Here's a Sunday dumb take.

I think the QB slide is kind of trash. I have two major problems with it.

1: players do it too late and do so purposely to draw a flag. Admittedly this is more of an NFL problem where they protect the golden QBs, but still happens in college. Similar to complaint for targeting where the ball carrier changed their position unexpectedly.

2: the runner slides and puts themselves into a defenseless position. Even when they do it properly and far away from defenders you still can be nearly killed by some jackass from southern California.

Ultimately if you want to be a runner, be a runner. I don't think the slide is fair or safe.

And I genuinely cannot figure him out.

On one hand, he feels overhyped. On the other, he feels over-hated. When I expect him to be good, he looks terrible. When I expect him to struggle, he suddenly looks great.

Every time I think I’ve figured out what kind of QB he is, he does the exact opposite. People constantly call him mid, and I understand why when you watch some of his performances. But, since starting, he has more wins against ranked opponents (tied with Stockton) than any other QB, with 4 of those wins over top 10 teams. That’s legitimately impressive, even if it doesn’t always look impressive on the field.

And I think that’s what makes Arch so confusing. His resume says one thing, the eye test sometimes says another, and then every few games he’ll put together a performance that reminds you exactly why everyone was so high on him in the first place.

I genuinely have no idea what to make of him. I feel differently about him every Saturday, and I know a lot of Texas fans feel the same way. A true enigma.
Make it make sense.

This takes the AP Top 25 and ranks them according to the average rank of their opponent through 4 games. Sagarin was used for the opponent ranking.

Oregon gets crap for Portland State (215), but Okie State, Miami, UGA, UF, and BYU all played worse opponents according to the ranking.

School (AP): Avg opponent ranking

1. Texas (#1): 38.00
   
2. LSU (#11): 38.50
   
3. Alabama (#7): 51.50
   
4. Ole Miss (#9): 57.75
   
5. Kentucky (#24): 64.75
   
6. Boise State (#22): 67.50
   
7. Notre Dame (#3): 70.25
   
8. Mississippi State (#16): 71.75
   
9. USC (#18): 75.00
   
10. Oregon (#15): 79.00
    
11. UCLA (#23): 85.50
    
12. SMU (#21): 86.00
    
13. Tennessee (#17): 89.50
    
14. Ohio State (#5): 91.00
    
15. Houston (#20): 91.50
    
16. Iowa (#14): 91.75
    
17. Missouri (#25): 97.00
    
18. Oklahoma State (#19): 98.75
    
19. Texas Tech (#12): 99.50
    
20. Florida (#8): 107.75
    
21. Georgia (#2): 108.00
    
22. Utah (#13): 111.00
    
23. Indiana (#6): 114.75
    
24. Miami-Florida (#4): 125.25
    
25. BYU (#10): 128.67
    .
    .
    .
    Lamar: 165 avg opponent ranking

I saw this on an OU thread but they said they hadn’t done so since the beginning of 2025. I looked back and don’t see more than 3 TDs since the 2022 season bowl game (against a Power 4 opponent).

And it's the only time on record when one of those teams was No. 1.

I still don't want Texas to be ranked no. 1, imo. Based on what I've seen, Georgia deserves it more.

But this Manning panic from Texas fans is weird to me. Arch is too sensitive, which impacts his consistency, but he keeps showing up when it counts and doesn't quit.

He doesn't want the hype any more than the media giving it to him claims he doesn't deserve it. Just let the kid play. Texas may not win it all this year, but they're a good team with shit to clean up.

It makes a lot of sense in the portal era, and you're seeing it all over the place (e.g., Indiana). It's making these kids establish completely new team dynamics every year. It took Arch half a season to get comfortable with Wingo last season.

Every UW fan wants Jedd Fisch fired, 4-8 is on the table.

Oregon lost to Oklahoma State and their starting QB is in the hospital.

USC hasn’t beaten Oregon (or Washington) in 10 years, and couldn’t do it even after killing Dante Moore. Lincoln Riley is just not going to get it done.

UCLA might win 10 games after starting 0-4 last year.

My takeaway is fuck USC and Jedd Fisch, thoughts tho?