College Football Week 11 Awards: the Night of the Living Upsets Edition November 16, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Art Briles, Auburn, Baylor, Bayou Bengals, Bears, Bob Stoops, Boise State, Boston College, Bulls, Cardinal, Charlotte, Clemson, David Shaw, Doc Holliday, Ducks, FIU, Florida, Houston, Hurricanes, Idaho, Indiana, Jim Harbaugh, Kentucky, Kyle Flood, Les Miles, Living, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Helfrich, Marshall, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Gundy, Mississippi State, New Mexico, Night, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Owls, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Razorbacks, Rice, Rich Rodriguez, Rutgers, SMU, Sooners, South Florida, Southern Miss, Stanford, TCU, Temple, Texas A&M, Tigers, UCLA, Upset, Upsets, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah, Utes, Washington State, Wildcats
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The Oregon-Stanford game was a classic matchup of speed vs. power. In the end, Stanford ruined their chances of a playoff berth with two 4th-quarter fumbles. This was but one of many upsets that night which could lead to considerable chaos in the rankings. (AP photo/Tony Avelar)
(Note: All rankings are current CFP [week 11] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Glad I’m not him: Art Briles, Baylor
Lucky guy: Mark Helfrich, Oregon
Poor guy: David Shaw, Stanford
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Doc Holliday, Marshall
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Les Miles, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Texas A&M (defeated Western Carolina 42-17)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 15 TCU (defeated Kansas 23-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Miami (lost to No. 23 North Carolina 59-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Purdue (lost to No. 18 Northwestern 21-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Southern Miss (defeated Rice 65-10)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: SMU
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Baylor
Did the season start? LSU
Can the season end? Miami (FL)
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
GAMES
Play this again: Oregon 36, No. 7 Stanford 34
Play this again, too: No. 14 Michigan 48, Indiana 41
Never play this again: Marshall 52, FIU 0
What? South Florida 44, No. 22 Temple 23
Huh? Arizona 37, No. 10 Utah 30, 2OT
Double-Huh? Oregon 36, No. 7 Stanford 34
Are you kidding me? No. 12 Oklahoma 44, No. 6 Baylor 34
Oh – my – God: Arkansas 31, No. 9 LSU 14
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are week 11 CFP as of right now)
Ticket to die for: No. 6 Baylor @ No. 8 Oklahoma State
Also: No. 13 Michigan State @ No. 3 Ohio State
Honorable mention: USC @ Oregon
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Georgia Southern @ Georgia
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 21 Memphis @ No. 22 Temple
Upset alert: Boston College vs. No. 4 Notre Dame
Must win: UCLA @ Utah
Also: No. 12 Oklahoma @ No. 15 TCU
Offensive explosion: Baylor @ Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: No. 17 Mississippi State @ Arkansas
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Pittsburgh
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Dantonio of MSU vs. Urban Meyer of OSU
Who’s bringing the body bags? Charleston Southern @ No. 2 Alabama
Why are they playing? Idaho @ Auburn
Ditto: Florida Atlantic @ No. 11 Florida
Plenty of good seats remaining: Rice @ UTSA
They shoot horses, don’t they? Charlotte @ Kentucky
Week 11 Take-aways:
Henceforth let this day, the 14th of November in the Year of Our Lord 2015, be known as the Night of the Living Upsets. The daylight hours proceeded with each favored team either comfortably sailing by, or at least no worse than slipping away from the occasional close shave. Then the evening hours descended, and everything seemed to be suddenly turned on its ear.
To wit:
Nobody thought that Arkansas had a chance against LSU. After all, the Razorbacks were having a mediocre-at-best season, sub-par in any case. Moreover, Arkansas had only defeated LSU in Baton Rogue just once in the past 20 years. On the other side of the coin, the Tigers – the Bayou Bengal variety – have been playing very strongly, despite a drubbing to an increasingly dominating Alabama squad. Yet the Hogs took it to the Tigers, in Death Valley, and did so in dramatic fashion, winning 31-14. As an aside, the Hogs now have their fourth straight win, having started the season 2-4.
Meanwhile, out on the west coast, a marquee matchup in the Pac-12 took place in Stanford, where the Oregon Ducks took on the Cardinal – formerly the Indians – in a classic match of contrasts, speed vs. power. Speed ended up winning by default in the end, narrowly, 38-36. Ironically, it was not Oregon’s speed that killed Stanford as it was the Cardinal’s two inopportune fumbles late in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, they surely would have won the contest.
In the heart of Texas, Oklahoma came in to Waco to take on Baylor in a rain-soaked showdown. To the surprise of many, the Bears’ high-powered offense was kept in check the entire game. Not coincidentally, the Sooners actually played real defense, unlike all the Bears’ previous opponents, but it was still a tough fight throughout the game. The triumph was nevertheless that of the Sooners, 44-34.
Elsewhere in the southwest, the high-flying Utah squad ventured to Tucson, Ariz., to take on the Arizona Wildcats. Rich Rodriguez must have been ready for the Utes’ arrival. His team was surely hungry for a big win, for they, muck like Arkansas in the SEC, have had a mediocre season at best. In the end, the Wildcats triumphed over the Utes in 2OT, 37-30.
A near-upset occurred, as Houston barely survived Memphis, 35-34. Those Tigers (as opposed to the LSU, Auburn, or Clemson ones) were in the lead most of the game. The Cougars very gradually gnawed away at the lead in the second half to eventually snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Even then it took a missed field goal on the part of Memphis to finalize the outcome.
Yet another near-upset occurred in Bloomington, Ind., as the Indiana Hoosiers almost knocked off Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines. Only a couple of freak big plays towards the end of regulation in Michigan’s favor saved Harbaugh’s bacon that game, as it put the game in OT where the better talent was able to prevail (which it did, 48-41).
An under-the-radar upset came in the form of South Florida – a nobody the entire season – up-ending No. 22 Temple, 44-23. Remember, this is the same Temple team that played fourth-ranked Notre Dame tough the entire length of that contest. Indeed, they almost upset the Irish. Now the Bulls have decisively beaten/upset the deceptively tough Owls. Oh my.
Another overlooked upset was New Mexico upsetting Boise State in Boise, Idaho, no less, 31-24. It took a stop just four years shy of the goal line on the part of the Lobos, with 0:00 on the clock, to ensure the outcome.
Yet another under-the-radar upset was so only because it was out on the west coast, and very late at night, even by Central Time standards. Unranked Washington State defeated No. 19 UCLA, 31-27, in Pasadena, no less. The win came on a Hail Mary pass that was completed in the end zone in the final seconds, giving an incredible night full of drama one incredible exclamation mark.
Those of who paid attention to the team schedules knew that this November would be a month of separation. What we did NOT anticipate was that so much, er, separation, would occur so soon in the month, and on one night alone. The real kicker? At only halfway through November, more separation (chaos?) is yet to come!
College Football Week 9 Awards November 2, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: 1982, Al Golden, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Bears, Bobby Petrino, Bulldogs, BYU, California, Central Florida, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Gus Malzahn, Hawaii, Houston, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Jim McElwain, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Mark Helfrich, Mark Richt, Memphis, Miami, Mike Leach, Mike Riley, Navy, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, San Jose State, South Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Todd Graham, UCF, UNLV, Utah, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington, Washington State, Western Kentucky
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One of a few missed calls during the hap-hazard, yet incredible, 8-lateral kickoff return finish my Miami in yesterday’s game. Paging Cal-Stanford 1982: you now have competition.
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 9] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jim McElwain, Florida
Glad I’m not him: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Lucky guy: Mark Helfrich, Oregon
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Brohm, Western Kentucky
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Charlie Strong, Texas
Desperately seeking … anything: Mike Riley, Nebraska
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oklahoma (defeated Kansas 62-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas A&M (defeated South Carolina 35-28)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Vanderbilt (lost to No. 18 Houston 34-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Purdue (see below)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tennessee (defeated Kentucky 52-21)
Dang, they’re good: Florida
Dang, they’re bad: UMass
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Pitt
Did the season start? Arizona
Can the season end? UCF
Can the season never end? Houston
GAMES
Play this again: No. 9 Notre Dame 24, No. 21 Temple 20
Play this again, too: Oregon 61, Arizona State 55 (3OT)
Never play this again: Arkansas 63, UT-Martin 28
What? North Carolina 26, No. 23 Pittsburgh 19
Huh? Miami 30, No. 22 Duke 27
Are you kidding me? Purdue 55, Nebraska 45
Oh – my – God: Iowa State 24, Texas 0
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 9, pre-week 10)
Ticket to die for: No. 4 LSU @ No. 7 Alabama
Also: No. 5 TCU @ No. 12 Oklahoma State
Make it a Trifecta: No. 17 Florida State @ No. 3 Clemson
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Navy @ No. 16 Memphis
Upset alert: No. 13 Utah @ Washington
Must win: Duke @ No. 21 North Carolina
Offensive explosion: Cincinnati @ No. 18 Houston (also TCU @ OKST)
Defensive struggle: Syracuse @ Louisville
Great game no one is talking about: Penn State @ Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Todd Graham of ASU vs. Mike Leach of WSU
Who’s bringing the body bags? Vanderbilt @ No. 11 Florida
Why are they playing? BYU @ San Jose State (Friday)
Plenty of good seats remaining: Hawaii @ UNLV
They shoot horses, don’t they? Kansas @ Texas
Week 9 Take-aways:
First it was Michigan State’s blocked punt that they recovered and ran back for a score with 0:00 left on the clock to beat rival Michigan in the Big House (they were behind prior to said score). Last week was followed up by Georgia Tech’s fantastic finish, whereby they blocked a Florida State field goal attempt at home, ran it back for a score and thus broke the tie as time expired. This week, the Miami Hurricanes – fresh from both a devastating home loss to Clemson and the subsequent firing of head coach Al Golden – made an eight-lateral play on a kickoff return that harkens directly back to Cal-Stanford 1982, for the game-winning touchdown, over then-ranked Duke, on the road. Three weeks in a row, three fantastic, historic finishes.
Well, sort of. There were tons of blown calls on that play, including an illegal block in the back (or two), and at one point, one of the lateralling players for Miami had his knee already down before he tossed the ball sideways. The overlooked calls were so blatant that the ACC suspended the officiating crew the following day. Could it be that the game result itself be overturned? We shall all have to stay tuned.
Bobby Petrino must be beside himself. Despite his able coaching, his players made mistake after mistake on the road against Wake Forest. Yet somehow they managed to barely win. Despite consecutive wins, this performance is not a sustainable path. Something must be done for the team to improve so as to win sustainably. An infusion of discipline would be both a quick and effective remedy.
Poor Mark Richt. Despite all the success he has had at Georgia, he just cannot get over the hump. A statistic during the debacle of a game against Florida (the Gators thumped the rival Bulldogs 27-3 at this year’s World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville) showed that Richt is 5-15 against ranked opponents during his tenure at UGA. Moreover, he is 5-9 against Florida, despite being 141-51 overall. The first stat alone indicates that he has peaked during his tenure at Georgia, that he has gone as far as he can with that program. Some new, dynamic blood in Athens, Ga., would perhaps finally help get the Bulldogs to consistent dominance of the SEC East, while Miami, Richt’s alma mater, has a head coach opening just waiting for a rock-solid fellow such as he. If such a scenario were to play out, it could benefit both parties concerned, the latter particularly, with a fresh start.
What on Earth has happened to Arizona? Early in the season, we anticipated they would be a factor in the Pac-12. Last night, they embarrassed themselves on the road at Washington, after coughing up the game to Wazzu the previous week. The Wildcats will not have much time to lick their wounds, either, as next week they take on USC, followed by Utah the week after, and the week after that they close the regular season against rival Arizona State, possibly with a 5-7 at this rate (they are current 5-4, and 2-4 in the conference).
College Football Week 8 Awards October 27, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Al Golden, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Cal, California, Clay Helton, Clemson, Doc Holliday, Florida, Florida State, George O'Leary, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Gus Malzahn, Hurricanes, Idaho, Iowa, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Louisiana Tech, Mark Helfrich, Marshall, Maryland, Miami, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico State, North Carolina, North Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Paul Johnson, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rice, Rutgers, Stanford, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Todd Graham, UCF, UCLA, UNT, USC, Utah, UTSA, Vanderbilt, Washington, Washington State
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Georgia Tech blocked a last-second field goal attempt by Florida State, and returned said blocked kick for a game-winning touchdown in one of the most fantastic finishes of the season.
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 8] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Clay Helton, USC
Glad I’m not him: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Lucky guy: Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech
Poor guy: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Doc Holliday, Marshall
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Al Golden, Miami
Desperately seeking … anything: George O’Leary, UCF
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oklahoma State (defeated Kansas 58-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Pitt (defeated Syracuse 23-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Rutgers (lost to No. 1 Ohio State 49-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Maryland (lost to Penn State 31-30)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Mississippi State (defeated Kentucky 42-16)
Dang, they’re good: Clemson
Dang, they’re bad: UCF
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Utah
Did the season start? Arizona
Can the season end? Kansas
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 8 Alabama 19, Tennessee 14
Play this again, too: Arkansas 54, Auburn 46 (4OT)
Never play this again: No. 6 Clemson 55, Miami 0
What? UCLA 40, No. 20 Cal 24
Huh? No. 24 Ole Miss 23, No. 15 Texas A&M 3
Are you kidding me? Georgia Tech 22, No. 9 Florida State 16
Oh – my – God: USC 42, No. 3 Utah 24
Told you so: Vanderbilt 10, Missouri 3
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 8, pre-week 9)
Ticket to die for: No. 11 Florida @ Georgia in Jacksonville
Also: USC @ No. Cal
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: No. 11 Notre Dame @ No. 22 Temple
Best non-Power Five matchup: Louisiana Tech @ Rice
Upset alert: Tennessee @ Kentucky
Must win: Arizona @ Washington
Offensive explosion: No. 10 Stanford @ Washington State
Defensive struggle: Maryland @ No. 12 Iowa
Great game no one is talking about: North Carolina @ No. 25 Pitt
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Helfrich of Oregon vs. Todd Graham of Arizona State
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 17 Oklahoma @ Kansas
Why are they playing? Tennessee-Martin @ Arkansas
Plenty of good seats remaining: Idaho @ New Mexico State
They shoot horses, don’t they? UTSA @ North Texas
Week 8 Take-aways:
And to think that everyone thought it would be a down week for football. That was before Texas won a ground-and-pound game at home, in the rainy remnants over Hurricane Patricia, over Kansas State. That was also before Georgia Tech, who has had a down year compared to the previous season, recreated Michigan State’s improbably win from last week by A) blocking a field goal, B) against No. 9 Florida State, and C) ran it in for a game-winning touchdown as the final seconds ticked off the clock, in one of the greatest fantastic finishes of the season, if not the decade. This of course, is NOT to discount Michigan State’s fantastic finish from the previous week!
In the SEC, a noticeable upset occurred in the evening when Ole Miss held Texas A&M to only a field goal for the entire game. Speaking of the SEC, Tennessee apparently continues to improve, as their annual rivalry game between Alabama lived up to said rivalry’s prestige, for the Vols played the highly ranked Tide as if they themselves were also a top-ten team. Though Tennessee ultimately lost, it ought to be considered a moral victory, and foreseeably, teams will take the Vols lightly at their own peril.
Then to cap things off for the day, USC upset No. 3-ranked Utah at home, 42-24. It was more than a defeat, it was a demolition. Apparently nothing galvanizes a team with good talent like their coach being let go mid-season under unconventional circumstances and then being left for dead by everybody who pays attention to their sport. Such a win no doubt generates some degree of momentum, but can the Men of Troy maintain it and salvage their season in so doing? They shall have a solid test to prove that they can against insurgent Cal next week. Fight on?
Apropos of nothing, who could have guessed at the beginning of the season that Auburn, who started off ranked no. 6 in the nation, would be 4-3 and 1-3 in the SEC by the end of eighth week?
College Football Awards Week 6 October 13, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Uncategorized.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Ball State, Baylor, Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Cotton Bowl, Crimson Tide, David Shaw, Florida, Gary Patterson, Georgia, Georgia State, Horned Frogs, Hurricanes, Iowa, Iowa State, Jim Harbaugh, Jim Mora, Kansas, Kansas State, Kyle Whittingham, Longhorns, Mark Richt, Matt Campbell, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Razorbacks, Red River rivalry, Red River Shootout, Red River Showdown, Sooners, South Carolina, Stanford, Steve Sarkesian, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo, Trojans, Troy, UCLA, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Vols, Wildcats, Wolverines
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Texas head coach Charlie Strong celebrates with his team after their incredible upset over rival Oklahoma. Judging by the photo, it seems as though he might have won back the locker room. Photo from the Dallas Morning News.
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Glad I’m not him: Steve Sarkesian, USC
Lucky guy: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Campbell of Toledo
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Desperately seeking … anything: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Baylor (defeated Kansas 66-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oklahoma (see below)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Troy (lost to Mississippi State 45-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Texas (see below)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Michigan (see below)
Dang, they’re good: Baylor
Dang, they’re bad: Miami, Ohio
Can’t Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? Miami, Fla.
Can the season end? South Carolina
Can the season never end? Utah
GAMES
Play this again: Texas 24, No. 10 Oklahoma 17
Play this again, too: Tennessee 38, No. 19 Georgia 31
Never play this again: No. 3 Baylor 66, Kansas 7
What? No. 18 Michigan 38, No. 13 Northwestern 0
Huh? Washington 17, No. 17 USC 12
Are you kidding me? Tennessee 38, No. 19 Georgia 31
Oh – my – God: Texas 24, No. 10 Oklahoma 17
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: No. 7 Michigan State @ No. 12 Michigan
Also: No. 10 Alabama @ No. 9 Texas A&M
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: No. 13 Ole Miss @ Memphis
Best non-Power Five matchup: Akron @ Bowling Green
Upset alert: Louisville @ No. 11 Florida State
Must win: USC @ No. 14 Notre Dame
Offensive explosion: West Virginia @ No. 2 Baylor
Defensive struggle: Vanderbilt @ South Carolina
Great game no one is talking about: No. 17 Iowa @ No. 20 Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Mora of UCLA vs David Shaw of Stanford
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 3 TCU @ Iowa State
Why are they playing? Louisiana Tech @ Mississippi State
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia State @ Ball State
They shoot horses, don’t they? Troy @ Mississippi State
Week 5 Take-aways:
What a weekend of upsets and near-upsets. One obvious near-miss: Gary Patterson’s TCU almost got upset on the road to Bill Snyder’s Kansas State. You just know that the old man was not going to roll over for the vaunted Horned Frogs. In the end, the near-miss cost the Frogs one spot in the rankings, as they are down to No. 3 from the No. 2 spot.
Similarly, Alabama took a while to get going at home against Arkansas. Eventually the Tide decided to start playing football, but they were down to the under-performing Hogs for too long of a time in regulation to be taken seriously as a contending team.
Now the upsets: we all knew that Northwestern was a legitimate team. Most of us thought that the Wildcats playing the Michigan Wolverines would be the game of the week. That turned out, in the end, not to be the case. Jim Harbaugh seems to be building the Wolverrines to become stronger by the week.
Then there was the upset of the USC Trojans, at home, against Chris Petersen’s scrappy Washington Huskies. We were all hoping for a good game, but certainly did not foresee the the embarrassment at home for the Men of Troy – though the subsequent news of Steve Sarkesian’s major alcohol problem certainly explains USC’s volatile performance this season. Let us all wish a complete, sober recover for Sark as he embarks on a rehab program.
Or what about Tennessee? The poor Vols were unable to “close the deal,” blowing leads to both Oklahoma and to Florida, leading to heartbreaking losses in so doing. This time around, however, they had to play from behind, and upset the heavily-favored Georgia Bulldogs in so doing. So much for Georgia’s national championship hopes this year.
But let us not fool ourselves. The biggest upset of the week came in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. All of us, even the team’s fans, had given the Texas Longhorns up for dead, especially after the devastating loss to TCU the previous week. Coach Charlie Strong seemed to have lost the locker room, and he was strategically flailing in terms of not having an offensive or defensive identity.
Perhaps the rival Oklahoma Sooners were just naïve enough to take the bait. The Horns looked like an entirely different team this past Saturday than they did for the entire season leading up to this fateful day. Texas drew first blood late in the first quarter, and, mirabile dictu, did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game. Moreover, Strong somehow regained his identity, effectively playing a run-oriented, ball-control offense that left OU’s defense sucking wind by late in the 4th quarter. It was just enough to hold on and to upset their heavily-favored rival. It also likely saved Coach Strong’s bacon for the rest of the year. Hook ‘em!
College Football Awards Week 5 October 4, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Al Golden, Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Cal, California, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Colorado State, Cotton Bowl, Dabo Swinney, FIghting Irish, Florida, Florida State, football, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Horned Frogs, Hugh Freeze, Hurricanes, Illinois, Iowa, Jim Harbaugh, Jim McElwain, Jim Mora, Kansas, Longhorns, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisville, Mark Richt, Matt Rhule, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, N.C. State, NC State, NCAA, Nebraska, New Mexico State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Pat Fitzgerland, Purdue, South Carolina, South Florida, Steve Spurrier, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Texas, Tigers, Troy, UCLA, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
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Clemson triumphed over Notre Dame in what was perhaps the most thrilling game of the season thus far. Mandatory photo credit: Joshua S. Kelly of USA TODAY Sports
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Glad I’m not him: Al Golden, Miami
Lucky guy: Bret Bielema, Arkansas
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jim Mora, UCLA
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Rhule, Temple
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking … anything: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: TCU (defeated Texas 50-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Michigan State (defeated Purdue 24-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Texas (lost to No. 4 TCU 50-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Purdue (lost to No. 2 Michigan State 24-21) T
hought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Iowa (defeated North Texas 62-16)
Dang, they’re good: TCU
Dang, they’re bad: Louisiana-Lafayette
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Ole Miss
Did the season start? Georgia Tech
Can the season end? Wyoming
Can the season never end? Clemson
GAMES
Play this again: No. 12 Clemson 24, No. 6 Notre Dame 22
Play this again, too: Arkansas 24, Tennessee 20
Never play this again: No. 4 TCU 50, Texas 7
What? Tulane 45, UCF 31
Huh? Iowa 10, #19 Wisconsin 6
Are you kidding me? No. 12 Clemson 24, No. 6 Notre Dame 22
Oh – my – God: Arizona State 38, No. 7 UCLA 23
Told you so: Louisville 20, N.C. State 13
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 5, pre-week 6)
Ticket to die for: No. 10 Oklahoma vs. Texas in the Cotton Bowl
Also: No. 13 Northwestern @ No. 18 Michigan
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Syracuse @ South Florida
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 25 Boise State @ Colorado State
Upset alert: Miami (Fla.) @ No. 12 Florida State
Must win: Wisconsin @ Nebraska
Offensive explosion: No. 23 Cal @ No. 5 Utah
Defensive struggle: Illinois @ No. 22 Iowa
Great game no one is talking about: No. 21 Oklahoma State @ West Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern vs. Jim Harbaugh of Michigan
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 3 Baylor @ Kansas
Why are they playing? New Mexico State @ No. 14 Ole Miss
Plenty of good seats remaining: Portland State @ North Texas
They shoot horses, don’t they? Troy @ Mississippi State
Week 5 Take-aways:
What a weekend for college football! The grand irony is that this week left more questions than answers.
What a game it was in Clemson, S.C. Notre Dame came to town ranked No. 6 in the nation. The Tigers were ranked twelfth. ESPN’s Gameday crew was there. A massive rainstorm persisted throughout the day and night. Fans watching on national TV witnessed the team descend the hill in “Death Valley” to take on the highly-ranked Fighting Irish. Mistakes were made on both sides: typical ups-and-downs of a thrilling contest between highly-ranked teams. In the end, the Tigers triumphed.
But all of this ought not to obfuscate that Brian Kelly has built a strong program in South Bend. Were they overrated at No. 6? Definitely. Are they still a tough team? Definitely.
Tennessee lost yet another heartbreaker, this time to Arkansas. It was a close contest throughout the game, but the same problem continues to plague the Vols: they have yet to learn how to close a game, which is to say, they need to learn to stop blowing leads late in games.
Steve Spurrier dropped yet another game to a low-standing team in the SEC. Is it too early to say that the wheels might be coming off the program? Will Spurrier eventually have the fortitude to fall on his sword and thus clear the path for the program to be lead in a new direction?
Worse yet is the condition of the Texas Longhorns, who just got drubbed by TCU in Fort Worth, 50-7. Yes, Coach Gary Patterson has gradually built up a super-strong program over the years, but is the lack of quarterback play on the part of the Longhorns the only thing that explains such a debacle, or is it something more systemic than who is the head coach?
Oh, and this slump could not come at a worse time, as Texas takes on Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl next week.
The Cincinnati Bearcats have given us two good Thursday night games in a row, and in the process, have walked away with two wins. The most recent one was home over the Miami Hurricanes. There has already been grumbling around Coral Gables that Al Golden has not brought the Canes back to the level of prominence that the faithful would like to see. Is losing to UC a fireable offense, in culmination of this lack of expected progress?
How does one explain Michigan State’s lackluster performance at home against weak Purdue? The Boilermakers were just a field goal away late in the 4th quarter from tying the game in regulation. Have the Boilers improved that much in just one week since losing a near-gimme game the previous contest? Regardless, it will be very interesting to see if Purdue can sustain any sort of improvement as the season progresses.
Ole Miss was rolling after defeating then-No. 3 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Rebels thus proved that they were both a tough team to reckon with and a team that could win on the road in a hostile environment. And yet, when they ventured into The Swamp to play Florida, they laid an egg. Yes, the Gators are improving week-by-week under the able leadership of Jim McElwain, but this alone cannot explain such an embarrassing defeat. Perhaps Coach Freeze did not have his men fully prepared, or, a critical mass of the team decided to take the game off, thinking it would not be as challenging as playing Bama. Such are the vicissitudes of college football, where 19 and 20-year olds are susceptible to such emotional roller coasters week to week that can negatively affect their level of play. It is a problem that coaches do not have to deal with in the pros, thankfully.
On a bright note, Bobby Petrino has his Louisville Cardinals slowly improving. Yes, they got their first win in a body bag game at home against Samford, but then they won, on the road, against a decent NC State team, in the rain. If that is not improvement, can somebody tell me what is?
College Football Week 4 Awards September 29, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Art Briles, Auburn, Baylor, Brent Musburger, Bret Bielema, Brian Kelly, Butch Jones, BYU, Cal, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Dabo Swinney, Darrell Hazell, East Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, EKU, FIU, Florida, football, Gators, Georgia, Horned Frogs, Hurricanes, Jim Mora, Kentucky, Kliff Kingsbury, Louisville, LSU, Mark Helfrich, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, N.C. State, NCAA, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Purdue, Rice, San Jose State, SEC, Sonny Dykes, South Carolina, Southeastern Conference, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Tigers, UCLA, UMass, Utah, Virginia Tech
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Tennessee lost a heartbreaker to Florida this past Saturday. They shall continue to lost more close games until they learn how to close, so to speak. Photo by John Raoux of the AP.
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 4] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jim Mora, UCLA
Glad I’m not him: Bret Bielema, Arkansas
Lucky guy: Jim McElwain, Florida
Poor guy: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Sonny Dykes, Cal
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mark Helfrich, Oregon
Desperately seeking … anything: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Baylor (defeated Rice 70-17)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oklahoma State (defeated Texas 30-27)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: UMass (lost to No. 6 Notre Dame 62-27(
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Texas (lost to No. 24 Oklahoma State 30-27)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Iowa (defeated North Texas 62-16)
Dang, they’re good: UCLA
Dang, they’re bad: Purdue
Can’t Stand Prosperity: BYU
Did the season start? Auburn
Can the season end? Arkansas State
Can the season never end? Utah
GAMES
Play this again: No. 3 TCU 55, Texas Tech 52
Play this again, too: Florida 28, Tennessee 27
Never play this again: No. 4 Baylor 70, Rice 17
What? East Carolina 35, Virginia Tech 28
Huh? Kentucky 21, No. 25 Missouri 13
Are you kidding me? Michigan 31, No. 22 BYU 0
Oh – my – God: No. 18 Utah 62, No. 13 Oregon 20
Told you so: Memphis 53, Cincinnati 46
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 4, pre-week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 6 Notre Dame @ No. 12 Clemson
Also: No. 13 Alabama @ No. 8 Georgia
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Miami (Fla.) @ Cincinnati
Best non-Power Five matchup: Air Force @ Navy
Upset alert: No. 24 Oklahoma State @ Texas
Must win: Arkansas @ Tennessee
Offensive explosion: Texas Tech @ No. 5 Baylor
Defensive struggle: South Carolina @ Missouri
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ N.C. State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech vs. Art Briles of Baylor
Also: Dabo Swinney of Clemson vs. Brian Kelly of Notre Dame
Who’s bringing the body bags? Purdue @ No. 2 Michigan State
Why are they playing? Eastern Michigan @ No. 9 LSU
Plenty of good seats remaining: FIU @ UMass
They shoot horses, don’t they? San Jose State @ Auburn
Week 4 Take-aways:
Tennessee lost a heartbreaker on the road to Florida, thus continuing a losing streak to the Gators that started in 2005. Earlier in the season, they lost another heartbreaker at home to Oklahoma. What is so heartbreaking about both of these losses is that the Volunteers were in the lead for most of the game, until blowing the lead late in both games. Butch Jones is continuing to improve the program, gradually bringing it back to its blueblood status in the conference. But they’re clearly not there yet, and shall not be “there” until they learn to “close the deal,” which is to say, they must learn to finish the games strongly. It is still early in the season, so still time to salvage things.
Speaking of salvaging, Steve Spurrier seemed to have salvaged things reasonably well when his team beat a deceptively good Central Florida squad. Next week, though, they travel to a Columbia, Mo., to take on a similarly-ailing Missouri Tigers team, in what one can easily surmise is a must-win game for both.
Why are both aforementioned teams ailing? They both lost to Kentucky, for goodness sake!
Speaking of UK, given that the Wildcats have W’s over both the Gamecocks and the (Mizzou) Tigers, and they face a relative cupcake in the EKU Colonels this Saturday at home (a quasi-body bag game), the possibility that they could become bowl-eligible in the brutal SEC is not a remote one. Granted, they face a brutal stretch after the EKU game, facing, in order, Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee, then Georgia, but then have a two-week respite with Vanderbilt and then a gimme with Charlotte before concluding the season against improving Louisville. It could be a 6-6 year, which, for UK, is an improvement.
Utah and Michigan started the season playing each other. Though the former beat the latter convincingly, both teams are rolling right now. Funny how that works out.
TCU beat Texas Tech in a high-scoring game that went down to the wire. The Horned Frogs are supposed to be a top-five team, so how does one account for this narrow victory in a shootout? Let us not forget that this TCU team also squeaked by Minnesota at the beginning of the season. Are the Frogs overrated? The upcoming home game against a gradually-improving Texas team could be a referendum.
The only regretful thing about this delightfully intriguing matchup between Notre Dame and Clemson is that Brent Musburger will not be calling the game!
The College Football Bowlgame Breakdown for 2014-2015 December 17, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, BC, Belk, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise State, Boston College, Bowl, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Central Florida, Central Michigan, Chick-Fil-A, Clemson, college, Colorado State, Cotton, Dana Holgersen, Detroit, East Carolina, Fiesta, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, football, game, Gator, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hawkeyes, Heart of Dallas, Idaho Potato, Illinois, Independence, Iowa, Lafayette, Las Vegas, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, LSU, MAC, Mark Dantonio, Marshall, Miami, Michigan State, N.C. State, NCAA, Nevada, New Orleans, Nick Saban, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Orange, Oregon, Owls, Peach, Pinstripe, Rams, Rose, Russell Athletic, Schnellenberger, South Carolina, St. Petersburg, state, Sugar, TaxSlayer, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCF, Urban Meyer, Utah, Utes, Volunteers, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan
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The 2012 New Mexico Bowl between Arizona and Nevada turned out to be a thrilling, high-scoring affair. Let us hope that when the Wildcats line up against Boise State in this upcoming Fiesta Bowl, we the fans will be treated to similar fireworks!
Yes, folks, we are but a few short days away from looking LIVE at a bevy of bowl games. This plethora of postseason pigskin contests will span two weeks and change, and we will likely be satiated with college football, at least until the Spring games in April. So, here is a break-down of what not to miss, and a few that you’d like to miss, but will not be able to help yourselves just the same.
Ticket to die for: Oregon vs. Florida State in the Rose Bowl, Thurs., Jan. 1. Actually the real ticket to die for is the playoff championship game held a week later, but the semifinals must be played first to determine who plays then. Fair enough, you say, but what about Bama vs. the Buckeyes in the Sugar Bowl? That’s a good one, to be sure. But in the minds of most fans and commentators, the Ducks vs. the Seminoles seems to have just a slightly greater degree of sex appeal, that’s all.
Best non–Power Five vs. Power Five match–up: Utah vs. Colorado State in the Las Vegas Bowl, Sat., Dec. 20. For one, this might be the only worthwhile bowl game to watch on the first day of the post–season. For another, there are actually a few other decent match–ups to keep one’s eye on as said post–season unfolds, namely Illinois (wait, they’re in a bowl this year?) vs. Louisiana Tech in the Heart of Dallas Bowl and N.C. State vs. Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl (wait, what happened to it being called the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl?), both on Fri., Dec. 26. Indeed, the latter line–up might be cause to reconsider who merits the “best” distinction. The reason I say that is, with the Rams’ coach having bolted to take the Florida job (who can blame him for taking such a prestigious post?), nobody knows what sort of team will show up to face the Utes.
Then again, this is the mystery that shrouds most bowl game line–ups.
Best non–Power Five match–up: Marshall vs. Northern Illinois in the Boca Raton Bowl on Tues., Dec. 23. So Florida Atlantic is going to host a bowlgame? Apparently they’re good for something after all. Sorry, Owls, but things haven’t been the same since Coach Schnellenberger retired. The Huskies won the MAC decisively in Detroit, while Marshall has been a strong non–Power Five team all year long, notwithstanding almost coughing it up to the La. Tech Bulldogs recently.
Upset alert: Oklahoma vs. Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl, Mon., Dec. 29. This is the safest upset to predict because whereas the Tigers are ranked (No. 17), the Sooners are not, and Clemson’s postseason performance is unreliable, right, Dana Holgersen?
Must win: Ole Miss vs. TCU in the Peach Bowl, Wed., Dec. 31. The winner of this game will be the team that is the least disappointed to be there after having much higher aspirations during the regular season. A win here will also help them salvage some consolation from not having lived up to said aspirations.
Offensive explosion: Boise State vs. Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl, Wed., Dec. 31. At least, this match-up has a good a chance as any to rack up some points. The Wildcats and the Broncos both have been fairly adept at that this season, after all. The bonus in this game is that there is great potential for snazzy colors in the team uniforms on both sides of the ball!
Defensive struggle: Boston College vs. Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl, Sat., Dec. 27. Neither team really lit up the scoreboard this year, did they? Add cold weather on top of that (it will be played in Yankee Stadium, after all), and that is likely to put a further damper on offensive output.
Great game no one is talking about: Iowa vs. Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Fri., Jan. 2. This used to be called the Gator Bowl for the previous 67 years, fyi. What makes this game so good is that the Hawkeyes have been very quietly winning a critical mass of games this year, while the Volunteers are a year away under Coach Butch Jones before becoming really good. Translation: this is a closer match–up than most SEC fans would be willing to acknowledge.
Intriguing coaching match–up: Nick Saban of Alabama vs. Urban Meyer of Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, Thurs., Jan. 1. This is a no–brainer. They’re arguably the two best coaches in the business, no what it takes to win, and both of multiple national championships under their belts. Moreover, the two have gone head–to–head before when Meyer was coaching at Florida. This oughtta be a good one, folks!
Who’s bringing the body bags? LSU vs. Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl, Tues., Dec. 30. The only way this game is remotely competitive is if the Tigers just lie down for most of the game, for the Irish have been exposed time and again as overrated frauds late this year.
Why are they playing? Florida vs. East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl, Sat., Jan. 3. The only reason in any known universe that these two programs would be playing each other in a bowl game is because the Gators are that far down as a program at the moment.
Plenty of good seats remaining: Western Michigan vs. Air Force in the Idaho Potato Bowl, Sat., Dec. 20. Nothing against Western Michigan and the fine year they have had (by MAC standards, at least). Nothing against Air Force, because they’re the troops. But still, it will be in frigid Boise, Idaho. Unless you’re going there to ski, why bother being anywhere near there this time of year?
They shoot horses, don’t they? Nevada vs. Louisiana–Lafayette in the New Orleans Bowl, Sat., Dec. 20. Yes, I know, these past 13 years, the New Orleans Bowl has been the traditional kick-off game for the bowl season, but let us be honest: this strikes us as only a slightly better–than–average non–Power Five early season match–up. Do I lie?
That said, an honorable mention for pointless match–up is Toledo vs. Arkansas State in the GoDaddy Bowl (played in Mobile, Ala.) on Sun., Jan. 4.
Red–and–Black Special: Louisville vs. Georgia in the Belk Bowl, Tues., Dec. 30. These two teams seem too good for the Belk Bowl. Still, the bowl itself has managed to climb its way up the prestige ranks a bit over the course of a decade. It must be the sponsor: “Belk Bowl” has far better ring to it than “Continental Tires Bowl”. Yes, that’s what it used to be called. Honest!
Most exotic location: Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky in the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl on Wed., Dec. 24. Do not adjust your screens, for you read that correctly. Yes, there is now a bowl game in the Bahamas (Nassau, specifically), an obvious “first”. Let’s hope the teams have the opportunity to enjoy things and live it up a bit.
Two great programs in a so–so bowl: Miami vs. South Carolina in the Independence Bowl, Sat., Dec. 27. Maybe after these two proud programs get down knocking heads, the bowl game will be a bit less so–so, and more reminiscent of recent times when the likes of LSU and Notre Dame slugged it out (1997) or when Mississippi State and then–Big XII rep Texas A&M duked it out in a blizzard (2000). It already has made us forget the less–than–memorable match–ups of the past few years.
The explosive offense meets the immovable defense: Baylor vs. Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl, Thurs., Jan.1. Plus, there will be lots of green! Seriously, though, the Bears have put up scorching numbers on offense, but the big knock against them has constantly been, whom have they played this year? On the other hand, Michigan State has proven themselves to be a force with which to be reckoned after upsetting Stanford in the most recent Rose Bowl. Lesson learned: Mark Dantonio and the Spartans are not to be taken lightly.
Consolation game: Mississippi State vs. Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl, Jan. 1. Similar The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, if Mississippi State wins this, it will be because they overcame their disappointment of not making the Top 4 in the playoffs. With that said, when was the last time that the Bulldogs have made it to such a prestigious bowl game? Certainly not in my lifetime!
College Football Week 8 Awards October 19, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Art Briles, B1G, Baylor, Big Ten, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boilers, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Bruins, Buffaloes, BYU, Cal, Central Florida, college, Colorado, Darrell Hazell, Doc Holliday, FIghting Irish, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida State, football, Furman, Georgia State, Golden Bears, Golden Gophers, Indiana, James Franklin, Jerry Kill, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Miami, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, NCAA, Nevada, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Seminoles, SMU, South Carolina, TCU, Temple, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Troy, UAB, UCLA, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah, UTEP, UTSA, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia, Will Muschamp
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 8] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Glad I’m not him: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Lucky guy: Jerry Kill, Minnesota
Poor guy: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
Desperately seeking a wake-up clue: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Doc Holliday, Marshall
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Art Briles, Baylor
Desperately seeking … anything: Will Muschamp, Florida
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 8 Michigan State (defeated Indiana 56-17)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Louisville (defeated North Carolina State 30-18)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Colorado (lost to No. 22 USC 56-28)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (lost to Texas Tech 34-21)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: No. 7 Alabama (defeated No. 21 Texas A&M 59-0)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: SMU
You know, they’re not so bad: Minnesota
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Baylor
Did the season start? Texas A&M
Can the season end? Georgia State
Can the season never end? Florida State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 2 Florida State 31, No. 5 Notre Dame, 27
Play this again, too: No. 20 Utah 29, Oregon State 23
Never play this again: South Carolina 41, Furman 10
What? Nevada 42, BYU 35
Huh? No. 14 Kansas State 31, No. 11 Oklahoma 30
Are you kidding me? No. 7 Alabama 59, No. 21 Texas A&M 0 (the shear blowout)
Oh – my – God: West Virginia 41, No. 4 Baylor 27
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 8, pre-week 9)
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Ole Miss @ No. 24 LSU
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none, notwithstanding the “Why Are They Playing” entry)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Temple @ Central Florida
Upset alert: Texas @ No. 11 Kansas State
Must win: No. 22 West Virginia @ Oklahoma State
Offensive explosion: No. 15 Arizona @ Washington State
Defensive struggle: Miami @ Virginia Tech
Great game no one is talking about: BYU @ Boise State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Urban Meyer of Ohio State vs. James Franklin of Penn State
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 1 Mississippi State @ Kentucky (also: UConn @ No. 18 East Carolina)
Why are they playing? UAB @ Arkansas
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ UTSA
They shoot horses, don’t they? Florida Atlantic @ No. 23 Marshall
Week 8 Random Thoughts:
- While Michigan State is a solid choice for the “Thought you’d kick butt, you did” weekly award, the truth is, a number of teams ended up kicking butt, that in hindsight made sense that they would. Start with South Carolina (see: last week’s “Why are they playing?” nod), who beat relatively hapless Furman 41-10. In hindsight, a resurgent Ohio State team against a Rutgers team still learning to navigate the terrain of the Big Ten was also a clear would-be drubbing (result: 56-17). Even more obvious was the Colorado @ USC match-up. The Buffaloes still cannot get things together, while Steve Sarkesian is slowly building the Trojans back to national prominence. The 56-28 result, therefore, came as not surprise.
- While Alabama could not be a more obvious choice for the weekly “Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did” award (59-0 over Texas A&M, their biggest lopsided shutout in 35 years), other games would have been decent choices as well. Start with Marshall’s butt-kicking of Florida International, 45-13. Even more of a surprise, though, was TCU’s drubbing of Oklahoma State, 42-9. On paper, these were closely-matched teams (No. 12 vs. No. 15, respectively). Turns out that in reality, they were not that close in terms of competitive prowess after all. Further down the food chain, Appalachian State – a newcomer to the FCS – beat up on Troy unexpectedly, 53-14. Sounds like the latter is a “Can the season end?” candidate. Stay tuned.
- Last night’s Notre Dame @ Florida State slugfest is already an instant classic. Clearly one of the biggest, best games of the season thus far, it wins the “Play this again” award hands down. That said, despite some lop-sided victories in football this past weekend, plenty other games merit a second look nevertheless. Start with the late Thursday night game on the West Coast, Utah @ Oregon State. The Utes went into Reser Stadium, took the Beavers into overtime, and walked out victorious. Speaking of the West Coast, take a look at the final score between UCLA @ Cal (spoiler alert: 36-34). Consider that you have the Bruins vs. Golden Bears, and two different shades of blue and gold going head-to-head, in the same conference, no less. With such similarities, such a score result is only fitting. In the Big Ten, one was able to enjoy an interesting matchup between Minnesota and Purdue. On one hand, the Golden Gophers have quietly risen to the top of their division in the conference, while Purdue has quietly improved from their doldrums. Indeed, the Boilers almost won on the road.
- Notre Dame remains an enigma. After so many close calls against inferior teams, surely they would not have played No. 2 Florida State as closely as they did on the road. Not when having to result to strokes of luck to win against Stanford. Not when allowing Purdue to play them as closely as they did in Indianapolis. Yet on Saturday night, they played in Tallahassee like they deserved to be the 5th-ranked team in the nation. Further monitoring of the team will be in order to make sense of this inconsistent behavior. Fortunately, the schedule is such that it will allow for further clarity to be reached as it plays out. The Fighting Irish journey to Tempe, Ariz., to play Arizona State in three weeks, followed by Northwestern and then Louisville at home. Then, they cap off the season in Los Angeles against USC. One takes any one of those teams lightly at his own peril (translation: if the Irish fail to bring their A-game to any one of these matchups, they’re doomed).
- As an aside, part of Ole Miss now being taken seriously in the national rankings (No. 3, currently), is that their defense is given plenty of respect with an up-and-coming brand: the “land shark” defense. One must admit, that has a nice ring to it!
Week 6 College Football Awards October 6, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Art Briles, Auburn, Autzen Stadium, Baylor, Boilermakers, Brady Hoke, Buffalo, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, BYU, Cal, California, Cardinal, Central Florida, Charleston Southern, Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado State, Dan Mullen, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Gary Patterson, Hugh Freeze, Illini, Illinois, Irish, Jim McElwain, John F. Kennedy, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Les Miles, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, NC State, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Purdue, Rebels, Rose Bowl, Sooners, South Carolina, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, Utah, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington, Will Muschamp, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Wish I were him, too: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Glad I’m not him: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Lucky guy: Will Muschamp, Florida
Poor guy: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Desperately seeking a wake-up clue: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jim McElwain, Colorado State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Les Miles, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Brady Hoke, Michigan
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 1 Florida State (beat Wake Forest 43-3)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 1 Florida State (defeated NC State 56-41)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Maryland (lost to No. 20 Ohio State 52-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Northwestern (defeated No. 17 Wisconsin 20-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: No. 5 Auburn (defeated No. 18 LSU 41-7)
Dang, they’re good: Auburn
Dang, they’re bad: Florida Atlantic
You know, they’re not so bad: Utah
Can’t Stand Prosperity: UCLA
Did the season start? Tennessee
Can the season end? Michigan
Can the season never end? Ole Miss and Mississippi State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 11 Ole Miss 23, No. 1 Alabama 17
Play this again, too: Utah 30, No. 8 UCLA 28
Never play this again: Clemson 41, NC State 0
What? No. 12 Mississippi State 48, No. 6 Texas A&M 31
Huh? No. 25 TCU 37, No. 4 Oklahoma 33
Are you kidding me? Arizona 31, No. 2 Oregon 24
Oh – my – God: No. 11 Ole Miss 23, No. 3 Alabama 17
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Auburn @ No. 3 Mississippi State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Cincinnati @ Miami
Best non-Power Five matchup: BYU @ Central Florida
Upset alert: No. 3 Ole Miss @ No. 12 Texas A&M
Must win: Texas vs. No. 11 Oklahoma in Dallas
Offensive explosion: Washington @ California
Defensive struggle: LSU @ Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Clemson
Intriguing coaching matchup: Gary Patterson of TCU vs. Art Briles of Baylor
Who’s bringing the body bags? Chattanooga @ Tennessee (also, No. 9 Michigan State @ Purdue)
Why are they playing? Charleston Southern @ Vanderbilt
Plenty of good seats remaining: Buffalo @ Eastern Michigan
They shoot horses, don’t they? Louisiana-Monroe @ Kentucky
Week 6 Random Thoughts:
- In all the years I have followed college football closely (two decades and counting), I honestly cannot recall a weekend where the top-ten rankings were turned upside-down with upsets. Indeed, upsets abounded all over the place. To wit, Thursday night, Arizona went into noisy Autzen Stadium and upset the No. 2 Oregon Ducks. Friday night, Utah State beat deceptively-tough No. 18 BYU. Then on Saturday during the noon timeslot, Mississippi State finally earned a big win over a top-ten opponent in Texas A&M. Following that, Ole Miss beat No. 3 Alabama. The last time the Rebels went 5-0, John F. Kennedy was in the White House. If that is not enough, TCU went into Norman, Okla., and upset the Sooners. Let us not forget that out on the West Coast, unranked Utah upset No. 8 UCLA out in the Rose Bowl. So, just so everybody is up to speed, the No. 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8-ranked teams all went down.
- Regarding Purdue’s win on the road at Illinois, it remains inconclusive as to whether or not the Boilermakers have improved that much since stinking out the joint against Iowa on homecoming weekend, or if the Illini are even more inept than Purdue.
- So with all the top-ten teams going down to defeat this past Saturday, how come No. 1 Florida State escaped unscathed? That would not have anything to do with the fact that they played Wake Forest, would it?
- With all the top-ten teams upset, it might have escaped the notice of many fans that unranked Northwestern also pulled off an upset over the No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers. Given the Wildcats’ mediocre performances thus far, none of us saw that one coming.
- I cannot help but surmise that the only thing the saved Notre Dame’s bacon at home against Stanford was the positively nasty weather that no doubt threw the Cardinal a bit off their game. Otherwise, the Irish might have (indeed should have) been exposed.
- For those of us who are waiting for the opportunity for Notre Dame to be exposed as the truly overrated team they are, mark your calendars for Nov. 8, when they play Florida State, followed by Nov. 22. On that date, they play the Louisville Cardinals. Just sayin’.
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!
