College Football Awards, Week 10 (2018) November 4, 2018
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Boise State, Brett Brennan, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado, Dana Holgorsen, East Carolina, Florida, Fresno State, Georgia, Georgia State, Hurricanes, Iowa, James Franklin, Kansas, Kansas State, Kliff Kingsbury, Louisiana, Louisville, Matt Wells, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Navy, Nebraska, Nick Saban, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Purdue, San Jose State, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Tom Herman, Tulane, UCF, Urban Meyer, USF, Utah, Utah State, Virginia, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Glad I’m not him: James Franklin, Penn State
Lucky guy: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
Poor guy: Tom Herman, Texas
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Wells, Utah State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking … anything: Brett Brennan, San Jose State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Clemson (defeated Louisville 77-16)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Ohio State (defeated Nebraska 36-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Louisville (lost to Clemson 77-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Charlotte (to Tennessee 14-3)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Michigan (defeated No. 14 Penn State 42-7)
Dang, they’re good: Clemson
Dang, they’re bad: San Jose State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Florida
Did the season start? Miami
Can the season end? Louisville
Can the season never end? Michigan
GAMES
Play this again: No. 13 West Virginia 42, No. 17 Texas 41
Play this again, too: Purdue 38, No. 16 Iowa 36
Never play this again: No. 2 Clemson 77, Louisville 16
What? Baylor 35, Oklahoma State 31
Huh? Pitt 23, No. 25 Virginia 13
Double Huh? Purdue 38, No. 16 Iowa 36
Are you kidding me?? Arizona State 38, No. 15 Utah 20
Oh – my – God: Missouri 38, No. 11 Florida 17
NEXT WEEK
Rankings are current AP (week 10)
Best game of the week: (lots of decent games, but nothing spectacular)
One good game to see: Auburn @ No. 6 Georgia
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: none
Best non-Power Five matchup: USF @ Cincinnati also: Fresno State @ Boise State
Upset alert: Michigan State @ No. 10 Ohio State
Must win: South Carolina @ No. 11 Florida
Offensive explosion: Texas @ Texas Tech
Defensive struggle: Kansas @ Kansas State
Great game no one is talking about: No. 8 Washington State @ Colorado
Also: Wisconsin @ Penn State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Tom Herman of Texas vs. Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech
Who’s bringing the body bags? Utah State @ San Jose State
Why are they playing? Navy @ No. 12 UCF
Plenty of good seats remaining: East Carolina @ Tulane
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Georgia State @ Louisiana
College Football Awards, Week 7 (2018) October 15, 2018
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arkansas, Army, Clemson, Dabo Swinney, Dana Holgorsen, Dave Doeren, Duke, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa State, James Franklin, Kirby Smart, Louisiana Tech, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Miami Hurricanes, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, NC State, Nebraska, North Texas, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rice, San Diego State, San Jose State, Scott Frost, Seth Littrell, SJSU, TCU, Tulsa, UAB, UCF, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Western Kentucky
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 7] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Glad I’m not him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Lucky guy: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Poor guy: James Franklin, Penn State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Seth Littrell, North Texas
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
Desperately seeking … anything: Scott Frost, Nebraska
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Army (defeated San Jose State 52-3)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida (defeated Vanderbilt 37-27)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: San Jose State (lost to Army 52-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Minnesota (lost to Ohio State 30-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Purdue (defeated Illinois 46-7)
Dang, they’re good: LSU
Dang, they’re bad: Western Kentucky
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia
Did the season start? TCU
Can the season end? Rice
Can the season never end? Michigan
GAMES
Play this again: No. 17 Oregon 30, No. 7 Washington 27, OT
Never play this again: Army 52, SJSU 3
What? Virginia 16, No. 16 Miami 13
Huh? No. 17 Oregon 30, No. 7 Washington 27, OT
Double Huh? Michigan State 21, No. 8 Penn State 17
Are you kidding me?? Iowa State 30, No. 6 West Virginia 14
Oh – my – God: No. 13 LSU 36, No. 2 Georgia 16
NEXT WEEK
Rankings are current AP (week 8)
Game of the week: No. 22 Mississippi State @ No. 5 LSU
Also: No. 16 NC State @ No. 3 Clemson
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Memphis @ Missouri
Best non-Power Five matchup: North Texas @ UAB
Upset alert: No. 16 NC State @ No. 3 Clemson
Must win: No. 6 Michigan @ No. 24 Michigan State
Offensive explosion: No. 12 Oregon @ No. 25 Washington State
Defensive struggle: (inconclusive)
Great game no one is talking about: Virginia @ Duke
Intriguing coaching matchup: Dave Doeren of NC State vs Dabo Swinney of Clemson
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 10 UCF @ East Carolina
Why are they playing? UTEP @ Louisiana Tech
Plenty of good seats remaining: Tulsa @ Arkansas
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? San Jose State @ San Diego State
Due to the intriguing complexity of the current situation, no additional thoughts are offered at this time, but shall be forthcoming in a subsequent article later this week.
College Football Awards, Week 14 (2016) December 5, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Baylor, Colorado, Dana Holgorsen, Florida, Gary Patterson, Idaho, Indiana, Jim Grobe, Ken Niumatalolo, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Mike Gundy, Navy, Neal Brown, Oklahoma State, P.J. Fleck, Paul Petrino, Penn State, TCU, Temple, Trojans, Troy, ULM, Washington, West Virginia, Western Michigan, Wisconsin
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We now await the Committee’s verdict.
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 14] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan
Glad I’m not him: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Lucky guy: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
Poor guy: Ken Niumatalolo, Navy Hon. mention: Kevin Wilson, Indiana; Jim Grobe, Baylor
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Neal Brown, Troy
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Paul Petrino, Idaho
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking … anything: Gary Patterson, TCU
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Alabama (defeated No. 15 Florida 54-16)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Navy (lost to Temple 34-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: ULM (lost to Louisiana-Lafayette 30-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Temple (see above)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Washington (defeated No. 9 Colorado 41-10)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Louisiana-Monroe
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Troy
Did the season start? Baylor Can the season end? TCU
Can the season never end? Western Michigan Hon. Mention: Penn State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 7 Penn State 38, No. 6 Wisconsin 31
Play this again, too: No. 3 Clemson 42, No. 23 Virginia Tech 35
Never play this again: No. 4 Washington 41, No. 9 Colorado 10
Close call: No. 14 West Virginia 24, Baylor 21
What? No. 7 Penn State 38, No. 6 Wisconsin 31
Oh – my – God: Temple 34, No. 19 Navy 10
NEXT WEEK
Just one game: Army vs. Navy – God bless America!
Week 14 Take-aways:
The conference championships are now concluded, and shall no doubt yield some excellent bowl game matchups come Sunday. Regarding those championship games, everything ended as anticipated, with a mild surprise of Penn State sort-of-upsetting Wisconsin in a hard-fought, close game that surely gave the fans’ their money’s worth. The MAC championship took on an engaging, intriguing aspect of its own, what with a respectable Ohio U team coached by the venerable Frank Solich taking on the undefeated Western Michigan Broncos, coached by the young, energetic P.J. Fleck. On the line was preserving the Broncos’ first undefeated season since 1941 (which again, “yo!”), and a possible Cotton Bowl berth. A manifestation of this MAC championship game meaning something is that it is the most highly attended in the history of that end-of-season matchup.
But anyhow, it’s now time to start talking bowl game matchups, which, as always, shall take up an entire article itself. So, stay tuned.
Teams that hit the wall November 29, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: 'Canes, ACC, Alabama, Arkansas, Austin, Ball State, Baylor, BCS, Belk Bowl, Big 12, Big East, Big XII, Bobcats, Bowl, Bowling Green, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Dan Mullen, Dana Holgorsen, Duke, Egg Bowl, Florida State, football, Frank Solich, game, Hurricanes, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Longhorns, Louisville, LSU, MAC, Miami, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Mountaineers, MSU, NCAA, North Carolina, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Rebels, Rutgers, Scarlet Knights, SEC, Southern Miss, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, U of L, USF, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, WVU, Yeoman
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Ohio U: The Bobcats were off to a great start under Frank Solich. They won seven consecutive games, and were even ranked No. 24 going into the Miami (Ohio) game on Oct. 27. After that game, they were undefeated no more. The team lost the next four of five games, including their last one to currently No. 18 Kent State. That loss was understandable, even excusable. Losing to Ball State the previous week? Less understood, even less excusable. But losing to Bowling Green? No excuse at all. Perhaps the Bobcats just ran out of energy, which is one form of hitting the proverbial wall.
Correction: A well-informed, experienced observer brought something else to my attention regarding Ohio U. The biggest reason they hit the proverbial wall was injuries, especially injuries to their offensive line. By season’s end, they were playing third-string linemen without any subs — brutal! Upon further review, that might explain their loss to Bowling Green after all!
Mississippi State: Poor MSU (the Magnolia State MSU, not the Great Lakes State MSU). They try so hard, but they try to excel in the most brutal of all college football neighborhoods. Dan Mullen has done the Yeoman’s work making the Bulldogs more than respectable, and making their fan base believe in the team’s potential. Seven consecutive games, seven consecutive wins: so far, so good. Then came the game at Alabama: automatic loss. Fair enough. Still ranked No. 16, they were to play Texas A&M at home. That turned out not so well, either. The next game was at LSU; care to guess how that turned out? The thing was, after the big win over Arkansas (45-14), one would think that the worst was behind them. After all, in the Egg Bowl (their traditional rivalry game against Mississippi), they were favored. Ole Miss is mediocre, and Mississippi State has had, all things considered, a great season. But then they inexplicably lost to the Rebels 41-24. What gives? They obviously hit the wall, but how? Was it loss of energy, in clear case of Ohio U, or was it just the more brutal part of their schedule? The latter cannot explain things alone, since, hello, they lost to Ole Miss, and though the Rebels have improved, they have not improved that much. The answer might therefore be, a little of both. Let us hope Dan Mullen can allow for some of the energy in the team to recover for the bowl game.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers were flying high after their big debut in the Big XII, beating Baylor at home in an offensive explosion for the ages, 70-63. The following week, they journeyed to Austin to take on then-No. 11 Texas, where they beat the host Longhorns 48-45. It went downhill for five straight weeks after that, with consecutive losses to Texas Tech (49-14), Kansas State (55-14), TCU (39-38), Oklahoma State (55-34), and Oklahoma (50-49). Welcome to the Big XII, Dana Holgorsen. The obvious wall WVU hit was tough schedule, plain and simple. That said, five tough losses obviously took something out of the Mountaineers as well, since they had to struggle to beat Iowa State this past weekend. Whether they have recovered any energy at all will be demonstrated when they play Kansas this upcoming week for what should be a fairly easy clean-up win.
Louisville: So much for running the table for Louisville after losing to Syracuse 45-17 on the road for their tenth game. To be sure, most of their wins up to that point were a little more than close for comfort, such as beating North Carolina only 39-34, beating Southern Miss 21-17 (the rain notwithstanding), or beating awful South Florida only 27-25. With such a pattern of wins, one would think an ugly loss would be inevitable, if only to get it out of their system. Sadly, whatever ailed the Cardinals in Syracuse did not yet pass, for the following game, they coughed up another loss at home to Connecticut in the third overtime. Worse yet, they only have until this Thursday to bounce back on the road against Rutgers in order to win a BCS bowl berth. The Scarlet Knights lost badly that same day to Pittsburgh, so both teams are in a must-win situation. But with the recent pattern of play, the concern remains that U of L might have lost their energy. Thus, the upcoming proposition is dicey at best. Charlie Strong might want to go easy on his boys so they can get their energy.
Addendum 12-07-12 — Duke: Part of me says “poor Duke,” while the other part of me says “hey, all things considered, they’re doing pretty well.” But nevertheless, they were flying high during the middle of the season, or high by Duke standards at least! Throught Oct. 6, they were 5-1, with the one loss coming to them on the road against Stanford. Any reasonable person would quickly excuse that! Then the next week, they lossed to Virginia Tech, 41-20. Fair enough. Moreover, credit goes to this team, as the following week, they rebounded to beat North Carolina 33-30. Then came four consecutive losses in their last four regular season games, first to Florida State (48-7; imagine that!), then to Clemson (56-20), then to Georgian Tech (42-24 — keep in mind that the Yellow Jackets run out of the flexbone!), and then lossed a shootout to Miami (52-45). In the first three out of four, they were clearly out-manned. The last loss could be attributed to having too much stuffing beat out of them by the first three of those four teams, hence having nothing left in the tank against the ‘Canes. But at least they got a Belk Bowl berth, and have a decent shot at winning it, too, since Cincinnati’s head coach Butch Jones just took the Tennessee job.
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 8 Awards October 22, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Alamo Bowl, Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Atlanta, Auburn, Baylor, BCS, Beavers, Big 12, Big XII, Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, Boston College, Bowling Green, Brian Kelly, Bulldogs, Charlie Strong, Charlie Weis, chrome, Cincinnati, Civil War, cocktail, college, Colorado, Colorado State, Corvalis, Dana Holgorsen, Danny Hope, David Cutcliffe, Ducks, Duke, East Carolina, Eugene, Florida, Florida State, football, Gators, Georgia, Hawaii, helmet, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Jacksonville, Jeff Driskel, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Kentucky, Kyle Whittingham, Louisville, LSU, matte, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Mountaineers, Navy, NCAA, Nebraska, Nick Saban, no-huddle, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Orange Bowl, Oregon, outdoor, Pac-12, party, Purdue, Red Raiders, Rutgers, SEC, SMU, Sooners, South Carolina, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, The Swamp, Toledo, Tommy Tuberville, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah, West Virginia, Wildcats, Will Muschamp, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 8, pre-week 9] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Bill Snyder, Kansas State
Glad I’m not him: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Lucky guy: Charlie Strong, Louisville
Poor guy: Danny Hope, Purdue
Desperately seeking a clue: Charlie Weis, Kansas
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Cutcliffe, Duke
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
Desperately seeking … anything: Kyle Whittingham, Utah
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 10 USC (beat Colorado 50-6)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 12 Georgia (beat Kentucky 29-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kansas (lost to No. 8 Oklahoma 52-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Navy (beat Indiana 31-30)
Thought you wouldn’t get your butt kicked, you did: No. 17 South Carolina (lost to No. 3 Florida 44-11)
Dang, they’re good: Florida
Dang, they’re bad: Auburn
Did the season start? Iowa
Can the season end? Boston College
Can the season never end? Kansas State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 18 Texas Tech 56, TCU 53
Never play this again: No. 2 Oregon 43*, Arizona State 21
What? No. 4 Kansas State 55, No. 25 West Virginia 17
Huh? Duke 33, North Carolina 30
Are you kidding me? Toledo 29, Cincinnati 23
Oh – my – God: Navy 31, Indiana 30
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 5 Notre Dame @ No. 8 Oklahoma (notwithstanding Georgia vs. No. 3 Florida in Jacksonville)
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Kent State @ No. 18 Rutgers
Best non-Big Six matchup: Navy @ East Carolina
Upset alert: No. 13 Mississippi State @ No. 1 Alabama
Must win: No. 20 Michigan @ Nebraska
Offensive explosion: No. 15 Texas Tech @ No. 4 Kansas State
Defensive struggle: Missouri @ Kentucky
Great game no one is talking about: Cincinnati @ No. 16 Louisville, Friday, 8 PM
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bob Stoops of Oklahoma vs. Brian Kelly of Notre Dame
Who’s bringing the body bags? Colorado @ No. 2 Oregon
Why are they playing? UMass @ Vanderbilt
Plenty of good seats remaining: Hawaii @ Colorado St. (notwithstanding Indiana @ Illinois)
They shoot horses, don’t they? No. 22 Texas A&M @ Auburn
*If Oregon did not call off the dogs at halftime, they could have scored 86 points, not just 43.
Offensive Explosion, C-USA-style: Who’da thought that the Thursday night Houston-SMU matchup would have led to such offensive fireworks?
Two trends in helmet design: One of which is the matte epidemic that must be discussed in a future article, having infected teams such as TCU, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Baylor (their green helmets in the recent Alamo Bowl), Michigan State (sort of), and a host of others. But another emergent trend, one more becoming of ultra-modernity, is the “chrome” effect. Oregon debuted it during the most recent Rose Bowl, where they triumphed over Wisconsin wearing helmets with chrome [duck] wings on a chrome shell. Recently, they demolished Arkansas State with chrome [duck] wings on a plain yellow shell. Now, Michigan State has furthered the trend with a special helmet they wore in their narrow loss to rival Michigan, sporting a chrome-green shell with a silver chrome decal. Not bad!
Will Muschamp seems like “the guy” after all: “The guy,” meaning the guy who is capable of maintaining the high level of success that Florida fans have come to expect during the tenures of Steve Spurrier, followed indirectly by Urban Meyer. Having established his credentials as an excellent defensive coach while at Texas, Muschamp has finally carried that over into a smothering defense on the part of his current team. Indeed, the Gators have held opponents to just an average of roughly 12 points per game, and that includes a lackluster performance on both sides of the ball during their season-opener against Bowling Green. Offensively, the Gators have shown considerable signs of life, thanks in part to the able QB skills of one Jeff Driskel. On that side of the ball, Florida has averaged 33 points per game for the past five games. Fourteen points was enough to overcome LSU’s stingy ‘D,’ while the Gators put up a whopping 44 points on South Carolina’s reputable defense yesterday in The Swamp.
The “So What” for the SEC: If these shadows remain unchanged, it will be a Battle Royale in Atlanta between Florida and Alabama come early December. But first, Florida must take care of Georgia in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, while Alabama has to contend with undefeated Mississippi State. Bama also has LSU left on their slate, while the Gators’ only major challenge after the Bulldogs (UGA, not MSU) will be a regular-season closer at rival Florida State (thankfully for the Gators, a non-conference foe). Stay tuned!
The current race in the Big XII: Kansas State remains firmly in the driver’s seat after dispatching with yet another viable challenger in West Virginia. Geno Smith might very well be leading a high-powered offense, but the Mountaineers’ defense is clearly another matter entirely, one that Coach Dana Holgorsen would be well-served to shore up at some point. The challenge for head coach Bill Snyder and the Wildcats is to turn around after a big win against a formidable team on the road, and be ready for the same level of performance at home, as Tommy Tuberville’s Texas Tech Red Raiders are about to come calling. A loss on the part of KSU could make for a very rather muddled race for top spot in the conference.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma is determined to maintain its insurgent conference championship run, but a number of potential challenges remain with Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and TCU awaiting their respective confrontations. Having said that, Bob Stoops & Co. have the opportunity to get back into the national conversation, as No. 5 Notre Dame comes into Norman for the biggest challenge the Irish are likely to face the entire year. The season for both teams hangs in the balance.
Oregon, meanwhile, keeps motoring along up in the Pacific Northwest. The Ducks remain undefeated, and their scores have been so high, they have practically required oxygen to read them, averaging 51 points each game thus far. Their no-huddle offense is so fast-paced that it has caused Nick Saban of seemingly invincible Alabama to grumble. But it will not be a smooth road to Miami for the Ducks for the BCS title game. In two weeks, they must face resurgent USC. Just two weeks after that, Stanford will not be playing dead just because Oregon is, well, Oregon, and they close their regular season with in-state rival Oregon State in the annual match-up known as “The Civil War.” Given that the Beavers have crept into the No. 8 ranking, the game between these two teams this year could very well live up to such an august game title/nickname. Moreover, that game this year will be in Corvalis, not Eugene. If the Ducks end up making it to the Orange Bowl part II, they will certainly have earned it.
College Football Week 7 Awards October 15, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, Baylor, BCS, Big 10, Big 12, Big Ten, Big XII, Bil Snyder, Bob Stoops, Bobby Bowden, Bobby Petrino, Boston College, Brian Kelly, Buffalo, Cardinal, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, college football, Colorado, Dana Holgorsen, Danny Hope, David Ash, Death Valley, Eastern Michigan, FIghting Irish, Florida, Florida State, Gene Chizik, Geno Smith, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, John Cooper, Kansas, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Les Miles, Lone State State, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, LSU, Mack Brown, Middle Tennessee State, Mike Leach, Mike Riley, Mississippi State, Missouri, Mountaineers, National Championship Game, NCAA, Nebraska, Nick Saban, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Pac-12, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Red Raiders, SEC, South Carolina, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, The Swamp, Tommy Tuberville, USC, Virginia Tech, Washington, West Virginia, Western Kentucky
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 7, pre-week 8] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Glad I’m not him: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
Lucky guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Poor guy: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a clue: Danny Hope, Purdue
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Riley, Oregon State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mack Brown, Texas
Desperately seeking … anything: Gene Chizik, Auburn
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Florida State (beat Boston College 51-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Ohio State (beat Indiana 52-49)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Missouri (lost to No.1 Alabama 42-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (lost to Oklahoma State 20-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Arizona State (beat Colorado 51-17)
Dang, they’re good: Oklahoma
Dang, they’re bad: Illinois
Did the season start? Auburn
Can the season end? Colorado
Can the season never end? Oregon State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 20 Texas A&M 59, Louisiana Tech 57
Never play this again: No. 10 Oklahoma 63, Texas 21
What? Arizona State 51, Colorado 17
Huh? No. 7 Ohio State 52, Indiana 49
Are you kidding me? No. 10 Oklahoma 63, Texas 21
Oh – my – God: Texas Tech 49, No. 17 West Virginia 14
Told you so: No. 4 Kansas State 27, Iowa State 21
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 9 South Carolina @ No. 3 Florida
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Middle Tennessee State @ No. 15 Mississippi State
Best non-Big Six matchup: Louisiana Monroe @ Western Kentucky
Upset alert: No. 2 Oregon @ Arizona State
Must win: Baylor @ Texas
Offensive explosion: No. 4 Kansas State @ No. 17 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: Penn State @ Iowa
Great game no one is talking about: Nebraska @ Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Les Miles of LSU vs. Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 14 Georgia @ Kentucky
Why are they playing? Pittsburgh @ Buffalo
Plenty of good seats remaining: Army @ Eastern Michigan
They shoot horses, don’t they? Colorado @ No. 11 USC
Week 7: Thoughts on the week:
Passing the test: Every good team eventually has to pass a test. The team can be undefeated, well-ranked, but doubts will still remain, doubts that can be summed up with the partly-rhetorical question, “whom have they played?” Several teams passed the test today. No. 16 Louisville passed the test by winning on the road against the toughest team they have played yet in Pittsburgh. The Notre Dame apologists feel that the Irish have passed a test in squeaking by No. 22 Stanford at home in overtime. Mike Riley has been quietly winning games at Oregon State this year, and the tests he has already passed were mostly tests in hindsight. I say “mostly” because the opening game/win was over a Wisconsin team that had understandably high expectations. Two more victories have come over resurgent programs in UCLA and Arizona, albeit at different stages in that key regard.
But though these teams have passed these tests, more remain. A much greater trial awaits the Louisville Cardinals when they take on Cincinnati. The huge tests that await Notre Dame are listed later in this article entry. Meanwhile, Oregon State’s upcoming tests are exceedingly daunting, what with Washington, Arizona State, Stanford, and finally, Oregon, still remaining on the schedule.
Then there are the teams that failed to pass the test, most notably South Carolina, who lost in a close one to LSU in Death Valley. A win could have strengthened their bid to lead the SEC East, but the loss means they must now hand Florida its first loss of the season in The Swamp. Sometimes make-up tests are more difficult – with more on the line – than the original thing.
Red River Rout: For the third consecutive year, Texas has lost ignominiously to arch-rival Oklahoma in the annual Red River Rivalry game. Coaches have been known to summarily get the ax on account of not being able to beat their rivals (see: Cooper, John, or Bowden, Bobby [later years]). Could it be that Mack Brown, as genial a man as there is in the upper echelons of this business, finally be wearing out his welcome in Austin? Goodness knows he is running out of excuses for his chronic under-performance over the past three years. In the time since they lost valiantly to Alabama in the 2010 BCS National Championship game, the Horns have failed to be bowl eligible in one of those seasons, and have failed to beat the Sooners in all three. This is an unacceptable situation given that he coaches the team that is the flagship school in the biggest, best football state in the entire country; a team whose cache helped launch the school’s own ESPN-powered sports network, and a program that has the pick of the litter for top talent in the Lone Star State. Yet with all of these advantages, combined with much-improved QB play from David Ash, Brown is bereft of playmakers, something for which there is simply no excuse, given the ideal location of the program. The inescapable conclusion becomes that Brown’s tenure has reached the end of its effectiveness, hence that he must go. Nothing personal, Mack; it’s just business.
Paging Bobby Petrino: Okay, so if Texas fires Mack Brown, with whom shall they replace him? Bobby Petrino seems to be an obvious choice. Yes, Petrino gives mercenaries a bad name; yes, his system is so seemingly unstable that nobody else can operate it in his absence (see: Arkansas; see: Louisville, pre-Charlie Strong). But he wins. The athletics department at the University of Texas not only has the resources to pay him a handsomely competitive salary, but can supply him with his own young mistresses if he wishes to add that to his contract as a benefit – no need to add them to the team staff payroll on the sly! More to the point though, a team with the resources and tradition of Texas under the leadership of Bobby Petrino could make Nick Saban’s Alabama team seem almost anemic by comparison, and would give the arrogant Bob Stoops of Oklahoma more than cause for notice.
Who needs Mike Leach? The Dread Pirate Leach might have put Texas Tech on the map with his spread offense on steroids, but he is hardly missed this weekend in Lubbock. How could one, what with Tommy Tuberville regenerating excitement for the program with a huge upset win over West Virginia? Geno Smith and Co. seemed almost invincible going into Week 7’s game, but then they ran into a team with a secondary built to stop the big pass plays that had until yesterday fueled the Mountaineer’s undefeated run. Funny how things work out like that. A win of this magnitude (49-15) over a top-ten opponent (WVU was No. 5 going into the game) ought to merit a ranking of some sort for Texas Tech.
Settle down, Notre Dame fan: Does any reasonably objective individual believe that if Stanford and Notre Dame met on a neutral site, and/or if the game were not soaked by a torrential rain, that the Cardinal would not have triumphed? As it is, the Fighting Irish had to squeak by in overtime, and only then because Stanford made two consecutive bone-headed calls during their post-regulation possession. The point in all this is, if Notre Dame has a decent undefeated run, scores of apologists fall all over themselves to overvalue the team with an unduly high ranking. The team is in for a rude awakening in two weeks when it ventures in to Norman to take on Oklahoma. An almost-as-rigorous test will come at season’s end in Los Angeles Coliseum against USC. You ND apologists maybe laughing now, but just you wait.
Ditch those gray camo unis, South Carolina: I very much appreciate you guys trying to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project or whatever it is you’re into these days. It is most commendable. But the effort ought not to obscure your glorious Garnet and Black, one of the best color combos in Big Boy Football these days. Wear ‘em with pride, boys. Gray jerseys? Yuck! Garnet jerseys? Sweet.
About the Big XII title: Since the nominal Big XII has an insufficient amount of members to justify a championship game, Kansas State is currently in the driver’s seat for the championship distinction. This has become clear after Oklahoma’s loss recent loss to the Wildcats, followed by West Virginia’s defeat at the hands of Texas Tech yesterday. Plenty of games remain, but Bill Snyder has the program humming well thus far.
College Football Week 6 Awards October 8, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Aggies, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Bayou Bengals, Big 10, Big 12, Big Ten, Big XII, Boston College, Butch Jones, BYU, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, college football, Cotton Bowl, Cougars, Dallas, Dana Holgorsen, Danny Hope, Florida State, Fordham, Gary Pinkel, Gene Chizik, Geno Smith, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Kevin Sumlin, Les Miles, Longhorns, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, LSU, Mack Brown, Miami Hurricanes, Michigan State, Missouri, Mountaineers, N.C. State, NC State, NCAA, Nebraska, Nick Saban, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Pac-12, Paul Chryst, Pittsburgh, Purdue, SE Louisiana, Skip Holtz, SMU, South Carolina, South Florida, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Temple, Texas, Texas A&M, The Swamp, Tigers, Towson, Tulane, UAB, Utah State, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Washington State, West Virginia, Will Muschamp
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(NOTE: all rankings are current AP [post-Week 6, pre-Week 7] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Glad I’m not him: Danny Hope, Purdue
Lucky guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Poor guy: Mack Brown, Texas
Desperately seeking a clue: Gary Pinkel, Missouri
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Butch Jones, Cincinnati
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Gene Chizik, Auburn
Desperately seeking … anything: Skip Holtz, South Florida
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Kansas State (beat Kansas 56-16)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida State (lost to N.C. State 17-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Miami (Fla.) (lost to Notre Dame 41-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Indiana (lost to Michigan State 31-27)
Thought you wouldn’t get your butt kicked, you did: Georgia (lost to South Carolina 35-7)
Dang, they’re good: South Carolina
Dang, they’re bad: Virginia
Did the season start? South Florida
Can the season end? Southern Miss
Can the season never end? West Virginia
GAMES
Play this again: No. 5 West Virginia 48, No. 15 Texas 45
Never play this again: UAB 52, SE Louisiana 3
What? Temple 37, South Florida 28
Huh? Iowa State 37, No. 23* TCU 23
Are you kidding me? Arkansas 24, Auburn 7
Oh – my – God: N.C. State 17, No. 12 Florida State 16
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 11 Texas vs. No. 17 Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, Dallas (Notwithstanding No. 3 South Carolina @ No. 9 LSU)
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Louisiana Tech vs. Texas A&M
Best non-Big Six matchup: Fresno State @ Boise State
Upset alert: No. 17 Stanford @ No. 7 Notre Dame
Must win: Purdue vs. Wisconsin
Offensive explosion: No. 5 West Virginia @ Texas Tech
Defensive struggle: No. 4 Florida vs. Vanderbilt
Great game no one is talking about: No. 6 Kansas State @ Iowa State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Paul Chryst of Pittsburgh vs. Charlie Strong of No. 18 Louisville
Who’s bringing the body bags? Boston College @ No. 12 Florida State
Why are they playing? Fordham @ No. 21 Cincinnati
Plenty of good seats remaining: SMU @ Tulane
They shoot horses, don’t they? No. 8 Ohio State @ Indiana
*USA Today poll
Week 6: Some thoughts looking back and going forward:
Do scores like that still exist in football? Yes, the showdown in The Swamp between LSU and Florida was an obvious defensive slugfest that many could foresee. But that pales in comparison with the near-baseball score eked out by Utah State at BYU on Friday night. The Cougars narrowly triumphed over the Aggies by an underwhelming 6-3. On a cheerier note, the two teams’ respective uniforms were in perfect contrast to one-another. Utah State sported dark blue helmets, white jerseys and dark blue pants, while BYU had the exact opposite of white helmets, dark blue jerseys and white pants. One rarely sees such a mirror-opposite contrast these days!
Speaking of defense struggles, though: The predicted low-scoring affair between the Gators and the Tigers did indeed manifest itself, as Florida triumphed at home only by 14-6.
On the other side of the coin: Yours truly, well, truly whiffed on predicting the “offensive explosion” game. Normally, a Pac-12 match-up, or some game including Baylor or West Virginia (or both, in hindsight!) are rather safe bets. But bets are not guaranteed: case in point, Oregon State defeated Washington State 19-6 in what could only be called a “workmanlike” performance. What is much more ironic, though, is that the REAL offensive explosion turned out to be Ohio State’s win over Nebraska in a 63-38 shootout. I know; the terms “Big 10” and “shootout” rarely go together, which is probably why such an offensive explosion possibility was so cavalierly overlooked.
New contender in town: West Virginia has made an impressive debut in the Big XII thus far. They first drew notice by winning their inaugural conference matchup at home in thrilling fashion over Baylor last week. Now, they have proven that the previous week’s victory was no fluke by winning a hard-fought game over the Texas Longhorns in Austin. Whether or not the Mountaineers are here and here to stay as a force to be reckoned with in their new home conference is a matter for continued discussion. Do they have just the right amount of key players with an exceptional quarterback in Geno Smith, or has Dana Holgorsen put something together that can sustain WVU as a perennial top-ten program? Time will tell, and while the Mountaineers are on a roll, plenty of tests remain.
Wanted: Rapid Recovery: Too many fans assume that college football teams can play on an even keel. That might be remotely, sporadically possible if you are coached by someone whose first name is Nick and whose last name is Saban. Aside from that, too many fans forget that we’re dealing with 19 year-olds, and as such, they are prone to the emotional roller coaster, and their collective performance periodically thus dips. An emotional win at home can temporarily drain your incentive to focus in practice the following week, and so seven days after that big win, you can come out flat on the road. It happens all the time.
The reason this is brought up is because Texas just lost a hard-fought game at home. Mack Brown shall surely prove what he is made of as he and his staff diligently try to rally the troops as they prepare to take on arch-rival Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, which is easily one of the biggest games of the year, period.
Meanwhile, in the SEC: Georgia may be good, but South Carolina is clearly better. What on paper had to have been a knock-down, drag-out match-up turned out to be a rout in favor of the Gamecocks, who have just advanced from No. 6 to No. 3 in the AP ranks in the wake of LSU’s loss to Florida and Florida State’s surprising upset at North Carolina State. But it does not get any easier for Steve Spurrier’s squad, as they now have to take on Les Miles’ Bayou Bengals in Baton Rouge this upcoming weekend, before having to go to The Swamp to take on Will Muschamp’s resurgent Florida Gators the week after that. Translation: great win, guys. No we have to do it all over again. And again.
With that in mind, make no mistake about it: Spurrier has built a juggernaut in Columbia. They are physically impressive, and currently, effective, on both sides of the ball. As a cautionary note, though, do not be surprised if the Gamecocks emerge from the next two engagements 1-1.
Speaking of LSU: As much as it pains me to say this, we ought to acknowledge that perhaps LSU is a tad overrated. The reasons are simple: the Tigers struggled to move the ball at home against Towson (!), beat a mediocre Auburn by only two points, stagnated for a half against Idaho, and got only seven first downs against Florida.
College Football Week 5 Awards October 1, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Army, Art Briles, Auburn, Baylor, Bayou Bengals, Big 10, Bo Pelini, Boilermakers, Boise State, Boston College, Cincinnati, college football, Colorado, Commonwealth Stadium, Cougars, Dana Holgorsen, Danny Hope, Derek Dooley, Fighting Illini, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Huskers, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky Wildcats, Kevin Sumlin, Kevin Wilson, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Marshall, Miami Hurricanes, Miami Redhawks, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee State, Mountaineers, NCAA, Nebraska, New Mexico State, Nittany Lions, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue, Sonny Dykes, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Stony Brook, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Thundering Herd, Tim Beckman, Towson, Tulane, UCLA, uniforms, unis, Urban Meyer, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin Badgers
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Glad I’m not him: Derek Dooley, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Bo Pelini, Nebraska
Poor guy: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Danny Hope, Purdue
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Sonny Dykes, Louisiana Tech
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Tim Beckman, Illinois
Desperately seeking … anything: Kevin Wilson, Indiana
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: North Carolina (defeated Idaho 66-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: LSU (defeated Towson 38-22)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Colorado (lost to UCLA 42-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Marshall (lost to Purdue 51-41)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Penn State (beat Illinois 35-7)
Dang, they’re good: Florida State
Dang, they’re bad: Army
Did the season start? Virginia Tech
Can the season end? Indiana
Can the season never end? Oregon
GAMES
Play this again: West Virginia 70, Baylor 63
Never play this again: Louisiana Monroe 63, Tulane 10
What? Cincinnati 27, Virginia Tech 24
Huh? Stony Brook 23, Army 3
Are you kidding me? Penn State 35 – Illinois 7
Oh – my – God: Middle Tennessee State 49, Georgia Tech 28
Told you so: No.5 Georgia 51, Tennessee 44
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 5 Georgia @ No. 6 South Carolina
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Miami (Fla.) @ No. 9 Notre Dame (assuming one were to count Independents as “non-Big Six, otherwise, it would be Miami (Ohio) @ Cincinnati.
Best non-Big Six matchup: Louisiana Monroe @ Middle Tennessee State
Upset alert: No. 8 West Virginia @ No. 11 Texas
Must win: No. 17 Oklahoma @ Texas Tech
Get-well opportunity: No. 20 Michigan State @ Indiana
Offensive explosion: Washington State @ No. 18 Oregon State
Defensive struggle: No. 4 LSU @ No. 10 Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Michigan @ Purdue
Intriguing coaching matchup: Urban Meyer of Ohio State vs. Bo Pelini of Nebraska
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kansas @ No. 7 Kansas State
Why are they playing? No. 24 Boise State @ Southern Miss
Plenty of good seats remaining: Boston College @ Army (or, New Mexico State @ Idaho, take your pick)
They shoot horses, don’t they? Arkansas @ Auburn
What we have learned after Week 5:
Remember last week’s predicted “Offensive Explosion”? Scratch that. Yes, hindsight is indeed 20-20, but West Virginia’s Big XII debut against Baylor was far more than an “Intriguing Coaching Matchup” between the Mountaineers’ Dana Holgorsen and the Bears’ Art Briles. The score of the game was so high, in what has become to be a seemingly typical Baylor fashion these days, that one needed oxygen to read the numbers. The Mountaineers made a very splashy conference debut, winning at home 70-63.
Also, remember last week’s predicted “Defensive Struggle”? Scratch that one, too. Penn State defeated Illinois in the Fighting Illini’s home stadium, 35-7. That cannot be attributed alone to the Illini wearing dark blue helmets for the first time since, well, pretty much ever. The available evidence on hand indicates that Illinois has worn orange helmets since at least 1945, if not earlier. I cannot find any photographic record yet of them ever wearing blue helmets, but the search shall continue. Just don’t hold your breath in the meantime. That aside, has Penn State found some offense, or is Illinois that horrible? The Nittany Lions have sputtered offensively practically the whole season until yesterday, while the Fighting Illini were 2-2 going into that game.
The Purdue-Marshall match-up in West Lafayette, Ind., was tagged for this past week’s “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They” slot. The selection was by default, since the odds of a major blowout anywhere else aside from other chosen games seemed much higher. But while the Boilermakers were making gamey mincemeat out of the Thundering Herd in the first half, they let off the gas too soon in the second half. A clearly visible epidemic of dropped passes in the third quarter especially raised concerns for Purdue’s prospects in the Big Ten. Until now, plenty of talk has abounded regarding the Boilers having a very attainable shot at representing the Leaders division of the Big 10 in the championship game in Indianapolis. After this game, some doubts will no doubt linger. Much work is to be done if Purdue is to triumph at home next week against Michigan, and quell the justifiable newfound doubts in so doing. Get it together, Boilers.
The LSU-Towson matchup was to be, on paper, a slaughter so massive as to border on a war crime. Most fans could not even point Towson’s location out on a map (hint: it is a very nice suburb in the northern part of Baltimore). The only factor one can attribute to LSU’s inexplicably close margin of victory (38-22) is that the Bayou Bengals must have kept the playbook very, very limited so as to avoid divulging any trade secrets as they prepare to take on a quietly improving Florida team next week.
The Upset Alert prediction of last week (South Carolina @ Kentucky) seemed to almost come to fruition, as the Gamecocks wasted an entire half, trailing the Wildcats in Commonwealth Stadium by more than a touchdown. Only after they made the proper halftime adjustments did they assert themselves like a top-ten team should, and pulled themselves out of an unnecessary hole with a modest score of 38-17. South Carolina will not have such a luxury of using an entire half of a football game as their learning curve next week, when they will take on cross-border, arch-rival Georgia in what will without a doubt be the game of the week.
Awesome unis:
The Wisconsin-Nebraska game was not only a great game to watch from a purely game-play standpoint, with great execution on both sides of the ball. It was also a feast for the eyes from two teams who historically where rather stodgy uniforms. Both teams had sick-looking alternate, quasi-throwback unis (and we mean “sick” in the hip, with-it, good way!). The Badgers’ red helmets and red shoulders on white jerseys was a feast alone for the eyes, to say nothing of Huskers’ red jersey-pants combo with tasteful black trim, along with the first black helmets the team as ever donned – EVER. The proverbial icing on the cake was the large school letters worn on the front of both teams’ jerseys. All in all, a nice combination of throwback elements from the 1920s, 1940s, and 1950s! Speaking of which, did anybody notice the nice late ‘50s-style numbers on Wisconsin’s jerseys? One word: neato!
While we’re on the awesome uniform topic, it was nice to see LSU where purple jerseys again, as they have been known to do once in a blue moon. Moreover, I am prepared to designate Ole Miss’ road uniforms as the nicest away unis in the SEC. The all-gray is a unique touch, but the red-on-navy blue trim is an unbeatable combination, especially as it scrolls over the shoulders. On the other side of the continent, what is up with Oregon wearing gray pants? This thought especially came to mind as I watched them play Washington State in Pullman, Wash. Did the Ducks not know full-well that the Cougars were wearing gray pants at home? Would it have been too much trouble to wear green pants instead to provide a better contrast on the field? Sheesh.
