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Ten Piece Nuggets-CFB

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In last week’s Ten Piece serving we almost labeled this past Saturday “Separation Saturday.”  We are glad we didn’t.  As it turns out we should have called it “Upset Saturday,” or “Set Up Saturday.”    Eleven of the ranked AP Top 25 teams lost which created no separation.  Eleven is the most since 2006.  Those outcomes set up this coming Saturday to be the most intriguing day this season.  Week ten is upon us and we offer Ten Nuggets to satisfy your CFB hunger below.

  1.  The top five teams had a boring Saturday actually.  Number one Alabama, and nos. 4 and 5 LSU and Michigan had the weekend off.  No. 2 Clemson turned Florida St. inside out 49-10 while no. 3 ND paid only marginal respect to our beloved Navy.  Willie Taggart, HC of the Seminoles, called out his team post game feeling like some of them had quit.  We quibble, but we think that it was more than some.
  2. Georgia pulled away in the second half of the (don’t call it) Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party soundly beating Florida 36-17.  The score almost matched the 36-16 beating LSU administered two weeks ago.  Georgia had a week off to stew.  They looked very determined to ensure they would still play meaningful games as the calendar flips to November.  And sure enough they will, in of all places, Kentucky.
  3. The #11 Kentucky Wildcats made sure of that with an improbable last second comeback at Missouri.  The SEC East is up for grabs at 2:30 CST five days from now when Georgia rolls in.  One of the two one-loss teams will be in the captain’s seat in the SEC East by 6:00 pm.  Kentucky was 300-1 in Vegas in August to win the SEC.  It’s the first half of the CBS doubleheader.
  4. The second half of the CBS “Separation” Saturday doubleheader is a small gathering of 100k fans in Death Valley, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  The Crimson Tide rolls in with the SEC West hanging in the balance.  LSU is an early, big, 14 point home dog.  Bama has rag dolled everything in its wake by halftime of each (non)contest that they have been in thus far.  Speaking of halftime, future first round pick and LSU middle linebacker extraordinaire Devin White gets to watch the game until then.  LSU fans have expressed overt displeasure with the targeting call that reduced him to first half spectator status.  See their anger here.
  5. Oklahoma dispatched of a different Wildcat to land at #7.  Kansas St. found out what the Sooners’ offense can do sooner than later.  A 34-7 halftime lead turned into a full on rout, 51-14.  One still has to wonder what D Oklahoma can muster as K St. isn’t having its best year under Bill Snyder, the oldest CFB coach at 78 years young.
  6.  Idle on the week UCF is stuck in idle as #9.  The turnstile above and below them in the rankings continues to make us feel that if they want to participate in a parade again this year it will need to be thrown by them, for them, and watched only by them again as no one else seems to care too much.
  7. A warm welcome to the Top 10 goes out to the Washington State Cougars who are #10.  They lead the PAC 10 North now after an impressive win at Stanford.  This comes after their impressive home win over Oregon a week ago.  Mike Leach does it his way and his way has reached the top 10.  Utah sits at #16 and a top the PAC 10 South.  Raise your hand if you predicted a possible Utes v Cougars PAC Championship game.
  8. Michigan, THE, and Penn St. well represent the Big 10 East at nos. 5,8, and 14 respectively.  Iowa is the lone rep from the west side of the conference at 19.  However, Iowa is in a three-way tie for second in that division as Northwestern sits atop.  Northwestern is what we wrote.  It’s no typo.  They are 12-1 in their last 13 Big 10 matchups.   One of the teams tied for second in the west is three loss Wisconsin.  The odds on favorite Badgers came into the season with so much hope and will end it with so much disappointment.
  9.  Nine of the 11 teams that were ranked 15-25 lost.  Seven ranked teams dropped out.  That is the most since 1989.  Jeez.  Notable among the new entries are the Syracuse Orangemen, ranked for the first time since 2001.  Also, Virginia returned after a seven-year hiatus.   Notable among the departures was first time ever, and ranked for one week only, Appalachian St.  The Mountaineers hosted a Thursday night game v. Georgia Southern.  The visitors trounced them 34-14, ending the one week run.
  10.  While seven teams dropped out, the SEC now boasts seven teams in.  The conference places teams at 1,4,6,11,13,21, and 25.  Mississippi St at 21 and Texas A&M at 25 are the only three loss ranked teams for now.
  11.  (or, Plus One) Some early lines are out.  As mentioned above Bama is a 14 point road favorite at LSU.  Can LSU’s D slow down the Tua train to The Downtown Athletic Club?  Can LSU’s O muster enough to stay close?  ND is another road favorite by 7.5 at the aforementioned Northwestern.  West Virginia is a 1.5 point road dog in Austin, TX.  Texas might still be seething from their road loss to Okie St., while West Va. is not the same team on the road.

Till Saturday.