Today 12/17 is the official start of bowl Season. We started with the Bahamas Bowl and will run through January. Enjoy even bad football is better than no football.
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Middle Tennessee wins Bahamas Bowl.
At least we can say we beat a bowl winner this year!
LET'S GO...
HOKIES!!!!
It's the most wonderful time of the year 🎶
Coastal Carolina and NIU is a fun game. Absolute lack of defense and logic but 7 lead changes and offense.
Exciting end to the Cure Bowl. Interestingly enough, no opt-outs by either team
Could have been a better ending though, clock error robbed NIU of the chance to tie or take the lead on the last play.
That wasn't a clock error. He was tackled in bounds which the clock would have started when set or it was (and this was what I think the correct call should have beenbased on the limited angles) incomplete in which case it was CCs ball.
He never made it out of bounds so the clock should have run.
Edit: clarified awful paragraph
Not an error.
I agree that it wasn't an error by the rule book, but the ref was not exactly hustling to get the ball to the LOS.
The clock was stopped because they ruled a completion resulting in a first down with the runner tackled in bounds. The clock then stops until the ball is set the umpire got out of the way as fast as possible after spotting the ball.
The ref could have crawled back to the LOS it wouldn't have mattered the clock wasn't running.
Friggin ACC refs...amirite?!?! /s
Bison totally in command in the FCS semifinal game against JMU.
I was excited to watch this until I saw that QP isn't the full time QB for N. Dakota...bummer
I love 11am football.
Another VT should've would've could've QB, Malik Willis, lit up the scoreboard tonight for 5 TDs for Liberty in the Lending Tree bowl vs. E. Michigan. Looked really good.
Yep definite first round pick right there /s
I love this sport
I'm looking forward to Shane or Mack getting doused in Mayo. Both have agreed to it already and the bowl is going to donate $10k to charity of choice for the winner.
I will give it a leg up because of charity, etc.
But that much Mayo.... Ick.
I really hope they leave it on the sideline in front of the heaters all game. Getting doused in warm mayo sounds...like...something
Agreed, Mayo the best way to mess up a perfectly good samich
Classy selections of mustards and oils all the way
Other winning celebrations I'm looking forward to (what's with the ACC having so many food-bowl tie-ins?):
Cheez-It Bowl (Clemson and Iowa St.) - bowl full of Cheez-Its?
Chick-Fil-A (Pitt & Mich St.) - Gallons of Chick-Fil-A sauce
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (Wash St and Miami) - Frosted Flakes
Even doused in CFA sauce, Narduzzi's too fucking salty.
I just saw on Bill Roth's twitter that he called the Potato Bowl. I'd have probably tuned in just to hear him if I had known that. Anybody have any clue on other bowl games Bill might be calling?
Nevermind....found the info. Doesn't look like Bill's not scheduled for any other bowls.
article from ESPN... not much more detail - https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32924077/texas-aggies-p...
This just sucks, and sadly I dont think this will be the only game this happens to this year.
Let's give Locksley some of his own medicine and "flip" on him and the Twerps to play the Gator Bowl!!
I'd like this very much. TKP meet up in Duvalllllll
Seeing a bunch of tweets about teams that could be available if asked to play.
Brett McMurphy mentions Illinois (5-7) and Marshall (7-6). Another writer asked the Coastal Carolina coach if they'd be up for playing a second bowl game, and they might.
CFB Reddit is offering JMU, reminding folks of their history over ACC teams.
Why can't they just push the game a couple weeks? COVID protocol, TV, or what? Seems straightforward?
"Academics"
Army wins on a last-second FG
That was a crazy ending. Mizzou goes up on a td with 1:16 left. Army drives the other way and make a 41 yard fg with a Kicker that was previously 1/4 from 40+. They had 1 timeout and chose to go to the hash rather than push for yards.
Rutgers officially taking A&M bowl spot down here in the Gator Bowl. Highest academic APR among 5 win teams.
Watching this UF-UCF game tonight and it was the first time I've heard Napier speak. Sheesh... not sure what to say about that on field interview. Here's Napier... "blah blah blah alright"... "blah blah blah alright"... "blah blah blah alright"... it wasn't pretty. Let's go Coach Pry!
Agree 100%.
Many words come out of his mouth, yet he manages to pretty much say nothing.
His introductory conference at UF was very similar.
Reminds me of Fuente in that regard. Maybe we dodged a bullet here. His first week at UF mostly consisted of decommits.
Maybe behind closed doors he is sharp and innovative but he doesn't come off like that...more like a Cliche Rolodex.
I went back and listened to his Louisiana introduction speech and I thought it was pretty awesome. Maybe his unprepared coach speak is a little rambling. Idk if that is any indication of the quality of his coaching.
Despite all the whoop-de-do about Cam Goode not giving effort in Hilgart's conditioning program- he seems to be a high intensity player to me. Perhaps the laziness was with Hilgard not having patience to condition him into the QB chasing down DT I see now.
And just as I say that he commits a bad offsides
And another one.
Ehhh... He doesn't "go" on every play. He seems to pick and choose when he's going to "go". I would love to have had him around for depth purposes, but I'm not sure he's a game changer in the ACC.
UCF looking good against UF. How did this UF team come so close to beating Bama?
Because it's not the same UF team. They also had a lot to play for back then.
I also just remembered how UF used like 5 different variants of option in that game they hadn't put on film yet. Just a classic kitchen sink game from Mullen, who is no longer their coach.
We came after Celiscar late (88 UCF). I don't know if we ever pulled the trigger on an offer, but he looks the part at DE.
Hawaii just backed out of their bowl game, the Hawaii bowl, scheduled for tomorrow. So Memphis got a trip to Hawaii but no game.
At least Memphis got the trophy.
Warms the heart to see the Gators taken apart by a "little brother"
Can't say I mind seeing Florida get spanked by UCF.
Agreed for the most part, although UCF fans (mostly recent grads) down here are getting to be a bit obnoxious as well.
Don't hate. We just are just taking our place in the state.
Kind of reminds me a a former dominant mid-Atlantic power 5 program that has lost to a pair of lesser in-state programs in recent years....... Too soon?
Yes, it's too soon.
More like FU soon! Amirite??!!
Watching GA St to see QB play.
It was a pretty dominant win (granted, it was against ball state). At one point in the fourth quarter, one of the commentators says "I can see why Virginia Tech hired Brad Glenn"
I turned it on to hear the announcer say "and Brad Glenn dials up ANOTHER red zone passing touchdown for [receiver]" and I squealed a lil bit
Military Bowl (BC vs. ECU) canceled due to COVID problems.
Fenway Bowl (SMU vs. UVA) in jeopardy due to COVID issues at UVA. Cavs have canceled their flight scheduled for today and so has SMU, in response. UVA team meeting scheduled for 3 pm.
Bowl season could get ugly.
Mike Barber now reporting that the bowl game is off. UVA can't play.
If only they were just more committed to each other
S/
First thing I said when I saw the news. LOLUVA
Yeah I have a feeling there will be more to come. I just haven't been excited whatsoever about this year's bowl season. The matchups just don't seem very compelling and it's all gotten a bit bloated. Add in lingering effects of Covid, plus so many opt outs and portal entries, it just hasn't been much to get me very excited.
I think it's a combination of things... After a half decade, we've been conditioned to care only about the playoff. Between this, opt outs, and the craziest coaching carousel ever, bowls feel more like exhibitions than ever before. On top of all that, a lot of us are having our first 'normal' holiday season in 2 years.
That said, I do think there are some compelling matchups. Of our 42 bowls, I feel like 10 are REALLY good matchups, then there's another 10 that are interesting storylines, and then there's everything else (wait until half time to decide if it's worth watching). I feel like this isn't that unusual.
UVA cancelled because of COVID issues there. Insert UVA coach tweet about #DisciplineEqualsFreedom. I would but I'm on mobile.
#HardThings6+FeetApart
Already asked on Twitter but which LOLUVA. Coach was it?
https://twitter.com/OX_VT/status/1475134611403558915?t=9TZzfirPIGVmIqomU...
Buh Bye, Bronco
Not grrrrrreat...
So is Covid gonna win bowl season? Going to be hard for any conference to catch up.
At least Bye will still have more wins than Covid.
Between the trash ACCN and the lack of bowl payouts we are going to get 5 dollars and a snickers from the conference this year.
At least they finally got ACCN on Comcast. Not sure how much of a boost that will be, but should help some of the lost payout pain. Naturally it's a year that Clemson missed the playoff payout for the conference too
Miami out of the Sun Bowl - SMU I think is available
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/miami-withdraws-from-202...
SMU not looking to be an option as of tonight.
Nevada looking like they just got out of bed and haven't even gotten a cup of coffee yet.
11am kickoff in Detroit == 8am Nevada time
I think they are also missing over half of their starters including their starting QB. I think this may be a foreshadow to how the Hokies may look on Wednesday
Did you know the starting QB is 6'9"? I've been watching for 2 minutes of game time and it's been mentioned at least 3 times already.
But what size glove does he wear?
They also have GRIT on their helmet bumpers coincidence?
Potentially huge payout bump for CMU/MAC if they get promoted from the Arizona Bowl to Sun Bowl
Arizona Bowl is cancelled. Boise State was slated to play CMU, but Boise State had too many COVID cases.
CMU officially going to head the 4 hours east to El Paso to play Wazzu.
Not sure what you all think but as much as Covid can be used as a reason to back out this year, CFB has some major introspection to do over the next year on how to make bowls appealing again. Seems like players don't care enough to play in them anymore with transfer portal and NFL ambitions and it's definitely taken the wind out of the sails for me (admittedly I used to watch all of them after Christmas because the matchups were so fun and now I have no desire to really tune in for any). Major corporations have to be losing some big bucks and that can't last forever.
I haven't watched a single bowl game yet. Not really intentionally either, I just keep forgetting they're on.
I think the Houston/Auburn game (on now) is the first one I've made the conscious choice to watch this bowl season.
Fun fact: Since its establishment in 2006, the Birmingham bowl has been played 15 times and only three of those games have had both teams with more than 6 wins. If that doesn't scream mediocre bowl then I don't know what does.
I know what you mean. The only thing I have watched this year maybe 10-15 minutes from 1 game while at a restaurant and a minute or so (just enough time to see the game was a blow out between 2 teams I am uninterested in) while at another restaurant. Tonight is the first game I have any interest in actually watching - UCLA and NCST.
Today was definitely the first day of bowls I was particularly interested in as well. It's nice to have games on while I'm at work too.
I have some bad news about that UCLA/NCST game, looks like UCLA had to cancel it.
Oh man, seriously?
Edit: crap, just checked and you are right. Since I'll be out on a family trip when VT is on, maybe I can just not watch anything this year?
Here's a link to a SDS article
If parity truly existed in college football, a top-20 team would not be struggling against a 6-6 team.
a top-20 also wouldn't 1) need to run the philly special against a 6-6 team, and 2) royally screw it up by throwing a pick on the toss-back.
They were lucky not to lose that game by 20 or 30 as well. Finley missed 4 or 5 wide open TD's. I'm not sure he would hit water if he fell out of a boat.
I'm not sure about 20-30, but those misses deep definitely hurt their chances.
dang, just a few hours before kickoff tonight
Wow, this was the first bowl game I was really excited to watch.
Guess we know who to blame then
Huge bummer.
Only 2 DL for several days, but waited until game day to pull out.
ESPN just announced and confirmed the cancellation.
EDIT: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32952941/holiday-bowl-u...
On the bright side, Loserville is down 14-0 to Air Force so I can still experience joy.
Bad for the ACC.
Good for Metro Conference hate, and for general schadenfreude.
I can never root for Louisville for any reason.
Totally agree. That comment should go plaid.
BREAKING NEWS - A military academy football team can pass.
In other news... Louisville playing defense like they are in the B12
L'Ville's defense is... not great. Kentucky is a solid team, but they gave up 52 to them in their last game lol.
Every play for the AFA should be a forward pass!
Wow, the ACC is currently 0-0 in bowl games with only 6 remaining. Hopefully.
Hopefully we can play a game. With what UCLA just pulled I'm not convinced that ANY game will actually be played until the first-half kickoff happens.
If we don't play any games that means we're undefeated, right? And also broke.
We are outperforming the SEC - I think they are 0-4?
Wow, if you think our tackling is bad, you should check out the third AFA touchdown. That was comical.
The jukes by Lewis were nice, but good lord, not 1 but 2 DBs got their ankles snatched on that play. That's just mean by him, but also beautiful.
Damn, Miss St announced 10 guys out right before kickoff. Hopefully that doesn't happen to us lol.
Prophetic... it was exactly 10!
I'd like to take credit, but most of the guys we were missing we knew we would be missing. I think a lot of those Miss St guys were thought (by the general public) to be playing until right before kickoff.
I think we only had 3 surprises with Nadir, Lofton, and one other DB maybe?
I've been distracted by holiday stuff and didn't know about Burmeister. Although honestly with the OC playcalling I don't think it would have mattered.
Is it just me, or does it seem like the Portal is going to be totally swamped? Are a whole bunch of kids think they can be like Doctor Pepper's Rico thinking they are all going to better programs, more play time, etc., that can possibly be satisfied?
It's starting to feel like a mass player tantrum where many have effectively put themselves in a proverbial corner.
Last year and this year seem to have way more kids in the portal than homes for them to find.
Murray was the third. There were rumors of them not being available in the days leading up to the game as well, so not total blindsides either
I wonder if they're on the phone with Cal right now
So, uhhh... watching the Texas Tech game and they mentioned that they've got the 103rd ranked pass defense in the country - and we hired their DB coach to be our DB coach? Please tell me I'm missing something here?
They shut down Mike leaches air raid.
EDIT: Without watching games, TTU was even worse in sacks (118th) but better is pass break ups (73rd). So it might be that Jones is a good technique coach but no one has a great fundamental for pass defense if the opposing QB can sit back all day untouched.
I think scheme (i.e. coordinator) has much more to do with overall defensive success than technique (i.e position coach).
I didn't watch the game but did the DBs make solid tackles, fight through blocks and play decent coverage?
Minnesota takes care of the Cousins including an OL (as a FB) rushing TD.
Yeah, but can he catch a pass?
My wife and I talked this through a bit on Sunday while driving back from the family and I feel that I've got a somewhat decent solution to fix Bowl games because my usual reaction is to get rid of 50% of them.
1. Separate bowl games into 3 tiers, tier 1 being the CFP & NY6, tier 2 being Gator, Independence, Alamo, Citrus, etc., tier 3 being everything else.
2. Tier 3 bowl selections occurs on the Sunday of rivalry weekend (last week of November) and the games are played two weeks later on Saturday. Same traditional setup with games @ Noon, 3:30, and 7:30. This gives those schools one final Saturday of football to enjoy.
3. Tier 1 & 2 bowl selections occur on the Sunday of Championship weekend (first week of December). Tier 2 bowls are played two weeks later on Saturday. NY6 and CFP games are played as currently scheduled.
This gets rid of the stupid times where games are played on ridiculous days at stupid hours ***cough*** Pinstripe Bowl on a Wednesday at 2:15 ***cough***.
Oh, and the transfer portal doesn't go "hot" until AFTER the season is over. I still go back and forth over the early draft declarations.
That would require control and centralized planning. As I understand it, each bowl game is an independent entity, run by it's own bowl committee. The committee is usually some collection of host city tourism officials and businesses. They want fans to come and spend money in their city; TV revenue is a nice bonus.
The Bowl Alliance, BCS, and now the CFP are voluntary contractual affiliations between the participating bowls, but those aren't the ones you're complaining about.
Those alliances came about because the bigger bowls (and ESPN) decided to coordinate to make more money; their focus is on TV viewership because it's more lucrative for the committee. But in order to maximize that revenue, they agree to cooperate and have an orchestrated schedule like you suggest.
No one has the authority to force that coordination on the rest of the bowls, because each is an independent entity.
(As an aside, creating their own super-structure to grab the top teams and maximize their own income while excluding everyone else, has some parallels to the super league that European soccer loved so much this summer.)
Case in point - the Texas Bowl, which I think is played after the NY6?
I'm for anything that streamlines the process- I miss the final games being on NY weekend and in the pros, the Superbowl played at the end of January. It just feels like stretching out for the sake of ad revenue.
The bowl games I have seen bits of so far have been sparsely attended with the exception of the Military Bowl and the Jackson State game. The TV revenue is outperforming in person money made for the cities this year at least, it seems to me anyway.
From a scheduling perspective this doesn't work. There are 6 Tier 1 bowls which means 18ish Tier2 & Tier 3 bowls each. That would be 6 bowls in each of the 3 timeslots you propose - not great for viewing.
Also, you can't have any bowls the week after championship weekend as that weekend is reserved for Army/Navy, who would sometimes end up in a Tier 3 bowl.
It also gives way too much developmental advantage tot he teams in the Tier 1 bowls as they have much more time to practice.
it also disenfranchises the FCS, as those weekends are usually quarterfinal and semifinal games.
I am in favor of portal season starting Jan. 3rd and ending June 30th, but I am not sure how that would affect enrollment in Spring Semester. I don't think you can fix the opt outs for going pro, though.
I agree with giving army/navy their own weekend, but while I occasionally tune in for an FCS playoff game, I'd rather see bowl games on saturdays than wednesdays.
Alright...let me respond line by line.
1. That's no different than a regular season. I'd pay more attention to bowl games on a Saturday while I'm watching another game than one played on a random day at a random time.
2. Then Army/Navy can play during the week...like a Thursday evening as is the case during the normal season.
3. How's that any different than a team that has to play one of the first bowl games vs. the NY6/CFP teams?
4. How's this any different than the regular season. If you want to watch FCS teams then you'll find the time to watch it.
5. Schools will figure the enrollment issues out.
Let's just say I disagree with all your points, but especially screwing with Army/Navy and taking focus away from FCS.
There are a lot of people that want to watch all the bowl games and cramming them into 3 Saturdays makes that impossible. It also takes away each game's/team's spotlight.
It's been trending this way since the playoff started conditioning everyone to only care about the playoff, but the last few years have been particularly extreme in regards to players being out. Obviously, that isn't all opt-outs, and some of these opt outs are due in part to the non-football stuff going on. I'm personally happy to still watch the football, but they really are exhibition games. Half of these teams have double digit key players out (including us) and there's not really anything to glean from these games except for watching some depth play.
Honestly, I dont know why anyone's cares about the playoffs unless their team is in it, and I am one to watch any team play. I haven't watched the championship game in at least 2 years and I doubt I will again. It just doesn't matter.
I understand how this could happen (I still watch the playoff, personally), and again, I think it's the playoffs fault.
I grew up on college football in the 2000's. Two teams at the end of the year get a chance at a national championship, but winning your conference, winning a BCS bowl game, or a bowl game a tier below that mattered. Think about how much we all cared about the 2006 CFA bowl and how bad that loss hurt... That wasn't even a BCS/NY6 bowl back then. It still mattered. The lunch table in middle and high school had kids talking trash and holding bragging rights over winning/losing BCS bowl games. Those were major accomplishments. I remember even in the final year of the BCS (2013) Clemson fans giving USCe fans hell because they managed to win a BCS bowl game before them, even though USCe was on a 5 game win streak over Clemson.
Now you have 5-15 starters opting out of non-playoff NY6 games every season. Pitt, who is not a regular NY6/playoff contender, one of the teams you'd expect to be excited to be there, won't have their starting QB for their biggest bowl game in like 20 years. So now that nobody cares about bowl games, we've just reduced the number of actual accomplishments in college football to strive for. The playoff is 4 teams out of 130, but the size isn't really the primary issue, it's that you need other accomplishments to strive for in a sport with as little parity, and as many teams, as college football. You can expand the playoff, which might be necessary to combat growing fan apathy (at least temporarily), but it is unlikely to change which teams will actually win the playoff every year.
20 years ago opting out was seen as weak by NFL teams, now they see it as another 15 carries for my RB in the league, or another sack my qb can take before their bodies break down. Until money is involved i don't think you'll stop the opt outs.
This is also indirectly a reason why playoff expansion won't really move the needle on talent distribution in college football. We, fans of college football teams, mistake the primary goal of elite talent as winning the college football playoff, which is what WE want, when for majority of them their primary goal is the NFL. The goal is to become a professional and get rich playing the sport you love. College football is an intermediary to them. They need to excel somewhat in college so they can get a shot at the real thing. I'm not saying many players don't want to do both, or that this is a binary choice, but the greatest weight is going to be put on making it to the NFL.
I'd bet there'd be less opt outs if the NFL interned college players.
As an engineer, I can get a paid summer internship. College football players can't. Imagine the WFT taking 50 players in mid June, and being able to say, you're not ready, or you're ready we'll see you next April.
When guys know it's over, they'd probably stay for that one last bowl game with their brothers.
There are so many dominoes that could potentially be triggered as well. Like a future where the NFL bankrolls university programs and treats teams like their AAA (P5), AA (G5), and A (FBS) affiliates, and gets to manage individual player progression through the
farmuniversity system.The irony of "no one cares about bowl games" in an era where finishing 6-6 is pretty much a guarantee that you'll get an invite.
It meant a whole lot more when there were about 10 of them with real names, not this years' sponsor. Seeing kids in the Clemson band wearing cheese it's on their head was demoralizing to watch as a band alum.
I always watch the playoffs, just like I would watch any top 5 match up during the regular season. If you watch games other than VT, idk why you would tune out the playoff.
I watch the first two games, which like most top 5 games have been let downs. Then the championship game I skip, its at a bad time being on Monday night. I have shit to do, sleep to get.
But the championship wasn't what college football was about for many years. Every game mattered in the past if you wanted to get the votes to be #1, which isn't true now. But teams still competed past that first loss because they wanted to win. They wanted a bowl win to go out with a win. With a playoff it takes away from those wins because only one matters. Even with the BCS we had a national champion that didn't win the "championship" game. So in reality from the sports perspective the playoffs are worthless.
Look at basketball, making the dance is big for most programs. Make the sweet sixteen is huge (one good weekend). Coaches are talked about how many final four they've made. While football most teams aren't happy with the NY6. Ask Washington and MSU about their playoff/final four appearances, better yet ask their coaches. Conference championships don't really matter any more in football, where as they raise banners for regular and post season championships in basketball.
The emphasis on the national title is just way to much for something that is meaningless to most teams.
Watching Clemson, it is obvious that what every program needs is a guy who can get guys to play because they love the game and love playing with their brothers. They're a program that really understands brotherhood and loyalty.
After 6 years of playing in the playoff, they're playing a 7-5 Iowa State team in their bowl game tonight. Their OC AND DC are leaving for other teams. They're filled with players who're headed the NFL- but ZERO players opted out. Skalski got injured, and he's out there coaching his nuts out for his brothers.... in the CHEEZIT BOWL.
Meanwhile, we're the team with the opt-outs?
I hope Pry is someone that can coach loyalty to a team and a love for the game and for VT. Sad to see players on so many other teams quit on their brothers a game early.
Alright, that's my rant for the night...
Will probably be an unpopular opinion, but scholarships are based on giving talent incentives give to get an education AND improve the program providing that funding. That should include ALL games scheduled, including bowl appearances.
I'm spitballing here, but if there were a financial disincentive for laying out (barring obvious health reasons of course), I'd bet we'd see less of it. That, combined with the portal opening in January, might keep more players on the roster during bowl season.
The problem is that only works if all teams have the same policy. If I'm a 5 star QB who knows he's going pro, I'm not going to your school with mandatory bowls.
These are unpaid, amatuer athletes... If the school is going to hand out fines, then they should also hand out paychecks, not just scholarships.
Given the cost of a full ride scholarship these days that includes *everything*... that's more than a lot of folks make in a year. I don't see what's wrong with comping a student that much to play 13 games if the opportunity presents itself.
And yes, it only works if it were a NCAA policy, not individual schools.
I was really hoping this Oregon Oklahoma game would be more competitive...disappointed clemson won. Just a generally shitty day of football
Insert Sickos .jpeg
That is so friggin gross.
How do you feel about this then? Or the announcers dunking an oreo in Mayo? Or the hot dog slathered in Mayo? The oreos and hot dog crossed the line for me lol
What the hell is wrong with people?
Don't forget the PBJ dipped in mayo...
Afraid of what the last one will be
Mayo on a Krispy Kreme doughnut....
Abomination...
Is it bad that I'm going to flip to the Mayo Bath for baby beams? I have to see this mess live
UNC getting pushed around by USCe.
South Carolina Beamer Ball talk riddled throughout this game by the announcers
I'm all for a nice glaze of mayo on a sandwich or used for various culinary purposes, but the mayo stunts on the Duke's bowl broadcast are just disgusting. PB&J and mayo?
I hate Mayo, but I enjoyed the bit of having the announcers and sideline reporter dip stuff in Mayo. Harmless fun.
Surrender flag right there by Mack. Down two TDs with 6 minutes left in the 4th. UNC looking 10-ply soft. Should this result hold, it's pretty damning of UNC. 1st round quarterback, more stars than the milky way galaxy in recruiting, can't even hit 7-6. At least they got all those pairs of Jordans that they can sell though.
Congrats to Beamer the Younger, on a successful first season as head ball coach.
Impressive, PHYSICAL performance from SCar on both sides of the ball today. Congrats on the win Shane!
They bonked him on the head with the bucket before the mayo. Also, he should've taken the hat off. Would've been much better. He's young though, he still has time to learn.
I think he was smart to keep the hat on... Protect himself from the ooze or ewws if you will
Think about how refreshing that ooze of mayo would be as it goes through your shirt collar and goes over your back and chest though. It would feel like a free massage.
I would probably be stuck in the shower yelling "unclean, unclean" though after the process.
I'm putting on goggles if it were me. Whose idea was that anyway? You couldn't just eat a ham sandwich with Duke's Mayo on it?
An even bigger win would be the winning coach dumping the mayo on the losing coach... Especially since Mack Brown was the losing coach. It would have been awesome to watch Baby Beams dump the mayo on the grumpy old man.
You would have to pay me to take my hat off in that situation.
Purdue has a strange coaching setup. HC who calls the offense, no true OC but two co-OCs, a DC, and two co-DCs. Don't think I've seen that before.
Like a bank, everybody a coordinator.
Dime by Hooker for a TD
Happy for him, glad the move worked out
If only he were as good as Ryan Willis or Burmeister, right?
TD Vols.
TD Boilermakers
Another impressive TD pass by Hooker
Watching Hooker play at Tennessee is making me realize how much of a fucking idiot Fuente was as a coach.
A wet paper bag could have better managed the roster.
Good riddance.
and he promised a spectacular passing game for '21. HAH!
It makes you upset because never once did Hendon look this good as a passer at VT. Our coach was supposed to be a QB whisperer. My pops said to me, "I don't really like the UNC QB but I like the kid for UT". I then had to explain how our coaches ran him off the team... 😡
Vols get a pick
Boilermakers held to 3 FGs in a row.
Purdue capitalizes on costly Hooker fumble, to take the lead going into Halftime
It's still early, and frankly Tennessee has been awful in the 2nd quarter for most of the season (for some weird reason), but Hooker has missed 3-4 easy TD's by a good distance. This game would be long over if he was more accurate today.
I'm rooting for him to have a big 2nd half to make up for it.
Little Beams with the serious shade.
I don't think it counts as shade when he tagged him and basically gave him the double birds lol
Purdue retakes lead, in this sloppy bowl game
and i thought our secondary couldn't tackle... yeesh
That was a weak attempt at a tackle, or that guy thought he was gonna get a late hit out of bounds
69yd run to put UT right back in it...
If we were to ask really really really really nicely, maybe Hooker would transfer back to us.
I don't see that happening.
Purdue and Tennessee are having a contest: who wants to lose more?
wow
the levels of incompetence in their secondary...
good lord neither team knows how to cover
I bet if Tennessee and Purdue ask nicely, the sinking Big 12 would love to have their ballast.
Wow, ACC refs aren't just garbage in ACC games. They're garbage in every game.
TRUTH!!!
Somehow they're still f*cking us in other games...that we're not even playing in.
Me: why is the refereeing in this Purdue Tenn game absolutely terrible?
TV commentators: today is being ref'd by an ACC crew.
Me: Ah, there it is.
insanity
oh boy - the Zebras better reverse this call fast. That was a TD and it happened after the whistle.
wow - there's some ACC ref action. That is complete hoo dung.
Forward progress is not reviewable and does NOT require a player to be down.
i understand, but that whistle occurred after the ball crossed the line. That's crap officiating.
That also wasn't the only time Tennessee got screwed. They missed a ton of huge, game-changing calls throughout the game. On the final drive of regulation they had a DB pulling a WR jersey 2-3 ft off his body with no vision obstruction for the ref and didn't get a call. At worst, thats 5 yards and a 1st down for holding, if the ball is in the air it's 15 yards and 1st down and much easier field goal.
Yep but his forward progress wasn't stopped...
Gone back and watched four times and yep despite him laying on a Purdue player he was not making any forward progress until his teammate pulled him and he was able to stretch out the ball. It's the definition of forward progress stopped.
If this is what forward progress being stopped looks like then that's an issue especially around the goal line. How many times do we hear about "second efforts gets him in for the TD" while the legs are still churning like in this play.
If that is forward progress stopped then a lot of the "second effort" TDs I've seen should not have been TDs and it's a consistency issue either way.
The thing is he's fully stopped until his teammate rips him forward, which while I haven't dug in too deeply, I've read is actually a penalty.
Anyone else just hear the TV guys in the Music City Bowl say Hooker is not making actual reads on this option plays? It's a handoff the whole way. Has it been that way all season for them? Though Hooker had plenty of running yards this year.
He did not have a great day. Missed a throw in the first half that could/should have been a TD but was still a long completion. Was lucky on one TD pass that was underthrown and could have been an INT. Some other issues too.
He threw for 378 yards and 5 touchdowns. If that's a bad day what was our QB performance (137 yards 0 TDs)? A war crime?
Oh true. Just that there were still a lot of missed opportunities. Was really hot and cold throughout.
He overthrew open dudes more than a few times. But he looked great for the most part. Glad to see him succeeding
This. Came here to comment this very thing. Have a leg.
How was that "confirmed" down? Only way that wasn't a TD is of they whistled him down, but replay it was obvious the whistle was after the TD.
Ruling was forward progress not he was down. But that was soooo bad
ACC Referees = bottom of the Barrel.
Ridiculous ruling that should have been easily overturned by Replay if they would have simply spotted him down...how you can possibly rule someone's Forward Progress is stopped when they are on top of someone else defies all logic.
So did the BE refs follow us? Cause they were atrocious.
Purdue wins. Almost feel bad for the Vols. Almost
Watching the TN-Purdue game and the way Tennessee's coach was going for it. I don't care what the results are. Just comparing Tennessee to what Fuente would have done, Fuente is such a F-ing pussy. How I wish we had a coach who tried to win and not the limp-d___ coach we had.
Apologies for my frustration. I know it is time to let it go and move on. Go Pry and company. But I still feel it.
I don't know about y'all, but I like to spell it "Tentsy".
Apologies if it has already been said, but:
Eat ___ Pitt
and
F-you Narduzzi
Mel Tucker...$10mil/yr to lose to a Pitt team playing their 3rd string QB.
Well done, MSU...definitely looking like a wise investment
I'm with you on the absurd salaries. But the game's not over yet! Hoping Pitt and Pat get crushed in the second half.
I mean, he got them to 10 wins for the first time in 5 years, including a win over a playoff team. I'm not sure he's worth $10m, but what he's done over the last year is pretty impressive.
I can't tell if Pitt really prepared for this game, or if Michigan St. is just having a major letdown.
I hate to say this but I want to play defense like Pitt
Pitt will definitely be the major favorite to repeat in the coastal next year. I don't think any other team is playing anywhere as well as them.
I don't know... The way UNC is recruiting, they have to put it together soon.
EDIT: Just saw that Miami has 45(!!!) blue chip players on their roster, and has finally hired a competent coach.
Why? What in their coaching the last three years shows they can "get it together"
None of the coaches in the coastal have proven themselves to be a particularly great/consistent coach, so there's no reason to assume the most talented team won't win the division.
Pitt is losing their best QB in 3 decades. VT, UVA, Duke, and GT all have incomplete rosters and major coaching turnover.
That leaves UNC and Miami. I didn't realize how stacked Miami's roster is. I now believe they are the favorite to win the division.
LOL Miami's roster has been stacked for decades.
They're getting a new coach, too (somebody on here already declared him competent- maybe he is but I'll believe it when I see it).
The only way they're winning the division is if they're returning a bunch of starters. Superior talent has won Miami the Coastal a grand total of Duke times.
It hasn't been this stacked for decades - they've literally doubled the number of bluechip players on their roster since 2015. I also think recruiting rankings are getting more and more accurate (although COVID has definitely created an opportunity for arbitrage).
He went 35-13 at Oregon, won the P12 twice, has wins over two top 5 teams and four top 10 teams.
Finally - the coastal sucks. I see no reason why the team with the most talented roster shouldn't win next year.
You're looking at the Talent Composite, and comparing 247's initial attempt in 2015 to the current one in 2021. Somehow there are about 133% more "blue chips" in the FBS now, so that's part of what you're seeing. Using this comparison, we went from having 9 teams meet the blue chip ratio in 2015 to 16 now. When in reality, top talent is more consolidated within the playoff mainstays.
Miami went from the "under" to the "over" in this time, and has improved a bit in their recruiting, but their blue-chip ratio >50% feat has more to do with tabulation methodology of the Talent Composite and the creation of new blue chips under the arbitrary Transfer Portal scoring method. (He's going to Miami? Give him a 90).
Yes, their roster is better than it was in 2015. It is in no consistent measure "twice" as good.
That's pretty good, and I shouldn't knock it. When I made this comment, I may have been thinking "how hard is it to win at Oregon", but he did recover nicely from the Helfrich mess (and that random Taggart season). I still think Miami is going to be a far deeper recovery than Oregon was. But if anybody's going to do it, he'd be high on my list of people who could.
The Coastal has always been the running joke of parity. I don't see why Miami's talent advantage suddenly changes that. Pitt is the best looking team in the Division exiting the season. But anticipating the Coastal winner a year out is a sucker's bet.
Pitt is returning a lot of experienced starters, and they just picked up experienced P5 QB Kedon Slovis from USCw
Portal Tracker: Updates on Top QBs Looking for a New Home
Mack Brown is a master of wasting elite talent. He wasted more talent at Texas than he will ever get at UNCheat. I will be worried when UNC gets a new coach. UNCheat's next coach will have a ton of talent to work with but Mack Brown is an overrated coach who the game has passed him by.
Pick 6 and Pitt going down! Enjoying the late evening.
Can we have a FAM thread with that random crying Pitt fan?
Hate it for the 3rd String QB for it to end like that but having Nardouche sad at years end is always good.
Tennessee got hosed by the ACC....gifted that game to Purdue.
Eat Shit Pitt!
God these Arizona State helmets are awful with the pink and then they did the end zone in that color which is somehow worse.
Wha an amazing day of bowls. Mayonnaise chaos followed by play-blown-dead chaos followed by crying Pitt fan chaos followed by whatever chaos this is about to be. Barely any time to breathe between games. I love it.
Agree. I picked a good day to finally make time to watch some games.
I am so pleased that narduzzi lost.
Mel Tucker took over Michigan State, with terrible roster management and little talent, in 2020. They were picked last in their division both years he's been there. And yet after two seasons, they finish with 11 wins and a Peach Bowl Championship....
Incredible.
Funny what competent coaching and using your roster correctly can do.
Yeah, I'll take some of that please.
Wisconsin OL opening up holes a mile wide. Give me Rudolph and this run game, please!
Good lord this Wisconsin RB Is 17 and is destroying teams this year. He could be drafted as an 18 year old if is allowed to.
Who's watching the Gator Bowl? Rutgers actually giving Wake a run for their money.
EDIT: Fun Q1 while it lasted.
Conflicted a bit on this game now, feels a bit like the ghosts of Hokies past and present in a bowl game we once took for granted.
Really really hoping that Cincy can make this a good game and Michigan wins.
I did not watch the SEC championship and have no desire to watch Pt. 2
This game was over the moment I heard it was a PAC 12 officiating crew.
They are not gonna call holding on the Tide, as evidenced in that first drive
This game was over when it was announced. Not saying that Cincinnati doesn't deserve the opportunity, but the gap between absolute best and the next group is going to become apparent as it has in most other semifinals
Note: I am rooting like hell for Cincinnati and hope I am incredibly wrong
Let's fucking go Bearcats!
I refuse to watch another Bama-Georgia game this year.
As an adopted Dawg I am conflicted. Really dislike Cincinnati and their demands for respect without SOS.
I'd like them both to lose, but since that's not an option - wanting a bearcat beatdown and a chance for UGA to shake the Saban monkey off their back once and for all.
Then don't plan on watching the championship game then...
Cincy gave them that fourth down conversion
Savage
Alabama finally decided to stop playing with their food...
Yep ... going to go do stuff around the house until the next game starts
Cincy needs to come out of the half and score quickly to stop this momentum. Anything short of a touchdown on that first series and this one is headed to a ~45-10 style blowout.
Man, Kalil Pimpleton is electric. Just saw this highlight from his bowl earlier
This is still a better game than any ND playoff appearance.
I really thought the playoff would brought more interesting games to the college football national championship but all but like 2 have been the most boring, awful games. The ESPN talking heads were talking about it pre-game that the average margin of victor in the semi-finals has been 21+ points. I have been far more interested in these 6-6 bowl games than this crap. And I have no idea how to fix it.
This is exactly why I don't want a 12 team playoff. There's typically 1-3 teams who can win it in any given year. No need to include 8 more teams.
Only 3 games were closer than 3 scores. Only 3/8 (assuming UGA hangs on) have 1v2 happened and all 3 were Clemson vs Bama.
LSU was the first #1 team to win.
So while only 2 maybe 3 teams are good enough, the committee sucks at identifying those teams. Who is to say they got #5, #6, or #7 correct? Its obvious they can't pick the #3 team as they have never won.
This is where I disagree. The committee's goal isn't to pick the teams they think will do the best in the playoff; it's to pick the best teams based on what they've seen this season.
I think they've gotten it right each year.
You start fixing it by requiring conference championships to make the playoff. The system is beyond broken, though. It's not a simple fix and there's no incentive for the powers that be to fix it
As long as opinions have any factor in how a champion gets crowned it will always be a broken system.
It's not just about opinions. It's about incentives. Georgia shouldn't be in the playoff. If they wanted to be there they should have beaten bama the first time. The message is that if you're in the SEC it doesn't matter if you lose a game or two, you can still make it and eventually we'll wind up with 3 or 4 SEC teams in a 4 team playoff. What this does is force all of the talent (coaching and playing) into the SEC. Force conference championships as a prerequisite for the playoff and the talent will spread out more instead of concentrating in the SEC. The SEC has been the best league for about 12 years now and the gap is growing rapidly. They will continue to get better and better and the margin will continue to grow. The current structure not only allows for that but actively encourages it. Long term this is bad for the sport overall. It's fantastic for the SEC but the imbalance is going to disincentivize everyone else to keep up in the arms race. At some point (and that point is not too far off) running a football program isn't going to make financial sense for 85% of teams. The sport as we know it is never going to be as fun as it was in the 90s and early 00s. It's dying quickly and every move that is made in an effort to keep it fresh misses the mark and actually accelerates the inevitable collapse of the sport.
As long as it keeps making boatloads of money for the privileged few, they will never change the way it works. They certainly aren't going to do it out of a sense of fairness. The only way to change the status quo is revolution, and that would probably require an alliance between all of the non-SEC conferences (especially the Big Ten).
Cincy defense has no reason to feel any shame after that, but Bama was also playing with their food a lot in that game. It was eerily similar to the ND game last year and the Washington game a few years ago. They were running down the clock all the way very early in this game. It was very much the shorten the game, gameplan, which is interesting because that's usually an underdog strategy, but Bama did the same thing to ND last year, but their offense just started hotter.
Scoreline looked closer than the play on the field. I think it was like 302-72 yards at halftime.
This was definitely a game where the talent difference between the two teams was glaringly obvious. I'm interested to see the next game to see if it's really that much SEC>everyone else.
I'd also like to see a "3rd place" game this year, just to see if Cincy could keep up with the loser of the next game. Obviously that will never happen, but it might be interesting depending on the next result.
Cause they know they aren't up to par as past Bama teams. We're a Dan Mullen decision or 2 away from this game being Baylor and Michigan, with Cincy playing UGA in a rematch from last year.
They happen to execute at 100% when they need it the most. That's talent, but it's coaching too. Mad props to Saban for that.
We are an Auburn RB staying in bounds also.
BLARGH.. Another frickin' National Championship featuring Alabama... Whoop de doo...
I don't really know how bama fans even stay excited for football season anymore. Outside of a few games, they're always so dominant. Most schools can't compete a roster full of former 5 stars
They actually don't have the most five stars. They do have the most four stars, though. Georgia (19), and Ohio State (16) have more five stars, then Bama (14), and Clemson (10).
No kidding. With such a massive talent advantage, losing even one game must feel like seppuku-level disgrace.
99 on UGA is an absolute unit
6'6" 340
Multiple award winner and All American Jordan Davis.
We love Davis! Nicest kid too - treats his mama right and vice versa.
*sigh*
Another all-SEC championship game
Yippee skippy......
Big fat hairy deal.
Michigan surrender cobras are out pre-halftime.
Yawn, I have no desire to watch another Bama-UGA game
Who does?
🤢🤮
I will only because it's the last chance to watch college football until September. Pulling for Georgia since my aunt-in-law is a UGA grad, but not exactly thrilled that it's an all-SEC game. That should not be allowed. If you don't win your conference, you shouldn't be in.
Yep, another SEC title game. I won't even watch that bullshit. And if the TV ratings from last year are any indication (more people watched either of the semi finals than the final) a lot of other fans won't either.
I say if there's going to be two leagues, the NFL prep league and the traditional college league, have a draft for recruits (or some other bullshit solution to a bullshit problem). The lack of parity is boring and is killing the game.
Yes it's New Years and yes I've had a few beers...
Should have just kept the BCS and that would have kept everything in the sport from revolving exclusively around the playoff and national title. BCS bowls were a major achievement that any top 15ish type team had a real shot at winning. Now Pitt, a team who never is at that level, can't even get their QB to play in their NY6 game.
I am firmly in the camp, and have been for years, that all the apathy and frustration around the sport right now was caused by the playoff.
Go back pre BCA and just let the big bowls be a thing as they were then
Really? Where BIG and PAC teams didn't play outside the Rose bowl? Where in 1997 the two best teams didn't even play to end the season?
Yup. College football is at its best with controversy.
It's getting better. There's still a lot of edgy sentiment ignoring the dollars and claiming playing for championships on a football field is the thing ruining college football right now.
No one is ignoring the dollars, that's what is driving every decision about college football's post season. It's why we have a committee to chose instead of having set rules to who gets to pay for a championship.
There's no clear way to make a playoff selection fair and make the games interesting. Michigan looked like a G5 school yesterday.
So I will be even edgier, I dont want VT to make the playoffs because it will be disappointing end to the season. I'd rather win a NY6 bowl and the ACC. Its a better off season. There is zero benefit for a playoff for VT. It only benefits a handfull of teams, not the sport as a whole.
8 years of Playoffs, 13 different schools (two new this year). Six of those 13 schools have fired their coach since their appearance. Seven head coaches have left those 13 schools on their own. And again Michigan and Cincy havent had time for their coach to leave or be fired, so it's really 11 schools. Going to the playoffs hasnt helped those schools.
It shouldn't be edgy to not want the system that only goal and design is to make more money. We will get amd 8 team playoff it it makes more money, we will get 12 teams if it makes more money. No one will do what's best for the sport, the schools, the athletes becuase the bowl colialition was about money and it's been down hill since then.
The goalpost is making the games fair. The one seed beating the tar out of the bottom seed is never* interesting.
It's fair. Let them play. That's it.
Absolutely. Way more edgy.
This whole paragraph happens regardless of whatever postseason structure exists. The "playoff" did not make college football all about money- the colleges are driving the arms race themselves to drive enrollment.
The whole reason I added that insulting .gif is because people defending the bowl system (brought to you by Carl's Jr.) take this stance when arguing against a regular-ass FCS-style postseason. (Football "Championship" Subdivision).
If the Bowl System was really "all about the players", there would be people picketing the FCS playoffs. It's just nonsense.
The gif was a low blow on my part, but then you turn around and walk right into the trap of defending the Bowls (brought to you by Carl's Jr.).
Citations:
* Asterisk
Is it? I like to see the games be competitive and entertaining. But we all pretty much agree that the real driving force is making money.
I preferred the old bowl system to the playoff system. Not because of money, not because of pearl-clutching over player safety, not because of my personal opinion of "purity of the game", not because I'm against someone being able to say they won. I preferred the old bowl system because it was more fun to watch, as a fan. It was nonstandard. It was weird. It was fun.
Your "Carl's Jr" jabs are pretty weakly hypocritical. Do you imply the playoffs aren't sponsored?
Your last two paragraphs really baffle me. You attack something he didn't say, then get very self-congratulatory that you were intentionally insulting and drew a reply. Good job being a troll? I guess?
Touche. That was pretty disrespectful of me and there's no need to get sloppy and emotional about this. I'll do better.
I think there's definitely agreement on this part. And yes, the football playoffs are likely to be sponsored similar to a bowl game. There's some nuance with this- It would be obscene for a "playoff game" to financially penalize a smaller school for an unsold seat allotment. Bowl games can and do this regularly.
I think the elephant in the room is the arms race.
We fear the absurdity and unsustainability of the arms race, and worry about it ruining the sport. Since the playoff expansion is happening concurrently, it gets thrown in with the arms race.
Postseason improvement has been happening naturally for decades. I think it gets lumped in with the arms race & now NIL where people are worried about what the sport is becoming.
Excellent point. Exhibitions have the advantage of pairing evenly matched teams. A playoff would only have this happen with the middle teams, (1v16, 2v15, 3v14 etc matchups are typically lopsided affairs).
First thing, hat tip (and leg) for this.
Yes, these are two separate things that happen to be occurring in tandem.
No one likes the arms race except for those at the pinnacle. I think we can set that topic aside.
I respect the opinion of those who want a playoff to crown a champion, I just don't share it. I never felt any need to crown a champ, which (for me) completely eliminates any justification for the playoff.
I posted with some passion when the playoffs were proposed. I hated the idea, and agreed with those who said it would turn bowls into football NIT. That was well before opt-outs, which have only further undercut the non-playoff bowls.
I was perfectly fine with weird wild exhibition bowls and sports bar debate over who was "best." It made things more engaging and fun for a wider population of fans and players alike. But like I said at the time, I'm weird. Twas true then, remains true now.
I became adamantly anti-playoff, but it wasn't until a few years of it had passed. I think post 2016 season was when I started to realize it. I (very naively) believed everything would stay the same, but four teams would have a shot at a championship instead of two. It became clear that once the playoff commanded the black hole focus of everything in the sport onto itself that everything else would lose significance. The bowl system, while imperfect, helped maintain the idiosyncratic nature of the regular season, which I still believe is the best "regular season" in all of sports. The bowl system provided a tiered list of achievements that could be celebrated by the many different levels of team quality we see, inevitably, in a sport comprised of 130 teams. The real losers of bowl significance falling off were the teams in the 7-30ish range. The programs that we all know, and would see throughout the season couldn't hang with the highest tier of team in the sport (some seasons it's 3-30... and I'm perhaps being generous to even say 7), still had BCS bowls or tier 2 (CFA, Outback, Citrus, Cotton, etc) that were worth celebrating. Now they aren't even worth playing to many players. On an idealistic level, we all hoped the games would still matter and that the desire to achieve would be relevant. Most of us don't want to admit that in recent bowl seasons some teams clearly didn't play like they were motivated to be there. However, that is the reality. When I listen to the daily bowl pods from Cover3 podcast they ALWAYS discuss which teams might be motivated to win and why. It doesn't sit right with how much we love the sport, but these guys are giving gambling advice (and placing bets with their own money) on these games and it's a real factor. That's just what it is now. Unfortunately, I don't think we can go back, or push the toothpaste back into the tube. The damage from the playoff is not fixable, so maybe, and very reluctantly, an expanded playoff may give a few teams a brief reprieve from the growing apathy... until a few more years of brutal blowouts make the gap even more clear, and even the most diehard defenders of parity in this sport (of which there is very little) will once again slip into apathy again at the realization that greater ACCESS to a playoff doesn't mean you're any more likely to beat Bama, Ohio State, Clemson, Burrow led LSU's, etc. oh and by the way, an expanded playoff means you might have to beat 2-4 of those teams in a row to hoist the trophy...
And for the record, I'm not against opt outs, they are merely an understandable symptom of the "exhibition" games that the bowls, even NY6, have become to many players and fans. If Jerry Jeudy and Ruggs decide to play in the Citrus bowl against Michigan in 2019, that's great, if Trevon Diggs decides he'd rather sit out and get started on his draft prep, that is all good with me as well. That's what these games are now.
I'm not against opt-outs either, I just mentioned them as further watering down the bowls for a viewing fan. The players have to do what's right for them, they don't owe me anything.
Honestly, the opt-outs are a symptom, not the cause. Players are making rational decisions based on their health and risk to future income, and the diluted value of the bowl game doesn't stack up for many. That's more about the devalued game than "kids these days" or anything else.
I wasn't strongly for or against a playoff in general back before it was a thing. I did feel that the BCS era was flawed but I wasn't sure how best to fix it. I did think the playoff would be better than it has been. I agree with Chris. I was excited at first, but over time I'm seeing how detrimental it has been to the sport. I think blame can be sort of passed around a bit for that too. ESPN's handling of coverage hasn't been good, for example. I think the committee is a flawed attempt at carrying over part of what was great about college football into the playoff era and it was a square-peg-round-hole situation. I think the flaws from the BCS era are only highlighted and exacerbated by the playoff - in large part because of the way the playoff was structured. There were underlying structural issues with college football before the CFP and the CFP, in its current state, has only made those underlying issues worse. A classic case of failing to do a root cause analysis to find the real problem and instead addressing surface level issues which may look good in the short term but wind up doing more harm than good.
I also agree with Chris that the playoff is essentially toothpaste that can't be put back into the tube. There is no going back to the BCS era. That said, "fixing" the playoff isn't going to fix college football. There is much, much more wrong with college football than just the playoff. Whether the playoff is expanded, or restructured, or the rules around qualifications are changed it won't matter if there aren't other synergistic changes made to the sport as a whole.
I think we're at a bit of a crossroads with the sport. Opt outs (I also agree with the above here, symptom, not cause - I don't have any problem with them), fan apathy, and stale matchups have to be concerning to not only fans but also those who stand to gain from the health of the sport. I imagine the "money people" see the signs and are worried about how much longer this cash cow will spew cash. They're going to try fixing it again. And, predictably, they're going to fail, again, to do a proper root cause analysis to identify the real problems (or they're going to ignore the problems because they're part of it) The playoff will be expanded. It will be more exciting for a couple years and fan engagement will see a small spike until, inevitably, a few years down the road the sport shows its ugly cracks again and, shocking to relatively no one, the sport is in worse shape than it is now.
I think Pickett's decision is more based on the trends of players and their risk of potential earnings moreso than BCS vs. CFP/NY6.
If we were still using the BCS set up, Pitt would have been in the Orange Bowl vs. another highly ranked team. If it wasn't Michigan State, it would have been another team of similar talent.
I think it's a little of that, but if the games mattered it would be worth the risk, like how players treat the playoff.
I think the Jake Butt injury and the Jaylan (ND LB, name escapes me) injury scared some people, but it wasn't just the fear of injury, it was the increasing meaninglessness and devaluation of the NY6 type bowl games in the shadow of the playoff + the injury risk that made more guys make these decisions.
I guess I just don't see the difference between a non-championship BCS bowl vs. a non-semifinal/championship NY6 bowl, at least in terms of "mattering".
In either situation, for teams that win their conference but aren't in the national championship picture, the only thing left to play for is that bowl trophy. And while it might be prestigious for the coach and school to have an Orange or Peach Bowl trophy in their case, I can see where the top players could weigh the risk vs. reward.
I watched about 2 minutes of Cincy-Alabama and have not watched 1 second of Michigan-Georgia. I'm just sooo psyched to see Alabama again vs. Georgia. /s if not already obvious.
I agree, this will be the least watched championship game.
I really wish the committee had set the Bama/UGA rematch in the semifinals to guarantee it wouldn't happen in the championship game.
I understand however the committee has gotten it right. Like it or not (and I don't necessarily like it myself) Bama and GA are the best two teams and deserve to meet up in the championship. The final game may actually be a game. These semifinals were both basically jokes.
The committee can only work within the rules that have been established.
My personal feelings are college football is basically broken.
The committee did not get it right, if they were so right the why is UGA #3 and not #2?
They "got it right" with regard to the best two teams meeting in the final.
I can certainly see an argument for GA to have been #2 in the final CFP standings however they had just lost to Bama and Michigan had just exorcised their OSU demons.
As I said I believe college football is broken.
Playoffs are supposed to determine the best team, not the best two teams. This idea that the playoffs are supposed to determine the best two teams is an SEC con job. UGa didn't win their conference therefore they were obviously not the best team and shouldn't have been selected.
That said, If I have to watch the SEC champ game get replayed, I'd rather see Uga win. But they'll probably fuck it up again and I won't be watching either way.
Also fuck Georgia, if they'd done their damn job and won their conference, we wouldn't be in this situation.
One of the great questions that potentially gets to come up again is, how is it fair to Bama if they lose to UGA for the title? They already beat the brakes off of them in the SEC Championship game. Now if they lose to them, Georgia gets the more important trophy? That's not logical
I would disagree that a playoff or tournament of any kind necessarily identifies the "best" team. That's a qualitative thing. Playoffs identify the winner of the tournament structure. Think of the NCAA tournament when UVA lost to UMBC. I bet the Hoos win that game 9 times out of 10 and were a better team, but they lost on that day and therefore didn't proceed. If UGA avenges their previous loss to Bama, they win the big trophy and the ESPN talking heads will spend all offseason debating who the best team actually was.
This is why I think college football just needs to go back to the BCS or not even have a de facto national championship game as it was for so long. In the NFL, no one is on a quest to find the "best team" or anything, the goal is just win your division and get in the playoff. The winner of the Super Bowl isn't always the "best team." College football is just becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Teams like Bama and UGA recruit at a high level and have a strong brand, so we rank them highly in preseason polls because they are best on paper.
College football needs to go back to winning your conference and playing in a major bowl as the chief goal for each team. It's something every team can control. Let the polls vote on the beauty contest on who the "best team" is and give out a championship. In the current landscape, only the major brands are going to flourish and talent is consolidating at only a handful of schools.
This is why soccer associations that have a season-long league title that runs concurrently with a knockout cup tournament get it entirely right
True. To your point I'd rephrase my original comment to:
Let's put it differently.
The SEC should NOT get half the playoff money.
They can choose who among them can participate in the playoffs, but no conference should get more than one playoff slot.
3 years ago VT played Cincy in the military bowl...just another display of how bad the previous regime set us back
3 years ago a 6-6 VT team played in the most competitive bowl game of that season with multiple lead changes against a team that was 10-2 and has lost 2 games since ....
UGA flagged for a chop block.
Welp this is it for me and "college" football this year.
Hope you all enjoy SEC championship part 2.
I hate that the system allows basically NFL teams to dominate every year. Top tier SEC is just professional football at this point
And if I'm gonna watch professional football, I'd much rather watch the NFl which has some semblance of parity
This forum cannot be having isolated feelings about the CFP results. 95% of college fan bases are likely sympathetic to our plight. Is it sustainable? Maybe, but more likely changes are coming. Changes that are inevitable. Squeaky wheel and all that.
Oh I'm pretty sure (99.9%) that TKP has the smartest, handsomest, best dressed, well informed, kindest, modest, humblest people in the world, it really is quite different once you become fully dipped, very enlightening, so I can see how our views aren't shared.
I cannot speak for the rest of TKP but....
/s
I didn't watch either of the semis because I knew what the outcome will be. And won't watch the BS all-SEC final. Outside of our bowl and a couple quarters of a few other bowls, this is the least of bowl season I have watched in my lifetime. ESPN is killing college football with their SEC bandwagoning. If they keep going like this, it's going to turn out like NASCAR where only people from the Deep South watch and care. The playoff has absolutely hurt the sport and I wouldn't mind going back to the BCS or just a pre-Bowl Alliance format of no MNC game and have the polls award the title. Who really cares at this point.
I also can't stand Nick Saban. The entire sport will get better the day that fucker retires. He has ruined so much of college football.
i dont hate Saban. Hard to fault a person for being really successful. Even without the CFB, his 'bama teams would still have won/been awarded most of those national titles that they have collected.
He has shifted the sport toward the arms race it has become. He's a great coach, sure. But he was handed a blank checkbook at Bama and just started spending and hiring more than everyone else. Look at his ridiculous analysts that hires each year. The amount of money it takes to compete now almost single-handedly thanks to him and Bama's success has destroyed the sport.
No disagreement. There are ways to combat that to some degree, the same way in which the NFL created salary caps and MLB with the luxury tax. Without salaries to cap on players then maybe there should be one on annual staff salaries and infrastructure investments.
I agree and also have watched virtually zero of any bowl games. I have made the same NASCAR comparison and agree that college football is getting close to relegating itself to a far less profitable future. NASCAR made moves too quickly chasing additional dollars and it has not turned out as planned.
Your comment about Saban's (inevitable) retirement is a source of hope. It will be interesting to see how the balance of power shakes out if Alabama slips past Saban. I hope for more parity in the SEC with the potential for some years having all SEC teams with 2 or 3 losses. I believe that will be one of the few paths forward that provide other conferences more access.
NASCAR popularity and fan base has actually spread out of the south more recently. While attendance at races has gone down they are still widely popular and have grown fan bases and race locations outside the South in recent years.
Yeah NASCAR pivoted and has made some changes (some by necessity due to COVID) that has helped generate a bit more interest here lately. I am not sure if there is a pivot that will work for college football. Seems like the ESPN/SEC momentum may be too strong for any correction.
Why have we not been blessed with this?
Arkansas plz. I want the bloomin onion
This OSU-ND game is surprisingly entertaining.
Tied 28-28 with 2:47 left in the third.
Whoof PSU finished 7-6 Franklin uses the market to get himself a raise and lost numerous staff for 7 wins.
I relish seeing ND lose
Another *sigh*.... I remember having to flip between multiple channels to watch games throughout the day on New Year's Day.... Now, the tv has been on ESPN all day and we're only on the fourth game overall today ...
Who ever could have seen this coming when ESPN started buying the entire sport, one conference and bowl game at a time?
/s
So you missed the games on ABC and ESPN2?
The Rose Bowl is definitely on my bucket list. The Utes are happy to be there, you can tell.
Holy crap! The Rose Bowl is crazy. Defense optional. Then that crazy qb rush for a td on 4th down.
Someone in the crowd at the Rose bowl had this on a sign, and I agree. This game is the definition of all gas, no brakes.
I'm literally yelling at my television.
This Rose Bowl has been awesome
Barely watched the 2 semifinals yesterday. I watched some early thinking Cincinnati had a chance. Same with the 2nd game, but boring, no interest overmatched games. The ones today have been a lot more fun to watch.
If Pry can get us to play like the 2021 Utes, I wouldn't mind one bit.
But if he manages clock like Whittingham did at the end ... we're all going to lose our minds
Rose Bowl did not disappoint.
Seeing Henderson run for OSU, couldn't help but think VT used to sign those guys.
Edit: and that did not seems like a "defense optional" game. Both those offenses were humming and presented match up nightmares for defenses that the q's were able to capitalize on.
I wish I had a ticket to that one. Every fan got their money's worth!
Don't think too hard about VT signing guys like that, it's a rarity. He would be our 5th best recruiting all time. Our last was 2013, we've signed 2 in the last 20 classes.
Best part of the day
Does Whittingham think timeouts carry over to next season?
Also, really surprised Utah didn't go for two after their last TD.
This Sugar Bowl is all about big defensive plays. Kind of the opposite of the Rose Bowl, heh
They say defense wins Championships.
The lineal championship is perhaps known better by it's former name, "the Belt".
You hate to see that for Corral, getting hurt.
Not a terrible surprise, a defense scores first in this game.
Rose bowl was the bomb, non stop entertainment.
Most of these bowl games were over in the first 15 minutes. Sugar bowl looking tasty so far!
#1 - Rose Bowl
#2 - Music City
#3 - You're Fired
Raise your hand if (1) you expected Baylor-Ole Miss to be a defensive struggle and/or (2) you'd heard of Luke Altmyer before.
I knew who Luke Altmyer was for no other reason than following recruiting, but the Ole Miss defense got much better at the end of the year. I was expecting a comfortable Ole Miss win, but not high scoring. Obviously I was expecting them to have their Heisman contending QB.
I know it's not apples to apples, but I'm annoyed as hell right now that they're letting Brian Kelly (could have been any coach) speak for this long stretch as LSU starts on offense. LSU throws a pick. No TV timeout, no cutting him off, just continue the conversation.
What's bugging me is... why couldn't they have gotten us a similar stretch for Pry? I get that that UMD threw that bomb for a TD which triggers a TV timeout (god forbid they miss that ad revenue on our 2:15 PM bowl game) but you couldn't let Pry come back after the break or cut into the TV timeout to let him talk to the fans watching the broadcast?
Maybe they're afraid Kelly will kill them if they cut him off.
CONFERENCE (#2021 BOWL TEAMS),W-L RECORD, WINNING PERCENTAGE
MOUNTAIN WEST (6) 5-1 0.833
AMERICAN (4) 3-1 0.750
SUN BELT (4) 3-1 0.750
BIG 12 (7) 5-2 0.714
BIG TEN (10) 6-4 0.600
INDEPENDENTS (4) 2-2 0.500
SEC (12) 5-7 0.417
C-USA (8) 3-5 0.375
MAC (8) 3-5 0.375
ACC (6) 2-4 0.333
PAC-12 (5) 0-5 0.000
I'm a little surprised the PAC got skunked. I'm not surprised that the ACC is in the bottom 2 (inclusive of G5). The ACC (and, evidently the PAC) is complete garbage and the fact we only won 11 games over the last 2 years is a damn shame. This league is easily winnable, more so now than ever. Fuente really did us dirty
Yep. It's why he should have been fired sooner.
Pitt happens.
Moving on, let's see if Pry can capitalize.
I stand by this: Fuente should have made a change to OC following the 2018 season. Not doing so sank his career in Blacksburg. Not saying a change would have saved his job, necessarily, but it would have been an indication that he was capable of doing what needed to be done to be successful at this level. His failure to do that signaled that he was not cut out for the VT head coach job. The next 3 years cemented that reality - and left us in much worse shape to recover. I don't advocate for firing coaches too soon (and 3 years into a rebuild is arguably too soon) but if they're not showing any signs of progress or making any moves to indicate that they are positioning the program for a better future you have to cut your losses and try someone new. Not doing so just puts you even further behind the 8 ball. Pry has his work cut out for him, thanks to Fuente's failures and Whit's reluctance to move more quickly. Whit ultimately did the right thing...I just hope his hesitancy wasn't too costly.
Really difficult to draw anything from bowl records these days without taking a nuanced look at each individual matchup. That's my preferred lens of viewing anything in the sport, but it's damn near a requirement to have a real conversation about any of these bowl games.
Not at all surprised about the ACC, or Pac 10 really. But was surprised the G5 conferences did so well. Wondering if those teams and players are just more motivated to be in a mediocre bowl while P5 teams don't care about it. Could also be - though I don't know - that there are more opt-outs from P5 teams as they want to go pro but people on G5 teams don't think they have as much of a shot at the NFL so they see the game as their last chance to play.
these are interesting questions/points. I think Chris is right that each game deserves its own discussion...there is lots of nuance to the records. But the records do tell a story, even if it is incomplete. The fact that all 5 G5 conferences outperformed the ACC means that the ACC's trash reputation isn't flukey. The ACC is, actually, a bad conference.
I have done no research, but is it possible that it's because G5 conferences are getting favorable match ups because their 2nd and 3rd best team is playing the 8th or 9th best team from a P5 conference
na, its plan and simple the SEC has the most loses, no conference can match that and they'll have one more. Remember when it comes to Bowl Ls in 2021, the SEC is king.
#GoACC
QP and the Bison are well on their way to being National Champs.
Yeah. I was just coming to say that this game is getting ugly quickly. NDSU is destroying Montana State. It's not even close
I have two regrets from my time spent in ND:
1) Not seeing a football game in Fargo
2) Not icefishing
Really enjoying this FCS championship game between the North Dakota State Hot Knives and the Montana State Butters
Wanna know why I can't stand ESPN? Halftime of the FCS title game and they haven't spent one second talking about that game. All they want to do is spew shit on the fbs title game and talk about the equipment truck showing up.
Understand. And I love hatin' on Bristol as much as the next guy. But do you think that if FOX Sports or NBC was airing both games the coverage would be any different?
This game is basically a delivery system for Natty propaganda. Would be true on any network.
EDIT: and I use the word "game" very liberally. I know Montana State lost their QB, but did they hold a student raffle to see who would play defense?