Busy weekend of football and sports overall. Just a number thoughts on these:
First of all, Black Monday in the NFL. I generally am not surprised by some of the names I see that went on the chopping block. The Bears, Falcons, Jets and 49ers will all be looking for new head coaches. I'll get to the other three in a moment but first a thought on the Harbaugh situation.
As most sports fans may have heard already, not even 24 hours after agreeing to part ways with the Niners, Jim Harbaugh is already set to take the vacant head coach position at the University of Michigan, his alma mater. You could see it was going to happen when he was hugging his players on the sidelines at the end of the San Francisco/Arizona game Sunday.
How this impacts the 49ers will be interesting. There are still a lot of good players on the team, and Harbaugh left a great foundation, but replacing a guy like that will be very tough. The Niners are very committed to winning, so I am sure they will hire the best man for that position.
As far as how that affects Michigan and the Big Ten, I would say this as far as the rest of the Big 10, including Ohio State is concerned; be afraid, be very afraid. Harbaugh walks that line a lot in so far as being as fiery as Bo Pelini is, and sometimes crosses it. But there is no question the man can coach at a very high level and I see no reason to believe that he can't do it in Ann Arbor.
Especially with the talent Hoke left him. Hoke could recruit but lacked ability to coach. That will not be a problem with Harbaugh; he is going to give Urban Meyer heartburn on a yearly basis. Ohio State still has a great program do not get me wrong, but things are going to get tougher for them immediately.
Elsewhere, I see that Rex Ryan and general manager Izdik were both let go by the Jets. I am not surprised, but I feel bad for Rex Ryan. He was never really given a chance to develop an offense due to a terrible front office in New York, and kept the Jets competitive due to his great defensive background. He will land on his feet somewhere.
On the Bears? No surprise there. Trestman is not a very good coach; I remember when he was coaching Jake Plummer for three years way back when both of them were with the Cardinals and he stunk then too, and he still stinks now. Way in over his head as a head coach.
As far as Mike Smith in Atlanta, not surprised there too. The Falcons with the exception of a couple of seasons have underachieved greatly and barely made it to the NFC Championship a couple years ago. They have gone downhill ever since.
As far as some other conclusions from the National Football League in week 17:
The Texans did well to go 9-7, especially since they ended up playing a fourth string quarterback because Fitzpatrick was terrible, and Mallett and Savage got hurt. Both JJ Watt and Bill O'Brien did a great job to get the Texans to a winning record. They are one quarterback away from returning to the playoffs IMHO.
The Chiefs did well to go 9-7 too, especially since they did not have A SINGLE touchdown catch by a wide receiver this year. Seriously, that is an outrageous stat. Much like O'Brien in Houston, Andy Reid did a tremendous job with the Chiefs this year. The Chiefs need a home run receiver, badly. DeAnthony Thomas is nice, but not a reliable home run threat right now.
Buffalo beat New England in Week 17 which may not sound like much since the Patriots were obviously disinterested, but two things this did; one, it gives Buffalo a winning season, even though no playoffs. Two, it breaks a 14 year losing streak in Foxboro.
The Vikings beat the Bears in Trestman's last game 13-9, which got them their seventh and final win of 2014. It may not be that significant, but Bridgewater did a heck of a job coming in and helping them get to seven wins. He needs more help around him, but did fine for his rookie season.
Regarding the first round of the playoffs, I'm taking every home team except Baltimore. The Cowboys should win, the Colts will win (after all, the Bengals never win playoff games these days) and the Panthers will beat an Arizona team that limps in with Ryan Lindley as its starting QB. Baltimore and Pittsburgh should be a great game but because of the experience of Flacco and Suggs and the question of LeVeon Bell's availability, I think the Ravens can win this game.
Now, on to the college scene...
On the Nebraska bowl loss to USC, I am proud of the effort the players gave. They left it all on the field and gave themselves a chance to beat a very talented team. That having been said, there are no moral victories at Dear Old Nebraska U. When we hit the field, we should play to win and have the pride and passion necessary to win.
Now, I mentioned Jim Harbaugh earlier. How does this relate to Nebraska? It means this, and let's be honest, Nebraska peeps: Things are going to get a lot tougher for the Big Red in coming years. Nebraska had a certain window of opportunity when it entered the Big 10 with Ohio State dealing with sanctions and Michigan searching for an identity.
It had an opportunity to gain a foothold, and some respect. It has done little of either; indeed, Nebraska has become much more like Wisconsin, Iowa or Minnesota than Ohio State. Those teams aren't all that talented but with Pelini as the coach at UNL, they all did the little things better than Nebraska did.
With Harbaugh going to Michigan, things become much tougher. Wisconsin has a good program, as we sadly have found out first hand. Minnesota has a program on the rise. Ohio State is still Ohio State, and Michigan will come back under Harbaugh. Penn State is a program on the rise as well. Let's just put it this way: we're here (puts hand at certain level), Minnesota and Wisconsin are up here (points up a notch or two) and Ohio State and Michigan will be way up here (points about one or two notches more).
Not only does Riley have this to deal with, and not only does he have to do a hell of a job recruiting to keep Nebraska somewhat afloat in today's college football, maybe the most concerning thing to me is that he has to get the Pelini poison out of the players' heads. I don't know what Bo did to them, but they were fiercely loyal to him and Riley is going to have a tough time getting them to listen to him. I was really struck by a story I saw last Saturday prior to the Holiday Bowl where the players left a seat for Pelini as if he were still coaching. I think Riley CAN do it, but whether he WILL is no guarantee.
As far as the other bowl games, my biggest takeaway is that the Big 12 is not a very good conference. 0-3 and the two biggest flagship names of the conference, Texas and Oklahoma, got annihilated Monday night. Texas I guess I can somewhat understand, they were completely outmanned and Arkansas cares a lot more about beating Texas than Texas does about beating Arkansas (for those who don't live down here and are not familiar, that's an old Southwest Conference rivalry that is somewhat dormant, but older Arkansas fans still see Texas as their most disliked team by far, even though the Hogs have spent over 20 years in the SEC).
But Oklahoma, good gracious. Losing by 40, to a mediocre team from a mediocre league in Clemson. With a backup QB, too. I respect, but have never liked Oklahoma and never will (seeing Sooner Magic too many times would do that to any Husker fan). I pretty much root against them no matter who they play. But I almost felt sorry for Sooner fans Monday night. I almost wonder if Bob Stoops is just mailing it in these days. How in the world did this team beat Alabama about a year ago?
And look at what's coming down the pike for Big 12 bowl teams: Ole Miss, a very good SEC team with a tough "Landshark" defensive unit. Michigan State, a tough, physical Big 10 team (good thing for Baylor that this game is in Arlington). A very good Pac-12 team in UCLA, and a beatable but Chris Petersen coached Washington squad. Yes, Baylor and TCU should be motivated. And they will need to be.
Couple of last basketball notes: Not surprised Kentucky beat Louisville in college basketball's Bluegrass battle. Louisville has a good squad but I'm surprised they don't just call the season at this point. Kentucky is so deep and so talented that if they don't win the title this year it will be quite a shock to most fans who follow the sport. They may lose a game or two, but it will be a regular season game where their heads aren't in the game (and that does happen in sports). When UK is focused, no one will beat them.
As far as the Rockets, they are a good team, but they still have some issues to fix that could prevent a deep run in the playoffs. They are a good team, but not the kind of team I would predict to go deep in the playoffs, not yet anyways. I will touch on that in another post soon.
Until next time....
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Christmas Eve Sports Thoughts
Before we get to the brass tacks of this past football weekend and a few other items, I'd like to say this: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the readers of this blog. Hopefully all of you have a safe and wonderful holiday season.
That having been said...
Man how about that performance by the Texans and JJ Watt last Sunday? Quite simply, they were better prepared, better coached and played harder than the Baltimore football team who looked like the last thing they wanted was to be at NRG Stadium this past weekend. They still have a shot at the playoffs, but regardless of whether they get in or not, if they beat Jacksonville this Sunday and go 9-7, I consider this a successful season.
I consider it a successful season if 9-7 especially when you think about Andre Johnson being largely invisible, no Foster for large parts of the year, fourth string quarterback and they still might get to the playoffs with a win and some help. O'Brien and Watt have done an amazing job with this team. Oh and by the way, tell me a more deserving candidate than JJ Watt for Most Valuable Player. Tell me a man who is more valuable to his team than JJ Watt is to Houston. Oh but that's right, I forgot, the MVP award always goes to an offensive player. Shame.
Let's be real guys, Seattle's the team to beat, at least through the NFC if they win Sunday and get home field. I'll repeat something that Jim Rome said on his radio show Monday which I wholeheartedly agree with; if you thought that Seattle's 12th Man was obnoxious before, then buckle up because they will be insufferable if they win Sunday and end up with home field. Because honestly, who's going to beat them in that building on the way to the Super Bowl? The Packers are dangerous, I agree, Detroit's got a great defense and the Cowboys are much improved and beat them there already. But Seattle hasn't played this well all season.
Believe it or not, the Broncos have not locked up a first round bye yet, they have to beat the Raiders this Sunday. And even if they survive Sunday and get a first round bye, they are very, very vulnerable to get beat by either Cincinnati or Pittsburgh in round 2 of the playoffs. Peyton Manning may yet get his groove back, but things do not look good right now.
No matter what happens, it's going to be a great Week 17. Three games to decide division championships (AFC North, NFC South and NFC North, plus Seattle can clinch their division also), plus the playoff race will be decided in the AFC, and first round byes in both conferences are up for grabs.
Regarding the beginning of the college bowl season, I've caught what I can of the games so far and I have three observations:
1. Colorado State is going to go downhill fast. Not only did they lose McElwain, they hired Mike Bobo to replace him. I think the SEC East fleeced CSU on these two deals, the first deal being that McElwain is one of the game's elite coaches and that the Gators will put the entire SEC, as well as FSU, on notice. The second part of this is that Bobo has NEVER been a college football head coach in his entire career, and throughout his time as OC at UGA, he came under fire from UGA fans for his (at times) perplexing play calls.
For example, in the Georgia/South Carolina game this year, Georgia was down three points late and got a turnover at the South Carolina 4, first and goal. He called a peculiar first down pass play that fell incomplete, and UGA eventually missed a chip shot field goal and lost by three. He had an All-American running back (Gurley) and chose to throw on first down instead which absolutely baffled me. He has much less resources to work with than he had at UGA, he's head coach for the first time and CSU in the bowl game looked lost without McElwain. They have talent there but I am skeptical that Bobo will do well there.
2. That BYU/Memphis game was a great game...what happened after that game and the fight that ensued, not so much. It's a shame that such a thrilling game had to be tarnished by that fracas at the end of the game.
3. Rakeem Cato capped off a great career at Marshall with a bowl game win over Northern Illinois; as to whether he will be successful in the pro game, it will be interesting to see who takes him if anyone and where. I think he can be successful but mainly as a long-term project type of player.
On basketball real quick, the Big 10 is not very good in that sport this year. Down year it looks like for the Big 10. Just this year, in out of conference play, Big 10 teams have lost to: NJIT (that's New Jersey Institute of Technology, for those unaware), Eastern Michigan, St. Peter's, St. Francis, Central Michigan, Incarnate Word (ugh, that was the ugly loss Nebraska had), North Florida, Eastern Washington and Texas Southern.
Meanwhile, the Big 12 is a very strong conference in basketball this year, 6 (or 7, depending on which poll you prefer) teams in the top 25 so far even though Texas lost to Stanford last night.
On the NBA, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers is a special, special player. He proved it against the Rockets last year in the playoffs, but is cementing it even more this year. In the past week, he's outdueled BOTH of last year's Western Conference finalists, scoring 43 against the Spurs last Friday in a triple overtime win, and scoring 40 last night in Oklahoma City against the Thunder in an overtime win there. I don't think he's the BEST point guard in the Association, but I'd put him no worse than fourth or fifth and he will only get better.
Until next time....
That having been said...
Man how about that performance by the Texans and JJ Watt last Sunday? Quite simply, they were better prepared, better coached and played harder than the Baltimore football team who looked like the last thing they wanted was to be at NRG Stadium this past weekend. They still have a shot at the playoffs, but regardless of whether they get in or not, if they beat Jacksonville this Sunday and go 9-7, I consider this a successful season.
I consider it a successful season if 9-7 especially when you think about Andre Johnson being largely invisible, no Foster for large parts of the year, fourth string quarterback and they still might get to the playoffs with a win and some help. O'Brien and Watt have done an amazing job with this team. Oh and by the way, tell me a more deserving candidate than JJ Watt for Most Valuable Player. Tell me a man who is more valuable to his team than JJ Watt is to Houston. Oh but that's right, I forgot, the MVP award always goes to an offensive player. Shame.
Let's be real guys, Seattle's the team to beat, at least through the NFC if they win Sunday and get home field. I'll repeat something that Jim Rome said on his radio show Monday which I wholeheartedly agree with; if you thought that Seattle's 12th Man was obnoxious before, then buckle up because they will be insufferable if they win Sunday and end up with home field. Because honestly, who's going to beat them in that building on the way to the Super Bowl? The Packers are dangerous, I agree, Detroit's got a great defense and the Cowboys are much improved and beat them there already. But Seattle hasn't played this well all season.
Believe it or not, the Broncos have not locked up a first round bye yet, they have to beat the Raiders this Sunday. And even if they survive Sunday and get a first round bye, they are very, very vulnerable to get beat by either Cincinnati or Pittsburgh in round 2 of the playoffs. Peyton Manning may yet get his groove back, but things do not look good right now.
No matter what happens, it's going to be a great Week 17. Three games to decide division championships (AFC North, NFC South and NFC North, plus Seattle can clinch their division also), plus the playoff race will be decided in the AFC, and first round byes in both conferences are up for grabs.
Regarding the beginning of the college bowl season, I've caught what I can of the games so far and I have three observations:
1. Colorado State is going to go downhill fast. Not only did they lose McElwain, they hired Mike Bobo to replace him. I think the SEC East fleeced CSU on these two deals, the first deal being that McElwain is one of the game's elite coaches and that the Gators will put the entire SEC, as well as FSU, on notice. The second part of this is that Bobo has NEVER been a college football head coach in his entire career, and throughout his time as OC at UGA, he came under fire from UGA fans for his (at times) perplexing play calls.
For example, in the Georgia/South Carolina game this year, Georgia was down three points late and got a turnover at the South Carolina 4, first and goal. He called a peculiar first down pass play that fell incomplete, and UGA eventually missed a chip shot field goal and lost by three. He had an All-American running back (Gurley) and chose to throw on first down instead which absolutely baffled me. He has much less resources to work with than he had at UGA, he's head coach for the first time and CSU in the bowl game looked lost without McElwain. They have talent there but I am skeptical that Bobo will do well there.
2. That BYU/Memphis game was a great game...what happened after that game and the fight that ensued, not so much. It's a shame that such a thrilling game had to be tarnished by that fracas at the end of the game.
3. Rakeem Cato capped off a great career at Marshall with a bowl game win over Northern Illinois; as to whether he will be successful in the pro game, it will be interesting to see who takes him if anyone and where. I think he can be successful but mainly as a long-term project type of player.
On basketball real quick, the Big 10 is not very good in that sport this year. Down year it looks like for the Big 10. Just this year, in out of conference play, Big 10 teams have lost to: NJIT (that's New Jersey Institute of Technology, for those unaware), Eastern Michigan, St. Peter's, St. Francis, Central Michigan, Incarnate Word (ugh, that was the ugly loss Nebraska had), North Florida, Eastern Washington and Texas Southern.
Meanwhile, the Big 12 is a very strong conference in basketball this year, 6 (or 7, depending on which poll you prefer) teams in the top 25 so far even though Texas lost to Stanford last night.
On the NBA, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers is a special, special player. He proved it against the Rockets last year in the playoffs, but is cementing it even more this year. In the past week, he's outdueled BOTH of last year's Western Conference finalists, scoring 43 against the Spurs last Friday in a triple overtime win, and scoring 40 last night in Oklahoma City against the Thunder in an overtime win there. I don't think he's the BEST point guard in the Association, but I'd put him no worse than fourth or fifth and he will only get better.
Until next time....
Thursday, December 11, 2014
The College Football Coaching Carousel and More
With the college football regular season and championship games having drawn to a close and only the bowl games left, the coaching carousel that happens every offseason has begun to spin. Here are a few thoughts to chew on for now:
The biggest news in major college football coaching the last 24 hours has obviously been the news that Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen is heading West to coach Oregon State, replacing the departed Mike Riley who was hired by Nebraska almost a week ago (more on that in a moment).
The thing about this Wisconsin deal is this: Barry Alvarez is a Nebraska guy, he played for Bob Devaney in the late 60s (66 to 68, as a matter of fact). I had respect for the way he built Wisconsin up in the 90s and into the 2000s. But as of late, he's too much like Jerry Jones for my liking. The guy is too hands on in the athletic director's chair and he just needs to let coaches coach.
Take, for instance, something I noticed in Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde's latest column, posted last night. In it is a quote by Alvarez, which was said after Bret Bielema left Wisconsin a couple of years ago to take the Arkansas job:
"Bret used my gameplan to win," he said. "The coach I hire will have to understand who we are and how we go about our business."
Does that sound like someone who wants to let his coaches coach? It doesn't to me. It sounds to me like someone who wants to take all the credit and glory for the Wisconsin program's success.
On that note, Andersen wanted to install his zone read offense at the beginning of the year. But midway through the season, they went back to being ground and pound Wisconsin, which is what Alvarez prefers. It sounds to me like these two never really were able to co-exist.
It also wouldn't totally surprise me if that 59-0 whitewashing by Ohio State in the championship game last week had something to do with the Wisconsin coaching situation. In particular, it wouldn't totally shock me if it comes out later that Andersen already knew he was leaving and just packed it in.
As to who Wisconsin will hire? I'm not a betting man generally but if I were in the business of prediction making I'd say it will be current Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst. Chryst is from Madison, played at Wisconsin in the late 80s and spent seven years as Wisconsin's offensive coordinator.
Regarding the hiring of Mike Riley to Nebraska, I am cautiously optimistic about the move even though Riley was not my first choice. He certainly is the opposite personality wise of Pelini, which is one thing the program needs. He is also doing a heck of a job trying to salvage the current Nebraska recruiting class. In general, Nebraska fans need to put down the pitchforks and give the man a chance to win...or lose...our trust. Speaking of Nebraska athletics...Incarnate Word? What the hell was that awful basketball performance? How did a good team get so crappy over several months? Any way you slice it that Cinderella story...long gone.
The guy I wanted in particular though, Jim McElwain, ended up at Florida. I think that's a great coaching hire by the Gators. Missouri has won the SEC East twice in a row but with McElwain in charge I'd say that little streak is in serious jeopardy.
Regarding the playoff matchups, be real. Alabama is the team to beat. Meyer is a good coach, Florida State is the defending champ and Oregon is perennially good but I really love Alabama's chances to win the whole thing. They have been trending upward for the past month, Sims is getting better with each game and Cooper's peaking right at the end of the season.
The scary part about Alabama in 2015 is that Blake Sims will be even better with a full offseason of development even though he loses Cooper...and LSU and Auburn will both be licking their wounds after down years. The only way I can see Auburn beating Bama next year is if they somehow get Muschamp. That could be an equalizer. And as for Lane Kiffin...Dead wrong about that one. Thought they would bust with his ego coming in. Not so.
As for the Big 12 teams being left out, the Big 12 did it to themselves in my opinion (and Ohio State played pretty well last game too). I have nothing against TCU or Baylor as I have many great friends from both schools, although I will say this: When you pay over $400,000 for the branding of the slogan "One True Champion" as the Big 12 did, then you name TCU and Baylor co-champs, get out of here with that. It's not Baylor or TCU's fault that they got left out, both had tremendous seasons. They should blame Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby and Big 12 administration for this one. Too bad because TCU could have played Alabama toe to toe.
One final Rockets thought: Team is 16-5 but still has a ways to go. 16-5 sounds good but only gets you tied for 4th in the Western Conference at that point...West is just ridiculous. 7th place team in the West is 17-7. Rockets need to get guys back healthy and beat the teams they are in contention with fairly regularly. 3-4 against the top 6 in the West this year isn't going to cut it...50 wins might only get you an 8 seed. Interestingly enough, the Rockets, even though they've made the NBA Finals four times and won two titles, have never won more than 58 games in a single season.
Until next time....
The biggest news in major college football coaching the last 24 hours has obviously been the news that Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen is heading West to coach Oregon State, replacing the departed Mike Riley who was hired by Nebraska almost a week ago (more on that in a moment).
The thing about this Wisconsin deal is this: Barry Alvarez is a Nebraska guy, he played for Bob Devaney in the late 60s (66 to 68, as a matter of fact). I had respect for the way he built Wisconsin up in the 90s and into the 2000s. But as of late, he's too much like Jerry Jones for my liking. The guy is too hands on in the athletic director's chair and he just needs to let coaches coach.
Take, for instance, something I noticed in Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde's latest column, posted last night. In it is a quote by Alvarez, which was said after Bret Bielema left Wisconsin a couple of years ago to take the Arkansas job:
"Bret used my gameplan to win," he said. "The coach I hire will have to understand who we are and how we go about our business."
Does that sound like someone who wants to let his coaches coach? It doesn't to me. It sounds to me like someone who wants to take all the credit and glory for the Wisconsin program's success.
On that note, Andersen wanted to install his zone read offense at the beginning of the year. But midway through the season, they went back to being ground and pound Wisconsin, which is what Alvarez prefers. It sounds to me like these two never really were able to co-exist.
It also wouldn't totally surprise me if that 59-0 whitewashing by Ohio State in the championship game last week had something to do with the Wisconsin coaching situation. In particular, it wouldn't totally shock me if it comes out later that Andersen already knew he was leaving and just packed it in.
As to who Wisconsin will hire? I'm not a betting man generally but if I were in the business of prediction making I'd say it will be current Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst. Chryst is from Madison, played at Wisconsin in the late 80s and spent seven years as Wisconsin's offensive coordinator.
Regarding the hiring of Mike Riley to Nebraska, I am cautiously optimistic about the move even though Riley was not my first choice. He certainly is the opposite personality wise of Pelini, which is one thing the program needs. He is also doing a heck of a job trying to salvage the current Nebraska recruiting class. In general, Nebraska fans need to put down the pitchforks and give the man a chance to win...or lose...our trust. Speaking of Nebraska athletics...Incarnate Word? What the hell was that awful basketball performance? How did a good team get so crappy over several months? Any way you slice it that Cinderella story...long gone.
The guy I wanted in particular though, Jim McElwain, ended up at Florida. I think that's a great coaching hire by the Gators. Missouri has won the SEC East twice in a row but with McElwain in charge I'd say that little streak is in serious jeopardy.
Regarding the playoff matchups, be real. Alabama is the team to beat. Meyer is a good coach, Florida State is the defending champ and Oregon is perennially good but I really love Alabama's chances to win the whole thing. They have been trending upward for the past month, Sims is getting better with each game and Cooper's peaking right at the end of the season.
The scary part about Alabama in 2015 is that Blake Sims will be even better with a full offseason of development even though he loses Cooper...and LSU and Auburn will both be licking their wounds after down years. The only way I can see Auburn beating Bama next year is if they somehow get Muschamp. That could be an equalizer. And as for Lane Kiffin...Dead wrong about that one. Thought they would bust with his ego coming in. Not so.
As for the Big 12 teams being left out, the Big 12 did it to themselves in my opinion (and Ohio State played pretty well last game too). I have nothing against TCU or Baylor as I have many great friends from both schools, although I will say this: When you pay over $400,000 for the branding of the slogan "One True Champion" as the Big 12 did, then you name TCU and Baylor co-champs, get out of here with that. It's not Baylor or TCU's fault that they got left out, both had tremendous seasons. They should blame Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby and Big 12 administration for this one. Too bad because TCU could have played Alabama toe to toe.
One final Rockets thought: Team is 16-5 but still has a ways to go. 16-5 sounds good but only gets you tied for 4th in the Western Conference at that point...West is just ridiculous. 7th place team in the West is 17-7. Rockets need to get guys back healthy and beat the teams they are in contention with fairly regularly. 3-4 against the top 6 in the West this year isn't going to cut it...50 wins might only get you an 8 seed. Interestingly enough, the Rockets, even though they've made the NBA Finals four times and won two titles, have never won more than 58 games in a single season.
Until next time....
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Football and Other Misc. Sports Thoughts Dec. 2, 2014
Can't believe we are winding down yet another football season. Just a few thoughts to ponder on for this evening:
- I saw the new College Football Playoff rankings and all I can say is this: Regardless of what TCU does this weekend, if Baylor beats K-State (a top 10 team, by the way) then Baylor should be ahead of them in the final playoff rankings, period end of story. In my world, head-to-head victories should still count for something. Bottom line is this: Teams might finish with the same conference record, same overall record, virtually the same rankings wise and TCU's schedule isn't a whole lot greater than Baylor's. And by hook or by crook, Baylor won that game.
- As far as some predictions, here are some to chew on for this week: First off, Oregon won't lose to Arizona again. Oregon is hot, healthy and peaking and Arizona will have their full attention after losing the first time.
On Georgia Tech/FSU, I think the Noles win another close one but they better buckle up. Georgia Tech is another team that's peaking right at the end of the season and with their triple option they have the capability of keeping Jameis on the sidelines. This is as good an opportunity as Paul Johnson's team will have against an elite team like FSU so they will come out flying and confident, or they should anyways after beating UGA.
Wisconsin should take care of Ohio State, not just because of the third string QB deal but because Ohio State has trouble stopping the run and Gordon is the best back in the country. Too tough to ask Ohio State to win that one with all the factors working against them.
- Texans beat Tennessee to get to 6-6 and JJ Watt scores ANOTHER touchdown. Can we get him to play quarterback, by chance? Yeah I know Fitz had a great game but it was against Tennessee for Pete's sake.
Team better not go to sleep in Jacksonville by the way, who just beat the Giants this last week.
- Big game of the NFL this week is obviously Eagles/Seahawks, with both teams playing very well. I do think that Seattle, as I figured they would at some point, is starting to look more and more like the defending champions. That win in San Francisco last Thursday night was enormous.
- Finally, on the Nebraska situation, my thought is that situation is a damned if you do and a damned if you don't deal. Pelini was winning his games at a .700 clip, so it seems ridiculous on the surface and a damned if you do situation. But then again, it's a damned if you don't situation when you consider this was a coach who constantly got humiliated in big games (by 30 to 40 points) and constantly embarrassed himself on the sidelines like he did in that Badger game.
It would be different if he had made changes to his coaching staff, but it's year 7 and he never did.
My final thought on that situation is this: National championships don't grow on trees and it's a tough sell to think Nebraska can be a national championship contender in the future especially with the way the game is now. Not everyone can be Alabama, or FSU, or Oregon, or Ohio State. But it's not too much to ask to win a conference championship once in a while and not get embarrassed in games that matter. I understand the anger and the frustration from players and former players as Pelini was very close with the players. But they need to understand that programs such as this one absolutely cannot get embarrassed constantly in big games. One last parting thought: Eichorst did the right thing in pulling the trigger but the announcement on the next coach needs to come quickly.
Until next time....
- I saw the new College Football Playoff rankings and all I can say is this: Regardless of what TCU does this weekend, if Baylor beats K-State (a top 10 team, by the way) then Baylor should be ahead of them in the final playoff rankings, period end of story. In my world, head-to-head victories should still count for something. Bottom line is this: Teams might finish with the same conference record, same overall record, virtually the same rankings wise and TCU's schedule isn't a whole lot greater than Baylor's. And by hook or by crook, Baylor won that game.
- As far as some predictions, here are some to chew on for this week: First off, Oregon won't lose to Arizona again. Oregon is hot, healthy and peaking and Arizona will have their full attention after losing the first time.
On Georgia Tech/FSU, I think the Noles win another close one but they better buckle up. Georgia Tech is another team that's peaking right at the end of the season and with their triple option they have the capability of keeping Jameis on the sidelines. This is as good an opportunity as Paul Johnson's team will have against an elite team like FSU so they will come out flying and confident, or they should anyways after beating UGA.
Wisconsin should take care of Ohio State, not just because of the third string QB deal but because Ohio State has trouble stopping the run and Gordon is the best back in the country. Too tough to ask Ohio State to win that one with all the factors working against them.
- Texans beat Tennessee to get to 6-6 and JJ Watt scores ANOTHER touchdown. Can we get him to play quarterback, by chance? Yeah I know Fitz had a great game but it was against Tennessee for Pete's sake.
Team better not go to sleep in Jacksonville by the way, who just beat the Giants this last week.
- Big game of the NFL this week is obviously Eagles/Seahawks, with both teams playing very well. I do think that Seattle, as I figured they would at some point, is starting to look more and more like the defending champions. That win in San Francisco last Thursday night was enormous.
- Finally, on the Nebraska situation, my thought is that situation is a damned if you do and a damned if you don't deal. Pelini was winning his games at a .700 clip, so it seems ridiculous on the surface and a damned if you do situation. But then again, it's a damned if you don't situation when you consider this was a coach who constantly got humiliated in big games (by 30 to 40 points) and constantly embarrassed himself on the sidelines like he did in that Badger game.
It would be different if he had made changes to his coaching staff, but it's year 7 and he never did.
My final thought on that situation is this: National championships don't grow on trees and it's a tough sell to think Nebraska can be a national championship contender in the future especially with the way the game is now. Not everyone can be Alabama, or FSU, or Oregon, or Ohio State. But it's not too much to ask to win a conference championship once in a while and not get embarrassed in games that matter. I understand the anger and the frustration from players and former players as Pelini was very close with the players. But they need to understand that programs such as this one absolutely cannot get embarrassed constantly in big games. One last parting thought: Eichorst did the right thing in pulling the trigger but the announcement on the next coach needs to come quickly.
Until next time....
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