2021 NCAA Football Thread

[Hongbit]

4 hours ago, CMRivdogs said:

Seeing reports that Josh Gattis may be in the mix to replace Bronco Mendenhall at UVa

Clemson OC Tony Elliott has taken that job.

It will be interesting to see if Duke reaches out to Gattis and if that would interest him.    

[buddha]

56 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

Clemson OC Tony Elliott has taken that job.

It will be interesting to see if Duke reaches out to Gattis and if that would interest him.    

sounds like ucla might be coming open soon...

[CMRivdogs]

1 hour ago, Hongbit said:

Clemson OC Tony Elliott has taken that job.

It will be interesting to see if Duke reaches out to Gattis and if that would interest him.    

I saw he was on yesterday and wanted a day or so to decide. I guess he preferred UVA over Duke. This was after the OC from Penn St turned down the job.

I guess the board voting $$$ to upgrade facilities helped sway him.

Now if they can find a decent defensive coordinator.

[Hongbit]

1 hour ago, buddha said:

sounds like ucla might be coming open soon...

Maybe not.   Crazy that a high tier school like Oregon would hire a 35 year old coordinator that’s never been a head coach.  
 

UPDATE:  Portland media refuting the Atlanta report.  
 

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by Hongbit

[Hongbit]

I wonder what is going on in Dabo’s head.   In the course of a week, he’s lost his AD and both coordinators.    I think he’s a year to late but it will be interesting to see if he gets any NFL interest or not.   

[MichiganCardinal]

4 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

But what does that mean? We know that the outcome of single game between two teams does not really resolve which team is 'better' in any general sense. If UM played OSU each week for 10 weeks I would not put a nickel on Michigan winning 5 or more.  So of course if 12 teams play the outcome is going to have a high degree of randomness overlaying what ever 'real' difference there is in the quality of the teams. The initial idea of the tournament was to resolve the argument between which of the *small* number of teams that might all have some level of support for deserving the overall championship, i.e., those that got 1st place votes in a split poll. There is no way there are any number of people are contending the #12 team may really be the best in the country. There are reasons for having tournaments ($$$) but widening the tournament in football will just dilute the degree to which its winner is going to be the team most people believe is the best team - so that is not the reason this one will expand. The expanded playoff just moves you closer to the situation like the baseball playoff, where the winner is no-more than the team on the best short term run. The Braves may have won the WS, but would any sane baseball person exchange take the 2021 Braves in for the 2021 Dodgers or Giants?

It makes for a better, more exciting postseason for more participants. For the same reason conference championships aren't decided by pure standings anymore, and the #1 ranked team isn't just crowned National Champion. To your last question, why even have a postseason if that is our attitude? Crown the Dodgers or Giants champions. We don't do that though, because they were good, but they didn't win the games that mattered (more). I'd much rather see a team on the (very relative) outskirts make a shocking run than watch another Clemson/Alabama National Championship game.

Is NCAA football really so different from all other sports that only 6% of all participating schools (only counting the Power 5) should be so fortunate and so good that they are considered "good enough" to ultimately compete for a championship? I'm not saying it should become like the NBA, where more than half the teams make it and first round games are often practical bye weeks for the better portion of the league. But expanding it a little bit (12 teams would be a little under 19%) I think would allow for more excitement and more meaning for more teams. The NFL includes about 44% for context.

I think seeing what Utah could do, coming off routs of Oregon, would be interesting. Could they beat Alabama or Georgia? Probably not, but maybe. Likewise with Notre Dame as much as I hate them. They're 11-1, and were a different team in the second half of their season compared with when they lost to Cincy. Are they better on any given Saturday now than Cincinnati? I'd watch that rematch in a game that mattered long before I watch Notre Dame play Oklahoma State in a Fiesta Bowl that's made up where the points don't matter (and all the NFL prospects sit anyway).

FWIW I don't think as much randomness would sneak in with a 3-4 round format as can in the NCAA basketball format. When I ran it through in my head, I thought the 5-8 seeds would win all of their first round games and the NC game would be between two of Alabama/Michigan/Georgia, unless Ohio State upset Alabama.

[MichiganCardinal]

2 hours ago, Hongbit said:

Maybe not.   Crazy that a high tier school like Oregon would hire a 35 year old coordinator that’s never been a head coach.  

I don't think it's that crazy if you feel like you've found a guy that you think can recruit and win from the drop of a hat. I think it's more crazy to hire someone from a school 2600-some miles away who won't have any ties to really important West Coast recruiting channels. For one, they'll have a hard time catching up, and for another there will be no allegiance if he is any good. 

Looks like it could still be happening.

 

[gehringer_2]

47 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

It makes for a better, more exciting postseason for more participants.

All, true. Long story short: I didn't say there weren't reasons for a tournament, only that a larger tournament would do less to determine which of the consensus elite teams was the best. That was supposedly the original motivation for instituting the current championship playoff. It was just too terrible to have to contemplate the possibility of two different schools finishing at the top of the two polls. Mich/Neb must never happen again! 

Now of course that is only one reason for a playoff. Whether it's best one or the only one is in the eye of the beholder.... A 12 team tournament may have any number of virtues, but resolving the old split poll situation to pick "the best" team from the one or two that rose to the top during the season isn't one of them.

[buddha]

5 hours ago, Hongbit said:

I wonder what is going on in Dabo’s head.   In the course of a week, he’s lost his AD and both coordinators.    I think he’s a year to late but it will be interesting to see if he gets any NFL interest or not.   

more concerning to dabo is the allowance of nfi money.  now clemson cant ridiculously cheat and pay more than everyone else, which is how dabo got his recruiting advantages.

[lordstanley]

As expected, Bryce Young wins the Heisman. Hutchinson second. 
 

I know no one gets t-shirts for Heisman Runner-up, but pretty remarkable rise for Hutchinson considering he hadn’t been anywhere in the conversation until the OSU game. 
 

https://www.maizenbrew.com/football/2021/12/11/22830034/michigan-football-aidan-hutchinson-heisman-results

 

https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/college-football/heisman-trophy-odds/

Edited December 12, 2021 by lordstanley

[casimir]

So,....... how does one handle the 2021 Gator Bowl swag featuring Texas A&M?

Rutgers to fill Texas A&M's spot in Gator Bowl after COVID-19 issues force Aggies to withdraw, per report

Quote

 

No. 25 Texas A&M won't have enough players to compete in the Gator Bowl because of a COVID-19 outbreak within the program that has reportedly left the Aggies with only 38 healthy players. As a result, Rutgers is expected to take Texas A&M's place for Dec. 31 matchup against No. 17 Wake Forest, according to NJ.com.

"We are disappointed that Texas A&M University and the Aggie fans will be unable to represent the Southeastern Conference in Jacksonville at this year's TaxSlayer Gator Bowl game," said TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Chairman John Duce in a statement. "However, the health and safety of the student-athletes, coaches and staff remains our primary concern."

Rutgers earned the right of first refusal because it has the highest Academic Progress Rate (APR) among the football teams that finished 5-7. The NCAA's oversight committee will meet Thursday, at which time it is expected to formally approve the Scarlet Knights for bowl eligibility once administrative details such as player safety protocols are finalized.

The Scarlet Knights have not appeared in a bowl game since the 2014 Quick Lane Bowl. 

An uptick in COVID-19 cases nationally due to a combination of the Delta and Omicron variants has proved disruptive to the sports world. Dozens of college basketball games have been canceled in recent weeks amid the spread and it now appears college football's bowl season will not make it through unscathed by the ongoing pandemic. 

Texas A&M's sudden withdrawal left the Gator Bowl scrambling to find an opponent with less than 10 days before kickoff. All options were on the table at one point, including pursuing teams that had already played in a bowl game, according to Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel. 

A Gator Bowl victory would have sent the Aggies into the offseason with some momentum after they struggled in the season's final month with losses to Ole Miss and LSU sandwiched around a win against Prairie View A&M. The Aggies' last win vs. an FBS opponent came on Nov. 6 against Auburn. Rutgers finished the season with two straight losses, including a 40-16 loss to Maryland in the season finale.

Wake Forest will attempt to tie its all-time record of 11 wins that it set in 2006 with a victory.

 

 

[Fox Wismic]

Sources -- Oversight committee to discuss Rutgers Scarlet Knights as possible Gator Bowl opponent for Wake Forest Demon Deacons (espn.com)

It's beyond ridiculous when we have 6-7 and 5-7 teams in Bowl games. They need to change the criteria either to 7 wins or at least over .500. They went through the trouble to create an extra Bowl to accommodate a 6-7 team. Now they are looking for a 5-7 team to fill in this spot.

[Fox Wismic]

IMO an 8 game playoff, using existing Bowls on a rotating basis, would be best.

No more than 8 teams have a legitimate claim at the NC. #10 might complain they are better than #8, but they can't complain they are better than #1. The NC is decided on the field, by the teams who have a legit shot. And it doesn't cheapen the regular season.

I would do away with conference title games. A football season is too short for that. In the Big Ten every year we have the best team, be it 0$u, UM, msu, Penn St, with a 10-1 record playing the team in the other division at 7-4. That team (WI, IA) usually wouldn't be higher than 3rd in UM's division. That would save a game for whichever teams win in the natty playoffs.

But if they don't do away with conference title games, teams who think they have a realistic shot at the NC can schedule one less game so they are not overstretched if they make the playoffs.

An 8 team field gives 7 games, four 1st round games, two semis, and the NC game. The major Bowls can rotate the latter two rounds and other Bowls can rotate into the first round. What Bowl wouldn't love to be part of that?

You could go 10-12 teams (and give top seeds a bye) or 16 team playoffs, but that's overkill. Plus the bye might hurt the best teams rather than help. A hot team like Michigan would've put a beatdown on somebody now, but they get three weeks to cool off as a "reward". Plus you'd need a 4 game playoff after a 10 game season. That's top heavy. Like baseball having a 75 game post-season after their 162. The regular season becomes meaningless, like in NHL or NBA.

[casimir]

3 hours ago, Fox Wismic said:

Sources -- Oversight committee to discuss Rutgers Scarlet Knights as possible Gator Bowl opponent for Wake Forest Demon Deacons (espn.com)

It's beyond ridiculous when we have 6-7 and 5-7 teams in Bowl games. They need to change the criteria either to 7 wins or at least over .500. They went through the trouble to create an extra Bowl to accommodate a 6-7 team. Now they are looking for a 5-7 team to fill in this spot.

I don’t see the issue with replacing Texas A&M in the bowl game.  Why make Wake Forest skip out on a bowl game after the season that they’ve had?  Why make the fans looking for a vacation skip out on it?

I agree, I think there are too many bowl games.  But I simply watch the ones that I want to and avoid the ones that I don’t, and I seem to manage just fine.  Ultimately they’re all exhibitions anyway and only 4 teams go to the playoffs.  If other people want to watch these other bowl games, what do I care?

[Fox Wismic]

6 hours ago, casimir said:

I don’t see the issue with replacing Texas A&M in the bowl game.  Why make Wake Forest skip out on a bowl game after the season that they’ve had?  Why make the fans looking for a vacation skip out on it?

If they wouldn't have created an extra Bowl game, out-of-thin-air, to accommodate a 6-7 team, they would now have a replacement for Wake Forest to play.

Bowls are supposed to be rewards for winning teams. 6-6 teams are not winning teams. 6-7 teams are not winning teams. 5-7 teams certainly aren't.

[Tiger337]

7 hours ago, casimir said:

I agree, I think there are too many bowl games.  But I simply watch the ones that I want to and avoid the ones that I don’t, and I seem to manage just fine.  Ultimately they’re all exhibitions anyway and only 4 teams go to the playoffs.  If other people want to watch these other bowl games, what do I care?

Before they had playoffs, being in a Bowl Game was the award for a good season.  Now they don't mean much, so what does it matter if they have .500 teams in games?  It's a short season and this gives fans another game to watch.  If someone doesn't want to watch, nobody is forcing them to do so.  

[casimir]

10 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Before they had playoffs, being in a Bowl Game was the award for a good season.  Now they don't mean much, so what does it matter if they have .500 teams in games?  It's a short season and this gives fans another game to watch.  If someone doesn't want to watch, nobody is forcing them to do so.  

Apparently someone (maybe the government?) is forcing Stan to watch them.

[MichiganCardinal]

I'm not opposed to bowl games generally, but I am opposed to having them being made out to being the pinnacle of a season, at least for Power Five schools.

If you're Central/Eastern/Western Michigan, Marshall, Fresno State, Coastal Carolina, etc., your chances of putting together a 22-1 run like Cincinnati has, with the luck falling in their favor to give the committee no choice, are no more than a pipe dream. Bowl games can be a good incentive for those teams to get to travel, make the school and conference some money, and gain an experience. Even if the playoff model eventually becomes something like I want, with one Group of 5 champion built in, a lot of teams won't ever come close to reaching that (and would be curb stomped if they ever did). They deserve the bowl games to hang their hat on and to show recruits.

If you're a true contender though, or aspire yourself to be one, it's time to stop pretending like the (Insert Brand Here) Bowl means anything if it's not a playoff game. Its importance is no more than a preseason game.

[Fox Wismic]

In one of the threads here, we were talking about players dropping out of their Bowl game. Jake Butt gives both sides of the issue: 

 

[Motor City Sonics]

Well, here we are in the 4th quarter of the playoff game and with 7 minutes and 44 seconds left Cincinnati is leading Alabama 27 to 13 and there is a delay in the game, we are not sure why.

 

Wait, what's this?   Apparently some new testing has shown the entire Cincinnati team has COViD and will not be allowed to finish the game.   Oh, wow, what a stunning development.   Alabama is declared the winner by forfeit and since the Michigan-Georgia game had to be cancelled, Alabama is the National Champion.    Wow, what a great job by Nick Saban.

[lordstanley]

Auburn lost to Houston to bring the SEC’s bowl record to 0-3. Texas Tech currently leads Miss St 10-0 still in the 1st quarter. 

[casimir]

On 12/28/2021 at 7:26 PM, lordstanley said:

Auburn lost to Houston to bring the SEC’s bowl record to 0-3. Texas Tech currently leads Miss St 10-0 still in the 1st quarter. 

I don't know if conference bowl records mean anything anymore.  Its kind of silly season when you factor in variables like coaching changes and players sitting out bowl games (I understand the business decision). 

Now add in the the shifting of teams from one bowl to another because of COVID, like 5-7 Rutgers facing 10-2 Wake Forest (maybe, if it happens).  Under normal circumstances, when would a 5-7 B1G team face a 10-2 ACC team in a major bowl game?

It was probably more of a pride thing before.  Maybe it still is for smaller conferences.  But as for the bigger conferences, as long as they get more of the bigger bowl game invitations (ie, money), they're probably less focused on the actual bowl game results outside of the playoffs.

[Hongbit]

The bowls continue to exist mainly because it’s a great racket for the lucky few that are paid between $400k and $1M for the job of putting on a single football game a year.    They also get free first class travel wherever they want under the guise of scouting out potential invitees.  Most these lucky CEO’s already had big influence either in college sports, fundraising, or lobbying so they already had great skill at making themselves look important while doing very little.  

[romad1]

18 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

The bowls continue to exist mainly because it’s a great racket for the lucky few that are paid between $400k and $1M for the job of putting on a single football game a year.    They also get free first class travel wherever they want under the guise of scouting out potential invitees.  Most these lucky CEO’s already had big influence either in college sports, fundraising, or lobbying so they already had great skill at making themselves look important while doing very little.  

College football is an entertaining game to fill the holiday hours when you'd rather not talk to your relatives about their drinking or how much of a stupid name they gave their baby. 

[buddha]

3 hours ago, Hongbit said:

The bowls continue to exist mainly because it’s a great racket for the lucky few that are paid between $400k and $1M for the job of putting on a single football game a year.    They also get free first class travel wherever they want under the guise of scouting out potential invitees.  Most these lucky CEO’s already had big influence either in college sports, fundraising, or lobbying so they already had great skill at making themselves look important while doing very little.  

1.71 million people watched the Camellia Bowl on xmas day.  it even outdrew one of the nba games.

that's why the bowls will continue to exist: americans watch football.  a lot.