NCAA Football 2022

[Unagi]

wow... what an ending.

Now that my hatred of Jim Harbaugh is quenched - I'm ready for Georgia to win this whole thing....

but holy cow - TCU looks very ready for Georgia.

edit:

Spoiler:

It was very hard to want Texas Christians to win and feel good about themselves - but it needed to happen (Jim Harbaugh). I pretend that the guys playing are victims of their environment, and aren't really Texas Christians at heart.

[Scuzz]

The third quarter was a mess for both teams but the game ended up close. Two pick sixes did Michigan in.

Now I want to see Georgia stomp OSU.

[LawBeefaroni]

Two pick sixes did Michigan in.

Or the fumble at the goal line. Or the loss of 10 yards on a 4th down at the 2. There were a few key missed tackles in there too. They lost by one TD in a game where they gave away at least 3.

[Skinypupy]

Just checked the score at intermission.

Um…wow.

[Hyena]

wow... what an ending.

Now that my hatred of Jim Harbaugh is quenched - I'm ready for Georgia to win this whole thing....

but holy cow - TCU looks very ready for Georgia.

edit:

Spoiler:

It was very hard to want Texas Christians to win and feel good about themselves - but it needed to happen (Jim Harbaugh). I pretend that the guys playing are victims of their environment, and aren't really Texas Christians at heart.

We had a month to prepare for Blue. Ain't no way we gonna truly prepared. Although OSU made them look beatable.

[Unagi]

That TCU/Michigan game was just so much fun to watch.

Even if they don't go all the way - those guys should be really proud of themselves for that game alone. I know that will be of little comfort, but they impressed everyone with that game.

Pretty sure Georgia is as nervous as TCU is about this game.

[Hyena]

That TCU/Michigan game was just so much fun to watch.

Even if they don't go all the way - those guys should be really proud of themselves for that game alone. I know that will be of little comfort, but they impressed everyone with that game.

Pretty sure Georgia is as nervous as TCU is about this game.

I was just standing there in shock, even after that long-ass review for possible targeting. Still not sure it has sunk in, to be honest. Such a good game. I know I'd feel different if I was on the other end, but very happy this morning.

[Pyperkub]

Wow what a crushing defeat for UCLA. From not enough time to elation to despair.

The prevent defense prevents wins!

And as soon as I saw us only rushing 3 to start the drive, I knew it would end that way. We have this awful, brain dead habit of starting every end of game, one score lead by playing prevent defense until the other team gets to midfield, and by then it's too late. The opposing qb has gotten into rhythm and our dl is out of rhythm.

Hated to see DTR go out like that : 3 picks and an injury. He has been such a warrior for ucla and gave us a ton of magnificent moments . It was nice seeing Garbers get a nice go ahead drive tho.

With most of our OL back, we should be really good again, but we really need the defense to catch up with the offense. A lot of the problems are scheme and defensive playcalling, but DL which can get admitted to UCLA are not easy to find and the west coast talent pool there has been shrinking with concussion worries it seems. We have been really leaning on the transfer portal for dl who have the grades to get into ucla. A lot of graduate transfers, especially from the ivy league... which ain't exactly 5* dl athletes ready to dominate at the power 5 level. Solid, rotation players, but not guys who demand double teams.

Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Tapatalk

[Pyperkub]

Very happy to see Tennessee win the Orange Bowl today.

Partly because I know there’s some TN fans here, partly because it’s a great ending to a great season for them, but mostly because I cannot fucking stand Dabo Swinney.

I can't stand Sonny Dykes, but I was still rooting for TCU somehow. I probably will be again in the NC.

They were a couple of fun semifinals tho!

Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Tapatalk

[Skinypupy]

Nice of USC to spend a bazillion dollars on their offense…and not a single nickel on the defensive side of the ball.

What a finish.

[WYBaugh]

There are a brazillian Utes at the Rose Bowl

[Scuzz]

Nice of USC to spend a bazillion dollars on their offense…and not a single nickel on the defensive side of the ball.

What a finish.

So why haven’t the Mormons ponied up to help BYU and Utah? They have bought every Samoan or Polynesian.

Both USC and UCLA have terrible defenses.

[Lassr]

Nice of USC to spend a bazillion dollars on their offense…and not a single nickel on the defensive side of the ball.

What a finish.

He brought that Oklahoma defense with him. I was happy to see that Tulane victory. Picture "Fuck USC!" painted on my nails.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

[Skinypupy]

Second Rose Bowl in a row where Cam Rising goes down in the second half with an injury. Love the kid’s toughness, but he has got to learn not to take hits like that.

Props to Penn State. They dominated both lines, hit a couple big strike plays, and have absolutely whupped Utah in this second half. This was certainly a disappointing ending to a decent season, but I think we overachieved to get to the Rose Bowl in the first place.

Seeing Rising, Kuithe, and Kincaid all standing together injured on the sideline late in the 3rd quarter just makes me think "what if".

[ImLawBoy]

Congrats, Hyena. That was definitely a more interesting game than I anticipated. Much like I felt the Michigan staff completely out-coached the OSU staff during The Game, I think the TCU staff bested the Michigan staff. That's really critical for a team facing a talent gap (like Michigan against OSU or TCU against Michigan). I don't know if TCU will have the time to gameplan as effectively against UGA, but I'll be pulling for them.

I'll start out my game analysis by avoiding the elephant in the room and pointing out that Michigan could have easily won this game by not shooting themselves in the foot multiple times. Poor play calling at the goal line (particularly the fourth down call on the opening drive), turnovers, and overly aggressive defense against a QB who is at his best under pressure all contributed greatly to the outcome. I think the absence of Corum really showed at the goal line, as the staff clearly didn't trust Edwards there (whether it was because of his broken hand or they just don't see him as a short yardage back). Still, I don't know why they kept using Mullings there when they have other backs on the roster who have been playing running back for more than a month.

So, the elephant in the room (you can skip the next 2 paragraphs if you don't want to hear me bitching about the officiating). Yes, it was bad both ways. The roughing the passer call against TCU was awful - but it was awful in an ordinary way. I assume the ref saw the defender's extended arm when JJ went down and thought (wrongly, to be clear) that there was extra/unnecessary force from the defender. Replay showed pretty clearly that it was a bad call, but there's not much you can do about that type of bad call. It's part of the game and it's not reviewable. (Plus Michigan ended up punting on the drive anyway.) Overturning the TD catch was way worse because it was done on replay. Frankly, I thought that the replay was closer to "call confirmed" than overturned, but at its most generous to TCU it should have been "call stands". Even if you think that he probably had possession outside of the endzone, it was not "clear and convincing" evidence that supports overturning the call in any event. Yes, Michigan should have just punched it in on the next play anyway rendering the discussion moot, but the bottom line is the refs wrongly took 6 (probably 7) points off the board in what ended up being a 6 point game.

The targeting at the end of the game wasn't quite as bad, but only because there's no guarantee that Michigan would have done anything if it had been properly called. Again, though, it bugs me so much because it was a replay that was clearly wrong. The announcers wanted to initially shrug it off because they didn't want the game to hinge on that type of call, but once they got their rules guy on and he pointed out that it was pretty much textbook targeting, even they admitted that it should be called. This isn't a "rubbing's racing" call with a defender getting a little handsy on a desperation heave at the end of the game - this is supposed to be a safety issue for players that is called on a bright line basis. If the refs made the decision not to call it because of the game situation, that's a massive fail by the refs. If the refs made that decision because they thought it wasn't targeting, then they need to learn the rules better.

OK. I had to get that off my chest. Michigan should have made all that moot by executing, but they didn't and TCU did. TCU deserved to win the game - they played and coached better than Michigan. I'd love to see them pull the upset against Georgia in the title game.

[Skinypupy]

Sadly, TCU seems completely overmatched so far in this first half. They’re making it look really easy.

Bummer.

[Lassr]

This is how I thought the Mich/TCU game was going to look. I predicted 38-20 Georgia, I don't think it's going to be that close...

[Jaymann]

Well congrats to GA on the undefeated season.

[Skinypupy]

Yeesh, this is a bloodbath. I figured Georgia would win comfortably, but not this comfortably.

[Scuzz]

Georgia is this good.

[Hyena]

Well that was embarrassing.

I think we shot the wad on Michigan. We couldn't do anything all night. Couldn't run to set up the pass. Couldn't pass to set up the run. The way we looked tonight we couldn't have stopped a puppy with a twenty pound dumbell stapled to his scrotum. Frankly I'm surprised the D-line wasn't just taking the handoffs directly from Max.

It's a shame I don't drink when I'm in a bad mood...

[Scuzz]

Well that was embarrassing.

I think we shot the wad on Michigan. We couldn't do anything all night. Couldn't run to set up the pass. Couldn't pass to set up the run. The way we looked tonight we couldn't have stopped a puppy with a twenty pound dumbell stapled to his scrotum. Frankly I'm surprised the D-line wasn't just taking the handoffs directly from Max.

It's a shame I don't drink when I'm in a bad mood...

Enjoy the season you had.

[Hyena]

Well that was embarrassing.

I think we shot the wad on Michigan. We couldn't do anything all night. Couldn't run to set up the pass. Couldn't pass to set up the run. The way we looked tonight we couldn't have stopped a puppy with a twenty pound dumbell stapled to his scrotum. Frankly I'm surprised the D-line wasn't just taking the handoffs directly from Max.

It's a shame I don't drink when I'm in a bad mood...

Enjoy the season you had.

I'm trying. Gonna go do a shot of eyebleach to cleanse my palate before I think about how to forget the last 4 hours.

[Isgrimnur]

That was an old-school butt-whoopin’.

[ImLawBoy]

As a fan of the team who has been knocked out of the playoffs the last two years by this year's finalists, it probably won't take too long to move past it and remember the fun of the season. TCU had a hell of run, but probably needed everything to go right to close the talent gap with UGA - and it didn't happen. Congrats anyway on a great year Hyena.

Do we have any Dawg fans here anymore? I know Peacedog was a fan, but he hasn't been in these parts in ages. Regardless, congrats on the repeat UGA.

[Skinypupy]

The thing that jumped out to me last night was just how huge the talent gap between the two teams was.

The “little guy” can jump up and win a surprise game here or there when absolutely everything goes right. TCU did it against Michigan this year and teams like Utah and Boise State have been "giant killers" in the past. But it’s tough to replicate that success consistently when your roster of 3 and 4-star dudes is going up against rosters stacked with 4 and 5-star athletes. Georgia was simply bigger, stronger, and faster and no matter what TCU did, they had an athleticism answer.

That's not a knock against TCU by any means, as they had a truly remarkable season. Absolutely one to be proud of. It's just really, really tough to catch lightning in a bottle twice, which is what they would have had to do in order to be competitive last night.

[ImLawBoy]

But it’s tough to replicate that success consistently when your roster of 3 and 4-star dudes is going up against rosters stacked with 4 and 5-star athletes.

I saw a tweet during the UGA-OSU semi that said something to the effect of, "Oh, no. With that injury Georgia is down to their 3rd string 5-star tight end."

[Skinypupy]

In today's good news for the rest of the conference, USC has decided to keep Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch.

[Pyperkub]

The thing that jumped out to me last night was just how huge the talent gap between the two teams was.

The “little guy” can jump up and win a surprise game here or there when absolutely everything goes right. TCU did it against Michigan this year and teams like Utah and Boise State have been "giant killers" in the past. But it’s tough to replicate that success consistently when your roster of 3 and 4-star dudes is going up against rosters stacked with 4 and 5-star athletes. Georgia was simply bigger, stronger, and faster and no matter what TCU did, they had an athleticism answer.

That's not a knock against TCU by any means, as they had a truly remarkable season. Absolutely one to be proud of. It's just really, really tough to catch lightning in a bottle twice, which is what they would have had to do in order to be competitive last night.

One thing I did notice early in the game (TCU's first drive), was that Duggan was off on some easy throws which would have gotten them the first down to get the drive going and get them into the rhythm they never had all night, and while their defense got completely overmatched, the offense really wasn't ready to play from the start of the game.

Yes, Georgia's defense was tough, but there were plays to be made which TCU didn't execute on, at least early when I was still paying attention. Would it have made a difference? No, but the showing wasn't indicative of how they played all year, even despite the talent disparity issues.

Still, a fantastic year that anyone not named Clemson, Alabama, Ohio St or Georgia would be extremely proud of.

[Hyena]

It was a combination of so many things. We were outmatched at every level, all three phases of the game. As suggested, we aren't as deep as Georgia is, so the 15-game slog is harder on us because they have 5* players two and sometimes three deep on their position roster. And finally, we had a month to prepare for Michigan, but a week to prepare for what amounts to a professional team.

But to me, the biggest issue was this: Coach Smart has been building this army for years. He has been pulling in these rockstar players since 2016 or so, had a fairly consistent offensive and defensive scheme. TCU has cobbled together this team with the leftovers of a defensive-minded guru, transfer/portal players from a half dozen or more schools/programs, and freshman recruits and smashed them into an offensive-minded guru's scheme and using a completely new defense with the leftovers of a vastly different mindset. I likened it to entering a soapbox derby car into the Indy 500, and there was no way on God's green earth that we were going to win that game.

But all that being said, we did really well with it this year, and I'm still proud of my Frogs!

[Apollo]

I'm just thinking about how my favorite team's two arch-rivals, whom we have to play every year, have now won the last three national titles.

Being an Auburn fan has NEVER been tougher than it is right now.

[Pyperkub]

NIL Shenanigans:

Nov. 10: Rashada and the Gator Collective agree to terms on an NIL deal exceeding $13 million. Such a massive pledge is thought to dramatically exceed the Gator Collective’s fundraising level, so the deal presumes assistance from Hathcock or other Gator Guard donors. After signing the contract, Rashada decommits from Miami and flips to Florida.

Dec. 7: Rojas sends a termination letter regarding the $13 million contract, according to a program source close to the situation. There are conflicting accounts about why the deal crumbled and who pledged to pay what. Multiple conversations ensue between donors and athletic department members, including Castro-Walker and Stricklin. Some within the administration are only now getting up to speed on what was promised — the program aiming to keep these third-party NIL dealings at arm’s length. Yet these conversations ultimately focus on finding contingencies for keeping the class’ highest-profile recruit in the fold....

...Jan. 11: A program source with knowledge of the entanglement says Rashada won’t be enrolling at Florida. “There’s a lot of panic. It’s like stepping on an ant pile.” There’s also the potential for litigation, hinging upon whether the November contract is binding. The collectives, according to another program source with knowledge of the situation, are offering a lesser deal to Rashada — still above seven figures — to stay at Florida, with the caveat that he release everyone from all previous claims.

U. G. L. Y. (and he's a 4-star, not even a 5-star...)

[Carpet_pissr]

Yep. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that my team will never be in the top 10 again.

Not saying we would have been anytime soon even without this bullshit, but DEFINITELY not now.

[LordMortis]

NIL Shenanigans:

Nov. 10: Rashada and the Gator Collective agree to terms on an NIL deal exceeding $13 million. Such a massive pledge is thought to dramatically exceed the Gator Collective’s fundraising level, so the deal presumes assistance from Hathcock or other Gator Guard donors. After signing the contract, Rashada decommits from Miami and flips to Florida.

Dec. 7: Rojas sends a termination letter regarding the $13 million contract, according to a program source close to the situation. There are conflicting accounts about why the deal crumbled and who pledged to pay what. Multiple conversations ensue between donors and athletic department members, including Castro-Walker and Stricklin. Some within the administration are only now getting up to speed on what was promised — the program aiming to keep these third-party NIL dealings at arm’s length. Yet these conversations ultimately focus on finding contingencies for keeping the class’ highest-profile recruit in the fold....

...Jan. 11: A program source with knowledge of the entanglement says Rashada won’t be enrolling at Florida. “There’s a lot of panic. It’s like stepping on an ant pile.” There’s also the potential for litigation, hinging upon whether the November contract is binding. The collectives, according to another program source with knowledge of the situation, are offering a lesser deal to Rashada — still above seven figures — to stay at Florida, with the caveat that he release everyone from all previous claims.

U. G. L. Y. (and he's a 4-star, not even a 5-star...)

Wow. The NIIL seemed a bit... rough... in its design but that is just wacky.

[ImLawBoy]

On the positive side for NIL, it is credited with keeping a few players at Michigan for another year, including (pre-injury) Heisman candidate Blake Corum. Given that his draft projections did not necessarily match his college production (likely due to size and injury concerns), NIL money may have been the tipping point to keep him in college to see if he could raise his draft profile. Some Michigan folks set up a fund (called "One More Year Fund", or something creative like that) to keep players around who were likely late round or UDFA type players around for one more year. It's not the outrageous money of (what I suspect is the outlier) cases that grab the headlines, but it's a look at what could be a beneficial use of NIL for the sport.

[Skinypupy]

On the positive side for NIL, it is credited with keeping a few players at Michigan for another year, including (pre-injury) Heisman candidate Blake Corum. Given that his draft projections did not necessarily match his college production (likely due to size and injury concerns), NIL money may have been the tipping point to keep him in college to see if he could raise his draft profile. Some Michigan folks set up a fund (called "One More Year Fund", or something creative like that) to keep players around who were likely late round or UDFA type players around for one more year. It's not the outrageous money of (what I suspect is the outlier) cases that grab the headlines, but it's a look at what could be a beneficial use of NIL for the sport.

Same at Utah. Rumors are that both Cam Rising and Brant Kuithe are coming back because they'll make far more on NIL deals that they ever would have as late round or UDFA players. Silver linings, I guess.

I mostly just can't figure out why a 4-star kid who doesn't appear to be some sort of generational talent is somehow worth $13MM. That one truly boggles the mind.

[ImLawBoy]

That's why I assume it's some kind of bizarre outlier.

[Pyperkub]

On the other side of the spectrum are the HBCU's:

Ed Reed's approach...

Some things can't be fixed quickly.

And they sure can't be fixed through an Instagram Live rant.

Those are sentiments Ed Reed either didn't consider or didn't understand when he began his brief and bizarre tenure as head football coach at Bethune-Cookman University, a tenure that ended Saturday, before he'd even signed a contract.

But not before he'd taken to social media more than once to scream and shout about the school and its administrators like a 15-year-old upset about the school cafeteria choices. To be clear, Reed wasn't entirely wrong: It's not egregious to expect your new office to be cleaned out of the prior coach's stuff, and Bethune-Cookman, like many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), has funding issues, not to mention it suffered flooding and damage due to Hurricane Ian just a few months ago.

But when your campus issues run deep, making sure the football team's practice field is state-of-the-art isn't near the top of the list of priorities.

He maybe should have done a bit more research:

On Monday, several B-C students were protesting and calling for the Board of Trustees to step down because of mold in dorms and other concerns (not a problem exclusive to Bethune-Cookman or HBCUs).

On the other end of the spectrum is Eddie George at HBCU Tennessee St, where there are other issues, such as getting ripped off by the state...

George also understands why TSU faces major hurdles: The state withheld funds from the school for decades, money it owed the school under federal law. ...

...in Tennessee, the state legislature decided it would take a 75/25 approach to its two land-grant institutions: The University of Tennessee would get 75% of state funding, and Tennessee State would get 25%. Also, UT, a predominantly white institution, always got its monies; TSU didn't. A state audit in 2021 found that the state had been in violation of the Second Morrill Act for decades, and TSU was owed up to $544 million.

[Pyperkub]

Whoa. Is there some sort of apocalypse going on?

UW's OC (allegedly) decides to stay rather than head to 'Bama...

Despite traveling to Tuscaloosa, interviewing with Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban and being offered Alabama’s offensive coordinator position Monday, Grubb has decided to remain at Washington, a source within the program confirmed to The Times on Tuesday.

[Scuzz]

I saw an article on ESPN.com where Saban has turned two players away from Alabama because of their NIL demands. A new recruit and someone in the transfer portal.