Week 6 Recap

Good morning and welcome to 4th & Forever, Rand & Tate’s College Football Newsletter. We try to keep a more positive vibe in our intro’s here, but we simultaneously want to talk about Iowa’s dreadful offense once again - so let’s try to combine the two! Iowa defeated Purdue 20-14 on Saturday, while comically large Hawkeye quarterback Deacon Hill went 6-21 and did not complete a pass to a receiver. We make fun of Iowa’s offense quite a bit around here, but dammit if the Hawkeyes don’t consistently pull out the ugliest wins you’ve ever seen regardless. Good for you, Iowa. Your offense may be a crime against humanity, but you’re 5-1 and have a very real shot at winning the Big 10 West. We don’t know how you do it. The rest of Week 6 provided a lot more offensive excitement than Iowa did, so without further ado, let’s get to it!

Disappointing Defeats

When you’re facing a Notre Dame team that hasn’t lost to an ACC opponent in their last 30 attempts, a good blueprint to pull off the upset might include protecting the football, forcing turnovers, and ensuring your star players show up. Check, check, and check for the Cards. Irish QB Sam Hartman will likely never step foot in the city of Louisville again as he followed up his 6 turnover game last year when he played for the Deacs with a 3 interception, 2 fumble night as the Cards won 33-20 and sacked Hartman 5 times. Louisville RB Jawhar Jordan went for 143 yards and 2 rushing TDs while WR Jamari Thrash had 8 receptions for 75 yards and a TD. #25 Louisville (6-0) is one of the three unbeaten teams left in the ACC and doesn’t have to face Clemson, #5 Florida State, or #14 UNC in the regular season. #10 Notre Dame (5-2) limps back to South Bend ahead of their monster matchup with #9 USC and Caleb Williams this weekend.

If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favor and go watch the last 2 minutes of the Georgia Tech-Miami game because Canes head coach Mario Cristobal committed coaching malpractice and should be tried at The Hague. Up 20-17 with 36 seconds left, #17 Miami (4-1) had the ball and literally needed to take a knee as Georgia Tech didn’t have any timeouts left and the clock would’ve run out. Instead, Mario Cristobal decided to run the ball and RB Don Chaney fumbled. Georgia Tech (3-3) then went 76 yards in 24 seconds and threw a 44-yard go-ahead touchdown pass with 2 seconds remaining. This is the same Georgia Tech team that lost to Bowling Green last weekend and while we’re at it, Bowling Green lost 27-0 to Miami (OH) this past weekend. This inexcusable blunder by Mario Cristobal certainly did not dispel the notion that he can’t coach and can only recruit. Additionally, he lost a game when he was at Oregon in almost the exact same manner.

If it weren’t for Cristobal’s complete and utter disregard for intellect, we think the college football world would be a lot more focused on Jimbo Fisher’s horrible game management in Texas A&M’s 26-20 loss to Alabama. Jimbo lost this football game for the Aggies with his nonsensical insistence on the most conservative game management you can imagine. With the game tied 17-17 late in the 3rd quarter, Jimbo punted on a 4th and 1 from the Alabama 44. Alabama immediately drove down the field and took a 24-17 lead. On the Aggies’ ensuing offensive possession early in the 4th quarter, QB Max Johnson drove A&M right back down to the Alabama 45, where Jimbo again elected to punt the ball on 4th and short. Jimbo managed the game like he didn’t really want to win it that badly, and he got what he deserved in the end. Brutal for the Aggies who had a great chance to take command of the SEC West with a win.

Cathartic Comebacks

There must be a byline in the Cotton Bowl contract that the Texas-OU game has to be a thriller because this year’s matchup lived up to the hype and then some. After Texas kicked a field goal to go up 3 with a little over a minute left, Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel (23/38 for 285 yards and a touchdown plus 113 rushing yards and a touchdown) led a 75-yard, no-timeout touchdown drive to win the game 34-30. Oklahoma (6-0) should cakewalk into the Big 12 Championship Game in Dallas, where they’ll likely meet Texas (5-1) again with a playoff spot on the line. We can probably simulate the rest of the Big 12 season as no one looks capable of hanging with Texas or OU, but this is college football and crazy stuff is bound to happen. Watch out for Kansas who is quietly 5-1 and just hung 399 rushing yards on UCF in their 51-22 win and should get QB Jalon Daniels back soon.

#9 USC tried their hardest to land on the wrong side of the most shocking upset in CFB this year, but Caleb Williams continues to prove he’s almost impossible to beat, no matter how bad USC’s defense is. USC (6-0) dug themselves into a 17-0 hole against Arizona (3-3) and let some freshmen QB named Noah Fifita pass for 303 yards and 5 TDs against them. Then Caleb Williams entered the fray and led USC all the way back before ultimately winning 43-41. If it weren’t for Mario Cristobal’s & Jimbo Fisher’s (no known relation to Rand thank god) complete and utter disregard for intellect, USC head coach Lincoln Riley would be equally eviscerated if USC didn’t end up winning the game after the coaching malpractice clinic he put the Trojans through at the end of regulation. Driving to kick the game-winning field goal inside Arizona’s 10-yard line with less than 20 seconds left, Riley opted to call two passing plays which resulted in an incompletion and a fumbled snap. USC would then miss the 25-yard chip shot field goal but held on to win in the third overtime.

#4 Ohio State (5-0) beat the upset minded Terps 37-17 but this game was a lot closer than the box score will tell you. Maryland (5-1) was up 17-10 in the third quarter until Ohio State finally decided to give up running the ball (26 carries for 84 yards) and remembered they had the best wide receiver prospect since Calvin Johnson. WR Marvin Harrison Jr. went for 163 yards and a touchdown on 8 catches while Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa barely completed 50% of his passes and threw two picks. Ohio State’s defense showed up yet again as their offense still figures out their rhythm. We recommend they figure out how to throw the ball to Harrison Jr on every play before #6 Penn State (5-0) comes to town in 3 weeks.

#23 LSU (4-2) defeated #21 Missouri (5-1) on the road in Columbia 49-39, but the Bayou Bengals were trailing at multiple points during the 4th quarter. It took an absolutely heroic performance from QB Jayden Daniels, who had been knocked out of the game with an injury but came back in to put the team on his back. Daniels had a 35-yard touchdown run to take LSU’s first lead of the 4th quarter, and after Missouri took the lead back, Daniels led the LSU offense down the field again and threw a 30-yard touchdown to star wide receiver Malik Nabors with under 3 minutes to play to help secure the win for the Tigers. It sucks that LSU’s defense is so dogsh*t this year because Jayden Daniels is having a Heisman-caliber season. Big win for LSU who still has a real chance to make it to the SEC Championship Game.

Quick Hitters

Shoutout to the Pokes & Oklahoma State (3-2) for proving they have a pulse after beating Kansas State (3-2) 29-21 on Friday night in Stillwater. The reigning Big 12 champs are sorely missing RB Deuce Vaughn and key players from their defense last year. #24 Fresno State (5-1) learned that Laramie, Wyoming is one of the toughest Group of 5 environments to play in, especially with how well Craig Bohl has that defense playing in a 24-19 loss. Wyoming (5-1) is the leader in the clubhouse for the coveted Group of 5 New Year’s Six Bowl spot, but a tough test against Air Force (5-0) awaits next weekend. This week’s Big 10 battle of futility saw Nebraska beat Illinois 20-7 and questions are starting to percolate out of Champaign if Bret Bielema is the right guy for the job. Dual-threat Nebraska QB Heinrich Haarberg is certainly an improvement over turnover machine Jeff Sims but don’t look at his stat line from this game, or anyone’s stats for that matter, we don’t even know why we brought this game to your attention.

#2 Michigan (6-0) stomped Minnesota (3-3) 52-10 but we’re still a month away until you need to give Michigan an ounce of your attention. Northwestern moved to 3-3 after surviving Howard 23-20 with a backup QB and per human decency standards, we won’t rehash the Iowa-Purdue game again. However, that doesn’t stop us from mentioning an even worse QB performance than the one seen in Iowa City. Boston College’s Thomas Castellanos finished the day 4/9 for 73 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception but the Eagles still managed to beat Army 27-24.

#5 Florida State & #14 UNC remained unbeaten after they handled Virginia Tech & Syracuse respectively while Virginia got their first and potentially only win of the season against former coach Mike London and William & Mary. #15 Oregon State (5-1) finally got QB DJ Uiagalelei rolling as he threw for 5 TDs in their 52-40 win over Cal (3-3).

Holding Ourselves Accountable

OnlyRans: Last week: 5-7 - Season Record: 22-25

W & L - Colorado -4.5 & Game Total Under 60.5: Beat Arizona State 27-24

W - LSU -5.5: beat Mizzou 49-39

W - Bama -2.5: beat Texas A&M 26-20

L - Marshall +6.5: lost to N.C. State 48-41

L - Boise State -9.5: beat San Jose State 35-27

L - USF -3.5: lost to UAB 56-35

W & W - Ohio State -19.5 & Game Total Under 58: beat Maryland 37-17

W - Oklahoma +6.5: beat Texas 34-30

L & L - Kentucky +14.5 & Game Total Under 49: lost to Georgia 51-13

L - Washington State ML: lost to UCLA 25-17

Close only counts in horseshoes and grenades, but still pretty brutal that three of my L’s were by a combined 3.5 points. Marshall couldn’t take advantage of new N.C. State QB MJ Morris throwing three picks as turnovers of their own doomed their comeback bid. Also, 38 rushing attempts for 104 yards and 2.7 yards/attempt is probably not going to win you many football games, especially against State’s defense. Arizona State turned their game against Colorado into a rock fight and nearly won it before Shedeur Sanders led a 50-yard drive to set up the game-winning 43-yard field goal with 12 seconds left. Other than that, I promise I’ll never bet against the Dawgs on a Saturday night in Athens (maybe) as Kentucky looked like a Pop Warner squad out there. UCLA’s defense stifled one of the most dynamic QBs in the country, Cam Ward, which is a sentence I didn’t ever think I’d type about a Chip Kelly-coached team. It was a losing week, but my season record remains just under .500. Could be better, could definitely be worse…just read below.

Tate’s Great Picks: Last Week: 2-4 - Season Record: 10-23

L - USF -3.5: Lost to UAB 56-35

W - Michigan -19: Beat Michigan 52-10

L - Colorado -4.5: Beat Arizona State 27-24

W - Arizona @ USC O 72: USC won 43-41

L - FSU -24: Beat Virginia Tech 39-17

L - CMU -3: Lost to Buffalo 37-13

Underdog ML Sprinkle Parlay… lost

Whatever man. This season makes no sense at all. UAB had looked horrible all year while USF held Alabama to 17 points 3 weeks ago. So of course, UAB puts up 56 points and wins on the road. Buffalo started the season 0-4 while Central Michigan looked like one of the better teams in the MAC, so, naturally, Buffalo blew the doors off CMU. My Colorado and FSU picks lost by a combined total of 3.5 points, because the football betting gods are playing some sort of sick joke on me this season. It is what it is at this point, I’m a big fat dumb idiot. At least me and Kirby Smart have that in common.

Wake Forest & Georgia

Georgia (6-0) - #1 UGA 51 - #20 Kentucky 13: Finally, finally, FINALLY the Dawgs looked like the best team in the country and like we have a legitimate shot at the three-peat. One of the Dawgs major concerns that we’ve talked about all year has been their inability to start quickly, allowing inferior teams to hang around for a while. On Saturday, the Dawgs scored points on each of their first six possessions. Carson Beck continues to look more and more comfortable and is actually starting to look like one of the better quarterbacks in the country at this point - his 28/35, 389-yard, 4-touchdown performance was just methodical, and the team’s confidence in him seems to be really high at the moment. Another big question mark coming into the game was the Dawgs’ lackluster performance on the offensive line this season, particularly in the run game, matched up against a really strong Kentucky defensive line. The Dawgs answered that question too, though, rushing for 173 yards on 5.6 yards per carry. The Georgia defense looks like it’s rounding into shape, too.

A few more things that I found really encouraging from Saturday’s dominant performance: Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (4 catches, 99 yards, 1 TD) continues to be a leader both vocally and with his on-field performance so far this season. The X Receiver position was a bit of an unknown headed into this season, and MRJ has really stepped up in his senior year. Definitely one of my favorite Dawgs of the last few years.

MRJ isn’t the only one stepping up to answer the X Receiver question, because folks, Rara Thomas is the real f**king deal. It took a little bit longer for Rara to get up to speed after transferring from Mike Leach’s Air Raid system at Mississippi State, but boy oh boy is he starting to look like a game changer for this offense. Rara had 5 catches for 63 yards and 1 absolutely beautiful touchdown. This was awesome to see - Rara’s presence changes this offense in a big way.

Brock Bowers is really good at the football. He should be in New York as a Heisman finalist in December, it’s as simple as that.

Great to see Jamon Dumas Johnson break out and have a big game. He is a big leader for this defense and needed to step his game up a little bit, and he definitely did on Saturday.

Jalon Walker is really starting to round into form. He is going to be a menace for opposing offenses down the stretch this season.

Wake Forest (3-2) - Deacs 12 - Clemson 17: If you thought Iowa-Purdue was a tough watch, then you didn’t watch the Wake game and if you’re looking for competent offensive performances, avert your eyes. I’ll be adding the 2023 game to my list of pain. Sigh. The Deacs played the best defensive game I’ve seen in years as they held Clemson QB Cade Klubnik to 131 yards passing. RB Will Shipley had 97 yards and a touchdown on the ground with 5 mins to go which iced the game for the Tigers. Wake QB Mitch Griffis didn’t turn the ball over which is an improvement but only managed 137 yards through the air. Before you start blaming Mitch and wanting to put in Michael Kern, pump the brakes, please. Clemson’s defensive line is a matchup nightmare for 99% of college football teams, and due to injuries Wake was mixing and matching OL personnel all day. Did Mitch hold onto the ball too long sometimes and miss reads & throws? Yes, but go look at box scores of what Hartman and Wolford have done against Clemson in Death Valley over the years and it’s not any better. We’re not benching him.

As mentioned before, Dave Clawson has raised the standards and expectations of this program to previously unthinkable heights. But we are not turning into an irrational, ‘fire everybody’ fanbase. Wake’s starting RB Justice Ellison tweaked his ankle after 1 carry and never returned, WR Wesley Grimes fumbled in Clemson territory, LB and team captain Chase Jones still hasn’t been cleared to play this year from a concussion, Wake went 2-12 on third down, couldn’t punch it in on 4th & goal from the 2, didn’t sack Klubnik once, and still had a chance to win this game. There’s not much else to say, the result is frustrating but expected. Wake’s season is still in front of them, and they really need to regroup before they head to Lane Stadium to face the Hokies next Saturday where they haven’t won since 1983. On to the next, Go Deacs.

Texts of the Week

“How about this for next week's quote: “If you spent as much time talking to girls as you do on this website, you might have a date :)" - Rand's mom” … Thanks, Mom.

“This man’s testicles have grown tenfold” - Jason Levenstiem on Carson Beck

“Alec, for your wedding gift I’m getting you and Hayley a prepaid Visa card that can only be spent on extremely specific NCAA player stat parlays.” - Adam David

“These mf’s got a tight end named Dingle. If we let Dingle get a single catch I’m turning the television off.” - Jason Levenstiem, now talking about dingles for a second time on the night

“Legally speaking, there’s nothing preventing Carson Beck from becoming the next Speaker of the House.” - Adam David

Hope you have a fantastic Monday, and we will talk to you again on Thursday.

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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.