Between The Hashes Week 9: A Fat Guy TD, Sad Testudo and a Deer
Each week, the college football team here at SI will delve into the fun, the weird and the wacky of college football with a series called Between The Hashes. It’s a way to decompress from the madness of the week, and to find a few things that you might have missed.
Week 9 almost delivered us the holy grail of college football weeks: Chalk Saturday. We came so, so close, but we couldn't quite get there since LSU knocked off Ole Miss. As I mentioned in this week's AP Poll post, a Chalk Saturday is when every higher rated top 25 team ends up winning. There were a couple overtimes, a few close calls, but we were still just a coupe plays away from hitting the rare parlay. Maybe next week (it probably will not happen next week).
In the meantime, let's celebrate some super fun football things. It was another week of just super strange stuff, so I'm really just doing you all a disservice by writing more words and not getting to the pictures and videos sooner. So here they are, and please accept my deepest apologies.
FAT GUY (PASSING) TOUCHDOWN
Some plays are more beautiful than others. I might be biased, but this fake by Arkansas offensive lineman Sebastian Tretola to longsnapper Alan D'Appollonio might be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. This is a moment worth celebrating long after this season is over.
Seen A Deer
There was a deer running around in a hotel lobby at State College the night before Ohio State played Penn State. Somehow that was only the second most distracting thing that happened, as someone was also using air horns late at night in the Buckeyes team hotel (although that can probably be chalked up to some big CVS Bangers fans staying in the hotel).
This is how not to football
Things were tough on Pitt early on against Georgia Tech on Saturday, and this drive chart is almost as depressing as Requiem For A Dream. Pitt ended up losing to the Yellow Jackets, 56-28.
Keep Brady Hoke
Michigan State had a pretty easy time with Michigan on Saturday in the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy, and fans showed their pleasure for Michigan's coaching efforts in a couple different ways. There was a skybanner (which I've always said is the future of advertising), as well as good old fashioned chest painting. Both were highly effective.
Sad Fan of The Week
It's usually pretty hard to pick from the best ones, but oh my goodness this week was a landslide victory for this Kentucky fan.
Mascots Of The Week
We have a few nominees this week. Maryland mascot Testudo brought us a wonderful quadriptych showing us once again that there is art in sadness.
Sparty got his Paul Bunyan on early, and the confidence from Michigan State's mascot is awe-inspiring and is something we could all learn a lesson or two from.
This is a dancing potato.
And Mike The Tiger was snacking on the Ole Miss logo made out of meat, a harbinger of things to come, as LSU ended up pulling out the win over the Rebels on Saturday night.
Quotes of the Week
So many people said so many good things this week there's no time to waste explaining. Go go go.
The Ricky Dobbs All-Stars
As a general refresher, each week we will highlight some of the best stat lines of the week, in honor of former Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs:
- ECU QB Shane Carden: 445 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT vs. UConn
- Miami RB Duke Johnson: 249 rush yards, 37 receiving yards, 2 total TD vs. Virginia Tech
- Louisiana-Lafayette RB Elijah McGuire: 265 yards, 4 TD vs. Arkansas State
- Oregon QB Marcus Mariota: 326 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT vs. Cal
- Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah: 225 yards, 3 TD vs. Rutgers
- UMass QB Blake Frohnapfel: 438 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT vs. Toledo
- Navy QB Keenan Reynolds: 251 rush yards, 4 rush TD vs. San Jose State
- Georgia State WR Donovan Harden: 11 catches, 186 yards, 4 TD vs. Georgia Southern
- Georgia Southern running backs: 613 yards, 10 TD vs. Georgia State
- TCU QB Trevone Boykin: 433 yards, 7 TD vs. Texas Tech
- Marshall RB Devon Johnson: 272 yards, 4 TD vs. FAU
- Mississippi State RB Josh Robinson: 198 yards, 2 TD vs. Kentucky
- Alabama WR Amari Cooper: 9 catches, 224 yards, 2 TD vs. Tennessee