2012-2013 Bowl Games of Some Interest December 15, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alamo, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas State, Auburn, Baylor, Belk, Big East, Big XII, Boilermakers, Boise State, Bowl, Bronx, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chris Ault, Colin Kaepernick, college, Commodores, Copper, Cotton, Cowboys, Darrell Hazell, Dave Doeren, Earl Scheib, East Carolina, FBS, Fight Hunger, football, GoDaddy, Gus Malzahn, Heart of Dallas, Horned Frogs, Huskies, Insight, Ka'Deem Carey, Ken Niumatalolo, Kent State, Kraft, Land of Enchantment, Las Vegas, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisville, MAACO, Michigan State, Mountain West, Mountaineers, MSU, Music City, N.C. State, Navy, NCAA, Nevada, New Mexico, New Orleans, North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, Orange, Pac-12, Pinstripe, Purdue, Silver, Spartans, Stefphon Jefferson, Steve Sarkesian, Syracuse, TCU, Texas Tech, Todd Graham, Tom O'Brien, Vanderbilt, Vandy, Washington, West Virginia, Wildcats, Wolfpack, Yankee Stadium
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As mentioned in the previous installment, I have ranked the bowl games by category, with the major criterion being level of desirability to view, partly on my end, partly on the end of the average viewer who is NOT a certifiable college football addict like yours truly!
To find a complete bowl game schedule where each game is found in order of date and time each game is to be played, go here.
This second installment is of bowl games about which I am rather interested, which is, to me, higher than “moderately interested:”
New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, N.M.), Sat., Dec. 15, 1:00 PM EST
Arizona (7-5) vs. Nevada (7-5)
Chris Ault leads the now-Colin Kaepernick-less Wolfpack back to a bowl game to take on the rejuvenated Arizona Wildcats in a fairly evenly-matched game in the Land of Enchantment. Speaking of which, Enchantment Bowl has a nicer ring to it than New Mexico Bowl, doesn’t it? But I digress. What makes this game truly interesting is that there will be lots and lots of yards gained on the ground by both sides. How do I know? Both teams each have some of the leading rushers in the FBS this season, in Ka’Deem Carey (is the apostrophe really necessary? Then again, the name is already made up, so might as well be stylin’ while we’re at it!) for Arizona and Stefphon (sic) Jefferson for Nevada (one too many consonants in that first name, don’t you think?). Moreover, both teams also sport mediocre run defenses. It all adds up to lots of rushing yardage gained on both sides of the ball, with an inability to stop each other on the other side. Think: the equivalence of Baylor-Texas Tech, ground game edition! The fact that the hilarious writers at EDSBS referred to both of these two teams as the plague monkeys of their respective conferences is the icing on the cake!
New Orleans Bowl, Saturday, Dec. 22, 12:00 PM EST
East Carolina (8-4) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4)
If I miss this game, it won’t be the end of the world. It used to be that we CFB fans would look forward to this game because it kicked off bowl season. Now, it’s just another bowl. Still, it pits two solid teams within their respective conferences against each other, which was my rationale for designating this game the “Best Non-Big Six Matchup” for this set of bowl games.
MAACO Bowl (Las Vegas, Nev.) Saturday, Dec. 22, 3:30 PM EST
Washington (7-5) vs. No. 19 Boise State (10-2)
This used to be called the Silver Bowl, but that was before sponsorship took over bowls big time. Soon, they renamed this game after a slightly classed-up version of Earl Scheib. That notwithstanding, this could be a decent match-up. On one hand, Steve Sarkesian has worked diligently to bring the Huskies back to respectability. On the other hand, Boise State has had a slightly down year compared to their last several. Could be interesting.
Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, N.Y.), Sat., Dec. 29, 3:15 PM
West Virginia (7-5) vs. Syracuse (7-5)
Old conference rivals reunite in this bowl game, between a squad that hit the wall when they reached the real meat of their schedule, and a team that gradually improved throughout the year. On paper, the Mountaineers are more talented than the Orange, but will the former have time to regain their energy? Plus, the game is in [new] Yankee Stadium: how cool is that?
Fight Hunger Bowl (San Francisco), Sat., Dec. 29, 3:15 PM
Navy (8-4) vs. Arizona State (7-5)
So which is it going to be, the Pinstripe Bowl or this one? I choose this one, my “intriguing coaching matchup” bowl game pick, and for multiple reasons. For one, you have one coaching philosophy of pounding the rock vs. the opposing one that amounts to a watered-down “west coast” offense. But that’s not all: on one side is Ken Niumatalolo and his apparent philosophy of family, loyalty, dedication, etc., and in the opposing corner is the notoriously mercenary, leave-in-the-dead-of-night Todd Graham. Very intriguing indeed!
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (Tempe, Ariz.), Sat., Dec. 29, 10:15 PM
TCU (7-5) vs. Michigan State (6-6)
(What used to be the Insight Bowl, and before that, the Copper Bowl) Okay, so the Spartans have been no team to write home about this year, given their inability to, you know, score touchdowns. Meanwhile, on TCU’s side, their performance this year has been one of peaks and valleys. Where the Horned Frogs are with respect to their highs and lows will determine whether they mop the field with MSU, or the game remains a defensive struggle. What could really set things off, though, is if the two teams show up in their chrome purple and green helmets, respectively (oh boy, oh boy!)!
Music City Bowl (Nashville, Tenn.) Mon., Dec. 31, 12:00 PM
North Carolina State (7-5) vs. Vanderbilt (8-4)
Last year, the Wolfpack was in the Belk Bowl, and defeated a young Louisville team. It looked like they were really up-and-coming. They return to a bowl game this year, and fire Tom O’Brien. It makes no sense. Will head coach-in-waiting Dave Doeren lead the team, or will Tom O’Brien play out the string? Or will the assistant coaches be left to watch over this mess before Doeren comes in to right the ship? All this will be moot anyhow, since this is a glorified home game for Vandy, who by all rights should kick N.C. State’s butt. And that’s what’s really enticing; would it not be grand to see the Commodores win a bowl game? Goodness knows they have earned it!
GoDaddy.Com Bowl (Mobile, Ala.), Sun., Jan. 6, 9:00 PM
No. 25 Kent State (11-2) vs. Arkansas State (9-3)
College football on a Sunday night instead of pro football? Yes, please! Plus, this game is my “intriguing no-coaching matchup,” given that Kent State’s erstwhile coach Darrell Hazell took the Purdue job and Arkansas State’s erstwhile coach Guz Malzahn bolted for Auburn.
Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas), Tues., Jan. 1, 12:00 PM
Purdue (6-6) vs. Oklahoma State (7-5)
Okay, how on Earth did this become a New Year’s Day bowl game? I know that the Cotton Bowl is no longer played in the Cotton Bowl (stadium, that is), but that does not mean that this manufactured bowl game deserves to be on the same day as the Capital One, Outback, Rose, and other bowls that have earned being on this date. That aside, this game is a rematch of the 1997 Alamo Bowl. Just don’t expect the Boilermakers to beat the Cowboys 33-20 like they did 15 years ago. In fact, expecting the score to be reversed in the Pokes favor might be an overestimation. Still, Purdue is playing in it, so one has to watch it.
College Football Week 14 Awards December 3, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Alabama, Arkansas State, Army, B1G, Baylor, Big 10, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, Bo Pelini, championship, Charlie Strong, Charlie Weis, college, Florida State, football, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Gus Malzahn, Kansas, Kyle Flood, Louisville, Mack Brown, Mark Richt, Navy, NCAA, Nebraska, New Mexico State, Nicholls, Nick Saban, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Pac-12, Rutgers, SEC, South Alabama, South Florida, Stanford, Texas, Texas State, UCLA, West Virginia, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are week 14 AP polls unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Glad I’m not him: Mark Richt, Georgia
Lucky guy: Charlie Strong, Louisville
Poor guy: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
Desperately seeking a clue: Charlie Weis, Kansas
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Gus Malzahn, Arkansas State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bo Pelini, Nebraska
Desperately seeking … anything: Mack Brown, Texas
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oregon State (beat Nicholls 77-3)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Stanford (beat UCLA 27-24 in the Pac-12 championship)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kansas (lost to West Virginia 59-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Georgia Tech (lost to Florida State in the ACC championship)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Texas State (beat New Mexico State 66-28)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: South Alabama
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Nebraska
Did the season start? Rutgers
Can the season end? South Florida
Can the season never end? Wisconsin
GAMES
Play this again: No. 2 Alabama 32, No. 3 Georgia 28
Never play this again: No. 15 Oregon State 77, Nicholls 3
What? No. 8 Stanford 27, No. 16 UCLA 24
Huh? Louisville 20, Rutgers 17
Are you kidding me? No. 21 Northern Illinois 44, No. 17 Kent State 37
Oh – my – God: Wisconsin 70, No. 12 Nebraska 31
Told you so: Baylor 41, Oklahoma State 34
NEXT WEEK
Only one regular season game is to be played next week, which is the annual Army-Navy game: a cherished American tradition. Go Armed Forces – God bless our troops!
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 13 Awards November 25, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, B1G, BCS, Big 10, Big Ten, Bill Snyder, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Buckeyes, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Columbus, Commodores, Connecticut, crasher, Dana Holgorsen, Dores, Eastern Michigan, Fighting, Florida, Florida State, football, Fresno State, FSU, Gamecocks, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Iowa, Irish, Jay Cutler, Jimbo Fisher, Joker Phillips, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Kentucky, Kyle Flood, Lane Kiffin, Liberty Bowl, Los Angeles, Louisville, MAC, Mack Brown, Madison, Michigan, Mississippi State, NCAA, Nebraska, Nevada, Nicholls, Noles, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Penn State, Pete Carroll, Pittsburgh, rival, Ron English, Rutgers, Seminoles, South Alabama, South Bend, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, Tallahassee, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Tigers, Todd Graham, Trojan, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, Vanderbilt, Vandy, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Will Muschamp, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 13, pre-week 14] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Will Muschamp, Florida
Glad I’m not him: Mack Brown, Texas
Glad it’s finally over: Joker Phillips, Kentucky
Lucky guy: Todd Graham, Arizona State
Poor guy: Charlie Strong, Louisville
Desperately seeking a clue: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
Desperately seeking … anything: Ron English, Eastern Michigan
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Alabama (beat Auburn 49-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Nebraska (beat Iowa 13-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Georgia Tech (lost to No. 3 Georgia 42-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Washington State (beat Washington 31-28, OT)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Ole Miss (beat Mississippi State 41-24)
Dang, they’re good: Stanford
Dang, they’re bad: South Florida
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Arizona (lost to Arizona State 41-34)
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Kansas
Can the season never end? Florida
GAMES
Play this again: No. 12* South Carolina 27, No. 11* Clemson 17 (notwithstanding Baylor 52, Texas Tech 45, OT)
Never play this again: Fresno State 48, Air Force 15
What? TCU 20, No. 15* Texas 13
Huh? UConn 23, No. 20* Louisville 20, 3OT
Are you kidding me? Pittsburgh 27, No. 18* Rutgers 6
Oh – my – God: Ole Miss 41, Mississippi State 24
Told you so: No. 13* Oklahoma 51, No. 21* Oklahoma State 48, OT
*Week 13 AP rankings
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Alabama vs. No .3 Georgia in Atlanta
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: (none)
Best non-Big Six matchup: No. 19 Northern Illinois @ No. 18 Kent State (MAC Championship, Friday night)
Upset alert: No. 7 Kansas State @ No. 23 Texas
Must win: Alabama vs. Georgia in the SEC Championship game (notwithstanding Louisville @ Rutgers)
Offensive explosion: Baylor @ Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: Cincinnati @ UConn
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Rutgers, Thursday
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mack Brown of Texas vs. Bill Snyder of Kansas State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Nicholls @ No. 16 Oregon State
Why are they playing? South Alabama @ Hawaii
Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ Texas State
They shoot horses, don’t they? Kansas @ West Virginia
Rivalry Week in Review:
Give Urban Meyer a ton of credit: Ohio State had nothing to play for this year. Nothing. No matter how well they played this regular season, they were ineligible for any sort of bowl game or any other post-season play, not even the Big 10 Conference championship game. That is too bad, because they currently, er, lead the Leaders division of the conference by a virtual mile (two games, to be exact). Moreover, the team they lead is Penn State, who is ineligible for a much longer stretch of time, sadly, and for even more bizarre reasons. The Buckeyes’ current lead in the conference is three games ahead of the actual eligible member of the Leaders division, that being Wisconsin, whom Ohio State defeated in Madison, Wis., in overtime. As stated earlier, the Buckeyes had nothing to play for this year, and as such could have just lied down and given up early on. Yet Coach Meyer has kept his team focused and hungry every week. Best of all, they capped off an undefeated season by beating arch-rival Michigan 26-21. If these shadows remain unchanged, then the future in Columbus, Ohio is very bright indeed.
Yes, Florida won: But give Jimbo Fisher a ton of credit. He has brought Florida State back to near-football factory status, which has, in turn, brought the Sunshine State Rivalry back to prominence, which is good for football. The Seminoles put up on heckuva fight against the Gators in Tallahassee, but in the end, the latter’s defense proved too much for the former, as Florida triumphed in the end, 37-26. Yet to put things in perspective, this “rivalry” had been rather one-sided since 2004, be it in recent wins on the part of the ‘Noles (31-7 in 2010, 21-7 in 2011), or in consecutive wins (the Gators won all matchups with FSU from 2004 to 2009). The level of play, the overall excitement, and reasonably close score indicate that the one-sidedness has come to an end, at least temporarily. Expect this rivalry to retain its regained intensity in the future years to come!
Speaking of Florida, it looks like Muschamp is “the guy” after all. Folks had left him for dead at the end of last year after he went only 7-6 in his first season as head coach of the Gators. Yet this year, he has lost only one game, has just defeated his No. 10-ranked, in-state rival, and his team is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation. The Gators look to be in good hands after all.
Is the USC-Notre Dame rivalry back? Could be. Brian Kelly has put enough pieces together at Notre Dame to make the team recall the physical squads that made the Irish top contenders for years on end. Meanwhile, Lane Kiffin has gradually been putting pieces back together at USC after years of probation. Notre Dame was downright dormant as a former national power for a decade and a half. Meanwhile, USC was severely weakened by scholarship reductions due to probation, which they have now survived, and are looking to get back to where they were under Pete Carroll’s tenure. Going in to the most recent game, this rivalry, like the previous one mentioned, was also one-sided over the past decade. The Trojans won all but one of these games since 2002, and embarrassed the Irish in South Bend last year, 31-17. This year, Notre Dame stepped up and won in Los Angeles, 22-13, against a Trojan team with a back-up redshirt freshman and a team that has yet to find itself in terms of a necessary level of discipline and consistency. Regardless, though, the game was competitive, and we look forward to more of it in the coming years.
Speaking of one-sided rivalries: The South Carolina-Clemson game is one that has overall been in the latter’s favor, as the Tigers led the rivalry 65-41-4. Nevertheless, with the Gamecocks’ recent win, they have now won the last four games between them and the Tigers. This is the first time South Carolina has repeated this streak since from 1951-1954, and it ties the record for their longest win streak against their upstate rival. Moreover, South Carolina has won five out of the last seven of such games.
Is it too early to say that this is the greatest Vanderbilt team of modern times, if not of all time? Don’t laugh. When is the last time you saw the Commodores go 8-4? In recent memory, Vandy teams showed some signs of brilliance (the Jay Cutler-led squads, for example), but even they struggled to win six games, most of the time falling short of that mark. This team not only surpassed that mark for bowl eligibility, it blew passed it completely. Along the way, they blew out Kentucky, Tennessee, and Wake Forest. Not the most impressive opponents, to be sure, but the fact that they were able to hold off a rapidly-improving Ole Miss should count for something. To be sure, they have proven not to be able to handle the true heavyweights of the conference, losing badly to both Georgia (48-3) and Florida (31-17), and lost the season opener at home to South Carolina (17-13). Still, despite these weaknesses, the ‘Dores are bowl eligible for the second season in a row, something unprecedented in the history of the program. If that is not enough, the team reached other key milestones as well. The evidence speaks for itself. That said, if any doubts remain, last year, Vandy went only 6-6 before losing to Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl. This year, they are a stronger team, and are 8-4; a bowl win should quell any doubt that they are the greatest Commodore squad of modern times, if not since the program’s inception in 1890.
Here’s something to blow you mind: Iowa and Kentucky, both cellar-dwellers in their respective conference divisions, are the only reasons why there is not some undefeated MAC team out there threatening to crash the BCS. Check it out. Iowa beat Northern Illinois by one point in the season opener, and Kentucky beat Kent State 47-14 in week 2. Want to make things even more interesting? Ask yourself the following question: would either of these “Big Six” teams beat any one of those two MAC teams at this stage of the season?
Oh yeah, and Notre Dame will be playing for the national championship for the first time in 24 years. Yay.
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.
College Football Week 8 Awards October 22, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Alamo Bowl, Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Atlanta, Auburn, Baylor, BCS, Beavers, Big 12, Big XII, Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, Boston College, Bowling Green, Brian Kelly, Bulldogs, Charlie Strong, Charlie Weis, chrome, Cincinnati, Civil War, cocktail, college, Colorado, Colorado State, Corvalis, Dana Holgorsen, Danny Hope, David Cutcliffe, Ducks, Duke, East Carolina, Eugene, Florida, Florida State, football, Gators, Georgia, Hawaii, helmet, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Jacksonville, Jeff Driskel, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Kentucky, Kyle Whittingham, Louisville, LSU, matte, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Mountaineers, Navy, NCAA, Nebraska, Nick Saban, no-huddle, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Orange Bowl, Oregon, outdoor, Pac-12, party, Purdue, Red Raiders, Rutgers, SEC, SMU, Sooners, South Carolina, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, The Swamp, Toledo, Tommy Tuberville, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah, West Virginia, Wildcats, Will Muschamp, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 8, pre-week 9] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Bill Snyder, Kansas State
Glad I’m not him: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Lucky guy: Charlie Strong, Louisville
Poor guy: Danny Hope, Purdue
Desperately seeking a clue: Charlie Weis, Kansas
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Cutcliffe, Duke
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
Desperately seeking … anything: Kyle Whittingham, Utah
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 10 USC (beat Colorado 50-6)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 12 Georgia (beat Kentucky 29-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kansas (lost to No. 8 Oklahoma 52-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Navy (beat Indiana 31-30)
Thought you wouldn’t get your butt kicked, you did: No. 17 South Carolina (lost to No. 3 Florida 44-11)
Dang, they’re good: Florida
Dang, they’re bad: Auburn
Did the season start? Iowa
Can the season end? Boston College
Can the season never end? Kansas State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 18 Texas Tech 56, TCU 53
Never play this again: No. 2 Oregon 43*, Arizona State 21
What? No. 4 Kansas State 55, No. 25 West Virginia 17
Huh? Duke 33, North Carolina 30
Are you kidding me? Toledo 29, Cincinnati 23
Oh – my – God: Navy 31, Indiana 30
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 5 Notre Dame @ No. 8 Oklahoma (notwithstanding Georgia vs. No. 3 Florida in Jacksonville)
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Kent State @ No. 18 Rutgers
Best non-Big Six matchup: Navy @ East Carolina
Upset alert: No. 13 Mississippi State @ No. 1 Alabama
Must win: No. 20 Michigan @ Nebraska
Offensive explosion: No. 15 Texas Tech @ No. 4 Kansas State
Defensive struggle: Missouri @ Kentucky
Great game no one is talking about: Cincinnati @ No. 16 Louisville, Friday, 8 PM
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bob Stoops of Oklahoma vs. Brian Kelly of Notre Dame
Who’s bringing the body bags? Colorado @ No. 2 Oregon
Why are they playing? UMass @ Vanderbilt
Plenty of good seats remaining: Hawaii @ Colorado St. (notwithstanding Indiana @ Illinois)
They shoot horses, don’t they? No. 22 Texas A&M @ Auburn
*If Oregon did not call off the dogs at halftime, they could have scored 86 points, not just 43.
Offensive Explosion, C-USA-style: Who’da thought that the Thursday night Houston-SMU matchup would have led to such offensive fireworks?
Two trends in helmet design: One of which is the matte epidemic that must be discussed in a future article, having infected teams such as TCU, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Baylor (their green helmets in the recent Alamo Bowl), Michigan State (sort of), and a host of others. But another emergent trend, one more becoming of ultra-modernity, is the “chrome” effect. Oregon debuted it during the most recent Rose Bowl, where they triumphed over Wisconsin wearing helmets with chrome [duck] wings on a chrome shell. Recently, they demolished Arkansas State with chrome [duck] wings on a plain yellow shell. Now, Michigan State has furthered the trend with a special helmet they wore in their narrow loss to rival Michigan, sporting a chrome-green shell with a silver chrome decal. Not bad!
Will Muschamp seems like “the guy” after all: “The guy,” meaning the guy who is capable of maintaining the high level of success that Florida fans have come to expect during the tenures of Steve Spurrier, followed indirectly by Urban Meyer. Having established his credentials as an excellent defensive coach while at Texas, Muschamp has finally carried that over into a smothering defense on the part of his current team. Indeed, the Gators have held opponents to just an average of roughly 12 points per game, and that includes a lackluster performance on both sides of the ball during their season-opener against Bowling Green. Offensively, the Gators have shown considerable signs of life, thanks in part to the able QB skills of one Jeff Driskel. On that side of the ball, Florida has averaged 33 points per game for the past five games. Fourteen points was enough to overcome LSU’s stingy ‘D,’ while the Gators put up a whopping 44 points on South Carolina’s reputable defense yesterday in The Swamp.
The “So What” for the SEC: If these shadows remain unchanged, it will be a Battle Royale in Atlanta between Florida and Alabama come early December. But first, Florida must take care of Georgia in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, while Alabama has to contend with undefeated Mississippi State. Bama also has LSU left on their slate, while the Gators’ only major challenge after the Bulldogs (UGA, not MSU) will be a regular-season closer at rival Florida State (thankfully for the Gators, a non-conference foe). Stay tuned!
The current race in the Big XII: Kansas State remains firmly in the driver’s seat after dispatching with yet another viable challenger in West Virginia. Geno Smith might very well be leading a high-powered offense, but the Mountaineers’ defense is clearly another matter entirely, one that Coach Dana Holgorsen would be well-served to shore up at some point. The challenge for head coach Bill Snyder and the Wildcats is to turn around after a big win against a formidable team on the road, and be ready for the same level of performance at home, as Tommy Tuberville’s Texas Tech Red Raiders are about to come calling. A loss on the part of KSU could make for a very rather muddled race for top spot in the conference.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma is determined to maintain its insurgent conference championship run, but a number of potential challenges remain with Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and TCU awaiting their respective confrontations. Having said that, Bob Stoops & Co. have the opportunity to get back into the national conversation, as No. 5 Notre Dame comes into Norman for the biggest challenge the Irish are likely to face the entire year. The season for both teams hangs in the balance.
Oregon, meanwhile, keeps motoring along up in the Pacific Northwest. The Ducks remain undefeated, and their scores have been so high, they have practically required oxygen to read them, averaging 51 points each game thus far. Their no-huddle offense is so fast-paced that it has caused Nick Saban of seemingly invincible Alabama to grumble. But it will not be a smooth road to Miami for the Ducks for the BCS title game. In two weeks, they must face resurgent USC. Just two weeks after that, Stanford will not be playing dead just because Oregon is, well, Oregon, and they close their regular season with in-state rival Oregon State in the annual match-up known as “The Civil War.” Given that the Beavers have crept into the No. 8 ranking, the game between these two teams this year could very well live up to such an august game title/nickname. Moreover, that game this year will be in Corvalis, not Eugene. If the Ducks end up making it to the Orange Bowl part II, they will certainly have earned it.
College Football Week 7 Awards October 15, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, Baylor, BCS, Big 10, Big 12, Big Ten, Big XII, Bil Snyder, Bob Stoops, Bobby Bowden, Bobby Petrino, Boston College, Brian Kelly, Buffalo, Cardinal, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, college football, Colorado, Dana Holgorsen, Danny Hope, David Ash, Death Valley, Eastern Michigan, FIghting Irish, Florida, Florida State, Gene Chizik, Geno Smith, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, John Cooper, Kansas, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Les Miles, Lone State State, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, LSU, Mack Brown, Middle Tennessee State, Mike Leach, Mike Riley, Mississippi State, Missouri, Mountaineers, National Championship Game, NCAA, Nebraska, Nick Saban, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Pac-12, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Red Raiders, SEC, South Carolina, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, The Swamp, Tommy Tuberville, USC, Virginia Tech, Washington, West Virginia, Western Kentucky
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 7, pre-week 8] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Glad I’m not him: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
Lucky guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Poor guy: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a clue: Danny Hope, Purdue
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Riley, Oregon State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mack Brown, Texas
Desperately seeking … anything: Gene Chizik, Auburn
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Florida State (beat Boston College 51-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Ohio State (beat Indiana 52-49)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Missouri (lost to No.1 Alabama 42-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (lost to Oklahoma State 20-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Arizona State (beat Colorado 51-17)
Dang, they’re good: Oklahoma
Dang, they’re bad: Illinois
Did the season start? Auburn
Can the season end? Colorado
Can the season never end? Oregon State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 20 Texas A&M 59, Louisiana Tech 57
Never play this again: No. 10 Oklahoma 63, Texas 21
What? Arizona State 51, Colorado 17
Huh? No. 7 Ohio State 52, Indiana 49
Are you kidding me? No. 10 Oklahoma 63, Texas 21
Oh – my – God: Texas Tech 49, No. 17 West Virginia 14
Told you so: No. 4 Kansas State 27, Iowa State 21
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 9 South Carolina @ No. 3 Florida
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Middle Tennessee State @ No. 15 Mississippi State
Best non-Big Six matchup: Louisiana Monroe @ Western Kentucky
Upset alert: No. 2 Oregon @ Arizona State
Must win: Baylor @ Texas
Offensive explosion: No. 4 Kansas State @ No. 17 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: Penn State @ Iowa
Great game no one is talking about: Nebraska @ Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Les Miles of LSU vs. Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 14 Georgia @ Kentucky
Why are they playing? Pittsburgh @ Buffalo
Plenty of good seats remaining: Army @ Eastern Michigan
They shoot horses, don’t they? Colorado @ No. 11 USC
Week 7: Thoughts on the week:
Passing the test: Every good team eventually has to pass a test. The team can be undefeated, well-ranked, but doubts will still remain, doubts that can be summed up with the partly-rhetorical question, “whom have they played?” Several teams passed the test today. No. 16 Louisville passed the test by winning on the road against the toughest team they have played yet in Pittsburgh. The Notre Dame apologists feel that the Irish have passed a test in squeaking by No. 22 Stanford at home in overtime. Mike Riley has been quietly winning games at Oregon State this year, and the tests he has already passed were mostly tests in hindsight. I say “mostly” because the opening game/win was over a Wisconsin team that had understandably high expectations. Two more victories have come over resurgent programs in UCLA and Arizona, albeit at different stages in that key regard.
But though these teams have passed these tests, more remain. A much greater trial awaits the Louisville Cardinals when they take on Cincinnati. The huge tests that await Notre Dame are listed later in this article entry. Meanwhile, Oregon State’s upcoming tests are exceedingly daunting, what with Washington, Arizona State, Stanford, and finally, Oregon, still remaining on the schedule.
Then there are the teams that failed to pass the test, most notably South Carolina, who lost in a close one to LSU in Death Valley. A win could have strengthened their bid to lead the SEC East, but the loss means they must now hand Florida its first loss of the season in The Swamp. Sometimes make-up tests are more difficult – with more on the line – than the original thing.
Red River Rout: For the third consecutive year, Texas has lost ignominiously to arch-rival Oklahoma in the annual Red River Rivalry game. Coaches have been known to summarily get the ax on account of not being able to beat their rivals (see: Cooper, John, or Bowden, Bobby [later years]). Could it be that Mack Brown, as genial a man as there is in the upper echelons of this business, finally be wearing out his welcome in Austin? Goodness knows he is running out of excuses for his chronic under-performance over the past three years. In the time since they lost valiantly to Alabama in the 2010 BCS National Championship game, the Horns have failed to be bowl eligible in one of those seasons, and have failed to beat the Sooners in all three. This is an unacceptable situation given that he coaches the team that is the flagship school in the biggest, best football state in the entire country; a team whose cache helped launch the school’s own ESPN-powered sports network, and a program that has the pick of the litter for top talent in the Lone Star State. Yet with all of these advantages, combined with much-improved QB play from David Ash, Brown is bereft of playmakers, something for which there is simply no excuse, given the ideal location of the program. The inescapable conclusion becomes that Brown’s tenure has reached the end of its effectiveness, hence that he must go. Nothing personal, Mack; it’s just business.
Paging Bobby Petrino: Okay, so if Texas fires Mack Brown, with whom shall they replace him? Bobby Petrino seems to be an obvious choice. Yes, Petrino gives mercenaries a bad name; yes, his system is so seemingly unstable that nobody else can operate it in his absence (see: Arkansas; see: Louisville, pre-Charlie Strong). But he wins. The athletics department at the University of Texas not only has the resources to pay him a handsomely competitive salary, but can supply him with his own young mistresses if he wishes to add that to his contract as a benefit – no need to add them to the team staff payroll on the sly! More to the point though, a team with the resources and tradition of Texas under the leadership of Bobby Petrino could make Nick Saban’s Alabama team seem almost anemic by comparison, and would give the arrogant Bob Stoops of Oklahoma more than cause for notice.
Who needs Mike Leach? The Dread Pirate Leach might have put Texas Tech on the map with his spread offense on steroids, but he is hardly missed this weekend in Lubbock. How could one, what with Tommy Tuberville regenerating excitement for the program with a huge upset win over West Virginia? Geno Smith and Co. seemed almost invincible going into Week 7’s game, but then they ran into a team with a secondary built to stop the big pass plays that had until yesterday fueled the Mountaineer’s undefeated run. Funny how things work out like that. A win of this magnitude (49-15) over a top-ten opponent (WVU was No. 5 going into the game) ought to merit a ranking of some sort for Texas Tech.
Settle down, Notre Dame fan: Does any reasonably objective individual believe that if Stanford and Notre Dame met on a neutral site, and/or if the game were not soaked by a torrential rain, that the Cardinal would not have triumphed? As it is, the Fighting Irish had to squeak by in overtime, and only then because Stanford made two consecutive bone-headed calls during their post-regulation possession. The point in all this is, if Notre Dame has a decent undefeated run, scores of apologists fall all over themselves to overvalue the team with an unduly high ranking. The team is in for a rude awakening in two weeks when it ventures in to Norman to take on Oklahoma. An almost-as-rigorous test will come at season’s end in Los Angeles Coliseum against USC. You ND apologists maybe laughing now, but just you wait.
Ditch those gray camo unis, South Carolina: I very much appreciate you guys trying to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project or whatever it is you’re into these days. It is most commendable. But the effort ought not to obscure your glorious Garnet and Black, one of the best color combos in Big Boy Football these days. Wear ‘em with pride, boys. Gray jerseys? Yuck! Garnet jerseys? Sweet.
About the Big XII title: Since the nominal Big XII has an insufficient amount of members to justify a championship game, Kansas State is currently in the driver’s seat for the championship distinction. This has become clear after Oklahoma’s loss recent loss to the Wildcats, followed by West Virginia’s defeat at the hands of Texas Tech yesterday. Plenty of games remain, but Bill Snyder has the program humming well thus far.
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 