College football Saturday open thread (UPDATED)

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(scroll down for update)


No. 25 Mississippi St. hung with No. 3 LSU for a while until LSU's physicality wore on the Bulldogs in the 2nd half for a 19-6 victory for the Tigers on Thursday.


And last night, No. 4 Boise St. dispatched the Toledo Rockets, 40-15, with Bronco QB, Kellen Moore throwing for 5 and 455.


Today:

No. 15 Michigan St. at Notre Dame. Will the Domers go 0-3 or will an always-talented Sparty squad find yet more imaginative ways to melt down at the end of the ball game? Must see TV, gang. 11:30 PDT on NBC.



No. 23 Texas at UCLA to avenge last years thumping by the Bruins in Austin.



No. 10 South Carolina vs. Navy... a game we know B-Daddy will be watching with great interest.



The Probation Bowl: ESPN is very happy they decided in advance to televise this game between No. 17 Ohio St. and Miami (FL) which are both under continuing investigations and suspensions.


And the Primetime featured matchup: No. 1 Oklahoma at No. 5 Florida State. After being one of the dominant programs in the nation through much of the 80s and 90s, the 'Noles have been a program seemingly adrift over the past several years. Long-time coach and program architect, Bobby Bowden, finally stepped down before the start of last season to make way for Jimbo Fisher who had been brought over from LSU to be coach-in-waiting. Obviously, a statement game for FSU as they can say they are back as one of the nation's elite programs with a win over the Sooners this evening. Either way, the winner of this game can claim the mantle of "National Title Contender".


Enjoy your college football Saturday.



* Pictured is Andrew Luck, Heisman contender and QB of No. 6 Stanford who will be at Arizona tonight.



(UPDATE #1):So, you don't like to punt the ball? You like going for it on fourth down... no matter what your field position is? And you somehow see it unmanly to kick away the ball after a score opting instead for onside kicks? You're a real tough guy, huh? Yeah, didn't think so but this guy is.

Meet Kevin Kelley of Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Kelley has become a cult figure among both football coaches and the sports analytics community for his disregard -- contempt even -- for traditional football wisdom. He's been featured in Sports Illustrated. He figured prominently in Scorecasting. He's been a regular at coaching clinics and at the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

For one, Kelley doesn't believe in punting. His Bruins teams go for it on fourth down, even in the most extreme situations. His playbook is filled with tricks and gimmicks. He often forbids his players to return punts, reckoning that the odds of a fumble outstrip the incremental yards that can be gained from a return. After his team scores, it almost always attempts an onside kick. There are 12 varieties in the playbook -- including one in which the ball is placed flat on the ground -- and Kelley figures that the chance of recovery outweighs the risk of allowing the opposition to start a drive near midfield.

In a recent game against Arkansas prep power, the Cabot Panthers, Pulaski went up 29-0... before Cabot ever touched the ball and which Pulaski wound up winning 64-34.

Here's the on-side kick highlight reel from the game.



1:35 OK, now they're just showing off.

Seriously, just how much fun would it be to play for this guy?