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College Football Awards Week 13 (2021) December 3, 2021

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

Glad I’m not him: Ryan Day, Ohio State

Lucky guy: Nick Saban, Alabama

Poor guy: Bryan Harsin, Auburn

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Paul Chryst, Wisconsin

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Monken, Army

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jeff Traylor, UTSA

Desperately seeking … anything:  Tom Allen, Indiana

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Houston (defeated UConn 45-17)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Baylor (defeated Texas Tech 27-24)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Georgia Tech (lost to Georgia 45-0)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Auburn (lost to Alabama 24-22, 4OT)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Kentucky (defeated Louisville 52-21)  

Dang, they’re good:  Georgia
Dang, they’re bad:  Colorado State

Another one bites the dust:  UTSA

Did the season start?  Wisconsin
Can the season end?  Indiana

Can the season never endMichigan

GAMES
Play this again: No. 5 Michigan 42, No. 2 Ohio State 27

Play this again, too:  No. 3 Alabama 24, Auburn 22 (4OT)

Never play this again: Nevada 52, Colorado State 10

What?  North Texas 45, No. 22 UTSA 23

HuhLSU 27, No. 15 Texas A&M 24

Are you kidding me??  Minnesota 23, No. 14 Wisconsin 13

Oh – my – GodNo. 5 Michigan 42, No. 2 Ohio State 27

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 13)
Ticket to die for:  No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 3 Alabama 

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five  matchup: (none)

Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 24 Houston vs. No. 4 Cincinnati

Upset alert: No. 19 Utah vs. No. 11 Oregon

Must win: No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 16 Iowa

They have the same record?  USC @ California

Offensive explosion: No. 8 Baylor vs. No. 7 Oklahoma State also:  Kent State vs Northern Illinois

Defensive struggle: (none)

Great game no one is talking about: No. 17 Pitt vs. No. 18 Wake Forest

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Luke Fickell of Cincinnati vs. Dana Holgorsen of Houston

Week 13 Thoughts:

Rivalry week did not disappoint.  Sure, there was the occasional lop-sided outcome (looking your way, IU-Purdue and Kentucky-Louisville, and others, too.), but so many matchups produced so many great games.  The Ole Miss-Mississippi State game (the “Egg Bowl”, named after the golden football trophy that has long been dubbed “the golden egg”) on Thanksgiving started things off with a bang.  Then on Friday, unranked Nebraska had a chance to knock No. 16 Iowa out of B1G West contention, and came up shy by only a touchdown.  Coastal Carolina had to hold off lowly South Alabama:  the Chanticleers defeated the Jaguars by only seven points.

On Saturday, even greater action took place.  Neither Florida nor Florida State has had much of a season, but they certainly gave fans a good fight in The Swamp, with the Gators winning, 24-21.

But The Game itself delivered.  Michigan finally got a major monkey off its back in beating Ohio State for the first time since 2011.  With such a rivalry and a game of such high stakes (a conference championship berth and also a potential playoff bid on the line), there was plenty of drama to go around, and all the while, Michigan Stadium was rocking, both during, and very much after the game.  The crowd of fans gathered around the FOX crew outside of the stadium post-game rivaled that of crowds at ESPN’s College Gameday, pre-game.

Speaking of the B1G and conference championship berths on the line, Wisconsin had the chance to win Paul Bunyan’s Ax and also to lock up the B1G West by beating Minnesota.  PJ Fleck and the boys had other plans.  The Golden Gophers won the day, 23-13, and the Ax along with it.  That upset made Iowa’s win the previous day all the more significant, as now they’ll represent the B1G West in Indianapolis next weekend.

In a quasi-rivalry game, Michigan State and Penn State duked it out in the snow in a high-scoring slugfest, with the Spartans winning closely, 30-27.

If we are to be reminded of anything, it’s that the Iron Bowl is always a great game, no matter how much one team may struggle and no matter how high the other may be currently flying.  Case in point:  this year’s Iron Bowl looked like it might have been a lop-sided affair, what with Alabama’s top-five ranking and Auburn not even ranked.  But crazy things have happened against the Crimson Tide in Jordan-Hare Stadium.  Last night’s game was one of them.  Auburn led most of the game in a defensive struggle.  Going into the 4th quarter, it was 10-0 in favor of the Tigers.  The Tide managed to score 10 points that quarter to tie things up at the end of regulation.  It took four overtimes to finally decide the game, with Alabama triumphing in the end.  Ironically, it took a hobbled back QB’s understandably limited performance for Alabama to have even a shot at winning this game.

Speaking of getting monkeys off one’s back, Oklahoma State certainly came through against Oklahoma in last night’s edition of the Bedlam Series.  In what was a back-and-forth shootout for much of the game, the Cowboys held the Sooners scoreless in the 4th quarter (a considerable stepping up of OK State’s defense), while they themselves scored 14 points to triumph, 37-33.

Other great games took place elsewhere, and it all amounted to a wonderful Rivalry Week that shall no about long be remembered.  But now, it is time to look ahead.

Looking ahead to Week 14:

Michigan vs. Iowa in the B1G Championship game (Indianapolis)

This will be a different Big Ten championship game from what we are used to.  Reason being, Wisconsin is not in it.  Kidding aside, neither is Ohio State or Michigan State.  Nope, Michigan crashes the party for the first time, ever, too.  I wonder how Iowa’s and Michigan’s bands will sound like when they play the Star Spangled Banner together.  It will be a beautiful sound to hear and a sight to behold in any case.

Oh, and all Michigan needs to do is close the deal, and they could make it to the playoffs.  No pressure.

Georgia vs. Alabama in the SEC Championship game (Atlanta)

This is Georgia’s opportunity to remind everyone that they are the legit No. 1 team.  Conversely, if Alabama has any hopes of crashing the playoffs, they need to get through the Bulldogs in order to attain that prize.  Needless to say, that’s a huge ask. 

Questions also abound:  was the Crimson Tide looking ahead to Georgia, and thus were caught off-guard by sputtering Auburn?  Or did Alabama arrive in The Plains with the War Eagle fully on their minds, only to come out flat anyhow, and lucky to escape back to Tuscaloosa with a win?  If their underperformance yesterday is any indication, they could wind up as cannon fodder for the Bulldogs.

Conversely, Georgia would be wise to prepare as if they shall be in the fight of their lives, because, well, because Alabama, that’s why.

Baylor vs. Oklahoma State in the Big XII Championship game (Arlington, Texas)

Credit the Big XII with two things:  one, they get it right by selecting the contestants for their conference championship game.  Forget these silly divisions:  simply select the top two best teams, and let them slug it out.  Okay, “slug” might be too strong a word since this is the Big XII, which defensively is almost a pillow-fight of a conference (Oklahoma notwithstanding).  Nevertheless, the Bears vs. the Cowboys should be a marvelous matchup.

The other thing that the Big XII gets right is selecting the best possible location within their geographic footprint in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.  To be sure, the B1G and SEC have gotten it right, respectively, for a long time in that same regard, with the former playing in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy (which is perfect for the B1G), and now Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the SEC in Atlanta (before then, they played in the Georgia Dome: perfect in either case).

Houston vs. Cincinnati in the AAC championship game

When was the last time we all looked forward to the AAC championship game?  Perhaps starting now.  If you’re not, you should.  Cincinnati is undefeated and could earn a coveted playoff berth if they win out.  Meanwhile, Houston has but one loss, has played very strongly as of late, and could be a likely spoiler.

No neutral site here:  the two teams shall be duking it out in the Bearcats’ home field of Nippert Stadium.  As an undefeated team, UC has earned this advantage.

Pittsburgh vs. Wake Forest in the ACC championship game (Charlotte)

What, no Clemson?  Correct, no Tigers in this ACC championship.  Nevertheless, we ought not to overlook this game, as it too could be a great one, pitting (if you’ll pardon the pun) two teams that are focused and tenacious.  Yes, bring out the popcorn for this one, too!

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College Football Week 11 Awards (2021) November 14, 2021

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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

Glad I’m not him: James Franklin, Penn State

Lucky guy: Sonny Cumbie, Texas Tech

Poor guy: Matt Campbell, Iowa State

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Shane Beamer, South Carolina

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Dana Holgorsen, Houston

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Bryan Harsin, Auburn

Desperately seeking … anything:  Steve Sarkesian, Texas

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Alabama (defeated New Mexico State 59-3)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida (defeated Samford 70-52)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: UConn (lost to Clemson 44-7)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Kansas (defeated Texas 57-56)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Louisville (defeated Syracuse 41-3)  

Dang, they’re good:  Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad:  South Alabama

Another one bites the dust:  Oklahoma

Did the season start?  Florida
Can the season end?  Indiana  (also: Texas)

Can the season never endBaylor

GAMES
Play this again: No. 6 Michigan 21, Penn State 17

Play this again, too:  No. 15 Ole Miss 29, No. 11 Texas A&M 19

Never play this again: No. 2 Alabama 59, New Mexico State 3

What?  Mississippi State 43, No. 17 Auburn 34

HuhNo. 15 Ole Miss 29, No. 11 Texas A&M 19

Are you kidding me??  No. 13 Baylor 27, No. 8 Oklahoma 14

Oh – my – GodKansas 57, Texas 56 (OT)

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 12)
Ticket to die for:  No. 7 Michigan State @ No. 4 Ohio State

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five  matchup: (none)

Best non-Power Five matchup: SMU @ No. 5 Cincinnati; also:  Louisiana @ Liberty

Upset alert: Nebraska @ No. 18 Wisconsin; also:  No. 3 Oregon @ No. 24 Utah

Must win: No. 7 Michigan State @ No. 4 Ohio State; also:  Texas @ West Virginia

They have the same record?  Florida @ Missouri

Offensive explosion: No. 10 Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech

Defensive struggle: Illinois @ No. 20 Iowa

Great game no one is talking about: Virginia @ No. 21 Pittsburgh

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Luke Fickell of Cincinnati vs Sonny Dykes of SMU

Who’s bringing the body bags?  Charleston Southern @ No. 1 Georgia

Why are they playing? Prairie View A&M @ No. 11 Texas A&M

Plenty of good seats remaining: Southern Miss @ Louisiana Tech

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  New Mexico State @ Kentucky; also:  Wofford @ North Carolina

Week 11 Thoughts:

Lots of great games and lots of head-scratchers for week 11.  On one hand, we were treated to great games such as Michigan @ Penn State, then Texas A&M @ Ole Miss in the evening.  But we also saw a number of games that left us scratching our heads.  Not the least of the latter was Texas’ shocking loss to Kansas, at home.  Apparently, the defense decided to take the night off, allowing the Jayhawks to score a total of 57 points in the game, and to snap Kansas road losing streak in the conference that began back in 2008.  No, really.  Even Steve Sarkesian acknowledged that the Longhorns played a bad first half of football, spotting KU three touchdowns before they decided to start playing in earnest.  It is quite clear where he needs to make adjustments both now and in the offseason.

That aside, Michigan is playing incredibly well right now:  this is easily their best team since 2016.  Ohio State is also playing up to their potential.  No “Spoilermakers” for Purdue yesterday, but in all fairness, it was too much to ask them to pull off two massive upsets in back-to-back weeks.  Moreover, the talent gap was too much to overcome for Purdue, as the Buckeyes were firing on all eight cylinders and demonstrated that they belong in the playoff discussion.

As for the No. 1 team, Georgia demonstrated their continued worthiness of their current top ranking by beating – in methodical yet convincing fashion – an increasingly formidable Tennessee squad.

Looking ahead to Week 12:

It’s the time of year again.  This time around, week 13 will be Rivalry Week.  That means that the week before then, week 12, will have lots of games that, frankly, should not even be on the schedule.  The SEC is the worst offender at this, scheduling body bag games that are ludicrous on the very surface of things.  To be sure, some already had their easy-gimmies this week, and they have seized the opportunity to play more worthy opponents.  Case in point, Alabama plays No. 25 Arkansas, in what could amount to a decent game.  Also, and oddly, Missouri and Florida, who unbelievably have identical records at 5-5, play each other this weekend in what could be a competitive game, even though, on paper, it shouldn’t be.  South Carolina might be a relatively weak team in the conference, but at least they are playing Auburn.

But then there are the clear mismatches.  The wrinkle this year is that some look even on paper because of similar records, but the reality is, the talents gaps are a mile wide.  This includes by Louisiana-Monroe playing LSU, and South Alabama playing Tennessee, and Prairie View A&M plays Texas A&M.  Tennessee State plays Mississippi State as well.  In each of these cases, the question “why are they playing” practically screams in our minds.  If that is not enough, New Mexico State, at 1-9, plays Kentucky, in what is perhaps the most lop-sided matchup of all that week, save for Charleston Southern – of all teams – playing No. 1 Georgia.  If they Bulldogs are serious about remaining at the top of the heap, perhaps they could do better than schedule a cupcake team so late in the year.  Indeed, much of the SEC could do better in that regard, and should.

Meanwhile, the B1G gets a pass.  No body bag game for those teams, they keep playing other teams within their conference.  Purdue plays Northwestern; Rutgers plays Penn State; Illinois plays Iowa; Michigan plays Maryland; Minnesota plays Indiana; Nebraska plays Wisconsin.  Best of all, Michigan State plays at Ohio State in what is clearly the game of the week.

Similar credit is due to the Big XII teams that are playing each other this upcoming week, as well as to the Pac-12, American Conference, C-USA, Mountain West, and Sunbelt teams who do the same, respectively.  The ACC teams also deserve credit for keeping up the conference schedule, save for one or two (looking your way North Carolina:  you can do better than play Wofford).

College Football Awards, Week 6 (2019) October 7, 2019

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COACHES
Wish I were him: Dan Mullen, Florida

Glad I’m not him: Guz Malzahn, Auburn

Lucky guy: Scott Satterfield, Louisville

Poor guy: Steve Addazio, Boston College

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Campbell, Iowa State

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

Desperately seeking … anything:  Jeff Brohm, Purdue

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Notre Dame (defeated Bowling Green 52-0)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Nebraska (defeated Northwestern 13-10)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Utah State (lost to No. 5 LSU 42-6)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Tulsa (lost to SMU 43-37)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Iowa State (defeated TCU 49-24)

Dang, they’re good: LSU

Dang, they’re bad:  Bowling Green

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  Auburn

Did the season start?  TCU

Can the season end?  UCLA

Can the season never endSMU

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 10 Florida 24, No. 7 Auburn 13

Never play this again: No. 9 Notre Dame 52, Bowling Green 0

What? No. 19 Michigan 10, No. 14 Iowa 3

Huh?  Texas Tech 45, No. 21 Oklahoma State 35

Double-Huh?  Cincinnati 27, No. 18 UCF 24

Are you kidding me??  Stanford 23, No. 15 Washington 13

Oh – my – GodNo. 10 Florida 24, No. 7 Auburn 13

NEXT WEEK

(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for:  No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Texas in the Red River Shootout

 (Possible second choice):  No. 10 Florida @ No. 5 LSU

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five  matchup: UNLV @ Vanderbilt

Best non-Power Five matchup: Cincinnati @ Houston (also:  Hawaii @ No. 16 Boise State)

Upset alert: No. 25 Michigan State @ No. 8 Wisconsin (also:  Florida @ LSU)

Must win: No. 15 Washington @ Arizona

Offensive explosion: (inconclusive)

Defensive struggle: No. 10 Florida @ No. 5 LSU

Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ No. 22 Wake Forest  (also:  Penn State @ Iowa)

Intriguing coaching matchup:  P.J. Fleck of Minnesota vs Scott Frost of Nebraska

Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 17 Utah @ Oregon State

Why are they playing? Rhode Island @ Virginia Tech

Plenty of good seats remaining: Kent State @ Akron

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  UConn @ Tulane

Week 6 Thoughts:

Michigan vs. Iowa

Iowa came into the Big House ranked No. 14 to home team Michigan’s No. 19 ranking.  The game was a close one from start to finish, and in the end, Michigan triumphed in a defensive struggle, 10-3.  Under normal circumstances, when a team, ranked or otherwise, defeats a higher-ranked team, that is a good day, that is a good day for the lower-ranked team.

So why do I get the feeling that this win will not slake the bloodthirst of Jim Harbaugh’s critics?  I can think of two reasons.  The most obvious is that Michigan scored only 10 lousy points.  At home.  Granted, it was against Iowa, which is always a deceptively tough out, but in the end, scoring only 10 points borders on disturbing.

Keep in mind that Wisconsin is, theoretically, an even stronger defense, yet the Wolverines scored two touchdowns on them in a losing effort on the road.  Should such an abysmal offensive performance persist later in the season, how does one think that Michigan is to fare against, say, Penn State, Michigan State, Notre Dame, or even [shudder] archrival Ohio State?

The reason this win does not assuage concerns about Michigan’s direction was Iowa’s performance.  That the Hawkeyes’ offense kept sputtering when it reached the Wolverines’ 40 yard line is what saved the latter’s bacon.  To be sure, that is also a tribute to the Wolverines’ tough D.  Still, can one count on such defensive shut-downs against even more formidable opponents?  Most likely, not.

Bottom line:  Harbaugh needs to re-shuffle the proverbial deck for his offense, and do so right now.

SMU vs Tulsa

The Golden Hurricane played the Mustangs tough for the entire game, but a last-minute touchdown put SMU ahead of Tulsa for good.  The Mustangs are now undefeated at 6-0 for the first time since 1982 (back when Craig James was still playing for them).  Let that sink in for a moment.

Ohio State vs Michigan State

Speaking of stronger defenses than that of Iowa, Michigan State gave a maximum effort against Ohio State.  Even then, the Buckeyes still won, 34-10.  The Spartans’ aforementioned max effort from their own strong D was all that kept the game from becoming a blowout.

Can anyone in the conference take Ohio State?  It certainly does not seem so at this rate.  All that said, Oct. 26 could give us a preview of coming Big Ten Championship attractions when the Buckeyes play Wisconsin at home.  Once again, the Buckeyes are playing like a solid national championship contender.

Florida vs Auburn

Either Auburn is not quite as good as we thought they were (at No. 7), or Florida is better than we thought they were (at No. 10).  Whatever the case may be, if the Gators keep up these strong performances, it shall shape up to be a memorable matchup against Georgia in Jacksonville later this month.

College Football Awards, Week 12 (2018) November 18, 2018

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(Note:  All rankings are current AP [week 12] unless otherwise noted.)

COACHES
Wish I were him: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame

Glad I’m not him: Chad Morris, Arkansas

Lucky guy: Paul Chryst, Wisconsin

Poor guy: Jeff Brohm, Purdue

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Urban Meyer, Ohio State

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Frank Solich, Ohio U

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard:  Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee

Desperately seeking … anything:  Lovie Smith, Illinois

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Mississippi State (defeated Arkansas 52-6)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Ohio State (defeated Maryland 52-51 in OT)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: New Mexico (lost to No. 25 Boise State 45-14)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Middle Tennessee (lost to No. 17 Kentucky 34-23)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Ohio U (defeated Buffalo 52-17)

Dang, they’re good: Alabama

Dang, they’re bad:  Arkansas

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  West Virginia

Did the season start?  Michigan State

Can the season end?  Tennessee

Can the season never endNotre Dame

GAMES
Play this again: Oklahoma State 45, No. 9 West Virginia 41

Play this again, too:  Wisconsin 47, Purdue 44, 3 OT

Never play this again: Iowa 63, Illinois 0

What? Miami (Ohio) 13, Northern Illinois 7

HuhKansas State 21, Texas Tech 6

Double Huh?  Nebraska 9, Michigan State 6

Are you kidding me??  Florida State 22, No. 20 Boston College 21

Oh – my – GodOklahoma State 45, No. 9 West Virginia 41

NEXT WEEK

Rankings are current AP (week 12)
Ticket to die for:  No. 4 Michigan @ No. 10 Ohio State

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five  matchup: BYU @ No. 19 Utah

Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 11 UCF @ South Florida

Honorable mention for above:  UAB @ Middle Tennessee

Upset alert: Auburn @ No. 1 Alabama  also:  Georgia Tech @ No. 5 Georgia

Must win: Purdue @ Indiana

Offensive explosion: No. 6 Oklahoma @ No. 9 West Virginia

Defensive struggle: Eastern Michigan @ Kent State

Great game no one is talking about: No. 23 Utah State @ No. 25 Boise State

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Chris Petersen of Washington vs Mike Leach of Washington State

Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 17 Kentucky @ Louisville  Also:  San Jose State @ Fresno State

Why are they playing?  No. 15 Texas @ Kansas

Plenty of good seats remaining: Southern Miss @ UTEP

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Rutgers @ Michigan State

The Longhorns-Red Raiders Rivalry in Microcosm November 11, 2018

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One of the many things to look forward to at the beginning of each November is Bill Connelly’s annually-updated article from SB Nation entitled “November is here.  Now college football season has really begun.”  One key mantra he hammers home:  November is for everything.  Read the article, you’ll understand for yourself.

Of the many cool things to pour over in this article, one is that he gives each calendar date of November its due by pointing to them as college football dates in history.  For example, Nov. 23 is the anniversary of Doug Flutie’s legendary Hail Mary TD pass that beat Miami.  Nov. 20 is when Boston College beat No. 1 Notre Dame on a last-second field goal in 1993.  All these dates are listed chronologically, of course.

And Nov. 1?  No doubt a date that shall live in Longhorn Nation infamy.  For one that day in 2008, Michael Crabtree slipped into the end zone for a touchdown that would defeat undefeated Texas, thus ultimately derailing its national title hopes that year.  Such a win for Texas Tech still sticks in the collective craw of Texas fans to this day, ten years later.

At any rate, ten years and nine days later, Texas exacted a small amount of revenge in Lubbock by scoring a touchdown within the last minute of the game that would seal the deal for the Longhorns.  Lil’Jordan Humphrey (yes, that is his name) even extended himself over the goal line in a similar fashion to what TTU’s Crabtree did a decade earlier.

What is it about Texas Tech that gives a much stronger, much more resource-laden program such fits in the first place?  Perhaps it is a David vs. Goliath complex on the part of the Red Raiders that gets them emotionally pumped to take on the flagship program of the Lone Star State.  Or, maybe Tech’s well-established, high-octane spread offense is one that gives the Horns’ defense fits for whatever reason.  In other words, on paper, Texas should crush Tech most years.  But over the past 10-15 years, this is one of those crazy matchups that gives fans plenty of drama, ergo excitement (not to mention heart palpitations that come with it), as these two games a decade apart attest.  Whatever the reason, we the college football fans are all the more engaged, entertained, and possibly satisfied as a result.

College Football Awards, Week 11 (2018) November 11, 2018

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(Note:  All rankings are current AP [week 11] unless otherwise noted.)

COACHES
Wish I were him: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame

Glad I’m not him: Willie Taggart, Florida State

Lucky guy: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma

Poor guy: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jeff Brohm, Purdue

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Monken, Army

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard:  Mark Stoops, Kentucky

Desperately seeking … anything:  Chip Kelly, UCLA

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Michigan (defeated Rutgers 42-7)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: NC State (lost to Wake Forest 27-23)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Louisville (lost to Syracuse 54-23)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Boston College (lost to Clemson)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Arkansas State (defeated Coastal Carolina 44-16)

Dang, they’re good: Alabama

Dang, they’re bad:  UTSA

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  NC State

Did the season start?  Wisconsin

Can the season end?  North Carolina

Can the season never endNotre Dame

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 6 Oklahoma 48, Oklahoma State 47

Play this again, too:  No. 19 Texas 41, Texas Tech 34

Never play this again: Utah State 62, San Jose State 24

What? Minnesota 41, Purdue 10

HuhBoise State 24, No. 23 Fresno State 17

Double Huh?  Northwestern 14, No. 21 Iowa 10

Are you kidding me??  Wake Forest 27, NC State 23 (Thurs.)

Oh – my – GodTennessee 24, No. 11 Kentucky 7

NEXT WEEK

Rankings are current AP (week 11)
Best game of the week:  No. 13 Syracuse @ No. 3 Notre Dame

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: UAB @ Texas A&M

Best non-Power Five matchup: Cincinnati @ No. 12 UCF

Upset alert: No. 22 Iowa State @ No. 19 Texas

Must win: Wisconsin @ Purdue

Offensive explosion: No. 9 West Virginia @ Oklahoma State

Defensive struggle: Missouri @ Tennessee

Great game no one is talking about: Cincinnati @ No. 12 UCF

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Paul Chryst of Wisconsin vs Jeff Brohm of Purdue

Who’s bringing the body bags? Rice @ No. 7 LSU  Also:  Citadel @ No. 1 Alabama

Why are they playing?  UMass @ No. 5 Georgia

Plenty of good seats remaining: Western Carolina @ North Carolina

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Liberty @ No. 24 Auburn

 

 

College Football Awards, Week 10 (2018) November 4, 2018

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(Note:  All rankings are current AP [week 10] unless otherwise noted.)

COACHES
Wish I were him: Nick Saban, Alabama

Glad I’m not him: James Franklin, Penn State

Lucky guy: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia

Poor guy: Tom Herman, Texas

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Urban Meyer, Ohio State

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Wells, Utah State

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard:  Bobby Petrino, Louisville

Desperately seeking … anything:  Brett Brennan, San Jose State

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Clemson (defeated Louisville 77-16)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Ohio State (defeated Nebraska 36-31)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Louisville (lost to Clemson 77-16)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Charlotte (to Tennessee 14-3)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Michigan (defeated No. 14 Penn State 42-7)

Dang, they’re good: Clemson

Dang, they’re bad:  San Jose State

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  Florida

Did the season start?  Miami

Can the season end?  Louisville

Can the season never endMichigan

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 13 West Virginia 42, No. 17 Texas 41

Play this again, too:  Purdue 38, No. 16 Iowa 36

Never play this again: No. 2 Clemson 77, Louisville 16

What? Baylor 35, Oklahoma State 31

HuhPitt 23, No. 25 Virginia 13

Double Huh?  Purdue 38, No. 16 Iowa 36

Are you kidding me??  Arizona State 38, No. 15 Utah 20

Oh – my – GodMissouri 38, No. 11 Florida 17

NEXT WEEK

Rankings are current AP (week 10)
Best game of the week:  (lots of decent games, but nothing spectacular)

One good game to see:  Auburn @ No. 6 Georgia

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five  matchup: none

Best non-Power Five matchup: USF @ Cincinnati  also:  Fresno State @ Boise State

Upset alert: Michigan State @ No. 10 Ohio State

Must win: South Carolina @ No. 11 Florida

Offensive explosion: Texas @ Texas Tech

Defensive struggle: Kansas @ Kansas State

Great game no one is talking about: No. 8 Washington State @ Colorado

Also:  Wisconsin @ Penn State

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Tom Herman of Texas vs. Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech

Who’s bringing the body bags? Utah State @ San Jose State

Why are they playing?  Navy @ No. 12 UCF

Plenty of good seats remaining: East Carolina @ Tulane

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Georgia State @ Louisiana

 

 

College Football Awards, Week 9 (2018) October 28, 2018

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(Note:  All rankings are current AP [week 9] unless otherwise noted.)

COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia

Glad I’m not him: Willie Taggert, Florida State

Lucky guy: Mike Stoops, Kentucky

Poor guy: Mike Helton, USC

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Tom Herman, Texas

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Bill Clark, UAB

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M

Desperately seeking … anything:  Bobby Petrino, Louisville

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Nebraska (defeated Bethune-Cookman 45-9)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: TCU (lost to Kansas 27-26)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Florida State (lost to Clemson 59-10)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Kansas (defeated TCU 27-26)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Wake Forest (defeated Louisville 56-35)

Dang, they’re good: Clemson

Dang, they’re bad:  Louisville

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  Texas

Did the season start?  Washington

Can the season end?  UTEP

Can the season never endNotre Dame

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 17 Penn State 30, No. 18 Iowa 24

Play this again, too:  Oklahoma State 38, No. 6 Texas 35

Never play this again: No. 2 Clemson 59, Florida State 10

What? Arizona 44, No. 19 Oregon 15

HuhMissisippi State 28, No. 16 Texas A&M 13

Double Huh?  Cal 12, No. 15 Washington 10

Are you kidding me??  Oklahoma State 38, No. 6 Texas 35

Oh – my – GodKansas 27, TCU 26

NEXT WEEK

Rankings are current AP (week 9)
Ticket to die for:  No. 1 Alabama @ No. 4 LSU

Another key game to see:  No. 7 Georgia @ No. 12 Kentucky

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five  matchup: Louisiana Tech @ Mississippi State

Best non-Power Five matchup: Utah State @ Hawaii

Upset alert: No. 13 West Virginia @ No. 6 Texas

Must win: Purdue @ No. 18 Iowa

Offensive explosion: No. 8 Oklahoma @ Texas Tech

Defensive struggle: inconclusive

Great game no one is talking about: No. 3 Notre Dame @ Northwestern

Also:  Purdue @ No. 18 Iowa

Intriguing coaching matchup:  James Franklin of Penn State vs. Jim Harbaugh of Michigan

Who’s bringing the body bags? Louisville @ No. 2 Clemson

Why are they playing?  Charlotte @ Tennessee

Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ Rice

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Alcorn State @ New Mexico State

On the perils of trying to fire one’s way out of “Glen Mason Territory” October 15, 2018

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Last year, SB Nation’s Bill Connelly wrote about the perils to which average and above-average football programs expose themselves when they fire a coach who has been winning games, except that now he’s not winning enough games.  He dubbed this situation “Glen Mason Territory”.

What happens is that a team (typically, a 2nd-tier Power Five program) is in the doldrums, suffering from a string of losing seasons.  The university’s AD hires a new coach who then comes in and rights the ship.  Instead of losing season after losing season, the program now enjoys winning seasons.  The team starts going to bowl games, say, five over the course of seven years.  The fans are loving it.  They want more.  The boosters want more.  The athletics director wants more.

Except that the head coach cannot deliver more.  It’s usually not his fault.  There’s often a set of structural limitations in place, and despite the community’s clamoring, the coach, despite all he has done, cannot deliver on the expectations that have been unintentionally raised.  In other words, the coach did raise the bar of performance expectations, which was great for a while.  Now the fans and everyone else take this for grant, and want it raised even further, which is an impossible task.  Instead of accepting this frank fact of life, the fans call for the AD to do the feel-good thing, which is to fire the coach and replace him someone who (they think) deliver on these raised (often, unreasonable) expectations.

Let us briefly consider the namesake of “Glen Mason Territory” for a moment as an example.  Glen Mason was a former Ohio State coordinator who did an impressive salvage job at Kansas in the 1990s.  Minnesota hired him in 1997 for a similar turnaround.  Despite the Golden Gophers’ past tradition (having won multiple national titles in the 1930s and 1940s under Bernie Bierman), the program had been absent from the national conscious since most of the 1960s (having won the whole thing, oddly, in 1960).

Mason started to deliver in 1999, winning eight games that year, including a massive upset over then, No. 2 Penn State.  The following year, they sent Ohio State’s national title aspirations into an early death spiral, in the Horseshoe, no less.  As Bill Connelly tells it further:

“The Gophers would bowl again in 2000 and 2002, then surge in 2003. Behind the punishing combination of Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney, they beat Penn State and Wisconsin on the way to a 9-3 regular season, then Oregon in a Sun Bowl thriller to reach 10 wins for the first time since 1905.

The problem: he never won 10 again. The Gophers started 2004 5-0 and reached 13th before losing five of six down the stretch and needing a bowl win to salvage 7-5. They went 7-5 again in 2005 and were on the doorstep of a third straight seven-win season in 2006 before blowing an enormous Insight Bowl lead to Texas Tech.

A year after a contract extension, Minnesota used the bowl collapse as impetus for panic. Despite seven bowls in eight years — for a program that had been almost absent from college football’s consciousness for nearly four decades — the school pushed Mason out.

The program had grown stale, you see, and needed young energy. “I believe the program needs a new vision to reignite fan enthusiasm,” said athletic director Joel Maturi.”

The question in the mind of many of the readers by now is, ‘why couldn’t Minnesota “got over the hump”, so to speak?’  One reason, at the time, was facilities.  If a Big Ten recruit went to, say, Michigan, Ohio State, or even Penn State on visits was able to take in the grandeur of their home stadia, they would be most unimpressed by seeing the Metrodome as their potential home stadium if they chose to don the Maroon & Gold.  Having been on the sidelines for a game there once, I personally can vouch for how sterile a place it is.  Despite the university’s best efforts to jazz it up with bunting and national championship banners in the school’s colors all over the place on game day, it remains sterile, even negatively inspiring.  As one of my fellow student managers at the time said so succinctly, “that place just sucks the life force out of you.”

Seeing things along those lines, one can appreciate the difficulties that Mason had to overcome in attaining the success his team enjoyed.  But in the end, it wasn’t good enough.  Why?  Answer: expectations that have been raised beyond reason.

Notice in Connelly’s writing how he cited then-AD Joel Maturi saying the program had “grown stale”.  Such wording is a symptom of the fallacious “this-is-who-we-now-are mentality”, when a program long in the doldrums all of a sudden enjoys a spate of success.  Pretty soon, the fan base starts to take this newfound success for granted, and becomes increasingly restless when the coach fails to deliver even more success, more than the program is structurally built to deliver under modern constraints.

Consider, again, Minnesota.  Sure, the Twin Cities might produce several players talented enough to compete at a high level, but much of the rest of the roster is made up of recruits from Ohio who were passed over by the Buckeyes.  In explicably, you’ll find a few players from Florida and Texas (e.g., Marion Barber III) in there, too.  But the immediate point is, there is not enough local talent from which to draw in order to build up a roster that can consistently vie for the national title.  The only team in such a predicament that has come close to such viability is Oregon (proving that there is always an exception to the rule), with maybe Washington to a lesser extent.

So Mason was already dealing with that structural roadblock to meeting unrealistic expectations, in addition to the stadium, which was a potential turn-off to recruits.  Not until 2009 did they open up TCF Bank Stadium on the school’s main campus.  Had Mason had this shiny new stadium at this disposal then, things might have been a little different (emphasis on ‘might have been’).

Consider weather, too.  Sure, Minnesota is a great school, and the Twin Cities are reasonably happening, but it’s also cold…very cold.  Most recruits might choose to brave the cold winters in Columbus, Ohio, or even State College, Pa., or even Ann Arbor, Mich., but they’ll draw the line at the next-level frigidity of the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  Can one blame them?

Of course, asking the reasonable thing, which is for the fan base to take these structural obstacles into consideration to damper their unrealistic expectations is apparently too much to ask these days.  These unrealistic expectations lead to impatience, which leads to rash decisions.  So naturally they fired Mason.  They brought in Tim Brewster as his replacement.  Brewster promised to recruit, to be the ‘shot in the arm’ the program needed, etc., and proceeded to go 15-30.  For comparison, Mason went 64-57.  Will the Gopher faithful give charismatic young coach P.J. Fleck the chance to duplicate Mason’s efforts?  That all depends on if they learned anything from this experience.

Other fan bases seem not to be have learned, and have suffered the consequences as a result.  To wit:

Arizona State fired Todd Graham, despite his 7-5 regular season record in 2017.  The program had not been competitive consistently since the Frank Kush years of the 1970s.  Bruce Snyder did the best job in recent years, leading the Sun Devils to almost win the national title in 1996.  Snyder’s leadership proved that the Sun Devils are capable of high ceilings, but brief ones.  Arizona State has hired former NFL head coach Herm Edwards in his stead.  It remains to be seen if this risky hire will pan out, but at least it is an interesting hire.  One thing that ASU does have going for it is that it’s located in a geographical spot with an endless summer, a campus that sports tons of pretty co-eds, and the Phoenix area is a decent hotbed for good recruits.  Theoretically, the right coach could set the entire Pac-12 on notice, as Bruce Snyder did in the mid-to-late 1990s.

But as Bill Connelly wisely points out, schools without such advantages who nevertheless act on the impatience born of unrealistically raised expectations can suffer major consequences.

  • On the heels of 11- and nine-win seasons, Boston College pushed Jeff Jagodzinski out because he deigned to interview for other jobs. They were 2-10 four years later and haven’t reached nine wins since.

  • Ron Zook took Illinois to nine wins and a Rose Bowl in 2007, and after a two-year reset, got them back to 7-6 in both 2010 and 2011. He was fired. Illinois has averaged 3.7 wins per year since.

  • Dan McCarney won at least seven games five times in a six-year span at Iowa State but was let go after a 4-8 downturn in 2006. ISU has not topped seven wins since, though that could change with an upcoming bowl game.

To be sure, current ISU head coach Matt Campbell has made Jack Trice Stadium a perilous place to play for undefeated teams, as top-ten West Virginia just learned last night the hard way.

  • Ralph Friedgen took Maryland to seven bowls in 10 years, and after a two-win collapse in 2009, rebounded to nine wins in 2010. Maryland has averaged 4.7 wins per year since firing him.

  • NC State pushed Tom O’Brien out in 2012 after 24 wins in three years. Their best three-year win total since: 22.*

Dave Doeren has brought NC State back to respectability (and rankings), but it has taken the program several years to return to this spot.

  • David Cutcliffe won seven or more games for five straight years at Ole Miss, peaking with a 10-win campaign in 2003. But after a 4-7 reset in 2004, he was fired. The Rebels would top four wins twice in the next seven years.

  • Pitt pushed Dave Wannstedt out after after 26 wins in three years. The Panthers have averaged 6.6 wins since.

  • Despite seven ranked finishes in 11 years, Syracuse fired Paul Pasqualoni after he hit a dry spell. He went 4-8 in 2002 then rebounded to only 6-6 in 2003-04. Syracuse went 10-37 under replacement Greg Robinson and has averaged 4.4 wins since Pasqualoni.

Dino Babers has methodically built Syracuse into a better program, but consider that the hiatus between this decent year and Pasqualoni’s last season is 13 years.

  • Phil Fulmer took Tennessee to 15 bowls and five SEC championship games in 16 years. He won the national title in 1998 and won at least eight games 14 times. He fell to 5-6 in 2005 but rebounded back to 10 wins in 2007. After a second five-win reset in 2008, he was fired. The Vols have hit the eight-win mark twice in the nine years since.

But what about Georgia, you ask?  That’s really not an exception to the rule after all.  Mark Richt had been consistently winning at Georgia but failed to bring home a national championship trophy.  Nick Saban and others did have something to do with that, but again, it’s almost too much to expect folks to be reasonable, especially in SEC country, where “it just means…more”.  So, they fired Richt and brought in Alabama assistant coach Kirby Smart.  And he too, won games, even played his former team for the national title.  And lost, because Nick Saban’s Alabama these days is a consistent juggernaut.  Nevertheless, Smart succeeded where Richt failed.  So firing their way out of Glen Mason Territory has panned out for Georgia thus far, but that’s because they have access to tons of NFL-potential talent in Greater Atlanta, their own backyard.  So there.

The conclusion to which Connelly arrived in his article is that a school cannot simply fire-a-coach its way out of “Glen Mason Territory”.  Why?  Let us consider basic reality.  Football, unlike economics, is a zero-sum game.  When one team wins a game, that means that team’s opponent had to lose that game.  Not all teams can be championship-viable teams all the time.  It is simply impossible.  Furthermore, because of this zero-sum fact of life football (and most other sports), not everybody can be good all the time.  Even traditional powers have had down years (just look at Alabama in between the Mike Dubose and Nick Saban years).

Second, not all teams are built to be national-title contenders.  Again, one key factor is, does your state produce enough local talent to compete nationally?  In states like California, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, or Florida, (borderline case:  Arizona) that is a given.  Even Oklahoma does not produce the players it used to (to be sure, even during the glory days of Bud Wilkinson, OU has had to recruit Texas to be successful).  The only state north of the Sunbelt that can remotely compete on that scale is Ohio.  Everyone else has to recruit from those states just to be in a position to win games, period.

Also, unlike in the pros, where teams choose the players, in college, the players choose the programs.  That means that many blue chip recruits who have options are not going to flock to the Arctic climbs of Minnesota, or the isolated, wind-swept plains of Nebraska if they can land a scholarship at Georgia or LSU or even TCU instead.  Ohio State has managed to stay viable despite its cold winters due to the total commitment of the university, plus the community and state at large, to muster every last resource needed to attract the players necessary to compete at that level.

When a coach raises the bar of performance expectations but cannot raise it further, it’s usually not the coach’s fault.  It’s program history for one.  Georgia, for example, only has two national titles, one from 1942 and from 1980; the former being shared with Ohio State.  As discussed at some length, it’s also infrastructure (e.g., facilities and access to NFL-caliber talent), and program support.  But dealing with these issues ranges from difficult to impossible.  Instead of dealing with these realities like responsible people, too often people take the feel-good way out (in reality, a dead end) and kill the messenger by firing the very coach who improved the team’s standing and situation in the first place.

College Football Awards, Week 4 (2018) September 23, 2018

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(Note:  All rankings are current AP [week 4] unless otherwise noted.)

COACHES
Wish I were him: Tom Herman, Texas

Glad I’m not him: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

Lucky guy: David Shaw, Stanford

Poor guy: Mario Cristobal, Oregon

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Luke Fickell, Cincinnati

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech

Desperately seeking … anything:  Scott Frost, Nebraska

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Penn State (defeated Illinois 63-24)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oklahoma (defeated Army 28-21 in OT)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Tulane (lost to No. 9 Ohio State 49-6)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t:  Army (lost to Oklahoma 28-21 in OT)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Texas Tech (defeated No. 15 Oklahoma State 17)

Dang, they’re good: Clemson

Dang, they’re bad:  Arkansas

Can’t Stand Prosperity:  Virginia Tech

Did the season start?  Nebraska

Can the season end?  Rutgers

Can the season never endAlabama

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 7 Stanford 38, No. 20 Oregon 31

Play this again, too:  SMU 31, Navy 30

Never play this again: Appalachian State 72, Gardner-Webb 7

What? Purdue 30, No. 23 Boston College 13

HuhTexas Tech 41, No. 15 Oklahoma State 17

Double HuhIllinois State 35, Colorado State 19

Are you kidding me??  Kentucky 28, No. 14 Mississippi State 7

Oh – my – GodOld Dominion 49, No. 13 Virginia Tech 35

NEXT WEEK (Rankings are current AP, week 5)
Ticket to die for:  No. 4 Ohio State @ No. 9 Penn State

Also:  No. 7 Stanford @ No. 8 Notre Dame

Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five  matchup: Pitt @ UCF

Best non-Power Five matchup: Toledo @ Fresno State

Upset alert: Texas Tech @ No. 12 West Virginia

Must win: Purdue @ Nebraska

Offensive explosion: Toledo @ Fresno State

Defensive struggle: Florida @ No. 23 Mississippi State

Great game no one is talking about: No.18 Texas @ Kansas State

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Bill Snyder of Kansas State vs. Tom Herman of Texas

Who’s bringing the body bags? Louisiana @ No. 1 Alabama

Why are they playing? Southern Miss @ No. 10 Auburn

Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ UTSA

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Tennessee State @ Vanderbilt

Week 4 Thoughts:

 Purdue has started the season as a major head-scratcher.  Coming off a surprising winning season after the Hazell-era doldrums, including a bowl win, the Boilermaker faithful had high hopes for the team in 2018.  Thus far, after an understandable, opening-season loss to then-ranked Northwestern, Purdue proceeded to lose squeakers at home to beatable teams, including [shudder], Eastern Michigan – a directional school.  Chalk it up to an undisciplined defense and a lack of a running game.  Regardless, the Boilers have their first win of the year, and, all things considered, it’s a rather big one, handily defeating No. 23 Boston College 30-13.  To be sure, Purdue did step it up on defense, and if they can maintain this newfound intensity on that side of the ball, there’s hope for the season yet.  All that said, sometimes it takes a few weeks for a good team to find its footing and thus to play up to its potential.

The team now becoming an even bigger head-scratcher is Louisville.  Sure, they lost badly to Alabama, but the Crimson Tide is such a juggernaut this year that most winning-season teams will look pathetic against them.  What really raised concerns was having to struggle, at home, to beat Western Kentucky – another directional school!  Let us thus give the Cardinals an ex-post-facto “Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t”.  But now they got embarrassed, on the road to a beatable team in Virginia.  At 27-3, are the Cavaliers that much better than the Cards?  Is their offense that poor that they failed to punch it into the endzone, with only a sad field goal to open the 3rd quarter?  A comparison of recent seasonal performances of both teams would say no, but today’s score would suggest so.  Here is one possible diagnosis of Louisville’s under-performance.  In the last few years (basically since Lamar Jackson was QB), Petrino has been fixated on “skills” players while acting as if he can get any lumbering lummox to block on the line.  So, while he might have NFL-caliber talent on the wings, he has no way of executing plays.  Has the time come to where Petrino would be better off as an offensive coordinator instead of a head coach?  Further observation and analysis of the team’s performance shall tell us yes or no.

What about USC?  Before losing badly on the road to Texas last week, they were ranked and poised to compete for the Pac-12 title again.  But on Friday night, they had to play hard at home to beat unranked Washington State.  One possible explanation:  Sam Darnold’s talent at QB papered over the mediocrity of talent on the coaching staff.  While I’m not a Trojans fan personally, I nevertheless recognize that when a traditional power like USC does well, it’s good for college football (same goes for other traditional powers like Georgia, Texas, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, or even Miami (Fla.)).  Conversely, a mediocre Southern Cal team is thus not great for college football.  Let us hope that they can eventually rise back to national title contention to help keep the west coast markets engaged in the game.  After all, it’s never good for a sport to become regional (looking your way, Major League Baseball).

Speaking of Texas, are they “back”?  And why were they ever, well, not back?  This article by Pete Thamel explains the nature of why a national brand and a massively-valued program ever needed turning around in the first place (hint:  turning around an aircraft carrier takes much, much longer than turning around, say, a personal sailboat).  Forget, for a moment, that the program sure did not help anybody, least of all themselves, by laying an egg on the road to Maryland, and then under-performing at home the next week against Tulsa.  The Longhorns’ big win over USC last week might not indicate that the team is “back” as strongly as one would think due to USC’s apparent mediocrity at the moment.  But then again, Texas did follow up with another big win, this time over No. 16 TCU, 31-16.  So the current conclusion is, if they’re not “back” yet, they’re certainly headed in the right direction.  Onward and upward.