College Football Awards Week 12 (2017) November 19, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Arkansas, Badgers, Baylor, Boston College, Bruins, BYU, Central Florida, Charlie Strong, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Clemson, Dave Clawson, Egg Bowl, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Frank Solich, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Jim Harbaugh, Jim Mora, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Kilane Sitake, Kirk Ferentz, Longhorns, Louisville, Matt Luke, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Navy, NC State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Paul Chryst, Purdue, Scott Frost, South Alabama, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCF, UCLA, UConn, USC, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 12] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
Glad I’m not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Lucky guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Poor guy: Matt Luke, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Frank Solich, Ohio U
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Dave Clawson, Wake Forest
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirk Ferenz, Iowa
Desperately seeking … anything: Kilane Sitake, BYU
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Syracuse 56-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Mississippi State (defeated Arkansas 28-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Illinois (lost to Ohio State 52-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Navy (lost to No. 8 Notre Dame 24-17)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Northwestern (defeated Minnesota 39-0)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: South Alabama
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Iowa
Did the season start? Oklahoma State
Can the season end? Tennessee
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
GAMES
Play this again: Texas A&M 31, Ole Miss 24
Play this again, too: Kansas State 45, No. 13 Oklahoma State 40
Never play this again: Florida State 77, Delaware State 6
What? Akron 37, Ohio U 34
Huh? Wake Forest 30, No. 19 NC State 24
Are you kidding me?? Kansas State 45, No. 13 Oklahoma State 40
Oh – my – God: Purdue 24, Iowa 15
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 12, pre-week 13)
Ticket to die for: No. 9 Ohio State @ Michigan also: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 6 Auburn
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: none
Best non-Power Five matchup: South Florida @ No. 15 UCF
Upset alert: No. 2 Clemson @ South Carolina also: No. 8 Notre Dame @ No. 22 Stanford
Must win: Indiana @ Purdue also: No. 9 Ohio State @ Michigan
Offensive explosion: No. 14 Washington State @ No. 18 Washington
Defensive struggle: Florida State @ Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Kentucky
Intriguing coaching matchup: Scott Frost of Central Florida vs Charlie Strong of South Florida
Who’s bringing the body bags? Baylor @ No. 12 TCU
Why are they playing? Florida Atlantic @ Charlotte
Plenty of good seats remaining: UConn @ Cincinnati
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Vanderbilt @ Tennessee
Week 12 Random Thoughts:
Today yielded no earth-shattering upsets. How could it, with so many highly-ranked teams inexplicably engaged in body bag games so late in the year? Nevertheless, some interesting upsets did ensue. Pathetic Akron took down perennial MAC contender Ohio U, for example. Kansas State defeated Oklahoma State on the road. Unranked Wake Forest (now 7-4, surprisingly) upset No. 19 NC State, putting a blemish on an otherwise impressive year for the Wolfpack. Even more amazingly, Purdue went on the road to play Iowa, a game where nobody, least of all yours truly, gave them a chance to win, and yet they did anyhow. Don’t ask how the same team that embarrassed Ohio State by the worst margin in more than two decades could lose two weeks later at home to a lesser team. There is no rational explanation.
Texas earned a great win, on the road, over West Virginia. Two weeks ago, the Longhorns gave a pitiful offensive performance against TCU, and offered only a middling performance in their win over Kansas last week. Naturally, this turn of events gave the Longhorn faithful cause for concern. Whether these concerns are no longer valid remains to be seen. But adjustments were clearly made, to the point where Texas was able to win, convincingly, in a tough environment, against a favored team. Looks like progress, and the Horns are now bowl-eligible to boot. Next week they close the regular season at home against Texas Tech, which will be a decent test to see if they can maintain their current level of performance.
Remember my earlier speculation about Purdue’s bowl chances having evaporated? Wad that thought up and toss it out the window. Purdue’s surprising upset over Iowa – on the road, no less – has given their season a new life. Don’t ask how this came to pass. Be all that as it may, this upcoming week, both Purdue and in-state rival Indiana shall play each other for two things, not just one. Not only will they play for the Old Oaken Bucket trophy, but also for bowl eligibility. No telling the last time the stakes were that high for the two teams.
Every season, there is always a surprise or two. One such this year is Central Florida, who currently undefeated and ranked first in the All-American Conference East Division. At a current rank of no. 15, head coach Scott Frost seems to know what he is doing. This is the same Scott Frost who was the capable, tough, dependable quarterback who led Nebraska to a share of the national title with Michigan in the 1997 season. After several years as a back-up QB in the NFL, he gradually worked his way up the ranks in coaching. With a relatively easy schedule remaining, the Golden Knights could remain undefeated going into the ultimate conference showdown at season’s end. Then, they face 9-1 South Florida, led by Coach Charlie Strong. Surely that is to be one of the most intriguing of coaching matchups of the year!
Shout-out to Notre Dame for wearing very cool-looking, throwback-inspired uniforms during their game against Navy. I sincerely hope that more teams with gold in their school colors have the good sense to copy those nice-looking gold pants that the Irish wore this week.
Just several weeks earlier, Louisville could not beat Wake Forest or Boston College. Now, they seem to have turned things around. Their 56-10 walloping of Syracuse is a sure sign the Cardinals are playing back to form, and are doing so just at the right time, as they take on in-state rival Kentucky this upcoming week.
UCLA just fired Jim Mora, Jr. Ironically, the Bruins lost last night to cross-town rival USC by a respectable margin, 28-23. But the powers that be in Westwood clearly did not like the direction the program was headed. Mora helped create high expectations for the Bruin faithful, but sadly failed to deliver (UCLA is now 5-6). Then again, the school is only partially committed compared to USC, or to any other program that is determined to compete for a national title. Firing the current head coach shall thus not solve this systemic problem.
With Wisconsin’s win over Michigan, the Badgers continue their undefeated streak and are on a certain course to represent the Western Division in the Big Ten championship. All Ohio State has to do is beat Michigan this upcoming week for the rights to butt heads with the Badgers. My scenario for the best possible playoff scenario thus continues, but more pratfalls remain.
The best game on Thanksgiving is not played in Detroit or Dallas. No, rather it is usually the “Egg Bowl,” the annual Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State grudge-match that shall once again kickoff on the evening of the fourth Thursday in November. Let us enjoy it, and God Bless America!
College Football Awards Week 11 (2017) November 13, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Army, Auburn, Ball State, Butch Jones, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Dan Mullen, Florida, Fresno State, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Jeff Monken, Kansas State, Louisville, LSU, Mark Richt, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico, Nick Saban, North Carolina, North Texas, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Purdue, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Utah, Virginia Tech, Washington, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 11] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Richt, Miami
Glad I’m not him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Lucky guy: Nick Saban, Alabama
Poor guy: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: (none)
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Monken, Army
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Desperately seeking … anything: Butch Jones, Tennessee
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Texas A&M (defeated New Mexico 55-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Alabama (defeated No. 16 Mississippi State 31-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Tennessee (lost to Missouri 50-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Mississippi State (lost to No. 2 Alabama 31-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated No. 12 Michigan State 48-3)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Georgia Southern
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia
Did the season start? Virginia Tech
Can the season end? Florida
Can the season never end? Miami
GAMES
Play this again: No. 2 Alabama 31, No. 16 Mississippi State 24
Play this again, too: No. 15 Oklahoma State 49, No. 21 Iowa State 42
Never play this again: Northern Illinois 63, Ball State 17
What? Georgia Tech 28, No. 17 Virginia Tech 22
Huh? Stanford 30, No. 9 Washington 22
Are you kidding me?? No. 7 Miami 41, No. 3 Notre Dame 8
Oh – my – God: No. 10 Auburn 40, No. 1 Georgia 17
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 11, pre-week 12)
Ticket to die for: None, except maybe Michigan @ No. 8 Wisconsin
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Western Carolina @ North Carolina
Best non-Power Five matchup: Fresno State @ Wyoming also: Army @ North Texas
Upset alert: Utah @ No. 9 Washington
Must win: Texas @ West Virginia also: No. 8 TCU @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Offensive explosion: SMU @ No. 18 Memphis
Defensive struggle: No. 21 LSU @ Tennessee
Great game no one is talking about: Arizona @ Oregon
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Harbaugh of Michigan vs. Paul Chryst of Wisconsin
Who’s bringing the body bags? Citadel @ No. 4 Clemson
Why are they playing? Wofford @ South Carolina also: Mercer @ No. 1 Alabama
Plenty of good seats remaining: Coastal Carolina @ Idaho
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Louisiana-Monroe @ No. 10 Auburn
Week 11 Random Thoughts:
Is it safe to say that Miami (Fla.) is back as a top-tier program? Already ranked No. 7 going into this weekend’s game, they crushed No. 3 Notre Dame at home, 41-8. They remain undefeated in one of the toughest conferences in football, now at the No. 2 spot in the AP Poll (Clemson is now at No. 3). If these shadows remain unchanged, they could face Clemson in the ACC Championship game early next month (ticket-to-die-for in the making?). If they win that, it would be close to certain that the Hurricanes would be in the playoffs, and rightly so. So yeah, sure looks that way.
It’s a good thing I listed Butch Jones as “Desperately seeking…anything” because as of today (Nov. 12), he got the ax at Tennessee. This became an increasingly urgent necessity as the season progressed. Despite the solid recruiting classes Jones brought in at Tennessee, he was unable to translate the talent into wins on the field. Barely winning over lousy UMass was cause for concern. Losing a squeaker to a mediocre Florida was bad enough. Losing to Georgia in a blowout – one of the worst in recent program history – was a major embarrassment. Losing to Kentucky – something the Volunteers very rarely do – was obviously unacceptable. Getting crushed by hated Alabama became inevitable – which didn’t make it any less unpalatable to the Tennessee faithful. The final nail in Jones’ coffin was a blowout loss to Missouri, of all teams. So, Jones is now out at Tennessee. Time for the replacement coaching search games to begin!
While this was a great weekend for college football (despite some unexpectedly one-sided outcomes – looking your way, Georgia and Notre Dame), next week shall be something of a let-down. The only game resembling a marquee matchup is No. 19 Michigan vs No. 5 Wisconsin. Half of the SEC is wasting the upcoming weekend with body bag games. To wit: Mercer plays at Alabama; Wofford plays South Carolina in an annual late-season affair (why??); Auburn dialed up a “w” with Louisiana-Monroe. Florida would also be included, except for the fact that UAB has a much better record (7-3) than the Gators (3-6). Not to be outdone, Clemson had to get in on the act by playing the Citadel.
At least the other half of the conference was exercising some degree of sense by scheduling real games. Kentucky plays at Georgia. LSU plays at Tennessee, which will no doubt further contribute to the Volunteers’ collective misery. Texas A&M plays at Ole Miss in what should be a good game. Missouri, surprisingly offensively spry, plays at Vanderbilt.
Purdue’s bowl eligibility hopes for the year are quickly dwindling. They currently stand at 4-6, and have to win out over both Iowa and Indiana. Whereas the latter seems winnable, the former, not so much. The Boilers did themselves no favors by losing on the road to conference cellar-dweller Rutgers, then blowing a 4th-quarter lead at home to Nebraska. The good news is that if Purdue ends up at 5-7, they’ll still have won more games than the entire Hazell era combined.
All that said, there are some decent games that might not be of huge consequence. Syracuse plays Louisville, for example, and Kansas State plays Oklahoma State. Arizona at Oregon is also a good match-up, and Utah has the potential to upset Washington. So there are enjoyable games this weekend, we’ll just have to search more diligently than usual for them.
College Football Awards Week 10 (2017) November 6, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, B1G, Big Ten, Bill Connelly, Bret Bielema, Brian Kelly, Buckeyes, Bulldogs, Coastal Carolina, David Beaty, Florida, Gators, Georgia, Hawkeyes, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Joel Klatt, Kansas, Kansas State, Kirk Ferentz, Longhorns, Louisiana, Maine, Mark Richt, Miami, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Neal Brown, Nevada, New Mexico, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, Purdue, San Diego State, San Jose State, South Carolina, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Toledo, Troy, UCLA, UMass, Urban Meyer, Utah, 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: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Glad I’m not him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Lucky guy: Bret Bielema, Arkansas
Poor guy: James Franklin, Penn State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: (none)
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Neal Brown, Troy
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Desperately seeking … anything: David Beaty, Kansas
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: San Diego State (defeated San Jose State 52-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Arkansas (defeated Coastal Carolina 39-38)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: San Jose State (lost to San Diego State 52-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: UMass (lost to No. 16 Mississippi State 34-23)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Missouri (defeated Florida 45-16)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Kansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Ohio State
Did the season start? Stanford
Can the season end? Florida
Can the season never end? Michigan State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 24 Michigan State 27, No. 7 Penn State 24
Play this again, too: Kansas State 42, Texas Tech 35
Never play this again: San Diego State 52, San Jose State 7
What? No. 25 Washington State 25, No. 21 Stanford 21
Huh? West Virginia 20, No. 15 Iowa State 16
Are you kidding me?? No. 24 Michigan State 27, No. 7 Penn State 24
Oh – my – God: Iowa 55, No. 6 Ohio State 24
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11)
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Notre Dame @ No. 10 Miami also: No. 8 TCU @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Louisiana @ Ole Miss
Best non-Power Five matchup: Toledo @ Ohio U
Upset alert: No. 25 Washington State @ Utah
Must win: No. 24 Michigan State @ No. 6 Ohio State also: No. 8 TCU @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Offensive explosion: West Virginia @ Kansas State
Defensive struggle: Florida @ South Carolina
Great game no one is talking about: No. 20 Oklahoma State @ Iowa State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Brian Kelly of Notre Dame vs. Mark Richt of Miami (FL)
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 22 Arizona @ Oregon State
Why are they playing? New Mexico @ Texas A&M
Plenty of good seats remaining: San Jose State @ Nevada
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Maine @ UMass
Week 10 Random Thoughts:
As Bill Connelly reminds this time of the year, November is for everything. Teams are what they are at this point of the season. A loss now can sink a team’s season. With that in mind, let us examine the following:
Just when we thought Ohio State had a shot at the playoffs after a big win over Penn State, this week, the Buckeyes turned right around and spoiled it for all of us. It’s not that they lost, it’s how they lost that’s the true disgrace.
Anyone with any discernment knew that Iowa would be a tough out for any team. They took Penn State to the very wire, after all. Perhaps too many on Ohio State’s team thought they were on Easy Street after taking down the Nittany Lions last week. Guess again, guys. The Buckeyes failed to score in the whole second half until 4:37 remained in regulation. By then, it was too little, too late. The Hawkeyes triumphed in dramatic fashion, 55-24, giving the Buckeyes their worst loss since 1994. Ouch. Not exactly a playoff-caliber performance, guys. Speaking of which, kiss those hopes goodbye for the year, and let that be a lesson to all of us to always bring one’s “A” game.
Remember when Texas seemed to have found an offense last week against Baylor? Yeah, that was a false alarm: fool’s gold. The Longhorns only mustered a single touchdown (2nd quarter) the entire game, losing it 24-7. The Horns’ defense was impressive, all things considered, but their offense is frankly non-existent. Why? Much of it revolved around a young offensive line that is still trying to gel. Even if QB Shane Buechele had time in the pocket, his receivers failed to get separation (some blame the offensive coordinator for failing to scheme properly). Their own self-inflicted mistakes that translated to penalties obviously did them no favors, either. It all added up to an incoherent mess on the offensive side of the ball, and the score at game’s end showed it.
This weekend has rightly been dubbed “elimination weekend,” but that could surely apply to other weekends to come this month. Notre Dame has yet to play resurgent Miami, and after that they must face Stanford: both are on the road.
Penn State did themselves no favors by losing to Michigan State on the road. With that loss, their playoff aspirations for the year are over, but in the Nittany Lions’ defense, the game was much closer (21-14) than Ohio State’s disastrous outing at Iowa. The long rain delay in the middle of the game likely interfered with their rhythms, too.
Speaking again of Ohio State, they have no time to lick their wounds, as the Spartans come calling this upcoming weekend.
South Carolina has quietly become bowl-eligible with six wins, despite their most recent loss, on the road, to border rival Georgia. To be sure, the Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 2 in the playoffs, so the loss, on paper, was expected. Now the Gamecocks face a depleted Florida Gators squad, at home, where the odds are likely they can amass win No. 7 for the year.
Georgia, meanwhile, faces a potential pitfall when they venture into No. 14 Auburn to engage in “the oldest rivalry in the South”.
Washington State squeaked by Stanford. Now they must face Utah, who crushed UCLA, 48-17. Here is yet another potential upset in the making. Joel Klatt, are you paying attention yet?
In another window into the current state of Big Ten football, resurgent Purdue is, currently, a slight underdog to Northwestern. Another potential conference “Toilet Bowl” awaits with Illinois facing Indiana (the latter’s record is deceptive, though). Also, Iowa now has to face undefeated Wisconsin; not a good time to be on Cloud Nine after taking down the mighty Buckeyes.
College Football Awards, Week 8 (2017) October 22, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Baylor, Boston College, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, BYU, California, Clay Helton, Coastal Carolina, Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Houston, Hurricanes, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kirk Ferentz, Kliff Kingsbury, Larry Fedora, Matt Campbell, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Gundy, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Sam Ehlinger, San Jose State, South Carolina, South Florida, Spartans, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, Tigers, Tom Herman, Tulsa, UCF, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Vols, Volunteers, West Virginia, Western Michigan
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 8] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: James Franklin, Penn State
Glad I’m not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Lucky guy: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Poor guy: Tom Herman, Texas
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Clay Helton, USC
Desperately seeking … anything: Larry Fedora, North Carolina
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Virginia Tech (defeated North Carolina 59-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Miami (defeated Syracuse 27-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Tennessee (lost to No. 1 Alabama 45-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Baylor (lost to No. 23 West Virginia 38-36)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Missouri (defeated Idaho 68-21)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Georgia Southern
Can’t Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? Michigan
Can the season end? Tennessee
Can the season never end? Penn State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 9 Oklahoma 42, Kansas State 35
Play this again, too: No. 10 Oklahoma State 13, Texas 10
Never play this again: Missouri 68, Idaho 21
What? Rutgers 14, Purdue 12
Huh? Iowa State 31, Texas Tech 13
Are you kidding me?? Boston College 41, Virginia 10
Oh – my – God: No. 13 Notre Dame 49, No. 11 USC 14
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 8, pre-week 9)
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Penn State @ No. 6 Ohio State (B1G game of the year?)
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Houston @ No. 16 South Florida
Upset alert: No. 14 NC State @ No. 9 Notre Dame
Also: Florida State @ Boston College
Must win: No. 3 Georgia @ Florida
Offensive explosion: No. 10 Oklahoma State @ No. 23 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: Vanderbilt @ South Carolina
Great game no one is talking about: California @ Colorado
Also: Mississippi State @ Texas A&M
Intriguing coaching matchup: James Franklin of Penn State vs Urban Meyer of Ohio State
Also: Kirk Ferentz of Iowa vs. P.J. Fleck of Minnesota
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 8 Miami (FL) @ North Carolina
Why are they playing? Austin Peay @ No. 18 UCF
Plenty of good seats remaining: San Jose State @ BYU
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Texas State @ Coastal Carolina
Week 8 Random Thoughts:
Poor Texas. Try as they might with their strong defense, offensively they cannot score enough points to get over the proverbial hump. Yesterday in Austin, they held No. 10-ranked Oklahoma State, with the most productive offense in the county, to only 13 points. However, the Longhorns in turn could only score 10 points. Texas seems to have a capable quarterback in Sam Ehlinger, but he is only a true freshman, and the offense seems to rely too much on his guts and determination alone. Part of the problem is that many of the offensive players are still young, and shall have to grow in experience, and presumably in capability as well. The tentative verdict is that it will simply take time for the Horns to return to Top-10 status. They are close, but not there yet.
Speaking of taking time, Purdue practically controlled their own destiny. Current trajectories indicated they had a clear path to start a decent winning streak after getting beat up by a couple of conference heavyweights. Then they lost by two points on the road to Rutgers. Yes, Rutgers. What happened? Most likely, defensive coordinators around the league have taken notice of the tricks that Jeff Brohm has been left no choice but to use on account of the dearth of talent that his predecessor has left him. Thus, for Purdue to show marked, consistent improvement, things shall take more time. Basically, Brohm will need to bring in better recruiting classes so as to beat his opponents on the field with talent instead of trickery. This of course is not to blame the man for what he is doing right now. If we were in his proverbial shoes, we would likely find ourselves left to resort to the same things.
Tennessee, meanwhile, is officially a dumpster fire. Sure, we all knew at this rate that Alabama would blast them into defeat, but what none of us anticipated was the lack of dignity on the Vols’ part. The obscene gesture to Bama’s fans by one of Tennessee’s defensive backs after a pick-six is a black eye to the program, and could only hasten Butch Jones’ eventual departure as head coach. But that aside, the Volunteers do have talent on their team. Jones has sadly failed to harness it properly, to say nothing of orchestrating that talent into a cohesive effort at the top level that the SEC demands.
To put it another way with regard to the Vols and their current dumpster-fire status, they are to play Kentucky next week. Tennessee is currently 3-4, while the Wildcats, who usually only barely belong in the SEC, are 5-2. Yes, that means the world is officially upside-down.
Meanwhile, it’s always mildly intriguing when two conference foes who are about to butt heads share the same thing in common. Think: Mississippi State vs. Georgia, as both are the Bulldogs. Think also: LSU vs. Auburn, or Missouri vs. LSU, or Auburn vs. Missouri. All three are the Tigers. In the case of Mississippi State and Texas A&M, though, both have the same school colors of maroon and white, and both play each other next week. What makes things even more intriguing is that both have quietly amassed a respectable 5-2 record in the course of the season. After that game, those records shall inevitably diverge.
This week was a statistical anomaly, specifically with a cluster of defensive struggles. Who would have thought that Indiana at Michigan State would have been such a defensive struggle, with a 17-9 outcome in the Spartans’ favor? Even more to the point was the aforementioned 13-10 outcome at Texas. That the Horns held the Cowboys’ high-powered offense to just 13 points (including one overtime) must surely cause Mike Gundy to reach for the Rolaids while watching film today. If that’s not enough, the Purdue-Rutgers affair ended at 14-12 in favor of the Scarlet Knights. Northwestern and Iowa kept the score low at 17-10. UConn triumphing over Tulsa 20-14 does not count in past eras, but might as well in a time where the hurry-up, no-huddle offense is de rigueur. Same thing goes for Western Michigan over Eastern Michigan, 20-17…in overtime, no less.
College Football Awards Week 5 (2017) October 2, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arkansas, Bowling Green, Butch Jones, BYU, Colorado, Colorado State, Duke, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia State, Indiana, Jeff Brohm, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Louisville, LSU, Miami (OH), Mike Bobo, Mike Gundy, Mike Jinks, Minnesota, Missouri, NC State, New Mexico, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, P.J. Fleck, Purdue, Rutgers, San Diego State, San Jose State, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Troy, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Utah State, Virginia, Wake Forest, Washington State, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Poor guy: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Bobo, Colorado State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Mike Jinks, Bowling Green
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Murray State 55-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida State (defeated Wake Forest 26-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Miami (OH) (lost to No. 22 Notre Dame 52-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to Florida State 26-19)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Georgia (defeated Tennessee 45-0)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: San Jose State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? North Carolina
Can the season end? Bowling Green
Can the season never end? Georgia
GAMES
Play this again: No. 16 Washington State 30, No. 5 USC 27
Play this again, too: UCLA 27, Colorado 23
Never play this again: No. 11 Ohio State 56, Rutgers 0
What? Utah State 40, BYU 24
Huh? New Mexico 49, Air Force 38
Are you kidding me?? Troy 24, No. 25 LSU 21
Oh – my – God: No. 16 Washington State 30, No. 5 USC 27
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 4, pre-week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 23 West Virginia @ No. 8 TCU: either that, or No. 1 Alabama @ Texas A&M?
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Eastern Michigan @ Kentucky
Best non-Power Five matchup: Colorado State @ Utah State
Upset alert: No. 5 Georgia @ Vanderbilt also: Maryland @ No. 10 Ohio State
Must win: No. 17 Louisville @ No. 24 NC State
Offensive explosion: No. 23 West Virginia @ No. 8 TCU
Defensive struggle: LSU @ No. 21 Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Arkansas @ South Carolina also: Duke @ Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jeff Brohm of Purdue vs. P.J. Fleck of Minnesota
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 19 San Diego State @ UNLV
Why are they playing? Charleston Southern @ Indiana
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia State @ Coastal Carolina
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Missouri @ Kentucky
Week 5 Take-aways:
There were so few upsets this week that I had to scape near the bottom of the barrel in order to fill in all four degrees of upset slot, and even then I barely made it. However, similar to last week, there were lots of near-misses. Unlike last week, however, there were few near-misses of major consequences. Nevertheless, to wit:
Northwestern has unexpectedly struggled this year, yet for a good portion of the game actually led formidable Wisconsin, before the Badgers eventually came back and beat the Wildcats, 33-24. Still, given how weak the Wildcats have seemed up until now, such a loss to such a strong team is hardly disgraceful.
Florida State had to struggle to beat lowly Wake Forest 26-19, much like Louisville had to do last year to beat the Demon Deacons. Thus, Wake Forest remains one of the most enigmatic of teams. Kentucky, who has proven to be a decent team, only beat Eastern Michigan 24-20. To be sure, part of the reason is that the Eagles are no longer a gutter team. In case you forgot, they were actually a bowl-bound team last year. No, that was not a dream.
Lowly Charlotte almost earned their first “W” of the year (of the program?) before just missing out at the end to gradually-improving Florida International. In case you have forgotten, Butch Davis is now the Panthers’ head coach, so that would explain the improvement. Meanwhile, it has been established that Ohio U is a decent team. Under Frank Solich’s leadership, they contend perennially for the MAC title. How then does one explain THIS? By “this,” I mean A) beating UMass by only eight points, and B), allowing the Minutemen to score 50 points on the Bobcats. Yes, the score was 58-50. Try not to overthink this, or you too will be sucked into a quandary vortex.
One of the most interesting studies in uniform contrast was the Oklahoma State at Texas Tech game. The Cowboys wore matte-black helmets with chrome-silver grilles, along with trendy, gray pants. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders, who have been associated with black helmets for 15+ years, wore white helmets with a plain-looking “TT” logo, red jerseys, and white pants with traditional red-black striping. The contrast was thus the trendy vs. traditional look, which was all the more intriguing since, from what I surmise after looking over things on The Helmet Project, Texas Tech chose this evening, for some reason, to wear throwback unis from ca. 1974: weird.
Speaking of weird, “body bag games,” so-called because of the gross mis-matches on paper, are supposed to be ‘gimme’ games for the heavily favored team. Apparently Troy never got that memo when they ventured into Baton Rouge to take on the Bayou Bengals. That’s right, the Trojans upset the Tigers – again, in Death Valley – 24-21. Coach Orgeron’s backside, meet chair that overnight just got really hot.
Speaking of hot seats, after Tennessee’s historically embarrassing loss to Georgia at home, Butch Jones’ hot seat has reached the most extreme of levels of hot, colloquially known as the “ejection seat”. We all know that at this rate, it’s just a matter of time, folks.
College Football Awards, Week 3 (2017) September 17, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Aaron Rogers, Auburn, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Cardinals, Clemson, Dabo Swinney, David Cutcliffe, Duke, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida International, Gamecocks, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Jim McElwain, Jim Mora, Kansas State, Kentucky, Lamar Jackson, Louisville, LSU, Matt Rhule, Memphis, Miami, Michael Vick, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pitt, Purdue, Rice, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Tigers, Toledo, Tom Herman, Tulane, UCF, UCLA, UMass, UNLV, USC, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Will Muschamp, Wolverines
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 3] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Glad I’m not him: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Lucky guy: Jim McElwain, Florida
Poor guy: Jim Mora, UCLA
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Will Muschamp, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Cutcliffe, Duke
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Matt Rhule, Baylor
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oklahoma (defeated Tulane 56-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Auburn (defeated Mercer 24-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: East Carolina (lost to No. 16 Virginia Tech 64-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Vanderbilt (defeated No. 18 Kansas State 14-7)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Purdue (defeated Missouri 35-3)
Dang, they’re good: Clemson
Dang, they’re bad: UTEP
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Kansas State
Did the season start? LSU
Can the season end? Rice
Can the season never end? Duke
GAMES
Play this again: No. 4 USC 27, Texas 24
Play this again, too: No. 24 Florida 26, No. 23 Tennessee 20
Never play this again: Arizona 64, UTEP 16
What? No. 24 Florida 26, No. 23 Tennessee 20
Huh? Memphis 48, No. 25 UCLA 45
Double Huh? Northern Illinois 21, Nebraska 17
Are you kidding me?? Vanderbilt 14, No. 18 Kansas State 7
Oh – my – God: Mississippi State 37, No. 12 LSU 7
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)
Ticket to die for: No. 16 TCU @ No. 6 Oklahoma State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: UCF @ Maryland
Best non-Power Five matchup: Ohio U @ Eastern Michigan
Upset alert: No. 17 Mississippi State @ No. 11 Georgia
Must win: Notre Dame @ Michigan State
Offensive explosion: Toledo @ No. 14 Miami
Defensive struggle: Pitt @ Georgia Tech
Great game no one is talking about: Duke @ North Carolina
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Harbaugh of Michigan vs. Jeff Brohm of Purdue
Who’s bringing the body bags? UNLV @ No. 10 Ohio State
Why are they playing? UMass @ Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida International @ Rice
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Georgia Southern @ Indiana
Week 3 Take-aways:
The Clemson-at-Louisville game was the game of the week, and on paper, such a designation was obvious. But sometimes these “games of the week” become lopsided affairs. This was sadly such a game, whereby the Tigers triumphed over the host Cardinals, 41-27. Did the game’s outcome have to weigh so heavily in favor or Clemson? No. The problem for Louisville was a combination of a few things. For one, the Tigers’ offense had incredible speed in their skill positions that kept Louisville’s secondary on their toes the whole night. The second was their powerful offensive line opened up huge gaps up the middle, allowing their runningback to gain lots of yardage between the tackles. Much of that could have been cancelled out had Louisville’s offense been allowed to fire on all proverbial cylinders. Why the hindrance? Because head coach Bobby Petrino seemed bent on trying to mold Heisman winner Lamar Jackson into another Aaron Rogers, when he is clearly another Michael Vick instead. Petrino is apparently so bent on micro-managing his quarterback that he has forgotten that an artist needs to be allowed to be, well, an artist. Let Jackson play to his strengths, and Louisville’s offense shall rise to the level of its potential. But as long as Petrino continues to micromanage the offense the way he currently is, the Cardinals’ offense shall continue to stagnate. The choice is that simple.
Meanwhile, what a game in Los Angeles. The 2005-2006 BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena was the greatest college football game of my lifetime. This was the first time Texas and USC had played each other since, and like the previous game, it did not disappoint, with plenty of drama and big plays on both sides. Despite the unranked Horns’ eventual loss, the moral victory is theirs in that they took the No. 4-ranked Trojans into overtime and only lost by a field goal. For the first time this year, Texas finally played up to its potential. Even though moral victories are not counted in any statistic or record book, this is one that Coach Tom Herman can build upon if he is smart about it.
That said, the moral victory for Texas might have been an actual one had it not been for the Longhorns’ four turnovers that game.
Meanwhile, what a difference an offseason and change of coaches can make. Purdue was a gutter team last year. Then, out with previous head coach Darrell Hazell, in with new head coach Jeff Brohm, and the difference in team performance is as stark as night and day. The Boilermakers have grown into a team not to be taken lightly. Their only loss was to a strong Louisville team. The following week they won, handily, over Ohio U, one of the best teams in the MAC. This week, they journeyed to Missouri to take on the Tigers, whom the Boilermakers rolled, 35-3. This upcoming weekend, they play No. 8 Michigan. On paper, the odds heavily favor the Wolverines, but do not be surprised if Purdue takes Michigan to the wire just like Texas did with USC this week.
As an aside, Kentucky has beaten South Carolina for the fourth straight time. The past two times, Will Muschamp has been at the helm of the Gamecocks. How many more times are the fans going to tolerate such an embarrassing loss to a team that barely belongs in their conference before they run Muschamp out of town on a rail?
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.
College Football Awards, Week 13 (2016) November 27, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, B1G, Bedlam, Big Ten, Bobby Petrino, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Butch Jones, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Clemson, college football, Colorado, Cotton Bowl, Cougars, Eastern Michigan, Ed Orgeron, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa State, Jim McElwain, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, LSU, MAC, Memphis, Michigan, Mississippi State, Navy, NCAA, Nebraska, New Mexico State, Nick Saban, North Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, P.J. Fleck, Pac-12, Paul Johnson, Penn State, Purdue, Rebels, SMU, South Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Tom Herman, Tommy Tuberville, Urban Meyer, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Wildcats, Wisconsin
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The Game lived up to The Hype.
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 13] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: Charlie Strong, Texas
Lucky guy: Kevin Wilson, Indiana
Poor guy: Tommy Tuberville, Cincinnati
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking … anything: Butch Jones, Tennessee also: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Virginia Tech (defeated Virginia 52-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Louisville (lost to Kentucky 41-38)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Iowa State (lost to No. 19 West Virginia 49-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kentucky (see above)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: UTEP (defeated North Texas 52-24)
Dang, they’re good: Clemson
Dang, they’re bad: New Mexico State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Nebraska
Did the season start? Louisville
Can the season end? Texas also: Ole Miss, Notre Dame
Can the season never end? Western Michigan
GAMES
Play this again: No. 2 Ohio State 30, No. 3 Michigan 24
Play this again, too: Georgia Tech 28, Georgia 27
Never play this again: No. 4 Clemson 56, South Carolina 7
Close call: Indiana 26, Purdue 24
What? Vanderbilt 45, No. 24 Tennessee 34
Huh? Air Force 27, No. 21 Boise State 20
Double-Huh? Memphis 48, No. 18 Houston 44
Are you kidding me? Iowa 40, No. 17 Nebraska 10
Oh – my – God: Kentucky 41, No. 11 Louisville 38
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 13, pre-week 14))
Ticket to die for: No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Penn State in the B1G Championship
also: No. 11 Oklahoma State @ No. 8 Oklahoma
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: none
Best non-Power Five matchup: Western Michigan vs. Ohio U in the MAC Championship, Friday
Must win: too many to list!
Offensive explosion: No. 6 Washington vs. No. 9 Colorado in the Pac-12 Championship
Defensive struggle: No. 13 Florida @ No. 15 Florida State
Great game no one is talking about: Louisiana Tech @ Western Kentucky
Intriguing coaching matchup: Nick Saban of Alabama vs. Jim McElwain of Florida
Think there’s enough purple? Kansas State @ TCU
Who’s bringing the body bags? Baylor @ No. 14 West Virginia
Why are they playing? Wisconsin vs. Penn State in the B1G Championship (ever heard of Ohio State?)
Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ South Alabama
They shoot horses, don’t they? Georgia State @ Idaho
Week 13 Take-aways:
Rivalry week has yielded some decent drama, and upsets, as one would expect. Purdue, hapless all year, acquitted themselves well against a far-superior offense in IU. Highly-ranked Louisville gave up the game via four turnovers to in-state rival Kentucky, at home. The collapse of Louisville within the past couple of weeks is the most unsettling thing witnessed in major college football this year.
The annual coaching carousel hath begun its merry ride. Charlie Strong is out at Texas (after much unnecessary vacillation and drama on the part of the Texas Athletics Department), and Tom Herman is in. Such drama sadly bled over to Herman’s Houston team, who clearly was not focused when losing to formidable Memphis on Friday, despite being favored on the road. Meanwhile, Ed Orgeron earned a well-deserved promotion from interim head coach to full-time head coach at LSU. Orgeron is perfect for the role, what with his love for the school, his extensive experience in many big-name programs, his long-time conference presence (he was once the head coach at border rival Ole Miss), to say nothing of his deep Cajun drawl. His performance in the interim job itself was a strong case, as the Tigers went 5-2 under this leadership (one of those losses was to Alabama, where LSU held the Tide to only 10 points). Justice has been met in this special case.
Despite Mississippi State’s disappointing year, Dan Mullen has ended the year well by convincingly beating their main rival, Ole Miss. The Rebels started the year with high rankings and hopes, but injury and other bad luck put the team into a freefall. Losing their starting QB Chad Kelly to season-ending injury obviously contributed to this, to be sure.
In the world of weird football news, Navy beat SMU 75-31 (yes, this was a football game, not a basketball one). What do these two teams have in common? They’re the only two teams that beat Houston this year. That aside, who says the triple option cannot be a high-scoring offense?
More regarding the world of weird football news: Eastern Michigan is, after this week, 7-5, and obviously bowl eligible. Let us all pause as our collective jaw drops to the floor.
Now we await the conference championship games next week, and immediately afterwards, we shall finally ascertain the teams that shall be in the playoffs. One intriguing game is the MAC Championship. Should Western Michigan win and continue their undefeated season, they could qualify for a major bowl game. Might P.J. Fleck be able to lead his team in rowing the proverbial boat all the way, say, the Cotton Bowl? We shall all find out in due time. Let the games begin…and continue!
The Peril of Bye-Weeks in College Football October 15, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Big Ten, Blue Devils, Buckeyes, bye, bye-week, Cardinals, Citrus Bowl, college, Duke, football, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, NCAA, North Carolina, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Rose Bowl, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Yellow Jackets
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Beware of bye-weeks. They can do weird things to college teams. Speaking from experience, during my junior season at Purdue – the 2000 season where we went to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 34 years – we had a bye-week coming off an emotional win over a favored Ohio State team. That win allowed for us to “control our own destiny”. After that game, we had a bye-week. After that bye-week, we went on the road to play Michigan State, who was having a down year after their strong run and Citrus Bowl win (over a favored Florida squad, no less) the prior season.
We were favored in that game, and it would have been an easier win than those over Michigan, the Buckeyes, or even Wisconsin. Only problem was, we failed to bring our “A-game”, and it showed. We embarrassed ourselves, losing 30-10. It left us all scratching our heads. Worse yet, it put our Big Ten championship in peril. Only a loss by Northwestern to Iowa that same day kept us in the money. We closed the deal next week with a blowout win at home over Indiana, but the fact remained that a once-in-a-generation chance to punch our ticket to Pasadena almost evaporated on a cold, gray November afternoon in East Lansing.
I blame the bye-week. As college kids, a bye-week throws you off your rhythm that you set during the playing season. Without the normal routine of a game each week, your preparation routine is thrown off, and it’s easy to get lackadaisical, forgetting how to methodically build up the intensity to the point where you peak on game day. That effect was on display again this Friday night.
Yes, Louisville came off an emotional loss in a high-stakes game in a very hostile environment two weeks ago. The casual observer might think that the bye week would be a good opportunity to recharge the batteries. Think again. Being out of rhythm on account of the open weekend last week, the Cardinals came out less than focused and energized, while at the same time they faced a disciplined, well-coached Duke team. They escaped – barely – with a win, at home.
Speaking of Duke, by season’s end, this victory should nevertheless be a quality win for the Cards by season’s end. Ironically, it is Duke that now faces a bye-week, and will play a down Georgia Tech squad to close out the month of October. If they do NOT come out flat against the Yellow Jackets, I would frankly be surprised.
That aside, seeing the way the Blue Devils played in this game, even though they are now 3-4, I have no doubt that they shall give the rest of their opponents all they want. November with be rather brutal for David Cutcliffe’s team, for they play (in order) Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Miami, one after another. Don’t be surprised if they upset one or two of those teams. What have they going for them in this tough stretch? No byes.
College Football Week 5 Awards 2016 October 2, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Bo Schembechler, Boise State, Butch Jones, BYU, Cal, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Chris Petersen, Clemson, college, Colorado, D.J. Durkin, Dabo Swinney, David Shaw, Duke, FIghting Irish, FIU, Florida, Florida International, Florida State, football, Gators, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Indiana, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Kirk Herbstreit, Longhorns, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Maryland, Miami Hurricanes, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike MacIntyre, NCAA, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Red River Shootout, Rutgers, SEC, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Utah, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Vols, Volunteers, Washington, Woody Hayes
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Chris Petersen, Washington
Glad I’m not him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Lucky guy: Butch Jones
Poor guy: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: D.J. Durkin, Maryland
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: David Shaw, Stanford
Desperately seeking … anything: Charlie Strong, Texas
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Rutgers 58-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida (defeated Vanderbilt 13-6) T
hought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Louisiana-Monroe (lost to Auburn 56-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Vanderbilt (lost to Florida 13-6)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Maryland (defeated Purdue 50-7)
Dang, they’re good: Washington
Dang, they’re bad: Purdue
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Stanford
Did the season start? Michigan State
Can the season end? Georgia State
Can the season never end? Clemson
GAMES Play this again: No. 5 Clemson 42, No. 3 Louisville 36
Play this again, too: No. 11 Tennessee 34, No. 25 Georgia 31
Never play this again: No. 20 Arkansas 52, Alcorn State 10
Close call: No.13 Baylor 45, Iowa State 42
What? Virginia 34, Duke 20
Huh? Cal 28, No. 18 Utah 24
Double-Huh? Indiana 24, No. 17 Michigan State 21
Are you kidding me? North Carolina 37, No. 12 Florida State 35
Oh – my – God: No. 10 Washington 44, No. 6 Stanford 6
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 5, pre-week 6)
Ticket to die for: No. 9 Tennessee @ No. 8 Texas A&M
Also: No. 23 Florida State @ No. 10 Miami
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: BYU @ Michigan State
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 6 Houston @ Navy
Upset alert: No. 5 Washington @ Oregon
Must win: Texas vs. No. 20 Oklahoma also: No. 25 Virginia Tech @ No. 17 North Carolina
Offensive explosion: No. 21 Colorado @ USC
Defensive struggle: LSU @ No. 18 Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Georgia Tech @ Pittsburgh
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jimbo Fisher of Florida State vs. Mark Richt of Miami
Also: Rich Rodriguez of Arizona vs. Kyle Whittingham of Utah
Who’s bringing the body bags? TCU @ Kansas
Why are they playing? No. 4 Michigan @ Rutgers
Plenty of good seats remaining: Vanderbilt @ Kentucky (the SEC Toilet Bowl)
Also: Florida International @ UTEP
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? No. 19 Boise State @ New Mexico
Week 5 Take-aways:
So much for “Texas is back”. After losing on the road to California and now losing on the road to an unranked Oklahoma State, something is wrong. The rot in Denmark is all the more apparent when one considers that A) defense was supposed to be Charlie Strong’s specialty, and yet B), the Longhorns lost to both respective teams 50-43 and 49-31. Notre Dame, it turns out, was highly overrated going into the season. That became rather obvious after getting embarrassed by Michigan State and then laying an egg at home to Duke. Oh, and overrated as the Fighting Irish are, they still scored 47 points on the Horns, in Austin. Let all this sink in for a moment. Once it has sunk in, the logical conclusion is that Strong’s seat cannot get hot enough.
But don’t take my word for it.
In any case, so far what we have seen is that Tennessee is capable of coming back strongly to dominate a rising Florida Gators team. Last year, their problem was that they had to learn to “close the deal,” which they eventually did, but not before losing to both Florida and Oklahoma.
This time, their problem is reversed. Instead of needing to “close the deal” – something they demonstrated in abundance last week – they need to learn to play four full quarters of football. Case in point: during the game at Georgia, they slacked off for the entire first half, save for the last drive of the second quarter. In so doing, they spotted the Bulldogs 17 points before they finally decided to start playing with appropriate urgency.
That urgency could not have been more palpable than in the final seconds of the game, whereby it took a Hail Mary pass that was actually completed in the end zone (!) for the Vols to come away with the win. Tennessee has no time to take a breather, though, as they face undefeated Texas A&M next weekend.
In other news, Michigan beat Wisconsin in a 14-7 slugfest, where both teams kept the ball mostly between the tackles. Both Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler were nodding approvingly. Interestingly, this was the Wolverines’ first win over a top ten team since 2008.
But let none of this obscure the showdown of the week in Clemson’s Death Valley with visitor Louisville. This “ticket to die for” certainly lived up to its hype, with high drama and a back-and-forth score. The Tigers triumphed in the end, 42-36, largely due to the fact that the Cardinals took too long to get going and also because Clemson refused to fold. The fact that the referees did not call Clemson’s subtle holds on receivers at all certainly did not hurt, though it certainly does call Dabo Swinney’s coaching ethics into question. That aside, the Tigers have a clear path to the playoffs, to say nothing of an ACC championship. The Cardinals, meanwhile, still have an 11-1 season for which to play, which would still command a premium bowl berth. Indeed, Kirk Herbstreit insisted that the Cards’ playoff hopes are not dead yet. He may very well be correct. After all, Houston still lurks on their schedule.
With all the excitement going on, one is apt to overlook that Colorado is now ranked again (No. 21); they have made the polls for the first time in roughly 15 years. Nice going, Coach Mike MacIntyre!
College football in October has started off with a huge bang, for this was one fantastic week for the sport. Next week entails a number of solid matchups (I honestly had to reach for both “Why are they playing” and “They shoot horses, don’t they”, which rarely happens), but they do not add up to anything as exciting as that which we enjoyed this time. Then again, they cannot all be this exciting all the time. As far as let-downs go, next week will be just fine, especially with the Red River Shootout awaiting in first shift.
