Intriguing Games for Week 11 (2016) November 9, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Aggies, Alabama, Army, Baylor, college football, Duke, Florida, Gamecocks, Gators, Gene Chizik, Kansas, Kentucky, Larry Fedora, Longhorns, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NCAA, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, SEC, South Carolina, Tarheels, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tulsa, USC, Vols, Volunteers, Washington, West Virginia
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Lest we forget, the Duke – North Carolina rivalry is not merely confined to the hardwood.
No. 21 North Carolina @ Duke (Thurs., Nov. 10: ESPN)
The Tarheels under head coach Larry Fedora and defensive coordinator Gene Chizik have proven to be a very efficient team. Duke, despite being only 3-6, has always been a tough out this year (see: Louisville, week 7). Factor in the close geographic proximity and the traditional rivalry between the two, and you have yourself a very, very interesting game.
(All other games are on Saturday, Nov. 12)
No. 25 Baylor @ No. 9 Oklahoma (Noon EST, ABC/ESPN 2)
The intrigue of this game is the background. Baylor has been in a weird, two-game free-fall. They were undefeated until last month, where they unexpectedly lost to a mediocre Texas Longhorns team, and thus knocked themselves out of playoff contention. Then, the following week at home, they lost horribly (a 62-22 kind of horribly) to a TCU team that seems to finally have found a pulse.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma has quietly crawled their way back into the top ten. This will be a great game if Baylor gets out of its funk and plays up to its Top Ten potential.
South Carolina @ No. 22 Florida (Noon EST; CBS)
Earlier in the season, this game looked like it would be a snoozer, what with an underperforming South Carolina team losing to both Kentucky and Mississippi State. Florida, meanwhile, had gradually improved to the point where they were No. 11 as of last week.
The trends now appear to be different. The Gators were embarrassed on the road against unranked Arkansas last week, 31-10. Their current problem seems to be a lack of identity on offense. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks have gradually improved, first with an upset win over Tennessee, and last week with a confidence-boosting win over Missouri. If these trends continue, this game will be evenly-matched, thus very competitive.
Kentucky @ Tennessee (Noon EST; SEC Network)
Remember when the Vols were supposed to vie for the playoffs? That ended when they blew it at Texas A&M. After not playing with sufficient urgency for an entire game, the whole play-from-behind drama caused Tennessee to come up short against the Aggies. The next week was Tennessee’s turn in the conference to get drubbed by seemingly invincible Alabama.
Perhaps the heartbreaking loss followed by the aforementioned drubbing took something out of them, because they then laid an egg on the road at South Carolina, thus knocking them out of the rankings.
After leading the SEC East, those three losses made it anyone’s division – even Kentucky, who also has three losses in the conference. Let that sink in for a moment. Therefore, this game will help clarify the SEC East race. Let that sink in as well.
No. 11 West Virginia @ Texas (Noon EST; FS1)
West Virginia was undefeated before suddenly losing to Oklahoma State two weeks ago. Last week’s win against Kansas was a given, ergo proves nothing. Meanwhile, Texas has two consecutive upsets under its belt, first against heretofore unbeaten Baylor, next against Texas Tech. Could the Longhorns score a third consecutive upset? We’ll find out on Nov. 12.
Tulsa @ Navy (Noon EST; CBSSN)
Here me out. Tulsa is 7-2, leading the AAC West. Navy is 6-2, has been in and out of the rankings, and tied with Memphis for first in the AAC West division. Enough said.
Army @ Notre Dame (3:30 EST; NBC)
Army is currently 5-4. Notre Dame is in relative free-fall at 3-6, and possibly still smarting from a loss to Navy last week. One more win, and the Black Knights are bowl-eligible for only the third time since 1996 and the fourth time since 1988. Could an underperforming Irish squad be that last win Army needs to make to the post-season?
If it is, Notre Dame’s season is worse than over, as their next two games are against No. 18 Virginia Tech, and a suddenly-strong USC. Talk about a must-win for both teams!
USC @ No. 4 Washington (6:30 EST; FOX)
Washington is not a juggernaut team, but they are still very good (their undefeated season is padded with three out-of-conference body bag games). USC started the season with some sputters, but has played very strongly as of late. The opportunity is thus ripe for an upset (or, at least near-upset) in Seattle this Saturday evening.
College Football Week 10 Awards, 2016 November 7, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Boise State, Boston College, Bronco Mendenhall, BYU, Cal, California, Coastal, Dan Mullen, Duke, East, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Huskies, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa State, Jim Grobe, Jim McElwain, Kevin Sumlin, Kirk Herbstreit, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Maryland, Matt Rhule, Miami, Michigan State, Mike Riley, Mississippi State, Navy, NC State, Nebraska, Nick Saban, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Rutgers, San Jose State, SEC, South Carolina, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Urban Meyer, UTEP, Virginia, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Wolfpack
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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: Mike Riley, Nebraska
Lucky guy: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Poor guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jim McElwain, Florida
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Rhule, Temple
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jim Grobe, Baylor
Desperately seeking … anything: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Boston College 52-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Boise State (defeated San Jose State 45-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Maryland (lost to No. 3 Michigan 59-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Iowa State (lost to No. 14 Oklahoma 34-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: TCU (defeated No. 17 Baylor 62-22)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Texas State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Texas A&M
Did the season start? Baylor
Can the season end? Notre Dame
Can the season never end? Louisville
GAMES
Play this again: No. 1 Alabama 10, No. 13 LSU 0
Play this again, too: Texas 45, Texas Tech 37
Never play this again: No. 25 Washington State 69, Arizona 7
Close call: No. 22 Florida State 24, NC State 20
What? Illinois 31, Michigan State 27
Huh? Navy 28, Notre Dame 27
Are you kidding me? TCU 62, No. 17 Baylor 22
Oh – my – God: Mississippi State 35, No. 4 Texas A&M 28.
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11))
Ticket to die for: No. 25 Baylor @ No. 9 Oklahoma
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Notre Dame vs. Army in San Antonio
Best non-Power Five matchup: Tulsa @ Navy
Upset alert: USC @ No. 4 Washington also: No. 19 LSU @ Arkansas
Must win: Kentucky @ Tennessee
Offensive explosion: Cal @ No. 23 Washington State
Defensive struggle: NC State @ Syracuse
Great game no one is talking about: No. 21 North Carolina @ Duke
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Richt of Miami vs. Bronco Mendenhall of Virginia
Who’s bringing the body bags? Maryland @ No. 6 Ohio State
Why are they playing? Southern Utah @ BYU
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ Florida Atlantic
They shoot horses, don’t they? Boston College @ No. 20 Florida State
Week 10 Take-aways:
Is Ohio State that good or is Nebraska that overrated? Or, is the answer the one preferred by Sterling Archer: A little of Column A and a little of Column B? Probably the third option. It’s never wise to bet against Urban Meyer, who has proven to be the best coach in the business over the past decade (though just a hair better than Nick Saban). But the Huskers have given fans in the stands and at home some great games through some great defensive efforts, and perhaps such efforts fooled the voters into thinking they were, hitherto, a No. 6 team. Still, the demotion all the way down to No. 21 seems a bit extreme, too.
The SEC East, this year, is frankly atrocious. Kentucky is always overhyped, South Carolina and Missouri are under-performing (the latter worse than the former), Florida just got shellacked on the road to enigmatic Arkansas, and Tennessee has developed into a collective head case of a team. Kirk Herbstreit expressed it best when he described the SEC Least as “awful,” and that they might as well cancel the SEC Championship game. That game would be a mere formality anyhow, since it has been shown that it’s Alabama followed by everyone else at this rate.
One of the overlooked tragedies this year is that Arizona’s season has already collapsed. Moreover, it seems as though they might now win another game this year (Colorado? Forget it. Oregon State? Not at this rate. Arizona State? Don’t count on it). Rich Rodriguez has put together some good seasons in Tucson, so this painful season has us all scratching our heads.
NC State has to be the best 4-5 team in the country. They defeated Notre Dame in absolutely hurricane-drenched slog. They almost beat Clemson, in Death Valley. They [mysteriously] narrowly lost to cagey Boston College. This weekend, they lost to Florida State by only four points. The Wolfpack’s subsequent opponents will put themselves in danger if they take this team lightly on account of their currently mediocre record. On that same note, Duke must be the best 3-6 team in the country. They are well-coached and will always give you a tough fight. Ask Louisville for reference.
Virginia Tech now controls its own destiny, at least as far as the ACC Coastal division is concerned. Assuming they seize the opportunity of control by winning out (which is doable), they could muster a more-than-credible challenge for seemingly unstoppable Clemson. Such a match-up remains a pleasing prospect indeed!
Once again, we are left to ask ourselves, what are we to make of Texas? Just a couple of weeks ago, the Horns looked completely hopeless against Kansas State. Then, just a week later, they handed Baylor their first loss of the season. This week, they went on the road and bested an evenly-matched (record-wise) Texas Tech squad. Lest we start to think the Horns are turning things around, they do play No. 20 West Virginia next week, and end the season against a TCU team that flat out embarrassed Baylor on the road this week. Translation: much remains to be seen, and a 6-6 record still seems to be the likely outcome.
Much ado has arisen in the wake of the Playoff Committee releasing their first set of rankings. Not the least of the controversies was No. 4 Washington (No. 4, that is the in the AP Poll) being demoted to No. 7 in the Playoff rankings. “How can this be,” ask many observers. Simple: Washington’s dirty little secret is that they’re still rebuilding, and part of the rebuilding process has been a very weak out-of-conference schedule. Let’s face it: a non-conference slate of Rutgers, Idaho, and Portland State is pretty darn pathetic. If you dial up wins with body-bag games like this, you have no right to complain when your rankings suffer as a result when they count the most. Many other contenders have played tough out-of-conference games this year. If the Huskies truly want to be counted among the big boy contenders, they will have to do the same.
College Football Awards, Week 7 2016 October 17, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, B1G, Badgers, Baylor, Big Ten, Bowling Green, Buckeyes, Camp Randall Stadium, college football, Crimson Tide, Dan Mullen, Dave Doeren, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Hurricanes, Illinois, Jim Mora, Justin Fuente, Kansas, Kent State, Kirby Smart, Kyle Whittingham, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Memphis, Miami, Miami (OH), Michigan, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee, Mike Novell, Mississippi State, Missouri, NC State, NCAA, Nick Saban, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Prairie View, Purdue, Rice, Rutgers, SEC, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, toilet bowl, UCLA, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Volunteers, Wake Forest, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 7] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Glad I’m not him: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Lucky guy: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Poor guy: Dave Doeren, NC State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Norvell, Memphis
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Desperately seeking … anything: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Baylor (defeated Kansas 49-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida State (defeated Wake Forest 17-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kansas (see above)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Duke (lost to No. 7 Louisville 24-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: West Virginia (defeated Texas Tech 48-17)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Kent State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Virginia Tech
Did the season start? Georgia
Can the season end? Purdue
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 2 Ohio State 30, No. Wisconsin 23, OT
Play this again, too: No. 22 Arkansas 34, No. 12 Ole Miss 30
Never play this again: Army 62, Lafayette 7
Close call: No. 7 Louisville 24, Duke 14
What? North Carolina 20, No. 16 Miami 13
Huh? Northwestern 54, Michigan State 40
Double-Huh? Syracuse 31, No. 17 Virginia Tech 17
Are you kidding me? No. 22 Arkansas 34, No. 12 Ole Miss 30
Oh – my – God: Vanderbilt 17, Georgia 16
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 7, pre-week 8))
Ticket to die for: No. 6 Texas A&M @ No. 1 Alabama
Also: No. 2 Ohio State @ No. 11 Wisconsin
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Middle Tennessee @ Missouri
Best non-Power Five matchup: BYU @ No. 15 Boise State Also: Memphis @ Navy
Upset alert: BYU @ No. 15 Boise State
Must win: NC State @ No. 7 Louisville
Offensive explosion: South Florida @ Temple
Defensive struggle: Mississippi State @ Kentucky
Great game no one is talking about: TCU @ No. 20 West Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Mora of UCLA vs. Kyle Whittingham of Utah
Who’s bringing the body bags? Illinois @ No. 4 Michigan
Why are they playing? UMass @ South Carolina
Plenty of good seats remaining: Miami (Ohio) @ Bowling Green
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Middle Tennessee @ Missouri
Week 7 Take-aways:
Louisville barely escaped with a win at home to Duke. As I have said before, beware of bye-weeks, for they can be deceptively perilous to teams.
Who would have thought that the offensive explosion of the week would have been Northwestern vs. Michigan State, much less thinking that the Wildcats – underperforming all season thus far – would win?
The results of the Toilet Bowl, B1G edition, are in, and it’s Rutgers that is at the abyss of that conference, having lost to Illinois, 24-7. Sarcastic congrats to the Scarlet Knights!
Ohio State proved their mettle by defeating what is perhaps the toughest Wisconsin team within my memory. Not only that, but this win was on the road, in the evening. For those “in the know,” it is understood throughout the Big Ten that Camp Randall Stadium is the worst snake pit to play in within the entire conference. It is relatively the loudest, with a compact 80,000 seemingly right on top of the teams. Compound that with the fact that Wisconsin fans enjoy a certain, er, reputation throughout the league. Compound that further with the fact that night games give these already rowdy fans extra hours to get extra inebriated, hence extra loud. A night game in Camp Randall is a baptism by fire for a visiting team. Ohio State proved that they belonged in the No. 2 spot in the rankings by coming from behind, then dominating in overtime.
Yes, Tennessee lost badly to Alabama at home today, 49-10. But are we really surprised? The Volunteers have had one emotional game after another. Sooner or later, after so many games, they would experience an energy nadir as a result. Couple that with that fact that Nick Saban has the Crimson Tide rolling into a juggernaut of a team, and the loss should be seen as a minimal disgrace. As things currently stand, it is not unreasonable for Tennessee to end up 10-2 in the regular season, which is a remarkable turnaround from the doldrums in which the program found itself just a few years ago.
Oh, and it has been established that Florida and LSU will be playing after all. The catch is, they’ll play it at LSU instead, on Nov. 14, and to compensate, the Tigers will face Florida on the road for two consecutive years afterward. This does not even take into consideration that to make the Nov. 14 date work, both teams had to drop would-be body bag games (hello, easy money to the teams they would have played), which is actually a big win for the fans overall. So, the SEC East will have some clarity after all. Or will it?
College Football Week 2 Awards (2016) September 12, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Bob Stoops, Brett Bielema, Brian Kelly, BYU, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Darrell Hazell, Florida, Florida State, football, Gamecocks, Gary Patterson, Iowa State, Kalani Sitake, Kent State, Kentucky, Kyle Whittingham, Louisville, Mark Dantonio, Mark Stoops, Michigan, Michigan State, NCAA, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, SEC, South Carolina, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, USC, USF, Utah, Virginia Tech, Wildcats, Will Muschamp, Willie Taggert, Wisconsin, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 2] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Glad I’m not him: Kalani Sitake, BYU
Lucky guy: Brett Bielema, Arkansas
Poor guy: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Willie Taggert, South Florida
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Desperately seeking … anything: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 3 Florida State (defeated Charleston Southern 52-8)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 2 Clemson (defeated Troy 30-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Akron (lost to No. 10 Wisconsin 54-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Nicholls (lost to Georgia 26-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Nebraska (defeated Wyoming 52-17)
Dang, they’re good: Michigan
Dang, they’re bad: Kentucky
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Oklahoma State
Did the season start? Northwestern
Can the season end? Miami, OH
Can the season never end? Wisconsin
GAMES
Play this again: Arkansas 41, No. 15 TCU 38
Play this again, too: Utah 20, BYU 19
Honorable Mention to play again: South Carolina 13, Vanderbilt 10
Never play this again: No. 20 Texas A&M 67, Prairie View A&M 0
What? East Carolina 33, N.C. State 30
Huh? Arkansas 41, No. 15 TCU 38
Are you kidding me? Illinois State 9, Northwestern 7
Oh – my – God: Central Michigan 30, No. 22 Oklahoma State 27
Told you so: Arizona State 68, Texas Tech 55
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 2, pre-week 3)
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Florida State @ No. 10 Louisville
Also: No. 3 Ohio State @ No. 14 Oklahoma
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: UCLA @ BYU
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 6 Houston @ Cincinnati (Thurs.)
Upset alert: Auburn @ No. 17 Texas A&M
Must win: Iowa State @ TCU
Offensive explosion: No. 22 Oregon @ Nebraska
Defensive struggle: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 19 Ole Miss
Great game no one is talking about: Pitt @ Oklahoma State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Dantonio of Michigan State vs. Brian Kelly of Notre Dame
Who’s bringing the body bags? South Carolina State @ No. 3 Clemson
Why are they playing? Ohio U @ No. 15 Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Monmouth @ Kent State
They shoot horses, don’t they? Georgia State @ No. 9 Wisconsin
Week 2 Take-aways:
After such a spectacular opening week in college football the previous Saturday and surrounding days, this weekend was a considerable let-down. The noon timeslots were mediocre, save for the decent matchup of Penn State vs. Pitt. The 3:30 timeslots were positively atrocious, where the best game was arguably Kentucky vs. Florida, and that game turned out to be a 45-7 blowout in favor of the Gators. All the good games were crammed together in the evening, where I found myself wearing out my TV’s remote by switching around to the games of Arkansas @ TCU, Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech (at the Bristol, Tenn. Motor Speedway), BYU @ Utah, and occasionally South Carolina @ Mississippi State.
After this mediocre lineup of games for this week, one thing that has festered for a while has become even more clear. Two teams that continue to suck with overpaid coaches who are out of their depth are both Darrell Hazell of Purdue and Mark Stoops of Kentucky. The latter is another case, apparently, of where the only Stoops brother who has the skill set to be a legit head coach at the big boy level is Bob, not brother Mark. We might recall that the other brother, Mike, flamed out at Arizona. Concerning brother Mark, who apparently has had all these great recruiting classes while at UK, lost to lowly Southern Miss last week and this week was demolished by a recovering Florida, 45-7. His predecessor, Joker Philips, went 13-24 (4-20 SEC) after three seasons. Stoops is currently 12-26 (4-21 SEC) after the second game in his fourth season of tenure at UK. The Kentucky faithful would do well to ask themselves: is this progress?
The former had only one good year at a middling MAC program (Kent State), and the powers that be at Purdue were suckered in by this limited success to offer him the Purdue job, paying him $2.2 Million annually, or about $1 Million more than his predecessor, Coach Danny Hope. Hazell is thus far 7-30 since the 2013 season at Purdue, while Coach Hope went 22-27 in four seasons there. Doing that math, that amounts to paying an addition $4 Million for 15 fewer wins. For an athletics department that ostensibly prides itself on operating in the black, those numbers simply do not add up. Moreover, it makes one wonder how much better Hope would have performed had he been given those extra resources that Hazell currently enjoys (meager as they still are compared to true big boy programs).
Meanwhile, on a totally unrelated note, Mississippi State gave the impression that they have righted the ship after their embarrassing upset at home last week to South Alabama. They defeated South Carolina this week, 27-14. Conversely, the loss on the part of the Gamecocks’ gives those who doubt the wisdom of the hire of head coach Will Muschamp further credibility.
All this aside, there are some outstanding matchups awaiting us this upcoming weekend, namely:
Michigan State @ Notre Dame; Texas A&M @ Auburn; Pittsburgh @ Oklahoma State; Oregon @ Nebraska; Alabama @ Ole Miss; UCLA @ BYU; Houston @ Cincinnati (Thurs. evening); USC @ Stanford; Ohio State @ Oklahoma; and of course, Florida State @ Louisville, which could potentially be the best game of the year thus far. I for one am already chomping at the bit, especially for the latter game!
College Football Week 1 Awards (2016) September 6, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, ANZ Stadium, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, Bob Stoops, Bronco Mendenhall, Butch Jones, BYU, Charlotte, Clemson, college, Colorado, Derek Mason, Florida State, football, Georgia, Hawaii, Houston, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Mark Helfrich, Michigan, Mike MacIntyre, Mississippi State, NCAA, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Olympics, Oregon, Penn State, SEC, South Carolina, South Dakota State, South Florida, Stanford, Sydney, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tigers, Tom Herman, Troy, Tulane, UCLA, UConn, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Will Muschamp, Wofford
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Texas defeated visiting No. 10 Notre Dame in a wild game, 50-47. The game was one of many excellent games to kickoff the 2016 college football season (photo by Getty Images)
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 1] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Tom Herman, Houston
Glad I’m not him: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Lucky guy: Will Muschamp, South Carolina
Poor guy: Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike MacIntyre, Colorado
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Les Miles Desperately seeking … anything: Willie Fritz, Tulane
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 19 Louisville (defeated Charlotte 70-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 13 TCU (defeated South Dakota State 38-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Hawaii (lost to No. 7 Michigan 63-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Appalachian State (lost to Tennessee 20-13).
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Western Kentucky (defeated Rice 46-14)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Tulane
Can’t Stand Prosperity: LSU
Did the season start? Oklahoma (also: Mississippi State)
Can the season end? Hawaii Can the season never end? Louisville
GAMES
Play this again: Wisconsin 16, No. LSU 14
Play this again, too: Texas 50, No. 10 Notre Dame 47
Honorable Mention to play again: South Carolina 13, Vanderbilt 10 Never play this again: No. 7 Michigan 63, Hawaii 3
Say what? Southern Miss 44, Kentucky 35
WHAT? Texas A&M 31, No. 16 UCLA 24
Huh? No. 15 Houston 33, No. 3 Oklahoma 23
Double-huh? Texas 50, No. 10 Notre Dame 47, 2OT
Are you kidding me? South Alabama 21, Mississippi State 20 Oh – my – God: Wisconsin 16, No. 5 LSU 14
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 1, pre-week 2) Ticket to die for: Arkansas @ No. 12 TCU
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: BYU @ Utah
Best non-Power Five matchup: Northern Illinois @ South Florida
Upset alert: Virginia Tech @ No. 14 Tennessee
Must win: (take your pick)
Offensive explosion: Texas Tech @ Arizona State
Defensive struggle: South Carolina @ Mississippi State
Great game no one is talking about: Penn State @ Pitt
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bronco Mendenhall of Virginia vs. Mark Helfrich of Oregon
Who’s bringing the body bags? Troy @ No. 2 Clemson
Why are they playing? Nicholls State @ No. 9 Georgia
Plenty of good seats remaining: Army @ UConn
They shoot horses, don’t they? Wofford @ No. 18 Ole Miss
Week 1 Take-aways:
What a fantastic opening week for college football. It was billed going in as the greatest opening week in the history of the game, and the games themselves did not disappoint. Two Top Five teams went down to defeat, the most teams where that has happened at the season’s onset since 1972.
On paper alone the matchups were very intriguing. To wit: No. 15 Houston played No. 3 Oklahoma at home – in NRG Stadium, no less. No. 22 North Carolina played No. 18 Georgia in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta (Peach Bowl preview, anyone?). No. 16 UCLA journeyed to Texas A&M to play the Aggies. No. 5 LSU made the trek up to Wisconsin to play the Badgers – in historic Lambeau Field. Indeed, this was the first time his legendary venue hosted a college game. Later in the day, No. 1 Alabama faced off against No. 20 USC in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Later still, No. 2 Clemson came to Auburn to throw down with the [War Eagle] Tigers. While those two big game were going on, out west, BYU journeyed down to Glendale, Ariz., to play a neighbor to the south in Arizona.
On Sunday, Notre Dame played the Texas Longhorns, in Austin (nominally ACC vs Big XII), and on Monday, No. 11 Ole Miss played No. 4 Florida State (SEC vs ACC), thus adding two more highly marquee matchups two an incredible, extended opening weekend.
If that’s not enough, the previous week, Hawaii played Cal…in Sydney, Australia. The venue for this game was ANZ Stadium, the new name of the stadium used to host the opening/closing ceremonies and the track and field events for the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Whom do we have to thank for this magnificent opening to the 2016 season of college football? Most likely we have the Playoff Committee to thank. They re-worked the formula for selecting teams. The BCS formula left teams way too cautious. One loss likely meant being out of the hunt for a national title. Better therefore to pad the record with an easy win. We the fans suffered with lousy non-conference matchups as a result. When the switch was made from a BCS selection to a four-team playoff, the formula was modified to the point where one loss would not mean the end of the season for those who were in the national title hunt. Conversely, the new formula put a stronger emphasis on strength of schedule. It was a win-win-win. The first “win” is in the form of teams being more free to schedule good games before the conference portion of their season than during the BCS era. The fans reap the second win with great games (see: this weekend). The third win is, as mentioned before, if you have a tough, strong schedule, one loss will not necessarily dash your season’s aspirations.
Good thing, too, because many commentators have dubbed this Saturday the “Day of the Dog”…the underdog, that is. Texas A&M knocked off No. 16 UCLA in overtime at home. Fifteenth-ranked Houston beat No. 3 Oklahoma by 10 points. Even more stunning was Mississippi State missing a last-minute field goal…at home…to lowly South Alabama. Of course, the unranked Wisconsin Badgers upset the No. 5 LSU Tigers in a close game, 16-14. The following evening, the unranked Longhorns knocked off the 10th-ranked Fighting Irish at home, 50-57, in a second overtime, no less.
Apropos of nothing, here is a philosophical question for you: which is more pathetic; that Tulane could only score seven points on Wake Forest, or that Wake Forest could score only seven points on Tulane?
Regardless, what a stupendous weekend for college football. Fans should treasure it for a long time to come!
College Football Week 7 Awards October 20, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Auburn, Bob Stoops, Boise State, Boston College, Bowling Green, BYU, Cal, Duke, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Florida, George O'Leary, Houston, Hugh Freeze, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa State, Jim Harbaugh, Jim Mora, Kansas State, Kliff Kingsbury, Les Miles, Louisiana-Monroe, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Texas, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Toledo, Tom Herman, UCF, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Western Kentucky, Wyoming
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Just when we all had left Michigan State for dead, the most consequential blocked punt in recent memory happened. The Wolverine’s punter never had a chance, but bully for the Spartan returner! Photo by Dale G. Young, AP
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 7] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Les Miles, LSU
Glad I’m not him: Jim Mora, UCLA
Lucky guy: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Poor guy: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Tom Herman, Houston
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking … anything: George O’Leary, UCF
TEAMS Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Western Kentucky (defeated North Texas 55-28)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: TCU (defeated Iowa State 45-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Eastern Michigan (lost to No. 22 Toledo 63-20)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Iowa State (lost to No. 3 TCU 45-21)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Bowling Green (defeated Akron 59-10)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Vanderbilt
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Ole Miss
Did the season start? Auburn
Can the season end? UCF
Can the season never end? Memphis
GAMES Play this again: No. 7 Michigan State 27, No. 12 Michigan 23
Play this again, too: No. 6 LSU 35, No. 8 Florida 28
Never play this again: No. 19 Oklahoma 55, Kansas State 0
What? Nebraska 48, Minnesota 25
Huh? Rutgers 55, Indiana 52, OT
Are you kidding me? No. 10 Alabama 41, No. 9 Texas A&M 23
Oh – my – God: Memphis 37, No. 13 Ole Miss 24
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: Tennessee @ No. 8 Alabama
Also: No. 15 Texas A&M @ No. 23 Ole Miss
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Western Kentucky @ No. 5 LSU
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 22 Temple @ East Carolina
Upset alert: No. 23 Duke @ Virginia Tech
Must win: Kansas State @ Texas
Offensive explosion: No. 20 Cal @ UCLA
Defensive struggle: Missouri @ Vanderbilt
Great game no one is talking about: Boston College @ Louisville
Intriguing coaching matchup: Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech vs. Bob Stoops of Oklahoma
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kansas @ No. 14 Oklahoma State
Why are they playing? Wagner @ BYU
Plenty of good seats remaining: Troy @ New Mexico State
They shoot horses, don’t they? Troy @ Mississippi State
Week 7 Take-aways:
Here are some quick, bottom-line thoughts. Ohio State wore the weirdest, most out-of-the-ordinary uniforms in the history of their storied program when they took down Penn State. Check it out. USC put up a great fight at Notre Dame, but sadly came up short. LSU and Florida slugged it out for a great game Saturday evening in Death Valley. Ironically, the go-ahead touchdown was scored by LSU’s kicker, a positive that he shall no doubt take to his grave, and deservedly so. Meanwhile, Michigan State’s last-second win over Michigan – in the Big House, no less – will be one for the ages as well. Auburn has their “Kick-Six,” so it will be interesting to see what sort of moniker will soon be attached to the Spartans’ blocking of Michigan’s punt attempt, then running it back for the go-ahead score as time expired. Classic.
College Football Week 4 Awards September 29, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Art Briles, Auburn, Baylor, Brent Musburger, Bret Bielema, Brian Kelly, Butch Jones, BYU, Cal, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Dabo Swinney, Darrell Hazell, East Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, EKU, FIU, Florida, football, Gators, Georgia, Horned Frogs, Hurricanes, Jim Mora, Kentucky, Kliff Kingsbury, Louisville, LSU, Mark Helfrich, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, N.C. State, NCAA, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Purdue, Rice, San Jose State, SEC, Sonny Dykes, South Carolina, Southeastern Conference, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Tigers, UCLA, UMass, Utah, Virginia Tech
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Tennessee lost a heartbreaker to Florida this past Saturday. They shall continue to lost more close games until they learn how to close, so to speak. Photo by John Raoux of the AP.
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 4] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jim Mora, UCLA
Glad I’m not him: Bret Bielema, Arkansas
Lucky guy: Jim McElwain, Florida
Poor guy: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Sonny Dykes, Cal
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mark Helfrich, Oregon
Desperately seeking … anything: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Baylor (defeated Rice 70-17)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Oklahoma State (defeated Texas 30-27)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: UMass (lost to No. 6 Notre Dame 62-27(
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Texas (lost to No. 24 Oklahoma State 30-27)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Iowa (defeated North Texas 62-16)
Dang, they’re good: UCLA
Dang, they’re bad: Purdue
Can’t Stand Prosperity: BYU
Did the season start? Auburn
Can the season end? Arkansas State
Can the season never end? Utah
GAMES
Play this again: No. 3 TCU 55, Texas Tech 52
Play this again, too: Florida 28, Tennessee 27
Never play this again: No. 4 Baylor 70, Rice 17
What? East Carolina 35, Virginia Tech 28
Huh? Kentucky 21, No. 25 Missouri 13
Are you kidding me? Michigan 31, No. 22 BYU 0
Oh – my – God: No. 18 Utah 62, No. 13 Oregon 20
Told you so: Memphis 53, Cincinnati 46
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 4, pre-week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 6 Notre Dame @ No. 12 Clemson
Also: No. 13 Alabama @ No. 8 Georgia
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Miami (Fla.) @ Cincinnati
Best non-Power Five matchup: Air Force @ Navy
Upset alert: No. 24 Oklahoma State @ Texas
Must win: Arkansas @ Tennessee
Offensive explosion: Texas Tech @ No. 5 Baylor
Defensive struggle: South Carolina @ Missouri
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ N.C. State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech vs. Art Briles of Baylor
Also: Dabo Swinney of Clemson vs. Brian Kelly of Notre Dame
Who’s bringing the body bags? Purdue @ No. 2 Michigan State
Why are they playing? Eastern Michigan @ No. 9 LSU
Plenty of good seats remaining: FIU @ UMass
They shoot horses, don’t they? San Jose State @ Auburn
Week 4 Take-aways:
Tennessee lost a heartbreaker on the road to Florida, thus continuing a losing streak to the Gators that started in 2005. Earlier in the season, they lost another heartbreaker at home to Oklahoma. What is so heartbreaking about both of these losses is that the Volunteers were in the lead for most of the game, until blowing the lead late in both games. Butch Jones is continuing to improve the program, gradually bringing it back to its blueblood status in the conference. But they’re clearly not there yet, and shall not be “there” until they learn to “close the deal,” which is to say, they must learn to finish the games strongly. It is still early in the season, so still time to salvage things.
Speaking of salvaging, Steve Spurrier seemed to have salvaged things reasonably well when his team beat a deceptively good Central Florida squad. Next week, though, they travel to a Columbia, Mo., to take on a similarly-ailing Missouri Tigers team, in what one can easily surmise is a must-win game for both.
Why are both aforementioned teams ailing? They both lost to Kentucky, for goodness sake!
Speaking of UK, given that the Wildcats have W’s over both the Gamecocks and the (Mizzou) Tigers, and they face a relative cupcake in the EKU Colonels this Saturday at home (a quasi-body bag game), the possibility that they could become bowl-eligible in the brutal SEC is not a remote one. Granted, they face a brutal stretch after the EKU game, facing, in order, Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee, then Georgia, but then have a two-week respite with Vanderbilt and then a gimme with Charlotte before concluding the season against improving Louisville. It could be a 6-6 year, which, for UK, is an improvement.
Utah and Michigan started the season playing each other. Though the former beat the latter convincingly, both teams are rolling right now. Funny how that works out.
TCU beat Texas Tech in a high-scoring game that went down to the wire. The Horned Frogs are supposed to be a top-five team, so how does one account for this narrow victory in a shootout? Let us not forget that this TCU team also squeaked by Minnesota at the beginning of the season. Are the Frogs overrated? The upcoming home game against a gradually-improving Texas team could be a referendum.
The only regretful thing about this delightfully intriguing matchup between Notre Dame and Clemson is that Brent Musburger will not be calling the game!
College Football Week 3 Awards September 24, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Boise State, Bret Bielema, Bronco Mendenhall, BYU, California, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Colorado, Colorado State, Florida Atlantic, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Hugh Freeze, Idaho State, Illinois, Jim Harbaugh, Jim Mora, Kentucky, LA Monroe, LSU, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Riley, Missouri, Nebraska, Nick Saban, North Carolina, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pat Fitzgerald, Rutgers, South Carolina, Southern, Stanford, Steve Sarkesia, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, UCF, UCLA, UConn, USC, Utah
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 3] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Glad I’m not him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Lucky guy: Jim Mora, UCLA
Poor guy: Mike Riley, Nebraska
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bret Bielema, Arkansas
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Steve Sarkesian, USC
Desperately seeking … anything: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 12 Oregon (defeated Georgia State 61-28)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: No. 4 Michigan State (defeated Air Force 35-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Idaho State (lost to Boise State 52-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: UConn (lost to Missouri 9-6)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: North Carolina (defeated Illinois 48-14)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: Rutgers
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia Tech
Did the season start? Arkansas
Can the season end? Idaho State
Can the season never end? LSU
GAMES Play this again: No. 10 UCLA 24, No. 19 BYU 23
Play this again, too: Cal 45, Texas 44
Never play this again: Arkansas State 70, Missouri State 7
What? Colorado 27, Colorado State 24 (OT)
Huh? Texas Tech 35, Arkansas 24
Are you kidding me? No. 15 Ole Miss 43, No. 2 Alabama 37
Oh – my – God: Stanford 41, No. 6 USC 32
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)
Ticket to die for: No. 9 UCLA @ No. 16 Arizona
Also: Tennessee @ Florida
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Boise State @ Virginia (Fri.)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Cincinnati @ Memphis
Upset alert: No. 24 Oklahoma State @ Texas
Must win: UCF @ South Carolina
Offensive explosion: No. 3 TCU @ Texas Tech
Defensive struggle: No. 25 Missouri @ Kentucky
Great game no one is talking about: No. 18 Utah @ No. 13 Oregon
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bronco Mendenhall of BYU vs. Jim Harbaugh of Michigan
Who’s bringing the body bags? Southern @ No. 7 Georgia
Why are they playing? La. Monroe @ No. 12 Alabama
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida Atlantic @ Charlotte
They shoot horses, don’t they? Kansas @ Rutgers
Week 3 Take-aways:
I thought that Notre Dame was supposed to lose to Georgia Tech after the Irish lost their starting QB last week.
Louisville is, without a doubt, the best 0-3 team in college football by far.
Last week, I noted about Steve Spurrier is on thin ice. After losing so horribly to Georgia (as good as the Bulldogs are), it has become clear that he and the Gamecocks have no quarterback play, and recruiting seems down overall. If he is wise, he shall start planning his exit strategy. Now. Moreover, the South Carolina administration needs to start finding a good replacement coach after season’s end. Now.
Who would have thought that Florida vs. Kentucky would be a defensive struggle? This guy did, but this this guy is still in disbelief that it was. That said, the true surprise defensive struggle was Mizzou vs. UConn. The Tigers must have decided to take a week off.
The game of college football has changed so quickly that it is starting to marginalize defensive-minded coaches. This is the biggest reason that the Alabama Dynasty has some to an end. It is not anybody’s fault per se, it is simply that the current rules and the trends have combined in a way to render defensive-minded coaches at a disadvantage. That being said, Nick Saban does himself zero favors by not attracting a good enough quarterback on account of his refusal to modernize his offense. The Tide’s other skill personnel are exemplary, to be sure. They are just pedestrian – at best – at the most important position on the field.
