Random Thoughts: Alabama, Georgia, and...?

Ohio State has done it. Clemson has done it. Oklahoma has done it. And now Alabama has done it. The ol’ struggle win. For the Crimson Tide, however, it has only happened once and it was against No. 11 Florida. For the others, it seems to be reoccurring and against unranked non-P5s at home. While Alabama did not look dominating on Saturday, they still won on the road under adverse circumstances.

There is an old line that goes: “You don’t have to run faster than the bear to get away. You just have to run faster than the guy next to you.”

This season might not be about being great. It may just be about being better than everyone else.

Alabama 31 Florida 29 - For the second straight year, Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide had a tough time putting away the pesky Gators. Upon first examination, most Tide fans are probably mad, disappointed, and filled with angst. But here is the silver lining, Alabama beat the No. 11 team in a hostile road environment with jorts-wearing Gator fans screaming their heads off for three plus hours. Nick Saban can only hope that Bama fans will behave the same way when Ole Miss travels to Tuscaloosa in two short weeks (minus the jorts).

Penn State 28 Auburn 20 - The Tigers hung tough with the Litany Nylons but some bizarre AU choices kept them from glory. On the first play of the second half, Auburn opted for a wideout option pass, but it was fumbled and PSU scored four plays later. At 28-20, on fourth & goal with three minutes to go, Aubie QB Bo Nix and/or HC Bryan Harsin and/or OC Mike Bobo made the odd decision to throw a low percentage fade route (see above) that gave the ball back the Penny. Of course any Auburn fan with a Twitter account screamed pass interference to anyone who would listen but the dude was nowhere near the ball to catch it. The PlainsWarTigerEagles got the ball back with 33 ticks left but still could not find the end zone. This is what happens when Aubie does not have a flukey play in a high stakes game.

STRUGGLE WINS

Clemson 14 Georgia Tech 8 - Playing in front of their home crowd, the Tigers needed a late goal line stand (a terrible shuttle pass play call by GT) to hold off a team that lost to a home game to Northern Illinois. DJ Uigalgelelelei is looking like a straight up bust so far. Thanks, Fansville! The Clemson QB has all of one touchdown pass this season and it came against South Carolina State.

Saban would say this is bad technique.

Oklahoma 23 Nebraska 16 - This was a pretty tight game throughout against a program mired in malaise (emo band name!). With tons of alumni royalty in town, the Sooners schlepped around and let the godawful Cornhuskers hang around until a late-game sack ended the Nebraska threat.

Ohio State 41 Tulsa 20 - Though the score doesn’t show it, the Buckies had a tough time in this one. anOSU only led 27-20 - at home mind you - in the fourth quarter. A late touchdown and a pick-six on the subsequent possession made the score look lopsided. Tulsa had 501 yards of offense. JT Stroud had only 185 yards passing, threw a pick, and lost a fumble.

This is Year 3 for Ryan Day and it feels like the Urban Meyer magic is wearing off.

Notre Dame 27 Purdue 13 - It was a four-point game entering the final frame but PU stunk it up at the end of the game with interceptions on their last two possessions.

Oregon 48 Stony Brook 7 - Not a actual struggle but if you can name SBU’s mascot, team colors, or even the location of the school, we will move your name to the front of the #refund list. No Googling.

SEC

Memphis 31 Mississippi State 29 - Why Clanga-clang agreed to play a game at Memphis is beyond me. Ole Miss has lost their last two games (2015, 2019) against the Tigers in the Liberty Bowl. In the wildest play of the day, Memphis returned an undowned punt 94 yards for a score (more on that in Krazy Kristi’s section below). But that was not the only gaffe by the Bullies. Memphis opened the scoring by returning a MSU fumble for a score. In the fourth quarter, Coach Mike Leach made the classic mistake of chasing points. After scoring a touchdown to make the deficit 23-28, Leach opted to go for two-points and failed. Memphis kicked a field goal with a minute left to take an eight-point lead. MSU had one last touchdown and were forced to go for two again and again failed, losing by two.

MSU outgained Memphis 468 to 246 and had more first downs, 26-12. It’s the errors that killed them.

Ole Miss 61 Tulane 21- Matt Corral had 3 passing TDs and 4 rushing TDs against a decent team. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Georgia 40 South Carolina 13 - Perhaps fearing his grasp on the starting spot was slipping away, JT Daniels was back under center and threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Back-up Stetson Bennett was 1 for 3 for four yards with a pick. Former SC grad assistant/current QB Zeb Noland completed a pass for 61 yards on his first attempt but was injured on the second and left the game (see SICK REPORT below). Luke Doty was pretty pedestrian (13-26, 153 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, lost fumble) in his place. It makes one wonder if the game might have been closer had Noland gone the distance.

SEC VS CUPCAKES

Texas A&M 34 New Mexico 0 - The Lobos are the kind of team an SEC team should beat by 50. The TAMU defense dominated (122 total yards and 9 first downs allowed) but QB Zach Calzada was not great: 19-33, 275 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT. New Mexico’s QB is former Kentucky Wildcat Terry Wilson. He was dreadful: 10-23, 33 yds, 1 INT, -14 yds rushing. UK is better off

LSU 49 Central Michigan 21 - Max Johnson had a big day (26-35, 372 yds, 5 TD) but also threw a pick six. However, only 84 rushing yards for so-called #RBU on 24 attempts (3.5 ypc).

Arkansas 45 Georgia Southern 10 - Arky took care of business against a pretty bad team, racking up 633 yards of offense.

Kentucky 28 Chattanooga 23 - It appears someone spent too much time admiring themselves in the mirror this past week instead of preparing for the FCS Moccasins. UK’s Will Levis threw two picks and lost a fumble. UTC led 16-14 in the fourth quarter but a 95 yard Wildcat pick six put UK ahead to stay.
Missouri 59 Southeast Missouri State 28 - Mizzou led 45-0 and put in their back-ups who evidentially suck eggs.
Tennessee 56 Tennessee Tech 0 - Nothing to see here. Move along.

PSUEDO SEC

Stanford 41 Vanderbilt 23 - this

PAC TAKES SOME LUMPS

After three weeks, the PAC-12 has 16 out-of-conference losses, five defeats at the hands of MWC teams, three to BYU, and two to FCS teams.

Oooooh, snap!

Fresno 40 UCLA 37- I guess we should have seen this one coming. The Bruins have been playing over their heads and So Cal is sucking. Mix in some rat poison and a scary dangerous opponent and you have the recipe for a trap game. Bulldogs quarterback Jake Haener is someone to keep an eye on. He leads the nation with 1,464 passing yards and has 10 TDs and only one pick thrown.

BYU 27 Arizona State 17 - Two interceptions, two fumbles lost, and 16 penalties doomed the Sun Devils.

San Diego Maradona State 33 Utah 31 - This might be the first game of the year that reached the third overtime. By rule, both teams have one play to convert a two-pointer from the three yard line in the third extra frame, until someone wins.

KID BROTHER IS DOING OKAY

Maryland 20 Illinois 17 - Taulia Tagovailoa was 32-43 for 350 yards and 1 TD as the Terps move to 3-0. In three games, Lia has a 75.5 passing percentage with 956 passing yards, 7 touchdowns and no picks. After Kent State on Saturday, they face a real test in Iowa on October 1.

ACC FLOPS

The ACC is 3-8 in OOC games against Power-5 teams. The thre wins were against Illinois, Northwestern, and Tennessee. They are 1-4 versus the SEC.

Western Michigan 44 Pitt 41 - A week after defeating Tennessee, the Panthers were topped by this MAC team. 7-0 was the only time Pitt led.

West Virginia 27 Virginia Tech 21 - WVU built a 27-7 lead but VaTech stormed back with 14 unanswered points and an interception deep in WVU territory with just over two minuted to go. Only a stop on 4th & goal from the four with 45 seconds left saved the Mountaineers.

Michigan State 38 Miami 17 - A fourth quarter seven-point MSU lead turned into a blowout when Sparty scored 14 unanswered to close out the win in south Florida. Michy State is quietly becoming a contender in the B1G who could be a thorn in the side.

WHAT THE?

FSU DEFENSE OF THE WEEK

KEEP YOUR HEAD ON A SWIVEL

FISHIEST FINISH OF THE WEEK

The ULL-Ohio over/under was 56.5. With the Rajuns up 42-14, they faced a 4th & 10 at the Bobcat 35 with 1:22 remaining and a running clock. What do you do? Run the clock down and run a play? Maybe take a delay penalty and punt? Not Looziana. They took a timeout. First play, they passed for 20 yards and then passed again for a meaningless touchdown. This took the point total from 56 to 63.

Billy Napier’s wife and kids were released unharmed.

BEST THROWBACK

Respect the Wave! That’s as many SEC titles as Kentucky, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt combined.

SCRABBLE NAME OF THE WEEK

• UCLA DB Qwuantrezz Knight - Triple Word Score! How did Auburn let this guy slip through their clutches?

STATS OF THE DAY

• Bo Nix is now 5-8 in the road/neutral site games.
• Auburn is 1-5 against Top 25 teams since last year.
• Bryce Young has the most touchdowns thrown in FBS (10) without an interception.
• The only SEC home teams to lose this week were Florida and Vandy.
• San Jose State (11) and Hawaii (10) combined to punt 21 times. They must be auditioning for the B1G.
• BYU is 3-0 versus the PAC-12 this season with wins over Utah, Arizona, and Arizona State.
• Penn State is now 9-8 in their vaunted White Out games. The worst loss they’ve ever had in such a game was 27-11 to Alabama in 2011. Were you there?

teH ReFs aLwAYs FaVor BaaMA

The above thread of clips were of a key play for Florida that broke a long 30-yard run for a first down. The ref is standing right there while Tim Smith (#50) is clearly being held by his shoulder pads and another offensive lineman has a hold of Christian Harris’s ankle (#8) while lying on the ground.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Alabama has been flagged 28 times thus far for an average of 9.3 penalties and 84.7 yards per game - ninth most in the nation. Opponents are at 7.0 and 65.3.

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESI JOEY

Virtual Nitwit

Notre Dame is playing Wisconsin at Chicago’s Soldier Field and that is where College GameDay will be.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

Not a good week for our adoptees.

• Arkansas State (1-2) - The Fightin’ Butch Joneses got whalloped by Washington 52-3. ASU heads to Tulsa.
• UCLA (2-1) - The Bruins were upset by scary good Fresno on a 13 yard scoring pass with 13 ticks remaining on the clock, 40-37. Next is a road game at emerging Stanford.
• Tulane (1-2) - The Green Wave took some lumps against the BlackSharkManBearPigAckbars 61-21. Tulane returns home to play UAB on Saturday after being displaced the past two weeks because of Hurricane Ida.
• UT-Martin (2-1) - The Skyhawks conquered Northwestern State 35-10. They have their toughest FCS test up next in a game at Jacksonville State.

COUSINS

• Troy (2-1) - The Trojans defeated hapless Southern Miss 21-9. Troy hits the road to ULM.
• South Alabama (3-0) - The Jags are 3-0 for the first time since joining the FBS in 2012 after beating Alcorn 28-21. That streak likely ends with ULL coming to town.

THAT ANNOYING NEIGHBOR WHO DOESN’T DE-WEED AND THEY CREEP OVER INTO YOUR YARD

• UAB (2-1) - The Dragons got back to winning with a 40-6 thumping of North Texas. The Lizards head to Nawlins to face Tulane.

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

• Army (3-0) - The Black Knights destroyed UConn 52-21. Miami-Ohio invades West Point.
• Navy (0-2) - The Midshipmen had a week off to prep for Houston. After that it’s UCF, SMU, @Memphis, Cincy, @Tulsa, @Notre Dame... Ugh, it’s gonna be a long year.
• Air Force (2-1) - Utah State rallied late to beat the Falcons 49-45. FAU! comes to town.

COMMANDER-IN-CHUMPS TROPHY SCHEDULE

9/2/21 Tennessee 38 Bowling Green 6
9/11/21 South Alabama 22 Bowling Green 19
11/20/21 South Alabama at Tennessee - Championship!

ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

Premature elimination: Rutgers, Wake Forest, BC, Arky

Definite elimination: Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, FSU, NC State, Syracuse, Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Cal, Oregon State, Arizona, Stanford, Washington State, Washington, Mizzou, Vandy, Tennessee. NEW: Pitt, Colorado, Utah, Miami, Pitt, Indiana, Northwestern, , South Carolina, Missy State.

Endangered: Clemson, UNC, West Virginia, Minnie, Wisky, LSU, Ohio State, Texas, Iowa State, Southern Cal NEW: Virginia Tech, Virginia, Purdue, UCLA, Arizona State, Auburn.

Premature endangered: Sparty, Texas Tech, Baylor, Kansas State, Colorado.

A way WAY WAY too early look at the College Football Playoff (CFP) picture:

Could this be the year we see a two-loss team in the CFP?

• ACC - After three short weeks, only BC and Wake are unbeaten. That won’t last. Clemson’s offense looks like absolute garbage. The Aye-See-See may just get left out this year.
• Big 12 - Oklahoma had yet another struggle-win over an inferior opponent.
• Big Ten - Penn State made a move, but they’ll blow it like they always do. Same with Michigan. Iowa is a dark horse. REAL dark.
• PAC-12 - UCLA screwed the pooch. Oregon is the last unbeaten in the PAC.
• SEC - Bama and UGA lead. TAMU looks rocky. OM is looking impressive. Florida is still in it.
• Indies - As long as Notre Dame wins, the idiots with microphone will say how wonderful they are. BYU is trying to get noticed.
• Non-Power 5 - Does beating a meh Indiana really move the needle for you? Cincinnati has a bye week followed by a trek to Notre Dame.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

Current Top 10:

1. Alabama (59) (3-0) - no No. 1 votes lost or gained.
2. Georgia (3) (3-0) - same as above.
3. Oregon (3-0) - up 1
4. Oklahoma (3-0) - down 1
5. Iowa (3-0)
6. Penn State (3-0) - up 4
7. Texas A&M (3-0)
8. Cincinnati (3-0)
9. Clemson (2-1) - down 3
10. Ohio State (2-1) - down 1

(The first CFP rankings drops on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021)

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to referees and their pass interference, targeting, non-calls, make-up calls, and so many gaffes this weekend. This “apology” tweet below pretty much sums up their weekend across the board:

HEISMAN HYPE

Most years, the Heisman Trophy voting is basically a hype award. Often times voters fall in love with someone and refuse to REALLY look at what a player has accomplished. of course there are exceptions.

WHO WILL WIN

CLARIFICATION: This section is not who deserves to win. It is who the slobbering press and other voters will callously crush on.

Nobody is really standing out.

LEADERS

• QB Bryce Young (Soph, Alabama) 22-35, 240 YDS, 3 TD - Another solid if not spectacular performance. Would’ve had a fourth passing touchdown if not for a certain receiver dropping a wide open pass.
• QB Matt Corral (RS-Jr, Ole Miss) 23-31, 335 YDS, 3 TD, 13 RUSH 68 YDS, 4 TD - Seven touchdowns will turn some heads. He may be the first QB picked in 2022.

SHOULD BE FADING

• QB Jack Coan (RS-Sr, Notre Dame) 15-30, 223 YDS, 2 TD - His stats are not all that great but he plays for the Irish and them yankee writers love them some Irish. Some things never change.
• QB Spencer Rattler (RS-Soph, Oklahoma) 24-34, 214 YDS, 1 TD - Another underwhelming performance against an inferior opponent. He’s going to get some poor NFL coach and/or GM fired.

FADING

• QB J.T. Daniels (RS-Jr, Georgia) 23-31, 303 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT - had a good game against South Carolina but needs to do a lot of catching up.
• QB Kedon Slovis/Sedon Klovis (Jr, So Cal) - After a loss to Stanford last week, he was knocked out of the Wazzu game after the first series.

GONE

• QB D.J. Uiagalelei (Soph, Dabo Cult) 18-25, 126 yards, still no passing TDs against FBS opponents.
• RB Breece Hall (Jr, Iowa State) - 100 yards against UNLV? Bravo (slow clap).
• EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux (Jr, Oregon) - Injured, did not play. Probably his agent’s idea.

TOKEN RUNNING BACK

• Kenneth Walker (Jr, Michigan State) - 27 attempts, 172 yards, 3 rec, 17 yards, one receiving score.
• Zach Charbonnet (Jr, UCLA) - Had two touchdowns but only 19 yards on six carries.
• NEW: TreVeyon Henderson (Fr, anOSU) 24 att, 277 yds, 3 TD vs Tulsa - The media is slobbering all over him.

WHO SHOULD WIN

CLARIFICATION: This section IS for who deserves to win it.

Corral has looked good but the opposition has not been great. Tell me who has been better than Bryce Young against Power-5 competition? I’ll wait.

THE SICK REPORT

• Center Florida QB Dillon Gabriel (or is it Gabriel Dillon?) was injured on the the last play of their losing effort against Louisville.
• LSU has lost DE Andre Anthony for the season with a knee injury. The senior has 3.5 sacks and a scoop-and-score on the young season.
• South Carolina QB Zeb Noland’s throwing hand was inadvertently stepped on by a ginormous UGA defensive lineman. No bones were broken, but he had a bad cut and did lose feeling in the hand for awhile.
• X-rays on So Cal QB Sedon Klovis came out negative for neck injuries. He is expected to practice this week. The Trojans play Oregon State on Saturday and probably don’t need him but he is listed as questionable.
• Miami Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King is seeing his draft status take another nosedive after suffering yet another injury. He will meet with doctors Tuesday to have his shoulder injury evaluated - probably because his coach Manny Diaz had the poor guy pass the ball 59 times against Sparty. King tore his ACL in December. He really should move to wide receiver if he wants an NFL career.
• Clemson defensive tackle Tyler Davis needs surgery to repair a torn bicep and is expected to miss seven to eight weeks.
• Purdue’s top receiver David Bell has entered the concussion protocol.

DRAMA

• TE/WR/Headcase Arik Gilbert is still mysteriously AWOL form UGA but Kirby sadly still thinks he might come back.
• LSU RB John Emery has been ruled academically ineligible for the season. His academic issues date back to fall 2020 and were not resolved by the end of summer classes. His appeal was denied last week. LSU attempted to use the pandemic as an excuse to get a waiver, but it was shot down. His parents are hiring a lawyer to fight the decision. Really? Here is an opportunity for mom and dad to teach their kid a valuable life lesson, but instead they have to act like their precious little baby darling can do no wrong. smh
• Clemson running back Lyn-J Dixon has entered the transfer portal. The senior has always played second fiddle since joining the Tigers and has 48 rushing yards on 10 carries this season.
• I am starting to wonder if Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux has any intention of playing another down for Oregon. He is expected to be a top pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

KOACHES KORNER

• Without emphatically turning down the possibility of coaching Southern Cal, former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops sure sounds like he is content with retirement watching his son play. Drake Stoops is a RS-junior wide receiver for the Sooners. He has 3 receptions for 44 yards this season.
• Interim So Cal coach Donte Williams is 1-0 for the Men of Troy. See, this what happens when a school fires a coach in mid-season. If he keeps on winning, it’s going to be tough passing on him for someone outside the program. Especially since it’s 2021. Keep on winning, DW!
• Florida coach Dan Mullen told reporters “hopefully we get one more shot at them (Alabama).” His players have echoed this sentiment of wanting a Bama rematch. Kirby Smart is over the moon with joy.
• This week, astronomers believed they discovered a ninth planet at the edge of our solar system but later found it was only Fat F*** Phil Fulmer crossing the street to get to Krispy Kreme.

TEEVEE

I will say this about Fox’s Gus Johnson: Either you hate him or you were born without ears.

THIS WEEK

(Below is an abbreviated list of highlighted games of interest. If you REALLY need to know about the big Maine-NIU showdown, you can find the details here.)

Thursday, September 23

Marshall at Appalachian State 6:30/7:30 ESPN

Friday, September 24

Middle Tennessee at Charlotte 5:30/6:30 CBSSN
Wake Forest at Virginia 6pm/7pmM ESPN2 - Reality time for Wake.
UNLV at Fresno 9pm/10pm CBSSN - This will be a blow out but give Fresno a look.

Saturday, September 25

GAMES OF THE WEEK

* Notre Dame vs Wisconsin 11am/noon FOX - Played in Chicago

* Texas A&M at Arkansas 2:30/3:30 CBS - This game is looking much more interesting than it did a month ago! Played at JerryWorld.

SEC

Georgia at Vanderbilt 11am/noon SECN
LSU at Mississippi State 11am/noon ESPN - Two Jekyll & Hyde teams.
Missouri at Boston College 11am/noon ESPN2
Georgia State at Auburn 3pm/4pm SECN - Back to winning Super Bowls.
Kentucky at South Carolina 6pm/7pm ESPN2
Tennessee at Florida 6pm/7pm ESPN - The Gators are lucky they have the dreadful Vols this week. If they had Kentucky or maybe Mizzou, they might just lose. Mullen and his team are still moping around about how they ‘shoulda beat Bama’ and ‘we wuz the better team’ that they will be distracted.

OTHERS ON SATURDAY

Boise at Utah State 11am/noon CBS – Breakfast at the Tiffany Network.
Clemson at NC State 2:30/3:30 ESPN – If the right Wolfpack team shows up, we could have an upset on our hands.
Iowa State at Baylor 2:30/3:30 FOX – A must-win for both teams.
Rutgers at Michigan 2:30/3:30 ABC – Potential trouble for UM. Rutgers took them to OT last year.
Kansas at Duke 3pm/4pm ACCN - If only they were playing basketball...
Nebraska at Michigan State 6pm/7pm FS1 – Are the ‘Huskers improved or do the Sooners suck? Sparty is on the rise.
West Virginia at Oklahoma 6:30/7:30 ABC – A smidge better competition for the Sooners.

PAC-12 AFTER DARK

South Florida at BYU 9:15/10:15 ESPN2
Arizona at Oregon 9:30/10:30 ESPN
Oregon State at Southern Cal 9:30/10:30 FS1
Colorado at Arizona State 9:30/10:30 ESPNU

SABAN vs. POP and BEAR

• Nick Saban now has 70 wins over ranked teams in his tenure at Alabama. The next closest during that span? Bob Stoops with 35.
• Saban has been named National Coach of the Week by The Dodd Trophy - something I did not realize they did. I am sure this made all the haters fly into a rage.

#ALABAMA

• Despite some fears from seeing Will Anderson aided to the locker room, Nick Saban reported that the Tide Jack-Linebacker was not injured at the end of the game. He was just plain worn out and dehydrated from the game and the pea-soup humidity of Gainesville. Running back Brian Robinson bruised some ribs late in the game but he will be okay.
• Anderson was named SEC defensive player of the week.
• Sophomore LB Quandarrius Robinson was suspended for the first two Bama games for unshared reasons. Saban: “He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, so we allowed him to come back for this game (Florida).” He is also serving as back-up longsnapper.
• I regret to inform you that Ole Miss-Alabama will be aired by CBS, Saturday, Oct. 2 at 2:30/3:30.

Livin’ rent free.

GAME 4: Saturday, September 25, 2021

Southern Miss Golden Eagles (1-2) at Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0)

Tuscaloosa, AL ~ 6:30pm CT/7:30pm ET, SECN

• RBR sources have told us that entry into the last home game against Mercer was a disaster and the UA Athletics department knows it. Several employees were no-shows and those that did show up had problems figuring out the ticket scanners. If you are heading to BDS this weekend or the next, we advise you arrive at least an hour before kickoff.
• Saturday weather should be beautiful with a high of 79° during the day, dipping down to a low of 58°. Get to campus early and enjoy the day, but bring a jacket for later.
• Announcers again will be Tom Hart and Jordan Rodgers with Cole Cubelic on the sidelines.
• Eli Gold on Alabama Radio.
• The Crimson Tide have a 37-5-2 edge over USM all-time. The last Golden Eagles win was 2000, a humiliating 21-0 defeat under Mike DuBose’s reign of terror. The last meeting was in 2019 with Bama coming out on top 49–7.
• Southern Miss is Alabama’s ninth most frequent foe with 44 games.
• USM is 0-2 versus Alabama schools (Troy, USA) so far this season.
• The line on this game is around Bama -44½. Over/Under is 57½. Step away.