College Football Awards Week 12 (2017) November 19, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Akron, Arkansas, Badgers, Baylor, Boston College, Bruins, BYU, Central Florida, Charlie Strong, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Clemson, Dave Clawson, Egg Bowl, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Frank Solich, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Jim Harbaugh, Jim Mora, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Kilane Sitake, Kirk Ferentz, Longhorns, Louisville, Matt Luke, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Navy, NC State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Paul Chryst, Purdue, Scott Frost, South Alabama, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCF, UCLA, UConn, USC, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 12] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
Glad I’m not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Lucky guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Poor guy: Matt Luke, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Frank Solich, Ohio U
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Dave Clawson, Wake Forest
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirk Ferenz, Iowa
Desperately seeking … anything: Kilane Sitake, BYU
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Syracuse 56-10)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Mississippi State (defeated Arkansas 28-21)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Illinois (lost to Ohio State 52-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Navy (lost to No. 8 Notre Dame 24-17)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Northwestern (defeated Minnesota 39-0)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: South Alabama
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Iowa
Did the season start? Oklahoma State
Can the season end? Tennessee
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
GAMES
Play this again: Texas A&M 31, Ole Miss 24
Play this again, too: Kansas State 45, No. 13 Oklahoma State 40
Never play this again: Florida State 77, Delaware State 6
What? Akron 37, Ohio U 34
Huh? Wake Forest 30, No. 19 NC State 24
Are you kidding me?? Kansas State 45, No. 13 Oklahoma State 40
Oh – my – God: Purdue 24, Iowa 15
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 12, pre-week 13)
Ticket to die for: No. 9 Ohio State @ Michigan also: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 6 Auburn
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: none
Best non-Power Five matchup: South Florida @ No. 15 UCF
Upset alert: No. 2 Clemson @ South Carolina also: No. 8 Notre Dame @ No. 22 Stanford
Must win: Indiana @ Purdue also: No. 9 Ohio State @ Michigan
Offensive explosion: No. 14 Washington State @ No. 18 Washington
Defensive struggle: Florida State @ Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Kentucky
Intriguing coaching matchup: Scott Frost of Central Florida vs Charlie Strong of South Florida
Who’s bringing the body bags? Baylor @ No. 12 TCU
Why are they playing? Florida Atlantic @ Charlotte
Plenty of good seats remaining: UConn @ Cincinnati
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Vanderbilt @ Tennessee
Week 12 Random Thoughts:
Today yielded no earth-shattering upsets. How could it, with so many highly-ranked teams inexplicably engaged in body bag games so late in the year? Nevertheless, some interesting upsets did ensue. Pathetic Akron took down perennial MAC contender Ohio U, for example. Kansas State defeated Oklahoma State on the road. Unranked Wake Forest (now 7-4, surprisingly) upset No. 19 NC State, putting a blemish on an otherwise impressive year for the Wolfpack. Even more amazingly, Purdue went on the road to play Iowa, a game where nobody, least of all yours truly, gave them a chance to win, and yet they did anyhow. Don’t ask how the same team that embarrassed Ohio State by the worst margin in more than two decades could lose two weeks later at home to a lesser team. There is no rational explanation.
Texas earned a great win, on the road, over West Virginia. Two weeks ago, the Longhorns gave a pitiful offensive performance against TCU, and offered only a middling performance in their win over Kansas last week. Naturally, this turn of events gave the Longhorn faithful cause for concern. Whether these concerns are no longer valid remains to be seen. But adjustments were clearly made, to the point where Texas was able to win, convincingly, in a tough environment, against a favored team. Looks like progress, and the Horns are now bowl-eligible to boot. Next week they close the regular season at home against Texas Tech, which will be a decent test to see if they can maintain their current level of performance.
Remember my earlier speculation about Purdue’s bowl chances having evaporated? Wad that thought up and toss it out the window. Purdue’s surprising upset over Iowa – on the road, no less – has given their season a new life. Don’t ask how this came to pass. Be all that as it may, this upcoming week, both Purdue and in-state rival Indiana shall play each other for two things, not just one. Not only will they play for the Old Oaken Bucket trophy, but also for bowl eligibility. No telling the last time the stakes were that high for the two teams.
Every season, there is always a surprise or two. One such this year is Central Florida, who currently undefeated and ranked first in the All-American Conference East Division. At a current rank of no. 15, head coach Scott Frost seems to know what he is doing. This is the same Scott Frost who was the capable, tough, dependable quarterback who led Nebraska to a share of the national title with Michigan in the 1997 season. After several years as a back-up QB in the NFL, he gradually worked his way up the ranks in coaching. With a relatively easy schedule remaining, the Golden Knights could remain undefeated going into the ultimate conference showdown at season’s end. Then, they face 9-1 South Florida, led by Coach Charlie Strong. Surely that is to be one of the most intriguing of coaching matchups of the year!
Shout-out to Notre Dame for wearing very cool-looking, throwback-inspired uniforms during their game against Navy. I sincerely hope that more teams with gold in their school colors have the good sense to copy those nice-looking gold pants that the Irish wore this week.
Just several weeks earlier, Louisville could not beat Wake Forest or Boston College. Now, they seem to have turned things around. Their 56-10 walloping of Syracuse is a sure sign the Cardinals are playing back to form, and are doing so just at the right time, as they take on in-state rival Kentucky this upcoming week.
UCLA just fired Jim Mora, Jr. Ironically, the Bruins lost last night to cross-town rival USC by a respectable margin, 28-23. But the powers that be in Westwood clearly did not like the direction the program was headed. Mora helped create high expectations for the Bruin faithful, but sadly failed to deliver (UCLA is now 5-6). Then again, the school is only partially committed compared to USC, or to any other program that is determined to compete for a national title. Firing the current head coach shall thus not solve this systemic problem.
With Wisconsin’s win over Michigan, the Badgers continue their undefeated streak and are on a certain course to represent the Western Division in the Big Ten championship. All Ohio State has to do is beat Michigan this upcoming week for the rights to butt heads with the Badgers. My scenario for the best possible playoff scenario thus continues, but more pratfalls remain.
The best game on Thanksgiving is not played in Detroit or Dallas. No, rather it is usually the “Egg Bowl,” the annual Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State grudge-match that shall once again kickoff on the evening of the fourth Thursday in November. Let us enjoy it, and God Bless America!
College Football Awards Week 6 (2017) October 9, 2017
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Auburn, Big XII, Bobby Petrino, BYU, Cardinals, Charlotte, Clemson, David Bailiff, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gamecocks, Gary Anderson, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Iowa State, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Lincoln Riley, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Marshall, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Miami (OH), Michigan State, Mike Norvell, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, NC State, Nittany Lions, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Oregon, Oregon State, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Red River Shootout, Showdown, South Carolina, Spartans, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa, USC, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Glad I’m not him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Lucky guy: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Poor guy: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Norvell, Memphis
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Desperately seeking … anything: Gary Anderson, Oregon State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Maryland 62-14)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Clemson (defeated Wake Forest 28-14)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Kansas (lost to Texas Tech 65-19)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Wake Forest (lost to No. 2 Clemson 28-14)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Tulane (defeated Tulsa 62-28)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Rice
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Oklahoma
Did the season start? Florida State
Can the season end? East Carolina
Can the season never end? Penn State
GAMES
Play this again: Michigan State 14, No. 7 Michigan 10
Play this again, too: Texas 40, Kansas State 34 (2OT)
This merits a second look, too: No. 8 TCU 31, No. 23 West Virginia 24
Never play this again: No. 10 Ohio State 62, Maryland 14
What? LSU 17, No. 21 Florida 16
Huh? No. 24 NC State 39, No. 17 Louisville 25
Are you kidding me?? Michigan State 14, No. 7 Michigan 10
Oh – my – God: Iowa State 38, No. 3 Oklahoma 31
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 6, pre-week 7)
Ticket to die for: No. 12 Oklahoma vs. Texas in the Red River Shootout
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: BYU @ Mississippi State
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 25 Navy @ Memphis
Upset alert: Georgia Tech @ No. 11 Miami also: Utah @ No. 13 USC
Must win: Oregon @ No. 23 Stanford
Offensive explosion: Texas Tech @ No. 23 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: No. 10 Auburn @ LSU
Great game no one is talking about: Florida State @ Duke
Intriguing coaching matchup: P.J. Fleck of Minnesota vs. Mark Dantonio of Michigan State
Who’s bringing the body bags? Missouri @ No. 4 Georgia
Why are they playing? Charlotte @ Western Kentucky
Plenty of good seats remaining: Miami (OH) @ Kent State
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Old Dominion @ Marshall
Week 6 Random Thoughts:
These past couple of weeks, there were not that many upsets. This week made up for that in quality if not for quantity. Favored Louisville choked on the road at NC State. Unranked LSU beat the Gators, in the Swamp, and in a defensive struggle, by a single point. ACC cellar-dweller Syracuse beat respectable Pitt. To cap things off, unranked Michigan State defeated Michigan, in a dramatic 14-10 finish (wait, that’s still a thing in 2017?), in the Big House, no less. What a week.
South Carolina defeated Arkansas in a game that could have gone either way. The Gamecocks should enjoy the win while it lasts, because the remainder of their schedule is brutal. In order, they shall play: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Florida, Wofford (huh?), and close out the season at home versus Clemson. Aside from Wofford, the Gamecocks could lose every one of those games. Yes, that is to say that even Vandy is iffy since they beat Kansas State earlier this year.
Given how hyped Florida State was coming into the season, and the potential regard in which they are still held in the eyes of most fans, is it valid to consider No. 13 Miami’s win in Tallahassee an upset, or simply a comeuppance to an overrated team?
Texas might have turned a corner with a win in double-OT over Kansas State, a team never to be taken lightly and capable of running the tables on the northern schools – what few remain — in the Big XII. With this key win for the Horns coupled with Oklahoma’s embarrassing upset at home to Iowa State this week, it will make next week’s Red River Shootout Showdown all the more unpredictable.
Maryland has proven that they’re a decent team. Not great, but decent. Nevertheless, they came into Columbus, Ohio, and Ohio State demolished them, 62-14. Nothing like a body-bag game (in hindsight) for homecoming. All kidding aside, could it be that the Buckeyes have solved their identity crisis on offense? We’ll know for sure by the end of the month when they butt heads with Penn State.
Speaking of whom, Michigan will have ample opportunity for redemption for this week’s upset loss at home when they take on the Nittany Lions on Oct. 21. It only takes one loss on Penn State’s part for the Big Ten race to become very, very interesting.
College Football Week 10 Awards, 2016 November 7, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: ACC, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Boise State, Boston College, Bronco Mendenhall, BYU, Cal, California, Coastal, Dan Mullen, Duke, East, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Huskies, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa State, Jim Grobe, Jim McElwain, Kevin Sumlin, Kirk Herbstreit, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Maryland, Matt Rhule, Miami, Michigan State, Mike Riley, Mississippi State, Navy, NC State, Nebraska, Nick Saban, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Rutgers, San Jose State, SEC, South Carolina, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Urban Meyer, UTEP, Virginia, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Glad I’m not him: Mike Riley, Nebraska
Lucky guy: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Poor guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Jim McElwain, Florida
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Rhule, Temple
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jim Grobe, Baylor
Desperately seeking … anything: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Boston College 52-7)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Boise State (defeated San Jose State 45-31)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Maryland (lost to No. 3 Michigan 59-3)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Iowa State (lost to No. 14 Oklahoma 34-24)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: TCU (defeated No. 17 Baylor 62-22)
Dang, they’re good: Ohio State
Dang, they’re bad: Texas State
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Texas A&M
Did the season start? Baylor
Can the season end? Notre Dame
Can the season never end? Louisville
GAMES
Play this again: No. 1 Alabama 10, No. 13 LSU 0
Play this again, too: Texas 45, Texas Tech 37
Never play this again: No. 25 Washington State 69, Arizona 7
Close call: No. 22 Florida State 24, NC State 20
What? Illinois 31, Michigan State 27
Huh? Navy 28, Notre Dame 27
Are you kidding me? TCU 62, No. 17 Baylor 22
Oh – my – God: Mississippi State 35, No. 4 Texas A&M 28.
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11))
Ticket to die for: No. 25 Baylor @ No. 9 Oklahoma
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Notre Dame vs. Army in San Antonio
Best non-Power Five matchup: Tulsa @ Navy
Upset alert: USC @ No. 4 Washington also: No. 19 LSU @ Arkansas
Must win: Kentucky @ Tennessee
Offensive explosion: Cal @ No. 23 Washington State
Defensive struggle: NC State @ Syracuse
Great game no one is talking about: No. 21 North Carolina @ Duke
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Richt of Miami vs. Bronco Mendenhall of Virginia
Who’s bringing the body bags? Maryland @ No. 6 Ohio State
Why are they playing? Southern Utah @ BYU
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ Florida Atlantic
They shoot horses, don’t they? Boston College @ No. 20 Florida State
Week 10 Take-aways:
Is Ohio State that good or is Nebraska that overrated? Or, is the answer the one preferred by Sterling Archer: A little of Column A and a little of Column B? Probably the third option. It’s never wise to bet against Urban Meyer, who has proven to be the best coach in the business over the past decade (though just a hair better than Nick Saban). But the Huskers have given fans in the stands and at home some great games through some great defensive efforts, and perhaps such efforts fooled the voters into thinking they were, hitherto, a No. 6 team. Still, the demotion all the way down to No. 21 seems a bit extreme, too.
The SEC East, this year, is frankly atrocious. Kentucky is always overhyped, South Carolina and Missouri are under-performing (the latter worse than the former), Florida just got shellacked on the road to enigmatic Arkansas, and Tennessee has developed into a collective head case of a team. Kirk Herbstreit expressed it best when he described the SEC Least as “awful,” and that they might as well cancel the SEC Championship game. That game would be a mere formality anyhow, since it has been shown that it’s Alabama followed by everyone else at this rate.
One of the overlooked tragedies this year is that Arizona’s season has already collapsed. Moreover, it seems as though they might now win another game this year (Colorado? Forget it. Oregon State? Not at this rate. Arizona State? Don’t count on it). Rich Rodriguez has put together some good seasons in Tucson, so this painful season has us all scratching our heads.
NC State has to be the best 4-5 team in the country. They defeated Notre Dame in absolutely hurricane-drenched slog. They almost beat Clemson, in Death Valley. They [mysteriously] narrowly lost to cagey Boston College. This weekend, they lost to Florida State by only four points. The Wolfpack’s subsequent opponents will put themselves in danger if they take this team lightly on account of their currently mediocre record. On that same note, Duke must be the best 3-6 team in the country. They are well-coached and will always give you a tough fight. Ask Louisville for reference.
Virginia Tech now controls its own destiny, at least as far as the ACC Coastal division is concerned. Assuming they seize the opportunity of control by winning out (which is doable), they could muster a more-than-credible challenge for seemingly unstoppable Clemson. Such a match-up remains a pleasing prospect indeed!
Once again, we are left to ask ourselves, what are we to make of Texas? Just a couple of weeks ago, the Horns looked completely hopeless against Kansas State. Then, just a week later, they handed Baylor their first loss of the season. This week, they went on the road and bested an evenly-matched (record-wise) Texas Tech squad. Lest we start to think the Horns are turning things around, they do play No. 20 West Virginia next week, and end the season against a TCU team that flat out embarrassed Baylor on the road this week. Translation: much remains to be seen, and a 6-6 record still seems to be the likely outcome.
Much ado has arisen in the wake of the Playoff Committee releasing their first set of rankings. Not the least of the controversies was No. 4 Washington (No. 4, that is the in the AP Poll) being demoted to No. 7 in the Playoff rankings. “How can this be,” ask many observers. Simple: Washington’s dirty little secret is that they’re still rebuilding, and part of the rebuilding process has been a very weak out-of-conference schedule. Let’s face it: a non-conference slate of Rutgers, Idaho, and Portland State is pretty darn pathetic. If you dial up wins with body-bag games like this, you have no right to complain when your rankings suffer as a result when they count the most. Many other contenders have played tough out-of-conference games this year. If the Huskies truly want to be counted among the big boy contenders, they will have to do the same.
College Football Week 6 Awards 2016 October 9, 2016
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, B1G, Baylor, Big Ten, Bret Bielema, BYU, Charlie Strong, Charlotte, college, Darrell Hazell, Florida, Florida International, Florida State, football, Houston, Hugh Freeze, Hurricanes, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Ken Niumatalolo, Kevin Sumlin, Larry Fedora, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Lovie Smith, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Navy, NC State, NCAA, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Purdue, Red River Shootout, Rutgers, Stanford, Tarheels, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tom Herman, UMass, USC, UTEP, Virginia Tech, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 6] unless otherwise noted.)
COACHES
Wish I were him: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Glad I’m not him: Charlie Strong, Texas
Lucky guy: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
Poor guy: Lovie Smith, Illinois
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Tom Herman, Houston
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Ken Niumatalolo, Navy
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Larry Fedora, North Carolina
Desperately seeking … anything: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Michigan (defeated Rutgers 78-0)
Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: TCU (defeated Kansas 24-23)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Rutgers (see above)
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: Kansas (see above)
Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did: Auburn (defeated Mississippi State 38-14)
Dang, they’re good: Washington
Dang, they’re bad: Rutgers
Can’t Stand Prosperity: Houston
Did the season start? Texas
Can the season end? UTEP
Can the season never end? Texas A&M
GAMES
Play this again: No. 8 Texas A&M 45, No. 9 Tennessee 38
Play this again, too: No. 23 Florida State 20, No. 10 Miami 19
Never play this again: No. 4 Michigan 78, Rutgers 0
Close call: TCU 24, Kansas 23
What? BYU 31, Michigan State 14
Huh? No. 23 Florida State 20, No. 10 Miami 19
Double-Huh? Washington State 42, No. 15 Stanford 16
Are you kidding me? No. 25 Virginia Tech 34, No. 17 North Carolina, 3
Oh – my – God: Navy 46, No. 6 Houston 40
NEXT WEEK
(rankings are current AP, week 6 rankings until further notice)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 9 Tennessee
Also: No. 2 Ohio State @ No. 11 Wisconsin
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Mississippi State @ BYU
Best non-Power Five matchup: Navy @ East Carolina
Upset alert: Kansas State @ No. 20 Oklahoma
Must win: No. 17 North Carolina @ No. 10 Miami also: Stanford @ Notre Dame
Offensive explosion: UCLA @ Washington State
Defensive struggle: Northwestern @ Michigan State
Great game no one is talking about: USC @ Arizona
Intriguing coaching matchup: Hugh Freeze of Ole Miss vs. Bret Bielema of Arkansas
Also: Larry Fedora of North Carolina vs. Mark Richt of Miami (FL)
Who’s bringing the body bags? Kansas @ No. 13 Baylor
Why are they playing? Lafayette @ Army
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida International @ Charlotte
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Louisiana Tech @ UMass
Week 6 Take-aways:
Nothing like the remnants of a hurricane to throw game plans out of whack. In September of 2002, for example, the remnants of a tropical storm descended on Louisville, and a Thursday night game between an unranked Cardinals team and No. 5-ranked Florida State became one to remember. The rain seemed to level the playing field to the point where the underdog Cardinals upset the highly-favored Seminoles in overtime.
This time, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc with records and schedules alike. In the case of the LSU @ Florida game, it has been postponed with no make-up date set as of now. The Georgia @ South Carolina was postponed for just one day. In the state of North Carolina, both games played as scheduled, and with surprising results. The NC State Wolfpack help visiting Notre Dame to just three points (!), allowing their only 10 points to prevail in the game. In nearby Chapel Hill, the No. 17 Tarheels were also held to three points, while the No. 25 Virginia Tech Hokies nevertheless managed to score 34 in the downpour.
Meanwhile, with Texas, it was the same result, different day, this time to their most bitter rival in Oklahoma. The game was high-scoring, 45-40, showing once again that the Longhorns’ defensive issues have yet to be resolved. Indeed, Texas had given up a total of 620 yards (!) of offense in that game. The hotseat upon which Charlie Strong has found himself has just gotten even hotter.
Where has Michigan State’s offense gone? First they score only six points in a debacle against Wisconsin, then they lose on the road to lowly Indiana. Now, they managed to score only two touchdowns at home against BYU. Mark Dantonio seemed to have the program rolling, what with a playoff berth last year. After a team like that, surely some rebuilding would have been in order, to be sure, but this? All of us are left scratching our heads.
Don’t look now, but Stanford is in free-fall. What I surmise is that injuries have taken their toll. Unlike other major programs, Stanford lacks the depth of talent in their back-ups that other teams would take for granted. This is the proverbial gap in the armor of a school where academics are taken as seriously as they are with the Cardinal. Might it stand to reason that Notre Dame secretly suffers from the same handicap?
Meanwhile, the Toilet Bowl, B1G edition, is fast upon us next week when Rutgers and Illinois butt heads. How it works with these bottom-of-the barrel matchups is that the loser is branded with the ignominy of being the worst team in the conference for this year. The winners consolation is that they can point at said loser and say, “See? At least we’re not as bad as those guys.” Be quiet, Illinois: you have no right to complain about this designation. You lost to Purdue.
As things now stand, Washington is in the driver’s seat for the Pac-12 North, and Tennessee’s loss to Texas A&M could potentially complicate things in the SEC East. Meanwhile, Louisville’s strength of schedule could potentially be compromised with Houston’s unexpected loss to Navy. That said, their big win over Florida State remains of considerable quality with their upset win over host Miami. Perhaps these two upsets might cancel each other out in that arcane regard. We shall see, as the stakes increase as the new month of October progresses.
2012-2013 Bowl Games of Some Interest December 15, 2012
Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.Tags: Alamo, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas State, Auburn, Baylor, Belk, Big East, Big XII, Boilermakers, Boise State, Bowl, Bronx, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chris Ault, Colin Kaepernick, college, Commodores, Copper, Cotton, Cowboys, Darrell Hazell, Dave Doeren, Earl Scheib, East Carolina, FBS, Fight Hunger, football, GoDaddy, Gus Malzahn, Heart of Dallas, Horned Frogs, Huskies, Insight, Ka'Deem Carey, Ken Niumatalolo, Kent State, Kraft, Land of Enchantment, Las Vegas, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisville, MAACO, Michigan State, Mountain West, Mountaineers, MSU, Music City, N.C. State, Navy, NCAA, Nevada, New Mexico, New Orleans, North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, Orange, Pac-12, Pinstripe, Purdue, Silver, Spartans, Stefphon Jefferson, Steve Sarkesian, Syracuse, TCU, Texas Tech, Todd Graham, Tom O'Brien, Vanderbilt, Vandy, Washington, West Virginia, Wildcats, Wolfpack, Yankee Stadium
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As mentioned in the previous installment, I have ranked the bowl games by category, with the major criterion being level of desirability to view, partly on my end, partly on the end of the average viewer who is NOT a certifiable college football addict like yours truly!
To find a complete bowl game schedule where each game is found in order of date and time each game is to be played, go here.
This second installment is of bowl games about which I am rather interested, which is, to me, higher than “moderately interested:”
New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, N.M.), Sat., Dec. 15, 1:00 PM EST
Arizona (7-5) vs. Nevada (7-5)
Chris Ault leads the now-Colin Kaepernick-less Wolfpack back to a bowl game to take on the rejuvenated Arizona Wildcats in a fairly evenly-matched game in the Land of Enchantment. Speaking of which, Enchantment Bowl has a nicer ring to it than New Mexico Bowl, doesn’t it? But I digress. What makes this game truly interesting is that there will be lots and lots of yards gained on the ground by both sides. How do I know? Both teams each have some of the leading rushers in the FBS this season, in Ka’Deem Carey (is the apostrophe really necessary? Then again, the name is already made up, so might as well be stylin’ while we’re at it!) for Arizona and Stefphon (sic) Jefferson for Nevada (one too many consonants in that first name, don’t you think?). Moreover, both teams also sport mediocre run defenses. It all adds up to lots of rushing yardage gained on both sides of the ball, with an inability to stop each other on the other side. Think: the equivalence of Baylor-Texas Tech, ground game edition! The fact that the hilarious writers at EDSBS referred to both of these two teams as the plague monkeys of their respective conferences is the icing on the cake!
New Orleans Bowl, Saturday, Dec. 22, 12:00 PM EST
East Carolina (8-4) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4)
If I miss this game, it won’t be the end of the world. It used to be that we CFB fans would look forward to this game because it kicked off bowl season. Now, it’s just another bowl. Still, it pits two solid teams within their respective conferences against each other, which was my rationale for designating this game the “Best Non-Big Six Matchup” for this set of bowl games.
MAACO Bowl (Las Vegas, Nev.) Saturday, Dec. 22, 3:30 PM EST
Washington (7-5) vs. No. 19 Boise State (10-2)
This used to be called the Silver Bowl, but that was before sponsorship took over bowls big time. Soon, they renamed this game after a slightly classed-up version of Earl Scheib. That notwithstanding, this could be a decent match-up. On one hand, Steve Sarkesian has worked diligently to bring the Huskies back to respectability. On the other hand, Boise State has had a slightly down year compared to their last several. Could be interesting.
Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, N.Y.), Sat., Dec. 29, 3:15 PM
West Virginia (7-5) vs. Syracuse (7-5)
Old conference rivals reunite in this bowl game, between a squad that hit the wall when they reached the real meat of their schedule, and a team that gradually improved throughout the year. On paper, the Mountaineers are more talented than the Orange, but will the former have time to regain their energy? Plus, the game is in [new] Yankee Stadium: how cool is that?
Fight Hunger Bowl (San Francisco), Sat., Dec. 29, 3:15 PM
Navy (8-4) vs. Arizona State (7-5)
So which is it going to be, the Pinstripe Bowl or this one? I choose this one, my “intriguing coaching matchup” bowl game pick, and for multiple reasons. For one, you have one coaching philosophy of pounding the rock vs. the opposing one that amounts to a watered-down “west coast” offense. But that’s not all: on one side is Ken Niumatalolo and his apparent philosophy of family, loyalty, dedication, etc., and in the opposing corner is the notoriously mercenary, leave-in-the-dead-of-night Todd Graham. Very intriguing indeed!
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (Tempe, Ariz.), Sat., Dec. 29, 10:15 PM
TCU (7-5) vs. Michigan State (6-6)
(What used to be the Insight Bowl, and before that, the Copper Bowl) Okay, so the Spartans have been no team to write home about this year, given their inability to, you know, score touchdowns. Meanwhile, on TCU’s side, their performance this year has been one of peaks and valleys. Where the Horned Frogs are with respect to their highs and lows will determine whether they mop the field with MSU, or the game remains a defensive struggle. What could really set things off, though, is if the two teams show up in their chrome purple and green helmets, respectively (oh boy, oh boy!)!
Music City Bowl (Nashville, Tenn.) Mon., Dec. 31, 12:00 PM
North Carolina State (7-5) vs. Vanderbilt (8-4)
Last year, the Wolfpack was in the Belk Bowl, and defeated a young Louisville team. It looked like they were really up-and-coming. They return to a bowl game this year, and fire Tom O’Brien. It makes no sense. Will head coach-in-waiting Dave Doeren lead the team, or will Tom O’Brien play out the string? Or will the assistant coaches be left to watch over this mess before Doeren comes in to right the ship? All this will be moot anyhow, since this is a glorified home game for Vandy, who by all rights should kick N.C. State’s butt. And that’s what’s really enticing; would it not be grand to see the Commodores win a bowl game? Goodness knows they have earned it!
GoDaddy.Com Bowl (Mobile, Ala.), Sun., Jan. 6, 9:00 PM
No. 25 Kent State (11-2) vs. Arkansas State (9-3)
College football on a Sunday night instead of pro football? Yes, please! Plus, this game is my “intriguing no-coaching matchup,” given that Kent State’s erstwhile coach Darrell Hazell took the Purdue job and Arkansas State’s erstwhile coach Guz Malzahn bolted for Auburn.
Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas), Tues., Jan. 1, 12:00 PM
Purdue (6-6) vs. Oklahoma State (7-5)
Okay, how on Earth did this become a New Year’s Day bowl game? I know that the Cotton Bowl is no longer played in the Cotton Bowl (stadium, that is), but that does not mean that this manufactured bowl game deserves to be on the same day as the Capital One, Outback, Rose, and other bowls that have earned being on this date. That aside, this game is a rematch of the 1997 Alamo Bowl. Just don’t expect the Boilermakers to beat the Cowboys 33-20 like they did 15 years ago. In fact, expecting the score to be reversed in the Pokes favor might be an overestimation. Still, Purdue is playing in it, so one has to watch it.
