College Football Awards, Week 14 (2019) December 1, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Akron, Alabama, Auburn, B1G, Baylor, Big XII, Bill Mallory, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, Florida Atlantic, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Gus Malzahn, Hoosiers, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kirk Ferentz, Kyle Whittingham, Lane Kiffin, Louisville, Mario Cristobal, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nick Saban, Ohio State, Oregon, Pac-12, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Ryan Day, Scott Frost, Scott Satterfield, SEC, South Florida, TCU, Tom Arth, UAB, Utah, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wildcats, Wisconsin
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Ryan Day, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: Nick Saban, Alabama (hon. mention: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan)
Lucky guy: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Poor guy: Scott Frost, Nebraska
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Scott Satterfield, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Lane Kiffin, Florida Atlantic
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Charlie Strong, South Florida
Desperately seeking … anything: Tom Arth, Akron
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Georgia (defeated Georgia Tech 52-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Penn State (defeated Rutgers 27-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kansas (lost to No. 9 Baylor 61-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Maryland (lost to Michigan State 19-16)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Kentucky (defeated Louisville 45-13)
Dang, they’re good: Utah
Dang, they’re bad: Akron
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Alabama
Did the season start? TCU
Can the season end? Georgia Tech
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 15 Auburn 48, No. 5 Alabama 45
Never play this again: No. 9 Baylor 61, Kansas 6
What? Virginia 39, No. 24 Virginia Tech 30
Huh? Kansas State 27, No. 23 Iowa State 17
Are you kidding me?? No. 12 Wisconsin 38, No. 8 Minnesota 17
Oh – my – God: No. 15 Auburn 48, No. 5 Alabama 45
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 14, pre-week 15)
Ticket to die for: No. 4 Georgia vs No. 1 LSU (SEC Championship)
Nest-best game of the week: No. 2 Ohio State vs No. 10 Wisconsin (B1G Championship)
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 21 Cincinnati @ No. 16 Memphis (AAC Champ game/rematch)
Upset alert: No. 13 Oregon vs No. 5 Utah (Pac-12 Championship)
Must win: B1G Championship game to ensure OSU goes to playoffs
Offensive explosion: No. 8 Baylor vs No. 6 Oklahoma (Big XII Championship)
Defensive struggle: inconclusive
Great game no one is talking about: UAB @ Florida Atlantic
Intriguing coaching matchup: Kyle Whittingham of Utah vs Mario Cristobal of Oregon
Who’s bringing the body bags? Virginia @ No. 3 Clemson (ACC Championship)
Week 14 Thoughts:
Michigan vs Ohio State
This was supposed to be Harbaugh’s year in beating Ohio State, right? Turns out, not so much. Not while Ohio State is still chock-full of Urban Meyer’s players. That is part of the Buckeyes’ success this year. The other part is taking those talent players and making them more relaxed and less uptight than when Meyer himself was coaching them (enter Ryan Day). Can he himself bring in the same caliber of players? If not, then this high-flying success obviously has a limited shelf life.
As for Michigan, they are still a very good team. A 9-3 record is commensurate with most of the better years of this proud program. Also, those three losses came to Wisconsin, Penn State, and Ohio State, all of which are running at peak strength. Moreover, an academic powerhouse in a cold-weather setting like Michigan is at a systemic disadvantage from recruiting the same caliber of athletes as consistently as football-first Ohio State. Simple as that. Michigan, Harbaugh is likely as well as you are going to do. Make the most of it, and enjoy your 9-10 win seasons.
Auburn vs Alabama
Rivalry weekend did not disappoint across the boards (for the most part), starting at the top. Yesterday’s Iron Bowl was the highest-scoring affair in the history of this bitterest of rivalries. For Auburn, this ought to quell any doubts about Gus Malzahn’s tenure. For Alabama fans, this obviously raises questions. Can they still sustain a championship drive after so many playoff appearances and wins? Has Nick Saban peaked, only now for us to witness a slow, steady decline? Is it a good idea for Saban to retire now, while he’s still on top (barely)? The sooner these questions are addressed, the better.
Kentucky vs Louisville
The Wildcats’ lopsided win over the Cardinals show that even a low-level SEC team usually beats a middling ACC team. The real shock of this game was how Louisville’s defense quit, and against their biggest rival, no less. This shows that, while Coach Scott Satterfield is ahead of schedule in implementing his sound team culture (seven wins is a huge turnaround from last year’s debacle, after all), there are still some remnants of the Bobby Petrino fallout/poison that still need to be exorcised.
Purdue vs Indiana
On paper, the Hoosiers were the favored team. Based on their performance this year, they should have won. And win they did, but not without an intense fight. This was a very competitive, very dramatic, thus very engaging matchup for the Old Oaken Bucket. For Purdue, the big mistake came in overtime, where the better team typically wins. Purdue answered IU’s score with a TD of their own. They tied it up with an extra point. That as a mistake. With current momentum on their side, they should have gone for two. Giving the better team more chances to score points turns out to be suicide, and that played out exactly in the Hoosiers’ favor. Let us hope that Coach Jeff Brohm learned this lesson, among other lessons of less hype, more humility, and more concentration on fundamentals and finishing a game.
All that said, Indiana celebrates its first eight-win season since the early 1990s and the days of Coach Bill Mallory. Way to go, Hoosiers.
College Football Awards, Week 12 (2019) November 18, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, B1G, Baylor, BYU, Cal, California, Clemson, Cyclones, Duke, Florida, Floyd of Rosedale, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Golden Gophers, Hawaii, Hawkeyes, Herm Edwards, Idaho State, Iowa, Iowa State, Jason Candle, Kansas State, Kirby Smart, liberty, Lincoln Riley, Longhorns, Louisville, LSU, Mario Cristobal, Matt Rhule, Middle Tennessee State, Minnesota, Missouri, Navy, Nick Saban, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rocky Long, Rutgers, San Diego State, SDSU, SEC, SMU, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Toledo, Tom Herman, UMass, USC, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Walt Bell, West Virginia
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Lucky guy: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Poor guy: Matt Rhule, Baylor
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jason Candle, Toledo
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Rocky Long, San Diego State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Tom Herman, Texas
Desperately seeking … anything: Walt Bell, UMass
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: BYU (defeated Idaho State 42-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Florida (defeated Missouri 23-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Rutgers (lost to No. 2 Ohio State 56-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Syracuse (defeated Duke 49-6)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: USC (defeated Cal 41-17)
Dang, they’re good: Clemson
Dang, they’re bad: Texas State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Minnesota
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? Georgia Tech
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 10 Oklahoma 34, No. 13 Baylor 31
Never play this again: No. 3 Clemson 52, Wake Forest 3
What? Oregon State 35, Arizona State 34
Huh? West Virginia 24, No. 24 Kansas State 20
Are you kidding me?? No. 20 Iowa 23, No. 8 Minnesota 19
Oh – my – God: Iowa State 23, No. 19 Texas 21
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 12, pre-week 13)
Ticket to die for: No. 9 Penn State @ No. 2 Ohio State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Liberty @ Virginia
Best non-Power Five matchup: SMU @ Navy (hon. mention: SDSU @ Hawaii)
Upset alert: Syracuse @ Louisville
Must win: Texas @ No. 13 Baylor
Offensive explosion: (inconclusive)
Defensive struggle: Tennessee @ Missouri
Great game no one is talking about: Pittsburgh @ Virginia Tech
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mario Cristobal of Oregon vs Herm Edwards of Arizona State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Samford @ No. 16 Auburn
Why are they playing? Western Carolina @ No. 5 Alabama
Plenty of good seats remaining: Old Dominion @ Middle Tennessee
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? BYU @ UMass
Week 12 Thoughts:
Iowa vs Minnesota
This had to have been one of the biggest face-offs for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy in recent memory. Funny things happen in rivalry games such as this, and a few small errors ended up making the difference in the Hawkeyes’ favor. The Golden Gophers have an easy outing against Northwestern. Such should be a tune-up game for the following week, when Wisconsin comes calling and the berth for representing the Western Division in the B1G title game hangs in the balance.
Iowa State vs Texas
Despite the Longhorns’ offense inexplicably sputtering most of the game, Texas could have won the game after Iowa State missed a field goal with two minutes left in the game. Instead, Texas got an offsides penalty at the worst possible time. It allowed for the Cyclones to get further downfield, kill the clock, and kick the game-winning field goal at the buzzer. No excuses, Tom Herman. Do better.
Looking ahead:
Shoutouts to Texas A&M, Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee: they are the only SEC teams who had the guts to play real games this upcoming week. While the rest of their fellow SEC members are wasting everybody’s time with pointless body bag games (e.g., Western Carolina @ Bama; Abilene Christian @ Mississippi State), The Aggies, the Georgia Bulldogs, the Mizzou Tigers, and the Volunteers will give us real games this week. Technically, the same should go for LSU and Arkansas. While on paper it’s a glorified body bag game, at least those two teams are keeping it in-conference. To the rest of you in the SEC: get it together. Step up and play real games.
College Football Awards, Week 10 (2019) November 4, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Arkansas, Auburn, Ball State, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Bryan Harsin, Clemson, college, Dan Mullen, FIghting Irish, Florida, football, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hokies, Huskies, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Justin Fuente, Kansas State, Kirby Smart, liberty, Liberty Bowl, LSU, Maryland, Memphis, Minnesota, Mustangs, NCAA, Nebraska, New Mexico, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, P.J. Fleck, Pac-12, Pat Fitzgerald, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, SMU, Sonny Dykes, South Alabama, South Carolina, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Tigers, Tom Allen, UMass, Utah, Utes, UTSA, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Washington, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Wofford, Wyoming
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I’m not him: Dan Mullen, Florida
Lucky guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Poor guy: Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bryan Harsin, Boise State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Tom Allen, Indiana
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Sonny Dykes, SMU
Desperately seeking … anything: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Clemson (defeated Wofford 59-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Auburn (defeated Ole Miss 20-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: UTSA (lost to Texas A&M 45-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Georgia Tech (lost to Pittsburgh 20-10)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Liberty (defeated UMass 63-21)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: Arkansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: SMU
Did the season start? TCU
Can the season end? Rutgers
Can the season never end? Oregon
GAMES
Play this again: No. 8 Georgia 24, No. 6 Florida 17
Never play this again: No. 4 Clemson 59, Wofford 14
What? Georgia Southern 24, No. 20 Appalachian State 21
Huh? Purdue 31, Nebraska 27
Are you kidding me?? No. 8 Georgia 24, No. 6 Florida 17
Oh – my – God: No. 24 Memphis 54, No. 15 SMU 48
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 LSU @ No. 2 Alabama
Next-best game of the week: No. 5 Penn State @ No. 13 Minnesota
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Appalachian State @ South Carolina
Best non-Power Five matchup: Wyoming @ No. 21 Boise State
Upset alert: Iowa State @ No. 9 Oklahoma (hon. mention: Virginia Tech @ No. 22 Wake Forest)
Must win: No. 20 Kansas State @ Texas
Offensive explosion: Kansas State @ Texas
Defensive struggle: No. 18 Iowa @ No. 16 Wisconsin
Great game no one is talking about: Ball State @ Western Michigan
Intriguing coaching matchup: James Franklin of Penn State vs P.J. Fleck of Minnesota
Who’s bringing the body bags? Maryland @ No. 3 Ohio State
Why are they playing? New Mexico State @ Ole Miss
Plenty of good seats remaining: South Alabama @ Texas State (dishonorable mention: Purdue @ Northwestern)
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Vanderbilt @ No. 6 Florida
Week 10 Thoughts:
Again, am I the only one who has noticed that waaaaay too many teams have bye-weeks for upcoming week 10?
Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech
Earlier in the awards list, I listed Justin Fuente as the “Poor Guy” of the week. Really, though, I should have created a special, one-off category for him this week called “Stupid Guy” instead. His Virginia Tech team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the last few minutes of the game by persistently playing a “prevent” defense (specifically, rushing only three and dropping back the remaining eight) that allowed for Notre Dame to pick the Hokies’ secondary apart in the final minutes, play by play. Not once did Virginia Tech mount anything resembling a pass rush, and the Irish made them pay dearly for not doing so. All it would have taken would be to rush a couple of extra men, as one or two sacks in the process would have ruined Notre Dame’s day. But no. Once again, we are reminded that the only thing the prevent defense prevents is the implementer of said defense from winning the game. Period.
Georgia vs Florida
Can anybody recall, within recent memory, a Georgia-Florida game with as much drama, excitement, and close play as this week’s matchup? Neither can I.
SMU vs Memphis
Another undefeated bites the dust. May your undefeated season rest in peace, SMU. Still, what a game, and what a moment. ESPN’s College Gameday crew visited Memphis for the first time, and the fans came out in droves to celebrate the arrival and to show their support for their Memphis Tigers. The latter point is especially worth noting. U-Memphis has historically been known as a basketball school. Yet an ESPN-televised game at night, in front of a sellout crowd in the Liberty Bowl stadium, with ranked Memphis taking on then-undefeated SMU shows that UM’s football prowess is on the rise, and that is always a wonderful thing, notwithstanding the unfortunate side-effect of SMU’s undefeated season going by the boards.
Utah vs Washington
Utah needed to bring their A-game to Seattle, since the Huskies can be unpredictable at times. Eventually, the Utes did just that. Combine their win at Washington with USC’s crushing loss at home to No. 7 Oregon, and Utah controls their own destiny regarding clinching a Pac-12 South berth for the conference championship game.
College Football Awards, Week 6 (2019) October 7, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Arizona, Auburn, B1G, Big Ten, Boise State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Buckeyes, Cincinnati, Craig James, Dan Mullen, Florida, football, Golden Hurricane, Hawaii, Hawkeyes, Houston, Iowa, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Kent State, Kirk Ferentz, Louisville, LSU, Matt Campbell, Michigan, Michigan State, Mustangs, NCAA, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Purdue, Rhode Island, Scott Frost, Scott Satterfield, SMU, Spartans, Stanford, Steve Addazio, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, UCLA, UConn, UNLV, Utah, Utah State, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington, Wisconsin, Wolverines
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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 end? SMU
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 – God: No. 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 3 (2019) September 19, 2019
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Auburn, Boston College, Bulldogs, BYU, Chattanooga, Chis Klieman, Citadel, Clay Helton, Clemson, college, Dabo Swinney, Dan Mullen, FIghting Irish, Florida, Florida State, football, Furman, Geoff Collins, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Iowa, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisiana, Louisville, LSU, Mark Stoops, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, NCAA, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Rutgers, San Jose State, South Alabama, Southern Illinois, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Virginia Tech, Washington, Wisconsin
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COACHES
Wish I were him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Glad I’m not him: Clay Helton, USC
Lucky guy: Dan Mullen, Florida
Poor guy: Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Chris Klieman, Kansas State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech
Desperately seeking … anything: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Notre Dame (defeated New Mexico 66-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Virginia Tech (defeated Furman 24-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Arkansas State (lost to Georgia 55-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Temple (defeated No. 21 Maryland 20-17)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tennessee (defeated Chattanooga 45-0)
Dang, they’re good: Oklahoma
Dang, they’re bad: South Alabama (honorable mention: Indiana)
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Maryland
Did the season start? Purdue
Can the season end? Georgia Tech
Can the season never end? LSU
GAMES
Play this again: No. 9 Florida 29, Kentucky 21
Play this again, too: No. 18 Iowa 18, Iowa State 17
Never play this again: Louisiana 77, Texas Southern 6
That will leave a mark: Miami 63, Bethune-Cookman 0
What? Kansas State 31, Mississippi State 24
Huh? Temple 20, No. 17 Maryland 17
Double Huh? Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24
Are you kidding me?? BYU 30, No. 24 USC 27
Oh – my – God: Arizona State 10, No. 18 Michigan State 7
NEXT WEEK (rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)
Ticket to die for: No. 7 Notre Dame @ No. 3 Georgia
Best game of the week (second choice): No. 8 Auburn @ No. 16 Texas A&M
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: No. 23 Washington @ BYU
Best non-Power Five matchup: Air Force @ No. 22 Boise State
Upset alert: No. 23 Washington @ BYU
Must win: No. 10 Michigan @ No. 14 Wisconsin
Offensive explosion: Oklahoma State @ No. 12 Texas
Defensive struggle: Boston College @ Rutgers
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Florida State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mario Cristobal of Oregon vs. David Shaw of Stanford
Who’s bringing the body bags? Charlotte @ No. 1 Clemson
Why are they playing? San Jose State @ Arkansas
Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ New Mexico
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Southern Illinois @ Arkansas State
Week 3 Thoughts:
Too many body-bag games to in the first three weeks for college football in 2019. At least next week starts with a bang with Michigan vs. Wisconsin in the noon time slot, and we are treated to an early Big XII quasi-rivalry with Texas vs. Oklahoma State in the evening, which will be an intriguing distraction from the game of the week, in which the Notre Dame Fighting Irish venture down to Athens, Ga., to take on the Bulldogs “between the hedges”. Oh, and Auburn plays Texas A&M in the 3:30 EDT time slot, so prepare for an engaging Saturday come the 21st!
Also, belated shout-out to an incredible game the previous week with LSU at Texas. Had the Horns done a slightly better job of stopping the Tiger’s passing game, they might have triumphed. As it is, LSU seems to be a top-flight QB this season, and, based on their stellar performance in Austin, could end up vying for the SEC West divisional title. Mark you calendars for November 9 now.
College Football Awards, Week 13 (2018) November 25, 2018
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Arkansas, Boise State, Bronco Mendenhall, Cincinnati, Clemson, David Cutcliffe, Derek Mason, Duke, East Carolina, Georgia, Iowa State, Jeremy Pruitt, Jim Harbaugh, Jonathan Smith, Justin Fuente, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Memphis, Michigan, Middle Tennessee, NC State, North Texas, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Pat Fitzgerald, South Carolina, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UAB, UCF, UConn, Urban Meyer, Utah State, UTSA, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 13] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Lucky guy: Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
Poor guy: Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: David Cutcliffe, Duke
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee
Desperately seeking … anything: Jonathan Smith, Oregon State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Kentucky (defeated Louisville 56-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Texas (defeated Kansas 24-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: East Carolina (lost to Cincinnati 56-6)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: UTSA (lost to North Texas 24-21)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated No. 4 Michigan 62-39)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Louisville
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Washington State
Did the season start? Wisconsin
Can the season end? Arkansas
Can the season never end? Clemson
GAMES
Play this again: No. 6 Oklahoma 59, No. 13 West Virginia 56
Play this again, too: No. 22 Texas A&M 74, No. 7 LSU 72, 7OT
Never play this again: Temple 57, UConn 7
What? Minnesota 37, Wisconsin 15
Huh? No. 23 Boise State 33, No. 21 Utah State 24
Double Huh? No. 16 Washington 28, No. 8 Washington State 15
Are you kidding me?? No. 22 Texas A&M 74, No. 7 LSU 72, 7OT
Oh – my – God: No. 10 Ohio State 62, No. 4 Michigan 39
NEXT WEEK
Rankings are current AP (week 13)
Ticket to die for: No. 14 Texas vs No. 6 Oklahoma also: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 5 Georgia
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Marshall @ Virginia Tech
Best non-Power Five matchup: UAB @ Middle Tennessee
Upset alert: No. 19 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Ohio State
Must win: Any conference championship game
Offensive explosion: inconclusive
Defensive struggle: inconclusive
Great game no one is talking about: Memphis @ No. 9 UCF
Intriguing coaching matchup: Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern vs Urban Meyer of Ohio State
Who’s bringing the body bags? East Carolina @ NC State
Why are they playing? Drake @ No. 25 Iowa State
Plenty of good seats remaining: inconclusive
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Akron @ South Carolina
College Football Awards, Week 5 (2018) September 30, 2018
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Army, Bobby Petrino, Bowling Green, Cal, California, Chris Ash, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado State, Duke, FIU, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Illinois, Jeff Monken, Jim Harbaugh, Justin Wilcox, Kansas State, Kevin Sumlin, Larry Fedora, liberty, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Navy, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nittany Lions, North Carolina, North Texas, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Pat Fitzgerald, Penn State, Red River Shootout, Rice, Rutgers, San Jose State, Scott Frost, South Alabama, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Tulane, Urban Meyer, UTEP, Virginia Tech
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: Larry Fedora, North Carolina
Lucky guy: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Poor guy: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville (held over for second week!)
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Monken, Army
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Scott Frost, Nebraska
Desperately seeking … anything: Chris Ash, Rutgers
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Alabama (defeated Louisiana 56-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Georgia (defeated Tennessee 38-12)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Bowling Green (lost to Georgia Tech 63-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Syracuse (lost to Clemson 27-23)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Miami (North Carolina 47-10)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: South Alabama
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Duke
Did the season start? Louisville
Can the season end? Rice
Can the season never end? Notre Dame
GAMES
Play this again: No. 4 Ohio State 27, No. 10 Penn State 26
Never play this again: FIU 55, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 9
What? Liberty 52, New Mexico 43
Huh? Florida 13, No. 23 Mississippi State 6
Are you kidding me?? Virginia Tech 31, No. 22 Duke 14
Oh – my – God: No. 8 Notre Dame 38, No. 7 Stanford 17
NEXT WEEK
Rankings are current AP (week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 18 Texas vs. No. 6 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout (Dallas)
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Louisiana-Monroe @ Ole Miss
Best non-Power Five matchup: SMU @ UCF
Upset alert: No. 8 Notre Dame @ Virginia Tech
Must win: Georgia Tech @ Louisville
Offensive explosion: (inconclusive)
Defensive struggle: Navy @ Air Force
Great game no one is talking about: Tulane @ Cincinnati
Intriguing coaching matchup: Justin Wilcox of Cal vs. Kevin Sumlin of Arizona
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 1 Alabama @ Arkansas
Why are they playing? North Texas @ UTEP
Plenty of good seats remaining: Colorado State @ San Jose State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Illinois @ Rutgers
Week 5 Thoughts:
This week was one of the most important of the year for this college football season. Although there were few upsets, and ever fewer of consequence (despite some close calls – looking your way, Michigan and Ohio State), there were still two games of enormous importance.
Let us start with the biggest game of the week, which was Ohio State playing Penn State in Happy Valley. With a “white-out” at night filling the 107,000-seat stadium, the Nittany Lions played above their No. 10 ranking, almost defeating No. 4 Ohio State. Almost. In the end, both teams played up to their high potential, and the slightly-better team on paper turned out to be the slightly better team on the field of play. The obvious national championship implications of the matchup and outcome is only part of the importance of this game, which shall be explained in further depth in a subsequent article.
The other game of enormous consequence was Stanford at Notre Dame. This was another top ten matchup with both teams outside of the South, with the victor having further potential to advance in the rankings. As wonderful as the southern teams are, having a healthy amount of top-ten (or even top-15) teams outside of the Southeast region is good for football because it makes the sport more national and less regional. This importance shall also be explained further in an article that shall be forthcoming soon.
Oh, and don’t look now, but Texas is on a four-game win streak, and survived a trap game at Kansas State headed into the Red River Shootout, er, Showdown come Oct. 6.
College Football Awards, Week 4 (2018) September 23, 2018
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Arkansas, Army, Bill Snyder, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boilers, Boston College, Cardinals, Cavaliers, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado State, Crimson Tide, David Shaw, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Fresno State, Gardner-Webb, Georgia, Hurricanes, Illinois, Illinois State, Jeff Brohm, Justin Fuente, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Luke Fickell, Mario Cristobal, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Mike Gundy, Mississippi State, Navy, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Oregon, Pac-12, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Sam Darnold, Scott Frost, SMU, Southern Cal, Stanford, Tennessee State, Texas, Texas Tech, Toledo, Tom Herman, Trojans, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia
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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 end? Alabama
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
Huh? Texas Tech 41, No. 15 Oklahoma State 17
Double Huh? Illinois State 35, Colorado State 19
Are you kidding me?? Kentucky 28, No. 14 Mississippi State 7
Oh – my – God: Old 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.
College Football Awards Week 11 (2017) November 13, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Army, Auburn, Ball State, Butch Jones, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Dan Mullen, Florida, Fresno State, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Jeff Monken, Kansas State, Louisville, LSU, Mark Richt, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico, Nick Saban, North Carolina, North Texas, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Purdue, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Utah, Virginia Tech, Washington, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 11] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Richt, Miami
Glad I’m not him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Lucky guy: Nick Saban, Alabama
Poor guy: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: (none)
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Monken, Army
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Desperately seeking … anything: Butch Jones, Tennessee
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Texas A&M (defeated New Mexico 55-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Alabama (defeated No. 16 Mississippi State 31-24)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Tennessee (lost to Missouri 50-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Mississippi State (lost to No. 2 Alabama 31-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated No. 12 Michigan State 48-3)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Georgia Southern
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Georgia
Did the season start? Virginia Tech
Can the season end? Florida
Can the season never end? Miami
GAMES
Play this again: No. 2 Alabama 31, No. 16 Mississippi State 24
Play this again, too: No. 15 Oklahoma State 49, No. 21 Iowa State 42
Never play this again: Northern Illinois 63, Ball State 17
What? Georgia Tech 28, No. 17 Virginia Tech 22
Huh? Stanford 30, No. 9 Washington 22
Are you kidding me?? No. 7 Miami 41, No. 3 Notre Dame 8
Oh – my – God: No. 10 Auburn 40, No. 1 Georgia 17
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 11, pre-week 12)
Ticket to die for: None, except maybe Michigan @ No. 8 Wisconsin
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Western Carolina @ North Carolina
Best non-Power Five matchup: Fresno State @ Wyoming also: Army @ North Texas
Upset alert: Utah @ No. 9 Washington
Must win: Texas @ West Virginia also: No. 8 TCU @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Offensive explosion: SMU @ No. 18 Memphis
Defensive struggle: No. 21 LSU @ Tennessee
Great game no one is talking about: Arizona @ Oregon
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Harbaugh of Michigan vs. Paul Chryst of Wisconsin
Who’s bringing the body bags? Citadel @ No. 4 Clemson
Why are they playing? Wofford @ South Carolina also: Mercer @ No. 1 Alabama
Plenty of good seats remaining: Coastal Carolina @ Idaho
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Louisiana-Monroe @ No. 10 Auburn
Week 11 Random Thoughts:
Is it safe to say that Miami (Fla.) is back as a top-tier program? Already ranked No. 7 going into this weekend’s game, they crushed No. 3 Notre Dame at home, 41-8. They remain undefeated in one of the toughest conferences in football, now at the No. 2 spot in the AP Poll (Clemson is now at No. 3). If these shadows remain unchanged, they could face Clemson in the ACC Championship game early next month (ticket-to-die-for in the making?). If they win that, it would be close to certain that the Hurricanes would be in the playoffs, and rightly so. So yeah, sure looks that way.
It’s a good thing I listed Butch Jones as “Desperately seeking…anything” because as of today (Nov. 12), he got the ax at Tennessee. This became an increasingly urgent necessity as the season progressed. Despite the solid recruiting classes Jones brought in at Tennessee, he was unable to translate the talent into wins on the field. Barely winning over lousy UMass was cause for concern. Losing a squeaker to a mediocre Florida was bad enough. Losing to Georgia in a blowout – one of the worst in recent program history – was a major embarrassment. Losing to Kentucky – something the Volunteers very rarely do – was obviously unacceptable. Getting crushed by hated Alabama became inevitable – which didn’t make it any less unpalatable to the Tennessee faithful. The final nail in Jones’ coffin was a blowout loss to Missouri, of all teams. So, Jones is now out at Tennessee. Time for the replacement coaching search games to begin!
While this was a great weekend for college football (despite some unexpectedly one-sided outcomes – looking your way, Georgia and Notre Dame), next week shall be something of a let-down. The only game resembling a marquee matchup is No. 19 Michigan vs No. 5 Wisconsin. Half of the SEC is wasting the upcoming weekend with body bag games. To wit: Mercer plays at Alabama; Wofford plays South Carolina in an annual late-season affair (why??); Auburn dialed up a “w” with Louisiana-Monroe. Florida would also be included, except for the fact that UAB has a much better record (7-3) than the Gators (3-6). Not to be outdone, Clemson had to get in on the act by playing the Citadel.
At least the other half of the conference was exercising some degree of sense by scheduling real games. Kentucky plays at Georgia. LSU plays at Tennessee, which will no doubt further contribute to the Volunteers’ collective misery. Texas A&M plays at Ole Miss in what should be a good game. Missouri, surprisingly offensively spry, plays at Vanderbilt.
Purdue’s bowl eligibility hopes for the year are quickly dwindling. They currently stand at 4-6, and have to win out over both Iowa and Indiana. Whereas the latter seems winnable, the former, not so much. The Boilers did themselves no favors by losing on the road to conference cellar-dweller Rutgers, then blowing a 4th-quarter lead at home to Nebraska. The good news is that if Purdue ends up at 5-7, they’ll still have won more games than the entire Hazell era combined.
All that said, there are some decent games that might not be of huge consequence. Syracuse plays Louisville, for example, and Kansas State plays Oklahoma State. Arizona at Oregon is also a good match-up, and Utah has the potential to upset Washington. So there are enjoyable games this weekend, we’ll just have to search more diligently than usual for them.
College Football Awards Week 9 (2017) October 30, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, B1G, Ball State, Baylor, Big Ten, Boilers, Boston College, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Central Florida, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, David Shaw, Florida, Florida State, Gamecocks, Gary Patterson, Gator Bowl, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Iowa, Iowa State, Irish, James Franklin, Jeff Brohm, Jim McElwain, Jimbo Fisher, Justin Fuente, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Miami, Miami (Florida), Miami Hurricanes, Michigan State, Mike Riley, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue, SMU, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Miss, Stanford, Steve Addazio, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo, UCF, UMass, Urban Meyer, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia, Will Muschamp
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 9] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Glad I’m not him: James Franklin, Penn State
Lucky guy: David Shaw, Stanford also: Mike Riley, Nebraska
Poor guy: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Steve Addazio, Boston College
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jim McElwain, Florida
Desperately seeking … anything: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: UCF (defeated Austin Peay 73-33)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Stanford (defeated Oregon State 15-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Baylor (lost to Texas 38-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: North Carolina (lost to No. 8 Miami 24-19)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Boston College (defeated Florida State 35-3)
Dang, they’re good: Georgia
Dang, they’re bad: Baylor
Can’t Stand Prosperity: TCU
Did the season start? Louisville
Can the season end? Florida State
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 6 Ohio State 39, No. 2 Penn State 38
Play this again, too: Northwestern 39, No. 18 Michigan State 31, 3OT
Never play this again: Toledo 58, Ball State 17
What? Houston 28, No. 17 South Florida 24
Huh? Northwestern 39, No. 18 Michigan State 31, 3OT
Are you kidding me?? No. 6 Ohio State 39, No. 2 Penn State 38
Oh – my – God: No. 25 Iowa State 14, No. 4 TCU 7
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 9, pre-week 10)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 19 LSU
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Western Kentucky @ Vanderbilt
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 15 UCF @ SMU
Upset alert: Texas @ TCU also: No. 18 Stanford @ No. 25 Washington State
Must win: No. 13 Virginia Tech @ No. 9 Miami
Offensive explosion: No. 8 Oklahoma State @ No. 11 Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: Florida @ Missouri
Great game no one is talking about: No. 25 Iowa State @ No. 22 West Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: James Franklin of Penn State vs Mark Dantonio of Michigan State
Also: Justin Fuente of Virginia Tech vs. Mark Richt of Miami
Who’s bringing the body bags? UMass @ Mississippi State
Why are they playing? Southern Miss @ Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Charlotte @ Old Dominion
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Coastal Carolina @ Arkansas
Week 9 Random Thoughts:
The Ohio State-Penn State game was one that certainly lived up to its hype. Its implicit billing as the game of the year certainly was that, with stakes no less high than a possible playoff berth on the line. Buckeyes are now ranked No. 3 and have the opportunity to control their own destiny. Three out of the four remaining games are going to be challenges, however. Iowa is up next (remember, they took Penn State down to the wire), followed by Michigan State (a deceptively deadly team as of late), a potential break with Illinois, with Michigan (self-explanatory) to cap off the season. Urban Meyer needs to keep the team focused these next four weeks for a trip to Indianapolis for the B1G championship.
In the meantime OSU, ditch those grungy-looking all-gray uniforms. They looked horrible.
Few things are as distasteful as seeing your team blow a 4th-quarter lead. Purdue did just that at home against Nebraska. First they embarrassed themselves in a defensive struggle on the road against lowly Rutgers, now this. This upcoming week’s game against Illinois is surely a winnable one, but then again, that’s what we all thought about Rutgers and Nebraska a couple of weeks ago. Worse yet, Northwestern has been resurgent as of late, and Iowa is as competitive as ever. Indiana might still be a winnable game, and thus it is not reasonable for the Boilers to emerge at season’s end 5-7, which is a still a step in the right direction from the disaster that was the Darrell Hazell era.
As predicted, Texas got well on Baylor. The respite will not last, as next game they face TCU, arguably their toughest opponent of the year, in Fort Worth, no less. Moreover, the Horned Frogs will be quite angry after just losing – unexpectedly – their first game of the year to newly-ranked Iowa State.
Let us hold our horses about Notre Dame. Yes, they have only one loss, to current No. 2 Georgia, no less, and their strength of schedule is formidable. But they’re also enjoying a senior-laden offensive line with a limited offense. Furthermore, the Irish have yet to face two of their toughest opponents not named Georgia. In two weeks they face a resurgent Miami Hurricanes, and they close out the season on the road at Stanford. Eastern Timezone teams tend not to fare very well on the road against West Coast teams. Just sayin’. In the meantime, cool the hype on Notre Dame until their season concludes.
Speaking of Georgia, they rose to the occasion yet again this year by handily defeating Florida. In recent years, the Bulldogs have struggled in their annual rivalry games against the Gators. This time, the Dawgs kept that unpleasant past in the rearview mirror. Seemingly treating it like any other game, they went into the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville and took care of business, so much so (42-7) that Jim McElwain might be in danger of losing his job. Now ranked No. 2, they potentially control their own destiny. But next game up is South Carolina, a potential trap game, as Will Muschamp has coached the Gamecocks to a surprising 6-2 start. Moreover, the remaining three games after that – in order, Auburn, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech – each offer their own unique challenges. If the Bulldogs remain in playoff contention, they shall have to earn it.
Oh, and Tennessee lost…again…this time to another rival of sorts, Kentucky. As of this writing, officials at the University of Tennessee are contemplating Butch Jones’ tenure. Many of us are wondering what has taken them this long to get to this point, let alone giving Jones the ax.
