College Football Awards Week 11 (2017) November 13, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Army, Auburn, Ball State, Butch Jones, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Dan Mullen, Florida, Fresno State, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Jeff Monken, Kansas State, Louisville, LSU, Mark Richt, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico, Nick Saban, North Carolina, North Texas, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Purdue, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Utah, Virginia Tech, Washington, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 11] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Richt, Miami
Glad I’m not him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Lucky guy: Nick Saban, Alabama
Poor guy: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: (none)
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Monken, Army
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Desperately seeking … anything: Butch Jones, Tennessee
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Texas A&M (defeated New Mexico 55-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Alabama (defeated No. 16 Mississippi State 31-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Tennessee (lost to Missouri 50-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Mississippi State (lost to No. 2 Alabama 31-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated No. 12 Michigan State 48-3)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Georgia Southern
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia
Did the season start? Virginia Tech
Can the season end? Florida
Can the season never end? Miami
GAMES
Play this again: No. 2 Alabama 31, No. 16 Mississippi State 24
Play this again, too: No. 15 Oklahoma State 49, No. 21 Iowa State 42
Never play this again: Northern Illinois 63, Ball State 17
What? Georgia Tech 28, No. 17 Virginia Tech 22
Huh? Stanford 30, No. 9 Washington 22
Are you kidding me?? No. 7 Miami 41, No. 3 Notre Dame 8
Oh – my – God: No. 10 Auburn 40, No. 1 Georgia 17
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 11, pre-week 12)
Ticket to die for: None, except maybe Michigan @ No. 8 Wisconsin
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Western Carolina @ North Carolina
Best non-Power Five matchup: Fresno State @ Wyoming also: Army @ North Texas
Upset alert: Utah @ No. 9 Washington
Must win: Texas @ West Virginia also: No. 8 TCU @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Offensive explosion: SMU @ No. 18 Memphis
Defensive struggle: No. 21 LSU @ Tennessee
Great game no one is talking about: Arizona @ Oregon
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Harbaugh of Michigan vs. Paul Chryst of Wisconsin
Who’s bringing the body bags? Citadel @ No. 4 Clemson
Why are they playing? Wofford @ South Carolina also: Mercer @ No. 1 Alabama
Plenty of good seats remaining: Coastal Carolina @ Idaho
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Louisiana-Monroe @ No. 10 Auburn
Week 11 Random Thoughts:
Is it safe to say that Miami (Fla.) is back as a top-tier program? Already ranked No. 7 going into this weekend’s game, they crushed No. 3 Notre Dame at home, 41-8. They remain undefeated in one of the toughest conferences in football, now at the No. 2 spot in the AP Poll (Clemson is now at No. 3). If these shadows remain unchanged, they could face Clemson in the ACC Championship game early next month (ticket-to-die-for in the making?). If they win that, it would be close to certain that the Hurricanes would be in the playoffs, and rightly so. So yeah, sure looks that way.
It’s a good thing I listed Butch Jones as “Desperately seeking…anything” because as of today (Nov. 12), he got the ax at Tennessee. This became an increasingly urgent necessity as the season progressed. Despite the solid recruiting classes Jones brought in at Tennessee, he was unable to translate the talent into wins on the field. Barely winning over lousy UMass was cause for concern. Losing a squeaker to a mediocre Florida was bad enough. Losing to Georgia in a blowout – one of the worst in recent program history – was a major embarrassment. Losing to Kentucky – something the Volunteers very rarely do – was obviously unacceptable. Getting crushed by hated Alabama became inevitable – which didn’t make it any less unpalatable to the Tennessee faithful. The final nail in Jones’ coffin was a blowout loss to Missouri, of all teams. So, Jones is now out at Tennessee. Time for the replacement coaching search games to begin!
While this was a great weekend for college football (despite some unexpectedly one-sided outcomes – looking your way, Georgia and Notre Dame), next week shall be something of a let-down. The only game resembling a marquee matchup is No. 19 Michigan vs No. 5 Wisconsin. Half of the SEC is wasting the upcoming weekend with body bag games. To wit: Mercer plays at Alabama; Wofford plays South Carolina in an annual late-season affair (why??); Auburn dialed up a “w” with Louisiana-Monroe. Florida would also be included, except for the fact that UAB has a much better record (7-3) than the Gators (3-6). Not to be outdone, Clemson had to get in on the act by playing the Citadel.
At least the other half of the conference was exercising some degree of sense by scheduling real games. Kentucky plays at Georgia. LSU plays at Tennessee, which will no doubt further contribute to the Volunteers’ collective misery. Texas A&M plays at Ole Miss in what should be a good game. Missouri, surprisingly offensively spry, plays at Vanderbilt.
Purdue’s bowl eligibility hopes for the year are quickly dwindling. They currently stand at 4-6, and have to win out over both Iowa and Indiana. Whereas the latter seems winnable, the former, not so much. The Boilers did themselves no favors by losing on the road to conference cellar-dweller Rutgers, then blowing a 4th-quarter lead at home to Nebraska. The good news is that if Purdue ends up at 5-7, they’ll still have won more games than the entire Hazell era combined.
All that said, there are some decent games that might not be of huge consequence. Syracuse plays Louisville, for example, and Kansas State plays Oklahoma State. Arizona at Oregon is also a good match-up, and Utah has the potential to upset Washington. So there are enjoyable games this weekend, we’ll just have to search more diligently than usual for them.
College Football Awards Week 10 (2017) November 6, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, B1G, Big Ten, Bill Connelly, Bret Bielema, Brian Kelly, Buckeyes, Bulldogs, Coastal Carolina, David Beaty, Florida, Gators, Georgia, Hawkeyes, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Joel Klatt, Kansas, Kansas State, Kirk Ferentz, Longhorns, Louisiana, Maine, Mark Richt, Miami, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Neal Brown, Nevada, New Mexico, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, Purdue, San Diego State, San Jose State, South Carolina, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Toledo, Troy, UCLA, UMass, Urban Meyer, Utah, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Glad I’m not him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Lucky guy: Bret Bielema, Arkansas
Poor guy: James Franklin, Penn State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: (none)
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Neal Brown, Troy
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Desperately seeking … anything: David Beaty, Kansas
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: San Diego State (defeated San Jose State 52-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Arkansas (defeated Coastal Carolina 39-38)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: San Jose State (lost to San Diego State 52-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: UMass (lost to No. 16 Mississippi State 34-23)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Missouri (defeated Florida 45-16)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Kansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Ohio State
Did the season start? Stanford
Can the season end? Florida
Can the season never end? Michigan State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 24 Michigan State 27, No. 7 Penn State 24
Play this again, too: Kansas State 42, Texas Tech 35
Never play this again: San Diego State 52, San Jose State 7
What? No. 25 Washington State 25, No. 21 Stanford 21
Huh? West Virginia 20, No. 15 Iowa State 16
Are you kidding me?? No. 24 Michigan State 27, No. 7 Penn State 24
Oh – my – God: Iowa 55, No. 6 Ohio State 24
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11)
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Notre Dame @ No. 10 Miami also: No. 8 TCU @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Louisiana @ Ole Miss
Best non-Power Five matchup: Toledo @ Ohio U
Upset alert: No. 25 Washington State @ Utah
Must win: No. 24 Michigan State @ No. 6 Ohio State also: No. 8 TCU @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Offensive explosion: West Virginia @ Kansas State
Defensive struggle: Florida @ South Carolina
Great game no one is talking about: No. 20 Oklahoma State @ Iowa State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Brian Kelly of Notre Dame vs. Mark Richt of Miami (FL)
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 22 Arizona @ Oregon State
Why are they playing? New Mexico @ Texas A&M
Plenty of good seats remaining: San Jose State @ Nevada
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Maine @ UMass
Week 10 Random Thoughts:
As Bill Connelly reminds this time of the year, November is for everything. Teams are what they are at this point of the season. A loss now can sink a team’s season. With that in mind, let us examine the following:
Just when we thought Ohio State had a shot at the playoffs after a big win over Penn State, this week, the Buckeyes turned right around and spoiled it for all of us. It’s not that they lost, it’s how they lost that’s the true disgrace.
Anyone with any discernment knew that Iowa would be a tough out for any team. They took Penn State to the very wire, after all. Perhaps too many on Ohio State’s team thought they were on Easy Street after taking down the Nittany Lions last week. Guess again, guys. The Buckeyes failed to score in the whole second half until 4:37 remained in regulation. By then, it was too little, too late. The Hawkeyes triumphed in dramatic fashion, 55-24, giving the Buckeyes their worst loss since 1994. Ouch. Not exactly a playoff-caliber performance, guys. Speaking of which, kiss those hopes goodbye for the year, and let that be a lesson to all of us to always bring one’s “A” game.
Remember when Texas seemed to have found an offense last week against Baylor? Yeah, that was a false alarm: fool’s gold. The Longhorns only mustered a single touchdown (2nd quarter) the entire game, losing it 24-7. The Horns’ defense was impressive, all things considered, but their offense is frankly non-existent. Why? Much of it revolved around a young offensive line that is still trying to gel. Even if QB Shane Buechele had time in the pocket, his receivers failed to get separation (some blame the offensive coordinator for failing to scheme properly). Their own self-inflicted mistakes that translated to penalties obviously did them no favors, either. It all added up to an incoherent mess on the offensive side of the ball, and the score at game’s end showed it.
This weekend has rightly been dubbed “elimination weekend,” but that could surely apply to other weekends to come this month. Notre Dame has yet to play resurgent Miami, and after that they must face Stanford: both are on the road.
Penn State did themselves no favors by losing to Michigan State on the road. With that loss, their playoff aspirations for the year are over, but in the Nittany Lions’ defense, the game was much closer (21-14) than Ohio State’s disastrous outing at Iowa. The long rain delay in the middle of the game likely interfered with their rhythms, too.
Speaking again of Ohio State, they have no time to lick their wounds, as the Spartans come calling this upcoming weekend.
South Carolina has quietly become bowl-eligible with six wins, despite their most recent loss, on the road, to border rival Georgia. To be sure, the Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 2 in the playoffs, so the loss, on paper, was expected. Now the Gamecocks face a depleted Florida Gators squad, at home, where the odds are likely they can amass win No. 7 for the year.
Georgia, meanwhile, faces a potential pitfall when they venture into No. 14 Auburn to engage in “the oldest rivalry in the South”.
Washington State squeaked by Stanford. Now they must face Utah, who crushed UCLA, 48-17. Here is yet another potential upset in the making. Joel Klatt, are you paying attention yet?
In another window into the current state of Big Ten football, resurgent Purdue is, currently, a slight underdog to Northwestern. Another potential conference “Toilet Bowl” awaits with Illinois facing Indiana (the latter’s record is deceptive, though). Also, Iowa now has to face undefeated Wisconsin; not a good time to be on Cloud Nine after taking down the mighty Buckeyes.
College Football Awards Week 9 (2017) October 30, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, B1G, Ball State, Baylor, Big Ten, Boilers, Boston College, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Central Florida, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, David Shaw, Florida, Florida State, Gamecocks, Gary Patterson, Gator Bowl, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Iowa, Iowa State, Irish, James Franklin, Jeff Brohm, Jim McElwain, Jimbo Fisher, Justin Fuente, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Miami, Miami (Florida), Miami Hurricanes, Michigan State, Mike Riley, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue, SMU, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Miss, Stanford, Steve Addazio, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo, UCF, UMass, Urban Meyer, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia, Will Muschamp
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 9] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: James Franklin, Penn State
Lucky guy: David Shaw, Stanford also: Mike Riley, Nebraska
Poor guy: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Steve Addazio, Boston College
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jim McElwain, Florida
Desperately seeking … anything: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: UCF (defeated Austin Peay 73-33)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Stanford (defeated Oregon State 15-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Baylor (lost to Texas 38-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: North Carolina (lost to No. 8 Miami 24-19)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Boston College (defeated Florida State 35-3)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: Baylor
Can’t Stand Prosperity: TCU
Did the season start? Louisville
Can the season end? Florida State
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 6 Ohio State 39, No. 2 Penn State 38
Play this again, too: Northwestern 39, No. 18 Michigan State 31, 3OT
Never play this again: Toledo 58, Ball State 17
What? Houston 28, No. 17 South Florida 24
Huh? Northwestern 39, No. 18 Michigan State 31, 3OT
Are you kidding me?? No. 6 Ohio State 39, No. 2 Penn State 38
Oh – my – God: No. 25 Iowa State 14, No. 4 TCU 7
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 9, pre-week 10)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 19 LSU
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Western Kentucky @ Vanderbilt
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 15 UCF @ SMU
Upset alert: Texas @ TCU also: No. 18 Stanford @ No. 25 Washington State
Must win: No. 13 Virginia Tech @ No. 9 Miami
Offensive explosion: No. 8 Oklahoma State @ No. 11 Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: Florida @ Missouri
Great game no one is talking about: No. 25 Iowa State @ No. 22 West Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: James Franklin of Penn State vs Mark Dantonio of Michigan State
Also: Justin Fuente of Virginia Tech vs. Mark Richt of Miami
Who’s bringing the body bags? UMass @ Mississippi State
Why are they playing? Southern Miss @ Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Charlotte @ Old Dominion
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Coastal Carolina @ Arkansas
Week 9 Random Thoughts:
The Ohio State-Penn State game was one that certainly lived up to its hype. Its implicit billing as the game of the year certainly was that, with stakes no less high than a possible playoff berth on the line. Buckeyes are now ranked No. 3 and have the opportunity to control their own destiny. Three out of the four remaining games are going to be challenges, however. Iowa is up next (remember, they took Penn State down to the wire), followed by Michigan State (a deceptively deadly team as of late), a potential break with Illinois, with Michigan (self-explanatory) to cap off the season. Urban Meyer needs to keep the team focused these next four weeks for a trip to Indianapolis for the B1G championship.
In the meantime OSU, ditch those grungy-looking all-gray uniforms. They looked horrible.
Few things are as distasteful as seeing your team blow a 4th-quarter lead. Purdue did just that at home against Nebraska. First they embarrassed themselves in a defensive struggle on the road against lowly Rutgers, now this. This upcoming week’s game against Illinois is surely a winnable one, but then again, that’s what we all thought about Rutgers and Nebraska a couple of weeks ago. Worse yet, Northwestern has been resurgent as of late, and Iowa is as competitive as ever. Indiana might still be a winnable game, and thus it is not reasonable for the Boilers to emerge at season’s end 5-7, which is a still a step in the right direction from the disaster that was the Darrell Hazell era.
As predicted, Texas got well on Baylor. The respite will not last, as next game they face TCU, arguably their toughest opponent of the year, in Fort Worth, no less. Moreover, the Horned Frogs will be quite angry after just losing – unexpectedly – their first game of the year to newly-ranked Iowa State.
Let us hold our horses about Notre Dame. Yes, they have only one loss, to current No. 2 Georgia, no less, and their strength of schedule is formidable. But they’re also enjoying a senior-laden offensive line with a limited offense. Furthermore, the Irish have yet to face two of their toughest opponents not named Georgia. In two weeks they face a resurgent Miami Hurricanes, and they close out the season on the road at Stanford. Eastern Timezone teams tend not to fare very well on the road against West Coast teams. Just sayin’. In the meantime, cool the hype on Notre Dame until their season concludes.
Speaking of Georgia, they rose to the occasion yet again this year by handily defeating Florida. In recent years, the Bulldogs have struggled in their annual rivalry games against the Gators. This time, the Dawgs kept that unpleasant past in the rearview mirror. Seemingly treating it like any other game, they went into the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville and took care of business, so much so (42-7) that Jim McElwain might be in danger of losing his job. Now ranked No. 2, they potentially control their own destiny. But next game up is South Carolina, a potential trap game, as Will Muschamp has coached the Gamecocks to a surprising 6-2 start. Moreover, the remaining three games after that – in order, Auburn, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech – each offer their own unique challenges. If the Bulldogs remain in playoff contention, they shall have to earn it.
Oh, and Tennessee lost…again…this time to another rival of sorts, Kentucky. As of this writing, officials at the University of Tennessee are contemplating Butch Jones’ tenure. Many of us are wondering what has taken them this long to get to this point, let alone giving Jones the ax.
College Football Awards, Week 8 (2017) October 22, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Baylor, Boston College, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, BYU, California, Clay Helton, Coastal Carolina, Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Houston, Hurricanes, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kirk Ferentz, Kliff Kingsbury, Larry Fedora, Matt Campbell, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Gundy, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Sam Ehlinger, San Jose State, South Carolina, South Florida, Spartans, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, Tigers, Tom Herman, Tulsa, UCF, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Vols, Volunteers, West Virginia, Western Michigan
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 8] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: James Franklin, Penn State
Glad I’m not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Lucky guy: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Poor guy: Tom Herman, Texas
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Clay Helton, USC
Desperately seeking … anything: Larry Fedora, North Carolina
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Virginia Tech (defeated North Carolina 59-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Miami (defeated Syracuse 27-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Tennessee (lost to No. 1 Alabama 45-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Baylor (lost to No. 23 West Virginia 38-36)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Missouri (defeated Idaho 68-21)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Georgia Southern
Can’t Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? Michigan
Can the season end? Tennessee
Can the season never end? Penn State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 9 Oklahoma 42, Kansas State 35
Play this again, too: No. 10 Oklahoma State 13, Texas 10
Never play this again: Missouri 68, Idaho 21
What? Rutgers 14, Purdue 12
Huh? Iowa State 31, Texas Tech 13
Are you kidding me?? Boston College 41, Virginia 10
Oh – my – God: No. 13 Notre Dame 49, No. 11 USC 14
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 8, pre-week 9)
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Penn State @ No. 6 Ohio State (B1G game of the year?)
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Houston @ No. 16 South Florida
Upset alert: No. 14 NC State @ No. 9 Notre Dame
Also: Florida State @ Boston College
Must win: No. 3 Georgia @ Florida
Offensive explosion: No. 10 Oklahoma State @ No. 23 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: Vanderbilt @ South Carolina
Great game no one is talking about: California @ Colorado
Also: Mississippi State @ Texas A&M
Intriguing coaching matchup: James Franklin of Penn State vs Urban Meyer of Ohio State
Also: Kirk Ferentz of Iowa vs. P.J. Fleck of Minnesota
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 8 Miami (FL) @ North Carolina
Why are they playing? Austin Peay @ No. 18 UCF
Plenty of good seats remaining: San Jose State @ BYU
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Texas State @ Coastal Carolina
Week 8 Random Thoughts:
Poor Texas. Try as they might with their strong defense, offensively they cannot score enough points to get over the proverbial hump. Yesterday in Austin, they held No. 10-ranked Oklahoma State, with the most productive offense in the county, to only 13 points. However, the Longhorns in turn could only score 10 points. Texas seems to have a capable quarterback in Sam Ehlinger, but he is only a true freshman, and the offense seems to rely too much on his guts and determination alone. Part of the problem is that many of the offensive players are still young, and shall have to grow in experience, and presumably in capability as well. The tentative verdict is that it will simply take time for the Horns to return to Top-10 status. They are close, but not there yet.
Speaking of taking time, Purdue practically controlled their own destiny. Current trajectories indicated they had a clear path to start a decent winning streak after getting beat up by a couple of conference heavyweights. Then they lost by two points on the road to Rutgers. Yes, Rutgers. What happened? Most likely, defensive coordinators around the league have taken notice of the tricks that Jeff Brohm has been left no choice but to use on account of the dearth of talent that his predecessor has left him. Thus, for Purdue to show marked, consistent improvement, things shall take more time. Basically, Brohm will need to bring in better recruiting classes so as to beat his opponents on the field with talent instead of trickery. This of course is not to blame the man for what he is doing right now. If we were in his proverbial shoes, we would likely find ourselves left to resort to the same things.
Tennessee, meanwhile, is officially a dumpster fire. Sure, we all knew at this rate that Alabama would blast them into defeat, but what none of us anticipated was the lack of dignity on the Vols’ part. The obscene gesture to Bama’s fans by one of Tennessee’s defensive backs after a pick-six is a black eye to the program, and could only hasten Butch Jones’ eventual departure as head coach. But that aside, the Volunteers do have talent on their team. Jones has sadly failed to harness it properly, to say nothing of orchestrating that talent into a cohesive effort at the top level that the SEC demands.
To put it another way with regard to the Vols and their current dumpster-fire status, they are to play Kentucky next week. Tennessee is currently 3-4, while the Wildcats, who usually only barely belong in the SEC, are 5-2. Yes, that means the world is officially upside-down.
Meanwhile, it’s always mildly intriguing when two conference foes who are about to butt heads share the same thing in common. Think: Mississippi State vs. Georgia, as both are the Bulldogs. Think also: LSU vs. Auburn, or Missouri vs. LSU, or Auburn vs. Missouri. All three are the Tigers. In the case of Mississippi State and Texas A&M, though, both have the same school colors of maroon and white, and both play each other next week. What makes things even more intriguing is that both have quietly amassed a respectable 5-2 record in the course of the season. After that game, those records shall inevitably diverge.
This week was a statistical anomaly, specifically with a cluster of defensive struggles. Who would have thought that Indiana at Michigan State would have been such a defensive struggle, with a 17-9 outcome in the Spartans’ favor? Even more to the point was the aforementioned 13-10 outcome at Texas. That the Horns held the Cowboys’ high-powered offense to just 13 points (including one overtime) must surely cause Mike Gundy to reach for the Rolaids while watching film today. If that’s not enough, the Purdue-Rutgers affair ended at 14-12 in favor of the Scarlet Knights. Northwestern and Iowa kept the score low at 17-10. UConn triumphing over Tulsa 20-14 does not count in past eras, but might as well in a time where the hurry-up, no-huddle offense is de rigueur. Same thing goes for Western Michigan over Eastern Michigan, 20-17…in overtime, no less.
College Football Awards Week 7 (2017) October 15, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas State, Auburn, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Boston College, Bronco Mendenhall, Butch Jones, BYU, Cal, California, Charlotte, Clemson, Dabo Swinney, Dino Babers, East Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Gus Malzahn, Idaho, Iowa, Jim McElwain, Justin Wilcox, Kansas, Kansas State, Longhorns, Louisville, Mark Dantonio, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Navy, North Carolina, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Red River Shootout, Showdown, Sooners, South Carolina, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tigers, UAB, UCF, UCLA, UMass, UTEP, Virginia, Washington, Washington State, Will Muschamp, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 7] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Justin Wilcox, Cal
Glad I’m not him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Lucky guy: Dino Babers, Syracuse
Poor guy: Jim McElwain, Florida
Desperately seeking a clue: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Desperately seeking … anything: Butch Jones, Tennessee
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oklahoma State (defeated Baylor 59-16)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Clemson (lost to Syracuse 27-24))
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Baylor (lost to No. 14 Oklahoma State 59-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Purdue (lost to No. 7 Wisconsin 17-9)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Cal (defeated No. 8 Washington State 37-3)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: UTEP
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Washington State
Did the season start? Louisville
Can the season end? North Carolina
Can the season never end? Georgia also: Alabama
GAMES
Play this again: No. 12 Oklahoma 29, Texas 24
Play this again, too: Texas A&M 19, Florida 17
Never play this again: Arkansas State 51, Coastal Carolina 17
What? West Virginia 46, No. 24 Texas Tech 35
Huh? LSU 27, No. 10 Auburn 23
Double Huh? Arizona State 13, No. 5 Washington 7
Are you kidding me?? Cal 37, No. 8 Washington State 3
Oh – my – God: Syracuse 27, No. 2 Clemson 24
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 7, pre-week 8)
Ticket to die for: No. 19 Michigan @ No. 2 Penn State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Idaho @ Missouri
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 20 UCF @ No. Navy
Upset alert: No. 19 Michigan @ No. 3 Penn State also: Kansas State @ No. 10 Oklahoma
Must win: Louisville @ Florida State
Offensive explosion: Oregon @ UCLA
Defensive struggle: Iowa @ Northwestern
Great game no one is talking about: Kentucky @ Mississippi State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Harbaugh of Michigan vs. James Franklin of Penn State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kansas @ No. 4 TCU
Why are they playing? Idaho @ Missouri
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia Southern @ UMass
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? UAB @ Charlotte
Week 7 Random Thoughts:
The Red River Shootout Showdown did not disappoint. In recent years, the matchup has often turned into a lopsided affair in favor of Oklahoma. Not this time. The unranked Longhorns held their own against the Sooners this time, with a game full of excitement and drama (see the game summary at the top of the page). The main takeaways are that Oklahoma is still strong enough to be a legitimate top-10 team, while the Longhorns have proven that their dramatic win over Kansas State last week was no fluke. Indeed, they keep improving, which is a sign of a well-coached team.
Speaking of well-coached teams, the opposite can sadly be said for Louisville. The Cardinals were stronger earlier in the year than they are now, having just lost in a shootout, at home, to lowly Boston College. Bobby Petrino has done nothing to address his team’s deficiencies from last year. His skill position personnel are still young, and he has not done a thing to address his weak offensive line play. Depending on your star quarterback to carry the team in every phase of the game is no way to go through life, sir. Nor is it recommended to try to mold said star quarterback into another Aaron Rogers when he is clearly Michael Vick 2.0 instead.
Poor BYU. They’ve had such a rough year. At 1-6, perhaps they could catch a break this upcoming week when they play 1-6 East Carolina. Then again, the Pirates might be thinking the same thing.
Meanwhile, where did Michigan State come from all of a sudden? They had a few lackluster wins earlier in the season, and lost rather badly to Notre Dame (who, in the Spartans’ defense, was ranked at the time), 38-18. But then they turned around and beat top-10 Michigan, in the Big House, no less, and now win convincingly, on the road, in inclement weather, at Minnesota. How can Mark Dantonio not be considered one of the best coaches in the business? These past several years, he has consistently done more with less. Moreover, the team is clearly better now than they were earlier in the season, which again, is one sign of a well-coached team. Part of the secret to his success? The Spartans have this new thing called a running game, which so many teams these days sorely lack.
This upcoming week, the moments we have all waited for are about to commence with Michigan about to take on Penn State. Yes, it will be one of the key clashes of Big Ten Titans, and two things shall be ascertained. One is whether or not Michigan can bounce back from losing the Paul Bunyan Trophy to Michigan State. The other is whether or not Penn State belongs in the top five nationally. It will also be a nice warmup for an even more enticing matchup (Ohio State vs. Penn State) later this month.
Speaking of teams that keep improving as the season progresses, Purdue deserves a mention. Yes, they lost, but it was on the road, at Wisconsin, ranked 7th nationally. The loss was quite respectable, only 17-9. One would think that the formidable Badgers would have defeated the unranked Boilermakers by at least two touchdowns, but Purdue fought hard to ensure that did not happen. Now the Boilers enter the easy part of their schedule. To wit, they have yet to play, in order: Rutgers, Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, and Indiana, all of which are winnable to varying degrees. Indeed, the biggest question mark that remains on the schedule is Iowa (they did take Penn State to the wire, after all), but aside from that, they could theoretically win out. Time will tell, but focus and consistent effort on their part shall make it so.
Remember last week about South Carolina entering the brutal part of their schedule? So far they have handled it with aplomb, upsetting Tennessee, in Knoxville, in a low-scoring affair, 15-9. Next week they face Vanderbilt at home, at game that appears increasingly winnable as time progresses (could it be that the Commodores defeating Kansas State earlier this year was just some weird fluke?). Forget Georgia, however, as they remain as strong as ever, continuing to roll their opponents. But Florida is something of a question mark. Yes, they have been good enough to win most of their games thus far, but this time, they were not quite good enough to win at home, narrowly losing to Texas A&M. Maybe it was those god-awful uniforms that cursed them. Maybe the Gators deserved to be cursed for wearing them. Oh, and forget South Carolina beating Clemson. Not happening; not at this rate, even after the Tigers lost at Syracuse (which, again, OMG). All that aside, the Gamecocks could theoretically finish the season at 7-5, if not 8-4. Perhaps I misjudged Will Muschamp’s ability to coach after all. Perhaps I should at least reserve judgement until the regular season concludes.
Speaking of Tennessee, after losing at home to South Carolina, it’s a safe bet that Butch Jones’ hot seat just got hotter. No time to lick their wounds, either, as the Volunteers take on hated Alabama next week. At this rate of Tennessee’s spotty [at best] performance, beating Kentucky at month’s end is not a given. LSU won’t play dead for them come mid-November either. In short, Tennessee has talent, but they’re a mess, and Jones has proved incapable of cleaning up after himself. A 6-6 finish could be enough to turn Jones’ hot seat into an ejection seat.
College Football Awards Week 6 (2017) October 9, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Auburn, Big XII, Bobby Petrino, BYU, Cardinals, Charlotte, Clemson, David Bailiff, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gamecocks, Gary Anderson, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Lincoln Riley, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Marshall, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Miami (OH), Michigan State, Mike Norvell, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NC State, Nittany Lions, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Oregon, Oregon State, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Red River Shootout, Showdown, South Carolina, Spartans, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa, USC, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Glad I’m not him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Lucky guy: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Poor guy: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Norvell, Memphis
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Desperately seeking … anything: Gary Anderson, Oregon State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Maryland 62-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Clemson (defeated Wake Forest 28-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kansas (lost to Texas Tech 65-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to No. 2 Clemson 28-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tulane (defeated Tulsa 62-28)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Rice
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Oklahoma
Did the season start? Florida State
Can the season end? East Carolina
Can the season never end? Penn State
GAMES
Play this again: Michigan State 14, No. 7 Michigan 10
Play this again, too: Texas 40, Kansas State 34 (2OT)
This merits a second look, too: No. 8 TCU 31, No. 23 West Virginia 24
Never play this again: No. 10 Ohio State 62, Maryland 14
What? LSU 17, No. 21 Florida 16
Huh? No. 24 NC State 39, No. 17 Louisville 25
Are you kidding me?? Michigan State 14, No. 7 Michigan 10
Oh – my – God: Iowa State 38, No. 3 Oklahoma 31
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: No. 12 Oklahoma vs. Texas in the Red River Shootout
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: BYU @ Mississippi State
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 25 Navy @ Memphis
Upset alert: Georgia Tech @ No. 11 Miami also: Utah @ No. 13 USC
Must win: Oregon @ No. 23 Stanford
Offensive explosion: Texas Tech @ No. 23 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: No. 10 Auburn @ LSU
Great game no one is talking about: Florida State @ Duke
Intriguing coaching matchup: P.J. Fleck of Minnesota vs. Mark Dantonio of Michigan State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Missouri @ No. 4 Georgia
Why are they playing? Charlotte @ Western Kentucky
Plenty of good seats remaining: Miami (OH) @ Kent State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Old Dominion @ Marshall
Week 6 Random Thoughts:
These past couple of weeks, there were not that many upsets. This week made up for that in quality if not for quantity. Favored Louisville choked on the road at NC State. Unranked LSU beat the Gators, in the Swamp, and in a defensive struggle, by a single point. ACC cellar-dweller Syracuse beat respectable Pitt. To cap things off, unranked Michigan State defeated Michigan, in a dramatic 14-10 finish (wait, that’s still a thing in 2017?), in the Big House, no less. What a week.
South Carolina defeated Arkansas in a game that could have gone either way. The Gamecocks should enjoy the win while it lasts, because the remainder of their schedule is brutal. In order, they shall play: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Florida, Wofford (huh?), and close out the season at home versus Clemson. Aside from Wofford, the Gamecocks could lose every one of those games. Yes, that is to say that even Vandy is iffy since they beat Kansas State earlier this year.
Given how hyped Florida State was coming into the season, and the potential regard in which they are still held in the eyes of most fans, is it valid to consider No. 13 Miami’s win in Tallahassee an upset, or simply a comeuppance to an overrated team?
Texas might have turned a corner with a win in double-OT over Kansas State, a team never to be taken lightly and capable of running the tables on the northern schools – what few remain — in the Big XII. With this key win for the Horns coupled with Oklahoma’s embarrassing upset at home to Iowa State this week, it will make next week’s Red River Shootout Showdown all the more unpredictable.
Maryland has proven that they’re a decent team. Not great, but decent. Nevertheless, they came into Columbus, Ohio, and Ohio State demolished them, 62-14. Nothing like a body-bag game (in hindsight) for homecoming. All kidding aside, could it be that the Buckeyes have solved their identity crisis on offense? We’ll know for sure by the end of the month when they butt heads with Penn State.
Speaking of whom, Michigan will have ample opportunity for redemption for this week’s upset loss at home when they take on the Nittany Lions on Oct. 21. It only takes one loss on Penn State’s part for the Big Ten race to become very, very interesting.
College Football Awards Week 5 (2017) October 2, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arkansas, Bowling Green, Butch Jones, BYU, Colorado, Colorado State, Duke, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia State, Indiana, Jeff Brohm, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Louisville, LSU, Miami (OH), Mike Bobo, Mike Gundy, Mike Jinks, Minnesota, Missouri, NC State, New Mexico, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, P.J. Fleck, Purdue, Rutgers, San Diego State, San Jose State, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Troy, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Utah State, Virginia, Wake Forest, Washington State, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Poor guy: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Bobo, Colorado State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Mike Jinks, Bowling Green
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Murray State 55-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida State (defeated Wake Forest 26-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Miami (OH) (lost to No. 22 Notre Dame 52-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to Florida State 26-19)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Georgia (defeated Tennessee 45-0)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: San Jose State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? North Carolina
Can the season end? Bowling Green
Can the season never end? Georgia
GAMES
Play this again: No. 16 Washington State 30, No. 5 USC 27
Play this again, too: UCLA 27, Colorado 23
Never play this again: No. 11 Ohio State 56, Rutgers 0
What? Utah State 40, BYU 24
Huh? New Mexico 49, Air Force 38
Are you kidding me?? Troy 24, No. 25 LSU 21
Oh – my – God: No. 16 Washington State 30, No. 5 USC 27
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 4, pre-week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 23 West Virginia @ No. 8 TCU: either that, or No. 1 Alabama @ Texas A&M?
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Eastern Michigan @ Kentucky
Best non-Power Five matchup: Colorado State @ Utah State
Upset alert: No. 5 Georgia @ Vanderbilt also: Maryland @ No. 10 Ohio State
Must win: No. 17 Louisville @ No. 24 NC State
Offensive explosion: No. 23 West Virginia @ No. 8 TCU
Defensive struggle: LSU @ No. 21 Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Arkansas @ South Carolina also: Duke @ Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jeff Brohm of Purdue vs. P.J. Fleck of Minnesota
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 19 San Diego State @ UNLV
Why are they playing? Charleston Southern @ Indiana
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia State @ Coastal Carolina
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Missouri @ Kentucky
Week 5 Take-aways:
There were so few upsets this week that I had to scape near the bottom of the barrel in order to fill in all four degrees of upset slot, and even then I barely made it. However, similar to last week, there were lots of near-misses. Unlike last week, however, there were few near-misses of major consequences. Nevertheless, to wit:
Northwestern has unexpectedly struggled this year, yet for a good portion of the game actually led formidable Wisconsin, before the Badgers eventually came back and beat the Wildcats, 33-24. Still, given how weak the Wildcats have seemed up until now, such a loss to such a strong team is hardly disgraceful.
Florida State had to struggle to beat lowly Wake Forest 26-19, much like Louisville had to do last year to beat the Demon Deacons. Thus, Wake Forest remains one of the most enigmatic of teams. Kentucky, who has proven to be a decent team, only beat Eastern Michigan 24-20. To be sure, part of the reason is that the Eagles are no longer a gutter team. In case you forgot, they were actually a bowl-bound team last year. No, that was not a dream.
Lowly Charlotte almost earned their first “W” of the year (of the program?) before just missing out at the end to gradually-improving Florida International. In case you have forgotten, Butch Davis is now the Panthers’ head coach, so that would explain the improvement. Meanwhile, it has been established that Ohio U is a decent team. Under Frank Solich’s leadership, they contend perennially for the MAC title. How then does one explain THIS? By “this,” I mean A) beating UMass by only eight points, and B), allowing the Minutemen to score 50 points on the Bobcats. Yes, the score was 58-50. Try not to overthink this, or you too will be sucked into a quandary vortex.
One of the most interesting studies in uniform contrast was the Oklahoma State at Texas Tech game. The Cowboys wore matte-black helmets with chrome-silver grilles, along with trendy, gray pants. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders, who have been associated with black helmets for 15+ years, wore white helmets with a plain-looking “TT” logo, red jerseys, and white pants with traditional red-black striping. The contrast was thus the trendy vs. traditional look, which was all the more intriguing since, from what I surmise after looking over things on The Helmet Project, Texas Tech chose this evening, for some reason, to wear throwback unis from ca. 1974: weird.
Speaking of weird, “body bag games,” so-called because of the gross mis-matches on paper, are supposed to be ‘gimme’ games for the heavily favored team. Apparently Troy never got that memo when they ventured into Baton Rouge to take on the Bayou Bengals. That’s right, the Trojans upset the Tigers – again, in Death Valley – 24-21. Coach Orgeron’s backside, meet chair that overnight just got really hot.
Speaking of hot seats, after Tennessee’s historically embarrassing loss to Georgia at home, Butch Jones’ hot seat has reached the most extreme of levels of hot, colloquially known as the “ejection seat”. We all know that at this rate, it’s just a matter of time, folks.
College Football Awards, Week 3 (2017) September 17, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Aaron Rogers, Auburn, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Cardinals, Clemson, Dabo Swinney, David Cutcliffe, Duke, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida International, Gamecocks, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Jim McElwain, Jim Mora, Kansas State, Kentucky, Lamar Jackson, Louisville, LSU, Matt Rhule, Memphis, Miami, Michael Vick, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pitt, Purdue, Rice, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Tigers, Toledo, Tom Herman, Tulane, UCF, UCLA, UMass, UNLV, USC, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Will Muschamp, Wolverines
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 3] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Glad I’m not him: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Lucky guy: Jim McElwain, Florida
Poor guy: Jim Mora, UCLA
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Will Muschamp, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Cutcliffe, Duke
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Matt Rhule, Baylor
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oklahoma (defeated Tulane 56-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Auburn (defeated Mercer 24-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: East Carolina (lost to No. 16 Virginia Tech 64-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Vanderbilt (defeated No. 18 Kansas State 14-7)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Purdue (defeated Missouri 35-3)
Dang, they’re good: Clemson
Dang, they’re bad: UTEP
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Kansas State
Did the season start? LSU
Can the season end? Rice
Can the season never end? Duke
GAMES
Play this again: No. 4 USC 27, Texas 24
Play this again, too: No. 24 Florida 26, No. 23 Tennessee 20
Never play this again: Arizona 64, UTEP 16
What? No. 24 Florida 26, No. 23 Tennessee 20
Huh? Memphis 48, No. 25 UCLA 45
Double Huh? Northern Illinois 21, Nebraska 17
Are you kidding me?? Vanderbilt 14, No. 18 Kansas State 7
Oh – my – God: Mississippi State 37, No. 12 LSU 7
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)
Ticket to die for: No. 16 TCU @ No. 6 Oklahoma State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: UCF @ Maryland
Best non-Power Five matchup: Ohio U @ Eastern Michigan
Upset alert: No. 17 Mississippi State @ No. 11 Georgia
Must win: Notre Dame @ Michigan State
Offensive explosion: Toledo @ No. 14 Miami
Defensive struggle: Pitt @ Georgia Tech
Great game no one is talking about: Duke @ North Carolina
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Harbaugh of Michigan vs. Jeff Brohm of Purdue
Who’s bringing the body bags? UNLV @ No. 10 Ohio State
Why are they playing? UMass @ Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida International @ Rice
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Georgia Southern @ Indiana
Week 3 Take-aways:
The Clemson-at-Louisville game was the game of the week, and on paper, such a designation was obvious. But sometimes these “games of the week” become lopsided affairs. This was sadly such a game, whereby the Tigers triumphed over the host Cardinals, 41-27. Did the game’s outcome have to weigh so heavily in favor or Clemson? No. The problem for Louisville was a combination of a few things. For one, the Tigers’ offense had incredible speed in their skill positions that kept Louisville’s secondary on their toes the whole night. The second was their powerful offensive line opened up huge gaps up the middle, allowing their runningback to gain lots of yardage between the tackles. Much of that could have been cancelled out had Louisville’s offense been allowed to fire on all proverbial cylinders. Why the hindrance? Because head coach Bobby Petrino seemed bent on trying to mold Heisman winner Lamar Jackson into another Aaron Rogers, when he is clearly another Michael Vick instead. Petrino is apparently so bent on micro-managing his quarterback that he has forgotten that an artist needs to be allowed to be, well, an artist. Let Jackson play to his strengths, and Louisville’s offense shall rise to the level of its potential. But as long as Petrino continues to micromanage the offense the way he currently is, the Cardinals’ offense shall continue to stagnate. The choice is that simple.
Meanwhile, what a game in Los Angeles. The 2005-2006 BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena was the greatest college football game of my lifetime. This was the first time Texas and USC had played each other since, and like the previous game, it did not disappoint, with plenty of drama and big plays on both sides. Despite the unranked Horns’ eventual loss, the moral victory is theirs in that they took the No. 4-ranked Trojans into overtime and only lost by a field goal. For the first time this year, Texas finally played up to its potential. Even though moral victories are not counted in any statistic or record book, this is one that Coach Tom Herman can build upon if he is smart about it.
That said, the moral victory for Texas might have been an actual one had it not been for the Longhorns’ four turnovers that game.
Meanwhile, what a difference an offseason and change of coaches can make. Purdue was a gutter team last year. Then, out with previous head coach Darrell Hazell, in with new head coach Jeff Brohm, and the difference in team performance is as stark as night and day. The Boilermakers have grown into a team not to be taken lightly. Their only loss was to a strong Louisville team. The following week they won, handily, over Ohio U, one of the best teams in the MAC. This week, they journeyed to Missouri to take on the Tigers, whom the Boilermakers rolled, 35-3. This upcoming weekend, they play No. 8 Michigan. On paper, the odds heavily favor the Wolverines, but do not be surprised if Purdue takes Michigan to the wire just like Texas did with USC this week.
As an aside, Kentucky has beaten South Carolina for the fourth straight time. The past two times, Will Muschamp has been at the helm of the Gamecocks. How many more times are the fans going to tolerate such an embarrassing loss to a team that barely belongs in their conference before they run Muschamp out of town on a rail?
Intriguing Games for Week 11 (2016) November 9, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Aggies, Alabama, Army, Baylor, college football, Duke, Florida, Gamecocks, Gators, Gene Chizik, Kansas, Kentucky, Larry Fedora, Longhorns, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NCAA, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, SEC, South Carolina, Tarheels, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tulsa, USC, Vols, Volunteers, Washington, West Virginia
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Lest we forget, the Duke – North Carolina rivalry is not merely confined to the hardwood.
No. 21 North Carolina @ Duke (Thurs., Nov. 10: ESPN)
The Tarheels under head coach Larry Fedora and defensive coordinator Gene Chizik have proven to be a very efficient team. Duke, despite being only 3-6, has always been a tough out this year (see: Louisville, week 7). Factor in the close geographic proximity and the traditional rivalry between the two, and you have yourself a very, very interesting game.
(All other games are on Saturday, Nov. 12)
No. 25 Baylor @ No. 9 Oklahoma (Noon EST, ABC/ESPN 2)
The intrigue of this game is the background. Baylor has been in a weird, two-game free-fall. They were undefeated until last month, where they unexpectedly lost to a mediocre Texas Longhorns team, and thus knocked themselves out of playoff contention. Then, the following week at home, they lost horribly (a 62-22 kind of horribly) to a TCU team that seems to finally have found a pulse.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma has quietly crawled their way back into the top ten. This will be a great game if Baylor gets out of its funk and plays up to its Top Ten potential.
South Carolina @ No. 22 Florida (Noon EST; CBS)
Earlier in the season, this game looked like it would be a snoozer, what with an underperforming South Carolina team losing to both Kentucky and Mississippi State. Florida, meanwhile, had gradually improved to the point where they were No. 11 as of last week.
The trends now appear to be different. The Gators were embarrassed on the road against unranked Arkansas last week, 31-10. Their current problem seems to be a lack of identity on offense. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks have gradually improved, first with an upset win over Tennessee, and last week with a confidence-boosting win over Missouri. If these trends continue, this game will be evenly-matched, thus very competitive.
Kentucky @ Tennessee (Noon EST; SEC Network)
Remember when the Vols were supposed to vie for the playoffs? That ended when they blew it at Texas A&M. After not playing with sufficient urgency for an entire game, the whole play-from-behind drama caused Tennessee to come up short against the Aggies. The next week was Tennessee’s turn in the conference to get drubbed by seemingly invincible Alabama.
Perhaps the heartbreaking loss followed by the aforementioned drubbing took something out of them, because they then laid an egg on the road at South Carolina, thus knocking them out of the rankings.
After leading the SEC East, those three losses made it anyone’s division – even Kentucky, who also has three losses in the conference. Let that sink in for a moment. Therefore, this game will help clarify the SEC East race. Let that sink in as well.
No. 11 West Virginia @ Texas (Noon EST; FS1)
West Virginia was undefeated before suddenly losing to Oklahoma State two weeks ago. Last week’s win against Kansas was a given, ergo proves nothing. Meanwhile, Texas has two consecutive upsets under its belt, first against heretofore unbeaten Baylor, next against Texas Tech. Could the Longhorns score a third consecutive upset? We’ll find out on Nov. 12.
Tulsa @ Navy (Noon EST; CBSSN)
Here me out. Tulsa is 7-2, leading the AAC West. Navy is 6-2, has been in and out of the rankings, and tied with Memphis for first in the AAC West division. Enough said.
Army @ Notre Dame (3:30 EST; NBC)
Army is currently 5-4. Notre Dame is in relative free-fall at 3-6, and possibly still smarting from a loss to Navy last week. One more win, and the Black Knights are bowl-eligible for only the third time since 1996 and the fourth time since 1988. Could an underperforming Irish squad be that last win Army needs to make to the post-season?
If it is, Notre Dame’s season is worse than over, as their next two games are against No. 18 Virginia Tech, and a suddenly-strong USC. Talk about a must-win for both teams!
USC @ No. 4 Washington (6:30 EST; FOX)
Washington is not a juggernaut team, but they are still very good (their undefeated season is padded with three out-of-conference body bag games). USC started the season with some sputters, but has played very strongly as of late. The opportunity is thus ripe for an upset (or, at least near-upset) in Seattle this Saturday evening.
