Week 11: Everything in Front of You

First week of football after the College Football Playoff rankings came out. Saw a lot of teams know they had everything in front of them and tense up while others rose to the occasion. While I could rant about the inconsistencies of the rankings like everyone else, fortunately we see answers almost immediately. This is winning time in college football. 

A Week (10) in Review

Favorite Uniform and Game: Alabama vs LSU

Not taking a jersey here, but rather the whole ensemble. A night game in Death Valley; LSU in their white jerseys with yellow helmets versus Alabama in their Crimson best with black cleats and white socks. The beautiful grass turf with numbers every five yards instead of ten and the eye of the tiger at center field. Part of my love for college football is that I am a very nostalgic person. Growing up I loved watching games with my dad, with my high school friends in one of our basements, or in a crappy house in West Lafayette with my college roommates. This game always meant more than the rest in the national conversation and is the top of my bucket list for a sporting event to make it to. So getting to see two of the top five programs in the sport go at it in Baton Rouge once again was a beautiful site.

Kirk Herbstreit did a great job of showing how both teams played man coverage with no spy to track the uber athletic quarterbacks and the scrambling was what kept LSU in the game. Alabama is also super physical in the secondary and the flags have been thrown more this year, could Saban need to adjust his defensive back coaching strategy (I kid)? The biggest factor for me when watching LSU play Bama is that LSU's players view themselves as Bama's peers. Sometimes Alabama wins the game when they get off the bus. That is not the case in Baton Rouge. Lastly, Brian Kelly tapping into his southern accent to say they've restored the LSU program was quite laughable; LSU won the national title three years ago. But I will give Kelly credit in that he normally is a terrible coach as an underdog since he got to Notre Dame. He did get an upset here and the recruits have already started committing after the victory.

Other Notes from the Weekend

MACtion was awesome this week and that was just a first taste. We get three games on both Tuesday and Wednesday, enjoy the extra nights of football. Sometimes the games are low scoring, sometimes high scoring, but generally they stay close and weird things happen... The Coastal Carolina vs Appalachian State game was high scoring but immensely physical. Now that Coastal has two wins against App State this could start to become one of the more fun rivalries in the G5 conferences... Oregon State battled back against Washington but elected to go for it on several 4th downs instead of kicking field goals. I get the push to always maximize your points but it can be demoralizing to have long drives and nothing to show for it. Washington got the field goal at the end of the game and escaped with another close victory... Georgia manhandled Tennessee up front and showed that they are the defending national champions and should be treated as such. It was disheartening to see the Volunteers check out in the 4th quarter, I will be curious to see how they respond... TCU just keeps fighting. The Big 12 does a great job of setting up their schedule so all of these big games happen later in the season but the Horned Frogs continue to be tested... Michigan State somehow beat Illinois after the debacle of the past week and being 16-point underdogs. Yet another reason we should ban divisions in the Big Ten... North Carolina escaped Charlottesville with a win but not before waking up the Hoos' offense. If you haven't watched the Tar Heels this year be sure to check them out. I would bet on Drake Maye being the #1 overall pick in 2025. Could they sneak into the playoffs with one loss?... Oklahoma State has been decimated by injuries; this is a shell of the team that started the season. Shoutout to the Jayhawks for getting bowl eligible, that is a huge accomplishment for one of the most difficult jobs in power 5 college football... If the service academies are playing take the under. It has hit 24 out of the last 27 times... Texas A&M needs to start their freshman QB and start getting reps for next season... Oklahoma may be entering a down period in their program just as they join the SEC. That's unfortunate timing... Could Liberty get ranked? The Flames are 8-1 and just beat a team in the SEC West... Clemson needs to introduce some motion into their offense. The schemes of the 2010's where you just lined up in spread and went have been figured out and you need more elements... Michigan is the most vanilla offense in Big Ten and that's saying something because Iowa is in the Big Ten... Caleb Williams will be the #1 overall pick in 2024... Auburn needs to figure out what they want out of their football program. At least Gus Malzahn beat Bama every few years... UCLA went into Tempe and survived, something that has been historically difficult for them to do. Can the Bruins still make it to the PAC-12 Championship Game? The showdown in Los Angeles is going to have the biggest stakes since 2005... The highest scoring non-OT game in college football history happened last night. SMU and Houston combined to put up 1,352 yards of total offense. The box score is absolutely insane, it looks like when my friends and I would play NCAA Football on freshman mode with 10 minute quarters...

Favorite Play of the Week

I try to highlight different aspects of football with each play of the week. While every team has a different offense, there are certain concepts that translate to each scheme. Coastal Carolina has a unique offense that stresses defenses out and is hard to prepare for, especially on a short week. Let's check out how they use different pieces that we have talked through to score their first touch down.

We have the following concepts that we have talked through before: unbalanced formations, a bunch set, using the wide side of the field, and the triple option. Let's dive in!

• Coastal actually runs a reverse bunch (dot 1, note the inside receiver is covered and ineligible to run downfield) and places them on the short side of the field. Because Appalachian State is running a basic defense to deal with the tempo Coastal is running they put both safeties and a corner over the bunch and on the short side of the field (dot 2), leaving the other corner (dot 3) as the lone defensive back on the wide side of the field. He will have the tight end as he comes across the formation. They actually do not have any defenders on one half of the field, leaving a lot of teal turf open to run to.
• A common response to the option is to put a lot of defenders on the line of scrimmage. This places a defender outside the down lineman who will be ready to attack the quarterback and pitchback if the ball is not handed off.

• The receiver comes in deep motion (dot 1) and the safety starts to come across with him. We will track him on his journey.

• The ball is snapped and the quarterback and running back engage in the mesh point (dot 1) as the receiver gets into pitch position. The safety (dot 2) is still working to catch up.
• The down lineman and outside linebacker (dot 3) are not engaged by the linemen or tight end. They will be read in the triple option.
• The tight end (dot 4) is heading out on a reach block of the corner.

• The quarterback pulls the ball after the defensive linemen chooses to pursue the running back (dot 1).
• The linebacker is starting to lean towards the pitch back (dot 2). Let's track the quarterback's plan of attack.
• The tight end is still gaining width for his future block (dot 3) and our safety is still running across the field (dot 4).

• The quarterback ran at the linebacker forcing him to commit to tackling him (dot 1). This opens up the outside pitch.
• The corner sees the pitch coming and is all to eager to start running inside the tight end (dot 2).

• The tight end (dot 1) got outside the corner and has created a wall for the rusher (dot 2) to run behind. He actually has a whole third of the field.
• The safety (dot 3) has had a long journey so far but it looks like he decided to deviate towards the line of scrimmage and now has to fight around the tight end's block.

• If you're even you're burnt. See you in the endzone.

Week 11 Preview

Favorite Power 5 Game: Alabama vs Ole Miss

Get your popcorn ready. I'm not saying this is going to be the best game with the most implications. Alabama seems off this year despite all the talent they still have. Ole Miss can get stopped by physical teams that break up their RPO rhythm. But these two coaches provide all the drama I need. Last year Lane said the all-time line I linked to and then kept going for it on 4th down instead of taking points. At home in Oxford can he be more measured against his former boss? The Grove will be fired up for tailgating and hopefully Ole Miss wears those sweet powder blues. No matter the score, watch the handshake and postgame interviews.

Also Worth Watching: Washington vs Oregon

Favorite Group of 5 Game: UCF vs Tulane

Shout out to both these teams for remaining calm and taking care of business. Some powerful people on GameDay are pushing for the show to come to New Orleans for this one. This game will have beautiful uniforms and awesome teams. Tulane has one a variety of ways and UCF may have enough offensive firepower to disrupt the Green Waves' defense. Gus Malzahn has added his own flair to the Knights attack and they put up points with any coach they have. This game may decide who goes to a New Years 6 bowl game from the group of 5 so you should at least track the score.

Also Worth Watching: Fresno State vs UNLV

Favorite Player to Watch: Will Rogers (QB - Mississippi State) vs Georgia

The Mississippi State Bulldogs played Georgia Bulldogs well in 2020 and get the defending national champs at home, in a night game, the week after they pummeled the Volunteers. The UGA Bulldogs struggled at a night game versus Mizzou earlier this year, could we see a repeat? Miss State's chances rest on the shoulder of Rogers. He will put the ball in the air early and often. Can Georgia get home quickly and squeeze the line of scrimmage like they did against Tennessee? Always hard to bounce back and Rogers will test them for 60 minutes.

Also Worth Watching: Quentin Johnston (WR - TCU) vs Texas

Biggest Game of the Week: TCU vs Texas

The Horned Frogs survived at home versus Texas Tech, but the stakes keep getting higher. Can this tired team keep winning and play new kid on the block in the CFP? Texas could still make the Big 12 Championship, so this could be a rematch in December, but we need to focus one week at a time. TCU used to be known for defense but now struggles to keep up on that side of the ball. Can they throw some wrinkles out that will disrupt Quinn Ewers and Bijan Robinson? Or will Texas' defensive staff, with former TCU head coach Gary Patterson as a consultant on staff, come up with some wrinkles that finally stop Duggan and Johnston?

Also Worth Watching: North Carolina vs Wake Forest

3 and Out

Season Total: (14-18) -5.1 Units

Spread Picks (6-9) -3.65 Units, O/U Picks (4-5) -1.45 Units, ML Picks (4-5) +0.0 Units

2-1 and really salty about overtime pushing the over in the LSU versus Bama game. Let's keep trying to bounce back.

1st Pick of the Week: u62 (-110) LSU vs Arkansas

LSU tends to struggle to wake up after the physicality of their games against Alabama. Heading up to Arkansas, to face a team that is struggling for answers after losing to Liberty, will not inspire much enthusiasm in the first half. I think that grogginess is all we need to hit the under in this one, the Bayou Bengals win a snoozer.

2nd Pick of the Week: Appalachian State ML (-110) vs Marshall

A pick 'em game in West Virginia. Appalachian State got the mini-bye by playing on Thursday and now gets to head up the road to face the Thundering Herd. I think the Mountaineers can hang some points on the Marshall defense and can slog out a win. Marshall does a great job of stopping the run and controlling the clock, so Chase Brice will have to make things count.

3rd Pick of the Week: North Carolina ML (+155) vs Wake Forest

The fun play here is the over, but at 76.5 it's a bit rich for my taste. I get that the Tar Heel defense is terrible but I feel like one big reason why is they cannot stop the run. Wake is not running as well this year and puts everything on Sam Hartman's shoulders. I think Drake Maye heads down the road and steals a shootout against the Demon Deacons.