The excitement of college football’s regular season proves itself to be inelastic yet again. Vanderbilt’s triumph over Alabama stands as the crowning example of just how exhilarating all the volatility can still be. Mix in Arkansas over Tennessee and Minnesota over USC, and you have yourself a proper upset Saturday (Texas A&M was favored over Missouri).
But let’s focus on Alabama. Yes, the stakes around the Crimson Tide’s loss are different than before — they will almost certainly still make the College Football Playoff — but The Monday Read’s confusion lies in why that matters.
Beating Alabama was a program-defining triumph for Vanderbilt regardless of what it means for the Crimson Tide. Similarly, the Tide’s win over Georgia last week was enthralling despite the fact that those teams may play three times before all is said and done.
College football’s regular season has been propped up forever by the varying stupidity in the ways it has crowned a champion over the years, but the 12-team system is at least something approaching the sanity experienced in basically every major team sport on Earth. It was neither quirky nor endearing for allowing people and computers to just vote on a champion for the better part of a century.
More than any other sport, college football is shackled to the idea that undefeated automatically means best, largely because going undefeated is actually attainable in a sport where the best teams spend around 75% of their seasons playing teams that don’t belong on the same fields as them. Part of the fun of the sport remains in the moments when one of those teams that don’t belong pulls off a stunner. Part of the intrigue of the 12-team CFP is that people will have to acknowledge that a two-loss, or even maybe three-loss, team is actually pretty damn good. At least a few of those will get their chance to prove that on the field in January.
How Alabama positions itself in the SEC championship hunt brings its own drama to the next eight weeks now that we live in a largely divisionless world. College football’s regular season does not cease to thrill or engage broader audiences (the TV ratings for Alabama and Georgia are a flawed but relevant reminder of that), but there remains a significant portion of discourse following these games bemoaning the fact that Bama’s season isn’t completely toast.
What do we want our champion to be? Is it the product of a beauty contest or a sporting competition? As long as some part of the qualification is voted upon, it will always be a little bit of both, but tilting towards the latter is a personal preference. And, yes, there is a difference between an acknowledgement that Alabama probably will be in as long as they handle their business, and the codified guarantees some in the SEC and Big Ten are saber rattling towards.
Shifting meaning into a different part of the college football calendar does not lessen the impact of the great rivalry games and thrilling upsets still to come this season. In real time, the sport is changing how a champion is crowned, but don’t let the future of the postseason put a cloud over the fun that still exists in the regular season.
Fishing trip of the week
By now, you’re likely aware that the goalposts at Vanderbilt Stadium went into the Cumberland River, but are you aware that they came out?
Vanderbilt is auctioning off the goalposts, but by Monday morning, they were almost completely sold out. Perhaps of the funds will go toward the fine levied on the Commodores by the SEC for the field storming violation.
Vocal cords of the week
ESPN’s Rece Davis sure sounded like he’d had a long day during the Cal-Miami game. He was surprisingly on the call with a clearly strained voice. Davis had handled “College GameDay” hosting duties starting at 6 AM local time and was pressed into duty when normal play-by-play man Dave Flemming was a late scratch due to personal reasons, according to The Miami Herald. Props to Davis for playing hurt — after all, aren’t we all day-to-day?
Scoop-n-score of the week
It’s not often your defense scores in overtime, but FCS San Diego’s Ruben Lopez ran this fumble back the length of the field for a walk-off TD. It’s a rare occurrence that happens about once a year.
Kicker of the week
Not a ton has gone right for Temple on the field this season, but kicker Maddux Trujillo has been an unquestioned bright spot. Earlier this season, Trujillo set the Lincoln Financial Field record for longest field goal (64 yards) vs. Utah State. The Linc has been open since 2003 and is home to the Philadelphia Eagles, so many NFL kickers have plied their trade there, including multiple time All-Pro David Akers. But nobody’s split the sticks from as far out as Trujillio. The kick was 1 yard of the FBS record without a tee set in 1998 by Martin Gramatica.
On Saturday, Trujillo struck again from 60. In our current era, NFL kickers seem to be routinely banging attempts of 50 yards or more, but 60-plus is still a Mendoza line for many kickers, especially outdoors.
Buyer’s remorse of the week
UAB got absolutely stomped (71-20) at the hands of Tulane, and it begs the question if there’s a significant amount of second guessing going on in Birmingham about hiring Trent Dilfer. And that’s before you get to the fact that Bryant Vincent, UAB’s former interim coach who was passed over for the permanent job for Dilfer, has revived ULM to a 3-1 record for the first time in a decade after a huge upset win over James Madison.
Notable quotable of the week
It’s not often the coach of the road team comes on “College GameDay,” but Miami’s Mario Cristobal did at Cal. Thankfully he did. We got this gem about South Florida recruiting trips when Cristobal coached at Alabama.
Heisman of the week
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke has Indiana absolutely humming this season; the Hoosiers lead the country with 39 touchdowns scored. Rourke’s 380 yards passing and three touchdowns against Northwestern continues a Cinderella run for Indiana. Don’t count them out as Big Ten dark horses.
Research note of the week
Army and Navy continue their historic seasons to date. It’s the first time since 1945 both teams have started 5-0, and it’s been almost that long since both teams dominated opponents like they both did in Week 6. The last time Army and Navy had 25-point road wins on the same day was October 27, 1956 (Navy 54, Penn 6; Army 60, Columbia 0).
Meal of the week: Hor Mok at Sukh, Brooklyn
A steamed Branzino curry custard in coconut milk topped with jumbo lump crab and served on a dish with multiple small clay pots to hold the steam. It’s a popular dish across southeast Asia.
Thing TMR is already excited about next week
There are four marquee games across college football, but the undercard features an intriguing chance to find out who’s for real in the Big 12 race when Kansas State plays Colorado. Both teams had a bye to prepare, and CU’s newly effective run game will be put to the test against the Wildcats.
