Football is a funny game. Sometimes you never see the outcome of a game coming. Take two top-25 upsets from this past week. Florida, coming off of a 29-point loss to Missouri on Homecoming, proceeded to beat former #11 Georgia 38-20 behind the fifth-best rushing performance in school history (418 yards) while throwing the fewest passes in a win (six) since 1977. The Gators had only gained 201 rushing yards in their previous three games against Georgia combined. Meanwhile, Temple was outgained by almost 300 yards (428-135) by former #23 East Carolina, but forced 5 turnovers and blocked a field goal in a 20-10 victory. It was the Owls’ first win since 1998 against a ranked opponent, and their first win ever against a ranked opponent at home. The 293 yards marks the second-largest yardage deficit a team has overcome to win a game in the past ten years.
Don’t look now, but Duke is at it again! The Blue Devils, coming off of last year’s conference championship game appearance, find themselves 7-1 and in somewhat familiar territory: leading the ACC Coastal Division with four games to go. David Cutcliffe’s team doesn’t beat itself: Duke is in the top five in the nation in fewest turnovers and fewest offensive negative plays, and is tops in the country in fewest sacks allowed. And they have a great chance to finish 11-1; their last four games are against teams with a current combined 4-15 conference record.
Those who have read my write-ups in the past know that I have a fondness for service academy football. These young men are truly inspiring: at West Point, Annapolis, and Colorado Springs, they receive world-class educations, perform long hours of military training, and on top of that, play football at the highest collegiate level. This year, the Air Force Falcons are the cream of the crop. The Falcons, due to their earlier 30-21 win over Navy and this past week’s 23-6 win over Army, captured the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for the 19th time, the most between the three academies. The Falcons are 6-2 this year, already making them bowl-eligible as well.
In small-school news, there are two undefeated teams left in I-AA. One is North Dakota State, whom I’ve mentioned in this space before. The other is 9-0 Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers are obviously a good team, but it’s their coach on which I want to focus. Joe Moglia has to have one of the most unique backstories in all of college football. Do you recognize that name for some reason? Here’s why: prior to this job, he had a different leadership role: CEO of TD Ameritrade. He still serves as Chairman of the Board of the company. In his two-plus years at Coastal so far, he’s compiled an aggregate 29-8 record; the team had gone 29-28 over the previous five years. Safe to say this guy knows a few things about leadership.
Congratulations to bamaken, who wins week 10 with 119 points! In second was AUBrian with 117 points, and Allison and maestro finished tied for third with 116 points.
Overall standings after ten weeks:
| 1st | Allison | 1589 |
| 2nd | maestro | 1584 |
| T-3rd | JagRag | 1582 |
| T-3rd | JHutto | 1582 |
| 5th | AUBrian | 1581 |
| 6th | pachyderm | 1569 |
| 7th | SicEmFrogs | 1563 |
| T-8th | The Tradition | 1549 |
| T-8th | gatorbamalover | 1549 |
| 10th | Crimson Gator | 1548 |
It’s still really tight at the top, so every point counts! And, look what we have this week! Eighteen games, including six between top-25 teams. It might just be the toughest week yet! The first game is Clemson at Wake Forest, Thursday, November 6 @ 7:30 ET, so make sure to get your picks in by then!