Tag Archives: Annapolis

If I Could Fix The Postseason Version 3.0

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It’s that time, people. The time when I look at how the postseason could be better and tackle the issues that plague FBS’s postseason at this point, which include:

  • Potential high draft picks opting out of bowl games
  • Some still thinking there are too many bowl games
  • Major injuries that occur during these bowl games to players who would probably be in the draft
  • Attendance problems at certain bowl games
  • Going up against the NFL (and up here, the World Juniors)

Will my solution fix everything here? No. Especially the injury one. Those will happen. I can see potential first rounders still opting out in the future and that would be the main reason: preventing injury going into workouts and the Combine. The other three…yeah I can deal with those.

Look I have done this so many times before that I won’t link them here. You should be able to find them but if you do need help, let me know.

Now that we definitely have a 12-team playoff in a couple years, I have to adjust my solution a bit. I won’t go against what they are doing, I am just trying to enhance it for everyone’s enjoyment.

First thing we have to do is actually eliminate some of the bowl games. This will make the “Too Many Bowl Games” crowd happy but the reason I am doing this is to tighten things up a bit. ESPN Events owns about half of these anyway so I can’t see them being missed and I honestly doubt the economics of how much it helps a host city. So the following bowls will just have to cease to exist:

  • Cure Bowl
  • New Orleans Bowl
  • Birmingham Bowl
  • Quick Lane Bowl
  • Frisco Bowl
  • Arizona Bowl
  • Cheez-It Bowl
  • Bahamas Bowl
  • LendingTree Bowl

For the most part, these bowl games will be missed by almost nobody. This allows for more bowl games to get their own national spotlights and makes it so we aren’t putting pretty much all 5-7 teams in to the postseason. I love college football but that, to me, is where it gets a bit absurd.

Now let’s get to the format, as it will be going forward (until people start griping and it expands to 16 teams). There is an advantage now for finishing at the top of the rankings AND for winning your conference championship. The first order of business is that divisions will be abolished in all FBS conferences. I don’t care if the Big Ten expands to the Big Ten Times Two (meaning twenty teams). No divisions. This way the best two teams get to the title game and we won’t see some weird 8-5 Wisconsin team somehow get a first-round bye. Also, at least one Group of Five team gets invited. More if they are in the Top 12 but we know it will be one for the foreseeable future. I know you’ve seen this a few times already on other websites or on ESPN but here’s what the top 12 will look like this with the new playoff criteria:

  1. Georgia (SEC champs)
  2. Michigan (Big Ten champs)
  3. Clemson (ACC champs)
  4. Utah (Pac-12 champs)
  5. TCU
  6. Ohio State
  7. Alabama
  8. Tennessee
  9. Kansas State
  10. USC
  11. Penn State
  12. Tulane

Sorry to Washington, Florida State, both Oregons and whoever else felt they should be in the field. You are denied this time. Do better.

Now to the format/schedule. Let’s use this year’s dates to show how this works to make it a tiny bit easier to understand. I’m also using the CFP’s newer date setup so it will be slightly different than mine was last year (and won’t interrupt the Army-Navy game). The other difference between this format and the one I used last year is that first round games will be on-campus. So those bowl games go back in the regular mix.

First Round Games – Friday, December 16th/Saturday December 17th (all times EST)

  • Tulane at TCU (Friday, 8:00)
  • Penn State at Ohio State (Saturday, Noon)
  • USC at Alabama (Saturday, 3:30)
  • Kansas State at Tennessee (Saturday, 7:00)

Really, you could mix and match as to where to put these games. The only thing that comes into play is when you have a team from the Mountain or Pacific time zones. You ideally should slot them either Friday or Saturday night and definitely not at Noon on the Saturday.

Quarter-Finals – Thursday, December 30th/Friday December 31st

Normally these games would be on December 31st, January 1st and January 2nd. This year that can’t be the case with New Year’s Day being a Sunday and you can’t have playoff games two days apart. The top-ranked team would be put at a bowl site that is most advantageous to them. Then the next team would be put in the best spot out of the bowls left and so forth until all four games are filled.

  • Orange Bowl (Thursday, 8:00) – Georgia vs. Kansas State/Tennessee winner
  • Sugar Bowl (Friday, Noon) – Clemson vs. Penn State/Ohio State winner
  • Rose Bowl (Friday, 4:00) – Utah vs. Tulane/TCU winner
  • Cotton Bowl (Friday, 8:00) – Michigan vs. USC/Alabama winner

Yes I have the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Eve. I think that’s a possibility going forward. I hope it is. Just to fuck with their commmittee.

Semi-Finals – Thursday, January 5th/Friday, January 6th

Can’t do Saturday and Sunday because it would interfere with the NFL (although I could see one game on an early Saturday).

  • Peach Bowl (Thursday, 7:00) – Orange Bowl winner vs. Rose Bowl winner
  • Fiesta Bowl (Friday, 8:00) – Cotton Bowl winner vs. Sugar Bowl winner

Again, The Committee would put Georgia in the best bowl for them which would obviously be the Peach Bowl. Even if they didn’t win, I think these semi-final combinations would be set in stone.

CFP National Championship – Monday, January 16th

So all this does is move the national championship one week back. Not a big deal really and still stays mostly out of the way of the NFL playoffs (which have also shifted back a week due to the extra regular season week they have now).

Only the six current New Year’s Six bowl games are being used as opposed to the ten I had in my scenario last year (I included the Gator, Citrus, Alamo and Holiday Bowls for the first round games).

Now for the rest of the bowl games. As you saw above, I lopped off nine of them. Would they even fill half the stadium? Maybe close but mostly likely not. I plan on not having any pre-Christmas daytime games. I say that every year. There are dumb. I get that not everyone works a 9ish-to-5ish job but, unfortunately to us night owls, the work world revolves around this schedule pretty closely. Even with PVRs still being a big thing, it’s pointless to have a bowl game on a random Wednesday before Christmas at 2 in the afternoon. Live sports are what most people want to see so having more games in primetime allows more people to watch. It’s actually pretty damn simple.

I also plan to move a few games off of ESPN. I hate the fact that games are pretty spread out among the networks all through the regular season. Then the bowl games come and WHAM! Pretty much all of them go to ESPN. Look, I will say I’m a bit selfish and patriotic because I am doing this, somewhat, for Canadians. Oh and with the Arizona Bowl being off the table, that means Barstool Sports is shit out of luck again. I assume one day they will pick up another bowl but for this scenario, nothing.

Bowl tie-ins are also going to be decreased as is what I do normally when I used to fix the bowl games. Many bowl games don’t even follow them anyway so why should I? I will have it set up like this:

  • SEC, Big Ten, ACC – 5 bowl tie-ins
  • Big XII, Pac-12 – 4 bowl tie-ins
  • AAC, MWC, Sun Belt – 3 bowl tie-ins
  • C-USA, MAC – 2 bowl tie-ins

If a team doesn’t get put in a bowl with a tie-in, they go to the at-large bucket. I believe this will make for at least a slightly better overall bowl lineup and my past posts have proven that. And I’m also going to have every Group of Five conference champion get to face a Power Five team in a bowl game. That’s a huge incentive compared to now where most of the G-5 conference champions get a banner and an unknown destination.

To qualify, teams must win seven games. If all those teams are placed and there are still more bowl slots, 6-win teams will be put in and let’s do it based on APR since that’s the way the NCAA does it with 5-win teams.

OK so now that that’s all out of the way, let’s get to what the tie-ins will look like:

January 4, 202310:30 PMLas Vegas BowlPac-12MWC
January 4, 20237:00 PMGator BowlSECACC
January 3, 202310:30 PMLA BowlPac-12at-large
January 3, 20237:00 PMDuke’s Mayo BowlACCat-large
January 2, 20233:00 PMReliaQuest BowlSECBig Ten
January 2, 202312:00 PMCitrus BowlSECBig Ten
December 30, 20224:30 PMMusic City BowlSECBig Ten
December 30, 20221:00 PMLiberty BowlSECSun Belt
December 30, 2022NoonSun BowlBig XIIPac-12
December 28, 202210:30 PMGuaranteed Rate Bowlat-largeat-large
December 28, 20228:30 PMAlamo BowlBig XIIat-large
December 28, 20227:00 PMMilitary BowlBig TenMAC
December 28, 20223:30 PMGasparilla BowlACCAAC
December 28, 2022NoonFenway BowlAACat-large
December 27, 20228:30 PMTexas BowlBig XIIat-large
December 27, 20227:00 PMPinstripe BowlBig TenACC
December 27, 20225:00 PMCamellia BowlSun Beltat-large
December 27, 20221:30 PMFirst Responder BowlBig XIIC-USA
December 26, 20223:30 PMArmed Forces BowlAACat-large
December 26, 2022NoonBoca Raton BowlACCat-large
December 25, 2022NoonMyrtle Beach BowlMACat-large
December 24, 20229:30 PMHawaii BowlMWCat-large
December 23, 20228:00 PMHoliday BowlPac-12at-large
December 22, 20229:30 PMIdaho Potato BowlMWCat-large
December 21, 20229:30 PMNew Mexico Bowlat-largeat-large
December 20, 20228:00 PMIndependence BowlSun BeltC-USA

As promised, all the Group of Five conference champions get their shot at a Power Five team in a bowl game. I still believe this is one of the things sorely missing from bowl season: the chance for a lower level team to go up against a potential power. Otherwise they are just playing an extra game. Good for the players and staff but in the end, it means jack shit because it won’t help nearly as much with recruiting and won’t enhance these schools brands when it comes to football.

There are also a lot of at-larges and we will get to that in a bit. Again, this is about trying my best to create a better bowl lineup and flexibility certainly helps in that regard.

And part of the way to do that is to overhaul the shitty Selection Sunday show that ESPN does. And it is shitty. Seriously shitty. You could take out 85% of the show and still get everything you need and more. To change this I will show you my perfect setup for the show, something I have done in previous years:

  • Noon-12:05 – Introduction of hosts, panel and all the reporters at the various sites around the U.S. We don’t need Desmond Howard’s reasoning behind putting Texas A&M in the College Football Playoff at the start of the season and how it somehow ties into today’s proceedings. It doesn’t so knock it off.
  • 12:05-1:00 – College Football Playoff rankings reveal and game selections. This includes analysis from everyone: Herbstreit, Desmond, Rece Davis, David Pollack, fifteen people from around the country. Then an interview with whomever heads The Committee and you’ve filled the rest of the first hour. Easy, right?
  • 1:00-2:00 – Show the bowl tie-ins and do some analysis on those. I am giving a bit less time than I have in previous years to give as much time as possible to the at-large selection process which is the meat of the show (along with live look-ins to the players sitting around, awaiting their destination, a la the March Madness Selection Show.
  • 2:00-3:45 – Selection time. The random order for selection would have been done the day prior so as to give bowl committees time to send out invites although in this day and age, it’s rare to see a team decline a bowl invite. At-large selections are shown as they are made. Analysis by the crew following every pick.

Yes it’s 4 hours long (last 15 minutes can be used to wrap everything up and remind people of when certain games air); but you can cram a lot of excitement and interest into those four hours rather than have people drone on and on about nothing.

So…here is what the bowl schedule would look like after slotting all the conferences’ tie-ins:

January 4, 202310:30 PMESPNLas Vegas BowlOregonFresno State
January 4, 20237:00 PMCBSGator BowlLSUNorth Carolina
January 3, 202310:30 PMESPNLA BowlWashingtonat-large
January 3, 20237:00 PMNBCDuke’s Mayo BowlFlorida Stateat-large
January 2, 20233:00 PMESPNReliaQuest BowlSouth CarolinaPurdue
January 2, 202312:00 PMABCCitrus BowlKentuckyIowa
December 30, 20224:30 PMESPNMusic City BowlMississippi StateIllinois
December 30, 20221:00 PMESPNLiberty BowlOle MissTroy
December 30, 2022NoonCBSSun BowlBig XIIUCLA
December 28, 202210:30 PMESPNGuaranteed Rate Bowlat-largeat-large
December 28, 20228:30 PMFOXAlamo BowlTexasat-large
December 28, 20227:00 PMESPNMilitary BowlMarylandToledo
December 28, 20223:30 PMESPNGasparilla BowlDukeUCF
December 28, 2022NoonESPNFenway BowlCincinnatiat-large
December 27, 20228:30 PMESPNTexas BowlTexas Techat-large
December 27, 20227:00 PMABCPinstripe BowlMinnesotaPittsburgh
December 27, 20225:00 PMESPNCamellia BowlSouth Alabamaat-large
December 27, 20221:30 PMESPNFirst Responder BowlOklahoma StateUTSA
December 26, 20223:30 PMESPNArmed Forces BowlSMUat-large
December 26, 2022NoonESPNBoca Raton BowlSyracuseat-large
December 25, 2022NoonESPNMyrtle Beach BowlOhioat-large
December 24, 20229:30 PMESPNHawaii BowlWyomingat-large
December 23, 20228:00 PMFOXHoliday BowlOregon Stateat-large
December 22, 20229:30 PMESPNIdaho Potato BowlBoise Stateat-large
December 21, 20229:30 PMESPNNew Mexico Bowlat-largeat-large
December 20, 20228:00 PMESPNIndependence BowlJames MadisonNorth Texas
  • The G-5 conference champion process has set up the following matchups:
    • UCF (the runner-up in the American since Tulane is in the CFP) goes to the Gasparilla Bowl to play Duke.
    • Fresno State (Mountain West champ) plays Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl, which ends up being the final bowl game before the College Football Playoff semi-finals.
    • The First Responder Bowl gets Conference USA champ UTSA and the high-octane offense of the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
    • The Sun Belt champ (Troy) faces off against Ole Miss in the Liberty Bowl.
    • Finally, the MAC champ, Toledo, plays Maryland in the Military Bowl. Yes the MAC will have to travel for every bowl game now that I have axed the Quick Lane Bowl.
  • Some of the bowl matchups are the same (sorry, I still have Kentucky-Iowa) and some have probably improved a bit (Ole Miss-Troy looks like a good one).
  • I have given FOX, ABC, CBS and even NBC some bowl games. ESPN will hate it but too fucking bad.
  • Finally you will notice I have put James Madison in a bowl game. Yeah, fuck the transition rule. An 8-3 team should go to a bowl game. Period.

Alright so there are a bunch of teams left who have won at least seven games. Seventeen of them to be exact. For 17 spots. That worked out perfectly! You will notice that the Big XII did not have enough teams to fill the few bowl slots they had. So the Sun Bowl goes into the pool to pick from the remaining teams.

Here is that random draw and the teams I think would have been selected:

  • LA – Notre Dame
  • Armed Forces – BYU
  • Boca Raton – Liberty
  • Texas – Houston
  • Camellia – Louisville
  • Idaho Potato – Washington State
  • Duke’s Mayo – East Carolina
  • Myrtle Beach – Coastal Carolina
  • Sun – Air Force
  • Holiday – San Diego State
  • New Mexico – San Jose State
  • Alamo – Wake Forest
  • Guaranteed Rate – NC State
  • Hawaii – WKU
  • Fenway – Eastern Michigan
  • New Mexico – Marshall
  • Guaranteed Rate – Middle Tennessee

So after these selections this is what the rest of the bowls (beyond the playoffs) would look like:

January 4, 202310:30 PMESPNLas Vegas BowlOregonFresno State
January 4, 20237:00 PMCBSGator BowlLSUNorth Carolina
January 3, 202310:30 PMESPNLA BowlWashingtonNotre Dame
January 3, 20237:00 PMNBCDuke’s Mayo BowlFlorida StateEast Carolina
January 2, 20233:00 PMESPNReliaQuest BowlSouth CarolinaPurdue
January 2, 202312:00 PMABCCitrus BowlKentuckyIowa
December 30, 20224:30 PMESPNMusic City BowlMississippi StateIllinois
December 30, 20221:00 PMESPNLiberty BowlOle MissTroy
December 30, 2022NoonCBSSun BowlAir ForceUCLA
December 28, 202210:30 PMESPNGuaranteed Rate BowlNC StateMiddle Tennessee
December 28, 20228:30 PMFOXAlamo BowlTexasWake Forest
December 28, 20227:00 PMESPNMilitary BowlMarylandToledo
December 28, 20223:30 PMESPNGasparilla BowlDukeUCF
December 28, 2022NoonESPNFenway BowlCincinnatiEastern Michigan
December 27, 20228:30 PMESPNTexas BowlTexas TechHouston
December 27, 20227:00 PMABCPinstripe BowlMinnesotaPittsburgh
December 27, 20225:00 PMESPNCamellia BowlSouth AlabamaLouisville
December 27, 20221:30 PMESPNFirst Responder BowlOklahoma StateUTSA
December 26, 20223:30 PMESPNArmed Forces BowlSMUBYU
December 26, 2022NoonESPNBoca Raton BowlSyracuseLiberty
December 25, 2022NoonESPNMyrtle Beach BowlOhioCoastal Carolina
December 24, 20229:30 PMESPNHawaii BowlWyomingWKU
December 23, 20228:00 PMFOXHoliday BowlOregon StateSan Diego State
December 22, 20229:30 PMESPNIdaho Potato BowlBoise StateWashington State
December 21, 20229:30 PMESPNNew Mexico BowlSan Jose StateMarshall
December 20, 20228:00 PMESPNIndependence BowlJames MadisonNorth Texas

So there are a few games that look quite a bit better than what we had. Especially when there are storylines like:

  • Notre Dame facing Washington in what would be a massively hyped LA Bowl.
  • The Texas Bowl gets a huge boost with two teams from the state playing.
  • Syracuse/Liberty could end up being a juicy matchup.
  • Coastal Carolina playing at home on Christmas Day.
  • The Idaho Potato Bowl getting a massive boost with Wazzu coming in to face the hometown Broncos.

Is it a massive change? No, but when you do a few small things you can create a lot more excitement overall to a system that, outside the playoff, has become rather stagnant.

A reminder (you shouldn’t need it but here it is) that bowl season begins this morning! The Bahamas Bowl starts a three-week-plus college football postseason journey that ends with the national championship on January 9th. Along with the bowl games, there are playoff games in other divisions going on.

  • FCS Semi-final: Incarnate Word at North Dakota State (Friday, 7:00, specialty pack)
  • Division III Championship: North Central vs. Mount Union (in Annapolis) (Friday, 7:00, specialty pack)
  • Division II Championship: Colorado School of Mines vs. Ferris State (in McKinney, Texas) (Saturday, 1:00, specialty pack)
  • FCS Semi-final: Montana State at South Dakota State (Saturday, 4:00, specialty pack)

From what I can see, the specialty packs are being dickheads again with none of these games listed. I hope they show up but I know last weekend I only remembered them appearing on Bell guides. Fingers crossed. Especially with the FCS games as it feels like we are heading for a Battle of the Dakotas for the FCS National Championship.

Alright, enjoy the games everyone. A LOT of football between now and Sunday night. Savour it.

Alright let’s wrap this up in a nice, neat little package

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Oh man did you actually believe that?  LITTLE?  Have you not noticed what I’ve been doing the last little while?  Oh this will not be a little package I assure you; but it will be an important package of information that you, the college football fan, would like to see (I hope).

So yes, you will see what I believe the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six will look like.  You will get bowl projections from yours truly.  You will also get my Heisman ballot which is usually a big steaming pile of horseshit.  And you will get my coaching hot seat list which, honestly, is usually pretty good if I say so myself.

Let’s get right to it with the top of the pyramid (scheme)…the College Football Playoff predictions.  You probably have a good idea from the conference predictions as to who will end up here and you also know that there is a good chance I will fail miserably with one of these picks:

December 31st Fiesta Bowl #2 Ohio State #3 Georgia
December 31st Peach Bowl #1 Alabama #4 Clemson

New Year’s Eve semi-finals.  Will they never learn?  Anyway, Bama is the easy call here as I see them running the table and then beating UGA in what may be the biggest SEC Championship ever (and that’s saying a lot).  This also means that Georgia is probably a fairly easy call as well.  Sure, they will lose to the Tide but if they go in at #2 (which I expect them to) and lose to #1 (which I assume Bama would be) then a drop to #3 is as far as they will go.  No way they are leaving out a one-loss Big Ten champ so tOSU gets in and takes advantage of one of Alabama or Georgia having to lose to get to the #2 spot.  OK take advantage is a strong phrase since being #2 means very little other than avoiding #1 until, potentially, the title game.  Clemson ends up beating out Texas A&M, Michigan and NC State, all one-loss teams who didn’t win their division, rather easily to grab the final semi-final spot.  Oregon would have their shot at the Pac-12 Championship but lose to Utah making The Committee’s job (at least for these two games) rather straightforward.

Now we will go to the New Year’s Six bowl games where, thanks to the NFL, none of them are on New Year’s Day.  Eat shit, Rose Bowl.

January 2nd Rose Bowl #6 Michigan #10 Utah
January 2nd Cotton Bowl #11 Oregon #8 Houston
December 31st Sugar Bowl #5 Texas A&M #9 Baylor
December 30th Orange Bowl #7 NC State #12 Notre Dame

As always, it’s debate time.  Every year which is fine as long as the debates devolve into some stupid Twitter spat.  Only one conference championship loser is getting in here and that’s Oregon.  They’ll be high enough in the rankings (potentially in the Top 4) going into Conference Championship weekend that there is no way they drop out of a NY6 bowl.  Houston won’t be this year’s Cincinnati but they will be this year’s Group of Five representative in the New Year’s Six and they will coast to get here.  Michigan is going to have another good year but they have the audacity to be in the same division as Ohio State.  Assholes.  This will be enough to keep them out of the CFP.  Same goes for TAMU and NC State.  What were they thinking being in a division with other good schools.  And you wonder why I hate divisions.  We could have a tOSU-UM rematch and a Clemson-NCST rematch for conference championships.  Talk about a lot more being on the line and a hell of a lot more intrigue.

Utah, with their win over Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship, gets the other Rose Bowl spot opposite Michigan.  Luckily, they should ascend to somewhere around the #10 ranking that I have them in so they will look like they belong.  Baylor also gets the benefit of a good bowl tie-in and I have them facing their old Southwest Conference foe, the Aggies of Texas A&M.  Just like Utah, the Bears will be good enough to belong here and not spark any crazy debate about bowl tie-ins.  The only debate will be for the final spot.  Look, it’s Notre Dame.  If the Irish go 10-2, they are not being left out of this group of bowl games.  As much as some of you want that to be the case, it never will be (until the CFP structure changes).  They beat out UCLA, Oklahoma and Marshall.  Very few, other than those schools’ fans, will be super upset they were left out.

Now it’s time for the rest of BOWL SZN.  At least I know these bowls won’t be cancelled…I hope.

January 2nd Citrus Bowl #17 Tennessee #18 Michigan State
January 2nd ReliaQuest Bowl Florida #20 Minnesota
December 31st Music City Bowl Ole Miss #22 Purdue
December 30th Gator Bowl Arkansas #19 Pittsburgh
December 30th Arizona Bowl Boise State Northern Illinois
December 30th Sun Bowl Louisville Oregon State
December 30th Duke’s Mayo Bowl Kentucky Penn State
December 29th Alamo Bowl #15 Oklahoma #13 UCLA
December 29th Cheez-It Bowl Iowa State Miami
December 29th Pinstripe Bowl Iowa Florida State
December 28th Texas Bowl LSU #21 Texas
December 28th Holiday Bowl Virginia Tech #24 USC
December 28th Liberty Bowl South Carolina #23 Oklahoma State
December 28th Military Bowl Wake Forest #16 UCF
December 27th Guaranteed Rate Bowl Nebraska Kansas State
December 27th Birmingham Bowl Auburn #25 Cincinnati
December 27th First Responder Bowl Colorado State Troy
December 27th Camellia Bowl Coastal Carolina UAB
December 26th Quick Lane Bowl Maryland Miami-OH
December 24th Hawaii Bowl BYU Fresno State
December 23rd Independence Bowl Memphis Army
December 23rd Gasparilla Bowl Boston College Tulsa
December 22nd Armed Forces Bowl TCU UTEP
December 21st New Orleans Bowl #14 Marshall UTSA
December 20th Boca Raton Bowl Appalachian State Florida Atlantic
December 20th Idaho Potato Bowl San Diego State Toledo
December 19th Myrtle Beach Bowl Georgia State Liberty
December 17th Frisco Bowl San Jose State South Alabama
December 17th Las Vegas Bowl Mississippi State Arizona State
December 17th LendingTree Bowl Louisiana Kent State
December 17th LA Bowl Washington Air Force
December 17th New Mexico Bowl Utah State Western Michigan
December 17th Fenway Bowl North Carolina SMU
December 16th Cure Bowl East Carolina UNLV
December 16th Bahamas Bowl WKU Central Michigan

More bowl games!  Honestly, I don’t care nearly as much as I used to.  It’s more football at this point.  Once the 12-team playoff (or whatever it ends up being) comes to fruition, I will be interested to see what happens to some of the lower-level bowl games.  Hey, as long as Canadians can see most of these games on TSN then there’s no real problem.  Let’s look at a few points from that long table of information I just posted:

  • Only two games between ranked teams?  Good lord.  UT-MSU at the Citrus and Oklahoma-UCLA at the Alamo and that’s it.  Those two bowls are used to having fairly big matchups.  It would probably be more of a shock if the Bahamas Bowl had a Top 25 matchup (although it would definitely intrigue me that’s for sure).
  • I’m not bothering with listing bowl tie-ins and or conferences that couldn’t fill their bowl quota or even 5-7 teams that I have in to fill the bowl games that don’t have two teams.
  • Some of the other good matchups after the Citrus and Alamo:
    • Ole Miss-Purdue in Nashville
    • Arkansas-Pitt at the Gator
    • Iowa-Florida State playing in the cold of the Bronx
    • Wake-UCF in the Military Bowl
    • LSU going into Longhorn country (kind of) to play Texas
    • Marshall-UTSA in Nawlins
    • Nebraska-Kansas State in a Big Eight matchup in Tempe
  • The Husker one is very interesting because they have the longest Big Ten bowl drought.  Can you fucking believe it?  I would have bet money that it was Rutgers or…Rutgers.  Nope.  The Huskers went to the Music City Bowl in late 2016 and haven’t gone back to a bowl game since.  Wow.

History states at least one of the CFP semi-final games will not be that good.  I hate to do this to the Tigers but sorry, Bama should win that one easy.  The Buckeyes will have big problems with the Dawgs but in the end, they will punch their ticket to the national title game to lose to the Tide who will be back on top once again.  No real surprises here.

So now that COVID is…well not behind us but it is not nearly as serious as it was, we can really get back to normality. That means that the college football head coaches are getting shorter leashes again, folks! The shitcanning season will be upon us at some point this Fall!

And when I mean short leashes I mean seriously short. Like maybe a foot long. Some athletic directors are now realizing that the college football world is pretty much fully back to normal and they have some time to make up. Some coaches received reprieves in the past two seasons thanks to the pandemic but that leeway is fucking gone now.

Look I don’t want to toot my own horn but I usually do fairly well with this list. So let’s just get right down to it, shall we? If you recall, the order is from most likely to be fired to most likely to keep their job. They are also categorized in a few different sections. Let’s go!

Almost Guaranteed Shitcanning

  1. Geoff Collins (Georgia Tech) – This should be a surprise to absolutely no one.  The experiment to move away from the option to more of a pro-style offense has failed spectacularly in the ATL.  I honestly see no possible improvement here and a possible in-season firing.  Needed to keep his job – Get into the final few weeks of the season with at least a mathematical possibility of going bowling.  Prediction – He’s going to get shitcanned some time in November in the midst of a ten-loss season for the Rambling Wreck.
  2. Karl Dorrell (Colorado) – Can we say that weird 2020 season was an aberration?  I think we can as the Buffaloes are dropping down the ladder once again in the Pac-12 as realignment goes wild everywhere.  Needed to keep his job – Have a shot at bowl eligibility going into the final two games.  Prediction – A whole lot of frustration for Dorrell, the Buffaloes, the other coaches, alumni and current students. And no job for Dorrell…he may end up not coaching the final game of the season.
  3. Neal Brown (West Virginia) – Brown’s first year in Morgantown was considered a success.  Last year’s, not so much.  And with an improving Big XII around them, I see them falling even farther in Brown’s third year when he has most of his recruits in.  Not looking good for a guy who was a big up-and-comer not too long ago.  Needed to keep his job – Not continue the downward slide.  Prediction – I remember going to Wet n’ Wild as a kid. It doesn’t exist anymore. But it had some cool waterslides. That is how ol’ Neal is going to feel this season. He’ll end the season on the unemployment line.
  4. Mike Bloomgren (Rice) – No one is really expecting Rice to be a power player in football.  Saying that, they had to the American Conference next season and I can’t see Bloomgren being the head coach.  Other than a couple of good seasons, he’s done very little in the Houston area and has fallen FAR behind their neighbour.  Needed to keep his job – Something more than what I feel they will do this year.  Prediction – The bloom has come off the rose (ha ha) and he will be looking for a new school to coach at for 2023.
  5. Herm Edwards (Arizona State) – It feels inevitable that, at the very best, Herm will be done at the end of the season.  Their recruiting issues are well known and it may end up being the NCAA coming down hard on ASU (and, eventually, Herm himself).  It won’t help his cause that the Sun Devils won’t be as good as they were last year.  Needed to keep his job – I don’t know if there is anything short of a Pac-12 title that would save his job (and even then).  Prediction – Herm is shown the door before the last game of the season as the powers that be in Tempe decide it’s time to rebuild again.

Probable Shitcanning

  1. Dino Babers (Syracuse) – How long has Dino been on the hot seat?  Everything was looking golden in 2018 for Babers but since then…yeesh.  I’m not saying Syracuse is a destination spot for coaching but you know things are getting tense within the athletic department with this.  Needed to keep his job – The Orange to recapture at least some of that 2018 magic.  Prediction – Dino will be a coordinator somewhere next year.
  2. Scot Loeffler (Bowling Green) – I’m sure there are times where Scotty (Scoty?) would love to be back at any of the schools he used to be at.  This is his first head coaching gig and it has been a rough one to be honest.  Even though Bowling Green isn’t exactly a hotspot in college football, at some point the athletic director will be done with the team not performing.  7-22 isn’t exactly the type of record that keeps a job.  Needed to keep his job – 4 or 5 wins and look competitive inside the MAC.  Prediction – Double-digit losses and a pink slip.
  3. Danny Gonzales (New Mexico) – Speaking of tough places to coach, here are the Lobos looking at potentially another coaching change on the horizon.  Definitely a spot a younger coach in the West would maybe take a shot at.  Beware though: the last time UNM won at least ten games was four decades ago.  Unfortunately between them and NMSU, the state is a dead spot for college football.  Needed to keep his job – Close to bowl eligibility.  Prediction – Three wins and a tough decision to be made from the higher ups.

Possible Shitcanning

  1. Seth Littrell (North Texas) – Littrell hasn’t done bad in Denton.  Five bowls in his six seasons there is pretty darn good for a team in Conference USA.  Problem is he has lost every single one.  It truly does feel like they are kind of stuck in the middle of the conference and that’s getting some people antsy.  Needed to keep his job – At least 5 wins and competing for bowl eligibility near the end of the season.  Prediction – That’s exactly where I have the Mean Green. I think he probably survives the season but the leash will be extremely short going forward.
  2. Bryan Harsin (Auburn) – This was considered a coup when the Tigers plucked him from Boise State.  His first season on the Plains was…rocky to put it mildly.  There was an attempt to get him ousted after last season ended.  Obviously it didn’t work but there are some thinking maybe he just doesn’t fit at Auburn (or the SEC for that matter).  Needed to keep his job – A winning record and better recruiting.  Prediction – I got the Tigers winning 7 to stay out of the basement of the SEC West. That should be enough to save him at least into ‘crootin season. That’s where he needs to improve or otherwise he may not see the 2023 season on the field at Jordan-Hare.
  3. Ken Niumatalolo (Navy) – It is tough putting Ken on this list, I’m not going to lie.  Problem is, Navy has been pretty bad for three of the past four seasons.  That 2019 season where they won 11 games seems like a fluke, almost.  I’m sure it would take a lot to fire Niumatalolo but another season like the previous two and who knows.  Needed to keep his job – At least 6 wins.  Prediction – I have the Middies only winning three so this could be a very interesting offseason in Annapolis.
  4. Terry Bowden (ULM) – I might get some flak for this one.  I know he’s only been in Monroe for a season.  I do think this year the Warhawks are going to be one of the worst teams in the FBS. Maybe there is someone on his staff who will take over for him next year so that ULM brass will feel OK to fire him? I don’t know but this doesn’t seem to be leading anywhere in a much-improved Sun Belt Conference.  Needed to keep his job – Improvement from the previous season.  Prediction – As I said, they won’t be good. I have them predicted at 1-11. I can see this being done relatively quietly in the offseason (Terry’s shitcanning that is).
  5. Rick Stockstill (Middle Tennessee) – Stockstill has been at Middle for what seems like forever.  And it doesn’t feel like anything would happen because of that.  Saying that, the Blue Raiders need to do something since they have been mediocre most of the last few seasons. They also turned down a (possible?) invitation to the MAC so this is their chance to become the best of a not-so-good bunch. Will Rick lead them through that though?  Needed to keep his job – Got to be bowl eligibility really.  Prediction – I got MTSU winning 5 games which will make for some very interesting offseason chatter in Murfreesboro.
  6. Greg Schiano (Rutgers) – This isn’t the Schiano that went 56-33 in his final seven seasons during his first run in Piscataway.  That was in the Big East and Rutgers is…well, they definitely aren’t in a conference like that anymore.  Still, fans were hoping for something a bit more from a guy who runs blitzes during kneel down plays.  Unfortunately, I think this won’t be that year.  Needed to keep his job – Real bowl eligibility, not the 5-7 you are a smart school kind.  Prediction – I have the Scarlet Knights regressing a bit this year. Whether Schiano returns has a lot to do with whether they think they’ve truly bottomed out and if they believe they can get a good coach in.
  7. Jake Spavital (Texas State) – Has anyone ever expected the Bobcats to do anything of significance on the football field? Really, that lack of winning culture could be the one thing that gives Spavital one more season at the helm. Needed to keep his job – 5 wins and some meaningful November football. Prediction – 4 wins and a short leash into 2023.

Doubtful Shitcanning (although it still could happen)

  1. Jeff Scott (USF) – Not a whole lot has gone well for the former Clemson coordinator down in Tampa.  Remember when the Bulls were #2 in the nation?  Not even Pepperidge Farms remembers that I don’t think.  What it does say, though, is that you can win at this school.  Now it’s just a matter of how long the USF athletic department will give Scott to truly turn things around.  Needed to keep his job – Stay out of the American Conference basement.  Prediction – They aren’t going to a bowl game but expect them to win around four games and be quite clear of the bottom rung of the AAC.
  2. Scott Frost (Nebraska) – It has become a difficult job to recruit players to Lincoln.  I think Frost has finally figured it out and the Huskers, at the very least, should be back bowling this season. Now watch them completely tank.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl-eligibility at the very least.  Prediction – No Kool-Aid this time but I have the Huskers winning eight games. Don’t laugh.
  3. David Shaw (Stanford) – I remember when Shaw was getting Stanford to bowl games and contending in the Pac-12 on a consistent basis.  Make no bones about it, he’s still a great head coach.  Give him time and he will have the Cardinal back on top of what will be the Pac-10 going forward.  Needed to keep his job –  Look better than the 2021 season.  Prediction – I have Stanford winning 4 games but the bottom of the Pac-12 North is crowded so an upset or two isn’t out of the realm of possibility for this team. Shaw is safe for another season at the very least.
  4. Mike Norvell (Florida State) – Things are finally looking up in Tallahassee.  For real this time. It would have to get really bad for the Noles this season for Norvell to be let go.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl eligibility at the very least.  Prediction – Eight wins and a new lease on life. Teams won’t have it easy against this team this season.
  5. Tom Allen (Indiana) – I would put Tom farther up this list as Indiana was BAD last year and won’t be a whole lot better this season.  Thing is, his buyout is huge so unless the Hoosiers absolutely have to fire him, he won’t be let go.  Needed to keep his job – Don’t do something illegal or unethical.  Prediction – Other than punching the coach of the opposing team, I can’t see Allen doing anything bad. Yes I only have them winning three games this season but that doesn’t really matter here in the grand scheme of things.

One of these days I have to go back and see how truly successful I have been at this hot seat list. I still think the numbers will back me up.

Now from a normally good section (for me) to a notoriously horrible section (for me). My Heisman ballot is back. And I don’t know if it can be any worse than what I have done for the past few years. But, I always give it my all so here’s another edition of Bossman’s Heisman Trophy Ballot If He Got a Vote (which he most certainly should not):

My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Heisman Ballot

  1. C.J. Stroud, Ohio State – Last year’s ballot was horrifically bad but I did have Stroud in at #4 (and Bryce Young at #5).  So it wasn’t all bad (but mostly it was).  I have the Buckeyes getting to the National Championship and he will be the main reason why. It will be a close race this year, I believe, but Stroud will put up the numbers and get the big victories that put him over the top.
  2. Bryce Young, Alabama – Yes, I do have the Tide winning the national title this year.  It still won’t be enough to not join the list of players who had a shot at pulling an Archie Griffin and came up short.  Unlike everyone else on the list, he won’t make it easy on the other contenders. The only thing holding him back is how many other Heisman candidates this team has. They are loaded.
  3. Caleb Williams, USC – It was a huge coup for Lincoln Riley to convince Williams to follow him from Oklahoma to USC.  Among the contenders, Williams may have the toughest job helping turn around a 4-8 team so quickly.  This is one of the few instances where a team only being so good might end up costing a player during a Heisman campaign.
  4. Will Anderson Jr., Alabama – I believe Anderson is the best defensive player in the country and it’s really not even close.  He’s also one small part of the reason that I think Bryce Young won’t win the Heisman.  He will take some of the votes that would have been thrown Young’s way.  It could work in reverse as well. Anderson could be primed to be the first defensive player in a long time to win the Heisman Trophy but all the good Bama players, including Young, makes it a bit more difficult for him.
  5. D.J. Uiagalelei, Clemson – Should we try this again? Why not.  *clears throat*  Ahem…Oo-ee-un-guh-luh-lay.  Just like last year.  And just like last year I have him #5 in my Heisman rankings.  He will have to show some serious improvement and I am betting he will.  It will help that he will have a better team around him that will be competing fort he College Football Playoff.  I think we will have a good idea what kind of season he will have once September ends.
  6. Tyler Van Dyke, Miami – This guy looked like the real deal down the stretch last season and could have been considered the best ACC player the last few weeks of the regular season.  The Canes will be better but, as per usual, doing better will help a lot. If the Canes can somehow win the ACC title, Van Dyke’s chances might soar.
  7. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma – A fantastic quarterback at UCF.  And thanks to TransferPortalMania, he ends up in Norman, replacing Caleb Williams (and, sure, Spencer Rattler).  Being the quarterback for the Sooners is always a pressure situation but the pressure should be a lot less this season which may allow Gabriel to thrive.
  8. Bijan Robinson, Texas – Running backs still get shafted, to an extent, when it comes to Heisman voting.  It takes a phenomenal year for one to win it and you have to pair it with no outstanding quarterbacks.  An uphill battle for sure.  But if there’s one running back who could break through this season, it could be the new king of dijon mustard, Bijan Robinson. He will be the guy who makes the Texas offense go so if they win even 9 games this year, look for him to get a lot of attention from voters.
  9. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State – Hey, how about the guy who had a breakout game for the ages at the Rose Bowl?  He will have arguably the best quarterback in the country throwing to him.  As we know, that’s a plus and a minus when it comes to the Heisman.  At the very least, he is the highest rated receiver coming into the season so that counts for something.
  10. Hendon Hooker, Tennessee – This may feel to some like an out-of-nowhere kind of pick.  Hooker showed what he could do running a decent Vols offense.  With Tennessee having a lot more talent on that side of the ball this season, he may have some crazy stats. If Tennessee somehow gets to a New Year’s Six bowl, he will get a ton of hype.

Honourable Mention

  • TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
  • Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama
  • Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
  • Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
  • Quinn Ewers, Texas
  • Spencer Rattler, South Carolina
  • Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
  • Jordan Addison, USC
  • Devin Leary, NC State

I am going to wish the players on this list good luck since there is a chance the winner is nowhere to be found here. Because I am terrible at this.

All the predictions I have are now complete! In about five months or so I will find out how poorly I did.

Next up will be…hold on let me check my notes…yes….YES……YEEEEEES! College football is back! Week Zero! I mean it’s just Week Zero but still….WEEK ZERO! I will have the schedule up at some point early in the week. I’ve already been asked about the specialty packs as it pertains to this coming Saturday. My guess is they won’t show anything since normally they don’t because…who knows but I will chalk it up to some sort of incompetence since what they (Bell and Rogers) tell me makes no sense. I will keep everyone updated. Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!

The Student Finally Defeats the Master – Week 6 College Football Recap

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Up until early Saturday evening, Nick Saban had been 24-0 against his former assistants.  24-0.  That’s like an Undertaker-like streak.  Completely insane.  Then came the game.

The Aggies came out strong and it looked like the Crimson Tide defense was struggling.  Yes we had seen this earlier in the year but it’s not like things had gone off the rails for them.  But Bama’s offense could only do so much and couldn’t pull away.  And even though TAMU was keeping pace, it felt to me (and I assume a lot of others) that eventually the Tide would win.  Until Seth Small hit the field goal with no time left to clinch the Aggie victory, I still thought the Tide would pull it off, somehow.  That’s just what they do.  This time it did not happen.  The field goal was good (barely) and the fans stormed the field.  The mighty Alabama Crimson Tide had been defeated, 41-38 in a thriller.

For people saying this is starting to feel like 2007, you might want to tuck that away.  This is shaping up as being way more volatile than 2007 could ever think to be.  I’ve said something every week about this and major things continue to happen.  We aren’t even halfway through the season.  And this past week could have been considered one of the best Saturdays of college football in a long time.  A lot of good games, a lot of close games and just a lot of shit happening that is turning the college football world upside down.  If it’s chaos you want, this season is bringing it.  Now let’s see what pitfall Georgia will fall victim to because we kind of know that’s coming, right?

Let’s get right to the recap as it was a fun (for the most part) 14+ hours of football.

And now for the rest of the recap

  • A great game down in Iowa City this past weekend.  Iowa grinded out a victory over Penn State in a Top 5 matchup.  Sean Clifford was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with the Nittany Lions leading 17-3 and the offense fell apart.  Iowa’s defense saved the day and now the Hawkeyes have legit College Football Playoff aspirations.  I think everyone agrees except for one Penn State fan who was pretty upset that I had mentioned Iowa and the CFP.  He basically said I was dumb and that Iowa should be ranked 6th in the new poll, so three spots down…after a win.  Riiiiiiiiiiight.  I mentioned Iowa should be #3 and I will admit I was wrong.  They are actually #2 now.  My mistake.
  • An absolutely insane game went down at the Cotton Bowl for the Red River Shootout and it’s no surprise since this game is almost always nuts.  Texas looked like they had Oklahoma on the ropes early.  Then Spencer Rattler was benched so I assume most thought it was over.  But Caleb Williams came in and did a good job in bringing the Sooners all the way back from a 21-point deficit to win the game.  Let’s be honest here though: the combination of Kennedy Brooks going crazy (including what was essentially a walk-off touchdown to win the game) and the Longhorn defense self-destructing was what gave Boomer Sooner the big win.  Oklahoma had looked like the worst undefeated Top 10 team in quite some time but this victory could be a turning point for a team who may not meet an equal until Bedlam in late November.
  • How about that game down in Lincoln?  As the game went along, I really started to believe that finally the Huskers, under Scott Frost, would get that huge victory to start turning the program around.  Man, was I wrong.  In typical heartbreaking fashion, Nebraska blew the game late and allowed Michigan a late game-winning field goal.  The Wolverines honestly looked pretty pedestrian for a good portion of the game.  They really can’t be like that going forward considering how brutally difficult the Big Ten East looks.  As for Nebraska, oof.  Another loss, another black mark on Scott Frost’s record and unless things turn around I could see the program moving on since nothing is really improving at the end of the day.
  • Speaking of hot seats, there was another great game on the night, this one in Blacksburg.  It felt like the Hokies would hand Notre Dame their second straight loss and almost destroy their New Year’s Six chances.  Instead, Jack Coan, who played like shit early on, came on, drove the Irish down the field for the touchdown and game-tying two-point conversion and then drove them again for the winning field goal with only 17 seconds remaining.  Great performance but Virginia Tech had their chances to stop the Irish as their defense had been pretty good in the second half.  Unfortunately they came up short and Justin Fuente’s seat gets juuuuuuust a bit hotter.
  • To start Saturday there was the Arkansas-Ole Miss game which was basically drugs.  So damn ridiculous and completely defense-optional.  Both offenses went crazy and both teams got 50-burgers on the day.  It came down to the end where Sam Pittman decided he has balls the size of coconuts and would go for 2 and the lead instead of the extra point to send it to overtime.  The pass fell incomplete and the Rebels won a game that raised the blood pressure of both team’s fanbases.  Now the Rebel fans can truly enjoy that popcorn.
  • Let history show that the Auburn Tigers were, at one point, tied with the Georgia Bulldogs 3-3. I’m sure most fans on The Plains who watched the game would love to just remember up to that point and forget the rest.  Georgia proved they are the undisputed number one team in the land (for now) as they destroyed Auburn by 24.  And this is with Stetson “The Mailman” Bennett at quarterback.  What happens when J.T. Daniels comes back?  Or do they platoon?  This team has looked better than Bama all season and now they will have the #1 ranking to back that up.  Their next two games against Kentucky and Florida will either prove that’s where they belong or bring them back down to Earth a bit.
  • I didn’t think Florida State could keep close with North Carolina.  So what did they do?  Just beat them fairly easily and look as good as they were back in the Jameis Winston days (OK maybe not THAT good but still pretty good).  I am ruing the day I decided to be a smart guy and pick North Carolina as my chic pick to get to the College Football Playoff.  I feel like an idiot.  So they can now go 3-9 for all I care since it doesn’t really matter anymore (to me, anyway).
  • Another game that was bonkers that no one saw was the game between South Alabama and Texas State.  I believe this is the longest game since they changed the overtime rules yet again.  I am not a fan of the new rules.  If you don’t know, starting in the second overtime, you must go for two after a touchdown and then starting with the third overtime, it becomes a two-point conversion contest.  The college football equivalent of hockey’s shootout.  Ugh.  Anyway, this game went to four overtimes and there were so many reviews it got ridiculous.  Like the replay booth was being paid per review.  Texas State won after stopping USA’s two-point conversion attempt.
  • If I told you in, say, August of 2020 that Ed Orgeron would be on one of the hottest seats in the nation by October of 2021 you would have thought I was smoking crack.  But LSU’s loss to Kentucky this past Saturday will put Coach Eaux in that seat.  Look, Kentucky is a damn good team and losing to them is not a bad thing.  Not looking competitive when you are a team that should be in the Top 25 range is a different story altogether.  The team looks like there is a lack of effort and it shows.  The next few weeks will probably help determine Eddie O’s future.
  • Ugh what a fall from grace for BYU.  The Cougars were stunned by Boise State and are now not undefeated.  Unless a lot of truly wacky things occur (and I’m not saying they won’t), BYU’s chances of the New Year’s Six are essentially gone.  What does this mean?  It means when they do become bowl-eligible they will be locked in to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport.  Yuck.  Imagine dropping from a potential Fiesta Bowl berth to that.  Brutal.
  • Put up your hand if you thought Wake Forest…ok I am going to stop there since no one really thought much of Wake Forest this season.  OK that’s not totally true.  I had them going 9-3 this season and many had them in the 6-8 win range.  But to think this team is the only ACC hope left for the College Football Playoff in mid-October?  Yeah, no one thought that.  Wake had to survive a surprisingly tough Syracuse team, in overtime, to stay undefeated.  Now, with their next three games against Army, Duke and North Carolina, it looks like the Deacs could be 9-0 and firmly in the Top 10 when they host NC State in mid-November.  They have Clemson and Boston College after that so they have a rough end of the season to look forward to but get through all those unscathed?  They could make some history in December.
  • Welp, Oregon State’s time in the sun went quick.  The Beavers were looking like they could make some hay in the Pac-12 with all the turmoil in the conference.  Instead, they shit the bed and lost to a Washington State team who’s biggest news has been coach Nick Rolovich and his absolute refusal to get the COVID vaccine.  That conference is an absolute mess.
  • Another great game was shockingly at the Naval Academy.  No I’m not kidding.  The Midshipmen played undefeated SMU very tough.  The Ponies needed a fourth quarter touchdown and a couple of big defensive stops to escape Annapolis with the W.  I think Navy, despite being 1-4, is probably quite a bit better than their record indicates.  SMU?  They are very lucky considering some of the games they’ve been in this season.  If they can win their next four, a massive, probably primetime, game with Cincinnati looms large.
  • Louisville…ugh.  They had the game won against Virginia.  But instead of going for it on 4th and about 3 fairly deep in Hoos territory, they kicked the field goal.  Then their defense allowed Virginia to drive the length of the field in two minutes for the touchdown and the win.  Cowardly coaching from Scott Satterfield and it might cost him his job.  And did anyone think this Cavaliers team would be 4-2 at this point?  I highly doubt it.  The ACC is another conference that’s just a dog’s breakfast (other than Wake Forest).
  • Finally, UTSA was able to outlast Western Kentucky’s potent offense.  Quietly, the Roadrunners are 6-0, undefeated, and no one is noticing.  So what happens if this team finishes undefeated?  My guess is they will get no respect in the polls but they really should, despite the conference they are in.

Alright that was seriously fun.  And the late night schedule was light so it made it easier to pay a bit of attention rather than have my full attention which can get tiring into the wee hours of the morning.  Alright, let’s now look at the Bossman Top 25:

#1 Georgia
#2 Iowa
#3 Cincinnati
#4 Oklahoma
#5 Ohio State
#6 Oregon
#7 Alabama
#8 Michigan
#9 Penn State
#10 Ole Miss
#11 Notre Dame
#12 Michigan State
#13 Coastal Carolina
#14 Kentucky
#15 Oklahoma State
#16 Wake Forest
#17 Florida
#18 Texas A&M
#19 Arkansas
#20 BYU
#21 Arizona State
#22 NC State
#23 Auburn
#24 Clemson
#25 SMU

Yes there are a few somewhat glaring differences between my poll and the AP Poll and that happens of course.  I have Alabama at #7 and they only dropped to #5 in the AP Poll.  AP dropped Oregon whereas I moved them up to #6 since they didn’t play so why should they drop?  You can put the #8 through #12 teams in a hat and mix them up and any combination would probably be fine.  A lot is going to happen for these teams the next three weeks so no point in getting all bent out of shape about it now.  And I did mention undefeated UTSA earlier.  I also don’t have them in my Top 25 but they are just outside of it meaning a win next week should put them in.  Finally, I got Coastal at #13 and they are #15 in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll.  I have a feeling they may get to #12 or even #11 but that would be their ceiling unless a lot of crazy shit happens to the teams currently above them.  Which, considering the way this season has gone, wouldn’t surprise me one bit.

WEEKDAY FUN BELT ACTION!  Yes, it’s that time of year that we start getting more weekday football.  And this one, between Appalachian State and Louisiana, is a pretty big game.  And it’s tomorrow night!  Hell yeah!  God, I love Tuesday and Wednesday night college football.  Kind of feels like now we can say that Autumn has truly commenced.  Have a good week everyone!

For the first time in two years, it’s time for Grab-Bag Mania! Yeah it really doesn’t have much of a ring to it.

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I’m sure I could have come up with something better.  Give me some time and if I feel like it I will figure it out.  Or not.  Who knows.  Anyway, if you’re looking for an ESPN+ schedule here, you probably don’t live in Canada or have one of those fancy VPNs (and maybe an American credit card for all I know) and even then…why you would care about the damn ESPN+ schedule?

Grab-BagCade?  No that’s awful.  Let’s start with what might be the longest schedule I do most seasons.  Why do I not give it its own post?  Be honest: would you go out of your way to read a post that’s only about college football games that will appear on CBS Sports Network?  I mean I would but I’m not normal.  Look, CBSSN always has a few amazing games each season, just not on paper.  Remember when Old Dominion beat Virginia Tech three seasons ago?  A crazy-good game with a massive upset.  And you will see those kinds of games every season on this network which is the home of to three of the Group of Five conferences, most of Navy’s home games, most of UConn’s home games and all of Army’s home games.  What they may not have in quality they definitely have in quantity.  Let’s get going on this monster followed by some quality comments (games NOT confirmed will have an asterisk):​

August 28th UConn at Fresno State 2:00 PM
August 28th Southern_Utah_Thunderbirds Southern Utah at San Jose State 10:00 PM
September 3rd Duke_Athletics_logo 49ers_wordmark Duke at Charlotte 7:00 PM
September 4th Holy Cross at UConn Noon
September 4th Marshall at Navy 3:30 PM
September 4th Syracuse_Orange Syracuse at Ohio 7:00 PM
September 4th New_Mexico_State_Aggies_logo New Mexico State at San Diego State 10:30 PM
September 10th North_Dakota_Fighting_Hawks North Dakota at Utah State 9:00 PM
September 11th WKU_Athletics_logo Western Kentucky at Army 11:30 AM
September 11th Purdue at UConn 3:00 PM
September 11th Houston_Cougars_Logo_(1999-2012) Houston at Rice 6:30 PM
September 11th Vanderbilt_Commodores_logo Vanderbilt at Colorado State 10:00 PM
September 18th UConn at Army Noon
September 18th SMU at Louisiana Tech 3:30 PM
September 18th Utah_Utes_logo Utah at San Diego State 7:00 PM
September 18th Iowa_State_Cyclones_logo Iowa State at UNLV 10:30 PM
September 24th Middle_Tennessee_Athletics_logo 49ers_wordmark Middle Tennessee at Charlotte 6:30 PM
September 24th UNLV at Fresno State 10:00 PM
September 25th Miami_Redhawks_logo Miami-OH at Army Noon
September 25th Wyoming at UConn 3:30 PM
September 25th Indiana_Hoosiers_logo WKU_Athletics_logo Indiana at Western Kentucky 8:00 PM
October 1st BYU at Utah State 9:00 PM
October 2nd Army at Ball State* Noon
October 2nd UCF at Navy 3:30 PM
October 2nd Liberty_Flames_logo UAB Liberty at UAB 7:00 PM
October 2nd Hawaii_Warriors_logo Fresno State at Hawaii 11:00 PM
October 8th 49ers_wordmark Charlotte at FIU 7:00 PM
October 9th Miami_Redhawks_logo Eastern_Michigan_Eagles_logo Miami-OH at Eastern Michigan* Noon
October 9th SMU at Navy 3:30 PM
October 9th Wyoming at Air Force 7:00 PM
October 9th New_Mexico_State_Aggies_logo New Mexico State at Nevada 10:30 PM
October 15th North_Texas_Mean_Green_logo Marshall at North Texas 7:00 PM
October 15th San Diego State at San Jose State 10:30 PM
October 16th Yale_Bulldogs Yale at UConn Noon
October 16th Toledo at Central Michigan* 3:30 PM
October 16th Utah State at UNLV 7:00 PM
October 16th Hawaii at Nevada 10:30 PM
October 21st 49ers_wordmark Florida Atlantic at Charlotte 7:30 PM
October 22nd Middle_Tennessee_Athletics_logo Middle Tennessee at UConn 6:00 PM
October 22nd Colorado State at Utah State 9:30 PM
October 23rd Wake_Forest_University_Athletic_logo Wake Forest at Army Noon
October 23rd Miami_Redhawks_logo Miami-OH at Ball State* 3:30 PM
October 23rd San Diego State at Air Force 7:00 PM
October 23rd San Jose State at UNLV 10:30 PM
October 29th UNLV at Nevada 10:00 PM
October 30th Bowling_Green_Falcons_logo Bowling Green at Buffalo* Noon
October 30th Old_Dominion_Athletics_logo Louisiana Tech at Old Dominion 3:30 PM
October 30th Boise State at Colorado State 7:00 PM
October 30th Fresno State at San Diego State 10:30 PM
November 2nd Eastern_Michigan_Eagles_logo Toledo_Rockets_logo Eastern Michigan at Toledo* 7:30 PM
November 6th UAB Louisiana Tech at UAB Noon
November 6th Colorado State at Wyoming 3:30 PM
November 6th Boise State at Fresno State 7:00 PM
November 9th Miami_Redhawks_logo Buffalo at Miami-OH* 7:00 PM
November 10th Toledo_Rockets_logo Bowling_Green_Falcons_logo Toledo at Bowling Green* 7:30 PM
November 13th Bucknell_Bison_logo Bucknell at Army Noon
November 13th UAB UAB at Marshall 3:30 PM
November 13th Air Force at Colorado State 7:00 PM
November 13th Nevada at San Diego State 10:30 PM
November 19th Southern_Miss_Athletics_logo Southern Miss at Louisiana Tech 8:00 PM
November 20th UMass at Army Noon
November 20th East Carolina at Navy 3:30 PM
November 20th Wyoming at Utah State 7:00 PM
November 20th San Diego State at UNLV 10:30 PM
November 26th Eastern_Michigan_Eagles_logo Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan* Noon
November 26th UNLV at Air Force 3:30 PM
November 27th Houston_Cougars_Logo_(1999-2012) Houston at UConn Noon
November 27th WKU_Athletics_logo Western Kentucky at Marshall 3:30 PM
November 27th Nevada at Colorado State 9:00 PM
December 4th Conference USA Championship Game* 12:30 PM
December 30th Arizona Bowl* 5:00 PM

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Well, shit. What now?

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News has come down that the Big Ten and ACC are looking at conference-only schedules for the 2020 season.  Other conferences are waiting a bit to make any decisions on the season but are also probably watching to see what these two conferences will end up doing.  As much as the sports media wanted the Ivy League cancelling their football season to be the first domino to fall, that just won’t be the case.  This is where the real dominoes start.  If either conference moves to conference only it will deeply affect the entire schedule for this season.  So before I embark on this scheduling journey, I will let you know that I am going to put non-conference games in italics.  This way you might have an idea of all the games that could be jettisoned this season.  Just a complete shitshow.  2020 continues to amaze and disappoint.  Alright let’s just get to the schedule before I start drinking to forget all this.

A seriously long schedule to begin with here.  CBS Sports Network is home to the American Conference, Mountain West Conference, Conference USA, and the MAC.  So most of the Group of Five has games here.  You always get some crazy games and always get at least a few Power Five teams travelling to a Group of Five teams in games that don’t end the way you think they will.  Like when Virginia Tech travelled to Old Dominion two years ago and lost.  You can’t sleep on the CBSSN schedule, nor should you so let’s take a gander at this:​​​​​​​​​​​

August 29th California at UNLV (cancelled) 10:00 PM
September 3rd Washington State at Utah State (cancelled) 9:0 PM
September 4th Bucknell at Army 6:30 PM
September 5th Toledo at Tulsa Noon
September 5th San Jose State at Central Michigan 4:00 PM
September 5th New Mexico State at UAB 8:00 PM
September 5th UCLA at Hawaii (cancelled) 11:30 PM
September 11th San Diego State at Toledo 7:00 PM
September 12th Lafayette at Navy 3:30 PM
September 12th Pittsburgh at Marshall 7:00 PM
September 12th Arizona State at UNLV (cancelled) 10:30 PM
September 18th Utah at Wyoming (cancelled) 9:00 PM
September 19th Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan Noon
September 19th Virginia Tech at Middle Tennessee 3:30 PM
September 19th LSU at Rice 7:00 PM
September 19th UCLA at San Diego State (cancelled) 10:30 PM
September 25th USF at Florida Atlantic 7:30 PM
September 26th Oklahoma at Army Noon
September 26th Temple at Navy 3:30 PM
September 26th Georgia State at Charlotte 7:00 PM
September 26th San Diego State at Nevada 10:30 PM
October 2nd UNLV at San Diego State 9:00 PM
October 3rd Kent State at Northern Illinois Noon
October 3rd Army at Miami-OH 3:30 PM
October 3rd UMass at New Mexico 7:30 PM
October 9th Middle Tennessee at FIU 7:00 PM
October 9th Wyoming at UNLV 10:30 PM
October 10th Princeton at Army Noon
October 10th UAB at Rice 3:30 PM
October 10th New Mexico at Colorado State 7:00 PM
October 10th Air Force at San Jose State 10:30 PM
October 15th Western Kentucky at UAB 8:00 PM
October 16th Nevada at New Mexico 8:00 PM
October 17th Eastern Michigan at Army Noon
October 17th Ohio at Miami-OH 3:30 PM
October 17th Hawaii at Air Force 7:00 PM
October 17th San Diego State at Wyoming 10:30 PM
October 23rd Florida Atlantic at Marshall 7:00 PM
October 23rd Fresno State at Nevada 10:30 PM
October 24th Buffalo at Army Noon
October 24th Houston at Navy 3:30 PM
October 24th Air Force at Wyoming 7:00 PM
October 24th San Jose State at San Diego State 10:30 PM
October 31st Marshall at FIU Noon
October 31st Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan 3:30 PM
October 31st Temple at Tulane 7:00 PM
October 31st Wyoming at Colorado State 10:30 PM
November 4th Kent State at Bowling Green 7:00 PM
November 7th Air Force at Army Noon
November 7th Tulsa at Navy 3:30 PM
November 7th Nevada at San Jose State 7:00 PM
November 7th Fresno State at UNLV 10:30 PM
November 10th Miami-OH at Buffalo 7:00 PM
November 13th North Texas at UAB 8:00 PM
November 14th Army at Tulane Noon
November 14th Memphis at Navy 3:30 PM
November 14th Wyoming at Nevada 7:00 PM
November 14th Boise State at New Mexico 10:30 PM
November 21st Tulane at Tulsa Noon
November 21st Navy at USF 3:30 PM
November 21st FIU at Western Kentucky 7:00 PM
November 21st New Mexico at Air Force 10:30 PM
November 27th Eastern Michigan at Miami-OH Noon
November 27th Northern Illinois at Bowling Green 3:30 PM
November 28th Florida Atlantic at Middle Tennessee Noon
November 28th Louisiana Tech at FIU 3:30 PM
November 28th Air Force at Utah State 9:00 PM
December 5th Conference USA Championship Game 1:30 PM
December 19th Cure Bowl 2:30 PM
December 29th Arizona Bowl 4:30 PM

Schedule Changing Thoughts

  • As you can already tell, I have put some games down as cancelled.  That’s because I found out as I am creating this point that the Pac-12 has confirmed they are going with a conference schedule.  So the games on this network involving Pac-12 teams are hereby cancelled.  Will other teams go in their place?  Who the fuck knows at this point.
  • CBSSN also gets two bowl games.  The Cure Bowl is one of the few bowl games that is done for a specific charity cause and one of the most ignored.  Take out of that what you will.  The Arizona Bowl won’t be on New Year’s Eve this year which is a good thing since very few people watch the damn thing anyway.
  • Black Friday seems to have its own traditions (somewhat) and one is having two games on CBS Sports Network: usually a MAC game followed by one from the other three conferences CBSSN covers.  Instead, this year I have two MAC games featured on the network.  This is what happened last year so I am going with it again.  However, there will be no game on American Thanksgiving as far as I know.  A nice thought and it’s tough to say but no one is watching a college football game over the NFL’s Thanksgiving fare.
  • For the games that aren’t cancelled, I have a decent idea of what the timeslots will look like and what will be shown in each one.  Once CBSSN has an idea of what will be happening they will put out a schedule with some confirmed games and other games with at least a conference in the timeslot.  The people at CBSSN are nice that way.  Also, movement is sparse because they are usually fairly far down the pecking order in terms of picking games.
  • Here is the conference breakdown for ya:
    • Conference USA – 16 (including conference championship)
    • Mountain West – 22
    • MAC – 14
    • AAC – 11
    • Army – 8
    • FCS – 3
    • ACC – 2
    • Independents – 2
    • SEC – 1
    • Sun Belt – 1
    • Big XII – 1
    • Pac-12 – ZERO
  • Army still has their CBS Sports Network agreement through the 2022 season (it was recently extended).  Navy’s weird setup also continues.  The Notre Dame-Navy game, originally slated for Dublin, has been moved to Annapolis.  Unfortunately, ESPN still gets the game because…well, 2020 is weird.  If the AAC decides to invite Army this whole scheduling thing with CBS Sports Network could become really interesting.
  • The Mountain West still takes precedence with the amount of games but the MAC and Conference USA aren’t close behind.  C-USA was supposed to have only 10 games (plus the conference championship game) on the network but it was more last year and should be even more this season.  Conference USA also has games on the NFL Network so at least we will be able to see many of the conference games this year which is a change from the past.

Notre Dame on NBC.  One of the few instances of college football we have received up here for decades.  But now with more choices, less people watch the Peacock Network on Fall Saturdays…even when Notre Dame is coming off a perfect regular season.  Here is the now-not-confirmed-at-all schedule:​​​​​

September 12th Arkansas at Notre Dame 2:30 PM
September 19th Western Michigan at Notre Dame 2:30 PM
October 3rd Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame (in Green Bay) 7:30 PM
October 10th Stanford at Notre Dame (cancelled) 7:30 PM
October 31st Duke at Notre Dame 3:30 PM
November 7th Clemson at Notre Dame 7:30 PM
November 21st Louisville at Notre Dame 2:30 PM

Only one primetime game this year now that the Stanford game has been cancelled.  What will happen with the Wisconsin game is a question as who knows what the Big Ten will now do.  The ACC will probably step in to replace Stanford in the schedule as they have decided to include Notre Dame in any new scheduling arrangement for 2020.  NBC going with the 2:30 start times more often so that the games are done by 6 and so that it’s really its own timeslot.  Probably a smart move to keep enough eyeballs on the network.

Alright…now the conference that kind of started this potential schedule shitshow.  If the Big Ten goes ahead with just conference games (and now with the Pac-12 doing it I can’t see why they wouldn’t) this whole fucking thing could change.  Does Bell carry the Big Ten Network now?  Hopefully they do but considering what may happen this year, you may not miss much.  Man this is depressing.  Alright let’s just get to the damn schedule already:​​​

September 3rd Florida Atlantic at Minnesota 8:00 PM
September 4th Illinois State at Illinois 8:00 PM
September 5th Kent State at Penn State Noon
September 5th Monmouth at Rutgers 3:30 PM
September 5th Towson at Maryland 3:30 PM
September 5th Northern Iowa at Iowa 7:30 PM
September 12th Southern Illinois at Wisconsin Noon
September 12th Ball State at Michigan Noon
September 12th Tennessee Tech at Minnesota 3:30 PM
September 12th UConn at Illinois 3:30 PM
September 12th Western Kentucky at Indiana 7:30 PM
September 12th Northern Illinois at Maryland 7:30 PM
September 19th South Dakota State at Nebraska Noon
September 19th Central Michigan at Northwestern Noon
September 19th Ball State at Indiana 3:30 PM
September 19th Appalachian State at Wisconsin 3:30 PM
September 19th Bowling Green at Illinois 7:30 PM
September 19th Toledo at Michigan State 7:30 PM
September 26th Northern Illinois at Iowa Noon
September 26th Rutgers at Ohio State Noon
September 26th BYU at Minnesota 3:30 PM
September 26th Cincinnati at Nebraska 8:00 PM
October 3rd Illinois at Rutgers Noon
October 3rd Minnesota at Maryland 3:30 PM
October 10th Rutgers at Purdue Noon
October 10th Maryland at Indiana 7:30 PM
October 17th Indiana at Rutgers Noon
October 17th Purdue at Illinois Noon
October 17th Maryland at Northwestern 3:30 PM
October 24th Nebraska at Rutgers Noon
October 24th Northwestern at Iowa 3:30 PM
October 31st Rutgers at Maryland Noon
October 31st Northwestern at Purdue 3:30 PM
November 7th Iowa at Illinois Noon
November 7th Maryland at Michigan 3:30 PM
November 7th Wisconsin vs. Northwestern (in Chicago) 8:00 PM
November 14th Morgan State at Northwestern Noon
November 14th Michigan at Rutgers 3:30 PM
November 14th Ohio State at Maryland 8:00 PM
November 21st Rutgers at Michigan State Noon
November 21st Maryland at Penn State 3:30 PM
November 27th Minnesota at Nebraska 2:30 PM
November 30th Michigan State at Maryland 3:30 PM

All the games start at either Noon, 3:30, or 7:30 except for six: the Black Friday game between Minnesota and Nebraska (not the Iowa-Nebraska Faux Farmageddon that they used to show), the November 14th game between tOSU and Maryland, the November 7th game in Chicago, Cincinnati’s visit to Lincoln  and the opening Thursday and Friday night games.  To be honest, much of this is a guess but at least most of the times should be good, for now.  As for games on BTN at the same time, in the States there is a BTN Alternate Channel.  Of course we don’t get that up here and if you are with Bell you don’t get the Big Ten Network at all as far as I know.  For the readers that get their specialty pack through Rogers or Eastlink, you should get the alternate games (i.e. the games not appearing on BTN in your guide) to go to the specialty pack.  Rarely are there two decent games on at the same time so it really isn’t that big a deal but still, you get the specialty pack for a reason (some of you) and that’s to get ALL the games you might not possibly get (that the CRTC approves of and that appear on one of the ESPN-owned networks or the BTN Alternate channel in this case).

Alright that’s it that’s all.  The Pac-12’s announcement and the domino effect will begin very soon I assume.  This means most of what I have done is for naught but whatever.  I was bored so I figured I’d give it a shot for now.  Next up would be the conference predictions but I am putting a hold on those since I don’t know what will happen with the schedules, how many games each team will play, what the schedule will even look like, hell, even the bowl game tie-ins might change.  2020, everyone!  So have a good weekend and I will do a post next week.  I promise.  What it will be about, I don’t know yet.

Bobby, just go play in the puddles outside OK? – Week 6 College Football Recap

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in-the-rain

Now wasn’t that fun to watch?  Game after game after game seemed to be played in what amounted to a swamp…OK maybe a poor choice of words there.  Amazingly enough, most of these games were in North Carolina, punctuated with the Notre Dame-NC State affair that was terrible football but fun to watch…in a car wreck kind of way.  So get in the boat and help me navigate this recap alright?

Thursday

  • It looks like it was a fun time in Ruston, Louisiana Thursday night. You know, unless you’re a WKU fan.  Conference USA looks like a mess.  No team seems to want to win the damn conference.  Hmmm…kind of sounds like college football as a whole other than about a dozen teams at this point.
  • So again we have the three of the top four teams in the American Conference in the West division. And it’s the same three teams as last year.  No offense to Tulsa, Tulane, and SMU, but Houston, Navy, and Memphis are way up the ladder from you.  Memphis showed they were real even without Justin Fuente and Paxton Lynch as they beat Temple and went to 4-1 on the season.

Friday

  • Clemson and Boise State won their games easily. Ho hum.  The best game of the night is the one I couldn’t get all of on my PVR.  For fuck’s sake I put FOUR HOURS for the SMU-Tulsa game and it wasn’t even close.  There were still over 3 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of a game that went to overtime (and was won by Tulsa).  I mean what the fuck college football?  This is getting out of hand.  But the worst on this was yet to come.  Stay tuned.

Saturday Early

  • Thanks to LSU and Florida playing a rousing game of “Not My Fault”, the schedule for TV (at least up here) went to shit. It’s like as soon as that happened, Bell, Rogers, and whoever else has these special college football packages lost their ever-loving god damn minds.  I had to do so many updates (eleven) that day.  It set a record (for this blog).  If you didn’t get back to the blog before I started updating the hell out of it, I’m sorry.  I won’t blame Hurricane Matthew for this.  I blame LSU, Florida, and the SEC for being complete fuckwads about this whole thing.
  • Now to the games and boy did we have a doozy to begin with. The Battle at Carter-Finlay Stadium Lake was disgusting football at its best.  I mean if these two teams went on with this game, then I don’t know.  Anyway, NC State won in a game with missed snaps, bobbled snaps, slipping, sliding, horrible kicks, and massive celebrations over normally easy field goals.  Notre Dame continues its slide as they may not even make a bowl game this year.  Yeah it’s that bad there.  They should just fire Brian Kelly now and get it over with.
  • Pitt and Georgia Tech played a fantastically underrated game over on the ACC Network. A close game that came down to Pitt kicker Chris Blewitt not blowing it by banking the winning field goal off the upright and in on the final play of the game.
  • Kansas gave their yearly scare to TCU. I don’t know what it is about the Jayhawks but Gary Patterson and his Horned Frogs want NOTHING to do with those guys.  And it shows.

Saturday Afternoon

  • This is where things got ridiculous. Let’s start in Annapolis where Navy is still good, just so you know.  It looked like for a while that they would put a scare into Houston and then the Cougars would eventually win.  But they could not get up on the Middies.  Navy pulls off the upset of the Group of Five year so far and means that we are down to two G-5 CFP hopefuls: Boise State and Western Michigan.  Also, that scene at the end with all the servicemen and servicewomen running onto the field was epic.
  • So Virginia Tech is good again? It took some time but Justin Fuente has made this team a contender in the ACC Coastal again.  They beat North Carolina up on another soggy field although this didn’t look nearly as bad as the game in Raleigh earlier.
  • And now we go to our PVR-buster Game of the Week! Tennessee and Texas A&M went almost five friggin hours on Saturday.  Why does CBS insist on only giving the SEC Game of the Week a 3.5 hour window?  It almost never ends by 7:00.  Just put four hours in and tell local news to shove it up their ass.  Oh, and the Aggies are lucky they won.  Well, no, Trayveon Williams is lucky.  The Aggies looked good most of the game.  All he had to do once he got that first down late in the fourth is go down and the game would be over.    Be greedy and go for the touchdown.  The Tennessee defender was able to knock it out of his hands for a touchback and that allowed the Vols to tie it up.  What is it with ball carriers this year?
  • So Michigan State lost to BYU. Not that BYU is bad but the Spartans are looking awful now.  Makes my pick for them to win the Big Ten look really stupid.  I stand by my pick since they should have had the team to run the table.  Hindsight is always 20-20 of course.

Saturday Primetime

  • So Alabama basically made the Hogs their bitch. By the end of the first quarter, I felt like being done watching that.  But that was one of the closer games of this timeslot.
  • What Michigan did to Rutgers should have been a felony. Then again, this is what the Big Ten gets for getting all that TV money with the NY/NJ market.  I hope Rutgers is a doormat forever.
  • Mark Helfrich should just go hide. Oregon hasn’t been this bad since…OK let me check…2004 when they last missed a bowl.  They went 5-6 that year.  I will say that Mike Bellotti went on to coach four more seasons before leaving to be an analyst on ESPN and be paired with the completely mediocre Allen Bestwick.  But I don’t think Helfrich will get that same amount of time.  He gets them to a bowl game or after the season he will be shitcanned, mark my words.  Oh, and Washington is really, REALLY good this season.
  • All those Wide Rights and now we have this. It’s karma (kind of).  The U to lose on a blocked extra point is heartbreaking for a team that still has not made it to the ACC Championship since joining the conference.  Amazing stat but it’s true.  Florida State would have fallen out of the Top 25 if they had lost and Jimbo Fisher might have started getting interest in other head coaching positions.  Looks like that won’t happen though.  I think.

Saturday Late Night

  • Or #Pac12AfterDark if you wish. And something sure did go dark.  Stanford’s Pac-12 hopes.  Washington State beat them pretty bad.  Now Stanford has lost two straight games to the Washington schools by big margins.  The Apple Cup on American Thanksgiving weekend is looking tastier every week (despite the fact Wazzu barfed up a game against an FCS opponent to start the season…a Cougar tradition).
  • Arizona State has quietly moved into contention in the Pac-12 South. It helps that no team other than Colorado seems to want to win the damn division and even the Buffs are going off the rails now.  I could easily see a four-loss team go to the Pac-12 Championship.  Wouldn’t the Rose Bowl love that?

Sunday

  • After seeing the Georgia-South Carolina game, I don’t know if I want SEC football on a Sunday ever again.

Now we have an SEC game to reschedule and no one wants to agree to any ideas.  Basically they are:

  1. Have Florida cancel their game with Presbyterian by buying them out on November 19th. Then have LSU do the same with South Alabama.  Presbyterian can play South Alabama then.  The buyout for USA will be a lot more than the buyout for Presbyterian so either the SEC or Florida have to pay LSU the difference.  Then comes the gate that LSU would lose for that game which can be easily rectified by Florida giving at least half of it to LSU.  Finally, it would make it so LSU has three straight road games and would play Texas A&M on American Thanksgiving night five days later.  Not ideal but may be the only real option.  If this happens, let’s hope South Alabama wins either 5 or 7 games so we don’t have any bowl bid controversy.
  2. Play the game December 3rd in what would have been the SEC Championship timeslot. Move the SEC Championship game to December 10th but put it on in primetime to be fair to the Army-Navy game.  The Army and Navy people will piss and moan about this but remember, this tradition of playing the game on its own day started way back in…..2009.  Yeah so who gives a shit really.
  3. Play it on October 29th. This has been detailed on other sites so let me give you the bare bones.  They would move the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party back to the 22nd (Georgia-Florida game for you teetotalers).  Do this since Georgia and Florida both have a bye week that week.  Then move the LSU-Florida game to the 29th.  This would be the toughest to do since I am sure most of the people attending the Cocktail Party have already bought their tickets and reserved hotel rooms in Jacksonville.  From a football standpoint it probably works the best but logistically could be too much of a nightmare to do.

All this becomes a moot point if LSU and Florida both don’t have chances to win their respective divisions.  LSU probably won’t win their division unless they beat Bama which then means all hell breaks loose in the SEC West.  The SEC East is the crapshoot that everyone is watching, especially since Tennessee lost to Texas A&M meaning, well looky here, the Vols and Gators are tied for first.  It’s early on so much can change but I have this feeling Florida will make it so this game has to be played.  By that point, the October 29 date will be gone meaning the SEC has to sack up and make a decision.  If they hurt a school’s feelings, too bad.  What are they going to leave for the Pac-12?

So there you have it.  A crazy weekend that gave me fits on the scheduling front.  Hopefully it is much better this coming Saturday as I beat my PVR into submission once again.  Should be fun (except for the aforementioned PVR…sorry buddy).

Bossman Top 25

Hey, hey kids it’s time for another one of my Top 25s.  And yes I am relatively close with the actual AP Top 25 although I am sure some of you could poke a lot of holes into it.  And for that I say “I don’t care.”  Alright here we go:

#1 Alabama
#2 Michigan
#3 Texas A&M
#4 Clemson
#5 Ohio State
#6 Washington
#7 Louisville
#8 Wisconsin
#9 Baylor
#10 Tennessee
#11 Florida State
#12 Ole Miss
#13 Nebraska
#14 Houston
#15 Florida
#16 Oklahoma
#17 Miami
#18 Boise State
#19 West Virginia
#20 Virginia Tech
#21 Utah
#22 Western Michigan
#23 Georgia
#24 Arizona State
#25 Arkansas

Yes the top 8 are the same as the AP Top 8 teams, just not in the same order.  I give a lot of credence to big wins and Texas A&M got a massive win over Tennessee.  So tOSU fans don’t worry: you can get that back if you beat Wisconsin this weekend.  Western Michigan makes their first appearance in the Top 25 and I have Boise State up at 18.  If teams continue to fall above them, you almost have to move them up, right?  Boise has to hope San Diego State wins out and goes into the Mountain West Championship at 11-1 for them to have any chance of getting into the College Football Playoff.  WMU needs a miracle really thanks to their now relatively poor MAC schedule.

Finally, I might as well put up my CFP picks now.  Just so you understand, my CFP selections aren’t based on if the College Football Playoff started today: it’s how I feel like they will end up at the end of the year.  And really, I can’t see much of a change.  These are the matchups I have at this point:

Fiesta Bowl: #1 Washington vs. #4 Alabama

Peach Bowl: #2 Ohio State vs. #3 Clemson

No real surprises here and it almost mirrors what most people have except for Bama.  I think they will lose a game down the stretch (could be in the next few weeks) but still win the SEC Championship which get them to #4.  As of now, I wouldn’t see any controversy with these selections.

A more disturbing trend is how I see the rest of the bowl games.  Right now I have a lot of bowl bids being unfulfilled and multiple 5-7 teams filling them.  More than last year when there were three.  I love college football and all but we may have finally got to a true breaking point where it has gotten way out of hand.  Which means I am sure we will see seven more bowl games added by the end of the decade.

Tomorrow I will have my NFL recap up after a much better day with my picks (but still not perfect…I need to be perfect just once).

Bowl Recap #3 – Sponsored by gaining weight over the holidays

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It sucks doesn’t it? I feel like a sloth right now.  My theory to deal with this is along the same lines as the theory I use for leftover Halloween candy.  Eat as much of it as quick as possible to get rid of it.  You might feel like shit for a day or two but then it’s gone and you can get back to having a relatively normal diet.  It doesn’t seem to be working this time.  Oh well, there’s so much football to watch it’s not like I can leave the couch for too long.  That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it.  Anyway…

Bowl Recap-o

ST. PETERSBURG BOWL – Marshall 16 UConn 10

OK first off the 11am starting time on Boxing Day is interesting but sucks for anyone who has responsibilities and/or is recovering from Christmas Day festivities (read: drinks). And for the love of God, enough of playing a bowl game on this shitty field.  I would rather watch it played on a poorly maintained high school football field instead.  The Trop is a fucking dump.  They should just tear it down (and move the Rays to Montreal).  Anyway, the game was close but not really that exciting.  UConn might be an interesting team to watch next year in the AAC East.

SUN BOWL – Washington State 20 Miami 14

Sun Bowl. I always laugh at that moniker for this game because most of the time this game is played in either a) snow b) rain or c) sunny but frigid weather.  Almost never is it sunny and fairly nice weather.  It’s fucking El Paso.   I don’t get it.  It’s like it’s in some sort of weird weather vortex.  Plus they need to make it so it’s an SEC team against a Big XII team.  That’s the easiest way to fill the stands.  As for the game, Wazzu held on in sloppy snowy weather to defeat The U in the final Richt-less game for the Hurricanes.  Also, is Mike Leach drunk when he’s coaching?  His halftime and post-game interviews are equal parts hilarious and disturbing for the fact he never really answers the questions asked of him.

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL – Washington 44 Southern Miss 31

I’ll be honest: I watched very little of this game. With the Sun Bowl on at virtually the same time and the Pinstripe Bowl starting about an hour afterwards, I would be surprised if many (outside UW or USM alums/fans) would watch this one.  Another example of poor timing of bowl games.  They would have been better off putting this on at 9 in the morning.

PINSTRIPE BOWL – Duke 44 Indiana 41 (OT)

Good lord this was a fantastic game. It had a bit of everything.  A lot of scoring.  Those one or two defensive stops when absolutely needed.  Overtime.  And controversy…in overtime even.  Both of these teams are looking quite good for next season I have to say.  The controversy was over the field goal missed (made?) by the Hoosiers in their half of overtime to extend the game to 2OT.  The ball went fully over the uprights.  From some angles it looked good.  I never saw an angle that definitively showed the ball would have been outside the uprights.  However, that is not reviewable.  This one I kind of get.  How would you review it?  Either we will get a rule in the next few seasons that the uprights need to be extended a foot or two higher or this will be lost to history as a controversial but highly unusual occurrence that lends to the magic of college football (except for IU fans).

INDEPENDENCE BOWL – Virginia Tech 55 Tulsa 52

From the sublime to the ridiculous, we present you the Independence Bowl. Frank Beamer’s Last Stand.  This game was ridiculous.  Most points scored in the first half in any bowl EVER.  Yet it felt like Tulsa still wasn’t fully out of it at any point.  I’m surprised we didn’t see Bud Foster drinking right out of the whiskey bottle on the sidelines.  This was clearly defense-optional and it showed.  A nice (albeit weird) way for Frank Beamer to go out.  Very subdued at the end which kind of matches Frank’s personality.  I am sure that’s the way he would have wanted it.  As for who is now the leader at the FBS coaching ranks in all-time wins, look no further than Evil Nick Saban who is one win ahead of Papa Bill Snyder.

FOSTER FARMS BOWL – Nebraska 37 UCLA 29

This ended up being another good game. Unfortunately, with the Huskers winning, it means the idea of 5-7 teams playing in bowl games becomes that much more accepted which is the wrong way to go.  I don’t usually care one way or another who wins a bowl game as long as it’s a good game.  This one was one where I hoped UCLA mopped the floor with Nebraska.  That did not happen so we should look forward to 10 more bowl games in the next few years.  I tip my cap to Mike Riley’s team as they had one of the most frustrating seasons in recent memory.  To end like this is a nice way to end it for them and allows them to look forward to next season with a bit of momentum.

MILITARY BOWL – Navy 44 Pittsburgh 28

Normally a game like this wouldn’t have elicited much interest. However, with the Panthers players playing their hearts out for James Conner (who is suffering from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) and Keenan Reynolds looking to retake the career touchdown record from Kenneth Dixon there was at least a little intrigue.  Also, Reynolds had the opportunity to set a new record for rushing yards by a QB, which he did.  Not very close (for the most part) but a pretty fun game to watch at a very fun atmosphere.  Whoever made the decision to have the Military Bowl be played at Annapolis is a genius.

QUICK LANE BOWL – Minnesota 21 Central Michigan 14

If it wasn’t for the fact this bowl was close it would have been thoroughly unwatchable. Even ESPN didn’t think much about it as it’s the only game to be relegated to ESPN2 this bowl season (other than on New Year’s Day but that’s a little different scenario).  All three 5-7 teams won their bowl games.  I am less than pleased.  Also, it will be very interesting to see how Tracy Claeys does over a full season in the relatively competitive Big Ten West.

Alright my NFL recap for this previous week will be combined with the NFL Week 17 schedule to create some sort of superpost (super referring to the length of the post and not the quality of the post). I am hoping to do this tomorrow but it all depends on when the coverage maps are done (courtesy of 506sports.com).  Four bowl games today with two that are almost must-see (Russell Athletic and Alamo Bowls).  Four bowl games tomorrow as well but with not nearly the hype of today’s games.  Then, in two days, the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six are finally upon us!  Enjoy the games everyone.

Bowl Recap Numero Deux

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Another round of bowls over.  Another round of sleep lost.  I’m not complaining.  I can make it up sometime during the summer I’m sure.

Most of the bowl games have been great affairs.  It confirms the fact that bowl season can be exciting.  Now let’s just hope that the College Football Playoff games don’t shit the bed for all of us.

It’s recappin’ time!

Boca Raton Bowl: Marshall 52 Northern Illinois 23 – This game felt pretty much over by halftime.  NIU just was never really into this game.  It’s amazing how the Herd basically laid waste to the most dominant MAC team of the last few years.  And here I was saying that Conference USA was the worst FBS conference this season.  I mean they totally were but Marshall could have easily competed in a better conference.  And what the hell was up with Doc Holliday?  He was sweating more than Mike Tyson at a spelling bee.

Poinsettia Bowl: Navy 17 San Diego State 16 – The last time these two teams met in the Poinsettia Bowl, the Middies got thumped by the Aztecs.  This game was…well, it wasn’t exactly exciting for three quarters.  Then the fact it was close made it exciting at the end.  So many college football games end up that way.  Anyway, great finish here made up for an otherwise mediocre bowl.

Bahamas Bowl: Western Kentucky 49 Central Michigan 48 – I am so glad I put this game on the PVR.  We were so close to having the biggest comeback in college football history.  And for those that watched, it was one of the craziest final quarters in history.  The Chippewas were down by 35 at one point but came all the way back, highlighted by the Heave on Christmas Eve (along with a few laterals) to get within one.  Then Dan “Balls the Size of Grapefruits” Enos decides to go for two to end the insanity.  The attempt falls short but it didn’t take away from a spectacular bowl game finish.

Hawaii Bowl: Rice 30 Fresno State 6 – I guess all the excitement for one day was gone by the time the Bahamas Bowl was over.  This was thoroughly unwatchable.  Here is your best candidate for bowl that can be dropped completely off the schedule.  Very few people in the stands.  A boring game where Rice dominated.  A team (Fresno State) that was sub-.500 but got in because of the stupid conference championship rule that allows these teams to go bowling.  In my opinion, this is where Georgia Southern should have gone (or UAB for that matter).  Even the play-by-play guy was brutal (I felt sorry for Rod Gilmore here).  And the timing was shitty.  Christmas Eve night.  I don’t know what it is about this bowl but it continues to churn out some pretty good dumpster fires year after year.

Heart of Dallas Bowl: Louisiana Tech 35 Illinois 18 – This truly did feel like Tim Beckman & Co. were just glad to be in a bowl.  LaTech, while not dominant, was clearly the better team.  I don’t know if this shows the state of the Big Ten or not but you have to wonder.  Hold on, C-USA is 4-1 in bowls.  Conference.  Friggin’.  USA.  A crazy season continues.

Quick Lane Bowl: Rutgers 40 North Carolina 21 – They kept mentioning that this would be a game with a lot of offensive fireworks.  I guess but did they not watch UNC all season?  One of the most inept teams defensively in the land.  They made screwing up an art form.  And they did not disappoint here.  The score is much closer than the game actually was.  I have a feeling the Big Ten isn’t too upset that Rutgers is one of them now.

Bitcoin Bowl: NC State 34 UCF 27 – I’m going to be honest.  I figured UCF would mop the floor with the Wolfpack.  I was never very convinced of how good NC State was (and the ACC as a whole).  They proved me wrong.  With Jacoby Brissett coming back next season, this could be a team to watch now that Florida State will be without Jameis Winston next year.  The ACC could become very interesting for sure.  A little disappointed in UCF but they still had a great season punctuated with the Hail Mary win over East Carolina to grab a share of the American crown.  Oh, and can they please move the Bitcoin Bowl somewhere else?  The Trop is a shithole.  That turf was horrendous.  It looked bush league.  Move it to another pro stadium somewhere (Oakland or Indy come to mind) and just blow up this building.  No wonder the Tampa Bay Rays want out of there.  What a dump.  It makes the SkyDome (yes the SKYDOME not the Rogers Centre) look like a palace.

Military Bowl: Virginia Tech 33 Cincinnati 17 – So the worst Power Five conference and the worst Group of Five conference are looking damn good so far during bowl season.  Yeah I don’t get it either.  This is one of those bowls they need to keep around at all costs.  First, it was packed.  Secondly, it helps that it’s in Annapolis and not at RFK Stadium where it used to be.  Makes more sense to have it at Navy’s home stadium.  Funny how Navy doesn’t get an automatic bid here.  I guess it would miss the point of “sending” a team to a bowl game wouldn’t it?

Sun Bowl: Arizona State 36 Duke 31 – And back to the fantastic bowls.  I wondered how the Fighting Cutcliffes would hold up in this one and early on that point made sense.  Then the Devils of the Blue variety turned it on.  I thought they had this one in the bag and then ASU pulls it out late.  Amazing game.  Jamison Crowder is the real deal and will be missed at Duke.  Also, watch for Demario Richard next season in the desert.  Possible early dark horse Heisman candidate making a statement with a four touchdown game.

Independence Bowl: South Carolina 24 Miami 21 – A good bowl marred by terrible weather.  Wow, it was awful there in Shreveport.  For once I am glad for those Duck Dynasty idiots since they have saved the Independence Bowl (for now).  Being in Shreveport doesn’t help since it could arguably be the worst destination of all the bowl games, and that includes Detroit.  A frustrating season comes to a decent end for the Head Ball Coach with a win here.  And he’s basically stated he will probably die while coaching so we will see a lot of him for years to come I’m sure.

Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State 31 Boston College 30 (OT) – The Nittany Lions’ return to bowl season was a successful one.  What is ironic is that a missed extra point in overtime by the Eagles allowed PSU to claim victory with their touchdown immediately afterward.  Sam Ficken kicked the winning extra point.  Arguably one of the worst kickers in FBS three seasons ago as a freshman, Ficken has turned into one of the most reliable college kickers recently (which is a premium these days).  That he watched another kicker miss a relatively easy extra point in overtime is ironic since he missed quite a few important kicks earlier in his career.  That is irony right?  I’m right on this am I?  Hell, I’m not a writer so hopefully I am.  And if not, doesn’t matter anyway.  On to the next bowl!

Holiday Bowl: USC 45 Nebraska 42 – Win it for Bo!  Well they almost did.  It was almost heartbreaking to see them lose considering all the players seemed to love Bo Pelini’s coaching and weren’t happy when he was fired.  The Huskers gave it all they had and stayed toe-to-toe with a Trojan team that looks like a CFP contender for next season.  USC has so many weapons I thought they’d drop a 60-burger on Nebraska.  A great game to end the second set of bowls.

Today is Big XII Bowl Day.  Three bowls, three Big XII teams.  All of them underdogs I’m sure.  Should be an interesting day for the conference as their offseason should be full of upheaval.  In all, twenty bowl games over the next six days.  Should be fun.  Yeah I can sleep later.