Random Thoughts Week 1: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

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Does anybody really care? Well since you asked, YES! Most college football fans do want to know what time it is.

The real college football season has arrived and right off the bat, controversy. Michigan does the time warp. Notre Dame also got a helping hand from the referees. The SEC went 16-0. Even with the win, Auburn is not back. Clemson is absolute dog poop. And so much more to talk about. It’s good to be back.

Michigan 13 Western Michigan 12 – The Wolverines played like rat turds for 60 minutes but it was a debatable extra second that decided this game. With the Broncos leading 9-7 in the 4th quarter, overhyped UM QB Bryce Underwood lost a fumble at his own 31 yard line with ALLEGEDLY under two minutes to play. WMU ran some plays and got down to 3rd and 2 at the 12 yard line when they fumbled a snap. A Bronco jumped on the ball but his team lost the chance at scoring a touchdown and ending the game. A field goal with ALLEGEDLY 0:35 left pushed the score to 12-7.

On a 3rd & 10 at their own 25, Underwood connected with a receiver out to the Western Michigan 47. Following a spike to stop the clock, the Wolvies ALLEGEDLY had 9 seconds for one last play. A Hail Mary went through the end zone where a WMU defender caught it as the clocks hit 0:00. However, after some replay official huddling, they determined that Michigan had one second left. On the next play, the Hail Mary connected for the winning points.

The Big Ten Conference quickly rushed out an excuse a reason for the ruling, but it just brought up more questions.

My first question is, why did NBC’s broadcast not have the same “synced” clocks with “all broadcast cameras” as the replay officials did? It’s the year 2026 the last time I checked.

For the record, college football clocks do not officially track or display fractions of seconds like basketball, meaning any remaining time under one second is traditionally bounded within that final whole second display. A 0:00 means zero time left.

The idiot Michigan fanbase keeps defending the whole thing with non-facts and things like “nobody at Western or the MAC has an issue with how it ended.” Of course they are not going to complain. They don’t want to piss off the Big Ten and miss out on future payday games. It’s the biggest thing that keeps their programs afloat.

Some NBC cuck named John Fanta tried to again mansplain the ruling on their studio show. He clearly was not speaking from the heart and likely got his teleprompter statement straight from Big Ten commissioner Tony “Let’s Have a 24 Game Playoff” Petitti.

Despite your interpretation of the events, the whole thing is mighty sketchy with Michigan’s reputation for Spygate cheating, Sherrone Moore and all the covering up that they do. Add another asterisk to the program.

LSU 51 Clemson 10 – It was a dubious beginning for purple Tigers QB Sam Leavitt when he threw a pick on the second play of the game. The Orange Tigers got a field goal out of it but that was the end of the good times for Dabo Swinney’s crew. Dabo’s defiant stance against utilizing the transfer portal to better his team was on full display as he sent Christopher Vizzina out as his quarterback in back of 10 poorly coached teammates. He was 10/16 for a paltry 83 yards and a pick-six allowed. Vizzina also had 4 yards on 5 carries. This dude has no business starting for a Power team.

After the opening gaffe, Leavitt and the Bayou Bengals settled down and ran roughshod over the inept CU defense, going up 17-3 in the 1st quarter alone. LSU would go on to gain 335 yards passing and 309 rushing. Clempson was 1-13 on third down conversions, had 8 first downs and punted TEN times. They totaled 145 net yards for the game. That is the kind of game that gets guys fired.

Ole Miss 41 Louisville 38 – This one was a wild back-and-forth affair that started sloppy but ended with fireworks. The Rebels led most of the way but the ‘Ville would not go away. OM would score a touchdown following a roughing the kicker call with 6:43 to play to go up 38-24. The Cardinals answered back to pull within one score on a 54-yard TD pass. After a Rebs three-and-out, Luh-ville had another scoring drive to tie it up 38-38. But Trinidad Chambliss was able to move the ball down to the 31 yard line with a quick drive including an 18-yard pass on third-and-6 that allowed the Mississippi kicker to connect on a 48-yard field goal as time expired. And, no. They did not put one more second back on the clock.

Auburn 17 Baylor 16 – This was some weird deja vu. A season ago, QB Byrum Brown’s USF Bulls beat DJ Lagway’s Florida Gators in an ugly 18-16 game. This year, it was Brown’s Aubie versus Lagway’s Bears and it was just as ugly.

The Bears had a terrible start with a Lagway fumble, interception and a missed field goal on the first three possessions. However, the War Tigers only converted three points out of the gifts. Lagway turned an ankle on the last play of the first half but toughed it out. Fast forward to the 4th quarter, it was a tie ball game at 10-10. Aubie put together a long drive that ended in an 11-yard touchdown scamper by Brown. The Bears came back with a drive of their own that ended in a 5-yard touchdown pass with nine ticks left. Instead of playing for overtime, hot seat Baylor coach Dave Aranda opted to go for the win. Lagway rolled out to the right and hit his tight end but did not lead him enough which allowed the defender to tackle him just short.

Brown threw three interceptions for Aub and did not connect on a touchdown through the air.

Alabama 48 East Carolina 10 – The score does not reflect how one-sided this game was. Outside of a busted coverage (more on that below) and a missed exchange between QB Keelon Russell and WR Ryan Williams, it was a pretty good day at the office for the Crimson Tide. East Carolina amassed only 5 first downs and netted 2 rushing yards on the day. Alabama had three sacks – all by defensive linemen – and Yhonzae Pierre ran back a pick-six. Outside of the 68 yard completion on the defensive gaffe, the Pirates netted 94 yards of offense.

The Tide had struggled to run the ball over the last two seasons. That did not seem to be a problem on Saturday as the offensive line was mostly in sync and the running backs found the holes instead of dancing. Bama totaled 227 rushing yards and scored five times on the ground from four different players. Russell still needs some work but he showed some flashes of greatness, finishing with 342 all-purpose yards.

NOTHING TO ESS-EE-SEE HERE

Missouri 54 Arky-Pine Bluff 14 – For $200: NAME!THAT!MASCOT!
Oklahoma 51 UTEP 0 – The Sooners scored on every possession of the first three quarters. They did not punt until the scrubs came in.
Vanderbilt 28 Austin Peay 9 – Vandy played two QBs and had very vanilla play-calling. Only one play went more than 20 yards (31).
Mississippi State 62 UL Monroe 13 – Kamario Taylor balled out for State by completing 22/34 passes for 354 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. He also rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown.
Florida 66 Florida Atlantic 21 – The Gators had 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, and recovered a fumble, but did allow 396 total yards and 21 points on the day.
South Carolina 57 Kent State 0 – LaNorris Sellers completed an efficient 19/23 passes for 270 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Kentucky 45 Youngstown State 13 – Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns.
Georgia 63 Tennessee State 3 – Shocker: Dwags fans are acting like they beat the LA Rams.
Texas 59 Texas State 7 – Arch Manning led the Longhorns, completing 20/27 passes for 305 yards, 4 touchdowns, but also had an interception.
Tennessee 56 Furman 9 – 638 yards of offense, but also lost two fumbles.
Arkansas 31 North Alabama 14 – Despite the win, the Razorbacks’ defense gave up 14 points in the second half, the offensive line allowed 3 sacks, and Arkansas lost 2 fumbles.
Texas A&M 50 Missouri State 0 – The Aggies allowed only 67 total yards and held Missouri State to 1/10 on third-down conversions.

OTHER STUFF

Colorado 14 Georgia Tech 13 – If you want evidence of the widening gap between the ACC/B12 and the SEC/B1G, go back and watch this game. This game slogged along for most of the game until the wild last few minutes of the game unfolded. Late in the 4th, the Yeller Jackets increased their lead to 13-7 after connecting on a 29 yard field goal. With under two minutes to work with, the Buffys worked their way down the field to take the lead on a 20-yard touchdown pass. With 37 ticks left on the clock, Tech completed a 42-yarder to get into Colorado territory. After a few plays, GT lined up to attempt a game-winning field goal with 3 seconds remaining, but it was blocked. Seems like someone did not spend enough practice time on the field goal unit.

Miami-FL 45 Stanford 6 – About the only thing that didn’t go right for the Hurricanes was a muffed punt and an interception by the back-up quarterback late in the game. Duke transfer Darian Mensah was almost flawless completing 27 of 30 passes for 401 yards and five TDs. Almost half of his passes went to sensational sophomore Malachi Toney who hauled in 12 passes for 234 yards and three scores.

It is a nice win and the media is going gaga over the ’Canes, but the Trees are one of the worst Power teams of 2026.

Oregon 34 Boise 27 – The Smurfs scored first and later led 17-7 in the 2nd quarter. Oregon came back to lead 27-24. The Quackers took the lead with 7:51 to go and held on for dear life.

This showing by the Ducks is not the kind of performance that is expected of a No. 2 ranked team. They struggled on both sides of the ball as well as special teams. Oregon was 4 of 12 on 3rd down and 0-3 on 4th down. They muffed a punt that led to a Boise touchdown. UO also turned the ball over on downs that BSU turned into a field goal.

Needless to say, they did not cover the -24.5 spread.

SMU 27 Florida State 24 – The beginning of this game was delayed an hour and forty-five minute due to a power outage caused by a surge. The punchlines just write themselves.

The Mustangs were chockfull of mistakes in this one. If they had faced a team with a pulse, say Virginia or Pitt, this one would have been a loss. SMU lost two fumbles, threw two picks, and missed a 38 yard field goal and still managed to eke out a win against the feeble Seminoles. FSU tied the game at 24-24 with 8:17 to go when Kevin Jennings gave the ball right back to the ‘Noles on an interception. Unfortunately, the hapless Seminoles went backwards on their next drive and had to punt. That is when SMU drove to the goal line and booted a 20 yarder with 20 seconds remaining. If you have seen Ashton Daniels play, you know he was not going to lead a big amazing comeback, though the opportunity was there.

PAC-12 REUNIONS

UCLA 45 Cal 24 – Officially, it was Big Ten versus ACC, but it was good to see these former PACers go at it in front of a sold out crowd. Nico Iamaleava was kinda blah (14/22-184-0-1) but the Bruins got 277 rushing yards and six scores on the ground. The Bears had three turnovers.

Washington 24 Washington State 10 – It was Big Ten versus the Pac-10 2.0 in the Apple Cup which has been played every year since since 1921 except for two seasons during WWII.

D’OH!

Tulsa 24 Oklahoma State 10 – Following Mike Gundy’s well overdue firing in Stillwater, Eric Morris was brought in from North Texas after the Mean Green’s highly successful 11-2 season. Morris brought 21 of his NTSU players with him including QB Drew Mestemaker who had 4,379 passing yards and 34 touchdowns last year and RB Caleb Hawkins (1,434 yds, 4 TD). The Cowboys have 70 new players. Guess what. That strategy has not worked out so well.

Tarleton State 20 Bowling Green 13 – Eddie George is BGSU’s coach.

The Citadel 43 Charlotte 41 (3 OT) – You lost to a team with an article in their name.

BIG TEN FLOP OF THE WEEK

ICYMI, UMass beat the piss out of the Big Ten’s Rutgers 37-21 last Thursday. The Scarlet Knights paid the Minutemen $1.55 million for the honor of kicking their asses in their home stadium. UMass went 0-12 in 2025. They had not beaten an FBS opponent since 2023. Now, tell me again how the B1G is as good or better than the SEC.

MEATHEAD OF THE WEEK

Gravy.

IT’S BETTER THAN THE FSU SOLO CUP CHALLENGE

NOTRE DAME GETTING THE CALLS I

“Exactly, Dan… except it’s Notre Dame.”The Irish cover man CLEARLY never fully possessed the ball before touching out of bounds. Yet somehow the replay official did not call it. Amazing.

NOTRE DAME GETTING THE CALLS II

What the literal f**k?

WORST PUNT OF THE WEEK

PUNT OF THE WEEK… YEAR?

FAN OF THE WEEK

Hotty Toddy!

WORST RUN-OUT OF THE WEEK

That fan best go into hiding.

BEST DRESSED OF THE WEEK

DISGUSTING COMMERCIALISM OF THE WEEK

This is the field of the Tennessee Titans stadium in Nashville before the Ole Miss-Louisville game.

UGLY ASS COLOR RUSH UNIS OF THE WEEK

Notre Dame vs Wisky. I think these are ugmo. What do you think?

FACEMASK OF THE WEEK

FACEMASK THAT DIDN’T GET CALLED OF THE WEEK

Michigan. What a surprise.

FIELD GOAL OF THE WEEK

58 yards. Unreal.

LOSERS OF THE WEEK

Ya know, they have been doing this thing for several years now. Only two guys can do it. How do they decided and who decides who gets to be these glittery idiots? Are there tryouts? Is it a lottery? An election?

WOULD’VE BEEN A HOLDING CALL IF THIS HAD BEEN AN ALABAMA RECEIVER

Malachi Toney is going to get away with murder this fall.

MOST UNFORTUNATE CAMERA ANGLE OF THE WEEK

This poor kid. He probably thought he was being so cool.

ANOTHER WOKE BITES THE DUST

The University of Florida revived its “gator bait” cheer thanks to new school president and former Alabama president Stuart Bell. The cheer had been banned back in 2020 when the whole world lost their collective mind because some triggered numbskull dug up an obscure centuries old reference, deciphered it as being modern day racist, and pushed it under the old UF president’s nose.

MICHIGAN IS JUST FLAUNTING THEIR SPYING NOW

KICKOFF RETURN OF THE WEEK

WORST ACC OFFICIATING OF THE WEEK

I guess referees have opening night jitters too.

LAMEST FAN BASE OF THE WEEK

Boo-hoo! It’s hot!

SECOND LAMEST FAN BASE OF THE WEEK

I don’t want to hear BS excuses about heat, Center Florida. It was a night game.

LAME FAN BASE OF THE YEAR

MOST EMBARRASSING FAN BASE OF THE WEEK

Rushing the field for beating a MAC team on a controversial last play when your team looked like crap the whole game?

GOOD SPORTS OF THE WEEK

I give Center Florida and coach Scott Frost a lot of well-deserved flack here at Random Thoughts. But credit him for calling off the dogs after leading Bethune-Cookman 73-0 after the first play of the 4th quarter.

WORST SPORTS OF THE WEEK

What is the point of going for a two-point conversation, Scumbag Lane?

IS THIS A PENALTY? THAT KINDA LOOKS LIKE A PENALTY

WARDROBE MALFUNCTION OF THE WEEK

WARDROBE MALFUNCTION RECOVERY OF THE WEEK

BEST IMITATION OF A TURNSTILE OF THE WEEK

Did that running back sleep with his girl or something?

STOP TRYING TO BE NAJEE

A LITTLE BETTER

Name of the Week alum Rocky Beers. Speaking of NOTW…

NAME OF THE WEEK

Houston long snapper Jack Carson-Wentz is on his fifth school in five years. That is going to look so good on a resume. I recommend job hunting in North Dakota.

STATS OF THE WEEK

• Pitt QB Mason Heintschel broke the record for most TD passes in a game in an ACC football game with seven. He also had 453 passing yards against the woeful Miami (OH) defense.
• Duke RB Nate Sheppard skeedaddled for 227 yards and 2 TDs against Tulane in the B-Devils 17-3 win.
• Louisville is winless in 8 season openers all-time vs AP-ranked opponents.

THE WACKY WORLD OF CORSO HERBIE’S EGO

I never would have thought it would be possible to hate a golden retriever, but then there is this.

What kind of person could be so utterly stupid as to buy something from this store?

College GameDay was in Baton Rouge for Clemson-LSU. It was their 500th show on the road – meaning not counting the ones that were in a studio like they did in the early days. Nothing all that interesting or new happened. It was the same old group doing the same old schtick.

Next up is Austin for Ohio State at Texas.

Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff Meathead Convention was in Bloomington for… yawn… North Texas and Indiana. Next is a more interesting locale of Ann Arbor for Oklahoma-Michigan. Boomer Sooner (ack, that hurt to type, but yeah. Boomer Sooner).

SEC Nation will be in Lexington for the Kentucky-Alabama showdown.

GAMEDAY HAD SOME SIGNS

ADOPT-A-TEAM

• Western Michigan (0-1) – The Broncos were robbed.
• Memphis? (2-0)
• We are still taking applications at the moment.

COUSINS

• Jacksonville State (1-1) – The Gamecocks had no problem with Eastern Kentucky 49-7. JSU has an oddball trip to Ohio.
• South Alabama (1-0) – The Jags thumped SE Louisiana 39-14 thanks in part to two interceptions and a safety. USA heads to Tulane.
• Troy (1-0) – The Trojans had a struggle with Sam Houston but recovered an onside kickoff and ran out the clock to win 24-21. Alabama State is the next victim.
• West Alabama (2-0) – Scott Cochran’s Tigers beat #21 Lenoir-Rhyne on the road 34-23.

THAT ANNOYING GUY WHO INTENTIONALLY TAKES UP TWO PARKING SPOTS

• UAB (0-1) – The Dragons drew within 14-13 of Illinois with 18 second to go in the first half and then ridiculously gave up a 54-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to end the half. It was all Illini in the second half with Birmingham scoring a garbage TD with 9 ticks to go to make the 42-23 score look slightly better. In all fairness, UAB did look a little more competent under their new head coach Alex Mortensen than they did under his predecessor. UL Monroe comes to town.

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

• Army (1-0) – The Black Knights thumped something called Bryant 59-3. USF comes for a visit.
• Navy (1-0) – The Midshipmen whupped up on Towson 42-15 . The Middies are on the road to FAU. To repeat, F-AU!
• Air Force (1-0) – The Falcons beat Duquesne (pronounced duh-kwess-nay^{*Just kidding.}) by the score of 34-0. A fascinating game with North Dakota State in Colorado Springs is next.

ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

Eliminated: Rutgers, Oklahoma State

In Danger: Boston College, Clemson, Cal, FSU, Georgia Tech, NC State, Stanford, Baylor, TCU, Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin

Still Alive: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Center Florida, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Utah, West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, UCLA, Washington, Southern Cal, Virginia, North Carolina, Stanford, Duke, Louisville, Pitt, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

Clinched Playoff Birth: Miami-FL

A way WAY WAY too early look at the College Football Playoff (CFP) picture

POWER 2

• SEC – All members of the conference won this past weekend. It will take awhile to sort things out.
• Big Ten – Only two members of this conference had games against fellow Power teams: UCLA over Cal and Wisconsin losing to Notre Dame. Not much to decipher with this conference.

SECOND 2

• Big 12 – TCU already lost to UNC. Baylor fell to Auburn in an ugly way. The piece de resistance was Oklahoma State getting dumped at home by in-state Tulsa.
• ACC – Traditional powers Louisville and Clemson are both 0-1. Georgia Tech had a faceplant versus Colorado. SMU looked sloppy. Virginia was off. Miami-FL has a lame schedule. Might as well go ahead and put them in your bracket.

AT LARGE

• Indies – Notre Dame. The Irish struggled for a half against Wisconsin. Their next five: vs Rice, vs Sparty, @Purdue, @UNC, vs Stanford. Must be nice.

PARTICIPATION TROPHY

• Memphis (AAC) is 2-0. The Blue Tigers travel to Boise (PAC-12) for a key game on Saturday.
• UTSA travels to Texas on Week 3. Navy has a manageable schedule until they head to San Antonio take on the Roadrunners on Oct 17.
• Tulane did not look so great in their 17-3 loss to Duke.
• The Sun Belt’s James Madison barely got by Liberty 20-13.
• North Dakota State could be a dark horse. They are at Air Force.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

IMHO

• Louisville should move up despite the defeat to Ole Miss.
• Michigan should definitely drop and not just because of their gifted win. They played like absolute crap.
• Oregon too needs to be ranked lower. That is NOT the No. 2 team in the nation.

LET’S GO BOWLING!

ESS-EE-SEE BOWL TIE-INS

• The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando gets the first exclusive choice of remaining available SEC teams after the playoff selections.
• Once the Citrus Bowl picks, a collaborative of the SEC, individual schools, and the six bowl representatives work together (avoiding repeat matchups and repeat locations when possible) to fill these games:
  • Gator Bowl (Jacksonville)
  • Music City Bowl (Nashville)
  • Liberty Bowl (Memphis)
  • Texas Bowl (Houston)
  • Tampa Bowl
  • Las Vegas Bowl
• The Birmingham Bowl and Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa) make their selections from the remaining eligible pool of SEC programs to round out the lineup.

LET’S GO BLOWING!

• Hawaii is the first team with two losses on the season.

Although Gustav is retired after his one-an-done (coached one game in 2025 and mailed in the rest of the season) last fall for FSU, Krazy Kristi will still be sticking around with her weekly feature. Her “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to the Penn State Denier Cult. The university is opening something they are calling the Paterno Family Football Experience Room in the All-Sports Museum inside Beaver Stadium as, a “permanent museum experience”. I wonder if boys under 15 get in for free.

They need to have a interactive virtual reality “Sweeper Experience” in which patrons can use a holographic broom to sweep things they don’t like under a rug.

HEISMAN HYPE

Odds per FanDuel:

1. QB Darian Mensah (Miami-FL) +650 – I love when the press drools all over a QB instead of the guy(s) who catch the passes (JFF, Mendoza)
2. QB Arch Manning (Texas) +1100
3. WR Jeremiah Smith (anOhio State) +1100
4. QB Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss) +1100
5. QB Julian Sayin (anOhio State) +1300 – Game managers don’t win Heismans.
6. QB CJ Carr (Notre Dame) +1300 – Dropped from No. 1.
7. WR Malachi Toney (Miami-FL) +1400
8. QB Dante Moore (Oregon) +1400 – dropped
9. QB Sam Leavitt (LSU) +1600 – rose
10. QB Jayden Maiava (So Cal) +1900
11. QB Josh Hoover (Indiana) +2200

• Alabama QB Keelon Russell +3000
• QB Gunner Stockton (Georgia) +5500 – big drop

THE SICK REPORT

• Alabama is not the only place Loki visited in the preseason.
• Fringe Heisman hopeful Kewan Lacy ran for 61 yards on 17 carries for Ole Miss with a 1-yard TD before being sidelined by a thigh injury.
• Washington’s running back depth has taken a significant hit as starter Quaid Carr and backup Jayden Limar both will miss extended time with injuries sustained in Sunday’s win against Washington State.
• Indiana starting running back Khobie Martin will be out until midseason after leaving the Hoosiers’ season-opening win over North Texas with an injury.

DRAMARAMA

• The NCAA has cleared the University of Cincinnati of any wrongdoing in its handling of former quarterback Brendan Sorsby and his gambling problems.

KOACHES KORNER

• Previous to the LSU game, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was asked about Lane Kiffin’s desire to utilize multiple players who have been in NFL camps. He responded by saying “No pun intended, but we’ll just stay in our lane.” YYYEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaah!
• UCLA fired their AD Martin Jarmond amid a “significant financial deficit,”. He has already been replaced by a former Lakers exec. Jarmond’s legacy will include the disastrous hire of DeShaun Foster (5-10) as football coach.
• UNC football GM Michael Lombardi has resigned from his position. He had been on paid leave in the wake of an internal investigation. Man, that must have hurt when those Belichick bus tires ran over him.
• Urban Meyer was at the bank making a deposit and the woman next to him said she wanted to check her balance. So, he pushed her over.
• Fat F*** Phil Fulmer’s doctor told him he is optimal weight… for someone 9-foot-8.

TEEVEE

So, the SEC dumps CBS and Gary Danielson retires. Dang it. He got a dig in on us one last time. Charles Davis replaces Gary and will be alongside the returning Brad Nessler and Jenny Dell.

THIS WEEK

Below is just a sampling highlight of games of interest this week. If you REALLY MUST know about the BIG Stony Brook-Ball State showdown, click here.

Thursday, September 10 – one game

Florida A&M at Miami-FL 7pm/8pm ACCN – FAMU is banned from postseason play for the 2026 season due to low academic scores.

Friday, September 11 – four awful ACC games and this↓↓↓

Missouri at Kansas 7pm/8pm FOX – BORDER WAR!! This rivalry goes back before these two were even states.

Saturday, September 12

SEC

* Arizona State at Texas A&M 11am/noon ABC
** Oklahoma at Michigan 11am/noon FOX
Western Kentucky at Georgia 11:45/12:45 SECN
Mississippi State at Minnesota 2:30/3:30 CBS
Delaware at Vanderbilt 3:15/4:15 SECN
Campbell at Florida 4:30/5:30 SEC+
* Tennessee at Georgia Tech 6pm/7pm ESPN
Towson at South Carolina 6pm/7pm SEC+
** Ohio State at Texas 6:30/7:30 ABC
Louisiana Tech at LSU 6:30/7:30 SEC+
Charlotte at Ole Miss 6:45/7:45 ESPN2
Southern Miss at Auburn 6:45/7:45 SEC+
* Arkansas at Utah 9:15/10:15 ESPN

OTHERS OF NOTE

Arizona at BYU 2:30/3:30 FOX
Duke at Illinois 2:30/3:30 FS1 – A weird but key matchup.
Iowa State at Iowa 6:30/7:30 NBC – The Cy-Hawk Trophy is on the line.

PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY SLEEP LIKE A BABY, USUALLY DON’T HAVE ONE.

ULL at Southern Cal 10pm/11pm BTN

#ALABAMA

It was a solid effort for the defense. About the only thing that went wrong was the busted coverage on a 68 yard gain.

Early in the second quarter, the Pirates were in a five-wide receiver (empty) formation. The Tide showed as if they were in their basic 4-2-5, but linebacker QB Reese was at right end, feigned a rush, and dropped back into coverage in the flats. The middle linebacker to that side, Luke Metz, was in an all-out blitz. Safety Bray Hubbard appeared to get caught flat-footed and to a lesser degree, so was Zabien Brown on the corner. With no other secondary in the vicinity, the Pirates wide receiver split the two Tide defenders for a big gain.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer acknowledged that the defense had a communication issue on that play. He noted that while it was a frustrating error, early-season operational and execution wrinkles are somewhat “to be expected” in a season opener. He and the defensive staff emphasized that the play serves as a clear teaching tool for the secondary to “tidy things up” regarding pre-snap adjustments.

Metz was also asked about the gaffe. “One of the things Coach (Kane) Wommack said pregame is that we gotta expect everything. First game of the season, we don’t know what they’re gonna run or what they’re gonna come out in. So, when we get surprised like that, the goal is just to go 1-0 the next drive, settle down.”

CB Dijon Lee would get beat on an amazing throw on the next play for a touchdown, but there are not a lot of corners that could have defended that pass much better.

To see the whole play, click here and start at the 2:25 mark.

INJURY REPORT

• Hubbard played through a broken finger.
• WR Rico Scott left the game in the second half after grabbing his hamstring and falling to the turf. He was helped off the field by trainers but later returning to the game. Assumptions are that it was a cramp on such a hot day.
• Other than those two instances, the Crimson Tide came out of the season opener relatively clean.
• On Monday, head coach Kalen DeBoer reported “the guys who are closest (to returning) are Jireh and AK.” Running back AK Dear and safety freshman Jireh Edwards sat out the ECU game. Those two players “you could see here soon.”

THE BIG UGLIES

• William Sanders got the start at left guard but he rotated with Mal Waldrep a good deal. According to some sources, Waldrep played more snaps than Sanders. In the preseason, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb emphatically stated that they were going with the “best five” offensive linemen this season. The Tide OC echoed that on Monday when asked if he planned to continue to rotate: “We’d like to keep the lineup as consistent as possible.” Grubb mentioned that Sanders was dealing with “a little bit of an oblique injury” in the ECU game, which is why we saw Waldrep get so many reps at LG. Deboer had a different thoughts at his post-game presser on Saturday: “Mal coming in, we just want to give him a chance to get out on the football field. Will got through good with the game, just from a physical standpoint. I like the direction we went. There’s a couple opportunities we missed on some explosives where we had guys open, and we had a little pressure. It wasn’t always the offensive line either. You can’t just put that on them.”
• Charting according to Pro Football Focus:
  • LT Jackson Lloyd: 0 pressures, 0 penalties
  • LG Will Sanders: 1 pressure, 1 penalty
  • C Racin Delgatty: 3 pressures, 1 penalty
  • RG Michael Carroll: 0 pressures, 0 penalties
  • RT Jayvin James: 1 pressure, 0 penalties
  • LG Mal Waldrep: 1 pressure, 0 penalties

OLIO

• The headling-grabbers were that Ryan Coleman-Williams got married, got a new name, a new number, and had his first 100 yard receiving game (130) since a 165 yard effort against Wisconsin 51 weeks ago. It’s as if he wants to forge a new identity, but one nagging issue persist. He was charged with a drop on an easy reception attempt. He also dropped a touchdown pass on a “free play” which occurred when ECU jumped offside and the Tide had no risk of losing the ball. It’s not an official drop, but it is hard to overlook. On the flip side, he did make some nice plays that keyed the victory. Officially, Williams was targeted ten times with five catches. Four other Bama receivers were targeted four times each. It would be nice to see Russell distribute the ball a little more evenly.
• Williams returned three punts for no gain, 23 yards, and four yards. He also had three fair catches.
• CB Dijon Lee and WR Rico Scott each returned one kickoff.
• Conor Talty was 2 for 2 on field goals of 41 and 21 yards. Lorcan Quinn handled kickoffs and had touchbacks on all 9 of his kicks.
• Alex Asparuhov had two punts of 54 and 50 yards that yielded no return yards.
• Alabama played 69 players including several walk-ons. Eleven freshmen participated with two others (Jorden Edmonds, Jireh Edwards) who probably would have if not for being injured.

GAME 2: Saturday, September 12, 2026

Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0) at Kentucky Wildcats (1-0)

Lexington, KY ~ 2:30/3:30 ABC, Disney+

• UK Coach: Will Stein (1-0, first season as a head coach)
• UK 2025: Kentucky parted ways with Mark Stoops after 13 seasons. His final team went a listless 5-7 and 2-6 in the SEC.
• Series: One of the most lopsided series in SEC history is Bama vs UK. The Crimson Tide has an all-time record of 39-2-1 against the ‘Cats. The last Alabama loss was an overtime game in 1997 with Mike DuBose scuffling around the Tide sidelines (too soon?). Previous to that was a tie in 1939. The other loss was way back in 1922 (the same year Trinidad Chambliss was born).
• UK Week 1: The Wildcats throttled Youngstown State 45-13. The ‘Cats picked up 506 yards of offense but also gave up 305 yards (246 receiving), including several explosive play, and also allowed 20 first downs. Kenny Minchey threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns. UK did not turn the ball over.
• Editorial: There were a lot of encouraging signs from Alabama’s win over ECU. However, it is reminiscent of last year’s dominating win over ULM and the euphoria that came with that strong effort. Let’s don’t be claiming any trophies just yet. This Saturday is the first SEC game and first road game of the season for the Tide. UK is in full rebuild mode but had a nice season debut. There is not much reason to think the ‘Cats can pull off the upset but don’t get lazy.
• Weather: The forecast for Lexington calls for a high of 85° and mostly cloudy skies.
• TV Announcers: Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy with Katie George on the sidelines.
• Radio: Chris Stewart, Tyler Watts, Corey Reamer on Alabama Radio.
• Vegas: The FanDuel opening point spread has Alabama as a 10.5 point favorite. Over/Under is 48.5.

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