I’m going to start today by saying that ESPN is an absolute joke.
If I ever had any aspirations of writing for ESPN in the future, I’m probably putting an end to those chances right now — but I have to say it.
As a YouTube TV customer, I was informed that all Disney-owned networks would be taken off the air because of a contract dispute. I was then flooded with what can only be described as shameless propaganda across every ESPN platform, with employees begging fans to “save their networks.”
I firmly believe this is no coincidence. ESPN recently launched a new streaming service — separate from the ESPN+ I already pay for — called ESPN Unlimited, which gives access to all ESPN channels.
Why are there two streaming services from ESPN, you ask? One word: money.
Now, ESPN wants to charge Google more to carry their content on YouTube TV, and Google didn’t agree. This whole dispute just happens to perfectly highlight ESPN’s new streaming platform — one they can promote heavily, get people to sign up for, and then jack up the price later.
When I first subscribed to ESPN+ back in 2020, I paid $60 a year. My most recent bill was more than double that — an increase of over 100% in less than five years. Don’t be fooled. ESPN and Disney are the villains here, trying to squeeze more money out of consumers while caring less and less about the actual product they put out.
Thankfully, thanks to my loving parents who still pay for cable, I was able to log into the ESPN app through their account and watch games yesterday.
And speaking of ESPN’s “innovations,” they’ve been bombarding us with Multiview ads — bragging about a feature they didn’t even invent and are years late to implement. So, I decided to check it out. During the morning window of college football, the only Multiview options available? European soccer.
What. A. Joke.
No One is Safe November
Enough about large corporations trying to ruin the great sport we love — let’s get back to young adults moving the football up and down the field and filling the pockets of… different large corporations tied to education.
As the calendar turned to November, chaos reigned across college football. Outside of the top two teams in the nation, it was pure madness. Six ranked teams lost to either unranked or lower-ranked opponents — three of those losses coming inside the top 10. Even teams that survived, like Georgia, Virginia, Louisville, Michigan, and USC, didn’t do so without at least a little anxiety along the way.
One of the key games of the week featured Vanderbilt, riding high on their newfound top-10 ranking, traveling to Texas to take on a Longhorns team I had all but written off as an SEC contender. With Texas’s soft SEC schedule to this point — their only quality win coming against an Oklahoma team I was already skeptical of — I didn’t think Arch Manning had it in him to deliver in a big game. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt had been riding the ever-energetic (and maybe cocky) Diego Pavia to a 7–1 start. The last thing I expected to see after three quarters was a 34–10 Texas lead.
Texas came out firing, scoring on their first play from scrimmage and forcing a turnover on their first defensive possession. When Eli Stowers finally found the end zone for Vanderbilt, it only cut into a 21-point lead. It seemed like the game was out of reach when Vanderbilt scored to make it 34–17 in the fourth quarter. But a one-play drive made it 34–24, and suddenly the Commodores had life. Another touchdown cut the lead to three, and with no timeouts left and under a minute to go, Vanderbilt’s upset hopes came down to an onside kick. Executed perfectly, the ball pinballed around between Longhorns and Commodores until it looked like Vanderbilt’s special teams would fall on it—only for it to be knocked out of bounds by no more than six inches. The comeback fell short, and Texas held on.
Texas now finds itself 4–1 in SEC play, with its only loss coming to Florida — a result that looks worse every week. Not playing Alabama or Ole Miss (both ranked ahead of them) helps their chances of reaching Atlanta for the second straight year. They do, however, still face Georgia and Texas A&M in two of their remaining four games. The task is simple: just win.
Vanderbilt’s luck seems to have run out. Now 3–2 in conference play, they’ll try to rebound, with only Tennessee remaining as a ranked opponent. A 10–2 season is still very much in play, which would be the first in program history. That might not be enough to reach the playoff, but it would certainly spark a conversation.
Georgia Tech also entered the weekend riding high, with one of the best seasons in school history and a legitimate Heisman contender in Haynes King. The Yellow Jackets had benefitted from a favorable ACC schedule, facing only a struggling Clemson squad now sitting at 3–5. But a trip to Raleigh to face NC State — even a 4–4 team — is never easy.
The Wolfpack proved that true, putting up 583 yards of offense on Georgia Tech. It’s not that Haynes King played poorly; the Jackets piled up 559 yards themselves. But for a top-10 team, the defense was far too soft. NC State rushed for nearly 250 yards and seemed to find open receivers whenever they needed a big play.
In a season where the schedule wasn’t strong and a date with Georgia still looms, this was not a loss Georgia Tech could afford. They’re still just behind Virginia in the conference standings and tied with Pitt, whom they’ll face in three weeks. Miami’s loss helps their chances of reaching the ACC title game, but if the playoff committee sees another “top ACC team loses to a lesser opponent” situation, it might not have the same positive spin as last year’s SMU run.
Speaking of Miami — just a month ago, Carson Beck was a Heisman frontrunner. Now, he’s throwing costly interceptions at the worst possible times. That’s how you can outgain your opponent, outrush them by 130 yards, dominate time of possession by nearly 15 minutes… and still lose.
Miami’s playoff hopes are now effectively dead. They’re too far back in the conference standings, and it would take a miracle to even reach the title game. It’s a familiar story: last year, they looked like the best team in the ACC before dropping two must-win games and missing the championship on tiebreakers. There must be something in the South Florida water that causes this cycle year after year. While it’s a clear step up from the pre-Mario Cristobal era, we’ve seen this movie before — and eventually, the people behind that program will start to get restless.
G5 Contenders
With Boise State’s first conference loss in almost exactly two years, it all but solidifies that the winner of the American Conference will claim the Group of Five’s spot in the playoff. This would be the first time since Cincinnati’s 2021 run that an American team has made the playoff — and Cincinnati remains the only G5 program to ever reach the four-team format.
North Texas’ win over Navy this weekend puts them tied with Memphis at 4–1 in conference play and 8–1 overall. The Mean Green’s lone loss came against a respectable USF team, while Memphis’ loss to UAB looks worse with each passing week as the Blazers continue to struggle. Although Memphis owns a win over a then-ranked USF squad, North Texas appears to be in prime position to punch its ticket to the conference title game thanks to the tiebreaker over Navy.
Still, don’t count out Tulane or East Carolina, who each sit just one game back with only a single conference loss. The stretch run in the American is setting up to be the best finish of any Group of Five league this season.
Game of the Week: Duke 46, Clemson 45
Clemson looked to right the ship after a rough first two months of a season that had brought so much promise back to the Tigers. They had every reason to believe this game would be the turning point — it was at home, and they were coming off a much-needed bye week. Duke wanted no part of that, though, jumping out to a 21–7 lead after the first quarter thanks to three touchdown passes from quarterback Darian Mensah. Those scoring throws alone gave Mensah over 115 yards passing in the first quarter.
Clemson responded in the second quarter, with Cade Klubnik tossing a touchdown pass and running back Adam Randall punching it in twice to mirror Duke’s 21–7 opening frame and tie the score at 28–28 heading into halftime. A one-play, 75-yard drive in the fourth quarter gave Clemson a 45–38 lead that looked like exactly what the Tigers needed to finally put the game away. But on their next possession, they managed just one first down before punting the ball away.
That gave Duke the ball at its own six-yard line — 94 yards from the end zone, down by seven, with just over five minutes to play. Still, the Blue Devils clawed their way down the field, overcoming two offensive penalties. A 56-yard catch and run by receiver Jeremiah Halsey set up the tying score, and with just over 40 seconds remaining, Duke punched it in.
An extra point would’ve tied the game and sent it to overtime — but as you can tell from the final score and the top of this segment, Duke never sent the kicking unit onto the field. Instead, they kept the offense out to win it right there.
Quarterback Darian Mensah rolled to his right and found a wide-open Samir Hagans in the flat, who trotted into the end zone for the go-ahead score. With time still left on the clock, Cade Klubnik had a chance to lead the Tigers into field-goal range, but it never materialized. Klubnik looked like his usual flustered self — throwing incompletions, scrambling needlessly, and holding onto the ball too long. A last-ditch lateral play fell apart, and Duke escaped from the “lesser Death Valley” with a thrilling win.
The back-and-forth nature of a game that both teams desperately needed, capped off by the gutsy two-point call from Duke head coach Manny Diaz, makes this the College Footblog Game of the Week.
Stat Line of the Week
Jeff Sims (Arizona State): 13/24 177 YDS 1 TD 29 CAR 228 YDS 2 TD
The sixth-year journeyman of college football transferred to Arizona State with hopes of finally earning a starting role. When Leavitt beat him out last year, he still chose to stay. That loyalty was rewarded this week as he stepped in for the injured Leavitt and delivered a performance to remember. In a must-win game to keep the Sun Devils’ conference title hopes alive, Sims used his legs to beat the Cyclones. Anytime a quarterback racks up that many carries — and that many rushing yards — you know he’s having a special game.
Will’s Corner
BYU – Bye
The Cougars now travel to Texas Tech for a much-anticipated top-10 showdown that College Gameday will be attending.
Tennessee 27, Oklahoma 33
A game where Tennessee dominated the first half but somehow still trailed 16–10 at the break. A scoop-and-score and three field goals were the only ways Oklahoma managed to put points on the board—two of those field goals coming off Joey Aguilar interceptions. The Vols’ kicking game continues to be an issue, as Gilbert missed a 37-yard attempt in the first half.
The second half brought a little more energy but no consistency. Dropped passes on fourth down and missed tackles on defense left Tennessee with no real shot at pulling this one out. Two failed onside kicks sealed their fate and officially ended the Vols’ hopes of a second straight playoff appearance. With three games remaining, a nine-win season is still respectable—especially after the offseason commotion—but it’s hard not to wonder what could have been without all the near misses.
Washington State 7, Oregon State 10
Danny Freund needs to be held accountable for his war crimes. Seven points against a team that was 1–7? Oregon State hadn’t given up fewer than 27 points to an FBS opponent all year—and they held us to seven?! This feels like the Arbuckle-to-Oklahoma situation all over again. The play-calling was terrible, the execution was terrible—there was just nothing good about this game.
I know I lived through the Paul Wulff era of Wazzu football, but at least those teams could score. This was like watching the ugliest paint you can imagine dry.
Nonetheless, Wazzu now heads into a bye week before taking on Louisiana Tech. Two more wins would secure a bowl berth, and they’ll get another shot at Oregon State at the end of the month.
Will's CFP Rankings
No more reaction to the corrupt AP Poll, just my own rankings as if I were on the committee, try and see what I value in my rankings and compare them to the actual rankings come Tuesday.
2. Texas A&M
Heisman 5
1. Haynes King – Georgia Tech
Even in a loss, King put up more than 400 total yards of offense. While the defeat hurts the Yellow Jackets’ standing in the ACC race, it shouldn’t damage his Heisman résumé. He continues to be the heartbeat of that offense and one of the toughest players in the country.
2. Diego Pavia – Vanderbilt
The same goes for Pavia. A slow start was erased by a furious fourth-quarter rally that nearly sparked another Vanderbilt miracle. He’ll need to stay sharp down the stretch, but this performance shouldn’t hurt his Heisman case either.
3. Ty Simpson – Alabama
A bye week never hurt anyone.
4. Jeremiyah Love – Notre Dame
Love continues to climb the board. This week he ran for 136 yards and added two touchdowns, showing once again why he’s becoming the back everyone expected him to be. After a slow start to the season, he’s peaking at the perfect time and deserves serious Heisman attention.
5. Fernando Mendoza – Indiana
Not the kind of stat line you’d expect from Mendoza in a game with that final score. He finished with under 250 yards of total offense and accounted for only two of Indiana’s six touchdowns. He stays in the top five for now, but he’ll need a bounce-back performance soon.
CFB News
Another one bites the dust, as Auburn has fired head coach Hugh Freeze. Yet another door opens for speculation on who will hire who — and when.
ESPN’s College Gameday is headed to Lubbock, Texas, for its second straight week featuring a Big 12 matchup. This time, it’s a top-ten showdown between BYU and Texas Tech. Let’s see if all the YouTube TV customers will actually be able to watch it.
Big Noon Kickoff heads to Iowa City for the matchup between Oregon and Iowa. This could be the first major win for either team and could vault Iowa into legitimate playoff contention with a victory.
Games to Watch – Week 11
Miami (OH) @ Ohio – Nov 4, 7:00 PM ET (ESPN2)
Tulane @ Memphis – Nov 7, 9:00 PM ET (ESPN)
6. BYU @ 8. Texas Tech – Nov 8, 12:00 PM ET (ABC)
10. Oregon @ 23. Iowa – Nov 8, 3:30 PM ET (FOX)
Guest Guesser Update
Lost two more picks to my mom this, I can't string together more than one good week. With only four more weeks remaining, something needs to change fast.
I’d love to hear from readers, too. Think my takes are dumb? Want my opinion on something I missed? Email me at thecollegefootblog@gmail.com.
