Naturally, the immediate result of the CF*P$quirt ranking was a royal upending of it with LSU’s defeat of Alabama. I’m not convinced that that game, or Clemson’s loss, justified putting TCU at #4, but unless SMOD hits between now and Saturday, when our Inner Circle Frogs take on Texas, we’ll just see, won’t we?
The Thrilla in Toledo was a lot of fun on Tuesday night. What a finish by the Rockets in a hard-fought game.  The go-ahead TD with 74 seconds left, and a pick afterward to seal the deal. Nice! The Rockets are just where they need to be for the MAC title contest. As mentioned in the comments on the Week 10 post, Toledo and Ball State both had impressive pass defense, especially with the secondary coverage. Ball State was a bit more prone to attract yellow flags with it.
The MAC has three games in progress as we type (Wednesday night), so the current problem is channel flipping.
Tulsa will clock in Thursday night to give us an Inner Circle jolt. More below on that; the Golden Hurricane is on the edge of bowing out of bowl contention, so we’re naturally worried, with only tough games ahead.
Otherwise, the widest pre-Saturday interest, for those who may have it, would probably be in #8 USC hosting Colorado (motto: “We take a pounding!”) on Friday night. The Trojans are giving 34.5 to the hapless Buffaloes.
On NFL Prime Video (phtaw), Atlanta will be at Carolina Thursday night as well.
Inner Circle
The University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane, which beat Notre Dame 28-27 on 30 October 2010, is in greater peril now, with the loss to Tulane leaving them at 3-6. One more loss and they’re out of post-season consideration. They actually overcame this same deficit in 2021, but a road trip to Memphis isn’t looking great as a get-well program for that, even though backup QB Braylon Braxton turned in a pretty good performance with Davis Brin out for the Tulane game. Latest heard here is that Brin is a game-time decision for Thursday night, but given two separate injuries this fall (ankle, shoulder), we’re not making any assumptions.
The Tulsa D continues to deliver inconsistent performance; it looked reasonably good last week holding 8-1 Tulane to 27, and we’re hopeful about its prospects versus a 4-5 Memphis.  Memphis has some offensive chops, and while coming off four straight AAC losses has posted at least 28 or more in each of them. Tigers are favored by 6.5. Reign ’Cane!!
(At posting time, Memphis is up 20-3 the half. Sigh.)
Oklahoma whiffed versus Baylor last week, and gets another chance for Big Learning at West Virginia, pride of the Big 12, in Morgantown on Saturday. WVU has fallen to 3-6, but the 5-4 Sooners are as likely as not to spend this one learning instead of winning, because it’s just that kind of season. OU gives 8.
De-ranked Oklahoma State took another dive last week, to Kansas, and will come in at 6-3 for hosting duties with Iowa State (4-5) on Saturday. Starting QB Spencer Sanders has been resting this week, and word is he’ll miss the ISU game, as he did the Kansas match. Consider all the usual things said about the Cyclones and interruptions of people’s best-laid plans. OSU may still be able to contemplate getting a better Booger Bowl than OU, but that’s iffy at this point. ISU gives 1 in Stillwater.
Navy (3-6) hosts new #20 Notre Dame (6-3) for their Many-Storied Rivalry in the early slot on Saturday, and while Navy has pulled a couple of surprises so far, we’re not holding our breath about avoiding the Fatal 7. The Arsh, fresh off the win over Clemson, are donating 15.5.
Army comes off the heartbreaker with Air Force last week to head to Troy for a Knights-and-Trojans contest. Troy is 7-2 and standing first in Sun Belt West; having already defeated South Alabama, they’re looking good for the conference title match. They’re favored by 9 on Saturday.
Air Force, the new Commander’s Cup Champeen of the World, is a brisk 6-3 and bowl-eligible, but at 2-3 conference is just under mid-pack in MWC-Mountain. The Falcons will host New Mexico (2-7) on Saturday, giving 21.5.
Virginia Tech dropped its own heartbreaker in the Battle of the Techs last week, falling to 2-7 as the Hokies head for Durham to take on 6-3 Duke on Saturday. (We’re seeing no signs as yet that these East coast games will be postponed for weather effects from Hurricane Nicole, and we take leave to doubt they will, given the currently projected track.) Duke is a touch more than half-good in conference, at 3-2 and standing just behind ACC Coastal leader UNC.
We still await this week’s Gobbler Country podcast on all things Hokie. The Blue Devils give 9.5 in their house.
Nevada, still 2-7 off the loss to San Jose State but with a bye weekend under their belts, will host Boise State Saturday night for their Storied Rivalry. You’d ordinarily predict Wolves to have a pretty good chance against Broncos, but Nevada is still hurting in the skill position and kicking department, and even though the 6-3 Broncos aren’t at their usual standard this year, they’re 5-0 conference, leading MWC-Mountain, and favored by 21 in Reno.
New #7 LSU, heroes of the hour after the win over Alabama, head to Arkansas Saturday for their own Much-Storied Rivalry, the battle for the Golden Boot. As regulars know, we love this trophy like life itself, and we expect one day to see it – or a well-executed but even more glorious replica – being raffled off in a casino in Macau. It’s just that kind of iconic cultural artifact.
In case you’re missing them, we always point out the topographically particular execution of the major rivers on the face of the Boot. Though there are some hopefuls, there’s no other trophy in all football that can touch that.
We know LSU will take their A-game to Fayetteville.  The Hawgs (5-4) lost to scrappy little Liberty last week, and haven’t had a great season, but the oddsquad knows they always play the rivalry tough, and are awarding LSU only 3.5 points to cover. Geaux!
New #4 TCU is 9-0 off the win in Lubbock, and has some serious living up to do in Saturday’s marquee slot on ABC, facing off with #18 Texas in Austin. This one is probably the game of the week, especially if TCU prevails.
Yes, it’s also a Storied Rivalry, though it isn’t yet played for any kitchen implements or ranching accoutrements. This will be a big test for our Horned Frogs, and many eyes are on the health of WR Quentin Johnston, who hasn’t played much the last couple of games due to a nagging injury. Johnston was WB Max Duggan’s most productive receiver early in the season, and Texas is just the team to take advantage of minimal to no appearances by him in the trick bag.
Big 12 faithful know why the Longhorns are giving 7 in this one. Git ’em, Frogs!
Toledo is sitting purtier than a petunia atop the MAC West after the ripping win over Ball State on Tuesday. With two more weeks of season play, 7-3 Toledo and 7-3 Ohio are the division leaders, and as mentioned last week, Toledo could actually help Ohio out by prevailing over Bowling Green next Tuesday (15 November), when the two teams meet in Toledo for their Storied Rivalry, the Battle of I-75.
We delight in this trophy for its unabashed embrace of the Interstate Highway motif, which has just the right combination of grace and irreverence to it. We’re good judges of that, here at your TOC Football Commentary Service.
Meanwhile, since the impeccable Bronze Stalk is also depicted in the reference tweet above, we note for completeness that Ball State defeated Northern Illinois in that Storied Rivalry back in October.
For even more completeness, and since we appreciate the heck out of their trophy, we further note that Ohio knocked off Miami (OH) in the Storied Rivalry the Battle of the Bricks on Tuesday this week. Some people might prefer that the Battle of the Bricks be about something obvious like throwing bricks at each other, but in fact it’s a highly civilized allusion to the iconic Ohio-red bricks used in the construction of both schools’ original campus buildings.
You can’t get no better’n that. Bowling Green is 5-5/4-2 conference and tied with Buffalo behind MAC-East leader Ohio.
Though the early season had some unpromising moments, Wyoming has really settled in to rack up 6-3/4-1 conference and sit just behind division leader Boise State in the MWC Mountain. We’re liking the position going into the Cowboys’ biggest Storied Rivalry on Saturday, heading to Fort Collins to take on Colorado State. Wyoming comes off a bye week; the 2-7 Rams lately dropped two to San Jose State and Boise State.
The football will no doubt be great, but a key rivalry tradition is one big thing we love this match for. ROTC cadets from the two institutions run the game ball to the host stadium along Highway 287 the day before the match, transferring it at the state line. This year the Bronze Boot Run falls on Veterans Day.
Colorado State has some photos from earlier runs.
But Wyoming, while its social media postings are a bit lighter, does better video to commemorate the game, in our humble opinion.
It’ll be cold for the run (coming off a nighttime low of 18 or below, between Laramie and Fort Collins, with a high around 40) but sunny and dry.
It’s called the Bronze Boot Run because the game trophy is the Bronze Boot.
The Boot dates to 1968, when the schools’ ROTC units adopted it as a trophy in honor of Army ROTC instructor Captain Dan J. Romero (CSU), a Vietnam veteran. Unlike other boots, this one is not only an actual boot; it’s the actual boot worn by the person being commemorated. We just like the Boot.
Wyoming is favored by 8.5 on Saturday.
New #21 Illinois is hanging in there in the Top 25 after a tough loss last week to Michigan State. The Illini are likely to stay ranked off Saturday’s game, in which they’ll host Purdue for their Storied Rivalry over the Purdue Cannon. This cannon is a mounted miniature, which TOC FCS correspondents know is not our preferred style of trophy-ized weaponry and other dangerous implements.
But if it can’t be a turtle or a top hat, it’s fine by us to see this game played for a little cannon.
That said, we’d suggest investigating some kind of update to the rivalry involving an alternative form of cannon being tested at Purdue a few years ago: the Supersonic Ping Pong Ball Launcher.
If Purdue’s game-time school commercials have ever featured this ingenious device, we’re not aware of it. But we’re big fans, and vigorously applaud the Manilow nod in the video (though we might have chosen Michael Bolton).
Illinois is favored by 6.5 over the 5-4 Boilermakers.
Top 10
Recycled #1 Georgia, coming off the Epic Win over Tennessee, heads to Mississippi State giving 16.
#2 Ohio State (-40) will host 3-6 Indiana.
#3 Michigan (-31) hosts 3-6 Nebraska.
New #5 Tennessee hosts 4-5 Missouri, giving 20.5.
New #6 Oregon has a big PAC 12 clash with #25 Washington. The 7-2 Huskies could jeopardize some calculations for a lot of folks with a win in Eugene, although the oddsdudes consider it unlikely, with the Ducks favored by 13. Should in any case be a good game.
New #9 Alabama will be at #11 Ole Miss giving 12. LSU, having beaten both back-to-back, is nicely ensconced as SEC-West division leader, but all three need to keep winning in a tight competition.
New #10 Clemson (-7) hosts 6-3 Louisville in an ACC match.
Best of the restÂ
Some choice (and perhaps less choice, but it’s all good) Storied Rivalry action to look forward to this weekend.
#24 Kentucky hosts Vanderbilt for their Storied Rivalry, giving 18.
#14 Penn State (-10) hosts Maryland for a perhaps lesser-known but no less noble Storied Rivalry.
Iowa hosts Wisconsin (-1.5) in their Storied Rivalry fought for the Heartland Trophy, which we will just leave right here as a token tailor-made for 2022.
For the record, we wouldn’t feature it in Grand Rapids décor.
#15 North Carolina is at Wake Forest (-4) for their Storied Rivalry, and although the Demon Deacons were knocked out of the Top 25 last week, it should be a pretty good ACC game.
Never, ever would we forget that Florida Atlantic at Florida International is a Storied Rivalry, going back to 2002, played for the Don Shula Trophy, and dubbed the Shula Bowl (double duh). Both teams are 4-5; FAU’s Owls are giving 15.5 to the Panthers.
UMass will be at Arkansas State, where the Red Wolves are laying 17.5.
Other ranks
In FCS, McNeese State bagged a W last week over Eastern Illinois, bringing their Comeback/Learning Year record to 2-7 and making us proud. On Saturday they’ll be at Southland foe Houston Christian U., which has thrown us for a loop rebranding this year from Houston Baptist. At some point we may look into why this was done, but as a Baptist Thing, educated guesses may be pretty good ones. The Huskies are also 2-7, and dropped last week 73-20 to #7 Incarnate Word.
Kickoff is at 2 PM, with a high right around 60 and partly cloudy skies.
In Div II, Slippery Rock is 9-1 off the win over Edinboro, and faces its final season opponent on Saturday hosting PSAC rival Kutztown. Kutztown is 7-3 with a mix of lopsided losses and competitive wins. SRU is #9 in the Coaches Poll, and assuming a win over Kutztown still competitive for a Div II tournament slot.
Saturday’s 1 PM kickoff will see real autumn weather setting in, with mixed freezing rain and snow and a high of around 40. Dress warm.
Central Oklahoma lost a tough one to Nebraska-Kearney last week, and is 5-5 heading into the season finale with Central Missouri (of Warrensburg, MO) on Saturday. The Bronchos are playing host in Edmond; the Mules come in 4-6 and probably a bit stoked off a 2OT 40-37 win over Western Missouri.
We never tire of pointing out that UCM’s most distinguished alumna by far has to be Carrie Nation, godmother of the Hatchet-Bearing Temperance Movement. (She attended when it was Warrensburg Normal Institute, earning her teaching certificate in 1872.)
But we wouldn’t neglect another alumnus, James O. McKinsey (1889-1937), the famous American accountant who founded the McKinsey & Company consultancy which has garnered so much recent fame for its connection with all the best in American politics.
It’s been raining in Edmond on Thursday, but Saturday’s 2 PM game start will see sunny skies and upper 40s.
In Div III, Rose-Hulman has gone 6-0 conference and racked up 6-3 overall. Saturday’s game, the season finale, is at Storied Rival Mount St. Joseph U. in Cincinnati (Delhi Township), which is also 6-0 conference, but uncatchable for the Heartland championship at 9-0 on the season. MSJ should get a tournament slot with a win, but of course we’d like to see RHIT of our Inner Circle take this one.
The cold front moving in will clobber the 1:30 PM kickoff with winter precip and upper 30s, the annual signal that it’s about time for football in little stadiums to start winding down. Fight, Engineers, fight!
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy comes off its week off for the season-ender with Storied Rival Coast Guard, always one of our favorite games of the year. The Mariners are 5-3 to the Bears’ 3-6 (notably, both teams beat MIT this fall, though Coast Guard fell to WPI last week); USMMA will host in Kings Point, and ESPN will be on-hand for a proper broadcast.
We always cheer for our Mariners, but with our noble Coastie shipmates on the other side of the ball, we can’t really lose this one.
The noon game start will come in or between scattered showers, with a pre-front high of 70 descending through the latter half of the day.
Feature image: Coast Guard RB #22 Jared Colletti catches QB #13 Joe Armentrout for a 6-yard TD to end the 2021 Secretaries’ Cup, which USMMA won 49-14. ESPN video, YouTube.
The Optimistic Conservative 
There is an interesting storyline of last week’s win over Bama and Nick Satan. The majority of LSU’s team hit a knee in prayer in the corner of one of the end zones before the game. In OT the TD and the 2 pt conversion were in that same corner.
Arkansas has often been a problem game for LSU regardless of record. If you are watching the game with someone say 70+ years of age who is a Hog fan, at some point in the game blurt out “Little Joe LaBruzzo”. In response will be a stream of expletives would make any member of the military blush. it rings back to the old SW conference and the Cotton Bowl with a HEAVILY favored Arkansas team losing on a pair of TD’s. This loss kept Arkansas from repeating as national champions.
Well, I am hoping for a good day in Champaign for the Fightin’ Illini to take on Purdue. It is for all practical purposes for the outright championship of the Big Ten West for Illinois, assuming they can take care of Northwestern at the end of the season.
I’m hoping to joyously be screaming my head off celebrating an Illini victory. I am assuming after the loss to MSU last week, Coach Bielma had a very attentive group this week.
And of course – I will be at the game – so I am doubly hoping for a good day.
Hopes dashed. A real tough PI call that allowed Purdue to tie it up before half, in reality an incredibly poor call from every replay I have seen so far, and very undisciplined Illini penalties which on one drive gave Purdue approximately 55 yards of gain.
Purdue I thought won the line of scrimmage, so in the end perhaps they deserved it. Tough loss, we no longer control our destiny, and since Purdue’s last game is against IU and ours Northwestern, I assume Purdue is in the driver’s seat, unless Wisconsin is sneaking back in there as well. We go to Michigan next week – it probably won’t be pretty.
It was … cold!
Snowing in Columbus. Ohio State already has three TDs
The O and D will take turns playing on separate weekends. Equality.
Buckeyes doing what they should, alas so are the Arsh
LSU’s Frosh LB @40 Harold Perkins played with the flu and was puking before the game. 4 sacks and ran down a track star QB. Once again, Tigers-Hogs is a close game. Odds makers knew what they were doing with 3.5 point margin.
Ouch, Nebraska down to third string (I think) QB. Not going to win against a top ten team that way
Delete tbj1 comment. Fat finger
Ouch, Nebraska down to third string (I think) QB. Not going to win against a top ten team that way
Looks like LSU gets closer to a playoff berth with Oregon losing.
BG up early 14 – nil on Toledo.
It’s a rivalry, so you can throw the records out, to coin a cliche