College Football 2011-12

Thanks for not picking against Michigan. Now we are sure to lose. I was looking forward to that unbeaten season too.

 

Fair enough Joe. I harbor some old resentment to him from his DC days at OU.

Your post got me to thinking about the symmetry between the football teams of our 2 schools. Both hit their glory years in the late 80's & the 90's through dominant defenses. Both fell behind with some disastrous coaching hires and have been massive underachievers over the last decade.

Don't know if I've mentioned this one, but I was at the AZ/UDub game in Seattle that garnered you a Play of the Decade nomination. It was the play when Jenkins flipped over 2 UW defenders for the winning td with no time remaining.

 

Matt, scoring a bunch of points is fun in all, but I miss the great Wrecking Crew and Desert Swarm D's (now those were some nicknames). Cool you were in Seattle for 'The Leap', your mention made me go to youtube to watch it again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIwiYG1DSM8 (wish there was game audio and not the Van Halen song)

Almost went w/Maryland over Clemson as my upset special, but Clemson's amazing comeback eased my regret.

Michigan State's D and the 30-40 mph winds shut down Michigan.

Ducks lose Heisman candidate rb before the game, their QB during the game and they keep it rolling behind a couple of freshman.

 

Matt, I was with you on the State/South Carolina game. I was at the Auburn/Florida game this weekend, so didn't see it before. then again, I also thought Florida and Michigan would win this weekend as well.

As far as Mike Stoops. After living in Oklahoma, I've never really respected him all that much. When Arizona hired him, i thought it was a bad hire. I guess from where Arizona was though, he maybe did alright. But it was always apparent at OU that big brother was the one that had the smarts. mike will end up as a DC somewhere and probably be pretty good. not sure Head Coach is where he belongs

 

Arizona throttles UCLA and now it's the Bruin fans calling for the coach's head. The cloud was lifted when Stoops was fired, and Neuheisel could be the next to go.

Games of the Week (add the game of importance to you)

#20 Auburn at #1 LSU. Key players suspended for LSU including the great defensive back Mathieu who is as good a playmaker there is in college. Good thing the game is being played in Death Valley.

#6 Wisconsin at #16 Michigan Srate. Sparty's D is legit, Whisky has had a soft schedule aside from Nebraska, but is always well coached. I think Russell WIlson and the Badgers go in there and win a close one.

#25 Washington at #8 Stanford. The Cardinal has not played anyone yet. The Huskies are getting better and better. If the game was in Seattle this might be my "upset alert", but it's in Palo Alto. Stanford to win going away late.

USC at Notre Dame. Classic college football rivalry. History, tradition, the Golden Dome, Fight On, etc. Under the lights in South Bend. I'll take the Irish against a super young but talented Trojan squad.

Upset Alert; Hard to find one, but I'll go with Syracuse at home over #15 West Virginia.

 

What a difference a week makes, eh Joe? Neuheisel is another one of those guys who is better as a co-ordinator than HC and his team absolutely collapsed last night. His AD gave him the dreaded vote of confidence today, so he's toast at the end of the year.

Auburn @ LSU will probably be closer than expected, just b/c Auburn has a way of hanging around in games. But I think the Tigers (Geaux, not Go) have too much defensively and will win it.

I have a hard time saying anything in the B1G is "legit" this year. But I agree with Wisconsin in a close one. If this one were an early kickoff, I'd like the upset but not at night.

I love what Sark has done with the Washington offense, but their defense is brutal. The Snarlin Pups of Montlake can probably stay in a shootout for a half, but the Cardinal will pull away in the 2nd half.

I couldn't care less about SC/ND but I think the Irish have enough on both sides of the ball to beat Kiffin's team. There's yet another PAC 12 hire I never understood. Unless they were just looking for a caretaker they knew would be easy to jettison on the other side of the NCAA sanctions.

The upset specials are lean this week, but I'll go with Northwestern at home against #21 Penn St. Keep an eye on Okie St @ Mizzou. That could be more interesting than expected (early kickoff/shared coaching tree).

My Ags have a layup this week up in Ames. This game never makes tv, but thanks to Corn and Buff leaving (and some byes), we're in the 3:30 ABC regional slot.

 

Managed to catch the ending of the WIsconsin/MSU & Oklahoma/Texas Tech games, and what a heartbreaking loss for Whiskey to lose it on the Hail Mary. "Taco Tech" (great nickname Matt) goes in and dominates OU for 3 quarters before holding on for the monster upset. The fans in Boise, Clemson, and the brie eaters in Palo Alto had to be loving it.

 

Some great conference matchups before the big one next week (LSU/Alabama)

#11 Michigan State at #14 Nebraska. Another tough game for MSU (Ohio St, Michigan, and Wisconsin consecutively). Have to give the edge to the Huskers in Lincoln.

#22 Georgia and Florida in Jacksonville. The annual 'Biggest Cocktail Party in the World" where the stadium is half and half. Neither team is any good, but it's a spectacle. Mark RIcht has to win this game or it might be curtains for him as Georgia's coach.

#9 Oklahoma at #8 Kansas State. Again, Bill Synder (K State) might be the best coach in American sports in the last 30 years. Based on talent, the Sooners should bounce back and win.

** Upset alerts in the BCS (I think both teams will survive, but no surprise if they lose)

#5 Clemson at Georgia Tech. Tech is well coached, but their achilles heel w/that offense is if they fall behind. Can Clemson contain Tech's running game?

#6 Stanford at #20 USC. Until Jim Harbaurgh decided to go for a 2 point conversion up 30 with 5 minutes to go a couple of years ago, there was no rivalry. Last year was intense and was the game of the year in the conference, w/Stanford sneaking out the win. The Coliseum is sold out. College Game Day is here. Andrew Luck and the improving Matt Barkley on display. This will be a great football game, and for the Trojans, it's their BCS game.

 

The night games went about the way one might expect on the weekend before All Hallow's Eve. GT knocked off Clemson easily. I'm actually surprised Clemson avoided the slip-up as long as they did. SC almost took out Stanford. I still don't know why that receiver didn't go down so they could use their t.o. and attempt a winning fg in regulation. It was shades of tu/Nebr and Colt McCoy going out of bounds in the B12 Championship game a couple years ago. And of course, Wisconsin was done in again on a deep ball late.

The day started off badly with my Ags blowing yet another double digit halftime lead to lose in OT in an SEC preview with Missouri. I won't go so far as to say Sherman isn't the answer, but I think he needs to bring in an OC with college experience and stick with just being the HC on gamedays.

I wasn't surprised in the least to see Zero U curb-stomp KSt. KSt is a good team, but they're not a top 10 team and OU was going to come out angry after that embarrassment against Tech. Speaking of the sandfleas, they got skunked by Iowa St and held without a passing td in a game for the first time in 5 years. The question now is, who falls faster, KSt from the BCS rankings or RG3 from the Heisman race?

In addition, Vandy almost (and should have) bagged #10 Arkansas, #11 Michigan St got spanked by the Corn, and even #12 VaTech got a scare from the Dukies. Crazy day in college ball.

Joe, hearing several rumors about Leach to Arizona in these parts. Thoughts?

 

Matt, a couple of buddies and I have been going back and forth on Leach. With no attachment to any Big 12 school I liked his attitude and amazed he could win in an outpost like Lubbock. His record speaks for itself, and I know he would win in Tucson. BUT...he is a different kind of guy, it ended very strangely at Taco Tech (maybe you can tell me if he was blackballed or deserving to get booted). The other thing that bothers me is that it seemed that defense was something he had to put up with before his offense got the ball back. I'm also concerned that he wouldn't recruit in California and just depend on Texas like Stoops did.

Leach will be in Tucson this week for some event and has come right out and expressed interest. Considering that I just want to go to the Rose Bowl once before I die I would be willing to roll the dice. The other rumor going around (because the AD and he worked together) is Chris Peterson of Boise State. I don't think it has a snowball's chance in hell of happening, but w/the new tv money meaning we can pay the big bucks, and if BSU gets left out of that he might be able to be pried away.

SC was the better team on the day, but the score is what matters. Stanford was better last year, and Luck really misses his 2 great WRs who are playing in the NFL.

T-minus 5 days until LSU at Alabama in what should be a throwback to when great D's ruled the land.

 

Joe, I read that Peterson turned it down. I've also heard that he's talked to Dan Mullen at Miss State. I think he previously hired him there.

On a different note, I'm heading to the CU/USC game friday night in Boulder. 27 and possible snow. Knowing my luck, Lane Kiffin will be his typical self, I'll have to sit through the whole game and USC will win by less than a touchdown. Then we'll go back to the bar, complain about how bad CU is/will be for the next three years. I sure do love me some football.

 

I knew Peterson was a pipe dream, why would you leave Boise to go to a basketball school? I heard Mullen's name also, but not sure if his style is suited to the west coast.

Have a great time in Boulder, my brother traveled up there for the Oregon-CU game and said he had a blast. Really shocking how far the Buffs have fallen to the point of not even competing in games (of course they do get to play Arizona at home, so there's hope). I know you have southern roots, who do you like in the LSU-Alabama matchup?

 

I think Alabama will take it. Not even comparing teams, they're at home and Saban lost to LSU last year. as long as he has 11 players on either side of the ball, I can't see Bama losing this one.

From a comparison stand point, I think it will be a great game to watch. Alabama can't throw the ball really. LSU has a great run defense. Alabama just has a great D all the way around. I guess that means physical and who can survive. I'll take bama -4.

 

On boulder, I'm just ready for it to be over. I have season tix, but will miss the Arizona game to catch Southern Miss/Central Florida back in Mississippi. I know it's easy to blame the previous coaches, but Hawkins really sank this team and it's traditions. he removed all trophies, awards and memorabilia from the athletic center. Wanted them to have their own identity. Embree has come in and tried to restore some traditions, they just have no talent right now. I think it will be at least two years before they are competitive again

 

Hawkins didn't work out at all after leaving Boise. I know there's some thought that Peterson was the true "talent" in that relationship but I'm still not sold that the system works week in and week out. They do well when they have a month to gameplan for an opponent. Could they navigate a PAC 12 schedule? Utah hasn't fared too well in that vein.

As for Leach, he's a great offensive coach and is excellent in a place that can't compete for top talent. However, he is also a pr nightmare. The man has almost no tact and no filter. That can be refreshing and amusing at times but very embarrassing at others. His pirate shtick played well out in West Texas where they embraced the outlaw image and ran with it. However, he alienated a lot of the big cigars and admins at Tech with his "candor". He got sideways with the AD or the Pres (or both) and took every opportunity in the media to needle them. So to answer your question, I think it was both. He did get the shaft as it regards the James fiasco (with a "little" help from ESPN) but I have a hard time saying it was undeserved since he made enemies and then gave them enough rope to hang him.

Strictly speaking of on the field stuff, I doubt he'd ever get you to a Rose Bowl, but he'd get you into the top 3-5 in your league on a very regular basis. And his defenses, while never good, did get better over time. That's when he started beating the tu's and OU's on occasion. While he benefited from recruiting in TX, he never went head to head with tu/OU and didn't even compete with A&M much for recruits. He was good at getting those 2 & 3 stars that fit his system and then developed them. I don't know where Zona fits in the hierarchy of PAC 12 football (or AZ football for that matter) well enough to say if you should mess with him or not. If you're Oregon St or Wazzu, absolutely. If you're USC, UCLA, Washington or Oregon absolutely not.

I thought Maryland should have gone after him when their job came open, but his baggage may have been more problematic on the east coast. His offense would terrorize most of the ACC.

 

Matt, the AD is relatively young, looks and talks conservatively so my guess is he'll look to the U of Houston coach or the Louisana-Lafayette coach (ironically the final game of the season is against ULL). Recruiting Texas is important, but the next coach HAS to recruit California better than Stoops. LA-San Diego is a reasonable driving distance (6-7 hours) for families to send their kids to.

Always thought Wazzu would be a perfect fit for Leach.

Dirk Koetter started the Boise State machine before Hawkins and didn't fare very well either after leaving for Arizona State. I'm sure Peterson looks at those 2 and wouldn't leave unless the right job comes along.

Arizona is putting millions into the stadium/facilitie. Realistic Cats fans will admit except for two Top 5 finishes in the 90's we've been a middle of the Pac school at best, but this AD knows that football pays the bills, so I'm caustiously optomistic we'll raise our profile.

LSU-Alabama. Can the Alabama QB McCarron take advantage of the LSU D, when they commit to stopping Richardson?

 

I agree SoCal with the recruitment philosophy. that's why I think ultimately, CU will benefit more from Pac12 and more of a contributor. They never recruited Texas very well. When CU was good was McCartney/Barnett years. I didn't move out here until the Barnett years though. They both recruited Cali. CU has a much larger fan base in the Pac12 region than the Big 12. I think that went a long way in hiring the new coaching staff. It's filled with CU Alums and California ties. Hopefully one day i can say "i remember sitting in this stadium during the 1-11 years..."

 

...and they were much better than these 0-12 years? J/k, I think the Buffs will improve in the Pac12 since, as you said, their glory years took place when they were pulling players out of CA.

Joe, so is Zona or State the primary football destination in AZ? Or are they equal? Is one bigger/richer than the other? I know historically, you own hoops there and they probably have the upper hand in baseball.

As for Leach recruiting, I don't know that he wouldn't recruit CA. Until he was OC at Oklahoma and HC at Tech, he didn't have any TX connections. In fact, he started his career in CA and was born there as well.

 

And a lawyer from Pepperdine or something like that.

 

Forgot Leach had a law degree from Pepperdine.

Stay warm in Boulder tonight dtown!



Matt, I would love to say we have a higher or even equal profile to ASU, but right now I can't. Scum Devils came within 2 minutes of winning the National Title w/the Jake Plummer and the late great Pat Tillman, and have actually won the Rose Bowl. Plus they have put more money put into their program. What the Scummies don't want to hear is that we are 7 games above .500 all-time against them. Thankfully we have a new AD that wants football to be more than passing the time until hoops practice starts. The $$ is going to be spent, just need the fight coach.

Games of the Week;

#1 LSU at #2 Alabama. All signs point to Bama at home, but something keeps telling me to take the Tigers. A big special teams play might be the difference. Saban on 2 weeks prep give the Tide a hard fought W.

#9 South Carolina at #7 Arkansas. Another big game in the SEC w/2 teams that are hard to figure out. I'll take the Hogs to outscore them at home.

#8 Oregon at Washington. One of the fiercest rivalries that isn't publicized. A lot of these fans regard this game as bigger than their in-state game. The game is in Seattle, the Oregon QB should be back (but not 100%), and the Huskies can run the rock. The Ducks to win a tight one.

Texas A&M at #6 Oklahoma. Matt, this has to be a frustrating season knowing how good your team is despite the heartbreaking defeats (you and Wisconsin just have to shake your heads).

Upset Alert; Hard to find one, so I'll try to get Justin to respond. Iowa to rebound after their shocking loss to Minnesota over #15 Michigan.