College Football Week 10 Awards November 3, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Central Florida, Colorado, Duke, Dylan Thompson, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Gators, Georgia, Gus Malzahn, Hugh Freeze, Iowa, Iowa State, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Kyle Whittingham, Longhorns, Louisiana-Monroe, LSU, Mack Brown, Mark Helfrich, Mark Richt, Matt Rhule, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Navy, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Paul Rhodes, Pittsburgh, Presbyterian, Ruffin McNeil, South Carolina, South Florida, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Tennessee-Martin, Texas A&M, UCLA, UConn, Utah, Will Muschamp
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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: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Lucky guy: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Poor guy: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Ruffin McNeil, East Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Rhule, Temple
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking … anything: Paul Rhoads, Iowa State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 13 Baylor (defeated Kansas 60-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas A&M (defeated Louisiana-Monroe 21-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Iowa State (lost to No. 18 Oklahoma 59-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: LA-Monroe (lost to Texas A&M 21-16)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Iowa (defeated Northwestern 48-7)
Dang, they’re good: Florida State
Dang, they’re bad: South Florida
You know, they’re not so bad: Arkansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia
Did the season start? South Carolina
Can the season end? Eastern Michigan
Can the season never end? Kansas 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: No. 18 Oklahoma 59, Iowa State 14
What? Temple 20, No. 23 East Carolina 10
Huh? UConn 37, Central Florida 29
Are you kidding me? No. 22 UCLA 17, No. 12 Arizona 7
Oh – my – God: Florida 38, No. 11 Georgia 20
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11)
Ticket to die for: No. 9 Kansas State @ No. 7 TCU
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Memphis @ Temple
Upset alert: No. 10 Notre Dame @ No. 14 Arizona State
Must win: No. 16 Ohio State @ No. 8 Michigan State
Offensive explosion: No. 13 Baylor @ No. 18 Oklahoma
Defensive struggle: No. 6 Alabama @ No. 19 LSU
Great game no one is talking about: Michigan @ Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Helfrich of Oregon vs. Kyle Whittingham of Utah
Who’s bringing the body bags? Presbyterian @ No. 4 Ole Miss
Why are they playing? Tennessee-Martin @ Mississippi State
Plenty of good seats remaining: Iowa State @ Kansas
They shoot horses, don’t they? Colorado @ No. 12 Arizona
Week 10 Random Thoughts:
- The special, throwback helmets that Texas A&M wore looked positively awesome. Indeed, these are some of the coolest-looking, most college football-appropriate special helmets I have ever seen. Period.
In case the significance is lost on people, this design of helmet was meant to be a throwback to the kind of helmets the Aggies wore when they won their only national championship – in 1939. Do the math, and this year marks the diamond anniversary of that occasion, hence the throwback-looking helmets. Way cool, in any case. Let’s hope they break them out again before the season ends!
- The South Carolina-Tennessee game seemed to leave more questions asked than answered. Just what accounts for South Carolina’s gross inconsistency? Is it their weak defense, or is it something more systemic than that? Will another good recruiting class help the Ol’ Ball Coach rectify this problem? Will Dylan Thompson’s QB play improve next year, with the experience he is gaining this year?
On the other side of the coin, Tennessee seems to be one year away from having a really good team. All Butch Jones appears to need is to bring in one more recruiting class of players with the right kind of talent, but also who buy into his system, his approach, his way of doing things. Starting next year, they should be the team in the best position to win the SEC East, barring needed improvements on South Carolina’s end.
- Speaking of more questions asked than answered, the results of the Florida-Georgia game have certainly muddied the waters regarding Will Muschamp’s future. Everybody was prepared to write his epitaph and obituary notice before he pulled off a massive upset over the Bulldogs in Jacksonville, Fla. Does this win save his bacon for one more year, or is the die already cast? After all, Texas defeating arch-rival Oklahoma in 2013 did nothing to preserve Mack Brown’s tenure as head coach of the Longhorns (the connection being, Muschamp was once Brown’s defensive coordinator). Food for thought.
College Football Week 8 Awards October 19, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Art Briles, B1G, Baylor, Big Ten, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boilers, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Bruins, Buffaloes, BYU, Cal, Central Florida, college, Colorado, Darrell Hazell, Doc Holliday, FIghting Irish, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida State, football, Furman, Georgia State, Golden Bears, Golden Gophers, Indiana, James Franklin, Jerry Kill, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Miami, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, NCAA, Nevada, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Seminoles, SMU, South Carolina, TCU, Temple, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Troy, UAB, UCLA, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah, UTEP, UTSA, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia, Will Muschamp
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 8] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Glad I’m not him: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Lucky guy: Jerry Kill, Minnesota
Poor guy: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
Desperately seeking a wake-up clue: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Doc Holliday, Marshall
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Art Briles, Baylor
Desperately seeking … anything: Will Muschamp, Florida
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 8 Michigan State (defeated Indiana 56-17)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Louisville (defeated North Carolina State 30-18)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Colorado (lost to No. 22 USC 56-28)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (lost to Texas Tech 34-21)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: No. 7 Alabama (defeated No. 21 Texas A&M 59-0)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: SMU
You know, they’re not so bad: Minnesota
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Baylor
Did the season start? Texas A&M
Can the season end? Georgia State
Can the season never end? Florida State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 2 Florida State 31, No. 5 Notre Dame, 27
Play this again, too: No. 20 Utah 29, Oregon State 23
Never play this again: South Carolina 41, Furman 10
What? Nevada 42, BYU 35
Huh? No. 14 Kansas State 31, No. 11 Oklahoma 30
Are you kidding me? No. 7 Alabama 59, No. 21 Texas A&M 0 (the shear blowout)
Oh – my – God: West Virginia 41, No. 4 Baylor 27
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 8, pre-week 9)
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Ole Miss @ No. 24 LSU
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none, notwithstanding the “Why Are They Playing” entry)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Temple @ Central Florida
Upset alert: Texas @ No. 11 Kansas State
Must win: No. 22 West Virginia @ Oklahoma State
Offensive explosion: No. 15 Arizona @ Washington State
Defensive struggle: Miami @ Virginia Tech
Great game no one is talking about: BYU @ Boise State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Urban Meyer of Ohio State vs. James Franklin of Penn State
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 1 Mississippi State @ Kentucky (also: UConn @ No. 18 East Carolina)
Why are they playing? UAB @ Arkansas
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ UTSA
They shoot horses, don’t they? Florida Atlantic @ No. 23 Marshall
Week 8 Random Thoughts:
- While Michigan State is a solid choice for the “Thought you’d kick butt, you did” weekly award, the truth is, a number of teams ended up kicking butt, that in hindsight made sense that they would. Start with South Carolina (see: last week’s “Why are they playing?” nod), who beat relatively hapless Furman 41-10. In hindsight, a resurgent Ohio State team against a Rutgers team still learning to navigate the terrain of the Big Ten was also a clear would-be drubbing (result: 56-17). Even more obvious was the Colorado @ USC match-up. The Buffaloes still cannot get things together, while Steve Sarkesian is slowly building the Trojans back to national prominence. The 56-28 result, therefore, came as not surprise.
- While Alabama could not be a more obvious choice for the weekly “Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did” award (59-0 over Texas A&M, their biggest lopsided shutout in 35 years), other games would have been decent choices as well. Start with Marshall’s butt-kicking of Florida International, 45-13. Even more of a surprise, though, was TCU’s drubbing of Oklahoma State, 42-9. On paper, these were closely-matched teams (No. 12 vs. No. 15, respectively). Turns out that in reality, they were not that close in terms of competitive prowess after all. Further down the food chain, Appalachian State – a newcomer to the FCS – beat up on Troy unexpectedly, 53-14. Sounds like the latter is a “Can the season end?” candidate. Stay tuned.
- Last night’s Notre Dame @ Florida State slugfest is already an instant classic. Clearly one of the biggest, best games of the season thus far, it wins the “Play this again” award hands down. That said, despite some lop-sided victories in football this past weekend, plenty other games merit a second look nevertheless. Start with the late Thursday night game on the West Coast, Utah @ Oregon State. The Utes went into Reser Stadium, took the Beavers into overtime, and walked out victorious. Speaking of the West Coast, take a look at the final score between UCLA @ Cal (spoiler alert: 36-34). Consider that you have the Bruins vs. Golden Bears, and two different shades of blue and gold going head-to-head, in the same conference, no less. With such similarities, such a score result is only fitting. In the Big Ten, one was able to enjoy an interesting matchup between Minnesota and Purdue. On one hand, the Golden Gophers have quietly risen to the top of their division in the conference, while Purdue has quietly improved from their doldrums. Indeed, the Boilers almost won on the road.
- Notre Dame remains an enigma. After so many close calls against inferior teams, surely they would not have played No. 2 Florida State as closely as they did on the road. Not when having to result to strokes of luck to win against Stanford. Not when allowing Purdue to play them as closely as they did in Indianapolis. Yet on Saturday night, they played in Tallahassee like they deserved to be the 5th-ranked team in the nation. Further monitoring of the team will be in order to make sense of this inconsistent behavior. Fortunately, the schedule is such that it will allow for further clarity to be reached as it plays out. The Fighting Irish journey to Tempe, Ariz., to play Arizona State in three weeks, followed by Northwestern and then Louisville at home. Then, they cap off the season in Los Angeles against USC. One takes any one of those teams lightly at his own peril (translation: if the Irish fail to bring their A-game to any one of these matchups, they’re doomed).
- As an aside, part of Ole Miss now being taken seriously in the national rankings (No. 3, currently), is that their defense is given plenty of respect with an up-and-coming brand: the “land shark” defense. One must admit, that has a nice ring to it!
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 12 Awards November 17, 2013
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Al Golden, Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Bowling Green, BYU, Cal, California, Central Florida, Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, college, David Bailiff, Duke, Ed Orgeron, FBS, Florida State, football, Frank Solich, Gators, Georgia, Gus Malzahn, Houston, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, J.J. Worton, Kansas, Kansas State, Kevin Sumlin, Les Miles, LSU, Mack Brown, Mark Richt, Maryland, Miami (Florida), Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Mizzou, NCAA, Notre Dame, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Purdue, Ricardo Louis, Rice, Rutgers, Sonny Dykes, South Carolina, Southern Cal, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, UCF, UConn, USC, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Will Muschamp
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 12] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Ed Orgeron, USC
Glad I’m not him: Mack Brown, Texas
Lucky guy: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a clue: Frank Solich, Ohio U
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Bailiff, Rice
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Al Golden, Miami (Fla.)
Desperately seeking … anything: Sonny Dykes, Cal
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oklahoma (defeated Iowa State 48-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Central Florida (defeated Temple 39-36)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Syracuse (lost to Florida State 59-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Temple (lost to UCF 39-36)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Bowling Green (defeated Ohio U 49-0)
Dang, they’re good: Baylor
Dang, they’re bad: Ohio U
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Stanford
Did the season start? Rutgers
Can the season end? Cal
Can the season never end? USC
GAMES
Play this again: No. 7 Auburn 43, No. 25 Georgia 38
Play this again, too: Kansas State 33, TCU 31
Never play this again: No. 2 Florida State 59, Syracuse 3
What? Maryland 27, Virginia Tech 24, OT
Huh? Kansas 31, West Virginia 19
Are you kidding me? Duke 48, No. 23 Miami 30
Oh – my – God: USC 20, No. 4 Stanford 17
Told you so: No. 4 Baylor 63, Texas Tech 34
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 12, pre-week 13)
Ticket to die for: No. 4 Baylor @ No. 14 Oklahoma State
Ticket to die for, SEC edition: No. 15 Texas A&M @ No. 12 LSU
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: BYU @ Notre Dame
Best non-Big Six matchup: Texas State @ Western Kentucky
Upset alert: No. 18 Oklahoma @ Kansas State
Must win: No. 8 Missouri @ Ole Miss
Offensive explosion: Baylor @ Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: Michigan @ Iowa
Great game no one is talking about: Cincinnati @ Houston
Intriguing coaching matchup: Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M vs. Les Miles of LSU
Who’s bringing the body bags? Idaho @ No. 2 Florida State
Why are they playing? Chattanooga @ No. 1 Alabama
Plenty of good seats remaining: UConn @ Temple
Plenty of good seats remaining, Big Ten edition: Illinois @ Purdue
They shoot horses, don’t they? Coastal Carolina @ No. 11 South Carolina
Week 12 Random Thoughts
Okay, so this week was not big on upsets; some of the lower-tiered ones listed here were borderline reaches. But there were some eye-popping, jaw-to-the-floor-dropping catches. For instance, there was one flying, one-handed touchdown catch by a UCF receiver that put the Golden Knights even with Temple, and thus put them on the path to preserve their undefeated season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9z_-zoD63U
A different sort of catch, but one that solidified victory was a tipped pass on 4-and-forever that just so happened to fall within reach of an Auburn receiver going deep. Ricardo Louis managed to reach for the ball in stride and cruise to the end zone for a touchdown that caused Jordan-Hare Stadium to erupt in ecstasy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf5jnajTKJI
USC, meanwhile, seems to have been rejuvenated under the leadership of Ed Orgeron. Few experts were predicting a win over No. 4-ranked Stanford, what with the Cardinal’s hard-charging power running game. But the Trojans’ defense help firm enough to nullify the Cardinal’s advantage, and in the end, helped produce the biggest win for USC yet this season. In case someone might think that last statement is an exaggeration, when, might I ask in return, was the last time you saw the students rush the field at LA Coliseum this year?
Meanwhile, we all knew this week would come. This time around, it just so happens to be Week 13 where most SEC teams have the unenviable task of being pitiless executioner to FCS fare, glorified or otherwise. The irony is that this time around, these teams are not chump D-1AA teams. Alabama is playing Chattanooga, who is currently 8-3. South Carolina is to play Coastal Carolina, who is currently 10-1 (at least they’re not playing Wofford this time!). Florida will play Georgia Southern, who might only be 6-4 in FCS play, but they’re still a traditional power at that level. But that aside, why schedule these glorified body bag games so late in year? Did we not get enough of these sub-par matchups in September?
Speaking of Georgia Southern, though, maybe Florida will finally be able to win a game again. No, that is not a type-o. The Florida Gators (yes, THE Florida Gators) are on a five-game losing streak. Why, you might ask? Perhaps these stats might explain a few things: they rank 101st in the FBS in passing yardage, 82nd in rushing yards, and 112th in “points for,” meaning the total number of points their offense has scored. Yet they rank 14th in points against. The latter is a more-than-respectable stat; the rest of positively abysmal, especially by Florida standards. Clearly, they have a good defense; they are just atrocious on offense. Who is to blame? One possibility is Will Muschamp, who is a defensive coordinator by trade before becoming the head coach in Gainesville. Could he invest some capital in a better offensive coordinator? That might help. But at this point, it leaves fans and observers alike to wonder if he is the man for this sort of job.
At this point, it’s a fairly safe bet that that Florida could snap their five-game losing streak on Nov. 23; but the following week they face No. 2 Florida State. What is the “over-under” for the Gators going 5-7 this year, Vegas?
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!
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 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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