The Land of the Undefeated 8.0

Posted on October 9, 2023 by guelphbossman

Yep. It’s that time again. It’s the eighth (EIGHTH?) edition of looking at the undefeated teams left in college football around the halfway mark of the season. Fun stuff, right? One day I should go back and see how accurate I was with these predictions. Though to be honest, I think I would be scared to do so since my predictions have been so great, right (see Tigers, Clemson). Anyway, let’s get going with this!

#1 Georgia (6-0) – The Dawgs have, at times, looked a bit shaky. Tough wins over South Carolina and Auburn made it seem like this team may struggle at some point. Then they demolish Kentucky and it feels like all is normal again. I still think there is a loss in there but they will, once again, walk to another SEC East title and a berth in the SEC Championship. Predicted record: 11-1.

#2 Michigan (6-0) – Now here is a team that has not struggled. At all. In any sense. The Wolverines are just that good. I do, however, think they will lose a game this season (I have it being a loss to Penn State although it could just as easily be Ohio State). They will still make the Big Ten Championship and throttle whichever sad sack team comes out of the Big Ten West and head to the College Football Playoff. Predicted record: 11-1.

#3 Ohio State (5-0) – Speaking of tOSU, I figure they will also lose one game. I have them losing The Game to Michigan which would knock them out of a shot at the Big Ten Championship (in what could be the most scrutinized tiebreaker ever). The Buckeyes, though, have to quit with the slow starts or otherwise some other team is going to surprise them and it will be lights out for their national championship hopes. Predicted record: 11-1.

#4 Florida State (5-0) – They may end up dropping even more if they can’t show how dominant they really are. Then again, they may not have to since I honestly believe they will be the only undefeated team at the end of the regular season (can you smell those 2007 vibes?). Predicted record: 12-0.

#5 Oklahoma (6-0) – Quite a few people are suprised Oklahoma is doing this well. I figured that they would lose against Texas but would only have that one loss against them at this point. Look, Dillon Gabriel wasn’t going to be as bad as he was last season and the defense was definitely going to be better under Captain Defense himself, Brent Venables. Will they go the rest of the way unscathed. Eh…. Predicted record: 10-2.

#6 Penn State (5-0) – PSU really doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses. They could go on a serious run, the likes which haven’t been seen in State College in quite a long time. It is Penn State, though. They are bound to lose one and I think they will to Ohio State (which would make for a fun three-way tie at 11-1). Predicted record: 11-1.

#7 Washington (5-0) – The Pac-12 is up for grabs. The worry is that the conference will cannibalize itself. I agree with that notion. Predicted record: 9-3.

#8 Oregon (5-0) – If you take out the weird Texas Tech game, the Ducks have looked awesome. They would seem to be on a fast track to the Pac-12 Championship if USC, Washington, UCLA, Oregon State and Washington State weren’t in their conference. If one Pac-12 team gets out with only one loss, I wonder if The Committee gives them a bit of a bump because of how difficult the road to get there would have been. Predicted record: 10-2.

#10 USC (6-0) – Now we get to the Trojans, the preseason Pac-12 favourites. Man, have they had a roller coaster season so far. Three close games in a row now for this team. And their defense is atrocious. If Lincoln Riley wants to stick with Alex Grinch as his defensive coordinator then so be it. It will most likely cost USC a trip to the CFP (if not also the New Year’s Six). Predicted record: 10-2.

#12 North Carolina (5-0) – Maybe this will finally be the Heels’ year. They are flying under the radar and playing really good football if you take away the game against Appalachian State where they survived in double overtime. Will they struggle with their ACC schedule? Looking at it, they probably should be 9-0 going into the Victory Bell game against Duke. Then all bets are off. Predicted record: 11-1.

#14 Louisville (6-0) – This is arguably the biggest surprise on this list. Not saying no one thought Louisville wouldn’t be good. Just not this good. I had them 4-2 at this point which is pretty good but not undefeated. I would say they now have the meat of their conference schedule remaining but realistically, if they can beat Duke, they could conceivably be 11-0 and playing Kentucky for the Governor’s Cup in late November. Sounds crazy but you never know. Predicted record: 10-2.

Air Force (5-0) – They have ascended to the top of the Group of Five pecking order…for now. They have Wyoming this weekend in what could be the biggest game of the season. Other than that, it could end up being a showdown with Boise State to end the regular season which will tell us whether the Falcons will have their first shot at the New Year’s Six or not. Predicted record: 10-2.

Liberty (5-0) – The Flames are playing….pretty good. Holding on to beat Sam Houston isn’t a good look though. They also might have the easiest schedule remaining of any team in FBS. So even if they ran the table it would probably mean nothing unless utter chaos happened. Predicted record: 10-2.

James Madison (5-0) – Now here’s a frustrating one. JMU is undefeated. Would be bowl-eligible except for the NCAA’s ridiculous rule that teams moving up from FCS must serve a two-year transition. The thing is, that is to keep teams from not having full FBS schedules from becoming bowl-eligible. The Dukes weren’t even like that last year in their first year in FBS. Hopefully someone comes to their senses and gives this team a shot at a bowl game, if not the Sun Belt Championship. Predicted record: 10-2.

14 teams left unscathed. We are in mid-October. I wouldn’t be surprised if we headed into November with only 5 or 6 undefeated teams. At least we know for sure that by early Sunday morning there will only be a maximum of 13 undefeated teams with Washington and Oregon meeting in a mega-matchup.

Tomorrow…yes, TOMORROW…is the start of the college football week. Conference USA continues their October Weekday Warrior schedule with two games. The Fun Belt adds to the mix with a game of their own. Wednesday then has two more C-USA games. Football every day folks. Gotta love it! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day!

What is wrong with the Week 3 College Football TV Schedule?

Posted on September 14, 2023 by guelphbossman

Nothing, really.

Now if you asked me what is wrong with Mel Tucker? Or Jeff Lebby? Or a host of past football coaches? I’d say plenty. I mean what the fuck is up with some people?

If you haven’t heard about ol’ Tucks, here’s a brief rundown:

Brenda Tracy, a well-known rape victim advocate (and victim herself), was hired to speak to the Spartans football team two years ago. Depending on who you believe, Tucker and Tracy became friends and then developed a bit of a romantic interest in each other. Tucker says this is true, Tracy denies this. He said, she said. Then last April, there was a phone call between the two where Tucker decided it should be phone sex (Tucker says they were both speaking in that manner) and then decided to whip it out and jerk off on the phone.

Tracy filed a formal complaint in December and then a report was filed in July to say that they should have a hearing to discuss whether Tucker violated a school policy on sexual misconduct. This hearing was to be next month. Now Tucker is suspended and probably will be fired with cause.

Crazy. And ridiculous. And even if it isn’t all true, the stuff Tucker admits paints him as a guy who can’t control himself. Then his letter on the matter makes him sound like a fucking idiot. No matter what, this is not going to turn out well for someone.

As for Jeff Lebby, he decided this was a perfect time to let his father-in-law, disgraced piece of shit former head coach Art Briles, on to the field after an Oklahoma victory on Saturday. Lebby just wanted his family on the field. Which includes Briles. I don’t know if Lebby understood the whole situation which makes him a complete dummy. He did apologize, though. Whether he meant it or did it while Brent Venables held a gun to his nuts, we will never know.

All of this is to say that there are some college football head coaches, past and present, who seem to think they can do whatever the fuck they feel like and get away with it. Again, even if Tucker is deemed not guilty, he admitted to cheating on his wife and pretty much seems OK with it. Lebby didn’t think once that “hey, my father-in-law, who has not been hired anywhere else since he was fired from Baylor for pretty fucking terrible reasons, should get to have Sooners gear on and come on the Sooners field and celebrate with the Sooners because…”…..why exactly? Oh, because he pretty much doesn’t give a shit. That’s why some of these players need to be told “Don’t be like your coach. He’s an asshole.”

Alright, enough of that nonsense. It’s schedule time.

Thursday

Nothing much of note here but I am interested in seeing Navy truly for the first time this season (after watching very little of them earlier on).

Friday

		US	Canada
Army at UTSA	7:00
Utah State at Air Force	8:00

Interestingly enough, the other two military academies play on Friday night. So all three are done before Midnight on Friday. Odd. But fun that they are all pretty much getting national play on their own.

Saturday Early

Big games? Ah no. So devoid of big games that Big Noon Kickoff decided not to stick with Champaign as the site before the Illini host Penn State. They moved it to Colorado so they can keep that Deion Boner going. I guess you got to strike while the iron is hot.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
VMI at NC State	2:00
Weber State at #12 Utah	2:00
#10 Alabama at USF	3:30
Northwestern at #21 Duke	3:30
Western Michigan at #25 Iowa	3:30
Virginia Tech at Rutgers	3:30
South Carolina at #1 Georgia	3:30
FIU at UConn	3:30
Minnesota at #20 North Carolina	3:30
East Carolina at Appalachian State	3:30
#19 Oklahoma at Tulsa	3:30
Tulane at Southern Miss	4:00
WKU at #6 Ohio State	4:00
ULM at Texas A&M	4:00
NC Central at #24 UCLA	5:00

A ton of choice here. The CW gets to show an afternoon game. Also a Pac-12 Network quardrupleheader. Well, a quadrupleheader here if you watch Pac-12 International on YouTube. See, the games on Pac-12 International are the Pac-12 Network national feed games. There are a couple other games that won’t be shown in Canada because they are regional only. Again, no big games here but we all remember what South Carolina did Between the Hedges back in 2019. If an upset of that magnitude happened again, it immediately changes the season and turns it on its head. Finally, Notre Dame is playing today…at home. But it’s on Peacock so no getting it here.

UPDATE: Thanks to reader William, I have found out about Fighting Irish TV (https://fightingirishtv.live/login). If you want to watch the game on Peacock, there’s your ticket.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Vanderbilt at UNLV	7:00
#11 Tennessee at Florida	7:00
James Madison at Troy	7:00
Pittsburgh at West Virginia	7:30
Bowling Green at #2 Michigan	7:30
BYU at Arkansas	7:30
Akron at Kentucky	7:30
Syracuse at Purdue	7:30
Georgia Tech at #17 Ole Miss	7:30
FAU at Clemson	8:00
TCU at Houston	8:00
Wyoming at #4 Texas	8:00
Hawaii at #13 Oregon	8:00

No massive games but Tennessee travelling to The Swamp to face Florida bears some interest since the Vols have struggled there a lot in years past. Still no Harbaugh on the sidelines (unless you count Jack) as the Wolverines host Bowling Green who hopes to keep things relatively close. And lookie here…the Longhorn Network? That’s right. For the first time ever (as far as I can tell), LHN can be viewed (legally) in Canada. Hopefully Wyoming can play like they did against Texas Tech and keep this game competitive.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
Colorado State at #18 Colorado	10:00
Kansas at Nevada	10:30
UTEP at Arizona	11:00

Finally, the game that’s being played where both ESPN and FOX’s pregame shows were at…Colorado hosting mighty Colorado State. It must be since both networks were there. Don’t get me wrong, I totally get the hype but with two much bigger games coming up for the Buffaloes you think they would save this for the next couple of weeks. Or they might just camp out there until October. I mean why take the set down if you are just going to put it back up again a few days later?

Hey, Watch This!

South Carolina at Georgia (3:30, CBS) – Yes this is, arguably, the best game of the week. Kind of sad, not gonna lie. Saying that, if 2019 happens again, the SEC is seriously wide open. Don’t bet against the Gamecocks, even if they did look mediocre against North Carolina earlier this year. Or do because you think UGA will win. Either way.

Washington at Michigan State (5:00, Peacock) – This feels a bit icky but there is a ton of intrigue now with this one. A very good Huskies team against a team that will have to fight some adversity without their disgraced head coach. And it’s on Peacock of all places. NBC might have inadvertantly struck it rich by putting this game on the streaming service a while back.

Tennessee at Florida (7:00, TSN+/SP) – As I said above, the Vols, and many teams, have struggled in the hot and humid Swamp in Septembers past. Will it happen here? Eh, probably not. Man, how can a week be that devoid of big games?

Minnesota at North Carolina (3:30, TSN+/SP) – Um……well, it’s two undefeated teams so there’s that. Yeah, I got nothing.

Sickos Game of the Week

Vanderbilt at UNLV (7:00, CBSSN) – Look, there is a possibility that we see a 3-0 UNLV team by the end of Saturday night. So yeah, you could say the season is already a bit strange. And if Barry Odom wants a signature victory of sorts, this game is ripe for the picking. Or…OR…this could be a hilariously bad game that one team has to win. I am morbidly curious.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Alabama at USF (3:30, ABC/TSN2) – Why is this game on ABC? Well, it’s not like there are a ton of strong contenders *waves wildly at the Games of the Week list*. Coming off a loss, Nick Saban is going to be uber-pissed. Which will make the rest of the coaches pissed. Which will make the players very angry. And they are going to take it out on a Bulls team who might not know what hit them until long after this one is over.

Wanna Bet?

Will this list be decent? After looking back at my picks last week, I am going to venture to say that’s a no.

Bethune-Cookman (+53.5) over Miami (but the U wins by 40)

Buffalo (+3.5) over Liberty (and the outright win)

LSU (-9.5) over Mississippi State

UConn (-7) over FIU

North Carolina (-7.5) over Minnesota

South Carolina (+27.5) over Georgia (and I think this will be relatively close but the Dawgs will hold on for the W)

Tulane (-13) over Southern Miss

Florida (+6.5) over Tennessee (the Vols win a VERY close one)

Vanderbilt (-4.5) over UNLV

Michigan (-40.5) over Bowling Green

Clemson (-24.5) over FAU

Oregon (-38) over Hawaii

Colorado (-23) over Colorado State

Spotty information so far for the specialty packs as I see some information but not all of it. It should all be up by tomorrow and should match what I have. Funny enough, TSN+ has their shit together and has their full schedule up (and has since Monday).

I’ll be on the TwiXter machine this Saturday (@TheBauceman) so you can interact mwith me there if you like. Or you can just sit in your favourite chair like a normal person and watch more than 14 hours of football unlike a normal person. Enjoy the games everyone!

Man, oh man, were there some overreactions this week…oh and the Week 2 College Football TV Schedule

Posted on September 7, 2023 by guelphbossman

Look, did Colorado surprise a lot of people this past weekend? Absolutely. No doubt about it. Deion Sanders is proving, whether you like him or not, that he can flat-out coach. And overhauling the roster like he did was not a bad idea at all. It does suck for the players that had to transfer out but unfortunately it’s football and the name of the game is winning.

Saying that………the amount of people I saw on Twitter that said Colorado will win 10 or 11 games this season was way too much. It should have been zero. Colorado may be better than advertised but they aren’t all of a sudden a New Year’s Six possibility. But hey, that’s the reactions from Week 1 of college football. Every. Single. Fucking. Year.

So let’s do it again on here! It’s overreaction time! Let’s look at some of the other overreactions you may (or may not) have heard after the Week 1 games were complete:

Ohio State is just an average team. Do we expect more from the Buckeyes against a team like Indiana? Sure. But they are bringing in a new quarterback and their best receiver was not 100%. The defense was amazing. Now the offense does have to be ready since in about a week and a half they get Notre Dame and that could get ugly if they don’t produce more points.
Colorado will have not one, but TWO Heisman finalists. What in the fuck? Who are the morons saying this? They are out there for sure. I saw them. Sure, they did great in their opening week win over TCU but calm the fuck down. TCU isn’t the TCU of last season for one and it’s only WEEK ONE. Anyway, moving on…
Gene Chizik has finally got the defense cooking in Chapel Hill. Again, it’s one game. Do the Heels look improved? Sure. But it’s not like South Carolina played well at all because, for the most part they didn’t. That, and the chain gang wouldn’t eat their hot dogs fast enough. Let’s see how UNC does when a top-notch offense is staring them in the face.
Jalen Milroe is already looking like another Alabama Jalen…that being Hurts. My God where do these people come up with this shit? Milroe looked OK but it was Middle Tennessee and he’s playing for Ala-frickin-Bama. We will see how he handles SEC competition before crowning him anything.
Washington has the best offense in the country. Could that end up being the case? Possibly. Michael Penix Jr. has already started his Heisman campaign in style. But let’s slow our roll here. There are at least four teams who looked better on offense (Colorado, Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon) during Week 1. And I wouldn’t even say any of those teams will be the best offense in the country so why go ahead and put the Huskies at #1?
Book the Sooners for the Big XII Championship NOW! As I said, their offense was on fire but they were playing Arkansas State. We are all waiting to see if Brent Venables can have a Venables-type defense in Norman. If that happens, this could very well happen. But for now, I wouldn’t book any tickets yet if I were a Sooners fan.
Miami is BACK. Ho boy. Pump the damn brakes.

Let’s just put Week 1 behind us, shall we? Let’s move on to Week 2 which…oh my. Well, it’s better than Week 1. That’s really all I can say. But you know what that usually means. That’s right…chaos!

Thursday

Yep, that’s a new logo you see. TSN+ will be showing college football games this year. It kind of mimics the specialty pack but there are a few differences. But if you want to get TSN+ rather than the specialty pack for your college football fix, you are getting close to the same. Not a bad alternative and a good move by TSN to copy ESPN for the 10,000th time.

Friday

		US	Canada
Indiana State at Indiana	7:00
Illinois at Kansas	7:30

It kind of feels like this could be a relatively important game when the Illini travel to Lawrence to face the Jayhawks. Imagine saying that even two years ago. You’d be laughed out of whatever building you were in.

Saturday Early

Is the quality there? Eh, not really. But there’s choice. A lot of it. Can’t ask for much else. Also…MORNING FOOTBAW! The ACC Network’s weird annual Week 2 quadrupleheader hits again with the odd three hour-and-fifteen-minute windows. This will be a lot easier to do next year when Stanford and California join as you know one of them will host the ACC After Dark Week 2 matchup, guaranteed.

Saturday Afternoon

Is the afternoon slate better than the Noon slate? Sure. Not by much though. Some intriguing matchups though. As per the rules, one of Texas A&M or Miami must win their game against each other. Ties were outlawed almost three decades ago. Will CyHawk feature more than 30 points? Can App State and UNC put up ridiculous numbers like last year? And this will be Tulane’s opportunity to get a huge leg up in the Group of Five. A win over Ole Miss would be massive.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Ohio at FAU	6:00
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh	6:30
#11 Texas at #3 Alabama	7:00
#13 Oregon at Texas Tech	7:00
Houston at Rice	7:00
#19 Wisconsin at Washington State	7:30
Eastern Michigan at Minnesota	7:30
Temple at Rutgers	7:30
UCLA at San Diego State	7:30
Grambling at #14 LSU	7:30
McNeese State at Florida	7:30
Charlotte at Maryland	7:30
Arizona at Mississippi State	7:30
Air Force vs. Sam Houston (in NRG Stadium)	8:00
Southern Miss at #4 Florida State	8:30

FIFTEEN GAMES! Holy shit! I think this has to be the most in one timeslot ever on this blog. I don’t feel like checking so let’s just say we have a new record! Plenty of games but most people will be watching one game in particular, that being the Longhorns and the Crimson Tide. If Texas can somehow do what they were robbed of last season and upset Bama, this season turns on its head. This game is so big that they are also showing it on ESPN2 in the US and on TSN+ and the specialty packs. But it’s not the same broadcast. It’s the Pat McAfee Show alternate broadcast. So if you like that kind of thing, have at it.

Also, you will notice we have a new network showing college football. That’s right, the CW, with such hits as 7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls, Smallville and LIV Golf (well it was a hit with the golfers who got fucking PAID with that Saudi blood money) will be showing ACC football (and later on, ACC basketball) this year. This replaces Bally which, for all intents and purposes, is flat broke. There will be games most weeks and, it looks like, at odd times. 6:30? Weird.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
UC-Davis at #16 Oregon State	9:00
Auburn at California	10:30
Stanford at #6 USC	10:30

FOX quadrupleheader? Don’t mind if I do. TSN2 quadrupleheader? Yes, please. A good week if you are a Canadian as I don’t remember seeing this much college football being shown up here in a while. Maybe things are turning around. Looks like TSN finally gives a shit about things that aren’t the CFL, NFL, and NHL (which they don’t even have the national broadcasting rights to).

Hey, Watch This!

Texas at Alabama (7:00, TSN2/TSN+/specialty pack) – Unequivocally the game of the week and there’s nothing else close. That also means there will be some wild and wacky finishes that might overshadow this game. That is, unless, this is a close one and the Longhorns pull off the upset. Then it will be THE story in college football no matter what else happens.

Ole Miss at Tulane (3:30, TSN+/specialty pack) – As I mentioned above, if the Green Wave pull off a win here in front of what should be a raucous crowd in hot and humid New Orleans, there’s not a whole lot that will prevent them from a perfect regular season and another New Year’s Six spot. Normally I would say this is a lose-lose situation for any Power Five team in this situation but when the Group of Five team is ranked it can count as a big win (as long as that team doesn’t totally shit the bed the rest of the way).

Texas A&M at Miami (3:30, ABC/TSN2) – I made the joke above that one of these teams has to win, as per the rules of college football. We may actually see which one of these teams is back (for the most part) and which team still has some work to do. Now watch it be a 13-10 almost-unwatchable slog.

Nebraska at Colorado (Noon, FOX) – Alright, I’ll bite. Let’s see if the hype matches what ends up happening. Some might have put this higher but that’s crazy. It makes this list because of the talk, not because of the teams involved. And Colorado can’t just win this game by a little. That would prove nothing. If they beat the brakes off the Huskers, then we all have to take notice and maybe think the Buffs could be for real.

Sickos Game of the Week

Temple at Rutgers (7:30, specialty pack) – Look, Rutgers is probably going to start 2-0 which really doesn’t mean a whole lot considering their schedule but still, that’s something right? With everything on at this time, you would have to be a complete psychopath to watch this game. I will make sure to tune in and watch at least a few plays. I feel like I owe it to everyone and myself.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Ball State at Georgia (Noon, TSN+/specialty pack) – Time to bring back the blowout of the week segment. And this could be the dictionary definition of blowout. I could see UGA putting up 60 on the poor Cardinals.

Wanna Bet?

Nebraska was actually a good bet. That game ended up exactly how I thought it would (for the most part). Florida, however….well the less said about that one the better. Time for my gambling picks for the second week of the college football season. Use them at your own peril.

Indiana (-30.5) over Indiana State

Purdue (+3) over Virginia Tech (and the outright win)

Ohio State (-41.5) over Youngstown State

Utah (-8) over Baylor

Nebraska (+2.5) over Colorado (and the upset win…definitely going out on a limb with this one)

Michigan (-37.5) over UNLV

Tulane (+7.5) over Ole Miss (but the Rebs will hold on for a close victory)

Texas A&M (-4) over Miami

Alabama (-7) over Texas

Washington State (+6) over Wisconsin (with the Badgers winning a tight affair)

Minnesota (-20.5) over Eastern Michigan

Mississippi State (-9) over Arizona

Stanford (+29.5) over USC (I feel a backdoor cover in this one)

I will be on the Twitter/X machine again this weekend. Even without Tweetdeck I am figuring out how to navigate fairly well. We shall see if I can make it two Saturdays in a row making it all the way to the end. Enjoy the games everyone!

So I wonder how he got back from Ireland? Oh, and the Week 1 college football schedule

Posted on August 31, 2022 by guelphbossman

I can’t see the Nebraska team and staff and everyone else who made the trip to Dublin allowing Frosty the Coachman to board the same flight as him. Probably safer for him anyway. He would have been thrown out of the plane over the Atlantic somewhere. All because of a horrible onside kick playcall that was not needed (among other poor coaching decisions). Just a complete fucking disaster for that team and now Frost’s hot seat is basically the surface of the sun.

Finally we have made it! Week One! And a full schedule. Hell, more than a full schedule it feels like. So much football and I will watch as much as I can because come January, it feels bad when it’s all gone. Let’s right to the (true) opening weekend schedule.

Thursday

		US	Canada
West Virginia at #17 Pittsburgh	7:00 PM
Central Michigan at #12 Oklahoma State	7:00 PM
Ball State at Tennessee	7:00 PM
VMI at #22 Wake Forest	7:30 PM
Alabama A&M at UAB	8:00 PM
Louisiana Tech at Missouri	8:00 PM
Penn State at Purdue	8:00 PM
New Mexico State at Minnesota	9:00 PM
Northern Arizona at Arizona State	10:00 PM
Cal Poly at at Fresno State	10:30 PM

As I said during the Week Zero schedule post, I would be including games that most Canadians won’t get up here, even with the specialty packs. I’m doing this because some have switched to an IPTV provider and can get some (or all) of these games. So while the NAU-ASU game might not look exciting (and it probably won’t be), I will still list it.

Nice to see the Backyard Brawl back as WVU and Pitt get a bit of a national spotlight for this one. Also, you have to wonder if Mike Gundy has the last game the Pokes played against CMU in his mind when the Chips won on a Hail Mary play that shouldn’t have even been allowed. Also, FOX will show a Thursday night game on the network to start the season. I wish they did that more often and they honestly could with the NFL’s Thursday Night Football package moving to Amazon Prime.

Friday

		US	Canada
Western Michigan at #15 Michigan State	7:00 PM
Virginia Tech at Old Dominion	7:00 PM
Temple at Duke	7:30 PM
Illinois at Indiana	8:00 PM
TCU at Colorado	10:00 PM

3-hour windows. Good lord. Yes, TSN’s schedule says that the TCU-CU game starts at 10:30 but that’s not true. Stupid ESPN.

UPDATE: If you were planning on watching the WMU-MSU game on ESPN, you will have to move to ESPN2 as ESPN is now showing US Open tennis.

Saturday Early

First full slate of Saturday games. Feels good. Nothing big here. The UNC-App State game could be the most intriguing as you don’t often see Power Five teams travel to Group of Five teams so there is some upset potential there.

Saturday Afternoon

Now we get to the meat of Week One. I am not really a fan of neutral-site games but let’s be honest: we are all watching a good portion of that UGA-UO matchup. Perhaps a College Football Playoff elimination game there (although we know one loss almost never kills a Power Five team’s chances). I’m interested to see what the brand new era of Sooner football will look like with Brent Venables now at the helm. And CBS opens with SDSU’s brand new stadium as they finally left the cavernous Murph for a more intimate viewing arrangement.

Also, you will notice a couple of other things. First, no games on ESPN2. As is usually the case, the U.S. Open tennis tournament is on ESPN2 all Saturday so that’s why there are no games airing there. It’s also why most of the TSNs aren’t available to show games this week. Secondly, the odd timing of the Pac-12 Network games. Well, thanks to the brains of Larry Scott (and others, yes, I know, but he was the commish), the Pac-12 Network has a national feed and regional feeds for all the schools. Each pair of schools shares a region. In this timeslot, the UCD-Cal game is actually only available on the P12N Bay Area feed. The BGSU-UCLA game is the P12N National game. Confused? Yeah it’s dumb.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Rice at #14 USC	6:00 PM
#7 Utah at Florida	7:00 PM
Illinois State at #18 Wisconsin	7:00 PM
#5 Notre Dame at #2 Ohio State	7:30 PM
SMU at North Texas	7:30 PM
Memphis at Mississippi State	7:30 PM
Utah State at #1 Alabama	7:30 PM
Louisville at Syracuse	8:00 PM
Colgate at Stanford	8:00 PM

Game of the year in the opening weekend? You could argue that. The Irish and the Buckeyes face off in a massive non-conference matchup (I don’t know why I’m even saying that since the Irish will NEVER join a conference, right?). This will hopefully be worth the hype (and boy is ESPN/ABC going to push the hype to the next level for this one). So you could watch that OR you can watch Bama beat the snot out of USU. Your choice. Now watch that game be closer than the ND-tOSU game.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
Idaho at Washington State	9:30 PM
Boise State at Oregon State	10:30 PM
Kent State at Washington	10:30 PM

One of the more interesting matchups of the weekend goes down in Corvallis. I would normally say Boise is the favorite here but the Beavs have been a much improved team as of late. Also, there’s a true Hawaii Test if you can find a way to stream it (it starts at midnight).

Sunday

		US	Canada
Florida A&M vs. Jackson State (in Miami)	3:00 PM
Tuskegee vs. Fort Valley State (in Montgomery)	7:00 PM
LSU vs. Florida State (in New Orleans)	7:30 PM

Speaking of interesting matchups, LSU-FSU is a juicy one down at the Superdome. Both teams are popular picks to improve this year. Let’s see how definitely Southern Brian Kelly fares in his opening contest in the SEC.

I am not sure about the two non-FBS games appearing on the specialty pack. Over the years, these opening Sunday games have been hit or miss so stay tuned.

Monday

		US	Canada
#4 Clemson at Georgia Tech	8:00 PM

Geoff Collins wouldn’t be fired after Week 1 would he?

Big Games O’ The Week

Notre Dame at Ohio State (7:30, ABC/TSN2) – Sure there is another game that’s huge but this is THE big game of the week. I don’t remember the Irish starting with a game like this in recent memory and no, Texas doesn’t count. Now we have to hope ND doesn’t play like shit and makes the game unwatchable in the second half.

Georgia vs. Oregon (in Atlanta) (3:30, ABC/TSN2) – A new head coach for the Ducks up against a team trying to do the toughest thing in sports: repeat as champs. If you want, you can call this Game 1A of the Week (especially if you are a whiny SEC fan). A few questions will definitely be asked here, chief among them being can Bo Nix thrive outside the SEC, because last season he certainly didn’t thrive inside it.

Cincinnati at Arkansas (3:30, specialty pack) – If you had said three years ago that this would be the third best game of opening weekend, I would have drove you to the nearest AA or NA meeting. It’s a new college football world, though, and the Bearcats are still the Group of Five’s signature team until they are beaten. And Arkansas is slowly moving up the SEC ranks under possibly the most underrated head coach in the land, Sam Pittman. The Cats lost a lot of talent so this will give everyone a good idea as to what we can expect from them this season.

West Virginia at Pittsburgh (Thursday, 7:00, TSN2) – The Backyard Brawl is BACK! I am sure we will see references to 13-9 up until and throughout the game. Let’s see if the ‘Eers can put a bit of hurt on a Pitt team that believes they can repeat as ACC champs.

Psycho Game of the Week

Temple at Duke (Friday, 7:30, specialty pack) – Every week now instead of listing honourable mentions in the games of the week section, I will list a game that we all can get here but you would have to be a complete psycho to watch the entirety of (or you are a fan of one of the teams and even then). This week we have Temple travelling to the Carolinas to face Duke. Ugh. This feels like it could be a torture device used by the military. Anyway, unless it’s close, just avoid it.

The Degenerate Portion of Our Show

This section is the section for all you gambling degenerates out there and you KNOW WHO YOU ARE! I do bet on the NFL from time to time but I stopped gambling on college games. I think it took the fun out of it to be honest. Also, I sucked at it.

Alright, this season I am going to do something different. I am going to pick AGAINST THE SPREAD. That’s right! Make things a bit more difficult for me and gives all the more reason for you to not use these picks for your own gambling. I’ve warned you. Let’s begin.

Pittsburgh (-7.5) over West Virginia

Missouri (-19.5) over Louisiana Tech

Purdue (+3.5) over Penn State (with the Boilermakers winning outright)

Duke (-7.5) over Temple

TCU (-14) over Colorado

Appalachian State (+1.5) over North Carolina (with the Mountaineers winning outright)

San Diego State (-6) over Arizona

Oregon (+17) over Georgia (with the Bulldogs winning the game)

Florida (+3) over Utah (Gators win outright in upset)

Notre Dame (+17.5) over Ohio State (tOSU wins but game will be close)

Oregon State (-3) over Boise State

LSU (-3) over Florida State

And there you go! We are at Week 1 so rejoice, college football fans! I am so happy we have made it to this point. I will try to keep things updated over the next couple of days (if need be). I will be on Twitter (@TheBauceman) for a good portion of the action so check me there if you wish. And everyone enjoy the games!

2021 Bowl Game Rankings and Predictions!

Posted on December 14, 2021 by guelphbossman

It is the holiday season which always coincides with Bowl Season! This is our last chance to watch college football during the 2021 season and what a season it has been. Honestly I don’t want it to end but all good things must come to an end. That’s the rule (from what I’ve been told).

After last year’s complete shitshow of a bowl season, I am going back to the College Football Broadcasting Ranking System. It works as it shows what games everyone can enjoy and what games only complete lunatics like myself will enjoy. Strap in and let’s get going!

10 out of 10! Put these games on ABC in primetime!

This is game of the year stuff right here. So, as per usual, both College Football Playoff games and the top two New Year’s Six games show up here.

Orange Bowl – Michigan vs. Georgia (Dec. 31, 7:30, TSN3/TSN5) – Two amazing defenses. Aidan Hutchinson on one side, one of the most historically amazing defenses (bar the SEC Championship) on the other side. Not saying this will automatically be a defensive affair but don’t expect a Big XII-style shootout. I would say this is easily the most anticipated bowl game of the season. This should be a great competitive game which will finish very close to the time the clock strikes midnight on 2021. My pick: Georgia 24-20.

Cotton Bowl – Alabama vs. Cincinnati (Dec. 31, 3:30, TSN3/TSN5) – Ugh, semi-finals on New Year’s Eve. Not that I’m huge into going out on NYE anymore. It’s not that I’m too old, it’s more that I don’t see the point in paying three times the amount for everything to go out drinking when it’s possibly freezing out and yeah I’m sounding old. Anyway, there are two ways this could go and I sure hope it’s the one where the Bearcats keep it close. Fingers crossed. My pick: Alabama 43-34.

Peach Bowl – Michigan State vs. Pittsburgh (Dec. 30, 7:00, TSN3/TSN5) – This is a VERY intriguing matchup. Two different ways these teams generate offense: Kenny Pickett and the pass vs. Kenneth Walker III and the run. The Peach Bowl seems to always come up with a great game and this should be no exception. My pick: Michigan State 37-32.

Rose Bowl – Ohio State vs. Utah (Jan. 1, 5:00, TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) – The biggest thing here is whether the Utes can handle the pressure of the first Rose Bowl in team history. The Kyle Whittingham rumours will be flowing throughout the game I’m sure. Honestly, this is huge for the Pac-12 as a whole as they have been the runt of the Power Five litter for a while now and need a favourable outcome. I just don’t think it will happen here. My pick: Ohio State 37-24.

9 out of 10! I would even go so far as to say some of these could approach SEC on CBS in PRIMETIME!

This is going to change a couple years from now but during daylight hours, nothing beats the SEC on CBS.

Sugar Bowl – Ole Miss vs. Baylor (Jan. 1, 8:45, TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) – Not quite the worst of the NY6 bunch meaning it will still probably be an amazing game. These two squads have a lot to be proud of this season and will want to keep that momentum going into what could be a national championship contending season in 2022. It’s going to be another amazing offense vs. tough defense game so we will see who breaks first. Get your popcorn ready. My pick: Ole Miss 39-30.

Fiesta Bowl – Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma State (Jan. 1, 1:00, TSN3/TSN5) – One team has a new head coach after theirs bolted for LSU. The other team was so close to crashing the CFP party (possibly at Cincinnati’s expense). Touchdown Jesus vs. The Mullet. This will totally overshadow the other bowl game on at the exact same time. ESPN just doesn’t understand nor do I think they care. My pick: Notre Dame 34-20.

Alamo Bowl – Oklahoma vs. Oregon (Dec. 29, 9:15, specialty pack) – The best non-NY6 bowl and it’s also the Interim Coach Bowl. It’s the return of Bob Stoops to coach the Sooners. I think they need to get Mike Bellotti to coach the Ducks to make things even. Both teams disappointed this season so they are playing for some pride here. Oklahoma has to be the favourite here with Kayvon Thibodaux deciding to skip the bowl and declare for the NFL Draft. My pick: Oklahoma 35-29.

Frisco Bowl – San Diego State vs. UTSA (Dec. 21, 7:30, TSN1) – The best pre-Christmas bowl game is surprisingly in Frisco. Two teams who probably deserved better bowl destinations face off in a big Group of Five battle. This should be a close one and we shall see if the Roadrunners are for real or not. My pick: UTSA 36-33.

8 out of 10! This is FOX territory. Definitely a BIG NOON SATURDAY kind of game!

You will never see Kansas in these games, just like they are never on Big Noon Saturday. Can you even imagine GUS JOHNSON calling a Kansas game?

Gator Bowl – Texas A&M vs. Wake Forest (Dec. 31, 11:00 AM, specialty pack) – Not quite the Alamo Bowl but still a great bowl game. If it’s anything like their last meeting, this will be a barnburner. Now watch one team completely blow out the other. My pick: Texas A&M 49-40.

Cheez-It Bowl – Iowa State vs. Clemson (Dec. 29, 5:45, specialty pack) – The team who was still the favourite to win the ACC and disappointed big time takes on the team who was expected to at least challenge for a spot in the Big XII Championship. It will be interesting to see how Dabo Swinney deals with both coordinators leaving in the last couple weeks. I think it’s the loss of Brent Venables that will be bigger here as the Cyclones can pile on the points. My pick: Iowa State 33-13.

Holiday Bowl – NC State vs. UCLA (Dec. 28, 8:00, FOX) – The only bowl on FOX this year so we know we will get GUS JOHNSON on the call. Nice! I wonder if Chip Kelly will even be the Bruins head coach by the time we hit gameday. Now with Clemson being knocked down a peg, NC State seems like an ideal candidate to rise up the ranks so they are looking to get some momentum going into 2022. My pick: NC State 32-31.

Citrus Bowl – Kentucky vs. Iowa (Jan. 1, 1:00, ABC) – I wonder why Mark Stoops didn’t get more looks from teams looking for a new head coach. He has a chance to put another ten-win season on the board for the Wildcats. They will have to try and figure out the stingy defense of Iowa in this one. Take the under. My pick: Kentucky 17-13.

7 out of 10! I’ll call this ESPN…on Saturday…or maybe Thursday night…but not always Saturday late night

Casual fans may skip these but college football fans will consider these still must-see bowl games.

Outback Bowl – Arkansas vs. Penn State (Jan. 1, Noon, specialty pack) – This is an interesting spot. Penn State was supposed to be better but had some injuries and some bad luck. Arkansas had a great season and was in the Top 25 for a while. It would be easy to say the Nittany Lions don’t care about this bowl game but I’m sure they do. James Franklin won’t let them not care. My pick: Arkansas 27-12.

Music City Bowl – Tennessee vs. Purdue (Dec. 30, 3:00, TSN3) – This could be a dark horse contender for bowl game of the season. It’s buried on New Year’s Eve Eve so it might be overlooked but you should not overlook it. If David Bell plays this would have gone up a section but no one knows if he will so I have to hedge my bets. My pick: Purdue 44-41.

Boca Raton Bowl – Appalachian State vs. Western Kentucky (Dec. 18, 11:00 AM, TSN4) – I’m sure WKU is going to try to throw for a thousand yards in this one. App State will reply with a good rushing attack going up against a horrible Hilltoppers run defense. If you like offense, this is one of the games for you. My pick: Appalachian State 41-35.

LA Bowl – Oregon State vs. Utah State (Dec. 18, 7:30, ABC) – Jimmy Kimmel sponsors this bowl. I used to watch Kimmel back in the day. His talk show? Not so much. I still don’t get why they didn’t get UCLA here but I’m done trying to figure that out. My pick: Oregon State 24-23.

Las Vegas Bowl – Wisconsin vs. Arizona State (Dec. 30, 10:30, specialty pack) – Jesus Christ, I hope the city gets all the beer they can get for this one. Expect a lot of ground game from the Badgers, relatively uninspired football from the Sun Devils (even though it has somehow worked most of the season) and the smell of Coors and puke in the stands. My pick: Wisconsin 35-25.

6 out of 10. Even when Toledo plays Notre Dame, it somehow becomes exciting.

NBC is all about quality over quantity. OK I lied. NBC is about Notre Dame. Saying that, even in a down year, a lot of people watch Notre Dame football so they have to be in the upper half of these rankings.

Independence Bowl – UAB vs. BYU (Dec. 18, 3:30, ABC/TSN3) – This is a terrible tie-in for the Cougs. They should have got something better but that’s the life of a non-Notre Dame Independent team. Anyway, they get their shot to finish as a Top 10 team against a rather tough UAB team that shouldn’t be overlooked. Honestly, I see BYU taking out a lot of their frustrations on the Blazers. My pick: BYU 52-14.

Birmingham Bowl – Auburn vs. Houston (Dec. 28, Noon, specialty pack) – Now this is how you get a sellout. Auburn’s fans will pack UAB’s new stadium so it will feel like a home crowd for the Tigers. It could be tough sledding against a really good Cougars team led by Marcus Jones, one of the best return men ever. My pick: Houston 28-27.

New Orleans Bowl – Louisiana vs. Marshall (Dec. 18, 9:15, specialty pack) – The Ragin Cajuns are back at the Superdome. Should be loud and at least half full. My pick: Louisiana 41-36.

Cure Bowl – Coastal Carolina vs. Northern Illinois (Dec. 17, 6:00, TSN2) – The best quarterback in college football history (if you go by QB Rating) will lead the Chants into Orlando to face the MAC Champs. This game could be done in a little over two hours as both teams love to run the ball. My pick: Coastal Carolina 26-13.

5 out of 10. ESPN2 and FS1 get good games every so often.

I’d say that happens at least a few times for each of these channels during the college football year. I mean it sucks that Canadians don’t get FOX Sports One but it is what it is.

First Responder Bowl – Air Force vs. Louisville (Dec. 28, 3:15, specialty pack) – Louisville barely got to bowl eligibility and struggled quite often during the season. Air Force, of course, ran the ball a ton and looked good all year. Unless Malik Cunningham puts the Cards on his shoulders, this game might not be too close. My pick: Air Force 29-14.

Sun Bowl – Miami vs. Washington State (Dec. 31, 12:30, CBS) – Both teams will have new coaches next season. So who knows where either of these teams are at going into a bowl game that possibly neither team wants to be in. My pick: Miami 24-18.

Fenway Bowl – Virginia vs. SMU (Dec. 29, 11:00 AM, specialty pack) – My curiosity is all about how this game looks at Fenway Park. I would love to see a quarterback rifle a ball too high and it just caroms off the Green Monster. You want people to be interested in a game like this? Have the wall be in play. I would definitely watch that. My pick: Virginia 20-17.

Liberty Bowl – Mississippi State vs. Texas Tech (Dec. 28, 6:45, specialty pack) – The Mike Leach Bowl! The Air Raid up against a team that struggles to stop the pass. This feels like a blowout. My pick: Mississippi State 44-19.

4 out of 10. ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, Big Ten Network…take your pick.

I call these the unsung heroes of college football broadcasting. They give you a ton of games and you’re assured of at least one of them every week being a really good one. Maybe the Big XII will wake up now and realize a conference network is a good thing.

Gasparilla Bowl – UCF vs. Florida (Dec. 23, 7:00, specialty pack) – This has already sold out. Is it safe to say UCF should be heavily favoured here? Well they aren’t; however, any time a team loses their head coach before a bowl game it’s a red flag. Couple that with the fact that I’m sure the Gators feel like they are slumming it in this bowl game leads me to believe this won’t be that close. My pick: UCF 40-28.

Quick Lane Bowl – Nevada vs. Western Michigan (Dec. 27, 11:00 AM, TSN5) – Expect a lot of points in this one. This is probably the final game for Carson Strong so he will be flinging the ball all over the field. WMU upset Pitt and scored a boatload of points in conference play. It will be a nice thing to watch while you finish your brunch/begin eating lunch/wake up. My pick: Nevada 41-31.

Arizona Bowl – Boise State vs. Central Michigan (Dec. 31, 2:00, Barstool Sports) – So let me get this straight: this game gets a New Year’s Eve timeslot and will partially go up against the Cotton Bowl and is on the Barstool Sports website which not many people are signed up for. Who fucking thought this was a good idea? My pick: Boise State 42-24.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl – Minnesota vs. West Virginia (Dec. 28, 10:15, TSN1/TSN5) – Both of these teams come into this game on a roll. So at least both teams want to be here. It is the ghost of the old Cheez-It Bowl so hopefully it doesn’t devolve into a TCU-Cal 10-7 type of affair. My pick: Minnesota 32-18.

3 out of 10. CBS Sports Network type games. You’ll head here if it’s close.

CBSSN gets a ton of games every season. Usually four games every Saturday and a bunch of weekday games sprinkled throughout the season. So you’re bound to get a gem in there somewhere but quite often the quality of these games is rather low.

Texas Bowl – LSU vs. Kansas State (Jan. 4, 9:00, TSN5) – This is the only bowl game on between New Year’s Day and the national championship. Saying that, it’s not exactly the greatest matchup. If Ed Orgeron had decided to coach instead of heading off to Destin to get a piece of ass, this might be a lot more interesting. My pick: Kansas State 40-23.

New Mexico Bowl – Fresno State vs. UTEP (Dec. 18, 2:15, TSN4) – Kalen DeBoer, gone. Jake Haener, also gone. So the Bulldogs are going to be a bit shorthanded for this one. As for the Miners, they are limping into this game after a seriously hot start to their season (which almost led to College Gameday heading there). This feels like a game that is just technically a game and nothing more. This would have been on Stadium at best during the season. My pick: Fresno State 23-3.

Military Bowl – Boston College vs. East Carolina (Dec. 27, 2:30, TSN5) – If ECU has another good season in 2022, expect Mike Houston to get a lot of looks. What he has done in Greenville is nothing short of remarkable. And they are a very dangerous underdog here against the Eagles. BC started hot but like a few other teams are crawling into the postseason. This feels ripe for a mini-upset. My pick: East Carolina 34-14.

Armed Forces Bowl – Army vs. Missouri (Dec. 22, 8:00, TSN1) – This could be the worst matchup of bowl season. Army runs the ball. A lot. Mizzou has one of the worst rushing defenses in the nation. This won’t be pretty. My pick: Army 42-9.

2 out of 10. Stupid Pac-12 Network.

Maybe with new commissioner George Kliavkoff things will get better. It can’t get any worse. Larry Scott really dropped the ball with this for years. Anyway, we have now firmly got into insane-o territory.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl – South Carolina vs. North Carolina (Dec. 30, 11:30 AM, TSN3) – Carolina Bragging Rights Game…sort of. Look I’m just interested to see if either coach has the sack to be doused in Duke’s Mayo if their team wins. My pick: North Carolina 23-20 (meaning Mack Brown would get that mayo bath).

LendingTree Bowl – Liberty vs. Eastern Michigan (Dec. 18, 5:45, specialty pack) – For those who feel this is pointless to watch, let me make a case for at least tuning in for a bit. Malik Willis is competing to be the top quarterback taken in the NFL Draft. This game would be the national spotlight he sorely needs to move up the rankings. Other than that, not much to see here. My pick: Liberty 26-19.

Pinstripe Bowl – Maryland vs. Virginia Tech (Dec. 29, 2:15, TSN3/TSN5) – It is a heartwarming story to see the Terps back in a bowl game for the first time since 2016 (and looking for their first bowl victory since 2010). Lucky for them they had a 4-0 start since they struggled the rest of the way and needed to beat mighty Rutgers to go here. Justin Fuente was fired as the Hokies did not live up to expectations again. Sounds like a broken record. The only hopes this game has for being watchable is it being close near the end or if there is some ridiculous FOOTBAW WEATHER. My pick: Maryland 20-17.

Bahamas Bowl – Middle Tennessee vs. Toledo (Dec. 17, Noon, TSN3/TSN5) – This shouldn’t be a very close game at all. The first bowl game of the season should be played under sunny skies in the Caribbean and with the Blue Raiders getting boatraced by the Rockets. My pick: Toledo 51-24.

1 out of 10. Who watches these games? Guys like me.

Let’s be honest: very few are watching these games. The Too Many Bowl Games crowd uses these as examples of why there are, well, too many bowl games. You won’t be saying that in March when there’s no football to watch at all.

Idaho Potato Bowl – Wyoming vs. Kent State (Dec. 21, 3:30, TSN1) – Again, why does the MAC have a tie-in here? At least this makes sense for the Mountain West. And I’m going to be honest: I am over the blue turf in Boise. It is fine if it’s nasty weather or super cold but otherwise it kind of looks like shit and these gimmicky fields became old a few years ago. My pick: Wyoming 46-31.

Myrtle Beach Bowl – Tulsa vs. Old Dominion (Dec. 20, 2:30, TSN1) – Speaking of off-colour turf. The only thing I hope for is that Tulsa plays a normal Tulsa game, meaning it will be very close. Otherwise it’s two completely average teams and with it being on a weekday afternoon before Christmas, you may not be missing much. My pick: Tulsa 42-39.

Camellia Bowl – Georgia State vs. Ball State (Dec. 25, 2:30, TSN2) – College football on Christmas Day. Will I watch this? Yeah some of it but it might end up being background noise at best. I guess it’s a better timeslot than the same time on a weekday before Christmas (sounds familiar) but still not great. My pick: Georgia State 28-24.

Hawaii Bowl – Memphis vs. Hawaii (Dec. 24, 8:00, TSN2) – This is a good distraction on Christmas Eve while I finish wrapping any final presents that arrived late from Amazon or gift cards I forgot to get weeks earlier. This might not be the most aesthetically pleasing bowl game since it will be played in a high school stadium. The reason for this is that Aloha Stadium is so structurally unsound it makes Legion Field look like a fortress. My pick: Hawaii 36-29.

0 out of 10. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Brutal.

A made-up game. That’s all you need to know here.

Frisco Football Classic – North Texas vs. Miami-OH (Dec. 23, 3:30, specialty pack) – As I said, this bowl was just created so all bowl-eligible teams (plus Hawaii who was 6-7 on the season) could play in a bowl game. I don’t know what to say except that you might be insane if you watch this. Which means I am probably insane. My pick: North Texas 21-10.

Bowl schedule and bowl predictions complete! Now you have info you need (I think) to do pools, either straight up or confidence-style.

I hope you all enjoy the bowl games, all 42 of them…well 43 if you include the national championship.

So….many……BOWL GAMES!!!!! The Bowl Game TV Schedule

Posted on December 12, 2021 by guelphbossman

Let’s look at this graphic. I think it’s like four or five years old. How many of these bowls don’t exist anymore? Well, let’s take a look. The Russell Athletic Bowl, Cactus Bowl, St. Petersburg Bowl, Miami Beach Bowl, Poinsettia Bowl and Heart of Dallas Bowl all don’t exist, at least under those names. I’m not even going to start on the sponsors. There have been some absurd bowl sponsors but I am sincerely hoping they get even more absurd. Like why not bring back the International Bowl in Toronto but call it the Timbit Bowl sponsored by Tim Hortons? Or get Pornhub to sponsor a bowl game. The possibilities are endless.

So supposedly TSN has at least part of their bowl schedule up. I can see a link but it links to a previous year’s bowl schedule. Hopefully it’s fixed and once it does, I can make sure the schedule is proper on this post. I would try and predict it but considering what they are doing on the first three days of bowl season, I don’t know what’s going on there. And with the World Juniors coming soon…yeah I’ll try my best but I will let you know when it’s all set.

So after last year where Bowl Season was an absolute shitshow, we are back to some normality. Now let’s hope none of these bowls get cancelled for any reason. Let’s get going with the even longer bowl schedule!

Friday December 17th

Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. Toledo

Noon

This may be the one case where I think it’s OK to have a game on a weekday before Christmas. I know there are logistical hurdles with this game so there’s a lot to do and also I am sure the stadium there wouldn’t be able to do a night game. So I give this bowl game a pass. Oh well, if this is like Bahamas Bowls of the past this should be good.

Cure Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. Northern Illinois

6:00 PM

This bowl got some good Group of Five teams for once in its short history. The Chants are still a team people love and the Huskies won the MAC. It’s the passing acumen of Grayson McCall vs. the stingy defense of NIU. Nice contrast of styles. This is also only one of two bowl games on ESPN2 this season. Why not give it to CBS if that’s the case?

Saturday December 18th

Boca Raton Bowl: Appalachian State vs. Western Kentucky

11:00 AM

Morning football. We will see a lot of this for the first time ever as ESPN restructures how their bowl schedule shapes up. And what a way to wake up than with a game where we could see 100 combined points. This is a national showcase for Bailey Zappe as he is rocketing up draft boards around the NFL.

Celebration Bowl: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State

Noon

The only FCS bowl around as the rest of the teams play in the FCS Playoffs. If you really like the college bands that HBCU schools have then this is the game for you. Also, you will see one of the best HBCU teams in recent memory. I still await the time when Deion Sanders gets a legit offer to coach at the FBS level. It could come around this time considering the sheer amount of openings still around.

New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. UTEP

2:15 PM

I know I am going to watch this. Yes there are other games on at the same time but I am such a channel flipper that I end up watching games that probably don’t warrant watching. Like I’ve watched at least an hour’s worth of UMass football this season. What the fuck is wrong with me? Anyway, two teams who were once WAC teams face off in this one. I wonder if this will get close to a sell-out considering UTEP doesn’t exactly go to a lot of bowls and Albuquerque isn’t too far from El Paso.

UPDATE #4: With the Raiders-Browns game being postponed, this game will also be on TSN5.

Independence Bowl: #13 BYU vs. UAB

3:30 PM

I’m wondering how much BYU fans can’t wait to be in the Big XII. This right here shows that being a college football Independent really only works if you’re Notre Dame. People can crow about their good schedule and all that crap. But your reward for almost getting into the New Year’s Six is to be in fucking Shreveport before Christmas? The bowl system is broken and this is a perfect example. Also, the Cougs are only favoured by 7? I just don’t get this.

UPDATE #3: With the Raiders-Browns game being postponed, this game will also be on TSN1.

LendingTree Bowl: Liberty vs. Eastern Michigan

5:45 PM

Two relatively average Group of Five teams. As I’ve said earlier, I watch games like this. I am hoping it is a close one to keep my attention.

LA Bowl: Oregon State vs. Utah State

7:30 PM

So let met get this straight. It’s the first ever Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl. And instead of having UCLA there to hopefully pack a good portion of the stadium, they get Oregon State. This is completely stupid. This isn’t even about getting the best bowl matchup, as they love to say. UCLA against USU would be just as good as the matchup we see here. And this is on ABC to boot. Dumb.

New Orleans Bowl: #23 Louisiana vs. Marshall

9:00 PM

Finally, the Ragin Cajuns ascended to the top of the Sun Belt mountain. Their reward was to stay near home to play at the Superdome. This should sell quite a few tickets. They go up against a really good Marshall offense in this one to finish the first big day of bowl season (no offense to the previous day but come on).

Monday December 20th

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Tulsa vs. Old Dominion

2:30 PM

So they have this game on in the middle of the day, five days before Christmas. I get that Monday Night Football is on at night. So if that’s the case, don’t put a fucking bowl game on that day. There are ways around this and ESPN just doesn’t seem to understand that they can do that. They control the broadcasts for over 90% of the bowl games. Figure it out! On top of that, Coastal isn’t in this game so they may not even sell out the small stadium near Myrtle Beach. Ugh.

UPDATE #5: This game has been moved to TSN2 with the NFL game now being on TSN1.

Tuesday December 21st

Idaho Potato Bowl: Wyoming vs. Kent State

3:30 PM

Why don’t they put this game on late and have the Frisco Bowl on in early spot? Do I have to do everything around here? Hopefully it’s a good Footbaw Weather game and we witness some crazy shenanigans because otherwise many of you will only be able to see the second half at most.

Frisco Bowl: #24 San Diego State vs. UTSA

7:30 PM

This could be the first bowl game that comes close to must-see territory. And it gets a primetime spot which is good. Both teams are two of the better Group of Five teams this season with UTSA coming within one destruction at the hands of North Texas from being undefeated this season and SDSU looking great all year except for getting boatraced by Utah State in the Mountain West Championship.

UPDATE #8: This game has been moved to TSN3 because of the WFT-Eagles game being put on TSN1.

Wednesday December 22nd

Armed Forces Bowl: Army vs. Missouri

8:00 PM

The Armed Forces Bowl with Army. Makes sense. Mizzou being here? Sure I guess although I am surprised they didn’t get a team from the state of Texas to play here against the Black Knights.

Thursday December 23rd

Frisco Football Classic: North Texas vs. Miami-OH

3:30 PM

So ESPN created a bowl game so that all bowl-eligible teams (plus Hawaii who had six wins but also seven losses) to play in bowl games this season. That is very nice of them. That’s why we get this game, the (not-so) awesomely named Frisco Football Classic. This one-off game (we think) will pit two teams who are positively average. And (this sounds like a broken record….Google what a record is, kids) this game is on in the afternoon on a weekday before Christmas. Not ideal.

UPDATE #11: This is now airing on TSN1 and TSN3.

Gasparilla Bowl: UCF vs. Florida

7:00 PM

I wonder if this game will sell out Raymond James Stadium. You have to think there’s a great opportunity here. See, this is the best of what bowl games can provide. Two teams that really never play each other and aren’t too far from each other facing off in a national spotlight game. UCF really could close the door on any debate for state supremacy with a win here.

UPDATE #12: This is now airing on TSN2.

UPDATE: This game is a sellout.

Friday December 24th

~~Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs. Memphis~~

8:00 PM

The Christmas Eve tradition continues! I love having this on while I finish last minute wrapping and stocking stuffer stuffing. Not going to lie to you all…I just got my Christmas tree up. Yeah I’m crawling slowly into Christmas season unlike others who have 15,000 lights on outside and have bought the 146 presents that are already sitting under the tree.

UPDATE #13: Due to COVID (and other things), Hawaii has pulled out of the Hawaii Bowl meaning this game is cancelled. Now what the hell am I going to do while I put the finishing touches on Christmas wrapping?

Saturday December 25th

Camellia Bowl: Georgia State vs. Ball State

2:30 PM

Football on Christmas Day. Will this compete with the NBA and their traditional Christmas Day games? Probably not, but it’s football so I will watch. And if it’s close, even better. Means I won’t change the channel. My remote control would be happy.

Monday December 27th

Quick Lane Bowl: Nevada vs. Western Michigan

11:00 AM

This is one of those games that the Too Many Bowls crowd would point to and say “Hey…there’s too many bowls.” I honestly don’t care because, as I have said often, it’s football so I will watch it. We’ll see how I feel about the sheer amount of morning starts during bowl season. I can see it getting old fast but who knows.

~~Military Bowl: Boston College vs. East Carolina~~

2:30 PM

Mike Houston has done a fantastic job down in Greenville with the Pirates. I don’t think anyone, including ECU fans, thought this team would be bowling this season. Instead, they have a chance to close out their season with eight wins if they can beat a very inconsistent BC squad.

UPDATE #14: This game has been cancelled because of major COVID issues with the BC football team.

Tuesday December 28th

Birmingham Bowl: Auburn vs. #20 Houston

Noon

Good to see this game has moved to UAB’s new Protective Stadium. Gets it out of Legion Field which always looked like it was about to collapse during a game. This also gets quite the good matchup. This is the kind of game I would get more of during bowl season: P5 vs. G5.

First Responder Bowl: Air Force vs. Louisville

3:15 PM

I still remember back to the 2018 version of this game between Boston College and Boise State. If you remember, the weather was so bad in the area that they had to completely cancel the game. I am honestly shocked they did that since I figured they would do anything to get a bowl game completed. I guessed wrong. Anyway, Air Force will run a lot (spoiler alert) so let’s see if the Cards’ defense can stop the Falcons attack and keep this close.

Liberty Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Texas Tech

6:45 PM

The Mike Leach Bowl! Mike Leach’s current team, the Bulldogs, face a team he used to coach and left on less-than-nice terms, the Red Raiders. If it was totally up to Leach, the game would end up 77-76 with about 1400 yards passing between the two teams.

~~Holiday Bowl: #18 NC State vs. UCLA~~

8:00 PM

FOX is now down to one bowl game, this one. At least it ended up a pretty good matchup in what could be Chip Kelly’s final game as Bruins head coach. I assume that soon enough, Wolfpack fans will be back to wanting to fire Dave Doeren but it won’t happen after this game…unless they lose by like 30.

UPDATE #19: 19 updates. Sweet Jesus. Hey, stop me if you’ve heard this before. Another bowl game cancelled. UCLA basically has almost no defensive line to play tonight (among issues with some of the other units) thanks to COVID so this game is being cancelled. This means FOX will not broadcast a bowl game this season.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Minnesota vs. West Virginia

10:15 PM

The former Cheez-It Bowl (the current Cheez-It Bowl is actually the old Camping World Bowl…yeah it’s confusing) isn’t exactly a sexy matchup. I think we can be assured, though, that we won’t see the TCU-Cal debacle from a few years back. At least I hope not since that was awful football.

Wednesday December 29th

~~Fenway Bowl: Virginia vs. SMU~~

11:00 AM

I am curious as to the setup of the field for this one. I would laugh if it was like the games at Wrigley where there is no room between the end line and the ivy of the outfield wall. Imagine a receiver catching a ball, taking two steps and crashing into the Green Monster?

UPDATE #15: I guess I have to wait another year to see how this will look since this game has been cancelled due to, you guessed it, ~~Frank Stallone~~ COVID.

Pinstripe Bowl: Maryland vs. Virginia Tech

2:15 PM

This should be a very close game between these two teams. Nice to see the Terps back in a bowl game as Mike Locksley has FINALLY had a good season at the helm…of any team. He was terrible as coach at New Mexico and wasn’t looking a whole lot better in College Park but has finally figured it out. The Hokies will be in a showcase game for new coach Brent Pry as any returning players will try their best to show why they should get a lot of playing time next year on a team that clearly has fallen to the middle of the pack in the ACC.

Cheez-It Bowl: #19 Clemson vs. Iowa State

5:45 PM

Does it feel like Clemson should be the 19th-ranked team in college football? They weren’t even that good this season. Despite the fact they are no longer the standard bearer in the ACC, this feels like a good spot to land because, honestly, they should have gone to a place like Shreveport to play. Hey, just checked the spread and I think I’m justified in how I’m thinking. Cyclones are favoured by 1 and not ranked. And Clemson lost both coordinators to head coaching positions elsewhere. Now watch the Tigers win by 50.

Alamo Bowl: #16 Oklahoma vs. #14 Oregon

9:15 PM

Best non-CFP, non-NY6 bowl? You could make the case here. The Sooners come in actually with a head coach as Mario Cristobal left the Ducks for Miami not too long ago. I don’t think Brent Venables is coaching this game although it would be funny if the Sooners defense is playing like shit and he just decides to show up and coach the rest of the way out of disgust.

UPDATE #2: As soon as I post this, I learn that Dan Lanning will be the next head coach at Oregon.

Thursday December 30th

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: South Carolina vs. North Carolina

11:30 AM

This bowl has so much at stake. OK it has two things at stake. One, this is the battle for Carolina Supremacy. OK more like teams with Carolina in their name Supremacy. OK fine, North vs. South (excluding NC State). The other is that the person who runs the Duke’s Mayo Bowl said he would donate $10,000 to the winning coach’s charity of choice if he is willing to have a Gatorade cooler full of Duke’s Mayo dumped on him after the win. This is what we’ve all wanted. This must happen. And please let it be Mack Brown.

Music City Bowl: Tennessee vs. Purdue

3:00 PM

Another bowl game that was smart to get at least one close team to play in it. Having the Vols play in Nashville pretty much guarantees a sellout. And with Purdue, it looks like we will see a good, relatively close game. It’s probably a good thing that college football fans aren’t like certain sets of soccer fans since seeing tens of thousands of people clad in bright orange tearing a stadium apart, attacking the other fans and taking on police officers would be a terrifying site (especially when the band plays Rocky Top and the Vol fans continue their attacks while singing).

Peach Bowl: #10 Michigan State vs. #12 Pittsburgh

7:00 PM

Alright, we finally have got to the first New Year’s Six bowl game. The Pat Narduzzi Bowl. If you had either of these two teams in a New Year’s Six bowl at the start of the season, then head to Vegas or buy a lottery ticket because you totally defeated the odds. Two of the best college football players of the season will be on display in this one: Kenny Pickett and Kenneth Walker III. I kind of wish the Heisman voting was done after bowl games because these showcases would be good for some of these players who are just outside the #1 spot and could use a great showing in front of a national audience to propel them to the top.

Las Vegas Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Arizona State

10:30 PM

Are the bars and casinos in Vegas ready for this one? Forget the game: the Badger fans (and to a lesser extent, Sun Devil fans) will wipe out the beer economy in this city if they are allowed to. The amount of puke in the streets and near the hotels (not to mention at the stadium) will be enormous. It’s gonna stink. I don’t know how good the game will be but the amount of fights in the stands has an over/under of 7.5.

Friday December 31st

Gator Bowl: ~~#25 Texas A&M~~ Rutgers vs. #17 Wake Forest

11:00 AM

One of the other candidates for non-NY6 bowl game of the season. Somehow, Dave Clawson wasn’t hired by another team. Texas A&M lost their defensive coordinator, Mike Elko, to Duke so this could be a bad day for the Aggie defense against Sam Hartman, who should have received more Heisman consideration if you ask me.

UPDATE #9: Texas A&M has major COVID issues inside the football program and will not have enough players ready for this game so they have pulled out. As of right now, Rutgers, Texas & Illinois seem to be up next using APR calculations. There is also the possibility that Marshall or Utah State, both teams already played in bowls this season, could be selected if a 5-7 team doesn’t accept.

UPDATE #10: Rutgers (RUTGERS!) will replace Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl. Oh my.

Sun Bowl: ~~Miami~~ Central Michigan vs. Washington State

12:30 PM

I will say it for what feels like the twentieth year in a row: this is where I hate the way bowls do tie-ins. The ACC does not belong in the Sun Bowl. Either put in the Big XII (which is what I would prefer) or do a Mountain West tie-in. You will struggle to fill half the stadium when an ACC team is there. And not having UTEP there makes this even worse since that would at least get 30,000 fans or so inside the stadium and create a great atmosphere for the game.

UPDATE #16: Miami has pulled out of the Sun Bowl due to ~~not wanting to go to El Paso~~ COVID protocols. I will keep you updated on if another team, maybe one that has already had a bowl game cancelled, will step up to play Wazzu.

UPDATE #18: Due to the Arizona Bowl being cancelled, Central Michigan is free to play in another bowl and has been invited to play in El Paso. I think it’s only like a four hour drive and now the Chips get a shit-ton more money to play in the postseason. Good work guys!

~~Arizona Bowl: Boise State vs. Central Michigan~~

2:00 PM

So….how can you even watch this game? I guess you have to go to the Barstool Sports website? How many people will watch this game, with the Cotton Bowl starting 90 minutes later, on New Year’s Eve, on a website that quite a few college football fans wouldn’t go to at gunpoint? This may work like 5 years or so from now but in 2021, this still doesn’t fly.

UPDATE #17: Well, Barstool will have to wait another year to broadcast their first bowl game. Boise State have way too many COVID issues to bring a team to Tucson so the bowl game has been cancelled.

Cotton Bowl: #1 Alabama vs. #4 Cincinnati

3:30 PM

OK we have got to the semi-final games. This looks like it could go one of two ways. The first way, and the one most people think it will go, is Bama absolutely annihilating the Bearcats and the game being essentially over by halftime. The other way is that Cincy keeps this game very close going into the fourth quarter and social media goes apeshit at the potential for one of the biggest upsets in college football history. I am praying for the latter.

Orange Bowl: #2 Michigan vs. #3 Georgia

7:30 PM

This is obviously the more exciting of the two semi-final matchups. And it’s in primetime on New Year’s Eve? I get sick of the Rose (and to a lesser extent, the Sugar) Bowl getting such preferential treatment when it comes to restructuring the playoff and Bowl Season. Not saying they have to move off of New Year’s Day if they absolutely don’t need to but those two bowls sticking to those times makes it impossible in a situation like this to have the College Football Playoff semi-finals on anything other than New Year’s Eve. It’s ridiculous and needs to be part of the conversation when they expand the playoff (which they will). Anyway, this is going to very interesting as other than the SEC Championship, UGA’s defense was one of the best in recent memory. Meanwhile, Michigan used the run better than almost any team in the nation and no team was really able to stop them, just maybe trip them up a bit. I believe this is basically a pick’em.

Saturday January 1st

Outback Bowl: #21 Arkansas vs. Penn State

Noon

Good for this game that it starts an hour earlier than the two games coming up next. Otherwise it would probably get very few viewers.

Citrus Bowl: #22 Kentucky vs. #15 Iowa

1:00 PM

Final candidate for best non-New Year’s Six bowl game and it is on at an awful time. I get that it gets crowded on New Year’s Day but overlapping with another game, a better game, is a recipe for disaster. And frankly, it’s unfair for the Wildcats and Hawkeyes who both had great seasons. Both teams will be looking to finish their seasons on a high note and go into the next season ranked in the preseason poll.

Fiesta Bowl: #5 Notre Dame vs. #9 Oklahoma State

1:00 PM

Now this should be interesting. Will the Irish feel slighted about not getting into the CFP or will they run through a brick wall for new coach Marcus Freeman? They are going to need everyone on point in this one going up against the OSU Fighting Mullets. One day, we will get the glory of Mike Gundy in the College Football Playoff. Maybe next year.

UPDATE #6: The Fiesta Bowl will also be on TSN5 around the start of the fourth quarter after the Outback Bowl is over.

Rose Bowl: #6 Ohio State vs. #11 Utah

5:00 PM

The Utes are in the Rose Bowl for the first time. This is huge for the program and proves the Pac-12 made the right call bringing them in (Colorado is still up in the air). They face a good Ohio State team who might be playing angry since they might feel they have been “relegated” to the Rose Bowl. The question going into this one (and during the game) will be what Kyle Whittingham decides to do after this one is over since there is a rumour out there that he might retire after the Rose Bowl, win or lose.

Sugar Bowl: #8 Ole Miss vs. #7 Baylor

8:45 PM

Dave Aranda has done a masterful job in Waco. As has Lane Kiffin in Oxford. This feels like a matchup of completely opposite head coaches, at least in terms of personality.

UPDATE #7: The Sugar Bowl will also be on TSN4 at around 11:00. I don’t get why they just HAVE to show Sportscentre after the Clippers-Nets game but obviously they do.

Tuesday January 4th

Texas Bowl: LSU vs. Kansas State

9:00 PM

Interesting that the Texas Bowl didn’t get a team from Texas to play in it. Saying that, they got two fanbases that travel very well so it would be surprising if this wasn’t at least close to a sellout. By this point, I will probably be bowled out but I will still watch because I know what’s coming shortly after this.

UPDATE #14: This is not being shown on a TSN channel.

Monday January 10th

College Football Playoff National Championship

8:00 PM

The final game of the season (other than the weird All-Star games). Cherish it…even if it’s not good.

OK at this point this is what the breakdown looks like for Canadians with cable packages:

TSN – 26 bowl games (with 2 simulcast from ABC)
ABC – 4 bowl games
FOX – 1 bowl game
CBS – 1 bowl game
Barstool Sports – 1 bowl game
specialty pack – 12 bowl games

OK now I am officially confused (if this works out the way I think it will). 26 bowl games being shown on TSN? The schedule is only finalized through Christmas Day but there are 16 games up until then definitely scheduled on TSN. So after a season where TSN had very little coverage of college football at all (it felt like they had gone back about a decade), they push forward by showing more than 50% of the bowl games. Crazy. We will see how the World Juniors affects this but I have a feeling it’s pretty close to the true number.

Alright, that was a seriously long post. But it was needed as the postseason begins now…at least at the FBS level. Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!

A CFP without Clemson? – Week 14 College Football Recap

Posted on December 7, 2020 by guelphbossman

Last year I did this and talked about the College Football Playoff without Alabama. This time I posit about Clemson possibly not making the CFP. And that could happen. Their win over Virginia Tech looks good on paper but man it was a struggle until about the last part of the third quarter once they finally started pulling away (and after ABC hilariously aired an interview with Ian Book during the game probably thinking the Tigers would have essentially put the game away by then). They clinch their spot in the ACC Championship and get a rematch with Notre Dame. If they lose, they are guaranteed not to be in the CFP since the first one back in the 2014 season. That would honestly feel odd. Like Bama missing it last year.

Alright, enough of Clemson’s potential issues. Let’s get to the recap!

The Recap!

Let’s start with what ended up being the game of the week (of the year?): the game that was scheduled on THURSDAY between BYU and Coastal Carolina. An epic affair between two Top 20 teams with the winner getting a possible legitimate shot at the New Year’s Six. The final play looked very similar to when the Titans came up one yard short against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. Coastal ended up holding on for the victory which should move them up in the CFP rankings. What it probably ended up doing though is far more important: BYU deciding to fill in for Liberty (who had COVID issues that made it so they couldn’t play) on a few days’ notice will create a new way to schedule games going forward. This is huge for college football and is a much needed change from scheduling non-conference games 20 years out (which everyone, except ADs, think is absolutely ludicrous).
Michigan State wasn’t even within an area code of Ohio State. To be honest, it was painful to watch. The Buckeyes continue their run to the Big Ten Championship (hopefully). The game against Michigan this Saturday looms large. Michigan’s game this past weekend was cancelled and if they still have issues with COVID-19 then they may have to have this one be cancelled as well. As per the Big Ten rules, this would make tOSU in eligible for the Big Ten title game. It’s ridiculous that this could happen but it’s possible that they would not even make their conference championship but get to the CFP. If the Big Ten is smart, they find a way to get the Buckeyes a game if the the game against The Team Up North has to be cancelled.
I think Iowa State heard the haters. What they did to West Virginia was nasty. That huge victory clinched their trip to JerryWorld for the first time in team history. The Cyclones are trying to erase the memory of the early season loss to Louisiana although I don’t know why since the Ragin’ Cajuns are ranked.
Speaking of the Ragin’ Cajuns that was something else down in Boone Friday night. Some disgusting footbaw weather (rain this time) made it very difficult, especially for Louisiana’s poor long snapper who made multiple horrible snaps that kept the Cajuns from pulling away from the Mountaineers. In the end, a missed App State field goal allowed Louisiana to get the duke and also stay ranked going into their bye week as they prepare for Coastal Carolina in the biggest Sun Belt Championship ever.
Good job, Oklahoma State. Any hope to sneak into the Big XII Championship went up in flames Saturday in Fort Worth. Not like TCU played all that well. But the Cowboys were finally exposed and we have another season where the Mullet Express will not head to the Metroplex which has to be frustrating Oklahoma State fans at this point.
Who picked Colorado to start 4-0? Put your hands down you liars. The Buffaloes were lead by Jarek Broussard’s insane day on the ground as he ran for 301 yards! I get it, it was just Arizona. But it was still impressive. The worst part about all this? Because their game against USC was cancelled, the Pac-12 might have two undefeated teams in the same division and only one of those teams will head to the Pac-12 Championship game. For the final time, ABOLISH DIVISIONS! It has run its course. There is no need for them now. Plus having no divisions ensures the best two teams (on the season) will play for the conference title. Instead, we may see Oregon or even Washington in the Pac-12 title game. Yuck.
It felt like an upset was in the making for a while. But Texas A&M did enough to hold on for the win over Auburn and keep their slim College Football Playoff hopes alive. They have done this despite the team not looking all that good for much of the season. Saying that, if the Aggies can make the CFP, the 10-year contract given to Jimbo Fisher starts to look a whole lot smarter.
Let’s see if I get this correct: Rice’s 20-0 win over Marshall was a shocker for sure. The Herd threw five interceptions and looked horrible all day. This marked the Owls’ first win over a ranked team in 23 years and their first shutout of a ranked opponent in 60 years! It’s Marshall’s first loss, ending their slim NY6 hopes. And it is probably the first time that a 1-win team has shut out a ranked team in December. And of course it was on ESPN3 so barely anyone got to watch it.
Texas scored 69 points against Kansas State. Nice.
The other game of the week ended up being Arkansas-Missouri. What an amazing finish. The Hogs go down the field, score the TD and decide to go for two. The two-point conversion pass is in the Mizzou defender’s hands and just tips out and into the Arkansas receiver’s hands to give the Razorbacks the lead. Then the Tigers go down the field and their freshman kicker nails the winning field goal. Missouri is quietly 5-3 under first-year head coach Eli Drinkwitz. Pretty impressive.
Finally, Akron won its first game in 770 days. That is not a typo. They beat Bowling Green who is probably the worst FBS team this season.

Coaching Carousel

Hey let’s have some fun and look at the coaching carousel.

So what is happening on the ol’ carousel? Let’s take a look.

Get this. Scott Satterfield, despite saying he wasn’t going to look for another coaching position, talked with South Carolina anyway. Many people are very upset, especially at Louisville. Don’t be surprised if Satterfield is shitcanned in the next few weeks.
As for the Gamecocks job, it goes to Shane Beamer. Yes, Frank’s son. He wasn’t the first two choices, that we know since Billy Napier also turned down the job after Satterfield did. He is going to have his work cut out for him making South Carolina a contender in the SEC East.
Derek Mason was dismissed at Vanderbilt. No real surprise there. Who will replace him? It seems like whoever it is really has to change the perception of the program and convince the university to spend more money on the program and/or get better recruits.
Jay Hopson was fired a few months ago. Yes it has been that long ago. Will Hall, Tulane’s offensive coordinator, has been hired by the Golden Eagles to bring that program out of the dumps.
Gary Andersen was fired a while ago at Utah State. If I was a program, even at the FCS level, I would stay away from this clown since he is totally unreliable.

Potential other coaching moves:

Texas – Even with Texas’s shellacking of Kansas State on Saturday, Tom Herman’s time in Austin may be over soon. And of course who is the top candidate to replace him? Urban Meyer, of course! The other candidate looks to be Penn State’s James Franklin, of all people. The real straw that may have broken the proverbial camel’s back at Texas is losing Quinn Ewers, the top-ranked quarterback for two seasons from now, to Ohio State.
Kansas – The Les Miles Experiment really has not worked in Lawrence. And who may be the first to admit it? Les himself. He may decide to retire rather than stick around knowing it will take at least another two years to get the Jayhawks back into contention in the Big XII for the first time in over a decade.
Brent Venables – Every off-season his name comes up as it pertains to the coaching carousel. This season is no different. Expect a less polished Power Five program throwing out a bunch of money to possibly lure him into his first head coaching job.
ULM – Things were on the up-and-up in Monroe under Matt Viator. Then came this year’s collapse as the Warhawks are now the worst team in the Sun Belt. They will look probably to the FCS to find candidates. UPDATE: Viator has been fired.
FIU – After two great years, things have been horrible for Butch Davis in 2020. They thought they had their man but he may not be the guy to grow this program. Problem is his buyout is over $1 million so that may keep him with the Golden Panthers for another season.
Middle Tennessee – The thing I can’t believe is the buyout for Rick Stockstill. $5.8 million! Who the fuck put that into his contract? Anyway, his contract runs for three more seasons so I could see MTSU bringing him back at least for 2021 to see if the Blue Raiders improve and then make a decision.
Luke Fickell – This is probably the guy every Power Five program that has fired their coach or might let theirs go is looking at. He has done some unreal things at Cincinnati. And remember, so did Brian Kelly and Mark Dantonio and they both had very good coaching careers at the Power Five level.
Jim Harbaugh/Michigan – Good lord, here we go again. The buyout is large but his next season is technically his last in Ann Arbor under his current deal. The Wolverines have been nothing short of awful this year and you have to wonder if Harbaugh has lost his spark. He almost seems destined to go back to the NFL, if not for next season then definitely for 2021. If Michigan pulls the trigger and fires him after this season, this automatically becomes the best coaching opening available with nothing else even close.
Tom Allen – Don’t laugh. This guy cemented his Coach of the Year with the big win over Wisconsin this past weekend. The players and other coaches love him and he has endless energy. If one of Michigan, Florida State, Penn State or Tennessee decides to move on, he is the guy. It’s pricey. They will have to probably chip in for his buyout which is, *GASP* $23.5 million. Holy shit. But it may be worth it.

Remember last week I said I would talk about the conference championship races? Well here we go. Man this post is getting into Super Mega Hyper Omni Post territory.

It’s the third annual Sun Belt Championship game and they still haven’t got Mountain Dew or Skoal or Shoney’s or some place like that to sponsor it. This will be the first Sun Belt Championship not to feature Appalachian State. Coastal Carolina and Louisiana have won their respective divisions and will face off in the championship game at the home of the Chanticleers in Conway, South Carolina, near Myrtle Beach (which you should know if you watched Mormons vs. Mullets on Saturday).

Conference USA has been a mess all season. The conference seems to be limping to the end. In the East, no-longer-undefeated Marshall must beat Charlotte to win the division. If they don’t win, it feels like there will be some tiebreaker action between the Herd and Florida Atlantic (and possibly even Charlotte). Stay tuned. In the West, UTSA leads the way followed closely by UAB. It all comes down to next week’s game between UAB and Rice. Blazers win and they play in the conference title game. If they lose, it goes to UTSA.

The MAC title tilt is halfway set, I think. Nothing has been officially said but it feels like Buffalo has clinched the MAC East. I don’t know why it hasn’t been announced yet though. In the MAC West, Ball State faces Western Michigan this Saturday and the winner heads to Detroit.

San Jose State and Boise State seem primed to make up for their cancelled game in the conference championship with both teams still undefeated in the conference. Boise plays Wyoming and SJSU plays Nevada this weekend. Here are the scenarios:

Broncos and Spartans win and they both go to the conference championship.
Broncos win and Spartans lose, it’s Nevada and Boise in the title game.
Both Broncos and Spartans lose, it’s Boise and SJSU in the championship.

Alright Cincinnati is already in. And Tulsa clinched their spot this past Saturday. Now Cincinnati heads to Tulsa this Saturday and then will host them the following weekend. It would not surprise me to see this game cancelled to give both teams a week of rest.

It’s Clemson up against Notre Dame in a massive rematch of their earlier game. Huge implications for this game.

This has been set. The somewhat surprising Iowa State Cyclones get their chance against Oklahoma at JerryWorld.

The Pac-12 is a complete shitshow. Let me try and make some understanding of all this.

Washington could have clinched on Saturday but lost to Stanford. So now if Washington beats Oregon they go to the Pac-12 title game, wherever that may be.
Oregon, on the other hand, is in if they beat Washington thanks to Oregon State’s loss to Utah.
USC, after beating Washington State, is tied with Colorado at the top of the South.
If both teams win next weekend, it comes to who is higher up in the CFP rankings. Meaning the Trojans will have the edge.

So, of course, the Pac-12 fucks things up again. Undefeated Colorado quite possibly could be left out of the Pac-12 title game because they have divisions. Can someone fire Larry Scott already?

Northwestern clinched the Big Ten West despite sitting at home and will await to see if the Ohio State-Michigan game gets played. If the Wolverines have to cancel, that makes tOSU ineligible for the conference championship game. This would mean Indiana would travel a short way to Indianapolis to play for the Big Ten crown. If the game is played and the Buckeyes beat Michigan, then they are heading there. Or, the Big Ten could change the rules and allow Ohio State to go anyway. Who the hell knows anymore.

Alabama and Florida. No LSU, who could be one of the worst defending champs in recent memory. But in an interesting twist, it will be the Texas A&M Football Aggies who will be watching in earnest (as long as they take of business this weekend).

Alright that was a super long post. But it keeps you informed going into next week, the quasi-last week of the regular season. Now we can remember what it was like when Army-Navy shared the week with a bunch of other weird games. Later in the week will be the normal bowl projection, college football schedule and NFL schedule posts. Have a great week everyone!

It was a case of premature gatoration – Week 13 College Football Recap

Posted on November 26, 2018 by guelphbossman

Welp, that was something. If you weren’t able to watch the LSU-Texas A&M marathon then that’s too bad. It was something to witness. It had a bit of everything it seemed. Let’s recap what happened from about the last couple minutes of regulation through to the last of the seven (yes SEVEN!) overtimes:

That Gatorade bath you see above for Ed Orgeron was after it looked like LSU had the game-winning interception late in the fourth quarter. Replays showed Kellen Mond’s knee was down when he struggled to pick up the ball after a bad snap. So it was still Texas A&M’s ball.
The next play was 4th & 18 and it looked like the Aggies were short of the line to gain. No review. Bad call by the SEC officials there.
Kellen Mond then spiked the ball and it looked like time had expired. Instead, there was actually one second left. That set up Mond’s game-tying TD throw to Quartney Davis with no time left to send the game to overtime.
Both teams scored in the first two overtimes. In the third overtime, LSU scored a touchdown and got the two-point conversion. That set up Kendrick Rogers’ TD catch which was one of the most ridiculous catches of the year to tie things up again.
The teams traded scores in the next three overtimes to get to the seventh overtime period. This tied the NCAA record for the longest game ever.
LSU scored first but failed on the two-point conversion. Texas A&M scored a TD then failed on their two-point conversion so it looked like we would be witnessing history with the first ever eight-overtime game. Instead a somewhat questionable pass interference call allowed the Aggies another shot. They converted and ended the highest scoring game in FBS history, 74-72.

It capped a week of college football that, up until that game was looking like a pretty good but not great week, continuing a string of weeks that have peaked at being good but not great. For the rest of the recap I will do exactly what I did last year, just keeping the broadcast information and going through it in chronological order. So let’s go!

Thursday

Air Force 27 Colorado State 19

3:30 PM

A pretty good game to start the week (if you don’t include the MACtion from Tuesday). Air Force pulled away as Cole Fagan ran for 260 yards. Typical Air Force running game.

Mississippi State 35 Ole Miss 3

7:30 PM

This game was marred a bit by a brawl in the second half. The Bulldogs dominated this game from start to finish. It was nice to see Nick Fitzgerald play this game after the brutal injury he suffered at last year’s Egg Bowl.

Friday

Memphis 52 Houston 31

Noon

Memphis had a slow start but pulled away in the second half to earn their spot in the AAC Championship. For everyone that thinks it will be a blowout, remember Memphis took UCF to overtime last year before losing.

Iowa 31 Nebraska 28

Noon

Iowa wins this one on a walk-off field goal. Nebraska will somehow be within sniffing distance of the preseason Top 25 before the 2019 season.

Ohio 49 Akron 28

Noon

Meaningless game won big by Ohio.

Buffalo 44 Bowling Green 14

Noon

Buffalo, with the easy win, clinches the MAC East and will face Northern Illinois Friday night in Detroit for the MAC Championship.

Missouri 38 Arkansas 0

2:30 PM

Arkansas is terrible. This proved it. Missouri is good but this was such a poor performance by Chad Morris’ Hogs. I am sure CBS may look to try and snag LSU-TAMU for Black Friday next season rather than this game that almost always disappoints.

Virginia Tech 34 Virginia 31

3:30 PM

Ugh. The Hokies win a close one over UVA. This means next week’s game against Marshall is on and if VaTech wins, they go bowling. This also means a Group of Five team will be home rather than go bowling. Or perhaps BYU which would not make that fanbase happy at all.

Cincinnati 56 East Carolina 6

3:30 PM

Cincinnati had a great season other than that loss to UCF and a crushing loss to Temple. If it wasn’t for those two games, we may have been talking about Luke Fickell’s Bearcats for the New Year’s Six spot.

UCF 38 USF 10

4:00 PM

Not nearly as exciting as last year’s epic War on I-4. UCF had already clinched the AAC East. This keeps them undefeated and in the driver’s seat for the Group of Five spot in the NY6. Their chances of a College Football Playoff spot, however, are zero.

Oklahoma 59 West Virginia 56

8:00 PM

This was about the most Big XII game you could ask for. A lot of offense and a close game with high stakes. Oklahoma will now face Texas, who beat Kansas, at JerryWorld for the Big XII Championship and perhaps a spot in the CFP.

Washington 28 Washington State 15

8:30 PM

This game was played in a huge snowstorm. Visually it was fun to watch. I can’t imagine it was as fun for the players. Washington outlasted Wazzu as the Cougs troubles in the Apple Cup continue since Mike Leach took over. This also means the Pac-12 is shut out of the College Football Playoff for sure.

Saturday Early

Florida 41 Florida State 14

Noon

Florida State could not pull off the upset so for the first time since 1982, will not appear in a bowl game. Florida, on the other hand, may have played their way into the New Year’s Six with this impressive win.

Ohio State 62 Michigan 39

Noon

tOSU seems to be Michigan’s kryptonite. Especially Jim Harbaugh’s. It’s like a mental block. 62 points? Most scored on Michigan in regulation ever. Ohio State just dominated, thanks to a breakout performance from freshman Chris Olave who caught two touchdown passes and blocked a punt leading to a touchdown. Ohio State now has a potential shot at the College Football Playoff if they beat Northwestern next week in the Big Ten Championship. Michigan is probably in a New Year’s Six bowl and will go to the Rose Bowl if the Buckeyes end up in the Top 4.

Purdue 28 Indiana 21

Noon

Purdue is, fittingly, going bowling. An up-and-down year highlighted by a massive win over Ohio State (the Buckeyes’ only loss) was capped by this close victory over Indiana for the Old Oaken Bucket in the winner-goes-bowling matchup.

Syracuse 42 Boston College 21

Noon

This really wasn’t close. Steve Addazio, after BC’s hot start, may be on the hot seat after the Eagles’ disappointing finish. Syracuse will be left out of the New Year’s Six although it has to be considered a massive success as Dino Babers has finally brought the team to the heights he said he would bring them to when he was hired.

Western Kentucky 30 Louisiana Tech 15

Noon

WKU was awful this year but ended the season with two straight victories and played their best game of the year trying to save Mike Sanford’s job. Alas, it didn’t work.

Tulane 29 Navy 28

Noon

Willie Fritz showed some balls, going for two after a late Tulane TD got the Green Wave to within one. They converted and beat Navy to become bowl-eligible for the first time in five years. I am honestly surprised this game wasn’t over by 2:30.

Georgia 45 Georgia Tech 21

Noon

Speaking of games that weren’t close, this one was it. Georgia rolled the Yellow Jackets and should be in the Top 4 going into the SEC Championship.

NC State 34 North Carolina 28 (OT)

12:30 PM

What a way to end Raycom’s ACC telecasts. NC State defeats North Carolina in overtime and right afterwards there is a huge brawl. I will be interested to see if there are any hiccups bringing ACC Network telecasts to us Canadians next year. I am not holding my breath.

Wake Forest 59 Duke 7

12:30 PM

Yeah I think the Deacs really wanted to go bowling. A 52-point shellacking of an already bowl-bound Duke proved that the Demon Deacons could be a tough out in a bowl game.

Saturday Afternoon

Penn State 38 Maryland 3

3:30 PM

It would have been nice to see Maryland come back from all the adversity they have had from the D.J. Durkin/Jordan McNair issues from before the season but they couldn’t beat a really good Penn State team (who may end up in the New Year’s Six). Matt Canada may have done enough to secure the job next season and remove the interim tag.

Alabama 52 Auburn 21

3:30 PM

Bama wins. Ho hum. They should get a good match with Georgia next week though.

Minnesota 37 Wisconsin 15

3:30 PM

Row the damn Boat! P.J. Fleck’s Golden Gophers beat up on Wisconsin to earn bowl-eligibility. Huge for Fleck as it keeps him off the hot seat. Wisconsin was seriously disappointing this season and never felt like a contender in the Big Ten West.

Miami 24 Pittsburgh 3

3:30 PM

Does anyone have any faith in Pitt to keep things close in the ACC Championship? Because I don’t.

Tulsa 27 SMU 24

3:30 PM

SMU had their chance to go to a bowl game but their loss to Tulsa shuts them out of bowl season.

Northwestern 24 Illinois 16

3:30 PM

Northwestern shouldn’t have had any problems with the Illini but did. They pulled out the victory, though, and look forward to their Big Ten Championship match against Ohio State. Somehow, Lovie Smith will stay on as Illinois’ head coach. I don’t get it either.

Temple 57 UConn 7

3:30 PM

UConn has now allowed the most points and yards of any FBS team in history. They have to be considered among the worst Div. 1-A/FBS teams ever. So of course we have to assume that Randy Edsall will be back next season.

Michigan State 14 Rutgers 10

4:00 PM

It almost looked like Rutgers was going to win a game on national TV. It would have been one of the craziest things to happen all season. In the end, they came up just short. The Scarlet Knights are a ways away from competing in the Big Ten and it’s almost sad they are in that conference rather than the American, where they belong.

Vanderbilt 38 Tennessee 13

4:00 PM

Wow. Not even close. Vandy really wanted this. Derek Mason has done a pretty good job taking over for James Franklin after a very rocky start. I don’t know what to say about Tennessee. This program has been mired in mediocrity for years and it seems like there is no way out of it.

Saturday Primetime & Late Night

Clemson 56 South Carolina 35

7:00 PM

At times it looked like the Gamecocks were in this game but you had that feeling they weren’t going to be close enough. In the end, those feelings were correct. Clemson marches on to Charlotte to face Pitt in what should be an ACC Championship victory.

Kentucky 56 Louisville 10

7:00 PM

It’s amazing not too long ago that Mark Stoops was on a perpetual hot seat. Now he has to be considered a candidate for coach of the year and has the Wildcats very close to a 10-win season. On the other side, Louisville is a disaster. I don’t know what head coach wants to pick this up but they have to expect next season to be a rough one as well.

Fresno State 31 San Jose State 13

7:00 PM

San Jose State was actually close for a while in this one. But the possibility of an upset left early in the third quarter.

Texas A&M 74 LSU 72 (7OT)

7:30 PM

This was talked about above but it was still amazing to watch this game. The game didn’t end until Nevada and UNLV were halfway through the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame 24 USC 17

8:00 PM

OK this is really starting to look like the Notre Dame of 2012. A bunch of close wins over teams where the wins shouldn’t have been that close. I get that USC played one of their better games of the season but still: the Irish will get into the CFP and might be a double-digit underdog which never bodes well. As for the Trojans, athletic director Lynn Swann has stated that Clay Helton will return for the 2019 season. I, along with many others, still have my doubts about that.

TCU 31 Oklahoma State 24

8:00 PM

This feels like a defensive battle considered it was a Big XII game. Nevertheless, Gary Patterson’s defense was good enough to get the Horned Frogs to bowl eligibility. Seven out of the ten Big XII teams are bowl eligible with two just on the outside at 5 wins. That’s a pretty deep conference.

UNLV 34 Nevada 29

9:30 PM

For a game that had no bearing on anything, it ended up being a really good one. I mean I was stuck on LSU-TAMU until this one got well into the fourth quarter but it was a great last nine minutes. UNLV may have saved Tony Sanchez’s job by winning the Fremont Cannon which is a hilariously huge rivalry trophy (about 500 lbs.).

Boise State 33 Utah State 24

10:15 PM

Huge game here but we all have to remember that Boise is nearly unstoppable on the blue turf at Albertson’s Stadium. They again pull off the huge victory and will now play Fresno State in the Mountain West Championship and pray that UCF loses their game earlier on in the day.

Hawaii 31 San Diego State 30 (OT)

10:30 PM

A phenomenal game to end the night. Rocky Long decided to go for two in the first overtime after his kicker missed what would have been the game-winning field goal at the end of regulation. Bad playcall (50-50 jump ball) and Hawaii held on to win.

Bowl eligibility

The following teams clinched bowl eligibility this past week:

Vanderbilt

Purdue

Minnesota

TCU

Baylor

Wake Forest

Tulane

Wyoming

Miami-OH

Southern Miss

Also, with Virginia Tech’s win, they will play Marshall with a chance to go to 6-6. Good lord, that’s a lot of teams to clinch in the final weekend but it was pretty much the same thing last season. This eliminates any 5-7 team from going bowling. As far as I can tell, at least three teams will sit at home even though they are bowl-eligible. I figured out Liberty’s bowl-eligibility picture as well. They will probably end up 6-6 after next week’s game against Norfolk State; however, they will have two wins over FCS teams and only one is eligible to count towards your overall win total. So technically they would be a 5-win team and would be ineligible for a bowl game.

Coaching Carousel

I always remember the music when Homer Simpson was going to go to clown college. It fits here as well.

It started with Les Miles being hired (after David Beaty was fired but coached the last few games). What else happened on the coaching carousel?

Louisville pulled the trigger on firing Bobby Petrino. Problem is, other than this season, Petrino had been a good college coach. He clearly was at the end of the line at Louisville but he will end up coaching somewhere else in the next couple seasons. Question now is who wants to inherit this mess? And would it be someone who would be considered a big hire? Probably not.
Kute Kliff Kingsbury was shitcanned at Texas Tech. Their loss to Baylor was probably a good thing because who knows if gaining bowl eligibility would have changed the minds of the brass in Lubbock.
Larry Fedora was dismissed at North Carolina. No surprise there. The surprise comes from the rumour about who would replace him. The rumour is that Mack Brown would come back to coach and would bring Kingsbury as his offensive coordinator and Gene Chizik out of the SEC Network as his defensive coordinator. Wow.
Lovie Smith got a contract extension….wait, what? You read it. A contract extension. Everything is so messed up in Champaign.
Mike Sanford was let go after a horrible season at Western Kentucky. They won their last two games but my guess is this was decided at least a week ago and didn’t fire him then so he could coach out the string.
Mark Whipple is out at UMass. I have this feeling they need to drop back to FCS but that’s just me.
John Bonamego was fired at Central Michigan after an absolutely brutal season. No one thought the Chippewas would drop to 1-10 and a change was obviously needed.
After starting 5-0, Colorado went 0-7 to end the season and it was the end of the Mike MacIntyre era in Boulder. Not surprising since other than one good season, his tenure had not been that great.

So who’s going where now? Hey remember what I said about Mack Brown above?

North Carolina has hired Mack Brown to be their new head coach. Full disclosure, I put this in just before this blog went up.

Potential coaches on the move and where they could go:

Mike Leach – Texas Tech might be interested in him. Texas. Tech. That would just be surreal.
Matt Wells – He has done huge things at Utah State and this year was probably the peak. If he wants to move on, he should consider doing it now when his value is at its highest. Colorado seems like a fairly obvious destination for him but I wouldn’t rule out another Pac-12 school, USC.
Mike Locksley – Alabama’s offensive coordinator is getting some looks but I would be wary. He was awful coaching at New Mexico and it would be a risk to hire him at a huge school. Some guys are just not made out to be the top guy. Paging Charlie Weis. Charlie Weis.
Jeff Brohm – Louisville wants this guy in the worst way. But it seems Brohm wants to stay at Purdue. That might change if Louisville parks a Brinks truck in his driveway.
Neal Brown – If Louisville doesn’t get their number one choice, they would probably push for Brown. I am surprised Brown’s name hasn’t come up for more coaching vacancies.
Brent Venables – It would take a lot to pry him away from Clemson but it’s almost time for him to give it a shot on his own. A lot of schools would be definitely interested in him with Louisville and Texas Tech at the top of the list (although the Cards have their sights elsewhere).
James Franklin – Don’t laugh. He has not outright said he is not interested in other opportunities. USC might just come knocking at his door once Lynn Swann wakes up and realizes he may not want another season of Clay Helton.
Ryan Day – He is almost certainly gone from Ohio State, regardless of what happens with Urban Meyer. He did well coaching the team in Meyer’s absence and will get a shot almost anywhere.
Luke Fickell – This guy has done amazing work at Cincinnati and will be sought after. He would have been a no brainer for Illinois except they extended Lovie Smith. He won’t leave, though, for another Group of Five job. At this point it’s stand pat unless another Power Five school let’s their coach go.

I am sure there are more possibilities but I don’t feel like listing them at this time. Tomorrow I will have my bowl projections up then it’s back to the normal college schedule on Thursday, NFL schedule on Friday bit. Enjoy your week everyone!

Week 11 College Football Recap – Sponsored by the Smack-12

Posted on November 16, 2015 by guelphbossman

pac12

As in smacked into irrelevance. The poor Pac-12. They were still holding on for dear life, hoping among hope that the dominoes fell into place and they could put a team in the College Football Playoff. Well, for starters, they had to have Stanford and Utah win their games on Saturday. At least one of them would do it and both were favourites so everything should be alright going into Week 12 correct? Not so fast my friend (Lee Corso would be so proud). Stanford has to comeback against Oregon, only to fall short on a two-point conversion gone wrong. So now it was up to Utah. They were facing Arizona. No problem right? Well the Fighting RichRods decided to put the final nail in the Pac-12 coffin by beating the Utes in overtime. Better luck next year I guess.

Rest of the Fun-Time Recap

That was closer than it should have been. Two games fit this sentence. Clemson struggled with a pretty bad Syracuse team. You have to wonder if the Carrier Dome noise got to the Tigers but they can’t afford to look like this the last two weeks of the season going into the ACC Championship. As for Oklahoma State they got an even bigger scare. They didn’t take the lead on Iowa State until 3:06 was left in the fourth quarter. Memories of 2011 were flooding Ames on Saturday as many thought it was going to be deja-vu all over again. Fortunately for the Pokes they were able to barely pull this one out as they now head home to Stillwater to face Baylor in another huge Big XII showdown. Yeah this back-loaded schedule is working out perfectly. Speaking of the Big XII…

Don’t count Baylor out yet and don’t count Oklahoma in yet. Two things happen with this obviously back-loaded Big XII sked: 1) It allows teams to make big moves up the CFP rankings and 2) on the flip side, it makes it very difficult for any team to run the table down the stretch. Oklahoma looked like the better team in Waco. Saying that, the Sooners still have TCU and Oklahoma State left on their slate. I can honestly say I am not liking their chances of winning both games. Baylor, on the other hand, has those same two teams, plus Texas, left. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they won all three. It’s been that kind of season in college football.

Hell, don’t even put Bama in yet! Will the Tide win next week against the Southwest Texas School for the Deaf (or whatever FCS team they are playing)? Yes. Will they win the Iron Bowl? Yes. Will they win the SEC Championship over Florida? Hmmmm….that will be a tough game for Alabama. Should be a good one. Won’t put them in the CFP yet but the way they are playing I don’t see anyone stopping them.

The Hawkeyes better play better than that. They have two games remaining. Home against Purdue and at Nebraska on Black Friday. Two games they should win. The issue is, they really have to blow these two teams out of the water. Otherwise, unless other things happen for the teams around them in the rankings, they won’t get into the top 4 come conference championship week. What it comes right down to is this: Iowa must beat Purdue huge, beat Nebraska by a healthy margin, beat tOSU for the Big Ten Championship and THEN they will be in the top four but not before.

And that ends LSU’s chances…I think. You can’t say they are out of the New Year’s Six race yet but it sure looks like it. And now we can say Leonard Fournette has allowed a bunch of players into the Heisman race. I figured the game against Bama was an aberration. I was wrong…sort of. Arkansas played really well as Bret Bielema somehow finds a way to get his team to the win. So they beat LSU in Death Valley at night yet they lose to Toledo at home. Gotcha.

Now that was fun to watch. Michigan’s double overtime win over Indiana was fantastic to watch unless you were a Hoosier football fan. Why Indiana passed the ball on fourth and goal in the second overtime period rather than run it (you know, the same thing they had done over 20 times in a row at that point) is beyond me. They should have passed on third down so they could go back to their bread-and-butter on fourth. Hindsight is always 20-20 though so we will leave it at that. As for the Wolverines, they are STILL in the New Year’s Six conversation. I actually have them in my top 12 so there’s still hope although they have to get through Ohio State to do it.

Wouldn’t that have been crazy? Kansas….KANSAS!…was oh so close to upsetting TCU. And it would have been the upset of the year BY FAR! And that would have made it a lot of fun except for TCU fans. Really, even though TCU won, that should be their nail in the coffin when it comes to the CFP. Their chances were slim but now they should be gone regardless. I don’t care if they score 100 on Baylor and do the same against Oklahoma. That game should keep them out.

Is that the last we’ve seen from Everett Golson? I always thought his stats up until this past Saturday were deceiving. To watch him you would think he was entirely average. Not the same Golson from when he brought Notre Dame to the BCS National Championship. This game kind of proved it. Plus Sean Maguire stepped up in a way that not many could have seen. So I wouldn’t be surprised if Jimbo went with Maguire the rest of the way.

Don’t look now but Wazzu is 7-3. Washington State has done very well in the Pac-12 this year. And has also lost to Portland State. Typical of this college football season. If they had won that game (like they should have), they would have been 8-2 and probably in the top 20 by now. And there would have been New Year’s Six whispers. Yes it has been that crazy this year.

Keenan is the man. Keenan Reynolds is now the sole owner of the FBS Rushing touchdown career record. He has 81 now. I wonder if he could make it to 90? Probably.

And that’s why Houston should get the New Year’s Six spot. And to be honest, a Big XII invite. That comeback win over Memphis was epic and showed why this team is in the driver’s seat for that NYS spot. The noon game on Black Friday against Navy will decide the AAC West. If, for some reason, Houston loses, there will be more chaos for sure (unless Navy wins out).

Speaking of the AAC, how bout dem Owls….uh oh. Wow, did USF ever lay a beating on Temple. It wasn’t even close. That’s the Temple team we all remember from, well, every other season before this one. They still should close out the AAC East but that loss all but assures they won’t be playing in a big boy bowl this year.

Um, Clemson may want to be very worried now. North Carolina has destroyed Duke and Miami in consecutive weeks. Like absolute destruction. Honestly, over the last two weeks, no team (maybe save Alabama) has looked nearly as good as the Tar Heels. Worst part is they still haven’t clinched the Coastal division as that pesky Pitt Panthers team keeps hanging around. A win over Virginia Tech this weekend would clinch it for the Heels and set up the ACC Championship which should garner a lot of interest now.

I don’t get how it happened that fast. Georgia Tech’s fall from the top of the ACC Coastal is mind-boggling. They look so bad this year and compared to last year it just defies logic. Paul Johnson is fine for now but man, they better come out of the gate strong next season or it could be Johnson’s job.

Mark Richt has to be an intriguing possibility. Every program with a head coach opening would kill to have Mark Richt coach their team. And wouldn’t it be hilarious if he ended up at South Carolina? The only thing funnier would be if the USC of the east hired Clemson’s defensive coordinator Brent Venables. Yes my sense of humour can be odd at times.

Charlie should take one of those jobs NOW! Charlie Strong would be stupid, I think, to stay at Texas. With a 4-6 record and a very good possibility of being home for the holidays, many Longhorns’ faithful are calling for his head. He would be wise to look at the Miami job or the USC job or some other job and truly put his name in the hat. Otherwise, at some point, be it during the off-season or early next season, he could be out of a job completely.

Nebraska is somehow one win away from being bowl-eligible. And to get that win, they have to get through Iowa in Farmageddon on Black Friday. I know technically Kansas State and Iowa State play the Farmageddon game but Iowa-Nebraska suits that name so much more.

Coach of the year? You have to give some love to Todd Monken down at Southern Miss. Ever since Larry Fedora left it was a gongshow there. Monken has brought some stability to the program and now they are 7-3 and going bowling. Also, if they beat Old Dominion on Saturday they set up a showdown during the final week against Louisiana Tech for the Conference USA West Division crown. And to think it wasn’t that long ago when this team lost 22 games in a row.

Hopefully Missouri gets one more win for Gary Pinkel. It would be nice to see at least one coach go out on a high note since so many have not over the past few years. Mizzou needs one more win and they go bowling. I think with the way the players gutted out a victory over BYU, they should be able to pull it off.

Alright, I will be doing an entire post on my early bowl predictions on Wednesday instead of putting it here and making a long post even longer. The short NFL recap is tomorrow and then it’s schedule time starting Thursday.

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A CFP without Clemson? – Week 14 College Football Recap

Week 11 College Football Recap – Sponsored by the Smack-12