It’s been a crazy week and I’m still somewhat new to this so I don’t really know the right way to handle current serious situations. I’ve never claimed to be an expert at writing about sports, music, Guinness, and history, so it doesn’t feel right for me to sit here and try to make sense of very serious matters. I sorta have to get into La La Land when I write Week to Week Notes, but I keep up with all the news and I’m heartbroken for everybody involved. Babies, kids, innocent lives, it’s truly despicable. Deeply saddened for the Jewish community and unfortunately it sounds like more babies, kids, and innocent lives will be lost as a result of the horrifying acts so I’m just hoping for the best like I’m sure all of you.
Dreamer | CFB Week 7 | YouTube Rabbithole
Okay @YouTheReader,
We’re going with Dreamer by Axwell Λ Ingrosso on this fine fall Saturday filled with Sports. It’s an EDM Track that came out in December of ‘17. The duo Axwell Λ Ingrosso consists of Swedish House Mafia members Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso.
I feel like most EDM songs tend to have great beats with hollow words, but this tune actually has some pretty solid lyrics to go with an awesome sound…Just my opinion, take it for what it’s worth!
Why I think I specifically like this song is it reminds me of a weekend at Atlantic City I did with friends years ago. The pocket full of nothing part really resonated as we were pulling up to the Atlantic City Skyline.
The chorus was so nice, they had to sing it twice.
Not for nothing, I think I broke even playing blackjack that weekend. Just hit some 21s, and got lucky. As for sports gambling, it’s legal now in a ton of states, just be smart.
@ResponsibleAdultTargetAudienceReaders Sorry I don’t want some random kid to gamble irresponsibly in case they read this. I started the College Football season off 10 for 11 on picks against the spread. Since Alabama vs Texas night game of Week 2, I’ve gone a horrendous 6 for 22 (27%). Am I due this Saturday or am I just a Dreamer?
Yes, I am a dreamer too is a cool lyric in that it affirms to us the listeners that, “If I can do it, so can you.”
On to Week 7 of the College Football Season…
These two Northwest College Football Powerhouse Programs have been playing each other since 1900. The Huskies have won the matchup 61 times, with the Ducks winning 48, and they’ve tied 5 times. Washington won last year on a late field goal by a score of 37-34. Oregon is ranked #8 in the nation while Washington is ranked #7. College Gameday will be in Seattle, Washington at the University of Washington for the game. With both teams undefeated and highly ranked, there has never been a bigger game in the history of their rivalry.
Oregon has not started a season 5-0 since ‘13. Offensively, Oregon is stacked with an experienced QB in Bo Nix and a terrific ground game led by RB Bucky Irving & his 7.9 yards per carry. Nix’s top target is his WR Troy Franklin, who has already caught 32 balls for 535 yards, and 7 TDs. After a slow start to his season, pass rusher Brandon Dorlus has had a sack in 2 straight games. Oregon statistically has one of the top pass defenses in College Football but has yet to face anybody that can sling it like the Huskies.
Washington has not started a season 5-0 since ‘17. Either lefty QB Michael Penix Jr. throws a lot like Tua or my brain just thinks all lefties throw the same. Penix after leading College Football in passing yards per game with 357 has improved to an insane 399 passing yards per game this year. His top WR target is Rome Odunze who already has 32 catches with 608 yards and 4 TDs. Defensively, Washington has two pass rushers with NFL talent who have gotten off to slow starts in Zion Tupuola-Fetui and Bralen Trcie. I like the Huskies offense at home, this should be a good one!
Prediction: 35-31 Washington (-2.5 Washington & Under 67.5)
Iowa and Wisconsin will be battling it out for the Brass Bull Heartland Trophy. These two schools first played each other back in 1894 with Wisconsin winning a blowout 44-0. Since then, it has been quite an even head-to-head matchup as Wisconsin has won 49 games to Iowa’s 45. Both of these schools have a loss on the ledger so neither at the moment is ranked, but a win for either one of them would put them in the driver's seat of the Big Ten West Division.
Iowa’s QB will be a former Badger reserve in Deacon Hill. He came into the season as the backup QB before Cade McNamara tore his ACL. Hill has struggled in the QB1 role, throwing for an ugly 37.5% completion percentage and for only 225 yards in 2 games. Iowa will lean heavily on their RBs Leshon Williams and Kaleb Johnson, but they will probably struggle to move the ball much. On defense, S Cooper DeJean is one of the top safeties in College Football.
Don’t get it twisted, Wisconsin can’t really throw the ball much either. They will lean on their star RB Braelon Allen and his 6.5 yards per carry. The Badgers average over 200 yards per game on the ground and Iowa ranks 9th in the Big Ten in rushing yards allowed so I’d expect Wisconsin to control the clock. The rest of the game will come down to field position like most classic Big Ten Football games. On defense, Wisconsin’s CB Ricardo Hallman already has 4 INTs on the season including a Pick-6 against Rutgers last week. I like Wisconsin’s run game, their defense against a backup QB, and the fact that this game is in Madison.
Prediction: 17-6 Wisconsin (-10 Wisconsin & Under 36.5)
It’s all about the U and UNC for a bit on Saturday night. The ACC rivals have played each other 24 times in their history with North Carolina coming out on top 13 times. Miami is ranked #25 in the country while the Tar Heel hosts are #12.
The Hurricanes are coming off an inexcusable loss where the team could have just taken a knee to ice the game. Instead, head coach Mario Cristobal decided to hand the ball off which led to a fumble. Subsequently, Georgia Tech threw a game-winning TD as time expired. An absolute meltdown in Miami. The team would’ve been 5-0. Miami has a great defense that allows only 268 yards and 14.6 points per game. They have 2 stud Safeties in Kamren Kinchens and James Williams to go with DT Leonard Taylor upfront. Miami’s QB Tyler Van Dyke has had a good year with 12 TD passes but is coming off a 3 INT performance last week.
UNC’s star QB Drake Maye may not have the crazy stat line (8 TDs to 4 INTs) you would expect from a top 1st-round QB, but he has been getting the job done moving the football by averaging 360 total yards per game (325 passing and 35 rushing). Maye finally got to throw to one of his elite transfer WR Devontez Walker last week after the NCAA inexplicably sat Walker out due to a transfer infraction before overturning the case with “new information.” The UNC QB of the defense is Cedric Gray. The linebacker leads the team in tackles with 42 and also has 2.5 sacks. The Hurricanes have got to be livid by last week’s loss, I’ll take the future NFL QB’s team in this one.
Prediction: 27-23 UNC (-3.5 UNC & Under 57)
This old-school fierce College Football rivalry began in 1926. Except for WWII and COVID in ‘20, they have played each other every year. Notre Dame leads the series 48-37-5. In the past 2 decades, the biggest game between these two programs was the “Bush Push” game where Reggie Bush famously pushed Matt Leinart over the goal line on a game-winning QB sneak TD to beat Brady Quinn’s Irish. The play should have been flagged as it was illegal but iconic back in ‘05. Notre Dame is now 5-2 and ranked #21, while USC is undefeated at 6-0 and ranked #10.
The Trojans survived a Triple OT fiasco where they won 43-41 over Arizona. QB Caleb Williams threw for a season-low 219 passing yards and only 1 passing TD. Williams did however find pay dirt through 3 runs of his own. Jerry Rice’s son, Brendan Rice, through 7 games has caught 21 passes for 434 yards and 7 TDs. The Trojans also have 2 pass rushers on defense in Jamil Muhammad (6 sacks) and Solomon Byrd (5 sacks) blossoming in their senior years. USC overlooked Arizons last week because of this Notre Dame game and is very lucky to still be undefeated.
Notre Dame has had one helluva schedule the past 4 weeks as they have faced Ohio State (#6), Duke (#17), Louisville (#25), and now SoCal (#10). Thus far, QB Sam Hartman’s top target to throw to has been TE Mithcell Evans as the junior has caught 22 passes for 343 yards. The Irish lost last week to Louisville in large part because the Cardinals stacked the box and made RB Audric Estime’s night difficult (10 carries for a season-low 20 rushing yards). I’m interested in seeing who the Irish decide to put CB Benjamin Morrison on given USC's deep WR core, but that said I think the Trojans come ready to play in this one.
Prediction: 31-30 USC (+2.5 USC & Over 60.5)
UCLA and Oregon State have faced off 63 times dating back to 1930. The Bruins have won 42 times to the Beavers 17, with 4 ties. UCLA’s lone loss of the season this year came against #11 Utah, while Oregon State’s lone loss came against #21 Washington State. UCLA is ranked #18, while Oregon State is ranked #15.
Chip Kelly’s Bruins have a freshman QB with potential in Dante Moore and a very good defense led by edge rusher Laiatu Latu. The senior pass rusher already has a team-leading 5 sacks this season, besting his teammate LB Darius Muasau’s 4. The Bruins also have a great run defense, allowing only 65 yards on the ground per game. Dante Moore is your typical super-talented 18-year-old QB, he’ll flash greatness on one play and then throw a goal-line INT on the very next like he did last weekend. Moore’s completion % has taken a dip in the last two weeks (47%) against PAC12 opponents.
Oregon State’s QB DJ Uiagalelei knows all about high expectations for an 18-year-old QB, as he was once Trevor “Sunshine” Lawrence’s successor at Clemson with massive shoes to fill. After he struggled in ‘21 (9 passing TDs to 10 INTs), Uiagalelei reclaimed his starting job with Clemson and had a solid ‘22 campaign before he decided to head back to the West Coast, closer to home. The former Clemson QB has a stud RB in Damien Martinez (586 rushing yards on 6.5 yards per carry) and to go with WR Silas Bolden who doubles as a return specialist. I would like to take Oregon State because it’s fun seeing smaller football schools ranked higher, but I think UCLA’s defense gets it done.