You probably know this already but Chad Morris has been fired as head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. No surprise there. Arkansas has been awful this season. No denying that. While pretty much every other team not named Vanderbilt is improving in the SEC, the Razorbacks are getting worse somehow. Chad Morris was supposed to be the savior (somewhat) for this program and at least get it back to playing in bowl games every season if not actually competing for the SEC West title. But in what may be the worst coaching job in the state since John L. Smith was brought in for a short (and disastrous) period of time, nothing went right in Fayetteville (and sometimes Little Rock). Their shellacking at the hands of Western Kentucky on Saturday was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Not saying Morris would have been back next year since he probably wouldn’t have been but there has to be a huge shot to the ego to be fired during a season. Basically the school is saying you aren’t even good enough to coach this already shitty team for the rest of the season. You are so bad that we have to replace you now.
Earlier this season, Rutgers finally shitcanned Chris Ash. It was about a season or so too late but at least they finally did it. So I have a proposal here that I think may have been said before but hear me out. As much as people say there are too many bowl games, people obviously watch them since they usually get more viewers than anything else on at that time, other than the NFL or World Juniors. So why not add another postseason game? Here’s what I think: have the two worst Power Five teams face off to figure out the bottom team of the year. Arkansas vs. Rutgers! Who says no? And play it in a spot where there is a good chance of horrible weather like Montana. Someone will broadcast it for sure. And I will watch it. Let’s make it happen!
Alright enough of Relegation Bowl 2019. On to the recap of what was an amazingly crazy week of college football. I can honestly say it was one of the most enjoyable weeks of college football this year. My only hope is that the last few weeks of the regular season are just as good (if not better).
Recap
- Minnesota had a nice win over Penn State in chilly conditions in Minneapolis in one of two battles of undefeated teams. Row The Boat, indeed. It was a historic victory for a program not known for playing big-time college football. This means that the Golden Gophers’ hopes for the College Football Playoff are still alive. And with Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin left on their sked, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Fighting Flecks are in the Top 4 come conference championship weekend. As for PSU, they aren’t out of things yet but they have to win out and get a LOT of help.
- Clemson clinched the ACC Atlantic with a relatively easy win over NC State in primetime. It was actually a close game for all of like a minute and then the Tigers were off to the races in a horribly boring affair. It was weird to see the primetime sked be so much worse than the earlier two timeslots but there we had it. If you needed to get anything done on Saturday, that was probably your chance.
- A very slow start for Georgia turned into a bit of a rout when they scored 27 unanswered on Missouri to pick up the win. They still have two more big games against Auburn and Texas A&M coming up that could put other teams back in the SEC East race. The Dawgs would have to lose both though and I honestly can’t see that happening.
- Oh yeah there was a kind of big matchup down in Tuscaloosa. Talk about an instant classic. Two of the best coaches in the game. Two of the best quarterbacks (although Tua was obviously in pain late in the game). Two of the best offenses and defenses in the game. And it was a great game. LSU was way up by halftime but there was always that feeling that Alabama could come back. And come back they did. They made a game out of it with Tua Tagovailoa’s gutsy play. But the Tigers were too much and Joe Burrow may have clinched the Heisman with his performance. Yes it wasn’t under the lights but it was still an amazing game that will be remembered for a long time and may, dare I say it, knock Bama out of the College Football Playoff.
- In Big XII news, Baylor BARELY beat TCU. It was looking for a while there that the Horned Frogs had the Bears’ number. The Bears needed a FG late and then some overtime heroics to win this one. So I just assume the Bears fans’ blood pressure is through the roof for most of this one and will continue to be until they lose (if they lose).
- Illinois was down 28-3 to Michigan State and all the hope for Illini fans seemed to be draining. Then they started the biggest comeback in program history, about to tie up the game after a touchdown aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand they miss the extra point. Oh no. But they persevered and scored late again to pick up the massive win over the Spartans and become bowl-eligible for the first time in five long years. Amazing how keeping Lovie Smith (and his glorious beard) on for another year (after really not deserving another year) has led to hope inside this program.
- Appalachian State ended up with what was not really an upset as they beat South Carolina in a close one. Can you imagine what would be going on right now if App State hadn’t looked like shit against Georgia Southern? You would have been seeing the Mountaineers as a good possibility as the first ever Sun Belt team to get to the New Year’s Six. Now? They need some help.
- Could the Oklahoma freakin’ Sooners somehow get back into the CFP race? They sure could. I mean their game against Iowa State was pretty tough to watch and they struggled at times but they won and in the end that’s what matters…kind of. They are just lucky that ISU went to the Mack Brown School of Two Point Conversion Plays. They need to figure out that defense though as they can’t play like that against Baylor this Saturday or otherwise it will be lights out. Then again, Baylor struggled to score against TCU so…who knows.
- Your 2019 Ohio State Buckeyes are a God damned juggernaut. They mopped the floor with Maryland dropping SEVENTY-THREE POINTS on them. Their path to the Big Ten Championship is now very simple. Don’t lose to Penn State and they will basically win the Big Ten East and head to Indianapolis.
- So what can we make of the Tennessee Volunteers this season? They looked OK, I guess, against Kentucky and were able to eek out a win. They’ve been all over the place this season with some great games and truly awful ones. Amazingly enough, through all this, the Vols are one win away from being bowl-eligible and maybe, just maybe, they are back to building something good in Knoxville.
- UCF lost to Tulsa. No New Year’s Six for you!
- There was one more game with two ranked teams going at it and it was a close one as well. Iowa and Wisconsin played some classic Big Ten West football against each other and very few watched it because it was on at the same time as LSU-Alabama. Couldn’t this have been a night game? Anyway, the Hawkeyes missed on the two-point conversion late and Paul Chryst’s Badgers survived and now remain the only real challenger to Minnesota in the division.
- Wow Boise State is making it very difficult to give them the New Year’s Six spot. Or is it that Boise State is making it tough to keep them out of the New Year’s Six spot? Probably a bit of both. They probably should have lost that game against Wyoming but somehow, someway, pulled out the win in overtime. They are still right in the thick of the hunt for the Group of Five spot and it would not surprise me to see them get it if they can blow through the rest of their schedule.
- Oh Kansas State. It’s like they couldn’t handle the rarified air of the Top 25. I get that it’s been a struggle since 109-year-old Bill Snyder left the program but hopefully Chris Klieman has them back to where they had been during the Snyder era. And Texas is back……in the Top 25 (I think).
- Florida beat Vanderbilt. In other news, sometimes we get snow in the winter.
- Wake Forest had a ton of trouble with the Bud Foster Hokie defense and now will be out of the Top 25 (I think). So who in the hell is going to go to the Orange Bowl out of the ACC? It’s going to be an unranked Virginia I think. Sad. I think it’s about time to cut back a bit on the bowl tie-ins since that is ridiculous.
- Finally, SMU put up almost 60 points on East Carolina. Unfortunately, East Carolina put up a bit more than 50 on the Mustangs. Not good for a team that is hoping for a wing and a prayer and a chance to somehow get to the AAC Championship.
We are now getting into the real important part of the season. OK not as important as American Thanksgiving Footballgasm time but still important. This past weekend, though, led to some big changes in the polls. That’s the way these things go in November. Here’s my Top 25:
| #1 | LSU |
| #2 | Ohio State |
| #3 | Georgia |
| #4 | Clemson |
| #5 | Utah |
| #6 | Minnesota |
| #7 | Alabama |
| #8 | Oregon |
| #9 | Baylor |
| #10 | Oklahoma |
| #11 | Auburn |
| #12 | Florida |
| #13 | Penn State |
| #14 | Michigan |
| #15 | Wisconsin |
| #16 | Notre Dame |
| #17 | Cincinnati |
| #18 | Memphis |
| #19 | Texas |
| #20 | Boise State |
| #21 | SMU |
| #22 | Iowa |
| #23 | Indiana |
| #24 | Navy |
| #25 | Texas A&M |
Something has happened at the top and more is to come. Unless something weird happens, both LSU and Georgia won’t get to the CFP. LSU is almost a shoo-in at this point unless they don’t just shit the bed but fill the bedroom with diarrhea. Clemson wins out and they are essentially a lock. Ohio State is the same. I still think Ohio State blows it against Michigan though. I am going to continue to drink the Kool-Aid and say Michigan will finally break the streak this season. The most important thing here though? Indiana is in the Top 25. Every year it seems there has to be a basketball school in the Top 25. Last year it was Kentucky. The few years before that was Duke. Lately, that is the case. I would love to see Indiana win out and get in the conversation for the College Football Playoff because I like the discomfort of a team like that being in the mix. The media, as much as they they say otherwise, do not want these non-traditional football powers in these big games. Except for the ones who love controversy like it’s crack.
So this post is a day late so I won’t hype the Monday Night Football game (not that I ever hype it). But last night’s game was great. One of the best MNF games in a long time. And now there are no undefeated teams. The ’72 Dolphins can pop that champagne.
We got some MACtion tonight! Eastern Michigan and Akron tussle starting at 6:00 on the specialty pack and Western Michigan faces off against Ohio starting at 6:30. The games aren’t early because of the CFP Rankings Show. It’s because the weather is supposed to be bad so they are starting the games an hour or so earlier than normal. It is supposed to frigid in Ohio tonight so don’t expect to see packed stands there. Then tomorrow night is another set of MACtion games both on the specialty pack: Northern Illinois-Toledo and Bowling Green-Miami-OH.
Tomorrow we got some bowl projections (which aren’t early anymore). Thursday it’s another weekend-plus of college football and its TV schedule. Finally, the NFL gets the sked treatment on Friday. Enjoy your week (and the games) everyone!
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