DAILY DIRT: There’s one game this weekend that demands the national spotlight

October 18, 2024 | By Steve Eighinger, Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Daily Dirt for Friday, Oct. 18, 2024

Who will be in the eventual national title game? Just keep reading, my friends … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,090 of The Daily Dirt.

1. The more the college football season unfolds, the larger the degree of separation seems to become.

Here’s my current thought process:

The true national title contenders: At this moment there are three — Texas, Oregon, Ohio State.

The almost-but-not-quite national title contenders: Penn State, Georgia.

The national title dark horses: Iowa State, LSU.

The most overhyped national title contenders who really aren’t: Alabama, Miami, Fla., BYU.

Teams outside the current the top 10 that could make a legitimate late-season surge: Clemson, Texas A&M.

At this very moment, my pick for the eventual national championship game: Texas vs. Ohio State.

This week’s top 10:

1. Texas (6-0): This week’s game of the week is a no-brainer. The Longhorns host Georgia on Saturday night, and I like Texas 38-28. (By the way, Texas and Ohio State will open the 2025 season. Better get your tickets early.)
2. Oregon (6-0): Now that Oregon has righted its ship, watch out. Ducks may put up 60 at Purdue on Saturday.
3. Ohio State (5-1): Ohio State has Saturday’s game against visiting Nebraska to tweak what ails it before traveling to Happy Valley to face No. 4 Penn State the following week. Following the Penn State contest, Ohio State will face Purdue, Northwestern and Indiana prior to the annual bloodletting vs. Michigan in Columbus.
4. Penn State (6-0): Nittany Lions will need to be careful Saturday at Wisconsin. That’s not a place you want to get caught looking ahead.
5. Georgia (5-1): This could be make-or-break week for the Bulldogs. The whole season might be riding on that game at Texas.
6. Iowa State (6-0): I’m a firm believer in the Cyclones. And let me emphasize again, at this point of the season, Matt Campbell is my coach of the year. By the way, Iowa State will be 7-0 following a one-sided win over UCF on Saturday.
7. LSU (5-1): The Tigers are far from a finished product, but last week’s win over Ole Miss may have officially turned the Tigers’ season around. Up next are back-to-back road games at Arkansas and Texas A&M before hosting Alabama.
8. Miami, Fla. (6-0): If I were a betting man, which I’m not, there’s no way I would touch the unpredictable Hurricanes. That said, they should still get past Louisville on Saturday.
9. Tennessee (5-1): My gut says go with the Volunteers Saturday afternoon against Alabama.
10: Alabama (5-1): A loss at Tennessee and the Tide can bid bon voyage to any top-10 ranking — and possibly even a bid to the College Football Playoff.
On the bubble: Clemson (5-1), Notre Dame (5-1), BYU (6-0), Texas A&M (5-1), Ole Miss (5-2), Missouri (5-1).

2. Did you know (Part 155)

That the five most-visited countries in the world are: 1. France, 2. Spain, 3. U.S., 4. China, 5. Italy.
That every single odd number has the letter “e” in it.
That the U.S. dollar bill did not have “In God We Trust” on it until 1957.
That the Fitzroy river turtle in Australia breathes through its butt.
That Americans eat an average of 23 pounds of pizza each year.

3. It was another good week for spotting creative personal license plates in West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri. None that were spotted or submitted were able to crack the medal stand, according to The Daily Dirt Board of Control, but there were still some solid entries. Thanks for the continued contributions!

The medal winners remain:

Gold Medal: GOD 911.

Silver medal: XLMAMA.

Bronze medal: 2 FARR.

The best of the entries from the past week:

MR KUHL 7
BLUZ 17
PULN EM 2
C EARTH 1
US IN 89
INTRWEB
ND RAIDR
SCAREM 6
DKATER 7
MOM 24
GOLF N 12
MEATS 4

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Best overall story of the college football season — at this point — might be that both Army and Navy are unbeaten. That is genuinely awesome.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Gee, he predicted tOSU to be in the football playoff title game. Who could have predicted THAT? Also, Missouri 14, Ohio State 3.