Another week, another round of college football fixtures has taken place. Most sides have now played between five or six fixtures, so we are starting to get a much clearer picture of who is well-positioned, and who is not looking great, in each of the NCAA conferences.
Some teams remain unbeaten, while equally, some are still looking for their first win of the season. Whoever you are a fan of, or if you just follow the sport more generally, there has been plenty of action to catch up on. We’ll give a brief overview below, which will help inform bettors of who they might want to select for their college football picks on their sports betting apps this weekend.
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Drama in ‘Bama as Crimson Tide suffer defeat
For many weeks, the Alabama Crimson Tide has been top of the AP college football rankings. In fact, they had been unbeaten in the regular season since 2019, in 24 successive matches, such was their dominance. However, that streak came to an abrupt end this past weekend, when Texas A&M managed to defeat them 41-38.
The fact that A&M completed this victory using their backup quarterback Zack Calzada makes this all the more extraordinary. Calzada, replacing the injured Haynes King, had struggled in previous games against Arkansas and Mississippi State, fixtures that A&M lost. However, he was crucial in this win. The Crimson Tide did rally in the second half but were unable to overturn the result. It was the first win that A&M has achieved against the Crimson Tide since they joined the SEC in 2012.
Bulldogs walking tall
Staying in the SEC, the team who would have been most pleased with the Crimson Tide’s defeat is the Georgia Bulldogs. The two sides are big rivals, and the Bulldogs had been always just behind Alabama in the rankings for the last few weeks. That has all changed now, as Georgia made it 6 wins from 6, to top the AP rankings.
They did so in style, traveling to the Pat Dye Field to take on the Auburn Tigers. The Tigers had been in solid form themselves, with a record of 4-1 before this game. However, they were no match for the Bulldogs, who had an especially strong second quarter, to be 17-3 up at halftime. The Tigers did recover to tie the third 7-7, but a further ten points from the Bulldogs in the fourth meant they ran out 34-10 victors. Their coach, Kirby Smart, also moved to the top of the AFCA Coaches rankings. Now in his sixth season, Smart will be hoping to add another Division title to the trophy cabinet at the end of this season.
A classic between the Rebels and the Razorbacks
We always enjoy seeing high-scoring games, where both teams look like they have a chance of winning. These are much more exciting than fixtures where one team absolutely dominates, or when both are so evenly matched that they effectively cancel each other out. One of the standout games this weekend was between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Rebels record coming into this game was 3-1, while the Razorbacks were 4-1, so it was always going to be a close game. The Razorbacks took a 7 point lead in the first quarter but were pegged back in the second, with the Rebels outscoring them 21-7. The third went to the Razorbacks, 17-10, with the scores tied at 31-31. Many would have thought that the fourth quarter would have then been very tense, with neither side taking many risks, but in fact, it was the complete opposite, as both teams scored most of their points in this period. The Rebels just about edged it, so that the game finished 52-51. This win shifts Ole Miss up to second in the SEC West, one place behind the Crimson Tide.
Vanderbilt humbled away to the Gators
It’s never nice to see a team not score any points while conceding a big score. Is it due to their offense not being efficient, or possibly the opposing side’s defense being rock solid? In this game between the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Florida Gators, it was probably a combination of the two.
The Commodores had a fairly even record coming into this game, winning two and losing three, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect from them on their trip to the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Essentially they didn’t turn up, as at the half time they were already 21-0 down. They would concede another 21 points in the third, before the Gators decided to ease up, not adding to their score in the fourth. The game ended 42-0, so Head coach Clark Lea will have to put some serious thought into changing things before their next fixture against the South Carolina Gamecocks next week.