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Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where LaNorris Sellers never skips leg day. First Quarter: Does Anyone Want to Be National Champion? Second Quarter: Dash Domino Theory, 2026 Version. Third Quarter: Feast or Famine for First-Year Coaches.
This is not an A-list weekend of games, but it will serve a purpose by clearing up the pecking order in a couple of power conferences. In the Big Ten, eight of the 12 teams with two or fewer league losses play each other, which figures to eliminate some from contention for the title game and elevate others. In the Big 12, two games loom large after last weekend’s upheaval. A Dash breakdown:
Catching the Buckeyes with a new QB making his first college start is yet another lucky break for this USC team, which hasn’t been good enough to take advantage of other lucky breaks this season. Ohio State figures it out and keeps pushing toward a third straight playoff bid.
Aside from miserable Rutgers, every Hoosiers Big Ten game has been decided by seven points or fewer—which makes the line on this game very strange. Expect Indiana to run the ball at least 40 times, trying to shift the burden off Hoover. If Minnesota can stop the Hoosiers’ running game, this becomes much more interesting.
Firing offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer doesn’t fix everything for Oregon—it certainly doesn’t address a defense that was trucked for 225 rushing yards by Illinois on Saturday. Chip Kelly will run the ball in his old stomping grounds until the Ducks make him do otherwise, and that may take all day.
The Badgers’ victory over USC on Saturday featured a grand total of zero scrimmage plays 20 yards or longer, by either team. This could be a similarly low-wattage offensive affair, but the Hawkeyes might have a little more big-play oomph. Fickell is 0–3 against Ferentz since coming to Wisconsin, and it hasn’t been pretty—combined margin of defeat is 78 points.
Scott Satterfield is a dangerous underdog and his Bearcats were very good against the Red Raiders. But they also benefited from an outbreak of self-sabotage by the visiting team. If the Utes keep it buttoned up, they should prevail.
The Wildcats are a hot team, on a five-game winning streak with the last three victories all coming by 21 or more points. The Red Raiders got their wake-up call last week, but they looked shook leaving Cincinnati.
Yes, in Atlanta, for the first time in series history. The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party has been played in six different locations since 1904, if you want to count a disputed game in Macon, Ga., in 1904. The other locales: Athens, Ga., five times; Savannah twice; Gainesville, Fla., twice; Tampa once … and Jacksonville 92 times. The Dash prefers that historic location, but tradition is increasingly disposable. (Next year’s game will be in Tampa before reverting back to Jax.)
What’s at stake: The Bulldogs are trying to rid themselves of whatever caused them to lose at home to Auburn (most notably errors by quarterback Gunner Stockton). The Gators are trying to maintain the level of performance they displayed in upsetting Texas in Austin. Line: Georgia by 11.5. Dash pick: Georgia 31, Florida 17. Two weeks with Kirby Smart breathing fire at his team should lead to maximum intensity from the Dawgs.
This year’s game could be called the As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap Bowl. After leading a revolt against the ACC, both teams are afterthoughts in the league race for the second straight season. The onetime marquee matchup now pits teams with combined ACC records of 9–15 over the past two seasons. (The Seminoles, incredibly, have the worst league mark since the expansion to 17 teams at 4–16. That was enough to earn then a theoretical relegation from The Dash two weeks ago.)
What’s at stake: Almost nothing, other than two coaches trying to rally dwindling public support. Line: Florida State by 6. Dash pick: Florida State 27, Clemson 20. Not enough to convince the Big Ten to extend an invitation.
He lost starting quarterback Katin Houser to a broken hand during the game against Michigan State on Oct. 10 and has gone undefeated since then behind freshman QB Michael Clayton II. The Illini defeated the Spartans in overtime and then took down Oregon, improving to 4–3. It hasn’t been a great season, but Bielema and his team are not folding the tents.
At 4–2 and with just one league loss, the Tar Heels were hosting last-place Syracuse with a chance to improve positioning in the ACC race Saturday. They took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter. Then they collapsed defensively, giving up 175 yards and two touchdowns as the game went into overtime. The Orange had the ball second, scored and smartly went for two and the win. After a few baby steps forward this season, a big step back for Carolina in Belichick’s second season.
When hungry and thirsty in Greater Cincinnati, The Dash recommends the reliable Smoke Justis (50) across the river in Covington, Ky. Get the wings and a pint of Cincinnati-brewed Rhinegeist Truth and thank The Dash later.
PODCAST: Listen to Sports Illustrated’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, hosted by Pat Forde, on Apple and. Watch the show on SI’s college YouTube channel or on SI TV.
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