College Football Week 11 Awards: the Night of the Living Upsets Edition November 16, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Art Briles, Auburn, Baylor, Bayou Bengals, Bears, Bob Stoops, Boise State, Boston College, Bulls, Cardinal, Charlotte, Clemson, David Shaw, Doc Holliday, Ducks, FIU, Florida, Houston, Hurricanes, Idaho, Indiana, Jim Harbaugh, Kentucky, Kyle Flood, Les Miles, Living, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Helfrich, Marshall, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Gundy, Mississippi State, New Mexico, Night, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Owls, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Razorbacks, Rice, Rich Rodriguez, Rutgers, SMU, Sooners, South Florida, Southern Miss, Stanford, TCU, Temple, Texas A&M, Tigers, UCLA, Upset, Upsets, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah, Utes, Washington State, Wildcats
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The Oregon-Stanford game was a classic matchup of speed vs. power. In the end, Stanford ruined their chances of a playoff berth with two 4th-quarter fumbles. This was but one of many upsets that night which could lead to considerable chaos in the rankings. (AP photo/Tony Avelar)
(Note: All rankings are current CFP [week 11] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Glad I’m not him: Art Briles, Baylor
Lucky guy: Mark Helfrich, Oregon
Poor guy: David Shaw, Stanford
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Doc Holliday, Marshall
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Les Miles, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Texas A&M (defeated Western Carolina 42-17)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 15 TCU (defeated Kansas 23-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Miami (lost to No. 23 North Carolina 59-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Purdue (lost to No. 18 Northwestern 21-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Southern Miss (defeated Rice 65-10)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: SMU
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Baylor
Did the season start? LSU
Can the season end? Miami (FL)
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
GAMES
Play this again: Oregon 36, No. 7 Stanford 34
Play this again, too: No. 14 Michigan 48, Indiana 41
Never play this again: Marshall 52, FIU 0
What? South Florida 44, No. 22 Temple 23
Huh? Arizona 37, No. 10 Utah 30, 2OT
Double-Huh? Oregon 36, No. 7 Stanford 34
Are you kidding me? No. 12 Oklahoma 44, No. 6 Baylor 34
Oh – my – God: Arkansas 31, No. 9 LSU 14
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are week 11 CFP as of right now)
Ticket to die for: No. 6 Baylor @ No. 8 Oklahoma State
Also: No. 13 Michigan State @ No. 3 Ohio State
Honorable mention: USC @ Oregon
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Georgia Southern @ Georgia
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 21 Memphis @ No. 22 Temple
Upset alert: Boston College vs. No. 4 Notre Dame
Must win: UCLA @ Utah
Also: No. 12 Oklahoma @ No. 15 TCU
Offensive explosion: Baylor @ Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: No. 17 Mississippi State @ Arkansas
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Pittsburgh
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Dantonio of MSU vs. Urban Meyer of OSU
Who’s bringing the body bags? Charleston Southern @ No. 2 Alabama
Why are they playing? Idaho @ Auburn
Ditto: Florida Atlantic @ No. 11 Florida
Plenty of good seats remaining: Rice @ UTSA
They shoot horses, don’t they? Charlotte @ Kentucky
Week 11 Take-aways:
Henceforth let this day, the 14th of November in the Year of Our Lord 2015, be known as the Night of the Living Upsets. The daylight hours proceeded with each favored team either comfortably sailing by, or at least no worse than slipping away from the occasional close shave. Then the evening hours descended, and everything seemed to be suddenly turned on its ear.
To wit:
Nobody thought that Arkansas had a chance against LSU. After all, the Razorbacks were having a mediocre-at-best season, sub-par in any case. Moreover, Arkansas had only defeated LSU in Baton Rogue just once in the past 20 years. On the other side of the coin, the Tigers – the Bayou Bengal variety – have been playing very strongly, despite a drubbing to an increasingly dominating Alabama squad. Yet the Hogs took it to the Tigers, in Death Valley, and did so in dramatic fashion, winning 31-14. As an aside, the Hogs now have their fourth straight win, having started the season 2-4.
Meanwhile, out on the west coast, a marquee matchup in the Pac-12 took place in Stanford, where the Oregon Ducks took on the Cardinal – formerly the Indians – in a classic match of contrasts, speed vs. power. Speed ended up winning by default in the end, narrowly, 38-36. Ironically, it was not Oregon’s speed that killed Stanford as it was the Cardinal’s two inopportune fumbles late in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, they surely would have won the contest.
In the heart of Texas, Oklahoma came in to Waco to take on Baylor in a rain-soaked showdown. To the surprise of many, the Bears’ high-powered offense was kept in check the entire game. Not coincidentally, the Sooners actually played real defense, unlike all the Bears’ previous opponents, but it was still a tough fight throughout the game. The triumph was nevertheless that of the Sooners, 44-34.
Elsewhere in the southwest, the high-flying Utah squad ventured to Tucson, Ariz., to take on the Arizona Wildcats. Rich Rodriguez must have been ready for the Utes’ arrival. His team was surely hungry for a big win, for they, muck like Arkansas in the SEC, have had a mediocre season at best. In the end, the Wildcats triumphed over the Utes in 2OT, 37-30.
A near-upset occurred, as Houston barely survived Memphis, 35-34. Those Tigers (as opposed to the LSU, Auburn, or Clemson ones) were in the lead most of the game. The Cougars very gradually gnawed away at the lead in the second half to eventually snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Even then it took a missed field goal on the part of Memphis to finalize the outcome.
Yet another near-upset occurred in Bloomington, Ind., as the Indiana Hoosiers almost knocked off Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines. Only a couple of freak big plays towards the end of regulation in Michigan’s favor saved Harbaugh’s bacon that game, as it put the game in OT where the better talent was able to prevail (which it did, 48-41).
An under-the-radar upset came in the form of South Florida – a nobody the entire season – up-ending No. 22 Temple, 44-23. Remember, this is the same Temple team that played fourth-ranked Notre Dame tough the entire length of that contest. Indeed, they almost upset the Irish. Now the Bulls have decisively beaten/upset the deceptively tough Owls. Oh my.
Another overlooked upset was New Mexico upsetting Boise State in Boise, Idaho, no less, 31-24. It took a stop just four years shy of the goal line on the part of the Lobos, with 0:00 on the clock, to ensure the outcome.
Yet another under-the-radar upset was so only because it was out on the west coast, and very late at night, even by Central Time standards. Unranked Washington State defeated No. 19 UCLA, 31-27, in Pasadena, no less. The win came on a Hail Mary pass that was completed in the end zone in the final seconds, giving an incredible night full of drama one incredible exclamation mark.
Those of who paid attention to the team schedules knew that this November would be a month of separation. What we did NOT anticipate was that so much, er, separation, would occur so soon in the month, and on one night alone. The real kicker? At only halfway through November, more separation (chaos?) is yet to come!
College Football 2015 Quick Preview September 3, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas State, Auburn, Baylor, Bethune-Cookman, Bobby Petrino, Boise State, BYU, Central Michigan, Clemson, Colorado State, Eastern Michigan, Elon, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Gus Malzahn, Houston, Idaho, Kevin Sumlin, LA Monroe, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (Fla.), Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Nick Saban, Norfolk State, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Paul Chryst, Presbyterian, Purdue, Rutgers, SavannahState, SMU, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Stanford, state, TCU, Tennessee Tech, Texas, Texas State, Todd Graham, UConn, UNLV, USC, Utah, UTSA, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Wofford
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Atlanta bolsters its stature as one of the epicenters of college football by being the host city for arguably the best game of Week 1. Photo by Paul Abell, USA Today Sports.
Another glorious season of college football is about to commence. Come the evening of Thurs., Sept. 3, teams will have kicked off the most exciting three months in all of sports (four if you count the bowl game postseason), and come late Monday evening, the fans, analysts and pundits alike shall have had a look at whether or not the preseason rankings are worth any count.
What is particularly attractive about this particular opening weekend is that, unlike in some years past, there is a critical mass of high-stakes games from the beginning. Sure, the body-bag games abound as they usually do during Week One. However, there are many high-ranked teams that are about to butt heads with other ranked teams, or teams that are near-ranked and hungry for respect from the voters.
From the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic in Atlanta, to an incredibly delectable home opener for Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., to a Carolina border war Thursday evening, to a revenge game for Urban Meyer & Co. in Blacksburg, Va., on Labor Day evening, this weekend has it all. Below is thus faithfully submitted a list highlight and lowlight games on which to keep a fan’s eye. Enjoy, and God Bless America!
Ticket to die for: Auburn vs. Louisville in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta; possible Texas @ Notre Dame, too.
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Western Kentucky @ Vanderbilt; BYU @ Nebraska
Best non-Power Five matchup: UNL @ Northern Illinois; Ohio U @ Idaho
Upset alert: Texas @ Notre Dame; TCU @ Minnesota (don’t laugh);
Must win: Ohio State @ Virginia Tech; Purdue @ Marshall
Offensive explosion: Arizona State @ Texas A&M
Defensive struggle: BYU @ Nebraska
Great game no one is talking about: South Carolina vs. North Carolina in Charlotte; Michigan @ Utah; Washington @ Boise State; Stanford @ Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Gus Malzahn of Auburn vs. Bobby Petrino of Louisville and Paul Chryst of Wisconsin vs. Nick Saban of Alabama; Todd Graham of Arizona State vs. Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M
Who’s bringing the body bags? Baylor @ SMU; Akron @ Oklahoma; Mississippi State @ Southern Miss; UTSA @ Arizona; Michigan State @ Western Michigan; Texas State @ Florida State; Wofford @ Clemson; LA Monroe @ Georgia – and that’s the short list!
Why are they playing? Savannah State @ Colorado State; Oklahoma State @ Central Michigan; Norfolk State @ Rutgers; Arkansas State @ USC
Plenty of good seats remaining: Villanova @ UConn; also, Presbyterian @ Miami (Ohio); also Old Dominion @ Eastern Michigan;
They shoot horses, don’t they? Bethune-Cookman @ Miami (Fla.); Georgia Southern @ West Virginia; Tennessee Tech @ Houston; Elon @ Wake Forest
College Football Awards Week 11 November 11, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports, Uncategorized.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, BC, Bill Snyder, Boston College, Brian Kelly, Buffalo, Butch Jones, Cards, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Crimson Tide, Doc Holliday, Duke, East Carolina, Florida, football, Gary Patterson, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Gus Malzahn, Horned Frogs, Houston, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Irish, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Kirk Ferentz, KSU, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Stoops, Marshall, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NCAA, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Pat Fitzgerald, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Presbyterian, SEC, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Sun Devils, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tigers, Todd Graham, Tony Levine, Troy, Urban Meyer, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wildcats
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 11] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Todd Graham, Arizona State
Glad I’m not him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State (hon. mention: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame)
Lucky guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Poor guy: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Tony Levine, Houston
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Doc Holliday, Marshall
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Desperately seeking … anything: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 11 Ole Miss (defeated Presbyterian 48-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Penn State (defeated Indiana 13-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kentucky (lost to No. 20 Georgia 63-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to No. 21 Clemson 34-20)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Marshall (defeated Southern Miss 63-17)
Dang, they’re good: TCU
Dang, they’re bad: Iowa State
You know, they’re not so bad: Louisville
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Michigan State
Did the season start? West Virginia
Can the season end? Buffalo
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 3 Auburn 35, No. 3 Ole Miss 31
Play this again, too: No. 24 Duke 51, Pittsburgh 48
Never play this again: Marshall 63, Southern Miss 17
What? Texas 33, No. 23 West Virginia 16
Huh? No. 9 Arizona State 55, No. 10 Notre Dame 31
Are you kidding me? No. 14 Ohio State 49, No. 8 Michigan State 37
Oh – my – God: Texas A&M 41, No. 3 Auburn 38
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 11, pre-week 12)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Mississippi State @ No. 5 Alabama
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Temple @ Penn State
Best non-Power Five matchup: East Carolina @ Cincinnati
Upset alert: No. 16 LSU @ Arkansas
Must win: South Carolina @ Florida
Offensive explosion: Missouri @ Texas A&M
Defensive struggle: Virginia Tech @ No. 22 Duke
Great game no one is talking about: No. 14 Ohio State @ Minnesota
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Stoops of Kentucky vs. Butch Jones of Tennessee
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 6 TCU @ Kansas
Why are they playing? Georgia Southern @ Navy
Plenty of good seats remaining: Troy @ Idaho
They shoot horses, don’t they? No. 12 Michigan State @ Maryland
Week 11 Random Thoughts:
- So many good games took place from 19:00 or later on the 8th of November. Start with Louisville at Boston College, which should not have been interesting on paper, but was, unfortunately, due to the Cardinals’ inability to get it together for the first half (they did in the second). Then again, the Cards have always had their troubles with BC! But then came TCU vs. Kansas State. Bill Snyder has put together an excellent team for this year, and the Wildcats being well-coached shows on the field (especially against Auburn early on in the season). But even a good time like KSU was no match for Gary Patterson’s Horned Frogs, who are making every statement they can in order to vie for the playoffs.
Or, look at Ohio State vs. Michigan State. After the Buckeyes laid an egg at home to a mediocre Virginia Tech squad, everybody was skeptical as to how good a team they truly were. Leave it to Urban Meyer to coach his talented bunch up to be more than a match for Mark Dantonio’s Spartans.
But it turned out the most important game, and the one with the biggest national title implications was the Alabama-LSU game. In typical fashion, it was a defensive struggle, and just to make things even more exciting / to heighten the already high degree of urgency even further, the game went into overtime. The Crimson Tide still have a brutal slate of games ahead, but their win is certain a step in the right direction for them
- As I have noted before, Notre Dame is overrated. To be sure, I also noted (in other article) that they are enigmatic. But the overrated question mark remained; lurking, hidden, just waiting for the right opportunity to emerge. Thanks be to Todd Graham and the Arizona State Sun Devils to confirm that which us skeptics felt all along. After all, to have the Irish be among the final four, thus displacing a far-more deserving second SEC team in the process, would have been a travesty beyond words: a travesty, thankfully, that will be pre-empted before it even began.
College Football Week 7 Awards October 13, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Aggies, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Auburn, Baylor, Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boise State, Central Florida, Charlie Strong, Chattanooga, Colorado, Colorado State, Dan Mullen, David Shaw, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Fresno State, Furman, Gary Pinkel, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Gus Malzahn, Hugh Freeze, Idaho, Illini, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Jim McElwain, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico State, Nike, North Carolina, North Texas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Paul Petrino, Purdue, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Todd Graham, UConn, USC, Utah State, West Virginia
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(
Note: All rankings are current AP [week 7] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Wish I were him, too: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Glad I’m not him: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Lucky guy: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Poor guy: Charlie Strong, Texas
Desperately seeking a wake-up clue: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jim McElwain, Colorado State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Gary Pinkel, Missouri
Desperately seeking … anything: Paul Petrino, Idaho
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Tennessee (beat Chattanooga 45-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 6 Notre Dame (beat North Carolina 50-43)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Chattanooga (lost to Tennessee 45-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Purdue (lost to No. 8 Michigan State 45-31)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: No. 13 Georgia (defeated No. 23 Missouri 34-0)
Dang, they’re good: Mississippi State (and Ole Miss)
Dang, they’re bad: UConn
You know, they’re not so bad: Central Florida
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Missouri
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Idaho
Can the season never end? Ole Miss and Mississippi State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 7 Baylor 58, No. 9 TCU 61
Play this again, too: LSU 30, Florida 27
Never play this again: Arkansas State 52, Georgia State 10
What? Iowa 45, Indiana 21
Huh? USC 28, No. 10 Arizona 26
Are you kidding me? Duke 31, No. 22 Georgia Tech 25
Oh – my – God: No. 3 Mississippi State 38, No. 2 Auburn 23
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 7, pre-week 8)
Ticket to die for: No. 5 Notre Dame @ No. 2 Florida State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none, notwithstanding the “Why Are They Playing” entry)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Fresno State @ Boise State
Upset alert: No. 10 Georgia @ Arkansas
Must win: No. 21 Texas A&M @ No. 7 Alabama
Offensive explosion: No. 4 Baylor @ West Virginia
Defensive struggle: Kentucky @ LSU
Great game no one is talking about: Utah State @ Colorado State
Intriguing coaching matchup: David Shaw of Stanford vs. Todd Graham of Arizona State (also, Bill Snyder of Kansas State vs. Bob Stoops of Oklahoma)
Who’s bringing the body bags? Colorado @ No. 22 USC
Why are they playing? Furman @ South Carolina
Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ Idaho
They shoot horses, don’t they? Southern Miss @ North Texas
Week 7 Random Thoughts:
- This weekend was almost as epic as the previous one. True, there were the amount of upsets to match last week, but there were great matchups and key tests therein. Both flagship schools from the Magnolia State proved that they not only could stand prosperity, but that last week’s wins proved to be no flukes. Indeed, Ole Miss went in to College Station, Texas, in front of the largest crowd ever to assemble for a football game in the Lone Star State (106,000 fans), and beat the Aggies in convincing fashion, 35-20. Meanwhile, Mississippi State had just as huge a challenge as they had the previous week, if not even more so in a cagey Auburn squad. The fact that they beat the Tigers/War Eagles at home shows that the Bulldogs are for real, and that their No. 1 ranking is no happenstance.
- Last week I observed of the inconclusiveness of Purdue’s win over Illinois. The unanswered question at the time was, had the Boilermakers improved that much from their inept showing against Iowa the previous week, or were the Illini just that bad? After their respectable showing against a very tough Michigan State squad, I am compelled to conclude that they have, in fact, improved: clearly a positive trend.
- So what was up with those God-awful, all-white uniforms that Purdue wore at home? It turns out that they intended to use neon-yellow trim on their uniforms for some sort of breast cancer awareness gesture. For some inexplicable reason, Nike refused to make a black jersey for them in that sort of trim, so the Boilers went all-white instead. Sounds like the Boilers should switch to Under Armor, for such a refusal for a team is most unbecoming. Seeing things another way, would Nike have a refused such a thing to, say, Oregon?
- They say that the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins. The Longhorns demonstrated that in spades against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Statistically, they dominated the Sooners, but too many miscues, penalties and turnovers caused them to give up the game. Even more ironic was that the Sooners were ranked ahead of Texas anyhow. Now we know why. Charlie Strong has his work cut out for him in terms of stemming such mistakes in the near future.
College Football Week 5 Awards September 29, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, Bobby Petrino, Brady Hoke, BYU, Cal, California, Charlie Weis, Colorado, East Carolina, FAU, FIU, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida Internation, Florida State, Gary Patterson, Gary Pinkel, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, James Franklin, Jeff Monken, Jim Mora, Kansas, Louisville, LSU, Mark Helfrich, Marshall, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Mizzou, NC State, New Mexico State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, North Texas, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rich Rodriguez, SMU, South Caroina, South Florida, Southern Miss, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Texas A&M, Tulane, UCLA, UConn, Utah State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yale
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jim Mora, UCLA
Glad I’m not him: James Franklin, Penn State
Lucky guy: Gary Pinkel, Missouri
Poor guy: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jeff Monken, Army
Desperately seeking … anything: Brady Hoke, Michigan
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 17 LSU (defeated New Mexico State 63-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 1 Florida State (defeated NC State 56-41)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Wyoming (lost to No. 9 Michigan State 56-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: South Florida (lost to Wisconsin 27-10)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Temple (defeated UConn 36-10)
Dang, they’re good: Auburn
Dang, they’re bad: Tulane
You know, they’re not so bad: Minnesota
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Indiana
Did the season start? South Carolina
Can the season end? SMU
Can the season never end? UCLA
GAMES
Play this again: No. 6 Texas A&M 35, Arkansas 28 (OT)
Play this again, too: Cal 59, Colorado 56
Never play this again: TCU 56, SMU 0
What? Northwestern 29, Penn State 6
Huh? Yale 49, Army 43
Are you kidding me? Maryland 37, Indiana 15
Oh – my – God: Missouri 21, No. 13 South Carolina 20
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 5, pre-week 6)
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Alabama @ No. 11 Ole Miss (though you don’t want to miss No. 6 Texas A&M @ No. 12 Mississippi State, either, or No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 15 LSU, for that matter)
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: North Texas @ Indiana
Best non-Power Five matchup: Utah State @ BYU (also, Southern Miss @ Middle Tennessee)
Upset alert: No. 14 Stanford @ No. 9 Notre Dame
Must win: Virginia Tech @ North Carolina
Offensive explosion: Arizona @ No. 2 Oregon (Thurs.)
Defensive struggle: Purdue @ Illinois
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Syracuse (Fri.)
Intriguing coaching matchup: Rich Rodriquez of Arizona vs. Mark Helfrich of Oregon
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kansas @ West Virginia
Why are they playing? Marshall @ Old Dominion
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida Atlantic @ Florida International
They shoot horses, don’t they? SMU @ East Carolina
Week 5 Random Thoughts:
– Having made these types of weekly articles during the college football season for the third straight year, without a doubt, the most difficult thing to accurately predict is the “offensive explosion” game each week. This time, I got it fairly close, seeing as how the score between the Clemson vs. North Carolina game ended at 50-35, in favor of the Tigers. The only problem was, there were plenty other “offensive explosions” to choose from in hindsight, such as Florida State vs. North Carolina State (56-41), or even Cal vs. Colorado (59-53). Even the Army-Yale game kept the scoreboard lit up at 49-43, with the Bulldogs – an FCS team – beating the Black Knights, an FBS team. Still, with a combined tally of 85, the originally-designated game turned out to be a good prediction after all.
– Just for the record, “defensive struggles” are comparatively easier to predict. At a final score of 24-10, the Iowa @ Purdue game delivered reasonably on that prognostication, though Vandy @ Kentucky bested at mark with a final score of 17-7 in favor of the Wildcats. Nevertheless, in this day and age of ubiquitous spread offenses and no-huddles, 24-10 easily qualifies as a low-scoring contest.
– After watching Purdue slowly give the game away to Iowa at home, something occurred to me, in two parts. Yes, the Boilermakers have improved from last year, but they are still inept. Also, having your home stadium only two-thirds full for homecoming is not a good sign.
– In case you missed the fireworks at last week’s post-game press conference, Steve Spurrier tore in to his own team…after [South Carolina] won. Heaven knows the hell there will be to pay for the Gamecock players after coughing it up at home to Mizzou this past Saturday evening.
– Meanwhile, on the West Coast, UCLA is on a roll right now, having thumped a respectable Arizona State team in the desert, 62-27. Mark your calendars for Oct. 11, because if these shadows remain unchanged, the matchup between the Bruins and the Oregon Ducks on that date will be a ticket t0 die for, Pac-12 edition.
– The powers that be at Kansas already fired Charlie Weis from the head coaching position…after only four games…and they were only 2-2 (hey give them credit: they DID beat Southeast Missouri State and Central Michigan). Granted, the program was, over the course of the past two to three years, headed in the wrong direction anyhow, but it still seems odd firing one’s head coach only four games into the season after a 2-2 record. There are two take-aways from this. One is that Charlie Weis is clearly not built to be a head coach. He is a brilliant offensive mind, to be sure, but many men do not have what it takes to lead other men over the hill on the field of battle. Weis is one of those of many. In hindsight, he would have been better off staying at Florida as an offensive coordinator, as that job much more effectively plays to his strengths as a coach. The other take-away is in regards to the questionably hasty firing. This is Kansas, after all, and is yet another thing that explains why the program is a perpetual bottom-feeder, with this being the latest in their strategic blunders.
College Football Week 10 Awards November 3, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Al Golden, Alabama, Appalachian State, Auburn, Baylor, Bo Pelini, Boilermakers, Boston College, Braxton Miller, Buckeyes, Buffalo, Butch Jones, BYU, Central Florida, Chattanooga, college, Colorado State, Darrell Hazell, Florida, Florida State, football, Georgia, Georgia State, Gus Malzahn, Houston, Idaho, Indiana, Jimbo Fisher, Kevin Wilson, Kyle Flood, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, NCAA, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nick Saban, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Oregon, Oregon State, Purdue, Rod Carey, Rutgers, Southern Miss, Stanford, Temple, Tennessee, Texas Tech, UCF, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Glad I’m not him: Mike Riley, Oregon State
Lucky guy: Bo Pelini, Nebraska
Poor guy: Kevin Wilson, Indiana
Desperately seeking a clue: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Rod Carey, Northern Illinois
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Desperately seeking … anything: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Purdue 56-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Rutgers (defeated Temple 23-20)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Purdue (lost to Ohio State 56-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Boston College (defeated Virginia Tech 34-27)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Marshall (defeated Southern Miss 61-13)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Purdue
Good Bounce-Back: Missouri
Did the season start? Mississippi State
Can the season end? Memphis
Can the season never end? Florida State
GAMES
Play this again: West Virginia 30, TCU 27, OT
Play this again, too: Georgia 23, Florida 20
Never play this again: No. 4 Ohio State 56, Purdue 0
What? USC 31, Oregon State 14
Huh? Boston College 34, Virginia Tech 27
Are you kidding me? No. 22 Michigan State 29, No. 21 Michigan 6
Oh – my – God: No. 18 Oklahoma State 52, No. 15 Texas Tech 34
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11)
Ticket to die for: (tie) No. 2 Oregon @ No. 6 Stanford (Thurs.), and No. 12 LSU @ No. 1 Alabama
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: BYU @ No. 22 Wisconsin
Best non-Big Six matchup: Ohio U @ Buffalo
Upset alert: Tennessee @ No. 10 Auburn
Must win: Houston @ No. 21 Central Florida
Offensive explosion: No. 15 Oklahoma @ No. 8 Baylor (Thurs.)
Defensive struggle: Vanderbilt @ Florida
Great game no one is talking about: No. 24 Arizona State @ Utah
Intriguing coaching matchup: Butch Jones of Tennessee vs. Gus Malzahn of Auburn
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 16 Louisville @ UConn
Why are they playing? Appalachian State @ Georgia
Plenty of good seats remaining: Air Force @ New Mexico
They shoot horses, don’t they? Old Dominion @ Idaho
Week 10 Random Thoughts:
I have come to the conclusion that these “body bag” games, such as the Purdue-Ohio State debacle I personally witnessed yesterday, are really glorified scrimmages. Case in point: the Buckeyes were already up 42-0 on the Boilermakers at halftime, and no sooner did the third quarter begin that they took out starting QB Braxton Miller and put in the back-up (#13). A prudent move, for who in the their right mind would subject the beating heart of their offense to further risk of injury when the game is already comfortably in hand? One would think at one point that Urban Meyer would send an emissary in the form of a ball boy (or somebody) to Darrell Hazell, asking him to run an “X-dig” pass play or a run play off tackle so his defense could better hone their craft in reacting to such maneuvers from the offense.
At least it was a conference game. Most of these “body bag” games have been essentially dial-up “W’s”. Check out half of the home games for the SEC teams, if you don’t believe me. The next time Nick Saban grouses about the fans leaving the game early, maybe he ought to schedule better home games than Colorado State, Georgia State, and Chattanooga.
College Football Week 5 Awards September 29, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Uncategorized.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Army, Auburn, Boston College, Butch Jones, BYU, Clemson, college, Colorado, Dana Holgersen, Duke, Ed Orgeron, Florida International, football, Georgia, Georgia State, Houston, Kansas State, Lane Kiffin, Les Miles, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, LSU, Mark Richt, Memphis, Miami, Mike Gundy, Mississippi State, Navy, NCAA, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pat Fitzgerald, Pat Haden, Purdue, Rich Rodriguez, South Alabama, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Miss, Stanford, Steve Spurrier, Temple, Tennessee, Tony Levine, Troy, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah State, Wake Forest, Washington, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Richt, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Les Miles, LSU
Lucky guy: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Poor guy: Rich Rodriguez, Arizona
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Tony Levine, Houston
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking … anything: Lane Kiffin, USC
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 15 Miami [FL] (defeated South Florida 49-21)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Tennessee (defeated South Alabama 31-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Wake Forest (lost to No. 3 Clemson 56-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Troy (lost to Duke 38-31)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Northern Illinois (defeated Purdue 55-24)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: Louisiana Tech
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Oklahoma State
Did the season start? Purdue
Can the season end? Wake Forest
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 9 Georgia 44, No. 6 LSU 41
Never play this again: No. 3 Clemson 56, Wake Forest 7
What? Tennessee 31, South Alabama 24
Huh? Arizona State 62, USC 41
Are you kidding me? Northern Illinois 55, Purdue 24
Oh – my – God: West Virginia 30, No. 11 Oklahoma State 21
Told you so: No. 12 South Carolina 28, Central Florida 25
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 5, pre-week 6)
Ticket to die for: No. 15 Washington @ No. 5 Stanford
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Army @ Boston College
Best non-Big Six matchup: BYU @ Utah State
Upset alert: Kansas State @ No. 21 Oklahoma State
Must win: No. 10 LSU @ Mississippi State
Offensive explosion: No. 4 Ohio State @ No. 15 Northwestern
Defensive struggle: Air Force @ Navy
Great game no one is talking about: No. 24 Ole Miss @ Auburn
Intriguing coaching matchup: Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern vs. Urban Meyer of Ohio State
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 2 Oregon @ Colorado
Why are they playing? Georgia State @ No. 1 Alabama
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida International @ Southern Miss
They shoot horses, don’t they? No. 7 Louisville @ Temple
Week 5 in Review:
Last week had so many horrible, “body bag” matchups that we were all better off just firing that week’s worth of games into the Sun, never to hear from it again, and good riddance! This week was different. First off, there was one of the games of the year in LSU @ Georgia, which did live up to its billing. Even the noon games, normally throw-aways, were intriguing. South Carolina v@ UCF was surprisingly competitive. Ditto with Oklahoma State @ West Virginia, and the results of that game were positively shocking. The evening games were also very entertaining, what with Arkansas giving Texas A&M a solid game, and Wisconsin doing the same at Ohio State.
Meanwhile, out on the west coast, a real offensive explosion took place between USC and Arizona State, and ironically, the 62-41 result in favor of the Sun Devils resulted in some much bigger fireworks after the game. As soon as the Trojans got back to Los Angeles, USC athletics director Pat Haden literally pulled head coach Lane Kiffin aside on the tarmac to inform him that his services will not be needed for the remainder of the season. Yes, Kiffin’s overall record in four seasons was 28-15, which is not terrible, but it’s not up to USC standards, either. Moreover, he lost 7 of the past 11 games, was 3-2 this year, and lost both of his conference games thus far. Things clearly were headed in a negative direction. Yes, the NCAA had unduly hamstrung the Trojans’ program with restricted scholarships all because somebody not affiliated with the program had given Reggie Bush’s parents a sweetheart deal on a house in San Diego. Still, after four years, one would expect some meaningful progress to be made from the undue setback, and unimaginative offensive play-calling, combined with inept execution is most certainly not a reflection of progress! Ed Orgeron, the defensive coordinator, (and formed Ole Miss head coach) has been named the interim head coach. Who says the SEC is geographically insular?
ETC.:
West Virginia’s upset win at home over ranked Oklahoma State could probably save Dana Holgersen’s job after his ignominious loss to Maryland the previous week. Louisville, meanwhile, remains a formidable team, but the only problem is, their temporary conference home (American) is so weak that every other game is a “body-bag” game. Take the upcoming week’s game at Temple, for example. South Florida and Memphis do not do the Cardinals’ strength of schedule any favors, either. On a positive note, the Oct. 18 game against Central Florida could turn out to be a dandy of a game, folks!
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 11 Awards November 12, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: 1954, 1957, 1968, Aggies, Alabama, AP, Auburn, BCS, Bear Bryant, blowout, Boston College, Buffalo, Bulldogs, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Cotton Bowl, Crimson Tide, Ducks, Florida, football, Gene Stallings, Georgia, Heisman, Horned Frogs, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Jacksonville State, James Franklin, Jim Mora, John David Crow, Junction Boys, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Lane Kiffin, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisville, Mike Leach, Missouri, Missouri State, N.C. State, NCAA, Nick Saban, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pat Fitzgerald, poll, ranking, Red Sea, Rocky Long, Rutgers, Samford, San Diego State, Senior Day, South Carolina, Southern Miss, standing, Stanford, Sugar Bowl, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tommy Tuberville, Tulsa, UCLA, UMass, USA Today, USC, Utah, Utah State, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Washington State, West Virginia, Western Carolina, Wildcats, Wisconsin, Wofford
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 11, pre-week 12] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Glad I’m not him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Lucky guy: James Franklin, Vanderbilt
Poor guy: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Desperately seeking a clue: Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Rocky Long, San Diego State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Charlie Strong, Louisville
Desperately seeking … anything: Mike Leach, Washington State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 4 Georgia (beat Auburn 38-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 3 Notre Dame (beat Boston College 21-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Indiana (lost to Wisconsin 62-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Louisiana-Lafayette (lost to No. 7 Florida 27-20)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tulsa (beat Houston 41-7)
Dang, they’re good: Oregon
Dang, they’re bad: Southern Miss
Ya’ know, they’re not so bad: Virginia
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Louisville (see below), notwithstanding Alabama (see below)
Did the season start? Utah
Can the season end? Iowa
Can the season never end? Texas A&M
GAMES
Play this again: No. 9** Texas A&M 29, No. 4** Alabama 24
Never play this again: Wisconsin 62, Indiana 14
What? No. 6 Florida 27, Louisiana-Lafayette 20
Huh? Missouri 51, Tennessee 48, 4OT
Are you kidding me? Syracuse 45, No. 9* Louisville 26
Oh – my – God: No. 15* Texas A&M 29, No. 1* Alabama 24
Told you so: Syracuse 45, No. 9* Louisville 26
* rankings are AP, Week 11
** reflects current, Week 12 AP rankings
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 14 Stanford @ No. 3 Oregon
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Samford @ Kentucky
Best non-Big Six matchup: Utah State @ No. 20 Louisiana Tech
Upset alert: N.C. State @ No. 13 Clemson
Must win: No. 12 Oklahoma @ West Virginia
Offensive explosion: No. 19 USC @ No. 18 UCLA
Defensive struggle: Tennessee @ Vanderbilt
Great game no one is talking about: No. 23 Rutgers @ Cincinnati
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Mora Jr. of UCLA vs. Lane Kiffin of USC
Who’s bringing the body bags? Western Carolina @ No. 4 Alabama
Why are they playing? Jacksonville State @ No. 7 Florida
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ Southern Miss (notwithstanding Buffalo @ UMass)
They shoot horses, don’t they? Wofford @ No. 8 South Carolina
Week 11: Another Two Bite the Dust
Two more undefeateds went down this week, one semi-expected, one hardly expected. Louisville’s first defeat of the season was semi-expected, and for a number of reasons. For one, most of Louisville’s wins were hardly overwhelming. Moreover, their defense seemed to be increasingly under-performing during most of the season. Their average margin of victory has been only 12.8 points, including an early-season blowout over Missouri State (35-7) and last week’s blowout over Temple (45-17). Add Syracuse’s unpredictable competitiveness at home to the mix (it was their Senior Day, after all), and in the back of my mind, something was about to give.
But all is not lost for the Cardinals. They are still in the running to win the Big East, and if they are able to defeat Rutgers in Piscataway on Nov. 29, they can clinch the conference total, though it nevertheless remains a relatively tall order.
The same cannot be said for as-of-yesterday No. 1 Alabama going down to surprising, almost shocking defeat (almost!) at home to No. 15 – and climbing! – Texas A&M. The game already had a special feel to it regardless of the rankings, given that this was the first time the Crimson Tide was to play the Aggies since the 1968 Cotton Bowl. Even Aggie and Crimson Tide legends showed up for Week 11’s aptly-labeled “ticket to die for”, including John David Crow (the only Bear Bryant-coached Heisman Trophy winner [1957, from A&M]), and Gene Stallings, both of whom were part of Bryant’s 1954 “Junction Boys” at A&M, the latter of whom coached against Bryant in the Cotton Bowl in ’68 (Bryant for Bama, Stallings for A&M), and who later coached Alabama to its last national championship (1992-’93), before Nick Saban’s tenure.
To observe the special meeting between the two teams, they even mimicked the uniform contrast of the opposing sides from roughly 44 years ago. In the 1968 Cotton Bowl match-up, Alabama showed up in all-white (helmets included) to contrast against A&M’s maroon helmets and jerseys. This time it was A&M who showed up in all-white (helmets included) to contrast Bama’s traditional crimson helmets and jerseys.
At right shows Alabama vs. Texas A&M in the 1968 Cotton Bowl. The Crimson Tide showed up in all-white to contrast the Aggies’ traditional maroon uniforms. In a nod to that game from over 44 years ago, this time it was the Aggies that showed in all-white yesterday (left) to contrast Bama’s traditional crimson unis. Look carefully, and notice how little the stripes on the teams’ pants have changed in four and a half decades!
The game itself, oddly enough, made things even more memorable. Before yesterday’s game commenced, Alabama’s defense only allowed an average of six points in the first quarter. In the first 15 minutes of this game, they allowed three touchdowns. Such lying down on the job is what made the game more interesting than necessary, and ended up costing Alabama the game, the top-ranking, and likely a shot at the national championship. One can quibble over whether a lapse of discipline on the part of a defensive player with 40 seconds left in the game cost Alabama just that with an offside penalty, thus giving the Aggies an automatic first down. But such a penalty would have been moot had Bama’s defense played up to its usual standards in the first half. Credit Kevin Sumlin for putting together a game plan that took the fight to the Tide in their home stadium.
The new championship race: Some have speculated that Bama’s unexpected loss has, if you’ll pardon the expression, parted the Red Sea in two for Notre Dame to walk into national title discussion. I might borrow Lee Corso’s famous line of “not so fast my friend” and remind such speculators that both Oregon and Kansas State are ahead of Notre Dame in the rankings, both the AP kind and the BCS kind. The latter standings are a result of superior strength of schedule on the part of both the Ducks and the Wildcats. It shall take a loss of one of those teams – not likely, but not impossible – for Notre Dame to be legitimate contenders. The same will have to be the case for Alabama to work its way back into such discussions, now that they are behind Georgia in the USA Today Poll (@ No.5), though ahead of them in the AP Poll (@ No. 4). Not an egregious fall, but one that might be just insurmountable enough without a little outside help. Can we say “Alabama-Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl” if these shadows remain unchanged? If nothing else, it would be another legendary match-up!
Quick uniform note: TCU once had one of the nicest-looking helmets in college football. That is, until they temporarily compromised the look by succumbing to the flat, matte helmet epidemic that seems to have gripped a number of teams. Thankfully, the team has chosen to grant themselves a respite from that visual impairment disease, at least temporarily. Last night in their valiant loss to Kansas State, the Horned Frogs sported helmets that closely recalled their traditional beautiful purple shells. Their helmets on TV seemed shinier than ever before; perhaps a special polish was put on the metallic purple, or, even better, they went for a chrome purple look. Whichever it was, here’s hoping they go forward with keeping this current helmet look and throw the matte shells onto the ash heap of regrettable trends.
College Football Week 9 Awards October 29, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Arizona, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, Big 10, Big Ten, Bob Stoops, Brian Kelly, Bryant-Denny Stadium, Buffalo, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Central Florida, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, cocktail party, college, Colorado, Crimson Tide, Dan Mullen, Danny Hope, Darrell Hazell, Duke, East Carolina, Fighting Illini, Florida, Florida State, football, Gators, Georgia, Hoosiers, Horned Frogs, Huskies, Illinois, Indiana, Joker Phillips, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Kyle Flood, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Milan Puskar Stadium, Mississippi State, Missouri, N.C. State, Navy, NCAA, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Purdue, Rutgers, SEC, SMU, Southern Miss, spread offense, Stanford, Steve Sarkesian, Tarheels, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, toilet bowl, Troy, Tulsa, UAB, UMass, USC< Alabama, Washington, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [post-week 9, pre-week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Glad I’m not him: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
Lucky guy: Charlie Strong, Louisville
Poor guy: Butch Jones, Cincinnati
Desperately seeking a clue: Joker Phillips, Kentucky
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Darrell Hazell, Kent State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Desperately seeking … anything: Danny Hope, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oregon (beat Colorado 70-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas (beat Kansas 21-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Auburn (lost to No. 16 Texas A&M 63-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (lost to Texas 21-17)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Navy (beat East Carolina 56-28)
Thought you wouldn’t get your butt kicked, you did: Texas Tech (lost to No. 3 Kansas State 55-24)
Dang, they’re good: Kansas State
Dang, they’re bad: Temple
Can’t stand prosperity: Ohio U. (lost to Miami [Ohio] 23-20)
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Purdue
Can the season never end? Notre Dame
GAMES
Play this again: No. 7 Georgia 17, No. 8 Florida 9
Never play this again: No. 3 Oregon 70, Colorado 14
What? Michigan State 16, Wisconsin 13, OT
Huh? No. 10 Georgia 7, No. 8 Florida 9
Double Huh? Washington 20, No. 13 Oregon State 17
Are you kidding me? Kent State 35, Rutgers 23
Oh – my – God: Arizona 39, No 18 USC 36
Told you so: No. 12 Louisville 34, Cincinnati 30, OT
NEXT WEEK
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 6 LSU (notwithstanding No. 2 Oregon @ No. 9 USC)
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: Tulsa @ Arkansas
Best non-Big Six matchup: SMU @ Central Florida
Upset alert: No. 10 Clemson @ Duke
Must win: Texas @ No. 20 Texas Tech
Offensive explosion: Arizona @ UCLA
Defensive struggle: Miami (Ohio) @ Buffalo
Great game no one is talking about: No. 16 Texas A&M @ No. 17 Mississippi State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M vs. Dan Mullen of Mississippi State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Colorado @ No. 15 Stanford
Why are they playing? Troy @ Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: UAB @ Southern Miss
They shoot horses, don’t they? UMass @ Northern Illinois
Week 9 in Review: Upsets and Conference Toilet Bowls Abound
The whole purpose of a given “Toilet Bowl” is to pit the two worst teams against each other to find which is, in fact, the worst of the worst. Such was determined twice yesterday. In the Big 10 Toilet Bowl, Indiana trounced Illinois 31-17, in the Fighting Illini’s home stadium, no less. Illinois, now 2-6, is now the undisputed – though clearly not undefeated – bottom-feeder of the conference for this season. They are winless in the Big 10, and have no time to lick this very revealing wound, as next week they venture into Columbus, Ohio to take on Ohio State.
Meanwhile, in the Toilet Bowl, SEC Edition, Missouri defeated Kentucky in CoMo (which is what the locals refer to as Columbia, Mo.) by a similar score, 33-10. Kentucky is in a sadly familiar spot in the most brutal of conferences in college football. What is even more revealing, though, is UK’s response in the wake of the loss.
“It’s tough, because we knew we were better than those guys,” so said Kentucky tailback Raymond Sanders. Better than them, even when losing by 23 points? Such denial of reality is why head coach Joker Phillips has merited the above award for the week (see: Desperately seeking a clue).
Undefeateds going down: Fewer teams remain undefeated today than when they woke up to play games yesterday. Rutgers was the highest-ranked team in the Big East before going down to one-loss Kent State. Inexplicably, the Golden Flashes’ sole defeat came at the hands of Kentucky.
Mississippi State’s first defeat of the season was the most understandable of all first losses of the year, given that they were going up against No. 1 Alabama, in Bryant-Denny Stadium, no less. The Bulldogs’ head coach, Dan Mullen, said it best going into the weekend when he pointed out that, “[Y]ou’ve got to try to run the ball (on Alabama) whether you’re having success or not.” Despite Mississippi State’s best efforts, they were very slowly and methodically ground down by the Crimson Tide, 38-7.
On the West Coast, undefeated Oregon State lost that distinction in their loss to Washington. Steve Sarkesian’s Huskies have earned the reputation of being a “giant killer” of sorts this year, as they handed previously-undefeated Stanford its first loss of the year as well. Keep an eye on the program on the rebound in Seattle.
Finally, Florida was another team to bite the proverbial dust and suffer its first loss to Georgia in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, Fla. Though scoring was relatively low (17-9 in favor of the UGA Bulldogs), there were plenty of plays to keep the crowd enthused. In the end, the old adage of “the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins” rang true yet again, which explains how the Bulldogs reigned victorious.
More chrome: North Carolina – of all bloody teams! – has jumped on the chrome dome bandwagon, as they sported chrome-silver helmets during their last-minute upset over rival N.C. State. Moreover, the main decal was an oversized Tarheel logo (the Carolina blue-colored foot with the tar on the heel), in breaking with the traditional “NC” decal they usually display. On all-dark blue jersey and pants ensemble complimented a very different look for a team normally known for its “Carolina blue” helmets and jerseys. Oh well: it beats the trendy “matte” look!
Choke-lahoma: That moniker was earned/demonstrated yet again last night, as Oklahoma squandered a golden (if you’ll pardon the expression) opportunity to hand Notre Dame its first loss of the year. Stoops and company have nobody to blame but themselves for deliberately holding themselves back. They had an offensive line capable of controlling the line of scrimmage, and yet they repeatedly passed up on the opportunity to establish a ground attack. On the passing side of things, they also held themselves back by concentrating on short-yardage increments that are the bread-and-butter of the one-sided spread offense. They did this while being thoroughly capable of throwing the ball further down the field, and by not doing this, never forced the Irish secondary to respect either the deep threat or the short yardage attempts. Head Coach Bob Stoops has proven once again to be something of a schoolyard bully of the coaching ranks; arrogant and blunt with reporters, lots of bluster, but having little to, er, “bring,” when genuinely challenged.
Looking ahead: some other games to keep an eye on, aside from the upcoming games listed above includes Air Force @ Army in an all-service academies showdown. Another intriguing matchup is TCU venturing into Morgantown, W.V. to play the Mountaineers. The big question going in to that game will be, how will West Virginia respond to two consecutive drubbings after being ranked so high in the polls? Moreover, how the Horned Frogs will handle the Milan Puskar Stadium crowd is a question no doubt in the back of the minds of many a fan and observer. In the wake of the SEC “Toilet Bowl” 2012, Missouri takes on Florida and Kentucky takes on Vanderbilt, meaning that the respective cellar-dweller status of either team is unlikely to change anytime soon. After Oklahoma was embarrassed at home to Notre Dame, how will they respond at Iowa State, a team that has shown surprising formidability this year? Can Duke show that it has staying power by bouncing back after a tough though understandable loss to Florida State in time to put up a good fight against inconsistent Clemson? More importantly, can USC bounce back from being upset in the desert by Arizona in time for a primetime showdown against Oregon at home?
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