WEEK 7

"Bear my testimony"

The fields are stained red across America today.

BLOODSHED in college football. FIVE of the top eight teams in the country were vanquished Saturday. FIVE. #1 Georgia. #2 Notre Dame. #5 Indiana. #6 Alabama. #7 Texas. And #3 Miami needed double overtime to escape Florida State.

The last time five of the AP's top eight teams lost on the same day, George H. W. Bush (the dad for those of you who haven’t opened a history book) hadn't even been inaugurated.

 

January 2, 1989. Thirty-seven years.

 

This wasn't a Saturday. It was a massacre.

And nowhere was the carnage more crushing than Athens, Georgia. Just seven days after securing their first victory in Tuscaloosa since 2007, the newly crowned #1 Bulldogs welcomed unranked Auburn to town. A fumble with just over a minute remaining set up the Tigers' game-winning field goal. Georgia 24. Auburn 27. The Dawgs’ renewed reign atop the college football world lasted a mere week.

Meanwhile, in Provo, #8 BYU, my beloved Cougars, delivered its biggest victory since knocking off #1 Miami in 1990, stunning #2 Notre Dame 28-24. And the Cougars did it behind a quarterback who doubled as a Swiss Army knife. Bear Bachmeier threw for a touchdown. Ran for a touchdown. Caught a touchdown. Yes. CAUGHT. Against the #2 team in America.

Only three OTC entries had faith in the ghost of Steve Young (no, he’s not actually dead): MasterGrimes, THE, and RecordSetter 98. Way to believe!

Back in Indiana, in Bloomington to be specific, the defending national champions saw their 22-game winning streak come to an agonizing end. Trailing #4 Ohio State 19-15, #5 Indiana faced 4th and 4 with the game on the line. Nick Marsh burned his corner back. The throw was there. The touchdown was there. His feet were not. Turnover on downs. Ballgame. Twenty-two straight wins, undone by approximately six inches of poor spatial awareness. College football players are now getting paid like NFL veterans, and they only need to get one foot down. Ouch, Hoosiers.

Remember two weeks ago when we were lauding Alabama's offensive machine coming off a 56-point performance against Mississippi State? Last week: 17 against Georgia. This week: 10 against Tennessee. #14 Rocky Top hammered the #6 Tide 26-10 in Knoxville, handing the Crimson their second consecutive loss. Only TWO OTC entries were brave enough to chase the Volunteers: Clarkster and David's USA. Enjoy your well-earned moment with some orange and white checkered stogies.

And then there's Texas. After losing to unranked Oklahoma last week, the Longhorns followed up with a 27-24 loss to Florida. Yes, the same Florida that demolished Ole Miss, got demolished by Missouri, and then lost to South Carolina. Now they've beaten #7 Texas. The Gators aren't a football team. They're a random number generator wearing shoulder pads.

Around the rest of the OTC slate, Ole Miss dismantled #13 Missouri 31-3. The Tigers had just beaten Florida and Texas A&M in consecutive weeks. Naturally, they responded by scoring three points.

Kentucky beat Oklahoma 21-13, one week after the Sooners knocked off #1 Texas. Apparently beating the best team in America is exhausting.

North Carolina beat Duke 24-20, giving Bill Belichick consecutive victories after his historic win over Pitt last week. The old man is heating up. Somebody check on Tom Brady.

Toledo handled Eastern Michigan 34-14, while Air Force beat UNLV 41-31. UCLA remained unbeaten with a 17-7 win over Wisconsin. 24 total points. Big Ten football in all its glory. And Houston survived Oklahoma State 35-32 in a ranked Big 12 showdown.

 

In OTC, MasterGrimes rode his faith in BYU all the way to the Week Seven crown with 42 points. 

But the biggest news of all: atop the overall standings, we have a new king. WahooWa has seized first place with 269 points, knocking fan favorite PickleRicks RicklePicks into second at 265. And making his first appearance in our weekly dispatch, Green Goblin 65 has catapulted into third with 260.

A four-point gap at the top. Nine points separating the top three. The race is officially on.

And then there's Diamond Dave's 1st Entry. Zero. Our first no-show of the season. Seven weeks into the season, Diamond Dave has 134 points. The next-lowest entry has 215. Commish, we are petitioning you to boot his ass. At this point, Dave is just bringing down the property values.

I’ll admit, I hope next week lets us breathe after what transpired in Week 7. Ole Miss v. Texas and Houston v. Utah lead the slate. But even if it’s a bit quiet in the world of Top 25 matchups, you better believe the OTC Pick ‘Em slate will be cooking. No rest for the weary. Think you're slick? Make that pick!

 

 

                   VEGAS

#4 Ohio State (-3) @ #5 Indiana

#6 Alabama (-7.5) @ #14 Tennessee

Toledo (-6.5) @ Eastern Michigan

UNLV @ Air Force (-1.5)

North Carolina @ Duke (-3)

#13 Missouri @ #9 Ole Miss (-5.5)

#15 Kentucky @ Oklahoma (-6.5)

Wisconsin @ #12 UCLA (-2.5)

#18 Oklahoma State @ #20 Houston (-4.5)

#2 Notre Dame (-10.5) @ #8 BYU