College Football Week 4 Awards September 22, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Big XII, Bobby Petrino, body bag, Boise State, Bowling Green, Brady Hoke, Bronco Mendenhall, BYU, Central Florida, Central Michigan, Colorado State, Dana Holgersen, David Shaw, Duke, FIU, Florida, Florida A&M, Florida International, Fresno State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Jim McElwain, Kansas State, Ken Niumatalolo, Kent State, Kyle Flood, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee State, Mississippi State, MTSU, Navy, Nick Saban, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, P.J. Fleck, Pac-12, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Alabama, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tim DeRuyter, Troy, UCF, UCLA, UConn, Virginia Tech, Washington, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 4] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: David Shaw, Stanford
Glad I’m not him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Lucky guy: Tim DeRuyter, Fresno State
Poor guy: Bronco Mendenhall, BYU
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Brady Hoke, Michigan
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Dana Holgersen, West Virginia
Desperately seeking … anything: P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 7 Louisville (defeated FIU 72-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 11 Michigan (defeated UConn 24-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Troy (lost to Mississippi State 62-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Colorado State* (lost to No. 1 Alabama 31-6)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Iowa (defeated Western Michigan 59-3)
Dang, they’re good: Stanford
Dang, they’re bad: Western Michigan
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Arkansas
Did the season start? Michigan State
Can the season end? Central Michigan
Can the season never end? UCLA
GAMES
Play this again: Fresno State 41, Boise State 40
Play this again, too: Pittsburgh 58, Duke 55
Never play this again: No. 4 Ohio State 76, Florida A&M 0
What? Iowa 59, Western Michigan 3
Huh? Fresno State 41, Boise State 40
Are you kidding me? Texas 31, Kansas State 21
Oh – my – God: Maryland 37, West Virginia 0
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)
Ticket to die for: No. 6 LSU @ No. 9 Georgia
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Northern Illinois @ Purdue
Best non-Big Six matchup: Navy @ Western Kentucky (honorable mention: Akron @ Bowling Green)
Upset alert: No. 23 Wisconsin @ No. 4 Ohio State, or, No. 12 South Carolina @ Central Florida
Must win: No. 10 Texas A&M @ Arkansas
Offensive explosion: Arizona @ No. 16 Washington
Defensive struggle: MTSU @ BYU
Great game no one is talking about: Virginia Tech @ Georgia Tech (Thurs.)
Intriguing coaching matchup: Ken Niumatalolo of Navy vs. Bobby Petrino of Western Kentucky
Who’s bringing the body bags? South Florida @ No. 15 Miami
Why are they playing? South Alabama @ Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Kent State @ Western Michigan
They shoot horses, don’t they? Troy @ Duke
Week 4 in Review:
*: This was the “body bag” game that did not quite turn out to be one. On paper, Colorado State was to be the lamb being led to the slaughter. After all, the fortunes of the Rams have been nothing like the halcyon days under former head coach Sonny Lubick. Moreover, in a week where every other game seemed to be a body bag game, this one should have been no different. Consider an under-performing Mountain West Conference team journeying over a thousand miles from Fort Collins, Colo., to Tuscaloosa, Ala., only to go into one of the most hostile places in the land in which to play football, with none other than Nick Saban, arguably the best coach in the business, to be the pitiless executioner.
All things considered, the 31-6 loss could have been much worse. The Rams actually did a good job of gaining yardage against the Crimson Tide. The only problem was, the bulk of that yardage was between the 20 yard-lines. Once Colorado State made it into the red zone, Alabama started to show more of its true defensive colors, as the score attests. Still, head coach Jim McElwain – coincidentally, the former offensive coordinator at Alabama – came in with a sound game plan, and that was to keep his team’s offense on the field for as long as possible, and conversely, to keep Alabama’s offense off the field as long as possible. They took plenty of risks – including lots of screen passes – in order to try to make that happen. One thing that was particularly telling of some degree of success in the overall game plan, despite the loss, was that Saban kept his headset on and kept coaching his team literally as the final second of the fourth quarter ticked off the clock. One normally does not see that sort of behavior from a coach – no matter how skilled they are in the business – during a so-called “body bag” game.
But this game aside, even some of the better matches on paper (say, Tennessee at Florida, or Michigan State at Notre Dame) turned out to be exercises in ineptitude on both sides of the ball. Even Purdue, who acquitted themselves well against Notre Dame last week, came out flat against Wisconsin this week.
Speaking of “body bag” games, though, this weekend was lousy with them. Records have become so important in terms of one’s BCS standings, that teams have largely become risk-averse, and since most conferences do not mandate that at least nine conference games be scheduled (notwithstanding the Big XII and Pac-12), we the fans had to suffer through lots of garbage matchups (hello, Florida A&M @ Ohio State) this past week. Next week will thankfully be different, though, as most teams have some sort of conference game, and even those that do not still [mostly] have some interesting opponent to play (e.g., Northern Illinois at Purdue, South Carolina at an up-and-coming UCF, Oklahoma at Notre Dame, and Navy at Western Kentucky). The bottom line is, let us blot this past week out of our memories, and just look forward to that which is immediately ahead.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Awards, post-Round 2 March 25, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Andy Endfield, award, basketball, bracket, Butler, college, Dr. John Giannini, Duke, Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Gregg Marshall, Hades, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, IU, John Groce, John Thompson III, Kentucky, LaSalle, Louisville, Mark Few, Marquette, Miami, Michigan State, Minnesota, NCAA, NIT, North Carolina A&T, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Rick Pitino, round, St. Louis, Syracuse, Tom Creen, tournament, tourney, U of L, UCLA, VCU, Wichita State
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I’m not the most knowledgeable person about college basketball or roundball in general, but the developments over the first two rounds led me to notice that some of the awards I usually bestow at the end of each regular season week of college football might also apply during this, the 2013 NCAA men’s basketball tourney.
It’s been an interesting one thus far, what with some key upsets that have shot many a person’s bracket to Hades. Although, if you went “chalk” in the West region, you’re good for the Sweet Sixteen! Anyhow, Enjoy!
COACHES
Wish I were him: Rick Pitino, Louisville
Glad I’m not him: John Thompson III, Georgetown
Lucky guy: Dr. John Giannini, LaSalle
Poor guy: John Groce, Illinois
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Tom Creen, Indiana
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Gregg Marshall, Wichita State (honorable mention: Andy Endfield, Florida Gulf Coast)
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mark Few, Gonzaga
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Louisville (both rounds)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Indiana (round 2)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: North Carolina A&T (round 1)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Florida Gulf Coast (both rounds)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Iowa State (round 1)
Dang, they’re good: Louisville
Dang, they’re bad: Akron
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Gonzaga
Did the season start? St. Louis
Can the season end? Kentucky (yeah, I know, not even in the tourney, but they were one-and-done in the NIT!)
Can the season never end? Oregon (honorable mention: Florida Gulf Coast)
GAMES
Play this again: Marquette 74, Butler 72
Never play this again: VCU 88, Akron 42
What? Oregon 68, Oklahoma State 55
Huh? Florida Gulf Coast 78, Georgetown 68
Are you kidding me? Oregon 74, St. Louis 57
Oh – my – God: Wichita St. 76, Gonzaga 70
Told you so: Minnesota 83, UCLA 63
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: Indiana vs. Syracuse, also Michigan State vs. Duke
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Florida vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Best non-Big Six matchup: Wichita State vs. LaSalle
Upset alert: Michigan vs. Kansas
Must win: (all of them: duh!)
Great game no one is talking about: Miami vs. Marquette
Teams that hit the wall November 29, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: 'Canes, ACC, Alabama, Arkansas, Austin, Ball State, Baylor, BCS, Belk Bowl, Big 12, Big East, Big XII, Bobcats, Bowl, Bowling Green, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Dan Mullen, Dana Holgorsen, Duke, Egg Bowl, Florida State, football, Frank Solich, game, Hurricanes, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Longhorns, Louisville, LSU, MAC, Miami, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Mountaineers, MSU, NCAA, North Carolina, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Rebels, Rutgers, Scarlet Knights, SEC, Southern Miss, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, U of L, USF, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, WVU, Yeoman
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Ohio U: The Bobcats were off to a great start under Frank Solich. They won seven consecutive games, and were even ranked No. 24 going into the Miami (Ohio) game on Oct. 27. After that game, they were undefeated no more. The team lost the next four of five games, including their last one to currently No. 18 Kent State. That loss was understandable, even excusable. Losing to Ball State the previous week? Less understood, even less excusable. But losing to Bowling Green? No excuse at all. Perhaps the Bobcats just ran out of energy, which is one form of hitting the proverbial wall.
Correction: A well-informed, experienced observer brought something else to my attention regarding Ohio U. The biggest reason they hit the proverbial wall was injuries, especially injuries to their offensive line. By season’s end, they were playing third-string linemen without any subs — brutal! Upon further review, that might explain their loss to Bowling Green after all!
Mississippi State: Poor MSU (the Magnolia State MSU, not the Great Lakes State MSU). They try so hard, but they try to excel in the most brutal of all college football neighborhoods. Dan Mullen has done the Yeoman’s work making the Bulldogs more than respectable, and making their fan base believe in the team’s potential. Seven consecutive games, seven consecutive wins: so far, so good. Then came the game at Alabama: automatic loss. Fair enough. Still ranked No. 16, they were to play Texas A&M at home. That turned out not so well, either. The next game was at LSU; care to guess how that turned out? The thing was, after the big win over Arkansas (45-14), one would think that the worst was behind them. After all, in the Egg Bowl (their traditional rivalry game against Mississippi), they were favored. Ole Miss is mediocre, and Mississippi State has had, all things considered, a great season. But then they inexplicably lost to the Rebels 41-24. What gives? They obviously hit the wall, but how? Was it loss of energy, in clear case of Ohio U, or was it just the more brutal part of their schedule? The latter cannot explain things alone, since, hello, they lost to Ole Miss, and though the Rebels have improved, they have not improved that much. The answer might therefore be, a little of both. Let us hope Dan Mullen can allow for some of the energy in the team to recover for the bowl game.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers were flying high after their big debut in the Big XII, beating Baylor at home in an offensive explosion for the ages, 70-63. The following week, they journeyed to Austin to take on then-No. 11 Texas, where they beat the host Longhorns 48-45. It went downhill for five straight weeks after that, with consecutive losses to Texas Tech (49-14), Kansas State (55-14), TCU (39-38), Oklahoma State (55-34), and Oklahoma (50-49). Welcome to the Big XII, Dana Holgorsen. The obvious wall WVU hit was tough schedule, plain and simple. That said, five tough losses obviously took something out of the Mountaineers as well, since they had to struggle to beat Iowa State this past weekend. Whether they have recovered any energy at all will be demonstrated when they play Kansas this upcoming week for what should be a fairly easy clean-up win.
Louisville: So much for running the table for Louisville after losing to Syracuse 45-17 on the road for their tenth game. To be sure, most of their wins up to that point were a little more than close for comfort, such as beating North Carolina only 39-34, beating Southern Miss 21-17 (the rain notwithstanding), or beating awful South Florida only 27-25. With such a pattern of wins, one would think an ugly loss would be inevitable, if only to get it out of their system. Sadly, whatever ailed the Cardinals in Syracuse did not yet pass, for the following game, they coughed up another loss at home to Connecticut in the third overtime. Worse yet, they only have until this Thursday to bounce back on the road against Rutgers in order to win a BCS bowl berth. The Scarlet Knights lost badly that same day to Pittsburgh, so both teams are in a must-win situation. But with the recent pattern of play, the concern remains that U of L might have lost their energy. Thus, the upcoming proposition is dicey at best. Charlie Strong might want to go easy on his boys so they can get their energy.
Addendum 12-07-12 — Duke: Part of me says “poor Duke,” while the other part of me says “hey, all things considered, they’re doing pretty well.” But nevertheless, they were flying high during the middle of the season, or high by Duke standards at least! Throught Oct. 6, they were 5-1, with the one loss coming to them on the road against Stanford. Any reasonable person would quickly excuse that! Then the next week, they lossed to Virginia Tech, 41-20. Fair enough. Moreover, credit goes to this team, as the following week, they rebounded to beat North Carolina 33-30. Then came four consecutive losses in their last four regular season games, first to Florida State (48-7; imagine that!), then to Clemson (56-20), then to Georgian Tech (42-24 — keep in mind that the Yellow Jackets run out of the flexbone!), and then lossed a shootout to Miami (52-45). In the first three out of four, they were clearly out-manned. The last loss could be attributed to having too much stuffing beat out of them by the first three of those four teams, hence having nothing left in the tank against the ‘Canes. But at least they got a Belk Bowl berth, and have a decent shot at winning it, too, since Cincinnati’s head coach Butch Jones just took the Tennessee job.
College Football Week 12 Awards November 18, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, AP, Army, Art Briles, Atlanta, Baylor, BCS, Bears, Bill Snyder, Bulldogs, BYU, California, championship, CHip Kelly, Clemson, Collin Klein, Crimson Tide, Dabo Swinney, David Shaw, Derek Dooley, Ducks, Eastern Michigan, Eugene, Florida, Florida State, football, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Jeff Tedford, Johnny Manziel, Joker Phillips, K-State, Kansas State, Kent State, Kentucky, Lane Kiffin, Longhorns, Los Angeles, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Riley, national, national championship, NCAA, New Mexico State, No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oregon State, OT, poll, SEC, South Carolina, Stanford, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Toledo, Tommy Tuberville, UAB, UCLA, UNLV, USA Today, USC, Vols, Volunteers, Waco, Wake Forest, Western Carolina, Wildcats, Wofford
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 12, pre-week 13] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Art Briles, Baylor
Glad I’m not him: Bill Snyder, Kansas State
Lucky guy: David Shaw, Stanford
Poor guy: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Desperately seeking a clue: Jeff Tedford, California
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech
Desperately seeking … anything: Derek Dooley, Tennessee
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Alabama (beat Western Carolina 49-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Kansas State (see below)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Wake Forest (lost to Notre Dame 38-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wofford (lost to No. 13 South Carolina 24-7)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Baylor (see below)
Thought you wouldn’t get your butt kicked, you did: Army (see below)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: UAB
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Kansas State (see below)
Did the season start? Michigan State
Can the season end? Tennessee
Can the season never end? LSU
GAMES
Play this again: No. 8 LSU 41, Ole Miss 35
Never play this again: Temple 63, Army 32
What? Utah State 48, No. 20* Louisiana Tech 41, OT
Huh? No. 23* Oklahoma State 59, No. 24* Texas Tech 21
Are you kidding me? No. 13* Stanford 17, No. 2* Oregon 14, OT
Oh – my – God: Baylor 52, No. 1* Kansas State 24
* Week 12 AP rankings
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 6 Florida @ No. 10 Florida State (notwithstanding No. 13 South Carolina @ No. 12 Clemson)
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: (none)
Best non-Big Six matchup: Ohio U @ Kent State
Upset alert: Baylor over Texas Tech in Waco
Must win: No. 1 Notre Dame @ USC
Offensive explosion: No. 24 Oklahoma State @ No. 12 Oklahoma
Defensive struggle: No. 20 Michigan @ No. 4 Ohio State
Great game no one is talking about: No. 5 Oregon @ No. 16 Oregon State
Thanksgiving Day Special: TCU @ No. 18 Texas
Cloud Nine Bowl: No. 8 Stanford @ No. 17 UCLA
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mike Riley of Oregon State vs. Chip Kelly of Oregon
Who’s bringing the body bags? Georgia Tech @ No. 3 Georgia (notwithstanding Northern Illinois @ Eastern Michigan, Friday)
Why are they playing? BYU @ New Mexico State
Plenty of good seats remaining: UNLV @ Hawaii
Plenty of good seats remaining, SEC East edition: Kentucky @ Tennessee
They shoot horses, don’t they? Akron @ Toledo (Tuesday night)
Instant BCS Chaos: In just one night, the BCS standings have turned upside down. All Kansas State and Oregon had to do was win out, and they would have been matched up in a very intriguing national championship game in Miami. Scratch that; ain’t gonna happen. Oregon lost a close, hard-fought game in Eugene, Ore., to a tough Stanford squad. The game went into OT, and the Duck’s failure to score on their opening possession gave the Cardinal an opportunity to win the game with a field goal, which they did. Another one bites the dust.
Yet half-way across the country in the heart of Texas (Waco, to be exact), something even more improbable developed. Kansas State, at that time ranked No. 1 in the land, went down to spectacular defeat at the hands of Art Briles’ Baylor [Baptist] Bears. The score itself was improbable: when is the last time any top-ranked team went down to an un-ranked team by a score of 52-24? Nothing accounts for that. Credit Briles and Co. with coming up with an amazing game plan that effectively attacked the Wildcats where it hurt them the most, and they never let up the entire night.
Not in five years has there been such BCS standings chaos in one night of regular season football. Yet things get even more intriguing from this point onward. For the first time in 19 years, almost to the week, Notre Dame is the No. 1 team in the nation. No doubt plenty of rejoicing erupted in South Bend., Ind., instantly upon Kansas State’s defeat, and no doubt the merriment doubled again in light of Oregon going down at home in OT. After winning close game after close game, Brian Kelly has brought the Fighting Irish back to national prominence and is in the driver’s seat to punch their ticket to Miami come early January. Meanwhile, an entire nation will scrutinize Notre Dame to see if they themselves can stand prosperity as they journey to Los Angeles this upcoming weekend to take on traditional rival USC.
And just like that, the SEC is back in the national discussion: Alabama’s upset at home to Texas A&M last week seemed to wipe out the Crimson Tide’s hopes of repeating as national title contenders. With last night’s, er, developments, despair has instantly transformed into renewed hope and ambition. Bama is now second in both the AP and USA Today Polls, and Georgia is no. 3. Should both those teams win out – extra emphasis on ‘should’ – it will be a very interesting contest in Atlanta for the SEC championship come Dec. 1.
Dooley Fired: Not only is now-former Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley “Desperately seeking…anything.” Now he’ll be desperately seeking…a job. The University of Tennessee decided to cut its ties with Dooley after their embarrassing loss in Nashville to up-and-coming, in-state rival Vanderbilt, 41-18. The firing is effective immediately, as it has been reported on Tennessee’s athletics website that offensive coordinator Jim Chaney (with whom I worked while a student manager at Purdue, as he was an assistant under Coach Joe Tiller) will be the interim head coach for the upcoming game against Kentucky. Evidently, the powers that be are not giving Dooley a couple of curtain calls like those UK’s Joker Phillips has received.
Yesterday’s embarrassing loss to the Commodores was just the last straw in one bad development after another for the program; the final blow to prove to the Volunteer nation that things need to be guided in a newer, better direction. This year alone, the Vols have gone 4-7, and 0-7 in the SEC, something entirely unacceptable to a large, proud fan base, to say nothing of a program with such massive tradition and resources behind it. In just one game shy of three complete seasons, Dooley is just 15-21 with Tennessee, but worse yet, 4-19 in the SEC, and 0-15 against top-25 opponents. Let us not forget that his hiring was essentially a stop-gap move in the wake of Lane Kiffin’s sudden departure for the USC job. Let us also not forget that under Dooley’s leadership last year, Tennessee lost their annual season-closer to Kentucky for the first time since 1984, and it is not a given that the Vols will Triumph over the Wildcats this year, either. Come to think of it, has Kentucky ever defeated Tennessee in football for two seasons in a row?
Paging Bobby Petrino…
Heisman talk: Quarterback Collin Klein of K-State was the Heisman frontrunner, but after his team lost ignominiously, and his performance was mediocre at best (27 for 50, 286 yards, 2 td’s but 3 int’s), could it be that “Johnny Football,” Johnny Manziel, himself of Texas A&M, is the new award frontrunner? Food for thought, in any case.
Moving Forward, Remember to not Out-think the Room November 17, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Politics.Tags: Ann Kuster, Barack Obama, Byron York, Charles Bass, City, compassionate, convention, Democrat, electorate, executive, George W. Bush, GOP, Hispanics, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Meadowlands, MetLife Stadium, Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, NFL, out-think, party, Phoenix, Republican, Ron Kaufman, room, San Diego, skill set, Super Bowl, weather
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MetLife Stadium in the winter: does this look like ideal Super Bowl weather? It is a vital reminder to avoid “out-thinking the room!”
One of my favorite bits of advice to give to students and to friends alike is, “don’t out-think the room.” Trying to come up with something you think nobody else is going to think up might show that you are more creative, but it could lead to an overall worse idea or product in the end. Moreover, this bit of advice can apply to more basic scenarios, too. If you go to a restaurant and you are not sure what you want to eat, it is usually wise to order up what the place is known for, not to order up some obscure menu item that is rarely served. If the place is known for crab cakes, get the crab cakes. If it is known for its pizza, get the pizza. Don’t out-think the room.
The NFL was in danger of doing that his past Super Bowl when the 45th “Big Game” was awarded to — Indianapolis? Traditionally, the Super Bowl is hosted in a warm-weather city that is built to handle big crowds. Every time the Super Bowl is hosted in Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix or San Diego, things always turn out well. Jacksonville may have relatively warm weather, but it’s not built to handle the big crowds that come in for the big game. Late January in Indianapolis is hardly the ideal spot, either. As it was, the city and the fans were very lucky in that the weather for the game was unseasonably mild. The NFL dodged the bullet in trying to out-think the room, and should have learned their lesson. Alas, they did not. They awarded the hosting of the 2014 Super Bowl to…MetLife Stadium, as in, New Jersey, as in, across the Hudson River from New York City, as in, upper Twenties at nighttime in late January or early February. Brrr! The Super Bowl was never meant to be played in freezing weather, and yet the NFL foolishly overlooked this basic rule in awarding the hosting of the Big Game to the Meadowlands. The Super Bowl always works in Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix, and San Diego, NFL: do not out-think the room!
The reason I say all this is because, in light of the disappointing outcome for the Republican Party in the recent election (namely, we’ll have to put up with four more years of the incompetent B. Hussein Obama), many luminaries in the party have been calling for this change or that change to quickly occur so that the GOP does not gradually shrink to permanent minor party status. Given what is at stake for the country, some of these ideas have been offered with considerable urgency, hence with start warnings about the future. Some, such as veteran Republican strategist and Romney campaign adviser Ron Kaufman offered his thought at the Republican Governors Association Meeting in Las Vegas:
“We need to make sure that we’re not perceived as intolerant,” he said. “The bottom line is we were perceived to be intolerant on some issues. And tone-deaf on others.” This is fine advice when it comes to philosophically complex and deeply emotional issues such as abortion. But what about others that are less complex, more straightforward, and more salient, such as fiscal issues?
“Republicans have to start understanding that small business and entrepreneurs are important, but the people who work for them are also important,” said Rep. Charles Bass, R-N.H., who lost his seat to Democrat Ann Kuster. “We’ve got to be compassionate conservatives.”
The first part of Bass’ idea sounds fine: connect with the average Joe. But the second part raises a few eyebrows. Did we already not try this “compassionate conservatism” before? Under George W. Bush, government spending went up, and that overall action trashed the GOP’s reputation as the grown-ups in the room when it came to fiscal prudence, a reputation the GOP faithful have been laboring ever-so diligently to repair over the past four years.
And of course, there were the calls one has been hearing so often these past ten days of appealing to more minority voters, namely Hispanics. As I have mentioned before, this is an important issue, and one that must be delved into seriously and with the right ideas in place so that we can broaden our electoral base.
The point in all of this is, many of these issues can be solved in a single, large action by nominating a candidate whom more people believe in from the get-go. It sounds simplified, sure, but it worked for Obama. Byron York makes the compelling case that whatever facets of the overall problem party members are bringing up these days, many of them can be effectively addressed all at once with the right candidate in place, somebody whom people want to get around and support.
That is not to say that Gov. Romney was without his die-hard supporters. The business-oriented among us, yours truly included, recognized that he has just the skill set that we need for a leader in these troubled times. But sadly, the vast majority of the electorate has no concept of executive skill sets in leaders, hence it was a non-issue to them. Mitt appealed to his supporters minds in a very big way, but not enough to the overall electorate’s hearts.
The point in all of this is, many party members and operatives seem to try to position themselves as the smartest person in the room in trying to come up with one unique solution to a particular facet of the overall electoral problem the party faced in the past election. But if one focuses on a few small things among many and fail with their ideas on those fronts, then where will we be? What York reminds us is that, overall, the solution is much simpler, and much more straightforward. Find someone who can effectively connect with large swaths of the electorate early on (someone who can win hearts and minds), and much of the problem is solved. We have less than four years to find that person.
College Football Week 9 Awards October 29, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Arizona, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, Big 10, Big Ten, Bob Stoops, Brian Kelly, Bryant-Denny Stadium, Buffalo, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Central Florida, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, cocktail party, college, Colorado, Crimson Tide, Dan Mullen, Danny Hope, Darrell Hazell, Duke, East Carolina, Fighting Illini, Florida, Florida State, football, Gators, Georgia, Hoosiers, Horned Frogs, Huskies, Illinois, Indiana, Joker Phillips, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Kyle Flood, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Milan Puskar Stadium, Mississippi State, Missouri, N.C. State, Navy, NCAA, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Purdue, Rutgers, SEC, SMU, Southern Miss, spread offense, Stanford, Steve Sarkesian, Tarheels, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, toilet bowl, Troy, Tulsa, UAB, UMass, USC< Alabama, Washington, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 9, pre-week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Glad I’m not him: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
Lucky guy: Charlie Strong, Louisville
Poor guy: Butch Jones, Cincinnati
Desperately seeking a clue: Joker Phillips, Kentucky
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Darrell Hazell, Kent State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Desperately seeking … anything: Danny Hope, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oregon (beat Colorado 70-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas (beat Kansas 21-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Auburn (lost to No. 16 Texas A&M 63-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (lost to Texas 21-17)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Navy (beat East Carolina 56-28)
Thought you wouldn’t get your butt kicked, you did: Texas Tech (lost to No. 3 Kansas State 55-24)
Dang, they’re good: Kansas State
Dang, they’re bad: Temple
Can’t stand prosperity: Ohio U. (lost to Miami [Ohio] 23-20)
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Purdue
Can the season never end? Notre Dame
GAMES
Play this again: No. 7 Georgia 17, No. 8 Florida 9
Never play this again: No. 3 Oregon 70, Colorado 14
What? Michigan State 16, Wisconsin 13, OT
Huh? No. 10 Georgia 7, No. 8 Florida 9
Double Huh? Washington 20, No. 13 Oregon State 17
Are you kidding me? Kent State 35, Rutgers 23
Oh – my – God: Arizona 39, No 18 USC 36
Told you so: No. 12 Louisville 34, Cincinnati 30, OT
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 6 LSU (notwithstanding No. 2 Oregon @ No. 9 USC)
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Tulsa @ Arkansas
Best non-Big Six matchup: SMU @ Central Florida
Upset alert: No. 10 Clemson @ Duke
Must win: Texas @ No. 20 Texas Tech
Offensive explosion: Arizona @ UCLA
Defensive struggle: Miami (Ohio) @ Buffalo
Great game no one is talking about: No. 16 Texas A&M @ No. 17 Mississippi State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M vs. Dan Mullen of Mississippi State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Colorado @ No. 15 Stanford
Why are they playing? Troy @ Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: UAB @ Southern Miss
They shoot horses, don’t they? UMass @ Northern Illinois
Week 9 in Review: Upsets and Conference Toilet Bowls Abound
The whole purpose of a given “Toilet Bowl” is to pit the two worst teams against each other to find which is, in fact, the worst of the worst. Such was determined twice yesterday. In the Big 10 Toilet Bowl, Indiana trounced Illinois 31-17, in the Fighting Illini’s home stadium, no less. Illinois, now 2-6, is now the undisputed – though clearly not undefeated – bottom-feeder of the conference for this season. They are winless in the Big 10, and have no time to lick this very revealing wound, as next week they venture into Columbus, Ohio to take on Ohio State.
Meanwhile, in the Toilet Bowl, SEC Edition, Missouri defeated Kentucky in CoMo (which is what the locals refer to as Columbia, Mo.) by a similar score, 33-10. Kentucky is in a sadly familiar spot in the most brutal of conferences in college football. What is even more revealing, though, is UK’s response in the wake of the loss.
“It’s tough, because we knew we were better than those guys,” so said Kentucky tailback Raymond Sanders. Better than them, even when losing by 23 points? Such denial of reality is why head coach Joker Phillips has merited the above award for the week (see: Desperately seeking a clue).
Undefeateds going down: Fewer teams remain undefeated today than when they woke up to play games yesterday. Rutgers was the highest-ranked team in the Big East before going down to one-loss Kent State. Inexplicably, the Golden Flashes’ sole defeat came at the hands of Kentucky.
Mississippi State’s first defeat of the season was the most understandable of all first losses of the year, given that they were going up against No. 1 Alabama, in Bryant-Denny Stadium, no less. The Bulldogs’ head coach, Dan Mullen, said it best going into the weekend when he pointed out that, “[Y]ou’ve got to try to run the ball (on Alabama) whether you’re having success or not.” Despite Mississippi State’s best efforts, they were very slowly and methodically ground down by the Crimson Tide, 38-7.
On the West Coast, undefeated Oregon State lost that distinction in their loss to Washington. Steve Sarkesian’s Huskies have earned the reputation of being a “giant killer” of sorts this year, as they handed previously-undefeated Stanford its first loss of the year as well. Keep an eye on the program on the rebound in Seattle.
Finally, Florida was another team to bite the proverbial dust and suffer its first loss to Georgia in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, Fla. Though scoring was relatively low (17-9 in favor of the UGA Bulldogs), there were plenty of plays to keep the crowd enthused. In the end, the old adage of “the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins” rang true yet again, which explains how the Bulldogs reigned victorious.
More chrome: North Carolina – of all bloody teams! – has jumped on the chrome dome bandwagon, as they sported chrome-silver helmets during their last-minute upset over rival N.C. State. Moreover, the main decal was an oversized Tarheel logo (the Carolina blue-colored foot with the tar on the heel), in breaking with the traditional “NC” decal they usually display. On all-dark blue jersey and pants ensemble complimented a very different look for a team normally known for its “Carolina blue” helmets and jerseys. Oh well: it beats the trendy “matte” look!
Choke-lahoma: That moniker was earned/demonstrated yet again last night, as Oklahoma squandered a golden (if you’ll pardon the expression) opportunity to hand Notre Dame its first loss of the year. Stoops and company have nobody to blame but themselves for deliberately holding themselves back. They had an offensive line capable of controlling the line of scrimmage, and yet they repeatedly passed up on the opportunity to establish a ground attack. On the passing side of things, they also held themselves back by concentrating on short-yardage increments that are the bread-and-butter of the one-sided spread offense. They did this while being thoroughly capable of throwing the ball further down the field, and by not doing this, never forced the Irish secondary to respect either the deep threat or the short yardage attempts. Head Coach Bob Stoops has proven once again to be something of a schoolyard bully of the coaching ranks; arrogant and blunt with reporters, lots of bluster, but having little to, er, “bring,” when genuinely challenged.
Looking ahead: some other games to keep an eye on, aside from the upcoming games listed above includes Air Force @ Army in an all-service academies showdown. Another intriguing matchup is TCU venturing into Morgantown, W.V. to play the Mountaineers. The big question going in to that game will be, how will West Virginia respond to two consecutive drubbings after being ranked so high in the polls? Moreover, how the Horned Frogs will handle the Milan Puskar Stadium crowd is a question no doubt in the back of the minds of many a fan and observer. In the wake of the SEC “Toilet Bowl” 2012, Missouri takes on Florida and Kentucky takes on Vanderbilt, meaning that the respective cellar-dweller status of either team is unlikely to change anytime soon. After Oklahoma was embarrassed at home to Notre Dame, how will they respond at Iowa State, a team that has shown surprising formidability this year? Can Duke show that it has staying power by bouncing back after a tough though understandable loss to Florida State in time to put up a good fight against inconsistent Clemson? More importantly, can USC bounce back from being upset in the desert by Arizona in time for a primetime showdown against Oregon at home?
College Football Week 4 Awards September 24, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Al Golden, Alabama, Arkansas, Art Briles, Baylor, Brady Hoke, Buffalo, Central Michigan, college football, Colorado, Connecticut, Dana Holgorsen, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Idaho, Idaho State, Illinois, Iowa, Jim Mora, Jimbo Fisher, Joker Phillips, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kyle Flood, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, NCAA, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Paul Johnson, Penn State, Purdue, Rice, Rutgers, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Stanford, Texas, Tim Beckman, Towson, UAB, UCLA, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia
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In just our second week of picking up where the good sportswriters at Yahoo ! left off, here are the week 4 awards for college football teams and coaches – enjoy!
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State (notwithstanding his son’s illness)
Glad I’m not him: Brady Hoke, Michigan
Lucky guy: Al Golden, Miami (Fla.)
Poor guy: Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jim Mora, UCLA
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Tim Beckman, Illinois
Desperately seeking … anything: Joker Phillips, Kentucky
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Alabama
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: West Virginia (defeated Maryland 31-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kentucky (lost to Florida 38-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: UAB (lost to Ohio State 29-15)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Louisiana Tech (defeated Illinois 52-24)
Dang, they’re good: Oregon
Dang, they’re bad: Arkansas
Did the season start? Michigan
Can the season end? Kentucky
Can the season never end? Florida State
GAMES
Play this again: Marshall 54, Rice 51, 2OT
Never play this again: Nebraska 73, Idaho St. 7
What? Rutgers 35, Arkansas 26
Huh? Oregon St. 27, No. 19 UCLA 20
Are you kidding me? Colorado 35, Washington State 34
Oh – my – God: Central Michigan 32, Iowa 31
Told you so: No. 15 Kansas State 24, No. 6 Oklahoma 19
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 12 Texas @ Oklahoma State (or Tennessee @ No. 5 Georgia)
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Louisville @ Southern Miss
Best non-Big Six matchup: Central Michigan @ Northern Illinois
Upset alert: No. 7 South Carolina @ Kentucky
Must win: No. 21 Michigan State vs. No. 16 Ohio State
Offensive explosion: Oregon @ Washington State
Defensive struggle: Penn State @ Illinois
Great game no one is talking about: No. 9 Stanford @ Washington, Thurs., 9 PM EDT
Intriguing coaching matchup: Dana Holgorsen of West Virginia vs. Art Briles of Baylor
Who’s bringing the body bags? Towson @ LSU
Why are they playing? Idaho @ North Carolina
Plenty of good seats remaining: Buffalo @ Connecticut
They shoot horses, don’t they? Marshall @ Purdue
Whither the conferences in major college football? September 8, 2011
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Big 8, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, Colorado, conferences, football, Jupiter, Miami, NCAA, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, SEC, solar system, Southeastern Conference, static, SWC, Texas, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech
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When I teach my course in American government at my community college in Louisville, one thing I have taken to doing early in the course’s term is to hand out a sheet to each student with a list of important rules in physics/economics. My rationale for this is to get the students thinking about the potential consequences of certain actions on the part of government. One such rule I lay out for them is thus: “Nothing is static.” Just try to disprove that rule. After all, nothing is static in the economy, nothing is static in our own interpersonal relationships, the climate is certainly not static — regardless of what the enviro-socialists want us to think — and indeed, nothing is static in the Solar system, not with variations in solar radiation output that have implications for the temperatures on this planet as well as for Mars and the Gallilean satellites around Jupiter.
The recent announcement that Texas A&M will depart the Big XII Conference for the Southeastern Conference come June of next year has reminded me of this rule once again. Though this is not the first move of a D-1A (pardon me, Football Bowl Subdivision) school to shake things up a bit regarding conference affilition, this one move could open the floodgates for radical conference realignment, the likes of which none of us have seen in our lifetime.
Most moves up to this point seemed fairly self-contained. When the Southwest Conference folded after 1995, the top four teams in that conference joined the Big 8, thus giving birth to the Big XII. The other four teams disbersed, many initially ending up in Conference USA, which banded together lots of erstwhile mid-majors and independents. The arrangement within the Big XII was one that on paper made geographic sense, at least longitudinally (much like the erstwhile Pac-10), with Nebraska the anchoring power in the north, and Texas the anchoring power in the south. Furthermore, should Texas have a down year, Oklahoma was eventually strong enough to fill that power gap on the southern end.
The switch-ups we witnessed earlier last decade did not seem to portend major realignment, either. The only thing that Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College bolting from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference amounted to was to question whether or not the former still deserved to have a berth in the BCS bowl games.
All that was put in jeopardy with Nebraska bolting for the Big Ten after last season. Less consequential was Colorado moving to join the Pac-10, now the Pac-12. As things currently stand, the Big Ten now has 12 teams, and the Big XII has been reduced to nine, or at least will be with the Aggies’ imminent departure. This current state of affairs raises two simultaneous possibilities. For one, many thought that even though the Cornhuskers left for the Big Ten, the Big XII could still limp on, possibly even bring in new up-and-coming teams to fill the void left by the Huskers and the Buffaloes. With A&M soon to leave, the death knell for the Big XII has been all but sounded. Even though, at this moment, Oklahoma and Texas both remain, and Oklahoma State would add increasing credibility, given their up-and-coming status (thank you, T. Boone Pickens), the gradual disintegration of the conference, first at the northern end and now at the southern end leaves many to conclude that more dominos shall inevitably fall.
One such departure has already pushed Southeastern Conference membership to a future number of 13. Further speculation has been fueled as to whom else the SEC might court. Already, conferences such as the Pac-12 have been making major overtures for the Sooners and the Cowboys to join them. The Longhorns are an even more juicy target for conferences as well, though UT, what with its special brand and its own sports channel in the newly-created Longhorn Network, has the prestige, winning tradition, not to mention geographic advantages to be successful as an independent. Indeed, what we may be witnessing is Texas becoming the Notre Dame of the 21st Century in terms of athletic prestige, winning tradition, privileged status, and ability to attract top recruits.
But, in returning to the point of the SEC’s burgeoning membership, 13 could be a magic number, magic in the sense that it creates the possibly for that number to grow further, not just for the southeastern juggernaut power, but for conferences elsewhere. As mentioned earlier, the possibility persists that Oklahoma and Oklahoma State could end up in the Pac-12, bumping their lucky number up to fourteen. Moreover, it is not inconceivable that Texas could join that new mega-conference as well. USC plus the Sooners plus the Longhorns equals one formidable conference indeed. Iowa State could end up following suit in a different sense by joining the Big Ten (Nebraska is already there, and in-state rival Iowa has been a long-time member). Geographically, that theoretical move is quite logical. Where Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Missouri and Texas Tech might end up — again, should the dominoes continue to fall — is anybody’s guess, though the Mizzou Tigers might end up joining the Big Ten as well. That possibility has been broached several times before, in fact. My only reservation against that is, can one conference abide three different teams whose colors are (officially) Old Gold & Black?
While there could be a scramble for a would-be disintegrated Big XII’s table scraps, the Southeastern Conference might try to bring in other powers to join their juggernaut league (Florida State and Virginia Tech have been listed as possibilities). Might such a conference cannibalization prompt the ACC and the Big East to join forces? Given that Texas A&M has turned its back on its long-time rivals and all-too willingly allowed itself to be used by the SEC, perhaps all of us ought to rethink what is possible.
The bottom line in all of these prognostications is that we could be witnessing a radical realignment of teams into mega-conferences, which in turn will have major implications for bowl game affiliations, and even coveted BCS eligibility. If the Sooners and Cowboys end up joining the Pac-12 and that move makes no sense to many on a geographic level, just keep in mind that Texas Christian University — the recent Rose Bowl champs — are about to join the Big East. The new paradigm is that geography is hardly a constraint anymore when it comes to conference affiliation, and it’s all part of the brave new world of NCAA football realignment about to happen before our eyes. What we fans and observers of big-time college football thought were secure affiliations over the past 15 years have turned out to be anything but. Once again, the firm rule about nothing being static has held.
intellectualgridiron 