and Navy are both 5-0 for the first time since 1945. Heck fire, that's even before my time and that's going back a few years. The Billingsley Report is top heavy with Big 10 teams after the SEC implosion. Oregon is #2, Penn State is #3 and Ohio State is #4. Should make for an interesting match when the Buckeyes travel to Eugene Saturday. Projections will be posted Monday.     

Alabama Survives Furious Georgia Rally

The Crimson Tide soared to a 28-0 lead early and made the game look like a blowout in the making. But the Bulldogs held strong and never gave up, shockingly rebounding to take a 34-33 lead in the 4th quarter. Alabama retook the lead at 41-34 and Georgia still had a shot to potentially take the game to overtime. The classic ended with Alabama intercepting the ball in the end zone with 49 seconds left on the clock. The win vaulted Alabama to #1 in this week's Billingsley Report followed by #2 Texas, 35-13 winners over Mississippi St.  The SEC was a wild crazy place to be Saturday. Double digit underdog Kentucky visited the Grove in Oxford and found a way to shut down the high flying Ole Miss Rebels 20-17. Just imagine where the Wildcats would be sitting right now if they had completed that near13-12 upset of Georgia a few weeks ago. Auburn fans were left unbelievably stunned after dominating Oklahoma, leading 21-10 with 6 minutes left in the game before Sooner Magic took over and boom…. Oklahoma scored 17 points to win 27-21. Miami (Fla.) remains unbeaten at 5-0 after a very controversial game ending that was  originally called a Virginia Tech TD for the win but overturned in replay to an incomplete pass giving the Hurricane the win. Duke, also unbeaten at 5-0 stormed back from a 20-0 deficient to slip by arch rival North Carolina 21-20. UNLV has take over the early lead for the G5 CFP bid at 4-0 with a big 59-14 shellacking of Fresno State.  Notre Dame looks strong again with an impressive 31-24 win over Louisville. Northern Illinois has dropped two straight since beating the Irish. How in the world did Notre Dame ever let that one slip away? The Big 10 is still growing strong with 5 teams still unbeaten, Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State and surprise surprise, Rutgers and Indiana.  BYU and Iowa State are the lone unbeatens in the Big 12 after Arizona traveled to Utah and took down the Utes 23-10. What a topsy turvy season so far, and we just got started. Ain't College football grand!

Michigan's Last Seconds TD Downs Trojans

The Wolverines jumped out to a 14-0 lead early making USC's Big 10 debut look like it may be a cakewalk, but the Trojans fought back, playing great defense, and took the lead in the 4th quarter after completely shutting down the Michigan offense. But with seconds left in the game the Wolverines bulldozed their way into the end zone on 4th and 2 to take the win 27-24. The 3-1 Michigan team, whose only loss lies at the hands of #1 Texas, leaped back into this week's Top 5 at #3.   Clemson remains on top of the ACC after destroying NC State 59-35. The Tigers only loss is to #2 Georgia. Miami (Fla.) is undefeated at 4-0 but suffers from a strength of schedule at #115. The Hurricane comes in at #27 this week. Navy surprised the high flying Memphis Tigers, the highest rated G5 team, 56-44. The slot for the G5 CFP bid seems wide open right now. Illinois is a surprising 4-0 after going on the road to Lincoln and snatching away a 31-24 win over the Cornhuskers. The Big 12 race is anybody's guess at this point, although Utah made an impression with their 22-19 win over Oklahoma State in Stillwater. BYU shocked league leader Kansas State 38-9 late Saturday night. The Cougars are now 4-0. Washington State remained undefeated with a 54-52 overtime win over San Jose State. The mighty Texas Longhorns remained #1 after a 51-3 thrashing of La. Monroe 51-3. What's going on with Vanderbilt? First they shocked Virginia Tech now they took Missouri into overtime before losing 30-27. Tennessee spoiled Oklahoma's SEC debut in Norman 25-15. The game was totally, and I mean totally dominated by the Vols but the Sooner defense kept Oklahoma in the game to the very end. Georgia and Alabama were both idle preparing for next Saturday's  epic showdown in Tuscaloosa. 

Georgia Nips Kentucky 13-12

In a game reminiscent of the great defensive slugfests of 40 years ago the Bulldogs and Wildcats put on quite a defensive clinic. Both prolific offenses were stifled by defensive mastery on both teams. Georgia came out on top 13-12. All this after one week ago Kentucky was thumped at home by South Carolina. The SEC title race will be entertaining in 2024 to say the least. Texas remained at #1 after dismantling UTSA 56-7, followed by 7 other fellow SEC teams in this week's Top 25.  In other notable games, Kansas State took a huge step towards leading the newly expanded Big 12 by dominating Arizona 31-7. Memphis took the lead for the automatic bid for the CFP playoff by the G5 teams with a stunning win in Tallahassee over the Seminoles 20-12. Washington State got a little revenge over Washington after being snubbed by the Big 10. The Cougars surprised the Huskies 24-19. Notre Dame rebounded from the loss to Northern Illinois with a 66-7 thrashing of Purdue. Toledo traveled South to SEC country and came away with a solid 41-17 win over Mississippi State, Surprising UNLV traveled to Kansas City and squeaked by the Jayhawks 23-20 . Kansas is playing all their home games in Kansas City while totally rebuilding the stadium in Lawrence. Oklahoma struggled  again mightily this week, finally pulling away very late to defeat Tulane 34-19. The Sooners better surround the wagons this week as they play host to high flying Tennessee in the Sooners first ever SEC game. Projections will be posted Wednesday.     

Texas Dominates Michigan 31-12

The Longhorns took a trip to the Big House and made themselves at home. The game was never in doubt as Texas played like a National Champion, signaling to the Nation they are not only back, but on top. The 31-12 win vaulted Texas all the way to #1 in this week's Billingsley.  Oh what a difference a week makes. 7 days ago Notre Dame traveled to College Station and whipped the Aggies only to return to South Bend and be shocked by #88 Northern Illinois 16-14 in one of college football's greatest upsets ever. Oregon and Oklahoma survived upset bids, the Ducks kicked a late field goal to beat a very good Boise State team 37-34 while the Sooner defense sealed a late victory over lowly ranked Houston 16-12. Clearly the Sooners have a lot of work to do and not much time to do it. A solid Tulane team comes to town this week. Tennessee had perhaps the most impressive win of the week with a 51-10 thrashing of North Carolina State. Projections will be posted Wednesday.    

Notre Dame Prevails in Defense Slugfest

Two games remain on the schedule before the week 2 rankings can be posted. LSU and USC play tonight in Las Vegas and Florida State hosts Boston College Monday night. But college football was in full swing Thursday, Friday and Saturday with several high profile games on tap and the best was saved for last as Notre Dame traveled to College Station to battle Texas A&M and what a great defensive show was displayed. Tied at 6-6 at the half the two traded touchdowns to move into a 13-13 standoff until late in the 4th quarter. The Fighting Irish took a 20-13 lead and held the Aggie offense on 4th and 2 deep in A&M territory. The subsequent Notre Dame field goal secured the Irish victory at 23-13.  Georgia demolished Clemson 34-3 and will most likely leap to the top of this week's Billingsley Report. Penn State, 34-12 winner over West Virginia, and Notre Dame will likely make big moves as well. The rankings will post Tuesday and next weeks projections Wednesday. 

Yellow Jackets Sting Seminoles on Late Field Goal

The 2024 season opened with a bang Saturday as Georgia Tech upset heavily favored Florida State 24-21 on a field goal as time expired. The game was held in Dublin Ireland. The loss plummeted the Seminoles to #18 in the first week's Billingsley Report while Georgia Tech soared from #66 to #42.  A full slate of games start Thursday night and continue all the way through Labor Day Monday night. Week 2 projections will be posted Tuesday. 

Seminoles and Yellow Jackets open 2024 Season

The 2024 season is upon us. Florida State and Georgia Tech meet in Dublin, Ireland August 24. The Seminoles are a heavy favorite, but I expect the Yellow Jackets to be prepared. Labor Day weekend kicks off a full slate of games beginning on Thursday night August 29 and running through Monday night September 2. Several games will have playoff implications as Georgia faces Clemson in Atlanta, Notre Dame travels to Texas A&M, and on Sunday night USC faces LSU in Las Vegas. The first Billingsley Report will post on Sunday night August 25 reflecting the abbreviated start of 4 games. The next report will not be posted until Tuesday September 3 which will include the results of The primetime Labor Day night game of Boston College at Florida State.