College Football Week 10 Awards November 3, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Central Florida, Colorado, Duke, Dylan Thompson, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Gators, Georgia, Gus Malzahn, Hugh Freeze, Iowa, Iowa State, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Kyle Whittingham, Longhorns, Louisiana-Monroe, LSU, Mack Brown, Mark Helfrich, Mark Richt, Matt Rhule, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Navy, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Paul Rhodes, Pittsburgh, Presbyterian, Ruffin McNeil, South Carolina, South Florida, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Tennessee-Martin, Texas A&M, UCLA, UConn, Utah, Will Muschamp
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Note: All rankings are current AP [week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Glad I’m not him: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Lucky guy: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Poor guy: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Ruffin McNeil, East Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Rhule, Temple
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking … anything: Paul Rhoads, Iowa State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 13 Baylor (defeated Kansas 60-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas A&M (defeated Louisiana-Monroe 21-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Iowa State (lost to No. 18 Oklahoma 59-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: LA-Monroe (lost to Texas A&M 21-16)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Iowa (defeated Northwestern 48-7)
Dang, they’re good: Florida State
Dang, they’re bad: South Florida
You know, they’re not so bad: Arkansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia
Did the season start? South Carolina
Can the season end? Eastern Michigan
Can the season never end? Kansas State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 3 Auburn 35, No. 3 Ole Miss 31
Play this again, too: No. 24 Duke 51, Pittsburgh 48
Never play this again: No. 18 Oklahoma 59, Iowa State 14
What? Temple 20, No. 23 East Carolina 10
Huh? UConn 37, Central Florida 29
Are you kidding me? No. 22 UCLA 17, No. 12 Arizona 7
Oh – my – God: Florida 38, No. 11 Georgia 20
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11)
Ticket to die for: No. 9 Kansas State @ No. 7 TCU
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Memphis @ Temple
Upset alert: No. 10 Notre Dame @ No. 14 Arizona State
Must win: No. 16 Ohio State @ No. 8 Michigan State
Offensive explosion: No. 13 Baylor @ No. 18 Oklahoma
Defensive struggle: No. 6 Alabama @ No. 19 LSU
Great game no one is talking about: Michigan @ Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Helfrich of Oregon vs. Kyle Whittingham of Utah
Who’s bringing the body bags? Presbyterian @ No. 4 Ole Miss
Why are they playing? Tennessee-Martin @ Mississippi State
Plenty of good seats remaining: Iowa State @ Kansas
They shoot horses, don’t they? Colorado @ No. 12 Arizona
Week 10 Random Thoughts:
- The special, throwback helmets that Texas A&M wore looked positively awesome. Indeed, these are some of the coolest-looking, most college football-appropriate special helmets I have ever seen. Period.
In case the significance is lost on people, this design of helmet was meant to be a throwback to the kind of helmets the Aggies wore when they won their only national championship – in 1939. Do the math, and this year marks the diamond anniversary of that occasion, hence the throwback-looking helmets. Way cool, in any case. Let’s hope they break them out again before the season ends!
- The South Carolina-Tennessee game seemed to leave more questions asked than answered. Just what accounts for South Carolina’s gross inconsistency? Is it their weak defense, or is it something more systemic than that? Will another good recruiting class help the Ol’ Ball Coach rectify this problem? Will Dylan Thompson’s QB play improve next year, with the experience he is gaining this year?
On the other side of the coin, Tennessee seems to be one year away from having a really good team. All Butch Jones appears to need is to bring in one more recruiting class of players with the right kind of talent, but also who buy into his system, his approach, his way of doing things. Starting next year, they should be the team in the best position to win the SEC East, barring needed improvements on South Carolina’s end.
- Speaking of more questions asked than answered, the results of the Florida-Georgia game have certainly muddied the waters regarding Will Muschamp’s future. Everybody was prepared to write his epitaph and obituary notice before he pulled off a massive upset over the Bulldogs in Jacksonville, Fla. Does this win save his bacon for one more year, or is the die already cast? After all, Texas defeating arch-rival Oklahoma in 2013 did nothing to preserve Mack Brown’s tenure as head coach of the Longhorns (the connection being, Muschamp was once Brown’s defensive coordinator). Food for thought.
Week 3 College Football Awards September 16, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arizona State, Baylor, BC, Bill Snyder, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boilers, Boston College, Bowling Green, Buffalo, BYU, Cardinals, Cards, Central Michigan, Charlie Strong, Chuck Martin, Clemson, Colorado, Ducks, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, FIghting Irish, Florida State, Georgia, Grover Cleveland, Gus Malzahn, Idaho, Indiana, Jim Mora, Kansas, Kent State, Louisville, Mark Richt, Memphis, Miami (Fla.), Miami (Ohio), Michigan State, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Ruffin McNeil, Rutgers, SMU, South Carolina, Southern Illinois, Steve Addazio, Steve Sarkisian, Steve Spurrier, Syracuse, Texas, Texas A&M, Troy, UMass, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington State, Western Kentucky, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 3] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Steve Addazio, Boston College
Glad I’m not him: Charlie Strong, Texas
Lucky guy: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Ruffin McNeil, East Carolina
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Steve Sarkisian, USC
Desperately seeking … anything: Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio)
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 22 Ohio State (defeated Kent State 66-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Vanderbilt (defeated UMass 34-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kent State (see first line above)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Colorado (lost to No. 16 Arizona State 38-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Syracuse (defeated Central Michigan 40-3)
Dang, they’re good: Oklahoma
Dang, they’re bad: Kansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Virginia Tech
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Eastern Michigan
Can the season never end? Ole Miss
GAMES
Play this again: Bowling Green 45, Indiana 42
Play this again, too: Middle Tennessee 50, Western Kentucky 47
Never play this again: No. 8 Baylor 63, Buffalo 21
Told you so: Penn State 13, Rutgers 10
What? Virginia 23, No. 21 Louisville 21
Huh? No. 24 South Carolina 38, No. 6 Georgia 35
Are you kidding me? East Carolina 28, No. 17 Virginia Tech 21
Oh – my – God: Boston College 38, No. 9 USC 31
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)
Ticket to die for (sort of): No. 22 Clemson @ No. 1 Florida State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: North Carolina @ East Carolina
Best non-Power Five matchup: Middle Tennessee @ Memphis
Upset alert: Miami (Fla.) @ No. 24 Nebraska
Must win: Southern Illinois @ Purdue
Offensive explosion: No. 2 Oregon @ Washington State
Defensive struggle: Penn State @ Rutgers
Great game no one is talking about: Virginia @ No. 21 BYU
Intriguing coaching matchup: Gus Malzahn of Auburn vs. Bill Snyder of Kansas State
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 6 Texas A&M @ SMU
Why are they playing? Troy @ No. 13 Georgia
Plenty of good seats remaining: Idaho @ Ohio U
They shoot horses, don’t they? Eastern Michigan @ No. 11 Michigan State
Week 3 Random Thoughts:
– Just when you think that Louisville is rolling again under second, non-consecutive term head coach Bobby Petrino (paging Grover Cleveland), the Cards lay an egg on the road. Virginia is not that bad of a team, but that is still no excuse for all the quarterback miscues that seemed to plague U of L throughout the game, leading to the disappointing result. Perhaps Petrino should consider playing the freshman QB?
– Virginia Tech seems nothing if not consistent when it comes to losing games the week after winning a big one.
– They say that football can be a game of inches. In the case of South Carolina upsetting intra-conference and border rival Georgia, it was a game of one inch. Period. Well, that and a good (favorable?) spotting of the ball by the refs after 4th and one inch.
– Perhaps Oregon might have been saving a little energy for future endeavors later this season. How else might one explain a win over Wyoming by a score of only 48-12? Given how well the Ducks have played thus far, you’d think the Cowboys got off easy.
– Did Purdue acquit themselves against No. 11 Notre Dame, or are the Fighting Irish that mediocre? In the wake of the Boilermakers embarrassing themselves at home last week to Central Michigan, coupled with ND demolishing Michigan, one would have thought that the annual in-state rivalry game would have meant utter demolition for Purdue. Instead, the Boilers ended up leading, however briefly, in the first half, scoring two touchdowns on the Irish. Such an effort compelled Notre Dame to increase their efforts, allowing them to gradually win over the course of the second half, 30-14. The reason that so many people naturally incline towards the former answer is that they want to believe the Notre Dame hype (it sells, after all!). But what we keep learning, and continue to have to keep learning over the past 10-15 years, is that Notre Dame is once again overrated. The real question, therefore, to consider is, how bad is Michigan?
– That being said, Notre Dame’s helmets for that game did look rather neat. It is a long time coming that they incorporated a blue “ND” logo on to their gold shells. The single, blue center stripe was a nice touch, too. The jury is still out on the latitude-longitude, “globe lines” effect, though. Moreover, I can do without that weird brocade effect on the shoulders of the jerseys.
– Is Texas in trouble? First, they lost ignominiously at home to BYU last week. Then, they lose to an increasingly good UCLA team, ostensibly at a neutral site, though hardly anybody could consider the Horns playing in Dallas as playing on neutral turf, be it the Cotton Bowl or AT&T Stadium. Yes, Jim Mora has truly breathed intensity into the Bruins program at Westwood, Calif., but there is still no excuse for such a proud, tradition-and-resource laden program as Texas to suffer two such consecutive losses. Is Coach Strong in over his head at Austin? It would be a very painful thing to acknowledge, to be sure. The wise thing, at this point, is to allow the rest of the season (and how it plays out) to answer that question.
– If we were to apply the law of transitive properties, just how badly would Syracuse beat Purdue if the two played each other right about now?
College Football Week 2 Awards September 8, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Arkansas, Auburn, Ball State, Baylor, Big Ten, Bo Pelini, Boilermakers, Boise State, Braxton Miller, Brett Bielema, Buckeyes, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Charlie Strong, Chuck Martin, Clemson, Cornhuskers, David Shaw, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, EKU, FIghting Irish, Frank Beamer, Fresno State, Georgia, Golden Gophers, Hokies, Illinois, Iowa, Kliff Kingsbury, Lamar, Longhorns, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Mack Brown, McNeese State, Memphis, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico State, North Texas, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, San Jose State, SMU, South Carolina State, Southern California, Spartans, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Western Illinois, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin, WKU, Wyoming
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Yes, we’re back. After having missed handing out last week’s awards due to travels abroad (having visited two, count ’em, TWO different continents in the Eastern Hemisphere!), we’re back, and as Little Richard would say, we’re ready-ready-ready to rock n’ roll!
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 2] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
Glad I’m not him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Lucky guy: Bo Pelini, Nebraska
Poor guy: David Shaw, Stanford
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Dan Enos, Central Michigan
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Charlie Strong, Texas
Desperately seeking … anything: Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio)
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 9 Texas A&M (defeated Lamar 73-3)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 19 Nebraska (defeated McNeese State 31-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: San Jose State (lost to No. 5 Auburn 59-13)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Memphis (lost to No. 11 UCLA 42-35)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: No. 15 Ole Miss (defeated Vanderbilt, 41-3)
Dang, they’re good: Texas A&M
Dang, they’re bad: SMU
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Texas
Did the season start? Ohio State
Can the season end? Miami (Ohio)
Can the season never end? Oregon
GAMES
Play this again: No. 14 USC 13, No. 13 Stanford 10
Never play this again: No. 23 Clemson 73, South Carolina State 7
What? Eastern Kentucky 17, Miami (Ohio) 10
Huh? No. 16 Notre Dame 31, Michigan 0
Are you kidding me? Virginia Tech 35, No. 8 Ohio State 21
Oh – my – God: BYU 41, Texas 7
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 2, pre-week 3)
Ticket to die for: No. 6 Georgia @ No. 21 South Carolina
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Nebraska @ Fresno State
Best non-Power Five matchup: New Mexico State @ UTEP
Upset alert: Tennessee @ No. 4 Oklahoma
Must win: No. 12 UCLA vs Texas
Offensive explosion: Louisiana Tech @ North Texas
Defensive struggle: Penn State @ Rutgers
Great game no one is talking about: No. 21 Louisville @ Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bret Bielema of Arkansas vs. Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech
Who’s bringing the body bags? Wyoming @ No. 2 Oregon
Why are they playing? No. 8 Baylor @ Buffalo
Plenty of good seats remaining: Eastern Michigan @ Old Dominion
They shoot horses, don’t they? Boise State @ UConn
Week 2 Take-aways:
This week’s results do NOT bode well for the Big Ten! Where to begin?
- For starters, Illinois had to squeak by Western Kentucky, 42-34.
- Then there was Nebraska having to score a last-minute touchdown to beat lowly McNeese State at home, 31-24. Way to live up to that No. 19 ranking, Cornhuskers!
- Cracks in the proverbial damn truly became evident with Purdue’s ignominious loss at home to Central Michigan – a team that the Boilermakers have historically owned – 38-17.
- Of course, Wisconsin was supposed to make mincemeat of Western Illinois, so nothing to see there: moving on.
- Iowa slowly plodded to victory over Ball State, 17-13; hardly an impressive win.
- Penn State seemed to allow Akron to make a game of it, 21-3.
- Middle Tennessee seemed to provide some challenge to Minnesota, losing to the Golden Gophers only 35-24.
- Northern Illinois actually did beat a well-coached Northwestern team, 23-15.
The best part (“best” being used facetiously) was that it got worse as the day progressed.
- In the evening, Notre Dame undressed Michigan, 31-0
- Then-unranked Virginia Tech came into the Horseshoe to upset then-No 8 Ohio State in a very embarrassing way, 35-21. Are the Buckeyes that crippled without Braxton Miller?
- At least then-No. 7 Michigan State had a valid excuse, losing late in the game, on the road, (heck, on the West Coast) to current-No. 2 Oregon. Moreover, in further defense of the Spartans, they made a good game of it for more than half of the match-up. Still, a loss is a loss.
Yes, this will really bolster the conference’s credibility with the selection committee come season’s end.
In other news, it appears as though Charlie Strong truly does have his work cut out for him at Texas. The problem with the flagship program of the Lone Star State was that it lost its intensity, that things had become both stale and too synthetic under previous head coach Mack Brown. Strong had proven that he could restore the intensity of one program already at the University of Louisville: the powers started to think that he could do the same thing at Texas. Well, evidently he has not restored enough intensity to that program. Either that, or BYU just has the Longhorns’ number, but I doubt it.
College Football Week 15 Awards December 9, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Army, Auburn, Bowling Green, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Duke, Florida State, George O'Leary, Joey Jones, June Jones, Louisville, Mark Dantonio, Memphis, Michigan State, Mike Gundy, Missouri, Navy, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Philadelphia, Rod Carey, SMU, South Alabama, South Florida, Texas, UCF, UConn, Urban Meyer, USF, Willie Taggart
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 15] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Glad I’m not him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Lucky guy: George O’Leary, Central Florida
Poor guy: June Jones, SMU
Desperately seeking a clue: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Joey Jones, South Alabama
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Rod Carey, Northern Illinois
Desperately seeking … anything: Willie Taggart, South Florida
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Florida State (defeated Duke 45-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Northern Illinois (lost to Bowling Green 47-20)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Duke (lost to Florida State 45-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Bowling Green (defeated NU 47-20)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: UConn (defeated Memphis 45-10)
Dang, they’re good: Florida State
Dang, they’re bad: South Florida
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Ohio State
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Memphis
Can the season never end? Michigan State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 3 Auburn 59, No. 5 Missouri 42
Play this again, too: Louisville 31, Cincinnati 24, OT
Never play this again: No. 1 Florida State 45, Duke 7
What? UConn 45, Memphis 10
Huh? No. 17 Oklahoma 33, No. 6 Oklahoma State 24
Are you kidding me? Bowling Green 47, No. 16 Northern Illinois 20
Oh – my – God: No. 11 Michigan State 34, No. 2 Ohio State 24
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: none, except for Army vs. Navy in Philadelphia: God bless our troops!
College Football Week 14 Awards December 1, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Alabama, Arkansas, Atlanta, Auburn, B1G, Ball State, Baylor, BCS, Big Ten, Blue Devils, Boilermakers, Boise State, Bowling Green, Buckeyes, Bulldogs, Central Florida, championship, Clemson, Dabo Swinney, Dan Mullen, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Fresno State, FSU, Gamecocks, Gary Pinkel, Gators, George O'Leary, Georgia Tech, Gus Malzahn, Hoosiers, Idaho, Indiana, Iron Bowl, June Jones, Kyle Whittingham, LA-Lafayette, LSU, MAC, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico, Nick Saban, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Paul Johnson, Penn State, Purdue, rivalry, Rutgers, San Jose State, SEC, Seminoles, SMU, South Alabama, South Carolina, South Florida, Steve Spurrier, Texas, Texas Tech, Thanksgiving, The Boot, Tigers, Tom O'Brien, UCF, UConn, Utah, Western Michigan, Will Muschamp, Wisconsin, Wolverines
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 14] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Glad I’m not him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Lucky guy: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Poor guy: Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech
Desperately seeking a clue: Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Tom O’Brien, Penn State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Desperately seeking … anything: Will Muschamp, Florida
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ball State (defeated Miami, Ohio 55-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Northern Illinois (defeated Western Michigan only 33-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: New Mexico (lost to Boise State 45-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: South Florida (lost to Central Florida 23-20)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Texas (defeated Texas Tech 41-16)
Dang, they’re good: Florida State
Dang, they’re bad: Idaho
Did the season start? Rutgers
Can the season end? Purdue
Can the season never end? Auburn
GAMES
Play this again: No. 3 Ohio State 42, Michigan 41
Play this again, too: No. 4 Auburn 34, No. 1 Alabama 28
Take a look at this again, while you’re at it: No. 13 Oregon 36, Oregon State 35
Never play this again: Ball State 55, Miami (Ohio) 14
What? San Jose State 62, No. 16 Fresno State 52
Huh? Penn State 37, No. 15 Wisconsin 24
Are you kidding me? No. 10 South Carolina 31, No. 6 Clemson 17
Oh – my – God: No. 4 Auburn 34, No. 1 Alabama 28
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 14, pre-week 15)
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Auburn vs. No. 5 Missouri in the SEC Championship game
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: (none)
Best non-Big Six matchup: LA-Lafayette @ South Alabama
Upset alert: No. 10 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Ohio State in the B1G Championship game
Must win: No. 18 Oklahoma @ No. 7 Oklahoma State
Offensive explosion: Texas @ No. 9 Baylor (Thurs.)
Defensive struggle: Memphis @ UConn
Great game no one is talking about: Bowling Green vs. No. 16 Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship game, Fri.
Intriguing coaching matchup: George O’Leary of UCF vs. June Jones of SMU
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 20 Duke vs. No. 1 Florida State
Plenty of good seats remaining: Memphis @ UConn
They shoot horses, don’t they? South Florida @ Rutgers
Week 14 in review:
Wow. Many end-of-year (or NEARLY end-of-year) weekends that bill themselves as “Rivalry Week” rarely live up to the hype. Much of the time, the rivalry games end up as rather one-sided affairs. Not this time, though. Take the Ohio State-Michigan game, for example. On paper, it should not have been anything of a contest at all. But the Wolverines showed up in this game as they had not done so all year. Sure, they looked formidable against Notre Dame early in the season, but they brought their game to a whole level above that in giving the Buckeyes the biggest fight of the season. It was fitting that they saved their best game for their last of the season, and against their sworn enemy from Columbus. In the end, a one-point margin of victory helped preserve the Buckeyes’ undefeated season and a shot at the BCS title game.
The “Egg Bowl” rivalry between Ole Miss and Mississippi State also lived up to its tradition, in more ways than one. For starters, it returned to its Thanksgiving Day timeslot for the first time in several years. For another, the game was close and hard-fought right to the end, with the Bulldogs pulling out the victory they needed to become bowl-eligible.
Duke-North Carolina may be known for its bitter basketball rivalry, but today, the football rivalry was a big deal and a good game. The Blue Devils ended up winning, narrowly, 27-25, and in so doing they clinched a spot in the ACC Championship game for the first time ever.
Another such game that looked one-sided on paper but in reality was hard-fought to the end was the LSU-Arkansas match-up on Friday. It seems not to matter how well LSU has done in the year, or how mediocre or play the play of the Razorbacks may be, but the Hogs always seem to bring their “A-game” when they play the Tigers. Perhaps the trophy for which they play is sufficient motivation, as “The Boot” (it is shaped in the manner of Arkansas and Louisiana together on a map) weighs 175 pounds.
Yes, there were rivalry games that were rather one-sided affairs. The Florida-Florida State game, usually played in or around the last weekend of the college football season, was almost always the game of the week back in the 1990s. That started to change a decade ago when FSU’s on-field performance began to deteriorate. But recently, the Seminoles have made the right moves to return to football factory status, while the Gators’ collective performance has seen much better days. The outcome of Florida State’s 37-7 win therefore came as no surprise.
Same thing for the Purdue-Indiana game. While Purdue owns the series by slightly more than a 2-1 margin, today, they did not show it, as the Hoosiers beat the Boilermakers 56-36, and four of Purdue’s touchdowns came in the last 20 minutes of the game, leaving the Boiler Faithful to scratch their heads all the more.
Then there was the “Iron Bowl,” that annual storied match-up between Auburn and Alabama, arguably the most intense, heated, and passionate of all the in-state rivalries. Through much of the season, the game was not on many peoples’ radar screens. Not after Auburn’s dismal performance last year; not even when the Tigers were slowly getting better and better with each game under new head coach Gus Malzahn. Yet by game time, they worked their way up to the No. 4 team in the nation, giving the engaged observer pause that this match-up could be one of the most epic in the history of the rivalry. The game remained close throughout regulation, and technically was tied up at its end, as the last second ticked off during a field goal attempt. That same attempt came up short; short enough that an Auburn returner was able to field it in the end zone, before promptly running out of it straight up the field. Wait a minute, the observers were telling themselves, nothing is going to come of this. Nothing hardly ever does. Yet the returner kept dodging a few would-be tacklers as he ran along the sideline. In fact, he continued to run past a few more would-be tacklers before all jerseys of the opposing color were in his proverbial rear view mirror. Wait, can this actually happen? OMG, it IS happening! But this NEVER happens! And yet it IS! I am in shock.
The Iron Bowl, it turned out, was not just an incredible game in this history of this most-storied of rivalries. THIS was a shot heard ‘round the world, and we are all still in shock from it today.
Still, not a bad turnaround from going winless in the SEC last year to having only one loss this year, even now potentially vying for a shot at the national title. Guz Malzahn deserves “coach of the year” accolades for that alone.
Oh, and Stanford-Notre Dame turned out to be a very watchable game in its own right. If that’s not enough, Steve Spurrier proved that he is the man yet again by schooling Dabo Swinney in Columbia, with his South Carolina Gamecocks trouncing the Clemson Tigers 31-17. Had his squad not blown the game to hot-and-cold Tennessee earlier in the year, they would have punched their ticket to Atlanta to represent the East division in the conference championship game. Instead, the team that will have that honor will be, inexplicably, Gary Pinkel and the Missouri Tigers. Such is the world of college football at the end of the 2013 regular season. What a way to cap things off, and best of all, there is a great after-party next Saturday with more games on the slate!
College Football Week 13 Awards November 24, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Alabama A&M, Arizona, Arizona State, Art Briles, Auburn, Baylor, Brian Kelly, Butch Jones, Central Michigan, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, college, David Shaw, Duke, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, football, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Idaho, James Franklin, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Mark Helfrich, Marshall, Memphis, Michigan State, Mike Gundy, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NCAA, New Mexico State, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, San Jose State, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Tommy Tuberville, UAB, UCLA, UTEP Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Western Michigan, Will Muschamp
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 13] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Glad I’m not him: Art Briles, Baylor
Lucky guy: James Franklin, Vanderbilt
Poor guy: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Desperately seeking a clue: Charlie Strong, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Tommy Tuberville, Cincinnati
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mark Helfrich, Oregon
Desperately seeking … anything: Will Muschamp, Florida
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: South Carolina (defeated Coastal Carolina 70-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Louisville (defeated Memphis only 24-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Idaho (lost to Florida State 80-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: UAB (lost to Rice 37-34)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Florida Atlantic (defeated New Mexico State 55-10)
Dang, they’re good: LSU
Dang, they’re bad: UTEP
Dang, they’re cursed: Northwestern
Did the season start? Oregon
Can the season end? Florida
Can the season never end? Oklahoma State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 17 Arizona State 38, No. 14 UCLA 33
Play this again, too: Navy 58, San Jose State 52, 3 OT
Take a look at this again, while you’re at it: Vanderbilt 14, Tennessee 10
Never play this again: Georgia Tech 66, Alabama A&M 7
What? No. 22 LSU 38, No. 12 Texas A&M 10
Huh? Georgia Southern 26, Florida 20
Are you kidding me? Arizona 42, No. 5 Oregon 16
Oh – my – God: No. 10 Oklahoma State 49, No. 4 Baylor 17
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 13, pre-week 14)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 4 Auburn
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: (none)
Best non-Big Six matchup: East Carolina @ Marshall
Upset alert: Mississippi State @ Ole Miss
Upset alert 2: Georgia @ Georgia Tech
Must win: No. 19 Texas A&M @ No. 5 Missouri
Offensive explosion: Texas Tech @ Texas (Thurs.)
Defensive struggle: Eastern Michigan @ Central Michigan
Great game no one is talking about: Minnesota @ No. 11 Michigan State
Another great game nobody has noticed: Duke @ North Carolina
Intriguing coaching matchup: David Shaw of Stanford vs. Brian Kelly of Notre Dame
Who’s bringing the body bags? Western Michigan @ No. 19 Northern Illinois
Why are they playing? BYU @ Nevada
Plenty of good seats remaining: Idaho @ New Mexico State
They shoot horses, don’t they? Tennessee @ Kentucky
College Football Week 10 Awards November 3, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Al Golden, Alabama, Appalachian State, Auburn, Baylor, Bo Pelini, Boilermakers, Boston College, Braxton Miller, Buckeyes, Buffalo, Butch Jones, BYU, Central Florida, Chattanooga, college, Colorado State, Darrell Hazell, Florida, Florida State, football, Georgia, Georgia State, Gus Malzahn, Houston, Idaho, Indiana, Jimbo Fisher, Kevin Wilson, Kyle Flood, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, NCAA, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nick Saban, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Oregon, Oregon State, Purdue, Rod Carey, Rutgers, Southern Miss, Stanford, Temple, Tennessee, Texas Tech, UCF, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Glad I’m not him: Mike Riley, Oregon State
Lucky guy: Bo Pelini, Nebraska
Poor guy: Kevin Wilson, Indiana
Desperately seeking a clue: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Rod Carey, Northern Illinois
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Desperately seeking … anything: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Purdue 56-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Rutgers (defeated Temple 23-20)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Purdue (lost to Ohio State 56-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Boston College (defeated Virginia Tech 34-27)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Marshall (defeated Southern Miss 61-13)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Purdue
Good Bounce-Back: Missouri
Did the season start? Mississippi State
Can the season end? Memphis
Can the season never end? Florida State
GAMES
Play this again: West Virginia 30, TCU 27, OT
Play this again, too: Georgia 23, Florida 20
Never play this again: No. 4 Ohio State 56, Purdue 0
What? USC 31, Oregon State 14
Huh? Boston College 34, Virginia Tech 27
Are you kidding me? No. 22 Michigan State 29, No. 21 Michigan 6
Oh – my – God: No. 18 Oklahoma State 52, No. 15 Texas Tech 34
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11)
Ticket to die for: (tie) No. 2 Oregon @ No. 6 Stanford (Thurs.), and No. 12 LSU @ No. 1 Alabama
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: BYU @ No. 22 Wisconsin
Best non-Big Six matchup: Ohio U @ Buffalo
Upset alert: Tennessee @ No. 10 Auburn
Must win: Houston @ No. 21 Central Florida
Offensive explosion: No. 15 Oklahoma @ No. 8 Baylor (Thurs.)
Defensive struggle: Vanderbilt @ Florida
Great game no one is talking about: No. 24 Arizona State @ Utah
Intriguing coaching matchup: Butch Jones of Tennessee vs. Gus Malzahn of Auburn
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 16 Louisville @ UConn
Why are they playing? Appalachian State @ Georgia
Plenty of good seats remaining: Air Force @ New Mexico
They shoot horses, don’t they? Old Dominion @ Idaho
Week 10 Random Thoughts:
I have come to the conclusion that these “body bag” games, such as the Purdue-Ohio State debacle I personally witnessed yesterday, are really glorified scrimmages. Case in point: the Buckeyes were already up 42-0 on the Boilermakers at halftime, and no sooner did the third quarter begin that they took out starting QB Braxton Miller and put in the back-up (#13). A prudent move, for who in the their right mind would subject the beating heart of their offense to further risk of injury when the game is already comfortably in hand? One would think at one point that Urban Meyer would send an emissary in the form of a ball boy (or somebody) to Darrell Hazell, asking him to run an “X-dig” pass play or a run play off tackle so his defense could better hone their craft in reacting to such maneuvers from the offense.
At least it was a conference game. Most of these “body bag” games have been essentially dial-up “W’s”. Check out half of the home games for the SEC teams, if you don’t believe me. The next time Nick Saban grouses about the fans leaving the game early, maybe he ought to schedule better home games than Colorado State, Georgia State, and Chattanooga.
College Football Week 5 Awards September 29, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Uncategorized.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Army, Auburn, Boston College, Butch Jones, BYU, Clemson, college, Colorado, Dana Holgersen, Duke, Ed Orgeron, Florida International, football, Georgia, Georgia State, Houston, Kansas State, Lane Kiffin, Les Miles, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, LSU, Mark Richt, Memphis, Miami, Mike Gundy, Mississippi State, Navy, NCAA, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pat Fitzgerald, Pat Haden, Purdue, Rich Rodriguez, South Alabama, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Miss, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, Temple, Tennessee, Tony Levine, Troy, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah State, Wake Forest, Washington, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Richt, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Les Miles, LSU
Lucky guy: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Poor guy: Rich Rodriguez, Arizona
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Tony Levine, Houston
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking … anything: Lane Kiffin, USC
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 15 Miami [FL] (defeated South Florida 49-21)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Tennessee (defeated South Alabama 31-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Wake Forest (lost to No. 3 Clemson 56-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Troy (lost to Duke 38-31)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Northern Illinois (defeated Purdue 55-24)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: Louisiana Tech
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Oklahoma State
Did the season start? Purdue
Can the season end? Wake Forest
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 9 Georgia 44, No. 6 LSU 41
Never play this again: No. 3 Clemson 56, Wake Forest 7
What? Tennessee 31, South Alabama 24
Huh? Arizona State 62, USC 41
Are you kidding me? Northern Illinois 55, Purdue 24
Oh – my – God: West Virginia 30, No. 11 Oklahoma State 21
Told you so: No. 12 South Carolina 28, Central Florida 25
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 5, pre-week 6)
Ticket to die for: No. 15 Washington @ No. 5 Stanford
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Army @ Boston College
Best non-Big Six matchup: BYU @ Utah State
Upset alert: Kansas State @ No. 21 Oklahoma State
Must win: No. 10 LSU @ Mississippi State
Offensive explosion: No. 4 Ohio State @ No. 15 Northwestern
Defensive struggle: Air Force @ Navy
Great game no one is talking about: No. 24 Ole Miss @ Auburn
Intriguing coaching matchup: Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern vs. Urban Meyer of Ohio State
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 2 Oregon @ Colorado
Why are they playing? Georgia State @ No. 1 Alabama
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida International @ Southern Miss
They shoot horses, don’t they? No. 7 Louisville @ Temple
Week 5 in Review:
Last week had so many horrible, “body bag” matchups that we were all better off just firing that week’s worth of games into the Sun, never to hear from it again, and good riddance! This week was different. First off, there was one of the games of the year in LSU @ Georgia, which did live up to its billing. Even the noon games, normally throw-aways, were intriguing. South Carolina v@ UCF was surprisingly competitive. Ditto with Oklahoma State @ West Virginia, and the results of that game were positively shocking. The evening games were also very entertaining, what with Arkansas giving Texas A&M a solid game, and Wisconsin doing the same at Ohio State.
Meanwhile, out on the west coast, a real offensive explosion took place between USC and Arizona State, and ironically, the 62-41 result in favor of the Sun Devils resulted in some much bigger fireworks after the game. As soon as the Trojans got back to Los Angeles, USC athletics director Pat Haden literally pulled head coach Lane Kiffin aside on the tarmac to inform him that his services will not be needed for the remainder of the season. Yes, Kiffin’s overall record in four seasons was 28-15, which is not terrible, but it’s not up to USC standards, either. Moreover, he lost 7 of the past 11 games, was 3-2 this year, and lost both of his conference games thus far. Things clearly were headed in a negative direction. Yes, the NCAA had unduly hamstrung the Trojans’ program with restricted scholarships all because somebody not affiliated with the program had given Reggie Bush’s parents a sweetheart deal on a house in San Diego. Still, after four years, one would expect some meaningful progress to be made from the undue setback, and unimaginative offensive play-calling, combined with inept execution is most certainly not a reflection of progress! Ed Orgeron, the defensive coordinator, (and formed Ole Miss head coach) has been named the interim head coach. Who says the SEC is geographically insular?
ETC.:
West Virginia’s upset win at home over ranked Oklahoma State could probably save Dana Holgersen’s job after his ignominious loss to Maryland the previous week. Louisville, meanwhile, remains a formidable team, but the only problem is, their temporary conference home (American) is so weak that every other game is a “body-bag” game. Take the upcoming week’s game at Temple, for example. South Florida and Memphis do not do the Cardinals’ strength of schedule any favors, either. On a positive note, the Oct. 18 game against Central Florida could turn out to be a dandy of a game, folks!
College Football Week 3 Awards September 17, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, awards, Ball State, Boise State, BYU, Cal, California, Charlie Strong, Clemson, college football, Colorado, Connecticut, Duke, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida State, Fresno State, Gene Chizik, Idaho, Indiana, James Franklin, John L. Smith, Joker Phillips, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, LSU, Mack Brown, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NCAA, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pat Fitzgerald, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, rivals, South Carolina, Stanford, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Todd Berry, Troy, UAB, USC, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Yahoo!
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It was so much fun. Every Sunday afternoon in the Fall of very recent years, we looked forward to the sportswriters of Rivals/Yahoo.com giving us their take on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the college football games and teams from the previous day. Their awards were very informal yet well to the point, and never failed to produce a number of chuckles and at times a few belly laughs. Those days seem to be gone. Yahoo!’s online sports section has been given a sleek makeover, but in this new format, the weekly awards seem to have been lost by the wayside. Maybe one could account for this because one of their main writers, Tom Dienhart, now blogs for the Big Ten Network. Who knows? The bottom line is, despite my best efforts, I cannot find it anymore. What website that is worth its weight in attracting eyeballs would make such an enjoyable weekly post so hard to find?
With all of this in mind, inspiration hit me last night to take it upon myself to dole out the awards instead. Afterall, I’m an alumnus of a Big Ten program, and have worked with coaches now on a number of “Big-Six” conference teams. It may not be Rivals/Yahoo!, but if you love college football, you might be apt to find this to be the next best thing. I have tweaked some of the awards to suit the unique situations that arise from week to week, but for the most part, the awards are the same. Therefore, I offer the awards for the third week of major college football, and aim to continue to do so until the able writers at Yahoo! ‘get it together’ and resume their Sunday duties.
Wish I were him: Mack Brown, Texas
Glad I’m not him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Lucky guy: Gene Chizik, Auburn
Poor guy: Todd Berry, Louisiana-Monroe
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Charlie Strong, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Joker Phillips, Kentucky
Desperately seeking … anything: John L. Smith, Arkansas
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Purdue (beat Eastern Michigan 54-16)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Mississippi State (beat Troy 30-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Idaho (lost to LSU 63-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Pittsburgh (beat Virginia Tech 35-17)
Thought you’d reach a turning point, you didn’t: Tennessee (lost to Florida 37-20)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Colorado (or Kentucky: take your pick!)
Ya’ know, they’re not so bad: Cal
Did the season start? Penn State
Can the season end? Navy
Can the season never end? Stanford
Play this again: Stanford 21, USC 14
Never play this again: Fresno State 69, Colorado 14
Unbelieveable Irony: Connecticut 24, Maryland 21
What? Ball State 41, Indiana 39
Huh? Notre Dame 20, Michigan State 3
Are you kidding me? Pittsburgh 35, Virginia Tech 17
Oh – my – God: Western Kentucky 31, Kentucky 30
Told you so: Louisville 39, North Carolina 34
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 11 Clemson @ No. 5 Florida State
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Florida International vs. Louisville
Best non-Big Six matchup: BYU @ Boise State
Upset alert: Kansas State @ Oklahoma
Must win: USC vs. California
Offensive explosion: Arizona @ Oregon
Defensive struggle: Temple @ Penn State
Great game no one is talking about: Missouri @ South Carolina
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Richt of Georgia vs. James Franklin of Vanderbilt
Who’s bringing the body bags? Florida Atlantic @ Alabama
Why are they playing? UAB @ Ohio State
Plenty of good seats remaining: Memphis @ Duke
They shoot horses, don’t they? Maryland @ West Virginia
What are your thoughts, dear readers? Comments are welcome!
intellectualgridiron 