College Football Awards, Week 4 (2018) September 23, 2018
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Arkansas, Army, Bill Snyder, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boilers, Boston College, Cardinals, Cavaliers, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado State, Crimson Tide, David Shaw, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Fresno State, Gardner-Webb, Georgia, Hurricanes, Illinois, Illinois State, Jeff Brohm, Justin Fuente, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Luke Fickell, Mario Cristobal, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Mike Gundy, Mississippi State, Navy, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Oregon, Pac-12, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Sam Darnold, Scott Frost, SMU, Southern Cal, Stanford, Tennessee State, Texas, Texas Tech, Toledo, Tom Herman, Trojans, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 4] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Tom Herman, Texas
Glad I’m not him: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Lucky guy: David Shaw, Stanford
Poor guy: Mario Cristobal, Oregon
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking … anything: Scott Frost, Nebraska
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Penn State (defeated Illinois 63-24)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oklahoma (defeated Army 28-21 in OT)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Tulane (lost to No. 9 Ohio State 49-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Army (lost to Oklahoma 28-21 in OT)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Texas Tech (defeated No. 15 Oklahoma State 17)
Dang, they’re good: Clemson
Dang, they’re bad: Arkansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Virginia Tech
Did the season start? Nebraska
Can the season end? Rutgers
Can the season never end? Alabama
GAMES
Play this again: No. 7 Stanford 38, No. 20 Oregon 31
Play this again, too: SMU 31, Navy 30
Never play this again: Appalachian State 72, Gardner-Webb 7
What? Purdue 30, No. 23 Boston College 13
Huh? Texas Tech 41, No. 15 Oklahoma State 17
Double Huh? Illinois State 35, Colorado State 19
Are you kidding me?? Kentucky 28, No. 14 Mississippi State 7
Oh – my – God: Old Dominion 49, No. 13 Virginia Tech 35
NEXT WEEK (Rankings are current AP, week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 4 Ohio State @ No. 9 Penn State
Also: No. 7 Stanford @ No. 8 Notre Dame
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Pitt @ UCF
Best non-Power Five matchup: Toledo @ Fresno State
Upset alert: Texas Tech @ No. 12 West Virginia
Must win: Purdue @ Nebraska
Offensive explosion: Toledo @ Fresno State
Defensive struggle: Florida @ No. 23 Mississippi State
Great game no one is talking about: No.18 Texas @ Kansas State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bill Snyder of Kansas State vs. Tom Herman of Texas
Who’s bringing the body bags? Louisiana @ No. 1 Alabama
Why are they playing? Southern Miss @ No. 10 Auburn
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ UTSA
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Tennessee State @ Vanderbilt
Week 4 Thoughts:
Purdue has started the season as a major head-scratcher. Coming off a surprising winning season after the Hazell-era doldrums, including a bowl win, the Boilermaker faithful had high hopes for the team in 2018. Thus far, after an understandable, opening-season loss to then-ranked Northwestern, Purdue proceeded to lose squeakers at home to beatable teams, including [shudder], Eastern Michigan – a directional school. Chalk it up to an undisciplined defense and a lack of a running game. Regardless, the Boilers have their first win of the year, and, all things considered, it’s a rather big one, handily defeating No. 23 Boston College 30-13. To be sure, Purdue did step it up on defense, and if they can maintain this newfound intensity on that side of the ball, there’s hope for the season yet. All that said, sometimes it takes a few weeks for a good team to find its footing and thus to play up to its potential.
The team now becoming an even bigger head-scratcher is Louisville. Sure, they lost badly to Alabama, but the Crimson Tide is such a juggernaut this year that most winning-season teams will look pathetic against them. What really raised concerns was having to struggle, at home, to beat Western Kentucky – another directional school! Let us thus give the Cardinals an ex-post-facto “Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t”. But now they got embarrassed, on the road to a beatable team in Virginia. At 27-3, are the Cavaliers that much better than the Cards? Is their offense that poor that they failed to punch it into the endzone, with only a sad field goal to open the 3rd quarter? A comparison of recent seasonal performances of both teams would say no, but today’s score would suggest so. Here is one possible diagnosis of Louisville’s under-performance. In the last few years (basically since Lamar Jackson was QB), Petrino has been fixated on “skills” players while acting as if he can get any lumbering lummox to block on the line. So, while he might have NFL-caliber talent on the wings, he has no way of executing plays. Has the time come to where Petrino would be better off as an offensive coordinator instead of a head coach? Further observation and analysis of the team’s performance shall tell us yes or no.
What about USC? Before losing badly on the road to Texas last week, they were ranked and poised to compete for the Pac-12 title again. But on Friday night, they had to play hard at home to beat unranked Washington State. One possible explanation: Sam Darnold’s talent at QB papered over the mediocrity of talent on the coaching staff. While I’m not a Trojans fan personally, I nevertheless recognize that when a traditional power like USC does well, it’s good for college football (same goes for other traditional powers like Georgia, Texas, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, or even Miami (Fla.)). Conversely, a mediocre Southern Cal team is thus not great for college football. Let us hope that they can eventually rise back to national title contention to help keep the west coast markets engaged in the game. After all, it’s never good for a sport to become regional (looking your way, Major League Baseball).
Speaking of Texas, are they “back”? And why were they ever, well, not back? This article by Pete Thamel explains the nature of why a national brand and a massively-valued program ever needed turning around in the first place (hint: turning around an aircraft carrier takes much, much longer than turning around, say, a personal sailboat). Forget, for a moment, that the program sure did not help anybody, least of all themselves, by laying an egg on the road to Maryland, and then under-performing at home the next week against Tulsa. The Longhorns’ big win over USC last week might not indicate that the team is “back” as strongly as one would think due to USC’s apparent mediocrity at the moment. But then again, Texas did follow up with another big win, this time over No. 16 TCU, 31-16. So the current conclusion is, if they’re not “back” yet, they’re certainly headed in the right direction. Onward and upward.
College Football Awards Week 6 October 13, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Uncategorized.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Ball State, Baylor, Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Cotton Bowl, Crimson Tide, David Shaw, Florida, Gary Patterson, Georgia, Georgia State, Horned Frogs, Hurricanes, Iowa, Iowa State, Jim Harbaugh, Jim Mora, Kansas, Kansas State, Kyle Whittingham, Longhorns, Mark Richt, Matt Campbell, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Razorbacks, Red River rivalry, Red River Shootout, Red River Showdown, Sooners, South Carolina, Stanford, Steve Sarkesian, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo, Trojans, Troy, UCLA, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Vols, Wildcats, Wolverines
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Texas head coach Charlie Strong celebrates with his team after their incredible upset over rival Oklahoma. Judging by the photo, it seems as though he might have won back the locker room. Photo from the Dallas Morning News.
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Glad I’m not him: Steve Sarkesian, USC
Lucky guy: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Campbell of Toledo
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Desperately seeking … anything: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Baylor (defeated Kansas 66-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oklahoma (see below)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Troy (lost to Mississippi State 45-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Texas (see below)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Michigan (see below)
Dang, they’re good: Baylor
Dang, they’re bad: Miami, Ohio
Can’t Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? Miami, Fla.
Can the season end? South Carolina
Can the season never end? Utah
GAMES
Play this again: Texas 24, No. 10 Oklahoma 17
Play this again, too: Tennessee 38, No. 19 Georgia 31
Never play this again: No. 3 Baylor 66, Kansas 7
What? No. 18 Michigan 38, No. 13 Northwestern 0
Huh? Washington 17, No. 17 USC 12
Are you kidding me? Tennessee 38, No. 19 Georgia 31
Oh – my – God: Texas 24, No. 10 Oklahoma 17
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: No. 7 Michigan State @ No. 12 Michigan
Also: No. 10 Alabama @ No. 9 Texas A&M
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: No. 13 Ole Miss @ Memphis
Best non-Power Five matchup: Akron @ Bowling Green
Upset alert: Louisville @ No. 11 Florida State
Must win: USC @ No. 14 Notre Dame
Offensive explosion: West Virginia @ No. 2 Baylor
Defensive struggle: Vanderbilt @ South Carolina
Great game no one is talking about: No. 17 Iowa @ No. 20 Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Mora of UCLA vs David Shaw of Stanford
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 3 TCU @ Iowa State
Why are they playing? Louisiana Tech @ Mississippi State
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia State @ Ball State
They shoot horses, don’t they? Troy @ Mississippi State
Week 5 Take-aways:
What a weekend of upsets and near-upsets. One obvious near-miss: Gary Patterson’s TCU almost got upset on the road to Bill Snyder’s Kansas State. You just know that the old man was not going to roll over for the vaunted Horned Frogs. In the end, the near-miss cost the Frogs one spot in the rankings, as they are down to No. 3 from the No. 2 spot.
Similarly, Alabama took a while to get going at home against Arkansas. Eventually the Tide decided to start playing football, but they were down to the under-performing Hogs for too long of a time in regulation to be taken seriously as a contending team.
Now the upsets: we all knew that Northwestern was a legitimate team. Most of us thought that the Wildcats playing the Michigan Wolverines would be the game of the week. That turned out, in the end, not to be the case. Jim Harbaugh seems to be building the Wolverrines to become stronger by the week.
Then there was the upset of the USC Trojans, at home, against Chris Petersen’s scrappy Washington Huskies. We were all hoping for a good game, but certainly did not foresee the the embarrassment at home for the Men of Troy – though the subsequent news of Steve Sarkesian’s major alcohol problem certainly explains USC’s volatile performance this season. Let us all wish a complete, sober recover for Sark as he embarks on a rehab program.
Or what about Tennessee? The poor Vols were unable to “close the deal,” blowing leads to both Oklahoma and to Florida, leading to heartbreaking losses in so doing. This time around, however, they had to play from behind, and upset the heavily-favored Georgia Bulldogs in so doing. So much for Georgia’s national championship hopes this year.
But let us not fool ourselves. The biggest upset of the week came in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. All of us, even the team’s fans, had given the Texas Longhorns up for dead, especially after the devastating loss to TCU the previous week. Coach Charlie Strong seemed to have lost the locker room, and he was strategically flailing in terms of not having an offensive or defensive identity.
Perhaps the rival Oklahoma Sooners were just naïve enough to take the bait. The Horns looked like an entirely different team this past Saturday than they did for the entire season leading up to this fateful day. Texas drew first blood late in the first quarter, and, mirabile dictu, did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game. Moreover, Strong somehow regained his identity, effectively playing a run-oriented, ball-control offense that left OU’s defense sucking wind by late in the 4th quarter. It was just enough to hold on and to upset their heavily-favored rival. It also likely saved Coach Strong’s bacon for the rest of the year. Hook ‘em!
College Football Week 14 Awards November 30, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Art Briles, Baylor, Bill Snyder, Bobby Petrino, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colin Cowherd, Colorado, Dave Doeren, East Carolina, Florida, Florida State, Fresno State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Iowa State, Jim Mora, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Mark Richt, Marshall, Mississippi State, Missouri, N.C. State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Paul Johnson, Rebels, Rice, Rich Rodriguez, SMU, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Temple, Tulane, UCF, UCLA, UConn, USC, Utah, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 14] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Rich Rodriquez, Arizona
Glad I’m not him: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Lucky guy: Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Dave Doeren, N.C. State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jim Mora, UCLA
Desperately seeking … anything: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Kansas State (defeated Kansas 51–13)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Utah (defeated Colorado 38–34)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Notre Dame (lost to USC 49–14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kentucky (lost to Louisville 44–40)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: N.C. State (defeated North Carolina 35–7)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: South Florida
You know, they’re not so bad: Georgia Tech
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Mississippi State
Did the season start? South Carolina
Can the season end? Notre Dame
Can the season never end? Arizona
GAMES
Play this again: No. 11 Arizona 42, No. 13 Arizona State 35
Play this again, too: No. 22 Louisville 44, Kentucky 40
Never play this again: Louisiana Tech 76, Rice 31
What? Western Kentucky 67, No. 24 Marshall 66,OT
Huh? No. 16 Georgia Tech 30, No. 9 Georgia 24
Are you kidding me? Stanford 31, No. 9 UCLA 10
Oh – my – God: No. 19 Ole Miss 31, No. 4 Mississippi State 17
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 14, pre-week 15)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 17 Missouri
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: None
Best non-Power Five matchup: UCF @ East Carolina
Upset alert: No. 12 Kansas State @ No. 7 Baylor
Must win: No. 14 Wisconsin vs. No. 6 Ohio State
Offensive explosion: No. 11 Arizona vs. No. 2 Oregon
Defensive struggle: Temple @ Tulane
Great game no one is talking about: Oklahoma State @ No. 20 Oklahoma
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bill Snyder of Kansas State vs. Art Briles of Baylor
Who’s bringing the body bags? Iowa State @ No. 5 TCU
Why are they playing? Fresno State @ No. 23 Boise State
Plenty of good seats remaining: SMU @ UConn
They shoot horses, don’t they? Houston @ Cincinnati
Week 14 Random Thoughts:
As Colin Cowherd so wisely predicted, the landscape of college football has been seriously altered after this, the rivalry week. Start with Ohio State losing their second quarterback to injury. Already on the outside looking in to the playoff picture, at No. 6 and with a third–string QB, it is unlikely they will have the credibility to be let into the top four of the playoff, even if they beat a coming–on–strong Wisconsin.
South Carolina was already a team that we know what they were this month: a team that blows 4th-quarter leads (notwithstanding beating Florida at game’s end a couple of weeks ago). Such a tendency has already ruined their season. Such ruination was given an exclamation point when they laid down and died to in–state rival Clemson. “I the guys, 6–6 might be what we are,” he sighed in the post–game press conference. Let us hope this is not the last we have seen of the Ol’ Ball Coach, and that he has an opportunity to go out on a high note (along with a better record) next season.
Of course, nothing has altered the current college football picture like Mississippi State losing ignominiously to their arch–rival Ole Miss. All they had to do was beat the Rebels –– a tall order, to be sure –– and they would likely have secured a coveted spot into the top four playoff picture. Not anymore, in all likelihood, and more the pity.
Meanwhile, chippy UCLA had a golden opportunity –– wink –– to play for the Pac–12 title as the south division representative against Oregon. All that was before they dropped the ball to an apparently resurgent Stanford, thus giving the south division championship berth to Arizona instead. Hello, offensive explosion!
My prognostication for the final four playoffs? Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and TCU –– if these shadows remain unchanged, which, at this rate, they will not.
College Football Awards Week 11 November 11, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports, Uncategorized.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, BC, Bill Snyder, Boston College, Brian Kelly, Buffalo, Butch Jones, Cards, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Crimson Tide, Doc Holliday, Duke, East Carolina, Florida, football, Gary Patterson, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Gus Malzahn, Horned Frogs, Houston, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Irish, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Kirk Ferentz, KSU, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Stoops, Marshall, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NCAA, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Pat Fitzgerald, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Presbyterian, SEC, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Sun Devils, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tigers, Todd Graham, Tony Levine, Troy, Urban Meyer, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wildcats
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 11] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Todd Graham, Arizona State
Glad I’m not him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State (hon. mention: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame)
Lucky guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Poor guy: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Tony Levine, Houston
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Doc Holliday, Marshall
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Desperately seeking … anything: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 11 Ole Miss (defeated Presbyterian 48-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Penn State (defeated Indiana 13-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kentucky (lost to No. 20 Georgia 63-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to No. 21 Clemson 34-20)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Marshall (defeated Southern Miss 63-17)
Dang, they’re good: TCU
Dang, they’re bad: Iowa State
You know, they’re not so bad: Louisville
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Michigan State
Did the season start? West Virginia
Can the season end? Buffalo
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 3 Auburn 35, No. 3 Ole Miss 31
Play this again, too: No. 24 Duke 51, Pittsburgh 48
Never play this again: Marshall 63, Southern Miss 17
What? Texas 33, No. 23 West Virginia 16
Huh? No. 9 Arizona State 55, No. 10 Notre Dame 31
Are you kidding me? No. 14 Ohio State 49, No. 8 Michigan State 37
Oh – my – God: Texas A&M 41, No. 3 Auburn 38
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 11, pre-week 12)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Mississippi State @ No. 5 Alabama
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Temple @ Penn State
Best non-Power Five matchup: East Carolina @ Cincinnati
Upset alert: No. 16 LSU @ Arkansas
Must win: South Carolina @ Florida
Offensive explosion: Missouri @ Texas A&M
Defensive struggle: Virginia Tech @ No. 22 Duke
Great game no one is talking about: No. 14 Ohio State @ Minnesota
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Stoops of Kentucky vs. Butch Jones of Tennessee
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 6 TCU @ Kansas
Why are they playing? Georgia Southern @ Navy
Plenty of good seats remaining: Troy @ Idaho
They shoot horses, don’t they? No. 12 Michigan State @ Maryland
Week 11 Random Thoughts:
- So many good games took place from 19:00 or later on the 8th of November. Start with Louisville at Boston College, which should not have been interesting on paper, but was, unfortunately, due to the Cardinals’ inability to get it together for the first half (they did in the second). Then again, the Cards have always had their troubles with BC! But then came TCU vs. Kansas State. Bill Snyder has put together an excellent team for this year, and the Wildcats being well-coached shows on the field (especially against Auburn early on in the season). But even a good time like KSU was no match for Gary Patterson’s Horned Frogs, who are making every statement they can in order to vie for the playoffs.
Or, look at Ohio State vs. Michigan State. After the Buckeyes laid an egg at home to a mediocre Virginia Tech squad, everybody was skeptical as to how good a team they truly were. Leave it to Urban Meyer to coach his talented bunch up to be more than a match for Mark Dantonio’s Spartans.
But it turned out the most important game, and the one with the biggest national title implications was the Alabama-LSU game. In typical fashion, it was a defensive struggle, and just to make things even more exciting / to heighten the already high degree of urgency even further, the game went into overtime. The Crimson Tide still have a brutal slate of games ahead, but their win is certain a step in the right direction for them
- As I have noted before, Notre Dame is overrated. To be sure, I also noted (in other article) that they are enigmatic. But the overrated question mark remained; lurking, hidden, just waiting for the right opportunity to emerge. Thanks be to Todd Graham and the Arizona State Sun Devils to confirm that which us skeptics felt all along. After all, to have the Irish be among the final four, thus displacing a far-more deserving second SEC team in the process, would have been a travesty beyond words: a travesty, thankfully, that will be pre-empted before it even began.
College Football Week 7 Awards October 13, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Aggies, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Auburn, Baylor, Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boise State, Central Florida, Charlie Strong, Chattanooga, Colorado, Colorado State, Dan Mullen, David Shaw, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Fresno State, Furman, Gary Pinkel, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Gus Malzahn, Hugh Freeze, Idaho, Illini, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Jim McElwain, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico State, Nike, North Carolina, North Texas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Paul Petrino, Purdue, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Todd Graham, UConn, USC, Utah State, West Virginia
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(
Note: All rankings are current AP [week 7] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Wish I were him, too: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Glad I’m not him: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Lucky guy: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Poor guy: Charlie Strong, Texas
Desperately seeking a wake-up clue: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jim McElwain, Colorado State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Gary Pinkel, Missouri
Desperately seeking … anything: Paul Petrino, Idaho
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Tennessee (beat Chattanooga 45-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 6 Notre Dame (beat North Carolina 50-43)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Chattanooga (lost to Tennessee 45-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Purdue (lost to No. 8 Michigan State 45-31)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: No. 13 Georgia (defeated No. 23 Missouri 34-0)
Dang, they’re good: Mississippi State (and Ole Miss)
Dang, they’re bad: UConn
You know, they’re not so bad: Central Florida
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Missouri
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Idaho
Can the season never end? Ole Miss and Mississippi State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 7 Baylor 58, No. 9 TCU 61
Play this again, too: LSU 30, Florida 27
Never play this again: Arkansas State 52, Georgia State 10
What? Iowa 45, Indiana 21
Huh? USC 28, No. 10 Arizona 26
Are you kidding me? Duke 31, No. 22 Georgia Tech 25
Oh – my – God: No. 3 Mississippi State 38, No. 2 Auburn 23
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 7, pre-week 8)
Ticket to die for: No. 5 Notre Dame @ No. 2 Florida State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none, notwithstanding the “Why Are They Playing” entry)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Fresno State @ Boise State
Upset alert: No. 10 Georgia @ Arkansas
Must win: No. 21 Texas A&M @ No. 7 Alabama
Offensive explosion: No. 4 Baylor @ West Virginia
Defensive struggle: Kentucky @ LSU
Great game no one is talking about: Utah State @ Colorado State
Intriguing coaching matchup: David Shaw of Stanford vs. Todd Graham of Arizona State (also, Bill Snyder of Kansas State vs. Bob Stoops of Oklahoma)
Who’s bringing the body bags? Colorado @ No. 22 USC
Why are they playing? Furman @ South Carolina
Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ Idaho
They shoot horses, don’t they? Southern Miss @ North Texas
Week 7 Random Thoughts:
- This weekend was almost as epic as the previous one. True, there were the amount of upsets to match last week, but there were great matchups and key tests therein. Both flagship schools from the Magnolia State proved that they not only could stand prosperity, but that last week’s wins proved to be no flukes. Indeed, Ole Miss went in to College Station, Texas, in front of the largest crowd ever to assemble for a football game in the Lone Star State (106,000 fans), and beat the Aggies in convincing fashion, 35-20. Meanwhile, Mississippi State had just as huge a challenge as they had the previous week, if not even more so in a cagey Auburn squad. The fact that they beat the Tigers/War Eagles at home shows that the Bulldogs are for real, and that their No. 1 ranking is no happenstance.
- Last week I observed of the inconclusiveness of Purdue’s win over Illinois. The unanswered question at the time was, had the Boilermakers improved that much from their inept showing against Iowa the previous week, or were the Illini just that bad? After their respectable showing against a very tough Michigan State squad, I am compelled to conclude that they have, in fact, improved: clearly a positive trend.
- So what was up with those God-awful, all-white uniforms that Purdue wore at home? It turns out that they intended to use neon-yellow trim on their uniforms for some sort of breast cancer awareness gesture. For some inexplicable reason, Nike refused to make a black jersey for them in that sort of trim, so the Boilers went all-white instead. Sounds like the Boilers should switch to Under Armor, for such a refusal for a team is most unbecoming. Seeing things another way, would Nike have a refused such a thing to, say, Oregon?
- They say that the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins. The Longhorns demonstrated that in spades against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Statistically, they dominated the Sooners, but too many miscues, penalties and turnovers caused them to give up the game. Even more ironic was that the Sooners were ranked ahead of Texas anyhow. Now we know why. Charlie Strong has his work cut out for him in terms of stemming such mistakes in the near future.
Week 3 College Football Awards September 16, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arizona State, Baylor, BC, Bill Snyder, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boilers, Boston College, Bowling Green, Buffalo, BYU, Cardinals, Cards, Central Michigan, Charlie Strong, Chuck Martin, Clemson, Colorado, Ducks, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, FIghting Irish, Florida State, Georgia, Grover Cleveland, Gus Malzahn, Idaho, Indiana, Jim Mora, Kansas, Kent State, Louisville, Mark Richt, Memphis, Miami (Fla.), Miami (Ohio), Michigan State, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Ruffin McNeil, Rutgers, SMU, South Carolina, Southern Illinois, Steve Addazio, Steve Sarkisian, Steve Spurrier, Syracuse, Texas, Texas A&M, Troy, UMass, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington State, Western Kentucky, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 3] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Steve Addazio, Boston College
Glad I’m not him: Charlie Strong, Texas
Lucky guy: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Ruffin McNeil, East Carolina
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Steve Sarkisian, USC
Desperately seeking … anything: Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio)
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 22 Ohio State (defeated Kent State 66-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Vanderbilt (defeated UMass 34-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kent State (see first line above)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Colorado (lost to No. 16 Arizona State 38-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Syracuse (defeated Central Michigan 40-3)
Dang, they’re good: Oklahoma
Dang, they’re bad: Kansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Virginia Tech
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Eastern Michigan
Can the season never end? Ole Miss
GAMES
Play this again: Bowling Green 45, Indiana 42
Play this again, too: Middle Tennessee 50, Western Kentucky 47
Never play this again: No. 8 Baylor 63, Buffalo 21
Told you so: Penn State 13, Rutgers 10
What? Virginia 23, No. 21 Louisville 21
Huh? No. 24 South Carolina 38, No. 6 Georgia 35
Are you kidding me? East Carolina 28, No. 17 Virginia Tech 21
Oh – my – God: Boston College 38, No. 9 USC 31
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)
Ticket to die for (sort of): No. 22 Clemson @ No. 1 Florida State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: North Carolina @ East Carolina
Best non-Power Five matchup: Middle Tennessee @ Memphis
Upset alert: Miami (Fla.) @ No. 24 Nebraska
Must win: Southern Illinois @ Purdue
Offensive explosion: No. 2 Oregon @ Washington State
Defensive struggle: Penn State @ Rutgers
Great game no one is talking about: Virginia @ No. 21 BYU
Intriguing coaching matchup: Gus Malzahn of Auburn vs. Bill Snyder of Kansas State
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 6 Texas A&M @ SMU
Why are they playing? Troy @ No. 13 Georgia
Plenty of good seats remaining: Idaho @ Ohio U
They shoot horses, don’t they? Eastern Michigan @ No. 11 Michigan State
Week 3 Random Thoughts:
– Just when you think that Louisville is rolling again under second, non-consecutive term head coach Bobby Petrino (paging Grover Cleveland), the Cards lay an egg on the road. Virginia is not that bad of a team, but that is still no excuse for all the quarterback miscues that seemed to plague U of L throughout the game, leading to the disappointing result. Perhaps Petrino should consider playing the freshman QB?
– Virginia Tech seems nothing if not consistent when it comes to losing games the week after winning a big one.
– They say that football can be a game of inches. In the case of South Carolina upsetting intra-conference and border rival Georgia, it was a game of one inch. Period. Well, that and a good (favorable?) spotting of the ball by the refs after 4th and one inch.
– Perhaps Oregon might have been saving a little energy for future endeavors later this season. How else might one explain a win over Wyoming by a score of only 48-12? Given how well the Ducks have played thus far, you’d think the Cowboys got off easy.
– Did Purdue acquit themselves against No. 11 Notre Dame, or are the Fighting Irish that mediocre? In the wake of the Boilermakers embarrassing themselves at home last week to Central Michigan, coupled with ND demolishing Michigan, one would have thought that the annual in-state rivalry game would have meant utter demolition for Purdue. Instead, the Boilers ended up leading, however briefly, in the first half, scoring two touchdowns on the Irish. Such an effort compelled Notre Dame to increase their efforts, allowing them to gradually win over the course of the second half, 30-14. The reason that so many people naturally incline towards the former answer is that they want to believe the Notre Dame hype (it sells, after all!). But what we keep learning, and continue to have to keep learning over the past 10-15 years, is that Notre Dame is once again overrated. The real question, therefore, to consider is, how bad is Michigan?
– That being said, Notre Dame’s helmets for that game did look rather neat. It is a long time coming that they incorporated a blue “ND” logo on to their gold shells. The single, blue center stripe was a nice touch, too. The jury is still out on the latitude-longitude, “globe lines” effect, though. Moreover, I can do without that weird brocade effect on the shoulders of the jerseys.
– Is Texas in trouble? First, they lost ignominiously at home to BYU last week. Then, they lose to an increasingly good UCLA team, ostensibly at a neutral site, though hardly anybody could consider the Horns playing in Dallas as playing on neutral turf, be it the Cotton Bowl or AT&T Stadium. Yes, Jim Mora has truly breathed intensity into the Bruins program at Westwood, Calif., but there is still no excuse for such a proud, tradition-and-resource laden program as Texas to suffer two such consecutive losses. Is Coach Strong in over his head at Austin? It would be a very painful thing to acknowledge, to be sure. The wise thing, at this point, is to allow the rest of the season (and how it plays out) to answer that question.
– If we were to apply the law of transitive properties, just how badly would Syracuse beat Purdue if the two played each other right about now?
College Football Week 1 Awards 2013 September 4, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Bill Snyder, Bobby Petrino, Boise State, Buffalo, Butch Jones, BYU, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Dabo Swinney, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Washington, FBC, FCS, Florida, football, Georgia, Hugh Freeze, Idaho, Indiana, Indiana State, Iowa State, James Franklin, Jordan-Hare, K-State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kevin Wilson, LSU, Mark Richt, McNeese State, Miami (OH), Michigan, Mike Riley, Mississippi, Missouri, NCAA, Nebraska, Nicholls State, North Carolina, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oregon State, Purdue, Rocky Long, San Diego State, Sanford, SEC, South Alabama, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Utah, Syracuse, Tennessee, Tennessee-Martin, Toledo, Towson, Tulane, Utah State, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Wyoming
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That special time of year has come yet again, when college football teams all throughout the land knock heads to see who is the best. Moreover, now that the first week of college football has past, it is now time to give out the first weekly awards for the year!
(NOTE: all rankings are Week 1 AP up to “Next Week”, in which case they are for Week 2)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Glad I’m not him: Mark Richt, Georgia
Lucky guy: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Poor guy: James Franklin, Vanderbilt
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bill Snyder, Kansas State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Kevin Wilson, Indiana
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mike Riley, Oregon State
Desperately seeking … anything: Rocky Long, San Diego State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 3 Oregon (beat Nicholls State 66-3)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 18 Nebraska (beat Wyoming 37-34)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Purdue (lost to Cincinnati 42-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: North Carolina (lost to South Carolina 27-10)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Indiana 73, Indiana State 35
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Sir Charles says “They’re Turrable”: San Diego State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia
Did the season start? BYU
Can the season end? Iowa State
Can the season never end? Clemson
GAMES
Play this again: No. 8 Clemson 38, No. 5 Georgia 35
Play this again, too: Ole Miss 39, Vanderbilt 35
Never play this again: Indiana 73, Indiana State 35
What? McNeese State 53, South Florida 21
Huh? Eastern Illinois 49, San Diego State 17
Are you kidding me? North Dakota State 24, Kansas State 21
Oh – my – God: Eastern Washington 49, No. 25 Oregon State 46
Told you so: Western Kentucky 35, Kentucky 26
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 6 South Carolina @ No. 11 Georgia
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Toledo @ Missouri
Best non-Big Six matchup: Idaho @ Wyoming, or Utah State @ Air Force
Upset alert: No. 14 Notre Dame @ No. 17 Michigan
Must win: Miami (OH) @ Kentucky
Offensive explosion: West Virginia @ No. 16 Oklahoma
Defensive struggle: No. 14 Notre Dame @ No. 17 Michigan
Great game no one is talking about: Syracuse @ No. 22 Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bobby Petrino of Western Kentucky vs. Butch Jones of Tennessee
Who’s bringing the body bags? San Diego State @ No. 2 Ohio State
Why are they playing? Tennessee-Martin @ Boise State
Plenty of good seats remaining: South Alabama @ Tulane
They shoot horses, don’t they? Buffalo @ Baylor
The First Week in Review:
The previous week’s “Ticket to Die For” was obviously the Georgia-Clemson game, and it lived up to its billing, remaining close and hard-fought for all four quarters. Georgia fans do themselves and their team a disservice, however, by lamenting that their season is now in the tank and that it is time to jettison head coach Mark Richt. Let us keep in mind that Clemson right now is on fire, and has their best offense in roughly 30 years if not the whole history of the school. The Bulldogs losing to such a team at that moment is no disgrace.
That said, there’s no rest for the wicked regarding Georgia, for now their hated cross-border rival South Carolina comes to Sanford Stadium this next weekend. The Bulldogs might be in danger of starting the season 0-2, which which really send the UGA faithful into a panic.
Meanwhile, Alabama is such a good team, that even with several offensive miscues throughout the game, they still handily defeated a respectable Virginia Tech squad 35-10. Still, it was a rough week for the SEC. As somewhat prognosticated, Washington State did give Auburn plenty to deal with in their rather narrow loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Georgia’s rather heartbreaking loss in Clemson was already noted. Kentucky lost much worse than what the score (35-26) to Western Kentucky in Nashville, Tenn. Yes, I know that the last game mentioned is an outlier in that A, this is Kentucky we’re talking about here, not, say, LSU, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, or even Auburn or Arkansas. On the other side of the coin, Western Kentucky is no ordinary Sunbelt Conference team, either, as they are coached by Bobby Petrino, likely giving the Hilltoppers a decisive edge over the rest of their conference competition, or even chronic SEC cellar-dwellers for that matter.
One thing that particularly sticks out about the past week, though, was the resounding success that FCS teams had over FBS teams. Time was — very recently — that when D-1A (pardon me, FBS) teams scheduled D-1AA (pardon me, FCS) teams for a game, it was an easy win for the former, and the latter got a relatively hefty paycheck (by their standards) to take a drubbing. Not anymore. Southern Utah beat South Alabama 22-21; Towson defeated UConn 33-18; North Dakota State upset Kansas State 24-21; Eastern Washington also upset Oregon State, 49-46; McNeese State thrashed South Florida, 53-21; Eastern Illinois did the drubbing on San Diego State, 40-19; if that’s not enough, Northern Iowa also beat Iowa State, 28-20. To be sure, most of the aforementioned FCS teams (Towson, E. Washington, E. Illinois, and N. Iowa) are ranked, whereas most of their defeated FBS counterparts are, well, sucking (yet it still does not account for K-State’s or Oregon State ignominious losses). Still, this is a powerful wake-up call that FBS vs. FCS are no longer gimme-games for the former. We’ve been warned.
2012-2013 Bowl Games of High Interest December 26, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Aggies, Alabama, Alamo, Andrew Luck, Auburn, B1G, Badgers, Baylor, BCS, Bears, Big 10, Big Ten, Big XII, Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, Bowl, Brent Musburger, Bruins, Bulldogs, Capital One, Cardinal, Cardinals, Chick-Fil-A, CHip Kelly, Citrus, Clemson, college, conference, Cornhuskers, Cotton Bowl, Crimson Tide, Ducks, Fiesta Bowl, FIghting Irish, Florida, football, Gator, Gators, Georgia, Granddaddy, Herbie, Holiday, Hotlanta, Jerryland, Kansas State, Kevin Sumlin, Kirk Herbstreit, Kwanzaa, Lou Holtz, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Mississippi State, national championship, NCAA, Nebraska, Nike, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Outback, Pac-12, Peach, Pro Combat, Rose Bowl, SEC, Sooners, South Carolina, Southeastern, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, Sugar Bowl, Teddy Bridgewater, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, voodoo, Washington, Wildcats, Wisconsin
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As mentioned in the previous installments, I have ranked the bowl games by category, with the major criterion being level of desirability to view, partly on my end, partly on the end of the average viewer who is NOT a certifiable college football addict like yours truly!
To find a complete bowl game schedule where each game is found in order of date and time each game is to be played, go here.
This third installment is of bowl games about which I am VERY interested (as usual, all times are Eastern Standard). Happy Kwanzaa (LMAO! I’m sorry, I just can’t say that with a straight face!).
Holiday Bowl (San Diego), Thurs., Dec. 27, 9:45 PM EST
Baylor (7-5) vs. No. 17 UCLA (9-4)
My [potential] “offensive explosion” bowl game for the 2012-2013 season. To paraphrase the guys at EDSBS, what’s better in a bowl game than seeing both teams’ offensive coordinators emptying the most shameful corners of their playbook? Better yet, it pits bears vs. bruins; how often does one see that in a bowl? Just sayin’!
Alamo Bowl (San Antonio), Sat., Dec. 29, 6:45 PM
No. 23 Texas (8-4) vs. No. 13 Oregon State (9-3)
Yes, I’ll admit, I’m a bit biased. After all, I was part of the team that won the 1998 Alamo Bowl, arguably one of the more memorable games in the series. But that aside, the Alamo Bowl is always a good matchup. Is it quite as good as when it was Big Ten vs. Big XII? The realignment to a Pac-12 vs. Big XII matchup has not watered things down any, at least not yet. Remember last year’s offensive explosion between Baylor and Washington? That one is not soon to be forgotten, either. This time, the Longhorns are playing, which automatically makes it good. Granted, Oregon State is favored on paper, but do not underestimate Texas’ home field advantage, given that their campus is only a little over an hour away.
Chick-Fil-A Bowl (Atlanta), Mon., Dec., 31, 7:30 PM
No. 8 LSU (10-2) vs. No. 14 Clemson (10-2)
Nothing like closing out the old year by watching a classic SEC-ACC matchup in Hotlanta! Of course, there have been plenty of such “classic” matchups on paper over the past several years, but they have usually amounted to rather one-sided affairs in favor of the Southeastern Conference. You’ll have that. After all, not all Peach Bowls, er, Chick-Fil-A Bowls can be like the Auburn-North Carolina game back in 2001! In any event, the funny guys at EDSBS have come up with three possible scenarios of how this one will play out (all with varying degrees of probability – refer to game ranking #6). I particularly like the “LSU blowout” scenario!
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Fla.), Tues., Jan. 1, 12:00 PM
Mississippi State (8-4) vs. No. 20 Northwestern (9-3)
My “great game that nobody is talking about,” for it pits two scrappy teams struggling for respect in their respective conferences. Better yet, it’s a very dramatic culture clash within the bowl season, for the only private school in the B1G meets, well, the “clanga-clanga” of cowbells. It also makes for an intriguing coaching matchup in one coaches favors the pass while the other favors the run. How can a viewer lose with this whole proposition?
Outback Bowl (Tampa, Fla.), Tues., Jan. 1, 1:00 PM
No. 10 South Carolina (10-2) vs. No. 18 Michigan (8-4)
The matchup is intriguing on the surface alone. One side is a traditional blue blood, figuratively and literally. They won the first ever bowl game and gave birth to the college fight song as we know it today. Oh well, and Michigan also has the most wins of any football program, ever. The other side, South Carolina, is something of a late bloomer. A relatively late joiner of the SEC, for years they had been a conference doormat prior to the Lou Holtz and especially the Steve Spurrier eras. But this game is where the newcomer will take down the old guard, should everything work out on paper. Yes, that’s a rather dry way of putting it, but if I made any allusions that the Gamecocks should bury the Wolverines underneath the pavement for some horrified archaeologists to discover a century or two later, well, I might get accused of plagiarism, or something.
Capital One Bowl (Orlando, Fla.), Tues., Jan. 1, 1:00 PM
No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 16 Nebraska
First of all, let us get this out of the way right now and admit that this game is not quite as interesting as the Outback Bowl, but it’s interesting nonetheless. If Nebraska had their hands full against a 7-5 Wisconsin team at a neutral site, good Lord, what is the seventh-ranked Georgia squad going to do to them? Second, what on Earth are the Cornhuskers doing being ranked 16th in the AP after a such can of whoopass had been opened up on them in Indianapolis? All that being said, the only thing that Nebraska has going for them (and I mean the only thing) is that the Bulldogs are a senior-laden team that was underachieved all season, and be very, very aware of such teams when they show up in bowl games, as they are likely to disappoint.
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.), Tues., Jan. 1, 5:00 PM
Wisconsin vs. No. 7 Stanford
The good news for Wisconsin is that they caught Nebraska off guard during the Big Ten championship game and have earned a third-straight berth to the Granddaddy of Them All. The bad news for Wisconsin is that they must face a Stanford squad that is arguably more formidable than last year’s Andrew Luck-led team. The Cardinal can more than match the Badgers in the trenches, and that instantly takes away their competitive advantage. More bad news: barring the possibility of Stanford breaking out their black helmets and all-cardinal Nike Pro Combat unis, this bowl game will be the matchup of the generic uniforms. The good news for all of us is that we will be “looking live,” as ABC’s front line crew of Brent Musburger and Kirk “Herbie” Herbstreit will be calling the game, folks!
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans), Wed., Jan. 2, 8:30 PM
No. 21 Louisville vs. No. 3 Florida
Yeah, yeah, I know that I filed this upcoming game under “who’s bringing the body bags?” That’s my safe prediction. My less-than safe prediction, shared by others, is that Florida’s occasional quarterbacking ineptitude might align itself with Louisville’s occasionally vulnerable secondary. Of course, even if both of those things click simultaneously, it’s not that safe of a bet that the same clicking will occur between the Gator’s formidable defense against the Cardinals’ Teddy Bridgewater, as sad as I am to say. Then again, it is the Big Easy, and the Charlie Strong can always dial up some voodoo magic.
Fiesta Bowl (Mesa, Ariz.), Thurs., Jan. 3, 8:30 PM
No. 4 Oregon vs. No. 5 Kansas State
When two teams in a bowl game that are very closely ranked square off, it is almost always interesting. But the game is watchable for other reasons as well, such as the intriguing contrast between the two teams. In one corner, wearing purple trimmed with white and silver are the Wildcats, with old man Bill Snyder working his magic albeit with a conventional offense. In the opposing corner, wearing some sort of green trimmed with yellow (we think: it could be black, silver, or something else, for that matter), is Chip Kelly’s Ducks, along with his progressive, hurry-up, hyper-drive offensive play. Think of the overall interest amounting to a weird variation on the old saying that “opposites attract.”
Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas), Friday, Jan. 4, 8:00 PM
No. 9 Texas A&M vs. No. 11 Oklahoma
Old conference rivals reunite in a relocated classic bowl game (used to be in, well, the Cotton Bowl, now it’s in Jerryland). What makes the matchup even more interesting is that the Aggies’ current head coach, Kevin Sumlin, was at one time an assistant under Sooners’ head coach Bob Stoops. That notwithstanding, in all likelihood the pupil will become the teacher. Oklahoma is another one of those teams about which to beware, that being a team with lots of seniors that has underachieved all year; rarely does a team like that come through victorious during bowl season. Moreover, during the later part of the regular season, Coach Sumlin was coaching A&M so well that it seemed as though they could beat anybody in the nation. With that being said, this will be a major test to see whether or not they can beat anyone in the postseason.
BCS National Championship (Miami), Mon., Jan. 7, 8:30 PM
No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Alabama
On one hand, it is unlikely that Notre Dame has ever encountered any team with Alabama’s overall athleticism. On the other hand, Notre Dame has won lots of close games, and there is some skill to that. Ultimately, the game will come down to one of two things: will the Irish receivers be too much for the Crimson Tide’s secondary, or will Bama’s offensive line gradually take over in the middle of the third quarter? The result of the game will hinge on either contingency.
College Football Week 13 Awards November 25, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, B1G, BCS, Big 10, Big Ten, Bill Snyder, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Buckeyes, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Columbus, Commodores, Connecticut, crasher, Dana Holgorsen, Dores, Eastern Michigan, Fighting, Florida, Florida State, football, Fresno State, FSU, Gamecocks, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Iowa, Irish, Jay Cutler, Jimbo Fisher, Joker Phillips, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Kentucky, Kyle Flood, Lane Kiffin, Liberty Bowl, Los Angeles, Louisville, MAC, Mack Brown, Madison, Michigan, Mississippi State, NCAA, Nebraska, Nevada, Nicholls, Noles, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Penn State, Pete Carroll, Pittsburgh, rival, Ron English, Rutgers, Seminoles, South Alabama, South Bend, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, Tallahassee, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Tigers, Todd Graham, Trojan, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, Vanderbilt, Vandy, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Will Muschamp, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 13, pre-week 14] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Will Muschamp, Florida
Glad I’m not him: Mack Brown, Texas
Glad it’s finally over: Joker Phillips, Kentucky
Lucky guy: Todd Graham, Arizona State
Poor guy: Charlie Strong, Louisville
Desperately seeking a clue: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
Desperately seeking … anything: Ron English, Eastern Michigan
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Alabama (beat Auburn 49-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Nebraska (beat Iowa 13-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Georgia Tech (lost to No. 3 Georgia 42-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Washington State (beat Washington 31-28, OT)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Ole Miss (beat Mississippi State 41-24)
Dang, they’re good: Stanford
Dang, they’re bad: South Florida
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Arizona (lost to Arizona State 41-34)
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Kansas
Can the season never end? Florida
GAMES
Play this again: No. 12* South Carolina 27, No. 11* Clemson 17 (notwithstanding Baylor 52, Texas Tech 45, OT)
Never play this again: Fresno State 48, Air Force 15
What? TCU 20, No. 15* Texas 13
Huh? UConn 23, No. 20* Louisville 20, 3OT
Are you kidding me? Pittsburgh 27, No. 18* Rutgers 6
Oh – my – God: Ole Miss 41, Mississippi State 24
Told you so: No. 13* Oklahoma 51, No. 21* Oklahoma State 48, OT
*Week 13 AP rankings
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Alabama vs. No .3 Georgia in Atlanta
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: (none)
Best non-Big Six matchup: No. 19 Northern Illinois @ No. 18 Kent State (MAC Championship, Friday night)
Upset alert: No. 7 Kansas State @ No. 23 Texas
Must win: Alabama vs. Georgia in the SEC Championship game (notwithstanding Louisville @ Rutgers)
Offensive explosion: Baylor @ Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: Cincinnati @ UConn
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Rutgers, Thursday
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mack Brown of Texas vs. Bill Snyder of Kansas State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Nicholls @ No. 16 Oregon State
Why are they playing? South Alabama @ Hawaii
Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ Texas State
They shoot horses, don’t they? Kansas @ West Virginia
Rivalry Week in Review:
Give Urban Meyer a ton of credit: Ohio State had nothing to play for this year. Nothing. No matter how well they played this regular season, they were ineligible for any sort of bowl game or any other post-season play, not even the Big 10 Conference championship game. That is too bad, because they currently, er, lead the Leaders division of the conference by a virtual mile (two games, to be exact). Moreover, the team they lead is Penn State, who is ineligible for a much longer stretch of time, sadly, and for even more bizarre reasons. The Buckeyes’ current lead in the conference is three games ahead of the actual eligible member of the Leaders division, that being Wisconsin, whom Ohio State defeated in Madison, Wis., in overtime. As stated earlier, the Buckeyes had nothing to play for this year, and as such could have just lied down and given up early on. Yet Coach Meyer has kept his team focused and hungry every week. Best of all, they capped off an undefeated season by beating arch-rival Michigan 26-21. If these shadows remain unchanged, then the future in Columbus, Ohio is very bright indeed.
Yes, Florida won: But give Jimbo Fisher a ton of credit. He has brought Florida State back to near-football factory status, which has, in turn, brought the Sunshine State Rivalry back to prominence, which is good for football. The Seminoles put up on heckuva fight against the Gators in Tallahassee, but in the end, the latter’s defense proved too much for the former, as Florida triumphed in the end, 37-26. Yet to put things in perspective, this “rivalry” had been rather one-sided since 2004, be it in recent wins on the part of the ‘Noles (31-7 in 2010, 21-7 in 2011), or in consecutive wins (the Gators won all matchups with FSU from 2004 to 2009). The level of play, the overall excitement, and reasonably close score indicate that the one-sidedness has come to an end, at least temporarily. Expect this rivalry to retain its regained intensity in the future years to come!
Speaking of Florida, it looks like Muschamp is “the guy” after all. Folks had left him for dead at the end of last year after he went only 7-6 in his first season as head coach of the Gators. Yet this year, he has lost only one game, has just defeated his No. 10-ranked, in-state rival, and his team is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation. The Gators look to be in good hands after all.
Is the USC-Notre Dame rivalry back? Could be. Brian Kelly has put enough pieces together at Notre Dame to make the team recall the physical squads that made the Irish top contenders for years on end. Meanwhile, Lane Kiffin has gradually been putting pieces back together at USC after years of probation. Notre Dame was downright dormant as a former national power for a decade and a half. Meanwhile, USC was severely weakened by scholarship reductions due to probation, which they have now survived, and are looking to get back to where they were under Pete Carroll’s tenure. Going in to the most recent game, this rivalry, like the previous one mentioned, was also one-sided over the past decade. The Trojans won all but one of these games since 2002, and embarrassed the Irish in South Bend last year, 31-17. This year, Notre Dame stepped up and won in Los Angeles, 22-13, against a Trojan team with a back-up redshirt freshman and a team that has yet to find itself in terms of a necessary level of discipline and consistency. Regardless, though, the game was competitive, and we look forward to more of it in the coming years.
Speaking of one-sided rivalries: The South Carolina-Clemson game is one that has overall been in the latter’s favor, as the Tigers led the rivalry 65-41-4. Nevertheless, with the Gamecocks’ recent win, they have now won the last four games between them and the Tigers. This is the first time South Carolina has repeated this streak since from 1951-1954, and it ties the record for their longest win streak against their upstate rival. Moreover, South Carolina has won five out of the last seven of such games.
Is it too early to say that this is the greatest Vanderbilt team of modern times, if not of all time? Don’t laugh. When is the last time you saw the Commodores go 8-4? In recent memory, Vandy teams showed some signs of brilliance (the Jay Cutler-led squads, for example), but even they struggled to win six games, most of the time falling short of that mark. This team not only surpassed that mark for bowl eligibility, it blew passed it completely. Along the way, they blew out Kentucky, Tennessee, and Wake Forest. Not the most impressive opponents, to be sure, but the fact that they were able to hold off a rapidly-improving Ole Miss should count for something. To be sure, they have proven not to be able to handle the true heavyweights of the conference, losing badly to both Georgia (48-3) and Florida (31-17), and lost the season opener at home to South Carolina (17-13). Still, despite these weaknesses, the ‘Dores are bowl eligible for the second season in a row, something unprecedented in the history of the program. If that is not enough, the team reached other key milestones as well. The evidence speaks for itself. That said, if any doubts remain, last year, Vandy went only 6-6 before losing to Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl. This year, they are a stronger team, and are 8-4; a bowl win should quell any doubt that they are the greatest Commodore squad of modern times, if not since the program’s inception in 1890.
Here’s something to blow you mind: Iowa and Kentucky, both cellar-dwellers in their respective conference divisions, are the only reasons why there is not some undefeated MAC team out there threatening to crash the BCS. Check it out. Iowa beat Northern Illinois by one point in the season opener, and Kentucky beat Kent State 47-14 in week 2. Want to make things even more interesting? Ask yourself the following question: would either of these “Big Six” teams beat any one of those two MAC teams at this stage of the season?
Oh yeah, and Notre Dame will be playing for the national championship for the first time in 24 years. Yay.
College Football Week 12 Awards November 18, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, AP, Army, Art Briles, Atlanta, Baylor, BCS, Bears, Bill Snyder, Bulldogs, BYU, California, championship, CHip Kelly, Clemson, Collin Klein, Crimson Tide, Dabo Swinney, David Shaw, Derek Dooley, Ducks, Eastern Michigan, Eugene, Florida, Florida State, football, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Jeff Tedford, Johnny Manziel, Joker Phillips, K-State, Kansas State, Kent State, Kentucky, Lane Kiffin, Longhorns, Los Angeles, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Riley, national, national championship, NCAA, New Mexico State, No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oregon State, OT, poll, SEC, South Carolina, Stanford, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Toledo, Tommy Tuberville, UAB, UCLA, UNLV, USA Today, USC, Vols, Volunteers, Waco, Wake Forest, Western Carolina, Wildcats, Wofford
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 12, pre-week 13] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Art Briles, Baylor
Glad I’m not him: Bill Snyder, Kansas State
Lucky guy: David Shaw, Stanford
Poor guy: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Desperately seeking a clue: Jeff Tedford, California
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech
Desperately seeking … anything: Derek Dooley, Tennessee
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Alabama (beat Western Carolina 49-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Kansas State (see below)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Wake Forest (lost to Notre Dame 38-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wofford (lost to No. 13 South Carolina 24-7)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Baylor (see below)
Thought you wouldn’t get your butt kicked, you did: Army (see below)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: UAB
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Kansas State (see below)
Did the season start? Michigan State
Can the season end? Tennessee
Can the season never end? LSU
GAMES
Play this again: No. 8 LSU 41, Ole Miss 35
Never play this again: Temple 63, Army 32
What? Utah State 48, No. 20* Louisiana Tech 41, OT
Huh? No. 23* Oklahoma State 59, No. 24* Texas Tech 21
Are you kidding me? No. 13* Stanford 17, No. 2* Oregon 14, OT
Oh – my – God: Baylor 52, No. 1* Kansas State 24
* Week 12 AP rankings
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 6 Florida @ No. 10 Florida State (notwithstanding No. 13 South Carolina @ No. 12 Clemson)
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: (none)
Best non-Big Six matchup: Ohio U @ Kent State
Upset alert: Baylor over Texas Tech in Waco
Must win: No. 1 Notre Dame @ USC
Offensive explosion: No. 24 Oklahoma State @ No. 12 Oklahoma
Defensive struggle: No. 20 Michigan @ No. 4 Ohio State
Great game no one is talking about: No. 5 Oregon @ No. 16 Oregon State
Thanksgiving Day Special: TCU @ No. 18 Texas
Cloud Nine Bowl: No. 8 Stanford @ No. 17 UCLA
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mike Riley of Oregon State vs. Chip Kelly of Oregon
Who’s bringing the body bags? Georgia Tech @ No. 3 Georgia (notwithstanding Northern Illinois @ Eastern Michigan, Friday)
Why are they playing? BYU @ New Mexico State
Plenty of good seats remaining: UNLV @ Hawaii
Plenty of good seats remaining, SEC East edition: Kentucky @ Tennessee
They shoot horses, don’t they? Akron @ Toledo (Tuesday night)
Instant BCS Chaos: In just one night, the BCS standings have turned upside down. All Kansas State and Oregon had to do was win out, and they would have been matched up in a very intriguing national championship game in Miami. Scratch that; ain’t gonna happen. Oregon lost a close, hard-fought game in Eugene, Ore., to a tough Stanford squad. The game went into OT, and the Duck’s failure to score on their opening possession gave the Cardinal an opportunity to win the game with a field goal, which they did. Another one bites the dust.
Yet half-way across the country in the heart of Texas (Waco, to be exact), something even more improbable developed. Kansas State, at that time ranked No. 1 in the land, went down to spectacular defeat at the hands of Art Briles’ Baylor [Baptist] Bears. The score itself was improbable: when is the last time any top-ranked team went down to an un-ranked team by a score of 52-24? Nothing accounts for that. Credit Briles and Co. with coming up with an amazing game plan that effectively attacked the Wildcats where it hurt them the most, and they never let up the entire night.
Not in five years has there been such BCS standings chaos in one night of regular season football. Yet things get even more intriguing from this point onward. For the first time in 19 years, almost to the week, Notre Dame is the No. 1 team in the nation. No doubt plenty of rejoicing erupted in South Bend., Ind., instantly upon Kansas State’s defeat, and no doubt the merriment doubled again in light of Oregon going down at home in OT. After winning close game after close game, Brian Kelly has brought the Fighting Irish back to national prominence and is in the driver’s seat to punch their ticket to Miami come early January. Meanwhile, an entire nation will scrutinize Notre Dame to see if they themselves can stand prosperity as they journey to Los Angeles this upcoming weekend to take on traditional rival USC.
And just like that, the SEC is back in the national discussion: Alabama’s upset at home to Texas A&M last week seemed to wipe out the Crimson Tide’s hopes of repeating as national title contenders. With last night’s, er, developments, despair has instantly transformed into renewed hope and ambition. Bama is now second in both the AP and USA Today Polls, and Georgia is no. 3. Should both those teams win out – extra emphasis on ‘should’ – it will be a very interesting contest in Atlanta for the SEC championship come Dec. 1.
Dooley Fired: Not only is now-former Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley “Desperately seeking…anything.” Now he’ll be desperately seeking…a job. The University of Tennessee decided to cut its ties with Dooley after their embarrassing loss in Nashville to up-and-coming, in-state rival Vanderbilt, 41-18. The firing is effective immediately, as it has been reported on Tennessee’s athletics website that offensive coordinator Jim Chaney (with whom I worked while a student manager at Purdue, as he was an assistant under Coach Joe Tiller) will be the interim head coach for the upcoming game against Kentucky. Evidently, the powers that be are not giving Dooley a couple of curtain calls like those UK’s Joker Phillips has received.
Yesterday’s embarrassing loss to the Commodores was just the last straw in one bad development after another for the program; the final blow to prove to the Volunteer nation that things need to be guided in a newer, better direction. This year alone, the Vols have gone 4-7, and 0-7 in the SEC, something entirely unacceptable to a large, proud fan base, to say nothing of a program with such massive tradition and resources behind it. In just one game shy of three complete seasons, Dooley is just 15-21 with Tennessee, but worse yet, 4-19 in the SEC, and 0-15 against top-25 opponents. Let us not forget that his hiring was essentially a stop-gap move in the wake of Lane Kiffin’s sudden departure for the USC job. Let us also not forget that under Dooley’s leadership last year, Tennessee lost their annual season-closer to Kentucky for the first time since 1984, and it is not a given that the Vols will Triumph over the Wildcats this year, either. Come to think of it, has Kentucky ever defeated Tennessee in football for two seasons in a row?
Paging Bobby Petrino…
Heisman talk: Quarterback Collin Klein of K-State was the Heisman frontrunner, but after his team lost ignominiously, and his performance was mediocre at best (27 for 50, 286 yards, 2 td’s but 3 int’s), could it be that “Johnny Football,” Johnny Manziel, himself of Texas A&M, is the new award frontrunner? Food for thought, in any case.
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