Buckeyes Surge Past Nittany Lions 44-31

Ohio State rallied in the 4th quarter at Happy Valley Saturday to down Penn State in a crucial Big 10 match, vaulting Ohio State to #1 in this week's Billingsley Report. The Buckeyes and the Wolverines are on pace for an undefeated showdown in late November. Michigan beat a stubborn Michigan State team 29-7. Illinois took control of the Big 10 West division with a 26-9 win at Nebraska. The surprising Illini stand at 7-1 on the season. Notre Dame traveled to the carrier Dome and shocked Syracuse 41-24. The Irish take on Clemson next week. North Carolina came to life in the 4th quarter and defeated Pittsburgh 42-24. Central Florida hosted AAC league leader Cincinnati and nipped the Bearcats 25-21. TCU remained unbeaten at 8-0 with a tough road win at West Virginia 41-31. Kansas State demolished Oklahoma State 48-0 to take second place in the Big 12. Tennessee moved to 8-0 for the first time since winning the National Championship in 1998 with a 44-6 whipping of a solid Kentucky team. The Volunteers travel to Georgia for an SEC showdown Saturday, and Ole Miss rebounded from the loss to LSU by nipping Texas A&M in College Station 31-28. Projections will be posted Tuesday.  

Clemson Edges Syracuse, Vaults to #1

ACC undefeated Titans met in Death Valley Saturday morning with Clemson coming out on top 27-21. The Tigers jumped to the top spot in this week's Billingsley Report. TCU, by virtue of their big win over Kansas State 38-28, also made a major move in the rankings, moving to #2.  Around the Nation: Ohio State blasted Iowa 54-10 while Michigan was idle. Penn State's whiteout smothered Minnesota 45-17. Oklahoma State overcame a 17 point deficit in Stillwater to nip Texas 41-34. 14 penalties killed the Longhorns. The high flying Ducks hosted undefeated UCLA and former coach Chip Kelly, and ripped the Bruins 45-30. Alabama rebounded with a solid 30-6 win over Mississippi State. LSU spoiled Ole Miss' undefeated season, out scoring the Rebels 45-20. The Tigers improved to 6-2 on the season, and South Carolina is quietly putting together a good season. The Gamecocks improved to 5-2 with a 30-24 home win over Texas A&M. Projections will be posted Tuesday.  

Tennessee Stuns Alabama With Late Field Goal

In what is sure to become an instant classic in this long storied rivalry, the Volunteers stunned Alabama 52-49 on a field goal with 2 seconds left on the clock. After building a 28-10 lead over the Tide, Alabama stormed back to tie the game with 18 unanswered points. The two teams traded score for score until tied 49-49 late in the game. Alabama had a chance to win but missed a long field goal with 12 seconds left leaving the teams apparently headed to overtime. But Tennessee was not to be denied. The Volunteers quickly moved into field goal range and kicked the winning goal with 2 seconds remaining. It was a miraculous win on Rocky Top with Tennessee snapping a 15 game Alabama winning streak.  Around the Nation: Clemson travelled to Tallahassee and outlasted Florida State 34-28. Syracuse remained unbeaten at 6-0 after surprising North Carolina State 24-9. Michigan pounded Penn State 41-17 in the Big House while Ohio State was idle. TCU roared back from a 17 point deficit to beat Oklahoma State  in double overtime. The Horned Frogs are the only undefeated team in the Big 12, now standing at 6-0. The Trojans were not so lucky. USC fell at Utah 43-42 in a late Saturday night contest. The Utes seem nearly impossible to beat at home these days. Georgia and Ole Miss both moved to 7-0. The Bulldogs smothered Vandy 55-0 while the Rebels were holding off a pesky Auburn team 48-34. And finally, heavily favored Notre Dame lost 16-14 to Stanford. Projections will be posted Tuesday. 

Alabama Escapes Upset Bid

The much anticipated match of Texas A&M travelling to Tuscaloosa lived up to every drop of the week's hype. It boiled down to the final play of the game with the Aggies on the Tide goal line ending with an incomplete pass. Alabama survived 24-20. North Carolina State intercepted a Seminole pass in the end zone to edge Florida State 19-17. The Big 3 from the Big 10 all remained unbeaten. Ohio State crushed Michigan State 49-20, Michigan started slow but finished strong 31-10 over Indiana, and Penn State was idle, but something has to give this week as Michigan and Penn State tangle Saturday. Texas humiliated Oklahoma 49-0. The last time the Longhorns shut out the Sooners was 1965, I was 14 and my ranking system was just a pipe dream. How time flies. The Sooners are reeling from 3 straight losses and facing a daunting upcoming schedule. Could Oklahoma be looking at 3-9? Yikes. TCU won the Big 12 battle of undefeated teams nipping Kansas 38-31. Now the Horned Frogs must face the other remaining unbeaten team, Oklahoma State. Things are heating up on the West Coast with the Trojans and Bruins looking like title contenders. USC beat Washington State 30-14 and UCLA beat a very good Utah team 42-32. Looks like the battle for LA may be a dandy this year. Don't look now but the race for the SEC crown may be a real battle this year. In addition to the usual contenders of Alabama and Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee have raised some eyebrows. Both are still undefeated with the Tide headed to Knoxville this Saturday. The Volunteers looked mighty good in Death Valley, blowing out LSU 40-13. Projections will be posted by Tuesday.  

Horned Frogs Boom Sooners 55-24.

TCU handed Oklahoma their worst regular season loss since the Longhorns embarrassed the Sooners on October 10, 1998 by the same 31 point margin of victory. Texas won 34-3. Brent Venables has a lot of work to do as the Big 12 is a very wide open race this year and the Longhorns are on deck for Oklahoma this coming Saturday. Yikes. Around the Nation: Clemson solidified their position as a playoff contender by downing a very good North Carolina State squad 30-20. Wake Forest rebounded with a nice road win over Florida State 31-21. Georgia Tech shocked heavily favored Pittsburgh 26-21. Purdue surprised Minnesota 20-10 leaving only 3 undefeated Big 10 teams, Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. Nebraska finally got some offense rolling, much to the delight of the home crowd. The Huskers upset Indiana 35-21. Oklahoma State looks like the cream of the Big 12 after whipping Baylor in Waco 36-25. Of course TCU and believe it or not Kansas might have something to say about that. The Jayhawks are 5-0 for the first time since 2007, the best year in Kansas history when they finished 12-1 and ranked #2 in the Billingsley Report after beating Virginia Tech 24-21 in the Orange Bowl. USC and UCLA remained unbeaten. The Trojans beat Arizona State 42-25 and the Bruins topped a very good Washington team 40-22. Missouri absolutely scared the daylights out of #1 Georgia. The Bulldogs rallied late and squeaked out a 26-22 win. Alabama cruised past the Hogs 49-26 but may have lost their QB in the process, and Lady Luck smiled on Ole Miss when the Wildcats turned over the ball on a late play in the game when it looked like Kentucky was headed for a wining score. The rakings will be posted later today after the conclusion of the Florida/ Eastern Washington game still in progress. 

Tennessee Tops Florida 38-33

After losing to Florida 16 of the last 17 years Volunteer fans can finally celebrate a win over the arch rival Gators once more. Although Florida made a furious rally at the end it fell just short and Rocky Top survived 38-33.  Around the Nation: Clemson nipped Wake Forest in overtime 51-45. North Carolina State, Syracuse and Florida State remained unbeaten while North Carolina and Duke fell for the first time. In the Big 10 Minnesota is looking more and more like a contender after the Gophers destroyed Michigan State in East Lansing 34-7.  Kansas State shocked Oklahoma 41-34 and Texas Tech nipped Texas 37-34. The Big 12 looks like a wide open race. USC barely survived the trip to Oregon State 17-14 and Appalachian State's Cinderella season came to a halt at the hands of new Sun Belt member James Madison with a 32-28 loss. Projections will be posted by Tuesday. 

Oklahoma Wins Battle of Big Reds

In the 1970's the game between Oklahoma and Nebraska was the nation's premier rivalry. I remember the 1971 "Game of the Century" like it was yesterday, #1 Nebraska at #2 Oklahoma in Norman, both teams undefeated, National Championship on the line. Oh how things have changed for the Huskers. Nebraska just hasn't found their groove since they bolted the Big 12 for the Big 10. Fresh off of firing Scott Frost Nebraska hosted an Oklahoma team that finally clicked on all cylinders en route to a 49-14 thrashing of the Cornhuskers.   Around the Nation: Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, Michigan and Ohio State continued to establish themselves as the nation's elite by rolling over their competition, but a few more competitors are beginning to emerge. USC, Washington, and Penn State scored big wins over stiff competition Saturday. In the ACC Wake Forest nipped Liberty 37-36 while North Carolina State was bouncing Texas Tech 27-14. Florida State moved to 3-0 by topping Louisville 35-31. In the Big 10 Minnesota and Maryland remained undefeated by beating Colorado and SMU respectively. In the Big 12 Tulane shocked Kansas State 17-10, just when I thought the Wildcats might be ready to make a run for the Big 12 Championship. We will have the answer to that Saturday as Kansas State travels to Norman to take on the red hot Sooners. Kansas pulled off an upset shocker for the second week in a row. Last week it was West Virginia, this week it was Houston. The Jayhawks stand at 3-0 after beating the Cougars 48-30. Oregon State, Washington State, Washington and USC all remained undefeated out on the West Coast and Oregon looked good by beating BYU 41-20. Arkansas rallied late to beat Missouri State 38-27, while Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Tennessee blasted their lesser opponents. I'm looking forward to next weekend's Tennessee/ Florida match in Knoxville. I think we will be able to see whether the Tennessee program has really turned a corner or not. Week 5 projections will post Wednesday this week.  

Full Moon Chaos

College Football was turned upside down this weekend. Notre Dame lost at home to Marshall, Texas A&M lost at home to Appalachian State, Nebraska lost at home to Georgia Southern, and Alabama, a 21 point favorite over Texas barely escaped the trip to Austin. The whole weekend had an eerie feel. It must have been the full moon right? We have to blame it on something! Around the Nation: In the ACC Tennessee squeaked out a win at Pittsburgh 34-27, while North Carolina was escaping a second week in row with a close 35-28 win over Georgia State.  In the AAC, league leader Houston fell at Texas Tech 33-30. In the Big 10 all the big boys, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State continued to roll, all over lesser competition. Iowa and Wisconsin were not so lucky. The Hawkeyes fell 10-7 to in state rival Iowa State and the Badgers were surprised by visiting Washington State 17-14. In the Big 12, Oklahoma was embarrassed in the first half trailing Kent State 3-0 till right before halftime, but the Sooners got untracked in the second half and finally prevailed 33-3. Baylor travelled to Provo for a meeting with BYU and lost in overtime 26-20. Could this be Brigham Young's year for a run at the playoffs? They certainly have the schedule for it. In the Pac 12 USC is certainly grabbing some headlines with their prolific offense, blowing away Stanford 41-28, and don't look now but watch out for the Beavers, Oregon State went on the road and topped Fresno State 35-32. Down in the SEC Arkansas looks mighty good. The Razorbacks moved to 2-0 with a sharp 44-30 win over South Carolina. The Hogs moved up to #3 in this week's Billingsley Report, the highest since the Frank Broyles era in the 1970's. Mark Stoops became Kentucky's winningest coach with a win in the swamp over Florida 26-16. That was the most physical game I've ever seen the Wildcats play. Stay tuned for week 4 projections, scheduled to be posted Tuesday.    

Ohio State Tops Notre Dame 21-10

The first half belonged to Notre Dame but the Buckeyes dominated the second half and came away with a convincing 21-10 win in the Horseshoe. Although the Billingsley Report will not be posted till Tuesday, after Monday night's Clemson/Georgia Tech game, Ohio State will most certainly leap near the top of the rankings. Around the nation: Things started out with a bang Thursday night as the country was treated to the renewal of the Backyard Brawl and a Brawl it certainly turned out to be as Pittsburgh stormed back late in the 4th quarter to win 38-31. Saturday North Carolina nipped Appalachian State 63-61 in one of the more entertaining games I have seen in recent years while in a stark contrast Iowa held off South Dakota State 7-3 by scoring a field goal and two safeties. Houston held off Texas-San Antonio 37-35 in a game that saw the Roadrunners go the length of the field in 23 seconds and tie the game to send it into overtime. Penn State rallied late and scored with seconds left to beat Purdue 35-31. The Big 12 came thru the weekend smelling like a rose with a 9-1 record. Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will likely all remain in the Top 10. The Lincoln Riley era at USC started out with a roar as the Trojans obliterated hapless Rice 66-14. Georgia embarrassed visiting Oregon 49-3, but I suspect the Bulldogs will be embarrassing  a lot of teams this fall. Alabama looked flawless against Utah State 55-0 and Arkansas served notice to fellow SEC members that last year's winning record was no fluke. The Razorbacks took down Cincinnati 31-24. LSU/Florida State is on tap tonight with Clemson/ Georgia Tech wrapping up the long Labor Day football festivities Monday Night. Week 3 Projections should be posted by Wednesday. 

Northwestern Surprises Nebraska 31-28 In Dublin, Ireland

The Emerald Isle turned out to be quite lucky for Northwestern as the Wildcats dominated the 4th quarter and squeaked out a 31-28 win over the favored Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Huskers had the momentum and the lead until a failed onsides kick attempt went awry. Northwestern seized the opportunity and never looked back. The hot seat underneath Scott Frost just went from hot to boiling. Around the Nation: North Carolina and Florida State got their season untracked in proper fashion by crushing Florida A&M 56-14 and Duquesne 47-7 respectively while over in the Big 10 Illinois breezed by Wyoming 38-6. Vanderbilt traveled to the big island and obliterated Hawaii 63-10. The 2022 season kicks off in full force Thursday Stay tuned.   

2022 Season Set To Open August 27

Although the first week of the season starts with a very abbreviated schedule, the opening weekend on August 27 is upon us. Highlighted by Nebraska and Northwestern squaring off in Dublin Ireland, the opening weekend shows a scant schedule of less than 15 games with only 7 between FBS versus FBS opponents. Labor Day weekend, week two on the schedule is the traditional opening weekend and offers a King's feast of highly anticipated games. Thursday September 1 kicks off the party with the renewal of an old rivalry between West Virginia hosting Pittsburgh. The series between these two rivals dates to 1895 with the Panthers holding a 61-40-3 lead. They have not met since the 2011 season. The fireworks kick off full force on Saturday September 3 as Cincinnati looks to extend their national prominence by travelling to SEC country to face Arkansas. I can hear the HOG CALL already reverberating through the Ozarks. Oregon and Georgia face off in Atlanta while Utah, the pre-season PAC 12 favorite, visits the Swamp to tackle Florida. In the prime time night game the most highly anticipated match finds Notre Dame travelling to the Horseshoe to battle Ohio State. These two college football king pins have only met 6 times, with the last two being in Bowl Games. The Fighting Irish won the first two way back in 1935 and 1936, with the Buckeyes taking the last 4. With both teams being highly ranked, Notre Dame #9 and Ohio State #8, the winner is likely to jump at or near the top of week 2's Billingsley Report due out the Tuesday after Labor Day. The Sunday night game finds Florida State at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge to face new LSU head coach Brian Kelly. The Monday night Labor Day game features Clemson at Georgia Tech. Needless to say the 2022 season should be an interesting one, full of upsets and surprises. Will someone be able to knock the SEC off their perennial perch? Perhaps Ohio State, Notre Dame, Clemson, Utah, or maybe even a rebuilt Oklahoma or upstart Texas? Hmmm…. maybe the hyped up USC? Time will tell. Let the games begin!     

Baylor and Georgia Register All Time Best Teams in 2021

Calculations released in the newly updated Billingsley Encyclopedia reflect two major notable entries. Both Baylor and Georgia registered their best all time teams in 2021. The 2021 14-1-0 National Champion Bulldogs scored 349.912 points in the final Billingsley Report, significantly better than their  11-1-0 1982 season of 333.804. The undefeated 12-0-0 National Champion team of 1980 falls to #3 on Georgia's list of best teams. Baylor also posted their best team in history with a rating of 304.020, better than both the 2014 and 2013 teams which virtually tied with 291 points.  The 1982 Georgia team is arguably their best ever but the Bulldogs fell just short of winning the Sugar Bowl and the National Title, falling to Penn State 27-23 in the Sugar Bowl. The 2021 Baylor Bears registered their best team by virtue of winning the Big 12 Championship over Oklahoma State 21-16 followed by a stunning 21-7 defeat of Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.