Official 2019 College Football Thread

[jbergey22]

Gophers really should have lost to Fresno St.... 4th and 13 either in OT or end of the 4th quarter and they made an amazing play to save that game. Next game playing at Iowa is going to be extremely difficult. Coming off their biggest win in 33 years playing in front of an extremely jacked up crowd now going on the road to play a huge rivalry game in a game they need to be just as focused for. I didnt think they had much of a shot today but think next week is even a less likely win after winning today.

[Lathum]

Really didn’t like Iowa state going for two. You do that when you are outclassed and they were easily the best team on the field in the second half.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Yeah, the boards are in an uproar. Defense sucks and we are limping on offense with our starting QB's not turning out the way we wanted. We played QB3 & QB4 and setting up for next year I hope.

When a team starts at the bottom, a new coach gets 4 years assuming there is some sort of progression. With Morris, we haven't seen any. I think he should get another year at least but my heart says rip off the bandage this year and look for another coach.

Forums busy today saying Morris has been canned and announcement on Mon. Don't know how much faith I would put on these reports. Heard it was a $10M buyout but Jerry Jones is good for it!

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Forums busy today saying Morris has been canned and announcement on Mon. Don't know how much faith I would put on these reports. Heard it was a $10M buyout but Jerry Jones is good for it!

Its been announced, Morris is out.

Buyout total for Arkansas head coach Chad Morris

After another disappointing effort at home against Western Kentucky on Saturday, the Arkansas Razorbacks have moved on from Chad Morris.

The Razorbacks fired their second-year coach on Sunday amidst another lackluster season in Fayetteville, per Bobby Swofford of CBS5 in Northwest Arkansas. Saturday's abysmal showing against the Hilltoppers brought the pitchforks out on social media and ultimately ended Morris' tenure prematurely.

Morris is owed more than $10 million in buyout money, according to recent buyout figures via USA Today. His current contract with the Razorbacks was supposed to run through the 2023 season.

UPDATE: ESPN is reporting it now.

If I was Gus, I would stay where he is as he's got a good thing going. Gus and the Springdale fiasco ultimately brought down Houston Nutt (after Gus left/got canned) so he may have something to prove. Norvell is doing good-great at Memphis (but so was Morris at SMU). Last I heard Petrino was unemployed, I'd take him over the other 2 (but that ain't going to happen).

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ris-4-18-start

Arkansas has fired Chad Morris as its football coach, and tight ends coach/special-teams coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. is expected to finish out the season as the Razorbacks' interim coach, sources told ESPN.
:
Possible successors include Auburn's Gus Malzahn, whom the Hogs targeted when they hired Morris, and Memphis coach Mike Norvell.

[tarcone]

Why would Malzahn go there? That isnt even a lateral move.

[Warhammer]

I have college football, it is far better to be a big fish in a small pond than another fish in a big pond.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Why would Malzahn go there? That isnt even a lateral move.

Because his job security ain't all that hot where he is atm. He might/ might not be Auburn's coach if he finishes 8-4 with losses to basically every opponent with a pulse after the season opener.

If they lose to both Auburn & Georgia, that'd be the sixth straight season with four losses or more. At this point it's starting to become difficult to ask donors for $ if that's the ceiling and there's no sign of improvement.

edit to add: He's currently the 6th highest paid coach in the country, right now they're decidedly not getting their money's worth. A negotiated deal might be the happiest outcome for all involved.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Why would Malzahn go there? That isnt even a lateral move.

Gus is an AR boy and may want to start fresh with UA and make himself a hometown hero. That's the only reason I can think of.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Really didn’t like Iowa state going for two. You do that when you are outclassed and they were easily the best team on the field in the second half.

I know I'm super late on this, but I agree. They were perhaps better than 50/50 to win OT the way they were playing vs. the way OU was playing.

[HomerSimpson98]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

I love him like a brother..but this is pretty hard to defend.

EDIT: Oops Edward beat me to it

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by HomerSimpson98

EDIT: Oops Edward beat me to it

FWIW, here's what one popular board is saying for Razorback HC search ...

Napier, Pittman, Davis, Kiffin, Freeze and Leach ... (have expressed interest)

Two coaches we appear interested in are Norvell and Malzahn.

Looks like Kiffin, Norvell, Leach are the fan favorites so far. Malzahn is, by far, the most controversial.

Oh, the de-committing train has begun.

[MrBug708]

Scott Frost gets a two year extension

[lungs]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Scott Frost gets a two year extension

While I've mildly talked shit about Nebraska (not as bad as tarcone), I believe this is the right move. He should be able to get them back to Bo Pelini level.

And I would not be shocked if he beats Wisconsin today. Just wanted to throw that out there too

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tua carted off -- hip injury -- ... with a 35-7 lead late in q2.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Tua carted off -- hip injury -- ... with a 35-7 lead late in q2.

Seeing people on social media throwing shade at Saban for having him in the game. Seems silly to me. Big leads get blown all the time. Lets not act like it was halfway through the 4th quarter, it was the first half. If Clemson is up 35-7 in the first half today does Dabo pull Trevor Lawrence? I doubt it.

[GrantDawg]

I agree with you. I hate Bama, but feel so bad for the kid. He was helliecoptered back to Tuscaloosa. I imagine it is not a question of this point whether he comes back this year. It is when he can be back next year, and what that means for his draft status.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Seeing people on social media throwing shade at Saban for having him in the game. Seems silly to me. Big leads get blown all the time. Lets not act like it was halfway through the 4th quarter, it was the first half. If Clemson is up 35-7 in the first half today does Dabo pull Trevor Lawrence? I doubt it.

In fairness to the critics tho, it's 2019 Mississippi State. They weren't gonna score 35 points on Bama if you gave them all their possessions under overtime rules.

There was a better chance of me winning the Heisman than of a miraculous comeback happening.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

In fairness to the critics tho, it's 2019 Mississippi State. They weren't gonna score 35 points on Bama if you gave them all their possessions under overtime rules.

There was a better chance of me winning the Heisman than of a miraculous comeback happening.

Then why play him at all? He could just as easily be hurt on the first play. Lawrence was in the game last week against NC State in the second half when it was 42-7.

[Scoobz0202]

Breaking News: Tua Tagovailoa is out for the season with a dislocated hip with a posterior wall fracture, a person with knowledge of the situation tells me.

— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) November 16, 2019

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Then why play him at all?

Largely the same reason Saban gave for leaving him in for that particular drive: practice.

It's a coin toss on when to play / when to pull, you want players sharp but not at additional risk. The average seems to usually be "after first series of 2nd half" at the HS level, probably more toward the end of the third quarter in college.

I'm not saying in/out was the right or wrong decision regarding Tua ... but it wasn't because there was any concern about a Miss State comeback.

[JPhillips]

Ohio State has been in similar situations a number of times this season and they play starters through the first half. I'm not sure any title contender would sit people before halftime in a conference game.

edit: But I'm wrong if reports are that Saban wanted to take hi out but Tua asked for one more series.

[bhlloy]

Yeah, hindsight is a bitch, but I don't think there's a coach in history who pulls his starters before the start of the second against an in-conference opponent with that score, bottom of the barrel opponent or not. The only thing slightly different in this situation (and maybe why Saban was considering it, if he's telling the truth and not deflecting) is the previous injury, but this one had nothing to do with that anyway. Just bad luck.

[pbot]

Watching the Minnesota /Iowa game. Is 80% of the Minnesota roster a captain?

[tarcone]

Need captains to row boats I guess.

Minny could not handle the pressure and folds. Iowa plays exciting football in the 1st half and KF ball in the 2nd.

Another pretender goes down

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Need captains to row boats I guess.

Minny could not handle the pressure and folds. Iowa plays exciting football in the 1st half and KF ball in the 2nd.

Another pretender goes down

Yeah. That pretender lasted 6-7 more weeks than the pretender it lost to though.

[JonInMiddleGA]

In a year where it's hard to say much nice / good about Ole Miss, I'll give 'em credit: they showed up tonight.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Breaking News: Tua Tagovailoa is out for the season with a dislocated hip with a posterior wall fracture, a person with knowledge of the situation tells me.

— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) November 16, 2019

same injury that ended Bo Jackson's career

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

same injury that ended Bo Jackson's career

Didn't realize that. Bo Jackson - what could've been ...

[MizzouRah]

How about those Mizzou Tigers! 5-5 on the season so far, goodness.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Yeah. That pretender lasted 6-7 more weeks than the pretender it lost to though.

Yeah, Michigan really crapped the bed again.

[RendeR]

I find it hilarious that The Buckeye's QB isn't literally the only player being considered for the Heisman.

He's played barely more than a half PER GAME and his stats are as good or better than the other. If he even played 3 full quarters all season this discussion would be over.

Fricking hysterical.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by RendeR

I find it hilarious that The Buckeye's QB isn't literally the only player being considered for the Heisman.

He's played barely more than a half PER GAME and his stats are as good or better than the other. If he even played 3 full quarters all season this discussion would be over.

Fricking hysterical.

Sort of agree. I think Fields should be the front runner and being talked about more than he is however I think Burrow needs to be in the discussion. These next three weeks for Fields will decide the Heisman. I think Fields can fall pretty fast where as I think Burrow is sitting solidly at the top spot pending how Fields plays coming up.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by RendeR

I find it hilarious that The Buckeye's QB isn't literally the only player being considered for the Heisman.

He's played barely more than a half PER GAME and his stats are as good or better than the other. If he even played 3 full quarters all season this discussion would be over.

Fricking hysterical.

Fields is the second favorite to win it. To win the Heisman you need a moment. Going in to Alabama and bitch slapping them is going to be tough to beat. Burrow also put up 300 yards and 3 TDs against Florida and over 300 yards against Auburn.

In Fields 2 toughest games, MSU and Wisconsin, Fields wasn't really great. Illinois QB put up better numbers against MSU than Fields did. You really don't deserve a lot of credit for hanging huge numbers on the Miamis and Rutgers of the world.

Fields is having a nice year, but Burrow is far and away more deserving.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by RendeR

I find it hilarious that The Buckeye's QB isn't literally the only player being considered for the Heisman.

He's played barely more than a half PER GAME and his stats are as good or better than the other. If he even played 3 full quarters all season this discussion would be over.

Fricking hysterical.

The thing is none of the top QBs play much.
Quick stat compare between Burrows, Fields and Lawrence

Pass Attempts
Fields - 230
Burrows - 341
Lawrence - 279

Rushes
Fields - 84
Burrows - 75
Lawrence - 63

Yards Passing
Fields - 2164
Burrows - 3687
Lawrence - 2575

I'll dig into some stats more later and see if I can track down snap count and % of team snaps played. I think that would be an interesting metric.

One thing that jumps out there is reps against FCS/lower tier competition.
Lawrence against Charlotte (9 att) Wofford (16 att)
Fields FAU (25 att) Miami (21 ATT)
Burrows GaSo (27 ATT) Ut State (38 att)

Against this same comp Burrows has 10Tds, Fields 8Tds, Lawrence 5Tds

So its does make you wonder for the Heisman talk if Fields and Lawrence should have been allowed to throw a few more garbage TDs against cupcakes.

[tarcone]

You put rushes but not rushing yards. How do those flesh out?

[JonInMiddleGA]

NC State playing GT like they want a new coach.

I don't think they'll get one until the middle/late part of next season but, damn, talk about looking bad.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by tarcone

You put rushes but not rushing yards. How do those flesh out?

I put rushes to try and illustrate play numbers but that ignores handoffs so its a flawed apporoach.

But
Lawrence - 317 (5.0 ypc)
Fields - 377 (4.5)
Burrow - 215 (2.9)

[Edward64]

Not looking forward to the LSU slaughter tonight but I am looking forward to see how the Razorbacks respond in first game back after Morris' firing. Interim coach is former Razorback QB so hoping they play their hearts out, put up a decent showing, and beat the odds at 44.5.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Not looking forward to the LSU slaughter tonight but I am looking forward to see how the Razorbacks respond in first game back after Morris' firing. Interim coach is former Razorback QB so hoping they play their hearts out, put up a decent showing, and beat the odds at 44.5.

I believe I saw it is the biggest spread in SEC conference play history.

[Atocep]

Jarrett Doege for Heisman!

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I believe I saw it is the biggest spread in SEC conference play history.

Didn't know that.

The one hope is that LSU tends to choke more than AL so we may beat the odds ... nah, more likely they put in their 2nd team in the 3Q or 4Q.

[JPhillips]

I'm not willing to hear any arguments for Heisman other than Joe Burrow and Chase Young.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I'm not willing to hear any arguments for Heisman other than Joe Burrow and Chase Young.

Meanwhile Travis Ettiene has the highest ypc in ncaa history (Min 300 carries)...and no one talks about him.
He also leads the nation in broken tackles and yards after contact.

/bias homer fan

[JonInMiddleGA]

If there's a team that benefits from more uncalled penalties than UGAg, I'd fucking hate to see 'em.

I don't even think they're paying off the refs, I think the state of officiating is simply that fucking shitty these days.

The SEC appears to be hiring Pac12 rejects at this point, they're fucking awful week in, week out, every fucking game.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Meanwhile Travis Ettiene has the highest ypc in ncaa history (Min 300 carries)...and no one talks about him.
He also leads the nation in broken tackles and yards after contact.

/bias homer fan

He only averaged 3.3 ypc against the one ranked team they have played.

[Edward64]

Yeah baby. Razorbacks going to beat the line!

[MizzouRah]

What a season for Mizzou! They suck on all fronts, offense, defense and coaching.

Hopefully Arkansas beats us too, then we can have a nice 6 game losing streak.

[Edward64]

Pretty cool.

https://www.si.com/college/2019/11/2...wn-state-video

Injured Youngstown State quarterback Nathan Mays could not play in the final game of the season, but his teammates made sure he could still take the field one last time.

With 10 seconds left on the clock against Illinois State, the Penguins took a timeout so Mays could take the final snap of the game. Seniors Myles Douglas and Matt Jones helped support Mays, who was wearing a brace on his left ankle, as he made his way onto the field. After Jones snapped the ball, two other teammates helped Mays take a knee to end the game.

On Nov. 2, Mays suffered a season-ending ankle injury against North Dakota State when he was hit in the backfield. The senior told reporters he dislocated and broke his ankle and his career was over.

[Edward64]

Yup, sums it up pretty well.

Arkansas Razorbacks vs LSU Tigers - November 23, 2019 Recap | SI.com

While LSU won ''The Boot,'' a gold trophy in the shape of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana, the Tigers didn't celebrate with it.

''There was going to be not too much of a celebration to beat Arkansas. They haven't beat anybody in a long time,'' Orgeron said. ''We don't feel like we've accomplished what we want to accomplish yet.''

We played QB4 & QB5 (along with QB2) and they did relatively well all things considered, good experience for them.

FWIW, announcer last night said he thought it was going to be Leach. From reading the boards, Leach would be more welcome than not. Norvell seems to be #1 preference.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by RendeR

I find it hilarious that The Buckeye's QB isn't literally the only player being considered for the Heisman.

He's played barely more than a half PER GAME and his stats are as good or better than the other. If he even played 3 full quarters all season this discussion would be over.

Fricking hysterical.

Another average performance vs. PSU ( by Heisman winning standards). I think we can put this to bed unless Burrow implodes against Texas A and M and Fields goes nuts against Michigan. LSU will play UGA in the SEC title game, but TBH I am not sure that game factors in towards Heisman voting.