Opening Drive:
BREAKING NEWS: Oklahoma State fired head coach Mike Gundy on Tuesday. Oklahoma State was 1-11 in its last 12 games. Gundy will be owed $15 million by the school. Is Deion Sanders a candidate for any of the current openings?
MORE BREAKING NEWS: Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman front-runner, John Mateer, is out for at least the next 4 weeks with a broken hand suffered in last week’s game against Auburn.
1st Down: Indiana destroys Illinois. Did we forget to Google Curt Cignetti? All this guy does is win.
Fact from ESPN: At a school that averaged 4.1 victories a season in the three decades before his arrival, Cignetti is now 15-2, and those two losses came on the road against last season's national champion (Ohio State) and runner-up (Notre Dame).
2nd Down: Is Texas Tech the Best Team Money Can Buy? The Red Raiders score a big road win, 34-10, in Utah, showing they may be the best of the Big XII.
3rd Down: Clemson Loses a Third Game: Dabo Swinney’s Tigers dropped their third game of the season, 34-21, to Syracuse, just a few days after a heated press conference where he asked if Clemson was tired of winning. What now for the imbattled coach?
4th Down: Gators Lose a Third Game: The Gators show fight against Miami in a 26-7 loss, but are coach Billy Napier’s days in Gainesville numbered? And John discusses not the Gator loss, but that the Canes move up after only leading by six against a listless team in the fourth quarter.
Extra Point 1: Scheduling: ACC approves 9-game conference schedule, to align with the other Power 4 conferences. SEC, meanwhile, will feature 3 annual opponents for the next four seasons. John’s Gators get: Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina.
Extra Point 2: Manning Taunts Us & Sam Houston. Arch busts his slump against Sam Houston, going 18-21 passing, with 309 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-0 victory. Did he get in trouble with his mommy?
Extra Point 3: Michigan State’s Wayne Matthews III was carted off the field early Sunday morning (EST) in its game against USC. Jason Bennetti, the play-by-play man, is one of the most fun to watch/listen to.
Watch Tailgators Setup Podcast on Substack:
John’s Game of the Week:
No. 6 Oregon at No. 3 Penn State (-3.5), 7:30 p.m. NBC/Peacock
Coach James Franklin visited Montrose High School last Thursday night to see 3-star recruit Tavian Branch (Riverside H.S.) play.
Oregon defeated Oregon State 41-7 last week. Penn State was idle.
Penn State lost to No. 1 Oregon 45-37 in last year’s Big Ten championship game.
Who has more pressure on them? Drew Allar or James Franklin?
Tickets starting at $389
James Franklin's Got an Excuse
Last Thursday night, in Montrose, Pennsylvania, the highest-paid state employee was given a police escort to a high school football game.
No. 17 Alabama at No. 5 Georgia (-2.5), 7:30 p.m. ABC
Is this do-or-die for Alabama’s playoff hopes?
Georgia lost to No. 4 Alabama 41-34 last season.
Tickets starting at $403
Apologies to No. 4 LSU and No. 13 Ole Miss (-1.5), 3:30 p.m. on ABC, which would probably be a GOTW selection if not for this weekend’s loaded slate of marquee games.
The(#notsponsored) Hooters Pick’em Challenge:
Gary got off to a fast start with Iowa’s big win against Rutgers this week. Meanwhile, Brian got done dirty by the Hogs and Spartans. And what was John thinking taking Tulane?
Let’s see if Gary, now in the driver’s seat, can extend his lead this week…
Last Week: Gary: 17-3; John: 14-6; Brian: 13-7
Year To Date: Gary: 79-19; John: 77-21: Brian: 70-28
Iowa-Under: No. 11 Indiana at Iowa, 3:30 p.m. on Peacock. O/U: 48.5
Gary’s Cocktail of the Week/The Stadium Series:
This week WE ARE heading to Penn State, Happy Valley, and Beaver Stadium.
Leave It To Beaver:
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Kahlua
2 oz RumChata
1 oz heavy cream
Fill glass with crushed ice.
Add vodka and Kahula.
Top with RumChata and heavy cream and stir to combine.
Victory Brewing Company:
420 Acorn Lane Downingtown PA 19335
Witty Monkey
9.5% ABV Fruited Wheat Beer
Heisman Watch:
Maybe this will be the year a Heisman Trophy isn’t awarded. In the meantime, we’ll look at some quarterbacks making moves this past week:
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon: Threw 31 times for 305 yards and four touchdowns, all season highs last week against Oregon State. Has the opportunity for a Heisman moment this week in face-off with Penn State in a White Out.
Beau Pribula, QB, Missouri: Has completed 72 percent of his passes with an 8-to-2 INT-to-TD ratio for the undefeated Tigers. Does Penn State and James Franklin regret letting him walk?
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana: The Cal transfer has 14 touchdown passes with no interceptions and is completing 76.8% of his passes, but it’s not been against the best competition. He plays Iowa this week.
Haynes King, QB, Georgia Tech: Might not have the gaudy numbers, but is there a more valuable player to his team?
Josh Hoover, QB, TCU: Has thrown for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns with only two interceptions this season, including 379 yards and five touchdowns against SMU.
Jayden Maiava, QB, USC: Has led the Trojans to a 4-0 record while throwing for 1,223 yards, nine touchdowns and zero interceptions while adding three scores on the ground and ranking first in QBR.
Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M: Has led the undefeated Aggies by throwing for 869 yards and 9 TDs against 1 interception this year. What does he have in store for Auburn?
Rest In Peace: To former App State head coach Shawn Clark, who was currently an assistant at UCF. Clark, 50, was admitted to a local hospital on September 9th after experiencing a medical emergency. Clark had a 40-24 record in five season at App State, and joined UCF last season. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
