Everything Is Alright | Week 5 CFB | September ‘23 Finish & October ‘23 Preview | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Everything Is Alright by Motion City Soundtrack was another song on another video game from the mid-2000s. It was on the soundtrack to MLB ‘06 The Show. Great game but I got it just a notch below MVP Baseball ‘05. It really sucks that both games had Sox players (Manny & Big Papi) on the covers of them, but they had some memorable soundtracks. Motion City Soundtrack is a band out of Minneapolis, Minnesota and this is their hit single. If you read yesterday’s Feeling This, this is another song that I always liked but never fully comprehended the lyrics to.
I always thought this chorus was about the singer being worried about someone and hoping they are doing alright. According to Justin Pierre, it’s setting the scene for somebody who needs to be convinced they themselves are alright. “You kind of have to look at yourself in the mirror and repeat the words to yourself until one day, eventually, you’re okay.” (RapGenius)
The verse starts with the singer trying to avoid having to talk about something bothering him. He starts rattling off things he hates that I’d say most people enjoy like the beach, roller coasters, and traveling. He also doesn’t enjoy talking to strangers. Everybody hates waiting in line.
Sidenote: The beach and my pale ass have had a long-standing rivalry dating back to ‘94 so I can understand what he’s saying with that. Prior to #GuinnessChallengeSeason, I used to not so much enjoy talking to strangers, now it’s a blast becoming acquaintances.
Back to the song, it sounds like the guy takes a form of medication for social anxiety. Since he is done taking the medication, people are asking how he’s doing, and rather than discussing what is troubling him, he claims he’s fine.
I had no idea this song was this deep while I was trying to go 162-0 with the New York Yankees in Franchise Mode.
In this verse, it sounds like he may have OCD, performing certain mundane tasks for comfort. Pierre told Buzzfeed, “I did accidentally set my bathroom on fire once. Well, it wasn’t an accident as it was drunk and hysterical and craziness, but I changed the bathroom to the kitchen cause I thought the kitchen sounded better. I used to drive and think there was something wrong with my tires … and I’d go nuts. I was very anxiety- and OCD-prone.” The self-medication is likely recreational drugs or alcohol which are vices that may be comforting in the short term but are really just kicking the can down the road.
Man, this song is kind of a bummer, but the chorus is very catchy and at the same token it’s nice that they bring awareness to mental health.
Patrick Stump is from Fall Out Boy. He was on the backing vocals for this tune. You might be able to recognize his voice. Pretty cool. The not-so-cool part is the character coming to the conclusion that by talking about his problems he is wasting somebody else’s time.
@JetsFans there are a ton of good college QBs playing today, I told you Monday We’ll Be Fine, see Everything is Alright.
On to the College Football Saturday upon us…
Dating back to 1927, USC has owned Colorado. The two schools have played 16 times and the Trojans have won all 16 times. They have played each other every year since Colorado joined the Pac-12. Last year USC won 55-17. USC is ranked #8 in the country while Colorado have been bumped outside of the Top 25.
Jerry Rice's son, WR Brenden Rice, actually started his collegiate career at Colorado before transferring to USC in ‘22. Last year Rice had a solid year of 39 catches for 611 yards and 4 TDs. This year Jerry’s son already has caught 5 TDs. QB Caleb Williams is off to a great start in defending his Heisman Trophy. Through 4 games, Williams has thrown for an average of exactly 300 yards per game, a completion percentage of 74.3%, and has 15 passing TDs to no INTs.
Deion Sanders’ son on defense, Safety Shilo Sanders, will be tasked with matching up with Brenden Rice. Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders had some legendary games matching up against each other in the 90s so this is pretty special. Shilo Sanders may not get as much attention as Sheuer, but has had a great start to his ‘23 season. His 23 solo tackles lead the Pac-12. He also has a forced fumble and a Pick-six while not allowing a TD in coverage. QB Sheduer Sanders hopes to get back on track after a rough game against Oregon where he got sacked 7 times and only threw for 159 yards. USC has twice allowed 28 points in 4 games, I think Sanders and Colorado can at least make this a bit respectable after their rough Oregon showing.
Prediction: 45-35 USC (+21.5 Colorado & Over 73.5)
Kansas and Texas have faced off in football 21 times. Texas holds a commanding 17-4 lead over the Jayhawks, but Kansas did recently beat the Longhorns in ‘21. The Longhorns enter this weekend as the #3 seed in the country, the first time they have cracked the Top 5 since ‘10. Kansas, a known basketball-first program, is ranked #24. Both schools are a perfect 4-0.
Last year Kansas also started 4-0, this is the first time they’ve done this in consecutive seasons since 1915. Kansas QB Jalon Daniels is a Redshirt Junior with 25 games of experience under his belt as he is set to take on the Longhorns in Texas. This is being billed as the biggest Kansas football game in well over a decade so he’ll need every ounce of experience on the road. Daniels is a precision passer (75% completion percentage) who can make plans with his feet when needed (425 rushing yards and 7 TDs in ‘22). Texas already has 13 sacks this season so it’ll be on Daniels to get the ball out of his hand quickly. Aside from their QB, Kansas has an RB, Devin Neal, who is averaging 99 yards per game on a 6.9 yards per carry and 5 TDs. Defensively, CB Cobee Bryant will need to have a good game against the elite Texas WRs. Bryant this season already has 2 INTs and scored a TD on a scoop & score.
Despite the fact that Texas QB, Quinn Ewers, has a plethora of WR talent to throw to, the pass catcher with the most receiving yards is his TE Ja’Tavion Sanders. The #48 Week to Week Notes prospect averages a ridiculous 22.3 yards per catch in large part because he almost turns into an RB once he makes a catch. Aside from Sanders, WRs Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell have each scored 3 TDs. Leading the Texas defense is senior linebacker Jaylan Ford. The Frisco, Texas native leads the Longhorns in tackles (25) and is tied for the team lead in INTs with 2. I have a feeling that Texas will pull this one out, but Jalon Daniels will keep in close.
Prediction: 31-24 Texas (+17 Kansas & Under 64)
Known as the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, these two SEC schools first faced off in 1892. 63 Georgia wins, 56 Auburn wins, and 8 ties later this will be their 128th meeting. This series is the second-most-played rivalry in Division I Football, behind Minnesota vs. Wisconsin’s Paul Bunyan’s Axe Rivalary, and is tied with North Carolina vs. Virginia which is known as just South’s Oldest Rivalry. Auburn football is currently unranked, 3-1, and coming off a loss to Texas A&M. Georgia is still the best football team in college football, ranked #1, and 4-0.
Georgia has so many notable names but the obvious first choice is TE Brock Bowers who Week to Week Notes ranks #4 on the Mock Draft Big Board for ‘24. Bowers has been dominating college football since he first stepped onto the field as a Bulldog as a freshman. After leading the Bulldogs in catches, receiving yards, and TDs in each of the last 2 seasons, the junior TE once again leads the pack with 22 catches for 256 yards and 2 TDs already. One of the biggest question marks for Georgia this year was if QB Carson Beck could seamlessly fill in for Stetson Bennett. Thus far Beck has looked good but we’ll see how he fares on the road in a difficult environment for the 1st time, as this is in fact Beck’s first career road start. CB Tykee Smith has dealt with serious injuries the past couple of seasons and has battled back to get to a hot start on the ‘23 season as he has already picked off 3 passes.
Auburn’s DB Jaylin Simpson has 3 picks of his own, including a pick-6 against UMass in Week 1. The 6’1” lanky defensive back is listed as a CB but may be a safety at the next level as he is a more than willing tackler and may not have the speed to play on the outside at CB in the NFL. It would be interesting to see if they tried matching him up with Brock Bowers. At QB, Auburn has a big question mark on their hands. QB Payton Thorne has started every game for the Tigers but just last week was pulled in favor of QB Holden Geriner, who was subsequently pulled in favor of QB Robby Ashford in their 27-10 loss to the Aggies. Expect Auburn to try to rely on the ground game with RB Jarquez Hunter, but good luck doing that against Georgia.
Prediction: 31-10 Georgia (-14 Georgia & Under 47)
The ‘23 Magnolia Bowl will take place in Ole Miss. LSU and Ole Miss have been playing each other since 1894. The Tigers have a decent lead over Mississippi, up 65 to 41 with 4 ties. They call it the Magnolia Bowl because the magnolia flower happens to be the state flower of Louisiana and Mississippi. The LSU Tigers are ranked #13 in the country while Ole Miss is #20.
LSU WR Malik Nabers has settled in firmly as the Tigers WR1 for the past couple of seasons. This year he is off to a great start with 32 catches (tied for 1st in SEC) for 523 yards (2nd in SEC) and 5 TDs (tied for 2nd in SEC). Not only does QB Jayden Daniels have a reliable WR1 but Brian Thomas Jr. has emerged as a great WR2. Thomas Jr. has 5 TDs, tying all of his scores of ‘22, and his current 413 receiving yards are already a career-high. While the LSU defense has not been dominant, pass rushers Harold Perkins and Mekhi Wingo have been solid. Perkins has 9 pressures, 2 sacks, and 6 QB hurries while Wingo has 10 pressures, 2 sacks, and 7 QB hurries.
Last week QB Jaxson Dart got off to a solid start against ‘Bama, scoring his 3rd rushing TD of the season. Then ‘Bama clamped up defensively and Dart struggled to throw as many darts as he was sacked 5 times. Both Jaxson Dart and LSU’s Jayden Daniels are strong runners going up against defenses that have already gotten gashed by running QBs. I’ll take Jayden Daniels over Jaxson Dart, but I’m sure Lane Kiffin will put up points after only scoring 10 last week.
Prediction: 36-30 LSU (-2.5 LSU & Under 67)
Notre Dame and Duke have faced off against one another 7 times with the Fightin’ Irish winning 5 of them. For the 2nd straight season under Head Coach Mike Elko, Duke has started their year off 4-0. Duke for the first time in its football history has won all 4 of their games by at least 20 points. Notre Dame is coming off a crushing defeat where they lost to Ohio State on a last-second goal line score while they only had 10 men on defense. Notre Dame enters Week 5 as the #11 team in the nation and Duke is ranked #17.
Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison may have stamped himself a 1st-round ticket to the NFL for his performance against Ohio State last week. Morrison when guarding Marvin Harrison Jr. was only targeted 3 times, allowing 1 catch for 7 yards and breaking up the other 2 passes. This will be a real tester for Notre Dame who just suffered a traumatic loss and now has to face a not-your-typical undefeated Duke Blue Devil team. At least the Fightin’ Irish QB Sam Hartman has some experience playing Duke from his days at Wake Forest in the ACC. Hartman has 8 total career TDs against Duke to just one INT.
This Duke team is fun. After upsetting Clemson in Week 1, they have proven that they might just be for real. Defensively, the Blue Devils have only allowed 5 total TDs in 4 games. They really swarm to the football and are currently the 2nd best team in the country in terms of Stop Rate at 88.6%, only .3% behind Penn State. (Stop Rate is the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers, or a turnover on downs.) Offensively, QB Riley Leonard has been good both through the air and on the ground. While only averaging 195 yards passing per game, he hasn’t turned the ball over and also is running at an 8.2 yards per carry clip. Duke’s defense and Riley Leonard’s efficiently safe play style are a great combination but I’m rooting for the Irish here.
Prediction: 27-20 Notre Dame (-6 Notre Dame & Under 52.5)
September ‘23 Finish & October ‘23 Preview
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