I Did It For My Dawgz | CFB Week 12 | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
I Did It For My Dawgz is a DJ Khaled-produced song where he got Rick Ross, Meek Mill, French Montana, Ace Hood, and Jadakiss to rap. I picked this song because the biggest scandal that rocked the Week to Week Notes world last year was when I tried to start a #RescueDogChallenge hashtag.
This time last year while I was commuting home from work I saw an advertisement for a startup coffee brand called Stella Blue Coffee. A portion of proceeds go to rescue shelters so I decided to become a Stella Blue Coffee Member. The challenge aspect for @YouTheReader was for every bag of coffee that you bought from Stella Blue Coffee I would do an hour of volunteer work at a dog rescue shelter. That fell flat on its face when after a month of nobody letting me know if they bought coffee and on top of that none of the local animal shelters that I reached out to throughout the month of December were interested.
It was one of those classic cart-before-the-horse moments that I probably should have worked on first behind the scenes before announcing something like a hashtag. I write a ton of Week to Week Notes with satire, but that concept was serious so in a way it kind of hardened me into thinking that if I want to try to build this as a platform that could do some good, I’d need to grow first.
Anyway, here are my own family’s dogs examples of how I wanted to use Week to Week Notes to feature dogs that needed help finding their new homes. When I sent these examples to the animal shelters, I never heard back.
Name: Jessie (Female)
Age: 9
Breed: German Shepherd- Spitz Mix
Location: Hopeful Tails
Bio: Jessie is a bit of a yapper. She is full of energy and can be needy at times for attention by giving you face kisses when you least expect it. She will always be the first one to greet you at the door and despite her small frame can play the boss in a household of two dogs 4 times the size of her (see below). She loves laying on top of the head of the couch (kind of cat-like).
Name: Decker (Male)
Age: 7
Breed: Black lab
Location: Albany Animal Rescue Shelter
Bio: Decker grew up in a college frat house so wasn’t around too many children. He can look very protective but would not hurt a fly. He is petrified of the sound of the wind, so maybe put on Enya’s Only Time in the background if you have to leave him home alone on a windy fall day. He will also beg for food, but you just have to tell him no. As a lab, he loves swimming pools, fetching buckets, and passing out like a sack of potatoes in bed.
Name: Mac (Male)
Age: 1 (2 months old in picture)
Breed: American Bulldog-Pit mix
Location: Westchester SPCA
Bio: This little fella is now 7 times the size he was in this picture. A fenced-in backyard would be ideal for Mac because the pup has already tried going for an unsupervised jog multiple times. He has become very accustomed to being a nuisance (in a good way that a pup should) to his older siblings so would fit right in with other older dogs.
I swear, I was just trying to find doggos their new homes!
On to Week 12 of College Football…
The Utah Utes and Arizona Wildcats first played football together back in 1924. Utah is out of the running for their 3rd consecutive Pac-12 Championship but now can keep Arizona out of the game as well. The Utes hold a 26-19-2 advantage over the Wildcats and have won the last 6 meetings dating back to ‘16. In the College Football Playoff poll, Utah is ranked #22 and Arizona is ranked #17.
Last Saturday, Utah was able to hang with the Washington Huskies, including going into halftime up 28-24. The Utes two-way star, Sione Vaki, took a 53-yard screen for a touchdown and also recorded a sack, not too bad for a Safety. Vaki has been one of their more consistent playmakers as an RB and pass catcher, but this team simply is well below average offensively in the passing game, which had held them back. On defense, the Utes only allow 85.6 rushing yards per game, which is good for 6th in the entire nation. They are a scrappy bunch looking to play spoiler.
The Arizona Wildcats offense is led by sophomore RB Jonah Coleman who averages 7.2 yards per carry. Last week against Colorado, Coleman had a career-high 179 yards and stiff-armed Coach Prime’s son in the process. Arizona also has 2 solid WRs with Tetairoa McMillan as their outside deep threat and Jacob Cowing as their slot guy who runs short/intermediate routes. The two WRs have combined for 18 TDs on the season. On defense, pass rusher Taylor Upshaw leads the team in sacks with 7.5, while LB Jacob Manu has a team-high 84 tackles with 5.5 sacks as well. While Arizona has a bit more to play for, c’mon now, this I Did It For The Dawgz, I can’t take a Wildcats.
Prediction: 23-22 Utah (+1 Utah & Under 46)
The Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers first faced off in 1899. The SEC rivals have played each other every year since 1992 but have gone long stretches without seeing one another like from 1938 to 1968. The Bulldogs currently have a 27-23-2 advantage over the Vols. In the College Football Playoff poll, the Georgia Bulldogs rank #1 while Tennessee ranks #18.
The undefeated 2-time defending National Champions are on a 27-game winning streak that dates back to ‘21. After being sidelined for 2 games with an ankle injury, TE Brock Bowers returned to the field last week and scored a TD in his final home game. 1st year starting QB Carson Beck has been extremely efficient running the Georgia offense as he owns a 72.2% completion percentage - good for 6th in CFB. The Bulldogs offense is averaging over 40 points per game and defensively only allows 15.6 per game. Their defense ranks 19th in the country in rushing yards allowed per game and 14th in passing yards allowed per game.
The Tennessee Volunteers completely no-showed last week against Missouri as they lost 36-7. Dolly Parton will be in attendance for this game and the Volunteers have currently won 14 straight home games. The last time they lost at home was against Georgia in ‘21. The Vols defensively can get to the QB as James Pearce Jr. leads the team with 8 sacks. To go along with Pearce, Tennessee also has Tyler Burton (5 sacks) who rushes from the edge and Omarr Norman-Lott (5.5 sacks) who rushes from the interior. With the loss of WR Dont’e Thorton Jr., expect the Vols to lean even more on RB Jaylen Wright in the ground game. Sorry Dolly but I can’t voluntarily go against the Dawgs on I Did It For My Dawgz.
Prediction: 31-20 Georgia (-10.5 Georgia & Under 58.5)
The Kansas State Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks meet again in the Sunflower Showdown. The name comes from Kansas nicknamed the Sunflower State. These two programs have been playing each other since 1902. Despite the fact that the Kansas State Wildcats have won 14 straight over the Jayhawks dating back to ‘09, Kansas still owns this rivalry by holding a 65-50-5 lead. In the College Football Playoff poll, Kansas State is ranked #21 and Kansas is #25.
Wildcat QB Will Howard is now the Kansas State all-team leader in passing TDs. Howard last week threw his 45th career TD. While Howard is an experienced senior leader through the air, his running game is more of a compliment to RB DJ Giddens leads the Wildcats on the ground with 859 rushing yards on the season. Giddens and Howard both have 7 rushing TDs on the season. In the KSU secondary, Jacob Parrish leads the team in both INTs (3) and pass deflections (9). Defensively, they have had some turnover luck of late, with 13 turnovers in their last 5 games.
Entering the season, the Kansas Jayhawks had QB Jalon Daniels as QB1. He has suffered a back injury that has sat him out for the majority of the season but it was announced this week that Daniels is set to return next year. In his stead, 6th-year senior Jason Bean has reclaimed the starting job and played fairly solid. The Jayhawks’ best offensive player this year has been RB Devin Neal. The RB flashes glimpses of Alvin Karmra and has rushed for 965 yards with 10 TDs. On defense, the best Kansas defender is CB Mello Dotson who leads the team in pass deflections (8) and INTs (3). 2 of the 3 passes that Dotson has picked off he has returned for a Pick-6. Defensively, the Jayhawks have a slight advantage against the pass while they give up a bit more in the running game. We’ll take the Jayhawks because I’m anti-cat on I Did It For My Dawgz.
Prediction: 28-27 Kansas (+9.5 Kansas & Under 57.5)
While Washington versus Oregon State may not get the same attention as Huskies against the Ducks, these two schools have a history going back to 1897. The Huskies have owned the advantage in the rivalry 68-35-4. Entering this weekend, this looks to be the top game as in the College Football Playoff poll, Washington ranks #5 and Oregon State ranks #11.
The Washington Huskies are 10-0 for the 1st time since 1991. This is especially impressive because of the gauntlet of teams they have gone through since mid-October with Oregon, USC, and Utah all being played within a month of each other. Heisman Trophy frontrunner, QB Michael Penix Jr., has thrown for a ridiculous 3,533 passing yards, which leads all of CFB while his 28 passing TDs on the season currently rank 4th. Penix Jr.’s main target is WR Rome Odunze has 1,100 receiving yards, good for 3rd in all of CFB. Odunze is averaging a filthy 18.6 yards per catch, the highest yardage per catch among anyone with over 48 catches on the season. Washington of late has also been able to run the ball effectively with RB Dillon Johnson who last week rushed for 104 yards after he broke out for 256 yards the week prior. Washington’s offense is elite as they average over 500 total yards and 41 points per game.
The Oregon State Beavers are 8-2 and all around solid ball club. DJ Uiagalelei plays a clean bill of football at quarterback as he has thrown 20 TDs to just 4 INTs. The Beaver QB1 is also a goal-line threat with 6 scores on the ground. Speaking of the Beavers' ground game, RB Damien Martinez is one of the best running backs in college as he has passed the 1 thousand rushing yards mark along with 7 TDs. Martinez averages over 6.6 yards per carry and runs downhill upwards of 20.7 mph like he did last week. At TE they also have Jack Velling who has caught 8 TDs and averages 15.5 yards per catch. Defensively though is where they really round into form, as 5 Beavers have each caught 2 INTs. LB Andrew Chatfield Jr. is one of the Beavers with 2 picks and he also leads the team in sacks with 9, with 6 sacks coming in the past 3 games. Although the Beavers don’t turn the ball over offensively and force turnovers on defense, c’mon I’m not picking against the Huskies on I Did It For My Dawgz.
Prediction: 35-33 Washington (+1.5 Washington & Over 62.5)
The Nebraska Cornhuskers and Wisconsin Badgers mysteriously played each other in 1901. They then didn’t see each other on a football field until 1965. These two proud football programs have only played each other 16 times but have already decided they were rivals as they play for the Freedom Trophy. Wisconsin has gone 12-4 against Nebraska, winning the last 9 meetings. Both of these teams are 5-5 and are nowhere near the College Football Playoff.
Nebraska’s punter, Brian Buschini, has punted the ball 45 times this year with an average of 41.4 yards per punt. His longest punt is 60 yards. Buschini has downed the ball inside the 20-yard line 17 times this season.
Wisconsin’s punter, Atticus Bertrams, is from Sydney, Australia, so he punts Aussie style. Bertrams has punted the ball 48 times this year while averaging 41.6 yards per punt. His longest punt of the season is also 60 yards. Bertrams has downed the ball inside the 20-yard line 20 times this season. I’m taking the Wisconsin Badgers here because Bertrams slightly edges out Buschini and more importantly a Badger is more like a dog than a cornhusker.
Prediction: 9-3 Wisconsin (-5.5 Wisconsin & Under 37)