DAILY DIRT: It’s a clean sweep of the medal stand in The Great Plate Debate — U BABE 1 leads way as new No. 1

Daily Dirt for Friday, Sept. 20, 2024

Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,065 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Whoaaaa!!! You’re tuning in today for a piece of history.

Leading off, we open with what is the first time in the (almost) three-year annals of The Daily Dirt Great Plate Debate that we have a completely new set of medal holders from the previous week. 

Obviously, it was a memorable week — to say the least — on the roadways and in the parking lots of West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri. Daily Dirt contributors came up with what has to be the finest-ever one-week collection of personalized plate — so good they knocked GEM CITI, STARVED and JAWHAWX right out of the gold, silver and bronze positions.

Secondly, we were emailed entries from two regular readers in Oklahoma, which I believe is the farthest away any entry has been received in Dirt history.

Here is the new breakdown:

• Gold medal: U BABE 1. (Can’t you just hear Sonny and Cher singing?)
• Silver medal: POACHER. (This one was spotted last week at a Brown County football game.)
• Bronze medal: LANDED. (This HAS to be some sort of pilot, right?) 

Best of the rest this week:

• TOP Z
• I CRUZ 96
• 1 ETRUC
• SR KICKR
• MY DOL 1
• HI JOLO
• SUN N 2
• BRASS 33
• MACKY 7

2. Did you know (Part 128)

• That Nick Cannon has 12 children with six different women.
• That Eddie Murphy has 10 children with eight different women.
• That Eugene Levy has nine kids with nine different women.
• That NFL player Antonio Cromartie has 14 kids with the eight different women in five different states and a monthly child-support payment of $330,000.
• That rapper Li’l Randy has 13 children with seven different mothers in five countries.

3. We have a new No. 1 — Texas — in The Daily Dirt college football poll, but the biggest news might actually be one particular matchup that could seriously alter the rankings in weeks to come. 

Tennessee meets Oklahoma Saturday in a game that could vault the Vols several spots upward with a victory. And Oklahoma win, however, would almost certainly send the Sooners back into the top 10 after a long absence:

1. Texas (3-0): Look for Arch Manning to get some more game time this week when the Longhorns blow past ULM.

2. Georgia (3-0): The Bulldogs are idle this weekend in preparation for the Sept. 28 matchup at Alabama.

3. Ohio State (2-0): Buckeyes end their cupcake pre-conference schedule today with what should be another blowout. This time, Marshall is the victim.

4. Ole Miss (3-0): Rebels should easily move to 4-0 with a pasting of Georgia Southern.

5. Alabama (3-0): I think it’s safe to say Alabama’s SEC championship hopes are on the line in that Georgia game. 

6. Miami, Fla. (3-0): I feel like the Hurricanes have been overlooked for the most part, despite their top-10 ranking in most major ballots.

7. USC (3-0): I would not be surprised to see USC beat Michigan by 35-plus come Saturday afternoon. USC is very, very good and getting better. Michigan is neither.

8. Missouri (3-0): A month into the season, I’d say Steve Sarkisian of Texas and Eli Drinkwitz of Missouri are the leading coach of the year candidates.

9. Tennessee (3-0): I predict the Vols make a major statement with a one-sided win over Oklahoma.

10. Penn State (3-0): Poor Kent State has to play Penn State this week after getting blasted last Saturday by Tennessee. It’s a cruel, cruel world.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — My sleeper team right now in college football is Nebraska. The ‘Huskers (3-0) likely aren’t a top-10 team this year, but coach Matt Rhule has that once-storied program back on track.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. USC-Michigan should only be played in Pasadena on New Year’s Day, not in late September. Today’s conferences are ridiculous