If I had the power to change things – UPDATED VERSION!

I did this post over nine years ago. Crazy, right? I went over some of the things I would do if I was put in control of college football. So maybe it’s about time to see how I did and then look at a few more things I would do. Let’s fucking go with this potential bullshit!

1. In OT, they should start farther back than the 25-yard line. OK they still haven’t changed this and they have made it worse by going to the 2-point shootout after the second overtime period. That is so ridiculous. Either take out the gimmick (which reminds me of the penalty shootout at the end of regular season hockey games which also drives me nuts) or make it so teams can tie after two overtime periods like in the CFL. College football had the greatest overtime format and they have somehow been overtaken by the NFL who, for all the good they do with rule changes, spent years fucking up their overtime games and basically stumbled upon rules changes thanks to the Bills and…well, I don’t want to talk about it.
2. Stop time after EVERY first down makes the game a little longer than most can handle. They listened! THEY LISTENED! Kind of. I had proposed doing it in the final five minutes of each half or even in the second and fourth quarter only. They do it all game now. Which is good? Problem is, some of that saved time has gone to more ad breaks. That is not so good. All in all, we will call this a push but it definitely leads into my next point that I had made…
3. Three-hour TV windows are dumb. This is still the case. And it’s done even more than it was back then. ESPN does it a few times a year with their evening games by pushing them to 6:00 and 9:00 so that the late SEC game isn’t TOO late. Now the ACC Network also does this one week, usually Week 2. They have so many games for their teams that they have to do this. At least they are smart enough to start at 11:00 and this past season, moved to three hour, fifteen minute windows for some of the games. That’s a perfect compromise. Expect other conference networks to potentially try this with conferences becoming bloated.
4. Can we stop with the games against FCS schools outside of the first month? No, it seems like they can’t. The SEC has dialed it back a bit. Only about half their teams (if that) play those games during the penultimate weekend of the regular season. But now we have the ACC doing it now. Stop it. Please. Play them in October. November should be for the biggest games, not Western Illinois (no offense to the Leathernecks) going to Georgia to get their asses handed to them for three-quarters of a mil.
5. Start Division 4 right now. I think I need to tweak this idea since a fuck-ton of realignment has happened in nine years. I am going to change this into football becoming its own special college sport and not totally following conference alignments in the rest of the sports. Don’t get me wrong, some of the realignments have been good but many have been weird, head-scratching, money-hungry or just plain dumb. So let football have their own conference alignments and allow the rest of the sports to go back to having the Southwest Conference or the Metro Conference or maybe other, better, more geographically sensible conferences since even in basketball, going halfway across the United States for a Tuesday night conference game is beyond ridiculous.
6. Is it time about time that CIS teams move south so to speak? At the time, I used Simon Fraser being in D-II as a starting point. Now, SFU doesn’t even have a football team thanks to their athletic department being a complete dumpster fire (not to mention much of the administration). Rogers still has their NHL contract for another few years (and there seems to be a bit of regret on their end which I mentioned would happen) so any CIS football, especially OUA, won’t be shown on their network any time soon. Maybe TSN can step up a bit with TSN+. Putting even one game a week (to start) on the streaming platform would be a good beginning to get eyeballs back on university football in this country. So, do I still think CIS teams should join the NCAA? Not nearly as much as I used to but some programs (I’m looking at you, York) need to seriously think about whether continuing having a football program is worth it.
7. Let us all be able to get the ESPNs, FOX Sports 1, etc. Yeah not even close. The amount of games available to us up here is still the same, if not a bit less now. Peacock has joined the fray and we cannot get those games up here. Still can’t get any of the FOX, FS1 or, now, FS2 games up here in Canada. I’ve always said (and I will continue to say it) that the death of cable (which still will happen regardless of all these streaming services teaming up in a way) will partially come down to not giving the customers what they want to see, especially if they are willing to pay for it. I had mentioned years ago that I would pay a few hundred bucks a season if I could have access to have every FBS game on TV. Every one. I don’t care about news or movies or TV shows or much else. Those I can watch when I want on Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime or some other streaming service if I really want to. But college football is the one thing I would want all of and should have the ability to get but I have the god damn audacity to be Canadian. What a dick I am. So yeah, this should still happen.
8. Do not put out the CFP poll until the bowl games are being selected. Because The Committee is filled with people who know college football but struggle with logic, you get situations like you got this past season. It easily (and I mean FUCKING EASILY) could have been rectified if when they had dropped Florida State to #5 after Week 13, they kept them there after Week 14, even though they knew one of Michigan and Ohio State was going to lose. Sure it wouldn’t have been that well received but then they wouldn’t have looked like complete assholes when they dropped them in the final poll to destroy their national championship hopes. If they wait until just as the bowl games and playoff seedings are being selected, then there’s not nearly as much of a problem. Debate all you want but at least you don’t compare it to previous weeks’ polls which make The Committee look like fucking idiots.

Alright, that was the list nine long years ago. I was in my 30s. And, looking at my body, a lot fitter. I hate the fact that injuries can happen due to nothing but air and movement these days. Other than what I see in the mirror, a lot has changed in college football as well since then. So I guess I have to come up with a few more things I would change. Here we go.

1. Someone other than the NCAA has to put forth strict NIL rules and regulations. This feels like a no-brainer. When NIL started, it was great. Great stories of these players getting some nice deals and some players even sharing the wealth with their teammates. Awesome. Then, to the shock of absolutely no one, things got out of hand. Quickly. Now players are making hundreds of thousands of dollars (which is fine) but it has nothing to do with their name, image or likeness. All it has to do with a booster (or group of boosters) ponying up a bunch of money to buy a player’s loyalty (for at least a year). Isn’t this the same kind of shit SMU got the death penalty for? There has to be rules to all this and keeping boosters out of the player payment business would be first and foremost on that agenda. Start there, draft something up, tell all the teams they will abide by it or there will be penalties. Keep going against the rules, you will give up the one thing they all covet: money. If a program is fined millions of dollars, they will think twice of allowing some of these boosters, who think they can do whatever the fuck they feel like, from digging their claws into some of their roster.
2. Football players (if not players in other sports) should be able to drop down to a part-time course load during the season. Playing college sports is not easy. You have to organize your time. I remember when I was a university athlete. I couldn’t get things right. I found it too difficult to commit to a sport AND a full-time course load. I am sure other athletes feel the same way. And the way college athletics are going, these students don’t need to finish their degrees before they leave school. They should be able to finish when they can. This may also push some student-athletes to be in more difficult programs. I mean there can only be so many communications jobs out there, right?
3. Targeting HAS to be figured out. Does anyone really know what targeting is? Hell, the officials struggle to figure it out so I am not surprised everyone else is perplexed by it. Most of it seems to centre around hitting a player with the crown of your helmet. And yes, it’s dangerous. I still remember getting speared in practice in high school by a guy who had never been on special teams before. It knocked the wind out me something fierce. It’s a player safety issue and has to be taken seriously. Splitting the penalty into Targeting 1 and Targeting 2 penalties is a good start in my opinion. Targeting 2 can be reserved for the egregious penalties where the player deserves to be ejected. And hell, throw a 20-yard penalty on to it instead of a 15. Hopefully that helps a bit. Targeting 1 can still be 15 yards but the player stays in the game. The coaches and players may understand this better and we can see how it goes for a few years before looking into it again and adjusting it where need be.
4. If there are going to be more superconferences (and less conferences in FBS in general) it’s time all conferences go to nine conference games. A few years back I would have railed against this idea but I didn’t realize that conferences might hit the 20-team mark in the next few years. Give it a decade and there is no way there will be nine conferences like there are now. At least one, if not multiple, conferences will cease to exist. With upwards of 18 teams at this point, putting an extra conference game makes all the sense in the world. Many Power Five teams can still have their one FCS non-conference game (which gives some FCS teams a much needed infusion of cash), along with a Group of Five non-conference game. Add a P5 non-conference game and there you go. See how easy that is? Do I have to figure everything out for you guys?

Are there other things needed to “fix” college football? Of course. It feels like college football is barreling down (in one of those Japanese bullet trains) towards no return. Where it will look not a whole lot different than the minor league of the NFL. It kind of is already but in 2030 I have a feeling we will look at even just before COVID and say “college football wasn’t like that, was it?”

The combine is occurring and I am glad to see some players saying “Fuck that noise.” If scouts can’t figure things out from the absolute avalanche of game film on these guys then they should find another line of work. No, instead we have to do drills that, as much as some want to say otherwise, don’t mean a whole lot compared to how they play the game. Tom fucking Brady just ran the 40 faster at 46 years old than he did when he was at the Combine. If that doesn’t tell you that the Combine is just basically Scouting Bonerfest, I don’t know what will.

Anyway, the UFL is coming up at the end of the month and I am less than mildly interested. I’ll watch but I won’t be really watching. Now, this European League of Football…if I could get that it would be interesting. It looks like if you had MACtion in Germany. I love it. Anyway, everyone have a great week.

Realignment: One of college football’s dirtiest words

Realignment. It excites and infuriates people. It has changed college football (and college basketball) forever. Money rules the day as some of these conferences don’t even make sense anymore. The Big Ten will soon have sixteen teams with two of them based in California: thousands of miles away from all the other teams in the conference. The SEC will have sixteen teams and, sorry, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Missouri really don’t qualify as “Southeastern” unless you are terrible at geography. Don’t even get me started on how the Sun Belt and Conference USA have bungled realignment in the past. At least the Sun Belt a) has Fun Belt football and b) acquired some good programs. Something Conference USA just hasn’t figured out.

I figured, since I’m bored and there’s not a ton to post about and we are about to go into the football dead season (don’t say XFL or USFL), I would make this post on realignment. Don’t run away! I plan to look at realignment the way I would have had it done or what I thought would have made sense. I’m not going to put Texas State in the SEC or anything stupid like that but I will take a thoughtful look at what has happened and what I think should have happened. In some cases, they may be the same! Let’s get started before I regret doing this.

Now I don’t plan on going back to 1962 and say “Well, the Border Conference never should have been disbanded.” Before my time so I don’t really care. I also won’t say the Georgia Tech or Tulane shouldn’t have left the SEC. Of course they shouldn’t have. But they were going to at some point, be it in the mid-60s or even in the 80s. It was going to happen. I will start with a year that is not paramount at all in the minds of realignmentheads but will contain something from earlier in the 80s that many know about…

(WARNING: This will be a very, very long post so strap in.)

1987

Wichita State drops football for good. Akron moves up from Division 1-AA (remember that?) to be an Independent. Nothing big. Oh wait…

Hey, remember the Big East? In football? OK it wasn’t a thing in 1987 but the conference had been formed back in 1979. In ’82, Penn State applied for membership. Georgetown, St. John’s and Villanova voted against the Nittany Lions joining. This would have been on that Freezing Cold Takes Twitter account if it Twitter existed like 30 years ago. If I had been in charge, I would have made sure at least one of those schools changed their vote to include Penn State. And instead of waiting until the 90s, I would have started Big East football in 1987 because why the hell not. So nine Independent schools would form this new conference:

• Penn State, Syracuse, Rutgers, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Miami, Temple, Virginia Tech and West Virginia

Way to go Georgetown, St. John’s and Villanova. Idiots. Also, this means Penn State doesn’t move to the Big Ten in the early 90s.

1989

Louisiana Tech moves up from 1-AA to 1-A as an Independent. Also, SMU returns from the death penalty that, in hindsight, was a terrible move. Either go after more of the schools that had issues (like the entire Southwest Conference) or just ban SMU from bowl games for a bunch of years. What they did set SMU football (and only SMU football) back 20 years. Notice how they have never done it again in football despite the fact they could have easily done it on a few occasions? That’s why.

1991

In one of the biggest moves at the time, Florida State joins the ACC.

1992

Look, I get it. The Southwest Conference was a complete mess for most of its existence. Sure, they had some great football teams but more often than not they were mired in some sort of scandal.

Saying that, I would have done my darndest to keep Arkansas in the SWC. And I wouldn’t have stopped there. Rice, sorry, you gone. There’s no reason to keep you around since you’re terrible in football and not much better in basketball. Yes, it’s one of the top academic schools in the nation and no, I don’t care. They can become an Independent. So at this point, the SWC would look like this:

• Arkansas, Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, SMU, TCU, Texas Tech, Houston

That’s still a good, competitive conference at this point.

South Carolina, on the other hand, does join the SEC, moving that conference to a somewhat awkward eleven teams. Akron moves to the MAC. Fresno State goes from the Big West to the WAC and Long Beach State drops their football program altogether. To replace LBSU and Fresno, Nevada moves up from 1-AA to 1-A and the Big West. Finally, Arkansas State also moves up from Division 1-AA to Division 1-A as an Independent.

1993

Penn State DOESN’T join the Big Ten since they are part of a better Big East (in my opinion). Cal State-Fullerton becomes the second Big West team in as many years to drop football altogether. Because of this, the Big West went on an invitation spree, bringing in Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois and Southwestern Louisiana (which is now just Louisiana), meaning they really had forgot about the West part of their conference name.

1994

Northeast Louisiana moves up from Division 1-AA to 1-A. They are now called ULM. Ho hum.

1995

Another almost-nothing year. North Texas moves to 1-A. Big whoop.

1996

This was a huge year in realignment as the Big XII came into existence, with the Big Eight absorbing four programs from the Southwest Conference. I wouldn’t go that route. I think it would be the reverse. The Southwest Conference keeps their name and absorbs all eight of the Big 8 schools. The new sixteen-team conference would be huge. I just hope they don’t go to pod scheduling. Wait, I’m running things. So no, they won’t go that route. Anywhere from two-to-four yearly opponents with the rest being filled in based on order of finish the previous season, like it should be almost everywhere.

Now, because of this, Conference USA loses one member, Houston. With some foresight, they should have kept the other five teams they had and added Rice, Tulsa, Louisiana Tech (from the Big West) and North Texas. This would give this conference the following:

• Cincinnati, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Memphis, North Texas, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa

That’s a pretty good start for a new mid-major conference in football.

The WAC also has to change. See, they now don’t get Rice, SMU, TCU or Tulsa. So time to pick up some other teams. Time to basically fuck the Big West over. Bring in Nevada, Utah State, UNLV and New Mexico State. This would give the conference the following teams:

• BYU, Utah, New Mexico, UTEP, Wyoming, San Diego State, Colorado State, Air Force, Fresno State, San Jose State, Hawaii, UNLV, Nevada, Utah State

That’s a lot of realignment and we aren’t even done yet. The Big West is pretty much ravaged by what the WAC did. Boise State and Idaho move up from 1-AA to 1-A to replace some of the teams but Pacific drops football altogether. The Big West sticks at six teams as Northern Illinois stays in the conference rather than going back to Independent status. Same with Louisiana and Arkansas State although it’s obvious the Big West is on its last legs as a football conference.

Finally, UCF and UAB move from Division 1-AA to 1-A as Independents.

1997

The MAC only gets Northern Illinois (from the Big West) as I would have Marshall head to Conference USA along with East Carolina.

With only five teams remaining, the Big West Conference is dead as it pertains to football. Boise State and San Jose State are invited to the WAC, while the other three teams (Arkansas State, Idaho and Louisiana) become Independents.

1998

Army does not join Conference USA. We all know how that worked out and even at the time, a lot of people thought it was a bad idea.

1999

Yeah sure why not. Let’s form the Mountain West. Arkansas State might as well stay Independent for now. The Big West doesn’t exist and there’s no reason for them to head to the WAC. Buffalo moves up from 1-AA right into the MAC. Middle Tennessee also moves up but as an Independent. Idaho moves into the WAC. Finally, UAB finds a conference home as they head to Conference USA.

2000

Two fairly benign moves: USF and UConn join the Division 1-A Independents from Division 1-AA.

2001

The Big West died (in football) and the Sun Belt started sponsoring football. Thing is, I eliminated the Big West five years ago. So Idaho and New Mexico State, now in the WAC, will not move to the Sun Belt because they don’t have to. Also, Utah State can stay in the WAC now. So the Sun Belt would comprise of Arkansas State, Louisiana, ULM, Middle Tennessee and North Texas, who moves from Conference USA. They bring in Troy State so the Trojans aren’t an Independent.

2002

Another skipped move: UCF just doesn’t bother joining the MAC because it’s the fucking MAC and they don’t need a team in Florida. Instead they just move to Conference USA a year early.

2003

Utah State doesn’t move to the Sun Belt because WHY? They are in the WAC and they can stay there. USF does, however, move. They head to Conference USA to join brother UCF.

2004

Oh baby here we go. Miami and Virginia Tech will NOT be moving to the ACC! They will stay in the Big East as UConn joins. I mean we don’t get ACC Coastal Chaos but I think we can live without it.

Florida Atlantic and Florida International transition up from Division 1-AA to Independent status.

2005

This leads us to the next year where Boston College also doesn’t leave for the ACC. And with Cincinnati, Louisville and USF joining the Big East, it is becoming quite the conference. TCU doesn’t go to the Mountain West because they are already in the Southwest Conference which has weathered the storm until now. SMU also stays in the SWC and doesn’t move to Conference USA. UTEP does move from the WAC to Conference USA as it makes a bit more sense for them. FAU and FIU, one year after joining Division 1-A, move to the Sun Belt Conference. Finally, Temple does not get dropped from the Big East despite their terrible football program. I’m doing a lot of nothing with this which I am sure people will find actually refreshing. I’m sure that will change soon.

2008

WKU joins Division 1-A. I’m just going to put them right in the Sun Belt.

2011

Things were quiet for almost six years. Then the big bang hit in college football and everything went haywire went it came to the conferences and realignment. Will this be the same in Bossman’s Realignmentpalooza? No.

First off, Nebraska does leave for the Big Ten. Since Penn State never went to the Big Ten back in the 90s, this puts the new Big Ten at eleven teams. To make it even, they also invite KANSAS! Yes, I am serious. Kansas wasn’t too far from a few seasons of great football. And their basketball team was awesome as always. So this makes a lot of sense.

As for the Pac-10, they decided they wanted to bring in six schools from the Big XII. Instead, they will bring in those same six schools from the SWC: Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. This also means Utah does not join the now Pac-16 conference.

The SWC is now down to eight schools and, chances are, would lose their automatic BCS bowl bid. With a roster of Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Missouri, TCU, Houston, SMU and Arkansas they can’t make a claim to be worthy of one now. And because of that, Arkansas finally accepts the SEC’s overtures and heads there, dropping the SWC to a seven-team conference.

The trickle down effect was in play. Utah stayed in the Mountain West and was joined by Boise State. BYU also doesn’t leave the Mountain West for Independence at this point.

2012

Another crazy year in realignment that won’t be as crazy when I’m done with it. First off, Texas A&M won’t move to the SEC since they are happy in the somewhat new Pac-16. West Virginia also doesn’t move to the SWC since it would be even more ridiculous than their current move there is (although with Cincinnati in the fold it now makes more sense). Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada leave the WAC for the Mountain West as it happened in real life. This leaves the WAC with four teams (New Mexico State, San Jose State, Idaho and Utah State). Texas State and UTSA joined to make six. For now, this leaves the WAC as a football conference…but barely.

Oh and Missouri does not go the SEC. I still believe this makes absolutely no sense. For now they stay in the SWC but it won’t be for long.

South Alabama moves up from an FCS Independent right to the Sun Belt conference.

Finally, UMass does not join the MAC. Another weird move by the MAC that doesn’t make sense now and didn’t back then.

2013

First of all, no American Conference. It’s still the Big East. If the basketball schools don’t like it, they can fuck off for the Patriot League or whatever. Also, Pitt and Syracuse do not leave the Big East for the ACC.

Now this becomes an issue because some schools were slated to head to the new American Conference. This is how I would plan to deal with this. Houston and SMU, instead of going to the AAC, stay in the Southwest Conference. They are joined by Memphis, who leaves C-USA for the SWC.

Remember TCU, Boise State and San Diego State heading to the Big East/American? I don’t see that happening now. Instead, Boise State and San Diego State head to the SWC.

San Jose State and Utah State put the final nail in the WAC football coffin by accepting bids to the Mountain West. Idaho and New Mexico State are, once again, Independent teams. Texas State heads to the Sun Belt with UTSA going to Conference USA.

UCF heads to the Big East (not American). Then Conference USA raids the Sun Belt for four teams: FAU, FIU, Middle Tennessee and North Texas. Finally, the Sun Belt reloads, kind of, by accepting Georgia State from FCS.

2014

Louisville does decide to leave the Big East for the ACC. A bit surprising but I feel they belong there a bit better than the Big East.

I know the Big Ten wants to expand into new markets. But it won’t be happening in New York and Washington as Rutgers and Maryland do not leave their current conferences. They’ve been outliers since they moved there so I want to rectify that issue.

East Carolina heads to the Big East. An odd fit but between that and Conference USA, no one conference is a perfect fit for them so might as well move them up, so to speak. Tulane and Tulsa, on the other hand, do not go to the Big East. They head to the SWC, which is finally renamed the Big XII.

Conference USA backfills their losses with WKU from the Sun Belt and Old Dominion from FCS. After that, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern head to the Sun Belt from the FCS. Idaho and New Mexico State stay right where they are as Independents.

2015

The big happening in 2015 was UAB shuttering their football program. I am here to say it won’t happen! I don’t know how I would make that happen but I’ll figure something out.

Navy joins the Big East, ending over 100 years of Independent football and Charlotte transitions to FBS by joining Conference USA.

2017

One item: Coastal Carolina joins the Sun Belt from FCS.

2018

Poor Idaho. You would have thought they could have stayed up in FBS but it wasn’t to be. The Mountain West, the one conference it made sense for them to be in, didn’t want them. And the Sun Belt, which had them in reality for a few years, might as well have been on the moon compared to where they were situated. So they are gone to FCS, probably never to return.

In actuality, Liberty replaced them as an Independent. I’m just moving them straight to Conference USA instead. Take out the middle man.

2021

I’m not including any COVID-related moves like Notre Dame being in the ACC for one season (and almost winning the conference title).

UConn left the American to go back to the basketball-oriented Big East. In my world, that doesn’t happen. Actually, nothing happens at all here because the next year, the realignment bubble doesn’t burst: it gets blown up. So I have to put new pieces together in a brand new puzzle to make it work. Should be fun right?

2022

Who’s idea was this? Good lord. At least now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This season had some movement but at the low end of FBS. James Madison, an FCS powerhouse, finally moved up to FBS and joined the Sun Belt. Joining them would be three Conference USA teams: Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss.

Now, if you have read my blog before, you know how I feel about the Sun Belt and Conference USA. I find them to be unwieldy conferences with massive geographical footprints that, especially in C-USA’s case, make no sense. I plan on fixing it but not this year. Let the new teams breathe in their new conference before I blow things up with enough C-4 to level a city.

2023

Alright, let’s blow shit up.

Let’s start with the SEC which has been left behind a bit in my version of realignment. Consistency was the name of the game in the conference where it just means more. Well now they get the infusion they always hoped for. Sorry ACC. Sorry Big East. It was bound to happen. The SEC invites Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech and Clemson. They finally have attained that superconference status.

The ACC is gutted but won’t be for long. We will get to that in a bit.

The Big XII gets an infusion of teams as well. BYU, from the Mountain West, along with Cincinnati and UCF from the Big East, move to the Big XII. Because Houston was already in the Big XII, they now sit at fifteen teams. Not the best idea, especially for scheduling purposes. So they invite one more team: Utah. After missing out on the Pac-10/12/16/whatever years ago, they finally get into a power conference and deservedly so.

Hey remember what I said way back at the start. You know, the point about Penn State not going to the Big Ten. Well, it’s time they moved. With the Big East losing some teams and some conference strength, it’s time for the Nittany Lions to move up. They will bring with them Pittsburgh. Sure it’s not a brand new market but it gives PSU a travel partner and doesn’t go too far outside the current Big Ten geographic footprint, something I find important (although college sports most definitely does not).

New Mexico State gets a conference home again when they move to Conference USA. They are joined by Sam Houston and Jacksonville State who move up from FCS.

Done for this coming season but wait, there’s more!

2024

You really think I would have USC and UCLA go to the Big Ten? Fuck that noise. What I will be doing, however, is rather seismic.

The ACC is going to raid the Big East yet again. With only seven teams for the 2023 season, they were looking like a sorry-ass football conference. So they take Boston College, Rutgers, Syracuse, UConn, Virginia Tech and West Virginia from the Big East. I’m not a fan of odd-numbered conferences, so they also pluck UCF from the Big XII.

Now we start the trickle-down effect. The Big XII (now Big XVI) will take Colorado State from the Mountain West. The Mountain West responds by grabbing New Mexico State from Conference USA.

And then, the coup de grace. I am going to totally remake Conference USA and the Sun Belt and finally put the nail in the coffin of Big East football, all in one fell swoop. This is how it will work (pay close attention):

• Conference USA will be the western-most conference of the two with the Sun Belt being the eastern-most. Why did I do this? Who knows.
• All four former Big East teams (East Carolina, Navy, Temple and USF) join the Sun Belt.
• Arkansas State, Louisiana, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State, Troy and ULM move from the Sun Belt to Conference USA.
• Then Charlotte, FAU, FIU, Liberty and WKU move from Conference USA to the Sun Belt.

Look at that; two sixteen-team conferences that have a tighter geographic footprint. Makes travel easier and fosters better rivalries. Like college sports had been like for DECADES. Oh and if Louisiana Tech complains even once about being in the same conference as Louisiana or ULM they can be sent to FCS for all I care.

Alright, so now I bet you want to know what this all looks like. So here it is, in chart form with NO DIVISONS because divisions suck:

SEC	Big Ten	Pac-16	ACC	Big XVI
Alabama	Illinois	Arizona	Boston College	Baylor
Arkansas	Indiana	Arizona State	Duke	Boise State
Auburn	Iowa	California	Louisville	BYU
Clemson	Kansas	Colorado	Maryland	Cincinnati
Florida	Michigan	Oklahoma	NC State	Colorado State
Florida State	Michigan State	Oklahoma State	North Carolina	Houston
Georgia	Minnesota	Oregon	Rutgers	Iowa State
Georgia Tech	Nebraska	Oregon State	Syracuse	Kansas State
Kentucky	Northwestern	Stanford	UCF	Memphis
LSU	Ohio State	Texas	UConn	Missouri
Miami	Penn State	Texas A&M	Virginia	San Diego State
Mississippi State	Pittsburgh	Texas Tech	Virginia Tech	SMU
Ole Miss	Purdue	UCLA	Wake Forest	TCU
South Carolina	Wisconsin	USC	West Virginia	Tulane
Tennessee		Washington		Tulsa
Vanderbilt		Washington State		Utah
Mountain West	MAC	Sun Belt	Conference USA	Independents
Air Force	Akron	Appalachian State	Arkansas State	Army
Fresno State	Ball State	Charlotte	Jacksonville State	Notre Dame
Hawaii	Bowling Green	Coastal Carolina	Louisiana	UMass
Nevada	Buffalo	East Carolina	Louisiana Tech
New Mexico	Central Michigan	FAU	Middle Tennessee
New Mexico State	Eastern Michigan	FIU	North Texas
San Jose State	Kent State	Georgia Southern	Rice
UNLV	Miami-OH	Georgia State	Sam Houston
Utah State	Northern Illinois	James Madison	South Alabama
Wyoming	Ohio	Liberty	Southern Miss
	Toledo	Marshall	Texas State
	Western Michigan	Navy	Troy
		Old Dominion	UAB
		Temple	ULM
		USF	UTEP
		WKU	UTSA

Holy crap that took forever. But look at those conferences. I think they look way better than what we will see in reality, if I do say so myself. And if another team is moving up from FCS, they may just have to be an Independent for the near future…dammit Kennesaw State is moving up in 2024? Nope, not anymore. Not in Bossman’s realignment. I’m done.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Almost Guaranteed Shitcanning

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

Probable Shitcanning

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

Possible Shitcanning

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

Doubtful Shitcanning (although it still could happen)

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

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

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

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

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

Honourable Mention

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

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

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

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

OK now that Clay’s gone, who’s next? – Week 4 College Football TV Schedule

Clay Helton started the Coaching Carousel for us early this year.  Pair that with Randy Edsall’s resignation/retirement/whatever/bonus payment and it’s been a rough start for the Hot Seat coaches.  So the question now is, who will be next.  Let’s look at the candidates:

• Got to start with Manny Diaz.  He hasn’t exactly lit things up in Miami and brought back memories of The U.  The problem is, it’s not like they have a lot of money to throw around to pay a buyout and bring in another coach.  So they may be stuck at least through this season unless things get really bad in south Florida.
• Mike Norvell.  Good lord have the Noles been awful this year.  I wonder when enough will be enough.  This program doesn’t need to get back to the Bobby Bowden era but they have to get back to approaching the Jimbo Fisher era or they could have problems for years.
• Geoff Collins.  I know he needed time to change the team from an option team to run a pro-style offense.  But when is it supposed to happen?  It feels like it never will and that Collins really doesn’t deserve a chance to continue his quest in Atlanta.
• Rod Carey.  Let’s get out of the ACC and move to the American.  Carey left a good gig at Northern Illinois to replace dental hygienist-in-training Matt Rhule at Temple and it has been an unmitigated disaster.  If it wasn’t for USF they would be looking at an easy trip to the AAC basement.
• Nick Rolovich.  Rolovich’s problems aren’t just on the field where Wazzu has struggled mightily so far.  His ideas about the COVID vaccine have rankled a lot of people and I honestly wonder if they will get rid of him just because he has become an annoying pest.
• Walt Bell.  Are they really going to get anyone great to come to UMass?

As you can see, I haven’t put some of the usual suspects like Frost, Brohm, Babers or Harbaugh.  Probably because they have at least not done worse than expectations at this point and, in Harbaugh’s case, has exceeded them (so far).  We are only a quarter of the way through the season so now that conference play is slowly beginning we will see how these coaches’ fortunes turn out.

So far after three weeks we have had a damn good season.  Like a return to college football, if you will.  Here’s hoping this continues.  Let’s get to the schedule!

Thursday

		US	Canada
Marshall at Appalachian State	7:30 PM
Alcorn State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff	7:30 PM

Two games.  Neither of them really that good.  I mean, yeah, App State is still pretty good and could sneak through and cause a lot of problems in the Sun Belt.  Marshall just a blew a big fourth quarter lead and lost to East Carolina.  Nothing against the Pirates but yeesh that’s bad.  But it is still mid-week college football which is always better than no mid-week college football.  Especially if the Thursday Night Football matchup is not exactly great.  And, how about that, it isn’t.  The Panthers, they’re good.  The Texans…yes I know they’re 1-1 but they beat the Jaguars so no, they are not good.

Friday

		US	Canada
Middle Tennessee at Charlotte	6:30 PM
Wake Forest at Virginia	7:00 PM
Brown at Harvard	7:00 PM
Liberty at Syracuse	8:00 PM
UNLV at #22 Fresno State	10:00 PM

OK this is better.  Five games.  And CBS Sports Network is doing a doubleheader with their weird 6:30 start time.  It will be interesting to see how badly Fresno State will beat the Rebels, who now have Tate Fucking Martell as their quarterback.  I really don’t get how he gets so many opportunities.  Anyway, we also have the first look at Ivy League action for the first time since 2019.  OK Wake-Hoos could be good so maybe put your focus on that one.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
Texas Tech at Texas	Noon
Richmond at Virginia Tech	Noon
Ohio at Northwestern	Noon
Villanova at #6 Penn State	Noon
Boise State at Utah State	Noon
Miami-OH at Army	Noon
LSU at Mississippi State	Noon
Missouri at Boston College	Noon
Bowling Green at Minnesota	Noon
#12 Notre Dame vs. #18 Wisconsin (in Chicago)	Noon
#2 Georgia at Vanderbilt	Noon
CCSU at Miami	12:30 PM

Normally TSN would be just starting to step up with a bit more college football coverage.  Not this weekend though.  The Ryder Cup will dominate the TSN airwaves for a good part of Saturday so that moves all college football to TSN2 where there will be a quadrupleheader.  As for the games themselves, past ND-Wisky, not a whole lot that would be considered must-watch.  And you know what happens during weeks like this.  So expect one of the following to happen:

• Villanova comes close to upsetting Penn State but the Nittany Lions close it late.
• Richmond shocks Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
• The Red Raiders throw for like 600 yards and beat Texas in a barnburner.
• Mizzou and BC go to eight overtimes and maybe, just maybe, the new overtime rules aren’t as bad as I thought (they still are but anyway).

Finally, the Mountain West finally makes their way to CBS with Boise State who is just somewhat average going to Utah State who suddenly may have a prolific offense again.  1-3 start for the Broncos?  Wouldn’t be a total shock.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Rutgers at #19 Michigan	3:30 PM
Illinois at Purdue	3:30 PM
Kent State at Maryland	3:30 PM
#7 Texas A&M vs. #16 Arkansas (in Arlington)	3:30 PM
Wyoming at UConn	3:30 PM
#9 Clemson at NC State	3:30 PM
Louisville at Florida State	3:30 PM
UTSA at Memphis	3:30 PM
#14 Iowa State at Baylor	3:30 PM
Kansas at Duke	4:00 PM
Georgia State at #23 Auburn	Noon

A good old Southwest Conference showdown highlights the afternoon sked.  For once, this neutral site game that Arkansas plays every year at JerryWorld is between two good teams.  And Rutgers is on ABC!  I was so hoping they would be on in primetime but I’ll take it.  Other than that there’s not much of note unless you really need to watch Kansas and Duke play…in football.  Oh and how does CBS now think about the UConn contract?  This Huskies could be worse than the 2019 version which was one of the worst teams in a long time.  To see some of the teams that end up on ESPN+ (or somehow worse) and then know that UConn is getting a national game many weeks is pretty sad (except for Conference USA teams who unfortunately are stuck with horrible TV contracts as it is).

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Tennessee at #11 Florida	7:00 PM
Kentucky at South Carolina	7:00 PM
Navy at Houston	7:00 PM
West Virginia at #4 Oklahoma	7:30 PM
#21 North Carolina vs. Georgia Tech (in Mercedes-Benz Stadium)	7:30 PM
Akron at #10 Ohio State	7:30 PM
Southern Miss at #1 Alabama	7:30 PM
Indiana at Western Kentucky	8:00 PM

Oh man.  Feels like such a drop-off from the first two timeslots.  WVU-Sooners could be pretty good if the Mountaineers get their offense going early.  Navy and Houston, no matter how good or bad they both are, usually put on a great show.  As for the rest?  Bleh.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
USF at #15 BYU	10:15 PM
Arizona at #3 Oregon	10:30 PM
Colorado at Arizona State	10:30 PM

Mormon After Dark!  If the Cougs play like the Cougs have played so far, that game should be done by halftime.  As should the Zona-UO game.  The only interesting one could be Colorado, who struggles to score, against Arizona State, who struggles to hold on to the ball.  Fun times.  Just a reminder, the Arizona-Oregon game will start in progress after Southern Miss-Alabama is done.  Thus are the perils of hopping from network to network throughout the day and I always wonder why TSN does this.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Texas A&M vs. Arkansas (in Arlington) (3:30, CBS) – If you thought Arkansas would be in the Top 20 at this point of the season, raise your hand.  Now put your hands down, you dirty liars.  No one thought the Hogs would be this good.  Maybe bowl-eligible.  But they have looked seriously good and could put a serious damper on the Aggies’ national title aspirations and it wouldn’t be a total shock if the Razorbacks won.  Also good to see Arkansas on CBS since they almost never get on there (except for the Black Friday game against Mizzou).

Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin (in Chicago) (Noon, FOX) – So the first two games on this list are neutral-site games.  In late September.  I mean they are great games and I am looking forward to them but I find all these neutral-site games usually take away from the pageantry and specialness of games in actual college football stadiums.  It’s part of what sets it apart from the NFL.  Anyway, the Irish continue their schedule hoping to win a game without struggling…..BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  That was a good one.  This should be close which will make Irish fans sweat once again.

West Virginia at Oklahoma (7:30, ABC) – Is this the PEW! PEW! PEW! matchup of the week?  Considering the Sooners defense and the Sooners offense, I would put the over/under at about 90.  One of the worst Top 5 teams I’ve seen in a while.  At some point, they are going to either blow a team out and remind them what they are really about or will lose a game they probably shouldn’t have and confirm what many think about them.  Don’t count the ‘Eers out of this one as long as their offense plays like they did early against Virginia Tech and not late.

Rutgers at Michigan (3:30, ABC) – Fuck, yeah!  Rutgers, baby!  They haven’t been 3-0 in so long and haven’t been in a relatively important game on ABC in a long time as well.  And they have a challenge because Michigan is also playing better than many believed.  The winner stays alive in a seriously competitive Big Ten East.  But the way things are going, both teams will be going bowling and maybe, just maybe, all seven teams in the division will be in the postseason as well for the first time ever.

Iowa State at Baylor (3:30, FOX) – No specialty pack games on the Games of the Week list, which is good for many Canadians.  Yes, Iowa State was expected to be good and they have been underperforming.  And Baylor has not been good since Matt Rhule left.  Things, however, are changing in Waco with Dave Aranda in charge as they have started 3-0.  And ISU should still have quite a good season so this could be a darkhorse great game.

Honourable mention: Clemson at NC State (3:30, TSN2); Tennessee at Florida (7:00, TSN2); Kansas State at Oklahoma State (7:00, not able to be seen in this country)

You wanna bet?

Eight out of eleven isn’t too bad.  I mean it’s not awesome but hey I’ve had much worse weeks. Yes I picked Arizona State.  Yes I picked UCF (which most others did) and yeah I also picked Miami (which most others did as well).  So really not that bad I think OK fine let’s just get to this week’s picks already:

Michigan over Rutgers

Wisconsin over Notre Dame

Florida over Tennessee

Texas A&M over Arkansas

Clemson over NC State

Iowa State over Baylor

Oklahoma State over Kansas State

Oklahoma over West Virginia

Charlotte over Middle Tennessee

Arizona State over Colorado

Houston over Navy

OK here’s hoping we have another solid weekend of college football action.  Enjoy the games everyone!

Let’s talk about this shitshow – The Bowl Game Schedule

How many of the bowls in that picture either don’t exist anymore or were cancelled this year?  I shudder to think of it.  Maybe I should get a different graphic for next year.  For now it works because it shows how many bowls there usually are.  Somewhere in the 40 range.  This year it is under 30 and it’s almost a guarantee at least one more will be cancelled now that the schedule has been released.  It’s been a shitshow…even more than the season was, if you can believe it.

The biggest piece of horseshit when it comes to this is Army not getting into a bowl game.  They were tied in to the Independence Bowl, which ended up being cancelled.  So instead of being invited to another bowl game, they are left home…at 9-2.  That is completely absurd.  I know what some people will say.  “Well, the other games have contracts for certain conferences and they have to abide by that.”  Not saying you’re wrong.  What I am saying is the system is completely broken when a 2-8 South Carolina team “deserves” to go to a bowl game and Army does not.  All it says is one thing…MONEY.  That’s all.  The Power Five has money and the Group of Five has very little.  It has come to a head.  The College Football Playoff Committee is a joke and ESPN is being forced to parrot that because they are in bed with the whole thing.  It has gone off the rails and needs a refresh.  This is the kind of thing that might drive people away from watching.  Might.  Who knows…I mean it is football and in the United States, football is king.

Alright, so TSN kind of has their bowl game broadcast schedule up, kind of.  I don’t blame them for not being prepared for this since games were being cancelled two days ago.  Completely ridiculous.  I’m sure things will change on their end, but for once, it’s not really their fault.  Blame college football at large for this.  Anyway, here’s the fairly long (but not as long as normal) bowl schedule!

Monday December 21st

Myrtle Beach Bowl: North Texas vs. Appalachian State

2:30 PM

Again, why does this happen?  WHY?  On a Monday before Christmas.  Completely stupid.  Also, North Texas gets in a bowl game?  North Texas.  The Mean Green.  A team that was 4-5 this season.  This just blows my mind.

UPDATE #3: My pick, as I stated before was Appalachian State.  I said they would win 41-13 on Twitter.  Well App State won.  And they won by 28.  Just like I thought.

Tuesday December 22nd

Idaho Potato Bowl: Tulane vs. Nevada

3:30 PM

Another game on in the middle of a weekday afternoon before Christmas.  I get that you have to air these games some time but this ain’t it, pal.  Even with less games, ESPN completely messes this up.  The one good thing about this is that it’s a cold-weather bowl game.  And those are (almost) always fun to watch.

Boca Raton Bowl: UCF vs. #16 BYU

7:00 PM

If it wasn’t for that one loss, BYU might be in the New Year’s Six.  Instead, because they lacked a tie-in, they took the first bowl bid available to them.  Luckily for them, UCF should be a good foe, even if they aren’t the Knights of the previous few years.  A good primetime national showcase for two of the better non-Power Five teams.  Hey, maybe the American should invite BYU to join their conference.  Why not at this point?

Wednesday December 23rd

New Orleans Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Louisiana Tech

3:30 PM

This was supposed to be the Conference USA champion facing the Sun Belt champion.  What in the hell happened?  Then again, with no fans, does it really matter?

Montgomery Bowl: Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis

7:00 PM

This was supposed to be the inaugural Fenway Bowl in Boston but it was moved here because of COVID concerns.  Two teams who were slightly better than some thought they would be land here.  Willie Taggart’s coaching sojourn is back the Group of Five level here but he’s doing a good job in Boca.  Memphis seems to always be near the top of the American.  This could be a sneaky good game (that won’t be shown on TSN…probably because of opening night in the NBA).

Thursday December 24th

New Mexico Bowl: Hawaii vs. Houston

3:30 PM

Christmas Eve was always the day of the Hawaii Bowl.  Unfortunately, this was one of the bowl game casualties of COVID-19.  Instead, we get Hawaii themselves playing on Christmas Eve.  Not as satisfying but the Rainbow Warriors are a fun team to watch.  A reminder that this New Mexico Bowl is being played in Frisco, Texas.  Why it wasn’t cancelled when so many others were?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Friday December 25th

Camellia Bowl: Marshall vs. Buffalo

2:30 PM

Christmas Day college football.  That hasn’t been a thing since the Hula Bowl and when the Blue-Gray Classic would be this day.  Two really good G-5 teams in this one so it can be considered a must-see for the die hard fan (for college football, not the Christmas movie).  It will be interesting to see if Lance Leipold gets any offers for Power Five jobs before this game.

Saturday December 26th

Gasparilla Bowl: South Carolina vs. UAB

Noon

This is bullshit.  South Carolina should just give up their spot to Army.  Actually, no.  UAB can give up their spot to Army…and then Army can put up a 70-burger on the Gamecocks.  Stupid SEC.

UPDATE #4: South Carolina has dropped out of this game.  No word on if there will be a replacement team or what.

UPDATE #5: The Gasparilla Bowl has been cancelled.  Hopefully, UAB gets to be put on some sort of a waiting list if there’s another cancellation.

First Responder Bowl: UTSA vs. #19 Louisiana

3:30 PM

UTSA made history as this is the second bowl bid they accepted this season.  The first one to the Frisco Bowl was gone once that bowl game was cancelled.  Funny how they were able to be moved into another bowl immediately.  It’s kind of like all this wasn’t planned…at all…in any way.  This is another game that has potential to be really good.

LendingTree Bowl: Georgia State vs. Western Kentucky

3:30 PM

Two decent Group of Five teams.  Look, it’s this or the World Juniors so if you’re not a hockey fan, then this is it.

Cure Bowl: Liberty vs. #12 Coastal Carolina

7:30 PM

This is EASILY the best bowl game outside the New Year’s Six in almost everyone’s opinion.  This game was scheduled for a few weeks ago where the Flames had to cancel and BYU filled in for them.  Now they get their chance against the Chanticleers, the feel good story of the college football season.  This is their chance to finish the best season in Sun Belt history undefeated.

UPDATE #9: TSN has come to their senses and will put one of the best bowl games of the season on TSN2 now.

Tuesday December 29th

Cheez-It Bowl: #21 Oklahoma State vs. #18 Miami

5:30 PM

Let’s call this the second best bowl game outside the New Year’s Six.  Both teams are probably not that happy to be here but they both played horrible at the wrong time to play themselves out of a conference championship chance.  The Mullet vs. The Manny here is a nice coaching matchup.

Alamo Bowl: Colorado vs. #20 Texas

9:00 PM

Big-time game of former Big XII conference foes.  Both of these teams should be ranked (I don’t get why Colorado isn’t, to be honest).  The Longhorns were about as good as many thought they would be this season, just missing out on a conference title and continuing to frustrated fans.  The Buffaloes were much better than advertising, harkening back to, well, I guess a couple years ago.

Wednesday December 30th

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Wake Forest

Noon

This is the reincarnated Belk Bowl.  I miss the Belk Bowl’s hilarious Twitter account.  I mean the Duke’s Mayo Bowl account is good, but nothing beat the Belk Bowl.  So fun and entertaining.  Rest In Bowl Peace, Belk Bowl.

Music City Bowl: Missouri vs. #15 Iowa

3:30 PM

Iowa thought they had a bit of a hope to make the New Year’s Six.  They could have given them a better game but even the one that was scheduled could have been good enough to move up the rankings.  Unfortunately, it was cancelled due to Michigan’s ongoing issues with the Coronavirus.  They face Missouri here in a game that, on paper, shouldn’t be close.  Now watch it be a great one.

UPDATE #10: This game will no longer be seen on TSN5.

UPDATE #15: Due to COVID-19 issues at Missouri, this game has been cancelled.

Cotton Bowl: #7 Florida vs. #6 Oklahoma

7:15 PM

This should be a really good one.  Both teams have looked really good at times this season.  And both teams have had their shit moments, with the Gators losing to LSU during Shoegate and the Sooners dropping one to Kansas State early on in the season.  It will be interesting to see which teams show up as this is the kind of game where you see teams sometimes mail it in.

Thursday December 31st

Armed Forces Bowl: #24 Tulsa vs. Mississippi State

Noon

Hey Tulsa going to a bowl game!  Good for them!  Their reward?  Playing a Mississippi State team that was figured out about five quarters into the season.  Tulsa should win this going away.​

Arizona Bowl: #22 San Jose State vs. Ball State

Noon 2:00 PM

Because of the cancellation of the Sun Bowl, the Arizona Bowl goes to the main network and man do they get a good game.  Undefeated Mountain West champ San Jose State against MAC champ Ball State.  Honestly, it feels like the Group of Five have more interesting games than the Power Five contingent.

UPDATE #17: I don’t know why I put Noon.  I believe it’s Noon local time.  If it was Noon Eastern time, it would be a 10:00 am local start.  Actually, I wouldn’t put it past them to do that.  Anyway, this is on at 2:00 Eastern.

Liberty Bowl: Tennessee Army vs. West Virginia

4:00 PM

The Liberty Bowl has wanted the Volunteers there for years.  Now they finally get their wish.  It’s not really what they had in mind though.

UPDATE: Well that didn’t take long.  Tennessee has too many COVID positives, head coach Jeremy Pruitt among them, to play in the Liberty Bowl.

UPDATE #2: Army will replace Tennessee.  This is good.  How it came about is not.

Texas Bowl: Arkansas vs. TCU

8:00 PM

An old school Southwest Conference matchup here.  If the SWC hadn’t been such a crazy, destructive conference, I would say bring it back somehow.  Why not, right?

UPDATE #16: The Texas Bowl has been cancelled because of COVID issues at TCU.

Friday January 1st

Peach Bowl: #9 Georgia vs. #8 Cincinnati

12:30 PM Noon

Alright.  Look, I am glad to see the Bearcats here.  First time in the New Year’s Six.  This is good.  Saying that, the total disrespect for them, and all Group of Five teams, from The Committee (and college football as a whole) is appalling.  It needs to be fixed and seeing what happened surrounding the end of this season is a blight on the sport.  Anyway…this should be a very good game and you will see a very motivated Cincy team against, hopefully, a very motivated Dawgs team.  They are coached by Kirby Smart so I am going to go out on a limb and say they will be motivated as well.

UPDATE #6: This game has been moved up to Noon.

Citrus Bowl: Auburn vs. #14 Northwestern

1:00 PM

Northwestern had a great season, no doubt about it.  Auburn…it’s a season they would like to forget.  Gus Malzahn is now gone and we still don’t know who the new coach will be, since a few have already turned down the job.  Bo Nix really doesn’t look like the man for the job, at this point, at quarterback for the Tigers.  The offense has been rudderless.  Just a mess.  The Wildcats on the other hand, have to deal with the almost-yearly rumours of Pat Fitzgerald possibly going to the NFL or another coaching job.  Chances are it won’t happen but you never know.

Rose Bowl: #1 Alabama vs. #4 Notre Dame

5:00 PM 4:00 PM

Bama by 30?  Bama by 40?  Naw, Bama by 60!  You will hear that and more in the days leading up to this game.  And maybe for good reason.  I mean Clemson beat the Irish pretty badly in the ACC Championship.  The only hope is that this is a halfway competitive game.  Or not.  If it’s not, more pressure for this asinine setup to change.

UPDATE #7: This game has been moved up to 4:00.  Whether it starts at 4 or not is a different story.

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

8:45 PM 8:00 PM

Now this should be an exciting semi-final, despite people’s thoughts about tOSU’s 2020 season.  Expect a lot of good stuff from Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields as they look for this to be their second-last chance to wow the scouts in game action before the NFL draft.

UPDATE #8: This game has been moved up to 8:00.  It starting on time all depends on the two bowl games before it on ESPN.

Saturday January 2nd

Gator Bowl: Kentucky vs. #23 NC State

Noon

Could this be an interesting game?  Sure, it could be.  I do expect the Wolfpack to blow the doors of the Wildcats but you never know with these bowl games.

UPDATE #12: This game will now appear on TSN2 instead of TSN3.

Outback Bowl: Ole Miss vs. #11 Indiana

12:30 PM

Poor Indiana.  I honestly believed (as did many) that the Hoosiers would end up in the New Year’s Six.  But since they are a “basketball school” they would probably have to go undefeated to get in and forget the College Football Playoff for these guys.  They get Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels.  Take Indy in this one.

UPDATE #11: This game will also air on TSN3.​

Fiesta Bowl: #25 Oregon vs. #10 Iowa State

4:00 PM

This is what I cannot stand.  I get the idea of bowl tie-ins.  I really do.  But this is supposed to be one of the top four bowl games of the season and it has a team that is BARELY in the Top 25 playing in it?  Come on.  Anyway, this should be part of a TSN tripleheader but this day hasn’t been set yet.  Expect this (and the other non-ABC games) to end up on a TSN station, I just don’t know which ones yet and most of that has to do with the World Juniors.

UPDATE #13: This game will now appear on TSN2 instead of TSN3.​

Orange Bowl: #13 North Carolina vs. #5 Texas A&M

8:00 PM

Yes another tie-in issue but at least Mack Brown’s boys are a pretty good team.  If it wasn’t for a puzzling loss to Florida State, UNC probably resides in the Top 10 with the Aggies.  This should be a great finish to bowl season, before the national championship.

UPDATE #14: This game will now appear on TSN2 instead of TSN3.

Monday January 11th

College Football Playoff National Championship

8:00 PM

We’ve had some good and some not-so-good championship games.  Let’s hope this is the former.

The breakdown for Canadian fans looks like the following:

• TSN – 24 bowl games (with 3 simulcasts from ABC)
• ABC – 4 bowl games
• CBS – 1 bowl game

With only 29 bowl games, TSN is showing almost all of them.  That is seriously impressive.  With no specialty pack, Canadians won’t have access to three games which isn’t too bad.  The only day where the schedule is not finalized, as I mentioned, is January 2nd.  My thought is that we won’t get less games on TSN but that the channels I have chosen might not be the right ones.  I will make sure to update this when there are updates to be had so always check the post out for the latest.

Alright I have a lot of posts to do with my rankings and the NFL schedule and I am sure a few others.  So gear up for more Bossman’s Blog this week.  Have a great week everyone!

PONY UP! – Week 6 College Football Recap

It’s like 1982 all over again!

If you don’t know much about the history of SMU and the Southwest Conference, then let’s take a trip down memory lane.  Back to the early to mid-80s.  The days of Eric Dickerson (who definitely didn’t know about any improprieties…sure), hooker killer Craig James and a merry band of insane boosters.  The days when the Mustangs of Southern Methodist University were the toast of the Southwest Conference (along with Texas of course).  Then came the NCAA and they came down hard on the school giving them the only football death penalty ever given.  What it did to the football program was catastrophic.  It has taken them over three decades to return to being a contender of sorts.  But it finally has come.  They came into their home game with Tulsa ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 1982.  So how did they start?  By going down 30-9 after three quarters to an average-at-best Golden Hurricane team.  Ouch.

Then one of the best comebacks in recent memory occurred.  The Mustangs scored three straight touchdowns to force overtime.  Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime.  Then SMU fumbled and Tulsa recovered.  All they had to do was get a field goal and they win.  Instead they fail to gain a yard and a kicker who had never kicked a field goal in a college football game missed just wide left to send the game to triple overtime.  There, Tulsa was stopped again and James Proche caught a Shane Buechele pass in the corner of the end zone for the TD and to finish the wild comeback.  Things are hopping in Dallas right now and there is some serious New Year’s Six chatter following this team.  Good to see a team who has struggled for decades finally put it all together.

As for the rest of the weekend it was…technically college football.  A couple more really good games but for the most part it wasn’t the greatest week of college football I have watched.  Closer to the worst to be honest.  Let’s get down to recapping all this shall we?

And now for the rest of the recap

• A great game down in Gainesville this past weekend.  Florida won over Auburn in a game many would call an upset.  I would kind of agree since up until this point the Tigers looked like a great team and Florida looked like a very overrated Top 10 team.  Instead the Gators gutted out a win and now their Cocktail Party game against Georgia could have massive implications.  As for the ol’ Gus Bus, it was a flat tire for sure.  The bus needs some work and wasn’t roadworthy on Saturday.  They have a fairly difficult rest of the schedule so games like that can’t be repeated if they are looking at a NY6 spot.
• Another kinda sorta upset type of thing on Friday night.  Cincinnati held on to beat UCF in front of a raucous home crowd.  For a while it looked like the Knights would pull away and get back to being in the New Year’s Six conversation.  Problem is, the Fighting Fickells wouldn’t go away.  If it wasn’t for UC’s defense (in the second half) and the running of Michael Warren II, the Bearcats probably wouldn’t have been close.  I was right with my pick so now I wonder if UCF can even get back into the NY6 talk.  I say no.
• How about that game down in south Florida?  Miami was way down to Virginia Tech, 28-7 going into the second half.  They came all the way back only to gack the game away in the end.  The ACC Coastal is a mess, let’s be honest.  Other than Virginia, no team seems to want to be on top.  So knowing how things are going, we can expect Pitt to somehow win the division.
• Speaking of Pitt, they almost allowed Duke to come back from down 23 points in the third quarter.  It felt like the Pittening was about to happen.  The Panthers were able to hold on as they continue to confound media pundits who can’t get a true read on this team.
• Louisville beat Boston College.  Seriously.  I watched none of it since I couldn’t find the ending of the damn game.  Louisville could be good again.  That seems shocking.  Also, I think the end of the line is coming for Mister Dudes Being Dudes, Steve Addazio.  The fanbase is fine with winning seven games every year and not coming close to contending for a division title.  But winning four games is unacceptable goddamit.
• Let history show that the Tennessee football Volunteers led Georgia 14-13 in a game in 2019. I know that UGA scored the last thirty points of the game but for a bit, the Vols were competitive.  It was nice to see.  Now we have to wonder if Jeremy Pruitt will survive to the next decade.  I’m skeptical.  Good ol’ Rocky Bottom.
• I thought Michigan State could keep it close.  I really did.  This Buckeyes team looks like it could be more dominant than any of Urban Meyer’s squads.  Justin Fields has pushed his way into the Heisman conversation and the whole offense just looks overwhelming.  I mean don’t get me wrong: I could probably coach this team to bowl eligibility.  But Ryan Day is doing something special in Columbus and it could lead to a spot in the College Football Playoff if things keep going this way.
• Texas kind of struggled with the Mountaineers of West Virginia.  Not a good look for the Longhorns that’s for sure.  Whether anyone can even approach the Sooners in the Big XII (they beat Kansas pretty thoroughly) is up in the air but it doesn’t look to be the case.  The Big XII has basically become Oklahoma and nine other teams.
• For a while, the Cal-Oregon game was resembling last year’s Cheez-It Bowl.  A hilariously poor showing of football in all facets.  I mean Oregon pulled it out in the end but geez they didn’t actually look that great.  The Pac-12 is a bit of a dumpster fire at this point.
• P.J. Fleck is Rowing That God Damn Boat in Minneapolis.  The Gophers are 5-0 and look like they will probably be 8-0 when they get into November.  I find it interesting that this team is STILL not in the Top 25 and are getting no CFP chatter.  This team could be one of the most underrated teams in recent memory and they may shock a few teams along the way.
• In yet another upset, Texas Tech PEW! PEW! PEWed their way over Oklahoma State.  It was a fun game that had no shortage of offense and shows that the Big XII mid-card is rather strong.
• What is Washington’s deal with Stanford?  They looked great last week against USC and then can’t do anything against an average Cardinal team.  It’s yet another nail in the Pac-12’s CFP coffin.  And it’s early October.  Good lord.
• Back to speaking about games that resembled the Cheez-It Bowl.  Michigan beat Iowa 10-3 in an absolute snoozer…unless you love punting.  If you love punting this was the game for you.  This was so awful to watch and really does not show either team in a good light going forward.  One of these teams is going to somehow end up in the New Year’s Six, I just know it.
• USF’s game against UConn was moved to Noon thanks to a mosquito-borne infection of sorts in the Hartford/Storrs area.  Only at UConn.  Anyway, it was supposed to be live on CBS Sports Network at 7:00 and instead went to the website with a tape delayed broadcast at 7.  How many people watched this rebroadcast?  Did it even hit triple digits?  They should have just ran a long version of their highlights show, Inside College Football.
• Finally, Tulane took down Army.  So now you have to include the Green Wave (of all teams) in the Group of Five conversation.  Who knows if they can actually crack the top tier but Willie Fritz has to be commended for taking what was mostly a woebegone program and has steered it in the right direction.

Not the most amazing weekend, not gonna lie.  We need a seriously crazy weekend of college football so even at 2 in the morning I am still wide awake because I can’t believe what has happened in the previous 14 hours.

Alright, let’s now look at the Bossman Top 25:

#1	Alabama
#2	Ohio State
#3	Georgia
#4	Florida
#5	Clemson
#6	LSU
#7	Notre Dame
#8	Oklahoma
#9	Wisconsin
#10	Penn State
#11	Texas
#12	Auburn
#13	Michigan
#14	Oregon
#15	Boise State
#16	Utah
#17	Virginia
#18	Iowa
#19	Arizona State
#20	Wake Forest
#21	Texas A&M
#22	SMU
#23	Baylor
#24	Missouri
#25	Minnesota

Yes there are some differences between my rankings and the AP Poll.  I have Ohio State at #2 and Clemson down at #5.  Clemson will definitely move up as at least one of the teams above them lose.  As for #6 through #9, pick the teams out of a hat to figure out the order.  A lot can happen the rest of the way and at this point, no one team is that much better than another.  Yes I have Minnesota at #25.  I know the AP Poll doesn’t have them in there but man they deserve to be there in my humble opinion.  Also, yes I have Missouri at #24.  It sounds like they won’t be bowling this year but still, they are playing well.  Of course this year, of all years, they are under sanctions.  Bad luck.

Hey guess what we have?  FUN BELT!  Yes, weekday Sun Belt action is back and it starts on Wednesday night.  8:00 but only on the specialty pack.  And it’s a big one.  Appalachian State and Louisiana.  I love weekday football.  Honestly, and I know I rail on the NFL being on Thursday but between late August and early January, the more football the better.  Have a good week everyone!

Guess who’s back. Back again. Big East’s back. Tell a friend. – Week 9 College Football Recap

Remember this conference?  It still exists in a basketball sense.  But the football conference met an ignominious end a few years back (and is now the American Conference, the best of the Group of Five conferences but let’s not talk about that right now).  I mean let’s just look at we have as we finished Week 9 of the 2018 college football season when it comes to old Big East schools:

• West Virginia is #12 in the AP Poll and could be a dark horse College Football Playoff contender.
• Syracuse is #22 and in the Top 25 for the first time in god knows how long.
• Boston College is #24 and arguably the second best team in the ACC Atlantic division.
• Miami and Virginia Tech have struggled but were both ranked at some point this season and had great seasons last year.
• Temple is going to be bowl-eligible and Pitt might end up being that getting a gritty win over Duke this past weekend.
• Rutgers………….ok let’s just stop while we’re ahead.

Can’t say that about the former Big Eight or Southwest Conference can you?  Nah.  Best former conference out there and it’s not even close.  I mean they win nothing for that but still.  I kind of wish the Big East was back in college football.

Look let’s just get right to the recap as it was a crazy week in college football…well, crazier than usual.  It started slow and sped up really fast as the afternoon went on.  Let’s get going!

Don’t write off Penn State just yet.  We knew the Nittany Lions would have a tough road to get back into New Year’s Six contention.  It was a good start to hold on to beat Iowa though.  Their game against Michigan will decide whether they have a legitimate shot or not.  As for Iowa, they are in a disastrous Big Ten West that has fallen on hard times.  But technically someone has to win it right?  So Iowa has as good a shot as a few other teams in that division but still…not a good look.

The Cocktail Party started strong and ended with a bit of a whimper.  Kind of like how most cocktail parties go right?  Starts strong as everyone is drinking and having fun.  Then at some point people slow down and some people start vomiting and others leave and the party fizzles out.  Those vomiting, early-exit people were the Florida Gators this weekend.  They started well.  Kept pace with Georgia for a little over three quarters.  Then it all went to shit and the Dawgs proved they were the beasts of the SEC East…until next week when that’s on the line against Kentucky.

Bedlam could be super important again.  The Oklahoma State Cowboys pulled off the upset of the week by taking down Texas (who is still somewhat back).  This means that Bedlam will be important as if the Fighting Mullets can somehow beat Oklahoma as well that would mean the Pokes still have a shot and that West Virginia could be the favourite going to the Big XII Championship at JerryWorld.  A lot still has to happen for that to occur but don’t rule it out as we have already had a few weeks that were completely off the rails this season.  Also, I would definitely take Mike Gundy in a fight over Tom Herman.  Herman looks like a bulldog but I think Gundy has a bit of Ric Flair in him and would do anything to get the W.

Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame!  Notre Dame had no problem with Navy.  So really, despite what anyone might think, if the Irish win out, they are in the College Football Playoff.  As for Navy, they will have shockingly win out to just be bowl-eligible.  Wow, what a fall for the Middies.  I wonder if it’s more an anomaly than anything but to see them sink like a stone in the American like this is stunning.

CLANGA!  Mississippi State, in front of tens of thousands of cowbell-ringing fans, upset Texas A&M and continued Jimbo Fisher’s up-and-down first season at College Station.  The Bulldogs have also had an up-and-down season in Joe Moorhead’s first kick at the can in Starkville.  And because of that, neither team has a chance to dethrone Bama at the top of the SEC West.  Not that that was going to happen but both fanbases thought they would at least have a shot going into November.

Wazzu in the catbird seat.  Yes.  Wazzu.  Washington State.  The Cougs.  That team.  Out in Pullman.  They are the Pac-12 North’s last hope to get to the College Football Playoff.  So they are putting all their eggs in the Mike Leach basket.  Interesting.  Anyway, that Air Raid train kept rolling as Washington State kicked a game-winning field goal late in the fourth to beat Stanford in a game that about 17 people watched on television.

And then there was one.  Well one in the American conference.  And by one I mean one undefeated team left.  And that’s UCF.  This is because Houston basically beat the holy hell out of previously-undefeated USF.  Now it looks like we are going headlong into a UCF-Houston AAC Championship match to probably determine the Group of Five New Year’s Six representative.  Then again, there is still a few weeks left so who knows what the hell will happen.

Yes there was a shirtless guy in the stands reading a book…  It’s the perfect microcosm for a Florida State fan this season.  The Noles got boatraced by Clemson in Florida State’s worst home loss ever.  Let’s be honest: Clemson has woken up and is now seriously looking like a national title contender.  Saying that, Florida State has fallen on hard times…at least compared to what they are used to in Tallahassee.  Willie Taggart isn’t on any hot seat but next season may be his final shot to start the turnaround.

How about the crazy finish in CoMo?  So the Wildcats had looked terrible for about 59 minutes against Mizzou.  They did not look like a team on the cusp of being in the Top 10.  Then they drive down the field down 5.  Looks like the final play of the game.  Incomplete pass!  But the Tigers were called for defensive pass interference.  Kind of a chintzy call but nothing you can do now.  UK gets an untimed down and gets a touchdown on the final play to pull out the improbable victory.  It means their game next Saturday against Georgia is for the SEC East title.  Put up your hand if you figured this would be the case.  Now everyone put your hands down because you are all dirty liars.

Remember what I said about the Big East?  How about the Cuse!  They put a 50-burger up on NC State (51 to be exact) and are looking damn good.  Dino Babers finally (FINALLY!) has this team playing the way he wants them to.  He’s always been known for his high-tempo offenses and now it’s finally working.  They probably have no shot at the New Year’s Six but they are in the Top 25 so if they keep winning then it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

And now to the other half of the Apple Cup…  Yeah Washington is not going to the College Football Playoff.  That is a guarantee now.  Especially after their awful performance against Cal.  Yes Myles Gaskin was out but still.  Hell, Jake Browning didn’t even finish the game because Chris Petersen pulled him.  Not exactly looking like a team that is a top contender.

And your Big Ten West leaders…  Your Northwestern Wildcats.  No kidding.  Northwestern’s upset win of Wisconsin has put them in the driver’s seat (somehow) in the Big Ten West.  Never has winning the Big Ten East been so important as it is now since it seems there aren’t any seriously good teams in the West.

Alright, enough recappin’.  Let’s get to the Bossman Top 25!

#1	Alabama
#2	Clemson
#3	Georgia
#4	Notre Dame
#5	LSU
#6	Michigan
#7	Oklahoma
#8	UCF
#9	Washington State
#10	Ohio State
#11	Penn State
#12	Kentucky
#13	West Virginia
#14	Florida
#15	Texas
#16	Utah
#17	Houston
#18	Iowa
#19	Syracuse
#20	Virginia
#21	Utah State
#22	Boston College
#23	Fresno State
#24	Texas A&M
#25	Washington

Yes I have Georgia at #3.  They looked good against Florida who was also ranked in the Top 10.  LSU is down at #5 but could be #1 if they beat Bama on Saturday so this still doesn’t mean a whole lot.  The first CFP Rankings come out tomorrow so I am sure my Top 4 won’t be the same Top 4 The Committee has and I don’t care.  The Irish probably have the “easiest” route to the College Football Playoff at this point.  Win out and they are in, no questions asked.  Or at least there shouldn’t be.  We shouldn’t sleep on Washington State, especially if they run the regular season table.  The Pac-12 is a complete shitshow but the perception changes if the Cougs can sneak into the CFP.  Also, remember that Ohio State is lurking in the weeds.  As for UCF I have them at #8 and the AP Poll has them at #9 so at least they have moved up a bit.  They still need a lot of chaos above them to move up.

Football.  Every.  Day.  That’s right.  Every day between now and the day before American Thanksgiving.  And that day is the only day off between now and November 29th.  Let’s drink it in and enjoy this!  Saying that we have some MACtion tomorrow night.  Kent State-Bowling Green and Miami-OH-Buffalo on the specialty pack.  It continues Wednesday night with Ball State-Toledo, also on the specialty pack.  In celebration of this, maybe I should include an extra post this week.  Sounds like a plan, Bossman.  Sounds like a plan.  Enjoy your week everyone.

Wait a second…THAT’S REALIGNMENT’S MUSIC! *cue NWO theme*

Yes we have some realignment news…wait, don’t run away!  Yes realignment was done to death a few years back and especially with the Big XII Deal Or No Deal type expansion process.  I get it.  However, it’s the reality of college sports, especially at the football level.  But this time around it is more geared towards the basketball end of things.  In the end though, it will effect football (potentially) in a myriad of ways.  So let’s begin.

The Mountain West wants Gonzaga.  There, I said it.  Gonzaga has dominated the West Coast Conference better than any team has dominated their conference in college basketball ever.  Period.  They are the West Coast Conference basically.  So let’s be honest: the Zags are leaving the WCC for the MWC.  Whether that happens for the next season I don’t know but they have three months to decide (and will probably want to do it before then).  The Mountain West is also talking to some other schools to see if they should expand further.  One school that may or may not be in this mix (depending on what you read) is BYU.  Ah, the Cougars.  Independence looked great for them.  They were a solid #2 behind Notre Dame in college football’s Independent ranks up until recently.  Now, Army may have reached their level (debatable) or BYU has dropped below them (also debatable).  Either way you slice it, BYU’s football has taken a downward trend recently.  But the rest of their sports are in the WCC.  This is where this all really comes into play.  BYU might not want to be stuck in the WCC without Gonzaga (and potentially Saint Mary’s who may also be getting a look).  The WCC without Gonzaga is not a good conference.  At least now.  It may be a decade from now but not now.  So would BYU want to go back to the Mountain West?  Here seems to be the options for BYU:

1. Stay as a college football independent and in the WCC for basketball (and all other sports).  Being an independent is hard these days, especially with the New Year’s Six not giving them access to the G5 spot (which sounds like mid-major porn).  They would be a big fish in a much smaller WCC pond but could continue to struggle with football.
2. Go back to the MWC in football only and keep all other sports in the WCC.  They might prefer this option but will the Mountain West accept that or force BYU’s hand.  All or nothing?
3. All.  Everything back to the Mountain West.

In my opinion, I believe BYU has to swallow its pride and at least discuss a return to the Mountain West, even if it’s just for football.  Otherwise they will be stuck out in no-man’s-land so to speak with no bowl tie-ins and no NY6 possibilities.  The other issues that come up with this are the potential for UTEP and New Mexico State to also join the MWC.  If that’s the case, they would have their 14 football schools and wouldn’t need BYU.  At that point, BYU would have to be paired with yet another football school for it to make sense for the Mountain West.  Somewhat confusing but hopefully soon enough (maybe as early as the Final Four) we will get more news on this…at least it pertains to Gonzaga.  Then the dominoes can fall in some way after that.

Now this whole realignment talk makes me look back at a subject I have wanted to tackle for a while and never did until now because it’s a lengthy one.  Yep, it’s another What-if Post!  This time: What if the Southwest Conference never disbanded?  Oof.  Alright then.

The math here is basically 2+2=5 but no matter.  The Big 8 invited four members of the old SWC to form the Big XII.  That’s what we know.  But the entire demise started way before that.  Really it begins in the 80s and peaks with the death penalty given to SMU.

That penalty (which, let’s be honest, should have either not been given as harshly or been given to a few other programs in recent memory) essentially killed the Southwest Conference.  It just took another decade to finally bury the corpse.  So let’s say SMU doesn’t get the death penalty but a fairly harsh one.  Enough that it makes for a difficult 1987 and puts the other conference teams on notice.  What this wouldn’t have done is keep Arkansas.  The SEC wanted to expand as soon as the Big Ten was making a play for Penn State.  And Arkansas was one of the six options for SEC expansion and pretty much at the top of the list.  So Arkansas is gone and the SWC is down to 8 teams.  Making the conference stronger, however, could have done one of two things:

1. Kept these eight together for a long time with perhaps an expansion or two in the decade or two following, or
2. Had the best from the SWC merge with the best of the Big 8 to create a conference but probably not with 12 teams or not in the way they ended up merging in the first place.

So let’s be perfectly honest here: there is no way they keep the eight they had unless they expand heavily since Rice was never going to be able to compete (and never really did being the Vanderbilt of the group and that is even stretching it).  SMU is another story.  Since they are in the Metroplex, I think the lack of death penalty would have at least kept them competitive for bowl games for a while.  And remember: at various times, Baylor and Houston were Top 25 teams in the decade after the death penalty occurred.  So let’s say they expand.  The question is when and where.  This is when it becomes super complicated.

So probably through 1996, everything happens the way it would have.  The big realignment of 1997 would not have happened…at least at this point; however, it would have been a matter of time before the SWC did something since they knew with the way TV contracts were going, having such a small conference footprint would have been the death of the conference eventually.  What they would have done is two-fold.  First, get rid of the dead-weight schools.  Rice would have been a goner.  No way they can continue to compete.  Plus with Houston already in the conference, they have that area covered.  One of TCU or SMU is probably also gone.  You can make a case for either one to stay but both couldn’t stay because really the Metroplex barely needed one major conference team so two would have been out of the question.  So let’s drop SMU for this exercise.  That leaves this:

• Texas
• Texas A&M
• TCU
• Baylor
• Houston
• Texas Tech

Honestly…not bad.  In the late 90s would have been the time to be aggressive before some former WAC-offs decided to meet in a (probably) sleazy Motel 6 and start a new conference.  So the choices to join the new “super-sized” Southwest Conference would have been:

• BYU.  Yes it’s not southwest in any sense but BYU at the time was still a hot ticket for football.
• Tulane.  To keep that (somewhat) southwest feel by including a state that is beside Texas.
• New Mexico and UTEP.  I think these two would have been kind of joined at the hip at this point.
• Wyoming and Colorado State.  This is more of the bridge (of sorts) from Texas to BYU through these two schools.

A fairly decent conference that probably would have seen at least two of these teams (BYU and one other) become fairly prominent Power Five-like football teams.  It also keeps the Big Eight from doing anything and pushes the WAC and Big West, possibly, into some sort of unholy alliance.  I also believe this would have kept some conferences’ footprints (I am looking straight at you WAC) from getting totally out of hand…at least until ESPN came along and threw a bunch of money at someone and we then have San Diego State to the Big East or something else as foolish.  Otherwise, this probably turns out better for many schools involved.  So this is what it would look like as of the start of the new millennium for the effected conferences (I excluded the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, MAC, Pac-10 and SEC since they would not have changed from what they were before the 2000 season):

SWC	WAC	Conference USA	Big West	Big 8
Texas	Air Force	Louisville	Boise State	Kansas State
Texas A&M	UNLV	East Carolina	Utah State	Nebraska
Texas Tech	Utah	Cincinnati	Idaho	Iowa State
Houston	San Diego State	Southern Miss	New Mexico State	Colorado
Baylor	Fresno State	UAB	North Texas	Kansas
TCU	San Jose State	Memphis	Arkansas State	Missouri
BYU	Tulsa	Army		Oklahoma
Tulane	Rice			Oklahoma State
New Mexico	Hawaii
UTEP	SMU
Wyoming	Nevada
Colorado State

That’s…that’s quite a bit different than what actually happened.  I honestly wouldn’t know what to do with the WAC and Big West at this point.  My guess is, potentially a few years later, the Big 8 or SWC would pick up two members and force these conferences to merge.  Also remember that the Sun Belt was on the brink of sponsoring football at the Division 1-A level in a couple of years which would provide a whole other wrinkle.  In the end, the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC would look at this and stay as far away as possible (for the time being).  OK so maybe realignment isn’t so bad…sometimes.  I’m lying…it almost always sucks these days.

Alright we are done with that.  That post was kind of long and meandered a bit.  In the end I think I determined the Southwest Conference deserved to die.  Don’t know why though.  All I know is it may have caused less problems by dissolving.  Next up will be my final mock draft sometime in April.  Then it’s the actual draft and I can start posting semi-regularly again.  Ugh I hate this time of year.  Enjoy your short work week everyone!

The 2017 College Football Coaching Hot List – Sponsored by the Lane Kiffin Redemption Story

 

Yep. This guy again.

He’s on the road back to redemption and he had one of the greatest firings of all-time, being shitcanned on an airport tarmac while at USC. Nice!  I love stories like that.

It’s HOT SEAT TIME!  Last year, two of my four top selections and three of my top six were sent packing.  Unfortunately some coaches (like Craig Bohl) made me look like a fool by being really successful.  Thanks a lot Craig.  Like the haircut though.

Alright, here we go with the list.  I have ordered this (like last year) from most likely to be in the unemployment line to least likely:

Almost Guaranteed Shitcanning

1. Paul Haynes (Kent State) – He was #4 on my list last season.  How he kept his job is beyond me.  He just was put into a bad situation when he had to replace Darrell Hazell (who went on to do sweet fuck all at Purdue himself).  Needed to keep his job – A god damn miracle.  Prediction – Mid-season shitcanning and perhaps a year off of coaching altogether.
2. Lance Leipold (Buffalo) – Let’s stay in the MAC shall we?  Leipold came into much fanfare (well as much as you can get in the MAC).  He had guided Wisconsin-Whitewater to what seemed like a bajillion D-III titles.  His first year in Buffalo showed promise.  This past season not so much.  I can’t see this ending well for Sir Lance-a-not-so-much.  Needed to keep his job – vying for bowl eligibility in the final weekend.  Prediction – Scraping the bottom of the MAC barrel and heading back to FCS at the highest (if not back to D-III).
3. Todd Graham (Arizona State) – I remember when this guy liked to hop from job to job because he could. He was a good head coach and many programs wanted to have him.  Now he will be hopping to his next job but not of his own volition.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl eligibility and a victory over Arizona.  Prediction – 3 wins and who really cares at that point if the Sun Devils beat the Wildcats or not (see below for the reason why).
4. Kliff Kingsbury (Texas Tech) – Looks matter.  How do I know?  Well, many things in my life that I won’t get into now.  Also, Kute Kliff Kingsbury.  Here’s a guy who hit his high point halfway through his first season in Lubbock and is still around.  Why?  If it’s not his looks he must have damning photos of the athletic director in a compromising position.  Needed to keep his job – Some semblance of defense from his squad.  Prediction – Thousands of female college football fans crying and taking his offensive acumen to the FCS.

Probable Shitcanning

5. Sean Kugler (UTEP) – He was good for a soundbite or three when UTEP was good that one season.  Well, good enough in a Conference USA kind of way.  Since then, El Paso has once again become a college football outpost that no one wants to be in. Needed to keep his job – bowl eligibility.  Prediction – I can’t see them winning more than one game so this may happen during the season rather than wait for the misery to be over.
6. Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M) – He seems to be on this list a lot.  But he is never in the almost-guaranteed-to-be-fired part.  He just hasn’t seemed to recreate the magic when Johnny Manziel was around.  And yes, a big part was Gianni Party’s play but Sumlin had done wonders in Houston and appeared to be doing them in College Station.  That may not be the case anymore.  Needed to keep his job – 9 wins and be at least on the cusp of contending in the SEC West.  Prediction – 7 wins and the top Group of Five opening next season for Mr. Sumlin.
7. Mark Whipple (UMass) – When is UMass heading back to FCS?  Whenever it is, I can’t foresee Coach Whipple being there when it happens.  Needed to keep his job – at least 4 wins and to stay competitive in more games.  Prediction – 2 wins and a quiet exit.
8. Rich Rodriguez (Arizona) – Remember what I said above about Todd Graham?  I think RichRod is also in a hot seat but not nearly as hot as T-Graham’s.  No improvement in the desert may seal his fate though.  Needed to keep his job – being better than Arizona State.  Prediction – will not be better than Arizona State…and will be fired for it (along with many other reasons).
9. Brian Kelly (Notre Dame) – Kelly suffers from two things: 1) the Irish got to the national championship not too long ago and 2) the expectations in South Bend are ALWAYS at least 10 wins.  If he wasn’t such an insufferable prick at times I would feel sorry for him.  Needed to keep his job – 10 wins.  Did you not just read what I typed?  Prediction – 8 wins and I am sure he will yell at at least one player in plain view of a camera in front of a national audience.
10. David Beaty (Kansas) – Poor Dave Beaty.  Does he really have a chance in Lawrence to do anything except maybe (MAYBE) win four games at most?  I fail to see how he can win more with the state the program is.  God, I wish there was promotion/relegation.  Needed to keep his job – 4 wins.  Prediction – Half of that.  Or 2 wins for the less mathematically inclined.  Again, Poor Dave.

Possible Shitcanning

11. Lovie Smith (Illinois) – This isn’t the NFL, Lovie.  I think he understands that now.  An unenviable task in Champaign to turn around a program that has had little success in the past two decades (save the crazy 2007 season).  Needed to keep his job – 4 wins but be competitive and look like they could be a bowl team next year.  Prediction – 3 wins and the AD is going to have to take a long, hard look as to whether to retain Lovie or not.
12. Bret Bielema (Arkansas) – The SEC is still a gauntlet.  Saying that, the SEC is not known for a ton of coaching turnover.  One or two each season usually.  Bielema has a tough task ahead as the SEC West especially is difficult to say the least.  Needed to keep his job – Stay in the middle of the pack in the SEC West and at least scare one of Bama, Auburn, or LSU.  Prediction – 7 wins and at least some fans calling for his firing.

Doubtful Shitcanning

13. Steve Addazio (Boston College) – This is the exact same spot Steve-O was in last year.  And he came through with a 7-win season that led BC fans to still call for his head.  Guy can’t catch a break!  Needed to keep his job – Get to bowl eligibility again and hope the fans calm down a bit.  Prediction – 4 wins and it will be tough not to move way up this list next year.
14. David Bailiff (Rice) – I remember when he was consistently getting the Owls to bowl games.  I also remember when the Owls were in the Southwest Conference.  Times change.  Sometimes coaches have to as well.  But maybe not quite yet with Mr. Bailiff.  Needed to keep his job – some sense of improvement from last year’s down season.  Prediction – they will improve even if it doesn’t show up in their record.
15. Tyson Summers (Georgia Southern) – One year in and the athletic department had to send out a press release saying Summers would be retained for this season.  Confidence, gone.  Needed to keep his job – 5 wins and at least look like a potential bowl team.  Prediction – 5 wins and they will look like a bowl team for the most part.
16. Jim Mora (UCLA) – Jim needs the Rosen One to play like he has a shot at winning the Heisman this season.  And I think it will happen.  Not saying he will win the Heisman but he will be much improved and so will the Bruins.  Needed to keep his job –  7 wins.  Prediction – 9 wins and making USC sweat for the Victory Bell.
17. Chris Ash (Rutgers) – Coaching at Rutgers must be tough now that the team is firmly in the Big Ten basement.  Let’s be honest: very few people want that job.  Ash is a hero!  Needed to keep his job – he’s safe since no one else wants it for now.  Prediction – 3 wins and keeping Michigan under 60 points.
18. Butch Jones (Tennessee) – The Champions of Life.  Butch really needs to learn to just shut his mouth and coach sometimes.  Needed to keep his job – 9 wins and being a contender in the SEC East.  Prediction – 10 wins and STILL….CHAMPIONS OF LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE…THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS!!!!

Done.  That took too long.  I don’t want to say I hope all these coaches get fired but I do like being accurate.

Next up will be my Heisman ballot.  No one should give me a Heisman ballot.  I will demonstrate why in the next post.  After that will have to be…yes, it’s the FIRST SCHEDULE POST OF THE SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Woohoo!  Finally made it.  We are four days out.  Problem is, I still don’t know where all the U.S. College Sports Package channels have gone to now that they have been replaced by regional CTV channels which, in essence, replaced the need for Sunday Ticket since DAZN now has it.  I will say this often I believe but if DAZN somehow gets a good college football package then I might be changing my tune about it.

Bowl Game Rankings starring Uncle Verne

OK so the TSN schedule is finally out for all the bowl games.  I am a bit shocked it took this long since the first bowl game is tomorrow.  Oh well, it’s up and that’s good…I guess.  Except the fact that more games are on the specialty pack than are on TSN.

Before we begin with the bowl game rankings, let’s discuss the Army-Navy game.  Wasn’t that fun?  I tend to forget why it has its own Saturday.  I get the pageantry and the importance of it all but the logical side of me considers it a tiny bit of an annoyance to come after the College Football Playoff rankings come out.  Very small bit but it’s still there.  But then I remember how often the game is good.  Like really exciting.  This past Saturday’s affair was no different.  Army breaks a fourteen game losing streak to the Midshipmen with their win, sparking a massive celebration.  Is Army finally a decent team for good?  We shall see.  Navy and Air Force have been good for years now so there’s no reason why the Black Knights, with that frustrating-to-defend-against option offense, shouldn’t be good.  Also, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump was there to shit on the quality of football played on the field.  He should know a thing or two about a shitty football organization: he was a part of the USFL.

And this time around it was special for another reason: the last college football game ever called by one Verne Lundquist.  No matter if you thought he was good or not is beside the point.  He’s a legend in the college football broadcasting business, plain and simple.  If you did a college football broadcasting Mount Rushmore, you would have him, Brent Musburger, and Keith Jackson as shoo-ins.  The fourth?  Who knows?  Pick one.  Brad Nessler perhaps (who incidentally is Verne’s replacement)?  I don’t really know.  That would be a tough call.

And speaking of Verne….I am bringing back the UNCLE VERNE SCALE for the bowl rankings this year.  It is only fitting.  Let’s not waste any time!  I am also going to put times and dates and networks.  I will do this in order of amount of Vernes, five being the most, one being the least.

FIVE VERNE TERRITORY! (Yes, SIR!)

This set of games are your must-see ones.  So basically the College Football Playoff, New Year’s Six, and one other bowl game.

Fiesta Bowl – #2 Clemson vs. #3 Ohio State (Dec. 31, 7:00, TSN2) – Yes, the New Year’s Eve CFP games are annoying.  I get it.  I don’t know what I am doing for this New Year’s but I do know it will probably involve my kids.  Hey why is it so difficult to find babysitters these days?  When I used to babysit as a teenager there were a ton of people my age doing it.  Now not so much.  This game is probably the cream of the crop and is the one CFP game that seems to be in doubt.  My pick: Ohio State 34-28.

Peach Bowl – #1 Alabama vs. #4 Washington (Dec. 31, 3:00, TSN2) – Remember, the World Juniors is on between Boxing Day and the first week of January.  Every.  Single.  Game.  And it takes up a whole bunch of channels.  Also the Spengler Cup is still a thing.  So the two most important games of the year go to one TSN channel.  Not impressed.  My pick: Alabama 44-23.

Rose Bowl – #5 Penn State vs. #9 USC (Jan. 2, 5:00, TSN2) – USC is the hottest team in college football not from the Dirty South.  Even though the Nittany Lions are ranked higher, I can see them being in real tough here.  I kind of wish the Rose Bowl (and the Sugar) went back to being on ABC.  It won’t but it makes it easier for a lot of fans to not play TSN Channel Roulette to determine where the Granddaddy of Them All is on.  My pick: USC 38-20.

Orange Bowl – #6 Michigan vs. #11 Florida State (Dec. 30, 8:00, TSN2) – The World Junior schedule gets mighty crowded at this time of the year.  So again, only one TSN channel because god forbid we miss that hot Czech Republic-Switzerland matchup (or whatever the fuck is on this day).  Also, we were denied a Harbaugh-Fleck mega-matchup but this will be quite good too.  My pick: Michigan 32-24.

Cotton Bowl – #8 Wisconsin vs. #15 Western Michigan (Jan. 2, 1:00, TSN2) – I really want to pick Western Michigan.  I really want the Broncos to row that damn boat all over the field.  I do because I believe PJ Fleck, waiting until after bowl season is done to entertain job offers, is going to miss out on all of those job offers.  And let’s be honest: this is a once-in-a-lifetime team at WMU.  Will never happen again.  So I am going to pick them.  That makes me feel happy.  My pick: Western Michigan 40-27.

Alamo Bowl – #10 Colorado vs. #12 Oklahoma State (Dec. 29, 9:00, specialty pack) – Nice to see the Buffs back in the top tier again.  It feels like the 90s again!  Actually, going back to the Big Eight would be a good idea I think.  Bringing back the Southwest Conference would be a little less exciting considering how the last decade went for them.  Ouch.  My pick: Colorado 38-35.

Sugar Bowl – #7 Oklahoma vs. #14 Auburn (Jan. 2, 8:30, TSN2) – I do find it kind of funny that the worst team in the New Year’s Six is probably Auburn.  From the SEC.  Yeah.  Let’s be honest: the SEC this season was Bama and a bunch of mediocre teams.  Kind of a sad send-off to Verne dontcha think?  My pick: Oklahoma 36-10.

FOUR VERNES!  QUATRO VERNE-OS! (In your life have you seen anything like that???)

Just a cut below the must-see games, most of these will still be good to watch and most college football fans will try to catch most of these games (usually with a beer or four and a couple bags of nachos).

Las Vegas Bowl – Houston vs. San Diego State (Dec. 17, 3:30, ABC) – One of the very few games (nine in all) that aren’t on ESPN.  The best pre-Christmas bowl, without a shadow of a doubt, is this one.  Houston has already had a lot of national attention but this will be the country’s best look at Donnell Pumphrey, the best running back nobody knows.  An NFL team would be smart to pick this guy up in the draft.  My pick: Houston 24-20.

Citrus Bowl – #13 Louisville vs. #20 LSU (Dec. 31, 11:00, ABC/TSN2) – Morning FOOTBAW!!!!!  It should be like this every week to be honest with you.  Who really cares if the game starts at 11:30 or even 11?  OK maybe the players and the coaching staffs but when has the NCAA cared about them in the past?  Final look at one Leonard Fournette before he enters the draft.  Watch him decide to sit out to avoid injury.  My pick: Lamar Jackson’s Team 27-26.  UPDATE: Fournette is done and will turn pro.

Sun Bowl – #18 Stanford vs. North Carolina (Dec. 30, 2:00, CBS) – Hey the Sun Bowl gets a great matchup.  One of the best non-CFP/non-NY6 bowls this season.  I still think it is ridiculous that the SEC does not get to be in the Sun Bowl, a game broadcast on CBS, the home of the SEC (kind of).  Then again, when has the bowl tie-ins ever really made sense?  My pick: North Carolina 37-28.

Russell Athletic Bowl – #16 West Virginia vs Miami (Dec. 28, 5:30, specialty pack) – It’s BIG EAST WARFARE!  You know, I used to like the Big East.  Then again, when you get a game almost every week in your area (whether you like it or not), you start to appreciate the nuances of the conference.  Except Rutgers.  I don’t think anyone really appreciates Rutgers these days.  My pick: West Virginia 27 Miami 17 Drunk Uncle Dana 6 (Red Bulls)

Music City Bowl – #21 Tennessee vs. Nebraska (Dec. 30, 3:30, specialty pack) – So this would be probably the best game on the specialty pack.  Means you get the best games without ordering it.  That’s a good thing (for them).  I would be very interested to see what happens if the Vols get blown out in this one.  Do they take ol’ Butch out behind the barn or do they give him another chance?  Either way can you hurry up?  Les Miles is waiting.  My pick: Tennessee 29-28.

Boca Raton Bowl – Memphis vs. Western Kentucky (Dec. 20, 7:00, TSN1/TSN4) – This game will have a lot of points.  This is almost suited to arena football.  My advice?  Take the over.  My pick: Western Kentucky 53-48.

Texas Bowl – Kansas State vs. Texas A&M (Dec. 28, 9:00, TSN2) – Too bad Texas hadn’t blown a gasket in at least one of their seven losses.  A Texas-TAMU matchup would be huge for ratings, despite the fact the Aggies were mediocre this season and the Longhorns were below-average.  Instead we get Bill Snyder, the best 108-year-old coach I know.  I don’t know how he is still alive to be honest.  My pick: Texas A&M 21-14.

THREE VERNES! (An answered prayer!)

These are the games where if you are a college football fan you will watch these.  Many others will not though.  Especially up here in Canada.  And ESPECIALLY when the World Juniors are on.  I mean what would you rather watch: a hot Latvia-Slovakia barnburner or the Belk Bowl?  If you’re reading this I have a pretty good idea what you would pick……………….it’s the Belk Bowl right?

Camellia Bowl – Appalachian State vs. Toledo (Dec. 17, 5:30, TSN2) – Two teams that probably would have been fun to watch against a mid-card Power Five team.  Either way, one of the best G-5-on-G-5 matchups during bowl season.  Oh and is Appalachian State going to evolve into the next Boise State?  The way they have played their last two seasons it kinda feels that way.  My pick: Appalachian State 30-13.

Belk Bowl – #22 Virginia Tech vs. Arkansas (Dec. 29, 5:30, specialty pack) – I am hoping for at least one shot of Bret Bielema’s hot wife during the telecast.  It will make up for the fact that we have no clue which Arkansas will be showing up.  Let’s hope for the “good” Arkansas.  Oh, and got to give Justin Fuente credit for what he did in Blacksburg.  Let’s see how he follows this up.  My pick: Virginia Tech 42-23.

TaxSlayer Bowl – Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky (Dec. 31, 11:00, specialty pack) – I feel this game is not getting its due.  Probably because of the fact it’s New Year’s Eve and the other two games are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more important than this one.  But the Wildcats are competing once again in the SEC and the Fighting Option Offense of Georgia Tech is back after an awful season last year.  I still don’t think it will be amazing but it should entertaining leading into the College Football Playoff.  My pick: Kentucky 39-34.

Outback Bowl – #17 Florida vs. Iowa (Jan. 2, 1:00, ABC) – If you take the over in this game you are a fucking fool!  I was about to knock this down a star but I was reminded that despite the fact this game will be a nightmare to people who love scoring, the game could very well be close and it’s still two Power Five teams.  A close game between 2 P-5 teams should always be watched.  My pick: Florida 12-9.

Holiday Bowl – Minnesota vs. Washington State (Dec. 27, 7:00, specialty pack) – Member when the Holiday Bowl always had good teams playing?  I member.  Not saying neither of these teams are good but the cache isn’t there this time around.  Wazzu is fun to watch on offense but their defense makes people cry.  Minnesota is just…well….Minnesota.  And they may not even play.  If they truly boycott the game and Northern Illinois has to take the red eye in to San Diego to play this will go to 5 Verne territory just for the media shitstorm.  My pick: Washington State 41-22.

Armed Forces Bowl – #25 Navy vs. Louisiana Tech (Dec. 23, 4:30, TSN1) – Before the Army-Navy game I would have favoured Navy by a ton.  Not so much anymore.  They’ll still win but it will be close for at least a quarter-and-a-half.  Still surprised Ken Niumatalolo didn’t get any play for the head coaching vacancies.  My pick: Navy 39-23.

Dollar General Bowl – Ohio vs. Troy (Dec. 23, 8:00, specialty pack) – Is Dollar General like the Dollarama up here?  If so, how the hell do they afford sponsoring a bowl game?  I think we are going backwards with this.  Soon enough very few bowl games will have sponsors in the name.  Maybe it will lead to less bowl games.  Not a bad trade-off if they can space them out properly.  My pick: Troy 29-28.

Military Bowl – #24 Temple vs. Wake Forest (Dec. 27, 3:30, TSN2) – Can you believe this Wakeyleaks stuff?  Ridiculous.  And totally glossed over because it’s Wake Forest.  If this was at Florida State, the entire program would be shuttered because it would be a COLLEGE FOOTBALL TRAGEDY or some shit like that.  That radio guy is a dick though.  My pick: Wake Forest 38-35 (even without the Owls getting any “help”).

Poinsettia Bowl – BYU vs Wyoming (Dec. 21, 9:00, specialty pack) – I feel like half the bowl games are in San Diego or Orlando.  It’s actually six but that’s still nuts.  Especially since Qualcomm (or the Murph as it is somewhat affectionately called) is a bit of a shithole.  Anyway, Craig Bohl has done great things with Wyoming this season.  Winning a bowl game won’t be one of them.  My pick: BYU 35-15.

Two Vernes (Nope.  No Awesome Verne call here.)

Now we are getting into the games that you would have to be a real college football fan to watch.  I will watch most of these but may not like myself after doing so.

Liberty Bowl – Georgia vs. TCU (Dec. 30, Noon, specialty pack) – A year ago if you had said Georgia-TCU many ears would have perked up.  Not so much this season.  Not that either team is bad.  They are just both a shell of their former selves.  I’m not worried about the Horned Frogs since Gary Patterson is that the helm there.   The jury is still out on Kirby Smart (and Alabama assistants moving into head coaching positions in general…I think).  My pick: TCU 24-16.

Pinstripe Bowl – #23 Pittsburgh vs. Northwestern (Dec. 28, 2:00, specialty pack) – James Conner has been the inspiration for the Pitt Panthers this season.  I sincerely hope he does well at the next level.  Also, by the way this team plays offense (see their game against Syracuse for example), this could be over quickly.  My pick: Pitt 43-7.

Independence Bowl – NC State vs. Vanderbilt (Dec. 26, 5:00, specialty pack) – To the chagrin of all Wolfpack fans, NC State has decided to retain Dave Doeren as head coach for next season.  It’s not like he’s bad; he just hasn’t helped the team progress really at all.  Vandy on the other hand is fun to watch and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them give Derek Mason an extension.  Also, bonus points if he starts dancing on the sidelines.  My pick: Vandy 28-17.

Cactus Bowl – Baylor vs. Boise State (Dec. 27, 10:15, specialty pack) – Baylor has gone through a rough season.  Starting 6-0 and giving everyone hope and then they go 0-6 to finish the season.  Brutal.  Plus with all the issues with some of the players and Art Briles and Art throwing the assistants under the bus.  Such a mess.  Good luck to Matt Rhule as he has to try to make chicken salad out of rotten chicken shit.  This shouldn’t be close.  My pick: Boise State 44-16.

Foster Farms Bowl – #19 Utah vs. Indiana (Dec. 28, 8:30, FOX) – How FOX got this game of all games is beyond me.  Well, not beyond me.  I understand it’s a Pac-12 vs. Big Ten showdown.  But the calibre of this game…ugh.  The Utes should mop the floor with them.  Should.  Who knows now that the Hoosiers have a new head coach.  No, the Utes should blow them out of the water.  My pick: Utah 42-17.

Idaho Potato Bowl – Colorado State vs. Idaho (Dec. 22, 7:00, specialty pack) – I can see the Vandals (that’s Idaho’s team name if you didn’t know since we never see Idaho on TV here) playing some inspired ball in a bowl game in their much, much more talented state brethren’s stadium.  I think the Fighting Petrinos of the Middle of Nowhere end their penultimate FBS season with a win.  Kind of looks good on the NCAA as a whole that this program is moving down to FCS but could win a bowl game in their second last season.  My pick: Idaho 39 (potatoes) – Colorado State 28.

Bahamas Bowl – Eastern Michigan vs. Old Dominion (Dec. 23, 1:00, specialty pack) – 1:00 on the specialty pack before Christmas.  How in the hell can anyone watch this game?  It will go to my PVR but I can’t promise I will watch most of it.  I am interested in seeing a game between a first-time bowl team and a team that hasn’t bowled in thirty years.  I can see it being a very jittery first quarter.  My pick: Old Dominion 42-31.

New Mexico Bowl – New Mexico vs. UTSA (Dec. 17, 2:00, TSN1/TSN3) – The first bowl game of the season has been the New Mexico Bowl in the past few years.  And usually we have a pretty exciting game.  I can see this one being pretty good.  New Mexico’s underrated option offense against first-time bowlers UTSA.  Going to be close, but I see the Roadrunners pulling this one out.  Meep Meep!  My pick: UTSA 31-23.

Birmingham Bowl – South Carolina vs. USF (Dec. 29, 2:00, specialty pack) – This is my fourth season (I believe) imploring the Birmingham Bowl to just cease to exist.  They play in a shitty field that either needs major renovations or to be set on fire and usually it’s between two teams that no one really wants to see.  I am very interested to see how USF does with Willie Taggart now gone to Oregon but I can’t foresee South Carolina winning this (although next year will be VERY interesting in the SEC East).  My pick: USF 45-24.

Quick Lane Bowl – Boston College vs. Maryland (Dec. 26, 2:30, TSN2) – OK.  First off, it is going to sound like everything is echoing inside Ford Field.  There is no chance that the stadium will be even half full with these two teams playing.  Secondly, of all the games TSN could pick up (and it was only 16 this year), they choose this one?  This is what the World Juniors does to us.  Makes TSN pick up bowl games that probably even they don’t want.  Ugh.  My pick: Does it matter?  OK fine it’s Maryland 31-13.

One measly Verne

This would be like if they decided to replace Uncle Verne with Pam Ward or had Teddy Atlas do “analysis” on college football games on CBS from now on.  It would be a big disaster and CBS would lose their SEC contract to ESPN and then everyone would hate both networks a lot more.

I don’t know how much of these games I will watch but I can safely say that unless I have NOTHING else going on (which probably won’t happen), I won’t watch the whole thing.  I will just keep checking the ticker on my phone and if it’s close in the second half I’ll turn it on (or at least leave it on PVR until I can watch it).

Cure Bowl – Arkansas State vs. UCF (Dec. 17, 5:30, CBS Sports Network) – I actually ended up getting CBSSN again recently as part of a package.  I wasn’t paying no $7 a month for this channel.  But $2 a month I can handle…I think.  So I get to see this bowl now.  I am not that excited.  UCF is essentially playing at home and has to feel lucky that Scott Frost wasn’t lured back to Oregon.  I don’t think the home advantage will help but I can see this being a close game which is the only thing that keeps it from being named Worst Bowl Game of the Year.  My pick: Arkansas State 39-35.

Miami Beach Bowl – Central Michigan vs. Tulsa (Dec. 19, 2:30, specialty pack) – Oklahoma State fans are STILL stewing over that loss to Central Michigan.  And I STILL think it’s hilarious that they even allowed that play to happen, never mind that the game should have been over before then.  But don’t worry Pokes fans, CMU will lose and probably lose big to the juggernaut Tulsa offense.  My pick: Tulsa 52-20.

Hawaii Bowl – Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee (Dec. 24, 8:00, specialty pack) – My Christmas Eve tradition has become having this game on in the background while I do the finishing touches on wrapping presents.  So yeah I don’t pay a ton of attention, at least through the first half.  And why should I?  It’s a sparsely attended bowl game that is usually shit.  I hope with the Fighting Rainbow Warrior Roloviches playing that they get a good crowd.  If not, scuttle this bowl.  Even if it is a destination that the players will love.  My pick: Hawaii 47-37.

New Orleans Bowl – Southern Miss vs. UL-Lafayette (Dec. 17, 9:00, TSN2) – Isn’t UL-Lafayette sick of going to this bowl?  Don’t get me wrong, I know going to a bowl game is a big deal to the players but when you go to the same one almost every time it has to get old.  I can’t see the magic of that first time the Ragin Cajuns went there.  And it was an awesome game with a game-winning field goal with no time left from 50 yards out.  That’s the college football I love.  This, not so much.  My pick: UL-Lafayette 31-14.

Arizona Bowl – Air Force vs. South Alabama (Dec. 30, 5:30, MyTV) – This bowl game finally gets its own timeslot (kind of).  I know Air Force is there to give this newer bowl game some street cred but South Alabama being there is not moving the needle at all.  This should be over relatively early.  My pick: Air Force 37-7.

Heart of Dallas Bowl – Army vs. North Texas (Dec. 27, Noon, specialty pack) – I had this at the very bottom of my list for a while but after the Black Knights’ performance in the Army-Navy game I moved them up a spot.  But only one spot.  This still will be a tough game to watch from start to finish.  And to be honest, I don’t know if I will.  If I have my kids then it goes to the PVR to an uncertain viewing future.  My pick: Army 33-20.

St. Petersburg Bowl – Miami-OH vs. Mississippi State (Dec. 26, 11:00, specialty pack) – This is the dirt worst.  The field sucks.  The Trop is a shithole.  They never have decent teams.  I like morning football but not this.  I mean Miami-OH is a nice story.  Started 0-6 and won six straight to go bowling.  Good for them.  And Mississippi State was in the SEC which made the mediocre this year because every team not named Alabama was average.  This shouldn’t be even close though.  This is the bowl game that should tell the college football world that they’ve gone too far with the postseason.  My pick: Mississippi State 54-14.

Done.  The bowl schedule is set.  We have a lot of college football to watch between tomorrow and the day after New Year’s Day.  Savour it.  Drink it in because come January 10^th there will be no football for seven-and-a-half months.  I am starting to get queasy just thinking about it.  Either that or I am getting the flu.  Anyway, enjoy the games everyone!

Hey, let’s expand. Wait, no, let’s not. Let’s expand. How about we wait? Let’s go for it. I’m nervous. The Days of our Big XII Lives.

Or All My Big XII’s.  Or Guiding Big XII.  Or any other soap opera since this conference is a bit of wreck.  Shit or get off the pot I say.  If they don’t want to expand then fine.  I don’t agree with that but whatever.  But they have to make a decision one way or another.  Whatever they decide to do not only affects them but a lot of other conferences and to say nothing is a disservice to many and borders on disrespect (despite the fact it’s probably fully an organization issue).  Then again, this is a conference that was created with four teams from the biggest shitshow of a conference ever, the Southwest Conference.  So maybe we should back off a bit knowing what they’re working with.

Funny how I did a random draw and the first two conferences selected are the Power Five and Group of Five conference we see the least of in this area, respectively.  We get way less Big XII games than any other conference, at least in southern Ontario.  I’d like to get more games but no FOX Sports One means at least a game a week in the Big XII we will never receive.  As I have said before, I would pay a premium to get most of the Power Five games each week (along with what we already receive which is not a whole lot more).

Alright, time for the standings followed with some points to ponder.  No, not Sam Ponder although I like the way you’re thinking:

	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Oklahoma	8	1	11	1
Baylor	8	1	11	1
TCU	7	2	10	2
Oklahoma State	6	3	9	3
Texas	5	4	6	6
Kansas State	4	5	6	6
Texas Tech	3	6	5	7
West Virginia	3	6	6	6
Iowa State	1	8	3	9
Kansas	0	9	1	11

Points to Ponder

• Ho hum. Iowa State and Kansas in the 9 and 10 spot.  Big shocker.  Thankfully they both have good basketball teams.
• HOT TAKE: So many people have Texas making a big move up the standings. I don’t see it.  Maybe they could pull off a win against Baylor since they could get through all this unscathed or become a complete gongshow, Waco-style.  I have them BARELY making it to a bowl game and nowhere close to the Big XII title race.  Maybe next year Horns fans.  Maybe next year.
• Another HOT TAKE: I don’t think Baylor will miss a beat. They are going to be a double-digit win team under Jim Grobe this season and they should make it to a New Year’s Six bowl game.
• The conference will come down to Oklahoma, Baylor, and TCU (sorry Pokes fans). I have the Sooners beating both of those teams and again losing the Red River Rivalry, giving Horns fans around ‘Murica salivating at their conference title hopes only to have those hopes completely shit on when UT lays an egg at Kansas State two weeks after.
• Seven bowl teams and perhaps eight if Texas Tech could pull out a victory over Arizona State (I don’t think they will since it’s in Tempe).
• Even with Oklahoma being as hot as they were last season (including a season-opening close call victory over Houston), many will still talk Big XII expansion unless the conference makes a decision either way before the season begins (which they would be wise to do).

Next up will be the ACC.  Hmmmm, it’s like I am starting with the conferences that get that most smack talk thrown their way.  Oh well.  It was random (for the most part).