Official 2015 College Football Week 5 thread

[cartman]

Here are the match ups between Top 25 teams this week:

West Virginia at Oklahoma
Alabama at Georgia
Mississippi at Florida
Mississippi State at Texas A&M
Notre Dame at Clemson

[Kodos]

Ohio State at Indiana. A battle of undefeateds! I don't think we'll win, but I do think there's a chance. Go Hoosiers!

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Ohio State at Indiana. A battle of undefeateds! I don't think we'll win, but I do think there's a chance. Go Hoosiers!

Indiana has definitely solidified itself as at least the third best team in the state this season.

[Kodos]

I'll spot you Notre Dame. Who is the second team in Indiana that is better than IU?

[digamma]

Valpo, duh.

[Butter]

I'm going Ball State.

[Kodos]

So 2-2 is now better than 4-0? I get that Ball State lost to a couple of ranked teams, but I'm not sure how that translates to them being better.

On the other hand, it's easy to kick dirt in the face of a traditional weakling like IU football.

Me, I'll be happy with the progress we're making and hope for the upset of OSU.

[Butter]

Yeah, I don't actually believe that I thought we were just joking around. Sorry.

[digamma]

Yeah, the first post was tongue in cheek, which I tried to underscore by saying Valpo in the second post.

Trust me, I'm part of the most thin skinned fan base in the nation, so it was all in good fun (and whose team may be the fourth best in its state ).

[Kodos]

That's alright. IU football tends to be the butt of many jokes. Beat the #1 team, and maybe we'll get more respect. It's all good, guys. We don't get to enjoy many 5-game win streaks at IU.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Kodos

That's alright. IU football tends to be the butt of many jokes. Beat the #1 team, and maybe we'll get more respect. It's all good, guys. We don't get to enjoy many 5-game win streaks at IU.

I am rooting for you guys!

[digamma]

Oh for sure. Go Hoosiers.

[Butter]

Will be at Clemson-Notre Dame Saturday night.

Seems like Clemson is in a no-win situation. They lose, and they're supposed to lose because they're Clemson and Notre Dame is Notre Dame. (To wit: Notre Dame Fighting Irish in for true test in Clemson Tigers - Notre Dame Fighting Irish - ESPN)

They win, and well Notre Dame's injuries finally caught up with them and they had no business being ranked that high. And Clemson will continue to be stuck around #10.

Personally, I think Clemson wins by 2 touchdowns, but their offense has been underwhelming in a year where Deshaun Watson was picked as a Heisman candidate... he has looked tentative and not explosive most of the time. Clemson also lost their #1 WR with a broken neck on literally their first drive of the season vs. Wofford.

Should be a fun one. Wondering how many Irish fans will be there.... and how much patience I will have for the 8 PM kickoff. Already put in for a day off on Monday.

Personally, I feel like Clemson could be a CFP contender NEXT season... but with the injuries to Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech looking terrible.... the Tigers have an outside shot at it this year IF they can run the home gauntlet that includes the Irish, Yellow Jackets, and Florida State and avoid a road loss at Miami, NC State, or Syracuse.

Well, who are we kidding, they're not losing at NC State.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I am rooting for you guys!

Originally Posted by digamma

Oh for sure. Go Hoosiers.

I think outside of Ohio, pretty much everyone will be Hoosiers fans this weekend.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Will be at Clemson-Notre Dame Saturday night.

Seems like Clemson is in a no-win situation. They lose, and they're supposed to lose because they're Clemson and Notre Dame is Notre Dame. (To wit: Notre Dame Fighting Irish in for true test in Clemson Tigers - Notre Dame Fighting Irish - ESPN)

They win, and well Notre Dame's injuries finally caught up with them and they had no business being ranked that high. And Clemson will continue to be stuck around #10.

Personally, I think Clemson wins by 2 touchdowns, but their offense has been underwhelming in a year where Deshaun Watson was picked as a Heisman candidate... he has looked tentative and not explosive most of the time. Clemson also lost their #1 WR with a broken neck on literally their first drive of the season vs. Wofford.

Should be a fun one. Wondering how many Irish fans will be there.... and how much patience I will have for the 8 PM kickoff. Already put in for a day off on Monday.

Personally, I feel like Clemson could be a CFP contender NEXT season... but with the injuries to Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech looking terrible.... the Tigers have an outside shot at it this year IF they can run the home gauntlet that includes the Irish, Yellow Jackets, and Florida State and avoid a road loss at Miami, NC State, or Syracuse.

Well, who are we kidding, they're not losing at NC State.

That's awesome, should be a great game. To be fair on Williams, that kinda seemed like Watson's fault from the one look I had at it. I think Clemson's center is out too? ND had another huge injury scare as Ronnie Stanley got rolled up on and was clutching his knee. He seems to be fine, but they wouldn't have to say otherwise - that's an injury we really couldn't afford.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I think Clemson's center is out too?

Correct. Clemson's O-line can be beat and if Notre Dame wins it'll be because they stuff the run with their front 4 and don't give up any big plays.

The playbook to beating Clemson is play a deep zone and make them complete short throws all night. They haven't proven that they have the patience to stick with the short throwing game, nor that Watson has the chops to read a defense. Watson tried to force several passes deep against Louisville, resulting in a touchdown, but also a couple of picks and several incompletions.

Watson also hasn't yet had a game since his ACL tear where he himself has had to run to win. Clemson fans think this is the game where that aspect of the offense gets displayed, but I am not sure.

All I know of Notre Dame was watching them struggle to beat Virginia in the second half, and pretty sure that wasn't a good gage.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Correct. Clemson's O-line can be beat and if Notre Dame wins it'll be because they stuff the run with their front 4 and don't give up any big plays.

The playbook to beating Clemson is play a deep zone and make them complete short throws all night. They haven't proven that they have the patience to stick with the short throwing game, nor that Watson has the chops to read a defense. Watson tried to force several passes deep against Louisville, resulting in a touchdown, but also a couple of picks and several incompletions.

Watson also hasn't yet had a game since his ACL tear where he himself has had to run to win. Clemson fans think this is the game where that aspect of the offense gets displayed, but I am not sure.

All I know of Notre Dame was watching them struggle to beat Virginia in the second half, and pretty sure that wasn't a good gage.

I think ND is a sneaky talented team even with all the injuries and traditional power teams underestimate them this year at their own peril. I smell an Irish upset down in SC this weekend.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by cartman

No clue how they will do. I'm guessing they will end up in the 7 to 9 win range this season.

Well, 7 wins would be a miracle at this point for Texas. They are 1-3, but just as easily could be 3-1.

I'm glad that TCU was able to pull off the win against Tech. If they had lost that game, I'd bet that they would have absolutely destroyed Texas in Fort Worth this weekend out of frustration. I still think TCU will cover the spread, which is 14.

[tarcone]

4-0 Iowa visits 3-1 Wisconsin for the Heartland trophy. Also, this is the 1st step to crown a champ in the West.

I am really excited about this one. Need to kick some Bucky butt.

Go Hawks!

[Kodos]

Go Hawkeyes!

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Galaril

I think ND is a sneaky talented team even with all the injuries and traditional power teams underestimate them this year at their own peril. I smell an Irish upset down in SC this weekend.

What part of ND is sneaky talented? I haven't bothered looking closely at mock drafts, but I think there are 2 guaranteed 1st round picks still playing in Ronnie Stanley and Jaylon Smith and another few potential ones in KeiVarae Russell, Sheldon Day, Will Fuller, and other O-Linemen like McGlinchey. The "6 starters lost to injury" thing is true, and it absolutely has us razor thin with depth, but other than Zaire I think Jones was the only real loss so far. Tranquill, Crawford, Folston, Smythe were all the worst starter in their position group or replaced by guys just about equal in talent level. I'd include the suspended Bryant and Williams in that too if people are counting them as losses.

I think there's a good chance ND loses, particularly if the Deshaun Watson I loved last year shows up, but the injury apocalypse is more of a media narrative than a true accounting of the situation. A great O-Line and front 7 can cover up a whole lot of inexperience at the skill positions.

[mauchow]

[tarcone]

That was awesome. That damn fake punt. Everyone in the world except for the Iowa staff saw that coming.

[digamma]

Two threads merged.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Well, who are we kidding, they're not losing at NC State.

Hey!

Can't you at least let us delude ourselves into thinking there's a chance before we are rudely put back into our place as the game is played out?

[Atocep]

WVU starts its brutal 4 game stretch.

@Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
@Baylor
@TCU

[panerd]

Maty Mauk suspended for Missouri’s game vs. South Carolina | The Kansas City Star

And so the Drew Lock era begins for an unexpected reason...

[miami_fan]

According to ESPN

Maty Mauk and Malik Cuellar are suspended for disciplinary reasons related to violation of team policies. They will not play in Saturday's game against South Carolina.

[tarcone]

I have a good Maaty Mauk story.
There is a golf tourney in north Missouri in the Summer. It is a booster type deal. A former players family is from there and about 10 players a year show for it.
Last Summer Mauk was there. By the 15th hole he was so drunk, he had to be carried to a car as he was passed out.
Boosters were not impressed.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I have a good Maaty Mauk story.
There is a golf tourney in north Missouri in the Summer. It is a booster type deal. A former players family is from there and about 10 players a year show for it.
Last Summer Mauk was there. By the 15th hole he was so drunk, he had to be carried to a car as he was passed out.
Boosters were not impressed.

Yeah there is always the infamous scooter incident as well. Though you can't help but feel bad for the kid his dad is battling cancer and he is catching the grief of a bunch of couch potatoes for his subpar QB play. My dad is in his 70's and something like that would still effect my work.

http://mobile.sportingnews.com/artic...er-two-females

[panerd]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

According to ESPN

Maty Mauk and Malik Cuellar are suspended for disciplinary reasons related to violation of team policies. They will not play in Saturday's game against South Carolina.

My guess is a nice way for Pinkel to not have to bench Mauk for poor play as it is something he has very rarely done his entire time at Mizzou.

[Butter]

If he is just trying to find an excuse to bench him, then Pinkel is a worse coach than I thought.

[mauchow]

Originally Posted by tarcone

That was awesome. That damn fake punt. Everyone in the world except for the Iowa staff saw that coming.

yep, when it was happening and he had the whole field in front of him i was shocked.

[MacroGuru]

BYU has an Inside BYU Football show they show on ByuTV and Bronco shredded his team on Monday.

After watching it, I feel bad for UConn this weekend.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

BYU has an Inside BYU Football show they show on ByuTV and Bronco shredded his team on Monday.

After watching it, I feel bad for UConn this weekend.

Be wary. Say what you want about Mizzou this season but UConn gave us a 9-6 nail-biter. They have a decent defense and will definitely get up for a game against a good team.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by panerd

Be wary. Say what you want about Mizzou this season but UConn gave us a 9-6 nail-biter. They have a decent defense and will definitely get up for a game against a good team.

Very wary.

We are without our starting LB, starting QB, our starting RB (Who was our 2nd), a Starting DB.

That Michigan game hurt more than pride...

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

If he is just trying to find an excuse to bench him, then Pinkel is a worse coach than I thought.

I don't think it's an excuse to bench him, Pinkel is better than that. Why do you think he's a bad coach to begin with? I seriously doubt Pinkel gets a call Mauk violated some rule and he thought to himself.. "good now I can bench him and get Lock to play a full game without actually making the call on my own."

Which coaches are "great"? The ones that get the top high school talent every year and barely have to really coach? Pinkel has been HUGE for the Missouri program.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Which coaches are "great"? The ones that get the top high school talent every year and barely have to really coach? Pinkel has been HUGE for the Missouri program.

Recruiting is part of coaching. Look at the coaches who are supposedly great X's and O's guys but can't recruit worth a flip. They go back to being coordinators after they run their formerly elite programs into the ground.

Pinkel has been great at keeping the Missouri program "good". Out of his 14 seasons, they've had two years where they flirted with great, finishing in the top-10.

That's not a great coach to me. He's fine, I might even suggest "good". Unless you think that's Mizzou's ceiling, and maybe you do.

[Butter]

So, this Clemson-Notre Dame game is officially going to be a monsoon. They are calling for 1-2 inches of rain on Friday, then another 2-3 inches throughout the day on Saturday, and another inch possible during the game. Clemson has a grass field, not turf.

This could be an ugly game that actually comes down to whoever handles the conditions better. I am not sure how the Clemson field handles drainage of this much rain. This could be real interesting.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Recruiting is part of coaching. Look at the coaches who are supposedly great X's and O's guys but can't recruit worth a flip. They go back to being coordinators after they run their formerly elite programs into the ground.

Pinkel has been great at keeping the Missouri program "good". Out of his 14 seasons, they've had two years where they flirted with great, finishing in the top-10.

That's not a great coach to me. He's fine, I might even suggest "good". Unless you think that's Mizzou's ceiling, and maybe you do.

I'm not going to put him with Urban Meyer, Saban etc...

but as I have had this conversation many many times you can't have your cake and eat it too meaning either...

1) Pinkel is a fantastic recruiter but since Missouri doesn't have 1,000,000 subscribers to publications like Rivals and 24-7 teams like Tennessee and Texas A&M somehow always seem to magically land the 5* guys.

OR

2) He is the greatest developer in the history of college football with the amount of first round picks he is putting into the NFL that aren't 4* or 5* guys.

I lean towards #1 and will give you one small anecdotal example. There is a local kid named Brandan Scales that has been a great high school player around here. Missouri and Illinois and some smaller schools were going after him and he was the typical unranked/2* recruit. Well guess what Nick Saban came in and offered him and now is a magically a 3* and 4* in some publications guy. By the end of his senior year he will probably be 4* if not 5* across the board. I'm pretty sure this happens all the time... Our Freshman QB Lock was a 4* with an offer from Ohio State. Wonder what he would have been had he committed there?

[Kodos]

It's a running joke at Indiana that when they get a commitment, the player's star level drops.

[Logan]

Pretty sure that's a running joke at about 80% of P5 schools.

[MrBug708]

Yup

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Recruiting is part of coaching. Look at the coaches who are supposedly great X's and O's guys but can't recruit worth a flip. They go back to being coordinators after they run their formerly elite programs into the ground.

Pinkel has been great at keeping the Missouri program "good". Out of his 14 seasons, they've had two years where they flirted with great, finishing in the top-10.

That's not a great coach to me. He's fine, I might even suggest "good". Unless you think that's Mizzou's ceiling, and maybe you do.

Great recruiting = great coach? I don't believe that.. yes they win because they can recruit.. but I don't think Saban wins anymore games if he was put on say, Air Force. Now, once he starts recruiting, yes.. and I guess that is part of it all in college football.. but Great Recruiter > Great x's and o's coach.

The NFL is where the great coaches stand out, to me at least.

As far as Mizzou's ceiling.. I do believe Pinkel has done one hell of a job with his recruiting ability.. now that's a knock against Pinkel because if he could recruit better, our ceiling with him should be much higher because I believe he's a great x's and o's guy.

[Ben E Lou]

I missed this article in the appropriate week, but though I'd post it here. Some of you are aware that my first cousin was the real-life QB who was sacked by "Rudy" from the movies. The AJC did a nice story on my cousin. When visiting my home town, we attend the church mentioned in the article. (Not only is my cousin the Pastor, but my brother is the Music Director.)

Rudy Allen of Yellow Jackets sacked by Notre Dame's 'Rudy' | www.myajc.com

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

I missed this article in the appropriate week, but though I'd post it here. Some of you are aware that my first cousin was the real-life QB who was sacked by "Rudy" from the movies. The AJC did a nice story on my cousin. When visiting my home town, we attend the church mentioned in the article. (Not only is my cousin the Pastor, but my brother is the Music Director.)

Rudy Allen of Yellow Jackets sacked by Notre Dame's 'Rudy' | www.myajc.com

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

So, this Clemson-Notre Dame game is officially going to be a monsoon. They are calling for 1-2 inches of rain on Friday, then another 2-3 inches throughout the day on Saturday, and another inch possible during the game. Clemson has a grass field, not turf.

This could be an ugly game that actually comes down to whoever handles the conditions better. I am not sure how the Clemson field handles drainage of this much rain. This could be real interesting.

Any chance it gets postponed? Or is Clemson far enough South of College Park/Washington that it's not necessary?

Got to think a sloppy field would benefit us with our O-Line, but I do worry about ball security with converted WR/2 FR at tailback and a FR QB (or maybe two - I feel it's only a matter of time until Kelly is rotating Kizer and Brandon Wimbush.)

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Great recruiting = great coach? I don't believe that.. yes they win because they can recruit.. but I don't think Saban wins anymore games if he was put on say, Air Force. Now, once he starts recruiting, yes.. and I guess that is part of it all in college football.. but Great Recruiter > Great x's and o's coach.

The NFL is where the great coaches stand out, to me at least.

I don't think Saban would win a national title at Air Force either but I definitely think he has the X&O chops on defense and instills (on-field) discipline exceedingly well. The guy won at Toledo, built Michigan State into a top 10 team, and came in at both LSU and Alabama after some bad coaches and quickly built them into juggernauts.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

What part of ND is sneaky talented? I haven't bothered looking closely at mock drafts, but I think there are 2 guaranteed 1st round picks still playing in Ronnie Stanley and Jaylon Smith and another few potential ones in KeiVarae Russell, Sheldon Day, Will Fuller, and other O-Linemen like McGlinchey. The "6 starters lost to injury" thing is true, and it absolutely has us razor thin with depth, but other than Zaire I think Jones was the only real loss so far. Tranquill, Crawford, Folston, Smythe were all the worst starter in their position group or replaced by guys just about equal in talent level. I'd include the suspended Bryant and Williams in that too if people are counting them as losses.

I think there's a good chance ND loses, particularly if the Deshaun Watson I loved last year shows up, but the injury apocalypse is more of a media narrative than a true accounting of the situation. A great O-Line and front 7 can cover up a whole lot of inexperience at the skill positions.

CJ Proise for one.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

Hey!

Can't you at least let us delude ourselves into thinking there's a chance before we are rudely put back into our place as the game is played out?

FWIW I have had this game pegged as a loss for Clemson since the schedule came out.

Carter-Finley is a house of horrors for us..

ND-Clemson is going to be a certified slop fest. There has been a lot of chirping between the two teams and I expect it to be a bit chippy.

I agree with Bishop on the injury thing, ND is one of the Top 5 most talented teams in the country. If we are counting injuries/absences as excuses both teams are down ~10 starters from August.

Clemson will be without
#1 WR
#1 C (though I argue the b/u is better)
#1 LT
#1 SLB (which forced the SS to move to Sam)
#1 DT

All that said this game comes down to 2 battles.
OL/DL on both sides. If Clemson cant get pressure and force ND to keep the Gs in, thus allowing them to climb to Clemson's undersized LB'ers ND will control the ball and run away with it.

Likewise if the Tigers can't bye enough time to let Watson get quick throws off and open a few interior holes for Gallman to get his yards...it may be FSU 13 all over again.

A sloppy field and DW4's knee scares me. They say he is 100% but damn if he looks it to me. His landing on follow throughs has been off all year.

The line has fell to a pick 'em after opening Clemson -4.5...

I've heard that new OC Tony Elliott (oops I mean new Co-OC wink, wink, nod, nod...yeah Jeff you are CO-OC...you just cant call plays and Tony sits in the box) has many wrinkles saved for just this game.

God I hope so. Because as good of a dude as he is, and with all the talk all off season about simplifying the playbook down from Chad Morris' insane 1650 plays last year, SMU is still moving the ball at will and it has looked like Rob Spence was back in Clemson calling the dreaded Bubble Screen Raid offense. The pre snap motion HAS to return. The line counter action fake HAS to return. And DW4 has to be back to pre injury form for Clemson to have any chance.

Oh yeah CB Mackenzie Alexander #2...he better show up or it will be a loooong night.

I despise ESPN Gameday games. I actually like rain games. But I am going to hate that 3+ hour ride home getting in after 4AM soaking wet Sat night if not...

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak