Official 2022 College Football Thread

[Swaggs]

I like the idea of the geographical balance of Georgia from the east, Michigan from the north, TCU in the south, and USC out of the west. If it was Texas, rather than TCU, that arrangement would probably be pretty ideal for national interest.

I like seeing USC relevant again. Based on their rise and Oklahoma’s decline, Lincoln Riley’s star is pretty darn bright right now.

[GrantDawg]

I agree. I think it would be good to have a team from the west be in the mix.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[Ksyrup]

LSU finishing about as well as they started this season.

[Ksyrup]

Just like I imagined at the beginning of the day, I've been watching USF/UCF for the last 30 minutes. Ridiculous.

If UCF blows this, who goes to the AAC champ game?

EDIT - Nevermind, it's Cincinnati.

[Ksyrup]

That TD catch by UCF was amazing but he was OOB. I can't believe they let that stand. His knee hit first (or at the same time as the rest of his leg) and was OOB.

[Atocep]

Brian Kelly calling timeout with 17 seconds left on 4th and 1 down 15 with his own players headed to the locker room is the most Brian Kelly thing he could have done in that situation.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Brian Kelly calling timeout with 17 seconds left on 4th and 1 down 15 with his own players headed to the locker room is the most Brian Kelly thing he could have done in that situation.

Nah. The MOST Brian Kelly thing he could have done was lose a big game.

[Solecismic]

It is all guesswork because schedules are all over the place. If you look at records against the rest of the top 25 in the committee rankings, the ten major teams with 0-2 losses all have two wins - except Penn State (0) and USC (3, though none higher than Notre Dame at 15th). Only three total losses outside of the top 25, and I think that will become one when they rank South Carolina. Then it's just Washington's loss to Arizona State, and Washington can't play USC.

You have to look at stats and you have to look at overall quality, week to week, to get a bigger picture. But there isn't enough inter-connectivity and even the conference championships aren't adding a lot.

So, three-loss LSU is out. That's big for USC, which can undo their one road loss on neutral territory if Washington hangs on in the Apple Cup. It also gives the two non-SEC undefeateds more room to look mediocre in conference championships. Just not three-touchdown blowouts. Strange that we probably know most of the picture now - just need to see how far Ohio State slides so we know who replaces USC with a loss next week.

One other point. The Pac and Big Twelves have gone to the two-best in the championship format. Imagine if the Big Ten had joined that trend. Today's game would have been guaranteed a repeat next week. The Game would have been reduced to a exhibition match.

[Lathum]

My Huskies pull away late from the cougs, Penix Jr is amazing, and no one is awake to see it. Best player in the league and the conference buries him in a 10:30 east coast game. Why does the PAC 12 hate itself so much?

Hopefully we get a New Years day bowl. It was an amazing season. Hope Penix comes back because we can compete for a playoff spot. That loss to ASU was a real killer.

[Solecismic]

I have a quick ranking system I use in place of the detailed one I used for a long time. It's based in part on computer rankings, with additions that mirror what the committee says it uses in determining their list.

There is no beauty contest component, though, so a methodical push through a ever-dangerous schedule gets rewarded a little more. I would add a statistical component if I were actually voting.

I've only listed teams with two losses or less. There are teams with more losses (Kansas State in particular) that would likely be ahead of Clemson here.

USC will get enough points if it beats Utah to go into fourth here. Clemson would pass Penn State, but go no further.

1. TCU 71.6 (8)
2. Georgia 70.8 (8)
3. Michigan 69.6 (6)
4. Alabama 66.7 (6)
5. Ohio State 66.1 (6)
6. USC 64.6 (4)
7. Tennessee 64.0 (6)
8. Penn State 62.0 (5)
9. Clemson 57.9 (4)
10. Washington 53.8 (4)

The number in parenthesis is the number of wins against teams in the top 50 of the computer ranking I used, which does have a statistical component.

If my goal were a power ranking, even more of a statistical component and I'd remove the bonus simply for winning a game against an opponent that shouldn't be much of a challenge.

Of all the results so far this year in this group, 9 of the 12 losses were on the road and only Clemson's recent loss to South Carolina was at home to a lower-ranked team. Obviously, Washington's loss at Arizona State stands out as most difficult to reconcile with a top team. When you're looking for signature wins, Michigan gets the big prize with yesterday's result. Georgia and TCU have the better overall resumes - TCU's win at Texas, in particular, warrants a "yeah, you belong" response.

In all, this is an unusually easy analysis. I still think if any of the undefeated teams lose next week, they're still in unless it's a complete demoralizing blowout. USC deserves the fourth spot with a win. If they lose, the committee has a hard choice, but can't really make a wrong choice.

[bob]

USC - ND came down to three key plays:
- ND failed to convert a 4th down in the first half (probably should have kicked a FG)
- ND QB fumbled during a handoff on the first possession of 2nd half.
- ND QB interception in the 4th.

I think if 2 of 3 of those go the other way, ND may have won. That being said, ND has struggled FOREVER against mobile QBs that can scramble.

[Ksyrup]

Looks like David Shaw resigned while we were all asleep.

[JPhillips]

Luke Fickell is supposed to be the next coach at Wisconsin. I'm a little surprised he isn't waiting for OSU, but I think it's a good hire for Wiscy.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Luke Fickell is supposed to be the next coach at Wisconsin. I'm a little surprised he isn't waiting for OSU, but I think it's a good hire for Wiscy.

Looks like he was making $5M/year at Cincy. I wonder if he looked at the lay of the land in the Big 12, with no heavyweights but no easy wins any more, and figured that it was a good time to take the big payday now rather than see his star potentially fade a la Matt Campbell over the past couple years.

I doubt we will ever know, but it would be interesting to see if Nebraska and Wisconsin both talked to Fickell and Ruhle. I would think Fickell would be higher on the pecking order and that Nebraska is considered the better job, but maybe Wisconsin has surpassed them?

[Ksyrup]

My daughter's BF is crushed. He's a Cincy alum, they go to every home game, and when I texted them this morning about the report, he said he wasn't worried because he didn't think he'd leave for any job but Ohio State.

Here's the thing though - even if Ryan Day continues to underachieve, he's still probably got 2-3 years. They're still winning 10 games right now. So Fickell sticks with Cincy as they move to the Big 12 and suddenly Cincy is a 5-7 win team instead of at or near the top of the AAC. Is that a guy Ohio State can hire? What if Cincy falls off to 4-6 wins? He's probably taking the money because of the timing, not because this is the job he was waiting for.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

My daughter's BF is crushed. He's a Cincy alum, they go to every home game, and when I texted them this morning about the report, he said he wasn't worried because he didn't think he'd leave for any job but Ohio State.

Here's the thing though - even if Ryan Day continues to underachieve, he's still probably got 2-3 years. They're still winning 10 games right now. So Fickell sticks with Cincy as they move to the Big 12 and suddenly Cincy is a 5-7 win team instead of at or near the top of the AAC. Is that a guy Ohio State can hire? What if Cincy falls off to 4-6 wins? He's probably taking the money because of the timing, not because this is the job he was waiting for.

I agree with that, for sure. I’m not saying it will be Cincy, but all four of the new schools are going to be in for a shock early on and I think at least one or two are bound to struggle despite being a really good collection of programs and coaches (Malzahn, Fickell, and Holgorson have all been P5 coaches and all four have had multiple 10-win seasons). When TCU and WVU came to the Big 12, they were both coming off unprecedented levels of success (both averaged 10+ wins and BCS bowls and wins), but it took both three years to finish above .500 in conference.

[JonInMiddleGA]

fwiw, The Atlantic is saying Willie Fritz to GT is close ... also saying talks with Bill O'Brien were in depth but had cooled.

I'm not overly optimistic about anybody making GT particularly relevant in football but I'd definitely take Fritz over O'Brien all day everyday.

[bob]

Fantastic. He’s just slightly younger than Paul Johnson is currently.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by bob

Fantastic. He’s just slightly younger than Paul Johnson is currently.

If he needs 7 seasons to rebuild into a meaningful program (like it did at Tulane) then he'll be gone before age becomes a serious issue.

[GrantDawg]

Rumors say that the big money donors put the kibosh on a Hugh Freeze hire. There are now actual rumors they are pursuing.....Urban Meyer.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[Ksyrup]

I mean, given the names they're going after, Meyer makes complete sense.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Rumors say that the big money donors put the kibosh on a Hugh Freeze hire. There are now actual rumors they are pursuing.....Urban Meyer.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

A lot of schools have backed off Freeze the past few weeks. There's just so much baggage there that most ADs and school Presidents wouldn't want to deal with it unless he's an Urban Meyer level head coach, and he's not.

If you're going to take a risk on that much baggage at least get one of the best.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

My daughter's BF is crushed. He's a Cincy alum, they go to every home game, and when I texted them this morning about the report, he said he wasn't worried because he didn't think he'd leave for any job but Ohio State.

Here's the thing though - even if Ryan Day continues to underachieve, he's still probably got 2-3 years. They're still winning 10 games right now. So Fickell sticks with Cincy as they move to the Big 12 and suddenly Cincy is a 5-7 win team instead of at or near the top of the AAC. Is that a guy Ohio State can hire? What if Cincy falls off to 4-6 wins? He's probably taking the money because of the timing, not because this is the job he was waiting for.

100%

Otherwise you become Matt Campbell, who's gone from NFL rumors, to USC rumors, to Notre Dame rumors, to stuck at Iowa State and trying to turn things around again.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Yeah, I still don't know that this will hold (obviously rooting for it), but it's funny to compare my feelings (albeit biased) watching this vs the first half of PUR/IU. For the earlier game I was basically OMG HOW BAD ARE YOU SUCKING TO BE LOSING TO 4-7 INDIANA? Whereas here it's OMG LOOK AT HOW PLUCKY THIS 4-7 A&M TEAM IS!!

I mean, is A&M really any less awful than Indiana? They lost to a 6-6 App St.. Or do they just have HIDDEN SEC POWER?? I mean if LSU loses here this should be a laying of a pretty big f'in egg.

Heh. Decided to take a look at updated bowl projections, and consensus seems to be Purdue/LSU in the Citrus Bowl. Well, at least the band wouldn't be going to Nashville yet again. (And it's not Detroit!)

As for the B1G Championship, glad to see them get there, and again it's another venue for my son to get to see/play in. (Not that Indy is exactly far from where he is.) Game-wise, Michigan should just run it like 80 times. The Purdue defense is not really capable of stopping a decent running attack. Could be ugly.

[Lathum]

UW looking Rose Bowl bound against tOSU. Would be a really fun game.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

A lot of schools have backed off Freeze the past few weeks. There's just so much baggage there that most ADs and school Presidents wouldn't want to deal with it unless he's an Urban Meyer level head coach, and he's not.

If you're going to take a risk on that much baggage at least get one of the best.

I have to assume that this was Freeze's agent throwing his name out there because this is an unnecessary trial balloon for schools to send up. The idea that schools thought about hiring Freeze and somehow just realized he had too much baggage is embarrassing. I feel like as an school president/AD you know before you fire your current head coach if hiring Hugh Freeze is an option for your school.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I have to assume that this was Freeze's agent throwing his name out there because this is an unnecessary trial balloon for schools to send up. The idea that schools thought about hiring Freeze and somehow just realized he had too much baggage is embarrassing. I feel like as an school president/AD you know before you fire your current head coach if hiring Hugh Freeze is an option for your school.

Have you met Auburn? This is not new to them at all. Auburn definitely had every intention on hiring Freeze as a second choice to Kiffin. It was a spirited campaign against him that cooled it off. Don't be surprised if they hold their nose and still sign him if they can't find another big splash.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Lathum

UW looking Rose Bowl bound against tOSU. Would be a really fun game.

Still upset that we had DeBoer and let him get away. And Michael Penix with him.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Have you met Auburn? This is not new to them at all. Auburn definitely had every intention on hiring Freeze as a second choice to Kiffin. It was a spirited campaign against him that cooled it off. Don't be surprised if they hold their nose and still sign him if they can't find another big splash.

I am very aware of Auburn. That is why I said it was an unnecessary trial balloon. If and when the boosters say he is the next head coach, he will be the next head coach regardless of baggage. If there was some spirited campaign against him due to his past that prevented the hire, then he never had a shot at the job. I get why a school like Liberty might have to play that game. Auburn does not.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

If there was some spirited campaign against him due to his past that prevented the hire, then he never had a shot at the job.

I believe "past" = Liberty's record over the last month.

[JonInMiddleGA]

As of 4pm or so, it appears the effort to sink Freeze failed and he's reportedly got the job.

[GrantDawg]

Yup. I think the "no one else is interested " sealed the deal.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I believe "past" = Liberty's record over the last month.

I think that did more damage than the baggage. When you're winning in college football most admins are willing to accept just about anything, but when you lose to UConn and New Mexico State you start looking for excuses to pass on a coach.

[RainMaker]

His penchant for escorts is one thing, but him probably being a pedophile is another. Although he went to the right state for it I guess.

Who is Hugh Freeze? Conflicting views of former Ole Miss coach emerge

Katie Dalmasso, 32, said she was an eighth grader at Briarcrest in 1999 when Freeze made her change shirts inside his office after he said her Grateful Dead T-shirt violated school dress code.

“Coach Freeze pulled me in his office and told me that my shirt represented drugs,’’ Dalmasso said. “I said, ‘I’ll go change in the bathroom,’ and when I said that he said, ‘No, you’re going to change in here so I get the (Grateful Dead) shirt and you can’t have it back.’
“He didn’t do anything sexual. But I stood in the corner and faced the wall when I did it and I changed out of my shirt. No privacy.’’

Another former Briarcrest student said Freeze was “hyper attentive’’ to the length of her skirts and that he loomed in the parking lot after she would go to her car to change clothes. She also said she was troubled by the time she and some football players faced discipline for arriving late from lunch, when she asked to be paddled — a form of discipline reserved for the male students — instead of receiving detention. She said she was stunned when Freeze obliged rather than getting a female teacher.

“(Freeze) did some bizarre warm-up taunt before actually making contact,’’ said the woman, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because she said she fears reprisal. “I was humiliated that he didn't have a female in the room.
“I don't know if the acts were intentionally sexual or if he was really that oblivious to the inherently sexual nature of his approach to discipline.’’

[Edward64]

I really have no idea how good of a coach he is but wish him well. I think it'll be a fantastic feel good story/movie if he succeeds.

Deion Sanders confirms he's been offered Colorado job

Deion Sanders said Monday that a report stating Colorado has offered him its head-coaching job is true and he has also received interest from other schools.

The Jackson State football coach didn't say whether he's considering any of the opportunities, including trying to turn around the Buffaloes' beleaguered program.

Sanders didn't specify in a teleconference for the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game participants who else has reached out besides Colorado, saying, "I'm not going to sit here and tell all my business, but they're not the only ones."

[Ksyrup]

I guess it's a sign of how far Colorado has fallen that this has played out with not just a report of him being offered the job but him publicly acknowledging the offer. Perhaps it's just because it's Deion, but that's not normal. And it paints the school in an even worse light if he ultimately decides not to take it (especially since he's disclosed their offer but not any other school he suggests he's talking to).

[Ryche]

I can't believe he'd take the Colorado job, something better will be offered for sure, if not this year then next. Buffaloes are such a trainwreck.

[GrantDawg]

Auburn went from a Cadillac to an Escort.....
I will show myself out.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Still upset that we had DeBoer and let him get away. And Michael Penix with him.

I really hope Penix comes back. We could compete for a playoff spot with him. We are a bad lose to ASU away from that this year. I also think he would headline the Heisman list and get a ton more national exposure. A lot of our games were buried this year.

[GrantDawg]

Looks like Willie Fritz is not taking the GT job, abd Brent Key is going to be given the job.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Looks like Willie Fritz is not taking the GT job, abd Brent Key is going to be given the job.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

Reports seem to suggest that the inability to provide enough guaranteed money sank the deal.

[GrantDawg]

I also saw that is why talks with Bill O'Brien went nowhere.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[HomerSimpson98]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Looks like Willie Fritz is not taking the GT job, abd Brent Key is going to be given the job.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

Not a GT guy here, but I love this. Tech was a different team when Key took over. Give him about 3-4 years and lets see what he can do. Low risk, high reward.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by HomerSimpson98

Tech was a different team when Key took over. .

You could likely have pulled someone out of the bleachers at a Saturday morning rec game in the South and had better than what Collins provided.

[bob]

So the fear among GT fans that I knew was that Key would do well enough to allow GT to be cheap and keep the job. And here we are...

[GrantDawg]

It may be the best thing for GT. Have someone who has a love and a passion for the football team at its helm. Because the administration sure doesn't.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[bob]

I guess you can look at it that way.

To me, it looks like three other guys said no and we defaulted to the guy we already had.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by bob

I guess you can look at it that way.

To me, it looks like three other guys said no and we defaulted to the guy we already had.

Basically. It's a I-AA program at most and that's pretty much the route they're taking.

[GrantDawg]

Looks like Ohio State is sitting in the cat-birds seat. They are the first in to the top four if USC or possibly TCU loses.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[albionmoonlight]

Yeah. This year seems a little easier than most to figure out. UGA and Michigan in no matter what (IMO). TCU and USC in with wins. Ohio State in if one of them loses. The only thing I am not sure about is who would go in if TCU and USC both lose.