Tipping Point: Week 8 Preview

Good morning and welcome to 4th & Forever, Rand & Tate’s College Football Newsletter. It’s the midway point of the college football season and as great as the previous two weeks have been, this one might have the most stakes yet. We’ve got classic rivalries, high-stakes rematches, and prove-it games up and down the slate. Will Bevo kill Uga like he almost did in the 2019 Sugar Bowl? Will Tennessee end Bama’s playoff hopes in Neyland as they did in 2022? What about the spunky upstarts like Indiana, BYU, and Illinois? Most importantly, however, what kind of history are CFB overlords Duke and UConn trying to erase, why is Rand a poet, and Tate is barking at which European nationality this weekend? Week 8 is a hossy, let’s ride.

The SEC Blockbusters

Third Saturday in October: #7 Alabama (5-1) @ #11 Tennessee (5-1): ALA -2.5, O/U 55.5 - Saturday 3:30 pm ET ABC

Alabama heads back into Neyland Stadium for the first time since 2022 and if it’s anything like last time, we’re in for a show. Both teams are coming off recent upset losses on the road against teams we all assumed to be bottom-feeders this season, and the loser of this game can essentially count themselves out of any SEC title or playoff hopes - for the time being.

This game will come down to what Tennessee is capable of doing offensively. After three weeks of beating terrible (yes I’m calling NC State terrible) teams, Tennessee largely went into a shell against Oklahoma. Ok, fine, the Sooners defense is good and it made sense to pull back considering they couldn’t do anything offensively. But then they had zero points at halftime against Arkansas and eventually lost, and then they looked like absolute sh*t against a bad Florida team and had to pull it out in overtime. It’s hard to figure out what’s wrong with the offense at this point - many of the national media people are saying it’s the receivers. There’s some truth to that. Others are saying that it’s Nico not being what everyone expected him to be - there’s truth to that, too. But what I’d argue is that this offense thrives off of an effective running game allowing the wide-open downfield passing game to be matchup effective, and right now, Tennessee has one good running back and one offensive lineman (center Cooper Mays) that they actually trust to get a push in the run game. Almost every single run is attempted through the A-gap, and at this point, as Florida showed, it’s extremely predictable. This is one of the problems with the system Heupel runs - when it’s not working, it’s not working. But there is enough talent on this team for them to get going at some point, and it certainly could start clicking this week - especially considering Alabama’s secondary sucks and is constantly confused.

On the Bama end, as much as the offense has been carrying the Tide thus far, it’s been far from a perfect operation. We’ve gotten to a point where we have to question Jalen Milroe and the Alabama offense’s ability to operate on the road. Time and time again there are countless penalties, mental mistakes, misreads at the line, mistimed snaps, and dumb throws by Milroe and it’s difficult to assume they’re going to come in and dominate at Neyland against a really good Tennessee front seven. But similar to their own, Tennessee’s secondary is the weakness of the defense and they have not seen anything close to a talent like Ryan Williams on the outside. Jalen Milroe has to be ready to go.

Who knows what will happen in this game, but we do know that it will be awesome and that the winner will post hilarious Instagram stories smoking cigars in the locker room. This is a big game for the narrative on both coaches and programs as a whole, and if you’re not tuned in, you may be missing out on a classic. 

#5 Georgia (5-1) @ #1 Texas (6-0): TEX -5, O/U 56.5 - Saturday 7:30 pm ET ABC

For some reason, the national media has already decided that Texas is the clearcut #1 team in the country, the easy national title favorite, and the team that Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs will have to pray to beat. Texas fans, too, are already making their opinion known - as long as Texas doesn’t beat themselves, absolutely no one can beat them. They are God’s gift to earth this year, and the Dawgs should just be grateful to be on the same field as this squad.

I have no idea what will be the deciding factor here, but what I can say with confidence is that the Texas Longhorns have not yet faced an opponent that is anywhere remotely close to Georgia. We’ve learned that Michigan kinda sucks and beating Oklahoma without their top five receivers isn’t all that impressive. This team has not been tested in any way, and as cliche as it may sound, that will matter in a game like this. QB Quinn Ewers missed 2.5 games with yet another injury and while he returned last week, he looked far from impressive throwing for only 199 yards against an Oklahoma team that had no shot of threatening to actually win the game. Being untested with an up-and-down, injury-prone QB is not typically a winning formula against Kirby’s Dawgs.

But as we all know, this game will come down to which version of Georgia we get. Will it be the version we saw in the second halves against Clemson and Alabama, or the unfocused, unprepared version we saw against Kentucky and Mississippi State, and the first half of Alabama? We haven’t put together a full 60 minutes of football yet, and it’s about time we do so. I’m encouraged by the offense right now, especially in seeing Anthony Evans finally get snaps and immediately show that he’s a game-breaking talent. Arian Smith is playing the best football of his life, the offensive line is getting center Jared Wilson back, and Carson Beck is absolutely dialed right now. This Texas secondary in particular is the most untested group of their team - again, having played Michigan and Oklahoma who were missing their top five receivers - and it’s also their biggest weakness. I’m expecting big things from Beck and an improvement on the ground with Wilson back. Defensively? We’ll see. We’re struggling to finish tackles for the first time under Kirby and the lack of a pass rush (which has largely been a choice) combined with lackluster play from the secondary has resulted in points for opponents in recent weeks. It’s time to let Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams tee off on a quarterback. It’s time to let Malaki Starks play star and let Ellis Robinson IV actually play at all.

It’s time to remind the country who the best program in the country is. The program that was three points away from winning three straight national championships. The team with the best coach in the country and several of the best players in the country. The team with the most physical mindset in the country who won’t be scared or intimidated by a program who hasn’t done anything of note in two decades. The season is this weekend. Let’s show them who we are.

The Other Top Week 8 Games to Watch

#6 Miami (6-0) @ Louisville (4-2): MIA -4.5, O/U 61.5 - Saturday 12:00 pm ET ABC 

The entire city of Miami is built upon the idea of being fake. Silicone injections, imported white sand beaches, counterfeit bags and shoes, and those assholes who drive up and down Collins Ave in rented Lamborghinis and Polaris Slingshots. Miami football needs to disassociate from its homestead (no geographical pun intended) and prove it’s a legitimate playoff contender. No more late-game heroics, help from the refs, or 25-point comebacks against 3-3 Virginia Tech or 3-3 Cal. Prove you’re serious against one of the last remaining legitimate teams on your schedule.

Louisville has given up over 400 yards of offense against three of the four P4 teams they’ve faced and the exception is Notre Dame where offensive ineptitude is an expectation. Rand’s belief is the Heisman is Canes QB Cam Ward’s (or Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel’s) to lose. Ashton Jeanty and Travis Hunter are nice stories but they’re not giving a Heisman to a non-QB, much less one from the Mountain West. He has the ability to rack up 300 passing and 100 rushing yard performances and it needs to continue this weekend. Prove you belong with the big boys Miami, we’ve only been waiting 20 years for it. 

Nebraska (5-1) @ #16 Indiana (6-0): IU -6.5, O/U 50.5 - Saturday 12:00 pm ET FOX 

As we all expected to start the year, undefeated, 6-0, #16 Indiana is hosting 5-1 Nebraska with real Big Ten Championship - and College Football Playoff - implications on the line. Indiana in particular has been rolling so far this season, crushing opponents in the second half in several of their games thus far. But they have not yet played an opponent that has the level of talent that Nebraska has, especially up front. Nebraska has Nash Hutmacher, who they call “Polar Bear”, anchoring their defensive line which will be a major test for Indiana’s offensive line which has hardly been tested at all to this point. Hoosier QB Kurtis Rourke (a longtime favorite of Tate’s since his days at Ohio) has sliced and diced opponents all season when he’s had time to throw, but it’s unclear to this point how he’ll look under constant pressure - if Nebraska is indeed able to heat him up.

On the flip side, Nebraska’s offensive line will provide the same sort of challenge for Indiana’s untested defensive line, and receivers Isaiah Nayer and Jahmal Banks are likely to be Sunday players. They’re also both 6 '4, which will be a challenge in itself considering Indiana only starts one player in the secondary that is 6' 1 or above. With that said, freshman QB/total tuna can Dylan Raiola often plays like a true freshman despite being immensely talented, so some mistakes may be in store for the Husker offense as well. We’ll see what happens, but whichever fanbase walks away with a win here will be riding a high they haven’t experienced in many years.

#24 Michigan (4-2) @ #22 Illinois (5-1): MICH -3.5, O/U 43.5 - Saturday 3:30 pm ET CBS 

Ahh, the weekly Big Ten matchup with an over/under of 43.5. It’s beautiful. Michigan heads to Champaign to take on the third major surprise of the Big Ten - Illinois, who is ranked #22 having only lost 21-7 on the road to #4 Penn State. You normally expect a team led by Bret Bielema to be good at two things in particular: running the ball on offense and stopping the run on defense. But Illinois’ offense finds most of its success through the air behind QB Luke Altmeyer and receivers Pat Bryant and Zahkari Franklin, while they’ve also had one of the worst run defenses in the Big Ten so far this year. That’s not necessarily where you want to be considering you’re about to play Michigan but at the same time…

… Michigan still cannot throw the football to save their lives, which makes them incredibly one-dimensional and pretty easy to gameplan for. It looks like the Wolverines are trying out their third starting QB in Jack Tuttle, but considering Tuttle is 25 years old, has barely been on the field in his career and is the third option behind Davis Warren and Alex Orji, we’re not too confident that their passing game is now going to turn into an air raid attack by any means. Still, the Wolverines will have way more talent on the field and may just be able to ground-and-pound their way to another victory here. But we’ll be rooting for the Illini to keep this awesome run - and their Big Ten title hopes - alive.

Battle for the Boot: #8 LSU (5-1) @ Arkansas (4-2): LSU -2.5, O/U 55.5 - Saturday 7:00 pm ET ESPN 

When looking at this game during the preseason, nobody expected that the winner of this game would be in a very real spot to compete for an SEC Championship appearance, or that Arkansas would be only a field goal underdog against a top ten team in the country more than halfway through the season. But here we are, with LSU coming off of a shocking upset win over Ole Miss in overtime last week and riding high on a five-game winning streak while Arkansas has looked much more competitive than most expected, having only lost to Oklahoma State in overtime and to #14 Texas A&M by four points - both away from home. QB Taylen Green is very difficult to contain, and while LSU’s defense has looked better of late they are certainly not a shutdown unit. 

The Hogs’ defense will be tested against the likes of QB Garrett Nussmeier, WR Kyren Lacy, and arguably the best offensive line in the country, but they’ve been flying around in recent weeks and have some legitimate NFL pieces on their starting unit. LSU is undefeated in conference play and a road win here would go a long way in moving towards a conference title appearance as well as a potential playoff berth, while a win for Arkansas would keep them with only one conference loss with five games to play. This is going to be a competitive rivalry game with some fiery personalities on both sides - we’ve got a fun one on our hands.

Four More Games to Watch Because You’re a Sicko Like Us

Boston College (4-2) @ Virginia Tech (3-3): VT -7, O/U 49.5 - Thursday 7:30 pm ET ESPN

Quick history lesson because old highlights are fun and so is remembering guys. In 2000, Michael Vick did this against Boston College which is probably his most famous highlight from college. 7 years later, Matt Ryan led #2 Boston College against #8 Virginia Tech and threw this last-second touchdown to knock off the Hokies.

If there’s one entrance in college football ESPN knows how to showcase, it’s Enter Sandman at Lane Stadium. Tonight, the Big East rivalry is reborn as both teams come into the game as surprises, just for different reasons. Boston College has taken advantage of a light schedule under first-year coach Bill O’Brien but QB Thomas Castellanos is a player and the defense is also tough as nails. They’re 2nd in the nation in opponent red zone trips resulting in touchdowns and DE Donovan Ezeiruaku is 2nd in the nation with 9 sacks on the season. However, they just lost CB Amari Jackson for the season who was their best cover corner. Want to take a guess at which team is a surprise for the wrong reasons, doesn’t convert their red zone trips, and is really bad at protecting the QB? That’d be your Hokies! QB Kyron Drones is averaging 6.29 yards/play which is the worst mark by an ACC QB not named DJU or Stanford’s Ashton Daniels who’s barely even played enough to qualify. Boston College is playing with house money while Virginia Tech needs this win or there’s a real chance head coach Brent Pry is staring down the barrel of a bowl-less season which doesn’t cut it in Blacksburg, much less in year three.

Florida State (1-5) @ Duke (5-1): DUKE -3, O/U 42.5 - Friday 7:00 pm ET ESPN2

By my estimate (read: Google AI) The Big Bang occurred 13.8 billion years ago. Duke and Florida State have played football 20 times since then and want to take another guess at what has never happened? Yep, Duke winning. You, reader, are getting really good at this. Every contest has occurred since 1992 and only once has the final score even been within a touchdown. Both teams are coming off a bye (and a loss) but it may be more advantageous for FSU who has another week of practice with backup turned-starting QB Brock Glenn leading the offense. While there’s a better chance of the Libertarian candidate winning the election next month than Florida State being able to move the ball on offense, Duke expectedly folded against the first good team they played this year in Georgia Tech, and the spread reflects that. Whatever happens in Wallace Wade on Friday night, one fanbase is guaranteed to endure continued pain and suffering and we couldn’t be more excited. 

Oklahoma State (3-3) @ #13 BYU (6-0): BYU -9, O/U 55.5 - Friday 8:00 pm ET ESPN

What’s the deal with Brigham Young? Alright, we’ll save the theological debate for another time and stick to the gridiron. They eviscerated Kansas State and Arizona, and own an impressive road win against the ideological enemy in SMU. They win by forcing turnovers, controlling the ball, and playing lockdown D. They do not have any semblance of a rushing attack so they lean on BY-Jew QB Jake Retzlaff. They’re unpredictable and are on the shortlist of the most fun teams to watch in CFB this year. The jury is still out on whether they’re a legit Big 12 and playoff contender but similar to Indiana, they’re making it hard for us to ignore them. Oklahoma State meanwhile is a dumpster fire. Their 18-year bowl streak is in serious jeopardy which is the 6th longest in the country. We’ve gone from touting RB Ollie Gordon as one of the best backs in the country to he might need to be benched. There’s always a glimmer of hope that the Pokes can turn this around because Mike Gundy has proven us wrong time and time again but expecting that to happen at night in Provo is not a wise bet. To add insult to injury, Gundy got whacked in the head by one of his cattle earlier this week and might be coaching with a black eye. We’ll be checking in on the cosmetic damage he sustained and this BYU team on Friday night. 

Auburn (2-4) @ #19 Missouri (5-1): MIZ -4.5, O/U 51.5 - Saturday 12:00 pm ET ESPN

Trust us, we don’t feel great about recommending that you watch this 2-4 Auburn team, but given that they’re less than a touchdown underdog here against Missouri, it’s certainly a game to keep your eye on early in the day. We’ve talked for a few weeks about Missouri’s struggles on the offensive side of the ball, and we’re wondering if Auburn’s solid defense might be able to take advantage of Mizzou’s weaknesses there to keep this game in striking distance. Mizzou can’t be entirely written out of the playoff (or SEC) race quite yet, while Hugh Freeze and Auburn are due for a win to keep any semblance of optimism for this tenure alive for the time being. We’re interested to see how this one plays out.

Bar Beatdowns

This group of games is called Bar Beatdowns because if you find yourself at a local bar this weekend one of these games will likely be on. That’s because all of these games involve a top-ranked playoff contender who’s favored by 2+ touchdowns. We expect them to romp but on the off chance they don’t we want to keep you abreast of the storylines to follow and arm you with nerdy facts to bore your friend group and significant other with.

#2 Oregon (6-0) @ Purdue (1-5): ORE -27.5, O/U 58.5 - Friday 8:00 pm ET FOX

Reasons to watch: The new #2 team in the country goes on the road to face the Boilermakers and while yes, Purdue is very bad, they also just took a ranked Illinois team to the wire last week and seem to have some more juice after firing offensive coordinator Graham Harrell a couple of weeks ago. After Oregon’s massive, emotional win against Ohio State last Saturday, could we be in for a letdown on the road after a short week? The talent disparity certainly suggests that we’ll be turning this game off midway through the 2nd quarter, but as we’ve seen all season this year, big talent disparities don’t seem to be saving teams from upset scares. Maybe an early Purdue touchdown combined with Oregon’s continued redzone struggles keeps this one interesting for longer than Vegas expects.

Virginia (4-2) @ #10 Clemson (5-1): CLEM -21.5, O/U 57.5 - Saturday 12:00 pm ET ACCN

Reasons to watch: It’s a homecoming for Hoos head coach Tony Elliot who was the OC for Clemson during the highwater Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence days and also played ball for the Tigers. Virginia QB Anthony Colandrea is a dual-threat nightmare for defenses and is almost statistically identical to Clemson’s Cade Klubnik. Virginia is usually good for 1 big upset a year but that’s usually against overrated UNC teams, not Clemson. Virginia is good, but Clemson is better. Keep your eyes on this for at least the first half. 

Trivia Question

Which FBS program has the most wins without a national championship?

Hint that will not help whatsoever: They are 15th in all-time wins with 786. 

Hint that might help courtesy of a riddle: Coal’s not White, but Slate can be. 

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Tate’s Great Picks (29-26)

Boston College (4-2) @ Virginia Tech (3-3): VT -7, O/U 49.5 - Thursday 7:30 pm ET ESPN

Pick VT -7: Boston College has looked a lot more iffy in recent weeks than they did at the beginning of the season, while Virginia Tech and their staff need this win more than just about anybody in the country this week. Lane Stadium will be rocking Thursday night, give me VT to cover this at home.

Auburn (2-4) @ #19 Missouri (5-1): MIZ -4.5, O/U 51.5 - Saturday 12:00 pm ET ESPN

Pick Missouri -4.5, U 51.5: This game is probably going to be pretty gross, but I’m expecting a couple of Auburn turnovers that lead to Mizzou points to allow Missouri to cover in a much-needed win. I do think this game will be played slowly with not many explosive plays on either side, though, so I’m riding the under as well.

Oklahoma State (3-3) @ #13 BYU (6-0): BYU -9, O/U 55.5 - Friday 8:00 pm ET ESPN

Pick BYU -9: We saw what a night crowd up in Provo can do to the Big 12’s best teams a few weeks ago when Kansas State got absolutely rocked, and Oklahoma State is not one of the Big 12’s best teams. BYU jumps to an early lead and OSU lets it snowball on them like they have several times this season - the Cougars keep on rolling.

#7 Alabama (5-1) @ #11 Tennessee (5-1): ALA -2.5, O/U 55.5 - Saturday 3:30 pm ET ABC

Pick Tennessee +2.5, O 55.5: This one is going to be a banger and while I could see it going either way, I think Tennessee’s offense is able to do enough through the air against Alabama’s struggling secondary, while their defense keeps Alabama’s offense relatively in check, to get this one done on Rocky Top.

#24 Michigan (4-2) @ #22 Illinois (5-1): MICH -3.5, O/U 43.5 - Saturday 3:30 pm ET CBS 

Pick Illinois +3.5: Do I think Jack Tuttle might provide Michigan with a little bit more of a passing game to keep them from being so one-dimensional? It’s possible, but what’s more possible is Illinois being able to tee off on Michigan’s run game and hitting multiple more explosive plays through the air than the Wolverines. Illinois covers - and wins - behind a rocking crowd to remain in the Big Ten title race.

Baylor (2-4) @ Texas Tech (5-1): TTU -6.5, O/U 59.5 - Saturday 4:00 pm ET ESPN2

Pick Texas Tech -6.5: Texas Tech has been rolling as of late, and Baylor is on the verge of firing its coach in the coming weeks. The Red Raiders are quietly very much alive in the Big 12 title race and will want this one more than Baylor. Tech pulls away in the 4th quarter to win by two scores.

South Carolina (3-3) @ Oklahoma (4-2): OU -2.5, O/U 41 - Saturday 12:45 pm ET SECN

Pick South Carolina +2.5: I feel like this line is flipped - South Carolina should be favored by a couple here. Oklahoma looks like it will once again be without most of its best receivers, and South Carolina’s front seven continues to absolutely obliterate SEC offensive lines week in and week out. That’s not a good sign for an already bad Oklahoma offensive line. It won’t be a blowout, but South Carolina will get this done on the road.

#5 Georgia (5-1) @ #1 Texas (6-0): TEX -5, O/U 56.5 - Saturday 7:30 pm ET ABC

Pick Georgia +5: Texas has been anointed the undisputed best team in the country and the national championship favorite despite having not yet played a team worth a damn while having a QB who continuously gets hurt and who has never performed at a high level for several consecutive games in his career. Carson Beck will tear up this Texas secondary and the Dawgs will remind the country who the best program in the country is. Dawgs 31 - Texas 27.

Wake Forest (2-4) @ UConn (4-2): CONN -1.5, O/U 56.5 - Saturday noon ET CBSSN

Pick Wake +1.5: If you people lose to UConn I’m making Rand do 500 pushups on Facebook Live.

OnlyRans (25-34)

New Mexico (2-4) @ Utah State (1-5): UNM -2, O/U 78.5 - Saturday 4:00 pm ET truTV

Pick Game Total under 78.5: Why in the hell is a game between the two worst Mountain West teams being played on the same network where you can catch Cops and Impractical Jokers doing on here? Well, thanks to Musk’s cesspool Twitter, I saw that games with an O/U of at least 78 the under is 5-0-1. You won’t get analysis anywhere else, except Twitter. 

#24 Michigan (4-2) @ #22 Illinois (5-1): MICH -3.5, O/U 43.5 - Saturday 3:30 pm ET CBS 

Pick Illinois +3.5: Tate’s lucky his betting section comes first because then I’d get to look like a genius. Illinois is at home and I can get them for more than a field goal? Yes, please. Luke Altmeyer is a vastly superior QB to whatever NPC Michigan is trotting out there and while their rush defense is meh, they force turnovers and have explosive offensive playmakers at reciever. Give me the Illini. 

Baylor (2-4) @ Texas Tech (5-1): TTU -6.5, O/U 59.5 - Saturday 4:00 pm ET ESPN2

Pick Texas Tech -6.5: Tate’s lucky his betting section comes first because then I’d get to look like a genius. Wait, I just said that. Alright, there are going to be some serious formatting changes in next week’s preview section. Speaking of changes, Baylor is coaching with a lame duck head coach and has one of the worst rushing defenses in the conference. Give me the home team with the best running back in the conference and the fanbase that regularly launches tortillas on the field for a completely unknown reason. 

Oklahoma State (3-3) @ #13 BYU (6-0): BYU -9, O/U 55.5 - Friday 8:00 pm ET ESPN

Pick BYU -9: Enough with the Tate is stealing my bets jokes even if it’s true. I’m going back to the well with my long-held philosophy that BYU and Utah are two of the toughest places to play in the country, especially at night. Give me the Cougs. 

UAB (1-5) @ South Florida (2-4): USF -13.5, O/U 57.5 - Saturday 3:30 pm ET ESPN+

Pick USF -13.5: Fading UAB is one of the best investments you can make right now and I will continue riding this wagon all the way to the Pacific Ocean. UAB made one of the worst hires in recent memory with Trent Dilfer and it’s difficult to proclaim this team quit because I don’t know if they ever bought in. This is a get-right game for USF and QB Byrum Brown who will hang 42 on the Blazers. 

East Carolina (3-3) @ #23 Army (6-0): Army -15.5, O/U 51.5 - Saturday 12:00 pm ET ESPN2

Pick Army -15.5: On the flip side of UAB, there’s Army who I am going to continue raking in money off of like a defense contractor whose college roommate works in the Pentagon. ECU is also on #quitwatch territory under head coach Mike Houston. Against Charlotte two weeks ago they gave up 6 TDs and 311 yards…on the ground. Not what you want to see going on the road against the best rushing team in college football. Army goes rolling along here. 

Fresno State (3-3) @ Nevada (3-4): FRES -3, O/U 50.5 - Friday 10:30 pm ET CBSSN

Pick Nevada +3: Way too many favorites for my liking but all my bets are guaranteed locks so it doesn’t matter. Nonetheless, let’s get into some upsets. Combined records of Fresno State’s three wins: 6-13. Nevada is coming off a big upset over Oregon State and outside of a road trip to Minnesota has played everyone on their schedule tough. I can go ahead and write my recap of this bet hitting thanks to the two-headed monster of RBs Savion Red and Brendon Lewis combining for 200 yards and 3 TDs on the ground. 

UCLA (1-5) @ Rutgers (4-2): RUTG -4.5, O/U 40.5 - Saturday 12:00 pm ET FS1

Pick Rutgers -4.5: Well that upset phase didn’t last long but let’s check in on UCLA’s travel schedule since Week 0 when they went to Hawai’i. Bye, home, at LSU, home, at Penn State, home, and now they’re heading back to the East Coast for a 12:00 pm local kickoff. Oh, they’re also one of the worst teams in the nation and have the second-worst scoring defense in the Big 10. 

Upset Call of the Week

The rules for this section are simple. We’re both going to pick a double-digit underdog to pull off the upset outright. This does not count for or against our betting totals above (not that it’d matter for Rand) but it’s simply for bragging rights.

Rand: Hawai’i +19 over Washington State. 

Tate: North Texas +10.5 over Memphis

Wake Forest

Wake Forest (2-4) @ UConn (4-2): CONN -1.5, O/U 56.5 - Saturday noon ET CBSSN

I only have fond memories of Wake Forest - UConn football games in my life and I’d like to keep it that way. In 2006, Wake played at UConn on their way to the ACC Championship and Orange Bowl. The game was on ESPN360 which was the precursor to ESPN3 and now ESPN+. Completely forgot that existed until I looked it up. Want another fun fact about a UConn Wake game from 18 years ago? Too bad. The starting QB for the Huskies in that game? DJ Hernandez, brother of Aaron Hernandez, who has unfortunately struggled with run-ins with law enforcement of his own. The Deacs won 24-13 despite having 209 yards of total offense and QB Riley Skinner only completing 7 total passes. Amazon Firesticks, Roku, and Smart TVs didn’t exist back then so I listened to the game on radio with my dad. Can’t wait to tell my kids about how good they have it. Back in my day, we ain’t have none of them high-tech knick-knacks! We were tougher, this generation is soft! You don’t want to work hard! Any other eye-gouging-worthy cliches I can throw in there? Anyways, fast forward to 2007, the Deacs were matched up with UConn in the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte. The game was freezing and had a steady rain the entire time but I had a blast with my dad because Wake won again 24-10.

Back to the game at hand…someone remind me why ACC teams exclusively schedule these no-win games on the road. Why did Duke go to Murfreesboro, TN this year? Why did Virginia travel to Conway, SC? NC State’s AD hung up the phone one day and told his comms director to write a press release that they’ll be traveling to Troy, AL in 2028. And why in the hell is Wake traveling to central Connecticut? What are we doing here? Connecticut doesn’t get enough hype for being one of the worst states in the country. They’re lucky New Jersey exists in such close proximity. 

While I’d like to write a short and sweet Hoo-Rah piece about how Wake is going to dismantle this glorified FCS program, I’m obligated to dive into the 2024 UConn Huskies to see why Vegas has them favored. Their two losses are getting blown out by Maryland and a close loss to Duke in a game they should’ve won in Durham. They’ve annihilated Merrimack, FAU, and Buffalo at home as well as escaping Temple. Combined record of those programs you might ask? 9-15. Woooooo, go Huskies. I’m guessing Vegas likes the matchup for the Huskies who are 15th in the nation with 220 rushing yards/game and 23rd averaging 35.8 points per game. Wake’s D is not good at stopping the run, or many offenses in general, but again 9-15. What am I doing here? I’ll do revisionist history, should’ve taken them more seriously, kum ba yah moment if we lose. It’s UConn. Let’s kick the shit out of them and get on with our lives. Deacs by a million.  

Where In The World Are We?

Tate: As you’re reading this, I’ll be on a flight on my way to Austin to watch the Dawgs take on the #1 team in the land. It’ll be my first time at DKR, and while I’ve heard it can be a bit of a sleepy stadium, I know that the Texas crowd will be ready to rock for a night game against Georgia as the #1 team in the country. Excited to see a new stadium and excited to watch the Dawgs in yet another primetime matchup on the road, but I am not excited about the amount of Europeans that will be there to watch a bunch of cars drive around. I will be barking at several Belgians.

Rand: I love college football, I love Wake Forest football, and I love traveling. The symbiotic relationship between those three entities is personally harmonized when Wake Forest football goes on the road. Not only are road trips awesome because I get to see friends and family but there’s a different kind of elation I feel when Wake marches into someone's homecoming and beats their ass as underdogs. Looking at you NC State. The bounds of my love for these escapades were seemingly endless until Wake scheduled an away game in East Hartford, CT. I will not be in that hell hole and I’ll stop talking like a Baroque-era poetry teacher. I will either spend my Saturday rotting on my couch in Atlanta or bar hopping in Nashville. I made the correct decision…right?

Trivia answer: West Virginia. Rand somehow came up with that riddle himself and it was in reference to coal mining, Pat White, and Steve Slaton. Someone tell his 9th-grade English teacher he in fact was paying attention. 

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Rand Fisher & Tate Smillie met a few years ago through their good buddy Dave Peljovich who went to college with Rand and high school with Tate. Tate went to Georgia and has spent the last two years collecting championship rings while traveling to watch the Dawgs. Rand went to known CFB powerhouse Wake Forest and currently pays rent in Atlanta but is rarely found there with all the work & CFB travel he does.