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 Thanks for September 2016 September 28, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, BYU, Clemson, college, Colorado State, Florida, Florida State, football, Georgia, Houston, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, NCAA, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Purdue, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC, West Virginia, Wisconsin
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As the month of September draws to a close, I would like to express my thanks, not just once, but many times over, to multiple recipients. Yes, Thanksgiving is almost two months away, but it’s always a great time to offer gratitude.
Grateful acknowledgement seems particularly in order this month, though. Most Septembers of college football in recent memory have frankly been mediocre. Sure, there has always been the occasionally good conference matchup here and there, but so many recent Septembers have been tainted by too many “body bag games.” By that, I mean games that are grossly mismatched, where, for example, Alabama plays, say, South Alabama. The talent and coaching levels of such respective teams are not even close, and a boring blowout ensues. We the fans suffer as a result.
This month, it was different. The opening weekend alone was arguably the best in the history of the game (certainly within the past 20 years or so). The matchups were so good, it felt like a mini-bowl season. So without further ado, I would like to express a great deal of gratitude for that and related things.
I would like to express my thanks to Kansas State and Stanford; to USC and Alabama; to Clemson and Auburn; to Oklahoma and Houston; to LSU and Wisconsin; to UCLA and Texas A&M; to Texas and Notre Dame; to Georgia and North Carolina; also to Ole Miss and Florida State. On paper, these games were fantastic, and most of them developed that way. Had USC’s coaching staff gotten themselves better pulled together, they might not have embarrassed themselves as horribly as they did. But all the other games turned out to be competitive, highly engaging affairs. As college football fans, we were experiencing nirvana, if only for a weekend.
Nobody made these teams put their records and rankings on the line by playing these challenging, difficult teams. All of these games were scheduled because both parties agreed to, without coercion on either side. All these teams deserve our thanks for agreeing to take a risk and open their seasons with tough games, because we the fans benefitted immensely from it, as did the equity of college football as a whole. Bravo to all coaches and athletics directors of these aforementioned parties concerned for making this happen.
While the following week was not nearly as engaging as the opening week, I would nevertheless like to thank Virginia Tech and Tennessee agreeing to play each other inside the massive Colosseum that is the Bristol Motor Speedway, and setting a football attendance record of 156,990 in so doing. Grateful acknowledgement of Arkansas venturing to Fort Worth to play TCU is also in order. Same goes for Arizona State and Texas Tech, and they engaged each other in a shootout that did not disappoint.
Concerning the third week, more thanks are due. I would like to thank an underrated Cincinnati team for putting up a valiant fight against a surprisingly lethal Houston team. I would like to thank Alabama and Ole Miss for not wasting any time in playing each other early in the year. Same thing goes for Louisville and Florida State (hopefully the then-No. 2 Seminoles did not take their butt-whipping personally). Same sort of thanks go to USC and Stanford; to Oregon and Nebraska; to BYU and UCLA; to Michigan State and Notre Dame; and to Texas and Cal for the same reason. Even Pitt and Oklahoma State turned out to be a pleasant surprise of a good game, and thus further contributed to another wonderful week of college football.
But most of all, concerning the third week, my deepest thanks are reserved for Oklahoma and Ohio State agreeing to play in a nice, marquee matchup. Indeed, special thanks should go to Oklahoma for taking huge risks by playing both highly-ranked Houston and juggernaut Ohio State. They have two losses to prove this amazing strength of schedule that they have boldly built, and should be judged leniently for those two losses come bowl selection time.
Even the last week of the month was peppered with intriguing matchups across the board, such as Nevada at Purdue; Colorado State at Minnesota; Florida State at South Florida; even Central Michigan at Virginia. These are not nearly as sexy as, say, Ohio State vs. Oklahoma, but the respective talent levels of these teams suggest close, competitive, cross-conference pairings. Combine that with some great intra-conference games such as No. 11 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Michigan State; No. 12 Georgia vs. No. 23 Ole Miss; No. 17 Arkansas vs. No. 10 Texas A&M; also No. 19 Florida at No. 14 Tennessee. If that’s not enough, BYU ventured to Morgantown to play West Virginia.
All these pairings add up to one fantastic month for college football, and I thank all of these aforementioned teams for agreeing to take some risk to make it happen. Many thanks to all!
College Football Week 4 Awards 2016 September 25, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alcorn State, Arkansas, Art Briles, Auburn, Badgers, Bayou Bengals, Bobby Petrino, Brian Kelly, Bruins, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, BYU, Cardinal, Chris Petersen, college, Colorado, Dabo Swinney, David Cutcliffe, David Shaw, Duke, Florida, Florida State, football, Gators, Georgia, Gus Malzahn, Houston, Jim Mora, Kansas State, Kent State, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Kirby Smart, Les Miles, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike MacIntyre, Mississippi, Mississippi State, NCAA, Nevada, New Mexico State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Purdue, South Carolina, Spartans, Stanford, Tarheels, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas State, Tigers, Troy, UCLA, UMass, USC, Utah, Volunteers, War Eagle, Washington, West Virginia, Will Muschamp
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 4] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Glad I’m not him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Lucky guy: Guz Malzahn, Auburn
Poor guy: Jim Mora, UCLA (Hon. Mention: Les Miles)
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: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Desperately seeking … anything: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Houston (defeated Texas State 64-3)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Mississippi State (defeated UMass 47-35)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kent State (lost to No. 1 Alabama 48-0)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: UMass (lost to Mississippi State 47-35)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Troy (defeated New Mexico State 52-6)
Dang, they’re good: Houston
Dang, they’re bad: UTEP
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Michigan State
Did the season start? Oregon
Can the season end? USC
Can the season never end? Michigan
GAMES
Play this again: No. 24 Utah 31, USC 27
Play this again, too: No. 7 Stanford 22, UCLA 13
Never play this again: Missouri 79, Delaware State 0
What? Purdue 24, Nevada 14
Huh? No. 23 Ole Miss 45, No. 12 Georgia 14
Double-Huh? Colorado 41, Oregon 38
Are you kidding me? Duke 38, Notre Dame 35
Oh – my – God: No. 11 Wisconsin 30, No. 8 Michigan State 6
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 4, pre-week 5) T
icket to die for: No. 3 Louisville @ No. 5 Clemson
Also: No. 8 Wisconsin @ No. 4 Michigan
Keep an eye on this one, too: No. 7 Stanford @ No. 10 Washington
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Memphis @ No. 16 Ole Miss
Best non-Power Five matchup: Navy @ Air Force; also: South Florida @ Cincinnati
Upset alert: North Carolina @ No. 12 Florida State
Must win: Oklahoma @ No. 21 TCU
Offensive explosion: No. 22 Texas @ Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: Northwestern @ Iowa
Great game no one is talking about: Kansas State @ West Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Chris Petersen of Washington vs. David Shaw of Stanford
Also: Dabo Swinney of Clemson vs. Bobby Petrino of Louisville
Who’s bringing the body bags? UConn @ No. 6 Houston
Why are they playing? Alcorn State @ No. 20 Arkansas
Plenty of good seats remaining: Akron @ Kent State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Incarnate Word @ Texas State
Week 4 Take-aways:
A premonition last week gave me that idea that, while many matchups this week did not exactly shine with prestige (or did they?), they were nevertheless competitive and engaging. The examples are rather numerous. The USC-Utah game on Friday was one such example. The Trojans led most of the way, but the Utes triumphed in the end, 31-27. LSU at Auburn developed into a relatively low-scoring affair (plus, no matter the outcome, we were guaranteed that the Tigers would win!). A quirk in clock management led to the War Eagles winning over the Bayou Bengals, and thus brought a sudden end to the Les Miles era in Baton Rouge. Where LSU will go from here is anybody’s guess, but they do now have carte blanche to hire Art Briles, who is currently unemployed.
Tennessee seemed to finally learn to close the deal in a big game. Last year at this time, they gave up some heartbreakers to big-name teams, though they led the majority of those games (namely, Oklahoma and Florida). To make the situation murkier, they played inconsistently in their wins this year prior to yesterday. Even during the first half, they were clearly off rhythm, and the Gators led at the half, 21-3. All that changed in the second half. The Volunteers came out an entirely different team, executing effectively, and scoring, seemingly, at will, while Florida only scored a touchdown for that entire half. Now that the Vols have proven they can “close the deal,” they need to prove they can effectively play a good first half as well as a good second. Once they do, they’ll be one of the best teams in football. As things currently stand, Tennessee seems to have a clear path to the SEC East berth of their conference’s championship game.
That path was opened all the wider after then-No. 12 Georgia embarrassed themselves on the road to then-No. 23 Ole Miss. Sure, the Rebels are a good team, but the Bulldogs made them look like world-beaters. Couple this with the fact that Mark Richt did not leave the team’s talent cupboard bare, and this seriously calls into question the wisdom in hiring Kirby Smart as his replacement.
Speaking of questionable hires, Kentucky won over South Carolina in a contest of ineptitude on both sides of the ball. Mark Stoops’ days are clearly numbered in Lexington, despite all of his hiring hype from a few years ago. But Will Muschamp is the new hire in Columbia. As I have previously inquired, what sense does it make to hire a coach who failed with the talent at Florida, only to bring him into a program with less talent and less of a recruiting pipeline? Indeed, the South Carolina-Georgia border rivalry game might as well be dubbed the clash of the two coaching hire trainwrecks (in the making). But in the meantime, the Bulldogs have no time to lick their wounds, as they play Tennessee next week.
In a good game that was on nobody’s radar screen, Purdue actually beat an opponent with some degree of credibility in Nevada. In what seemed, on paper to be a lop-sided matchup, South Florida acquitted themselves well against Florida State, losing only 55-35.
On the other side of the proverbial coin was Wisconsin at Michigan State. The then-No. 11 Badgers embarrassed the then-No. 8 Spartans, 30-6. Sparty is lucky to remain ranked after such a drubbing, and this loss certainly does not make Notre Dame look any better after the drubbing they suffered at MSU’s hands.
Speaking of Notre Dame, head coach Brian Kelly fired his defensive coordinator after the Fighting Irish lost, at home, to Duke. Yes, Duke. But be not fooled: the Blue Devils are a respectable team, thanks to the patient building of head coach David Cutcliffe. Those “in the know” anticipated a decent game regardless of the outcome.
On the west coast, the competition was more than decent between Stanford and home team UCLA. The Bruins led most of the game. The Cardinal did not score the go-ahead touchdown until fewer than 30 seconds remained in regulation. The last six points to add to their margin came on a fluke. UCLA’s QB attempted a “Hail Mary” pass, but a Stanford defensive linemen forced a fumble instead before successfully running the ball back for another score with 0:00 left on the play clock. Notwithstanding the fluke score, it was a very good game.
Another good game for much of the duration was the Texas A&M vs. Arkansas game. The game was hard-fought on both sides, but as the game progressed, the Aggies played better and better. All this talk about Coach Kevin Sumlin being on the hot seat seem a overblown at least and more than a tad premature at worst, as A&M is now ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll, with more great SEC West matchups remaining.
Two other close, hard-fought games that relatively few people noticed: BYU vs. West Virginia (the Mountaineers won, 35-32) and Pitt vs. North Carolina (the Tarheels won that close one, 37-36). As previously observed, the entire day consisted of close games, top, bottom, and middle.
College Football Week 3 Awards (2016) September 19, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Brian Kelly, Butch Jones, BYU, Cal, California, Clemson, college, Colorado, Cornhuskers, David Cutcliffe, Ducks, Florida, Florida State, football, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Idaho, Iowa, Jim McElwain, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, NCAA, Nebraska, North Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, P.J. Fleck, Paul Chryst, Rice, Sean Kugler, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas State, UMass, UTEP, West Virginia, Western Michigan, Wildcats, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 3] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES Wish I were him: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Glad I’m not him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Lucky guy: Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
Poor guy: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Desperately seeking … anything: Sean Kugler, UTEP
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Clemson (defeated South Carolina State 59-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Wisconsin (defeated Georgia State 23-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Appalachian State (lost to No. 25 Miami 45-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Ohio U (lost to No. 15 Tennessee 28-19)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Louisville (blew out No. 2 Florida State 63-20)
Dang, they’re good: Louisville
Dang, they’re bad: Virginia
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Texas
Did the season start? Iowa
Can the season end? Idaho
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: Cal 50, No. 11 Texas 43
Play this again, too: Nebraska 35, No 22 Oregon 32
Never play this again: No. 5 Clemson 59, South Carolina State 0
What? Nebraska 35, No 22 Oregon 32
Huh? Cal 50, No. 11 Texas 43
Are you kidding me? No. 10 Louisville 63, No. 2 Florida State 20
Oh – my – God: North Dakota State 23, No. 13 Iowa 21
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)
Ticket to die for: No. 11 Wisconsin @ No. 8 Michigan State
Also: No. 12 Georgia @ No. 23 Ole Miss
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: BYU @ West Virginia
Best non-Power Five matchup: Georgia Southern @ Western Michigan
Upset alert: No. 5 Clemson @ Georgia Tech
Must win: No. 19 Florida @ No. 14 Tennessee
Offensive explosion: Cal @ Arizona State
Defensive struggle: South Carolina @ Kentucky
Great game no one is talking about: Oklahoma State @ No. 16 Baylor
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim McElwain of Florida vs. Butch Jones of Tennessee
Also: David Cutcliffe of Duke vs. Brian Kelly of Notre Dame
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 6 Houston @ Texas State
Why are they playing? Mississippi State @ UMass
Plenty of good seats remaining: North Texas @ Rice
Week 3 Take-aways:
After a lull of marquee match-ups last week, we the fans were treated to more great games this week. Watching two top ten teams in Florida State taking on Louisville is no better way to kick of the week’s massive slate of game. One-sided though the game may have been, it remained engaging in seeing the vaunted Seminoles lose by such a huge margin. Bravo, Cardinals!
Much hype has ensued in the wake of Texas defeating Notre Dame during the opening weekend. “Texas is back” has been an oft-repeated mantra. Their loss on the road to Cal calls said mantra into question. Only in the ensuing weeks, when the Longhorns play more of their respectable opponents, namely, Oklahoma State (whom they play next week), Oklahoma, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas Tech, West Virginia, and TCU will that mantra be either confirmed or denied.
Just to get this off my chest, who would have anticipated that the Kentucky – New Mexico State game would have been the offensive explosion that it turned out to be? An exciting game ensued, to be sure, but allowing a Sunbelt team to score 42 points on them is not the most ringing endorsement of the Wildcats’ defense. If these shadows remain unchanged, this does not bode for when UK enters the conference part of its schedule.
But all that aside, there were many sublime matchups this week. Oregon lost on the road to Nebraska in a game that went down to the wire. Texas lost to Cal in the same manner. As mentioned earlier, Louisville vs. Florida State was a marquee, top-ten matchup, until the Cardinals proceeded to obliterate the ‘Noles. The games in the 3:30 (EDT) time slot seemed, on paper, to be a respite before the bigger games ensued in the evening, but even they quickly became intriguing. In addition to the Ducks-Cornhuskers game, an improving Colorado gave Michigan a good fight before the Wolverines finally decided to start playing football. Ole Miss threatened to knock Alabama off its top spot in the polls. The evening time slots treated us fans to Texas-Cal, Michigan State @ Notre Dame, Ohio State @ Oklahoma (it has been a while since those two powerhouses butted heads), and BYU put up a great fight against UCLA. A great day for the game, when one tallies up the results and the moments.
Next week will frankly not measure up compared to this week and to week 1, but one cannot expect every week to deliver matchups like this. That said, some good conference games await us, as well as some tasty pre-conference games from power five teams across the board. Week 4 may not be as strong as week 3, but plenty of interesting games await us in any case!
College Football Week 10 Awards November 9, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Art Briles, Baylor, Bob Stoops, Butch Jones, BYU, Charlotte, Clemson, Colorado, Dabo Swinney, Darrell Hazell, Duke, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Gary Patterson, Houston, Justin Fuente, Ken Niumatalolo, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Navy, Nebraska, North Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, San Jose State, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tigers, UMass, UTSA, Vanderbilt, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current CFP [week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Glad I’m not him: Gary Patterson, TCU
Lucky guy: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Poor guy: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Ken Niumatalolo, Navy
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Justin Fuente, Memphis
Desperately seeking … anything: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Michigan (defeated Rutgers 49-16)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: BYU (defeated San Jose State 17-16)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Colorado (lost to No. 11 Stanford 42-10)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Vanderbilt (lost to No. 10 Florida 9-7)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Oklahoma State (see below)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: Purdue
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Memphis
Did the season start? Texas A&M
Can the season end? Rutgers
Can the season never end? Clemson
GAMES
Play this again: No. 1 Clemson 23, No. 16 Florida State 13
Never play this again: Arkansas 63, UT-Martin 28
What? Auburn 20, No. 19 Texas A&M 10
Huh? Navy 45, No. 13 Memphis 20
Are you kidding me? No. 12 Oklahoma State 49, No. 8 TCU 29
Oh – my – God: Nebraska 39, No. 7 Michigan State 38
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current CFP (post-week 10, pre-week 11)
Ticket to die for: No. 10 Oklahoma @ No. 4 Baylor
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: BYU @ Missouri
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 25 Memphis @ No. 16 Houston
Upset alert: Oregon @ No. 8 Stanford
Must win: Pittsburgh @ Duke
Offensive explosion: Memphis @ Houston
Defensive struggle: Kentucky @ Vanderbilt
Great game no one is talking about: Texas @ West Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Art Briles of Baylor vs. Bob Stoops of Oklahoma
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kansas @ No. 13 TCU
Why are they playing? Western Carolina @ Texas A&M
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTSA @ Charlotte (also: UMass @ Eastern Michigan)
They shoot horses, don’t they? North Texas @ Tennessee
Week 11 Take-aways:
Two quick notes. One, it might time to put the expression “[I]t’s time to put “Clemsoning” to bed” to bed. “Clemsoning,” if you’ll recall, refers to the Tigers usually choking (horribly at that) in big games. They always coughed it up to the then-stud teams of the ACC, especially Florida State. A few years ago, they went to the Orange Bowl to play West Virginia, and lost…horribly! That was early January of 2012. By the time the Tigers – at No. 12 — returned to the Orange Bowl two years later, this time to play No. 7 Ohio State, the situation was considerably different. In what cannot be ignored as a statement game, Clemson beat the Buckeyes 40-35, and have not looked back since. Now they currently sit at the top of the College Football Playoff poll. Bully for them!
The other quick take-away is that it is now November. Teams are what they are at this point in the season. But more to the point, these next few weeks, including this past weekend, will be one of separation. Teams that were hitherto unbeaten – or at least ranked in the top ten – will now start to butt heads. Separation shall thus ensure (read: Alabama’s dominating win over LSU). Indeed, it hath already begun. What a glorious month of college football this shall become!
College Football Awards Week 5 October 4, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Al Golden, Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Cal, California, Cardinals, Charlie Strong, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Colorado State, Cotton Bowl, Dabo Swinney, FIghting Irish, Florida, Florida State, football, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Horned Frogs, Hugh Freeze, Hurricanes, Illinois, Iowa, Jim Harbaugh, Jim McElwain, Jim Mora, Kansas, Longhorns, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisville, Mark Richt, Matt Rhule, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, N.C. State, NC State, NCAA, Nebraska, New Mexico State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Pat Fitzgerland, Purdue, South Carolina, South Florida, Steve Spurrier, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Texas, Tigers, Troy, UCLA, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
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Clemson triumphed over Notre Dame in what was perhaps the most thrilling game of the season thus far. Mandatory photo credit: Joshua S. Kelly of USA TODAY Sports
(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Glad I’m not him: Al Golden, Miami
Lucky guy: Bret Bielema, Arkansas
Poor guy: Mark Richt, Georgia
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jim Mora, UCLA
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Rhule, Temple
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking … anything: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: TCU (defeated Texas 50-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Michigan State (defeated Purdue 24-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Texas (lost to No. 4 TCU 50-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Purdue (lost to No. 2 Michigan State 24-21) T
hought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Iowa (defeated North Texas 62-16)
Dang, they’re good: TCU
Dang, they’re bad: Louisiana-Lafayette
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Ole Miss
Did the season start? Georgia Tech
Can the season end? Wyoming
Can the season never end? Clemson
GAMES
Play this again: No. 12 Clemson 24, No. 6 Notre Dame 22
Play this again, too: Arkansas 24, Tennessee 20
Never play this again: No. 4 TCU 50, Texas 7
What? Tulane 45, UCF 31
Huh? Iowa 10, #19 Wisconsin 6
Are you kidding me? No. 12 Clemson 24, No. 6 Notre Dame 22
Oh – my – God: Arizona State 38, No. 7 UCLA 23
Told you so: Louisville 20, N.C. State 13
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 5, pre-week 6)
Ticket to die for: No. 10 Oklahoma vs. Texas in the Cotton Bowl
Also: No. 13 Northwestern @ No. 18 Michigan
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Syracuse @ South Florida
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 25 Boise State @ Colorado State
Upset alert: Miami (Fla.) @ No. 12 Florida State
Must win: Wisconsin @ Nebraska
Offensive explosion: No. 23 Cal @ No. 5 Utah
Defensive struggle: Illinois @ No. 22 Iowa
Great game no one is talking about: No. 21 Oklahoma State @ West Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern vs. Jim Harbaugh of Michigan
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 3 Baylor @ Kansas
Why are they playing? New Mexico State @ No. 14 Ole Miss
Plenty of good seats remaining: Portland State @ North Texas
They shoot horses, don’t they? Troy @ Mississippi State
Week 5 Take-aways:
What a weekend for college football! The grand irony is that this week left more questions than answers.
What a game it was in Clemson, S.C. Notre Dame came to town ranked No. 6 in the nation. The Tigers were ranked twelfth. ESPN’s Gameday crew was there. A massive rainstorm persisted throughout the day and night. Fans watching on national TV witnessed the team descend the hill in “Death Valley” to take on the highly-ranked Fighting Irish. Mistakes were made on both sides: typical ups-and-downs of a thrilling contest between highly-ranked teams. In the end, the Tigers triumphed.
But all of this ought not to obfuscate that Brian Kelly has built a strong program in South Bend. Were they overrated at No. 6? Definitely. Are they still a tough team? Definitely.
Tennessee lost yet another heartbreaker, this time to Arkansas. It was a close contest throughout the game, but the same problem continues to plague the Vols: they have yet to learn how to close a game, which is to say, they need to learn to stop blowing leads late in games.
Steve Spurrier dropped yet another game to a low-standing team in the SEC. Is it too early to say that the wheels might be coming off the program? Will Spurrier eventually have the fortitude to fall on his sword and thus clear the path for the program to be lead in a new direction?
Worse yet is the condition of the Texas Longhorns, who just got drubbed by TCU in Fort Worth, 50-7. Yes, Coach Gary Patterson has gradually built up a super-strong program over the years, but is the lack of quarterback play on the part of the Longhorns the only thing that explains such a debacle, or is it something more systemic than who is the head coach?
Oh, and this slump could not come at a worse time, as Texas takes on Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl next week.
The Cincinnati Bearcats have given us two good Thursday night games in a row, and in the process, have walked away with two wins. The most recent one was home over the Miami Hurricanes. There has already been grumbling around Coral Gables that Al Golden has not brought the Canes back to the level of prominence that the faithful would like to see. Is losing to UC a fireable offense, in culmination of this lack of expected progress?
How does one explain Michigan State’s lackluster performance at home against weak Purdue? The Boilermakers were just a field goal away late in the 4th quarter from tying the game in regulation. Have the Boilers improved that much in just one week since losing a near-gimme game the previous contest? Regardless, it will be very interesting to see if Purdue can sustain any sort of improvement as the season progresses.
Ole Miss was rolling after defeating then-No. 3 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Rebels thus proved that they were both a tough team to reckon with and a team that could win on the road in a hostile environment. And yet, when they ventured into The Swamp to play Florida, they laid an egg. Yes, the Gators are improving week-by-week under the able leadership of Jim McElwain, but this alone cannot explain such an embarrassing defeat. Perhaps Coach Freeze did not have his men fully prepared, or, a critical mass of the team decided to take the game off, thinking it would not be as challenging as playing Bama. Such are the vicissitudes of college football, where 19 and 20-year olds are susceptible to such emotional roller coasters week to week that can negatively affect their level of play. It is a problem that coaches do not have to deal with in the pros, thankfully.
On a bright note, Bobby Petrino has his Louisville Cardinals slowly improving. Yes, they got their first win in a body bag game at home against Samford, but then they won, on the road, against a decent NC State team, in the rain. If that is not improvement, can somebody tell me what is?
College Football 2015 Quick Preview September 3, 2015
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas State, Auburn, Baylor, Bethune-Cookman, Bobby Petrino, Boise State, BYU, Central Michigan, Clemson, Colorado State, Eastern Michigan, Elon, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Gus Malzahn, Houston, Idaho, Kevin Sumlin, LA Monroe, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (Fla.), Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Nick Saban, Norfolk State, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Paul Chryst, Presbyterian, Purdue, Rutgers, SavannahState, SMU, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Stanford, state, TCU, Tennessee Tech, Texas, Texas State, Todd Graham, UConn, UNLV, USC, Utah, UTSA, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Wofford
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Atlanta bolsters its stature as one of the epicenters of college football by being the host city for arguably the best game of Week 1. Photo by Paul Abell, USA Today Sports.
Another glorious season of college football is about to commence. Come the evening of Thurs., Sept. 3, teams will have kicked off the most exciting three months in all of sports (four if you count the bowl game postseason), and come late Monday evening, the fans, analysts and pundits alike shall have had a look at whether or not the preseason rankings are worth any count.
What is particularly attractive about this particular opening weekend is that, unlike in some years past, there is a critical mass of high-stakes games from the beginning. Sure, the body-bag games abound as they usually do during Week One. However, there are many high-ranked teams that are about to butt heads with other ranked teams, or teams that are near-ranked and hungry for respect from the voters.
From the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic in Atlanta, to an incredibly delectable home opener for Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., to a Carolina border war Thursday evening, to a revenge game for Urban Meyer & Co. in Blacksburg, Va., on Labor Day evening, this weekend has it all. Below is thus faithfully submitted a list highlight and lowlight games on which to keep a fan’s eye. Enjoy, and God Bless America!
Ticket to die for: Auburn vs. Louisville in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta; possible Texas @ Notre Dame, too.
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Western Kentucky @ Vanderbilt; BYU @ Nebraska
Best non-Power Five matchup: UNL @ Northern Illinois; Ohio U @ Idaho
Upset alert: Texas @ Notre Dame; TCU @ Minnesota (don’t laugh);
Must win: Ohio State @ Virginia Tech; Purdue @ Marshall
Offensive explosion: Arizona State @ Texas A&M
Defensive struggle: BYU @ Nebraska
Great game no one is talking about: South Carolina vs. North Carolina in Charlotte; Michigan @ Utah; Washington @ Boise State; Stanford @ Northwestern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Gus Malzahn of Auburn vs. Bobby Petrino of Louisville and Paul Chryst of Wisconsin vs. Nick Saban of Alabama; Todd Graham of Arizona State vs. Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M
Who’s bringing the body bags? Baylor @ SMU; Akron @ Oklahoma; Mississippi State @ Southern Miss; UTSA @ Arizona; Michigan State @ Western Michigan; Texas State @ Florida State; Wofford @ Clemson; LA Monroe @ Georgia – and that’s the short list!
Why are they playing? Savannah State @ Colorado State; Oklahoma State @ Central Michigan; Norfolk State @ Rutgers; Arkansas State @ USC
Plenty of good seats remaining: Villanova @ UConn; also, Presbyterian @ Miami (Ohio); also Old Dominion @ Eastern Michigan;
They shoot horses, don’t they? Bethune-Cookman @ Miami (Fla.); Georgia Southern @ West Virginia; Tennessee Tech @ Houston; Elon @ Wake Forest
College Football Awards Week 11 November 11, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports, Uncategorized.Tags: Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, BC, Bill Snyder, Boston College, Brian Kelly, Buffalo, Butch Jones, Cards, Cincinnati, Clemson, college, Crimson Tide, Doc Holliday, Duke, East Carolina, Florida, football, Gary Patterson, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Gus Malzahn, Horned Frogs, Houston, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Irish, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Kirk Ferentz, KSU, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Stoops, Marshall, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NCAA, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Pat Fitzgerald, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Presbyterian, SEC, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Sun Devils, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tigers, Todd Graham, Tony Levine, Troy, Urban Meyer, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wildcats
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 11] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Todd Graham, Arizona State
Glad I’m not him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State (hon. mention: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame)
Lucky guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Poor guy: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Tony Levine, Houston
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Doc Holliday, Marshall
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Desperately seeking … anything: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 11 Ole Miss (defeated Presbyterian 48-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Penn State (defeated Indiana 13-7)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kentucky (lost to No. 20 Georgia 63-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to No. 21 Clemson 34-20)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Marshall (defeated Southern Miss 63-17)
Dang, they’re good: TCU
Dang, they’re bad: Iowa State
You know, they’re not so bad: Louisville
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Michigan State
Did the season start? West Virginia
Can the season end? Buffalo
Can the season never end? Ohio State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 3 Auburn 35, No. 3 Ole Miss 31
Play this again, too: No. 24 Duke 51, Pittsburgh 48
Never play this again: Marshall 63, Southern Miss 17
What? Texas 33, No. 23 West Virginia 16
Huh? No. 9 Arizona State 55, No. 10 Notre Dame 31
Are you kidding me? No. 14 Ohio State 49, No. 8 Michigan State 37
Oh – my – God: Texas A&M 41, No. 3 Auburn 38
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 11, pre-week 12)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Mississippi State @ No. 5 Alabama
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Temple @ Penn State
Best non-Power Five matchup: East Carolina @ Cincinnati
Upset alert: No. 16 LSU @ Arkansas
Must win: South Carolina @ Florida
Offensive explosion: Missouri @ Texas A&M
Defensive struggle: Virginia Tech @ No. 22 Duke
Great game no one is talking about: No. 14 Ohio State @ Minnesota
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Stoops of Kentucky vs. Butch Jones of Tennessee
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 6 TCU @ Kansas
Why are they playing? Georgia Southern @ Navy
Plenty of good seats remaining: Troy @ Idaho
They shoot horses, don’t they? No. 12 Michigan State @ Maryland
Week 11 Random Thoughts:
- So many good games took place from 19:00 or later on the 8th of November. Start with Louisville at Boston College, which should not have been interesting on paper, but was, unfortunately, due to the Cardinals’ inability to get it together for the first half (they did in the second). Then again, the Cards have always had their troubles with BC! But then came TCU vs. Kansas State. Bill Snyder has put together an excellent team for this year, and the Wildcats being well-coached shows on the field (especially against Auburn early on in the season). But even a good time like KSU was no match for Gary Patterson’s Horned Frogs, who are making every statement they can in order to vie for the playoffs.
Or, look at Ohio State vs. Michigan State. After the Buckeyes laid an egg at home to a mediocre Virginia Tech squad, everybody was skeptical as to how good a team they truly were. Leave it to Urban Meyer to coach his talented bunch up to be more than a match for Mark Dantonio’s Spartans.
But it turned out the most important game, and the one with the biggest national title implications was the Alabama-LSU game. In typical fashion, it was a defensive struggle, and just to make things even more exciting / to heighten the already high degree of urgency even further, the game went into overtime. The Crimson Tide still have a brutal slate of games ahead, but their win is certain a step in the right direction for them
- As I have noted before, Notre Dame is overrated. To be sure, I also noted (in other article) that they are enigmatic. But the overrated question mark remained; lurking, hidden, just waiting for the right opportunity to emerge. Thanks be to Todd Graham and the Arizona State Sun Devils to confirm that which us skeptics felt all along. After all, to have the Irish be among the final four, thus displacing a far-more deserving second SEC team in the process, would have been a travesty beyond words: a travesty, thankfully, that will be pre-empted before it even began.
College Football Week 9 Awards October 27, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Appalachian State, Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Benny Goodman, Brady Hoke, Bret Bielema, BYU, Cincinnati, Death Valley, Dylan Thompson, East Carolina, Florida State, Frank Beamer, Gamecocks, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Hugh Freeze, Jim Mora, Jordan-Hare Stadium, Kansas, Kent State, Kentucky, Les Miles, Let That Be A Lesson To You, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Gundy, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, Nevada, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, pride commeth, Rebels, Rich Rodriguez, rival, rivalry, rule no. 1, San Diego State, South Carolina, Southern California, Spartans, Sparty, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Texas Tech, Tigers, Trojans, Tulane, UAB, UCLA, UConn, USC, Utah, Utes, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wolverines
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 9] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Glad I’m not him: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Lucky guy: Les Miles, LSU
Poor guy: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a wake-up clue: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Bret Bielema, Arkansas
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking … anything: Brady Hoke, Michigan
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Wisconsin (defeated Maryland 52-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: East Carolina (defeated UConn 31-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: UAB (lost to Arkansas 45-17)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kentucky (lost to Mississippi State 45-31)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Georgia Tech (defeated Pittsburgh 56-28)
Dang, they’re good: TCU
Dang, they’re bad: Kent State
You know, they’re not so bad: Arkansas
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Minnesota
Did the season start? BYU
Can the season end? Michigan
Can the season never end? Michigan State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 5 Auburn 42, South Carolina, 35
Play this again, too: No. 24 LSU 10, No. 3 Ole Miss 7
Never play this again: No. 10 TCU 82, Texas Tech 27
What? Illinois 27, Minnesota 24
Huh? Miami 30, Virginia Tech 6
Are you kidding me? North Carolina 28, Virginia 27
Oh – my – God: No. 24 LSU 10, No. 3 Ole Miss 7
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 9, pre-week 10)
Ticket to die for: No. 4 Auburn @ No. 7 Ole Miss
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: No. 6 Notre Dame vs. Navy
Best non-Power Five matchup: San Diego State @ Nevada
Upset alert: No. 2 Florida State @ Louisville
Must win: Tennessee @ South Carolina
Offensive explosion: No.10 TCU @ No. 20 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: Florida vs. No. 9 Georgia in Jacksonville
Great game no one is talking about: Kentucky @ Missouri
Intriguing coaching matchup: Rich Rodriguez of Arizona vs. Jim Mora of UCLA
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kansas @ No. 12 Baylor
Why are they playing? Old Dominion @ Vanderbilt
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia State @ Appalachian State
They shoot horses, don’t they? Cincinnati @ Tulane
Week 9 Random Thoughts:
- There is a reason they call Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. It is the place where dreams go to die – other teams’ dreams that is. Ole Miss was having the most phenomenal season of the program in about 52 years, and seemed to be on a collision course for vying for the national title. After a neat playing at LSU, that is now seriously in doubt. The really interesting aspect of it all? The score: the Tigers triumphed over the Rebels 10-7. Such an old-fashioned score was, ironically, a great nod to the classic rivalry and the memorable games during the Eagle Day and Billy Cannon eras thereof.
- One cannot recall a more valiant effort given on the part of South Carolina the previous evening. Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier knew going in that he was out-gunned and undermanned going into Jordan-Hare Stadium to face a fearsome Auburn Tigers squad. But the Gamecocks gave it their all, took incredible risks on 4th down throughout the evening – mirabile dictu, they converted more often than not – and almost succeeded in the end. Almost. What ultimately turned out to be South Carolina’s undoing was their quarterback, Dylan Thompson, who had a habit of throwing fade route passes towards the sideline and almost always failing to connect with his receivers, overthrowing them constantly. Granted, over-the-middle passes are always more risky than those thrown towards the sidelines, but Thompson succeeded more often in the middle of the field, and it is a shame that he did not go on that same instinct late in the game. Had he done so, the Gamecocks might have pulled off one of the grandest upsets of the year.
- Few fans outside of the Pacific Time Zone might have witnessed this, but the No. 19 Utah Utes defeated the No. 20 USC Trojans, 24-21. How fitting a score for two teams ranked literally right next to one-another, with the correct, higher-ranked team, winning? Every now and then, the pollsters literally do get it right!
- Pride commeth before the fall. Since a Michigan player made a “little brother” comment about their in-state, intra-conference rival Michigan State at a press conference several years ago, Sparty has gone 6-1 in said rivalry. In an established rivalry between two programs, Rule No. 1 is that you show said rival respect. With the Spartans having humiliated the Wolverines yet again, 35-11, we have just witnessed the potential penalty made manifest for violating said rule. Let that be a lesson to all of us.
College Football Week 8 Awards October 19, 2014
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Art Briles, B1G, Baylor, Big Ten, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boilers, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Bruins, Buffaloes, BYU, Cal, Central Florida, college, Colorado, Darrell Hazell, Doc Holliday, FIghting Irish, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida State, football, Furman, Georgia State, Golden Bears, Golden Gophers, Indiana, James Franklin, Jerry Kill, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Miami, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, NCAA, Nevada, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Seminoles, SMU, South Carolina, TCU, Temple, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Troy, UAB, UCLA, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah, UTEP, UTSA, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia, Will Muschamp
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 8] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Glad I’m not him: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Lucky guy: Jerry Kill, Minnesota
Poor guy: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
Desperately seeking a wake-up clue: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Doc Holliday, Marshall
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Art Briles, Baylor
Desperately seeking … anything: Will Muschamp, Florida
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: No. 8 Michigan State (defeated Indiana 56-17)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Louisville (defeated North Carolina State 30-18)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Colorado (lost to No. 22 USC 56-28)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (lost to Texas Tech 34-21)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: No. 7 Alabama (defeated No. 21 Texas A&M 59-0)
Dang, they’re good: Alabama
Dang, they’re bad: SMU
You know, they’re not so bad: Minnesota
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Baylor
Did the season start? Texas A&M
Can the season end? Georgia State
Can the season never end? Florida State
GAMES
Play this again: No. 2 Florida State 31, No. 5 Notre Dame, 27
Play this again, too: No. 20 Utah 29, Oregon State 23
Never play this again: South Carolina 41, Furman 10
What? Nevada 42, BYU 35
Huh? No. 14 Kansas State 31, No. 11 Oklahoma 30
Are you kidding me? No. 7 Alabama 59, No. 21 Texas A&M 0 (the shear blowout)
Oh – my – God: West Virginia 41, No. 4 Baylor 27
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 8, pre-week 9)
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Ole Miss @ No. 24 LSU
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none, notwithstanding the “Why Are They Playing” entry)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Temple @ Central Florida
Upset alert: Texas @ No. 11 Kansas State
Must win: No. 22 West Virginia @ Oklahoma State
Offensive explosion: No. 15 Arizona @ Washington State
Defensive struggle: Miami @ Virginia Tech
Great game no one is talking about: BYU @ Boise State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Urban Meyer of Ohio State vs. James Franklin of Penn State
Who’s bringing the body bags? No. 1 Mississippi State @ Kentucky (also: UConn @ No. 18 East Carolina)
Why are they playing? UAB @ Arkansas
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ UTSA
They shoot horses, don’t they? Florida Atlantic @ No. 23 Marshall
Week 8 Random Thoughts:
- While Michigan State is a solid choice for the “Thought you’d kick butt, you did” weekly award, the truth is, a number of teams ended up kicking butt, that in hindsight made sense that they would. Start with South Carolina (see: last week’s “Why are they playing?” nod), who beat relatively hapless Furman 41-10. In hindsight, a resurgent Ohio State team against a Rutgers team still learning to navigate the terrain of the Big Ten was also a clear would-be drubbing (result: 56-17). Even more obvious was the Colorado @ USC match-up. The Buffaloes still cannot get things together, while Steve Sarkesian is slowly building the Trojans back to national prominence. The 56-28 result, therefore, came as not surprise.
- While Alabama could not be a more obvious choice for the weekly “Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did” award (59-0 over Texas A&M, their biggest lopsided shutout in 35 years), other games would have been decent choices as well. Start with Marshall’s butt-kicking of Florida International, 45-13. Even more of a surprise, though, was TCU’s drubbing of Oklahoma State, 42-9. On paper, these were closely-matched teams (No. 12 vs. No. 15, respectively). Turns out that in reality, they were not that close in terms of competitive prowess after all. Further down the food chain, Appalachian State – a newcomer to the FCS – beat up on Troy unexpectedly, 53-14. Sounds like the latter is a “Can the season end?” candidate. Stay tuned.
- Last night’s Notre Dame @ Florida State slugfest is already an instant classic. Clearly one of the biggest, best games of the season thus far, it wins the “Play this again” award hands down. That said, despite some lop-sided victories in football this past weekend, plenty other games merit a second look nevertheless. Start with the late Thursday night game on the West Coast, Utah @ Oregon State. The Utes went into Reser Stadium, took the Beavers into overtime, and walked out victorious. Speaking of the West Coast, take a look at the final score between UCLA @ Cal (spoiler alert: 36-34). Consider that you have the Bruins vs. Golden Bears, and two different shades of blue and gold going head-to-head, in the same conference, no less. With such similarities, such a score result is only fitting. In the Big Ten, one was able to enjoy an interesting matchup between Minnesota and Purdue. On one hand, the Golden Gophers have quietly risen to the top of their division in the conference, while Purdue has quietly improved from their doldrums. Indeed, the Boilers almost won on the road.
- Notre Dame remains an enigma. After so many close calls against inferior teams, surely they would not have played No. 2 Florida State as closely as they did on the road. Not when having to result to strokes of luck to win against Stanford. Not when allowing Purdue to play them as closely as they did in Indianapolis. Yet on Saturday night, they played in Tallahassee like they deserved to be the 5th-ranked team in the nation. Further monitoring of the team will be in order to make sense of this inconsistent behavior. Fortunately, the schedule is such that it will allow for further clarity to be reached as it plays out. The Fighting Irish journey to Tempe, Ariz., to play Arizona State in three weeks, followed by Northwestern and then Louisville at home. Then, they cap off the season in Los Angeles against USC. One takes any one of those teams lightly at his own peril (translation: if the Irish fail to bring their A-game to any one of these matchups, they’re doomed).
- As an aside, part of Ole Miss now being taken seriously in the national rankings (No. 3, currently), is that their defense is given plenty of respect with an up-and-coming brand: the “land shark” defense. One must admit, that has a nice ring to it!
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