Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
A new type of Labor Day telethon is underway in South Carolina. Clemson fans are collecting their hard earned money to help raise the $57 million needed to buyout the contract of two-time national championship football coach Dabo Swinney.
LSU virtually assured the end is near for 56-year old Coach Swinney after a 51-10 beatdown on national television Saturday night in Baton Rouge. The Bayou Bengals spotted Clemson an early 3-0 lead after LSU was intercepted on the game’s first series.
LSU then roared back to score 51 consecutive points to take a 51-3 lead in the fourth quarter. The Louisiana Tigers registered 309 rushing yards to go with 335 passing yards while utilizing three different quarterbacks.
Clemson could manage only 145 yards in total offense and a measly eight first downs in the game. Most of those totals came in the fourth quarter.
It was the worst loss of Coach Dabo Swinney’s 18+ year career at Clemson.
The Clemson coach (for now) said afterwards, “The best thing about that game is that it’s over.”
Yes, and so is your time at Clemson, coach. This new telethon just hasn’t reached its goal – yet.
The first game in the Lane Kiffin era at LSU was a rousing success
LSU fans were confident that former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin would be able to improve the team’s offense. No one likely expected this amount of improvement, though.
A school record 38 first downs were recorded during LSU’s 51-10 thrashing of Clemson in front of 102,000 rain-soaked Tigers fans in Baton Rouge.
LSU’s transfer portal brigade of 44 new players led the way.
Former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt passed for 230 yards and ran for another 113 on 13 carries as he accounted for three scores.
Back-up quarterback Landen Clark (from FCS power Elon in Greensboro, NC) also looked sharp going 5-for-7 with another touchdown pass for LSU.
It was Wisconsin transfer running back Dillin Jones who stole the show for LSU versus Clemson. The former high school wrestler lowered his shoulders and bullied his way for 113 yards against what had been expected to be a tough Clemson defense.
LSU’s 644 yards in total offense against a nationally-respected ACC team like Clemson opened a lot of eyes on Saturday night.
The Tigers’ next opponent scored even more points – in just the first half!
Is Louisiana Tech really that good (probably not) or was Northwestern State really that bad (yes)
While LSU was thrashing Clemson, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs scored a school record 63 points in the first half against long-time foe Northwestern State University in Ruston Saturday night.
Exactly like Clemson did against LSU, Northwestern State took a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter against the Bulldogs.
Louisiana Tech then reeled-off a school record 80 consecutive points to demolish their north Louisiana FCS rivals.
Final score – Louisiana Tech 80, Northwestern State 6.
The Demons from Natchitoches are now 0-2 after losing their home opener 42-37 to surprising NAIA member Louisiana Christian (Pineville) last weekend.
Third-year head coach Blaine McCorkle came to Northwestern State with high hopes after he had turned-around the football program at Belhaven College in Mississippi.
Coach McCorkle told the press after Saturday’s loss, “These games can get sideways on you in a hurry!”
Indeed, Coach!
His Demons football teams are now 1-25. Coach Blaine McCorkle’s lone win came in 2025 as Northwestern State scored a 20-10 home victory last season against Alcorn State.
Meanwhile, the Ruston-based Bulldogs travel to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers this Saturday. Last year, Tech made LSU work hard to earn a 23-7 home win.
With LSU scoring 51 points against Clemson and Louisiana Tech ringing-up 80 on Northwestern State, don’t expect another low scoring affair this Saturday in Baton Rouge.
Nuts and bolts, nuts and bolts, Western Michigan got…
NBC’s television cameras showed that the game clock was at 0:00 after Michigan’s last-gasp Hail Mary pass went incomplete against 27-point underdog Western Michigan. The Broncos from the Mid-American Conference had just defeated #16 Michigan 12-7 in front of 107,000 stunned Wolverines fans in Ann Arbor Saturday afternoon!
But wait!
The referees huddled for a few minutes and told the stadium crowd and home television audience that there was one second left on the clock. Michigan would get one more chance.
A well conceived second heave-ho by Michigan’s vastly overpaid NIL quarterback Bryce Underwood landed in the hands of wide receiver JJ Buchanan for a 47-yard score in the game’s second “final” play.
Afterwards, thousands of jubilant Michigan fans stormed the field to celebrate the home team’s unlikely 13-12 win.
Western Michigan fans and a nationwide television audience were up in arms after watching the referees grant another chance to the Wolverines.
The refs claimed that the clock being kept on the field by the officials was different from what the stadium and home viewers were seeing.
R-i-i-i-ght!
Impressed by:
Both #9 Ole Miss and #24 Louisville – The Rebels won last night’s 41-38 thriller on a last second field goal in Nashville. These two teams looked very sharp – especially in the second half.
We already knew that Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambiss was good. It was Louisville’s Lincoln Keinholz who surprised a national television audience with 309 yards of passing and 69 yards rushing to account for three Cardinals’ touchdowns. How about a rematch of these two teams in the playoffs!
Pittsburgh – If you’re looking for an early Heisman Trophy surprise candidate, look no further than true sophomore quarterback Mason Heintschel of Pitt.
The Panthers’ QB passed for seven (correct) touchdowns and 434 yards in Pitt’s season opening 59-14 trouncing of Miami (Ohio). Watch out, ACC!
Virginia – The University of Virginia has one of the most experienced and oldest college rosters in the country. This group of “senior” citizens from Charlottesville opened the season with a 34-8 rout of ACC rival North Carolina State a week ago. Virginia’s Wahoos play an incredibly easy schedule in 2026. It includes just only one current Top 25 team (at #19 SMU on October 17). Did someone say “Playoffs?”
Tarleton State – This fast-rising FCS school located southwest of Fort Worth, Texas improved to 2-0 after beating FBS Mid-American conference member Bowling Green 20-13 in Kentucky Saturday.
How ’bout those Texans?!!
U-Mass – The Minutemen have been one of the worst major college football teams for more than a decade. U-Mass had just 18 wins against 94 losses over the past ten football seasons. On Thursday night, the University of Massachusetts went to New Jersey and defeated Big Ten member Rutgers 37-21 as Scarlet Knights fans sat in stunned silence.
Too early to tell:
Season-opening cupcakes are fattening and don’t sharpen your squads for the games ahead. Let’s give a rain check to the following teams until they actually play a worthy opponent:
#1 Ohio State 56, Ball State 3
#3 Georgia 63, Tennessee State 3
#5 Texas 59, Texas State 7
#6 Indiana 52, North Texas 16
#7 Miami 45, Stanford 6
#8 Texas A&M 50, Missouri State 0
#10 Oklahoma 51, UTEP 0
#12 Texas Tech 33, Abilene Christian 10
#13 Alabama 48, East Carolina 10
#14 BYU 63, Utah Tech 7
#18 Penn State 45, Marshall 0
#20 Tennessee 56, Furman 9
#21 Utah 66, Idaho 14
#22 Iowa 40, Northern Illinois 0
#25 Missouri 54, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 14
Not impressed by:
#2 Oregon – The Ducks were tied with unranked Boise State 27-27 midway through the final quarter at home Saturday afternoon.
A late touchdown pass gave Oregon a 34-27 lead. It took a final defensive stand to end Boise State’s upset bid and keep Oregon from being embarrassed on national television. Oregon’s #2 ranking should drop.
#4 Notre Dame – The halftime score of Sunday night’s game in Green Bay was “Notre Dame 13, Wisconsin 10.” That’s when the Fighting Irish woke up in the second half to score 28 more points in a 41-13 win. Notre Dame does not have the same talent as last year’s team. However, the Irish do have a lightweight schedule which will keep this team as a likely playoff contender. America’s most over-hyped team was not impressive in Week #1.
#16 Michigan – We have already covered that lucky win over Western Michigan. Forget the playoffs, Wolverines fans. Your team may be fortunate just to finish 7-5.
Auburn – The “other” SEC Tigers got a break when Baylor went for a two-point conversion in the closing seconds.
The Bears were stopped inches short of the goal line and a possible winning conversion. Auburn took this 17-16 “Siesta Bowl” victory in one of the most boring televised games in recent memory. Baylor is no slouch, but Auburn’s offense still stinks.
Relieved by:
LSU – Coach Lane Kiffin did not place his former NFL preseason football players onto Saturday night’s roster against Clemson. That was a wise move and left a lot of legal options open.
LSU will travel to Kiffin’s former employer at Ole Miss in two weeks. Free idea – the most hated coach in the state of Mississippi might want to consider coaching his new team from the press box (behind some well-tested safety glass) for that game in Oxford.
Oh, no! Here we go again…
Oklahoma State – The Cowboys fired longtime football coach Mike Gundy and finished 1-11 in 2025.
The Pokes then hired rising young football coach Eric Morris from North Texas. Coach Morris brought a truckload of his former Mean Green football players along with him to Stillwater. Alas, his orange-clad Cowboys were trounced 24-10 on the road by Tulsa Saturday.
This week, #2 ranked Oregon (which beat Okie State 69-3 last year) is coming to Stillwater. Uh-oh.
Charlotte – The 49ers have been a bad college football team for years. The team formerly known as UNC-Charlotte has posted just one winning season (2019) in the past 13 years.
Their Week #1 home game saw FCS member The Citadel take a 43-41 triple overtime win over the home 49ers. It’s going to be another long season in Charlotte.
UL-Monroe – I wanted to believe that this year’s Warhawks might be able to break the school’s 13-year streak of not having a winning football season.
Alas, ULM is already 0-1 after losing 62-13 at Mississippi State on Saturday. The Warhawks’ defense (?) gave up a calculator-busting 762 yards as the Bulldogs racked-up 35 first downs. ULM placekicker Abram Murray (from C. E. Byrd High School in Shreveport) kicked a 52-yard field goal and 40-yarder to give ULM a ray of hope should this team play in a close game later in the season.
This was a fun first week of the college football season.
I can’t wait for Week #2!