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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8MBWj6YzqQ
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 6 (2017) October 9, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Auburn, Big XII, Bobby Petrino, BYU, Cardinals, Charlotte, Clemson, David Bailiff, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gamecocks, Gary Anderson, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Lincoln Riley, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Marshall, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Miami (OH), Michigan State, Mike Norvell, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NC State, Nittany Lions, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Oregon, Oregon State, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Red River Shootout, Showdown, South Carolina, Spartans, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa, USC, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Glad I’m not him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Lucky guy: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Poor guy: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Norvell, Memphis
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Desperately seeking … anything: Gary Anderson, Oregon State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Maryland 62-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Clemson (defeated Wake Forest 28-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kansas (lost to Texas Tech 65-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to No. 2 Clemson 28-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tulane (defeated Tulsa 62-28)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Rice
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Oklahoma
Did the season start? Florida State
Can the season end? East Carolina
Can the season never end? Penn State
GAMES
Play this again: Michigan State 14, No. 7 Michigan 10
Play this again, too: Texas 40, Kansas State 34 (2OT)
This merits a second look, too: No. 8 TCU 31, No. 23 West Virginia 24
Never play this again: No. 10 Ohio State 62, Maryland 14
What? LSU 17, No. 21 Florida 16
Huh? No. 24 NC State 39, No. 17 Louisville 25
Are you kidding me?? Michigan State 14, No. 7 Michigan 10
Oh – my – God: Iowa State 38, No. 3 Oklahoma 31
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: No. 12 Oklahoma vs. Texas in the Red River Shootout
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: BYU @ Mississippi State
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 25 Navy @ Memphis
Upset alert: Georgia Tech @ No. 11 Miami also: Utah @ No. 13 USC
Must win: Oregon @ No. 23 Stanford
Offensive explosion: Texas Tech @ No. 23 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: No. 10 Auburn @ LSU
Great game no one is talking about: Florida State @ Duke
Intriguing coaching matchup: P.J. Fleck of Minnesota vs. Mark Dantonio of Michigan State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Missouri @ No. 4 Georgia
Why are they playing? Charlotte @ Western Kentucky
Plenty of good seats remaining: Miami (OH) @ Kent State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Old Dominion @ Marshall
Week 6 Random Thoughts:
These past couple of weeks, there were not that many upsets. This week made up for that in quality if not for quantity. Favored Louisville choked on the road at NC State. Unranked LSU beat the Gators, in the Swamp, and in a defensive struggle, by a single point. ACC cellar-dweller Syracuse beat respectable Pitt. To cap things off, unranked Michigan State defeated Michigan, in a dramatic 14-10 finish (wait, that’s still a thing in 2017?), in the Big House, no less. What a week.
South Carolina defeated Arkansas in a game that could have gone either way. The Gamecocks should enjoy the win while it lasts, because the remainder of their schedule is brutal. In order, they shall play: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Florida, Wofford (huh?), and close out the season at home versus Clemson. Aside from Wofford, the Gamecocks could lose every one of those games. Yes, that is to say that even Vandy is iffy since they beat Kansas State earlier this year.
Given how hyped Florida State was coming into the season, and the potential regard in which they are still held in the eyes of most fans, is it valid to consider No. 13 Miami’s win in Tallahassee an upset, or simply a comeuppance to an overrated team?
Texas might have turned a corner with a win in double-OT over Kansas State, a team never to be taken lightly and capable of running the tables on the northern schools – what few remain — in the Big XII. With this key win for the Horns coupled with Oklahoma’s embarrassing upset at home to Iowa State this week, it will make next week’s Red River Shootout Showdown all the more unpredictable.
Maryland has proven that they’re a decent team. Not great, but decent. Nevertheless, they came into Columbus, Ohio, and Ohio State demolished them, 62-14. Nothing like a body-bag game (in hindsight) for homecoming. All kidding aside, could it be that the Buckeyes have solved their identity crisis on offense? We’ll know for sure by the end of the month when they butt heads with Penn State.
Speaking of whom, Michigan will have ample opportunity for redemption for this week’s upset loss at home when they take on the Nittany Lions on Oct. 21. It only takes one loss on Penn State’s part for the Big Ten race to become very, very interesting.
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!
College Football Awards, Week 12 (2016) November 20, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Army, Baylor, Big XII, Bobby Petrino, BYU, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Clay Helton, college, Colorado, Cougars, Duke, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida State, football, Gary Patterson, Houston, Hurricanes, Iowa State, Jason Candle, Jim Harbaugh, Jim McElwain, Kansas, Kentucky, Kyle Whittingham, Longhorns, Louisville, LSU, Mark Helfrich, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, NCAA, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Rice, Rutgers, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas State, Toledo, Tom Herman, Trojans, Troy, UMass, Urban Meyer, Utah, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 12] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Tom Herman, Houston Hon. Mention: Jim McElwain, Florida
Glad I’m not him: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Lucky guy: Mark Helfrich, Oregon
Poor guy: Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jason Candle, Toledo
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking … anything: Charlie Strong, Texas
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: BYU (defeated UMass 51-9)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Ohio State (defeated Michigan State 17-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Syracuse (lost to No. 17 Florida State 45-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (defeated Texas 24-21)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Pittsburgh (defeated Duke 56-14)
Dang, they’re good: USC
Dang, they’re bad: Texas State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Louisville
Did the season start? TCU
Can the season end? Texas
Can the season never end? Florida
GAMES
Play this again: No. 12 Colorado 38, No. 20 Washington State 24
Play this again, too: No. 21 Florida 16, No. 16 LSU 10
Never play this again: Army 60, Morgan State 3
Close call: No. 3 Ohio State 17, Michigan State 16
What? Oregon 30, No. 11 Utah 28
Huh? No. 21 Florida 16, No. 16 LSU 10
Are you kidding me? Houston 36, No. 3 Louisville 10
Oh – my – God: Kansas 24, Texas 21 (OT)
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 12, pre-week 13))
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Michigan @ No. 2 Ohio State (game of the year?)
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Rice @ Stanford
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 18 Houston @ Memphis
Upset alert: No. 6 Washington @ No. 23 Washington State
Must win: No. 24 Tennessee @ Vanderbilt
Offensive explosion: No. 6 Washington @ No. 23 Washington State (Friday)
Defensive struggle: No. 13 Florida @ No. 15 Florida State
Great game no one is talking about: No. 21 Utah @ No. 9 Colorado also: Duke @ Miami (FL)
Intriguing coaching matchup: Urban Meyer of Ohio State vs Jim Harbaugh of Michigan
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kentucky @ No. 11 Louisville
Why are they playing? No. 19 West Virginia @ Iowa State
Plenty of good seats remaining, B1G Edition: Rutgers @ Maryland
They shoot horses, don’t they? Troy @ Texas State
Week 12 Take-aways:
The playoff picture is instantly minus one controversy with Louisville’s decisive, almost ignominious defeat on the road against a resurgent Houston squad. In hindsight, the quick turnaround time from Saturday night to Thursday night (from playing fundamentally-sound Wake Forest to the Cougars) was too insurmountable a task for even a formidable team like the Cardinals. Now with extra time to prepare for in-state rival Kentucky, the Cardinals can potentially end the season with a big win (provided they execute properly), and can still aim for a good New Year’s Day bowl game. Before the Playoffs came into being, when a team capped off their season in such a way, that feat was universally hailed as a success.
Meanwhile, Bobby Petrino could learn a thing or two from this defeat and from Florida’s win over favored LSU. For one, recruit better offensive linemen. Houston put real athletes on the defensive line against the Cardinals, and they made Lamar Jackson’s life difficult all night long. For another, recruit more marquee white players, as they will provide more consistency and better discipline to team play. If white defensive linemen can make sizeable contributions for a program such as formidable as Florida, sure they can do the same for Louisville. Obviously, too many whites leads to a deficit of team talent and athleticism. But conversely, an excessive imbalance of black players leads to a break-down in discipline and too inconsistent of a team effort. Think of black players as bricks and white players as mortar. You need both in order to build a strong wall that is your team.
November’s cruelty against Ole Miss sadly continues. As a reminder, they did start off the season ranked No. 11. Now, they just lost to Vanderbilt. Currently 5-6, they must win next week’s game – against in-state rival Mississippi State, no less — just to be bowl eligible.
It appears as though we are back to a version of Texas from earlier in the season, the one where the season was shot. Hindsight continues to change the more the season unfolds, but it remains 20-20 nonetheless. After losing to Oklahoma State unexpectedly, then to Oklahoma, then later to Kansas State, we had given up the Longhorns for dead. Moreover, we were certain that Charlie Strong had signed his own death warrant. Then suddenly, Texas handed Baylor its first loss of the season, and followed that up with a win on the road in a shootout against Texas Tech. Might Strong have righted the ship after all? No reasonable person could have said no, since they lost by only four points on the road to a dangerous West Virginia squad. But losing to Kansas (as in, 2-9* Kansas)? That is the last straw.
*Kansas was 1-9 (0-7 in the Big XII) before this week’s game.
Now at 5-6, the Longhorns face a TCU team that was humiliated at home by Oklahoma State, and will be out for redemption. Translation: bowl prospects remain bleak for the second year in a row. Regardless, major boosters have permanently soured on Charlie Strong, and after Tom Herman’s huge win over Louisville, they are, by that same token, calling for Herman to replace Strong. The writing on the wall could not be bolder or in bigger strokes.
On the west coast, USC may have gotten off to a rough start (namely getting their doors blown off by Alabama during the opening week), but few teams, if any, would want to face the Trojans now. Their win over Washington on the road last week was decisive and dominating. The eyeball test of how they line up against other teams shows that there are “men” on the Trojans’ side of the ball. Granted, Alabama would still beat them if the two played right now, but the score would not be so lopsided as it was week 1. Clay Helton deserves considerable credit for bringing about such an improvement in his team’s performance, though to be sure, his coaching staff talent remains, inexplicably, lackluster. Nevertheless, the record (three losses this year) might not show it, but USC is back.
College Football Week 10 Awards, 2016 November 7, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Boise State, Boston College, Bronco Mendenhall, BYU, Cal, California, Coastal, Dan Mullen, Duke, East, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Huskies, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa State, Jim Grobe, Jim McElwain, Kevin Sumlin, Kirk Herbstreit, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Maryland, Matt Rhule, Miami, Michigan State, Mike Riley, Mississippi State, Navy, NC State, Nebraska, Nick Saban, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Rutgers, San Jose State, SEC, South Carolina, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Urban Meyer, UTEP, Virginia, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Wolfpack
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN8Uyq5erGM
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Glad I’m not him: Mike Riley, Nebraska
Lucky guy: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Poor guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jim McElwain, Florida
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Rhule, Temple
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jim Grobe, Baylor
Desperately seeking … anything: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Boston College 52-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Boise State (defeated San Jose State 45-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Maryland (lost to No. 3 Michigan 59-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Iowa State (lost to No. 14 Oklahoma 34-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: TCU (defeated No. 17 Baylor 62-22)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Texas State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Texas A&M
Did the season start? Baylor
Can the season end? Notre Dame
Can the season never end? Louisville
GAMES
Play this again: No. 1 Alabama 10, No. 13 LSU 0
Play this again, too: Texas 45, Texas Tech 37
Never play this again: No. 25 Washington State 69, Arizona 7
Close call: No. 22 Florida State 24, NC State 20
What? Illinois 31, Michigan State 27
Huh? Navy 28, Notre Dame 27
Are you kidding me? TCU 62, No. 17 Baylor 22
Oh – my – God: Mississippi State 35, No. 4 Texas A&M 28.
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11))
Ticket to die for: No. 25 Baylor @ No. 9 Oklahoma
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Notre Dame vs. Army in San Antonio
Best non-Power Five matchup: Tulsa @ Navy
Upset alert: USC @ No. 4 Washington also: No. 19 LSU @ Arkansas
Must win: Kentucky @ Tennessee
Offensive explosion: Cal @ No. 23 Washington State
Defensive struggle: NC State @ Syracuse
Great game no one is talking about: No. 21 North Carolina @ Duke
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Richt of Miami vs. Bronco Mendenhall of Virginia
Who’s bringing the body bags? Maryland @ No. 6 Ohio State
Why are they playing? Southern Utah @ BYU
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ Florida Atlantic
They shoot horses, don’t they? Boston College @ No. 20 Florida State
Week 10 Take-aways:
Is Ohio State that good or is Nebraska that overrated? Or, is the answer the one preferred by Sterling Archer: A little of Column A and a little of Column B? Probably the third option. It’s never wise to bet against Urban Meyer, who has proven to be the best coach in the business over the past decade (though just a hair better than Nick Saban). But the Huskers have given fans in the stands and at home some great games through some great defensive efforts, and perhaps such efforts fooled the voters into thinking they were, hitherto, a No. 6 team. Still, the demotion all the way down to No. 21 seems a bit extreme, too.
The SEC East, this year, is frankly atrocious. Kentucky is always overhyped, South Carolina and Missouri are under-performing (the latter worse than the former), Florida just got shellacked on the road to enigmatic Arkansas, and Tennessee has developed into a collective head case of a team. Kirk Herbstreit expressed it best when he described the SEC Least as “awful,” and that they might as well cancel the SEC Championship game. That game would be a mere formality anyhow, since it has been shown that it’s Alabama followed by everyone else at this rate.
One of the overlooked tragedies this year is that Arizona’s season has already collapsed. Moreover, it seems as though they might now win another game this year (Colorado? Forget it. Oregon State? Not at this rate. Arizona State? Don’t count on it). Rich Rodriguez has put together some good seasons in Tucson, so this painful season has us all scratching our heads.
NC State has to be the best 4-5 team in the country. They defeated Notre Dame in absolutely hurricane-drenched slog. They almost beat Clemson, in Death Valley. They [mysteriously] narrowly lost to cagey Boston College. This weekend, they lost to Florida State by only four points. The Wolfpack’s subsequent opponents will put themselves in danger if they take this team lightly on account of their currently mediocre record. On that same note, Duke must be the best 3-6 team in the country. They are well-coached and will always give you a tough fight. Ask Louisville for reference.
Virginia Tech now controls its own destiny, at least as far as the ACC Coastal division is concerned. Assuming they seize the opportunity of control by winning out (which is doable), they could muster a more-than-credible challenge for seemingly unstoppable Clemson. Such a match-up remains a pleasing prospect indeed!
Once again, we are left to ask ourselves, what are we to make of Texas? Just a couple of weeks ago, the Horns looked completely hopeless against Kansas State. Then, just a week later, they handed Baylor their first loss of the season. This week, they went on the road and bested an evenly-matched (record-wise) Texas Tech squad. Lest we start to think the Horns are turning things around, they do play No. 20 West Virginia next week, and end the season against a TCU team that flat out embarrassed Baylor on the road this week. Translation: much remains to be seen, and a 6-6 record still seems to be the likely outcome.
Much ado has arisen in the wake of the Playoff Committee releasing their first set of rankings. Not the least of the controversies was No. 4 Washington (No. 4, that is the in the AP Poll) being demoted to No. 7 in the Playoff rankings. “How can this be,” ask many observers. Simple: Washington’s dirty little secret is that they’re still rebuilding, and part of the rebuilding process has been a very weak out-of-conference schedule. Let’s face it: a non-conference slate of Rutgers, Idaho, and Portland State is pretty darn pathetic. If you dial up wins with body-bag games like this, you have no right to complain when your rankings suffer as a result when they count the most. Many other contenders have played tough out-of-conference games this year. If the Huskies truly want to be counted among the big boy contenders, they will have to do the same.
College Football Week 2 Awards (2016) September 12, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Bob Stoops, Brett Bielema, Brian Kelly, BYU, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Darrell Hazell, Florida, Florida State, football, Gamecocks, Gary Patterson, Iowa State, Kalani Sitake, Kent State, Kentucky, Kyle Whittingham, Louisville, Mark Dantonio, Mark Stoops, Michigan, Michigan State, NCAA, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, SEC, South Carolina, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, USC, USF, Utah, Virginia Tech, Wildcats, Will Muschamp, Willie Taggert, Wisconsin, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 2] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Glad I’m not him: Kalani Sitake, BYU
Lucky guy: Brett Bielema, Arkansas
Poor guy: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Willie Taggert, South Florida
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Desperately seeking … anything: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 3 Florida State (defeated Charleston Southern 52-8)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 2 Clemson (defeated Troy 30-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Akron (lost to No. 10 Wisconsin 54-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Nicholls (lost to Georgia 26-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Nebraska (defeated Wyoming 52-17)
Dang, they’re good: Michigan
Dang, they’re bad: Kentucky
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Oklahoma State
Did the season start? Northwestern
Can the season end? Miami, OH
Can the season never end? Wisconsin
GAMES
Play this again: Arkansas 41, No. 15 TCU 38
Play this again, too: Utah 20, BYU 19
Honorable Mention to play again: South Carolina 13, Vanderbilt 10
Never play this again: No. 20 Texas A&M 67, Prairie View A&M 0
What? East Carolina 33, N.C. State 30
Huh? Arkansas 41, No. 15 TCU 38
Are you kidding me? Illinois State 9, Northwestern 7
Oh – my – God: Central Michigan 30, No. 22 Oklahoma State 27
Told you so: Arizona State 68, Texas Tech 55
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 2, pre-week 3)
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Florida State @ No. 10 Louisville
Also: No. 3 Ohio State @ No. 14 Oklahoma
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: UCLA @ BYU
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 6 Houston @ Cincinnati (Thurs.)
Upset alert: Auburn @ No. 17 Texas A&M
Must win: Iowa State @ TCU
Offensive explosion: No. 22 Oregon @ Nebraska
Defensive struggle: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 19 Ole Miss
Great game no one is talking about: Pitt @ Oklahoma State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Dantonio of Michigan State vs. Brian Kelly of Notre Dame
Who’s bringing the body bags? South Carolina State @ No. 3 Clemson
Why are they playing? Ohio U @ No. 15 Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Monmouth @ Kent State
They shoot horses, don’t they? Georgia State @ No. 9 Wisconsin
Week 2 Take-aways:
After such a spectacular opening week in college football the previous Saturday and surrounding days, this weekend was a considerable let-down. The noon timeslots were mediocre, save for the decent matchup of Penn State vs. Pitt. The 3:30 timeslots were positively atrocious, where the best game was arguably Kentucky vs. Florida, and that game turned out to be a 45-7 blowout in favor of the Gators. All the good games were crammed together in the evening, where I found myself wearing out my TV’s remote by switching around to the games of Arkansas @ TCU, Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech (at the Bristol, Tenn. Motor Speedway), BYU @ Utah, and occasionally South Carolina @ Mississippi State.
After this mediocre lineup of games for this week, one thing that has festered for a while has become even more clear. Two teams that continue to suck with overpaid coaches who are out of their depth are both Darrell Hazell of Purdue and Mark Stoops of Kentucky. The latter is another case, apparently, of where the only Stoops brother who has the skill set to be a legit head coach at the big boy level is Bob, not brother Mark. We might recall that the other brother, Mike, flamed out at Arizona. Concerning brother Mark, who apparently has had all these great recruiting classes while at UK, lost to lowly Southern Miss last week and this week was demolished by a recovering Florida, 45-7. His predecessor, Joker Philips, went 13-24 (4-20 SEC) after three seasons. Stoops is currently 12-26 (4-21 SEC) after the second game in his fourth season of tenure at UK. The Kentucky faithful would do well to ask themselves: is this progress?
The former had only one good year at a middling MAC program (Kent State), and the powers that be at Purdue were suckered in by this limited success to offer him the Purdue job, paying him $2.2 Million annually, or about $1 Million more than his predecessor, Coach Danny Hope. Hazell is thus far 7-30 since the 2013 season at Purdue, while Coach Hope went 22-27 in four seasons there. Doing that math, that amounts to paying an addition $4 Million for 15 fewer wins. For an athletics department that ostensibly prides itself on operating in the black, those numbers simply do not add up. Moreover, it makes one wonder how much better Hope would have performed had he been given those extra resources that Hazell currently enjoys (meager as they still are compared to true big boy programs).
Meanwhile, on a totally unrelated note, Mississippi State gave the impression that they have righted the ship after their embarrassing upset at home last week to South Alabama. They defeated South Carolina this week, 27-14. Conversely, the loss on the part of the Gamecocks’ gives those who doubt the wisdom of the hire of head coach Will Muschamp further credibility.
All this aside, there are some outstanding matchups awaiting us this upcoming weekend, namely:
Michigan State @ Notre Dame; Texas A&M @ Auburn; Pittsburgh @ Oklahoma State; Oregon @ Nebraska; Alabama @ Ole Miss; UCLA @ BYU; Houston @ Cincinnati (Thurs. evening); USC @ Stanford; Ohio State @ Oklahoma; and of course, Florida State @ Louisville, which could potentially be the best game of the year thus far. I for one am already chomping at the bit, especially for the latter game!
College Football Week 9 Awards November 2, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: 1982, Al Golden, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Bears, Bobby Petrino, Bulldogs, BYU, California, Central Florida, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Gus Malzahn, Hawaii, Houston, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Jim McElwain, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Mark Helfrich, Mark Richt, Memphis, Miami, Mike Leach, Mike Riley, Navy, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, San Jose State, South Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Todd Graham, UCF, UNLV, Utah, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington, Washington State, Western Kentucky
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One of a few missed calls during the hap-hazard, yet incredible, 8-lateral kickoff return finish my Miami in yesterday’s game. Paging Cal-Stanford 1982: you now have competition.
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 9] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jim McElwain, Florida
Glad I’m not him: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Lucky guy: Mark Helfrich, Oregon
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Brohm, Western Kentucky
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Charlie Strong, Texas
Desperately seeking … anything: Mike Riley, Nebraska
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oklahoma (defeated Kansas 62-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas A&M (defeated South Carolina 35-28)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Vanderbilt (lost to No. 18 Houston 34-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Purdue (see below)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tennessee (defeated Kentucky 52-21)
Dang, they’re good: Florida
Dang, they’re bad: UMass
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Pitt
Did the season start? Arizona
Can the season end? UCF
Can the season never end? Houston
GAMES
Play this again: No. 9 Notre Dame 24, No. 21 Temple 20
Play this again, too: Oregon 61, Arizona State 55 (3OT)
Never play this again: Arkansas 63, UT-Martin 28
What? North Carolina 26, No. 23 Pittsburgh 19
Huh? Miami 30, No. 22 Duke 27
Are you kidding me? Purdue 55, Nebraska 45
Oh – my – God: Iowa State 24, Texas 0
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 9, pre-week 10)
Ticket to die for: No. 4 LSU @ No. 7 Alabama
Also: No. 5 TCU @ No. 12 Oklahoma State
Make it a Trifecta: No. 17 Florida State @ No. 3 Clemson
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Navy @ No. 16 Memphis
Upset alert: No. 13 Utah @ Washington
Must win: Duke @ No. 21 North Carolina
Offensive explosion: Cincinnati @ No. 18 Houston (also TCU @ OKST)
Defensive struggle: Syracuse @ Louisville
Great game no one is talking about: Penn State @ Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Todd Graham of ASU vs. Mike Leach of WSU
Who’s bringing the body bags? Vanderbilt @ No. 11 Florida
Why are they playing? BYU @ San Jose State (Friday)
Plenty of good seats remaining: Hawaii @ UNLV
They shoot horses, don’t they? Kansas @ Texas
Week 9 Take-aways:
First it was Michigan State’s blocked punt that they recovered and ran back for a score with 0:00 left on the clock to beat rival Michigan in the Big House (they were behind prior to said score). Last week was followed up by Georgia Tech’s fantastic finish, whereby they blocked a Florida State field goal attempt at home, ran it back for a score and thus broke the tie as time expired. This week, the Miami Hurricanes – fresh from both a devastating home loss to Clemson and the subsequent firing of head coach Al Golden – made an eight-lateral play on a kickoff return that harkens directly back to Cal-Stanford 1982, for the game-winning touchdown, over then-ranked Duke, on the road. Three weeks in a row, three fantastic, historic finishes.
Well, sort of. There were tons of blown calls on that play, including an illegal block in the back (or two), and at one point, one of the lateralling players for Miami had his knee already down before he tossed the ball sideways. The overlooked calls were so blatant that the ACC suspended the officiating crew the following day. Could it be that the game result itself be overturned? We shall all have to stay tuned.
Bobby Petrino must be beside himself. Despite his able coaching, his players made mistake after mistake on the road against Wake Forest. Yet somehow they managed to barely win. Despite consecutive wins, this performance is not a sustainable path. Something must be done for the team to improve so as to win sustainably. An infusion of discipline would be both a quick and effective remedy.
Poor Mark Richt. Despite all the success he has had at Georgia, he just cannot get over the hump. A statistic during the debacle of a game against Florida (the Gators thumped the rival Bulldogs 27-3 at this year’s World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville) showed that Richt is 5-15 against ranked opponents during his tenure at UGA. Moreover, he is 5-9 against Florida, despite being 141-51 overall. The first stat alone indicates that he has peaked during his tenure at Georgia, that he has gone as far as he can with that program. Some new, dynamic blood in Athens, Ga., would perhaps finally help get the Bulldogs to consistent dominance of the SEC East, while Miami, Richt’s alma mater, has a head coach opening just waiting for a rock-solid fellow such as he. If such a scenario were to play out, it could benefit both parties concerned, the latter particularly, with a fresh start.
What on Earth has happened to Arizona? Early in the season, we anticipated they would be a factor in the Pac-12. Last night, they embarrassed themselves on the road at Washington, after coughing up the game to Wazzu the previous week. The Wildcats will not have much time to lick their wounds, either, as next week they take on USC, followed by Utah the week after, and the week after that they close the regular season against rival Arizona State, possibly with a 5-7 at this rate (they are current 5-4, and 2-4 in the conference).
College Football Week 7 Awards October 20, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Auburn, Bob Stoops, Boise State, Boston College, Bowling Green, BYU, Cal, Duke, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Florida, George O'Leary, Houston, Hugh Freeze, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa State, Jim Harbaugh, Jim Mora, Kansas State, Kliff Kingsbury, Les Miles, Louisiana-Monroe, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Texas, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Toledo, Tom Herman, UCF, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Western Kentucky, Wyoming
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Just when we all had left Michigan State for dead, the most consequential blocked punt in recent memory happened. The Wolverine’s punter never had a chance, but bully for the Spartan returner! Photo by Dale G. Young, AP
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 7] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Les Miles, LSU
Glad I’m not him: Jim Mora, UCLA
Lucky guy: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Poor guy: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Tom Herman, Houston
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking … anything: George O’Leary, UCF
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Western Kentucky (defeated North Texas 55-28)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: TCU (defeated Iowa State 45-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Eastern Michigan (lost to No. 22 Toledo 63-20)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Iowa State (lost to No. 3 TCU 45-21)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Bowling Green (defeated Akron 59-10)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Vanderbilt
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Ole Miss
Did the season start? Auburn
Can the season end? UCF
Can the season never end? Memphis
GAMES Play this again: No. 7 Michigan State 27, No. 12 Michigan 23
Play this again, too: No. 6 LSU 35, No. 8 Florida 28
Never play this again: No. 19 Oklahoma 55, Kansas State 0
What? Nebraska 48, Minnesota 25
Huh? Rutgers 55, Indiana 52, OT
Are you kidding me? No. 10 Alabama 41, No. 9 Texas A&M 23
Oh – my – God: Memphis 37, No. 13 Ole Miss 24
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: Tennessee @ No. 8 Alabama
Also: No. 15 Texas A&M @ No. 23 Ole Miss
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Western Kentucky @ No. 5 LSU
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 22 Temple @ East Carolina
Upset alert: No. 23 Duke @ Virginia Tech
Must win: Kansas State @ Texas
Offensive explosion: No. 20 Cal @ UCLA
Defensive struggle: Missouri @ Vanderbilt
Great game no one is talking about: Boston College @ Louisville
Intriguing coaching matchup: Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech vs. Bob Stoops of Oklahoma
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kansas @ No. 14 Oklahoma State
Why are they playing? Wagner @ BYU
Plenty of good seats remaining: Troy @ New Mexico State
They shoot horses, don’t they? Troy @ Mississippi State
Week 7 Take-aways:
Here are some quick, bottom-line thoughts. Ohio State wore the weirdest, most out-of-the-ordinary uniforms in the history of their storied program when they took down Penn State. Check it out. USC put up a great fight at Notre Dame, but sadly came up short. LSU and Florida slugged it out for a great game Saturday evening in Death Valley. Ironically, the go-ahead touchdown was scored by LSU’s kicker, a positive that he shall no doubt take to his grave, and deservedly so. Meanwhile, Michigan State’s last-second win over Michigan – in the Big House, no less – will be one for the ages as well. Auburn has their “Kick-Six,” so it will be interesting to see what sort of moniker will soon be attached to the Spartans’ blocking of Michigan’s punt attempt, then running it back for the go-ahead score as time expired. Classic.
College Football Awards Week 6 October 13, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Uncategorized.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Ball State, Baylor, Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Cotton Bowl, Crimson Tide, David Shaw, Florida, Gary Patterson, Georgia, Georgia State, Horned Frogs, Hurricanes, Iowa, Iowa State, Jim Harbaugh, Jim Mora, Kansas, Kansas State, Kyle Whittingham, Longhorns, Mark Richt, Matt Campbell, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Razorbacks, Red River rivalry, Red River Shootout, Red River Showdown, Sooners, South Carolina, Stanford, Steve Sarkesian, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo, Trojans, Troy, UCLA, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Vols, Wildcats, Wolverines
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Texas head coach Charlie Strong celebrates with his team after their incredible upset over rival Oklahoma. Judging by the photo, it seems as though he might have won back the locker room. Photo from the Dallas Morning News.
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Glad I’m not him: Steve Sarkesian, USC
Lucky guy: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Campbell of Toledo
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Desperately seeking … anything: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Baylor (defeated Kansas 66-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oklahoma (see below)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Troy (lost to Mississippi State 45-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Texas (see below)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Michigan (see below)
Dang, they’re good: Baylor
Dang, they’re bad: Miami, Ohio
Can’t Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? Miami, Fla.
Can the season end? South Carolina
Can the season never end? Utah
GAMES
Play this again: Texas 24, No. 10 Oklahoma 17
Play this again, too: Tennessee 38, No. 19 Georgia 31
Never play this again: No. 3 Baylor 66, Kansas 7
What? No. 18 Michigan 38, No. 13 Northwestern 0
Huh? Washington 17, No. 17 USC 12
Are you kidding me? Tennessee 38, No. 19 Georgia 31
Oh – my – God: Texas 24, No. 10 Oklahoma 17
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: No. 7 Michigan State @ No. 12 Michigan
Also: No. 10 Alabama @ No. 9 Texas A&M
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: No. 13 Ole Miss @ Memphis
Best non-Power Five matchup: Akron @ Bowling Green
Upset alert: Louisville @ No. 11 Florida State
Must win: USC @ No. 14 Notre Dame
Offensive explosion: West Virginia @ No. 2 Baylor
Defensive struggle: Vanderbilt @ South Carolina
Great game no one is talking about: No. 17 Iowa @ No. 20 Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Mora of UCLA vs David Shaw of Stanford
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 3 TCU @ Iowa State
Why are they playing? Louisiana Tech @ Mississippi State
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia State @ Ball State
They shoot horses, don’t they? Troy @ Mississippi State
Week 5 Take-aways:
What a weekend of upsets and near-upsets. One obvious near-miss: Gary Patterson’s TCU almost got upset on the road to Bill Snyder’s Kansas State. You just know that the old man was not going to roll over for the vaunted Horned Frogs. In the end, the near-miss cost the Frogs one spot in the rankings, as they are down to No. 3 from the No. 2 spot.
Similarly, Alabama took a while to get going at home against Arkansas. Eventually the Tide decided to start playing football, but they were down to the under-performing Hogs for too long of a time in regulation to be taken seriously as a contending team.
Now the upsets: we all knew that Northwestern was a legitimate team. Most of us thought that the Wildcats playing the Michigan Wolverines would be the game of the week. That turned out, in the end, not to be the case. Jim Harbaugh seems to be building the Wolverrines to become stronger by the week.
Then there was the upset of the USC Trojans, at home, against Chris Petersen’s scrappy Washington Huskies. We were all hoping for a good game, but certainly did not foresee the the embarrassment at home for the Men of Troy – though the subsequent news of Steve Sarkesian’s major alcohol problem certainly explains USC’s volatile performance this season. Let us all wish a complete, sober recover for Sark as he embarks on a rehab program.
Or what about Tennessee? The poor Vols were unable to “close the deal,” blowing leads to both Oklahoma and to Florida, leading to heartbreaking losses in so doing. This time around, however, they had to play from behind, and upset the heavily-favored Georgia Bulldogs in so doing. So much for Georgia’s national championship hopes this year.
But let us not fool ourselves. The biggest upset of the week came in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. All of us, even the team’s fans, had given the Texas Longhorns up for dead, especially after the devastating loss to TCU the previous week. Coach Charlie Strong seemed to have lost the locker room, and he was strategically flailing in terms of not having an offensive or defensive identity.
Perhaps the rival Oklahoma Sooners were just naïve enough to take the bait. The Horns looked like an entirely different team this past Saturday than they did for the entire season leading up to this fateful day. Texas drew first blood late in the first quarter, and, mirabile dictu, did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game. Moreover, Strong somehow regained his identity, effectively playing a run-oriented, ball-control offense that left OU’s defense sucking wind by late in the 4th quarter. It was just enough to hold on and to upset their heavily-favored rival. It also likely saved Coach Strong’s bacon for the rest of the year. Hook ‘em!
College Football Week 14 Awards November 30, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Art Briles, Baylor, Bill Snyder, Bobby Petrino, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colin Cowherd, Colorado, Dave Doeren, East Carolina, Florida, Florida State, Fresno State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Iowa State, Jim Mora, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Mark Richt, Marshall, Mississippi State, Missouri, N.C. State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Paul Johnson, Rebels, Rice, Rich Rodriguez, SMU, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Temple, Tulane, UCF, UCLA, UConn, USC, Utah, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 14] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Rich Rodriquez, Arizona
Glad I’m not him: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Lucky guy: Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Dave Doeren, N.C. State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jim Mora, UCLA
Desperately seeking … anything: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Kansas State (defeated Kansas 51–13)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Utah (defeated Colorado 38–34)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Notre Dame (lost to USC 49–14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kentucky (lost to Louisville 44–40)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: N.C. State (defeated North Carolina 35–7)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: South Florida
You know, they’re not so bad: Georgia Tech
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Mississippi State
Did the season start? South Carolina
Can the season end? Notre Dame
Can the season never end? Arizona
GAMES
Play this again: No. 11 Arizona 42, No. 13 Arizona State 35
Play this again, too: No. 22 Louisville 44, Kentucky 40
Never play this again: Louisiana Tech 76, Rice 31
What? Western Kentucky 67, No. 24 Marshall 66,OT
Huh? No. 16 Georgia Tech 30, No. 9 Georgia 24
Are you kidding me? Stanford 31, No. 9 UCLA 10
Oh – my – God: No. 19 Ole Miss 31, No. 4 Mississippi State 17
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 14, pre-week 15)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 17 Missouri
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: None
Best non-Power Five matchup: UCF @ East Carolina
Upset alert: No. 12 Kansas State @ No. 7 Baylor
Must win: No. 14 Wisconsin vs. No. 6 Ohio State
Offensive explosion: No. 11 Arizona vs. No. 2 Oregon
Defensive struggle: Temple @ Tulane
Great game no one is talking about: Oklahoma State @ No. 20 Oklahoma
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bill Snyder of Kansas State vs. Art Briles of Baylor
Who’s bringing the body bags? Iowa State @ No. 5 TCU
Why are they playing? Fresno State @ No. 23 Boise State
Plenty of good seats remaining: SMU @ UConn
They shoot horses, don’t they? Houston @ Cincinnati
Week 14 Random Thoughts:
As Colin Cowherd so wisely predicted, the landscape of college football has been seriously altered after this, the rivalry week. Start with Ohio State losing their second quarterback to injury. Already on the outside looking in to the playoff picture, at No. 6 and with a third–string QB, it is unlikely they will have the credibility to be let into the top four of the playoff, even if they beat a coming–on–strong Wisconsin.
South Carolina was already a team that we know what they were this month: a team that blows 4th-quarter leads (notwithstanding beating Florida at game’s end a couple of weeks ago). Such a tendency has already ruined their season. Such ruination was given an exclamation point when they laid down and died to in–state rival Clemson. “I the guys, 6–6 might be what we are,” he sighed in the post–game press conference. Let us hope this is not the last we have seen of the Ol’ Ball Coach, and that he has an opportunity to go out on a high note (along with a better record) next season.
Of course, nothing has altered the current college football picture like Mississippi State losing ignominiously to their arch–rival Ole Miss. All they had to do was beat the Rebels –– a tall order, to be sure –– and they would likely have secured a coveted spot into the top four playoff picture. Not anymore, in all likelihood, and more the pity.
Meanwhile, chippy UCLA had a golden opportunity –– wink –– to play for the Pac–12 title as the south division representative against Oregon. All that was before they dropped the ball to an apparently resurgent Stanford, thus giving the south division championship berth to Arizona instead. Hello, offensive explosion!
My prognostication for the final four playoffs? Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and TCU –– if these shadows remain unchanged, which, at this rate, they will not.
intellectualgridiron 