Defense Dominates as Dawgs Down Tigers 10-3

If you are an old school football fan who loves great defensive performances you were in heaven Saturday night as Georgia smothered Clemson 10-3 in Charlotte, North Carolina. In a game that lived up to all the hype, two of the top 5 teams in the nation battled in a classic showdown. Based on winning the game and the attached strength of schedule Georgia is projected to move to #1 in this week's Billingsley Report which will not be released until late Tuesday after Monday night's Louisville/Ole Miss game. Notre Dame and Florida State face off tonight. Around the Nation: Virginia Tech hosted and surprised North Carolina 17-10, serving notice that the ACC Coastal Division will be a wide open race.  Minnesota held tough with Ohio State for 3 quarters on Thursday night but the Buckeye offense came to life in the 4th quarter pulling away from the determined Gophers 45-31. Penn State put on a defensive performance of their own Saturday afternoon, shocking Wisconsin at Camp Randall 16-10. Iowa blasted Indiana 34-6 in preparation for the trip to Ames next Saturday to take on arch rival Iowa State who really struggled Saturday to escape with a 16-10 win over Northern Iowa. The Sooners seemingly had everything under control by the end of the third quarter, holding a 40-22 lead over Tulane until the Oklahoma defense inexplicably let their guard down, opening the door for the Green Wave to come within an inch of a mighty upset before finally bowing 40-35. Texas looked sweet in Sarkisian's debut as the Longhorn's blasted a very good Louisiana team 38-18. Brigham Young defeated old Border Conference foe Arizona 24-16 in Las Vegas late Saturday night.  Northern Illinois travelled deep into the heart of Dixie and came away with a shocking 22-21 win over Georgia Tech. UCLA made the Pac 12 proud Saturday night as the Bruins blasted mighty SEC contender LSU 38-27. Washington, not so much as the Huskies fell to Montana 13-7. Defending National Champion Alabama hasn't skipped a beat rolling over Miami (Fla.) 44-13, and the Josh Heupel era at Tennessee started out on a positive note as the Volunteers overpowered Bowling Green 38-6.

Opening weekend offers few surprises. Notre Dame travelling to Tallahassee next Sunday

Five games dotted the landscape for opening weekend with only one very mild upset, at least according to Las Vegas. Over hyped Nebraska fell on the road to Illinois 30-22. The Cornhuskers were a 7 point favorite in Vegas. The Billingsley projection was Illinois by 1. All other games were held on the West Coast. UCLA cruised by Hawaii 44-10, Fresno State crushed Connecticut 45-0, #15 San Jose State continued their winning ways with a 45-14 thrashing of Southern Utah and Texas-El Paso went on the road and soundly defeated New Mexico State 30-3. The Aggies were returning to play after sitting out the 2020 season. Next weekend finds a full slate of games ranging from UAB on Wednesday September 1 right on through Labor Day Monday's Louisville/Ole Miss game in Atlanta. Quite a few intriguing games come on week two including Thursday's Ohio State at Minnesota and Boise State at Central Florida followed by Friday's North Carolina at Virginia Tech. Saturday is loaded with high profile games including Clemson/Georgia in Charlotte, Alabama/Miami (Fla.) in Atlanta, Indiana at Iowa, Louisiana Lafayette at Texas and LSU at UCLA. Sunday night prime time finds Notre Dame at Florida State. Billingsley's projections will be posted on Tuesday.

2021 Season Brings Hope of Return to Normalcy

As the 2021 season approaches fans across the nation are praying for some sense of normalcy in college football. Whether we see it or not remains to be seen, but visions of playing full schedules without last minute cancellations dance in the heads of die hard fans from the Golden Dome to the Coliseum, and from the Big House to the Swamp. August 28 brings opening weekend with only 4 games on tap, while Labor Day weekend presents a feast of games fit for a King. The Billingsley Pre-Season report is online along with the first week's projections. The All-Time Records section of the Billingsley Encyclopedia remains under construction so stay tuned.......we are updating to accommodate mobile devices with an expanded view available for home PC's.

Crimson Tide Crushes Ohio State 52-24. Alabama wins 11th Billingsley National Championship.

In a season like no other, with limited fans and abbreviated schedules, Alabama left no doubt....the Crimson Tide is the King of College Football. Ohio State held their ground for a quarter and a half, mainly due to Tide errors, but even before halftime there was really no doubt, Alabama is the best team in 2020. In the second half an obviously more talented Tide team out manned the Buckeyes and ran to a 52-24 win. Alabama now holds a record 11 Billingsley National Titles. Look for the updates coming on the Encyclopedia in February and March 2021.

Alabama and Ohio State Set For National Championship

The Crimson Tide, 31-14 winners over Notre Dame, and the Buckeyes who scored a 49-28 win over Clemson will vie for the 2020 College Football National Championship on Monday January 11, 2021.

Alabama Survives Gators Upset Bid 52-46 to Win SEC Championship

Florida QB Kyle Trask was sacked on the final play of the game, ending the Gators hopes of upsetting the #1 ranked Crimson Tide. Alabama will now enter the CFP undefeated and most likely the #1 seed. Around the Nation: Clemson got their revenge for their only regular season loss by overwhelming Notre Dame 34-10. Ohio State struggled early but pulled away for a 22-10 win over Northwestern to win the Big 10 Title. Cincinnati squeaked by a very good Tulsa team 27-24 to remain undefeated at 9-0 and win the AAC Title, keeping slim hopes alive for a shot at the CFP. An Oklahoma interception inside their own 10 yard line as time was running out gave the Sooners their 6th straight Big 12 Title, surviving Iowa State 27-21. UAB shocked Marshall 22-13 to win the C-USA Title. The Blazers have won two of the last three conference championships since reviving their football program just 3 years ago. What an amazing feat. Army beat Air Force 10-7 to capture the Commander-In-Chief Trophy. Ball State beat Buffalo 38-28 to win the MAC. San Jose State finished the season 7-0 and won the MWC Title by beating Boise State 34-20. Oregon shocked Southern Cal in the Coliseum 31-24 to win the PAC 12. And Coastal Carolina finished the regular season 11-0 after the Sun Belt Championship game with Louisiana-Lafayette was canceled.

LSU Stuns Florida 37-34 on Late 57 Yard Field Goal

As it turned out, the defending National Champion Bayou Bengals had a little fight left in them after all. LSU traveled to the Swamp as a heavy underdog but rose to the occasion, taking the decision to the last few seconds of the 4th quarter where they miraculously kicked a 57 yard field goal, then watched as Florida missed a 51 yard attempt as time ran out that would have sent the game into overtime. Around the Nation: North Carolina overpowered favored Miami (Fla.) 62-26, capping a very successful 8-3 season for head coach Mack Brown. Brigham Young beat San Diego State 28-14 finishing the regular season 10-1, one of the best records in the nation. Unfortunately, being an Independent, the Cougars will fall into a Bowl Game far beneath their ability. San Jose State beat Nevada 30-20 to finish unbeaten at 6-0 in the regular season Southern Cal pulled out another game in miraculous fashion, moving down the field to score with less than 30 seconds on the clock to beat arch rival UCLA 43-38. And Coastal Carolina came from behind to defeat Troy 42-38 to preserve their undefeated regular season at 11-0.

Southern Cal Blasts Washington State 38-13 to Complete Weekend Slate

In a rare Sunday night regular season contest rescheduled because of COVID_19 the Trojans overpowered the Cougars 38-13. Around the Nation: Brigham Young came up one yard short of a game winning touchdown as time ran out and Coastal Carolina survived to remain unbeaten at 10-0. Notre Dame and Clemson both overpowered their opponents and are headed for a rematch in the ACC title game. Iowa State demolished West Virginia 42-6 and advanced to the Big 12 title game in a rematch with Oklahoma, winner over stubborn Baylor 27-14. Should the Cyclones beat the Sooners it would be Iowas State's first Conference Championship since winning the Old Missouri Valley in 1912, and winless Rice went on the road and shocked unbeaten Marshall 20-0.

Alabama Cruises by Auburn 42-13 in Iron Bowl

Rivalry weekend turned out to not be so full of rivalries in 2020 as the pandemic caused multiple cancellations and several last minute rescheduled games and dates. Even without Coach Saban, The Crimson Tide had no problem flying past War Eagle though as Alabama crushed arch rival Auburn 42-13.  

Northwestern Stuns Wisconsin 17-7 and takes control of Big 10 West

The Wildcats were not supposed to be this good right? Certainly not good enough to take down perennial power Wisconsin right? But Northwestern proved the prognosticators wrong and with a stiffing defense slayed the Badgers 17-7 in front of a jubilant home crowd. In the process the Wildcats took first place in the competitive West Division of the Big 10. Around the Nation: The COVID-19 Pandemic played hell with this week's schedule with 17 games canceled including Clemson at Florida State only 3 hours before kickoff. Cincinnati survived a big upset bid at Central Florida 36-33. Ohio State fought off a huge comeback rally from Indiana to win 42-35. Penn State suffered their first 0-5 start in program history at the hands of Iowa 41-21. Oklahoma was dynamite in the first quarter jumping to a 21-0 lead over Oklahoma State only to see it dwindle to 27-13 at the half, but the Sooners exploded again in the 4th quarter to take a resounding 41-13 win in the Bedlam Series. Iowa State destroyed Kansas State 45-0 and remains in first place in the Big 12. Oregon survived UCLA 38-35 and Southern Cal kept pace with the Ducks in the Pac 12 race with a 33-17 win at Utah. And Coastal Carolina defeated Appalachian State 34-23 for the first time in school history and took first place in the Sun Belt standings in the process.

Oregon Outshines Washington State 43-29

The race for the CFP is just now getting underway, but Oregon certainly looks like a contender after traveling to Washington State and whipping the Cougars 43-29. And PAC 12 race is heating up with Southern Cal nipping at the Ducks tails after the Trojans second miracle finish in a row, this time 34-30 over Arizona. Florida was the only Top 10 SEC team in action this week. The Gators took care of Arkansas 63-35. Cincinnati is looking more like a CFP contender after moving to 7-0 on the season with a 55-17 win over East Carolina. Tulsa surprised SMU 28-24 moving the American Conference crown into a wide open race. Indiana continues to surprise, this time with a 24-0 win at Michigan State. Wisconsin dominated Michigan 49-11 and Northwestern moved to 4-0 with a 27-20 win at Purdue. This coming week all eyes will be focused on Ohio State and Indiana and Oklahoma, Oklahoma State as both games will have a major impact on conference races.

Notre Dame Outlasts Clemson 47-40 in Double Overtime

Just like so many times before in the storied history of Notre Dame football, the Irish found a way to win. A series of smothering defensive plays in double overtime led to the 47-40 victory over the top ranked Clemson Tigers Saturday night in South Bend. The win catapulted Notre Dame to #2 in the Billingsley Report behind idle #1 Alabama. Around the Nation: Liberty moved to 7-0 on the season with a shocking last second field goal to top Virginia Tech 38-35. Cincinnati continues to impress with a 38-10 win over Houston. Brigham Young made a strong CFP statement with an overwhelming 51-17 win on the road over Boise State. Surprising Indiana defeated Michigan 38-21. It was the first Hoosier win over the Wolverines since 1987. The Pac 12 season finally got underway with Oregon leading the charge in a 35-14 win over Stanford. Arkansas is showing signs of life in the Razorback program having moved to 3-3 on the season with a 24-13 win over Tennessee. Florida took control of the SEC East with a 44-28 win over rival Georgia and Coastal Carolina moved to 7-0 with a 23-6 home win over South Alabama.