Jon Joseph

A few thoughts on Week Number 2, while hoping that Drew Mestemaker pleads poverty and refuses to pay for new goalposts. 🤬 --- Tony, you can't find a better opening act than the Scarlet Knights? --- Saturday afternoon, early September in Stillwater. Rob, you don't need a weatherman to know which way this scheduling blows. --- ESecPN cutting from the Oregon at OK State game, confirmed where the B12 stands in the World Wide Leader's broadcast pecking order. --- Paraphrase. "Except for Indiana, Ohio State, and Oregon, the Big Ten sucks." The not-so-saintly Nick Saban. Perhaps he should have included Michigan? 0-2 - Bama's record against Michigan in the last two games, including Jimmy Harbaugh and Michigan coming up Roses against Nick. 😍 (But so far in 2026, Nick is not wrong. 🤬) --- B1G Noon sign - My 00.01 High School GPA was good enough to get me into Oklahoma. --- I don't always drink beer, but after watching the Go Ducks advertisement, when I do, I drink Modelo. 😁 This ad was the best part of Saturday afternoon. --- Rob, you don't schedule Boise State, and please don't schedule Tulsa. 🤬 Mario opened against Stanford on the road and home against the FAMU Rattlers. I'm reasonably certain that against the same 'competition,' OBD would be 2-0. --- Good luck, Lane. You handled Portal-Putz Dabo, defeated LA Tech, and will defeat Take a McKnee State. However, at No. 8 Ole Miss, No. 9 Texas A&M, at Kentucky, Mississippi State, at Auburn, No. 10 Alabama, No. 1 Texas, at 15 Tennessee, and at Arkansas. HMMMMMMM? 😁 --- This week, Oxford, Mississippi, broke the record for golf ball sales. --- Rob, FYI. Indiana 56 - Howie-R-U Zip - The Hoosiers move up from No. 5 to No. 4. Buckeyes 23 - Texas 24 - The Ohio State University drops from No. 1 to No. 6. Just Sayin. --- Michigan's overpaid QB is better than Oklahoma's overpaid QB. 🤑 --- Florida State cannot afford to fire Mike Norvell (or pay the electric bill), so the Seminoles scalped the AD. Will the interim AD help FSU cover Alabama -20.5? --- I get a kick out of the CyHawk game. Iowa 16 - Iowa State 13. Third year in a row that a walk-on kicker from the great state of Iowa walked off with a victory. Ryan Day - Better find a walk-on kicker from Ohio. Chip-shot FG missed in the B1G championship game. Gimme FG missed vs. Miami. Saturday - 45-yard FG for the winning points in Austin, Texas? Sorry to use this expression, Oregon fans, but that was definitely a Duck-Hook. --- The Portland State Vikings +58.5. Take the points? --- Kent State +52.5. Will Lou Holtz and Nick Saban's Kent State Golden Flashers, er, Flashes, cover against an Ohio State team that historically bucked up in Austin? --- USC -23.5. 3-7 is missing Linc Riley's record on the road in the Big Ten. He can't possibly lose in Pisscastaway Saturday, right? --- B1G Week (Weak?) 4 - Will GameDay be in LA, or will it be an SEC 4-for-4 in Athens, Georgia? I'm reasonably certain that GameDay will not be in Pisscastaway for the Rutgers vs. How- (about visiting for a million dollars of Greg Schiano's money) ard game. What is Rutgers doing with the lucre? How much does it cost for a half-decent horse, oats, and a squire to polish the armor? As the pundits say: These guys invented college football and have been trying to forget it since November 6, 1869. If the Scarlet Knights don't take down Howie, is relegation a possibility? --- Wanna kill Gophers? Sandy McFiddish and Bill Murray should have hired the Mississippi State Bulldog. --- Holy Cody Campbell! Don't look now, but Oregon State could be the best team in the Beaver State. 🤪 --- It's September, so Maryland is 2-0 but far from a Lock to beat VA Tech and the relegated Jimmy Franklin. --- What are you doing, Bob Chesney? Before long, people will know there's another football team in LA. If you have to pay palimony, why not punch the Cal-Pal. --- Sorry, UW, no offense. --- Cheer Up Ducks Fans! 83.34% of the season remains to be played. Vanquish the Vikings and get ready to Odysseus the Trojans!

If it's too expensive to fire the coach, fire the AD. I don't think this will help cover Alabama -20.5. https://apnews.com/article/florida-state-ad-fired-michael-alford-abc96f2a16e424e5c17ffc6509dd64d6

KK, terrific post, thanks. 83.34% of the regular season remains to be played. Will Oregon turn it around? Heck if I know. Oregon has the 3rd highest-rated composite roster in CFB, one of the most expensive rosters in CFB. After losing portal players Pregnon, World, and Harkey, Dan went after OL studs like Seaton. He was outbid in an unregulated market, with mega-fan billionaires acting like frenzied college-aged kids and not businessmen. The exact opposite of the NFL. If there is a season-long problem, it is as much the fault of Dan and the rating services overestimating the talent of recruits as it is bad portal-picking. O-line guys who cannot finish run blocks are not 2* and 3* players. If you can't run the ball ... Miami paid the most money in the history of CFB to pry Mario away from the Ducks. Mario has frenzied boosters looking to bring back The U regardless of cost, the benefit of a weak regular-season schedule, and no restraint on going after players under contract to another program. If Oregon had opened at Stanford and then played FAMU, what would the record be? Would there be any concerns heading into the Portland State game? Out-of-conference scheduling in CFB is an art; in 2026, Rob colored outside the lines. LSU beat down the premier portal-putz, Dabo Swinney. Let's see how Lane fares at No. 8 Ole Miss, No. 9 Texas A&M, at Kentucky, Mississippi State, at Auburn, No. 10 Alabama, No. 1 Texas, at No. 15 Tennessee, and at Arkansas. At season's end, will the LSU ROI be enough to justify spending $100 million to bring in Kiffin and buying a $45 + million roster? Today, LSU is searching for private equity money. Mike West authored an excellent article on the schemes used by Dan, particularly on defense, and whether the schemes work in today's game. But no scheme will work if experienced players, many of whom will play ball in the NFL, don't show up with a want-to-win attitude and don't play disciplined football. Top-rated players are committing game-changing penalties. I do believe it's fair to ask whether Dan can learn from his mistakes. We saw the Rose Bowl movie rerun in the Peach Bowl. But Saturday was Dan's first loss against an unranked team, and play like they did against the Ducks, these Cowboys could finish in the Top-25. Get well vs. the Vikings, then let's see how things go in LA.

OK, this article may well be an overreaction after two weeks of the season, but to date, the conference is failing to meet expectations. The Big Ten is 10th out of 10 FBS conferences in failing to meet SP+ preseason ratings and is flailing against Power 4 competition. We need a: REVERSE! https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-25-college-football-0a5a08732c712ece4b127de45aa1fa10?user_email=c7d8647c6247db8d08c59fe44bc30380a147aa90b9e33099045cd46ddc6a485b&utm_medium=Sports_wire&utm_source=Sailthru_A

Thank you, David. Oregon should have this weekend to get right before a program-defining game in LA. Is Oregon still the King of the Coast? SC is at Rutgers on Saturday, and I imagine the SC coaching staff is focusing on the Oregon game while not overlooking a road trip where SC, under Riley, has underperformed. Laugh at the competition, but the SC schedule with three home games against inferior opposition was the perfect way to have a young team integrate with the most returning starters in CFB and be prepared for conference play. The same can be said for the Indiana schedule, which has given QB Josh Hoover the chance to settle in. Meanwhile, and it isn't fair, Ohio State has burned a PO mulligan. Based on what happened to Texas last season, the Buckeyes and the Ducks now have to go 8-1. Especially Oregon, with what could be a "Bad Loss" in December. Come on Cowboys! There is no preseason in CFB. With NIL, every year every team will have to integrate transfers with returning but inexperienced players and returning starters. Roster management is crazy-making, but it's the name of today's CFB game. The 2026 OOC scheduling by Rob Mullens was far from artful; however, and you nailed the question: Where in Hades is the team? Where is the on-field leadership? Does Lanning have control over this group of athletes? I'm not surprised the outside world is asking if Oregon is this season's Penn State. In 2025, Penn State didn't play well against inferior competition in the preseason, and after the Oregon loss, if not before. With a road loss at UCLA and a home loss to Northwestern, there was no question that the veteran team had quit on James Franklin. Get right Friday night. Then comes a crucial game in LA. Thanks again, David, and Go Ducks!

SP+ Bill Connolly's takes on Ohio State, Oregon, and others - https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49922684/connelly-week-2-true-texas-ohio-state-oregon-oklahoma-state

SP+ Post Week 2 Rankings - OBD No. 9 - Helping to keep Austin Weird - 1-1 Ohio State ranked 2nd and 2-0 Texas 6th 😁 https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49868647/2026-college-football-sp+-rankings-all-138-fbs-teams

Mike, you have company - Larry Brown SportsEveryone said the same thing about Dan Lanning after Oreg...The Oregon Ducks suffered the most shocking loss of the young college football season on Saturday, and the knives were out for coach Dan Lanning. Oregon

AP Poll - 9 SEC/ 7 B1G/ 4 ACC/ 4 B12/ Notre Dame Other B1G teams receiving votes - 26 UW, 35 UCLA Boise State - 28; Oklahoma State 29 On3College Football Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 after Week 2 re...The latest AP Poll Top 25 rankings are here after Week 2 of college football and we had quite the scenes around the country.

Still in the AP Top 25? Thank goodness for Boise's beatdown of Memphis. Oregon dropping to 18th in the Coaches Poll and 21st in the AP makes sense, but Ohio State dropping to sixth in both polls after a 1-point loss on the road? Indiana at No. 4 validates consuming three cupcakes OOC, all on the home field. SC is 3-0 with wins in LA vs. San Jose State, Fresno State, and LA-LA. A 10-2 SC is a PO certainty. No excuse for the pathetic showing in Stillwater, but the series never should have been scheduled. AP College Football Poll 2026 Week 3 Rankings Released wi...There's a new No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 after Texas completed an improbable comeback against Ohio State on Saturday night.

Week 2 delivered a B1G Butcher's Bill 😧. First, a few thoughts on a B1G bad week. - Don't schedule Tulsa - At least Boise State looked good in its beatdown of Memphis. - Be happy Oregon State isn't on the schedule. The Beavers gave Top-25-ranked Houston a battle on the road and last night had the lead against Texas Tech going into the 4th quarter. - Remember Kingston Lopa? Yesterday in Syracuse, NY, Cal safety Lopa had three interceptions, including a 24 yard Pick 6 that provided the winning points in Cal's 21-18 victory. Too bad Lopa fled the flock. - On to the not-so-big Ten. Oklahoma at Michigan was a LOS scrimmage slugfest featuring two overrated and overpaid QBs. Michigan's Bryce Underwood is 8-4 vs. P4 opposition; Oklahoma's John Mateer is 7-4. Mateer served up a Pick 6 that resulted in the Wolverines' winning points. Underwood had a nice TD run, but struggled in the passing game. Should Tommy Carr, brother of Notre Dame QB CJ, and Michigan coach Lloyd Carr's grandson get some playing time? Don't you just hate it when an SEC honk is right? On the Pat McAfee show, Nick Saban proclaimed the Big Ten had three good teams: Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana, and that's it. Maybe Michigan should have been one of the three? Instead of kicking a FG deep in Texas territory to go up 26-3, Ryan Day decided to go for it on 4th down. Texas stuffed the play, found new life, and scored 21 points in the 4th quarter to defeat No. 1 Ohio State 24 to 23. In Minneapolis, Mississippi State did what Caddy Shack's Bill Murray couldn't; the Starkville Bulldogs smothered the Gophers 38-13. Week 2 saw the Big Ten go 2-5 vs. P4 competition, with OBD, Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota, and Rutgers losing. Michigan defeated No. 11 Oklahoma 17-10, and Iowa held on and defeated Iowa State 16-13. For the third straight season, the winning points in the Cy-Hawk game were served up by a walk-on kicker from the Hawkeye State. Tony P may want to consider opening with a better act than the Scarlet Knights. 0-2 Rutgers should be handed the Hester Prynne Scarlet Letter Trophy. Week 3 sees USC visiting Pisscastaway. Heading into Week 3, conference records vs. P4 opponents: SEC 8-2; ACC 5-6; B12 4-7; big 10 3-6. The folks in Oxford, Mississippi, are preparing a warm Week 3 Welcome Home Party for the dearly departed Lane Kiffen. 😁 Vanquish the Vikings on Friday Night! Then, get ready to fight on for four quarters in LA.

Thanks, Mike. Insightful and concerning. I leave the Xs and Os to those with more expertise. But I understand attitude. In the two games this season, I've watched more talented players fail to show up and play with an attitude. The whole is not better than the sum of the parts. Yeah, the weather was brutally hot. Big whoop. That's no excuse for 2- and 3-star guys kicking you in the posterior. Forget all of 'The Bad News Ducks Go to Japan' and all the other extraneous stuff; football is about attitude. Less talented players who play harder and with a determined will to win often defeat teams with better rosters. As to money being a problem. Players at Miami, LSU, and Texas are balling out. From Dan Lanning on down, it's time to suck it up, show up, and ball out. Mike, of course, nailed it when it comes to scheme, and I hope Dan is willing to look in the mirror and perhaps reach out to his mentors for their input. Football is about attitude. No matter how good the scheme and game plan, how are you going to respond when you get punched in the 🤬mouth? Talent? Clemson had nine guys drafted last season and won seven games. Get right against Portland State, go to LA, and punch SC in the chops.

Maybe it was a blessing? ☹️ This was a burn-the-tape-and-start-over game.

If players don't show up ready to ball out, the X's and O's do not matter. No coordinator was on the field. It wasn't the calls on O and D that lost the game; it was the failure to execute the play calls. BTW, two former NFL coaches choked tonight in Austin, Texas. OBD had many experienced players on the field today, and they failed to play anywhere close to their potential. If you don't bring the will to win with you coaching doesn't matter. You need leadership on the field, and it isn't there. In the last two games, the will to win, the desire to dominate the opponent, has not been there. 10 games remain. Go 9-1, and OBD is in the PO. If the team is in the PO field, dreams can still come true. But experienced players have to lead the way.

I was a bit baffled when Dan and Division Street picked up one O-line guy from the Ivy League. On D? Where's the Boettcher guts ball? However, OBD has 10 games to find redemption. Finish 11-1 and the first two games will not matter.

Amen! Someone light the fire!

Future NFL guys being paid big bucks for this? Back-to-back games where I saw ZERO enthusiasm on the field? Where is the on-field leadership? The only hope? This is how Ohio State no-showed much of the 2025 season before kicking it into gear. But Ohio State made the PO as a 2-loss team. Will this Oregon team finish 10-2? Players making lots of dough who could be in the NFL appear to be unfocused and uninterested. Where's the pride? I agree with a number of the above comments. How about less focus on the bells and whistles marketing and more attention on winning games? I'm sorry, but this includes Dan being available to participate in a pregame Pat McAfee contest. FOCUS and give a whip!

Hats off to Michigan! Don't knock, knock, knock on Underwood. He's OK.

Cowboys hold the fort. 2025: Penn State, Clemson, LSU? Don't schedule Tulsa! Next Case! How about 11-1?

Well, maybe the Dawgs will be there? Ducks?

🤬🤬🤬

From a day and miles, and miles away. BUMMER! 🤬 Shake it off and kick Cowboy booty.

ND, I'm hoping that your Dawgs and the Ducks overlap on 1/25/27 in Las Vegas. Two big games in Week 4: UGA hosts Oklahoma, and Oregon trips to LA to play SC. Between the Kiffin circus and the Arch madness, UGA is flying under the radar. No doubt this is fine with Kirby. Kirby will be celebrating on 12/5 in Atlanta when Georgia wins what could be the last conference championship game on the way to another PO appearance. Keep on barking, you hairy Dawgs!

Place Your Bets! Never bet more than you can afford. 🤔 SI nailed Miami, slightly covering the spread. 😁 SI likes OBD to cover -23.5. 🤞🤞🤞 SICollege Football ATS Picks for Every Top 25 Game in Week...If Week 1 of the college football season had you hoping for some closer games, I have some bad news for you. The Week 2 slate is largely lopsided affairs once a

Weather or not, Just Win Baby! Oregon Ducks On SIOregon Ducks vs. Oklahoma State Weather Forecast Takes An...The No. 6 Oregon Ducks could be battling more than the Oklahoma State Cowboys in their first road game of the 2026 season... Punishing heat, high humidity and t