College Football Awards, Week 5 (2018) September 30, 2018
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Army, Bobby Petrino, Bowling Green, Cal, California, Chris Ash, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado State, Duke, FIU, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Illinois, Jeff Monken, Jim Harbaugh, Justin Wilcox, Kansas State, Kevin Sumlin, Larry Fedora, liberty, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Navy, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nittany Lions, North Carolina, North Texas, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Pat Fitzgerald, Penn State, Red River Shootout, Rice, Rutgers, San Jose State, Scott Frost, South Alabama, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Tulane, Urban Meyer, UTEP, Virginia Tech
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: Larry Fedora, North Carolina
Lucky guy: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Poor guy: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville (held over for second week!)
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Monken, Army
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Scott Frost, Nebraska
Desperately seeking … anything: Chris Ash, Rutgers
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Alabama (defeated Louisiana 56-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Georgia (defeated Tennessee 38-12)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Bowling Green (lost to Georgia Tech 63-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Syracuse (lost to Clemson 27-23)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Miami (North Carolina 47-10)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: South Alabama
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Duke
Did the season start? Louisville
Can the season end? Rice
Can the season never end? Notre Dame
GAMES
Play this again: No. 4 Ohio State 27, No. 10 Penn State 26
Never play this again: FIU 55, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 9
What? Liberty 52, New Mexico 43
Huh? Florida 13, No. 23 Mississippi State 6
Are you kidding me?? Virginia Tech 31, No. 22 Duke 14
Oh – my – God: No. 8 Notre Dame 38, No. 7 Stanford 17
NEXT WEEK
Rankings are current AP (week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 18 Texas vs. No. 6 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout (Dallas)
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Louisiana-Monroe @ Ole Miss
Best non-Power Five matchup: SMU @ UCF
Upset alert: No. 8 Notre Dame @ Virginia Tech
Must win: Georgia Tech @ Louisville
Offensive explosion: (inconclusive)
Defensive struggle: Navy @ Air Force
Great game no one is talking about: Tulane @ Cincinnati
Intriguing coaching matchup: Justin Wilcox of Cal vs. Kevin Sumlin of Arizona
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 1 Alabama @ Arkansas
Why are they playing? North Texas @ UTEP
Plenty of good seats remaining: Colorado State @ San Jose State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Illinois @ Rutgers
Week 5 Thoughts:
This week was one of the most important of the year for this college football season. Although there were few upsets, and ever fewer of consequence (despite some close calls – looking your way, Michigan and Ohio State), there were still two games of enormous importance.
Let us start with the biggest game of the week, which was Ohio State playing Penn State in Happy Valley. With a “white-out” at night filling the 107,000-seat stadium, the Nittany Lions played above their No. 10 ranking, almost defeating No. 4 Ohio State. Almost. In the end, both teams played up to their high potential, and the slightly-better team on paper turned out to be the slightly better team on the field of play. The obvious national championship implications of the matchup and outcome is only part of the importance of this game, which shall be explained in further depth in a subsequent article.
The other game of enormous consequence was Stanford at Notre Dame. This was another top ten matchup with both teams outside of the South, with the victor having further potential to advance in the rankings. As wonderful as the southern teams are, having a healthy amount of top-ten (or even top-15) teams outside of the Southeast region is good for football because it makes the sport more national and less regional. This importance shall also be explained further in an article that shall be forthcoming soon.
Oh, and don’t look now, but Texas is on a four-game win streak, and survived a trap game at Kansas State headed into the Red River Shootout, er, Showdown come Oct. 6.
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.
Intriguing Games for Week 11 (2016) November 9, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Aggies, Alabama, Army, Baylor, college football, Duke, Florida, Gamecocks, Gators, Gene Chizik, Kansas, Kentucky, Larry Fedora, Longhorns, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NCAA, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, SEC, South Carolina, Tarheels, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tulsa, USC, Vols, Volunteers, Washington, West Virginia
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Lest we forget, the Duke – North Carolina rivalry is not merely confined to the hardwood.
No. 21 North Carolina @ Duke (Thurs., Nov. 10: ESPN)
The Tarheels under head coach Larry Fedora and defensive coordinator Gene Chizik have proven to be a very efficient team. Duke, despite being only 3-6, has always been a tough out this year (see: Louisville, week 7). Factor in the close geographic proximity and the traditional rivalry between the two, and you have yourself a very, very interesting game.
(All other games are on Saturday, Nov. 12)
No. 25 Baylor @ No. 9 Oklahoma (Noon EST, ABC/ESPN 2)
The intrigue of this game is the background. Baylor has been in a weird, two-game free-fall. They were undefeated until last month, where they unexpectedly lost to a mediocre Texas Longhorns team, and thus knocked themselves out of playoff contention. Then, the following week at home, they lost horribly (a 62-22 kind of horribly) to a TCU team that seems to finally have found a pulse.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma has quietly crawled their way back into the top ten. This will be a great game if Baylor gets out of its funk and plays up to its Top Ten potential.
South Carolina @ No. 22 Florida (Noon EST; CBS)
Earlier in the season, this game looked like it would be a snoozer, what with an underperforming South Carolina team losing to both Kentucky and Mississippi State. Florida, meanwhile, had gradually improved to the point where they were No. 11 as of last week.
The trends now appear to be different. The Gators were embarrassed on the road against unranked Arkansas last week, 31-10. Their current problem seems to be a lack of identity on offense. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks have gradually improved, first with an upset win over Tennessee, and last week with a confidence-boosting win over Missouri. If these trends continue, this game will be evenly-matched, thus very competitive.
Kentucky @ Tennessee (Noon EST; SEC Network)
Remember when the Vols were supposed to vie for the playoffs? That ended when they blew it at Texas A&M. After not playing with sufficient urgency for an entire game, the whole play-from-behind drama caused Tennessee to come up short against the Aggies. The next week was Tennessee’s turn in the conference to get drubbed by seemingly invincible Alabama.
Perhaps the heartbreaking loss followed by the aforementioned drubbing took something out of them, because they then laid an egg on the road at South Carolina, thus knocking them out of the rankings.
After leading the SEC East, those three losses made it anyone’s division – even Kentucky, who also has three losses in the conference. Let that sink in for a moment. Therefore, this game will help clarify the SEC East race. Let that sink in as well.
No. 11 West Virginia @ Texas (Noon EST; FS1)
West Virginia was undefeated before suddenly losing to Oklahoma State two weeks ago. Last week’s win against Kansas was a given, ergo proves nothing. Meanwhile, Texas has two consecutive upsets under its belt, first against heretofore unbeaten Baylor, next against Texas Tech. Could the Longhorns score a third consecutive upset? We’ll find out on Nov. 12.
Tulsa @ Navy (Noon EST; CBSSN)
Here me out. Tulsa is 7-2, leading the AAC West. Navy is 6-2, has been in and out of the rankings, and tied with Memphis for first in the AAC West division. Enough said.
Army @ Notre Dame (3:30 EST; NBC)
Army is currently 5-4. Notre Dame is in relative free-fall at 3-6, and possibly still smarting from a loss to Navy last week. One more win, and the Black Knights are bowl-eligible for only the third time since 1996 and the fourth time since 1988. Could an underperforming Irish squad be that last win Army needs to make to the post-season?
If it is, Notre Dame’s season is worse than over, as their next two games are against No. 18 Virginia Tech, and a suddenly-strong USC. Talk about a must-win for both teams!
USC @ No. 4 Washington (6:30 EST; FOX)
Washington is not a juggernaut team, but they are still very good (their undefeated season is padded with three out-of-conference body bag games). USC started the season with some sputters, but has played very strongly as of late. The opportunity is thus ripe for an upset (or, at least near-upset) in Seattle this Saturday evening.
College Football Week 6 Awards 2016 October 9, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, B1G, Baylor, Big Ten, Bret Bielema, BYU, Charlie Strong, Charlotte, college, Darrell Hazell, Florida, Florida International, Florida State, football, Houston, Hugh Freeze, Hurricanes, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Ken Niumatalolo, Kevin Sumlin, Larry Fedora, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Lovie Smith, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Navy, NC State, NCAA, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Purdue, Red River Shootout, Rutgers, Stanford, Tarheels, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tom Herman, UMass, USC, UTEP, Virginia Tech, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Glad I’m not him: Charlie Strong, Texas
Lucky guy: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
Poor guy: Lovie Smith, Illinois
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Tom Herman, Houston
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Ken Niumatalolo, Navy
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Larry Fedora, North Carolina
Desperately seeking … anything: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Michigan (defeated Rutgers 78-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: TCU (defeated Kansas 24-23)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Rutgers (see above)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (see above)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Auburn (defeated Mississippi State 38-14)
Dang, they’re good: Washington
Dang, they’re bad: Rutgers
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Houston
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? UTEP
Can the season never end? Texas A&M
GAMES
Play this again: No. 8 Texas A&M 45, No. 9 Tennessee 38
Play this again, too: No. 23 Florida State 20, No. 10 Miami 19
Never play this again: No. 4 Michigan 78, Rutgers 0
Close call: TCU 24, Kansas 23
What? BYU 31, Michigan State 14
Huh? No. 23 Florida State 20, No. 10 Miami 19
Double-Huh? Washington State 42, No. 15 Stanford 16
Are you kidding me? No. 25 Virginia Tech 34, No. 17 North Carolina, 3
Oh – my – God: Navy 46, No. 6 Houston 40
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP, week 6 rankings until further notice)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 9 Tennessee
Also: No. 2 Ohio State @ No. 11 Wisconsin
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Mississippi State @ BYU
Best non-Power Five matchup: Navy @ East Carolina
Upset alert: Kansas State @ No. 20 Oklahoma
Must win: No. 17 North Carolina @ No. 10 Miami also: Stanford @ Notre Dame
Offensive explosion: UCLA @ Washington State
Defensive struggle: Northwestern @ Michigan State
Great game no one is talking about: USC @ Arizona
Intriguing coaching matchup: Hugh Freeze of Ole Miss vs. Bret Bielema of Arkansas
Also: Larry Fedora of North Carolina vs. Mark Richt of Miami (FL)
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kansas @ No. 13 Baylor
Why are they playing? Lafayette @ Army
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida International @ Charlotte
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Louisiana Tech @ UMass
Week 6 Take-aways:
Nothing like the remnants of a hurricane to throw game plans out of whack. In September of 2002, for example, the remnants of a tropical storm descended on Louisville, and a Thursday night game between an unranked Cardinals team and No. 5-ranked Florida State became one to remember. The rain seemed to level the playing field to the point where the underdog Cardinals upset the highly-favored Seminoles in overtime.
This time, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc with records and schedules alike. In the case of the LSU @ Florida game, it has been postponed with no make-up date set as of now. The Georgia @ South Carolina was postponed for just one day. In the state of North Carolina, both games played as scheduled, and with surprising results. The NC State Wolfpack help visiting Notre Dame to just three points (!), allowing their only 10 points to prevail in the game. In nearby Chapel Hill, the No. 17 Tarheels were also held to three points, while the No. 25 Virginia Tech Hokies nevertheless managed to score 34 in the downpour.
Meanwhile, with Texas, it was the same result, different day, this time to their most bitter rival in Oklahoma. The game was high-scoring, 45-40, showing once again that the Longhorns’ defensive issues have yet to be resolved. Indeed, Texas had given up a total of 620 yards (!) of offense in that game. The hotseat upon which Charlie Strong has found himself has just gotten even hotter.
Where has Michigan State’s offense gone? First they score only six points in a debacle against Wisconsin, then they lose on the road to lowly Indiana. Now, they managed to score only two touchdowns at home against BYU. Mark Dantonio seemed to have the program rolling, what with a playoff berth last year. After a team like that, surely some rebuilding would have been in order, to be sure, but this? All of us are left scratching our heads.
Don’t look now, but Stanford is in free-fall. What I surmise is that injuries have taken their toll. Unlike other major programs, Stanford lacks the depth of talent in their back-ups that other teams would take for granted. This is the proverbial gap in the armor of a school where academics are taken as seriously as they are with the Cardinal. Might it stand to reason that Notre Dame secretly suffers from the same handicap?
Meanwhile, the Toilet Bowl, B1G edition, is fast upon us next week when Rutgers and Illinois butt heads. How it works with these bottom-of-the barrel matchups is that the loser is branded with the ignominy of being the worst team in the conference for this year. The winners consolation is that they can point at said loser and say, “See? At least we’re not as bad as those guys.” Be quiet, Illinois: you have no right to complain about this designation. You lost to Purdue.
As things now stand, Washington is in the driver’s seat for the Pac-12 North, and Tennessee’s loss to Texas A&M could potentially complicate things in the SEC East. Meanwhile, Louisville’s strength of schedule could potentially be compromised with Houston’s unexpected loss to Navy. That said, their big win over Florida State remains of considerable quality with their upset win over host Miami. Perhaps these two upsets might cancel each other out in that arcane regard. We shall see, as the stakes increase as the new month of October progresses.
2015-2016 Bowl Games Preview December 15, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Appalachian State, Art Briles, Baylor, Boca Raton, Camelia, Central Michigan, Clemson, Connecticut, Cure, Florida State, Foster Farms, Georgia State, Hawaii, Iowa, Jim Harbaugh, Kevin Sumlin, Larry Fedora, Mark Dantonio, Marshall, Miami Beach, Military, Minnesota, Mississippi, Navy, North Carolina, Northwestern, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Orange, Oregon, Outback, Pasadena, Pittsburgh, Quick Lane, Rose, San Diego State, San Jose State, Sooners, St. Petersburg, Sugar, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Tigers, Toledo, UCLA, UConn, Western Kentucky
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What used to be the “most wonderful week of the year” has become the most wonderful two weeks of the year. The bowl game lineup has reach an all-time high of 40. Diminishing returns, anyone?
But that aside, here are some upcoming highlights and low-lights (note that all times are EASTERN time):
Tickets to Die For:
No. 4 Oklahoma (11-1) vs. No. 1 Clemson (13-0) in the Capital One Orange Bowl, Dec. 31, 4:00 PM
The Tigers are the No. 1 team, while the Sooners are the hottest of the four teams in the playoffs. More intriguingly, this will be a rematch from the Russell Athletic Bowl of last year.
No. 3 Michigan State (12-1) vs. No. 2 Alabama (12-1) in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Dec. 31, 8 PM
The Crimson Tide has the postseason experience, but the Spartans have passed every major test over the past three years. Moreover, the two teams are practically a mirror-image of each other.
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup:
Auburn (6-6) vs. Memphis (9-3) in the Birmingham Bowl, Dec. 30, 12:00 PM
Auburn needs this win to validate their lousy season. Memphis needs this win to validate the best season arguably in the history of the program. Thus, this also doubles as a Must-Win.
No. 18 Houston (12-1) vs. No. 9 Florida State (10-2) in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Dec. 31, 12 PM
The Cougars are going to their first decent bowl game in decades, while the Seminoles might via the Peach Bowl as a come-down after recent BCS/playoff berths. Thus, this also doubles as an Upset Alert.
Best non-Power Five matchups:
San Diego State (10-3) vs. Cincinnati (7-5) in the Hawai’i Bowl, Dec. 24, 8:00 PM
Rocky Long has continued the deceptive strong program built by Brady Hoke in San Diego, while Tommy Tuberville’s Bearcats are never to be underestimated.
Western Kentucky (11-2) vs. South Florida (8-4) in the Miami Beach Bowl, Dec. 21, 2:30 PM
The Hilltoppers have proven to be strong all year, while the Bulls have performed very strongly as of late. The record comparison may look lop-sided, but let not that fool us, for it shall be a close game.
Intriguing Coaching Match-ups:
Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M vs. Bobby Petrino of Louisville in the Music City Bowl.
One leads one of the most progressive offenses in the SEC. The other is one of the best offensive minds in the game. The irony? Do not expect an offensive explosion.
Mark Dantonio of Michigan State vs. Nick Saban of Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.
As mentioned previously, the two teams are practically mirror-images of the other.
Urban Meyer of Ohio State vs. Brian Kelly of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, Fri., Jan. 1, 1:00 PM
Two of THE best coaches in the game, going head-to-head? Yes, please!
Larry Fedora of No. 10 North Carolina vs. Art Briles of No. 17 Baylor in the Russell Athletic Bowl, Dec. 29, 5:30 PM
Potentially THE most underrated bowl game of the postseason, provided that both teams show up.
Rumble in the Phone Booth:
No. 6 Stanford (11-2) vs. No. 5 Iowa (12-1) in the Rose Bowl, Jan. 1, 5:00 PM
Both teams have great running games, meaning that this should be a dream for fans of old-fashioned, smash-mouth football. The question becomes, will we be “looking LIVE in Pasadena, Calif., folks”?
Rematches, Anyone?
No. 13 Northwestern (10-2) vs. No. 23 Tennessee (8-4) in the Outback Bowl, Jan. 1, 12:00 PM
Recall the 1997 Citrus Bowl?
No. 16 Oklahoma State (10-2) vs. No. 12 Mississippi (9-3) in the Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1, 8:30 PM
Recall the 2004 Cotton Bowl? This time, the results could be reversed.
Upset Alerts:
No. 18 Houston (12-1) vs. No. 9 Florida State (10-2) in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Dec. 31, 12 PM
The Cougars are going to their first decent bowl game in decades, while the Seminoles might view the Peach Bowl as a come-down after recent BCS/playoff berths.
Offensive Explosion:
No. 15 Oregon (9-3) vs. No. 11 TCU (10-2) in the Valero Alamo Bowl, Jan. 2, 6:45 pm
Ah, Alamo Bowl, you never fail to entertain!
Defensive Struggle:
No. 14 Michigan (9-3) vs. No. 19 Florida (10-3) in the Citrus Bowl, Jan. 1, 1:00 PM
The Citrus Bowl came back! That aside, the Gators have excelled at making games low-scoring, win or lose. Regardless, Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines will be prepared, and should end up victorious in the end. Also, the matchup of first-year coaches Harbaugh and Jim McElwain is intriguing unto itself.
Great Games No One Is Talking About:
Ohio (8-4) vs. Appalachian State (10-2) in the Raycom Media Camelia Bowl, 5:30 PM
They play this in Montgomery, Ala., in case you were wondering. The Mountaineers are making their FBS bowl debut against a decent Bobcats team.
No. 24 Temple (10-3) vs. Toledo (9-2) in the Marmot Boca Raton Bowl, 7:00 PM
The Owls have proven to be a good team, while the Rockets did beat Arkansas. It’s not a wash, but it should be a close game.
Not Sure What to Make of This One:
UCLA (8-4) vs. Nebraska (5-7) in the Foster Farms Bowl, 9:15 PM
The Cornhuskers are the second team listed here with a 5-7 record. That said, they are better than their record suggests, and, more importantly as far as the bowl committee is concerned, their fans will TRAVEL.
Think there is enough dark blue and gold?
Pittsburgh (8-4) vs. No. 21 Navy (10-2) in the Military Bowl, Dec. 28, 2:30 PM
Why Are They Playing?
Connecticut (6-6) vs. Marshall (9-3) in the St. Petersburg Bowl, Sat., Dec. 26, 11:00 AM
UConn is bowl eligible? That alone is an insult to Marshall, which is actually a decent team.
Plenty of Good Seats Remaining:
San Jose State (5-7) vs. Georgia State (6-6) in the Cure Bowl, Sat., Dec. 19, 7:00 PM
As if Orlando, Fla., did not have enough bowl games, they came up with this one. The Spartans are one of three teams with a 5-7 record but are still going bowling. Meanwhile, the Panthers are only 6-6, meaning that this is a classic example of a garbage bowl game.
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Central Michigan (7-5) vs. Minnesota (5-7) in the Quick Lane Bowl, Mon., Dec. 28, 5:00 PM
This is the latest iteration of what used to be the Little Caesars Bowl (still at Ford Field in Detroit). The Golden Gophers are the third team that is 5-7 and yet still bowl eligible. I can hear Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd mocking this bowl matchup right now.
College Football 2015 Week 1 Awards September 9, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, B1G, Big 10, Big Ten, Boise State, Bret Bielema, Bronco Mendenhall, BYU, Central Florida, Charlie Strong, college, David Shaw, Duke, FIU, Florida State, football, Gene Chizik, Georgia, Hawaii, Jeff Monken, Jerry Kill, Jim Harbaugh, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Larry Fedora, LSU, Marhsall, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Riley, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Nebraska, North Carolian, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, South Alabama, South Carolina, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Tennessee-Martin, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Tulane, UCF, UCon, Urban Meyer, UTSA
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The battle for Carolina in Charlotte started the 2015 college football season well. It was very aesthically pleasing to see North Carolina and South Carolina both wear their home colors, too!(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 1] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Glad I’m not him: David Shaw, Stanford
Lucky guy: Bronco Mendenhall, BYU
Poor guy: Mike Riley, Nebraska
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jerry Kill, Minnesota
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Charlie Strong, Texas
Desperately seeking … anything: Jeff Monken, Army
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 9 Georgia (defeated LA-Monroe 51-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 22 Arizona (defeated UTSA 42-32)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Texas State (lost to No. 10 Florida State 59-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Central Michigan (lost to Oklahoma State 24-13).
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: No. 11 Notre Dame (defeated Texas 38-3)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Tulane
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Stanford
Did the season start? Texas (Honorable Mention: Penn State)
Can the season end? Tulane
Can the season never end? Notre Dame
GAMES
Play this again: No. 6 Auburn 31, Louisville 24
Play this again, too: No. 2 TCU 23, Minnesota 17
Honorable Mention to play again: South Carolina 17, North Carolina 13
Never play this again: No. 17 Ole Miss 76, Tennessee-Martin 3
Say what? BYU 33, Nebraska 28
WHAT? FIU 15, UCF 14
Huh? Northwestern 16, No. 21 Stanford 6
Are you kidding me? Texas A&M 38, No. 15 Arizona State 17
Oh – my – God: Temple 27, Penn State 10
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 1, pre-week 2)
Ticket to die for: No. 7 Oregon @ No. 5 Michigan State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Houston @ Louisville; also: Minnesota @ Colorado State
Best non-Power Five matchup: Marshall @ Ohio U
Upset alert: No. 19 Oklahoma @ No. 25 Tennessee
Must win: Kentucky @ South Carolina
Offensive explosion: No. 22 Arizona @ Nevada
Defensive struggle: No. 14 LSU @ No. 25 Mississippi State
Great game no one is talking about: Minnesota @ Colorado State; also: No. 20 Boise State @ BYU
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Stoops of Kentucky vs. Steve Spurrier of South Carolina
Who’s bringing the body bags? Hawaii @ No. 1 Ohio State
Why are they playing? South Alabama @ Nebraska
Plenty of good seats remaining: Army @ UConn
They shoot horses, don’t they? NC Central @ Duke
Week 1 Take-aways:
- Ohio State seems to have not skipped a beat during the offseason. After the occasional hiccup in the second quarter, they made every halftime adjustment one could think of and demonstrated why they deserve to retain the top ranking.
- Had Louisville not made mistake after mistake, the results of the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game would surely have been considerably different. That said, Auburn is not a team with which to be trifled.
- Evidence of the Big Ten gaining strength compared to, say, seasons 2005-2013, could not be further on display, and not just with the top dog Ohio State. Mighty Stanford travelled eastward to take on Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. They did not return to the West Coast victorious. Few pigskin prognosticators saw THAT coming.
- Arizona State has potential to be a tough team. Dropping the ball – figuratively — to Texas A&M did not help their case. Either the Sun Devils were highly overrated going into the game, or they picked a horrible time to take the night off.
- Either South Carolina is starting to struggle a bit as a program, or North Carolina has greatly improved. At this point, I suspect the latter. Larry Fedora has proven to be a capable coach, and Gene Chizik’s influence on the Tarheel’s defense quickly showed itself.
- Jim Harbaugh shall no doubt make Michigan into a respected power again. Their loss to Utah in Salt Lake City seemed to be a speedbump towards that goal. The immediate discernment is that the Utes are becomingly an increasingly respected program in the post-Urban Meyer era. In the meantime, signs that Harbaugh is shaking things up in Ann Arbor is already readily apparent. For one, their legendary helmet design now has metal flake in the both the yellow and blue parts of the distinct pattern – a first for the program. Moreover, they were wearing [gasp!] white pants with traditional stripes, which is a far cry from the plain yellow pants they have worn for decades. That last item alone is proof that Hades has officially frozen over!
Such is the ‘rousing start to the 2015 college football season. One more week of an excess of body bag games to go, and things ought to be even more interesting!
College Football Week 4 Awards September 22, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, B1G, Badgers, Big 10, Big Ten, Bob Diaco, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Clemson, college, Dan Mullen, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Florida State, football, Frank Beamer, Gary Pinkel, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Jim Mora, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Larry Fedora, Les Miles, LSU, Mark Twain, Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Midshipmen, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NCAA, Nebraska, New Mexico State, Nichols, North Carolina, North Texas, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Orange, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rich Rodriguez, Ruffin McNeil, Rutgers, San Jose State, South Carolina, Syracuse, Terps, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, Todd Graham, Troy, UTEP, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 4] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Glad I’m not him: Les Miles, LSU
Lucky guy: Rich Rodriguez, Arizona
Poor guy: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Gary Pinkel, Missouri
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Ruffin McNeil, East Carolina
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Larry Fedora, North Carolina
Desperately seeking … anything: Bob Diaco, UConn
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 11 Michigan State (defeated Eastern Michigan 73-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Central Michigan (lost to Kansas 24-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Troy (lost to No. 13 Georgia 66-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Texas State (lost to Illinois 42-35)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: East Carolina (defeated North Carolina 70-41)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Hawaii
You know, they’re not so bad: Arkansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: LSU
Did the season start? Virginia Tech
Can the season end? Eastern Michigan
Can the season never end? East Carolina
GAMES
Play this again: No. 1 Florida State 23, No. 22 Clemson 17
Never play this again: North Texas 77, Nichols 3
What? East Carolina 70, North Carolina 41
Huh? Georgia Tech 27, Virginia Tech 24
Are you kidding me? Indiana 31, No. 18 Missouri 27
Oh – my – God: Mississippi State 34, No. 8 LSU 29
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 4, pre-week 5)
Ticket to die for: Arkansas @ No. 6 Texas A&M
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Cincinnati @ No. 22 Ohio State
Best non-Power Five matchup: Central Michigan @ Toledo
Upset alert: Tennessee @ No. 12 Georgia
Must win: Missouri @ No. 13 South Carolina
Offensive explosion: North Carolina @ Clemson
Defensive struggle: Iowa @ Purdue
Great game no one is talking about: Texas Tech @ No. 24 Oklahoma State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Mora of UCLA vs. Todd Graham of Arizona State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Wyoming @ No. 9 Michigan State
Why are they playing? New Mexico State @ No. 17 LSU
Plenty of good seats remaining: Miami (Ohio) @ Buffalo
They shoot horses, don’t they? UTEP @ No. 25 Kansas State
Week 4 Random Thoughts:
- This week, the Big Ten acquitted themselves rather well. After three weeks of disaster, along with nearly everyone in America paying attention to the college football scene about to write the one-great conference’s epitaph, the B1G appeared to have reminded folks that, to paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of their demise have been greatly exaggerated. To wit:
- Maryland upset Syracuse. The Orange, who were 2-0 going into the game, seemed to be the favored team (especially since they were playing at home in the Carrier Dome). But the Terps showed up, and won 34-20, on the road.
- Yes, even Purdue won, even though they had to defeat an FCS team in order to do so, beating the Southern Illinois Salukis only 35-14. Just one more touchdown would have made the win semi-convincing.
- Iowa won on the road, defeating a respectable Pitt team, 24-20, in the last minutes of the game, no less.
- Think Purdue’s win was less-than-convincing? Check out Northwestern: they beat Western Illinois 24-7. Still, a win is a win – at least, in this case.
- Michigan State, without any surprise, thrashed their directional neighbor Eastern Michigan 73-14, in what amounted to be one of the biggest “body bag games” of the week.
- Even though Illinois had to struggle to do so, they pulled in out in the end over Texas State, 42-35.
- Granted, there was a rather ignominious loss concerning Michigan. To be sure, Utah is not a horrible team, but they’re not great either. Moreover, this was a home game for the Wolverines, who failed to even reach the red zone. In the Big House.
- Wisconsin’s blowout win over Bowling Green at home, 68-17, came as little surprise. And I must say, the Badgers’ red helmets look very nice indeed!
- Minnesota beat San Jose State 24-7.
- Let us not forget Nebraska’s win at home over Miami (Fla.), 41-31.
- Rutgers did beat Navy, 31-24, and the Midshipmen are never to be taken lightly.
- That said, Indiana (yes, that Indiana) represented the entire conference well by beating a more-than-respectable Missouri Tigers squad on the road. If these shadows remained unchanged, the Hoosiers could take the conference by storm this year (notwithstanding Michigan State or Ohio State, who both happen to inhabit the same division as IU).
- So, 12-1 for the conference is not bad considering the previous two weeks. Were it not been for Ohio State’s bye week, it might have been 13-1.
- In other news, while I hate to see LSU take it on the chin, it is very nice indeed to see Dan Mullen and Mississippi State get a nice, signature win.
College Football Week 6 Awards October 6, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Arizona State, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, Ball State, Baylor, Big XII, Boise State, Boston College, Bret Bielema, Buckeyes, Butch Jones, BYU, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado, Dave Doeren, Duke, Eastern Michigan, Florida State, Gamecocks, Gary Pinkel, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Iowa State, James Franklin, Kansas, Kentucky, Larry Fedora, Louisiana Tech, LSU, Mark Richt, Maryland, Miami (Ohio), Mississippi State, Missouri, N.C. State, NFL, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Paul Rhoads, Penn State, Pittssburgh, Rutgers, SMU, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Troy, UMass, Urban Meyer, Utah State, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington, Western Carolina, Western Michigan
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: James Franklin, Vanderbilt
Lucky guy: Mark Richt, Georgia, and also Mack Brown, Texas
Poor guy: Butch Jones, Tennessee, and also Paul Rhoads, Iowa State
Desperately seeking a clue: Mack Brown, Texas
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Gary Pinkel, Missouri
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Dave Doeren, NC State
Desperately seeking … anything: Larry Fedora, North Carolina
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 20 Texas Tech (defeated Kansas 54-16)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: South Carolina (defeated Kentucky 35-28)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Colorado (lost to Oregon 57-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Troy (lost to Duke 38-31)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Ohio U (defeated Akron 43-3)
Dang, they’re good: Florida State
Dang, they’re bad: Akron
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Arizona State
The Fix is in: Texas
Did the season start? Cincinnati
Can the season end? Western Michigan
Can the season never end? Baylor
GAMES
Play this again: No. 6 Georgia 34, Tennessee 31
Play this again, too: Rutgers 55, SMU 53, 3OT
Never play this again: No. 8 Florida State 63, No. 25 Maryland 0
What? Ball State 48, Virginia 27
Huh? Missouri 51, Vanderbilt 28
Are you kidding me? South Florida 26, Cincinnati 20
Oh – my – God: Indiana 44 Penn State 24
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: Texas vs. No. 12 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout (Dallas)
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Georgia Tech @ BYU
Best non-Big Six matchup: Boise State @ Utah State
Upset alert: No. 14 South Carolina @ Arkansas
Must win: No. 9 Texas A&M @ Ole Miss
Offensive explosion: No. 2 Oregon @ No. 15 Washington
Defensive struggle: Miami (Ohio) @ UMass
Great game no one is talking about: Pittsburgh @ No. 24 Virginia Tech, or, No. 19 Northwestern @ Wisconsin.
Intriguing coaching matchup: Steve Spurrier of South Carolina vs. Bret Bielema of Arkansas
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 3 Clemson @ Boston College
Why are they playing? Western Carolina @ Auburn
Plenty of good seats remaining: Eastern Michigan @ Army
They shoot horses, don’t they? Temple @ Cincinnati
Week 6 in Review:
There are times when in hindsight you know that you should have trusted your instincts instead of trying to out-think the room (which, let us be honest, can never end well. Just ask the NFL when they decided to put the upcoming Super Bowl in frigid New Jersey). Case in point: last week, yours truly tried to out-think the room – against my own better judgement – in prediciting that this week’s “offensive explosion” would be Ohio State @ Northwestern. Yes, it was a good game, worthy of a Musburger-Herbstreit broadcast tandem. And yes, the overall score was not exactly paltry at 40-30 (in favor of the Buckeyes, naturally). But then there was Baylor vs. West Virginia, whose score was so high, we needed our collective oxygen tank (final score: 73-42). What was my main reticence in following my instincts and selecting this game for a more accurate prognostication? The fact that West Virginia has been wildly inconsistent this year. One week they embarrass themselves against Maryland, the next week, they upset Oklahoma State. Right now, we the fans do not know what team we are getting week-to-week with the Mountaineers.
All Good Games at Night?
Aside from the satisfying SEC slugfest between Georgia and Tennessee in the 3:30 time slot, and the 3-OT shootout between Rutgers and SMU, all the good games this past week were in the evening. LSU vs. Mississippi State (3 out of 4 quarters, at least), South Florida vs. Cincinnati (surprisingly), Ole Miss vs. Auburn, TCU vs. Oklahoma, Kentucky vs. South Carolina (the Gamecocks allowed for it to be a good game, regrettably), Notre Dame vs. Arizona State, Ohio State vs. Northwestern, Washington vs. Stanford, even Louisiana Tech vs. UTEP (!) all turned out to be competitive, engaging matchups. It was one of those nights where you wished you had four or five flatscreens, all right next to each other, so as to enjoy as much simultaneous action as possible.
A Tale of Two Rivals.
Oklahoma did it the right way. They played a highly respected TCU bunch in a close, hard-fought game, and triumphed in the end, 20-17. There is a school of thought, not one without merit, that states that this is the perfect approach before throwing down the following week with a bitter rival. To follow this line of logic, the Sooners are well-prepared for the Red River Shootout this upcoming week.
On the other side of the coin is Texas, who thought that they could beat up on Big XII lightweight Iowa State as a tune-up. As things turned out, they needed not one, but two scandalous calls by the referees to get their behinds out of some seriously hot water (basically, two “gift” calls of not recognizing fumbles as actual fumbles). Let that sink in for a moment.
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