4-Down Territory: ESPN College Game-DEI Goes Berserkeley, Big Ten Tune-Ups & Playoff Lurkers....

ESPN College GameDay is WHERE?: #8 Miami at Cal (3-1) 10:30 ESPN: Gameday makes its debut at Cal, as in Cal-Berkeley. First, there are a thousand former Alabama players who’ve wondered what might happen if Coach Saban got hit by the mellowing influence of cannabis. If the wind blows right Saturday morning and hits Saban on the "GameDEI" set, they may get their wish. That may leave Coach Saban looking for some more of his favorite Little Debbie Oatmeal pies. Second, if you haven’t seen the twitter content being produced by Cal fans this year, you are missing one of the best stories this season. The #Calgorithm celebrates in an exceptionally funny way their “Woke” fans invading places like Auburn, Alabama and Tallahassee, Florida. They threatened to make FSU Doak Campbell Stadium into “Woke” Campbell Stadium complete with a halftime show on critical race theory. The memes have been so good that we’ve attached a gallery of some of the best.

And for this one, they’ve taken a page from the “Catholics vs Convicts” Notre Dame/ Miami theme and dubbed it “Commies vs Convicts”. Before any MAGA fans get too upset, lighten up, enjoy some laughs and recognize that college football is for fun, laughs and some good satire. As for the game, Miami made a great escape to top Virginia Tech last week, with some help from a holding call on a fake field goal and a bizarre instant replay on a Hail Mary pass that would’ve given Tech the upset. Cal is a play or two away from being undefeated and has a real chance to win a game that will be kicking off at 10:30 eastern. The Miami defense will have to improve as the season winds along if they are going to be a serious playoff team. But this one promises to be fun to watch. Enjoy the memes......

First Down: Undefeated and Unappreciated: There are a number of undefeated teams that can rightly claim that they should be getting some love and respect from the pollsters…...Pitt (4-0) at UNC (3-2) 12:00 ESPN2: Pitt’s QB Eli Holstein has a name fit for a PA Amish kid, but this Louisiana native can sling it like Harrison Ford's character in Witness. His twelve TDs with just 2 INTs has propelled a Pitt offense that is 5th nationally in scoring and 6th in total offense. UNC's defense will need to slow Pitt down to give their offense a chance…..Navy (4-0) at Air Force (1-3) 12:00 CBS: The game that stands out now is Navy’s 56-44 win over Memphis. Before the season the Tigers were seen as a dark horse pick to win the league and make the college football playoff. Navy QB Blake Horvath makes this team go. He is the leading rusher and has already thrown 44 passes in 4 games, which is a big number for Navy. As he goes, so go the Midshipmen……Army (4-0) at Tulsa (2-3) 12:00 ESPNU: Much like Navy, the Army QB is the straw that stirs the drink (Tip of the cap to Mr. October Reggie Jackson for that line). Bryson Daily is getting the ball to the right RBs while also leading the team in rushing. Getting ready for these guys in a week is a tough task for Tulsa…..Rutgers (4-0) at Nebraska (4-1) 4:00 FS1: The similarities here are everywhere. Both coaches Greg Schiano and Matt Rhule are about defense, toughness and getting into a football street fight. Last week Rutgers held Washington to 2/12 on third downs, had a goal-line fourth down stop and held on for a 21-18 win over Washington in front of a packed house. Nebraska is a team that should be undefeated too. QB Dylan Raiola gets better each week and his play could be the difference in this game. Rutgers is not as stout upfront against the run as last year, so look for Nebraska to try and establish that. Rutgers wants to run the ball too and has two good backs in Kyle Monongai and Samuel Brown…….#23 Indiana (5-0) at Northwestern (2-2) 3:30 Big Ten Network: Indiana has at least gotten love from the polls debuting at #23. Their offense is lighting it up ranking #9 in total offense and #3 in scoring. But they’ve also gotten a number of disruption plays on defense with sacks, INTs, and fumble recoveries keeping their opponents off balance. It is the same formula Coach Curt Cignetti utilized at JMU last year…..JMU (4-0) at Louisiana-Monroe (3-1) 7:00 ESPNU: Speaking of JMU, they have a win over UNC and now face off against the other current division leader in the Sun Belt conference Saturday night.

Second Down: Big Ten Prep Quizzes: Next weekend, there is potential for the Big Ten to have a blockbuster double-header of top 10 matchups on the West Coast. But to get there the four teams will have to survive pop quizzes and tests this week starting Friday night in Eugene…..Michigan State (3-2) at #6 Oregon (4-0) 9:00 FOX: If you’re looking for a gauge for next week’s OSU/Oregon showdown this is it. Michigan State lost to Ohio State last week and now faces the Ducks. The Oregon o-line is continuing to develop as they look to build a run game that their pass game can be proud of…..Iowa (3-1) at #3 Ohio State (4-0) 3:30 CBS: The Hawkeyes are running the ball better than they have the past several seasons. That will give the OSU d-line it’s biggest test of the year. While OSU has two great RBs to throw at you, Iowa’s RB Kaleb Johson takes a backseat to no one. This 225-pounder is tough to tackle and has seen his yards per carry jump from 4.0 last year to 8.4 this year. And being from Hamilton, OH he will be geared up to put on a great show in his Buckeye-state home. The Ohio State offense has weapons everywhere and will be a huge test for the Hawkeye defense……UCLA (1-3) at #7 Penn State (4-0) 12:00 FOX:  UCLA comes to Penn State for the first time since October 7, 1967, when the 4th-ranked Bruins won 17-15. Penn State did not lose another game until September 26, 1970 (almost 3 full years). Before Penn State can think about the trip to USC next week, they have to contend with the other LA team. Now both teams are in the Big Ten and UCLA has the wildest swing in kickoff times. Last week they kicked off at 8 p.m. Pacific time and this noon eastern game will kick off at 9 am pacific. This will be the 4th different time zone they have played in and this game against #7 Penn State finishes a string of four games against teams currently ranked (#23 Indiana, #13 LSU and #6 Oregon). If UCLA can protect their QB, they may find some success as they did against LSU. UCLA is simply a rebuilding team that is overscheduled right now. That is why they’re dangerous, if they get things to click on a given Saturday, they could be a problem. Penn State has become a run-oriented offense and that has served them well so far. And their second half defense has been the story of the season so far……#11 USC (3-1) at Minnesota (2-3) 7:30 Big Ten Network: THE question for USC’s offense all comes down to protecting QB Miller Moss. He has taken a lot of hits this season. When they protect him, he has a set of WRs that from top to bottom is as good as or better than everyone in the Big Ten outside of Columbus, Ohio. On defense, the Trojans continue to get better each week. As for Minnesota, the Gophers gave Michigan all they could handle and only a controversial offsides penalty kept them from getting a chance to beat Michigan. QB Max Brosmer clicked with a short passing game that helped them make the late run……#10 Michigan at Washington (3-2) 7:30 NBC: Michigan’s west coast swing is this week. The Michigan defense continues to thrive on chaos and getting to the quarterback. But Washington has the ability to get the ball out quickly and can mix in the run. The Huskies are two plays from being 5-0. Their defense is good against the run and has a set of DBs that can take the Michigan WRs out of the game. Expect the Huskies to really pressure the run game to force an anemic Michigan pass offense to beat them.  

Third Down: Playoff Lurkers: Non-Power-4 teams and ACC & Big 12 teams are all lurking for spots in the 12-team playoff. And as the season continues, once you think you know what’s coming, someone surprises you…..Syracuse (3-1) at #25 UNLV (4-0) 9:00 FS1: Syracuse QB Kyle McCord is playing well enough for the Orange to be potential ACC contenders. Some NIL drama led UNLV’s season-starting QB to opt out. How did UNLV respond? New QB Hajj-Malik Williams threw for 182 yards and 3 TDs while adding 119 yards on the ground and another TD in a 59-14 rout of Fresno State. In the name of all that is holy in college football, let’s hope he continues to play at that level to prove that NIL opt out players are not bigger than the program…..Utah State (1-3) at #21 Boise State (3-1) 7:00 FS2: Boise State is one play at Oregon away from being undefeated. Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty leads the nation is rushing and is almost 200 yards ahead of the next guy. Look for him to put up another big night….#15 Clemson (3-1) at Florida State (1-4) 7:00 ESPN: Don’t look now but Clemson is lurking in what looks like it could be a wide-open ACC. Their offense is carrying the mail right now. And the schedule looks favorable. Florida State is struggling right now to find an identity. They’ll be starting a new QB this week due to injuries and that may be the spark they need…..SMU (4-1) at #22 Louisville (3-1) 12:00 ESPN: SMU is dangerous. They can score a lot of points and that loss to BYU that looked bad a few weeks ago looks very different now. Louisville had a tough loss at Notre Dame and struggled at times to slow down the Irish offense. SMU presents an even bigger challenge. Louisville should be able to put points up on the Mustangs, but can they score enough to get the win……Baylor (2-3) at #16 Iowa State (4-0) 7:30 FOX: In the wide-open Big 12, Iowa State would seem to have as good a shot at the conference title and a playoff berth as anyone else. And the main reason for that, is that they are playing well on defense. As for Baylor, they’ve found some creative ways to lose the last two games. If they can stay consistent through all sixty minutes they could throw a scare into Iowa State.

Fourth Down: Ups vs Downs: Some teams are riding high, some coming off tough losses, but in the 12-team playoff era, all hope is not lost (for some teams)…..Auburn (2-3) at #5 Georgia (3-1) 3:30 ABC: Auburn has QB drama, and not in a good way. They had Oklahoma right where they wanted them before a pick-6 turned the game around. Georgia found the big-play offense they’d been missing so far, but Alabama got had one big play more than the Dawgs. This is one of the South’s oldest rivalries and some strange things can happen. But a focused UGA team spells big trouble for Auburn….#9 Missouri (4-0) at #25 Texas A&M (4-1) 12:00 ABC: The Tigers are back in the Top 10 but do they deserve to be there? This trip will be a good test to see if Mizzou is good enough or is just coasting on the respect they earned last year…..#12 Ole Miss (4-1) at South Carolina (3-1) 3:30 ESPN: It turns out that Kentucky’s defense was good enough to handle Ole Miss, but they were helped by keeping the ball away from the Rebels offense. Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart and company remain every bit as dangerous as they’ve been. But teams will now try to limit their possessions and keep them off the field. That makes it necessary to be patient, stay focused and play efficient football…….#4 Tennessee (4-0) at Arkansas (3-2) 7:30 ABC: The Vols lead the nation in scoring, but are they that good? They scored 71 against Kent State, 69 against Chattanooga and 51 against NC State. By way of reference there are 133 FBS teams in NCAA statistics and Kent State ranks 133rd in scoring defense and NC State ranks 120th. As for Chattanooga, they rank 97th in scoring defense among the 123 FBS teams. So, to say the Tennessee numbers might be skewed is certainly a viable argument. Arkansas will be a step up in competition from those three teams the Vols feasted on. The Razorbacks have dropped two tough games to ranked opponents, so they’ll be itching to prove how good they are.