The College Football Czar

Week 6

Week five in review: With the exception of Florida's big letdown, the rankings held firm, with no other team being upset until by a lower-ranked or unranked opponent. Rankings mean little at this point in the season anyway, so the College Football Czar isn't going to make more of this than it is, but he is perplexed that Iowa would plummet six spots for a less than awful 31-14 loss to Ohio State, while Mississippi State, which got slammed by Alabama 59-23, slipped by only one.

The biggest college football news of the week is probably that Fox Big Noon Kickoff has kicked off Dave Portnoy and the other Barstool personalities a third of the way into their second season on the network, without explanation. About this subject, the Czar has little interest other than to point out that: (a) Portnoy has vanishingly little to say about college football that is the tiniest bit constructive or even interesting, especially if you're not a gambler; (b) Fox surely knew this when they hired him and his henchcritters to be on the show, so Barstool appears to have been booted for doing exactly what it was hired to do in the first place; and (c) on the scale of insipidness, the improvement from BNK with Portnoy to BNK without Portnoy will be roughly the same as the difference between tapioca and cold oatmeal.

Looking ahead to Week 6, a few of the games you'll be reading about could wind up being postponed on account of Hurricane "eee-sah-EEE-ahs," including the marquee matchup between Georgia and Alabama. Let's hope there isn't any damage great enough to make people learn how to pronounce the name of the storm. Tropical storms are named by an international panel of meteorologists, so on occasion one comes along that English-speaking people can't say. So why don't we just come up with nicknames for them? If you ever met some guy named eee-sah-EEE-ahs, you would probably decide to call him, oh, Lumpy, or something.

In Week 5, the Czar got off to a good start with a pair of wins on Friday night, but stumbled in the early Saturday games and finished with a record of 13-8. For the season, he is now 75-36, for a .676 winning percentage.

Oct. 9

Florida State at Louisville

The last time these teams met was in the 2023 ACC championship game, where the undefeated Seminoles prevailed 16-6, as they limped toward the end of their season without injured quarterback Jordan Travis. Since that day, Mike Norvell's team has only gone 10-20, starting with that 'orrible Orange Bowl loss to Georgia that followed such fierce protestations over being left out of the CFP.

Llluuvulll (2-3, 1-2) is just looking to level its record after consecutive three-point losses to Wake Forest and Nc State. Last week in Raleigh, the Cardinals were forced to punt with almost four minutes to play, and then were powerless to stop NCSU from picking up first downs and running out the clock.

Ashton Daniels set a Seminole team record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with five, while gaining 136 yards on the ground against Virginia in a 38-7 runaway. Meanwhile, the FSU defense dropped the other team's dual threat QB, Beau Pribula, for ten sacks. They'll face a different kind of a threat this week, however, in Cardinal quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, who is on pace for 4,000 passing yards.

Conversations between home and visiting fans at this game would be indecipherable to anybody from the outside world.

"Y'ruhtin frr Llluuvull?"

"No, the Noles. Whaoooo-oh, oh-oh oh ohhh!"

It'll be like that episode of Green Acres in which Arnold the pig carries on a conversation with a beeping moon rock.

Louisville 30, Florida State 24

Iowa at Washington

The 4-1 Hawkeyes never threatened Ohio State last Saturday, but still gave a good account of themselves. Looking ahead at their remaining schedule, which does not include Indiana, Oregon or USC, they could yet rally their way into the Big Ten title game if they play well on the road. After this visit to Seattle, their toughest games ahead are at Minnesota and at Northwestern.

In the AP summary of the OSU-Iowa game, it says that the Hawkeyes "were too conservative early in this game. They answered Ohio State touchdowns with field goals, and that wasn't going to be good enough in a game like this." That analysis is truly stupid. For starters, they had only allowed one TD to the Buckeyes by that point, at which they trailed 10-6. Furthermore, it's not as if they could have simply opted to score touchdowns instead. Those Caden Buhr field goals were from 43 and 48 yards, respectively. Considering that the Hawkeye offense had not yet had a sniff of the 20-yard line, those two three-pointers were accomplishments, not setbacks. The problem was not the six points in the first quarter, it was the four punts and one interception on the five possessions that followed. What kind of a lardhead looks at the game as if the difference between three points and seven points is the result of an arbitrary decision? "If you had scored touchdowns instead of field goals, you would have had eight more points! You idiot!"

Husky fans raise their glasses and say cheers, and Roebuck. Then nobody laughs, because that was a Woody Allen gag. Anyway, sophomore wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck leads the team with 35 catches for 338 yards, and has made at least one reception in each of his 17 games so far in his career.

Woody used that joke twice in the same scene, in the exact same context, as if he knew it would bomb and hoped he'd have better luck the second time. It stands to reason, really. Any man who would make his ex-wife also become his mother-in-law must be a glutton for punishment.

Iowa 24, Washington 17

Iowa State at Brigham Young

ISU running back Aiden Flora floored the West Virginia defense with two TDs and 48 yards on two passes, to go along with 212 yards and three scores on the ground, in a 45-42 victory that improves his team's record to 3-2. Their two losses so far have both been to ranked opponents, Iowa and Utah, which means they'll have to be better if they want to beat #8 BYU.

Cougar running back L.J. Martin, who led the Big XII a year ago, will be out for 4-6 weeks after suffering an apparent ankle injury in the first quarter of a 17-10 trudge past TCU. Without him, their leading rusher is undersized RB Journee Tonga, who has an excellent per-carry average of 8.3 yards. During this NIL era, head coach Kalani Sitake has got to be a little disturbed by the fact that the first name of such a promising freshman suggests that he's going somewhere.

Fans of the Clones might think they've gone to heaven when they arrive in Provo. But those are not clones they'll be seeing, just families made up of people who look a whole lot more alike than usual.

Brigham Young 19, Iowa State 14

Oct. 10

North Carolina at Pitt

Pitt won last Friday night's game at Virginia Tech, but they lost starting quarterback Mason Heintschel to a season-ending knee injury. You wouldn't have known it by Pat Narduzzi, who after the game was energized to a buffoonish degree, and angrily demanding that the Panthers be ranked. Okay, so they deserve a ranking, and now they've got one. But so what? If they fall from 5-0 to a final record of 8-5 or worse, having been ranked in Week 6 will be of little consolation.

A 98-yard kickoff return by freshman WR Jaden Jefferson to open the second half pulled the Tar Heels within a point of Notre Dame, 21-20. The 37-26 defeat was never as close as the score suggested, though. UNC was outgained by 190 yards, while committing the game's only two turnovers.

During the portal era, teams don't tend to be able to keep experienced backups. With former starting QB Eli Holstein having transferred away, the Panthers have turned to Holden Geriner, a journeyman senior who completed only 9 of 21 passes in four years with Auburn and Texas State. So far this season, he is 19-for-26, including the game-winning touchdown when he was unfortunately pressed into service against VT. Not bad for a late beginner, but Bill Belichick's defense, including ACC sack leader Xavier Lewis, will have had a week to prepare for him.

That is, unless the coach has been too busy tearing authentic regular slob holes in all of his sweatshirts. Chicks dig that, apparently.

North Carolina 21, Pitt 10

USC at Penn State

Southern Cal coach Lincoln Riley heard chants demanding his firing during last week's 25-21 win over Washington. First-year PSU skipper Matt Campbell will probably get an earful of the same in this, his fourth home game at Beaver Stadium. Last Friday, the Nittany Lions were utterly uncompetitive in the first game at the new Ryan Field, so much so that they could have been playing against Meg Ryan and Sally Field, and it wouldn't have made much difference. In the 34-13 beating by Northwestern, they got stomped for 413 yards on the ground.

In 2025, the Trojans led the Big Ten in total offense, but it was their defense that prevented them from contending for the conference title. Through this year's 5-1 start, they have allowed only two fewer yards per game, with Ohio State and Indiana still ahead on their schedule.

If you've never heard of a Nittany Lion, it's a lot like a Trojan horse. Ancient warriors from a distant land once hid inside the lion, in order to breach the city walls of State College, Pennsylvania. But then, the inhabitants started speaking to them, so they ran away.

USC 37, Penn State 23

Arizona at West Virginia

The Mountaineers may have been ready in Ames, but they misfired, in a mistake-filled 45-42 loss to Iowa State. On their final offensive series, wide receiver D.J. Epps made a 22-yard catch and run that would have put his team on the cusp of game-tying field goal range, but the ball was stripped from him as he tried to make a jump cut for additional yardage.

Wildcat wide receiver Tre Spivey was lost for the season with a broken foot, in yet another one of the key injuries from Week 5. Spivey leads the team with 314 receiving yards and four touchdowns, and there is nobody else especially close to catching him.

That means Noah Fifita will have to find a new target. The senior slinger surpassed the 10,000-yard mark for his career back in Week 3 against Northern Illinois, and he hasn't slowed down since. He is currently tenth in the nation in passing yardage this year, one yard behind Keelon Russell of Alabama.

Rich Rodriguez is in the second year of his second stint at WVU. In between, he coached for six years with the Wildcats, where he was Tucson's favorite sun. Not son, mind you, but sun. When the fiery coach starts exploding over a missed assignment, a blown call, or almost anything else, that big red orb of his gives off some serious radiation.

Arizona 32, West Virginia 30

Georgia at Alabama

Because Texas is not scheduled to face either of these teams, this battle between Bama and UGA is the biggest blockbuster of the regular season. And yet, it isn't really that meaningful, given the probability of each team making the playoffs anyway.

The Bulldogs must be slipping, because they only beat Vanderbilt by 24 points, instead of 28, which had become their norm. Senior QB Gunner Stockton did throw for a season-high 295 yards, however, with three TDs and no interceptions. The steady but unspectacular slinger has only topped the 300-yard mark once in his career, and that was when he passed for 304 in an overtime win over Tennessee early last season.

The Crimson Tide defense came down on Kamario Taylor in a 56-23 romp over Mississippi State, picking off the young quarterback twice, forcing him to fumble once, and recording five sacks. Meanwhile, their own sophomore QB Keelon Russell kept on keelin on, with 16 completions on 22 attempts for 285 yards, three TDs and no picks.

Bulldog coach Kirby Smart had been 1-7 against the pachyderms until his team put them away in last year's SEC championship game, 28-7. The Tide, who have had trouble running the ball in big games in recent years, rushed for minus-3 yards on 16 carries.

If Kirby Smart were really so smart, instead of a visor he would have an advisor, to advise him not to wear a visor.

Georgia 26, Alabama 21

Texas vs. Oklahoma

The Red River Rivalry returns once again to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, where the postseason "Cotton Bowl Classic" should still be, but has not been for quite some time. In 2010, that game was moved indoors to Arlington, for the namby-pamby reason that it sometimes gets cold in Dallas around New Year's. Who knew that the saying "everything's bigger in Texas" also applied to wusses?

The big question in Norman is what's the matter with Mateer. Ever since the QB left Wazzu for OU at the start of last season, his interceptions are way up and his rushing yardage is way down. In Week 4 against Georgia, he fumbled twice, was intercepted once, and gained 0.5 yards per carry. It's a little too deep into the season to make a change, however, with two backups each having one pass attempt so far in 2026.

If last week's college football action seemed relatively inoffensive, that's because the #1 Longhorns were idle. It's as if the entire team had been given a timeout, which will probably have the same corrective impact it usually does, which is to say none.

If the College Football Czar believed timeouts worked, he would propose that one be given to everybody who says "times out" instead of "timeouts." No offense intended toward the late, great Keith Jackson, but he didn't seem to grasp the concept of compound words. You know, like "lardhead."

Texas 27, Oklahoma 10

Indiana at Nebraska

Eight days after leaving the Northwestern game with a high ankle sprain, former Boston College tailback Turbo Richard was back in the lineup for IU. Not only that, but he led the way to a 47-15 rout of Rutgers, with 204 rushing yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries. Curt Cignetti's club played a clean game, with one five-yard infraction on the Scarlet Knights accounting for all the penalty yardage. The officials must have seen the two teams run onto the field and immediately decided to get the game over with as quickly as possible.

This may look like a big game, both teams being undefeated, but husking corn is a serious challenge compared to the early schedule the Cornhuskers have played. So far, their helpless victims have consisted of two MAC schools, one Division I-AA team, and Big Ten tomato cans Michigan State and Maryland. Expecting them to contend with the defending national championships is kind of like expecting Peter McNeeley to compete with Mike Tyson because he had gone 36-1 against a bunch of guys from his own neighborhood.

Well, the N-men are going to wrap the Hoosiers in a cornhusk of horror, which makes ever so slightly more sense than wrapping Tyson in a cocoon of horror, which is what McNeeley threatened to do. What might he have possibly meant by that? He was going to make Tyson grow wings? What did he think goes on inside a cocoon, anyway?

Then again, the message was meant for Tyson, who probably thought it meant the same thing McNeeley did. It's important to know your audience.

Indiana 40, Nebraska 22

James Madison at Georgia Southern

In spite of losing their head coach and quarterback from last year's playoff team, the Dukes are 5-0, including a quality opening victory over Conference USA leader Liberty. A week ago, J-Mad went crazy on Marshall in the second quarter, taking a commanding 38-14 halftime lead before coasting to a final of 45-17.

The Eagles snapped a three-game losing streak to win their Sun Belt Conference opener, 31-24 at Coastal Carolina. GASO gave a good scrap to Clemson in Week 2, and to Houston two weeks after that. But in between they let one get away in a 31-27 setback at Jacksonville State, which was decided by a fourth-quarter punt return for a touchdown.

It is said that the pen is mightier than the sword, so maybe that's why a football team named after the primary author of The Federalist Papers is so formidable, because as physical stature is concerned, Madison could not have tackled a dust bunny.

James Madison 33, Georgia Southern 28

UCLA at Oregon

The Fighting Ducks have had a badly needed idle week after losing QB Dante Moore to a concussion, while winning a bitter battle at USC, 41-27. Current starter Dylan Raiola will try to keep the big O on a roll, having completed 30 passes out of 36 this season, for 413 yards with five TDs and no interceptions.

Week 4 was also the most recent action for the Bruins, who might have preferred to play again last week after moidulyzing Maryland 54-3 on the road. They already led the Terrapins 20-3 at halftime, before blowing the game wide open with back-to-back pick-sixes in the third quarter.

The Bruin backup QB is Madden Iamaleava, younger brother of Nico, and arguably the guy with the toughest job in college football. When Madden gets in the game, that usually means his brother has just suffered a gruesome injury, yet he has got to stay focused and lead the offense. The coaches are reluctant to let him throw the ball, however, which means they must not let Nico get nicked. Conversely, giving the impression that they have no reliable second-stringer only incentivizes opponents to take out the starter.

And by taking him out, the College Football Czar means they would render him unable to continue playing. Not that they would, you know, take him out, like on a date. Don't you miss the days when explanations such as this were unnecessary?

Oregon 34, UCLA 31

Central Florida at Oklahoma State

OSU is out to prove that it was its opening loss to Tulsa that was a fluke, and their Week 2 win over Oregon was not. Two weeks ago at West Virginia, QB Drew Mestemaker made a mest of the Mountaineer defense with a season-high 389 passing yards, while completing 20 of 27. The former North Texas tosser is currently third in the Big XII in passing yardage, but he and his 3-1 Cowboys have played one game fewer than the other two.

The 3-2 Knights are now 0-2 on the road, with tough losses at Pitt and Houston. If they can avoid going 0-3, they may yet have a successful season, with their toughest remaining opponents (Brigham Young, Baylor, Iowa State), all at home in Orlando. Then again, when success is defined by winning a nonexistent national championship that nobody else will acknowledge, as UCF did in 2017, what difference do a few losses make?

Starting Knight quarterback Alonza Barnettiii is probably not yet ready to return from a hamstring injury, but Keyone Jenkins played well through three quarters against Houston, before leaving the game briefly while cramping up. In fact, Keyone would be one of the "Keys to the Game," like you often see on TV. Keytwo would usually be "avoid turnovers," and Keythree would be "play well on both sides of the ball," or something dopey like that.

Oklahoma State 35, Central Florida 24

LSU at Kentucky

The 4-1 Wildcats rallied from 17-0 deficit to stop South Carolina, 35-34 in overtime. In spite of the dramatic victory, they did fall out of the AP Top 25, but they probably don't care about that as much as Pat Narduzzi does. Needless to say, if UK knocks off Lane Kiffin's club, it will vault over at least a half-dozen teams anyway.

The most important result to come out of the Bayou Bengals' silly 63-14 romp over Division I-AA McNeese Don't-Call-Us-A-State is that they did not sustain any significant injuries. Well, that, and that the fans in Baton Rouge got to see their team in its nifty purple jerseys for the second time in four games.

If it's LSU at Kentucky, then it must be time for a stroll down Lardhead Lane. In 2002, these teams met at Commonwealth Stadium in what would become known in Baton Rouge as the Bluegrass Miracle, in which Wildcat players and fans could not wait for the final play to end before beginning to celebrate. Trailing 30-27, the Tigers had the ball at their own 26-yard line with two seconds to play. Just before the final snap, a few of the UK players dumped Gatorade down the back of a visibly annoyed head coach Guy Morriss, who might have been the only person on that sideline to realize that the game was not over. The last-second desperation heave traveled about fifty yards before being deflected, and falling into the arms of wide receiver Devery Henderson, who streaked into the end zone for the winning score for Louisiana State.

The oblivious Kentucky students were so determined to storm the field that they did not let the outcome of the game deter them. A few of them even managed to climb the goal posts before realizing that the game had been lost. One exceptional rattlenoggin in a Wildcat hoodie came running onto the field right behind Tiger QB Marcus Randal, with his arms spread out and his index fingers raised, seemingly unconcerned by the visible happiness of the opposing quarterback. The College Football Czar seriously wonders if anybody has broken the news to him to this day.

LSU 51, Kentucky 33

UAB at Memphis

Alex Mortensen of Alabama-Birmingham made his head coaching debut in the Battle of the Bones a year ago, pulling off a shocking 31-24 upset of a ranked Tiger team. His Blazers would go on to lose their next four before prevailing in their season finale at Tulsa, but this year they are 3-2, including a Week 4 Friday night victory over preseason conference favorite Navy.

The Tigers picked on the Pick-Cs in a 59-8 stomp through Charlotte, to improve to 4-1. Sophomore wide receiver Jermane Hayes hauled in six receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown in their American Conference opener, although things can only get tougher from here on out. This rivalry game will give a good indication of just how good MU is, since its Week Zero win at UNLV doesn't look nearly as impressive now as it did at the time.

It's a little-known fact that the original trophy for the Battle of the Bones was a statuette of DeForest Kelley, with the inscription, "Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor, not a college football rivalry motif!" Then, they decided that was silly, so they replaced it with a bronze likeness of a rack of ribs.

Memphis 44, UAB 36

Texas A&M at Missouri

As long as Missouri loves company, it might as well have jumped into the crowded SEC race with a 45-17 humbling of a Florida team that had taken down Ole Miss a week earlier. If the Tigers can stamp out the ampersanders, they'll remain in contention for at least another week, before having to travel to Ole Miss.

The Conjunction Boys rolled over Arkansas 34-7, finally capturing their first SEC win of the season on their third attempt, following losses to Kentucky and LSU. The production of their passing game is way off so far this season, with senior scrambler Marcel Reed only throwing for 908 yards in five games.

One of the biggest upsets of Week 5 was that the Aggies and Razorbacks played outdoors, for a standing-room only crowd of more than 108,000 at Kyle Field, instead of repelling TV viewers with yet another early afternoon game in the depressing dank of Jerry Jones' House of Inadequacy. Actually, it was the second year in a row that they played on-campus, the previous game being played in front of 73,000 in Fayetteville. Last time the game was held in Arlington, in 2024, they drew almost 61,000, which is 75 percent capacity. For them to play at a neutral site indoors is terrible for TV, and terrible for in-person attendance. So why did they ever do it?

And no, "It's all about da munny" is not the correct answer.

Missouri 23, Texas A&M 13

Boise State at Fresno State

Since dropping a dismal 39-0 opener at USC, the Bulldogs have now won four in a row, albeit against inferior competition. Last week, they opened their Pac 12 season by whacking Washington State 26-6 on the road. The FSU defense held Wazzu to 30 rushing yards for the game, and stopped the Cougars on 16 of 19 third and fourth-down conversion attempts. Sounds like a good day all-around, except for the part about holding wazzu.

At 4-1 with wins over Memphis and Western Michigan, the Broncos are the obvious frontrunners for the group-of-six CFP bid, but this battle with their longtime rivals should be their toughest test yet, outside of an opening seven-point setback at Oregon. A week ago, BSU used Utah State 37-18 to begin conference play, so they and their foes from Fresno have matching records of 1-0 in the league and 4-1 overall.

These former Mountain West foes, now in the new Pac 12, play annually for the Milk Can, a college trophy so obscure that it was last seen on a milk carton. It was created in recognition of the dairy farmers who are a significant population in both Idaho and the San Joaquin Valley. The College Football Czar can just imagine the brainstorming session for that one. Hey, these two rural areas both have cows. Sounds like a theme!

Boise State 32, Fresno State 24

Wake Forest at Nc State

The Stanford tree found itself surrounded at Wake Forest last weekend, where the Demon Deacons sawdusted their cross-continental conference foes, 57-3. At 4-1 with a competitive loss to Miami, WF could get a whiff of ACC contention if they can get past intrastate rival NCSU.

A 31-28 victory over ACC opponent Louisville was just what the Wolfpack needed to put the embarrassment of the Vanderbilt game behind them. Certainly this was true of starting quarterback and fall guy C.J. Bailey, who had fumbled in the end zone of the Vandy game while trying to run out the clock, but bounced back with a career-high 373 yards against the Cardinals. Meanwhile, Senior linebacker Popo Aguirre popped up with three fumble recoveries, which the Pack converted them for 17 points.

Last year at Winston-Salem, defensive tackle Isaiah Shirley scored a touchdown for the victorious Pack when he picked off a screen pass, and returned 41 yards to the end zone. DTs rarely get on the scoresheet, so it's important to get his name right. There is no "s" on the end of his first name, so please, do not call him eee-sah-EEE-ahs. And whatever you do, don't call him Shirley.

Upon further review, that second one is okay.

Nc State 28, Wake Forest 27

Houston at Kansas State

Slow and steady won the space race for Planet Hooston, which rallied past Central Florida 27-17 after trailing 17-0 in the third quarter. Only a 28-26 setback at Texas Tech has kept the Cougars from being unbeaten at this point in the season.

The 3-1 Wildcats were idle after a conference-opening loss to Cincinnati, and have yet to record a win this season that might signal their return to contention. It seems as if they shut the team down when they declined to play in a bowl game at the end of last season, and they haven't gotten around to switching it back on yet.

Avery Johnson is avery elusive scrambler if nothing else. The K-State quarterback often keeps the ball, but has yet to be sacked a single time this season. He might opt for a quicker release this week against a UH defense that is weak against the pass, but leads the Big XII in fewest rushing yards allowed.

In case you didn't realize that Hooston was a planet, it got promoted to that status when last-place Pluto was relegated. In their decisive two-game aggregate goals series, they had a goalless draw on Hooston, followed by a 1-1 stalemate on Pluto, with Hooston advancing for having more goals as the visiting team. You can't argue with science.

Houston 26, Kansas State 17

Uconn at Temple

When these teams last met in 2024, the Owls eschewed a game-tying chip shot on the last play of regulation time to go for a fourth-and-goal from three yards away. As the pile pushed forward, the ball popped loose, and a Husky defender carried it all the way back for a touchdown, and a final score of 29-20.

Last week, the Huskies needed to come up with another such stand, but were unable to do so. Having rallied from a 20-pioint deficit to force overtime against Syracuse, they proceeded to take the lead for a moment, until the Orange responded with the apparent tying score. UC had roughed the passer on the play, though, which gave the Cuse the ball a yard and a half away for the conversion attempt. SU went for two from there and stole the game back from the Conn Men, 42-41.

The Owls ousted South Florida from the ranks of the unbeatens 17-13, on a late 34-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ajani Sheppard. Between Sheppard and his injured competitor Jaxon Smolik, however, TU has yet to develop a productive passing game.

You might wonder how a diamond came to be the symbol of Temple University. That's because it was originally a night school, in Philadelphia. Where else would you go if you wanted to major in fencing stolen goods?

Temple 18, Uconn 15

La.-Lafayette at Louisiana Tech

In a rare positive development in conference realignment, LTU has joined the Sun Belt, where they resume their old Southland Conference rivalry with the Ragin Cajuns. Tech has taken the last eight nonconference games between them, with the team that was then known as Southwestern Louisiana last winning in 1996.

Blake Baker is expected to return behind center for the Bulldogs, even though Trey Kukuk performed well in the starting role, even without the supporting cast of Fran and Ollie. In last week's 31-29 win over visiting Army, Kukuk completed 16 of 22 for 185 yards, while gaining 40 more on the ground. On one third-quarter play that did not add to his total, he threw a lateral pass to WR Marcus Calwise, who tossed the ball about 20 yards to running back Dylone Brooks, who in turn carried it the remaining 54 yards into the end zone to put his team on top for good.

At 4-1, the Ragin Cajuns have only lost to USC, 49-30 in the Coliseum, and have since prevailed in pepper games against UAB, Charlotte and Arkansas State. Nevertheless, one must wonder whether running quarterback Lunch Winfield is capable of passing the salt. Sticking with safe, short-distance throws has pumped up his completion percentage to 75.5, but he has only 844 passing yards on 83 completions, just two of which have gone for touchdowns in five games.

This battle in the Bayou State could turn out to be just like the Bourbon Bowl in The Waterboy, except that it might be somewhat amusing.

Louisiana Tech 22, La.-Lafayette 17

Kent State at Western Michigan

For the 3-2 Broncos to only have lost to Michigan (sort of) and Boise State makes them sound formidable enough, but it is their one-score wins over Rice (28-21) and Buffalo (20-17) that are weighing them down. In their previous two games at home in Waldo Stadium, they have gotten bottled up by BSU 32-7, and beaten Division I-AA Monmouth.

The Golden Flashes fell at home to Ohio 13-10, on a missed 32-yard field goal attempt with ten seconds remaining. KSU is 0-2 on the road, but those games against South Carolina and Ohio State are of little relevance to this conference game in Kalamazoo.

Surely, leading Flash receiver Da'Realyst Clark had no illusions about beating the Buckeyes, but Mid-American Conference victories are well within his grasp, with six catches against each of two league opponents so far.

Not that it's necessarily a good thing to be da realist. Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o was da un-realist, and he had a stellar collegiate career!

Kent State 15, Western Michigan 9

The College Football Czar

a sports publication from The Shinbone