College Football 2023-2024

[Pariah]

I've been calling it the $EC for years.

 

A¢¢ seems appropriate as well, as it is a two-bit conference. The recent additions of Cal, Stanford, and SMU have done nothing to change my opinion in this regard.

[unclevlad]

No argument that Cal and Stanford add nothing but frequent flier miles on the football side of things...

[unclevlad]

So, Connor Stalions is the point man behind the whole Michigan sign-stealing scandal.

 

He resigned.  Note was he said, no, Harbaugh didn't tell him to do it.  By and large, he's throwing himself under the bus....

 

....but it's too little, too late, IMO.  It's also too much in service of the program to be given too much weight.  If Harbaugh did order it, well, of course, that would be Really Bad.  But even if he didn't, he's still responsible for overall oversight.  This is on top of the recruiting violations, which may lead to the broader charges like lack of institutional control, and notably harsher punishments.

 

The part that's key to me is how long this all takes...not that I expect the NCAA to get anything done in a timely manner.  It may fall back to the conference.  Given that Michigan is firmly in the CFP picture, and given that the accusations translate directly to onfield performance, speed is critical.

[unclevlad]

Drat.  SO close.  K-State gives Texas all it could handle, coming back.  2 big mistakes on special teams...premature snap on an extra point with the game tied at 27, missed FG to take the lead with the same score.

 

Goes to OT.  Texas held to FG.  K-State's first play gets 19...first and goal on the 6.  But Texas has the size edge;  K-State was having problems in short yardage all game.  Nothing on 2nd, nothing on 3rd.  They decide to go for the win on 4th...in Austin?  Always debatable, but hey, also reasonable on the road against a higher-ranked team.  One play for the win.....

 

...and the pass rush blows the play up.

 

Sigh.  

 

OTOH, Notre Dame bites the dust...again.  Yeahh baby!  Clemson's season isn't going anywhere so it's not all that mixed.  And OK State forces OU into a FG with 5 minutes left, now trying to run out the clock.  They don't...but then they stop OU on downs well before coming into FG range.  Yeah baby #2!!!!  Later, Sooners!!!

<sigh>  And ESPN is putting Colorado on TV...again.  Well, it's a Pac 12 after dark...10 PM Eastern kick.  They got lucky, too...weather in Boulder looks to be glorious.  Around 50 at kickoff...when it could easily be 10 degrees or more cooler.  Yeah...average low is actually 31 for this part of November, forecast is 45.

 

EDIT...quick note.  Defense Optional game about to start on ABC.  Huskies-Trojans.  Over-under?  75.5.  FUN!

[unclevlad]

2 hours ago, unclevlad said:

Drat.  SO close.  K-State gives Texas all it could handle, coming back.  2 big mistakes on special teams...premature snap on an extra point with the game tied at 27, missed FG to take the lead with the same score.

 

Goes to OT.  Texas held to FG.  K-State's first play gets 19...first and goal on the 6.  But Texas has the size edge;  K-State was having problems in short yardage all game.  Nothing on 2nd, nothing on 3rd.  They decide to go for the win on 4th...in Austin?  Always debatable, but hey, also reasonable on the road against a higher-ranked team.  One play for the win.....

 

...and the pass rush blows the play up.

 

Sigh.  

 

OTOH, Notre Dame bites the dust...again.  Yeahh baby!  Clemson's season isn't going anywhere so it's not all that mixed.  And OK State forces OU into a FG with 5 minutes left, now trying to run out the clock.  They don't...but then they stop OU on downs well before coming into FG range.  Yeah baby #2!!!!  Later, Sooners!!!

<sigh>  And ESPN is putting Colorado on TV...again.  Well, it's a Pac 12 after dark...10 PM Eastern kick.  They got lucky, too...weather in Boulder looks to be glorious.  Around 50 at kickoff...when it could easily be 10 degrees or more cooler.  Yeah...average low is actually 31 for this part of November, forecast is 45.

 

EDIT...quick note.  Defense Optional game about to start on ABC.  Huskies-Trojans.  Over-under?  75.5.  FUN!

EDIT2:  Under bettors probably are regretting it already.  35-28 Huskies...at halftime.

 

[unclevlad]

Washington polishes off USC.  It's a top 25 win on the road for now, but this'll drop USC out of the top 25.  

 

Lack of defense bites you in the backside.  Washington gains 572.  One TO, one punt.  6 TD drives of 70+ yards.

 

Elsewhere...my, I didn't expect it, as Michigan State's obviously having a rough season...but they knock off Nebraska.  Always makes for a good day.  

[Cancer]

Would you have taken the over in the UW-U$C game if it had been set at 90?

[Pariah]

BYU got waxed in Austin a week ago, losing 35-6 (the same score by which archrival Utah lost the Oregon, so that's something). That wasn't entirely unexpected. But they followed it up with a 37-7 beatdown from West Virginia in Morgantown last night, in a game that really wasn't that close. The Cougars looked lifeless. Poor tackling, dropped passes, basically no protection from the O-line. Maybe the rigors of a full P5 schedule are catching up with BYU.

 

The Cougars now stand at 5-4, needing one more win for bowl eligibility. Their last three games are home to Iowa State next week, home to Oklahoma, and on the road at Oklahoma State to finish the season. The Iowa State game looks winnable, I'm not so sure about the other two. BYU will almost certainly finish their inaugural Big XII season with a losing conference record and no conference road wins. But a bowl bid would be a better outcome than most people predicted in August. 

[Pariah]

The so-called Border War, Colorado State vs. Wyoming, happened Friday night in Laramie. CSU kept it close for a half, then let the Cowboys pull away in the second half. Pretty much the same story as the Air Force game the previous week. CSU now stands at 3-6 and needs to win out for a bowl bid. The good news for the Rams is that they have home games against San Diego State and Nevada and a road game against Hawaii, all of whom have been disappointing at best this season. So I'm saying there's a chance....

 

Speaking of Air Force, I have no idea what happened to them at Mile High against Army. The Falcons couldn't string together more than two or three good plays all afternoon. Army is now the prohibitive favorite to win back the Commander in Chief's Trophy, because Navy just sucks. (Which is fine with me after the way they unceremoniously sacked Ken Niumatalolo at the end of last season.)

 

I also hear that Colorado lost to Oregon State, but I didn't see any of it and haven't bothered to look up the score or the story. CU is done for the year. 

[unclevlad]

Colorado's offense was miserable for most of the game, is what it was.

 

Comments during the game...there's things that the coach can do to help a team, but Prime isn't doing them.  Pretty much read like a knock on his ability to actually *coach*.  The team's also beat up, I think, which is likely in part due to lack of depth.

 

 

[Starlord]

[unclevlad]

Yeah, Michigan's defense posture...hey, all our opponents share the signs they decode!!!...is pretty pathetic.  At this point, I'm seriously rooting for Penn State and Ohio State to crush them.

[Pariah]

Well, that would certainly hasten Harbaugh's departure and subsequent hiring by the Raiders....

[Starlord]

4 hours ago, Pariah said:

Well, that would certainly hasten Harbaugh's departure and subsequent hiring by the Raiders....

 

Why you gotta do Old Man like that, dude?

[unclevlad]

Because hiring Harbaugh's a VERY Mark Davis-esque move.

 

Mr. P didn't say what he should've said...that Harbaugh and Davis are a match made.......somewhere...........

[unclevlad]

Oh dear...

 

Virginia-Louisville may turn into a major upset.  Late 3rd, Virginia's tied things up with 2 quick TDs.  Ball back, play to a back...he gets stood up, then SMACKED.  

Ball comes loose...but another Virginia player scoops it up to run it in for a TD.

 

The "oh dear" is that that SMACK was helmet to helmet...when the kid was totally helpless.  It looked totally accidental but...on the replay, where a camera showed it cleanly...really, really, REALLY bad.

 

As in, while the play was still going, but the action was totally away from the kid...the trainers were running on.  EDIT:  Matthew Barrie is pointing out...the play was near the Louisville sideline, and it was Louisville's trainers that ran out first.

 

He's been down now for a good 5-7 minutes.  Head's been immobilized.  He's about to be put onto the cart, and almost certainly going straight to the hospital.  They're taking things VERY!!!!!!!!!! carefully.

 

 

[unclevlad]

Oh my gosh...it's been a LONG time since I saw this...

33-28 Washington, late 3rd.  Utah has the ball;  they throw a pick.  Couple blocks spring the DB, one downfield block and he's free and clear.

 

And he simply lets go of the ball *clearly* shy of the end zone.  

 

A Utah player falls on it.  First down, Utah.

 

The consolation prize:  Washington defense gets the RB in the end zone on the next play, for a safety.  

 

Elsewhere, OK State got nailed by a trap game...after taking out OU, they travel to new member Central Florida...and get *spanked*.  45-3 right now, with 9 minutes left.  UCF has destroyed the OSU secondary, by the box score...as in, 10/17 for 290.  UCF's only had 4 players get a reception...but each one has at least one for 35+.

 

Finally...the under bettors are real happy so far.  12-0 Iowa, they got it down to a 1st and goal...but lost 9 on 2nd.  So, just another FG.  15-0 Iowa, with about 6 minutes left.  The O/U, last I saw, was 27.5, IIRC...altho apparently there was STILL heavy action on the under so it may have shifted again.   And Rutgers has run 37 plays so far (Iowa, 67) for 127 yards, so that Under is looking rather good.....

[Pariah]

BYU currently has one offensive play and two turnovers. The trail Iowa State 10-0 about three and a half minutes into the game. Not an auspicious start.

[unclevlad]

Eh, BYU just wanted to make sure you didn't have to stay up past your bed time.

 

[unclevlad]

Oh, the burn...

 

Tim Brando, as Fox goes to commercial..."Hey, history made tonight...a Trojan stop on defense!"

[Pariah]

Warning shot across the bow? Saber rattling? Sound and fury, signifying nothing?

 

Michigan Discussed Leaving Big Ten Over Handling of Sign-Stealing Probe, per Source

 

Hypothetically? If Michigan were to leave the B1G, would Ohio State follow? Michigan State? Penn State? Might we see a group of long time core Big Ten members defect and form their own conference, like what happened a generation ago with the 16-team WAC that led to the formation of the Mountain West? Or is it just too much money to walk away from?

 

Fun to think about.

[unclevlad]

53 minutes ago, Pariah said:

Warning shot across the bow? Saber rattling? Sound and fury, signifying nothing?

 

 

The whining of spoiled, petulant brats.  I'd better stop there;  this isn't the political thread.

[unclevlad]

Ari Wasserman in The Athletic this morning:

 

Quote

Michigan is lining up lawyers to fight this in court. While I understand the notion that the penalty was premature — again, I wrote that it was four days ago — I’m not sure the public should take the bait that Michigan is a victim here. You know how you don’t get punished? By not having a staffer develop an illegal sign-stealing scheme that included buying tickets for peers to record future opponents’ signals. Or by not having that staffer (probably) dress up in Central Michigan coaching attire and standing on the sideline for the Michigan State game.

 

The axes are nice and sharp right now.

Andy Avalos is out at Boise State.  22-14 over the last 3 years, and not going in a positive direction.  

Jimbo Fisher had a *massive* contract, consistently has recruited well...and only turned that into high-level success in the pandemic season.  Still not good enough...and 5-7 this year.  So he's out.

 

And they have to pay...and pay...and pay........

 

A tick under $78 million.  No typo.  The Athletic points out, his assistants have to be bought out as well, so they estimate the total will be around $125 million.

 

But hey, chump change.  The boosters will find it, no problem.  And the TV money.

 

And they want us to buy the players are amateurs.

 

EDIT:  The Athletic has a column about it.  Dabo Swinney...James Franklin...Mel Tucker...all had insane, totally one-sided contracts.  That's why it was important for Michigan State to fire Tucker for cause, and why it'll absolutely go to court.  The article's point:

 

Quote

But also: Who exactly was Clemson competing with when it gave Dabo that monstrous contract? Did it think he was going to leave for another job if it gave him only $105 million instead of $115 million?

 

But it also says a great deal about where our sports obsession has taken us...that even the possibility exists, and is considered real enough to drive these moves.

[unclevlad]

Another reason to be...uncharitable with Michigan.

 

I'd forgotten this, but in Feb. '22...Juwan Howard, their men's basketball head coach, got suspended for 5 games for taking a swing at an opponent's assistant coach.

 

So, this is now the 3rd incident with either their most important coaches, or their most important teams.  In a pretty narrow span.  Reasonable minds may differ, but to me...that's lack of institutional control.

[Pariah]

Oregon State, Washington State, Mountain West discussing scheduling partnership, potential future merger

 

Also of note from the article: 

Quote

Earlier this week, Oregon State and Washington State won an important victory in Whitman County (Washington) court. A judge granted the "Pac-2" schools a preliminary injunction, making them the only voting members of the Pac-12 board. The decision could give the two schools access to Pac-12 revenue from the Rose Bowl, March Madness payouts and more totaling as much as $500 million.