College Football Week 2 Awards 2013 September 9, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Baylor, Boise State, Bowling Green, Brady Hoke, Buffalo, Bulldogs, BYU, Cincinnati, college, Colorado, Dave Clawson, East Carolina, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, football, Fresno State, Gamecocks, Gary Patterson, Gators, Georgia, Greg Robinson, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky, Kevin Wilson, Kliff Kingsbury, Lamar, Lane Kiffin, Longhorns, Louisiana-Lafayette, Mack Brown, Manny Diaz, Marshall, Miami (FL), Miami (OH), Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Leach, Navy, NCAA, Nebraska, Nicholls, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Purdue, Ron Turner, San Diego State, South Carolina, South Florida, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee-Martin, Texas, Texas Tech, Tommy Tuberville, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 2] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Brady Hoke, Michigan
Glad I’m not him: Tommy Tuberville, Cincinnati
Lucky guy: Mike Leach, Washington State
Poor guy: Lane Kiffin, USC
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Kevin Wilson, Indiana
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Dave Clawson, Bowling Green
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mack Brown, Texas
Desperately seeking … anything: Ron Turner, Florida International
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 23 Baylor (defeated Buffalo 70-13)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Michigan State (defeated South Florida 21-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Virginia (lost to Oregon 59-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: South Florida (lost to Michigan State 21-6)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Kentucky (defeated Miami (OH, 41-7)
Dang, they’re good: Oregon
Sir Charles says “They’re Turrable”: Buffalo
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Texas
Did the season start? Florida
Can the season end? San Diego State
Can the season never end? Michigan
GAMES
Play this again: No. 11 Georgia 41, No. 6 South Carolina 30
Play this again, too: No. 17 Michigan 41, No. 11 Notre Dame 30
Never play this again: Boise St. 63, Tennessee-Martin 14
What? Illinois 45, Cincinnati 16
Huh? Miami (FL) 21, No. 12 Florida 16
Are you kidding me? Navy 41, Indiana 35
Oh – my – God: BYU 40, No. 15 Texas 21
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 2, pre-week 3)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 6 Texas A&M
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Virginia Tech @ East Carolina
Best non-Big Six matchup: Marshall @ Ohio U
Upset alert: No. 25 Ole Miss @ Texas
Must win: Vanderbilt @ No. 13 South Carolina
Offensive explosion: Fresno State @ Colorado
Defensive struggle: Iowa @ Iowa State
Great game no one is talking about: No. 16 UCLA @ No. 23 Nebraska
Intriguing coaching matchup: Gary Patterson of No. 24 TCU vs. Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 21 Notre Dame @ Purdue
Why are they playing? Lamar @ No. 12 Oklahoma State
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida Atlantic @ South Florida
They shoot horses, don’t they? Nicholls @ Louisiana-Lafayette
Week 2 in Review:
Two really good games followed each other consecutively in South Carolina @ Georgia followed by Notre Dame @ Michigan. In the case of the former, the Gamecocks’ season is not lost by losing to a tough Bulldogs squad who had their collective backs against the wall after blowing the season opener on the road to perhaps the best Clemson team that school’s history. Conversely, had Georgia lost two games in a row to start off their season, no matter if they won out for the remaining weeks, the season, by team’s and fans’ standard would have been clearly lost.
In the case of the latter, some degree of poetic justice was achieved in the Wolverine’s victory over the Fighting Irish. It is understandable why Notre Dame saw fit not to renew the rivalry on their schedule, what with trying to broaden their geographic outreach into the recruiting hotbeds, which, to remind certain fanbases, are NOT in the Midwest anymore (Ohio notwithstanding, to an extent, but Ohio State owns that anyhow, and should). But that does not obfuscate the other understandable situation where the Michigan fanbase feels snubbed by a team that still acts as though it is “above it all.” Did I say “poetic justice”? How about vindication?
Meanwhile, going forward, it is worth pointing out that when it comes to the prognostications for the upcoming week, the two most difficult things to predict are the offensive explosion and the defensive struggle. The Michigan-Notre Dame game certainly did not live up to the latter billing (41-30); neither did the West Virginia-Oklahoma game (16-7). One should have reversed those two games into opposite categories, and then we would have had something (in 20-20 hindsight, at least)!
Oh, and the latest news has it that Texas’ defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has taken the fall for the Longhorns’ ignominious loss to unranked BYU. The Horns gave up a school record 550 rushing yards on defense. This means that even though Texas had some very bad teams in the 1980s and some of the 1990s, even they did not give up that much yardage on the ground in a game. Something obviously had to be done. Mack Brown has appointed Greg Robinson (former Syracuse head coach – one of those guys who is better as a vice president than as a chief executive) as the new defensive coordinator, a role that he actually already served in for the team in 2004 (that same team that came back to beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl). On paper, it is a good hire; time will tell if what is on paper will manifest in reality. But regardless, it’s still a step up from the inept display the Longhorn Nation had to endure yesterday.
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.
Teams that could beat Notre Dame November 22, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: 2012, A&M, Aaron Murray, Aggies, Alabama, Bama, Bayou Bengals, BCS, Bowl, Brian Kelly, Buckeye, Bulldogs, Capital One, Cardinal, college, Cotton, Crimson Tide, defense, Fighting, Florida, football, Gamecocks, Gators, Georgia, Glendale, Independence, Iowa, Irish, Jadeveon Clowney, Jeff Driskel, Johnny Manziel, Kevin Sumlin, LSU, miracle, Mississippi State, NCAA, ND, Nick Saban, Notre Dame, offense, Ohio State, Our Lady, Pasadena, Penn State, Purdue, SEC, South Bend, South Carolina, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, Sugar, Tennessee, Texas, Tigers, UAB, Urban Meyer, Wisconsin
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From the latest edition of Sports Illustrated. The Latin phrase at the top translates to “The Miracle of Our Lady 2012”
In case some dear readers have been hanging out in a cave for an extended period of time, Notre Dame is now the no. 1 college football team in the nation for the first time in 19 years to the month. Given the national following the Fighting Irish have, there has been more than a bit of hoopla over this development. Without going into obscene details, I can see Regis Philbin and other ND-loving celebrities losing control of themselves right about now. But just because the Irish are no. 1 by default, does not mean they are invincible? Of course not. Yes, they are undefeated; yes, they have beaten some decent teams. To be fair, Notre Dame is formidable. Brian Kelly has done an incredible job of bringing in a talented receiving corps for the offense while massively upgrading the team’s talent defensively. Their front five and front seven are both sufficiently physical to compete with anybody. But there are teams out there that would give ND fits, if not ruin their season outright if the two played each other. I therefore submit this list of teams to a candid world:
Practically sure things:
LSU: Without a doubt, LSU would give Notre Dame all it would want and then some. Over the past decade, there is no team that has been known to show up in big games and win them like LSU. Yes, they lost at home to Alabama this year. Yes, they lost the national championship game to Alabama at the end of last season. Yet ought these not to be a strong commentary on the Crimson Tide’s prowess rather then to the Bayou Bengals’ detriment? The Tigers have won two national titles within a decade. Aside from the BCS game this past season, they have won almost all of their bowl games*. Stretch the scale of time back to 15 years, and every time the Irish have played the Tigers in a bowl game (the 1997 Independence Bowl, the 2006-’07 Sugar Bowl), LSU has won both games handily. The odds, talent, and the mindset are all in LSU’s favor. Notre Dame ought to pray that the two teams do not meet anytime soon.
*LSU’s only bowl losses were to a tough Texas team in the 2003 Cotton Bowl, and inexplicable losses in the Capital One Bowl to both Iowa (30-20 on Jan. 1, 2005), and Penn State (19-17 on Jan. 1, 2010).
Stanford: Don’t laugh. Yes, they already lost to Notre Dame this year, but by that same token, let us put things into perspective. A), the game was in South Bend, B) the weather was horrible, C) what did the Cardinal in was two consecutive horrible play calls on the goal line in overtime. Now imagine the two teams playing each other again, this time on a neutral field, and reasonable weather. Stanford has the personnel to fight the Irish effectively on the line on both sides of the ball. They sport a very physical front seven, and their offense is ground-and-pound. This approach was two horribly-called plays shy of working under very adverse circumstances on the road. Imagine how well it would work in, say, Glendale, Ariz., or Pasadena.
Texas A&M: The Aggies have proven that they can move the ball on tough defenses. Quarterback Johnny Manziel has gotten better and better as the season has progressed. They moved the ball effectively on Alabama, after all. Moreover, Coach Kevin Sumlin has proven to be an excellent motivator in getting his men ready for big games. Some of their margins of victory are impressive. For example, they beat a respected Mississippi State squad 38-13, and then turned around the following week and beat then-no. 1 Alabama. What this tells me is that you can count on consistent play from A&M at this stage of the season. That, plus quick defense and superior quarterback play add up to being too much for the Irish to handle.
Ohio State: Yes, Brian Kelly has proven to be one of the best coaches in the college game. But so has Urban Meyer, and his resume of winning big games with more teams, one could argue, trumps Kelly’s. Never count out Meyer in big games. Moreover, once he brings in more of his own style of players, they will execute his spread offense all the more effectively. True, the Buckeyes were playing some teams too closely for comfort earlier in the year. After all, they only scored 29 points on abysmal UAB, of all teams! But lately the offense runs like a well-oiled machine. During their last games, they have averaged scoring 49 points each. Their lower scores during that span were 29 points (where Purdue’s defense actually showed up) and 21 points against Wisconsin’s traditionally stout ‘D.’ Notre Dame has not encountered anything like Ohio State’s offense throughout this memorable season of theirs.
Questionable teams:
Florida: Yes, their defense is practically impregnable. Good luck moving the ball on the Gators. The problem is on the offensive side of the ball. Jeff Driskel is a mediocre quarterback at best, and Notre Dame’s defense will not play dead simply because they are facing such a vaunted program. The game would be very low-scoring, with the outcome depending on how well Driskell executes, which is a crap-shoot.
South Carolina: On paper, this team should be a very formidable foe for the Irish. A strong running game, one of the best QB’s in college football in Connor Shaw, and defense with potential NFL talent, anchored by Jadeveon Clowney. The problem lies in consistency. The Gamecocks blew out a tough Georgia team earlier in the year, only to embarrass themselves at Florida a few weeks later. After that, they played an awful Tennessee much more closely than the game should have been, again, on paper (they won that game only 38-35). The Ol’ Ball Coach triumphing over the hot-headed Irish Coach will depend on the team that gave Georgia its only loss of the year to show up.
Georgia: The Bulldogs have an incredibly talented offense led by experienced, highly-rated quarterback Aaron Murray. On paper, the offense would give Notre Dame’s talented defense all they could handle. Defensively, Georgia sports a typical talented, ultra-quick SEC defense. The problem, like that of South Carolina, is consistency. Yes, they could theoretically take Notre Dame, but it all comes down to which team shows up against them: the team that beat Florida handily on an ostensibly neutral field, or the team that lost badly earlier on to South Carolina?
Alabama: Easily the least-questionable team within this category. The only reason they are in said category as opposed to the above one is that Texas A&M exposed a chink or two in their impressive armor. Their defense is talented, but young, and their offense is not the most imaginative of teams at their level. But let us say that the two – Bama and ND – end up playing each other in the BCS national championship game. Give Nick Saban a month to prepare – a luxury no team has had thus far, to be sure – and he is practically unstoppable. Advantage, Crimson Tide.
If any dear readers think other teams merit being added to the list, I would be more than happy to entertain suggestions! (P.S.: Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!)
College Football Week 9 Awards October 29, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Arizona, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, Big 10, Big Ten, Bob Stoops, Brian Kelly, Bryant-Denny Stadium, Buffalo, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Central Florida, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, cocktail party, college, Colorado, Crimson Tide, Dan Mullen, Danny Hope, Darrell Hazell, Duke, East Carolina, Fighting Illini, Florida, Florida State, football, Gators, Georgia, Hoosiers, Horned Frogs, Huskies, Illinois, Indiana, Joker Phillips, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Kyle Flood, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Milan Puskar Stadium, Mississippi State, Missouri, N.C. State, Navy, NCAA, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Purdue, Rutgers, SEC, SMU, Southern Miss, spread offense, Stanford, Steve Sarkesian, Tarheels, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, toilet bowl, Troy, Tulsa, UAB, UMass, USC< Alabama, Washington, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 9, pre-week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Glad I’m not him: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
Lucky guy: Charlie Strong, Louisville
Poor guy: Butch Jones, Cincinnati
Desperately seeking a clue: Joker Phillips, Kentucky
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Darrell Hazell, Kent State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Desperately seeking … anything: Danny Hope, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oregon (beat Colorado 70-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas (beat Kansas 21-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Auburn (lost to No. 16 Texas A&M 63-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (lost to Texas 21-17)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Navy (beat East Carolina 56-28)
Thought you wouldn’t get your butt kicked, you did: Texas Tech (lost to No. 3 Kansas State 55-24)
Dang, they’re good: Kansas State
Dang, they’re bad: Temple
Can’t stand prosperity: Ohio U. (lost to Miami [Ohio] 23-20)
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Purdue
Can the season never end? Notre Dame
GAMES
Play this again: No. 7 Georgia 17, No. 8 Florida 9
Never play this again: No. 3 Oregon 70, Colorado 14
What? Michigan State 16, Wisconsin 13, OT
Huh? No. 10 Georgia 7, No. 8 Florida 9
Double Huh? Washington 20, No. 13 Oregon State 17
Are you kidding me? Kent State 35, Rutgers 23
Oh – my – God: Arizona 39, No 18 USC 36
Told you so: No. 12 Louisville 34, Cincinnati 30, OT
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 6 LSU (notwithstanding No. 2 Oregon @ No. 9 USC)
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Tulsa @ Arkansas
Best non-Big Six matchup: SMU @ Central Florida
Upset alert: No. 10 Clemson @ Duke
Must win: Texas @ No. 20 Texas Tech
Offensive explosion: Arizona @ UCLA
Defensive struggle: Miami (Ohio) @ Buffalo
Great game no one is talking about: No. 16 Texas A&M @ No. 17 Mississippi State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M vs. Dan Mullen of Mississippi State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Colorado @ No. 15 Stanford
Why are they playing? Troy @ Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: UAB @ Southern Miss
They shoot horses, don’t they? UMass @ Northern Illinois
Week 9 in Review: Upsets and Conference Toilet Bowls Abound
The whole purpose of a given “Toilet Bowl” is to pit the two worst teams against each other to find which is, in fact, the worst of the worst. Such was determined twice yesterday. In the Big 10 Toilet Bowl, Indiana trounced Illinois 31-17, in the Fighting Illini’s home stadium, no less. Illinois, now 2-6, is now the undisputed – though clearly not undefeated – bottom-feeder of the conference for this season. They are winless in the Big 10, and have no time to lick this very revealing wound, as next week they venture into Columbus, Ohio to take on Ohio State.
Meanwhile, in the Toilet Bowl, SEC Edition, Missouri defeated Kentucky in CoMo (which is what the locals refer to as Columbia, Mo.) by a similar score, 33-10. Kentucky is in a sadly familiar spot in the most brutal of conferences in college football. What is even more revealing, though, is UK’s response in the wake of the loss.
“It’s tough, because we knew we were better than those guys,” so said Kentucky tailback Raymond Sanders. Better than them, even when losing by 23 points? Such denial of reality is why head coach Joker Phillips has merited the above award for the week (see: Desperately seeking a clue).
Undefeateds going down: Fewer teams remain undefeated today than when they woke up to play games yesterday. Rutgers was the highest-ranked team in the Big East before going down to one-loss Kent State. Inexplicably, the Golden Flashes’ sole defeat came at the hands of Kentucky.
Mississippi State’s first defeat of the season was the most understandable of all first losses of the year, given that they were going up against No. 1 Alabama, in Bryant-Denny Stadium, no less. The Bulldogs’ head coach, Dan Mullen, said it best going into the weekend when he pointed out that, “[Y]ou’ve got to try to run the ball (on Alabama) whether you’re having success or not.” Despite Mississippi State’s best efforts, they were very slowly and methodically ground down by the Crimson Tide, 38-7.
On the West Coast, undefeated Oregon State lost that distinction in their loss to Washington. Steve Sarkesian’s Huskies have earned the reputation of being a “giant killer” of sorts this year, as they handed previously-undefeated Stanford its first loss of the year as well. Keep an eye on the program on the rebound in Seattle.
Finally, Florida was another team to bite the proverbial dust and suffer its first loss to Georgia in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, Fla. Though scoring was relatively low (17-9 in favor of the UGA Bulldogs), there were plenty of plays to keep the crowd enthused. In the end, the old adage of “the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins” rang true yet again, which explains how the Bulldogs reigned victorious.
More chrome: North Carolina – of all bloody teams! – has jumped on the chrome dome bandwagon, as they sported chrome-silver helmets during their last-minute upset over rival N.C. State. Moreover, the main decal was an oversized Tarheel logo (the Carolina blue-colored foot with the tar on the heel), in breaking with the traditional “NC” decal they usually display. On all-dark blue jersey and pants ensemble complimented a very different look for a team normally known for its “Carolina blue” helmets and jerseys. Oh well: it beats the trendy “matte” look!
Choke-lahoma: That moniker was earned/demonstrated yet again last night, as Oklahoma squandered a golden (if you’ll pardon the expression) opportunity to hand Notre Dame its first loss of the year. Stoops and company have nobody to blame but themselves for deliberately holding themselves back. They had an offensive line capable of controlling the line of scrimmage, and yet they repeatedly passed up on the opportunity to establish a ground attack. On the passing side of things, they also held themselves back by concentrating on short-yardage increments that are the bread-and-butter of the one-sided spread offense. They did this while being thoroughly capable of throwing the ball further down the field, and by not doing this, never forced the Irish secondary to respect either the deep threat or the short yardage attempts. Head Coach Bob Stoops has proven once again to be something of a schoolyard bully of the coaching ranks; arrogant and blunt with reporters, lots of bluster, but having little to, er, “bring,” when genuinely challenged.
Looking ahead: some other games to keep an eye on, aside from the upcoming games listed above includes Air Force @ Army in an all-service academies showdown. Another intriguing matchup is TCU venturing into Morgantown, W.V. to play the Mountaineers. The big question going in to that game will be, how will West Virginia respond to two consecutive drubbings after being ranked so high in the polls? Moreover, how the Horned Frogs will handle the Milan Puskar Stadium crowd is a question no doubt in the back of the minds of many a fan and observer. In the wake of the SEC “Toilet Bowl” 2012, Missouri takes on Florida and Kentucky takes on Vanderbilt, meaning that the respective cellar-dweller status of either team is unlikely to change anytime soon. After Oklahoma was embarrassed at home to Notre Dame, how will they respond at Iowa State, a team that has shown surprising formidability this year? Can Duke show that it has staying power by bouncing back after a tough though understandable loss to Florida State in time to put up a good fight against inconsistent Clemson? More importantly, can USC bounce back from being upset in the desert by Arizona in time for a primetime showdown against Oregon at home?
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.
intellectualgridiron 