Nobody Knows Anything: Egg Bowl a little less appetizing
Insert Dr. Bo joke here. (Image courtesy: clarionledger.com)
This week's games that made no sense to anyone:
Arkansas 30, Mississippi 0
Remember when Ole Miss was the class of the SEC West, a division consisting of six supposed national title contenders and a bottom feeder in Arkansas?
Bo Wallace got banged up and played poorly, and the Razorbacks chewed up clock before a pick-six sealed this game late in the third quarter. Arkansas also held the Rebels to just 1.9 yards per rushing attempt and forced 6 turnovers.
So, Bret Bielema gets to a bowl game in his second season, and the dream of an Egg Bowl between top 10 teams dies a miserable death. As someone who has had tickets to the Egg Bowl since July, this Ole Miss performance has dampened my spirits for the weekend.
North Carolina 45, Duke 20
Larry Fedora’s North Carolina teams have been as mercurial as any other teams in recent memory. The Tar Heels got walloped by East Carolina and Miami, allowed 27 offensive points in a loss to Virginia Tech, and beat Georgia Tech. Then, they knocked Duke out of the ACC title game.
UNC is bowl eligible, and Fedora will get at least one more year in Chapel Hill despite having done nothing to prove that the program is moving in the right direction. Maybe after all of the NCAA issues in the wake of Butch Davis’ tenure, that’s all UNC can ask for.
On the other side, Duke almost made it to a second consecutive ACC title game. Either David Cutcliffe is amazing or the ACC Coastal is garbage. Actually, I’m going to go with both.
Fresno State 40, Nevada 20
In its first three games, Fresno State allowed 166 points and went 0-3. It seemed like a long, tough rebuilding year was ahead for coach Tim DeRuyter.
It has been one, to be fair, but the Bulldogs are just a win against Hawaii away from playing in the Mountain West title game. The West division is extremely weak, and the Bulldogs would win it at 6-6 overall, 5-3 in conference play.
Why is this important? If Boise State can beat Utah State to win the East division, the only thing standing between the Broncos and the Group of 5 bowl spot will be Fresno in a rematch of the game that was tied through three quarters earlier this year.
FSU may have lost to Nebraska by 36, but Fresno State still has a chance to make an impact on a national level.