Outnumbered | College Football Week 0 | TOUR Championship | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Unfortunately, Week to Week Notes is not yet embarking #GuinnessChallengeSeason in Dublin yet, however, we are advertising this across the pond in light of Ireland hosting the start of the College Football season. More on that below, the song choice today is Outnumbered by Dermot Kennedy. The Irish singer and songwriter was born in Rathcoole, County Dublin, a 20-minute car ride to Aviva Stadium. This came out in June ‘19 on his debut studio album called Without Fear.
…and there is a decent shot it’s with a Guinness pint.
…okay I might be more likely than not with a Guinness pint in hand.
It’s best for people to get to know you before opening up, no?
Dermot Kennedy told I Heart Radio, “I wrote this song a while back, like maybe a year and a half ago in London, and so the situation I wrote it in was very different to the one I’m in now but it’s still one I can relate to.”
Been there, done that.
Strong finish to the first verse.
He further explained to I Heart Radio, “For me, it was basically my effort to console somebody and to provide some level of comfort to somebody who kinda feels overwhelmed by things and like rather than being in a bad patch and you know it’s gonna get better, that feeling when you’re in a bad patch and you don’t know if things are gonna kind of work out and regardless of what my scenario was with that everybody can relate to that on some level.”
…and there is a good chance I’m having a pint of Guinness.
….naturally with a Guinness in hand.
Fellas, quick, write these down, women love these lines.
One final thing Dermot Kennedy told I Heart Radio, “And so, that was kind of – I guess it’s that lovely thing where you write a song that’s personal but it can work with a lot of people, and a lot of people can relate to that feeling regardless of what my specific thing was.”
… and I’ll probably have a Guinness pint.
….definitely with a pint of Guinness.
Great tune, from one of the best-making music today! On to the sports…
Here’s the deal with College Football on Week to Week Notes this season. I’ll try my best to preview the Top 3 to 5 games a weekend. The matchups will be based on if it’s a rivalry game or if the 2 teams are ranked. Last year I did not feel comfortable giving out spread picks and lines for College games, but now that I’m a seasoned vet in sports writing, screw it, why not? Once the NFL starts up, they we take up every Football Friday, but I’ll be sure to have the College Previews by Saturday morning. Sounds good? Cool thanks.
The College Football Season kicks off across the pond for the 2nd consecutive season as Dublin will host the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. Last season’s was a success as Aviva Stadium attendance came in at 42,699, including 15k Americans who made the trip to Dublin and another 3k travelers from other locales. I’m a little annoyed that this Irish-American Classic uses #MuchMoreThanAGame as their hashtag when we all know there will be plenty of pints of Guinness drank, but beggars can’t be choosers. This is a showcase to further promote Irish-American relations so Week to Week Notes supports #MuchMoreThanAGame.
These football programs have been playing each other in football since 1927. The Fightin’ Irish holds a 79-13-1 record over the Shipmen, with ND winning the last 5 consecutive meetings. Navy beat Notre Dame in ‘16 in a thrilling 1-point game. From 1964 to ‘06, Notre Dame won 43 straight, but since ‘07 Navy has played ND tougher, going 4-10. Navy, historically runs a Triple Option Offense where they run the ball with either their QB, fullback, halfback, or slot WRs on end-arounds. Teams such as the Navy run these offenses because they are able to perfect the system which can sometimes even out the competitive balance going up against bigger football programs such as Notre Dame. Navy rarely has ever thrown the ball, but with new head coach Brian Newberry in the mix, we might see a few more passes wrinkled into their bread & butter ground game.
Notre Dame will be seeing some changes as well. Their new graduate transfer QB, Sam Hartman of Wake Forest, will be making his debut with the Fightin’ Irish this Saturday. Before the team’s flight over to Dublin, Hartman, a Beats by Dre athlete, gifted all of his teammates some new head custom Notre Dame Beats headphones. This is Hartman’s 6th season in College Football so he is a bit like Van Wilder, but the guy can sling it combing for 77 passing TDs the past two seasons. Notre Dame has played on Irish soil twice in the past - 1996 and ‘12, where they won both matchups in blowout fashion. I have nothing besides the utmost respect for all the men in the US military but I just can’t wrap my head around the Irish losing in Ireland.
Prediction: 35-13 Notre Dame (-21 Notre Dame & Under 49.5)
USC was 11-3 last season in Lincoln Riley’s first year as head coach of the Trojans. The San Jose Spartans were 7-5 playing in the Mountain West Conference. These two teams have matched up 5 times with the Trojans winning all 5 of ‘em. Riley’s Trojans enter the ‘23 season ranked #6 with extremely high expectations, anything less than making it to the College Football Playoff would be considered a massive failure. San Jose State on the other hand is hoping to make a bowl game for the 2nd straight year for the 1st time since ‘86-’87.
All eyes are going to be on the ‘22 Heisman Trophy winner, QB Caleb Williams, and I’m sure he’ll put on a show for NFL scouts. Expect Williams to welcome WR Dorian Singer (transfer from Arizona) to So-Cal with a TD or 2. While all the Trojans are scoring at will, expect the Spartans RB Kairee Robinson to have a solid showing. The 5’7” RB is a shifty type who in ‘22 had 10 TDs and ran for 752 yards. That said, the Trojans should destroy these Spartans.
Prediction: 77-3 USC (-30.5 USC & Over 67)
Vanderbilt last year was 5-7 while Hawaii was 3-10. Vanderbilt is the perennial punching bag in the SEC, while Hawaii has not been relevant since their Colt Brennan (RIP) days from ‘05 to ‘07. Last year Vanderbilt opened up against Hawaii with a 63-10 victory. A matchup to watch is Vanderbilt’s Will Sheppard going up against Hawaii’s CB Virdel Edwards II. Sheppard at 6’3” & Edwards at 6’2” have NFL size and who knows may end up on Mock Draft Monday one of these days.
The storyline with this game is obviously much deeper than the gridiron. While of course, the whole Hawaiin team is deeply affected by the Maui wildfires, two of the players on the team are even more so. Their WR Karsyn Pupunu lost an uncle, aunt, and two cousins in the wildfire. DB Kimo Holo Holt-Mossman’s childhood home was destroyed in the fires. Karsyn Pupunu said of his lost family members, “My mentality right now is just to honor them...doing my best on the field or in the classroom.” (Source: KHON2) Kimo Holo Holt-Mossman said, “Most of my close friends are homeless now. Just knowing that we are basically the state’s NFL team, you could say … we have a lot riding on us.” (Source: Washington Post)
Prediction: 33-28 Hawaii (+17.5 Hawaii & Over 56)
Atlanta, Georgia | East Lake Golf Club | $18 million
East Lake Golf Club has hosted many national and regional championships. The Southern Amateur was played at East Lake in 1907, 1910, 1915, 1922, & 1923; the Southern Open in 1919, 1920, & 1927; the Georgia State Amateur in 1924, 1930, 1934, 1941, & 1956; the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1950; the Ryder Cup in 1963; the Western Junior Amateur in 1997; the 101st United States Amateur in 2001; The TOUR Championship 22 times since 1998. (Source: East Lake Golf Club)
The TOUR Championship is different in that it runs in conjunction with the past two weekends of Golf (FedEx St. Jude and BMW Championship). Only the Top 30 golfers of the PGA Tour the past season qualify for this tournament. On top of that, this is the FedEx Cup Champion so the PGA incorporates the FedEx points golfers earn based on where they finish on PGA Tournaments. For instance, the golfer with the most FedEx points entering this weekend was Scottie Scheffler so yesterday before even teeing off he was 10 under par with the lead before the round even started. The player with the second most points starts at −8, the third at −7, the fourth at -6, and the fifth at −5. Players ranked 6 through 10 begin at −4; 11 through 15 at −3; and so on, down to #s 26 to 30 started at even par. This format is just a way to reward PGA Golfers who are consistent WEEKend To WEEKend.
Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa went OFF on Thursday. After starting off in 20th place and only 1 under par, Morikawa went 9 under on the day. Last week, the Cal Berkley alum pledged that he would donate $1k for every birdie he makes on the PGA Tour this month to wildfire relief efforts in Maui. He shot 7 birdies on the day as well as an eagle so at the moment he’ll be donating $9k just from his Thursday performance alone. The Morikawa family emigrated from Japan to Maui where his paternal grandparents were born and raised. If you don’t have a golfer to root for this weekend, well, here is your man.
Viktor Hovland
After an insane Sunday finish at the BMW Championship, Viktor Hovland has rode that momentum into a steady Thursday at East Lake. The Norwegian had a clean scorecard with no bogeys and 2 birds. Hovland and Morikawa are not only top of the PGA Tour Championship after Round 1, but they are also good friends.
Scottie Scheffler
Scottie doesn’t know how to shoot Triple Bogeys so it was shocking when he had his first since the ‘22 AT&T Byron Nelson on the 15th Hole. He ended his day with a crazy up-and-down scorecard with 5 birdies, 3 bogeys, and the triple. Despite his lousy Thursday, he is still very much in contention because of how consistent his play has been all year as the #1 Golfer in the world.
Rory McIlroy
Rory, Rory, Rory, c’mon what are we doing on 18?!?!? Rough to the bunker for a bogey finish? What is this amateur hour? Chrissake you’re looking like me at the Rooster Cup. Figure it out.
Patrick Cantlay
How Patrick Cantlay can hit a ball as slow as this GIF and be the 4th Ranked Golfer in the world is infuriating. That is all.
YouTube Rabbithole
Dermot Kennedy - Outnumbered (Official Music Video)